WEBVTT - Suns/Lakers Postgame Spaces 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:17.919 Mmmmm, all right, welcome to the State of the Likers 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:19.840 on DASH Radio. Thank you guys so much for coming 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:24.720 to hang out on a Tuesday. Man. Uh, it's so 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:29.240 frustrating to watch this team in a situation where they're 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:32.800 really competing in a way that they haven't really done 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:35.800 so the season. But now they're in the awkward situation 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:39.800 where they don't have the talent, when earlier in the 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.120 season it was the exact opposite. They had the talent, 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:45.640 but they weren't competing. And there's a lot of interesting 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:48.440 stuff to dive into tonight. Uh. First of all, ROJ, 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:50.880 how you doing, man? How's your week on so far? 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:55.279 Doing well? Yeah, another frustrating one. I went I went 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.240 into this kind of expecting a loss, and I guess 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.840 it doesn't make it any easier. It's still little frustrating. 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:03.720 They played hard. I still annoyed a lot of the 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.000 lineups and stuff like that. But I'm doing all right. Man. 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:07.600 How are you? How are you doing this week? I'm 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:12.560 doing good. You know a lot of our guys, like, 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:14.679 for instance, I'm sure a lot of people are frustrated 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:19.720 that Dwight was not playing, but Delandre was h th 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:22.280 HD looked horrible, which is gonna be one of the 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:25.840 things that we're going to discuss at length today. But 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:30.600 something to keep in mind is these guys have been 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:34.399 locked into hotel room for the last what like week 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:36.480 at least, I think, I don't know, do you do? 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:37.800 You happen to know off the top of your head 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:42.160 which day Dwight and HD went into protocols. I don't, 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:44.160 But it's strange to me that, like THHD came back 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:46.000 and well, I guess he's the younger guy. That makes 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.000 some sense because he can come right in. I guess 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:50.400 his conditioning can be better. I think it's weird that 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:52.360 we didn't get Dwight Howard at all. Like, I think 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:55.080 that is a little strange. I feel like that moved 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.840 more towards something that they intended to do as a 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:00.720 game before the game, in terms of just rotate in lineup. 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:02.960 I don't think it was all just him coming back 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.080 from from just the one game, but yeah, I'm not 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:06.840 I don't remember exactly. I think they were outed the 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:09.640 full ten days though, right, yeah, I think it was 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.240 at least a week and a half probably, right, you know, 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.200 And and I'll give you guys, I know I know 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:18.600 these examples don't hit home super well because I'm not 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:22.000 an NBA player, but I was. I was trending really 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.760 well in terms of the way I was feeling physically, 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.639 and I was hitting a peak athletically that I hadn't 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:30.560 hitting a long time a couple of weeks ago, and 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.000 they got a bone bruise in my knee and I 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:34.760 had to take like a week off. You know, it 0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:38.000 took like a solid week off, and when I came back, 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:42.040 just the sheer amount of conditioning and touch and feel 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.840 for the game that I had lost in just seven days. 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.600 It was crazy to me. And it took took me 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.519 a solid week or two to get it back. And 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.040 I remember I tweeted out when it happened. I said, 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:57.800 I I feel so bad for these COVID guys because 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:00.520 they're not allowed to go to the practice facility. They're 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:02.639 not allowed to leave and go to an l A 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:05.680 fitness like. Yeah, I suppose they can try to do 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.720 some sort of cardio in their hotel room to maintain 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:13.080 some some semblance of basketball conditioning. But and they might 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:15.960 be able to dribble a ball around, but they're not 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:19.680 able to play the game. And so I I feel 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:23.120 for them and in the complicated nature of coming in 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:27.160 and out of the lineup and having to to step 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:29.680 into an NBA game, and not just any NBA game, 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:32.639 but an NBA game against arguably a top four or 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:35.360 five team in the league. And so you know, we're 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:37.240 gonna talk about THD and is fit and there's a 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:42.080 serious conversation to have there, but they're the The important underlying, 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.400 you know, context here is that th HD has been 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:48.160 locked in a hotel room for a week and a 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:51.920 half and he stepped into that game, and so it's 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:56.880 hard to be super judgmental, especially considering right before he 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.240 tested positive he was actually playing pretty well in a 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.040 lot of different ways. And I I don't think it 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.839 changes the larger theme of th h T s fit 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.120 with this team, but it wasn't It's not going to 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.760 be this bad, you know, Like if they decide to 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.040 stay committed to th HT, not trade and keep them 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.880 on board for the long term, it won't be this bad, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.560 you know. Like that there's a lot there's a lot 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.920 of context here, and and the the the n b 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:26.760 A is not a normal operating sports league right now. 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.760 There are a ton of guys in and out dealing 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:33.919 with issues that are going to make the basketball suffer, 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:36.960 and especially in a night like tonight where you see 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.760 a Son's team that's largely been the whole going against 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:43.000 this Lakers team that's playing a bunch of guys that 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:46.039 aren't normally in their rotation and guys who had to 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.479 be in and in and out. Like, there's a great 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:54.240 deal of of differing circumstances at play here. Uh, And 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.400 so I think that needs to be the very first 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.320 thing that we point out is, yes, we're gonna talk 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:02.600 about fit, Yes we're gonna talk about rotation decisions. Yes 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:05.120 we're gonna talk about the style that the Lakers are 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:08.800 trying to lead into now. But they're a team that's 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.839 been absolutely decimated by the protocols in the last couple 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.839 of weeks, and the Suns were not, and that was 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:19.520 inevitably going to play a role tonight. Yeah, this definitely 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.920 feels like two teams on two totally opposite spectrums. Right. 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.919 Phoenix is pretty much the face of consistency. They know 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:28.240 what they're doing. There, a well oiled machine. I think 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.400 DeAndre Aden has missed a few games, but other than that, 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.840 they filled in Jamaal McGee and they just kept on winning. 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.040 They had like an eighteen game win streak. You can 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:36.839 move that on from last year as well. Just the 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:39.760 same core all pretty much came back. I believe Landry 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.000 Shamman or something was the was the new edition. But yeah, 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:43.919 they're a team that's been healthy, and they're probably the 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:46.599 worst team to play when you're going through flex right 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.239 when you're going through change. I think tonight was another 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.599 starting lineup that we've never seen before. This was the 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:54.200 first game for that starting lineup as well, and against 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.560 Phoenix that's just too tough. Phoenix was like two for 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.320 twenty two from three a half time. That was never 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.520 gonna stick, right, and they were only up to as 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:03.440 well during that time, so I knew they'd kind of 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:05.640 run away with it. Um And yeah, Phoenix is just 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.640 really good. They know what they're doing. Uh, Chris Paul, 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:10.760 Devon Brooker all come off screens. I'll know what they're doing. 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.120 DeAndre and I think was like eight for eight in 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.400 this game. I totally get the context with you know, 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:18.880 the COVID and stuff, but it still doesn't answer a 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:22.040 lot of the lineup decisions, right, Like, I think that's 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:23.480 where I kind of started with this, and that kind 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.120 of leans into th h T as well. Again in 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.599 context like this, you know, a bad game is gonna happen, 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.160 bad shooting is gonna happen. I still kind of feel like, 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:33.080 and I want to ask you about this. We put 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.279 him in the worst line up for him, like the 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:39.080 verse optimization for him, and we throw him on the 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.240 other team's best player, which is fine, young guy, and 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.040 I thought he did a nice job on Devon Brooker. 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:45.360 He's gonna hit some threes. You know that's going to happen. 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.920 But we start him next to russ lebron Uh and 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:51.760 DeAndre Jordan, and I think that's just asking, you know, 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:54.800 for failure, that's asking him to be a jump shooter. 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.440 And again with coming back from COVID all that stuff, 0:06:57.480 --> 0:06:59.960 I understand. I just think that plays into the worst 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:02.960 part of his game, especially when our bench fine I'm sorry, 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:06.920 I t Rondo and Russ, which those are really confusing 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.159 to me, even with the people out, even with the 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:11.760 people we don't have available. I just that's where I'm 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:13.320 kind of confused with. So I'm gonna start there because 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:14.640 I guess we can kind of go into th HD 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:16.640 as well. Leaning into that. But do you agree with that? 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:18.800 I feel like we put him in the worst kind 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.640 of optimization and he played awful tonight. I'm not hiding away, 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:23.400 I'm not shying away from that. I'm just saying, like, 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:25.520 I do think that we don't do them any favors 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:27.080 as well. Do you kind of do fit in that 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:30.240 as well? Yeah, there's no there's no doubt that playing 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.920 th HD alongside DeAndre Jordan doesn't play into his strengths, 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.480 but the and and of course it turns him into 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.840 a jump shooter in off the dribble situations. But what 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.280 you saw tonight with Phoenix is is an important detail 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.400 that translates to the playoffs. And this is something that 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.240 we have some concern about with RUSS, but it also 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.840 applies to th HD as well. When you're playing the 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:57.160 very best defenses, especially in high leverage situations at the 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.360 end of the season, when they don't take possessions off, 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:03.720 they are so good at help and recover, and when 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:08.000 you overdo the help and recover thing to shade towards Stars, 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:10.720 you inevitably, you inevitably have to have some sort of 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:13.440 concession on the back end, and in this case, in 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.640 this case, it's usually going to be the wars shooter 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.880 in your lineup. And you saw th HT tonight get 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:25.800 a ton of stand still, wide open threes to take. 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:30.080 Agree with you, But here's the situation. Th HT, in 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.800 my opinion, projects to be a really good shooter one day. 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.160 Why because he checks the boxes that are usually that 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:39.600 usually need to be checked for a young player that 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:41.680 will one day be a good shooter, Like is he 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.080 good at the free throw line? How is his touch 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:47.720 around the rim? That kind of stuff typically translates to 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.720 in the future as he gets really familiar with how 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:55.280 his jump shots play into his offense, that touch will 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.839 translate eventually, but at his age, it's not there yet. 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.480 And this is the situa wation. Over the course of 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.240 the regular season, especially in the in the next couple 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.480 of weeks, because we do have some inferior opponents on 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.600 this schedule, t h T is going to have some 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:12.360 nights where he looks really good because we're gonna be 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:16.000 playing some lesser defenses, some defenses that give him some 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:19.599 easier opportunities, and his perimeter shooting is not going to 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:22.400 be as much of a factor. But the reality of 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:24.680 the situation is is when push comes to shove like, 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:28.120 let's get forward here. Let's let's pretend Anthony Davis comes 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:32.280 back and we get the four seed. Let's say the 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.040 best case scenario, we get the four seed. This is great. 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.720 A d looks healthy, Lebron looks great. We have the 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.400 four seed. We end up in a second round series 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:43.840 against Golden State or against Phoenix. They're going to ignore 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:46.320 th HD and leave him open on the way. That's 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:50.680 gonna happen, that is guaranteed happen, and most importantly, on 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:55.400 most offensive possessions, that's gonna be the read. And we 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.440 have a team with players who like to make the 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:02.120 right play, like guys like Lebron, guys like Rondo, guys 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.640 like Isaiah Thoms. They're gonna make reads out of those plays. 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:07.080 Isaiah Thom's probably won't be around at that point, but 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:09.560 you get the point. We're gonna be making reads, and 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.040 the read is gonna be hitting that guy on the 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:14.960 week side, and it's usually gonna be th HT if 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:18.640 he's playing. And this is where the timeline gets tricky, 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.360 because I genuinely believe that th h T, and I 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:22.960 know a lot of people disagree with me. I saw 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.400 a lot of people taking victory lapse on th HT tonight, 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.559 which is completely unfair given the fact that he's been 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:30.480 locked in the hotel room for the last two weeks. 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:35.600 But the reality is is that even though I think 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.400 he will one day be a good stand still shooter, 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.199 a guy who will be able to be a functional 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:44.720 to guard on a championship level team that will make 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.400 teams pay for not guarding him and bring everything that 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.800 we're seeing from him now, elite perimeter defense, using his 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:55.040 length to disrupt things off the ball, his ability to 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.360 get to the basket, his low center of gravity, the 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.200 way that bumps defenders off of him, all of that 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.840 will be there, But that lack of perimeter shooting right 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:09.680 now is borderline lethal. He was over eight tonight. It's 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:12.240 not it heard a lot of possessions for us, you 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:15.000 know what I mean. Yeah, it's not just that you 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:17.920 know he can't shoot that he plays with non shooters, right, 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:20.920 he plays next to Like, I'm fine with getting him 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.360 reps next to Rus, getting him next to Lebron, and 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.920 he's our defensive stopper right quote in quotation marks like 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.560 that's who the guy they want, that's his role that 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.920 they want him to be in the playoffs, right, you know, 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:33.920 if you play against the Paul George, you would play 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.880 against Kuilon or whatever whoever the other wing is. You 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.199 could just throw th HD on him for a few minutes. 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.480 I totally get that. I just don't think all his 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:44.080 minutes should be next to them only right. I think 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:46.439 it's just a disservice to him because you could tell 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:49.240 he's in zero rhythm just in the game in general, 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:51.320 and he gets the ball and he just says like, 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:53.640 oh I can finally like do something, you know, And 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:56.880 that's why you see the you know, one leg step back, 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.400 you know, fade away jumpers that get that got blocked tonight, 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:01.280 or he's him getting the lane and try to do 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:03.600 these super crazy reverse because it's like the only time 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:05.840 he kind of touches the ball there because he's with 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:07.800 all these other shock creators. And I thought it was crazy. 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.920 He played next to russ I T and Lebron, I think, 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:13.839 and he was like the other guard and it's like 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:16.080 he's never gonna touch the ball, right, He's gonna just 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.040 be a spacer and that's just not what he is. 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:20.000 Right now, I'm fine again him getting minutes next to 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:21.679 our starters. I just think you have to kind of 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:23.840 I would like them to stagger a little bit. Like again, 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:25.960 I don't think that three guard lineup should ever play. 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:28.719 I thought that ROHNDO I t it was ROHNDO, I, 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.920 t Russ and th HD, Sorry not Lebron. It was 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.560 a RHNDO, I, t Russ and THHD. Was just just 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:35.560 insane to me to play that. And I think he 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.679 needs some kind of on ball reps here because it 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.520 just it just looks like a struggle and he's he goes, 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:41.960 he goes up and down. And you were right, he 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.240 was playing better before he got into COVID protocols that 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:46.440 think he was like I think someone told me he 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:48.600 was five for nine from three, but I think before 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:50.840 that he was like two from three, you know. So 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.080 it's like a it's a really up and down ceiling 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:54.880 thing for him, and I just would like to see 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.240 him a little bit more spacing lineups. And again, the 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.600 DeAndre Jordan's stuff is really confusing to me. Even if 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:01.720 do I how or is not in great shape. I 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:03.559 thought he could have been on like a minister restriction 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:06.360 or something to where it's not just Lebron at center 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:08.960 or Trevor Reasett Center. But yeah, on th HD, we 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.280 just don't put him in great lineups, and we run 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.040 a lot of Lebron post ups, right, and the whole 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:15.120 point of going small with Lebron at the five is 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:17.920 to give him space. We had one place we run 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:19.400 a we run a post up for him and it 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.640 was th HT, Russ and Rondo on the week side, 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:25.640 and they played hot Potato and it got to th 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.120 HD and he I think he like got close to 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.240 air balling. And to me, that's the stuff that we 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.520 can clean up. Those stuff that's really confusing to me. 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.280 And it's not Taylor's Paul, You're right, a lot of people, 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.960 you're right taking victory labs going, you know, finding my 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.760 old th HD tweets as well and dunking on them 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.440 now for but he's just not put in the position 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:45.640 to me, like he's not playing well either. It's just 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:47.040 I would like to see us put him in a 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:48.959 little bit more position. Let him run a couple of 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:50.880 high screening roles, you know, just to get him going. 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.840 Let him run some you know, one five just space 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:56.840 house screen roles to get him in rhythm, because I 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.000 don't I think he just looks lost out there. It's 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.520 lost too strong of a word to use, because that's 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:03.439 kind of what I see him on offense at least, 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:05.800 kind of confused where to screen or to go. And 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:09.520 I think that's all from just starting with three nonspacers 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.360 and Lebron being the best shooter in that lineup. Well, 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:17.679 t th HT represents a redundancy. That's why he looks lost. 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:19.560 He's trying to find a place to get his skill 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:21.960 set to fit in with the group. You know, it's 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:26.480 like it's like the concept of diminishing returns. So th HT. 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:30.920 If he's playing with the Houston Rockets right now and 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:33.200 he's running screen and roll with Christian Wood and three 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.120 other guards or guys who can shoot, you know, his 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.760 skill set is infinitely more valuable than it is when 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.000 on this team. He's kind of relegated to being a 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:44.920 spot up shooter in a lot of situations because you're 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:48.080 you're right, like Roger, you hit the nail on the head, 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:51.400 like he's he's on the floor with Isaiah Thomas and 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:55.920 Lebron James and Russell Westbrook like and Rondo and Rondo like. 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.560 There were there were several lineups. There were lineups tonight 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.920 to have Rondo and Isaiah to is there there? There is. 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:07.400 His skill set on this team is wasted in a 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.320 lot of ways. At least I shouldn't even say a 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:12.800 skill set. His ceiling, the areas of his skill set, 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.720 they will inevitably be what allows him to compete for 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.800 All Star spots in the future. That skill set is 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:22.479 wasted here on this team. All that is really relevant 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:26.120 is what he brings defensively, which I think is highly underrated. 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:29.760 People massively underrate what THHT can do defensively. It's it's 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.440 the biggest thing that gets glossed over when we're having 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:37.240 this discussion. But on the offensive end on this team, 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.760 he's in a spot up role and his value that's 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:43.960 where that diminishing return comes in. And this is the 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:47.200 huge downside of playing one foot on either side of 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.760 the line, of having one foot in the moment and 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:56.440 one ft in the future. Is there's this tantalizing potential 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.240 with th h T. As I keep calling him Mini 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:02.880 Kauai and people think I'm crazy, but I really think, 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:05.880 I really think he could be an All star level 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:09.760 two way guard, a guy who can average an efficient 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:12.720 eighteen to twenty points a game and being all defense 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.080 guy he's drew Holiday in my opinion. In the future, 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:20.840 that's what I think he could be. But on this team, 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.680 he's gonna look bad because of all of the things 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.680 you just described garage, the lineups that he's playing with, 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:31.120 what his skill set actually brings in terms of the redundancy, 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.320 and what he's being relegated to do off the ball. 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:36.880 And so this is where you ask yourself, like, is 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:40.920 it worth holding the asset to keep him on the 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:44.360 roster because of that potential that could come a few 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:48.560 years down at the expense of the moment. And that's 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:51.360 where you have to weigh those two factors, because I 0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:54.440 would tell you because I'm I, I think winning an 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.040 NBA championship is super hard. I think you have to 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.360 be willing to give up some of that tantalizing future 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.120 for whatever you can get in the moment. And I know, 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:07.679 I know that, I know this is why you and 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:09.560 I make a good para rise Like you're so much 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.639 more reserved and you're so much more conservative with this stuff. 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:17.320 And it's good because I need your perspective to keep me, uh, 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.280 you know, kind of grounded. But like every time I 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.960 see a game like tonight. I just think th HD 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.320 is more valuable elsewhere in the league than he is here, 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:29.200 so he has to be cashed in. And I don't 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.040 think it's any more complicated than that. Well, it's not 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:35.040 just I'm reserved, it's just that bridge is four weeks away, 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:37.040 you know what I mean, Like you can't even get 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:39.560 to that bridge. And you said doing both, having one 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.520 foot in potential one foot out. I mean when you 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.199 pay like not to bring this about contract because you 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.720 know that's that's other stuff. But you know, they invested 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.240 him three years thirty million. He makes ten million a year, 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:52.320 Like he's not making rookie money anymore, you know what 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:54.720 I mean. He's not on like a rookie deal where 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.240 it's like a save for another team when they get him. 0:17:57.400 --> 0:17:59.320 He's on like a short team deal or you can 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.760 kind of you can still outplay his contract obviously, but 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:03.639 he makes you know, he makes good money. Now, he 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:06.359 makes ten million dollars a year, Like that's not nothing 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:08.040 to me. Like that's where I'm at with the THHD 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:11.040 conversation because I can't even have this conversation yet. Everyone's saying, 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.240 you know, trade him, ship him off. To Indiana. You 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:15.440 can't ship him off, like you can't ship him off 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:17.919 for four more weeks. You know, how much can change 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:19.560 in four weeks, you know what I mean? Like that's 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:22.240 a long time. Who knows, you know, and you knock 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:24.560 on wood that they're not you know, they don't go 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.800 off a cliff here in terms of how many games 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:28.879 they lose, But four weeks, I mean, you want to 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:33.239 reassess the situation, right, and JHD being wasted on this 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:35.800 team is that's a strong kind of way to put 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:38.679 it to me because I feel like we can we 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.560 can replicate some of the stuff that he would do 0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:43.679 on other teams, you know, like why does he have 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.600 to be pigeonholed into the like it would be great 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:48.679 in the playoffs, obviously that's gonna be his role, Like 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.040 it's gonna be thrown for twenty minutes on a wing defender. 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:52.480 If you can hit a spot up three is great. 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:54.679 If not, he's not gonna be getting you know, a 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:57.000 hundred pick and roll possessions a game on this team. 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.520 It's just never gonna happen. Russell Lebron are gonna play 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:01.959 full time. But I think right now, as shorthanded as 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:05.119 we are without the you know, shock creation that a 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:08.000 D takes up in terms of like possessions, Like give 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:10.399 him some you know, ball screen action, give him some 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:12.479 moments where you know he's out there. Maybe he's out 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:15.280 there with Isaiah Thomas, and he's out there with Carmelo 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.520 and Trevor Reza and maybe it's Lebron, And just give 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:19.920 him some space to work with a little bit, because 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:22.440 he's playing in a phone booth and it's very similar 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:24.560