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Speaker 1: welcome to hoop Tonight here at the volume heavy Friday.

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Speaker 2: Everybody ol ball.

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Speaker 1: If you guys have had a great week or doing

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Speaker 1: a mail bag today, got about a dozen questions. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna be bouncing all around the league of a bunch

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Speaker 1: of interesting stuffs to get into. It's gonna be a

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Speaker 1: fun one. You guys are the joe before we get started.

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Speaker 1: Subscribe to the Hoops to Night YouTube channels. You don't

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Speaker 1: podcast under Hoops Tonight, don't forget. It's also helpful if

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Speaker 1: you leave a rating and a review on our podcast feed.

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Speaker 1: We also have new social media feeds on Twitter, Facebook,

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Speaker 1: and Instagram for the Hoops Tonight channel. We're releasing reels

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Speaker 1: and things along those lines, so make sure you follow

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Speaker 1: those feeds as well. In the last not at least,

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Speaker 1: keep roping mailbag questions in the YouTube comments.

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Speaker 2: We're gonna have.

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Speaker 1: Mail bags on every Friday throughout the season, so keep

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Speaker 1: dropping them and we'll be grabbing them from those comments.

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Speaker 1: I go through the entire week's episode, so you can

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Speaker 1: drop them in any of those and I'll just kind

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Speaker 1: of go back through them and pick out questions for

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Speaker 1: us to hit on Fridays. All right, let's talk some basketball.

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Speaker 1: First question, you ready to apologize to Tatum yet? Like yourself,

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Speaker 1: I'm a huge ant fan, but the number five slot

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Speaker 1: belongs to Jason, and you know it. Tatum is averaging

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Speaker 1: more points per game, assists per game, rebounds per game,

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Speaker 1: steals per game, fewer turnovers, higher true shooting percentage. It's

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Speaker 1: significantly higher pr than Anthey Ander and what then Anthony

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Speaker 1: Edwards while remaining the better all around defender. Not to mention,

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Speaker 1: he's the only player in the NBA currently averaging the

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Speaker 1: most points, assists, rebounds, and steals on his team.

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Speaker 2: A couple things.

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Speaker 1: Apology is a really strong word to use. For I

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Speaker 1: had one guy fifth and one guy seventh on a

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Speaker 1: list where I told you, guys from five to eleven,

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Speaker 1: I view almost no gap. I had one through four

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Speaker 1: as kind of their own thing, and I said five

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Speaker 1: through eleven or all this close to each other. So like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think apology is a little dramatic. That said, there's

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Speaker 1: no doubt that Tatum has played like the guy that's

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Speaker 1: the best of that next tier of stars to start

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Speaker 1: this year. I think Joki just rock solid at number one.

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Speaker 1: Luca's off to a bad start this year, but you're

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Speaker 1: not gonna like supplant him over a dozen games when

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Speaker 1: he missed training camp with a calf injury. Like Luca's

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Speaker 1: gonna play a lot better over the large sample. And

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Speaker 1: then Giannis is playing some of the best basketball of

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Speaker 1: his career, and Jacobs Alexander is really starting to pick

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Speaker 1: up steam here in recent weeks. So like, that tier

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Speaker 1: to me is still more or less what it was.

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Speaker 1: But if you're looking at the next tier of teams

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Speaker 1: or next tier of players, the two guys that have

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Speaker 1: really separated, I'll say three guys. The three guys that

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Speaker 1: have Honestly, there are a lot of guys that are

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Speaker 1: playing good basketball right now. Anthony Davis has really separated himself.

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum has really separated himself. Kevin Durant has really

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Speaker 1: separated himself. Steph Curry hasn't had the overall counting stats

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Speaker 1: that he needs in that department, but he's had some

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Speaker 1: of the most impressive individual performances this season, and he's

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Speaker 1: outplayed multiple guys that are above him in the rankings.

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Speaker 1: He outplayed Tatum head to head, he outplayed Shakis As

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Speaker 1: Alexander had to head, he outplayed Nikole Jokic had to head, right, So, like,

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Speaker 1: those are the guys that.

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Speaker 2: Are separating from that lower group.

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Speaker 1: But I'd say night tonight, in overall production and like

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Speaker 1: all of the little things that impact winning, the best

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Speaker 1: player that I've seen from that next tier of teams

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Speaker 1: to start this season is Jason Tatum, and so there's

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Speaker 1: no doubt that he has been the guy that has,

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Speaker 1: at least through this small sample to start the year,

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Speaker 1: taken that five spot. He's it's been a bunch of

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Speaker 1: different things. The jump shot, which I mean, I've been

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Speaker 1: on this this entire summer. Like I think a lot

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Speaker 1: of people were just like, oh, he's too buff, now

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Speaker 1: he's not gonna shoot. And like anybody who's played basketball

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Speaker 1: for any significant amount of time knows, like, sometimes you

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Speaker 1: just go into shooting slump sometimes. You Like I think

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Speaker 1: about even in my adult life, I had shooting slumps

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Speaker 1: when I was in college, where like there are stretches

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Speaker 1: where I shot the ball really well, and then I

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Speaker 1: had stretches where I like, I had a season in

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Speaker 1: conference play where I shot damn near fifty percent from three,

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Speaker 1: and then the very next season at the start in

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Speaker 1: non conference play, I had a week where I missed

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Speaker 1: twenty two straight threes in a single week. So like

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Speaker 1: they're like, sometimes you just go into a slump. But

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Speaker 1: even in my adult life, and I work on my

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Speaker 1: jump shot a lot of probably more than I should

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Speaker 1: as someone who doesn't get paid to play basketball. Like

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Speaker 1: I have stretches where it's like, oh, for the like

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Speaker 1: sometimes for two three months I'm just not quite shooting

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Speaker 1: the ball as well, And then I have other stretches

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Speaker 1: for two three months it's like I can't fucking miss

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Speaker 1: to save my life. Like there's different kind of just

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Speaker 1: oscillations that take place for jump shooters. It's kind of

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Speaker 1: part of the way it goes. And I thought Tatum

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Speaker 1: was just in a slump last year, and I thought

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Speaker 1: that he was gonna come out of it in a

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Speaker 1: big way to start the season, and he has. One

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Speaker 1: of the big things I was talking about in yesterday's

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Speaker 1: show was he's been doing a really nice job of

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Speaker 1: hitting contested catch and shoot threes by just kind of

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Speaker 1: hesitating and waiting for the close out to come and

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Speaker 1: for the guy to sit in a stance to try

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Speaker 1: to slide his feet, and then right in that gap

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Speaker 1: when the defender kind of like closes out high and

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Speaker 1: then sits, he's rising and firing, and he's hitting a

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Speaker 1: lot of shots in those situations. But I also think

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Speaker 1: he's made a significant step forward as a passer this year.

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Speaker 1: He's had four straight games with at least six assists.

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Speaker 1: He's averaging your career high in assists. He's getting his

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Speaker 1: assists in all these different ways that you see from

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Speaker 1: some of the best playmakers in the league. And as

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Speaker 1: you pointed out, he is the better all around defender,

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Speaker 1: not just than Anthony Edwards, but he's one of the

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Speaker 1: best all around defenders in the league. So here's the

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Speaker 1: thing going into the season. Yes, I ranked Anthony Edwards

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Speaker 1: at five and Tatum at seven in a tier of

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Speaker 1: players that was seven players big that I viewed all

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Speaker 1: more or less on the same level. So like, am

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Speaker 1: I gonna be like, I'm so sorry Jason. No, of

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Speaker 1: course not. That's stupid, that's foolish, that's dramatic. But yeah,

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Speaker 1: if Jayson Tatum has been the best of that tier

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Speaker 1: of seven guys in my opinion to start the season.

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Speaker 1: One last thing on Anthony Edwards brought up by Anthony

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Speaker 1: Edwards optimism SEMs on the fact that I just think

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Speaker 1: he's an awesome jump shooter and I think that that's

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Speaker 1: real and we're on a massive sample size now of

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Speaker 1: him doing that. And by the way, Anthony Edwards is

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Speaker 1: averaging twenty eight points per game on sixty percent through

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Speaker 1: shooting to start the year. So he's not having a

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Speaker 1: bad season either. They're just guys in that tier that

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Speaker 1: have been playing better than him. And one thing I

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Speaker 1: would give Aunt a little bit of slack on is

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Speaker 1: the roster is a little jankie because the front office

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Speaker 1: threw a massive curveball at them a week before training

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Speaker 1: camp and now they're like the Knicks, trying to like

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Speaker 1: figure out how to be a new team on the fly.

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Speaker 1: So and we have a question about that later on

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Speaker 1: in the mailbag. But for the Nixon Wolves, I think

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Speaker 1: it's foolish to jump to like sweeping declarations about them

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Speaker 1: until we're much, much, much much further into the season.

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Speaker 1: But again shout out to Jayson Tatum again, a lot

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Speaker 1: of it. There's a question about this. I'll actually fast

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Speaker 1: forward and get to this one if I can. Oh,

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Speaker 1: we'll get to when we get there, because I don't

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Speaker 1: want to waste a bunch of time searching through this

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Speaker 1: right now. But like there's a lot of people that

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Speaker 1: like take these like kind of pretty mild stances that

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Speaker 1: I take and turn them into like Jason hates that guy,

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Speaker 1: and that I just don't understand, because like that's just

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Speaker 1: not the case like, just because I have a slightly

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Speaker 1: different opinion than a specific fan base on a player

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Speaker 1: doesn't mean I dislike a player. I think that that

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Speaker 1: sometimes is once again kind of dramatic and unfair. Let's

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Speaker 1: get to the next question. Sorry to see this as

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Speaker 1: a fan since day one, but it hurts me to

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Speaker 1: notice that you can't talk about the Nuggets success without

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Speaker 1: acknowledging Westbrook's impact in their wins. Bad to see that

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Speaker 1: you look biased about this issue. Again, this is another

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Speaker 1: battle that I can't win where it's like, yes, I have,

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Speaker 1: multiple times and multiple different episodes, credited Russell Westbrook for

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Speaker 1: the job he's done with the Nuggets. I talked about

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Speaker 1: the job he did when Joel Murray was out in

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Speaker 1: some of the huge games that he had. I talked

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Speaker 1: about little moments like the individual defense that he played

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Speaker 1: on RJ Barrett on that huge zession at the end

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Speaker 1: of the Rafters game. He had a similar possession on

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Speaker 1: Shae Gills Alexander where he took away his pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shot and funneled him into a drive. Like I

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Speaker 1: have complimented Russ and so I don't know what to say.

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Speaker 1: This is another thing that happens to me pretty commonly,

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Speaker 1: where like people will watch some of the content that

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Speaker 1: I produce, but not all of it, and then make

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Speaker 1: sweeping declarations about all of my content even though they

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Speaker 1: didn't watch all of my content. Like I talk about

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Speaker 1: basketball for the better part of five six hours a week,

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Speaker 1: and so there's a lot of words, a lot of

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Speaker 1: sentences in there, and there's a lot of opportunity for

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Speaker 1: me to hit other teams and other players that you

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Speaker 1: might not hear if you only catch an episode here

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Speaker 1: or there, if that makes sense, which, by the way,

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Speaker 1: I don't blame you guys, there's a ton of really

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Speaker 1: good basketball content out there. I know that there are

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Speaker 1: some of you guys that listen to every episode, and

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Speaker 1: I know there are some of you guys that are

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Speaker 1: like I only listen to my favorite team, and there

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Speaker 1: are some of you guys that you only listen every

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Speaker 1: once in a while depending on what we release. I

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Speaker 1: understand that that's the case, But like, I do a

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Speaker 1: ton of content every week, So if you're one of

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Speaker 1: the people that stops by every once in a while,

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Speaker 1: you're probably missing some of the stuff.

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Speaker 2: That I hit.

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Speaker 1: In the big picture, Russell Westbrook has had really high

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Speaker 1: ceiling moments for the Nuggets this year, and I've talked

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Speaker 1: about it on many occasions. If the playoffs started today, this.

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Speaker 2: Is Warriors fans.

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Speaker 1: I had a male bag question at the tail end

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Speaker 1: of Tuesday show and talk about a fucking meltdown from

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Speaker 1: some of these four years fans in the mentions if

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Speaker 1: the playoffs started today, taking Luca over Steph is a

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Speaker 1: wild take. Steph not only outscored, but outplayed Shay and Luca,

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Speaker 1: but can't give him the nod over them. Guys like

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Speaker 1: Luka Doncic had a very impressive playoff run last year.

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Speaker 1: He did something that I haven't seen anybody do last season,

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Speaker 1: and that even Nicole Yoka struggled which with which was

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Speaker 1: he like single handedly eviscerated the Minnesota Timberwolves defense. It

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Speaker 1: just took one of the best perimeter defenders in the

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Speaker 1: league and just basically treated him like a rag dollars.

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Speaker 1: He threw him around and got whatever he wanted. He

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Speaker 1: took his team to the NBA Finals. Luca has not

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Speaker 1: been very good to start this year. He got injured

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Speaker 1: in training camp, miss training camp, and he's trying to

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Speaker 1: get his way back into shape. In the middle of

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Speaker 1: the season. Here's the thing. Yes, if we're fifty games

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Speaker 1: into this thing and Steph's playing like an MVP, then yeah,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna reevaluate things and I'm probably gonna put Steph

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Speaker 1: in that top tier. And I might put him ahead

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Speaker 1: of a Shay, I might put him ahead of a Luca,

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Speaker 1: But it would be irresponsible of me over a small

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Speaker 1: regular season sample at the start of the year to

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Speaker 1: be like, Yeah, this guy's better than a player who

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Speaker 1: just went on a deep playoff runt last year, or

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Speaker 1: like Shay Gills of Alexander who once again like deservedly

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Speaker 1: got a lot of MVP consideration last year and took

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Speaker 1: his team to within one foul of making it to

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Speaker 1: the conference finals and eliminating Luka Doncicch. So, like, that's

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Speaker 1: the thing. I am a huge believer in Steph. I

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Speaker 1: think what he's shown at the start of the year

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Speaker 1: in terms of his ability to get to that superstar upside,

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Speaker 1: should be super encouraging for Warriors fans. But yeah, like,

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Speaker 1: there are players at the top of the league that

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Speaker 1: have been really dominant consistently over the course of the

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Speaker 1: last couple of years that right now feel like safer

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Speaker 1: bets and I would never change that over a small

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Speaker 1: sample size. I had a lot of guys in the

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Speaker 1: comments like he just outplayed this guy. He just outplayed

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Speaker 1: that guy. That's great. I have seen a ton of

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Speaker 1: stars outplay other stars in regular season games. I've seen

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Speaker 1: Joel Embiid outplay Jokis several times. I've seen guys out

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Speaker 1: play Luca. I've seen guys outplay Shay. I've seen guys

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Speaker 1: outplay Giannis. I've seen guys outplay Steph, Lebron Ad Tatum.

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Speaker 1: I've seen guys outplay everybody right on any given one

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Speaker 1: game in the regular season. It's important because it's a

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Speaker 1: sign to Warriors fans and to the rest of the league, like, hey,

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Speaker 1: Steph still has it, Steph can still do this right.

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Speaker 1: But there's a much larger sample that we're going to

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Speaker 1: see over the course of this season. And before I

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Speaker 1: go claiming that Steph is better than Luca, are better

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Speaker 1: than Shay, I'm gonna need to see more than a

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Speaker 1: dozen games. And honestly, like, even though Steph has had

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Speaker 1: some really big games this year, his counting stats just

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Speaker 1: aren't even in the same stratosphere as those guys at

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Speaker 1: the top of the league. And so let's see more

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Speaker 1: before we supplant guys that have been playing really, really

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Speaker 1: well for a long time at the top of the league.

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Speaker 1: Next question, Steph definitely looked like a top ten player

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Speaker 1: to end to end the season last year. What was

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Speaker 1: you watching bro last twenty five games for Steph last year,

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Speaker 1: twenty two point eight points per game, four point five

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Speaker 1: rebounds per game, five point five assists per game, forty

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Speaker 1: two percent from the field, and thirty eight percent from three.

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Speaker 1: He wasn't good the end last year, not by STEPH standard. Now, yes,

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Speaker 1: there were factors at play. He was worn down, the

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Speaker 1: roster was weak, there was a lot less fast, a

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Speaker 1: lot of Klay Thompson and Chris Paul instead of really

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Speaker 1: fast young players. There are a lot of reasons for that.

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Speaker 1: But to be clear, going into the player rankings that

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Speaker 1: I did this summer, Steph didn't even deserve to be

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Speaker 1: considered top ten. There were several plays. Donovan Mitchell deserved

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Speaker 1: to be ranked over him. Jalen Brunson deserved to be

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Speaker 1: ranked over him. I kept him in the top ten

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Speaker 1: as a sign of respect and because if you guys

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Speaker 1: remember in that video, I said, I think this is

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Speaker 1: a slump, and I think Steph will bounce back. But

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Speaker 1: like there's a lot this This happens a lot uh

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Speaker 1: uh with NBA fans, where like there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: evidence that one thing's gonna happen, and then something different happens,

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Speaker 1: and then everyone wants to be like I fucking told you,

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Speaker 1: and it's like, actually, like this is a change, this

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Speaker 1: is new information, This is new. So like you're like

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Speaker 1: people that made educated guesses based on stuff that was

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Speaker 1: actually happen happening. Everyone else is making hopeful guesses on

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Speaker 1: what they think maybe will happen, Like and yeah, the

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Speaker 1: thing that was hopeful and maybe ended up happening, and

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Speaker 1: that's great and you guys should be very very excited

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Speaker 1: about that. But like, again, like there's a reason why

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Speaker 1: there was some skepticism surrounding the Warriors and what ended

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Speaker 1: up happening, right, what ended up happening was you swapped

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Speaker 1: out Clay and Chris Paul and all of the minutes

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Speaker 1: they play and I don't remember the exact number off

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Speaker 1: the top of my head, it was like fifty something

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Speaker 1: minutes a game. You took fifty something minutes a game

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Speaker 1: and turned it into super fast younger players. And then

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Speaker 1: in addition to that, like you had a new training camp,

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Speaker 1: you hit on a couple of signings this summer. Steph

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Speaker 1: Curry is playing like a superstar again, and now all

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Speaker 1: of a sudden, you look like a contender. It's a

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Speaker 1: combination of a ton of factors, a ton of new information.

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Speaker 1: Did anybody think when Buddy Held got signed that he

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Speaker 1: was going to play as well as he did? No?

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Speaker 1: A lot of you like it was a good fit,

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Speaker 1: an obvious fit. I think everyone thought he'd hit shots.

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Speaker 1: I don't think anybody thought he'd be as good as

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Speaker 1: he's been. This has been a surprise, and so again

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Speaker 1: it's like, appreciate it for what it is. It's exciting.

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Speaker 1: I'm excited too. Steph's my second favorite player in the

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Speaker 1: league behind Lebron James.

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Speaker 2: Like I am excited.

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Speaker 1: I root for this team, Like this is something that

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Speaker 1: I enjoy I said the other day in a mail bag.

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Speaker 1: The team that I enjoy watching the most is the Warriors.

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Speaker 1: They play an incredibly fun brand of basketball.

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Speaker 2: This is great.

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Speaker 1: I'm thrilled, But I'm not going to like apologize for

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Speaker 1: the things that I said over the summer that were

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Speaker 1: based on evidence that were based on the actual basketball

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Speaker 1: that was being played. The Warriors have flipped the script.

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Speaker 1: They've been a surprise, so have the Cleveland Cavaliers. How

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Speaker 1: many of you Warriors fans were saying that the Calves

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Speaker 1: would start the season thirteen to zero and look like

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Speaker 1: the best team in the league. Probably none of you. Right,

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Speaker 1: it's a surprise, But what you should do is acknowledge it.

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Speaker 1: Acknowledge the new information, be excited about it, try to

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Speaker 1: learn about them. We did a whole hour breakdown with

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Speaker 1: Carter Rojiguez from the Chase Down podcast on Wednesday where

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Speaker 1: we went into a bunch of the different things that

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Speaker 1: the Calves are doing different and then we learned and

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Speaker 1: we move on the same thing. On the negative side,

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Speaker 1: like I had the Sixers is like my sixth championship contender.

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Speaker 1: Now it looks like a lot of their veteran minimum

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Speaker 1: guys are pretty limited and they can't keep their three

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Speaker 1: stars on the floor healthy, and so they look like

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Speaker 1: a team that's a hell of a lot worse than

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Speaker 1: I thought to start the year. There are things that

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Speaker 1: are going to be right about there's things are going

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Speaker 1: to be wrong about there's things you're gonna be spot

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Speaker 1: on about. I had a feeling that the Clippers would

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Speaker 1: be really feisty this year. They've been really feisty this year.

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Speaker 1: I had a feeling that the Lakers would be a

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Speaker 1: pretty solid and like more professional looking team than they

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Speaker 1: looked last year. They have to start this year like,

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Speaker 1: there are things that I'm right about. There's things that

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Speaker 1: I'm wrong about. That's kind of part of the journey.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, like Steph wasn't playing at a top ten

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Speaker 1: level to end the year last year. I had a

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Speaker 1: feeling it was a slump. That's something that I was

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Speaker 1: right about to start this season. Down Playing the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty two championship is hilarious when you support the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty championship. This is the biggest thing that Warriors fans

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Speaker 1: got pissed off at in the mailbag. All I was

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Speaker 1: trying to say is this is not like twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: two because the teams are better now. So let's first

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Speaker 1: of all, I am not downplaying the twenty twenty two championship.

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Speaker 1: I think it's the crowning achievement of Steph Curry's career.

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Speaker 1: It's one of the most impressive championships that I've seen.

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Speaker 1: I am not undercutting that at all. All I was

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Speaker 1: trying to talk about is the concept of the Warriors

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Speaker 1: needing more firepower on a real basic level. You guys,

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Speaker 1: tell me if you disagree in the comments, tell me,

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Speaker 1: Jason you're wrong, Jason, you're right. Tell me if you agree.

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Speaker 1: Are the Celtics this year better than they were in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty two?

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Speaker 2: Yes? They are.

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Speaker 1: Are the Luca Kyrie MAVs that just went to the

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Speaker 1: finals going to be a more difficult opponent than the

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Speaker 1: Luca Jalen Brunson MAVs that you ran into in the

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Speaker 1: Western Conference finals in twenty twenty two. I think that

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Speaker 1: yes they are. They're deeper, they have a much better

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Speaker 1: secondary shot, greater. Luca's better. Now they're better. They're just

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Speaker 1: better like the Denver Nuggets that you beat in the

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Speaker 1: first round. Are they going to be a little bit

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Speaker 1: different this year with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Junior healthy, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they are. It's going to be different. It's going to

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Speaker 1: be better. Oklahoma City is a much better team, in

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Speaker 1: my opinion, than that Phoenix Suns team that ran away

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Speaker 1: with the top of the Western Conference in twenty twenty two, Like,

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Speaker 1: there's the teams at the top of the league are better.

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Speaker 1: Do you disagree? Because if they are better, then the

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Speaker 1: team that won in twenty twenty two might not be

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Speaker 1: enough anymore. And so that's why I was talking about, Like,

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Speaker 1: that's why I look at them as a team that

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Speaker 1: could use some more top end firepower. I don't want

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Speaker 1: to see the Warriors go down in a second or

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Speaker 1: third round series because Kyrie Irving is spelling Luca with

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Speaker 1: twenty seven to twenty eight points a game efficiently, or

423
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Speaker 1: because Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are getting buckets off

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00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,439
Speaker 1: of Shae Gills, of Alexander and Buddy Healed goes cold

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Speaker 1: and Andrew Wiggins goes cold. That I don't want to

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Speaker 1: see them. I want to see Steph flanked by a

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Speaker 1: guy that you can reliably count on to produce twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty five points a game efficiently at the forward spot.

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Speaker 1: That's all I was trying to say. Like a lot

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Speaker 1: of times like this goes back to what I was

431
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,280
Speaker 1: saying earlier, Like a lot of times like everything gets

432
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,320
Speaker 1: turned into some massive, sort of big picture thing when

433
00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,040
Speaker 1: I'm just trying to hammer a specific point home. I

434
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,280
Speaker 1: was trying to hammer home that you guys need more firepower,

435
00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,639
Speaker 1: not that the twenty twenty two championship. Not trying to

436
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,520
Speaker 1: downplay the twenty twenty two championship.

437
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:13,080
Speaker 2: That's silly.

438
00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,440
Speaker 1: All I'm saying is, well, you guys admit it. Will

439
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,960
Speaker 1: you admit that the league is better now? Because it is?

440
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,080
Speaker 1: It just flatly is. You're lying to yourself if you

441
00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:25,199
Speaker 1: won't admit that the league is better now. So, like,

442
00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:27,000
Speaker 1: I don't know what to tell you the league is better.

443
00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:29,879
Speaker 1: I would like to see this Warriors team with more firepower,

444
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,159
Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna apologize for that. Next question, Hey, Jason,

445
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:38,359
Speaker 1: could you explain why AD's defensive RFG percentage is around

446
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,680
Speaker 1: the middle of the pack for centers. When I watch him,

447
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,440
Speaker 1: it feels like a presence, just like a go Beart,

448
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,199
Speaker 1: Chet Wemby, etc. But the numbers just don't reflect it.

449
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,560
Speaker 1: AD's defensive RFG percentage is at fifty eight percent, where

450
00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,400
Speaker 1: Chets and Wemby's is around forty percent. Love your work

451
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,240
Speaker 1: a couple different things here. First of all, defensive metrics

452
00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,520
Speaker 1: are incredibly flawed on a bunch of different levels, and

453
00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,320
Speaker 1: that's pretty much widely accepted, even by the stat nerds

454
00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,200
Speaker 1: that like lean on that kind of stuff all the time.

455
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,640
Speaker 1: And so I always like take those sorts of things

456
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,000
Speaker 1: with a grain of salt. Secondly, it's about the team.

457
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,800
Speaker 1: Like go Bear is playing with substantially better perimeter defense talent,

458
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,639
Speaker 1: chet Holmgren is playing with substantially better perimeter defense talent.

459
00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,760
Speaker 1: Even Wemby, who doesn't have the type of talent that

460
00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:23,040
Speaker 1: OKAYC in Minnesota has on the perimeter, is playing with

461
00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,280
Speaker 1: better perimeter athletes than the Lakers. If a drive is

462
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,520
Speaker 1: flattened out before it gets to the rim, it's easier

463
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 1: to defend. When you've got guys like Austin and Ruy

464
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,200
Speaker 1: and d Low giving up like straight line drive after

465
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,720
Speaker 1: straight line drive with like real momentum towards the rim,

466
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,920
Speaker 1: it's just harder to stop. And so again with Anthony Davis.

467
00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 1: A lot of people underrate Anthony Davis defensively because of

468
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,320
Speaker 1: the team metrics that come out of the Lakers, but

469
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,359
Speaker 1: it's just not realistic because they play with there there's

470
00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,239
Speaker 1: literally not a guy in the rotation who's like an

471
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,320
Speaker 1: elite defensive player other than Anthony Davis. There's just not

472
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,600
Speaker 1: one It's like there's guys who are solid. It's like, oh,

473
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,760
Speaker 1: Gabe can kind of slide his feet and kind of

474
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,800
Speaker 1: do his thing. Austin Reeves is solid, he can do

475
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,360
Speaker 1: his thing. Like there are guys that have specific skills,

476
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,280
Speaker 1: like Ruey can do some help defense stuff. You can

477
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,600
Speaker 1: defensive rebound a little bit, like you know, Max can

478
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,320
Speaker 1: slide his feet. He's just a little thin. You know,

479
00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:16,960
Speaker 1: Cam Reddish has got long arms and can move his feet.

480
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,560
Speaker 1: But like, there's just not a guy on the roster

481
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,479
Speaker 1: who's like even the same level as like a Nikhil

482
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:27,000
Speaker 1: Alexander Walker, as a like elite guard defender. The only

483
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:28,840
Speaker 1: guy in the Lakers who is is Jared Vanderbilt, and

484
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,280
Speaker 1: he hasn't played basketball and damn near year, so it's

485
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,840
Speaker 1: hard to even like, Like Vanderbilt is practically just a

486
00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:36,639
Speaker 1: theoretical thing for me at this point.

487
00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:38,280
Speaker 2: So it is what it is.

488
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,960
Speaker 1: But I wouldn't pay too much attention to defensive metrics

489
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,720
Speaker 1: surrounding Anthony Davis. I don't think they properly reflect his impact.

490
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:46,359
Speaker 1: Thank you for giving Tatum his credit. This was the

491
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,000
Speaker 1: question I was looking for earlier. Thank you for giving

492
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,880
Speaker 1: Tatum his credit. In years past. I feel like you've

493
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,919
Speaker 1: disregarded a lot of what he does because of your

494
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,159
Speaker 1: own admission he's not one of your favorite players. But

495
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,560
Speaker 1: I appreciate not only your objectivity, but also how you

496
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,520
Speaker 1: went into depth about how his play style shifted this

497
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,440
Speaker 1: season this season, I think I've been the most impressed

498
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 1: by him this season, understanding when it's him that really

499
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,040
Speaker 1: needs to take over every Celtics game. This season, it

500
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:07,720
Speaker 1: feels like there are one to two stretches per game

501
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:09,919
Speaker 1: where Tatum alone will go down and score eight, twelve

502
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,560
Speaker 1: consecutive points for the Celtics when he's out there with

503
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,520
Speaker 1: the bench unit. Usually it happens towards the end of

504
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,240
Speaker 1: the first quarter or the middle of the third quarter.

505
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,000
Speaker 1: This is kind of what I was getting at earlier,

506
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,399
Speaker 1: where it's like I argue Tatum is seven instead of five,

507
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,320
Speaker 1: and everyone thinks I hate the guy, Like, yeah, you're right,

508
00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:26,320
Speaker 1: he's not my favorite player, but I don't like dislike

509
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,320
Speaker 1: him that much either, Like there are basketball players that

510
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:32,840
Speaker 1: I watch where like I don't like watching them, Like

511
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,280
Speaker 1: Luca's like that, Joel Embiid is.

512
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:36,960
Speaker 2: Like that for me.

513
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,040
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson's getting a little there for me, with some

514
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,119
Speaker 1: of the grifty stuff. But even then, even when I

515
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 1: don't like the guys, I have such a love and

516
00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:49,240
Speaker 1: respect for the game of basketball that, Like I still

517
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,600
Speaker 1: watch Luca and it's like, even though he irritates me,

518
00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:55,000
Speaker 1: sometimes I'm like, God, that's impressive. God, this is impressive.

519
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,320
Speaker 1: Like I still look at what they do and have

520
00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 1: appreciation for it. Same go those for Joel Embiid, saying

521
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,240
Speaker 1: like the footwork and the skill is impressive, Like Joe

522
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,679
Speaker 1: Embiid is like legitimately like a good three point shooter.

523
00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 1: Now it's crazy, you know how hard he's had to

524
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,520
Speaker 1: work to do that. Like I feel like if he's

525
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,000
Speaker 1: open and gets a good look, I feel like it's

526
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,920
Speaker 1: going in Like that. There's a lot that I appreciate

527
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,639
Speaker 1: about those guys too. Now Tatum isn't like my favorite player,

528
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,000
Speaker 1: but I don't actively dislike him either, but I've always

529
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 1: had an appreciation for everything he does well. And a

530
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,879
Speaker 1: lot of times it turns into the thing where it's like, Okay,

531
00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:29,040
Speaker 1: I have this guy at five instead of of seven,

532
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 1: and I have this guy at seven instead of five,

533
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,560
Speaker 1: and people interpret that as like you hate this guy

534
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,680
Speaker 1: or you're thinking he's the seventeenth best player, the twenty

535
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:37,560
Speaker 1: fourth best player.

536
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 2: That's silly. I've always viewed.

537
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:41,520
Speaker 1: Tatum as like one of the guys that's in that

538
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,199
Speaker 1: second tier of stars, right below the top of the league.

539
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,640
Speaker 1: Most Celtics fans actually agree with me. That's the crazy part.

540
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,040
Speaker 1: Most Celtics fans agree with me. There's a segment of

541
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 1: Celtics fans that think he's in the Jannis Luka Jokic tier.

542
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,719
Speaker 1: And look, here's the thing, with the way he's starting

543
00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,560
Speaker 1: this season, like he's getting certainly closer to that pier.

544
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 1: As I said in the beginning of the mailbag, I

545
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,160
Speaker 1: think he's at the top of that second tier at

546
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 1: the start of this season.

547
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:06,639
Speaker 2: But like, yeah, I.

548
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,800
Speaker 1: Feel like I've always talked about Tatum being a versatile defender.

549
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,760
Speaker 1: I think I've always talked about Tatum being a guy

550
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,720
Speaker 1: who's made strides as a playmaker in recent years. I've

551
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,000
Speaker 1: just also pointed out things like, yeah, dude, you rely

552
00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:23,080
Speaker 1: a lot on tough jump shot making, and this year

553
00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,000
Speaker 1: he's making them, which is making him look like a

554
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,040
Speaker 1: better player. But in years past he's relied on tough

555
00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:30,520
Speaker 1: jump shot making and not made them, and it's been

556
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:34,400
Speaker 1: an issue for him, it's been an issue that's extended

557
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,400
Speaker 1: to even the Olympic team not wanting him in the rotation.

558
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,359
Speaker 1: There's I feel like the criticism that I levied was fair,

559
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 1: and so that's kind of where that comes from. And

560
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:46,040
Speaker 1: I just I want people to understand when I talk

561
00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,520
Speaker 1: about a player's like upsides and downsides, I'm just trying

562
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,480
Speaker 1: to do my job. And when I ranked players in

563
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,159
Speaker 1: specific spots, it doesn't mean a lot of times if

564
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:57,600
Speaker 1: I'm arguing for a couple spots lower, I'll bring up

565
00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:59,879
Speaker 1: some negatives, but that doesn't mean I think the guys

566
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,320
Speaker 1: fifteenth or something along those lines. And honestly, like one

567
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 1: of the things that I've seen a lot with Tatum

568
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:06,440
Speaker 1: fans too, is they'll be like, why don't you ever

569
00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 1: criticize so and so for this? Why don't you ever

570
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:11,080
Speaker 1: criticize so and so for that? And like, I feel like,

571
00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:15,080
Speaker 1: if you watch this show, you can tell I do

572
00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,160
Speaker 1: criticize even the top players in the league. I'd argue

573
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,040
Speaker 1: I criticized the top players in the league. More.

574
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 2: Ask jok fans.

575
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,359
Speaker 1: There's a lot of Jokic fans that get upset with

576
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,320
Speaker 1: me because last year I said he couldn't shoot, and

577
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 1: he had a shitty defensive season. Like, that's the guy

578
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:29,400
Speaker 1: that I think is the best player in the league,

579
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,360
Speaker 1: and I was openly criticizing his shooting in his defense

580
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:34,840
Speaker 1: throughout the entire second half of the season and in

581
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,879
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Luka Doncic, I've been I told him. I

582
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,480
Speaker 1: said that the defensive performance he had in the finals

583
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:44,440
Speaker 1: was the worst defensive performance I've ever seen in the finals. Giannis,

584
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,080
Speaker 1: I talk all the time about how in the half

585
00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 1: court he can really struggle to be as decisive and

586
00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,600
Speaker 1: efficient as his teammates at as his peers at the

587
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,720
Speaker 1: top of the league. I've talked about how he hasn't

588
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,880
Speaker 1: as good of a defensive season as he did last year.

589
00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,560
Speaker 1: Shak gilges Alexander, I've criticized him for not being as

590
00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 1: much of a willing passer or surgical half court passer

591
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:05,520
Speaker 1: as he needs to be.

592
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 2: Like, I am.

593
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,320
Speaker 1: Critical of all the players at the top of the league,

594
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,360
Speaker 1: not just Jason Tatum. If you think I'm only being

595
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:15,159
Speaker 1: critical of Jason Tatum, then you're only listening to my

596
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,320
Speaker 1: Celtics content and you're only reacting to the stuff I'm

597
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,480
Speaker 1: saying about Jason Tatum, So again, I wanted to clarify

598
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,800
Speaker 1: that because I think it's become something that has slipped

599
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,040
Speaker 1: through the cracks a little bit. Could you explain what

600
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,320
Speaker 1: you define as athleticism. One of your main gripes with

601
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,880
Speaker 1: the Lakers has been a lack of athleticism in the backcourt.

602
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:32,879
Speaker 1: And of course I can understand that players liked Lo

603
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,200
Speaker 1: and Reeves aren't particularly muscular or bouncy, but I feel

604
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,600
Speaker 1: like I'm missing the point of why that matters so

605
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,680
Speaker 1: much to the success of the team, not even being

606
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,679
Speaker 1: specific to the Lakers, what qualities do you point to

607
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,720
Speaker 1: when referring to athleticism or lack thereof in the big picture?

608
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 1: Love the show Man, Thanks for keeping me entertained at

609
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,200
Speaker 1: work when I can't watch the games. Thank you for

610
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,240
Speaker 1: the kind words and for supporting the show. When it

611
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,480
Speaker 1: comes to athleticism, it's combination of factors, So I think

612
00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:02,000
Speaker 1: size strength. There's like speed right like like foot speed

613
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,439
Speaker 1: and coordination. There's actual speed, like straight line speed when

614
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: you get going full speed start stop ability, there's conditioning

615
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,080
Speaker 1: is a major one that I think. It's a gloss

616
00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,160
Speaker 1: over a lot, like more physical tools like how long

617
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,919
Speaker 1: are your arms where's your center of gravity? Is it

618
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 1: higher where you can get bumped off your line? Is

619
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,480
Speaker 1: it lower where you better at holding your ground? All

620
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,880
Speaker 1: of those factors get baked into athleticism, but like I mean,

621
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:29,200
Speaker 1: it all kind of comes together in a big way.

622
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,840
Speaker 1: Like there are guys like that, like, for instance, the

623
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,560
Speaker 1: Lakers front court players Lebron and Ad get burned in

624
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,879
Speaker 1: transition all the time. Nikola Jokich is not as like

625
00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 1: fast or quick as Ad or Lebron, but he plays

626
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:48,680
Speaker 1: more consistently hard like. Jokich's conditioning is so top tier

627
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:50,800
Speaker 1: that the dude just sprints up and down the floor

628
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,480
Speaker 1: all the time, and so he doesn't get taken advantage

629
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,720
Speaker 1: of in transition as much as some of his more

630
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,200
Speaker 1: athletic peers At the center position. Steph is a guy

631
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 1: that doesn't necessary have the athletic tools of some of

632
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 1: the guys at the top of the league, but his

633
00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:06,920
Speaker 1: conditioning is better than everybody, and he just runs and

634
00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,080
Speaker 1: circles the entire damn game and he catches you slipping

635
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,760
Speaker 1: every single time you relax. That's a factor of athleticism, right.

636
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:19,280
Speaker 1: Draymond Green's long arms. He's an undersized big sure, but

637
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 1: he can meet guys up top at the rim, like

638
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:23,920
Speaker 1: he did with Daniel Gafford, or close out to the

639
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:25,520
Speaker 1: three point line like he did on I think it

640
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,160
Speaker 1: was Naugie Marshall in the game on Tuesday. He can

641
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,360
Speaker 1: get there and he can get great contests and sometimes

642
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,040
Speaker 1: even black shots because he's got super long arms. All

643
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,320
Speaker 1: of that stuff combines into athleticism, and there's just way

644
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,040
Speaker 1: too many guys on the Lakers where it's like it's

645
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,480
Speaker 1: like Ruy or excuse me, let's say Dlo. It's like

646
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,960
Speaker 1: Delo is like slow footed, not particularly fast, not particularly big,

647
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 1: not particularly strong, and not particularly well conditioned. He's a

648
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,720
Speaker 1: bad athlete, gets burned all over the floor all game long.

649
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,880
Speaker 1: Ruey big, strong, long, that's good, right, but slow footed

650
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,960
Speaker 1: loses side with his conditioning. And I also even think

651
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,560
Speaker 1: there's like a mental athletics as an aspect, which is like.

652
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:04,719
Speaker 2: How well are you at? How good are you at?

653
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,600
Speaker 1: Like staying attentive and focused on the details, because that's

654
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 1: such an important thing. I think all of those are

655
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,280
Speaker 1: parts of the game of basketball. Curious to hear your

656
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,120
Speaker 1: reaction on Bronnie only playing home games in the G League.

657
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,920
Speaker 1: I do not see how this could be good for Bronnie.

658
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:21,640
Speaker 1: Totally agree. I think most of the compliment, the complaining

659
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,480
Speaker 1: about the Bronni situation has been like straight up people

660
00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:30,040
Speaker 1: who just don't like Lebron irrationally and like are taking

661
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,280
Speaker 1: it out on the Bronnie situation. That's most of it.

662
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,440
Speaker 1: But this is something that I genuinely don't understand. Like

663
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 1: the kid needs reps, he needs to play basketball, and

664
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 1: like there's this thing where it's like, oh, they don't

665
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:44,760
Speaker 1: want him flying delta because he's too famous. Okay, I

666
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,680
Speaker 1: understand that. I get that, Like I get I get

667
00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,880
Speaker 1: how Lebron James could be, Like I don't want Bronnie

668
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,160
Speaker 1: like sitting on a delta playing with a bunch of

669
00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 1: like you know, like American citizens right where, like just

670
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:01,040
Speaker 1: just because it's a little uncomfortable. He's such a public

671
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:02,960
Speaker 1: figure and he's become slandered so much and all this

672
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,280
Speaker 1: kind of stuff, Right, I get that, totally understand, But

673
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,600
Speaker 1: like figure it out, man, figure out the transportation piece,

674
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,280
Speaker 1: because like it's not gonna work for anybody if one,

675
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,760
Speaker 1: Bronni's not getting the reps he needs because he's only

676
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,160
Speaker 1: playing in half the games. Two Bronni's with the actual

677
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,280
Speaker 1: big team when the G league's on the road, but

678
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,160
Speaker 1: he can't actually play because he's not in the rotation.

679
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:27,000
Speaker 1: And three, the G League team is trying to actually

680
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,680
Speaker 1: put together a cohesive roster, and they've got a guy

681
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,520
Speaker 1: in the starting lineup who's in and out of the

682
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,520
Speaker 1: lineup based on whether or not they're at home or

683
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,480
Speaker 1: on the road. Like that's not working for anybody. And

684
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,760
Speaker 1: like just because of transportation, Like, dude, you're a billionaire, Lebron,

685
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:43,960
Speaker 1: get Bronni to the games. I don't know what to

686
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,960
Speaker 1: tell you. Get Bronnie to the games. Like, there's gotta

687
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,000
Speaker 1: be a way to do it that doesn't involve this

688
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,240
Speaker 1: sort of like shuttling back and forth and only having

689
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,760
Speaker 1: a playing road home games. Like again, like Lebron James

690
00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 1: is the most polarizing basketball player of my lifetime. Half

691
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,840
Speaker 1: the world absolutely hates the guy. I will never understand it.

692
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: I feel like in his older age it's gotten a

693
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,520
Speaker 1: little better, but there's still a big chunk out there

694
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:07,640
Speaker 1: that just hates the guy for whatever reason. And the

695
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,360
Speaker 1: majority of the criticism of Bronni is completely ridiculous. There's

696
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:13,760
Speaker 1: nepotism all over the league. None of you guys gave

697
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:15,560
Speaker 1: a shit when it was anything that had nothing to

698
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,000
Speaker 1: do with Lebron. Now that Lebron's involved, you got your

699
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,040
Speaker 1: panties all in a bunch. I don't understand what it is.

700
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: It is what it is, but this specific thing is

701
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:27,760
Speaker 1: something that I disagree with. I don't understand. I don't

702
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 1: understand how this could be good for Bronnie under any circumstances.

703
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,920
Speaker 1: Is it high time the Lakers look at Vanderbilt as

704
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,240
Speaker 1: a trade asset now, given that he's always out, and

705
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:49,920
Speaker 1: get a three and DP player by trading him in

706
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,440
Speaker 1: d Love. So I would be okay with trading Jared

707
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:57,520
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt as long as you got someone of equal athletic

708
00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 1: a capability, that has a starting caliber player. So, for instance,

709
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:03,920
Speaker 1: if you have the opportunity, let's say that the Lakers

710
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,560
Speaker 1: decide to go after Zach Levine, if you gave up

711
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,560
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt and Zach Lavine trade, that would make no sense

712
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,000
Speaker 1: to me, because now you're giving up You're giving up

713
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,320
Speaker 1: one of the few good athletes you have on the

714
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,320
Speaker 1: roster while getting back an athletic player, but not an

715
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,120
Speaker 1: athletic player that's functionally athletic. In the areas you need,

716
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,760
Speaker 1: like defense and rebounding, right, But let's say that you're

717
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:28,360
Speaker 1: going to get an actual, real elite perimeter athlete into

718
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,920
Speaker 1: Like let's say, for instance, you got you called the

719
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,000
Speaker 1: Clippers up and you were like, let's take Derrek Jones

720
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,680
Speaker 1: Junior and James Harden in a deal or something like that.

721
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 1: If that ended up being the type of deal that

722
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,240
Speaker 1: the Lakers went after, if it took Jared Vanderbilt to

723
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 1: get Derek Jones junior, hell yeah, include him in the deal.

724
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:47,800
Speaker 1: Derek Jones Junior is a better basketball player and does

725
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,240
Speaker 1: all the same stuff. That's who I would want, right,

726
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,240
Speaker 1: But like, it all just depends on what you're getting back.

727
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,280
Speaker 1: If you're not getting a supreme athlete back that can

728
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:56,320
Speaker 1: start games, I don't want to give up Jared Vanderbilt

729
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,680
Speaker 1: in a deal. I know you didn't cover this game,

730
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,520
Speaker 1: but Wemby was six for nine from three last night

731
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,280
Speaker 1: against the Jazz. It was the most threes he's made

732
00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:04,280
Speaker 1: in his career. When Wemby was told of this, Wemby

733
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 1: was surprised. Wenby is currently averaging seven three point three

734
00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:10,640
Speaker 1: pointers a game, which is about half his overall field

735
00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:12,520
Speaker 1: goal attempts. Do you think this style of play from

736
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,239
Speaker 1: Wemby will be successful in the long run. Well, he

737
00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:17,359
Speaker 1: followed this up with an eight to three game last

738
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,520
Speaker 1: night against the Washington Wizards when he dropped fifty. Right,

739
00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,560
Speaker 1: So here's the deal. I talked about this in the

740
00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,360
Speaker 1: show that aired on Thursday. But like, one of the

741
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,080
Speaker 1: things that's been really fascinating to me is these like

742
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,720
Speaker 1: younger pretty athletic stars, guys like Anthony Edwards, Supreme athlete,

743
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,040
Speaker 1: Victor Webbin yamo Is, some of the best athletic gifts

744
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:36,960
Speaker 1: in the league, Jason Tatum one of the bigger, stronger

745
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,399
Speaker 1: forwards in the league, Jalen Green dearon Fox, A couple

746
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,319
Speaker 1: of like really fast athletic guards that are taking ten

747
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,879
Speaker 1: plus jump shots a game. And I think it really

748
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,719
Speaker 1: just comes down to the math. Like, like Wenby takes

749
00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,440
Speaker 1: eight threes or makes eight threes on sixteen tries, it's

750
00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:53,040
Speaker 1: twenty four points on sixteen shots. What is it like

751
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,440
Speaker 1: that that's one point five points per attempt. Like, when

752
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,960
Speaker 1: you're hitting at that rate, the math is just so

753
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,840
Speaker 1: overwhelmingly your favor He'd have to hit seventy five percent

754
00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:05,120
Speaker 1: of his shots around the paint to be equally as efficient,

755
00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:08,040
Speaker 1: so I think it's leaning into the large sample. Here's

756
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,040
Speaker 1: the thing. I'm one hundred percent okay with it as

757
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,120
Speaker 1: long as they're continuing to hit shots at a percentage

758
00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:15,040
Speaker 1: or the math makes sense, But there is one caveat

759
00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:18,640
Speaker 1: in late game situations when you get into the small sample,

760
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,279
Speaker 1: getting that extra point per make doesn't matter if you

761
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,080
Speaker 1: can't make the damn shot. So like all these guys,

762
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,719
Speaker 1: I want to see them have something close to the

763
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,200
Speaker 1: rim that they feel like they can make at least

764
00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:32,720
Speaker 1: fifty percent of the time. If that's a turnaround, fade away,

765
00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 1: if it's a left shoulder hooked, whatever it is that

766
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,759
Speaker 1: you go to, you gotta have something close to the

767
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,240
Speaker 1: rim that you can rely on in small sample size

768
00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:43,000
Speaker 1: situations when you can't rely on the math to benefit

769
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,560
Speaker 1: you over the large sample. All right, three more questions

770
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,160
Speaker 1: in your opinion, Jason. Should the Pacers continue to start

771
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,800
Speaker 1: Mathriin even when Nemhard comes back from his knee injury.

772
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,279
Speaker 1: Matherin looks fantastic this season, and if they make a trade,

773
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:58,040
Speaker 1: I could see a Nemhard Nie Smith for Jad McDaniels

774
00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:00,920
Speaker 1: for the perimeter defense they need. Thoughts Absolutely, I think

775
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:03,880
Speaker 1: Andrew Nempard when Andrew Nemhard comes back, that Ben Mathern

776
00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:06,480
Speaker 1: should keep starting. First of all, he's shooting the lights,

777
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 1: like shooting the laces off the basketball, both off the

778
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,040
Speaker 1: dribble and off the catch, but especially off the catch.

779
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,000
Speaker 1: They had already been closing with him sometimes before then

780
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,879
Speaker 1: Mhard injury, they close like with him over Nie Smith

781
00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:20,279
Speaker 1: or something like that. But they've struggled so much with

782
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,040
Speaker 1: defense and rebounding that I do agree that they need

783
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,319
Speaker 1: something at the three. So like the ideal kind of

784
00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:28,680
Speaker 1: configuration to me would be, you know, you have Tyrese Halliburton,

785
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,320
Speaker 1: you have Ben Matherrin, you have Pascal, you have Miles Turner,

786
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:37,279
Speaker 1: and then somebody who's basically just like a bigger, like, longer,

787
00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:40,080
Speaker 1: better version of aaron Nie Smith at the three. I

788
00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,000
Speaker 1: think would make this team a lot more interesting. Maybe

789
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:44,440
Speaker 1: they're the kind of team that should be looking at

790
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,560
Speaker 1: like a Dorian Finney Smith out of Brooklyn as a

791
00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,399
Speaker 1: potential target for them. Hello Jason, how many more games

792
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,000
Speaker 1: do we need for the Knicks to find their chemistry?

793
00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,120
Speaker 1: Although some of their depth pieces off the bench are

794
00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:56,560
Speaker 1: injured and haven't played a single game yet, and when

795
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,120
Speaker 1: they do. Do you think the defense will click along

796
00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,840
Speaker 1: with their offense? So I would say with both the

797
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,400
Speaker 1: Knicks and the Wolves, I would wait a lot. Like

798
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:06,680
Speaker 1: both of them have been really clunky to start the year.

799
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 1: The Wolves just drop back to back games in Portland

800
00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,640
Speaker 1: where they couldn't score and were turning the basketball over

801
00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:15,160
Speaker 1: a ton, And like the Knicks, that's like impressive game,

802
00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:18,000
Speaker 1: huge dud. Impressive game, huge dud. Like they're just up

803
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 1: and down like crazy right now. These are two teams

804
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:22,840
Speaker 1: that completely change their identity a week before training camp

805
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:25,439
Speaker 1: and undid a lot of the continuity that they built

806
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:28,440
Speaker 1: over the previous seasons. I wouldn't take any sort of

807
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,480
Speaker 1: hardline stance on the Knicks or the Wolves until we're

808
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:34,840
Speaker 1: at least halfway through this season. If we get to

809
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:38,239
Speaker 1: the trade deadline and they have these clear flaws, then

810
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 1: it's a different kind of conversation to have. But I'm

811
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:41,680
Speaker 1: not going to worry about anything until we get to

812
00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:44,680
Speaker 1: that point. Last question, they have a seven and four

813
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:48,080
Speaker 1: record with only Lebron. This was in reference to a

814
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,520
Speaker 1: Lakers tweet that I sent out this morning. They have

815
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:52,880
Speaker 1: seven and four record with only Lebron, Anthony Davis and

816
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:55,640
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves giving them anything night tonight. Those three do

817
00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:58,560
Speaker 1: it all, getting almost nothing night tonight from most of

818
00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:01,920
Speaker 1: the roster, zero front core depth. Makes some changes and

819
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,480
Speaker 1: quickly this team will be something. This was in relation

820
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,839
Speaker 1: to the Lakers getting off to a seven and four

821
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,000
Speaker 1: start but barely having a positive point differential, And obviously

822
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,000
Speaker 1: there's a couple of big blowouts in there. They got

823
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,000
Speaker 1: rolled by the Grizzlies on a night when Anthony Davis

824
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:16,160
Speaker 1: didn't play, and then they had that catastrophe when they

825
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:17,839
Speaker 1: went to Cleveland and just got the shit beat out

826
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:22,440
Speaker 1: of them. But for the most part, they've been a

827
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,719
Speaker 1: team that I'm actually like, weirdly down on, even though

828
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:26,680
Speaker 1: they're off to a decent start in the standings, And

829
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,239
Speaker 1: the main reason why is they've looked so inconsistent down

830
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:32,160
Speaker 1: the roster. But like all these teams are figuring out

831
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 1: with the Lakers that if you pressure the ball and

832
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:35,759
Speaker 1: you run on them and transition, you can cause them

833
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 1: all sorts of problems because of their lack of athletes.

834
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:42,239
Speaker 1: And so to me, like Austin, Lebron and ad are

835
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,200
Speaker 1: a rock solid foundation. They continue to demonstrate that again

836
00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:47,960
Speaker 1: to start this season. There is a ton of skill

837
00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:51,560
Speaker 1: down the roster. De Loo is skilled, Ruy is skilled,

838
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,640
Speaker 1: Dalton connect is skilled. They have skilled players. They have

839
00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:58,440
Speaker 1: to find a way to balance that out with athleticism

840
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:00,400
Speaker 1: down the roster in order to capital ey on it.

841
00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:02,720
Speaker 1: But I agree if you're looking for a silver lining

842
00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:05,440
Speaker 1: as a Lakers fan other than the top three guys,

843
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,160
Speaker 1: there's been no consistent good play down the roster. If

844
00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,279
Speaker 1: you start to get that, either through just guys playing better,

845
00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:13,919
Speaker 1: or through the trade market, or through guys getting healthy

846
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,759
Speaker 1: like Jared Vanderbilt, that's where there's some potential upside with

847
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:18,839
Speaker 1: this Laker team because their top end is so good.

848
00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:20,640
Speaker 1: All right, guys, that is all I have for today

849
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:22,719
Speaker 1: is always sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting me and

850
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:24,800
Speaker 1: supporting the show. I hope you all have an amazing weekend.

851
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:26,920
Speaker 1: We'll be back on Monday with some game reactions and

852
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:27,840
Speaker 1: some power rankings.

853
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:29,040
Speaker 2: I'll see you guys.

854
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:32,640
Speaker 1: Then the volume.

855
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:33,960
Speaker 2: What's so guys?

856
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,759
Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting

857
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Speaker 1: OOPS tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us

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Speaker 1: if you guys would take a second and leave a

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Speaker 1: rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys

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00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,600
Speaker 1: supporting us, but if you could take a minute to

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Speaker 1: do that, I'd really appreciate it.