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Speaker 1: Welcome to hoops Tonight, presented by FanDuel here at the volume.

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Speaker 1: Happy Wednesday, everybody. I hope all of you guys are

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Speaker 1: having a great week so far. We are moving off

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Speaker 1: with their power rankings today onto number four team, the

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Speaker 1: Minnesota Timberwolves are really really interesting team to dive into

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Speaker 1: because once again we have to throw away just about

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Speaker 1: everything from last season because they traded a traded out

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Speaker 1: a bunch of their players for Rudy Gobert, which obviously

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Speaker 1: changes fundamentally the identity of this particular basketball team. They

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Speaker 1: should be a really really interesting watch this year. They

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Speaker 1: have one of my favorite young players in the league

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Speaker 1: and Anthony Edwards. It was a lot of fun diving

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Speaker 1: into this. You guys know the drill before we get started.

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Speaker 1: Subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any

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Speaker 1: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore

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Speaker 1: Jason lt so you guys don't miss any show announcements.

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Speaker 1: And last but not least, if you miss one of

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Speaker 1: these videos and you can't get back over to YouTube

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Speaker 1: to finish them, you can find them in audio form

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Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Under Hoops Tonight. One last thing.

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Speaker 1: Please bear with me guys. Last week on Thursday, when

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Speaker 1: I said I had allergies, turns out I had some

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Speaker 1: sort of upper respiratory illness was not COVID. I tested negative.

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Speaker 1: It really took it out of me. It's the most

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Speaker 1: sick I've been since I had COVID, which was in

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Speaker 1: the fall of and I'm kind of over it now,

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Speaker 1: but it has destroyed my lungs and destroyed my vote,

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Speaker 1: my voice, and I've been dealing with some coughing and stuff.

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Speaker 1: So apologies in advance for just the lack of overall

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Speaker 1: vocal energy, but I appreciate you guys bearing with me. Um.

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Speaker 1: All right, So, last year, the Timberwolves were seventh in

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Speaker 1: offense in defense. They were one of the teams for

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Speaker 1: those of you guys who were following the show at

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Speaker 1: this point as the season was coming to an end

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Speaker 1: the regular season, this is one of the teams that

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Speaker 1: I was focusing on a lot because they were playing really,

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Speaker 1: really well. Now there was some context there, like they

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Speaker 1: went thirty and sixteen over their last forty six games.

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Speaker 1: That was from January three to the end of the season,

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Speaker 1: but they did play a lot of teams that were,

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Speaker 1: you know, good in the sense that they's it showed

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Speaker 1: their strength of schedule to be strong because of the

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Speaker 1: records of the teams they were playing. But like almost

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Speaker 1: every night that they were playing a good team, somebody

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Speaker 1: was sitting out. And this is classic U n B.

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Speaker 1: A load management problems. You guys know, I would love

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Speaker 1: to see them cut the season down from eight two

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Speaker 1: to sixty six games. I know that's a non starter

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Speaker 1: for the owners and the players because they want money,

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Speaker 1: But to me, it's pretty simple. I believe that right

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Speaker 1: now the product is crap because almost every time you

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Speaker 1: get a marquee matchup on national TV, at least one

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Speaker 1: star is missing, if not both because of the the

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Speaker 1: need that teams feel to prepare for load management throughout

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Speaker 1: the season. If you shortened the schedule to the point

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Speaker 1: where teams were only playing three times a week, they'd

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Speaker 1: have automatic baked in looad management. They'd have at least

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Speaker 1: one stretch every week where they'd have two consecutive nights off.

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Speaker 1: I think it would lead to the to a league

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Speaker 1: where almost every one of these marquee matchups had all

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Speaker 1: the stars playing, and not not to mention an additional

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Speaker 1: twenty percent of urgency in how much value there is

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Speaker 1: in a win or how much pain there is in

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Speaker 1: a loss. I believe that that decrease in regular season

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Speaker 1: volume of games would be replaced by at least increase

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Speaker 1: in quality of play. But that's another separate soapbox. For

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Speaker 1: me there um. But the Timberwolves were a huge beneficiary

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Speaker 1: of that last year. They ended up going like I said,

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Speaker 1: from January three on thirty and sixteen. They had the

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Speaker 1: number one offense in the league during that span, the

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Speaker 1: number sixteen defense, number five overall in net rating. Um.

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Speaker 1: They end up getting out of the play in tournament

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Speaker 1: and they make it to the Grizzlies and a really

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Speaker 1: bizarre series where they lose in six games, but they

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Speaker 1: end up pretty much controlling five of the six games.

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Speaker 1: They just completely fell apart at the end of every

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Speaker 1: single game. For those of you guys who remember when

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Speaker 1: I did that series preview for that particular series, my

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Speaker 1: biggest fear for Minnesota going into that series was late

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Speaker 1: game decision making. And you're gonna hear me talk about this.

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Speaker 1: A lot basketball games are one and lost at the

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Speaker 1: end in a lot of cases because it's it's a

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Speaker 1: lot easier in a smaller sample size for the better

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Speaker 1: team to lock in and really, truly, you know, beat

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Speaker 1: come what their basketball identity is, and if they're the

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Speaker 1: better team than you, they're gonna take care of business

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Speaker 1: down the stretch of a game. Yes, for three quarters,

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Speaker 1: you might be able to hang with them for one

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Speaker 1: reason or another because maybe they don't truly feel threatened

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Speaker 1: or whatever the deal is. But at the end of

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Speaker 1: a game, you become who you truly are as a

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Speaker 1: basketball team. And I was worried that Anthony Edwards, who

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Speaker 1: I really like, but as young in D'Angelo Russell, who's

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Speaker 1: a player that I don't particularly like. I had a

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Speaker 1: feeling that they were going to struggle with like game

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Speaker 1: decision making, and they did. In the fourth quarters of

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Speaker 1: that series, the Timberwolves were outscored by forty one point

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Speaker 1: six points per one hundred possessions. They were absolutely terrible

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Speaker 1: on both ends of the floor in clutch time, So

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Speaker 1: when the games were within five points with less than

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Speaker 1: five minutes remaining, they had a negative forty points six

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Speaker 1: net ratings, So they were outscored by forty points seven

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Speaker 1: points every one hundred possessions. Terrible on both ends of

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Speaker 1: the floor. So they were a terrible fourth quarter team

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Speaker 1: and a terrible clutch team, which was my biggest fear

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Speaker 1: going into that series, and it costs them because you

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Speaker 1: could argue that they were the better team and they

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Speaker 1: controlled throughout that series. They frequently had large leads and

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Speaker 1: they just weren't able to do anything with it. Excuse me.

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Speaker 1: So obviously, in this offseason, the Timberwolves undergo a change

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Speaker 1: of UH in their basketball operations department. They bring in

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Speaker 1: Tim Connolly. He immediately is very aggressive and makes the

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Speaker 1: Rudy go Beart trade, flipping Patrick Beverley. They're starting point

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Speaker 1: guard Molik Beasley, They're starting to guard their UH um

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Speaker 1: or three depending on whether or not they were starting

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Speaker 1: Delo on any given moment, and then UM Jared Vanderbilt,

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Speaker 1: their best wing on the roster. They flipped those three guys,

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Speaker 1: a couple of younger players, four first round draft picks,

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Speaker 1: and a pick swap for Rudy Gobert. I was truly

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Speaker 1: shocked by that. UM. I thought Rudy Gobert was a

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Speaker 1: negative asset. Now, to be clear, there's a difference between

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Speaker 1: negative as set a negative player. I just thought, because

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Speaker 1: of Rudy's offensive limitations and the fact that he was

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Speaker 1: gonna be making forty plus million, you know, longer, you know,

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Speaker 1: all the way to six or something, that teams would

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Speaker 1: be hesitant to trade for him. Clearly I was wrong

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Speaker 1: about that. He there UH was at least one GM

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Speaker 1: in the league. Of viewed him as very valuable um

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Speaker 1: but so essentially what they did if you zoomed out

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Speaker 1: from that trade, they exchanged three really good perimeter defenders

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Speaker 1: for one great back line anchor, arguably the best in

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Speaker 1: the league. I think Anthony Davis when he's engaged, as

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Speaker 1: a little better. I think Janice is a little better.

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Speaker 1: But I think Gobert's right there as a top three

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Speaker 1: defensive player in all of basketball. He's one of those

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Speaker 1: guys that's kind of become the butt of the joke

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Speaker 1: for a lot of basketball fans, but that's not actually

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Speaker 1: backed up with what you see in tape. The defensive

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Speaker 1: issues for the Utah Jazz had nothing to do with

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Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert and everything to do with everybody else on

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Speaker 1: their roster. I expect him to come in and immediately

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Speaker 1: make Minnesota a great defensive team. They also signed Kyle Anderson,

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Speaker 1: Austin Rivers, and Brent Forbes. Kyle Anderson and Austin Rivers

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Speaker 1: are both above average defensive players for their position. Both

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Speaker 1: of them are somewhat inconsistent offensively. We'll get in a

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Speaker 1: little bit further into them later. Kyle Anderson can do

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Speaker 1: some stuff attacking smaller defenders and shooting over the top.

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Speaker 1: Austin Rivers is capable as an on ball creator, but

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Speaker 1: obviously below average compared to some of his peers around

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Speaker 1: the league. And then Brent Forbes is your textbook off

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Speaker 1: the bench type of shooter. You know, Um, you know.

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Speaker 1: NBA coaches are constantly obsessed with like what they can

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Speaker 1: do to run offense for periods of the game when

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Speaker 1: their stars are out of the game, and they they

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Speaker 1: they have the ability to run defense, a run offensive

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Speaker 1: players off of screens that's in their offense already. They

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Speaker 1: did that a lot with Molik Beasley last year. I

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Speaker 1: think they'll run some similar sets like that with Brent

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Speaker 1: formed with Brent Forbes this year. Off the bench, they

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Speaker 1: also dress drafted Wendell Moore Jr. He's a classic wing

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Speaker 1: that can do a little bit of everything, but I

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Speaker 1: don't think he'll play much this year. If we look

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Speaker 1: at the depth chart at the guard position, their guard heavy.

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Speaker 1: They have Dangel Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Noel, uh Bryn Forbes,

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Speaker 1: Awesome Rivers, and Jordan McLoughlin. Um, Jalen Noel and Jordan

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Speaker 1: McLoughlin are gonna be two interesting guys to watch. I

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Speaker 1: don't know a ton about them at this point. I

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Speaker 1: need to watch more film, but those are two guys

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Speaker 1: from what I've heard that Minnesota's depending on Big Time

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Speaker 1: to replace a little bit of what Malik Beasley and

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Speaker 1: Patrick Beverley did for them, Um on the Way and

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Speaker 1: Kyle Anderson, Torrian Prince and Jadie McDaniels. And then as

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Speaker 1: BIG's they have Rudy Gobert, Carl Anthony Towns and Nas

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Speaker 1: read So. On the offensive end of the floor, they

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Speaker 1: run a lot of isolation. They were the seventh most

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Speaker 1: frequent isolation team last year and the fourth most efficient. Now.

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Speaker 1: Generally speaking, isolation is kind of youed as like a

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Speaker 1: bad word in the basketball world, especially amongst the coaches,

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Speaker 1: because they associated with stagnation, and a lot of coaches

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Speaker 1: don't like ISO because they think of it as like

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Speaker 1: bad offense essentially. Um. To me, though, I think isolation

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Speaker 1: is a little bit undervalued, especially in the modern NBA,

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Speaker 1: for a couple of different reasons. First of all, Um,

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Speaker 1: in a playoffs setting, in particular, a lot of teams

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Speaker 1: do a lot more switching than usual, and in addition

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Speaker 1: to that, they scout your sets, and so your your

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Speaker 1: sets are far less likely to actually generate quality shots

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Speaker 1: in a playoff setting than they are in the regular

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Speaker 1: season because every coach has seen, like the advanced scouts

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Speaker 1: have seen every single play you've run during the season.

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Speaker 1: They've charted how often you ran those plays, and they've

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Speaker 1: presented that information to the coaching staff, and the coaching

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Speaker 1: staff coaches the players on how to jump in front

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Speaker 1: of specific actions to deny UH. You know, maybe an

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Speaker 1: entry pass here there to stop the play from UH

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Speaker 1: from taking place, or a preplanned switch to take care

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Speaker 1: of a shooter coming off of a screen, or whatever

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Speaker 1: the action is. They find ays to scout ahead of

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Speaker 1: that stuff. And so a lot of times in playoff

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Speaker 1: series is it does devolve into isolation basketball. And you

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Speaker 1: know what it really comes down to. Isolation basketball is

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Speaker 1: physical advantages. And you know, Anthony Edwards and Carl Town's

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Speaker 1: have physical advantages over almost every single defensive player that

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Speaker 1: they're gonna face in this league, right, So it's not

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Speaker 1: bad for them to do, UH, to rely on a

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Speaker 1: good amount of isolation basketball. I think it's smart for

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Speaker 1: what their roster can do. And again, a lot of ice,

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Speaker 1: so they were the number one offense in the league

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Speaker 1: for more than the second half of the season, a

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Speaker 1: little bit over what I say, like forty six games

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Speaker 1: or something like that, so that's pretty substantial. The other

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Speaker 1: thing with isolation basketball, the second big advantage is it's

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Speaker 1: avoiding bringing other defenders into the play. So, you know,

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Speaker 1: if I want to pick and roll or some sort

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Speaker 1: of off ball screening action or dribble handoff or anything

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Speaker 1: that involves multiple offensive players in some sort of exchange,

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Speaker 1: what's gonna happen there is I'm bringing other defenders to

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Speaker 1: the play. So if I'm bringing the ball up the

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Speaker 1: floor on the right wing and I call for a

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Speaker 1: pick and roll and the other team is scared of

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Speaker 1: me and they want to try to get the ball

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Speaker 1: out of my hands or use second defenders or third

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Speaker 1: defenders to dissuade me from getting to my spots, if

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Speaker 1: I bring a screener up, it's easier that I'm bringing

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Speaker 1: a second defender up, and if they're playing is to

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Speaker 1: get the ball out of my hand, they can jump

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Speaker 1: me on that pick and roll by trapping right, or

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Speaker 1: like if I'm running a dribble hand off or an

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Speaker 1: off ball screening action, by bringing that second defender into

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Speaker 1: the play. I make it easier for the other team

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Speaker 1: potentially to deny me the basketball. Even though yes, it

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Speaker 1: will lead to openings elsewhere, it does cause some problems

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Speaker 1: for you as the ball handler in isolation. If they're

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Speaker 1: gonna offer help, they're gonna have to straight up a

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Speaker 1: band in their man to do so, which allows you

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Speaker 1: to open up things in terms of drive and kick.

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Speaker 1: So there are advantages to ISO. Don't let coaches and

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Speaker 1: old fashioned basketball minds convince you that it's a bad thing.

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Speaker 1: It just it needs to be done smartly. It needs

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Speaker 1: to be done with the right matchups. It needs to

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Speaker 1: be done when you have physical advantages, and it needs

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Speaker 1: to be done with the proper spacing, and it needs

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Speaker 1: to be done with uh what while taking into account

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Speaker 1: rhythm in the way that the other players on the

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Speaker 1: floor are impacted. To make a long story short, isolation

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Speaker 1: is fine, but just like any other thing, it's about

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Speaker 1: balance and figuring out how you can have counters from

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Speaker 1: that or mix things up so that you don't become predictable.

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Speaker 1: I am not an anti ISO basketball guy. Um. In

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Speaker 1: terms of pick and roll, they did not run a

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Speaker 1: lot of pick and roll last year they were twenty

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Speaker 1: four and pick and roll attempts. That's to be expected.

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Speaker 1: They didn't have a good role man. Naz Reid is

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Speaker 1: a good big man, and and obviously Karl Anthony Towns

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Speaker 1: is dynamic as a score and as a perimeter shooter,

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Speaker 1: but he's not a good role man. He's not a

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Speaker 1: vertical spacer. So it wasn't a thing that that they

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Speaker 1: were going to do last year because it didn't play

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Speaker 1: into their strengths. But that is one of the very

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Speaker 1: few things that Rudy Gobert is good at. You know,

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Speaker 1: my my, my criticisms of Rudy Gobert mainly lie on

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Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor. I think, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think his inability to punish switches and post up

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Speaker 1: situations as a problem. I think he's generally slow making decisions,

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Speaker 1: so he's not good in the short role. Obviously he

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Speaker 1: can't shoot from the perimeter. But there are two things

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Speaker 1: on offense that he's outstanding at. That's he's an outstanding

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Speaker 1: screener and he's an outstanding vertical threat. So what's one

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Speaker 1: thing I can do on the offensive end of the

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Speaker 1: floor that's going to properly use Rudy Gobert and what

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Speaker 1: he does well pick and roll. So even though they

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Speaker 1: were twenty four and pick and roll attempts last year,

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Speaker 1: I expect a significant increase in the Timberwolves pick and

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Speaker 1: roll offense this year. I expect him to do it

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Speaker 1: a whole lot more. One last note on Rudy. He

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Speaker 1: is very good as an offensive rebounder as well. That's

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Speaker 1: one of the things that he can do on the

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Speaker 1: offensive end, but he is somewhat limited on that. He's

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Speaker 1: straight up just a role player, even maybe less than

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Speaker 1: that on the offensive end of the floor. They ran

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Speaker 1: a lot of off screen plays last year. There were

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Speaker 1: seventh most in the NBA, but again that was a

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Speaker 1: lot of Malik Beasley. The vast majority of their off

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Speaker 1: screen actions were Malik Beasley flying off of screens and

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Speaker 1: pin downs um to look to shoot or to curl

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Speaker 1: around and try to make a play with him being gone.

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Speaker 1: I expect that to kind of go by the wayside.

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Speaker 1: So just kind of think like a lot a lot there.

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Speaker 1: They were a lot of is, so last year there

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Speaker 1: will be a lot of is. So they were not

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Speaker 1: very much pick and roll last year. I expect a

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Speaker 1: lot more pick and roll. There were a lot of

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Speaker 1: off screen stuff last year. I expect a lot less

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Speaker 1: of that, but I do think they'll do a lot

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Speaker 1: of that with Bryn Forbes off the bench, just not

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Speaker 1: enough to make up for what Malik Beasley was doing,

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Speaker 1: so I expect them to be somewhat low volume in

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Speaker 1: that regard, so kind of zooming out. This is a

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Speaker 1: mismatch attacking isolation team has two players that can constantly

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Speaker 1: have physical advantages around the floor, Karl Anthony Towns and

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Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards. And then I think they'll supplement that with

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Speaker 1: a lot of high pick and roll with Rudy Gobert,

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Speaker 1: either with Dilo and Angelo Russell or excuse me, D'Angelo

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Speaker 1: Russell or Aunt. Those are the two guys that I

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Speaker 1: expect to run a ton of pick and roll with Gobert.

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Speaker 1: When it comes to their isolation play with Carl Towns

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Speaker 1: and with Aunt, it's gonna all be about spacing. The

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Speaker 1: issue was his Rudy Gobert because he can't shoot from

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Speaker 1: the perimeter because he's, you know, basically just a vertical

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Speaker 1: spacing threat who can screen well. He's going to be

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Speaker 1: in the dunker spot a lot, which is going to

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Speaker 1: flat out affect their spacing. The driving lanes are not

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Speaker 1: going to be as good for Anthony Edwards as they

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Speaker 1: were last year. That's simply a fact of that trade.

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Speaker 1: As soon as you made that decision to flip a

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Speaker 1: five out team with Carl Towns as your rims, your

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Speaker 1: floor spacing big too. Now having a non spacing center,

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Speaker 1: it's going to change the dynamic of driving lanes for

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Speaker 1: this team. The other guy that I'm worried about them

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Speaker 1: in terms of their spacing is Kyle Anderson. He's a

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Speaker 1: good defensive wing and they lost a good defensive wing

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Speaker 1: with Jared Vanderbilt, so I expect them to play him

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Speaker 1: quite a bit. He was thirty two on catch and

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Speaker 1: shoot threes last year. If they have Kyle Anderson and

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Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert on the floor at the same time, things

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Speaker 1: could really get clogged for them in the paint. One

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Speaker 1: of the benefits about this partnership of having two bigs

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Speaker 1: on the offensive end of the floor. We're gonna talk

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Speaker 1: about the defensive end. I think the having two Biggs

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Speaker 1: things could present some problems for them there. But on

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Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor, you know, Carl Town's

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Speaker 1: shooting ability makes it so that in theory, if you

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Speaker 1: have the other guys that can shoot, it could work

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Speaker 1: out and still have some you know, um usability. Uniquely,

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Speaker 1: what Carl Towns does so well is he's amazing shooting

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Speaker 1: above the break. The vast majority of role players around

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Speaker 1: the league shoot pretty well from the corners and not

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Speaker 1: as well above the break. Simple math, it's a further shot, right, um,

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Speaker 1: But Carl Town's attempted five above the break threes per

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Speaker 1: game last year and shot on them. So you can

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Speaker 1: tuck him further away from the basket. And you know,

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Speaker 1: especially with him and how quick his releases, he's gonna

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Speaker 1: pull a pretty big defensive player really far away from

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Speaker 1: the basket. That will that that part will make some

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Speaker 1: of the go Bear lineups at least usable. But I

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Speaker 1: think in the aggregate, the overall spacing of the lineup

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Speaker 1: will not be as good as it was last year. Um.

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Speaker 1: I think Rudy Gobert is going to be in pick

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Speaker 1: and roll as the natural counter to their spacing problem.

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Speaker 1: So again, it's just gonna keep him more involved in

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Speaker 1: the offense if he stands in the dunker spot. Any

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Speaker 1: really good defensive big is gonna be capable of helping

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Speaker 1: on drives while still dissuading Rudy around the rim. That's

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Speaker 1: gonna be a problem for them. But in pick and roll,

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Speaker 1: he's gonna have a head of steam going downhill. It's

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Speaker 1: just gonna be harder for his defender to to deal

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Speaker 1: with him in a pick and roll situation than he

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Speaker 1: is uh in the dunker spot. So again, pick and

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Speaker 1: roll is gonna be their counter to their spacing issues.

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Speaker 1: The number one issue I have with them on the

395
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Speaker 1: offensive end of the floor is going to be their

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Speaker 1: clutch offense and decision making, like we talked about earlier.

397
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Speaker 1: So in clutch time, in eighteen minutes against Memphis, So again,

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Speaker 1: that's eighteen minutes in the series where there was less

399
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Speaker 1: than five minutes remaining on the clock and the scoring

400
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Speaker 1: margin was five points or less, D'Angelo Russell and Anthony

401
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Speaker 1: Edwards combined to go three for sixteen from the field,

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Speaker 1: including one for eight from three. That's I don't see

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Speaker 1: that problem going away. Um. You know, Anthony Edwards again,

404
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Speaker 1: I really like him, but he's he's probably several years

405
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Speaker 1: away from being a good clutch basketball player. Again, at

406
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Speaker 1: the end of basketball games, like we talked about, teams

407
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,560
Speaker 1: really flash their true identity. So when you get into

408
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Speaker 1: late playoff settings and you're going to answer a really

409
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Speaker 1: good defensive team, and there's a great deal of scouting involved,

410
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Speaker 1: they're gonna find ways to pack the paint on Anthony

411
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Speaker 1: Edwards and really test his decision making as a passer

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Speaker 1: and his willingness to settle for pull up jump shots. Now,

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Speaker 1: for those of you who remember when we did our

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Speaker 1: player rankings video, I had Anthony Edwards pretty high. I

415
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Speaker 1: think I had him twenty one, and his pull up

416
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Speaker 1: shooting was one of the big revelations of that playoff run.

417
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Speaker 1: He shot the ball extremely well off the dribble, but

418
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Speaker 1: he does have a tendency to settle when even when

419
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Speaker 1: he has physical advantages. So again, it's gonna team's packing

420
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Speaker 1: the paint. It's going to test Anthony Edwards in his

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Speaker 1: willingness to pass the open shooters and his willingness to

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Speaker 1: avoid difficult pull up jump shots. So that's gonna be

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Speaker 1: my biggest concern for them. Again, if you're gonna win

424
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Speaker 1: the title is if you're gonna just come out of

425
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Speaker 1: the Western Conference, you're probably gonna have to out execute

426
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,399
Speaker 1: a Steph Curry in a playoff series, You're gonna have

427
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,120
Speaker 1: to out execute and Nicola Yokich in a playoff series.

428
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Speaker 1: You're gonna have to out execute a Kawhi Leonard in

429
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Speaker 1: a playoff series. Hell, if the Lakers figure it out,

430
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,520
Speaker 1: you might have to out execute a Lebron James in

431
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,479
Speaker 1: a playoff series. You might have to do that anyway

432
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,800
Speaker 1: in a first round series. So at the end of

433
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:39,679
Speaker 1: the day, like decision making is going to be the

434
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,480
Speaker 1: biggest question mark for this particular team on the offensive end,

435
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,560
Speaker 1: so kind of zooming out, I think Google, I think

436
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,760
Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert is legitimately going to mess with their offense.

437
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,400
Speaker 1: I think they'll take a step back on the offensive

438
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,000
Speaker 1: end of the floor, and I do think they'll continue

439
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,399
Speaker 1: to struggle at the end of the game, at the

440
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,040
Speaker 1: end of games. So I expect them to finish somewhere.

441
00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,359
Speaker 1: They were seventh and offensive rating this year. I expect

442
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: them to finish somewhere closer to at ten this year.

443
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,800
Speaker 1: Let's move on to the defensive end of the floor. Um,

444
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:06,679
Speaker 1: last year, like we said, they were an average defense.

445
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,240
Speaker 1: They finished thirteenth. Even when they got hot towards the

446
00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:11,399
Speaker 1: end of the year, it wasn't their defense. It was

447
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,399
Speaker 1: their offense that got going. But again I got we

448
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,520
Speaker 1: have to give Chris Finch a lot of credit here

449
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 1: because when you really look at what they were working with,

450
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,520
Speaker 1: you know, with Carl Towns, who for his position as

451
00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,119
Speaker 1: one of the worst defensive players to play big minutes

452
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,680
Speaker 1: in the league right, and then D'Angelo Russell, who throughout

453
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,200
Speaker 1: his career has been a bad defensive player. He got

454
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,680
Speaker 1: both of them to have the best defensive seasons of

455
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 1: their career. D'Angelo Russell became a serviceable defensive player, obviously

456
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,359
Speaker 1: not a great defensive player, but a serviceable defensive player.

457
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,200
Speaker 1: And in general, from the roster, from on the roster,

458
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,560
Speaker 1: from the top down, there was a ton of buying,

459
00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:52,000
Speaker 1: especially from their perimeter defenders and their willingness to slide

460
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,040
Speaker 1: their feet and keep people in front. Again, we've talked

461
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,040
Speaker 1: a lot about this concept on the show, but it's

462
00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:01,080
Speaker 1: quickly becoming one of the most important aspects of NBA basketball,

463
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,560
Speaker 1: your ability to contain ball handlers, because think of it

464
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,560
Speaker 1: like this. We think a lot about help schemes, and

465
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,679
Speaker 1: we think a lot about back line defenders and like

466
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:15,680
Speaker 1: things like defensive rotations, but those things aren't necessary if

467
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,400
Speaker 1: a defender can contain the dribble, if you can contain

468
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:23,119
Speaker 1: the dribble and prevent ball handlers from getting into the paint,

469
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:25,960
Speaker 1: then you don't have to offer as much help. You

470
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 1: don't have to be in rotation as often, and your

471
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,160
Speaker 1: foot speed on the back line matters less. Right, And

472
00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,359
Speaker 1: that was a clear identity from this particular team. They

473
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,800
Speaker 1: were a team that sat down in a stance and

474
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,800
Speaker 1: got stops. Malik Beasley did an outstanding job in perimeter contain.

475
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,320
Speaker 1: Patrick Beverley one of the best in the league at

476
00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:46,680
Speaker 1: it Dangel Russell had the best defensive season of his

477
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,600
Speaker 1: career at Anthony Edwards best defensive season of his career there.

478
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,200
Speaker 1: I just wanted to give a shout out to Chris

479
00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:53,879
Speaker 1: Finch there because I think he did a really good

480
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,800
Speaker 1: job with this particular group. Again, this team is going

481
00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,400
Speaker 1: to be completely different defensively than they were last year.

482
00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,879
Speaker 1: Last year they were average defense because they had great

483
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,560
Speaker 1: perimeter defensive players, but their back line was weak. This year,

484
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,160
Speaker 1: I think they've taken a step back, a significant step

485
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,639
Speaker 1: back in perimeter contain, but they brought on arguably the

486
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,960
Speaker 1: best back line defensive player of this era. Depending on

487
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,400
Speaker 1: who you ask, so at least the top three right,

488
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:21,879
Speaker 1: so at the top four if you count Draymond. So

489
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 1: from that standpoint, they're gonna be a very different defense

490
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,720
Speaker 1: than they were in the past. My guess is they

491
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,280
Speaker 1: will prioritize taking away the three point line with their

492
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,600
Speaker 1: perimeter players, knowing that they have a lot more help

493
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,399
Speaker 1: on the back line with Gobert, and probably adapt some

494
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,600
Speaker 1: sort of funneling scheme where the intent is to try

495
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:46,120
Speaker 1: to just get people to drive into Gobert, get terrified

496
00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:47,560
Speaker 1: because they don't want to get their shot blocked, and

497
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,280
Speaker 1: then kick it out to defenders that are waiting. Um

498
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,440
Speaker 1: that that's typically the way that teams will structure their

499
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,959
Speaker 1: defense when they have outstanding rim protectors, and I expect

500
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,639
Speaker 1: the Timberwolves to do the same. The start of the

501
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,800
Speaker 1: NFL season is here and the best place to practice

502
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,359
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507
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508
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be I'm gonna be fading the Dallas Cowboys

509
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,239
Speaker 1: all year. I don't like their head coach, and I

510
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,760
Speaker 1: think the Tyrone Smith injury is catastrophic for them. So

511
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,640
Speaker 1: I will be in Week one betting on Tampa Bay

512
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,960
Speaker 1: minus two and a half in the Sunday night game.

513
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,680
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514
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515
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516
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,840
Speaker 1: no sweat bet during Week one, make every moment more

517
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:52,920
Speaker 1: with FanDuel, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Obviously,

518
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,359
Speaker 1: losing Jared Vanderbilt on the wing is big. I actually

519
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 1: really like Jaden McDaniels of the hot take, but I

520
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:00,359
Speaker 1: actually think he could be a little bit better in

521
00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 1: the long run, so I didn't hate that exchange. Austin

522
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,320
Speaker 1: Rivers and Kyle Anderson, like we mentioned earlier, are both

523
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:09,199
Speaker 1: above average defensive players for their position. They're just not

524
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 1: as good offensively as the players that they lost. Um

525
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:14,920
Speaker 1: and then you know the big thing is going to

526
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 1: be looking at the difference between what this defense is

527
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,800
Speaker 1: gonna look like in the regular season versus the postseason. Like,

528
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,919
Speaker 1: I'll just skip ahead right now. I think the Timberwolves

529
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 1: are gonna have a top five defense this year. Um.

530
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,879
Speaker 1: That's kind of a staple of the Rudy Gobert process.

531
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,760
Speaker 1: And he's got better defensive players around him than he

532
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,639
Speaker 1: ever had in Utah. So, flat out, I expect the

533
00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 1: Timberwolves to be a top five defense this year, provided

534
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,560
Speaker 1: that everyone stays healthy. The conundrum there is going to

535
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,720
Speaker 1: be the difference between what their defensive ceiling is in

536
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:48,720
Speaker 1: the regular season versus what it is in the playoffs. Again,

537
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,800
Speaker 1: in the regular season, drop coverages work pretty damn well. Um,

538
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 1: especially in the day in, day out grind of the

539
00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,080
Speaker 1: regular season. It's a it's you know, generally speaking, the

540
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,520
Speaker 1: scouting isn't as in depth as it is in the postseason.

541
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,720
Speaker 1: There's a little bit more of like we're just trying

542
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,680
Speaker 1: to get through this kind of thing, right, And Gobert

543
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,080
Speaker 1: is the kind of guy that it's difficult to scheme

544
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 1: him away from the rim, but you can do so.

545
00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,640
Speaker 1: It's just hard to do in a one game sample side.

546
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,919
Speaker 1: Sometimes it takes three four games to kind of figure

547
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,280
Speaker 1: out how to keep him away from the rim. That's

548
00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:27,639
Speaker 1: why his defensive abilities to clean up messes for his

549
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:31,840
Speaker 1: teammates goes down in the playoffs compared to the way

550
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,480
Speaker 1: it is in the regular season. So, for instance, having

551
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 1: a D'Angelo Russell on the floor, having Carl Town's on

552
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,560
Speaker 1: the floor, that those two guys potentially on the floor

553
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 1: at the same time, losing Patrick Beverley, losing Malik Beasley.

554
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,720
Speaker 1: That might not matter as much in the regular season

555
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,840
Speaker 1: because of Gobert cleaning up messes. But when you get

556
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,960
Speaker 1: to the postseason and teams find out how to keep

557
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,120
Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert closer to the perimeter and make him guard

558
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,160
Speaker 1: more in space, it's not Rudy Gobert loses his value

559
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,200
Speaker 1: as a defender. He's every bit as good defensively in

560
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,880
Speaker 1: the postseason as he is in the regular season, but

561
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:12,680
Speaker 1: his ability to clean up his teammates messes goes down

562
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:17,240
Speaker 1: significantly in a playoff setting. And so from that specific standpoint,

563
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:19,440
Speaker 1: I do think there will be somewhat of a drop

564
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,160
Speaker 1: off when they get into the postseason, because once again,

565
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 1: you have Carl Towns on the floor, who doesn't guard

566
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,600
Speaker 1: well in space. You have D'Angelo Russell, who's a decent

567
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,560
Speaker 1: help defender but doesn't guard well in space. So in

568
00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 1: a playoffs setting, teams are going to find a way

569
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,880
Speaker 1: to attack those guys while keeping Golbert away from the rim.

570
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 1: The other thing is transition defense, and this is where

571
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,160
Speaker 1: having two bigs hurts. I don't want to need to

572
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,360
Speaker 1: get all into the weeds again, but you guys know

573
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,000
Speaker 1: how I feel about big men and the limitations they

574
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,160
Speaker 1: have in terms of foot speed. And Carl Towns and

575
00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,360
Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert two of the more mobile bigs that we

576
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 1: have in this league. Theoretically, right, you know, Carl Towns

577
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:57,800
Speaker 1: isn't very laterally quick, but he does have a good

578
00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:59,920
Speaker 1: first step, and he can beat people off the drib

579
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,040
Speaker 1: on offense, and he can run the floor pretty well. Right,

580
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:05,880
Speaker 1: But the reality is with both of them on the floor,

581
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,240
Speaker 1: they will be slower footed, especially in the open floor

582
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,320
Speaker 1: and in five out situations than they were last year.

583
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,800
Speaker 1: You know, last year, uh, they were the eighth best

584
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,520
Speaker 1: transition defense in all of basketball. I expect them to

585
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,760
Speaker 1: take a significant step back in transition defense this year

586
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 1: because of them playing with two big So when you

587
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 1: factor that in and some of the playoffs stuff. I

588
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:32,400
Speaker 1: expect them to have a top five regular season defense

589
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:36,360
Speaker 1: that functions and translates to the postseason, more like a

590
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 1: tenth best defense in the league type of deal. Again,

591
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,840
Speaker 1: because of the fact that they're gonna have two defenders

592
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 1: on the floor that teams are going to try to

593
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,480
Speaker 1: attack all the time. What are the interesting counters here

594
00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:49,800
Speaker 1: that I'd like to see them try, especially since I

595
00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:51,520
Speaker 1: have a feeling that they might end up trying to

596
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 1: trade D'Angelo Russell in the long run, but it might

597
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,600
Speaker 1: be worth benching him, especially in big moments and in

598
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,280
Speaker 1: playoff series, and going all in on with a second wing,

599
00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 1: like going with Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson, or Jaden

600
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:11,400
Speaker 1: McDaniels and Torrian Prince alongside Cat Gobert and Aunt and

601
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,880
Speaker 1: kind of going in on defense and understanding that, yes,

602
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,360
Speaker 1: you're lacking shot creation, but you know, D'Angelo Russell's shot

603
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,760
Speaker 1: creation didn't translate super well to the postseason anyway. That

604
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,400
Speaker 1: would be what I would do if I was coaching

605
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,160
Speaker 1: this team, and I'd go all in on defense and

606
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,720
Speaker 1: just count on Aunt and Carl Towns to be able

607
00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,640
Speaker 1: to physically bludge in the opponent to get enough offense.

608
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,440
Speaker 1: So best case scenario, um, if Anthony Edwards takes a

609
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,080
Speaker 1: leap to superstar and we're gonna get a little bit

610
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: further into that when we get to the X factor.

611
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,280
Speaker 1: If Rudy Gobert finds a way to not completely screw

612
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 1: up their offense and be somewhat productive there. If Carl

613
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,600
Speaker 1: Town's plays with consistency. If you guys remember when we

614
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,200
Speaker 1: did our power rankings, that's one of my biggest issues

615
00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,040
Speaker 1: with Carl Towns is like one night he's dialed in

616
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,920
Speaker 1: and he's focused, and he's making all the right decisions

617
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,000
Speaker 1: and he's punishing teams with physicality the and then the

618
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,600
Speaker 1: next night he's just hacking people and getting infal trouble

619
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,840
Speaker 1: or or just like kind of emotionally pulling away from

620
00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 1: the game and and not being as aggressive physically. And

621
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,120
Speaker 1: it's just he's just kind of like an up and

622
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,960
Speaker 1: down type of personality on the basketball court. If Carl

623
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,440
Speaker 1: Town's plays with consistency, that would be a huge upside

624
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:20,360
Speaker 1: for them. If the team somehow manages to maintain their

625
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,360
Speaker 1: perimeter defense from last year. That counts on some of

626
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,400
Speaker 1: these younger players like Noel and Uh and McLaughlin coming

627
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:30,360
Speaker 1: in and playing well, Austin Rivers coming in and playing well,

628
00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:33,080
Speaker 1: Kyle Anderson coming in and playing well. If they do that,

629
00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,720
Speaker 1: and they replicate their perimeter defense from last year, in

630
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 1: combination with what Gobert can do, they could have a

631
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,320
Speaker 1: great defense, a defense that could be problematic in a

632
00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:49,320
Speaker 1: playoff series with their physical mismatches with what Carl Towns

633
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: does and and Anthony Edwards does. In terms of the

634
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:56,240
Speaker 1: predicament they put you in as the other team and

635
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,720
Speaker 1: who's gonna guard those guys, I think they're capable of

636
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,520
Speaker 1: being anybody in the West except for the Clippers and

637
00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:07,360
Speaker 1: the Warriors. They have the physical matchups to handle those guys.

638
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 1: Draymond Green would eat Carl Towns alive in a playoff series.

639
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins would give Anthony Edwards some problems, you know

640
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:16,960
Speaker 1: with the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, similar

641
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,800
Speaker 1: type of deal. So from that standpoint, I think, with

642
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,360
Speaker 1: exception of those two particular teams, they are capable if

643
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,680
Speaker 1: they hit their ceiling, of beating any of those teams,

644
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,520
Speaker 1: being a top four seed getting home court advantage in

645
00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 1: the playoffs. It's just I just don't see them beating

646
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,360
Speaker 1: those two particular teams. Their worst case scenario if Gobert

647
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,400
Speaker 1: comes in and just butchers everything on offense, and again,

648
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:40,720
Speaker 1: they were number one in offense from January three to

649
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:42,600
Speaker 1: the end of the season. I expect them to take

650
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:44,240
Speaker 1: a little bit of a step back at least on

651
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: that end. But it could get ugly with Gobert, especially

652
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,480
Speaker 1: with how much Carl Towns and Anthony Edwards like to

653
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,520
Speaker 1: drive the ball to the basket. Um them having two

654
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 1: bigs if teams find ways to kill them in transition

655
00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:59,280
Speaker 1: or spacing the floor. A really good team like the

656
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:02,800
Speaker 1: Clippers could put them in a five out situation where

657
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:06,600
Speaker 1: Carl Town's and Gobert are playing more like perimeter players

658
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,880
Speaker 1: guarding people in a driving kick system. That could be

659
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,120
Speaker 1: a problem. Um. Obviously, we talked about bad late game

660
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,719
Speaker 1: decision making from D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards. Injuries could

661
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,239
Speaker 1: always be an issue. If those things all crop up,

662
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,880
Speaker 1: this is a playing team again, and that would be

663
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,040
Speaker 1: an absolute disaster. With how much they paid for Gobert

664
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,640
Speaker 1: in that trade, the biggest X factor on this team

665
00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:33,120
Speaker 1: in my opinion, without question, is Anthony Edwards. So last

666
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,360
Speaker 1: year he was something like the best player in the world.

667
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,000
Speaker 1: I ranked him twenty one because of what I value

668
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,440
Speaker 1: from him in particular, But that's kind of where I

669
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,120
Speaker 1: see him at this exact moment in time. But he's

670
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:47,760
Speaker 1: a young player that has a great deal of potential,

671
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,400
Speaker 1: not just a great deal of potential. He's like true

672
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:56,080
Speaker 1: superstar potential, like top ten player in the world. Potential

673
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,200
Speaker 1: like looka Luca don Che type of player in the

674
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:02,160
Speaker 1: face and play every bit as good as him, if

675
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 1: not better in a playoff series type of potential. That's

676
00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,880
Speaker 1: what he's capable of. That's what I see from him

677
00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:12,400
Speaker 1: five years from now. So then it becomes about timeline.

678
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:15,000
Speaker 1: Is it gonna be now? Does he take that leap

679
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:17,239
Speaker 1: this year, does he take it in two years, does

680
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,560
Speaker 1: he take it in four years? That becomes the question.

681
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,200
Speaker 1: He's built for the playoffs because he's big and strong.

682
00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,719
Speaker 1: That's why he's scoring. An efficiency went up when he

683
00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:29,239
Speaker 1: got into that stage. Obviously, he flashed a ton as

684
00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:31,480
Speaker 1: a pull up jump shooter in that playoff run. It

685
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,440
Speaker 1: remains to be seen if that's real or if that

686
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:35,399
Speaker 1: was just a hot streak. We will find out during

687
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,680
Speaker 1: the season. He gets to the rim a lot that

688
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,840
Speaker 1: translates well to the playoffs and as an athlete, his

689
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:45,680
Speaker 1: tons of defensive potential. If Anthony Edwards takes a leap

690
00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:49,880
Speaker 1: to become a top ten player in basketball all of

691
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:54,080
Speaker 1: a sudden, then they're a contender. You know, coming into

692
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:57,239
Speaker 1: this show, I had them in that tier below as

693
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:01,920
Speaker 1: non contenders. You know, the Bulls, the Pelicans, you know

694
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,440
Speaker 1: that this particular Wolves team, I didn't see them as

695
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,600
Speaker 1: a team that was capable of winning a championship, and

696
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,520
Speaker 1: I still don't. But if Anthony Edwards is not the

697
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,399
Speaker 1: twenty one best player in the league this year, if

698
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:16,640
Speaker 1: he's the eighth best player in the league this year,

699
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,719
Speaker 1: then you're damn right there a contender. And that absolutely

700
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:22,960
Speaker 1: puts them in a situation where they could be a

701
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:27,120
Speaker 1: dominant defensive team built around Gobert with a super duper

702
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,520
Speaker 1: star and Anthony Edwards that could squeeze out a playoff

703
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:34,120
Speaker 1: series or win a big matchup against a great superstar

704
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,759
Speaker 1: in this league. And so he is the biggest X

705
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:40,160
Speaker 1: factor of this team because of his upside. His upside

706
00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:43,520
Speaker 1: is so high that this timber Wolves team is capable

707
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:46,719
Speaker 1: when he reaches whatever that point is something some point

708
00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:48,560
Speaker 1: in the next couple of years and it's gonna become

709
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,480
Speaker 1: that guy. And when he does, this is gonna be

710
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,319
Speaker 1: a damn good basketball team. And it's always a risk

711
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:58,040
Speaker 1: that it could be this particular season. Obviously, if he's

712
00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,279
Speaker 1: a couple of years away, they could be a playing team.

713
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,080
Speaker 1: They could be a six or seven seed. They could

714
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:04,400
Speaker 1: lose in the first round, they could lose in the

715
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:07,280
Speaker 1: second round. But that's the big that's the big swing

716
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,720
Speaker 1: factor in this particular season is how good does Anthony

717
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,160
Speaker 1: Edwards get um? All Right, that is all I have

718
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,560
Speaker 1: for tonight, guys. That's all I have on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

719
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,800
Speaker 1: We'll be back with number thirteen tomorrow. As always, I always,

720
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,080
Speaker 1: I appreciate your guys support and I will see you

721
00:37:21,080 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 1: guys in the the volume