1 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,159 Speaker 1: Alright. So, um, a good friend of mine gave me 2 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:23,799 Speaker 1: some feedback from my last podcast that for those of 3 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: you who follow me on Twitter and jump on these 4 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: live streams, you know a lot about who I am already, 5 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: you've been following me for a while. You have a 6 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: general idea of what my background is, my ideology is 7 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: all that stuff. But to anybody who happens to come 8 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,560 Speaker 1: across my podcast, you don't know anything about who I 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: am and what I'm doing and what the whole point 10 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: of all of this is. And so I'm gonna try 11 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: to do a little bit more of an intro every time. Um. 12 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: For now, I'm just calling it the Jason timp Podcast. 13 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: For those of you don't know me, I'm mostly covering 14 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: the Lakers, but I do all things n b A. 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: I am a basketball fan first and foremost, and uh 16 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: I have my background is that I play basketball in college, 17 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: and uh I have a little bit of experience with 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: the pro scene. And at this point, I'm just a 19 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: guy like you guys who's a big fan of the game, 20 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: a big fan of basketball first and foremost, and and 21 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: I'm the guy who enjoys diving as deep into it 22 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: as all of you guys do. So today I'm gonna 23 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: be primarily focusing on the top ten players in the 24 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: NBA as I see it as of right now. UM. 25 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: Obviously it's just my opinion and it's just a sports take. 26 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: There's absolutely no reason to get upset about it. If 27 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: you disagree with me, I'd love to go back and 28 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: forth with you about it. UM. The other thing I'm 29 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: gonna touch on today is this article that The Athletic 30 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: released where UM, an anonymous agent, basically ripped Clutch Sports 31 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: a new one and primarily focused on how unfair everything 32 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: that they do is, how they've been taking advantage of clients, 33 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: how there have been a lot of clients who have 34 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: lost millions of dollars because of them, and just all 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: in all was a a lengthy complaint fest from UH 36 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: from a competing agent. So I want to touch on 37 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: that for just a second, and then we'll get to 38 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: the top ten players in the league. So first and foremost, 39 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: I think what people need to understand is there's a 40 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: there there's two conflicting you know, UH factors to this case, 41 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: which is first, first of all, the players absolutely have 42 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: a you know, what should be considered their set of rights, 43 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: you know, like the players are are, without a doubt, 44 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: the sole reason this industry exists. If we traded out 45 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: the top four hundred and fifty basketball players in the 46 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: world and made it the next four and fifty players 47 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: in the world, none of you would watch because the 48 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: product would be nowhere near as good. There there is 49 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 1: a distinct reason why we watched the NBA, and it 50 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: primarily starts with the players. So they absolutely have rights 51 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: that we should understand and and we should be perpetually 52 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: trying to make sure the players are treated fairly. That's 53 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: the first part of this. But the flip side of 54 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: it is the NBA is a business which is designed 55 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:18,119 Speaker 1: to maximize those players talents into revenue. There's a big 56 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: reason why so many inventors in the world will sell 57 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: their invention to a company or will allow themselves to 58 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,239 Speaker 1: be bought out early on, and it's because running a 59 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 1: business is very, very hard, and even though you may 60 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: be the guy with the idea or in this case, 61 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: the player with the talent, you may not necessarily have 62 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: the best strategy with which to monetize that idea or 63 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: to monetize that talent. And so there is an important 64 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: conversation to be had about the health of the league 65 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: and how important that is. And that's the one part 66 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: of this that I think gets lost because without a doubt, 67 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: Clutch Sports is doing it right. They are winning, and 68 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: so no one should be criticizing Clutch Sports methods. I 69 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: think Rich Paul is a damn good agent. Absolutely, Lebron 70 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: was his foot in the door. But if you have 71 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: a problem with nepotism, I hate to tell you every 72 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: single person in every single business in America benefits from 73 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: some kind of either nepotism or privilege. It's just part 74 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: of the business. Whether it's your natural talent, whether it's 75 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: you come from money, whether it's race. There's all of 76 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: these different elements that that vault people upward in the world. 77 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: And so guess what, Rich Paul got his start through Lebron. 78 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: But he's also a damn good agent, and so that's 79 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: the reason why he has been as successful as he 80 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: has been. And the end of the day, like power, 81 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: begets more power once it takes power to claim more power. 82 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,039 Speaker 1: And so you know, once Rich had the cloud that 83 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: was brought to him by Lebron, it made it easier 84 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,799 Speaker 1: for him with his skill set to continue to grow 85 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: that power that he had within the league. That to me, though, 86 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: is a separate issue from the fact that we should 87 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: at least consider whether or not it's healthy for the 88 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: league for the players to have so much power. And 89 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about the principle of the matter, because 90 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: the principle of the matter that players should be able 91 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: to pick where they go makes perfect sense, and without 92 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: a doubt, I agree with that principle, but there is 93 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: a question as to whether or not players taking advantage 94 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: of that principle could hurt the overall health of the league, which, again, 95 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: the health of the league itself is the vehicle with 96 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: which these players monetize their talent. That's how they get paid. 97 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: And if the purpose of doing this is to get paid, 98 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: then I think players would be more willing to at 99 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: least confront the idea that that sometimes the league's rights 100 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: or the health of the league can take priority over 101 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: their rights if it ends up leading to them making 102 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: more money. And so the reason why I bring that 103 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: up is, you know, with exception of World Series games 104 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: and specific for chises like the Yankees or the Dodgers 105 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: or the Red Sox, you know, most nationally televised Major 106 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: League Baseball games, no one watches like. They get extremely 107 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: low ratings, particularly in the regular season, because there's absolutely 108 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:18,599 Speaker 1: no uh intrigue to the individual baseball game, if anything, 109 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: gets more of an impart type of experience. And if 110 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: they're they're like, you could be watching your favorite team 111 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 1: in in in May and they could get their ass 112 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: kicked twelve to two and you literally won't care because 113 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: the games just don't carry enough meeting. But Major League 114 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: Baseball has always generated more revenue then the then the NBA, 115 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: and that is strictly because of their regional TV rights. 116 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: The Fox Sports Arizona where I grew up, where we 117 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: watched the d Backs, you know, whether it's you know, uh, 118 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: you know, the Spectrum Sports Nets I think I think 119 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: has the Dodgers in l A whoever it is, or 120 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: the y S Network in New York, those companies because 121 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: they have because baseball is followed so religiously on a 122 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: local level, Major League Baseball has been able to make 123 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: more money than the NBA makes despite not necessarily having 124 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: the national following. Although they do have a tendency to hit, 125 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: you know, with specific teams in the World Series, to 126 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: hit massive numbers, and so that is driven from fierce 127 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: loyalty two teams on a local level. And I'm not 128 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: saying that, you know, an over extension of player empowerment 129 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: will hurt that, I'm saying I don't know, And I'm 130 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: saying I'm interested to see ten years from now, twenty 131 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: years from now, if an overdependence on player empowerment could 132 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: in some way potentially hurt the local fan bases that 133 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: will inevitably be a cash cow for the league in 134 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: years moving forward. And so from that standpoint, like all 135 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 1: I'm saying is we should fiercely defend Clutch. We should 136 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: absolutely point and out that this other agent is as 137 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: effectively a sore loser. But we should also, you know, 138 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: have a conversation about what the NBA needs to look 139 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: like to be the healthiest version of itself so that 140 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: they make the most money later on, because that is 141 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: where it will inevitably trickle down to the players, because 142 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: they're on a revenue split, they will get half of 143 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: every dollar the league makes and that and that's where 144 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: that's the one side of this that I think is 145 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: getting ignored, and I hope people will understand. On that note, 146 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: I want to get started with the uh the top 147 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: ten players in the league. I'm gonna be going down 148 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: from ten to one, and with each guy, I'll kind 149 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,560 Speaker 1: of explain why I have one player over the next. 150 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: I do want to make one change because in two 151 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: podcasts ago, when I did the honorable mention from fifteen 152 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: to ten, I gave the ten spot to Jayson Tatum, 153 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: and I want to change my mind on that. I've 154 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: been thinking about it a lot as all this stupid 155 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: drama has been going on with me apparently being the 156 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: only guy in the world who's not willing to, you know, 157 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 1: like completely lose their mind over Jimmy Butler's NBA Finals performance. 158 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:12,719 Speaker 1: You know, I've been thinking a lot about it, and 159 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: I would like to put Dame in that number ten spot. 160 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: The main reason why is I believe that as an 161 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: offensive player, he's so far superior to the two of them, 162 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: and I value that more so um as a starting 163 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: point for this top ten, I have three things that 164 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,439 Speaker 1: I've consistently valued in basketball. These are the three things 165 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: that I believe matter the most in playing championship basketball, 166 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: and its defensive versatility, isolation scoring, elite isolation scoring against 167 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: elite defenses, and last, but not least, elite high end playmaking, 168 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: so the ability to consistently find holes and defenses that 169 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: don't often have holes. And so as I'm going through 170 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: this list, you'll see me place priority on those specific things. 171 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: So the reason why I gave the ten spot to 172 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: Dame is because of the fact that I view that 173 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: the the honor of being referred to as a ten 174 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: a top ten player in the NBA to be very significant, 175 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:14,960 Speaker 1: and I believe he's earned the right to be in 176 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: this spot. Dame, without a doubt, absolutely must be doubled 177 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: everywhere on the court. If he's in pick and roll, 178 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: you have to trap him because if you go over 179 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: the top, he's going all the way to the basket. 180 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: If you go under the screen, he's going to make 181 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: a three. If you let him work in isolation, he's 182 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:33,839 Speaker 1: going to either beat you to the basket if you 183 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:35,559 Speaker 1: play up on him, or he's going to hit a 184 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: shot in your face if you play off of him. 185 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: He is one of the few players in the league 186 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: that you absolutely must double, and that's something that I 187 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 1: don't think you can say about Tatum and Jimmy, And 188 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: that's the reason why I put Dame above them in 189 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 1: this particular spot. He has clear weaknesses. He's undersized, he's 190 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: uh not a great defensive player by any stretch of 191 00:10:58,000 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: the imagination. In fact, he hurts his team on that 192 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: end of the ball. But on the offensive end, he's 193 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: so ridiculously good at warping defenses with his ridiculous efficiency 194 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: jump shooting and his ability to score out the basket 195 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: that you absolutely must double team him. Now. The reason why, 196 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:16,199 Speaker 1: and I've said this a million times, the reason why 197 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: he's not Steph, the reason why he's ten and not five, 198 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: despite being arguably one of the top tier offensive players 199 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: in the league, is he gives up after he gets 200 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: off the ball. And if you can do what the 201 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: Lakers did, which is get the ball out of Dame's hands, 202 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: He's not going to remain a threat long enough to 203 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: make your rotations tough enough to eventually break down your defense. 204 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: You can make other players make plays off of him, 205 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: and inevitably you can win in a playoff series by 206 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: just getting the ball out of Dame's hands. And that's 207 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: the next step for him. We're gonna get to this 208 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: a lot when I talk about step But Steph is 209 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: so good and almost embracing the double team trying to 210 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: get rid of the ball because he knows he's going 211 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: to get it back, and he can remain engaged in 212 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: the play, which completely butchers the rotations for the defense 213 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: and keeps them in a scramble and makes it that 214 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: much easier to generate quality looks not just for his 215 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: teammates but for him as well. And that's where Dame 216 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: kind of has some limitations. But when I talk about 217 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: those three things, the three things that I value the most, 218 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:25,559 Speaker 1: elite and elite isolation, offense, elite playmaking, and defensive versatility, 219 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: Dame isn't is kind of weak in two of those 220 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: three areas, and that's why I have them all the 221 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: way down at ten and not further up the list. 222 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: So between ten and nine, I have a little bit 223 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: of a gap because I think Dame and then the 224 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 1: other guys from ten to eleven to fifteen or in 225 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,079 Speaker 1: the same tier that's Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiide, Jayson Tatum, 226 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: Chris Paul, and Paul George are kind of all in 227 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:49,559 Speaker 1: that next tier. I think there's a little bit of 228 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: a gap between Dame and the next guy on my list, 229 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: which is Nicola Yokich. So, Nicola Yokits just came off 230 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 1: one of the best upsets in NBA history, and he 231 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 1: is primarily responsible for what happened. He literally it wasn't 232 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: a fluke either. The Clipper defense could not do anything 233 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: with him. There was no adjustment they could make, there 234 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: was no rotation they could figure out. There was no 235 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: player they could play more of to inevitably stop Nicola Yokich. 236 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: She solved their defense. And he is the first guy 237 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: on this list, one of only four in the league 238 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: in my opinion, between him, Luca, Chris Paul, and Lebron 239 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: who are elite high end playmakers. And I'm gonna get 240 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: at this a couple more times in this list, So 241 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: I think it's important to kind of understand. But the 242 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 1: reason why I talked so much about elite high end 243 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: playmaking is people don't understand what elite defense is. Elite 244 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: defense is not I'm locking you up one on one. 245 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: All of the best defenses in the league rely heavily 246 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: on trapping, stunting, doubling, and all other sorts of schemes 247 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: defensively to throw an offense out of rhythm. Think about 248 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,079 Speaker 1: the best defenses from the last two years. You've got 249 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: the Lakers this year, who consistently we're trapping and doubling 250 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: and getting in rotations and uh and just kind of 251 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,680 Speaker 1: being on a string defensively, but they very rarely left 252 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: guys in one on one situations. Look at the Raptors 253 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 1: last year. They famously ran a box in one in 254 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: the finals. The reality is is truly elite high end 255 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: defenses are consistently going to double and trap and scheme 256 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: and do various weird things to try to throw an 257 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: offense at a rhythm. So when you've got a player 258 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: like Nicola Yokich, like Chris Paul, like Lebron, like Luca 259 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: who's not just a good passer, because there's a huge 260 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: difference between being a good passer and being that elite 261 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: high end playmaker that the good. A good passer is 262 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: a guy who sees an open man and who can 263 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: off the dribble or or just quickly make a pass 264 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: out to said open man so that he can make 265 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: a shot. A playmaker is anticipating the move of a 266 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: defense and is actively looking to find those openings. And 267 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: there's such a huge differ between the two of them 268 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: because inevitably what you'll see with those elite, high end 269 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: playmakers is they will find themselves in isolation situations because 270 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: defenses will be terrified to double and terrified to help 271 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: because of the fact that they know that person will 272 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: consistently make you pay for making that mistake. So when 273 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: you've got a guy that when you're going against an 274 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: elite defense that is going to stunt and double and trap, 275 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: then that and that guy will consistently make you pay 276 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: for it every single time. It It loosens up those 277 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: truly elite defenses. And that's why that's such a valuable 278 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: skill in in this NBA. I mean, look at the 279 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: uh the Golden State Warriors last year. That Toronto defense 280 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: is frequently discussed as one of the best defenses ever, 281 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: and the Warriors scored all kinds of points on them. 282 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: They lost that series because they couldn't get stops. They 283 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: did not have issues scoring against that Toronto defense, and 284 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: it has to do with how they were able to 285 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: dissect that elite defense. That getting those elite defense is 286 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: to loosen up and find the holes in him will 287 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: always be, in my opinion, the most important skill in basketball, 288 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: and Yokich is the first guy on this list to 289 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: have that ability. In addition to that he is. He's 290 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: not in that, you know, top tier or even that 291 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: second tier of isolation scoring. But you saw him against 292 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert, and against Anthony Davis, and really against any 293 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: mismatch that he was able to find along the way. 294 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: If you let Yokis work one on one in the post, 295 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: he was gonna get a good shot. I mean, he 296 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: made a game winner in Game seven against Utah over Gobert, 297 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: the shot before the crazy sequence that ended in the UH, 298 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: the Donovan Mitchell turnover, the miss Jeremy Grant layup, and 299 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: then the missed UH Mike Connolly three that started with 300 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: Yokich bullying Gobert underneath the basket and making like a 301 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: scoop shot. He is an unbelievably talented isolation post scorer 302 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: who also happens to be one of the best playmakers 303 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: in the league. And so that's why I have him 304 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: at number ten. His biggest weaknesses and the reason why 305 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: he's behind guys that are in one of him is 306 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: even though he is a really good isolation score, every 307 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: single person I had him on this list is better 308 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: than him at that specific skill and then, uh, defensively, 309 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 1: he still hasn't found that balance to where look like, 310 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,119 Speaker 1: you don't have to be an elite defensive player, but 311 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:17,719 Speaker 1: you have to get to a point where you're not 312 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: actively hurting your team. It wasn't too bad in the 313 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: l A series because the l A spacing wasn't great, 314 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: but the Clippers really victimized him and pick and roll 315 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: because they had a little bit better spacing and they 316 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: actually made Yokis look like he was hurting the team 317 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: at times on the defensive end of the ball. So 318 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: number eight, this is gonna be my most controversial one. 319 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: This is the one that's probably gonna get me yelled 320 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: at by some people. I have James Harden at eight. Yes, 321 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: I have him behind Luca and Janice, and I believe 322 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: this is the lowest that most people would rank him 323 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: over the past few years. The reason why I have 324 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,159 Speaker 1: James Harden at eight is I believe that there is 325 00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: a clear cut, proven, strategic like strategic path to beating 326 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: James Harden a playoff series. There is a consistent track 327 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 1: record of teams employing the same method and it consistently 328 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 1: working on James Harden. And the reason why is because 329 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: he is the most repetitive offensive player that we've seen 330 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 1: in the league. He is a player that consistently will 331 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:23,280 Speaker 1: attack your defense exactly the same way, regardless of what 332 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,920 Speaker 1: you do. He has no versatility in his offensive game. 333 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: It's something that I've talked about at length in the past. 334 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,399 Speaker 1: He initiates everything from the top. He never initiates anything 335 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,919 Speaker 1: from from the corner, or from the post, or from 336 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,080 Speaker 1: the high post, or literally anywhere else on the floor. 337 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: He doesn't do anything off the ball, He doesn't fly 338 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 1: off of screens. He doesn't do anything to initiate his 339 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: offense except for dribble the ball slowly up the court, 340 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,399 Speaker 1: either call for a screen or attack in isolation. And 341 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: they've almost completely taken pick and roll out of his attack. 342 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: He used to do a lot of pick and roll 343 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: with Clint Capella. Now he doesn't even do pick and roll. 344 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: He asks for picks strictly to get switches so that 345 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: he can go to an isolation attack. Now here's the thing. 346 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 1: If you're gonna let him do that, he can put 347 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: up some efficient scoring numbers, but it doesn't factor in 348 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: anything having to do with the rest of his team 349 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: and the way that the impacts their rhythm and it 350 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 1: doesn't effect, and it doesn't account for the fact, then inevitably, 351 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: if you let one defender guard James Harden consistently, he's 352 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,200 Speaker 1: gonna find a way to inevitably slow him down and 353 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: make him less efficient. I've used this example before, but 354 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 1: like if you if any of you guys played one 355 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,680 Speaker 1: on one with me and we were just at a 356 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: park somewhere, chances are in the first fifty possessions I'm 357 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: gonna have a better chance of scoring on you then 358 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 1: I will in the next fifty possessions Because in the 359 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 1: first fifty possessions, you don't know my moves, you don't 360 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: know my tendencies, you don't really know what to expect. 361 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,720 Speaker 1: But if I'm just attacking you from the top of 362 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: the key and like again and again and again, eventually 363 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: you're gonna be like, oh, well, you know, if he 364 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: gets into triple threat, the first thing he's gonna do 365 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 1: is do a jab step, and he's probably gonna try 366 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: to get to his jump shot first. And then he 367 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: if he gets his back to the basket he likes 368 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,879 Speaker 1: to do turnaround over his right shoulder every time, or 369 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,879 Speaker 1: one leg it fade away or whatever it is and 370 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 1: you're just gonna start to sit it on those moves, 371 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: and you'll start to have more success against my isolation 372 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: attack as you see it more and more, and because 373 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: there's no versatility or no variety to the way that 374 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,159 Speaker 1: he's attacking you in isolation, you can see gifted isolation 375 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 1: defenders start to wear on James Harden and start to 376 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,760 Speaker 1: get stops at the end of games and at the 377 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,440 Speaker 1: end of series, and then even a step further than 378 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,719 Speaker 1: that when he is having a lot of success in isolation. 379 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: Double teaming James Harden is a lot easier than it 380 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: is double teaming any other player in the league because 381 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: of the fact that he will back away to half 382 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 1: court and that double team always takes place in the 383 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: same spot on the floor. The reason why it's so 384 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: hard to double team Lebron is because if he's he's 385 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: Sometimes he attacks from the high from the high post, 386 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,640 Speaker 1: sometimes he attacks from the low post. Sometimes he attacks 387 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: off the cut, sometimes he attacks dribbling the ball at 388 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,360 Speaker 1: the floor in isolation. Sometimes he attacks and pick and roll, 389 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: sometimes he attacks with a triple threat. He's literally coming 390 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: at you in every single conceivable way, and so each 391 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,720 Speaker 1: double team presents a different rotation, and so he can 392 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: get you into his scramble and make you pay a 393 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: lot easier. With James Harden, it's almost like it's almost 394 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: like running a drill. It's like you're prepping to guard 395 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: James Harden. Okay, we're gonna double him as soon as 396 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: he crosses half court kind of on the right wing, 397 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: which is where you are, left wing, which is where 398 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: he always brings the ball up the floor, So we 399 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: know that they're gonna have a shooter in each corner. 400 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,199 Speaker 1: They're gonna have a guy on the right wing, and 401 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: they're gonna have a guy that's gonna come up to 402 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,680 Speaker 1: try to set the screen on on James Harden, who's 403 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: gonna kind of drop and do a short roll. So 404 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: when they're when the double team comes, he's going to 405 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: consistently make the past to where the double team is 406 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: coming from, and the defense can effectively say, we're going 407 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: to do the exact same rotation every single time, and 408 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,399 Speaker 1: so over the course of the game, you get really 409 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: good at double teaming James Harden because you know exactly 410 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: where to go, You know exactly if you're rotating, you 411 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,160 Speaker 1: know exactly where your next rotation is and inevitably you're 412 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: gonna get to the point where there's no open shot. 413 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: And the Lakers absolutely mastered this. The Lakers had it 414 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: to the point where double teaming James Harden was still 415 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: leading to contested shots, which is which is not the 416 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 1: Lakers fault. That is literally James Harden making himself easy 417 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: to defend and a big part of that, and you 418 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 1: saw this with Rondo. Rondo would be the guy to 419 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: come over and set that initial double on James Harden 420 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: to get him to give up the ball, and then 421 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: as soon as James Harden would pick up his dribble, 422 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: Rondo would sprint into rotation. He would immediately leave James 423 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: get out on the run and get into that get 424 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: into his next step in the rotation. And so it 425 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: got to the point where teams were having a lot 426 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: of success guarding him in single coverage and in double 427 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,360 Speaker 1: team coverage, and so, like I said, there's a proven 428 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: method to guarding James Harden, and that proven method is 429 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: if you have him in isolation, just put your best 430 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 1: defender on him. Even if he scores a bunch early, 431 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,359 Speaker 1: he's inevitably gonna, inevitably gonna find a way to score late, 432 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: and then if you get him into double teams, he's 433 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: going to consistently walk into the double team in the 434 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: same spot of the floor and then back away from 435 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: the play, and your team will inevitably figure out the 436 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: rotation over time and find out how to slow him down. Now, 437 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: Luca is next, and Luca is also a repetitive basketball player. 438 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,479 Speaker 1: But there's a distinct reason why Luca is better than 439 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,120 Speaker 1: James Harden, and that is he is the next guy 440 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: in that list of truly elite playmakers, guys who are 441 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: seeing one step ahead of the defense, and guys who 442 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: are actively warping defenses with their mind, so to speak. So, 443 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:25,919 Speaker 1: James Harden is a great passer, and he has always 444 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: put up great passing numbers. But James Harden is a 445 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:35,439 Speaker 1: textbook reactionary passer as opposed to an anticipatory passer. James 446 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,439 Speaker 1: Harden wants to shoot, and if you make him pass it, 447 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 1: he will pass it. But Luca wants to get a basket. 448 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: That's all he cares about, and he doesn't care if 449 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,880 Speaker 1: he doesn't shoot for six straight minutes. If the defense 450 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,120 Speaker 1: is giving up open looks for his teammates, he will 451 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: consistently make those reads, because all he's doing is reading defenses, 452 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:03,200 Speaker 1: and that is leading to him shooting sometimes and passing sometimes. 453 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: But he's always one step of the game, that's one 454 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,399 Speaker 1: step ahead of the defense with his mind, and he 455 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,879 Speaker 1: is a willing passer in a way that James Harden 456 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: is not. And so at this point, Luca and Harden 457 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: both present similar conundrums of repetitiveness with their offense. Over 458 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,200 Speaker 1: the course of a game. You're gonna have some success 459 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 1: guarding them in isolation, but Luca is going to have 460 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: a better time if you throw schemes at him. If 461 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,919 Speaker 1: lucas making shots and you start doubling him, Doubling Luca 462 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: is a suicide mission. He's the best player in the 463 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: league not named Lebron at reading defenses when they make 464 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: those sorts of you know, schematic attempts to try to 465 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: get him out of his game. And so yeah, from 466 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: that standpoint, I've got Luca one step ahead of hard 467 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: and strictly based on his playmaking ability, and I have 468 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: him at number seven. Luca's biggest problem is the Luca's 469 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,800 Speaker 1: next step, the step to becoming like from not instead 470 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: of seven in the top two were three in the league, 471 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 1: is one, making himself a net negative or a net 472 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: zero on defense, He's never gonna be an elite defensive player. 473 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,520 Speaker 1: But if he can get to the point where he's 474 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: like Steph Curry, great positional defender, good using his hands, 475 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 1: gets to the point where he's never actively hurting his 476 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,680 Speaker 1: team on defense, and then secondly, just improving as a 477 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: jump shooter, getting to the point where instead of a 478 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: thirty one guy from three, he's more like James Harden, 479 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: a guy who can make him at about thirty six 480 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 1: thirty seven percent from three. Number six. This is one 481 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: that we talked about a lot today on Twitter. Is Janice. 482 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,200 Speaker 1: You know Janice I had going into the last season. 483 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,479 Speaker 1: I had him at number five. And the reason why 484 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: I had him at five and not closer to the 485 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 1: top is I was always a firm believer in the 486 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: fact that his offensive skill set was like absolutely uh 487 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: bounds to be eventually slowed down by elite playoff defenses 488 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: because he didn't have enough versatility on the offensive end 489 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: of the floor. And not only was I right about that, 490 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,120 Speaker 1: I ended up being almost too right about that because 491 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:03,920 Speaker 1: he got he lost to a team that he had 492 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: no business losing to. This year and that was Miami 493 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: I had expect I expected them to make the finals 494 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 1: and end up losing to the Lakers. Um that the 495 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 1: reason why I have Jhannice ahead of the previous four 496 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: guys who are all better offensive players. Dame, uh Yokich, Harden, 497 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,359 Speaker 1: and Luca are all better offensive players than Janice. The 498 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: reason why I have Jhannice at six instead of beneath 499 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,400 Speaker 1: that is the fact that Janice is one of two 500 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: guys in the league, him and Anthony Davis, who are 501 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,400 Speaker 1: capable of what Anthony Davis did this year defensively, which 502 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: is being just an absolute wrecking ball on from all 503 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: five positions. Can't scheme him off the floor like a 504 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,679 Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert. Just absolute wrecking ball of a defensive player. 505 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: That's what Janice is. Janice, if he was he, I 506 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: have Anthony Davis ahead of him, and I'll explain why later. 507 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,439 Speaker 1: But if you slid him into that Laker defense in 508 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 1: the exact same role that Anthony Davis field, he could 509 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: have done what Anthony Davis did on the defensive end 510 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: of the ball, and that's why I have him above 511 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,120 Speaker 1: those other guys. The problem with your honest is similar 512 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: to James Harden. He has a proven method with which 513 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,159 Speaker 1: you can slow him down if you build, if you 514 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: get back in transition, and you build a wall to 515 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,680 Speaker 1: shut off the basket. He's not a good enough passer 516 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: to generate high enough quality looks to make you pay. 517 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,359 Speaker 1: And he's not a versatile enough offensive player to score 518 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,360 Speaker 1: with players in front of him and to score over 519 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:25,439 Speaker 1: the top of people. And that's where he can have. 520 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,679 Speaker 1: Uh that's his biggest shortcoming. You'll notice this as we 521 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: get into the later players on this list. But Janice, 522 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: when he gets schemed out of a playoff series the 523 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 1: way he did against both of these, against Miami and 524 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: against Toronto, not only is he ineffective, he's bad and effective, 525 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,199 Speaker 1: like way below what you would expect from what his 526 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,280 Speaker 1: regular season production is. He was a twenty three point 527 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: a game guy against Toronto in last year's playoffs, and 528 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,400 Speaker 1: if I'm not mistaken, he was even below that this year. 529 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:58,760 Speaker 1: Un terrible efficiency. So from that standpoint, it's not he is. 530 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,680 Speaker 1: When he faces an elite defense with an elite coach 531 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,240 Speaker 1: who's gonna make him counter and do something other than 532 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: bowl his way to the basket, he doesn't have anything 533 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: that he can go to. Now, I've heard a lot 534 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: of talk this is this is one area I'm gonna 535 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,199 Speaker 1: defend your honest and I'm gonna I've heard a lot 536 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,360 Speaker 1: of talk about how people think that he should kind 537 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: of be retooled into a center, that he's miscast as 538 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 1: a perimeter initiator, and I actually disagree with that, because you, 539 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 1: honest can dribble, and you know, I do believe that 540 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: the ability to bring the ball up the floor and 541 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:34,639 Speaker 1: initiative offense herself makes it a lot harder to scheme 542 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: against you, because you can't trapping a guy like that 543 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 1: in the open court as a recipe for disaster, because 544 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: if he happens to get around the trap, you've got 545 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: a huge advantage bowling to the basket like a five 546 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: on three. But Janice certainly has to get better in 547 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: order for that to inevitably work. And I don't think 548 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: Bud or the Bucks front office, or anybody involved in 549 00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: an organization will try to retool him into a center. 550 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,240 Speaker 1: I think that would be a huge mistake because I 551 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: think his ceiling is a lot higher as a perimeter initiator. 552 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,959 Speaker 1: If he is retooled into a center, his peak is 553 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: much lower. His ceiling is lowered to the fourth or 554 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: fifth best player in the league, basically Anthony Davis type 555 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 1: of player, as opposed to if he remains committed to 556 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: this role as a perimeter initiator, but gets better at 557 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: reading defenses, gets better as a passer, gets better at 558 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: scoring over the top of people, he will have a 559 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: ceiling of as the first or second best player of 560 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 1: the league, which I think is the smarter gamble for 561 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 1: Milwaukee or whatever franchise ends up getting honest in the 562 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 1: long run. But I think he's definitively behind everybody else 563 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: on this list strictly because of the fact that, as 564 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: of this moment in time, he's too easy to slow 565 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: down offensively in a playoff series. Alright. Number five Kevin Durant, So, 566 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant is the best scorer in basketball, the best 567 00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: isolation scorer in basketball, and in my and he has 568 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: a legitimate case to be the best isolation score Ever, 569 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: I personally wouldn't pick him. I think I'd take one 570 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:07,800 Speaker 1: or two guys ahead of him in that regard. But 571 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: he has a case for being that guy, the guy, 572 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: the guy that you'd pick in a game of one 573 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: on one over any player in NBA histories, Kevin Durant 574 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: potentially and certainly in today's NBA, and I'm not worried 575 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: about his Achilles injury. I think without a doubt he 576 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: will be um the vast majority of his former self 577 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: coming into this next season. Now, like I said before, 578 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,480 Speaker 1: isolation scoring is one of the three most important skills 579 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 1: that I value as an NBA fan. But Kevin Durant 580 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: has huge weaknesses in the other two areas, and that's 581 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: why I have him at five and not significantly higher 582 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: up on this list. Similar to James Harden, he is 583 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 1: a gifted passer who is not a willing passer. He 584 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: passes out of necessity and he doesn't pacitate. He doesn't 585 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: pass anticipating what the defense is doing. So that's that's 586 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: his first weakness. And then secondly, and I've I've said 587 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,640 Speaker 1: this at length, I believe that Kevin Durant, had he 588 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: embraced the defensive end of the ball from the start 589 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: of his career, could have been a Mount Rushmore type 590 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,360 Speaker 1: of NBA player. He could have been a guy that 591 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 1: we consider the way that we consider Lebron. But the 592 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: problem is he only embraced that side of the ball 593 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,160 Speaker 1: for a year and a half in his career, the 594 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,760 Speaker 1: second half of two thousand sixteen, right around the Thunder 595 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,080 Speaker 1: actually struggling, you know, a few games after the All 596 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 1: Star break, they were a middling team, you know, in 597 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,479 Speaker 1: the standings, and they really took off at the end 598 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: of that year when Kevin Durant embraced the defensive end 599 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,040 Speaker 1: of the ball, particularly as a rim protector. You have 600 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: to remember, Kevin Durant has the defensive skill set of 601 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: a guy like Anthony Davis. He's absolutely huge and long, 602 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 1: and he's incredibly quick. He could be that guy. He 603 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: just has never cared to be that guy. And then 604 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:53,880 Speaker 1: when he went into the Warriors in two thousand and seventeen, 605 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: from start to finish, he was an all defense level 606 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:58,800 Speaker 1: player and that he didn't get an All Defensive selection 607 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: that year, but he deserved one in my opinion, and 608 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: I think it was because he got into that Golden 609 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 1: State culture, and the Golden State culture was predicated on defense. 610 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: I know they have a lot of players who aren't 611 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 1: necessarily known for defense, but that Golden State team was 612 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: a perennial defensive jugger, not in the previous years, and 613 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:18,280 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant kind of got swept up in that culture 614 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,960 Speaker 1: and unleashed an unbelievable defensive season in two thousand seventeen, 615 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 1: but then in two thousand eighteen went right back to 616 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: his old self, a guy who couldn't really care uh 617 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: to be engaged on that end. You know, a guy 618 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 1: who stands upright constantly is reaching in somebody who doesn't 619 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 1: use his physical tools to to imprint the game on 620 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: the defensive end of the ball. Uh. But again, he 621 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: is the best isolation scorer we have in the game. 622 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 1: I think that gives him a leg up on all 623 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: the previous players on this list. I feel very confident 624 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,600 Speaker 1: that he's going to be most of himself coming into 625 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:57,000 Speaker 1: this season. But his inability to really embrace that, you know, passing, 626 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:01,120 Speaker 1: the the inability to embrace playmaking, in his inability to 627 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: embrace his physical tools as a defender, I think are 628 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:06,560 Speaker 1: what have held him back. The best example I can 629 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:11,520 Speaker 1: think of that is the two thousand and nineteen Warriors. So, 630 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: you know, six games or what is it, ten games 631 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 1: into the two thousand nineteen playoffs, Kevin Durant looks like 632 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: the best player in the world. There's absolutely nobody that 633 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: can guard him, and he's absolutely toying with l a 634 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: Clipper defenders and toying with all of the Houston Rocket 635 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: defenders and scoring at a ridiculous efficiency and just just 636 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: looks like the best player in the world. But the 637 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 1: Warriors were six and four in those games. They got 638 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,720 Speaker 1: taken to six by the Clippers, and when he went 639 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 1: down against Houston, the series was to two. And then 640 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 1: immediately after he leaves, Steph takes over the offense percent 641 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 1: of the time and they rank They rack up six 642 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,640 Speaker 1: consecutive wins. They beat Houston in games five and six, 643 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:02,320 Speaker 1: and then they beat the hell out of Portland's four 644 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 1: straight times. And I think there's a distinct reason why 645 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 1: that happened, and it's the fact that isolation offense. While 646 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: it is one of the most important skills in all 647 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:19,759 Speaker 1: of basketball, it is just one element to running a 648 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,920 Speaker 1: successful offense. It is an element of versatility, is an 649 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: element of variety. It is what makes you impossible to 650 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:29,960 Speaker 1: defend as part of a total package of an offense. 651 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,280 Speaker 1: But without a doubt, if you lean entirely on it, 652 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: it comes with huge downsides. It messes with the rhythm 653 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:40,040 Speaker 1: of your team, It messes with defensive focus, because when 654 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,480 Speaker 1: you watch a guy isolate every time, it's hard to 655 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: stay mentally engaged on either end of the floor. And 656 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 1: as you saw with that Golden State offense, they were 657 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:50,640 Speaker 1: far more you know, they were far more free flowing 658 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: and and far more they had a better rhythm when 659 00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: they were running through Steph because Steph's offensive style was 660 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:01,920 Speaker 1: more predicated on keeping everybody involved, bad movement, him scoring 661 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 1: within without the basketball, and a lot more variety, and 662 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:08,360 Speaker 1: it led to their success. Now, Kevin Durant's isolation basketball 663 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,759 Speaker 1: made them unbeatable, especially in two thousand seventeen and two 664 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,879 Speaker 1: thousand eighteen, because when you were able to slow down 665 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: the Steph Curry machine, Kevin Durant was there to be 666 00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:21,400 Speaker 1: that ace in the hole, that unbelievable, you know, trump 667 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: card of versatility to beat those elite defenses. But as 668 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 1: you saw in that two thousand nineteen playoff run when 669 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 1: they would get and even in two thousand eighteen in 670 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:34,719 Speaker 1: the first five games against against Houston, when when they 671 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: would go too heavy leaning on Kevin Durant and isolation, 672 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:40,719 Speaker 1: it actually had a tendency to hurt their offense. And 673 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 1: I think that's a basketball ideology for Kevin Durant that 674 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,839 Speaker 1: is actually a weakness of his. You know, I even 675 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,960 Speaker 1: I heard him in a podcast. Uh I can't remember 676 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,399 Speaker 1: who he was with, but it might have been CAM 677 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:56,919 Speaker 1: with the Elite Media group, but he said basically like 678 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 1: I'm you know. You know that they asked him like, hey, 679 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:01,359 Speaker 1: what are you working on and your you know, time off, 680 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,439 Speaker 1: and He's like, you know, I'm just working one on once. 681 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,600 Speaker 1: You know, I'm all in on this isolation thing. And 682 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: you know, I think Kevin Durant's unwavering faith in isolation 683 00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: basketball has actually kind of turned out to be a 684 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,400 Speaker 1: bit of a weakness for him over the years. And uh, 685 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,439 Speaker 1: you know that that's one of the big reasons why 686 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,719 Speaker 1: I have him beneath players that are in front of 687 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,680 Speaker 1: him on this list. So number four was a hard 688 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: one for me because coming into this process, I thought 689 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:31,600 Speaker 1: he had a case to be number two. But I 690 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: have Anthony Davis at number four, and I know that's 691 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:37,239 Speaker 1: low and I know Laker fans are going to be 692 00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:41,560 Speaker 1: super thrilled with that decision. But the main reason, I'll 693 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:43,440 Speaker 1: start with the bad. The main reason why I have 694 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: Anthony Davis at four instead of higher on the list 695 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:51,319 Speaker 1: is I thought that Eric Spoelstra was able to relatively 696 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:55,360 Speaker 1: easily scheme him out of the finals. Not you know, entirely, 697 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,040 Speaker 1: because he's a top five player, so he's never gonna 698 00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:59,839 Speaker 1: be the kind of guy you can entirely scheme out 699 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:02,200 Speaker 1: of series. But I thought that they were able to 700 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 1: scheme him out of the series in terms of the 701 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 1: way that they were able to guard him in isolation. 702 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,120 Speaker 1: I think Anthony Davis averaged twenty six points per game 703 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:14,040 Speaker 1: on pretty darn good efficiency in the Finals, but most 704 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 1: the vast majority of his baskets came jump shooting and 705 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:20,880 Speaker 1: then out of the dunker spot, and as an offensive rebounder, 706 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:25,400 Speaker 1: they had a very clear defensive strategy of putting a 707 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:29,840 Speaker 1: wing on him instead of Bam, who was extremely strong 708 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,759 Speaker 1: and athletic and quick, that would get underneath him and 709 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,400 Speaker 1: then they would pack the paint, which took away almost 710 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:41,200 Speaker 1: all of Anthony Davis's to the basket isolation moves. And 711 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:42,759 Speaker 1: that's a big part of the real That's a big 712 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,880 Speaker 1: reason why Anthony Davis was mostly schemed out of that 713 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,200 Speaker 1: series as an isolation scorer is he was forced to 714 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:54,080 Speaker 1: rely on taking and making tough contested you know, long 715 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:57,919 Speaker 1: jump shots, particularly from two point range. Now, the reason 716 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,359 Speaker 1: why he's number four is even though he was just 717 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:03,840 Speaker 1: like distinctly schemed out of the series as a driving, 718 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,120 Speaker 1: offensive post up player, he still had twenty six points 719 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:09,479 Speaker 1: on super good efficiency because if you left him open, 720 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,520 Speaker 1: he was making the jump shots. And he was so 721 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:14,799 Speaker 1: dominant as a dunker, especially within their zones, working as 722 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:16,800 Speaker 1: a you know, a catching dunk player in the dunks 723 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:19,320 Speaker 1: in the dunker spot, and then also as an offensive 724 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:21,920 Speaker 1: rebounder when he would really you know, bull especially when 725 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:24,320 Speaker 1: they would go super small and they'd have Andrea Guddala 726 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,720 Speaker 1: on him and Bam would be off the floor. Anthony 727 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:30,080 Speaker 1: Davis killed Miami as an offensive rebounder. And those are 728 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:32,880 Speaker 1: the those are the elements to his offensive game that 729 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,160 Speaker 1: made him better than Janice, because you know, Miami schemed 730 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:39,359 Speaker 1: be honest out of the series and Janice was mostly ineffectual, 731 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,440 Speaker 1: whereas Miami scheme to Anthony Davis out of the series. 732 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,560 Speaker 1: And he still got his twenty six by scoring in 733 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,719 Speaker 1: the limited areas where Miami kind of allowed him to operate. 734 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,839 Speaker 1: And that's why I have him above Janice, and that's 735 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,879 Speaker 1: why I have him above k d or I should say, 736 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:56,640 Speaker 1: the reason why I have him above k d is, 737 00:38:56,680 --> 00:39:00,760 Speaker 1: in addition to his dominant offensive play, ain't nie. Davis 738 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:05,759 Speaker 1: arguably just had the most dominant defensive postseason we've ever seen. Arguably. 739 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:09,080 Speaker 1: I've heard some people bring up two thousand three Tim Duncan. 740 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,080 Speaker 1: I'm sure you could, you know, find some examples from 741 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:17,240 Speaker 1: Bill Russell's career. I tend to separate that era entirely 742 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,279 Speaker 1: from this because it doesn't really resemble this kind of basketball. 743 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,480 Speaker 1: But in my opinion, Anthony Davis just had one of 744 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:27,319 Speaker 1: the best, if not the best defensive postseasons in league history. 745 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:30,160 Speaker 1: He was the cornerstone of that Laker defense that I 746 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:32,480 Speaker 1: thought was the best defense in the league, and I 747 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:35,759 Speaker 1: think that that is a major differentiator between him and 748 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:38,440 Speaker 1: some of the players behind him that are better offensive players. 749 00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:44,440 Speaker 1: Now at number three, I have Kauai, and the reason 750 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:48,360 Speaker 1: why I went with Kauai over Anthony Davis is Kauai 751 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:52,399 Speaker 1: is also one of the best defensive players in the league. 752 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,520 Speaker 1: He's not as good as Anthony Davis. I think if 753 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 1: you're putting in tears of defensive players, you're gonna put 754 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:01,120 Speaker 1: Anthony Davis and Janice and Tier one, and I think 755 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:04,359 Speaker 1: you're gonna put Kauai right there in tier two. And 756 00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:07,520 Speaker 1: from that regard, as I'm counting those three things, the 757 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,319 Speaker 1: elite defensive versatility, Kauai is one of the very best 758 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,560 Speaker 1: players in the league at that. And then Kauai is 759 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 1: also one of the best isolation scorers in the league. 760 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:17,560 Speaker 1: I have him as the second best isolation scorer in 761 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,720 Speaker 1: the league, behind Kevin Durant. He's become such a gifted 762 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:24,120 Speaker 1: mid range score and that's a shot that almost every 763 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,040 Speaker 1: defense in the league gives up. It was the hole 764 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,279 Speaker 1: in the Laker defense. The entire Laker defense was predicated 765 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:32,319 Speaker 1: on shutting off the rim, shutting off the three point line. 766 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:34,800 Speaker 1: And it's what made the Clippers so dangerous to the 767 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,759 Speaker 1: Lakers is that Kauai was so gifted at scoring in 768 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,839 Speaker 1: that mid range area. But Kauai made himself such a 769 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:44,960 Speaker 1: gifted mid range scorer that he was actually, in my opinion, 770 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,920 Speaker 1: just a shade below Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant is a 771 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,839 Speaker 1: clearly better score in my opinion, but it's clearly by 772 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:55,680 Speaker 1: a somewhat smaller margin. And he's so much stronger than 773 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:58,880 Speaker 1: than Kevin Durant that he's capable of kind of bullying 774 00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:01,480 Speaker 1: his way to get closer shots at the basket. He, 775 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,280 Speaker 1: in my opinion, is one of the most underrated scorers 776 00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:07,080 Speaker 1: in the league because it can get ugly sometimes and 777 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,879 Speaker 1: he takes shots that are notoriously inefficient, but he's got 778 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:14,480 Speaker 1: a scoring method that has proven to succeed at the 779 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:17,560 Speaker 1: highest levels. Now, the reasons why, the reason why he's three, 780 00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:20,160 Speaker 1: and the reason why he gave up his proverbial number 781 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:23,200 Speaker 1: one spot last year, and the reason why he fell 782 00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:27,720 Speaker 1: apart in that series against Denver was that Kauai lacks 783 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,640 Speaker 1: offensive versatility passed his isolation scoring. And it's not just 784 00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:36,000 Speaker 1: about his you know, uh playmaking, because it's not just 785 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:39,240 Speaker 1: that he's not an elite playmaker. He's a below average passer, 786 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:41,320 Speaker 1: Like he's not even on the same level as a 787 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:44,160 Speaker 1: James Harden or Kevin Durant as a passer. And so 788 00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 1: from that regard, if you look at game seven, which 789 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:50,920 Speaker 1: is my favorite example of a bad Kauai game, you know, 790 00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:53,200 Speaker 1: he goes I think you know six from twenty two 791 00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:55,240 Speaker 1: or whatever it was that he was for four teen points. 792 00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:59,160 Speaker 1: He when his shot wasn't falling, he had almost no 793 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:01,279 Speaker 1: impact on the offensive end of the ball, almost no 794 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:05,520 Speaker 1: impact whatsoever, and as a result, his team fell apart 795 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,440 Speaker 1: at the seams. And even though he was able to 796 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:11,320 Speaker 1: generate quality shots, It's not like I was taking bad shots. 797 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,120 Speaker 1: It's not like Denver was completely locking him up. It's 798 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:17,319 Speaker 1: just that, guess what, Sometimes guys miss shots, and you 799 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:19,160 Speaker 1: have to have a counter, You have to have something 800 00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,360 Speaker 1: you can do when that's not working. And that's what 801 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:25,040 Speaker 1: definitively puts him below Stephan Lebron, the next two guys 802 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:28,239 Speaker 1: on my list. If I told you tomorrow that you're 803 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:30,920 Speaker 1: that you were gonna watch a Warrior game or you 804 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,320 Speaker 1: were gonna watch a Laker game, and if it was 805 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:35,520 Speaker 1: a Warrior game, I told you, hey, guess what, Steph's 806 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:37,799 Speaker 1: not gonna shoot well. Or if it was a Laker 807 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:39,719 Speaker 1: game and I said, hey, guess what, Lebron's not gonna 808 00:42:39,719 --> 00:42:42,200 Speaker 1: shoot well. Like you know, STEP's gonna go for for 809 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:46,359 Speaker 1: twenty or Lebron's gonna go six for twenty. I still 810 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,640 Speaker 1: feel confident and you should too, that either of those 811 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,560 Speaker 1: players could still be the best player on the floor 812 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:56,680 Speaker 1: in that situation and in all likelihoods still win because historically, 813 00:42:56,719 --> 00:43:00,880 Speaker 1: in Steph's career, despite shooting poorly, he wore defense is 814 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,439 Speaker 1: so much with his ability to draw attention even when 815 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:06,600 Speaker 1: he's like Steph is the guy that could go over 816 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,720 Speaker 1: nine from three and the defense is still psychotically chasing 817 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:12,759 Speaker 1: him around the floor. And Lebron is that guy that 818 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 1: can be missing his jump shots, but he's so physically 819 00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:18,600 Speaker 1: powerful around the rim that he's still gonna make six 820 00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:21,239 Speaker 1: or seven or eight fuel goals. And he's such a 821 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:23,799 Speaker 1: gifted passer that he's going to have an impact on 822 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:27,399 Speaker 1: the game, warping defenses with his playmaking that he can 823 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,920 Speaker 1: have a game where you know how many Lebron has 824 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:33,040 Speaker 1: so many games in his career where he cannot make 825 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:34,600 Speaker 1: a jump shot and he's still the best player on 826 00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:38,359 Speaker 1: the floor. It's unbelievable. And Steph Curry the exact same thing, 827 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:41,719 Speaker 1: whereas with Kauai, you have Game seven against Denver where 828 00:43:41,719 --> 00:43:44,240 Speaker 1: it's like, oh my god, he can't make a three, 829 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,640 Speaker 1: Oh my god, he can't make his turnaround fade away 830 00:43:46,719 --> 00:43:49,360 Speaker 1: jump shots in the post, and he just can't do 831 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:52,080 Speaker 1: anything on offense, and now the wheels are coming off. 832 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:55,440 Speaker 1: And that's the key difference between the top tier players 833 00:43:55,960 --> 00:44:00,200 Speaker 1: and Kawhi Leonard is that versatility on offense, the ability 834 00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:03,440 Speaker 1: to impact games when their shots aren't falling. So number two, 835 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,000 Speaker 1: I have Steph, and I think the most important thing 836 00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:08,719 Speaker 1: to understand here is, you know, Steph is not that 837 00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:13,320 Speaker 1: elite high end playmaker that Lebron and Yokich and Luca 838 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:17,399 Speaker 1: and CP three are. But what he is is he's 839 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,760 Speaker 1: the best off ball player in the league. And because 840 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:23,439 Speaker 1: you have to double team him all the time, and 841 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:26,920 Speaker 1: he can if he sprints to the corner, teams will 842 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:29,840 Speaker 1: double team him without the ball, which is unlike anything 843 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:31,880 Speaker 1: you see from any other player in the league. That 844 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:38,160 Speaker 1: is his version of elite high end playmaking. His gravity, 845 00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:40,920 Speaker 1: which I've made fun of over the years because it's 846 00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:44,759 Speaker 1: kind of been used as, you know, a differentiator, which 847 00:44:44,800 --> 00:44:47,160 Speaker 1: it is, but there are other players that have varying 848 00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:50,640 Speaker 1: forms of gravity. But Steph's gravity and his ability to 849 00:44:50,719 --> 00:44:54,000 Speaker 1: draw defensive attention off the ball even when he's not 850 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:57,759 Speaker 1: making shots is his version of elite high end playmaking. 851 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,480 Speaker 1: Because the whole purpose of elite high end play making 852 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:04,640 Speaker 1: is to generate quality looks. If you're Lebron, you're trusting 853 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:07,920 Speaker 1: that k CP Rondo, Danny Green, you know, Anthony Davis 854 00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:10,040 Speaker 1: if you leave them open that over the course of 855 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:12,919 Speaker 1: a seven game series, they're gonna make enough shots to win. Right, 856 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:17,799 Speaker 1: And he does it with his passing. Steph Curry does 857 00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,120 Speaker 1: it with his gravity. So the point is is like 858 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,520 Speaker 1: Steph is basically saying, if I stay engaged off the ball, 859 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:26,280 Speaker 1: if I constantly stay on the move and I constantly 860 00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:29,319 Speaker 1: stay a threat even if I'm not shooting well, my 861 00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:32,399 Speaker 1: teammates are gonna get such high quality looks that over 862 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:34,879 Speaker 1: the course of a seven game series, they're gonna make 863 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,960 Speaker 1: enough shots to win. And that's that key differentiator for him. 864 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,960 Speaker 1: So he and he has made himself, to his credit, 865 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:47,120 Speaker 1: an average to slightly above average defensive player through positional awareness, 866 00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:49,880 Speaker 1: being in the right space of place at the right time, 867 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:53,279 Speaker 1: always playing his role within the scheme. And then he 868 00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:55,840 Speaker 1: also has an underrated size, like for a for a 869 00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:58,480 Speaker 1: guy who's a small guard, you know by a reputation, 870 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:01,640 Speaker 1: he's six ft three and he's reasonably strong that you 871 00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:04,239 Speaker 1: can't just completely bully him to the basket every time. 872 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:07,120 Speaker 1: He's not an elite defensive player, and that's the reason 873 00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:10,479 Speaker 1: why I have Lebron above him, But he does bring 874 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:14,600 Speaker 1: enough on that end to make him like distinctly above 875 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:19,400 Speaker 1: the players beneath him, like Luca, like Kevin Durant, like 876 00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:23,480 Speaker 1: like Nicola Yokichen, like Dame Lillard, that he that he's 877 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:25,840 Speaker 1: not a total negative net negative on that side of 878 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:32,200 Speaker 1: the floor. Now Lebron Lebron, in my opinion, has separated 879 00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:35,880 Speaker 1: himself as the only guy on the first tier of 880 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:39,040 Speaker 1: basketball players. Going into this last season, I had him 881 00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:42,799 Speaker 1: in the same tier as Steph Kauai and Kdi and 882 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:45,319 Speaker 1: now I have him in a tier by himself. And 883 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:48,520 Speaker 1: the reason why if one of you disagree, I'd be 884 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:51,680 Speaker 1: happy to hear it. He is the only player in 885 00:46:51,719 --> 00:46:54,759 Speaker 1: the top ten players list that I just mentioned who 886 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:58,360 Speaker 1: is an absolute monster in all three of those categories 887 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:03,160 Speaker 1: that I mentioned. He is absolutely defensively versatile when he's engaged. 888 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:04,920 Speaker 1: He's one of the top ten defenders in the league 889 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:07,520 Speaker 1: still to this day he's about to turn thirty six 890 00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:10,319 Speaker 1: years old. He can guard every single position you can 891 00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:13,120 Speaker 1: put him in any defensive scheme, and he is capable 892 00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:14,920 Speaker 1: of impacting a game on the defensive end of the 893 00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:17,080 Speaker 1: floor with the best players in the league. He put 894 00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:21,120 Speaker 1: on an unbelievable shot blocking clinic in this postseason, not 895 00:47:21,239 --> 00:47:24,080 Speaker 1: in terms of numbers, but just in crazy rescue plays. 896 00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:27,080 Speaker 1: He's a great back line defender protecting the rim. He's 897 00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:29,200 Speaker 1: very he's still very latter, really quick, and can guard 898 00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:31,480 Speaker 1: on the perimeter. He can guard in the post. He 899 00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:35,720 Speaker 1: is incredibly defensively versatile. Then, as I just said about 900 00:47:35,719 --> 00:47:39,799 Speaker 1: everybody else, about Luca and about your kitchen, about CP three, 901 00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:43,640 Speaker 1: he is the very best elite high end playmaker in 902 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:47,239 Speaker 1: the league. He is the best player in the league 903 00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:53,200 Speaker 1: in my opinion, at consistently making defensive defenses pay for 904 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:56,560 Speaker 1: for doubling or for shading in his direction. One of 905 00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:58,640 Speaker 1: my favorite players in Lebron's career was in the two 906 00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:02,359 Speaker 1: thousand seventeen first round series against Indiana. It's Game three. 907 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:06,200 Speaker 1: Indiana gets out to huge first half lead and Lebron 908 00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:08,960 Speaker 1: leads a massive comeback in the second half while Kyrie 909 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:11,880 Speaker 1: and Kevin Lover actually on the bench, and there's a 910 00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:15,360 Speaker 1: sequence where Paul George is trying to score on Himan 911 00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:18,640 Speaker 1: Chumpert from the from the free throw line, and he's 912 00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:20,400 Speaker 1: kind of got his back turned to him and he 913 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:21,919 Speaker 1: does like a dribble and tries to do a pull 914 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:25,160 Speaker 1: up Aimon Chumppert strips him and on the play he 915 00:48:25,280 --> 00:48:29,760 Speaker 1: kicks it ahead to Lebron and George Hill is standing 916 00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:33,360 Speaker 1: between Monte Ellis, excuse me, is standing between Lebron and 917 00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:37,320 Speaker 1: the rim, and Lebron is freight train to the basket 918 00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:41,080 Speaker 1: going for a dunk and kauai uh and uh. Kyle 919 00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:45,680 Speaker 1: Korver's running along the right wing, and Monte Ellis literally 920 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:49,360 Speaker 1: abandons the paint to sprint out to the three point 921 00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:52,239 Speaker 1: line to guard Kyle Korver and he doesn't even have 922 00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:55,200 Speaker 1: the ball. Lebron has the ball, so you can guess. 923 00:48:55,239 --> 00:48:57,440 Speaker 1: Lebron goes down the lane and throws down a ridiculous 924 00:48:57,440 --> 00:49:00,319 Speaker 1: tomahawk dunk, and I believe it was the lead changing shot, 925 00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:02,239 Speaker 1: the one that put the Calves in the lead for 926 00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:05,919 Speaker 1: good from that point forward. And that is the embodiment 927 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:09,600 Speaker 1: of the Lebron James gravity effect for him, you know, 928 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:12,759 Speaker 1: for Steff, it's the gravity that players will sprint to 929 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:16,239 Speaker 1: guard staff even though he doesn't have the ball. And 930 00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:19,799 Speaker 1: for Lebron, it's defenders will sprint to guard shooters that 931 00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:22,680 Speaker 1: don't have the ball because they're terrified that Lebron will 932 00:49:22,719 --> 00:49:25,560 Speaker 1: pass to them, and that that is what separates him 933 00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:28,160 Speaker 1: from every single passer in the league is he is 934 00:49:28,239 --> 00:49:32,600 Speaker 1: so consistently committed to making the right read into making 935 00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:36,799 Speaker 1: defenses pay for helping that he will cause defenses to 936 00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,880 Speaker 1: literally refuse to double team him and to sprint out 937 00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:41,799 Speaker 1: to shooters that don't even have the ball, and to 938 00:49:41,880 --> 00:49:44,000 Speaker 1: constantly be looking behind their head to see who might 939 00:49:44,040 --> 00:49:47,279 Speaker 1: be open because they think Lebron might pass it to them. 940 00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:49,319 Speaker 1: And that's what separates him in that area. And then, last, 941 00:49:49,320 --> 00:49:52,239 Speaker 1: but not least, Lebron is not the best scorer in 942 00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:55,600 Speaker 1: the league, but he's in that tier. He is. I mean, 943 00:49:55,719 --> 00:49:59,680 Speaker 1: once again, another postseason run where he's twenty eight points 944 00:49:59,719 --> 00:50:03,200 Speaker 1: again game um, like fifty six percent shooting and like 945 00:50:03,239 --> 00:50:06,840 Speaker 1: thirty eight from three. And you can't leave him on 946 00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:09,440 Speaker 1: an island in isolation because he'll bully you on the post. 947 00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:11,880 Speaker 1: If you go underneath screens, he can hurt you by 948 00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:15,560 Speaker 1: making enough threes over the top. He can score in 949 00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:17,680 Speaker 1: the high post, he can score in the low post, 950 00:50:17,719 --> 00:50:20,840 Speaker 1: he can score in transition, he can score and semi transition. 951 00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:23,880 Speaker 1: He can score in every conceivable way, and he attacks 952 00:50:23,880 --> 00:50:26,600 Speaker 1: you from all these different places on the floor. So 953 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:28,880 Speaker 1: there is not a single player on that list that 954 00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:31,799 Speaker 1: I mentioned that can say all three things. That they 955 00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:37,239 Speaker 1: are elite defensive versus defensively versatile players, that they are 956 00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:41,279 Speaker 1: elite isolation scorers, and that they are elite high end playmakers. 957 00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:44,480 Speaker 1: And Lebron's ability to check all three of those boxes 958 00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:47,560 Speaker 1: is what makes him the hardest player in NBA history, 959 00:50:47,560 --> 00:50:50,640 Speaker 1: in my opinion, to beat four times, because he's so 960 00:50:50,840 --> 00:50:53,560 Speaker 1: versatile and he can beat you in so many different ways, 961 00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:56,160 Speaker 1: and that is the reason why he is, in my opinion, 962 00:50:56,239 --> 00:50:58,600 Speaker 1: separated himself from the rest of the league right now 963 00:50:58,880 --> 00:51:01,359 Speaker 1: and has put himself in a year by himself. He's 964 00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:03,879 Speaker 1: the only guy on that list who can do all 965 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:06,600 Speaker 1: three of those things at an extremely high level. So 966 00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:13,640 Speaker 1: um instimmation one Lebron to Steph three, Kauai four, a 967 00:51:13,800 --> 00:51:18,960 Speaker 1: D five, Kevin Durant sixty, Honest seven, Luca eight, James 968 00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:25,680 Speaker 1: Harden nine, Nicola Yokich ten, Damian Lillard. So um, Like 969 00:51:25,719 --> 00:51:27,439 Speaker 1: I said, this is a this is a horse race. 970 00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:31,480 Speaker 1: It's constantly moving, it's effectively frozen until basketball starts, which 971 00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:33,160 Speaker 1: I guess is gonna be on Martin Luther King Day, 972 00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:35,640 Speaker 1: so middle of January, so less than three months from now. 973 00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:38,320 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, I always think we should react 974 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,920 Speaker 1: to new information, but this is where I stand right now, 975 00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:43,480 Speaker 1: and if I'm picking, you know, players with which to 976 00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:45,960 Speaker 1: try to win a championship, this is the order in 977 00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:48,719 Speaker 1: which I would pick them. Alrighty, I'm gonna take a 978 00:51:48,760 --> 00:51:51,320 Speaker 1: quick pick to see if we have any questions. Here 979 00:52:06,320 --> 00:52:13,480 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff about Kevin Duran's defense logan. Thank 980 00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:15,400 Speaker 1: you for the kind words, man, I really appreciate it. 981 00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:20,799 Speaker 1: I obsessed about it as all crazy basketball fans do. UM. Alright, 982 00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:22,359 Speaker 1: so I don't see any questions as of right now, 983 00:52:22,400 --> 00:52:24,479 Speaker 1: so I think I'm gonna call it a day. But again, 984 00:52:24,520 --> 00:52:27,279 Speaker 1: thank you guys so much for tuning in. UM. You know, 985 00:52:27,440 --> 00:52:28,960 Speaker 1: I noticed that a bunch of you have taken the 986 00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:31,600 Speaker 1: time to review my podcast or to rate my podcast, 987 00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:34,040 Speaker 1: and I really appreciate that. UM, for those of you 988 00:52:34,080 --> 00:52:36,160 Speaker 1: who have been listening, if you would take the time 989 00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:38,000 Speaker 1: to write a review, it would mean a lot to 990 00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:41,799 Speaker 1: me on a personal level. UM. Like I said, this 991 00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:44,200 Speaker 1: is fun. This is already the third episode, not even 992 00:52:44,239 --> 00:52:46,600 Speaker 1: counting all the live episodes that we've done in the past. 993 00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:49,479 Speaker 1: So I just want to say, um, thank you again 994 00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:51,440 Speaker 1: to you guys. I hope you guys understand how much 995 00:52:51,440 --> 00:52:54,880 Speaker 1: I appreciate you. And my next step is going to 996 00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:58,480 Speaker 1: be to have Tommy Hop on the podcast to argue 997 00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:01,320 Speaker 1: with me about this list, to argue with me about 998 00:53:02,680 --> 00:53:05,200 Speaker 1: what I said about Lebron James the other day, and 999 00:53:05,280 --> 00:53:06,919 Speaker 1: just to have a good back and forth debate because 1000 00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:08,960 Speaker 1: he's usually a guy who disagrees with me on stuff. 1001 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,160 Speaker 1: I have to figure out some logistics stuff about how 1002 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:13,560 Speaker 1: I'm going to get that to work with the recording, 1003 00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:16,120 Speaker 1: but I should be able to figure it out with 1004 00:53:16,160 --> 00:53:18,480 Speaker 1: all the information that's online. But again, you guys, have 1005 00:53:18,520 --> 00:53:19,840 Speaker 1: a good rest to your night, and I'll see you 1006 00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:21,560 Speaker 1: guys later this week or early next week.