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Speaker 1: All right, welcome to Hops Tonight here at the Volume,

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Speaker 1: Happy Friday, everybody hopeful of you guys had a great week.

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Speaker 1: these shows. We're continuing our power ranking today with number twelve,

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Speaker 1: the Sacramento Kinks, and then I've got four mail bag

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Speaker 1: some basketball. So a quick offseason recap for the Sacramento Kings.

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Speaker 1: They lost Terence Davis, Matthew Delavadova, PJ Dozer, Rashaun Holmes,

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Speaker 1: and Chimezi Meto. They added Chris Duarte, who was a

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Speaker 1: young scoring guard from the Pacers. Had a rough year

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Speaker 1: last year, but he does have some talent. JaVale McGee

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Speaker 1: is a backup center. You guys might remember me doing

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Speaker 1: a scouting report. I'm not sure how many Kings fans

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Speaker 1: found this, but around the shortly into the beginning of

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Speaker 1: free agency, I did a full breakdown of Sasha Vazankov.

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Speaker 1: He played for Olympiacos last year and he won the

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Speaker 1: EuroLeague MVP. Super super exciting post player. Was devastatingly efficient

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Speaker 1: in the post last year, one point two six points

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Speaker 1: per possession, one hundred and fifty one. Post ups has

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Speaker 1: like a ridiculous set of left shoulder fade aways. He's

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Speaker 1: got kind of like a one leg fade away over

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Speaker 1: his left shoulder, He's got kind of like a drifting

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Speaker 1: fade away over his left shoulder, and then he's got

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Speaker 1: like kind of a power fade that it hit when

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Speaker 1: he gets good separation, but he knocks that down a ton.

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Speaker 1: He's over fifty percent on hooks and on floaters, and

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Speaker 1: he's a really good passer. He actually reminds me of

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Speaker 1: like a It's funny because he plays the same position

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Speaker 1: as Sabonis, right, and so your head quickly goes the

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Speaker 1: direction of Sabonis. But I actually like think of him

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Speaker 1: more as a Yokic type of archetype. And I don't

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Speaker 1: mean he's as good as Jokic, obviously, but just in

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Speaker 1: the play style, he's a much better shot maker than Sabonis.

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Speaker 1: His touch away from the basket is several levels better

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Speaker 1: than Sabonis is. Obviously, he's not the athlete that demonis is,

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Speaker 1: but he's got this shot making piece away from the

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Speaker 1: rim that Sabonus doesn't. So I kind of like the

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Speaker 1: fit because it's like a scheme consistency thing, right, because

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Speaker 1: they play the same position. So now when some bonus

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Speaker 1: goes to the bench, you can bring in another player

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Speaker 1: to run all these dribble handoffs and all these ball

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Speaker 1: screens with a similar level of offensive skill, albeit a

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Speaker 1: different kind of form of it. Right, with the shot making,

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Speaker 1: he was fifty seven percent an effective field goal percentage

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Speaker 1: on catch and shoot jumpers last year in Europe forty

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Speaker 1: seven percent on pull up jump shots effective field goal percentage.

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Speaker 1: You'll see him, you know, dribble the ball around the

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Speaker 1: top of the key and then fake in action with somebody,

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Speaker 1: and then when the guy just kind of concedes a

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Speaker 1: shot a few feet back, he'll just quick turn and

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Speaker 1: rise and fire from the top of the key. He's

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Speaker 1: got that in his bag. He get legitimately a very

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Speaker 1: very good shot maker, makes everything around the rim. Again,

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Speaker 1: it's it's gonna be difficult to see how it translates

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Speaker 1: to the NBA. That's always the question when you bring

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Speaker 1: a guy over from Europe. But this dude was well

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Speaker 1: over a point per possession and inverted pick and rolls

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Speaker 1: well over a point per possession in ISO's well over

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Speaker 1: a point per possession in the post. He was devastatingly

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Speaker 1: efficient in Europe last year. So I'm really interested to

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Speaker 1: see how it translates. Really, it'll just come down to

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Speaker 1: what he can do defensively. Who can you guard? That's

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Speaker 1: always the question when you get to the NBA. And

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Speaker 1: I do like the scheme consistency having him coming in

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Speaker 1: force the bonus. They also drafted Colby Jones in the

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Speaker 1: early second round, big guard out of Xavier. Good physical tools.

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Speaker 1: He's about six y five, has about a six to

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Speaker 1: eight wingspan, reasonably strong. I think he'll put on a

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Speaker 1: couple pounds too. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up

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Speaker 1: around two ten by the time he gets to training camp.

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Speaker 1: Uses his physical tools well like he like most big

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Speaker 1: guards that you're hoping for. He plays slow and methodically

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Speaker 1: gets guys trapped on his backside. Really really good floater.

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Speaker 1: He was actually fifty five percent on seventy seven floaters

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Speaker 1: last year. He loves to kind of like bait you

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Speaker 1: into contesting a mid range shot right like he'll kind

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Speaker 1: of snake the pick and roll and like get into

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Speaker 1: the mid age and like hesitate back like he's gonna shoot,

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Speaker 1: and then he loves to step through and shoot that

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Speaker 1: little right handed floater over the top. He also was

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Speaker 1: a very good catch shoot player. He was sixty four

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Speaker 1: percent in effective field goal percentage on catch and shoot

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Speaker 1: jump shots last year, and he shot sixty two percent

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Speaker 1: at the rim, which is very good for a guard.

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Speaker 1: Biggest weakness for him right now does not have a

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Speaker 1: reliable pull up jump shot. He was just nineteen for

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Speaker 1: seventy on pull up jump shots last year. But I

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Speaker 1: do like to pick and I think he could immediately

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Speaker 1: help the Kings kind of as like a second side

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Speaker 1: creator off the bench. This is a team that's got

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Speaker 1: a lot of guys that love to come flying off

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Speaker 1: with screens and shoot, and guys that are taller and

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Speaker 1: lankier and more off ball players. But it'd be interesting

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Speaker 1: to kind of have him potentially as a long term

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Speaker 1: prospect as a guard. He actually was one point one

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Speaker 1: to zero points per possession in two hundred and five

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Speaker 1: picking rolls last year. That's awesome, especially for a young player.

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Speaker 1: So I definitely like the Colby Jones pick as a

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Speaker 1: long term prospect. The depth chart coming into this season

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Speaker 1: at guard Deer and Fox, Malik Monk, Daveon Mitchell, Kevin Herder,

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Speaker 1: Colby Jones, and Chris Duarte at Ford, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray,

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Speaker 1: Trey Lyles, and Kessler. Edward's one of my favorite young

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Speaker 1: wing defenders in the league, Aarreon Kessler, and then the

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Speaker 1: Biggs demonis Sabonis Sashevazankov. He might end up playing some

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Speaker 1: forward as well. That'd be really interesting if you could

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Speaker 1: play the two of them together, especially with the weakness

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Speaker 1: they had on the front line and rebounding situations, and

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Speaker 1: just in general protecting the rim. Alex lenn and JaVale

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Speaker 1: McGee as well. All Right, let's talk about the offensive

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Speaker 1: end of the floor for a minute. So the Kings

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Speaker 1: had the number one offense in the NBA last year

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Speaker 1: by a significant margin. They averaged one hundred and eighteen

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Speaker 1: point six points per one hundred possessions. That was a

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Speaker 1: full one point three points ahead of second place. They

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Speaker 1: also had the second best half court offense, just zero

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Speaker 1: point three points per one hundred posessions, behind the Dallas Mavericks.

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Speaker 1: They were a heavy, heavy transition team. They scored two

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Speaker 1: thousand and fifty nine points last year in transition, according

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Speaker 1: to Synergy, that was the third most in the NBA.

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Speaker 1: They were not an efficient transition team. They scored just

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Speaker 1: one point one to one points per possession in transition,

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Speaker 1: which was twenty fifth in the NBA. NBA, But like

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Speaker 1: we were talking about with the Memphis Grizzlies, one point one

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Speaker 1: to one, which is not efficient compared to other transition offenses,

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Speaker 1: is still way more efficient than even the best half

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Speaker 1: court offense could ever hope to be. The MAVs were

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Speaker 1: the best half court offense in the league last year

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Speaker 1: at a one oh five offensive rating, So even at

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Speaker 1: a one to eleven in transition, that's better than anything

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Speaker 1: you're gonna get in half court, which is why teams

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Speaker 1: like that hunt those opportunities so often. They were super

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Speaker 1: low in volume for pick and roll compared to the

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Speaker 1: rest of the league, only twenty eight times per game.

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Speaker 1: Only the Warriors run fewer pick and rolls than the Kings,

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Speaker 1: but that's because they run a lot of their two

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Speaker 1: game as dribble handoffs, which we'll talk about in a

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Speaker 1: few minutes. But they were great when they did run

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Speaker 1: pick and rolls. They were one point zero five points

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Speaker 1: per possession. That was the fifth highest mark in the league.

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Speaker 1: Dearon Fox led the way here. You guys, remember that

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Speaker 1: high volume pick and roll list I've been talking about

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Speaker 1: all offseason. So like the fifteen guys who ran at

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Speaker 1: least a thousand, well, dearon Fox ran nine hundred and

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Speaker 1: ninety nine, so he just barely missed that list. But

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Speaker 1: had he made that list, his one point zero eight

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Speaker 1: points per possession would have been fourth on the list.

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Speaker 1: So Dearen Fox was one of the very best pick

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Speaker 1: and roll ball handlers in the league last year for

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Speaker 1: all intents and purposes, even though he didn't meet my

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Speaker 1: one thousand qualification. All about versatility. With Aaron Fox, he

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Speaker 1: was forty six percent on pull up jump shots in

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Speaker 1: the mid range, fifty four percent on floaters, so just

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Speaker 1: a devastating mid range attacks short of the rim. Awesome

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Speaker 1: at the rim as well. He's seventy seven percent in

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Speaker 1: the restricted area on three makes per game, and he

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Speaker 1: can make all the passes right so the rollman in

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Speaker 1: the kickout passes to shooters as well. I thought he

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Speaker 1: passed really well for the most part in the Warriors series.

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Speaker 1: His only real weakness right now with Dearon Fox is

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Speaker 1: his three point shooting off the dribble. He's only thirty

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Speaker 1: percent on pull up threes last season, but that super

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Speaker 1: diverse shot creation in pick and roll. Again, it's like

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Speaker 1: we talked about three level scoring when it comes to

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Speaker 1: like ISO players right like at the rim, midrange three

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Speaker 1: point shots. I look at it as like four levels.

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Speaker 1: With pick and roll, It's like, can you make the

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Speaker 1: threes off the bounce. Can you score in the mid

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Speaker 1: range of off the dribble, and then can you make floaters?

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Speaker 1: And then can you score at the rim. The reason

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Speaker 1: why the floaters in mid range jump shots are different

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Speaker 1: in pick and roll is because of back pressure. So like,

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Speaker 1: if a defender's trailing you in pick and roll, a

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Speaker 1: pull up jump shot doesn't matter because you're gonna take

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Speaker 1: a pull up jump shot and the guy's gonna come

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Speaker 1: from behind and swipe the ball away from you. You've

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Speaker 1: got to have a forward moving shot when the defender's

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Speaker 1: trailing you in pick and roll, that's the floater, right

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Speaker 1: So like with pick and roll scoring, I look at

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Speaker 1: Moore's four levels, and right now, Dearon Fox is really

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Speaker 1: sharpened three of the four levels. He's off the charts,

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Speaker 1: good at the rim, off the charts, good with his floater,

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Speaker 1: off the charts, good with his pull up, maybe not

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Speaker 1: off the charts good, but very very good with his

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Speaker 1: pull up jump shot. He just needs to tie off

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Speaker 1: that three point shooting piece and then he will go

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Speaker 1: up even a further level from there. Malik Monk, Harrison, Barnes,

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Speaker 1: Kevin heard her all just slightly over a point per possession,

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Speaker 1: which is good. Keegan Murray one point two points per possession,

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Speaker 1: which is awesome, although in a small sample size, Davion

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Speaker 1: Mitchell was really the only ball handler for the Kings

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Speaker 1: last year that struggled in pick and roll. He was

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Speaker 1: just a bit below average. But this team just has

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Speaker 1: an absurd amount of ball handling and shooting talent, Like

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Speaker 1: they were even the fifth best spot up team in

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Speaker 1: the league. They converted spot up possessions at one point

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Speaker 1: zero nine points per possession. So that's really the genesis

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Speaker 1: of the King's offensive success. They've got this spolkrum right

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Speaker 1: in Deerren Fox, who's this incredible high pick and roll

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Speaker 1: player or drible handoff player too. Just considered it a

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Speaker 1: two man game play, right, And that partnership with demonasa bonus.

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Speaker 1: But then everybody around them is not just a good

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Speaker 1: ball handler, but like an above average ballhander, not just

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Speaker 1: a good shooter, but an above average shooter. And so

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Speaker 1: these guys can run these actions against the set defense

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Speaker 1: and get over a point per possession, and so there

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Speaker 1: is no weak point in the offense. There's no like

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Speaker 1: a weak point in that chain, right, And so that's

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Speaker 1: why they're so successful. When they start driving and kicking

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Speaker 1: teams to death. But this team loves to run dribble handoffs.

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Speaker 1: I was actually rewatching Game seven against the Warriors this morning,

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Speaker 1: and they ran a handoff on five of their first

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Speaker 1: six possessions, and they just basically toss the ball to

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Speaker 1: Sabonis sometime after they've crossed half court, and Sabonis will

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Speaker 1: kind of dribble up to the to the above the

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Speaker 1: brake line, and then he's just turning and looking and

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Speaker 1: waiting for one of these guys to come off that handoff.

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Speaker 1: And the Warriors in particular were just completely ignoring Sabonis

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Speaker 1: playing off of him. But he would just wait and

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Speaker 1: then as the offensive player would cut off of him,

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Speaker 1: he would kind of hand the ball off and then

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Speaker 1: he'd pivot backwards to try to generate contact with the

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Speaker 1: defender as he's trailing to play to get separation right.

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Speaker 1: And guys like Keegan Murray and Kevin Herder are primarily

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Speaker 1: coming off of those handoffs looking to take quick catch

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Speaker 1: and shoot threes, and guys like Harrison Barnes and deer

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Speaker 1: and Fox and Elik Monk are more looking to put

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Speaker 1: the ball on the floor. Harrison Martin will do a

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Speaker 1: little bit of both, and a Malik Monk will occasionally

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Speaker 1: rise and fire as well, but for the most part,

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Speaker 1: those guys are looking more to get off the dribble.

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Speaker 1: The Kings actually ran the most handoffs in the league.

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Speaker 1: They ran one hundred and twenty nine more handoffs than

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Speaker 1: the second place team, which was actually the San Antonio Spurs,

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Speaker 1: and they converted handoffs at one point zero zero eight

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Speaker 1: points per possession, which was the second best mark in

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Speaker 1: the league. So they were basically the very best team

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Speaker 1: in the league. Get running handoffs first in frequency, second

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Speaker 1: and efficiency. You're not going to do any better than that. Now.

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Speaker 1: The Warriors basically shut this action down, and the way

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Speaker 1: they did that is they put Kevon Looney on Demona

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Speaker 1: Sabonis and had him basically just lag back into the paint.

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Speaker 1: And as a result, you know, as long as that

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Speaker 1: guard for the Warriors could stay reasonably attached coming over

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Speaker 1: the top. So Bonus wasn't looking to shoot very often,

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Speaker 1: and when he did, he didn't make enough of him

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Speaker 1: In that series, like Demonasbonis would occasionally like step forward

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Speaker 1: and take some three off the dribble or or pull

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Speaker 1: up jump shot off the dribble. Occasionally he'd turn and

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Speaker 1: face Looney and attack him, but Looney was bumping him

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Speaker 1: off his spots and causing all sorts of problems. So

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Speaker 1: so Bonis was kind of the weak point in that

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Speaker 1: dribble handoff situation. And as long as the guard was

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Speaker 1: attached over the top and could funnel the guards into

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Speaker 1: the lane, Kevon Looney's there waiting, and Sabonis did have

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Speaker 1: some success on the offensive glass. He grabbed a shit

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Speaker 1: ton of offensive rebounds in the in the series, but

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Speaker 1: the total, the total package of Sabonis as a threat

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Speaker 1: in that two man game ended up being a problem,

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Speaker 1: and the Warriors held Kings dribble handoffs to just zero

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Speaker 1: point eighty seven points per possession. That's twenty one points

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Speaker 1: per one hundred possessions, worse than where they were in

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Speaker 1: the regular season. The bright spot in the Warriors series

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Speaker 1: was the Deer and Fox and Malik Monk duo and

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Speaker 1: the ability they had to consistently get dribble penetration. So

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Speaker 1: anytime you take a look at a new playoff team,

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Speaker 1: right and we're gonna get to see this with I

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Speaker 1: think the Oklahoma City Thunder are gonna make the playoffs

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Speaker 1: this year and We'll get to see what Jalen Williams

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Speaker 1: can do in a playoff setting. We're gonna to see

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Speaker 1: what Sga can do in a seven gamer as the

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Speaker 1: number one option. Right, We're gonna see Josh Gitty, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna see Chad Homer and these guys, and you're gonna

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Speaker 1: find out, like will it translate? Because that's always the question, right,

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Speaker 1: And there's a difference between regular season basketball and playoff basketball,

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Speaker 1: and that chasm is getting bigger and bigger by the year,

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Speaker 1: and so it's always intriguing when you see a new

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Speaker 1: playoff team come onto the scene, like what's good and

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Speaker 1: what's not because the playoffs they have a We always

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Speaker 1: talk about how they expose weaknesses, and they do. If

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Speaker 1: you have a great weakness, the playoffs are going to

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Speaker 1: shine a light on that, but they also sign a

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Speaker 1: shine a light on your great strengths because even if

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Speaker 1: you do have an elite defense, and even if you

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Speaker 1: do secure defensive rebounds, you go over to the other

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Speaker 1: end of the floor, you're gonna face an elite defense,

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Speaker 1: and what you're gonna find out really quickly there is

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Speaker 1: are your offensive folkrum's actually capable of generating quality shots

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Speaker 1: against playoff caliber defenses in playoff scouting situations over a

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks against the same defenders, seeing them a

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Speaker 1: thousand times, right, that's when you're gonna find out whether

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Speaker 1: or not their top tier offensive skill is actually worth

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Speaker 1: what it's capable of being worth in a playoff setting.

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Speaker 1: And that was what was really intriguing and encouraging about

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Speaker 1: this Kings team. Both Deer and Fox and Malikmunk can

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Speaker 1: beat people off the dribble in the playoffs consistently, and

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Speaker 1: that was encouraging. They were able to consistently get the

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Speaker 1: Warriors into rotation by beating people off the dribble, and that,

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Speaker 1: to me is a really really good foundation moving forward

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Speaker 1: because you can identify the other weaknesses. Right, we're gonna

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Speaker 1: talk about saib Bonis in a second. I thought he

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Speaker 1: was the biggest weakness in their offense. In their offense

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Speaker 1: last year in the playoffs and against the Warriors, but

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Speaker 1: also on the defensive end. You're gonna see these specific things,

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Speaker 1: but one of the positive things that came out of

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Speaker 1: it was Daron Fox and Malik Monk. That's the foundation there,

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Speaker 1: So you look at that as something you can replicate.

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Speaker 1: You can count on that next year when you get

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Speaker 1: to that first round series again, whoever it is you're playing,

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Speaker 1: Daron Fox and Milik Monk will be able to beat

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Speaker 1: people off the dribble. Okay, how do we build out

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Speaker 1: the rest of it? How do we figure out how

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Speaker 1: to get enough stops? How do we figure out how

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Speaker 1: to fix the problem with Simonis in the two man game? Right? So,

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Speaker 1: like we got a foundation, now we can move forward

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Speaker 1: and look at the rest of the roster from there. Well,

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Speaker 1: let's talk about Sibonus because I thought he was the

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Speaker 1: biggest weakness in the Kings offense during that playoff series.

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Speaker 1: So a two man game requires both players to be

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Speaker 1: a threat, otherwise it's not a two man game, right.

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Speaker 1: So as much of a threat as the guards were,

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Speaker 1: as good as Malik Munk and Darren Fox were, Darren

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Speaker 1: demonas Sabonis was actually kind of a problem. His jumper

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Speaker 1: was completely ineffective. He only took twenty three of them

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Speaker 1: in the series, despite the fact that the Warriors were

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Speaker 1: basically leaving him unguarded, and he converted those twenty three

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Speaker 1: jump shots into just nineteen points. That's zero point eighty

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Speaker 1: three points per possession. So leaving him open was a

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Speaker 1: win for the Warriors. That he wasn't able to convert

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Speaker 1: those enough frequently, He wasn't he didn't want to take them,

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Speaker 1: and then even when he did, he wasn't converting them enough,

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Speaker 1: and then he couldn't finish around the rim. He really

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Speaker 1: really struggled to finish over Kevon Looney and Draymond Green

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Speaker 1: at the rim. As a matter of fact, after shooting

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Speaker 1: sixty nine percent at the rim in the regular season,

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Speaker 1: Sabona shot is fifty six percent at the rim against

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Speaker 1: the Warriors. And this is an interesting outcome that I've

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Speaker 1: seen a lot in NBA history biggs that don't have

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Speaker 1: like unbelievable supreme gifts. And like, here's the thing. Sabonis

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Speaker 1: is not small, but he's not way bigger than everybody, right,

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Speaker 1: Like jokicch is so much bigger than everybody at the

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Speaker 1: position that he can play bullyball and it works, right,

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Speaker 1: Like Lebron James is so much bigger than everybody who

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Speaker 1: plays his position that he can bullyball. He can play

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Speaker 1: bullyball all game long. Right. But when you and that,

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Speaker 1: and that's why even in everything that Lebron struggled with

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Speaker 1: in last year's playoffs, he was good in the post. Right.

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Speaker 1: That's the way I look at the situation with these

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Speaker 1: power players that don't have the supreme uh like strength advantage. Right,

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Speaker 1: Look at Kevin Love over the years, Look at like

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Speaker 1: Blake Griffin and what would happen to him? Sometimes when

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Speaker 1: you get to the playoffs, look at Julius Randall and

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Speaker 1: what's been happening to him in the last few playoff runs? Right,

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Speaker 1: And then it's happening with Sabonis as well. These big

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Speaker 1: forward centers that are that play bullyball during the regular

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Speaker 1: season and can bury people under the rim and finish

409
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Speaker 1: around the rim during the regular season. You get to

410
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Speaker 1: the postseason, you facet utter defensive front courts. More physicality

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Speaker 1: is allowed, guys are able to shove and push on

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Speaker 1: you more, and suddenly that bully ball doesn't work as well.

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Speaker 1: And so then you'll see Kevin Love run into Thaddeus

414
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Speaker 1: Young and get his ass kicked, right, or Draymond Green

415
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,280
Speaker 1: used to kill him too, Or you'll see Demanda Sabonis

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Speaker 1: run into Kevon Looney and have problems Like you'll see

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Speaker 1: Julius Randall run into bam Adebayo and suddenly he can't

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Speaker 1: bully him, and now his lack of touch gets exposed.

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Speaker 1: Like if you don't have top tier touch in those situations,

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Speaker 1: it can be a problem. Like at least for Kevin

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Speaker 1: Love when it was failing, when his post up attack

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00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,919
Speaker 1: was failing, he could run pick and pop and spot

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Speaker 1: up to the weekside corner and be a threat, which

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Speaker 1: is why Kevin Love still had some offensive impact even

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Speaker 1: after his low post game was removed in specific matchups. Right,

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Speaker 1: But for Sabonis, he shoves people around in the regular season,

427
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,560
Speaker 1: gets wherever he wants to go, makes everything around the rim,

428
00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:58,520
Speaker 1: and then he gets to the postseason and suddenly he

429
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,800
Speaker 1: can't make anything. He went from nineteen points per game

430
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,399
Speaker 1: on sixty seven percent true shooting in the regular season

431
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,880
Speaker 1: to sixteen points per game on fifty two percent true

432
00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:09,919
Speaker 1: shooting in the playoffs. And this has been a career

433
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,879
Speaker 1: long problem for them for him. He has a career

434
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,520
Speaker 1: sixty one percent true shooting in the regular season and

435
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,080
Speaker 1: fifty four percent in the playoffs. That's a seven percent

436
00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,600
Speaker 1: decline over his entire career. And there's four playoff runs

437
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,000
Speaker 1: in there at this point. So like that's the reality

438
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,640
Speaker 1: right now, is Sabonis is not a good enough jump

439
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,639
Speaker 1: shooter to be a threat away from the basket, and

440
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,000
Speaker 1: his bully ball rim attack doesn't work in the postseason.

441
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,359
Speaker 1: And so when you combine that with the fact that

442
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:40,520
Speaker 1: he's not a good defensive player, his impact craters when

443
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:42,639
Speaker 1: he gets to the postseason. But here's the thing. That

444
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,280
Speaker 1: problem is not going away because demonas Sabonis just signed

445
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:48,879
Speaker 1: a four year, one hundred and eighty six million dollar extension.

446
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,800
Speaker 1: So that's something that they're going to have to learn

447
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,080
Speaker 1: how to overcome. So let's go back to what we

448
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,720
Speaker 1: were talking about earlier. We have our foundation, right, Fox

449
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,760
Speaker 1: and Monk beating people off the dribble are The second

450
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,680
Speaker 1: piece of our foundation is our overwhelming offensive skill, right,

451
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,200
Speaker 1: So it's all of the ball handling and shooting down

452
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,800
Speaker 1: the roster from guys like Keegan Murray, Kevin Herder, and

453
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,680
Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes, Right, And he throws the bonus in there too.

454
00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:15,520
Speaker 1: So you got all this offensive skill, Well, those guys

455
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,320
Speaker 1: all shot like shit, right, Like especially Harrison Barnes and

456
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,919
Speaker 1: Kevin Herder really struggled to shoot in that in that

457
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,920
Speaker 1: playoff series against the Warriors as a team, as a

458
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,479
Speaker 1: matter of fact, the King shot just thirty one percent. Okay,

459
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:29,440
Speaker 1: So let's just take a glass half full approach there

460
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,560
Speaker 1: and say they were a little nervous first playoff run

461
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,760
Speaker 1: for that group in general, Harrison Barnes hadn't had a

462
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,199
Speaker 1: playoff run in a few years. Let's just call that

463
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,960
Speaker 1: a fluke and say they're all gonna shoot better next year. Okay,

464
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,960
Speaker 1: So let's accept that. And for the record, I'm not

465
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,679
Speaker 1: sure that's gonna happen, but let's just accept that for

466
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,400
Speaker 1: the sake of this argument. So I've got my offensive

467
00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 1: foundation and my shot creators. I've got this overwhelming offensive skill.

468
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,560
Speaker 1: The third pieces, they have to find a way to

469
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,000
Speaker 1: get stops, and that was never a priority for them.

470
00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,479
Speaker 1: Last year. They were twenty fourth in defense on the season,

471
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,000
Speaker 1: twenty eighth and half court defense. According to Cleaning the Glass.

472
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:10,720
Speaker 1: The only two worst half court defenses than the Kings

473
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,720
Speaker 1: last year's last year were the Rockets and the Spurs,

474
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,159
Speaker 1: two teams that were deliberately trying to lose games. They

475
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,240
Speaker 1: were twenty fifth in paint defense. They allowed fifty three

476
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,879
Speaker 1: points in the paint per one hundred possessions. They allowed

477
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,480
Speaker 1: teams to shoot sixty nine percent in the restricted area

478
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,480
Speaker 1: that was twenty fifth in the league. They were eighteenth

479
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,560
Speaker 1: in defending the three point line in the amount of

480
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,159
Speaker 1: made three pointers they allowed per one hundred possessions, and

481
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,320
Speaker 1: they were seventeenth and rebounding. The only thing they were

482
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,520
Speaker 1: good at on defense was transition. They were third in

483
00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:45,240
Speaker 1: transition defensive transition defense frequency and eighth in transition defense efficiency.

484
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,320
Speaker 1: But outside of that, they were bad everywhere on defense,

485
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:50,760
Speaker 1: and it was everywhere in the personnel as well. So

486
00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,840
Speaker 1: Bonus not a good rim protector, Harrison Barnes not a

487
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,639
Speaker 1: good low man help defender, right, And these guys are

488
00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,440
Speaker 1: capable of being better than they were for the record,

489
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 1: I'm just talking about what they were last year. Herd

490
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:06,479
Speaker 1: her Murray not good perimeter defenders. Darren Fox capable of

491
00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 1: being a good defender, had moments of being a good

492
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 1: defender in the Warrior Series, but didn't over the course

493
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,800
Speaker 1: of the season establish himself as a good perimeter defender right.

494
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,080
Speaker 1: So down the line, it was a personnel issue, and

495
00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:21,320
Speaker 1: when you're not bothering anybody around the rim like Barnes,

496
00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,639
Speaker 1: Sabonis is one of the worst defensive front courts in

497
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,400
Speaker 1: the NBA. When you're not bothering anybody around the rim,

498
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,960
Speaker 1: and you're not containing anybody on the perimeter. You're just

499
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,440
Speaker 1: gonna give up driving lanes all game long. I watched

500
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,000
Speaker 1: a ton of King's pick and roll defensive possessions this

501
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,320
Speaker 1: year because I was trying to get a feel for

502
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:39,359
Speaker 1: their scheme, and their scheme was very aggressive, Like Sabonis

503
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 1: was showing high on almost every ball screen, So like

504
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: you would see when the ball screener is going up

505
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,560
Speaker 1: to set a screen for the pick and roll ball

506
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:49,920
Speaker 1: handler for the other team, Sabonus is coming way out

507
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,680
Speaker 1: to the top of the key and he's basically trying

508
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,240
Speaker 1: to catch the ball handler as he's coming off and

509
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,200
Speaker 1: contain him until the guard recovers, and then he goes

510
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,840
Speaker 1: back and if the guard doesn't recover, he'll hang for

511
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,960
Speaker 1: a switch and then the guard will peel off and

512
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 1: try to box out the big man rolling into the basket.

513
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,359
Speaker 1: But Sabonis was getting toasted up there a lot, like

514
00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 1: getting just flat out beat off the dribble as he

515
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 1: would rise up to contain right and teams weren't just

516
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:15,600
Speaker 1: doing that to Sabonis, they were doing it in guard

517
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,000
Speaker 1: guard actions like they would like call Kevin Herder's man over,

518
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,320
Speaker 1: and Herder would like hard show like catch heads, try

519
00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:24,439
Speaker 1: to like contain the ball for the guy to recover,

520
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:26,280
Speaker 1: and then he would just get beat like with a

521
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 1: with a split back towards the screen or or the

522
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,080
Speaker 1: hard dribble around and they just every single ball screen

523
00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 1: they were giving up dribble penetration. And so I mean,

524
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,280
Speaker 1: I don't really have a good answer for the off

525
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,199
Speaker 1: ball actions with the with the guards, right, So, like

526
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,240
Speaker 1: if they're gonna bring Herd her into the screen and

527
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,760
Speaker 1: he can't contain either, there's really no answer there. Like

528
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:47,760
Speaker 1: if Herder can't keep the ball in front of him,

529
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 1: there's not really anything you can do. But at least

530
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,640
Speaker 1: in the Sabonis situations, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd

531
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:54,840
Speaker 1: tinker with that a little bit and maybe consider dropping

532
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,720
Speaker 1: Sabonis a little bit deeper, because maybe it'd be better

533
00:25:57,720 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 1: to give up more pull up jump shots and floaters

534
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 1: than all of these easy layups they're giving up at

535
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,320
Speaker 1: the rim. But it has to be a commitment thing

536
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:07,720
Speaker 1: from the top down. There are good perimeter defenders on

537
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,840
Speaker 1: this team. Dearn Fox is capable of being a good

538
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,359
Speaker 1: perimeter defender, Davion Mitchell is capable of being or Davian

539
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,640
Speaker 1: Mitchell is an excellent perimeter defender. Kessler Edwards is capable

540
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,320
Speaker 1: of being a very good perimeter wing defender with good size. Right. So, like,

541
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,720
Speaker 1: if you don't have rim protection, you have to be

542
00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 1: elite at the point of attack. And so one of

543
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,720
Speaker 1: the things you saw Mike Brown do in the series

544
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,520
Speaker 1: against the Warriors is he just started taking Herder and

545
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:35,280
Speaker 1: Murray out of the game and playing other guys who

546
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 1: were more willing to defend. And so at a certain

547
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 1: point you have to wonder if maybe Mike Brown needs

548
00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:43,160
Speaker 1: to do that from a cultural standpoint from the start

549
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,920
Speaker 1: of camp, like, Hey, Kevin Herder, you're our guy. Keegan Murray,

550
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 1: you're our guy. Harrison Barnes, you're a guy. I'm not

551
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 1: trying to to discount any of that and what we

552
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,639
Speaker 1: have planned for you, and obviously we want you to

553
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,399
Speaker 1: have these spots, but if you don't defend, we're gonna

554
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,359
Speaker 1: have to give a portion of your minutes, a bigger

555
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,800
Speaker 1: portion of your minutes to guys like Davion Mitchell, to

556
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 1: guys like Kesler Edwards, Right, guys that are at least

557
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 1: going to try to compete on the defensive end of

558
00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,720
Speaker 1: the four right, And so I think that's something that

559
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,040
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to culturally set from the beginning of

560
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,600
Speaker 1: the year. Because here's the deal are the Do the

561
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,240
Speaker 1: Kings have bad defensive personnel? Yes? Do I expect them

562
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,440
Speaker 1: to be even capable of ever having a top ten

563
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:27,199
Speaker 1: defense with Sabonis as the rint protector, No, obviously not.

564
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,920
Speaker 1: But should they be the twenty eighth ranked half court

565
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 1: defense in the league better than just the Rockets and Spurs.

566
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:39,080
Speaker 1: Obviously not. That's just laziness. And so as I look

567
00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,800
Speaker 1: at the Kings this season, your goal needs to be

568
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,080
Speaker 1: basically the way Denver approached defense. If you're an offensive team,

569
00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,119
Speaker 1: that you think you're gonna be unguardable. And for the record,

570
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,280
Speaker 1: I do not think the Kings are close to as

571
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:53,359
Speaker 1: good offensively as the Nuggets. We saw the Warriors contain

572
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,560
Speaker 1: them to an offensive rating below one to ten in

573
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,880
Speaker 1: that playoff series. They can be stopped to a much

574
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,679
Speaker 1: greater extent than the Denver Nuggets can because they have

575
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 1: a truly unstoppable offensive weapon in Nikola Jokic, and as

576
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:06,840
Speaker 1: good as Daron Fox is, it's not in the same

577
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:11,160
Speaker 1: stratosphere offensively as Nikolea Jokic. Right, So, I think this

578
00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:13,720
Speaker 1: idea is dead on arrival. But even if you do

579
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,600
Speaker 1: think that your offense is capable of getting you over

580
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,520
Speaker 1: the top, you've got to get to fifteen in the

581
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,399
Speaker 1: defensive rating, and by establishing good habits by being a

582
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,800
Speaker 1: good transition defense, which you already are, by improving your

583
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,120
Speaker 1: defensive rebounding, which by the way, a deeper drop could

584
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:31,560
Speaker 1: help with as well, by by containing better on the perimeter,

585
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,920
Speaker 1: by just by doing those things, by rotating better when

586
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,440
Speaker 1: the defense gets in rotation, chasing shooters off the line.

587
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,320
Speaker 1: Better commitment in those areas could bump you up to

588
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 1: fifteenth in defensive rating, which is going to give you

589
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,400
Speaker 1: the habits that you need to have a fighting chance

590
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,920
Speaker 1: when you get to the postseason, especially if your shooters

591
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 1: do shoot better in the postseason, especially if Sabonis does

592
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,240
Speaker 1: play better in the postseason, then you can mess around

593
00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,440
Speaker 1: and beat some people. But to be clear, as of

594
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,480
Speaker 1: right now, even though I like that foundation of deeron

595
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:04,280
Speaker 1: Fox Round by shooting and playing with the skill big like,

596
00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 1: even though I like that foundation, this team cannot win

597
00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:12,320
Speaker 1: a championship as currently constructed there two week defensively in

598
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,520
Speaker 1: the front court and not good enough offensively to make

599
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,520
Speaker 1: up for it. But they have a chance to compete

600
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,080
Speaker 1: within this season and win a playoff series or two

601
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:23,840
Speaker 1: if they at least establish good defensive habits and get

602
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:28,560
Speaker 1: better offensive performances out of their role players. All right,

603
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,840
Speaker 1: let's move on to the mail bag. So first I

604
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,520
Speaker 1: wanted to so yesterday that random take I had about

605
00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:37,960
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson and John Moran went all over the place,

606
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,240
Speaker 1: and unfortunately it was I had hit it in passing

607
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,560
Speaker 1: in the Knicks video, So I didn't really dive into

608
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:46,800
Speaker 1: the basketball, which is always a bummer because like, here's

609
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 1: the thing, I can stand on whatever opinion I take,

610
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,680
Speaker 1: no matter what, because I do the requisite research. But

611
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,920
Speaker 1: in that specific video, I didn't really break down the

612
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,520
Speaker 1: basketball reasons why I view Jalen Brunson as a slightly

613
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,760
Speaker 1: better player than John Morant in the immediate future. And

614
00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,240
Speaker 1: so I wanted to talk about that really quick, because like, again,

615
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,200
Speaker 1: this to me falls into that classic debate that we've

616
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,920
Speaker 1: seen throughout NBA history about the young up and comer

617
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 1: versus the established guy who kind of already has the

618
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,520
Speaker 1: polish right. So, for instance, like Kobe versus Lebron in

619
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 1: the late two thousands, like eight nine, twenty ten, Lebron

620
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,320
Speaker 1: fans all swore that Lebron was better because he put

621
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,520
Speaker 1: up better numbers and he was winning more awards, and

622
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 1: he's back to back MVP and all this stuff. But meanwhile,

623
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:33,160
Speaker 1: Kobe's winning playoff series, albeit with a better team, but

624
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,920
Speaker 1: winning playoff series because he was a better half court

625
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,440
Speaker 1: shot creator at that point. This is a fact, Like

626
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,880
Speaker 1: he was just a little better at navigating the playoff

627
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,720
Speaker 1: environment than Lebron was at that point. So I actually

628
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,280
Speaker 1: think Kobe was better than Lebron in the late twenty tens.

629
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 1: Then come twenty twelve, I think Lebron took that mantle

630
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,560
Speaker 1: and I don't think anybody passed him. Right. That's why

631
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 1: I'm saying the same thing about Giannis. Everyone's like, oh,

632
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,680
Speaker 1: Jannis is the best player in the league in twenty twenty,

633
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,720
Speaker 1: and I'm like, no, Like, Lebron is just way better

634
00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,560
Speaker 1: at navigating the playoff chess match than Giannis is right now,

635
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 1: he's a better player. That's kind of the way I

636
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:09,680
Speaker 1: look at the Jalen Brunson thing. John Moran is unquestionably

637
00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,600
Speaker 1: going to be a better player than Jalen Brunson in

638
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 1: the long run. John Morant. Obviously, if I'm the Knicks

639
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,560
Speaker 1: GM and Memphis calls me and goes, hey, I want

640
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,640
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson for John Morant straight up, which I don't

641
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:23,640
Speaker 1: even think the salaries work, but of course I'd be like, yeah,

642
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,280
Speaker 1: like give me John Moran. I want John Moran. He's

643
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 1: gonna be a better player in the long run. That

644
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,000
Speaker 1: wasn't the point of what I was talking about. What

645
00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 1: I was talking about is right now, in the half

646
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,240
Speaker 1: court setting that you most frequently encounter in the playoffs,

647
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,560
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson is a better and more versatile shot creator.

648
00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:42,960
Speaker 1: He can score out of the post, He could score

649
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,320
Speaker 1: in isolation, He could score in pick and roll. He

650
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:46,720
Speaker 1: was one of the very best pick and roll ball

651
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 1: handlers in the league last year, a better one than

652
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,200
Speaker 1: John Morant. He was one of the best post up

653
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 1: guards in the league last year, one of the best

654
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,600
Speaker 1: ISO guards in the league last year, and so he

655
00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: was able to against Cleveland when even Donovan Mitchell was

656
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:04,720
Speaker 1: against that defense. He was able to against the Knicks defense,

657
00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,720
Speaker 1: which was a lesser defense against the number one defense

658
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:10,320
Speaker 1: in the league. And again we talked about all the

659
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,080
Speaker 1: offensive issues that Cleveland was having, but against the number

660
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,920
Speaker 1: one defense in the league, Jalen Brunson was able to

661
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,640
Speaker 1: slowly and methodically find the good shots that existed within

662
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:22,240
Speaker 1: those games. He was able to pick on Cheeddy Osman

663
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,080
Speaker 1: in switches. He was able to identify when he'd have

664
00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,000
Speaker 1: Darius Garland don him and try to put him into

665
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: pick and roll to get a good shot right like,

666
00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,080
Speaker 1: he was able to attack the mismatches, and so as

667
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,040
Speaker 1: a result, when the game slowed down into those situations,

668
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,400
Speaker 1: Jalen was better. He was the best player on the floor.

669
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:42,120
Speaker 1: He outplayed Donovan Mitchell in that series. And so to me,

670
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,040
Speaker 1: that's kind of the differentiator. Like John Morant is going

671
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:46,920
Speaker 1: to have all the highlights, He's going to fill the

672
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,800
Speaker 1: box score, just like Giannis could fill the box score

673
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,400
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty, just like Lebron could fill the box

674
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,600
Speaker 1: score in two thousand and nine. No one's questioning the accolades,

675
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,120
Speaker 1: no one's questioning what he's capable of, no one's questioning

676
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,560
Speaker 1: the potential in the law run. But right if I

677
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:06,320
Speaker 1: had to start a playoff series tomorrow with equal supporting

678
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,480
Speaker 1: casts on both sides, and Jalen Brunson is navigating one

679
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,360
Speaker 1: team and John Morant's navigating the other team. I think

680
00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,520
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson wins that series because as of right now,

681
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:18,960
Speaker 1: at this moment in time, he is a more dynamic

682
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,200
Speaker 1: half court shot creator in the slow down, physical playoff

683
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,160
Speaker 1: environment then on the other end of the floor. Jalen

684
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,920
Speaker 1: Brunson is not a good defensive player, but he's not

685
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,080
Speaker 1: gonna hurt you there most of the time. Like I

686
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,120
Speaker 1: didn't think he had a good playoff or excuse me,

687
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,200
Speaker 1: I didn't think he had a good defensive run with

688
00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 1: Team USA that I thought that was a commitment thing

689
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,200
Speaker 1: that went down the roster. Obviously, he's not a great

690
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,800
Speaker 1: defensive player, but he as long as he's as long

691
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,640
Speaker 1: as he's surrounded by good personnel, he's not going to

692
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,800
Speaker 1: hurt you defensively in a playoff series. Because he's big

693
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,120
Speaker 1: and he's strong. You're not gonna be able to bully

694
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:53,720
Speaker 1: him in the post. You're not gonna be able to

695
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,920
Speaker 1: consistently beat him off the dribble. Right John Morant literally

696
00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:01,480
Speaker 1: is an atrocious defense under right now, he can make

697
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,520
Speaker 1: defensive plays, He's a defensive playmaker. He'll block a big

698
00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:06,440
Speaker 1: shot here or there right or he'll jump a passing

699
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:08,480
Speaker 1: lane here or there. But right now, he's not a

700
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,279
Speaker 1: good defensive player. As a matter of fact, the one

701
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:13,920
Speaker 1: time they won a playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves,

702
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,200
Speaker 1: one of the best bits of offense that the Timberwolves

703
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:20,239
Speaker 1: had was tossed the ball to Patrick Beverly and let

704
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,400
Speaker 1: him attack John Moran off the bounce, and he was

705
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,960
Speaker 1: having a lot of success that way. So that's the thing. Like,

706
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:28,759
Speaker 1: right now, John Morant's a bigger defensive liability and a

707
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,720
Speaker 1: lesser half court shot creator. So I think Jalen Brunson

708
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,279
Speaker 1: is a slightly better basketball player right now. Within the

709
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 1: next couple of years, Jaw's going to improve as an

710
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:39,080
Speaker 1: off ball defender. He's going to put on a little

711
00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:41,160
Speaker 1: bit muscle so he can improve as an on ball defender.

712
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:45,000
Speaker 1: He's going to get better at deciphering playoff defenses, identifying

713
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,400
Speaker 1: the types of counters that defenses employ against him in

714
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:50,239
Speaker 1: a series to try to make him uncomfortable, like he

715
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:52,719
Speaker 1: really struggled with the Lakers pick and roll coverage. He's

716
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,279
Speaker 1: gonna have opportunities to figure those things out and then

717
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 1: he will become a much better player than Jaylen Brunson.

718
00:34:58,200 --> 00:34:59,759
Speaker 1: But that was the only point I was trying to make.

719
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:03,160
Speaker 1: I was explaining why I had the Knicks above the

720
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:07,280
Speaker 1: Grizzlies in my rankings and explaining why I view Jalen

721
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,040
Speaker 1: Brunson as a slightly better player than John Moran in

722
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,759
Speaker 1: the short term. But I wanted to have an opportunity

723
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:14,880
Speaker 1: to actually talk about the basketball reasons for that. So

724
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:16,719
Speaker 1: I'm glad we got to do that today. All right,

725
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,360
Speaker 1: for mail back questions, and a couple of them are

726
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:23,640
Speaker 1: gonna be quick. Any plan, Oh, it actually only have

727
00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,800
Speaker 1: three mail back questions. That's my bad. So from Andy,

728
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,520
Speaker 1: any plans for a weekly NBA round table podcast once

729
00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:32,760
Speaker 1: the season starts would be great to see you interact

730
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,280
Speaker 1: with other volume guys, breaking down games, plays in the league,

731
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,799
Speaker 1: et cetera. So I'm not gonna get into details here

732
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,160
Speaker 1: because we have to finalize some stuff, but we have

733
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,000
Speaker 1: at least two things that we're working on that will

734
00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 1: add some kind of wrinkles to the regular season in

735
00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:48,320
Speaker 1: the way that we do the show. I do plan

736
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:52,520
Speaker 1: on working with guests more frequently this year, but at

737
00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:54,839
Speaker 1: the end of the day. This show is, at its

738
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,680
Speaker 1: core is always going to be just me breaking down games.

739
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:00,520
Speaker 1: For those of you guys who have been hump fans

740
00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,879
Speaker 1: of the show over the summer, like this is very

741
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,480
Speaker 1: different than what our show is normally like like we do,

742
00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:09,000
Speaker 1: although these, uh, these season previews are a little bit

743
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 1: more like what we like to do. But the player

744
00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:14,879
Speaker 1: rankings lists and the all time rankings lists, and that's

745
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,399
Speaker 1: all stuff just designed to get through the summer, right.

746
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,880
Speaker 1: It just gives us an excuse to talk about basketball

747
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:24,320
Speaker 1: and a bigger picture for fun in the in the

748
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,920
Speaker 1: dregs of the NBA off season, but in the regular season,

749
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,960
Speaker 1: it's a pretty consistent theme. I will wake up every day,

750
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,080
Speaker 1: watch the games from last night, give you a breakdown

751
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,200
Speaker 1: of the games, and then two or three nights a

752
00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:39,279
Speaker 1: week for major national TV games, will go live right

753
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,240
Speaker 1: after the games. But at its core, this is breaking

754
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:43,000
Speaker 1: down games. But what we're gonna try to do is

755
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,200
Speaker 1: add like a once the once a week type of

756
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,480
Speaker 1: thing where we bring someone on and talk more big

757
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:51,759
Speaker 1: picture stuff. So that's kind of the game plan. I'll

758
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,839
Speaker 1: keep you guys posted once we finalize stuff. Next mail

759
00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,560
Speaker 1: back question, why don't teams in the NBA utilize more

760
00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:02,120
Speaker 1: plays outside of picking role. Isn't the consensus. When the

761
00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,080
Speaker 1: ball moves more, the game is more exciting to watch. Also,

762
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:09,359
Speaker 1: this should give teams that have a tougher offense, So

763
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,840
Speaker 1: I'm trying to read this properly. Also this this should

764
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,680
Speaker 1: give teams a tougher offense to pit against the defense.

765
00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:18,880
Speaker 1: I'm removing one of the words there. So this is

766
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,880
Speaker 1: an interesting dynamic. So, first of all, there's a reason

767
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,960
Speaker 1: why teams have gone away from running sets to the

768
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,319
Speaker 1: extent that they used to. And the main reason why

769
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,479
Speaker 1: is just players are so much better now in terms

770
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:32,880
Speaker 1: of skill. Our skill development has reached a point now

771
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:37,719
Speaker 1: where we have probably like a solid fifty players in

772
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,400
Speaker 1: the league that are really good at making tough shots,

773
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,279
Speaker 1: right pull up jump shots off the dribble, tough floaters,

774
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,680
Speaker 1: shots out of the post, shots at isolation. So like

775
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:52,719
Speaker 1: it's gotten to a point now where any NBA offense

776
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:55,279
Speaker 1: can get a pretty decent look that a guy can

777
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,000
Speaker 1: make a good percentage of the time without having to

778
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,120
Speaker 1: do anything too crazy. And so for instance, like let's say,

779
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:05,000
Speaker 1: for instance, I've got Damian Lillard on my team, and uh,

780
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:07,360
Speaker 1: you know, it's a slow down situation. We gotta stop.

781
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:11,000
Speaker 1: It's the you know, two minutes left in the second quarter,

782
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:13,479
Speaker 1: like Day might just dribble the ball up the floor,

783
00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:15,920
Speaker 1: up the left wing, and guys will run to the corners,

784
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:17,600
Speaker 1: and a guy will run to the right wing, and

785
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,279
Speaker 1: then Nurkic will come up and set a pick and

786
00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:22,040
Speaker 1: he'll come off the screen and if he gets some

787
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,120
Speaker 1: wide open threes, pull up three, he's gonna take it.

788
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:25,480
Speaker 1: If he gets a floater, he's gonna take it. If

789
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:27,640
Speaker 1: they help, he'll make the key out pass, and they're

790
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:29,680
Speaker 1: gonna get a good shot. They're gonna get a shot

791
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:32,480
Speaker 1: that they can make. That is brute force offense. You

792
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:34,760
Speaker 1: hear me talk about this on the show. Brute force

793
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,560
Speaker 1: offense works even in the playoffs, and the reason why

794
00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:42,960
Speaker 1: is because players are so damn good. Now. But I

795
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,520
Speaker 1: agree in the sense that, like I think teams should

796
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:49,920
Speaker 1: not use that as an excuse to not run sets.

797
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,319
Speaker 1: The reason why you don't run sets that often is

798
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,160
Speaker 1: not just that players are better. It's a scouting thing.

799
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,120
Speaker 1: You get to the postseason and all those five out

800
00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,879
Speaker 1: sets at the Warriors run don't work as well. Right,

801
00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:04,360
Speaker 1: you get to the postseason, in those dribble handoss that

802
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,879
Speaker 1: the Kings run, they don't work as well. Right, That's

803
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,160
Speaker 1: that's a pretty consistent theme in NBA history. So at

804
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,239
Speaker 1: that point, the brute force offense actually becomes the most

805
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:17,520
Speaker 1: reliable offense. My thing is, why can't you do both?

806
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,520
Speaker 1: Why can't it be brute force offense coming off of action,

807
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:24,319
Speaker 1: even if it buys you just a tiny bit more

808
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,680
Speaker 1: of an advantage, right, even if they scout the sets

809
00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,319
Speaker 1: and they're ahead of them, but you just have a

810
00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:32,719
Speaker 1: like you have just a half a step on your

811
00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,520
Speaker 1: on ball defender every time, as opposed to attacking a

812
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:40,920
Speaker 1: stagnant on ball defender. Maybe over the course of forty

813
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:43,720
Speaker 1: pick and rolls in a game, that is an extra

814
00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:48,719
Speaker 1: you know, tenth of a point per possession. That's what's

815
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 1: that four points? That's four points in a game, in

816
00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,920
Speaker 1: a playoff game that might be decided by four points. Right, So, Like,

817
00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:00,160
Speaker 1: I'm a big believer in like running complications, doing things

818
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:02,680
Speaker 1: to flow into your pick and roll. Like, if Dame

819
00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:04,959
Speaker 1: wants to run a pick and roll with Nurkic, why

820
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,920
Speaker 1: not bring the ball up the floor, pitch it to

821
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:11,680
Speaker 1: Anferny Simons run to the corner, and then have Infernty

822
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,400
Speaker 1: Simons run into you with the dribble handoff as you

823
00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:16,400
Speaker 1: flow off of the Nurkics pick and roll. Why not

824
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:19,759
Speaker 1: do that just to keep the defense a little bit

825
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:23,440
Speaker 1: more off balance, right, But the reason why is simple.

826
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,319
Speaker 1: It's fatigue. Guys get tired in the game and you

827
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:28,440
Speaker 1: realize that, hey, we can get a good look without

828
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,240
Speaker 1: having to run something. So I'll just run to the corner.

829
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,040
Speaker 1: Dame will run his pick and roll and take a

830
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:35,880
Speaker 1: pull up three, you know, rather than us do something

831
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:37,359
Speaker 1: to get into that, Let's just do that and then

832
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:39,759
Speaker 1: we'll run back and save our energy for defense. That's

833
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:42,320
Speaker 1: the reason why they do it. I just don't necessarily

834
00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:45,000
Speaker 1: think it's the right process, and I do think that

835
00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:49,240
Speaker 1: teams that run complications are more effective offensively for that reason,

836
00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:51,680
Speaker 1: the Nuggets are a team I give credit for that. Like,

837
00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,480
Speaker 1: the Nuggets are typically going to run some sort of

838
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:57,600
Speaker 1: interchange into their brute force offense, and I think that

839
00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:00,279
Speaker 1: that's a force multiplier. It makes your offense that much

840
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:04,240
Speaker 1: more impactful. All right, last one from Bob Hi Jason,

841
00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:06,280
Speaker 1: great show. What are your thoughts on seeding? For example,

842
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:08,360
Speaker 1: if the Nuggets are Warriors, finished with the five or

843
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,560
Speaker 1: six seed in the regular season, well you still have

844
00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,120
Speaker 1: them as title favorites based on previous success or they

845
00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:16,600
Speaker 1: bumped down in it contendered here. So this is gonna

846
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 1: be an interesting thing throughout the season. I am not

847
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:23,239
Speaker 1: gonna care much about seeding. The main thing that I'm

848
00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,480
Speaker 1: gonna care about is how good you look as a

849
00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,960
Speaker 1: basketball team when you are healthy. Because there are gonna

850
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:30,520
Speaker 1: be a lot of teams that fall to five and

851
00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:34,600
Speaker 1: six because their star has some nagging injury and rather

852
00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:36,480
Speaker 1: than playing him through it, they're just gonna rest him

853
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,640
Speaker 1: for a little while. Right, You're gonna see a lot

854
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,239
Speaker 1: of teams that are especially after the last postseason, in

855
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,600
Speaker 1: the last several postseasons, where we're seeing that teams that

856
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:48,040
Speaker 1: don't take the regular season super seriously or that struggle

857
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,120
Speaker 1: through the regular season can still reach their ceiling when

858
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,400
Speaker 1: they get to the postseason. That shows us that the

859
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:56,560
Speaker 1: regular season does matter less than ever. I do think

860
00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:58,399
Speaker 1: it does matter, though, And as we go back through

861
00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:00,840
Speaker 1: NBA history, it is top seed that end up winning.

862
00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:04,200
Speaker 1: Who won last year, the one seed Denver Nuggets who

863
00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:07,359
Speaker 1: won the year before that, the Golden State Warriors who

864
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,279
Speaker 1: started fifteen to one and won a shit ton of

865
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:12,239
Speaker 1: games until Steph got hurt, right, who won the year

866
00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:14,120
Speaker 1: before that? The Milwaukee Bucks, who wont to shit ton

867
00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:15,960
Speaker 1: of games, who won the year before that? The Lakers

868
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:17,960
Speaker 1: who want to shit ton of games. So like, the

869
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:23,360
Speaker 1: regular season does matter. And obviously, good veteran teams that

870
00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:28,480
Speaker 1: have proven playoff history that are also top seeds, those

871
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:30,839
Speaker 1: are the teams that I'm going to believe in the

872
00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:34,400
Speaker 1: most in the postseason. But if I have to choose

873
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:39,360
Speaker 1: between a top seed that is an unproven playoff team

874
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,520
Speaker 1: or a sixth seed that I've seen succeed in the

875
00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:47,160
Speaker 1: playoffs and within this season I've seen look dominant with

876
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,919
Speaker 1: their core players, I'm obviously gonna trust that team more.

877
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:53,279
Speaker 1: But let's be clear, if we get to June, or

878
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:56,000
Speaker 1: if we get to mid April and the Lakers are

879
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,560
Speaker 1: the one seed, I'm gonna pick them to win the title.

880
00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,719
Speaker 1: If we get to April and the Phoenix Suns are

881
00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:03,959
Speaker 1: the one seed, gonna pick them to win the title,

882
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:05,640
Speaker 1: the Nuggets are the one seed, gonna pick them to

883
00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:08,799
Speaker 1: win the title, the Celtics or the Bucks. Right, Like,

884
00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:13,560
Speaker 1: I'm obviously going to think of good like proven teams

885
00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:16,719
Speaker 1: that are also dominating the regular season are gonna get

886
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:19,880
Speaker 1: the most amount of faith. And then I'm gonna go

887
00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:46,319
Speaker 1: with veteran teams over young, successful teams beneath them. The

888
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:46,920
Speaker 1: volume