1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:06,240 Speaker 1: The volume When it comes to college basketball in March Mania, 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: one thing is for sure. Nothing's for sure. Upsets, buzzer beaters, 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Cinderella is advancing top seeds, going home early. It's all 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: gonna happen. Bet the unexpected, every upset, every day with 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: Draft Kings Sportsbook. With live betting, exclusive content, promos, and parlays, 6 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: Draft Kings is the ultimate college basketball destination for March. 7 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: Ready to make your first bet, check out the matchups, 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: and pick a team to win. It's that simple. 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Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. 28 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: Void in Ontario New customers only. Bonus bets expire one 29 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,119 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. For additional terms 30 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: and responsible gaming resources, see DKG dot co. Slash Audio. 31 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Best of Hoops Tonight, featuring my top 32 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: takes from recent shows. All right, let's talk some basketball. 33 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: So the Warriors dropped a game a couple of nights 34 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: ago against the Nuggets at home without Jamal Murray and 35 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: without Nicole Jokich playing for the Nuggets. And to be clear, 36 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: my thoughts coming out of that game were, or this 37 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: is march in the NBA. You're gonna see this quite 38 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: a bit in this time of year, because it's like 39 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 1: a funky phase where half the league already knows exactly 40 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,239 Speaker 1: what they are and are in some variation of cruise 41 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: control where you don't know what you're getting any given 42 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: night because they're either saving legs for the playoffs or 43 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: they're just not feeling that level of intensity. And even 44 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: for the teams that made big deals at the trade deadline, 45 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: the newness is starting to fade. It's been over a 46 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: month and this is just kind of like this a 47 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: lull that you're gonna see, and you're gonna see some 48 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: weird results. Denver, in particular, it has been a total 49 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: shit show. Like they get smashed by the Thunder, but 50 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: then they beat the Thunder, then they get smashed by 51 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: the Wolves, then they nearly lose to the Lakers missing 52 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: four starters. Then they do actually lose to the Washington 53 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: Wizards at home, just to go into Golden State without 54 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: Murray and jokicen beat the Warriors who were red hot. 55 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: It doesn't make any sense. That team is just bizarre. 56 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: You're gonna see a lot of general or a lot 57 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: of weird results in general this time of year, like 58 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: the Pacers without four starters just went into Minnesota and 59 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: beat the Wolves at full strength. The Wizards also went 60 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: into Detroit and beat a Pistons team at full strength 61 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: a few days before they're winning Denver. Although it's worth 62 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,839 Speaker 1: mentioning that the Wizards have some real stuff to start 63 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: getting excited about, with their young talent flashing some real 64 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: two way potential, guys like Galaxar really shooting the ball 65 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: well from three, defending really well, Bilakula Bali Kishan, George 66 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 1: bub Carrington. They've got a bunch of guys that are 67 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: popping for them. But the point is is that it's March, 68 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: and so there's a certain amount of weird result that 69 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: you're going to see in there. And Steve Kerrin formed 70 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: us that Steph really just needs a night off and 71 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: that he's been dealing with some back sorenice, and so 72 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: the Warriors needed to beat the Bucks last night without 73 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: Steph Curry. And so conventional wisdom would tell you you 74 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: go into that game thinking you're gonna win with defense, right, 75 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: take Steph out of the equation. You're gonna put a 76 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: probably a better defender than Steph into that rotation spot. Obviously, 77 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: you lose the world on the offensive end of the floor. 78 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: But if you just defend extremely well, you give yourself 79 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: a chance. And that's exactly what the Warriors did. They 80 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: held the Bucks to just ninety two points. They had 81 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: two separate seventeen point quarters that they held them to. 82 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: They responded to two separate Bucks runs with defensive runs. 83 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: There was a late third quarter run where it was 84 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: really the only phase of the game where the Milwaukee 85 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: offense was in like really really cooking. Dame had the 86 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: pick and pop with brook Lopez going and Brooke was 87 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: hitting threes. They had some two man game with Damon 88 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: Giannis where they were passing well out of it. Giannis 89 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: was drawing double teams in the post and passing well 90 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: out of it. He made a nice pass to brook Lopez, 91 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,119 Speaker 1: who sealed the low man and got an easy layup. 92 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: They were skipping the ball to Kyle Kuzma, who hit 93 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: three after three, after three. It was just the one 94 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: phase in the game where Milwaukee's offense just looked like 95 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: it was getting easy stuff. And so they go on 96 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,239 Speaker 1: this run and they go up seventy six to seventy 97 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: and then promptly the Warriors put the clamps on him 98 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: and hold them scoreless for three straight minutes, and they 99 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: regained control. And then something similar happened in the fourth quarter. 100 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: The Bucks go on another run, this time Giannis's on 101 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: the bench, Dame is doing a lot of cooking and 102 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: ball screens. They cut the lead down to three, but 103 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: the Warriors hold them completely scoreless over the final four 104 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: minutes of the game as they pull away and win 105 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: by eleven. And so it was their defense that was 106 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: able to completely strangle the Bucks at these stretches that 107 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: allowed them in the limited offensive production they were getting 108 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: under the circumstances to have enough to win that game. 109 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 1: I want to start by digging into the concept of 110 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: being in two places at once on defense. This is 111 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: really the superpower that Draymond Green has used to become 112 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: one of the best defenders that the league has seen 113 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: over the last decade. Right, we think of defense two reductively. 114 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: Sometimes a lot of times we'll think of it like 115 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: can I guard my man and can he guard his man? 116 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: Do we have five guys that are all like elite 117 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: defenders that can defend on an island and keep defenses 118 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: out of rotation and keep their defense out of rotation, 119 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: and so on and so forth, and there's a certain 120 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: amount of that where you do need guys that can 121 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: hold up one on one. Draymond got a huge one 122 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: on one stopping against Gianness late in the game where 123 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: he forced him into kind of a drifting, floating hook 124 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: shot that he missed off the rim. But most of 125 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: the best defenses that you'll see in the history of 126 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: the league are centered around a concept that involves actually 127 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: being aggressive on the ball, meaning like putting two defenders 128 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: on the ball or overhelping, putting guys into situation to 129 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: make stars play in a crowd, but then those openings 130 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: disappearing really quickly through excellent rotations and setting up the 131 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: floor in a way where you have a plan for 132 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: whatever it is that you're dealing with from the opposing star. 133 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: And like again, like this is think about Oklahoma City. 134 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: Oklahoma City's best defense in the league. They're not just 135 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: out there letting all their guys play one on one 136 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: on defense. That defense is predicated on aggressive coverages leaving 137 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: openings that quickly disappear as you rotate out of it 138 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: with your speed. I thought the Warriors executed this concept 139 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: to perfection in this game. I thought it all started 140 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: with Draymond, who did an incredible job on Yanis all game, 141 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: but especially in ball screens, where he was consistently able 142 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: to get up to the level to defend the ball, 143 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: but to get back in time to handle Giannis on 144 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: the roll. We saw play early in the game where 145 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: he got a block on Giannis where he was like 146 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: kind of trailing the play a little bit and he 147 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: jumped and squared up in mid air to get a 148 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: piece of the ball on the way down to force 149 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: some miss. He had a huge one late in the 150 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: game when the ball screens were getting pushed a little 151 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: bit further out towards half court. Really good ball pressure 152 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: from Gary Payton. They were pushing the ball screens out 153 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: further to half court and those rotations were more in 154 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,119 Speaker 1: like the short roll area and Draymond Green once again 155 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: showing up to the level. He lets Giannis get past him, 156 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: but he sprints back and by the time Giannis actually 157 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: caught it, Draymond had him squared up again and then 158 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: he was able to play one on one defense and 159 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: force Draymond into a tough fight away. Quentin Post, who 160 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: had some issues defensively in this game, had a big 161 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: one late where he showed on a ball screen Broke 162 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: Lopez slipped out of it. He was slipping towards like 163 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: the top of the key area and Post just sprinted 164 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: back it, got back in front of Brook kept him 165 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: out of rotation, forced him into a tough fade away 166 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: jump shot that he missed. So again that concept the 167 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: ability to be on the ball to force a star 168 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: ball handler to get rid of it, but then also 169 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: the ability to recover in rotation to where the opening 170 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: is gone. That is the concept that makes an elite 171 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: defense reach that level. Is their ability to make you 172 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: constantly feel like you're playing in a crowd while never 173 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: actually conceding the openings that lead to the wide open 174 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: shots that'll cook you in this sort of situation. And 175 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: then in those one on ones with Yannis, Draymond is 176 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 1: one of the few defenders in the entire NBA that 177 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: has the strength and the quickness to force Jiannis into 178 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: actually taking over the top shots. We talked about this 179 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: concept in the Thunder Game. If you remember with Isaiah 180 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: Hartenstein with Jannis, there's a specific amount of like you 181 00:08:57,679 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: need to have the strength so that when Yanna sees 182 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: the small openings, he can't just blow through your shoulder. 183 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: But you also have to have the mobility to get 184 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: to a spot so that Jannis actually has to make 185 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 1: a move right. Once you have the ability to slide 186 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: your feet and hold that strength on that shoulder, you 187 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,440 Speaker 1: can flatten drives out with Giannis. Once you start flattening 188 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: drives out with Giannis, it turns into drifting, tougher contested layups. 189 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: It turns into the hooks and the floaters that like 190 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: he can't make, and he's gotten better at them. But 191 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: over the years, even with that improvement, he's still getting 192 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: less than a point per shot. He's still missing almost 193 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: sixty percent of his hooks and his floaters and things 194 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: like that. That big iso stop ed late big possession. 195 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: Janis against Draymond on the left elbow extended area. Jannis 196 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: makes an aggressive move towards the right. Draymond slides his feet, 197 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: absorbs the contact, flattens out the drive, forces him into 198 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: that tough little hook in the lane that he leaves 199 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: short off the front of the rim. And again, like 200 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: we've talked about how Isaiah Hartenstein held Jannis to his 201 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: worst shooting game of the season, he held jannest to 202 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: forty seven percent from the field. Well, I should say 203 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: Hartenstein and the Thunder held Yannis to forty seven percent 204 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: from the field, which was his worst shooting night of 205 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 1: the season. Well, Draymond Green and the Warriors just held 206 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: him to thirty one percent from the field, sixteen percent 207 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: lower from the field than he has against anybody else 208 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: in the NBA this season. Just a casual reminder that 209 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: Draymond Green is still very much one of the very 210 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 1: best defensive players in the NBA. The Suns are not 211 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: a good matchup for the Lakers in a bunch of 212 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: different ways. They The big fundamental thing that makes it 213 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 1: really difficult for the Suns to guard this version of 214 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: this Lakers team is they don't feel comfortable switching with 215 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: their fives with their centers. That puts you in a 216 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: really tough spot dealing with Luka Doncic in pick and roll. 217 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: We've talked about this a while. JJ Reddick has mentioned 218 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: it in the postgame presser, like running drop coverage against 219 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: Luka Doncic is death. And I look at that as like, 220 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: you know, drop coverage can mean a lot of different things, 221 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: but basically all that means is anytime you're chasing Luca 222 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: over the top of the screen and the big man 223 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: is waiting on the other side, either up at the 224 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: level and what they call a high drop or further 225 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: back and what they call a deep drop. That sort 226 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: of coverage makes for these really easy reads for Luca 227 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: that he's been immediately great at in a Lakers jersey. 228 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: What's been interesting is like they've struggled a little bit 229 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: against switching for a lot of different reasons. Luca wasn't 230 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: in shape for a lot of those tough switching teams 231 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,080 Speaker 1: that they faced earlier in that stretch, and as a team, 232 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: they haven't shot the three ball well in large part 233 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: because they're playing super super hard on the defensive end 234 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: of the floor and adjusting to the new types of 235 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: three point looks that they're getting as part of the 236 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: Luka Doncic offense. And so their offense, even in the wins, 237 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: has sputtered at times against teams that can switch with 238 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: their five man. But again with this Phoenix Suns team 239 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: with Nick Richards, with Mason Plumley, they're just not doing 240 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 1: a lot of switching with the five men, and so 241 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: that just allows Luca to play read and react basketball 242 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,719 Speaker 1: with baked, durable penetration. And we've got over this a 243 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: million times, but it's a simple set of reeds. If 244 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: the lowman and the screen defender stay back, Luca gets 245 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,080 Speaker 1: to just work his way into the lane until he 246 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: can take a little floater off the glass. If the 247 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: big steps up, it creates a simple read behind it 248 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: with the lowman. If the lowman steps over and tags 249 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: the roller, he's skipping it to the weak side. If 250 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: he doesn't tag the roller, then he can hit the 251 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: hit Jackson Hayes runnerneath the basket. That was the big 252 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 1: thing that Phoenix kept messing up in this game. They 253 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: were running a good mix of high and low drop 254 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:36,679 Speaker 1: and a lot of high drop early in the game, 255 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: and they weren't tagging Jackson Hayes. And part of this is, 256 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: like I've been talking a lot about how the Suns 257 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,319 Speaker 1: lately look to me like a team that is basically 258 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: quit trying to be the best basketball team they can be, 259 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: in large part because they know that their best isn't 260 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: good enough to beat the best teams in the league. 261 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: And so there were a lot of weak side possessions 262 00:12:56,679 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: with Bradley Beale, Devin Booker, and KD all three of 263 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: them where they just didn't bother to tag Jackson Hayes, 264 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:05,680 Speaker 1: or some really sloppy tags. I saw both Devin Booker 265 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: and Bradley Beal have tags where they just kind of 266 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: like ran up to Jackson. So what you're supposed to 267 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: do on a tag if they come up to the 268 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: level of the screen and Jackson Hayes is rolling hard 269 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: to the rim, your jobs, the low man is to 270 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,959 Speaker 1: literally get between the rollman and the rim and hit 271 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: him so that he can't throw the lob up to 272 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: the basket. He has to post and usually some teams 273 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: will counter that by posting there or by skipping the 274 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: ball to the weak side. Right, You've got to literally 275 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: put your body on the line as a small against 276 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,960 Speaker 1: a rolling big. It's a hard job, and the Sons 277 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: just weren't really interested in doing it last night, and 278 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: so you'd see them kind of like run over to 279 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 1: Jackson and like put their hands on him, but they're 280 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: not really doing anything to make him feel uncomfortable, and 281 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: he's just catching and finishing. Here's an easy little stat 282 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: to demonstrate that for you. He had nineteen points. Jackson 283 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 1: Hayes nineteen points in this game, seventeen of which were 284 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: on cuts and rolls. He has had nineteen points twice 285 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: so far with Luca. He had nineteen points one time 286 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: total in the entirety of the rest of his Lakers 287 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: ten years. And that goes to show you the benefit 288 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: of Jackson Hayes in the system. I have been talking 289 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: a lot about this concept lately, but the idea of 290 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: your value as a basketball player is kind of unique 291 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 1: to the system that you're in, Right Like, there are 292 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: guys that are deeply valuable in a certain system that 293 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: would be less valuable in another system. Whether it's like 294 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon in Orlando as like a swing forward star 295 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: type of player looks really underqualified for that job, but 296 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: you put him in Denver where he can operate on 297 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: the back line because their center kind of inverts their spacing, 298 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, he becomes immensely valuable in that 299 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: type of role. Right Like, everybody's value is unique to 300 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: their individual system, and Jackson Hayes, specifically, when Luka Doncic 301 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: is on the Lakers, is immensely valuable because Luca is 302 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: one of the best passers in the league at making 303 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: team pay by hitting a vertical spacer. And I mean 304 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: there were a lot of issues that have gone wrong 305 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: for the Lakers in the four game losing streak, most 306 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: of which have come down to injuries. I mean, you're down, 307 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: You're you're starting front court. Literally, if you're down Lebron, 308 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: Ruey and Jackson, it's such a difficult thing to overcome. 309 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: But it's funny to say Jackson Hayes is so valuable 310 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: because it felt so different in previous iterations of the Lakers, 311 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: But on this version of the Lakers, Jackson Hayes is 312 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: incredibly valuable to this offense because he is the guy 313 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: that allows them to function in four out one in spacing. 314 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: I've talked a lot about this concept when you're when 315 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: you're running a lot of motion, ball flowing side to side, 316 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: everyone's involved in the action. It's like a five out 317 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: spacing concept. Right. You got ball handlers on the wings, 318 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: guys in the corner, and then a big man at 319 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: the top of the key whos functioning is like this, 320 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: passing folkrum, screening folkrum out at the top of the key. 321 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: This Lakers team is very much going back to the 322 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: old version of their offense, way back when they were 323 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: the West Conference Finals team in twenty twenty three where 324 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 1: it's like we're spreading the floor running pick and roll 325 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: like it's a lot of that sort of thing. And 326 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: in those situations you don't want five out spacing because 327 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: in five out spacing, when the gaps on the perimeter 328 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 1: shrink to get pretty small and it gets harder to 329 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,560 Speaker 1: drive as defenders are able to gap into driving lanes 330 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 1: and stuff like that. And so the way you prefer 331 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 1: to set up your spacing when you're more of a 332 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: matchup attacking, spread, pick and roll type of team is 333 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: four out one in spacing, and once your shooters in 334 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: the corner, you got a shooter on the wing, and 335 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: you're basically occupying either the dunker spot with a dunker 336 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: or a screen and roll threat where the roller is 337 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: occupying that spot when he rolls to the basket. And 338 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: so guys like Jemison, guys like Jared Vanderbuilt, even Christian 339 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: KloCo he botched two lobs last night in the first half, 340 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: where it's just the easy dunks that he's struggling to 341 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: make because he's got a little bit of an issue 342 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: catching and finishing. Sometimes you can see just how incredibly 343 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: valuable Jackson Hayes is to the Lakers as a vertical 344 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: spacer in this verse of the team. They did a 345 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: lot of damage on that Sun's back line in this game, 346 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 1: and after in the early third quarter, they generated yet 347 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 1: another easy lob dunk for Jackson Hayes, kind of like 348 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: a behind the back lob, a ridiculous pass from Luca, 349 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: and from that point forward, the Sun's basically just decided 350 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:18,680 Speaker 1: to blitz him and double team him all over the floor, 351 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: and so the Lakers were able to play with an 352 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: advantage and they were able to stiff arm the Suns. 353 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 1: The rest of the way. The Suns fought back. They've 354 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: been resilient. This has been a consistent theme for the 355 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: Suns in the last month, is like they'll get off 356 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,639 Speaker 1: to an ugly start and then rather than get humiliated, 357 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: they'll like suddenly start competing really hard towards the end 358 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: of the game. And it's the U Lakers fans are 359 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: familiar with this concept from last year. It's the fake 360 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: comeback concept, right, because that Laker team used to have 361 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: a very similar personality last year. But KD had seventeen 362 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: points in the second half and they kind of battled 363 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:52,919 Speaker 1: a little bit, but they never got any closer than 364 00:17:52,960 --> 00:18:09,439 Speaker 1: eight the rest of the way, How do you perceive 365 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: Steph Curry's two finals that he won eight that he 366 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: won with Kevin Durant on the roster. Seems to me 367 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: the larger NBA fan base and analysts write them off 368 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: because Steph didn't win finals MVP, although he played at 369 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: an extremely high level. How did they factor into his legacy? 370 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: In your view, this is a super complex and loaded question. 371 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: I don't think anybody cares necessarily that he didn't win 372 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 1: finals MVP. I've seen like some lowbrow stuff, like just 373 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 1: like trolls kind of focusing on that sort of thing. 374 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: I do think that there's some reality to the basic 375 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: fact that every NBA championship has a different level of 376 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: resonance with people. This goes like, let's just go back 377 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: through through recent NBA history, Like there's not a lot 378 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,680 Speaker 1: of people that are profoundly moved by the twenty twenty 379 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: four Celtics, who have five players who catch over thirty 380 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 1: million dollars a year on the open market, beating the 381 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: and the injury ravage Pacers and the injury ravaged Calves 382 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: along the way to winning a title against a good 383 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: Western Conference team, but a team, a Western Conference team 384 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: that nobody thought was the best Western Conference team last year. 385 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,719 Speaker 1: Like that title still a title. They're not gonna get 386 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: a lot of casual fans that are like, oh, my goodness, 387 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: this is the most impressive thing anyone's ever done. Same 388 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: sort of thing goes with the Denver Nuggets. If you 389 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: look through like they were considered one of the better 390 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: teams in the league, but they faced a lot of 391 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,440 Speaker 1: like semi limited teams along the way, and then they 392 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,399 Speaker 1: didn't have to face the team out of the Eastern 393 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 1: Conference that everybody feared, which was the Boston Celtics or 394 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Bucks. And so it has a certain amount 395 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,120 Speaker 1: of like just a little bit of a weird kind 396 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: of like public perception of that title twenty twenty two, 397 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,880 Speaker 1: when Steph Curry beat that Celtics team and that team 398 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: didn't have a secondary star, Like, of all of the 399 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: championships Steph won, that is by far the most resident 400 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: That is the championship that when you look back, like, 401 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,360 Speaker 1: that's the one that's unassailable. That's the one that even 402 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: the people that don't like Steph that much are like, 403 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,360 Speaker 1: holy shit, that was crazy, Like down two to one 404 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:10,120 Speaker 1: on the road in Boston, hitting all those crazy, insane 405 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: shots he did to drop a forty piece to win 406 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: the title, Like that was crazy, right, Like even I 407 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 1: could say the same thing in reverse about Lebron, Like 408 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:23,360 Speaker 1: Lebron's twenty twenty title when he won with Anthony Davis, 409 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,399 Speaker 1: that title is the least resonant of the four that 410 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: Lebron won. If you go back to twenty sixteen, that 411 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,360 Speaker 1: was Lebron's title. That was similar to the Steph one 412 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three, where it's like that's unassailable, you 413 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,919 Speaker 1: can't shit on that. That is the accomplishment, that is 414 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,880 Speaker 1: the defining moment of Lebron's career. That twenty twenty title 415 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: is still championship. It still counts in the leisure but 416 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: it's not the one that's going to resonate for the 417 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: length of time that we talked about Lebron James the 418 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 1: way that twenty sixteen title does, or the twenty thirteen 419 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: when they're down three to two in the finals and 420 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: they have to go to seven games in the Eastern 421 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 1: Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, those resonate differently with Steph. 422 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: As you look back to the twenty seventeen finals here's 423 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,160 Speaker 1: the simplest way that I could put it to you, guys. 424 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,119 Speaker 1: In twenty seventeen, before the season, and in twenty eighteen 425 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: before the season, the Warriors were so favored over the 426 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:25,400 Speaker 1: field that before the season started, so in early October, 427 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: the sports books had them as a negative odds favorite 428 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: to win the title, meaning if you bet a dollar 429 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: in October for the Warriors to win the title, you 430 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: were gonna win less than a dollar. That is how 431 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: clearly more talented that team was than anyone else in 432 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: the league. Doesn't mean they're not champions, doesn't mean those 433 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: titles don't count, but yeah, like think about what think 434 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: about a bet you've placed recently on DraftKings where you 435 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: receive negative odds, and like, think about how you expected 436 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,439 Speaker 1: that team to win, or you expected that player to 437 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,719 Speaker 1: hit those points, rebounds, assists, score a touchdown, whatever it was, 438 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 1: you expected it with the negative odds. That's how everyone 439 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:15,639 Speaker 1: felt about those Warriors teams before we even started playing basketball. 440 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: So at a certain point, I do think it's worth 441 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: at least acknowledging that those titles carry a different level 442 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: of weight in the court of public opinion, But it 443 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: doesn't change the fact that at the time, I still 444 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: believed Steph was one of the greatest players in NBA history, 445 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: who was more than good enough to be the best 446 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: player in a championship team, thus a champion and should 447 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: be respected as such. So on and so forth for KD. 448 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,640 Speaker 1: Like to me, I didn't need to see KD go 449 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,479 Speaker 1: to the Warriors in twenty seventeen to know that he 450 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,280 Speaker 1: could be a champion. He was playing with Russell Westbrook, 451 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: who was like, you know, like a kind of a 452 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: hectic basketball player that made a lot of big mistakes 453 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: in big spots, and his team didn't have a lot 454 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: of offensive talent around him, was very big, bruising type team. 455 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: I'm not trying to say that, you know, KD doesn't 456 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 1: share some blame for the failures of the Thunder beforehand. 457 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: But I knew in twenty fourteen that KD was good 458 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,200 Speaker 1: enough to be a champion and thus a championship level player. 459 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,120 Speaker 1: He just hadn't done it yet, And so like, that's 460 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: the thing. It shouldn't take us seeing Steph in twenty 461 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: twenty four or twenty twenty two winning a title against 462 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: long odds for us to acknowledge that he's a champion. 463 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,719 Speaker 1: It shouldn't take Lebron winning a title in twenty sixteen 464 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 1: against long odds for us to acknowledge that he's a champion, 465 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: type of that type of all time great. But it's 466 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: just kind of unfortunately the way that it works in 467 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,719 Speaker 1: the court of public opinion. To put it simply, just 468 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: like anytime you watch anybody do everything or anything, the 469 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,199 Speaker 1: degree of difficulty matters and how impressed you are. I 470 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: watched John Mayer once at the Sphere play an entire 471 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: two shows missing his index finger on his fretting hand, 472 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,120 Speaker 1: and that was far more impressive than anything I've ever 473 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: seen him do because of the degree of difflty it is. 474 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:03,119 Speaker 1: It is just a natural part of the way that 475 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,199 Speaker 1: we process information. So yeah, like to me, they were 476 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: champions championships to me, they you know, kind of add 477 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,400 Speaker 1: to the story of Steph Curry's career. But like when 478 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: someone asks me to explain to them, tell me about 479 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: Steph Curry twenty years from now, Tell me about Steph Curry, 480 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: tell me about why he was as good as he was, 481 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,479 Speaker 1: tell me about his greatest accomplishments. I'm probably not going 482 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: to talk a ton about twenty seventeen in twenty eighteen 483 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,199 Speaker 1: because there there was very little in the way of 484 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,920 Speaker 1: adversity in those seasons. Like I've said this before on 485 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: the record, everyone says, oh, if Chris Paul didn't get hurt, 486 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,360 Speaker 1: they might have lost in twenty eighteen. I don't feel 487 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: that way. I think that the Warriors and must win 488 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:45,880 Speaker 1: games in Game six and Game seven would have got 489 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: it done. I think that lineup that Steph kd Klay 490 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 1: Thompson at the peak of his powers, Draymond Green, best 491 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,360 Speaker 1: defensive player in the league, Andre Gudala is still good 492 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: and mobile at that point. That was the best five 493 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: man lineup that has ever been constructed on a normal 494 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: basketball team, not counting like All Star teams or Team USA. 495 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: And so that certainly is going to play a role 496 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: in their ability to win a championship. Next question, why 497 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,159 Speaker 1: can't the Mavericks just stop? It's embarrassing talking about the 498 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 1: Patrick Dumont interview that was released the other day. So 499 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,359 Speaker 1: the Patrick Dumont interview, you guys saw that when he 500 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: gave that long spiel. There's a bunch of really problematic 501 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 1: stuff in that interview. There's one where he was like, yeah, 502 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: I have you running the MAVs as like a family operation. 503 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,680 Speaker 1: It's something I do with my wife and kids. Immediately, 504 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,200 Speaker 1: I'm like, boom, you're setting yourself up for failure because 505 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: it's like like that, I've seen this. This happens a 506 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 1: lot more in the NBA than you think. This is 507 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: why it's so ridiculous that everyone's hyper critical of Lebron 508 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,919 Speaker 1: forgetting his kid a end of the bench spot on 509 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Lakers. Is like, there are many franchises 510 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,440 Speaker 1: around the league that are rampant with nepotism, like rampant 511 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: with it. There are front offices that I won't get 512 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,440 Speaker 1: into it, but there are multiple front offices where it's 513 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: like a known commodity around the league that they let 514 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: incompetent people make decisions because they're related to the owners. 515 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 1: Like it is a problem around the entire league. But 516 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:09,479 Speaker 1: when I saw that from Patrick Demona, I was like, dude, like, 517 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: you're not supposed to say the quiet part out loud, 518 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,600 Speaker 1: Like I let my wife and kids and my mother 519 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: in law make these big picture decisions about our basketball team. 520 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: That's just foolishness. Let basketball experts who have dedicated their 521 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: life to understanding the game of basketball make your basketball decisions. 522 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:27,879 Speaker 1: If you're not interested in doing that, you're not a 523 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: serious team. The second piece of it was that long 524 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,160 Speaker 1: drawn out expression of why they traded Luca. And there 525 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: wasn't a ton of substance offered in there, but one 526 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,600 Speaker 1: of the big things that he kept harping on was 527 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 1: the idea that they weren't close. You know, we felt 528 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,679 Speaker 1: like we weren't close in the finals, and then we 529 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: get into the regular season and all these other teams 530 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,200 Speaker 1: are better and blah blah, blah blah. And the part 531 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: that bothered me about that is, you guys, remember how 532 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: I was talking about the Mavericks in the early part 533 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,119 Speaker 1: of the season. I viewed them as the most talented 534 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,479 Speaker 1: roster in the Western Conference overall when Luca was healthy, 535 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: Like when I looked at that roster as a roster 536 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,360 Speaker 1: that can cause some serious problems. When Luca was healthy, 537 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: they were competitive all year without Luca. And so it's 538 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: one of those things where like any take he had, 539 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: as it pertains to oh, the rest of the league 540 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: got better. You added Klay Thompson, you added Naji Marshall, 541 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 1: you brought in a bunch of ball handling, You addressed 542 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: some specific problems that you had last year. PJ. Washington 543 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:32,920 Speaker 1: was shooting better on above the break threes after being 544 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: terrible on him last year in the postseason, like a 545 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:40,399 Speaker 1: lot of specific things were tilting towards this is gonna 546 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: work when Luca comes back, and so like, here's the thing, 547 00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:48,400 Speaker 1: there is no case for trading Luca the way they did. 548 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:50,960 Speaker 1: So what these people need to do is get the 549 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 1: hell out of the media and just go. If you 550 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: have some ulterior motive, whether it's moving the team to 551 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: a different city or maybe you just hate Luca as 552 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:07,959 Speaker 1: a personal beef, whatever the issue is, stop talking about it. 553 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 1: Because when you talk about it, you guys just sound 554 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: like imbeciles, every single one of you. There's no good take. 555 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: There's no rationale that holds up for shipping off a 556 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: twenty five year old prospect who's already one of the 557 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: greatest players in the history of the league in that 558 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: span of his career and who continued to trend forward. 559 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 1: It was completely acidine. There's no way around it. And honestly, 560 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: I just feel really bad for MAVs fans, and I'm 561 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:33,639 Speaker 1: with you, guys, why can't the Mavericks just stop? I 562 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: agree they need to just stop. What's done is done. 563 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: Stop the media tour. You don't sound savvy explaining to 564 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:41,719 Speaker 1: everybody how you run your team and why you got 565 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: rid of Luca. You look like an imbecile the volume so, guys, 566 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,640 Speaker 1: as always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting 567 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 1: OOPS tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us 568 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 1: if you guys would take a second and leave a 569 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 1: rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys 570 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: supporting us, but if you could take a minute to 571 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: do that, I'd really appreciate it.