1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: The volume. All right, well, good hoops today here at 2 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: the volume heavy Thursday, everybody. I while you guys are 3 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: having a great week, got a Jampacks show for you 4 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: guys today. Kind of a crazy night in the NBA. 5 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,799 Speaker 1: Last night. We had forty one year old Lebron James 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: giving up a dunk fest in Indiana in the sixth 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: road game, and ten nights including two ridiculous posters of 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: Jay Huff. Jamal Murray dropped a fifty piece Jokich almost 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: at a twenty twenty twenty. Atlanta won this crazy overtime 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: thriller in Detroit. But we are going to focus on 11 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: the two national TV games last night, which also happened 12 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: to be very important games. A potential NBA Finals preview 13 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: between the Thunder and the Celtics, where Jalen Brown ended 14 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: up getting the best of Shay gillsls Alexander're gonna be 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: diving into that game from a bunch of different angles. 16 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: And at the tail end of the show, Houston and 17 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,279 Speaker 1: Minnesota I've actively tried to lose is what I think 18 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 1: the second really, really, really important game that we've had 19 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: so far this season in terms of playoff seeding. I 20 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: talked about that Lakers Rockets game last week on Wednesday 21 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: night that was really important for the three seed in 22 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: the West. This one was really important for the five 23 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: and six seeds in the West. Both teams tried to lose, 24 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,479 Speaker 1: Minnesota ended up coming back in winning. So now Minnesota 25 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: has the inside track on that five seed in the 26 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: Western Conference. They're gonna be breaking down those games from 27 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: the perspective both teams. You guys know the Jrue Porgy 28 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: side it. Subscribe to hoops in YouTube channel so you 29 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Don't forget to 30 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: like this video and sign up for post notifications. That 31 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: helps us a lot. And last min at least, if 32 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: you guys want to get mail bags in mailbag questions 33 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: into our weekly mail bag, dropped them in our full 34 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: episodes on YouTube, and we'll get to them on Fridays 35 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: throughout the remainder of the season. Right, let's talk some basketball. 36 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: So the Celtics get a big win last night. I 37 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: cannot overstate how big of a win this was for 38 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: the Celtics in many ways, it was proof of concept 39 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: for their championship formula. I talked earlier this week after 40 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: they lost to Minnesota about how if I absolutely had 41 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: to pick a team to win the Eastern Conference, I'd 42 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: lean ever so slightly towards Boston because the Celtics. Excuse me, 43 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: the Caves have looked so bad post hard in trade, 44 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: although Jared Allen being out obviously plays a roles a 45 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: role there, and I just trust the Celtics a little 46 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: bit more than the other flawed teams in that tier, 47 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: but I had not seen anything from them to clearly 48 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: demonstrate that they were like a full level above the 49 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,119 Speaker 1: teams in that tier. I didn't see any like real separation, 50 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: and the reason for that was how bad they had 51 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: fared in the big, high profile games this season. Going 52 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: into last night, the Celtics had been six and fourteen 53 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: in games that were a game, in games against teams 54 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: that were in the top ten in point differential, and 55 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 1: some consistent themes had shown up in those losses, one 56 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: of the inconsistency of their shot creation at the top 57 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 1: of their roster, and then two the lack of defensive 58 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: versatility that they had shown in previous iterations of the 59 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: Celtics that made deep playoff runs and even won a championship. 60 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: Last night was the kind of signature win that alleviated 61 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: most of my concerns on those two fronts, and actually, 62 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: for the first time all season, made me feel like 63 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: the Boston Celtics are clearly the best team in the East, 64 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: with some clear separation from that tier of teams at 65 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: the top of the conference. Not only was it a 66 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: convincing win where they seemed to be in complete control, 67 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: especially in the second half first what I believe is 68 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 1: the best team in the NBA, but it also directly 69 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: addressed some of my biggest concerns about the team, starting 70 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: with the shot creation piece. I thought last night was 71 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: one of their best offensive process games of the season, 72 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: especially relative to the competition, and especially in that second half. 73 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: It wasn't perfect. I thought Jalen, especially early in the game, 74 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: was forcing things a little bit, made some bad reads. 75 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: Sam Hauser was like getting wide open every time to 76 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: start the game and was just smoking open look after 77 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: open look after open look, which is failing to pay 78 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: off those sequences of Celtics offense. But the second half 79 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: in particular was one of their best offensive halves of 80 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: the season. The Celtics hung a preposterous one forty six 81 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: offensive writing in the second half against that vaunted OKC defense, 82 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: and all of their strengths were on display. We got 83 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: to start with Jalen Brown, though there is still a 84 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: consistency piece that separates him from the top guys, but 85 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: all of the reps that he's gotten as a true 86 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: number one this year have led to a ton of 87 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: improvement in his floor game. What I mean when I 88 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: say floor game, I talk about this a lot. It's 89 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: just the possession of possession, flow understanding. Not just this 90 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: possession and getting a bucket or filling your individual box score, 91 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: but running a team over one hundred possessions, not five possessions. Right. 92 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: That's floor game in my opinion. It's the kind of 93 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: thing that point guards are known for, but as the 94 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: game has changed and primary ball handlers have become more positionless, 95 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 1: it's something that we've looked at for basically every spot 96 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: on the floor. Right in the second half, Jalen Brown 97 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: goes for twenty four points, four rebounds, five assists in 98 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:19,160 Speaker 1: just two turnovers. It was honestly Shaye esque the way 99 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: he was punishing okay see, And I want to set 100 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: that aside for a minute because I want to talk 101 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: a little bit later about what Jalen needs to do 102 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,679 Speaker 1: to actually become a guy that's viewed on the same 103 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: tier as the players on the top of the league. 104 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: But it was Shay esque in the sense that he 105 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: was getting consistent dribble penetration in the middle of the floor, 106 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: getting baskets for himself at the rim, get into the 107 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: foul line, a ton good kickouts to shooters when the 108 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:44,799 Speaker 1: team was loading up on him. I thought he handled 109 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,039 Speaker 1: the ball pressure really well. Like his dribbling, this ball 110 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: handling was really solid in traffic. He used the same 111 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: kind of grifty tricks that Shay uses to punish defenders 112 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,160 Speaker 1: for being aggressive, like got Alex Cruso with a rip 113 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: through a move. He was using pump fake to get 114 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 1: to the foul and he had a big one against 115 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: Shake Geldis Alexander in the second half, seeking contact on 116 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: his drives. He shot fourteen free throws in the second 117 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: half alone because Okay, he couldn't guard him and he 118 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: wasn't settling. He took seven shots in the second half 119 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: aside from that one, like, uh, there's the jumper he 120 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: took on Shay, which was more of like a like. 121 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: He took it because he knew he had an opportunity 122 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: to draw foul, drives into Shay's chest, gives him the 123 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: same kind of Shae off arm. Shae tries to recover 124 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: on the pump fake, gets up into his space and 125 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: he draws the foul. But other than that, all of 126 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,679 Speaker 1: his shots in the second half were at the rim, 127 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: and he was doing it against Apex defenders. He had 128 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: three half court driving finishes against Crusoe, Dort, and Cason 129 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: Wallace had a beautiful one against lou Dort in the 130 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: right corner where flashes to the corner throws a pump 131 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: fake that gets lou Dort to get out of his 132 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: stance just a little bit. Comes out of the pump 133 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: fake rips Nyson Lowe so Lou can't get to the basketball, 134 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: gets past him, gets all the way to the rim, 135 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: and finishes Crusoe out of a horn set on the 136 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: right elbow, just spins right off of him and dunks 137 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: all over Jalen Williams at the basket, Cason Wallace pressuring 138 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: him out forty feet from the basket, just taking care 139 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: of the basketball, using his body to protect it and 140 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: weaponizing that pressure against Case and gets all the way 141 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: to the basket and finishes this forced Oklahoma City to 142 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: guard Jalen Brown the way that they were guarding Shay 143 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: aggressive nail help before he looked to drive hard help 144 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: in the lane. When he did get downhill, Jalen was 145 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: using a lot of guard screens to try to attack 146 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: guys like Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain and Okay se 147 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: was briefly putting two on the ball and like hedge 148 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: into recover sequences that turned into a bunch of opportunities 149 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: for easy threes. Nail help, swing pass Peyton Pritchard, knock 150 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: it down, Guys slipping out of a guard screen when 151 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: there's a hedge, wide open three at the top of 152 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: the key, get into the lane, swing it out to 153 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: Baylor Shireman on the left side of the floor. He 154 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: was generating a bunch of wide open threes off of 155 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: his drives because he was relentless getting to the rim. 156 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: He wasn't settling, and it was forcing Oklahoma City to 157 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: really compromise their defense to stop him from getting to 158 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: the rim. It was a wonderful second half from him. 159 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: Mike Wilbon had that I'd vote Jalen Brown for MVP. 160 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: Take the other day that he got absolutely shredded four, 161 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: and frankly, he deserved it. He's an actual voter, and 162 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 1: Jaln Brown is nowhere even remotely close to the MVP 163 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: this year. There is a very large consistency and efficiency 164 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: gap between him and his peers, and the value metrics 165 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: are kind of like a stratosphere away from the top candidates. 166 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: I don't think he could be any higher than fifth. 167 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: I mean his true shooting percentages, it's literally ten percent 168 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 1: below Shay. I'm a big Willbon fan. I grew up 169 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: watching PTI like many sports fans, but voting Jaylen Brown 170 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: number one is completely irresponsible and honestly should have his 171 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: vote taken away. But that doesn't mean that Jalen doesn't 172 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: have that ceiling in there, or that he can't get 173 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,319 Speaker 1: to that point eventually. I talk about this all the time, 174 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: but the difference between the top tier guys in the 175 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: second tier guys is literally just that consistency piece. The 176 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: guys that are on that second tier, they're capable of 177 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: on any given night reaching the level of the top 178 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: tier superstars, but they just can't get there consistently. There 179 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 1: are knights where you watch Jlen Brown, you watch Jalen Brunson, 180 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards, Donovan, Mitchell, Cade Cunningham. There's a few other 181 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: players in that group too. When you're watching those guys 182 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: on any given night, they can look like the best 183 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: player in the world. They can even outplay the top 184 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: guys in a one game. Say I thought Jalen Brown 185 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: straight up outplayed Jay Gooses Alexander last night. Today's show 186 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: is brought to you by a presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet, 187 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: Florida's sportsbook. If your bracket has already busted, you're not alone, 188 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: but don't worry. 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And that was a huge part of why 216 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 1: the Celtics won. But those guys tend to struggle to 217 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: sustain that level for one reason or another. And this 218 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: is where it gets interesting. For guys like Caid or Aunt, 219 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: it's a youth thing. They need time to develop that 220 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 1: consistency as they just get more experience in the league. 221 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: For guys like Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell, it's because 222 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:59,440 Speaker 1: they are not physically imposing enough. Even Tatum over the 223 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: years failed to like really stake a consistent claim in 224 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:05,719 Speaker 1: that level because he doesn't have a very quick first 225 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,959 Speaker 1: step and his jump shot was just always so inconsistent 226 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: over the last few years. Although I do feel like 227 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: Tatum was really on the precipice of getting there before 228 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: his injury. So we'll see if he can get back 229 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: there if he gets an extended time, And we have 230 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: a pretty large sample of guys making pretty solid recoveries 231 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: from achilles, so I wouldn't write Tatum off in that regard. 232 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: Jalen Brown is kind of a unique case, though, I 233 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,559 Speaker 1: really think even at age twenty nine, there's a pathway 234 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: for him to get there because he's just such an 235 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:41,200 Speaker 1: incredible athlete. I think the partnership with Tatum which was 236 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: completely worthwhile. They're both champions now and they've had some 237 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,120 Speaker 1: of the most consistent playoff success in the league over 238 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,319 Speaker 1: the last half decade decade or so half decade plus, 239 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: let's just call it, but that partnership has prevented him 240 00:12:56,679 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: from getting the reps that he needed as a number 241 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: one to reach that level in this year, in the 242 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: extended reps is a number one that is allowed Jalen 243 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: to flash that ceiling like he never has before. I 244 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 1: actually think Jalen Brown's pathway, and this is where I 245 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: want to go back to the shape piece. I actually 246 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: think Jalen Brown's pathway resembles kind of what Shake Gildes 247 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: Alexander's game looks like, just more of a hybrid two 248 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: way version of it. That second half is the formula 249 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: relentless rim pressure that leads to simple reads. Most of 250 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: Jalen Brown's inefficient nights, or his nights where he doesn't 251 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: look like a top tier star, most of them center 252 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: around like a poor floor game like we talked about earlier, 253 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,560 Speaker 1: forcing things that aren't there at the rim, or settling 254 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:57,439 Speaker 1: for mediocre jump shots. When he's physically aggressive towards the 255 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: rim like he was in that second half, when he 256 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: takes the easy kickout reads that come available to him 257 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 1: as a result of that aggression. In the lack of settling, 258 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: he's borderline unstoppable. I don't even think he would need 259 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: to become as refined as a jump shooter as Shay 260 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: because he brings some different elements to the table, like 261 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: his ability to play bullyball, which Shay can't play, or 262 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: the fact that he can be one of the apex 263 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: perimeter defenders in the NBA. This guy has on his 264 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: highlight reel an NBA Finals where he really did an 265 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: amazing job on Luka Doncic, and I'd argue he's already 266 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: a good enough mid range shooter to counter his ability 267 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: to attack the rim. I don't think he needs to 268 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: become dramatically better as a mid range shooter or a 269 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: way better three point shooter. To me, it's all about 270 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: the process piece. If he doesn't settle, and he focuses 271 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: on attacking and he takes the easy reads that are available, 272 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: and he can consistently do that night in a night 273 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: out while also being one of the best perimeter defenders 274 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: in the league. That is a top tier superstar in 275 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: this league. If you can tie the consistency piece to 276 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: that process, I actually think that ceiling exists in there. 277 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: In that second half, he was drawing a lot of 278 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 1: similar coverages that Shaye draws, the aggressive mail help, the 279 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: aggressive help on drives, the two on the ball sequences, 280 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: and guard guard screens especially, and he was punishing them 281 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 1: in similar ways to what Shae does, just with that 282 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:40,920 Speaker 1: unique little bit of Jalen Brown flair, the bullyball, the 283 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: athleticism at the rim. In other words, is Michael Wilbon 284 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,360 Speaker 1: Wright that Jalen Brown is the MVP of the league 285 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: this year? Absolutely not. But this season, for the first 286 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: time in his career, I have felt like Jalen is 287 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: capable of becoming a legit, top tier superstar in this 288 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: league before he exits his prime. He's got a few 289 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: more years here where he can do that. He just 290 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: has to bottle up that process from the second half 291 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: last night and be consistent with it. Again. I thought 292 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: he's straight up out played Shay and it was a 293 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: sight to behold. And frankly, that's the version of Jalen 294 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: that is capable of leading this Celtics team back to 295 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: the trophy. Now, we got to shout out some other 296 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: elements of the Celtics offense last night. Each guy kind 297 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: of made their mark in their own way. Tatum and 298 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: Derek White had their struggles last night against the Oklahoma 299 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: City defense, but they both also had important runs that 300 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 1: helped the team win. Jason Tatum had like an eight 301 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: point burst in like two minutes in the second quarter 302 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: that was massive in this game. Derek White, there was 303 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: a sequence for Okay, so he started to build some separation. 304 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: Derek White banged back to back threes that helped kind 305 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: of stemy in Oklahoma City run. Peyton Pritchard had a 306 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: really nice second half. How about Baylor shireman Man. He 307 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: was killing the thunder off the ball locations to punish 308 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: Okac helped defenders when they would turn their heads. That 309 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 1: was generating quality spot up opportunities that he was paying 310 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: off with catch and shoot threes. Even had a really 311 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: nice kind of like pump fake Relo Kate off of 312 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: one dribble knockdown three off of the left wing. He 313 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: caught j dub with his back turned and crashed out 314 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,199 Speaker 1: of the right corner and got a tip dunk. He 315 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: had eleven points all in the second half, and in 316 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 1: thirteen second half minutes he was plus fourteen. An amazing 317 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: night for Baylor Shireman. He's been a revelation this year. 318 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: I thought Cata was a monster in the second half. 319 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 1: He ran some quality drop coverage on Hartenstein and Crusoe, 320 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: which I want to set that aside. We're gonna get 321 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: to that more when we talked to the defensive end 322 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: of the floor. But he had a really good defensive 323 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: second half. He had some big offensive sequences in the 324 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: second half, Like he had this play where him and 325 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: Hertenstein were tied up around the right elbow and he 326 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: just hit him with the swim move, just out scrapped him, 327 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: got the offensive rebound, went up with the left shoulder 328 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:55,679 Speaker 1: hook in the lane and hit It was a big 329 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,880 Speaker 1: put back. In that second half, run had a beautiful 330 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 1: short roll read. The Celtic run a lot of stack, 331 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:02,439 Speaker 1: pick and roll. It's one of their pet actions. All 332 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: that is is just a ball screen with you know, 333 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: Jalen Brown top of the key coming off the screen. 334 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: Cada's rolling and they'll have Peyton Pritchard or Derek White 335 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: set a backscreen for Kata as he's rolling. It's a 336 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: pet action that we see a lot around the league. 337 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 1: But the Celtics run at a ton and it works. 338 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: Really well because not only do they have really good 339 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: guards that can shoot that set the backscreens, but Peyton 340 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: Pritchard and Derek White are very good and making sure 341 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: they go out of their way and see where the 342 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:28,639 Speaker 1: big is and make sure they actually make contact on 343 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:30,960 Speaker 1: that screen and so they'll get you know, Derek White 344 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: got an easy driving layup out of their stack pick 345 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 1: and roll. They got some good quality threes out of 346 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: their stack pick and roll, Like they get a lot 347 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: of good looks out of that. But like there was 348 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: one where Nimi Kada because again, like a lot of 349 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,640 Speaker 1: those sequences they actually force tags because they're so difficult 350 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: to guard, which means Kada's going to catch on the 351 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: roll and have to make a complicated read in the 352 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:51,360 Speaker 1: middle of the floor. He had a really nice kickout 353 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: read to Baylor Shireman in the left corner on one 354 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,359 Speaker 1: of those stack pick and roll reps. Sam Hauser, to 355 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: his credit, after being absolutely broke to start the game, 356 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: stayed aggressive and hit two massive threes in the second half. 357 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: Even Luca Garza and Hugo Gonzales contributed in their own ways. 358 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,679 Speaker 1: I thought Garza was actually really good yesterday. Him and 359 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,439 Speaker 1: Hugo both hit a three. Garza was rolling hard and 360 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,439 Speaker 1: had some success at the basket again. A one forty 361 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 1: six offensive rating in the second half against that Oklahoma 362 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: City defense. That's nothing to shake a stick at. It's 363 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:27,400 Speaker 1: one of their best offensive performances of the season, if 364 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 1: not the best. So, as I mentioned at the top, 365 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: my two main areas of concern with the Celtics against 366 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: top teams were offensive process and defensive versatility. Last night 367 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: was also a really strong sign on that second front. 368 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:49,400 Speaker 1: On the defensive versatility front, first of all, we did 369 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,159 Speaker 1: see their base drop look have some real success, especially 370 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: in that second half when Cato was out there against 371 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: the thunder starters especially, they were running a really deep 372 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: drop coverage with him on Hartenstein, and they were basically 373 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: daring Shay to beat them with pull ups. They weren't 374 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: helping as much off the ball in those deep drop 375 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: looks with Hartenstein on the floor, and he did hit 376 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: of you. He hit a big pull up three to 377 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: start the second half, for example. But in that third quarter, 378 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 1: the Celtics got a lot of stops with that drop 379 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: look because Jalen was able to get over the top 380 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:19,399 Speaker 1: of the screens, Cata was able to shut off the 381 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: rim and the roll. He did a really good job 382 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: pushing Hartenstein's floaters just a little bit further out and 383 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 1: getting good contests. Those are money when he's a little 384 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: closer and open, but you push him a couple feet 385 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: further back and you get a good contest. He'll smoke them. 386 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,399 Speaker 1: Smoked a couple of floaters on pocket passes because Jalen 387 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: was pursuing over the top, they were able to get 388 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: Shay to pick up his dribble in the middle of 389 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,159 Speaker 1: the floor a few times. They got some stops with 390 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: their deep drop coverage look, their base look, but they 391 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: also flashed several different looks and this is the key. 392 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: This is the versatility element that's going to be absolutely 393 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: necessary for them to win four playoff rounds. We saw 394 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: a look when Hartenstein was off the floor. We're okay, 395 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: see he went smaller. They put Tatum on chet HomeGrid 396 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: and put Cata on Caruso. That's the look that Boston 397 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: used in the title run back in twenty twenty four. 398 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: It gives them the ability to shut down the normal 399 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,920 Speaker 1: screening actions that they run with Chet and it forces okay, 400 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: see to do something that's kind of uncomfortable for them 401 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: in this case mediocre Alex Crusoe picking pop threes that 402 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: he was missing, hit a couple of them, but the 403 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: offense was not getting into their flow and he missed several. 404 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,920 Speaker 1: And then on Shay's ISOs in particular, when he was 405 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,679 Speaker 1: trying to iso guards, they were aggressively gapping, aggressively helping, 406 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: especially off the likes of lou Dort, Alex Crusoe, and 407 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: Case and Wallace, and that helped drive down Shay's shot 408 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: attempts and forced a lot of mediocre catch and shoot 409 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:49,679 Speaker 1: threes for Oklahoma City's lesser shooters. They were able to 410 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 1: get a lot of stops in a lot of different ways, 411 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: and that's a really strong sign. I know that Celtics 412 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,920 Speaker 1: fans have been very confident in this group and believed 413 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: in their chances throughout the season, and I get that. 414 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 1: I totally understand, but given the massive roster turnover and 415 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: the difference in the Tatum Brown dynamic from last year, 416 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: I personally wanted to see some of these things come 417 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 1: to fruition against this type of team for me to 418 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: really get on board. I'm on board now. I think 419 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 1: the Celtics team is clearly better than Detroit, Cleveland, and 420 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: New York. I think they're gonna win the Eastern Conference, 421 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 1: and I think they have a good shot against anybody 422 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 1: coming out of the West. Last night was the proof 423 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: of concept for me. Before we get out here today, 424 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: let's talk a little bit about Houston and Minnesota. This 425 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 1: is one of the strangest games that I can ever 426 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,879 Speaker 1: remember watching. I actually was watching this game live with 427 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: my wife. I had to get up early early this morning, 428 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: so I was like, I'm gonna watch this game. It'll 429 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,680 Speaker 1: just kind of help me with my process tomorrow morning. 430 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: A lot of times I watch film in the morning. 431 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: The last night I was watching the game, I turned 432 00:22:55,520 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: this game off twice. The Timberwolves control it throughout. Kevin 433 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: Durant Read Shepherd both had disaster jump shooting games. Minnesota 434 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,240 Speaker 1: had this like balanced two way attack that was working. 435 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: Jade McDaniels was fantastic. His offensive improvement has been so 436 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 1: much fun to watch this year. Julius Randall kind of 437 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:13,640 Speaker 1: had a rough shooting that but he got going late 438 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: in the game. The Wolves went up by eleven with 439 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,440 Speaker 1: three minutes left, and I turned the game off and 440 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,360 Speaker 1: I was like, all right, I've seen enough to get 441 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: through this particular game. Let's relax. We put on How 442 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 1: I Met Your Mother. We've ben rewatched. We usually watched 443 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:27,760 Speaker 1: some sort of brainless TV right before bad to help 444 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:29,439 Speaker 1: us calm our brains down and go to sleep. And 445 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: so we put on How I Met Your Mother. And 446 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 1: then a few minutes later, I peak at the score 447 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: and Kevin Durant's heading to the foul line on an 448 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: away from the play foul with a chance to tie 449 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: the game and get the ball back, and I'm like, 450 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: what the hell happened? Right? So I immediately go back and 451 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: I rewind to where the run started and try to 452 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 1: diagnose what happened. And the Rockets just reached this insane 453 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 1: level defensively, in large part because Shane Goon was an 454 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: absolute wrecking ball, flying around up at the level, at 455 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: the level of screw like hard switching onto the perimeter 456 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:04,920 Speaker 1: with physicality. He was helping at the rim. I've talked 457 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 1: a lot about how Shangun is a bad defender, but 458 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: he's not like other bad defenders that are physically limited. 459 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,239 Speaker 1: It's mostly a process thing for him, and like a 460 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: technique thing. He's athletic. He should be a good defensive player. 461 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: And he flashed that ceiling at the end of regulation 462 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: there flying around the perimeter. I mean two insane help 463 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: side blocks, this one where he recovered at the rim 464 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 1: and blocked with two hands, had another one that saved 465 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: the game after kd had yet another sloppy turnover against 466 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,439 Speaker 1: a double team on the final player regulation. It's crazy 467 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,119 Speaker 1: to watch because like Shangegun is single handedly wrecked to 468 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:42,199 Speaker 1: the Minnesota offense down the stretch of regulation and got 469 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: his team back into the game. And again, you got 470 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: to try to bottle that up if you're Shangun, because 471 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: that's the difference between like a flawed player that probably 472 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 1: can't win a championship and the version of Shangun that 473 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: can lead Houston to a championship. One day, Kevin Durant 474 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 1: started hitting shots that unlocked the Shangun in the pocket stuff. 475 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,679 Speaker 1: Both him and Kadi had poster dunks in that run 476 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: and we ended up in overtime. Special shout out to 477 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,439 Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert, by the way, who had an insane ISO 478 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,199 Speaker 1: stop against Kevin durank Kai got crossed up, but his 479 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,199 Speaker 1: recovery athleticism is amazing and he actually blocked Kde had 480 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: a pull up, which is something you just don't see 481 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: very often, and that saved the Wolves from a potential 482 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: disaster in that final sequence. The Rockets then immediately blitz 483 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 1: the Wolves to start overtime. It was a twenty six 484 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 1: to two run, turning an eleven point deficit into a 485 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: thirteen point lead in less than six minutes of game clock. 486 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: Reed Shepherd kind of takes a bad three, but to 487 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 1: get an offensive rebound, and he finally hits one, a 488 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: wide open one in the left wing. KD gets another 489 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: transition dunk off their defense. Then KD hits a pull 490 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: up three in Julius Randall's face. Reed Shepherd jumps a 491 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:46,680 Speaker 1: DHL kind of a sloppy DHO from Kyle Anderson where 492 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: he didn't make enough contact and he left a gap 493 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: read Shepherd shot it, went down the other end, dropped 494 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 1: it off to him and Thompson for a dunk, and 495 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 1: then Houston caps off the run with yet another KD 496 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 1: Shangun two man game where he hits Shangun in the 497 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:02,159 Speaker 1: pocket for yet another dunk. Thirteen and I turn off 498 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: the game again and we go back over to how 499 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: I Met your Mother. So like a half hour later, 500 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: I'm literally getting ready for bed, and I get a 501 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: text from Yovann booja. We have a pod that we 502 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: do twice a week. It's with Trevor Lane and it's 503 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 1: called Lakers Collective and we just talk Lakers, and our 504 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: producer texts us and he just asks for like a 505 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: rundown in the format of the show they have like 506 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 1: a little segment rundown on the left side. So he'll 507 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:27,639 Speaker 1: text us usually the night before the show and just 508 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: be like, Hey, what are the topics for tomorrow? And 509 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: whichever one of us three is available will just send 510 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: over what we think the topics are. And so Yovann 511 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,680 Speaker 1: ends up sending a list of four topics, and one 512 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: of them is like, after Houston loses tonight, they're very 513 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 1: likely to get the six seed, and that means that 514 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: they're most likely going to match up with the Lakers 515 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: in the first round. What does that matchup look like, 516 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: et cetera. So I read that and I'm immediately like, oh, 517 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: Yovonn must not have seen the comeback. So I go 518 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: to text him back and tell him to fix it. 519 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 1: But then I'm like, let me just go to the 520 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: ESPN app just in case, and Houston blew it again again. 521 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: I couldn't believe it when I saw the app the 522 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: score in the app, so of course I get my 523 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: laptop out and I pull up the film, and it 524 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: was an absolute catastrophe. Starts with like this sloppy defensive possession. 525 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:17,719 Speaker 1: They double Julius Randall on the right side and then 526 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: they both rotate to the left wing. They send two 527 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,359 Speaker 1: defenders over to the left wing in rotation, so kind 528 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:25,880 Speaker 1: of a sloppy rotation leaves Mike Conley wide open the corner. 529 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: He knocks down a three. Javari Smith misses a wide 530 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: open three, and then shanng Gun gets lazy and misses 531 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: a box out on a Julius Randall missed right handed layup. 532 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 1: KYLEI Anderson gets an easy put back plus the foul. 533 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,640 Speaker 1: Suddenly it's a seven point game. And that's usually how 534 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,199 Speaker 1: these kinds of comebacks start. It's it usually is like 535 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: a couple of lazy possessions that turn an insurmountable lead 536 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,639 Speaker 1: into something achievable. And that's what it was. A quick 537 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: two play, three play sequence where like you have a 538 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,640 Speaker 1: sloppy double, a guy misses an open shot which ain't 539 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,440 Speaker 1: your fault, and then you have a missed box out 540 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: and like Banks, thirteen point game turns into a seven 541 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:05,119 Speaker 1: point game. Suddenly Minnesota believes they can win. Right then, 542 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,359 Speaker 1: Julius Randall throws some token ball pressure against Shanggun. I 543 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: don't know why Shangoon is bringing the ball be flour, 544 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,959 Speaker 1: but Shangun's bringing the ball before Julius random ball pressures him, 545 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,919 Speaker 1: does a great job holding his ground. Julius was fantastic 546 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: down the stretch of this game. Beats Shangun to the 547 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: spot several times, enforces Shangun into an eight second violation, 548 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 1: so the Wolves get the ball back. Reed Shepherd's playing 549 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 1: some denial at the top of the key, Dante Devincenzo 550 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,520 Speaker 1: back cuts him, gets the layup on the right side 551 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: of the rim, reversed around Shangoon. All of a sudden, 552 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: it's a five point game. More good Randall defense. Shangun 553 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,320 Speaker 1: ends up another kind of sloppy double team sequence where 554 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 1: for some reason a men Thompson and was in the 555 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: left corner. And this is another thing that drives me 556 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,959 Speaker 1: crazy with the eme Udoka situation. They've struggled so much 557 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: with capitalizing on these four on threes just because of 558 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,520 Speaker 1: simple spacing stuff. Kind of tag that and hold it 559 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 1: for later because I want to talk about how like 560 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: dumb Houston can be sometimes and just in terms of 561 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: their collective basketball iq Avan Thompson ends up catching in 562 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: the corner wide open, doesn't want to shoot it for 563 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: obvious reasons. He dumps it to Shangun. Shangun has to 564 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: throw like a kind of a late non advantage post 565 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: up against Randall. Randall just stone walls him again, forces 566 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: him into a tough kind of hook underneath the basket. 567 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: He smokes it, so Minnesota gets the ball back. And 568 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: then Shanguon, who again was great on defense to start 569 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 1: miss box out right, took a bad angle on the 570 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: Dante Devincenzo backcut gets beat on the right side of 571 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: the rim. Then Julius Randall smokes him with another left 572 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: hand to drive to the basket because he takes a 573 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: bad angle. So for all the good defense at the 574 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: end of regulation, the Shangun bad defense comes back. In overtime. 575 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:38,840 Speaker 1: Randall gets that left he lay up. Now we're back 576 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 1: within three. Then Kevin Durant turns it over on a 577 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 1: double team again just loses the basketball and throws it 578 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: right to the other team. Dante de Vincenzo comes off 579 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: a dribble hand off coming from underneath the basket, hits 580 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: a three. This game is tied. Then Shanggun tries to 581 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 1: iso Randall again. Randall defend him really well, again, really 582 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 1: strong technique on defense, beating him to spots, disrupting his base, 583 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 1: being very physical. Again. When you're playing post players, you 584 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: can't really bother them up top because they usually have 585 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: a size advantage. You want to get up underneath them. 586 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: You want to bother their base, force them into tougher 587 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: hooks that are further from the basket, that are off balanced. 588 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: Forces him into a really tough long hook, he misses it. 589 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: Then Randall gains them with a pull up jumper over 590 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: Jason Tate in the middle of the lane. He actually 591 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: tied off the game with a great vertical contest of 592 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: Durant at the rim that I did not think was 593 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: a foul, but he got called a foul and Kevin 594 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,280 Speaker 1: Durant went over there and missed the free throws and 595 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 1: the Wolves end up winning. Absolute insanity. Games like that 596 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: are actually the hardest to analyze because there's no real 597 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 1: narrative flow to it. It looked like the Wolves were 598 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: the better team throughout, so I suppose you could say 599 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: the Wolves should have one, and they did. But Houston 600 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 1: looked like the best team in the world there for 601 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,320 Speaker 1: like six minutes, and then they just completely implode right back. 602 00:30:58,400 --> 00:30:59,920 Speaker 1: It was one of the crazier games I've ever seen. 603 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: We even got Gobert fouling out on kind of if 604 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: he call where him and Shane Gun just got tangled up. 605 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: I didn't really like fouling Gobart out on a play 606 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: like that. And then we had a terrible Scott Foster 607 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: rejection of nas Reed because he got his feelings hurt. 608 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 1: I don't know, it's just classic Scott Foster, but that 609 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: ejection was ridiculous. It was just an insane game. My 610 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: takeaways a pretty simple from this one. On the Wolves front, 611 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: I continue to really like this team. I just think 612 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,840 Speaker 1: that when they ratchet things up defensively, they're one of 613 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: the best two or three defenses in the league. Even Randall, 614 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: who's been so bad at times, was fantastic down the 615 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: stretch defensively and can be really good when he wants 616 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: to be. You have Gobert's switch ability, which is a 617 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:40,720 Speaker 1: huge part of their versatility. That huge block on Kdie 618 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: at the end of regulation. They're just as high a 619 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 1: defensive ceiling team as we have in the NBA, and 620 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: they have all that aggregate offensive talent, all that ball 621 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 1: handling and shooting and athleticism that makes them so hard 622 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: to guard on the other end of the floor. But 623 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: the Rockets, it is a doomed combination of stars that 624 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 1: can't really handle the ball in an incredibly low amount 625 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: of aggregate skill and IQ off of them. Doris Burke 626 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 1: was calling this out through the game. It was amazing 627 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: how often you would just have bad decision making off 628 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:22,480 Speaker 1: of their stars. Jay Shaun Tait takes a horrible right 629 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: corner three towards the end of regulation where you're like, 630 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: what are you doing? There's all this time in the 631 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,040 Speaker 1: shot clog. It's just a bad shot. A Men Thompson 632 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: had a short role read in the middle of the 633 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: floor where he missed Jabari Smith wide open in the 634 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 1: right wing. A Men Thompson spotting up in the left 635 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 1: corner off of a KD double team, a spot where 636 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 1: he cannot be a threat. That's why when I look 637 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:46,959 Speaker 1: at like the playoff matchups, like I think the Lakers 638 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: are a lot better than they were last year, and 639 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 1: I do think that they would be more competitive against 640 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: the Timberwolves than they were last year. I think even 641 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: Timberwolves fans would agree with that. But like I think 642 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: the I, the Wolves absolutely scare me more as a 643 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: playoff team because I know what their ceiling looks like 644 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: and I know they have the combination of what you 645 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:08,200 Speaker 1: need on both ends of the floor to be a 646 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: real problem in a playoff series. I don't think the 647 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:17,080 Speaker 1: Lakers are guaranteed to beat the Rockets. I just won't 648 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,960 Speaker 1: make that mistake anymore, especially with how big and physical 649 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,640 Speaker 1: they are, because we've just seen so many examples in 650 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 1: NBA history of just how different the playoffs are when 651 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: the whistle changes. So I'm not gonna sit here and 652 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,240 Speaker 1: be like, oh, the Lakers are guaranteed to beat Houston. 653 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:31,880 Speaker 1: I would favor them, but I would not write the 654 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: Rockets off in that series. But they are unquestionably the 655 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: worst team in that tier simply because of the fact 656 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: that they are not smart enough or skilled enough as 657 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,480 Speaker 1: a basketball team to solve the puzzles that you have 658 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,880 Speaker 1: to solve in the NBA playoffs, And as a Laker 659 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: fan again, and they're not guaranteed to get the three 660 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 1: seed either. Denver has a super easy schedule down the stretch. 661 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,959 Speaker 1: Denver could win out and the Lakers could drop two 662 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: games against Oklahoma City and all of a sudden, one 663 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: more loss and they're in the seed. So it's not 664 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 1: guaranteed by any means. But if the Lakers can hold 665 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,800 Speaker 1: onto that three seed, Houston is absolutely the best possible 666 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,399 Speaker 1: matchup for them, because they are just not smart enough 667 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 1: to solve those puzzles that you run into in the 668 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 1: NBA playoffs. All right, guys, this is all I have 669 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,560 Speaker 1: for today is always sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting 670 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:20,600 Speaker 1: us and supporting the show. We have a mail bag 671 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,520 Speaker 1: coming out tomorrow, and then obviously we have a tournament weekend. 672 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 1: I'm excited to watch Arizona tonight in their matchup with Arkansas. 673 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 1: Let's just pray that we don't get killed by Darius Acuff. 674 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:34,000 Speaker 1: But I hope everyone has a fun weekend watching hoops. 675 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: Enjoy the mail bag tomorrow, and I will see you 676 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:36,760 Speaker 1: guys on Monday,