1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:07,440
Speaker 1: The volume. Looking for a super offer for Super Bowl

2
00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,920
Speaker 1: fifty eight, Well, DraftKings has you covered. New customers can

3
00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,480
Speaker 1: bet on the Big Game and turn five bucks into

4
00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,239
Speaker 1: two hundred instantly in bonus bets. The line right now

5
00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,520
Speaker 1: is at San Francisco minus one point five, but you

6
00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,520
Speaker 1: can bet all sorts of things on the game, even

7
00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,360
Speaker 1: the coin toss, although big shock it's gonna be fifty

8
00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,640
Speaker 1: to fifty odds there. My brothers and I always place

9
00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:29,040
Speaker 1: a bunch of bets on the Super Bowl every year.

10
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:30,960
Speaker 1: I'm not actually sure what I'm gonna do yet, but

11
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:32,879
Speaker 1: I'm excited. She should be a great game. Download the

12
00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,840
Speaker 1: Draftking Sportsbook app now and use code hoops. That's hoops.

13
00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,560
Speaker 1: New customers can bet five bucks to get two hundred

14
00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,479
Speaker 1: instantly in bonus bets only on Draftking Sportsbook, an official

15
00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,240
Speaker 1: sports betting partner of Super Bowl fifty eight, with code

16
00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,840
Speaker 1: hoops again, that's hops. The crown is yours gambling problem

17
00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,520
Speaker 1: called one eight hundred Gambler, or in West Virginia, visit

18
00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,920
Speaker 1: www dot one eight hundred gambler dot net, call eight

19
00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,840
Speaker 1: seven seven eight hope and why, or text hope and

20
00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,560
Speaker 1: Why to four six seven three six nine in Connecticut.

21
00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,080
Speaker 1: Help is available for problem gambling call eight eight eight

22
00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:16,360
Speaker 1: seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG

23
00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,440
Speaker 1: dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino

24
00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,280
Speaker 1: and Resort in Kansas. Twenty one plus age varies by jurisdiction.

25
00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,959
Speaker 1: Void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty

26
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:33,000
Speaker 1: eight hours after issuance. See DKG dot com slash football

27
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:38,199
Speaker 1: for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gambling resources.

28
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,360
Speaker 1: All right, welcome to Hoop tonight. You're at the volume.

29
00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,160
Speaker 1: Happy Thursday. Everybody happy. NBA trade deadline day. It was

30
00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,640
Speaker 1: kind of as we expected, a bunch of really small moves,

31
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,880
Speaker 1: but nothing truly significant. What we're going to do today,

32
00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,240
Speaker 1: I have six different traits that I want to touch

33
00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,920
Speaker 1: on briefly, and we'll kind of go rapid fire through those.

34
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,760
Speaker 1: Then I want to talk about the Lakers doing nothing

35
00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:11,919
Speaker 1: and what that means, and we're gonna actually go into

36
00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,280
Speaker 1: much more detail about that tomorrow because we have Jovan

37
00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,400
Speaker 1: Buja from the Athletic coming onto the show to break

38
00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,280
Speaker 1: down in detail the Lakers deadline strategy and what they're

39
00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,519
Speaker 1: looking at in this summer and then I want to

40
00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,560
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about Spencer Dinwoodie was one of

41
00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,720
Speaker 1: the more interesting buyout candidates that you'll see in recent

42
00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,400
Speaker 1: NBA history. A bunch of teams, I think are going

43
00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:31,720
Speaker 1: to be looking out for him on that front. And

44
00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,919
Speaker 1: then we have three instant reactions from last night's games

45
00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:36,160
Speaker 1: that we're going to get to at the end of

46
00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,640
Speaker 1: the show. We got Pelicans Clippers. The Pelicans went into

47
00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,400
Speaker 1: LA and kind of man handled the Clippers last night.

48
00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,359
Speaker 1: It was an interesting game. Then the Warriors got to

49
00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,600
Speaker 1: blow out win in Philly against the Sixers, obviously without

50
00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,000
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid, and then the Boston Celtics and kind of

51
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:50,760
Speaker 1: a little bit of a dogfight with the Atlanta Hawks,

52
00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,840
Speaker 1: but they pulled out, pulled it out late in the

53
00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,079
Speaker 1: game to get the win. So three instant reactions and

54
00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:57,840
Speaker 1: a bunch of deadline stuff. You guys are the joe

55
00:02:57,840 --> 00:02:59,799
Speaker 1: forour We get started. Subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel.

56
00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:00,839
Speaker 1: I mean a lot to me if you guys would

57
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,400
Speaker 1: take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button.

58
00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,640
Speaker 1: Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your

59
00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,079
Speaker 1: podcasts under Hoops tonight. It also is super helpful for

60
00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,080
Speaker 1: us if you leave a rating and a review on

61
00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,160
Speaker 1: the podcast feed. Don't forget about our Twitter feed at

62
00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,240
Speaker 1: Underscore Jason lt That's where I put film threads like

63
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,160
Speaker 1: the one I did this morning on Pelican's Clippers, as

64
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,280
Speaker 1: well as show announcements. And then, last but not at least,

65
00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,040
Speaker 1: keep dropping mailbag questions in the YouTube comments so that

66
00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,600
Speaker 1: we can keep hitting them throughout the rest of the season.

67
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,200
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk some basketball. So the first of

68
00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,640
Speaker 1: our six trades that we're going to talk about today

69
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,040
Speaker 1: Patrick Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks. So if you guys

70
00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,240
Speaker 1: remember in the video that I did on Tuesday where

71
00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,840
Speaker 1: I talked about the five trades that I wanted to

72
00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:45,440
Speaker 1: see around the league, there were three specific ones that

73
00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,480
Speaker 1: ended up getting addressed, just in different ways today. I

74
00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,240
Speaker 1: wanted the Suns to kind of try to get some

75
00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,480
Speaker 1: more defensive oriented wings and forwards right. I wanted the

76
00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,240
Speaker 1: Bucks to get a new kind of point of attack

77
00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,160
Speaker 1: defender to help them in the backcourt. And then I

78
00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,120
Speaker 1: wanted the Celtics to go get a backup center. And

79
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:04,960
Speaker 1: we saw all three of those over the course of

80
00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,000
Speaker 1: the last twenty four hours, starting with Patrick Beverly to

81
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,360
Speaker 1: the Bucks. So Patrick Beverley, in my opinion, he's one

82
00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,320
Speaker 1: of those guys where as long as he's focused into

83
00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,200
Speaker 1: what he's good at, he can be a really useful player.

84
00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,600
Speaker 1: It's when that kind of expands outside of his kind

85
00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,080
Speaker 1: of wheelhouse that you can start to see some diminishing

86
00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,280
Speaker 1: returns there. For instance, when he was with the Lakers,

87
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,839
Speaker 1: I thought he did a really good job guarding guards

88
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,320
Speaker 1: and then struggled when he had to guard bigger forward.

89
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,480
Speaker 1: Some of that was like he had a reputation as

90
00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:39,400
Speaker 1: being a guy who could guard bigger forwards, but the

91
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,640
Speaker 1: truth of the matter is is that just was never

92
00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,560
Speaker 1: really a good option, right and that is extended through

93
00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,240
Speaker 1: this season. I think he's done a really good job

94
00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,200
Speaker 1: on guards. I thought he did an amazing job in

95
00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,719
Speaker 1: that big win against the Denver Nuggets on Jamal Murray.

96
00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,080
Speaker 1: It was Joel Embi kind of denying Nikole Jokich and

97
00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,720
Speaker 1: then Patrick Beverley just harassing Jamal Murray all over the floor.

98
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,039
Speaker 1: So I think there's some trickiness to it with the

99
00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,960
Speaker 1: Bucks because with Malik Beasley, he's playing with a ton

100
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:07,480
Speaker 1: of confidence right now and he kind of has that

101
00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,080
Speaker 1: starting spot locked down, and I will be curious to

102
00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,800
Speaker 1: see if they keep Patrick Beverley on the bench for

103
00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,520
Speaker 1: that specific reason. But what I really like is it's

104
00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:18,799
Speaker 1: an option that you can go to, Like I said,

105
00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,839
Speaker 1: in the event that especially given on the matchups, so like,

106
00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:23,960
Speaker 1: for instance, against teams like Boston, where they're gonna be

107
00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,800
Speaker 1: doing primarily most of their initiation from the wing, you

108
00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,239
Speaker 1: might be able to get away with playing Malik Beasley,

109
00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,880
Speaker 1: But then you know, if you're playing a New York Knix,

110
00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,280
Speaker 1: then you may feel better off putting a guy like

111
00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:38,760
Speaker 1: Patrick Beverley into the starting lineup to start games on

112
00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,960
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson and spend more time just ball pressuring and

113
00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,280
Speaker 1: kind of hawking the basketball right. And so it gives

114
00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:45,920
Speaker 1: them an option now that they can go to. They

115
00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,480
Speaker 1: can go to a Dame Malik backcourt that's more offensively oriented,

116
00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:52,360
Speaker 1: or they can go to a Patrick Beverley backcourt where

117
00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,120
Speaker 1: they can give Patrick Beverley a high leverage point of

118
00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,400
Speaker 1: attack assignment, which I still think he's capable of, especially

119
00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,520
Speaker 1: against these smaller guards that we have around the league

120
00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:03,280
Speaker 1: on the offensive end of the end of the floor.

121
00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,880
Speaker 1: With Patrick Beverley, he's one of those guys that I

122
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,479
Speaker 1: think in more of a brute force style where he's

123
00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,560
Speaker 1: getting kind of wide open catch and shoot looks, he

124
00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,520
Speaker 1: can have some value. It's more when there's a ton

125
00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:17,720
Speaker 1: of motion involved in an offense that he can be

126
00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:19,640
Speaker 1: an issue because he's a little bit of a ball stopper.

127
00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:21,240
Speaker 1: He's a little bit of a guy who likes to

128
00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:23,760
Speaker 1: catch and jab step and pump bake before he really

129
00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,800
Speaker 1: does anything. And so like, I actually like the offensive

130
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:28,720
Speaker 1: fit with the Bucks because I do think he'll get

131
00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,360
Speaker 1: wide open catch and shoot threes. And that's kind of

132
00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,440
Speaker 1: the story with him. He's forty one percent on unguarded

133
00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,880
Speaker 1: catch and shoot jumpers twenty eight percent when they're guarded.

134
00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,040
Speaker 1: So like, to me, with Milwaukee, he's gonna get some

135
00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,280
Speaker 1: really good looks that to me is is a good fit.

136
00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:46,680
Speaker 1: He also has he's got a little bit off the

137
00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,000
Speaker 1: dribble pop. He's got like a decent little he'll kind

138
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,880
Speaker 1: of dribble to the left and stopping to pivot back

139
00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:53,760
Speaker 1: over his left shoulder for a hook shot that he

140
00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,040
Speaker 1: can make. And then he's also got a decent floater,

141
00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,120
Speaker 1: So he's got a little bit of that higher level

142
00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,560
Speaker 1: close out attacking stuff. But the offensive end of the

143
00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:02,599
Speaker 1: floor leaves a little bit to be desired with Pat,

144
00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:04,599
Speaker 1: but I still think he's one of the better guard

145
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,600
Speaker 1: defenders in the league. And so the Bucks, without having

146
00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,720
Speaker 1: to give up anything of significance, found and upgrade there

147
00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,280
Speaker 1: at the point of attack. Our next trade, the Knicks

148
00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,200
Speaker 1: finally get off the Evan forty eight contract, as well

149
00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,480
Speaker 1: as Quinton Grimes and a little bit of draft compensation

150
00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,200
Speaker 1: for Boyan Magdonovich and Alec Burks from the Detroit Piston.

151
00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,520
Speaker 1: So I really like the boy On Mgdanovich fit, especially

152
00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,800
Speaker 1: in the short term because you're dealing with the situation

153
00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:33,320
Speaker 1: where Julius Randall is going to be out for a

154
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,760
Speaker 1: little while. And I think specifically alongside in ogn and

155
00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,600
Speaker 1: Obi as a as a really strong athlete at the three,

156
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,280
Speaker 1: you can get away with having a lesser athlete at

157
00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 1: the four, and boy On Mgdanovich she brings a lot

158
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,640
Speaker 1: more scoring pop to the table. Very very good, kind

159
00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,800
Speaker 1: of like second side creators. Fifty five percent effective agle

160
00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,840
Speaker 1: percentage on pull up jump shots this season, excellent closeout attacker,

161
00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,160
Speaker 1: one point one to nine points per possession, eightieth percentile

162
00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,440
Speaker 1: shot creation day is a little iffy, but everybody in

163
00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,080
Speaker 1: Detroit struggled with a shot creation that with exception of

164
00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:07,840
Speaker 1: Alec Burks. Actually we're going to talk about here in

165
00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:09,480
Speaker 1: just a second, but I think he's just going to

166
00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,880
Speaker 1: help provide an offensive option there at that four spot

167
00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,760
Speaker 1: while Julius Randall is out. He's also going to bring

168
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,160
Speaker 1: kind of a similar approach to Julius Randall in the

169
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,000
Speaker 1: sense that to me, Boy and Macdonovitch is your textbook

170
00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,440
Speaker 1: matchup attacking forward. He's the guy that can pick on

171
00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,040
Speaker 1: a smaller guard and take him down to the block

172
00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,320
Speaker 1: and get to a little short right shoulder fade or

173
00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,240
Speaker 1: a little bank shot over his left shoulder or something

174
00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,640
Speaker 1: along those lines. He can get offense out of mismatches,

175
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,640
Speaker 1: which is a big part of the way that New

176
00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,920
Speaker 1: York attacks, and it brings a physical imposition to the

177
00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,600
Speaker 1: position as well because he can attack smaller players, which

178
00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,960
Speaker 1: I think is something that is part of the theme

179
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,200
Speaker 1: of what the New York Knicks do. And the other

180
00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,320
Speaker 1: thing too is he's got a non guaranteed nineteen million

181
00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,160
Speaker 1: I think next year, which the Knicks can guarantee, and

182
00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,480
Speaker 1: they can just as easily use as salary filler as

183
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,520
Speaker 1: an expiring just like they would attempt to use Evan

184
00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,319
Speaker 1: Fournier as if they had kept him. So to me,

185
00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:04,719
Speaker 1: this is a great example of a deal kind of

186
00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,640
Speaker 1: similar to the Ogn Andobi deal that gives them some

187
00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,880
Speaker 1: increased flexibility with their rotation in the short term, while

188
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,480
Speaker 1: also maintaining their long term flexibility if they want to

189
00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,320
Speaker 1: make a bigger deal. Alec Burks once again kind of

190
00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,320
Speaker 1: a solid second side initiator. He's more of an on

191
00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,400
Speaker 1: ball guy than Quinton Grimes was, but he is a

192
00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,400
Speaker 1: very good catch and shoot player. He's getting one point

193
00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,160
Speaker 1: twenty five points per catch and shoot jumper this year.

194
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,960
Speaker 1: He's also a really good athlete at the position. It's

195
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,439
Speaker 1: actually funny. I can't remember exactly where I saw it,

196
00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:35,360
Speaker 1: but I remember a couple of years ago I saw

197
00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,520
Speaker 1: someone say, I think on Twitter that Alec Burks looks

198
00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,079
Speaker 1: like if you were loading an NBA Superstar two guard

199
00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,160
Speaker 1: and then just stopped at eighty percent. Because like, if

200
00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:45,920
Speaker 1: you watch him on the right night, he literally can

201
00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,240
Speaker 1: look like some of the better two guards that we've

202
00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:49,800
Speaker 1: seen in the league. He just has never been able

203
00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,600
Speaker 1: to maintain the consistency in his NBA career. But to me,

204
00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,080
Speaker 1: like a just a good basketball player that you're bringing in,

205
00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,120
Speaker 1: in my opinion, and upgrade of Quentin Grimes in that

206
00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,560
Speaker 1: deal also shot for forty one percent on pull up

207
00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:03,960
Speaker 1: jump shots this year. His creation data in Detroit was

208
00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,040
Speaker 1: actually pretty solid, ironically enough, one hundred and seventy seven

209
00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,800
Speaker 1: pick and rolls, ISOs and post ups leading to one

210
00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,400
Speaker 1: point er excuse me, one hundred and eighty eight points,

211
00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:15,040
Speaker 1: which is one point zero six points per possession, so

212
00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,120
Speaker 1: good comfortable amount over a point per possession. That's quality

213
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,400
Speaker 1: second side shot creation. So you brought in two really

214
00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,000
Speaker 1: good basketball players, you maintained the salary filler element that

215
00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,280
Speaker 1: you need. An upgrade of a key rotation player in

216
00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,880
Speaker 1: Quenton Grimes never had to give up any sort of

217
00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:35,240
Speaker 1: truly significant asset. The excellent season from New York. Upgrading

218
00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:39,440
Speaker 1: on the margins continues. Our next deal, Xavier Tillman and

219
00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:43,680
Speaker 1: Jaden Springer to the Celtics. So, as I talked about yesterday,

220
00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,000
Speaker 1: or I should say on Tuesday, in my opinion, the Celtics,

221
00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,320
Speaker 1: we from what we had heard, had been doing some

222
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,640
Speaker 1: digging on a backup guard. They'd been doing some digging

223
00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:53,800
Speaker 1: on a backup wing, and they had been doing some

224
00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:55,960
Speaker 1: digging on a backup center. And one of the things

225
00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,840
Speaker 1: I said was I viewed the backup center position of

226
00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,920
Speaker 1: the biggest important So I just have a better feeling

227
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,360
Speaker 1: about Derek White, Drew Holliday, Jaylen Brown, and Jason Tatum

228
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,240
Speaker 1: being healthy for a playoff run than I do. Al

229
00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:09,640
Speaker 1: Horford and Christops porzingis that, to me, is where they

230
00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:14,719
Speaker 1: needed a little bit more margin for air. Xavier Tillman,

231
00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,840
Speaker 1: I obviously he's not as good as an Andre Drummond,

232
00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,080
Speaker 1: but in my opinion, a very solid backup big to

233
00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,439
Speaker 1: go to. This is a guy that slides his feet

234
00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,800
Speaker 1: pretty well and as good anticipation guarding bigger, stronger forwards

235
00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,040
Speaker 1: around the league. So, like, I think he's an option

236
00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,199
Speaker 1: that you can throw at the likes of bam Adebayo

237
00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,560
Speaker 1: or Jannison Tenakumpo or Julius Randall for maybe a couple

238
00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:38,320
Speaker 1: of minutes a half just to kind of give yourself

239
00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:41,480
Speaker 1: a decent option in that specific situation. He's one of

240
00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,160
Speaker 1: those guys too that like like not a high percentage

241
00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,760
Speaker 1: three point shooter, but will take him and a guy

242
00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,120
Speaker 1: that can make them. And so I just thought it

243
00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,400
Speaker 1: was a solid backup option, a more steady backup option

244
00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,200
Speaker 1: than some of the other options that they've gone to,

245
00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,560
Speaker 1: and brings a real like size and physicality to the

246
00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,120
Speaker 1: position that I think will be valuable to them in

247
00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:05,920
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Jayden Springer outstanding athlete at the guard position,

248
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,640
Speaker 1: one of the better perimeter defender prospects that we've seen

249
00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,880
Speaker 1: from the guard position in a long time. Really limited

250
00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,400
Speaker 1: offensively and has a lot to gain on that end

251
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:17,480
Speaker 1: of the floor, but he's only twenty one years old.

252
00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:20,240
Speaker 1: But the defensive end is what is exciting. Last night

253
00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:24,839
Speaker 1: against Steph Curry, from the opening tip, just bal denial, aggression,

254
00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,320
Speaker 1: physical all over the floor. Did a great job kind

255
00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,760
Speaker 1: of taking Steph out of the offense. Now, it was

256
00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,240
Speaker 1: a team wide scheme from Nick Nurse, which we'll talk

257
00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:36,160
Speaker 1: about in a little bit, but I thought it was

258
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:39,360
Speaker 1: a really impressive individual performance from Jaden Springer. And here's

259
00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:40,800
Speaker 1: the thing. I don't think Jayden Springer is going to

260
00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,400
Speaker 1: be some sort of significant weapon for the Celtics this season.

261
00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,360
Speaker 1: But for basically a second round pick to bring in

262
00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,800
Speaker 1: a twenty one year old guard prospect that has the

263
00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,600
Speaker 1: potential to be an awesome defensive player, I really like

264
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,040
Speaker 1: the move so good. Couple of upgrades for the Celtics

265
00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,319
Speaker 1: David Roddy and Royce O'Neil to the Suns to more

266
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,200
Speaker 1: physical and defensive minded players to give them a different

267
00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,520
Speaker 1: look on the perimeter. David Roddy is huge and has

268
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,559
Speaker 1: a lot of versatility defensively on the front line. Once again,

269
00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,960
Speaker 1: big forwards in the conference that it's just a good

270
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,199
Speaker 1: thing to have on the roster, which was something that

271
00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,600
Speaker 1: Phoenix didn't really have. When you're gonna run into a

272
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,199
Speaker 1: team like Denver that's gonna you know, we saw it

273
00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,280
Speaker 1: with Miami last year that they just were like, oh,

274
00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,040
Speaker 1: we're just gonna go to Aaron Gordon on the post

275
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:26,360
Speaker 1: every time because they don't have a guy who can

276
00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,720
Speaker 1: guard it right. And so like you're gonna see teams

277
00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,200
Speaker 1: like Denver attacking the post. Need to have a big,

278
00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,440
Speaker 1: strong forward as an option there, right. Teams like the

279
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,080
Speaker 1: Lakers gonna attack in the post, need a big, strong

280
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,320
Speaker 1: forward that you can go to as an option there,

281
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,240
Speaker 1: even like something like a Kawhi Leonard, having a guy

282
00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:45,160
Speaker 1: like a David Roddy that just can hold up better

283
00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,560
Speaker 1: under some of the physical approach of a Kawhi Leonard,

284
00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,000
Speaker 1: it's a good option and then Royce O'Neil, he's your

285
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,880
Speaker 1: Textbook three and D guard. It's an excellent catch and

286
00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,280
Speaker 1: shoot player when he has space, kind of similar to

287
00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:58,040
Speaker 1: a lot of the guys on this list were like,

288
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,760
Speaker 1: when they're unguarded, they're really good, but then and they're contested,

289
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:02,920
Speaker 1: the percentages take a dip. But he has a one

290
00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,439
Speaker 1: point two seven points per possession on unguarded catch and

291
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,040
Speaker 1: shoot jump shots, which is excellent in general attacking close

292
00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,400
Speaker 1: out sixty seventh percentile one point one to one points

293
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,280
Speaker 1: per possession. So again, you've given yourself options here. The

294
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,520
Speaker 1: Suns didn't really have a guard that could credibly defend

295
00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,040
Speaker 1: while also credibly spacing the floor. Now they have that

296
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,120
Speaker 1: as an option. They didn't have a forward that had

297
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,080
Speaker 1: some real girth to be able to hold up against

298
00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,040
Speaker 1: some of the bigger forwards in the conference. Now they

299
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,400
Speaker 1: have that as an option. So a couple of smart

300
00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,960
Speaker 1: upgrades from the Phoenix Suns. Next PJ. Washington to the

301
00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,760
Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks. This is a super athletic wing once again,

302
00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:45,040
Speaker 1: kind of like some of the other guys who talked

303
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:46,600
Speaker 1: about on this list, can shoot the ball when he's

304
00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:50,080
Speaker 1: given all day, He's thirty nine percent on unguarded catch

305
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,720
Speaker 1: and shoot jump shots, but any sort of close out

306
00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,160
Speaker 1: he struggles against zero point eighty eight points per possession

307
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,000
Speaker 1: in spot up situations, which is in the second twenty

308
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,200
Speaker 1: second percentile, so pretty bad on that front. The Hornets

309
00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,040
Speaker 1: used him a lot as a screen and role player,

310
00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,760
Speaker 1: caught a lot on the short role, and so I

311
00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,880
Speaker 1: could imagine them using him like that, with Luca essentially

312
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,480
Speaker 1: setting ball screens, rolling into space as an athlete where

313
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,120
Speaker 1: he can make some decisions, and just next to Derek

314
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,400
Speaker 1: Jones Junior, now they can I kind of view those

315
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,280
Speaker 1: two guys as a little bit of a redundancy, but

316
00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,240
Speaker 1: like now they can bring some athleticism to the table

317
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,080
Speaker 1: alongside their core guys. So I thought that was an

318
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,480
Speaker 1: interesting little upgrade. I know the Dallas was pretty frustrated

319
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,680
Speaker 1: with Grant Williams in general in the way that he

320
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,160
Speaker 1: had played this season. All right, our last trade Gordon

321
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,560
Speaker 1: Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder. So this is an

322
00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,320
Speaker 1: interesting example of a stopgap move in the sense that,

323
00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:45,840
Speaker 1: like it was clear that the Thunder didn't quite have

324
00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,360
Speaker 1: their closing five worked out because Giddy's the odd man

325
00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,560
Speaker 1: out in a lot of ways, and it was clear

326
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,760
Speaker 1: that they needed a bigger forward, but it was also

327
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,600
Speaker 1: clear that they weren't ready to make some sort of

328
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,640
Speaker 1: all in move, like to call Utah and offer them

329
00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,280
Speaker 1: six first round draft picks for Lori Markinen or something

330
00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,160
Speaker 1: along those lines. Right, So I also had heard that, okay, see,

331
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,200
Speaker 1: really just wanted to see what this group can do

332
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,600
Speaker 1: in the playoffs before they decide what they need. I

333
00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:12,360
Speaker 1: kind of think the need is obvious, but that was

334
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,680
Speaker 1: their approach. They wanted to make a one year run

335
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:16,680
Speaker 1: at it and then kind of zoom out and make

336
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,360
Speaker 1: a decision from there and so on that perspective, Gordon

337
00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,440
Speaker 1: Hayward makes a ton of sense because he's a veteran.

338
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,560
Speaker 1: Now you actually bring a real I should I don't

339
00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,240
Speaker 1: want to say adult, because those guys are adults, but

340
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,800
Speaker 1: like in terms of veteran, actual experience in the NBA,

341
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,200
Speaker 1: Gordon Hayward brings that to the lineup, and he's just

342
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,000
Speaker 1: a better option as a fifth guy in the lineup

343
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,360
Speaker 1: than Josh Skitty. He's a dead eye catch and shoot guy,

344
00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,000
Speaker 1: unguarded catch and shoot jump shots one point four points

345
00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,720
Speaker 1: per possession, which is insane. Also pretty good at the

346
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:48,960
Speaker 1: rim this year sixty six percent at the RIM. And

347
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,800
Speaker 1: so I'm I like the idea is just like, now

348
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,120
Speaker 1: you go into the playoffs, you have Chet, Gordon, Jalen, Sga,

349
00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,800
Speaker 1: and Dort basically is your core five at your games

350
00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:05,439
Speaker 1: with a little bit more experience and and and like

351
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,320
Speaker 1: Gordon Award has played in the playoffs before, so just

352
00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:10,200
Speaker 1: gives you a little bit more experience on that front.

353
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,040
Speaker 1: I thought it was an interesting option. And guess what

354
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,159
Speaker 1: we will learn. We will learn from Okay, see this

355
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,040
Speaker 1: year what they are capable of on that stage in

356
00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:20,840
Speaker 1: a big way, and then we will find out this

357
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,960
Speaker 1: offseason whether or not they need to do something more substantial. Okay,

358
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,159
Speaker 1: two more quick notes on the trade deadline before we

359
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,720
Speaker 1: move on to games the Lakers doing nothing. I don't

360
00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,600
Speaker 1: want to go too far into this because we're covering

361
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,280
Speaker 1: the Lakers tonight after Lakers Nuggets, So we'll talk about

362
00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,480
Speaker 1: it a little bit more in the instant reaction after

363
00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:42,800
Speaker 1: the game, and then, like I said, we have Yovann

364
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,800
Speaker 1: Buja coming on the show tomorrow. Here's all I'm gonna say.

365
00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,439
Speaker 1: I always feel a little bit of reticence when it

366
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,520
Speaker 1: comes to criticizing front offices for what they do in

367
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,639
Speaker 1: terms of trades and free agency, because we don't really

368
00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,000
Speaker 1: truly know what was available. There's a ton of smoke

369
00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,080
Speaker 1: this time of year. Reports that serve purpose, serve the

370
00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:10,000
Speaker 1: sole purpose of basically tweaking the public kind of perception

371
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,399
Speaker 1: of value, and it's a lot of gamesmanship going on.

372
00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,120
Speaker 1: So like it's really difficult to be like, oh, why

373
00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:17,960
Speaker 1: didn't the Lakers do anything. It's like, we don't even

374
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,480
Speaker 1: know if they actually reach agreement in principle on a deal,

375
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,320
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Like, obviously, I think it's

376
00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:26,280
Speaker 1: safe to say that judging by some of these price points,

377
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,639
Speaker 1: how they put a first round pick out there, they

378
00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:32,200
Speaker 1: could have gotten something gotten something back. But it's hard

379
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,680
Speaker 1: to tell which players exactly would be willing to would

380
00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,320
Speaker 1: have been achievable with that first round pick. And then

381
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,080
Speaker 1: once you take that first round pick off the table,

382
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,520
Speaker 1: it does limit some of their ability to do something

383
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,359
Speaker 1: this summer. So I want to be clear, we don't

384
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,080
Speaker 1: know what actually was on the table that said. I

385
00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,000
Speaker 1: do know this, I know that the Lakers do not

386
00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:56,960
Speaker 1: have a single starting caliber two or three that can

387
00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,480
Speaker 1: both credibly defend and is a positive offensive player. They

388
00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,399
Speaker 1: have very one dimensional guys like they have. You know,

389
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,359
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt is a guy who can defend on the

390
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,800
Speaker 1: perimeter but has some offensive limitations. You know, Austin Reeves

391
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,440
Speaker 1: and Dangelo Russell are both excellent offensive players, but they

392
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,760
Speaker 1: have defensive limitations, right Like Torrian Prince is kind of

393
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,880
Speaker 1: considered a two way guy, but in terms of perimeter defense,

394
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,720
Speaker 1: he is very much on the average to slightly below

395
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,720
Speaker 1: average side, not the above average to elite side. So

396
00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:28,080
Speaker 1: they don't have anybody on the roster that they can

397
00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:29,919
Speaker 1: throw at a Steph Curry in a playoff series, that

398
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,639
Speaker 1: they can throw at a Jamal Murray in a playoff series,

399
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:34,639
Speaker 1: that they can throw on a James Harden in a

400
00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,480
Speaker 1: playoff series. They don't. They just don't have any options

401
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,879
Speaker 1: on those fronts. And so basically, like I said before

402
00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,400
Speaker 1: the season, I said this from the very beginning, I said,

403
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:48,200
Speaker 1: the Lakers are a contender because they have Lebron James,

404
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,760
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, and Austin Reeves, and they are poised for

405
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:54,000
Speaker 1: a mid season upgrade to address their needs. They did

406
00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,520
Speaker 1: not make any sort of mid season upgrade to address

407
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,399
Speaker 1: their needs. And so we're gonna do a kind of

408
00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:03,399
Speaker 1: a revamp of the contender tiers that I do right

409
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,920
Speaker 1: probably right around the All Star break, during that week

410
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,680
Speaker 1: off that we have. I have something specific in mind there.

411
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,000
Speaker 1: I think we're gonna get Sam Vassini on and kind

412
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,639
Speaker 1: of dive into it contender by contender, but I have

413
00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,840
Speaker 1: to drop the Lakers off of that legitimate title contender tier.

414
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,199
Speaker 1: It's just that, like NBA history tells us that you

415
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,560
Speaker 1: have to have these certain boxes checked, not just on

416
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,359
Speaker 1: the roster, but also in terms of your approach to

417
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,240
Speaker 1: the regular season, And not only did they not address

418
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,200
Speaker 1: those roster needs, but they also have their twenty seven

419
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,520
Speaker 1: and twenty five. So like at this point they are

420
00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:42,160
Speaker 1: what we can't completely write them off with Lebron James

421
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,320
Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis, but they are just an extreme long

422
00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:47,880
Speaker 1: shot at this point. And the last thing I'll say

423
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,240
Speaker 1: about it is I think it'll be a little bit

424
00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,400
Speaker 1: easier to kind of look back on and evaluate fairly

425
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,920
Speaker 1: when Lebron James retires. But here we are five seasons

426
00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,480
Speaker 1: into this Lebron James Anthony Davis thing, and I would

427
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,199
Speaker 1: argue two of the five seasons they straight up just

428
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,879
Speaker 1: didn't have a chance to win kind of like closer

429
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,720
Speaker 1: to three out of five pretty much everything after the

430
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,320
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook trade. And so given the Lebron James Anthony

431
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,920
Speaker 1: Davis Foundation, which I maintain they've been top ten players

432
00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,640
Speaker 1: over the course of this entire stretch, at a minimum,

433
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,280
Speaker 1: top fifteen players. To have two, let's just call it

434
00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,000
Speaker 1: top fifteen. To have two top fifteen players on the

435
00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:27,760
Speaker 1: roster and to not be able to maintain a championship

436
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,240
Speaker 1: contending roster around them is a damning indictment of the

437
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,359
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Lakers front office and ownership group starting from

438
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:38,320
Speaker 1: the beginning. Letting Brook Lopez walk, letting Julius Randall walk,

439
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,719
Speaker 1: letting Alex Crusoe walk, the Russell Westbrook trade just a

440
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,240
Speaker 1: complete and total lack of understanding or appreciation for the

441
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,320
Speaker 1: way that role players can impact winning specifically athletes that

442
00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,119
Speaker 1: can compete on both ends of the floor. Is it

443
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:57,120
Speaker 1: has been a pretty depressing job, and as a result,

444
00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,359
Speaker 1: the second best player of all time, Lebron James, spent

445
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,520
Speaker 1: most of the tail end of his prime fighting uphill

446
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,120
Speaker 1: with rosters that weren't capable of competing with the best

447
00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:09,480
Speaker 1: teams in the league. And it's just it's just sad.

448
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:11,480
Speaker 1: It is what it is, and it's not over yet.

449
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,720
Speaker 1: They have access to three first round draft picks this summer,

450
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,240
Speaker 1: and they have some salary filler that they can package

451
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,159
Speaker 1: into a deal, and maybe they'll go get somebody. But

452
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,800
Speaker 1: if you look around the landscape of the league, if

453
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,199
Speaker 1: a real somebody becomes available, who who are the Lakers

454
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,239
Speaker 1: out bidding? They're not out bidding the Knicks, but not

455
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,520
Speaker 1: outbidding the thunder Like They're just way there are way

456
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,840
Speaker 1: more teams out there that have way more to offer

457
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,359
Speaker 1: in the trade market than the Lakers do. And so

458
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:42,400
Speaker 1: to me, like like, it's just it's looking like once

459
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,600
Speaker 1: again that we're going to head into another offseason where

460
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:47,840
Speaker 1: the Lakers are going to struggle to find two way

461
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: players to put next to Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

462
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,440
Speaker 1: And by the time they actually figure it out, Lebron

463
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,720
Speaker 1: might be too old for it to matter. And and so,

464
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,480
Speaker 1: like I said, it's just sad. And and again like

465
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,600
Speaker 1: we don't really truly know what was available. But in

466
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:03,960
Speaker 1: a big picture, when you zoom out, I've got five

467
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,000
Speaker 1: seasons of Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Twenty twenty, they

468
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,560
Speaker 1: were a top tier contender, won the title twenty twenty one,

469
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:13,439
Speaker 1: they were top tier contender, injuries undercut them. Then they

470
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,560
Speaker 1: traded for Russell Westbrook, and it's been a lot of

471
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,320
Speaker 1: mediocrity ever since then. They're right around this five hundred

472
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,560
Speaker 1: mark fifty games into the season seemingly every year now,

473
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,520
Speaker 1: and it's just not easy to do that when you've

474
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 1: got foundational pieces like Lebron James and Anthony Davis, and

475
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,160
Speaker 1: so again, just not a good look for the Laker

476
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,520
Speaker 1: front office. One last note, there is a potential saving

477
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,320
Speaker 1: grace for the Lakers. Spencer Dinwittie is going to be

478
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,400
Speaker 1: available in the buy out market, and the Lakers, as

479
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 1: a first Apron team, will be able to sign him.

480
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 1: And I would imagine there's gonna be a lot of

481
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,400
Speaker 1: teams that are going to be in the running form,

482
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,840
Speaker 1: specifically teams that could use a backcourt athlete. Spencer Dinwittie

483
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,960
Speaker 1: is far from the ideal type of athlete for this

484
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,280
Speaker 1: type of role, specifically the three and D role that

485
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 1: the Lakers so desperately need. He's a guy that has

486
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,399
Speaker 1: a lot of athletic tools, but doesn't really truly commit

487
00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 1: himself to the defensive end. Of the floor on offense,

488
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:11,400
Speaker 1: it's a lot of it's a mixed bag. You catch

489
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:12,840
Speaker 1: him on the right night and he looks like an

490
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,920
Speaker 1: All Star, but like really struggles to finish around the rim.

491
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:21,000
Speaker 1: His general rim decision making is questionable. So like he's

492
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 1: a flawed player. But for a veteran minimum pro rated

493
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 1: end of the season buy out signing, you typically can't

494
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 1: do much better than a Spencer Dinwiddie. And so he's

495
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 1: a guy that if the Lakers could get I think

496
00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,680
Speaker 1: would be significant. He's a guy that several teams out

497
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,360
Speaker 1: there that I think that could use some perimeter athleticism

498
00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 1: should be looking at all. Right, let's get into our

499
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:44,960
Speaker 1: instant reactions from last night. So we're gonna start with

500
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,600
Speaker 1: Pelicans Clippers. So the Pelicans just absolutely jumped the Clippers

501
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,880
Speaker 1: early on in this game. They actually won the first

502
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,680
Speaker 1: quarter thirty six to nineteen, and pretty much stiff armed

503
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,760
Speaker 1: him the rest of the way. There's a little bit

504
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,159
Speaker 1: of a comeback, like kind of a semi comeback in

505
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,200
Speaker 1: the early fourth quarter, but the Pelicans immediately extended the

506
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,920
Speaker 1: lead again. They put Zion Williamson on Kawhi Leonard to

507
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,840
Speaker 1: kind of match his strength which I thought was really

508
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,760
Speaker 1: smart from a matchup perspective. It also to me is

509
00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,200
Speaker 1: like as a defensive assignment where you can get some

510
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 1: high production out of Zion because it's very singularly focused.

511
00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 1: They put Brandon Ingram on Paul George to match his length,

512
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:22,400
Speaker 1: and then that allowed them to put Herb Jones Herb Jones,

513
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,480
Speaker 1: I should say, on James Harden. And you know, typically

514
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 1: James Hardy can catch some pretty good matchups in in

515
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,479
Speaker 1: these in his specific role as the third best perimeter

516
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,360
Speaker 1: player on the team. But the Pelicans have the bodies

517
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 1: to kind of go body for body with these guys,

518
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 1: and they put Herb Jones, Herb Jones on I always

519
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:41,480
Speaker 1: call him herb Jones, it's Herb Jones. They put herb

520
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,440
Speaker 1: Jones on Harden, and he just killed him on both

521
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,679
Speaker 1: ends of the floor to start the game. Was locking

522
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,600
Speaker 1: him up at the point of attack, forcing turnovers, applying

523
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:51,320
Speaker 1: really good pressure on him, and pick and roll to

524
00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:55,200
Speaker 1: make those cross court passes to like Terrence Man difficult.

525
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 1: I clipped a couple examples of this. But when you

526
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,800
Speaker 1: put when you're defending in pick and roll ball pressure

527
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,000
Speaker 1: is so so so important because you know, especially on

528
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 1: a team like the Pelicans that's gonna bring deionas Valanchuniz

529
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,439
Speaker 1: so far out in the coverage out to the perimeter,

530
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,000
Speaker 1: there's going to be openings on the weak side. And

531
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: so if I can get that pass over the top

532
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,159
Speaker 1: on time and on target, on a rope to the

533
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:21,920
Speaker 1: shooting pocket, my defense is compromised, and Terrence Man's either

534
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:23,440
Speaker 1: gonna have a wide open catch and shoot three, or

535
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,719
Speaker 1: he is gonna be able to drive and kick out

536
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:26,679
Speaker 1: of it, and they're gonna get great looks. But if

537
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,240
Speaker 1: I can pressure the basketball and I can force a

538
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,520
Speaker 1: looping pass or a deflected pass, it buys me a

539
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,320
Speaker 1: chance to rotate. And Herb Jones is just so good

540
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,240
Speaker 1: with that active hands, high hands, getting those deflections and

541
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,320
Speaker 1: bothering those over the top passes. He was also beating

542
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,040
Speaker 1: Harden on the other end of the floor just by

543
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,920
Speaker 1: running his lane in transition, getting out in front of him,

544
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:51,560
Speaker 1: hutting back door, just really really active early in the game.

545
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,720
Speaker 1: Dominated that matchup with James Harden, which went a long

546
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 1: way to the early lead for the Pelicans, and then

547
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,480
Speaker 1: on the other end of the floor, just really high

548
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,560
Speaker 1: level driving kick basketball from the Pelicans. I cut a

549
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,440
Speaker 1: lot of examples of high level closeout attacking from the Pels,

550
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:09,639
Speaker 1: and I want to Giveon Williamson a lot of credit

551
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:11,679
Speaker 1: for this one, because they were using a combination of

552
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,879
Speaker 1: pick and rolls in Zion ISOs to basically pull the

553
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,200
Speaker 1: Clippers players down into help, and when they would pull

554
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 1: them into help, quick on point swing passes and then

555
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,840
Speaker 1: quick decisions attacking closeouts ended up generating the offense. CJ.

556
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:30,000
Speaker 1: McCollum was particularly great early in the game attacking closeouts.

557
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,240
Speaker 1: Larry Nance Junior even had one against plumb Lee where

558
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,440
Speaker 1: he drove and kicked to Trey Murphy in the left

559
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,440
Speaker 1: corner for three. They converted twenty six spot up opportunities

560
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,399
Speaker 1: in this game into thirty points. That's one point one

561
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,520
Speaker 1: five points per possession, which is obviously amazing. They're at

562
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 1: one point one for the season, which ranks sixth in

563
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,840
Speaker 1: the NBA, So it's typically something that they are great at.

564
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,240
Speaker 1: And like again, Zion Williamson, just his ability when he's

565
00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,359
Speaker 1: kind of bringing the ball down the floor with some

566
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,560
Speaker 1: verve and get it into those in and out dribbles.

567
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,359
Speaker 1: How it just kind of causes everybody to kind of

568
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,359
Speaker 1: coalesce around him, and like there was a specific play

569
00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:09,920
Speaker 1: where Zion brought the ball off the floor in semi transition.

570
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,280
Speaker 1: He's right at the top of the key and I

571
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:14,760
Speaker 1: think it was Paul George sinks all the way down

572
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:16,800
Speaker 1: to the nail because it's part of the you know,

573
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,240
Speaker 1: that's kind of what you have to do against a

574
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:20,399
Speaker 1: real downhill athlete. You have to build a wall, so

575
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,600
Speaker 1: to speak. And when you build a wall, you generate

576
00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 1: closeout opportunities, and that specific slot closeout is really important.

577
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,640
Speaker 1: You can imagine ball handler on ball defender helper at

578
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,520
Speaker 1: the nail. So this guy here not only does he

579
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,920
Speaker 1: know he has a closeout opportunity, he knows where the

580
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,600
Speaker 1: angle of the closeout's coming from. Paul George is going

581
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,640
Speaker 1: to be closing out to his left hand side and

582
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,360
Speaker 1: trying to chase him off the line because he's a

583
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 1: good shooter. So that is a read that you have

584
00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 1: to make as the spot up player to quickly catch

585
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 1: and rip to the right. And if you watch the play,

586
00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:55,800
Speaker 1: and I clip this one and put it in my

587
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,160
Speaker 1: thread this morning, he Zion Williamson makes a swing pass

588
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: CJ's he already loading up for the writ before the

589
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,360
Speaker 1: ball gets to him and then he catches and racks

590
00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,760
Speaker 1: to the right. Paul George has no chance to keep

591
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 1: him in front because he's so far out of position,

592
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 1: and CJ drives right into the lane. Zubah steps up,

593
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,920
Speaker 1: but he just stops and pops like a little floater

594
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,760
Speaker 1: in the lane. That's really high level, closed out attacking,

595
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,480
Speaker 1: reading the help defender, knowing where your angle is, stopping

596
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,800
Speaker 1: short instead of over penetrating, getting an offensive foul, challenging

597
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,120
Speaker 1: a rim protector or something stooping like the stupid like that,

598
00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:30,960
Speaker 1: the high level finish, which is the high soft floater.

599
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 1: But Zion was causing a lot of issues for the

600
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:35,840
Speaker 1: Clippers with them loading up on him. He had ten

601
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 1: assists in that game, and he kind of closed the

602
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,560
Speaker 1: deal because the Pelicans won up thirty six to nineteen

603
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,240
Speaker 1: after the first quarter, and they kind of stiff armed

604
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,040
Speaker 1: the Clippers until the second half when they made it

605
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 1: a little bit of a run. They actually got it

606
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,640
Speaker 1: back down to four, and then Zion had back to

607
00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,080
Speaker 1: back and once against plumb Lee underneath the basket, and

608
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 1: then Jose Alvarado hit a three in the right corner.

609
00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,600
Speaker 1: It was like bang, bang bang. Next thing, you know,

610
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,400
Speaker 1: they're up double digits again and the game is over.

611
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,720
Speaker 1: So really really impressive two way game from Zion Williamson.

612
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,600
Speaker 1: The Pelicans have won four games in a row. They

613
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:13,920
Speaker 1: had dropped three in a row before that, to the Thunder,

614
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 1: the Bucks, and the Celtics, and they didn't really compete

615
00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,640
Speaker 1: in those games either, and that's been kind of a

616
00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,240
Speaker 1: theme this year, like they just kind of have been

617
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,560
Speaker 1: getting blown out by some of the better teams in

618
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 1: the league. They're three and six before last night against

619
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,600
Speaker 1: the teams that were in my top five list of contenders,

620
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:32,680
Speaker 1: and last night was a big step in the right

621
00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:36,040
Speaker 1: direction on that front. They went into La and dominated

622
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,320
Speaker 1: the Clippers really good on both ends of the floor

623
00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,320
Speaker 1: during this four game stretch. A one to twenty three

624
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:45,520
Speaker 1: offensive rating, a one oh seven defensive rating, outscoring opponents

625
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,760
Speaker 1: by sixteen points per one hundred possessions. So really impressive

626
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,560
Speaker 1: stretch of basketball from the Pelicans. On the Clippers front,

627
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,440
Speaker 1: super sloppy. They were getting beat down the floor in

628
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,240
Speaker 1: transition multiple times. Earlier in the game, Kawhi Leonard got

629
00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:03,880
Speaker 1: ripped in the back court for a pick six, James

630
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,280
Speaker 1: Harden got ripped in the back court for a pick six.

631
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,480
Speaker 1: This is all in the first quarter too, and then

632
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,640
Speaker 1: on defense they were overhelping and losing sight of man

633
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,240
Speaker 1: and ball. And like, here's the thing, this is this

634
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: happens in the NBA. It just does. No team is

635
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,440
Speaker 1: immune to it. Like like like every every team that

636
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,120
Speaker 1: comes out the gates and kicks everyone's butt, they always

637
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,040
Speaker 1: have a stretch where they really struggle. The twenty twenty

638
00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: two Warriors, what they start fifteen to one, and they

639
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,640
Speaker 1: were what one or two seed most of the season,

640
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,120
Speaker 1: but even before Steph got hurt, they had a stretch

641
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:39,760
Speaker 1: where they dropped a bunch of games in a row.

642
00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,920
Speaker 1: It happens, you know, like the U. I remember the

643
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,240
Speaker 1: Lakers in twenty twenty they started what twenty four and three,

644
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,520
Speaker 1: and then they literally right around Christmas lost four games

645
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,560
Speaker 1: in a row. So like it, it's just just about

646
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,760
Speaker 1: guaranteed to happen. Because you play eighty two games, there's

647
00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:58,480
Speaker 1: an inevitable you know, kind of ebb and flow with

648
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 1: your effort and focus and in things along those lines.

649
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,800
Speaker 1: The key is not letting it happen. Very often. This

650
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:09,160
Speaker 1: is one of those things where it's a completely acceptable

651
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,960
Speaker 1: thing to happen, but you just want to avoid it

652
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,000
Speaker 1: happening in mass You want to avoid it happening too frequently, right,

653
00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:17,840
Speaker 1: Like that kind of thing can happen. I want to

654
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,320
Speaker 1: give the Pelicans credit too, Like they just came out

655
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 1: from the opening tip, brought a ton of physicality at

656
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 1: the point of attack, a ton of length and athleticism.

657
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:27,920
Speaker 1: They can really bother you on that front, and they

658
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 1: had a really smart offensive game plan and got a

659
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:35,400
Speaker 1: big win. All right. Moving on to Warriors sixers, So

660
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:37,960
Speaker 1: kind of a classic Nick Nurse game in the sense

661
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,959
Speaker 1: that from the opening tip he takes Jaden Springer and

662
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,080
Speaker 1: just tells him to faceguard Steph Curry. All over the floor.

663
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,360
Speaker 1: They were doing really physical handoff switches to where like

664
00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,360
Speaker 1: Jaden's like hands on Steph as he's moving around, and

665
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,040
Speaker 1: then if there's a screen that he gets caught on,

666
00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,000
Speaker 1: it's like he's almost like passing Steph to the next

667
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 1: guy who's immediately got his hands on him. And like

668
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 1: they're just being physical all over the place. And as

669
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 1: a result, like there's just a ton of space for

670
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:07,320
Speaker 1: the Warriors to play four on four basketball off of him,

671
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,120
Speaker 1: right and like it like and again, like Nick Nurse

672
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,040
Speaker 1: is always into this like kind of janky defensive scheme

673
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,080
Speaker 1: where he's super aggressive, throw the damn kitchen sink at

674
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:17,760
Speaker 1: your best player, and just kind of live with the

675
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:21,160
Speaker 1: results on the backside. This was kind of a textbook

676
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,400
Speaker 1: Nick Nurse Knight in that regard. But they were blitzing

677
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,120
Speaker 1: him on ball screens. They were just forcing anybody else

678
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:30,560
Speaker 1: to beat them, and they did. I thought Andrew Wiggins

679
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:33,080
Speaker 1: and Jonathan Kaminga sprang the biggest run of the game

680
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,239
Speaker 1: there in the late second early third quarter. They just

681
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,840
Speaker 1: bring wave after wave of athleticism to the table. Like

682
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,400
Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga was just beating him up the floor for

683
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:47,360
Speaker 1: transition dunks, Andrew Wiggins a pushing in transition with the

684
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:49,800
Speaker 1: ball in his hands, being active around the rim as

685
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,360
Speaker 1: a cutter and as an offensive rebounder. And then it

686
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,680
Speaker 1: just that group brought the beginning of the run there

687
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,720
Speaker 1: at the end of the second quarter, and they came

688
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,600
Speaker 1: out in the first quarter and they just like just

689
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,560
Speaker 1: completely blitzed the Sixers and it was a blowout in

690
00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:08,080
Speaker 1: no time. And honestly, it's just a really athletic group

691
00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:10,719
Speaker 1: when you have those two guys out there, And this

692
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,080
Speaker 1: is something I've been preaching preaching on pretty much all

693
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,640
Speaker 1: all season after as we were approaching the deadline, like

694
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:22,920
Speaker 1: lean on Draymond Green, Jonathan Kaminga Andrew Wiggins as your

695
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:28,480
Speaker 1: frontline because it's your best combination of athleticism and physicality

696
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,760
Speaker 1: to give you your best bet at contending in the physical

697
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: areas of the game, because you are not going to

698
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 1: be some jaw dropping offense when Steph Curry's really your

699
00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:43,640
Speaker 1: only reliable offensive option, like consistent reliable offensive options. So

700
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,439
Speaker 1: like you need to win games with athleticism, you need

701
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:51,680
Speaker 1: to win games with perimeter defense in physicality and speed,

702
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:55,000
Speaker 1: and that lineup gives you your best bet. And it

703
00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,400
Speaker 1: was interesting because Steve Kerr had mentioned earlier in the

704
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,839
Speaker 1: season that he didn't like Kaminga Wiggins front line and

705
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:05,720
Speaker 1: that they had struggled in the numbers and he wanted

706
00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:07,560
Speaker 1: to try to make it work, but that it hadn't

707
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,560
Speaker 1: worked to that point in the season. Well, over the

708
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,120
Speaker 1: course of the last ten games, we have one hundred

709
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:17,080
Speaker 1: and thirty nine minutes of Jonathan Kaminga, Andrew Wiggins and

710
00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:20,759
Speaker 1: Raymond Green as the front line. They have a one

711
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,760
Speaker 1: to twenty five offensive rating, which is off the charts.

712
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,960
Speaker 1: Good and a ninety seven defensive rating, which is off

713
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,879
Speaker 1: the charts good. And like, here's the thing, There's going

714
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,600
Speaker 1: to be moments where Andrew Wiggins has a tough offensive

715
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,960
Speaker 1: night and Jonathan Kaminga is just not quite as sharp

716
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,480
Speaker 1: as he usually is, and the offense will be able

717
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,360
Speaker 1: to grind down a little bit. That's going to be

718
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:46,360
Speaker 1: baked into some of the limitations of that lineup, but

719
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,520
Speaker 1: it gives them the ability to really grind out games

720
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,400
Speaker 1: in an ugly way. This is a team that needs

721
00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,440
Speaker 1: to get stops in runout in transition, this is a

722
00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:00,120
Speaker 1: team that needs to bring real downhill forced to the

723
00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:02,919
Speaker 1: rim to try to just muck things up and win

724
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,799
Speaker 1: ugly with with matchup attacking and I'm just bigger and

725
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,719
Speaker 1: faster than you type of stuff, right that, Like, they

726
00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:12,439
Speaker 1: don't have a legit number two option, and so they're

727
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:16,040
Speaker 1: not going to be some crazy consistent offense the way

728
00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,040
Speaker 1: that like a Denver is going to be. And so

729
00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,560
Speaker 1: I think that lineup gives them their best opportunity to

730
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:26,440
Speaker 1: kind of bring that that that athleticism and defensive end

731
00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:29,400
Speaker 1: of the flour into the equation more frequently. And again,

732
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,160
Speaker 1: like one hundred and thirty nine minutes is a substantial

733
00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:36,560
Speaker 1: sample size. That's that's that's again it's in a ten

734
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:39,400
Speaker 1: game span, but like they've been kicking people's asses with

735
00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:42,719
Speaker 1: that group, and that's something super encouraging, and like, honestly,

736
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:47,000
Speaker 1: the next step here is like Kurrs leaning on it

737
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:49,680
Speaker 1: more in general as a lineup, but I think he

738
00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:52,000
Speaker 1: needs to lean on it in crunch time too, because

739
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 1: we've seen that the Warriors have had trouble maintaining their

740
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,279
Speaker 1: their success when they get into close games late. That's

741
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,799
Speaker 1: been a consistent stint issue throughout the season. What are

742
00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,719
Speaker 1: they lost eighteen games this year that have been within

743
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,640
Speaker 1: five points with less than five minutes left, So it's

744
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,920
Speaker 1: been a consistent issue, and I think sticking with that

745
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:13,439
Speaker 1: group longer gives their best chance, gives them their best

746
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,960
Speaker 1: chance to contend in the short term during this regular season.

747
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,319
Speaker 1: I also thought it was pretty encouraging games from Klay

748
00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:23,719
Speaker 1: Thompson and from Kavan Looney, both of them have been

749
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:25,960
Speaker 1: struggling a lot here in the middle portion of the season.

750
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,600
Speaker 1: Looney was super active on the glass and just his

751
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,240
Speaker 1: usual kind of like physical, groundbound game, and Klay Thompson

752
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,759
Speaker 1: just a really under control game took the right shots,

753
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,760
Speaker 1: contended in the physicality areas. It was a really encouraging

754
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:41,400
Speaker 1: night all round for the Warriors. And by the way,

755
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,399
Speaker 1: they've won four of their last five games, and they've

756
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:46,840
Speaker 1: won for their last five games, with that one loss

757
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:50,480
Speaker 1: being that lost to Atlanta where they fell apart in

758
00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:53,040
Speaker 1: crunch time and had all the issues that they had there,

759
00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:56,000
Speaker 1: So like there's a lot to be encouraged about on

760
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:57,759
Speaker 1: this front. I still think they have a really good

761
00:37:57,800 --> 00:37:59,279
Speaker 1: chance to get into the play in They are only

762
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,479
Speaker 1: one game back of Utah. They're like, I want to say,

763
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:03,719
Speaker 1: three and a half games back to get into that

764
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,200
Speaker 1: eighth spot to where they can only where they get

765
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 1: two chances to win one game, which is just a

766
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,840
Speaker 1: better position to be in in the play in tournament.

767
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: So big step forward for the Warriors last night, all right,

768
00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,960
Speaker 1: last one before we get out of here. Celtics and

769
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,120
Speaker 1: the Hawks, so it's kind of interesting games. Drew Holliday

770
00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:23,200
Speaker 1: was out and John tim Murray was out, so some

771
00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,760
Speaker 1: kind of funky versions of both teams. Celtics went big

772
00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:29,920
Speaker 1: with Al Horford, Derek White, and Jalen Brown I thought

773
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,520
Speaker 1: were the story of the game, particularly setting the tone

774
00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:35,520
Speaker 1: early on Trey Young, just bringing a ton of physicality

775
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:39,359
Speaker 1: and back pressure and extra efforts in rotation. You can

776
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,680
Speaker 1: tell with Trey Young when he's struggling, when some of

777
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,319
Speaker 1: the drop off passes to Biggs are a little bit

778
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:48,960
Speaker 1: off target, and when he's missing his floater, because like

779
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:52,000
Speaker 1: when he starts to rush his floater, that's when you

780
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,359
Speaker 1: can tell you're really bothering Trey Young. And they did

781
00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:56,080
Speaker 1: a really nice job on him. He had just twenty

782
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,799
Speaker 1: points on twenty five shots. They forced him into four turnovers.

783
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,560
Speaker 1: Atlanta got some solid contributions on the wing. Sadik Bay

784
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,840
Speaker 1: and Jalen Johnson were both great. They combined for forty

785
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,160
Speaker 1: four in this game. I just kind of kept things close,

786
00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:11,000
Speaker 1: but then late in the game Jason Tatum and Derek

787
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,200
Speaker 1: White helped them pull away. Tatum was it was interesting

788
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:16,239
Speaker 1: because it was kind of a microcosm of some of

789
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:18,440
Speaker 1: the stuff you've seen from him this season down the stretch,

790
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:21,000
Speaker 1: because it's like he gets Sidiq Bay on a switch

791
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:25,120
Speaker 1: and he late in the clock ends up settling for

792
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,400
Speaker 1: like a tough pull up three, and you're like, like,

793
00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,880
Speaker 1: why didn't he drive to the basket, And then on

794
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,279
Speaker 1: the offensive rebound, he gets back out to him and

795
00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:34,440
Speaker 1: he has Trey Young on him, and he immediately his

796
00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,279
Speaker 1: eyes light up and he just rips through into the

797
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:38,440
Speaker 1: lane and just bounces off all these bodies, gets his

798
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:40,720
Speaker 1: left handed scoops out. Probably a foul too, like probably

799
00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:44,319
Speaker 1: deserved free throws on that one as well. And then

800
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:48,000
Speaker 1: I thought the most encouraging sign was he got an

801
00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:50,759
Speaker 1: Yekakongu on a switch on the left wing. A few

802
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,800
Speaker 1: possessions later, and you could see as he was mixing

803
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,239
Speaker 1: up those side to side dribbles, he wanted so bad

804
00:39:56,239 --> 00:39:58,640
Speaker 1: to take that pull up three, but he was. He

805
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,480
Speaker 1: didn't settle, He drove left to got right past the congo.

806
00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:03,800
Speaker 1: Probably should have gotten anan one on that one as well,

807
00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:05,839
Speaker 1: scooped it in. And then late in the game once

808
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,279
Speaker 1: again uh less. It was about thirty seconds left and

809
00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:11,279
Speaker 1: he had Sadik Bay again on the left wing, and

810
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:14,080
Speaker 1: instead of settling or on the right wing, excuse me,

811
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:17,320
Speaker 1: instead of settling, just put his head down and tried

812
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,200
Speaker 1: to get downhill, kind of turned the corner a little

813
00:40:20,239 --> 00:40:23,040
Speaker 1: bit to the left and drew in Christops Porzingis's man

814
00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:25,360
Speaker 1: and made a swing pass back out to the perimeter.

815
00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:28,319
Speaker 1: Hit Christops, he knocked down the three that basically iced

816
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:31,680
Speaker 1: the game, and again, like it's just gonna be it's

817
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,320
Speaker 1: just gonna be a vital importance for that those types

818
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,160
Speaker 1: of developments to take place. For Jason Tatum, Like the

819
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,400
Speaker 1: frustration I thought was encouraging. He was mad when he

820
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:43,759
Speaker 1: got that and one after he missed the pull up three,

821
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,399
Speaker 1: and he was yelling at the refs, and it's like, dude,

822
00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:51,439
Speaker 1: get frustrated, get irritated. Bring that physical imposition to the game.

823
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:54,520
Speaker 1: You are one of the best forward athletes in the league,

824
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:57,040
Speaker 1: and when you bring that, you make your team that

825
00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:59,920
Speaker 1: much harder to guard. And had a good playmaking game too.

826
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,400
Speaker 1: We had two really nice driving kicks to Derek White

827
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,960
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter, really high quality three point shots. Again,

828
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:07,840
Speaker 1: that's the name of the game for the Celtics. You

829
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,080
Speaker 1: can play the volume three point shooting game, or you

830
00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,200
Speaker 1: can play the quality three point shooting game. And if

831
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,560
Speaker 1: they play the quality three point shooting game, I think

832
00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:16,799
Speaker 1: they're gonna win the title. That's how good I think

833
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:19,840
Speaker 1: they are. But like, there's it's getting rid of some

834
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:25,000
Speaker 1: of the early clock, semi contested threes for only OK shooters.

835
00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:26,600
Speaker 1: Those are the ones that they have to kind of

836
00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:28,759
Speaker 1: get out of their system. And then for Tatum, just

837
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:32,319
Speaker 1: in particular and his matchup attacking using the step back

838
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:34,719
Speaker 1: three more as a counter like this guy's on his

839
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:38,520
Speaker 1: heels and giving me space rather or like late clock situation,

840
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:40,880
Speaker 1: I don't have time to drive, rather than as the

841
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,480
Speaker 1: shot that he hunts in the drive being the counter,

842
00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:46,040
Speaker 1: if that makes sense. And then a couple other things.

843
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown, I thought his matchup attacking early in the

844
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:51,120
Speaker 1: game because Jason Tatum was in a little bit of

845
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,960
Speaker 1: a funk early, little aut rhythm. Jalen Brown was bringing

846
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:58,920
Speaker 1: that just like mid posts ISO attack that kind of

847
00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:01,839
Speaker 1: carried them offensively earlier. And then he brought a really

848
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:04,719
Speaker 1: good defensive effort and had some really good possessions on

849
00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:06,960
Speaker 1: Trey Young, which is part of their success in that game.

850
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,320
Speaker 1: And then I really liked these Avier Tillman and Jayden

851
00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: Springer editions. I thought that they were a good example

852
00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:17,400
Speaker 1: of a team that understands like it's so easy to

853
00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:20,600
Speaker 1: sit there and be like we're the best team, and

854
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:22,440
Speaker 1: it's so easy to sit there and be like we

855
00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:24,279
Speaker 1: have the best record in the league. We don't need

856
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,080
Speaker 1: to go out and do something. We have our core

857
00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:31,240
Speaker 1: five nailed down. It's gonna be Porzingis, Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum,

858
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,799
Speaker 1: Derek White, Drew Holliday. Those are the five guys, right, So,

859
00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:37,399
Speaker 1: like it's so easy to just be content there. And

860
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,279
Speaker 1: I've always had an appreciation and respect for teams that

861
00:42:42,719 --> 00:42:44,719
Speaker 1: pushed their chips in in the sense that they want

862
00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:47,640
Speaker 1: to buy as much margin for error as possible. It

863
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,919
Speaker 1: is really hard to win an NBA championship. A lot

864
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,640
Speaker 1: has to go right for you. This team, in particular,

865
00:42:53,719 --> 00:42:56,080
Speaker 1: already is up against it in the sense that Jason

866
00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:57,880
Speaker 1: Tatum will not be the best player in a series

867
00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,520
Speaker 1: with Milwaukee. He will not be the best player in

868
00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,719
Speaker 1: a series against you know, like a like a Miami

869
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:06,480
Speaker 1: right like we've seen. Although I feel a little bit

870
00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:08,359
Speaker 1: uh iffy about that one because I think I think

871
00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:11,719
Speaker 1: Tatum's gone toe to toe with with Jimmy Butler more

872
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:14,239
Speaker 1: than once in his career. But like, he's not gonna

873
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,800
Speaker 1: be the best player in a series against the Denver

874
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:18,600
Speaker 1: Nuggets if they get out of the conference. He's not

875
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:21,080
Speaker 1: gonna be the best player in a series against the

876
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:23,640
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Clippers, right, So, like you need to buy

877
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,760
Speaker 1: them as much margin for error as possible and getting

878
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:29,879
Speaker 1: a higher quality backup center that's got a little bit

879
00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:33,560
Speaker 1: more playoff resiliency. That's a good option for you. I

880
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:35,640
Speaker 1: thought it was a I thought it was an example

881
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,680
Speaker 1: of a failing to be content of of of truly

882
00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:43,080
Speaker 1: going after the best possible title odds that you can

883
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,560
Speaker 1: get within the scope of this season. So shout out

884
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,239
Speaker 1: to the Boston Celtics. All right, guys, that's all I

885
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:50,520
Speaker 1: have for today's show. When you're going to be back

886
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:53,879
Speaker 1: later tonight for an instant reaction after Lakers Nuggets live

887
00:43:53,960 --> 00:44:23,560
Speaker 1: on YouTube, I will see you guys there. The volume