1
00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:01,960
Speaker 1: The volume.

2
00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:05,960
Speaker 2: Have you been hungry for some college football, Well we

3
00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,799
Speaker 2: finally get a taste this weekend. Don't miss any of

4
00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,200
Speaker 2: the action. Jump in at DraftKings Sportsbook. It's a small

5
00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,400
Speaker 2: but mighty slate of games for Week zero, including a

6
00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,240
Speaker 2: big matchup in Ireland. This is going to be Draftking's

7
00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,560
Speaker 2: biggest college football season to date. Enjoy the ride now

8
00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,720
Speaker 2: all the way through the expanded playoffs, plus all newbies

9
00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,280
Speaker 2: getting into the college spirit. Here's something extra special new

10
00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,840
Speaker 2: Draft Kings customers. Bet five dollars to get two hundred

11
00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,960
Speaker 2: dollars in bonus bets. Instantly score big with DraftKings all

12
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,160
Speaker 2: college football season long. Download the Draft Kings Sportsbook gap

13
00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,960
Speaker 2: now and use code hoops. That's hops, that's code hoops

14
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,479
Speaker 2: for new customers to get two hundred dollars in bonus

15
00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,840
Speaker 2: bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings.

16
00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,240
Speaker 2: The Crown is yours. Gambling problem called one eight hundred

17
00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,000
Speaker 2: gambler In New York call eight seven seven eight hope

18
00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,640
Speaker 2: and why or text hope and why to four to

19
00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,800
Speaker 2: six seven three sixty nine. In Connecticut, Help us available

20
00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,320
Speaker 2: for problem gambling. Call eight eight eight seven eight nine

21
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:11,479
Speaker 2: seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please

22
00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,520
Speaker 2: play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in

23
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:19,200
Speaker 2: Kansas twenty one plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction

24
00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,959
Speaker 2: void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty

25
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,000
Speaker 2: eight hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources,

26
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:43,440
Speaker 2: see dkang dot co slash ft ball. All right, welcome

27
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:45,720
Speaker 2: to Hoops Tonight. You're at the volume. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Oh,

28
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,360
Speaker 2: all of you guys are having a great week so far.

29
00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,840
Speaker 2: We are continuing our player rankings today with number seventeen

30
00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:53,800
Speaker 2: and number sixteen. You guys know the drip before we

31
00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:55,800
Speaker 2: get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You

32
00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,600
Speaker 2: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on

33
00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,360
Speaker 2: Twitter at underscore JCNLTS. You guys don't miss showing bounce Man.

34
00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:01,960
Speaker 2: Don't forget about a podcast feed where if you get

35
00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,880
Speaker 2: your podcast in our Hoops Tonight, don't forget And it's

36
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:05,720
Speaker 2: helpful if you leave a rating and a review on

37
00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,239
Speaker 2: that front and then keep dropping mailbag questions in those

38
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,560
Speaker 2: YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the

39
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,640
Speaker 2: remainder of the summer. Again at the tail end of

40
00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,959
Speaker 2: today's show, now that I'm back from vacation and we've

41
00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,000
Speaker 2: had our player rankings videos out on the feed for

42
00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,639
Speaker 2: a while, I took a bunch of mail bag questions

43
00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,840
Speaker 2: from the first three videos where you guys argued against

44
00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,239
Speaker 2: my rankings, and we're gonna go back and forth a

45
00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,880
Speaker 2: little bit. That's gonna be the format throughout the rest

46
00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,560
Speaker 2: of this list. It's gonna be a couple of players

47
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,760
Speaker 2: and then mail bag kind of argument style. At the

48
00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,959
Speaker 2: tail end of the show, I had a couple of

49
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:39,880
Speaker 2: people talking about how it's kind of weird how we

50
00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,080
Speaker 2: only have two or three players in each videos. In

51
00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,119
Speaker 2: each video, to be honest, it's just about filling time

52
00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,440
Speaker 2: in the summer. There's no rush here. It's August twentieth.

53
00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 2: We've got like another month and a half before we

54
00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,280
Speaker 2: even get training camp opening up, or a little less

55
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:53,639
Speaker 2: than a month and a half, and so we've got

56
00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:55,519
Speaker 2: some time to kill. And so we're gonna spend a

57
00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,680
Speaker 2: good chunk of that at the tail end of September

58
00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,119
Speaker 2: going through some of our season previews. But in the meantime,

59
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:02,839
Speaker 2: we got some time to kill over the next couple

60
00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:04,960
Speaker 2: of weeks. So I'd rather talk about something that I

61
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,920
Speaker 2: find really interesting, which is player ranking, instead of going

62
00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,120
Speaker 2: into something else that I don't find is interesting. And

63
00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,200
Speaker 2: I'd rather just get more in depth with it and

64
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,200
Speaker 2: have more arguments with you guys, have it more interactive

65
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,440
Speaker 2: and things along those lines. So we're gonna be kind

66
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,800
Speaker 2: of just taking a few players a day and then

67
00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:21,240
Speaker 2: we'll argue about it at the end, and then we'll

68
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,040
Speaker 2: move on until we get to the end of the list.

69
00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,520
Speaker 2: Today we start the beginning of a new tier. Now,

70
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,960
Speaker 2: if you guys, remember I, as I did my kind

71
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,800
Speaker 2: of like intro in the first video, I view everybody

72
00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 2: on this list in four tiers. The top tier is

73
00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,360
Speaker 2: like your top tier superstars. These guys are guys that

74
00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:45,280
Speaker 2: I project to be perennial MVP candidates moving forward. Okay,

75
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,760
Speaker 2: then there's the second tier or second tier superstars. These

76
00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,560
Speaker 2: are guys who can look like the top tier superstars

77
00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,080
Speaker 2: on any given night, but each of them have an

78
00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,960
Speaker 2: issue maintaining of that level of play. Whether it's because

79
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,119
Speaker 2: of age, or it's because of health, or maybe it's

80
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,400
Speaker 2: just something having to do with their mentality. Regardless of

81
00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:06,760
Speaker 2: what it is, that group of guys they can look

82
00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,720
Speaker 2: like MVP candidate type of players. You know, maybe half

83
00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,360
Speaker 2: the year, maybe a third of the year or whatever

84
00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,520
Speaker 2: it is, but they just struggle to remain at that

85
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,960
Speaker 2: level the way the guys at the very top do.

86
00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,160
Speaker 2: The third tier is what we're starting today, and we're

87
00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,160
Speaker 2: gonna get more into that in a second. These are

88
00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,680
Speaker 2: players that can be the best player on a championship

89
00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,480
Speaker 2: team but need an overwhelming amount of support. And then

90
00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:29,280
Speaker 2: the last tier, which is all the players we did

91
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,680
Speaker 2: leading into today, ending with that bam at a bio

92
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,520
Speaker 2: in Victor women Yama video the other day. These are

93
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,640
Speaker 2: guys that aren't good enough to be the best player

94
00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,440
Speaker 2: on championship teams yet, either because they're too specialized like

95
00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,240
Speaker 2: Bam as a defensive specialist, or guys like Dame and

96
00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,200
Speaker 2: Kyrie as kind of like small guards that struggle to

97
00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,039
Speaker 2: impact the game as athletes, or they're too young, like

98
00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,839
Speaker 2: a guy like Victor wen Minyama especially, but or Tyre's

99
00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:55,560
Speaker 2: Halliburton I think kind of fits that bill a little

100
00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,040
Speaker 2: bit as well, Tyres Maxy as well. Those guys all

101
00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,080
Speaker 2: have shots to move especially of the young players have

102
00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,039
Speaker 2: shots to move up the list in the long run,

103
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,920
Speaker 2: especially Victor. I think Victor could be a top ten

104
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,600
Speaker 2: player even sooner. I have a lot of people that

105
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,880
Speaker 2: have criticized how low I have him on the list.

106
00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:12,479
Speaker 2: We're gonna get more into that in the mail bag.

107
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,480
Speaker 2: I don't want to do it right now. But again,

108
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,279
Speaker 2: like that last tier of guys, those are all guys

109
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,000
Speaker 2: that are not capable of being the best player on

110
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,000
Speaker 2: a champion championship team. This next phase of the list,

111
00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 2: these are guys who I do view that can be

112
00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,560
Speaker 2: the best player on a championship team. They just need

113
00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,480
Speaker 2: an overwhelming amount of support. So, without any further ado,

114
00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,800
Speaker 2: let's get into it with number seventeen. Donovan Mitchell last

115
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,080
Speaker 2: season played fifty five games. He also missed two playoff games,

116
00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,560
Speaker 2: so availability was definitely a little bit of an issue.

117
00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,120
Speaker 2: Last year for Donovan, he averaged twenty six point six

118
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,960
Speaker 2: points per game, five point one rebounds per game, and

119
00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,440
Speaker 2: six point one assists per game as one of the

120
00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 2: best passing season of his career, which we're gonna get

121
00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,920
Speaker 2: more into here in a little bit. He also averaged

122
00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,520
Speaker 2: two point three stocks per game. This was Donnie Mitchell's

123
00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,640
Speaker 2: best defensive season of his career. He really found a

124
00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,280
Speaker 2: way to impact winning without having to be kind of

125
00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,240
Speaker 2: on the ball right. Now, he did have some on

126
00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,479
Speaker 2: ball reps and he was very very aggressive on the ball.

127
00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,000
Speaker 2: He got a lot of steels. This was a guy

128
00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,320
Speaker 2: that kind of weaponized his athleticism in a very aggressive

129
00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,440
Speaker 2: sense on the ball. But where he really found a

130
00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,520
Speaker 2: defensive role for Cleveland was off the ball, and one

131
00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,400
Speaker 2: of his best traits is his athleticism, right, and so

132
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:27,680
Speaker 2: what he found that kind of worked for him was

133
00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,240
Speaker 2: his ability to dig down into the lane, meaning like

134
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,839
Speaker 2: if he's guarding a guy on the left wing and

135
00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,800
Speaker 2: someone's driving on the right wing, he will sink down

136
00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:38,880
Speaker 2: to the nail and swipe down at the basketball. But

137
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,279
Speaker 2: he also has this speed and the ability to stop

138
00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:44,920
Speaker 2: on a dime and change direction to close out to

139
00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,200
Speaker 2: shooters from there. And so he actually had a really

140
00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,039
Speaker 2: useful role in the Cleveland defense as an off ball

141
00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:51,680
Speaker 2: defender is the guy he would dig down into the

142
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,320
Speaker 2: lane and then recover out to shooters. Now, obviously he

143
00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,160
Speaker 2: could get a little over aggressive sometimes, especially on the ball,

144
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,760
Speaker 2: and he makes he made some mistakes, but I thought

145
00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,840
Speaker 2: this was a big step forward for him on the

146
00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,200
Speaker 2: defensive end of the floor. Last year in Cleveland. He

147
00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:08,920
Speaker 2: was one of only three players in the league last

148
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,119
Speaker 2: year Donovan Mitchell to average at least twenty five points

149
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 2: per game and at least one point five steals per game.

150
00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,640
Speaker 2: I thought that was a surprise. The first two guys

151
00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,000
Speaker 2: you won't be surprised to Shae Gilders, Alexander and Deer

152
00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,280
Speaker 2: and Fox. But the third guy to make that list

153
00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,320
Speaker 2: was Donovan Mitchell. So shout out to don for the

154
00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,960
Speaker 2: best defensive season of his career. His shooting splits. He

155
00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,720
Speaker 2: shot forty six point two percent from the field, thirty

156
00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,960
Speaker 2: six point eight percent from three, eighty six point five

157
00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,520
Speaker 2: percent from the line. That amounted to fifty four point

158
00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:40,920
Speaker 2: five percent in effective field goal percentage. That's just field

159
00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:44,320
Speaker 2: goal percentage weighted for threes, and then fifty nine point

160
00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,960
Speaker 2: five percent true shooting, which includes free throws as well,

161
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,800
Speaker 2: which is really really good. So a nice efficient scoring

162
00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,160
Speaker 2: season for Donovan Mitchell. Some shooting stats from Synergy. His

163
00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,240
Speaker 2: jump shot he got one point zero six points per shot.

164
00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,160
Speaker 2: He was especially effective off the catch. He got at

165
00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,840
Speaker 2: one point one four points per shot off the catch

166
00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,680
Speaker 2: in jump shooting situations one point one seven points per

167
00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,960
Speaker 2: shot when guarded one point zero nine when he's open.

168
00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,480
Speaker 2: I found this interesting. Guys that like really elevate on

169
00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,000
Speaker 2: their shot, they actually tend to shoot a little bit

170
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,080
Speaker 2: better when they're contested. And the main reason why is

171
00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,200
Speaker 2: they elevate really high on those kinds of shots. A

172
00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,240
Speaker 2: lot of times those kinds of players, when they find

173
00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,240
Speaker 2: themselves open, try to kind of relax a little bit

174
00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,640
Speaker 2: and don't jump as high, and that actually can end

175
00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:29,520
Speaker 2: up affecting their ability to knock down shots. And I

176
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:31,560
Speaker 2: always think that's funny when you see guys like Donovan,

177
00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,679
Speaker 2: like really athletic shooters who are actually a little bit

178
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,600
Speaker 2: more efficient off when they're when they're getting contested versus

179
00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:39,839
Speaker 2: when they're wide open. He was excellent off the dribble.

180
00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,720
Speaker 2: He got one point zero three points per shot. That's

181
00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,280
Speaker 2: forty percent overall and field goal percentage and fifty two

182
00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,040
Speaker 2: percent when you weait it for three, So really good

183
00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,480
Speaker 2: pull up shooting shot a really good forty seven point

184
00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:55,040
Speaker 2: four percent on long twos outside of seventeen feet and

185
00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,240
Speaker 2: then forty seven percent on short pull up twos inside

186
00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,920
Speaker 2: of seventeen feet. So dal I me ar fifty percent

187
00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,960
Speaker 2: on those pull up mid range jump shots that became

188
00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:05,319
Speaker 2: a really useful shot for him here In the last

189
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,600
Speaker 2: couple of seasons, he had a decent floater shot, just

190
00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,120
Speaker 2: forty two percent on them, took about two per game.

191
00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:11,920
Speaker 2: Obviously not as good as some of his peers around

192
00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,120
Speaker 2: the league, but that's a decent enough. But he was

193
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,959
Speaker 2: excellent going to the rim. For a guard his size,

194
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,959
Speaker 2: he shot sixty one percent at the rim, including sixty

195
00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,120
Speaker 2: percent on layups. Usually small guards they're in the mid

196
00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,199
Speaker 2: to low fifties when you get into that layup range,

197
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:28,280
Speaker 2: just because they're shooting over trees all the time. But

198
00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,200
Speaker 2: he was super efficient and high volume. He got three

199
00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:37,520
Speaker 2: point four restricted area makes per game. Among players in

200
00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:41,880
Speaker 2: the league that are below six ' five, only Tyrese

201
00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,760
Speaker 2: Maxi and John Morant, who only played in nine games,

202
00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,120
Speaker 2: had more restricted area makes per game than Donovan. Mitchell

203
00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,080
Speaker 2: series one of the best guys at getting to the rim,

204
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,440
Speaker 2: and like, honestly the main thing that stood out to me.

205
00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,480
Speaker 2: I went back and watched a bunch of his drives

206
00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,679
Speaker 2: in when I was watching film on him yesterday, and like,

207
00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,280
Speaker 2: his footwork going to the basket is just absurd. His

208
00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,559
Speaker 2: ability to quick euro right to left or left to

209
00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,960
Speaker 2: right it this left to right euro on Devin Booker

210
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,080
Speaker 2: that set Devin Booker flying into the stanchion and complaining

211
00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,720
Speaker 2: at the refs, and as Donovan's just making an easy

212
00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:17,520
Speaker 2: right handed layup on the right side of the rim,

213
00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:19,840
Speaker 2: and it was just an absurd move considering how fast

214
00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,600
Speaker 2: he was going downhill to then plant that left foot

215
00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:24,760
Speaker 2: and almost like kind of cut his speed and get

216
00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,800
Speaker 2: back to the right as Devin Booker was overreacting to

217
00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,640
Speaker 2: that left side and went flying. It's just an unbelievable

218
00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,640
Speaker 2: display of athleticism and footwork. He's got that wade pullover dribble.

219
00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:36,280
Speaker 2: I watched him do it to Austin Reeves where he

220
00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:37,839
Speaker 2: just pulled the ball right over his head and then

221
00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,120
Speaker 2: kind of slid over to the left side and put

222
00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,120
Speaker 2: it in off the glass. He's got those spin moves,

223
00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,920
Speaker 2: he's got those hop steps. He's just got really good footwork, which, again,

224
00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:48,240
Speaker 2: as I talk about all the time on the show,

225
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,840
Speaker 2: like when you have athleticism, that's one thing, but footwork

226
00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,840
Speaker 2: is how you functionally get your athleticism to benefit you

227
00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:55,360
Speaker 2: on the basketball court. I talk about this with my

228
00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,680
Speaker 2: young players all the time, and I'm really emphasizing it

229
00:10:57,679 --> 00:10:59,440
Speaker 2: now because we're in our early phase of the season,

230
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,000
Speaker 2: so there's a lot of new players. And like, if

231
00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,600
Speaker 2: you have an opening to the right or an opening

232
00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,520
Speaker 2: to the left for a pull up jump shot, meaning

233
00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:10,520
Speaker 2: like there's a little bit of space there that you

234
00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,319
Speaker 2: can get to, but you're only comfortable taking a jump

235
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:17,480
Speaker 2: shot off of the dribble with right left footwork, then

236
00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:18,760
Speaker 2: you're only going to be able to get to that

237
00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,160
Speaker 2: spot going left. And if you see it right and

238
00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:22,840
Speaker 2: you have to chop your feet or you have to

239
00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,000
Speaker 2: hop into it, that little lack of efficiency is going

240
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,600
Speaker 2: to allow a good defender to recover to you. And

241
00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,680
Speaker 2: like that's the thing, Like Donovan's a great athlete, but

242
00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,160
Speaker 2: he's got all of the functional footwork that actually allows

243
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,640
Speaker 2: him to weaponize that athleticism. There are a lot of

244
00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,000
Speaker 2: freaky athletic small guards in the league that aren't even

245
00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,280
Speaker 2: close to sixty percent on layups. And again, it's not

246
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,000
Speaker 2: about like making super tough shots over contests. There are

247
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,959
Speaker 2: guys like that in the league, guys like Kyrie, guys

248
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,600
Speaker 2: like Steph Right that are just really like shot makers

249
00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,520
Speaker 2: when they get to the rim. But for the most part,

250
00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:55,959
Speaker 2: it's about getting open layups. And how do you get

251
00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,560
Speaker 2: open layups by actually making moves in that short range

252
00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,000
Speaker 2: to shed defenders and to create space so that you

253
00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,880
Speaker 2: can just put the ball easily in off the off

254
00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,200
Speaker 2: the backboard. Let's get into some play type data, so

255
00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,640
Speaker 2: pick and roll. He was in the eightieth percentile last year.

256
00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:16,360
Speaker 2: He got one point zero three points per possession including passes.

257
00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:18,400
Speaker 2: Didn't quite make our high volume list, he was at

258
00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,679
Speaker 2: just eight hundred and eighty five possessions. But he had

259
00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,960
Speaker 2: really good chemistry, specifically with Jared Allen. They ran a

260
00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:25,760
Speaker 2: lot of action on the left side of the floor.

261
00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:27,840
Speaker 2: They saw a lot of ice coverage, which is again

262
00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,960
Speaker 2: where you see that guard defender deny the use of

263
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,640
Speaker 2: the screen and force you back towards the sideline. But

264
00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:35,640
Speaker 2: Donovan had a really nice kind of like chemistry with

265
00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,720
Speaker 2: Jared Allen where he would just quickly rescreen and actually

266
00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,360
Speaker 2: screen Donovan towards the sideline, and he got a lot

267
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,560
Speaker 2: of these easy pull up threes along that left wing

268
00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,199
Speaker 2: just because of that screen chemistry that he had with

269
00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,640
Speaker 2: Jared Allen. And that specifically is the kind of thing

270
00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,280
Speaker 2: that you need when you're gonna beat these kinds of coverages,

271
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,360
Speaker 2: right like Hey, we come up the left side, we

272
00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,320
Speaker 2: know we're gonna see an ice We're gonna see an

273
00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,000
Speaker 2: ice coverage there. I need you either to make yourself

274
00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,880
Speaker 2: available to or I need you to screen me on

275
00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,719
Speaker 2: that kind of sideline side. And you saw a lot

276
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,480
Speaker 2: of both of that. You saw the screens for those

277
00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,480
Speaker 2: pull up jump shots. Like I talked about, a lot

278
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,040
Speaker 2: of times the big in those ice coverages on defense

279
00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,160
Speaker 2: would come up higher and so Jared wouldn't even bother

280
00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,400
Speaker 2: to set a screen. He would just kind of slip

281
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,040
Speaker 2: into that like fifteen foot area when he'd catched there.

282
00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,600
Speaker 2: If the lowman wasn't there, he'd just ripped through and

283
00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,000
Speaker 2: dunk it. And if he was, he would just shoot

284
00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,120
Speaker 2: that little pop shot or that little short jump shot.

285
00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,960
Speaker 2: And Jared Allen was their most effective role man last year.

286
00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,880
Speaker 2: Not hard to figure out. Evan Mobley obviously still struggling

287
00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:35,800
Speaker 2: in that regard, but the chemistry between Jared Allen and

288
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,800
Speaker 2: Donovan Mitchell is real. And that's now because of the

289
00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,240
Speaker 2: contract extensions for both guys going to be a staple

290
00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,280
Speaker 2: of Cleveland Cavalier basketball for a long time. In ISO situations,

291
00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,160
Speaker 2: Donovan Mitchell was the in the seventy fourth percentile. He

292
00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:50,959
Speaker 2: got one hundred and seventy four points one hundred and

293
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,680
Speaker 2: seventy four possessions. You guys can go ahead and do

294
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:54,280
Speaker 2: the math there for what that is on a points

295
00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,720
Speaker 2: per possession basis. I talked about his downhill moves earlier

296
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,560
Speaker 2: in those ISO situations, just getting into the defender body

297
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,160
Speaker 2: and then using those like kind of footwork elements to

298
00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,720
Speaker 2: shed that defender so that he can get into the basket.

299
00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:08,679
Speaker 2: His pull up jumper also just incredibly deadly. As we

300
00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,640
Speaker 2: talked about, I think Donovan Mitchell has the best step

301
00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,160
Speaker 2: back jump shot going to his left for a small

302
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,480
Speaker 2: guard in the league in terms of getting separation. Obviously,

303
00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:19,480
Speaker 2: a guy like Steph Curry's a better shooter, but in

304
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,520
Speaker 2: terms of the actual footwork and getting separation, Donovan has

305
00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,760
Speaker 2: this hard pound dribble through the legs to the right

306
00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 2: where he like pounds it through the legs while gathering

307
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,480
Speaker 2: it back to the left, So he's basically whipping it

308
00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,080
Speaker 2: and grabbing it and pulling it back to the left,

309
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,440
Speaker 2: and he covers so much ground and he gets such

310
00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,720
Speaker 2: a wide base he goes straight up and down at

311
00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,280
Speaker 2: the end that it's actually turned into a really reliable

312
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:44,760
Speaker 2: ISO type of shot for him. It's a piece of

313
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,160
Speaker 2: footwork that I think a lot of athletic guards need

314
00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,440
Speaker 2: to have. It's just a basic I look at it

315
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,440
Speaker 2: as like a jab step with a live dribble. So

316
00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,320
Speaker 2: you imagine you got a lot, you've got a triple threat,

317
00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,520
Speaker 2: and the defender's kind of playing a little bit off

318
00:14:57,560 --> 00:14:59,280
Speaker 2: of you, and you want to kind of establish your

319
00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:01,640
Speaker 2: rhythm and get a little more separation, you'll throw a

320
00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,240
Speaker 2: hard jab and then you'll go up right. Well, in

321
00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,080
Speaker 2: a live dribble situation, that's where that move comes into

322
00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,360
Speaker 2: the picture. Right, you're dribbling in that high hesitation and

323
00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,760
Speaker 2: you pound between your legs and pull back. It basically

324
00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,200
Speaker 2: functions as a jab step even though you have a

325
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,120
Speaker 2: live dribble, and Donovan makes really nice use of that

326
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,800
Speaker 2: in ISO situations, which made him an effective isoscore last year. Again,

327
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:25,800
Speaker 2: he didn't make any of our high volume lists, but

328
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,800
Speaker 2: he was very effective in both pick and roll and

329
00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,120
Speaker 2: ISO situations. It was the best playmaking season of Donovan

330
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,000
Speaker 2: Mitchell's career. Not only did he average a career high

331
00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,760
Speaker 2: six point one assist per game, but this was also

332
00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,920
Speaker 2: the first time in Donovan's entire career that he had

333
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,240
Speaker 2: an assist to turnover ratio over too, meaning for the

334
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,400
Speaker 2: first time he had at least two assists for every turnover.

335
00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:48,680
Speaker 2: That's a big step forward for him, and a big

336
00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:51,120
Speaker 2: one that I noticed is those long steps at the

337
00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,040
Speaker 2: rim that I talked about, those euros and those spins

338
00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,480
Speaker 2: and those pullover dribbles and stuff like that. It allowed

339
00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,680
Speaker 2: him to slow himself down at the rim, which in

340
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,600
Speaker 2: many cases brought over the low man more aggressively. And

341
00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,440
Speaker 2: he just got really good at making that kickout pass

342
00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:06,560
Speaker 2: to the weak side corner when you would get into

343
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,080
Speaker 2: the rim. And then the second piece of it is

344
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,040
Speaker 2: just that role chemistry with Jared Allen, which we talked

345
00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,400
Speaker 2: about earlier. He had an excellent playoff run. He was

346
00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,720
Speaker 2: flat out explosive. He went off for fifty in a

347
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,240
Speaker 2: game against Orlando. He had a hyper efficient twenty nine

348
00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:22,920
Speaker 2: point game on the road in Boston to actually win

349
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,360
Speaker 2: that game in game two of that second round series.

350
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,160
Speaker 2: He averaged thirty points per game overall in the playoff

351
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,480
Speaker 2: run on fifty eight percent for shooting. It was just

352
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,280
Speaker 2: a casual reminder that Donovan's still one of the most

353
00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,760
Speaker 2: explosive guards in the league within that playoff context, where

354
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,160
Speaker 2: his athleticism is more of a factor areas of opportunity,

355
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,880
Speaker 2: he's still a volatile decision maker. His assist numbers cratered

356
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:45,720
Speaker 2: in the postseason. He was down to four point seven

357
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:47,560
Speaker 2: points per game. He still has a tendency to try

358
00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:51,080
Speaker 2: to solve problems in the game by hijacking things and

359
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:53,880
Speaker 2: looking to score, especially early in the clock, like when

360
00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:55,880
Speaker 2: things start to hit the fan. That's when it'll start

361
00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,520
Speaker 2: to take a couple like early clock pull up jump shots,

362
00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:00,400
Speaker 2: and you know, you get a couple of misses there,

363
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,000
Speaker 2: they can really kind of demoralize the team. And so

364
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,320
Speaker 2: he's just not as good as a game manager as

365
00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:08,200
Speaker 2: some of his peers at the top of the league.

366
00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,400
Speaker 2: But that doesn't take away from the fact that he's

367
00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,480
Speaker 2: as explosive as he is. That's just his main area

368
00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,240
Speaker 2: of opportunity, and he is getting a little better each year.

369
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,640
Speaker 2: And so here's the thing, Like I think Donovan's primed

370
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,240
Speaker 2: to make some real noise in his prime, as if

371
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:23,960
Speaker 2: we had into this phase where he's in his late

372
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,800
Speaker 2: twenties early thirties, if he can stay healthy and maintain

373
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,280
Speaker 2: a good chunk of his athleticism. I think he can

374
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:30,960
Speaker 2: build that part of his game out and even go

375
00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,200
Speaker 2: up a level from where he's at right now.

376
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,000
Speaker 3: So you have an upcoming fantasy football draft, well, then

377
00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,280
Speaker 3: you need to check out the Fantasy Pros Draft Wizard.

378
00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,320
Speaker 3: When you sink your fantasy football league with Draft Wizard,

379
00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,480
Speaker 3: you'll get an instant report that shows you how the

380
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,280
Speaker 3: rest of your league drafts. You'll see who overdrafts rookies

381
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,199
Speaker 3: in early rounds, who's going to be the person to

382
00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,720
Speaker 3: take that first QB off the board, and which manager

383
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,840
Speaker 3: is going to always reach for that hometown player every

384
00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,439
Speaker 3: single time. And then you can take those patterns directly

385
00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,359
Speaker 3: into the draft simulator and make your mock draft feel

386
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:02,959
Speaker 3: like the real thing. When your real draft comes around,

387
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:05,199
Speaker 3: you're gonna be ready and the draft assistant will be

388
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,680
Speaker 3: there for you to give you live pick by pick

389
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,520
Speaker 3: insights and expert recommendations of who to draft and when

390
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,520
Speaker 3: to draft them. You can see all of this and

391
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:17,200
Speaker 3: more at fantasypros dot com. Slash Volume Today.

392
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:25,840
Speaker 2: Number sixteen. Jalen Brunson last year played seventy seven games,

393
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,240
Speaker 2: averaged twenty eight point seven points per game three point

394
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,480
Speaker 2: six rebounds per game, six point seven assists per game,

395
00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,520
Speaker 2: along with just two point four turnovers. As a matter

396
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,360
Speaker 2: of fact, Jalen Brunson was one of only seven players

397
00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:41,000
Speaker 2: in the NBA to average at least twenty five points

398
00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:45,240
Speaker 2: at least six assists in fewer than three turnovers, So

399
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,000
Speaker 2: in a kind of like a kind of exclusive company

400
00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:53,000
Speaker 2: in terms of hyper efficient, high volume shot creators shooting splits,

401
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,080
Speaker 2: he shot forty seven point nine percent from the field,

402
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,200
Speaker 2: forty point one percent from three to eighty four point

403
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,080
Speaker 2: seven percent from the line. That amounted to fifty four

404
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,760
Speaker 2: point three percent in effective field goal percentage waited for

405
00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,920
Speaker 2: threes and fifty nine point two percent true shooting. When

406
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,440
Speaker 2: you add foul shooting into that, he averaged a career

407
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,840
Speaker 2: high six point five free throw attempts per game. Really

408
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,919
Speaker 2: a master of that low gathered using pump faced guys

409
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,520
Speaker 2: at a position just adding to his efficiency in his

410
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,240
Speaker 2: overall scoring volume by getting to the line. That was

411
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,159
Speaker 2: the sixteenth most free throw attempts per game in the

412
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,000
Speaker 2: entire NBA. Last year, shooting numbers perc Entergy one point

413
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,320
Speaker 2: zero nine points per jump shot. He was at one

414
00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,960
Speaker 2: point three four points per catch and shoot jump shot,

415
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,359
Speaker 2: which is insane. He shot forty five percent overall and

416
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,399
Speaker 2: field goal percentage on catch and shoot jump shots that

417
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,600
Speaker 2: amounted to sixty seven percent in effective field goal percentage

418
00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,119
Speaker 2: when you weigh it for threes, that was in the

419
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,280
Speaker 2: ninety fourth percentile, So he's one of the best catch

420
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,200
Speaker 2: and shoot guys in the league. Last year, he also

421
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,320
Speaker 2: got one point zero two points per pull up jump

422
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,600
Speaker 2: shot that was forty three percent in field goal percentage

423
00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,280
Speaker 2: fifty one percent when you weigh it for threes. And

424
00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:59,000
Speaker 2: then he was the best floater shooter in the entire NBA.

425
00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,520
Speaker 2: Last year he shot fifty five percent on floaters fifty

426
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,359
Speaker 2: five percent. Remember we've just talked about Donovan Mitchell at

427
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:07,720
Speaker 2: forty two percent. And he also had three hundred and

428
00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,040
Speaker 2: fifteen attempts, which is the only player in the league

429
00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,200
Speaker 2: to attempt over three hundred. So he's got the best

430
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,679
Speaker 2: floater in the game. And it's not particularly close. And

431
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:16,199
Speaker 2: when you look at the other guys that were in

432
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,119
Speaker 2: the top five for volume, and these guys were all

433
00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:20,000
Speaker 2: below three hundred attempts. But these are the other top

434
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,840
Speaker 2: five guys in the top five, Tyas Jones, Trey Young, CJ. McCollum,

435
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,000
Speaker 2: Tyre Smaxi. Not a single one of them got over

436
00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:31,040
Speaker 2: one point zero four points per floater. Brunson was at

437
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:34,480
Speaker 2: one point one point eight. That's a substantial gap. He's

438
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,119
Speaker 2: just the best at it, or at least he was

439
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,160
Speaker 2: last season, and then fifty five percent at the RAM.

440
00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:40,800
Speaker 2: That's solid for a small guard. It's kind of where

441
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,840
Speaker 2: you expect. It's not very good, not very bad either.

442
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,639
Speaker 2: He had three point seven attempts per game, which is

443
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,639
Speaker 2: also in the restricted area, which is also solid for

444
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:51,480
Speaker 2: a small guard who doesn't have a lot of speed

445
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:56,679
Speaker 2: or quickness. Playtype data from Synergy ran fifteen hundred and

446
00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,440
Speaker 2: fourteen pick and rolls including passes, that was the most

447
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,360
Speaker 2: in the entire NBA. He got sixteen hundred and seven

448
00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:04,400
Speaker 2: points out of them. That amounts to one point zero

449
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,000
Speaker 2: six points per possession. This was in the eightieth percentile

450
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:11,160
Speaker 2: for efficiency. He made a high volume list, obviously, as

451
00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,119
Speaker 2: the highest volume pick and roll player in the league.

452
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:15,320
Speaker 2: Out of the fifteen players to run at least one

453
00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:20,080
Speaker 2: thousand ball screens including passes, Jalen Brunsond ranked seventh in

454
00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,880
Speaker 2: the entire NBA. Not a great ISO year for him,

455
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,679
Speaker 2: though he ran four hundred and twenty two ISOs and

456
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,399
Speaker 2: got just three hundred and seventy seven points including passes,

457
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,520
Speaker 2: that amounted to zero point eighty nine points per possession.

458
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,679
Speaker 2: He personally shot just thirty nine percent in those situations,

459
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,280
Speaker 2: and inner high volume list he ranked twenty fourth out

460
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,040
Speaker 2: of the twenty four players to run at least two

461
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,440
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty ISOs. He was the worst high volume

462
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,120
Speaker 2: ISO player in the league last year, but I view

463
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,439
Speaker 2: this as mostly a blip in just kind of an

464
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,840
Speaker 2: unusual circumstance because last year, the year before last, I

465
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,760
Speaker 2: should say, he got one point one zero points per

466
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,080
Speaker 2: ISO including passes, which ranked fifth out of the twenty

467
00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:00,960
Speaker 2: five players to run at least two hundred fifty So

468
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,800
Speaker 2: he was one of the best high volume MISO players

469
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:04,639
Speaker 2: in the league last year, and then in this year's

470
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,120
Speaker 2: playoff run he was at one point zero four points

471
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,359
Speaker 2: per io including passes, which is a really good number.

472
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,040
Speaker 2: So in all likelihood, the ISO numbers last year were

473
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:13,760
Speaker 2: just kind of a blip. I think a big part

474
00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,080
Speaker 2: of it too, was Julius Randall being out for basically

475
00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:17,760
Speaker 2: half the season, and so he just had a lot

476
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,560
Speaker 2: of rescue possessions were ready to throw shit up at

477
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,080
Speaker 2: the end of the shot clock, and I think that

478
00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,040
Speaker 2: probably hurt his efficiency in that regard to a certain extent.

479
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,160
Speaker 2: The playoff run for Jalen Brunson was super impressive, yet

480
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,919
Speaker 2: he averaged thirty two point four points per game, seven

481
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,359
Speaker 2: point five assists to just two point seven turnovers. That

482
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,080
Speaker 2: amounted to a respectable fifty four percent in true shooting percentage,

483
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,800
Speaker 2: which was great considering the circumstances, like I talked about earlier,

484
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,399
Speaker 2: especially with the injuries later in the playoff run and

485
00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,000
Speaker 2: then obviously not having Julius Randall as a substantial secondary

486
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,240
Speaker 2: shot creator. The Philly series in particular was insane to me.

487
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,679
Speaker 2: When you watch those first two games, the Sixers were

488
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,320
Speaker 2: throwing the kitchen sink at him. He had a steady

489
00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:57,680
Speaker 2: diet of like six ' eight six ' nine athletic

490
00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,359
Speaker 2: wings that were chasing him over the top of screans

491
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:03,199
Speaker 2: and applying back pressure, pressuring him on his way up

492
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,479
Speaker 2: the floor, trying to funnel him into Joel Embiid, who

493
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,480
Speaker 2: in a deep drop coverage can still be effective as

494
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,000
Speaker 2: a defensive player. They were digging down in the lane

495
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,240
Speaker 2: off of other players when he would drive it was

496
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,520
Speaker 2: about as tough of a defensive look as you'll see

497
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,200
Speaker 2: for a single shot creator, and he averaged thirty six

498
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,520
Speaker 2: points and nine assists in that series, and that was

499
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,280
Speaker 2: after a rough couple of games. If you take out

500
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,960
Speaker 2: the first two games, he averaged forty two to ten

501
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,920
Speaker 2: forty two points and ten assists in the last four

502
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,719
Speaker 2: games of the series on fifty nine percent tru shooting.

503
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,120
Speaker 2: It was a very, very impressive display of half court

504
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,080
Speaker 2: shot creation from Jalen Brunson. And the Knicks just fell

505
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,399
Speaker 2: apart with injuries. I strongly believe that they would have

506
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,200
Speaker 2: made the conference finals. I think they would have beat

507
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,480
Speaker 2: Indian five had they stayed healthy, But once Ojiananobi went

508
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,400
Speaker 2: down in Game two, it was just basically over at

509
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,159
Speaker 2: that point. His weaknesses Jalen Bronson doesn't really have the

510
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,080
Speaker 2: ability to impact the game as an athlete in any capacity,

511
00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,680
Speaker 2: which obviously hurts his overall two way impact. But to

512
00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,600
Speaker 2: his credit, he does his job on defense and he

513
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,040
Speaker 2: holds well enough on an island in ISO, mainly because

514
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,760
Speaker 2: he's strong that he's not really a weak point either.

515
00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:07,399
Speaker 2: In addition to that, he's made himself one of the

516
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,760
Speaker 2: best half court surgeons in the game. As we've discussed

517
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,200
Speaker 2: at length at this point, he's a deadly drop coverage beater.

518
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:14,520
Speaker 2: He can hit pull up threes when you duck under picks.

519
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:16,280
Speaker 2: He can hit pull up twos when you chase over

520
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,720
Speaker 2: the top. He's the best floater shooter in the league.

521
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,159
Speaker 2: He's proven his ability to be a high level playmaker.

522
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,119
Speaker 2: I think he's the best small guard in the league

523
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,399
Speaker 2: after Steph Curry, and I think he's demonstrated that to

524
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:29,159
Speaker 2: a great extent. The guys that I have above him,

525
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 2: I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of people that

526
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,640
Speaker 2: are They feel like I have Brunson too low. And again,

527
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:34,960
Speaker 2: these guys are all in the same tier to me,

528
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:36,919
Speaker 2: so we're kind of splitting hairs. But the guys that

529
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,080
Speaker 2: I have above him are all bigger, better athletes, and

530
00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 2: that goes a long way towards your ability to impact winning.

531
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,080
Speaker 2: But I don't see much of a gap between him

532
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 2: and really anybody in this tier. This tier is all

533
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,800
Speaker 2: very bunched up in that regard. But I think in

534
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:53,880
Speaker 2: terms of just looking at the small guards in the league,

535
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,120
Speaker 2: guys below like six ' five, I think that he's

536
00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:58,119
Speaker 2: the best small guard in the league. After Steph Curry.

537
00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,080
Speaker 2: Why is he above Donovan Mitchell. I think Jalen's a

538
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 2: better game manager and decision maker than Donovan Mitchell. That's

539
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,760
Speaker 2: the main differentiator. He's far less susceptible to like those

540
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,880
Speaker 2: five or six possession stretches that Donovan can have where

541
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:14,400
Speaker 2: he just takes a bunch of bad shots and kind

542
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,480
Speaker 2: of loses sight of the bigger picture. And that, to me,

543
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,280
Speaker 2: especially in the playoff context, is super valuable. Jalen Brunson

544
00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,760
Speaker 2: has stamped himself as a legitimate number one on a

545
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 2: championship team this year by demonstrating that he can generate

546
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,960
Speaker 2: enough offense to win a playoff series without a legitimate

547
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,439
Speaker 2: co star. Again, I believe they would have made the

548
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:35,000
Speaker 2: conference finals had they stayed healthy. But at the same time,

549
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,199
Speaker 2: the Knicks are aware that he needs a lot of

550
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 2: support and he will have that this year. The addition

551
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,679
Speaker 2: of Michale Bridges and Julius Randall coming back from injury,

552
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,399
Speaker 2: either as a player or as a trade piece, and

553
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 2: also factoring the resigning of Ogananobi, that gives Brunson a

554
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,520
Speaker 2: bunch of high level two way players that allow him

555
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 2: to focus on what he does best, which is just

556
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,800
Speaker 2: being that half court surgeon. So again, he's incredibly good

557
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:00,919
Speaker 2: at one specific thing, and if you can point him

558
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,200
Speaker 2: and shoot him that way and account for everything else

559
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:05,640
Speaker 2: with your role players, you give yourself a good chance.

560
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,440
Speaker 2: And I'm really curious to see how that experiment works

561
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:18,720
Speaker 2: this season. Etho, all right, let's get to the mail bag.

562
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:24,359
Speaker 2: I've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

563
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 2: looks like nine questions. We'll see maybe miscounting there, so

564
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,720
Speaker 2: we'll see. Jason, I have to disagree with you for

565
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,200
Speaker 2: not putting Drew Holliday on the in contention list. Dude

566
00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,280
Speaker 2: is one of the few guys with multiple championships on

567
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,160
Speaker 2: different rosters. Arguably the best perimeter defender in the league,

568
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,800
Speaker 2: played more on a stacked USA team than almost anyone

569
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 2: else in the contention list, contributes heavily to winning man

570
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,640
Speaker 2: deserves his flowers. He should get on the possible top

571
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,280
Speaker 2: twenty five lists. I totally agree. It was just an

572
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,280
Speaker 2: accidental oversight on my part. He's better than a lot

573
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,840
Speaker 2: of the guys that made my preliminary forty five lists,

574
00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 2: so again, it was just an accident. That kind of

575
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:00,560
Speaker 2: thing happens when you do what I do for a

576
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,880
Speaker 2: living stuff just slips through the cracks and I make mistakes.

577
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 2: Kyrie was fifty to forty ninety playing next to the

578
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,439
Speaker 2: most ball dominant player and is a much better defender

579
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,120
Speaker 2: than Fox, as we just saw in the playoffs. What

580
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,680
Speaker 2: real argument does Fox have over Kyrie? Well, for starters,

581
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:16,720
Speaker 2: I disagree that Kyrie is a better defender than Fox.

582
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,800
Speaker 2: Fox I thought he demonstrated, especially at that in that

583
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,520
Speaker 2: Warriors series, that he has pretty considerable defensive upside, and

584
00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,919
Speaker 2: also with DeMar Derozen in the mix now is like

585
00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,560
Speaker 2: a high volume shock creator that can kind of take

586
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,040
Speaker 2: some of those duties away from him. Now Fox will

587
00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,639
Speaker 2: have an opportunity to devote more resources in that direction.

588
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 2: I expect Dearon Fox to have the best defensive season

589
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,639
Speaker 2: of his career this year. So again, I think Kyrie

590
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 2: is a good and useful defensive player. But I think

591
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:45,080
Speaker 2: to Deer and Fox, especially within the context of what

592
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,040
Speaker 2: Kyrie has is like playing alongside a secondary star where

593
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:50,399
Speaker 2: he can focus his energy there. I think Fox is

594
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,840
Speaker 2: a more capable and a more impactful defensive player. I

595
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,399
Speaker 2: also think Fox is clearly a better basketball player overall,

596
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,440
Speaker 2: especially as a primary shot creator. He's way more athletic,

597
00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 2: his much better size for the position, he applies substantially

598
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,400
Speaker 2: more rim pressure, which is one of the most valuable

599
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 2: things you can do offensively. I don't have to get

600
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 2: into it right now, but just getting to the rim

601
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,080
Speaker 2: and occupying defenders and getting shots up on the glass

602
00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 2: is so valuable to an offense, both for generating open

603
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:20,640
Speaker 2: threes and offensive rebound opportunities. But one last thing. He's

604
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,160
Speaker 2: also proven to be a much more durable and reliable

605
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,200
Speaker 2: guy to lead his team over the eighty two game

606
00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,359
Speaker 2: stretch as well as four potential playoff rounds. So I

607
00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 2: think Fox is a better basketball player. That said, to

608
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:36,440
Speaker 2: your point, there is a real case that Kyrie is

609
00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:40,680
Speaker 2: a better number two alongside another star because of his

610
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,200
Speaker 2: ability to play off the ball and because of his

611
00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 2: ability to rescue possessions as a tough shot maker. And

612
00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,520
Speaker 2: that's a fair point. I have a male bad question

613
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 2: that I didn't put in today's show because it's more

614
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 2: relevant tomorrow. But I have a mail back question for

615
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,680
Speaker 2: our next show that's regarding Devin Booker and Jalen Brown

616
00:28:56,040 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 2: that gets into this concept, and it's a legitimate counterpoint,

617
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:04,200
Speaker 2: and I totally agree. But for the record, we're splitting

618
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:06,800
Speaker 2: hairs here and I have Fox at twenty four and

619
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,200
Speaker 2: Kyrie at twenty five, so I obviously don't see much

620
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,960
Speaker 2: of a difference overall between those two guys. I just

621
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,880
Speaker 2: think I think darreon Fox in a vacuum. If you

622
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,760
Speaker 2: were drafting to start a again, there's thirty NBA teams,

623
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,280
Speaker 2: there's thirty NBA teams, And if we were doing an

624
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:26,000
Speaker 2: open draft and you had the twenty fourth pick, you're

625
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,400
Speaker 2: picking to be the best player on your team. So

626
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,880
Speaker 2: like Daron Fox is who you're taking in that spot

627
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,240
Speaker 2: over a guy like Kyrie Irving. But that point about

628
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 2: Kyrie being a better number two is fair, and that's

629
00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:38,440
Speaker 2: a big part of why Kyrie is as high on

630
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,960
Speaker 2: this list as he is. But at the same time,

631
00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 2: I gave the slight nod to Fox. But again we're

632
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,800
Speaker 2: talking about a very very tiny margin here, Guys, I

633
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,520
Speaker 2: just don't understand how you can think Lebron can get

634
00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:52,600
Speaker 2: through a full playoff at this point as a top

635
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,560
Speaker 2: five player. He looked fantastic in the Olympics, but that

636
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,400
Speaker 2: was not as much of a grinder as the conference

637
00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 2: finals and finals. Even in in the Olympics, he was

638
00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:02,800
Speaker 2: losing steam by the end of the gold medal game.

639
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 2: Once again not a slight he is thirty nine. It

640
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,920
Speaker 2: is incredible how well he played. Lebron got away with

641
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 2: some cruise control in twenty twenty three and really wasn't

642
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,840
Speaker 2: top five until Lebron wasn't top five Lebron until he

643
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:14,960
Speaker 2: realized the Nuggets were not going to let him rest.

644
00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 2: Without Davis, there was no way he even gets to

645
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,680
Speaker 2: the most competitive sweep in NBA history. I think you

646
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,960
Speaker 2: were greatly underestimating how much of a buzz saw the

647
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,800
Speaker 2: NBA playoffs are, especially after an NBA season, and for

648
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 2: the Lakers a play in you see a bunch of

649
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,080
Speaker 2: young players run up and not realize what they are

650
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,440
Speaker 2: getting into. I think there are two LEPs, the physical

651
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,600
Speaker 2: which is the second and third round, and mental buzzsaw

652
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,840
Speaker 2: in the finals itself. I think ant ran into the

653
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 2: first one last year and Luca ran into the second one.

654
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 2: Lebron obviously knows, hence the cruise control twenty twenty three

655
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,120
Speaker 2: and twenty twenty four. He knew the Nuggets would crush

656
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:48,400
Speaker 2: him if he didn't try. I would add having this

657
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,400
Speaker 2: playoff experience to rankings because I think it is important

658
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 2: for players to learn this as well as additional durability.

659
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 2: Think about the players who didn't make it through the

660
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 2: playoff grinder. Even Jordan had to learn about this. Ant

661
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 2: is better for experience and possibly Luca. I suppose it

662
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,360
Speaker 2: is a plus that Lebron knows this. I also think

663
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,360
Speaker 2: he helped I also think this helped Curry in twenty

664
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,840
Speaker 2: twenty two a lot. There's definitely something to a superstar

665
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,040
Speaker 2: getting to the finals and experiencing the pacing. So here's

666
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:14,840
Speaker 2: the thing. There are a lot of people that I've seen.

667
00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,640
Speaker 2: There was a Celtics buddy of mine named Mike who

668
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,240
Speaker 2: who told me that he thought that the twenty twenty

669
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:28,320
Speaker 2: Lakers benefited from the gap, the break from the COVID shutdown,

670
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:30,480
Speaker 2: because it gave them a chance to rest so that

671
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:32,640
Speaker 2: they could get through the playoff run. Here's the thing.

672
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,560
Speaker 2: Lebron is still yet to miss a single playoff game

673
00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:39,840
Speaker 2: in his entire career, So the idea that he can't

674
00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:42,760
Speaker 2: hold up for a two months playoff run is completely theoretical.

675
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 2: It's based on like he's old, maybe he won't do it,

676
00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,040
Speaker 2: but we've never actually seen him not be able to

677
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,120
Speaker 2: do it. In twenty twenty three, he got hurt and

678
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 2: he played on it, and he still averaged twenty five,

679
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,920
Speaker 2: ten and seven on fifty eight percentury shooting, and he

680
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,800
Speaker 2: got stronger as the playoffs went on. In the Nugget series,

681
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,440
Speaker 2: he average twenty eight, ten and ten and shot fifty

682
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:05,880
Speaker 2: two percent from the field. So, like, here's the thing.

683
00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,239
Speaker 2: He definitely conserves energy in the regular season. And by

684
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,600
Speaker 2: the way, that's why he won't be top five on

685
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,640
Speaker 2: this list, even though I think i'd pick him top

686
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:18,200
Speaker 2: five for a playoff series that starts tomorrow, right. That

687
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:20,600
Speaker 2: has to be factored in because, as you mentioned, the

688
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 2: Lakers sometimes have to play in the play in. A

689
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:24,600
Speaker 2: big part of why the Lakers have had to play

690
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:26,880
Speaker 2: in the play in has been Lebron has to conserve

691
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:28,960
Speaker 2: a certain amount of energy because he's old in the

692
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 2: eighty two. But when we get to the four rounds,

693
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,840
Speaker 2: I understand skepticism he's gonna be forty blah blah blah blah.

694
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,520
Speaker 2: But he's never missed a playoff game. So like, whatever

695
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,560
Speaker 2: idea you might have about whether or not he can't

696
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:45,160
Speaker 2: hold up that, it's just not it's just theoretical. At

697
00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,480
Speaker 2: this point. It's not actually based on anything that's actually happened.

698
00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,400
Speaker 2: But again, I don't have Lebron in my top five.

699
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 2: I have I'll give you guys, like a little tiny teaser.

700
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,600
Speaker 2: I still have Tatum above Lebron in the eighty two

701
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,000
Speaker 2: game context, even though I think Lebron is a substained

702
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,520
Speaker 2: better like two week basketball player. Okay, so like, let's

703
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,160
Speaker 2: I am factoring that in. I just think that within

704
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 2: the playoff context, I think it's unfair to Lebron to

705
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,120
Speaker 2: be like, oh, but maybe he won't be available when

706
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:15,840
Speaker 2: all these ever been has been available. Right mail back.

707
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,680
Speaker 2: Question about your criteria for these rankings, Number one, Your

708
00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,440
Speaker 2: number one criterion is half court offensive creation. Doesn't that

709
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,560
Speaker 2: reward helio centric players like Doncic and Marie who rack

710
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,240
Speaker 2: up substantial counting stats but whose team offense is easier

711
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 2: to stop than five out offense if you prefer five

712
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 2: out as the more resilient offensive approach, shouldn't half court

713
00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:36,520
Speaker 2: criteria making be playmaking both on and off the ball,

714
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 2: like Curry and Tatum. I'd rather a star get involved

715
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,560
Speaker 2: in the screening and cutting than simply the counting stats.

716
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,840
Speaker 2: For the record, I agree with you in your overall

717
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 2: basketball philosophy that heliocentric basketball is not as overall effective

718
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 2: as like five out play with each other team based basketball.

719
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 2: That said, like Luka, Doncic is so so so so

720
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,800
Speaker 2: so so so so so much better than Jason Tatum

721
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,360
Speaker 2: as half court shot creator that even if I disagree

722
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,400
Speaker 2: about the play style, it just still is a gap

723
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,000
Speaker 2: that we have to account for. And so like again,

724
00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,759
Speaker 2: like when I talk about half court offensive creation, I'm

725
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,239
Speaker 2: extending that to five out as well. And that is

726
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,920
Speaker 2: why Steph you know, I still consider it to be

727
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,319
Speaker 2: in the superstar tier, even though he's declined a certain

728
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,880
Speaker 2: amount over the course of the tail end of last season. Like,

729
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,000
Speaker 2: I still believe that that shot creation value of him

730
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,359
Speaker 2: running around off of screens and the gravity and all

731
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,080
Speaker 2: of that is still so profoundly impactful. I also think

732
00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:32,520
Speaker 2: Curry is going to shoot better this year. We'll see.

733
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,080
Speaker 2: But like I want to be clear, like I'm not

734
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,560
Speaker 2: favoring heliocentric players. I'm just saying that among all the

735
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 2: different things that I value, that elite half court offensive

736
00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,279
Speaker 2: creation is still the thing that I think is most

737
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,520
Speaker 2: valuable in the league. Second part of your question, I

738
00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:49,080
Speaker 2: also think that leaving out defense, which you do discuss

739
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:52,319
Speaker 2: when actually ranking and rebounding as explicit criteria as a

740
00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,560
Speaker 2: major mistake. I want my start to greatly impact all

741
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:56,680
Speaker 2: parts of the game. Like Ad and Giannis, I'm not

742
00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,359
Speaker 2: leaving out defense. Just because I have half court shot

743
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,120
Speaker 2: creation as more valuable than defense doesn't mean I don't

744
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:04,200
Speaker 2: value defense. It's still in there. It's still part of

745
00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:06,759
Speaker 2: the equation for me. It's I mean, I had beam

746
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,239
Speaker 2: At a Bio in my top twenty, right Like, I'm

747
00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:11,960
Speaker 2: not discounting that. I'm just saying that I think that

748
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,000
Speaker 2: the half court high end offensive creation is the most

749
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:19,680
Speaker 2: valuable piece that any single player can bring to the team. Hey, Jason,

750
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,160
Speaker 2: can you explain why Dame is higher than Fox. I'm

751
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:24,760
Speaker 2: just curious of the thought process in basketball reasoning. Thanks

752
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,719
Speaker 2: and keep up the good work. I think Dame is

753
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:28,799
Speaker 2: just a much better shot maker, which I think is

754
00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:31,480
Speaker 2: super valuable in the playoffs when things get tight. So,

755
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,280
Speaker 2: for example, in Dame's last two playoff runs, He's attempted

756
00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:36,600
Speaker 2: thirteen to threes per game and made forty four percent

757
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,920
Speaker 2: of them. That's insane. He's at thirty three points per

758
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:41,839
Speaker 2: game on sixty two percentury of shooting in his last

759
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:44,359
Speaker 2: ten playoff games. So here's the thing. I do think

760
00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 2: Dearon Fox is a better regular season player right now

761
00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:50,040
Speaker 2: because he's a better athlete, he plies a lot more

762
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,320
Speaker 2: rim pressure, he's a better defensive players, just more impactful

763
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,560
Speaker 2: over the eighty two. That said, that playoff part of

764
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:56,719
Speaker 2: it is part of it for me, and I just

765
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:58,480
Speaker 2: think Dame is a better half court shot creator in

766
00:35:58,520 --> 00:35:59,800
Speaker 2: the playoffs, kind of similar to what we were just

767
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:01,719
Speaker 2: talking talking about. So that gave him the edge for me.

768
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,680
Speaker 2: But it's also worth mentioning that I have all these

769
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:05,480
Speaker 2: guys in the same tier, so like, it's not like

770
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:08,879
Speaker 2: I think Dame's here and Fox is here there, They're

771
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:10,839
Speaker 2: right next to each other. I'm just giving the nod

772
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 2: to Dame. The tiers for me are designed to actually

773
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,640
Speaker 2: signify a difference in the levels, if that makes sense.

774
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,160
Speaker 2: Over analyzing on John Rant, In my opinion, Lillard and

775
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,399
Speaker 2: Maxie are not just better than him just because their

776
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,520
Speaker 2: shooting numbers are better. Wait, okay, hold on, Lillard and

777
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 2: MAXI are not better than him just because they're shooting

778
00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:32,360
Speaker 2: numbers are better. My list, they are multiple tiers below

779
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:34,880
Speaker 2: jaw led backs back fifty plus win teams when he

780
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,719
Speaker 2: last really played, and stats can't measure the difference his

781
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,320
Speaker 2: mere presence on the court provides, given his insane speed

782
00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,120
Speaker 2: and athleticism. And he's a better defender than both Lillard

783
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:46,440
Speaker 2: and Maxi before the toy but before twenty before the

784
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,480
Speaker 2: twenty two to twenty three season, he was horrible, But

785
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:50,319
Speaker 2: in that season his d was fine. We saw Maxi

786
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,560
Speaker 2: without himbid he wasn't that amazing or winning games. And

787
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,480
Speaker 2: Dame is getting older and was wildly inconsistent last year.

788
00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:57,319
Speaker 2: A couple of things. I actually do think Tyros Maxi

789
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,279
Speaker 2: is better defender than Jaw. I do think Jaw's a

790
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 2: better defender than Day though I agree that Jaw is

791
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 2: a better basketball player when he's available than those guys.

792
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,759
Speaker 2: I've said this on the show before, But like, I

793
00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,480
Speaker 2: think Jaw has like top ten potential when he's available.

794
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:13,200
Speaker 2: The thing is, he has missed eighty six of the

795
00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:17,319
Speaker 2: grizzlies last one hundred and eight games, and that wasn't

796
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:20,759
Speaker 2: just the suspension either, Like there are health issues there,

797
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,279
Speaker 2: So like that's the main thing that has him this

798
00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:26,160
Speaker 2: far back on the list. I'm a huge believer in

799
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:28,480
Speaker 2: what John Muran is capable of. He just needs to

800
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:30,600
Speaker 2: prove that he can actually be available to his team

801
00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,320
Speaker 2: before he can be regarded that high on the list.

802
00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:36,439
Speaker 2: There's actual, like can't he stay healthy concerns with Jaw

803
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:41,080
Speaker 2: that extend beyond even the suspension stuff. Thoughts on Maxi's upside.

804
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,400
Speaker 2: I know you mentioned Jos's potential was higher, but I'm

805
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,080
Speaker 2: curious how close that is. Like you said, he's a

806
00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 2: great leader, a workaholic, and one of the best off

807
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,520
Speaker 2: the cat shooters we've seen. If that off the dribble

808
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:51,319
Speaker 2: develops while he's playing with someone like Embid, I can

809
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:53,879
Speaker 2: see his playmaking improving as well, even if he's mid

810
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 2: at defense. At his peak, a player averaging twenty seven

811
00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:58,960
Speaker 2: to twenty eight with four rebounds and seven assists on

812
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 2: like sixty one percent shooting is MVP level stuff. The

813
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:05,799
Speaker 2: main gap between Jaw and Maxi in my opinion. In

814
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:07,919
Speaker 2: my opinion is the ability to stop on a dime

815
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:12,640
Speaker 2: in the vertical pot. That makes Jaw much more dynamic

816
00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:15,120
Speaker 2: as a score in these short range which makes him

817
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:17,719
Speaker 2: much harder to guard in my opinion. But I do

818
00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,440
Speaker 2: think Tyres Maxy has superstar upside. He's just got further

819
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:22,719
Speaker 2: to go. I think he has to become a substantially

820
00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:24,719
Speaker 2: better passer than he is, and then that pull up

821
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,359
Speaker 2: jumper efficiency like we talked about earlier, So like, if

822
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:29,319
Speaker 2: you can improve dramatically in those two areas, I think

823
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,520
Speaker 2: he can enter into that tier. But Jaw is just

824
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:34,719
Speaker 2: Jaw's not as dependent on the jump shot because he's

825
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,799
Speaker 2: just so dynamic with his ability to change direction, with

826
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:41,040
Speaker 2: his ability to get downhill and then suddenly at five

827
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 2: feet just pop up off the ground and shoot a

828
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,360
Speaker 2: floater like right there. Like He's just he's so dynamic

829
00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,239
Speaker 2: in that short range as a scorer, it just makes

830
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,759
Speaker 2: him borderline impossible to guard. I take issue with the

831
00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,520
Speaker 2: methodology used here in which durability plays a factor into

832
00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,919
Speaker 2: how we rank players. If we are ranking players based

833
00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,879
Speaker 2: on basketball talent alone in a vacuum, then durability should

834
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,120
Speaker 2: be a part of the equation. Injuries can happen to

835
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,600
Speaker 2: anyone at any time. A better measure of how good

836
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,120
Speaker 2: players are in a vacuum should assume health. That way,

837
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,080
Speaker 2: we can compare the on court impact and the play

838
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,040
Speaker 2: of these players and rank them accordingly. Ranking a player

839
00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:14,800
Speaker 2: lower due to availability is disingenuous to the idea of

840
00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:17,759
Speaker 2: ranking them in a vacuum, I disagree. The main thing

841
00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:22,120
Speaker 2: is we can't just we can't just assume. You said earlier,

842
00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:24,520
Speaker 2: you mentioned injuries can happen to anyone at any time.

843
00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:26,600
Speaker 2: That's true, But I think we all have to admit

844
00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,960
Speaker 2: that certain players are more susceptible to injuries than others.

845
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,239
Speaker 2: That's just a fact that we can see in the

846
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 2: availability of some of these guys. Also the entire premise

847
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,640
Speaker 2: of the list. What I mean by in a vacuum.

848
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 2: In a vacuum means from October first through to the

849
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,640
Speaker 2: mid June through to mid June, all thirty franchises drafting

850
00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:45,920
Speaker 2: all four hundred and fifty players. Who are you taking?

851
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:50,160
Speaker 2: So if a guy is like, really good for the

852
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:52,719
Speaker 2: two months but has injury issues over the eighty two,

853
00:39:53,719 --> 00:39:56,200
Speaker 2: that has to be factored in. It just does. It's

854
00:39:56,239 --> 00:39:58,720
Speaker 2: in a vacuum within the context of a full season

855
00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:01,000
Speaker 2: from training camp all the way through to the end

856
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:02,759
Speaker 2: of the NBA Finals, And so that to me is

857
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:07,080
Speaker 2: why availability has the factor. So I'm not actually listening

858
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:08,800
Speaker 2: to mailback question here because there was just a bunch

859
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,719
Speaker 2: of these, But I had a bunch of people talk

860
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:13,520
Speaker 2: about how I had Wemby too low and specifically why

861
00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:16,640
Speaker 2: I have Bam over him for this particular season. For

862
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,640
Speaker 2: the record, I think Victor wimen Yama is very capable

863
00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:22,880
Speaker 2: of being the best player of the league in the

864
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:25,600
Speaker 2: league sooner than later. I'm a huge believer in Wemby.

865
00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,279
Speaker 2: I'm a huge fan of Wemby. However, you guys know

866
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,640
Speaker 2: how I feel about young basketball players, particularly when it

867
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,160
Speaker 2: comes to making mistakes. I actually think you could argue

868
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,640
Speaker 2: an overall winning impact over the eighty two games Wemby

869
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,440
Speaker 2: absolutely should be higher that. I agree with you. I

870
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:44,040
Speaker 2: think he's going to be in just a complete wrecking

871
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:46,880
Speaker 2: ball for this eighty two games. However, when you get

872
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:50,040
Speaker 2: into the playoffs, there are so many close games. There

873
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,040
Speaker 2: are so many games that are decided by a handful

874
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:54,880
Speaker 2: of possessions. So much of it comes down to execution,

875
00:40:55,680 --> 00:41:00,400
Speaker 2: and young players in particular have problem preventing mistakes and

876
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:05,160
Speaker 2: replicating what works. They're a little bit more volatile, right. Bam,

877
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:07,640
Speaker 2: for instance, is not gonna be nearly as impactful as

878
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,360
Speaker 2: Wemby over the eighty two but for a playoff series,

879
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:13,719
Speaker 2: he just has so much experience. He has NBA Finals experience,

880
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:16,560
Speaker 2: he's played in I don't even know, like a dozen

881
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,319
Speaker 2: playoff series. He's just been in so many of those

882
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,120
Speaker 2: environments and you can count on him, for the most part,

883
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:24,919
Speaker 2: to not make mistakes and to just do his job.

884
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,440
Speaker 2: And so again, long term, Wenby's obviously way better than BAM.

885
00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:31,080
Speaker 2: Short term, in the regular season, Wemby's obviously way better

886
00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:34,080
Speaker 2: than Bam. But when I'm factoring in, like what it's

887
00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:36,839
Speaker 2: gonna be like in a knockdown, drag out, physical seven

888
00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:40,960
Speaker 2: game series in May, I just give Bam the slightest

889
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:44,680
Speaker 2: edge because he's less mistake prone at this point. Wenby

890
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:47,280
Speaker 2: still has a tendency to take a few bad shots.

891
00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:49,560
Speaker 2: There were some times in Foebo where he'd take a

892
00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,520
Speaker 2: kind of like a contested early clock three, you know,

893
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,000
Speaker 2: or over penetrate and get into traffic and turn the

894
00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:58,120
Speaker 2: basketball over. Those sorts of things. Over the eighty two.

895
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:00,560
Speaker 2: He can easily make up for it in the massive

896
00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:03,240
Speaker 2: sample size by being the wrecking ball that is Wemby.

897
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:06,560
Speaker 2: But when you get into nut crunching time, that's where

898
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:10,760
Speaker 2: it's like that mistake can be catastrophic, right, And so again,

899
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:14,000
Speaker 2: just within the context of the goal of getting to

900
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:18,479
Speaker 2: mid June. For just this season, I barely give Baym

901
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:21,120
Speaker 2: an edge, but I think Wemby's gonna get I think

902
00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:23,600
Speaker 2: there's a good chance Wenby gets some playoff experience this year.

903
00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:25,439
Speaker 2: I think there's a chance he gets into that play

904
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:27,520
Speaker 2: in picture, and who knows whins a couple of games,

905
00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:29,560
Speaker 2: he could get a seven game series. I just think

906
00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 2: Wemby needs some experience. And by the way, guys, I'm

907
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,200
Speaker 2: pretty consistent with this. You guys know, guys that are

908
00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:36,000
Speaker 2: below the age of twenty two, they're not gonna be

909
00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,680
Speaker 2: very high on my lists because that's just the way

910
00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,200
Speaker 2: that I see the game. I think young players struggle

911
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:45,080
Speaker 2: to replicate what works, then they struggle to avoid making mistakes.

912
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,560
Speaker 2: But don't take that as Wemby criticism. That's how I

913
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:51,120
Speaker 2: feel about every young player. And I'm as big a

914
00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:54,840
Speaker 2: Wenby fan as you'll find out there. Hey, Jason, just

915
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:56,880
Speaker 2: a bit of my two cents about Bam spot on

916
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,120
Speaker 2: the list. Difference between Bam and AD is that he

917
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,000
Speaker 2: doesn't have Lebron, James, Austin Reeves and d Low getting

918
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,319
Speaker 2: him those easy buckets at the rim all game. He

919
00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,480
Speaker 2: hasn't had a high level playmaker since d Wade was

920
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:09,040
Speaker 2: in the backcourt throwing him lobs. First of all, I disagree.

921
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:11,040
Speaker 2: I think Jimmy Butler is a high level playmaker. Also,

922
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:14,920
Speaker 2: AD is just a much much higher level offensive player

923
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:19,359
Speaker 2: than Bam. Guys like BAM is incapable of doing what

924
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:21,600
Speaker 2: Ad did to Jokic in the first round this year.

925
00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:25,960
Speaker 2: AD was going at Jokic repeatedly and cooking his ass

926
00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:29,200
Speaker 2: one on one forced Mike Malone to make a change

927
00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:31,759
Speaker 2: and take Jokic off of him. That's how good Ad

928
00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:35,040
Speaker 2: is as a one on one ISO slash post up player.

929
00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:39,000
Speaker 2: Bam has two thirty point games in the playoffs in

930
00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:42,919
Speaker 2: his entire career. AD has twenty three. So like, they

931
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,719
Speaker 2: just aren't on the same tier as basketball players that

932
00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:49,560
Speaker 2: I don't see as much as I love Bam, Eighty's

933
00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:52,440
Speaker 2: just flat out better than him, and so like, I

934
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,600
Speaker 2: don't think it's about playmaking. Again, he plays with Jimmy Butler,

935
00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:57,839
Speaker 2: who is one of the better playmaking wings in the league.

936
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:00,440
Speaker 2: So I just don't see that as enough of an excuse.

937
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,239
Speaker 2: Great breakdown on Fox, But there's no way Halle is

938
00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:06,360
Speaker 2: better than him. If we're going to believe in players

939
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,080
Speaker 2: when they are extremely healthy, Fox averaged thirty points a

940
00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:11,080
Speaker 2: game before he's prayed his ankle. Holly is a terrible

941
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:13,440
Speaker 2: point of attack defender. Fox is arguably one of the best.

942
00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:15,720
Speaker 2: Fox averaged two steals per game From the point of attack.

943
00:44:15,719 --> 00:44:18,880
Speaker 2: Fox is a closer, and Holly fades during big time moments.

944
00:44:19,040 --> 00:44:21,200
Speaker 2: Holly can't be higher than off two and a half

945
00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:23,400
Speaker 2: months of great basketball and completely disregarding the rest of

946
00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,400
Speaker 2: the season. We're not disregarding the rest of the season.

947
00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:27,799
Speaker 2: Halliburton is one of the best offensive engines in all

948
00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,600
Speaker 2: of basketball, even when he's hampered. When he's healthy and

949
00:44:30,719 --> 00:44:34,560
Speaker 2: playing on a good hamstring, he's arguably the third best

950
00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:38,879
Speaker 2: overall offensive engine behind that Jokich Luka tier like. That's

951
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:41,719
Speaker 2: how good he is. He was the very best high

952
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:44,680
Speaker 2: volume pick and role player in the entire league last

953
00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:47,360
Speaker 2: year when he was healthy, the Pacers at an offensive

954
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:50,719
Speaker 2: rating of one to twenty four. He is incredible at

955
00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:54,040
Speaker 2: consistently getting the defense in rotation, which makes everything easier

956
00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:56,840
Speaker 2: for everybody on the court. Halliburton is the guy that

957
00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:58,680
Speaker 2: you can't just look at the box score. He is

958
00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:02,440
Speaker 2: an offensive engine who complete consistently gets the defense and rotation.

959
00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:05,080
Speaker 2: It's similar to the Caitlin Clark thing. Like Caitland, Clark's

960
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:09,840
Speaker 2: offensive impact cannot be quantified just by points and assists numbers.

961
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:13,120
Speaker 2: Like Tyre's, Halliburton is one of the best offensive engines

962
00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:16,600
Speaker 2: in all of basketball. Tyre's Darren Fox, to me, is

963
00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:18,560
Speaker 2: one of the best guards in the league, but I

964
00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,560
Speaker 2: don't think he kind of falls into that top tier

965
00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:25,000
Speaker 2: offensive engine list like Tyre's Halliburton does. He's got a

966
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,000
Speaker 2: lot of issues, which is why Halliburton and Fox are

967
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:30,319
Speaker 2: still close despite that gap. However, I do think that

968
00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:33,640
Speaker 2: Holly and what he brings as an offensive engine gives

969
00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:35,239
Speaker 2: him the edge there. All right, guys, that's all I

970
00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:37,680
Speaker 2: have for today. We'll be right back tomorrow with another

971
00:45:37,719 --> 00:45:40,319
Speaker 2: two players kind of a Actually, I think this one's

972
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:44,200
Speaker 2: actually gonna come out on Thursday. A really interesting debate

973
00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:48,600
Speaker 2: between two players that are kind of different archetypes, playing

974
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:52,400
Speaker 2: in very different roles but bring very different things to

975
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:53,960
Speaker 2: the table. But I kind of view them right next

976
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:55,759
Speaker 2: to each other and you could debate either way. I'm

977
00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:57,879
Speaker 2: excited to get into that with you, guys. I'll see

978
00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:00,680
Speaker 2: you tomorrow. Also, last thing, I did do a video

979
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:03,920
Speaker 2: on two Suns podcast talking about the news that The

980
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,520
Speaker 2: Acolyte was canceled after season one. So me and Luke

981
00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:09,279
Speaker 2: talked for like thirty five minutes yesterday, just kind of

982
00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:11,080
Speaker 2: getting into all the details of what that means for

983
00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:13,359
Speaker 2: Star Wars again. You can find that wherever you find

984
00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:16,600
Speaker 2: your podcasts under two Sons or on YouTube under two

985
00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:19,719
Speaker 2: Sons Podcasts. I always appreciate when you guys support over

986
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:21,799
Speaker 2: there as well. All right, thanks guys, thanks for rocking

987
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:24,320
Speaker 2: with me and the support. I will see you guys.

988
00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:45,200
Speaker 1: In a couple of days.

989
00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:49,360
Speaker 2: The volume