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Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight, here at

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Speaker 1: the Volume, Happy Monday, everybody. Round two coverage of the

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Speaker 1: NBA Playoffs. Here at Hoops Tonight is brought to you

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Speaker 1: by Chase Freedom Unlimited. How do you cash back? All right?

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Speaker 1: This series that we all were hoping for, the one

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Speaker 1: that's going to end the basketball world as we know

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Speaker 1: it and cause the Internet to go up in flames

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Speaker 1: all at once, Lakers versus Warriors, We're gonna do a

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Speaker 1: series preview that hits it from a bunch of different angles.

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Speaker 1: Do you guys know the drill? Before we get started,

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Speaker 1: Subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any

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Speaker 1: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter and underscore

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Speaker 1: Jason LT so you guys don't miss any sho announcements.

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Speaker 1: And if, for whatever reason, you guys miss one of

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Speaker 1: these videos and you can't get back over to YouTube

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Speaker 1: to finish, don't forget. You can find them wherever you

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Speaker 1: get your podcasts. Under Hoops Tonight, all right, let's talk

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Speaker 1: some basketball. So before we get into our our traditional

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Speaker 1: kind of series preview structure where I go over like

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Speaker 1: kind of overarching notes and then we hit some key matchups.

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Speaker 1: And then I give a pick I want to. I

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Speaker 1: have a little bit of a rant that I want

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Speaker 1: to do surrounding the some of the narratives that are

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Speaker 1: going to be involved in this series. So one of

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Speaker 1: the most discouraging things to me as a basketball fan

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Speaker 1: with the way that the media has covered the game.

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Speaker 1: And it's not just media. A lot of it has

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Speaker 1: to do with just social media and the way people

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Speaker 1: behave on Twitter and other social media apps. There's a

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Speaker 1: stand culture that is taking over. It's an obsession with

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Speaker 1: players to the point of reverence that goes to the

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Speaker 1: point where it actually, I think does a disservice to

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Speaker 1: the game of basketball. So, for instance, we are going

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Speaker 1: to get the two largest fan bases in the NBA

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Speaker 1: pitted against each other in this particular series. And now

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Speaker 1: I'm not talking about Lakers versus Warriors. I'm talking about

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Speaker 1: stepf fans versus Lebron fans, and that's going to be

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Speaker 1: the narrative direction that this series goes in. And I

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Speaker 1: don't really like that because I'll give you an example.

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Speaker 1: So Lebron James is my favorite player. He's the reason

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Speaker 1: why I got into the game of basketball. I was

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Speaker 1: raised on baseball and football happened across Lebron James on

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Speaker 1: the television, and my entire life changed as a result

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Speaker 1: because I fell in love with the game. It ended

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Speaker 1: up being what paid for my schooling and ended up

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Speaker 1: being what I do for a living. And so Lebron

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Speaker 1: is my favorite player. For a lot of Lebron fans,

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Speaker 1: they despise Steph Curry and everything he stands for because

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Speaker 1: he represents some kind of threat to Lebron and his

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Speaker 1: legacy and things along those lines. I think that is

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Speaker 1: so juvenile and stupid. Like Steph is my second favorite player.

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Speaker 1: He's an incredible basketball player. If you love the game

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Speaker 1: of basketball, you should watch Steph and enjoy it, and

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Speaker 1: you should watch Lebron and enjoy it if you dislike

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Speaker 1: watching some of the best basketball players in the world.

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Speaker 1: And I get it when it's certain things that have

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Speaker 1: nothing to do with their performance, Like I get irritated

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Speaker 1: sometimes by you know, foul grifting and things along the lines.

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Speaker 1: But I can get on that to a certain extent

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Speaker 1: against a lot of players. Even Lebron and Steph, even

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Speaker 1: though they're way better than most, both of them tend

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Speaker 1: to flop from time to time to try to draw fouls.

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Speaker 1: I can get annoyed by stuff like that, but when

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Speaker 1: it comes to the skill sets and the way that

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Speaker 1: they impact winning, all of these guys at the top

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Speaker 1: of the league are incredible and you should appreciate certain

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Speaker 1: things about their game if you love the game of basketball.

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Speaker 1: And so to me, like, it's not about Lebron versus Steph.

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Speaker 1: It's about the Lakers versus the Warriors. And there are

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Speaker 1: a bunch of different basketball dynamics that are taking place,

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Speaker 1: and I hope we don't miss all of that beautiful

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Speaker 1: basketball for the sake of a stupid narrative debate that

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Speaker 1: doesn't make any sense because one of the dudes is

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Speaker 1: thirty eight and the other is thirty five. And by

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Speaker 1: the way, it's over, Steph is the best player in

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Speaker 1: the league. Now, he's just better than Lebron. Now has

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Speaker 1: nothing to do with Lebron. Lebron's just old. He's thirty eight.

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Speaker 1: And I have so many Lebron fans and they'll be like, Oh,

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Speaker 1: he's not old, he's just injured. His foot is hurt. Huh.

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Speaker 1: That's interesting. I wonder if they're related. Is it possible

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Speaker 1: that the fact that he's played more minutes than any

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Speaker 1: basketball player to ever touch an NBA court not named

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Speaker 1: Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Maybe that has something to do with

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Speaker 1: the fact that when he did a regular jump stop

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Speaker 1: in the third quarter after three full days rest, his

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Speaker 1: foot popped like he's old. It's not about Lebron versus Steph.

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Speaker 1: It's the Lakers versus the Warriors. And I promise you,

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Speaker 1: for the Steph fans who would take victory laps if

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Speaker 1: Lebron lost, you wouldn't be in the same position if

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Speaker 1: Steph was thirty eight and Lebron was thirty five, Because

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Speaker 1: Lebron won a Finals MVP when he was thirty five,

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Speaker 1: he was at a completely different level than where he's

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Speaker 1: at right now. And for you Lebron fans, if Lebron

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Speaker 1: were to lose, you'd be just as upset if they

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Speaker 1: were taking victory laps. So let's try to set the

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Speaker 1: narratives aside. Let's try to be grown ups, and let's

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Speaker 1: try to appreciate what should be an extremely interesting series

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Speaker 1: of basketball with lots of players that have great resumes

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Speaker 1: and legacies that go beyond Lebron, James and Steph. And

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Speaker 1: even as we focus on the Lebron James and Steph

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Speaker 1: element of this series. They're the two greatest players of

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Speaker 1: this era. They are two of the five greatest players

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Speaker 1: of all time. I Colin Coward did a really interesting

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Speaker 1: rant about Steph Curry and Magic Johnson. I would agree.

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Speaker 1: I think Steph has surpassed Magic and Larry at this point.

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Speaker 1: I would put Lebron, MJ somewhere one. Two. I still

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Speaker 1: have MJ one, Lebron two. I put Kobe three, and

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Speaker 1: then I'd put Steph four. And you guys know, I

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Speaker 1: don't really keep centers on the same list as my

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Speaker 1: perimeter players. So I think Steph is the fourth best

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Speaker 1: perimeter player of all time and Lebron is no lower

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Speaker 1: than the second best perimeter player of all time. These

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Speaker 1: two guys, in my opinion, their legacies are completely stamped,

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Speaker 1: and so the outcome of this series can only serve

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Speaker 1: to improve one of those two guys legacies and do

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Speaker 1: nothing in terms of damage to either. And to be clear,

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Speaker 1: it's possible that Steph could be the best player in

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Speaker 1: the series and still lose. You know how, That's how

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Speaker 1: basketball games work. They're five on five with benches and

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Speaker 1: coaches and home court advantage. And shot variants and all

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Speaker 1: these different things that can go a bunch of different directions.

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Speaker 1: So I'd like to keep it, at least for the

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Speaker 1: sake of this show focused on the basketball as much

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Speaker 1: as possible. All Right, I am off my soapbucks. Let's

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Speaker 1: get into the series notes. So we had a very

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Speaker 1: successful first round. We picked seven of the eight first

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Speaker 1: round series correctly, not exactly by games, but we picked

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Speaker 1: the outcomes of the series correctly. And of course the

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Speaker 1: one we miss is that stupid Miami Heat upset of

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Speaker 1: the Bucks where Giannis missed three of the games. But

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Speaker 1: what does that mean. It just means I got lucky,

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Speaker 1: and chances are will be wrong a lot at some

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Speaker 1: point later on in this postseason. That said, I am

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Speaker 1: very pleased with how we kind of set up the

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Speaker 1: first round. We had some good reads on some specific

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Speaker 1: series and picked a couple of good upsets. As of

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Speaker 1: right now, the Warriors are minus one fifty eight favorites

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Speaker 1: in on FanDuel. That makes sense to me. Both teams

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Speaker 1: had impressive upset wins in the first round. Both teams

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Speaker 1: are pretty evenly matched, but the Warriors are the defending

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Speaker 1: champions and they have home court advantage, and they have

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Speaker 1: the best player in the series, so I think it

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Speaker 1: makes sense to make the Warriors of a discernible but

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Speaker 1: slight favorite. At minus one fifty eight. The Lakers won

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Speaker 1: the season series three to one. They lost on opening

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Speaker 1: night when it was that whole other team with Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook and a bunch of guards. They went three to

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Speaker 1: zero against Golden State post deadline, but important players missed

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Speaker 1: every game. On February eleventh, we had no Lebron or Steph,

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Speaker 1: on February twenty third, we had no Steph or Andrew Wiggins,

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Speaker 1: and on March fifth, we had no Lebron or Andrew Wiggins.

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Speaker 1: But we did learn enough to at least have a

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Speaker 1: general idea of the game plans that both teams are

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Speaker 1: going to employ. So for our major matchups. This is

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Speaker 1: gonna be three points brought to you by Chase Freedom Unlimited.

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna target three major matchups in this series, so

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Speaker 1: number one. Can Golden State handle the Los Angeles Lakers?

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Speaker 1: Size advantage matchups are pretty straightforward. I expect Kevon Looney

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Speaker 1: to guard Anthony Davis and to be extremely physical. I

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Speaker 1: actually like this matchup for Anthony Davis on the offensive

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Speaker 1: end of the floor when AD's looking to score. I

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Speaker 1: think he's got enough physical advantages over Loonie, and I've

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Speaker 1: seen this manifest on film to where he's in good shape.

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Speaker 1: Where I think the Looney matchup can be really tough

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Speaker 1: on AD is on the other end of the floor,

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Speaker 1: when AD's busy doing all this rim protection stuff and

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Speaker 1: Kevon Looney is crashing the offensive glass. You guys saw

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Speaker 1: Kevon Looney be a massive swing factor in the Sacramento

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Speaker 1: King series with the work that he did on the

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Speaker 1: offensive glass. So Looney AD like that matchup for AD

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Speaker 1: on the offensive end, I'm a little concerned about it.

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Speaker 1: On the defensive end. I do think Andrew Wiggins will

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Speaker 1: guard Lebron goes without saying and try to ball pressure

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Speaker 1: him as much as possible. They usually have Andrew pick

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Speaker 1: him up, you know, three quarter court and just try

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Speaker 1: to make Lebron wear out his legs as he's working

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Speaker 1: the ball up the floor. I think a huge aspect

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Speaker 1: in this particular series will Lebron's ability to weaponize his

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Speaker 1: size against Andrew Wiggins. I think if he goes with

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Speaker 1: the Luka Doncic approach and tries to navigate everything with

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Speaker 1: a live dribble from thirty feet. I think Andrew Wiggins,

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Speaker 1: in his physical ball pressure is gonna wear Lebron out,

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Speaker 1: and the quickness issue is gonna be a problem, and

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Speaker 1: I think it's gonna go poorly for Lebron. So I

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Speaker 1: think it's important for Lebron to give the basketball up,

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Speaker 1: let Austin and d Lo navigate the ball pressure to

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Speaker 1: save his legs. And I think Lebron needs to work

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Speaker 1: on Wiggins in the post as much as possible. Dylan

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Speaker 1: Brooks has a lower center of gravity than Andrew Wiggins,

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Speaker 1: so he's a different type of defender as a big

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Speaker 1: part of why he's given tons of people struggles all

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Speaker 1: series long. Dylan Brooks has given Steph struggles, He's given

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Speaker 1: Lebron struggles. He's given every single star player that he's

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Speaker 1: run into this year, except for maybe Kyrie Irving, legitimate

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Speaker 1: struggles during the regular season. Dylan Brooks is like that.

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins is another one of those guys. He's on

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Speaker 1: that tier with Jason Tatum and Jade mc daniels and

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Speaker 1: all those big wings that can guard multiple positions. Andrew

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Speaker 1: Wiggins is a top tier defender on that list. But

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Speaker 1: He's a little bit more upright, a better He's a

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Speaker 1: million times better athlete than Dylan Brooks. He's taller, longer arms,

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Speaker 1: but his center of gravity is just a little bit taller.

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Speaker 1: So Lebron's advantage against Stillan brook or excuse me, against

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins, in my opinion, is going to be in

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Speaker 1: the post. And so a significant factor in this series

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Speaker 1: will be how much Lebron seeds ball handling responsibilities to

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Speaker 1: the other Laker guards and works down to the block

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Speaker 1: so he can use his physicality on Andrew Wiggins. Another

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Speaker 1: huge matchup in this series Klay Thompson versus Austin Reeves.

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Speaker 1: I think they're both going to guard each other. This

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Speaker 1: is a matchup that Austin dominated in the three games

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Speaker 1: post deadline. So in three games post trade deadline, Austin

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Speaker 1: Reeves fourteen points per game on seven field goal attempts,

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Speaker 1: sixty five percent from the field and sixty three percent

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Speaker 1: from three with four assists per game. That was kind

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Speaker 1: of before he really stepped up his ball handling too.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't until the late portion of the season that

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Speaker 1: Austin started being more aggressive. He's more of like an

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Speaker 1: eighteen point per Game nine a guy now and he

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Speaker 1: is every bit is capable of going for twenty in

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Speaker 1: any given game as d'An angelo, Rustler, Lebron or Anthony Davis.

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Speaker 1: He's a guy that has become a volume initiator for

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Speaker 1: the Lakers, and even in the time since since these

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Speaker 1: earlier Warriors matchups. In February, Klay Thompson in the same

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Speaker 1: matchup three games post deadline twenty points per game on

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Speaker 1: nineteen field goal attempts, so only six more points on

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Speaker 1: twelve additional field goal attempts, thirty six percent from the

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Speaker 1: field and thirty two percent from three with just two

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Speaker 1: assists per game. Austin did a really nice job locking him,

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Speaker 1: trailing him over screens, doing a nice job hanging tight

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Speaker 1: on that tough step back jump shot that Clay goes to.

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Speaker 1: Austin flat out won that matchup to end the season.

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Speaker 1: In their three matchups, Clay is a better player, So

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Speaker 1: Clay has to find a way to win that matchup.

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Speaker 1: He should, He's the better player. He just has to

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Speaker 1: do so. They're like, I'm sorry, but like with with

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Speaker 1: what Steph has to contend with trying to match the

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Speaker 1: production of Lebron, James and Anthony Davis as Superstars, Klay

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Speaker 1: Thompson needs to soundly outplay Austin Reeves. So that's a

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Speaker 1: matchup that I'd keep an eye on over the course

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Speaker 1: of the series. Clay's the better player, he just needs

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Speaker 1: to hold it up in his play on the court.

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Speaker 1: I expect Steph to guard d'angela Russell is another kind

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Speaker 1: of sneaky important matchup because the Lakers in the first round,

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Speaker 1: they did a lot of stuff through their guards when

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Speaker 1: they realized that Lebron and Ad didn't have the same

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Speaker 1: types of matchups. It allowed them to work more off

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Speaker 1: ball and save their legs, be more impactful defensively, and

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Speaker 1: it just didn't make sense for Lebron and Ad to

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Speaker 1: try to bully these players that just had better physical

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Speaker 1: matchups with them than what the guards were dealing with.

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Speaker 1: Steph is a great defensive player who is more than

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Speaker 1: capable of giving d'angela Russell tons of problems. It's more

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Speaker 1: about wearing out his legs. D Lo running a ton

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Speaker 1: of action towards Steph can try to affect him physically

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Speaker 1: in a way that could manifest down the on the

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Speaker 1: other end of the floor in his shooting, but For

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Speaker 1: whatever that's worth, it didn't seem to matter much in

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Speaker 1: the King series. Indiangelo Russell's not in the same stratosphere.

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Speaker 1: But it's just a little tiny thing that the Lakers

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Speaker 1: can do to try to make things a little bit

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Speaker 1: harder on Steph. But this is where everything could come

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Speaker 1: crashing down for the Lakers. Draymond Green is gonna guard

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Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt. He's going to completely ignore him and aggressively

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Speaker 1: help everywhere else on the floor. This is something Golden

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Speaker 1: State has always liked to do, but they're almost exaggerative

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Speaker 1: with the way they handle it with non shooters. You

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Speaker 1: saw Draymond Green sitting back in the paint when Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook was navigating with a live dribble on the perimeter.

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Speaker 1: Draymond just doesn't care. He's going to ignore those non

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Speaker 1: shooters and fly around. There's a given a take there.

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Speaker 1: Vanderbilt is one of the Lakers' best defensive players. I

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Speaker 1: think he's gonna actually end up guarding Steph Curry for

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Speaker 1: a good chunk of this series. But at the end

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Speaker 1: of the day, like if having him out there and

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Speaker 1: Draymond Green roaming around destroys your offense. If the Warriors

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Speaker 1: can play Jared Vanderbilt off the court. Suddenly the level

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Speaker 1: of defensive personnel that the Lakers have becomes a problem,

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Speaker 1: because I think there's two guys on this entire roster

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Speaker 1: that can actually make Steph work. Similarly to the King series,

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Speaker 1: like Darren Fox had good stretches on Steph. Davion Mitchell

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Speaker 1: had good stretches on Steph. But those were the only

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Speaker 1: two guys. And if it was like Terrence Davis Barbecue Chicken,

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Speaker 1: if it was Malik Munk barbecue Chicken, you know what

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Speaker 1: I mean, Like Steph was killing everybody else on that roster.

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Speaker 1: That's kind of the way this Laker roster is. Like

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Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt is gonna be able to do an okay job,

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Speaker 1: Dennis Schroeder is gonna be able to do an okay job,

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Speaker 1: but everyone else. If Austin Reeves ends on Steph, that's

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Speaker 1: a problem. If D'Angelo Russell's on Steph, that's a problem.

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Speaker 1: Even Anthony Davis on switches. Just Steph is so good

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Speaker 1: at beating bigs off switches, off the dribbles. So like

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Speaker 1: a lot of it's gonna come down to at some point,

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Speaker 1: at any point in the series. Darvin Ham's gonna have

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Speaker 1: to when Steph is on the floor, have one of

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Speaker 1: Vanderbilt or Dennis Schroeder on the floor. And if the

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Speaker 1: Warriors can play Jared Vanderbilt off the floor as a

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Speaker 1: non offensive threat, then it becomes a Dennis Schroeder series.

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Speaker 1: If it's a Dennis Schroder series, now you have less

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Speaker 1: offensive skill on the floor because D'angela Russell probably can't

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Speaker 1: play it, and it just becomes an issue. So I'd

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Speaker 1: keep an eye on that Draymond Vanderbilt matchup. How much

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Speaker 1: damage Draymond can do, how well Lebron James and Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis and the Guards can make the Warriors pay for

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Speaker 1: ignoring Jared Vanderbilt. That's gonna be an interesting matchup to watch.

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Speaker 1: The Lakers have a lot of ways to attack. They

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Speaker 1: can attack with Lebron, Ad pick and roll, guard, Ad

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Speaker 1: pick and roll Guard, Lebron pick and roll, Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: and Lebron in the post. They run a lot of

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Speaker 1: like off ball action for Anthony Davis to get him

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Speaker 1: on the move. But none of that's gonna work if

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Speaker 1: Draymond Green, who is one of the best defensive players

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Speaker 1: in the history of the NBA and still still to

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Speaker 1: this day in the league is allowed to just mess

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Speaker 1: everything up off the ball, so that that's where that's

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Speaker 1: where I think the Lakers could go through some extended

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Speaker 1: slumps offensively. Is just having Draymond Green roam around and

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Speaker 1: don't be surprised if even if ruy Hotchi Mura comes in,

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Speaker 1: if you see Draymond Green help a lot even off

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Speaker 1: of ruy hot Chia Mura and basically or him to

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Speaker 1: shoot and see if he's up to the scale of

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Speaker 1: what this series is gonna be in terms of pressure.

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Speaker 1: Another thing to keep an eye on is Lebron James

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Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis's jump shooters. One of the ways you

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Speaker 1: can counter a team that is aggressively packing the paint

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Speaker 1: is by hitting shots over the top. Lebron James and

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis were extremely inconsistent as jump shooters in that

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Speaker 1: first round series. That could be a big problem. They don't.

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Speaker 1: I'll just put it this way. I'm I'm kind of

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Speaker 1: proceeding in this series as though Lebron James and Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis are still gonna be inconsistent as jump shooters. But

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Speaker 1: if both of them come in and knock down a

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Speaker 1: bunch of jump shots that can help them a lot.

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Speaker 1: I think Lebron in the post against Wiggins is another

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Speaker 1: is gonna have to be a bread and butter thing

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Speaker 1: because I think Lebron's better at beating double teams. So

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Speaker 1: Lebron you actually saw a little bit of this against Memphis,

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Speaker 1: but he's really good at posting and getting someone to

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Speaker 1: commit and then hitting Jared Vanderbilt as a cutter, so

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Speaker 1: I think you'll see I think Lebron in the post

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Speaker 1: is another great way to counter Draymond and help because

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Speaker 1: Lebron could try to bait him into certain situations and

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Speaker 1: try to get Vanderbilt open. But at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day, it's probably gonna have to be quite a

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Speaker 1: bit of guard ad pick and roll like they did

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Speaker 1: at the end of the Memphis series, just because they

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Speaker 1: have better matchups and getting those guys downhill to get

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Speaker 1: the Warriors in rotation will help Lebron and Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: find advantage situations. All right. Number two, our second matchup,

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Speaker 1: can the Laker guards defend the Golden State Guards. Here's

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Speaker 1: how I expect the Lakers to match up again. I

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Speaker 1: expect Vanderbilt to start on Steph Curry. He's good at

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Speaker 1: navigating screens. He's got quick feet. I really like him

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Speaker 1: against Stefan off ball situations. So as Golden State's running

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Speaker 1: like their motion offense, I think Vanderbilt is gonna do

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Speaker 1: a good job of chasing and applying back pressure and

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Speaker 1: all of those different things. Where I get a little

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Speaker 1: worried is in straight up ISO or in high pick

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Speaker 1: and roll, so Vanderbilt still has a high center of gravity,

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Speaker 1: kind of a similar thing we were talking about with

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Speaker 1: Wiggins on Lebron. Steph is going to be able to

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Speaker 1: get him to hop one way or the other and

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Speaker 1: then attack the gap that he creates in that opening.

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Speaker 1: And so I'm a little worried about Steph just dribbling

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Speaker 1: the ball off the floor and just beating Vanderbilt off

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Speaker 1: the dribble and having that be the way that Golden

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00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,920
Speaker 1: State starts their offense. But in screening actions, Vanderbilt's is

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Speaker 1: very good at navigating screens. Austin Reeves on Klay Thompson,

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Speaker 1: we talked about that earlier. I won't get into it again.

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Speaker 1: D'Angel Russell. I think they're gonna tuck him away on

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins and That's gonna be another key matchup for

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Speaker 1: the Warriors because Wiggins is great at attacking mismatches there.

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Speaker 1: D Lo's a little bigger than he looks, but he's

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Speaker 1: not as big as Andrew Wiggins, so that's gonna be

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Speaker 1: That's gonna be one of those key matchups where if

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Speaker 1: Wiggins can get to eighteen to twenty points a game,

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Speaker 1: just attacking D'Angelo Russell on random possessions, especially at the

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Speaker 1: end of the shot clock, I think that can help

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Speaker 1: a lot. I expect Lebron James on Draymond Green kind

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Speaker 1: of in a similar role, just roaming, and Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: on Kevon Looney. Now, before we get to the scheme element,

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Speaker 1: this is where I want to touch on the Looney

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Speaker 1: offensive rebounding piece. What happens is is if you can

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Speaker 1: just stay on Looney and box him out, you're gonna

385
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,720
Speaker 1: be fine, right, But what ends up happening is guys

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Speaker 1: get downhill because they're chasing the guards, are chasing the

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00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,000
Speaker 1: Golden State Guards over the top of screens, and as

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Speaker 1: someone's coming downhill, Anthony Davis has to step up to contest.

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00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:15,800
Speaker 1: Looney is so good as soon as Anthony Davis or

390
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Speaker 1: whoever that big is takes one step out of position

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Speaker 1: to contain a ball handler, Looney will just bury his

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Speaker 1: ass underneath the basket and get offensive rebounding position. And

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Speaker 1: so that's gonna be a huge part in this series,

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Speaker 1: is gang rebounding from the Lakers as a team, especially

395
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Speaker 1: around Looney, because Anthony Davis is gonna get pulled all

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Speaker 1: over creation trying to clean up messes in this Golden

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Speaker 1: State motion offense attack. Now, so we know what the

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Speaker 1: Warriors are gonna do, right, They're gonna they're gonna run

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Speaker 1: drop coverage. They're gonna chase over the top of screens.

400
00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,760
Speaker 1: They're gonna funnel to Looney, and Draymond's gonna help, right,

401
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,720
Speaker 1: Draymon's gonna completely ignore Vanderbilt. He's gonna help. That's gonna

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00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,359
Speaker 1: be their scheme. The Lakers scheme is gonna be a

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Speaker 1: little bit different. They're gonna have Lebron James and to

404
00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,440
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis constantly back at the basket as much as possible,

405
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,119
Speaker 1: ignoring Draymond and Kavon Looney. What they're gonna do with

406
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:09,359
Speaker 1: the guards is do what it's called top locking. So

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Speaker 1: if I'm guarding Steph Curry, and Steph's in the corner,

408
00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,520
Speaker 1: and you know it's a horn set. So Draymond Green's

409
00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:17,560
Speaker 1: at the elbow and he goes over to set a

410
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,159
Speaker 1: pin down on Steph Curry. Rather than locking and trailing,

411
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Speaker 1: which would mean positioning myself behind Steph and chasing him

412
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:26,960
Speaker 1: over the top of the screen, what the Lakers are

413
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,160
Speaker 1: gonna do is top lock. So they'll tell Jared Vanderbilt

414
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,719
Speaker 1: to position himself between Steph Curry and the screen and

415
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,760
Speaker 1: give up a backcut at the expense of preventing him

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Speaker 1: from coming off of the screen, with the expectation being

417
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,639
Speaker 1: that as he cuts back door, he's cutting into Lebron

418
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,000
Speaker 1: James and Anthony Davis at the rim. This is how

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00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,879
Speaker 1: the Lakers beat the Warriors three straight times at the

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Speaker 1: end of the season, top blocking and funneling Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: at the rim, cleaning up everything because he's the best

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Speaker 1: defensive player in the world when he's locked in. So

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Speaker 1: this is where I think it becomes a high pick

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Speaker 1: and r series. I think the Lakers are gonna be

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00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,640
Speaker 1: able to handle the Golden State motion offense pretty well

426
00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,680
Speaker 1: with that top lock in funnel scheme, sending everybody back

427
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,720
Speaker 1: to Anthony Davis and Lebron James at the basket. However,

428
00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:15,080
Speaker 1: when you just space the team out, let's let's let's

429
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:16,840
Speaker 1: take a look at a high pick and roll for

430
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,520
Speaker 1: Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Right, so I'm gonna have

431
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,320
Speaker 1: Kevon Looney kind of in the dunker spot, right, I'm

432
00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:28,000
Speaker 1: gonna have shooters spacing the floor. The Anthony Davis is

433
00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:33,240
Speaker 1: gonna be at the rim, and then they're gonna have Lebron,

434
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,040
Speaker 1: They're gonna have Draymond Green come up and set the screen,

435
00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,200
Speaker 1: or they're gonna have probably called They'll probably call Kevon

436
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:39,280
Speaker 1: Looney to set the screen because they want Anthony Davis

437
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,880
Speaker 1: to come up. Right. This is where this is where

438
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 1: it becomes an issue, because Anthony Davis has to come up.

439
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,760
Speaker 1: What did we see in the Celtics series with better

440
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,520
Speaker 1: guard defenders, by the way, that was Marcus Smart, Derek White,

441
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:55,480
Speaker 1: better guard defenders than these Laker guards. If you send

442
00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,639
Speaker 1: your guards over the top of screens on Steph Curry

443
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,520
Speaker 1: and he gets to play against drop coverage, he will

444
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 1: light your ass on fire, just as the Boston Celtics

445
00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,880
Speaker 1: and what happened in Game four. You need your big

446
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,240
Speaker 1: guys to be way up at the level of the screen.

447
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,000
Speaker 1: Now in the blender, when they can just lock and trail,

448
00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,919
Speaker 1: lock and trail or deny and force back cuts, Anthony

449
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,399
Speaker 1: Davis can stay at the basket more right, But if

450
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,760
Speaker 1: it's straight up high pick and roll and Steph can

451
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,840
Speaker 1: dance around with the basketball until he gets Jared Vanderbilt

452
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,159
Speaker 1: to commit to one direction, then Loony quick reverses the

453
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,879
Speaker 1: angle of the screen or whatever. Steph is going to

454
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,920
Speaker 1: get separation from those guys, It's guaranteed, and so at

455
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,680
Speaker 1: that point, Anthony Davis will have to show high. As

456
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,520
Speaker 1: soon as he shows high, that's when the basket will

457
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,879
Speaker 1: open up. If the Warriors allow Anthony Davis and Lebron

458
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,280
Speaker 1: James to hawk the basket all series long, there's a

459
00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:51,920
Speaker 1: decent chance that they'll lose. But if they can pull

460
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,880
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis away from the rim, that's when they're gonna

461
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,080
Speaker 1: get in that Golden State blender and start causing a

462
00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,200
Speaker 1: lot of problems. So I think this is a series

463
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: where they're gonna have to go heavy on Steph high

464
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 1: pick and roll so that Steph can beat Jared Vanderbilt

465
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,879
Speaker 1: and Dennis Schroeder by pinning them on the opposite sides

466
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 1: of screens, forcing Anthony Davis to come up. If he's

467
00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,479
Speaker 1: too far back, it's pull up jump shot city. If

468
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis comes up, he can split that pick and roll,

469
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,639
Speaker 1: beat him off the dribble, or hit the pocket pass,

470
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,040
Speaker 1: and now you're playing four on three in the back end.

471
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,880
Speaker 1: I think this is gonna be a huge Steph Curry

472
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,919
Speaker 1: high pick and roll series against this locked in Laker

473
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,679
Speaker 1: half court defense. A couple other things, Dennis Schroeder. How

474
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,480
Speaker 1: much are the Lakers gonna have to play Dennis Schroeder?

475
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:34,360
Speaker 1: Because if they have to play Dennis Schroeder, you either

476
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,119
Speaker 1: have to downsize to keep your offensive skill or the

477
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,680
Speaker 1: overall offensive skill of the lineup goes down because Dennis

478
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,080
Speaker 1: Schroeder is not the same type of shooter as someone

479
00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:46,200
Speaker 1: like D'Angelo Russell can ruey Hotcha Murra guard Andrew Wiggins.

480
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,000
Speaker 1: That's gonna be another key one, because I think their

481
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,720
Speaker 1: best lineup in terms of offense defense balance is to

482
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,480
Speaker 1: take Vanderbilt out to put Ruby Hatcha Mura in because

483
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,800
Speaker 1: he's a much better offensive player. But then you need

484
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,720
Speaker 1: someone to guard Steph, so you have to take D'Angelo

485
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,960
Speaker 1: Russell out and plug in Dewnroeder. So I think the

486
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 1: best Laker lineup will be Dennis with Austin and Rui,

487
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 1: Lebron James and Anthony Davis. But that only works if

488
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,960
Speaker 1: a wee hot to Mura can successfully guard Andrew Wiggins.

489
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,520
Speaker 1: Rui's another guy, high center of gravity, big and strong,

490
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 1: doesn't slide his feet super well. Andrew's quicker than him,

491
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:17,600
Speaker 1: so that could be a problem. Another thing to keep

492
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 1: an eye on his golden state going small doing things

493
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 1: like Draymond with Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole with Klay

494
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,600
Speaker 1: Thompson and Steph Curry. That's where it's gonna be critical

495
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 1: for Lebron James to play defense because Anthony Davis is

496
00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,199
Speaker 1: gonna be on Draymond, but Lebron's gonna have to follow

497
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,080
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins around, and Lebron typically likes to rest and

498
00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,840
Speaker 1: roam on defense, so that can be a problem. But

499
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,440
Speaker 1: I think both teams are uniquely equipped to cause both

500
00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:45,040
Speaker 1: teams problems. Between the Draymond roaming thing, between Loony being

501
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,280
Speaker 1: a physical matchup for ad Wiggins being one of the

502
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,080
Speaker 1: best perimeter defenders in the league, They're gonna stick the

503
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,840
Speaker 1: get the Lakers stuck in the mud sometimes. But with

504
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,480
Speaker 1: the Lakers, with their insane amount of rim protection and

505
00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,679
Speaker 1: with their ability to top lock and force into back cuts,

506
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:01,760
Speaker 1: it's not Sacramento Like. Look at the end of the

507
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,560
Speaker 1: Sacramento series. What happened in Game seven, Steph just beating

508
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 1: Terrence Davis off the dribble, just going to the rim,

509
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,320
Speaker 1: but there's no rim protection like. This is going to

510
00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,160
Speaker 1: be an entirely different type of series. The Lakers will

511
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 1: also cause the Warriors to have extended draughts as Steph

512
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,399
Speaker 1: and Klay struggle to get free on the perimeter and

513
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,800
Speaker 1: have to get downhill into a bunch of trees around

514
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,280
Speaker 1: the basket. So I expect both teams to have extended

515
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 1: defensive runs because of the damage they can do to

516
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,080
Speaker 1: the opposing offenses. All right, last matchup in our chase

517
00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,760
Speaker 1: three points, who will win the Battle of the Stars.

518
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:37,440
Speaker 1: This is where the series will be won and lost.

519
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,840
Speaker 1: In my opinion, I think the Lakers are the better

520
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,679
Speaker 1: defensive team. I think they're bigger and more athletic. I

521
00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 1: think Anthony Davis is playing better defense than anybody in

522
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,200
Speaker 1: the world right now. I think the Lakers are a

523
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 1: little bit deeper. But here's the thing. Steph Curry is

524
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 1: the best player in this series, and it matters because again,

525
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:56,840
Speaker 1: we talked about this all the time, but why do

526
00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: stars matter when everything bogs down and it's a rock

527
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,480
Speaker 1: fight and nothing is working. Your stars are the only

528
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,880
Speaker 1: guys that can create shots. Game four, Lakers Grizzlies, it's

529
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:11,320
Speaker 1: stuck in the mud, no one is playing well. Lebron

530
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,200
Speaker 1: James just overcomes it all and makes four big plays

531
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:17,280
Speaker 1: down the stretch, steals a loss from the jaw, steals

532
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 1: a win from the jaws of defeat, and closes the

533
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,480
Speaker 1: game in overtime. Like that's what a superstar can do.

534
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,000
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis in Game six, as a superstar, just utterly

535
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,119
Speaker 1: destroys the Memphis Grizzlies defensively in a game. That's what

536
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,480
Speaker 1: a superstar can do. Steph Curry Game seven on the

537
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,520
Speaker 1: road in Sacramento, drops a fifty piece because nobody on

538
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,160
Speaker 1: the floor can guard him. That's how superstars can determine

539
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,639
Speaker 1: the outcomes of series. They can transcend the scheme and

540
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,440
Speaker 1: impact the game in a way that is truly inevitable.

541
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,440
Speaker 1: But it's tricky because there's a difference. I just laid

542
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 1: out three superstar performances. Here's the difference. I know for

543
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,159
Speaker 1: a fact that's Steph is going to play to that level.

544
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,280
Speaker 1: He's going to be incredible, He's going to average thirty

545
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 1: plus efficiently, and he's generally gonna wreck havoc on the

546
00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:11,600
Speaker 1: Laker defense. That's a sure thing. But what are we

547
00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:17,760
Speaker 1: gonna get from Ad? Two games before AD's Game six masterclass,

548
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 1: he laid a dud in Game four at home. Luckily

549
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,080
Speaker 1: they were able to win. Lebron James, after being a

550
00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,280
Speaker 1: hero in Game four, laid a dud in Game five.

551
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:34,080
Speaker 1: For the series, both of them were incredibly inconsistent offensively.

552
00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:37,960
Speaker 1: With Lebron James and Anthony Davis, there is a ton

553
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,400
Speaker 1: of variants at their peaks. All three of them are legitimate,

554
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,159
Speaker 1: bona fide top tier superstars. Any one of them has

555
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,639
Speaker 1: a case to be the best player in the league

556
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,560
Speaker 1: when they're at their peak. But I know Steph will

557
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,879
Speaker 1: be at his peak, and I don't know with Lebron

558
00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 1: James and Anthony Davis. So I actually think Lebron and

559
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:58,560
Speaker 1: AD will end up determining the outcome of this series.

560
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,840
Speaker 1: If Lebron and AD both consistently play likes top tier superstars.

561
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,840
Speaker 1: The Lakers are going to win the series because they

562
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,120
Speaker 1: will have more star talent, they will have a better defense,

563
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: more depth. They're just gonna win. But if Steph is

564
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,160
Speaker 1: at a superstar level every game and Lebron and Ad

565
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 1: are hot and cold, the Warriors are gonna win the series.

566
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 1: So I'll be keeping an eye on that star matchup

567
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 1: very closely. So I've been on the fence about this

568
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,119
Speaker 1: all week. I think it's either gonna be Lakers and

569
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,800
Speaker 1: six or Warriors and seven. I texted my producer this morning,

570
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,480
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm still one. On the fifty yard line,

571
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,320
Speaker 1: my head says Warriors and my heart says Lakers. But

572
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,760
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be a stupid fan and I'm gonna follow

573
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 1: my heart and I'm gonna pick the Lakers in six.

574
00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,680
Speaker 1: Don't feel good about it, But on the fifty yard line,

575
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:53,440
Speaker 1: since I'm a fan of the Lakers, I'm gonna go

576
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 1: with the Lakers. I'm picking the Lakers in six. The

577
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,480
Speaker 1: case for the Lakers to win better defense, they're bigger,

578
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,840
Speaker 1: they're deeper, they have more super star depth. But the

579
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,280
Speaker 1: case for the Warriors, Steph Curry is the best player

580
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 1: in the world and if he clearly demonstrates that, if

581
00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,120
Speaker 1: he clearly demonstrates that he's a level above Lebron James

582
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis, then the Warriors will win this series.

583
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:15,800
Speaker 1: A lot of times we focus on role players and

584
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 1: we focus on scheme, but stars are who set them

585
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:24,520
Speaker 1: up for success. Lebron and Ad playing like superstars generates

586
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:27,280
Speaker 1: higher quality opportunities for the role players that they are

587
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 1: more likely to succeed in. If they don't play like superstars,

588
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,960
Speaker 1: the opportunities for the role players become more difficult. They

589
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 1: struggle to succeed in them. It trickles down to everything.

590
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,040
Speaker 1: Schematics just simply do not matter when it comes down

591
00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,200
Speaker 1: to brute force. At the end of playoff games, when

592
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:50,200
Speaker 1: you're just spacing teams out, they matter to a very

593
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,560
Speaker 1: small extent compared to compared to early in the series

594
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 1: or in the regular season. I think it just comes

595
00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,520
Speaker 1: down to step first, Lebron and AD. If Lebron and

596
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:02,680
Speaker 1: Ad soundly win that matchup, they win. If Steph Sanley

597
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,280
Speaker 1: wins that matchup, he wins. So again, I'm gonna pick

598
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:07,000
Speaker 1: Lakers in six, but I don't feel good about it.

599
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 1: So quick quick recap for our second round. I've got

600
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 1: Nuggets in seven, Lakers and six, Celtics in five, and

601
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,040
Speaker 1: Heat in six over excuse me, the Knicks in six

602
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,880
Speaker 1: over the Miami Heat. My three points were brought to

603
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,120
Speaker 1: you by Chase. Freedom Unlimited earned five percent on travel

604
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 1: purchased through Chase, three percent on dining including takeout, three

605
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,400
Speaker 1: percent at drug stores, and one point five percent on

606
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,600
Speaker 1: everything else. How do you cash back? All right, guys,

607
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. Man, I'm so

608
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 1: excited for this series. We are gonna be back later

609
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 1: tonight after a couple of game tues and then we'll

610
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,840
Speaker 1: be covering this series on Tuesday Night as well, so

611
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 1: we'll be working Monday and Tuesday night this week as always.

612
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys. Now, I'll see you later. To

613
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 1: the volume