1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,960
Speaker 1: The volume. All right, well, good hoops, tonight you're at

2
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:17,880
Speaker 1: the volume. Have you Monday?

3
00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,000
Speaker 2: Everybody hopeful if you guys had an incredible weekend. We

4
00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,680
Speaker 2: are one sleep away from the launch of the twenty

5
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:25,760
Speaker 2: twenty five twenty twenty six NBA season.

6
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:26,800
Speaker 1: I'm very, very excited.

7
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,639
Speaker 2: I have some final preseason takeaways, a bunch of different

8
00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,280
Speaker 2: stuff I want to get into. So I thought the

9
00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,239
Speaker 2: best way for us to put that together today is

10
00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:39,080
Speaker 2: to call it the five Big Questions Before we start

11
00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,080
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty five NBA season. We're rebouncing all over

12
00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,040
Speaker 2: the place, gonna hit some stuff with SGA as well

13
00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:46,720
Speaker 2: as with the Thunder as a whole. I want. I'm

14
00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:48,839
Speaker 2: kind of interested in this idea of like what teams

15
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,080
Speaker 2: are capable of upsetting Oklahoma City versus what teams are

16
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,360
Speaker 2: not capable of upsetting Oklahoma City. After that, I'm gonna

17
00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,400
Speaker 2: give some last minute takeaways on the Los Angeles Lakers

18
00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,520
Speaker 2: after their final preseason game, which was a dress rehearsal

19
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,680
Speaker 2: versus the Sacramento Kings. After that, I'm interested in who

20
00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,119
Speaker 2: has the best chance to get the two seed out

21
00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,920
Speaker 2: in the Eastern Conference. We all can agree that Cleveland

22
00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,280
Speaker 2: is most likely going to get the one seed out there,

23
00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:16,080
Speaker 2: but there's three teams I think that are in the

24
00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,279
Speaker 2: running for that two seeds, So we'll break that down,

25
00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:19,640
Speaker 2: and at the tail end of the show, just a

26
00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,679
Speaker 2: brief look at the MVP race this season, which in

27
00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,680
Speaker 2: Vegas is showing up very clearly as a three person race.

28
00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,240
Speaker 2: We'll talk about those three as well as who I

29
00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,480
Speaker 2: think is the best long shot candidate. You guys are

30
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:31,800
Speaker 2: the Joe Before we get started, to subscribe to the

31
00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 2: Hoops on YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of

32
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,280
Speaker 2: our videos. Follow me on Twitter at Underscore JCNLT so

33
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,680
Speaker 2: you guys don't miss show announcements. Don't forget about a

34
00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:40,520
Speaker 2: podcast feed wherever you get your podcast uner Hoops Tonight.

35
00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,760
Speaker 2: It's also super helpful if you leave a rating in

36
00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,720
Speaker 2: a review on that front. Jackson's doing incredible work on

37
00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,000
Speaker 2: our social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

38
00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,240
Speaker 2: Make sure you guys follow us there for great content

39
00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,240
Speaker 2: throughout the rest of the season. In the last but

40
00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,440
Speaker 2: not least, keep dropping mail bag questions in the YouTube comments.

41
00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,520
Speaker 2: We are going to have mail bags basically weekly throughout

42
00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,080
Speaker 2: the regular season. We will have one coming up on

43
00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,040
Speaker 2: this Friday, So I'll be pulling questions from the comment

44
00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,400
Speaker 2: section on this video as well as the comment section

45
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,160
Speaker 2: on our three lives that we have going on Tuesday, Wednesday,

46
00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,440
Speaker 2: and Thursday Night. That's our schedule this week. Obviously, the

47
00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,600
Speaker 2: five Big Questions today, then we'll live on Tuesday Night Live,

48
00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,800
Speaker 2: on Wednesday Night Live, on Thursday Night, mail Bag on Friday.

49
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,400
Speaker 2: All right, let's talk some basketball. So first big question

50
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:28,880
Speaker 2: as we head into the start of this season, can

51
00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,919
Speaker 2: shake you'll just Alexander take the leap to become the

52
00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,959
Speaker 2: best basketball player in the world. We had a debate,

53
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,440
Speaker 2: if you guys remember in our mail bag like a

54
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,800
Speaker 2: week or two ago, and talking about the idea of like,

55
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,200
Speaker 2: you know, we have this theoretical kind of two telephone

56
00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,839
Speaker 2: polls that are holding up a wire, right and that's

57
00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,480
Speaker 2: Nicole Jokic, who's the best player in the world right now?

58
00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,280
Speaker 2: And then there's this onslought of Victor Webman Yama, And

59
00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,240
Speaker 2: we don't know when it's gonna happen. We don't know

60
00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,000
Speaker 2: when he's gonna take that leap to officially become that guy.

61
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,480
Speaker 2: But what if there's a gap in there, what if

62
00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,720
Speaker 2: there's a gap in there where there's a spot for

63
00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,840
Speaker 2: someone else to jump up, whether it be a Luka

64
00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,680
Speaker 2: Dancic or Shake Gil just Alexander and an Anthony Edwards.

65
00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,359
Speaker 2: And one of the things I said in that debate

66
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,360
Speaker 2: is that I didn't think that Shay could become the

67
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,160
Speaker 2: best player in the world because he doesn't have like

68
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:24,360
Speaker 2: a second thing that he's transcendently great at. And we

69
00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,040
Speaker 2: were talking about like how Ant has this defensive potential.

70
00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,280
Speaker 2: He may or may not ever realize it, but maybe

71
00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,959
Speaker 2: he has that potential. And then Luca has this ability

72
00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,760
Speaker 2: to score at volume and at efficiency the same way

73
00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,640
Speaker 2: that Shaye does, but that also has this transcendent playmaking gift, right,

74
00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:45,760
Speaker 2: And so honestly, I was watching the preseason and Shay

75
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,400
Speaker 2: is just remarkably locked in. He was twenty for twenty

76
00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:55,160
Speaker 2: four from the field in preseason, ten for twelve on

77
00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,720
Speaker 2: jump shots, five for five from the mid range, five

78
00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 2: for seven from three, that three point shot he's been

79
00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,440
Speaker 2: working on the last few years, seven for seven on

80
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,920
Speaker 2: all off the dribble jump shots, nine for eleven at

81
00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:12,680
Speaker 2: the rim. Just completely ridiculous shot making, and it looks good.

82
00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:14,440
Speaker 2: Every bit is good on tape, as it does in

83
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,520
Speaker 2: the box score. His start stop quickness is completely off

84
00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:19,840
Speaker 2: the charts. He's dusting dudes off the dribble. He had

85
00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,479
Speaker 2: this like snatchback dribble move against Brandon Miller in a

86
00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,920
Speaker 2: Hornets game, going down the right lane line where he

87
00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:27,839
Speaker 2: planted that right leg going full speed and pulled it

88
00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,039
Speaker 2: back and Brandon, who's a great athlete, just goes like

89
00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,760
Speaker 2: flying off the screen, and Shay just easily goes forward

90
00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:36,760
Speaker 2: to his left and lays the ball up. Everyone else

91
00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:38,840
Speaker 2: looks like they're stuck in the mud. And all I

92
00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,600
Speaker 2: could think was, as I was watching that, was I'm

93
00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,640
Speaker 2: an idiot for thinking that Shaye doesn't have the potential

94
00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,799
Speaker 2: at least to become the best basketball player in the world.

95
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:54,400
Speaker 2: One day, I was really caught by his playmaking. He

96
00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,320
Speaker 2: had sixteen assists to just six turnovers in roughly fifty

97
00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,360
Speaker 2: seven minutes of preseason action. For those of you guys,

98
00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,000
Speaker 2: I look at those of you guys who've been looking

99
00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,120
Speaker 2: at the show for a while, I typically look at

100
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,000
Speaker 2: per thirty six as a way to kind of translate

101
00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,480
Speaker 2: whether it be a small role player who's you know,

102
00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,160
Speaker 2: playing fewer minutes per game, kind of look at what

103
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,440
Speaker 2: their production looks like at larger scale, or in this case,

104
00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,080
Speaker 2: in preseason when they're not playing their normal thirty six

105
00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,560
Speaker 2: minute type of nights, right, Shay averaged ten point one

106
00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,240
Speaker 2: assists per thirty six minutes. To give you guys some perspective,

107
00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,240
Speaker 2: he was at six point seven per thirty six in

108
00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,479
Speaker 2: the regular season last year and six point three in

109
00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:36,400
Speaker 2: the playoffs. Also a two point seven assist to turnover ratio.

110
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,040
Speaker 2: Obviously small sample size, but the point is is Shay

111
00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,600
Speaker 2: somehow looks even better than he did last year. And

112
00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,640
Speaker 2: you know, I've been wrong before, and it's kind of

113
00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:47,360
Speaker 2: a natural part of this business. I'm sure I'll be

114
00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,159
Speaker 2: wrong many more times in the future. But I when

115
00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,919
Speaker 2: I was like thinking back on that, I was like,

116
00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,360
Speaker 2: that might be one of the worst takes that I've

117
00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,400
Speaker 2: ever had. It is completely absurd for me to insinuate

118
00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,039
Speaker 2: even if I don't think he's there yet, and even

119
00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,840
Speaker 2: if there's a chance that Victor comes on too quick,

120
00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,520
Speaker 2: or that Luca blows us all away and proves himself

121
00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,000
Speaker 2: to be a better player this year, it's absurd for

122
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:13,159
Speaker 2: me to pretend as though Shay can't become the best

123
00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,520
Speaker 2: basketball player in the world. He absolutely can. He's actually

124
00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,839
Speaker 2: closer to it than we think in a lot of ways,

125
00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,200
Speaker 2: Like he needs to get more consistent in the postseason

126
00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,000
Speaker 2: as a scorer and efficient, Like he fell off a

127
00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,280
Speaker 2: cliff last year an efficiency from sixty four percent for

128
00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,080
Speaker 2: shooting in the regular season to just fifty seven in

129
00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:30,640
Speaker 2: the playoffs.

130
00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:32,200
Speaker 1: That's a precipitous drop off.

131
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:33,880
Speaker 2: He needs to get a little bit more efficient there,

132
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,039
Speaker 2: needs to take a little bit of a play making leap,

133
00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,039
Speaker 2: which he's showing a bit of in preseason. But again,

134
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,680
Speaker 2: like I just want to get out in front of

135
00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,720
Speaker 2: that in the sense that like I was wrong and

136
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,560
Speaker 2: I just rather than going down with the ship, I'd

137
00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,920
Speaker 2: rather just admit that I was wrong and move forward.

138
00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,040
Speaker 2: And the truth of the matter is is like I've

139
00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,960
Speaker 2: been too low on Shay's big picture potential. He absolutely

140
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,520
Speaker 2: has the potential to join that conversation with the very

141
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,920
Speaker 2: best basketball player in the world right now, with Nikola Jokic.

142
00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,200
Speaker 2: I still think it's Jokic right now. I think Wemby's coming.

143
00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:07,080
Speaker 2: I think it's going to be hard for Shay to

144
00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,279
Speaker 2: outpace Wemby when Wemby gets to his peak.

145
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:10,320
Speaker 1: But they're very well.

146
00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,800
Speaker 2: Maybe a pocket in time there, and I think, you know,

147
00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,960
Speaker 2: I have the players that I'm drawn to. I'm drawn

148
00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,480
Speaker 2: to playmaking naturally, and I do think that that scoring

149
00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,600
Speaker 2: archetype like Shay is a little bit tougher. I think

150
00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,360
Speaker 2: you've got to be transcendently great at it. But he

151
00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:25,840
Speaker 2: is transcendently great at it. And if he takes a

152
00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,960
Speaker 2: playmaking leap this year and he gets up over seven

153
00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,360
Speaker 2: and a half assists per game, that closes the gap

154
00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,720
Speaker 2: with Luca on the playmaking front in a way that

155
00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,920
Speaker 2: I think it starts to complicate that conversation, and so

156
00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:40,440
Speaker 2: I just want to again get out in front of that.

157
00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,160
Speaker 2: I was wrong to say that. I think Shay absolutely

158
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,480
Speaker 2: has the potential to become the best player in the NBA,

159
00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,600
Speaker 2: maybe even sooner than later. One of the specific things

160
00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,120
Speaker 2: that I've noticed in preseason two is just his willingness

161
00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,320
Speaker 2: to take easy reads early in possessions. This is one

162
00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,200
Speaker 2: of his things in the postseason that kind of ebbed

163
00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,520
Speaker 2: and flowed with his game management. But his scoring ability

164
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,720
Speaker 2: is becoming such a damn problem for defenses that when

165
00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,080
Speaker 2: he starts to probe off the dribble a little bit,

166
00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:10,960
Speaker 2: they're fully compromised. They're completely throwing their attention and effort

167
00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,120
Speaker 2: at him, and so you're starting to see these like

168
00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,760
Speaker 2: really easy kickout reads that he's taking advantage of early

169
00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,400
Speaker 2: in possessions, and it's getting the engine flowing for Oklahoma

170
00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,680
Speaker 2: City's offense early. He's making those raaids consistently. If he

171
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,080
Speaker 2: does that, it's going to keep his teammates in rhythm

172
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,800
Speaker 2: night tonight, and it'll even loosen up the defense on

173
00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,080
Speaker 2: him to make things even easier on him as a score.

174
00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:34,040
Speaker 1: And last night on SGA.

175
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,439
Speaker 2: Before we move on, I've just really enjoyed watching Starting

176
00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,240
Speaker 2: Five with him and just getting to know him a

177
00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,960
Speaker 2: little bit more on a personal level from the access

178
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,559
Speaker 2: that we get from that show. First of all, I

179
00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:46,880
Speaker 2: absolutely love Starting five. If you haven't watched it yet,

180
00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:48,920
Speaker 2: it's on Netflix, I highly recommend you check it out.

181
00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:53,280
Speaker 2: It just does such a wonderful job of capturing the

182
00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,240
Speaker 2: cool of the NBA and its players. Like I fell

183
00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,120
Speaker 2: in love with this game as a kid, I'm sure

184
00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,760
Speaker 2: most of you guys did too. And you just idolize

185
00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,920
Speaker 2: the league and you idolize the teams, and you idolize

186
00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:10,520
Speaker 2: the players. They become like almost like they become like

187
00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,800
Speaker 2: fantastic to you in a lot of ways, right, And

188
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,439
Speaker 2: I just thought that that show has done an amazing

189
00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:17,880
Speaker 2: job over the last couple of years of just kind

190
00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,040
Speaker 2: of immersing us in the NBA in a way we

191
00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,160
Speaker 2: don't get to just by watching the games. I really

192
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,720
Speaker 2: enjoyed watching it, and I've just really enjoyed watching Shay

193
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:26,320
Speaker 2: and just kind of learning a little bit more about

194
00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,120
Speaker 2: his personality. Talked a lot about his consistency and just

195
00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,319
Speaker 2: how his daily process is the same and that's why

196
00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,079
Speaker 2: he's consistent in his performance on the court. I love

197
00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,880
Speaker 2: the perspective he offered as it pertains to media criticism.

198
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,920
Speaker 2: I've always talked about how, like media criticism kind of

199
00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,200
Speaker 2: comes in three phases for players. When you're young, everyone's

200
00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,400
Speaker 2: just excited about what you're great at, and all we

201
00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,480
Speaker 2: do is talk about how amazing you are. And even

202
00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:54,559
Speaker 2: when we talk about your weaknesses, we talk about them

203
00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:56,839
Speaker 2: in the context of, yo, well, you're eventually going to

204
00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,000
Speaker 2: get better at that, like oh, like Wemby just has

205
00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,520
Speaker 2: to work on this, if he figures this out, like,

206
00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,400
Speaker 2: oh man, the league's in trouble. It's like even criticism

207
00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,560
Speaker 2: takes on a positive connotation and that's like a phase

208
00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,120
Speaker 2: that Victor Wembenyama is in, and then there's like this

209
00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,120
Speaker 2: middle phase. And in the middle phase, all of a sudden,

210
00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,040
Speaker 2: the dynamic changes. We're no longer comparing you to the

211
00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,480
Speaker 2: lesser players in the league. We're comparing you to the

212
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:22,240
Speaker 2: very best basketball players alive. And when you're doing that,

213
00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,040
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, it becomes kind of nitpicky. It's like, well,

214
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:27,360
Speaker 2: he's not as good at this as some of his

215
00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,079
Speaker 2: peers are at the top of the league, or he's

216
00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,200
Speaker 2: not as good at that, And that's where Luca is

217
00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,800
Speaker 2: right now, That's where Shay is right now, That's what

218
00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,320
Speaker 2: Yannis has been in the last few years. And part

219
00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,520
Speaker 2: of it is kind of the reality it's a blessing

220
00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,600
Speaker 2: and a curse being one of the best basketball players

221
00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,520
Speaker 2: in the world. Like you're experiencing all the fame and

222
00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:48,840
Speaker 2: success that comes from it, but it comes with you

223
00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:52,400
Speaker 2: being juxtaposed amongst the greats, and that just comes with criticism.

224
00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,640
Speaker 2: And like, that's the thing. We're not comparing Shade is

225
00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:57,400
Speaker 2: Zack Lavine. Comparing Shade is ac Lavine. It's gonna be

226
00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,079
Speaker 2: an overwhelmingly positive conversation. But if we're talking about him

227
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,240
Speaker 2: compared to Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic and Jannison Tenakumpo.

228
00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:07,720
Speaker 2: It's gonna come with a lot of criticism. It's a

229
00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,640
Speaker 2: healthy it's it's kind of like a healthy part of

230
00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:16,199
Speaker 2: the discourse. In that environment. You're you're being welcomed into

231
00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,280
Speaker 2: a very exclusive club. And then there's like a third phase, right,

232
00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,200
Speaker 2: which is Steph and Kadi and Lebron. Those guys, they're

233
00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,640
Speaker 2: just no one's comparing them to the top guys anymore, so,

234
00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:29,800
Speaker 2: no one's being that nitpicky. Everyone just kind of has

235
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,520
Speaker 2: a profound respect for them for the most part, except

236
00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:34,600
Speaker 2: for some bad actors out there, right, and so the

237
00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 2: coverage turns overwhelmingly positive. So like Luca and Shae and Giannis,

238
00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,360
Speaker 2: those guys are all stuck in the hardest part of

239
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,800
Speaker 2: it right now. And what I liked about seeing in

240
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,560
Speaker 2: the show, Shay just talked about how it doesn't really

241
00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:50,520
Speaker 2: get to him because he's harder on himself than the

242
00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,880
Speaker 2: fans are, or then the media is, or then even

243
00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:55,960
Speaker 2: his coaches are, is what he said in the show,

244
00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,120
Speaker 2: And like, I thought that was really interesting perspective because

245
00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,200
Speaker 2: not only does that drive you. But it's one of

246
00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,880
Speaker 2: those things where I thought back to the last last

247
00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,240
Speaker 2: year's playoff run where he had some struggles with game management,

248
00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,360
Speaker 2: he came through every time when they needed him to,

249
00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,600
Speaker 2: Like for all of the bad games in there where

250
00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,160
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City's offense fell apart, every time the chips were

251
00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,240
Speaker 2: down and the title was going to get determined, he

252
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,560
Speaker 2: played a good floor game. And so's it's a testament

253
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,679
Speaker 2: to self awareness. It's a testament to the fact that

254
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,680
Speaker 2: he is his biggest critic and that he uses that

255
00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,480
Speaker 2: to push himself. I've just really enjoyed watching that show

256
00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:35,520
Speaker 2: to get a little bit more perspective on who Shay

257
00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,880
Speaker 2: is as a person. And again, I just want to

258
00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:39,839
Speaker 2: get out in front of that.

259
00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:41,280
Speaker 1: Like I have been.

260
00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,360
Speaker 2: Under selling Shay's big picture potential. I don't think he's

261
00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:46,280
Speaker 2: the best player in the world yet, but I think

262
00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,160
Speaker 2: it's foolish for anybody to insinuate that he can't get there.

263
00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,360
Speaker 2: And when I said that, I was wrong and I'd

264
00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,400
Speaker 2: rather just get it right. So that's all I got

265
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,160
Speaker 2: for Shae for right now. Let's move on to question

266
00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,200
Speaker 2: number two. What's up, guys, I'm super excs. I had

267
00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,880
Speaker 2: to tell you about our new partnership with Rag and Bone.

268
00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,040
Speaker 2: I got this jacket from them about a month ago

269
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,600
Speaker 2: group in Tucson. You know, not much jacket wearing going

270
00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:10,840
Speaker 2: on down there, But I just moved to Denver and now, like,

271
00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:12,640
Speaker 2: every single time my wife and I are going out

272
00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:15,079
Speaker 2: to dinner, you got to throw something on to keep

273
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,000
Speaker 2: yourself warm. And this jacket is quite frankly the nicest

274
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,520
Speaker 2: piece of clothing that I've ever owned. You guys know

275
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,400
Speaker 2: how it is with denim, Like sometimes it's just like

276
00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,920
Speaker 2: stiff and uncomfortable. This infused denim from Rag and Bone

277
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:30,760
Speaker 2: is already broken in when you put it on.

278
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:31,800
Speaker 1: It just has that like.

279
00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,760
Speaker 2: Feel of quality, but also that like soft and comfortable

280
00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,160
Speaker 2: type of feeling you don't expect to get from denim.

281
00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:41,160
Speaker 2: I have a pair of their jeans and a jacket.

282
00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,920
Speaker 2: I've just been super impressed by the quality. It washes

283
00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:48,160
Speaker 2: super well, it's super comfortable, It looks amazing if you

284
00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:50,440
Speaker 2: look at their overdye process. They have an eight step

285
00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,800
Speaker 2: overdye process that gives each piece this like super rich

286
00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,560
Speaker 2: and dimensional color. From the quality materials they use to

287
00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:00,440
Speaker 2: just the level of craftsmanship. Everything's just made to last.

288
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,720
Speaker 2: And everything just seems to get better with each time

289
00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:04,360
Speaker 2: that you wear it, and then again like, this is

290
00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:05,240
Speaker 2: an investment in.

291
00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,280
Speaker 1: Your wardrobe in the long run.

292
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,680
Speaker 2: This is stuff that is going to last, that is

293
00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,360
Speaker 2: going to build and be a foundation for your wardrobe

294
00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:14,800
Speaker 2: as you continue to get older. I've just been super

295
00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,880
Speaker 2: super impressed. They have every single type of fit that

296
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:19,960
Speaker 2: you could want when it comes to denim. They don't

297
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,960
Speaker 2: just have denim too, They've got t's and knits and

298
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,160
Speaker 2: other types of jackets and every single thing that you

299
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,200
Speaker 2: would need to put your whole look together. It's premium

300
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,600
Speaker 2: wardrobe staples that are made to last and made to

301
00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:34,600
Speaker 2: live in. It's time to upgrade your denim with Rag Andbone.

302
00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:38,440
Speaker 2: For a limited time, our listeners get twenty percent off

303
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:43,240
Speaker 2: their entire order with code hoops tonight at Ragonbone dot com.

304
00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,480
Speaker 2: That's twenty percent off at Ragdashbone dot com with promo

305
00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,080
Speaker 2: code hoops tonight h oops T O N I G

306
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,200
Speaker 2: H T. When they ask where you heard about them,

307
00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,120
Speaker 2: Please support our show and let them know that we

308
00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:03,440
Speaker 2: sent you. How many teams do I actually think are

309
00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,920
Speaker 2: capable of beating Oklahoma City in a series. I was

310
00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:12,240
Speaker 2: thinking about this concept after watching Minnesota last year in

311
00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,440
Speaker 2: the postseason, we talked about kind of Minnesota, and when

312
00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,360
Speaker 2: we did our player rankings and when we did our

313
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,120
Speaker 2: contender rankings, I talked about how like Minnesota kind of

314
00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,320
Speaker 2: needs Denver to follow to number four and beat Oklahoma

315
00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,960
Speaker 2: City in the second round in order for Minnesota to

316
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,360
Speaker 2: get out of the conference, because I don't think Minnesota

317
00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,000
Speaker 2: can beat Okay. See, they have like a couple of

318
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:38,880
Speaker 2: key weaknesses in key areas that affect that specific matchup

319
00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,640
Speaker 2: on both ends of the floor. So, for instance, on offense,

320
00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,120
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City has this combination of like real athletes that

321
00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,920
Speaker 2: can get up into ant guys like Lou Dort, guys

322
00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,400
Speaker 2: like Alex Crusoe, guys that, like an it's not going

323
00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:58,360
Speaker 2: to have this unbelievable athleticism advantage against. But then they

324
00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,800
Speaker 2: also can protect the rim. And we've seen variations of

325
00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,200
Speaker 2: that even beyond Oklahoma City when it was Derek Jones

326
00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:08,160
Speaker 2: Junior and Derek Lively and Daniel Gafford and suddenly went

327
00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,640
Speaker 2: down a big level offensively, right, So, like Oklahoma City

328
00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,600
Speaker 2: presents that athletic on the perimeter and rim protection dynamic

329
00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,480
Speaker 2: that Minnesota struggles against. Secondly, Minnesota is not a high

330
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,800
Speaker 2: level processing team. They were nineteenth and turnover rate last

331
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,360
Speaker 2: year eighteenth and assistant turnover ratio. They can shoot the

332
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:30,520
Speaker 2: ball plenty, well, they got plenty of shooting, but they

333
00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,680
Speaker 2: don't have great passers. They don't have a lot of

334
00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,440
Speaker 2: ability to quickly process the defense, move the ball through it,

335
00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:39,400
Speaker 2: get it to the open man. And as we know,

336
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,240
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City can be so aggressive that that's the way

337
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,400
Speaker 2: you beat them. You beat them by passing through their

338
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,680
Speaker 2: defense and knocking down open shots. And then on defense

339
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,000
Speaker 2: Jaden McDaniels for whatever reason, and I think it has

340
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,680
Speaker 2: a lot to do with him just being upright. I

341
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,960
Speaker 2: think I think the Jada McDaniels type is like too

342
00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,800
Speaker 2: tall and easy for Shay to be shifty against and

343
00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,640
Speaker 2: to beat off the dribble. We saw Andrew Nemhard, a

344
00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,680
Speaker 2: smaller kind of fire hydrant guard who's very quick laterally

345
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,120
Speaker 2: and great at anticipating Shay's moves. He was the guy

346
00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,240
Speaker 2: that made life harder on Shae because he was able

347
00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,879
Speaker 2: to beat him to spots. And so, in a weird way,

348
00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:18,240
Speaker 2: Minnesota's defense built around Jaden McDaniels is not a great

349
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,000
Speaker 2: matchup for Shae, he can't keep him in front. Some

350
00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,800
Speaker 2: of that was game plan. We talked about the unnecessary

351
00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:27,240
Speaker 2: ball pressure, but I just think in general, Shay's good

352
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,200
Speaker 2: at getting lanky players out of position, and so that's

353
00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,600
Speaker 2: one of the It's just a tough matchup for Minnesota.

354
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,719
Speaker 2: And then finally, even when both teams do successfully contain

355
00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,480
Speaker 2: the ball with their rim protection and their athletes, Shay's

356
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:43,920
Speaker 2: just way better than it right now as an over

357
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,040
Speaker 2: the top scorer. So I don't see a scenario where

358
00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:50,200
Speaker 2: Minnesota can overcome all of those things and beat Oklahoma City,

359
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,040
Speaker 2: not in one years of one year of improvement, and

360
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,080
Speaker 2: I'd even argue that Oklahoma City is going to get

361
00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,320
Speaker 2: more internal improvement than Minnesota will this year. So I

362
00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:03,000
Speaker 2: don't think minnio so To can beat Oklahoma City. So

363
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,919
Speaker 2: with that being in like kind of the framework for

364
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:10,160
Speaker 2: this discussion, who can beat Oklahoma City? Now we've talked

365
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,000
Speaker 2: about Denver, I picked them as my championship favorite. I

366
00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:16,760
Speaker 2: was on with the Nerd SESSH guys last week and

367
00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,080
Speaker 2: I had like a forty five minute debate with Carson

368
00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,200
Speaker 2: at the top of that show, going back and forth

369
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,399
Speaker 2: about that specific Denver Oklahoma City matchup. So I'm not

370
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,080
Speaker 2: going to spend any time on that today. If you

371
00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:27,760
Speaker 2: want to see that, we talked about it in our

372
00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,560
Speaker 2: Contenders preview, and I talked about it at length with Carson,

373
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,480
Speaker 2: but I gave Denver a when I said to Carson,

374
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,680
Speaker 2: was fifty three to forty seven, like very very very

375
00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,560
Speaker 2: slight advantage towards Denver in that specific matchup. The gist

376
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,480
Speaker 2: of it is just the Jokic problem. He's an entry

377
00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,919
Speaker 2: point for their defense, high IQ defenders on the other

378
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,320
Speaker 2: end of the floor of the ability to kind of

379
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,320
Speaker 2: make Oklahoma City think and that combination of playmaking and

380
00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,960
Speaker 2: play finishing, which I think is so important to beat

381
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,000
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City. So let's talk about that. Let's move on

382
00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,080
Speaker 2: past Denver, and let's talk about what you need to

383
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:03,520
Speaker 2: have to beat Oklahoma City. Because again, for all these

384
00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,720
Speaker 2: other teams, every other team that I list here, no

385
00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,679
Speaker 2: one's picking them over Oka See. Okay See is going

386
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,920
Speaker 2: to be the gambling favorite. Alahoma City is the team

387
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,080
Speaker 2: that I will pick. It's the team that you should pick.

388
00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,080
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City deserves to be favored versus all of these teams,

389
00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,880
Speaker 2: but in order for them to have an upset threat.

390
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:23,040
Speaker 1: What do they need to have?

391
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,240
Speaker 2: So, first of all, it's that combination of playmaking and

392
00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,879
Speaker 2: play finishing. Oklahoma City does a ton of gambling, playing,

393
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:38,280
Speaker 2: passing lanes, double teaming, fouling. They play super physical. They

394
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,240
Speaker 2: beat the shit out of you from the opening tip,

395
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,960
Speaker 2: hoping the refs won't call anything, and they just force

396
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:44,719
Speaker 2: a lot of turnovers and then they run it down

397
00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:48,080
Speaker 2: your throat the other way in transition. So you have

398
00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,639
Speaker 2: to be able to space the flour and you have

399
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,520
Speaker 2: to have high level playmakers that can pass through that

400
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,119
Speaker 2: without turning the ball over. And then you need guys

401
00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,639
Speaker 2: at the tail end of those sequences that can knock

402
00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,040
Speaker 2: down or finish at the rim as cutters, vertical spacers,

403
00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,600
Speaker 2: whatever it is. You need to be able to pass

404
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,679
Speaker 2: through their defense and finish. I don't think it's a

405
00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,840
Speaker 2: coincidence that Denver and Indiana were the two teams that

406
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,560
Speaker 2: had the most success against them last year. Both of

407
00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:19,119
Speaker 2: those teams are super smart, super organized, and loaded with

408
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,119
Speaker 2: playmaking and play finishing talent. Now, as we know, Indiana

409
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,480
Speaker 2: is out of the conversation for this year, so now

410
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,480
Speaker 2: we're into the upset territory. So this is the second

411
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,000
Speaker 2: piece of it. I think if you're going to upset

412
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,160
Speaker 2: anybody in any sport, you have to have some kind

413
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,160
Speaker 2: of legitimate advantage. Another way to kind of frame this

414
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,160
Speaker 2: is to say, yeah, they might be better than us,

415
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:48,560
Speaker 2: but we're better than them at this thing. That's what

416
00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,400
Speaker 2: you need in order to have an upset. So, for instance,

417
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,600
Speaker 2: you know, over the course of a series, this thing,

418
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,000
Speaker 2: whatever it may be, has to rise to the forefront

419
00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:03,760
Speaker 2: and kind of dominate the flow of the game on

420
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,440
Speaker 2: both ends of the floor. That can be a kind

421
00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,359
Speaker 2: of thing that can counteract a talent advantage. You gotta

422
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,840
Speaker 2: have some sort of leg up on them, right. So

423
00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:15,360
Speaker 2: for Denver, it's self explanatory.

424
00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,240
Speaker 1: Right. They have the Jokic piece of it. They are a.

425
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,119
Speaker 2: Much bigger and more physical rebounding team, so they have

426
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,639
Speaker 2: a couple of clear advantages. That's a big part of

427
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,280
Speaker 2: why I view them as a substantial upset threat versus

428
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,520
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City. Right, But let's talk about the rest of

429
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:34,080
Speaker 2: these teams. I want to start with Cleveland. This is

430
00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 2: the only team I have in the Eastern Conference that

431
00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:40,560
Speaker 2: I actually think can beat Oklahoma City. To start with,

432
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:42,879
Speaker 2: they have a nice set of circumstances. They're in a

433
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,000
Speaker 2: weaker conference and they have a much better chance of

434
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,040
Speaker 2: making it to the finals, in which case they would

435
00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,840
Speaker 2: just be standing with Oklahoma City is the only barrier

436
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,560
Speaker 2: between them and the final and the trophy right. The

437
00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,480
Speaker 2: second piece of it though, they're a high level playmaking

438
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,720
Speaker 2: and shooting team. They were top five and assist to

439
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,479
Speaker 2: turn onratio last year. They were second and three pointers made,

440
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,840
Speaker 2: second and three point percentage. So when Oklahoma City is

441
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,560
Speaker 2: throwing the kitchen sink at them, Cleveland can move the

442
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,320
Speaker 2: ball through their defense, they can get to these open threes,

443
00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:14,919
Speaker 2: and they can knock them down. And then lastly, this

444
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,000
Speaker 2: is that key piece. I think Cleveland has a couple

445
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:23,600
Speaker 2: of advantages. One, I think a healthy Darius Garland is

446
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,520
Speaker 2: actually capable of taking advantage of Oklahoma City's bigs in space.

447
00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:29,880
Speaker 2: He's going to be able to get the ball into

448
00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:31,760
Speaker 2: the teeth of their defense and break them down at

449
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,400
Speaker 2: the point of attack. That I think is a legitimate

450
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,119
Speaker 2: advantage there. Two, they are a much much much better

451
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,720
Speaker 2: three point shooting team than Oklahoma City. Those are real

452
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,600
Speaker 2: advantages that Cleveland could ride to an upset. And for

453
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,880
Speaker 2: the record, Oklahoma City was twenty nine to one versus

454
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,119
Speaker 2: the Eastern Conference last year, guess who That one loss

455
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,480
Speaker 2: was against the Cleveland Cavaliers. So they're my one team

456
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,000
Speaker 2: in the East. I don't think the Knicks can beat them.

457
00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,920
Speaker 2: They're a solid playmaking team with the highestess to turnover ratio,

458
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,120
Speaker 2: but they're a mediocre three point shooting team. They're eighth

459
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 2: and percentage, but only twenty fourth in makes. I also

460
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,840
Speaker 2: don't think they have a big enough advantage anywhere else.

461
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,240
Speaker 2: Like Jalen Brunson is just a lesser version of Shay,

462
00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:12,200
Speaker 2: I think that's a matchup that clearly favors Oklahoma City.

463
00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:14,760
Speaker 2: They have some bigger guys like kat No Janaobi that

464
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 2: could take advantage of Oklahoma City's smaller perimeter players, but

465
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,359
Speaker 2: none of them are good enough at passing the basketball.

466
00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:22,320
Speaker 2: And we kind of saw this with Julius Randall in

467
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,720
Speaker 2: the conference final series. But like the big bullyball player

468
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,680
Speaker 2: that doesn't read the floor super well, that dude gets

469
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:31,879
Speaker 2: chewed up and spit out by Oklahoma City, and we

470
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,919
Speaker 2: saw that with Jared Jackson, we saw that with Julius Randall.

471
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,639
Speaker 2: So I'm not as optimistic about guys like cat or

472
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,040
Speaker 2: Og and Anobi having great series against the Thunder Orlando.

473
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:41,560
Speaker 1: No way.

474
00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,439
Speaker 2: They don't pass or shoot the ball well enough. They

475
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,120
Speaker 2: were a bottom five assistant turnover ratio team last year,

476
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:48,920
Speaker 2: or jump shooting team in the league by a mile. Yes,

477
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 2: I know they added some guys, it won't be enough,

478
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,200
Speaker 2: and then we go down a significant level of talent

479
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,320
Speaker 2: from there. Milwaukee doesn't have the players, Indiana and Boston

480
00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:58,960
Speaker 2: are hurt. Atlanta doesn't have the players, even if I

481
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,000
Speaker 2: like them as a regular season team, I think Detroit's

482
00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,120
Speaker 2: too young to win that type of matchup. So the

483
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,280
Speaker 2: only team in the Eastern Conference that I actually think

484
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,480
Speaker 2: can credibly give Oklahoma City a run for their money

485
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:14,199
Speaker 2: is Cleveland out West. I have four teams here, and

486
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:19,240
Speaker 2: several of them I strongly contemplated leaving them off, but again,

487
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:21,800
Speaker 2: I'm trying to keep my options open here in terms

488
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,760
Speaker 2: of the theoretical upset we're admitting Oklahoma City is picked

489
00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 2: to beat these teams, but do they have a shot? Sorry,

490
00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:32,280
Speaker 2: with Houston, I almost left them off this list because

491
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,119
Speaker 2: of the ball handling issue. I just think you have

492
00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,440
Speaker 2: to have high level ball handlers to move the ball

493
00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:39,040
Speaker 2: through Oklahoma City's defense, and with the loss of Fred

494
00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:41,320
Speaker 2: van Vliet. It pretty quickly goes from Kevin Durant to

495
00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,879
Speaker 2: Read Shepherd and Alburn Shannggoun, who I think does a

496
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,480
Speaker 2: decent job managing defensive attention. It's not great at it yet,

497
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,440
Speaker 2: so like that theoretically would be a death sentence in

498
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,840
Speaker 2: this type of matchup. But I left them on because

499
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:55,800
Speaker 2: they have a couple of advantages. So first of all,

500
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,600
Speaker 2: their frontline is just ridiculously massive, and they're far and

501
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:01,840
Speaker 2: away the offensive rebounding team in the league. Those are

502
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,120
Speaker 2: things that can give Oklahoma City issues from times from

503
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 2: time to time. And then secondly, they're an elite defense

504
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,840
Speaker 2: with a player and the Men Thompson, who theoretically is

505
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,520
Speaker 2: like the perfect type of player to deploy against Shay.

506
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,840
Speaker 2: He's got a good combination of size but also insane

507
00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,480
Speaker 2: lateral quickness to potentially be able to beat Shade his spots.

508
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:22,439
Speaker 2: I think a guy like a Men would struggle with

509
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,680
Speaker 2: Shay early in a series, but after he got enough

510
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,040
Speaker 2: opportunity to really look at his moves and kind of

511
00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,159
Speaker 2: dial him in, I could see him Men to be

512
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,080
Speaker 2: the type of athlete that could give Shay a little

513
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,440
Speaker 2: bit of a harder time deeper into his series. They're

514
00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,920
Speaker 2: essentially the Rockets just too good to write off completely.

515
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:39,959
Speaker 2: I worry about their lack of ball handling and shooting

516
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:42,399
Speaker 2: in this matchup, but too good for me not to

517
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,600
Speaker 2: give them an upset shot. I'm gonna listen both LA

518
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,359
Speaker 2: teams here, although I think they're both long shots. The

519
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,639
Speaker 2: Clippers have really high level playmaking talent. They're not a

520
00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,359
Speaker 2: particularly great three point shooting team, just in terms of volume.

521
00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:57,320
Speaker 2: They're a good percentage team, but not by volume. Zubots

522
00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 2: is a big advantage, just a monster inside that can

523
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,159
Speaker 2: cause Oklahoma City some problems, so I'd give him an

524
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,560
Speaker 2: advantage in this series. My main concern would be Kawhi

525
00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,040
Speaker 2: does not handle double team as well, and we saw

526
00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 2: in the Denver series how that looked. Oklahoma City would

527
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,399
Speaker 2: just do a better version of that. But I do

528
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,239
Speaker 2: think they at least have the talent to have an

529
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,280
Speaker 2: upset shot for the Lakers. It's just that perimeter size

530
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,760
Speaker 2: dynamic that we've talked about, Like Luca and Lebron are

531
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,960
Speaker 2: much bigger than Oklahoma City's primary perimeter defenders. That gives

532
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,199
Speaker 2: them a little bit of an edge in terms of

533
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,960
Speaker 2: being comfortable getting to their spots and then they're both

534
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,160
Speaker 2: super high level playmakers and the Lakers are surrounding them

535
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 2: with a lot of play finishing talent. We actually saw

536
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,200
Speaker 2: this in their regular season matchups post Luca trade. Again,

537
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:42,879
Speaker 2: that doesn't mean I would pick the Lakers to win.

538
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:44,960
Speaker 2: I'd pick the Thunder to win. I think the Lakers

539
00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,800
Speaker 2: have a huge athleticism disadvantage, but as a proof of concept,

540
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,159
Speaker 2: we at least saw how those big ball handlers that

541
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,679
Speaker 2: can pass with good play finishing had the ability to

542
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,040
Speaker 2: score against Oklahoma City. I think that gives them at

543
00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 2: least an upset threat. But again, my main concern for

544
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,200
Speaker 2: the Lakers would be they have no hope to guard Shay.

545
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,639
Speaker 2: It'd be a game planning series. JJ would have to

546
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,600
Speaker 2: pull a David Adelman and mix up coverages a ton,

547
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,720
Speaker 2: run a bunch of zone, and just get super gimmicky

548
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 2: and hope that Okay See missed a ton of shots,

549
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,040
Speaker 2: which is what makes him such a long shot. Lastly,

550
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,760
Speaker 2: the Golden State Warriors, and you know, ironically, it's their

551
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,120
Speaker 2: defense that makes me think they have a shot. Jimmy

552
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:26,000
Speaker 2: and Draymond and Al are like the perfect trifecta of

553
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,720
Speaker 2: like old smart savvy dudes to have on a back

554
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:34,840
Speaker 2: line to kind of play into okac's indecisiveness, especially with

555
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 2: the guy like Draymond who's so good at like having

556
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,280
Speaker 2: a foot in the paint, but then throwing the kind

557
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,040
Speaker 2: of clothes out that'll scare the shit out of the

558
00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,439
Speaker 2: dude who's shooting in the corner right, And so I

559
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:45,000
Speaker 2: just think that they would actually be able to play

560
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,600
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City into some pretty substantial offensive roles. And then

561
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,680
Speaker 2: from there, there's a lot of things that would lead

562
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:52,440
Speaker 2: you to believe they wouldn't be good in this matchup,

563
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,360
Speaker 2: Like they don't have a lot of three point shooting,

564
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,520
Speaker 2: they don't have like a super reliable offensive player off

565
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,119
Speaker 2: of Steph, But Steph do create a lot of different

566
00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:03,640
Speaker 2: types of opportunities in terms of bringing two to the ball.

567
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 2: He would absolutely go attacking guys like Chet and guys

568
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,000
Speaker 2: like Guyai Hart and sign in space and at least

569
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,239
Speaker 2: create some four on threes where Golden State does have

570
00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,080
Speaker 2: a strength in terms of their overall playmaking talent. So

571
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,520
Speaker 2: just in general, I think Golden State represents the older,

572
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 2: smarter type of team that can give Oklahoma City some issues.

573
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,360
Speaker 2: But to be clear, all four of those teams upset

574
00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:28,159
Speaker 2: threats does not mean that I would pick them. I

575
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,159
Speaker 2: would pick Oklahoma City overall four of them. That was

576
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:31,960
Speaker 2: it for me in the West. I told you guys,

577
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,560
Speaker 2: how I don't think Minnesota can beat them. San Antonio

578
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:36,360
Speaker 2: just doesn't have the talent. As we've talked about most

579
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,040
Speaker 2: of the summer. Dallas doesn't have the ball, ball handling

580
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,840
Speaker 2: or shooting, and then we fall off a cliff to

581
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 2: the rest of the teams in the West in terms

582
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,680
Speaker 2: of talent. Today's show is brought to you by our

583
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,360
Speaker 2: new presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet. Tomorrow is opening night

584
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,440
Speaker 2: for the NBA, which means it's time to shoot your

585
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,280
Speaker 2: shot on hard Rock Bet, your home for hoops action

586
00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 2: all season long. Need a little help with your first bet,

587
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,040
Speaker 2: check out the streaks heating up inside the hard Rock

588
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,520
Speaker 2: Bet stats hub. You can find live odds and bet

589
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 2: on all these streaks right in the hard Rock Bet app.

590
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,400
Speaker 2: The Warriors have won and covered the spread in seven

591
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,240
Speaker 2: straight games as road favorites against the Western Conference. The

592
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:18,000
Speaker 2: thunder have won six in a row at home against

593
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,680
Speaker 2: the Western Conference. If you haven't tried your first bet

594
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:22,720
Speaker 2: on hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you to

595
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,880
Speaker 2: get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets. If

596
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,080
Speaker 2: you win, just place a five dollars bet and if

597
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,840
Speaker 2: it hits, you get not only your winnings, but one

598
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty dollars in extra bonus bets plus. All

599
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:35,960
Speaker 2: week on hard Rock Bet, you can get an NBA

600
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 2: Parlay boost for the games. There's new promos every day.

601
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,640
Speaker 2: Boost your same game Parlay or same Game Parlay Max,

602
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,520
Speaker 2: so your bet pays extra winnings. There's new promos daily,

603
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,680
Speaker 2: so if you're listening to this later, just open up

604
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:50,640
Speaker 2: the app and check out what you've got any day

605
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 2: of the week. Download the hard Rock Bet app today

606
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,040
Speaker 2: and make your first deposit. Payable and bonus bets not

607
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,680
Speaker 2: a cash offer offered by the Seminal Tribe of Florida

608
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 2: and Florida offered by the Seminal hard Rock Digital LLC

609
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 2: in all other states. Must be twenty one plus and

610
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:09,480
Speaker 2: physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,

611
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 2: or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about

612
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,160
Speaker 2: gambling in Florida called one eight three to three play

613
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:21,400
Speaker 2: wise in Indiana. If you or someone you know has

614
00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 2: a gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred

615
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,920
Speaker 2: and nine with it gambling problem called one eight hundred

616
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 2: gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia.

617
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:41,240
Speaker 2: Third question, Can the Lakers survive without Lebron James. I

618
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,280
Speaker 2: watched their dress rehearsal against Sacramento on Friday. A lot

619
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:48,280
Speaker 2: of good, lot of bad. I've been generally underwhelmed with

620
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:50,280
Speaker 2: the Lakers in preseasons so far, but I'm trying to

621
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:51,959
Speaker 2: keep an open mind because they haven't played all their

622
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,280
Speaker 2: guys that much. Luca looks great. He scored at a

623
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:57,920
Speaker 2: eight of thirty seven points per thirty six minutes in

624
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:02,320
Speaker 2: preseason on sixty five percent true shooting. I think people

625
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,720
Speaker 2: forget how much of an absurd volume and efficiency scorer

626
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:08,240
Speaker 2: Luca is, and I think we're going to see that

627
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 2: in a big way to start the season with Lebron

628
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,840
Speaker 2: James out. Luca's three point shot is super locked in

629
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,840
Speaker 2: right now. He's ten for nineteen overall from three eight

630
00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:19,560
Speaker 2: for fourteen on his pullback three. That's step back three,

631
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 2: which is obviously one of the most important shots for

632
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,440
Speaker 2: him right now in terms of his scoring volume, still

633
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:27,640
Speaker 2: plenty of room for improvement, though for Luca, like he

634
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 2: was just one for seven on short twos. Again, that's

635
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 2: like floaters and jump shots inside of seventeen feet. Those

636
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,440
Speaker 2: are the shots that I think when he's making, puts

637
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:38,120
Speaker 2: him closer to the Jokic tier on offense, because that's

638
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:42,320
Speaker 2: that like hyper reliable short range scoring mixed with the

639
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 2: insane scoring volume and efficiency mixed with the ultra high

640
00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,800
Speaker 2: level playmaking. That's when he starts to enter into those conversations.

641
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,640
Speaker 2: So I'm a little bummed because that was a big

642
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,320
Speaker 2: problem for him with the Lakers last year, and then

643
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,640
Speaker 2: he did really well with the short range shot making

644
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,600
Speaker 2: over the summer with Slovenia. Not so good in preseason.

645
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,480
Speaker 2: But it's seven shot attempt so I'm not about to

646
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:04,600
Speaker 2: lose my mind. I'm just saying it's an area of

647
00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,440
Speaker 2: improvement for Luca to keep an eye on to start

648
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,120
Speaker 2: the year. The lob chemistry with DeAndre Ayton is really

649
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,720
Speaker 2: off right now. That was a big thing that stood

650
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:14,160
Speaker 2: out to me in the Sacramento game. There were like

651
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,960
Speaker 2: three or four easy roles where Ayton was wide open

652
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,120
Speaker 2: and Luca and Aaytan just couldn't connect on the pass.

653
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,480
Speaker 2: Not too hard to figure out that. Lob chemistry is

654
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,080
Speaker 2: something that takes time. It's very much a timing thing.

655
00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 2: We've talked about this a lot this summer with Dearon

656
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 2: Fox and Victor Wombenyama. But it takes time to kind

657
00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:35,640
Speaker 2: of get like dialed in in terms of like does

658
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,080
Speaker 2: he want me to jump with this footwork or that footwork?

659
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:38,280
Speaker 1: Am I?

660
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:41,040
Speaker 2: And it's more for Luca to figure out Ayden is Ayton.

661
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,600
Speaker 2: Ayton's gonna do his thing, but Luca's got to figure

662
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:45,720
Speaker 2: out the timing. When does Ayton want the ball? If I,

663
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,160
Speaker 2: what window am I passing to? And when That's the

664
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,200
Speaker 2: kind of stuff that Luca's got to figure out, because,

665
00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,760
Speaker 2: like you know, the team actually looks pretty sharp in

666
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 2: their offensive execution and they're running a lot of good stuff.

667
00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,800
Speaker 2: They've been running a lot of stack, pick and roll.

668
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:02,680
Speaker 2: But in the stack actions that they've been running, they've

669
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,640
Speaker 2: been getting good lobs for Aighton, good corner kicks, but

670
00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 2: it hasn't showed up in terms of efficiency yet because

671
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,520
Speaker 2: they haven't been able to connect on that vertical spacing

672
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,239
Speaker 2: piece of it. So again, something to keep an eye on.

673
00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,320
Speaker 2: Luca's playing great, but he still hasn't figured out his

674
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,600
Speaker 2: vertical spacing window and he still hasn't figured out that

675
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,640
Speaker 2: like kind of short range shot making piece. So point being,

676
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,520
Speaker 2: Luca can still get much better. Still don't love what

677
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 2: I've seen from him on defense in preseason. No big deal,

678
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:34,320
Speaker 2: just preseason. He's been scoring at it insane clip. Something

679
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:36,400
Speaker 2: to keep an eye on, though he's still dying on

680
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,880
Speaker 2: screens and come playing at the refs getting beat off

681
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,880
Speaker 2: the dribble there. Let's just say that if there is

682
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,400
Speaker 2: some sort of like new skinny Luca devotion to defense,

683
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:48,120
Speaker 2: it didn't show up in preseason. Just something to keep

684
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:48,520
Speaker 2: an eye on.

685
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:49,240
Speaker 1: Again.

686
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,720
Speaker 2: Overall, I think in terms of their execution, I think

687
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:54,240
Speaker 2: they're ahead of where they need to be on offense,

688
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,320
Speaker 2: but behind where they need to be on defense. Not

689
00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,000
Speaker 2: hard to be surprised by that. This is a team

690
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,680
Speaker 2: that I had pretty low defensive expectations for to start

691
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,240
Speaker 2: the year. But on offense, again, they're running good stuff.

692
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,360
Speaker 2: JJ's talked a lot about working on their screening, and

693
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,680
Speaker 2: they are setting really good screens in their stack actions.

694
00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:13,719
Speaker 2: One of the things I notice against Sacramento is a

695
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:15,880
Speaker 2: lot of NBA teams do this, but they know teams

696
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,719
Speaker 2: want to run stack, and so they again all that

697
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:19,200
Speaker 2: stack pick and roll is. For those of you guys

698
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:21,319
Speaker 2: who haven't heard on the show before, it's just a

699
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,080
Speaker 2: pick and roll at the top of the key with

700
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:27,760
Speaker 2: a shooter underneath the basket who comes up and tries

701
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:31,319
Speaker 2: to backscreen for the roleman so that you can keep

702
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,720
Speaker 2: an opening for a love and if the shooter's man

703
00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,960
Speaker 2: helps on the lob threat, then the shooter can relocate

704
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:38,560
Speaker 2: to the top of the key and he's wide open.

705
00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:40,719
Speaker 2: It essentially just makes it so that it's far more

706
00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:44,000
Speaker 2: likely that either the roleman or the shooter gets open

707
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,239
Speaker 2: versus just a regular two man game where it's a

708
00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,200
Speaker 2: lot easier for teams to defend that action two on two.

709
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:52,239
Speaker 2: It's more likely to bring in help, right, But a

710
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 2: lot of these NBA teams what they try to do

711
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,280
Speaker 2: is they try to jam up that screener. So essentially,

712
00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,759
Speaker 2: as the guard is trying to run up to backscreen

713
00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,080
Speaker 2: for the roleman, guy who's guarding the guard will basically

714
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:04,600
Speaker 2: shove him off his line and try to prevent him

715
00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,480
Speaker 2: from getting into position to set that backscreen. I actually

716
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:10,160
Speaker 2: thought Sacramento did a pretty good job of that in

717
00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:12,240
Speaker 2: this game, but they were able to set that screen

718
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:15,200
Speaker 2: enough times to get some openings. And in general, I

719
00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:19,040
Speaker 2: have been pleased with their screening throughout the preseason games

720
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,840
Speaker 2: that I've seen. They're running some really high level stuff.

721
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,520
Speaker 2: I like where the offense is at. There's also a

722
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,640
Speaker 2: lot to be excited about in terms of guys being

723
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,320
Speaker 2: in rhythm. Lucas shooting the ball really well, like we

724
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,120
Speaker 2: talked about, Rui is in a good groove right now.

725
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:35,960
Speaker 2: Gabe Vincent is shooting off the charts. We'll talk about

726
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:37,319
Speaker 2: that in a minute. Because I've seen a lot of

727
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,640
Speaker 2: pushback from Lakers fans about the idea to start Gabe Vincent.

728
00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:43,040
Speaker 2: I think it's defensible. We'll talk about that in a minute.

729
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:46,200
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves had a struggle in the Sacramento game, but

730
00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:49,040
Speaker 2: he's generally been great in preseason, scoring at a ray

731
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,160
Speaker 2: of twenty five points per thirty six minutes so far

732
00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,680
Speaker 2: in preseason. Only real beef with Austin as I was

733
00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,080
Speaker 2: hoping he'd come into camp a little bit more sharp

734
00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:59,959
Speaker 2: with his three point shooting. He was five for twenty

735
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:02,720
Speaker 2: from three in preseason three for fourteen off the dribble

736
00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:05,600
Speaker 2: and two for eight off of the catch. It's just

737
00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:08,120
Speaker 2: his biggest weakness right now. I thought that was pretty

738
00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:11,399
Speaker 2: clear after the Minnesota series, so I was hoping he'd

739
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:13,640
Speaker 2: come out a little bit hotter. But I'm sure he

740
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,840
Speaker 2: worked on it all summer. Let's just hope that that

741
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,799
Speaker 2: translates at some point soon in the regular season. But

742
00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:20,800
Speaker 2: in general, again, I think they're in a decent spot

743
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,919
Speaker 2: on offense to start this year. On defense, I still

744
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 2: think they have a long way to go. You can

745
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:28,560
Speaker 2: see them executing their stuff, like you can tell that

746
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 2: JJ's trying to get these guys organized. They're just not

747
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:37,080
Speaker 2: quite at that like game speed level of execution yet.

748
00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:40,680
Speaker 2: They're just like a step behind on most of their coverages.

749
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:45,799
Speaker 2: When you're already a step behind athletically, you can't also

750
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:50,040
Speaker 2: be a step behind mentally. You're gonna put yourself into

751
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,680
Speaker 2: situations where you have to recover and you're just not

752
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:54,680
Speaker 2: the type of team that's going to be super fast

753
00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 2: in recovery. I'll give you guys an example, like on

754
00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,000
Speaker 2: their xouts. So like all it xout is is if

755
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,000
Speaker 2: if you bring low man coverage over So let's say

756
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,680
Speaker 2: that the guy that is on the opposite corner steps

757
00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:07,879
Speaker 2: over into the paint to help on a drive. When

758
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:10,640
Speaker 2: that happens, there's a two on one that forms on

759
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,440
Speaker 2: the weak side, right, the guy who's helping his man's

760
00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:14,040
Speaker 2: in the corner.

761
00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:15,440
Speaker 1: Then you have the guy at the.

762
00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,359
Speaker 2: Top of the key exeres me on the opposite wing

763
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,640
Speaker 2: with his defender that's kind of sinking into the lane there, right,

764
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,480
Speaker 2: All an X out is is like, rather than me

765
00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,640
Speaker 2: the helper underneath the basket sprinting all the way out

766
00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,160
Speaker 2: to the corner, why don't we have the guy who's

767
00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,440
Speaker 2: guarding the guy on the wing drop to the corner

768
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,280
Speaker 2: and I go out to the wing. That's the X right,

769
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,680
Speaker 2: So guy on the wing goes to the corner. I'm

770
00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:40,239
Speaker 2: helping under the basket. I'm going up to the wing.

771
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,160
Speaker 2: You're xing past each other. That's why I call it

772
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,120
Speaker 2: an X out right. So in that specific sequence, there's

773
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:48,360
Speaker 2: a play against Sacramento where Luca steps over as a

774
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:51,520
Speaker 2: low man gets into the lane to offer help. Then

775
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,480
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, when the ball gets contained, Luca

776
00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:57,959
Speaker 2: turns to Gabe and yells X out, and Gabe runs

777
00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,800
Speaker 2: to the corner and Luca runs to the top of

778
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,239
Speaker 2: the he but the whole thing just looks slow and

779
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,240
Speaker 2: stuck in the mud, and there's an easy swing pass

780
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:09,799
Speaker 2: to the out to the right corner, and Luca's man

781
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,120
Speaker 2: gets a wide open three that he just happens to

782
00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:14,320
Speaker 2: miss if I remember correctly on this possession, and the

783
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,560
Speaker 2: whole time I'm sitting there thinking like like this is

784
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:19,160
Speaker 2: the kind of thing where they're just a little bit behind.

785
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:23,080
Speaker 2: Like if Luca anticipates that a second earlier and calls

786
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:26,160
Speaker 2: it out, then Gabe has a good chance to chase

787
00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:29,960
Speaker 2: him off of that shot into an extra pass, where Luca,

788
00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:32,840
Speaker 2: because he has an extra pass worth of time to

789
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,600
Speaker 2: get out there, can probably get out there. And now

790
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:37,880
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, we're taking away that open shot

791
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,440
Speaker 2: and forcing them to make a couple of additional.

792
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:41,879
Speaker 1: Plays in order to get a good look. Right.

793
00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,440
Speaker 2: Those are those types of like little mental execution type

794
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:48,000
Speaker 2: of details where they are a step slow right now

795
00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:49,920
Speaker 2: where they need to be sharper. You can see it

796
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:51,600
Speaker 2: in their peel switches. You can see it in some

797
00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:56,319
Speaker 2: of their transition defense in terms of like getting back,

798
00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:59,160
Speaker 2: stopping the ball, getting to the basket, fanning out to shooters.

799
00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:02,080
Speaker 2: They're just on everything. They're a little bit slow right now.

800
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,520
Speaker 2: I think they're working in the right direction. I had

801
00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:07,960
Speaker 2: hoped that they'd be a little further along at this point,

802
00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:11,279
Speaker 2: but I don't think this is a team that's going

803
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:13,319
Speaker 2: to come out and be fifteenth in defensive rating in

804
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:14,839
Speaker 2: the first month. I think this is a team that's

805
00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:16,680
Speaker 2: going to come out and be twenty third twenty fourth

806
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:17,600
Speaker 2: in defensive.

807
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:18,719
Speaker 1: Rating in the first month.

808
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:21,440
Speaker 2: Marcus Smart showed a lot of good in that game,

809
00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:23,840
Speaker 2: but not in the ways that I think people were hoping.

810
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,880
Speaker 2: Like he was able to force a turnover jumping a

811
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,080
Speaker 2: driver in transition where he kind of jumped the right

812
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,160
Speaker 2: hand drive and got to steal one out the other way.

813
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,800
Speaker 2: He showed some ability to rescue plays, hitting some tougher shots,

814
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,919
Speaker 2: so like late shot clock no one's really open hits

815
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,560
Speaker 2: like a rainbow three off the left wing. Yet another

816
00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:42,279
Speaker 2: play where late in the clock he put the ball

817
00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:43,799
Speaker 2: on the floor and hit a little jump shot in

818
00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:46,040
Speaker 2: the middle of the lane. You can tell he's got

819
00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:49,000
Speaker 2: a lot more refined offensive skill than some of the

820
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,480
Speaker 2: other guys that have played that position in years past.

821
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:56,359
Speaker 2: But I don't think he's looked particularly fast. I don't

822
00:39:56,400 --> 00:40:00,759
Speaker 2: think he looks like he's ready to guard superstar guards

823
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:03,239
Speaker 2: to start the season. I don't think he looks like

824
00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:06,200
Speaker 2: a primary point of attack option yet. Now hopefully he

825
00:40:06,239 --> 00:40:08,160
Speaker 2: continues to get his legs underneath him and then he

826
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,319
Speaker 2: eventually gets to that point. But right now, I don't

827
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:13,600
Speaker 2: think Marcus looks like a solution to their point of

828
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,719
Speaker 2: attack problems. So again, as we kind of zoom out

829
00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:21,040
Speaker 2: on the defense, I didn't have super high expectations, but

830
00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:23,319
Speaker 2: I will definitely be watching them because they're a little

831
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,160
Speaker 2: bit behind where i'd like to see them be at

832
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,879
Speaker 2: this point in time. Really quickly, before we're done here,

833
00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:30,720
Speaker 2: I want to talk about that decision to start Gabe,

834
00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:34,600
Speaker 2: so jj Redick starts Gabe against Sacramento, tells reporters that

835
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:36,560
Speaker 2: that would be a starting lineup in the Tuesday game.

836
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:40,000
Speaker 2: For the record, I personally would have started Vanda. I'll

837
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,640
Speaker 2: explain why in a minute, but I do think it's

838
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,800
Speaker 2: hilarious how I've seen so many Lakers fans get upset

839
00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:49,320
Speaker 2: at this decision. I think Gabe Vincent is a perfectly

840
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:53,440
Speaker 2: fine option to go to among several flawed options. So,

841
00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:58,080
Speaker 2: first of all, who are the options, Marcus Smart, Jared Vanderbilt,

842
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,399
Speaker 2: Gabe Vincent, and Jake Lorevia. I don't think you could

843
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,120
Speaker 2: make a case for any other guy, And so as

844
00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:07,600
Speaker 2: we start going through those four guys, I don't necessarily

845
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:11,600
Speaker 2: see any of them as the obvious choice. Like Lakers

846
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,680
Speaker 2: fans are clamoring for Marcus Smart. And by the way,

847
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:17,319
Speaker 2: if he was faster, he looked quick and ready to

848
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,879
Speaker 2: handle that massive point of attack job, I'd be right

849
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:24,840
Speaker 2: there with you. I don't see that yet. To me,

850
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:26,320
Speaker 2: he seems like a guy who should be coming in

851
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,760
Speaker 2: off the bench and just doing all the little Marcus

852
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,440
Speaker 2: Smart stuff that he does in that context until he

853
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:33,759
Speaker 2: gets his legs underneath him, maybe in a few weeks

854
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:35,480
Speaker 2: or a few months. But I don't see him as

855
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,359
Speaker 2: an obvious pick right now. Jared Vanderbilt would be my pick.

856
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:40,920
Speaker 2: The reason why is I think he's athletically ready for

857
00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:44,759
Speaker 2: the job. He makes the lineup more physically imposing all

858
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:48,480
Speaker 2: of a sudden, With Vanderbilt out there alongside a giant

859
00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:52,200
Speaker 2: DeAndre and a giant Ruy Hachimura and a giant Luka Doncic,

860
00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:56,920
Speaker 2: you're pretty big. He raises the athletic profile the lineup. Obviously,

861
00:41:57,080 --> 00:41:59,600
Speaker 2: offense and spacing would be difficult, and that's the downside.

862
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:02,960
Speaker 2: I also so like that it appropriately slots Gabe as

863
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:07,320
Speaker 2: a secondary ball handler. Right, So if you have Lebron,

864
00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:11,680
Speaker 2: Gabe's your fourth best ball handler, he can really slot

865
00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:13,960
Speaker 2: it anywhere at that point. But with Lebron out all

866
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:15,799
Speaker 2: of a sudden, he's your third best ball handler. And

867
00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:19,400
Speaker 2: so you can accomplish that through staggering, like pulling guys

868
00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:21,239
Speaker 2: out and putting him back in in certain ways. But

869
00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:23,440
Speaker 2: I think it's just a little bit more natural if

870
00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:26,239
Speaker 2: you bring Gabe in off the bench. That said, even

871
00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:29,879
Speaker 2: Jared Vanderbilt is not any perfect option. He's just two

872
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:32,719
Speaker 2: for thirteen from three in postseason, had an ugly air

873
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:35,080
Speaker 2: ball that was about three feet long into the left

874
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:38,320
Speaker 2: out of the right corner against Sacramento. He's five for

875
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:42,759
Speaker 2: eleven on layups, so he's been given twenty four layups

876
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:47,000
Speaker 2: in threes and he's converted them into sixteen points on

877
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:51,920
Speaker 2: twenty four openings. There the shot looks better. I'm a

878
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:55,440
Speaker 2: big believer that it takes time to translate standstill shooting

879
00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:58,640
Speaker 2: to practice shooting to game shooting. So like, I'm not

880
00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:01,160
Speaker 2: giving up on van Do as guy who could potentially

881
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:03,400
Speaker 2: in the future become a guy who can knock down

882
00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:05,920
Speaker 2: a catch and shoot jumper, but he's clearly not that

883
00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:09,719
Speaker 2: right now, and he still is struggling to finish layups,

884
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,319
Speaker 2: so he's not an obvious pick. He's who I would pick,

885
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:16,640
Speaker 2: but I don't think it's obvious. Jake Loravia has looked

886
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:19,279
Speaker 2: slow and he's three for thirteen from three in pro

887
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:22,560
Speaker 2: in preseason, so it's not like Jake Lolavia's earned the

888
00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:25,480
Speaker 2: spot either. So the point is is there is no

889
00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:30,680
Speaker 2: obvious choice. What Gabe does provide is a guy who's

890
00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,759
Speaker 2: solid at everything. He's athletically quick enough for the job

891
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:38,120
Speaker 2: of guarding opposing guards, even though he's obviously undersized. That

892
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:40,480
Speaker 2: would be a downside as he obviously lowers the athletic

893
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,799
Speaker 2: profile of the lineup, but Luca ruey Ayton is still

894
00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,240
Speaker 2: a pretty big front line. They're not gonna be tiny,

895
00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:47,919
Speaker 2: they're just not gonna be as big as they could

896
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,000
Speaker 2: be with Vando. Gabe can dribble, shooting, pass well, so

897
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:52,840
Speaker 2: he can kind of do any role in the offense,

898
00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:56,000
Speaker 2: and he's been in a great rhythm since the start

899
00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:59,600
Speaker 2: of preseason. This is crazy Gabe Vincent is scoring at

900
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:01,960
Speaker 2: a rate I have twenty six point two points per

901
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,560
Speaker 2: thirty six minutes in preseason. He's fifteen for twenty seven

902
00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:08,480
Speaker 2: from three. And it wasn't just the nuclear showing in

903
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:10,120
Speaker 2: Vegas against Dallas. I don't know if you guys had

904
00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:11,879
Speaker 2: a chance to watch that game. I watched it live,

905
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:14,719
Speaker 2: but Gabe came out and hit like five threes in

906
00:44:14,719 --> 00:44:17,080
Speaker 2: the first four minutes and Drew fallon another just went

907
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:19,920
Speaker 2: like absolutely ape shit to start that game. But then

908
00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,360
Speaker 2: he came out in a smaller role alongside Austin and Luca,

909
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:27,080
Speaker 2: was four for five from three, fourteen points, zero turnovers

910
00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:28,080
Speaker 2: in the Sacramento game.

911
00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:29,160
Speaker 1: He's playing well.

912
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:32,440
Speaker 2: So what JJ ses is a guy who he can trust,

913
00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:36,360
Speaker 2: who he knows will execute the game plan, who's capable

914
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:39,200
Speaker 2: of the defensive job, and who's shooting the shit out

915
00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:43,200
Speaker 2: of the basketball as of late. So yeah, has gave

916
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,080
Speaker 2: the long term solution to the starting three, Of course not,

917
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:49,120
Speaker 2: but I think he's a perfectly defensible option to start

918
00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:53,359
Speaker 2: the season with. Overall, on the Lakers, I don't think

919
00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:55,080
Speaker 2: they're as sharp as they need to be to get

920
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:58,279
Speaker 2: off to like a great start this year. I don't

921
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,920
Speaker 2: think they're gonna be awful on defense, but I think

922
00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:03,439
Speaker 2: they're gonna be pretty bad. I don't think they're gonna

923
00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:05,840
Speaker 2: be amazing on offense, but I think they're gonna.

924
00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:06,800
Speaker 1: Be pretty good.

925
00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:10,240
Speaker 2: If they're gonna be pretty good on offense and pretty

926
00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:14,520
Speaker 2: bad on defense, that's a mediocre team, right, So I

927
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:16,760
Speaker 2: don't think they're gonna get off to some great start.

928
00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:20,720
Speaker 2: That said, the one thing that might save them here

929
00:45:21,239 --> 00:45:23,680
Speaker 2: is they do have a pretty light schedule to start

930
00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:26,440
Speaker 2: the year, and that might be exactly what they need

931
00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:29,040
Speaker 2: to survive this stretch without Lebron. Looking at the schedule,

932
00:45:29,520 --> 00:45:32,480
Speaker 2: Golden State and Minnesota to start obviously a couple of

933
00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:35,480
Speaker 2: tough games there. You split those, you're happy, But then

934
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:38,240
Speaker 2: Sacramento in Portland both are feisty and both have some issues.

935
00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:41,840
Speaker 2: Sacramento's athletes gave Austin some issues Portland. All of you

936
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:44,320
Speaker 2: Golden State fans who watch Golden State over the preseason,

937
00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:45,880
Speaker 2: you saw how feisty Portland can be.

938
00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:47,160
Speaker 1: They have a lot of good players.

939
00:45:47,239 --> 00:45:50,240
Speaker 2: They're young and athletic and have some decent ball handling

940
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:52,680
Speaker 2: above what you would think for a team that lost

941
00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:55,080
Speaker 2: Scot Henderson. So those are gonna be tougher games, but

942
00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:58,360
Speaker 2: those are games that you feel like Luca should be

943
00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:00,359
Speaker 2: able to do enough damage in that you can win.

944
00:46:01,080 --> 00:46:04,879
Speaker 2: Then Minnesota again, that's tough, Portland again, winnable game. San

945
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:10,600
Speaker 2: Antonio winnable game, Atlanta winnable game, Charlotte winnable game. Oklahoma

946
00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:13,120
Speaker 2: City on the road without Lebron, that's probably a loss.

947
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:18,960
Speaker 2: New Orleans winnable game, Milwaukee winnable game, Utah winnable game,

948
00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:21,799
Speaker 2: Utah winnable game. And if you get to there, that

949
00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:24,239
Speaker 2: gets you to November twenty third, and you hope to

950
00:46:24,239 --> 00:46:25,120
Speaker 2: have Lebron.

951
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:25,399
Speaker 1: Back by then.

952
00:46:26,080 --> 00:46:29,040
Speaker 2: So I do think the Lakers could play mediocre basketball

953
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:31,920
Speaker 2: to start the season and still be nine and seven,

954
00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:34,640
Speaker 2: and I think nine and seven with Lebron coming back

955
00:46:34,719 --> 00:46:36,120
Speaker 2: is not a bad spot to be. I think a

956
00:46:36,239 --> 00:46:38,920
Speaker 2: huge win for the team would be if Lebron came

957
00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,600
Speaker 2: back on the twenty fifth and your team's at eleven

958
00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:43,880
Speaker 2: and five. So that I think is going to be

959
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:46,160
Speaker 2: a nice little barometer for how they've started the year.

960
00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:48,120
Speaker 2: So in short, I haven't been super impressed by the

961
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:50,719
Speaker 2: Lakers in preseason. They have a light schedule to start

962
00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:52,480
Speaker 2: the year, so they have a good chance to survive

963
00:46:53,120 --> 00:46:57,840
Speaker 2: in the standings without Lebron. Question number four, which Eastern

964
00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:00,640
Speaker 2: Conference team will separate from the second team year and

965
00:47:00,719 --> 00:47:04,759
Speaker 2: compete with Cleveland at the top of the conference. I

966
00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:07,279
Speaker 2: like Atlanta as a regular season team to potentially steal

967
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:08,960
Speaker 2: the top four seed, but I don't think they're good

968
00:47:09,040 --> 00:47:11,719
Speaker 2: enough to like go in fifty seven games and get

969
00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:14,719
Speaker 2: the two seed. I've been impressed by Boston and Indiana,

970
00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:17,320
Speaker 2: and they're basketball cultures. In preseason, They're both gonna be

971
00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:19,760
Speaker 2: a pain in the ass, but neither has the talent

972
00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:22,000
Speaker 2: to hang with Cleveland. The Bucks don't have the talent,

973
00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:24,960
Speaker 2: Miami doesn't have the talent. I kell Alwares look great

974
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:26,600
Speaker 2: in preseason, I still don't think they have the talent

975
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:29,200
Speaker 2: to be a two seed. And then Philly just won't

976
00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:31,480
Speaker 2: get enough games out of their stars, right, So that

977
00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:38,759
Speaker 2: basically leaves it to three teams, New York, Orlando in Detroit. So,

978
00:47:38,840 --> 00:47:41,759
Speaker 2: assuming Cleveland ends up with around somewhere between fifty six

979
00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:43,600
Speaker 2: and sixty two wins, I think it's more likely they

980
00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:45,960
Speaker 2: end up around fifty six to fifty seven because Darius

981
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:47,440
Speaker 2: Garland's going to miss part of the start of the

982
00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:50,680
Speaker 2: season and They're not trying to outpace Boston anymore, so

983
00:47:50,719 --> 00:47:52,239
Speaker 2: I don't think there's gonna be as much night to

984
00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:54,600
Speaker 2: night motivation in the regular season. But I still think

985
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:56,759
Speaker 2: it's reasonable that they'll be right around, like fifty seven

986
00:47:56,800 --> 00:48:00,000
Speaker 2: and fifty eight wins. Right That means one of these

987
00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:02,239
Speaker 2: teams in order to get to the two seed has

988
00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:06,320
Speaker 2: to win about fifty five games. I ended up putting

989
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:09,320
Speaker 2: Detroit at the bottom of this trio. They won forty

990
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:12,880
Speaker 2: four games last year. I like the moves for Karaslavert

991
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:15,560
Speaker 2: and Duncan Robinson. I am a big believer in Kate

992
00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:17,120
Speaker 2: and I think he'll be better. I think he'll improve

993
00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:19,080
Speaker 2: as a three point shooter and improve as a late

994
00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:22,160
Speaker 2: game decision maker. But we did get some tough news

995
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:24,080
Speaker 2: about Jade and Ivy's knee. Looks like he's going to

996
00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:26,200
Speaker 2: be out to start the year with a surgery to

997
00:48:26,239 --> 00:48:28,799
Speaker 2: relieve some discomfort. So I kind of look at them

998
00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:33,280
Speaker 2: as right around, like fifty fifty two wins for Detroit,

999
00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:35,040
Speaker 2: so I don't think that's enough for them to get

1000
00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:35,719
Speaker 2: the two seed.

1001
00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:37,600
Speaker 1: New York is interesting.

1002
00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:40,920
Speaker 2: They were the three seed last year, so another way

1003
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:42,920
Speaker 2: to frame that is to say they were basically the

1004
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:47,840
Speaker 2: best non Boston, non and Cleveland team, So they already

1005
00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:50,960
Speaker 2: are essentially kind of in pole position here. They'll have

1006
00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:53,520
Speaker 2: a healthier roster because Mitchell Robinson's going to be ready

1007
00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:56,720
Speaker 2: to go. They have a new coach. New coaching typically

1008
00:48:56,440 --> 00:49:00,680
Speaker 2: results in like a motivated start. They're running in transition

1009
00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:02,640
Speaker 2: at a higher rate to start camp. They're getting more

1010
00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:06,600
Speaker 2: fast break points. Excuse me, they're moving the ball more.

1011
00:49:07,239 --> 00:49:08,960
Speaker 2: I do think they're gonna be better on both ends

1012
00:49:08,960 --> 00:49:12,160
Speaker 2: of the floor. So I think like fifty five wins

1013
00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:14,600
Speaker 2: is on the table for the Knicks. But I actually

1014
00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:18,360
Speaker 2: am gonna go very slightly with Orlando here as a

1015
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:21,319
Speaker 2: team that I think is a tiny bit more likely

1016
00:49:21,360 --> 00:49:25,280
Speaker 2: to get that two seed. And really it's all about

1017
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:28,080
Speaker 2: their physical imposition on the game, because I haven't loved

1018
00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:31,360
Speaker 2: everything I've seen from them in camp. They're still not

1019
00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:34,160
Speaker 2: as like deliberate and smart with the way they attack

1020
00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:36,800
Speaker 2: on offense as I'd like them to be. But I

1021
00:49:36,800 --> 00:49:39,719
Speaker 2: think they're gonna be a great regular season wins machine

1022
00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:43,480
Speaker 2: just because of their overwhelming size and physicality. Again, this

1023
00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:47,560
Speaker 2: was a team last year that was devastated by injuries.

1024
00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:50,640
Speaker 2: Jalen Suggs misses almost the whole year. Franz and Paolo

1025
00:49:50,719 --> 00:49:55,480
Speaker 2: both missed multiple a long stints of games, right, and

1026
00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:59,200
Speaker 2: they still win forty one and forty one because they're huge,

1027
00:50:00,160 --> 00:50:04,520
Speaker 2: and they're physical, and they're great at defense, and that

1028
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:06,680
Speaker 2: sort of thing does show up every night in the

1029
00:50:06,719 --> 00:50:10,440
Speaker 2: eighty two games. You take that you inject talent with

1030
00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:15,080
Speaker 2: Desmond Bane firepower. Not only that, but talent and firepower

1031
00:50:15,080 --> 00:50:19,120
Speaker 2: that directly addresses a need on the roster both deadly

1032
00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:22,840
Speaker 2: catch and shoot shooting and a real dynamic offscreen scoring

1033
00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:25,239
Speaker 2: threat that will open up opportunities for their offense that

1034
00:50:25,239 --> 00:50:28,120
Speaker 2: they haven't had in the past. If they are healthy

1035
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:32,759
Speaker 2: this year, they have that combination of strong defensive foundation

1036
00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:36,160
Speaker 2: and just enough offensive firepower to win some of the

1037
00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:39,080
Speaker 2: closer games that they've lost in recent years. So I

1038
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:43,160
Speaker 2: give this Magic team just a tiny bit higher chance

1039
00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:45,720
Speaker 2: to end up getting around that fifty five to fifty

1040
00:50:45,719 --> 00:50:48,919
Speaker 2: six win mark. In staying close to Cleveland, I still

1041
00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:50,719
Speaker 2: don't love them as a playoff team because I'm not

1042
00:50:50,719 --> 00:50:52,359
Speaker 2: a huge fan of their coaching staff and the way

1043
00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:54,680
Speaker 2: they play on offense. But I do think they have

1044
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:58,560
Speaker 2: the overwhelming talent and physicality to turn out wins in

1045
00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:02,200
Speaker 2: the regular season. Guess right now, I'd say that the

1046
00:51:02,200 --> 00:51:06,320
Speaker 2: top four seeds in the East in mid April are Cleveland, Orlando,

1047
00:51:06,600 --> 00:51:10,040
Speaker 2: New York, and then Detroit, with Atlanta being the team

1048
00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:12,759
Speaker 2: that if any one of those teams experiences injuries or

1049
00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:15,399
Speaker 2: massively underachieves, I think Atlanta is the team that kind

1050
00:51:15,400 --> 00:51:18,239
Speaker 2: of pops up into that group. And again, like the

1051
00:51:18,239 --> 00:51:21,080
Speaker 2: injuries can happen. We just found out that Jaden Ivy's

1052
00:51:21,080 --> 00:51:24,520
Speaker 2: out right all right, last question for today, who's gonna

1053
00:51:24,560 --> 00:51:25,439
Speaker 2: win MVP this year?

1054
00:51:26,960 --> 00:51:29,000
Speaker 1: First of all, who typically does win MVP.

1055
00:51:30,239 --> 00:51:31,959
Speaker 2: You gotta be on a team that's winning a ton

1056
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:35,200
Speaker 2: of games, and you gotta be putting up insane numbers.

1057
00:51:35,239 --> 00:51:37,680
Speaker 2: You gotta be playing at that top tier superstar level.

1058
00:51:37,680 --> 00:51:39,560
Speaker 2: The guys at the top of the league are too good.

1059
00:51:39,840 --> 00:51:42,600
Speaker 2: You're not gonna get like a just for fun MVP

1060
00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:45,800
Speaker 2: award from the second tier when you know that Jokic

1061
00:51:45,880 --> 00:51:48,480
Speaker 2: is gonna average a twenty eight point triple double and

1062
00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:53,480
Speaker 2: Shay's gonna be like thirty three five and I think

1063
00:51:53,520 --> 00:51:55,799
Speaker 2: Shay's gonna get up to like seven assists a game

1064
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:59,040
Speaker 2: this year, So like it's just gonna be really difficult

1065
00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:01,480
Speaker 2: for anybody to out pay those guys, Right, So those

1066
00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:04,440
Speaker 2: two are the obvious ones, right. The Thunder gonna win

1067
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:08,720
Speaker 2: sixty plus games, They're gonna be the one seed. Shay's

1068
00:52:08,719 --> 00:52:12,000
Speaker 2: gonna put up insane numbers. Shane's gotta be in the

1069
00:52:12,080 --> 00:52:16,040
Speaker 2: MVP conversation, then, Jokic, I think Denver's gonna be a

1070
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:19,040
Speaker 2: top four seed in that brutal West. He's gonna average

1071
00:52:19,040 --> 00:52:21,720
Speaker 2: a twenty eight point triple double. The on off numbers

1072
00:52:21,719 --> 00:52:25,719
Speaker 2: are gonna be insane. So those two are obvious obviously,

1073
00:52:25,760 --> 00:52:29,920
Speaker 2: the kind of like foundational MVP favorites of favorites to

1074
00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:32,600
Speaker 2: start the season. So who else can meet that criteria?

1075
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:38,320
Speaker 2: I thought about KD. He's had some buzz, and I

1076
00:52:38,360 --> 00:52:40,200
Speaker 2: think the Rockets as a team have a chance to

1077
00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:42,399
Speaker 2: be good enough. But the problem is is Shane goun

1078
00:52:42,560 --> 00:52:45,680
Speaker 2: is very much the foundational player there, and I think

1079
00:52:45,680 --> 00:52:47,359
Speaker 2: it's just gonna be too hard for Katie to put

1080
00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:50,120
Speaker 2: up the necessary numbers to compete with the guys at

1081
00:52:50,120 --> 00:52:51,799
Speaker 2: the top of the league. So even though I like KD,

1082
00:52:52,040 --> 00:52:54,560
Speaker 2: love that fit there in Houston, I just don't think

1083
00:52:54,640 --> 00:52:56,239
Speaker 2: KD is gonna be able to have the type of

1084
00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:58,200
Speaker 2: season he needs to seal the MVP from one of

1085
00:52:58,239 --> 00:53:02,279
Speaker 2: those top guys put up the numbers. But I just

1086
00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:05,719
Speaker 2: have a really hard time envisioning the Bucks winning enough games.

1087
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:07,800
Speaker 2: I was really thinking about this with respect to Wemby,

1088
00:53:07,920 --> 00:53:13,319
Speaker 2: Like Wemby has deeron Fox, like a legit dude who

1089
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:16,440
Speaker 2: can go out and like consistently get into the high twenties,

1090
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:20,120
Speaker 2: low thirties and bring real firepower. Giannis doesn't have that

1091
00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:23,560
Speaker 2: alongside him. It's gonna be really hard for the Bucks

1092
00:53:23,920 --> 00:53:25,520
Speaker 2: to move up the standing. He's like, Yeah, if the

1093
00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:28,200
Speaker 2: Bucks get the two seed, then Giannis is MVP. It

1094
00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:31,200
Speaker 2: just feels like a long shot to me. Spurs same thing.

1095
00:53:31,320 --> 00:53:33,120
Speaker 2: Wemby feels like a long shot because I just don't

1096
00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:34,960
Speaker 2: think the Spurs are good enough. I'd be stunned if

1097
00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:37,920
Speaker 2: they got a top four seed. I wouldn't be stunned

1098
00:53:37,960 --> 00:53:41,120
Speaker 2: if Ant ended up getting a two seed. But I

1099
00:53:41,200 --> 00:53:44,440
Speaker 2: just don't think he's as good at SGA, at the

1100
00:53:44,520 --> 00:53:46,520
Speaker 2: key things that he needs to be able to kind

1101
00:53:46,560 --> 00:53:50,319
Speaker 2: of circumvent that case. And Ant is also playing on

1102
00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:52,440
Speaker 2: a very talented roster, as we talked about, Like when

1103
00:53:52,440 --> 00:53:54,920
Speaker 2: we were talking about the Spurs and their roster, who's

1104
00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:58,240
Speaker 2: the team I used to juxtapos with them, Minnesota. Nas

1105
00:53:58,280 --> 00:54:00,920
Speaker 2: Reed's a really good player, Rudy Gobert a really good player,

1106
00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:03,400
Speaker 2: Julius Ryannad's a really good player. Jaden McDaniels is a

1107
00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:06,600
Speaker 2: really good player. The Timberwolves are pretty stacked with talents.

1108
00:54:06,640 --> 00:54:08,719
Speaker 2: I don't think you could give Anton like he's got

1109
00:54:08,719 --> 00:54:11,880
Speaker 2: the lesser team case to get the MVP either. So really,

1110
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:13,919
Speaker 2: the only other guy that I think has a good

1111
00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:17,680
Speaker 2: chance is Luca, And it's because Luca is gonna be

1112
00:54:17,760 --> 00:54:20,480
Speaker 2: able to score at the rate to put up the numbers, right,

1113
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:23,040
Speaker 2: Like he scored at a rate of thirty seven points

1114
00:54:23,080 --> 00:54:26,440
Speaker 2: per thirty six minutes in preseason, and like, if I

1115
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:29,120
Speaker 2: said that Luca averaged thirty three to nine to nine

1116
00:54:29,200 --> 00:54:33,319
Speaker 2: this year, that's not like me being out landish. That

1117
00:54:33,520 --> 00:54:36,120
Speaker 2: pretty much falls in line with what we would expect.

1118
00:54:36,160 --> 00:54:38,960
Speaker 2: If I asked all of you guys to just guess

1119
00:54:39,080 --> 00:54:41,719
Speaker 2: Luca's stat line for the season, most of you are

1120
00:54:41,719 --> 00:54:45,280
Speaker 2: gonna come in right around there. Those are MVP numbers.

1121
00:54:45,560 --> 00:54:47,399
Speaker 2: So if the Lakers get up to like the two

1122
00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:49,960
Speaker 2: or three seed in the West, which they literally were

1123
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:53,080
Speaker 2: the three seed last year, that means Luca's got a

1124
00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:55,560
Speaker 2: good chance to get MVP. So if you look at it,

1125
00:54:55,960 --> 00:55:00,640
Speaker 2: those three feel like the only real candidates, Luca and

1126
00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:02,480
Speaker 2: Nicole Jokich. And by the way, if you go look

1127
00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:06,560
Speaker 2: in Vegas, it's those three and then it's a massive

1128
00:55:06,680 --> 00:55:09,360
Speaker 2: drop off before you get to Giannis and Victor women Yama.

1129
00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:11,680
Speaker 2: So if I had to pick one out of those three,

1130
00:55:12,280 --> 00:55:14,960
Speaker 2: I think it's gonna be Shay. I think the thunder

1131
00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:17,800
Speaker 2: are gonna dominate all year long. I think Shae is

1132
00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:21,040
Speaker 2: actually going to have somehow a more impressive statistical season

1133
00:55:21,080 --> 00:55:23,359
Speaker 2: than last year. I think he's just a player that's

1134
00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:26,160
Speaker 2: in the middle of mastering his craft. I think Shay

1135
00:55:26,239 --> 00:55:28,399
Speaker 2: is gonna end up getting MVP. But if I had

1136
00:55:28,440 --> 00:55:31,719
Speaker 2: to pick a long shot guy, I think I'd go

1137
00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:32,240
Speaker 2: with Victor.

1138
00:55:33,239 --> 00:55:33,520
Speaker 1: Again.

1139
00:55:33,560 --> 00:55:35,680
Speaker 2: I think there's a world where some of these other

1140
00:55:35,719 --> 00:55:39,040
Speaker 2: teams in the West get banged up. The Spurs day

1141
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:42,960
Speaker 2: relatively healthy. You get a massive bounce back season from

1142
00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:45,640
Speaker 2: Darren Fox where he averages like twenty six points per game,

1143
00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:49,440
Speaker 2: plays really good defense. Victor wemen Yama drags them to

1144
00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:52,080
Speaker 2: like fifty three wins. They get the two or the

1145
00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:55,720
Speaker 2: three seed, and Victor is averaging something like twenty eight points,

1146
00:55:55,760 --> 00:55:59,719
Speaker 2: twelve rebounds, five assists, and five stocks a game in

1147
00:55:59,760 --> 00:56:02,319
Speaker 2: his away the best defensive player in the league. And

1148
00:56:02,360 --> 00:56:05,720
Speaker 2: if he does that, that is where you have a case,

1149
00:56:05,800 --> 00:56:09,200
Speaker 2: like what I was talking about with Aunt, where that

1150
00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:12,360
Speaker 2: team is severely limited in talent compared to some of

1151
00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:14,960
Speaker 2: these other teams in the league. If Victor gets them

1152
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:17,200
Speaker 2: to a top three seed and puts up those kinds

1153
00:56:17,239 --> 00:56:20,120
Speaker 2: of numbers, I think that's a really strong MVP case.

1154
00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:22,799
Speaker 2: Because Jokic has the best roster he's had in his

1155
00:56:22,880 --> 00:56:25,600
Speaker 2: time as a Denver Nugget. The Thunder have the most

1156
00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:29,320
Speaker 2: talented roster in the league, even Luka Doncic just playing

1157
00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:33,360
Speaker 2: alongside Lebron James and Austin Reeves. Right, So, like, I

1158
00:56:33,400 --> 00:56:36,160
Speaker 2: think that's our best long shot threat is Victor wemin

1159
00:56:36,239 --> 00:56:39,200
Speaker 2: Yama just having one of those special seasons and sneaking

1160
00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:41,440
Speaker 2: in there to get MVP. All right, guys, that's all

1161
00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:43,400
Speaker 2: I have for today. That's it for the preseason. No

1162
00:56:43,560 --> 00:56:47,799
Speaker 2: more theoretical basketball, no more fake basketball, only real basketball

1163
00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:50,040
Speaker 2: from here. Very very excited to get into it with

1164
00:56:50,040 --> 00:56:53,400
Speaker 2: you guys again. Remember Tuesday Night Live on YouTube, Wednesday

1165
00:56:53,480 --> 00:56:55,880
Speaker 2: Night Live on YouTube, Thursday Night live on YouTube, and

1166
00:56:55,920 --> 00:56:58,000
Speaker 2: then a mailbag on Friday before we take the weekend

1167
00:56:58,040 --> 00:57:00,560
Speaker 2: off and get back into it next season again. As always,

1168
00:57:00,600 --> 00:57:02,960
Speaker 2: I appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show.

1169
00:57:03,239 --> 00:57:04,520
Speaker 1: I will see you tomorrow.

1170
00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:10,000
Speaker 2: Night on NBC for our first bit of NBA regular

1171
00:57:10,040 --> 00:57:11,799
Speaker 2: season covers. We're gonna get a I guess I'll look

1172
00:57:11,800 --> 00:57:14,160
Speaker 2: at Michael Jordan as a analyst there as well. That

1173
00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:15,960
Speaker 2: should be entertaining. All right, guys, I will see you

1174
00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:18,560
Speaker 2: on Tuesday night.