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Speaker 1: guys are having a great week. On a fun show

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Speaker 1: for you today, we're hitting three games from the n

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Speaker 1: season tournaments late last night, the Golden State Warriors versus

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Speaker 1: the Denver Nuggets, the Orlando Magic versus the New York Knicks,

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Speaker 1: and the Memphis Grizzlies versus the Dallas Mavericks. Are going

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Speaker 1: to be breaking down all three of those games from

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Speaker 1: the perspective of all six teams before we get out

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Speaker 1: of here for the day. You guys have the job

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Speaker 1: before we get started. Subscribed to Hoops Tonight YouTube channels.

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Speaker 1: on Twitter at underscore JCNLTS. You guys, don't maske sho announcements.

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Speaker 1: a rating, interview review on that front. We also have

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Speaker 1: new social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for

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Speaker 1: the Hoops Tonight channel, we're releasing more content as well

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Speaker 1: as show announcements and show links and stuff like that.

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Speaker 1: Make sure you guys follow those pages and then keep

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Speaker 1: dropping mailback questions in the YouTube comments. We're going to

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Speaker 1: be recording a new mail bag on Friday this week

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Speaker 1: last sleep before we get started, I want to talk

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Speaker 1: to you guys for a second about game time. Now

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Speaker 1: I'm super super excited about that. You got to get

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Speaker 1: time today? What time is it? Game time? All right,

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Speaker 1: let's talk some basketball. So Golden State Denver. Golden State

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Speaker 1: goes on a huge run in the late third quarter,

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Speaker 1: early fourth quarter that puts them up by eleven. All

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Speaker 1: of the role players were making plays. Moses Moody was

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Speaker 1: awesome in this stretch. Hit a bunch of key jump shots.

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Speaker 1: Gary Payton was scoring on cuts. He had a couple

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Speaker 1: of buckets on cuts. He had a huge corner three

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Speaker 1: right in front of his bench there in the left corner.

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Speaker 1: They forced turnovers, they got out in transition. Kyle Anderson

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Speaker 1: had this like crazy nifty driving up and underfinish on

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Speaker 1: the right side of the basket. Buddy Held hit a

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Speaker 1: big corner three out of the left corner. Brandon Pajemski

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Speaker 1: hit a big pull up jump shot against Yokitchen a

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Speaker 1: deep drop coverage. Like everybody was making plays. It was

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Speaker 1: beautiful basketball. And by the way, for all the guys

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Speaker 1: that have like had, you know, have wondered why I've

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Speaker 1: been talking about needing a trade of bringing in a

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Speaker 1: reliable secondary offensive player. This is really why the Warriors

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Speaker 1: are pretty fucking good when they score the basketball. When

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Speaker 1: guys that are not Steph Curry can score the basketball,

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Speaker 1: there are a lot of self created plays in that sequence.

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Speaker 1: Moses Moody hit a three coming off of a dribble

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Speaker 1: handoff out of the right corner where he just rows

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Speaker 1: up on the move when his man kind of went

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Speaker 1: underneath the screen and he rows up and knocked it down.

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Speaker 1: That's more or less self created. Kyle Anderson snaking through

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Speaker 1: the lane and going up and under and finishing a layup.

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Speaker 1: That's more or less self created. Brandon Pazemski hitting a

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Speaker 1: jump shot against the drop coverage. That's self created. Gary

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Speaker 1: Payton hit a shot coming out of a dribble handoff

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Speaker 1: in the right corner in the fourth quarter. We hit

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Speaker 1: like a left handed floater in the lane. That's a

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Speaker 1: self created shot. When guys on the Warriors are capable

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Speaker 1: of creating and making shots for themselves, it makes them

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Speaker 1: look a lot better because they have such a great defense.

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Speaker 1: It allows him to cover for a night where Steph

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Speaker 1: Curry doesn't necessarily have the most efficient scoring night right,

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Speaker 1: but then they're very inconsistent, and when those players suddenly

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Speaker 1: go cold, it becomes a problem. Like the final sequence

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Speaker 1: of this game, when the Warriors were down two, Steph

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Speaker 1: gets denied. Denver successfully denies him the basketball twice, and

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Speaker 1: so it ends up being a kaminga drive that goes

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Speaker 1: nowhere and Andrew Wiggins drive that goes nowhere. It would

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Speaker 1: be a luxury to have consistent self created baskets that

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Speaker 1: come off of Steph Curry. That's why that concept has

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Speaker 1: been something that myself and many others have been harping

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Speaker 1: on all season because it's not always going to be

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Speaker 1: the way it was at the start of the year.

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Speaker 1: There are ups and downs, there are stretches where guys

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Speaker 1: go cold. Sometimes you do play bad basketball for a

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks and you drop five games in a row,

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Speaker 1: and you can make those stretches shorter, and you can

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Speaker 1: extend your good stretches by bringing in more consistent offensive production.

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Speaker 1: That's why we've been harping on that. Right, but Denver

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Speaker 1: was down by eleven, was six minutes left again in

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Speaker 1: large part because of that consistent shot creation from other Warriors,

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Speaker 1: and then Denver just started to methodically work their way

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Speaker 1: back into the game through the strength of their superstar.

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Speaker 1: To Kole Joki, it started with him right in the

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Speaker 1: middle of the floor against Tray Jackson, Davis just hits

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Speaker 1: a couple of easy face up jumpers right in his face.

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Speaker 1: There was a really nice pass that Russell Westbrook through

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Speaker 1: to Michael Porter Junior in that stretch too, where they

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Speaker 1: ran a little off ball action. They rate it twice.

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Speaker 1: The first time they ran it with Russ. Russ through

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Speaker 1: a rifle pass Moses Spood. He had his back turn,

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Speaker 1: hit Michael Porter right in the hands, goes up and

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Speaker 1: dunks it. They tried running it out of the very

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Speaker 1: next possession of Kyle Anderson kind of snuffed it out

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Speaker 1: and got a block, but they got a big bucket there.

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Speaker 1: On the MPG curl off of the Russ pass, there

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Speaker 1: was a Jokic giving Golf of a pump fake where

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Speaker 1: he just kind of dribbled into like a shot like

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Speaker 1: pump fake that the Tray Sackson Davis like jumps off

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Speaker 1: of his feet, gives up the ball and then just

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Speaker 1: cuts behind it, gets the ball right back and lays

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Speaker 1: it up. And remember that's the threat of the jump shot,

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Speaker 1: which is so important for Jokic. Earlier in the same half,

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Speaker 1: he had another pick and pop with Jamal Murray on

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Speaker 1: the left wing, pops above the break pump fake tray

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Speaker 1: Jackson Davis leaves his feet, just lumbers down the lane

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Speaker 1: and gets a layup. That's such an important part of

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Speaker 1: his offense. And again, like last year when his jumper

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Speaker 1: wasn't on, he got one point zero six points per

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Speaker 1: spot up one point two eight points per roll or pop.

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Speaker 1: This year one point three six points per spot up

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Speaker 1: in one point three six points per roll in pop.

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Speaker 1: So like significantly more off ball scoring in gravity from

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Speaker 1: Jokic just by him getting that jump shot back on track.

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Speaker 1: And again it's not always gonna manifest with him making

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Speaker 1: jump shots. It's gonna manifest with him getting easier opportunities

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Speaker 1: around the basket to either score or playmate for his

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Speaker 1: teammates off of the attention that his jumper can bring.

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Speaker 1: So gets that give and go that cuts the lead

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Speaker 1: to five with four minutes left. Then they go to

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Speaker 1: this just right block post up and they ended up

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Speaker 1: getting two buckets for Aaron Gordon out of this, but

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Speaker 1: the first one just cuts right off of it. Yokic

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Speaker 1: hits am, Aaron Gordon gets a dunk that cuts it

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Speaker 1: to four. Jamal Murray was getting hunted by Steph Curry

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Speaker 1: down the stretch of this game. We're gonna talk about

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Speaker 1: it in a minute. He gets a big block on

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga at the rim, runs out to the other end,

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Speaker 1: draws a blocking foul that cuts it to two. Then

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Speaker 1: Jokic gets Steph in a transition cross match on the

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Speaker 1: right side of the floor, and as he dribbles into Steph,

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Speaker 1: Steph wants to get scrammed out of the switch, so

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Speaker 1: he turns in like runs to go guard somebody else

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Speaker 1: and just hopes that another warrior will run over there

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Speaker 1: and guard Jokic. No warrior goes in guards Jokic. Jokic

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Speaker 1: just steps into the jumper by himself and ties the game.

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Speaker 1: Then they go back to that exact same post up

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Speaker 1: on the right block. The very second Kyle Anderson comes

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Speaker 1: over to double Jokic just feeds it over the top

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Speaker 1: to Aaron Gordon. Aaron Gordon gets another bucket. Now it's

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Speaker 1: one seventeen to one fifteen, and again this is where

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Speaker 1: I want to kind of switch gears over to the

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Speaker 1: defensive end of the flour because one of the things

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Speaker 1: the Nuggets did throughout the game, they were bringing Jokic

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Speaker 1: up to the level of the screen and all the

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry actions, and then they were running him in

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Speaker 1: a deep drop against some of the lesser players, you know,

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Speaker 1: like if he was defending a screening action with like

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Speaker 1: Gary Payton coming down the lane, or if he was

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Speaker 1: defending a screening action against you know, Brandet Pazemski coming

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Speaker 1: down the lane. But the Warriors were getting a lot

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Speaker 1: of really good stuff just based on the fact that

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Speaker 1: Steph was bringing Jokic out to the level. Even though

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Speaker 1: Steph didn't have a great scoring game, he had a

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Speaker 1: great playmaking game, and a big part of that was

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Speaker 1: him bringing Yokic up to the level. So Denver starts

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Speaker 1: switching everything down the stretch of this game, and so

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Speaker 1: Steph decides to start going at Jamal Murray. And this

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Speaker 1: has been a recurring theme for Nuggets fans, like Jamal

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Speaker 1: Murray's been getting cooked at the end of these games

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Speaker 1: and it's been a huge problem for them. But he

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Speaker 1: did a much much better job. Again, like a lot

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Speaker 1: of times, when we talk about issues with these teams,

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Speaker 1: it's like, Oh, this team needs this or this guy

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Speaker 1: can't do that, and it's like a lot of times

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Speaker 1: the solution is just do better. Like Jamal's getting killed

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Speaker 1: at the end of these games. I've seen them win

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Speaker 1: the title where he holds up better in those situations

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Speaker 1: where he can make defensive plays like that block on

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaming got the rim. Sometimes you just gotta sit

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Speaker 1: in a damn stance, slide those feet and make a

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Speaker 1: damn play on the defensive end of the floor when

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Speaker 1: they're trying to go at you right. Such an important

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Speaker 1: part of overcoming your weaknesses as a basketball team is

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Speaker 1: just getting the guys that are the weakness in whatever

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Speaker 1: that area is and just getting them to do better.

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Speaker 1: And again, like Steph hit a little turnaround jump shot

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Speaker 1: on him where he drove along the right lane line

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Speaker 1: and spun over his right shoulder and hit a little

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Speaker 1: jump shot, but he got stops. The rest of the possessions,

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Speaker 1: they went at Steph five times, or excuse me, Steph

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Speaker 1: won at Jamal Murray five straight times down the stretch

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Speaker 1: of that game, and they ended up generating one basket

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Speaker 1: out of it. And then on the final two possessions

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Speaker 1: they successfully denied Steph Ball entirely, which forced Jonathan came

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Speaker 1: again Andrew Wiggins to try to make something happen, and

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Speaker 1: he couldn't make anything happen. So the Warrior offense stalled

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Speaker 1: out in large part because Steph wasn't getting clean dribble

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Speaker 1: penetration on Jamal Murray. Steph was settling for some tough

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Speaker 1: pull up jump shots having to pick up his dribble

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Speaker 1: in the mid range, and Jamal just did a good

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Speaker 1: job got the stops that he needed. And that really

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Speaker 1: was the story of the game for me last night

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Speaker 1: as I watched that matchup, Like, we're talking about two

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Speaker 1: teams here that have the same major weakness, which is

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Speaker 1: beyond their superstar, they don't have reliable shot creation. Now,

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Speaker 1: obviously Denvers has higher profile players, right, guys that have

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Speaker 1: better reputations than the secondary shot creators for the Warriors,

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Speaker 1: but guys like Jamal Murray haven't been playing well this year.

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Speaker 1: So like the same issue is there for Denver, which

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Speaker 1: is like, if it's not Jokich, there's not a lot

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Speaker 1: of like consistent offense that they have on this froster.

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Speaker 1: But the difference is Jokic is playing at the level

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Speaker 1: of a top tier superstar, the best player in the league,

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Speaker 1: and Steph Curry is not. Jokic was able to make

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Speaker 1: stuff happen for his team anyway with no one else

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Speaker 1: able to hit shots.

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Speaker 2: Steph was not. Jokic had thirty eight.

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Speaker 1: Points, Steph Curry had twenty four on twenty three shots,

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Speaker 1: and again Steph also had eleven assists. He had a

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Speaker 1: great playmaking game. Steph did a lot to unlock the offense.

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Speaker 1: But I don't think even Warriors fans would act like

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Speaker 1: that was a top tier superstar Steph game. And that's

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Speaker 1: really the thing. Like Steph has had some really good

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Speaker 1: games this year against some really good teams. He's outplayed

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Speaker 1: some stars. He outplayed Shake Gilders Alexander in a game,

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Speaker 1: he outplayed Jason Tatum in a game. He's outplayed guys,

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Speaker 1: and we've seen what it looks like. Golden State can

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Speaker 1: beat the Thunder, Golden State can beat Boston, but it

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Speaker 1: depends on that version of Steph. Like they didn't beat

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Speaker 1: Boston or beat Okac with Steph, whereas averages this year

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Speaker 1: at twenty two point six points per game, they beat

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Speaker 1: those teams when Steph was able to reach that level.

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Speaker 1: And that's the thing. It's like, Steph has had really

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Speaker 1: good games this year, but he's averaging twenty two point

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Speaker 1: six points per game for the season, and he was

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Speaker 1: right around that number for the tail end of last season.

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Speaker 1: The scoring volume has been down for a really long time.

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Speaker 1: The teams are really loading up on him, and again

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Speaker 1: in the past, teams are really loading up on him

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one and he averaged, you know, thirty

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Speaker 1: two points per game because he was playing like the

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Speaker 1: best player in the world.

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Speaker 2: At that point.

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Speaker 1: Now, I'm gonna say the exact same thing that I

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Speaker 1: said as it pertains the Lebron Right, Like, I don't

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Speaker 1: think these guys are over. I don't think I don't

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Speaker 1: think the run of these guys is over. I think

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Speaker 1: that they have more good basketball in them. But they

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Speaker 1: just have to find a way to play better basketball.

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Speaker 1: And as long as they continue to play like this,

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Speaker 1: it's gonna be really hard for their teams to overcome

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Speaker 1: their shortcomings. Right, The Lakers have shortcomings in terms of

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Speaker 1: their athleticism on the perimeter, which the Warriors don't. But

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Speaker 1: the Warriors have issues with shot creation off of Steph,

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Speaker 1: which the Lakers don't. They have tons of guys that

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Speaker 1: can run off this. Right We're gona talk about that

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Speaker 1: later when we talk a little bit about Spencer Dinwiddie,

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Speaker 1: because I find his success Dallas to be pretty fascinating

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Speaker 1: as it pertains to where he kind of slotted as

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Speaker 1: a shot creator compared to where he was with the Lakers.

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Speaker 2: Right, Like, the.

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Speaker 1: Bottom line is, these teams have glaring flaws. The Warriors

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Speaker 1: don't have reliable shot creation beyond Steph, and the Lakers

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Speaker 1: don't have perimeter athleticism, and right now, Lebron James and

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry are not doing enough to overcome that. And like,

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Speaker 1: I get that it's tough, and I get for the record,

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Speaker 1: I still believe these teams are worth investing in. But

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Speaker 1: at this point, until whatever change is made, the only

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Speaker 1: thing that can really remedy this is like STEP's got

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Speaker 1: to get back to the point where he's averaging twenty

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Speaker 1: eight twenty nine points per game on over sixty percent

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Speaker 1: through shooting. And until he does that, it's gonna be

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Speaker 1: really hard for this team to beat the good teams

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Speaker 1: that are in the Western Conference, and they're dropping some

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Speaker 1: games right now. And again with Yokich, it'sct it's the

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Speaker 1: exact opposite story, Like he's overcoming a lot of these

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Speaker 1: issues because he's playing better basketball than anyone else in

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Speaker 1: the world is at this point. He's methodically walking teams

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Speaker 1: down at the end of games, getting whatever the hell

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Speaker 1: he wants for even like he's cre makeable shots for

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Speaker 1: players that have their issues. Yeah, I Varon Gordon's got

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Speaker 1: to shoot spot up threes all night, it's gonna be

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Speaker 1: an issue. But if he's just catching and dunking off

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Speaker 1: of cuts, it's gonna work.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 1: Like, obviously, in order for the Nuggets to get to

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Speaker 1: that top tier level, they're gonna need Jamal Murray to

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Speaker 1: return to form. They're gonna need a lot of things

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Speaker 1: to kind of change in the way guys have been

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Speaker 1: playing to start this season. But in terms of floating

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Speaker 1: the ship over the course of the regular season and

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Speaker 1: kind of maintaining where they need to be, Jokics right

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Speaker 1: now is allowing them to make up for that, and

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Speaker 1: they're playing better basketball right now. Again, Like that's when

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Speaker 1: it almost always just comes down to, like how well

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Speaker 1: is your are your stars playing? I don't really even

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Speaker 1: think it's possible to properly evaluate the supporting cast of

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Speaker 1: teams like this when their stars aren't playing well because

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Speaker 1: supporting cast players depend on the advantages created by their stars, right,

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Speaker 1: And so like it's it's just one of those things

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Speaker 1: to keep an eye on. Like again, I don't think

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Speaker 1: it's over. I think both Steph and Lebron will have

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Speaker 1: moments this year where they get back to form. But

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Speaker 1: neither of these teams is accomplishing anything unless they get

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Speaker 1: to April and they're playing at the level they need

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Speaker 1: to be playing at as top tier superstars in this league.

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Speaker 1: All right, Moving on to Magic Nicks. The Knicks did

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Speaker 1: a really nice job of containing the basketball in this game. Again,

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Speaker 1: that's been one of their biggest issues throughout this entire

359
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Speaker 1: this entire season, just not very good at the point

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Speaker 1: of attack for a roster that should be given the

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Speaker 1: personnel that they have on board. They did a couple

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Speaker 1: of specific things and a lot of matchup stuff, right, Like,

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Speaker 1: Orlando's not a great pull up jump shooting team, so

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Speaker 1: you can go underneath ball screens, you can give them

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Speaker 1: space and ISOs and try to absorb contact rather than

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Speaker 1: needing to pressure the ball. But they just as a

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Speaker 1: team did a better job they were shrinking the floor

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Speaker 1: with nail help and stunting. They were in their ISOs

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Speaker 1: like giving that space and kind of playing in that

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Speaker 1: middle ground where you feel like you're baiting teams into

371
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,320
Speaker 1: tougher pull up jump shots. Their weak side rotations were

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Speaker 1: really solid. They got a lot of steals with the

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Speaker 1: wingman covering for the low man. Again, I always talk

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Speaker 1: about the difference between like what I see when I

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Speaker 1: see a bad team versus a good team, where like

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Speaker 1: a lot of the bad teams, it's like you just

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Speaker 1: run a ball screen. You just kick to the corner

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Speaker 1: and a guy gets a wide open three. But the

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Speaker 1: good teams will have that windshield wiper rotation where the

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Speaker 1: guy who's guarding the weak side wing will drop to

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Speaker 1: the corner, and a lot of times if you time

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Speaker 1: that right, you can get steals in those situations. And

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Speaker 1: the Knicks got a couple of steals like that, and

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Speaker 1: then Jalen Brunson really put this game away in the

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Speaker 1: early third quarter. I mean, the Knicks were dominating throughout,

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Speaker 1: they were up twenty at a half, but he really

387
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Speaker 1: put the game away in the early third quarter just

388
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,120
Speaker 1: going at Kentavious Caldwell Pope, he kicked him. I did

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Speaker 1: like a little low gather on a crossover where he

390
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:41,919
Speaker 1: got an and one. He put him in jail on

391
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Speaker 1: a ball screen and bumped him off for an easy

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Speaker 1: mid range jumps out. He had another low gatherer on

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Speaker 1: Wendell Carter JUNI you're on a little sliced through the lane,

394
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Speaker 1: and both McHale bridges and OJ and Andobi hit movement

395
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Speaker 1: threes in that run, just just coming off. McHale came

396
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Speaker 1: off of a little Chicago action in the corner, knocked

397
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Speaker 1: one down, Og hit one in transition when he was

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Speaker 1: in and all of a sudden they were up by

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Speaker 1: thirty five and the game was over. And so the

400
00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,640
Speaker 1: Knicks offense is really coming together kind of the way

401
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Speaker 1: I was hoping it would when I saw the trades.

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00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:08,640
Speaker 2: Again.

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Speaker 1: As I talked about last year, one of the big

404
00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,359
Speaker 1: changes in my basketball worldview is that in order to

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Speaker 1: be a truly great offense that is good enough to

406
00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,399
Speaker 1: win in the at the highest levels of the NBA,

407
00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,840
Speaker 1: you have to have variety, and you have to have

408
00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,320
Speaker 1: you have to have multiple ways to score the basketball

409
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Speaker 1: so that when a defensive adjustment comes that targets something

410
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Speaker 1: that you like to do on a possession by possession basis,

411
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Speaker 1: you can kind of shift gears and find something else

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Speaker 1: to do, right, I don't think it's a coincidence that

413
00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,240
Speaker 1: Dallas ran into issues when they were able to just

414
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Speaker 1: put Jason Tatum on the centers and shut down the

415
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Speaker 1: ball screen attack, and all of a sudden it turned

416
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Speaker 1: into like a lot of isolation jump shots, and Kyrie

417
00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,199
Speaker 1: went cold and Luca wasn't hot enough, and then they

418
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:49,640
Speaker 1: couldn't get the stops that they needed and they ended

419
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,000
Speaker 1: up losing that series. Right by adding the same thing

420
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Speaker 1: goes with the Knicks, by the way, like when it's

421
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Speaker 1: all Jalen Brunson and just a bunch of guys that

422
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Speaker 1: are just passing the ball back to him, I feel

423
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Speaker 1: like there's a certain limit that that offense can get

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00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:04,119
Speaker 1: to when they run into better defenses and things really

425
00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,560
Speaker 1: grind to a halt. And so when you have more

426
00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,399
Speaker 1: guys that can make plays, more guys that can capitalize

427
00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,960
Speaker 1: on advantage. It's one of the things that I've always

428
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Speaker 1: thought about when it comes to the higher levels of

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00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,640
Speaker 1: the NBA playoffs, when you face truly elite defenses, they

430
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,600
Speaker 1: tend to they tend to be really.

431
00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:22,320
Speaker 2: Slow to break down.

432
00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,560
Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is like when you

433
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:26,760
Speaker 1: do get over the top of a ball screen and

434
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:29,560
Speaker 1: get downhill a little bit, their point of attack I

435
00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,800
Speaker 1: usually is still pretty physical and making you feel pretty uncomfortable,

436
00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,080
Speaker 1: you know, like even when it looks like there's a

437
00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:36,760
Speaker 1: little room in the mid range for a pull up,

438
00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,760
Speaker 1: like they usually have a really big long ball screen

439
00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,880
Speaker 1: defender that like kind of like can shrink that gap

440
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,160
Speaker 1: pretty quickly, and even the lob isn't as open as

441
00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,399
Speaker 1: you think. And like you see a skip pass and

442
00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:50,600
Speaker 1: you're like, oh, that guy's open, but you throw the

443
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,880
Speaker 1: skip pass and the dude who's in the low man

444
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,800
Speaker 1: position is just insanely fast and he just can close

445
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,000
Speaker 1: out really well and that opening is just gone. And

446
00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,840
Speaker 1: so like when you're playing against the better defense is

447
00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,160
Speaker 1: it's like you have to create a very slight advantage

448
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,240
Speaker 1: at the start of the possession by barely getting the

449
00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:07,919
Speaker 1: defense to lean one way, and then you have to

450
00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,000
Speaker 1: kick to a guy who's got a really good defender

451
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,359
Speaker 1: closing out at him, and he's got to turn that

452
00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,640
Speaker 1: close out into an even bigger advantage. And then that

453
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,080
Speaker 1: guy's got to come off of the next close out

454
00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,640
Speaker 1: and do an even better job, and then maybe you'll

455
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,960
Speaker 1: get a moderately contested three or a moderately contested shot

456
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,359
Speaker 1: at the rim, or a matchup that you kind of

457
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:28,879
Speaker 1: like that you might be able to get an ISO

458
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,160
Speaker 1: or post up shot against. But like when you're playing

459
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,280
Speaker 1: against the elite defenses, it's just really hard, and so

460
00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:38,639
Speaker 1: having really high level offensive players all over the floor

461
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,119
Speaker 1: makes it easier for you to do that incremental breakdown

462
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,360
Speaker 1: of a defense. The Knicks have been the number one

463
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,639
Speaker 1: offense in the league this year. They have a one

464
00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,480
Speaker 1: to twenty three offensive rating in their last eleven games.

465
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,960
Speaker 1: Last night against Orlando was their ninth game this season

466
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,679
Speaker 1: scoring over one hundred and twenty points. And like again,

467
00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,480
Speaker 1: when you uh like there's some specific dynamic accept play

468
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,320
Speaker 1: that make it more complicated, right, Like kat as a

469
00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:05,679
Speaker 1: spacing big always causes issues for certain teams, But like

470
00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:08,280
Speaker 1: a lot of teams are, you know, putting their center

471
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,399
Speaker 1: on Josh Harten causing problems there. So it's like one

472
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,080
Speaker 1: of those things where it still comes down to, at

473
00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:15,000
Speaker 1: the end of the day, your ability to capitalize and

474
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,639
Speaker 1: expand on advantages and then to finish plays at the

475
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,119
Speaker 1: end and then just having McHale Bridges on the Florida

476
00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,119
Speaker 1: By the way, mckel Bridges is playing much better. That

477
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,960
Speaker 1: was a beautiful game against Orlando there. He's starting to

478
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,600
Speaker 1: hit some of those threes when he's running into the

479
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,440
Speaker 1: corner on the mover relocating right. He's starting to make

480
00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,520
Speaker 1: some of those classic mid range pull up jump shots

481
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:34,840
Speaker 1: that he used to make all the time when he

482
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,919
Speaker 1: was driving closeouts in Phoenix. By the way, mckel bridges

483
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,400
Speaker 1: his first ten games fifteen points per game, his last

484
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,760
Speaker 1: eleven games eighteen points per game. His three point shooting

485
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,000
Speaker 1: percentage has gone up from thirty one percent to thirty

486
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,440
Speaker 1: five percent over that span. So like getting more juice

487
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,720
Speaker 1: out of mckel bridges. Oh, Jannonobi went cold there for

488
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 1: a while, but he got back against Orlando. He's had

489
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,159
Speaker 1: stretches where he's been really good. Karl Anthony Towns has

490
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,359
Speaker 1: been amazing all season. He's averaging twenty five points per

491
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,920
Speaker 1: game on sixty five percent through shooting. That's just outrageous, right,

492
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,879
Speaker 1: I mean, Jalen Brunson looks as comfortable as ever. He

493
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,000
Speaker 1: gets to pick his spots more than ever, He has

494
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 1: more space to work with than ever. His usage has dropped.

495
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:12,720
Speaker 1: He was in last year he was a thirty three

496
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,359
Speaker 1: percent usage guy, which is like closer to Luca than

497
00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,280
Speaker 1: you'd like to be, right, But in this season he's

498
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,120
Speaker 1: down to thirty percent, which is pretty standard for a

499
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,040
Speaker 1: superstar in this league when you're in a normal equal

500
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:26,080
Speaker 1: opportunity offense.

501
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:26,360
Speaker 2: Right.

502
00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,760
Speaker 1: As a result, he's over sixty percent through shooting for

503
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,080
Speaker 1: the first time since coming to the Knicks. Right, So,

504
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,800
Speaker 1: like all of this has just made life easier on everybody.

505
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,600
Speaker 1: And then even like, like all these guys fit really well,

506
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,439
Speaker 1: Like Josh Hart obviously has his shooting limitations, but he

507
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,639
Speaker 1: brings a lot of downhill force. He had ten assists

508
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,800
Speaker 1: against the Magic, and now after watching the game, some

509
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:49,960
Speaker 1: of those were just like swing passes to dudes who

510
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,960
Speaker 1: made one on one shots that probably shouldn't have counted

511
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,800
Speaker 1: as assists. But he still gets like three or four

512
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,439
Speaker 1: assists a game where he's just bringing downhill force with

513
00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: a transition drive or even just an offensive rebound for

514
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,960
Speaker 1: a kickout. It's like he makes plays or creates advantages

515
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,520
Speaker 1: for his teammates using his downhill force he's got. He's

516
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:10,680
Speaker 1: like a little bowling ball that's really difficult to stop

517
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,000
Speaker 1: when he gets going with the full head of steam,

518
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,040
Speaker 1: and so they just have all of this offensive talent.

519
00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 1: It's been super resilient too. Like in the five games

520
00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,560
Speaker 1: that the Knicks have played against top ten defenses according

521
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,640
Speaker 1: to Cleaning the Glass, they have a one to seventeen

522
00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,680
Speaker 1: offensive rating, which ranks fifth in the NBA. So their

523
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: offense has continued to function even when they've played the

524
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,800
Speaker 1: higher level defenses in the league. During the eight and

525
00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,040
Speaker 1: two stretch that they are in in their last ten games,

526
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:35,720
Speaker 1: their defense has been a little bit better too. They

527
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,080
Speaker 1: have a one to thirteen point eight defensive rating, which

528
00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:40,920
Speaker 1: is seventeenth in the league over that span.

529
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:42,920
Speaker 2: It's a little more complicated.

530
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,119
Speaker 1: Than that, right, Like Orlando is a team that they

531
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 1: could go under picks on, that they could play off

532
00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,639
Speaker 1: of guys and kind of pack the paint. Most of

533
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,480
Speaker 1: the limited offenses they've played, they've been able to shut down.

534
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,080
Speaker 1: But like Phoenix lit him up a little bit, Denver

535
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,000
Speaker 1: lit him up a little bit, Dallas let him up

536
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,640
Speaker 1: a little bit, they just happen to outscore Phoenix because

537
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:02,239
Speaker 1: they scored one hundred and thirty eight points, and they

538
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,159
Speaker 1: happen to outscore Denver because they scored one hundred and

539
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,320
Speaker 1: forty five points. But like, the only reason I'm really

540
00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:08,040
Speaker 1: concerned there, and the only reason I'm harping on that

541
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,360
Speaker 1: all season is because I think in the big picture,

542
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,240
Speaker 1: you've got to think about everything through the lens of Boston.

543
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,360
Speaker 1: You won't be able to outscore Boston. I think they'll

544
00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:18,399
Speaker 1: be able to outscore basically any other team in the

545
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,080
Speaker 1: league if they need to in a series. I feel

546
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,399
Speaker 1: like that's an option, which is like, we can just

547
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,040
Speaker 1: score crazy well and give ourselves a chance to beat

548
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,600
Speaker 1: this team. I feel like they can do that to

549
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,240
Speaker 1: get to just about anybody, but Boston is a completely

550
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,879
Speaker 1: different story, and you're going to have to find a

551
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,440
Speaker 1: way to slow down Boston's offense if you're gonna have

552
00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 1: any chance to win that conference. So like really encouraging

553
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,879
Speaker 1: stuff on the offensive end of the floor, everything coming

554
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,720
Speaker 1: together with the vision that you would have expected when

555
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:46,520
Speaker 1: make with making a deal for a guy like Michal

556
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,480
Speaker 1: Bridges with making a deal for a guy like Karl

557
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 1: Anthony Towns. The two man game with Karl Anthony Towns

558
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,679
Speaker 1: and Jalen Brunston continues to be devastating all sorts of

559
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,159
Speaker 1: encouraging stuff there, but I'm gonna keep harping on in

560
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,119
Speaker 1: the defense all season because it's just something that they

561
00:24:58,160 --> 00:24:59,879
Speaker 1: need to polish up if they're gonna contend with the

562
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,639
Speaker 1: team like Boston. On the Orlando front, I thought this

563
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:06,639
Speaker 1: was really fascinating. They're second in defensive rating on the season,

564
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,160
Speaker 1: but this was yet another example of their defense getting

565
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,120
Speaker 1: lit up by an elite offense. The Knicks are number

566
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 1: one in offense. They put a one to seventeen offensive

567
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,320
Speaker 1: rating on the Magic. Memphis is number five in offense.

568
00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:19,800
Speaker 1: They put a one to eighteen offensive rating on the Magic.

569
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,080
Speaker 1: The Cavs are second in offense. They put a one

570
00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:25,040
Speaker 1: to seventeen offensive rating on the Magic. The Lakers or

571
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:26,720
Speaker 1: a top five offense at the time of their matchup.

572
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:28,640
Speaker 1: They've slipped to ten now, but they're still top ten.

573
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,439
Speaker 1: They hung a one to twenty one offensive rating on

574
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 1: the Orlando Magic. In fact, according to Cleaning the Glass,

575
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:38,720
Speaker 1: despite the Magic being second in defense overall, they're just

576
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:43,760
Speaker 1: fourteenth in defense against the ten best offenses in the league,

577
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,320
Speaker 1: so it's not a very resilient defense. The top five

578
00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,679
Speaker 1: most resilient defenses, by the way, for those wondering. This

579
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,440
Speaker 1: is just a little side note. Memphis, Houston, OKC, the Clippers,

580
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,439
Speaker 1: and Golden State all teams with just an absurd amount

581
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:58,720
Speaker 1: of speed. Now what's causing the problem? When I watched

582
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,080
Speaker 1: the Magic, the consistent theme is they get spread out

583
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,159
Speaker 1: and lit up from three in those games. So like

584
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 1: when they can play teams and they can really pack

585
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,280
Speaker 1: the paint, their size becomes a big problem. And they

586
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,080
Speaker 1: do have speed at the guard position, but without Paalo,

587
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,679
Speaker 1: they're not as mobile on the front line as they

588
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:17,640
Speaker 1: could be at times, and they can get a little

589
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,720
Speaker 1: bit reckless with their gambling. And this team is third

590
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,399
Speaker 1: best in the league at forcing turnovers, second best at

591
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,479
Speaker 1: blocking shots, but when they leave their feet or when

592
00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,800
Speaker 1: they lunge for the ball against smart teams, they can

593
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: end up in rotation. And when they're in rotation, some

594
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,040
Speaker 1: of their bigger, slower guys can be an issue there.

595
00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 1: It's again, it's not a huge deal, and I do

596
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,040
Speaker 1: think Palo is a major help there because like going

597
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:41,879
Speaker 1: just adding another guy who's six ' ten and pretty

598
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 1: damn fast is going to go a long way to

599
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,440
Speaker 1: helping them cover ground in rotation. But it's just something

600
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,000
Speaker 1: interesting to keep an eye and eye on in terms

601
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,239
Speaker 1: of a trend, which is that the Orlando Magic are

602
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,520
Speaker 1: getting stops against everybody except the best offenses in the league,

603
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,080
Speaker 1: and in those games, they're getting lit up from three

604
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 1: and getting kind of burned in rotation a lot. Just

605
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:01,439
Speaker 1: something to keep an eye as we progress through this season.

606
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 1: All before we get out of here, let's move on

607
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,920
Speaker 1: to Memphis Dallas kind of a wild game. Memphis completely

608
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,159
Speaker 1: dominated most of the second half. John Morant was like

609
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,760
Speaker 1: annihilating them. He's just getting to wherever he wanted on

610
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,280
Speaker 1: the floor. He had twenty six points just in the

611
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:29,959
Speaker 1: second half, and Dallas kind of felt like they were

612
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,320
Speaker 1: on their heels most of the game. And by the way,

613
00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,240
Speaker 1: Memphis has been a top five offense this year, and

614
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 1: it starts with John. No one can really guard this guy.

615
00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,480
Speaker 1: He's playmaking at an extremely high level. He's just slicing

616
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,280
Speaker 1: and dicing teams in the middle of the lane. He

617
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,440
Speaker 1: hasn't been shooting very well this year, but he's got

618
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 1: such a repertoire of counter moves and over the top

619
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,160
Speaker 1: shots that he can hit in the short to mid range,

620
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,679
Speaker 1: like he's over fifty two percent on floaters and hooks

621
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,280
Speaker 1: this year. So even though he's shooting like a super

622
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:57,919
Speaker 1: low twenty nine percent on off the dribble jump shots,

623
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,959
Speaker 1: he's still getting enough over the top shot creation as

624
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,600
Speaker 1: an option for him in the short to mid range,

625
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 1: and his playmaking has been so good there it's just

626
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,800
Speaker 1: been a problem for a lot of teams in this league,

627
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:09,879
Speaker 1: as Memphis has been a really good offense. But Dallas

628
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:11,480
Speaker 1: walked him down in that fourth quarter.

629
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:11,840
Speaker 2: PJ.

630
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:13,680
Speaker 1: Washington I thought it was the star of that run.

631
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: He had a couple of huge threes. He beat Jay

632
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,720
Speaker 1: huff On a driving a close out out of the

633
00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 1: right corner where he made a really athletic move towards

634
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,160
Speaker 1: the rim. He also got the key stop on John

635
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,120
Speaker 1: Morant a possession where again, like with Jaw, you give

636
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 1: him space because the pull up jumper's not there. But

637
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,600
Speaker 1: even if you beat him to the first spot, it's

638
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:34,240
Speaker 1: his counter moves that he has in that mid range

639
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,359
Speaker 1: euro steps, spins. He hit Klay Thompson with a disgusting

640
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 1: spin move in that fourth quarter that just left him

641
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,600
Speaker 1: like glued to the floor, and like he just has

642
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,240
Speaker 1: all these counter moves in that range, so you have

643
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:45,800
Speaker 1: to like absorb contact by beating him to the spot.

644
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 1: Then you have to recover to that secondary move, and

645
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 1: he got a great contest on a John Morant little

646
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: mid range shot where he forced him to really fade

647
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:54,880
Speaker 1: and have to shoot it higher than he typically does

648
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,320
Speaker 1: and forced a mist. It was a huge stop in

649
00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 1: that game. Luka Dancic hit a huge three. John Murray

650
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:01,920
Speaker 1: hit a three that put him up eight. He had

651
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:03,920
Speaker 1: a huge three a step back over Marcus Smart that

652
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:05,960
Speaker 1: pulled them back within five and kept the game close.

653
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:08,840
Speaker 1: Derek Lively had two huge offensive rebounds, and then Spencer

654
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,440
Speaker 1: Dinwoodie hit the biggest shots of the game and running

655
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,720
Speaker 1: transition three on the right wing that kind of was

656
00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:15,480
Speaker 1: a little bit of an iffy shot, but like he

657
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 1: got his legs into it and he shot it up

658
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,640
Speaker 1: in the air and he knocked it down and then

659
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:21,400
Speaker 1: a couple of possessions two. I think it was the

660
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,640
Speaker 1: very next possession. Actually, he ends up hitting the dagger

661
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,520
Speaker 1: on the right wing that puts the Mavericks up five

662
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:28,680
Speaker 1: and they get out of there for the game. Now,

663
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,240
Speaker 1: before we move on to some of the big picture stuff,

664
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,640
Speaker 1: a lot of talk for coming out of that game

665
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,320
Speaker 1: about free throw differential and like oh my god, the

666
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 1: refs just gave Dallas so many free throws in that

667
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,680
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, and blah blah, blah blah, And like, you

668
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 1: guys know how I feel about this sort of thing,

669
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 1: Like I am consistent across the board, regardless of team,

670
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 1: regardless of who it is. I think complaining about free

671
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,320
Speaker 1: free throw differential is the lamest, the lamest shit in

672
00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,080
Speaker 1: the world. It's a loser mentality. Even when I see

673
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,160
Speaker 1: pros and pro coaches do it, I'm like, ugh, Like

674
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,840
Speaker 1: that's just such a bad look because like once again,

675
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 1: when you go on the road, you expect that you're

676
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:03,160
Speaker 1: gonna probably be on the wrong end of a couple

677
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 1: of calls. It's part of your mental toughness going into

678
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:07,360
Speaker 1: that situation. You have to be ready for it, prepared

679
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,239
Speaker 1: for it, and be willing to play through it.

680
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 2: Right.

681
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:11,680
Speaker 1: And then nine times out of ten, when I go

682
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:13,400
Speaker 1: back and watch these games and I see a free

683
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,920
Speaker 1: throw differential, the team that's getting more free throws is

684
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,800
Speaker 1: almost always the team that is playing a style that

685
00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 1: is conducive to it. They're usually playing with more force.

686
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 1: They tend to have like a play style that is

687
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 1: maybe more grifty and just better at getting to the line.

688
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,560
Speaker 1: They usually are bigger and more athletic, and smaller players

689
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:32,760
Speaker 1: are trying to compensate for it by hacking and doing

690
00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:35,360
Speaker 1: that sort of thing. And like I watched that game, like, yeah,

691
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,440
Speaker 1: there were a couple of calls. I didn't like the

692
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 1: offensive rebound with the one that got reviewed where they

693
00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,880
Speaker 1: ended up reversing it and giving Derek Lively to free throws,

694
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 1: Like yeah, I disagree with that. I think it should

695
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,080
Speaker 1: have just been Dallas side out of bounds or based

696
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 1: on out of bounds, like if you're it just as

697
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,120
Speaker 1: ridiculous to just reward somebody with free throws for contact

698
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 1: that happens all the time in the end of these games,

699
00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:57,960
Speaker 1: and guys are fighting for rebounds, so like, yeah, I

700
00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:58,920
Speaker 1: thought that was a bad call.

701
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:00,320
Speaker 2: There was also a.

702
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,040
Speaker 1: Jaren Jackson baseline drive where I thought he got Derek

703
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:05,760
Speaker 1: Leively was out of position and I thought he kind

704
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 1: of came down on his shoulder. I thought it should

705
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,720
Speaker 1: have been a foul, right, But the rest of them,

706
00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,600
Speaker 1: like Marcus Smart trying to fight over the top of

707
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 1: a screen against Luka Doncicz, like forty five feet from

708
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 1: the basket and tripping him, Like that's a stupid foul,

709
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,200
Speaker 1: and it's a foul every single time you tripped him.

710
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,120
Speaker 1: So he fell. The ref's not gonna just let it

711
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,240
Speaker 1: go and you're in the penalty and again that's a

712
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,720
Speaker 1: pick forty five feet from the basket. Luca's not gonna

713
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,080
Speaker 1: pull up that shot, just go under by. By physically

714
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:35,960
Speaker 1: fighting over the top of that screen, you put the

715
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:37,960
Speaker 1: ref in a position where he could make a call,

716
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,200
Speaker 1: and he did. There was another play. It was a

717
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:44,080
Speaker 1: three point game, like with like two minutes left, and

718
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 1: Luca gets a defensive rebound and Marcus Smart just runs

719
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,959
Speaker 1: in and hacks him on both arms, like right in

720
00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,080
Speaker 1: front of the ref. If you watch the replay that,

721
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 1: you can see the ref like blow the whistle and

722
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:55,680
Speaker 1: kind of shake his head a little bit as if like, dude,

723
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,240
Speaker 1: you're making me make the call, like what the hell

724
00:31:58,280 --> 00:31:58,960
Speaker 1: are you doing?

725
00:31:59,440 --> 00:31:59,840
Speaker 2: And so like.

726
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 1: But more often than not, when I see games like

727
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,080
Speaker 1: that and I go back and look, the team that

728
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:06,520
Speaker 1: ends up in the free throw disparity is just doing

729
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 1: stupid shit. And that's what Memphis was doing. Yeah, there

730
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,000
Speaker 1: were a couple of bad calls. You're right, it's part

731
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,520
Speaker 1: of the game. If you go on the road, you

732
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,080
Speaker 1: expect to get a couple of bad calls. I'll be

733
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 1: rooting for the Lakers tonight in Miami. I expect them

734
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:22,400
Speaker 1: to get a couple of bad calls down the stretch

735
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:24,880
Speaker 1: of that game. That's just how it goes when you

736
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:28,400
Speaker 1: play basketball, especially when you go on the road. It's

737
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 1: always a part of the game. It could happen to

738
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,040
Speaker 1: you at home too. It's a variable. You go into

739
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:35,480
Speaker 1: games knowing the refs are gonna make mistakes, just like

740
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,800
Speaker 1: we are going to make mistakes. That is part of basketball.

741
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:40,880
Speaker 1: And again, like I'm not trying to harp on Memphis

742
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:42,920
Speaker 1: fans here because I've seen Dallas fans do it. Hell

743
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,760
Speaker 1: Lakers fans. The Lakers have the best free throw differential

744
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:48,080
Speaker 1: in the league over the last couple of years, and

745
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:51,240
Speaker 1: I've seen Laker fans say Lebron gets the worst whistle

746
00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 1: and oh ad got hacked on that one, like everyone

747
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,360
Speaker 1: does it. I personally think it's lame. I think it's

748
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,080
Speaker 1: completely I think it's a huge waste of time to

749
00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:03,000
Speaker 1: even focus on. I have big picture concerns about officiating

750
00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,120
Speaker 1: in the NBA, but I think talking about it within

751
00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:08,480
Speaker 1: the scale of within the scope of competition is a

752
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,760
Speaker 1: big waste of time, and I think it's a loser mentality.

753
00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,800
Speaker 1: And again, like this has been a consistent theme from Memphis.

754
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,320
Speaker 1: They have struggled with execution and decision making at the

755
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:19,560
Speaker 1: end of games they're two and six and clutch situations.

756
00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:19,960
Speaker 2: This year.

757
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:22,200
Speaker 1: They had a negative clutch net rating a couple of

758
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:24,560
Speaker 1: years ago when Joe was healthy most of the season. Again, like,

759
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,360
Speaker 1: this is one of those things where it's like a

760
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 1: lot of times at the end of these games, it'll

761
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:33,880
Speaker 1: swing on a couple of decisions. Marcus Smart rushed three

762
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,040
Speaker 1: at the above the break on a ghost screen. That

763
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,479
Speaker 1: was a bad shot. Him committing those two bad fouls,

764
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,400
Speaker 1: those three mistakes get wiped out, that could be a

765
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 1: very different game, right, Like, it's just more often than not,

766
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: it just comes down to your decision making and execution

767
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,880
Speaker 1: in those situations, not something out of your control like

768
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,960
Speaker 1: the refs or something along those lines. And bottom line

769
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:56,120
Speaker 1: is John Moran, after slicing and dicing them all night,

770
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,680
Speaker 1: really couldn't get anything for himself except for that three

771
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:00,960
Speaker 1: point shot that he hit from above the break during

772
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,320
Speaker 1: crunch time. So like that was the issue at the

773
00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,600
Speaker 1: end of that game. Luca was able to consistently generate

774
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:10,279
Speaker 1: some pretty high quality shots, and Memphis was it. They

775
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:13,400
Speaker 1: ended up getting the win and of key offensive rebounds

776
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:15,839
Speaker 1: for Dallas. Things along those lines. I was thinking about

777
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,319
Speaker 1: this while I was watching the game last night. I

778
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:20,520
Speaker 1: think Dallas is the third best team in the entire NBA.

779
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,600
Speaker 1: I landed here in a different way than I did

780
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:26,520
Speaker 1: last year. Like last year, I had Dallas as third

781
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,880
Speaker 1: as well. Going into the playoffs, I had Boston and

782
00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:32,719
Speaker 1: Denver and then a end of a tier, and then

783
00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,040
Speaker 1: I had Dallas as the top of the second tier

784
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,000
Speaker 1: of championship teams. This year, I came in with Dallas

785
00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 1: at number five. I had Denver and New York above them.

786
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:42,239
Speaker 1: But from what I've seen from all three of those

787
00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,319
Speaker 1: teams this year, I think Dallas is better than both

788
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,200
Speaker 1: of them. They just have so many good players, and

789
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,120
Speaker 1: some of last year's guys have gotten better. Luke and

790
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:52,759
Speaker 1: Kyrie or Luke and Kyrie. I'm not going to get

791
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:54,520
Speaker 1: too far into them. Like Luca's numbers are down this

792
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,440
Speaker 1: year and everyone's freaking out. I couldn't care less. I

793
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,239
Speaker 1: expect Luca to be a better player than and he

794
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:02,200
Speaker 1: was last year. By the time he gets to the postseason,

795
00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:04,279
Speaker 1: as long as he says healthy. So I'm just not

796
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,359
Speaker 1: worried about Luca. And by the way, in his last

797
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 1: two games, he's averaging thirty seven points, ten rebounds, nine

798
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 1: assists on fifty seven percent from the field in forty

799
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:12,880
Speaker 1: seven percent from three with seven steals. By the way,

800
00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:16,640
Speaker 1: as he continues to play passing lanes really well, like Lucas,

801
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,480
Speaker 1: seems to be getting back to form, I'm not worried

802
00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:19,920
Speaker 1: about him.

803
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:20,239
Speaker 2: PJ.

804
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,160
Speaker 1: Washington is shooting the ball much better than he did

805
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,160
Speaker 1: last year. You remember last year after the finals when

806
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,440
Speaker 1: I talked about how much PJ. Washington would probably be

807
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,600
Speaker 1: repping above the above the break threes all summer in

808
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,080
Speaker 1: the gym. Well, he's shooting forty nine percent on above

809
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 1: the break threes this year. He has good form. I

810
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,239
Speaker 1: think he's capable of being a reliable shooter there and

811
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,279
Speaker 1: that could be key for the Boston matchup. As we know,

812
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:42,960
Speaker 1: in the Boston matchup with Darre Jones out of the equation,

813
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:46,800
Speaker 1: that's likely going to be a center on PJ Washington

814
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,920
Speaker 1: and him needing to hit pick and pop jump shots.

815
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:50,919
Speaker 1: If they were to get back into that matchup. Those

816
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,799
Speaker 1: above the break threes are vitally important for them in

817
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,840
Speaker 1: that specific matchup. He's also just a really good functional athlete.

818
00:35:56,880 --> 00:35:59,200
Speaker 1: Like he got that key stop against Jaw, He gets

819
00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:03,719
Speaker 1: contested defense, rebounds, he brings real downhill force driving close outs,

820
00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:06,239
Speaker 1: he can beat mismatches in the post. He's just a

821
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,960
Speaker 1: really really good player. Dereklively is just awesome. He had

822
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:12,120
Speaker 1: six offensive rebounds last night. Last year, Derek Lively was

823
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,160
Speaker 1: basically a one to one assist to turnover guy. This

824
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:15,879
Speaker 1: year he's a two to one assist to turnover guy.

825
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,560
Speaker 1: Like I talked about guys getting better, Derek Lively and PJ.

826
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:20,920
Speaker 1: Washington are just better basketball players now than they were

827
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,280
Speaker 1: last year. That's an ad of talent to this team.

828
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:25,239
Speaker 2: By the way, Derek G.

829
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:27,400
Speaker 1: Lively's over fifty percent on hooks when he needs to

830
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,200
Speaker 1: finish over the top of a switch or a quick

831
00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,120
Speaker 1: offensive rebound put back, something along those lines. He's generated

832
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,600
Speaker 1: thirteen points on ten post ups this year. That's low volume,

833
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,600
Speaker 1: but that's one point three points per possession. When you

834
00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 1: dump the ball to the block to Derek Lively, Him

835
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 1: and PJ. Washington just make for a very athletically imposing frontline.

836
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,480
Speaker 1: The defensive rebound really well when the two of them

837
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,040
Speaker 1: are on the floor together. Dallas has not been a

838
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,320
Speaker 1: good defensive rebounding team this year, but they get seventy

839
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,080
Speaker 1: five percent of their defensive rebounds that are available when

840
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,560
Speaker 1: PJ and Derek Glively are on the floor together. They

841
00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:58,440
Speaker 1: both can switch in ball screens and guard perimeter players.

842
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,160
Speaker 1: They run the floor super well. Dallas has a ninety

843
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,120
Speaker 1: six percentile transition defense when those two are on the

844
00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,080
Speaker 1: floor together, and they provide spacing in their own ways,

845
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,160
Speaker 1: with PJ. Washington knocking down shots and driving closeouts, and

846
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:12,080
Speaker 1: with Derek Lively as a vertical spacer and a guy

847
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:14,080
Speaker 1: who can make plays in the four on three when

848
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 1: he gets ignored in blitzes and stuff like that.

849
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:17,280
Speaker 2: So like PJ.

850
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:20,240
Speaker 1: Washington and Derek Lively have both gotten better, Daniel Gafford

851
00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:22,360
Speaker 1: gives them depth to have a good center on the

852
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,080
Speaker 1: floor for forty eight minutes. Spencer Dinwoody has become like

853
00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:27,960
Speaker 1: their de facto third option and is closing games for

854
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,680
Speaker 1: them at the three. In the last five games, Spencer

855
00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:34,000
Speaker 1: dinwood He's averaging seventeen points and six assists on fifty

856
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,000
Speaker 1: two percent from the field in fifty two percent from

857
00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 1: three not to mention, he gives them a good perimeter

858
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,359
Speaker 1: defense option in that lineup. And you know, I actually

859
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:42,800
Speaker 1: find this really fascinating because I wanted the Lakers to

860
00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:44,880
Speaker 1: bring Spencer Dinwoody back. I thought he was a good player,

861
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,200
Speaker 1: but he did not have a good offensive season the

862
00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:48,920
Speaker 1: brief time that he was in LA And a big

863
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:50,680
Speaker 1: part of that was where he was in the pecking order.

864
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,799
Speaker 1: Like Austin was getting more touches than Spencer. De loo

865
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:56,480
Speaker 1: is getting more touches in Spencer. Lebron's getting more touches

866
00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:59,680
Speaker 1: than Spencer. Hell Ruey's getting more touches than Spencer. Anthony

867
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,920
Speaker 1: Davis is getting more touches than Spencer. Spencer was like

868
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,879
Speaker 1: the sixth option on that team, as he'd come in as.

869
00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:06,040
Speaker 2: A backup guard. Right.

870
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,880
Speaker 1: So, like as I look at Dallas's situation and the

871
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:12,040
Speaker 1: recent success that Spencer's had, Spencer's a rhythm player. He

872
00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:13,600
Speaker 1: needs to have the ball in his hands and he

873
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:15,400
Speaker 1: needs to be he needs to feel like he can

874
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,920
Speaker 1: take a shot without getting in trouble. He's the kind

875
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:19,560
Speaker 1: of guy, he's a little He's got a little bit

876
00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:21,879
Speaker 1: of that audaciousness in him where he's like he will

877
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:25,440
Speaker 1: take that movement transition three in a clutch situation, but

878
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:27,480
Speaker 1: he's also got the confidence in the skill to knock

879
00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:28,120
Speaker 1: it down too.

880
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:29,920
Speaker 2: He just has to be in rhythm.

881
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:31,960
Speaker 1: And again he'll have stretches when he goes cold and

882
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:33,920
Speaker 1: he has his issues, but I like him as an

883
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:35,799
Speaker 1: option there. It gives them an option, and that's really

884
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:39,120
Speaker 1: the key. It's about versatility. We haven't even talked about

885
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:41,200
Speaker 1: the depth of the roster, guys like Nauji Marshall, Jaden Hardy,

886
00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:44,399
Speaker 1: Klay Thompson. Lay Thompson hasn't even played really well this year, right,

887
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,560
Speaker 1: But like they have versatility. When you take it the

888
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,520
Speaker 1: look at their core four, so Kyrie, Luca, Derek Lively,

889
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:53,640
Speaker 1: and PJ. Washington, we can assume that those five are

890
00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:55,680
Speaker 1: more or less or those four are more or less

891
00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:58,360
Speaker 1: going to be the closing four for any matchup.

892
00:38:58,760 --> 00:38:58,960
Speaker 2: Right.

893
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:02,120
Speaker 1: But because of certain players are playing better, they have

894
00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:04,520
Speaker 1: a lot of different options. They can go like, oh,

895
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,640
Speaker 1: you're playing a big team like the Denver Nuggets and

896
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:10,280
Speaker 1: you need more size, well bringing Maxi Kleba. Just go Luka,

897
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:14,080
Speaker 1: Kyrie and then go PJ. Maxi Derek Lively. Now, all

898
00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:15,319
Speaker 1: of a sudden, you've got a lot of size. You

899
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:17,439
Speaker 1: could put a big on Jokic while having a big

900
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,200
Speaker 1: in help on the back line. Right, you put Kleeba

901
00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:21,719
Speaker 1: on the Jokich and put Lively in help. Right, you

902
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,680
Speaker 1: can bring in extra size for that matchup. Oh, we're

903
00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:28,080
Speaker 1: guarding Boston and we just need another guy who can

904
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:29,960
Speaker 1: guard on the perimeter really well. Well, you can go

905
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,120
Speaker 1: with Naji Marshall at the three or Spencer Dinwoodie with

906
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 1: as well as he's playing. Spencer's a good defender and

907
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,520
Speaker 1: he's not a great defender, but he's a good defender

908
00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:38,680
Speaker 1: and he can really do the job. He's got long arms,

909
00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:40,799
Speaker 1: good size, good strength. It can move pretty well. Right,

910
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,960
Speaker 1: Let's say you're playing like a team like in Orlando

911
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:46,239
Speaker 1: or another team that has a lot of size that

912
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:48,640
Speaker 1: likes to match upon a team like the Lakers, for instance,

913
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:51,279
Speaker 1: like Klay Thompson is one of the best options in

914
00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:53,880
Speaker 1: the league for like defending players in the post and

915
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 1: shooting the three, and so you could put Clay at

916
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,280
Speaker 1: the three for matchups like that. They have a lot

917
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:02,000
Speaker 1: of versatility for different types of matchups in the conference,

918
00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:04,560
Speaker 1: and it didn't feel like that last year because they

919
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,440
Speaker 1: didn't have, you know, guys like Spencer, didn't Winn Narget,

920
00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,920
Speaker 1: Nauji Marshall, they didn't have guys like Klay Thompson to

921
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:13,520
Speaker 1: have for those types of looks. Right, they're deep enough

922
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:15,680
Speaker 1: to stay high in the standings all season. We just

923
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:17,880
Speaker 1: saw them whether the loss of Luca for a little while,

924
00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:20,480
Speaker 1: and I think they match up better than with Boston

925
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:22,520
Speaker 1: than they did last year. Do I think they'd beat Boston.

926
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,800
Speaker 1: I wouldn't pick them, but it's an easier path to see,

927
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:29,040
Speaker 1: Like PJ Washington making above the break threes would really

928
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,480
Speaker 1: help in that matchup. I think Luca will be in

929
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,560
Speaker 1: better shape and defend better in that series after he

930
00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,480
Speaker 1: got embarrassed last year. Spencer at the three gives them

931
00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,360
Speaker 1: another mobile perimeter player to have as an option in

932
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:42,480
Speaker 1: those situations. Kyrie was really cold in that series last year.

933
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:44,400
Speaker 1: It's easy to see a pathway where he would be

934
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,880
Speaker 1: better this year. Right, So, like they're a long shot

935
00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:50,600
Speaker 1: still because it feels like there's a gap between them

936
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:52,560
Speaker 1: in Boston, but I feel like they've closed that gap

937
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,320
Speaker 1: some amount, and so all it takes is certain variables

938
00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:56,759
Speaker 1: to go their way for them to be able to

939
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,600
Speaker 1: potentially get it done in like a puncher's chance type

940
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:02,320
Speaker 1: of sense, and if you believe in that again, all ads.

941
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:04,200
Speaker 1: All odds provided by DraftKings.

942
00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:04,479
Speaker 2: Here.

943
00:41:04,719 --> 00:41:07,080
Speaker 1: The Dallas Mavericks are plus five point fifty to win

944
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,400
Speaker 1: the conference and plus eleven hundred to win the title,

945
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:14,680
Speaker 1: So some real odd odds opportunity there if you're looking

946
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:17,120
Speaker 1: to make a bet on Dallas. All right, guys, That's

947
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,040
Speaker 1: all I have for today is always a sincerely appreciate

948
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 1: you guys for supporting the show. We got another packed

949
00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:25,000
Speaker 1: slate tonight and we'll have more game breakdowns than maybe

950
00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:26,080
Speaker 1: even some film tomorrow.

951
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:27,160
Speaker 2: I will see you guys then.

952
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:30,600
Speaker 1: The volume.

953
00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:31,839
Speaker 2: What's up guys?

954
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,680
Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting

955
00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:37,279
Speaker 1: OOPS tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us

956
00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,200
Speaker 1: if you guys would take a second and leave a

957
00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:41,879
Speaker 1: rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys

958
00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:43,520
Speaker 1: supporting us, but if you could take a minute to

959
00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:45,399
Speaker 1: do that, I'd really appreciate it.