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Speaker 2: to hoops tonight. You're at the volume heavy Friday.

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Speaker 3: Everybody.

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Speaker 2: If all of you guys have had a great week,

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Speaker 2: We're doing a mail bag today. We're gonna be bouncing

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Speaker 2: all around the world of basketball. We're gonna hit some

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Speaker 2: tm USA stuff off the top. We're gonna bounce around

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Speaker 2: to about like ten ish NBA teams around the league

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Speaker 2: in various capacities. Even got a Star Wars question in there,

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Speaker 2: So we're gonna be going all over the place.

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Speaker 3: You guys know the joke.

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Speaker 2: Before we get started, Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels.

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Speaker 2: You don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me

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Speaker 2: on Twitter, Underscore jsonlt so you guys don't miss you announcements.

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Speaker 2: So forget about our podcast feed. Wherever you get your

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Speaker 2: podcast under Hoops Tonight, don't forget. It's really helpful if

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Speaker 2: you leave a rating and a review on that front.

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Speaker 2: And the last minute, least, keep dropping mail back questions

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Speaker 2: in those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them

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Speaker 2: throughout the rest of the summer. And then, last but

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Speaker 2: not least, before we get started, just a little note

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Speaker 2: on how the schedule is going to look for the

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Speaker 2: next month or so. During the Olympics, we're gonna be

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Speaker 2: covering all of those games, certainly all of the USA Games,

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Speaker 2: probably a handful of other games involving some of the

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Speaker 2: other major national teams, and then it's gonna be kind

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Speaker 2: of mixed in with player rankings. We're starting player rankings

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Speaker 2: next week, and again I'm still trying to figure out

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Speaker 2: a way to kind of market the two different lists,

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Speaker 2: because the way I see it, there's kind of two

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Speaker 2: different ways to rank players. There's ranking them in a

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Speaker 2: vacuum and ranking them based on theircomplishments of the last season,

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Speaker 2: kind of like bragging rights in a vacuum. And I'm

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Speaker 2: trying to just kind of come up with a way

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Speaker 2: to kind of express that something catchy. So if you

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Speaker 2: guys got any ideas, drop them in the comments underneath

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Speaker 2: these videos. But we're gonna hit in an Olympics. We're gonna

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Speaker 2: hitting player rankings that should pretty much take us through

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Speaker 2: the month of August, and then when we get to September,

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Speaker 2: it's time to get started with season previews, and then

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Speaker 2: we're gonna start diving into each individual team, all of

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Speaker 2: their player acquisitions, so on and so forth, diving into

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Speaker 2: some different expectations for them heading into next season. But

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Speaker 2: on that note, let's hop into this mail bag. We're

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Speaker 2: gonna be going all around the league. It's gonna be fun.

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Speaker 2: First question, and these questions. Some of them came from Twitter,

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Speaker 2: some of them came from YouTube. It's kind of a

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Speaker 2: shmortgage sport. We had a ton of questions. Obviously, couldn't

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Speaker 2: get to all of them, but I do, as always

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Speaker 2: appreciate you guys for participating and giving us all those questions.

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Speaker 2: Question number one, it's crazy that USA had to be

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Speaker 2: rescued by Grandpa James. Yet again, wasn't this supposed to

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Speaker 2: be the new Dream team that would beat the ninety

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Speaker 2: two squad. Either way, this team isn't that good or

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Speaker 2: the rest of the world has caught up.

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Speaker 3: Either way, I'd.

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Speaker 2: Be concerned if I was an American, so I did

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Speaker 2: not see this team as good as the Dream Team.

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Speaker 2: I think this is the third best national team that

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Speaker 2: I've seen. I should say I should actually say the

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Speaker 2: fourth best. It's tough to say that two thousand and

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Speaker 2: eight and twenty twelve team. There were some similarities, but

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Speaker 2: I think I think ninety two, two thousand and eight,

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Speaker 2: and twenty twelve all of those teams had the undisputed

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Speaker 2: best player in the world at that point in time,

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Speaker 2: like in ninety two. Obviously with Michael Jordan, you could

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Speaker 2: argue Scottie Pippen was in that conversation as well at

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Speaker 2: that point in time. I shouldn't say in conversation for

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Speaker 2: number one, but a lot of people have viewed Scotty

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Speaker 2: as the second best player in the world during that time,

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Speaker 2: coming into two thousand and eight, I think Kobe was

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Speaker 2: the best player in the world at that time. Lebron

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Speaker 2: was right on his heels. They were both on that team.

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Speaker 2: Twenty twelve, Lebron undisputed best player in the world, Kevin

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Speaker 2: Durant hot on his heels. Those two guys were all

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Speaker 2: on the team. This team doesn't have a single player

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Speaker 2: that's going to be considered in the same conversation as

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Speaker 2: Giannis or Luka Doncic or Nicole Jokic. So I don't

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Speaker 2: think they're as top end talented, but I do think

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Speaker 2: that they are a very well rounded basketball team. Now,

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Speaker 2: Steve Kerr has done some janky stuff with the lineups

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Speaker 2: that's made it tricky. I want to get more into

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Speaker 2: that in just a second, But I don't think this

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Speaker 2: is like an absolute world beating type of squad like

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Speaker 2: the ninety two, two, eight, twenty twelve teams in terms

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Speaker 2: of the absolute apex talent. It's more of like a

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Speaker 2: depth of talent kind of thing. They're not going to

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Speaker 2: just absolutely demolish everybody like the ninety two Dream Team

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Speaker 2: did simply because there's more international NBA talent now. I

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Speaker 2: saw an instagram kind of like graphic the other day

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Speaker 2: that showed that in the nineteen ninety two Olympic run,

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Speaker 2: there were fewer than ten NBA players playing for FOBA teams.

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Speaker 2: Now there's more than sixty. So that just gives you

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Speaker 2: a basic demonstration of how much NBA talent there is

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Speaker 2: playing overseas. And one of the things I talk about

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Speaker 2: a lot, I shouldn't say playing overseas playing for FOBA teams,

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Speaker 2: but I talk a lot about the concept of diminishing returns, right,

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Speaker 2: Like if every player has to fulfill responsibilities on the floor,

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Speaker 2: and superstars are famous for being able to take these

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Speaker 2: like big chunks of responsibilities, a lot of times you

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Speaker 2: need guys to fill in small roles. And when you

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Speaker 2: take a star level player and ask him to fill

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Speaker 2: a small role, like there's just not gonna be that

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Speaker 2: much of a gap. Like, for instance, Devin Booker and

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Speaker 2: what he does for Team USA is not that much

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Speaker 2: better than what other two guards are doing for other

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Speaker 2: FOBA teams, even though Devin Booker is a way better player.

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Speaker 2: It just has to do with the diminishing returns of

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Speaker 2: Devin Booker being in the type of role that he

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Speaker 2: is with tim Usa that said, they are underachieving to

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Speaker 2: this point. I do think that they are good enough

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Speaker 2: to go over there and win every game by around

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Speaker 2: ten to fifteen points. That's what I predicted last summer.

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Speaker 2: That's what I think should happen. That's what this team's

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Speaker 2: potential is. With the talent they have. They should go

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Speaker 2: over there and they shouldn't blow everybody out, but they

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Speaker 2: should at least win convincingly. They should win comfortably every

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Speaker 2: single one of these games. But that's not been the case.

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Speaker 2: They've been in a couple of knockdown, drag out fights,

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Speaker 2: namely with Germany and with South Sudan. Right now, that

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Speaker 2: is where we have to get to Steve Kerr in

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Speaker 2: the lineup structure, because the end of this question is

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Speaker 2: either way, i'd be concerned if I was an American.

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Speaker 2: My concern surrounding the team's performance, I'm holding off until

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Speaker 2: we actually see them play in some foeba uh these

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Speaker 2: Olympic games because in the showcase there's more of a

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Speaker 2: lack of urgency when it comes to Steve Kerr and

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Speaker 2: trying to figure out line of combinations that work, for instance,

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Speaker 2: doing line shifts that's not usually how basketball works. Usually

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Speaker 2: like yes up, two or three guys out, maybe one

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Speaker 2: or two guys out at a time, and you're kind

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Speaker 2: of like guys play longer shifts and it's more of

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Speaker 2: like a flow from unit to unit. Steve Kerr has

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Speaker 2: been doing line shifts. He's been going five in, five

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Speaker 2: out and just swapping guys out and then maybe mixing

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Speaker 2: up a little bit towards the tail end of these games.

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Speaker 2: And so I really just want to see the types

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Speaker 2: of lineups that Steve Kerr uses in the real games,

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Speaker 2: if he's still doing line shifts, if he still has

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Speaker 2: EMBIID with the starters. That's where I think there's some

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Speaker 2: vulnerability here, because with EMBIID with the starters and with

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis and bam Adebayo with that bench group, there's

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Speaker 2: a little bit of like an imbalance. I talked about

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Speaker 2: this a lot in our last show, so I won't

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Speaker 2: go into as much detail, but the short version is

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Speaker 2: the starters really struggle to rebound and really struggle to

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Speaker 2: chase over the top of screens with embat in his

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Speaker 2: drop coverage. Well, look at the lineup. This guy, a

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Speaker 2: thirty six year old Steph who's turning thirty seven next year,

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Speaker 2: thirty nine year old Lebron is turning forty next year,

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Speaker 2: and Devin Booker that you're asking to chase over screens

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Speaker 2: with Drew Holliday, with Drew Holliday being the only guy

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Speaker 2: in that lineup that's a professional screen navigator, and you're

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Speaker 2: asking them to chase over with Joel Embiden drop coverage.

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Speaker 2: That's just a poor use of those players in their

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Speaker 2: skill sets. In addition to that, you're not rebounding well

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Speaker 2: with that group well for all the same reasons Devin

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Speaker 2: Booker average athlete at the NBA level, Steph Curry gonna

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Speaker 2: be thirty seven next year, Lebron gonna be forty next year.

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Speaker 2: Of course, you're not a great rebounding team. So, like

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Speaker 2: a lot of this is by simply adding making some

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Speaker 2: basic tweaks to the lineup structure, for instance, like swap

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Speaker 2: Devin Booker out with a guy like Jason Tatum, make

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Speaker 2: yourself a substantially better rebounding team. Jason Tatum can do

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Speaker 2: what Devin Booker does, move Anthony Davis into the starting lineup.

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Speaker 2: By the way, as far as Tatum with the starters goes,

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Speaker 2: that could also be Kevin Durant. Put Kevin Durant in

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Speaker 2: for Devin Booker, right, then if I have let's just say,

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Speaker 2: let's just say Tatum for the sake of this particular discussion.

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Speaker 2: If I go Steph, Drew, Tatum, Lebron ad and I'm switching,

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Speaker 2: I'm a substantially better defensive rebounding team and I'm substantially

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Speaker 2: more cohesive defensive unit because I'm running a scheme that

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Speaker 2: makes sense with those particular guys. I don't want Steph

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Speaker 2: chasing over screens. I don't want Lebron chasing over screens.

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Speaker 2: I don't want kd or. I want those guys switching.

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Speaker 2: And those guys all can switch pretty well. Drew can

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Speaker 2: guard up Steph. He's not the most athletic guy in

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Speaker 2: the world, but he's sixty three and he's pretty big

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Speaker 2: and strong, and he's pretty good at forcing guys to

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Speaker 2: take pull up jump shots over the top. Anthony Davis

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Speaker 2: can defend guards, Lebron James can switch those guys. That's

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Speaker 2: a switching unit in my opinion. Then you put Embid

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Speaker 2: with the bench group where they're struggling to score in

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Speaker 2: the half court, and embiids another offensive hub, a guy

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Speaker 2: that can really add some offensive firepower to that unit,

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Speaker 2: and so I want to see what they look like

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Speaker 2: in the real games, to see if Steve Kerr applies

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Speaker 2: those specific concepts, because if he does, I do think

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Speaker 2: Toosa is gonna win by ten fifteen every single game

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Speaker 2: and get out of there relatively comfortably. But I'm really

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Speaker 2: curious to see the strategy that they employ when they

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Speaker 2: get out there. Next question, what political reason would cause

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Speaker 2: him be to start? He's not a Nike athlete, he

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Speaker 2: plays for the Sixers and is not even born in America.

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Speaker 2: Were sure it's just not Steve Kirby stupid. I think

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Speaker 2: this has most mostly probably has to do with some

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Speaker 2: sort of under the table deal to try to get

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Speaker 2: MB to not play for France instead, right, like that

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Speaker 2: was the whole thing, was easy going to play for France.

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Speaker 2: And I don't know if it had to do with

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Speaker 2: the fact that tm USA needed a big and you know,

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Speaker 2: because like even you could argue if the TMOSA only

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Speaker 2: had a D and band, they might be a little

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Speaker 2: undersized on the front line, right, So like Tmosa kind

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Speaker 2: of needed a big France had Webbin Yama and Gobert, right, So,

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Speaker 2: like it's a little bit. Uh, but that probably had

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Speaker 2: something to do with it. But it's very possible that

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Speaker 2: there was some sort of deal underneath the table where

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Speaker 2: it's like, hey, I will leave the team France and

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Speaker 2: play for Team USA as long as you let me start.

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Speaker 2: That very well might have been worked out. I think

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Speaker 2: that's stupid. I think promised to play agreements are a

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Speaker 2: loser mentality, and I've seen them all over the place.

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Speaker 2: Obviously we've heard about it in the NBA in terms

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Speaker 2: of agency politics, but like I've seen it at the

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Speaker 2: college level. I've coaches promise starting spots. I've seen coach

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Speaker 2: I saw a juco coach once promise to guard at

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Speaker 2: twenty shot attempts a game. Like to talk about talk

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Speaker 2: about a loser mentality, right like, instead of like having

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Speaker 2: a player earn that right or having a player demonstrate

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Speaker 2: that he's deserving of that type of offensive workload. There

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Speaker 2: are these deals being cut that basketball games aren't won

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Speaker 2: by deals getting cut, They're they're won by basketball teams

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Speaker 2: organically taking shape by virtue of what is earned on

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Speaker 2: the floor. And so I'm not a huge fan of that.

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure if that's what happened, but that would

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Speaker 2: be an example of a political reason that would lead

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Speaker 2: and be to start like, hey, we'll start you, but

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Speaker 2: that's your kind of like, you know, the the dangling

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Speaker 2: bait to get you to leave Team France. Is Lebron

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Speaker 2: really the best player on Team USA or just the

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Speaker 2: most experienced playing with the star studded team. I do

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Speaker 2: think through through these five games to this point that

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Speaker 2: Lebron has demons in a small sample size, he is

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Speaker 2: the best all around basketball player in that group with

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Speaker 2: his size, strength, athleticism, playmaking ability, shooting ability, his downhill ability,

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Speaker 2: his ability to play bully ball around the basket. He's

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Speaker 2: demonstrated that to this point. Do I want Lebron or

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Speaker 2: Jason Tatum to start training camp tomorrow? I want Jason Tatum.

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Speaker 2: Do I Lebron or Anthony Davis to start training camp tomorrow?

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Speaker 2: I want Anthony Davis. Right, Like, at a certain point,

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Speaker 2: Lebron's age becomes a factor in the grand scheme of

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Speaker 2: an NBA campaign, from the tip off of training camp

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Speaker 2: to the Larry O'Brien Trophy in mid June, You're gonna

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Speaker 2: want a younger player, and I don't think Lebron belongs

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Speaker 2: in those conversations, because I just I all you have

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Speaker 2: to do is watch the Lakers. He's conserving energy in

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Speaker 2: a lot of areas throughout the eighty two just to

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Speaker 2: try to survive, right, But that's not the case for

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Speaker 2: this Team USA example. Right, like in these games, Lebron

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Speaker 2: is the best player in this small sample size because

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Speaker 2: he is healthy right now. He is in great shape

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Speaker 2: right now. He is you know, well rounded and ready

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Speaker 2: to go right now. And so, yeah, is Lebron the

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Speaker 2: best player on TMOSA?

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Speaker 3: Yes?

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Speaker 2: Is he the best American basketball player to start a

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Speaker 2: franchise with? Probably not, He's probably considerably further down on

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Speaker 2: that list. Do you think the Olympics are a precursor

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Speaker 2: of what's to come in the regular season? Like Lebron

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Speaker 2: and Kobe seasons after the Oaen Olympics. I'll just put

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Speaker 2: it this simple. There's no version of this where you

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Speaker 2: go and play against the best American basketball players in

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Speaker 2: practice and the best players in the world in games

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Speaker 2: over the summer. That doesn't make you a better basketball player.

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Speaker 2: It's really that simple. Every single player that went to

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Speaker 2: this tam USA camp is going to come out a

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Speaker 2: better basketball player, which would inherently lead them into more

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Speaker 2: productive NBA campaigns next year, provided their bodies hold up.

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Speaker 2: But like, as long as their bodies hold up, Like

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Speaker 2: there's nothing but good that comes from this, not even

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Speaker 2: to mention, just the conditioning element that you know, by

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Speaker 2: the time this is done, it's going to be what

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Speaker 2: mid August or late August, and and at that point

308
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Speaker 2: in time, they're a month and a half from training camp.

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Speaker 2: So like at that point you maybe take a week

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Speaker 2: or two off, but then you're gearing up for the season. Anyway,

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Speaker 2: I bet you there are gonna be guys who come

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Speaker 2: out of Team USA and just stay in the gym

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Speaker 2: and make sure they're ready by the time they get there.

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Speaker 2: A couple Lakers questions, next, do you think Max Christie

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Speaker 2: can be that athletic starting two guard that we need?

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Speaker 2: So you guys know how I feel about young basketball players.

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Speaker 2: The main thing I worry about with Max Christie is

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Speaker 2: his decision making, like when to pass, when to shoot,

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Speaker 2: what to do when he drives past his man in

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Speaker 2: a closeout situation, making reads in those situations. Those are

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Speaker 2: the areas that I worry about Max Christie. I think

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Speaker 2: he can shoot the ball fine, and I think he

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Speaker 2: can defend, But the question is can he make those decisions.

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Speaker 2: One of the things that sucks for Max is Darvin

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Speaker 2: Ham horribly misutilized him last year and played an inferior

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Speaker 2: player in cam Reddish over him all season long. And

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Speaker 2: so from that standpoint, like Max and get the reps

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Speaker 2: that you would have hoped that he would have gotten

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Speaker 2: over the course of last season. But I would imagine

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Speaker 2: that they'll start him at the two to start the season,

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Speaker 2: or maybe not start because of the d LO situation,

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Speaker 2: but they'll play him a lot at the two to

333
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Speaker 2: start the season, and it will be up and down,

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Speaker 2: and they are going to be highs and they're gonna

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Speaker 2: be lows, where he's a young player making young player mistakes.

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Speaker 2: That said, one of the things I think a lot

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Speaker 2: about with the Lakers, as it pertains to them needing

338
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Speaker 2: to make a deal last year. Their biggest weakness, as

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Speaker 2: I've said on and on, is having athletes on the perimeter.

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Speaker 2: So if Austin Reeves is a skill guard and Lebron

341
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Speaker 2: James is a forty year old forward and Anthony Davis

342
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Speaker 2: is a center, you really need athletes at the two

343
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Speaker 2: and three. And last year was d LO and Torrium

344
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Speaker 2: Prince bad athletes d Lo and Ruy Ruey who's big

345
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Speaker 2: but not particularly quick on the perimeter. And so this

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Speaker 2: is where it gets interesting because you have three players

347
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Speaker 2: that are kind of sort of getting added to the

348
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Speaker 2: roster even though they were on the roster last year.

349
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Speaker 2: Bex Chrissy was on the roster last year, didn't get used.

350
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Speaker 2: That's an athletic two guard. Gabe Vincent was hurt all

351
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Speaker 2: year last year. He is a guy that is a

352
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Speaker 2: pretty solid point of attack defender. Jared Vanderbilt is one

353
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Speaker 2: of the best point of attack defenders in the league

354
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Speaker 2: and is super versatile and can guard many different types

355
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Speaker 2: of ball handlers. Those guys were all Gabe and Vando

356
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Speaker 2: were unavailable for injury. Max Christy obviously was in the

357
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Speaker 2: Darvin Ham doghouse because Darwinham just just playing bad basketball

358
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Speaker 2: players or lesser basketball players for no reason. Right, So,

359
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Speaker 2: like those guys getting added to the mix, if they're

360
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Speaker 2: all healthy and ready to go, will help facilitate easier

361
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Speaker 2: regular season basketball for the Lakers, right However, can Gabe start?

362
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Speaker 2: I think he can next to Austin as long as

363
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Speaker 2: your three is awesome, and right now, your three is

364
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Speaker 2: not awesome. Can Vandos start? I think he can as

365
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Speaker 2: long as your two is awesome, But right now I

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Speaker 2: don't think there two is awesome, and so in the

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Speaker 2: long run, I still think the Lakers need up raids

368
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Speaker 2: of those types of roles. However, Max Gabe and Vando

369
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Speaker 2: just being healthy and ready to go at the start

370
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,840
Speaker 2: of training camp will buy the Lakers the time to

371
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Speaker 2: make that deal at the deadline. Again, if you think

372
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Speaker 2: of it very simply, the Lakers have two draft picks

373
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Speaker 2: to use, and you probably have two seasons left of

374
00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,159
Speaker 2: Lebron playing at a pretty high level this year and

375
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Speaker 2: maybe next year. What that means is whatever your next

376
00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:31,119
Speaker 2: trade is, that has to be a hit that you

377
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Speaker 2: gotta get the right guys with that deal, right, and

378
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,800
Speaker 2: so being patient, I'm not against it as long as

379
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,239
Speaker 2: they actually do something at the deadline this year. What

380
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Speaker 2: they cannot afford is to make the mistake they did

381
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Speaker 2: last year, which is like, oh, d lo, he's playing

382
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,360
Speaker 2: really really well, we're fine, we don't need to do anything,

383
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Speaker 2: and then you roll into the Nugget Series with the

384
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,400
Speaker 2: exact same players and lose the exact same way. That

385
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Speaker 2: can't happen, right, And So I'm okay with taking that

386
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Speaker 2: group into the season because I do think a van

387
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Speaker 2: down Max can help in the eighty two to facilitate

388
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Speaker 2: some of that perimeter athleticism that they need. But at

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Speaker 2: the deadline, I think you have to do something, and

390
00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,000
Speaker 2: if they don't, I would be I'd be really disappointed.

391
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Speaker 4: Preparing for your upcoming fantasy football draft, do you wish

392
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,119
Speaker 4: that you could wave a magic wand and somehow know

393
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:21,400
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394
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:21,920
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395
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,680
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396
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397
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398
00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:33,360
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399
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,040
Speaker 4: takes too many rookies, and who is going to reach

400
00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,320
Speaker 4: for their favorite teams players over and over again. Everybody

401
00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,240
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402
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,679
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403
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404
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405
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406
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407
00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,359
Speaker 2: Next question Lakers' trades do the following move the needle

408
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,720
Speaker 2: for you. Gabe Vincent in two seconds for Dennis Schroeder, Delo,

409
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,560
Speaker 2: Jalen Houchepino, Cam Reddish in a first round pick swap

410
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,280
Speaker 2: for Bruce Brown, Christian Wood in a twenty twenty nine

411
00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:26,840
Speaker 2: unprotected pick for Walker Kessler. I think that Bruce Brown

412
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,640
Speaker 2: could end up costing a legit first round pick.

413
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:31,920
Speaker 3: We'll see. And with Danny Ainge.

414
00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,800
Speaker 2: I'm always worried about what it's going to cost to

415
00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,479
Speaker 2: get a player from him. Let's take it a little bit.

416
00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:39,080
Speaker 2: Let's take it one at a time. Here, Gay Vincent

417
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,679
Speaker 2: in two seconds for Dennis Schroeder. So part of me

418
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,359
Speaker 2: really wants to see Gay Vincent with this team like

419
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,200
Speaker 2: healthy for a long time, because I think there's a

420
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,000
Speaker 2: lot of upside there with this point of attack, defense,

421
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,440
Speaker 2: his ability to play off the ball. But one of

422
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,159
Speaker 2: the things that I underrated about Dennis Schroder last summer,

423
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:58,320
Speaker 2: I said that when they swapped out Dennis for Gabe,

424
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,800
Speaker 2: I was like, I like this because this is a

425
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,000
Speaker 2: player that's not quite as good as Dennis, but maybe

426
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,200
Speaker 2: a better fit with the Lakers because he can play

427
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,719
Speaker 2: off the ball. That was the main reason why I

428
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,600
Speaker 2: was kind of pro that direction last summer. Where it

429
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,439
Speaker 2: became aware that I was wrong about that was the

430
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,439
Speaker 2: Laker roster had nobody that could beat anybody off the

431
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 2: dribble other than Lebron James, and that becomes a problem

432
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:24,879
Speaker 2: in the half court when you're trying to get the

433
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,600
Speaker 2: defense in rotation and generate quality shots. If Dlo needs

434
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:31,199
Speaker 2: a screen and if Austin needs a screen and Anthony

435
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,560
Speaker 2: Davis needs a post up, then you're in trouble, especially

436
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,000
Speaker 2: against switching teams, because now you're asking forty year old

437
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,320
Speaker 2: Lebron to do everything. And yeah, there were these moments

438
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,080
Speaker 2: like against the Clippers where they were switching everything and

439
00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:44,399
Speaker 2: it got kind of bogged down, but then Lebron hit

440
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,439
Speaker 2: a bunch of threes and it was fine, Right, But like,

441
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,600
Speaker 2: that's a lot to ask, And so I've gained another

442
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,720
Speaker 2: layer of appreciation for Dennis as just a speed demon

443
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:55,280
Speaker 2: that can beat people off the dribble and how that

444
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,520
Speaker 2: can be of value in the half court to generate

445
00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,280
Speaker 2: quality shots. So if I could turn gave to Dennis Schroeder,

446
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,080
Speaker 2: I would personally, But that's just because I've gained a

447
00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,800
Speaker 2: new appreciation for Dennis, And again I'll own up to

448
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,560
Speaker 2: the fact that that's the exact opposite of what I

449
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:11,760
Speaker 2: said last summer. But again, every year I've covered the league,

450
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,720
Speaker 2: I learned more and more about the game. Secondly, the

451
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,280
Speaker 2: d lo Jalen Ri Chafino Cam Brittish for Bruce Brown.

452
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,959
Speaker 2: Bruce Brown, for me, is the classic example of an

453
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,600
Speaker 2: upgraded version of the Vanderbilt gave Vincent kind of Max

454
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,639
Speaker 2: Christy trio, the perimeter athletes that play the two or

455
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,440
Speaker 2: the three right. To me, Bruce Brown is a guy

456
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,040
Speaker 2: that can bring a lot of like the Alex Crusoe

457
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,240
Speaker 2: esque like big athletic guard, point of attack, defense, rebounding elements,

458
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:43,120
Speaker 2: transition elements, while also being a plus offensive player, which

459
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,399
Speaker 2: is something that you don't get out of Jared Vanderbilt,

460
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,040
Speaker 2: which is something that that I think could be an

461
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:51,440
Speaker 2: issue with Max Christi even in terms of his decision making.

462
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:51,680
Speaker 3: Right.

463
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,439
Speaker 2: So, like, really really like Bruce Brown. Don't think you

464
00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,399
Speaker 2: could do it for a first round swap, But that

465
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,360
Speaker 2: to me is really the direction that I would look

466
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,359
Speaker 2: to go. I would split the first round hicks and

467
00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,360
Speaker 2: use them separately and try to get two upgrades either

468
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:05,680
Speaker 2: a really good backup center in a two or three,

469
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 2: or maybe a two and a three, right like, those

470
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,800
Speaker 2: are the directions that I would look to go Christian

471
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,600
Speaker 2: Wood twenty twenty nine first round, unprotected first round pick

472
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,080
Speaker 2: for Walker Kessler. I would like Walker Kessler if I

473
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:18,720
Speaker 2: could get him for one pick. I just think that's

474
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,240
Speaker 2: kind of unrealistic. But I really really liked the idea

475
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 2: of Anthony Davis playing alongside another rim protector for the

476
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,359
Speaker 2: very same reason that you're watching these Team USA second

477
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,840
Speaker 2: units be so good defensively. If you put Anthony Davis

478
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,080
Speaker 2: next to another rangy athlete, it allows him to play

479
00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:35,760
Speaker 2: the low man position and to be underneath the basket,

480
00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:38,600
Speaker 2: helping on pick and roll, closing out to shooters on

481
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,760
Speaker 2: the week's side, cleaning up the defensive glass. It's the

482
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,040
Speaker 2: classic look we saw in twenty twenty and twenty twenty

483
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,880
Speaker 2: one with Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee and Marcassol and

484
00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,679
Speaker 2: Andre Drummond and those guys. Right like that, to me

485
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,879
Speaker 2: is a look that would benefit the Lakers. I just

486
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,440
Speaker 2: wouldn't give more than one pick for that type of deal,

487
00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,720
Speaker 2: And if I was giving up pick, I'd want to

488
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,960
Speaker 2: really good player, someone that I think Walker Kessler fits

489
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,480
Speaker 2: that bill, but there aren't many that fit that bill.

490
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,520
Speaker 2: I would prioritize using the first round picks to upgrade

491
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,360
Speaker 2: the perimeter athletes. Lebron and Ade have been the two

492
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,320
Speaker 2: top performers on Team USA. KCP came out and said

493
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:18,800
Speaker 2: he felt the Lakers should have beaten them as they

494
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,920
Speaker 2: were up every game. Is this roster good enough to

495
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 2: at least make the Western Conference Finals? And what is

496
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,120
Speaker 2: one move that can make to improve their fourth quarter execution?

497
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,919
Speaker 2: So we went over a lot of moves earlier. I

498
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,280
Speaker 2: thought the KCP quote was interesting because one of the

499
00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:33,800
Speaker 2: big things that stood out to me about Denver is

500
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,040
Speaker 2: they just looked really tired throughout that entire playoff run.

501
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,520
Speaker 2: And I think that that was interesting to see them

502
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 2: kind of own up to that. The one other thing

503
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,000
Speaker 2: I wanted to respond to in this question is the

504
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 2: fourth quarter execution piece.

505
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:46,439
Speaker 3: The Laker fourth quarter.

506
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 2: Offense is fine. That was like a strength of theirs

507
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 2: last year. Actually, Lebron did a really good job making

508
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 2: and taking shots in those situations. They had good flow,

509
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,239
Speaker 2: a rank, good action. Crunch time. Offense was not an

510
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,119
Speaker 2: issue for the Lakers. It's actually been really strange for

511
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,159
Speaker 2: me to see JJ Reddick and so many other people

512
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 2: talking about the Lakers fourth quarter offense. The number one

513
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,000
Speaker 2: issue with the Lakers in the fourth quarter, especially in

514
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,080
Speaker 2: the Nugget series, was defense. Like, what was that one game,

515
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,119
Speaker 2: the Jamal Murray game winner? The first one? I think

516
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,560
Speaker 2: it was game two. I want to say that they

517
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,080
Speaker 2: scored on like nine of their last ten possessions, Like

518
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:23,359
Speaker 2: they scored every single time down the floor. The Lakers

519
00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:26,399
Speaker 2: were scoring two. That wasn't the issue. The Lakers can score.

520
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:28,080
Speaker 2: The Lakers were one of the best offenses in the

521
00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:30,720
Speaker 2: league the entire second half of the season that translated

522
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 2: into the postseason. Their issue is they don't have perimeter athletes,

523
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,119
Speaker 2: so they always put an underqualified defender on Jamal Murray

524
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,240
Speaker 2: or whoever the best perimeter player is on the other team,

525
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:44,159
Speaker 2: and they can't get stops. That's why they lose. And

526
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,679
Speaker 2: so like the focus on the fourth quarter execution piece

527
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,440
Speaker 2: like JJ Reddick will help it the Lass more wrinkles.

528
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:50,919
Speaker 2: They may even go up a level from where they

529
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,600
Speaker 2: were last year, but they're not going to start reaching

530
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,639
Speaker 2: another level as a fourth quarter execution team until they

531
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,520
Speaker 2: improve defensively. In terms of their personnel. Last Lakers question

532
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,840
Speaker 2: for we move on, what do you think JJ can

533
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,119
Speaker 2: bring to the table that Darvinham couldn't even with the

534
00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:05,880
Speaker 2: flawed team they had last year. If you swap JJ

535
00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,200
Speaker 2: and at coach first Denver, could you see a different outcome.

536
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,840
Speaker 2: I don't know if it would have been enough versus Denver. Again,

537
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,480
Speaker 2: I still think their defensive personnel was the main issue there. However,

538
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:19,000
Speaker 2: I put down three things that I think JJ could

539
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:23,200
Speaker 2: help with one improved offensive execution. One of the things

540
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 2: that I've really grown to appreciate over the last year

541
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:30,840
Speaker 2: is the importance of actually running action versus just freelancing.

542
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,320
Speaker 2: You Laker fans know Krngis he works for Tim Cranis

543
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:40,879
Speaker 2: does that b Ball Index a statistical platform. But he

544
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 2: did an amazing job last year cataloging the difference between

545
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,200
Speaker 2: the way the Laker offense function when they ran sets

546
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,600
Speaker 2: versus when they freelance, and it was a big gap.

547
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,399
Speaker 2: And clearly that data ended up making its way to

548
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 2: JJ Reddick because he's made specific mention of it, I'm

549
00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:57,400
Speaker 2: not surprised at all. Cranis do is great work and

550
00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,720
Speaker 2: he probably should be working for a team somewhere right now,

551
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,199
Speaker 2: and hopefully he does eventually at some point. But I

552
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,280
Speaker 2: agree with him. I think he's hitting the nail on

553
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,680
Speaker 2: the head. I'm glad that JJ knows it. The Lakers

554
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:09,600
Speaker 2: need to stop freelancing so damn much, and they need

555
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:10,879
Speaker 2: to run more organized offense.

556
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:12,119
Speaker 3: JJ Reddick will help with that.

557
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,160
Speaker 2: Secondly, listening to data, all of that information about playing

558
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,840
Speaker 2: Ruey or Vando at the three instead of Torrean Prince

559
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,760
Speaker 2: was abundantly clear in the data from the early portions

560
00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,480
Speaker 2: of the season, and in spite of repeated data statistical

561
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,040
Speaker 2: evidence that showed that Darvingham stuck with Torrean prints way

562
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 2: too long and it cost them dearly as they went

563
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,920
Speaker 2: three and ten after the n season tournament and ended

564
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,840
Speaker 2: up in the play in tournament. So like, just having

565
00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:41,000
Speaker 2: a guy who's willing to look at the evidence and

566
00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,800
Speaker 2: make the appropriate adjustments accordingly is going to be a

567
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,520
Speaker 2: huge asset. And then lastly, coaching possession by possession. Famously,

568
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,199
Speaker 2: Lakers fans refer to Darvinham as hot pockets because he

569
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:53,879
Speaker 2: would just stand on the sideline with his hands in

570
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,920
Speaker 2: his pockets. You watch all the great coaches, you watch

571
00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,440
Speaker 2: Eric Spolstra, you watch Tylu, you watch Mike Malone, you

572
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,240
Speaker 2: watch Steve Kurr. These guys are up, They're animated. They

573
00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:08,680
Speaker 2: coach every possession, They demand excellence every possession. There is

574
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,479
Speaker 2: an emphasis on attention to detail, and if JJ Redditt

575
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,080
Speaker 2: can bring that, I think that would be a substantial

576
00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 2: improvement for this team. Got Warriors question. If the Warriors

577
00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,640
Speaker 2: don't end up getting Lori markinin and then in parentheses puts,

578
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,080
Speaker 2: I don't think the Warriors will want to give up

579
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,280
Speaker 2: pods and or kaminga plus multiple picks plus multiple swaps.

580
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,600
Speaker 2: What is another option for them to potentially target this

581
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 2: offseason to give Steph a true number two option to

582
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,159
Speaker 2: contend for a title. Not a lot of great options

583
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,040
Speaker 2: right now. I think that you never know what could

584
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,000
Speaker 2: happen when you get to the deadline. But now you're

585
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:41,040
Speaker 2: kind of looking in that after after marketing, you're kind

586
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,280
Speaker 2: of looking in that like brandon Ingram Zach Lavine area,

587
00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:49,200
Speaker 2: and it's like, Brandon Ingram is a guy that I

588
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,640
Speaker 2: think would be a terrible fit in their five out offense.

589
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,560
Speaker 2: Brandon Ingram is a guy that, like when you put

590
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,840
Speaker 2: the ball in his hands and you let him run

591
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,480
Speaker 2: spread pick and roll. He's a gifted pull up shooter,

592
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,440
Speaker 2: can get to the rim. He's one of the branding

593
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,400
Speaker 2: Ingram is a sneaky, excellent passer, but I just don't

594
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,160
Speaker 2: think he's a good fit in like a ball in

595
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 2: player movement motion heavy like read and react type of offense.

596
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,320
Speaker 2: And then obviously with Levine, it's about money and health

597
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:16,160
Speaker 2: and there's just a lot of risk there, and so

598
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 2: I think if they miss out on market and they'll

599
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 2: probably end up holding tight and seeing if they can

600
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:25,480
Speaker 2: find something that develops closer to the deadline. Are the

601
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,200
Speaker 2: Nuggets a worse starting five, but an overall better team

602
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:32,480
Speaker 2: with the addition of Sarich Westbrook and developing Strawther and

603
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:34,200
Speaker 2: Peyton Watson compared to last season.

604
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 3: Thanks for the great coverage. I hope your summer is

605
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:36,320
Speaker 3: going well. Thank you.

606
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,240
Speaker 2: My summer has been great. I just booked another trip

607
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,960
Speaker 2: to Vegas with my wife to go see Dead End Company,

608
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 2: to go see him two more times. She's that's actually

609
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,200
Speaker 2: for my birthday, which is gonna be a lot of fun.

610
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:50,840
Speaker 2: But my wife and I haven't gone on a vacation

611
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,080
Speaker 2: alone in a while, which is which will be fun.

612
00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:54,960
Speaker 2: And then we're going. We're turning around and leaving like

613
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,840
Speaker 2: the very next day to go to Seattle, and we

614
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 2: got like an airbnb that overlooks Mount Rainier, and we're

615
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 2: just gonna kind of relax and get out of the heat.

616
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 2: It's been hotter in hell here in Tucson every single day.

617
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,040
Speaker 2: So I'm looking forward to some time in the p

618
00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,280
Speaker 2: ANDWP the Pacific Northwest. The few times that have been

619
00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,600
Speaker 2: there recently, it's it's becoming quickly one of my favorite

620
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,360
Speaker 2: places to visit in the summertime, and so I'm excited

621
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:18,680
Speaker 2: to get up there. We're going up there for a week,

622
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:24,280
Speaker 2: all right, So the Nuggets. Here's the thing I look at.

623
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,640
Speaker 2: Everyone's kind of being slotted into different roles, right, So

624
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,080
Speaker 2: the role that used to be Christian Brown, that's the

625
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,320
Speaker 2: role that you're looking at for Julian Straw the right

626
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,360
Speaker 2: like first guard off the bench, right, the backup point guard.

627
00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:43,200
Speaker 2: You're looking at Westbrook instead of Reggie Jackson, right, and

628
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,720
Speaker 2: then at the two guard, you're looking at Christian Brown

629
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 2: instead of Contavious Colwell Pope. To be clear, I think

630
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,680
Speaker 2: going from KCP to Christian Brown is a downgrade. I

631
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:55,680
Speaker 2: really like Christian Brown. I think he's actually a better

632
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,360
Speaker 2: defender than KCP, a more versatile defender because he's bigger

633
00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:02,000
Speaker 2: and stronger, but like offensively, there's a chasm between those

634
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,760
Speaker 2: two guys, right, So I think that's a downgrade. We're

635
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,600
Speaker 2: gonna talk Reggie Jackson Russell Westbrook here in a minute,

636
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 2: but I think that's a downgrade. But there's another question

637
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,920
Speaker 2: there that we'll get to. And then Julian Strather is

638
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,360
Speaker 2: a very interesting player. It's got good size, really silky smooth,

639
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 2: touched a lot of like interesting stuff in terms of

640
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 2: his skill development, I just don't think Julian Strather's ready

641
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:28,000
Speaker 2: to be like a huge rotation piece next season. So

642
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,080
Speaker 2: I'm a little concerned about that. I do think Peyton

643
00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:31,840
Speaker 2: Watson will be better, and that'll be good for him.

644
00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,479
Speaker 2: I think that's Peyton Watson just getting better year over

645
00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:37,200
Speaker 2: year is an improvement. But I do think as we

646
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,320
Speaker 2: zoom out from that, I think we have to admit

647
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,280
Speaker 2: that the Nuggets are a little worse this year than

648
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:45,640
Speaker 2: they were last year. That said, I thought last year

649
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,560
Speaker 2: they lost a little bit of their competitive fire. Micha

650
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,200
Speaker 2: Malone said before last season that winning takes talent, repeating

651
00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:54,920
Speaker 2: takes character, and I don't want to say they failed

652
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,360
Speaker 2: that test, because I mean, they were still up in

653
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 2: Game seven in the second round. But like, I think

654
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:00,560
Speaker 2: we can all agree that they just didn't quite have

655
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:04,600
Speaker 2: the juice last year, didn't quite have that extra bit

656
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,320
Speaker 2: of like mph to them, you know what I mean.

657
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:10,480
Speaker 2: And I think they'll have that this year. I think

658
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,320
Speaker 2: that Jamal Murray's pissed off. I think that Nikola Jokic

659
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,240
Speaker 2: is pissed off. I think the Nuggets are going to

660
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:19,440
Speaker 2: be really, really good again next season. And so even

661
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:21,240
Speaker 2: with those downgrades, and again I think we have to

662
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,040
Speaker 2: acknowledge that Caseyp's not as good as Christian Brown. I

663
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:26,680
Speaker 2: personally don't think Reggie I don't think Russell Westbrook is

664
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:28,360
Speaker 2: as good as Reggie Jackson, which we'll get into in

665
00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 2: a minute. And I don't think Julian Strather can do

666
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,640
Speaker 2: what Christian Brown could do as a bench guard. Obviously, right,

667
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,120
Speaker 2: different types of players, but still in terms of overall impact,

668
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:38,840
Speaker 2: I think Christian Brown is better as a bench player

669
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,240
Speaker 2: than Peyton Watson. Would that be in the case or

670
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,920
Speaker 2: not Peyton watsondn't excuse me, Julian Strather, I'm confusing them.

671
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,400
Speaker 2: I don't think Julian Strather is capable of impacting winning

672
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,160
Speaker 2: off the bench as well as Christian Brown did last year.

673
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 2: Peyton wants it is a little bit better, but I

674
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,880
Speaker 2: think if we zoom out, I think we have to

675
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,720
Speaker 2: acknowledge that they got a little bit worse with personnel. However,

676
00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:02,880
Speaker 2: back with the chip on their shoulder, a little bit

677
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,840
Speaker 2: of a revenge campaign. I actually think the Nuggets are

678
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 2: my pick to win the West next season. We'll see

679
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:09,400
Speaker 2: as we get into training camp if I end up

680
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:11,280
Speaker 2: changing my mind, but as it stands right now, I

681
00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 2: still think the Nuggets are the best team in the

682
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:18,240
Speaker 2: Western Conference. Next question, do you really think Reggie Jackson

683
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:22,000
Speaker 2: is better than Russell Westbrook? I do, And here's why.

684
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,480
Speaker 2: I covered Russell Westbrook very closely, and I watched a

685
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 2: lot of him with the Clippers last year, and I

686
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,920
Speaker 2: have a feeling Nuggets fans will kind of come around

687
00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 2: to my perspective on this. With Russell Westbrook, it's not

688
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:36,640
Speaker 2: about what he can do well, and he does a

689
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,880
Speaker 2: lot of things well. He's not a good regular season

690
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,400
Speaker 2: defensive player, but he's a very like he kind of

691
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:46,320
Speaker 2: becomes a freaky disruptive defensive player. In the postseason on

692
00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:50,880
Speaker 2: the ball, and then he'll make plays defensively off the ball.

693
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,600
Speaker 2: But most of it with Russell Westbrook comes down to mistakes.

694
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,560
Speaker 2: And I want to get to one more positive before

695
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,160
Speaker 2: we get there, before we go to the negatives on offense.

696
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:05,520
Speaker 2: In the regular season, he's gonna provide real rim pressure,

697
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:12,239
Speaker 2: real transition pace, real playmaking. And he brought all of

698
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,800
Speaker 2: those things with the Lakers, except for the high level defense.

699
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,000
Speaker 2: But the Lakers didn't make the playoffs with Russ and

700
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,240
Speaker 2: I believe he would have done that with the Lakers

701
00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:22,719
Speaker 2: as well. Here's the thing with Russell Westbrook, It's never

702
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,560
Speaker 2: been about the good. It's been about the bad. I

703
00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 2: have never seen a player make as many mistakes in

704
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,319
Speaker 2: basketball games as Russell Westbrook does, and you Nuggets fans

705
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,440
Speaker 2: will find this out pretty quickly. It's the kind of

706
00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,400
Speaker 2: leaking in to try to get a defensive rebound and

707
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,920
Speaker 2: leaving a shooter open. It's the standing straight leged not

708
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,360
Speaker 2: paying attention to someone just cuts right behind him for

709
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:48,760
Speaker 2: an easy layup on the baseline. It's the missed box outs.

710
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,600
Speaker 2: It's the poor decisions where like he'll randomly just in

711
00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:56,279
Speaker 2: transition see a three on three and twenty sixteen, Russ

712
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,799
Speaker 2: woul dunk it, but twenty twenty three, Russ doesn't have

713
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,439
Speaker 2: that juice, but tries it anyway and ends up missing

714
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,600
Speaker 2: a layup and it leads to a transition opportunity. The

715
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:08,000
Speaker 2: other way, it's the settling for bad jump shots. It's

716
00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:11,200
Speaker 2: the team's completely ignoring him and him not weaponizing that.

717
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:12,720
Speaker 2: Like a lot of players get ignored.

718
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:13,239
Speaker 3: You know what they do.

719
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,720
Speaker 2: They constantly screen, they constantly cut, they constantly crash. Russ

720
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:20,320
Speaker 2: doesn't do those things, and so it's not about the upside.

721
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,440
Speaker 2: Russell Westbrook's upside is substantially higher than Reggie Jackson. Reggie

722
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:29,880
Speaker 2: Jackson also makes some mistakes. Reggie Jackson doesn't make nearly

723
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,240
Speaker 2: as many mistakes as Russell Westbrook does in basketball games.

724
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,400
Speaker 2: Russell Westbrook think of it like this. Reggie Jackson is

725
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:37,719
Speaker 2: the guy that in a game is going to do

726
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:40,799
Speaker 2: six or seven good things and two or three bad things. Right,

727
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,080
Speaker 2: Russell Westbrook is gonna do twenty twenty five good things

728
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,160
Speaker 2: in like twenty five thirty bad things. Like it is

729
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:51,879
Speaker 2: this like crazy oscillating back and forth, like oh my god,

730
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 2: that was incredible, to what the hell are you doing

731
00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:55,880
Speaker 2: to oh my god, that was incredible, to what the

732
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,840
Speaker 2: hell are you doing? And sometimes it'll stack up like

733
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:02,200
Speaker 2: mark my wordsuggets fans, there will be a game in

734
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,160
Speaker 2: November where it's the end of the third quarter and

735
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:08,759
Speaker 2: you're on the road in a big like you're on

736
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:12,239
Speaker 2: the road in Oklahoma City and Jokic checks out with

737
00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:16,880
Speaker 2: five minutes left, and or maybe it's the start of

738
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:19,440
Speaker 2: the fourth quarter that Jokich checks out or whatever it

739
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,520
Speaker 2: might be. When you're gonna you're gonna have Russell Westbrook

740
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,120
Speaker 2: come in, and there will be a sequence where, like

741
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,440
Speaker 2: in a ninety second span, he does like five stupid

742
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:30,360
Speaker 2: things and next thing you know, you look at the

743
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,200
Speaker 2: scoreboard and instead of being down four, you're down fourteen.

744
00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,800
Speaker 2: Like that's that's the Russell Westbrook experience. It's these Sometimes

745
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 2: the mistakes come in waves too, And like I'm not

746
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 2: I'm not trying to hate on the guy, Like this

747
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:45,080
Speaker 2: was literally what it was like when I was rooting

748
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,920
Speaker 2: for him two years ago when he was a better athlete,

749
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,799
Speaker 2: and he's gonna be an even lesser athlete at this

750
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,879
Speaker 2: point in his career. So like I I will say

751
00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,239
Speaker 2: this and Zach Low from ESPN did a really nice

752
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,400
Speaker 2: jot breaking this down. It's a low risk proposition for

753
00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,279
Speaker 2: Denver because if the fit doesn't work, you just bench

754
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,920
Speaker 2: him or you cut it right like the Denver doesn't

755
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:07,920
Speaker 2: need Russell Westbrook, so it's.

756
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 3: Worth a shot.

757
00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,040
Speaker 2: But do I think that Russell Westbrook is going to

758
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,120
Speaker 2: solve the problems for Denver? I don't, and maybe we'll

759
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:18,120
Speaker 2: say maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Jokic and Mike Malone are

760
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:22,719
Speaker 2: the first two basketball minds that can focus Russell Westbrook

761
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,320
Speaker 2: in a way that works and makes sense. But I'm skeptical.

762
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:33,000
Speaker 1: The NFL seasons right around the corner. Will be breaking

763
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,760
Speaker 1: down all the off season storylines on the Colin Cowherd

764
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 1: podcast My best takes guests like.

765
00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:38,960
Speaker 3: My buddy Nick Wright.

766
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,640
Speaker 1: Check out the Colin Coward podcast, part of the Volume Network,

767
00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:47,680
Speaker 1: available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

768
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 2: Where is Jalen Brown rank in the top fifteen NBA players?

769
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,560
Speaker 2: We're about to do our player ranking starting next week,

770
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,000
Speaker 2: so I will let you guys know what does a

771
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:11,719
Speaker 2: repeat do for Jason Tatum and Jylen Brown's legacy individually

772
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,480
Speaker 2: and as a duo. It depends on who they beat,

773
00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:17,319
Speaker 2: Like if they let's say, like, for instance, like they

774
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,319
Speaker 2: had a relatively easy pathway through the playoffs this year.

775
00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:24,279
Speaker 2: Let's say next year, it's like they beat that, like

776
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:28,640
Speaker 2: the Orlando Magic in the in the second round, and

777
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:33,040
Speaker 2: then they beat like the what either the Philly team

778
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 2: that has Paul George and Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxi

779
00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:39,120
Speaker 2: or maybe that Knicks team that added Mikhale Bridges, and

780
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:40,840
Speaker 2: then they go to the finals and they beat like

781
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,520
Speaker 2: the Denver Nuggets or the Oklahoma City Thunder or someone

782
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,440
Speaker 2: like that. Like, if they do that, I think that

783
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,719
Speaker 2: this Celtics team all of a sudden enters into a

784
00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:51,320
Speaker 2: totally different conversation because there's the first team to repeat

785
00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:55,080
Speaker 2: since the KD Staph Warriors. You're following up a dominant

786
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,360
Speaker 2: season with a more impressive playfforn. There's all sorts of

787
00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 2: things there. Referencing Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum as a

788
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:02,480
Speaker 2: duo is where it gets a little weird for me

789
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:06,120
Speaker 2: because there's five thirty million dollar players, and I felt

790
00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:07,879
Speaker 2: the same way about the Warriors. Everyone'd be like, Oh,

791
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,359
Speaker 2: it's Stephan k D. Stephan k D, and it's like, no,

792
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,040
Speaker 2: it's not. It's Stephan kd and Klay Thompson and Draymond

793
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:16,280
Speaker 2: Green and Andre Guidala.

794
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:19,040
Speaker 3: Like, these are historically.

795
00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:20,759
Speaker 2: Talented teams we're talking about here, they don't line up

796
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,640
Speaker 2: with like Kyrie and Luca That that's a duo. That's

797
00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,600
Speaker 2: a duo, right, Like Lebron James and Anthony Davis on

798
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,319
Speaker 2: the Lakers, that's a duo. What we're talking about with

799
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:33,840
Speaker 2: this Celtics team, Like they have five players that in

800
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:35,839
Speaker 2: the open market would command thirty million dollars a year.

801
00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 2: That's that's totally different than a traditional duo. That said, like,

802
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,279
Speaker 2: if Boston repeats next year, I think I think it

803
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:46,360
Speaker 2: works wonders for both their legacies. For I think it

804
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,120
Speaker 2: adds a whole other layer of legitimacy on last year's team.

805
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:54,040
Speaker 2: I think a repeat would work wonders for the Seas. Hey, Jason,

806
00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:55,800
Speaker 2: I appreciate the hard work you put into the videos.

807
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:57,640
Speaker 2: Do you feel like Oklahoma City are going to make

808
00:39:57,680 --> 00:39:59,560
Speaker 2: a big move this season or are we still another

809
00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:02,000
Speaker 2: year away? With the team competing at this level and depth,

810
00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:03,800
Speaker 2: it seems we're done and to let their picks resolve

811
00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,480
Speaker 2: into either even younger pieces. I agree, and I do

812
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:08,560
Speaker 2: think that the Thunder will eventually make more of an

813
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,560
Speaker 2: aggressive all in type of deal where they use a

814
00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,040
Speaker 2: lot of draft compensation. My guess is it'll be on

815
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,879
Speaker 2: a forward. We talked going into the summer that there

816
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:18,080
Speaker 2: was two directions they could go. They could either put

817
00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:19,759
Speaker 2: Shed at the ford next to a center, which is

818
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,160
Speaker 2: what they're going to try with Isai Hartenstein this year.

819
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,319
Speaker 3: Or they could put a big forward.

820
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:25,840
Speaker 2: Next to Chet, keep him at center right and just

821
00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:28,440
Speaker 2: kind of bolster the strength and physicality the front line

822
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,879
Speaker 2: at that forward position. Going after Hertenstein was a really

823
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,160
Speaker 2: smart move. I really like it as a counter to

824
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:35,840
Speaker 2: what Denver brings to the table to because now you

825
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,279
Speaker 2: can run a two big look. Really like it, but

826
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:40,000
Speaker 2: I agree that I think they'll be on the lookout.

827
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,120
Speaker 2: The thing is they don't have to rush. They're going

828
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:43,920
Speaker 2: to be a dominant regular season team no matter what,

829
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,360
Speaker 2: so they can wait for a really good deal around

830
00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:48,400
Speaker 2: the deadline. There's not even a rush in terms of

831
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,319
Speaker 2: this particular season, in the sense that if they don't

832
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:51,640
Speaker 2: find what they want at the deadline, they can wait

833
00:40:51,719 --> 00:40:54,400
Speaker 2: till next summer if they want to. I think this

834
00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:56,560
Speaker 2: team is really good and is a bona FIDE top

835
00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:59,640
Speaker 2: tier championship contender. Just go down the list. How is

836
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:03,000
Speaker 2: their offensive shot creation? Well, can't do much better than

837
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,120
Speaker 2: shake kills Alexander one of the best offensive engines in

838
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:07,520
Speaker 2: the league. Jalen Williams is one of my favorite young

839
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:09,920
Speaker 2: players in the league and awesome Number two. Chet Holmgren

840
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,880
Speaker 2: brings a whole bunch of offensive firepower to this situation.

841
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,839
Speaker 2: Isaiah Hartenstein is like a prototypical five outdribble handoff big

842
00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:19,080
Speaker 2: I think he's an excellent fit there. Okay, what do

843
00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:21,480
Speaker 2: they look like in terms of their physicality on the frontline? Well,

844
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,440
Speaker 2: last year they sucked. Isaiah Hardenstein is a monster on

845
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,080
Speaker 2: the glass and a guy that completely raises the physical

846
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:30,080
Speaker 2: profile of the team. What do they like defensively, Well,

847
00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:32,319
Speaker 2: they got real rim protection and chet Holmgren. What do

848
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:34,040
Speaker 2: they like at the point of attack? Lou Dord is

849
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:35,880
Speaker 2: one of the best options in the league at the

850
00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:38,640
Speaker 2: point of attack. He's like the only guy I've ever

851
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:42,120
Speaker 2: seen really truly frustrate Luka Doncic in a playoff series. Like,

852
00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:45,720
Speaker 2: they've got it all and the one thing they don't

853
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:48,400
Speaker 2: have is a bigger chet at the five look and

854
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:49,799
Speaker 2: the only way they're going to get that is by

855
00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:52,000
Speaker 2: trading for a forward, and my guess is that is

856
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:54,360
Speaker 2: going to be what they keep their eye on throughout

857
00:41:54,400 --> 00:42:00,080
Speaker 2: the rest of this season heading into the trade deadline. Well,

858
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,120
Speaker 2: this was a I asked after I gave my Lakers

859
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:05,520
Speaker 2: Celtics take the other day for people to provide basketball

860
00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:07,360
Speaker 2: reasons why they disagree. And there was a bunch of

861
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,520
Speaker 2: you guys who gave reasons, but I wanted to shout

862
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:12,600
Speaker 2: out one of you guys. This is from Steven Smith. Hey, Jason,

863
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:14,799
Speaker 2: love the show. Admittedly by a Celtics fan here, but

864
00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:16,520
Speaker 2: I can give you a few basketball reasons why I

865
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:18,520
Speaker 2: think the twenty twenty four Celtics could beat the twenty

866
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:21,160
Speaker 2: twenty Lakers. I know Anthony Davis was probably the best

867
00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:22,680
Speaker 2: defensive player in the league at the time, but the

868
00:42:22,719 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 2: way Boston spreads teams out with Porzingis would be hard

869
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:27,799
Speaker 2: for the Lakers to guard. Jason or Jalen could run

870
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:29,560
Speaker 2: two man game with kp at the top of the

871
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:32,560
Speaker 2: key and give and have KP Pott forcing ad out

872
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:35,040
Speaker 2: of the paint and giving Jason or Jalen driving lanes

873
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,600
Speaker 2: to score or kick it to Drew or d White.

874
00:42:37,719 --> 00:42:39,880
Speaker 2: At that point, it becomes somewhat of a shooting contest.

875
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:42,040
Speaker 2: Given this Celtics team was the most prolific three point

876
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:44,920
Speaker 2: shooting team in NBA history, I believe we'd win that battle.

877
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:45,399
Speaker 3: Two.

878
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:47,880
Speaker 2: Speaking of Drew and Derek White, I think you're discounting

879
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:50,280
Speaker 2: just how good of a back court they are. Offensively,

880
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,640
Speaker 2: Drew can easily out muscle Crusoe or KCP to get

881
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:54,440
Speaker 2: to his spots. Derek can hit a catch and shoot

882
00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:56,680
Speaker 2: three from anywhere on the court. Defensively, they can limit

883
00:42:56,719 --> 00:42:59,360
Speaker 2: the Lakers other three starters, not Lebron and Ad, similar

884
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:01,120
Speaker 2: to how they limit the MAVs other players in the

885
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:04,200
Speaker 2: finals this year. With the twenty twenty Lakers. While the

886
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,160
Speaker 2: twenty twenty Lakers have a front court advantage, we have

887
00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:07,239
Speaker 2: a back court advantage.

888
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:07,600
Speaker 3: Three.

889
00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:09,680
Speaker 2: Yes, Lebron and Ad are much better duo than Jason

890
00:43:09,719 --> 00:43:11,759
Speaker 2: and jaln Are, but many believed Luca and Kyrie were

891
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:14,399
Speaker 2: a better duo given they to Day two rolled over

892
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,200
Speaker 2: a much tougher Western conference and we kicked their ass.

893
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:18,640
Speaker 2: I think we showed this year that if you have

894
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:20,600
Speaker 2: a great duo and give them the best supporting cast,

895
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:23,000
Speaker 2: you can overcome a better player and a better duo.

896
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:25,920
Speaker 2: In a seven game series, it would be very close.

897
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:27,600
Speaker 2: But in a hypothetical matchup, I would go with the

898
00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:29,800
Speaker 2: Celtics in seven, although I wouldn't be surprised if the

899
00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 2: Lakers ended up winning. Appreciate the great content, content, and

900
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:34,440
Speaker 2: I hope this message finds you well. First of all,

901
00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:36,279
Speaker 2: thank you for taking the time to spell out your

902
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:38,879
Speaker 2: basketball thoughts. One of the things that I talk about

903
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:41,440
Speaker 2: all the time is that bothers me. It's like a

904
00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:45,080
Speaker 2: pet peeve. Is like I offer a basketball opinion and

905
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,000
Speaker 2: the people that are just like that are just like,

906
00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:49,319
Speaker 2: fuck you, You're stupid, you rummy, you know, and it's

907
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:51,440
Speaker 2: just like and it just turns into like a like

908
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:53,960
Speaker 2: a shit talking contest, and that's just not productive. It

909
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:56,000
Speaker 2: doesn't solve anything. I got into doing this for a

910
00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:58,440
Speaker 2: living because I love talking basketball. Like I used to

911
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:02,239
Speaker 2: literally like walk through basketball and have these debates with

912
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:04,359
Speaker 2: my college teammates when we were growing up, either on

913
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:08,000
Speaker 2: buses or in hotels or after practice when we were

914
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,840
Speaker 2: untying our shoes and stuff like. I love talking basketball.

915
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:12,279
Speaker 2: What that means is I want to hear what you

916
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:15,279
Speaker 2: guys think and taking the time to actually write out

917
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,359
Speaker 2: why you think I'm wrong is something that is way

918
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:22,480
Speaker 2: more productive and something I'm willing to engage with, and

919
00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:23,759
Speaker 2: so I appreciate you taking the time.

920
00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:24,160
Speaker 3: Steven.

921
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:26,600
Speaker 2: The only points that I'd pushed back on, and you

922
00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:29,959
Speaker 2: make a lot of good points. That group, that ad

923
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:34,520
Speaker 2: Lebron Crusoe, KCP, Danny Green unit probably more of a

924
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:37,040
Speaker 2: switching unit against Boston, so that would be how they'd

925
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:39,719
Speaker 2: mitigate pick and pop. And what specifically what made that

926
00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:43,000
Speaker 2: Laker team good was their smaller players were really hard

927
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:47,520
Speaker 2: to post up KCP. You guys watched KCP defending Karl

928
00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:49,799
Speaker 2: Anthony Towns in the post and just stripping him clean

929
00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:51,680
Speaker 2: because he's so good at waiting for you to expose

930
00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:54,120
Speaker 2: the basketball. Alex Cruso is like something crazy like two

931
00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:56,520
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty five pounds of solid muscle at six six,

932
00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:59,479
Speaker 2: Like he's a really difficult guy to bully. And Danny

933
00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:02,480
Speaker 2: Green's even bigger than him. So like they are big

934
00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:05,080
Speaker 2: on the perimeter, that twenty twenty Lakers team, and so

935
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,239
Speaker 2: it's more of a switching look. And the idea there

936
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:10,600
Speaker 2: is you switch and you contain the basketball. And again

937
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:12,400
Speaker 2: I'm not saying you won't ever get dribble penetration, but

938
00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:15,680
Speaker 2: it's about flattening dribble penetration. A straight line drive past

939
00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:19,319
Speaker 2: Luka Doncic forces hard help, which leads to wide open

940
00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:22,799
Speaker 2: closeout opportunities. A good perimeter defender is going to make

941
00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:24,960
Speaker 2: those drives more of like a banana route, like a

942
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,520
Speaker 2: flattened out drive, which makes it so the guys can

943
00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:31,160
Speaker 2: dig down instead of hard helping, which makes for easier closeouts.

944
00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,960
Speaker 2: It just allows you to kind of avoid that drive.

945
00:45:33,719 --> 00:45:34,520
Speaker 3: And kick chain.

946
00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:37,359
Speaker 2: So specifically, I think the Laker defense was really well

947
00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:41,120
Speaker 2: built for that Boston driving kick. I do agree with

948
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:44,880
Speaker 2: you though, that the Boston backcourt was better. One of

949
00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:48,320
Speaker 2: the note on the duo thing, like Luka is probably

950
00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:50,279
Speaker 2: the second best player in the world behind Jokic, and

951
00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:53,000
Speaker 2: Kyrie's somewhere around the twenty to twenty fifth best player

952
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,799
Speaker 2: in the world. Lebron was the best player in the

953
00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:58,680
Speaker 2: world in twenty twenty, and I had Anthony Davis at

954
00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:01,400
Speaker 2: number four that year. So like, it's not just that

955
00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:03,279
Speaker 2: they're a better duo than Tatum and Brown. They're a

956
00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:05,920
Speaker 2: way better duo even than Luca and Kyrie were. And

957
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:07,719
Speaker 2: that's a big part. Like those two were just an

958
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:10,800
Speaker 2: absolute wrecking ball that entire season. But I appreciate the comment.

959
00:46:12,239 --> 00:46:13,880
Speaker 2: You did a really good job breaking it down. I

960
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,399
Speaker 2: think your take was super reasonable. Hey, Jason, love the show.

961
00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:20,200
Speaker 2: I'm a fan from Trinidad in the Caribbean. You have

962
00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:23,120
Speaker 2: a following here. I know you have said that usually

963
00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,080
Speaker 2: a basketball player is who they are around the age

964
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:27,680
Speaker 2: of twenty six twenty seven, But isn't it possible for

965
00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:30,840
Speaker 2: del to improve his defensive skills and athleticism during the offseason.

966
00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:33,200
Speaker 2: I think he's a high level offensive talent aside from

967
00:46:33,239 --> 00:46:34,560
Speaker 2: when he gets in his own head. But I just

968
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:37,719
Speaker 2: don't buy him saying I'm just not athletic at this

969
00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:40,560
Speaker 2: phase in his career. He's been trying. Trust me, there

970
00:46:40,640 --> 00:46:43,720
Speaker 2: is like a there's like a range of potential athletic

971
00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:47,680
Speaker 2: outcomes for every player, and likee, Delo has a range,

972
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:50,920
Speaker 2: meaning he can get better, but there's a ceiling there,

973
00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:54,000
Speaker 2: and his ceiling is still too low to impact the

974
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:55,799
Speaker 2: game as a role player the way guys like Derek

975
00:46:55,840 --> 00:47:01,239
Speaker 2: White do, for instance. All right, let's see Pistons question.

976
00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:03,200
Speaker 2: Hi Jason, thanks as always for your content. As a

977
00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:06,000
Speaker 2: depressed Pistons fan, last season was an absolute shit show.

978
00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:08,560
Speaker 2: Really tested my love of the game. However, I think

979
00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:11,880
Speaker 2: this offseason was quietly one of the best, considering the

980
00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:14,000
Speaker 2: overhaul of the front office and getting Fred Vinson to

981
00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:17,680
Speaker 2: help IVYSR. Holland improve their jump shot. People clown the

982
00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:20,280
Speaker 2: Tobias contract in the Tim Hardaway junior trade. I understand

983
00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:22,080
Speaker 2: when you win fourteen games, we don't deserve the benefit

984
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:24,080
Speaker 2: of the doubt. But You've always mentioned the importance of

985
00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:25,880
Speaker 2: solid vets that can still play a high level to

986
00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:28,760
Speaker 2: help a young core develop good habits. When you're assessing

987
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:31,840
Speaker 2: rebuilding teams, what signs apart from the win lost column

988
00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:33,880
Speaker 2: are you looking at to see if a group is

989
00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:35,239
Speaker 2: on the right path to take the next step? And

990
00:47:35,280 --> 00:47:37,160
Speaker 2: do you think this Pistons group can take a Houston

991
00:47:37,280 --> 00:47:40,920
Speaker 2: esque leap towards respectability for example thirty odd wins. I

992
00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:43,200
Speaker 2: do think that the Pistons are poised for that type

993
00:47:43,239 --> 00:47:46,400
Speaker 2: of leap. I'm met much of a believer in Kid Cunningham,

994
00:47:46,719 --> 00:47:53,000
Speaker 2: and quite frankly, last year was Manti Williams was not

995
00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:56,759
Speaker 2: playing their best basketball players and that kind of like

996
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:58,560
Speaker 2: set them up for failure in a lot of ways.

997
00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,320
Speaker 2: I like the additions because they all make sense. Tobias

998
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:03,520
Speaker 2: Harris is a guy that can play the four or

999
00:48:03,560 --> 00:48:05,040
Speaker 2: the three. I think he's gonna play a lot of

1000
00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,520
Speaker 2: four for this group. But he's a glue guy at

1001
00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:10,400
Speaker 2: this phase in his career. He's a dude that just

1002
00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:12,960
Speaker 2: like that just kind of like fits in with other

1003
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:15,279
Speaker 2: basketball players. He can attack mismatches in the post, he

1004
00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:16,759
Speaker 2: can go to work off the bounce, but he's a

1005
00:48:16,760 --> 00:48:19,240
Speaker 2: guy who can also just kind of play a smaller

1006
00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:23,000
Speaker 2: role and then shooting to create spacing. Blik Beasley and

1007
00:48:23,040 --> 00:48:25,640
Speaker 2: Tim Hardaway Junior will help in that area, I think

1008
00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:29,520
Speaker 2: the most. As far as like the adding vets piece, Like,

1009
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,680
Speaker 2: I'm a big believer that if you put a bunch

1010
00:48:32,719 --> 00:48:34,680
Speaker 2: of young basketball players that don't know how to play together,

1011
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:39,680
Speaker 2: especially under a like a less than fantastic coaching staff,

1012
00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:41,600
Speaker 2: there's not a whole lot for them to improve on

1013
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:45,799
Speaker 2: because they're not learning from any sort of experience, right

1014
00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:49,439
Speaker 2: and so especially as long as those veterans don't take

1015
00:48:49,520 --> 00:48:52,040
Speaker 2: away from their opportunities to learn. So, for instance, like

1016
00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:56,400
Speaker 2: John Wall with Jalen Green doesn't make any sense because

1017
00:48:56,560 --> 00:48:59,000
Speaker 2: John Wall is going to directly infringe on Jalen Green's

1018
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,520
Speaker 2: ability to kind of like have those opportunities to go

1019
00:49:01,560 --> 00:49:04,759
Speaker 2: to work, right, Like what makes sense is you want

1020
00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:09,160
Speaker 2: of these veteran players like Tobias Harris, Maliki's tim Ardowa

1021
00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:12,520
Speaker 2: Junior that are going to play smaller roles and primarily

1022
00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:15,040
Speaker 2: just serve as mentors for players. And Kaid's still gonna

1023
00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:16,480
Speaker 2: play it the same way. Ja Nivey is still going

1024
00:49:16,520 --> 00:49:18,120
Speaker 2: to play the same way, Jalen durn Is still going

1025
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,480
Speaker 2: to play the same way, and you just have the

1026
00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:23,560
Speaker 2: ability to just kind of elevate the overall basketball iq

1027
00:49:23,719 --> 00:49:25,640
Speaker 2: of those lineups. There are a lot of possessions where

1028
00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,640
Speaker 2: like Kid Cunningham gets the defense in rotation and then

1029
00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:31,000
Speaker 2: the play just dies from there because there are guys

1030
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:33,200
Speaker 2: that don't know how to properly attack closeouts or to

1031
00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:36,400
Speaker 2: make the right reads in those situations. These guys will

1032
00:49:36,440 --> 00:49:39,440
Speaker 2: help in those ways. As far as next year and

1033
00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:42,680
Speaker 2: taking that leap, it's really just about can Kay Cunningham

1034
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,439
Speaker 2: continue to be the shot creator that he is, Can

1035
00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:49,680
Speaker 2: you get obviously a little bit more competent coaching, and

1036
00:49:49,719 --> 00:49:53,319
Speaker 2: then can you be adequate defensively in that front court?

1037
00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:55,920
Speaker 2: Right with Jalen Dern and Tobias Harris, I think you're

1038
00:49:55,920 --> 00:49:58,160
Speaker 2: a little undersized. I do think we'll see some Isaiah

1039
00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:02,000
Speaker 2: Steuart still alongside him. Although I think Isaiah Isaiah Stewart

1040
00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:04,520
Speaker 2: has kind of become an interesting trade target out there

1041
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:07,239
Speaker 2: for teams that need The center position is just such

1042
00:50:07,239 --> 00:50:11,200
Speaker 2: a high value position, especially with all the up and

1043
00:50:11,239 --> 00:50:14,359
Speaker 2: coming centers, guys like Embiid and Anthony Davis and NICOLEA. Jokic, Right,

1044
00:50:14,560 --> 00:50:17,760
Speaker 2: and with that being the case, the especially with Isaiah

1045
00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:19,520
Speaker 2: Stewart being kind of a little bit of a shooter,

1046
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:21,480
Speaker 2: I wonder if he's the guy that they can look

1047
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:25,560
Speaker 2: to trade at some point. But in the short term,

1048
00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:28,120
Speaker 2: I think just adding some vets and just another year

1049
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:30,840
Speaker 2: of improvement from your young players and an improvement a

1050
00:50:30,880 --> 00:50:32,440
Speaker 2: head coach could go a long way to putting that

1051
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:36,239
Speaker 2: team into that twenty five to thirty win range. One

1052
00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:39,280
Speaker 2: of the top five things to you hope to see

1053
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:42,520
Speaker 2: when Slash if Acolyte is renewed for a season two.

1054
00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:46,080
Speaker 2: I actually just broke this down in a lot more

1055
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:48,440
Speaker 2: detail with my buddy Luke on two Suns podcasts. We

1056
00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:50,640
Speaker 2: actually just released that episode yesterday, so you can find

1057
00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,440
Speaker 2: that again wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube

1058
00:50:54,120 --> 00:50:56,840
Speaker 2: under two Sons podcasts. But the gist of it is, like,

1059
00:50:57,320 --> 00:51:01,279
Speaker 2: I think that we saw Darth Plagas in the season finale, right.

1060
00:51:01,840 --> 00:51:04,160
Speaker 2: He's a super interesting character because he's the guy who

1061
00:51:04,160 --> 00:51:07,319
Speaker 2: basically set up the entire plan that Palpatine executed in

1062
00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:10,080
Speaker 2: the Phantom Menace to get to the Chancellorship and then

1063
00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:12,359
Speaker 2: obviously to start the Clone Wars, and so I think

1064
00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:15,239
Speaker 2: it'd be really cool to dive into that you've showed Plagas.

1065
00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:18,279
Speaker 2: I think it'd be really cool to go season two

1066
00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:23,280
Speaker 2: centered around Kymer go way back to his Jedi fallout

1067
00:51:23,320 --> 00:51:27,560
Speaker 2: with Vernestra, whatever happened there, and dive into how he

1068
00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:31,319
Speaker 2: met Plagas and him becoming a Sith, And then the

1069
00:51:31,360 --> 00:51:34,080
Speaker 2: tail end of season two, I would have the showdown

1070
00:51:34,120 --> 00:51:36,279
Speaker 2: between Chymie and Plagas as they determine who's going to

1071
00:51:36,320 --> 00:51:38,359
Speaker 2: become the Dark Order of the Sith and whatever they

1072
00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,719
Speaker 2: decide to do with Kymier. At that point they can

1073
00:51:40,719 --> 00:51:43,520
Speaker 2: figure out Season three, I would like to see them

1074
00:51:43,560 --> 00:51:46,800
Speaker 2: dive into Plagas and Palpatine. I'd cast a young Palpatine

1075
00:51:46,920 --> 00:51:49,000
Speaker 2: and I just do a whole I'd do like two

1076
00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:52,120
Speaker 2: seasons of prequel content, like a little bit of young Palpatine,

1077
00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:55,759
Speaker 2: a little bit of like older Palpatine with Plagas, and

1078
00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:59,000
Speaker 2: just really dive into the backstory of how those two

1079
00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:02,080
Speaker 2: kind of executed their plan that started in The Phantom Menace.

1080
00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:03,640
Speaker 2: That's what I would do if I was running The Acolyte.

1081
00:52:03,640 --> 00:52:06,000
Speaker 2: But again, check out our pod. It's a it's a

1082
00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:08,040
Speaker 2: totally different format. I'm with my best friend. It's much

1083
00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:12,239
Speaker 2: more casual. But we've done I think one hundred and

1084
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,839
Speaker 2: twenty six episodes now, so we've actually been around pretty long.

1085
00:52:15,360 --> 00:52:18,120
Speaker 2: But we just did an Acolyte episode today or yesterday,

1086
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:21,520
Speaker 2: and then we also do House of the Dragon. Expectations

1087
00:52:21,560 --> 00:52:23,560
Speaker 2: for John Morant and the Grizzlies. They have a solid

1088
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:25,200
Speaker 2: core that's still pretty young. I think they're going to

1089
00:52:25,239 --> 00:52:28,040
Speaker 2: dominate the regular season next year. I don't know what

1090
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:29,640
Speaker 2: they're gonna look like as a playoff team. I need

1091
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:32,000
Speaker 2: to actually see them play, especially with all these new pieces.

1092
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:33,719
Speaker 2: I want to see where Gigi Jackson fits in all

1093
00:52:33,760 --> 00:52:35,359
Speaker 2: of this. I want to see if Zach Edy can help.

1094
00:52:35,560 --> 00:52:37,360
Speaker 2: I want to see if John Morank can continue to

1095
00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:38,520
Speaker 2: play the way he did when he showed up in

1096
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,960
Speaker 2: the middle of the regular season last year. Can Marcus

1097
00:52:40,960 --> 00:52:43,560
Speaker 2: Smart stay healthy. There's a lot of question marks there,

1098
00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:45,439
Speaker 2: but I do think they're going to dominate the regular season.

1099
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:47,600
Speaker 2: I expect them to be a top four seed or

1100
00:52:47,640 --> 00:52:50,480
Speaker 2: the Orlando Magic on the same tier as Philadelphia in

1101
00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:54,319
Speaker 2: New York or is it too soon? I still think

1102
00:52:54,360 --> 00:52:56,879
Speaker 2: they're behind that tier. I'd put them behind the Bucks too.

1103
00:52:57,600 --> 00:53:00,880
Speaker 2: I just think they still need to until Franz Wagner

1104
00:53:00,920 --> 00:53:02,839
Speaker 2: and Palo Buncarrol become better jump shooters. I don't think

1105
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:04,279
Speaker 2: they can enter that tier, but I do think that

1106
00:53:04,280 --> 00:53:06,480
Speaker 2: they'll be a very good regular season team. Wouldn't be

1107
00:53:06,560 --> 00:53:08,640
Speaker 2: surprised if they pass one of those teams in the

1108
00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:12,280
Speaker 2: regular season. That said, I still view them as firmly

1109
00:53:12,320 --> 00:53:16,160
Speaker 2: in that fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. Let's do

1110
00:53:16,280 --> 00:53:19,360
Speaker 2: one more. This is a Pelicans question. Without a center

1111
00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:21,799
Speaker 2: and with de Jontay Murray and CJ McCollum on the roster,

1112
00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:24,280
Speaker 2: where do the Pelicans go from here? Who should they trade?

1113
00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:27,840
Speaker 2: I would trade Brandon Ingram, And really my reasoning is

1114
00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:31,640
Speaker 2: this simple. Brandon Ingram has not played sixty five games

1115
00:53:31,640 --> 00:53:34,600
Speaker 2: in a season since he was a rookie. He's consistently

1116
00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:37,600
Speaker 2: hurt and consistently playing below his peak. I'm a huge

1117
00:53:37,600 --> 00:53:39,799
Speaker 2: brandon Ingram fan. When he's healthy, I think he's one

1118
00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:41,880
Speaker 2: of the best passing forwards in the league.

1119
00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:43,279
Speaker 3: Really really nice.

1120
00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:45,040
Speaker 2: Primary shot creator when you can put the ball in

1121
00:53:45,080 --> 00:53:47,799
Speaker 2: his hands and have him run, spread, pick and roll

1122
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:49,600
Speaker 2: when he's in shape and in rhythm.

1123
00:53:49,680 --> 00:53:50,439
Speaker 3: He's such a.

1124
00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,759
Speaker 2: Good scorer who can score at all three levels. Big

1125
00:53:53,800 --> 00:53:57,520
Speaker 2: fan of BI, but he's constantly hurt, and he's kind

1126
00:53:57,520 --> 00:54:01,040
Speaker 2: of a funky fit alongside the drive and kick kind

1127
00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:03,640
Speaker 2: of profile that I see from a Dejonte, Murray, Zion

1128
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:07,839
Speaker 2: Williamson type of core. Also, CJ McCollum is a much

1129
00:54:07,840 --> 00:54:10,680
Speaker 2: better spot up player than Brandon Ingram. Brandon Ingram was

1130
00:54:10,719 --> 00:54:12,400
Speaker 2: an average spot up player. I want to say he

1131
00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:14,560
Speaker 2: was at like one point zero seven points per spot

1132
00:54:14,600 --> 00:54:16,960
Speaker 2: up possession. C J McCollum was one of the best

1133
00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:18,560
Speaker 2: spot up players in the league last year. He was

1134
00:54:18,640 --> 00:54:21,640
Speaker 2: up over one point three points per possession, so good

1135
00:54:21,680 --> 00:54:25,960
Speaker 2: at shooting and driving closeouts. So like BI is not

1136
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:29,640
Speaker 2: only worth more in terms of getting returned, but CJ's

1137
00:54:29,680 --> 00:54:32,560
Speaker 2: a better fit alongside Dejonte and Zion, And so that's

1138
00:54:32,600 --> 00:54:35,399
Speaker 2: the direction that I'd look to go from there. Try

1139
00:54:35,400 --> 00:54:37,120
Speaker 2: to flip him for a center. There's a bunch of

1140
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:39,480
Speaker 2: different actions directions they can go. You could look at

1141
00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:42,400
Speaker 2: like athletic rim running centers, guys like Nick Claxton or

1142
00:54:42,400 --> 00:54:44,360
Speaker 2: Clint Capella. There are guys who could shoot it a

1143
00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:46,720
Speaker 2: little bit. I talked about Isaiah Stewart with the Pistons earlier.

1144
00:54:46,719 --> 00:54:48,080
Speaker 2: He's a guy that you could try to put a

1145
00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:53,279
Speaker 2: pry away from Detroit. Wendell Carter Junior from Orlando. You

1146
00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:55,520
Speaker 2: could even look at I'm worried about this from a

1147
00:54:55,560 --> 00:54:58,960
Speaker 2: defensive perspective, but what if Minnesota decides to move on

1148
00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:01,120
Speaker 2: from Karl Anthony Town or if Chicago decides to move

1149
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:03,080
Speaker 2: on from Nikola Vusevitch. Those are a couple of other

1150
00:55:03,120 --> 00:55:05,360
Speaker 2: guys as you could look at in terms of shooting

1151
00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:07,840
Speaker 2: next to Zion Williamson. But I viewed them as a

1152
00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:10,239
Speaker 2: drive and kick team in the future. I really like

1153
00:55:10,320 --> 00:55:13,480
Speaker 2: the idea of Zion and dejhon Ta Murray beating people

1154
00:55:13,480 --> 00:55:16,680
Speaker 2: off the dribble. Guys like Trey Murphy and CJ. McCollum

1155
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:19,680
Speaker 2: benefiting from that and close out situations because of their

1156
00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:22,719
Speaker 2: ability to shoot and make moves in the in the

1157
00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:24,759
Speaker 2: mid range. All Right, guys, that is all I have

1158
00:55:24,840 --> 00:55:27,320
Speaker 2: for today. As always, a sincerely appreciate you for supporting

1159
00:55:27,360 --> 00:55:29,080
Speaker 2: the show. We're gonna take the rest of the weekend off.

1160
00:55:29,360 --> 00:55:31,880
Speaker 2: We'll be back on Monday to break down the Olympic

1161
00:55:31,920 --> 00:55:36,040
Speaker 2: opener between USA and Serbia as well as we're gonna

1162
00:55:36,080 --> 00:55:39,239
Speaker 2: I'm gonna start prepping the player rankings at that point.

1163
00:55:39,280 --> 00:55:41,759
Speaker 2: We'll probably end up airing that on Tuesday, but we

1164
00:55:41,800 --> 00:55:44,000
Speaker 2: will be back on Monday. I will see you guys then.

1165
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:48,920
Speaker 3: The volume whats so guys.

1166
00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:51,759
Speaker 2: As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting

1167
00:55:51,760 --> 00:55:54,360
Speaker 2: OOPS tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us

1168
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:56,279
Speaker 2: if you guys would take a second and leave a

1169
00:55:56,440 --> 00:55:58,960
Speaker 2: rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys

1170
00:55:58,960 --> 00:56:00,600
Speaker 2: supporting us, but if you could take a minute to

1171
00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:02,440
Speaker 2: do that, I'd really appreciate it.