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Speaker 1: responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome to hoops tonight. You're

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Speaker 1: at the volume. Merry Christmas to all of you guys

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Speaker 1: who celebrate, Happy Holidays to those who don't. Hopefully you're

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Speaker 1: still getting to spend some time with your loved ones,

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Speaker 1: hanging out, hopefully not working, having some good food and

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Speaker 1: relaxation time. We're gonna be doing two live shows today

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Speaker 1: breaking down the Denver Nuggets win over the Golden State Warriors,

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Speaker 1: and they're we're gonna be coming back in a couple

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Speaker 1: of hours for Lakers Celtics, which hopefully will be as

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Speaker 1: good as this game was. And this game went a

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Speaker 1: lot like a bunch of other the Denver games recently.

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Speaker 1: I was fortunate enough to get to watch a lot

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Speaker 1: of Nuggets hoops this week. I watched them come back

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Speaker 1: and beat the Brooklyn Nets a few nights back, and

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Speaker 1: then they had a similar win against Charlotte. A kind

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Speaker 1: of idea where no matter what happens to Denver throughout

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Speaker 1: a game, there's this trend that takes place down the stretch,

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Speaker 1: which is the Nuggets are just gonna get better shots

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Speaker 1: than you down the stretch of games. And there's so

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Speaker 1: many different ways that they can go, and there's a

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Speaker 1: variety there, and no matter what you do defensively to

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Speaker 1: try to take stuff away, you end up causing problems

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Speaker 1: somewhere else. And it's been interesting because I've noticed, especially

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Speaker 1: in this game and in the Brooklyn Nets game in particular,

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Speaker 1: one of the things that teams are conceding in effort

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Speaker 1: to take other things away for Denver is, hey, we're

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Speaker 1: just gonna give Jamal Murray tough pull up jump shots

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Speaker 1: off the dribble, and the problem is he's still making them.

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Speaker 1: Because that's what makes this Denver Nuggets team so difficult

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Speaker 1: to guard. Now, from a schematic standpoint, let's kind of

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Speaker 1: piece it all together here. So obviously, off ball, you

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Speaker 1: have Michael Porter Junior and Contavious Calwell Pope, and in

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Speaker 1: those situations you're not going to be digging down off

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Speaker 1: of those guys to any great extent because they're both

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Speaker 1: deadly and catch and shoot situations. Right now, with Aaron Gordon,

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Speaker 1: you have the ability to help off of him in

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Speaker 1: one way or another. Obviously he's a guy that's not

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Speaker 1: a super confident jump shooter. But did you know the

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Speaker 1: Denver Nuggets grab thirty five percent of their own misses

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Speaker 1: and crunch time this year, in large part because of

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Speaker 1: opportunities to help off of Aaron Gordon that leave him

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Speaker 1: underneath the basket with a good rebounding advantage. Once again,

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Speaker 1: one of the stops that the Warriors got down the

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Speaker 1: stretch of this game, Aaron Gordon just grabs the offensive rebound,

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Speaker 1: goes back up, draws a foul, and even if he

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Speaker 1: misses one out of two free throws, that's still a

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Speaker 1: point for Denver on one possession, which in grunch time

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Speaker 1: is certainly not a bad thing, right, And what you're

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Speaker 1: seeing a lot of teams do, and Golden State did

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Speaker 1: this tonight in Brooklyn, did the same thing the other night.

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Speaker 1: But the screen defender, the guy who's guarding Nikola Jokic,

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Speaker 1: is just staying glued up to him in those situations

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Speaker 1: and they're basically just hoping they're on ball guy can

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Speaker 1: stay as close to Jamal Murray as they can and

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Speaker 1: force him into tough shots. And there were a couple

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Speaker 1: in there where Andrew Wiggins, and we'll talk about him

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Speaker 1: in a little bit, because he had an amazing game

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Speaker 1: tonight or today relative to what he's looked like for

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Speaker 1: the last year or so, but with exception of a

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Speaker 1: handful of possessions where they got good contests. On Jamal Murray,

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Speaker 1: he was breaking free one of the last jump shot,

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Speaker 1: the three pointer that he hit there at the top

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Speaker 1: of the key. It was a double screening action and

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Speaker 1: they kind of confused the switching that the Warriors were doing,

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Speaker 1: and he found a little soft spot right there at

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Speaker 1: the top of the key extended out to take and

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Speaker 1: make a shot. And that's the thing, you know, like

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Speaker 1: we talk about with coverages. Obviously, when coverages are executed perfectly,

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Speaker 1: they take away openings. But it's very difficult to execute

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Speaker 1: a coverage perfectly, especially when you have a team like

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Speaker 1: Denver that can do something and be like, oh, they're

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Speaker 1: having some success that with Andrew Wiggins chasing over the

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Speaker 1: top of this dribble handoff or this ball screen. So

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Speaker 1: let's just bring a third guy into the action and

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Speaker 1: confuse the hell out of him and one of them

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Speaker 1: will make a mistake and somebody will get open. But

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Speaker 1: it's just very difficult because there's no you know, it's like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: we're going to try to leave Looney on an island

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Speaker 1: and it's like Jokicic just drives right by into the

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Speaker 1: left and makes that little left handed a hook shot

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Speaker 1: in the lane. There's no good option there. And it's

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Speaker 1: funny because no matter what's happened this season, no matter

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Speaker 1: how what lethargic Denver has looked from time to time,

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Speaker 1: no matter how many wins teams were able to get

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Speaker 1: against them, when Jamal Murray was out, when push comes

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Speaker 1: to shove, when you find yourself in a close game

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Speaker 1: against this team and it's Jamal Murray and it's Contavious

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Speaker 1: Cabbo Pope, and it's Aaron Gordon, and it's Michael Porter Junior,

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Speaker 1: and it's nicolea Jokic, all on the floor together, they're

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Speaker 1: probably going to get better shots than you. And on

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Speaker 1: the other end of the floor, Like you know, Golden

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Speaker 1: State had a lot of success in this game attacking

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Speaker 1: Jamal Murray in the post, which we'll talk about in

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Speaker 1: a minute, But like I thought, they did an outstanding

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Speaker 1: job on Steph Curry, and when Steph kind of tried

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Speaker 1: to regain control of the offense late, he wasn't even

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Speaker 1: getting good looks. There was a key drop coverage stop

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Speaker 1: that Nikole Jokic got in pick and roll where Steph

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Speaker 1: went for one of his little scoop out layups that

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Speaker 1: he tends to make a lot, and it ended up

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Speaker 1: in an ugly miss, in large part because of an

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Speaker 1: excellent possession of rim protection from Nikole Jokic. Contavious Cobbo

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Speaker 1: Pope did an awesome job on Steph Curry all night.

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Speaker 1: You can always tell the dead giveaway for when a

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Speaker 1: star looks comfortable versus when he's not. Is the difference between,

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Speaker 1: like when he's getting clean balanced looks that more or

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Speaker 1: less look like the shots that you see the guy

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Speaker 1: get against the rest of the teams in the league,

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Speaker 1: versus kind of chucking stuff up. And like, I thought,

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Speaker 1: it was interesting when we look at those last few

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Speaker 1: shots Steph got and it's like, okay, here's this like

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Speaker 1: jab step kind of lean to the right jumper over

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Speaker 1: Contaviouskbbo Pope that kind of looks like he's just throwing

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Speaker 1: the ball up at the rim. Or here's you know, okay,

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Speaker 1: I'm switching to my left hand and I'm just throwing

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Speaker 1: it up there.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: Obviously that was in garbage time at the end of

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Speaker 1: the game. But the point is is like Condavius Colwell,

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Speaker 1: Pope was legitimately doing a good job on Steph Curry

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Speaker 1: in this game making him uncomfortable.

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Speaker 2: It wasn't.

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Speaker 1: There were a couple shots that Steph miss where we're like, wow,

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Speaker 1: I can't believe you missed that. There was a wide

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Speaker 1: open three on the right wing where he had like

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Speaker 1: ten feet of separation from everybody else on the floor,

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Speaker 1: and you're like, man, you expect Steph Curry to make

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Speaker 1: that shot. And there's no doubt that there was some

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Speaker 1: variants in there, But for the most part, I thought

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Speaker 1: they did a really nice job defensively on Steph Curry

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Speaker 1: as well. And like when it comes to evaluating the

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Speaker 1: other teams around the league, and they all have flaws

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Speaker 1: in one way or another, right like Milwaukee again this morning,

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Speaker 1: just was incapable of making Jalen Brunson feel uncomfortable because

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Speaker 1: they have some of the worst point of attack defenders

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Speaker 1: that you'll find in the NBA. Right, that's a significant

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Speaker 1: flaw in that roster. We talked about the Lakers and

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Speaker 1: some of their issues with half court offense and effort

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Speaker 1: during the regular season and how that can cause problems.

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Speaker 1: Boston Celtics and late game execution. Right Phoenix is struggling

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Speaker 1: a lot because they are they ironically can't score the ball.

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Speaker 1: There's all these issues going on around with all of

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Speaker 1: these teams, and when I try to target something, one

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Speaker 1: specific thing that I trust when the shit hits the fan.

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Speaker 1: Right now, it's Denver's offense in any sort of slow

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Speaker 1: down environment, I just trust them to get better shots,

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Speaker 1: and I think it's going to lead to them in

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Speaker 1: any sort of substantial you know, because it's one thing

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Speaker 1: in a close game five minutes left, each team gets,

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Speaker 1: you know, fifteen possessions or whatever, or ten possessions that

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Speaker 1: you know, like maybe you can out execute them once,

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Speaker 1: but over the course of a seven game series, to

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Speaker 1: do that to them four times out of seven just

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Speaker 1: feels like a long.

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Speaker 2: Shot to me.

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Speaker 1: I don't think they're some sort of runaway favorite, but

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Speaker 1: I think what we've seen from Denver in their closing

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Speaker 1: offense over the last couple of weeks is just the

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Speaker 1: latest in a long line of example of why they

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Speaker 1: are the safest bet out of that group. Now on

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Speaker 1: the Golden State side, a couple of really interesting things.

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Speaker 1: I thought Brandon Pazemski was incredible in this game. But

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Speaker 1: most importantly, he was drawing more high level defensive assignments. Right,

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Speaker 1: You're looking at these lineups and it's like, because of

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Speaker 1: what Steph and Clay and Pozemski provide as perimeter talent,

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Speaker 1: you kept ending up with guys like Jamal Murray on

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Speaker 1: to Jonathan Kaminga or on an Andrew Wiggins.

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Speaker 2: And you know what I've.

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Speaker 1: Said often and for the record, because this is the thing.

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Speaker 1: You know, the winner always ends up controlling the narrative

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Speaker 1: of that particular game, right, and it ends up being

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Speaker 1: what everybody talks about after. But this was a game

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Speaker 1: that Golden State played very well, and they did expose

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Speaker 1: some things in Denver's defense, specifically a topic that I've

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Speaker 1: surround I've hit on several times with Denver's a defense,

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Speaker 1: which is that they have entry points, but you have

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Speaker 1: to have the ability to.

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Speaker 2: Touch those entry points.

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Speaker 1: So for instan, if they can hide Jamal Murray, and

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Speaker 1: if they can hide Jamal Murray on some sort of

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Speaker 1: perimeter weapon that is more passive with the basketball, they

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Speaker 1: can get away with it because they can hedge and

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Speaker 1: recover with him if you pull him into ball screens

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Speaker 1: in any sort of situation, where he ends up in

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Speaker 1: a switch, you can help off with that guy, right

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Speaker 1: like you can hide him. The same thing goes from

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Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior, although I thought he had a couple

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Speaker 1: of really big defensive plays in this game, particularly on

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Speaker 1: Klay Thompson, right. But when you have those guys, when

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Speaker 1: they're able to hide, you can get away with it.

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Speaker 1: But when you have four legitimate offensive weapons out there

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Speaker 1: at the same time, if it's Steph Clay Pitzemski, and

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Speaker 1: let's say Andrew Wiggins, for instance, and Andrew Wiggins had

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Speaker 1: a big bounce back game in this particular game. All

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Speaker 1: of a sudden, Andrew Wiggins is drawing Jamal Murray on

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Speaker 1: an island and they have no choice but to either

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Speaker 1: let Andrew Wiggins cook one on one against Jamal or

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Speaker 1: to send that second defender over. And I think, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's hard to overstate how much Brandon pa Ziemski in

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Speaker 1: him hopping like this this early has helped to make

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Speaker 1: a lot of things easier for Golden State. He's surprisingly

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Speaker 1: big and strong for a guard. He's had no trouble

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Speaker 1: hanging athletically. He competes in all the dirty work areas

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Speaker 1: of the game. He can shoot, he can dribble, he

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Speaker 1: can pass, and so it just makes him we talked

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Speaker 1: about those all those responsibilities on the floor. He fills

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Speaker 1: a lot of those responsibilities on the floor, and it

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Speaker 1: just makes everyone's job easier. If that's not Pozemskis, if

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Speaker 1: that's let's reconfigure the matchups here and it's Looney and Draymond,

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Speaker 1: then chances are Jamal Murray can get away with hiding.

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Speaker 1: That's kind of the way that those matchups change by

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Speaker 1: having one of those particular players hit. Now, we saw

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Speaker 1: Johnathan coming and Andrew Wiggins have a lot of success

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Speaker 1: in the post, but specifically that was what Andrew Wiggins

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Speaker 1: brought to the table in the championship run. If you

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Speaker 1: guys remember in twenty twenty two, he was getting you

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Speaker 1: eighteen to twenty a night attacking matchups because of his

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Speaker 1: ability to draw quality matchups because of the perimeter talent

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Speaker 1: that Stephan Curry as Stephan Klay bring to the table

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Speaker 1: and needing to occupy those players with perimeter defenders.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's funny because Steve Kerr had some comments

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Speaker 1: the other day where he talked about the reticence or

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Speaker 1: the hesitancy to change the starting lineup. And I saw

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Speaker 1: the tweet and it had a lot of negativity from

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Speaker 1: some more of your fans underneath it about how it

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Speaker 1: was the wrong decision to wait as long as he did.

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Speaker 1: And I won thousand percent agree with Steve Kerr. And

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Speaker 1: I said this with sam as Fondiari the other day

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Speaker 1: when he came on the show. But I would much

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Speaker 1: rather be late to that party than early. And the

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Speaker 1: reason why is to Steve Kerr's point, these veterans have

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Speaker 1: earned a certain amount of leash right by being great

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Speaker 1: on being stages. I had a bunch of comments in

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Speaker 1: the last week from Warriors fan saying, why does Jason

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Speaker 1: keep talking about trading Jonathan Kamina.

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Speaker 2: That's ridiculous.

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Speaker 1: Why does Jonathan Kamina have to, you know, be removed

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Speaker 1: from the rotation for Andrew Wiggins to have his starting

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Speaker 1: spot back, like blah blah blah blah, all of this stuff.

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Speaker 1: And the reason why it is pretty simple. First of all,

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins right now doesn't have a ton of trade value.

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga does because he's young and has all the

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Speaker 1: potential in the world. Right, Andrew Wiggins was one of

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Speaker 1: the best perimeter defenders on the planet. In twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 1: he did what I've never seen a perimeter defender do,

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Speaker 1: which is make Luka Doncic feel uncomfortable in a playoff series.

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Speaker 1: No one's done it. Andrew Wiggins did, and he had

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Speaker 1: all these big scoring games. So the point is, that's

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Speaker 1: why you don't give up on the Vets, because Andrew

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Speaker 1: Wiggins is still very much capable of what he showed

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Speaker 1: you tonight. And if you're going to hoist hilario'brian Trophy

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Speaker 1: this year, you need Steph playing like MVP Steph. You

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Speaker 1: need Klay Thompson playing like Klay Thompson. You need Raymond

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Speaker 1: Green to get back. You need to find lineups at work,

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Speaker 1: and you need Andrew Wiggins to play like he did

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. And if you, as Steve Kerr,

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Speaker 1: had a certain obligation to try to give him time

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Speaker 1: to figure his stuff out. Now, eventually it got to

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Speaker 1: a point where he had to make a move, and

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Speaker 1: that's where we tweak the starting lineup. Now Andrew Wiggins

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Speaker 1: is coming off the bench, and Andrew Wiggins as a professional,

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Speaker 1: is trying to find a way to earn his way

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Speaker 1: back into that rotation right or into that starting group

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Speaker 1: if he wants to write. But again, like, you've got

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Speaker 1: guys in house that are capable of these responsibilities. When

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Speaker 1: I've been talking about Kaminga, it has it's a very

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Speaker 1: simple conversation. Right now, do the Warriors look like a

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Speaker 1: championship contender? They look like they're on that second tier, right.

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga is an incredible basketball player with a ton

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Speaker 1: of potential. He's also your biggest trade piece. From an

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Speaker 1: asset standpoint. You can't turn Wiggins into a better player,

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Speaker 1: Like you can't turn Wiggins into Pascal Siakam, the Raptors

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Speaker 1: would hang up the phone. So you can't have Siakam

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Speaker 1: and Kaminga, but you might be able to have Siakam

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Speaker 1: and Wiggins. And if you get that, and you get

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Speaker 1: the Andrew Wiggins from today, now let's reevaluate it. I've

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Speaker 1: got Steph Curry, top five player in the world. I've

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Speaker 1: got Andrew Wiggins from the twenty twenty two or from

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Speaker 1: the yeah, from the championship team if he can get

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Speaker 1: back to form. Right, I've got a veteran forward in

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Speaker 1: Pascal Siakam with a ton of playoff experience and all

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Speaker 1: of the tools that you need to be a successful

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Speaker 1: NBA playoff team, and I've got Draymond Green returning. Now

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Speaker 1: I'm talking about a team that's a top tier contender.

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Speaker 1: It has nothing to do with not valuing Jonathan Kaminka.

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Speaker 1: The dude's a east that like that. He had another

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Speaker 1: one of those. He has this move that he makes

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Speaker 1: from the high post extended on the right side where

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Speaker 1: he just kind of hits a jab and then goes

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Speaker 1: middle and then he takes off right left, takeoff and

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Speaker 1: just dunks on everybody with two hands. He just like

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Speaker 1: obliterated Jalen Brown with that move the other day. Johnathan

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Speaker 1: Amica can play. He can flat out hoop. This is

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Speaker 1: not a take about whether Jonathan Cominga can play or not.

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Speaker 1: It's one hundred percent about asset management and recognizing the

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Speaker 1: opportunity you have right now with Steph Current, because guess what,

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Speaker 1: as soon as Steph is gone, championship ceiling is gone

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Speaker 1: until you have another top five, top six player in

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Speaker 1: the league. And unless you're one thousand percent certain that

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Speaker 1: Kaminga is going to be that, which, by the way,

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Speaker 1: as much potential as Kaminga has, I'm not a thousand

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Speaker 1: percent certain that he's going to be that. As a

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Speaker 1: matter of fact, if you're setting it's more likely that

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Minga turns into a Jalen Brown level star than

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Speaker 1: a Jason Tatum level star. It's possible that he becomes

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Speaker 1: a Jason Tatum level star, but it's somewhat unlis likely,

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Speaker 1: right So from that standpoint, you have to make a decision.

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Speaker 1: Do you want to take a risk on what Jonathan

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Speaker 1: Kiminga is capable of in the long run, or do

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Speaker 1: you want to invest in having a top five player

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Speaker 1: right now that could potentially push you over the top,

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Speaker 1: because like what Steph did to the Celtics the other night,

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Speaker 1: there's not a lot of guys in the league that

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Speaker 1: can do that. You have that right now, but you've

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Speaker 1: got this weird mix of like young guys with a

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Speaker 1: ton of potential. You know, some young guys that can

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Speaker 1: play right away, like Brandon Pozianski looks like looks like

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Speaker 1: a vet right now. But you've got this kind of

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Speaker 1: like mix mixed uh set of like current assets, future assets,

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Speaker 1: and some sort of urgency surrounding Steph in his age.

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Speaker 1: And so I hope that clarifies that because like I've

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Speaker 1: had a lot of Warriors fans going like, why do

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Speaker 1: you want to trade Comica? Why do you want to

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Speaker 1: take amina? Has nothing to do with what Jonathan Kiminga

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Speaker 1: is capable of. It's just a simple question of what

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Speaker 1: they have in house right now, what they need to

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Speaker 1: be able to beat a team like Denver, or to

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Speaker 1: beat a team like the Lakers, or to beat a

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Speaker 1: team like Minnesota, to beat a team like Boston, to

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Speaker 1: beat a team like Milwaukee, and what they need to

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Speaker 1: do to get to that point. And so I hope

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Speaker 1: that makes a little bit more sense.

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Speaker 2: But I.

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Speaker 1: Had no problem at all with Steve Kerr waiting as

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Speaker 1: long as he did. He's one hundred percent right. When

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Speaker 1: a dude plays really damn good in May and June,

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Speaker 1: you buy him twenty five games a leeway in November

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Speaker 1: and December. That's just how it works. Basketball is weird

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Speaker 1: like that. Sometimes you just don't play well. Steph didn't

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Speaker 1: play well tonight. That happens. It's part of basketball. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: guys go into slumps and you've got to give them

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Speaker 1: some of that leeway, especially when they've done work on

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Speaker 1: the biggest stages. Just gonna be breaking down Lakers Celtics.

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Speaker 2: In this video.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna be covering the rest of the games from

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Speaker 1: today's slate in tomorrow's show as well as doing our

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Speaker 1: power ranking, So that's on the docket for tomorrow. Just

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Speaker 1: Lakers Celtics tonight, and that you know, I thought the

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Speaker 1: story of the game was the Celtics getting christops Porzingis

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Speaker 1: back and all the many ways that he changes fundamentally

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Speaker 1: what this team is, because without chrisops Porzingis, it's a

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Speaker 1: lot of the same kind of stuff we've seen over

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Speaker 1: the last couple of years, where really high highs, really

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Speaker 1: low lows, moments where they look out standing offensively, moments

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Speaker 1: where they look really stagnant offensively, and chrisops Porzingis rounds

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Speaker 1: out a couple of very specific areas of the Celtics roster,

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Speaker 1: making them a lot more consistently good on both ends

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Speaker 1: of the floor. The first part of it I was

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Speaker 1: looking at was matchup attacking. So the Laker starting lineup

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Speaker 1: right now is an entirely other issue that we need

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Speaker 1: to get into. We're going to hit that later in

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Speaker 1: the show. But one of the things that that lineup

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Speaker 1: does have is a whole lot of length and athleticism.

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Speaker 1: But the thing is is when you're big, like Kristops

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Speaker 1: Porzingis is big, even the other forwards and wings in

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Speaker 1: the league are way too small to guard him. So

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Speaker 1: big part of it is just the ability to attack matchups.

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Speaker 1: One of the things that I like about Porzinga is

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Speaker 1: when he looks to attack these smaller wings, he makes

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Speaker 1: very simple and basic moves. He's not going to try

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Speaker 1: to put the ball on the floor where you can

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Speaker 1: reach down and smack at it. He's not going to

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Speaker 1: try to do too much in terms of a move

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Speaker 1: to get any sort of separation. It's just I'm bigger

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Speaker 1: than you, and I'm going to turn and face and

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Speaker 1: shoot a little bank shot over the top, or I'm

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Speaker 1: just gonna turn over my left shoulder and take a

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Speaker 1: little hook shot. Krisps Porzingis has been He went from

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Speaker 1: being already one of the best matchup attacking post up

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Speaker 1: players in the league last year to even going up

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Speaker 1: to an even crazier level this season. He's been one

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Speaker 1: of the most efficient post up players in the league.

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Speaker 1: It allows them We're going to talk a lot about

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Speaker 1: this here in a minute, but the idea of this

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Speaker 1: Boston Celtics group taking great shots instead of good shots.

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Speaker 1: It's something I've been harping on all season, and to

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Speaker 1: put it simply, it's just easier for the Celtics to

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Speaker 1: find great shots when Chris hops Porzingis is on the floor.

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Speaker 1: Beyond the matchup attacking, it's also the spacing element. There's

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Speaker 1: a difference between a catch and shoot three from Al

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Speaker 1: Horford or catch and shoot three from Christops Porzingis. When

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Speaker 1: it comes to Al Horford, teams are gonna be a

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Speaker 1: little bit more willing to concede that type of shot.

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Speaker 1: Christops Porzingis is just a far more dangerous shooter from

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Speaker 1: out there, not just from the three point line. He

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Speaker 1: could push it out a few feet beyond that mark.

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Speaker 1: Why does something like that matter when you're talking about

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Speaker 1: a wing shooter on the Let's just say the actions

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Speaker 1: being run on the left wing and Chris soops is

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Speaker 1: on the right wing. If he's at twenty seven feet

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Speaker 1: instead of three feet, that's another four feet that whoever

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Speaker 1: that on, whoever that defender on Christops Porzingis, is that

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Speaker 1: they have to account for if they want to sit

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Speaker 1: down at the nail and be ready to contain that

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Speaker 1: action as it runs into him. That's an impossible rotation.

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Speaker 1: Now back out, so the perimeter. If he actually wants

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Speaker 1: to be in a position to contest that shot on

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Speaker 1: the wing, he's got to leave that nail area open,

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Speaker 1: which creates a lot of space for.

430
00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:51,160
Speaker 2: That action to operate.

431
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,440
Speaker 1: It's like, it's the difference between like a guy who

432
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,520
Speaker 1: can make a shot out there and a guy who's

433
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,320
Speaker 1: aggressively looking to shoot out there and from even greater distance.

434
00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,600
Speaker 1: He just makes them a much more dynamic offense. And

435
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,240
Speaker 1: then the rim protection element. Here's the thing, Like I'll

436
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,240
Speaker 1: just use one example because Chris hops Erzenki has had

437
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,159
Speaker 1: a few blocks tonight, But how many times have you

438
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,560
Speaker 1: seen Lebron barreling downhill on the left side of the

439
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,679
Speaker 1: rim and he does that thing where he turns his

440
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,760
Speaker 1: back and just kind of shoots a backhanded, right handed layup.

441
00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,240
Speaker 1: I've seen him do that for more than a decade now,

442
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,280
Speaker 1: and no one can block the damn shot except for

443
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,520
Speaker 1: chrisops Porzinga's got him with it today because that's the

444
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,000
Speaker 1: level of rim protection that he brings to the table.

445
00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,520
Speaker 1: It's the kind of rimp protection you actually have to

446
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,879
Speaker 1: think about. It's the kind of im protection that I

447
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,160
Speaker 1: thought played a big factor in Lebron James having a really,

448
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,520
Speaker 1: really rough game. Now, there are some other factors that play,

449
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,600
Speaker 1: namely that starting lineup, which we'll get into, but Chrisops

450
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,560
Speaker 1: Worzingis just brings an entirely different element to the Celtics team.

451
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,240
Speaker 1: It changes them for being the same damn Celtics team

452
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 1: we've seen for two years to a geometrically different team.

453
00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 1: Everything about that team changes when he he's on the floor,

454
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,400
Speaker 1: and it's why him being healthy in the long run

455
00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,520
Speaker 1: is actually one of the most important swing factors for

456
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,760
Speaker 1: the Celtics in this season, which has been a little

457
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 1: bit of an issue to this point. And hopefully he

458
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,399
Speaker 1: can stay healthy so we can see this team at

459
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:13,560
Speaker 1: full strength down the line. Second thing I wanted to

460
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,000
Speaker 1: talk about there were a couple of possessions in the

461
00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,199
Speaker 1: fourth quarter of this game, when the Lakers have been

462
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,280
Speaker 1: a very good fourth quarter team this season. Lebron comes

463
00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,440
Speaker 1: out guns blaze and he's been like he was sixth

464
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,639
Speaker 1: in the league and fourth quarter scoring coming into tonight,

465
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:28,879
Speaker 1: and they turn it up defensively. The Lakers have been

466
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: a bad effort and energy team throughout the season.

467
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:31,840
Speaker 2: And in the.

468
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,760
Speaker 1: Fourth quarters usually where they turn it on and try

469
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,920
Speaker 1: to get it going. And you know, that's an area

470
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:37,720
Speaker 1: where we've seen the Celtics struggle a little bit in

471
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,840
Speaker 1: terms of their shot selection and especially in specific moments,

472
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,920
Speaker 1: particularly big national TV games like this, And so I'm

473
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 1: looking for more examples of them handling a situation like

474
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,800
Speaker 1: that by looking for the great shots instead of the

475
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,200
Speaker 1: good shots. Now, to explain this to you guys, and

476
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,680
Speaker 1: those of you guys who have played the game will

477
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 1: know what I'm talking about here, But you know, there

478
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: was this thing that would happen when I was younger,

479
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,199
Speaker 1: where like I'd go off and I'd play in college. Right,

480
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,359
Speaker 1: So I'd be off in like Utah or Phoenix or

481
00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,920
Speaker 1: something like that, and I'd come home for a winter

482
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,560
Speaker 1: break or for the summer, and you'd link up with

483
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,320
Speaker 1: some of your buddies who also play. And now you've

484
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 1: got this five man group of all these dudes who

485
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,400
Speaker 1: played in college, and you pull up on the pick

486
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,880
Speaker 1: up basketball run and you're just way more talented than

487
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,200
Speaker 1: everybody else in the gym, or at least every other

488
00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,240
Speaker 1: team in the gym, because you've got five really good

489
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,480
Speaker 1: players that just got out of season. They're all in shape,

490
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 1: they all know how to play right. And sometimes when

491
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,160
Speaker 1: I was young, when I was in my early twenties,

492
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,960
Speaker 1: those groups would underachieve. And a big part of it was,

493
00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:42,400
Speaker 1: is every one of those guys as a certain you know,

494
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,840
Speaker 1: basketball ego, if you want to call it that, and

495
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:48,480
Speaker 1: meaning like it's like, yeah, I can make this shot,

496
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,199
Speaker 1: Like I've got I like my matchup here, I've got

497
00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:52,960
Speaker 1: a defender on me that I feel like I can

498
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:53,720
Speaker 1: score against.

499
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:55,960
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go back down and.

500
00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,440
Speaker 1: Get to that right shoulder fade that I like to take,

501
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,480
Speaker 1: or like this guy is gonna take us step back

502
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: three that he likes to take, or this guy's gonna

503
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:04,600
Speaker 1: try to drive past his man and get into the

504
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,360
Speaker 1: lane and try to make a play. And that specific

505
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,640
Speaker 1: issue becomes a problem in a setting like that if

506
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,120
Speaker 1: the other team has one or two good players and

507
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,639
Speaker 1: those one or two good players are making better decisions

508
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: and hunting down better shots, because at the end of

509
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,480
Speaker 1: the day, the basketball team that wins is the team

510
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 1: that gets better shots over forty eight the vast majority

511
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,080
Speaker 1: of the time. Now, there are all these factors that

512
00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:33,680
Speaker 1: go into that shot creation, shot finishing right, what kind

513
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,920
Speaker 1: of defensive impact you can have on an offense in

514
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,000
Speaker 1: terms of length and athleticism and rotations and scheme to

515
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 1: make them feel uncomfortable. All these factors go into what

516
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:48,080
Speaker 1: causes that shot quality. But like generally speaking, if I

517
00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:50,960
Speaker 1: get better shots than you for forty eight minutes, I'm

518
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:56,160
Speaker 1: going to win. And there are games where the Boston Celtics,

519
00:25:56,160 --> 00:26:01,520
Speaker 1: despite having an overwhelming talent advantage, don't get better shots

520
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,679
Speaker 1: than the other team because they don't hunt the right shots.

521
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,520
Speaker 1: So are a couple of key examples that I'm talking about.

522
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,040
Speaker 1: There was a play where Jalen Brown gets Jackson Hayes

523
00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:14,040
Speaker 1: on a switch on the left side of the floor.

524
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,639
Speaker 1: It's in the fourth quarter when they went on their

525
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:17,679
Speaker 1: run to go up to like thirteen. I think they

526
00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:19,120
Speaker 1: went up by like thirteen or something in the middle

527
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 1: of the quarter, and he drives in the middle and

528
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,280
Speaker 1: Jackson's kind of off balance and he has an opportunity

529
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,320
Speaker 1: to take a fade away over his right shoulder. On

530
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,160
Speaker 1: the same action, Drew Holliday kind of goes in towards

531
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,560
Speaker 1: the lane. I think he had D'Angelo Russell on him

532
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,919
Speaker 1: at this point if I remember correctly, and he's actually

533
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,920
Speaker 1: just looking for rebound position, but he's making himself available

534
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,720
Speaker 1: as a bailout for Jalen Brown. Now there are moments

535
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,680
Speaker 1: where Jalen takes that shot and it's a low percentage shot.

536
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,120
Speaker 1: It's got you know, but Jaalen's good. Jalenn's a really

537
00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:53,320
Speaker 1: good player, probably gonna make that thirty seven thirty eight

538
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,520
Speaker 1: percent of the time because he's worked really hard on

539
00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,159
Speaker 1: that right shoulder fade right. But instead of forcing the

540
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,880
Speaker 1: right hand right shoulder fade over Jackson had, he makes

541
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:02,639
Speaker 1: a drop off pass to Drew Holiday, who's got a

542
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,240
Speaker 1: deep seal on D'Angelo Russell, who makes a left handed

543
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:06,920
Speaker 1: shot on the on the left side of the rim.

544
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,600
Speaker 1: Now it's a one hundred percent shot with like a

545
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:12,360
Speaker 1: I don't know, there's like a twenty percent chance that

546
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:14,840
Speaker 1: that pass doesn't get completed because d Lo gets around

547
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,879
Speaker 1: and deflects it or something. But let's call it an

548
00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,359
Speaker 1: eighty percent success rate. And that's the example of a

549
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,399
Speaker 1: decision that could be the difference between Jalen doesn't make

550
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,720
Speaker 1: that pass, he forces it, rebound, Lakers go down and score.

551
00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,560
Speaker 1: It's a totally different dynamic in a one possession setting

552
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,399
Speaker 1: and then when that decision making extrapolates over a larger

553
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,040
Speaker 1: sample size, that's when the Celtics talent can really shine through.

554
00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:39,880
Speaker 1: There was another play in that fourth quarter where Drew

555
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,680
Speaker 1: Holiday drove into traffic, had an opportunity to shoot. I

556
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,200
Speaker 1: think he was driving along the right baseline out of

557
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,120
Speaker 1: the right corner towards the baseline. Al Horford's wide open

558
00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:51,879
Speaker 1: on the left wing, left wing kind of corner area,

559
00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,080
Speaker 1: and instead of forcing up a layup in traffic, which

560
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,720
Speaker 1: Drew Holiday has a tendency to do from time to time,

561
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,560
Speaker 1: he makes a kickout pass to Al Horford, and again,

562
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:02,640
Speaker 1: as we've talked about so much on the show, Al

563
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,960
Speaker 1: Horford stands still catch and shoot jumpers when he's got

564
00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,920
Speaker 1: his body squared up to the basket. High percentage shot,

565
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,200
Speaker 1: Al Horford gunning taking transition threes for whatever reason, low

566
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:14,040
Speaker 1: percentage shot.

567
00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:14,520
Speaker 2: Right.

568
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 1: That's the difference for this group, And it's real, it's

569
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,160
Speaker 1: really this simple to me. If they do that, if

570
00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:28,639
Speaker 1: they hunt great shots instead of good shots, they will

571
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:29,920
Speaker 1: win the trophy.

572
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:31,159
Speaker 2: They will.

573
00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,240
Speaker 1: No team has this kind of talent. No team in

574
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 1: the NBA has the offensive firepower that Boston has. Not

575
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:43,400
Speaker 1: even Denver Denver just gets way better shots than Boston

576
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,400
Speaker 1: because they are relentless in their pursuit of those great shots.

577
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:53,200
Speaker 1: It's that simple to me. How many teams where it's like, oh,

578
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,120
Speaker 1: look like Tatum's got this guy on him, Jalen's got

579
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,080
Speaker 1: this guy on him, Derek White's got this guy on him.

580
00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,200
Speaker 1: Por Singis has got this guy on him. Like hey, look,

581
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: Drew Holliday has just got a great matchup over there.

582
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 2: And Drew Hollidays can get buckets. He just can't. There

583
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 2: aren't there there are.

584
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 1: There are teams that have, you know, really smart a

585
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,240
Speaker 1: roster construction and great role players in each spot, and

586
00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 1: they have an offensive system that produces better shots than Boston,

587
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 1: which is a big part of why up until this

588
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,960
Speaker 1: recent stretch, the like when we did the I think

589
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,640
Speaker 1: it was right around the nd season tournament loss, they

590
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,680
Speaker 1: were like eighth in offense at that point, if I

591
00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 1: remember correctly. That's underachieating for this group because of that

592
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:34,800
Speaker 1: specific process. I thought this was a huge step forward

593
00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,640
Speaker 1: today against a defense that I believe is the best

594
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,280
Speaker 1: defense in basketball when they're engaged in playing hard. In

595
00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:45,960
Speaker 1: the Lakers, they consistently down the stretch prevented the inevitable

596
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 1: Laker onslaught in the fourth quarter through offensive execution, and

597
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,480
Speaker 1: like we're seeing, we're not just seeing wins from the

598
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 1: Celtics team, we're seeing dominance. We go back, they since

599
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,959
Speaker 1: the n season Tournament loss the Pacers. They beat the Knicks.

600
00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,520
Speaker 1: That's a good team. They beat the Cavs twice. That

601
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:06,000
Speaker 1: was a good team at the time, although they've been

602
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 1: dealing with some injuries and still playing decent. The Orlando

603
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,240
Speaker 1: Magic twice. That's a really good team. Then they have

604
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,000
Speaker 1: that bad loss to the Warriors in the national televised game.

605
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:21,840
Speaker 1: They go out after that to Sacramento without Jason Tatum

606
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,560
Speaker 1: and beat the living shit out of them. They demolished

607
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,720
Speaker 1: them without Jason Tatum. There aren't a lot of teams

608
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: like that in the league right now that can drop

609
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 1: their best player and beat the shit out of one

610
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,040
Speaker 1: of the best teams in the league on the road.

611
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,960
Speaker 1: Those of you who have been following the show, you

612
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,720
Speaker 1: guys know how highly I think, how high I think

613
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,320
Speaker 1: of the Kings. They're a team that has been doing

614
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,480
Speaker 1: that to people all year. They have, like probably the

615
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: Kings have one of the most impressive lists of quality

616
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,720
Speaker 1: wins this year that you'll see, and the Celtics utterly

617
00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,239
Speaker 1: humiliated them on their home floor without Jason Tatum, that

618
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,440
Speaker 1: red hot clip all bet without Kawhi, that red hot

619
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:06,760
Speaker 1: Clippers team just absolutely demolished them. And then the Lakers

620
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 1: off of a really impressive win, that same Lakers team

621
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,480
Speaker 1: just went into Oklahoma City, who's been playing some of

622
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 1: the best basketball in the league, and dominated them.

623
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:17,000
Speaker 2: And they were at.

624
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,480
Speaker 1: Home an opportunity to beat the Celtics and completely change

625
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,880
Speaker 1: the complexion of their season to this point, and it

626
00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,200
Speaker 1: never even felt like the Celtics were truly threatened.

627
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,320
Speaker 2: That's what this group is capable of. And it's all

628
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:29,000
Speaker 2: gonna come down to.

629
00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,400
Speaker 1: I think it's vitally important for Porzingis to be healthy,

630
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:33,960
Speaker 1: and it's got to come down to that type of

631
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:34,880
Speaker 1: late game execution.

632
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,800
Speaker 2: They have to get the right shots. They have to.

633
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,800
Speaker 1: Reach their own individual offensive ceiling, not something less than that.

634
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,440
Speaker 1: They have to reach their ceiling on the Lakers front.

635
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 1: I here's the thing, as far as the playoffs go,

636
00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:54,040
Speaker 1: the Lakers aren't beating the Celtics in the playoffs until

637
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,240
Speaker 1: they make some sort of trade. They have to nail

638
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,400
Speaker 1: the deadline I've said this on the show before. The

639
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,760
Speaker 1: way I see it, it's boss in Denver at the

640
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:04,040
Speaker 1: top of the league is like real, real, top, top,

641
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,160
Speaker 1: top tier contenders, and then there's like a gap and

642
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,479
Speaker 1: then it's like Lakers bucks in there as in like

643
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:12,280
Speaker 1: if they make the right trade, they can enter into

644
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:16,200
Speaker 1: that conversation or they're upset threats, but they're significant underdogs, right.

645
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:18,320
Speaker 1: I probably put the Timberwolves in that tier as well,

646
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,240
Speaker 1: and then we get into like the Phoenix Golden State,

647
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:22,520
Speaker 1: where it's like I don't even think they have a

648
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:27,200
Speaker 1: puncher's chance unless they erectify some things right, and Phoenix

649
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:28,040
Speaker 1: is spiraling right now.

650
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:28,800
Speaker 2: Is a whole other story.

651
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,360
Speaker 1: We won't get into it, but like the reality is

652
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 1: is like I'm not here expecting the Lakers to as

653
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,560
Speaker 1: currently constructed, to beat the Celtics. I don't think they

654
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,800
Speaker 1: have the talent for it, but they're sure as hell

655
00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:40,200
Speaker 1: not going to be able to beat them in the

656
00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:44,880
Speaker 1: regular season with Lebron James playing that poorly. And again,

657
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 1: like this is that that's one of the things that

658
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,280
Speaker 1: that is unique about a seven game series, right as

659
00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,040
Speaker 1: you can weather those types of bad performances, and if

660
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,080
Speaker 1: this was game one of a playoff series. In game

661
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,120
Speaker 1: two is on, you know, Wednesday, I'd expect Lebron to

662
00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,880
Speaker 1: come back and play well, but like, you're not gonna

663
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:01,760
Speaker 1: beat the Celtics in a one game sample like this

664
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:04,240
Speaker 1: when Lebron plays as poorly as he did, and he

665
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,560
Speaker 1: also just had his best game of the season a

666
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,440
Speaker 1: couple nights ago against Oklahoma City. Some of that is

667
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:11,640
Speaker 1: just like the variance you're going to experience as a

668
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:13,560
Speaker 1: thirty nine year old. I mean, he's about to turn

669
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:17,160
Speaker 1: thirty nine here in a couple of days, so some

670
00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:21,160
Speaker 1: of that's to be expected. That said, if we look

671
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,560
Speaker 1: at this as a trade deadline issue for the Lakers,

672
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 1: meaning like I don't know, maybe they go after Levine

673
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:29,280
Speaker 1: before then, I think December. I think that they're actually

674
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:31,520
Speaker 1: capable of making the trade sooner. But let's say that

675
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 1: they wait till the deadline to make the deal, which

676
00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:35,960
Speaker 1: is usually what happens, because what ends up happening is

677
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,520
Speaker 1: most sellers will wait to see what develops in the market.

678
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:40,520
Speaker 1: No reason to sell right now when you might be

679
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:42,720
Speaker 1: able to get three or four other bidders involved down

680
00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:44,960
Speaker 1: the line, which could push the price up right And

681
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,560
Speaker 1: if you're a team like Chicago, for instance, there's literally

682
00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,800
Speaker 1: no rush to make a trade because the season's basically

683
00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:51,440
Speaker 1: over for them.

684
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:51,840
Speaker 2: Right.

685
00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:56,720
Speaker 1: But if we accept the reality that it's December twenty fifth,

686
00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 1: and you've got a month and a half or so,

687
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,959
Speaker 1: or let's just call it twenty games until the trade deadline,

688
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 1: you've got to give yourself your best chance of winning

689
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:08,839
Speaker 1: games until then. Right, And this is where I want

690
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:10,960
Speaker 1: to look into the starting lineup now. We have not

691
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:16,120
Speaker 1: worked since the the thunder Lakers game the other night,

692
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,360
Speaker 1: which was very impressive win for the Lakers, one of

693
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:23,560
Speaker 1: the most impressive wins this season. But in that in

694
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:26,520
Speaker 1: that game, we had another starting lineup change from Darvin Hamm.

695
00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:30,640
Speaker 1: He removed D'angela Russell and put Jared Vanderbilt into the

696
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,759
Speaker 1: starting lineup. Ran out of lineup with Cam Reddish, Jared Vanderbilt,

697
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:37,960
Speaker 1: Torrian Prince, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis, latest in a

698
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,200
Speaker 1: long line of bizarre kind of rotation decisions from from

699
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,279
Speaker 1: Darvin ham he uh as the Lakers invested in Jared

700
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,719
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt and Ruy Hatchamura and contract extensions this summer. Those

701
00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:52,399
Speaker 1: two guys had been like combining to play as many

702
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,560
Speaker 1: minutes as Torrian Prince. It was a bi annual exception

703
00:34:55,640 --> 00:34:59,000
Speaker 1: guy this year, Cam Reddish on a veteran minimum contract,

704
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,800
Speaker 1: as the super long lead is playing these super long minutes.

705
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:04,480
Speaker 2: There was this bizarre quote, even.

706
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,520
Speaker 1: Though going into the Thunder game, Austin Reeves had been

707
00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:10,839
Speaker 1: averaging twenty five and six on sixty five percent true

708
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,839
Speaker 1: shooting over his previous nine games. Literally, Darvin Ham was like, oh,

709
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:16,960
Speaker 1: I like Austin in the twenty six to twenty eight

710
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,680
Speaker 1: minute range. I feel like that's when he's most successful.

711
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,240
Speaker 1: So it's been a string of bizarre kind of rotation

712
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,240
Speaker 1: stuff surrounding the Lakers. It's been one of the few

713
00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:29,920
Speaker 1: you guys know me, I don't complain about the coach.

714
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,640
Speaker 1: It's just not a thing that I do. That said,

715
00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:37,040
Speaker 1: it's been a little bizarre watching some of these rotation

716
00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:40,120
Speaker 1: decisions from Darvin Ham. I will say personally, in my

717
00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,560
Speaker 1: time covering the league, the decision to keep Austin Reeves

718
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,000
Speaker 1: out of the starting lineup and to put another non

719
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,080
Speaker 1: shooter in the lineup is one of the most bizarre

720
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:53,680
Speaker 1: coaching decisions I have ever seen in my time covering

721
00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,759
Speaker 1: the league. And I go back to my one of

722
00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:01,040
Speaker 1: my baseline kind of like basketball theories that I talk

723
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,719
Speaker 1: about on the show all the time, the list of

724
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,920
Speaker 1: responsibilities a basketball team has to fulfill on the court

725
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:12,319
Speaker 1: on the offensive end, shot creation, right, good screening, off

726
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:16,359
Speaker 1: ball finishing both in spotting, up, attacking closeouts, screen and roll,

727
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,680
Speaker 1: guys that can finish above the rim. All of these

728
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:22,240
Speaker 1: different things kind of combine into what makes successful NBA offense.

729
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:25,680
Speaker 1: So when we see teams like the Denver Nuggets and

730
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,040
Speaker 1: it's like elite post player, elite on ball guard, elite

731
00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,000
Speaker 1: off ball guard, elite weak side shooter, elite athlete on

732
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,560
Speaker 1: the back line as a cutter and out of the

733
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,319
Speaker 1: dunker spot and running in transition, it's like, oh, all

734
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:43,240
Speaker 1: of that combines to be the most inevitable and unguardable offense.

735
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:48,000
Speaker 1: Why because all those guys do different things, right. It's

736
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:53,720
Speaker 1: all of the individual pieces filling out that bar, right.

737
00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:55,719
Speaker 1: And then there's the defense side of it, and you

738
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,560
Speaker 1: need on ball defense. You need lock and trail guys.

739
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:02,120
Speaker 1: You need guys that can defend in ball screens. You

740
00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,320
Speaker 1: need guys that can handle low man responsibilities like helping

741
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,239
Speaker 1: at the rim and controlling the defensive glass. There's a

742
00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:11,000
Speaker 1: bunch of different responsibilities there. And one of the things

743
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:14,880
Speaker 1: Darvin Ham did in that lineup is there's actually a

744
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,759
Speaker 1: redundancy there. Now you've got Torreum, Prince Cam Reddish and

745
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,280
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt. The vast majority of teams aren't running three

746
00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 1: on ball creators. A lot of times guys are working

747
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:28,240
Speaker 1: off the ball. So now you're getting a diminishing return

748
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:30,680
Speaker 1: on some of that perimeter defense that you're throwing all

749
00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:33,520
Speaker 1: out in one lineup, and then on the other end

750
00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:36,760
Speaker 1: of the floor you have very little ball handling and shooting.

751
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:40,480
Speaker 1: And it was one thing against the Thunder when you're

752
00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:43,240
Speaker 1: just so much bigger than them that you can control

753
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:47,239
Speaker 1: the possession battle by dominating the glass. This is a

754
00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:49,680
Speaker 1: different team. What if I said about the Thunder all

755
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:53,319
Speaker 1: season they're too small. That's their big limitation. That's not

756
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,719
Speaker 1: a realistic matchup for you to win the championship. Notice

757
00:37:57,760 --> 00:37:59,239
Speaker 1: I still don't have the Thunder in my list of

758
00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,200
Speaker 1: top tier contenders. They're too small, They're not gonna win

759
00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:07,440
Speaker 1: the Western Conference that small. Boston is a big athletic team,

760
00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:09,760
Speaker 1: so they don't get scared when they see Jared Vanderbilt

761
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,239
Speaker 1: and Torrian Prince and Cam Reddish and what do you know,

762
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,840
Speaker 1: they come out in the opening off of the opening

763
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:18,120
Speaker 1: tip tonight and just kick the living shit out of them,

764
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:22,080
Speaker 1: and the Lakers can't score. That Lakers starting lineup group

765
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:26,160
Speaker 1: thanks to Anthony Davis scoring out of the post every

766
00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:29,279
Speaker 1: single time, still was only a minus ten. But it

767
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:32,880
Speaker 1: looked worse than that. They were not getting any quality

768
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,640
Speaker 1: offense with that group. Those christophs Porzingis blocks on Lebron

769
00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:43,120
Speaker 1: helping off of Jared Vanderbilt, and so again, like, it

770
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:47,200
Speaker 1: doesn't make sense to then lean all into your perimeter

771
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,200
Speaker 1: defense and get diminishing returns on both ends of the floor.

772
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,800
Speaker 1: To then have your two skill guards come in together

773
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:56,439
Speaker 1: with the bench group. That doesn't make any sense either,

774
00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:01,880
Speaker 1: And so like it's such an obvious and clear solution

775
00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:04,879
Speaker 1: for me, Austin Reeves has to start at the one

776
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:09,440
Speaker 1: end of story, Austin Reeves, it could be.

777
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:12,399
Speaker 2: Cam or Max. At the two, I could go either way.

778
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:16,279
Speaker 1: I'd probably say Cam, And then at the three, I

779
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:18,319
Speaker 1: mean Torrian Prince as long as he's making shots is

780
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,879
Speaker 1: one thing. But that's where I would consider using someone

781
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:22,919
Speaker 1: like Jared Vanderbilt that's where I consider trying to find

782
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:26,840
Speaker 1: minutes for someone like Ruyachi Mura. But right now, this

783
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,280
Speaker 1: idea of just leaning on all these point of attack

784
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,080
Speaker 1: guys that can't shoot, what you're doing is you're creating

785
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:35,280
Speaker 1: lineups that are crossing too many of the same box

786
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,520
Speaker 1: and not enough of all of the boxes. So now

787
00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:40,200
Speaker 1: you've got all these groups that can defend but can't score,

788
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:42,640
Speaker 1: and then groups that can score but can't defend. When

789
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:45,960
Speaker 1: you can balance those groups out and create functionality there,

790
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,239
Speaker 1: it's definitely been a frustrating thing because it doesn't have

791
00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:55,200
Speaker 1: to be like that. There were times last year where

792
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:58,359
Speaker 1: I saw Laker fans complaining about the rotation and I'm

793
00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:02,040
Speaker 1: sitting there thinking, like, there's not personnel that could fix

794
00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:05,120
Speaker 1: this problem. It's like, oh, we need to see more

795
00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,840
Speaker 1: Troy Brown Junior. And it's like I like Troy, but

796
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:09,839
Speaker 1: he's not your saving grace. He's not going to turn

797
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:12,759
Speaker 1: all of this around. We need more Lonnie Walker again,

798
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,319
Speaker 1: I like Lonnie Walker, not really going to make that

799
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:18,879
Speaker 1: big of a difference. This team has solutions. They've got

800
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:21,840
Speaker 1: a lot of good players. Ruby's a good player, Austin

801
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:24,480
Speaker 1: Rie is a good player. Jared Vanderbilt when he's in

802
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:25,000
Speaker 1: the right role.

803
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:25,720
Speaker 2: Good player.

804
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,719
Speaker 1: D'Angelo Russell is a bench guy who can run a

805
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:33,080
Speaker 1: bench unit offensively. Good player. But if you don't piece

806
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,040
Speaker 1: the guys together into lineups that actually check the boxes

807
00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:38,520
Speaker 1: of what a basketball lineup needs to do, you're going

808
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:41,440
Speaker 1: to get diminishing returns. And this team already has an

809
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,120
Speaker 1: issue with effort. This team already has an issue with

810
00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:48,239
Speaker 1: struggling to be engaged for regular season games. So like,

811
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,000
Speaker 1: this is not a team that can afford to leave

812
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,480
Speaker 1: meat on the bone in terms of basic rotation decisions.

813
00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:56,800
Speaker 1: And again, like it's flat out roster and balances as well.

814
00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:00,839
Speaker 1: If you have a coach that does doesn't trust any

815
00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 1: of these options and is overplaying some of these other options,

816
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:05,880
Speaker 1: you need to simplify that for him by making a

817
00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,800
Speaker 1: consolidation trade. They need to find a way to turn

818
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,720
Speaker 1: two of the guys that Darvinham doesn't like to play

819
00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:15,399
Speaker 1: into one guy that Darvinham will like to play. That's

820
00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:17,279
Speaker 1: what I keep talking about with Dangela Russell and Rue

821
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:20,640
Speaker 1: Hotch to Murder like Darving just doesn't like to play

822
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:23,239
Speaker 1: him that much. Even in this recent stretch, Ruy's been

823
00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,239
Speaker 1: playing like twenty five minutes a game or so, like,

824
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:27,680
Speaker 1: that's a dude who should be playing thirty thirty two

825
00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:31,640
Speaker 1: minutes a game somewhere. So if you're not going to

826
00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:32,880
Speaker 1: use him, and if you're not going to use d

827
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:36,880
Speaker 1: Los except for these brief stints, turn those two guys

828
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:39,600
Speaker 1: into a player that he will use, then that should

829
00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:42,440
Speaker 1: help out in some of those rotation situations. And again,

830
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:45,239
Speaker 1: like the margin for error is really small here. In

831
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,560
Speaker 1: order to beat Boston, the Lakers have to get better.

832
00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:51,400
Speaker 1: It's more than even cleaning up in balances. They have

833
00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:53,080
Speaker 1: to get better. And the only way they're going to

834
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:55,919
Speaker 1: get better is by making an upgrade at those two

835
00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:58,239
Speaker 1: and three positions. Because again, you're asking me to build

836
00:41:58,239 --> 00:42:02,000
Speaker 1: a lineup, and it's like camera Max No, Torian Vando,

837
00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:05,479
Speaker 1: you know, RUI, It's just it's a lot of like, yeah,

838
00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:07,319
Speaker 1: this guy's good at this, but he's not good at that.

839
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:09,719
Speaker 1: And it'd be better if they could turn a couple

840
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,920
Speaker 1: of those guys into one of those guys that's good

841
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,160
Speaker 1: at all those things, and that could go a long

842
00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,959
Speaker 1: way towards helping the Lakers reach their sailing. All right, guys,

843
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:18,239
Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. I hope you

844
00:42:18,239 --> 00:42:19,879
Speaker 1: guys enjoy the rest of your holiday. I'll be back

845
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:21,520
Speaker 1: tomorrow with the breakdown of the rest of the Christmas

846
00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:22,560
Speaker 1: Day games and power rankings.

847
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:23,399
Speaker 2: I will see you guys then