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Speaker 1: responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome to tonight. You're at

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Speaker 1: the volume heavy Friday. Everybody, hope all if you guys

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Speaker 1: are having a great week. On a fun show for

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Speaker 1: you today, We're gonna do an instant reaction to Nix

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Speaker 1: Nuggets from last night. Fun game for both teams Monster,

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Speaker 1: Isaiah Hardenstein, Knight the Nick's battle, but the Nuggets end

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Speaker 1: up pulling away late. Jokich is awesome. We're gonna break

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Speaker 1: that game down from the perspective of both teams, and

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Speaker 1: then after that we're gonna hit a mail bag as

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Speaker 1: I promised at the tail end of the show. You

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Speaker 1: guys are the joke before we get started. Subscribe to

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Speaker 1: our brand new YouTube channels. You don't miss any more

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Speaker 1: of our videos. Follow me on Twitter, I underscore jcnlts.

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Speaker 1: You guys, don't misshow announcements or film threads. Don't forget

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Speaker 1: about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcast on

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Speaker 1: our Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you levey

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Speaker 1: rating in a review on that front. And the last but

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Speaker 1: not least, keep dropping mail bag questions in the YouTube

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

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Speaker 1: of the season. All right, really quickly, before we get

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Speaker 1: started too, I want to give you guys a quick

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Speaker 1: breakdown of how the next week's gonna go, because I

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Speaker 1: actually go out of town on Sunday morning, and I'm

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Speaker 1: out of town until Thursday afternoon. I'm again one last

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Speaker 1: getaway with my wife. We're going skiing in like Tahoe.

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Speaker 1: And remember when I get back, that's when everything hits

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Speaker 1: the fan. Three weeks from Sunday is actually the final

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Speaker 1: day of the regular season. That Tuesday is the start

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Speaker 1: of the play in tournament. During that week, we're gonna

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Speaker 1: have series previews for every playoff series and instant reactions

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Speaker 1: to the play in playing matchups. Then we have the

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Speaker 1: actual opening day of the postse and that Saturday, where

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Speaker 1: they have the four games, and that's when we start

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Speaker 1: going live on YouTube every single night, so a little

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Speaker 1: bit of a break from Sunday to Thursday. Then obviously

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Speaker 1: it's grind time. But I've got content coming out the

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Speaker 1: entire time I'm gone, So obviously today the Nick Nuggets

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Speaker 1: reaction mail bags run in on Saturday. The Nerd Sash

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Speaker 1: guys came on this morning and we went for over

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Speaker 1: an hour. We recorded a bunch of stuff. We did

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Speaker 1: a deep dive into the play in tournament and both conferences.

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Speaker 1: We also hit the top of the league, talk some

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Speaker 1: Celtics and Bucks, some Nuggets, and we also had a

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Speaker 1: fun segment at the end of the show that I

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Speaker 1: think you guys will like. That's all rolling out on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: and Wednesday, so there'll be content coming out the entire

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Speaker 1: time I'm gone, but no actual like instant reaction live

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Speaker 1: reacting to games and stuff until I get back on Thursday,

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Speaker 1: which will be a fun one because on Wednesday night

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Speaker 1: we have our rematch between the Suns and the Nuggets,

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Speaker 1: that epic overtime game that Phoenix won last time, so

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Speaker 1: that's gonna be a really fun one to react to.

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Speaker 1: We'll be hitting that one on Thursday when I get

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Speaker 1: back into town. All right, on that note, let's get

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Speaker 1: into Nick Nugget. So Nick Nuggets is probably my favorite

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Speaker 1: NBA Finals matchup outside of Nugget Celtics. Obviously, I think

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Speaker 1: Nugget Celtics would just be an all timer. I think

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Speaker 1: it would go six or seven games. I'd picked the Nuggets,

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Speaker 1: but I think it would be an incredibly entertaining series.

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Speaker 1: But when the healthy Knicks are actually whole, when they

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Speaker 1: have Mitchell Robinson, when they have Isaiah Hartenstein backing up

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Speaker 1: Mitchell Robinson, you can make a case that could be

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Speaker 1: reversed too, when you have Julius Randall and now Precious

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Speaker 1: to two up playing more at the four instead of

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Speaker 1: at the five. When you have Og and Ando be

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Speaker 1: healthy out there, they are just so incredibly physically imposing.

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Speaker 1: I mean, as a as a Denver fan, you got

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Speaker 1: to experience that last night. Just with the injury riddled Knicks,

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Speaker 1: I just think that'd be a really, really fun final series.

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Speaker 1: And so this is a matchup that I really liked.

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Speaker 1: But in this particular game, obviously still no front court

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Speaker 1: for the Knicks. Tough matchup for them. Under those circumstances.

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Speaker 1: But they played a hell of a game and it

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Speaker 1: was close for the most part. Jalen Brunson was great.

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Speaker 1: He had twenty six points and nine assists with zero turnovers.

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Speaker 1: Denver defended him pretty well too. They were throwing aggressive

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Speaker 1: coverages o him. He just had all of his shot

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Speaker 1: making stuff working. His start stop quickness was locked in.

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Speaker 1: He found all the little openings that take place over

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Speaker 1: the game to find easy shots. I thought, I thought

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Speaker 1: duce McBride played a really good game. I thought he

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Speaker 1: defended Jamal Murray really well. Started to he continued to

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Speaker 1: flash some of that high level shot making that he's

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Speaker 1: been showing as of late. Like Duce McBride has been

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Speaker 1: flashing a little bit of that off the dribble pop

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Speaker 1: that I think he's had in the bag for a while.

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Speaker 1: But he's the opportunity presented to him after the trade

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Speaker 1: deadline has given him more opportunities to show that now.

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Speaker 1: Jamal Murray was still able to bully him to spots

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Speaker 1: because he had that physical size advantage, and we've seen

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Speaker 1: that before where the really good ball pressure quick guards

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Speaker 1: can struggle sometimes against Jamal Murray when he's physically aggressive

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Speaker 1: with them, but Douce did his job, made him work.

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Speaker 1: Jamal was just nine for twenty from the field and

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Speaker 1: then four turnovers. Isay, Hardenstein was a monster. I've been

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Speaker 1: so impressed by him this year in general. Obviously, he's

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Speaker 1: always been a great rebounder, and he's always been great

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Speaker 1: in that short role with those little pop shots right, Like,

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Speaker 1: he's in total offensive rebounds in the entire NBYEAR this

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Speaker 1: year NBA this year, and he's shooting fifty seven percent

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Speaker 1: on those floaters that he takes in the lane. So like,

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Speaker 1: obviously that's something we've always known about Isaiah Hartenstein, but

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Speaker 1: he's making a lot of really high level offensive plays

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Speaker 1: around that. Like, big part of this game was him

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Speaker 1: just taking Jokic one on one. He got a couple

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Speaker 1: of buckets on him that way. It kind of reminded

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Speaker 1: me of what he was doing to Sibonis in the

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Speaker 1: Sacramento game. Like Hardenstein will he'll drop his shoulder and

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Speaker 1: go into your chest and he can make little shots

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Speaker 1: over the top. He got to a little right handed

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Speaker 1: hook shot over Nicole Jokic in this game too. He's

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Speaker 1: also starting to figure out some of the intricacies of

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Speaker 1: the pick and roll game, like how to angle screens properly,

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Speaker 1: when to slip, and when to disengage from the screen

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Speaker 1: and start rolling to the basket. There was a specific

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Speaker 1: play too that was really high level that that I

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Speaker 1: want to call out where he said a go tot

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Speaker 1: screen and I want to break this down for you guys.

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Speaker 1: So basically, as a Jalen Brunson Isaiah Hartenstein ball screen

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Speaker 1: on a cleared side, they ran in action to get

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Speaker 1: into it, but it resulted in just a clear side

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Speaker 1: ball screen. Two defenders in the play where Jokich on Hartenstein,

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Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon on Jalen Brunson. So obviously it's a clear

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Speaker 1: side pick and roll. So, like most teams in the

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Speaker 1: NBA do, Denver ends up calling for ice coverage. Now,

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Speaker 1: ice coverage is the most common pick and roll coverage

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Speaker 1: you'll see in cleared side ball screens or in really

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Speaker 1: any sort of side ball screen at any level of basketball.

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Speaker 1: And essentially the idea there is is that the ball

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Speaker 1: handler Jalen Broughns in this case a lefty, is on

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Speaker 1: the right wing. He wants to get to his strong

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Speaker 1: hand going into the lane working in pick and roll

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Speaker 1: right Aaron Gordon instead of chasing him like a typical

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Speaker 1: lock and trail type of situation, in applying back pressure

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Speaker 1: like you would in a middle ball screen or anything

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Speaker 1: towards the middle of the floor. Instead, what he's doing

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Speaker 1: is he's jumping way on Jalen Brunson's high side up

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Speaker 1: on his left hand side, taking away the screen as

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Speaker 1: an option and basically giving him a right handed driving lane.

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Speaker 1: Nikole Jokicic drops directly into that right handed driving lane,

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Speaker 1: making himself a v in help. This is a textbook

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Speaker 1: ice coverage in that situation, Hartenstein's job as soon as

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Speaker 1: he realizes that the ice is happening, his job now

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Speaker 1: is a screen doesn't really help because he's not gonna

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Speaker 1: actually be able to get Aaron Gordon out of position

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Speaker 1: because Aaron Gordon's literally denying the left handed drive. So

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Speaker 1: his job there is to find a gap, an opening

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Speaker 1: between Aaron Gordon and Nikolejokic to make himself available for

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Speaker 1: the catch so that he can shoot his little pop

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Speaker 1: shot in the lane. That's what Hartenstein does. Goes to

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Speaker 1: set the screen, sees Aaron Gordon hop high side to

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Speaker 1: set up that ice, and then he disengages from the

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Speaker 1: screen slips into that opening. Okay, Jalen Brunson does what

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Speaker 1: he's supposed to do. He makes a hard dribble move

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Speaker 1: to his right, but he wants to get back to

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Speaker 1: his strong hand so after he goes to his right

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Speaker 1: hard he brings it back to his left hand side

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Speaker 1: and Aaron Gordon gets out of position. He gets stuck

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Speaker 1: on Jalen Brunson's right hand side. This is where Hartenstein

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Speaker 1: makes an incredibly smart read. So Nikole Jokicic is waiting

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Speaker 1: there and now Aaron Gordon, instead of being on Jaln

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Speaker 1: Brunston's left hand side, is on Jlen Brunson's right hand side. Okay,

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Speaker 1: Hartenstein identifies there Jalen Brunson has an opportunity to drive

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Speaker 1: to his strong hand so Hartenstein bails on trying to

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Speaker 1: make himself available and just goes and sets a screen

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Speaker 1: on Jokic. Because Jokic is the help man, Jalen Brunson

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Speaker 1: already has Aaron Gordon out a position so he can

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Speaker 1: get to his strong left hand side. Brunson his only

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Speaker 1: issue now is the helper, which is Nicole Jokic At

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Speaker 1: the rim. Hartenstein identifies on the fly that his best

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Speaker 1: way to help Brunson is just to set that screen

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Speaker 1: on Nikole Jokich in the lane so that he can't help.

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Speaker 1: He runs over and screens the kol Jokic, Brunson drives

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Speaker 1: left right behind him, gets all the way to the basket,

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Speaker 1: and lays it in. There's even an additional element there

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Speaker 1: of timing with Jalen Brunson because Michael Porter Junior had

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Speaker 1: come into the lane to defend the action three on two,

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Speaker 1: and Jalen Brunson waited to hit the Jets until Michael

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Speaker 1: Porter Junior had to vacate the lane on his defensive

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Speaker 1: three second call, and that just kind of parted like

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Speaker 1: the red seat, Michael Porter Junior ran out, Jokic got

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Speaker 1: screened by Hartenstein. Brunson like snuck right in there and

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Speaker 1: got a layup, and I was literally sitting there watching that.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, that is a really high level offensive play

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Speaker 1: from Isaiah Hartenstein. That is getting classified as a layup

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Speaker 1: for Jalen Brunson, obviously, and obviously Brunson in his ability

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Speaker 1: to handle the basketball and get to his spots was

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Speaker 1: a big part of that. But that's really high level

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Speaker 1: offensive roleman play from Isaiah Hartenstein. He's just turning into

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Speaker 1: a really good basketball player. He's also been a really

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Speaker 1: solid defensive anchor this year. I've been impressed by his

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Speaker 1: pick and roll defense and how active he is with

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Speaker 1: his hands. Isaiah Hartenstein's just really damn good. And again,

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Speaker 1: you can make the case that when Mitchell Robinson comes back,

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Speaker 1: that Mitchell Robinson come off the bench, not because of

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Speaker 1: anything Mitchell Robinson's doing, just because Isaiah Hartenstein in his

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Speaker 1: pick and roll chemistry with Jalen Brunson, in the job

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Speaker 1: that he's been doing. But yeah, the Knicks battle, they

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Speaker 1: kept it close. They really did damage. In the Jokic

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Speaker 1: off minutes. They were plus thirteen. Excuse me, I want

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Speaker 1: to say they were plus seventeen. Yeah, they were plus

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Speaker 1: seventeen in the minutes that Nicola Jokic was off the

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Speaker 1: floor in this game. But every time Nicola jokicch checked

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Speaker 1: into the game would just quickly assert himself and regain

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Speaker 1: control of the situation. He had thirty points, fourteen rebounds,

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Speaker 1: and eleven assists, which is one turnover. The Knicks. We're

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Speaker 1: bringing a lot of double teams from the backside, especially

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Speaker 1: like when Jokic would turn his back and kind of

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Speaker 1: protect the basketball. They kept trying to sneak behind him,

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Speaker 1: and I don't know why teams again like this is

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Speaker 1: something that Yokic is consistently punished, and you know, to

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Speaker 1: break it down on a deeper level, do you guys

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Speaker 1: remember when I've talked with a lower level passers, think

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Speaker 1: guys like Embiid, Anthony Davis, Yannis, how I always talk

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Speaker 1: about them running cleared side actions. The reason why I

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Speaker 1: talk about them running cleared side actions is because when

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Speaker 1: the side is cleared, it's much harder to double on

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Speaker 1: their backside. And when you double from the backside, those

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Speaker 1: guys struggle to see everything because they can really only

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Speaker 1: see what's in front of them. And so as a

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Speaker 1: result of that, if you put them in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the floor or with an occupied corner where someone

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Speaker 1: can sneak in from behind and get steals, those guys

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Speaker 1: can become turned over prone and most importantly, be uncomfortable

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Speaker 1: and more more likely to just get the ball out

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Speaker 1: to somebody rather than to try to make the kill

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Speaker 1: pass because they're worried, they don't know where everybody is.

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Speaker 1: They feel uncomfortable. And then what I said when we

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Speaker 1: were talking about those guys is when it comes to

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Speaker 1: the higher level passers, the Lebron's, the Lucas, the Jokic is,

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Speaker 1: those guys you want in the middle of the floor

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Speaker 1: because in the middle of the floor or with an

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Speaker 1: occupied corner, you want them there because they can see

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Speaker 1: everything that's taking place. They are comfortable even though there

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Speaker 1: are guys that they can't necessarily see every given second

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Speaker 1: because Yogic can identify I know this guy is here.

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Speaker 1: I know he's here. I can check this out, and

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Speaker 1: I can just kind of periodically kind of monitor where

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Speaker 1: these guys are and they can kind of anticipate things

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Speaker 1: before they happen. Right, It's kind of like that ridiculous

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Speaker 1: pass that he had last night where he threw the

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Speaker 1: ball overhand behind his back and Aaron Gordon. So basically,

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Speaker 1: Nikole Jokic is posting like what sixteen seventeen feet away

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Speaker 1: from the basket on like kind of left elbow extended right,

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Speaker 1: and I want to say, josh hart Se, either Joshun

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Speaker 1: or Dante DiVincenzo comes with the backside help, right, So

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Speaker 1: Jokic has the ball like this and the help is

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Speaker 1: coming from behind and on the help the help is

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Speaker 1: coming from Gordon's man, So Jalen Brunson comes out of

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Speaker 1: the weak side and tries to dig down onto Aaron

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Speaker 1: Gordon to take away that post entry pass. But Jokicic

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Speaker 1: just sees the whole thing. He identifies this guy's coming

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Speaker 1: on this week side. That means Aaron Gordon is my

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Speaker 1: open guy. But he also knows that Jalen Brunson's coming

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Speaker 1: on the top side, So if he wants to throw

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Speaker 1: that pass, he's got to hit it to Aaron Gordon's

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Speaker 1: right hand side, because if he throws it to the

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Speaker 1: left hand side, Jalen Brunson is gonna be able to

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Speaker 1: three quarter front and knock the ball away, And without

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Speaker 1: even damn looking while the defender's coming around his backside,

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Speaker 1: he just throws it like this backwards and hits Aaron

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Speaker 1: Gordon perfectly on the right hand side so that he

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Speaker 1: could go up and lay it in. And there were

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Speaker 1: literally like a half dozen plays in this game where

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Speaker 1: the Knicks came with backside help to Jokic's blind side

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Speaker 1: and he burned him with it. Because again, those types

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Speaker 1: of players, they can actually see the whole floor, or

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Speaker 1: at least have an understanding of where everybody is on

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Speaker 1: the floor, even when they're not necessarily looking in that

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Speaker 1: particular area. And again, when you are in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the floor with an occupy or have an occupied corner,

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Speaker 1: meaning when there are defensive players literally surrounding you, you're

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Speaker 1: actually closer to every offensive player. Again, if I have

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Speaker 1: Jokich on a cleared side, which by the way, he

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Speaker 1: had some success in cleared side situations too, I don't

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Speaker 1: want to pretend like that didn't happen. But when Yokich

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Speaker 1: is on a cleared side and everyone's on the opposite

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Speaker 1: side of the floor, Let's say let's say you got

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Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon under the rim, but all the other three

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Speaker 1: point shooters are spaced out along the three point line,

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Speaker 1: They're all those passes are in the same direction, and

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Speaker 1: therefore they're further away right, Whereas if he's in the

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Speaker 1: middle of the floor or when he has an occupied corner,

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Speaker 1: he's effectively closer to every offensive player. Every offensive player

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Speaker 1: is within like fifteen feet of him, right, And so

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Speaker 1: when those double teams come from different angles, when he

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Speaker 1: gets the ball to the right spot, there's less time

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Speaker 1: for the defense to rotate. There's actually more openings there.

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Speaker 1: It's just that the guys like Anthony Davis and Giannis

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Speaker 1: and Embiid, they really struggle to make those reads when

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Speaker 1: they're surrounded by defenders, so you almost need to clear

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Speaker 1: the side for them and make them make skip passes

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Speaker 1: over the top, which are easier to rotate to right.

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Speaker 1: That's the advantage of having a player that's capable of

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Speaker 1: operating in the beginning in the middle of the floor.

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Speaker 1: And again for Jokic, you saw last night just a

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Speaker 1: perfect example of every single time the Knicks brought that

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Speaker 1: backside help along that along his blind side, he was

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Speaker 1: able to make them pay for it, just because he

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Speaker 1: has such a good understanding of where everybody is on

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Speaker 1: the floor. The Nuggets were plus thirty when Nicole Jokic

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Speaker 1: on the floor in this game. Think about that, they

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Speaker 1: were minus seventeen when he was off the floor, and

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Speaker 1: they still won the game by double digits and were

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Speaker 1: never truly threatened. Unbelievably dominant performance. Michael Porter Junior had

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Speaker 1: a big night, two thirty one points on sixteen shots.

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Speaker 1: Hit a big jumper in ISO against Boy and mcdonovitch

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Speaker 1: on the right corner area after the Knicks had cut

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Speaker 1: it to four. I want to say it was on

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Speaker 1: a precious to chew a layup if I remember correctly.

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Speaker 1: But the Knicks cut it to four, or excuse me,

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Speaker 1: cut it to two is like ninety to eighty eight

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Speaker 1: or something like that. And Michael Porter Junior just straight

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Speaker 1: iso got a bucket over Boy and Magdonovitch, who was

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Speaker 1: super efficient in this game. He's actually been the most

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Speaker 1: efficient jump shooter in the entire league this year. He's

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Speaker 1: taken six hundred and forty four jump shots. There are

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Speaker 1: forty five players in the NBA that have attempted at

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Speaker 1: least five hundred. He ranks number one on that list.

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Speaker 1: And Michael Porter Junior jump shot has been worth one

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Speaker 1: point nine points per possession this year. Now points per shot,

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Speaker 1: I should say, so, just for trivia, who do you

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Speaker 1: guys think is number two on that list? The answer

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Speaker 1: is Dante de Vincenzo of the Knicks. He's just three

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Speaker 1: one thousandths of a point per shot behind Michael Porter Junior. So,

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Speaker 1: like two the two best jump shooters in the NBA

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Speaker 1: were on the floor together last night. The Nuggets are

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Speaker 1: rolling thirteen and two since the All Star break, and

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Speaker 1: again there are only two losses were in games where

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Speaker 1: they lost either at the buzzer or had a shot

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Speaker 1: that sent the game to ot at the buzz that

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Speaker 1: they lost in OT. That's the best record in the

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Speaker 1: league over that span. Their second offense, eighth in defense,

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Speaker 1: second net rating, and third in points in the paint

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Speaker 1: for one hundred possessions over that span. You know, last

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Speaker 1: year after the ull Star break, they came out hot.

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Speaker 1: They were five and one in their first six games,

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Speaker 1: and then they immediately fell apart. And this year they've

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Speaker 1: just been so much sharper. They just to me like,

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Speaker 1: this is a major like check box that they've a

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Speaker 1: box that they've checked in their process towards a championship. Repeat.

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Speaker 1: This is not a team that is relaxing. This is

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Speaker 1: a team that is focusing. This is not a team

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Speaker 1: that looks like they think it's going to be easy.

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Speaker 1: This is a team that is preparing for the hard

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Speaker 1: challenge that is winning for playoff rounds. If you're Nuggets fan,

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Speaker 1: you should feel very very confident in your team right now.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's move on to our mailbag. So first question,

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Speaker 1: by the way, I got fifty one questions to the

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Speaker 1: mail bag tweet that I sent out. Obviously normally take

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Speaker 1: mailback questions from YouTube, but I wanted to take them

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Speaker 1: from Twitter this time, so we had like fifty one questions.

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Speaker 1: They were all super, super interesting. I'm sorry that I

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Speaker 1: can't actually get to all of them. I think we

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Speaker 1: only have about a dozen here that we're going to

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Speaker 1: get to. But I do sincerely appreciate you guys taking

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Speaker 1: the time. And again, we're gonna keep doing mail bags

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Speaker 1: really throughout the entire year moving forward. So if there's

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Speaker 1: a mailbag question that I haven't got to that you

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Speaker 1: really want, just keep dropping it in there and we

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Speaker 1: will eventually get to it. All right, Do you believe

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Speaker 1: that Lebron should leave the Lakers next season from a

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Speaker 1: fan standpoint? And if so, where is the ideal place

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Speaker 1: you would want to see him compete? And if not,

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Speaker 1: could the Lakers be competitive next season? So if Lebron leaves,

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Speaker 1: which if they lose in a disastrous fashion, I think

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Speaker 1: that I think that he should. I just I would

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Speaker 1: hate to see Lebron go down with this particular ship

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Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, where he's surrounded by incompetence in so

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Speaker 1: many different levels, in the coaching staff and in the

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Speaker 1: ownership group, and in the front office, it's just layer

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Speaker 1: after layer, even like even in the medical staff, even

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Speaker 1: like there's a statue with typos on it out front

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Speaker 1: of the arena, Like it's just it's like it's just clear.

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Speaker 1: It's just so funny to me. How like when there's

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Speaker 1: incompetence at the ownership level, it just trickles down to

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Speaker 1: every single level from there. But I want to see

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Speaker 1: him play for the Knicks. I think it's a like

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Speaker 1: an absolutely perfect fit in that front line. If you

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Speaker 1: just kind of slotted him into that Julius Randall spot,

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Speaker 1: I think it would immediately make them a top tier

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Speaker 1: championship contender. It'd be a big market that actually justifies

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Speaker 1: a presence like Lebron making a move in that direction.

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Speaker 1: I think Jalen Brunson is the perfect type of co

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Speaker 1: star for him. Is that like offensive folkrum type of guy.

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Speaker 1: He'd be in a defensive role where because of Dante

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Speaker 1: devencenzo Og and Andobi, he'd never have to defend on

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Speaker 1: the ball. Because of mitchter Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein, he'd

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Speaker 1: be consistently in that low man position where I think

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Speaker 1: he'd be really impactful. I think the Knicks would be amazing.

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Speaker 1: Can the Lakers be competitive next season? It just really

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Speaker 1: depends on what they end up doing around the draft.

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Speaker 1: They're gonna have three draft picks as well as some

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Speaker 1: other roster assets that they can move. They really really

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Speaker 1: really got to go one of two, and I talked

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Speaker 1: about this yesterday with Jovon. But they either need to

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Speaker 1: bring in a legitimate offensive fulcrum to run the offense

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Speaker 1: the entire season, which will just help them be better

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Speaker 1: in the eighty two games, or they need to bring

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Speaker 1: real high motor athletes on the perimeter because at this point,

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Speaker 1: Lebron and ad are just not consistent enough with their

428
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,280
Speaker 1: athletic engagement. Next question, If the Knicks are healthy, do

429
00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:20,639
Speaker 1: you think they have a legitimate chance to go to

430
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:25,080
Speaker 1: the finals? Absolutely? I think that the I think that

431
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,960
Speaker 1: everybody butt the Celtics is flat out beatable, and I'd

432
00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,240
Speaker 1: be tempted to pick a Knicks, a healthy Knicks team

433
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,080
Speaker 1: over all of them, including the Bucks. Because the Knicks

434
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 1: aren't healthy, I would pick the Bucks as the safer

435
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,199
Speaker 1: number two in that conference. But if they were, if

436
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,520
Speaker 1: the Knicks were fully healthy and in rhythm, they've just

437
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,200
Speaker 1: played better basketball this year than Milwaukee in my opinion,

438
00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,800
Speaker 1: relative to the talent that they've had available to them

439
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,800
Speaker 1: in the lineup. As far as getting to the finals,

440
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,560
Speaker 1: they'd have to beat Boston, right but they're a big,

441
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,439
Speaker 1: physical team and they can wear you out, and I

442
00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,920
Speaker 1: think they could bait Boston into some of their worst tendencies.

443
00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:58,800
Speaker 1: Then scoring the basketball would be tricky because of all

444
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,200
Speaker 1: the perimeter defense that they could throw at the table.

445
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:02,920
Speaker 1: But if they could drag it down into the mud,

446
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,480
Speaker 1: and if they get enough out of Jalen Brunts and

447
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,879
Speaker 1: I absolutely think they can. They to me, the Knicks

448
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,840
Speaker 1: are not in the top tier of contenders obviously, but

449
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,200
Speaker 1: they're in that next tier and I think when they're healthy,

450
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,639
Speaker 1: they're very capable of making a finals run. We have

451
00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,479
Speaker 1: two Pelicans related questions. I'll read them both and we'll

452
00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,000
Speaker 1: go through them both. Can the Pelicans win the Western

453
00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,560
Speaker 1: Conference and make it to the finals? Second question, pels

454
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,240
Speaker 1: fan here, do you think Zion's play right now is

455
00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,479
Speaker 1: sustainable for the playoffs, for when the game slows down

456
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,040
Speaker 1: and teams can really zero in on him defensively. He's

457
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,520
Speaker 1: a great regular season player, but he's untested in the playoffs.

458
00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:36,200
Speaker 1: So first, of all, can the Pelicans win the Western

459
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,520
Speaker 1: Conference and make it to the finals. Of course they can.

460
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,080
Speaker 1: I just have them at the bottom tier among the

461
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,639
Speaker 1: Western Conference playoff teams. They have a couple of specific

462
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,200
Speaker 1: things that are big red flags for me. So, for instance,

463
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,439
Speaker 1: they've been a very good defensive team, but they have

464
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,240
Speaker 1: not been a very good defensive front court. And throughout

465
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,200
Speaker 1: this season that Zion jonas front court at on many

466
00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,639
Speaker 1: different occasions has been picked to pieces and NBA tells

467
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 1: us you need an elite defensive front court to win

468
00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,479
Speaker 1: the title. I mean, Jokic Gordon is probably the worst

469
00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,440
Speaker 1: defensive front court to win the title in well over

470
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:14,000
Speaker 1: a decade. And Aaron Gordon was unbelievable defensively both as

471
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,879
Speaker 1: a low man and as an on ball defender during

472
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,360
Speaker 1: that playoff run. So for me, like, I just don't

473
00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:22,600
Speaker 1: think the Pelicans at the defensive personnel in the front

474
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,080
Speaker 1: court that they need as far as the in order

475
00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,320
Speaker 1: to be considered as as as dangerous as their record

476
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:31,119
Speaker 1: would lead you to believe, right as far as the

477
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,960
Speaker 1: offensive end of the four goes in Zion like Obviously,

478
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,200
Speaker 1: this season turned around for the Pelicans when Zion took

479
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,960
Speaker 1: a larger role offensively, I also think Zion has got

480
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,320
Speaker 1: in better shape and started to get his legs underneath him.

481
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,200
Speaker 1: That Lob Donkey had the other night was the most

482
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,080
Speaker 1: athletic I've seen him look pretty much since Duke, so

483
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,080
Speaker 1: like I think, or at least since he was healthy

484
00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:50,840
Speaker 1: a few years ago. So like, I really do think

485
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,480
Speaker 1: Zion coming around has been what's turned this season around.

486
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,639
Speaker 1: That said, like when we get to the postseason. Offensively,

487
00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,920
Speaker 1: there is something to be said about the borderline comic

488
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,399
Speaker 1: way that teams will try to attack your flaws. Like

489
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:05,720
Speaker 1: think about like what Lebron James did to Zion in

490
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:09,399
Speaker 1: the n season tournament game, the one where the Lakers

491
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:11,639
Speaker 1: beat the hell out of him. He basically just sagged

492
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,280
Speaker 1: way the hell off of him and anticipated his driving

493
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,240
Speaker 1: angles and more or less removed him from the game.

494
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:20,000
Speaker 1: And now I think Zion is a better athlete now

495
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,480
Speaker 1: than he was then. He's in better shape and he's

496
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:23,760
Speaker 1: moving better, and I do think that Zion would be

497
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,280
Speaker 1: able to have more impact. But I am curious to

498
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,640
Speaker 1: see how teams kind of play him, because they'll sag

499
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,119
Speaker 1: way the hell off and they'll try to kind of

500
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,440
Speaker 1: like be sitting on that left hand side and just

501
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,080
Speaker 1: try to beat him to spots in the lane. They'll

502
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:41,000
Speaker 1: bring physicality. Here's my prediction. Though, My guess is that

503
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,919
Speaker 1: Zion will have success offensively in the postseason. My bigger

504
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:49,600
Speaker 1: concern is just that Zion being targeted on the defensive

505
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 1: end of the floor, just again putting him in a

506
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,399
Speaker 1: bunch of actions where they can try to bait him

507
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,159
Speaker 1: into getting out of position and getting a lot of

508
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,639
Speaker 1: easy baskets at the rim. Again, that has been a

509
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,960
Speaker 1: consistent theme this year. Their perimeter defense is unbelievable. Herb

510
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,960
Speaker 1: Jones is like one of the best defensive players that

511
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,320
Speaker 1: I've watched this year. Brandon Ingram is having the best

512
00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,119
Speaker 1: defensive season I've seen him have in years. They have

513
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,280
Speaker 1: a ton that they bring to the table on the

514
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,320
Speaker 1: perimeter defensively, and they fly around and they play hard,

515
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,280
Speaker 1: and they play passing lanes, and they apply ball pressure

516
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,120
Speaker 1: and they force turnovers and then it's like the front

517
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,800
Speaker 1: court where I have my concerns, and so that's where

518
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:25,760
Speaker 1: I think they'll have issues when we get to the postseason.

519
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,560
Speaker 1: Do you think there's a chance that Van Do and

520
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,080
Speaker 1: Gabe can come back and actually have impact towards winning

521
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,720
Speaker 1: once the postseason comes, I know them not having conditioning

522
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 1: is going to make things a lot more difficult, or

523
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,320
Speaker 1: should we rock with the guys who have been playing.

524
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:39,760
Speaker 1: Gabe is the one that I don't really understand where

525
00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 1: he fits. You think of him as like a perimeter

526
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: defense kind of guy at the guard position, but that

527
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,520
Speaker 1: to me is what Spencer Dinwoodie has been filling. And

528
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,240
Speaker 1: I think Spencer Dinwoodie is is just a little bigger,

529
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,720
Speaker 1: a little more athletic, and probably a little bit more

530
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,080
Speaker 1: resilient when you get to that postseason environment. I do

531
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,840
Speaker 1: think gab will play and games when Spencer's not playing well,

532
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,199
Speaker 1: I think that Darvin will go his direction or one

533
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:01,879
Speaker 1: of the skill guards is him playing well, but his

534
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 1: role is a little bit more up in the air.

535
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,600
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt like, you just absolutely need him. You absolutely need him,

536
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:07,960
Speaker 1: You need to start him, and you need him to

537
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,320
Speaker 1: be ready. Now you mentioned conditioning, that's an interesting point.

538
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,480
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt was not very good to start the season

539
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:14,399
Speaker 1: as he was coming back from his injury. It was

540
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,480
Speaker 1: really just before he got hurt again that he started

541
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,080
Speaker 1: to kind of get back into shape and really look

542
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 1: like the Vando we saw last year, and so that's

543
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,200
Speaker 1: my big concern too, is like, it's not about Vandal

544
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 1: coming back, It's about Vandam coming back and looking like

545
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,800
Speaker 1: the Vando we know he can be. And I mean,

546
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:30,679
Speaker 1: let's say he comes back at the start of April,

547
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,600
Speaker 1: like April first, You've got two weeks to get him

548
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,359
Speaker 1: back into rhythm, and that's just a lot to ask.

549
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 1: And so I think the only hope for the Lakers

550
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,440
Speaker 1: to make any sort of significant postseason run is Jared

551
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,119
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt being healthy and in shape, in rhythm, and prepared

552
00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,360
Speaker 1: to play the way that we're accustomed to seeing from him.

553
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,560
Speaker 1: Next question, would you rather build around Wemby or Luca?

554
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:52,479
Speaker 1: This was a fascinating one, A couple of really interesting

555
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,959
Speaker 1: questions from you guys that were gonna be hitting here

556
00:25:55,359 --> 00:26:00,920
Speaker 1: in the next few So you know, my prevailing basketball

557
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,200
Speaker 1: wisdom would say Luca, because I've always been a big

558
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,960
Speaker 1: fan of matchup attacking forwards and have always favored offense

559
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,920
Speaker 1: over defense because I think it's easier to coach up

560
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,200
Speaker 1: defense in a way that you can't on the offensive

561
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,800
Speaker 1: end of the floor. So that would lead you to

562
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:17,360
Speaker 1: believe to think Luca. But Wemby to me is a

563
00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,760
Speaker 1: truly transcendently great NBA prospect, and I think he has

564
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,080
Speaker 1: real potential to be the best offensive player and best

565
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,000
Speaker 1: defensive player in the league one day. I think that

566
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,160
Speaker 1: he's the kind of guy that could that could bring

567
00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:32,879
Speaker 1: a two way impact that rivals the greatest players in

568
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,600
Speaker 1: NBA history. So if not, he has the potential potential

569
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 1: to be better than all of them. So I think,

570
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,879
Speaker 1: I think regardless of who you are, even if you're

571
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 1: a Dallas fan like Wemby's Wemby man like like he's

572
00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 1: he's one of one, and Lucas Luca to me, is

573
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,040
Speaker 1: also in an all time great trajectory. But he's more

574
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:52,960
Speaker 1: or less what he is now, what he's always going

575
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,520
Speaker 1: to be. He will make small improvements, maybe defensively, maybe

576
00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:57,639
Speaker 1: in his conditioning, and maybe he'll get a little bit

577
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,280
Speaker 1: more consistent as a shooter. But like Wemby's already top

578
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,119
Speaker 1: twenty player in this league. He's a rookie and he

579
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,919
Speaker 1: literally can get many orders of magnitude better than he

580
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,880
Speaker 1: is right now. Next question, what do you think about

581
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,879
Speaker 1: the idea that you can't win if your best player

582
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,359
Speaker 1: is small, like six ' four under what do you

583
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,600
Speaker 1: need for it to happen in your opinion? And right now,

584
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:16,520
Speaker 1: which players do you think can slash could do it

585
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,480
Speaker 1: in the future. I think it's possible, but his team

586
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:21,440
Speaker 1: has to be perfectly built. So first of all, Steph

587
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 1: Curry is a guy that has won a title as

588
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,080
Speaker 1: the best player on his team under six y four.

589
00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 1: He did it in twenty twenty two. Now, Steph is

590
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,359
Speaker 1: the best small player in NBA history, and it's not close.

591
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:33,320
Speaker 1: When you look at the top ten players in NBA history,

592
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:34,840
Speaker 1: most people are gonna have Steph on there, and then

593
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 1: everyone else on that list is either a six '

594
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,080
Speaker 1: six super athletic shooting guard or someone who's six '

595
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,800
Speaker 1: eight and taller and has all these incredible physical gifts

596
00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 1: in terms of their size. Right. And so that's why

597
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:48,800
Speaker 1: I say Steph is the most skilled player in NBA history.

598
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 1: Is just he's one with skill at a higher rate

599
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 1: than anybody who's ever come before him. That said, I

600
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 1: do think it can happen. Again, you ask to pick

601
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,119
Speaker 1: a couple of guys. I picked two. Jalen Brunson I

602
00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:01,240
Speaker 1: think is a guy that if you built the perfect

603
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,120
Speaker 1: type of team around him, that I think he could

604
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,560
Speaker 1: do it like that Knicks team I think has just

605
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,200
Speaker 1: an outside shot and when they're healthy, and so I

606
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,359
Speaker 1: think I think you have to include Brunson in that list.

607
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,640
Speaker 1: The other guy who was John Morant. I think John Morant,

608
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,200
Speaker 1: especially if they can kind of rebuild around him in Memphis,

609
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,240
Speaker 1: I think that he's the kind of guy that could

610
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:23,840
Speaker 1: be so transcendently great offensively and so difficult to guard

611
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:25,399
Speaker 1: that he's the guy that could lead a team to

612
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,400
Speaker 1: a title. So Brunson and Morant would be the two guys.

613
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,320
Speaker 1: But again, it is uncommon, and there's a reason why

614
00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,080
Speaker 1: Steph's the only guy who's really done it, and it's because,

615
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 1: like in the modern era, it's just difficult to do

616
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,000
Speaker 1: at that size, and Steph is more like an exception

617
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 1: that proves the rule in a lot of ways. And

618
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,600
Speaker 1: for instance, I'd feel a lot better about Brunson and

619
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 1: Morant if they were the second best players on their team,

620
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,240
Speaker 1: if that makes sense. Next question, do you believe that

621
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 1: if the Cavs had won Game one of the twenty

622
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,600
Speaker 1: eighteen Finals after Lebron's dominant performance when he had fifty one,

623
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 1: do you think they could have had any shot at

624
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:59,040
Speaker 1: winning this series? No? Unfortunately. I wanted Lebron to win

625
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,560
Speaker 1: that game really badly, just as I felt like he

626
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,640
Speaker 1: deserved it. I thought he played, he played a game

627
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 1: that deserved to win. And there was that bizarre overturned

628
00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 1: charge call, the missed George Hill free throw, the j R.

629
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,920
Speaker 1: Smith forgetting the clock. There's a bunch of stuff that

630
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:18,840
Speaker 1: went against him down the stretch of that game that

631
00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:21,280
Speaker 1: took the game away. But I thought Lebron was far

632
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,280
Speaker 1: and away the best player on the floor and deserved

633
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,640
Speaker 1: to win that game. And it's unfortunate is what it is.

634
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,040
Speaker 1: But had he won, all I would have been is

635
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:32,120
Speaker 1: a slightly different footnote on a gentleman's sweep for one

636
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:33,680
Speaker 1: type of win. For Golden State, they were just so

637
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 1: much again, like, look at the guys that Lebron is

638
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:37,800
Speaker 1: playing with in that series compared to, in my opinion,

639
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,720
Speaker 1: the most talented roster in NBA history. Next question, I

640
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:43,640
Speaker 1: don't know whether you addressed this before, but what are

641
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,560
Speaker 1: your thoughts on the playing games in general? For me personally,

642
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:48,160
Speaker 1: I don't like seven verse eight and nine verse ten.

643
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:49,520
Speaker 1: I think it should be seven verse ten and eight

644
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:51,520
Speaker 1: verse nine. Love your show upen following since the Lakers

645
00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: tonight years. Thank you so much for supporting the show.

646
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 1: Its sincerely appreciates. I sincerely appreciate that so many of

647
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,959
Speaker 1: you guys wrote kind things to me in the mailbag,

648
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,440
Speaker 1: and I hope you guys just know that, like not

649
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 1: a day goes by that I don't think about how

650
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:05,240
Speaker 1: lucky I am to do what I do for a

651
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:06,440
Speaker 1: living and how I wouldn't be able to do it

652
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 1: if it wasn't for you guys in supporting me. So

653
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 1: thank you so much. It's really this simple. You can't

654
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,160
Speaker 1: do that because you can't have an eighty two game

655
00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:19,320
Speaker 1: season come down to one game. For teams that actually

656
00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,560
Speaker 1: did crack the top eight in the standings, they do

657
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,920
Speaker 1: it seven verse eight and nine verse ten because seven

658
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:30,160
Speaker 1: to eight get to potentially lose twice. So like, if

659
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,480
Speaker 1: that seven game you happen to have just an ice

660
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,240
Speaker 1: cold shooting night and eight comes in and beats you,

661
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,959
Speaker 1: you can turn around. Like look at Miami last year, right,

662
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,720
Speaker 1: Miami loses to Atlanta. Miami ends up going to the

663
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,280
Speaker 1: finals and they lost their first playing game. It wouldn't

664
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,040
Speaker 1: have been fair in my opinion, if they had been

665
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:48,560
Speaker 1: in the top eight to kick them out over one

666
00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:50,280
Speaker 1: loss where they just had a bad night on the

667
00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:53,160
Speaker 1: defensive glassic in ste Atlanta Hawks, Right, So, like that's

668
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:54,600
Speaker 1: kind of the way I look at it. Like seven

669
00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:56,880
Speaker 1: to v. Ten seems fair because it's a better matchup

670
00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,040
Speaker 1: for the seven. But if you're the seven seed, you

671
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,320
Speaker 1: would rather play the better team but have two chances

672
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,920
Speaker 1: overplaying the worst team and have one chance any day

673
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,520
Speaker 1: of the week because of the variants that exists in basketball.

674
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,560
Speaker 1: All Right, we have five more questions. It looks like

675
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:13,600
Speaker 1: this is a really interesting one. If I had a

676
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:15,280
Speaker 1: time machine and went to the future and came back

677
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,320
Speaker 1: and I told you that neither the Nuggets or the

678
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,760
Speaker 1: Celtics were going to make the finals, what teams would

679
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,360
Speaker 1: you pick to make the finals? And what do you

680
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,400
Speaker 1: think would be the reason the Celtics and Nuggets wouldn't

681
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,080
Speaker 1: make the finals? So reasons Boston would lose in the

682
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,280
Speaker 1: classic way that we've seen them lose. They would go

683
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,960
Speaker 1: cold from three and then fail to find higher percentage

684
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,360
Speaker 1: shots around the basket and go down shooting and missing

685
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,400
Speaker 1: threes and not defending as well as they're capable of

686
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,520
Speaker 1: because they didn't bring appropriate urgency on that side of

687
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,000
Speaker 1: the floor. Denver. I put one of two things, either

688
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 1: an injury to a starter, because I think their whole

689
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:47,480
Speaker 1: system could become easier to guard if one of those

690
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,400
Speaker 1: guys gets hurt, and then two kind of like what

691
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,080
Speaker 1: happened in overtime against Phoenix, Like if there's been one

692
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,040
Speaker 1: kind of little vulnerability. I've noticed sometimes late in games,

693
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,760
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray plays hero ball and he makes them a

694
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,719
Speaker 1: lot like he made big shots against Phoenix. He made

695
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:05,280
Speaker 1: big shots against Dallas, But specifically in the overtime against

696
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:09,080
Speaker 1: against Phoenix, Bradley Beal was ignoring KCP, defending all those

697
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 1: actions three on two, really sitting down in the lane,

698
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,440
Speaker 1: and Jamal was just hunting his own shot and missed

699
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,560
Speaker 1: a couple of really tough ones instead of like just

700
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,120
Speaker 1: playing basketball in the flow the way that Denver typically does.

701
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:20,080
Speaker 1: He even looks off Jokic a lot of times in

702
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,200
Speaker 1: those situations. Again, I'm being super nitpicky here, but if

703
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:25,320
Speaker 1: they were going to lose, that's what I think it

704
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:30,080
Speaker 1: would look like. Now, if they were healthy, I would

705
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 1: take the Knicks as the second best team out of

706
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:34,640
Speaker 1: the East. But like I talked about earlier, it's just

707
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:36,680
Speaker 1: Julius randalls out of rhythm. I don't know if Mitchell

708
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,000
Speaker 1: Robinson will be back og and Anobi. This elbow thing

709
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:40,840
Speaker 1: flared up again, and I think he had a procedure

710
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 1: on it earlier, So like that's concerning that he had

711
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,200
Speaker 1: a procedure and that it's still giving him issues. So

712
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:48,440
Speaker 1: like I would lean with Milwaukee. Damian Lillard last thirteen

713
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,440
Speaker 1: games nine to three point attempts per game at over

714
00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,320
Speaker 1: forty percent shooting, so Milwaukee's starting to look a little

715
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:56,160
Speaker 1: bit better. I think they're probably the safest bet out West.

716
00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 1: You know, I think this is going to come off

717
00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 1: as crazy because they're a playing team right now, But

718
00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,240
Speaker 1: I'm to say the Phoenix Suns. I think that they

719
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,840
Speaker 1: have the best ability to knock off Denver out of

720
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,720
Speaker 1: the teams in that conference. I was originally leaning towards

721
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:11,080
Speaker 1: the Clippers in that regard, but the Clippers have been

722
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,280
Speaker 1: playing some dog shit basketball for the last couple of

723
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,239
Speaker 1: months and I'm actually pretty concerned about them. So I'm

724
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:21,320
Speaker 1: gonna go. I'm gonna go with Milwaukee versus Phoenix, all right.

725
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:24,520
Speaker 1: For more, as Golden State transitions from an offense around

726
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,080
Speaker 1: Steph Curry, what kind of offense should they adopt if

727
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:29,480
Speaker 1: Kaminga develops into a player who could be a focal point.

728
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,280
Speaker 1: So I'm still a big believer in the five out

729
00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,800
Speaker 1: offense in general as a foundational build, especially with Tray

730
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:37,880
Speaker 1: Jackson Davis and some of the higher level stuff he's

731
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,240
Speaker 1: shown as a kind of screen and roll guy and

732
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:42,640
Speaker 1: as a cutter in general. It would look a little

733
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:44,440
Speaker 1: bit different because I think Kaminga has a lot of

734
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,640
Speaker 1: like individual on an island game to him, and I

735
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:48,760
Speaker 1: think that's part of his best, you know, kind of

736
00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:51,280
Speaker 1: future potential in this league is a guy that like

737
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,360
Speaker 1: no one can guard on an island, especially those like

738
00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 1: face up ISO and post up situations, And so I

739
00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 1: kind of think of it a lot like the twenty

740
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 1: eighteen twenty seventeen Warriors, where they run their five out stuff,

741
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:03,920
Speaker 1: but a lot of times they'll run action just to

742
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:07,920
Speaker 1: get Kaminga or excuse me, to get Kevin Durant to

743
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,520
Speaker 1: a spot where he can go to work. Right. Another

744
00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:12,439
Speaker 1: team who does this a lot is Denver. Denver runs

745
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,359
Speaker 1: the five out offense, but like a lot of times

746
00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:17,879
Speaker 1: they'll just be like, let's run this wedge screen, which

747
00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 1: is like essentially a cross screen that takes place around

748
00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:22,680
Speaker 1: the high post to try to get Jokic into deep

749
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,120
Speaker 1: post position. Then they'll throw the ball down to Yokitch

750
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:27,759
Speaker 1: and then everyone spaces the floor. You know, like even

751
00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:30,640
Speaker 1: even the five out approach for Denver looks like four

752
00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:32,600
Speaker 1: out sometimes in the sense that they'll just come down

753
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:34,799
Speaker 1: and they'll get out of their five out stuff and

754
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,680
Speaker 1: they'll just space and then they'll run two man game.

755
00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:38,520
Speaker 1: You know, they'll also come down and they'll run their

756
00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:40,719
Speaker 1: five out right, They'll run horn sets, they'll run you know,

757
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:44,880
Speaker 1: pistol stuff, and they'll get into their actions. But a

758
00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 1: lot of times they'll just be like, you know what,

759
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,759
Speaker 1: we're gonna run our Yokich Murray two man game and

760
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:50,840
Speaker 1: we're just gonna clear the side right, or we're gonna

761
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:52,839
Speaker 1: run with an occupied corner, run it in the at

762
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 1: the top of the floor. Whatever it is they're gonna do.

763
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,439
Speaker 1: They will just spam an action to get the their

764
00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,200
Speaker 1: scores into spots, right. That's kind of the way look

765
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:02,360
Speaker 1: at it with KAMINGA. I'd still i think it's important

766
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:03,920
Speaker 1: for Kamina to learn how to play and the read

767
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 1: and react five out stuff that Golden State does because

768
00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,480
Speaker 1: Steph Curry's not going anywhere, and Steph Curry's got at

769
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:10,359
Speaker 1: least a couple more years of him being damn good,

770
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: and so you need to learn how to play off

771
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:13,680
Speaker 1: of that. And that's gonna involve a lot of the

772
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,239
Speaker 1: five out stuff. But I think they could break away

773
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,279
Speaker 1: and just it'd be a call, right So, like maybe

774
00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:21,040
Speaker 1: on a dead ball situation, Steve Curry is gonna call

775
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,319
Speaker 1: a play to get Kaminga and Iso in a good

776
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,399
Speaker 1: position on the floor. I mean, they more or less

777
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,799
Speaker 1: are doing this right now anyway. But like that to

778
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:31,480
Speaker 1: me is where I look at the development for Kaminga.

779
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:32,919
Speaker 1: It's got to be both. He's got to be able

780
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,160
Speaker 1: to function as a cog in the five out alongside

781
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,560
Speaker 1: Steph Curry while also being a guy that can work

782
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 1: on an island, because that's one of his best individual traits.

783
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:42,760
Speaker 1: This is a fun one. What team do you reckon

784
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,319
Speaker 1: has the best vibes? This is important because he's trying

785
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,160
Speaker 1: to settle a debate. So I just off the top

786
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:50,520
Speaker 1: of my head, I ranked my top five vibes teams

787
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,000
Speaker 1: now again, vibes for me are teams that just like

788
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,560
Speaker 1: each other, love playing basketball just overall, over the course

789
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,160
Speaker 1: of the season, there's less of the dips down into

790
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,840
Speaker 1: the malaise, and the word just seems like they're unhappy

791
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,600
Speaker 1: and don't like each other. Number One, I put the

792
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:07,960
Speaker 1: Denver Nuggets again. They've just been I've just had so

793
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:09,640
Speaker 1: much fun watching them this year. They've been a really

794
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 1: fun defending champion because they just have been better in

795
00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,480
Speaker 1: so many different ways, and everyone is so bought into

796
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,440
Speaker 1: their role. They don't even have disease of more stuff

797
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,200
Speaker 1: like that was the whole thing with pat Riley remembers,

798
00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:22,400
Speaker 1: like you win a title and then it's the disease

799
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:24,680
Speaker 1: of more. Everybody wants more after they have the trophy.

800
00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:26,879
Speaker 1: That has not been an issue for Denver. For Two.

801
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,720
Speaker 1: I put the New York Knicks. They all year long,

802
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:32,800
Speaker 1: they just everyone seems to be in line in their roles.

803
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,759
Speaker 1: Everyone trust Jalen Brunson to lead everything, everyone to trust

804
00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 1: Tom Thibodeaux, everyone's body in every single night. They play

805
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:41,680
Speaker 1: for a group of a lot of veteran guys. They

806
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:44,640
Speaker 1: play really hard all the time. Really really like the Knicks. Three.

807
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:46,320
Speaker 1: I put the New Orleans Pelicans. They've been one of

808
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:48,840
Speaker 1: the best vibes teams in the league for a half decade.

809
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:53,560
Speaker 1: Now they have their their theirroles where they don't play

810
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:57,320
Speaker 1: super well. But it doesn't really stem from personality differences

811
00:36:57,400 --> 00:36:59,279
Speaker 1: or seeming like they like they don't like each other.

812
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,799
Speaker 1: It's just they have their own talent issues that they

813
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,319
Speaker 1: have that they have to deal with. But I have

814
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:05,480
Speaker 1: New Orleans at three. Four, I put Boston. I think

815
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:07,600
Speaker 1: they've had really good vibes this year, and then five

816
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,279
Speaker 1: I put the Oklahoma City Thunder. All right, two more?

817
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 1: Do you think d lo is gonna break in the

818
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,040
Speaker 1: playoffs again? I don't see him being able to handle

819
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,239
Speaker 1: a lot of speed or physicality. He's good, but I

820
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:20,279
Speaker 1: feel kind of soft hard defenders throw him off, So

821
00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:26,400
Speaker 1: I agree for the record, I specifically think dil has

822
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:29,520
Speaker 1: improved this year, but in areas he was already good.

823
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:32,240
Speaker 1: He's gone from being a good shooter to a better shooter.

824
00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,280
Speaker 1: He's gone from being a good pick and roll decision

825
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,440
Speaker 1: maker to a better pick and roll decision maker. He's

826
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:40,400
Speaker 1: gone from being like a guy who was let's just

827
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,840
Speaker 1: set that aside for a second. His weaknesses though, were handling,

828
00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:51,719
Speaker 1: physical ball pressure, defensive focus and effectiveness, especially in off

829
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:55,840
Speaker 1: ball situations, and just in general, like his shot falling

830
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,200
Speaker 1: apart when the physical intensity picks up, not just falling apart,

831
00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:01,719
Speaker 1: but falling apart in a bad way, like where he's

832
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:05,239
Speaker 1: missing by a lot. Right, those are his issues. What

833
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,319
Speaker 1: have we seen this year? We've seen him be better

834
00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:09,160
Speaker 1: at the things that we know he's already good at.

835
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:11,840
Speaker 1: But he continues to struggle with ball pressure. He continues

836
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:14,719
Speaker 1: to struggle to make shots in super physical environments. He

837
00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:18,359
Speaker 1: continues to turn the basketball over and struggle with dealing

838
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,600
Speaker 1: with length on the ball. Like he just struggles there.

839
00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:22,759
Speaker 1: So like, I tend to think that Dlo is going

840
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:24,000
Speaker 1: to be more or less the same player when we

841
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,920
Speaker 1: get to the postseason, depending on the matchup. I do

842
00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:28,480
Speaker 1: think he'll still have really high highs as we get

843
00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:34,799
Speaker 1: to specific matchups where he's more comfortable. That is, if

844
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,120
Speaker 1: the Lakers even make the playoffs last one. Why isn't

845
00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,279
Speaker 1: Luca in the MVP discussion. He leads the NBA in

846
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:41,480
Speaker 1: overall stats and the MAVs have been on fire since

847
00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,680
Speaker 1: the trade deadline. It's really as simple. They don't even

848
00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:46,319
Speaker 1: have a top ten record in the league, at least

849
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,880
Speaker 1: at the time of recording here on Friday morning, So like,

850
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:51,359
Speaker 1: really it's just if you go back through NBA history,

851
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,000
Speaker 1: if you're not in the top ten in the NBA standings,

852
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,279
Speaker 1: like you can't be considered for MVP. Your team's just

853
00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:59,719
Speaker 1: not good enough. Luca's been amazing this year, massively improved

854
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:03,319
Speaker 1: as a three point shooter, obviously, even though there's some

855
00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:07,319
Speaker 1: ugly moments and Lucas still good for some duds on

856
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,240
Speaker 1: the defensive end of the floor. For the most part,

857
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:11,920
Speaker 1: he's been much better defensively this year than he has

858
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,360
Speaker 1: been in years past. So like Luca's played like an MVP,

859
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:16,719
Speaker 1: but like winning an MVP is as much a team

860
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:18,959
Speaker 1: accomplishment as it is a player accomplishment, and the Dallas

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00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,439
Speaker 1: Mavericks have just not quite been good enough. All right, guys,

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00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:22,920
Speaker 1: That is all I have for today is always as

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00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:25,360
Speaker 1: sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show. Thanks for

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00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:26,920
Speaker 1: letting me hop out of town for a little bit.

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00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:28,640
Speaker 1: I will see you guys on Thursday for a fun

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00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,120
Speaker 1: breakdown of Sun's nuggets. Should be a good one. I'll

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00:39:31,120 --> 00:40:04,480
Speaker 1: see you guys. Then. The volume