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Speaker 2: All right, welcome to Hoops to Night here at the Volume,

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Speaker 2: Happy Sunday, everybody of all of you guys are having

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Speaker 2: an incredible weekend. We got a kind of a funky

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Speaker 2: schedule over the next couple of days. We're going twice

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Speaker 2: today this video. We're just hitting Lakers suns. And then

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Speaker 2: the Milwaukee Bucks went into Minnesota and beat the Timberwolves

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Speaker 2: pretty soundly on Friday night. We're gonna be talking about

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Speaker 2: that game and just some interesting stuff I notice on

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Speaker 2: tape as.

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Speaker 1: It relates to both teams.

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Speaker 2: Later tonight, we're going live after the final buzzer of

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Speaker 2: Warriors Nuggets, so keep an eye out for that. Monday,

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Speaker 2: we'll be breaking down a couple other games from today

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Speaker 2: as well as our power rankings that We're taking Tuesday

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Speaker 2: off because I'm going skiing. So just a little bit

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Speaker 2: of a funky schedule over the next few days. But

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Speaker 2: Lakers Suns and Bucks Wolves over the course of today

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Speaker 2: over this particular show, you guys are the Joe four

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Speaker 2: we get sarrerdy. Subscribe to our Brandon YouTube channel. I

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Speaker 2: on Twitter at underscore jsonlt where I put film threads

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Speaker 2: as well as show announcements. And then last not at

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Speaker 2: least keep dropping mailbag questions probably hit some throughout the week.

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Speaker 1: Next week, all right, let's talk some basketball.

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Speaker 2: So this game, the starters played relatively even Lebron had

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Speaker 2: it going early to kind of keep the Lakers close,

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Speaker 2: But the Sun's just got insanely hot at the end

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Speaker 2: of the first quarter. And you know, I watched the

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Speaker 2: film and I didn't even necessarily think the Lake the

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Speaker 2: Lakers were being lazy or disengaged, Like there were a

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Speaker 2: couple of miss rotations, like Austin miss Royce O'Neil on

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Speaker 2: a rotation.

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Speaker 1: At the top of the key.

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Speaker 2: But the Sun's just made shots, and that's what they

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Speaker 2: can do. That's their superpower. That's the thing that they

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Speaker 2: do better than most teams in the league. Right, Like

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Speaker 2: Devin Booker and Kevin Durant both hit really tough pull

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Speaker 2: up jump shots in that stretch. Devin Booker hit an

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Speaker 2: and one in the middle of the floor. Grayson Allen

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Speaker 2: and Royce O'Neil both hit shots. Even bow Bolt hit

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Speaker 2: a three out of the left corner, punishing Lebron James

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Speaker 2: for helping off of him, and then at another play

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Speaker 2: where he drove the baseline off of a closeout out

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Speaker 2: of that left corner and hit a little float. As

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Speaker 2: a matter of fact, in the game, the Suns had

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Speaker 2: thirty four spot up possessions, which is a ton and

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Speaker 2: it converted those into one point one to two points

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Speaker 2: per possession, which is outstanding. The Suns went up by

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Speaker 2: twenty there in the first quarter. Lakers kind of methodically

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Speaker 2: worked their way back into the game, running their solid

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Speaker 2: five out offense. Get it, They got out and transition

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Speaker 2: a lot off of Sun's turnovers in this game, making

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Speaker 2: extra efforts on defense. And then we get to the

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Speaker 2: fourth quarter, the fourth quarter where the Suns have had

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Speaker 2: so many issues throughout the season this year. Even after today,

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Speaker 2: the Suns have an offensive rating of one h three

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Speaker 2: point five in fourth quarters this year. That is dead

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Speaker 2: last in the NBA. It's been a pretty consistent issue,

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Speaker 2: but much better in this fourth quarter twenty eight points

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Speaker 2: a one to seventeen offensive rating. Now, what typically has

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Speaker 2: been an issue for them in the past is Devin

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Speaker 2: Booker and Kevin Durant struggling to handle double teams as

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Speaker 2: the game progresses, as teams get more and more aggressive

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Speaker 2: on him and then off the ball guys failing to

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Speaker 2: make teams pay for leaving them open, for giving them

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Speaker 2: advantage situations. I thought Kevin Durant was magnificent in this

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Speaker 2: fourth quarter. He had one pass to the short roll

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Speaker 2: where he didn't see Ad coming from like the left

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Speaker 2: elbow extended. Ad jumped in and stole it from a

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Speaker 2: blocked or jumped into that passing lane and stole that

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Speaker 2: pass to the short roller. But outside of that, Kevin

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Speaker 2: Durant was like nearly perfect in that fourth quarter with

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Speaker 2: his decision making just you know, coming off of ball screen,

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Speaker 2: hard hitting Nurkics with a perfect pocket pass to get

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Speaker 2: him downhill to the rim, drawing a double team and

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Speaker 2: making that quick swing pass to Roy so'neil, who makes

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Speaker 2: that extra pass to the corner to the shooter. Like

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Speaker 2: it just it looked a lot more smooth and decisive,

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Speaker 2: quick and decisive from Kevin Durant when when KD and

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Speaker 2: Devin Booker in those situations have struggled this year, it's

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Speaker 2: usually picking up their dribble and then the pressure coming

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Speaker 2: up on them and then struggling to get the pass

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Speaker 2: over the top to the right spot without a deflection

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Speaker 2: or something that slows the pass down so the defense

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Speaker 2: can rotate out of it. Quick and decisive, decisive is

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Speaker 2: the best way to beat those traps. KD had a

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Speaker 2: much much better fourth quarter on that side of the floor.

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Speaker 2: Then I thought he had one of the biggest plays

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Speaker 2: in the game when it was one ten to one

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Speaker 2: oh four. First of all, I want to credit Royce

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Speaker 2: O'Neil Lebron. ISO's Royce O'Neil on the right side of

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Speaker 2: the floor and just played one of the things I

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Speaker 2: talked about with Royce. He just plays physical defense. That's

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Speaker 2: what allows him to defend multiple different positional archetypes because

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Speaker 2: quick enough and active enough to defend a smaller guard,

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Speaker 2: but he also is physical enough to defend a bigger,

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Speaker 2: stronger player like Lebron James and Lebron had you know,

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Speaker 2: had some success against him throughout the game. He had

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Speaker 2: like a spinning baseline dunk on him in the first half.

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Speaker 2: But like on this particular play, big, big, big play

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Speaker 2: in the game, it's one ten to one.

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Speaker 1: Oh four, Lakers aren't a little bit of a run.

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis got that pull up or that catch and

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Speaker 2: shoot jump shot from the mid range going. He also

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Speaker 2: had a little floater off of a pocket pass from

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Speaker 2: Austin Reeves. Looks like we have ourselves a game there.

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Speaker 2: Down the stretch, Lebron drives in, Royce gets physical with

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Speaker 2: him and gets him to miss the lay up. Again,

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Speaker 2: Lebron's probably gonna make that eight out of ten times,

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Speaker 2: but how do you get to the two out of

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Speaker 2: ten where he's gonna miss by bumping him off of

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Speaker 2: his base and making it a little bit more difficult.

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Speaker 2: Big play for Royce O'Neil to go to the other

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Speaker 2: end of the floor, and in kind of a chaotic situation,

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Speaker 2: Kevin Durant made a.

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Speaker 1: Really really smart play.

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Speaker 2: Lebron James was kind of in a bald denial situation

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Speaker 2: on the left wing. He cut back door on Lebron,

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Speaker 2: something Lebron has done a lot this season to generate

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Speaker 2: shots at the end of games. A back door pass

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Speaker 2: hits him right on the right on the cut draws

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Speaker 2: that second defender makes the kickout pass to Grayson Allen

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Speaker 2: in the right corner, who hits the biggest shot of

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Speaker 2: the game to put them up one thirteen to one

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Speaker 2: oh four. By the way, Royce O'Neil and Grayson Allen

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Speaker 2: a twelve threes in this game. Royce made one on

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Speaker 2: the next possession because Anthony Davis fell over into camera

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Speaker 2: row ended up in an advantage situation. The Suns had

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Speaker 2: a five on four. They made Kevin Durant made a

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Speaker 2: swing pass to Royce on the left wing. He hit

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Speaker 2: the three just dagger after dagger after dagger. I swear

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Speaker 2: it felt like every single one of those Royce, O'Neil

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Speaker 2: or Grayson Allen threes felt like an absolute backbreaker. Yusef

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Speaker 2: Nurkic was incredible in this game, had seven offensive rebounds,

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Speaker 2: has pretty consistently given like pretty great two way efforts

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Speaker 2: over the course of the last few weeks. A guy

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Speaker 2: that I think a lot of times reputation doesn't actually

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Speaker 2: match up with reality with basketball players. And here's the thing,

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Speaker 2: Like reputation is well earned. Use of Nurkic earned a

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Speaker 2: reputation as being a guy who could be a limited

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Speaker 2: defensive players. A guy struggles sometimes with the dirty work

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Speaker 2: because of what happened in his past, but that doesn't

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Speaker 2: mean you can't earn yourself a new reputation. I think

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Speaker 2: use of Nrkich has been pretty awesome on the defensive

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Speaker 2: end over the course of the last few weeks, getting

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Speaker 2: a lot He's just super active with his hands, and

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Speaker 2: he's pretty smart at anticipating what's going to happen around him,

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Speaker 2: and he gets a lot more in the way of

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Speaker 2: deflections in blocks than I think people realize relative to

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Speaker 2: what his reputation is around the league. And in addition

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Speaker 2: to that, he's an excellent screener. He's a big body

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Speaker 2: that can cause problems on the offensive glass against seven

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Speaker 2: offensive rebounds in this game, Anthony Davis. For all of

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Speaker 2: his things that he's great at, he can struggle with

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Speaker 2: the big bodied centers that can bury him underneath the basket.

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Speaker 2: It's actually something to keep in mind for the Lakers

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Speaker 2: because to get out of the Western Conference, you're probably

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Speaker 2: gonna have to go through two of use of Nurkics

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Speaker 2: if he Kazubas or you know, Nikole Jokich. These big

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Speaker 2: bodied centers and those guys are the kinds of guys

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Speaker 2: that can give Ad some issues on the offensive glass.

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Speaker 2: But he was burying Ad on the glass. Every time

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Speaker 2: Ad had to come off of him to help on

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Speaker 2: some sort of screening action, Nurkic would be there to

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Speaker 2: clean up the mess on the back line.

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Speaker 1: He was awesome.

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Speaker 2: Devin Booker after the game was talking about how specifically

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Speaker 2: use of Nurkic is of great value to them and

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Speaker 2: that every time he's missed a game this year, they've lost,

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Speaker 2: and how they've missed that, And like, here's the thing,

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Speaker 2: there's no doubt that the Suns will probably need to

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Speaker 2: have a KD at center.

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Speaker 1: Look just for brief spurts over the course.

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Speaker 2: Of the postseason to just kind of change the tone

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Speaker 2: of games or maybe close against a specific matchup. But

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Speaker 2: Yusuf Nurkic is the anchor of that team on both

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Speaker 2: ends of the floor in terms of their physicality. This

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Speaker 2: is the team that can struggle a little bit with physicality.

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Speaker 2: Nurkics brings a ton of physicality to the table, and I

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Speaker 2: gotta say he has changed for me personally, Like the

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Speaker 2: way that I view use of Nurkic's basketball has changed

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Speaker 2: markedly from training camp to this point, especially as of late,

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Speaker 2: just with how much he's competing in the details around

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Speaker 2: the floor. Big win for the Suns. They needed that one.

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Speaker 2: They had just lost two straight on the Lakers front.

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Speaker 2: I saw a lot of negativity from Lakers fans in

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Speaker 2: this one, honestly, Like I thought they played really hard

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Speaker 2: and like this is kind of what it's like in

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Speaker 2: the Western Conference. Phoenix is a really good team. They

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Speaker 2: have two of the top fifteen players in the league

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Speaker 2: on their team. They had just lost two in a row,

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Speaker 2: including three of their last five. They needed a game,

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Speaker 2: and when you go on the road in the Western

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Speaker 2: Conference to a really good team who needs to win

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Speaker 2: a game, sometimes you're just gonna lose. And like there

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Speaker 2: were a lot of like, like there were several players

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Speaker 2: in particular, I thought D'Angel Russell and Austin Reeves really

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Speaker 2: really were making efforts in rotation to contest shots and

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Speaker 2: to try to get in there and help on the glass.

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Speaker 2: But like, sometimes you just run into a team that's

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Speaker 2: really really good at what they do, and no matter

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Speaker 2: what you do to try to stop them from doing

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Speaker 2: what they do, they make the shots anyway. And they

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Speaker 2: kind of just felt like that type of game to

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Speaker 2: me on the Lakers front, Like I really wasn't disappointed

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Speaker 2: process wise, like they were helping a little bit too much,

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Speaker 2: but not in the way that I thought was really

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Speaker 2: problematic for the personnel they the Suns made shots. You

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Speaker 2: gotta tip the cat. They gave up a lot of offensive rebounds,

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Speaker 2: but most of that was personnel. And that brings me

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Speaker 2: to my one gride. So in a game where you

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Speaker 2: could not grab a rebound to save your life, which

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Speaker 2: was basically the difference in the game. Like the Lakers

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Speaker 2: outshot the Suns from the field, they outshot them from three,

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Speaker 2: They won the points in the paint battle, they took

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Speaker 2: good care of the basketball. They turned Phoenix over and

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Speaker 2: got out in transition and scored like they did a

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Speaker 2: lot of really good things in this game. Phoenix just

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Speaker 2: dominated the possession battle. They had fourteen offensive rebounds to

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Speaker 2: three for the Lakers. They were up twenty two to ten,

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Speaker 2: and second chance points in a game that they won

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Speaker 2: by ten points. That was the difference in the game.

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Speaker 2: And that's where I have a problem with Darvin Ham

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Speaker 2: and his rotational approach because Torrian Prince and Spencer Dinwitty

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Speaker 2: played fifty minutes in this game, Ruby Hatchamura and Jackson

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Speaker 2: Hayes played thirty two. And this is one of my

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Speaker 2: biggest pet peeves when it comes to coaches, when they

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Speaker 2: try to inflict their specific basketball philosophy on a roster

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Speaker 2: rather than identifying what their roster is capable of and

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Speaker 2: just leaning into its strengths. So Darvin Ham has all

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Speaker 2: year long overplayed Torrian Prince. It's been a consistent issue,

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Speaker 2: and in general has done a lot of like we

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Speaker 2: saw this even last year a lot of like three

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Speaker 2: guard lineups and things along those lines, so I'm not

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Speaker 2: surprised that he leaned on Spencer Dinwitty a lot in

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Speaker 2: this game. Here's where I don't understand. Torrian Prince is

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Speaker 2: not actually giving you what his archetype typically provides. Like

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Speaker 2: I understand the thought process, Darvin Ham is thinking, I

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Speaker 2: run a five out offense, and I love to pressure

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Speaker 2: the ball and try to funnel guys into.

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis right.

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Speaker 2: Torrian Prince, in theory, is a wing defender that can

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Speaker 2: pressure the basketball, navigate screens, has some length, kind of

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Speaker 2: like do his job on the defensive end of the four.

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Speaker 2: On the offensive end, In theory, he's a good five

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Speaker 2: out wing because he can take and make catch and

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Speaker 2: shoot threes. Has a little bit off the dribble pop

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Speaker 2: a guy that kind of like knows how to play

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Speaker 2: alongside other good players. In theory, it makes some sense.

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Speaker 2: The problem is Torrian's not actually very good at any

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Speaker 2: of them, and so what ends up like he's a

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Speaker 2: bench player. He's good enough to do that in bench

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Speaker 2: lineups for small spurts. That's what Torrian Prince's role is

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Speaker 2: on this particular team, right, But the problem is he's

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Speaker 2: being given in most cases more than he can handle.

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Speaker 2: He is being slotted by Darvinham into a role that

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Speaker 2: he's going to fail because he's not personally really fit

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Speaker 2: for that specific role. And so as a result, like this,

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Speaker 2: here's the thing, Ruey Hachimura won't navigate screens as well

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Speaker 2: as Torrian Prince. Ruey Hachimura maybe isn't as good at

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Speaker 2: like fluid five man, five out basketball as a guy

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Speaker 2: like Torrian Prince's, right, But here's the thing, he's just

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Speaker 2: a better basketball player. He's a better basketball player, and

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Speaker 2: so whatever you're not getting there can help in other areas.

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Speaker 1: And for the record, like I think you can do.

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Speaker 2: Like I thought at the beginning of the game, they

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Speaker 2: started with Ruby on KD and they like switched Nurkic

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Speaker 2: KD pick and rolls, and he got burned one time

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Speaker 2: where he ended up on the top side and they

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Speaker 2: threw the pass over the top to Nurkic and he

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Speaker 2: slipped downhill and ended up getting a lay up. But like,

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Speaker 2: for the most part, that's a matchup that I actually

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Speaker 2: think can work. Switching that action. I think Ruy can

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Speaker 2: bang with Nurkic. He actually got him to miss a

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Speaker 2: shout out of the post. Obviously ad can work with

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Speaker 2: with Kevin Durant on the perimeter. It's just one of

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Speaker 2: those things where like I would have leaned into that more,

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Speaker 2: but they didn't. They leaned into lesser players. And again

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Speaker 2: Jackson Hayes, like I get it, he didn't play well

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Speaker 2: in his short burst today, but it's like like I

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Speaker 2: would like to see in the big picture, Darvin Ham

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Speaker 2: lean more into size, lean more into mainly just because

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Speaker 2: that's their best players. Those are their best players. And

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Speaker 2: there will be matchups where it makes sense to play

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Speaker 2: a Spencer Dinwoodie at the three, or maybe even a

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Speaker 2: Toryan Prince at the two next to like Ruya Tchramur,

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Speaker 2: depending on the matchup, But for the most part, it's

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Speaker 2: gonna have to be based on like how the game

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Speaker 2: is progressing. And in this particular game, you weren't getting

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Speaker 2: anything on offense out of Torrean Prince or Spencer Dinwide.

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Speaker 2: You weren't getting the benefits of what they brought to

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Speaker 2: the table, but you were getting the downsides. And like

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Speaker 2: I would have been in a situation where I would

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Speaker 2: have thought at the very least with Ruey out there

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Speaker 2: in a larger dose, I can hold up better on

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Speaker 2: the defensive glass, maybe hold up better in the possession battle,

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Speaker 2: because in the half court the Lakers and the Suns

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Speaker 2: were actually relatively even in this particular game. And so

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Speaker 2: just something to keep an eye. And it's something I

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Speaker 2: talked about from the moment that I kind of started

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Speaker 2: to pick up on Darvin Ham's you know, affinity for

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Speaker 2: Torrian Prince this season, doesn't really matter what they trade for,

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Speaker 2: doesn't really matter what kind of personnel is on the roster,

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Speaker 2: if inferior players are playing over better players that you

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Speaker 2: have available to you, And so I thought that was

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Speaker 2: kind of like the one gripe that I had. But

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Speaker 2: for the record, sometimes like Darbenham might have played Torrian

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Speaker 2: Prince fifteen minutes and played Ruy Hachamura thirty eight minutes,

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Speaker 2: and they might have still lost, because again, like I said,

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Speaker 2: Phoenix is really good. They just lost two in a row.

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Speaker 2: They're at home. That's what it's like sometimes in the NBA,

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Speaker 2: and so I don't want to overreact to it. Again

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Speaker 2: with the Lakers, I don't view them as some sort

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Speaker 2: of legitimate title contender. Anymore since they weren't able to

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Speaker 2: make an upgrade at the deadline, and so I'm not

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Speaker 2: really all that high on them to begin with. And

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Speaker 2: this is the kind of game that you almost kind

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Speaker 2: of expect them to lose. Right, They do have a

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Speaker 2: lot of home games as we head into early March

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Speaker 2: against really good opponents. Maybe they can tighten some things

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Speaker 2: up there and get a little bit sharper, But like,

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Speaker 2: I'm not super optimistic about them in the big picture anyway.

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Speaker 2: All right, moving on to Bucks Wolves. So the Bucks

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Speaker 2: actually had a huge win today on the road in Philly.

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Speaker 2: They won by twenty one points. I didn't actually watch

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Speaker 2: that game, though, I did watch them go in on

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Speaker 2: Friday night and dominate the Wolves, though, And so that's

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Speaker 2: what I want to talk about today's game, so or

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Speaker 2: today's show. So, they go on a huge run in

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Speaker 2: the third quarter. They get stop after stop after stop,

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Speaker 2: they get out in transition. I thought Damon Giannis both

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Speaker 2: did an absolutely fantastic job of applying rim pressure and

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Speaker 2: making good kickout passes. Then they were working the ball around.

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Speaker 2: Malik Beasley was just completely scorching hot. Hit a bunch

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Speaker 2: of threes during that run. Dame hit a bunch of

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Speaker 2: nasty pull up jumpers in that stretch. Yanni's hit a

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Speaker 2: three off the bounce there in the middle of the

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Speaker 2: third quarter, and they just blew Minnesota's doors off.

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Speaker 1: It was crazy.

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Speaker 2: It was like a close game and then all of

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Speaker 2: a sudden, they were up twenty. It was pretty wild.

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Speaker 2: But Minnesota made a little bit of a late comeback,

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Speaker 2: but it was never truly a game after that. But

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Speaker 2: brook Lopez was unbelievable in this game. He dominated on

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Speaker 2: the defensive end, which I want to dive deeper into

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Speaker 2: here in just a minute, but he also came out

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Speaker 2: red hot from three, hit a bunch of big shots

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Speaker 2: early in the game. He's averaging two made threes per

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Speaker 2: game over his last seven games. I'll be on a

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Speaker 2: MASSI volume. He's actually taking six point five four per game.

387
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Speaker 2: It's crazy watching the Bucks now because Brooks like straight

388
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Speaker 2: up playing with a massive green light. But I wanted to.

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Speaker 2: I wanted to dive into the Bucks drop coverage in

390
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Speaker 2: this particular game because that was basically the story of

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Speaker 2: this game. The like Brooklynpis was guarding Rudy Gobert and

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Speaker 2: just sitting comically far back into the paint. So what

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Speaker 2: that does is it puts your on ball guy in

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Speaker 2: a little bit of a predicament because he's basically playing

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Speaker 2: one on two right, like he's trying to guard ant

396
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Speaker 2: or or wherever it, Mike Conley, whoever it is, it

397
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Speaker 2: has the ball, but he's got a screener and he's

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Speaker 2: not getting any help at the perimeter. So his only

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Speaker 2: real job there is to try to fight over the

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Speaker 2: top of the screen and try to get a contest.

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00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,040
Speaker 2: But Rudy Gober is a really good screener and so

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Speaker 2: most of the time like he is getting a solid

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Speaker 2: screen set on the ball right. But there's a specific

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Speaker 2: reason why this works for Milwaukee, and this is actually

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Speaker 2: a very similar thing to what I was talking about

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Speaker 2: earlier with the Lakers, as it pertains to playing into

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Speaker 2: your strengths. Like this particular roster, the strength of their

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00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,840
Speaker 2: defense is on the interior, So it actually doesn't make

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Speaker 2: sense to over over index towards the ball handler, to

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Speaker 2: try to shut down the ball handler at the expense

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Speaker 2: of giving up layups and threes. That's not the strength

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Speaker 2: of your defense. You're actually better off allowing the ball

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Speaker 2: handler to be more comfortable. But stay home off the

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Speaker 2: ball and try to force them into making a lot

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Speaker 2: of really difficult shots in the mid range. And so again,

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Speaker 2: if I want to start by just looking at it

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Speaker 2: from the standpoint of what a drop coverage looks like.

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Speaker 2: So I want to look at just the first possession

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Speaker 2: of the game. You can actually find this clip on

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Speaker 2: my Twitter feed at underscore json LTS from Saturday morning

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Speaker 2: if I remember correctly. So, the first play of the

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Speaker 2: game was a turnover for Mike Conley in pick and roll.

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Speaker 2: So if you watch the play, Mike Conley's being guarded

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Speaker 2: by Dame. Rudy Gobert comes up and sets the screen

425
00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,000
Speaker 2: to Dame's credit, and he's been doing this really since

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00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,639
Speaker 2: took over. Really good job fighting over the top of

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Speaker 2: the screen. But brooklynp has just sitting way back.

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Speaker 1: In the paint.

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Speaker 2: So even though Conley gets downhill and actually beats Stam

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Speaker 2: like again, that's what you expect, right when you have

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Speaker 2: a ball screen, it's really difficult to get back in

432
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,680
Speaker 2: front of the ball handler. Right, Mike Conley's going downhill,

433
00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,720
Speaker 2: but Brooke is waiting there and he's able to effectively

434
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,919
Speaker 2: split the difference between Conley and go Bear rolling to

435
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,520
Speaker 2: the rint. Now why is this important? Because now you

436
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,879
Speaker 2: can defend the action two on two. Because you can

437
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,399
Speaker 2: defend the action two on two. Jay Crowder, who's on

438
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,360
Speaker 2: the weak side, and I think he was guarding Jade

439
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,040
Speaker 2: McDaniels if I remember correctly, but I'm not a hundred

440
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,960
Speaker 2: percent certain guarding on the weak side, he's able to

441
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,840
Speaker 2: stay on the ball or on his man. And so

442
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,080
Speaker 2: because he's staying on his man, as Mike Conley works

443
00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:49,879
Speaker 2: towards the baseline and he's there getting attacked by Brooke,

444
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,160
Speaker 2: he's got to get rid of the basketball. But now

445
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,680
Speaker 2: he doesn't have an outlet because Jay Crowder doesn't have

446
00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,640
Speaker 2: to help. If Brooke is higher in his dry coverage.

447
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,680
Speaker 2: Now Jay Crowder likely has to come over to help

448
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,840
Speaker 2: in the paint. But because Brooke is back, Jay can

449
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:13,000
Speaker 2: stay out, which takes away those kickout passes. That was

450
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,719
Speaker 2: basically the story of the game. The Bucks played Minnesota

451
00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,840
Speaker 2: into their worst tendencies because they are not a very

452
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:24,639
Speaker 2: good shot making team. They can make threes off the catch,

453
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,959
Speaker 2: they're a good catch and shoot team, but Anthony Edwards

454
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 2: is a high volume pull up shooter who's not particularly accurate.

455
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,560
Speaker 2: Mike Conley is an accurate pull up shooter who's not

456
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 2: particularly aggressive, and so as a result of that, it

457
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 2: played Minnesota into their worst tendencies. And it was a

458
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,800
Speaker 2: lot of playing pick and roll as Brooke sat back

459
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,000
Speaker 2: into the paint and guys missing pull up shots and floaters.

460
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:52,399
Speaker 2: It was a lot of attacking in ISO while Brooke

461
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,879
Speaker 2: is just sitting in the paint waiting and for all

462
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,320
Speaker 2: the you know, a lot of criticism about Rudy Gobert

463
00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,760
Speaker 2: over the years defensively is just inaccurate, and I've talked

464
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:01,879
Speaker 2: about on the show before, so I'm not going to

465
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,480
Speaker 2: get into it. But where Rudy Gobert has struggled in

466
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,480
Speaker 2: the past is he's not enough of a threat offensively,

467
00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:10,960
Speaker 2: Like he can get a few offensive reboundsy presents some

468
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,720
Speaker 2: vertical spacing, but he's not sharp enough when it comes

469
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:16,679
Speaker 2: to scoring on the role, like he doesn't catch and

470
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,240
Speaker 2: finish super well, and so on offense, it can turn

471
00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,879
Speaker 2: into a situation where where Rudy can't actually make Brook

472
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 2: pay enough for ignoring him, and that leads into a

473
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,000
Speaker 2: lot of their issues. And so I want to tie

474
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,640
Speaker 2: that back into two things. First of all, that is

475
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,800
Speaker 2: Milwaukee's best chance they will never be an elite defense

476
00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,479
Speaker 2: because they don't have the perimeter personnel to do so.

477
00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,440
Speaker 2: But their pathway to defending as well as they possibly can,

478
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,360
Speaker 2: or well enough for them to get to the trophy

479
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,399
Speaker 2: is that deep drop coverage, because it allows them to

480
00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,400
Speaker 2: cover two on two and stay out of rotation, essentially

481
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:58,879
Speaker 2: taking away layups and taking away threes while conceding comfort

482
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,560
Speaker 2: and rhythm to the ball handler. The next question is

483
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,040
Speaker 2: that in that is which matchups will that work in?

484
00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 2: And this is where it becomes really interesting in the playoffs,

485
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,399
Speaker 2: because a team like New York, maybe Jalen Brunson will

486
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,680
Speaker 2: kill you, and maybe that's not gonna work. A team

487
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,840
Speaker 2: like Miami, they've got a lot of guys like Duncan

488
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:22,240
Speaker 2: Robinson and Tyler Harrow who can really do some damage

489
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,040
Speaker 2: if you chase over the top, and they get some

490
00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:27,720
Speaker 2: good screens from bam Adebayo. Right, Terry Rozier hasn't played

491
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:29,560
Speaker 2: super well yet and then he got hurt. But we'll

492
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:31,320
Speaker 2: see in the long run whether or not Terry Rozier

493
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,560
Speaker 2: fits into that mold. But like they're a team where

494
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,880
Speaker 2: drop coverage might be a little bit of an issue,

495
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,560
Speaker 2: But then you look at teams like Boston. Boston is

496
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,280
Speaker 2: a team where, like Man, you could really bait them

497
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,400
Speaker 2: into their worst tendencies by running a super deep drop right.

498
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:48,359
Speaker 2: And so that's where I kind of look at it

499
00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 2: as matchup dependent, but even within the view of like

500
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,720
Speaker 2: a Miami matchup or a New York matchup, I still

501
00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,919
Speaker 2: think that might be their best chance to win and

502
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 2: just be like Jalen's gonna average Jalen Bunson's gona average

503
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,680
Speaker 2: thirty eight a game. But we're gonna take everybody else

504
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,520
Speaker 2: out of this thing and then we'll be good enough

505
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,400
Speaker 2: on offense. And again, the nuclear offense is the main

506
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 2: thing that makes it work. They beat Minnesota. Their drop

507
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,280
Speaker 2: coverage did work. I'm not gonna lie about that. But

508
00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,119
Speaker 2: it was close for the most part through three and

509
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,879
Speaker 2: a half quarters. It was close. In the fourth quarter

510
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 2: they brought it back a little bit close, although Milwaukee

511
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:20,560
Speaker 2: thought let their foot off the gas a little bit.

512
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,840
Speaker 2: But there at the end of the third quarter they

513
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:27,800
Speaker 2: went on an absolutely nuclear offensive run where Dame and

514
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,160
Speaker 2: Giannis just time and time again were able to develop

515
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,399
Speaker 2: and create incredibly high quality shots. That's the formula defend

516
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,080
Speaker 2: as well as you can, which the strength of your

517
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,679
Speaker 2: personnel is your interior defense, so it makes sense to

518
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,280
Speaker 2: do it the way they did. And then on the

519
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:44,959
Speaker 2: other end of the floor, you need to be a

520
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:49,159
Speaker 2: nuclear potent offense in order to cover the rest of

521
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,679
Speaker 2: that gap there on the Wolves front, I was so

522
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 2: disappointed in their offensive process in this game because they

523
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,359
Speaker 2: played right into Milwaukee's hands by spamming pick and roll

524
00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,480
Speaker 2: in bad isolation basketball. One of the things I'd like

525
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,000
Speaker 2: to see them doing again. This is something I've talked

526
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,640
Speaker 2: about a lot. When it comes to Minnesota. They don't

527
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 2: have the best decision makers in the world. Mike Conley's

528
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 2: a high end decision maker. But when you get past that,

529
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 2: it's like Carl Towns can get a little carried away,

530
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,600
Speaker 2: Anthony Edwards can get a little carried away, you know,

531
00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:17,880
Speaker 2: even to Kile Alexander Walker can get a little carried away.

532
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 2: They can take some tough shots, and they can play

533
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,840
Speaker 2: like Jade McDaniels even can sometimes get a little tunnel

534
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,879
Speaker 2: visiony and take some bad shots right and so Like,

535
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 2: specifically during that third quarter run, I just thought the

536
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,160
Speaker 2: Wolves play really poor offense. There wasn't a ton of

537
00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:34,520
Speaker 2: like action that they were running. It was a lot

538
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,879
Speaker 2: of like brute force style of basketball, which paid played

539
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:42,600
Speaker 2: directly into Milwaukee's strengths. Again, in that situation, if you

540
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:46,760
Speaker 2: allow Milwaukee to sit back, you're gonna have issues. But

541
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 2: if you have more ball in player movement you can

542
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:52,800
Speaker 2: have it be more likely that Brook Lopez has to

543
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,720
Speaker 2: direct attention elsewhere, and that's where you can maybe move

544
00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,320
Speaker 2: him further out of the coverage and maybe you can

545
00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:01,280
Speaker 2: find more opportunities to generate high quality offense. But that's

546
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:02,560
Speaker 2: going to be an issue with the Wolves, and that's

547
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,000
Speaker 2: been an issue for the Wolves throughout this season, is

548
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 2: their ability to consistently execute in the half court on offense.

549
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,880
Speaker 1: It's all right, let's talk some basketball. So I thought this.

550
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 2: Game in a lot of ways turned in that late

551
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,639
Speaker 2: first half run from the Denver Nuggets, because again, Denver

552
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,439
Speaker 2: is a team that you desperately want to avoid a close,

553
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,040
Speaker 2: slow down, half court execution match at the end of

554
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,160
Speaker 2: a game. And Golden State in particular, especially as of late,

555
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:34,600
Speaker 2: has kind of struggled in that specific department at least

556
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:36,440
Speaker 2: in the last couple of months, and so for them

557
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 2: in particular, you know, kind of the game was starting

558
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,240
Speaker 2: to follow a path that you hope for as a

559
00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:44,200
Speaker 2: Warriors fan in that environment, right, Like you get big

560
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,280
Speaker 2: performance from Klay Thompson in that first half, Steph's not

561
00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,399
Speaker 2: playing particularly well, although the Denver defense was very much

562
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 2: geared towards slowing him down. A couple of early matchup

563
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 2: things that I thought were interesting. They put Aaron Gordon

564
00:26:57,600 --> 00:26:59,720
Speaker 2: on Jonathan Kaminga and so if they had any sort

565
00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:01,440
Speaker 2: of cominga screen, they were able to.

566
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:02,560
Speaker 1: Just switch it.

567
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,760
Speaker 2: But then on the ball they had KCP just being

568
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,160
Speaker 2: super physical with him following them all around the court,

569
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:10,680
Speaker 2: and then any other kind of screening action, they're basically

570
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,520
Speaker 2: like hedging or trapping everything. So making the game really

571
00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:18,200
Speaker 2: really hard on Steph and like very attentive to the details,

572
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,400
Speaker 2: not making a lot of mistakes, and so they make

573
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,720
Speaker 2: Steph have a somewhat rough first half. And now Steph

574
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:25,679
Speaker 2: still has the superpower to hit some tough shots in

575
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,960
Speaker 2: those environments, and he got some solid looks in that

576
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:30,840
Speaker 2: first half that he wasn't able to make really throughout

577
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:32,159
Speaker 2: the whole game that he wasn't able to make, and

578
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,440
Speaker 2: we'll talk about that later. But in terms of controlling

579
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 2: what you can control as a defense, thought Denver did

580
00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,240
Speaker 2: a really nice job. But the big part of it

581
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 2: was Aaron Gordon can actually hold up really well against

582
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,480
Speaker 2: Jonathan Kminga on an island. He's got the athletic tools

583
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 2: kind of hanging with him. We're gonna spend a lot

584
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:47,520
Speaker 2: of time talking about Aaron Gordon tonight because I thought

585
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,119
Speaker 2: he was incredible. And then in addition to that, in

586
00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,000
Speaker 2: any sort of off ball situation, Aaron and Gordon was

587
00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 2: able to help around the basket and that really junked

588
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,560
Speaker 2: up Golden State's offense, except for the stretch where Klay

589
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 2: Thompson was hitting shots. But again, based on how the

590
00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:06,200
Speaker 2: game was progressing early, you're kind of stoked as a

591
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,919
Speaker 2: Warriors fan, right you're up fifteen, like you're a hilariously

592
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,720
Speaker 2: good third quarter team. In February, the Golden State Warriors

593
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,080
Speaker 2: had a plus twenty three net rating in third quarters.

594
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 2: That's when they blow games open, just like the old

595
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,879
Speaker 2: Warriors used to. That's kind of like what you're hoping

596
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:23,639
Speaker 2: for there is you get into the half around a

597
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:25,960
Speaker 2: double digit lead, you blow the game open in the

598
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,800
Speaker 2: third quarter, and then who cares about having to execute

599
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:33,720
Speaker 2: with Denver in the half court. But unfortunately Denver decided

600
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:37,000
Speaker 2: at the late first half stretch there to completely erase

601
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 2: Golden State's lead with just a bunch of like high

602
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,720
Speaker 2: level shot making. And for the record, in this particular

603
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,239
Speaker 2: stretch of the game, there were some execution things with

604
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,760
Speaker 2: Denver where especially in that second half where Golden State

605
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,800
Speaker 2: was giving up easy shots just because Denver was executing

606
00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,440
Speaker 2: extremely well. But in that late first half stretch, I

607
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 2: actually thought Golden State defended pretty well. Like Nikole Jokic

608
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,240
Speaker 2: ma a contested pick and pop three at the top

609
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,320
Speaker 2: of the key, Jabal Murray made an insanely like difficult

610
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,000
Speaker 2: fade away over his left shoulder over Andrew Wiggins. Aaron

611
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,160
Speaker 2: Gordon just ran the floor really well and got a

612
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,360
Speaker 2: post up mismatch against Clay Thompson and went up and

613
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,240
Speaker 2: got an end one. And then there before the end

614
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,719
Speaker 2: of the half, just a dribble handoff drifting three to

615
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,440
Speaker 2: his left for Jamal Murray that ties the game. And

616
00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:24,320
Speaker 2: on the other end of the floor of the Warriors,

617
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,240
Speaker 2: you know, honestly, they just missed some shots, like Brandon

618
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,440
Speaker 2: Pizemski missed a wide open corner three out of the left,

619
00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:30,240
Speaker 2: Klay Thompson missed a wide open three at the top

620
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,320
Speaker 2: of the key, but other than that, they defended pretty well.

621
00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:35,640
Speaker 2: And again Steph wasn't able to make those like superhero

622
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,600
Speaker 2: shots that he's accustomed to making, right, And so all

623
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,640
Speaker 2: of a sudden we go from the Warriors being up

624
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 2: I think they led by as much as sixteen in

625
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,440
Speaker 2: that second quarter, to now it's a tie game.

626
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:46,240
Speaker 1: And then we come out in.

627
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,480
Speaker 2: That third quarter stretch and again Golden State's been out

628
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,960
Speaker 2: executing everybody in that setting, but Denver just strangled the

629
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,240
Speaker 2: pace of the game, played beautiful offense, won the quarter

630
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 2: thirty to twenty six, and then in the fourth quarter

631
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,760
Speaker 2: they just completely shut down Warriors offense. Not Nikolajokic did

632
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 2: a beautiful job of playing Draymond's passing angles, just kind

633
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,400
Speaker 2: of like reading plays before they happen and getting in

634
00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,040
Speaker 2: front of them. Again, one of nikola Jokic's best defensive

635
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:12,320
Speaker 2: attributes is just his IQ. You can just see things

636
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,040
Speaker 2: before they happen. And then again Aaron Gordon on the

637
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:18,840
Speaker 2: back line blowing everything up. And again, like Steph, this

638
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 2: is one of those environments where Denver's is a better team,

639
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,920
Speaker 2: but Steph has the superpower to potentially overcome that and

640
00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,280
Speaker 2: it just was one of those nights where he wasn't

641
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,480
Speaker 2: able to make those shots. And then again especially there

642
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,320
Speaker 2: in that fourth quarter stretch, I thought the Warriors were

643
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:37,440
Speaker 2: really really competing on the defensive end, and they have personnel.

644
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,640
Speaker 2: Draymond's battling like Andrew Wiggins is battling on the ball.

645
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,400
Speaker 2: They're flying around in rotation, They're doing everything they can.

646
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,240
Speaker 2: But like there's a certain helplessness that you run into

647
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,520
Speaker 2: playing against Denver. They have reached a level of unguardability.

648
00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,440
Speaker 2: And so I've talked about this specific dynamic a million

649
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,920
Speaker 2: times on this show as it pertains to what makes

650
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,520
Speaker 2: Denver so difficult to guard. But I wanted to kind

651
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 2: of dive a little bit deeper into two specific dynamics

652
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,440
Speaker 2: that take place for Denver on the offensive end of

653
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,600
Speaker 2: the floor and what makes them so hard to guard,

654
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,960
Speaker 2: and that is disguising their actions and then pre loaded counters.

655
00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:18,360
Speaker 2: So those are the two concepts I want to get

656
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,400
Speaker 2: into tonight. First, disguising their actions and all you have

657
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,160
Speaker 2: to do to look for a great example of this

658
00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,239
Speaker 2: to start with was the first bucket that Denver had

659
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,080
Speaker 2: in this game, which was an Aaron Gordon kind of

660
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,360
Speaker 2: like contested in traffic layup right in front of the

661
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,520
Speaker 2: rim out of a off ball action that they ran.

662
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,400
Speaker 2: So on this play, the Nuggets get to stop and

663
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:42,880
Speaker 2: Nikole Yoka is bringing the ball up the floor, and

664
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:44,640
Speaker 2: he's bringing it up point guard style, and he's coming

665
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,560
Speaker 2: up with a good amount of pace, and as he

666
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:48,560
Speaker 2: brings him off the floor, obviously Draymond's getting ready to

667
00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:53,960
Speaker 2: pick him up. Andrew Wiggins is on Jamal Murray and

668
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:58,720
Speaker 2: Brandon Pazemski is on Michael Porter Junior, and as Nikole

669
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:00,680
Speaker 2: Jokic kind of gets up the floor, turns his back

670
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,040
Speaker 2: and he gets ready and you're just expecting to see

671
00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:08,880
Speaker 2: a Jamal Murray dribblehandoff right now. Again, what are you

672
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,160
Speaker 2: doing defensively in that situation? What most teams will do

673
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,040
Speaker 2: that have that kind of personnel, a really good post

674
00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,480
Speaker 2: defender like Draymond or ball screen defender like Draymond, and

675
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:20,960
Speaker 2: a really good on ball defender like Wiggins. What they

676
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 2: want to do is Andrew Wiggins wants to beat Jamal

677
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 2: Murray over the top of the screen as best as

678
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,480
Speaker 2: he can, because if he can compete over the top

679
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 2: of that screen, it will make it so that Draymond

680
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:32,760
Speaker 2: doesn't have to step over, And if Draymond doesn't have

681
00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 2: to step over, he can stay home on Jokic and

682
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,160
Speaker 2: they can kind of shut the action down right. So again,

683
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,360
Speaker 2: that's a really difficult job. This is a job that

684
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,640
Speaker 2: so many players in the league struggle with that on

685
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:46,520
Speaker 2: ball screen navigation piece, right, and so Andrew Wiggins has

686
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,800
Speaker 2: his head turned to the left to where Nikole Jokic

687
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,920
Speaker 2: is and Jamal Murray's in front of him, and he's

688
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,960
Speaker 2: getting ready to fight over the top of that screen.

689
00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 2: But all of a sudden, here comes Michael Porter Junior

690
00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,680
Speaker 2: and he comes up from the corner and he sets

691
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,760
Speaker 2: a back screen on Wiggins. Doesn't hit him that much,

692
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:04,880
Speaker 2: but hits him just enough to kind of knock him

693
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,760
Speaker 2: off balance, and Wiggins has to turn and chase Jamal Murray.

694
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:13,040
Speaker 2: Now Jamal Murray has beat Wiggins back door because Andrew

695
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:18,880
Speaker 2: Wiggins got backscreen. Right now, Jamal Murray's rolling to the rim. Obviously,

696
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,120
Speaker 2: Nikole Jokic is never gonna miss something like that. When

697
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,760
Speaker 2: he breaks open hits Jamal Murray on the back cut,

698
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:28,640
Speaker 2: Draymond Green has to drop down to help on Jamal Murray.

699
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,000
Speaker 2: It's an easy drop off pass to Aaron Gordon in

700
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 2: front of the rim and he lays it in point

701
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:36,240
Speaker 2: there being you're gearing up to stop one of the

702
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:38,840
Speaker 2: most unguardable actions in the league, which is the Jamal

703
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,280
Speaker 2: Murray Nicole Jokic two man game, and that's just a decoy.

704
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:44,280
Speaker 2: That's not actually what they're doing. They're actually running an

705
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 2: off ball action using Michael Porter Junior to get Jamal

706
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,320
Speaker 2: Murray going back door away from where the dribble handoff

707
00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:54,360
Speaker 2: was gonna be. That's a great example of disguising actions

708
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:55,920
Speaker 2: and that's something that will Denver will do.

709
00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:57,000
Speaker 1: They never will.

710
00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:58,960
Speaker 2: You know, we talked about this in the earlier video

711
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,080
Speaker 2: today about Minnesota and some of the issues they were

712
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:05,080
Speaker 2: having against Milwaukee's drop coverage. One of the issues was

713
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,720
Speaker 2: they were just kind of running it up the floor

714
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,719
Speaker 2: and setting a ball screen and going or this guy

715
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:12,799
Speaker 2: likes his matchup, he's just going to go and drive

716
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,160
Speaker 2: into the help and it really makes it easier for

717
00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:17,680
Speaker 2: the defense to load up on you because there's not

718
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,440
Speaker 2: really a whole lot happening in terms of like ball

719
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:24,200
Speaker 2: and player movement before you run your core action. Whatever

720
00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:27,280
Speaker 2: ball screen or isopost up, it is right with Denver,

721
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:32,359
Speaker 2: they are essentially like putting you in a predicament where

722
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,720
Speaker 2: you can't actually load up on any one action because

723
00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:38,319
Speaker 2: if you do, they are prepared to do something else,

724
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:41,480
Speaker 2: and often they will use their core actions as decoys

725
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:43,640
Speaker 2: to get other guys open. The second piece that I

726
00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:47,080
Speaker 2: wanted to hit on was the idea of pre loaded counters. Well,

727
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:51,000
Speaker 2: this is any single time that you run an action,

728
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:55,680
Speaker 2: there is a defensive scheme that the defense is going

729
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:58,520
Speaker 2: to implement in that specific situation. So for instance, whether

730
00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:01,239
Speaker 2: it's a deep drop, whether it's kind of like a

731
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,799
Speaker 2: more mid level drop, whether it's a high drop with

732
00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,760
Speaker 2: like kind of a show, whether it's a hedge and recover,

733
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:10,160
Speaker 2: whether it's a trap. Like, there's a number of different

734
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,280
Speaker 2: things you can do. And then even off ball situations,

735
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,040
Speaker 2: maybe you're switching off ball screens, maybe you're pre switching

736
00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 2: when a guy's going up to set a ball screen,

737
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,479
Speaker 2: you're sending a different player up to defend the ball screen.

738
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:20,640
Speaker 2: There's all these different things you can do right and

739
00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,400
Speaker 2: specifically with Denver, that's one of the ways that like

740
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,640
Speaker 2: tea teams will come up with gimmicks to try to

741
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,239
Speaker 2: I shouldn say gimmicks, but different defensive strategies to take

742
00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:33,879
Speaker 2: away Denver's action. So, for instance, like a Jamal Murray

743
00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,239
Speaker 2: Nicol Jokic two man game, maybe you're tagging from the

744
00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 2: weak side to try to get to Nikole Jokic when

745
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:43,120
Speaker 2: he catches on the roll. Maybe you're blitzing Jamal Murray

746
00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,920
Speaker 2: on the ball screen. Maybe you're doubling Nikola Jokic in

747
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,200
Speaker 2: the post up. Well, Denver has seen all of these

748
00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:53,400
Speaker 2: coverages so many times that they just have a baked

749
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,319
Speaker 2: encounter to beat you when you do that, and so

750
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,880
Speaker 2: I wanted to provide two examples to kind of demonstrate

751
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:02,600
Speaker 2: the concept to you guys. So the first one was

752
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:06,480
Speaker 2: aous call Contavious call of Pope backdoor cut on Steph

753
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,360
Speaker 2: Curry for a layup. So, on this play, Steph Curry

754
00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,799
Speaker 2: is guarding Contavious call of Pope. Nikola Jokic has the

755
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,320
Speaker 2: ball on the left elbow. This was in the first half.

756
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,480
Speaker 2: On this play, Steph Curry knows kcp's coming off of

757
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,319
Speaker 2: a dribble hand off from Nikola jokicch So one of

758
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:25,600
Speaker 2: the things that Steph does is he top locks Contavious

759
00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:27,600
Speaker 2: Cola Pope to try to deny him the use of

760
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:30,680
Speaker 2: the screen. What that means is if preten Jokic is

761
00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:34,280
Speaker 2: behind me and the camera is KCP, I'm positioning myself

762
00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,040
Speaker 2: almost between and he was being physical on the ball

763
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,280
Speaker 2: and he was basically trying to stop KCP from using

764
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,439
Speaker 2: the dribble handoff. So there is a baked in, reloaded

765
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,640
Speaker 2: counter for denver in that situation. Those of you guys

766
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 2: listening can probably take a guess. KCP just gets a

767
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,359
Speaker 2: little physical with Steph and just cuts back door.

768
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:53,879
Speaker 1: Now here's the thing.

769
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:56,440
Speaker 2: Typically in a situation like that, you'd have a rimp

770
00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,919
Speaker 2: protector back there, but that's not the case because Nikola Joki,

771
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,799
Speaker 2: which is the center, and Draymond Green is up on

772
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 2: him up at the elbow, and so as a result,

773
00:37:05,719 --> 00:37:07,640
Speaker 2: KCP just kind of walks up like he's gonna go

774
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,160
Speaker 2: to the DHO and he just knows, like STEP's denying me.

775
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,480
Speaker 2: My natural counter here is to cut back door, and

776
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 2: of course, Nicole Jokic, he's sitting there staring at KCP

777
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:18,640
Speaker 2: waiting for him to come off the dribble handoff, season

778
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,280
Speaker 2: cut back door throws the pass over the top. KCP

779
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,839
Speaker 2: is right there, and then obviously in the event that

780
00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:29,000
Speaker 2: you know, let's say Johnathan Kaminga steps up to help

781
00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:32,160
Speaker 2: out of the back line. They already know. Aaron Gordon

782
00:37:32,239 --> 00:37:34,480
Speaker 2: knows I'm sitting there in the dunker spot, and I don't.

783
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:35,839
Speaker 2: I don't even think Aaron Gordon was in the dunker

784
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:37,719
Speaker 2: spot on this play. But I'm just providing an example.

785
00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:41,319
Speaker 2: So let's pretend KCP cuts back door and steph and

786
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:43,560
Speaker 2: you have Jonathan Kaminga step over and help. Aaron Gordon

787
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:46,280
Speaker 2: knows as soon as he steps over, I just jump,

788
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:50,799
Speaker 2: just jump up near the rim, and KCP knows if

789
00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:52,680
Speaker 2: I turn around and there's help, I'm just floating it

790
00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:55,000
Speaker 2: up around the basket. And it's a big target with

791
00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,560
Speaker 2: Aaron Gordon because he's such an excellent, you know, vertical

792
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,799
Speaker 2: spacer that they can beat you with the dunk like that.

793
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:02,600
Speaker 2: And that was actually the second example that I was

794
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:06,200
Speaker 2: going to provide. It was the Aaron Gordon dunk off

795
00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:08,160
Speaker 2: the baseline there in the end of the game, towards

796
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,279
Speaker 2: the end of the game, in the fourth quarter. All

797
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:13,080
Speaker 2: it was Jamal Murray coming off a ball screen. There's

798
00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,760
Speaker 2: a pass to Nicole Jokic in the role. They step

799
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:17,920
Speaker 2: up to help. I think it was Kaminga steps up

800
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:21,400
Speaker 2: to help on nicolea Jokic in the role. Jokic literally

801
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:25,760
Speaker 2: one time's the pass, meaning like didn't didn't like turn

802
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,239
Speaker 2: to make a read, like he just knew, he just knew.

803
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,680
Speaker 2: Here comes Kaminga. This is the read. I just throw

804
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:33,439
Speaker 2: it up there. And obviously I think he actually threw

805
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:35,200
Speaker 2: a pass that was a little bit too far out

806
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,520
Speaker 2: in front of the rim. But Aaron Gordon is such

807
00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:40,279
Speaker 2: a disgustingly good athlete that he's able to like rise

808
00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,479
Speaker 2: up and just dunk it anyway, because that's what Aaron

809
00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,160
Speaker 2: Gordon does, right. But the point is is like between

810
00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:48,200
Speaker 2: not just the basketball continuity of this group, meaning they've

811
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,520
Speaker 2: played together for so long, but the IQ of this

812
00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:52,399
Speaker 2: group and just how smart they are and how well

813
00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:54,319
Speaker 2: they know how to play off of each other. They

814
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,560
Speaker 2: just have all of these They disguise everything, they have

815
00:38:58,719 --> 00:39:01,200
Speaker 2: all of these built in count to go against whatever

816
00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,480
Speaker 2: you throw at them defensively, and then to make matters worse.

817
00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,399
Speaker 2: Let's say you do everything right and you make every

818
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 2: rotation just like a perfect windshield wiper sequence and nobody's open. Well,

819
00:39:11,719 --> 00:39:14,480
Speaker 2: then Jamal Murray will just make some really tough turnaround

820
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:17,000
Speaker 2: jump shot, or Nikole Jokich will just be like, all right, fine,

821
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,600
Speaker 2: I guess I gotta take Draymond Green to the basket

822
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:20,919
Speaker 2: out of the post and try to shoot a little

823
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,960
Speaker 2: hook shot. And guess what, Jamal Murray. If you're ranking

824
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:26,959
Speaker 2: tough shot makers in the NBA, I haven't really thought

825
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,520
Speaker 2: about it, but Jamal Murray's way up there on that list.

826
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,600
Speaker 2: And then in terms of like on an island scoring,

827
00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,560
Speaker 2: Nikole joki is about as efficient as you'll find in

828
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 2: the league. So they have this beautifully well oiled offense

829
00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:43,480
Speaker 2: that is inevitable, that is incredibly difficult to guard. You

830
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:47,400
Speaker 2: literally feel helpless watching it, and then if you do

831
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:49,640
Speaker 2: everything right, they might just make a tough shot anyway.

832
00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:56,520
Speaker 2: And I mean it literally is hopeless. And like Warriors fans,

833
00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,279
Speaker 2: you can relate to this. This is what it was

834
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:04,080
Speaker 2: like for the most part during the Warriors dynasty. Now,

835
00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:06,960
Speaker 2: it wasn't quite the same extent as Denver because I

836
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:08,520
Speaker 2: think Golden State was more of a two way team.

837
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,240
Speaker 2: With Golden Save was like one of the best defenses

838
00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:12,400
Speaker 2: in the league every single year. Now, Denver's been been

839
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:14,560
Speaker 2: a very good defense this year. But like you guys,

840
00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:17,239
Speaker 2: remember the feeling. It was like, run drop coverage on

841
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,120
Speaker 2: Steph He's gonna just hit pull.

842
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:20,960
Speaker 1: Up the rees all night long.

843
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:23,239
Speaker 2: Leave him on an island. He can beat his man

844
00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:27,200
Speaker 2: off the dribble and and like either create his own

845
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,520
Speaker 2: shot for himself or draw multiple defenders and pass out

846
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:33,239
Speaker 2: of it. Throw blitz at him, throw a hedge at him.

847
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:34,880
Speaker 2: He's gonna hit the role man every single time. And

848
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:36,840
Speaker 2: it's Draymond Green coming down the middle of the floor.

849
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:38,960
Speaker 2: He's one of the best short role passers in the league.

850
00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,239
Speaker 2: And at that point in time, during the peak of

851
00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:43,799
Speaker 2: the Warriors dynasty, it was Klay Thompson, the second best

852
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:47,040
Speaker 2: shooter in the world, who was unbelievably deadly off the ball,

853
00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:50,799
Speaker 2: Andre Gudala, who's one of the smartest players in the league. Right,

854
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,680
Speaker 2: Like that was the predicament they put you in. And

855
00:40:53,719 --> 00:40:55,759
Speaker 2: then oh, by the way, Kevin Durant was out there too,

856
00:40:56,400 --> 00:40:58,680
Speaker 2: like so, and there was a similar type of thing

857
00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:00,640
Speaker 2: where if you happened to get in front of the

858
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 2: action and stop everything, they had two guys that just

859
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:06,879
Speaker 2: could beat you over the top with crazy tough shot making.

860
00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,440
Speaker 2: So like Horriors fans again, you can you can relate

861
00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:12,520
Speaker 2: to this, but there is an inevitability. There's an inevitability,

862
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:15,320
Speaker 2: there's a hopelessness that Denver puts you in. And I

863
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:19,520
Speaker 2: thought tonight was was just just a resounding example of

864
00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:22,640
Speaker 2: that on Denver's front. Again, Like you know, I've seen

865
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,200
Speaker 2: a lot of Denver pessimism this year. Like I even

866
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:27,759
Speaker 2: saw I can't remember exactly who it was that I

867
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:29,960
Speaker 2: saw on Twitter the other day talking about how like

868
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,760
Speaker 2: even their effective field goal percentages down to like middle

869
00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:34,319
Speaker 2: of the pack this year after it was like number

870
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:35,439
Speaker 2: one in the league last year.

871
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:36,719
Speaker 1: And I just don't care.

872
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,200
Speaker 2: I just don't care, like a time and time again,

873
00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:42,960
Speaker 2: when it comes down to it, in any sort of

874
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:46,560
Speaker 2: high leverage moment, they're able to tighten the screws defensively,

875
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 2: and they're able to execute to a near near perfection

876
00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:53,040
Speaker 2: on the offensive end of the floor. And that's why

877
00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,480
Speaker 2: I keep saying, like, in the event that they're healthy,

878
00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:58,520
Speaker 2: I just I would just be surprised if they lost.

879
00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:01,160
Speaker 2: I have not seen any team in the league that

880
00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:05,000
Speaker 2: can reach a two way height in the slow down, intense,

881
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:09,839
Speaker 2: physical playoff environment the way that Denver can. Every other

882
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:12,520
Speaker 2: team in the league has significant question marks in a

883
00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:15,319
Speaker 2: way that Denver does not. The only thing that you

884
00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:17,719
Speaker 2: can really point to is their lack of depth, which

885
00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:19,640
Speaker 2: wasn't an issue that last year when they stayed healthy,

886
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:21,800
Speaker 2: and that's why I keep adding the healthy qualifier. But again,

887
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:24,040
Speaker 2: the same can be said for any of these teams.

888
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,200
Speaker 2: There's not a team out there that's in the top

889
00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:28,879
Speaker 2: five or six championship contenders in the league that can

890
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,360
Speaker 2: afford an injury to a starter, you know, like Aaron Gordon.

891
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:36,239
Speaker 2: He had an incredible night tonight. Aaron Gordon is legitimately.

892
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:38,440
Speaker 2: I was thinking about this while I was putting my

893
00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:41,840
Speaker 2: notes together. Obviously Aaron Gordon is not a superstar, like

894
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:44,799
Speaker 2: he's not a guy that we put in the same

895
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,440
Speaker 2: echelon with the great forwards in the league.

896
00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:48,880
Speaker 1: But when you really.

897
00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:51,279
Speaker 2: Put it down to like what his role is on

898
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:53,520
Speaker 2: this team, meaning like they don't need him to be

899
00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:57,000
Speaker 2: some high level offensive engine, but just operating in the

900
00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,959
Speaker 2: role of what the big forward typically does, which means

901
00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,680
Speaker 2: on the offensive end of the floor, matchup attacking and

902
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:05,560
Speaker 2: vertical spacing. And then on the defensive end of the floor,

903
00:43:05,719 --> 00:43:07,920
Speaker 2: it's the ability to defend bigger forwards on the perimeter,

904
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,800
Speaker 2: the ability to defend bigger forwards and bigs in the post,

905
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:14,799
Speaker 2: the ability to be an impactful back line defender, meaning

906
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:18,960
Speaker 2: like helping at the rim in like situations where he's

907
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,120
Speaker 2: got a tag rollers or help on drives, but also

908
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:24,720
Speaker 2: cleaning up the defensive glass and potentially having to rotate

909
00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:27,360
Speaker 2: with athleticism back out to the weak side to a shooter.

910
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:31,600
Speaker 2: If you just kind of take the big forward responsibilities,

911
00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:34,080
Speaker 2: not the higher level stuff that superstars have to take

912
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:37,160
Speaker 2: care but if you just look at the bigger forward responsibilities,

913
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:40,320
Speaker 2: there aren't many players in the league that are better

914
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:43,759
Speaker 2: in his position group than him. At that I was

915
00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:47,840
Speaker 2: thinking about it earlier. Today it's like like maybe, maybe, maybe,

916
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:50,440
Speaker 2: like Giannis is probably for sure in that group, right

917
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,399
Speaker 2: like the five nights of a year that Lebron tries

918
00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:57,279
Speaker 2: really hard, But even that feels like a stress to

919
00:43:57,400 --> 00:43:59,840
Speaker 2: a stretch to me, Like there aren't It's hard to

920
00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:04,760
Speaker 2: think of a forward that plays that foe position who's

921
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:09,440
Speaker 2: better at low man defensive responsibilities and off ball offensive

922
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:11,960
Speaker 2: responsibilities out of the four spot. Like the one big

923
00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:15,200
Speaker 2: knitpick with him is like he's an iffy shooter, But

924
00:44:15,360 --> 00:44:18,640
Speaker 2: like time and time again, that just hasn't mattered like that.

925
00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:20,839
Speaker 2: The Warriors ignored him at the three point line all

926
00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:22,960
Speaker 2: night tonight and it just didn't matter.

927
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:24,759
Speaker 1: So so like.

928
00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:28,440
Speaker 2: Again, like and there's not a team out there that

929
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:31,080
Speaker 2: can afford an injury. But like to me that that's

930
00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:33,920
Speaker 2: that's an unfair criticism to throw at Denver for that reason,

931
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,640
Speaker 2: they feel inevitable to me. I like I said, I

932
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:38,520
Speaker 2: just I'm such a big fan of this, of this

933
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:42,360
Speaker 2: Denver Nuggets team on the Warriors front. Again, Steph and

934
00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:44,920
Speaker 2: Dre had bad knights. You need them to overcome your

935
00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:47,440
Speaker 2: limitations in a matchup like this, and Steph couldn't make

936
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:49,000
Speaker 2: as tough for three point looks today. I think he

937
00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:51,360
Speaker 2: was one for ten from three and Draymond had six turnovers.

938
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:53,600
Speaker 2: So like, it's gonna be tough to win a game

939
00:44:53,640 --> 00:44:55,520
Speaker 2: like that in that circumstance. But here's the thing, and

940
00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:57,120
Speaker 2: there's a reason why I have the Warriors in the

941
00:44:57,120 --> 00:45:00,239
Speaker 2: long shot tier. I don't think they're even capable of

942
00:45:00,239 --> 00:45:03,040
Speaker 2: being Denver in a series. That doesn't mean they can't

943
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:05,319
Speaker 2: win the title, Like you go for it, because what

944
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:07,640
Speaker 2: if Denver does suffer some sort of injury, What if

945
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,360
Speaker 2: there is some sort of confluence of events where you

946
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,040
Speaker 2: happen to catch some favorable matchups and then you get

947
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,279
Speaker 2: to the finish line, like you go for it. And

948
00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:18,440
Speaker 2: they certainly have that capability, but like at the end

949
00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:20,480
Speaker 2: of the day, they just can't execute in the half

950
00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:22,320
Speaker 2: court nearly as well as Denver on either end of

951
00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:24,480
Speaker 2: the floor, and that, to me is where that pessimism

952
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:26,360
Speaker 2: comes from. All right, guys, that is all I have

953
00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:28,600
Speaker 2: for tonight. As always, I appreciate you guys for supporting

954
00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:30,959
Speaker 2: the show. We'll be back tomorrow breaking down a couple

955
00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:33,840
Speaker 2: more games from tonight's slate, as well as our power rankings.

956
00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:35,920
Speaker 2: Then just a heads up, we're taking Tuesday off. I'm

957
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:39,200
Speaker 2: doing a day trip. There's a this really cool ancient

958
00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:44,520
Speaker 2: volcano that's in northern Arizona. That's a place called flag Staff.

959
00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:46,640
Speaker 2: It's where Northern Arizona University is, and there's some skiing

960
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:48,319
Speaker 2: up there, and so my wife and I and some

961
00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:50,839
Speaker 2: friends are taking a day trip and do some We

962
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:53,520
Speaker 2: do these things called day trips where you literally drive

963
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,319
Speaker 2: four hours, wake up at four am, and then we'll

964
00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:59,279
Speaker 2: go ski for eight hours and then drive four hours home.

965
00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:01,120
Speaker 2: So will I literally we'll be gone all day on

966
00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:04,080
Speaker 2: Tuesday but we'll be back on Wednesday with our usual

967
00:46:04,080 --> 00:46:05,280
Speaker 2: game breakdowns and stuff.

968
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:07,440
Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you guys. I'll see it's

969
00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:40,200
Speaker 2: Mark the volume