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Speaker 1: The volume all right, wellcod to hoops tonight. You're at

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Speaker 1: the volume heavy Wednesday, everybody hopeful if you guys are

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Speaker 1: having an incredible week. Part two of our two episode

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Speaker 1: day today. For those of you guys who missed it earlier, today,

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Speaker 1: me and Carson debated BAM's eighty three point game. You

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Speaker 1: can find that just a little bit further back on

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Speaker 1: our feet. In this episode, we're gonna be king in

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Speaker 1: on the two national TV games from last night, as

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Speaker 1: the Boston Celtics had a showdown with the San Antonio Spurs. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: Jaylen Brown gets ejected, which takes the shine off of

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Speaker 1: that game a little bit, but some dynamics I want

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Speaker 1: to talk about with the Spurs on both ends of

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Speaker 1: the floor, both the surrounding victor women Yama that I

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Speaker 1: want to do a deep dive. We're gonna be really

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Speaker 1: hammering the Spurs here down the tail end of the season.

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Speaker 1: I think they're starting to round into form as a

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Speaker 1: real championship contender, and I want to kind of evaluate

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Speaker 1: what that could look like for them. Second half of

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Speaker 1: the show Wolves Lakers, as the Lakers win their sixth

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Speaker 1: time in the last seven games back to back wins

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Speaker 1: versus teams that I have in my a second tier

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Speaker 1: contender in the Knicks and a top tier contender in

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Speaker 1: the Minnesota Timberwolves. I want to talk about that game.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about how bad the Timberwolves have been,

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Speaker 1: talk about some big picture Lakers stuff, and then we'll

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Speaker 1: get out of here today. You guys are the trip

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Speaker 1: porgy started. Subscribe to the Hoops and OT YouTube channels.

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Speaker 1: You don't miss any more of our videos. Make sure

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Speaker 1: you like this video and sign up for post notifications.

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Speaker 1: That helps us a lot. And if you want to

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Speaker 1: get mail bag questions into our mailbag, drop them in

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Speaker 1: our full episodes on YouTube. In the comments underneath right

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Speaker 1: mailbag colon, write your question. We'll get to them on

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Speaker 1: Fridays throughout the remainder of the season. All right, let's

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Speaker 1: talk some basketball. So the Celtics actually gave the Spurs

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Speaker 1: some issues in the first half. Their offense did a

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Speaker 1: great job of spacing the Spurs out in the half court.

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Speaker 1: One of the things we talked about coming into this

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Speaker 1: game was that Boston has had some struggles against drop

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Speaker 1: coverage over the course of the last couple of months,

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Speaker 1: and so I was really interested in seeing them confront

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Speaker 1: that specific drop coverage problem with the quality of perimeter

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Speaker 1: defenders that San Antonio has, and with Victor weman Yama

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Speaker 1: as the guy running drop. They only ran drop against Kada,

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Speaker 1: and they actually defended great in those groups. They had

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Speaker 1: a ninety eight defensive rating and they were plus ten

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Speaker 1: overall in the scoreboard in those minutes. Kind of exactly

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Speaker 1: what you would expect those minutes to look like. Wemby

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Speaker 1: shutting off the rim, Celtics having to take a lot

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Speaker 1: of tough jump shots, the spurs running off of the

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Speaker 1: stops that they were getting. But then when Luke Garza

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Speaker 1: came in, they started peel switching, and it was hard

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Speaker 1: to tell if that was the game plan or not.

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Speaker 1: Peel switch for those of you guys who haven't heard

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Speaker 1: me break it down before, all it is is you

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Speaker 1: chase over the top like your running drop. Wemby comes

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Speaker 1: up a little higher up to the level and then essentially,

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Speaker 1: as you chase over the screen, you peel off your

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Speaker 1: man and then guard the screener. And it was hard

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Speaker 1: to tell if it was the game plan or not

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Speaker 1: because the guards seemed to want to stay on the ball,

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Speaker 1: but Wemby was always pointing back towards Garza for the

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Speaker 1: guard to peel switch. So either Wemby was reminding them

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Speaker 1: about the game plan or Wenby was freelancing away from

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Speaker 1: the game plan. I'm not sure, but Garza is shooting

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Speaker 1: forty four percent this year on pick and pop threes

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Speaker 1: and he did hit his first one off of the

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Speaker 1: left wing in this game, so Wenby might have just

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Speaker 1: been reacting to that. But what it did is it

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Speaker 1: built this dynamic that allowed the Celtics to pull Wemby

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Speaker 1: out into space, and it was not a good ISO

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Speaker 1: defense game for Wenby. We talked about this earlier in

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Speaker 1: the season, but Wenby is having a sneaky bad ISO

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Speaker 1: defense season overall because he overplays the three point shot

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Speaker 1: too much. To be clear, I'm not trying to be

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Speaker 1: overly critical here. I think Wemby, even in spite of

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Speaker 1: this poor ISO defense, has still been the best defender

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Speaker 1: in the league by a mile this season. It's just

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Speaker 1: an area of opportunity for him. But players have tried

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Speaker 1: to score on Wemby one on one this year thirty

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Speaker 1: nine times, and he's giving up one point one five

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Speaker 1: points per possession. According to Synergy, he goes for pump

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Speaker 1: fakes a lot. He did that several times last night

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Speaker 1: and get up drives. I think he fell for one

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Speaker 1: on Tatum, Brown and White at different points in this

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Speaker 1: game where he'll just they'll show the ball and he

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Speaker 1: just jumps off his feet and they go right around him.

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Speaker 1: Or he'll press way up and have his stance open

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Speaker 1: and guys will just go right around him. The easiest

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Speaker 1: way I can describe this dynamic statistically is to say

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Speaker 1: that in the forty five points that he's allowed in

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Speaker 1: ISO this year, only two made baskets have been threes.

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Speaker 1: So he's just clearly and obviously overplaying the three point

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Speaker 1: line in his one on ones, and there just isn't

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Speaker 1: another Wemby behind him to clean those messes up. And

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Speaker 1: the reason why I think he should give more space

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Speaker 1: is again players are shooting two for eight on threes

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Speaker 1: against him in ISO. Derek White made one last night,

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Speaker 1: he hit one over the top of him off of

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Speaker 1: a hesitation dribble from like twenty seven feet, But then

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Speaker 1: he tried one right after that against Wenby in a

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Speaker 1: switch and he missed it. And in general, I think

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Speaker 1: Wenby would be better served to give more space offer contests. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: guys are gonna hit, you know, somewhere around twenty five

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Speaker 1: percent of those pull up threes. But in the large sample,

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Speaker 1: he'll contain the drives and it'll give him a better

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Speaker 1: chance of defending in those one on ones. Again, just

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Speaker 1: an area of opportunity so that he could become even

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Speaker 1: more far and away the best defender in the league.

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Speaker 1: But Boston was taking advantage of that last night. The

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Speaker 1: Garza groups averaged a one to thirty four offensive rating

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Speaker 1: last night against the Spurs. Now, the Spurs tried different things.

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Speaker 1: They tried tucking him away on Ron Harper Junior so

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Speaker 1: he could help more at the basket after the Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brown ejection, which we talk about more in a minute.

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Speaker 1: But Ron had a career night, and he did a

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Speaker 1: fantastic job of making the Spurs pay for leaving him open.

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Speaker 1: That said, the Garza groups ended at just plus three

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Speaker 1: in this game, and a big part of that was

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Speaker 1: how successful Wemby was attacking Garza on the other end

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Speaker 1: of the floor. And he was frying Garza every which way.

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Speaker 1: He was attacking him in the post, getting easy dunks,

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Speaker 1: he ran him through inverted screens. Something I want to

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Speaker 1: talk more about in a second, because I think it's

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Speaker 1: something that's going to be a big action for Wemby

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Speaker 1: in the long run. He was punishing short closeouts from

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Speaker 1: Garza by just hitting threes over the top. Wemby's been

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Speaker 1: in an insane offensive groove as of late, in large

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Speaker 1: part because of how well he's shooting the ball from three.

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Speaker 1: In his last four games, he's averaging thirty three points

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Speaker 1: and eleven rebounds per game, and he's shooting forty six

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Speaker 1: percent from three on ten attempts per game in that span,

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Speaker 1: and it's just been an insane boost to the Spurs offense.

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Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, in this four game span,

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Speaker 1: the Spurs are logging a one to thirty offensive rating

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Speaker 1: when Wemby's on the floor. So when Wenby's hitting three

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Speaker 1: is like this, we're talking about one of the greatest

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Speaker 1: offenses in the league right now. I want to talk

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Speaker 1: about the inverted action for a minute, because I think

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Speaker 1: it goes really well with his three point shot. Now, again,

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Speaker 1: all an inverted action is is a ball screen where

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Speaker 1: instead of having a big screening for a small you

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Speaker 1: have a small screening for a big and you do

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Speaker 1: this and it works because it flips responsibilities. It makes

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Speaker 1: players do things they don't normally do. So for a big,

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Speaker 1: you suddenly have to navigate screens. It's not something bigs

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Speaker 1: have to do very often. It forces guards function as helpers,

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Speaker 1: not something that guards have to do very often. Or

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Speaker 1: if you switch, it forces guys to guard way out

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Speaker 1: of their depth positionally, Now you're guarding someone that's way

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Speaker 1: bigger than you or way faster than you. Right, So

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Speaker 1: Wemby hit one in this game off of the right

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Speaker 1: wing where he is in the second half. He catches

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Speaker 1: a guard screen, so an inverted screen, and Luka Garza

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Speaker 1: goes underneath that pick and he just rises right up

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Speaker 1: over the top and he hits the pull up three.

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Speaker 1: I think he's gonna face a lot of unders in

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Speaker 1: that coverage. Now what'll happen is as he gets better,

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Speaker 1: as he becomes more reliable with his three point shot,

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Speaker 1: it'll put defenders into a really tough predicament because if

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Speaker 1: you go under, he's just gonna hit the shot. And

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Speaker 1: then as soon as you start hedging with that guard

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Speaker 1: to try to take away the shot. So now now

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Speaker 1: imagine you light up the big with the screen because

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Speaker 1: you could go to the screen and be like, oh,

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Speaker 1: chase him over the top. But as soon as you

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Speaker 1: start talking about that, you're asking bigs to defend like

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Speaker 1: perimeter defenders. It's difficult for them. But like if you

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Speaker 1: go and runs into the screen or goes under and

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Speaker 1: you have the screen defender, the guy guarding San Antonio's

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Speaker 1: guards hedge, now that guard can start slipping out. He

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Speaker 1: can slip out to the three point line. He could

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Speaker 1: do what Jokic does all the time and kind of

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Speaker 1: cut towards the rim. And if Wemby's pulled the opponent

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Speaker 1: rim protector out to the three point line and you

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Speaker 1: dump it over the top, that guy has a much

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Speaker 1: easier chance to score. This is what Nicole Jyokich has

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Speaker 1: been killing teams with for years and years. But I

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Speaker 1: really think that's going to become a very useful action

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Speaker 1: for Wemby over the long run in his career because

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Speaker 1: he indexes more towards a three point shot. I remember

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Speaker 1: when he did that two game showcase against Scoot Henderson

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Speaker 1: a couple of years back. That was like Wemby's first

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Speaker 1: like big national showcase. The first thing that stood out

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Speaker 1: to me is I was like, this guy likes to

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Speaker 1: take threes, and he's very much got like the footwork

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Speaker 1: and aggressiveness of like a movement shooter. And so I

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Speaker 1: do think Wemby is going to be a guy for

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Speaker 1: his career that takes a lot of threes. And that

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Speaker 1: inverted action is one that creates a very simple set

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Speaker 1: of reeds. Right if you stay glued to the guard.

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Speaker 1: So let's say it's Devin Vassell and they don't want

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Speaker 1: to help. You say, glued to the guard, and Devin

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Speaker 1: Vessel slips out, Wemby just has to drive because Vessell

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Speaker 1: is going to set a screen and all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: Wenby's gonna go right downhill and he's gonna start getting dunks. Right.

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Speaker 1: This is what Giannis has been doing with Aj Green

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Speaker 1: and Gary Trent Junior for years, right, So like if

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Speaker 1: they don't help, you just drive. If they hedge, you

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Speaker 1: hit the guard either slipping out to the three point

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Speaker 1: line or dumping it over the top. If they just

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Speaker 1: go under with the big Wemby can look to shoot

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Speaker 1: that pull up three. If they switch it, Wemby's going

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Speaker 1: to do an awesome job posting small. So I think

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Speaker 1: it's an action that the spurs will continue to build

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Speaker 1: out and it'll become a very important one in the

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Speaker 1: in the Spurs offense and for Wemby in the years

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Speaker 1: moving forward. As you guys know, I've been playing basketball

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Speaker 1: my entire life, and it's safe to say my energy

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Speaker 1: and recovery isn't the same as it was ten years ago,

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Speaker 1: fifteen years ago when I was playing in college, and

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Speaker 1: I've always wondered about what supplements could benefit me as

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Speaker 1: I try to keep my basketball playing days going for

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Speaker 1: as long as possible. That sounds familiar to you, check

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Speaker 1: Please support our show and tell them our shows sent you.

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Speaker 1: This is the beauty of how versatile Victor women Yam is.

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Speaker 1: I don't think it was his best defensive game from

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Speaker 1: an execution or technique standpoint, like I would have made

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Speaker 1: guards that hit a couple of pick and pop threes

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Speaker 1: before I abandoned the drop coverage that's been so successful

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Speaker 1: versus Boston right in his switches. I don't think he

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Speaker 1: defended particularly well, but he was so unbelievable offensively hanging

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Speaker 1: thirty nine on a great defense that he looked like

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Speaker 1: the best player on the floor by far, and yet

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Speaker 1: another big win against a great team, And so that

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Speaker 1: just goes to show you like Wemby is still a

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Speaker 1: flawed player that is piecing things together, but his ceiling

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Speaker 1: is just so outrageously high. I also thought all the

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Speaker 1: guards were great in their own way. I think Mitch

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Speaker 1: Johnson has done a really good job of empowering all

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Speaker 1: these guys to be aggressive and to play their game.

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Speaker 1: I never see hesitation from San Antonio's guards, and I

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Speaker 1: think the pace helps here. They play so fast on

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Speaker 1: offense that it very much feels like, hey, everybody, just

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Speaker 1: be aggressive. If you see a good opportunity or good life,

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Speaker 1: take it. If you miss all good let's get back.

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Speaker 1: Let's set our defense, and let's find another opportunity to

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Speaker 1: go down the floor. Darren Fox, Devin Vessel, Steph Castle,

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Speaker 1: and Dylan Harper combined for sixty six points on just

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Speaker 1: forty two shots twenty two assists in just four turnovers.

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Speaker 1: Again against a very very good Boston defense with a

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Speaker 1: lot of quality perimeter defenders, and the Spurs are just

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Speaker 1: a machine man. Make that five more wins in a row,

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Speaker 1: sixteen out of seventeen, and most importantly, after that win,

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Speaker 1: San Antonio is now fifteen and seven against teams in

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Speaker 1: the top ten in point differential, more than a two

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Speaker 1: to one win ratio. They're fifteen and seven against teams

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Speaker 1: in the top ten and point differential that is now

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Speaker 1: past Detroit for the best record in the league. Against

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Speaker 1: those teams in the top ten in point differential, they've

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Speaker 1: been the fourth best offense in those matchups and they've

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Speaker 1: been the third best defense in those matchups. Overall, they're

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Speaker 1: twenty seven and eleven against teams that are five hundred

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Speaker 1: or better, which is now far and away the best

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Speaker 1: record in the league against those matchups. This recent stretch,

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Speaker 1: this seventeen game stretch from the San Antonio, has made

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Speaker 1: it very clear that the Spurs to this point have

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Speaker 1: been the most impressive team in this regular season. And

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Speaker 1: one of the things I mentioned in our pod last week,

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Speaker 1: the inexperienced stuff is legitimate. It's something that's worth having

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Speaker 1: a conversation about. You'd be foolish to not pretend as

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Speaker 1: though there's an extended track record the teams without any

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Speaker 1: playoff experience struggle when they get to the postseason. I

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Speaker 1: just don't think it's as straightforward as it appears with

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Speaker 1: this particular Spurs team. Why because one, their defense is

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Speaker 1: what it is, and two, specifically Victor wemin Yama a

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Speaker 1: lot of times, one of the reasons why we look

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Speaker 1: at the one of the reasons why we look at

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Speaker 1: the youth as having struggles in the postseason is the

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Speaker 1: postseason is a weakness exposure, right, And a lot of

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Speaker 1: times it takes a couple of playoffs runs for young

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Speaker 1: stars to make the adjustments they need for their game

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Speaker 1: to translate to that level effectively. I don't think Victor

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Speaker 1: Wemenyama is gonna need a ton of playoff experience to

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Speaker 1: be a great defensive player. I think he's so far

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Speaker 1: in a way already the best defensive player that it's

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Speaker 1: going to translate at a very high level immediately when

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Speaker 1: he gets to the postseason. And so it's like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: there are some swing factors, like is Victor Weminyah I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna hit threes the way that he's been hitting them

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Speaker 1: as of late? Right? Are the young guards gonna hit

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Speaker 1: threes the way they've been hitting them as of late?

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Speaker 1: But the defense is what it is. Victor Wemenyam a

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Speaker 1: superstar impact is just a defensive anchor and as a

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Speaker 1: vertical spacer, is going to be there every single night.

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Speaker 1: The corollary that I keep pointing to is look at

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Speaker 1: the early playoff performances from Anthony Davis very similarly, a

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Speaker 1: guy that because you can just walk into a playoff

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Speaker 1: environment and already be the best defender and already be

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Speaker 1: a dominant vertical spacer and dominate games physically. Ady didn't

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Speaker 1: need a ton of development trajectory to become a good

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Speaker 1: playoff player. He just was immediately from day one an

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Speaker 1: awesome dominant playoff player and ended up being some of

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Speaker 1: the other elements of that Pelicans team that left him

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Speaker 1: down right or let him down right. And so you

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Speaker 1: look at what Victor Weminyama. I expect similarly him to

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Speaker 1: just walk into the postseason and immediately be a statistical monster,

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Speaker 1: even as he's kind of like confronting his weaknesses and

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Speaker 1: addressing those things over time. So I can't say enough

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Speaker 1: about the Spurs. We're due for another We have two

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Speaker 1: more contender rankings for the end of the season, one

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Speaker 1: in the next week or so and then another one

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Speaker 1: right before the playoffs. The Spurs are going to be

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Speaker 1: in my top tier contenders for the first time in

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Speaker 1: the season. I'm taking them dead serious as a team

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Speaker 1: that has a chance to win the championship, and I'm

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Speaker 1: really excited to see what they can accomplish this season.

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Speaker 1: On the Celtics front, I thought the Jalen Brown ejection

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Speaker 1: was total bullshit. There's some weird part of the dynamic

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Speaker 1: two where like he picks up the first tech, but

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Speaker 1: then it's like a different official from across the court

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Speaker 1: that's not the crew chief, that ends up finally ejecting him.

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Speaker 1: That doesn't make any sense. I think you should leave

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Speaker 1: that decision in the hands of the main official. These

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Speaker 1: are super competitive environments. And here's the thing, Like, what's

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Speaker 1: funny is I don't actually think Jalen Brown got fouled

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Speaker 1: on the possession he was complaining about, like Devin Vessel

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Speaker 1: gave him a little bit of a shove on the side,

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Speaker 1: but not nearly enough to Like I was watching the

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Speaker 1: sideline angle and I'm like, yeah, I don't blame the

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Speaker 1: ref for not blowing the whistle. There. You can agree,

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Speaker 1: disagree whatever. That's not really the point. The point is

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Speaker 1: is that in a hotly contested, huge game for these teams,

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Speaker 1: that both teams are viewing as like a big measuring

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Speaker 1: stick in the first half, you get sensitive as an

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Speaker 1: official and you eject one of the star players from

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Speaker 1: one of the two teams and completely ruin the game.

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Speaker 1: From the standpoint of like the feel of how it

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Speaker 1: felt like a measuring stick for both teams, and like again,

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Speaker 1: like I've talked about this before, officials have to remember

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Speaker 1: why they are there. Okay, everybody has a role in this,

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Speaker 1: in this operation, this wide NBA operation. The owners have

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Speaker 1: a role, the front offices have a role, the coaches

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Speaker 1: have a role, the players have a role, all the

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Speaker 1: supports staff has roles. Us fans, we have roles. And

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Speaker 1: the officials have a role. The officials have one role

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Speaker 1: to facilitate basketball games. That's their role. And I'm not

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Speaker 1: here trying to say that they should never eject a player,

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Speaker 1: but that line should be pretty far to cross, and

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Speaker 1: it should be especially far in a major, nationally televised

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Speaker 1: games between two of the best teams in the league

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Speaker 1: like this. You needed Jalen Brown needed to be going

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Speaker 1: completely out of control, losing his mind on the court

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Speaker 1: for me to have ejected him from that kind of game.

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Speaker 1: And I just thought, again, it was the latest in

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Speaker 1: the long line of examples of main character syndrome for

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Speaker 1: NBA officials, again, not realizing why you're there. You're there

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Speaker 1: because we want to watch Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum

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Speaker 1: show down against Victor Women Yama and his young incredible

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Speaker 1: Spurs team there to watch you. We're not there to

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Speaker 1: watch a buy the Book basketball game. We're there to

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Speaker 1: watch a showcase of high level NBA talent in the

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Speaker 1: regular season. And you ejected one of the stars in

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Speaker 1: what I thought was a pretty flimsy kind of set

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Speaker 1: of circumstances. And so I didn't blame Jaylen Brown for

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Speaker 1: being upset. I thought the I agreed firmly with what

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum said after the game. I just think it

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Speaker 1: was a lack of self awareness and a lack of

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Speaker 1: understanding of why you're there. You're there so that we

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Speaker 1: can watch the Celtics play the Spurs, not so that

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Speaker 1: you can buy the book ejective player and change the

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Speaker 1: dynamic of the television product. Two, I have two other

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Speaker 1: takeaways I quickly wanted to shout out. First of all,

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Speaker 1: Derek White was unbelievable. I thought he schooled San Antonio's guards.

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Speaker 1: Brilliant mix of balancing his jump shot and his drives

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Speaker 1: to keep them off balanced. Yet another really really strong

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Speaker 1: game from him. I think he's starting to play some

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Speaker 1: really good basketball here down the stretch of the season. Lastly,

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum, Tatum is taking a lot of tough shots. Overall, again,

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Speaker 1: the Tatum thing has been great. I think he's added

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Speaker 1: a defensive element to the team that's been helpful. He's

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Speaker 1: added a rebounding element to the team that's been helpful.

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Speaker 1: He's made a lot of like easy passing reads that

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Speaker 1: I think of grease the wheels in a lot of

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Speaker 1: way ways. And I do think he will shoot better

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Speaker 1: even on his shot diet than he has. Tough shots

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Speaker 1: are like tough pull up jump shots. There's a reason

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Speaker 1: why we always refer to them as tough shots. They

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Speaker 1: require a ton of lift, and they're very easy to

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Speaker 1: be disrupted, like when you're in the gym by yourself

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Speaker 1: and you're working on step back threes and turn around

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Speaker 1: jump shots and all those sorts of things. They're tough

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Speaker 1: enough as it is, as you're chaining a ball handling

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Speaker 1: sequence with footwork into like a like a fluid transfer

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Speaker 1: of energy through to the top of a pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shot, it's a tough shot under static circumstances. You

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Speaker 1: add a defender poking at the basketball and tangling your

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Speaker 1: feet up, they're really tough shots. And that's why that's

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Speaker 1: usually the very last thing to come when you're building

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Speaker 1: your rhythm. When you're building your rhythm, like there's a

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Speaker 1: conditioning phase, there's the like, am I handling the ball

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Speaker 1: well phase? Am I making the reads? Am I able

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Speaker 1: to finish in traffic? And there's a lot of strang

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Speaker 1: strong stuff there. Tatum has been making the reads. He

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Speaker 1: has been getting to the basket and powering through contact.

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Speaker 1: He had another really nice power finish through Luke Cornett

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Speaker 1: at the rim in the first half of this game.

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Speaker 1: But a huge chunk of his shot diet has been

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Speaker 1: these really tough shots. Under normal circumstances, those would be

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Speaker 1: really difficult shots and they would be the last thing

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Speaker 1: to come around in your rhythm, and I think Tatum's

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Speaker 1: indexing just a little too far in that direction. Simple

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Speaker 1: stat to break this down. He's taken thirty one threes

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Speaker 1: so far. Of those thirty one, only one has been

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Speaker 1: classified as an uncontested catch and shoot three percentergy, so

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Speaker 1: like an actual shot that you're hunting for in the

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Speaker 1: Celtics offense, it's been a lot of all the thirty

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Speaker 1: of the thirty one have either been contested catch and

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Speaker 1: shoot threes. He's taken a ton of really tough pull

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Speaker 1: up threes against drop coverage. Last night, he took three

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Speaker 1: or four really tough ones where like he was leaning

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Speaker 1: forward because he was feeling the back pressure. He took

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Speaker 1: one off of one leg. And it's like, I do

430
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,840
Speaker 1: think Tatum just needs to tone it back a little bit.

431
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:14,760
Speaker 1: It feels like he's almost trying to force his way

432
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,520
Speaker 1: into rhythm by just putting shots up, whereas I think

433
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:19,479
Speaker 1: he'd be better served to be just a little bit

434
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 1: more selective and build his confidence through hunting and taking

435
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,040
Speaker 1: quality shots. And again, that's always been a little bit

436
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:27,720
Speaker 1: of a big picture issue with Tatum. You want to

437
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,760
Speaker 1: know why Tatum's jump shooting in terms of his efficiency

438
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,960
Speaker 1: has been lesser than what you'd think compared to what

439
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,080
Speaker 1: his touch is. Like a player with his touch and

440
00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:39,720
Speaker 1: his skill, you'd think would be a guy who'd be,

441
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,600
Speaker 1: you know, consistently right around one point one points per

442
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,119
Speaker 1: jump shot, and no, he's always been around one point oh.

443
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,320
Speaker 1: And it's because he's got the Paul George idis. It's

444
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,360
Speaker 1: Paul George did this his entire career. It's like his

445
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,800
Speaker 1: shot diet is just a bunch of really difficult pull

446
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,800
Speaker 1: up jump shots that cause him to have nights where

447
00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,479
Speaker 1: they go in and he looks amazing, but a lot

448
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,600
Speaker 1: of knights were he goes six for seventeen, and so

449
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,040
Speaker 1: I think that's always been a little bit of a

450
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,360
Speaker 1: big picture problem for Tatum, But I think since he's

451
00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:08,680
Speaker 1: come back, he's just been indexing a little too much

452
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:13,639
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Speaker 1: or Virginia. All right, let's talk Wolves Lakers. First of all,

480
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,080
Speaker 1: that was a trash ass game from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

481
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,600
Speaker 1: Minnesota has been awesome against the top teams this year,

482
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,000
Speaker 1: and to be clear, the Lakers do not qualify as

483
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 1: a top ten point differential team. They've been a middle

484
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 1: of the pack point differential team and the Lakers have

485
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:55,600
Speaker 1: had Minnesota's number all season. I want to get into

486
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,840
Speaker 1: that in a minute, but Minnesota has been really good

487
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 1: against the top teams. In fact, no offense has scored

488
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,240
Speaker 1: more effectively against the teams in the top ten in

489
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,760
Speaker 1: point differential than Minnesota. They have an offensive rating in

490
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:13,920
Speaker 1: those matchups over one nineteen. They have the best point

491
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,920
Speaker 1: differential overall in games against teams in the top ten

492
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,760
Speaker 1: in point differential. When they are really locked in against

493
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,680
Speaker 1: the upper level combination, upper level talent in the league.

494
00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:31,359
Speaker 1: They have such a deep roster of big, physical athletes

495
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,760
Speaker 1: that are super skilled, that can all dribble, pass, and shoot,

496
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 1: that they're really difficult to guard in these spots. Last

497
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,199
Speaker 1: night against the Lakers, I thought Julius Ryndall and Anthony

498
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,960
Speaker 1: Edwards were embarrassing. Last night. The Lakers came out flat. Now,

499
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,600
Speaker 1: they played really well as the game went along, and

500
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,639
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk Lakers admit, because they're starting to place

501
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:54,600
Speaker 1: their best basketball this season. There's a lot of different

502
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,399
Speaker 1: details I want to get into there, but early in

503
00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 1: that game, the Lakers came out flat. Austin and Luca

504
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,280
Speaker 1: they were both broke. They were missing a bunch of

505
00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,080
Speaker 1: easy shots right around the rim. They left the door

506
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,119
Speaker 1: wide open for Minnesota to blow that door open and

507
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,240
Speaker 1: get a huge lead in the amount of possessions where

508
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,960
Speaker 1: I saw Julius an Aunt just succumb to the Laker

509
00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:20,879
Speaker 1: switches by jacking up bad pull up jump shots and

510
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:22,919
Speaker 1: neither of them were able to make anything early in

511
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,240
Speaker 1: the game. They blew an opportunity to build a big

512
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,240
Speaker 1: lead when the Lakers weren't playing particularly well. Again, I

513
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,240
Speaker 1: love this Wolves team. I think they're a top tier contender.

514
00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,200
Speaker 1: I'm not falling forward again. I've talked about this before,

515
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:40,520
Speaker 1: like they've been doing this for three years now, where

516
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:42,680
Speaker 1: if you watch them on any given night, they can

517
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:47,880
Speaker 1: literally look terrible in the regular season. But I continue

518
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:51,159
Speaker 1: to be absolutely amazed at how low their floor is

519
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,920
Speaker 1: relative to their talent and how bad they can look

520
00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,359
Speaker 1: at times during the regular season. Just a big boo

521
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:02,879
Speaker 1: towards Minnesota. That was an embarrassing performance on national television.

522
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,639
Speaker 1: I cannot believe how bad they looked last night. But

523
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,160
Speaker 1: the Lakers are playing great basketball. They've won six out

524
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 1: of seven, their fifth in offense and sixth in defense

525
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,359
Speaker 1: in that span the Lakers. The Lakers did play a

526
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,359
Speaker 1: very good defensive game last night. I don't want to

527
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,840
Speaker 1: give all the credit to the Wolves soiling themselves. The

528
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,919
Speaker 1: Lakers played a great defensive game. I'm just saying based

529
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:26,919
Speaker 1: on the numbers. I even just told you, we know

530
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,720
Speaker 1: the Wolves are capable of playing a much better offensive

531
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,120
Speaker 1: game than they did last night. It's when they attack.

532
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,800
Speaker 1: When they attack and they make good decisions and they

533
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 1: use the jump shot as a counter to their attack

534
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,719
Speaker 1: rather than what they're hunting. That combination of size and

535
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,679
Speaker 1: speed and skill makes them really, really difficult to guard,

536
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:45,840
Speaker 1: which is why they've been cutting through all the best

537
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 1: teams in the league like a knife hot knife through

538
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,399
Speaker 1: butter all season long. But the Lakers are playing great basketball.

539
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 1: They won six out of seven fifth and offense six

540
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,600
Speaker 1: and defense in that span. They've been kind of a

541
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,120
Speaker 1: middle of the pack defense since the Christmas Day debacle.

542
00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:00,520
Speaker 1: I've talked about this before, but each of the last

543
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,040
Speaker 1: two seasons, there's been like a super embarrassing knight that

544
00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 1: seemed to trigger an improved level of effort and focus.

545
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,320
Speaker 1: Last year it was that Miami Heat game on the road.

546
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:13,359
Speaker 1: This year, it was the Christmas Day embarrassment against the

547
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:17,760
Speaker 1: Houston Rockets. But in the thirty six games since Christmas Day,

548
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,119
Speaker 1: the Lakers are sixteenth in defense, which is more in

549
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:23,520
Speaker 1: line with what their potential has been. No one out

550
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 1: here is going to call the Lakers an elite defense.

551
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,520
Speaker 1: They're just not. They don't have the personnel for it.

552
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,400
Speaker 1: But they have been a middle of the pack defense

553
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,800
Speaker 1: for roughly the last half of the season's worth of games,

554
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,879
Speaker 1: around thirty six games. That is an important detail to

555
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,040
Speaker 1: file away for later when we talk about the Lakers

556
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:44,760
Speaker 1: in the big picture. Now, obviously, the Lakers have won

557
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,679
Speaker 1: their first two games against really good teams in a

558
00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:49,879
Speaker 1: long time, and so people are very fixated on the

559
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,200
Speaker 1: Lebron part of this. I've talked about that yesterday. I'm

560
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 1: not gonna dig too much further into that. I think

561
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,960
Speaker 1: the Lakers are starting to round the corner and look

562
00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:03,080
Speaker 1: like a much better team for two very obvious reasons. One,

563
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,680
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves is finally back to form. He had back

564
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 1: to back twenty point games for the first time since

565
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:16,360
Speaker 1: early December this season. When Austin Reeves scores twenty points,

566
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:22,000
Speaker 1: the Lakers are eighteen and three. When Austin has it going,

567
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,040
Speaker 1: He's such a gifted offensive player, and it just infuses

568
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,800
Speaker 1: the team with a ton of energy and they just

569
00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:33,160
Speaker 1: look like a much better basketball team. Him being back

570
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:37,879
Speaker 1: to form is exactly what is driving this new look

571
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,120
Speaker 1: for the Lakers. That's what makes the stuff with the

572
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,959
Speaker 1: Lebron hilarious. Like Lebron was never marginalizing Austin. Austin just

573
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,480
Speaker 1: wasn't playing well when he came back from his injury.

574
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 1: Now was he going to get into rhythms slower than

575
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 1: if he didn't have Lebron in the picture? Sure, And

576
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:55,680
Speaker 1: I said that on the show yesterday. I do think

577
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,680
Speaker 1: Lebron being out has helped accelerate the process of Austin

578
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,240
Speaker 1: getting back. But Austin would have eventually found his rhythm.

579
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 1: And I have no doubt that Lebron will step back.

580
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 1: They like Lebron. Just all you have to do, guys

581
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,360
Speaker 1: is go look early in the season. Go look at

582
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 1: the last like half dozen or so games that Austin

583
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:21,240
Speaker 1: played before his calf injury. With Lebron, he was averaging

584
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,800
Speaker 1: in the high twenties in that stretch every night, twenty

585
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,720
Speaker 1: five thirty five, twenty five thirty five. Austin was going

586
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:31,040
Speaker 1: off with Lebron. Then he got hurt. When he got hurt,

587
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,320
Speaker 1: he was out for a long time, and he's a

588
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,080
Speaker 1: very important player, so the Lakers looked like a much

589
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,720
Speaker 1: lesser team. Lebron was forced to absorb a bunch more

590
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,120
Speaker 1: usage during that stretch because they literally didn't have anybody

591
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,479
Speaker 1: else that can handle the basketball. Then Austin came back.

592
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,480
Speaker 1: When he came back, he wasn't good for a while.

593
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,000
Speaker 1: There were a lot of stretches in early parts of

594
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,520
Speaker 1: games where they played through Austin and he just couldn't

595
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 1: get it going. He's a rhythm player. He's building his

596
00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:01,280
Speaker 1: conditioning back, building trust in his calf muscle again. Now

597
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 1: that he has it back, I fully expect Lebron when

598
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 1: he comes back to take a step back. It's just

599
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: abundantly clear because of those stats. Here's a simple way

600
00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:14,640
Speaker 1: I can describe it. Lebron when he scores twenty points

601
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,720
Speaker 1: this season, the Lakers are eighteen and eleven, because it's

602
00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 1: more a product of him just pumping usage. He's nowhere

603
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,040
Speaker 1: near as efficient or as talented as an offensive player

604
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 1: as Austin is at this point in his career. That's

605
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:31,160
Speaker 1: no insult. He's forty one damn years old, but Austin

606
00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,720
Speaker 1: when he's healthy and in rhythm, is unquestionably a better

607
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,680
Speaker 1: offensive player than Lebron. And so when they're playing through

608
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,000
Speaker 1: him a lot, and when he's actually playing well, like

609
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,960
Speaker 1: I said, when he has twenty plus points, They're eighteen

610
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:48,600
Speaker 1: and three this season, So the formula is clear, like, yes,

611
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,840
Speaker 1: you need Luca and Austin to be your primary ball

612
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,640
Speaker 1: handlers with the same damn dynamic that Lucas had with

613
00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:59,600
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson at Kyrie Irving in earlier stints. That is unquestionable.

614
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,160
Speaker 1: I'm saying, I don't think Lebron's gonna be a problem

615
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,080
Speaker 1: there at all. He had high usage because Austin was hurt,

616
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,720
Speaker 1: and he was reluctant to give it up because Austin

617
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:13,640
Speaker 1: was playing poorly. Now Austin's in rhythm. I know for

618
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: a fact that Lebron's gonna step back into this environment

619
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: and be like, you guys do your thing. I'll be

620
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,320
Speaker 1: a role player and I'll occasionally post a mispatch. This

621
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,240
Speaker 1: team does not have close to the role player talent

622
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,920
Speaker 1: to pass on a guy like Lebron. They need him.

623
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,960
Speaker 1: They just need to continue to feed this dynamic. All

624
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,280
Speaker 1: I'm saying is before you immediately go blame Lebron because

625
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 1: you don't understand what you're watching. Austin hasn't looked like

626
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:42,800
Speaker 1: this since early December. This is the first time Austin

627
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:46,720
Speaker 1: had back to back twenty point games since early December.

628
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:52,280
Speaker 1: It's been like forty five games since Austin has put

629
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:57,200
Speaker 1: twenty games in twenty point games consecutively together. He is

630
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,520
Speaker 1: now back into that shape. He's now back in that rhythm. Now,

631
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,520
Speaker 1: let's give the big three a chance. When it wasn't

632
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,480
Speaker 1: Lebron who's skipped training camp and is barely a shell

633
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:12,160
Speaker 1: of himself working his way back into shape, or Austin's hurt.

634
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,000
Speaker 1: This will be our first stretch to evaluate the team.

635
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,680
Speaker 1: With Luca in rhythm, with Austin in rhythm, and Lebron

636
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 1: ready to play his part as a role player with

637
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,520
Speaker 1: plenty of games under his belt, actually in shape and

638
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:25,160
Speaker 1: ready to go, I do think they'll be able to

639
00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:29,200
Speaker 1: take off from there. The second thing that is obviously

640
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:33,800
Speaker 1: driving this success is DeAndre Ayton is finally playing some

641
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:39,920
Speaker 1: decent basketball. So you're talking about two dramatic improvements from starters.

642
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,240
Speaker 1: Austin reeves no back to back twenty point games since December.

643
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,680
Speaker 1: Suddenly he's looking awesome again. He was unbelievable against the

644
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:50,440
Speaker 1: Knicks and he was unbelievable against Minnesota. That's a massive improvement.

645
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,680
Speaker 1: DeAndre Ayton was like mentally checked out on the team.

646
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 1: He may or may not have temporarily quit on the team.

647
00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:59,600
Speaker 1: In Denver. I watched him walk off from his first seb.

648
00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,200
Speaker 1: He wasn't limping, he wasn't favoring his knee at all.

649
00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:04,120
Speaker 1: We didn't see him the rest of that game or

650
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,440
Speaker 1: the next game. It was weird. I don't know what happened,

651
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:11,160
Speaker 1: but he responded to that embarrassment of continually getting their

652
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,560
Speaker 1: early JJ Reddick hook like that with his two best

653
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,800
Speaker 1: games in the last several months. He was very active

654
00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,840
Speaker 1: and very good, especially in that first half against the Knicks,

655
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 1: and he kicked Rudy Gobart's ass yesterday. It was funny

656
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,520
Speaker 1: because he lost a couple of offensive rebound battles off

657
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,440
Speaker 1: of the right block early in the game, and on

658
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,440
Speaker 1: the second one he went up to the ref and

659
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,320
Speaker 1: he started complaining about it. Oh, he pushed me in

660
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:37,320
Speaker 1: the back, and I remember thinking in the moment, I'm like, dude,

661
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,520
Speaker 1: it's physical battle. You just got to meet it, and

662
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,320
Speaker 1: I don't know if he woke up from that or

663
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:44,800
Speaker 1: what happened, but after those first two offensive rebounds, he

664
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,680
Speaker 1: gave up to Rudy Gobert. He whooped Gobart's ass just

665
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,280
Speaker 1: like was beating him to loose balls and was super

666
00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:54,600
Speaker 1: active around the rim. He was rolling super hard. He

667
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,520
Speaker 1: definitely like there's another part of this too. And because

668
00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:59,720
Speaker 1: like if you asked me, like, hey, Jason, like, do

669
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:04,720
Speaker 1: you suddenly trust Deandreon, Hell no, Like, it's gonna take

670
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,040
Speaker 1: a lot for me to turn around after what I've

671
00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,480
Speaker 1: seen in the last few months. That said, we know

672
00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:13,680
Speaker 1: enough about Ayton's personality to know he's more engaged when

673
00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:17,239
Speaker 1: he feels involved in the offense. He's more involved in

674
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:20,960
Speaker 1: the offense when Austin Reeves is playing like Austin Reeves,

675
00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:23,759
Speaker 1: because Austin Reeves is one of the best drivers of

676
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,240
Speaker 1: the basketball for this Lakers team in pick and roll.

677
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,799
Speaker 1: We talked about this last week, but Luka Doncic, his

678
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,480
Speaker 1: rim attempts have tiered down every single year. If you

679
00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:34,400
Speaker 1: go back to twenty twenty three, he was at like

680
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:36,440
Speaker 1: six attempts per game, and then it was five, and

681
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,040
Speaker 1: then it was four. And this year it's like three

682
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,560
Speaker 1: and a half. Like Luca's not getting to the rim

683
00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,240
Speaker 1: as much as he used to, and so that's why

684
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:46,880
Speaker 1: for him, he needs a bigger vertical spacing window. Like

685
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:52,080
Speaker 1: what he gets out of Jackson Hayes. Austin Reeves is downhill, downhill, downhill, downhill.

686
00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:55,359
Speaker 1: He's by far the best driver of the basketball on

687
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,759
Speaker 1: this Lakers team. And so what that is doing is

688
00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,840
Speaker 1: it's allowing Ayton to fill the gap behind him. And

689
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,480
Speaker 1: a lot of these roles where Austin's hitting Ayighton, Ayton's

690
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:07,080
Speaker 1: actually behind the play, Whereas if you look at a

691
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:11,200
Speaker 1: lot of the Luca Jackson picking rolls, Luca's kind of

692
00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:14,719
Speaker 1: like slowly methodically working down the lane line, and Jackson's

693
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:18,000
Speaker 1: in the vertical spacing window and he's getting hit with lobs.

694
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,640
Speaker 1: Austin is driving hard and Aydon is filling the gap

695
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:25,279
Speaker 1: behind him, and Austin is engaging the rim protector at

696
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:28,800
Speaker 1: the basket and throwing lobs or behind the back passes

697
00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 1: to eight and going down. They had a nasty behind

698
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,120
Speaker 1: the back pass when he engaged Gobar on one and

699
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:35,560
Speaker 1: Aton got a dunk. So like if you ask me, like,

700
00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:38,560
Speaker 1: what is the pathway for the Lakers to get a

701
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:42,439
Speaker 1: more consistent performance out of DeAndre Ayton. It's this, it's

702
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,120
Speaker 1: Austin being back into form and keeping him involved in

703
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,400
Speaker 1: the offense and engaged in the offense in a way

704
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:51,479
Speaker 1: that triggers some of the higher motor stuff with Ayton

705
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:53,880
Speaker 1: where he can be more impactful. But that's the thing, Like,

706
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,840
Speaker 1: to me, it's so obvious. It's crazy to see that.

707
00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:00,000
Speaker 1: Everyone's just like, oh, Lebron's out, now they're kicking it

708
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,440
Speaker 1: everybody's ass. It's like there's two obvious things that have changed.

709
00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:08,200
Speaker 1: Austin's playing much better and DeAndre Ayton is playing much better.

710
00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,200
Speaker 1: In any team in the NBA, if you had two

711
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 1: of their starters, including their secondary star, play way better,

712
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,759
Speaker 1: they would look way better. That's not rocket science. It's

713
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,160
Speaker 1: a very simple kind of thought process to reach that point.

714
00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:25,879
Speaker 1: So again, as I'm looking at the big picture, they

715
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:28,759
Speaker 1: just need Lebron to come back and to swat as

716
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:31,919
Speaker 1: that third ball handler that continues to let everything flow

717
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:36,160
Speaker 1: through Austin who occasionally posts a mismatch, but focuses on

718
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,520
Speaker 1: role player stuff, connective playmaking, knocking down catch and shoot

719
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,200
Speaker 1: shots and competing on the defensive end. That would be

720
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,799
Speaker 1: one thing where if I was JJ Reddick, I'd be

721
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:47,759
Speaker 1: very particular about Lebron when he comes back. You got

722
00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,280
Speaker 1: a guard man. We're playing our best defense of the season.

723
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:53,040
Speaker 1: We're trying to string this together. You're actually one of

724
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:56,239
Speaker 1: our most talented defenders. We can't have you mailing it in.

725
00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:58,920
Speaker 1: We need you to come back and play super hard.

726
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:00,399
Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, like I kind of hope

727
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,160
Speaker 1: Lebron sits out the Chicago game and then plays in

728
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:06,360
Speaker 1: the Denver game on Saturday, because the Chicago game is

729
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,759
Speaker 1: the type of game where the Lakers will let up

730
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:11,560
Speaker 1: and not play super hard, and I think Lebron could

731
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:13,279
Speaker 1: be part of that problem. So I'm hoping Lebron takes

732
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 1: one more night off and then plays on Saturday. In

733
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 1: the game against the Nuggets, Luca was incredible. Again. He's

734
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,400
Speaker 1: been great in both of these games. Now, his efficiency

735
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:26,160
Speaker 1: hasn't been that great, but he's been getting the best

736
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,920
Speaker 1: defensive punch in terms of scheming and perimeter defender from

737
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,479
Speaker 1: two very very good defenses in Minnesota and New York.

738
00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:35,600
Speaker 1: So like there's a certain amount of like it's gonna

739
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,120
Speaker 1: be more rock fighty for Luca than it is for

740
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 1: some of the other guys on the floor. But I

741
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,280
Speaker 1: think his production has been fantastic. I think his attitude

742
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,600
Speaker 1: has been fantastic. He's hit so many momentum shots in

743
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:52,239
Speaker 1: that stretch. Luca being this good, this consistently against the

744
00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:55,560
Speaker 1: best teams in the league is a good trend to

745
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:57,799
Speaker 1: look at as a positive, as like a foundation for

746
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,520
Speaker 1: the Lakers actually competing in a first round series. The

747
00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 1: Lakers are actually starting to put some things together again.

748
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:06,680
Speaker 1: Elite offense. We talked about how they've been the top

749
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,799
Speaker 1: five offense during this seven game span, back to back

750
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,799
Speaker 1: games where they scored the basketball very effectively against very

751
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,759
Speaker 1: good defenses. What did we talk about piecing all those

752
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:20,640
Speaker 1: things together. Elite offense, average defense. This is a group

753
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:23,399
Speaker 1: that needed to be in the middle of the pack

754
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:27,560
Speaker 1: defensively and elite offensively to have any shot. You can

755
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,680
Speaker 1: actually see the formula coming together. Luca playing like an

756
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:35,279
Speaker 1: MVP candidate, Austin Reeves being a twenty plus point per

757
00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,920
Speaker 1: game in rhythm, pick and roll ball handler, the two

758
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,320
Speaker 1: of them absorbing the majority of the usage role players

759
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,120
Speaker 1: just doing their job and as a team, a level

760
00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:47,600
Speaker 1: of attention to detail and effort defensively, that will put

761
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,799
Speaker 1: them in that middle of the pack. That'll give you

762
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:53,680
Speaker 1: your your best chance to compete. Now that's why I

763
00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:55,840
Speaker 1: look at the big picture sample side. They've been sixth

764
00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 1: in defense in that span. But as we know, the

765
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,000
Speaker 1: Knicks didn't shoot well. They were two for twelve guarded

766
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:03,560
Speaker 1: catch and shoot threes. They had a brutal offensive night.

767
00:39:03,719 --> 00:39:07,080
Speaker 1: I talked earlier about how Minnesota played an embarrassing offensive game.

768
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:09,359
Speaker 1: They're not going to be the sixth best defense over

769
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:13,399
Speaker 1: a large sample, but thirty six games of you being

770
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:16,839
Speaker 1: the sixteenth best defense, that's a real feather in your cap.

771
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,840
Speaker 1: Is like, hey, guys, we've proven it. We cannot be

772
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:23,000
Speaker 1: a disaster on defense. We can be average. If the

773
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:26,080
Speaker 1: Lakers go into a playoff series, I'm not gonna sit

774
00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:27,760
Speaker 1: here and pretend like they're going to win the conference

775
00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,399
Speaker 1: and go hoist hilario'brian Trophy. I still view that as

776
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:34,560
Speaker 1: a dramatic long shot. But I came into the season

777
00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:38,080
Speaker 1: with the Lakers as a second tier contender, meaning they

778
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 1: had a puncher's chance to beat anybody, and I wouldn't

779
00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:43,239
Speaker 1: be surprised if I looked up and saw them in

780
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,400
Speaker 1: the Conference finals. I dropped them off of that tier

781
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:49,799
Speaker 1: because nothing was going well. None of their stars were

782
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,239
Speaker 1: playing well enough, the role players weren't playing well enough,

783
00:39:53,239 --> 00:39:55,640
Speaker 1: and the defense was in the basement of the league.

784
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:58,520
Speaker 1: To get back into that second tier, it's a very

785
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:02,480
Speaker 1: simple formula. BEA's got to be an MVP candidate, Austin's

786
00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:05,080
Speaker 1: got to be that dominant secondary ball handler, and they

787
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:08,560
Speaker 1: got to be an average defense. They've put that together

788
00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:12,320
Speaker 1: in a small sample size here against some good teams.

789
00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:14,680
Speaker 1: I'm not ready to put them back in the second

790
00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,520
Speaker 1: tier yet, but if through the rest of the season,

791
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:20,319
Speaker 1: if through mid April, they got some other challenges coming

792
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,360
Speaker 1: up Denver on Saturday, they have a home, they have

793
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,160
Speaker 1: a back to back set of road games in Houston

794
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,880
Speaker 1: against the Rockets, They've got some challenges on the horizon.

795
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:31,359
Speaker 1: If they finish the season strong and they beat some

796
00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:33,839
Speaker 1: more of these good teams and they continue to hover

797
00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:36,160
Speaker 1: around the middle of the league defensively, and they have

798
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:39,359
Speaker 1: an extended stretch where they're a top five offense and

799
00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,439
Speaker 1: it's Luca and Austin and Lebron is perfectly slotting into

800
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:45,000
Speaker 1: that third team role. Then when we get to April

801
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,520
Speaker 1: and we do our final contender rankings. I'll probably put

802
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,560
Speaker 1: the Lakers back in that second tier. Not ready to

803
00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:53,440
Speaker 1: do it yet, too small of a sample, but this

804
00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:56,399
Speaker 1: is the first time all season where I'm like, hmm,

805
00:40:57,040 --> 00:40:59,239
Speaker 1: you actually look like you can compete a little bit.

806
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:03,360
Speaker 1: This is what looks like a second tier contender to me.

807
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:05,680
Speaker 1: So if they can maintain that through the end of

808
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:08,360
Speaker 1: the season, I'll start to look at them more seriously

809
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:10,600
Speaker 1: as a contender at that point in time. All Right, guys,

810
00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:12,240
Speaker 1: that's all I have for today is always to sincerely

811
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,719
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show.

812
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,440
Speaker 1: We will be back with more game reaction tomorrow. I

813
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:18,440
Speaker 1: will see you guys then