WEBVTT - Lawrence Murray Joins The Heat Check!

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<v Speaker 1>All right.

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<v Speaker 2>Moving on, speaking of the Clippers, we got a special guest,

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<v Speaker 2>law Murray from The Athletic joined my other show bet

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<v Speaker 2>MGM The Night to talk all things Clippers. I was

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<v Speaker 2>joined by my co host Ryan Horbaugh and Nick Ashu.

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<v Speaker 2>So let's jump right into it, all right.

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<v Speaker 1>Lawrence Murray covers the Clippers in the NBA for The Athletic.

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<v Speaker 1>He jumps on with us, Now, what you were supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to see Draymond Green in the Warriors tomorrow night against

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<v Speaker 1>the Clippers, and now we're not gonna see that for

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<v Speaker 1>who knows how long? Your thoughts on the suspension and

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<v Speaker 1>where we are now, Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>I knew that wasn't happening. At halftime, my guy shows

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<v Speaker 3>me his phone.

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<v Speaker 4>It's like, Draymond ain't gonna be here Thursday night.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm like, I didn't see it, Like I knew that

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<v Speaker 3>it was some people were talking about, but I hadn't

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<v Speaker 3>seen the clip.

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<v Speaker 4>And then I seen the clip and I'm like, my

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<v Speaker 4>guys got more finishing moves and you'll see in a

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<v Speaker 4>royal rumble these days, man like he's.

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<v Speaker 3>Got the closed line, you got the herd stop in

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<v Speaker 3>the playoffs. What's the bonus they show Cole haul it

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<v Speaker 3>off and punch you pull. That was not you know,

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<v Speaker 3>not even what fourteen months ago, and it's it's a

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<v Speaker 3>you know, it's not good that that's what we're talking

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<v Speaker 3>about with Draymond, Like he's he's a he's a future

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<v Speaker 3>Hall of Famer. But now you know, in twenty twenty three,

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<v Speaker 3>going into possibly twenty twenty four, we're going to be

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<v Speaker 3>talking about like another multi game suspension. So it's unfortunate

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<v Speaker 3>for him, it's unfortunate for the Wars, and hopefully this

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<v Speaker 3>particular suspension is something that gets him to stop getting suspended.

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<v Speaker 3>Like when you get definitely suspended, it's not even like

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<v Speaker 3>you can't even put a timeline on It is way

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<v Speaker 3>bigger than basketball. And unlike most dudes who get and

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<v Speaker 3>definitely suspend it, this happened on the basketball court.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that Ja Morant. It feels like the first suspension

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<v Speaker 2>for Ja Morant where they wanted to get it sorted

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<v Speaker 2>out when he ended up going to his own counseling sessions.

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<v Speaker 2>Never mind the fact that we've been I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>since June since he stomped on Sabonus's chest and then

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<v Speaker 2>like less than a month since he's choked out Rudy Gobert.

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<v Speaker 2>So the Draymond incidents have piled up more than just

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<v Speaker 2>the Jordan Poole. I want to talk about some stuff

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<v Speaker 2>that's good though, because all of a sudden, what has

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<v Speaker 2>happened since Russell Westbrook has decided to be the sacrificial

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<v Speaker 2>lamb and go to the bench. This team is what

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<v Speaker 2>ten and three? How good? How optimistic are we feeling

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<v Speaker 2>about our clips right now?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, you know, my reporting was different from everybody else's.

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<v Speaker 3>So my line was not that this was Russ's decision.

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<v Speaker 3>I termed it as a team decision, one that Russ

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<v Speaker 3>had to go with because what leverage did anyone have

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<v Speaker 3>in a situation where they were losing? You know, they

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<v Speaker 3>had a six game losing streak. They were three and

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<v Speaker 3>seven alone in twelfth place in the Western Conference. But

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<v Speaker 3>Russell has played his role, which is as this team

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<v Speaker 3>second point guard, and the key is having James Harden

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<v Speaker 3>as the main point guard.

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<v Speaker 4>It has allowed for.

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<v Speaker 3>Everybody, especially James, to understand what their roles are, to

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<v Speaker 3>understand what they have to do in certain lineups. And

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<v Speaker 3>the Clippers aren't really throwing out a whole lot of

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<v Speaker 3>crazy lineups, like they're actually a pretty streamlined team right

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<v Speaker 3>now in terms of what everyone is being asked to do,

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<v Speaker 3>and everyone's had a moment like James that first win

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<v Speaker 3>to start this stretch of ten wins at their last

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<v Speaker 3>thirteen was a four point play.

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<v Speaker 4>Against a team that we thought he was going to.

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<v Speaker 3>Sign with in the Houston Rockets, And you saw Paul

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<v Speaker 3>George play some of like he's. I feel like Paul's

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<v Speaker 3>always gotten off to great starts over these last few seasons.

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<v Speaker 4>It's just a matter of his body holding up.

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<v Speaker 3>And ironically, his body is going through some things right now.

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<v Speaker 3>He may or may not play tomorrow against the Words. However,

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<v Speaker 3>Paul's lably been the best player over the course of

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<v Speaker 3>this entire season, even when they were losing six in

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<v Speaker 3>a row, Like Paul was suggressively good on both ends

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<v Speaker 3>of the floor, but especially offensively. But now what you're

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<v Speaker 3>seeing this month of December is Kawhi Leonards turning up.

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<v Speaker 3>Kawhi is not only playing in all of these games,

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<v Speaker 3>but now he's starting to really cook teams. He's understanding

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<v Speaker 3>where he's going to have his opportunities, and he is lethal.

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<v Speaker 3>Unlike a lot of the superstars who come into the league.

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<v Speaker 3>Kawhi and Paul are guys who they had the ball

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<v Speaker 3>out of their hands and they had to be two

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<v Speaker 3>way players before getting their opportunity to dominate the basketball.

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<v Speaker 3>And then when they got to the Clippers, they were

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<v Speaker 3>asked to increase their playmaking for their teammates. Now you're

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<v Speaker 3>getting the best of all three of those worlds. You're

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<v Speaker 3>still asking those guys to be top level defenders, and

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<v Speaker 3>it helps that those guys can run a pick and

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<v Speaker 3>roll and make the right passes.

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<v Speaker 4>But now that you're playing with.

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<v Speaker 3>James so much, you are allowing those guys to get

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<v Speaker 3>catches in spots where they can be efficient with their offense.

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<v Speaker 4>And you're seeing all of that come to the right now.

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<v Speaker 5>And Lawrence, for the third consecutive season, I did buy

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<v Speaker 5>into the Clippers.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a believer, and they made it.

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<v Speaker 5>A whole twenty two games this season without an injury

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<v Speaker 5>to Kawi or Paul George, like you said, he missed

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<v Speaker 5>the second half. He's got some groin soreness they're calling it.

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<v Speaker 5>And I just look at this week, this stretch, they

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<v Speaker 5>got four games I believe in six nights, Blazers, Kings, Warriors, Knicks,

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<v Speaker 5>and then after that like Pacers, MAVs, Thunder and like

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<v Speaker 5>you said, they're figuring some things out right now with Kawhi,

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<v Speaker 5>you know, with Russ coming off the bench and with

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<v Speaker 5>Harden coming over. Does that concern you at all if

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<v Speaker 5>he does have to miss some time, you know, just

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<v Speaker 5>maybe like a little bit of a setback, and does

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<v Speaker 5>he miss any time?

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<v Speaker 3>I hope he honestly, I hope that the Clippers are

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<v Speaker 3>smart and does not have him play through soft tissue

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<v Speaker 3>stuff like something that might cost you a game or two.

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<v Speaker 3>You don't want it to wind up costing a week

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<v Speaker 3>or two because you're trying to prove something. I saw

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<v Speaker 3>that last season. That's the thing that trip me up.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm with this team all the damn time, and guys

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<v Speaker 3>are talking about how dudes is just sitting out because

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<v Speaker 3>they want to know. I saw dudes play when they

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<v Speaker 3>shouldn't have. That's what we saw in Denver January, first

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<v Speaker 3>week of January.

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<v Speaker 4>They go there, it's today. I always remember because.

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<v Speaker 3>It was my birthday and it stopped being my birthdays

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<v Speaker 3>soon as that game started. Paul had a bad hamstring

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<v Speaker 3>and decided and the team let him play like he

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<v Speaker 3>was allowed to play it, I knew he wasn't right immediately,

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<v Speaker 3>like a guy who is pretty good in the paint.

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<v Speaker 4>Everything was outside of the paint, jump shots, short, not.

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<v Speaker 3>Getting, not playing the type of game that you would

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<v Speaker 3>play if he was healthy, And they were down thirty

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<v Speaker 3>five at halftime, and of course we didn't see Paul

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<v Speaker 3>again for two weeks, and he didn't play the second

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<v Speaker 3>night of it back again until after the all start break.

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<v Speaker 3>That's the kind of thing where it's like, Okay, you

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<v Speaker 3>gotta be smart, But then we're seeing a team that

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<v Speaker 3>is pushing each other, pushing themselves to play all these

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<v Speaker 3>games high minutes and because they have to. So the

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<v Speaker 3>concern now is can everybody adjust to doing a little

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<v Speaker 3>bit more. Can guys who aren't playing and play competently,

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<v Speaker 3>Can guys like Norman Powell or I'm not even sure

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<v Speaker 3>how they would handle who would start, because we haven't

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<v Speaker 3>seen it yet this season.

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<v Speaker 4>It could be normal. They could be someone like a

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<v Speaker 4>mere Coffee who.

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<v Speaker 3>Right now out of the playing rotation, but someone who,

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<v Speaker 3>if you look back at previous seasons, has been able

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<v Speaker 3>to start and fill in, especially for Paul George. So

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<v Speaker 3>I feel like because everyone else is playing so well,

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<v Speaker 3>and these guys are talented players. These guys are guys

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<v Speaker 3>who've been practicing and been on this team for years.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not going to be that big of an adjustment. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 3>you're not going to be as talented. But the cohesiveness

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<v Speaker 3>is what matters in the basketball game, and I think

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<v Speaker 3>it would help the Clippers to see what that looks

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<v Speaker 3>like in December now that they have a little bit

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<v Speaker 3>of a cushion or five hundred, not much though there's

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<v Speaker 3>so only seventh in the West.

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<v Speaker 2>I wanted to follow up on that point about guys

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<v Speaker 2>playing through or deciding they wanted to push do tweaks

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<v Speaker 2>and being banged up, Like, who's responsible for that change

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<v Speaker 2>happening this season.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm not going to put it on the NBA's player

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<v Speaker 3>participace policy, that's for sure. I think that guys were

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<v Speaker 3>I think last year was a year he probably could

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<v Speaker 3>have taken for granted. I think when the season began

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<v Speaker 3>last year, it was like, oh, Kawhi Leonards back from

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<v Speaker 3>an ACL and Paul you know, after missing three months

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<v Speaker 3>with and torn linkman and his elbow. You were thinking

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<v Speaker 3>add that to a team that finished with a winning

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<v Speaker 3>record and you could see how everyone thought they'd be

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<v Speaker 3>a top five team easily. We learned a lot about

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<v Speaker 3>how injuries in age, not just of the stars, but

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<v Speaker 3>of the supporting cast can cause a team to decline.

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<v Speaker 3>And that's what you saw last year. By the end

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<v Speaker 3>of the year, the approach that the team took just

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<v Speaker 3>for guys to get hurt any damn way, it really

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<v Speaker 3>lit a fire up under everybody.

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<v Speaker 4>But the other thing.

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<v Speaker 3>Is, look at the contracts. Contracts speak for themselves. No

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<v Speaker 3>one's guaranteed to be on this team again next year.

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<v Speaker 4>You don't want to lead this season.

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<v Speaker 3>Would regrets the whole Service had a great line in

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<v Speaker 3>one of those songs. You know, I'd rather regret something

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<v Speaker 3>that didn't regret something that didn't do. And what this

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<v Speaker 3>team is doing is saying, you know what, we need

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<v Speaker 3>to take the regular season seriously. But it's not a

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<v Speaker 3>matter of, you know, guys having an attitude going into

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<v Speaker 3>games that they weren't trying hard. It's a matter of

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<v Speaker 3>you have a medical stat that's trying to protect injury

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<v Speaker 3>prone players. But now the approach is to not, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>put everything into protecting guys over a long term that

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<v Speaker 3>isn't guaranteed instead play guys can help them sustain over

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<v Speaker 3>the course of the year while they're playing back to backs,

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<v Speaker 3>while they're playing instead of thirty minutes, thirty five minutes

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<v Speaker 3>per game. And it's because this is the last real

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<v Speaker 3>shot that this team might have with these group of

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<v Speaker 3>guys being together. It's really as simple as that.

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<v Speaker 1>Talking to Lawrence mury Bet MGM tonight, I'm looking at

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<v Speaker 1>the Western Conference standings now, and I know, like it's

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<v Speaker 1>a long season. We're twenty two to twenty three games

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<v Speaker 1>in for most of these teams. We got the Timberwolves

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<v Speaker 1>at seventeen and five, the th Under at fifteen and seven,

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<v Speaker 1>and then the MAVs at fifteen and eight. With the

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<v Speaker 1>Denver Nuggets sitting there in the four spot, I know,

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<v Speaker 1>a long way to go. When you look at some

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<v Speaker 1>of these younger teams, these up and coming teams, we

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<v Speaker 1>all kind of sat here and agreed, the Thunder we're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna take that next step. I didn't really expect him

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<v Speaker 1>to be like a two seed when the season was done.

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<v Speaker 1>But again, long season ago. If you look at the Timberwolves,

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<v Speaker 1>the Thunder and even the MAVs, do you see all

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<v Speaker 1>or even one of them kind of sustaining this type

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<v Speaker 1>of momentum throughout the season.

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<v Speaker 3>Not really, Wow, that's that's that's no disrespect to these teams. Look, man,

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<v Speaker 3>at this time last year, December of twenty twenty two,

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<v Speaker 3>we were looking at teams like Phoenix and the New

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<v Speaker 3>Orleans Pelicans at the.

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<v Speaker 4>Top of the West.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, tim, what happened to Phoenix? Yeah, like Utah had

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<v Speaker 3>Mike Conley. You know who has Mike Conley now? The

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<v Speaker 3>number one team in the conference, Minnesota Timberwolves, a team

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<v Speaker 3>that I would not consider to be a young, up

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<v Speaker 3>and coming team.

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<v Speaker 4>Them dudes is pretty damn old.

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<v Speaker 3>Not old as in you know Clippers old, but like

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<v Speaker 3>those guys are established NBA players and talents outside of

0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:12.040
<v Speaker 3>maybe Anthony Edwards, Like Anthony is the base of that

0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:15.120
<v Speaker 3>team now, but Carl Anthony Towns is the guy who

0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.960
<v Speaker 3>he's been around long enough to be the face and

0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:22.000
<v Speaker 3>to kind of pass that along the end. Rudy Gobert

0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.240
<v Speaker 3>is a guy who he's on the other side of

0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:28.000
<v Speaker 3>thirty now. Mike Conley is in the twilight of his career,

0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:30.200
<v Speaker 3>but he's still playing at a high level and has

0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:31.360
<v Speaker 3>a lot to do with why.

0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.240
<v Speaker 4>That team is so organized, like you saw it with

0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:33.840
<v Speaker 4>the Utah.

0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:36.560
<v Speaker 3>Jaz when they stopped being competitive once they made that

0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:40.160
<v Speaker 3>trade with Minnesota. This is the Minnesota team that could

0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:42.240
<v Speaker 3>have been. We could have seen this team last year,

0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.600
<v Speaker 3>except Rudy didn't have his stuff together in his first

0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.439
<v Speaker 3>year there. It took mid season to get the right

0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:50.719
<v Speaker 3>point guard to be there in Mike Conley. He's a

0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.560
<v Speaker 3>much better fit for those guys than d Low and

0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:55.599
<v Speaker 3>was great, but Carl Anthony Towns.

0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:56.720
<v Speaker 4>Was hurt pretty much the whole year.

0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.200
<v Speaker 3>You're seeing a team that went through a lot of

0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:02.960
<v Speaker 3>struggles and now they're coming together. I love what they're doing,

0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.559
<v Speaker 3>but it's also like you take one or two of

0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.000
<v Speaker 3>those guys out and you know they have some their

0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.680
<v Speaker 3>ability issues. They're not deep at all, and that's the

0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.000
<v Speaker 3>result of the Rudy gobertrade. We saw that last year.

0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:15.600
<v Speaker 3>Hopefully that we don't have to see that this year.

0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:17.680
<v Speaker 3>But that's what you have to guard for you O KC.

0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:18.160
<v Speaker 4>Thunder.

0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:21.319
<v Speaker 3>They're just young and they're doing great, but we got

0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:23.120
<v Speaker 3>to see it over the course of a full season.

0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:25.839
<v Speaker 3>So we'll give them credit for what they're doing now,

0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:27.440
<v Speaker 3>and we know it's a long season.

0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:29.959
<v Speaker 4>It's hard, So shout out to the Shout out to

0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.080
<v Speaker 4>those dudes. And for Dallas, it's the same thing.

0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.080
<v Speaker 3>Luca was playing great this time last year. He was

0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:37.680
<v Speaker 3>coming up with fifty point games, sixty point games, and

0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:41.200
<v Speaker 3>then in celebrations after some of the stuff that he

0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:44.280
<v Speaker 3>was doing, like when he beat the Knicks off of

0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:48.520
<v Speaker 3>that free throw, misterthrow, they go as far as Luca

0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.040
<v Speaker 3>goes and relying on Kyrie Irving.

0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.080
<v Speaker 4>Kyrie's already hurt, so we got to see it.

0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:56.760
<v Speaker 2>Lauren's about thirty seconds. How sustainable is this performance that

0:12:56.760 --> 0:12:58.120
<v Speaker 2>we're seeing lately from Harden.

0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.360
<v Speaker 3>I think there's pretty damn sustainable. He's not doing anything

0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.840
<v Speaker 3>too complicated. He's just kind of playing basketball. Set the screen,

0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:08.040
<v Speaker 3>We're gonna make some decisions.

0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:08.400
<v Speaker 4>That's it.

0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.439
<v Speaker 1>You know what if they got if they can keep

0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.439
<v Speaker 1>this going, Star, I will listen. I want to see

0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:16.120
<v Speaker 1>the Clippers make a run again. They made the Western

0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:18.280
<v Speaker 1>Conference finals and they actually kept that roster healthy a

0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.520
<v Speaker 1>couple of years ago. I mean, it would be it

0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:22.280
<v Speaker 1>would be fun to watch them over the Lakers for

0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:25.400
<v Speaker 1>a change. Lawrence Murray the athletic, great talking you man,

0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:26.319
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for coming on again.

0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:28.760
<v Speaker 4>Appreciate y'all.

0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:30.760
<v Speaker 2>All right, that's all the time that we after the

0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:32.760
<v Speaker 2>Heat Check. Come back Monday for an all new episode,

0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:34.719
<v Speaker 2>and check out the feed for past episodes and many

0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.160
<v Speaker 2>episodes which drop unexpectedly like a pop up from YouTube

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0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.280
<v Speaker 2>forget to follow the heat Check as we navigate and

0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:46.320
<v Speaker 2>talk about this NBA season. That means download, subscribe, and

0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:51.080
<v Speaker 2>tell everyone friends, enemies, frenemies, neighbors, all of them, even

0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:53.840
<v Speaker 2>that guy selling Christmas trees who, when I asked to

0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:55.880
<v Speaker 2>pick out a nice one, he said they all look

0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:59.920
<v Speaker 2>the same. Tell him they stop taxing one hundred dollars

0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.559
<v Speaker 2>a six foot Christmas tree. Tell them yo. By the way,

0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:04.840
<v Speaker 2>while you're waiting on the non people coming to your

0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:09.199
<v Speaker 2>parking lot because it's December eighteenth, listen to this podcast

0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:12.000
<v Speaker 2>called the heat Check. She wants a nice tree too.

0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:14.840
<v Speaker 2>Follow us on social at this heat Check, on trister Creek,

0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:18.960
<v Speaker 2>on TikTok, Instagram, and on Twitter. We'll see you next time.