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Speaker 1: Mmmm. But welcome to the State of the Lakers podcast. UM.

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Speaker 1: Usually it's uh me and Jason, but Jason is out

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Speaker 1: celebrating his thirtieth birthday in uh San Diego, so I

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Speaker 1: have to birthday to to him. Um, but today I

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Speaker 1: got a really special guest. UM. He's not just a

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Speaker 1: friend of the show, friend of both of ours. Um.

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Speaker 1: He's been on our Spotify Green Roo has been on

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Speaker 1: our Twitter spaces. UM, I have rue Her. He's the

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Speaker 1: host of the Noble and Rufe show, Bye Ball His Life, Ruche.

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Speaker 1: How are you doing today? Man? Man, I'm doing well.

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Speaker 1: I'm happy to be here, always down to talk basketball.

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Speaker 1: So thanks for asking, thanks for asking me to come on. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: of course. Man. It's a Saturday morning here, so I

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Speaker 1: appreciate you coming on on a on a beautiful Saturday morning. Um.

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Speaker 1: You're in Texas. I'm in California out two hours ahead. UM.

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Speaker 1: So first, like, I just want before we get into

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Speaker 1: the Laker stuff, because I know everyone wants to kind

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Speaker 1: of and unless the people listening want to get into

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Speaker 1: Laker stuff, but I think it's important to go around

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Speaker 1: the league. Um. It's very easy to just go get

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Speaker 1: in this echo chamber and just talk about, you know,

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Speaker 1: your own team. So I'm sure you've been watching Summer

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Speaker 1: League right like you've been watching some league. What are

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Speaker 1: your thoughts on your Eastern Rockets summerly, because I think

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Speaker 1: they have been the most like fun team and summer

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Speaker 1: league like they've had the best team. To me, Jana

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Speaker 1: Green could arguably have been the best play Like, what

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Speaker 1: do you think of your summer league team? Before we

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Speaker 1: get into all the Lakers stuff, So I separate the

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Speaker 1: summer league that the Rockets summer league team into the

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Speaker 1: guys that are definitely like that we drafted that are

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Speaker 1: on the team, and then the you know, the fringe

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Speaker 1: players that are hoping to get like a two way

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Speaker 1: or whatever. The fringe players hoping to get a two

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Speaker 1: way unfortunately are not very good. Um, they just aren't.

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Speaker 1: There's not really much to talk about when it comes

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Speaker 1: to them. The Rockets gave Matthew Hurt I think out

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Speaker 1: of Duke a two way, so you know, who knows,

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Speaker 1: maybe that turns into something at some point down the line.

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Speaker 1: But as far as the guys that the Rockets drafted,

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Speaker 1: man Jalen Green has been so much fun to watch.

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Speaker 1: He's looked incredible Unfortunately he got hurt, so hopefully that's

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Speaker 1: nothing too serious and they have enough time to rehab

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Speaker 1: him before the actual season starts. But could not be

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Speaker 1: happier watching him. I mean, his stroke is incredible. Defensively,

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Speaker 1: he was definitely active and there probably needs to get

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Speaker 1: you know, um beef up a little bit at some weight,

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Speaker 1: but all the tools were there. His handle looks very beautiful.

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Speaker 1: We've got nice crossover, super quick, super explosive, and he

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Speaker 1: started showing some flashes of creating off the dribble and

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Speaker 1: out of the pick and roll, and that's like, that

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Speaker 1: is what I wanted to see, So I was happy

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Speaker 1: with that. Alpain Shangoon. That dude is crazy. Uh. You know,

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Speaker 1: the fan base was kind of split when the Rockets

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Speaker 1: drafted him, but he's looked extremely talented, kind of like

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Speaker 1: a like a Sabonis yokich S type player. Not to

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Speaker 1: say that he's going to be as good as them necessarily,

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Speaker 1: but just a European Turkish. I consider Turkey to be

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Speaker 1: in Europe different discussion, but up in big man, good touch,

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Speaker 1: great skills, versatile, super high i Q. He just turned nineteen,

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Speaker 1: and I don't think I've ever seen a big man

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Speaker 1: at nineteen play like that, so I'm hoping that what

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Speaker 1: he does will translate into the NBA. He looked pretty

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Speaker 1: good against Evan Mobley, and I thought he held his

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Speaker 1: own against Precious for Toronto, So really happy with that.

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Speaker 1: And then um, Josh Christopher had some ups and downs.

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Speaker 1: I see the potential with with with Josh Christopher, so

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Speaker 1: it was fun to watch kind of get get a

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Speaker 1: chance to watch him going. And then Usman Garuba from Spain.

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Speaker 1: UM only played one game and he came straight from

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Speaker 1: like Tokyo, I think, and he was Jet lags. So

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Speaker 1: I'm not gonna put much stock into that one game,

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Speaker 1: but I'm excited man. And then as far as the

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Speaker 1: rest of the Summer League goes Kaid's been popping off.

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Speaker 1: Evan Mobley's potential is definitely on display. Chris Duarte had

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Speaker 1: a good game or two, Um Cam Thomas had a

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Speaker 1: really good game. It's just nice to see young talent

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Speaker 1: balling out. Yeah, for sure, man, So have you been

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Speaker 1: to Summer League before? I have not. You were right, yes,

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Speaker 1: So I was there. I've been there the last few years.

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Speaker 1: So I went when the Lakers had their lottery picks

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Speaker 1: and that thing was filled like a playoff game, like

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Speaker 1: to the bone when it was like brandon Ingram, Lonzo

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Speaker 1: Paul you know what I mean, and Kyle Kuzma left

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Speaker 1: I think was crazy. It was loud. It's funny going

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Speaker 1: there now like kind of trickling and out. Um, it's

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Speaker 1: not as loud. I want to ask you because when

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Speaker 1: I was watching Green, I got to see a little

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Speaker 1: bit of their little bit a little bit of him there. Um,

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Speaker 1: he reminds me a little bit of brandon Ingram. Do

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Speaker 1: you see that a little bit in his game where

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Speaker 1: like the ball handling at that size and like he's

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Speaker 1: a better shooter already and he's already better at taking contact,

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Speaker 1: but like I see that like that ability to kind

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Speaker 1: of attack off the dribble, had the jumper as well,

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Speaker 1: just the full complete offensive game. To me, he was

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Speaker 1: the most like impressive guy that I got to see live.

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Speaker 1: At least he just looked extremely comfortable on the floor.

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Speaker 1: Do you see a little bit of that? Like do

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Speaker 1: you see him as like this like score kind of

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Speaker 1: like this isolation score eventually that like Ingram has became

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Speaker 1: now like this like go to guy. I definitely see

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Speaker 1: him as an isolation score As far as comparing the

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Speaker 1: two of them, I didn't see Brandon Ingram, but I

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Speaker 1: will say that the similarity is their fluidity with the rock.

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Speaker 1: You know, like when they are getting to their to

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Speaker 1: their moves and trying to get to their spots, they're

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Speaker 1: so fluid, and they're both kind of lanky and skinny, um,

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Speaker 1: but they're so quick at the same time that like

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Speaker 1: when they make their move, they're decisive. It's there, and

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Speaker 1: it's the kind of thing that you can't really stop.

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Speaker 1: You can contest it, but you can't really stop it. UM.

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Speaker 1: So I see that that kind of similarity. Obviously, Brandon

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Speaker 1: Ingram is bigger um and has more ability to kind

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Speaker 1: of he's just longer, right. But yeah, I mean as

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Speaker 1: far as being an isolation score, man, I was so impressed,

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Speaker 1: like he looked it really looked like the G League

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Speaker 1: preparation had him ready to just dominate the summer league.

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Speaker 1: That's that's that was kind of my takeaway. Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: his body looks a lot more NBA ready already than

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Speaker 1: Ingram was even wasn't evenone, wasn't even close in that

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Speaker 1: first year. Lam wasn't as comfortable either as a score,

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Speaker 1: So it's cool to see him kind of go off

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Speaker 1: the dribble and yeah, it was fine. I got to

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Speaker 1: see Kate a little bit as well. Kaide looks like

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Speaker 1: a guy also ready for the NBA, like his body

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Speaker 1: dudes coming out of college or like the top of

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Speaker 1: the draft definitely has a chance to be special. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and the rest of the draft as well. But like

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Speaker 1: those first three, I guess Jalen Suggs look pretty good too. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Scotty Barnes has some flashes. We'll see, we'll see if

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Speaker 1: Toronto regrets taking Barnes over Suggs. But but yeah, man,

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Speaker 1: I mean it's fun. It's just fun to see high

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Speaker 1: level basketball and to be excited about like the future,

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Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, it's funny going to Summer League because

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Speaker 1: I was there for Alonzo's first game, right and Alonzo.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if you follow Alonzo like you see

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Speaker 1: l A or whatever, but like there's a bunch of

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Speaker 1: them people in there that obviously never watched Alonzo play,

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Speaker 1: right in some releague such a like I don't know

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Speaker 1: how to explain it. It's like the crowd is on

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Speaker 1: top of you, so like when someone screams, you can

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Speaker 1: hear them, like that's how like, that's how it looks

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Speaker 1: like the Drew. I don't know if you've been to

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Speaker 1: the Drew. I haven't it, but it's a similar type.

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Speaker 1: It feels like it's a similar kind of experience there.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, like the crowds right there, they can hear

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Speaker 1: everything the crowds saying. So like Alonzo this is the

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Speaker 1: first his first game, and he's like dribbling at the

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Speaker 1: top up and you could just hear like the crowd

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Speaker 1: is kind of silent a little bit, goes a little quiet,

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Speaker 1: and they're like someone's like do something like where this

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Speaker 1: is not Alonzo's game at all. And Alonzo, you know,

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Speaker 1: a young guy, he's like trying to fulfill with the

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Speaker 1: crowd wants. So Alonzo starts taking these step back threes

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Speaker 1: and it just wasn't his game. So it's just funny.

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Speaker 1: Some of these is a cool place. I'd recommend you

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Speaker 1: to go at least one time. I definitely want to,

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Speaker 1: so hopefully I wish I would have gone this year. Honestly, um,

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Speaker 1: I would even consider still going, but Jalen Green's done

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Speaker 1: so because he probably won't Yeah, he probably won't play.

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Speaker 1: He probably won't play next year. Uh, yeah for sure.

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Speaker 1: So Rush is like my guy go to for all

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Speaker 1: Houston Rockets for anything Houston um, and I wanted to

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Speaker 1: get him on to talk about Russell Westbrook because I

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Speaker 1: don't think there's that many people who know more about it.

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Speaker 1: I know he played for the Wizards last year. I

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Speaker 1: know that. I just like, when I go watch Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook film on the Wizards, it's really weird to me

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Speaker 1: because Russell westbrooks the one player where like watching him

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Speaker 1: without a crowd is just a really strange thing, Like

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Speaker 1: it just really is. You see him screaming into like

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Speaker 1: this abyss and I feel like it's just you just

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Speaker 1: don't get the same kind of feel. So I watch

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Speaker 1: more Russell Westbrook on the Rockets. I feel like that's

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Speaker 1: more of the type of team. Rockets are more of

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Speaker 1: a contender as well a winning environment. Before we get

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Speaker 1: into like the encore, the basketball, he how we can't

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Speaker 1: shoot all that stuff, Like what's like when your team

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Speaker 1: gets Russell Westbrook, what does it do? Let's do for

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Speaker 1: your culture? Like what does that mean? I guess when

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Speaker 1: you get Russell Westbrook on your team? Okay, I'm really

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Speaker 1: excited to talk about this, so so thanks for having

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Speaker 1: me in mind, and I agree with you, Russell Westbrook

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Speaker 1: in Washington is not the best I guess fit or

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Speaker 1: kind of piece of analysis for how he's going to

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Speaker 1: fit in Los Angeles. I will before I get into

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Speaker 1: the nitty gritty, I will start by saying my overarching

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Speaker 1: thought on Westbrook on l A and that is he

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Speaker 1: is quote unquote the number three option remains to be

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Speaker 1: seeing how that works and plays out. But on paper,

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Speaker 1: he's your number three, and your number one is Lebron

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Speaker 1: James and your number two is Anthony Davis. So talent wise,

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are far and away better than anyone in

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Speaker 1: the West. I think the Lakers are a lock for

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Speaker 1: the finals if they're healthy, and I think they have

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Speaker 1: a very good chance to win the championship. So any

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Speaker 1: criticism that I may give about Russell Westbrook, just keep

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Speaker 1: in mind that I think l is gonna win it

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Speaker 1: all um, if not get to the finals. So what

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Speaker 1: does it mean when your team gets Russell Westbrook? Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: First and foremost, it means that there's going to be

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Speaker 1: a divide among your fan base. You know, some people

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Speaker 1: are gonna just absolutely love what he does. Some people

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Speaker 1: are gonna have some issues with it. Some people will

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Speaker 1: be more so in between. Um, he is the type

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Speaker 1: that he just plays a very binary game, right, He

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Speaker 1: plays his game at all times. Sometimes that's good, sometimes

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Speaker 1: that's bad. Um, there's no discretion with him, right. So

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Speaker 1: it's exciting. It is exciting, and it's love hate right, Like,

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Speaker 1: that's kind of the theme it's for for people I

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Speaker 1: think like you based on what I've seen from how

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Speaker 1: you view the game and talk about the game, It'll

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Speaker 1: be love hate. There's gonna be nights where he cos

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Speaker 1: off and he saves the night. There's gonna be nights

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Speaker 1: where no one has energy but he does and it's infectious. Um,

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Speaker 1: there's gonna be nights where you're down ten with four

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Speaker 1: minutes and Russell Westbrook goes on a tear and brings

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Speaker 1: you back into the game to win it. And then

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Speaker 1: there's gonna be nights where he's just pulling up from

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Speaker 1: the elbow over and over, or you know, his lack

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Speaker 1: of shooting ability really stands out and teams are able

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Speaker 1: to double off and you have to figure out a

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Speaker 1: counter and all that type of stuff. So so yeah, um,

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Speaker 1: I mean we can get into the positives and the

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Speaker 1: negatives and all that. But I think first and foremost,

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook on your team means a polarized experience and

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Speaker 1: you're gonna find yourself on both ends of it throughout

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Speaker 1: this season for sure. So I was against the move,

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Speaker 1: Like it was clear, like people are asking me. I

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Speaker 1: was like, there's no way this happens. It doesn't make

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Speaker 1: sense on the back on the basketball floor, like you know,

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Speaker 1: he's a super ball handler. Like we already saw how

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Speaker 1: Phoenix defended us, Like they stayed in the paint, you

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Speaker 1: know what I mean, Like they weren't even guarding us outside.

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Speaker 1: Now you add another um, a nonshooter to it, and

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Speaker 1: I agree with you, Like Russell Westbrook's coming here to

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Speaker 1: be Russell Westbrook. Like I see a lot of people saying, oh,

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Speaker 1: he can adjust his game. You don't trade for Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook to not get Russell to change Russell Westbrook. And

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Speaker 1: when you're getting Russell westroom for him to be himself.

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Speaker 1: So there's a lot of positives and negatives to that,

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Speaker 1: But I guess, like I just want to stay a

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Speaker 1: little bit like what it means. I guess, so like

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Speaker 1: off the court kind of with the role players and

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Speaker 1: stuff like you hear he's a great teammate and stuff

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Speaker 1: like that. Did you see that where like he impacted

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Speaker 1: kind of the Rockets role players I guess in a

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Speaker 1: way that they weren't doing before. Like obviously James Harden's

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Speaker 1: the I guess, the leader of that team, no matter

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Speaker 1: of Houston, He's the face of the franchise. But I

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Speaker 1: guess like just for some of those role guys, like

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Speaker 1: I hear Bam mclamar always like talks about it. I

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Speaker 1: think um in front the other guy that got suspended

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Speaker 1: from the bubble. But I think, like, yes, heys House

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Speaker 1: as well, So like did you see that as well

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Speaker 1: when he was on Houston kind of how he helped

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Speaker 1: the role players, Um, I guess, like with confidence and

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Speaker 1: stuff like that. Yeah, so okay, Harden was not that type, right.

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Speaker 1: Harden was the type that was like you'll give me

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Speaker 1: the rock Um, I'm gonna score fifty and like that's

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Speaker 1: all you need to know. Um. Not to like put

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Speaker 1: Harden down. He just wasn't the vocal type of leader.

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Speaker 1: He was like a leader on the court more so

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Speaker 1: by his by his example of play Yeah excuse me,

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Speaker 1: um Westbrook. I think and this is what I think

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Speaker 1: will work. For sure. His approach and work ethic I

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Speaker 1: think will mirror that of Lebron's, and Lebron is very

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Speaker 1: Lebron is very much a guy that's like, Yo, we're

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Speaker 1: doing it my way because I'm Lebron James and it

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Speaker 1: works and um, you know, if you're not on board,

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Speaker 1: you can get shipped. Um. And Westbrook is also he's

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Speaker 1: a he's a family man kind of guy. You know,

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Speaker 1: he comes in all business. His approach may not he

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Speaker 1: may not approach the nuance of the game the way

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Speaker 1: that we would like to if we were like playing

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Speaker 1: a video game and you know, playing with Russell Westbrook

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Speaker 1: for example, but he works hard and I think that

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Speaker 1: that definitely permeates to the rest of the team. Fun fact,

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Speaker 1: when he was in Houston, I think part of the

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Speaker 1: reason that him and Harden mutually agreed to kind of

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Speaker 1: split into their own thing was because they realized that

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Speaker 1: they were no longer like they were still friends, I think,

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Speaker 1: but from from what I heard, they didn't really even

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Speaker 1: have dinner much together during last season, even before COVID hit.

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Speaker 1: I think when Russ came there was like you saw

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Speaker 1: that Tim McMann article where like oh, you know, Harden

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Speaker 1: was late for film sessions where everyone had to wait

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Speaker 1: for Harden to go on the PJ to Vegas or

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Speaker 1: whatever it was. Um, and that stuff irked Westbrook because

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Speaker 1: he does approach it more like Lebron does. Um. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so I you know, they kind of I think we're

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Speaker 1: at odds in that respect, Harden and Westbrook, and I

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Speaker 1: think that they kind of figured out, like, yo, this

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Speaker 1: isn't how I remembered it being. You know, we've kind

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Speaker 1: of grown in separate ways since becoming superstars in our

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Speaker 1: own right. Um. So yeah, I think it will help

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Speaker 1: the team. And I think that him and Lebron will

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Speaker 1: get along in that way from a leadership perspective and

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Speaker 1: from how they approach the game and practice and things

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Speaker 1: like that. And I think that's definitely gonna have a

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Speaker 1: trickle down effect on the rest of the guys. Yeah

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Speaker 1: for sure. So, Like I feel like he'll be big

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Speaker 1: for a D because a D the guy that really

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Speaker 1: he can't Like he gets a lot of ship and

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Speaker 1: stuff like that, but he really does can He can

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Speaker 1: sometimes go through the motions, and I think Russ is

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Speaker 1: not a guy that goes through the motions like Rest is.

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Speaker 1: Just watching him, like he feels like a guy that's

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Speaker 1: on all the time, Like even watching his Washington tape,

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Speaker 1: like seeing him scream and an empty arena in Orlando.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's just like it's funny to watch like

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Speaker 1: him kind of play play with that kind of motor.

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Speaker 1: And I think that does a lot for the team.

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Speaker 1: So I guess we can start like going onto the

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Speaker 1: basketball fit. So let's to the negatives first, I guess.

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Speaker 1: So like his jump shooting, how like I don't know

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Speaker 1: how to ask this, like how reckless does it get?

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Speaker 1: Game to game? Like I guess, Like how how he's

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Speaker 1: been in the league for a long time. I guess,

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Speaker 1: But like that pull up jumper that he takes and

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Speaker 1: stuff like that, it feels like he takes a lot

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Speaker 1: of shots where like when the other team goes under

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Speaker 1: the screen, um, he'll still fire even if he's hissed

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Speaker 1: to hit his miss his last five. Like what do

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Speaker 1: you think your most like concerns with with russ In

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Speaker 1: l a like on a on the basketball floor, Like

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Speaker 1: what's your biggest concern I guess with him is his shooting,

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Speaker 1: like his shot select shin Like is it his defense?

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Speaker 1: Like what do you think is the biggest concern for

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Speaker 1: you with with rust in l A. So I was

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Speaker 1: just looking up his three point percentages so that I

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Speaker 1: can make sure I have the correct data. Um Man,

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Speaker 1: he can be reckless with the shot. So here's the thing, right,

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Speaker 1: we're talking about Russell Westbrook. You made mention. You're like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you're not gonna get Russell Westbrook to try to make

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook change, right, And he's been in the league

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Speaker 1: for however many seasons. I don't know what it is now,

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Speaker 1: twelve thirteen came in. I think it's thirteen. Yeah, man,

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Speaker 1: that's crazy. And so you have to realize when you

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Speaker 1: have a guy that's played thirteen seasons at the usage

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Speaker 1: rate of Russell Westbrook, meaning that he's just got the

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Speaker 1: rock in his hand, doing his thing the way that

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Speaker 1: he does it, and he's won an m VP doing so,

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Speaker 1: and he's said all these crazy triple double records in

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Speaker 1: the process. You're not going to change that guy. Um

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Speaker 1: So you're you're getting Russ and you're getting all the positives.

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Speaker 1: But the caveat to that is that you're getting it

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Speaker 1: on his terms. Now what that means is, um sometimes

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Speaker 1: you just have to live with those shots, right, there

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Speaker 1: are times where you need a get or you need

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Speaker 1: a bucket to stop the bleeding, to get some momentum,

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Speaker 1: or to stunt the momentum of the other team, and

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Speaker 1: instead you get Russ pulling up from eighteen ft and

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Speaker 1: it clanks, you know, or you get Russ doing He

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Speaker 1: has this one shot. I don't know if you've seen this.

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Speaker 1: It blew my mind when he started doing it in Houston.

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Speaker 1: He does a a fade away like a post fade

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Speaker 1: away bank shot off one leg? Is that the one leg? One? Yes,

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Speaker 1: it's one of the ugliest shots I've ever seen, bro.

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Speaker 1: And it's just one of those things where you're like, dude,

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Speaker 1: we're down three with four minutes left, why did you

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Speaker 1: take that shot? You know? And so you'll see that

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Speaker 1: it's gonna happen. It's inevitable. Now there's times where he

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Speaker 1: pulls up and he gets in a rhythm and it's butter,

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Speaker 1: you know, and it's like he's really on um. In Houston,

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Speaker 1: his three point percentage I think was the worst of

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Speaker 1: his career twenty five point six percent, the worst of

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Speaker 1: his career since his second year in the league um

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Speaker 1: and since two thousand fourteen, he has shot under thirty

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Speaker 1: from three, one, two, three, four five times in whatever

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Speaker 1: that is seven seasons. I guess one to three, four, five, six,

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Speaker 1: and eight, So five times in eight seasons UM. Starting

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Speaker 1: back into four fifteen, he shot twenty nine point nine

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Speaker 1: percent twenty nine point six MVP season season, after that,

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Speaker 1: twenty nine point eight season, after that in Houston eight,

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Speaker 1: and then last season he upped it to thirty one

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Speaker 1: on four attempts. I remember in Houston we used to say, man,

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Speaker 1: if he can just shoot like thirty two from three,

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Speaker 1: we would do so much better. And I'm sure Lakers

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Speaker 1: fans remember in that series in the bubble yall were

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Speaker 1: probably like, dude, sag Off rust because he can't make

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Speaker 1: it UM And I know we're talking about the positives here,

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Speaker 1: but you asked about his shooting. So yeah, So so

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Speaker 1: that's kind of you just have to live with it,

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Speaker 1: what you have to hope for. To his credit, he

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Speaker 1: did change in Houston. Unfortunately, it required Houston trading Russell

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Speaker 1: I'm trading Clint Capella to create that five out space

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Speaker 1: because the lack of spacing really killed Houston and it

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Speaker 1: killed their efficiency, especially after the Mike D'Antonio offense that

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Speaker 1: they were known for. So once they did that, he

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Speaker 1: was able to use his athletic tools and his first

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Speaker 1: step and his burst UM to really become a force.

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Speaker 1: And he was like, I think he had the best

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Speaker 1: two point percentage of his career. UM confirmed that yes

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Speaker 1: he did by far is the only time. It was

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Speaker 1: the second time in his career where he shot over

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Speaker 1: from two he shot fifty one four. The second in

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Speaker 1: his career is seen where he shot fifty point three

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Speaker 1: percent and everything else is sub fifty. So he was

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Speaker 1: able to make that adjustment, get into the paint and

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Speaker 1: kind of dominate from that perspective. UM, the question in

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Speaker 1: the issue is going to be can he do that

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Speaker 1: with Lebron and a D. Lebron can shoot, a D

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Speaker 1: can kind of shoot from three. I wouldn't call it reliable, um,

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Speaker 1: but there's only so much rock to go around, you know. UM. Now.

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Speaker 1: The positive about all this, though, is that I think

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Speaker 1: what l A wants and I think what Lebron wants

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Speaker 1: is someone they can just give the ball to and

410
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,919
Speaker 1: say please take over, so that, you know, so Lebron

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Speaker 1: can chow and he can do that. UM. The downside

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00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,040
Speaker 1: to that though is in Houston. I know specifically the

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Speaker 1: bench units they would stagger Harden and Russ at times right,

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Speaker 1: and the bench units led by Russ with Harden on

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Speaker 1: the bench, we're by far the worst lineups that Houston ran. UM. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: because you know, think about it, it's basically at that

417
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Speaker 1: point it turns into like a Russell Westbrook like Washington team.

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Speaker 1: You know, he's just leading the pack, going full force

419
00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,360
Speaker 1: and he's either on and getting his way or it's

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00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,640
Speaker 1: kind of more so reckless, you know. So UM shooting.

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00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,040
Speaker 1: It's tough to watch him shoot threes, it really is.

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Speaker 1: And it's not like he takes a low volume. UM.

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Speaker 1: That was volume he's taken in like the last almost

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00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,520
Speaker 1: ten years is three point seven UM. In Houston he

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00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,520
Speaker 1: shot three point seven, which was his lowest over that span.

426
00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,120
Speaker 1: In Washington he shot four point two. Four point two.

427
00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:46,320
Speaker 1: Three is a game like there's no need you need

428
00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:47,879
Speaker 1: there's no reason you need rust westn to do that

429
00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,640
Speaker 1: unless he's hitting right. So it's it's just a mixed bag. Man.

430
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,960
Speaker 1: He brings tons of positives, but he negates them on

431
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,959
Speaker 1: his own with shooting because in his mind he can shoot.

432
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,840
Speaker 1: He just doesn't rust the percentages or care for the percentages.

433
00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:03,959
Speaker 1: So we'll see how that plays out. I think it's

434
00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,480
Speaker 1: gonna depend on the lineups that the Lakers run. Um.

435
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,879
Speaker 1: But yeah, so you brought up his percentages, like his

436
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,720
Speaker 1: three point percentages, Like I almost throw those out because, like,

437
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,520
Speaker 1: I don't expect him to shoot, well, I also don't

438
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,520
Speaker 1: expect people to guard him, you know what I mean,

439
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,399
Speaker 1: Like they're just not gonna garden he could shoot for

440
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,479
Speaker 1: a game, They're not gonna garden like he can hit

441
00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:26,720
Speaker 1: his last three. They're just hiring up. So like I'm

442
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,400
Speaker 1: already going into it knowing like they're not guarding Russell Westbrook.

443
00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,600
Speaker 1: So my biggest concern is that, like, yes, a D

444
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,639
Speaker 1: can shoot right, like he can shoot jumpers, but if

445
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,080
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis is shooting jumpers, he's no longer Anthony freaking Davis.

446
00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:42,919
Speaker 1: You know, he's he's a jump shooter. Like Anthony Davis

447
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,160
Speaker 1: generational skill is to be able to roll to the rim,

448
00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:47,520
Speaker 1: be a lop threat, and also handle animals, you know,

449
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 1: but they wants to get to the rim. That's what

450
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,600
Speaker 1: a D wants to do. Lebron as well, Lebron can't shoot,

451
00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:53,840
Speaker 1: but Lebron wants to get to the rim. Russell Westbrook

452
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,480
Speaker 1: wants to get to the rim. I don't know who

453
00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,640
Speaker 1: we're starting at center, but like I think it's gonna

454
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:00,560
Speaker 1: be Marcus Sault, so maybe that gives you little spacing

455
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:02,960
Speaker 1: and then one shooter. So that's my kind of concern here.

456
00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:05,000
Speaker 1: I think this team is gonna run. Um, it's gonna

457
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,080
Speaker 1: be in transition, try to get a lot of baskets

458
00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,040
Speaker 1: off that. I know you said the Russ kind of

459
00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,440
Speaker 1: non hardened minutes were like really bad in Houston. I guess.

460
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:15,639
Speaker 1: I guess the only like caveat here is that, like

461
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,720
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna be paired with a d Like,

462
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:19,959
Speaker 1: I don't think you're gonna have a Russ line up

463
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,040
Speaker 1: without a d or Lebron on the floor. So I'm

464
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,840
Speaker 1: a little worried about the Russ Lebron and like, you know,

465
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,560
Speaker 1: nothing else on the floor there with no shooting. So

466
00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:30,840
Speaker 1: that's my little concern there. But like I think I

467
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,000
Speaker 1: like him in transition, Um, I like him as that.

468
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,280
Speaker 1: And then again it gives another ball handler. Dennis Shrewter

469
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,880
Speaker 1: just wasn't that I want to ask you about his playmaking.

470
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,400
Speaker 1: So this is like idea that he's that he assists

471
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,360
Speaker 1: hunts and and stuff like that. I see a guy

472
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,040
Speaker 1: that's an elite, elite playmaker. Like, I don't think you

473
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,720
Speaker 1: get eleven assist a game on accident. Now, there's things

474
00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,960
Speaker 1: you can do here and there. But like, like, am

475
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,480
Speaker 1: I wrong in thinking like he's a really good like

476
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,879
Speaker 1: he understands the floor spacing. I guess like he understands

477
00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,240
Speaker 1: like how to get corner shooters their shots. Um, I

478
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:02,280
Speaker 1: feel like he's a really good dump off pastor, Like,

479
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,440
Speaker 1: and he's to me, he's one of the best law

480
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:06,600
Speaker 1: pastors ever? Is that wrong for me to saying like

481
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:09,359
Speaker 1: he's a really good law pastor at least for Steven Adams.

482
00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:11,719
Speaker 1: He used to get Jeremy Grant cutting off corners a

483
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,520
Speaker 1: lot um in Oklahoma City. Um, I think he's really

484
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,080
Speaker 1: good at finding pigs that way. Like, what do you

485
00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,480
Speaker 1: think about his passing? Like is it how much of

486
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,600
Speaker 1: it is like him trying to get assist or is

487
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,439
Speaker 1: he really just this really great playmakers? Is somewhere in

488
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,479
Speaker 1: between there? I think it's somewhere in between, leaning towards

489
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,720
Speaker 1: being a great playmaker. The reason I say somewhere in

490
00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,240
Speaker 1: between is because there are guys that see the play

491
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,960
Speaker 1: developed ahead of time. Yeah, Ron, Chris Paul, James Harden,

492
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,080
Speaker 1: Like they're they're waiting for the action because they're waiting

493
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,080
Speaker 1: for what that action is going to spring open, right,

494
00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:45,120
Speaker 1: Like they're waiting for that pick because they know when

495
00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 1: they get the pick at the top of the key,

496
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,720
Speaker 1: they're gonna take it. And they already know when that

497
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,200
Speaker 1: pick comes that what they're about to do is penetrate,

498
00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,040
Speaker 1: draw the corner defender over, and then kick it to

499
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 1: the corner. Right. Russ doesn't operate like that. Russ's m

500
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,200
Speaker 1: O first and foremost is I'm going to the basket

501
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:03,480
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna make my little crawl. I'm gonna use

502
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:05,480
Speaker 1: my burst and then maybe make like a quick crossover

503
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 1: and I'm going to the basket. Now if somebody helps

504
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,840
Speaker 1: over at the last minute, he like figures it out

505
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,000
Speaker 1: on the fly. And it's both a gift and a curse, right,

506
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,800
Speaker 1: because sometimes it's incredible, it's like whoa how did how

507
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,320
Speaker 1: did he react so fast and make that play? And

508
00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:20,760
Speaker 1: other times it's like God, damn it, you know, um

509
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,800
Speaker 1: he just threw it away, or you know, like I remember,

510
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,359
Speaker 1: Chris Paul was really good at putting the ball in

511
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 1: the shooters pocket because he was purposeful with it and

512
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,119
Speaker 1: intentful with it, intentional with it, right, he saw the

513
00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,440
Speaker 1: play developing ahead of time. Westbrook doesn't really hit shooter pockets.

514
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 1: He'll get you the ball, but not necessarily like where

515
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,040
Speaker 1: you want the ball. So in Houston, if you notice,

516
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:45,720
Speaker 1: which is the excuse me, which is the first time,

517
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,280
Speaker 1: God damn, excuse me, sorry, in Houston, you'll notice, is

518
00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:55,359
Speaker 1: the first time since Um, Katie left, Right when did

519
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,440
Speaker 1: Katie Lee? Fifteen sixteen? Yeah, so Katie left in the

520
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,560
Speaker 1: summer of sixteen. So two fifteen, two sixteen, Westbrook had

521
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,000
Speaker 1: tennis is per game. Him and Katie were working, you know,

522
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,080
Speaker 1: they gave up their three one lead whatever. But ever

523
00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,720
Speaker 1: since then, um, he has only had less than tennises

524
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,960
Speaker 1: per game once and that was in Houston when he

525
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,840
Speaker 1: had seven on the dot per game. Yeah. And it's

526
00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 1: also the only season that he's actually been on a

527
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: winning team, um that that want to playoff series. All

528
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,040
Speaker 1: the other ones have not. So I don't know if

529
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,360
Speaker 1: there's a direct correlation there. I don't know if I'm

530
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,800
Speaker 1: being conclusory and just kind of like looking at the

531
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,600
Speaker 1: result and then working backwards. But it just seems like

532
00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,760
Speaker 1: there is a correlation between him having the ball lesson

533
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,480
Speaker 1: creating less and being used more as like just a

534
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,840
Speaker 1: propelled score that can also create, versus him being like

535
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,679
Speaker 1: the primary creator, which he's not going to be in

536
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:50,680
Speaker 1: l A. You mentioned transition, by the way, that's one

537
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:52,960
Speaker 1: thing he will do, um, and it is a positive

538
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,639
Speaker 1: he will get in transition. He'll push the pace. There

539
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,359
Speaker 1: will be times where he just picks up three points

540
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: because he just hits the turbo jets and there's nothing

541
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,399
Speaker 1: you can do. The downside to that is that in

542
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,840
Speaker 1: close games and in the playoffs, offense and games are

543
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,720
Speaker 1: one in the half court um, and that transition stuff

544
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:11,600
Speaker 1: kind of goes out the window. I know a lot

545
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,080
Speaker 1: of Rockets fans would think, you know, oh, the points

546
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,560
Speaker 1: will lose from his bad three point shooting and from

547
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 1: increased turnovers or whatever will gain in things like transition

548
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:24,920
Speaker 1: and so on and so forth, And that didn't really

549
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 1: play out the way that you think. Maybe it works

550
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,000
Speaker 1: out like in terms of numbers, but like I'm saying,

551
00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,240
Speaker 1: those last five to seven minutes, things change and you know,

552
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,639
Speaker 1: transition doesn't really win you the game. Um. But no,

553
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,600
Speaker 1: he's a he's a great creator. Um. I just think

554
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,640
Speaker 1: that I think his presence gives the defense. His presence

555
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 1: makes you have to adjust your game instead of forcing

556
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,720
Speaker 1: the defense to adjust. Now the defense can camp out

557
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,280
Speaker 1: and make you adjust if he's willing to move off ball.

558
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,680
Speaker 1: And there were times where he was and he would cut.

559
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:56,879
Speaker 1: For example, he'd be camped out in the corner and

560
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,720
Speaker 1: he would cut and Harden would flip him up an

561
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,760
Speaker 1: alley up and he'd finish it like that. Stuff will happen,

562
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,840
Speaker 1: you know. Um, but he's not wired to do that,

563
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:07,320
Speaker 1: you know. And he wanted to leave Houston because he

564
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,320
Speaker 1: wanted the ball back in his hands, like he changed

565
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,600
Speaker 1: in Houston, but he didn't like the fact that Houston

566
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,080
Speaker 1: asked him to change. And so and I know that

567
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,480
Speaker 1: internally there were some people thinking questioning the guy's commitment

568
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,439
Speaker 1: to wanting to be on a winning team because you know,

569
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,679
Speaker 1: he forced to trade and he would rather play in

570
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,919
Speaker 1: Washington and do what he does then, you know, be

571
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:27,080
Speaker 1: a part of a team that at least want a

572
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,159
Speaker 1: playoff series and had a potential future. Take of that

573
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,960
Speaker 1: what you will. But but yeah, it's just a very

574
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,160
Speaker 1: like polarizing, like there's gonna be times where you get

575
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:37,640
Speaker 1: all the good. There's gonna be times where you get

576
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 1: all the bad. I will say that. There's also times

577
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,199
Speaker 1: where you look up and you're like, man, he's killing it.

578
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,080
Speaker 1: He's got twenty seven, you know, ten and seven. But

579
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:46,679
Speaker 1: then you look at his attempts and you're like, oh,

580
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,480
Speaker 1: he's got twenty seven on like seventeen of three. You know,

581
00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,760
Speaker 1: like is that? Yeah, that's good? But does that translate

582
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 1: the championship basketball? I don't know one thing about him

583
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: as well. To his credit, he doesn't get and this

584
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:04,159
Speaker 1: will probably change in l A. So monitor this. He

585
00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:07,720
Speaker 1: doesn't get as many foul calls as you think. Um

586
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:09,840
Speaker 1: he gets. He gets hit a lot at the rim

587
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,200
Speaker 1: and doesn't get the benefit of it. Um. And he's

588
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,920
Speaker 1: also been shooting poorly from the free throw line. Um,

589
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,760
Speaker 1: you know, sixty six percent this season sevent in Houston

590
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:25,080
Speaker 1: was decent sixty percent the year before that. The year

591
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:26,800
Speaker 1: before that he used to be an eight percent guy

592
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:28,600
Speaker 1: from the line. So I don't know, I don't know

593
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,600
Speaker 1: what happened, but um, but yeah, for someone with his usage,

594
00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:37,680
Speaker 1: which to confirm his usage, it has been thirty plus

595
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:43,080
Speaker 1: wow ten years. So pent usage in Washington, thirty four

596
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,800
Speaker 1: and a half percent usage in Houston. I imagine he'll

597
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,240
Speaker 1: be somewhere around like two in l A. We'll see.

598
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:52,960
Speaker 1: But that's the thing, right if if he's not being used,

599
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,800
Speaker 1: he's not as useful. Um. And that's kind of the

600
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook conundrum is you've got to give him the

601
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,359
Speaker 1: keys in order to get what you want out of him. However,

602
00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:02,960
Speaker 1: when you give him the keys, is the ship getting

603
00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,920
Speaker 1: steered the way that you wanted to get steered? For sure?

604
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,399
Speaker 1: And I think it's been pretty clear Russell Westbrook's been

605
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 1: in the league thirteen years, right Like, I think it's

606
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,119
Speaker 1: pretty clear that Russell Westbrook as a super high usage

607
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:17,840
Speaker 1: player is probably not a championship winning formula, right Like,

608
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,520
Speaker 1: it just isn't. We've seen the playoffs too many times. Um,

609
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,320
Speaker 1: him against Utah, you know what I mean, kind of

610
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,120
Speaker 1: shot them out of it Portland as well. He takes

611
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,760
Speaker 1: these personal matchups against Dame, he takes his Burnstal match

612
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 1: against Donovan Mitchell, Um, even Ricky Ruby a little bit,

613
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,960
Speaker 1: right Like, you just see like there's a competitive fire

614
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 1: there and there's like a double edged sword to it.

615
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,560
Speaker 1: But I think it's pretty clear, like him as a

616
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,320
Speaker 1: high usage, high ball handler is in the championship formula.

617
00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,640
Speaker 1: I totally agree with that. I think that's why this

618
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,360
Speaker 1: is so fascinated because I don't think he's ever like

619
00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,120
Speaker 1: even with Katie and Oklahoma City, Katie wasn't the like

620
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,520
Speaker 1: ball handling type, right, Katie was like, let me run

621
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,520
Speaker 1: to the to the post, you know, let me, you know,

622
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,000
Speaker 1: come off these these these screens or you know, these

623
00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 1: floppy actions like Russell Westbrook at the ball in his

624
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,400
Speaker 1: hands and he's deciding where the ball goes, I think,

625
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,360
Speaker 1: And even with James Harden in Houston, UM, I'm like,

626
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: I don't know how much that helped as well, but

627
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,400
Speaker 1: like just him with Lebron and Anthony Davis, two guys

628
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 1: that like, again you said Russ is the third option.

629
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,280
Speaker 1: I think he's the third best player, right, Like I

630
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,320
Speaker 1: think he's like he's probably still going to be the

631
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 1: second option on most plays because you have the ball

632
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,520
Speaker 1: in his hands, Like it's just how basketball is gonna work.

633
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:22,120
Speaker 1: But I think this is the first time he's had

634
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,160
Speaker 1: two other players that I guess he thinks should have

635
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,479
Speaker 1: the ball right that he should be feeding. Um. So

636
00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:30,280
Speaker 1: that's why I'm interested if he can get that usage

637
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,880
Speaker 1: to like, but again, this is still Russell Westbrook, so

638
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,520
Speaker 1: it's interesting to see. But and he talked about him

639
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 1: like he doesn't want to move off the ball. I

640
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,400
Speaker 1: thought Houston did some really good things in the playoffs

641
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,560
Speaker 1: where like I want to see this in l A

642
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:43,920
Speaker 1: as well, and you can kind of speak on this

643
00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,360
Speaker 1: where they like inverted the offense right where like Russ

644
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 1: was the center, I guess um. But again that kind

645
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:50,720
Speaker 1: of moves a D to the perimeter a little bit.

646
00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:52,360
Speaker 1: But I just think like there's things that can be

647
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,880
Speaker 1: open there. Him as a screener, and you know him

648
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 1: and reportedly him uh Lebron and a D had a

649
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,280
Speaker 1: dinner together, you know, and they were like you, we're

650
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:03,960
Speaker 1: going to sacrifice and all that stuff is very easy

651
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,640
Speaker 1: to say, and you know in August or in July,

652
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 1: you know, before before the cars kind of gets settled there.

653
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,000
Speaker 1: But yeah, that's where I'm most interested. To me, So,

654
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,160
Speaker 1: like you talked about him off the ball and stuff like,

655
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 1: was that stuff like Houston try to do and he

656
00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,680
Speaker 1: really just wouldn't do it, I guess. Or is Mike

657
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,280
Speaker 1: D'antoni's offense gets a lot of like you know, flak

658
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,560
Speaker 1: for like it's pretty much an isolation heavy mismatch attacking

659
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,880
Speaker 1: offense where there's not much ingenuity to it. How much

660
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 1: is that you know on Mike? Is that on Russ?

661
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,360
Speaker 1: Like it's not a hardened just wanting to continue to

662
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,080
Speaker 1: do his isolations? Like how much do you think like

663
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: that kind of contribute to him not being able to

664
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,040
Speaker 1: be as effective off the ball? Is that just who

665
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,800
Speaker 1: rust is? I guess in that it's a mix. I mean,

666
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,959
Speaker 1: Harden and D'Antoni definitely wanted to play that way, so

667
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,520
Speaker 1: you know, and Russ was coming into that scenario. So

668
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,000
Speaker 1: I don't know what those conversations were like, but just

669
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,280
Speaker 1: logically you have to think that Russ had to fit

670
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 1: himself into that um. But again, to be fair, they

671
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,560
Speaker 1: traded Capella to clear that space were him because it

672
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 1: really wasn't working. Now, you saw in the in the

673
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,160
Speaker 1: in the bubble, right, they would double Harden, the Lakers

674
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:08,959
Speaker 1: would double Hardened, and they forced Russ to do something,

675
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,720
Speaker 1: and that is that's how you beat Houston. That's how

676
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,200
Speaker 1: they beat Houston that year. The difference this time is

677
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,480
Speaker 1: that you can maybe double Lebron. He gives it up

678
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:21,680
Speaker 1: to Russ. Russ takes the offense five on four, um

679
00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,120
Speaker 1: or four on three, I mean, and then he's got

680
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:25,880
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis to flip it up two over the top.

681
00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,520
Speaker 1: So that is the difference. UM Houston did not have that.

682
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:31,800
Speaker 1: Houston had Russ going four on three and they were like, Russ,

683
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,720
Speaker 1: finish over Anthony Davis or kick it out for three.

684
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:39,960
Speaker 1: And so I think ultimately there are enough weapons and

685
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: tools that this will work. And I think that the

686
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:46,479
Speaker 1: one guy that can maybe not make him change, but

687
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,160
Speaker 1: rain him in or get the best, absolute best out

688
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 1: of him is Lebron James Um. I just think like

689
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,680
Speaker 1: that's the one guy that can definitely do that. But

690
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,040
Speaker 1: Lebron is not gonna be moving off the ball. So

691
00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,640
Speaker 1: that's what I'm mented to see, right in those moments

692
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,240
Speaker 1: where defenses are collapsing and you've gotta whip it to

693
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 1: Russ and he's like, you know, one on one is mode.

694
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,720
Speaker 1: What does the rest of the team do? I feel

695
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,920
Speaker 1: like Anthony Davis is the release valve over the top,

696
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,880
Speaker 1: and then you got a bunch of catching shooters um

697
00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:18,400
Speaker 1: Areza Ellington. I forget all the names that the Lakers sign,

698
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 1: but um so that's kind of the dynamic, Like what

699
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,240
Speaker 1: is what is that going to play out? Like, Um,

700
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:30,840
Speaker 1: I also think that you know, like I said, he will,

701
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,960
Speaker 1: I think he will move off the ball if if

702
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,680
Speaker 1: it's there. But it's just about creating that space, Like

703
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,480
Speaker 1: you're now forced to create that space for him, and

704
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: I'm just curious to see, like how how is that

705
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,480
Speaker 1: going to play out? Um? Because like if he's standing

706
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:45,240
Speaker 1: in a corner, it's just it's just so much easier

707
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 1: to defend, you know, you just know as the defense,

708
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:49,520
Speaker 1: Like Okay, we'll live with with Russ shooting the three

709
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,080
Speaker 1: and if you crashes like you can, I mean, there's

710
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:53,720
Speaker 1: only so many times he can crash the corner for

711
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,760
Speaker 1: the alley to doing a forty eight minute game, right, Like,

712
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:58,640
Speaker 1: but I think you're right. I think you will have

713
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,280
Speaker 1: the ball the most after the on just by virtue

714
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:05,480
Speaker 1: of being the creator. Um. But I don't know, man,

715
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,640
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think I think it's gonna be interesting. Um,

716
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,200
Speaker 1: we'll see. There was something I'm trying to remember, but

717
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:13,640
Speaker 1: I'll let you speak as I try to remember. Point.

718
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,920
Speaker 1: So the Lakers last year, so what happened a lot

719
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,880
Speaker 1: was like their offense because people always beg for like

720
00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 1: a Lebron a D pick and roll. Right, They're like whenever,

721
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,800
Speaker 1: whenever we're down like five or six, you know, Laker

722
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 1: fans just run the Lebron had he pick a role?

723
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:29,160
Speaker 1: You know, and but like with that, just looking at

724
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,320
Speaker 1: it from basketball stints, like teams switch it, right because like,

725
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 1: you know, who you have guarding a D, you're probably

726
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,280
Speaker 1: gonna want okay with guarding Lebrons, So they just switched

727
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,880
Speaker 1: that pick role. I'm hoping that and then our offense

728
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:43,240
Speaker 1: just turned to, okay, what's the mismatch? Very houstons, except

729
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,080
Speaker 1: for in the post, right, A D and Lebron are

730
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: gonna be hitting you from step back threes or stuff

731
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:48,560
Speaker 1: like that. But you know they'll attack you in the post.

732
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:50,440
Speaker 1: So like we'll just get a switch, throw it into

733
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 1: a D. And again, a D s okay as a

734
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,960
Speaker 1: post player, but his points for possessions are pretty low

735
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,840
Speaker 1: in that in that sense, he's not a guy that

736
00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:58,560
Speaker 1: you know, wants to just go down and to take

737
00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:00,480
Speaker 1: jump hooks and stuff like that. So that's where the

738
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,880
Speaker 1: offense kind of melded to. And you see how ugly

739
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,640
Speaker 1: sometimes it looks. I'm interested to see if Russ can

740
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,000
Speaker 1: open up eighties kind of ball screen game. You know.

741
00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:10,399
Speaker 1: I know in Houston you traded your center and all

742
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,799
Speaker 1: that stuff. But I'm really interested because in Oklahoma City

743
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:14,640
Speaker 1: he was a ball screen guy. He was a guy

744
00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:17,360
Speaker 1: that run a lot of actions with Steven Adams and stuff. Well,

745
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,880
Speaker 1: I think that Steven Adams had better hands than Capella

746
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,719
Speaker 1: in traffic, and um, I'm sure the A D also does.

747
00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,399
Speaker 1: So I see your point there. I mean I think

748
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,759
Speaker 1: that it's logically it should makes sense, right, Rush should

749
00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:31,440
Speaker 1: be able to run a screen and roll with a

750
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:36,560
Speaker 1: D and get um. So, I mean, I think that

751
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,600
Speaker 1: will definitely work. It's just you'll see, and you're the

752
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,319
Speaker 1: only way to to learn or to figure it out

753
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,640
Speaker 1: is once it happens, right like, oh yeah, it all

754
00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,200
Speaker 1: it all in your head. You're like yeah, yeah, for sure.

755
00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,040
Speaker 1: But then once he starts breaking, you just start seeing

756
00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,160
Speaker 1: like oh damn, you know, and about us. This is

757
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:58,080
Speaker 1: what I was gonna say, Um he is how old?

758
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,080
Speaker 1: Is he? Thirty two? I think too? Yeah, when does

759
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:05,800
Speaker 1: he turn thirty three? He turns thirty three in oh

760
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,560
Speaker 1: October twenty nine, so he'll bet oh yes, So it's

761
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,480
Speaker 1: a thirty three year old season. Okay, so he'll be

762
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:14,160
Speaker 1: thirty three this season. Now, he was hurt in the bubble,

763
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,239
Speaker 1: he had like a quad strain or whatever. I guess

764
00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:20,160
Speaker 1: he was healthy this year, so maybe it's a move point.

765
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:24,600
Speaker 1: But if he gets hurt, his game is so exclusively

766
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:30,000
Speaker 1: reliant on his burst that he becomes a negative by far.

767
00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:33,800
Speaker 1: Whereas Lebron can roll his ankle come back, a d

768
00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:38,000
Speaker 1: can roll his ankle be effective, Harden can pull his

769
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 1: hamstring and still you know, take Milwaukee to game seven mm.

770
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,080
Speaker 1: When Russ gets hurt, he loses that explosion and but

771
00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,360
Speaker 1: he but he doesn't have the game to compensate for

772
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,799
Speaker 1: the injury, so he keeps playing his game. It's just

773
00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:54,799
Speaker 1: not the same. And that's one thing to look out

774
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,279
Speaker 1: for if he gets nicked up at all, Like you're

775
00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:01,120
Speaker 1: gonna get a much, a much lesser version of Russell Westbrook.

776
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,719
Speaker 1: And I think also, what we haven't talked about at all,

777
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,080
Speaker 1: and we tend to do this on NBA Twitter, We

778
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,799
Speaker 1: love offense. Yeah, I was gonna ask you about this

779
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:14,359
Speaker 1: next actually defense. Yeah. So, and this is the thing

780
00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:16,720
Speaker 1: with Russell Westbrook, Man, it's always you gotta talk yourself

781
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,040
Speaker 1: into it. You know, well he's got the tools. You know,

782
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 1: Well if he just focuses, well, he's just he's he's

783
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:23,920
Speaker 1: a superstar, right like and in every sense of like

784
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,400
Speaker 1: what comes with that, Like he's a superstar. Maybe the

785
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,840
Speaker 1: production isn't it. But Russell Westbrook, whatever you want to

786
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:32,160
Speaker 1: say about he's a star. So it's easy to talk

787
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,719
Speaker 1: to yourself into everything, you know, So it is you're right,

788
00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 1: go ahead here. No, no no, you're good. You're good, I mean,

789
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,000
Speaker 1: And that's what we like. It's just a natural progression.

790
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 1: It's just funny for me because when the Rush Roomers started,

791
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,280
Speaker 1: I was watching you and Jason Timp and Jason Maples

792
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,040
Speaker 1: and like y'all were. I saw how y'all were reasoning

793
00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:49,839
Speaker 1: your way through it, you know, and at first it's

794
00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:54,600
Speaker 1: oh god, no, no, no, no, everybody healed. And then

795
00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 1: it's like, okay, well you know, if X y Z,

796
00:36:57,360 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 1: then okay, this could be all. You know. It's just

797
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,600
Speaker 1: funny to watch because that's the truth. And and that's

798
00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 1: kind of the underlying theme with Russell Westbrook is it

799
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:07,120
Speaker 1: could work. Some things are gonna have to fall in place,

800
00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,719
Speaker 1: but it could work. Now. Defensively, he is just not

801
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:15,319
Speaker 1: a good team defender. Okay, his game is really now. Again,

802
00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,480
Speaker 1: this all comes with the caveat of if anyone can

803
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:20,720
Speaker 1: change him and tweak his weaknesses, it is Lebron James

804
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:24,759
Speaker 1: So and maybe Frank Vogel resonates with him in a

805
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:27,839
Speaker 1: way that you know, Mike D'Antoni didn't. I don't know,

806
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:33,839
Speaker 1: but he he's just so fixated on his game. He's

807
00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,080
Speaker 1: a very me, me me kind of guy. Not in

808
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:37,960
Speaker 1: a not in a selfish way, but that's just how

809
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 1: he's wired. You know, it's you, we're on offense. Okay,

810
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:44,920
Speaker 1: give me the rock? Right, can MVP doing that? MVP

811
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:46,839
Speaker 1: doing that? So how do you change that? Like, if

812
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:48,880
Speaker 1: you were to explain to him, hey man, you need

813
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:50,920
Speaker 1: to change he'd be like, hey man, what the funk

814
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,960
Speaker 1: are you talking about? Like, go look at my career. Okay, thanks,

815
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:56,239
Speaker 1: And he's right. So it just is. It just is

816
00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,440
Speaker 1: what it is. But you saw you mentioned Rubio against

817
00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 1: the playoffs, and okay, see right, remember that, you remember

818
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:07,160
Speaker 1: how he got so fixated on like his one on

819
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,919
Speaker 1: one with Rubio blowing it for the team, right, kind

820
00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,120
Speaker 1: of same thing. He's not intentionally blowing it. He's just

821
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:17,759
Speaker 1: a loof he ball watches. He instead of you know,

822
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,239
Speaker 1: noticing like, oh, hey, here's the pick, we need to

823
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,160
Speaker 1: make the switch. Let me communicate that to my teammate.

824
00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,640
Speaker 1: Let me hedge real quick, cover your back, and then

825
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:27,160
Speaker 1: helped back over to my guy. He's more so like, oh,

826
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:28,480
Speaker 1: I think he's about to drive. Let me get this

827
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,600
Speaker 1: week's side block, you know, or oh, let me let

828
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:33,400
Speaker 1: me jump the lane and try to steal this pass.

829
00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,080
Speaker 1: Like he wants the big play. He wants the home

830
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,680
Speaker 1: run play um, And that translates to defense as well.

831
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,719
Speaker 1: Like he wants the home run play um, he'll lose

832
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,640
Speaker 1: his guy off the ball. Sometimes he might just kind

833
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,360
Speaker 1: of be aloof and drift over watching the play on

834
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,000
Speaker 1: the strong side and leave his his shooter open in

835
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:51,600
Speaker 1: the corner on the weak side. Like those things, those

836
00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:54,360
Speaker 1: types of things just happen. I do think that l

837
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 1: A should be good enough defensively to shore up his deficiencies.

838
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,400
Speaker 1: But he he's got the type of tendencies that can

839
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:05,880
Speaker 1: break down a team scheme. Right, Like everyone's doing the

840
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:07,600
Speaker 1: right thing, and all of a sudden he's just ball watching.

841
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:10,200
Speaker 1: Wait until like jump the passing lane. Who that's about?

842
00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:13,799
Speaker 1: This guy leaves him open, you know, those types of things. Yeah,

843
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,120
Speaker 1: so since the Lakers they ran a very much. They

844
00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:18,400
Speaker 1: had like a bunch of ball hawk defenders, right, they

845
00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,520
Speaker 1: had a bunch of like really high level point of

846
00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:23,360
Speaker 1: attack guards. Um, who pick up full core, you know,

847
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,440
Speaker 1: And I don't expect Russell Westerbrook could be picking up

848
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,560
Speaker 1: full court. I mean that's just he's Russell Westbrook. Like

849
00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,239
Speaker 1: he's not gonna be doing that. But like, I think

850
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,520
Speaker 1: I want him on like a matchup where he has

851
00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:36,399
Speaker 1: to he has to know that this guy can burn me,

852
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:38,000
Speaker 1: you know, Like I want him on that. I don't

853
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,320
Speaker 1: want him on like an off ball catch and shoot

854
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:42,879
Speaker 1: shooter chasing around screens. Like, I just don't want him

855
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,280
Speaker 1: on those kind of players because I've seen he loses

856
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:47,719
Speaker 1: guys off ball. Um, he likes to attack the glass, right,

857
00:39:47,719 --> 00:39:50,399
Speaker 1: So he's very much I think looking for rebounds, um,

858
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 1: not a bad way. Like when he gets the board,

859
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,759
Speaker 1: he's off and running. So um, I think he goes

860
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:55,480
Speaker 1: for boy, I think he goes for offensive rebounds a

861
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,120
Speaker 1: lot to um that that should help. But yeah, on

862
00:39:58,120 --> 00:39:59,719
Speaker 1: on the defensive end, like I think he goes for

863
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:02,680
Speaker 1: rebounds a lot, trying to push the pace and can lose.

864
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:04,839
Speaker 1: His guy can go out shooters, so I liked him

865
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,200
Speaker 1: pointing the tech. I'm interested to see what the Lakers

866
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,560
Speaker 1: do if they keep in drop covers this year. Um,

867
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 1: I don't think he's played with a big like a

868
00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:13,799
Speaker 1: d behind him, so I'm interested to see how how

869
00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,120
Speaker 1: they kind of scheme that out. But interesting, Lakers are

870
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,279
Speaker 1: going through an identity shift, you know what I mean,

871
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:21,040
Speaker 1: all these the guards before where these like really like

872
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:24,480
Speaker 1: aggressive guards, and Russell Westbrook's aggressive in terms of like

873
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:26,880
Speaker 1: he goes for steals a lot. I see like he

874
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,440
Speaker 1: gambles a lot. I think, um, trying to play those

875
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,920
Speaker 1: passing lanes. So again, like thirteen years in, I don't

876
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,759
Speaker 1: think you're gonna change the guy's spots. You might, you know,

877
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:38,120
Speaker 1: change a little bit here and there, but I think

878
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:42,000
Speaker 1: marginal fixes have huge, you know, implications for a championship

879
00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,800
Speaker 1: level team, like you win titles on the margins sometimes,

880
00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:47,040
Speaker 1: and I think in Westbrook can change a little bit

881
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,680
Speaker 1: that that can help. But I think expecting it too

882
00:40:49,719 --> 00:40:51,799
Speaker 1: would be kind of false. You're getting Russell Westbrook for

883
00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,800
Speaker 1: who Russell Westbrook is, which is in crazy player and Transition,

884
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:59,000
Speaker 1: a crazy fired motor dude and there's negatives to it. Um,

885
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,279
Speaker 1: And I think you've kind of brought I guess like

886
00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,480
Speaker 1: pulling like full circle here, like real quick? Can I

887
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,560
Speaker 1: comment on what you say? So, but you brought up

888
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 1: a really good point. First of all, championships are one

889
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,160
Speaker 1: at the margins. YEA. Obviously you need top heavy talent.

890
00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:17,120
Speaker 1: That's why the teams with top heavy talent making at

891
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 1: the finals, and then whoever wins at the margins wins generally. Um,

892
00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:24,520
Speaker 1: he is focused on rebounding, which can be a positive,

893
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,000
Speaker 1: but that's kind of another theme with him. He's focused

894
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,040
Speaker 1: on the basketball right, both on offense and both on defense.

895
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:33,759
Speaker 1: So even on defense when he's ball watching, it's because

896
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:36,080
Speaker 1: he's focused on the basketball. And so that's kind of

897
00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:39,279
Speaker 1: the trap he falls into, is like, oh, shots going up,

898
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,160
Speaker 1: let me like walk over, get ready for the rebound.

899
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:43,959
Speaker 1: Forgets to box out, or oh someone's swing in the corner,

900
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:45,560
Speaker 1: let me watch the ball, box the ball. Oh ship

901
00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,799
Speaker 1: forgot my guy? You know. So that's the thing he's

902
00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:52,000
Speaker 1: his he said he's aggressive. He is aggressive him as

903
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,200
Speaker 1: a point of attack defender, he's he's I. He's intense,

904
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:57,719
Speaker 1: and he's like quick and jack you know. But The

905
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:02,120
Speaker 1: thing with quick guys is quick get joked, Yeah, because

906
00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,200
Speaker 1: you're on you know, you're on your heels on defense.

907
00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:06,680
Speaker 1: It's just hard one and you're done one move. Yeah.

908
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:08,600
Speaker 1: And so he's kind of the same way like on

909
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:10,279
Speaker 1: paper again, like if you were to use him on

910
00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:12,520
Speaker 1: two K and use his athletic attributes, like you could

911
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:16,720
Speaker 1: lock somebody down, but it just generally doesn't translate that way.

912
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:18,799
Speaker 1: So I just wanted to to kind of comment on

913
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,440
Speaker 1: those things. Um, and and I think your approach is right,

914
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:25,719
Speaker 1: You're not maybe he can make some marginal tweaks. I

915
00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:29,839
Speaker 1: think that's realistic. Yeah, you shouldn't view him as oh,

916
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:32,399
Speaker 1: if we can just make him change X y Z. Yeah,

917
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:36,200
Speaker 1: the appropriate way to view him is, Okay, given his weaknesses,

918
00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:38,239
Speaker 1: if the rest of the team is able to shore

919
00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:42,680
Speaker 1: up those weaknesses enough while extracting the positives that we

920
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,600
Speaker 1: can count on him bringing to the table, then what

921
00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:47,640
Speaker 1: is the result we get? And I think that's the

922
00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:49,840
Speaker 1: way to view him. But what were you going to

923
00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:52,080
Speaker 1: say about bringing it full circle? Yeah, because I was

924
00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,080
Speaker 1: gonna say, like, so Lebron and a D is probably

925
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:57,799
Speaker 1: the biggest Like, um, how do you say, like gap? Right,

926
00:42:57,800 --> 00:42:59,440
Speaker 1: it's it's kind of like they can fill in a

927
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:01,799
Speaker 1: lot of things. It's like you look at the Lakers. Look,

928
00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:03,640
Speaker 1: I love the Lakers team that won the title. I

929
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:05,680
Speaker 1: love the team last year as well, but you look

930
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:08,440
Speaker 1: at that roster like up and down, Like it's not

931
00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:11,359
Speaker 1: like it's loaded with a crazy amount of talent, right

932
00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:15,279
Speaker 1: like k C. P. Crusoe, they're really good players, like

933
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:18,000
Speaker 1: I love them, but but like Lebrono Nadie do paper

934
00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:20,359
Speaker 1: over a lot of weaknesses. And I'm thinking, like I'm

935
00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:23,479
Speaker 1: already expecting Russ to have five games, like I'm going

936
00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:25,799
Speaker 1: into it knowing that, Like I think it's foolish to

937
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:28,239
Speaker 1: think like he's gonna come here and just be this efficiency. God,

938
00:43:28,239 --> 00:43:30,399
Speaker 1: it's it's not gonna happen. He's gonna have games like that.

939
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:33,120
Speaker 1: You know they're gonna be ugly games. Um. I don't

940
00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:35,680
Speaker 1: compare him to like Andre Drummond, but like when Russ

941
00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:37,800
Speaker 1: has a bad game, you know it right, it's loud.

942
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:40,880
Speaker 1: It's like he doesn't quietly go into the night. You know,

943
00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:42,919
Speaker 1: ask Cruso. I could be like, oh, ask Truso shop

944
00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:45,080
Speaker 1: too for ten tonight. I didn't realize I don't even know,

945
00:43:45,239 --> 00:43:47,080
Speaker 1: No Russ. I'm going to know he's gonna be loud,

946
00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:49,759
Speaker 1: He's gonna be screaming. So I just think, like Canada,

947
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,759
Speaker 1: lebrono Eadie kind of paper over when those bad games happen,

948
00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:54,719
Speaker 1: Like if those two are having good games, you can

949
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:57,080
Speaker 1: kind of fill the margins there. And that's where I'm

950
00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,000
Speaker 1: really fascinating him, like bringing a kind of full circle here.

951
00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,680
Speaker 1: He is now on a championship championship contender team. I

952
00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:05,120
Speaker 1: think that Houston team was as well. This is gonna

953
00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:07,319
Speaker 1: be his biggest buy in, I guess, Like, so how

954
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:08,960
Speaker 1: do you see it? Like do you see it working out?

955
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:11,719
Speaker 1: Do you see the like clunks in the beginning? Like

956
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:14,719
Speaker 1: how do you think that fig I guess works um.

957
00:44:14,719 --> 00:44:16,640
Speaker 1: And then as the season goes here, like do you

958
00:44:16,719 --> 00:44:18,760
Speaker 1: do you think it's a pretty clean kind of early

959
00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:20,439
Speaker 1: fit or are there's gonna be a lot of things

960
00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:22,239
Speaker 1: that they're gonna have to kind of work through. I guess,

961
00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:26,399
Speaker 1: just bringing it full circle offense, defense, everything, Yeah, So

962
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:28,239
Speaker 1: I mean, how do I see it working? Like I said,

963
00:44:28,239 --> 00:44:30,000
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers will make the finals, if not

964
00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:32,200
Speaker 1: win at all. That that's I believe that because I

965
00:44:32,239 --> 00:44:35,280
Speaker 1: believe Lebron James, is that good And to answer your question,

966
00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:38,359
Speaker 1: I think, or to answer your philosophical question, I think

967
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,560
Speaker 1: that they will. They'll fill up the weakness is well

968
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:44,160
Speaker 1: enough because I believe Lebron and a D are that good.

969
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:48,600
Speaker 1: I'll push back on last year's Lakers roster not being

970
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:51,640
Speaker 1: that good. We're not having this conversation and you're not

971
00:44:51,640 --> 00:44:53,960
Speaker 1: having the Russell Westbrook conversation if a D doesn't get

972
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:56,160
Speaker 1: hurt because the Lakers probably go to the finals. Yeah,

973
00:44:56,200 --> 00:44:57,680
Speaker 1: you know, They're probably go to the finals. They probably

974
00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:01,960
Speaker 1: win at all um his buying, I think it will.

975
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:04,360
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna be really high highs right. I

976
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:08,000
Speaker 1: think there's gonna be like electric fast break dunks between

977
00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,040
Speaker 1: him and Leron. I think there's gonna be some electric

978
00:45:10,120 --> 00:45:14,880
Speaker 1: like Lebron darting from the corner finishing a Russ lob

979
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:17,040
Speaker 1: and just like times where you know, we look at

980
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,360
Speaker 1: this and say, no one's gonna stop these guys, and

981
00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:23,200
Speaker 1: then I think there will be low lows. Um you know,

982
00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:27,640
Speaker 1: Russ shooting seven of twenty three for sixteen points. I

983
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,359
Speaker 1: don't know, right, um five turnovers. Also, by the way,

984
00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:32,959
Speaker 1: we didn't really talk about this factor in his turnovers,

985
00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:35,719
Speaker 1: because I think he's now going to be the the

986
00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:38,200
Speaker 1: highest turnover guy on your roster. And some of those

987
00:45:38,239 --> 00:45:41,200
Speaker 1: turnovers sometimes he'll like literally dribble it off his foot

988
00:45:41,239 --> 00:45:44,000
Speaker 1: out of bounds. Sometimes he's just not looking and he'll

989
00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:45,279
Speaker 1: pass it to a guy that he thought was in

990
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:47,920
Speaker 1: the corner that wasn't turnovers like that that kind of

991
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,239
Speaker 1: just makes you like stop and think, like God, damn, dude,

992
00:45:50,239 --> 00:45:55,279
Speaker 1: what are you doing. So I think it'll I think

993
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,319
Speaker 1: it will take a second to fit. Like I said,

994
00:45:57,360 --> 00:45:58,879
Speaker 1: there'll be highigh. There gonna be some of those games

995
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:00,840
Speaker 1: early on, depending on who's on a schedule and who's

996
00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:03,759
Speaker 1: playing in those games where they just run fools out

997
00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:06,600
Speaker 1: the gym, you know, and like Lebron is spry and

998
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:08,680
Speaker 1: ready to start the season and they're just dunking and

999
00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:11,960
Speaker 1: dunking and eighties swatting and Russ is yelling and pounding

1000
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:13,480
Speaker 1: his chest and it's like, oh my god, these guys

1001
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,600
Speaker 1: can't be stopped. And then, like I said, there's gonna

1002
00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:17,759
Speaker 1: be those nights where you can see the shooting as

1003
00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:20,640
Speaker 1: a problem. The lack of shooting. Um, there's gonna be

1004
00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:24,319
Speaker 1: nights where maybe they are still struggling to figure out

1005
00:46:24,480 --> 00:46:26,640
Speaker 1: who's getting the ball in crunch time and who's doing

1006
00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:31,360
Speaker 1: what with it. I think we'll figure out how willing

1007
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,040
Speaker 1: is Rus going to be to move off the ball.

1008
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:35,319
Speaker 1: He was pretty notorious for not moving off the ball

1009
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:37,799
Speaker 1: in Oklahoma City. He didn't move much off the ball

1010
00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,439
Speaker 1: in Houston until they figured out, all right, when when

1011
00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,840
Speaker 1: Harden gets trapped at half court, Russ you get the

1012
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:46,719
Speaker 1: keys or they made this adjustment, and like, I think

1013
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:49,480
Speaker 1: it was like Game four when the series was basically over,

1014
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:54,000
Speaker 1: but they started having Russ cut um early and it works,

1015
00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:57,440
Speaker 1: you know. So it just depends on how they implement him.

1016
00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:00,680
Speaker 1: But I think it'll be clunky with some extremely high

1017
00:47:00,719 --> 00:47:03,359
Speaker 1: highs and some low lows and then but I think

1018
00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:05,160
Speaker 1: they're just gonna win, and so I don't think it

1019
00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:08,479
Speaker 1: will matter too much. I think they're just gonna There's

1020
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:10,120
Speaker 1: just no one in the West that I think talent

1021
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:14,960
Speaker 1: wives can stack with them. Yeah. Yeah, So I guess

1022
00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:17,040
Speaker 1: you kind of brought up your favorite to win the

1023
00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:19,880
Speaker 1: title this year. Um, I guess I guess Lakers nets

1024
00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:21,440
Speaker 1: would be my kind of pick there. It's kind of

1025
00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:24,400
Speaker 1: interesting kind of clash of styles, right, I'll need to

1026
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:25,960
Speaker 1: ask you about this as a as a hoops guy,

1027
00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:27,920
Speaker 1: because I think it's interesting. The Nets are kind of

1028
00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:30,640
Speaker 1: built on this like skill, you know, this like suit

1029
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:33,840
Speaker 1: smooth jump shooting skill kind of team, and the Lakers

1030
00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:35,919
Speaker 1: are like, We're just gonna pound you at the rim.

1031
00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:39,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put in Dwight Anthony Davis trying to just

1032
00:47:39,239 --> 00:47:41,160
Speaker 1: beat you up at the rim. Just a just a

1033
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:43,120
Speaker 1: cool kind of clash of styles, and that'd be nice

1034
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:44,719
Speaker 1: to the NBA can't kind of do that. But I

1035
00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:46,120
Speaker 1: agree with you. I think it's gonna be a little

1036
00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:49,520
Speaker 1: bit of an adjustment um for Rust coming here. I

1037
00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:52,319
Speaker 1: honestly thought Dennis Shooter like had a good year last year.

1038
00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:54,319
Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy what happened to him. But like

1039
00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:56,520
Speaker 1: that's kind of the good and bad of playing for

1040
00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:58,520
Speaker 1: the Lakers. I guess you kind of if if you

1041
00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:00,640
Speaker 1: do do bad, you can have a really really shoo.

1042
00:48:01,239 --> 00:48:03,680
Speaker 1: How do you feel about how he fits? Because Russ

1043
00:48:04,239 --> 00:48:07,640
Speaker 1: isn't He's not. It would be disrespecting to call him

1044
00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:11,160
Speaker 1: Dennis Shrewder, but he is like a quick twitch, give

1045
00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:13,680
Speaker 1: me the ball dinner Shrewder can shoot a lot better

1046
00:48:13,680 --> 00:48:19,080
Speaker 1: than Russ. Believe that or not. Um, I mean in theory. Yeah,

1047
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:22,879
Speaker 1: I mean shooters still shot I think from three UM,

1048
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:24,279
Speaker 1: and it was even the worst in the play The

1049
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:26,360
Speaker 1: thing about Shrewder, though, which I think really turned the

1050
00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:30,600
Speaker 1: Lakers off on him, is he looked scared in the playoffs,

1051
00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:34,400
Speaker 1: like he looked legitimately feared to shoot UM. And he

1052
00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:36,800
Speaker 1: started shooting when we were started, when we were down twenty.

1053
00:48:36,840 --> 00:48:39,160
Speaker 1: But like, and people forget this, he had a good

1054
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,000
Speaker 1: game two in Game three, like he really did. He

1055
00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:42,759
Speaker 1: had like twenty points or something, and we don't win

1056
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:44,839
Speaker 1: those games without him. But just when a d went out,

1057
00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:47,080
Speaker 1: he really got scared to shoot. It sad because he

1058
00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:49,080
Speaker 1: had a good year to me, good defensive year. I

1059
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:51,120
Speaker 1: thought he was a good defensive player. UM. When they

1060
00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:53,200
Speaker 1: offered him four years eighty, like, I thought that was

1061
00:48:53,239 --> 00:48:55,759
Speaker 1: a good deal like that. I was hoping he took it.

1062
00:48:55,840 --> 00:48:58,319
Speaker 1: He didn't, and that's probably bad on him not to

1063
00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:00,279
Speaker 1: take it because because of what he ended up with.

1064
00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:02,719
Speaker 1: But like I thought, I thought he would had a

1065
00:49:02,719 --> 00:49:05,120
Speaker 1: good year. And it's crazy to see like even Laker

1066
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:07,040
Speaker 1: fans kicking him out the door. I just thought like

1067
00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,879
Speaker 1: he had a better year. He got COVID twice UM,

1068
00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:12,560
Speaker 1: which again is is Uh, it's not a great thing

1069
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,160
Speaker 1: on his resume. But like he got COVID twice and

1070
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:17,160
Speaker 1: he really struggled with that at the end of the

1071
00:49:17,239 --> 00:49:18,360
Speaker 1: year or not. I don't I don't know if he

1072
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:21,600
Speaker 1: got COVID. I guess he was in COVID protocols twice. Um,

1073
00:49:21,600 --> 00:49:23,880
Speaker 1: and he was out for like two weeks. So um.

1074
00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:26,080
Speaker 1: But yeah, it sucks man, because like he had a

1075
00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:28,720
Speaker 1: really bad playoffs and that's sometimes what happens. The Lakers

1076
00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:30,640
Speaker 1: moved on, it was pretty clear, and then the whole

1077
00:49:30,680 --> 00:49:33,759
Speaker 1: league kind of moved on without him. But like you,

1078
00:49:35,800 --> 00:49:38,319
Speaker 1: by the way, okay, yeah I felt lower. I think

1079
00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:40,120
Speaker 1: in the playoffs that might have been a lot lower.

1080
00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:42,279
Speaker 1: I'm guessing. Um, I know he missed a ton in

1081
00:49:42,320 --> 00:49:45,759
Speaker 1: the playoffs, but I guess it just didn't. He also

1082
00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:47,880
Speaker 1: has a really slow release, Like when you watch him

1083
00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:50,399
Speaker 1: game the game, his release is really slow, and he's

1084
00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:52,880
Speaker 1: a small point guard. He doesn't get separation as you

1085
00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:55,360
Speaker 1: think you should as that kind of quick titch twitch

1086
00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:57,840
Speaker 1: quick twitch garden with a d you want a guard

1087
00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:00,200
Speaker 1: that can kind of shoot off the dribble. Um, that's

1088
00:50:00,239 --> 00:50:02,560
Speaker 1: kind of what I'm looking for. And uh, Shrewder really

1089
00:50:02,840 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 1: doesn't have the mid range game as he should. Um,

1090
00:50:05,239 --> 00:50:07,680
Speaker 1: he comes off it releases really slow, so teams can

1091
00:50:07,719 --> 00:50:09,880
Speaker 1: kind of chase him over the top and kind of,

1092
00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:12,880
Speaker 1: you know, making making him scared to kind of shoot

1093
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:15,360
Speaker 1: that little jumper there. And him and a D didn't

1094
00:50:15,360 --> 00:50:17,080
Speaker 1: really have much of a connection. I think I saw

1095
00:50:17,160 --> 00:50:18,719
Speaker 1: us that he had one lob to a D the

1096
00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:20,879
Speaker 1: whole year. Um, again, that's a lot of that's also

1097
00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:23,200
Speaker 1: on a D who came in out of shape, which

1098
00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:25,440
Speaker 1: he that's from his own words, um, and a D

1099
00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:27,239
Speaker 1: was never himself. So I hope we get an a

1100
00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:31,160
Speaker 1: D year this year. But from three in the playoffs,

1101
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:34,279
Speaker 1: by the way, okay, yeah, that's I guess that's better

1102
00:50:34,360 --> 00:50:38,640
Speaker 1: than what But again, teams don't guard Denis Shooder either though,

1103
00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:41,680
Speaker 1: you know from from three, like even his percentages that

1104
00:50:41,760 --> 00:50:43,520
Speaker 1: kind of look at that and think like they're not

1105
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:47,160
Speaker 1: going to guard him. So it's it's fascinting to see

1106
00:50:47,160 --> 00:50:49,919
Speaker 1: what happening. But definitely keep an eye though. I really

1107
00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:52,360
Speaker 1: think Westbak's gonna start getting some love from the refs

1108
00:50:52,719 --> 00:50:55,759
Speaker 1: more so, okay, more so than he used to, because

1109
00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:58,040
Speaker 1: there were a lot of times in Houston where his

1110
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:01,360
Speaker 1: poor field goal percentage would be would not be reflective

1111
00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:03,160
Speaker 1: of his game because he was getting hammered at at

1112
00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:06,680
Speaker 1: the rack. Okay, he'd get like three or four missed

1113
00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:09,600
Speaker 1: attempts because he was just getting hammered with no call.

1114
00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:13,040
Speaker 1: Some of that's his fault, um, for not like for

1115
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:16,400
Speaker 1: basically embracing the contact and not realizing like hey, you're

1116
00:51:16,440 --> 00:51:20,160
Speaker 1: not getting the call, or or for just hoping for

1117
00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:23,080
Speaker 1: the call and like, you know, feeling the contact and

1118
00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:27,400
Speaker 1: like going like oh like ah, you know, instead of

1119
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:32,200
Speaker 1: like trying to finish through. So not entirely not his fault,

1120
00:51:32,239 --> 00:51:33,879
Speaker 1: but I do think that was one thing I remember

1121
00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:36,239
Speaker 1: watching him where I was thinking, how does this guy

1122
00:51:36,239 --> 00:51:38,000
Speaker 1: not get to the line more? Because he's definitely like

1123
00:51:38,239 --> 00:51:40,560
Speaker 1: bullying at the rim. It will be a clash of

1124
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,680
Speaker 1: styles with the nets um. I think the difference is

1125
00:51:43,719 --> 00:51:47,719
Speaker 1: that Anthony Davis and Lebron are very efficient with how

1126
00:51:47,719 --> 00:51:51,279
Speaker 1: they attacked the rim. Yeah, may or may not be,

1127
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:54,759
Speaker 1: depending on what version you get, but again, I just

1128
00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:56,080
Speaker 1: think you have so much I mean a d and

1129
00:51:56,160 --> 00:51:58,800
Speaker 1: Lebron dude, Like, who's messing with that. I've been saying

1130
00:51:58,840 --> 00:52:01,640
Speaker 1: this and some people have been telling me I'm crazy,

1131
00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:04,120
Speaker 1: but I don't think the West is good this year.

1132
00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:07,319
Speaker 1: It's very middling. Like we'll find out if Phoenix was

1133
00:52:07,360 --> 00:52:10,799
Speaker 1: for real, if that run was for real. Um, and

1134
00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:12,839
Speaker 1: even beyond whether or not the run was for real,

1135
00:52:12,880 --> 00:52:14,560
Speaker 1: we'll find out if they have enough to to run

1136
00:52:14,560 --> 00:52:18,400
Speaker 1: it back the way that they want to. Denver. You know,

1137
00:52:18,440 --> 00:52:21,040
Speaker 1: if Jamal Murray comes back and he's fully healthy, Okay, Denver,

1138
00:52:21,239 --> 00:52:23,760
Speaker 1: we'll get well, we'll be legit. But if he doesn't,

1139
00:52:24,080 --> 00:52:26,000
Speaker 1: I still think they're missing a piece to mess with

1140
00:52:26,040 --> 00:52:31,080
Speaker 1: the Lakers for sure. Um. Who else? Utah fraudulent until

1141
00:52:31,120 --> 00:52:34,520
Speaker 1: further notice. They lost to the Clippers, they lost to

1142
00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:37,120
Speaker 1: the guy. They got bounced by Reggie Jackson and Terrence

1143
00:52:37,200 --> 00:52:42,040
Speaker 1: Man after having point lead. I was at that game, man,

1144
00:52:42,080 --> 00:52:45,560
Speaker 1: I was at that game six man. Watching watching Utah,

1145
00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:49,840
Speaker 1: like you know, melt live was just the most just

1146
00:52:49,960 --> 00:52:53,319
Speaker 1: fascinating to watch watch him pick on Rudy Gobert every

1147
00:52:53,360 --> 00:52:56,520
Speaker 1: single time was just a fascinating like switch of like

1148
00:52:56,760 --> 00:52:59,040
Speaker 1: what matters in the regular season, you know, and what doesn't.

1149
00:52:59,080 --> 00:53:01,600
Speaker 1: Watching Reggie Jackson saying no, no, no, I got I

1150
00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:04,719
Speaker 1: got Rudy Gilbert on me, you know, like go stand out,

1151
00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:07,239
Speaker 1: Like what an insane kind of concept to think of

1152
00:53:07,280 --> 00:53:09,440
Speaker 1: a guy that just won, you know, defensive player even

1153
00:53:09,480 --> 00:53:12,960
Speaker 1: more insane. Good people still after that game or like, no,

1154
00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:15,959
Speaker 1: he's one of the greatest defensive players ever. It's like, yeah,

1155
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:19,960
Speaker 1: maybe by the metrics, homie. But Reggie Jackson, like what

1156
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:21,719
Speaker 1: are we talking about here, Like, let's stop making it

1157
00:53:22,400 --> 00:53:26,640
Speaker 1: Terence Man, Like Terence Man was like, hey, leave it alone.

1158
00:53:26,640 --> 00:53:30,239
Speaker 1: I got Rudy Gilbert on me. So how disrespectful is that?

1159
00:53:30,640 --> 00:53:33,560
Speaker 1: It's insane. It's just like, let's stop making this complicated.

1160
00:53:33,640 --> 00:53:35,959
Speaker 1: Let's just watch the game and kind of take take

1161
00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:38,560
Speaker 1: the easy surface level stuff away, Like you can play

1162
00:53:38,600 --> 00:53:42,960
Speaker 1: that man off the court easy. So Utah's fraudulent, Portland's

1163
00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:47,879
Speaker 1: you know, contender in my opinion, Dallas. Maybe Luca will

1164
00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:50,200
Speaker 1: will them to something, but I don't think they made

1165
00:53:50,239 --> 00:53:54,360
Speaker 1: any improvements, any material improvements. You know who else Golden State,

1166
00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:57,520
Speaker 1: maybe Clay comes back and he's legit and maybe cominga

1167
00:53:57,920 --> 00:54:00,520
Speaker 1: you know, Pops off and Auto port Or Jr. Is

1168
00:54:00,520 --> 00:54:02,440
Speaker 1: the perfect role player and all this stuff. Are they

1169
00:54:02,520 --> 00:54:05,120
Speaker 1: like a championship contender with the Lakers and the Nets? No,

1170
00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:08,160
Speaker 1: not to me? Um, Yeah, maybe, but I mean I

1171
00:54:08,200 --> 00:54:11,719
Speaker 1: think they'll be good, but not like that level. So what, like,

1172
00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:16,200
Speaker 1: what are we left with after that? Memphis Clippers, Clippers

1173
00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:19,279
Speaker 1: without Kauai. You know, like Paul George put the team

1174
00:54:19,320 --> 00:54:22,560
Speaker 1: on his back, Reggie Jackson was amazing. They did what

1175
00:54:22,600 --> 00:54:25,319
Speaker 1: they did, But over the course of eighty two games

1176
00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:27,239
Speaker 1: in a regular season without Kauai, it's gonna look a

1177
00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:31,919
Speaker 1: lot different in my opinion. Um, Pelicans. You know, maybe

1178
00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:34,080
Speaker 1: they'll improve and like make the playoffs, but they're not

1179
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:38,840
Speaker 1: definitely not a championship contender. So by virtue of that alone,

1180
00:54:39,440 --> 00:54:44,360
Speaker 1: irregardless or sorry, regardless of how Russell Westbrook fits, l

1181
00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:47,320
Speaker 1: A is the favorite straight away. Everything else is gravy

1182
00:54:47,360 --> 00:54:49,040
Speaker 1: at that point. If Westbrook gives you what you want

1183
00:54:49,120 --> 00:54:51,440
Speaker 1: him to give you, it's gravy. If he takes away

1184
00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:55,080
Speaker 1: in the ways that we have discussed here. Yeah, even

1185
00:54:55,160 --> 00:54:57,279
Speaker 1: if he's a net negative, I still think LA is

1186
00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:00,000
Speaker 1: too good. So that's the way to just look at it.

1187
00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:03,080
Speaker 1: You're just too damn good. Um, if Westbrook pops off,

1188
00:55:03,120 --> 00:55:06,680
Speaker 1: then you will be unstoppable, I think for sure. And

1189
00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:08,560
Speaker 1: I guess the thing I want to kind of close

1190
00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:11,080
Speaker 1: with going on an hour here, but like we've talked

1191
00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:14,080
Speaker 1: about this um off the pod and all that, um

1192
00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,560
Speaker 1: Chris Paul. You know that the Rockets cut kind of

1193
00:55:16,560 --> 00:55:19,399
Speaker 1: shame for like, you know, our people are saying Chris

1194
00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:22,480
Speaker 1: Paul wasn't worth the extension or whatever. Like, was it

1195
00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:24,839
Speaker 1: interesting to you watching because I thought they were gonna win.

1196
00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:27,279
Speaker 1: They went up to Oh, Chris Paul looked like he

1197
00:55:27,360 --> 00:55:29,719
Speaker 1: was in control. Devin Booker looked like he was in

1198
00:55:29,840 --> 00:55:32,120
Speaker 1: kind of you know, he's in a groove. They lost,

1199
00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:34,279
Speaker 1: But like, what was it like watching Chris Paul? You know,

1200
00:55:34,520 --> 00:55:37,719
Speaker 1: like a year after you trade him? I guess, like,

1201
00:55:37,800 --> 00:55:39,840
Speaker 1: what was what are two years? Sorry? He played in

1202
00:55:39,880 --> 00:55:41,840
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City one year? What you think of like watching

1203
00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:46,400
Speaker 1: Chris Paul doing what he does a bittersweet, painful, you know,

1204
00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:51,400
Speaker 1: like damn. For me, it was vindicating because I I

1205
00:55:51,440 --> 00:55:54,960
Speaker 1: hated trading him. Yeah, um, you know, so for me

1206
00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:58,719
Speaker 1: it was just kind of like hmm, it was just

1207
00:55:58,800 --> 00:56:01,440
Speaker 1: kind of like, man, that might go down as one

1208
00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:04,760
Speaker 1: of the worst trades of all time. Now, Phoenix lost.

1209
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:07,160
Speaker 1: I was rooting for Phoenix to win. Phoenix lost and

1210
00:56:07,160 --> 00:56:09,840
Speaker 1: the Rockets got Jalen Green, So like we we quickly forget.

1211
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:12,680
Speaker 1: And so the story was written a little bit differently,

1212
00:56:12,719 --> 00:56:15,120
Speaker 1: but yeah, man, I mean I remember I was studying

1213
00:56:15,120 --> 00:56:17,680
Speaker 1: for the bar. I was chilling taking a break. I

1214
00:56:17,719 --> 00:56:20,200
Speaker 1: got the Woes notification on my phone that the Rockets

1215
00:56:20,200 --> 00:56:22,320
Speaker 1: traded for us, and I was like, oh my god,

1216
00:56:22,440 --> 00:56:25,840
Speaker 1: what And then I got the notification that they included

1217
00:56:25,880 --> 00:56:30,040
Speaker 1: first round picks and pick swaps, and I was just like, oh,

1218
00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:33,280
Speaker 1: we really traded the franchise away, hoping that this works,

1219
00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:35,960
Speaker 1: you know, and and it didn't. Um So, but I

1220
00:56:35,960 --> 00:56:38,160
Speaker 1: was happy for Chris Paul because he gets a lot

1221
00:56:38,160 --> 00:56:42,400
Speaker 1: of disrespect and I think I think that he's obviously

1222
00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:44,040
Speaker 1: one of the greatest point guards of all time, and

1223
00:56:44,080 --> 00:56:47,320
Speaker 1: to do what he did with Phoenix, it's pretty incredible,

1224
00:56:47,320 --> 00:56:48,879
Speaker 1: you know, and like people love to hate on him.

1225
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:51,719
Speaker 1: Before the series, I thought Milwaukee definitely was gonna take it.

1226
00:56:52,080 --> 00:56:54,640
Speaker 1: When Phoenix went up to Oh, I was still saying

1227
00:56:54,680 --> 00:56:56,359
Speaker 1: Milwaukee had some fight left in him, but I thought

1228
00:56:56,360 --> 00:56:59,760
Speaker 1: Phoenix would eventually win. But I think it became apparent

1229
00:56:59,800 --> 00:57:02,160
Speaker 1: one Janice turned it on. They just didn't have an

1230
00:57:02,160 --> 00:57:05,160
Speaker 1: answer for Johannice Um because Milwaukee was so much more talented.

1231
00:57:05,360 --> 00:57:06,680
Speaker 1: Like that's what it is at the end of the day.

1232
00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:10,400
Speaker 1: Man top end talent. You know, you had book CP

1233
00:57:10,640 --> 00:57:13,800
Speaker 1: and and Aiten on one end, book top end talent.

1234
00:57:13,840 --> 00:57:17,080
Speaker 1: Aiten kind of like a middle level talent, um CP

1235
00:57:17,360 --> 00:57:20,720
Speaker 1: top end talent, but thirty six so negates it. And

1236
00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:22,560
Speaker 1: then you had Jannest and his prime, Middleton and his

1237
00:57:22,600 --> 00:57:25,919
Speaker 1: prime and Drew Holiday. Even even with Drew Holiday going

1238
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:27,600
Speaker 1: like four of twenty one or whatever, you still had

1239
00:57:27,600 --> 00:57:30,200
Speaker 1: his defense and his ability to at least create. So

1240
00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:33,520
Speaker 1: they were just two top end talented. But but yeah, man,

1241
00:57:33,520 --> 00:57:35,520
Speaker 1: I see Lakers Twitter always talking about SEP three. If

1242
00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:39,240
Speaker 1: Lakers had gotten CP three instead of Russ, no one

1243
00:57:39,360 --> 00:57:43,360
Speaker 1: is stopping the Lakers in my opinion. But yeah, I

1244
00:57:43,400 --> 00:57:45,000
Speaker 1: just want to let you get that off because I'm

1245
00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:48,200
Speaker 1: also a big CP three guy. Like I'm a big fan. Um.

1246
00:57:48,280 --> 00:57:50,240
Speaker 1: I remember I went to my first ever end game,

1247
00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:52,920
Speaker 1: was going to see Chris Paul um he played the Lakers.

1248
00:57:53,400 --> 00:57:56,000
Speaker 1: It was my first every game. Chris Paul dropped like

1249
00:57:56,120 --> 00:57:59,439
Speaker 1: thirty five and ten. David West you remember David West

1250
00:57:59,440 --> 00:58:04,280
Speaker 1: was on those team. David West had forty five that

1251
00:58:04,400 --> 00:58:06,320
Speaker 1: night and uh and they beat us and they beat

1252
00:58:06,400 --> 00:58:08,520
Speaker 1: us in Staples. Yeah, it was it was so but

1253
00:58:08,560 --> 00:58:11,040
Speaker 1: watching him just live bro he's even back and owned.

1254
00:58:11,320 --> 00:58:13,760
Speaker 1: I think this was oh nine, just his control, you know,

1255
00:58:13,760 --> 00:58:16,040
Speaker 1: I mean, like nose where everyone's on the floor, He's

1256
00:58:16,080 --> 00:58:18,520
Speaker 1: like lobbing the Tyson Chandler like it was. It was cool.

1257
00:58:18,560 --> 00:58:20,240
Speaker 1: So like it's cool to see him. Um, I hope

1258
00:58:20,240 --> 00:58:22,240
Speaker 1: he gets the credit he deserves. People are saying he choked,

1259
00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:24,480
Speaker 1: like Phoenix had no business being in this finals, you know,

1260
00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:27,360
Speaker 1: like they had no business. Eightan is in his third year.

1261
00:58:27,440 --> 00:58:30,320
Speaker 1: Mckel Bridges, Cam Johnson. Those dudes are super young, Like

1262
00:58:30,400 --> 00:58:32,480
Speaker 1: it's it's weird to watch him choke, but um, yeah,

1263
00:58:32,920 --> 00:58:34,920
Speaker 1: it's cool to get Hopefully he gets some credit. He

1264
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:37,200
Speaker 1: got resigned to a hell of a number. Was not

1265
00:58:37,280 --> 00:58:40,520
Speaker 1: expecting that three years, one twenty and I got the

1266
00:58:40,560 --> 00:58:45,040
Speaker 1: contract that people thought the Rockets gave him. Okay, yeah,

1267
00:58:45,120 --> 00:58:48,840
Speaker 1: because I mean basically meaning that people thought by the

1268
00:58:48,840 --> 00:58:51,280
Speaker 1: time he was thirty six that contract was going to

1269
00:58:51,360 --> 00:58:53,880
Speaker 1: be awful. Turned out, by the time he was thirty six,

1270
00:58:53,880 --> 00:58:55,320
Speaker 1: he took a team to the finals. Now by the

1271
00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:57,840
Speaker 1: time he's forty, that contract is going to be terrible

1272
00:58:57,920 --> 00:59:00,320
Speaker 1: unless he defies all the odds. But I can't imagine

1273
00:59:00,320 --> 00:59:02,680
Speaker 1: he'll be forty and doing anything other than putting up

1274
00:59:02,680 --> 00:59:05,320
Speaker 1: like thirteen and eight or something, twelve and seven or something,

1275
00:59:05,360 --> 00:59:07,440
Speaker 1: you know, so you'll be getting the bag. But it

1276
00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:10,880
Speaker 1: was nice to see him kind of prove his haters wrong. Um,

1277
00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:13,560
Speaker 1: because dude, I saw it firsthand. Man, I saw what

1278
00:59:13,600 --> 00:59:15,280
Speaker 1: he did to that Rockets team. Him and Harden were

1279
00:59:15,360 --> 00:59:20,600
Speaker 1: unstoppable together, you know. So he's like my height, like

1280
00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:22,760
Speaker 1: barely taller than me. And just just to think that

1281
00:59:22,800 --> 00:59:26,960
Speaker 1: he does that among giants and the NBA's ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah,

1282
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:29,600
Speaker 1: for sure. I thought that series change when like Janice

1283
00:59:29,640 --> 00:59:31,560
Speaker 1: switched on to him, right and like it was has

1284
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:33,440
Speaker 1: pretty much switched the series to me, be honest, switching

1285
00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:35,720
Speaker 1: to him and Devin Booker kind of really shut their

1286
00:59:35,760 --> 00:59:37,720
Speaker 1: water off. But yeah, it's cool to see him, um

1287
00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:40,480
Speaker 1: kind of get going. But yeah, ruche, we're going like

1288
00:59:40,480 --> 00:59:42,280
Speaker 1: an hour here. I'll kind of close it out. I

1289
00:59:42,320 --> 00:59:44,920
Speaker 1: appreciate you coming on. Man. Uh, we gotta have you

1290
00:59:44,960 --> 00:59:50,320
Speaker 1: on again with Jason, We'll have we'll have you on. Yeah.

1291
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:52,240
Speaker 1: I wanted to get into kind of Rockets team building

1292
00:59:52,320 --> 00:59:54,000
Speaker 1: or it just team Bill in generals and we have

1293
00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:56,640
Speaker 1: a long summer here, so um, like the NBA doesn't

1294
00:59:56,640 --> 00:59:58,120
Speaker 1: come back for a while, so I'll definitely have you

1295
00:59:58,160 --> 01:00:01,880
Speaker 1: on Rouche Working Working. The people find you man. Yeah, Man, Um,

1296
01:00:01,880 --> 01:00:03,800
Speaker 1: and hey, thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.

1297
01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:07,560
Speaker 1: Always a pleasure to talk basketball with some Lakers hommies. Um.

1298
01:00:07,640 --> 01:00:10,960
Speaker 1: You can find me on Twitter, r O O. S. H. Williams,

1299
01:00:11,000 --> 01:00:14,800
Speaker 1: Ruce Williams, and UM The Noble and Ruth Show. You

1300
01:00:14,840 --> 01:00:17,000
Speaker 1: can find it anywhere you get. Your podcast hosted by

1301
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:18,840
Speaker 1: Ball is Life. We have a ton of guests on.

1302
01:00:18,960 --> 01:00:22,440
Speaker 1: We just had Onyeka Okongu on from the Atlanta Hawks,

1303
01:00:23,120 --> 01:00:26,520
Speaker 1: a ton of NBA guests, journalists, so check it out. Yeah, man,

1304
01:00:26,560 --> 01:00:30,080
Speaker 1: go go follow Rouge, go listen to the podcast. UM

1305
01:00:30,120 --> 01:00:32,520
Speaker 1: does great work. Um, not just with Houston Rockets, just

1306
01:00:32,840 --> 01:00:35,800
Speaker 1: NBA analysis in general. UM just puts out videos as well.

1307
01:00:35,840 --> 01:00:37,520
Speaker 1: So yeah, go give me and follow. I appreciate you

1308
01:00:37,560 --> 01:00:40,200
Speaker 1: coming on, man, appreciate it.