1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: The volume, blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: octane world of sports. Vice Sports brings an exciting and 3 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: diverse range of programming that goes beyond the game. From 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: action pack live events to gripping behind the scenes documentaries, 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,759 Speaker 1: to hard hitting investigative pieces and in depth profiles of athletes, coaches, teams. 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: Vice Sports captures the raw energy, drama, and passion that 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: makes sports truly unforgettable. Catch live events and other exclusive 8 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: sports programs only on Vice Tv. Go to vicetv dot 9 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: com to find your cable channel. 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 2: The NBA eighty two game grind is done. Now the 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,959 Speaker 2: real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs are here and it's 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 2: time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments, and 13 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 2: jaw dropping plays. I can't wait. If you're looking to 14 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 2: make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has you 15 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 2: covered as an official sports betting partner of the NBA 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 2: from the playing games all the way through to the finals. 17 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 2: Now's the time to back your favorite players and teams 18 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 2: as they chase glory. All season long. 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Very 45 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 2: excited to break down Game seven of the Warriors and 46 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 2: the Rockets. Is the Warriors advance. We also got Game 47 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 2: one of Cavs Pacers, a very interesting game where the 48 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,639 Speaker 2: Pacers threw a great punch. Sorry for the delay getting 49 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 2: over here tonight. I had to work with mister Colin 50 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 2: Cowherd tonight. He's the boss mans. You never say no, 51 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 2: But I broke down a bunch of stuff with him 52 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 2: about the first round on his show that you guys 53 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 2: will see on the Volumes feed later. But I really 54 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 2: wanted to take some time to get into the nitty 55 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 2: gritty of what happened tonight. So we're gonna do that 56 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 2: on today's show. After we hit the two games at 57 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 2: the tail end, I'm gonna go through each of the 58 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 2: eight first round series and talk about the biggest thing 59 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 2: that I learned through those series. When we finish up 60 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 2: here tonight, after we get through those three segments, we're 61 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 2: gonna head over to playback. Over on playback, we're gonna 62 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 2: start talking about Minnesota versus Golden State first round. We're 63 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: gonna go through some film. We're gonna take questions from 64 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 2: you guys. You're gonna get to come up on the stage. 65 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 2: So if you're not already set up on playback, make 66 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 2: sure you guys get set up over there on the 67 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 2: Hoops Tonight channel. As soon as we wrap up here 68 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 2: live on YouTube, we're heading over. I hope you guys 69 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 2: will come hang out for another forty five minutes as 70 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 2: we do some more stuff to talk some hoops and 71 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 2: watch some film. So you guys on the Joe before 72 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 2: we get started, subscribe to the Hoops and Not YouTube 73 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 2: channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. 74 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 2: Follow me on Twitter at underscore json LTS. You guys 75 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 2: don't miss show announcement, So forget about a podcast feed 76 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 2: where you get your podcast on our Hoops Tonight. It's 77 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 2: also super helpful if you leave a rating in a 78 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: review on that front. Don't forget about social media feeds 79 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 2: on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, where're making content throughout the 80 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 2: remainder their season. Follow us there the last but not least, 81 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 2: keep dropping mail bag questions in the YouTube comments. So 82 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 2: after Game six, I talked about two things that would 83 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 2: need to go right in order for the Warriors to 84 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 2: win Game seven. One day would need to get alpurn 85 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 2: Shanghun and Fred Van Vliet under control. Those guys went 86 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 2: for an efficient fifty points in Game six, and two 87 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 2: they would need to get Steph going as a scorer 88 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 2: because even though we can create advantages, because Houston can 89 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 2: tighten the screws the way they do, He's really the 90 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 2: only guy who can save them when Houston's really in 91 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 2: that type of groove defensively. We talked about this a 92 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 2: lot after Game six. You can't point to Moses Moody 93 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 2: to save you. You can't point to Brandon Pajemski to save you, 94 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 2: even like with Buddy Heal's hot shooting in the first half. 95 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 2: In that third quarter, it ultimately came down to Steph 96 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 2: and his ability to generate offense against an elite, momentous 97 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 2: attack from Houston. They took the first piece, they took 98 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 2: care of that for piece right away. Right Draymon had 99 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 2: his best defensive game of the series in my opinion. 100 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 2: He had Shangoon in jail. His attempts close to the 101 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 2: rim looked super disrupted. He had some bad misses there. 102 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 2: He was beating Shangun to spot so cleanly in the 103 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 2: second half that he kept settling for that stupid one 104 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 2: leg fade away that he was either shooting way over 105 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 2: the back of the rim or way short of the 106 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 2: front of the rim. Draymon had him completely flustered defensively 107 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:27,919 Speaker 2: in that game. I want to give Kevon Looney some 108 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 2: credit there to Kevon Luony has been great, but Draymond again, 109 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 2: this has been a tough offensive series form. If you 110 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 2: look at the way that the floor is set up, 111 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 2: because they put Fran van Vliet on Draymond so that 112 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 2: they can switch to Steph Draymond pick and roll. That 113 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 2: took away Draymon's best piece of offensive utility for this team, 114 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 2: which is connective playmaking leading those four on threes out 115 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 2: of Steph Curry traps. But because they're just switching any 116 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 2: screen with Draymon, it put him into a position where 117 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 2: he was more of a spot up shooter, which by 118 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 2: the way, he did hit a couple of big threes 119 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 2: early in this game. But Draymond was in a tough 120 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 2: position offensive in the series, and so it wasn't going 121 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 2: to be a big box score series. That's a lot 122 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 2: of Warriors fans saying like, oh, we're gonna, you know, 123 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 2: take a look at Draymond after this series because he's 124 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 2: not producing. It's like this was never going to be 125 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 2: the series where he produced offensively because of the way 126 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:17,559 Speaker 2: Houston matched up. They kept their three switchiest defenders on Draymond, Jimmy, 127 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 2: and Steph to try to neutralize any two man game 128 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: with those two, so that you'd have to play two 129 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 2: man game with whoever else was on the floor. But 130 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 2: Draymond did an amazing job defensively in the series and 131 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,719 Speaker 2: gained control over one of the biggest problems they were having, 132 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 2: which was Shang Gooon. Over the course of the series, 133 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 2: all of their guards did a fantastic job on Fred 134 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 2: van Vliet. Those guys held They held Fred and Shang 135 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 2: Gun together to thirty eight points on thirty six shots, 136 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 2: so very inefficient lower volume, and most of the damage 137 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 2: that those two did was in the fourth quarter after 138 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 2: Golden State had already taken control of the game. And 139 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,559 Speaker 2: that really, ultimately was why I never flipped my pick 140 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,720 Speaker 2: away from Golden State in this series. I just felt 141 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 2: like Golden State could this offense if they ever needed to. 142 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 2: I just figured they would have done it on Friday. 143 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 2: I'm sure in the Warriors' locker room they're like, we 144 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 2: should have done this on Friday, you know, give themselves 145 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 2: a little bit of extra time. But they brought their 146 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 2: requisite intensity and energy defensively tonight and they strangled Houston 147 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 2: and that bought them quite a bit of margin for 148 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 2: air on Steph scoring. Steph goes scoreless for almost the 149 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 2: entire first half, but it didn't matter because Buddy Heald 150 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 2: was incredible. Now, those of you guys who were on 151 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 2: playback with me after Game six, we talked about this 152 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 2: specific thing. Steve Kurlean heavily into Gary Payton in Game six, 153 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 2: and I think it might have had something to do 154 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 2: with foul trouble for Buddy Heald, but he just went 155 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 2: away from Buddy Heeld. His minutes were super low, and 156 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 2: they really really struggled offensively in that game. Right, But 157 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 2: in this particular game, and maybe it was Gary Payton 158 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 2: being sick. Maybe it was an adjustment from Steve Kerr, 159 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 2: but we talked in the playback after Game six. The 160 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 2: numbers clearly showed in this series that the Warriors were 161 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 2: substantially better with Buddy Healed on the floor as a 162 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 2: complimentary offensive piece than Gary Payton as complimentary defensive pace. 163 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 2: I'm a huge Gary Payton fan. I just think this 164 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 2: was a tough matchup for him. I was texting with 165 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 2: Jackson earlier today. Jackson made a very interesting point. He 166 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 2: was talking about how like in this matchup, because you're 167 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 2: not as worried about Houston's guards doing a ton of 168 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 2: damage just with like unbelievable star level talent, he doesn't 169 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 2: have as much upside defensively in the series, and then 170 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 2: the offensive limitations are still there. Gary Payton had moments 171 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 2: in this series. He won a game in this series 172 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 2: slipping out of ball screens right as we talked about. 173 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 2: I think that was Game four. I remember it was 174 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 2: either Game three or Game four. I can't remember one 175 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 2: of the two in Golden State. But overall in this series, 176 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 2: the team fared better with Buddy Heeled on the floor. 177 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 2: They leaned more into him, tonight. It's that complimentary scoring, 178 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 2: Like if Steph's gonna get face guarded and double teamed 179 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 2: off of ball screens, there's a lot of space to operate. 180 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 2: But he got a lot of clean looks and he 181 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 2: was able to benefit off that. He had thirty three 182 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 2: points on fifteen shots. But Houston made a run Iyande, 183 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 2: a run that started in the late second half, extended 184 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 2: into the excuse me a late first half, and extended 185 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 2: into the early second half. Houston cut the lead down 186 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 2: to three, and they tightened the screws and Buddy wasn't 187 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 2: getting open and Jimmy wasn't getting open, and Steph was 188 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 2: really the only guy who was going to be able 189 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 2: to save them in that spot, and right when they 190 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 2: needed him too, he got going. He had twenty two points, 191 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 2: but that's underselling it because almost well all of that 192 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 2: came over the final two quarters. In change. He had 193 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 2: a little pull up three, a deep pull up three 194 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,319 Speaker 2: in the late first half, but all of those twenty 195 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 2: two points came basically over the last you know, roughly 196 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 2: twenty five to twenty six minutes of the game. He 197 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,319 Speaker 2: started working primarily on the ball instead of running through 198 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 2: off ball action. There was a lot of high pick 199 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: and roll, a lot of high ISO and those of 200 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 2: us who have been following the Warriors over the last decade, 201 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 2: we know that's the break glass in case of emergency 202 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 2: approach for the Warriors when things get really tough on offense, 203 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 2: and it's just the advantage of Steph. Steph can default 204 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,079 Speaker 2: into high ballscreen attack when he needs to, and he 205 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 2: did an amazing job of it. Down the stretch, attacked 206 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 2: Jabari Smith and an ISO and was able to shake 207 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 2: him and get downhill all the way to the basket 208 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 2: for a layup. Take that little piece and file it 209 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 2: away from the Minnesota matchup because Steph is definitely more 210 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 2: comfortable against taller athletes than he is against the load 211 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 2: of the ground athletes, which is something to keep in mind. 212 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 2: But he was the shot making was there, he was 213 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 2: getting to the rim consistently. Steph just completely took over 214 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 2: the game and Houston was never able to recover from it. 215 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 2: Like guys, this is why I hold stars to that standard, 216 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,319 Speaker 2: especially when it's their role on that team. I knew 217 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 2: Steph was capable of this. This is what he does 218 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,200 Speaker 2: better than just about anybody in the world, and it 219 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 2: wasn't gonna be Moses Moody save in them. It wasn't 220 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 2: gonna be Brandon Pajemski saving them. It was gonna be Steph. 221 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 2: It had to be Steph, and Steph took that responsibility 222 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 2: seriously and came through for his team, especially when that's 223 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 2: your role. Like you know, it's like I, you want 224 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 2: to know why I was really critical of Lebron after 225 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 2: Game seven or excuse me, game five of their first 226 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 2: round series because he wasn't rebounding. I wasn't as critical 227 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 2: of him in the Game four loss because he only 228 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 2: took two shots in the fourth quarter. His job wasn't 229 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 2: to score on that team. It was Luca's job. Luca 230 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 2: wasn't doing his job. In Game five, the Wolves kicked 231 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 2: the shit out of the Lakers on the glass. Lebron's 232 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 2: the one guy who was capable of anchoring them on 233 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 2: the defensive glass, and it was him that I was 234 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 2: seeing that was letting go of the rope and not 235 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 2: doing his job. He's the star, he has the superpower. 236 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,840 Speaker 2: He's the one guy who could save them in that spot, 237 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 2: and he couldn't do it that Luca in that Game four. 238 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 2: He's the one guy who can create the offense against 239 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 2: that elite defense and save the day. This is why 240 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 2: I always look at stars before coaches, stars before role players. 241 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 2: This is a unique sport in that in this sport, 242 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 2: your superpower is your superpower is your superstars. They are 243 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 2: the one being an entity on the court that can 244 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 2: circumvent the surrounding circumstances. And when all hell broke loose 245 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 2: tonight and Houston was making their run and a men 246 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,680 Speaker 2: Thompson's getting downhill with a rim every single time, Steph 247 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 2: Curry took over the game. And when he took over 248 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 2: the game, everyone else was helpless and the Warriors immediately 249 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 2: pulled away. They immediately pulled away. And so those two 250 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 2: dynamics that needed to flip the defense on Fred and 251 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,199 Speaker 2: Alburn and then the scoring for Steph Curry, they flipped. 252 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 2: Warriors are able to flip the dynamic that took place 253 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 2: over the other two games. I thought Jimmy was great 254 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 2: again tonight. He hit a lot of stabilizing shots. He 255 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 2: went on a little solo run in the fourth quarter 256 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 2: that helped stiff arm the Rockets. I want to shout 257 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 2: out Steve Kerr. I thought he coached a great series 258 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 2: and I thought he played every right card in game seven, 259 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:58,959 Speaker 2: increasing Buddy Heels minutes like we talked about, although that 260 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 2: might have had something to do with Garry hate and 261 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 2: being sick. He played Kevon Looney instead of quinning post, 262 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 2: which I thought was a really smart move after how 263 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 2: they just got bludgeoned on the glass in game six. 264 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:10,599 Speaker 2: You needed to lean more towards rebounding. That was a 265 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 2: really smart decision. Loony also had some really good defensive 266 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 2: possessions on Shangun. He had some adjustments for the zone. 267 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 2: We talked about that after game six, like they really 268 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 2: struggled against the zone in the fourth quarter. They just 269 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 2: had some innovative stuff. You know, there was a possession, 270 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 2: did you guys see the possession where Jimmy got the 271 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 2: layup because him and Steph both broke open on a 272 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 2: back cut at the same time and they kind of 273 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 2: almost ran into each other, but Jimmy got the layup. 274 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 2: What they were doing in that sequence, which I thought 275 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 2: was really smart, is they were triggering switches and then 276 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 2: back cutting. Steph has got Shangun on him. He's running 277 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 2: out like he's gonna go to the wing. Shanggoon passes him. 278 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 2: Off to the next guy. Steph's watching now print as 279 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 2: soon as he passes him off, he back cuts. Because 280 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 2: as soon as he passes him off, he relaxes. Steph 281 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 2: was able to get back cut right to the rim. 282 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 2: He was actually wide open. Jimmy ended up getting the ball, 283 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 2: same sort of thing from Jimmy trigger to switch back 284 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 2: cut out of it. They got a wide open three 285 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 2: for Buddy. Heel. That a really smart play design where 286 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 2: they had Steph flash to the high post to occupy 287 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 2: a defender right as Jimmy was racking to the right 288 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 2: off of his man, which occupied the two top guys 289 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,439 Speaker 2: in the zone, and Buddy relocated across the top of 290 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 2: the key, wide open for three. The current his staff 291 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 2: took the time to look through some specific details for 292 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 2: ways they could get openings against that zone defense. I 293 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 2: thought the Warriors championship pedigree showed in a big way tonight. 294 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 2: Is they got the winning game in Game seven. Looking 295 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 2: forward to Minnesota, I was, Colin asked me tonight, He 296 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 2: was like, you know, after what we saw from Houston, 297 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 2: you know, Minnesota in theory is just a better version 298 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 2: of Houston. You know, is Golden State just gonna get crushed. 299 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:41,360 Speaker 2: And one of the things I told Colin, I don't 300 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 2: know who I'm gonna pick yet. I'm gonna I want 301 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 2: to watch more film, I want to get more into it. 302 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 2: But I am way more on the coin flip side 303 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 2: of things then a lot of I think there's gonna 304 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 2: be a lot of Warriors pessimism. You guys are gonna 305 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 2: see on in sports media over the next couple of days. 306 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 2: I think you're gonna see a lot of They're gonna 307 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 2: go get crushed by Minnesota. And here's the thing, maybe 308 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 2: they do. Maybe they go get crushed by Minnesota. I 309 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 2: look at it as a fundamentally different matchup than Houston 310 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 2: in some good ways and some bad ways. There's no 311 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 2: doubt they're gonna be harder to guard. Julius Randall and 312 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 2: Anthony Edwards and nasried that they're an entirely different animal 313 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 2: offensively than what Houston does. That said the other end 314 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 2: of the floor, I do think Golden State's gonna have 315 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 2: actually more success scoring against Minnesota than they did against Houston. 316 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 2: There's a big difference between like the speed that Houston 317 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 2: has on the ground in the form of Fred van 318 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 2: Vliet and a men Thompson, which were the two defenders 319 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 2: who did the best job on Steph and bigger athletes. 320 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 2: Steph looked pretty comfortable tonight against Jabari Smith Junior. He 321 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 2: looked pretty comfortable tonight against Jabari in the entire series. 322 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 2: He looks comfortable against Dylan Brooks on an island in isolation. 323 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 2: In those situations, those bigger, taller wings, they have more weight. 324 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 2: They struggled to move side to side as quickly as 325 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 2: some smaller players do, like in a weird way, like, 326 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 2: I am very concerned about Golden State's abilities should they 327 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 2: win the next round to compete with a team like 328 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 2: Oklahoma City because Oklahoma City has a ton of speed 329 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 2: on the ground. They literally are a much better version 330 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 2: of Houston, who's really fast on the ground, excellent in rotation. 331 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 2: They also have rim protection and also have super high 332 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 2: level offensive talent. That's a tougher matchup for Golden State 333 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 2: now in my opinion, after what we saw from Houston. 334 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 2: But Minnesota it's a lot of like Julius Randalls, kind 335 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 2: of a big upright athlete that you can move side 336 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 2: to side on and have success against. Even Jaden McDaniels 337 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 2: is a guy that Steph can break free of because 338 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 2: he's a little bit stilty and upright, and Steph can 339 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 2: move side to side against him. Working against Nas Reed, 340 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 2: I think he's gonna have a good amount of success 341 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 2: like that series. It's also a fundamentally different defensive type 342 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 2: of job than what Minnesota just had against La La. 343 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 2: Two big giant forwards that are just trying to play 344 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 2: isoball that plays directly into what Minnesota does well. Those 345 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 2: are matchups that Naz Red and Julius Randall can succeed 346 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 2: in that they're not going to succeed in against Steph. 347 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 2: Even just the concept of isolation, Minnesota is gonna have 348 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:12,639 Speaker 2: to deal with all of the ball and the player 349 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 2: movement as guys are running around. And by the way, 350 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 2: if you guys want to see some examples, we'll go 351 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 2: over them in playback after the show. Come hang out 352 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 2: with us on playback and I'll show you guys some film. 353 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 2: The last two wins that Golden State had against Minnesota 354 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,880 Speaker 2: this year, Steph beat them down the stretch with off 355 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 2: ball movement as guys like Ant and Nas and Julius 356 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 2: Randall were not as attentive as they need to be. 357 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,200 Speaker 2: The job against the Lakers was a physical job. We 358 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 2: can hold up on an island against Lebron and Luca 359 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 2: in one on one. The job against the Warriors is 360 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 2: a mental job. It's about tracking shooters, getting through action, 361 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 2: communicating through tons of switches. Totally different jobs. So it's 362 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 2: gonna be an interesting series. I think. I haven't seen 363 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 2: the odds yet. I'll look him up here in a minute, 364 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 2: but I do think that Golden State has the ability 365 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 2: through Steph to have a more successful offensive series against 366 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,399 Speaker 2: Minnesota than they did against Houston, which I think could 367 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 2: make it a closer series. Again, not gonna make a 368 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,120 Speaker 2: pick tonight, but I'm leaning much closer towards that being 369 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 2: a coin flip series than it being some sort of 370 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 2: giant advantage towards Minnesota. On the Houston front, I think 371 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 2: the answer after tonight is you got to go after Yannis. 372 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 2: I think he's the obvious decision. I think he fits 373 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,120 Speaker 2: the identity of the team. I think that you put 374 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,399 Speaker 2: everything on the table but a men Thompson. If you 375 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 2: can combine Janis as a legitimate shot creator with everything 376 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 2: that you have in the size and physicality of this team, 377 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 2: you'll basically be a superstar led version of this Houston 378 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 2: Rockets team, which I think could be super exciting. But 379 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 2: we will talk more about the Rockets on another day. 380 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 2: All right, So we're gonna hit Pacers Calves for a 381 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 2: little bit and then I'm gonna go over my takeaways 382 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 2: from each of the eight first round series, and then 383 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 2: after that we will head over to playback for the 384 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:55,199 Speaker 2: rest of the night. So I thought the Pacers just 385 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 2: completely caught the Calves off guard today. The Pacers offense 386 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 2: is bill around the ability of all five players on 387 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 2: the floor to be able to both score and playmake 388 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 2: out of every spot. Right, So like knockdown, catch and 389 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 2: shoot threes, but also to hit off the dribble threes 390 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 2: out of combinations. You'll see Siakam and Turner even hit 391 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 2: the occasional off the dribble three. Right. All five guys 392 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 2: can score in the mid range, All five guys can 393 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 2: score at the rim. All five guys can pass and 394 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 2: play playmate out of any of those spots. Right. None 395 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,159 Speaker 2: of the guys are super high level offensive players, but 396 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 2: they all can be super effective if they have an advantage, 397 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 2: meaning a defender running at them versus sitting stationary in 398 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 2: front of them, and Tyre's Halliburton is the most relentless 399 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 2: advantage Hunter I have ever seen. You turn your head 400 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 2: and a guy relocates or cuts behind you, Tyree's gonna 401 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 2: hit him every single time you sink too far into 402 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 2: nail help off the top of the off of the 403 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 2: wing like he's gonna throw that swing pass and burn you. 404 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 2: Every single time you get caught with a foot in 405 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 2: the paint on the weak side, He's gonna burn you 406 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 2: with that skip pass every single time. I thought the 407 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 2: Cavs came out the gates today super undisciplined and unfocused 408 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 2: in their off ball defense. Early in the game was 409 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 2: a lot of Max Struce and Jared Allen. Those are 410 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,439 Speaker 2: the two guys that were consistently getting burned, just getting 411 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 2: caught sinking into the lane and help or just not 412 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 2: paying attention as their main is relocating or cutting around them. 413 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,479 Speaker 2: DeAndre Hunter, when he was in the game, he was brutal. 414 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 2: I counted about a half dozen different mistakes that he 415 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 2: made that directly led to good opportunities for the Pacers. Really, 416 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,360 Speaker 2: the Pacers offense operated at peak efficiency all night. Here's 417 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 2: some crazy stats for you. They generated seventeen unguarded catch 418 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,880 Speaker 2: and shoot threes compared to just ten for Cleveland. They 419 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 2: got better looks. They had a one seventeen offensive rating 420 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 2: in the half court. That's insane, ninety seven for Cleveland 421 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 2: in this game, twenty seven spot up opportunities for Indiana 422 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 2: that they converted at a rate of one point five 423 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,119 Speaker 2: to six points per possession. They got over one point 424 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 2: three points per jump shot. Overall, they shot extremely well. 425 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 2: All their play types worked. They had a one to 426 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 2: seventeen offensive rating on post ups including passes, a one 427 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 2: to thirty six offensive rating, and pick and rolls including passes, 428 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:11,160 Speaker 2: a one to eleven offensive rating on isolations including passes. 429 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,199 Speaker 2: They just picked the calves apart tonight. And then in 430 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 2: crunch time, like Donovan Mitchell goes on a run in 431 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 2: that third quarter, gets down Hill a bunch, It turns 432 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 2: into a back and forth game in the fourth quarter, 433 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 2: and in crunch time, Indiana was able to take control 434 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:29,919 Speaker 2: again and it came down to Tyre's Halliburton beating Jared Allen. 435 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 2: In switches. We talked a lot about this in the 436 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 2: series preview. Inevitably, as things grind down, especially late in 437 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 2: games in Cleveland, does a lot of switching with their 438 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,320 Speaker 2: bigs in general, but they did run a good amount 439 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 2: of you know, traditional kind of picking there, like like 440 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 2: like high drop type of looks where they tried not 441 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,359 Speaker 2: to switch Mobley and Allen onto guards earlier in the 442 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 2: game if they could avoid it. But Jared Allen throughout 443 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 2: the game at various points, a few times in the 444 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 2: first half and then a bunch of times down the 445 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 2: stretch was switching on to Tyrese Halliburton in screening it. 446 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 2: And that's where the difference is between Tyreese when he's 447 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 2: at a near MVP level versus the guy that we 448 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,120 Speaker 2: saw for most of the end of last year when 449 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 2: he wasn't very explosive. He's such a smart player that 450 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 2: if you run drop coverage or traditional at the level 451 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 2: coverage or any sort of traditional pick and roll coverage, 452 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 2: he just passes the ball too well. You'll get picked 453 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,120 Speaker 2: apart as a passer. But if you can shut down 454 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 2: those openings by switching, you could put the onus on 455 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 2: Tyre's Halliburton to beat you as an isolation player. And 456 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 2: when he had his hamstring injury, he just wasn't quick 457 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 2: enough with that first step to like consistently beat people 458 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 2: off the dribble and make some good stuff happen there. 459 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 2: He beat Jared Allen on a switch six times in 460 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 2: this game for either a bucket or a kickout to 461 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,720 Speaker 2: somebody else for a bucket three times in crunch Time. 462 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 2: The sequence in Crunch Time hits a step back three 463 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 2: at the top of the key, gets down into the 464 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 2: painted area, it takes a dramatic step back up to 465 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 2: the top, knocks it down on the second one on 466 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,200 Speaker 2: the switch. Donove and Mitchell follows Miles Turner down the 467 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,119 Speaker 2: lane as Miles Turner is rolling, so Halliburton's sitting against 468 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 2: Alan up top on the switch on the other side 469 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 2: of the floor. DeAndre Hunter comes over to try to 470 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 2: scam to try to scram Donovan Mitchell out of the switch, 471 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,320 Speaker 2: meaning he's going over to Donovan and being like, you 472 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 2: get out to my man over here on the wing. 473 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 2: I think it was nem hard and I will take 474 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 2: Miles Turner so that I can battle with him on 475 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 2: the glass, meaning an interchange. Right, So Mitchell's on Turner, 476 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 2: DeAndre Hunter's coming over to scram him out of the switch. 477 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,720 Speaker 2: There's a little miscommunication. Donovan Mitchell's not paying attention. Donov 478 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 2: Mitchell had a really bad game on both ends of 479 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 2: the floor, in my opinion. We'll talk about that in 480 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 2: a minute, but especially on defense, Donovan's not paying attention, 481 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 2: so nem Hard's wide open. Just for a second, nem 482 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 2: Hard's wide open, and Halliburton just throws the easy swing 483 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 2: pass like he does every single time you make that 484 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,880 Speaker 2: kind of mistake, and nem Hard knocks down the three, 485 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 2: and then he beats him to the basket, takes a 486 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,359 Speaker 2: series of moves towards the right elbow against Jared Allen, 487 00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 2: and then beats him with a step through moves and 488 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 2: banks it in, and so like, even when Cleveland took 489 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 2: a lead and the game slowed down and they got 490 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 2: into half court, Indy was able to reassertain control just 491 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,439 Speaker 2: by being a better half court team than Cleveland was. 492 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 2: And I thought Tyree's Halliburton was the best player in 493 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 2: the in Game one. I thought he pretty significantly outplayed 494 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 2: Donovan Mitchell really on both ends of the floor, and 495 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 2: like Indy just came in and threw a great punch. 496 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,119 Speaker 2: I thought as a team they were great defensively, making 497 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,240 Speaker 2: everything hard on Donovan Mitchell. I think it's gonna be 498 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,399 Speaker 2: a pretty significant wake up call for the Calves on 499 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 2: a bunch of levels, Like if you're not familiar with 500 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 2: what the Indiana Pacers do, what a great game one 501 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,440 Speaker 2: just as a crash course in what makes them such 502 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,199 Speaker 2: a scary team. And like Tyre's Halliburton's sneaky, playing pretty 503 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 2: close to that superstar level over the course of the 504 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 2: last few games. And he's like cooking everybody in every 505 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 2: which way, and he's got that offense humming at about 506 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 2: as high a level as you'll see an offense operate 507 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 2: in the NBA Playoffs. Really impressive game one from Indiana. 508 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 2: On the Calves front, the attentiveness off ball is the 509 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 2: big one. There are so many situations, especially in the 510 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 2: early parts of the game, where Cleveland would, like you know, 511 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 2: their guy would give up the ball and they would 512 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 2: go relocate to somewhere else on the floor, and you 513 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,440 Speaker 2: would see Cavs defenders off ball just relax, and when 514 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 2: they relax, they just would get burned every single time 515 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 2: with the pass. Simple example, there's a play where I 516 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 2: think it was Nie Smith. Nie Smith's on the right 517 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 2: wing and I think he was being guarded by Max 518 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 2: Strus was the guy guarding him, but I'm pretty sure 519 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 2: it was Nie Smith on the right wing and Haliburton 520 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 2: gets Jared Allen on a switch and he's dancing with 521 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 2: the ball and Max Strus just relaxes and he kind 522 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 2: of like sits back down towards the left elbow, like 523 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 2: ten feet off of Nie Smith, not even helping on 524 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:47,680 Speaker 2: the drive. Jared Allen's not even compromised. Just easy swing 525 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 2: pass over to the right wing. There's a wide open 526 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 2: catch and shoot three for Nie Smith that he knocks down, 527 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 2: and it's like, I know, Max Strus can be a better, 528 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,200 Speaker 2: more attentive defender. He lost Andrew Aaron Nee Smith on 529 00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:59,959 Speaker 2: the first possession of the game, same sort of thing, 530 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 2: sinking into nail help, staring over at the ball at 531 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,879 Speaker 2: Tyres Halliburton swing pass Nie Smith beats him off the 532 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 2: dribble attacking a close out and gets a little banking him. 533 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 2: DeAndre Hunter. Jared Allen lost Pascal Siakam a bunch of 534 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 2: times early in the game. Like they're just as a team, 535 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 2: they need to really be more mentally engaged defensively off 536 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 2: the ball against this Indiana Pacers team. You cannot make 537 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,359 Speaker 2: those types of mistakes. You will get burned and then 538 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,880 Speaker 2: Donovan Mitchell. I thought he just did a really poor 539 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 2: job of managing that game. He tried to solve all 540 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 2: of his problems by scoring. I was watched. I've rewatched 541 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 2: the entire game during the Warriors game, and I rewatched 542 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 2: every single Cavs offensive possession, and there are just a 543 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,359 Speaker 2: lot of situations where Donovan's getting into the middle of 544 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,640 Speaker 2: the floor and there are kickout opportunities there and he's 545 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 2: not taking them. He's taking contested floaters and step throughs 546 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 2: and euros and things along those lines. He ends up 547 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 2: taking thirty shots to get to you know, the thirty 548 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 2: whatever points that he had in the game is super inefficient. 549 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 2: He burned out all of his energy so that he 550 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:00,359 Speaker 2: had nothing for the defensive end of the floor and 551 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 2: was getting cooked in a bunch of different ways on 552 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 2: that end. Like I just thought, he tried to solve 553 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 2: all of his problems by scoring, and I thought it 554 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 2: was a mistake. Remember, Cleveland is at their best when 555 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,399 Speaker 2: the ball is popping around. They are a team that 556 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,680 Speaker 2: can generate a lot more in the way of catch 557 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 2: and shoot threes than they demonstrated today. They played an 558 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 2: old fashioned Cavs game from years past, as a shot 559 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 2: creation as a shot creation team, And I thought that 560 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 2: came down to Donovan Mitchell. I thought he got out 561 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 2: played by Tyres Haliburton tonight pretty substantially. And like, here's 562 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 2: the thing, the Garland news is pretty sketchy. We're hearing 563 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 2: that his foot is a lot more serious than we thought. Obviously, 564 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 2: I thought he was going to play today. He didn't 565 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,119 Speaker 2: play today. That's going to be a factor in this series. 566 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,919 Speaker 2: But even if Darius Garland isn't at one hundred percent, 567 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 2: he should be able to help the flow of this offense. 568 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,359 Speaker 2: He should be able to at least like get the 569 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,800 Speaker 2: ball moving from side to side a little bit more so, 570 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 2: even if he's not ready to go like at the 571 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 2: level he was earlier in the season, I think getting 572 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:57,920 Speaker 2: him out there will be super helpful. And my guess 573 00:27:57,960 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 2: is that we end up seeing him in game two. 574 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 2: But you know, if they have to go without game two, 575 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,000 Speaker 2: it's about the management of the flow of the game 576 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 2: for Donovan and which that what that means is is 577 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 2: like he's gonna have to shoot more than he typically does, 578 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,160 Speaker 2: Like you probably want him around twenty to twenty four 579 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 2: shot attempts in a situation like this with Garland out, 580 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 2: but he needs to make a lot more swing passes, 581 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 2: a lot more kickout passes on the drive, understanding that 582 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:23,639 Speaker 2: even if he has an opportunity to take a semi 583 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 2: contested shot in the lane, it's about taking it easy 584 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:28,480 Speaker 2: on his legs. It's about getting the rhythm of his 585 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 2: teammates going. It's about the engine of the offense. Again, 586 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 2: Tyres Halliburton didn't have a massive scoring night tonight, but 587 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 2: the Pacers scored a million points and it was based 588 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 2: on his advantage creation. That's the game flow piece of it. 589 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 2: It's about understanding these little bits and pieces of time, 590 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 2: Like here's a little three minute stretch where like I 591 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 2: really need to be looking to score the ball. Here's 592 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 2: a stretch of the game where we got a lot 593 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 2: of offensive talent on the field, on the court, I 594 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 2: would actually be be better served making these sort of 595 00:28:57,600 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 2: kickout passes. Like there was a stretch where Isaac Korro 596 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,040 Speaker 2: is on the floor with him for a while, and 597 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 2: it's like I can kind of see why on some 598 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 2: of those he's not kicking to Isaac. He's looking to 599 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,360 Speaker 2: be aggressive. But like there are a lot of situations 600 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 2: where Sam Merrill or Dean Wade or like standing in 601 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 2: catch and shoot situations and the ball is just not 602 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 2: getting sprayed around because Donovan's trying to smash his head 603 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,280 Speaker 2: through a brick wall instead of taking the easy stuff 604 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 2: that's available for him. So, in short, Indiana threw their 605 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 2: best punch tonight and the Calves through a really shitty one. 606 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 2: I think the Calves can play a hell of a 607 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 2: lot better. But I also, as I mentioned in the 608 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 2: series preview, I predicted Calves in six in large part 609 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 2: because I do think the Pacers will have extended stretch 610 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,600 Speaker 2: of the series where they look really good, and they 611 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 2: definitely showed that in game one. And here's the thing. 612 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 2: If Darius Garland isn't gonna be ready, or if he's 613 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 2: gonna be far from one hundred percent, this instantly becomes 614 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 2: much more of a coin flip type of series that 615 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 2: the Pacers absolutely can win. All right, Before we head 616 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 2: over to playback, I wanted to take we finished our 617 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 2: first round right out of the eight series, only got 618 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 2: five of them right, So not a great prediction first 619 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:58,640 Speaker 2: round for me. But what I wanted to do is 620 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 2: go through this space SCIFX series one by one and 621 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 2: talk a little bit about what I learned in each 622 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 2: of those series. So Cleveland Miami, really simple, just how 623 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 2: high of a level Cleveland's offense is operating at in 624 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 2: the half court in that series they were at like 625 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 2: a one to eighteen offensive rating. They in their overall 626 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 2: offensive rating, it was like astronomical off the charts, the 627 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,240 Speaker 2: destructive blowouts, the Ty Jerome incredible shot making, the Donovan 628 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 2: Mitchell incredible shot making, next Strews and DeAndre Hunter hitting 629 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 2: all those contested threes, Like the Cavs offense was just 630 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 2: operating at such an insanely high level in Round one, 631 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 2: which was a big thing that stood out to me 632 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,680 Speaker 2: from that series. Obviously not a great Round two opener, 633 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 2: but that was my big takeaway from that specific series. 634 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 2: Magic Celtics. I talked a lot last year after the 635 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 2: Celtics won the title about how one of the things 636 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 2: that I was most excited about for Celtics fans was 637 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 2: the simple idea that Tatum in that entire playoff run 638 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 2: operated like a second tier superstar, a very versatile player 639 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 2: who was intricately valuable to the way that they won 640 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,360 Speaker 2: the title. That he wasn't bringing the scoring necess to 641 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,080 Speaker 2: be a true top tier, superstar type of talent. In 642 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,600 Speaker 2: that first round series against Orlando, I thought Tatum showed 643 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 2: clearly that he's just playing at a much higher level 644 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 2: than he did last year. There's some other issues for 645 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:13,360 Speaker 2: the Celtics, some other guys not playing as wellsps Porzingis 646 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,640 Speaker 2: isn't playing super well, a couple guys aren't shooting the 647 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:18,080 Speaker 2: ball from three as well as they typically are. But 648 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 2: Tatum's playing a lot better and that makes up a 649 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 2: lot of the ground in that specific spot. Pistons knicks, 650 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 2: the Pistons are closer than we thought. Right Kate Cunningham, 651 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 2: I think, even though he showed a lot of warts 652 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 2: over the tail end of each of those games, I 653 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 2: thought we saw pretty clearly the type of consistent, type 654 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 2: of playoff weapon that Kate can be. In the big picture. 655 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 2: We also just saw that experience matters time and time 656 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 2: again down the stretch, the more experienced veteran team was 657 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,120 Speaker 2: able to make the necessary plays to win the game. 658 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 2: The Pacers Bucks series just that Tyre Saliburton is back 659 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 2: to the form that he was at before he got 660 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 2: hurt last year, which fundamentally alters the ceiling of this 661 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 2: Pacers team, the way he was attacking Giannison switches, the 662 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 2: way he was going blow for blow with Gary Trent 663 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 2: Junior down the stretch of Game five. That was just 664 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 2: a really, really impressive series from Tyres that I think 665 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,239 Speaker 2: showed a different level of upside for Indiana than we 666 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 2: originally thought. Oklahoma City Memphis, really Oklahoma City's passing is 667 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 2: what stood out to me in that series. I really 668 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 2: liked the way that they moved the ball through the 669 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 2: middle of the floor to high quality close out opportunities, 670 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 2: high quality cutting opportunities along the baseline. That was something 671 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 2: they struggled with last year against Dallas. And Memphis is 672 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 2: not a very good team, but Memphis does play a 673 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,600 Speaker 2: style of defense that tests your ability to make the 674 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 2: extra pass, and I thought we saw some of Okasee's 675 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 2: better passing games of the season in that series, which 676 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 2: I think bodes well for them for future matchups, not 677 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,800 Speaker 2: just Denver, but should they face a Minnesota or a 678 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 2: Golden State in the Conference finals, should they face a 679 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 2: Boston in the NBA Finals, that processing speed is going 680 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 2: to have to be really locked in for them, and 681 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 2: I thought it looks good in the Warriors Rocket Series 682 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 2: Series one exactly as I expected, except for that we 683 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 2: got that extra game, and it was just one of 684 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 2: multiple examples. And I'm going to wrap in the Lakers 685 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 2: and the Timberwolves here for a second. Physicality matters, Like 686 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 2: one of the biggest takeaways I had from the first 687 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 2: round is like, if you're just a bunch of big, 688 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 2: strong athletes, it just makes everything so much easier. And 689 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 2: so I think there are certain teams like the Lakers, 690 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 2: for instance, Like if I saw this exact same Lakers 691 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 2: roster more or less going to the playoffs next year, 692 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 2: I would discount them as a substantial threat because I 693 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 2: thought Minnesota exposed them as a team that is just 694 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 2: nowhere near physical enough to be able to thrive in 695 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,000 Speaker 2: the postseason. The Lakers are going to have to make 696 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,960 Speaker 2: substantial changes to their roster to be able to hang 697 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,600 Speaker 2: in this setting. Like I thought, it looked a lot. 698 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,240 Speaker 2: I thought it looked a lot closer to what happened Phoenix, 699 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:42,720 Speaker 2: you know, than some of the tougher series that we 700 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,560 Speaker 2: saw over the course of Minnesota's playoff run last year. 701 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,720 Speaker 2: And so like that piece, and then looking at the 702 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 2: Golden State series, similarly, all those different things panned out 703 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:54,480 Speaker 2: like steph was able to find a way to score 704 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 2: against them. You know, their defense was able to strangle Houston. 705 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 2: But the big thing that stood that stood out there 706 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,320 Speaker 2: was like Houston's size and athleticism was a problem and 707 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 2: Golden State didn't really conquer that problem until about, you know, 708 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 2: halfway through that third quarter there in Game seven. So 709 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:12,719 Speaker 2: just a lot of takeaways for me in that first 710 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:17,360 Speaker 2: round about how important that physicality and athleticism piece is. 711 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 2: Last note on the Lakers piece, just the importance of 712 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 2: conditioning for your top tier players like Aunt and Julius 713 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:29,600 Speaker 2: just consistently outperforming Luca, Lebron and Austin down the clutch 714 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,400 Speaker 2: stretches of those games, not as read doing a ton 715 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,640 Speaker 2: of damage in those situations. Lots of lessons to be 716 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 2: learned there. And then for Denver, Denver versus the Clippers. 717 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,200 Speaker 2: You know, I've heard a lot of talk about how 718 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 2: depth is so important these days, and again, as I 719 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,640 Speaker 2: have always said, depth is absolutely important, but I still 720 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:49,480 Speaker 2: think superstars decide outcomes. And Nikole Jokic was far and 721 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,760 Speaker 2: away better than Harden and Kawhi in that first round series. 722 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,080 Speaker 2: Don't read the box score. It was a much tougher 723 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,399 Speaker 2: series for him in terms of efficiency and volume because 724 00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 2: he was dealing with a bigger center in Zubots. But 725 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:02,720 Speaker 2: the offense for Denver hummed at an extremely high level 726 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 2: when Yokich was on the floor down the tail end 727 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:06,440 Speaker 2: of the series, and I thought he was the difference 728 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 2: in all those different ways. And you can even apply 729 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:12,720 Speaker 2: that same concept to all these other series. Brunson badly 730 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 2: outplayed Paid down the stretch of games, that's why they won, 731 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,200 Speaker 2: and badly outplayed Luca down the stretch of games, that's 732 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:22,920 Speaker 2: why they won. Like Halliburton, even in the Pacers series, 733 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 2: Jason Tatum out playing Palo and Franz. It's the Superstars, 734 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 2: Steph Curry out playing Fred van Vliet in a Game 735 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:34,719 Speaker 2: seven when it mattered Like ultimately, Superstars still determine the 736 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:37,759 Speaker 2: outcomes of these games. But happy to have the first 737 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:39,719 Speaker 2: round of the book. That's all we have for our 738 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:42,560 Speaker 2: YouTube live show tonight. We are headed over to playback 739 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 2: right now, So again, click the link that's in the 740 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:48,040 Speaker 2: description of this video. Head over to playback. We'll get 741 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 2: started there and just a couple of minutes and we'll 742 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:52,080 Speaker 2: take some questions from you guys. We'll let you guys 743 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,400 Speaker 2: come on stage, we' watch some film, lots of interesting 744 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 2: stuff to get into. I'll see you guys over there 745 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,600 Speaker 2: in just a few minutes. But so guys, as always, 746 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,680 Speaker 2: I appreciate you for listening to and supporting Hoops tonight. 747 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 2: They would actually be really helpful for us if you 748 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 2: guys would take a second and leave a rating and 749 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 2: a review. As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, 750 00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 2: but if you could take a minute to do that, 751 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,400 Speaker 2: I'd really appreciate it. The volume