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I hope all of you 36 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: guys are having a great week so far. Real basketball 37 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: is right around the corner, guys. Tomorrow is September one, 38 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: and September the Golden State Warriors play the Washington Wizards 39 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: in a preseason game in Japan. That is how close 40 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: we are to real basketball. So with that in mind, 41 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: I'm ready to stop looking backwards. I'm ready to stop reminiscing, 42 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,839 Speaker 1: and I'm ready to start looking forward. So we're gonna 43 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: be doing our season previews. We're gonna do the power 44 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: Ranking style, covering the top fifteen teams in the league, 45 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: starting with number fifteen today. I spent a lot of 46 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: time in this series, had a lot of fun doing it. 47 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: I really think you guys are going to enjoy it. 48 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,839 Speaker 1: Before we get going, follows right around the corner, and 49 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: I know you want your small business humming on all cylinders. 50 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: There's no way for you to do that unless you 51 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: have the right people on your team. LinkedIn jobs is 52 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: here to help you do that fast and for free. 53 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,799 Speaker 1: My wife runs a small business here in town, and 54 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: I hear about it every day when she gets home 55 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: from work, and it's amazing how having the right person 56 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: in a role can go so far towards making your 57 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: day to day operations so much easier. You can create 58 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: a free job post in minutes on LinkedIn jobs to 59 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: reach your network and beyond to the world's largest professional network. 60 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: Of over eight hundred and ten million people. 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LinkedIn Jobs 69 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: helps you find candidates you want to talk to faster. 70 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: Did you know every week, nearly forty million job seekers 71 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: visit LinkedIn post your job for free at LinkedIn dot 72 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: com slash timph that's LinkedIn dot com slash timph to 73 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. And 74 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: on that note, we could talk some basketball. So I 75 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: want to give you guys a couple of just precursors 76 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: to kind of let you know the format of this, 77 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:42,720 Speaker 1: uh this series, so that you're in the loop the 78 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: whole way through. So I split the teams into tears 79 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: um and I considered seventeen teams, but I had to 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 1: pick only fifteen for the sake of the series. So 81 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: the two teams that got squeezed here are the Toronto 82 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: Raptors and the Atlanta Hawks. So Raptors fans and Hawks fans, 83 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: I apologize in advance we won't be doing deep dives 84 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: for them before the season, but I do promise that 85 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: we will get into those teams plenty and into great 86 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: detail during the season. Also, don't pay to too much 87 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: attention to the rankings this far down. It's all splitting hairs, 88 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: and I view them in a tier of what I 89 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,239 Speaker 1: would call non contenders. So I split them into four tiers, 90 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: and the non contenders are the teams that I don't 91 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: think have any chance to win the title regardless of 92 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: what happens during the season. Obviously, I consider the Hawks 93 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: and the Raptors in that group, as well as three 94 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: other teams, including who we're talking about today. After that, 95 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: the next tier up I have is punchers chance contenders. 96 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: These are teams that I don't think have enough talent 97 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: necessarily to hang with the top teams in the league, 98 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: but they've got a crazy talented superstar that could get 99 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: hot and carry them through a series or maybe two superstars, 100 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: or there's something with the team where if they get hot, 101 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: they could potentially knock someone out of something's break right 102 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: above that, I have the if things go right contenders. 103 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: These are teams that have tons of talent. When you 104 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: look at the roster on paper, you're like, man, they're 105 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: just as good as the top teams in the league. 106 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: But there's tons of question marks to go with that. 107 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: Whether that's health question marks, whether that's personality question marks, 108 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: whether it's you don't like or I'm not a huge 109 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: fan of the coach or the system, or what their 110 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: basketball identity is. Those are teams that talents not the issue. 111 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: They just need things to break right for them within 112 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: the locker room and on the court for them to 113 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,680 Speaker 1: win the title. And then, obviously, my top tier is 114 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: gonna be top tier contenders. These are bona fide contenders. 115 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: If anything goes their way during the season, they will 116 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: absolutely be and play, probably playing in the conference finals. 117 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: And these are the teams that i've you most likely 118 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: to win the title. So we'll all kind of as 119 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: we're working our way through the videos, I'll kind of 120 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: inform you which tier the team's landing. Today. We're starting 121 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: with number fifteen, the Chicago Bulls, again a non contender 122 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: in the non contender tier, but we are going to 123 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: dive deep into them on both ends of the floor. 124 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: To give you an idea of how these videos are 125 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: gonna be structured. Will briefly touch on last season and 126 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 1: what they accomplished, how things finished. We will go through 127 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: their key offseason changes, so who they let go, who 128 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: they signed, who they traded for, who they drafted, so on, 129 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: and so forth, changes to the roster um. Then we're 130 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: gonna go into what they do as in terms of 131 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: their basketball team's identity on both ends of the floor, 132 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: so what they like to do on offense, what they 133 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: like to do on defense. After that, we will go 134 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: into what I believe is the best case scenario for 135 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: this team during that season, and then after that we'll 136 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: go into the worst case scenario for this season, and 137 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: that at the end, we'll go through what I believe 138 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: is the biggest X factor for each team. So, as 139 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: I said, we're gonna be going through all of those 140 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: sections for each team, starting with the Chicago Bulls today. 141 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: So the Chicago Bulls were in offense last year offensive 142 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: rating again per one hundred possessions twenty three in defense 143 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: the ugliest staff for Bulls fans, as they were two 144 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: and twenty one in twenty three games versus the top 145 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: four seeds in both conferences, so when they played the 146 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: best teams, they got handled pretty consistently. They did have 147 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: a lot of health issues during the season, though, involving 148 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: their backcourt with Alex Crusoe and Alonzo Ball. That is 149 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: important context there. They were gentlemen. Swept by Milwaukee went 150 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: exactly as I expected. This is the Chicago Bulls team 151 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: that does not like to operate from the perimeter. They'd 152 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: like to operate close to the basket, and the Bucks 153 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: their defensive structure is built around taking away the paint 154 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: and giving up perimeter shots. This was the team that 155 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: attempted the least threes versus the team that allows the 156 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: most threes. So the Chicago Bulls were a really bad 157 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: matchup for this specific Milwaukee Bucks team and they just 158 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: got killed. And then on the other end of the floor, 159 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: they just got destroyed by Milwaukee size. This is a 160 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: small Chicago Bulls team that they attempted to address this offseason. Milwaukee. 161 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: It was just again a really bad matchup. Aside from 162 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: a hot shooting Damara Rosen game in Milwaukee Game two. 163 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: They didn't really have a chance to compete in any 164 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: of the games, so it's a rough matchup. But at 165 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: the same time, two versus the top seeds thirteenth in 166 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: offense defense, they just weren't good enough to really do 167 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: any damage in that postseason. Key offseason changes they signed 168 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: Andre Drummond to the Mini mid level exception. This was 169 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: a predictable response to them getting destroyed on the interior 170 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: by Milwaukee. They drafted day and Terry, a guy I 171 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: really like. Again. You guys know, I'm born and raised 172 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: in Tussons, still live in Tusson to this day, although 173 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: I've lived in other places. Um day and Terry came 174 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:35,679 Speaker 1: through the University of Arizona, so obviously watched him a 175 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: lot while he was here. Lanky wing, really good physical tools, 176 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: especially on the defensive Endy six ft seven with a 177 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,719 Speaker 1: seven foot one wing span, he actually made the All 178 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: Defense team this past year for the Pac twelve. He's 179 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: also really really good at making reads with the basketball 180 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: in his hands. He was one of the best assist 181 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: to turnover guys in college this year. That kind of 182 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 1: all means he will project to a good role player 183 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: wing in the NBA, a guy who can defend multiple 184 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: position asians and can attack close outs. Well. Obviously he's 185 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: gonna have to put on some muscle and become a 186 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: better shooter. He's got a little bit of a hitch 187 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: and his jump shot at this point. But I do 188 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: think he'll be a really interesting player in the future 189 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: on the wing in the NBA. And then they lost 190 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: Tristan Thompson and Troy Brown Jr. Those were the two 191 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: primary rotation guys from their playoff run that that aren't 192 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: around anymore. If you look at the depth chart and 193 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 1: I'll put it up on the screen here for you guys. Uh, 194 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: these are just guys that I predict will be in 195 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: the rotation. Obviously the roster is deeper than this, but 196 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: Lonzo Ball as a guard, Alex Caruso as a guard, 197 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 1: Kobe White as a guard and I had assume to 198 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: soon move if I'm pronouncing that correctly. As a guard. 199 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:43,679 Speaker 1: On the wing, they have Zach Levine, DeMar de Rosen, 200 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: Pat Williams Dale and Terry and Derrick Jones Jr. And 201 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: then the bigs Niko Lavusovic and Andre Drummond in the 202 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 1: place of Trisian Thompson. So if you look at what 203 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: they do on the offensive end of the floor, this 204 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: is a team that wants Zach Levine and DeMar dear 205 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: Rose and attack, acking with an advantage. This is an 206 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: important detail of offensive structure in the NBA really on 207 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: all levels, that the best teams always do really, really well. 208 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: And uh Billy Donovan has done a good job of 209 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: building an offense that is designed to get their best 210 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: players with an advantage. One of the biggest complaints I 211 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: had with the Lakers last year when because again for 212 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,439 Speaker 1: those of guys who don't know, I covered the Lakers 213 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: for two seasons before I started working for the Volume. Obviously, 214 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 1: now we covered the entire league. But when I was 215 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: covering the Lakers, they were a bad team in this regard. 216 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: It was not Frank Vogel strength. They did not put 217 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Dennis shrid Er, whoever 218 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 1: it was during those during that era. They did not 219 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: put them in positions where they had an advantage. They 220 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: were too frequently stagnant and attacking a set defense. Again, guys, 221 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,199 Speaker 1: if if I'm guarding you and I'm up on you 222 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: and I'm in your handle pocket and I'm disrupting you, 223 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: and you try to attack me, It's gonna be a 224 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: lot harder for you to score on me then if 225 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,200 Speaker 1: I'm closing our at you, or if I'm chasing you 226 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: over the top of a screen, so that when you 227 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: first get the basketball, I'm out of position and you 228 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: have an advantage. And basically, the Bulls weaponized Vosovich through 229 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: ball screens, dribble handoffs, and off ball screens to get 230 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: DeMar de Rosen and Zach Lavin coming off of curls, 231 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: primarily so that they can work into the lane and 232 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: get to the shots that they like off the dribble, 233 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: but with an advantage against their defender. Nick Nick Vussevich 234 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: in particular, his skill set makes that work because he's 235 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: a he's perceived as a shooter. Perception is everything in 236 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 1: the NBA. He actually wasn't a great perimeter shooter. Last year. 237 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,480 Speaker 1: He only shot thirty one from three, just undert on 238 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: catch and shoot three, so in the results it wasn't 239 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,199 Speaker 1: showing up. But he was attempting almost five threes per game. 240 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,559 Speaker 1: So he's a high volume guy and the league perceived 241 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: him and guarded him like he was a shooter. Again, 242 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,080 Speaker 1: I've talked to you about this on the show, but 243 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: that matters way more than actual shot result. For years 244 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,560 Speaker 1: there region Rondo was hitting close to from his three 245 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: from the three point line, but nobody was guarding him 246 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: out there, so all it was really manifesting as is 247 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: on these wide open threes that would disrupt the flow 248 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: of an offense. Kyle Kuzma, on the other end, always 249 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 1: shot in the low thirties until his last year with 250 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: the Lakers, but he was aggressive, He looked confident. His 251 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: perception around the league was that of a shooter, and 252 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: so teams would guard him as though he was a shooter. 253 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: Nikola Useovich just guarded as a shooter, and that makes 254 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: it really difficult to guard those screening actions. So let's 255 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: just look at off ball screens for instance, because we've 256 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: we spent a ton of time talking about on ball 257 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: actions on this show. But let's say that I've got 258 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: zach Lavine in the left corner and Voussovich is gonna 259 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: go down and set a screen for him. Alex Caruso's 260 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: got the top at the ball at the top of 261 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,439 Speaker 1: the key, and he's gonna hit Zach Lvin coming off 262 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: of that screen. So typically what a screen defender will 263 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: do is they will either hedge, so they will come 264 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,680 Speaker 1: out from the screen to force Zach Levine to come 265 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: further out rather than curling around, or they'll drop to 266 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: stop the curl so that when Zach Levine curls around, 267 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: he's curling right into a defender. That's what you want 268 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: to do in that situation. But nik Lavusevitch will frequently 269 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: slip those screening actions to the three point line and 270 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: the Bulls will hit him in those spots because he's 271 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: a high volume three point shooter. As a result, it 272 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: makes it harder for that screen defender to hedge or 273 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: to drop as the guy's curling around, because he's leaving 274 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: nick Luseovitch wide open for a jump shot. So as 275 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: a result, Levine and de Rozan are frequently coming off 276 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: of these pin downs and dribble handoffs and things like 277 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: that with a lot of space to operate that if 278 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: you watch the Bulls on offense, that's their primary attack, 279 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: whether it's Lonzo when he's healthier, Alex Crusoe ran point 280 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: for most of the end of the season, he'd bring 281 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: the ball up the floor and basically hit DeRozan or 282 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: Levine off of a screening action. That would be how 283 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: things would start. And then as the defense would collapse 284 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: they and get into rotation, they would attack closeouts around 285 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 1: that to get what they want. The strength of this roster, 286 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: this roster has well, I'll go after we ripped through 287 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: these all kind of briefly um summarize what their strengths 288 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 1: and weaknesses are. But one of the strengths of this 289 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: roster is with Lonzo Ball, with Alex Crusoe, with Kobe White, 290 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: with Pat Williams, with the Marda Rose and with Zach Levine. 291 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: They have a lot of guys who are really skilled 292 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: from the perimeter. You know, Alex Crusoe is a fantastic cutter, 293 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: and he's a very good passer for the position at 294 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: this point, and he's got good size a Lonzo Ball 295 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: is an excellent passer in open space situations. Kobe White skilled, 296 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: Pat Pat Williams is showing a lot of Polish. I've 297 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: been really interested watching him this summer. That puts them 298 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: in a position where they have a lot of players 299 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: who can extend the advantage. So you can imagine Zach 300 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: Levine comes comes off of that curl. The big doesn't 301 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: help because he's staying home with Vosovic. Levine gets into 302 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: the lane, the team helps, Levine will kick to the corner. Now, 303 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you've got three, four or five 304 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: guys on the floor that are great at extending the advantage, 305 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: attacking that close out, further compromising the defense to get 306 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: an extremely high quality shot. You know, uh Alonso. One 307 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: of the reasons why I think it's so important for 308 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 1: him to get back is when you look at this team, 309 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: they should be a better fast break team. They should 310 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: be a team that plays with more pace. They were 311 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: fourteenth and pace this year in thirteen and fast breakpoints 312 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: scored per one hundred possessions. When you look at their 313 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: roster construction, they're not a big team, right like Vussovitch 314 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: last year was their only competent big They played Tristan Thompson, 315 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: but he wasn't great. Drummond changes that a little bit. 316 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: But what they are is a fast and athletic team. 317 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: You know, Alonso is a good athlete. Alex Cruso is 318 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: a great athlete for the position. Zach Levine is one 319 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: of the best athletes we have in the league. Demard 320 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: Rose an excellent athlete. This is a team that should 321 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: get out in transition. More Lonzo Ball coming back will 322 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: help that a lot, because he's not a traditional point 323 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: guard in the sense that he's not the kind of 324 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: guy that's going to break you down against the set 325 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: defense to get to the looks that you want. But 326 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:14,880 Speaker 1: he's great in space, so he's one of the best 327 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: guards in the league. Yet pushing the break, he doesn't uh. 328 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: Every time that he sees an outlet pass up the floor, 329 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: a wing running on the left side or on the 330 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: right side, or a big running the floor, he lets 331 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: it fly, knowing that he can get it back to 332 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: run offense if the defense does get back and shut 333 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,879 Speaker 1: down the break. But getting him back in there to 334 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: help them push the break more will help them actually 335 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: take advantage of the strengths of their roster in terms 336 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 1: of speed and athleticism. Alex Crusoe excellent cutting without the 337 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 1: basketball um. That was another really interesting thing that showed 338 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: up to me on film, and I remember that a 339 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: lot with the Lakers. He had amazing chemistry with Lebron 340 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: James as a cutter. Again, when it comes to spacing, 341 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: Spacing isn't just about shooting. Spacing isn't just about being 342 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: a threat from the perimeter. Spacing is about being a 343 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: threat so that your defender has to stay attentive to you. Obviously, 344 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: even if you are a great shooter, a good defender 345 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: that has a good amount of athleticism to close out 346 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: can position himself far enough off of you that he 347 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: feels comfortable recovering in case of a pass. But if 348 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:19,400 Speaker 1: you stay in motion, moving without the basketball, whether that's 349 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: relocating as a shooter or in the case of Alex Crudiso, 350 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: cutting into the basket, it forces the defender to be 351 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: more attentive to you and makes it harder for him 352 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: to be available as a help defender. They the biggest 353 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: weakness of this particular team on the offensive end of 354 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: the floor is they were the only team in the 355 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: league last year that attempted fewer than thirty threes per game. 356 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 1: That um specifically was the weakness that costs them against Milwaukee. 357 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:48,919 Speaker 1: But really it's just a it's a it's an inefficiency 358 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,879 Speaker 1: in the analytics of basketball. You guys know how I 359 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: feel about analytics. I don't like catch all metrics. I 360 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:59,919 Speaker 1: don't like trying to simplify multiply multiple complicated basketball concepts 361 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,719 Speaker 1: into one number. Not only do I think that's blasphemous, 362 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: I think it's impossible, right, But I do believe in 363 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 1: analytics in isolated situations. So, for instance, if I can 364 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: tell a player like, hey, when you post up on 365 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,560 Speaker 1: the left block, you typically get this amount of points 366 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: per possession versus when you post up on the right block, 367 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,679 Speaker 1: that's helpful analytics. Shot value is helpful analytics. It's a 368 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: simple matter of math. A three point shot is worth 369 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 1: one and a half times as many points as a 370 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: two point shot. They should, naturally, as a result of that, 371 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: be a consistent part of your diet offensively. For them 372 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: to be last in the NBA and three point attempts 373 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: uh in um uh in three point attempts, that shows 374 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: that they they're they're not taking advantage of the math 375 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: advantage that they should be able to have. And they've 376 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 1: got they've got enough guys on the team that can 377 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: shoot that they should be taking more than they take. 378 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 1: What are they take instead? A ton of mid range 379 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 1: pull up jump shots. They attempted twenty two point six 380 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: mid range shot per game, which led the NBA last year, 381 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: so they attempted more even than the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie 382 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 1: Irving and Kevin Durant, without being nearly as good as 383 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: those two players at that particular type of shot. Derosan 384 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,120 Speaker 1: takes ten midrange shots per game, Zach Lavine and nicolabus 385 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: Fitch combined to take an additional seven per game, So 386 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: just between their stars, they're taking seventeen mid range jump 387 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: shots per game, So they take almost as many mid 388 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,880 Speaker 1: range jump shots as they do threes per game. That's 389 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,199 Speaker 1: not that that that's just not good offensive process. With 390 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: that particular type of shot profile, it's going to be difficult, 391 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 1: difficult to succeed unless you're Kevin Freakin Durant and Kyrie Irving, 392 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: two of the best offensive players that have ever played 393 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: in the NBA. So that's just kind of a brief 394 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,159 Speaker 1: look at what they do on the offensive end of 395 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: the four. They're not good enough defensively to cover for 396 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: those types of offensive limitations. They need to push the 397 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,880 Speaker 1: ball in transition more, they need to hunt more three 398 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: point shots. On the defensive end of the four, they 399 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: are a hard help and recover team. They do this 400 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: because they have physical mismatches at almost every position. Their 401 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: wings that they like to play zac Lavine and Demard 402 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: Rosen are either thin or small. Patrick Williams is an 403 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 1: interesting player. Will get into him a little bit more later, 404 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: But Nikolavusevich is completely overmatched on the interior. The only 405 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: place where they match up well with teams defensively is 406 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: on the perimeter with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. So 407 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 1: as a result, they have to offer a ton of help, 408 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: which is fine. They do a good job in rotation 409 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: because they've got good athletes. They rotate well. The problem 410 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,119 Speaker 1: is is when you live in rotation, when you're constantly 411 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: in rotation, the defense will eventually break you down, and 412 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 1: they do. That's why they were twenty three defense this year. 413 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: They double team the opponent of the opposing star almost 414 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: every single time. They defend the pick and roll with 415 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: three players. What that What that means is the vast 416 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 1: majority of pick and roll coverages are designed to try 417 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,119 Speaker 1: to defend two on two so that you don't have 418 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 1: to offer help. The problem is is nick Lusevich is 419 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,360 Speaker 1: not a great pick and roll defender, so as a result, 420 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: he's just not capable of bring enough ground on the interior. 421 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: To cover a rollman and a guard coming over the 422 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: top of a screen, so they almost always have to 423 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: bring that third defender out of the week side corner 424 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: to help to tag on the roller so that Vosovic 425 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: can be up against the ball handler coming over the 426 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:19,159 Speaker 1: top of the screen. That just puts them in a 427 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: rotation even more frequently. That's the uh that that just 428 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: as a lack of strong front court defensive personnel, they 429 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: had better front court defenders, they wouldn't have to do 430 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 1: that as often. Milwaukee in particular, use this to frequently 431 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: generate size mismatches. That was why they were punishing him 432 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: so much on the interior on defense. The one thing 433 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:44,199 Speaker 1: that I really appreciate about Billy Donovan's scheme is he 434 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: knows that they don't have a strong interior defense. So 435 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: what Analytically the two most valuable shots in basketball are 436 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:56,120 Speaker 1: layups in threes. So if you're not going to succeed 437 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: guarding the basket, where would be the next best place 438 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,440 Speaker 1: for you to devote your energy and attention the three 439 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: point line. The Chicago Bulls only allowed thirty two point 440 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,960 Speaker 1: three three point attempts per one possessions, which was best 441 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 1: in the league. Last year, so that's where they make 442 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: up for their week interior defense. They allowed fifty point 443 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: three points in the paint per one hundred possessions, which 444 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: was twenty four in the league this year, So they 445 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:25,120 Speaker 1: do defend the three point line well at least, which 446 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: is something that's a good foundational piece. They'll need to 447 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,680 Speaker 1: learn to defend the interior or better if they're ever 448 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: going to be a team that can contend, but at 449 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: least that's a decent foundation. The interesting part about this 450 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: Chicago Bulls defense is it's not really fair necessarily to 451 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 1: evaluate them based on last year's results without long zoo ball, 452 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,879 Speaker 1: because the whole construct of that team was designed to 453 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 1: make up for Nick Lussovic's problems as an interior defender 454 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: by defending at the point of attack better. So if 455 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: you lack interior size, if you don't have a great 456 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: rim per hector, you can still have an elite defense 457 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,680 Speaker 1: by being a great perimeter contained team. The best example 458 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: of this is the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that 459 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: has never had a dominant interior UH presidents during this 460 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:15,679 Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard Era I like a Vika zoobas He's just 461 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 1: not that guy. He's a good defensive big, but he's 462 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,120 Speaker 1: not a shutdown defensive big, and he doesn't play enough 463 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:24,160 Speaker 1: minutes for it to matter. They just contain on the perimeter. 464 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: Paul George Kawhi, Leonard Marcus Morris, you know, Reggie Jackson, 465 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: these guys, Nick Patome, these guys sit down in a 466 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: stance and they contain their man and make it difficult 467 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:35,440 Speaker 1: for them to get to the basket. So the lack 468 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: of a rim protector doesn't actually matter. That was what 469 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: this Bulls team was supposed to be a Lonzo Ball 470 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: is one of the best defensive guards in the league. 471 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,879 Speaker 1: Alex Caruso is one of the best defensive guards in 472 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: the league. With the two of them on the floor, 473 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: they can limit dribble penetration, defend pick and roll really well, 474 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: and make things easier on Vussovitch. And when the two 475 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,199 Speaker 1: of them were on the floor, they did that. They 476 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: had a one oh two point two defensive rating with 477 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,200 Speaker 1: those two on the floor only in four D fifty 478 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: nine minutes, but that's a significant sample size. Where they 479 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: were an excellent defensive team, one or two point two 480 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,160 Speaker 1: would be one of it would be among the better 481 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: defensive lineups. In the league. That's the value of point 482 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: of attack defense. But watch how it drops. Take just 483 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: Lonzo out of the picture, their defensive rating goes from 484 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: one or two point two to one fifteen point one. 485 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 1: Take Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball out of the picture, 486 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,479 Speaker 1: and it rises to one seven team point one. So 487 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: they can't defend without both of those two guys on 488 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: the floor. That's concerning because Lonzo Ball has had a 489 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: lot of health issues over the years, and who knows 490 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,400 Speaker 1: if that's something that's going to be chronic or something 491 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: that he can get over. The other big thing that 492 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: holds them back on the defensive end of the floor 493 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: is all three of their stars are not defensive minded players. 494 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 1: DeRozan and Levin are very good athletes, but they they're 495 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: not They're not staunch defensive players. Now, I wanted to 496 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: get into this just for a minute, because there are 497 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: a lot of good athletes in the league that don't 498 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: translate to great defense of players. The best example of 499 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,400 Speaker 1: this was Andrew Wiggetts early in his career, and now 500 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: I think he's one of the better perimeter defenders in 501 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: the entire game, and it's because he's learned the delicate 502 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: balance of of being physical on the defensive end without fouling. 503 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 1: If you're a good athlete, you can be a good 504 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,479 Speaker 1: defensive player, but you won't be unless you're willing to 505 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: get physical. And so many offensive minded players they shy 506 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 1: away from contact on the defensive end of the floor 507 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:31,159 Speaker 1: for good reason. They have big offensive responsibilities. They don't 508 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: want to waste energy getting into a physical melee. Sixty 509 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: possessions a game on the defense and a defensive end 510 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: of the floor. I get that, but that's the difference 511 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,199 Speaker 1: between the greats and the goods. The great stars in 512 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: the NBA, they are willing to devote resources in that direction. 513 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: They're willing to be physically imposing defensive players, and as 514 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: a result, they help their teams on that end, even 515 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: though they have less energy for the offensive end. It 516 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,399 Speaker 1: helps the team and aggregate. You know, zac Lavine is 517 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,479 Speaker 1: very thin, but he can be a little bit more 518 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: physical than he's been. Demarta Rosen is a good, strong athlete. 519 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,600 Speaker 1: He should be a much much better defensive player than 520 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 1: he is. The best example to kind of give you 521 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: guys an idea is like you drive to the basket 522 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: at me, I can either slide with you, and then 523 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 1: when you really start to get aggressive, just give ground 524 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: and get into rotation. Or I can choose to hold 525 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: my ground, meaning maybe I stick my hand out there 526 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: and hand check you a little bit. Sometimes they will 527 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 1: get called a foul A lot of times. It won't 528 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: when you hit my shoulder. Maybe instead of giving ground 529 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,640 Speaker 1: with my shoulder, I hold my ground with my shoulder. 530 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:37,360 Speaker 1: Sometimes I'll get a foul call. Most of the time 531 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,879 Speaker 1: I won't. Being more willing to hold your ground on 532 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: the perimeter will be so much again, like they're the 533 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 1: twenty third ranked defense. Alonzo is coming back, but this 534 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: team will never be as good as they need to 535 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: be on the defensive end of the floor until Demarta, 536 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 1: Rosen and zach Lavin take defensive perimeter, contain more seriously 537 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: on the defensive end of the floor, and then Nick Vusovic, 538 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,719 Speaker 1: it's not really a technique. He's just bad. He's just 539 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: completely overmatched physically at the position. He's not as big 540 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 1: as the biggest bigs, and he's not as athletic as 541 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,879 Speaker 1: the most athletic bigs. So on a night in, night 542 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: out basis, he's just completely overmatched physically. Andre Drummond look, 543 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: I covered him with the Lakers, I've covered him throughout 544 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: the league over the last few years. He's he has 545 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 1: his moments defensively, but for the most part, he's not 546 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: a guy you can count on in that regard. The 547 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: only you know, the interesting guy to watch, uh for 548 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: Chicago's development is gonna be Pat Williams. He's there only 549 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:39,239 Speaker 1: really physically imposing, athletic defensive forward. Now, Janice obliterated him 550 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: in that first round playoff series, but he also was 551 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: toying with Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown in in those 552 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: matchups in the conference semi, so I don't look too 553 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: much into that. But he's the He's the guy to 554 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: watch looking forward. If he can put on a little 555 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: bit more muscle and become the defensive player that he's 556 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: capable of, that will go a long way towards helping them. 557 00:28:58,120 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: But the bottom line is on the defensive end of 558 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: the or with Nick Vusevic in your lineup, you cannot 559 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 1: allow dribble penetration. If you do, they will score in 560 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: the paint consistently. You have to be a team that 561 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: embraces dribble contain. Getting Alonzo back will help that, but 562 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 1: Zach Levine and Demarta Rosen have to embrace that to 563 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,960 Speaker 1: a certain extent so quickly instammation. If I had to 564 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: rip off their strengths and weaknesses, their strengths are they 565 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:24,840 Speaker 1: have a lot of guys who can dribble, pass and shoot, 566 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 1: so they could be a great drive and kicked team. 567 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: They have an excellent defensive backcourt. There are a good 568 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: defensive rebounding team by percentage, and that should get even 569 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: better with a Lonzo Ball and Andre Drummond when they 570 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 1: come back. Their weaknesses their stars don't play any defense. 571 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: They hunt inefficient shots. They shoot way too many midrange 572 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: jump shots for being a team that's not great at 573 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: shooting midrange jump shots. And their best lineup so when 574 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: they play Alex Caruso at the point, guard Vussovich at 575 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: the center, and Demarta Rosen, all three of those guys 576 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 1: are if he shooters. For one reason or another, Caruso's 577 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: percentages can be inconsistent. He's streaky. Vossovich is a willing shooter, 578 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: he's guarded like a shooter, but he shot a really 579 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,800 Speaker 1: low percentage last year only from three. And then Demarta 580 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 1: Rosen just doesn't like to take them. So somebody in 581 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 1: that group, whether it's Alex Crusoe and Vossovic, I think 582 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: that's the most realistic outcome. If Caruso and Vussovitch can 583 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: just shoot better from three, that will go a long 584 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: way towards helping them. Alright, best case scenario, so if Demarta, 585 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: Rosen and zach Lavine make slight alterations to their shot profile, 586 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,719 Speaker 1: hunts more off the dribble threes rather than off the dribble, 587 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:38,959 Speaker 1: mid range jump shots um and embrace driving and kicking 588 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 1: rather than driving and pulling up in the mid range, 589 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: so that they can start their driving kick attack with 590 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: all of their skilled perimeter players that they have. That 591 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: should go a long way towards helping them on the 592 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: offensive end of the floor. They need Alonzo Ball and 593 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: Pat Williams to stay healthy. Pat Williams had an injury 594 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: last year. Alonzo Ball has consistently been hurt. I hope 595 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,640 Speaker 1: that's not a consistent thing with him. Uh. Alex Crusoe, 596 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: Nicola Vuseovich had better shooting seasons. Alex Crusoe was thirty 597 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: three percent from three last year. Russovich was they need 598 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 1: to push a lot more in transition. That will actually 599 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: play towards the strengths of their roster composition. They need 600 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: to become a team that embraces containing the dribble drive 601 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 1: so that they're less reliant on help with Nick Vussovitch 602 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: on the back line. They need Pat Williams to take 603 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: a leap, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. 604 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 1: I was watching a lot of footage of him this summer. 605 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 1: He's got a lot of fluidity. Um he could be 606 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: a scoring wing if he continues to work at it. 607 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: Him taking a leap would go a long way towards 608 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 1: moving them from a non contender to uh if things 609 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: go right, type of contender. The other thing with Pat 610 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:45,640 Speaker 1: Williams that will be interesting is by virtue of the 611 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: roster construction. With de Maarda Rosen and Zach Levin on 612 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: the roster, he'll catch a lot of favorable matchups. He's 613 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: gonna get your third best perimeter defender on most nights, 614 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 1: so if he could figure out some more stuff on 615 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor to be a really 616 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,240 Speaker 1: really interesting match up there and Dree Rummond gives them 617 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 1: more ability to hang with the massive front lines around 618 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: the league, particularly a Janice team or an MBID team, 619 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:11,560 Speaker 1: or if they ever ran into uh another big, huge 620 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: front line that can expose their lack of size. But 621 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 1: even with all of that, even if all of that 622 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: breaks right, in my opinion that they're absolute ceiling is 623 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 1: a team that, if they stayed healthy, would hang around 624 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 1: that five or six seed and upset one of the 625 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,520 Speaker 1: better East teams in the first round. But let's let's say, 626 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 1: for instance, they get the five seed and the Sixers, 627 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: you know, James Harden doesn't take the leap that I 628 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: expect them to, and they fall back to the four seed. 629 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: And I could see the Bulls having a really good 630 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,800 Speaker 1: season where they upset somebody like that, but then they 631 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:46,640 Speaker 1: would just lose to the Celtics or the Bucks or 632 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 1: whoever the one seed was. So like, at the end 633 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 1: of the day, they're absolute ceiling. Is a team that 634 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:55,800 Speaker 1: wins one playoff series. Their worst case scenario is that 635 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 1: their shop profile stays the same. They continue to hunt 636 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 1: mid range shots, and they have an age offense and 637 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 1: a defense that's nowhere near good enough to cover for it. 638 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 1: Guys get hurt again, Alex Crusoe, uh Alonzo Ball, Pat Williams. 639 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:14,240 Speaker 1: Injury issues creep up again, maybe Andre Drummond fixes their 640 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: interior size issues but disrupts their offensive flow. We talked 641 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 1: earlier about how much their offense depends on Vossovitch's shooting 642 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,400 Speaker 1: threat as a screener to open things up for Levine 643 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,240 Speaker 1: and de Rosen. That goes away with Andre Drummond. He's 644 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:28,680 Speaker 1: a little bit more of a lob threat, but he 645 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 1: has bad hands, he doesn't catch the ball well, and 646 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,560 Speaker 1: he's one of the worst rim finishing bigs that we 647 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:35,640 Speaker 1: have in the league. So I think that he could 648 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: cause some problems on the offensive end of the floor. 649 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,120 Speaker 1: Um And then all of a sudden, you have another 650 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,120 Speaker 1: team that wins forty five games and loses in the 651 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: first round ugly, and has no realistic pathway towards improving 652 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: the roster. That's the That's the worst case scenario for 653 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: this team. If you had to ask me which is 654 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,920 Speaker 1: more likely, I lean closer to the worst case scenario. 655 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 1: And that's a big part of why they're down at fifteen. 656 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,000 Speaker 1: The biggest X factor for this team, the biggest swing factor, 657 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: the thing that will lead to the largest UH differential 658 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:09,480 Speaker 1: between one outcome to the next is Lonzo Ball. When 659 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: he's healthy, He's an immensely valuable role player. He's an 660 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 1: excellent three point shooter in every single way, off the catch, 661 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,359 Speaker 1: coming off of screens, you know, in spot up situations, 662 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: on the move, in transition. He's just a great three 663 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,560 Speaker 1: point shooter, which is really impressive if you think about 664 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: what he looked like as a shooter coming into the league. 665 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,000 Speaker 1: He's also one of the better point of attack defenders 666 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: in the league. He's disruptive. He's in one of those 667 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:37,800 Speaker 1: aggressive forward facing defenders that tries to disrupt your handle 668 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,959 Speaker 1: and make you feel uncomfortable. He also plays passing lanes 669 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: really well and forces a lot of turnovers on the 670 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,879 Speaker 1: offensive end of the floor. Beyond shooting, he's a good 671 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,840 Speaker 1: playmaker in space, so he's great at starting fast breaks 672 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,919 Speaker 1: with outlet passes. When he's attacking close outs, he makes 673 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,319 Speaker 1: reads really really well. He's just not the guy who 674 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:59,799 Speaker 1: can create against the set defense. But all of that 675 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: amounts to a really good role player who's struggled to 676 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,799 Speaker 1: stay healthy over the years. He even takes longer to 677 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 1: recover and abnormally long time to recover from injuries that 678 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:12,840 Speaker 1: he should come back from faster. It's like, oh, he 679 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: sprained his ankle, with the Lakers. He should be back 680 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 1: in a month. No, no, no, he's gone two months. 681 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:21,319 Speaker 1: You know, here's this knee injury. We expect him back 682 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,840 Speaker 1: in six months. Oh here comes you know, or to 683 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,120 Speaker 1: two months or whatever it is. And then the report 684 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,800 Speaker 1: comes out like, oh, well, you know, things are healing 685 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:31,759 Speaker 1: slower than expected and we're going to reevaluate him in 686 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:33,799 Speaker 1: two months. Like that kind of thing comes out a lot, 687 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:36,880 Speaker 1: which scares me in terms of whether or not this 688 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,520 Speaker 1: could be a degenerative health issue. Just it is what 689 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: it is. I don't know what the deal is. Some 690 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:43,879 Speaker 1: people just struggle more with this than others. I don't 691 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 1: know the physiology behind it. Alonzo might just be one 692 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,960 Speaker 1: of those guys. Um And so as a result, there's 693 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: a huge variation between what he might bring to the 694 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 1: Bulls this year and what might happen if things go wrong. 695 00:35:57,080 --> 00:35:59,840 Speaker 1: And that makes him a huge X factor because, like 696 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 1: we talked about earlier, a hundred and two defensive rating 697 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,240 Speaker 1: with him on the floor, with Alonzo and just taking 698 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 1: him out of the picture bumps that defensive rating up 699 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,279 Speaker 1: to up to one. So having him on the floor 700 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:12,400 Speaker 1: to help them be a better fast break team, to 701 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:15,200 Speaker 1: have them be a better defensive team would go a 702 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: long way towards helping the Bulls reach their actual ceiling. 703 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,080 Speaker 1: All right, that's all I have for the Bulls. We'll 704 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 1: be back tomorrow with number fourteen. As always, I sincerely 705 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: appreciate your guys a support, and I'll see you tomorrow. 706 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 1: The volume