1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at 2 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: the Volume. Happy Friday, everybody. I hope all of you 3 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: guys had an incredible week. Our wrap up coverage to 4 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: the NBA Finals. It's brought to you by Chase Freedom Unlimited. 5 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: How do you cash back? Today? We're gonna be going 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: over the ten most important traits that we should look 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: for in potential NBA champions moving forward. You guys know 8 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: the drill before we get started. Subscribe to the Volumes 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. 10 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,239 Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jason Lts you guys 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: don't miss any show announcements. And if, for whatever reason, 12 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: you guys miss one of these videos and you can't 13 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: get back over to YouTube to finish, don't forget. You 14 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: can find them wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight. Last, 15 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: but not least, you guys have heard talked about game Time, 16 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: the fastest growing ticketing app in the United States. 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So as 42 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: I sat down over the last couple of days to 43 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: work on this particular video last year, if you guys remember, 44 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: I think it was like something like the five biggest 45 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: lessons I learned from that NBA season. And it's funny 46 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: because as I was kind of making my list, it 47 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: ended up being all these things that I expect or 48 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: that I'm gonna be looking for as I'm trying to 49 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: evaluate basketball teams in the future and their potential to 50 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: win an NBA championship. And next thing, you know, my 51 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: list got pretty long, and it kind of all had 52 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: to do with that, so I kind of changed it 53 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: on the fly, and so we're doing the ten most 54 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: important traits to look for in championship teams. I think 55 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,920 Speaker 1: what'll be interesting about this particular list is we'll just 56 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: come back to it every time we're taking a deep 57 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: look at a particular team and their chances to win 58 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: the title, We'll come back and look at this list 59 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 1: because I think I think a lot of you guys 60 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: are gonna agree with most of the items on this 61 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: list as things that are kind of important for teams 62 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: that have serious ambitions to win a title, and so 63 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: it'll kind of like a checklist for us to evaluate 64 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: teams in the future. So, without any further ado, let's 65 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: start with number one. Size. An NBA championship team most 66 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: likely will need size. Since twenty seventeen, every single champion 67 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 1: aside from the twenty twenty two Warriors, was huge. Right. 68 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: The twenty seventeen Warriors had Kevin Durant on the front 69 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: line with Andre Gudala and Dremont Green. Andrea Gudala and 70 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: Dremon Green are the tallest dudes in the world, but 71 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: they're super big and strong, and then obviously Kevin Durant 72 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: brings a ton of length to the table. Same group 73 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen twenty nineteen, that front line had Pascal 74 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: Siakam and Kawhi Leonard and Serge Baka and Marc Gasolt. 75 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: They were huge. The twenty twenty Lakers Anthony Davis and 76 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: Lebron James sometimes at the three four alongside Dwight Howard, 77 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: with guys like Kyle Kuzman, Danny Green and even and again, 78 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: one of the themes here is it sized down the roster. 79 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: Its not just size in the front court, it size 80 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: down the roster. The twenty twenty one Bucks, another huge team, 81 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: Brooke Lopez, Jianison, ten Koopo, Chris Middleton six ' eight, 82 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: six ' eleven seven foot down the front line. Right 83 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: we go to the twenty twenty twenty two Warriors. They're 84 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: the outlier, but Steph is like the big outlier in 85 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: NBA history as it pertains the size. If you're ranking 86 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: the top fifteen players in NBA history, he's gonna be 87 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: the only guy on that list that's less than six five. 88 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: So Steph is going to consistently break the mold with 89 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: these kinds of things. And that's why when we evaluate 90 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: the Warriors, they probably have to be evaluated based on 91 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: a different list than this, but they're the one outlier. 92 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: And then we go right back to normalcy with the 93 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three Nuggets, who are massive down the line, 94 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 1: with Nikolea Jokis, with Aaron Gordon, with Michael Porter Junior, 95 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: with Contavious Colboll, Pope. Jamal Murray's even big compared to 96 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: most point guards. Bruce Brown a bigger, stronger, better athlete 97 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: than most of the backup bench guards that we have 98 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: in the league. So the question is why does size 99 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: matter so much? In the NBA as it pertains to 100 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 1: winning championships. Like I said twenty seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty 101 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: twenty one, twenty two to twenty three, that's six of 102 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: the last seven champions that were massive down the roster 103 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: in terms of their overall size. Well, first of balls rebounding. Famously, 104 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 1: pat Riley once said, no rebounds, no rings. You have 105 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: to finish out defensive possessions, which gives you an opportunity 106 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 1: to spring fast break opportunities. Right, you also need to 107 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: have size down the roster. Why is that the more 108 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: jump shots that are taken in NBA games, the more 109 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: long rebounds there are. When big guys are engaged in 110 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 1: box outs underneath the basket, often the ball just comes 111 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: carrying off to some random place and it's almost like 112 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: a game of three flags up. If you ever played 113 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: that when you were a kid, where someone would just 114 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: throw the ball up in the air and then if 115 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: you caught it three times, you got to go be 116 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: the person who throws the ball, right, Like, that's kind 117 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: of what contested rebound situations and long rebounds are. It's 118 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: the ball's coming out. No one's really in position. It's 119 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: just a bunch of guards and wings trying to fly 120 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: in from the perimeter to grab contested rebounds, and so 121 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 1: having that type of athleticism on the perimeter is a 122 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: huge deal there. Size also helps with your paint finish 123 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: on both ends of the floor, your ability to finish 124 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,280 Speaker 1: over defenders around the basket, and your ability to dissuade 125 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: opponents from finishing around the basket, and the last, but 126 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: not least, shooting over the top from the perimeter. When 127 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: you've got a guy like Michael Porter Junior who's taking 128 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: jump shots over Austin Reeves contesting in the corner, he 129 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: just doesn't see him because of the size advantage that 130 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: he has. So chances are, if we're looking at your 131 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: team next year to win a championship, if they aren't huge, 132 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: they probably aren't going to win the title unless they're 133 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: fantastic in every other area of the game. Again, as 134 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: we're looking at these lists, if you fill nine of 135 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: these ten categories but you don't have the size, chances 136 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: are you still have a good chance. So this is 137 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: kind of gonna just be a checklist that we refer 138 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,040 Speaker 1: back to throughout the season next year. Number two Strength. 139 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: Why is it that guys like Nicola Jokic, Lebron James 140 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,119 Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler always go up a level 141 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: in the playoffs. While we often see skinnier, thinner players 142 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: struggle a bit, that's not the end all be all. 143 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: There are thin players who succeed. Devin Booker is not 144 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: the biggest strongest player in the world, and that dude 145 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: shot the lights out this entire postseason. So it's not 146 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: like a perfect rule. But for the most part, guys 147 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: who are bigger and stronger seem to go up a 148 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: level in the playoffs. Why is that you have to 149 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: play through contact as the officials swallow their whistle and 150 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: they allow more contact. You have to be able to 151 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: thrive in those situations getting to spots. There are these 152 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: spots on the floor where you're comfortable, where you can 153 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: go to shots that you trust your ability to make. 154 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: In order to get to those spots, you have to 155 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: fight for position, either through setting your man up for 156 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:37,239 Speaker 1: a screen and then jolting to that spot, or fighting 157 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: for position in the traditional kind of post up sense, 158 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: regardless of whether that's on the wing or the elbow 159 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: or at the block. You need to seal your defender 160 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: and create a passing angle for your guard to get 161 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: you the ball. And so the strength, the big physical 162 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: strength to get to those spots matters. Fighting for easy 163 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: shots closer to the rim. You've seen a lot in 164 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: over the course of this season teams that rely heavily 165 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: on pull up jump shooting as the bread and butter 166 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: of their offense, they tend to struggle to generate quality 167 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: shots over the course of the series. As high powered 168 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: as that Suns offense was all season, they barely averaged 169 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: one hundred and ten points per one hundred possessions against 170 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: Denver because they struggled in the physicality of that matchup. 171 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: One of my favorite examples of this is Bruce Brown 172 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: versus D'Angelo Russell in the Western Conference Finals. Just every 173 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: single time he caught Anthony Davis kind of out of position, 174 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: usually because Jokics pinned him back in transition, he would 175 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: just hit the Jets and D'Angelo Russell, even though he's 176 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: a Actually, I think D'Angelo might even be an inch 177 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: taller than Bruce Brown if I remember correctly. I think 178 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:41,599 Speaker 1: I could be wrong about this, but I think d 179 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: low sixty five and I think Bruce is sixty four, 180 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: but they're about the same size. Let's just call it that. 181 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: But Bruce is so damn strong that he's just pushing 182 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: through and just bullying a D'Angelo Russell to get to 183 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: those spots. That kind of thing just matters at this level, 184 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: fighting for position, getting two shots closer to the rim. 185 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: Same thing goes on the defensive end, as guys are 186 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: trying to beat you to spots. If you're the bigger, 187 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: stronger athlete and they're allowing a lot of contact, that's 188 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: gonna help you fight in those situations. So size and 189 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: strength the two biggest ones that I looked at three 190 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:17,559 Speaker 1: top end ball handling. This was the Celtics conundrum coming 191 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: out of last season. Oh, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, not ready, 192 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: Let's bring in Malcolm Brogden, you know. And again this 193 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: I'm a big believer in just kind of learning as 194 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: things go on. I was one of the many people 195 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: who recommended that the Celtics make a trade for a 196 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: guard after last season. Right, So I'm not over here 197 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:37,839 Speaker 1: sitting like I was precient with this kind of thing. 198 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: I was wrong about this, But again, all I'm gonna 199 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: try to do year in and year out, is try to 200 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,680 Speaker 1: learn based on what I noticed and hopefully not make 201 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: that mistake in the future. We picked most of the 202 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,199 Speaker 1: series correct this year. I want to say they were 203 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: like fifteen series or something like that, and we picked 204 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: like eleven of them correctly. I'm not one hundred percent sure, 205 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 1: but we got most of them right. But that's just 206 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: probably luck first ball chances. Our next year, I'll have 207 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 1: a significantly less successful playoff run picking series. But I 208 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: still got a bunch of them wrong too. And so 209 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: even though I hate predictions and I don't really care 210 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: all that much about them, for the purposes of the show, 211 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 1: I want to do the best that I possibly can, 212 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: and the only way we're going to do that is 213 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: by learning lessons as the years go by and hopefully 214 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: not making the mistakes those mistakes in the future. Top 215 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: End ball handling apparently matters a hell of a lot 216 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: more than aggregate ball handling, because the Boston Celtics this year, 217 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:32,839 Speaker 1: even with Malcolm Brogden, although he was hurt, but even 218 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: as you go back into previous rounds before he got hurt, 219 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: the Celtics still had the same problem, which was no 220 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: matter who they gave the ball to, that guy wasn't 221 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: quite good enough at being that half court surgeon that 222 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: they needed, you know, as we look like look Denver. 223 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: As I said in our NBA Finals wrap up, they 224 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: did not have to play any of the top eight 225 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: records in the league. Why is that? Why didn't they 226 00:10:57,840 --> 00:10:59,679 Speaker 1: have to play any of the top eight records in 227 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: the leage? Well, Milwaukee lacked top end ball handling. Giannis 228 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: still really struggles in the half court to create quality shots. 229 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: So does Drew and Chris Right. Boston top end ball handling, 230 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: Like they got into that series with Jimmy Butler, and 231 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler was so much better than Jason Tatum and 232 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 1: Jaylen Brown at consistently generating quality offense in the half court. 233 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: They couldn't overcome that, even with the massive talent advantage Philly. 234 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:26,559 Speaker 1: They had that issue with Jason Tatum. So what does 235 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: that tell you about their top end ball handlers. Obviously, 236 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,679 Speaker 1: James Harden and his decline, Joel Embiid's inability to handle 237 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: double teams in the half court, their limitations in top 238 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: end ball handling were the problem. Memphis, same thing. Their 239 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: best guy to create his own shot down the tail 240 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: end of the Lakers series was Desmond Baine, that's just 241 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: not gonna cut it. Cleveland, same thing, Donovan Mitchell two 242 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: tunnel vision, Darius Garland, not a good enough score Sacramento. 243 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: They only had a one to nine point three offensive 244 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 1: rating against Golden State. I thought Deer and Fox and 245 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: Malik Monk had some real moments in that series, and 246 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: they're good foundational guys, but they aren't good enough to 247 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 1: overcome the limitations that they had in their front court scoring. 248 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: So the top end ball handling down the line wasn't 249 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: good enough. The eighth best record in the league the 250 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 1: New York Knicks, they ended up losing because it was 251 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: like Jalen Brunson and nobody else could create their own shot, 252 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: and Jalen Brunson wasn't as good at it as Jimmy 253 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: Butler was. So you guys get the point. This is 254 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: still a Superstars league. In the NBA. There was that 255 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:25,679 Speaker 1: moment there in twenty twenty one where we're like, oh, 256 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: look at the Phoenix Suns, like maybe, just maybe, you know, 257 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: overall talent can eventually win. Nope, and it didn't work 258 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 1: for Boston the last couple of years. Either your best 259 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: guy has to be one of the very best guys 260 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: to win a title. And that's just as we look back, 261 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,199 Speaker 1: Jokic Finals MVP, Steph Curry Finals MVP Giannis in twenty 262 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: twenty one, he did it. But as we look back, 263 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: like it was against that Suns team that didn't really 264 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,199 Speaker 1: have a superstar, it was against that Atlanta Hawks team 265 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: where it's like, yeah, he's better than Trey Young by 266 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,599 Speaker 1: a lot. The Brooklyn Nets fell apart because Kyrie and 267 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:00,559 Speaker 1: James Harden got hurt, so Kevin Rant a bunch of 268 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: veteran minimum contract type of dudes. Like, it's a different, 269 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: it's a different That was kind of a strange season. 270 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: But even then, Giannis is the very best defensive player 271 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 1: in basketball and average thirty five points per game in 272 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,439 Speaker 1: the final. So he's probably the worst guy out of 273 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: all of these recent NBA Finals MVPs. And it's Giannis Tennekombo. 274 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: So if he's the worst guy on that list, what 275 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:25,439 Speaker 1: does that tell you. We go back the previous year, 276 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: it's the second greatest player of all time. It's Lebron James. 277 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: Go back to the previous year, it's Kawhi Leonard, this big, 278 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: strong forward that can bully his way to spots and 279 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: get whatever he wants. Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant, Lebron James 280 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: should have been Steph Curry in twenty fifteen. You guys 281 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,680 Speaker 1: get the point. Superstars still rule the NBA. Your top 282 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: end ball handling matter is way more than aggregate ball handling. 283 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: Even really talented teams that don't have a great top 284 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: ball handler can easily lose out to a well coached, 285 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: good defensive team that competes and has a star that's 286 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: gonna out execute your stars on the other end of 287 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: the floor. So top end ball handling still matters. Number four, 288 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: you have to have at least one elite unit on 289 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: one end of the floor. Remember we used to have 290 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: this top ten defense rule forever, right, so for decades, 291 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:12,679 Speaker 1: if you didn't have a top ten defensive rating in 292 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,199 Speaker 1: the regular season or a defending champion, which means you 293 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: had a top ten defense the previous season, you don't 294 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: get to win a title. Why is that the case. 295 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: Why did that top ten defense rule hold true for 296 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: so long. It's because defense is the most consistent thing 297 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: in basketball. Jump shooting does have some variants. I think 298 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: that it's overstated, especially by a lot of people that 299 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 1: pay too much attention to shot quality and things like that. 300 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: But there is some variety in basketball. Some days you 301 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: don't feel quite as good. Sometimes the shots don't fall 302 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 1: as well as they usually do. You can have up 303 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: and down, You can have a naturally up and down 304 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: nature to what you bring offensively, in fact most teams do. 305 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: But defensively, if you bring the effort, focus, energy, and 306 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: the attention to detail, that will be reliable for you 307 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: every single night. Even like that twenty twenty one Bucks 308 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: team that some limitations in the half court offensively, it 309 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: just didn't matter because of how damn good they were defensively. 310 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: The iconic moment of that entire playoff run was Giannis 311 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: Lutenankuopo dissuading Devin Booker on a pull up shot and 312 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: pick and roll, and then turning and sprinting and elevating 313 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: and blocking DeAndre and at the rim. It was otherworldly 314 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: defense that carried them through that particular playoff run. So 315 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: it's the consistency of defense, the fact that it can 316 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 1: be counted on on a daily basis that makes it 317 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: so important. But then Denver broke that rule as the 318 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: first team that was not a defending champion or a 319 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: top ten defense to win the NBA Championship. But they 320 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: were by far the best offense in the playoffs. They 321 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: had a one to eighteen point two offensive rating that 322 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: was even higher than their regular season offensive ratings, so 323 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 1: their offense actually went up a level in the postseason. 324 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: They had a one to twenty offensive rating. In clutch 325 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: situations they had, they stole games in clutch situations. Like 326 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: everyone remembers the Lakers series as a sweep, as they should, 327 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: it was, but a lot of those games were close. 328 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: I think three of the four were close, and the 329 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: one that wasn't close, the Lakers had a big second 330 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: half lead, right, So like coming back and winning games 331 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: at the end with reliable offense was a huge thing 332 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: for Denver. They were eight and four in games in 333 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: this postseason that involved clutch situations. You guys might remember 334 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: in Game four of that Lakers series ty game, Nikole 335 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: Jokic in the left corner just bullies Anthony Davis to 336 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: the basket for the would be game winner Miami in 337 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: Game five as they closed out the trophy. I broke 338 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: it down in our video after the game, but that 339 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: Jokic post up against Caleb Martin against the switch for 340 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: that easy layup to get the lead back after Jimmy 341 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: made a fadeaway. After Bam scored, there was that Bruce 342 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: Brown offensive rebound put back because Miami had to bracket 343 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon on a box out. Like their offense had 344 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: an inevitability to it and a consistency to it that 345 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: mirrored the impact that we see from dominant defenses over 346 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: the years. So I don't think you necessarily have to 347 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: have the best defense anymore to win a title, but 348 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: you either need to be unbelievably great on the defensive 349 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: end of the floor or unbelievably great on the offensive 350 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: end of the floor. You have to be dominant in 351 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,360 Speaker 1: one of those units to have a chance to win 352 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: a champion a championship, and you won't find a team 353 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: in recent NBA history that hoisted the trophy without one 354 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: of those units being elite. Number five competitiveness. I always 355 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: talk about this, are defining it as hating losing more 356 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: than you love basketball. Basketball's fun. When you go play 357 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: pick up, it's fun. When you go shoot around, it's fun. 358 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: It's like one of my favorite sports in the well 359 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:35,240 Speaker 1: is my favorite sport in the world. But one of 360 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: the things that I think makes it such a popular 361 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: sport around the world is we can all throw headphones 362 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: on and go out to a park or go to 363 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: La Fitness and you can shoot around by yourself and 364 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,359 Speaker 1: have a great time. Because basketball is fun. But basketball 365 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:53,199 Speaker 1: games they're they're nasty, and a lot of times, in 366 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,440 Speaker 1: order to avoid losing, you have to do some things 367 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 1: that are not fun, like engaging in physical battles all 368 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: over the floor, attention to detail, effort, focus, energy, those 369 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: kinds of things. Right, So, how much fight does your 370 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,080 Speaker 1: basketball team have? How much are they willing to give 371 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,879 Speaker 1: an extra effort when they're exhausted? How could like that 372 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: Laker team drove me insane with their inconsistent effort. One 373 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: night they come in and mail it in, and then 374 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:19,880 Speaker 1: the next night they come in and dominate. I literally 375 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: picked every single game of the Memphis series and the 376 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: Golden State Series correctly because to the tune of what 377 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: the games would look like, just because I was so 378 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,439 Speaker 1: familiar with the cadence of the way the Lakers brought effort. 379 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: And I hated that about that team because they they 380 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: were competitive, but they weren't competitive enough to bring that 381 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: nastiness on a daily basis. That nastiness is what carries 382 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: you in the rock fights. And I don't think it 383 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: was a coincidence that the Nuggets and Heat, two of 384 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 1: the most consistent effort teams in the playoffs, made it 385 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 1: to the finals this year. The Nuggets ended up winning 386 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: what like eight of their last nine games in the postseason. 387 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 1: They didn't mail anything in, they didn't conserve energy. They 388 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: came out every single night and wanted to murder you, 389 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: and that's why they got the trophy. Same thing with 390 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: the Miami Heat. Competitiveness is a prerequisite to winning in 391 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: the late rounds of the NBA Playoffs. It's something we 392 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: should look for in basketball teams moving forward. Number six Experience. 393 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: Young players still don't win in the NBA playoffs. Michael 394 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: Porter Junior was the only player under the age of 395 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: twenty five to play over one hundred minutes in the 396 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: NBA Finals this year, and guess what, he was the 397 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,440 Speaker 1: only guy who really struggled. He averaged under ten points 398 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 1: a game on just thirty three percent shooting relative to 399 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:41,160 Speaker 1: his regular season performance. He was the guy who struggled 400 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 1: the most. Why is that? What is it? I look 401 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: at it kind of based around a cliche like, oh, 402 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: young players don't know how to win. Older players know 403 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: how to win. That's a cliche. But what does that mean? Well, like, 404 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: what does it mean for a player to know how 405 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: to win? And how does a player re that point? 406 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: To me? I always refer to it on the show 407 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: as scar tissue. As a young basketball player, you win 408 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,919 Speaker 1: and lose a lot of basketball games, right, but you 409 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,920 Speaker 1: haven't lost enough yet to really know why you lose, right, 410 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,399 Speaker 1: Like you're a twenty three year old. I'll give you, 411 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: guys an example. I'm on a men's league team now 412 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: that has a bunch of grown ass men, and we 413 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: win the championship almost every single time, and we very 414 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: very rarely lose games. But it's because we're a bunch 415 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,440 Speaker 1: of guys in our thirties who played in college and 416 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: we just have a really good basketball experience that we 417 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: lean back on. When I was a kid, when I 418 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: was like in my early twenties, I would play in 419 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: this same men's league with a bunch of other guys 420 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: that were my age, young kids in their early twenties, 421 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:55,320 Speaker 1: and we get our ass kicked all the time, particularly 422 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 1: by older teams and then we go over the sideline 423 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 1: and we bitch moan about how many touches were getting 424 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: and it's like, oh, you shot the ball too much, 425 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:05,679 Speaker 1: or you didn't pass the ball enough and all all 426 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:07,679 Speaker 1: this kind of shit, and it's like, well, actually, we 427 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: probably lost because we weren't really connected enough defensively, didn't 428 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: run back and transition, didn't make yeah, yeah, didn't make 429 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: the extra pass when the guy was open, you know, 430 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: didn't compete on the glass like uh, didn't know how 431 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: to attack his zone defense when an old man team 432 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: brings out his own defense. Like those were the actual 433 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,400 Speaker 1: reasons why we lost. But we're too stupid and young 434 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 1: and immature to look in the mirror and accept those 435 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 1: things as reasons why you lose. So what happens is, 436 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: over the years, you build up scar tissue. You lose, 437 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:38,239 Speaker 1: and you lose, and you lose and you lose, and 438 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: every time it fucking hurts and you just and you 439 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: just take that to heart and you remember why, and 440 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 1: eventually it clicks for you. Eventually it clicks, and then 441 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,120 Speaker 1: suddenly you start to realize like, oh, we won today. 442 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,640 Speaker 1: Why did we win? Oh? We won because we were 443 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: doing these little things right every player. By the time 444 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: they each their mid to late twenties, especially when they're 445 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,639 Speaker 1: playing basketball as much as professionals do, they do learn 446 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 1: and they start to understand what it takes to consistently 447 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: win basketball games, and so they have they approach games 448 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: with an attention to detail. When I go up and 449 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,640 Speaker 1: I play in a basketball game now and again, it's 450 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: it's just a stupid men's league, right, But you guys 451 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: know how crazy I am about basketball, So of course 452 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 1: I take it seriously every time I approach the game 453 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 1: with this like incredible attention to detail, as it pertains 454 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: of the little things that win. When I was twenty 455 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:36,640 Speaker 1: two and I'd go up to the gym or nineteen 456 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: and I'd go up to the gym for one of 457 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: those men's league games, it's like, I hope I score 458 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: thirty seven tonight. God, I hope I get some cool dunks. 459 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: You know, Like you're just You're just an idiot. It's 460 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: no different than anything else in life outside of sports. 461 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: When you're a young kid, you're an idiot and you 462 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 1: don't realize it, and then suddenly you reach the point 463 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,160 Speaker 1: where you learn and you look back and you're like, ugh, 464 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: like why was I thinking that way? Why was I 465 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: doing things that way? Kids just struggle with that particular concept, 466 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: And so I don't think it's a coincidence that we 467 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: see teams that like the Memphis Grizzlies, for instance, that 468 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: win a bunch of regular season games just on the 469 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: strength of their talent and their athleticism, and then they 470 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: consistently get into these slow down playoff series against veteran 471 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,440 Speaker 1: teams and just get beat in the margins. And they'll 472 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: still have these crazy games, like these blowout wins like 473 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 1: they had in Game five against Golden State last year, 474 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: like they had in Game five against the Lakers this year, 475 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: but then they can't replicate that. They don't they don't 476 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: realize why they won. They don't they don't know how 477 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: to attach the correct reasoning to their result and learn 478 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,920 Speaker 1: that moving forward. That's why I call it scar tissue. 479 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: The pain of loss leads to scar tissue that helps 480 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: you do the things you need to do to win. 481 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,359 Speaker 1: And so when we see teams that have a bunch 482 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,159 Speaker 1: of young players in the rotation win a lot of 483 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 1: regular season games, we should probably realize that that means 484 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 1: they can't not win an NBA championship. In all likelihood. Again, 485 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: I don't think there's an arbitrary cutoff. I don't think 486 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,399 Speaker 1: it's just because Michael Porter Junior hasn't turned twenty five yet. 487 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: But I don't think it's a coincidence that he was 488 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: the youngest real rotation player in the series and the 489 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,760 Speaker 1: guy who struggled the most. There is no specific cutoff date. 490 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 1: I just think as a team, you need to have 491 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: experience and you need to not be relying on too 492 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: many young players in your rotation. Okay, to have a 493 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 1: couple of them, we've seen that. We saw the Lakers 494 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: have a lot of success with Austin Reeves and Ruy 495 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 1: Hatchamura although they're both twenty four. You know, we saw 496 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: the Warriors last year with Jordan Poole getting big minutes 497 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: like it can happen. But the overall nature of the team, 498 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: the character of the team needs to be a grown 499 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:48,439 Speaker 1: up and experienced basketball team. Number seven, you need to 500 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: have above average role players. I'm just gonna list some teams, 501 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 1: some recent NBA champions and pay attention really quickly to 502 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,920 Speaker 1: which of these guys was on a veteran minimum contract 503 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: in which of them was not Nuggets, KCP not on 504 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 1: a veteran minimum, Michael Porter Junior not on a veteran minimum, 505 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,399 Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon not on a veteran minimum, Bruce Brown on 506 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: a mid level exception. Okay, so their core role players, 507 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: none of them were just cheap dudes you pick up 508 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: for free on that that don't have any impact on 509 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: your cap space. The Warriors eight really good players, Steph Clay, 510 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 1: Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Raymond Green, Cavon Looney, Gary Payton 511 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 1: the second and out of Porter Junior. I'm pretty sure 512 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: Gary Payton the second out of Porter Junior, were the 513 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 1: only two veteran minimums in that group. Kevon Looney makes 514 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,360 Speaker 1: a decent amount of money. Obviously, you're a core four 515 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 1: guys for the Warriors make a lot of money. It's 516 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: important to have very good role players behind your stars. 517 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,919 Speaker 1: The Bucks Drew Holliday, Chris Middleton, Jonnason Tannan Koopo obviously 518 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: as their big three, but then they had Brook Lopez 519 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,479 Speaker 1: and PJ. Tucker, Pat Connitton and Bobby Portis. The Lakers 520 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: Lebron James and Anthony Davis, but they had Kentavious Kobell 521 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: Pope as Nuggets fans know, Danny Green, a guy who's 522 00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:00,360 Speaker 1: making fifteen million a year, Alex Crusoe as a dude 523 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: they picked up undrafted, But Kyle Kuzma is the guy 524 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,120 Speaker 1: that costs money, Rayjion Rondo, Dwight Howard like. There are 525 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: only a handful of veteran minimum contracts in that group. 526 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: I think out of all the players I listed, I 527 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: think there were like five. So when you see your 528 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,960 Speaker 1: team talking about, like, hey, let's get a third star 529 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,640 Speaker 1: and let's round out the roster with veteran minimums, okay, 530 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: feel free to try that if you want. But none 531 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: of the recent NBA champions won that way. They won 532 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: that way with a couple of really expensive players on 533 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,880 Speaker 1: the top and then a bunch of mid level salaries 534 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: and maybe one or two veteran minimum contracts. The vast 535 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:36,879 Speaker 1: majority of these teams have really good players down the roster. 536 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: You need really good basketball players behind your stars to 537 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:44,639 Speaker 1: win an NBA championship. Number eight coaching. Coaching played a 538 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: huge role in these playoffs. Obviously, we talked a lot 539 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: about Eric Spolstra making opposing stars uncomfortable his really smart 540 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: spacing concepts, clearing the side for Jimmy Butler so that 541 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: he had really good confidence as he was kind of 542 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 1: going to work off the dribble. He was the first 543 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 1: guy I saw sixes fully used zone in large doses 544 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: in the NBA playoffs. I thought Mike Malone did some 545 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,159 Speaker 1: really work good work throughout the playoffs, although he didn't 546 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,399 Speaker 1: need to make many adjustments just on account of the 547 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: fact that their team was so damn good. But remember 548 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: when Lebron was cooking them with ghost screens with Austin 549 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: Reeves to attack Jamal Murray and then he switched over 550 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: Toamal Murray on too Dennis Schroeder so that it wouldn't 551 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: be on a movement shooter so they he wouldn't be 552 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: able to run that same action. Or when Eric Spolscher 553 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 1: was denying the high post in their zone sets and 554 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: so they just moved Jokic down to the short corner 555 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 1: and either had him flash high or stay down and 556 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 1: try to drive the zone. Darvin Ham for Steve Kerr 557 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: was a really interesting playoff series earlier in the playoffs 558 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: where they were making all those adjustments around Steph Curry 559 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis, trying to pull Anthony Davis away from 560 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: the rim or contain Steph Curry in pick and roll. 561 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: I thought both of those guys did really good work 562 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: throughout the playoffs, and then we saw the opposite of that. 563 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,919 Speaker 1: We saw Mike Budenholzer just letting Jimmy attack through Holiday 564 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,200 Speaker 1: on an Island without double teams. We saw Joe Miszula 565 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: refusing to ignore PJ. Tucker in the sixer series until 566 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: Game six, So you got to see the best of 567 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,879 Speaker 1: both worlds in this particular playoff run. I think you 568 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 1: need to have a head coach that can make the 569 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,320 Speaker 1: opposing team uncomfortable and find ways to avoid the same 570 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: thing happening to your team, which leads perfectly into number 571 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: nine versatility. You've got to give your coach ammunition for adjustments. 572 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: You have to be able to play multiple ways. We 573 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: saw Cleveland lose. The Cleveland Cavaliers dominate all season and 574 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: then lose because they were incapable of creating a shot 575 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:31,080 Speaker 1: out of anything other than high pick and roll. And 576 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,679 Speaker 1: so as soon as Tom Thibodeau found out that he 577 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,400 Speaker 1: could kind of leave those weak side corner shooters and 578 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:38,600 Speaker 1: just kind of defend the pick and roll three down two, 579 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: Cleveland's offense just died in the first round. We saw 580 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,160 Speaker 1: Boston have similar issues against Miami as they struggled to 581 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: find different ways to attack. When Jason Tatum and Jaylen 582 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: Brown were struggling on the defensive end. We saw Joel Embiid, 583 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: the great rim protector that he was all season, really 584 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 1: struggle as soon as Boston pulled him away from the 585 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: rim because he wasn't capable of defending in that content. 586 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 1: Teams are going to force you away from your bread 587 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,080 Speaker 1: and butter, and you need to be comfortable switching gears 588 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: to a different tactic and having success with that tactic. 589 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 1: That is a talent thing. You need to have the 590 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 1: requisite talent to be able to play multiple ways. Like 591 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 1: Denver's offense is a great example of this. They can 592 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: run through Yokicchen the post if you run drop coverage 593 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: and you stay glued to the role man. Jamal Murray 594 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: can kill you with pull up shooting. If you play 595 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 1: up onto that pull up jump shot, you're opening up 596 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 1: the pocket pass and Nicole Jokich is going to kill 597 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 1: you if you switch it. They can just go down 598 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: to Yokicchen the post or Jamal Murray can work out 599 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: of ISO if they put a great defender on Jamal Murray, 600 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: that's causing problems. You could switch and start running action 601 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,680 Speaker 1: for Michael Porter Junior and for Contavious Callwell, Pope, they 602 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 1: can go to Aaron Gordon when they move a smaller 603 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 1: defender over to Aaron Gordon. He dominated in the post 604 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 1: in this playoff run. They just had so many different 605 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: ways they could play offensively. It literally made them unguardable. Last, 606 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: but not least, continuity. Each of the four NBA finalists 607 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:03,440 Speaker 1: from the last two years, the Celtics, the Warriors and 608 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: the Heat and the Nuggets involved groups of core players 609 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: who have been playing together for years. Why does continuity matter? 610 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: I believe that talent is flattening out across the league 611 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: just by virtue of there being so much talent, and 612 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,520 Speaker 1: then also with the new CBA that's just gonna get 613 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: more and more dramatic as the years go by, You're 614 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 1: gonna see more and more talent parody across the league. 615 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: And what is going to be the separating factor, in 616 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 1: my opinion, basketball teams that know how to play together well. 617 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: There is a rhythm and flow to basketball, like we 618 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: always talk about, and that rhythm and flow with basketball 619 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: becomes instinctual to players that have been playing together for 620 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: years and years and years. It's the reds become consistent. 621 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 1: You find out where guys like to cut, where guys 622 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 1: like to relocate on the three point line when you 623 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,360 Speaker 1: run two man game. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic have 624 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,920 Speaker 1: literally run thousands of ball screens and dribble handoffs and 625 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: inverted ball screens. Those dudes just they've done it so 626 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 1: many times they don't need the It's just second nature 627 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: to them at this point. And the same thing goes 628 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: on the defensive end of the floor. As you learn 629 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,800 Speaker 1: how to have a similar kind of expectation for your 630 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 1: teammates on the defensive end of the floor. Continuity is 631 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: beginning to take over in the NBA, and it'll be 632 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:18,360 Speaker 1: really interesting to see in this particular offseason how many 633 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,280 Speaker 1: teams like really shake things up versus try to bring 634 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: all the same guys back. As someone who roots for 635 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: the Lakers, I'm hoping they kind of just bring everybody 636 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: back and then, yeah, like if you have an opportunity 637 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: to flip, like if D'Angelo Russell comes back for twenty 638 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 1: million and Ruey Hatchamura comes back for fifteen, and yeah, 639 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 1: you can flip two guys for a really good guard 640 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 1: or a really good star like yeah, maybe, but like dude, 641 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,959 Speaker 1: bring your players back and just hope they learn how 642 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,760 Speaker 1: to play better basketball together again. Most of these series 643 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: are defined are decided by smaller margins than we think. 644 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: If you really look back at it, the margins are 645 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 1: usually pretty tight. Playoff series are decided by tiny, tiny gaps. 646 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 1: I mean, Philly, Philly was up big and had a 647 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: really good chance to win in Game six against Boston. 648 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,040 Speaker 1: They lost that series. You don't think those guys are 649 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,440 Speaker 1: haunted by some of those moments. You don't think Golden 650 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 1: State looks back to Game four against the Lakers. You 651 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 1: don't think the Memphis Grizzlies look back at Game four 652 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: against the Lakers as a missed opportunity. Playoff series are 653 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: defined by the tightest of margins, and continuity is another 654 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 1: great way to gain an advantage. So recapping really quick 655 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: size and strength, top end ball handling an elite unit 656 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: either on the defensive end or the offensive end, competitiveness, experience, 657 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:38,479 Speaker 1: above average role players, coaching, versatility, and continuity. Those are 658 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 1: the ten things that we are going to use every 659 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 1: time next year when we're starting to examine a team 660 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,800 Speaker 1: and their ability to win an NBA championship, just as 661 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: a kind of like a baseline for us. Based Again, 662 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,360 Speaker 1: like I always say, the best indicator of future performance 663 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: is past performance. That's how we learn from the past 664 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 1: and help to better predict the future. All right, guys, 665 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. I am hopping 666 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,680 Speaker 1: on a plane and going up to Bozeman and hanging 667 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: out up in Montana for the next five days. I 668 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: will be back late on Wednesday, so we're not doing 669 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:09,920 Speaker 1: anything that night. I will have my stuff with me 670 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,560 Speaker 1: in case of catastrophe. Knowing my luck, I'll probably land 671 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 1: in Bozeman and Lebron James will ask for a trade 672 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: or something stupid like that. Chances are, but if nothing happens, 673 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,800 Speaker 1: I plan on taking the whole stretch off. We will 674 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,120 Speaker 1: be coming back on Thursday to cover the NBA Draft 675 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 1: with the Nerd sessh guys and with Colin Coward. As always, 676 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: I sincerely appreciate you, guys, and I'm going to enjoy 677 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: this break and I'll see you guys next week. The 678 00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: volume