1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: The volume. All right, wel good to him tonight you're 2 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: at the volume heavy onesday. Everybody hopefull. You guys are 3 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 1: having an incredible week so far. Going a jampack show 4 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: for you guys. Today, the Oklahoma Ceti Thunder get their 5 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: revenge against the San Antonio Spurs. The Los Angeles Lakers 6 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: undergo one of the weirdest two game stretches of shooting 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: that you'll ever see as they blow out the Atlanta Hawks. 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,959 Speaker 1: Last night, the Steph Curry Warriors get a big win 9 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: over the Portland Trailblazers were similarly similarly, they have a 10 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 1: lot of success shooting. We're gonna talk about Dan Anthony 11 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: Melton for a little bit, and then Bamane Bio steals 12 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,199 Speaker 1: a game against the Phoenix Suns hitting threes. I want 13 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: to talk specifically about why that dynamic is so important 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: to Miami's offense. You guys are the joke before we 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Don't forget to 17 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: like this video that helps us. And lastly, if you 18 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: want to get questions into our mail bag, we won't 19 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: have a mail bag this Friday just because of how 20 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: packed the Thursday slate is. But we'll get back to 21 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: it next Friday. So you guys want to get questions 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: and the mail bag, drop them in the full episodes 23 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: and the YouTube comments, and we'll get to them weekly 24 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: throughout the remainder of the season. All right, let's talk 25 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 1: some basketball. So the thunder get their revenge, and you 26 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: could kind of feel the dynamic from the first three 27 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: matchups lingering through throughout the first half. I've been talking 28 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: a lot about this concept on the show in the 29 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: last couple of weeks. But like confidence in rhythm matter 30 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: and a lot of times, like you know, you see 31 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: teams that you ever hear like, you know, they'll be like, oh, 32 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: this guy always kills this team, and they'll show like 33 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: metrics on the screen and it'll show like, oh, his 34 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: point per game averages versus this particular team. For whatever reason, 35 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: he seems to have a lot of success there. And 36 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: it's usually a combination of things. Maybe it's a matchup 37 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: that they have some success with, but a lot of 38 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: times also it helps psychologically when you walk out onto 39 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: the floor and you're like, I own these dudes. When 40 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: you have that bit of confidence in a specific matchup 41 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: that does affect your play, and there has been a 42 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: opposite version of that dynamic with Oklahoma City with respect 43 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: to San Antonio, and they desperately needed to get a 44 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: win in this matchup to demonstrate that they have the 45 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: ability to beat the Spurs right, and we saw a 46 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: little bit of that stuff linger early on. Like Chet 47 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: is still super just psychologically thrown off by Victor Women, 48 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: Yama just hasn't played well in this matchup. Wenby kicked 49 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: his askin in the first half. The combination of rim 50 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: protection and athleticism kind of bothering Oklahoma City's offense a 51 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: little bit in the first half, right, Oklahoma City missing 52 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: some of those open catch and shoot three point shots 53 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: that they missed in some of their other matchups. But 54 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: in that third quarter, the dynamic completely flips and shake Kiss. 55 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: Alexander was at the forefront of all of it. I 56 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 1: thought it was one of the best quarters I've ever 57 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: seen Shape play. He had this like attitude and disposition 58 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: to him that was really fun to watch. He said 59 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: after the game that it wasn't their super Bowl, which 60 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: is what you're supposed to say when you're the leader 61 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: of the team. You can't get too big pictures. You 62 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: got to focus on the day to day process and 63 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: keep your guys focused. Otherwise your team could relax after 64 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: a game like that, right, So that's just what a 65 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: leader is supposed to do. But you could tell Shay 66 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: really wanted that one, and he should have wanted it. 67 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: You know, when you're already the best team in the league, 68 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: it's a grind getting through an eighty two game regular season, 69 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,839 Speaker 1: and these are the kinds of little battles that give 70 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: you something to fight for in a stretch of the 71 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: season where it's not like the Thunder are really at 72 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,519 Speaker 1: risk of dropping off the one seed. They're more or 73 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: less looking forward to April, May and June. Right, But 74 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: this is a particular team that had gotten the better 75 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: of the Thunder a few times and they wanted to 76 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: get some get back, and they finally did. And I 77 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: thought Shay was just relentless with his attacking in that 78 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: third quarter, even with Wemby at the rim. That was 79 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: one of the interesting subplots of this game. The Thunder 80 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: have really struggled to score against the Spurs at the 81 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: rim in this matchup. They've averaged just twelve made field 82 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: goals at the rim in the first three matchups, and 83 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: the majority of those are when Luke Cornett's on the floor. 84 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: They made nineteen field goals at the rim in this 85 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: game and shot eighty three percent there several when Wemby 86 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: was on the floor. And the specific dynamic that I 87 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: thought was really helping was the speed of their attacks. 88 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: And I want to dive into this on the opposite 89 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: side when we get to San Antonio, because I did 90 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: not think their ball contained was very good in this game. 91 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: But there is a certain you know, when you're as 92 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,119 Speaker 1: big as Wemby is, there's a load up to cover 93 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: the ground necessary to get from wherever he's in and 94 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: help side position to get to the rim to actually 95 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: block a shot. And like you know, Wenby was doing 96 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: a lot of this. Spurs have done this throughout the 97 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: season where they'll, like you know, they try to call 98 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: Wemby's man up into action, they'll wave somebody else up there. 99 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: They'll send somebody else so that they can switch the 100 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: action in so that Wemby can stay on the back line, 101 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: and they do their best to try to keep him 102 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 1: at the rim, but usually he's somewhere in a position 103 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: where he can make some effort to close out to 104 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: a shooter, and so if you can sufficiently beat your 105 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: primary defender and really slash with a certain amount of speed, 106 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: you can beat Wemby to the rim. And the Thunder 107 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:05,160 Speaker 1: got several layups with Wemby on the floor in this 108 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: particular game, and I thought the speed of their attacks 109 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: was a big part of it. And then mixing in 110 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: those short twos right before the rim, like Jay Dubb 111 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: beats his man off the dribble instead of challenging Wemby 112 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: just settling that little floater in the lane. Shay obviously 113 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: making shots in that range as a team that made 114 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: nine shots in this game in the paint, but outside 115 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: of the restricted area. And one of the things when 116 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: you're scoring, when you're making literally twenty eight shots in 117 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: the paint in this game, that puts you in a 118 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: position where you're not as reliant on the catch and 119 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: shoot shooting, which we know has been a little bit 120 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: of a problem for Oklahoma City in this matchup. Now, 121 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: they shot really well last night, especially in the second half. 122 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: Little Colt in the first half knocked down a bunch 123 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: of shots in the second half, but they only took 124 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: twenty five catch and shoot jump shots in that entire game, 125 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: which is well below their season average. They were less 126 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: dependent on it because of how successfully they were able 127 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: to score in the paint. But Shay was just fantastic 128 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: yet fifteen points, three assists, and just two miss shots 129 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: with only one turnover in the third quarter. Had a 130 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: couple of really nice blocks. The Spurs were going at 131 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: him quite a bit at the top of the key 132 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: with Steph Castle and Dylan Harper on drives, and he 133 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: like blocked Dylan Harper on a drive. He had another 134 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: unbelievable defensive rotation on a back line kind of like 135 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: lob to Victor wemen Yama, where he came over and 136 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: swatted it out of the lane. He ended up hitting 137 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: the three on the left wing that blew the game open, 138 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: and he got super animated, was talking shit, was like 139 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: super just into it, and you could just tell how 140 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: much he wanted that game, and it was just the 141 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: kind of win that Oklahoma City needed to establish their 142 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: belief and their ability to win this matchup. And I 143 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: thought it was an exceptional display of leadership from Shake 144 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: Gills as Alexander by the way, he's been red hot 145 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: as of late one hundred and nine points in his 146 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: last three games. A couple of the quick shoutouts for 147 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: okay see. I thought Jaywill was another big hero in 148 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: that run. He came in towards the latter part of 149 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: the third quarter and hit a big corner three to 150 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: beat help, got a couple of big stops at the rim. 151 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: He forced Wemby into a turnover on a spin move 152 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,159 Speaker 1: by disrupting his base. He like did a swipe down 153 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: on Steph Castle that forced a turnover. Just really good 154 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: defense and an important shot from Jay Will during that run. 155 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: I thought Ja Dubb did a really nice job defensively 156 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: defensively on Wemby as well in that third quarter, just 157 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: getting up underneath him and disrupting his base. He also 158 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: had a couple of really nice drives in that run, 159 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: like we talked about. And then I'm sure it felt 160 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: really good for Alex Caruso to finally hit a couple 161 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: of shots in that game as well, after he had 162 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: struggled in other matchups. And on the Spurs front, I 163 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: thought they missed several good looks at the start of 164 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: the third quarter. Champagnie and Barnes both missed about four 165 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: wide open threes in the opening minutes of the third quarter, 166 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: three of which were wide open corner threes for Harrison Barnes, 167 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: and it allowed Oklahoma City to really blow things open. 168 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: In a two and a half minute span. It went 169 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: from tide to sixty two, I think, to Oklahoma City 170 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: up by eleven, and it was like lightning fast because 171 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: san Antonio had missed some of those open looks that 172 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: they had generated. But the reality is that Oklahoma City 173 00:07:58,120 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: has missed a lot of really good looks and the 174 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: other wins that san Antonio had in this matchup, So 175 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: you're not gonna get a lot of sympathy from thunder 176 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: fans on that front. One thing to keep an eye on. 177 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes is now just five for twenty four from 178 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: three in the four Oklahoma City games. He's not looked 179 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: confident in this matchup behind the three point line, and 180 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: that's just again, is such an important part of how 181 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: you break down this Oklahoma City defense. They're gonna give 182 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: up some of those corner threes, you have to knock 183 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: them down again. I thought their main culprit in that 184 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: run was their perimeter defense. We talk about this concept 185 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: all the time, like the difference between a straight line 186 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: drive and a flattened out drive or a banana drive. Essentially, 187 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: like when a guy makes a move on you, he 188 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: usually isn't gonna completely dust you off the dribble. There's 189 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: gonna be some sort of contact on the drive and 190 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: it becomes a leverage battle there. And if you can 191 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: slide your feet bail well and win that leverage battle 192 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: enough to at least cause the player to have a 193 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: slower time turning the corner or maybe failing to turn 194 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:52,959 Speaker 1: the corner all together, it makes all your rotations a 195 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: lot more manageable, right, But if you just get dusted 196 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: and a dude comes screaming down the lane, even Victor 197 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: women Yama is gonna fail to get there sometimes. And 198 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 1: it also helped generate some of those super high quality 199 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: threes that we saw the thunder generate during that run. 200 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: So definitely got to contain the ball better. This purs 201 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,439 Speaker 1: are certainly capable of it. They're gonna have another chance 202 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: soon they get they play February fourth down in San Antonio. 203 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: But I definitely thought that was the primary culprit of 204 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: their defensive issues in the third quarter, and then on offense. 205 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: I still like the Stephan Castle drives. In this matchup, 206 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: he wasn't perfect. He had a bad turnover to Jadub 207 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: on a stack pick and roll where he kind of 208 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: pitched it back when Jaydub was rotating up to the 209 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: top and Jadab picked it and went the other way 210 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: and dunked it a big part of that run. But 211 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: he was one of the guys. Steph was one of 212 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 1: the guys who was consistently breaking down Oklahoma City's defense 213 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: at the point of attack and either getting two feet 214 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: in the pain. You know. Again, it wasn't perfect. He 215 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: got stripped once along the left lane line, but he 216 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: was getting in there in either drawing fouls or getting 217 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: a little short twos, or he was one of the 218 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: guys that was generating a lot of those quality corner 219 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: three point shots that san Antonio was getting in that 220 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 1: third quarter. Like he was the guy that was really 221 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: breaking down the defense. And I'm still not loving those 222 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: Wemby ISOs. In this matchup, he has twelve turnovers to 223 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: just eight assists versus Oklahoma City this year. Again, they 224 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: guard him with their wings and they get up underneath 225 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: them and they knock him off balance or force him 226 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: into tough fades. I think there are certain matchups around 227 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: the league where Wemby is a great offensive initiator, but 228 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: in this type of matchups, some of these like bigger, 229 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: more physical perimeter teams, I think Wemby is actually best 230 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,439 Speaker 1: served as more of like a two man game partner 231 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: or satellite player and them kind of running more through 232 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: Fox pick and roll or Castle pick and roll. Castle 233 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: ISOs with again Wenby either being the screening partner or 234 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: functioning as a play finisher. And then lastly, I think 235 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: you could really feel the loss of Devin Vessel last night. Again. 236 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: His aggressive and accurate above the break three point shooting 237 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: is just so important to the Spurs, and they're spacing 238 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: and when he's not out there, the geometry of the 239 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: floor just gets a lot tougher for them to work with. Again, 240 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: they get another chance here in about three weeks to 241 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 1: play San Antonio. We'll see if they can get two 242 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: and a half weeks, I should say we'll see if 243 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: they can get another win in that match. That would 244 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: be a big one for Oklahoma City. If Oklahoma City 245 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: could get that one down in San Antonio at all. 246 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: Buddy races the psychological dynamic and really any of the 247 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: confidence you have in the Spurs in that matchup. If 248 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,199 Speaker 1: they can't win that one on February fourth, should be 249 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: a really fun one to watch when we get to 250 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: that point. Today's show is brought to you by presenting 251 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: sponsor hard Rock Bet, the official sports but partner of 252 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. 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If you or someone you know has 280 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: a gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred 281 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: and nine with it gambling problem called one eight hundred 282 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, 283 00:12:54,960 --> 00:13:02,840 Speaker 1: or Virginia. Three other quick hitters today. One the Lakers 284 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,839 Speaker 1: tale of two shooting performances after being completely incapable of 285 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: hitting a shot in the Sacramento game. They made everything 286 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: last night versus Atlanta, And it's actually funny listening to 287 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: the Hawks broadcast because they were flabbergasted seeing as the 288 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: Lakers entered the night as the worst three point shooting 289 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: team by percentage in the entire league. Now, as you 290 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: guys know, I'm not the biggest shot variance guy. I 291 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: think that there are a lot of controllables that go 292 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: into shot result and that variance is a factor, but 293 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: it can be over indexed in terms of how often 294 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: we talk about it and how much we factor it 295 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: in to what actually is happening in these games. But 296 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: we'd be foolish to act as though that wasn't at 297 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: least some of the role of the last two games. 298 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,520 Speaker 1: But I want to focus on the controllables, because again, 299 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: shot variance is it's pointless to talk about it. It's 300 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: like an ethereal concept, right. I want to start with 301 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: the stars. I thought Luca and Lebron just led the 302 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: charge with a certain energy yesterday that injected belief and 303 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: confidence into the rest of the team. Both guys were 304 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: questionable coming into the game, like Luca's been dealing with 305 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 1: some groin soreness. We've seen him limping around and kind 306 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: of favoring that throughout the last few games. It's always 307 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: hard to tell with Luca because he's kind of doing 308 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: that most of the time he's out there, but this 309 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: time they've actually come out and mentioned it. And then 310 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: Lebron hadn't played in the back to back yet all season, 311 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:20,720 Speaker 1: but they seemed to realize how important this game won. 312 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 1: It was. The team needed a lift the King's loss, 313 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: you know, third consecutive loss. You already had that devastating 314 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: Bucks loss right before that. The team needed something to 315 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: kind of just calm things down. And so even though 316 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: it's January and the team was, you know, twenty three 317 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: and fourteen, so it's not like it would have been 318 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 1: season ending if they would have dropped that game and 319 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: sat their stars. They wanted to go in there and 320 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: give it a go because they felt like their team 321 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: needed to win, and both of them were fantastic. I 322 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: thought Luca was crucial to the beginning of the lead 323 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: when they actually blew the game open. He caught a 324 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: hot streak with his pull up three in the second quarter. 325 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: Just bang, bang bang. That really blew things open. Let's 326 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: hope that has a sign of some positive regression there. 327 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: He's actually thirty eight percent from three on nine attempts 328 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: per game over his last six games, so that's a 329 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: sign of a again positive regression overall. Again, like you 330 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: have you have that bad Bucks game where Luca was 331 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: pretty bad, But I think he's been pretty much back 332 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: to that level of a top tier superstar in a 333 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: big way over the course of last week and a half. 334 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: I talked about this when the Lakers were really struggling. 335 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: There were a lot of issues, and you know, I 336 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: always have fans that get really sensitive about criticism of stars. 337 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: It's part of stan culture. It's just how it is. 338 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: But like I talk about the stars a lot because 339 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: they're the ones that have the ability to rectify a situation. 340 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: I said this on the Lakers Collective Pod last week. 341 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: But there is still no equalizer in sports, like a 342 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: top tier superstar in basketball, it's the only sport where 343 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: you can have one guy in a five on five 344 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: setting where his individual greatness can level a playing field 345 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: that is otherwise un leveled as a result of roster discrepancies. Right, Like, 346 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: that's why I talk about stars so much. And during 347 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: that run I thought Luca was playing more like a 348 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: second tier superstar in that like you know, six to 349 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: ten range in the league, and the Lakers have their issues, 350 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: but they can win a lot of games when Luca's 351 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: playing like a top tier superstar. And like I thought 352 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: he was awesome in the second half of the second 353 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: Grizzlies game. I think it was like a week ago 354 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: last Sunday. He was awesome in the second half of 355 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: the Pelicans game. He was awesome in the Spurs game. 356 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 1: It's just really difficult to win when you've got Lebron 357 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: and Austin out and none of your role players can 358 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: make any shots. He was awesome in the Kings game. 359 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: I think he had forty two in that game, if 360 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: I remember correctly. And then he was awesome last night 361 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 1: in the Hawks game. And so it's like, when Luca's 362 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: playing at this level, it just makes everything easier for 363 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: this Lakers team, even despite the flaws that they have. 364 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: And then Lebron was awesome in transition early in this game, 365 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: was getting a lot of explosive drives in the open 366 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: floor that kind of just are mind blowing for a 367 00:16:57,760 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: forty one year old on the tail end of a 368 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: back to back, But where I thought he made his 369 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: biggest impact was actually in the second half when the 370 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: Hawks were making their inevitable runs. Like the Hawks just 371 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: play so fast, Like the Hawks scored forty one transition 372 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: points in this game in a loss. That's just how 373 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: fast they play. They're constantly up and down the floor, 374 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: and so even when you're up twenty five, all it 375 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: takes is like three bad minutes and then it's twelve, 376 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: you know, and then all of a sudden, you've got 377 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,199 Speaker 1: yourself a game. And I think the Hawks ended up 378 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: cutting it as low as eleven in this game, immediately 379 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: hit a huge corner three. There were several plays that 380 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:29,120 Speaker 1: Lebron made in the second half that I just thought 381 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: helped kind of like stiff arm the Hawks when they 382 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: were making their runs. Similar to what I said with Luca, 383 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 1: like Lebron's been fantastic outside of a game, I thought, 384 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: in the same way that Luca kind of struggled in 385 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 1: the Bucks game, I thought Lebron was pretty bad in 386 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: the Kings game. In a brilliant early stretch where I 387 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: think he had like the first six points for the 388 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,399 Speaker 1: team on just quick post ups and was playing a 389 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 1: lot of bully ball, but then I thought he really 390 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: struggled to generate advantage and to generate quality shots the 391 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:54,119 Speaker 1: rest of the game. I did not think that was 392 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: Lebron's best performance this season, right, But outside of that, 393 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,959 Speaker 1: he's been fantastic for weeks now. Similar to Luca. If 394 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: you take that Bucks game out, he's been fantastic for 395 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,639 Speaker 1: weeks now. And Lebron's been at twenty eight eight and 396 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 1: eight on fifty five percent from the field on sixty 397 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,359 Speaker 1: five percent true shooting over his last six games. That's insane. 398 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,360 Speaker 1: And then going further back over his last fifteen games, 399 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: twenty six, six and seven on fifty four percent from 400 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: the field and sixty four percent true shooting. So that's 401 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 1: all NBA level production for about a month now, and 402 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: you know, second maybe even first team all NBA level 403 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: production over the course of the last two weeks. So 404 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 1: really high level basketball there that I think is it 405 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: bodes well for the Lakers moving forward. I just wanted 406 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 1: to shout out those guys because I thought they were 407 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: both fantastic last night. And if you can get Lebron's 408 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,640 Speaker 1: body to survive long enough for Austin to get back, 409 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: because we've just seen this before. We saw this last 410 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 1: year where Lebron was awesome for a few weeks and 411 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: then he gets hurt because there's not a lot of 412 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: support and he's having to do too much. And I 413 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: like this team better if they don't need Lebron to 414 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,439 Speaker 1: be great, because I think that's what allows his body 415 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:00,359 Speaker 1: to have the best chance to survive. If he can 416 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: get to the point where Austin comes back, that's where 417 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: I think the shot creation for this team could be 418 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: really special. But the role players made shots too, and 419 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: I wanted to dive into that concept for a minute, 420 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,880 Speaker 1: like why again, beyond variance, which we know is a factor, 421 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,199 Speaker 1: but what were the controllables that helped the role players 422 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,160 Speaker 1: make shots? And I thought a big part of it 423 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: was literally just the psychology of how bad things were 424 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 1: in the Sacramento game, like they had nothing to lose. 425 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: You can't shoot any worse than they had been, and 426 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: so it kind of felt very much like a let 427 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: it fly kind of game. There were a lot of 428 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:35,639 Speaker 1: like questionable contested catch and shoot threes early in the 429 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 1: game that guys took that maybe they would have passed 430 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 1: on in previous games. That to me, is that evidence 431 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: that let it fly type of attitude. And I also 432 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,680 Speaker 1: thought the pace really helped. Like, the Hawks just play 433 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:47,640 Speaker 1: so fast, and that makes it so that you don't 434 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:49,879 Speaker 1: have very much time to think about shots. The balls 435 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: flying up and down the floor and guys aren't thinking, 436 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: they're just shooting and shots were going in. But obviously 437 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: there were a lot of shots that went in yesterday 438 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 1: that typically don't for this, Like, so I want to 439 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,639 Speaker 1: flip this into a discussion into why I think a 440 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: wing upgrade could really help them. There's been a clear 441 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: difference for the Lakers in their team's success based on 442 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: the shooting performances of the role players. So for instance, 443 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 1: when Marcus Smart scores in double figures, the Lakers are 444 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,120 Speaker 1: ten and two. When he scores six or fewer, they're 445 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 1: five and six. When Jake Laravia scores fourteen or more points, 446 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: the Lakers are seven and one. They're six and seven 447 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: when he scores five or fewer. And it's deeper than 448 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: just Yeah, obviously, when you score more points, you win 449 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,360 Speaker 1: more games. It's also about belief. When guys are making shots, 450 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,480 Speaker 1: they're more likely to run back hard on defense, they're 451 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: more likely to make their rotations even the stars because 452 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,120 Speaker 1: they believe in what they're doing right, You're more likely 453 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: to run hard, You're more likely to rotate, you're more 454 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: likely to fight for loose balls, you're more likely to 455 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: scrap for rebounds. When guys are making shots, as a team, 456 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: you're going to play better. And I thought last night 457 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 1: was one of the lakers better overall performances beyond the shooting, 458 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: and I think those things are connected. But the Lakers 459 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: have been one of the worst shooting teams in the 460 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: league all season. I don't think they're about to go 461 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,239 Speaker 1: on some run where they make forty percent of their 462 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: threes throughout the playoffs. But the bottom line is is 463 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: that when guys do make shots, they're really hard to beat, 464 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,959 Speaker 1: especially when you have the types of advantages that their 465 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: stars create. And that's why I think it's at least 466 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: when you're looking at wing upgrades and you start talking 467 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 1: about players, you can't just talk about them in a 468 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,160 Speaker 1: vacuum or what that player is like on paper. It's 469 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,360 Speaker 1: about specific value add to this team, where like when 470 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,640 Speaker 1: you get decent three and dplay even just decent three 471 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: on deep, I'm not talking about scoring twenty plus. I'm 472 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: talking about double figures for Marcus. I'm talking about fourteen 473 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: or more points for Jake. When they get any production 474 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: off the wing, they're far more likely to win. And 475 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: that's why I think that sort of upgrade would make 476 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,479 Speaker 1: a big difference for this team. Talk about the Warriors 477 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: for a minute. They got another similar kind of blowout 478 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: win last night against the Trailblazers. The Blazers have been 479 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,439 Speaker 1: completely unable to score without Dediavda all seasons, so no 480 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:01,199 Speaker 1: surprise in the Portland offensive struggles last night. But the 481 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,439 Speaker 1: Warriors had a brilliant offensive game of their own. They 482 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,200 Speaker 1: ended up generating thirty one unguarded catch and shoot threes 483 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: last night. Is that not the like the craziest thirty 484 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: one unguarded catch and shoe jump shots last night, and 485 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: they average a lot. They averaged the second most in 486 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 1: the entire NBA nineteen per game, so that's huge compared 487 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: to the rest of the league as an average, and 488 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: they were at a more than a time and a 489 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: half that in last night's game. It's a big part 490 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 1: of why I love the micro Porter Junior fit with 491 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: Golden State. There's just a an engine here that generates 492 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,399 Speaker 1: so many quality looks and it's pretty simple. It's based 493 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: on the amount of attention it requires to guard Steph 494 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 1: Curry right, and Portland was shameless and how they were 495 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: throwing the kitchen sink at Steph last night. It's a 496 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:49,159 Speaker 1: big part of why his scoring total wasn't there. But 497 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: like you know, some of it is like obviously Draymond 498 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: Green is gonna get you know, four or five just 499 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 1: wide open catch and shoot threes at the top of 500 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 1: the key every game. But beyond that, there are just 501 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: a lot of really good looks to be had in 502 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: this offense with the way that the way that teams 503 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: guard Golden State and they move the ball crisp, they 504 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: get the ball to those spots, they just fail to 505 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,680 Speaker 1: knock them down. And that's a big part of why. Again, 506 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: like when you're looking at Golden State, having a d 507 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,639 Speaker 1: Anthony Meltain who comes in is playing as well as 508 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: he is, which we'll talk about more in a second, 509 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,840 Speaker 1: Having Brandon Pajemski as a guy that's like being a 510 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: guy who's actually making some shots. You add in this 511 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,919 Speaker 1: counterbalancing force to Steph, which is what Klay Thompson was 512 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: for years and years. But when you have a guy 513 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,120 Speaker 1: who is a combination of like tall with a high 514 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,359 Speaker 1: release point, with a great deal of aggression that just 515 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,400 Speaker 1: loves to take like just quick even semi contested catch 516 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: and shoot threes in a Michael Porter junior. It brings 517 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: this level of fit with Steph on the floor that 518 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,640 Speaker 1: I really love. You know, It's funny We've talked about 519 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,000 Speaker 1: the idea of a guard that could be more of 520 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: a scoring threat for Golden State, and again, like I 521 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: talked about this yesterday, I do not understand the hesitance 522 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: with the guy like Malik Monk. I think he would 523 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: have helped. He would have been less valuable with Steph 524 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,640 Speaker 1: on the floor, but he would have been more valuable 525 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: with Steph off as a guy that just can be 526 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 1: a microwave scorer for shifts stretches of the game. But 527 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,679 Speaker 1: if you're gonna bet on Jimmy being able to be 528 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,159 Speaker 1: good enough in those groups, Michael Porter Junior is a 529 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: much better off and a much better option with Steph 530 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: on the floor. Because one of the things when you 531 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: look at the way that Golden State likes to play, 532 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: they like to play smaller and faster on the perimeter, 533 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: right like a lot of three guard looks when you 534 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,120 Speaker 1: have a guy like Dan Anthony Melton kind of bursting 535 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: onto the scene as a super valuable rotation player. You 536 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 1: could argue many of the team's best players are guards too, 537 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: so like inevitably you're going to have these guards on 538 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: the floor, and so having a guy that, again defensively, 539 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 1: when Steph is on the floor, that has a clearly 540 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: defined role as like a power forward, rim protecting type 541 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: of option, secondary rim protector, defensive rebounder, a guy that's 542 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: not going to have to chase dudes around on the perimeter, 543 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: that's going to be primarily operating along I Draymon as 544 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: like a roamer and rotator. Right, Like, that fit does 545 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 1: make a lot more sense with Steph. Do I think 546 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior is going to be as Do I 547 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: think Michael Porter Junior is going to be able to 548 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: do like what Jordan Poole did in the twenty twenty 549 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: two finals. Probably not, But again in the twenty twenty 550 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: two finals, you didn't have a Jimmy Butler, and so 551 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,399 Speaker 1: as long as Jimmy Butler is able to carry the 552 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: Steph off units, I do think there's a lot of 553 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: potential there for a Michael Porter Junior fit on the 554 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: offensive end of the floor. There's been some rumors flying 555 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: around that that deal is maybe close to done. We'll 556 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: see January fifteenth as tomorrow. That's the day that Jonathan 557 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: Kamingia becomes trade eligible, and if it goes down, we'll 558 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 1: react to it when the time comes. But as a 559 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: basketball fan, there's a lot of places that I think 560 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior could help. Like I even think he 561 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: helped the Lakers with how terrible they are at shooting. 562 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: But like as a basketball fan, I'd love to see 563 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: Steph Curry playing in high leverage playoff games, and I 564 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: think Michael Porter Junior is the kind of player that 565 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,479 Speaker 1: could like address some specific needs for Golden State and 566 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: get them into a position where they can be in 567 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,440 Speaker 1: some high leverage playoff games. But I want to talk 568 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,720 Speaker 1: about Anthony Melton for a minute. He's been fantastic lately. 569 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 1: He's been in double figure seven of his last nine games, 570 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: averaging fourteen points per game over that span, fifty forty 571 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: eighty shooting split shooting forty percent from three on five 572 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: attempts per game. But it's been his drives that have 573 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: impressed me the most. He's getting a ton of dribble 574 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: penetration for the Warriors, both attacking closeouts and attacking out 575 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 1: of action, and it brings a rim pressure element to 576 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: this team that's super valuable. Statistically, he's averaging over five 577 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: drives per game, which doesn't seem like much, I get it, 578 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,240 Speaker 1: but he's only averaging twenty minutes a game this season, 579 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 1: and he's a satellite player. This is a guy that 580 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: will occasionally run action, but this is not a guy 581 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:49,200 Speaker 1: that's the focal point or offensive initiator for this group. 582 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: And he's continually getting to the basket. And again, if 583 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: you kind of extrapolated out on a per minute basis, 584 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,080 Speaker 1: he's closer to like nine drives per thirty six minutes. 585 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: And as a satellite player that is initiating offense a ton, 586 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: that's an insane number. And like you know, he just 587 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: keeps slashing these closeouts and finishing at the rim well 588 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,439 Speaker 1: making the next read in that chain. There's just a 589 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,600 Speaker 1: ton of value add that comes from the ability to 590 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 1: break the defense down off the drive. And I think 591 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,919 Speaker 1: the Anthony Meltain's been big in that sense, and it's 592 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 1: a big part of why he's been their best on 593 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: off guy this season. The Warriors are eighteen points per 594 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 1: one hundred possessions better with the Anthony Meltin on the 595 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 1: floor versus off, and if you kind of like look 596 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,679 Speaker 1: at the guard core as you see it kind of 597 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: come together. He brings the best combination of like perimeter defense, 598 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 1: overall athleticism, three point shooting ability, the ability to run 599 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,640 Speaker 1: a little bit of action, and the ability to slash 600 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 1: the way that he slashes. He just feels like a 601 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 1: guy that's gonna be on the floor for a lot 602 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:52,360 Speaker 1: of big moments in this Warrior season. Like there if 603 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 1: they're you know, five minutes left in game five of 604 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: a two to two series in the first round, it 605 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 1: feels like the Anthony Meltain is going to be out there, 606 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: And that, to me is just an unbelievable value add 607 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,199 Speaker 1: for a guy that was a veteran minimum contract. You know. 608 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: You let's imagine the Michael Porter Junior trade goes through, 609 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: and you have Draymond, and you have Michael Porter Junior, 610 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,760 Speaker 1: and you have Jimmy and you have Steph. The Anthony's 611 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:17,360 Speaker 1: getting those minutes. He's the guy that's gonna slide into 612 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:19,640 Speaker 1: that fifth spot just because he brings that best combination 613 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: of all those trades. He's been fantastic, really positive trend. 614 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: Similar to what I said with the Lebron pieces, it's 615 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: about de Anthony's surviving physically and making it through the 616 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,199 Speaker 1: season at this point, all right, real quickly before we 617 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,320 Speaker 1: get out of here. Tonight Miami had a fun win 618 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: versus the Phoenix Suns last night. Phoenix ended up taking 619 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: the lead with a run in the fourth quarter. Grayson 620 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: Allen was fantastic. He hit like five or six threes 621 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: off of the bench, called Gillespie ends up breaking the tie, 622 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 1: hitting a three at the top of the key that 623 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 1: gives the Suns the lead for the first time in 624 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: the game. They're playing really well. Devin Booker hit some shots. 625 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: They end up finding themselves in a position where they're 626 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 1: up six with a few minutes left, and at that point, 627 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,239 Speaker 1: Bam at a bio supply a corner three ended up 628 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 1: counting as a two because he had a foot on 629 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: the line, hit two additional threes and took what looked 630 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: like another disappointing loss for a Heat team that had 631 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: lost three games in a row, to like, oh shit, 632 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 1: we're tied, we have a chance to go win this game, 633 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: and then Miami gets the ball back and they go 634 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: down the floor. And so the way that the Sun's 635 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: try to address this problem, because why was bam Adebayo open? 636 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: Mark Williams, who is bam Adebayo's primary matchup, is just 637 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: sagging in the paint, shutting off drives. And as we know, 638 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: this is the way that Miami likes to play. They 639 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: like to just attack specific matchups one on one. And 640 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: the main guy that was driving the offense for them 641 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 1: late in the game off the dribble was Himejakes, and 642 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: so Jim Hawkes is driving into the lane and he's 643 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: just trying to get the defense to react in some 644 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: way so that he has a read right. And so 645 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: Mark Williams is the guy that's kind of camping in 646 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: the paint. So BAM's getting these good looks, and so 647 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: he hits three threes, two, two threes, and a foot 648 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 1: on the line two, so it amounts to eight points, 649 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: puts the Heat into a tie game. And so the 650 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: Sons end up switching Mark Williams off off of Uh 651 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,720 Speaker 1: off of Bam, and he ends up being guard. They 652 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,719 Speaker 1: end up guarding Band with Royce O'Neil. So what ends 653 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: up happening here because of this, As Bam kind of 654 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 1: drifts off towards the right wing, Royce O'Neil is glued 655 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 1: up to Bam and Mark Williams still wants to help 656 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 1: in the paint, but now he's helping in the paint 657 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: off of a perimeter player. And so what ends up 658 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 1: happening is as Hime loads up into the lane, the 659 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: Suns react. Mark is there on the on the on 660 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:29,720 Speaker 1: like the left block area, getting ready to help, but 661 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: the Heat have their two on one on the weak 662 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 1: side now. Except for now, instead of a two on 663 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: one with like bam Adebayo being the open shooter, now 664 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: Norman Powell is wide open. And so what Norman Powell 665 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: does is as soon as him kind of gets into 666 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: the middle of the lane, Norman just flashes, just cuts 667 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,520 Speaker 1: towards the ball and Jim just drops it off to 668 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: him and he hits like a little short jump shot 669 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:52,640 Speaker 1: in the lane that effectively ends up being the game winner. 670 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: And again like that was a product of Bam knocking 671 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: down those shots. If he doesn't knock down those shots, 672 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: Mark Williams stays home. If Mark Williams stays home, Miami's 673 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 1: offense breaks and that kind of brings me to the 674 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 1: big picture piece. As we look at the Heat offense 675 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: as a concept, I like the idea of being a 676 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: matchup attacking dribble drive offense when you have the requisite talent, right, 677 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: but when your dribble drive talent is a little more inconsistent, 678 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: the other details start to mattle. Matters so much more, 679 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: specifically spacing, and this has been an issue for the 680 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 1: Heat this season in their offense, where their teams are 681 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: gonna be like, go ahead, Kela, whare you know? Go ahead, Bam, 682 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: take those threes and you can have Hi may or 683 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins or Davion Mitchell. Hopefully Davion's okay, you got 684 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,640 Speaker 1: hurt last night. You have these guys driving and good luck, 685 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: you're gonna have another big waiting behind you, and it's 686 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:49,480 Speaker 1: just gonna turn into you guys shooting like tough over 687 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: the top two's and they're not gonna go in. They're 688 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:53,720 Speaker 1: not gonna go in at a high enough rate. And 689 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 1: so really, as I look at their offense and the 690 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: big picture, it makes sense with a space, so like 691 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: whether it's in the short term with Bam and Kelll 692 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: or if it's in the long term, if they end 693 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: up moving off BAM one day and keeping kellel or 694 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: if they end up moving off both of them and 695 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: getting a different stretch big. I like the idea of 696 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: that sort of attack when you're setting it up with 697 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,480 Speaker 1: a shooting big because then essentially what happens is as 698 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,920 Speaker 1: that player starts to drive, you can wheel into these 699 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: basic spacing positions where you have a guy left corner, 700 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 1: right corner, left wing, right wing. As they wheel around, 701 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 1: as you're kind of imagine how I may work in 702 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 1: the middle of the floor with four kickout options, and 703 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 1: all four of those guys are dudes you have to guard. 704 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: That's where it becomes like a really achievable role consistently 705 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,480 Speaker 1: for those shot creators. And so I just thought last 706 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: night what happened at the end of that Sun's game 707 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: was a demonstration of why shooting at the five spot 708 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 1: is so important for the system to function with the 709 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 1: type of talent that Miami has right now. I did 710 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 1: see a report just before we went live that that 711 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: Jah Morant's camp is starting to see Miami as a 712 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:01,960 Speaker 1: as a feasible potential option, and you know, I understand 713 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: the immediate hesitance there where you're thinking, like, Jaw's a 714 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:11,480 Speaker 1: bad character guy, right, He's got a bad attitude, He's 715 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: had these misbehavior issues. He's also the opposite of Heat 716 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 1: culture in that like Heat culture is very much like 717 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,040 Speaker 1: we're about the team and every guy is going to 718 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:24,000 Speaker 1: maximize their ability, and we have all these undrafted dudes 719 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 1: that are playing way above their pay grades, so to speak. 720 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,360 Speaker 1: Jaw very much is the opposite of that. He's a 721 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 1: dude who's on a max contract who's been steadily declining 722 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:35,040 Speaker 1: year over a year, and so I understand the hesitants there. 723 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: Here would be my counter to that, What the hell 724 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,960 Speaker 1: do you have to lose right now? If you're Miami, 725 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: you are an incredibly mediocre basketball team with no prospects 726 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,720 Speaker 1: of leaping into the next tier in the Eastern Conference. 727 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: There's not like, oh, if this guy gets it going, 728 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: we're right there with the other dudes. No, you're not, 729 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:59,280 Speaker 1: and Jaws a distressed asset. You're probably not gonna have 730 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: to send out any compensation at all whatsoever. You're basically 731 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: just going to be matching salary you bring in Jaw, 732 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,680 Speaker 1: and if it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. 733 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 1: But at the same time, I think, you know, first 734 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:14,120 Speaker 1: of all, let's not forget that Memphis in this very 735 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:16,879 Speaker 1: similar offense last year, at the beginning of the year 736 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: had a lot of success with John Moran as a 737 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 1: guy that was leading that initial drive off of the top. Now, 738 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 1: his numbers were lower because he was functioning as more 739 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 1: of a drive and kick threat in that situation. But 740 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:32,000 Speaker 1: in this context, if you can get buy in from him, 741 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: We've seen him succeed in this offense. We've seen the 742 00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 1: team Memphis succeed with this style of offense. You get 743 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,839 Speaker 1: him in, you get him around a dead series, and 744 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,239 Speaker 1: here's this is the tricky part. And if you're kind 745 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 1: of playing devil's advocate. Memphis is also a very strong 746 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:52,279 Speaker 1: organization in terms of like their character from the top 747 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,920 Speaker 1: down and their expectations and what they put on their players. 748 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: It's not like Miami's the only team in the league 749 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 1: that is doing this sort of thing in terms of 750 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,400 Speaker 1: their culture. You can get any sort of buy in 751 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,840 Speaker 1: from Jaw in Miami, just maybe with the change of 752 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 1: scenery and maybe just him learning, like maybe you know 753 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: how embarrassment works to get Luca back in better shape. 754 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,040 Speaker 1: Maybe the embarrassment of seeing some trash return on his 755 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: trade to Miami will be enough to try to humble 756 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,080 Speaker 1: him into some sort of next phase of his career. 757 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,600 Speaker 1: Bottom line is he got nothing to lose. If you're Miami, 758 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 1: Jaw's not going to cost a lot. I think he 759 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,719 Speaker 1: works in the system, and he's the kind of guy that, 760 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,320 Speaker 1: if everything goes right, could be the guy that boosts 761 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: you into that next tier. In the Eastern Conference, Miami, 762 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:33,640 Speaker 1: I think would just be a fun spot for Joe. 763 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: I hope they end up going for it, all right, guys, 764 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 1: It's all I have for today is always sincerely appreciate 765 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We'll 766 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,759 Speaker 1: be back tomorrow with more game reaction. I will see 767 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:43,279 Speaker 1: you guys then,