1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:06,880
Speaker 1: The volume. It's Oops Tonight presented by FanDuel. The NBA

2
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,720
Speaker 1: season is kicking into gear, and there's no better place

3
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,520
Speaker 1: to get in on the action than with FanDuel. The

4
00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,120
Speaker 1: app is safe and secure, getting your money out is

5
00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,680
Speaker 1: super easy. You can jump into the action at any

6
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,160
Speaker 1: time during the game with live betting and I love

7
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,040
Speaker 1: building those same game parlays. And FanDuel is now live

8
00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,479
Speaker 1: in Ohio, So use promo code Jason T and download

9
00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,440
Speaker 1: the FanDuel app today to start making every moment more

10
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,959
Speaker 1: twenty one plus. In select states, gambling problem called one

11
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,760
Speaker 1: eight hundred gambler or visit FanDuel dot com, slash rg

12
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:42,040
Speaker 1: in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia,

13
00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,280
Speaker 1: and Ohio called one eight hundred, next step or text

14
00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,600
Speaker 1: next step to five three three four two in Arizona

15
00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,920
Speaker 1: called one eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven

16
00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,880
Speaker 1: seven seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat in

17
00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,080
Speaker 1: Connecticut called one eight hundred nine with it In Indiana,

18
00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:07,399
Speaker 1: visit ks gamblinghelp dot com. In Kansas call one eight

19
00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:13,160
Speaker 1: seven seven seven seven zero stop. In La visit www

20
00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:18,240
Speaker 1: dot MD gambling heelp dot org. In Maryland, dial one

21
00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,600
Speaker 1: eight seven seven eight Hope and Why, or text hope

22
00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,280
Speaker 1: and Why to four six seven three six nine in

23
00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,000
Speaker 1: New York, Call one eight hundred and five two two

24
00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,760
Speaker 1: four seven zero zero in Wyoming, or visit www Dot

25
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:47,960
Speaker 1: one eight hundred gambler dot net in West Virginia. All right,

26
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,080
Speaker 1: welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by Fan Duel here at

27
00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,640
Speaker 1: the Volume. Happy Wednesday, everybody. I hope all of you

28
00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,360
Speaker 1: guys are having a great week so far. We got

29
00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,520
Speaker 1: a fun show for you guys today. We're having my

30
00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,840
Speaker 1: buddy Carson come on and we are going to hit

31
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,560
Speaker 1: on the five biggest questions for the second half of

32
00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,560
Speaker 1: the NBA season, going to talk a lot about the

33
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,160
Speaker 1: teams near the top of the league, and then we

34
00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,680
Speaker 1: have a little bit of an NBA Draft topic at

35
00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,079
Speaker 1: the end as well. Carson's always amazing with the draft,

36
00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,799
Speaker 1: so I'm excited to get into that a little bit.

37
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,000
Speaker 1: You guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribed

38
00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,239
Speaker 1: to the Volumes YouTube channel so you don't miss any

39
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,560
Speaker 1: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore

40
00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,840
Speaker 1: Jason lt so you guys don't miss any show announcements

41
00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:27,880
Speaker 1: and if for whatever reason, you guys miss one of

42
00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,680
Speaker 1: these shows and you can't get back over to YouTube

43
00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,720
Speaker 1: to finish, don't forget. You can find them wherever you

44
00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,880
Speaker 1: get your podcasts Under Hoops Tonight, and last but not least,

45
00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,800
Speaker 1: you guys have heard me talk about game Time, the

46
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,440
Speaker 1: fastest growing ticketing app in the United States. If you're

47
00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,680
Speaker 1: looking to get out to any NBA, NHL, or even

48
00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,040
Speaker 1: a college basketball game or a concert or a comedy show,

49
00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,120
Speaker 1: game Time has amazing last minute deals on tickets to

50
00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,280
Speaker 1: all of these. I personally am very excited in the

51
00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,800
Speaker 1: next couple of months to get up to Phoenix to

52
00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:57,640
Speaker 1: check out the Suns. They're right up the road for me,

53
00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,919
Speaker 1: about an hour and a half, and this have never

54
00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:02,840
Speaker 1: I was talking with some of my friends the other

55
00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,919
Speaker 1: day and I'm not sure that the Sons have ever

56
00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,720
Speaker 1: had a star nearly as big as Kevin Durant playing

57
00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,959
Speaker 1: for them. Charles Barkley is my best guest, but even

58
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,400
Speaker 1: when I get to like Steve Nash and Amri Stodamayer,

59
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,280
Speaker 1: I'm not sure that we've had somebody that's this big

60
00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,560
Speaker 1: of a deal playing right up the street from us.

61
00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,760
Speaker 1: So I will be getting on Game Time and getting

62
00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,200
Speaker 1: a ticket to a son's game very soon. I want

63
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:27,840
Speaker 1: you guys to check the app out because it's super

64
00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:29,680
Speaker 1: easy to use. You're gonna get a good deal, You're

65
00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,800
Speaker 1: gonna know exactly where your seat is. Overall, it really

66
00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,880
Speaker 1: is a great experience no matter where you live. Get

67
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:37,640
Speaker 1: out and have some fun this week. Download the game

68
00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,600
Speaker 1: Time app and to your email and redeem code Hoops

69
00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,440
Speaker 1: for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Terms apply again,

70
00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:49,040
Speaker 1: enter your email and the code Hoops. That's Hoops for

71
00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:53,480
Speaker 1: twenty dollars off. Download game Time today, last minute tickets,

72
00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,280
Speaker 1: lowest price guaranteed. All right, we're gonna bring my guy

73
00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,880
Speaker 1: Carson on. I got to meet Carson in person. Find

74
00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,360
Speaker 1: at the Vaulheam's yearly party up at the Super Bowl

75
00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:05,840
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, and you guys will be

76
00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,520
Speaker 1: stunned to find out that Carson is an enormous human being,

77
00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,240
Speaker 1: almost as tall as I am. I tried to get

78
00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,000
Speaker 1: him to come play in my men's league team, but

79
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,760
Speaker 1: he told me he's had a thrice dislocated kneecap, so

80
00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,159
Speaker 1: it wasn't going to happen. But dude, it was really

81
00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:20,920
Speaker 1: good to meet you in person the other day. We've

82
00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:22,240
Speaker 1: done a lot of work in the past, and I'm

83
00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:24,520
Speaker 1: excited to talk some basketball with you today. Man, how

84
00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,400
Speaker 1: are you. I'm great, Jason. Yeah, that was a lot

85
00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,799
Speaker 1: of fun. And I will say, I think you rounded

86
00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:31,480
Speaker 1: me up a little bit. I mean, I pulled up.

87
00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:33,679
Speaker 1: He told me I was six to five. I'm about

88
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,800
Speaker 1: six three and a half. You know, no shoes, not

89
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:41,159
Speaker 1: my NBA measurement, but I appreciate that. And uh, yeah,

90
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,640
Speaker 1: it's great to see you. Yeah. Man, So I'm excited

91
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,520
Speaker 1: to get into I mean, I will say unequivocally, this

92
00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,599
Speaker 1: is the most excited that I've been for a stretch

93
00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,360
Speaker 1: ron of the NBA in a long time. The league

94
00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,000
Speaker 1: feels wide open, a bunch of teams that a team

95
00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,279
Speaker 1: that I root for in the Lakers, has made some

96
00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,040
Speaker 1: moves and has made themselves a little bit more serious

97
00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,039
Speaker 1: here down the stretch, and they're gonna be fun to watch.

98
00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,760
Speaker 1: The Warriors are going to be playing at the absolute

99
00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:09,760
Speaker 1: peak of their capability to try to make up ground

100
00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:11,359
Speaker 1: and at the top of the league. We've got a

101
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,560
Speaker 1: bunch of super interesting teams. So I'm excited to dive

102
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,200
Speaker 1: into it. Today. We got five questions for you. What's

103
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,680
Speaker 1: our first question, Carson? Yeah, Well, first off, I agree

104
00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,800
Speaker 1: with you completely. It also feels sort of like the

105
00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,360
Speaker 1: season is really starting now just because of how much

106
00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,400
Speaker 1: turnover we've seen in terms of rosters with teams that

107
00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,880
Speaker 1: could potentially be contenders. So very exciting on that front.

108
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,000
Speaker 1: But as you said, we've also seen some teams that

109
00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,120
Speaker 1: have been consistently towards the top of the league, and

110
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,479
Speaker 1: we very much have that picture out East where there's

111
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,120
Speaker 1: sort of a pack of three that has separated itself

112
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,640
Speaker 1: with the Celtics, the Bucks, and the Sixers. So, Jason,

113
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,240
Speaker 1: out of that group, who do you think actually ends

114
00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,159
Speaker 1: up as the one seed out East? So you know

115
00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,440
Speaker 1: what's funny is I it's very close. Bucks are a

116
00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:03,160
Speaker 1: half game back, and they've been killing everybody lately. But

117
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:04,560
Speaker 1: I think this is going to be one of the

118
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,200
Speaker 1: more important races here down the stretch. You you know,

119
00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,200
Speaker 1: I talked a lot over the last couple of weeks

120
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,320
Speaker 1: about teams having the flexibility to kind of ease their

121
00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,960
Speaker 1: way into the postseason, and I do think if it

122
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,960
Speaker 1: comes down to injuries, that both the Bucks and the Celtics,

123
00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,520
Speaker 1: even the Sixers will prioritize taking care of their players

124
00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,599
Speaker 1: and their health. That said, I think that the one

125
00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,279
Speaker 1: seed is super important this year on two different levels.

126
00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,240
Speaker 1: First of all, I think Philly is a much much

127
00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,440
Speaker 1: more dangerous playoff opponent than Cleveland. I think there's a

128
00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,120
Speaker 1: massive drop off there. I think I would be almost

129
00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,400
Speaker 1: certain that the Bucks and the Celtics would beat the Calves.

130
00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,960
Speaker 1: I would give the Sixers a legitimate puncher's chance to

131
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,080
Speaker 1: beat either of them, especially if James Harden and Joel

132
00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,920
Speaker 1: and beat play well. So for starters, getting that one

133
00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,279
Speaker 1: seat allows you a much easier path towards the conference finals,

134
00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,920
Speaker 1: which that series is going to be a blood literally

135
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,800
Speaker 1: and physically. So like I look at that one seat

136
00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:05,720
Speaker 1: is vitally important in the East, and then coming out

137
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:07,919
Speaker 1: of the West. I mean, the two teams that I

138
00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,560
Speaker 1: think are most likely to win that conference are Golden

139
00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,560
Speaker 1: State in Denver right now, and Denver is gonna have

140
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,559
Speaker 1: the elevation factor that's gonna be huge in Golden State,

141
00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,960
Speaker 1: as bad as they've been this year, they have not

142
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,720
Speaker 1: been bad at home, and so I think home court

143
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,000
Speaker 1: advantage is really going to matter for those two teams,

144
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:26,520
Speaker 1: and so I think they're gonna go for it now.

145
00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,320
Speaker 1: The one big wrinkle here is the Celtics are getting healthy.

146
00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,160
Speaker 1: Marcus Smart just played his first game in a month

147
00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,119
Speaker 1: on Wednesday before the All Star break, and then Jaylen

148
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,280
Speaker 1: Brown played in the All Star Game with that mask on,

149
00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,720
Speaker 1: so they're kind of coming together. And we also have

150
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,240
Speaker 1: heard that Jannis might miss a couple of games as

151
00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,960
Speaker 1: he waits for the pain in his wrist to subside. Now,

152
00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,240
Speaker 1: the Bucks have been okay without Jannis this year. They're

153
00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:54,720
Speaker 1: only zero point seven points per one hundred possessions when

154
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,520
Speaker 1: Jannis is off the floor, and they have a pretty

155
00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,960
Speaker 1: easy schedule coming up. I was looking at it, and

156
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:00,680
Speaker 1: I think that they should win in five of their

157
00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,600
Speaker 1: next eight games at a minimum, even if Jannis doesn't

158
00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,000
Speaker 1: play in any of those games. But I'm still gonna

159
00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,280
Speaker 1: go with Boston. And here's why, because there's one other

160
00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:13,040
Speaker 1: big wrinkle that we're glossing over here. Boston has never

161
00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,840
Speaker 1: relinquished the top seat. And every time they've had a

162
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 1: down stretch where they've lost some games and teams have

163
00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,800
Speaker 1: caught up, they've immediately gone on a run. So like

164
00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,440
Speaker 1: they lost five out of six when Golden State embarrassed them,

165
00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:26,840
Speaker 1: in that one game, and then they right when it

166
00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,920
Speaker 1: looked like they might get passed, they turn around in

167
00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,520
Speaker 1: one thirteen of their next fifteen, and there was a

168
00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,559
Speaker 1: gap again, and then they lost three in a row

169
00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,200
Speaker 1: in late January, everybody caught up again, and then before

170
00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,360
Speaker 1: anybody could pass them, they ripped off seven out of

171
00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,640
Speaker 1: nine before the All Star breaks. So, like, I think

172
00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,120
Speaker 1: they know they have a higher regular season ceiling than

173
00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,559
Speaker 1: any of these other teams, and I think anytime they

174
00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:48,920
Speaker 1: sense real danger in the standings, they're just gonna hit

175
00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,080
Speaker 1: the jets and pull away. So I'm going with Boston.

176
00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,200
Speaker 1: What do you think, Carson? I think that makes a

177
00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,160
Speaker 1: lot of sense. And I honestly think of the margin

178
00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:59,280
Speaker 1: between Milwaukee and Boston in this conversation as it is

179
00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,120
Speaker 1: in terms of who you like is the favorite come

180
00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,920
Speaker 1: out of the conference come playoff time is very slim.

181
00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,240
Speaker 1: I think the Sixers are sort of a little bit

182
00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,600
Speaker 1: out of this. As good as they've been, they have

183
00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,960
Speaker 1: the toughest schedule in the league left and they're already

184
00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,160
Speaker 1: three games back. That's gonna be tough to make up.

185
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:19,120
Speaker 1: But I actually lean Milwaukee here, and the reason for

186
00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,280
Speaker 1: that is sort of that I feel they were only

187
00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,240
Speaker 1: seeing their potential being realized. Well, we haven't even seen

188
00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,719
Speaker 1: it yet, but they're on that trajectory. Like over the

189
00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,800
Speaker 1: last fifteen they've finally been a top ten offense after

190
00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,040
Speaker 1: struggling so much on that end of the floor compared

191
00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,000
Speaker 1: to expectations for a lot of the year, and they've

192
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,880
Speaker 1: been unstoppable. Right, They've just ripped off twelve straight. I

193
00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,840
Speaker 1: just think with the influx of offensive talent that they've had,

194
00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,720
Speaker 1: with the addition of a Joe Ingles, with Chris Middleton

195
00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:50,760
Speaker 1: getting healthier, hopefully becoming the sort of star caliber player

196
00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,360
Speaker 1: that we expect him to be, and with the unstoppable

197
00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,280
Speaker 1: level that Jannis is at. Again, it's very close, But

198
00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,880
Speaker 1: I really like Milwaukee, and I also think come play

199
00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:04,840
Speaker 1: off time, I slightly prefer their combination of three legit stars,

200
00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:11,439
Speaker 1: insanely consistent elite defense with just a really stellar cast

201
00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,880
Speaker 1: of role players. Yeah, it's funny, we get we know

202
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,400
Speaker 1: what that matchup is going to look like, Like we

203
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:22,280
Speaker 1: know that Milwaukee's going to run a drop coverage with

204
00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:27,080
Speaker 1: Lopez just literally just blatantly ignoring Robert Williams or Al Horford,

205
00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:29,080
Speaker 1: whoever's the five to hang out at the rim, and

206
00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,600
Speaker 1: they're basically going to funnel everybody to Robert to Brook

207
00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,920
Speaker 1: Lopez and try to force them to make the right reads.

208
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,520
Speaker 1: And that series will swing back and forth as Boston

209
00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,319
Speaker 1: makes good decisions driving and kicking the basketball, and as

210
00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,840
Speaker 1: they get stupid and take bad shots. We've just seen

211
00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:45,600
Speaker 1: this movie a million times. Then on the other end

212
00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:46,920
Speaker 1: of the floor, it's going to be a steady diet

213
00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,040
Speaker 1: of Grant Williams and Al Horford on Jannis and whether

214
00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,240
Speaker 1: or not guys can make plays off the ball. And

215
00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:54,839
Speaker 1: I'm glad you brought up Ingles and Chris Middleton's It's

216
00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,120
Speaker 1: been a really small sample size, but those two guys,

217
00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,400
Speaker 1: when you've put them on the floor with Drew Holiday, Honest,

218
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,079
Speaker 1: this year, they've been scoring the shit out of the basketball.

219
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,240
Speaker 1: And this is something I've been preaching the entire season.

220
00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,679
Speaker 1: And we're gonna get into this a little bit more

221
00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:10,120
Speaker 1: as we move on to our next question as we're

222
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,480
Speaker 1: talking about MVP. But like, I don't think people have

223
00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,600
Speaker 1: given Yannis enough credit for the way he floated this

224
00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:23,079
Speaker 1: team with that lack of offensive talent, because and I'll

225
00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,880
Speaker 1: give you, I'll give you a wild stat did you

226
00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,400
Speaker 1: know that the Bucks are twenty two and six in

227
00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:34,600
Speaker 1: games that have involved clutch situations despite being a bottom

228
00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:39,440
Speaker 1: five clutch offense because teams can load up on Jannis

229
00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,760
Speaker 1: and they haven't had the requisite offensive skill around them.

230
00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,920
Speaker 1: Now we've seen why Jannis has become a defensive wrecking

231
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,760
Speaker 1: ball at the end of games. And so I'll give

232
00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,000
Speaker 1: you an example of the Clippers game. Just took on

233
00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,920
Speaker 1: isolation defensive Kawhile Leonard and just completely shut him down

234
00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:57,920
Speaker 1: over the course of the last five minutes of the game. Right, Like,

235
00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,040
Speaker 1: those are the elements there that Janis has been able

236
00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,400
Speaker 1: to cover for all of these gaps on the roster

237
00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,319
Speaker 1: as guys have been in and out of the lineup. So,

238
00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,840
Speaker 1: you know, I tend to think that I tend to

239
00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,560
Speaker 1: think that Boston has a slightly higher ceiling when they're

240
00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,800
Speaker 1: really clicking on all cylinders and moving the basketball around,

241
00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,120
Speaker 1: and I almost think they look better offensively when their

242
00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,960
Speaker 1: guards start their action. When when Derrick White and Marcus

243
00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,920
Speaker 1: Smart and Malcolm Brogden actually make that initial decision and

244
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,120
Speaker 1: Tatum and Brown playoff of that, I think they actually

245
00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:30,839
Speaker 1: look a lot better. I do think they have a

246
00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,480
Speaker 1: higher ceiling but I do think Milwaukee is a much

247
00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,199
Speaker 1: more like a safer pick for who's going to get

248
00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,080
Speaker 1: out of the conference. I agree, and I think that

249
00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,600
Speaker 1: that decision making factor is always going to be a

250
00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,760
Speaker 1: swing thing for Boston. Like we know how brilliant their

251
00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:46,480
Speaker 1: offense can be, We've seen it for so much of

252
00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,160
Speaker 1: the season, and we know how low it can at

253
00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,560
Speaker 1: times get, like we saw at different points in that

254
00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:56,520
Speaker 1: Warriors series throughout last regular season. So I agree with you.

255
00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:00,640
Speaker 1: I think Milwaukee's the pick, but Boston has an unbelievably ceilings.

256
00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,400
Speaker 1: So let's move want to question number two, which is

257
00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,360
Speaker 1: one that has been pretty hotly debated as of late,

258
00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,000
Speaker 1: and there was a bit of outrage over a recent

259
00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:15,320
Speaker 1: ESPN straw pole on this topic. But Jason will Nikola

260
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,360
Speaker 1: Yokich win a third straight MVP this year. I believe

261
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:24,280
Speaker 1: you will. It's just my um my time following the NBA,

262
00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,839
Speaker 1: I've noticed that voters in particular also have egos, which

263
00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,400
Speaker 1: I get it. Like Carson, if I called you and

264
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,679
Speaker 1: I was like, hey, buddy, guess what congratulations You get

265
00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:34,720
Speaker 1: to vote on NBA awards for the rest of this time,

266
00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,240
Speaker 1: you know, for the rest of your career. You'd be like, hell, yeah, dude,

267
00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,120
Speaker 1: I'm one of those guys, you know, yeah and like

268
00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:40,520
Speaker 1: And I think they I think they have a little

269
00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,120
Speaker 1: bit of ego, and I think that they write about

270
00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,280
Speaker 1: it throughout the season and so they make arguments throughout

271
00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:48,640
Speaker 1: the season for why they feel a certain way, and

272
00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,280
Speaker 1: so it's really hard for them to come off of that.

273
00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:56,400
Speaker 1: And that Tim Bontemp's article that MVP straw Pole is

274
00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:00,960
Speaker 1: very much a it's a it's kind of depressent like

275
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,800
Speaker 1: it's right almost every time. So given the advantage that

276
00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,319
Speaker 1: Yoka chad in that poll and where I've seen on

277
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,760
Speaker 1: Twitter the way a lot of these voters are arguing

278
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,480
Speaker 1: this point, I think it's a runaway train. I don't

279
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,719
Speaker 1: think he's missing it now. To be clear, if he

280
00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,880
Speaker 1: wins his third straight and he's deserving, I have no

281
00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,320
Speaker 1: problem with that. I don't think that just because a

282
00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:27,400
Speaker 1: guy may or may not have not deserved a previous

283
00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,600
Speaker 1: MVP doesn't mean he shouldn't get one that he absolutely

284
00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,480
Speaker 1: deserves if he deserves it within the season. But I

285
00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:35,520
Speaker 1: have a big question for you, Carson, and I'm hoping

286
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,200
Speaker 1: you can help me reconcile this because the issue that

287
00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,000
Speaker 1: I have with it is if you ask me who

288
00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,640
Speaker 1: is the MVP if the season ended right now, I

289
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,120
Speaker 1: think it's a toss up between Janis and Yoki, and

290
00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,440
Speaker 1: I think Joel Embide is right there behind them. And

291
00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,320
Speaker 1: so it bothers me that the narrative has it as

292
00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,240
Speaker 1: a runaway freight train kind of things. I wanted to

293
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,560
Speaker 1: kind of read this to you and Carson, you can

294
00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:00,520
Speaker 1: tell me if I'm being crazy. So Ni Yokis is

295
00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,000
Speaker 1: averaging twenty five, twelve and ten. He's obviously got a

296
00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,960
Speaker 1: seventy percent true shooting percentage, which is absurd, although he's

297
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,200
Speaker 1: not relying on almost any self creation, like he's not

298
00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,760
Speaker 1: doing a ton of isolating or posting up. He's doing

299
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,120
Speaker 1: a lot of work kind of within the flow of

300
00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,720
Speaker 1: the offense relative to some of the other guys that

301
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,120
Speaker 1: he's competing with. That's going to lead to inflated true

302
00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:25,280
Speaker 1: shooting percentages. In my opinion, the Nuggets are forty one

303
00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,120
Speaker 1: and eighteen. I do think he has demonstrated himself as

304
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,160
Speaker 1: the best offensive player in the league. I think that's

305
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:32,600
Speaker 1: a hill that you've been on for a couple of

306
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,320
Speaker 1: years now, and I think I'm on that hill now. Too,

307
00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,360
Speaker 1: But Yannis, I'm getting thirty two, twelve and five sixty

308
00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,720
Speaker 1: percent true shooting, albeit on a totally different type of

309
00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,400
Speaker 1: shot diet. They're a half game better in the standings

310
00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,840
Speaker 1: forty one and seventeen. I would argue he's done more

311
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,080
Speaker 1: with less. We just talked about in the last segment

312
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,040
Speaker 1: about the influx of offensive talent for the Bucks in

313
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,240
Speaker 1: the way that's completely transformed their offense. There's been a

314
00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,120
Speaker 1: lot of this season with like Yannis out there, with

315
00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:01,920
Speaker 1: Brook low Pen and just a bunch of guys, you

316
00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:03,800
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Due Holiday has been in and

317
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,480
Speaker 1: out of the lineup, Chris Middleton's barely been in the lineup,

318
00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,520
Speaker 1: Joe Ingles just started playing in the last like what

319
00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,280
Speaker 1: dozen or so games, So like, it's one of those

320
00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,440
Speaker 1: things where I do think he's done a little bit

321
00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,360
Speaker 1: more than less with less. He I think he's a

322
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,640
Speaker 1: top five offensive player in the league, and I think

323
00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,680
Speaker 1: he's the very best defensive player in the league. We

324
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,400
Speaker 1: mentioned that clutch stat earlier, the twenty two and six

325
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,040
Speaker 1: and clutch games with what he can do defensively. So

326
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,440
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it is Yannis, but why is it

327
00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:35,560
Speaker 1: that Yoki fans, and you're a Yokich fan and you're

328
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,240
Speaker 1: a Yoka supporter, Why is it that Yokis fans feel

329
00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:42,360
Speaker 1: like this is kind of a done deal. Well, first

330
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,040
Speaker 1: of all, let me just say that I don't feel

331
00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,800
Speaker 1: that way at all, and if anybody picked Yannis, I

332
00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,280
Speaker 1: completely understand it. I think these are the two guys

333
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,160
Speaker 1: who have consistently carried their rosters the most. Yes, they

334
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:58,280
Speaker 1: have good rosters, but are clearly like in a completely

335
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,880
Speaker 1: different tier in terms of super star our ability from

336
00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,960
Speaker 1: anybody else on their team. Jannis has done so much defensively,

337
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,119
Speaker 1: although the Bucks are really talented there as well, but

338
00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,320
Speaker 1: they've been unbelievable on that end. And I mean his

339
00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,040
Speaker 1: raw production and what he has done to raise their

340
00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,920
Speaker 1: floor offensively and make them an elite team without Chris

341
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,560
Speaker 1: Middleton for so much of this year is remarkably impressive.

342
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,479
Speaker 1: I guess I'll just make the case for why I

343
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:27,040
Speaker 1: do still think it's Yokich. It is the most efficient

344
00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,159
Speaker 1: scoring season at this volume that we've ever seen, by

345
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,800
Speaker 1: nearly three points true shooting, and I understand what you're

346
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,360
Speaker 1: saying about the shot diet. That being said, his versatility

347
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,119
Speaker 1: is unprecedented for a big man right like, he is

348
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,399
Speaker 1: actually the highest volume post player in the league, and

349
00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,320
Speaker 1: he scores it ninety first percentile efficiency there. He's a

350
00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:48,119
Speaker 1: ninetieth percentile roll man Jason, He's a sixty eighth percentile

351
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,920
Speaker 1: pick and roll ball handler. He's seven ft two hundred

352
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:52,719
Speaker 1: and eighty five pounds. Like the inverted pick and roll

353
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,320
Speaker 1: are legitimately important for the Nuggets, and he crushes it.

354
00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,600
Speaker 1: He is a fifty five percent shoot from mid range,

355
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,520
Speaker 1: seventy percent on floaters. So like to me, the shot

356
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,520
Speaker 1: making the scoring is remarkable, and that's obviously not the

357
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,480
Speaker 1: primary selling point, which I think is the playmaking and

358
00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,760
Speaker 1: the overall ability to lift a team offense like his

359
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,280
Speaker 1: on offsplits this year plus twenty four point seven, the

360
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,399
Speaker 1: best of this century of any player, point blank, plus

361
00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,440
Speaker 1: thirteen point seven on courtnet rating. That's how many points

362
00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,040
Speaker 1: borne hundre possessions the Nuggets outscore their opponents by when

363
00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,800
Speaker 1: he's on the floor. It's easily the best of any candidate.

364
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,760
Speaker 1: It's five points borne under possessions better than Yannis. Meanwhile,

365
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:35,119
Speaker 1: Yannis's team, yes, is mediocre when he's off the floor,

366
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,320
Speaker 1: but they don't fall apart as Yoki's Nuggets do. And

367
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,040
Speaker 1: I understand if people are growing a bit tired of

368
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:41,800
Speaker 1: that argument, because it's like, yeah, well, part of that

369
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,639
Speaker 1: is that the Nuggets don't have really a playable backup center,

370
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,280
Speaker 1: or haven't for so much of this year, and I

371
00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:52,200
Speaker 1: understand that. But nevertheless, he is so fundamental to not

372
00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,320
Speaker 1: just elevating this offense, but to making it the best

373
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,159
Speaker 1: in the league. They're thirty eight and thirteen when he plays,

374
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,639
Speaker 1: so I think he's clearly the best offensive player. I

375
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:04,480
Speaker 1: think he's had the best offensive season, and I think

376
00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:09,040
Speaker 1: he has had the largest impact on team success. I

377
00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,000
Speaker 1: actually do, But I think the margin between him and

378
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,320
Speaker 1: Jannis is slim there, and if you want to make

379
00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:16,880
Speaker 1: the two way better all around argument for Jannis, who

380
00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:21,119
Speaker 1: has also had such unbelievable offensive production and propelled his

381
00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,679
Speaker 1: team to being elite, I really have no problem with that.

382
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,040
Speaker 1: I do think it's a toss up, and I could

383
00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:30,679
Speaker 1: see Yannis actually taking the lead down the stretch. I mean,

384
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,040
Speaker 1: if the Bucks just run away with it now that

385
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,200
Speaker 1: they're at full strength, and I would have no problem

386
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:40,560
Speaker 1: with that. Yeah, it's interesting because specifically with the shot

387
00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,640
Speaker 1: diet stuff, I want to be clear like, I don't

388
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,520
Speaker 1: think you get bonus points for making it more difficult.

389
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,200
Speaker 1: I always joke about, like I'll have guys on a

390
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,119
Speaker 1: plane sometimes it'll be like the big why do you

391
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,840
Speaker 1: call him for a ball screen or something like that.

392
00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:55,560
Speaker 1: I'm like, do you think I get bonus points for

393
00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,159
Speaker 1: scoring on you? Like? No, it's like, I'm trying to

394
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,439
Speaker 1: win this game, okay, Like I don't care what how

395
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,679
Speaker 1: we go about doing it right. You know. It's like,

396
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,200
Speaker 1: what I appreciate about Yokich is I think the fact

397
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:07,760
Speaker 1: that he scores so much in the flow of the

398
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,240
Speaker 1: offense is part of what makes them such a dominant

399
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,960
Speaker 1: regular season team, because there is such a rhythm and

400
00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,399
Speaker 1: flow to the way they play offensively. But I do

401
00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:17,520
Speaker 1: and you pointed out the post up stuff, and I

402
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,080
Speaker 1: want to be clear, it's not like Yoki just never

403
00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:20,960
Speaker 1: looking to create his own shot. Of course he does.

404
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:23,720
Speaker 1: Primarily he's doing it out of the post a lot

405
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,639
Speaker 1: of times against mismatches that are generated through the flow

406
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,160
Speaker 1: of his you know, inverted picking rolls and the things

407
00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,359
Speaker 1: that he does pushing the ball in transition. But I

408
00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:34,280
Speaker 1: do think there's something to be said about, especially when

409
00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,760
Speaker 1: you get into late game situations and in the postseason,

410
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,920
Speaker 1: that rhythm and flow offense tends to have a little

411
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:41,320
Speaker 1: bit of a ceiling to it. You saw that in

412
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,760
Speaker 1: that Philadelphia game. Like at the end of that game,

413
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,360
Speaker 1: Philly got in front of all of those Denver actions

414
00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,439
Speaker 1: and nobody on Denver wanted to take and make a

415
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:51,320
Speaker 1: tough shot, and on the other end of the floor,

416
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,680
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid was just staring. Joke it's right in the

417
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,520
Speaker 1: eyeballs and hit and pull up jumpers in his face.

418
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,520
Speaker 1: So like, and that's just one game. And there's also

419
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,960
Speaker 1: a version of that game where Yoka where NBA doesn't

420
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,280
Speaker 1: get hot at the end, and then Denver wins, and

421
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,520
Speaker 1: then everyone's talking about how great Yokis is, right, So

422
00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:07,880
Speaker 1: but what I'm just saying though, is like, in terms

423
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,200
Speaker 1: of like, oh, he's having one of the most efficient

424
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,200
Speaker 1: scoring seasons in his career in the history of the NBA,

425
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,560
Speaker 1: I do think that there's an important footnote there, which

426
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,200
Speaker 1: is that yokt the way that Yokis is doing it

427
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,600
Speaker 1: is different than a lot of the other high volume

428
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,200
Speaker 1: scoring seasons in NBA history. Just so I do think

429
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,600
Speaker 1: that a factors into the efficiency. I do want to

430
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,359
Speaker 1: push back on one last thing, though, I can't stand

431
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,840
Speaker 1: it when I hear the Yoki's proponents point out the

432
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,480
Speaker 1: on off stats. Not that I don't appreciate the on

433
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,439
Speaker 1: off stats, but there's a couple of There's two huge

434
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,199
Speaker 1: factors there. You mentioned one of them. They don't have

435
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,919
Speaker 1: a good bench, at least not until before the trade deadline.

436
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:46,880
Speaker 1: I do think Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant will help

437
00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,560
Speaker 1: a lot in that department. But the Nuggets also use

438
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,480
Speaker 1: kind of a line shift system, and that's a huge

439
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,080
Speaker 1: difference between a way the way most teams in the

440
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:02,160
Speaker 1: NBA do. Most teams in the NBA like to stagger

441
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,400
Speaker 1: a little bit more to give themselves a little bit

442
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,120
Speaker 1: more continuity with talent on the floor throughout the game.

443
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,280
Speaker 1: The Nuggets are very much a we're running our starters,

444
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:12,919
Speaker 1: and then we're gonna bring out our bench group, and

445
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,920
Speaker 1: then we're gonna come back to our starters. And so

446
00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,800
Speaker 1: that massive drop off in talent is a big part

447
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,800
Speaker 1: of why they struggle so much when the Stars or

448
00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,880
Speaker 1: when Yokich is off the floor. That's why you see

449
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,320
Speaker 1: like Contavious Calwell popes on off numbers are through the

450
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,960
Speaker 1: roof right like there's a huge part of that is

451
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,240
Speaker 1: the way they stagger those lineups. So you know, for Milwaukee,

452
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,080
Speaker 1: for instance, they run any more traditional rotation with guys

453
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:36,480
Speaker 1: in and out of the lineup, there's a lot of

454
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,080
Speaker 1: Yannis at center as they go to their bench. So

455
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,880
Speaker 1: I do, I do think that there's some context there.

456
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:44,000
Speaker 1: I really put it. I really put it this simple,

457
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,200
Speaker 1: like these are two of the top you know, five

458
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,160
Speaker 1: players in the world that are having other worldly seasons.

459
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,440
Speaker 1: Yokich has a more offensive edge, Janniss has a more

460
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 1: defensive edge. I think that I would probably end up

461
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,840
Speaker 1: favoring the guy, provided that no one misses too much time,

462
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,520
Speaker 1: Like if Vannis goes and misses seven games here with

463
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,000
Speaker 1: his wrist, then it's a done deal. Like Yokis gets it.

464
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,160
Speaker 1: And that's a huge thing with Yokis in the last

465
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,159
Speaker 1: few years is his availability. That dude is just always

466
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,240
Speaker 1: ready to play. I think even when he's missed games

467
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,119
Speaker 1: this year, it's been like Covid, you know what I mean, So,

468
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,520
Speaker 1: like his availability is a huge factor there. But they're

469
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,840
Speaker 1: close enough at this point that if if you know,

470
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,960
Speaker 1: if it's still just a five to six game gap

471
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 1: between the two of them in terms of playing availability

472
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,080
Speaker 1: and in the bucks finished ahead of them in the standings.

473
00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:31,159
Speaker 1: I'd probably lean towards Yannis, and I'm fine with that,

474
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:32,800
Speaker 1: And I will say I think that those are both

475
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,840
Speaker 1: important and fair contextual points that you made on the

476
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,880
Speaker 1: on off numbers. I would then simplify it, and sure

477
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:40,639
Speaker 1: you're still getting the value that he's playing with a

478
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:42,439
Speaker 1: lot of starters. But I think just that pure on

479
00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,320
Speaker 1: court number, right, I mean, out scoring opposing teams by

480
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:47,680
Speaker 1: thirteen point seven points per one hundred when he's on

481
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,160
Speaker 1: the floor is remarkable, and it's the best of any

482
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,919
Speaker 1: of these candidates. So I think that this should be

483
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,000
Speaker 1: viewed as a very even two man race. I think

484
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:01,879
Speaker 1: that Embiid, because of sort of games missed, doesn't have

485
00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:04,720
Speaker 1: quite as strong of a case, although he's not too

486
00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 1: far behind in that conversation, but doesn't quite have the

487
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,200
Speaker 1: team's success. Like the margins are slim here, So if

488
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,240
Speaker 1: you want to make an MBID case, I would hear

489
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,080
Speaker 1: it out. I just think it's pretty clearly the weakest

490
00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:18,399
Speaker 1: of the three. But if I could just for a

491
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:22,880
Speaker 1: moment vent Jason from the perspective of a long time

492
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:24,919
Speaker 1: Yokish fan, a guy who actually picked him to win

493
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,119
Speaker 1: MVP this season before he did it. I don't know

494
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,240
Speaker 1: that I want him to win this MVP because the

495
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,680
Speaker 1: narratives that have started, just the disgusting level of outrage

496
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,359
Speaker 1: and disingenuous arguments that are born out of him just

497
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,400
Speaker 1: being announced as a straw poll front runner. It's absurd,

498
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,359
Speaker 1: Like we're getting so many bad faith arguments, we're getting

499
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 1: the well hold on everybody ragged on Russ as a

500
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,680
Speaker 1: stat pattern when he averages a triple double, by the way,

501
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,560
Speaker 1: for which he won an MVP and I actually didn't

502
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,200
Speaker 1: deserve in my opinion, but he won the MVP, And

503
00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,040
Speaker 1: now we're not doing the same for Yoka, just like

504
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,960
Speaker 1: these could not be were different cases. Right, Yoki has

505
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: led the best offense in basketball without another legitimate star.

506
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,520
Speaker 1: He is this remarkable blend of efficiency and offensive versatility

507
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,959
Speaker 1: in playmaking. There's a massive impact on winning. Right, Russ's

508
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,600
Speaker 1: team offense was sixteenth. Russ was wildly inefficient. Russ was,

509
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 1: by the way, having his rebounds padded like Steven Adams

510
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,000
Speaker 1: was trying to get him the ball so that he

511
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,480
Speaker 1: could initiate the offense more quickly. Look at his contested

512
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,720
Speaker 1: rebound rate, and then I just think the playoff success argument,

513
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,040
Speaker 1: it's like, if you think anybody could have contended with

514
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,440
Speaker 1: the Nuggets roster the last two years, you're tripping Facundo

515
00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,280
Speaker 1: Compozzo in Austin rivers, where there's starting guards in a

516
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,320
Speaker 1: playoff series. I haven't had Jamal Murray and Yokich has

517
00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:43,240
Speaker 1: been incredible, So I just think it's going to put

518
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,920
Speaker 1: him in just an absurd position of people being like,

519
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 1: all right, well you got three MVPs, you need to

520
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,520
Speaker 1: win a ring right now or you're a fraud. And

521
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,000
Speaker 1: it's like, well, this is actually his first title caliber roster,

522
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,960
Speaker 1: and guess what, there's other title caliber rosters out there. Like,

523
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,680
Speaker 1: I just think it's going to be unfair on that front.

524
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,920
Speaker 1: But let me commend you, cars and really quickly before

525
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,920
Speaker 1: we move on. You went through that entire debate without

526
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,080
Speaker 1: mentioning a single catch all metric, which is all I've

527
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,920
Speaker 1: been seeing on the damn Twitter timeline over the course

528
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,000
Speaker 1: of the last couple of weeks, which drives me completely insane.

529
00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,600
Speaker 1: You made a basketball case for it, and I sincerely

530
00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,240
Speaker 1: appreciate that. Well, Jason, you and I are aligned in

531
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:25,000
Speaker 1: our dislike of catch all one number metrics. I think

532
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,639
Speaker 1: the idea that we could encapsulate a basketball player's value

533
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,400
Speaker 1: with one number is absurd. And I think defensive metrics

534
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:37,200
Speaker 1: are overwhelmingly offensively bad, but that's a conversation for another day.

535
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,560
Speaker 1: And by the way, defensive metrics clearly overrate Yoki, there's

536
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 1: no doubt about that. But I think he's the best

537
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,120
Speaker 1: offensive player in basketball. I think his impact on team

538
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,639
Speaker 1: success in this regular season has still been unrivaled. But

539
00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:49,639
Speaker 1: Jeannie is incredible and we've known from the jump that

540
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,520
Speaker 1: this was going to be an MVP race for the Ages,

541
00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,120
Speaker 1: and I think it's lived up to the hype. Bet

542
00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,080
Speaker 1: the NBA on T and T with a no sweat

543
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,520
Speaker 1: same game part lay from FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

544
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,000
Speaker 1: Doesn't matter if you're new to FanDuel or already have

545
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 1: an account. Every Thursday night, you'll get bonus bets back

546
00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,520
Speaker 1: if your same game parlay doesn't hit. NBA Same game

547
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 1: parlays are the perfect way to combine your bets for

548
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,600
Speaker 1: a chance at a bigger payday. Build your own, or

549
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,280
Speaker 1: choose from one of the popular same game parlays already

550
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,000
Speaker 1: made for you. In the Vandel sports Book AP This Thursday,

551
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,280
Speaker 1: I'm on the Lakers to cover their minus four and

552
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,160
Speaker 1: a half spread against Golden State, and I like the under.

553
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,560
Speaker 1: This new version of the Lakers plays at a much

554
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,320
Speaker 1: slower pace and with Jared Vanderbilt in the starting lineup,

555
00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,720
Speaker 1: there are a much better defensive team than they were

556
00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 1: earlier in the season. So I think that game is

557
00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 1: gonna go under and the Lakers are gonna win comfortably.

558
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,800
Speaker 1: However you want to play, you can bet the NBA

559
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 1: on TNT every Thursday night with a no sweat, same

560
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:45,479
Speaker 1: game parlay. Just head to FanDuel dot com slash Jason

561
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,760
Speaker 1: T to download FanDuel today and get in on the action.

562
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,480
Speaker 1: And if you're in Massachusetts, get ready because FanDuel is

563
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,160
Speaker 1: coming soon. Make sure you check out FanDuel dot com

564
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 1: slash mass and take advantage of their great pre live

565
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,400
Speaker 1: offers make every moment more of a fan duel. An

566
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,359
Speaker 1: official sports betting partner of the NBA. Let's talk now

567
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,120
Speaker 1: about a guy who was in that conversation early has

568
00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 1: fallen out of a bit due to sort of the

569
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: team success factor, but now has his running mate. They

570
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,159
Speaker 1: could put them in that contending conversation that is the

571
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:22,399
Speaker 1: Luca don Chich Kyrie Irving duo in Dallas, Jason will

572
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 1: their season? Will this duo be a success or a failure?

573
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,360
Speaker 1: I think it's certainly possible. I don't think this season

574
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,160
Speaker 1: is the is the season to properly evaluate them. I mean,

575
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,720
Speaker 1: just everything we know about playoff basketball. I've pointed this

576
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:39,480
Speaker 1: out on the show before, but you need a certain

577
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,880
Speaker 1: amount of defensive front court talent to have any chance

578
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:44,880
Speaker 1: to win the title. Just look at every defensive front

579
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,200
Speaker 1: court that's won the title in the last like thirty years,

580
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,760
Speaker 1: and you're not like the weakest one you'll find in

581
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 1: there is maybe like you know, Dirk Navitsky and Tyson Chandler,

582
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,760
Speaker 1: who Tyson Chandler was an awesome rim protector at that point, right, Like,

583
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:00,800
Speaker 1: You're just not going to be able to compete in

584
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:05,200
Speaker 1: the NBA playoffs without real defensive front court versatility. And

585
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 1: so a lot of it's played out exactly like we expected.

586
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 1: We talked about a real a real secondary ball handler

587
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,320
Speaker 1: to help with usage and things along those lines, and

588
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 1: to give a different kind of change up to Luca

589
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,680
Speaker 1: elevating them on offense, but then really really struggling on

590
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:20,960
Speaker 1: the defensive end, and that's exactly what's happened. So here's

591
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 1: the lineup data so far since Kyrie's come to Dallas,

592
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,760
Speaker 1: with both Luca and Kyrie on the floor and one

593
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,320
Speaker 1: hundred and nine possessions, they are plus ten point five

594
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:35,080
Speaker 1: net with a defensive rating of one hundred and twenty one.

595
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 1: So they're beating the crap out of teams despite giving

596
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,200
Speaker 1: up an egregious amount of points. And it's because they

597
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,720
Speaker 1: have an offensive rating up over one hundred and thirty

598
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,680
Speaker 1: one points per one hundred possessions when Kyrie's on the

599
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 1: floor without Luca, they've done They've had one hundred and

600
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,720
Speaker 1: ninety nine possessions of that so far, a one sixteen

601
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,480
Speaker 1: defensive rating, one twenty three offensive rating, plus seven net.

602
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,000
Speaker 1: That's about as good as you're ever gonna do without

603
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,880
Speaker 1: Luca in this era, probably worth mentioning. And this is

604
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,760
Speaker 1: you know, I was talking about this with Ryan shortly

605
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:11,640
Speaker 1: after this all went down, But dude, he went right

606
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 1: away with one practice and beat the Clippers and the

607
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 1: Kings on the road without Luca like like that, you know.

608
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:22,120
Speaker 1: And it always bothered me during this whole debate how

609
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,040
Speaker 1: everyone focused on the issues with Kyrie while completely glossing

610
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,200
Speaker 1: over the fact that he is an unbelievably good basketball player.

611
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,680
Speaker 1: So you're seeing you're seeing that benefit already there. And

612
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:35,800
Speaker 1: then this season with Luca and no Kyrie in thirty

613
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,400
Speaker 1: five hundred possessions, obviously because it's a full season, they

614
00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 1: have a one twenty offensive rating in a one sixteen

615
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,840
Speaker 1: defensive rating, So they're getting really good, like Luca quality

616
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,600
Speaker 1: offense even when Luca's off the floor, which is the

617
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:51,680
Speaker 1: huge advantage there. Now, I think from an exosit like

618
00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:55,280
Speaker 1: from an actual basketball standpoint, and I'm wondering if you're

619
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,320
Speaker 1: seeing the same thing. There's a lot more tempo and

620
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,760
Speaker 1: pace to the way they're playing now, not necessarily in

621
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:03,200
Speaker 1: pushing and transition, because I was looking at the numbers,

622
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,480
Speaker 1: they were a twelve percent transition frequency without Kyrie in

623
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,760
Speaker 1: the thirteen percent with him, so not much of a

624
00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 1: tick up there, But in the half court there's just

625
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 1: a lot more quickness of decision making with Kyrie on

626
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,560
Speaker 1: the floor, and I think I think a lot of

627
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,520
Speaker 1: that is Kyrie initiating possessions just because he makes quicker

628
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:25,040
Speaker 1: decisions and he's not the super methodical approach that Luca

629
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,440
Speaker 1: has but even when Lucas had the ball. I'm not

630
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:30,240
Speaker 1: sure if you've noticed this, Carson, but even Luca's making

631
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,680
Speaker 1: quicker decisions knowing that if if it leads to an

632
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,280
Speaker 1: opportunity for Kyrie to run second side action or for

633
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,320
Speaker 1: them to move the ball a little bit more, they're

634
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 1: getting good, better stuff out of that, and you're seeing

635
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:42,920
Speaker 1: that reflected in the offensive ratings. But I just I

636
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:49,280
Speaker 1: thought they were literally the worst watching basketball this season

637
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,200
Speaker 1: for a guy like us, for guys like us who

638
00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:54,800
Speaker 1: have to watch it and have to watch the good teams.

639
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 1: I hated watching them the most because it was just

640
00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,000
Speaker 1: so predictable. And I love Luca, but television product, it

641
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,840
Speaker 1: was just so every possession looked the same. Adding Kyrie

642
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 1: to this mix has made it a must watch team

643
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,080
Speaker 1: for me, and that's just a testament to the way

644
00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:12,560
Speaker 1: that he's kind of made their offense more palatable, and

645
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,320
Speaker 1: I think it invigorates the team. Like in that game,

646
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 1: that comeback game against Minnesota, or Anthony Edwards and Jada

647
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,960
Speaker 1: McDaniels shut them down on the final possession, the energy

648
00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,200
Speaker 1: that was flowing through that arena as Kylie Kyrie led

649
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,600
Speaker 1: that comeback was palpable, and I think that there's there's

650
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 1: something to be said about stagnation and the effect it

651
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,280
Speaker 1: has on the energy of off ball players versus pace

652
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,120
Speaker 1: and tempo and movement in the way that keeps players engaged.

653
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,080
Speaker 1: I think Kyrie has been monumentally good for them offensively.

654
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:41,960
Speaker 1: Now the defensive end is going to be a problem,

655
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:43,760
Speaker 1: but that was never going to be something they could

656
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,120
Speaker 1: address within this season. That's gonna be something they can

657
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:48,600
Speaker 1: look at this offseason. And the beauty of it is

658
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,520
Speaker 1: because of how damn good Kyrie Irving and Luca don Chajar.

659
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:55,920
Speaker 1: You can do things like get severely offensive limited players

660
00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 1: offensively limited players because they're pull up shooters, does lucas

661
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,840
Speaker 1: such a half court surgeon. You can go after front

662
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:08,640
Speaker 1: court players that have severe offensive deficiencies that specialize in

663
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:10,959
Speaker 1: what they like. A guy like Stanley Johnson might be

664
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,920
Speaker 1: someone they look at even within this season to shore

665
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,120
Speaker 1: them up on the wing. But they need they need

666
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 1: to reform the front court in the offseason to have

667
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:21,760
Speaker 1: a real chance to compete. But I love this deal

668
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,040
Speaker 1: simply because of the fact that it makes them such

669
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:29,320
Speaker 1: a more fun and fluid offensive basketball team. I completely

670
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 1: agree that The offensive fit is dreamlike, and that's how

671
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,800
Speaker 1: I thought it would look, and in practice it's been perfect.

672
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:39,360
Speaker 1: I mean, Kyrie is the ideal compliment to Luca, and

673
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 1: there were some people who were talking about how they

674
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,040
Speaker 1: thought it was two ball dominant guards playing together, which

675
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,880
Speaker 1: it really isn't. And we've seen Kyrie consistently play that

676
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,560
Speaker 1: complimentary role to a more ball dominant star, if it's Lebron,

677
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,760
Speaker 1: if it's playing with both Harden and Katie. He is

678
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,719
Speaker 1: that quicker decision maker. He is obviously a brilliant isolation

679
00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:02,160
Speaker 1: and pick and roll scorer who can attack mismatches and

680
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,400
Speaker 1: go get you a bucket quickly. And he's also a

681
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: great spot up player. And you know he's even increased

682
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,680
Speaker 1: his volume there obviously playing alongside Luca, and he was

683
00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 1: an eighty eighth percentile spot up guy this season in Brooklyn.

684
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 1: So I think that the fit is great. There. You

685
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,560
Speaker 1: mentioned how brilliant they've been offensively. I do think, though,

686
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:24,359
Speaker 1: if you're expecting Dallas to contend this season, it's not

687
00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,200
Speaker 1: going to happen because of what you laid out. I

688
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,879
Speaker 1: thought that that game against Minnesota was a defensive abomination,

689
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:33,160
Speaker 1: and I think that overall, we've seen them unable to

690
00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:35,560
Speaker 1: stop people at the point of attack and then unable

691
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,640
Speaker 1: to challenge them at the rim. Like since they added Kyrie,

692
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,880
Speaker 1: they're allowing a posting teams to shoot seventy five percent

693
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:45,480
Speaker 1: inside five feet Jason, worse than any other team in

694
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,399
Speaker 1: the league, and they're allowing the most makes per game

695
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,480
Speaker 1: in that area. Because it's like Christian Wood with his

696
00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:54,640
Speaker 1: limited drop coverage is not intimidating anybody. Dwight Powell is

697
00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:59,160
Speaker 1: not intimidating anybody, especially when you're dealing with two liabilities

698
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,040
Speaker 1: at the point of attack. You have to play for

699
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,080
Speaker 1: thirty five minutes to night because they're by so far

700
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,239
Speaker 1: your best players. So I agree with you. I think

701
00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:09,080
Speaker 1: this is a move that you look at as being

702
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:14,080
Speaker 1: a potential elevator into contention for next year because they

703
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:18,320
Speaker 1: have movable contracts with THHJ, maybe Britons, you can attach

704
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,720
Speaker 1: a pick and get off that money. At least. Reggie

705
00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:24,279
Speaker 1: Bullock is another like mid level size contractor, though I

706
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,200
Speaker 1: think they probably want to keep him and they've got

707
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:29,680
Speaker 1: a couple of expirings this year, so it's concerning to

708
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:32,239
Speaker 1: me still being invested in Kyrie as good as he

709
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:35,279
Speaker 1: may be at basketball, it's just frightening to have him

710
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,440
Speaker 1: on an expiring deal and you never know when the

711
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,040
Speaker 1: volatility is going to come into play, and they're not

712
00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,760
Speaker 1: good enough yet, and so that's what's a bit scary,

713
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 1: is that it's no like, oh man, well, if Kyrie

714
00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:48,560
Speaker 1: goes insane after this year, at least we had our

715
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,040
Speaker 1: shot at a title. Because they don't have that shot

716
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,200
Speaker 1: at a title yet. They're twenty fourth and defensive rating.

717
00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 1: We've never seen a team that bad on that end

718
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:56,839
Speaker 1: make the finals, and so I think the precedent there

719
00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,560
Speaker 1: is clear. But they are really good offensively and you're right,

720
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,759
Speaker 1: I mean, if they shore up the wings down the line, yes,

721
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,359
Speaker 1: then this absolutely could be a true contending team. That's

722
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,719
Speaker 1: super interesting. Like I'm making the case for Kyrie as

723
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:15,920
Speaker 1: a long term upside, and the long term element is

724
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,759
Speaker 1: what's so terrifying about Kyrie. Now. I will say that

725
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:22,359
Speaker 1: I think Mark Cuban is crazy enough to give him

726
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,200
Speaker 1: what he wants, and I also think that there are

727
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:28,839
Speaker 1: severe limitations for other teams to obtaining him because sign

728
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:34,080
Speaker 1: and trades gets super complicated from the standpoint of like hardcapping.

729
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,680
Speaker 1: You so, like like if the Lakers wanted them. It's

730
00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:38,520
Speaker 1: like you've got kind of two options. Like if Anthony

731
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,640
Speaker 1: Davis plays awesome down the stretch of the season, you

732
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:42,520
Speaker 1: look to maybe do a sign and trade deal with

733
00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:44,600
Speaker 1: De'angela Russell, but then you have to get the Mavericks

734
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,440
Speaker 1: on board, so you might have to give up picks.

735
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,399
Speaker 1: And then now even if you do a double sign

736
00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:51,920
Speaker 1: and trade with Dillo and Kyrie, you're immediately hardcapping yourself,

737
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,440
Speaker 1: which limits your ability this offseason to add talent around

738
00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: those guys. There's a bunch of like different elements that

739
00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,160
Speaker 1: make it super complicated, and I think it really just

740
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:02,400
Speaker 1: comes down to Mark Cuban writes the check after the season,

741
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:05,480
Speaker 1: so I'm less worried about that. Um. The one last

742
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:06,880
Speaker 1: thing that I thought you said that was super interesting

743
00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:09,920
Speaker 1: before we move on, is that spotting up part. You know,

744
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:14,640
Speaker 1: Spencer Dinwoody was a good off ball option in Dallas,

745
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,120
Speaker 1: and there are there are nights where he looks like

746
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:20,680
Speaker 1: an All Star, but the one gigantic chasm, and I

747
00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:22,560
Speaker 1: do think Hyrie is a much better on ball player

748
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:25,320
Speaker 1: than Dinwoody. That goes without saying, but where an even

749
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,360
Speaker 1: larger chasm exists, as in that spotting up element, because

750
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:33,000
Speaker 1: Spencer Dinwoody is very streaky jump shooter and in this

751
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,080
Speaker 1: spot up situations is someone that defenses feel at least

752
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 1: somewhat comfortable conceding shots too, whereas with Kyrie Irving, it's

753
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,960
Speaker 1: like that thing's going in every single time if you

754
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,040
Speaker 1: leave him open. And so that that element is a

755
00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,279
Speaker 1: huge part of their complimentary offense together. But I thought

756
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 1: you laid it out pretty well. It's it's it's a

757
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,439
Speaker 1: long term upside with a player that you don't feel

758
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 1: comfortable having a long term attachment too. And so it's

759
00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:01,600
Speaker 1: going to be an interesting challenge for them. And it's

760
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,239
Speaker 1: like you said, it had to be long term because

761
00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:05,040
Speaker 1: they couldn't get it all done this year. They had

762
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,880
Speaker 1: two clear needs on this roster, really high level second

763
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:11,480
Speaker 1: creator and then that front court defense, and they had

764
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,360
Speaker 1: to compromise one of those, giving up Dorian Finney Smith

765
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,880
Speaker 1: to then gain a much better player in the category.

766
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,120
Speaker 1: That is probably, well, I don't know if it's more

767
00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:23,080
Speaker 1: important to their long term ceiling. I think they really

768
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:27,840
Speaker 1: need both, but Kyrie is that first building block you

769
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:31,240
Speaker 1: hope alongside Luca. But man, does it scare me because

770
00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:33,640
Speaker 1: you just don't know, dude. I mean, he teamed up

771
00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:36,680
Speaker 1: with you know, his best buddy, and then of course

772
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,920
Speaker 1: the Nets are sort of incompetent. That fell apart. He

773
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,480
Speaker 1: left Lebron James and three straight finals to go to

774
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:45,840
Speaker 1: you know, the most talented young core in the league,

775
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,160
Speaker 1: and then wasn't happy with that, Like, it's just a

776
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:53,319
Speaker 1: really scary guy to be invested in. So we will

777
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,680
Speaker 1: see how that plays out over the home stretch of

778
00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,960
Speaker 1: this season and the coming years. But we just mentioned

779
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,360
Speaker 1: having to rant his buddy, who obviously is now in Phoenix,

780
00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:07,480
Speaker 1: So Jason, we have not seen Katie on the floor

781
00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:10,000
Speaker 1: for the Suns yet, but I think the expectations are

782
00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:14,760
Speaker 1: obviously very high. Is this a finals or bust season

783
00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,879
Speaker 1: for them? I don't think so. Now. I do think,

784
00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:20,560
Speaker 1: unlike Dallas, I think they have a real chance to

785
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:23,319
Speaker 1: win the title this year. I've said this before, but

786
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,160
Speaker 1: I think I think they are the worst perimeter defense

787
00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:30,279
Speaker 1: out of any serious NBA Finals contender. For instance, like

788
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,359
Speaker 1: even the Lakers are like, oh, D'Angelo Russell and Molique Beasley. Yeah,

789
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:36,799
Speaker 1: but Jared Vanderbilt is a much better like swing nan

790
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:40,279
Speaker 1: defender than anybody who's playing for the Phoenix Suns right now,

791
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:43,000
Speaker 1: right So like they like in terms of teams that

792
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,000
Speaker 1: you're looking at there, they just don't have anybody that

793
00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:48,080
Speaker 1: contain it, can contain the ball. Chris Paul at this

794
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,920
Speaker 1: phase of his career struggles with quicker guards, and so

795
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,640
Speaker 1: it's one of those things where I do think that

796
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:55,759
Speaker 1: they're flawed and they're I do not have them as

797
00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,719
Speaker 1: my favorite this year under any stretch of imagination. However,

798
00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:05,320
Speaker 1: like Devin Booker's twenty six, DeAndre Ayton's twenty four locked

799
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:08,200
Speaker 1: up long term and as a tradeable contract because he's

800
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:12,239
Speaker 1: in the mid thirties for millions, Chris Paul I don't

801
00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:15,600
Speaker 1: think matters much to this team's ultimate ceiling. Like I

802
00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:17,640
Speaker 1: do think he'll find a way to contribute within this

803
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:19,560
Speaker 1: season and maybe a little bit next season. But I

804
00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,200
Speaker 1: don't think even if you just completely erased him from

805
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:24,400
Speaker 1: the equation, I don't think it changes my calculus of

806
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,600
Speaker 1: the Sun's much at all, especially with how well guys

807
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,040
Speaker 1: like Joshua Cogi are playing, you know, in point of

808
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,520
Speaker 1: attack defense roles, which you could almost look at him

809
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 1: as a defensive point guard for that team if they needed.

810
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,000
Speaker 1: And then I think Kyd's gonna age really well. I

811
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:43,680
Speaker 1: think overall, the way that his game is structured, he's

812
00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:45,799
Speaker 1: going to be a very effective scorer for at least

813
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:47,680
Speaker 1: the next three to four or five seasons. So I'm

814
00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:50,280
Speaker 1: not concerned about that at all. I would say though,

815
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,280
Speaker 1: that next season would be their best and most likely

816
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:56,759
Speaker 1: opportunity to win after they make a couple of moves

817
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:00,200
Speaker 1: on the margins, and with that will come real pressure.

818
00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:04,280
Speaker 1: So next year there's gonna be some real serious pressure

819
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:08,200
Speaker 1: on Kevin Durant to get his first NBA championship outside

820
00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:11,239
Speaker 1: of that Warrior's environment where he had the massive talent advantage.

821
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,200
Speaker 1: But I don't think I'm gonna be holding him to

822
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:19,440
Speaker 1: that standard in this season. I think that they're sort

823
00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:24,120
Speaker 1: of on the border here when we're talking about finals

824
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,440
Speaker 1: or bust. It's not really right because they don't have

825
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:30,759
Speaker 1: an overwhelming talent advantage, and they certainly have depth concerns.

826
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:33,760
Speaker 1: They have continuity challenges just in terms of having twenty

827
00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:36,399
Speaker 1: games now to get this all together. But my gut

828
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:39,560
Speaker 1: reaction when this move happened was I think this makes

829
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,480
Speaker 1: them my favorite out West. I still don't think that

830
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:46,520
Speaker 1: they're complete enough to pick them over Denver. Well, that

831
00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,799
Speaker 1: was my gut reaction. Now as I'm reflected and I'm like,

832
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,520
Speaker 1: I don't know, man, we still haven't seen it. Like

833
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:56,040
Speaker 1: Denver is a well oiled machine with twenty plus games

834
00:41:56,080 --> 00:41:59,759
Speaker 1: to go. Phoenix has not played basketball yet together with

835
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:03,240
Speaker 1: twenty plus games to go. So you think Kevin Duran's

836
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:05,960
Speaker 1: gonna struggle to fit in with the Suns. No, I don't.

837
00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:08,799
Speaker 1: But it's more about, Okay, well, when we're looking at

838
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,359
Speaker 1: this wing depth, how much of a problem is that

839
00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:14,160
Speaker 1: when we're looking at point of attack defense, like handling

840
00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,719
Speaker 1: some of the dynamic guards you will have to there's

841
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:19,240
Speaker 1: actually not as many as you might think in the West.

842
00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:21,480
Speaker 1: But you know, certainly as Steph Curry right, if that

843
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,919
Speaker 1: happens in a meaningful playoff series, I think the best

844
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:28,320
Speaker 1: option there Jordan Poole, even like you know, if Portland

845
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:30,200
Speaker 1: isn't gonna matter, but even if they had to guard

846
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:32,640
Speaker 1: like Damon aunt Simons, it's like all of those matchups

847
00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:37,120
Speaker 1: would be really problematic. So I have my basketball concerns there.

848
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,399
Speaker 1: I obviously think Katie is unbelievable. I know you've said

849
00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:42,520
Speaker 1: you think he's been the best player this season. I

850
00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,839
Speaker 1: have zero problem with that, and I might agree the

851
00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:49,040
Speaker 1: top four for me is so close between him, Jannie Yo,

852
00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:51,800
Speaker 1: Kitchen Steph. I think those guys are all basketball gods.

853
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:55,120
Speaker 1: But my thought was kind of there is just an

854
00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:59,120
Speaker 1: overwhelming star power factor here with like maybe the best

855
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,120
Speaker 1: scoring wing Tan we've ever seen with booking Kde, Like

856
00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:05,360
Speaker 1: that's an unbelievable level of talent and versatility. And CP,

857
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:07,680
Speaker 1: althoughways had his struggles as a score this year, is

858
00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:13,759
Speaker 1: still so effective in that playmaker tempo setter, especially if

859
00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:16,680
Speaker 1: you have two just monsters to feed, like, he's going

860
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:18,440
Speaker 1: to be so great in that role in eight. And

861
00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:21,520
Speaker 1: you know, if he's consistently dialed in defensively and doesn't

862
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:23,680
Speaker 1: really have an offensive burden to try to create for himself,

863
00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:26,839
Speaker 1: can be this super efficient positive two way for So yeah,

864
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:29,040
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody else is matching that top four.

865
00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:32,879
Speaker 1: And the question is just how far behind the rest

866
00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:37,280
Speaker 1: of the contenders are they in that five through eight range,

867
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,560
Speaker 1: And I think the answer is clearly behind. So I

868
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:43,480
Speaker 1: don't think that they're beating the Bucks of the Celtics.

869
00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:46,480
Speaker 1: I honestly don't think anybody out west is. If I

870
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,160
Speaker 1: were to pick somebody, it would be Denver or Golden

871
00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:53,000
Speaker 1: State because I think we've seen with Golden State the

872
00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:56,040
Speaker 1: two way ceiling last year. We trust their role players,

873
00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:00,120
Speaker 1: Denver again, trust their top six a lot. Phoenix we

874
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,200
Speaker 1: don't have that level of confidence yet. But I don't know.

875
00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:05,560
Speaker 1: This is a really, really, really talented basketball team at

876
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:08,200
Speaker 1: the top, So I think we should have high expectations

877
00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:11,840
Speaker 1: and guess what, you may be fair to Katie. I

878
00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:14,239
Speaker 1: think Katie will get grilled if they don't win a

879
00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:17,240
Speaker 1: title like that may be unreasonable. I mean a title

880
00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:19,759
Speaker 1: is certainly unreasonable because they shouldn't. Right, They're not as

881
00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:21,920
Speaker 1: complete or as good of a basketball team we wouldn't

882
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,160
Speaker 1: think as Milwaukee or Boston. But that's what happens when

883
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,600
Speaker 1: you take things into your own hands. There's a certain

884
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:30,520
Speaker 1: subsection of people who don't like that, especially with Katie,

885
00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:33,439
Speaker 1: and I think we'll hear that, well, yeah, that's where

886
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,360
Speaker 1: you just gotta get off Twitter. My brother, it's like yeah,

887
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:39,200
Speaker 1: like yeah, like get like he's not doing that. You're

888
00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:41,359
Speaker 1: gonna you're gonna face a ton of negativity on there

889
00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:44,120
Speaker 1: no matter what you do. Uh, Like I mean like literally,

890
00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:46,560
Speaker 1: I mean I've seen like shows like Yes Can First

891
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:50,120
Speaker 1: take talking about Lebron having pressure during this season, It's like,

892
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:53,800
Speaker 1: come on, man, are you freaking kidding me? He hasn't

893
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:57,000
Speaker 1: done enough, Jason, I hasn't done enough. Well, he hasn't

894
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,359
Speaker 1: done enough to apparently make your list of top four

895
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:03,399
Speaker 1: players in the league. There? Would you have him there?

896
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,120
Speaker 1: Have you seen the work he's done over the last

897
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,880
Speaker 1: three months to float that god awful Lakers roster? Have

898
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:11,759
Speaker 1: you looked into on off numbers? Have you looked at

899
00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:13,920
Speaker 1: how it they've won every single one of his shifts

900
00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:18,600
Speaker 1: with like fringe NBA players around him. I think he's

901
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:22,680
Speaker 1: top six. Okay, all right, I'll accept it, alexat Yeah.

902
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:27,840
Speaker 1: I have one follow up question. Okay, do the Sun's

903
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:31,080
Speaker 1: limit their ceiling if they keep the ball in Chris

904
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:34,600
Speaker 1: Paul's hands too much? Given how good of a offensive

905
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:37,319
Speaker 1: initiator Kevin Durant has met in this season, Like if

906
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:39,840
Speaker 1: they slot him into the Michael Bridges roll off the ball,

907
00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:44,040
Speaker 1: doesn't that limit their offensive ceiling? Yes, unequivocally. I mean,

908
00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:48,200
Speaker 1: we know that Katie is unbelievable in really any offensive role,

909
00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:51,920
Speaker 1: Like we've seen him play more off ball like in

910
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 1: Golden State. We know that he's a lethal catch and shooter.

911
00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 1: But yeah, of course, I mean he's been probably the

912
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:59,640
Speaker 1: best pick and roll weapon in basketball this year, and

913
00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:03,520
Speaker 1: Book is also obviously an unbelievable pick and roll bucket

914
00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:05,920
Speaker 1: getter and playmaker at this point. So yeah, those are

915
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:10,120
Speaker 1: your two guys. But I do still think there's value

916
00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:13,440
Speaker 1: in being able to run actions for those guys, getting

917
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:17,400
Speaker 1: them open away from the ball. That having CP being

918
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:22,239
Speaker 1: so savvy in that role, it's just nice to have

919
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:25,680
Speaker 1: that variety and to be able to create them looks

920
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:27,759
Speaker 1: in different ways. And I think Phoenix can do that

921
00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:32,239
Speaker 1: at a level for their star wings that I don't

922
00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:34,920
Speaker 1: know if anybody else around the league can, So when

923
00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:36,640
Speaker 1: it comes down to it, yeah, I mean I think

924
00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:39,680
Speaker 1: we could SEECP get phased out a little bit. But also,

925
00:46:40,760 --> 00:46:43,480
Speaker 1: I mean, he's still the lethal switch hunter man. Like,

926
00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:45,960
Speaker 1: he hasn't been quite as good at his signature mid

927
00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:49,640
Speaker 1: range short range shot making this year, but we know

928
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:51,560
Speaker 1: what he's done the last two playoffs. I mean, he's

929
00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:55,200
Speaker 1: scoring skyrockets and he just will run pick and roll

930
00:46:55,239 --> 00:46:57,799
Speaker 1: at the weakest defensive player time and again and again

931
00:46:57,800 --> 00:46:59,359
Speaker 1: and get that switch and if you're play and drop,

932
00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,719
Speaker 1: it's just oh wow, CP wants to shoot sixty five

933
00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:04,239
Speaker 1: percent from midrange. Okay, so I think having that is

934
00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:07,239
Speaker 1: your third guy offensively, with the ability to pick his

935
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:10,560
Speaker 1: spots as a score and with his playmaking genius. I

936
00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:14,239
Speaker 1: still think CP three really helps this team. I do think.

937
00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:16,439
Speaker 1: I think he helps and I think there's a role

938
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:19,759
Speaker 1: for him, especially in bench groups. I just look at

939
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:21,719
Speaker 1: it like this. I know, I know the way Kevin

940
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:23,880
Speaker 1: Durant's gonna look at this, He's gonna be like, Ahi, guys,

941
00:47:24,239 --> 00:47:26,759
Speaker 1: you just keep playing ball the way you have all

942
00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:28,960
Speaker 1: slide into that Kale Bridges role will make this whole

943
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:31,239
Speaker 1: thing work. I know that's what Kadi's been saying behind

944
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:33,560
Speaker 1: the scenes. I just that just seems like something he

945
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:35,840
Speaker 1: would do. And the way I look at it is,

946
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 1: you're right, like Devin Booker coming up in that Spain

947
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:41,240
Speaker 1: pick and roll action getting shots has worked well, Chris

948
00:47:41,239 --> 00:47:43,560
Speaker 1: Paul switch hunting and doing all that stuff has worked well.

949
00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:47,520
Speaker 1: But Kevin Durant is one of the small handful of players,

950
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:49,319
Speaker 1: like the two or three players in the league this

951
00:47:49,400 --> 00:47:51,520
Speaker 1: year or every team in the NBA has been like

952
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,759
Speaker 1: trapped every one of his pick and rolls, Like, we

953
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:56,600
Speaker 1: cannot allow this guy to come off of this pick

954
00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,480
Speaker 1: and roll clean and playing four on three in the

955
00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:03,640
Speaker 1: back end with Kyrie and you know, Ben Simmons and

956
00:48:03,719 --> 00:48:08,560
Speaker 1: Nick Klaxton and Royce O'Neill has generated absurd offensive ratings.

957
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:11,959
Speaker 1: Just imagine if that's Chris Paul, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton

958
00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:14,680
Speaker 1: and Joshua Cogi or whoever it is that's in that spot.

959
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:18,720
Speaker 1: I think that the ultimate offensive ceiling of this team

960
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:21,719
Speaker 1: is Kevin Durant has the damn basketball and so I'm

961
00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:23,640
Speaker 1: just really curious how long it takes them to get there,

962
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:26,560
Speaker 1: because I do think they'll eventually go that route, especially

963
00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:29,880
Speaker 1: when the chips are down. But like you talk about continuity,

964
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:33,120
Speaker 1: like those four on threes, you build continuity in making

965
00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:35,319
Speaker 1: those quick decisions in those four on threes, and I'd

966
00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:37,600
Speaker 1: like to see them get more practice with that in

967
00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:39,800
Speaker 1: the coming weeks. That's just one of those like small

968
00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:42,239
Speaker 1: little storylines with the Sun's offense. And I'm gonna be

969
00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:44,040
Speaker 1: keeping an eye on here in the next couple months,

970
00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:46,600
Speaker 1: and I think it's a very interesting one. And I

971
00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:48,560
Speaker 1: think it's a good point. Right, Katie's your best player,

972
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:52,320
Speaker 1: he's your best offensive engine, and it would be interesting

973
00:48:52,360 --> 00:48:56,279
Speaker 1: to see CP three back in sort of an off

974
00:48:56,320 --> 00:48:58,319
Speaker 1: ball roll, which the only time we've seen in his

975
00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:01,480
Speaker 1: career was Houston with as Hard But you know, I

976
00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:03,359
Speaker 1: did pretty darn well and that obviously I don't think

977
00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:06,520
Speaker 1: he's quite the same player he was, but great decision

978
00:49:06,560 --> 00:49:10,960
Speaker 1: maker again, can be incredibly effective as a shooter. So

979
00:49:11,160 --> 00:49:13,040
Speaker 1: a guy who can pick his spots and still really

980
00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:16,520
Speaker 1: have a pronounced impact. Okay, we've done a lot of

981
00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:19,800
Speaker 1: talking about the best in the league here Jason, of course,

982
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:21,680
Speaker 1: as we enter the home stretch. But on the flip

983
00:49:21,719 --> 00:49:25,000
Speaker 1: side of that, we have the tankathon going on, which

984
00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:29,680
Speaker 1: is inevitable in today's NBA, but especially this year given

985
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:32,400
Speaker 1: the prizes at the top of the draft that have

986
00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:37,320
Speaker 1: been discussed so much. With Victor Wamanyama and with Scoot Jason,

987
00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:40,240
Speaker 1: we've already done a decent amount of talking about those guys.

988
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:43,560
Speaker 1: So I went ahead. I told you that my next

989
00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:48,440
Speaker 1: favorite guy in this class is a men Thompson, the overteam, overtime,

990
00:49:48,480 --> 00:49:51,319
Speaker 1: elite guy. Have you had a chance to take a

991
00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,759
Speaker 1: look at him. What are your thoughts? Yeah, it took

992
00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:58,759
Speaker 1: a look at him yesterday. Thank God for synergy makes

993
00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:00,840
Speaker 1: it a lot easier to get a good get to

994
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:02,600
Speaker 1: get a good feel for these players in a short

995
00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:06,680
Speaker 1: amount of time. You know, I think he's one of

996
00:50:06,719 --> 00:50:09,440
Speaker 1: the best wing prospects I've seen in a long time.

997
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:13,960
Speaker 1: From the standpoint of his physical tools, he's extremely raw.

998
00:50:14,719 --> 00:50:18,000
Speaker 1: The jump shot has miles and miles to go, Like,

999
00:50:18,080 --> 00:50:21,920
Speaker 1: he's not just missing shots, he's missing him badly. There's

1000
00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:24,600
Speaker 1: gonna be need to be tweaks to the form. There's

1001
00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:27,640
Speaker 1: a little bit of stuff with like the way he

1002
00:50:27,680 --> 00:50:32,360
Speaker 1: sees the floor. He like just flies into into packed

1003
00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:34,640
Speaker 1: paints without really making reads of where the help is

1004
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:36,640
Speaker 1: and he'll turn the basketball over and a lot of

1005
00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:39,520
Speaker 1: young basketball players stuff there. But just strictly from the

1006
00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:42,759
Speaker 1: standpoint of his physical tools, you know, we see a

1007
00:50:42,760 --> 00:50:45,799
Speaker 1: lot of like really twitchy and springy wings, and he

1008
00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,920
Speaker 1: obviously has that twitch and he's got that spring. But

1009
00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:52,520
Speaker 1: what he has that I find super fascinating is he's

1010
00:50:52,560 --> 00:50:58,120
Speaker 1: got that like downhill element, like that real straight line

1011
00:50:58,280 --> 00:51:00,960
Speaker 1: power going downhill that we don't see from a lot

1012
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:03,480
Speaker 1: of wings these days, you know, And I think that

1013
00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:06,720
Speaker 1: that we've seen that so much, especially in playoff basketball,

1014
00:51:06,719 --> 00:51:09,919
Speaker 1: like just Andrew Wiggins and his ability to like rip

1015
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:13,160
Speaker 1: through and drop a shoulder into the center's chest and

1016
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:14,840
Speaker 1: make like a little floater in the lane like that

1017
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:18,440
Speaker 1: sort of like downhill rim pressure from the wing position

1018
00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:20,839
Speaker 1: I think is super valuable. And even though he doesn't

1019
00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:23,680
Speaker 1: see the four super well yet, he does dribble extremely

1020
00:51:23,719 --> 00:51:26,520
Speaker 1: well for a player his size, And he's got a

1021
00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:30,480
Speaker 1: one of the nastiest hesitation move first step combinations that

1022
00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:32,879
Speaker 1: I've seen. Like you'll put that ball into his right

1023
00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:35,480
Speaker 1: hand kind of sitting at high heasy for a second,

1024
00:51:35,480 --> 00:51:38,160
Speaker 1: and he'll hit the jets and there's like a ridiculous

1025
00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:41,040
Speaker 1: first step. He's got that Lebron off arm thing where

1026
00:51:41,040 --> 00:51:43,720
Speaker 1: he extends that left arm out and just starts clearing space.

1027
00:51:44,160 --> 00:51:47,200
Speaker 1: And like you're watching these guys in the footage that

1028
00:51:47,239 --> 00:51:50,640
Speaker 1: I've been watching really sitting on his drive because he

1029
00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:54,640
Speaker 1: can't shoot, and he's still just getting persistent rim pressure

1030
00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:56,600
Speaker 1: as a downhill guy. This is what drew me so

1031
00:51:56,680 --> 00:52:00,920
Speaker 1: much to Anthony Edwards was that real nation of downhill

1032
00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:04,560
Speaker 1: power with his vertical athleticism is pull up, jump shooting

1033
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:06,839
Speaker 1: and all those different things. That's something that I've been

1034
00:52:06,880 --> 00:52:09,480
Speaker 1: placing a lot of value on around the league. I mean,

1035
00:52:09,480 --> 00:52:12,239
Speaker 1: even just shake Gil just Alexander is one of my

1036
00:52:12,239 --> 00:52:15,000
Speaker 1: favorite guards because of his persistent ability to get to

1037
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:17,720
Speaker 1: the rim like that I've just especially in playoff basketball

1038
00:52:17,719 --> 00:52:19,360
Speaker 1: and the way that warps defenses and the way the

1039
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:21,799
Speaker 1: defenses are kind of spread out these days. I put

1040
00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:23,920
Speaker 1: a lot of value to that. Now it's got a lot,

1041
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:25,400
Speaker 1: like I said, a lot of stuff. He's got to

1042
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:29,480
Speaker 1: clean up. The jumper's got like he's going to have

1043
00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:32,560
Speaker 1: to have like a five year plan to fix his

1044
00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:36,080
Speaker 1: jump shot, like it's it's that far away and the

1045
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:39,320
Speaker 1: floor vision stuff. You know what's funny is he actually

1046
00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:42,920
Speaker 1: impresses me as a passer from the standpoint of like

1047
00:52:42,920 --> 00:52:45,799
Speaker 1: these rifle cross court passes because he that he can

1048
00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:48,080
Speaker 1: throw over the top of the defense. But he struggles

1049
00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:50,960
Speaker 1: a little bit with the with the pile driving into

1050
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:53,640
Speaker 1: just you know, throngs of people and turning the basketball over.

1051
00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:56,719
Speaker 1: I I find I like, this is a guy that

1052
00:52:57,360 --> 00:52:59,719
Speaker 1: you'd probably look at as a potential number one pick

1053
00:52:59,719 --> 00:53:03,239
Speaker 1: and other drafts in recent NBA history, just because that

1054
00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:05,839
Speaker 1: physical profile at the wing. Dude, he's kind of he's

1055
00:53:05,880 --> 00:53:08,760
Speaker 1: got wide shoulders and he's already filled out pretty well too,

1056
00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:12,640
Speaker 1: Like he was. It was kind of jarring to watch

1057
00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:14,880
Speaker 1: because I just haven't seen a wing prospect like that

1058
00:53:14,920 --> 00:53:19,359
Speaker 1: in a long time. He's incredibly unique. I think, like

1059
00:53:19,880 --> 00:53:24,440
Speaker 1: first off, probably along with his twin brother, by the way, who,

1060
00:53:24,520 --> 00:53:26,320
Speaker 1: for those who don't know, was maybe also going to

1061
00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:27,879
Speaker 1: be a top five pick in this class of sar

1062
00:53:28,400 --> 00:53:30,120
Speaker 1: is that the guy that I kept seeing on the

1063
00:53:30,160 --> 00:53:34,120
Speaker 1: footage where I thought it was Yes, This guy looks

1064
00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:39,160
Speaker 1: exactly like Yes. And they wear one in zero, so yeah,

1065
00:53:39,200 --> 00:53:42,279
Speaker 1: and they're actually pretty similar basketball players. There's a few

1066
00:53:42,280 --> 00:53:45,600
Speaker 1: differences that I think makes a man a better prospect,

1067
00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:49,920
Speaker 1: primarily in my opinion that I love his playmaking ceiling,

1068
00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:53,160
Speaker 1: and I think I've been more impressed by his vision

1069
00:53:53,200 --> 00:53:55,239
Speaker 1: than you. I do agree sometimes he just sort of

1070
00:53:55,239 --> 00:53:58,840
Speaker 1: barrels into traffic. And I also think the key with

1071
00:53:58,920 --> 00:54:01,000
Speaker 1: him all around is Paul is right. I mean, I

1072
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:02,960
Speaker 1: think his handle needs to be a little bit tighter

1073
00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:05,320
Speaker 1: and better in traffic. He needs to be a better finisher,

1074
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:08,680
Speaker 1: he needs to add like a floater element to his game.

1075
00:54:08,680 --> 00:54:10,960
Speaker 1: And his jump shot is not polished. It's broken. It's

1076
00:54:11,040 --> 00:54:13,840
Speaker 1: as you said, I mean, needs to be completely reworked mechanically,

1077
00:54:13,920 --> 00:54:16,920
Speaker 1: especially given that he doesn't even have like natural touch

1078
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:20,440
Speaker 1: to carry it. So not only is his lower body

1079
00:54:20,800 --> 00:54:23,560
Speaker 1: totally out of whack, and I think at times his

1080
00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:26,759
Speaker 1: follow through he just doesn't have that touch to begin with.

1081
00:54:26,800 --> 00:54:29,480
Speaker 1: Like he's not a good free throw shooter, so that

1082
00:54:29,680 --> 00:54:33,040
Speaker 1: is going to be a huge swing factor for him.

1083
00:54:33,400 --> 00:54:37,399
Speaker 1: But you have this six seven superathlete, I mean, unbelievably

1084
00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:41,080
Speaker 1: in terms of quickness, unbelievable in terms of vertical ability.

1085
00:54:41,440 --> 00:54:44,680
Speaker 1: Who is this insane pure passer, Like you talk about

1086
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:48,600
Speaker 1: the ability to rifle stuff one hand, It is incredible,

1087
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:53,120
Speaker 1: and he's very inventive, like no looks jump passes. He

1088
00:54:53,239 --> 00:54:57,200
Speaker 1: disguises them well, and he's accurate. He's consistently accurate at

1089
00:54:57,320 --> 00:54:59,560
Speaker 1: leveled it. If you saw from any NBA guard, you'd

1090
00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:01,719
Speaker 1: be like, oh wow. I mean, that guy's a playmaker

1091
00:55:01,760 --> 00:55:03,759
Speaker 1: and is at six seven, so he can see so much.

1092
00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:06,880
Speaker 1: He sees over the top of a lot of these defenders,

1093
00:55:07,600 --> 00:55:09,600
Speaker 1: and I do think his vision is generally pretty good.

1094
00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:12,400
Speaker 1: I think that I actually kind of like that, although

1095
00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:16,520
Speaker 1: he's this super athlete, he does do a nice job

1096
00:55:16,560 --> 00:55:20,480
Speaker 1: of playing at a relatively controlled pace. I think, not

1097
00:55:20,520 --> 00:55:22,600
Speaker 1: to say that he's perfect, blown away by the way

1098
00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:27,080
Speaker 1: he handled ball pressure and What I like is he

1099
00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:30,440
Speaker 1: sort of has that natural NBA tempo, like you need

1100
00:55:30,480 --> 00:55:32,160
Speaker 1: to have change in pace, right look at Jaw. I

1101
00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:34,440
Speaker 1: mean he's the master of trapping guys behind him and

1102
00:55:34,520 --> 00:55:36,480
Speaker 1: still hitting the floaters and all that on top of

1103
00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:39,879
Speaker 1: being this insane pure athlete. But and then I think

1104
00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:41,920
Speaker 1: has some of those tools. He comes around his screen,

1105
00:55:42,120 --> 00:55:45,120
Speaker 1: he gets his hanging dribble and he's sort of surveys, Okay,

1106
00:55:45,600 --> 00:55:47,759
Speaker 1: you know what is this pick and roll coverage? Am

1107
00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:48,920
Speaker 1: I going to have the lab here? Am I going

1108
00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:51,280
Speaker 1: to have a shooter? And I think given his athleticism,

1109
00:55:51,280 --> 00:55:54,080
Speaker 1: given his passing ability, it's good that he sees the

1110
00:55:54,080 --> 00:55:56,799
Speaker 1: floor that way and has that point guard mindset. Like

1111
00:55:56,840 --> 00:55:58,640
Speaker 1: I think he loves playmaking and I think that he

1112
00:55:58,680 --> 00:56:01,439
Speaker 1: looks to do it consistently. So I think you said

1113
00:56:01,440 --> 00:56:03,000
Speaker 1: it very well. Oh. Also, by the way, this is

1114
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:04,399
Speaker 1: the guy who I think is a very high two

1115
00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:08,120
Speaker 1: way ceiling like great lateral athlete, long, really good ball

1116
00:56:08,160 --> 00:56:10,879
Speaker 1: instincts and generally pretty committed to that end. And he's

1117
00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:13,840
Speaker 1: a transition monster. As I'm sure anybody can imagine this

1118
00:56:13,920 --> 00:56:17,439
Speaker 1: six seven insane athlete handling the ball running the floor

1119
00:56:17,480 --> 00:56:20,760
Speaker 1: as a wing just lethal there. So if you PLoP

1120
00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:24,200
Speaker 1: this guy in like twenty twenty with Ant who was

1121
00:56:24,239 --> 00:56:26,960
Speaker 1: this incredible athlete but was a flawed prospect, I think

1122
00:56:27,040 --> 00:56:30,680
Speaker 1: playmaking questions, defensive consistency questions, all that, Yeah, he'd be

1123
00:56:30,719 --> 00:56:32,680
Speaker 1: right up there for the number one prospect. He's an

1124
00:56:32,719 --> 00:56:36,440
Speaker 1: insane ceiling. He can be this six seven, hyper athletic

1125
00:56:36,719 --> 00:56:40,239
Speaker 1: playmaking machine who, if he even has a competent jump

1126
00:56:40,239 --> 00:56:43,399
Speaker 1: shot I think is moving into that potentially superstar range.

1127
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:46,880
Speaker 1: And even if he doesn't, I think his defense and

1128
00:56:46,960 --> 00:56:51,280
Speaker 1: his playmaking and his athleticism give him like a starter

1129
00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:54,600
Speaker 1: level floor. It's hard if he can't shoot in this league.

1130
00:56:55,239 --> 00:56:57,680
Speaker 1: But it's like you said, I mean sometimes it doesn't matter.

1131
00:56:58,120 --> 00:57:00,680
Speaker 1: You could drop and you can sit on his drives

1132
00:57:00,719 --> 00:57:03,520
Speaker 1: and he might still beat you. So I really really

1133
00:57:03,520 --> 00:57:06,920
Speaker 1: like a man. And again, like, you don't have to

1134
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:10,319
Speaker 1: be a great jump shooter if you're great at everything else.

1135
00:57:10,800 --> 00:57:14,480
Speaker 1: What you need is like a base like anything in

1136
00:57:14,520 --> 00:57:17,640
Speaker 1: the low thirties, Yeah, is gonna be if he is

1137
00:57:17,680 --> 00:57:20,640
Speaker 1: a willing shooter. Like that's the thing that everyone that

1138
00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:23,200
Speaker 1: I wish Ben Simmons could figure out, Like, dude, no

1139
00:57:23,240 --> 00:57:26,800
Speaker 1: one's expecting you to go shoot forty percent. They're like,

1140
00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:29,480
Speaker 1: but you have to have a you. And what I

1141
00:57:29,520 --> 00:57:32,240
Speaker 1: have liked about a man is he's he is an

1142
00:57:32,240 --> 00:57:35,600
Speaker 1: aggressive jump shooter. Like he's taking them things. He's just

1143
00:57:35,640 --> 00:57:38,360
Speaker 1: not making you know what I mean. So like like

1144
00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:41,280
Speaker 1: like he will he will take a step back three

1145
00:57:41,320 --> 00:57:43,720
Speaker 1: and he will if if you sag way off at him,

1146
00:57:43,720 --> 00:57:45,560
Speaker 1: he will rise up and shoot. He does have the

1147
00:57:45,960 --> 00:57:48,920
Speaker 1: um he does have to wear withal and the willingness

1148
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:51,440
Speaker 1: to take the shot. He just needs to get up

1149
00:57:51,440 --> 00:57:54,600
Speaker 1: to a certain point. And in NBA offenses, they're gonna

1150
00:57:54,600 --> 00:57:57,160
Speaker 1: find a way to make him useful because he does

1151
00:57:57,160 --> 00:57:59,000
Speaker 1: everything else so well, because he pass us so well,

1152
00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:00,800
Speaker 1: because he can handle ball pressure and bring the ball

1153
00:58:00,840 --> 00:58:02,680
Speaker 1: up the floor. He can you know, get you into

1154
00:58:02,720 --> 00:58:05,960
Speaker 1: your offense in that sense, like that transition threat. There's

1155
00:58:05,960 --> 00:58:08,120
Speaker 1: gonna be so many other ways that he can impact

1156
00:58:08,120 --> 00:58:10,720
Speaker 1: the game. Just has to reach that baseline level. And

1157
00:58:11,160 --> 00:58:14,760
Speaker 1: if he goes you know three overall and ends up

1158
00:58:14,800 --> 00:58:17,760
Speaker 1: in some situation where he can take three four years

1159
00:58:17,760 --> 00:58:21,520
Speaker 1: to really grow, there's no pressure involved with it. I

1160
00:58:21,520 --> 00:58:23,760
Speaker 1: think that was an underrated element of the Ben Simmons thing,

1161
00:58:23,760 --> 00:58:25,720
Speaker 1: as they were so damn good right away with Joe

1162
00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:29,919
Speaker 1: LMB that he was pressured into his weakness as being

1163
00:58:30,240 --> 00:58:32,760
Speaker 1: hyper analyzed right away. You know what I mean, Like,

1164
00:58:32,800 --> 00:58:36,200
Speaker 1: no one's gonna no one's gonna care if Jade and

1165
00:58:36,240 --> 00:58:38,920
Speaker 1: Ivy is sitting in Detroit running pick and rolls at

1166
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:41,760
Speaker 1: zero point six five points per possession for two years

1167
00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:44,160
Speaker 1: because he's in the Detroit He's with the Detroit Pistons,

1168
00:58:44,160 --> 00:58:45,880
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So like that's that's where

1169
00:58:45,880 --> 00:58:49,160
Speaker 1: that that leeway is bought. But I will say in

1170
00:58:49,200 --> 00:58:54,960
Speaker 1: this particular draft, coming into next season, I understand now

1171
00:58:55,480 --> 00:58:58,360
Speaker 1: why you know, why the Jazz made the deal they

1172
00:58:58,360 --> 00:59:01,439
Speaker 1: did at the deadline to Danny Age, getting them down

1173
00:59:01,440 --> 00:59:03,360
Speaker 1: into a situation where they can tank a little more.

1174
00:59:03,400 --> 00:59:06,480
Speaker 1: I can see now why Oklahoma City with that kind

1175
00:59:06,480 --> 00:59:08,640
Speaker 1: of like low, let's trade Mike Muscala out of here

1176
00:59:08,720 --> 00:59:11,720
Speaker 1: kind of deal where it's like, there's just a very

1177
00:59:11,760 --> 00:59:15,880
Speaker 1: good chance of you getting a very good player at

1178
00:59:16,240 --> 00:59:18,240
Speaker 1: the top of this draft. And it's just not something

1179
00:59:18,240 --> 00:59:21,320
Speaker 1: that we see very often. Yeah, but I will say

1180
00:59:21,800 --> 00:59:27,000
Speaker 1: every year, especially over the last few it feels like,

1181
00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:29,480
Speaker 1: oh my god, what an incredible draft class, because prospects

1182
00:59:29,480 --> 00:59:31,720
Speaker 1: are getting better. Like to think about the combination we

1183
00:59:31,760 --> 00:59:34,919
Speaker 1: had last year Pallo's this six ten, freakish, high level

1184
00:59:34,960 --> 00:59:38,800
Speaker 1: ball handler, difficult shotmaker, playmaker while he's you know, two

1185
00:59:38,880 --> 00:59:42,880
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty pounds and super athletic. And Chet is

1186
00:59:42,920 --> 00:59:46,040
Speaker 1: this insane rim protector seven foot who can also shoot

1187
00:59:46,080 --> 00:59:48,800
Speaker 1: forty percent from deep and his quick positionally and a

1188
00:59:48,920 --> 00:59:52,520
Speaker 1: comfortable handling the ball. And the year before that we

1189
00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:56,640
Speaker 1: have Kade, who's this incredible big ball handlers, shotmaker, playmaker,

1190
00:59:56,680 --> 00:59:59,880
Speaker 1: had it all as a prospect, Evan Mobley, insane defense

1191
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:03,440
Speaker 1: of weapon with legit offensive skill. It's like prospects are

1192
01:00:03,480 --> 01:00:06,880
Speaker 1: just getting better. The game is evolving, and big picture,

1193
01:00:06,920 --> 01:00:09,680
Speaker 1: I'm incredibly excited for how that looks because a six

1194
01:00:09,760 --> 01:00:12,520
Speaker 1: seven guy before, I don't know, maybe wouldn't have had

1195
01:00:12,560 --> 01:00:14,920
Speaker 1: that kind of ball handling responsibility, the kind of time

1196
01:00:14,920 --> 01:00:18,840
Speaker 1: to build up that playmaking potentially a guy like him

1197
01:00:18,880 --> 01:00:22,640
Speaker 1: and Thompson has, So it's very exciting. I'm excited for

1198
01:00:22,680 --> 01:00:26,360
Speaker 1: this draft and it's nice to have that on top

1199
01:00:26,440 --> 01:00:29,960
Speaker 1: of an incredibly exciting home stretch to this NBA season.

1200
01:00:30,280 --> 01:00:35,000
Speaker 1: Have you watched any Browny James a little bit? Did

1201
01:00:35,000 --> 01:00:37,480
Speaker 1: you see that thing this morning from ESPN that Jonathan

1202
01:00:37,480 --> 01:00:41,640
Speaker 1: Givoni sees him as a top ten draft prospect. That

1203
01:00:41,760 --> 01:00:45,240
Speaker 1: surprises me, But I would have to dig in more

1204
01:00:45,320 --> 01:00:48,000
Speaker 1: to confidently speak. I do know that people are getting

1205
01:00:48,080 --> 01:00:51,920
Speaker 1: higher on Brawny as a legit prospect. I the one

1206
01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:53,720
Speaker 1: thing that was interesting to me there is like the

1207
01:00:53,760 --> 01:00:56,640
Speaker 1: focal points where his perimeter shooting in his on ball defense,

1208
01:00:56,640 --> 01:00:58,320
Speaker 1: which are two things that I've seen in the little

1209
01:00:58,360 --> 01:01:00,600
Speaker 1: bits and pieces that I've watched of him. But like

1210
01:01:00,720 --> 01:01:04,040
Speaker 1: to have a guard that isn't considered like a star

1211
01:01:04,240 --> 01:01:07,600
Speaker 1: level initiator to be considered a top ten pick feels

1212
01:01:07,640 --> 01:01:09,160
Speaker 1: a little bit of a stretch to me. So I

1213
01:01:09,720 --> 01:01:12,960
Speaker 1: when we get to the point where I don't know

1214
01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:15,000
Speaker 1: who he's going to sign with, I'm not even sure

1215
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,240
Speaker 1: if he's picked to school yet. I think he's still undecided.

1216
01:01:17,520 --> 01:01:19,880
Speaker 1: But like, when I do get an opportunity to watch

1217
01:01:19,960 --> 01:01:21,560
Speaker 1: him in college, that's going to be the number one

1218
01:01:21,600 --> 01:01:23,840
Speaker 1: thing I'm watching because that's going to be the thing

1219
01:01:23,840 --> 01:01:26,640
Speaker 1: at the guard position that's going to be a prerequisite

1220
01:01:26,920 --> 01:01:30,200
Speaker 1: to him being a lottery pick in my opinion. All right, guys,

1221
01:01:30,240 --> 01:01:32,760
Speaker 1: that is all we have for today. As always, we

1222
01:01:32,800 --> 01:01:36,000
Speaker 1: sincerely appreciate your support. We're going to be starting things

1223
01:01:36,040 --> 01:01:39,520
Speaker 1: back up tomorrow night on AMP right after the final

1224
01:01:39,560 --> 01:01:41,840
Speaker 1: buzzer of Lakers Warriors, and then it's going to be

1225
01:01:41,880 --> 01:01:43,520
Speaker 1: a grind for the next three and a half months,

1226
01:01:43,520 --> 01:01:45,880
Speaker 1: tons and tons of basketball. We are very very excited

1227
01:01:54,880 --> 01:01:55,400
Speaker 1: the U