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Speaker 1: The volume.

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Speaker 2: All right, welcome here to night here at the Volume

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Speaker 2: Heavy Friday, everybody. Hope all you guys have had a

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Speaker 2: great end to your week. Got a fun show for

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Speaker 2: you guys today. Instead of our mail bag, we're gonna

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Speaker 2: take ten predictions that I had from this preseason. Five

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Speaker 2: where I was right, in five where I was wrong,

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Speaker 2: and we're going to kind of check in on those

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Speaker 2: predictions from before the season. You guys, owe the joke

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Speaker 2: before we get started. Before we get started, to subscribe

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Speaker 2: to our Hoops Tonight YouTube channel. Make sure you guys

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Speaker 2: like this video. It helps us a lot if we

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Speaker 2: scroll down and hit that like button. Also, we'll be

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Speaker 2: back to our regular mail bags next Friday. If you

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Speaker 2: want to get a mail bag question in, drop them

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Speaker 2: in the YouTube comments on our full episodes and we'll

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Speaker 2: get to them in our Friday mail bags.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's talk some basketball.

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Speaker 2: Also a quick note, I'm recording this episode on Wednesday,

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Speaker 2: so obviously this will have nothing to do with the

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Speaker 2: end season turn games on Wednesday night as well as

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Speaker 2: the Thursday Night slate in the NBA. All right, let's

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Speaker 2: get right into it again. Five right predictions, five wrong predictions.

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Speaker 2: We're going to go back and forth, starting with my

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Speaker 2: first wrong prediction from before the season. Before the season,

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Speaker 2: I picked the Denver Nuggets to win the title when

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Speaker 2: I definitely should have picked Oklahoma City. Now, my thought

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Speaker 2: process is pretty simple. I thought it was the best

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Speaker 2: team that Denver had ever put around to Kole Jokich.

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Speaker 2: I loved the Cam Johnson fit. I loved the backup

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Speaker 2: center edition with Theonas Valancunas and the depth pieces with

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Speaker 2: Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Junior. I thought they'd do

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Speaker 2: a much better job of holding down the fort with

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Speaker 2: with Jokich off the floor this season. I thought we

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Speaker 2: had seen a real leap out of Aaron Gordon as

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Speaker 2: an offensive player over the previous year, and I thought

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Speaker 2: we'd get the best out of Jamal Murray in this

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Speaker 2: particular season, as well as the simple fact that I

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Speaker 2: think Nicole Jokic is the best basketball player in the world.

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Speaker 2: And the crazy thing is I was actually right about

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Speaker 2: all of those things. Like Cam Johnson in his last

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Speaker 2: eleven games is averaging fifteen points per game on fifty

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Speaker 2: one percent from the field in fifty one percent from three,

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Speaker 2: and he's given them a lot more foot speed on defense,

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Speaker 2: compared to their Michael Porter junior looks, Jonas Malincunis and

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Speaker 2: the depth editions have made this the best non Jokic

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Speaker 2: team of the Jokich era by a mile. Now here's

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Speaker 2: the funny thing. They're negative four point two points per

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Speaker 2: one hundred possessions with Yokich off the floor, which sounds bad,

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Speaker 2: but that is dramatically better than it has been for

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Speaker 2: the rest of the Nikola Jokic era. Aaron Gordon was

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Speaker 2: averaging career high points and true shooting percentage before his energy,

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Speaker 2: before he pulled his hamstring in that Rockets game. Jamal

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Speaker 2: Murray is going to make his first All Star team

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Speaker 2: this year, probably become the very first All Star in

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Speaker 2: the entire Nicola Jokic era. And I do think Nikola

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Speaker 2: Jokic is still the best player in the NBA. Scored

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Speaker 2: more than ever. He's averaging thirty points per thirty six

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Speaker 2: minutes for the first time in his career.

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Speaker 1: He's doing it on the.

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Speaker 2: Highest efficiency of his career seventy two percent shooting. He's

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Speaker 2: averaging a triple double with twelve rebounds and eleven assists

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Speaker 2: per game. And I also think he's been very good

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Speaker 2: on defense. In the big games this year, as the

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Speaker 2: Nuggets have been eight and two against teams that are

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Speaker 2: five hundred or better time and time again, showing a

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Speaker 2: lot in those big primetime matchups against the best teams

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Speaker 2: in the league. I was literally right about everything with Denver,

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Speaker 2: and it just doesn't matter because Oklahoma City is just

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Speaker 2: better than them. I talked before the season about how

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Speaker 2: the Thunder had by far the most potential for internal

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Speaker 2: improvement out of any team in the league, but that

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Speaker 2: we didn't know how to, you know, account for that,

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Speaker 2: Like we don't know what they're going to improve on,

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Speaker 2: if they're going to improve enough, right, Like it was

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Speaker 2: kind of an unknown. Well, it's literally been the best

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Speaker 2: case scenario. Shay looks like he's taking a legitimate leap.

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Speaker 2: He's also scoring at the highest rate of his career

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Speaker 2: thirty five point four points per thirty six minutes on

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Speaker 2: the highest efficiency of his career sixty nine percent true shooting,

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Speaker 2: fueled by a devastating pull up three point shot he

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Speaker 2: had been working on for years but that he just

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Speaker 2: couldn't make. And now he's making it at forty six

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Speaker 2: percent off the dribbil thres this season, and it's added

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Speaker 2: an entire new dimension to his game. His rim finishing

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Speaker 2: is up year over year. He's been more accurate on

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Speaker 2: short jump shots and floaters year over year. I even

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Speaker 2: think his game management, like just his job kind of

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Speaker 2: being the de facto point guard, has become much more consistent.

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Speaker 2: I thought he'd get up to seven assists per game

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Speaker 2: this season. He probably would if he didn't have to

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Speaker 2: sit so many fourth quarters because they're beating the shit

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Speaker 2: out of everyone. I don't think he's been as good

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Speaker 2: as Jokic, but I do think he's been a tiny

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Speaker 2: bit better than both Luca and Yannis this year, which

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Speaker 2: is insane because both Luca and Janis have been amazing

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Speaker 2: this season. Chet has been amazing as well. His three

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Speaker 2: point shot is actually down a little bit year over year,

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Speaker 2: but he's up everywhere else. He's been deadly on mid

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Speaker 2: range shots. He's twenty for thirty two on two point

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Speaker 2: jump shots at sixty three percent. That's off the charts good.

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Speaker 2: His rim finishing, though, has been the revelation. He's up

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Speaker 2: eleven percent year over year at the rim compared to

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Speaker 2: last season, and one of the interesting kind of wrinkles

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Speaker 2: that Chets brought is becoming a real one on one threat.

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Speaker 2: Like last year, he just wasn't much of a one

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Speaker 2: on one threat. And you guys remember, I mean Pacers

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Speaker 2: fans will remember this. Remember when he kept trying to

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Speaker 2: like attack Miles Turner one on one in the finals

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Speaker 2: and it just wasn't working. When he would put the

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Speaker 2: ball on the floor and try to score, it kind

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Speaker 2: of felt like a good thing for the defense.

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Speaker 1: And it showed statistically.

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Speaker 2: He tried to score one on one forty five times

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Speaker 2: last year in the regular season, and he generated just

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Speaker 2: thirty four points.

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Speaker 1: That's not good.

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Speaker 2: Obviously, this year already not even basically a fourth of

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Speaker 2: the way through the season, already thirty six one on

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Speaker 2: one attacks. He's generated forty three points on those one

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Speaker 2: on one attacks, which is a very good number. So

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Speaker 2: he's already scored nine more points attacking one on one

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Speaker 2: than he did in the entirety of last season. I

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Speaker 2: know he missed a chunk of last season, but still

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Speaker 2: in a larger sample, he was less effective as a

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Speaker 2: one on one player last year. The main thing on film,

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Speaker 2: it's just an attack mentality, Like when he's catching on

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Speaker 2: his post ups or in his ISOs, he's driving, he's

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Speaker 2: driving for layups and dunks. He'll mix in little fades

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Speaker 2: over both shoulders, but a lot of that stuff is

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Speaker 2: going towards the rim, and he has been very effective

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Speaker 2: as a one on one attack guy for this Thunder offense.

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Speaker 2: AJ Mitchell has turned into a legitimately awesome third ball

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Speaker 2: handler for them, same kind of thing in terms of

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Speaker 2: just vicious driving of the basketball that's getting to the rim,

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Speaker 2: consistently finishing there, but also making the kickout raids. That's

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Speaker 2: been big. AJ Mitchell and Chet Holmgren again, like Shay's

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Speaker 2: been amazing, He's clearly gone up a level that's awesome.

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Speaker 2: But AJ Mitchell and Chet have been able to more

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Speaker 2: than do more than enough offensively to fill in for

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Speaker 2: Jdubb being out, and that's a big part of why

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Speaker 2: the Thunder have been a very very good team despite

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Speaker 2: being without J. Dubb this season for the most part,

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Speaker 2: and as a team, the Thunder have turned themselves into

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Speaker 2: a deadly spot up team. They're top five and unguarded

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Speaker 2: three point percentage according to Synergy, So the days of

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Speaker 2: leaving the Thunder roll players wide open and just hoping

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Speaker 2: they'll miss those.

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Speaker 1: Appear to be over too. Overall, as a team.

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Speaker 2: I feel like there's like a level of command of

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Speaker 2: the game on offense that I thought last year kind

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Speaker 2: of came and went. But this year it's there for

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Speaker 2: them every single night. That's while their defense has been

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Speaker 2: every bit as frightening as it was last year. There's

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Speaker 2: been no drop off there from the title defense. They're

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Speaker 2: checking every box and the only remaining question mark is

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Speaker 2: Jalen Williams. Remember how he seemed to kind of like

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Speaker 2: halfway through the playoff run, figure out that no one

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Speaker 2: could keep him from the rim, and he started attacking

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Speaker 2: the basket way more. Well, that's continued to start this season.

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Speaker 2: Last season, he averaged just five point seven attempts at

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Speaker 2: the rim per game according to Synergy. This year he's

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Speaker 2: at seven point four rim attempts. That's flat out terrifying.

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Speaker 2: All three of their main shot creators attack the rim

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Speaker 2: relentlessly in all of their lineups, and they all make

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Speaker 2: good kickout reads and they're knocking down those shots. And

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Speaker 2: it's not just three points spacing. They have plenty of

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Speaker 2: vertical spacing. With the lob threats of Chet Holmgren and

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Speaker 2: Isaiah Hartenstein. They both are good at passing to each

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Speaker 2: other as well. I just think this is very clearly

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Speaker 2: the best team in the NBA. To be clear, I

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Speaker 2: don't think they're unbeatable. So for your Nuggets fans out there, like,

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Speaker 2: I'm not saying it's over for you. I still think

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Speaker 2: you're awesome, and I still think you're a puncher's chance

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Speaker 2: upset threat for all of the reasons that we discussed earlier.

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Speaker 2: But at this point, if you're picking anybody other than

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Speaker 2: Oklahoma City to win the title, that's just wishful thinking.

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Speaker 1: They're clearly the best. They deserve to be favored.

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Speaker 2: The vast majority of NBA teams literally have no shot

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Speaker 2: of even competing with these guys in a playoff series,

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Speaker 2: let alone upsetting them. And there might only be three

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Speaker 2: or four teams that have a shot, like a real

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Speaker 2: shot at an upset. But that's all there is, just

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Speaker 2: a shot, a chance for an upset. The Thunder are

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Speaker 2: in a separate tier than everyone else at the top

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Speaker 2: of the league. And if I have an opportunity, well

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Speaker 2: i am here. In a couple of weeks, I'm gonna

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Speaker 2: do my next set of contender rankings just kind of

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Speaker 2: updating that I'm gonna have the Thunder in their own

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Speaker 2: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia to play. Terms and

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Speaker 2: conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call one eight

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Speaker 2: three to three play wise In Indiana. If you or

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Speaker 2: someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help,

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Speaker 2: call one eight hundred and nine with it. Gambling problem

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Speaker 2: called one eight hundred gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan,

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Speaker 2: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia. My first right prediction

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Speaker 2: from the summer, I thought the Lakers would be better

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Speaker 2: than they were last year. Now, the funny thing here

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Speaker 2: is I was so close to bailing on them after

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Speaker 2: that Warriors game because they were so mediocre in training

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Speaker 2: camp and they did not look good in their preseason games.

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Speaker 2: And then they just looked outclassed by Golden State on

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Speaker 2: opening Night. But since then, they're seventeen to five, they

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Speaker 2: have the third best record in the NBA, and all

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Speaker 2: of the things that I thought about them before the

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Speaker 2: season have come to fruition.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 2: My take on the Lakers before the season was pretty simple. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I thought they had a severe athleticism deficit, and I

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Speaker 2: thought it would prevent them from being a legit top

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Speaker 2: tier contender. Even with them winning seventeen of their last

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Speaker 2: twenty two games, I have not moved them into the

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Speaker 2: top tier of contenders. I didn't see them as anything

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Speaker 2: more than an upset threat in the Western Conference unless

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Speaker 2: they made a massive mid season trade for a starting

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Speaker 2: small forward, which we'll see if that ends up happening,

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Speaker 2: I'm skeptical about it, but we'll see. But I thought

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Speaker 2: way too many people had them way too low in

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Speaker 2: their Western Conference projections. I saw a lot of lists

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Speaker 2: that had them like fifth or sixth, and some that

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Speaker 2: even had them in the play in and I thought

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Speaker 2: that was insane. I've seen this sort of thing happen before,

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Speaker 2: when a team has a disappointing playoff showing like the

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Speaker 2: Lakers got their butts kicked by the Timberwolves, and that's

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Speaker 2: certainly revealing in some ways, it's part of why I

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Speaker 2: don't have them in the top tier. With Denver in Houston.

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Speaker 2: It showed that they have an athleticism deficit, and that's

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Speaker 2: why even though they're seventeen and six right now, I

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Speaker 2: don't have them in that Denver in Houston tier. Yet

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Speaker 2: they're gonna have opportunities to demonstrate that. By the time

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Speaker 2: you guys listen to this, we'll get to see them

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Speaker 2: against the Spurs, and tomorrow night we'll get to see

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Speaker 2: them potentially against the Thunder if they win against the Spurs,

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Speaker 2: so they're gonna end if they don't win against the

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Speaker 2: Spurs on Wednesday, we'll get to see them against the Thunder.

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Speaker 2: In February, They're gonna play the Suns again soon. There

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Speaker 2: are plenty of opportunities for them to try to demonstrate

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Speaker 2: that that's not a weakness for them. But after what

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Speaker 2: happened with Minnesota and what happened with OKC back in November,

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Speaker 2: and with what happened with the Suns a little over

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Speaker 2: a week ago, like I still that athleticism deficit for

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Speaker 2: me keeps them out of that top tier, but set

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Speaker 2: the Wolves series aside for a second. The Lakers were

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Speaker 2: one of the best teams in the NBA all season long,

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Speaker 2: and people just forgot because of a bad week of basketball.

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Speaker 2: They won fifty games last year despite being ravaged by

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Speaker 2: injuries again for a third of the season. They just

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Speaker 2: had Lebron and Austin with Jackson Hayes as their starting center.

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Speaker 2: They finished the season with the sixth best record in

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Speaker 2: the NBA last year. And yeah, look, they lost at

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Speaker 2: the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves were the better team. They showed

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Speaker 2: that they deserve to advance, but like as often the

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Speaker 2: case in the postseason, those games were closer than they looked.

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Speaker 2: They got their butts kicked in Game one, then they

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Speaker 2: controlled Game two. It's one to one. Game three, Luca

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Speaker 2: was sick, he had the flu. He was awful in

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Speaker 2: that game. It's a big part of why they lost

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Speaker 2: Game four. JJ pushed all his chips in, tried to

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Speaker 2: win the game by playing his starters the entire second half,

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Speaker 2: and they led most of the second half before Minnesota

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Speaker 2: came back and beat them late in the game. There's

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Speaker 2: a version of that where it's two to two and

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Speaker 2: you go back to LA could be a tougher series.

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Speaker 2: The point is Minnesota won, but it was than it looked,

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Speaker 2: and for whatever reason, people took that and then just

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Speaker 2: crumpled up the Lakers and threw them to the side

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Speaker 2: like they were not going to be a factor this year.

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Speaker 2: And as I went over in my season preview, they

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Speaker 2: were clearly a much better team than they were last year.

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Speaker 2: Luca was obviously going to come back from the embarrassment

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Speaker 2: of last season and be in much better shape then.

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Speaker 2: He has career highs and scoring career highs in efficiency.

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Speaker 2: I think he's been pretty good on defense for the

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Speaker 2: most part. They added critical depth. They turned Dorian Phinney

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Speaker 2: Smith into three rotation players, finally a legit, bona fide

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Speaker 2: starting center, and DeAndre Ayton, who was obviously going to

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Speaker 2: be a great fit in their pick and roll attack.

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Speaker 2: Massive upgrade over Jackson Hayes and Marcus Martin. Dick Larravia

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Speaker 2: just provided them with a couple of bench wings that

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Speaker 2: could start a game in a pinch if they needed.

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Speaker 2: I just didn't understand all the Lakers' pessimism over the summer.

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Speaker 2: I didn't see them as a top tier contender either.

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Speaker 2: That's fine, but I didn't see a universe where they

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Speaker 2: weren't like a home court in the first round team

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Speaker 2: or a top four seed, a fifty one team last year.

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Speaker 2: There were six best team in the league last year

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Speaker 2: without their stars, with Luka Doncic being basically fat when

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Speaker 2: he came back, and so I just thought there was

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Speaker 2: a good chance, even if I was pessimistic about them

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Speaker 2: as a playoff threat.

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Speaker 1: No, there was a good chance.

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Speaker 2: And then win in fifty three fifty four games and

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Speaker 2: being a top four seed, and instead they're on like

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Speaker 2: a sixty win pace this season. And yes, Lebron James

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Speaker 2: was out to start the year, but the massive improvement

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Speaker 2: from Austin Reeves has done more than enough to make

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Speaker 2: up for that. And honestly, since Lebron came back, I

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Speaker 2: think the fit's been fantastic. And so I more or

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Speaker 2: less feel exactly like I did before the season. If

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Speaker 2: Lebron says healthy and they hit on a trade for

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Speaker 2: starting small forward for someone like Andrew Wiggins or Herb Jones,

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Speaker 2: I think they're in the same tier with Denver and

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Speaker 2: Houston as a legitimate upset threat in that Western Conference.

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Speaker 1: All right, My.

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Speaker 2: Second wrong prediction. I thought before the season that the

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Speaker 2: loss of Fred van Vliet would essentially be a death

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Speaker 2: sentence for the Rockets. I thought the lack of ball

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Speaker 2: handling would be too much for them to overcome, especially

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Speaker 2: against certain matchups. I think I was very wrong about that.

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Speaker 2: To be clear, this has nothing to do with their record.

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Speaker 2: I thought they'd win a lot of regular season games

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Speaker 2: no matter what, just because their defense was going to

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00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:14,160
Speaker 2: be awesome and their just overall depth of talent and

340
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Speaker 2: youthful exuberance and athleticism in size. I believe I'm wrong

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Speaker 2: not because of their record, but because of how Houston

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00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,640
Speaker 2: has been winning. All of their drivers of success that

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Speaker 2: we knew would be there were there right like. They've

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Speaker 2: been second in defensive rating to start the season. They're

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Speaker 2: the best rebounding team in the league. They're rebounding forty

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Speaker 2: one percent of their own misses as part of that

347
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Speaker 2: offensive rebounding attack. They've been super efficient in transition. But

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Speaker 2: they've also just been a flat out awesome offense despite

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Speaker 2: the lack of that top end ball handling. And I

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Speaker 2: don't think ball handling has been nearly enough of an.

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Speaker 1: Issue to matter.

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Speaker 2: I don't want to sit here and pretend like there's

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Speaker 2: been no issue at all, Like they've had a turnover problem,

354
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Speaker 2: if the third highest turnover rate in the league. So again,

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Speaker 2: it's not like it's been no issue. But Albern Shangoun

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Speaker 2: and Kevin Durant, help from Aman Thompson and Rechepherd, they've

357
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:11,880
Speaker 2: been more than enough to consistently create advantages, and they've

358
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,359
Speaker 2: been an elite offense by any measure. They're fourth and

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00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,160
Speaker 2: offensive rating overall, eleventh and a half court offensive rating,

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00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,760
Speaker 2: which is still really good, ninth in clutch offensive rating.

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Speaker 1: They haven't had problems scoring at the end of games.

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Speaker 2: It's all worked out. I just think I over focused

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Speaker 2: on that specific weakness when all of the overwhelming strengths

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Speaker 2: of the team were more than enough to make up

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Speaker 2: for it. So, for instance, like the Rockets are a

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Speaker 2: good transition defense, especially off of turnovers, so the damage

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Speaker 2: that gets done from their turnovers hasn't really hurt them

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Speaker 2: on the scoreboard as much as you'd think, even though

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Speaker 2: they turn the ball over a lot, their defense in

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Speaker 2: transition is more like middle of the pack, which makes

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Speaker 2: up for it right in terms of how much points

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Speaker 2: they're giving up in transition. The other way, they generate

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Speaker 2: so many extra pass on the offensive glass, they dominate

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Speaker 2: points in the paint on both ends of the floor,

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00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:07,560
Speaker 2: and their offense is so incredible and so dynamic with

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Speaker 2: the way that Shangouon and Kevin Durant can attack matchups

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00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,560
Speaker 2: and either get great one on one opportunities or get

378
00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,119
Speaker 2: the defense in rotation four on three with Kevin Durant

379
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Speaker 2: bringing two to the ball or Shangun drawing two to

380
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,480
Speaker 2: the post, that they're going to present massive problems to

381
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Speaker 2: whoever they face in the postseason, even if they don't

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Speaker 2: make a trade, Like yeah, if they make a trade

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Speaker 2: for the right kind of guard, it'll certainly make them better.

384
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Speaker 2: But I no longer view it as an absolute necessity

385
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Speaker 2: for them to compete for a championship. They may have

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Speaker 2: a ball handling deficit, but I think it was foolish

387
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Speaker 2: for me to act as though that was a death

388
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Speaker 2: sentence when they have so many strengths that can overcome

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Speaker 2: that particular weakness. Are my second right prediction. Before the season,

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Speaker 2: I talked about how the Kevin Durant trade actually did

391
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Speaker 2: a good job of balancing out the roster for the

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Speaker 2: Phoenix Suns, and I thought it'd make them a huge

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Speaker 2: pain in the ass to play against this year. Now,

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Speaker 2: the funny thing is, even though I was high on

395
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Speaker 2: the Suns, I clearly wasn't high enough, and they've exceeded

396
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Speaker 2: my expectations in large part because of the rise of

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Speaker 2: Mark Williams as a defensive anchor and Dylan Brooks as

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Speaker 2: an offensive player, like as a shot maker. We'll get

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00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:11,960
Speaker 2: to that in a minute, but I just have these

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00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,720
Speaker 2: basic basketball beliefs when it comes to establishing a high

401
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,000
Speaker 2: floor night tonight in the NBA regular season, and one

402
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,560
Speaker 2: of those is, if you have a bunch of different

403
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,399
Speaker 2: types of versatile athletes that can guard on the perimeter

404
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,520
Speaker 2: different types of positions, and you have centers that can

405
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:29,960
Speaker 2: guard in different types of coverages, you can be an

406
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,840
Speaker 2: elite defense. And then on the other end of the floor,

407
00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:36,080
Speaker 2: if you have a legit floor raising advantage creator like

408
00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,320
Speaker 2: Devin Booker, you can be good enough on offense to

409
00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:42,800
Speaker 2: win regular season games. Basically the same reasoning that caused

410
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,440
Speaker 2: me to be high on the Clippers last season even

411
00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,480
Speaker 2: though Kawhi Leonard was out because they signed Derek Jones

412
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Speaker 2: Junior two summers ago, and I was, like James Harden

413
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:53,399
Speaker 2: high offensive floor.

414
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Speaker 1: Kind of guy.

415
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,399
Speaker 2: Zubots great pick and roll partner for him. You've got

416
00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,879
Speaker 2: good perimeter defenders and athletes. Zubots is a good defensive anchor.

417
00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,080
Speaker 2: I was like, I think the Clippers are going to

418
00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:05,840
Speaker 2: be scrappy this season, and they were even without Kawhi.

419
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,120
Speaker 2: That same reasoning caused me to feel that way about Phoenix.

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00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,320
Speaker 2: Dylan Brooks was already one of the top five defensive

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00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,600
Speaker 2: wings in the NBA, and he's even better this season

422
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,280
Speaker 2: because of the additions he's made on offense. Ryan Dunn

423
00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,960
Speaker 2: showed the potential to be one of those types of

424
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,959
Speaker 2: guys on defense. Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, and Royce O'Neil

425
00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,680
Speaker 2: all solid perimeter guys, and I thought they'd be athletic

426
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,160
Speaker 2: enough at center to make it work. Now the irony

427
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,760
Speaker 2: here is the Suns are now fourteen and ten again.

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Speaker 2: We're recording this on Wednesday. That's only two and a

429
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:38,919
Speaker 2: half games back of the four seed in the West.

430
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Speaker 2: Some big wins recently on the road against the Lakers,

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00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,800
Speaker 2: against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, they competed very

432
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,000
Speaker 2: well with the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road. They're

433
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:52,840
Speaker 2: even better than I thought they would be. Now that

434
00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:54,960
Speaker 2: comes down to two things. The rise of Dylan Brooks

435
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,560
Speaker 2: as a shot maker. We covered this in depth last week,

436
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,399
Speaker 2: but basically, just fill and had already had kind of

437
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:05,760
Speaker 2: a good set of natural scoring moves and confidence and creativity,

438
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,159
Speaker 2: and he just did the work behind the scenes to

439
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,680
Speaker 2: become a polished enough shot maker that he's actually converting

440
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,080
Speaker 2: those into makes now and it's adding another layer to

441
00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,160
Speaker 2: Phoenix's offense. And then Mark Williams and what I think

442
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,520
Speaker 2: has been a very impressive showing of scouting pro personnel

443
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:24,040
Speaker 2: scouting from the phoenix On's front office. They identified him

444
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:25,159
Speaker 2: as a guy that they thought could be a good

445
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 2: drop coverage big for them, and he has been. He's

446
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,160
Speaker 2: been an awesome drop coverage big for them, in large

447
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,800
Speaker 2: part because he's got the types of big, physical defenders

448
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,560
Speaker 2: that can get over the top of screens in funnel

449
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:40,200
Speaker 2: ball handlers into him where his length becomes such a factor.

450
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:41,320
Speaker 1: Those two things.

451
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,040
Speaker 2: Hitting has gone from making them a you know, eleven

452
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,840
Speaker 2: and thirteen pain in the ass team like I kind

453
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,160
Speaker 2: of expected them to be, to being fourteen to ten

454
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:59,879
Speaker 2: and legitimately one of the playoff teams in the Western Conference. Okay,

455
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:05,000
Speaker 2: third wrong prediction. This one was probably my worst. I

456
00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:06,720
Speaker 2: said before the season that I thought the Spurs would

457
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,760
Speaker 2: be a playing team again, and my reasoning there was

458
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,399
Speaker 2: I didn't think they had enough really high level NBA

459
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,119
Speaker 2: players to actually compete with the upper tiers in the West.

460
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:17,840
Speaker 2: Those of you guys who listened to that PAP will

461
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,399
Speaker 2: remember I was using Minnesota as an example, and I

462
00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,320
Speaker 2: was like, Man, these good teams at.

463
00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:22,800
Speaker 1: The top of the West.

464
00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,800
Speaker 2: They got five, six like awesome players, and I'm just

465
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,960
Speaker 2: not sure that the Spurs have that many awesome players.

466
00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 2: And I was just flatly wrong about this. A couple

467
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,879
Speaker 2: of reasons why. One, their stars are playing some really

468
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,280
Speaker 2: really high level basketball. I thought Wemby would go up

469
00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,479
Speaker 2: a level. I had him seventh in my player rankings

470
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,959
Speaker 2: coming into the season. That has been, you know, a

471
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,440
Speaker 2: reality so far, at least when Wemby's been healthy and

472
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,600
Speaker 2: on the floor. But dearon Fox has been playing some

473
00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,320
Speaker 2: of the best basketball of his career since Victor wembin

474
00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:56,040
Speaker 2: Yama went down. He's shooting the ball super well, getting

475
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,520
Speaker 2: tons of dribble penetration. I think he's really been fueling

476
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,960
Speaker 2: the Spurs offense with his passing his ability to draw

477
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:05,160
Speaker 2: multiple defenders and make the kickout reads. So Dearon Fox

478
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:07,119
Speaker 2: has just been better than I thought he would be.

479
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,720
Speaker 2: And then several of their key role players have popped.

480
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,360
Speaker 2: Devin Vessel and Kelden Johnson both looked like guys who

481
00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 2: were destined to be traded over the last couple of years,

482
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,280
Speaker 2: like young players that had potential, but they never really popped,

483
00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 2: and they looked like kind of awkward fits with the

484
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:26,080
Speaker 2: direction that the team was going, right, especially coming into

485
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,479
Speaker 2: the season, You're like, man, it's probably gonna be Dylan

486
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,480
Speaker 2: Harper and Steph Castle as your backcourt for the future, right,

487
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,720
Speaker 2: And Keldon Johnson couldn't shoot well enough to ever be

488
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,399
Speaker 2: like what you'd consider to be your starting three moving forward,

489
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,440
Speaker 2: and so it kind of looked like those guys were

490
00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,440
Speaker 2: the odd man out, odd men out right, But both

491
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,560
Speaker 2: of those guys have been incredible to start this season.

492
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,080
Speaker 2: Devin Vessel has finally popped as a spot up shooter

493
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,840
Speaker 2: in a way that his team desperately needed. He's shooting

494
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,120
Speaker 2: forty seven percent on unguarded catch and shoot threes this year.

495
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,400
Speaker 2: His above the break shooting, in particular off the catch,

496
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,359
Speaker 2: has been a i idle release valve for them and

497
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,320
Speaker 2: has won them several games this season. And then Keldon

498
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:09,320
Speaker 2: Johnson has just been an athletic force that teams are

499
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,200
Speaker 2: struggling to handle. He's killing teams as a rebounder, He's

500
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,399
Speaker 2: punishing them going to the rim as like a bully

501
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:19,120
Speaker 2: ball player. He's basically been a twenty ten guy. If

502
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,919
Speaker 2: you count it as like a per thirty six stat.

503
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,680
Speaker 2: He's at like nineteen points and ten rebounds per thirty

504
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,000
Speaker 2: six minutes. He's found ways to be an effective off

505
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,680
Speaker 2: ball scoring threat as a cutter and as an offensive

506
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 2: rebounder as well. Those guys popping has been crucial for them.

507
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,680
Speaker 2: They just look like really good players. And then down

508
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 2: the roster, just hit after hit. Luke Cornett has been

509
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,400
Speaker 2: perfect for them, both with Wemby and without Wemby filling

510
00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:44,920
Speaker 2: in for him when he's been out of the lineup.

511
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,639
Speaker 2: Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnee are just providing that quality

512
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 2: spot up shooting that just kind of classic three and

513
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,879
Speaker 2: D role player stuff. Dylan Harper is getting to the

514
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,600
Speaker 2: rim at will. Jeremy Sohan has been like another layer

515
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 2: of that Keldon Johnson esque like cutting, rim, pressuring, offensive,

516
00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 2: rebounding attack. This is just a really good basketball team,

517
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:05,959
Speaker 2: and with Victor weman Yama coming back, I view them

518
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,840
Speaker 2: as a legitimate puncher's chance contender in the West. I

519
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:10,840
Speaker 2: have them in the same tier with the Lakers and

520
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,560
Speaker 2: the Timberwolves there just off of that Okce Houston, Denver tier.

521
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,160
Speaker 2: I was very wrong about the Spurs before the season.

522
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:21,720
Speaker 2: Probably my biggest mistake in my off season evaluations. My

523
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 2: third RTE the rise of Dennyovdia when we got to

524
00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 2: the summer. But I have a kind of like a

525
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:29,960
Speaker 2: routine as I go through the season. Early in the season,

526
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,320
Speaker 2: I'm hitting on everybody more or less. You know, obviously

527
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,480
Speaker 2: the very basement of the league, I'm not gonna hit

528
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,000
Speaker 2: too much. But then we get into like the playoff era,

529
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,199
Speaker 2: and once we get about halfway through the season, I

530
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,000
Speaker 2: really focus on just the teams that are in the

531
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,280
Speaker 2: playoff picture, and you know, especially down the stretch, like

532
00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,119
Speaker 2: teams that are outside of the playoff picture, I'm just

533
00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 2: not gonna waste a lot of time watching them. And

534
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:49,439
Speaker 2: so what I do is then when we get to

535
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 2: the summer, that's when I go back and I really

536
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:53,920
Speaker 2: dig into the teams that I didn't get to watch

537
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,200
Speaker 2: as much during the ramp up for the postseason, right,

538
00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,879
Speaker 2: And so that's what ended up happening for Portland this summer. Right, Like,

539
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:00,600
Speaker 2: I had two trends that I really wanted to dig

540
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 2: into when I had some time this summer to watch film.

541
00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,359
Speaker 2: There were some statistical things going on with Shaden Sharp

542
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:08,800
Speaker 2: and Danny Avdia that were kind of eye popping. Those

543
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,840
Speaker 2: guys were putting up some massive numbers at the tail

544
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:12,240
Speaker 2: end of the season. So I took a lot of

545
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,439
Speaker 2: time to dive into the film this summer, and my

546
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,520
Speaker 2: main takeaway was Shaden was just kind of chucking shots

547
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,720
Speaker 2: like he's a good athlete, He's getting good looks, but

548
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:26,040
Speaker 2: I didn't think it was translatable to consistent success beyond

549
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 2: him just continuing to take those shots and probably scoring

550
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,639
Speaker 2: at a pretty inefficient clip. And then I said, I

551
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:35,959
Speaker 2: thought that Denny avdia surge was very real. There was

552
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,359
Speaker 2: like a real methodical process to his success. He was

553
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,000
Speaker 2: hard slashing off of closeouts, and when he wanted to

554
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:44,920
Speaker 2: hit a gap, he could hit it with like some real,

555
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,720
Speaker 2: like like aggressive athletic rim pressure. But then he also

556
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,040
Speaker 2: could slow down and be methodical and pick and roll

557
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:53,639
Speaker 2: and like set his man up first screen and get

558
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,320
Speaker 2: him stuck on his backside and kind of methodically work

559
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 2: into the lane and use his eyes to look off

560
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,440
Speaker 2: help them and wait for opening to generate, and then

561
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,399
Speaker 2: like step through. He'd used fakes and nifty little step

562
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,720
Speaker 2: throughs for like nice layups and like little short floaters.

563
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 2: I called him Luca Light because that's what it looked

564
00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:13,560
Speaker 2: like when I was watching him in pick and roll.

565
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 2: There was very there was a very methodical process there.

566
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,440
Speaker 2: He was good at drawing fouls, he was good at

567
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,480
Speaker 2: making all the reads that would happen in pick and roll.

568
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,280
Speaker 2: And so I actually said in our season preview for Portland,

569
00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,760
Speaker 2: I was like, I think he's gonna put up monster

570
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,719
Speaker 2: numbers this season, especially with Scoot Henderson being out. And

571
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,320
Speaker 2: I've been right on both counts so far, a fourth

572
00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,879
Speaker 2: of the way through the season, Shaden's averaging twenty one

573
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,480
Speaker 2: points per game, but it's come through inefficient shot chucking.

574
00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:39,800
Speaker 2: He's forty four percent from the field, twenty six percent

575
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,000
Speaker 2: from three, and he has more turnovers than he has assists.

576
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 2: To be clear, it's not like I'm out on Shaden.

577
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,400
Speaker 2: Sharp or anything like that. He's twenty two years old,

578
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,200
Speaker 2: He's got plenty of time to refine things, and he's

579
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,959
Speaker 2: obviously still bursting at the seams with talent. But I

580
00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,360
Speaker 2: just think he's a few years away from really becoming

581
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,320
Speaker 2: one of those high impact players in the league. But

582
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,680
Speaker 2: Denny Avdia, he's arguably been the most improved player in

583
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,480
Speaker 2: the league this year. Twenty six points, seven rebounds, and

584
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 2: six assists on sixty three percent true shooting, efficient shot creation,

585
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,520
Speaker 2: all the same things I talked about in that season preview,

586
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,919
Speaker 2: slashing when he can slash, getting downhill in ball screens

587
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:21,280
Speaker 2: and putting the defender in jail, and methodically working the

588
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,639
Speaker 2: middle of the floor using his eyes to create openings

589
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,960
Speaker 2: and finding nifty shot angles around the basket for layups

590
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,359
Speaker 2: and for little short bits of shot making, the playmaking

591
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 2: and pick and roll. He's been vitally important to their

592
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,199
Speaker 2: offense this season, and everything that I saw in that

593
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 2: offseason film session has come to fruition as he has

594
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,680
Speaker 2: really exploded onto the scene as an awesome player for

595
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,840
Speaker 2: Portland this year. And want to move from their front

596
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,400
Speaker 2: office identifying a guy that was not valued in Washington

597
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,440
Speaker 2: and turning him into a real foundational piece out there

598
00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,800
Speaker 2: in Portland. Really the biggest area of improvement that I've

599
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:56,000
Speaker 2: noticed for Denny that I think is the next step

600
00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,720
Speaker 2: for him going from like what he is now to

601
00:28:57,760 --> 00:28:59,440
Speaker 2: being like a guy who could compete for an All

602
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 2: Star spot. It's the off the dribble shooting, specifically from three,

603
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,680
Speaker 2: and I've been calling this out periodically throughout the season,

604
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,080
Speaker 2: but he just has a little bit of a hitch

605
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,280
Speaker 2: in his shot which causes him to lose power on

606
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 2: his way up. It's that energy transfer, that fluidity and

607
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:14,000
Speaker 2: off the dribble shooting, and he just ends up leaving

608
00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 2: a lot of his jumpers short off the front of

609
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 2: the rim as a result. But Denny Afdia has been

610
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,000
Speaker 2: absolutely crushing it this year. That was one of the

611
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,480
Speaker 2: things that I got right this summer our fourth wrong.

612
00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:27,560
Speaker 2: I thought the Clippers would be a top six seed

613
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,960
Speaker 2: in the West this year. I actually said I thought

614
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 2: they had the best chance to be a home court

615
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,200
Speaker 2: team in the first round out of the second tier

616
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:37,480
Speaker 2: team so out of Clippers, Lakers, Wolves, Warriors, I thought

617
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:39,040
Speaker 2: the Clippers had the best chance to end up with

618
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,440
Speaker 2: the highest seed out of that group, and My reasoning

619
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 2: was all the same reasons why I was high on

620
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 2: them the year before, right, the stuff we talked about

621
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:48,800
Speaker 2: in that Sun segment, depth of perimeter athletes, strong defensive anchor,

622
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,960
Speaker 2: floor raising offensive talent, and Harden. But adding to that

623
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,120
Speaker 2: a healthy Kawhi Leonard to start the season, and depth

624
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:56,120
Speaker 2: in the form of guys like.

625
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:57,640
Speaker 1: Chris Paul and Brook Lopez.

626
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,680
Speaker 2: I just thought they'd win a lot of regular season games,

627
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,440
Speaker 2: and I was incredibly wrong. Now this one, I'm cutting

628
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,160
Speaker 2: myself a little bit of slack because everyone's been wrong

629
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 2: on this one. Like if I would have told you

630
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,400
Speaker 2: before the season, like Zubats and Kawhi and James Harden.

631
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,800
Speaker 2: Here are their counting stats from this season. Hear how

632
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,120
Speaker 2: many games they've played in. There's not a single person

633
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 2: in the world that would have them below five hundred,

634
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 2: let alone six and eighteen and the fourteenth best record

635
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 2: in the West. Everyone was wrong about the Clippers, but

636
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 2: I was wrong about the Clippers as well, so I'm

637
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:25,960
Speaker 2: putting them in here. It's been a handful of things.

638
00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,920
Speaker 2: The loss of Norman Palas definitely hurt the offense. I've

639
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,040
Speaker 2: said this before. I don't blame the Clippers here, tying

640
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:32,840
Speaker 2: up Norm on a long term deal didn't make a

641
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,479
Speaker 2: ton of sense for their long term flexibility, and they

642
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 2: had to plan. They had a savvy little plan for

643
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:39,360
Speaker 2: how to make up for that. Well, we're going to

644
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 2: turn him into John Collins, and then we're going to

645
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,560
Speaker 2: sign Bradley Beale to kind of replicate some of his

646
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,320
Speaker 2: role there. Kawi's healthy this year, so we're not gonna

647
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,400
Speaker 2: need Norman Pale as much offensively as we did at

648
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,080
Speaker 2: the beginning of last season. It made sense at the time.

649
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,720
Speaker 2: In hindsight, there was some data that showed the Clippers

650
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,720
Speaker 2: were a much better offense with Norm on the floor

651
00:30:57,800 --> 00:30:58,239
Speaker 2: versus off.

652
00:30:58,320 --> 00:30:58,760
Speaker 1: Last year.

653
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,200
Speaker 2: One seventeen offense of rating with Norman Palell on the

654
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:04,200
Speaker 2: floor won thirteen with him off. But that's not like

655
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,200
Speaker 2: that crazy of a gap. It's not like it was

656
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:09,200
Speaker 2: like some twelve point gap is four point gap and

657
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,160
Speaker 2: again like they thought John Collins and Bradley Beal would

658
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,239
Speaker 2: cover for it, and then Bradley Beal broke his hit

659
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,240
Speaker 2: and he's out for the season. So the long and

660
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,360
Speaker 2: short of it is, their offense hasn't been as good

661
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 2: and their defense has been futured, and everyone's got blame here.

662
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,880
Speaker 2: Their defense was bad even when Derek Jones Junior was

663
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:27,360
Speaker 2: healthy at the start of the year. I think James

664
00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 2: Harden and i Viatz Zubats in particular have both been

665
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,760
Speaker 2: pretty bad compared to last year. The main statistical differences is,

666
00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:35,200
Speaker 2: if you really dig into it, have been at the

667
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 2: three point line on the offensive glass and their transition defense.

668
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,240
Speaker 2: They were a top ten three point defense last year.

669
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,800
Speaker 2: This year they're allowing the second most made threes per

670
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 2: one hundred possessions in the entire NBA. They've gone from

671
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 2: being the best defensive rebounding team in the entire league,

672
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,720
Speaker 2: number one to twelve. It's a pretty big drop off.

673
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:56,040
Speaker 2: And look, I know they wore shirts in training camp about,

674
00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:01,240
Speaker 2: you know, emphasizing transition defense that the fuck slogan where

675
00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:05,760
Speaker 2: it's like floor balance, urgency communication and know that we

676
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,920
Speaker 2: lost to Denver because transition. But they wore the shirts

677
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 2: and they didn't do anything to actually address the problem.

678
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,480
Speaker 2: Because cleaning the glasses catch all transition metric. It's like

679
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,440
Speaker 2: points added per one hundred possessions in transition that has

680
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 2: them at twenty ninth in the NBA and transition defense

681
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:23,200
Speaker 2: this season, so just a couple of crucial falloffs and

682
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:25,240
Speaker 2: some key areas, and their offense hasn't been as good.

683
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 2: You've got a six and eighteen. You've got a six

684
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,800
Speaker 2: and eighteen team to start this particular season, all right,

685
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:37,480
Speaker 2: by fourth, right, the Desmond bane fit in Orlando will

686
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:38,080
Speaker 2: be perfect.

687
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 1: Right.

688
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:42,040
Speaker 2: When this trade went down, I absolutely loved it. There

689
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 2: was this idea that I've been hitting on a lot,

690
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,320
Speaker 2: centering around a lot. The example I'd use the most was,

691
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,520
Speaker 2: like Jamal Murray, But like your value as a basketball

692
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,240
Speaker 2: player is unique to your situation. What does your team

693
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,840
Speaker 2: need is Jamal Murray? You know, in a vacuum the

694
00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,320
Speaker 2: best two guard in the NBA. No, certainly not, but

695
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,640
Speaker 2: like he's so uniquely valuable in what Denver's offensive system

696
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:06,480
Speaker 2: needs from that position that his level of impact is

697
00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,040
Speaker 2: as high as most of the two guards.

698
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,040
Speaker 1: In the league.

699
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:14,200
Speaker 2: Desmond Bine in Orlando, very similar type of situation in

700
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,840
Speaker 2: the first round of the n Season Tournament. The job

701
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,720
Speaker 2: he did just picking apart Miami's drop coverage, Like he

702
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,520
Speaker 2: is your stereotypical If you chase him over the top

703
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,240
Speaker 2: of the screen and you sit back in a drop

704
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,680
Speaker 2: he's going to kill you. Because if you lay a

705
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,200
Speaker 2: screen on the guy, he's gonna hit a three. If

706
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:31,440
Speaker 2: he gets a decent amount of separation, he can score

707
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:33,440
Speaker 2: in the mid range against the drop. If you show

708
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,360
Speaker 2: up at the level, he can drive past the guy.

709
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:36,920
Speaker 2: If you show up at the level, he can make

710
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,440
Speaker 2: the passing reads out of it. It unlocks those four

711
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 2: on threes which were basically non existent through this era

712
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:45,560
Speaker 2: of Orlando Magic basketball. He's just been such a natural

713
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:49,880
Speaker 2: shoe in fit with this Orlando Magic team that was

714
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 2: so obvious to me right when the trade was made.

715
00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:54,160
Speaker 2: I actually loved the deal as just kind of like

716
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,760
Speaker 2: an opportunistic way to improve the roster and compliment what

717
00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,360
Speaker 2: they already had going on. Love that move, Orlando, and

718
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,560
Speaker 2: it is easily paid off for them to start the season.

719
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,640
Speaker 2: They are five points better per one hundred possessions with

720
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:09,960
Speaker 2: him on versus off. He just created that little extra

721
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,440
Speaker 2: bit of offensive flow to help them capitalize on their

722
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,319
Speaker 2: defense and their rebounding, and then once again basically got

723
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,640
Speaker 2: you a win that you would not have got otherwise

724
00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:21,560
Speaker 2: in that first round game against the Miami Heat in

725
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:26,320
Speaker 2: the N Season Tournament. My fifth wrong, my skepticism surrounding

726
00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,839
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves is the Lakers number two. So I left

727
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:34,160
Speaker 2: last season kind of feeling like, you know, maybe Austin

728
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,239
Speaker 2: Reeves is the trade piece for the Lakers to set

729
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:41,200
Speaker 2: up whatever their era looks like after Luca or with Luca,

730
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:44,560
Speaker 2: after Lebron, And my thought process there was pretty simple,

731
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:50,600
Speaker 2: like Luca's kind of a negative athlete. Austin Reeves negative athlete.

732
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:55,640
Speaker 2: He struggled against, specifically switching schemes and specifically teams that

733
00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 2: can really put athletic perimeter players on him, that can

734
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,720
Speaker 2: kind of overwhelm him. I'm sitting there, like, I like Austin.

735
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,680
Speaker 2: It wasn't like an Austin take. I'm a big fan

736
00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,640
Speaker 2: of Austin regardless, but I was just sitting there thinking like,

737
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,400
Speaker 2: maybe he'd be better suited playing in a situation where

738
00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:14,880
Speaker 2: he's the one negative athlete in the lineup, where you know,

739
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:17,400
Speaker 2: imagine him in a situation like with Orlando, kind of

740
00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,720
Speaker 2: in the Desmond Bain role, Like he'd be so perfect

741
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:21,200
Speaker 2: in that type of role. That's what I was thinking

742
00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:24,680
Speaker 2: coming out of last season. I was wrong about that

743
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:29,200
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves is the best possible number two that Lucas

744
00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:32,560
Speaker 2: had to this point in his career. Obviously, Jalen Brunson

745
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,400
Speaker 2: ended up leaving and going in a to a different

746
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,120
Speaker 2: situation and became better since then. And Kyrie Irving provided

747
00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,680
Speaker 2: this unbelievable shot making piece which it brought a lot

748
00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:49,000
Speaker 2: of value, especially in the especially in that like playoff context.

749
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,759
Speaker 2: But Austin Reeves has been one of the very best

750
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 2: pick and role players in the entire NBA this season.

751
00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,759
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves has become so damn good that there is

752
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,400
Speaker 2: no version of an Austin Reeves trade where you can

753
00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,319
Speaker 2: move him and get a player back that would make

754
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:09,040
Speaker 2: this team better. He's become that good and whatever athleticism

755
00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:12,600
Speaker 2: deficit you think exists there, which it does, it does.

756
00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:14,480
Speaker 2: Like if Austin and Luka are your two best players,

757
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,840
Speaker 2: you certainly have an athleticism deficit, but I don't care anymore.

758
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:24,560
Speaker 2: He's become so good on offense that he legitimately overcomes

759
00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,080
Speaker 2: any sort of downside that comes from his athleticism. So,

760
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,840
Speaker 2: for instance, like let's say you're building the Lakers moving forward,

761
00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:35,000
Speaker 2: you can get away with a level of defensive talent

762
00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,839
Speaker 2: at the you know, two other perimeter spots and at

763
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,200
Speaker 2: the center position that you wouldn't be able to get

764
00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:44,520
Speaker 2: away with if Austin Reeves was more of like an

765
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:47,200
Speaker 2: athletic like just call let's just say, for the sake

766
00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:50,120
Speaker 2: of example, let's pretend like Drew Holliday when.

767
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,239
Speaker 1: He was with the Bucks. So like a.

768
00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 2: Circa twenty twenty one Drew Holiday, Like that version of

769
00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,040
Speaker 2: the player is like not anywhere near as good on

770
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 2: offense as Austin is, but like just an awesome defensive player,

771
00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,560
Speaker 2: right like in that specific.

772
00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:09,320
Speaker 1: Kind of construct.

773
00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:10,960
Speaker 2: You look at that and you go like, oh, would

774
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,880
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves or would Luka Doncicch be better with that

775
00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,319
Speaker 2: type of player? In previous versions of Austin when he

776
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:19,520
Speaker 2: wasn't as good offensively, you could talk me into that,

777
00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:21,880
Speaker 2: like yeah, like Luca would be better off with a

778
00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 2: really athletic two guard that like can do some scoring

779
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,440
Speaker 2: and can do some playmaking, but like Lucas carrying the

780
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,880
Speaker 2: main offensive load. Austin is so good on offense now

781
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,600
Speaker 2: that he is a much better option as that number

782
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,640
Speaker 2: two than any other type of like two way type

783
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:40,680
Speaker 2: of player you could put in that spot. Austin, if

784
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 2: the season ended today, would be all NBA. He'd be

785
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,960
Speaker 2: third team all NBA. He's been one of the fifteen

786
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,560
Speaker 2: best players in the entire NBA this season. He's somewhere

787
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,880
Speaker 2: around like the fifth, sixth or seventh best guard in

788
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:57,000
Speaker 2: the entire NBA already. So, like, whether or not Austin

789
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,680
Speaker 2: can be the Lakers number two, that's resolved at this point.

790
00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:02,080
Speaker 2: He is your number two. It's Luca and Austin for

791
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,800
Speaker 2: the future. You just figure out a way to build

792
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:09,000
Speaker 2: around them. He's become that good on offense, and like, again,

793
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:11,080
Speaker 2: one of the big differences, last thing I'll say about it,

794
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,759
Speaker 2: one of the big differences between Austin and some of

795
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:17,960
Speaker 2: these other big shot creating players around the NBA. Austin

796
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,200
Speaker 2: grew as a role player, which means, like he's very

797
00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:22,240
Speaker 2: fundamentally sound.

798
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:23,239
Speaker 1: The guy.

799
00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:25,360
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna say it and pretend he never makes mistakes,

800
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:27,399
Speaker 2: but like, the dude doesn't miss as many box outs

801
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:30,759
Speaker 2: as most people, most offensive minded players do. The dude

802
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,719
Speaker 2: doesn't lose track of shooters as much as most offensive

803
00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:36,240
Speaker 2: players do. The dude has a really good natural feel

804
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,840
Speaker 2: for four positioning, off ball spacing, all these like little

805
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,920
Speaker 2: role player things he scraps like crazy on the on

806
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:43,920
Speaker 2: the defensive, glass He's been a huge part of the

807
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,240
Speaker 2: Lakers defensive rebounding this season. Even when he's not getting

808
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,640
Speaker 2: the ball, he's like tapping at it and competing for

809
00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:54,400
Speaker 2: those contested rebounds. Like Austin is just an incredibly well rounded,

810
00:38:54,960 --> 00:39:00,840
Speaker 2: solid defensive player, rebounding player, role player that is also

811
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:02,879
Speaker 2: one of the very best offensive players in this league.

812
00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:06,160
Speaker 2: And he is very clearly the best number two for

813
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,879
Speaker 2: this era alongside Luka doncicsr. Last one before we get

814
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:13,080
Speaker 2: out of here today the fifth right, I talked about

815
00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:16,640
Speaker 2: how over the summer I expected the Charlotte Hornets to

816
00:39:16,719 --> 00:39:19,960
Speaker 2: be bad again, and it's kind of funny because there

817
00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:24,520
Speaker 2: was all of this like NBA hipster enthusiasm surrounding Charlotte

818
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,480
Speaker 2: coming into the season, and it centered around like several

819
00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:29,799
Speaker 2: specific things, a couple of young players. The people like,

820
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,120
Speaker 2: there's a lot of optimism surrounding kon k Nipple. And

821
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:34,640
Speaker 2: for the record, I was high on Conkiniple too coming

822
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,680
Speaker 2: into the draft. I think Conk Nipple's awesome and he's

823
00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:38,640
Speaker 2: proven that by the way. Kan k Nipple's been fantastic.

824
00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:41,440
Speaker 2: Eighteen points per game, five rebounds, three is says sixty

825
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:43,600
Speaker 2: one percent through shooting shooting over forty percent from three

826
00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:45,880
Speaker 2: and eight attempts per game. I liked him as a

827
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:48,000
Speaker 2: prospect coming in just because how big and strong he was.

828
00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:49,840
Speaker 2: I just I'm a big believer that, like, when you

829
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,040
Speaker 2: can shoot the way that he can shoot, you're gonna

830
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:54,280
Speaker 2: get players chasing you. If you're gonna get players chasing

831
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,960
Speaker 2: you, you can use your size and strength to keep physical

832
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,080
Speaker 2: everge on and to keep him trapped. And he was

833
00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:01,239
Speaker 2: just such a good, like thotical kind of passer in

834
00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:03,120
Speaker 2: the middle of the floor at Duke. I was like,

835
00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:05,120
Speaker 2: this guy's just going to be a really good NBA player.

836
00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,120
Speaker 2: I was always a big believer in Kank Nipple. It

837
00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:10,840
Speaker 2: wasn't about that, but like some all those NBA hipsters

838
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:13,719
Speaker 2: kind of took that the idea of what kN K

839
00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:16,000
Speaker 2: Nipple was. And you know, I like Brandon Miller too.

840
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 2: There's a lot of people like Brandon Miller. LaMelo Ball

841
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:20,600
Speaker 2: still has quite a cult following, and they turned that

842
00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:22,480
Speaker 2: into like, oh, they're gonna win a bunch of NBA

843
00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,400
Speaker 2: regular season games. It's like, it's really damn hard to

844
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:27,640
Speaker 2: win in the NBA. And all I could think when

845
00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:29,960
Speaker 2: I looked at that roster is like, they still don't

846
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:33,320
Speaker 2: have any good defensive players, they still have an incredibly

847
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:37,040
Speaker 2: weak defensive front court. I just didn't see a universe

848
00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:38,799
Speaker 2: where they were going to be able to actually like

849
00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:42,040
Speaker 2: win games beyond just being exciting and fun to watch

850
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,200
Speaker 2: on League Pass. Because they have some talented young players,

851
00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:47,640
Speaker 2: and that's more or less than exactly what's happened. They're

852
00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:50,480
Speaker 2: twenty fifth in defensive raiding this year. They're twenty fifth

853
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:53,480
Speaker 2: in turnover percentage. I talked before the season, LaMelo Ball,

854
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 2: super exciting player, dude can't stay on the floor. LaMelo

855
00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:58,759
Speaker 2: Ball and Brandon Miller once again missing a bunch of

856
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:02,399
Speaker 2: games this year, And they're seven and seventeen right now

857
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,200
Speaker 2: as of this recording on Wednesday, and they are destined

858
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,360
Speaker 2: to once again miss a ten team playoff field in

859
00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:13,080
Speaker 2: a wide open Eastern Conference that doesn't really have a

860
00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,920
Speaker 2: truly great team. And so, like again, like it was

861
00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:17,560
Speaker 2: just one of those things where I just didn't see it,

862
00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:19,399
Speaker 2: Like when everyone was talking about how good they thought

863
00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:22,479
Speaker 2: the Hornets would be, like, I just didn't see how

864
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:27,200
Speaker 2: that would materialize into actual on court success. Even if

865
00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:29,520
Speaker 2: I did like Konk Nipple as a prospect, which I

866
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,520
Speaker 2: certainly do. And he's you know, he's got a shot

867
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:33,160
Speaker 2: to win Rookie of the Year this year, that's how

868
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,640
Speaker 2: good he's been. But I ended up being right about

869
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,920
Speaker 2: the hornets there. All right, guys, it's all I have

870
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,440
Speaker 2: for today. As always, a sincerely appreciate you guys for

871
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:43,640
Speaker 2: supporting us and supporting the show. Again, we don't have

872
00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:46,680
Speaker 2: a traditional weekend off at this point. We're going Saturday

873
00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:49,719
Speaker 2: night for the in season tournament semi finals, So come

874
00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:51,719
Speaker 2: hang out on YouTube after the final buzzer of those

875
00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:53,239
Speaker 2: semi final games on Saturday night.

876
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:54,480
Speaker 1: I will see you guys then