Speaker 1: The volume Welcome to the Best of Hoops Tonight, futuring
Speaker 1: my top takes from recent shows. All right, let's talk
Speaker 1: some basketball. So it was such a weird vibe in
Speaker 1: the arena because usually when we see these types of situations,
Speaker 1: there's been at least somewhat of a case that, you know,
Speaker 1: that is built over time, where it's like, yeah, we
Speaker 1: might need to move on from this guy, or maybe
Speaker 1: we should move on from this guy, and so yeah,
Speaker 1: the player will come back and everyone will give them
Speaker 1: their moment of appreciation. But then it's like, all right,
Speaker 1: let's get down to basketball, let's compete. Screw these guys,
Speaker 1: We're gonna get a win. And could not be a
Speaker 1: vibe further from that, because the most absurd trade in
Speaker 1: NBA history, the trade that set one of the most
Speaker 1: acomplished twenty five year olds in the history of the
Speaker 1: league away from a team that he was completely and
Speaker 1: totally committed to, as evidenced by his reaction to the
Speaker 1: tribute video, the trade has left a bad pace in
Speaker 1: a lot of these fans' mouths, right, and the way
Speaker 1: they reacted was to effectively cheer on Luca all night long,
Speaker 1: to the point where you could literally see it have
Speaker 1: an effect on several Mavericks players. I thought Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: and Klay Thompson in particular, for being the competitors that
Speaker 1: they've been for the majority of their career. There wasn't
Speaker 1: a ton of fight there. You can tell I thought
Speaker 1: they were affected by it. The game just had this
Speaker 1: super weird vibe. It never kind of took on the
Speaker 1: energy level in terms of Dallas and the energy they
Speaker 1: play with that I think they could have won this game.
Speaker 1: Dallas has some advantages. Their guards are really athletic, they
Speaker 1: have the ability to get to the rim on this team,
Speaker 1: and the Lakers are worn down. Fourth game in or
Speaker 1: excuse me, third game. Four nights just had to play
Speaker 1: a couple of really emotional games in Oklahoma City. This
Speaker 1: could have been a game that could have gone a
Speaker 1: different direction, but it just felt like there was never
Speaker 1: enough like energy in life for Dallas to feed off of.
Speaker 1: It was just a really strange night. The tribute. You know,
Speaker 1: it was funny when I was watching the tribute video.
Speaker 1: It's just a casual reminder of how much Luka Doncic
Speaker 1: has accomplished in his brief time in a Dallas Mavericks
Speaker 1: Jersey from the series against the Clippers, where he's just
Speaker 1: scoring on dudes and talking shit every time down the
Speaker 1: floor of the myriod of crazy shots that he hit
Speaker 1: over the years to win games, to extend games, at
Speaker 1: the end of quarters, end of shot clocks, the Western
Speaker 1: Conference Finals run, with what he did to Phoenix, what
Speaker 1: he did last year, the insane regular season high scoring games.
Speaker 1: There's just so many things that Luca got done in
Speaker 1: such a short period of time that even though he's
Speaker 1: only twenty five years old, it just took on this
Speaker 1: feel like this great bit of history was wasted and
Speaker 1: you could just see it really affect Luca, and I
Speaker 1: was just so impressed, because I can't imagine going from
Speaker 1: a situation where you're as emotional as he was to
Speaker 1: going into a game where the entire success of the
Speaker 1: Lakers depends on Luka Dancich's ability to break down the
Speaker 1: defensive coverage that Dallas was using, which we're going to
Speaker 1: get into in a minute. It's a lot of pressure
Speaker 1: you factor in not just the responsibility that he had
Speaker 1: in that game, but the emotions at play in the
Speaker 1: situation and the fact that they're on their third game
Speaker 1: in four nights, and the fact that they really needed
Speaker 1: that game. They lose that game, they suddenly absolutely must
Speaker 1: beat Houston on Friday, and absolutely must beat Portland on Sunday,
Speaker 1: which again Portland, you know, do you feel like they
Speaker 1: can take care of business there? But that's not an
Speaker 1: easy game against Houston. US is beating everybody as of like,
Speaker 1: this was a very very important game. Forty five points,
Speaker 1: eight rebounds, six assists carried the offense in the first
Speaker 1: half when the Laker defense was a complete no show.
Speaker 1: And then finally the Laker defense was able to take
Speaker 1: control of the game in the second half, a scoring
Speaker 1: burst from Lebron James in the fourth quarter, some cherry
Speaker 1: on top scoring from Luca, and the Lakers ended up
Speaker 1: getting the win that they so badly needed. Now, I
Speaker 1: was really curious to see what kind of game plan
Speaker 1: that we would see from Jason Kidd in this game.
Speaker 1: He's got a bunch of drop coverage bigs on his
Speaker 1: roster right and as we know, the Lakers have struggled
Speaker 1: over the majority of this stretch of the season against
Speaker 1: switching and one of the big reasons why has been
Speaker 1: Luca has struggled to beat Biggs on an island compared
Speaker 1: to what it looked like in years past. Right, what's
Speaker 1: super encouraging is this is the third game in a row.
Speaker 1: There wasn't as much against Okace. We saw a couple
Speaker 1: of possessions in the second half on Tuesday, famously the
Speaker 1: one right before he got ejected where he faced Hertenstein
Speaker 1: on a switch. There were like three or four other
Speaker 1: switches in that game. But okay, so he did run
Speaker 1: a good on a drop in that game. However, between
Speaker 1: tonight's game, the few reps against Hartenstein and then the
Speaker 1: game on Sunday, Luca had those big, big dudes dancing.
Speaker 1: They had no idea what they were doing out there
Speaker 1: on the perimeter, and he was cooking them, cooked Heart
Speaker 1: and Stein over and over and over again on Sunday.
Speaker 1: A few more times on Tuesday Tonight, Derek Lively right
Speaker 1: out the gate. Interestingly enough, Jason Kidd will run a
Speaker 1: lot of drop with those guys. And he's a guy
Speaker 1: who famously has liked to blitz over the years, particularly
Speaker 1: liked to blitz Laker ball handlers in ball screens. And
Speaker 1: so I was expecting them to come out and maybe
Speaker 1: consider blitzing, But went was switching with those fives, and
Speaker 1: Luca is just no problem at all, getting lively on
Speaker 1: his backside and jumping straight up and down as lively
Speaker 1: as pursuing from behind and committing fouls, getting easy dribble penetration.
Speaker 1: I've always been amazed by Luca's ability to use just
Speaker 1: little change of pace moves and using his size and
Speaker 1: leverage physically to get drill penetration on basic everyone. But
Speaker 1: he just demolished the MAVs in switches over and over
Speaker 1: and over again. And then one of the other things too,
Speaker 1: like the short range shot making isn't there yet. I
Speaker 1: felt like he got a little closer today Today was
Speaker 1: I feel like his short range shot making has been
Speaker 1: off off a lot over the course of this phase
Speaker 1: in the season, but I thought tonight he was just
Speaker 1: getting a little closer. The misses were just a little
Speaker 1: closer to going in a little bit more confidence, a
Speaker 1: little bit more crispness in the release. I feel like
Speaker 1: he's getting closer. But the step back three, he's got
Speaker 1: it going over these like six four to six five dudes.
Speaker 1: He just doesn't see him when he takes that pullback dribble,
Speaker 1: and he's getting it off whenever he wants, just an
Speaker 1: unbelievable sequence from Luca Nachi. It was so important because
Speaker 1: early in the game the Lakers were not very good defensively.
Speaker 1: It kind of reminded me a lot of the Oklahoma
Speaker 1: City game on Tuesday. Lebron James has an enormous amount
Speaker 1: of defensive responsibility on this team. Since Anthony Davis went out,
Speaker 1: the entire identity of the defense has shifted. Now, when
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis was on the team, they didn't have much
Speaker 1: of a defensive identity. They started to play a little
Speaker 1: better towards the end, but they had a rough defensive season.
Speaker 1: But in years past, the identity with AD has been
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis at the rim. That's been the identity of
Speaker 1: the defense and his ability to at the end of
Speaker 1: games switch on to perimeter players. Just Anthony Davis being
Speaker 1: the wrecking ball that he is on the defensive end
Speaker 1: of the floor. Since AD left, it's completely shifted to
Speaker 1: much more of like a connective defense. Hey, we are
Speaker 1: all in this together. We all have to fly around
Speaker 1: and rotate, and Lebron is the captain of that ship.
Speaker 1: He's the guy that is, you know, sussing out actions
Speaker 1: as they're taking place and calling out coverages, anticipating things
Speaker 1: before they happen, and so when Lebron kind of lets
Speaker 1: his foot off the gas in that department, the defense
Speaker 1: has tended to fall apart. Even going back to when
Speaker 1: Lebron was out of the lineup entirely, how poor the
Speaker 1: defense looked at stretches and in both games, in the
Speaker 1: second half of the Oklahoma City game and in the
Speaker 1: second half tonight, Lebron came out of that halftime locker
Speaker 1: room and was like, it's time to go. And in
Speaker 1: both games he completely took over defensively and was able
Speaker 1: to re establish the team there. I thought the Lakers
Speaker 1: had a very very smart defensive game plan for Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis overall, big shock. JJ Reddick coach the guy, so
Speaker 1: he's familiar with his strengths and weaknesses, and Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: over the years has made moderate improvements handling double teams,
Speaker 1: but historically it has not been a strength of his.
Speaker 1: And JJ had a very simple game plan, same game
Speaker 1: plan that he used against Nicole Jokich earlier this year,
Speaker 1: the same game plan he used against Karl Anthony Towns
Speaker 1: earlier this year. They used a similar game plan against
Speaker 1: Giannis earlier this year. They will front the post to
Speaker 1: try to deny the catch and try to get you
Speaker 1: to just bail on it by fronting the post and
Speaker 1: situating a defender right behind him so that it looks
Speaker 1: like you can throw that over the top pass, but
Speaker 1: if you do, you're running the risk of that defender
Speaker 1: from behind coming over and blocking that pass away. And
Speaker 1: so what ends up happening is you're preying on the
Speaker 1: indecision of the guys who make the entry passes, and
Speaker 1: they were just in many cases looking to go another direction,
Speaker 1: and then when they did get Anthony Davis the ball,
Speaker 1: he would get immediately doubled from the baseline side, same
Speaker 1: exact concept they used against Jokichen against Carl Towns. Soon
Speaker 1: as they managed to successfully get the post entry, the
Speaker 1: guy that's fronting quickly disengages overplays the middle shoulder towards
Speaker 1: the middle of the floor to try to force Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis to spin to the baseline or face up, and
Speaker 1: as he does, then the double comes from that baseline
Speaker 1: side and they're preying on that indecision from Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: and rotating out of it. There was a couple of
Speaker 1: adjustments around the way like they tried having Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: just bring the ball up the floor himself and dribble
Speaker 1: into a post up still ran into the baseline double
Speaker 1: team and turned it over. They did actually get an
Speaker 1: easy bucket for Anthony Davis on a flash cut from
Speaker 1: Daniel Gafford. And this, by the way, is just a
Speaker 1: counter that Dallas should have used more frequently with that
Speaker 1: they just didn't go to. But fronting the post, Gafferd's
Speaker 1: on the back line, Gafferd's man is bracketing on AD.
Speaker 1: Gafford flashes up to the semi circle. As he does,
Speaker 1: the backside helper has to follow him, or he probably shouldn't,
Speaker 1: but he goes with him as he does. When Gafford catches,
Speaker 1: suddenly there's no one behind Ad. He just floated over
Speaker 1: the top. He gets an easy layup. But they just
Speaker 1: never were able to repeatedly make the reads or the
Speaker 1: adjustments necessary to handle that action. And then Ad just
Speaker 1: kind of disappeared from the game. And I was talking
Speaker 1: with our guys before we went live, like, you know,
Speaker 1: as someone who's rooted for Anthony Davis a lot over
Speaker 1: the years, and this is just something for you MAVs
Speaker 1: fans to just kind of keep in mind as you're
Speaker 1: embarking on this journey rooting for Anthony Davis. He is
Speaker 1: always going to struggle with double teams. That's been a
Speaker 1: pretty consistent thing that he'll struggle with. But he'll also
Speaker 1: have games when he's healthy, when he's like really healthy
Speaker 1: and in shape and has something to play for, where
Speaker 1: even when he's struggling to get the ball in a
Speaker 1: situation like that, he'll just be a wrecking ball in
Speaker 1: every other facet of the game. He'll get like six
Speaker 1: offensive rebounds and fly out on defense and he'll end
Speaker 1: up with like nineteen and seventeen and like three blocks
Speaker 1: and force deals and he'll find a way to impact
Speaker 1: the game even when he's not playing well. Now, he
Speaker 1: will also have games where that fight in competitiveness is
Speaker 1: just not there, and that can happen from time to
Speaker 1: time even when he is healthy. I think it happens
Speaker 1: a lot more as I've noticed over the years, when
Speaker 1: he's banged up, when he doesn't really feel like there's
Speaker 1: as much to play for, and so honestly like it,
Speaker 1: like ad got game planned out of this one, and
Speaker 1: when he got game planned out, he didn't have any
Speaker 1: sort of second punch to go with, and you know,
Speaker 1: like as Lebron engaged things for the defense, because that's
Speaker 1: the thing. They did a good job with their defensive
Speaker 1: game plan with Anthony Davis in the first half. Where
Speaker 1: they did a poor job was containing the ball and
Speaker 1: their backside rotations on dribble drives, and so they just
Speaker 1: got diced up in the paint. I think they gave
Speaker 1: up like something like twenty eight to thirty something points
Speaker 1: in the in the first half, just in the paint, right,
Speaker 1: But in that second half, Lebron gets engaged, he gets going,
Speaker 1: really helps them regain control of things defensively, and then
Speaker 1: in that fourth quarter, it was kind of a perfect
Speaker 1: example from Lebron of what I was just talking about
Speaker 1: with Anthony Davis. Lebron's been struggling with his rhythm since
Speaker 1: he came back from his injury. Lebron has been a
Speaker 1: guy that's been inconsistent offensively in this last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: But he was just like, I'm six', nine two sixty
Speaker 1: with still great athleticism at my, age AND i can
Speaker 1: just play really hard and cut and crash and post
Speaker 1: seal and drive in just do EVERYTHING i can just
Speaker 1: through sheer force of will to impact the, game and
Speaker 1: he ends up lighting the scoreboard on fire in that fourth,
Speaker 1: quarter everything just right at the, rim and, again Like
Speaker 1: lebron has something to play for right. Now that's the big.
Speaker 1: Difference but LIKE i, Thought lebron demonstrated an example of
Speaker 1: how like in defensive rhythm or when you're when a
Speaker 1: defense gets you out of, rhythm how you can kind
Speaker 1: of play yourself into rhythm as an athlete just by
Speaker 1: playing super. Hard that's the advantage of being one of
Speaker 1: the supreme athletes in the, game is like you can
Speaker 1: make up a lot of lost ground just by getting
Speaker 1: your body moving around and doing as much as you
Speaker 1: can with. It outside of what has, variants there's variance
Speaker 1: in running action against a loaded up, defense there's variance
Speaker 1: in jump. Shooting there's not variance in how big and
Speaker 1: Strong Lebron james. Is that's going to be there every single.
Speaker 1: Possession AND i thought that fourth quarter stretch from him
Speaker 1: was a classic case of like he was obviously, tired
Speaker 1: he was budgeting in his energy all. Game he stepped
Speaker 1: it up, Defense like it almost made. Sense luca carried
Speaker 1: things offensively Earlier lebron carried things defensively late in the,
Speaker 1: game and then he just was, Like i've noticed this
Speaker 1: a bunch Since luca came to the, Team but you,
Speaker 1: know it used to be That lebron led the early
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, unit even When Anthony davis was. There it
Speaker 1: was a very similar type of. Rotation lebron would lead
Speaker 1: the early fourth quarter, unit and he would come out
Speaker 1: of the game with, like you, know seven or eight
Speaker 1: minutes left in the fourth, Quarter Anthony davis would come back,
Speaker 1: in and Then lebron would come back in for the
Speaker 1: last four to five minutes to. Close and in times,
Speaker 1: Past Lebron james would manage that early fourth quarter shift
Speaker 1: with more of an emphasis towards conserving, energy and he
Speaker 1: would do his thing and he would try to help
Speaker 1: the team as best as he. Can but he, knew,
Speaker 1: like WHEN i come back in with five minutes, Left
Speaker 1: i'm the guy that has to try to make all
Speaker 1: of this stuff. Happen And Luka dancic has just alleviated.
Speaker 1: That And i've just seen so many examples now where
Speaker 1: it looks Like lebron starting that early fourth quarter shift
Speaker 1: with a completely different. Mentality that's Like i'm going to
Speaker 1: let EVERYTHING i have in the gas tank go right,
Speaker 1: here right, now Because luca's coming in with seven minutes,
Speaker 1: left And i'll be playing with an advantage the rest
Speaker 1: of the, game or just a handful of touches here
Speaker 1: or there When luca needs a rest or When luca
Speaker 1: has gets his first action shut, down or something along those.
Speaker 1: Lines and so THIS i like that kind of you,
Speaker 1: know pattern that we're seeing From lebron in terms of
Speaker 1: the that early fourth quarter. Aggression AND i do think
Speaker 1: when we get to the, postseason we'll see more consistent
Speaker 1: defensive engagement from him when he doesn't have to do
Speaker 1: something absurd like play three games and four nights and
Speaker 1: deal with some of the scheduling. Quirks, like you, know
Speaker 1: we got to cut The lakers a little bit of
Speaker 1: slack in terms of just how many games they've played
Speaker 1: Between march first and. Now it's kind of. Crazy they've
Speaker 1: played like twenty something games literally in the last you,
Speaker 1: know five six, weeks and it's you can tell it's
Speaker 1: wearing on them a little, bit but they're just finding
Speaker 1: ways to get as much done as they need to get.
Speaker 1: Done you go into that road trip with two games In,
Speaker 1: okce in a game In dallas that's got all the
Speaker 1: weirdness surrounding the situation With luca and for you to
Speaker 1: go two and one and to have a one point
Speaker 1: lead When luca gets. Ejected in THE okc, GAME i
Speaker 1: thought they played some, really really impressive. BASKETBALL i thought
Speaker 1: the defense in general was super encouraging over the course
Speaker 1: of this three game. STRETCH i thought they looked awesome
Speaker 1: start to finish in The sunday. GAME i thought they
Speaker 1: looked awesome in the second half against Okay see On.
Speaker 1: Tuesday AND i thought they looked awesome in the second
Speaker 1: half tonight Against. Dallas the so call that. What that's
Speaker 1: four good halves out of six on the defensive end
Speaker 1: of the. FLOOR i don't think they played four good
Speaker 1: halves of defense in the previous ten. Games so like
Speaker 1: it's a really good sign that they're starting to regain
Speaker 1: some of that defensive identity that they had earlier on
Speaker 1: Before Lebron james hurt his. GROIN i thought it was
Speaker 1: really nice to have Heard Hotcha murda. Back he was
Speaker 1: a little bit out of whack early in the game
Speaker 1: as the game was a little bit, Faster but they're
Speaker 1: in that second half he just kept getting these wide open,
Speaker 1: looks and to his, credit he just kept trusting his
Speaker 1: work trust in his release and hit several big ones.
Speaker 1: There he's just so important for the physical profile of
Speaker 1: the team. TOO i didn't even think he was particularly
Speaker 1: great tonight as a defensive player and in some of
Speaker 1: his read and react, situations but just having another guy,
Speaker 1: who's you, know six' nine and big and strong and
Speaker 1: can move a little bit just changes that physical profile of.
Speaker 1: THE team a couple of big picks things With. The
Speaker 1: MAVs as, i Mentioned The anthony davis process will look
Speaker 1: different from matchup to matchup teams. That switch there is
Speaker 1: a Tendency With anthony davis to either post up and
Speaker 1: struggle with double teams or to settle for a lot
Speaker 1: of contested mid range, jump shots and then when he
Speaker 1: doesn't have it, going offensively it's kind of like a
Speaker 1: fifty to fifty shot whether or not you're going To
Speaker 1: get i'll still be an athletic wrecking ball or. I
Speaker 1: WON'T and i think that's going to be a just
Speaker 1: kind of part of the process of learning how to
Speaker 1: Build Around anthony davis and finding ways to cover for
Speaker 1: him on. That front that's one of the THINGS that
Speaker 1: i like about having him in some of those two
Speaker 1: big looks is that it allows him to kind of
Speaker 1: change the way he wants to play defensively depending on
Speaker 1: how he's feeling on any. GIVEN night I Thought najie
Speaker 1: marshall was. Great tonight now she's consistently been one of
Speaker 1: my favorite players in the league as a. ROLE player
Speaker 1: i was a big fan of the signing when it happened.
Speaker 1: Last summer, to me he's like one of the more
Speaker 1: versatile role player guards that you have in the league
Speaker 1: in the sense that like he can be a spot,
Speaker 1: up guy but he can also run some action. For
Speaker 1: you he can beat switches against smaller guards because he's
Speaker 1: a good athlete that has like a pretty underrated handle
Speaker 1: compared to a lot of role player guys that you
Speaker 1: have in. The league and then he's a, pretty big
Speaker 1: strong athlete for the guard, position too which gives him some.
Speaker 1: DEFENSIVE utility i thought he had a really fun, game
Speaker 1: tonight and he was one of The Few dallas MAVs
Speaker 1: tonight that really brought the competitive energy in a game
Speaker 1: that so desperately needed it On the. Dallas front big
Speaker 1: win For, the lakers though they got an even bigger
Speaker 1: one coming up Here. On friday, that game we will
Speaker 1: have an instant reaction to her work on the weekend
Speaker 1: this week to make. That happen, so essentially the way
Speaker 1: that the schedule will work out is we are Going
Speaker 1: on saturday morning to Cover the friday. Night slate we
Speaker 1: will hit multiple games from, that Slate Including. Lakers rockets
Speaker 1: the WAY that i WOULD Expect jj reddick to handle
Speaker 1: it is to go to his guys and, be like
Speaker 1: Here's the if You beat, houston tonight you guys can
Speaker 1: have the Weekend Off, saturday sunday fly out of Town on,
Speaker 1: friday night Go to cabo if you want spend some
Speaker 1: time with, your families get. A break we'll. Come back
Speaker 1: this coaching staff will spend the weekend prepping, you guys
Speaker 1: get ready to come Back on monday. And work if
Speaker 1: you Lose, to houston sol you got to come back
Speaker 1: And beat Portland on sunday and we're starting our prep.
Speaker 1: Right away maybe You get, monday off but no one's
Speaker 1: allowed to go on vacation because they got to be.
Speaker 1: In town we start Practice. On tuesday find some way
Speaker 1: to motivate. Those guys and create more of a must
Speaker 1: win environment Around That houston, rockets game because then you
Speaker 1: get the three seed no, matter what and you can
Speaker 1: allow yourself to effectively Punt that sunday game or not
Speaker 1: have to worry about it at. All whatsoever and you
Speaker 1: get seven full days off guaranteed before your first round,
Speaker 1: playoff game potentially eight if you end up Playing. On
Speaker 1: SUNDAY so i think that should be the plan heading
Speaker 1: Into That houston. ROCKETS game i also just think it's
Speaker 1: a another Opportunity for Luca, and lebron specifically to get
Speaker 1: some reps against their. Perimeter guys houston is high risk
Speaker 1: for a first round upset because they have so many
Speaker 1: you know issues on the offensive end of. The, floor
Speaker 1: however there is a pretty decent chance that We Get
Speaker 1: lakers rockets in the, second round at least a chance
Speaker 1: that's worth, you, know, Considering right and so if it
Speaker 1: ends Up Being, rockets lakers that was a, matchup where
Speaker 1: even Though the lakers won, last time they had some
Speaker 1: difficulty dealing with, their, bigger stronger. Perimeter defenders it's not
Speaker 1: the same type of MATCHUP. As okac, their bigger their
Speaker 1: perimeter guys are bigger and they have more of a
Speaker 1: size in position on the front line as Well with Shangun,
Speaker 1: and adams so it might be another opportunity For the
Speaker 1: lakers to get some reps against that team so they
Speaker 1: can get some more footage to improve their game planning
Speaker 1: heading into a. PLAYOFF series i think they should go
Speaker 1: for it entirely In that. Houston game the, COUNTER case
Speaker 1: i guess, would be these guys play, crazy physical we
Speaker 1: don't want to. Get hurt let's save It. For PORTLAND
Speaker 1: but i think you're messing with the basketball gods if
Speaker 1: you do that sort of. THING too i would try To.
Speaker 1: Beat houston now on the refs for, a minute Let's
Speaker 1: take luca's element to this and set it aside for,
Speaker 1: a SECOND because i think there's a conversation to be
Speaker 1: Had about luca's relationship. With refs why do we have
Speaker 1: refs at? Basketball, games like why are they there? At
Speaker 1: all they're there to facilitate the flow of. Basketball games.
Speaker 1: THAT'S it i heard these Comments From mark degenel after,
Speaker 1: the game a Rare marked degenal COMMENT that i don't necessarily,
Speaker 1: agree with and he talked about how a while back
Speaker 1: he got a TECH From jt or the official Who.
Speaker 1: Ejected luca he GOT a tech From jt or for
Speaker 1: what he said was a. Mild, comment okay So he's
Speaker 1: mark's freely admitting up front that jtor was. Being. Ridiculous okay,
Speaker 1: After that mark said that he appreciated that jt held
Speaker 1: the law line on the respect for, the game the
Speaker 1: integrity of, the game something about the respect for. The
Speaker 1: game AND while i Agree with mark because, he said
Speaker 1: he went on to say that like at a, certain
Speaker 1: point you got to set, a line and if someone crosses,
Speaker 1: that line you got to be consistent. About IT and
Speaker 1: i agree. With that there's a. Certain line Like if
Speaker 1: luca had gone up To jt or in that situation
Speaker 1: and got in his face and started being really boisterous
Speaker 1: and demonstrative in his face after he already had a
Speaker 1: tech earlier in, THE game i would have found it
Speaker 1: to be a. Defensible ejection you do have to have.
Speaker 1: A line there is a decorum element, To this there
Speaker 1: is a respect to the. Game, element however if you
Speaker 1: are going To Eject luka doncic from a one point
Speaker 1: game in a very important game For the lakers on
Speaker 1: the seating front and kind of important for the thunder
Speaker 1: in terms of their mental confidence in this matchup and
Speaker 1: us potentially getting to see seven minutes of crunch time
Speaker 1: basketball between the two best teams In The way conference
Speaker 1: in a GAME that, i mean it was a league
Speaker 1: pass game that a lot of eyes were. On it
Speaker 1: if you're Gonna eject, luca there you better be damn
Speaker 1: sure that whatever it is that you're. Upset about. He
Speaker 1: Did and luca had been talking trash to, a fan
Speaker 1: was clearly talking trash to, a fan was backpedaling away
Speaker 1: and walking up the court and just looked back and
Speaker 1: said something towards. The Fan jt or happened to be.
Speaker 1: Standing there he, got sensitive he got. Worked up He
Speaker 1: kicked luca out of, The game and that really is, The,
Speaker 1: thing like you have to understand that if we could
Speaker 1: have it, our way you wouldn't even. Be. There officials
Speaker 1: you're there because we have to have you there to
Speaker 1: facilitate the flow of. These games but you are Not
Speaker 1: the you are not. The show go REF some ymca
Speaker 1: games and see how many people pay to show up
Speaker 1: and watch. You ref you are not. The show the
Speaker 1: show is. The players all of us wanted to see
Speaker 1: what happened in THAT game i would have preferred to
Speaker 1: get to also get some crunch time sampled data from.
Speaker 1: This matchup we didn't get that Because jt or got
Speaker 1: sensitive over a comment that wasn't even directed. Towards him
Speaker 1: and that is An issue i've seen time and time
Speaker 1: AGAIN from nba officials ego thinking it's about them not
Speaker 1: being able to handle the emotion of. The environment basketball
Speaker 1: is an. Emotional sport trash talk is a part of,
Speaker 1: the game especially between fans. And, players yes there are
Speaker 1: certain decorum elements you've got. To WATCH like i Thought
Speaker 1: the vando tech was. Perfectly fine you can't let guys
Speaker 1: block each other and then run up on each other
Speaker 1: and get in each. Other's faces you have to stop
Speaker 1: that because you'll end up getting guys punched in, the
Speaker 1: face like it will end up in. Physical altercations there
Speaker 1: are certain things that you have to step up on with.
Speaker 1: Trash talk but fans sit courtside and talk shit all.
Speaker 1: Game long players talk back to them all. The, time
Speaker 1: yes there are times when players and refs get, into
Speaker 1: it and a ref has to have a line in
Speaker 1: terms of the way that he's being. Spoken to but
Speaker 1: like you've got to have a read for the emotion of.
Speaker 1: The environment that's an. Intense Game the lakers. Needed it
Speaker 1: luca was. Fired up he just got another Bucket torching
Speaker 1: hartenstein on. A switch he was, talking shit he was
Speaker 1: having his moment in the emotion of, the game And
Speaker 1: jt or got sensitive and couldn't. Handle it and there's
Speaker 1: just way too much of that IN the nba that
Speaker 1: needs to be resolved now Looking, at LUCA as, i
Speaker 1: said it is a league wide problem with refs having
Speaker 1: ego and not being able to manage their emotions in
Speaker 1: these intense. Competitive environments so one of the most important
Speaker 1: things that you have to learn how to do as
Speaker 1: a basketball player is manage your relationships with. The refs
Speaker 1: if we all agree that they can, get sensitive if
Speaker 1: we all agree that they have, an ego then. You
Speaker 1: can you can't sit there and berate him all game
Speaker 1: long from, a distance towing, that line towing the, tech line,
Speaker 1: talking shit but keeping your distance and finding a way
Speaker 1: to not necessarily get yourself, thrown out but you're still.
Speaker 1: Antagonizing it THERE was i saw someone say Something on
Speaker 1: twitter That jt or during the game had Said to,
Speaker 1: lakers players anyone can talk, to Me. But luca why
Speaker 1: did he, Say? That luca he said that because you
Speaker 1: talked a bunch of shit to him throughout the, entire
Speaker 1: game and he's sensitive. About it, so like at a, certain,
Speaker 1: POINT yeah i, Believe, you luca that you were talking
Speaker 1: shit to, the fan but you put yourself in a
Speaker 1: position with the way you managed your RELATIONSHIP with jt
Speaker 1: or that he was a quick trigger to, eject you
Speaker 1: and he did not give you the benefit of. The
Speaker 1: doubt as Far as, I've seen lucas never argued his
Speaker 1: way into getting a. Better whistle he gets the calls
Speaker 1: when he gets fouled it when, he doesn't and when
Speaker 1: he bitches, and moans it actually makes the refs less
Speaker 1: willing to give him the calls that. He wants so
Speaker 1: a big part of his development in the next few
Speaker 1: years is going to be learning how to manage his relationships.
Speaker 1: With refs we could be in a big playoff series
Speaker 1: series tied, at two big game, fourth quarter And if
Speaker 1: luca is talking a bunch of shit to, the refs
Speaker 1: he could put be in another situation where one is
Speaker 1: a little sensitive on the verge of kind of losing
Speaker 1: control of, his emotions and you could cross the line
Speaker 1: and end up in a situation where you're not available to.
Speaker 1: Your team that is the. Bottom line the bottom line
Speaker 1: is regardless of what the. Circumstances were your team had
Speaker 1: to try to beat the thunder last Night Without luka
Speaker 1: doncic when they were Already, without rui and because of
Speaker 1: the back TO back jj wasn't about To push. Lebron's
Speaker 1: minutes you ultimately put your team in a compromising position
Speaker 1: and it led to. A loss so control what you, Can.
Speaker 1: Control luca you can't control jt. Or sensitivity you can't
Speaker 1: control the sensitivity of many of these refs Around The.
Speaker 1: World league you can control the way that you manage
Speaker 1: your relationship with refs over the course. Of Games, all
Speaker 1: right before we get out of, HERE today i want
Speaker 1: to talk a little bit About The steph. Lebron Debate
Speaker 1: so steph fans reinstigated this discussion over, the weekend basically
Speaker 1: trying to paint the Picture that steph is the defining
Speaker 1: player of, this era the greatest player of, this era
Speaker 1: and they had a better Career Than. Lebron james steph
Speaker 1: fans have felt this way since. Twenty fifteen this is
Speaker 1: not exactly a new idea many of you might Remember
Speaker 1: The steph better the hashtag that used to go around all.
Speaker 1: The time and to, BE clear i don't Blame more
Speaker 1: yours fans for feeling. This way he's, their hero he
Speaker 1: brought them. Four titles it'd be weird if they weren't
Speaker 1: relentlessly advocating for him in the all. TIME context i
Speaker 1: also find debates along these lines to be somewhat boring
Speaker 1: because no one's changing. Their mind There's no warriors fan
Speaker 1: that is going to budge based on this Take that
Speaker 1: i'm about. To unleash you guys have your way that
Speaker 1: YOU feel, i RESPECT that i have my WAY that
Speaker 1: I feel i, respect THAT or i would ask for
Speaker 1: the same. In. Return RIGHT but i have literally never
Speaker 1: heard a basketball person who Isn't a warriors fan or
Speaker 1: an Outspoken anti lebron guy make the Case that steph
Speaker 1: was Better, than lebron because. It's absurd let's set aside
Speaker 1: the obvious stuff Like that lebron Had a Hall of
Speaker 1: fame Career before steph even entered, his prime And that
Speaker 1: lebron is still every bit as good, as him Or
Speaker 1: that lebron has four times as many finals MVPs or
Speaker 1: twice as, many MVPs Or that lebron is one of
Speaker 1: only two PLAYERS in nba history with four MVPs And four.
Speaker 1: Finals MVPs let's set that. Stuff aside just the Narrative
Speaker 1: that warriors fans are trying to build. Is absurd steph
Speaker 1: won his first Title against lebron in a series where
Speaker 1: both of his co stars. Were injured lebron literally Received
Speaker 1: MORE finals mvp Consideration than steph after. THAT series i
Speaker 1: disagreed with that line of THINKING because i don't believe
Speaker 1: in rewarding. THE loser I think steph should have Won AT,
Speaker 1: finals Mvp but lebron literally got more Consideration FOR finals
Speaker 1: Mvp than steph. That Season then lebron beat him in
Speaker 1: spectacular fashion in twenty sixteen back to back or two
Speaker 1: forty point Games in game Five and game six to extend.
Speaker 1: The series in that twenty, Sixteen series lebron Badly outplayed
Speaker 1: steph on both ends of. The Floor Then kevin durant joined,
Speaker 1: the team And the warriors were so insanely talented that
Speaker 1: they had a negative odds on sportsbooks before the season
Speaker 1: to win. The title you were going you bet a
Speaker 1: dollar On the warriors to win the Title. In october
Speaker 1: those years in seventeen, and eighteen you'd have made less
Speaker 1: than a dollar at the end of the season because
Speaker 1: it Wasn't just Katie. And steph it wasn't just the
Speaker 1: second and third best players in the league. Joining forces
Speaker 1: It Was, klay thompson the second shooter of, all time
Speaker 1: one of the best perimeter defenders, in basketball with great
Speaker 1: size and strength at, his position an awesome role player in.
Speaker 1: This League draymond green arguably the greatest defender of. This
Speaker 1: era andre guodalas such a versatile forward that he Got
Speaker 1: THE finals mvp in, twenty fifteen and during that era
Speaker 1: was a do everything player. For them i'm a Big
Speaker 1: Fan kyrie Irving And kevin love AND. J, r smith
Speaker 1: but it was a different level of talent that was
Speaker 1: on those. Two rosters the way that whole four year
Speaker 1: saga is now being retroactively rebuild as a one on
Speaker 1: one Rivalry between Lebron and steph is. Fucking Outrageous when
Speaker 1: lebron was at, his best he was the best Parts
Speaker 1: of Steph and draymond. Put together he was one of
Speaker 1: the most prolific offensive engines in the history of, the
Speaker 1: sport and one of the best defensive players to ever play.
Speaker 1: The game what happened in the twenty sixteen finals is
Speaker 1: kind of the perfect encapsulation of the difference between the two.
Speaker 1: Of them lebron in that fourth quarter surgically Took the
Speaker 1: warriors apart in A way steph was not able to
Speaker 1: on the other end of, the floor and yet still
Speaker 1: at the end of, The game lebron saved it by
Speaker 1: leveraging his athleticism to make a superhuman Play when kyrie
Speaker 1: on the other End attacked steph because he was the
Speaker 1: lesser athlete on the court and a player he could
Speaker 1: get easy. Separation from that's the difference between the two
Speaker 1: two all time great. Offensive engines i'd Even argue steph
Speaker 1: was a little bit better as an offensive Engine, than
Speaker 1: Lebron but lebron Brought that draymond level of playoff defensive
Speaker 1: impact while also being a Five Time First TEAM All
Speaker 1: Nba First Team all. Defensive player lebron was one of
Speaker 1: the great defenders to ever play. This game think back
Speaker 1: To the spurs series and the low man Possessions On
Speaker 1: tim Duncan And thiago splitter at. The rim think about
Speaker 1: him in twenty sixteen on the famous Brick that steph
Speaker 1: Shot Over kevin love at the top Of the lebron
Speaker 1: was lurking in. The paint he blocked nine Shots over, game,
Speaker 1: five six and seven of. That series think about The
Speaker 1: level lebron was able to get to defensively in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty as he helped anchor one of the great DEFENSES
Speaker 1: in nba history as he won his fourth championship the
Speaker 1: Year After kevin durant Left. The warriors there was A
Speaker 1: level lebron could get to in terms of his athletic
Speaker 1: Imposition that steph could never, get to, and that, to
Speaker 1: me is why they are on. Different tiers i'm A huge.
Speaker 1: Steph fan he's you gotta take my word. FOR this i.
Speaker 1: Get it he's legitimately my second, favorite PLAYER and i
Speaker 1: actually like him more as like a Dude. Than lebron
Speaker 1: half The time lebron opens, his mouth it drives, me crazy.
Speaker 1: Super corny there are a lot OF things i don't
Speaker 1: like about. The guy, To me steph is a more
Speaker 1: steady leader and a much, more likable. Just guy i'm
Speaker 1: A big, steph fan but when it comes down, to
Speaker 1: basketball he's just not on the same Tier. As lebron,
Speaker 1: all Time it's LEBRON and mj at. The top then there's,
Speaker 1: a gap and Then, it's Kobe, it's Magic, it's steph
Speaker 1: And it's bird in that. Next tier, FOR me i
Speaker 1: Don't think steph is even capable of entering into the.
Speaker 1: Next tier he's never even had an undisputed hold on
Speaker 1: the best player in the world title the Way that
Speaker 1: lebron did back in twenty thirteen Or that. Jokic does
Speaker 1: now we Can celebrate steph without rewriting history and journeying.
Speaker 1: To fantasyland that guys like it was an awesome rivalry
Speaker 1: Between the Cavs, and warriors and it was fun in
Speaker 1: a stretch of the OF the nba history where we
Speaker 1: got to see these teams face over and. Over again
Speaker 1: but if you're painting that As like Steph versus lebron
Speaker 1: playing one, on one that's dishonest and it's just not it's.
Speaker 1: Not reality SO LIKE i i like like that athletic
Speaker 1: imposition element we're. Talking about do you want to Know
Speaker 1: why lebron's never had single digit points and, you know
Speaker 1: god knows how, many games Or that lebron hasn't had
Speaker 1: three points in a Game since december of two thousand,
Speaker 1: and four because there's a certain floor that comes from
Speaker 1: being six' nine two hundred and sixty pounds and big
Speaker 1: and strong and being able to leverage yourself in ways
Speaker 1: that don't strictly tie. To, Shot making now steph has
Speaker 1: a gravity Element in the rockets, game last, night for
Speaker 1: instance he only. HAD three points a lot of plays
Speaker 1: On film Where i'm watching steph are on off, of
Speaker 1: an action someone slip out of it. And get open
Speaker 1: steph has value that, goes beyond it but there's more
Speaker 1: variance in his singular output on the game because he's.
Speaker 1: A jump shooter sometimes the shots. Don't go in sometimes
Speaker 1: he goes one for eight from three instead, of you know,
Speaker 1: Twelve for twenty and that's the up and down that
Speaker 1: can come from that. Type, of experience again, Like to
Speaker 1: me steph is one of THE greats. IN nba history
Speaker 1: i have, HIM at five i have him have the
Speaker 1: top FIVE player, In NBA history but i just don't
Speaker 1: think he was on the same Level AS on and
Speaker 1: i thought it was just kind of hilarious the way
Speaker 1: that that was attempted to be made. As a case
Speaker 1: over the course, of the weekend the volume