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Happy Thursday, everybody. 31 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: We have almost made it to the weekend. Gonna keep 32 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: it nice and simple today. Three teams we're gonna be 33 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: talking about the Phoenix Suns who are on a six 34 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: game win streak, the Milwaukee Bucks who are on a 35 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: three game win streak, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who 36 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: have won six out of eight. Should be seven out 37 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: of eight, is all you Lakers fans. No, keep it 38 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: simple on those three teams and the rest of the week. 39 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: Tomorrow we're doing our quarter season awards, and then Saturday morning, 40 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: we'll have a breakdown of the Friday night slate, which 41 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: is jam packed. Do you guys know the drill? Before 42 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: we get started, subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channels. You 43 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on 44 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: Twitter at Underscore Jason LT so you don't miss any 45 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: show announcements. I'm also going to once again reference too 46 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: sets of clips that I put to other to demonstrate 47 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: points that I'm making on today's show, So you're gonna 48 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: want to follow me at Underscore Jason LT on Twitter 49 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: to see those video clips. And then, last but not least, 50 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, you guys miss one of these videos 51 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish. 52 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: Remember you can find them wherever you get your podcasts 53 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: Under Hoops tonight, all right, let's talk some basketball. So 54 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: the Phoenix Suns are in a six game winning streak. 55 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 1: They are now first in the Western Conference at fifteen 56 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: and six despite being without Chris Paul for the last 57 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: what like month or so. Um their second in offense, 58 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: sixth and defense for the season, second in net rating 59 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: for the season, and then during this six game winning streak, 60 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: Devin Booker puts up fifty one last night in just 61 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: three quarters and just thirty one minutes and on just 62 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: twenty five shots with just five misses. In this six 63 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: game winning streak, He's averaging thirty one, seven and five 64 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: on six true shooting. He's a bona fide superstar. We're 65 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: gonna spend a bunch of time talking about him here 66 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: just a minute. And then DeAndre Ayton has also been 67 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: outstanding during the stretch twenty two and fourteen during the 68 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: six game streak, four offensive rebounds per game and true shooting. 69 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: Has also done a really nice job passing out of 70 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: the short role um during the stretch of games as well. 71 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: So I wanted to talk about Devin Booker for a 72 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: little bit because you know, the uh, it's really hard 73 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: in this league to shake your perception as a basketball player. 74 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: I've even been dealing with this a little bit with 75 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: Lakers fans were like, you know, your opinion about whether 76 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: or not Russ deserves to be traded is one thing, 77 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: but the Russ we're seeing this year is not the 78 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: same player as last year. Last year there was a 79 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: lot less good and a lot a lot more bad, 80 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: and this year there's a lot more good and a 81 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: lot less bad. So he's gone from being a net 82 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: negative player to a net positive player. And there are 83 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: a lot of Lakers fans who are talking the same 84 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: way about Russ now as they did last season. And 85 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: you know, my my thing has been uh, you know, uh, 86 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: that he's doing better in this bench role, and it's 87 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: more a product of you wanting to use his salary 88 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: as a vehicle with which to improve the roster. Last 89 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: year it was like Russia's isn't playing very well. But 90 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 1: that perception is tough to shake. Sometimes it takes years 91 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: and years and years. And Devin Booker is a great 92 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: example of this, because he scored a lot of points 93 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: for really bad Sons teams for a while, and then 94 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: he scored a lot of points on really good Sons 95 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: teams for a while that flamed out in the playoffs 96 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: year after year, including even in their most successful season, 97 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: blowing a two oh lead to the Milwaukee Bucks in 98 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: the finals. And so there's kind of like this reputation 99 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: that surrounds Devin Booker that he's just a score and 100 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: it just could not be any further from the truth, 101 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: especially this season. And I've been talking about this NonStop 102 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,479 Speaker 1: since since the first few weeks of the season. But 103 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: Devon's improvements as a passer and as a defender have 104 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,360 Speaker 1: turned him into a a bona fide superstar. He's no 105 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: longer a guy that you're lumping in with that tier 106 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: of stars that fills between you know, number eleven in 107 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: the league and like number thirty in the league. He's 108 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: not like that anymore. He's above that tier. He is now. 109 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: Every bit is good as the players were talking about 110 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: at the top of the league. And you know, even 111 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: after nights like last night, people will once again focus 112 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: like Devin Booker is a bucket. Look at him. He 113 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: got he got fifty, you know, and that's gonna be 114 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: the hyper focus. But he's been so good in those 115 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: other details of game of the game I wanted to 116 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: take some time to highlight that right now. So first 117 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: of all, the Sons are down Chris Paul, They're down 118 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 1: Jay Crowder, and they're down Cam Johnson. That's two starters 119 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: from this year and another starter from last year. So 120 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: they're pretty thin on the wing. They're down one of 121 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: their most important ball handlers. And yet despite that, this season, 122 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: when Devin Booker is off the floor, they're getting outscored 123 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: by one point four points per one possession, and when 124 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: he's on the floor there plus ten points per one 125 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: hundred possessions. That's superstar level differential. The Sons have scored 126 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: three hundred and sixty six points on threety four Devin 127 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: Booker picking rolls this season, which is one point zero 128 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: six points per possession, which is in the seventy percentile. 129 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: He's not just a scorer anymore. He is a bona 130 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: fide offensive engine. Now what does that mean, now, uh, 131 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: an offensive engine. He's different from a scorer in the 132 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: sense that scores might feel comfortable in specific matchups or 133 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: in specific spots on the floor, and if you can 134 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: get him in those spots, they can make plays. I'll 135 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: give you an example, like Kyle Kuzma. Kyle Kuzma, if 136 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: you get him in the right matchup and he's feeling good, 137 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: he can score the basketball. But you're not going to 138 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: use Kyle Kuzma as an offensive fulcrum. Right, Devin Booker 139 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: is a play that you can run three hundred and 140 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: forty four pick and rolls. That's incredibly high volume compared 141 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: to a lot of the primary ball handlers in the league. 142 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: You can run your entire offense through him. And that's 143 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: why I wanted to point back to this what I 144 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: believe was the most impressive game from the Sun's during 145 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: this win streak, and that was their win up in Sacrato. 146 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: In Sacramento, Now, the Kings went up, I want to 147 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: say it was like one fifteen to one, twelve later 148 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: might have been one of five, one two about midway 149 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: through the fourth quarter, and after that the Sun's just 150 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: dominated down the stretch and there was a string of 151 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: eight consecutive possessions. After Damian Lee hit a nice little 152 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: step back jump shot to bring it back to one 153 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: of five on a four, there was a stretch of 154 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: eight consecutive possessions or Devin Booker generated extremely high quality 155 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: shots and the Suns went from down by one too 156 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: up by ten like that to win a huge game 157 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: on the road against a very good team. So I 158 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: wanted to kind of break down the possessions because Devin 159 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: Devin Booker only took two shots during that eight possession 160 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: stretch and generated these extremely high quality looks. That's why 161 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: I wanted to highlight that stretch because it kind of 162 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: points to that Um, that larger topic than that I'm 163 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: trying to hit at here, which is Devin Booker is 164 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 1: not a score anymore. He's an offensive engine. So he 165 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: started He started it off with a pick and roll 166 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: with DeAndre Ayton, and on the possession, Davion Mitchell fought 167 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: over the top of the screen and cut Devin Booker off, 168 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: but all the King's defenders stayed back and help, and 169 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: Devin Booker has a size advantage over Davion Mitchell, so 170 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: he hit him with a hard dribble, hit him with 171 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: his right shoulder, spun back towards the middle, and knocked 172 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: down a really nice turnaround jump shot. Then very next possession, 173 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: another eighton pick and roll. This time he gets trapped 174 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 1: and Kevin Herder helps out of the corner to tag 175 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: DeAndre Ayton when he's rolling to the basket. So um, 176 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: Devin Booker just throws a quick swing pass to Tory Craig, 177 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: who makes a quick extra pass to Damien Lee in 178 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: the corner knocks down at three. So that's an example 179 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: of Devin Booker creating the initial advantage due to his 180 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 1: ability to make plays out of picking roll and drawing 181 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: multiple defenders. Very next possession, same thing, pick and roll 182 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 1: with eaton. This time he gets trapped again, hits eighton 183 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: on the short roll the King's tag eight and on 184 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:12,839 Speaker 1: the short roll Damian Lee kind of loops around from 185 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: the left from the right wing, gets another wide open 186 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,559 Speaker 1: three and knocks it down. Very next possession, same exact thing, 187 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: another trap. This time they tagged eight in a little 188 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,840 Speaker 1: bit sooner, So Devin Booker makes the adjustment and goes 189 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,839 Speaker 1: directly to Damian Lee instead of hitting the short roll first. 190 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: It gets a pretty decent look. He just happens to 191 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: miss it. Then on the very next possession they run 192 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: a horn set, and on this horn set, Devin Booker 193 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: comes over an eight and screen at the elbow and 194 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: he sees so so uh, they're on opposite ends of 195 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: the elbows. On the horn set, eighton screens for Booker 196 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: as he comes over the top, but Sabonus was hugged 197 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 1: up to eight, and you could see Booker like staring 198 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: right at Sabonus and he knows that because Davian Mitchell's 199 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: behind him, because Sabonus is up at the elbow, that 200 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: there's nobody at the rim. Michail Bridges cuts off of 201 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: him and like one of those spurs cuts off of 202 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: that high post catch and just hands it to him 203 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: because he knows Michael Bridges defender is trailing him and 204 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: there's no help help at the rim because the bonus 205 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: isn't there. It was a great read from Devin Booker. 206 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,439 Speaker 1: Michael Bridges goes right in and gets a dunk very 207 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: next possession, another pick and roll with Ayton. Another trap. 208 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: This time they were too slow to tag Eaton because 209 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,320 Speaker 1: they had been leaving shooters open, and Ayton gets a 210 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: reverse layup. Next possession, horn set again, Donovan Mitchell gets 211 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: caught a little bit, excuse me, Davion Mitchell gets caught 212 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: a little bit on the switch and so Devin Booker 213 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: just elevates. Davan Mitchell recovers too aggressively and fouls Devin Booker. 214 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: He goes to the foul line and then the last 215 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: possession they blitz Steven Booker on a pick and roll 216 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 1: along the right wing. He drags the double out to 217 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: about thirty ft. Kevin Herder leaves Michail Bridges to tag 218 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,360 Speaker 1: Aton once again, swings to to Tory Craig. Tory Craig 219 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: extra pass to mc hale bridges in the corner Knox 220 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: Standard three. Now it's a ten point game, so again, 221 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,560 Speaker 1: and I put all eight of those possessions on Twitter, 222 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: so you're gonna want to go there so you can 223 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,679 Speaker 1: actually see the footage, because that's gonna do it's gonna 224 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,319 Speaker 1: do more justice than me talking about it. But I 225 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: thought it was a really impressive stretch of high level, 226 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: surgical half court offensive creation from a guy who has 227 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: the reputation of being just a score. Took two shots, 228 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: a couple of pull up jump shots, both of them 229 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: in situations where it was the right read. On the 230 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: first one there was no help, he had a good matchup, 231 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,719 Speaker 1: and on the second one, Davian Mitchell got caught on 232 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: the screen and he had a good look at it. 233 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: So that that's a superstar. That's not a score, that's 234 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: not a empty stats guy. That's a superstar. And that's 235 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: why the Sons are the best team in the West 236 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: right now, despite some awful injury luck to start the year. 237 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: You know, Devin Booker's leap has to change the way 238 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: we evaluate the Suns because originally I talked about the 239 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: Sons as a team that was incredibly deep with talent, 240 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: Michail Bridges is so good, do you and Rayton is 241 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: so good. Cam Johnson will be back at some point 242 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: this season. He's so good. Tory Craig has been playing 243 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: pretty well for them. Campaign can get great dribble penetration. 244 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: You know, They've got Landrew sham It, you know, is 245 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: a good bench guard that can make plays defensively and 246 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: knockdown shots. They've got a lot of talent, but we 247 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:20,199 Speaker 1: were worried about their top end talent. And Devin Booker 248 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: going from guy who can score, play a little bit 249 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: of defense, and do a little bit of playmaking too, 250 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:29,080 Speaker 1: really well rounded superstar makes it so that the Suns 251 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: can hang in with the top teams in the league 252 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: in terms of top end talent. If you have Booker 253 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,839 Speaker 1: with that type of supporting cast, he can hang with 254 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: any of the stars in the league. So that a 255 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: really impressive stretch of basketball from the Suns, and I'm 256 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to take some time to shout out Devin 257 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: Booker all right. Moving on to the Bucks. So they've 258 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: won three in a row, including a couple of really 259 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: impressive wins against Dallas and Cleveland. They're up to fifteen 260 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: and five, just two games back of Boston, who's been 261 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 1: running away with everything this uh this season their seventeenth 262 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: and offense still first in defense and fit the net rating. 263 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: Pat Connaughton has been back for about a week almost 264 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: two weeks now. Uh, that definitely looks a little rusty 265 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: and out of rhythm, but that's to be expected. That 266 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: will come around once you get into real basketball shape, 267 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you get better lift on those jumpers. Um. 268 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: Chris Middleton, it's been reported, is coming back on Friday 269 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: against the Lakers. I think that's the perfect game for 270 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: him to come back, um and kind of and kind 271 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: of get eased back into NBA basketball. The Lakers offer 272 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: a ton of strong side help and they're absolutely going 273 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: to pack the paint on Janice, So Janice is going 274 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,119 Speaker 1: to generate a lot of good looks for him on kickouts. 275 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: And then the Laker wings are all shorter than me. So, um, 276 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: Chris Middleton is gonna have a lot of really good 277 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: matchups to shoot over the top of smaller Laker defenders. UM. So, 278 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: I think that Friday game is gonna be a really 279 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: good opportunity for for Chris to kind of get his uh, 280 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: get his feet dirty playing NBA basketball again. They're playing 281 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: great basketball even without those guys, though. Javon Carter and 282 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: Grayson Allen can't miss a damn three to save their lives, 283 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: and they're both the fending really well. Brook Lopez is 284 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: utterly wrecking teams with his rim protection in his three 285 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: point shooting in our mid season awards that we're gonna 286 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: do tomorrow, excuse me, our quarter season awards that we're 287 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: gonna do tomorrow. I haven't decided yet because I'm considering 288 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: a couple other guys, but I'm strongly considering making brook 289 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: Lopez my defensive Player of the Year so far. And 290 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: then Joannice Like. There was a nine game stretch in 291 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: early November where he was clearly banged up. He was 292 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: dealing with the stuff. He only played in six out 293 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: of the nine games. He shot under fifty. In all 294 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: six games, he only average eleven and six on forty 295 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: two percent shooting. Although it kind of reminds me of 296 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: Lebron were like the bad stretches of Janice eleven and six, like, 297 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: that's just completely absurd. But he's completely back in his 298 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: groove now. In his last five games, he scored thirty 299 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 1: plus every single one of them. Thirty six, ten and 300 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: six is his average during that stretch on fifty nine 301 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: percent shooting, So whatever was going on is gone. Um 302 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: it looked like it was almost personal last night between 303 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: him and Julius Randall. He was really physically aggressive with 304 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: him on both ends of the floor. You know, one 305 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: of the one of the reasons why I have Janice 306 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: is the best player in the world is even though 307 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: I consider him just a top tier offensive player and 308 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: not like the best offensive player, like I think Steph 309 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: Curry is a much better offensive player than Johannis Antenna Coomball. 310 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,560 Speaker 1: I think it's a big part of why, um the 311 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: Bucks struggle to score in the half court. But the 312 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: combination of Jannice being a very very good offensive player 313 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: and the best defensive player in the world is why 314 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: I think he's the best player in the world. And 315 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: the reason why I think he's the best defensive player 316 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: in the world is like when we look at you know, 317 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: the traditional great rim protectors like even Brooke. Like Brooke, 318 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: I'm considering him for defensive player the year through quarter 319 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: of the season. You know, it's a lot of scheme 320 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: stuff with him. They're keeping him by the paint and 321 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: at that specific thing, he's one of the very best 322 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: in the league. Brook Lopez is just an outstanding rim protector, 323 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 1: but you know, they don't have Johannis in that spot. 324 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: Janice can do that, and they slot him in there 325 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: when Brooks off the floor. Like is kind of the 326 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: way they dealt with Julius Randall last night when Brooke 327 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: was out there, Janice was on Julius Randall. When Brooke 328 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: would go off, they'd slide Janice to the five and 329 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: they put, you know, Bobby Portois on Julius Randall, have 330 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: Janice hang out around the rim. That type of versatile, 331 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: That type of versatility is the key because obviously we 332 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,680 Speaker 1: know what Janice can do as a back line rim protector, 333 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 1: but it's what he can do on ball. He was 334 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: navigating screens as the Knicks tried to free Julius Randall up, legitimately, 335 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: bothering Julius with his length held him to as a team, 336 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,679 Speaker 1: they held him to eight shooting. But in those isolation 337 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: possessions or individual defense possessions on Julius, I thought he 338 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: really did a nice job bothering him, not just forcing mrs, 339 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,160 Speaker 1: but some bad misses, some airballs and and hard bricks 340 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,719 Speaker 1: off the glass. That that's the part of it that 341 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: is um. That's a separator for me with Janice is 342 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: like he has the ability to do p emitter defense 343 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 1: stuff as well as most of the big wings that 344 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: we have in the league. And he can be a 345 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,439 Speaker 1: foundational rim protector for you if you need him to. 346 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: I am really excited for this game on Sunday or 347 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 1: excuse me, on Friday. Milwaukee is going to get the 348 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,119 Speaker 1: Lakers best punch because the Lakers want to prove that 349 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: they're legit um and it's a it's it's just a 350 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: super interesting matchup, right because like Milwaukee's twenty feet and 351 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: half court offense and the Lakers are second in half 352 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: court defense, you know, so uh, they should struggle to score. 353 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: But then on the other end of the court, Milwaukee 354 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: is first in half court defense and the Lakers are 355 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 1: eighteenth and half court offense, so you know, both teams 356 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: are gonna be desperate to get out in transition as 357 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 1: much as possible. In the half court, It's going to 358 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: be an absolute slug fest. Chris Middleton should have advantages 359 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: all night. Like I was talking about shooting over the 360 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,360 Speaker 1: top of smaller Laker wings and then Lebron and Anthony 361 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,360 Speaker 1: Davis are two of the best bodies that you can 362 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: possibly throw in Janna, so um, it'll be really interesting 363 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: to see how much help they send. My guest is 364 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: Darvin Hamill over help. So it'll come down to Bucks 365 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,960 Speaker 1: role players making shots and at home. There's a really 366 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: interesting thing just in general going on around the league 367 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: right now, where all of the really good teams are 368 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 1: thriving at home and struggling on the road, like like 369 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,159 Speaker 1: even the Suns we talked about earlier really struggling on 370 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: the road. So um, my, my prediction for Friday night 371 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 1: is that the Bucks role players hit a bunch of 372 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,119 Speaker 1: threes and they end up winning by ten fifteen points. 373 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: But it should be a very very interesting game. Bucks 374 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: fans that are listening, you're gonna want to come back 375 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: tomorrow for our mid season Awards because the Bucks will 376 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: be heavily featured. And then also on Saturday morning when 377 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: we do a game breakdown from that Friday night game. 378 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 1: All right, onto the Lakers. So really nice bounce back 379 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: win last night, um against the Portland Trailblazers. First of all, 380 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: they were down Lonnie Walker, who has been their third 381 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,359 Speaker 1: best player this year, and they were down Troy Brown Jr. 382 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: Who has been arguably their best defensive wing this year. 383 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: So from a personnel standpoint, they were really limited. It 384 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: was basically Lebron and Anthony Davison a bunch of small guards. Um. 385 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: And they also had a really, really sushing loss on Monday, 386 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: Like you gotta think about how crushing that was. They 387 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: had won five out of six before that game, and 388 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: then they were up seventeen in the fourth quarter, so 389 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: they could that was their opportunity to really strain together 390 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: a stretch of good basketball, and they let their foot 391 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: off the gas and the basketball gods made them pay 392 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: for it. Um. But I don't think it's indicative of 393 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: who they are as a team because the you know, 394 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 1: the real team is the team that you've seen over 395 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: the course of the last couple of weeks, which is 396 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: a team that competes like crazy, and they've got some 397 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: old veteran players that have to learn the hard way 398 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: that they can't let their foot off the gas. And 399 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:36,880 Speaker 1: they've let their foot off the gas twice this year, 400 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,919 Speaker 1: ironically against the Blazers the first time and then on 401 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 1: Monday night, And so as long as they've learned their 402 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: lesson there, they should be okay. But they came back, 403 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: and like, when you make a catastrophic mistake like that, 404 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: there's only one thing you can do, and it's just 405 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: put one foot right from right back in front of 406 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: the other and go out and play good basketball the 407 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: next time out the floor. You know's there's an old 408 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: cliche winning cures everything. That's the truth. Like, if you 409 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,479 Speaker 1: win against the Blazers on Wednesday night and you go 410 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 1: into Milwaukee and you beat the Bucks on Friday, not 411 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:16,879 Speaker 1: only does that completely erase the painfulness of that Monday loss, 412 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: Now you've won seven out of your last nine games 413 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: and you beat you know, the second or third best 414 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: team in the league on the road. So that's the 415 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 1: type of potential that's there for the Lakers on Friday, 416 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: and that's the only way you can recover from that 417 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: type of devastating loss. So I want to talk about 418 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: Lebron for a second, so that we're gonna hit on 419 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 1: three Lakers, Lebron, Russell Westbrook, and Austin Reeves. So Lebron 420 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: had a really tough first shift. You know, one of 421 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,440 Speaker 1: the big reasons why Russell Westbrook has been so good 422 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: for the Lakers this year is he just brings energy. 423 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: He brings like a verve. He changes the pace of 424 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:53,639 Speaker 1: the game, and he gets a ton of dribble penetration, 425 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: which gets the Lakers into their driving kick and that's 426 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,680 Speaker 1: when they start getting good stuff. And Lebron too often 427 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 1: this year has been to pass, which is kind of 428 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: slowly and methodically bringing the ball up the floor. There 429 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: is a time in place for that. There are times 430 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 1: when that methodical approach will actually disrupt the opponent as 431 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: long as you're getting good shots and knocking them down, 432 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: as long as Lebrons, especially when he's shoting the way 433 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: that he is, like, there's versions of that that can work, 434 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: but you need to bring some verve to get the 435 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: team uh, you know, playing at a pace that that 436 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 1: keeps them free and generating quality shots. And in that 437 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,959 Speaker 1: first shift, he just wasn't doing it. And then Russ 438 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 1: came in and change the pace of this game and 439 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: the uh uh in the early first quarter, and when 440 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: Lebron came back in his entire demeanor was different. And 441 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: this is a credit to Russell Westbrook. I think I 442 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: think Russell Westbrook opening up that game with pace clicked 443 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,960 Speaker 1: for Lebron that he needed to do the same thing, 444 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: and when he came out in that second quarter or 445 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 1: in the second shift, excuse me, he had a completely 446 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 1: different level of energy and ended up playing his best 447 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: game of the season, did a really nice job Defendingjeremy Grant. 448 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: This was the second set of video clips that I 449 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: put together that you're gonna want to find on Twitter 450 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: at Underscore. Jason lt I clipped all fifteen of these possessions, 451 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: but there were fifteen possessions that Jeremy Grant attempted to 452 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,360 Speaker 1: make a play with Lebron James as a primary defender. 453 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,679 Speaker 1: Not only was it fifteen possessions, it was fifteen complicated possessions. 454 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: Almost every single time, they were either bringing Jeremy Grant 455 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: out of the corner and making Lebron chase him over 456 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 1: the top of a wide pin down, or they were 457 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: doing like an ex dribble handoff. A lot in the 458 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: fourth quarter, they did this but like a ex dribble 459 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,119 Speaker 1: handoff at the top of the key to try to 460 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 1: get Jeremy Grant an advantage as Lebron had to navigate 461 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: a screen. So Lebron was always having to navigate a 462 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: screen to then get into place to defend Jeremy Grant, 463 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 1: and on those fifteen possessions, he held Jeremy Grant to 464 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:49,040 Speaker 1: four out of fourteen shooting from the field with an assist, 465 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,480 Speaker 1: a really nice job navigating screens, defending UH, pressing up 466 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: on Jeremy Grant's shot, giving up a couple of layups 467 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,639 Speaker 1: on drives from Jeremy Grant. Knowing that over the grand 468 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: scheme the game with his help defense by pressing up 469 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 1: on his jump shot, he would get him to have 470 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,479 Speaker 1: a rough shooting night. That's what ended up happening. UM 471 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: forced Jeremy into a lot of contested pull up jump 472 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: shots that he ended up missing. You know, I talked 473 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: about this a lot in our Wednesday Tuesday's show that 474 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 1: was disastrous with the UH, with the technical difficulties. Apologies Again, 475 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: I was really irritated that night, as you guys could 476 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: probably imagine. But anyway, when we were talking that night, 477 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,920 Speaker 1: I was talking about how, you know, when Lebron's going 478 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: through offensive slumps, which is a natural part of coming 479 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: back from injuries. Like we talked about that on Tuesday night. 480 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: It was like his third game in twenty days, so 481 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: obviously he wasn't gonna be in rhythm to look like 482 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: m v P Lebron. But there are things that are 483 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: under your control, your decision making and your effort, and 484 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: Lebron made some pretty inexcusable effort mistakes and decision making 485 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: mistakes during that that Monday game, and in this game, 486 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: he devoted a great deal of energy to getting back 487 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: in transition defense, defending the best player, second best player 488 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 1: depending on how you feel about Anthony Simon's defending the 489 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: other teams, you know, best scoring wing. And then he 490 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: also had to great an offensive game, which is great. 491 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: But the Lakers win that game even if Lebron doesn't 492 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 1: shoot as well as he did, because he took care 493 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: of the stuff that he needed to control, which is 494 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: what he does on the defensive end of the floor. Um. 495 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: I wanted to talk about the importance of Lebron's jumper 496 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: for a second, because you know, I always talk about 497 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:35,200 Speaker 1: drible penetration. Drible penetration is a combination of your ability 498 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,640 Speaker 1: to athletically beat people with your first step and your 499 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: ability to knock down jump shots to force the defender 500 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,439 Speaker 1: to be more on his toes rather than on his heels. 501 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: Right those those That dynamic is a really delicate balance, 502 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: and you know your you can make up for a 503 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,280 Speaker 1: lot of physical limitations if you're making shots. You know, 504 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: for instance, Steph Curry is an underrated athlete, and we've 505 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: talked about that a lot. You know, is conditioning as ridiculous. 506 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 1: He's pretty quick with his feet, and he's surprisingly big, 507 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:08,239 Speaker 1: even though a lot of people think of him as 508 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: a small guard. Um, but he he's one of the 509 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: best rim finishers in basketball, and a big part of 510 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 1: that is he weaponizes his shot to get clean driving lanes. 511 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,479 Speaker 1: And clean driving lanes give you the versatility to go 512 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: to all your different finishing moves and things like that. 513 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: And you know, Lebron doesn't look athletically what he was 514 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: early in the season and uh in last season, and 515 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 1: that will probably come over the course of the next 516 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 1: couple of weeks. But he manufactured a bunch of dribble 517 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,400 Speaker 1: penetration last night by hitting shots. You know, you saw 518 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: the clear one where um where he pumped faked and 519 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: Jeremy Grant came out and he threw that rifle pass too. 520 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 1: I think it was when you and Gabriel I can't remember. 521 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: Was some blaker that was in the block and then 522 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 1: he cut immediately after the past and got a dunk. 523 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 1: So that's a driving dunk generated by the threat of 524 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,200 Speaker 1: his shot. There was another one in the late fourth quarter, 525 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,679 Speaker 1: uh where he pump faked, got a got a step 526 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:07,879 Speaker 1: on the defender. Because of the pump fake, the defender 527 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,880 Speaker 1: left his feet and he threw a no look past 528 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: Austin Reeves in the right corner for a three point shot. 529 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: And then there was a third one. I can't remember 530 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:15,479 Speaker 1: the exact details, but there were three plays in that 531 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 1: game where Lebron created dribble penetration with the threat of 532 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,640 Speaker 1: his jump shot. And so you know, his legs will 533 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,919 Speaker 1: come around and his athleticism will allow him to manufacture 534 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: even more drible penetration, but him making those three point 535 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,879 Speaker 1: shots is so important for him to be successful in 536 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: the meantime. And like we talked about with Russell Westbrook 537 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 1: and we're gonna talk about more in a minute, that 538 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: dribble penetration in in pace is so important for the 539 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 1: Lakers to avoid that stagnant half court environment where they 540 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: can't score because they don't have enough shooting. And so 541 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: it's it's good to see Lebron um uh, you know, uh, 542 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: making some shots to buy him some leeway on that front. 543 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,440 Speaker 1: You know, I was really critical of Lebron on Monday. Um, 544 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: he's my favorite player of all time. But you know 545 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:00,960 Speaker 1: this is the stay and or that I hold him to. 546 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,919 Speaker 1: You are the leader of this team, you know I 547 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 1: will if you have a game where you go out 548 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,199 Speaker 1: and you struggle to make shots because you're out of 549 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: shape because you're coming back from injury, I will never 550 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: say a damn word. Um, I'll call it what it is, 551 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: which is a basketball player rebuilding his rhythm. But when 552 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,400 Speaker 1: you don't run back on defense and you make poor 553 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: decisions as one of the best decision makers in the 554 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: history of the league, to me, that's the leader of 555 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: the Lakers not doing his job. And he and he 556 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 1: didn't do his job on Monday. But again, just like 557 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 1: we talked about from a team wide scale, the only 558 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 1: thing you can do in that situation is continue to 559 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: put one foot in front of the other and go 560 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:39,040 Speaker 1: out and play a good basketball game on Wednesday. And 561 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,360 Speaker 1: that's what he did. You know, he also happen to 562 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:43,479 Speaker 1: have a great offensive night, but he went out and 563 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: he defended really really well. He competed on the glass, 564 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: he competed in transition, took care of the things that 565 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: were in his control, and then some of the variant 566 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: stuff also went his way, and he had a superstar 567 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 1: level performance. I want to talk about Russ for a second, 568 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: because you know, you look at the box core, he 569 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: has ten points on fourteen shots. He's four for fourteen 570 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: from the field only as four assists didn't close the game. 571 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: I thought it was one of his best games of 572 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 1: as a Laker. He completely changed the pace of the 573 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: game when he came in in that second quarter. Obviously, 574 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: he hit those two massive shots at the end of 575 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: the second quarter, at the right four halftime and right 576 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,360 Speaker 1: at the end of the third quarter, but even without those, 577 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 1: he just did an outstanding job getting dribble penetration, playing 578 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: with pace, generating high quality shots. There were some funky lineups, 579 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 1: especially that one that I think he I think it 580 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 1: was the one he ended the third quarter with where 581 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: he was legitimately out there without Lebron, without Anthony Davis, 582 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,040 Speaker 1: without Austin Reeves, and just a bunch of guys, and 583 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:44,800 Speaker 1: he his ability to consistently beat his man off the 584 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: dribble and get into the paint, get generated high quality 585 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,960 Speaker 1: shots on the back end. You know, if that's his job, 586 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:55,800 Speaker 1: his job, And again it's like the the important thing 587 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: for Russell Westbrook to figure out is it's not about 588 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,720 Speaker 1: box score results. It's not eight nine and seven. What 589 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,280 Speaker 1: it is is play with play with pace and energy, 590 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: get consistent dribble penetration, and limit your mistakes. And that's 591 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,719 Speaker 1: what he did. There were maybe two or three shots 592 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: that he took that I didn't like, a quick transition, 593 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 1: like like a couple of the early shots he took 594 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: in his first quarter shift were tough. There was like 595 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: a quick pull up three that I didn't like. He 596 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: rushed to layoup that he missed. But you know, there's 597 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: two or three mistakes in there. But he also had 598 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: zero turnovers, so in general, it was a low mistake 599 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: RUSS game where yeah he was four for fourteen, but 600 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: he generated a ton of dribble penetration, changed the field 601 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: and pace of the game. That's his job. That's Russell 602 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 1: Westbrooks job. Now. I know a lot of RUSS fans 603 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: get concerned when he doesn't get to close, but the 604 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,520 Speaker 1: reality is is he's he becomes redundant at that point 605 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: and a lot of it has to do with how 606 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: well Lebron's playing. When Lebron is playing like an m 607 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: v P, which he did last night, you don't need 608 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 1: Russ out there in crunch time because what you would 609 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 1: rather have his good off ball players who are edern 610 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 1: off all situations on both ends of the floor. That way, 611 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,600 Speaker 1: you don't have that redundancy, which kind of led to 612 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: the problem on Monday night when he had Schroeder and 613 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: Lebron and in Russ all in at the same time 614 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: and the offense just went to hell um really quickly. 615 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 1: But a really nice performance from Russ, and I thought 616 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: it was a perfect example of what the Lakers need 617 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,480 Speaker 1: from him in ways that go beyond the box score. 618 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: Austin Reeves career high twenty two points on ten shots. 619 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 1: He is really good at getting defenders out of position 620 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,600 Speaker 1: with pump fix. I was watching last night and I'm like, man, 621 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: I swear he gets to the line so often, and 622 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 1: so I did some research today. He leads the entire 623 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 1: n B a Austin Reeves does and free throws made 624 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 1: per game by players that are tempting fewer than seven 625 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:47,440 Speaker 1: shots per game, So just you know, it's funny. Uh. 626 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: Somebody of my buddy Ralph, another Lakers fan that I 627 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 1: talked to on Twitter sometimes um Uh mentioned that he 628 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: was really good at drawing fouls when he was in college, 629 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: and it just he just he just has a really 630 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:04,320 Speaker 1: natural feel for scoring and passing the basketball, and in 631 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 1: general feeling the floor, understanding where defenders are when he 632 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: needs to pump fake when he doesn't. It's funny. He 633 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: pump fakes so frequently, and he gets defenders off of 634 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,840 Speaker 1: their out of there, like jumping out of their shoes 635 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,640 Speaker 1: and out of position so frequently that he can actually 636 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 1: get shots off in traffic because guys become paranoid about jumping. 637 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,000 Speaker 1: He's turned himself into a damn good two way guard 638 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: in this league. His on ball creation is pretty legit. 639 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: He's generated sixty eight points and sixty eight pick and 640 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 1: rolls this year, which is in the sixty second percentile, 641 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,360 Speaker 1: so he's already an above average pick and roll creator. 642 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 1: He's generated thirteen points on nine is so so really good, 643 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,560 Speaker 1: albeit slow, low volume. And then he's an excellent spot 644 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:45,640 Speaker 1: up threat. He's scored eighty two points and sixty two 645 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 1: spot up possessions percent on two point jump shots on 646 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,840 Speaker 1: three point jump shots. So shout out to Austin Reeves. 647 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,080 Speaker 1: He's been playing some really good basketball lately. Lakers have 648 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:58,480 Speaker 1: one six out of eight. Yes it should be seven 649 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: out of eight, but it is what it is. During 650 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: this eight game stretch, they are sixth and offense, fourth 651 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: in defense, and fifth and and net rating. The schedule 652 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: has been light, but they're also playing good basketball during 653 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: this Uh. For the season, they are now up to 654 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: the second and best half court defense in the league. 655 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: Like we mentioned earlier, um, they are dead last in 656 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: transition defense though, so again their stars making good decisions, 657 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: you know, uh, when they missed shots around the rim, 658 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: that's fine, but sprinting back instead of complaining at the refs, 659 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: just in general, jogging back in transition instead of sprinting. 660 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: When their stars are on top of their transition defense stuff, 661 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: they can trap other teams in the half court and 662 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: then they can win games because of how good their 663 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: half court defense is. Really is about the stars. When 664 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: the stars are sharp, the Lakers win. Everyone's gonna point 665 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,960 Speaker 1: to the schedule, and yes it's been really weak, as 666 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,800 Speaker 1: they should. You should point to the schedule, but you 667 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: have Milwaukee on Friday and then December is full of 668 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: games that are opportunities to prove to everyone that the 669 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 1: Lakers are for real. So go do it. You know, 670 00:33:57,640 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 1: if you don't want anybody to pull out the schedule 671 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: as an excuse, go beat the Bucks on Friday, and 672 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: that's gonna be a fun game. I'm looking forward to 673 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:05,960 Speaker 1: covering it all right, guys, that is all I have 674 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate your support and 675 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: I will see you guys tomorrow for our quarter season awards. 676 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 1: The Volume