1
00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:07,640
Speaker 1: The volume. It's Hoops Tonight presented by FanDuel. The NBA

2
00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,480
Speaker 1: season is kicking into gear, and there's no better place

3
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,280
Speaker 1: to get in on the action than with FanDuel. The

4
00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,880
Speaker 1: app is safe and secure, getting your money out is

5
00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,439
Speaker 1: super easy. You can jump into the action at any

6
00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:20,919
Speaker 1: time during the game with live betting and I love

7
00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,400
Speaker 1: building those same game parlays and fanduels now live in Ohio,

8
00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,680
Speaker 1: so use promo code Jason T and download the FanDuel

9
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,440
Speaker 1: app today to start making every moment more twenty one

10
00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,800
Speaker 1: plus In select states, gambling problem called one hundred gambler

11
00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,839
Speaker 1: or visit FanDuel dot com. Slash r g in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan,

12
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,320
Speaker 1: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, and Ohio called one

13
00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,880
Speaker 1: next step or text next step to five three three

14
00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:53,040
Speaker 1: four two in Arizona called one eight seven eight nine

15
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,920
Speaker 1: seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org slash

16
00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:03,040
Speaker 1: chat in Connecticut call one hundred nine with it in Indiana,

17
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,840
Speaker 1: visit k S gambling help dot com. In Kansas called

18
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,040
Speaker 1: one eight seven seven seven seven zero stop In l

19
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:17,160
Speaker 1: A visit www dot m D gambling help dot org.

20
00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:22,080
Speaker 1: In Maryland dial one eight seven seven eight Hope and Why,

21
00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,280
Speaker 1: or text Hope and Why to four six seven three

22
00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,560
Speaker 1: six nine in New York, called one D five to

23
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,399
Speaker 1: two four seven zero zero in Wyoming, or visit www

24
00:01:34,520 --> 00:02:00,960
Speaker 1: dot one hundred gambler dot net in West Virginia. All right,

25
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,400
Speaker 1: welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by FanDuel here at the Volume.

26
00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,760
Speaker 1: Happy Tuesday, everybody. I hope all of you guys are

27
00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,280
Speaker 1: having a great week so far. We're gonna continue our

28
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,760
Speaker 1: mid season week today with the mid season Awards hitting

29
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,640
Speaker 1: on m v P Defensive Player of the Year, Most

30
00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,360
Speaker 1: Improved Player, and Rookie of the Year. You guys know

31
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:21,919
Speaker 1: the joke before we get started. To subscribe to the

32
00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:23,679
Speaker 1: Volumes YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of

33
00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,680
Speaker 1: our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason Lts

34
00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,200
Speaker 1: you guys don't miss anyhow announcements. Then, last, but not least,

35
00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,160
Speaker 1: for whatever reason, you guys miss one of these videos

36
00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,080
Speaker 1: and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish,

37
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,640
Speaker 1: you can find them wherever you get your podcasts under

38
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:41,560
Speaker 1: Hoops Tonight and here at the beginning of three we

39
00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:46,919
Speaker 1: have a ridiculous couple of months of sports coming up. Obviously,

40
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,799
Speaker 1: we just had the college football National Championship beat down

41
00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,400
Speaker 1: last night, but we're headed into the NFL playoffs. I'm

42
00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,800
Speaker 1: ready to watch Tom Brady eliminate my Dallas Cowboys. And

43
00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,919
Speaker 1: then obviously basketball is heating up, both with college basketball

44
00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,680
Speaker 1: in the n b A. I was just at Mkale

45
00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,800
Speaker 1: Center to watch the Arizona Wildcats lose at home for

46
00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,640
Speaker 1: the first time in like two years to Washington State.

47
00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,440
Speaker 1: It was fun to get out and go to that game.

48
00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,040
Speaker 1: Watching them on TV is great, But how about we

49
00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,160
Speaker 1: go to some of these games. I want you guys

50
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,160
Speaker 1: to check out game Time. It's the fastest growing ticketing

51
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,320
Speaker 1: app in the United States. Game Time offers amazing last

52
00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,920
Speaker 1: minute deals on all your favorite NBA and A, NFL, NHL,

53
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,040
Speaker 1: and n C Double A teams, And on top of that,

54
00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,400
Speaker 1: they sell last minute concert tickets too. So if you're

55
00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,200
Speaker 1: in Detroit and you want to see the Pistons, game

56
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,000
Speaker 1: Time has you covered. If you're in Colorado and you

57
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,520
Speaker 1: want to go see a show at Red Rocks, game

58
00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,200
Speaker 1: Time has you covered. Download the game Time app, create

59
00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,400
Speaker 1: an account, and redeem code Hoops for twenty dollars off

60
00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,360
Speaker 1: your first purchase. Terms apply again, create an account and

61
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,480
Speaker 1: enter code hoops. That's h o o p S for

62
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,080
Speaker 1: twenty dollars off. Download game time today, last minute tickets,

63
00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,600
Speaker 1: lowest price guaranteed. All right, guys, let's talk some basketball.

64
00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:04,160
Speaker 1: So you guys know the drill with my m v

65
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,520
Speaker 1: P list, Remember, I kind of split it evenly between

66
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,320
Speaker 1: three criteria. Who's the best player in the league, who's

67
00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,120
Speaker 1: the best player on the best team, and who's the

68
00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,640
Speaker 1: most valuable to your team? If you want to simplify that,

69
00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,400
Speaker 1: it's just ranking their individual success, ranking your team's success

70
00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,640
Speaker 1: in ranking how much you as an individual are contributing

71
00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,279
Speaker 1: to that team's success. So I have, if the season

72
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,120
Speaker 1: ended today, my m v P as Kevin Durant. He's

73
00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,240
Speaker 1: averaging thirty points, seven rebounds, and five assists this season

74
00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:41,320
Speaker 1: on it astonishing six true shooting, driven in large part

75
00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,960
Speaker 1: by him knocking down the most difficult shot in basketball,

76
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,839
Speaker 1: the pull up jump shot at a ridiculous fifty cent clip.

77
00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,480
Speaker 1: Easily the most efficient perimeter player season that we've seen

78
00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,200
Speaker 1: since prime Steph Curry. He's also gonna make an All

79
00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,479
Speaker 1: Defense team. It's the best he's ever been, and he's

80
00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,440
Speaker 1: been the best player that I've seen in the league

81
00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,560
Speaker 1: this year. Then Nets have the best the second best

82
00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,880
Speaker 1: record in the NBA. They're just one and a half

83
00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,279
Speaker 1: games back of the Celtics for first place. They are

84
00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,760
Speaker 1: top ten in both offense and defense, and the Nets

85
00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:15,480
Speaker 1: are eleven points per one hundred possessions better when Katie

86
00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,480
Speaker 1: is on the floor versus when he's off. They're losing

87
00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,920
Speaker 1: the k D off minutes by three point four points

88
00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: per one possessions this season. So he is checking all

89
00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:31,480
Speaker 1: three boxes resoundingly. Now, Katie is hurt, but we gotta

90
00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,159
Speaker 1: look closely at that because he's only missed one game

91
00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,280
Speaker 1: all season, and if he ends up coming back before

92
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,080
Speaker 1: you know, February one, then in all likelihood he's gonna

93
00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,320
Speaker 1: end up finishing the season around seventies seventy two games played.

94
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,800
Speaker 1: And if that's the case, time played is not going

95
00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:50,560
Speaker 1: to be a factor. So he checks all three boxes resoundingly. Now,

96
00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:52,640
Speaker 1: the one last point I wanted to hammer home with

97
00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant is his leadership. You know, like, say what

98
00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,240
Speaker 1: you want about the trade request this summer, and I

99
00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,120
Speaker 1: think that's gonna be something that lingers in a lot

100
00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:01,760
Speaker 1: of people's minds, and they're gonna have a hard time

101
00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,240
Speaker 1: getting over that. But the reality is is like, as

102
00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:06,880
Speaker 1: far as trade requests go, it doesn't really get much

103
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,080
Speaker 1: more professional than what Kevin Durant did. He waited until

104
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,200
Speaker 1: the off season. He gave them a clear list of

105
00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,920
Speaker 1: preferred teams. He explained why to the front office and

106
00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,880
Speaker 1: the ownership group, specifically why he was frustrated. I don't

107
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,920
Speaker 1: like Steve Nash. I don't think he practices I don't

108
00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,599
Speaker 1: think he practices us hard enough. I would like a

109
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,320
Speaker 1: change of leadership there. He obviously expressed some lack of

110
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,080
Speaker 1: confidence in Sean Marks, but when the season got started,

111
00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,799
Speaker 1: it turned out that the roster was actually pretty talented

112
00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:37,919
Speaker 1: and functional, So Sean Marks is off the hook. But

113
00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,000
Speaker 1: the Steve Nash stuff ended up being a real problem

114
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,240
Speaker 1: at the start of the season, at least from the

115
00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:45,440
Speaker 1: standpoint of buying down the roster. So like when when

116
00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:47,560
Speaker 1: he didn't get what he wanted over the summer when

117
00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,839
Speaker 1: they didn't trade him, what did Katie do? He basically

118
00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,240
Speaker 1: leaked to the press that he was recommitted to the

119
00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,279
Speaker 1: team and that he was gonna be in Net for

120
00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,360
Speaker 1: the future. So he basically took back his trade request

121
00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,120
Speaker 1: to dem straight a clear commitment to doing the best

122
00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:04,919
Speaker 1: he could with the Nets within this season. So I

123
00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,400
Speaker 1: don't really necessarily, you know, especially in the modern culture

124
00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,400
Speaker 1: of the NBA where there are all these trade requests,

125
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,400
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily knock him for that. Now in the season,

126
00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,239
Speaker 1: this is where his leadership becomes a big factor, because

127
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,520
Speaker 1: one of the big reasons I believe why Kevin Durant

128
00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,840
Speaker 1: wanted a trade is because he realized the fundamental problems

129
00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,480
Speaker 1: with the Kyrie partnership. Obviously has the utmost of respect

130
00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,520
Speaker 1: for Kyrie's talent, but he knows that basketball isn't the

131
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:35,679
Speaker 1: biggest priority for Kyrie, that his activism is his biggest priority,

132
00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:40,360
Speaker 1: and Kate Kyrie straight up tried to submarine their season

133
00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,600
Speaker 1: again this year at the beginning of the year with

134
00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,120
Speaker 1: all the anti anti anti Semitism stuff. So you can

135
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,160
Speaker 1: see why from Kadi's perspective, why he wanted the trade

136
00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,400
Speaker 1: to begin with. But that happened this year anyway, and

137
00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,400
Speaker 1: that the season was falling apart at the seams. The

138
00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,520
Speaker 1: player that is supposed to be his partner in crime

139
00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,680
Speaker 1: was not worried about basketball and was stuff off the

140
00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:02,240
Speaker 1: court that was hurting the team. I'm not going to

141
00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,480
Speaker 1: talk about any of the actual subject matter. That's not

142
00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,200
Speaker 1: my job, but whatever you want to think about it,

143
00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,040
Speaker 1: it absolutely was a distraction that was hurting the team

144
00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,640
Speaker 1: and literally took the second best player from the team

145
00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,960
Speaker 1: away because he was suspended. That all happened, All of

146
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,800
Speaker 1: it was falling apart around Kevin Durant. And then what

147
00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,720
Speaker 1: happened right after the Kyrie suspension. The Nets were on

148
00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,600
Speaker 1: the road for ten of the next twelve games, and

149
00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:29,640
Speaker 1: that's a lot of traveling, going to hotels. Even when

150
00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:31,320
Speaker 1: they came home, they were home for just one game

151
00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:32,680
Speaker 1: at a time, and then they would go out on

152
00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,200
Speaker 1: another road trip. In a weird way, that was kind

153
00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,560
Speaker 1: of perfect for that team to galvanize themselves around the

154
00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,760
Speaker 1: camaraderie of the locker room. I credit Kevin Durant for that,

155
00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,640
Speaker 1: specifically his love for the game of basketball and the

156
00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,920
Speaker 1: way that that shined through all the drama and got

157
00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,360
Speaker 1: everybody in that locker room to buy into the one

158
00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,240
Speaker 1: thing that they do better than anything else, which is basketball.

159
00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,240
Speaker 1: They got them focused back on the goal, and all

160
00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:01,520
Speaker 1: of a sudden, the role started to uh. The wind

161
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,400
Speaker 1: started to rack up. Then when Kyrie returned, he had

162
00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,280
Speaker 1: no choice but to assimilate into that role and to

163
00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,800
Speaker 1: buy into the basketball because the team was winning. So

164
00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,800
Speaker 1: in a weird way, Kadie not only galvanized the group

165
00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,560
Speaker 1: and turned the season around, he also put Kyrie in

166
00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,640
Speaker 1: a predicament where he had no choice but to be

167
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,200
Speaker 1: by Kevin Durant's side and go after this thing with him,

168
00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,000
Speaker 1: And so that that leadership element is a huge underrated

169
00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,079
Speaker 1: part for me. Now, he would be my number one

170
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,080
Speaker 1: m VP pick anyway because of the contributions he's made

171
00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,360
Speaker 1: on offense, and I think he has been the best

172
00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,400
Speaker 1: defensive player this season among the five players that made

173
00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,000
Speaker 1: my list, So I would have him up there anyway.

174
00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,360
Speaker 1: But I do think that leadership part is a massively

175
00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:54,199
Speaker 1: underrated part of his case. Number two Nicola Yoki shooting.

176
00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:55,959
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna dive too much into numbers because we

177
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,040
Speaker 1: did a lot of that yesterday for the All NBA stuff.

178
00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,480
Speaker 1: Kind of an uneven defensive season, he can still have

179
00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,040
Speaker 1: some issues guarding in space or when he's in pick

180
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:04,559
Speaker 1: and roll and he has to come higher up to

181
00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:06,440
Speaker 1: the level of the screen because of a good pull

182
00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:09,360
Speaker 1: up shooter or something like that. Um On tape. He's

183
00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,520
Speaker 1: been sprinting back in transition a lot better than most

184
00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,000
Speaker 1: slow bigs in the league. But the Nuggets are literally

185
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,040
Speaker 1: the worst transition defense in the league. According to Cleaning

186
00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,600
Speaker 1: the Glass, the Nuggets give up a one thirty five

187
00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,320
Speaker 1: point four defensive rating on transition possessions. It's a big

188
00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,880
Speaker 1: part of why they're the twenty third ranked defense overall.

189
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,480
Speaker 1: So regardless of the individual areas where Yokich has improved,

190
00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:32,960
Speaker 1: he has not been able to anchor that defense in

191
00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,000
Speaker 1: the way that most of his peers at the center

192
00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,400
Speaker 1: position can do. Guys like Joel Embiad, guys like Bam

193
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,240
Speaker 1: at a Bio, guys like Draymond Green, guys like Anthony Davis.

194
00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,920
Speaker 1: They're just so so, so so so much better at

195
00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,040
Speaker 1: that than him, and specifically at that position, it can

196
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:47,640
Speaker 1: be a problem. So that's kind of like the one

197
00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:50,079
Speaker 1: knock on him. But in spite of that, he's been

198
00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,800
Speaker 1: so good offensively that I still think he's the third

199
00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,800
Speaker 1: best basketball player I've seen this year. That have Kadi one,

200
00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,600
Speaker 1: and I'd have stepped two, and then I'd have Yokich

201
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,280
Speaker 1: at three. Just in terms of what I saw within

202
00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,640
Speaker 1: this regular season, the Nuggets have the same record as Brooklyn.

203
00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:06,599
Speaker 1: They're the second best record in the league, one and

204
00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,640
Speaker 1: a half games back of Boston Um and the Nuggets

205
00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,480
Speaker 1: are an astonishing twenty five points per one hundred possessions

206
00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,800
Speaker 1: better when Yokich is on the floor versus when he's off.

207
00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,880
Speaker 1: So once again, he checks all three boxes resoundingly. He's

208
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,040
Speaker 1: in the conversation for best player in the league. His

209
00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:22,960
Speaker 1: team has the second best record in the league, and

210
00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,440
Speaker 1: he's immensely valuable to that team. But I give a

211
00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,760
Speaker 1: slight edge to Kevin Durant, one because of defense and

212
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,080
Speaker 1: the and the season that Kevin Durant's having on that

213
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,040
Speaker 1: end of the floor. And secondly, I think the degree

214
00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,320
Speaker 1: of difficulty is still a touch higher for Katie from

215
00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,440
Speaker 1: the talent perspective of what's on the roster. Alright, moving

216
00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:43,840
Speaker 1: on number three, Luca don che So, he's averaging thirty

217
00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,520
Speaker 1: nine and nine this season, true shooting once again, uneven

218
00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:50,680
Speaker 1: defensive season. It's got good possessions here and there, good

219
00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:55,080
Speaker 1: defensive rebounder, which is obviously vitally important to ending defensive possessions,

220
00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,160
Speaker 1: but he takes a lot of possessions and games off

221
00:11:57,360 --> 00:11:59,960
Speaker 1: entirely on the defensive end of the flour, really sloppy rotations,

222
00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,679
Speaker 1: conceding three point shots, things along those lines. Again, I

223
00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,120
Speaker 1: don't blame him. I've talked this to death. The role

224
00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,439
Speaker 1: that he's in requires him to be so available on

225
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:08,920
Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor for that team that

226
00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,880
Speaker 1: they really can't afford to have him exerting himself to

227
00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:13,880
Speaker 1: a great extent on the defensive end of the floor.

228
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,120
Speaker 1: But it is the reality, and it is part of

229
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,240
Speaker 1: the um, you know, total package of how he contributes

230
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,920
Speaker 1: to winning. He's the fourth best player in the league

231
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,560
Speaker 1: that I've seen this year. Within this season, behind Katie,

232
00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,160
Speaker 1: Steph and Yokich. The MAVs are twenty three and nineteen,

233
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,120
Speaker 1: which is only the ninth best record in the league,

234
00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,200
Speaker 1: but there are only four and a half games back

235
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:34,400
Speaker 1: of Denver and Brooklyn, so that's still within reach that

236
00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,679
Speaker 1: they could go on a run. And the MAVs are

237
00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:39,720
Speaker 1: twenty three and fourteen when Luca has played, because they're

238
00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,880
Speaker 1: oh and four when he hasn't played. Now, that's good

239
00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:45,120
Speaker 1: and bad because that's an availability thing, like if you

240
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,840
Speaker 1: have to take rest, that's obviously a downside. Like a

241
00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,520
Speaker 1: huge part of Katie's MVP cases he just hasn't missed

242
00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,199
Speaker 1: any games, which buys him the margin for error to

243
00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,840
Speaker 1: miss seven or eight games with a knee injury. Right. Uh, well,

244
00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,280
Speaker 1: you know, Uh, Luca has missed four games in the

245
00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,079
Speaker 1: Mavericks have lost all four of those. You gotta factor

246
00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,120
Speaker 1: that in. But the flip side of that is, like, man,

247
00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:06,520
Speaker 1: when Lucas on the floor, they're twenty three and fourteen.

248
00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:09,640
Speaker 1: That's like, you know, top tier, second tier stuff in

249
00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:13,320
Speaker 1: this league with a really limited roster, and the Mavericks

250
00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:15,760
Speaker 1: are twelve points per one hundred possessions better when he's

251
00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,480
Speaker 1: on the floor versus when he's off. The Mavericks outscore

252
00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,400
Speaker 1: teams by about six points per one when he's on,

253
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,680
Speaker 1: and they get outscored by about six points when he's off. Translation,

254
00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:26,440
Speaker 1: there are a bad team when he's off the floor,

255
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:27,880
Speaker 1: and they're a good team when he's on the floor.

256
00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,640
Speaker 1: So a lot of classic m v P markers UM

257
00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,040
Speaker 1: and Luca is actually the Vegas favorite right now. I

258
00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,319
Speaker 1: just personally value team success more than most voters do. UM,

259
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,599
Speaker 1: So for me, I have him behind your kitchen k D.

260
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,679
Speaker 1: But I mean half of these guys, like literally every

261
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:46,439
Speaker 1: single one of the top five guys on my list

262
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:48,720
Speaker 1: would have won the m v P in two thousand

263
00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,559
Speaker 1: seventeen over Russell Westbrook. They're all having better m VP

264
00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,239
Speaker 1: campaigns than two thou seventeen Russ. It's just the reality

265
00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,560
Speaker 1: of how deep the league is with talent right now

266
00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,800
Speaker 1: and the fact that we just have a bunch of

267
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,280
Speaker 1: guy eyes that are playing at an MVP level. I still,

268
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,080
Speaker 1: even though I haven't met third, I do think Luca

269
00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:06,679
Speaker 1: has a real chance. Like if he's winning at a

270
00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,880
Speaker 1: twenty three and fourteen clip, when he's on the floor

271
00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:10,800
Speaker 1: and he can stay available the rest of the season,

272
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,160
Speaker 1: chances are the Mavericks will move further and further up

273
00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,960
Speaker 1: the standings. They have a trade to make in the

274
00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,520
Speaker 1: at the deadline they have Christian Would available. There are

275
00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,880
Speaker 1: teams out there looking for size uh. I've seen reports

276
00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,720
Speaker 1: that there. They don't necessarily want to extend Christian Would

277
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,160
Speaker 1: at the number that he wants, so they might end

278
00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,240
Speaker 1: up trading him at the deadline. Anyway, maybe they can

279
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:30,240
Speaker 1: get back some real ball handling the ease up some

280
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,680
Speaker 1: of those responsibilities. UM. I do not think that he's

281
00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:35,640
Speaker 1: out of the running by any stretch, but right now

282
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,720
Speaker 1: I have him at third alright, number four, Jason Tatum

283
00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,800
Speaker 1: thirty one, eight and four on six Tury shooting good,

284
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,200
Speaker 1: not great defensive season. I think Kevin Durant's having a

285
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,520
Speaker 1: better defensive season. It's big part of why he's number one.

286
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,440
Speaker 1: He's the seventh best player that I've seen this season,

287
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,480
Speaker 1: behind k D, Steph Yogis, Luca out have Janics at five,

288
00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:58,320
Speaker 1: Lebron at six, and then Jayson Tatum at seven lines

289
00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:00,800
Speaker 1: up pretty well with what I had this summer. Um Like,

290
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:02,680
Speaker 1: I think i'd take him at sixth in the league

291
00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:04,320
Speaker 1: this summer, and he's kind of held up his end

292
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,560
Speaker 1: of the bargain there. The Celtics have the best record

293
00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,480
Speaker 1: in the league, and the Celtics are five point four

294
00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:11,360
Speaker 1: points better per one possessions when Tatum is on the

295
00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,640
Speaker 1: court versus when he's off again in any other year,

296
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,520
Speaker 1: that's a legit m v P case. But when I'm

297
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,880
Speaker 1: looking at Luca Yokichen k D, they are better players

298
00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:24,960
Speaker 1: that are on lesser teams with less talent that the

299
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,880
Speaker 1: teams are performing nearly as well as the Celtics, and

300
00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,240
Speaker 1: I think those three guys are contributing more to winning

301
00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,760
Speaker 1: when you factor in all the ways that they contribute.

302
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,360
Speaker 1: It's a tight race. It is what it is. I

303
00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,640
Speaker 1: just think Tatum's four as a result of the competition,

304
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:39,400
Speaker 1: but he is playing at a bona fide m v

305
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,640
Speaker 1: P level number five. I've Janice he's having a really

306
00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,920
Speaker 1: weird season. Jannice is below from the field in his

307
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,560
Speaker 1: last thirteen games, which is obviously not very honest, like

308
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,720
Speaker 1: outside of the restricted area this season, he's shooting just

309
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,120
Speaker 1: so if he's not laying the ball up or dunking it,

310
00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,560
Speaker 1: he's missing three out of four shots, so that's weird.

311
00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,560
Speaker 1: And then there's some weird on off stuff too, which

312
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,640
Speaker 1: we'll get two in a second. But thirty two, twelve

313
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,760
Speaker 1: and five true shooting, which is still really good, even

314
00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,240
Speaker 1: though it's not very honest, like, still an outstanding defensive player.

315
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:13,920
Speaker 1: Like I said, he's the fifth best player I've seen

316
00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,440
Speaker 1: this year, behind Katie Steph Yo Kitchen Luca, and the

317
00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:18,960
Speaker 1: Bucks are just two and a half games back of

318
00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,840
Speaker 1: first place despite losing Drew Holiday and Chris Middleton for

319
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,520
Speaker 1: a good portion of this season. The on off numbers

320
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,920
Speaker 1: are weird. They are just three point six points positive

321
00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:32,680
Speaker 1: per one possessions when he's on the floor, but they

322
00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,280
Speaker 1: are minus one point three when he's off, that's only

323
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,280
Speaker 1: a four point nine point swing, which is the worst

324
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,240
Speaker 1: out of any player on this list. And when he's

325
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,000
Speaker 1: on the floor, they're not um beating teams resoundingly by

326
00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,800
Speaker 1: any stretch. But the productions there, the numbers are there,

327
00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,640
Speaker 1: the defense is there, and regardless of what we say

328
00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,400
Speaker 1: about the on off numbers, the wins are there. There

329
00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:54,960
Speaker 1: two and a half games back of first place in

330
00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:57,960
Speaker 1: the league despite having some bad injury luck. It's just

331
00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,200
Speaker 1: it's just some really funky numbers there that I've find

332
00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,360
Speaker 1: very interesting that I'm gonna point out to you guys. Um,

333
00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,399
Speaker 1: the guys ahead of him on this list have the

334
00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,520
Speaker 1: production and have the wins, but they also have those

335
00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:10,520
Speaker 1: value metrics and things along those lines. So I have

336
00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:12,960
Speaker 1: him met five. But if you guys remember four the

337
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:14,960
Speaker 1: season I picked you honest to win m v P,

338
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,199
Speaker 1: and I'm still keeping him as my pick as of

339
00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:19,920
Speaker 1: right now. I think he's got a great second half

340
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,320
Speaker 1: run in him. I think eventually the Bucks will get healthy.

341
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:24,000
Speaker 1: I don't know if you guys watched that game against

342
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,120
Speaker 1: the Knicks last night, but what have I been preaching

343
00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,959
Speaker 1: all season long about the Bucks having a perimeter player

344
00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,160
Speaker 1: that can playmake and can knock down shots like spot

345
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,560
Speaker 1: up shooting. Joe Ingles was masterful in that second half

346
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:39,960
Speaker 1: against the Knicks. They were spamming a dribble handoff with

347
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,520
Speaker 1: him in Honice, and because of just a basic ability

348
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,320
Speaker 1: that Ingles has to make reads out of those dribble

349
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,480
Speaker 1: handoffs because he's a smart player, they were able to

350
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:50,359
Speaker 1: get a lot of really good stuff out of it.

351
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,000
Speaker 1: So with him kind of finding a role there, with

352
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,320
Speaker 1: Chris Middleton coming back, Drew Holiday hopefully staying healthy for

353
00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:58,760
Speaker 1: a long time, for a longer stretch, they should go

354
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,400
Speaker 1: on a run. You know. Jhannice is gonna play hard

355
00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:03,840
Speaker 1: every night. Obviously he's not playing very well, which is

356
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,320
Speaker 1: going to motivate him to play better. I still think

357
00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:07,879
Speaker 1: he ends up getting the award by the end of

358
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:13,960
Speaker 1: the season. So quick instant summation, that's Katie one, Yokich

359
00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:18,679
Speaker 1: to Luca three, Um Tatum four, and Janice five Alright,

360
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,959
Speaker 1: Defensive player of the Year. So uh, most this is

361
00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:23,800
Speaker 1: one of the most frustrating ones to kind of talk

362
00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,879
Speaker 1: about because the way that people measure defensive Player of

363
00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:29,760
Speaker 1: the Year I think is flawed in a lot of ways.

364
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,120
Speaker 1: Most voters really simplified down to defensive rating, like how

365
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,200
Speaker 1: the team does on the scoreboard defensively, and then advanced

366
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,520
Speaker 1: metrics like these catch all metrics for the defensive end

367
00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,080
Speaker 1: of the four. Not to be clear, you guys know

368
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,880
Speaker 1: how I feel about catch all advanced metrics. I throw

369
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,680
Speaker 1: them out the window entirely. I'm completely uninterested in them.

370
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,480
Speaker 1: And the main reason why is because the game of basketball,

371
00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,919
Speaker 1: I believe, is way too convoluted and you know, beautiful

372
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,200
Speaker 1: and complex to simplify all of the different motions from

373
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,359
Speaker 1: ten different players into one number. I I just it

374
00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,800
Speaker 1: fundamentally too. It's like blasphemous to me. I'll give you

375
00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,560
Speaker 1: an example, like ESPN is real plus minus for ESPNS

376
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:12,560
Speaker 1: defensive Real plus minus has Marcus Morris as a top

377
00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,320
Speaker 1: ten defender in the NBA. Now, some of the names

378
00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:17,679
Speaker 1: up there makes some sense, which is what those metrics

379
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,679
Speaker 1: guys are always pointing out, like, oh, looks you know,

380
00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,639
Speaker 1: vaguely familiar to what we see with our eyes. But

381
00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,080
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, if your metric is

382
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,159
Speaker 1: telling me that Marcus Morris is a top ten defender

383
00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,800
Speaker 1: in the NBA, then your metric is wrong and it's flawed,

384
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,720
Speaker 1: and so I threw those entirely out of the window.

385
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,800
Speaker 1: I just do put put in the work. Guys, look

386
00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:41,600
Speaker 1: at individuals. I I I trust metrics on a possession

387
00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,000
Speaker 1: by possession basis. Like if it's like this guy is

388
00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:47,800
Speaker 1: running a hundred pick and rolls that are leading to

389
00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,520
Speaker 1: a hundred and five points, that's the scoreboard I can direct. Now,

390
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,359
Speaker 1: there's some factors in there, like how's the spot up shooting,

391
00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,280
Speaker 1: what kind of defenses are they playing? There's some factors there,

392
00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,440
Speaker 1: but at least I'm getting a more ref mind picture

393
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,120
Speaker 1: of the scoreboard within a specific action. I can learn

394
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:09,040
Speaker 1: something from that, right you know. Look, I love cleaning

395
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,119
Speaker 1: the glass because of the way they track half court

396
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,920
Speaker 1: offensive ratings versus transition offensive ratings. Those are two different settings.

397
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:17,480
Speaker 1: When the game is helter skelter, it's easier to score

398
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,000
Speaker 1: than when you're trapped in a half court set. That's

399
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,720
Speaker 1: a great evaluator from when we get to the postseason

400
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:24,760
Speaker 1: and we're looking at teams that are primarily going to

401
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,280
Speaker 1: trap you in half court sets because of them sprinting

402
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,800
Speaker 1: back in transition, communicating and getting matched up right. The

403
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,560
Speaker 1: I prefer match metrics on a more focused level, I

404
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,800
Speaker 1: just discount entirely any sort of catch all metrics, So

405
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,120
Speaker 1: I don't care about your defensive metrics as it pertains

406
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,760
Speaker 1: to Defensive Player of the Year and then defensive ratings.

407
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,760
Speaker 1: It's just the scoreboards. So it does have some bearing,

408
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,360
Speaker 1: But you gotta remember there's four other players on the floor,

409
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:54,560
Speaker 1: and a lot of times whether or not your team

410
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:56,919
Speaker 1: can get stops has a lot to do with what

411
00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,520
Speaker 1: the other players on the floor are doing. I'll give

412
00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,679
Speaker 1: you an example last year, even when Anthony Davis was

413
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,679
Speaker 1: available for half the season, they weren't getting stops at

414
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,320
Speaker 1: a high rate when he was on the floor because

415
00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,840
Speaker 1: around him, it was an atrocious defensive team. And Anthony

416
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,400
Speaker 1: Davis was still a flawed player back then, wasn't hitting

417
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:13,960
Speaker 1: his jump or any of those kinds of things, but

418
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,280
Speaker 1: he was still a very good defensive player, and it

419
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,280
Speaker 1: just wasn't amounting to stops. So what I'm gonna be

420
00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:21,840
Speaker 1: doing is looking at all of the film that I've

421
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,960
Speaker 1: watched this season, and the defensive players that I thought

422
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,399
Speaker 1: actually contributed to getting stops on a possession by possition

423
00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:33,080
Speaker 1: possession basis more than their peers. For example, fan Duel

424
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,840
Speaker 1: has Jaren Jackson, Jr. Brook Lopez, and Nick Claxton as

425
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,760
Speaker 1: the top three most likely defensive player of the year

426
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,000
Speaker 1: guys based on odds um and they're all very good.

427
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,400
Speaker 1: Jaren Jackson's blocking a ton of shots, although for him

428
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,480
Speaker 1: he can get a little out of position sometimes. The

429
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:50,840
Speaker 1: other thing with Jaren Jacksons he fouls a lot. The

430
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,360
Speaker 1: other thing with Jaren Jacksons he missed a big chunk

431
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,920
Speaker 1: of the season to start the year. Uh Brook Lopez,

432
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:59,800
Speaker 1: for instance, blocks a ton of shots. Milwaukee has the

433
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 1: d defensive ratings. The thing with Brooke is his job

434
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,119
Speaker 1: is very easy. He runs the deepest drop in the league.

435
00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,879
Speaker 1: They concede three point shots to whatever his matchup is

436
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,760
Speaker 1: every single game to allow him to linger by the rim.

437
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,520
Speaker 1: You know, does not need to cover nearly as much

438
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,560
Speaker 1: ground as the other defensive anchors in the league. And

439
00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:21,439
Speaker 1: he's flanked by Janice who can do more of the

440
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,320
Speaker 1: mobility related stuff. Right. So those two guys didn't make

441
00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:28,440
Speaker 1: my list, and they are the two favorites in Vegas.

442
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,240
Speaker 1: So again, this is this is just the way that

443
00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:33,040
Speaker 1: I view it, and what I like to do is

444
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,040
Speaker 1: at least explain to you guys what my reasoning is

445
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:39,040
Speaker 1: before I make these picks. Um. Alright, so number one,

446
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:40,920
Speaker 1: the guy that I have to win Defensive Player of

447
00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:42,760
Speaker 1: the Year if the season ended today is Draymond Green.

448
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,120
Speaker 1: He's by far the best defensive player that I've seen

449
00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,240
Speaker 1: on tape this year. By the way, that the Golden

450
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,720
Speaker 1: State Warriors allow just a hundred and eight point nine

451
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,120
Speaker 1: points per one Hunter possessions when Draymond's on the floor.

452
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,280
Speaker 1: The Cleveland Cavaliers and totality have the best defense in

453
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,320
Speaker 1: the league this year, allowing a hundred and nine points

454
00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:07,040
Speaker 1: per one Hunter possessions. So the Warriors overall have the

455
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,520
Speaker 1: nineteen ranked defense in the NBA because they can't get

456
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,000
Speaker 1: stops when Draymond's off the floor. When Draymond's on the floor,

457
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 1: they literally defend better than the Cleveland Cavaliers do. So

458
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,119
Speaker 1: that's why just looking at a team's defensive rating to me,

459
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 1: is not a fair assessment. Even just within Draymond's defensive

460
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:28,359
Speaker 1: rating that one to eight point nine, that doesn't factor

461
00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:32,000
Speaker 1: in the fact that they're regularly playing lots of small guards,

462
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 1: that they're regularly playing a lot of young players that

463
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,199
Speaker 1: because of Andrew Wiggins missing a huge chunk of the

464
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,840
Speaker 1: season and their inability in the loss of Gary Payton

465
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,439
Speaker 1: the second out of Porter Jr. They're very thin on

466
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:47,119
Speaker 1: the wing, very thin, and they're getting a lot of

467
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,400
Speaker 1: stops with Draymond Green on the floor, and it's because

468
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,399
Speaker 1: he is a one man wrecking ball on the back line.

469
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,360
Speaker 1: I I those of you guys who are Warriors fans

470
00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,840
Speaker 1: have been watching the show. I've broken down a half

471
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:01,440
Speaker 1: dozen different plays in the last couple of weeks where

472
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,760
Speaker 1: Draymond Green was in as precarious position as you can

473
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 1: possibly be in a basketball game, where of those possessions

474
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,879
Speaker 1: and in dunks or layups, and he's blown them up

475
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,000
Speaker 1: and sent them the other way. There are games that

476
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,879
Speaker 1: the Warriors won because of Draymond Green blowing up play

477
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,600
Speaker 1: after play at the end of these games. And he's

478
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 1: incredibly versatable, versatile. He could do it in drop coverage.

479
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,119
Speaker 1: He can do it as a health defender off of

480
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:29,960
Speaker 1: a shooter in the corner. I literally showed you guys

481
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,119
Speaker 1: to play the other day where he blew up a

482
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,480
Speaker 1: lob pass that Kevil Looney was in the coverage by

483
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:40,080
Speaker 1: flying out of the week's side corner. I think it

484
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 1: was in the Detroit Pistons game, if I remember correctly,

485
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,439
Speaker 1: But he and then and then he can also switch

486
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,359
Speaker 1: on to any player in the league and competently defend,

487
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,520
Speaker 1: just like we saw him do with Jaylen Brown in

488
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,920
Speaker 1: the finals. He's just I think he's the best defensive

489
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,280
Speaker 1: player that I've seen this year. On film. Vanduel has

490
00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,600
Speaker 1: him as the ninth best odds. Isn't that crazy plus

491
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:04,280
Speaker 1: thirty three? And it's because the Warriors are nineteenth overall

492
00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,200
Speaker 1: in defense. Now. One other thing too, and the reason

493
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,560
Speaker 1: why I still view him as a decent bedding opportunity

494
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,280
Speaker 1: is the Warriors are nineteen in defense, but there's not

495
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,840
Speaker 1: a huge gap between nineteen and ninth. You know, Um,

496
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,200
Speaker 1: it's only a couple of points per one hunder possessions

497
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,920
Speaker 1: and you have half the season left. Not only that,

498
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,159
Speaker 1: there's real urgency for the Warriors. There's urgency because there

499
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,920
Speaker 1: they have a ground to make up in the standings,

500
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,359
Speaker 1: and you know, they'd rather have home court, and they

501
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,280
Speaker 1: view that as an opportunity. My guess is they look

502
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 1: at the two seed as achievable if they have a

503
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 1: good run to end the season. You have Steph Curry

504
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 1: coming back which means I think he's coming back tonight.

505
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:41,840
Speaker 1: We'll have an instant break, an instant reaction video. I

506
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,080
Speaker 1: told you guys we might not do k uh the

507
00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,040
Speaker 1: net Celtics because Kevin Durant's hurt. Well that's what happens.

508
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,080
Speaker 1: We're digging Net Celtics. We're gonna do an instant reaction

509
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,320
Speaker 1: video after tonight's game when Steph Curry makes his return.

510
00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,840
Speaker 1: But with Steph coming back, that's more baskets, which is

511
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,399
Speaker 1: gonna give you more opportunity to set your defense. Andrew

512
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: Wiggins is coming back, uh, Andrea Guadala has made his

513
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,159
Speaker 1: appearance to start this season, So you're getting deeper on

514
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 1: the wing. The urgency is there, your offense is going

515
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,560
Speaker 1: to be better. All of that leads to what I

516
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,639
Speaker 1: think should be a defensive run for the Warriors. So

517
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,359
Speaker 1: I still think he's got a good chance to end

518
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,600
Speaker 1: up winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. Number two,

519
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,959
Speaker 1: I've Miles Turner. It's a similar type of deal to Draymond.

520
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 1: The Pacers are eighteenth and defense, so he's not even

521
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:26,320
Speaker 1: being factored in vandwel has Miles Turner at a plus

522
00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:30,960
Speaker 1: eleven thousand to win the award um. But this is

523
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,840
Speaker 1: where I want to look at personnel, because if you

524
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,640
Speaker 1: look at defensive ratings, even when Miles Turners on the floor,

525
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,360
Speaker 1: it's a little underwhelming, But you gotta dig deeper. The

526
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,560
Speaker 1: top five minutes guys for the pacers. So top five

527
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,680
Speaker 1: total minutes played for pacers that are not named Miles

528
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:51,520
Speaker 1: Turner are all guards. You know, Aaronie Smith, Andrew Nemhrt,

529
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,600
Speaker 1: Terris Alibert, and Buddy Yield and Bennick Matherin. That's the

530
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,680
Speaker 1: guys that are playing around Miles Turner all the time.

531
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,520
Speaker 1: Six of the top seven our guards because now I've

532
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,720
Speaker 1: got t J. McConnell and then obviously Jalen Smith is

533
00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:05,480
Speaker 1: the backup center. So basically, whenever Miles turns on the floor,

534
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 1: it's most likely that he's going to be playing around guards.

535
00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,200
Speaker 1: Every once in a while, there'll be o shaper set

536
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:12,680
Speaker 1: out there for a little while. You know, he's six

537
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,000
Speaker 1: ft seven a little bit more functionally as a wing,

538
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,360
Speaker 1: but for the most part, he's playing out there with guards.

539
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,879
Speaker 1: In Indiana has afforded that luxury because of what Miles

540
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,120
Speaker 1: Turner does as a back line rim protector, flying around,

541
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,800
Speaker 1: blocking shots, He's fourth in the league in total block shots.

542
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,160
Speaker 1: He's a great post defender. We've seen him in several

543
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,679
Speaker 1: key center matchups defend really well this year, and he

544
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,680
Speaker 1: can competently switch out to the perimeter. He's never gonna

545
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,840
Speaker 1: get the credit for it the way that he deserves

546
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,439
Speaker 1: because of the team defensive ratings, but when you factor

547
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,520
Speaker 1: in degree of difficulty and what he does cleaning up

548
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,199
Speaker 1: messes for those small guards, which allows them to have

549
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:51,600
Speaker 1: so much ball handling and shooting on the floor that

550
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,160
Speaker 1: they can just drive and kick teams to death. That's

551
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 1: because of Myles Turner, and so I have him as

552
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,560
Speaker 1: second in my Defensive Player of the Year voting number three,

553
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,879
Speaker 1: matching up with vanduel Is, I have Nick Claxton. Him

554
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,440
Speaker 1: and Kevin Durant are basically by themselves anchoring the ninth

555
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,159
Speaker 1: best defense in the league just by making extra efforts

556
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: around the rim with their length and athleticism. This is

557
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 1: not a great perimeter defense team. They're allowed to press

558
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 1: up on guys. They do a ton of switching, encourage

559
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,240
Speaker 1: guys to press up into the handle, knowing that if

560
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,359
Speaker 1: they get beat off the dribble, you've got Kevin Durant

561
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,480
Speaker 1: Nick Claxton waiting on the back line. That's a luxury

562
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,520
Speaker 1: provided by their back line defense. He's been the third

563
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,240
Speaker 1: best defender that I've seen this season, all right, most

564
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 1: improved player Number one, Lori marken In I actually had

565
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,760
Speaker 1: um on FanDuel shay Gil Just Alexander is the favorite,

566
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,240
Speaker 1: but I think there's actually a much larger gap between

567
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 1: what Laura used to be and what he is now

568
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:47,120
Speaker 1: versus shay Um. Lori's averaging points per game, which is

569
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,480
Speaker 1: ten more than last year. He's the second best spot

570
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:50,920
Speaker 1: up player in the league to run at least a

571
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty spot possessions at one point three two

572
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,120
Speaker 1: points per possession, behind Georgis Kneeing of the Philadelphia SEVENTI.

573
00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,440
Speaker 1: He's having an outrageously good isolated isolation season. He's run

574
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,080
Speaker 1: fifty four of them and scored seventy one points. That

575
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,360
Speaker 1: one point three two points per possession is best in

576
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:08,920
Speaker 1: the league among the seventy one players who have run

577
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,920
Speaker 1: at least fifty ISOs. He is a bona fide franchise

578
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,200
Speaker 1: cornerstone after being salary filler the previous season. He's the

579
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:20,040
Speaker 1: most improved player in the league. L's Alexander. He's taken

580
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,920
Speaker 1: the leap from lower level star to like mid level star,

581
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,040
Speaker 1: like right below that superstar tier. He's got the, like

582
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:28,160
Speaker 1: I said yesterday, the best combination of pull up jump

583
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,320
Speaker 1: shooting in downhill scoring that we have in the league.

584
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 1: And he is single handedly turning a rebuilding roster into

585
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 1: one that is a pain in the ask to beat

586
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,840
Speaker 1: on any given night. Yeah, the thunders records not that great,

587
00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,400
Speaker 1: but when you have them on the schedule, if you

588
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,840
Speaker 1: bring a lax effort, you're going to get beat. Number three,

589
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,960
Speaker 1: Tyrese Haliburton. He's gone from interesting young guard to a

590
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,320
Speaker 1: legit offensive engine for an Eastern Conference playoff team, a

591
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:51,840
Speaker 1: good one that's out of the play and they're the

592
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 1: sixth seed right now. Uh this The Pacers score one

593
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 1: point zero five points per possession in both pick and

594
00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 1: roll and ISO for Tyrese Haliburton on Matt volume, he's running.

595
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,200
Speaker 1: He's already run almost eight hundred pick and rolls this year.

596
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,320
Speaker 1: Bottom line, he's that initial advantage creator. He's the one

597
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,080
Speaker 1: that creates that first driving kick, whether it's an ISO

598
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,479
Speaker 1: or pick a roll, to get the team into their

599
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:13,800
Speaker 1: driving kick, and then all those other guards capitalize on

600
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: that advantage. He's my third and most improved player rookie

601
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,239
Speaker 1: of the year. Honestly, it was as clear cut as

602
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:23,640
Speaker 1: it gets. One to three palos, number one seven four shooting,

603
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,800
Speaker 1: which is totally respectable for a young player. He's already

604
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,120
Speaker 1: the sixth best post player in the league, uh to

605
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,000
Speaker 1: run at least seventy five post ups at one point

606
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:33,480
Speaker 1: zero nine points per possession. He's just a man amongst

607
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:37,440
Speaker 1: boys as a rookie, which is really unusual in NBA history.

608
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,400
Speaker 1: Number two and flopping from where we were last time

609
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,800
Speaker 1: because Ben simply played better. Ben Mathurton's that number two

610
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,720
Speaker 1: seventeen points per game on fifty sent tru shooting. He's

611
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,920
Speaker 1: really thriving in that guard heavy past first offense we

612
00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 1: were just talking about with the pacers, but he's doing

613
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:54,680
Speaker 1: most of his work and transition and in spot up situations,

614
00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,080
Speaker 1: which is gonna be a little bit different than what

615
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,560
Speaker 1: we see from Jade and ivy Um. But just in

616
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,800
Speaker 1: the last couple of weeks, they're really starting to iso

617
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,080
Speaker 1: him more and the main reason why is he's getting

618
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 1: by people off the dribble, which again we talked about

619
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,560
Speaker 1: this all the time, but dribble penetration is so valuable

620
00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:10,120
Speaker 1: in the NBA to get teams into rotation. Now right now,

621
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 1: he's not making good reads out of it, which is

622
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,360
Speaker 1: why the numbers aren't great. Like just in the last

623
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,240
Speaker 1: few games, he's running a lot of people over for

624
00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: offensive fouls or um missing layups, doing things around the

625
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,200
Speaker 1: rim because he's not making reads when he gets that

626
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:26,800
Speaker 1: dribble penetration. But it's like a legit huge positive that

627
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,840
Speaker 1: NBA defenders just can't keep Ben Matherin in front, and

628
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,720
Speaker 1: eventually teams are going to find a way. His team

629
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,320
Speaker 1: is going to find a way to weaponize that in

630
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,160
Speaker 1: an on ball roll. As he gets older, his ISOs

631
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,200
Speaker 1: are ticking up closer to one point per possession. That's

632
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,160
Speaker 1: how you can tell. Well, I'm curious to see how

633
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:45,960
Speaker 1: that ends when the season's over. Number three j Nivy

634
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: fifteen points per game on true shooting. Again, completely different

635
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:53,200
Speaker 1: role than Ben mathren about. The two most common play

636
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,000
Speaker 1: types for Ben Mathurin are our spot up situations and

637
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,120
Speaker 1: transition runouts. The most common play type for Ja and

638
00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,520
Speaker 1: Ivy is picking roll. Ever since Kate Kate Cunningham got hurt,

639
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:04,360
Speaker 1: he's running a ton of pick and rolls. He's wearing

640
00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 1: like three and fifty of them this year. He's bad

641
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:08,640
Speaker 1: at it, like he's not doing a good job. But

642
00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:10,960
Speaker 1: it's like he's a young guard and almost every young

643
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,680
Speaker 1: guard is bad at it. So while he's getting thrown

644
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,960
Speaker 1: into the fire on a bad team, you know, Ben

645
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,240
Speaker 1: Mathurin's thriving in a driving kick environment. So I want

646
00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,520
Speaker 1: to be clear, Ben mathurn deserves to be second on

647
00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,400
Speaker 1: this list, but I do think Jade and Ivy is

648
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,840
Speaker 1: a better player. He's just in a tough situation. So

649
00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 1: I just want to make sure that we acknowledge that difference.

650
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,040
Speaker 1: Al Right, guys, that is all I have for today

651
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:32,800
Speaker 1: is always I sincerely appreciate your support. We're gonna be

652
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:36,080
Speaker 1: back tomorrow going over our contender list, kind of like

653
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,040
Speaker 1: a power rankings mixed with just putting into tears again

654
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,440
Speaker 1: like we did before the season. But it's all gonna

655
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,160
Speaker 1: be in one video, um, and then we'll also have

656
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,800
Speaker 1: a probably earlier in the day, a instant reaction video

657
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,320
Speaker 1: to the Warriors return of Steph Curry. Tonight. All right, guys,

658
00:32:52,360 --> 00:33:12,240
Speaker 1: I'll see you tomorrow. The volume