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Speaker 1: dot net in West Virginia. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight,

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Speaker 1: presented by FanDuel. Here on the volume, I am Jason Timp.

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Speaker 1: Happy Friday, everybody. I hope you all had a great week.

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Speaker 1: I sincerely apologize for those of you who are listening

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Speaker 1: a little bit earlier. We had some technical difficulties, but

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Speaker 1: we got those resolved. I appreciate you sticking around and

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Speaker 1: or coming back. You may also have noticed that we

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Speaker 1: titled the show Hoops Tonight Tonight instead of Lakers Tonight.

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Speaker 1: All that is is a different brand that we are

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Speaker 1: going to use for nights where we don't go immediately

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Speaker 1: after Lakers games, which is obviously going to be more

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Speaker 1: relevant as we head into the postseason. Just a new

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Speaker 1: brand doesn't change anything about the show or where you

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Speaker 1: get um. But ironically, the Lakers were the most interesting

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Speaker 1: game tonight, so we will be leading with them. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna talk about Russ's big shot and all the chaos

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Speaker 1: surrounding that. We're gonna talk about Lebron's vintage fourth quarter,

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Speaker 1: and we're gonna get into a little bit of the

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Speaker 1: things that the Lakers did in that game that they

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Speaker 1: can take forward, lessons that they might have learned that

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Speaker 1: they can apply as they move forward. And then later

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Speaker 1: in the show, we are going to talk about the

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Speaker 1: Mavericks finally losing one of these huge road games in

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Speaker 1: Philly tonight, talk about this recent stretch from them and

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Speaker 1: what it means. And then for those of you stick

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Speaker 1: around at the end, we're going to talk a little

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Speaker 1: bit of the Chicago Bulls, the team I have not

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Speaker 1: done a deep dive on of late, so let's start

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Speaker 1: with the Lakers. This was a very important win for

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Speaker 1: a bunch of different reasons. Obviously, in the standings, it

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Speaker 1: was important they now have a three game advantage over

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Speaker 1: the San Antonio Spurs for that eleven spot. So if

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Speaker 1: within that locker room, if they are interested in trying

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Speaker 1: to make a run at this thing, they need to

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Speaker 1: get a certain amount of wins the rest of the

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Speaker 1: season to even stay in that spot. This idea of

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Speaker 1: them just going out every night, rolling over and losing

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Speaker 1: by twenty had this obvious consequence that was gonna involve

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Speaker 1: them just missing the play in altogether. And then also

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Speaker 1: it has to do with just, you know, some sort

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Speaker 1: of building block, something you can take into the next

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Speaker 1: season regardless of what happens this season, if they missed

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Speaker 1: the play in, if they make the plan but lose

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Speaker 1: in the playing tournament, or if they make it to

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Speaker 1: the first round and get destroyed by Phoenix. Regardless of

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Speaker 1: what happens, basketball has to be played next year, and

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Speaker 1: they need to have something that they can build on.

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Speaker 1: And so this win is important for all of those

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Speaker 1: reasons that I just laid out. First of all, Toronto

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Speaker 1: is really, really good. I didn't think the Lakers were

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Speaker 1: physically capable of getting this win tonight on the road

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Speaker 1: in Toronto. If you watched that game at the Crypto

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Speaker 1: dot Com Arena the other night, they looked physically outclassed

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Speaker 1: at almost every position. It was one of those things

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Speaker 1: where you when you try to fathom how they could

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Speaker 1: go into Toronto play that same basketball team with the

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Speaker 1: same pieces at their disposal, for them to fight the

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Speaker 1: way they did was really impressive. And it goes to

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Speaker 1: that the same concept that I talked about in after

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Speaker 1: that game. I talked about the difference between being big

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Speaker 1: and playing big. The Lakers were a small team that

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Speaker 1: also played small. They backed away and shied away from

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Speaker 1: all of the physical confrontations. They weren't actually trying to

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Speaker 1: win those confrontations. They were conceding those confrontations. That's not

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Speaker 1: what happened tonight. They went in and they were the

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Speaker 1: physical aggressors. Some of that was Toronto pulling back, probably

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Speaker 1: because they expected the Lakers to roll over, but a

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Speaker 1: lot of it was the Lakers coming out swinging and

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Speaker 1: punching and trying to win those physical battles. And they did.

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Speaker 1: And that's what's so frustrating about this team, because they

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Speaker 1: have a punch that they have access to that has

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Speaker 1: the capability of beating any of these teams in the

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Speaker 1: league on any given night. Are they good enough to

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Speaker 1: win the championship? Probably not. I don't think so. Even

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Speaker 1: with Anthony Davis coming back. They're just too thin at

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Speaker 1: almost every other position group on the floor outside of

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Speaker 1: Lebron and Anthony Davis. But they're nowhere near as bad

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Speaker 1: as the results from this last month would tell you.

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Speaker 1: If you looked at the results they you would think

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Speaker 1: this is one of the very worst teams in the league,

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Speaker 1: and the same tier as like an Orlando Magic, for instance.

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Speaker 1: But that's not how bad this team actually is. They

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Speaker 1: they may not be a bona fide championship contender, but

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Speaker 1: they are a healthy playoff team that should absolutely be

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Speaker 1: competitive in every single NBA game, and they were disrespecting

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Speaker 1: the game and poisoning their own situation by playing the

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Speaker 1: way that they were playing over the course of this

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Speaker 1: last month. It's annoying that we know that they can

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Speaker 1: do what they did tonight, maybe not win a couple

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Speaker 1: of bounces go different. They lose tonight, but they were

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Speaker 1: competitive throughout the game. I would argue they controlled that

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Speaker 1: game for the most part. That's what that team is

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Speaker 1: capable of against any of those non contenders. They No,

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Speaker 1: I don't think they can go beat Phoenix, but against

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Speaker 1: the vast majority of the teams in the league. They

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Speaker 1: should be competitive on any given night, and if Lebron

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Speaker 1: is able to give you what he gave you in

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Speaker 1: the fourth quarter tonight, you should be able to win

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Speaker 1: with this group. And so that's what's been so frustrating

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Speaker 1: about this team this season. I wanted to talk about

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Speaker 1: Russ's shot for a second because I thought it was

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Speaker 1: genuinely fascinating at so many different levels. You know, Russ

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Speaker 1: is having a really bad season by any stretch of

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Speaker 1: the imagination, and I would argue it's the vast majority

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Speaker 1: of it is his fault. Some of it is circumstances.

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Speaker 1: You know, Frank Vogel hasn't done the best job. He's

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Speaker 1: been elevated to bigger roles because of injury. There are

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Speaker 1: circumstances that are outside of his control that didn't go well.

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Speaker 1: But the vast majority of this season going poorly was

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Speaker 1: Russ's fault, him not embracing what he needed to do.

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Speaker 1: And I've talked a lot on the show in recent

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Speaker 1: weeks about how he needs to adapt and learn a

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Speaker 1: lesson from this season. Well, that last sequence of possessions

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Speaker 1: at the end of this game taught you everything you

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Speaker 1: need to know about how us has interpreted what has

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Speaker 1: happened to this season. If you thought he was humbled,

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Speaker 1: if you thought maybe he was thinking about changing some

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Speaker 1: of the aspects of his game, Hell no, that was

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Speaker 1: answered in a resounding fashion. Let's let me just lay

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Speaker 1: this out for you, just so you guys understand exactly

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Speaker 1: how crazy easy those last two shots where from Russell Westbrook.

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Speaker 1: He is shooting less than fourteen percent from three in

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Speaker 1: the fifteen games coming into tonight, Lebron had sixteen points

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Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. He had just made a three.

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Speaker 1: Because Toronto was ball pressuring the three point line with

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Speaker 1: size and length, the only guy that was getting quality

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Speaker 1: three point shots was Lebron unless Stanley Johnson wanted to

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Speaker 1: shoot something, but he was moving the ball as he

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Speaker 1: shoot up in that situation, So Lebron comes off of

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Speaker 1: the screen and misses a step back that would have

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Speaker 1: tied the game. Their Lakers get an offensive rebound. It

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Speaker 1: ends up back in Russ His hands. Here comes Lebron

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Speaker 1: off of another screen, coming back towards Russ, and Precious

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Speaker 1: a Chua dies on the screen. Lebron is open at

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Speaker 1: the top of the key and on top of that

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Speaker 1: Pascal Seacom's guarding Russ and he's up on the jump shot.

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Speaker 1: He's taking away his airspace and Russ shot it anyway,

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Speaker 1: and it was one of the worst misses I have

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Speaker 1: ever seen in an NBA game from a player that's

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Speaker 1: allegedly as talented as wells of Westbrook Is. He damn

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Speaker 1: near hits the corner of the backboard and he one

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Speaker 1: ups himself because on the very next possession, completely unfazed,

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Speaker 1: he goes down the floor and he makes the shot

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Speaker 1: horribly like the Scotty Barnes was draped all over him,

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Speaker 1: barely had any space, and he knocks down that shot,

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Speaker 1: and it was an amazing shot, and it was the

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Speaker 1: only reason the Lakers had an opportunity to win that

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Speaker 1: game in overtime. So I want to credit that as

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Speaker 1: best as I possibly can. It was an unbelievable shot

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Speaker 1: saved the night for the Lakers. But that shot tells

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Speaker 1: you everything you need to know about Russ and what

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Speaker 1: he's learned from this season after this catastrophe of a season.

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Speaker 1: His takeaway was, oh, Lebron's got it going tonight, but

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Speaker 1: but I gotta go, oh Lebron just made a three

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Speaker 1: has sixteen points in the fourth corner. No, no, no,

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Speaker 1: this is my turn. Oh I just hit the corner

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Speaker 1: of a backboard and all those other things are true. No,

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Speaker 1: it's still my turn. That tells you everything you need

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Speaker 1: to know about Russ. That supreme confidence has carried him

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Speaker 1: throughout his career, but it's become a detriment to him

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Speaker 1: at this phase of his career, and that tells you

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Speaker 1: everything you need to know about whether or not he's

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Speaker 1: willing to adapt at some point soon. Maybe that will

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Speaker 1: still happen at some point, but it's clear mentally that

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Speaker 1: he's not there yet. After the game, Dan Woiki asks

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Speaker 1: him how he prevents those ugly, ugly misses from getting

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Speaker 1: in his head, and he's simply answered, I have twenty

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Speaker 1: three thousand points. And again I admire the confidence. It

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Speaker 1: is Russell Westbrook personified, but the truth of the man.

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Speaker 1: And look here, I don't know. Maybe he gives the

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Speaker 1: ball to Lebron on both of those possessions, and maybe

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Speaker 1: Lebron misses both threes. You know, I can't say that

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Speaker 1: for certain. Russ made the shot, that's all that matters.

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Speaker 1: But in the moment, those were very poor decisions, very

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Speaker 1: very astonishingly poor decisions. With the rhythm that Lebron had,

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Speaker 1: the fact that he's six ft nine, the fact that

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Speaker 1: he can shoot over the top about just about anybody,

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Speaker 1: and the fact that he had the rhythm that he had,

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Speaker 1: they were confusing decisions, but again, big shot for us

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Speaker 1: saved the game. It just as an interesting dynamic that

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Speaker 1: reveals so much about who Russ is as a basketball player,

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Speaker 1: what his his basketball character is made up. So moving

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Speaker 1: on to Lebron, I was there were a handful of

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Speaker 1: really really ugly defensive breakdowns at the end of that

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Speaker 1: fourth quarter, getting Gary Trent wide open threes that ended

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Speaker 1: up nearly costing the Lakers the game. And it's funny

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Speaker 1: because I'm not surprised that the sloppy basketball team that's

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Speaker 1: been sloppy all year long made sloppy mistakes in a

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Speaker 1: pivotal moment. That's you know, you are who you are

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Speaker 1: in those ways, and the Lakers are going to continue

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Speaker 1: to be who they are in those situations. But what

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Speaker 1: was interesting was it was those mistakes were going to

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Speaker 1: ruin a vintage masterpiece of a fourth quarter performance from Lebron.

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Speaker 1: I tweeted out earlier that Lebron has these like five

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Speaker 1: minute stretches that he'll go on where he literally is

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Speaker 1: everywhere on the floor. It's almost like there's five Lebrons

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Speaker 1: out there and he's making every play and it's confusing,

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Speaker 1: and it's like a tidal wave that just takes over

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Speaker 1: the game. You know, when I'm ranking, when I'm ranking

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Speaker 1: players in the league, you guys, for those of you

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Speaker 1: have been following me for a while, you know, I

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Speaker 1: always prioritize three things. Isolation scoring, the ability to create

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Speaker 1: your own shot, playmaking, the ability to create shots for

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Speaker 1: your teammates, and defensive versatility the ability to impact the

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Speaker 1: game defensively in a bunch of different ways. Well, Lebron

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Speaker 1: is really the only guy in this era that's been

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Speaker 1: unbelievably elite at all three things. If you look at

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Speaker 1: other guys around the league, like Kevin Durant can be

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Speaker 1: laite defensively, but he's not the best playmaker in the world.

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Speaker 1: Or like Steph Curry, he's actually a very good playmaker

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Speaker 1: as he draws attention, but he's not the best defensive

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Speaker 1: player in the world. So when those guys hit the Jets,

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Speaker 1: when those guys really try to put their stamp on

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Speaker 1: the game. It comes the same way. It's their scoring

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Speaker 1: out firsts or creating shots with the team. It's things

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Speaker 1: along those lines when Lebron really pushes the turbo button

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Speaker 1: and takes over a game because he's so versatile and

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Speaker 1: all of those areas of the game. Like I talked about,

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Speaker 1: it's that crazy effect that Lebron has where he's all

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Speaker 1: over the floor making every single play and nobody on

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Speaker 1: the on the other team can do anything about it.

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Speaker 1: My favorite example of this in his career was the

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Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen Finals against the Spurs, and there were

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Speaker 1: two spurts where he did this in Game two in

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Speaker 1: the fourth quarter and in Game six and the fourth quarter,

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Speaker 1: And in both of those games the Spurs had leads

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Speaker 1: and were and had control of the game, but Lebron

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Speaker 1: kind of reached that moment of desperation where he had

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Speaker 1: to empty the tank, empty the clip, do whatever he

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Speaker 1: could to impact the game. And he was flying around

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Speaker 1: up a Denzil for You'd see him step up and

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Speaker 1: blocked Thiago, splitter block Tim Duncan at the rim, then

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Speaker 1: get his own rebound and split all the way up

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Speaker 1: the floor and like pass fake to a guy in

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Speaker 1: the corner and then pump fake and finish at the basket,

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Speaker 1: or to drive into the lane and draw four bodies

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Speaker 1: and kick it out to Shane Dattier in the corner

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Speaker 1: for for a huge street like that was what made

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Speaker 1: those moments for Lebron so iconic, and what made those

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Speaker 1: moments for Lebron so like become the fuel for his

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Speaker 1: goat case and everybody who says that they think that

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Speaker 1: he's the best player they've ever seen, it's because of that,

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Speaker 1: and we got to see that tonight. In that fourth quarter,

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Speaker 1: Lebron was everywhere on the back line, making defensive place,

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Speaker 1: getting into the paint, collapsing bodies and kicking out to

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Speaker 1: Avery Bradley, finishing at the rim, using his brain, beating

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Speaker 1: people on back cuts. That shot that he hit, the

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Speaker 1: three point shot that he banked in, was eerily reminiscent

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Speaker 1: of the one that he hit to send the game

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Speaker 1: to overtime in Washington back in two thousand seventeen. He

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Speaker 1: had a hundred different impact plays in that fourth quarter.

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Speaker 1: It's the thing that I'm gonna miss the most when

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Speaker 1: Lebron is gone, because I don't think there's a player

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Speaker 1: in the league who has that type of burst because

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Speaker 1: all of the players in the league right now have

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Speaker 1: big strengths, but they also have weaknesses. Lebron has always

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Speaker 1: been the Swiss Army Knife of the NBA, and when

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Speaker 1: he gets going like that, it's always been such a

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Speaker 1: site to behold. One last note on the Lakers before

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Speaker 1: we move on. That was really interesting that they started big.

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Speaker 1: We've seen so many times this season where Frank Vogel

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Speaker 1: has in a point of desperation, gone super small right,

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Speaker 1: gone to multiple guards, gone to four guards, even sometimes

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Speaker 1: gone to mellow at Center with four guards, And what

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Speaker 1: we haven't seen is him just say screw it, I'm

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Speaker 1: going huge. And it was an interesting reaction to the

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Speaker 1: way that Toronto physically dominated their first matchup. He started

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Speaker 1: Lebron and when you in Gabriel and Dwight Howard, and

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Speaker 1: I think that was part of what set that physical

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Speaker 1: tone that allowed the Lakers to be the aggressor throughout

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Speaker 1: the game. When you in Gabriel was incredible. Tonight you go.

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Speaker 1: I've done video breakdowns on him and a bunch of

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Speaker 1: stuff about him on the show. This is just what

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Speaker 1: happens when you have size and athleticism and you play hard.

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Speaker 1: In this NBA, you can automatically have an impact just

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Speaker 1: by going out and playing extremely hard and leaving your

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Speaker 1: physical tools on the floor. Both him and Stanley Johnson

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Speaker 1: had big impacts tonight in that way. I like the

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Speaker 1: idea of going big, especially with Lebron being inconsistent with

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Speaker 1: his defensive effort. If you have another guy at the

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Speaker 1: center position who can take over all those back line responsibilities,

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Speaker 1: then if Lebron is coasting on the defensive ent, it's

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Speaker 1: less damaging. When Lebron's at center and it's four guards

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Speaker 1: on the floor or four perimeter players on the floor

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Speaker 1: and Lebron's coasting defensively, it's always gonna be a disaster

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Speaker 1: because you have to have somebody on the back line

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Speaker 1: who's willing to rotate around. I thought that was an

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Speaker 1: interesting tactic from very Frank Vogel tonight, and I think

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Speaker 1: it's an interesting approach to potentially try to move forward.

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Speaker 1: They've had spacing issue and offensive issues all season anyway,

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Speaker 1: why not just lean into that a little bit by

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Speaker 1: So they lost finally on the road tonight in Philly.

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Speaker 1: They had a couple of huge wins. We broke those

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Speaker 1: down in detail. I did a video on both of them,

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Speaker 1: against the Brooklyn Nets and against the Boston Celtics. The

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Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks are trending in the direction looking like a

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Speaker 1: bona fide championship contender, but they finally fell flat on

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Speaker 1: their face tonight in Philly. I thought I didn't take

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Speaker 1: too much from it. I thought it was related to fatigue.

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Speaker 1: It's their fourth game on this road trip, Luca and

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Speaker 1: and Spencer Dinwoodie. I think they went combined a two

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Speaker 1: for fourteen from three. That's a big indicator of legs.

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Speaker 1: That's fatigue starting to play a role. Also, the Sixers

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Speaker 1: shot out of their minds. They had six players who

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Speaker 1: made at least two threes. They shot four. Two from

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Speaker 1: the game and for the game and the way to

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Speaker 1: beat the Sixers, as we all know, as we've laid

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Speaker 1: out on this show in detail over the last couple

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Speaker 1: of weeks, you have to get out in transition. Dallas

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Speaker 1: did not do that tonight. They only had seven fast breakpoints.

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Speaker 1: You're if you're not gonna attack Philly's weakness, You're gonna

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Speaker 1: struggle in a lot of different ways. I wouldn't take

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Speaker 1: too much from that game. That said, I still I

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Speaker 1: still like what I've seen from Dallas in this recent

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Speaker 1: stretch of games and I wanted to provide some perspective

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Speaker 1: here because people always expect these top tier contenders to

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Speaker 1: just go in and roll over everybody they play, including

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Speaker 1: the good teams, and that's never how it actually goes.

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Speaker 1: For instance, last year the Milwaukee Bucks won the title,

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Speaker 1: they were only nineteen and seventeen against teams that were

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Speaker 1: over five five or above. That's pretty average, right, There's

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Speaker 1: nothing to write home about. The previous season the Lakers,

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Speaker 1: they were only twenty and fourteen against teams that were

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Speaker 1: five and above. This season, the Mavericks are twenty one

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Speaker 1: and seventeen. That's pretty solid they are. They have enough

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Speaker 1: signature wins to add legitimacy to what they're doing. We've

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Speaker 1: talked about it a lot on this show. I'm just

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Speaker 1: a huge believer in what they do defensively. If you

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Speaker 1: guys look at my Twitter feed today, or released a

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Speaker 1: video talking about the way they mixed up their defensive

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Speaker 1: coverages against against the Nets in that big win in Brooklyn.

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Speaker 1: Big credit to Jason Kidd, who's done an awesome job

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Speaker 1: with that team. I don't think they I wouldn't put

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Speaker 1: them in the top tier of contenders. I don't think

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Speaker 1: they're as good as your you know, your Milwaukee's, your Phillies,

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Speaker 1: r Phoenix is. But I do think they're in that

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Speaker 1: second tier of contenders, meaning they absolutely could win if

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Speaker 1: a handful of things break right for them. All right,

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Speaker 1: moving on to the Bulls. So Sons chugging right along,

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Speaker 1: no issues without Chris Paul, and I think a huge

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Speaker 1: part of that is all of that talent on the

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Speaker 1: roster that I keep telling you guys about that team.

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Speaker 1: All the focus goes on Devin Booker and Chris Paul,

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Speaker 1: but the real reason why they're winning is from top

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Speaker 1: to bottom. No team in the NBA has more talent

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Speaker 1: than them. Campaign is an awesome a backup guard. He

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Speaker 1: arguably is a better option than Chris Paul and specific

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Speaker 1: matchups because he's one of the best point of attack

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Speaker 1: guards in the league. He beats his man off the

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Speaker 1: dribble almost every time. He gets into the paint at will,

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Speaker 1: which gets defenses to rotate. And when you get defenses

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Speaker 1: to rotate and you have good players around him that

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Speaker 1: can attack those closeouts, you're gonna get some good stuff.

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Speaker 1: Michael Bridges looks like a star in the making. DeAndre

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Speaker 1: Ayton is unbelievable. Just imagine if DeAndre Ayton got to

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Speaker 1: come up the way that Joel Embiad did on a

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Speaker 1: bad team, shooting twenty shots of game, getting to mix

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Speaker 1: up and take step back jump shots and Hakimola Juan

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Speaker 1: shoulder fakes and all of those things. I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: that DeAndre Ayton is Joel Embiid. We I can flat

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Speaker 1: out and say he's not. But he is in a

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Speaker 1: different type of development trajectory than Joel Embiid, and he

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Speaker 1: is a really, really, really good player that is playing

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Speaker 1: a smaller role on a team that doesn't need him

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Speaker 1: to do as much. And what you're seeing in this

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Speaker 1: recent stretch of games is he's got great footwork. He's

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Speaker 1: got great he's got a great package of moves out

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00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:11,119
Speaker 1: of the post. He's got one of the best little

432
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,040
Speaker 1: short jump books in the league. He actually has a

433
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,600
Speaker 1: good jump shot as well. He's got a lot to

434
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 1: him that he can that he's got in reserve. The

435
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,119
Speaker 1: same goes for Michail Bridges. Those are the guys that

436
00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:24,960
Speaker 1: are gonna be the huge building blocks alongside Devin Booker

437
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,119
Speaker 1: in the future, and they're a really exciting team. But

438
00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:28,880
Speaker 1: I wanted to take a couple of minutes to talk

439
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,359
Speaker 1: about the Chicago Bulls, their team I haven't talked about

440
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,240
Speaker 1: really since I started with the Volume, and there's a

441
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,440
Speaker 1: very specific reason for that. It's because they've been decimated

442
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,760
Speaker 1: by injuries. And I know that doesn't sound right because

443
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 1: Demarda Rosen's playing every game and you're getting Nikola Vuseovic

444
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,119
Speaker 1: every game, You're getting zac Lavine every game, so it

445
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,240
Speaker 1: seems like everything's fine. But the arguably the most important

446
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,200
Speaker 1: players on this team are Alonzo Ball and Alex crusa

447
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,399
Speaker 1: which is interesting for a bunch of different reasons, and

448
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,200
Speaker 1: for the record, the numbers back it up. In four

449
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,439
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty nine minutes. By the way, these numbers

450
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,679
Speaker 1: were coming into tonight because NBA doesn't update their stats

451
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,480
Speaker 1: till later, But in four hundred and fifty nine minutes

452
00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,439
Speaker 1: this season, with a Lonzo Ball and Alex Cruso on

453
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:12,080
Speaker 1: the floor together, the Bowls are plus nine point three

454
00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:16,639
Speaker 1: points per one possessions. That's awesome. That is a awesome number.

455
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,919
Speaker 1: They are minus one point four when those two are

456
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,960
Speaker 1: off the floor per one hundred possessions, they are thirteen

457
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,359
Speaker 1: points six points worse on defense. With a Lonzo and

458
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 1: Alex Cruso off the floor, then when those guys are

459
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,280
Speaker 1: on the floor, and it's interesting for a bunch of

460
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,840
Speaker 1: different reasons. I've talked a lot about the way the

461
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,040
Speaker 1: game of basketball has been changing over the course of

462
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,280
Speaker 1: the last five years, and a lot of it has

463
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 1: to do with having tons of perimeter players on the

464
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,880
Speaker 1: floor that can all put the ball on the floor

465
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 1: and get to the basket. And so if you can't

466
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 1: contain on the perimeter, if you can't keep a guy

467
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 1: in front or at least make it difficult for him

468
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,120
Speaker 1: to get to the basket, then your team is constantly

469
00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,760
Speaker 1: existing in rotation. And NBA teams are too good to

470
00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,320
Speaker 1: not make you pay for that kind of thing. Perimeter

471
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 1: defense is more valuable now in the NBA than it

472
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,880
Speaker 1: ever has been, and Lonzo Ball and Alex Cruso are

473
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 1: two of the best perimeter defensive guards that we have

474
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,560
Speaker 1: in the league. Having them on the floor to pick

475
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,320
Speaker 1: up those perimeter matchups of all the best guards that

476
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,000
Speaker 1: they play on any given night is what frees up

477
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:23,439
Speaker 1: Zach Lavine and DeMar de Rosen to focus on the

478
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:27,240
Speaker 1: offensive end limits their defensive shortcomings. Because both of those

479
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,119
Speaker 1: players have had tons of defensive issues throughout their career.

480
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,320
Speaker 1: It just makes their job easier. And what's great is

481
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,840
Speaker 1: Lonzo Ball and Alex Cruso. We think guards who play

482
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,000
Speaker 1: defense right. They're both big. Alex Cruso six six and

483
00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:42,320
Speaker 1: very strong. Alonzo Ball is taller, think he's about six five,

484
00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 1: So they have great size at the position. So when

485
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,399
Speaker 1: they go with those lineups with Crusoe and Ball, Levine

486
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,480
Speaker 1: de Rosen and Nikolavusevitch, they actually have a ton of

487
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,679
Speaker 1: size in that line up. So it's really difficult to

488
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,040
Speaker 1: evaluate the Bulls without those two on the court. That

489
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 1: would be the That would be the Silver law Ning

490
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,199
Speaker 1: or the the what you try the little bit of

491
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 1: positivity to cling to if you're a Bulls fan. After

492
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,480
Speaker 1: a pretty frustrating season, they get off to this awesome start.

493
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,880
Speaker 1: They're kicking everybody's but two of their most important players

494
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 1: get hurt. The rest of the season has been kind

495
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,760
Speaker 1: of floundering in mediocrity. But these guys are coming back.

496
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,400
Speaker 1: You have an opportunity. The big question is is Tristan

497
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:26,240
Speaker 1: Thompson and Nicola Vusevich their front court. Are those guys

498
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,119
Speaker 1: gonna be able to bring enough athletically and physically to

499
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,920
Speaker 1: hang with these beast front courts that you see elsewhere

500
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:36,840
Speaker 1: in the East. Are they gonna be able to hang

501
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,919
Speaker 1: with Bam out of Bio, I don't know. Are they

502
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:41,919
Speaker 1: gonna be able to hang with Joe El Embiid? Are

503
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,159
Speaker 1: they gonna be able to hang with janas Antana Compo

504
00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:46,360
Speaker 1: and brook Lopez? Are they gonna be able to hang

505
00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,719
Speaker 1: with you know, Andre Drummond. Even with the team like

506
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,600
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets there, they are going to have a

507
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,800
Speaker 1: massive physical disadvantage in the front court and almost every

508
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,439
Speaker 1: matchup they can try to come that we've seen like

509
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,680
Speaker 1: with that list. Dallas doesn't have great front court presence either,

510
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,760
Speaker 1: but they've made up for it with scheme. Will Chicago

511
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,760
Speaker 1: be able to put together enough defensively around those guys

512
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,120
Speaker 1: to make up for it, I don't know. Patrick Williams

513
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 1: is allegedly going to be coming back here in the

514
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,679
Speaker 1: next week or two. He's a big, strong athlete, so

515
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 1: that helps a little bit on that front. That would

516
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,040
Speaker 1: be my biggest concern with the Bulls, And as is

517
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,359
Speaker 1: always the case when we're having these conversations, it's like

518
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 1: with the Harden and Beat thing, It's not are these

519
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:28,919
Speaker 1: guys good. I know they're good. I know DeRozan and

520
00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,120
Speaker 1: Levine are awesome, But are they gonna beat Kevin Durant

521
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,399
Speaker 1: in a duel four times out of seven? Are they

522
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,200
Speaker 1: gonna beat Janie Antennacumpo in a duel four times out

523
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,119
Speaker 1: of seven? I don't know. If they get out of

524
00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 1: the East, are they gonna be able to beat that

525
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,720
Speaker 1: awesome Son's team. That's what's so crazy about how deep

526
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,719
Speaker 1: the league is right now. When we're evaluating these teams,

527
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,760
Speaker 1: It's it's wild the standard we have to hold them

528
00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,879
Speaker 1: too if they're gonna have any real success in the NBA.

529
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,439
Speaker 1: The Bulls being so far down on everybody's list of

530
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,960
Speaker 1: contenders with the type of lineups that they can throw

531
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,960
Speaker 1: out there, that Russo Ball, Levine, de rosen And and

532
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,760
Speaker 1: Voster Bitch lineup is one of the best lineups in

533
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:10,400
Speaker 1: the league. That lineup sounds incredible, but it's probably not

534
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,520
Speaker 1: good enough. And that just goes to show you how

535
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,960
Speaker 1: incredibly talented the NBA is right now. And that's why

536
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,440
Speaker 1: I love this job so much, and I love that

537
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,639
Speaker 1: I get to do this because the NBA is in

538
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:22,439
Speaker 1: an all time golden age of talent. And it just

539
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,160
Speaker 1: makes the product amazing. All right, guys, that is all

540
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,359
Speaker 1: I have for tonight. We will be back tomorrow after

541
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,520
Speaker 1: the Lakers game in Washington against the Wizards. As always,

542
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:34,680
Speaker 1: I sincerely appreciate your guys support and I will see

543
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:50,120
Speaker 1: you right after the final buzzard tomorrow. The volume