1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:02,000
Speaker 1: The Volume.

2
00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:17,560
Speaker 2: All right, welcome to hoops today here at the Volume.

3
00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,520
Speaker 2: Happy Friday, everybody. I hope all of you guys have

4
00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,520
Speaker 2: had a great holiday week. I wanted to get into

5
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,599
Speaker 2: as we are now a month into the NBA regular

6
00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,400
Speaker 2: season and update on our contender rankings. And with our

7
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,559
Speaker 2: contender rankings, to be clear, I never make substantial changes.

8
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,720
Speaker 2: I am very very slow to move on this sort

9
00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,279
Speaker 2: of thing because I don't overreact to regular season results.

10
00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,520
Speaker 2: But at the very least, if we check in every month,

11
00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:44,440
Speaker 2: you'll get to see the slight tweaks that I've made,

12
00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,520
Speaker 2: but also gives us a chance to at least check

13
00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,199
Speaker 2: in on these teams and what they've accomplished to this

14
00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,519
Speaker 2: point in the season, how we feel about them. Just

15
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,120
Speaker 2: essentially monthly check ins, and I could think of nobody

16
00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,440
Speaker 2: better to come join us as we check in on

17
00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,440
Speaker 2: our contenders at this point in the season. Then the

18
00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,680
Speaker 2: Nerd sash guys Carson and Logan is great to see

19
00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,800
Speaker 2: you both. I appreciate you guys coming to hang out today.

20
00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,080
Speaker 2: By the way, quick disclaimer, this is being recorded on Monday,

21
00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,560
Speaker 2: so any games that have happened on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

22
00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,120
Speaker 2: or Thursday night are not being factored in here, but

23
00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,119
Speaker 2: more or less, again, this is meant to be more

24
00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,080
Speaker 2: just a big picture check in on the contenders. How

25
00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,800
Speaker 2: are you guys holding up on the grind? I feel

26
00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,000
Speaker 2: like this Thanksgiving week always sneaks up on us and

27
00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:25,360
Speaker 2: it's like, oh, yeah, we get to have a little

28
00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:26,040
Speaker 2: break finally.

29
00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,399
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's gonna be nice for sure. But I have

30
00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,520
Speaker 3: been loving the basketball this year. I gotta say, like, obviously,

31
00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,720
Speaker 3: injuries unfortunate, but other than that, I think the quality

32
00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,759
Speaker 3: of play is so fun. We're seeing so much interesting

33
00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:45,119
Speaker 3: strategic stuff and crazy player leaves and basketball just rock.

34
00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,160
Speaker 3: So I cannot wait to talk about these contenders with you. Jason.

35
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,560
Speaker 1: I'm feeling the exact same way. Thank you for having

36
00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,960
Speaker 1: us on again, Jason. No, Lie, I've just been kind

37
00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,600
Speaker 1: of putting my head down and Thanksgiving creeped up on us.

38
00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,360
Speaker 1: I am excited to get some good food and stuff

39
00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,560
Speaker 1: later this week, but I am also excited to talk

40
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:03,680
Speaker 1: some ball with you, Jason.

41
00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:06,280
Speaker 2: I know it's going to be like at the time

42
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,640
Speaker 2: of recording of will have been a very weird Thanksgiving

43
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,840
Speaker 2: for me because I'm actually not with family this year

44
00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,160
Speaker 2: because we moved to Denver, So we're going skiing. It's

45
00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:15,959
Speaker 2: going to be very just my wife and eye type

46
00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,840
Speaker 2: of Thanksgiving, which will be fun. So as much as

47
00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,840
Speaker 2: i'd like to immediately just come out guns blazing attacking

48
00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,160
Speaker 2: you guys for both leaving the Lakers off of your

49
00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,320
Speaker 2: top ten contenders, I'm actually sneaky low on the Lakers,

50
00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,840
Speaker 2: which we'll get to when we actually get to them.

51
00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,320
Speaker 2: But I could not believe that you guys both left

52
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,280
Speaker 2: them completely off of your list, completely indefensible. We'll save

53
00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,959
Speaker 2: that for later. We're going to start from the top down.

54
00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,280
Speaker 2: So I have moved to Oklahoma City to number one. Now,

55
00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,760
Speaker 2: to be clear, I have not moved all the way

56
00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,240
Speaker 2: to Carson Land, where before the season he said that

57
00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,399
Speaker 2: there was about an eighty percent chance that they would

58
00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,880
Speaker 2: beat Denver. I've just tilted from that fifty three forty

59
00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,480
Speaker 2: seven leaning towards Denver to more of like a fifty

60
00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,240
Speaker 2: three for four seven leaning towards Oklahoma City, And to

61
00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,280
Speaker 2: be clear, has nothing to do with anything that I've

62
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,520
Speaker 2: seen from Denver. I think Denver in many ways has

63
00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:12,399
Speaker 2: hit checkpoints this year for any sort of concern surrounding

64
00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,360
Speaker 2: Cam Johnson's struggles. He's really started to come together, and

65
00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,440
Speaker 2: their defense has looked better than we could have expected.

66
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,080
Speaker 2: Denver's fine, This is not a Denver take to me.

67
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,000
Speaker 2: It's just Oklahoma City at number two for me had

68
00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,639
Speaker 2: a lot to do with their youth and them being

69
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,640
Speaker 2: kind of mistake prone and them needing some internal improvement.

70
00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,760
Speaker 2: That was going to be an unknown as we came

71
00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,200
Speaker 2: into the season, but the exact opposite has happened. All

72
00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,240
Speaker 2: of that unknown has been fully known as Chet has

73
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,280
Speaker 2: clearly taken an offensive leap as AJ Mitchell again twenty

74
00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:47,840
Speaker 2: points on eight for eight shooting on the Sunday night game,

75
00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,480
Speaker 2: obviously recording this on Monday, just showing that additional dribble

76
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,520
Speaker 2: creator which was like a significant weakness for them in

77
00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,560
Speaker 2: the postseason last year that Indiana exposed with their ball pressure,

78
00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,480
Speaker 2: and AJ Mitchell just looks like a massive addition there.

79
00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,880
Speaker 2: Shake Killjus Alexander has experienced a nice, little modest leap,

80
00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:08,200
Speaker 2: fueled by his now very reliable three point shooting, which

81
00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:09,800
Speaker 2: has become a big weapon for him. He's at a

82
00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,480
Speaker 2: career high sixty seven percent through shooting. Oklahoma City also

83
00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,800
Speaker 2: doesn't seem to be that mistake prone young team that

84
00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:18,800
Speaker 2: we saw for many of the stretches last year, as

85
00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,240
Speaker 2: their processing in the half court has been so high

86
00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,160
Speaker 2: level and they've been so good at the end of games.

87
00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:25,440
Speaker 2: I just think Oklahoma City has hit so many of

88
00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,520
Speaker 2: those checkpoints to me that Denver is now looking more

89
00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:30,919
Speaker 2: like an upset threat than a favorite to me, and

90
00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,839
Speaker 2: so I've moved Oklahoma City into that number one spot. Carson,

91
00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,760
Speaker 2: how are you feeling about Oklahoma City to this point

92
00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:37,280
Speaker 2: in the season.

93
00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,760
Speaker 3: I think that we're looking at probably one of the

94
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,520
Speaker 3: top three teams this century. That's where I'm at with them.

95
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,440
Speaker 3: I mean, I think the PKD STEPH Warriors, right, they

96
00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,920
Speaker 3: still stand to me in a class of their own,

97
00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,440
Speaker 3: essentially until proven otherwise.

98
00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:50,760
Speaker 4: The Oh.

99
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,120
Speaker 3: One Lakers that just absolutely ran through everybody else in

100
00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,880
Speaker 3: that playoff field only one total loss, and then I

101
00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,440
Speaker 3: think that it's going to be this year's thunder Listen,

102
00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,240
Speaker 3: They've got to go out and prove that in a

103
00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:04,760
Speaker 3: playoff run. But this team won sixty eight games last

104
00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:06,400
Speaker 3: year they won the title, and I think they are

105
00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,680
Speaker 3: significantly better this year For them to be seventeen and one,

106
00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,960
Speaker 3: even though they've had a lighter schedule, but with a

107
00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,239
Speaker 3: plus seventeen net rating almost a quarter into the season

108
00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,840
Speaker 3: without an all NBA player in Jada, I think they

109
00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,320
Speaker 3: have the highest regular season floor we've ever seen, and

110
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,279
Speaker 3: I think there's a very real chance they win seventy

111
00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,440
Speaker 3: games because of that. And it's because, in my opinion,

112
00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,000
Speaker 3: we're looking at the greatest defense since the sixty Celtics.

113
00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,960
Speaker 3: Like the pace they're on right now is to set

114
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,360
Speaker 3: the record for best relative defensive rating in the play

115
00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,600
Speaker 3: by player that's the last thirty years now, and not

116
00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,640
Speaker 3: just that, but to set a gap between them and

117
00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,000
Speaker 3: the number two defense that is the same as the

118
00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,799
Speaker 3: gap between the number two defense and the number seventy

119
00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,159
Speaker 3: five defense in that span. I'm not saying that's gonna

120
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,520
Speaker 3: hold up, but to be doing that without an all

121
00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,320
Speaker 3: defense level guy in Jadub and I don't even think

122
00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,120
Speaker 3: that that accounts for the full value of this OKC defense,

123
00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,359
Speaker 3: because they're not just the best at getting stops that

124
00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,640
Speaker 3: we've seen in decades, they are the best ever at

125
00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,440
Speaker 3: turning defense into offense, off of turnovers into transition scoring.

126
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,040
Speaker 3: So with this all time great defense, with this all

127
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,320
Speaker 3: time great transition margin, with this all time great turnover margin,

128
00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,120
Speaker 3: where they forced them at a crazy rate. And then

129
00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,960
Speaker 3: Shay is literally the best at protecting the basketball that

130
00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,120
Speaker 3: we've ever seen. With the sort of offensive load that

131
00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,160
Speaker 3: he has, the floor is so obscenely high, and this

132
00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,520
Speaker 3: is a big reason that last year they won the

133
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,920
Speaker 3: title when they were an average playoff half court offense.

134
00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,200
Speaker 3: That is so hard to do with today's NBA. Only

135
00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:33,480
Speaker 3: ok see, with this crazy margin they build in all

136
00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,760
Speaker 3: these other ways, could do that. Now. I look at

137
00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:37,640
Speaker 3: them this year and I think they're going to be

138
00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,200
Speaker 3: an elite half court offense in the playoffs. Like Shay,

139
00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,080
Speaker 3: I do agree, is looking better as a playmaker, is

140
00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,200
Speaker 3: looking better in terms of the consistency of the pull

141
00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:47,520
Speaker 3: up step back three that left him in the playoffs.

142
00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,640
Speaker 3: I would expect him to overall have a better, more

143
00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,640
Speaker 3: comfortable playoff run this time around. Check clearly has taken

144
00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,680
Speaker 3: an offensive leap. As you mentioned, he was one of

145
00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:56,680
Speaker 3: the biggest swing factors for them. Right when Chet was

146
00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,800
Speaker 3: great in the playoffs, they were cruising against Memphis, who

147
00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,240
Speaker 3: is a great opponent, But against Minnesota, when Chet really

148
00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,600
Speaker 3: struggled in the half court, that was when the OKC

149
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,159
Speaker 3: offense could struggle a bit more. In those series got tighter.

150
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,440
Speaker 3: I just feel more confident in him now. And aj

151
00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,120
Speaker 3: Mitchell is like maybe the biggest development of this all,

152
00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,720
Speaker 3: going from a team that was so reliant on two

153
00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,360
Speaker 3: ball handlers to now have one of the best bench

154
00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,520
Speaker 3: creators in the sport who's also just like a really

155
00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:26,640
Speaker 3: good all around basketball player. It's incredible. Their depth is insane,

156
00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:28,960
Speaker 3: and Jadub could be better when he comes back out

157
00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,040
Speaker 3: there this year, Like we don't know. He was already

158
00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,480
Speaker 3: picking up steam later in that playoff run, figuring some

159
00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:36,480
Speaker 3: stuff out in terms of his aggression getting all the

160
00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:38,640
Speaker 3: way to the basket. This is a young guy still

161
00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,840
Speaker 3: trending up where it's like I just don't see anybody

162
00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,960
Speaker 3: on their level. So I remain a huge OKC believer,

163
00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,080
Speaker 3: Like I was adamant that they were gonna win it

164
00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,080
Speaker 3: all last year, going back to a couple of years,

165
00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,560
Speaker 3: I was saying, this is a future dynasty. I feel

166
00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,480
Speaker 3: that way, and I feel that it's all materializing really

167
00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:56,480
Speaker 3: fast in front of us.

168
00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,520
Speaker 1: Well, the reason that it could be a future dynasty

169
00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,960
Speaker 1: too is this is the beginning right now, right like

170
00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,360
Speaker 1: chet Holmer, and you feel like could play way better

171
00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,840
Speaker 1: than he did last year. Jalen Williams in the playoffs.

172
00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,120
Speaker 1: You feel like could be way more consistent than last year.

173
00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,640
Speaker 1: And they've got everybody's pick from now until the end

174
00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,040
Speaker 1: of time, so they're just gonna keep reloading the clip

175
00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,840
Speaker 1: every single year, right like they got the Clippers pick

176
00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,040
Speaker 1: this year. Yeah, I mean, I think Carson hit all

177
00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,160
Speaker 1: the nails on the head. They've got a historically great

178
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,320
Speaker 1: offensive player and shay Gilges Alexander who is unstoppable inside

179
00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,400
Speaker 1: the arc and limits turnovers at an insane rate for

180
00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,120
Speaker 1: how often he has the ball in his hands.

181
00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,560
Speaker 4: Aj Mitchell has emerged. I'm aligned with him.

182
00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:38,480
Speaker 1: I think this is a historically great defense with a

183
00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,000
Speaker 1: historically great offensive player, with a bunch of young athletic

184
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,760
Speaker 1: players that are continuing to get better. And yeah, they

185
00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,520
Speaker 1: are still a juggernaut to me and the clear favorite

186
00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:49,120
Speaker 1: in the league.

187
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think some of their metrics will

188
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,559
Speaker 2: come back down to earth a little bit just because

189
00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:57,960
Speaker 2: of this schedule. The schedule has been comically easy. They

190
00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,160
Speaker 2: have their opponent win person is two point six percent

191
00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,720
Speaker 2: lower than the twenty ninth ranked schedule in Phoenix. Right now,

192
00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,640
Speaker 2: they just are on a string right now. Five consecutive

193
00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:12,720
Speaker 2: blowout wins versus bad teams. But all I think about

194
00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,199
Speaker 2: when I see that is, yeah, their metrics are a

195
00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,440
Speaker 2: little inflated. What I don't think. I don't think any

196
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:20,800
Speaker 2: of us are any under any sort of delusions of

197
00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,000
Speaker 2: grandeur that they're just going to run into some tougher

198
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,040
Speaker 2: competition and then fall apart. Now, ultimately that's going to

199
00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,520
Speaker 2: be the difference between whether or not they win seventy

200
00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,760
Speaker 2: four games and they win sixty eight games will be

201
00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,760
Speaker 2: how well they perform against that competition. But they just

202
00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,560
Speaker 2: to me, I look at like Denver, as you know,

203
00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,760
Speaker 2: as we kind of moved towards Denver, there's this idea

204
00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,120
Speaker 2: of them being an upset threat and it depends on

205
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,280
Speaker 2: them being a mediocre half court offense, and that to

206
00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,720
Speaker 2: me with the leaps that they've made there and just

207
00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,720
Speaker 2: they're just how crisp they are in the half court

208
00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,360
Speaker 2: with their movement and their decision making and now they're

209
00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,840
Speaker 2: just like like that that stretch in the second half

210
00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:59,680
Speaker 2: against Utah. I just had to watch it because I

211
00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,560
Speaker 2: saw the I saw the run on Twitter. It said

212
00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:04,960
Speaker 2: there was like, oh, twenty to zero run in like

213
00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:06,520
Speaker 2: three and a half minutes or whatever. The heck, it

214
00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,400
Speaker 2: was some insane number and I was like, I have

215
00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,280
Speaker 2: to go watch this, and so I went back and

216
00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,720
Speaker 2: watched it. It's like they just they looked like the

217
00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,600
Speaker 2: old school Warriors that were just running off of missus

218
00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:21,160
Speaker 2: and turnovers and just bang three bang, quick drive bang three,

219
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,280
Speaker 2: and then like every once in a while, SHA's just

220
00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,920
Speaker 2: finding these little windows to quick drive to the basket

221
00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:27,520
Speaker 2: and shove a dude off for a layup. And it's

222
00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:29,679
Speaker 2: like they just look surgical right now. And I just

223
00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,640
Speaker 2: couldn't be any more impressed by them. As we moved

224
00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,079
Speaker 2: to my number two Denver. Again, this is gonna sound

225
00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,280
Speaker 2: weird because I'm gonna give you guys all this positive

226
00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:41,720
Speaker 2: stuff that I feel about them as I've dropped them

227
00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:43,320
Speaker 2: to number two. But again, it has all to do

228
00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,520
Speaker 2: with Oklahoma City. Cam Johnson's really starting to gain some momentum.

229
00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,520
Speaker 2: He's having some bigger scoring games. He had one of

230
00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:51,920
Speaker 2: the biggest I thought. He had two massive plays at

231
00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:53,640
Speaker 2: the tail end of the Houston game. He had that

232
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:55,920
Speaker 2: big three that he hit off with the left wing

233
00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:57,880
Speaker 2: off of the Jokic post up, which was the final

234
00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,200
Speaker 2: lead changing shot of the game. A big defensive rotation

235
00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,240
Speaker 2: late in the game where he tagged Men Thompson on

236
00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,520
Speaker 2: a cut which forced a much more difficult corner three

237
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,320
Speaker 2: point attempt to contest corner three point attempt from Jabari Smith.

238
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,240
Speaker 2: He's just like making little plays, which I think is

239
00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,440
Speaker 2: a big part of why he's been one of their

240
00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,679
Speaker 2: better plus minus guys this season. I ultimately, I know,

241
00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,680
Speaker 2: juxtaposed with Michael Porter Junior just putting up at massive

242
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,480
Speaker 2: numbers for a bad Brooklyn Nets team, that there's a

243
00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,800
Speaker 2: lot of talk about that being underwhelming. But I think

244
00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,000
Speaker 2: there's a universe where everyone's happy here. I think there's

245
00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,680
Speaker 2: a universe where Brooklyn trades Michael Porter Junior somewhere else

246
00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,920
Speaker 2: and that team's super happy, and Brooklyn super happy because

247
00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,040
Speaker 2: they've turned Cam Johnson into multiple first round picks, and

248
00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,480
Speaker 2: Denver's happy because Cam Johnson is a nice fit for

249
00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:42,320
Speaker 2: their system, And that ultimately is where I think this

250
00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,319
Speaker 2: all lands. And I think Cam is starting to gain

251
00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,560
Speaker 2: some momentum. Their depth is becoming super valuable now as

252
00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,079
Speaker 2: we've seen the injuries to Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown

253
00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,160
Speaker 2: and we've seen guys step up and make plays. I

254
00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,600
Speaker 2: don't really think too much about the Sacramento loss. I

255
00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:57,960
Speaker 2: thought that was purely a schedule loss as they landed

256
00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,400
Speaker 2: back in Denver at like two thirty am that coming

257
00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,120
Speaker 2: off the Houston game. To me, their defense has looked

258
00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:04,640
Speaker 2: ahead of where we would expect it to be at

259
00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,720
Speaker 2: this point of the year. Yoka just playing the very

260
00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,600
Speaker 2: best basketball of his career right now. Jamal Murray was

261
00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,480
Speaker 2: awesome and made every play on both ends of the

262
00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,839
Speaker 2: floor down the stretch against Houston and continues to just

263
00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,920
Speaker 2: be one of the biggest gamers in the NBA. I

264
00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,359
Speaker 2: think the Vets all look super locked in and engaged.

265
00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,680
Speaker 2: The bench has been weird because it's cost him some games,

266
00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:27,040
Speaker 2: but it's also won them some games. So like it's

267
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,320
Speaker 2: been very up and down, but I ultimately think that

268
00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,760
Speaker 2: will balance out over time. I've been really really impressed

269
00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,520
Speaker 2: by Denver. To me, them dropping is mostly just about

270
00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,520
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City ascending. And let's start with you, Logan. What's

271
00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:40,360
Speaker 2: been your take on Denver to start this season.

272
00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,640
Speaker 1: I'm really excited about Denver and especially their addition to

273
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,520
Speaker 1: Cam Johnson. I brought this up on last episode, and

274
00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:48,520
Speaker 1: I think you make a great point, Jason. Some fans

275
00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:51,040
Speaker 1: may feel underwhelmed with what he's given them to start

276
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,559
Speaker 1: the season, but you have to recognize the other dominoes

277
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,840
Speaker 1: that fail when they got rid of Michael Porter Junior.

278
00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,560
Speaker 1: And by clearing all of that salary cap up, it

279
00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:01,480
Speaker 1: allows you to fill out this bench with all of

280
00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,640
Speaker 1: these important depth pieces that just make you so much deeper.

281
00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,679
Speaker 1: So Cam may not be giving it to you statistically,

282
00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:09,720
Speaker 1: but I think you're getting it back in the aggregate

283
00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,080
Speaker 1: with all the players they added.

284
00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,640
Speaker 4: And I really like what Cam does for this team.

285
00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:15,520
Speaker 1: I get that he's not putting up the gaudy scoring

286
00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,840
Speaker 1: numbers of an MPG, the little connective passing he does,

287
00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:20,760
Speaker 1: how he can be a release valve as a ball

288
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,160
Speaker 1: handler in creator, how he moves without the ball at

289
00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,360
Speaker 1: the connection you're talking about as a defender.

290
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,319
Speaker 4: He does so many little things for this team.

291
00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:34,720
Speaker 1: And like the Sacramento loss, they generated so many open

292
00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,559
Speaker 1: threes that they just didn't hit. Like that is Denver's

293
00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:40,800
Speaker 1: one of Denver's superpowers to me and why I enjoy

294
00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,400
Speaker 1: watching them so much, Like they just create such an

295
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,400
Speaker 1: obscenely high shot quality off of Jokic, and they actually

296
00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,200
Speaker 1: have guys down the roster that can capitalize off of

297
00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:51,439
Speaker 1: the advantage.

298
00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,160
Speaker 4: That he creates like they just have.

299
00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,200
Speaker 1: It's pretty simple, like Denver to me, just has more

300
00:13:56,280 --> 00:14:00,120
Speaker 1: basketball players that can actually give you rotation minutes and

301
00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:01,880
Speaker 1: that is such a big difference from what they had.

302
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:03,760
Speaker 1: You can mention the the on and off numbers this

303
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,680
Speaker 1: year from years previous with jokicch Like, I think they're

304
00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,960
Speaker 1: negative nine point four without Jokic over the last three

305
00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:12,400
Speaker 1: years as a net rating team.

306
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,520
Speaker 4: This year they're dead even Like that's a huge difference.

307
00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,360
Speaker 1: I just think the depth and overall contributions that you're

308
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,960
Speaker 1: getting from everybody. Tim Hardaway Junior has been huge for

309
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,640
Speaker 1: this team. Like you said, the bench may not be

310
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,600
Speaker 1: giving it to you every night, but they're way better

311
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:29,920
Speaker 1: than they've been in This is the best group that

312
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,520
Speaker 1: Yokich has ever had around him, I think, top to bottom,

313
00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:36,040
Speaker 1: and Jamal is playing great basketball. I agree with you, Jason,

314
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,400
Speaker 1: I have nothing negative to say it all about the

315
00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,080
Speaker 1: Denver Nuggets. They are a clear number two to me

316
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,880
Speaker 1: because of what they can bring offensively. And this just

317
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,840
Speaker 1: has to do with how dominant the thunder have been.

318
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:48,200
Speaker 3: Carsons.

319
00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:49,440
Speaker 2: Did you have them too as well?

320
00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,280
Speaker 3: Yeah? I have them too, and they're clear too for me,

321
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,600
Speaker 3: they were two in the preseason, like you were hinting out,

322
00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,480
Speaker 3: like I actually feel a little bit better about Denver

323
00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:00,160
Speaker 3: right now than I did coming into the year, even

324
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:01,520
Speaker 3: though I was high on a lot of these things.

325
00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:05,160
Speaker 3: I just think everything except for cam jelling has gone

326
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,880
Speaker 3: so well, and I do think that Cam is ultimately

327
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:09,720
Speaker 3: gonna find his rhythm with this team. I do like

328
00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,600
Speaker 3: him more as a fit than MPG. I get that

329
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,320
Speaker 3: the early season stats disparity couldn't be bigger, and like

330
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,160
Speaker 3: Cam has had some clunkers, some really ugly shooting nights,

331
00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,760
Speaker 3: but I do think a little more ball handling right

332
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,720
Speaker 3: his ability to actually drive off of handoffs with Jokic

333
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:25,960
Speaker 3: and actually make some of these basic passing reads that

334
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,840
Speaker 3: with MPG it was just a limitation of his And

335
00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:31,640
Speaker 3: I do think he's the more solid defender, So I

336
00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,360
Speaker 3: think ultimately, when you consider that and the contract, he's

337
00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,360
Speaker 3: the more versatile, better player, better fit for this team.

338
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,400
Speaker 3: But even though he hasn't looked like how we would

339
00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,640
Speaker 3: have hoped that he has up to this point in

340
00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,240
Speaker 3: the year, I just think, like it's funny nobody even

341
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,360
Speaker 3: mentioned the fact that Niko A. Jokic is averaging thirty

342
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,560
Speaker 3: thirteen and eleven on sixty or seventy three percent through

343
00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,720
Speaker 3: shooting right now, because it's just like a given that

344
00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,880
Speaker 3: he's the best regular season offensive player at this point,

345
00:15:57,920 --> 00:15:59,480
Speaker 3: and now it's like, let's just fast forward to the

346
00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:03,040
Speaker 3: playoffs and see how he holds up against this Okac defense,

347
00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,720
Speaker 3: if he can surpass what he did last year, which

348
00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,320
Speaker 3: ultimately wasn't good enough to beat this juggernaut of a

349
00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,600
Speaker 3: team that is only getting better. I do think also

350
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,360
Speaker 3: when you look to that matchup, another thing that is

351
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:15,920
Speaker 3: going to be so important is the three point shooting battle,

352
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,520
Speaker 3: and that's where Okac last year. That's another thing that

353
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:21,880
Speaker 3: I think is going to get better for them in

354
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,520
Speaker 3: the playoffs this year. The fact that they were thirteenth

355
00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,160
Speaker 3: out of sixteen playoff teams and three point percentage last year,

356
00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,760
Speaker 3: right that was a struggle in inconsistency for them after

357
00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,400
Speaker 3: they were a really good regular season three point shooting team.

358
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,320
Speaker 3: So it's not just Chet, it's not just AJ. I

359
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,080
Speaker 3: think that'll get better too. But also for Denver, they

360
00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,720
Speaker 3: now have the most three point volume they've had in years,

361
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,480
Speaker 3: and it's not a lot. There's still not a volume

362
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,480
Speaker 3: three point shooting team, but having a movement. Three point

363
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,160
Speaker 3: shooter of the caliber of a THHJ who can come

364
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:49,960
Speaker 3: off the bench, who can give you minutes at that

365
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,920
Speaker 3: shooting guard spot. I think is very important, not just

366
00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,200
Speaker 3: for the three point battle in that matchup, which I

367
00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,480
Speaker 3: think Denver has to win because okay, see builds margin

368
00:16:58,480 --> 00:16:59,560
Speaker 3: in so many ways. They don't have to win it

369
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,080
Speaker 3: in terms of volume, but probably in terms of percentage,

370
00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:06,000
Speaker 3: but also just for the spacing because even though Christian

371
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,879
Speaker 3: Brown is better than THHJ as an overall basketball player,

372
00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,520
Speaker 3: the reality is Okac is so great at shrinking the floor.

373
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,639
Speaker 3: They are so aggressive in terms of packing the paint,

374
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,879
Speaker 3: doubling Jokic, and having a non floor spacer, Like I

375
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,240
Speaker 3: think we can basically call Christian Brown that when it

376
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,439
Speaker 3: comes to a playoff setting, he's just not confident and

377
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,959
Speaker 3: comfortable knocking down those catch and shoot threes at volume.

378
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,920
Speaker 3: Yet those cutting lanes aren't going to be as available,

379
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:32,679
Speaker 3: and so I just think them having another option to

380
00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:34,920
Speaker 3: turn to there is big. When it comes to what

381
00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,080
Speaker 3: they've added on the bench. Jonas valenciunis being as productive

382
00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,920
Speaker 3: in his minutes, like it's easily the best Jokic backup

383
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,560
Speaker 3: who they've had, so everything they did in the offseason

384
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:45,560
Speaker 3: was right to me. In terms of player acquisitions, they

385
00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,160
Speaker 3: addressed what has been a disastrous bench in a big way.

386
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,120
Speaker 3: But also just like the best players playing their best

387
00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,360
Speaker 3: basketball ever, like Jokic setting the bar even higher than

388
00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,720
Speaker 3: he ever has before. Jamal Murray, he's playing easily his

389
00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,080
Speaker 3: best regular season basketball in Octoper uber November. We've ever

390
00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:03,399
Speaker 3: seen like for this guy to be playing at close

391
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,520
Speaker 3: to an all star level early in the year. Jamal

392
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:07,880
Speaker 3: likes to come into the area averages fifteen a game

393
00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,720
Speaker 3: on fifty two percent through shooting for a couple months,

394
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:12,680
Speaker 3: and then he hits his stride late in the year.

395
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,800
Speaker 3: He is approaching this season with a level of seriousness.

396
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:17,600
Speaker 3: I think his shot making, I think his playmaking has

397
00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,720
Speaker 3: all been so good, and like Aaron Gordon, dude, just

398
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,040
Speaker 3: being a guy who now can go out there for

399
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:27,199
Speaker 3: you and score basically nineteen twenty points per game with

400
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,040
Speaker 3: really good efficiency. Obviously, maybe the one to fifty piece

401
00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:31,920
Speaker 3: is skewing things a little bit this early in the year,

402
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,919
Speaker 3: but I just think his shooting leap is so insane,

403
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,600
Speaker 3: and he is still great at all the things that

404
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:40,840
Speaker 3: he was great at, say back in like twenty twenty three.

405
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,480
Speaker 3: So I look at this team and I think they

406
00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,520
Speaker 3: are clearly better than the twenty twenty three Nuggets who

407
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,480
Speaker 3: won the title. The difference is just they have to

408
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,000
Speaker 3: go through a way better team than they had to

409
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,000
Speaker 3: go through in that run. But I feel really good

410
00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,080
Speaker 3: about the Nuggets right now. The defense, I agree with you,

411
00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:58,240
Speaker 3: it's been encouraging. There was a stretch there where they

412
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,119
Speaker 3: were like top three in defensive rating and it was like, Okay,

413
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,439
Speaker 3: this obviously isn't going to stick. They had some great

414
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,920
Speaker 3: opponent three point shooting luck, and I still think they've

415
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,399
Speaker 3: had the second best opponent three point shooting luck, so

416
00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,199
Speaker 3: that'll probably continue to come back down to earth. But

417
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,719
Speaker 3: I do think they are playing with a level of

418
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,320
Speaker 3: effort connectedness on that side of the ball that, like,

419
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,840
Speaker 3: we literally didn't see from them at all last year

420
00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,520
Speaker 3: until the playoffs. That defense was a disaster throughout the

421
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,800
Speaker 3: entire regular season. So I think you got every reason

422
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,560
Speaker 3: to think that Denver is way better than last year,

423
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,440
Speaker 3: the best version of them we've ever seen, and definitely

424
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,639
Speaker 3: the biggest threat to knock off the Thunder because they

425
00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,879
Speaker 3: have aniko A Jolkic and they have the offense that

426
00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:36,480
Speaker 3: should be the best in basketball, and a bench that

427
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,359
Speaker 3: maybe won't as catastrophically lose those minutes.

428
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,480
Speaker 2: This time around, I'm going to put you guys on

429
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,200
Speaker 2: the spot really quickly assign a percentage chance if Denver

430
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,760
Speaker 2: played Oklahoma City in a playoff series, the percentage chance

431
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:48,639
Speaker 2: that they would upset them again. I'm gonna hover right

432
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,560
Speaker 2: around that, like forty five forty seven percent range.

433
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,000
Speaker 3: I'm sticking with my twenty. I'm saying, okay, season eighty

434
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:57,919
Speaker 3: percent favorite, I'll say thirty thirty.

435
00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,920
Speaker 2: Okay, right on. So onto the second change that I'm

436
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:03,960
Speaker 2: making in my contender list. So obviously I started the

437
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,959
Speaker 2: season with Denver over Oklahoma City by a hair, but

438
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,040
Speaker 2: I also only had two teams on that tier because

439
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,520
Speaker 2: I had dropped Houston as a result of the loss

440
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,000
Speaker 2: of Fred Van Vliet. I am moving Houston as my

441
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,760
Speaker 2: final team in that top tier of contenders up into

442
00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,960
Speaker 2: that tier at number three. I have been really impressed

443
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,600
Speaker 2: by them this season in so many different ways, even

444
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,480
Speaker 2: in that Denver game, Like for all of the things

445
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,199
Speaker 2: that went wrong for them in that game, with how

446
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,479
Speaker 2: much they struggled on offense in the first half, with

447
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:39,600
Speaker 2: how much. Shanegun had a couple of pivotal mistakes late

448
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,840
Speaker 2: in the game in the short role. There were like

449
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,280
Speaker 2: a lot of things that could have easily gone their way,

450
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,359
Speaker 2: Like Jabari Smith had a couple of wide open corner

451
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:47,919
Speaker 2: threes that he missed late in the game. One of

452
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,119
Speaker 2: those goes in different games. Shangun makes a couple of

453
00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,679
Speaker 2: different reads in the short roll, different game. On the

454
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,560
Speaker 2: defensive end, a couple of mistakes, you know. Reed Shepherd

455
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,000
Speaker 2: had this bad gamble that put them into rotation that

456
00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,560
Speaker 2: gave Jamal Murray and little pull up, and then Shanggun

457
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,320
Speaker 2: inexplicably just let Jamal Murray take a layup by staying

458
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:06,920
Speaker 2: glued up to Jokic on a roll.

459
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:08,359
Speaker 4: But other than that, I thought the ale.

460
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:11,119
Speaker 3: Gravity Jason is not inexplicable. That's the offensive go That's

461
00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,200
Speaker 3: a point we have to consider. And Yoka's favor go ahead.

462
00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:14,440
Speaker 4: Yeah exactly.

463
00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,760
Speaker 2: So I thought Houston, you know, because Houston has probably,

464
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,040
Speaker 2: out of all of these teams, honestly because of just

465
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,679
Speaker 2: how weird and new they are, they probably have the

466
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:28,720
Speaker 2: most potential to improve between now in mid April and

467
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,639
Speaker 2: ultimately I look at them as a very physically a

468
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,240
Speaker 2: challenging team to deal with on both ends of the floor,

469
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,359
Speaker 2: that is extremely deep, that has a simple dynamic that

470
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,600
Speaker 2: is extremely difficult to guard, which is their two main

471
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,439
Speaker 2: game of KD and Shangoon, And it's like, if you

472
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:44,840
Speaker 2: switch it, the two of those guys can just target

473
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,480
Speaker 2: specific weak defenders and they're just so good in they're

474
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,600
Speaker 2: one on ones. If you shade over towards them at all,

475
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:52,439
Speaker 2: and they're one on ones, they can bludgeon you on

476
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,399
Speaker 2: the offensive glass. And I think this KD Shangoon, like

477
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,600
Speaker 2: you bring anybody up to the level Shangoon run into

478
00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,720
Speaker 2: four on three. I think that's going to start leading

479
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,080
Speaker 2: to a bunch of dunks and open threes without turnovers

480
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 2: here pretty soon as they continue to figure out the timing.

481
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:07,840
Speaker 2: Reed Shepherd has been dynamic as a pick and roll

482
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,960
Speaker 2: shot creator, which is not something I saw coming to

483
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,200
Speaker 2: start this season. I just think Houston looks really good,

484
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,320
Speaker 2: and I know that I have them as a firm

485
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,199
Speaker 2: third because they have so much unknown, But I think

486
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:19,640
Speaker 2: they're going to be a lot better than they are

487
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 2: now even when we get to mid April. I think

488
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,520
Speaker 2: they provide the unique combination of like physical problems for

489
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,160
Speaker 2: teams while also having two elite units, while also having

490
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,960
Speaker 2: two stars that represent a real problematic duo. I just

491
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,240
Speaker 2: believe in Houston as a top tier contender. Carson, where

492
00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:36,960
Speaker 2: did you have them on your list and did you

493
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:38,800
Speaker 2: consider them to be a top tier contender?

494
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,480
Speaker 3: They're number three for me. I moved them up one

495
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:46,160
Speaker 3: spot compared to the preseason. I have like a mini

496
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,200
Speaker 3: tier break between Denver and Houston, and I have, okay,

497
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,920
Speaker 3: seeing a tier of their own actually above everybody else.

498
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,000
Speaker 3: But I think Houston has been amazing. I think they've

499
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,520
Speaker 3: been as impressive as they possibly could have been. Like

500
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 3: when Fred Van Vliet went down, if you told me

501
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,879
Speaker 3: this team would be the number one offense in basketball

502
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,280
Speaker 3: right now, I would have said, no, I don't think

503
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 3: that's going to be the case, and yet here we are.

504
00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:12,679
Speaker 3: Like the playmaking and ball handling load that Shnggun has

505
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,240
Speaker 3: been able to take on is absolutely incredible. Of the

506
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,639
Speaker 3: leap that I think he has taken, just in terms

507
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,240
Speaker 3: of putting the ball in the basket right, there's still

508
00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 3: some touch stuff where he's not consistently in the upper echelons.

509
00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,159
Speaker 3: The finishing. He's not a good play finishing big right.

510
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,240
Speaker 3: Still doesn't have the mid range game, but compared to

511
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,080
Speaker 3: where he's at last year, I mean, he's been so

512
00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:34,679
Speaker 3: much more efficient overall as a paint scorer, getting the

513
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,280
Speaker 3: line more, making his free throws more, adding this dimension

514
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,480
Speaker 3: of even if it's not at volume like actual three

515
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,960
Speaker 3: point shooting, all while he is the primary creator for

516
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:45,960
Speaker 3: this number one offense. It's so impressive. What they do

517
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,040
Speaker 3: on the offensive glass is like nothing we've ever seen.

518
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,920
Speaker 3: They're the best offensive rebounding team on record in terms

519
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:54,080
Speaker 3: of offensive rebound percentage. It's just incredible. So they dominate

520
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:57,280
Speaker 3: the possession game in that way. Shehng gun playing at

521
00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,880
Speaker 3: this level, Katie being such an important for them, even

522
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 3: if he's not a primary ball handler, even if he's

523
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,920
Speaker 3: not generating a ton of shots for teammates, a guy

524
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 3: who like when it comes down to it, can cut through,

525
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 3: can give you twenty seven on a lead. Efficiency like

526
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:14,560
Speaker 3: that Orlando game, I just thought was so impressive how

527
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,080
Speaker 3: Shangoun and Katie both felt like they could get whatever

528
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,080
Speaker 3: they wanted down the stretch. Think about how crazy different

529
00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:24,840
Speaker 3: that feels from Houston's offense last year. It's such an improvement. Defensively,

530
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:26,600
Speaker 3: I think they have the potential to play better and

531
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,400
Speaker 3: be one of the best defenses in basketball. We still

532
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,160
Speaker 3: haven't seen dfs for this team. Like I just love

533
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,159
Speaker 3: the Rockets. I think they're the most interesting team in

534
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:35,960
Speaker 3: the NBA. The fact that we're looking at a number

535
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,879
Speaker 3: one offense that, like on paper, has some of the

536
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,760
Speaker 3: worst spacing, that has the lowest three point rate in

537
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,960
Speaker 3: the NBA, one of the lowest pick and roll rates,

538
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,439
Speaker 3: but then by far the number one offensive rebound rate.

539
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,920
Speaker 3: They go double big and the men Thompson out there

540
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 3: and they murder teams offensively. Nobody else plays like them whatsoever.

541
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,199
Speaker 3: And I love it and I buy a lot of it.

542
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,879
Speaker 3: The only reason that I have Denver clearly above them

543
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,639
Speaker 3: is because I just feel more confident about Denver's offense

544
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,360
Speaker 3: translating throughout a playoff run and specifically against Oka. See

545
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,399
Speaker 3: okay see is going to make life incredibly hard on

546
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,760
Speaker 3: anybody offensively. I do worry about the lack of ball

547
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,680
Speaker 3: handling that Houston has, and I do worry a bit

548
00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 3: about some of the spacing stuff, where I think that

549
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,919
Speaker 3: they're going to dominate anybody on the offensive glass, like

550
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,119
Speaker 3: that's a given and maybe that's their path to you know,

551
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,400
Speaker 3: really making okay See uncomfortable dominating in that category, being

552
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,920
Speaker 3: physically so big, so strong, overwhelming there. I just worry

553
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 3: about the ability of OKAC to be super aggressive playing

554
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,480
Speaker 3: in gaps, to be super aggressive with their help overall

555
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 3: and just again kind of shrink the floor on them.

556
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:41,679
Speaker 3: And I don't know that they have the shooting to

557
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:43,240
Speaker 3: punish that, and I don't know that they have the

558
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 3: ball handling the deal with a shit ton of OKC

559
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,880
Speaker 3: ball pressure. Like Reed Shepherd has been good this year,

560
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,320
Speaker 3: just straight up against Oka See, he looked like a

561
00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:54,200
Speaker 3: scared little kid. He could not get the ball inside

562
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,120
Speaker 3: the three point line, which, to be fair, he never

563
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,240
Speaker 3: does much of that, but like it was to another

564
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 3: extent how uncomfortable he was in that matchup. Shangun is great,

565
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:03,520
Speaker 3: but I just think it would be too much on

566
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,440
Speaker 3: his plate. So I like Denver's formula to beat Oka

567
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 3: See is more so what it is compared to like

568
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,000
Speaker 3: any regular season expectation, where I think Houston is every

569
00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,879
Speaker 3: bit as good as Denver because of their superpowers. What

570
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 3: they do that translates every night in the regular season,

571
00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 3: and I think mostly translates in the playoffs, but just

572
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,120
Speaker 3: a little bit less. I have a couple more concerns.

573
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,520
Speaker 1: Fundamentally agree with all that, but I really do like

574
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,840
Speaker 1: how Houston matches up with Denver. Like that's the distinction

575
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:33,480
Speaker 1: to me is the I like Denver's formula against OKAC

576
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,119
Speaker 1: more than Houston's. But I do think Houston can go

577
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,399
Speaker 1: toe to toe with Denver, Like it's really close between

578
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 1: both of those teams, where Houston is one of those

579
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,880
Speaker 1: teams that you're never going to out physical, out athletic,

580
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 1: and like I think about them in a hypothetical matchup,

581
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,439
Speaker 1: I think they could really overwhelm Jamal Murray if they

582
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:51,959
Speaker 1: get up there at the point of attack. With all

583
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,359
Speaker 1: the athletes they have, I think they could dominate Denver

584
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 1: in a way that they don't get beat on the glass.

585
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,199
Speaker 1: And like I do like their formula a lot more

586
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: than last year.

587
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 4: I just think I don't know.

588
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,800
Speaker 1: Ever since I've been watching basketball with you guys, I

589
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,960
Speaker 1: have moved over towards really preferring physical and athletic and

590
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,280
Speaker 1: big ass strong teams that like you can't.

591
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:12,840
Speaker 4: That's why I like Detroit a lot.

592
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:14,639
Speaker 1: And I know Detroit's a different, you know, kind of

593
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,280
Speaker 1: beast because they have different kind offense.

594
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 4: You know, they're way different.

595
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:21,440
Speaker 1: Houston's the best offense in basketball, but I like Houston's

596
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,200
Speaker 1: formula a lot. That's something that you just can't take away,

597
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,440
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. That is an unalienable thing

598
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:28,919
Speaker 1: from Houston. They are going to hit you in the

599
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,119
Speaker 1: mouth and beat you on the glass, and so that

600
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,000
Speaker 1: is the difference. Though to me, Carson, I think that

601
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,879
Speaker 1: Houston would really struggle just to put the rock on

602
00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,760
Speaker 1: the floor against Okac. I think they get really overwhelmed

603
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:39,679
Speaker 1: at the point of attack.

604
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Houston Denver matchup was super interesting because like

605
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,800
Speaker 2: Jokich typically and crunch time will have these stretches where

606
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 2: he just goes to the post and he hit like

607
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:51,560
Speaker 2: a little face up jump shot against Steven Adams. But

608
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 2: for the most part, like I thought, like Jokic kicked

609
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,160
Speaker 2: Shane Gun's ass in that game. But Shane Gun did

610
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,679
Speaker 2: hold up reasonably well in his one on one against Jokis,

611
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,439
Speaker 2: which kind of forced them to lean entirely into Murray

612
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:05,760
Speaker 2: Jokich two man game, which forced them into a lot

613
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:07,919
Speaker 2: of jump shots. Other than that left you layup from

614
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,119
Speaker 2: from Jamal there was like a contested Jokic jumper, a

615
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,399
Speaker 2: couple of contested jamal jumpers, you know, and then that

616
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,920
Speaker 2: Cam Johnson three. So like I think that they do

617
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,080
Speaker 2: match up in an interesting way with Denver. I still

618
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,280
Speaker 2: think Denver's better, and I've picked Denver in a series

619
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,879
Speaker 2: against them, But I Houston and their legitimate threat to

620
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,080
Speaker 2: beat to Denver and their weirdness and what that could

621
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 2: present to a team like Okay. See, it's a big

622
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,200
Speaker 2: part of why I have them in that top tier.

623
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,000
Speaker 2: So I have a massive drop off from here to

624
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,040
Speaker 2: the next group of teams. Today's show is brought to

625
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,680
Speaker 2: you by our new presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet. The

626
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,840
Speaker 2: hard Rock Bet sports book GAP is the only legal

627
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,760
Speaker 2: sportsbook for whenever you're in Florida, and it's also live

628
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:52,160
Speaker 2: in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, and Colorado,

629
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,160
Speaker 2: coming soon into more states too. Sign up today and

630
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,520
Speaker 2: you could score one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets.

631
00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 2: Just place a five dollars bet and if it hit

632
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:02,719
Speaker 2: it's you get not only your winnings, but also one

633
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty dollars in extra bonus bets. Want to

634
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,680
Speaker 2: see what everyone else is betting on tonight top picks

635
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 2: or parlays across any sport. The hard rock Bet app

636
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,760
Speaker 2: literally shows you. It's another reason to download the app

637
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,400
Speaker 2: just for the info. Tap discover and you can see

638
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,360
Speaker 2: trending picks and parlays at any time. Hard Rock Bet

639
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,920
Speaker 2: offers new promos daily plus big legendary rewards drops every

640
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,920
Speaker 2: Thursday like Gifts under the Tree, So whenever you're listening,

641
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,040
Speaker 2: just open up the app and check out what you

642
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,440
Speaker 2: got waiting for you. Download the hard rock Bet app

643
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,240
Speaker 2: and make your first deposit payble on bonus bets not

644
00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:35,760
Speaker 2: a consh offer offered by the Seminal Tribe of Florida.

645
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,080
Speaker 2: In Florida, offered by Seminal hard Rock Digital LLC. In

646
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,720
Speaker 2: all other states. Must be twenty one plus and physically

647
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:46,360
Speaker 2: present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,

648
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,960
Speaker 2: or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about

649
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 2: gambling in Florida, call one eight three to three play Wise.

650
00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:55,640
Speaker 2: In Indiana, if you or someone you know has a

651
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,320
Speaker 2: gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and

652
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:02,400
Speaker 2: nine with it. Gambling problem called one eight hundred Gambler

653
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:23,480
Speaker 2: in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia.

654
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:26,320
Speaker 2: The next two that I have, even though there are

655
00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,520
Speaker 2: different numbers than I had in previous in the first

656
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 2: edition of the Contender rankings, I just have them slid

657
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:33,800
Speaker 2: beneath Houston.

658
00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 4: Number four.

659
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:40,760
Speaker 2: I have the Cleveland Cavaliers, And you know, it's interesting

660
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,040
Speaker 2: because there's been a lot of good and bad with

661
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,360
Speaker 2: them to start the season. Donovan Mitchell looks incredible. He's

662
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,000
Speaker 2: been on an absolute heater over the course of the

663
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,520
Speaker 2: last few weeks. Very glad to hear that this Darius

664
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,240
Speaker 2: Garland toe kind of reaggravation was just something mild. He's

665
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:54,880
Speaker 2: now played a few games in a row and we're

666
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:56,800
Speaker 2: going to be seeing if he can actually stay healthy.

667
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 2: Nikolon Tomlin has provided that like high motor app athlete,

668
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,480
Speaker 2: which has been something that they've missed in previous seasons.

669
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,040
Speaker 2: My only real red flag with them to this point

670
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 2: in the season is they kind of have been getting

671
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,240
Speaker 2: their butts kicked by some of these bigger and physical centers. Again,

672
00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,680
Speaker 2: we're recording this on Monday. They got eaten alive by

673
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 2: zubots In that Sunday game, even though they controlled Harden

674
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,520
Speaker 2: and Kawhi and got a big win. And in the

675
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,680
Speaker 2: Houston game in particular, like they absolutely got bludgeoned by

676
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,680
Speaker 2: Houston on the interior in that game. And what concerns

677
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:31,120
Speaker 2: me with that specific matchup is Detroit and like what

678
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 2: a guy like Jalen Duran could do to them in

679
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,160
Speaker 2: a playoff series with some of their bigger, more physical

680
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,680
Speaker 2: players could do against them in a series. Ultimately, I

681
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:40,800
Speaker 2: viewed them as the best team in the East. I

682
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,720
Speaker 2: think they have the best combination of perimeter shot creation,

683
00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,600
Speaker 2: good coaching, and like a system that works on both

684
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,800
Speaker 2: ends of the floor. The main reason why I don't

685
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,280
Speaker 2: view them as that top tier type of contender is

686
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:54,920
Speaker 2: I just view them as a team that can be

687
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 2: physically overwhelmed. And there are a lot of teams in

688
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,479
Speaker 2: this playoff field that can physically overwhelm you. So as

689
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,680
Speaker 2: much as I have Cleveland as the best team in

690
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:07,400
Speaker 2: the East, I viewed them as very upset. Like I

691
00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,000
Speaker 2: view them as a team that is is a high

692
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,240
Speaker 2: potential upset risk early in an early round if they

693
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,760
Speaker 2: catch a bad type of matchups. So again, to me,

694
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 2: this is more like a view of the East and

695
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,240
Speaker 2: how they you know, in a lot of ways, have

696
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 2: been better than we've expected. They've got a lot of

697
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,440
Speaker 2: teams that are performing better than we thought in their

698
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,400
Speaker 2: record to start the season. The East has sneaky been

699
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,240
Speaker 2: good against the West this year, at least at the

700
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,600
Speaker 2: top compared to previous seasons. There's a lot of like upsides,

701
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 2: but there's no singular great team that's rising from the pack.

702
00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 2: If I had to choose one, I choose Cleveland, which

703
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:41,520
Speaker 2: is why I put them at the top of this

704
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:43,080
Speaker 2: tier because if they can get out, they have an

705
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,400
Speaker 2: easier path out of the conference. But I view them

706
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 2: as a team that is high risk for upset because

707
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,800
Speaker 2: of their struggles against physicality. Logan, what's been your take

708
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 2: on Cleveland to start the season.

709
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 4: I think they're vulnerable too.

710
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,760
Speaker 1: I'm waiting to see what happens with Darius Garland because

711
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:58,480
Speaker 1: I think he is the X factor for this team.

712
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,200
Speaker 1: I think it was the X factor for this team

713
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:02,840
Speaker 1: last year with his toe injury, Like the offense loses

714
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,560
Speaker 1: so much dynamism in creation when he's not out there. Now,

715
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,479
Speaker 1: I really like Cleveland's depth this year. I think not

716
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: only like shout out Nikwon Tomlin. I think Lonzo Ball

717
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,240
Speaker 1: has been awesome for them, would be awesome in a

718
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,840
Speaker 1: playoff run, just all the little connective stuff he does.

719
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,520
Speaker 1: I love a guy like Dean Wade, like I think

720
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,000
Speaker 1: top to bottom, Cleveland has got two groups that I

721
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:25,520
Speaker 1: really like.

722
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,960
Speaker 4: They've got versatility. My issue with them is kind of

723
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:30,160
Speaker 4: what you're getting at, though, Jason.

724
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,959
Speaker 1: I think that that backcourt is an issue against bigger teams.

725
00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,000
Speaker 1: Where you're talking about a Detroit that's going to be

726
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,800
Speaker 1: a really interesting kind of push pull matchup because it's

727
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 1: like this elite Cleveland offense that there are apex where

728
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 1: Detroit's way bigger. Detroit's got this great defense, but they

729
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,320
Speaker 1: can stall out on offense. I think it's a really

730
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,160
Speaker 1: interesting counter and how they play. But I do worry

731
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:53,960
Speaker 1: about them in a matchup like that where Cleveland's just

732
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,840
Speaker 1: is way smaller than Detroit. They've got size everywhere, athleticism,

733
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,600
Speaker 1: but it's more the health and what Garland looks like.

734
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,400
Speaker 1: And so Cleveland's number five. For me, I'm really high

735
00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,080
Speaker 1: on a team at number four. People were calling me

736
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,080
Speaker 1: crazy for the take we can dive into that. I

737
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,400
Speaker 1: don't even know if it'll be in your top ten, Jason.

738
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:15,160
Speaker 1: I think they will, but I don't know. I need

739
00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:17,400
Speaker 1: to see it with Cleveland. A lot of this is

740
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,840
Speaker 1: embedded faith from the Cats from their past two seasons,

741
00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 1: where you know, I've seen it work with Mitchell and Mobley,

742
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:25,440
Speaker 1: who I think are both top fifteen players.

743
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:27,560
Speaker 4: I've seen the formula come.

744
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,000
Speaker 1: Together where this is a really good regular season team,

745
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:31,960
Speaker 1: and I think they're gonna be a really they're my

746
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,280
Speaker 1: favorite in the East, a really tough out. I haven't

747
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:38,440
Speaker 1: seen together it come together yet with Garland. I just

748
00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:40,520
Speaker 1: need to see a stretch of basketball from this team,

749
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,920
Speaker 1: is what I'm saying, where like Garland's clicking, where it

750
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,520
Speaker 1: all comes together before I'm really ready to put all

751
00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:47,520
Speaker 1: of my chips.

752
00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:49,200
Speaker 4: In on Cleveland's gonna win the East.

753
00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,960
Speaker 1: So I think they're the most talented, but they have

754
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 1: significant flaws and I want to see it worked out

755
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,360
Speaker 1: before I'm ready to say like Cleveland is my dog

756
00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:58,680
Speaker 1: that I'm betting on in the East.

757
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,400
Speaker 3: Cleveland in the same tier as Houston, and Houston's clearly

758
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:05,120
Speaker 3: been more impressive this year. But I think there's a

759
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,040
Speaker 3: lot of reasons to think the Cavs are going to

760
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,640
Speaker 3: look a lot better. Like Max struce not having suited up.

761
00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:12,480
Speaker 3: I think he's one of the best offensive role players

762
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,840
Speaker 3: in basketball. I think that matters obviously Garland like only

763
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:18,919
Speaker 3: now getting back on the court and still not really

764
00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:23,440
Speaker 3: looking like himself yet. Like this offense last year was

765
00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,720
Speaker 3: easily the number one unit in basketball in the regular season.

766
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,000
Speaker 3: They absolutely shredded. I mean it was the heat, but

767
00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,600
Speaker 3: they were setting like offensive rating records in a single

768
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 3: series and then they totally fell apart physically. So I

769
00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,120
Speaker 3: just think their pick and roll attack is so insane.

770
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,640
Speaker 3: With the duality of Garland and Mitchell. I think the

771
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,200
Speaker 3: play finishing Bigs are good. They're an elite three point

772
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,239
Speaker 3: shooting team. They're an overall good passing, really well coached

773
00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:50,320
Speaker 3: team that I just think we haven't seen them scratch

774
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,759
Speaker 3: their offensive ceiling yet because they haven't had all of

775
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,640
Speaker 3: their dudes out there, and they also haven't shot the

776
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:57,759
Speaker 3: ball well. This is an elite, elite shooting team that

777
00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 3: hasn't been that up to this point on the Sea.

778
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,080
Speaker 3: And I also think, like Evan Mobley is somebody who

779
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,320
Speaker 3: some people are like panicking about right now, I actually

780
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,320
Speaker 3: think he's going to be better this year than last

781
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:09,720
Speaker 3: year because I think We've seen him take on even

782
00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:12,799
Speaker 3: more as a ball handler, playmaker on the margins, but

783
00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:14,640
Speaker 3: still a little bit more there and get to the

784
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 3: free throw line more. The reality is just like he

785
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,440
Speaker 3: is going through this horrific touch stretch where he's got

786
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:23,080
Speaker 3: the yips at the free throw line. Clearly, his like

787
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:25,440
Speaker 3: paint touch has n't been good. The mid range stuff

788
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,800
Speaker 3: has been ugly from him. But I think he's gonna

789
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:29,400
Speaker 3: at least get back to the level he was at

790
00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,760
Speaker 3: last year there and then be like you were saying, Logan,

791
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:33,600
Speaker 3: like an all NBA level kind of contributor. And I

792
00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 3: just think they're the most talented team overall on both

793
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:38,800
Speaker 3: sides of the ball. I actually like you, Logan, like

794
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:40,520
Speaker 3: the depth. I think it's better than last year. I

795
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,400
Speaker 3: think Lonzo is so important in terms of being a

796
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:46,760
Speaker 3: connective passer offensively, somebody who can knock down those shots

797
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,239
Speaker 3: off the catch, and somebody who if you're feeling like,

798
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,200
Speaker 3: oh man, our defensive backcourt is a real problem at

799
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,719
Speaker 3: this moment. Okay, we can deploy Alonzo last year over

800
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:57,879
Speaker 3: a Darius Garland in a stretch, and you can still

801
00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:01,000
Speaker 3: put together a great offensive group with Donovan Mitchell in

802
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:03,120
Speaker 3: shooting and Mobili at the five or whatever the double

803
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:06,160
Speaker 3: bigs and you can be a good defense in that configuration.

804
00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:08,480
Speaker 3: I think they've got a lot of answers. Jalen Tyson

805
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,560
Speaker 3: emerging as like a legitimate quality two way wing for them,

806
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:14,680
Speaker 3: Like he's a difference maker to me compared to last season,

807
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,120
Speaker 3: and even last season, I think like people got way

808
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:20,240
Speaker 3: too low and were way too hard on the Cavs

809
00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:23,719
Speaker 3: because they physically fell apart and Darius Garland couldn't play,

810
00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:25,920
Speaker 3: and Mobili got banged up, and DeAndre Hunter got banged up,

811
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,799
Speaker 3: and all these things compounded for them. I understand your

812
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:33,960
Speaker 3: criticism Jason about like them dealing with big physicality. I think,

813
00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,239
Speaker 3: like Jared Allen just has got to prove to us

814
00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:38,759
Speaker 3: one of these days in a playoff setting that he

815
00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,400
Speaker 3: can contend in that way, because I thought in the

816
00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,920
Speaker 3: Pacers series last year he was just spacey. I thought

817
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,840
Speaker 3: he was not nearly active enough, assertive enough on the glass,

818
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:49,239
Speaker 3: in the paint, on both sides of the ball. He

819
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,359
Speaker 3: struggled guarding in space. Like he is probably the guy

820
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:53,960
Speaker 3: who I look at and I say, Okay, you have

821
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:55,759
Speaker 3: to prove it to me in a playoff run and

822
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:57,840
Speaker 3: then Garland It's like, yes, I'm always going to have

823
00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:02,640
Speaker 3: those defensive concerns, but he's amazing. And I don't see

824
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,799
Speaker 3: the team in the East that is good enough on

825
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:08,800
Speaker 3: both sides of the ball to expose the Cavs defensive

826
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,760
Speaker 3: issues to a level that like makes me think there's

827
00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:14,720
Speaker 3: a high percentage chance that Cleveland is going to lose

828
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,400
Speaker 3: in that matchup. Now, when I get to Okay, see,

829
00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:20,880
Speaker 3: I go, Okay, this is why I like Houston and

830
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,080
Speaker 3: Denver more in that matchup. I mean, Denver, it's the offense,

831
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,880
Speaker 3: but Houston's defense I think actually holds up better against

832
00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:30,400
Speaker 3: an okace Cleveland. They do have the defensive backcourk concerns.

833
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:33,600
Speaker 3: They do still put together a pretty good team defense overall, though,

834
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:35,479
Speaker 3: And I just don't see another team in the East

835
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:37,759
Speaker 3: that has that level of like two way proficiency. And

836
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,480
Speaker 3: I really do think this offense could be insane when

837
00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:42,520
Speaker 3: we see them back in rhythm, and that's where they

838
00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,120
Speaker 3: could really separate from the pack. So I'm a Cavaliers

839
00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:46,000
Speaker 3: optimist overall.

840
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:48,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's weird because I don't think it was possible

841
00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:50,160
Speaker 2: to be any higher on Jared Allen than we all

842
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:52,279
Speaker 2: were in the middle of last year's regular season and

843
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:53,600
Speaker 2: you're like, oh, my gosh, is this one of the

844
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:55,719
Speaker 2: top six or seven centers in the NBA? You know,

845
00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:58,880
Speaker 2: And now it's kind of back into that, like he

846
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,399
Speaker 2: kind of just because of him getting his butt kicked

847
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:04,000
Speaker 2: in the playoffs and him struggling against some of these bigger,

848
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,160
Speaker 2: more physical centers. And that's a big problem. Even if

849
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,480
Speaker 2: you go further back to like the Orlando series and

850
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,120
Speaker 2: like they just in the in the nixt series in

851
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:15,520
Speaker 2: particular two, like they just have struggled there. And to

852
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:18,400
Speaker 2: me that and then Garland, the second piece of it

853
00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,480
Speaker 2: is like I need to see Garland Logan was hinting

854
00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:24,160
Speaker 2: at this, but an extended stretch where he just kind

855
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,200
Speaker 2: of clearly demonstrates that his foot can handle the level

856
00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:30,120
Speaker 2: of dribble penetration they need from him. All Right, we're

857
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:31,800
Speaker 2: gonna move a little bit quicker through the rest of

858
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 2: this list, moving on to number five Minnesota. This is

859
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,920
Speaker 2: the exact opposite of the Denver situation. I have nothing

860
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,440
Speaker 2: but bad things to say about whatever for them to

861
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:45,759
Speaker 2: start the season. Yet I refuse to I refuse to

862
00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:48,000
Speaker 2: buy into the fact that they are as bad as

863
00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:51,040
Speaker 2: they have looked and the general trend with them as

864
00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:53,760
Speaker 2: they've kicked up the kicked butt against the bad teams

865
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:55,759
Speaker 2: in the league, and then they've consistently lost against the

866
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,719
Speaker 2: good teams. Anthony Edwards has had this like weird up

867
00:39:58,719 --> 00:40:01,400
Speaker 2: and down season that is actu manifested in him having

868
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:04,360
Speaker 2: his most efficient scoring season of his career, which is bizarre.

869
00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,120
Speaker 2: The mid range jump shooting hasn't really been that proficient

870
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,200
Speaker 2: for him, but he's shooting the three still pretty well

871
00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:16,759
Speaker 2: and overall with ant like, I think I think that

872
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:19,560
Speaker 2: injury just kind of derailed his rhythm building to start

873
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,560
Speaker 2: the season. I'm still a big believer in Aunt in

874
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:24,480
Speaker 2: the big picture. I still think this team has this

875
00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,400
Speaker 2: athletic physicality dynamic that a lot of teams in the

876
00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:29,840
Speaker 2: West can't really match. When they get into the postseason.

877
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:33,080
Speaker 2: They've experienced just enough offensive leaps from a couple of

878
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,120
Speaker 2: key guys like Jada McDaniels. To me, is like another

879
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:38,960
Speaker 2: like has taken a little mini leap on the offensive

880
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:40,680
Speaker 2: end of the floor, which I think is key, and

881
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 2: they're just starting to generate a little bit more of

882
00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,960
Speaker 2: that continuity on offense. I ultimately am a big believer

883
00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,040
Speaker 2: in them is a big playoff threat because of just

884
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,080
Speaker 2: how physical that they can be and how difficult their

885
00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:53,080
Speaker 2: main one on one guys can be to guard in

886
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:55,560
Speaker 2: a playoff series. Nasrid as well as a guy that

887
00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:57,279
Speaker 2: I really believe in as a one on one kind

888
00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,040
Speaker 2: of like scoring type of weapon in the postseason. And

889
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,919
Speaker 2: to me, if I look at the Western Conference, it's

890
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,120
Speaker 2: a lot of teams with flaws after I get past Denver,

891
00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:09,759
Speaker 2: OKC Houston, and only one of them really stands out

892
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,040
Speaker 2: as a team that can rise and meet the physicality

893
00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:15,360
Speaker 2: of that postseason environment. I have Minnesota at number five, Carson,

894
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:17,520
Speaker 2: what are you feeling about Minnesota right now?

895
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:19,880
Speaker 3: Same spot, and they're pretty much locked in there. For me,

896
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:21,719
Speaker 3: it's where I had them preseason. It's where I have

897
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:26,440
Speaker 3: them now. I just think their offensive formula, their ability

898
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:29,520
Speaker 3: to pressure the paint with Anthony Edwards, with Julius Randle,

899
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:32,799
Speaker 3: these big physical athletes who can consistently create that penetration

900
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:37,720
Speaker 3: and then make these kickout passes create for their shooters,

901
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:39,520
Speaker 3: which they have a lot of. I mean, they're a

902
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:41,920
Speaker 3: very good paint and three point shooting team. I like

903
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:44,640
Speaker 3: that offensive formula, even if I do have concerns about

904
00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:47,840
Speaker 3: Julius Randall against OKC. Right, I think he's a disaster

905
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:50,680
Speaker 3: in that matchup where he can't attack mismatches and his

906
00:41:50,719 --> 00:41:52,960
Speaker 3: game can kind of fall apart if you can't do that,

907
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,479
Speaker 3: and the decision making can really be tested with him,

908
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,480
Speaker 3: and and they're having to deal with this super aggressive

909
00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:01,399
Speaker 3: defense that is throwing all this crazy stuff at them,

910
00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,719
Speaker 3: Like that matchup I think is really problematic for them.

911
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 3: But when I think about just kind of like a

912
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:09,880
Speaker 3: default them playing against an average or a good team,

913
00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,239
Speaker 3: I think they're able to replicate that offensive formula pretty consistently.

914
00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:15,640
Speaker 3: It's why they are a top seven offense again this year.

915
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,120
Speaker 3: And then they've got really good defensive personnel, like they've

916
00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:20,880
Speaker 3: lost Niki Alexander Walker, who's bawling in Atlanta. But I

917
00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:23,080
Speaker 3: still think if you got good point of attack defense,

918
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:25,640
Speaker 3: Gobar has been phenomenal on that side of the ball.

919
00:42:25,719 --> 00:42:28,759
Speaker 3: So realistically, their upside is probably going to come down

920
00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:31,120
Speaker 3: to what version of Ant and Randall can you get

921
00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:35,000
Speaker 3: over the entirety of a playoff run. Because Ant obviously

922
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:37,000
Speaker 3: sets the ceiling for this team in a number of ways.

923
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,360
Speaker 3: Just what level can he reach? Can he start contending

924
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,279
Speaker 3: with like those top tier guys this year. Personally, I

925
00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:45,160
Speaker 3: don't think so, like the top five kind of guys.

926
00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:48,480
Speaker 3: Maybe there's a few games stretch where he can do it,

927
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:50,360
Speaker 3: but over the course of a series, I just trust

928
00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:55,320
Speaker 3: a Shae for example, absolutely more than ant. So yeah,

929
00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,919
Speaker 3: I can't see them like climbing into that top tier

930
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 3: right now. I guess I would. I do worry just

931
00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:05,719
Speaker 3: a little bit about the lack of like another consistent,

932
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,120
Speaker 3: reliable guard playmaker alongside. And I think they're absolutely right

933
00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:12,320
Speaker 3: to be starting Devincenzo over Conley because he's just way better.

934
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:15,880
Speaker 3: But if they could have gotten you know, twenty seventeen

935
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:17,879
Speaker 3: Mike Conley, he'd be a great fit for this team.

936
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:20,280
Speaker 3: He's just fallen off so hard. So I have Minnesota

937
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:21,960
Speaker 3: at five as well. They're a very good two way team,

938
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:23,160
Speaker 3: and I feel like we know who they are, you know,

939
00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:25,960
Speaker 3: back to back Western Conference finals. But even though there

940
00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:28,479
Speaker 3: have been some improvements, like you're mentioning, I don't see

941
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:30,959
Speaker 3: a meaningful enough improvement compared to some of these teams

942
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,120
Speaker 3: that are like really really impressing me in the West.

943
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:35,960
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're number six to me.

944
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:38,279
Speaker 1: I agree with both of you guys, and I just

945
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:40,120
Speaker 1: want to give some love to Julius Randall. I mean,

946
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:42,200
Speaker 1: he has been balling this year. Like I've been so

947
00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:45,240
Speaker 1: thoroughly impressed with him. As a guy who's been critical

948
00:43:45,239 --> 00:43:46,920
Speaker 1: of Julius, I think he's.

949
00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:49,520
Speaker 4: Super important to their playoff run. And I agree.

950
00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:51,480
Speaker 1: Fundamentally that Ann and Randall were going to determine this

951
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:55,239
Speaker 1: team's ceiling. On the margins, I've been really disappointed with

952
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:57,600
Speaker 1: Terry Shannon Junior. He hasn't played that much this year,

953
00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:00,279
Speaker 1: but his minutes were not good. Jalen Clark, though I

954
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 1: have liked. I think he's a defensively like you Carson

955
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:05,840
Speaker 1: on the margins. If they can improve, I'd really like

956
00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,359
Speaker 1: if they could get another guard or another wing, like

957
00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:12,600
Speaker 1: just because Conley Dillingham are like almost unplayable at this point,

958
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:15,440
Speaker 1: I wish they had like two more guys. Not that

959
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:17,839
Speaker 1: that makes a big difference in like where I see

960
00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:20,000
Speaker 1: this team going in the playoffs. I think that they're

961
00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:22,879
Speaker 1: a strong team, but I don't think they really hold

962
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,000
Speaker 1: up to the Denvers in Houston's of the world.

963
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:29,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I think the Minnesota's kind

964
00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:31,880
Speaker 2: of at a weird spot here where I wonder if

965
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:35,160
Speaker 2: they do something like crazy, like make an aggressive trade

966
00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:37,680
Speaker 2: because of kind of the little bit of a stagnant

967
00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:41,480
Speaker 2: nature of the general cores obviously aside from Cat and

968
00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:45,000
Speaker 2: Julius over the last couple of years, because they're not

969
00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:48,040
Speaker 2: playing super well against the higher level competition this season,

970
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:49,800
Speaker 2: and I kind of go the other way, like I

971
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,040
Speaker 2: would lean on continuity if I was Minnesota. I mean,

972
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:53,640
Speaker 2: I'm not saying don't try to make a move to

973
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:56,840
Speaker 2: bolster a specific you know, bench roll or something, but

974
00:44:57,239 --> 00:45:00,120
Speaker 2: I think that this group is a lot better and

975
00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,520
Speaker 2: they've shown this season and their group that I think

976
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:04,920
Speaker 2: has a lot of playoff upside that I still believe in.

977
00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:08,280
Speaker 2: Moving on to number six, the team that you guys

978
00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:10,840
Speaker 2: did not include in your top ten contenders, I'm just

979
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:12,879
Speaker 2: going to basically make a very brief pitch for why

980
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:15,239
Speaker 2: I still think the Lakers are a contender, even though

981
00:45:15,239 --> 00:45:17,840
Speaker 2: I am lower on them than a lot of Laker

982
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:26,520
Speaker 2: fans are. So there's a lot of obvious like upside.

983
00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:28,920
Speaker 2: Right Like, the Lakers are twelve and four, which is

984
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,680
Speaker 2: the third best record in the NBA. They have played

985
00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:33,399
Speaker 2: five teams that are in the top ten in point

986
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:36,200
Speaker 2: differential and they are four to one in those games.

987
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:40,640
Speaker 2: They have the fourteenth best defense in the NBA right now,

988
00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:42,840
Speaker 2: which is kind of strange, but I'll get into that

989
00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:44,759
Speaker 2: in a minute. It comes down to their defensive IQ

990
00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:49,239
Speaker 2: and then being very good situationally when they've played top

991
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:51,880
Speaker 2: ten offenses. They have the twelfth best defense in the

992
00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:54,640
Speaker 2: league in games against the top ten offenses. This season,

993
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,719
Speaker 2: they have been a team that has kind of resembled

994
00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:01,959
Speaker 2: that Denver Nuggets four meala of a couple years ago,

995
00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:04,520
Speaker 2: where they're just kind of like high IQ defenders with

996
00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:07,520
Speaker 2: a couple of specialized defenders that can do jobs like

997
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:10,560
Speaker 2: last night against Utah just maxically but and Gabe Vincent

998
00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:14,360
Speaker 2: just kind of sliding into these primary defensive roles, and

999
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:17,720
Speaker 2: then Luca Lebron and Austin just kind of being smart

1000
00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:21,120
Speaker 2: defenders around them. They've been the number one clutch defense

1001
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:23,080
Speaker 2: in the NBA this season, as they've been six and

1002
00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,640
Speaker 2: zero in clutch games to start this year. So like

1003
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:28,160
Speaker 2: there's been a lot of these positive indicators that have

1004
00:46:28,239 --> 00:46:31,560
Speaker 2: Lakers fans super excited. I'm a tiny bit lower on

1005
00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:34,360
Speaker 2: them than most Lakers fans just simply because I've been

1006
00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:36,960
Speaker 2: a little underwhelmed by their offense. I don't think it

1007
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,960
Speaker 2: has anything to do with the UH. With the mix

1008
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:44,360
Speaker 2: of Lebron, Luca, and Austin as creators, I think ultimately

1009
00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:46,880
Speaker 2: that just leads to them creating awesome shots for the

1010
00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:49,239
Speaker 2: most part, Like Lebron in, the post has been a

1011
00:46:49,239 --> 00:46:52,280
Speaker 2: revelation to start the area as twenty two points generated

1012
00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:54,960
Speaker 2: on thirteen post ups. Again, this is recorded on Monday.

1013
00:46:55,640 --> 00:46:57,640
Speaker 2: But that's been great. Luca and Austin have both been

1014
00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:00,640
Speaker 2: devastating and pick and Roll Luca's been devastating and Iso.

1015
00:47:01,120 --> 00:47:03,920
Speaker 2: The only thing that I'm noticing is that they because

1016
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:06,560
Speaker 2: Luca and Austin are on the floor so much, their

1017
00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:08,960
Speaker 2: issues is catch and shoot players are really rising to

1018
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,080
Speaker 2: the surface. For me, And I'm really disappointed in Austin

1019
00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:12,960
Speaker 2: because I just thought that by this point in his

1020
00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:14,560
Speaker 2: career he would have figured out how to become a

1021
00:47:14,600 --> 00:47:17,040
Speaker 2: more reliable catch and shoot guy. But I just don't

1022
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:19,319
Speaker 2: think he's gonna make them when he's open, and that's

1023
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:22,719
Speaker 2: a problem. And they're like Utah's leaving Marcus Smart open

1024
00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:25,239
Speaker 2: on picking pops and he's not knocking them down. Really,

1025
00:47:25,239 --> 00:47:28,000
Speaker 2: if you look at their core rotation, the only two

1026
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:30,520
Speaker 2: guys that I view as like bona fide knockdown, catch

1027
00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:32,719
Speaker 2: and shoot guys when they're open are Lebron and Rui,

1028
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,279
Speaker 2: and so that just puts together these lineups where at

1029
00:47:35,280 --> 00:47:37,920
Speaker 2: any given time you have three guys on the floor

1030
00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:40,719
Speaker 2: that either can't shoot or are streaky shooters, and that

1031
00:47:40,880 --> 00:47:42,960
Speaker 2: just is causing them to be a little bit less

1032
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:46,319
Speaker 2: successful than I thought they could be on offense. They're

1033
00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:48,680
Speaker 2: still fifth and half court offensive rating to start this

1034
00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,120
Speaker 2: year despite that, which is just a testament to how

1035
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,440
Speaker 2: good their stars are. But I think they need to

1036
00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:56,839
Speaker 2: be like one, two three on that list in order

1037
00:47:56,880 --> 00:48:00,080
Speaker 2: to really have an opportunity to be a legit to

1038
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:03,719
Speaker 2: upset threat against the top tier guys, and I think

1039
00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,239
Speaker 2: the only pathway to that because no trade is going

1040
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,279
Speaker 2: to solve the problem of the fact that so many

1041
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:11,520
Speaker 2: of these driving kick sequences are ending in open looks

1042
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:14,160
Speaker 2: for Austin or Luca and they're just not knocking him down.

1043
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:17,560
Speaker 2: And so to me, like weirdly, I'm higher on them

1044
00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:20,279
Speaker 2: than I was to start the year in defense and

1045
00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:24,360
Speaker 2: some key areas there, but the offense has just not

1046
00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:26,040
Speaker 2: been as good as I think it needs to be.

1047
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,399
Speaker 2: I don't want to say it's over like it's still

1048
00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:30,799
Speaker 2: only been you know, sixteen seventeen games. There's more time

1049
00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:33,880
Speaker 2: for them to gain some momentum. But overall, I don't

1050
00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:36,279
Speaker 2: see any case at all to leave them entirely off

1051
00:48:36,280 --> 00:48:38,520
Speaker 2: the top tier contender list. So why don't you guys

1052
00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:41,000
Speaker 2: explain to me how you could possibly feel that way.

1053
00:48:41,239 --> 00:48:42,440
Speaker 4: We'll start with you, Carson.

1054
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:46,240
Speaker 3: So I don't think that I buy the defense being

1055
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,040
Speaker 3: average solid as much as you do. I think that

1056
00:48:49,120 --> 00:48:52,960
Speaker 3: my concerns with them become heightened in a playoff setting,

1057
00:48:53,239 --> 00:48:56,400
Speaker 3: where I think their defensive weak points are easier to

1058
00:48:56,480 --> 00:48:58,359
Speaker 3: attack and can really be keyed on. And I think

1059
00:48:58,360 --> 00:48:59,879
Speaker 3: that we saw this last year where they put together

1060
00:49:00,160 --> 00:49:03,839
Speaker 3: stretch of solid regular season defense after the Luca trade,

1061
00:49:03,880 --> 00:49:05,719
Speaker 3: and it was like, hey, we're playing connected, and we've

1062
00:49:05,760 --> 00:49:09,920
Speaker 3: got enough aggregate size and IQ and we're rotating well

1063
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:12,520
Speaker 3: and we're playing in gaps well. And then it all

1064
00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:14,479
Speaker 3: fell apart when it got down to a playoff series,

1065
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:15,839
Speaker 3: and it was kind of like, we can go at

1066
00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:17,680
Speaker 3: Austin Reeves over and over again, we can go at

1067
00:49:17,719 --> 00:49:20,160
Speaker 3: Luka Dantic over and over again, and we've just got

1068
00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:24,640
Speaker 3: athletic creators who can consistently get past them, go through them,

1069
00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:27,320
Speaker 3: and create advantages for our offense over and over again.

1070
00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:31,440
Speaker 3: I like what Marcus Smart has brought for them defensively.

1071
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:32,799
Speaker 3: I think that's why if you look at like the

1072
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:35,200
Speaker 3: on off stuff, he's been a big positive, even as

1073
00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:38,120
Speaker 3: his offense has not been good. His shooting has been

1074
00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:41,000
Speaker 3: really bad. They needed a guy like that. I don't

1075
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:43,279
Speaker 3: think he's a good enough version of that player though

1076
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:46,319
Speaker 3: for them to like rely upon him over a playoff run.

1077
00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:48,840
Speaker 3: So I still think the defense is not good. DeAndre

1078
00:49:48,920 --> 00:49:50,640
Speaker 3: Ayt and I have the least faith in in the

1079
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:52,319
Speaker 3: world on that side of the ball. And I really

1080
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:55,720
Speaker 3: worry about the point of attack core backcourt again getting

1081
00:49:55,719 --> 00:49:59,279
Speaker 3: attacked more in a playoff series. But really, I think

1082
00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:01,400
Speaker 3: the other point is what you're touching on with the offense,

1083
00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:03,480
Speaker 3: Like the offense would just have to be better than

1084
00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 3: it is for me to buy into this team as

1085
00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:07,160
Speaker 3: like a top six kind of contender, And I think

1086
00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:08,839
Speaker 3: we have this tendency and I did this last year

1087
00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:10,680
Speaker 3: when I had the Lakers as a top five contender

1088
00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:13,640
Speaker 3: of saying, yeah, the offense has never actually looked that good,

1089
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:16,759
Speaker 3: but look at these guys they have Luca Austin Reeves

1090
00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:19,040
Speaker 3: and Lebron They're going to be an elite offense. It

1091
00:50:19,080 --> 00:50:21,799
Speaker 3: hasn't materialized up to this point. And I think the

1092
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,799
Speaker 3: shooting point that you bring up is a really good one.

1093
00:50:23,880 --> 00:50:26,680
Speaker 3: I do think I have concerns there. I also think

1094
00:50:27,560 --> 00:50:29,680
Speaker 3: turnovers are an issue, and part of that is the

1095
00:50:29,719 --> 00:50:31,880
Speaker 3: crazy usage that is on the plate of like a

1096
00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:34,720
Speaker 3: Luca right, But nevertheless, that has to get better. Austin

1097
00:50:34,719 --> 00:50:37,280
Speaker 3: Reeves is that's some turnover issue. Similar thing, really high usage.

1098
00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:41,040
Speaker 3: But they have the highest turnover percentage in basketball right now,

1099
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:44,439
Speaker 3: and they're one of the worst, if not the worst,

1100
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:47,640
Speaker 3: in terms of overall transition differential because they just don't

1101
00:50:47,640 --> 00:50:49,080
Speaker 3: get out and play with pace and score a lot

1102
00:50:49,120 --> 00:50:51,200
Speaker 3: in transition. I think they're like minus six points per

1103
00:50:51,239 --> 00:50:54,360
Speaker 3: game in transition. So my concern with the Lakers is

1104
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:56,200
Speaker 3: that you look at the Big Three and you look

1105
00:50:56,239 --> 00:50:58,480
Speaker 3: at all the offensive pierpower you say, and it's like

1106
00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:00,520
Speaker 3: they've got to be a contender because of that, Right,

1107
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:04,120
Speaker 3: I just worry that they are losing in the margins

1108
00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:06,879
Speaker 3: every game. Right, they're a blow average offensive rebounding team.

1109
00:51:06,920 --> 00:51:09,440
Speaker 3: The turnover stuff, the transition stuff, I worry about, the

1110
00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:11,839
Speaker 3: defensive construction of this roster a lot. I think the

1111
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:14,120
Speaker 3: depth is better than last year, but I still don't

1112
00:51:14,239 --> 00:51:17,440
Speaker 3: like it. And I just get concerned that the pressure

1113
00:51:17,480 --> 00:51:20,040
Speaker 3: they are putting on their half court offense and on

1114
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:24,080
Speaker 3: these Big three specifically is so great, like they're fighting

1115
00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:27,120
Speaker 3: out of a deficit every game against these really good teams.

1116
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:29,520
Speaker 3: That's my concern. And then yeah, the fact that like

1117
00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:32,919
Speaker 3: after Luca trade last year, they were fourteenth in offensive rating.

1118
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,720
Speaker 3: This year, I think, what are they fourteenth in offensive

1119
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:36,279
Speaker 3: rating again?

1120
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:39,600
Speaker 2: Fifteenth in offensive fifteenth overall, which is again they just

1121
00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:40,719
Speaker 2: don't score transition thing.

1122
00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:45,000
Speaker 3: I just think, like athleticism in the full court and

1123
00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,520
Speaker 3: depth are two things that are more important in the

1124
00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:50,520
Speaker 3: NBA right now than they've maybe ever been. Like I

1125
00:51:50,520 --> 00:51:53,080
Speaker 3: think the depth point is as we talk about, being

1126
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:55,479
Speaker 3: in this weaklink era, right on both sides of the ball,

1127
00:51:55,920 --> 00:51:58,680
Speaker 3: and I just don't like how the Lakers profile in

1128
00:51:58,719 --> 00:52:01,680
Speaker 3: those categories. So it's not that like they're tiers below

1129
00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:04,480
Speaker 3: the teams who I have six through ten. I actually

1130
00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:06,520
Speaker 3: think after the top five after Minnesota, there is a

1131
00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:09,320
Speaker 3: drop off for me compared to everybody else. But I

1132
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:10,799
Speaker 3: do have a lot of these concerns, and like you

1133
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:12,759
Speaker 3: say when it comes to not being too moved by

1134
00:52:12,800 --> 00:52:15,160
Speaker 3: the early regular season, like, yeah, they're twelve and four,

1135
00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:18,200
Speaker 3: but I think, like if you look at simple rating system,

1136
00:52:18,200 --> 00:52:21,640
Speaker 3: which is literally just point differential and strength of schedule

1137
00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:25,800
Speaker 3: averaged out, they're sixteenth. So it hasn't been the most convincing. Obviously,

1138
00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:27,879
Speaker 3: Lebron has only played a couple games, but I think

1139
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:31,720
Speaker 3: this team has some significant gaps that Lebron doesn't fill

1140
00:52:31,880 --> 00:52:34,239
Speaker 3: for me at this stage in his career, even though

1141
00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:35,399
Speaker 3: he's still obviously very good.

1142
00:52:35,560 --> 00:52:38,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean well said, I basically completely agreed. The

1143
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,960
Speaker 1: bigger thing is, I agree, if the offense gets to

1144
00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:44,280
Speaker 1: elite levels, I could consider the Lakers on the outside

1145
00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:46,399
Speaker 1: of mine. But the bigger thing is, when I think

1146
00:52:46,400 --> 00:52:48,759
Speaker 1: about these matchups, I just think the Lakers kind of

1147
00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:51,880
Speaker 1: get eaten alive in a lot of these playoff matchups

1148
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,799
Speaker 1: we're talking about against these top teams, and I feel foolish.

1149
00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:56,799
Speaker 1: Hand up, I got got last year, right. I picked

1150
00:52:56,800 --> 00:52:58,880
Speaker 1: the Lakers to beat Minnesota and they got me.

1151
00:53:00,160 --> 00:53:02,480
Speaker 4: I foolish. I was drinking the kool aid.

1152
00:53:02,560 --> 00:53:08,160
Speaker 1: But like Anthony Edwards versus this team again, I think

1153
00:53:08,160 --> 00:53:11,440
Speaker 1: he just cooks Luca and Austin Reeves relentlessly every single

1154
00:53:11,440 --> 00:53:12,960
Speaker 1: possession down nicolea Jokic.

1155
00:53:13,120 --> 00:53:15,799
Speaker 4: I think Fries DeAndre Aiden. I don't think this team

1156
00:53:15,800 --> 00:53:17,120
Speaker 4: can compete Houston.

1157
00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:19,240
Speaker 1: I think hits La and the jaw in his grabbing

1158
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:22,800
Speaker 1: every rebound, like there is just an athletic difference.

1159
00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:26,000
Speaker 4: San Antonio. I think I might take over La in

1160
00:53:26,080 --> 00:53:26,840
Speaker 4: a series.

1161
00:53:26,880 --> 00:53:31,400
Speaker 1: If Wenby's healthy, I'm definitely taking san Antonio. I just

1162
00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:33,960
Speaker 1: think that, yeah, there are some core limitations of this team,

1163
00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:36,880
Speaker 1: and while I think they can reach these offensive heights,

1164
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:39,640
Speaker 1: I still think I don't know, Jason, and you're giving

1165
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,239
Speaker 1: all these numbers, and I want to buy into the

1166
00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:42,160
Speaker 1: Lakers because they.

1167
00:53:42,080 --> 00:53:44,360
Speaker 4: Are They're fun, right, Luca and Lebron.

1168
00:53:44,400 --> 00:53:46,759
Speaker 1: I want to buy into this team, but like, I

1169
00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:48,480
Speaker 1: don't buy the defense at the end of the day,

1170
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:50,960
Speaker 1: and I just think that at their best they are

1171
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:53,080
Speaker 1: in average defense, like we're seeing.

1172
00:53:54,080 --> 00:53:57,560
Speaker 2: Ultimately, where I break with you guys, is that where

1173
00:53:57,600 --> 00:53:59,600
Speaker 2: you guys compare them to that other tier. I mean,

1174
00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:03,240
Speaker 2: like you're hyper focusing on the flaws with the Lakers,

1175
00:54:03,239 --> 00:54:08,160
Speaker 2: as if every team after Minnesota doesn't have significant, substantial flaws.

1176
00:54:08,719 --> 00:54:11,560
Speaker 2: And I think where I break with you, guys, is like, Yeah,

1177
00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:14,680
Speaker 2: I have severe concerns about the Lakers in a playoff

1178
00:54:14,680 --> 00:54:17,400
Speaker 2: series against a team like Minnesota that can athletically overwhelm

1179
00:54:17,480 --> 00:54:19,080
Speaker 2: them and can pick on some of their matchups. I

1180
00:54:19,080 --> 00:54:22,000
Speaker 2: have severe concerns. I think they're on a completely different tier.

1181
00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:25,680
Speaker 2: I told you guys, there's a massive gap between that Houston, OKC.

1182
00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:27,839
Speaker 2: Denver tier and the rest of the group. I don't

1183
00:54:27,840 --> 00:54:29,680
Speaker 2: think the Lakers are close to them because of how

1184
00:54:29,719 --> 00:54:32,600
Speaker 2: athletically overwhelmed they are. Where I've broken with you guys

1185
00:54:32,680 --> 00:54:35,040
Speaker 2: is you just have a lot of mediocre basketball teams

1186
00:54:35,120 --> 00:54:37,480
Speaker 2: ranked over them in your top tier contenders. I don't

1187
00:54:37,480 --> 00:54:39,080
Speaker 2: want to get into that today because we could literally

1188
00:54:39,200 --> 00:54:41,600
Speaker 2: argue about it for a half hour. But to me,

1189
00:54:41,680 --> 00:54:43,399
Speaker 2: at a certain point, we got to give the Lakers

1190
00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:46,600
Speaker 2: credit for winning games. They are a very slow team

1191
00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:49,840
Speaker 2: that seems intent on doing the bare minimum to win games,

1192
00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:52,560
Speaker 2: which is going to actively hurt them in a lot

1193
00:54:52,600 --> 00:54:56,279
Speaker 2: of their metrics. But ultimately, they keep beating everybody that

1194
00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:57,759
Speaker 2: comes in front of them for the most part, and

1195
00:54:57,800 --> 00:54:59,480
Speaker 2: I think they deserve more credit for that than what

1196
00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:01,760
Speaker 2: they've been give and by most people.

1197
00:55:02,239 --> 00:55:02,879
Speaker 4: We're going to go.

1198
00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:07,120
Speaker 2: Really fast through these last three. At number seven, I

1199
00:55:07,239 --> 00:55:11,200
Speaker 2: have the Detroit Pistons, And it's kind of interesting because

1200
00:55:11,440 --> 00:55:14,480
Speaker 2: ultimately kind of similarly, they've been beaten everybody, right, and

1201
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:16,080
Speaker 2: there's a certain amount of upside that you have to

1202
00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:20,200
Speaker 2: point to in terms of like how dominant Jalen Deurn

1203
00:55:20,239 --> 00:55:22,359
Speaker 2: has looked this year killing teams on the front line.

1204
00:55:22,440 --> 00:55:24,640
Speaker 2: How Kate I think is like one of those guys

1205
00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:26,719
Speaker 2: that kind of falls into that Luca category where like

1206
00:55:26,760 --> 00:55:29,400
Speaker 2: sometimes the metrics it's like, oh, the offensive rating isn't

1207
00:55:29,440 --> 00:55:32,800
Speaker 2: that good, and like some of these specific pieces aren't

1208
00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:37,040
Speaker 2: actually materializing in the large sample statistically as well as

1209
00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:40,480
Speaker 2: you'd want, But ultimately he just keeps making enough plays

1210
00:55:40,520 --> 00:55:43,960
Speaker 2: to win the basketball games. And like, and one of

1211
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:46,200
Speaker 2: the things I really like about Detroit is they're just

1212
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:49,760
Speaker 2: super big and physically imposing, and they're athletic on the perimeter,

1213
00:55:49,880 --> 00:55:52,759
Speaker 2: and they have a good combination of perimeter defenders and

1214
00:55:52,840 --> 00:55:55,359
Speaker 2: backside defenders. And I think they have a trade to make,

1215
00:55:55,360 --> 00:55:57,080
Speaker 2: and I think that's where I would potentially vault them

1216
00:55:57,120 --> 00:55:58,560
Speaker 2: up as if they ended up making a deal. My

1217
00:55:58,600 --> 00:56:00,680
Speaker 2: favorite target is a guy like Michael Porter Junior.

1218
00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:01,000
Speaker 4: Right now.

1219
00:56:01,080 --> 00:56:03,879
Speaker 2: I think he'd be a massive ceiling Razor for them

1220
00:56:04,040 --> 00:56:06,440
Speaker 2: as an upgrade on Tobias Harris. The reason why I

1221
00:56:06,440 --> 00:56:09,200
Speaker 2: have Detroit down at seven despite their record is pretty simple.

1222
00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:12,560
Speaker 2: They're not okay see and typically teams that are this

1223
00:56:12,680 --> 00:56:15,480
Speaker 2: young and that rely on this many young players don't

1224
00:56:15,520 --> 00:56:18,400
Speaker 2: have tremendous success in the postseason. I viewed them as

1225
00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:21,280
Speaker 2: a puncher's chance threat in the Eastern Conference. I wouldn't

1226
00:56:21,320 --> 00:56:23,879
Speaker 2: be stunned if they got out, but to me, they're

1227
00:56:23,920 --> 00:56:26,359
Speaker 2: going to be less of a playoff threat than their

1228
00:56:26,360 --> 00:56:29,279
Speaker 2: record would lead you to believe. Logan, what's been your

1229
00:56:29,280 --> 00:56:31,520
Speaker 2: take on the Pistons to start this season.

1230
00:56:31,840 --> 00:56:33,440
Speaker 4: I'm really excited about the Pistons.

1231
00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:35,560
Speaker 1: They've got twelve straight wins now at this point in

1232
00:56:35,560 --> 00:56:37,680
Speaker 1: the season, I was really hoping that we would see

1233
00:56:37,719 --> 00:56:39,000
Speaker 1: them play against Giannis.

1234
00:56:39,040 --> 00:56:41,920
Speaker 4: I thought that would be a really intriguing matchup head

1235
00:56:41,920 --> 00:56:42,279
Speaker 4: to head.

1236
00:56:42,360 --> 00:56:44,759
Speaker 1: You know, they had a couple I think like two

1237
00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:46,759
Speaker 1: of their next ten or something like that. They still

1238
00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:49,040
Speaker 1: got Milwaukee. They have had a little bit of an

1239
00:56:49,040 --> 00:56:51,440
Speaker 1: easy stretch to this schedule. It's very impressive that they're

1240
00:56:51,480 --> 00:56:53,200
Speaker 1: winning these games. I want to see him do it

1241
00:56:53,200 --> 00:56:55,239
Speaker 1: against some of the better teams in the East. But

1242
00:56:55,600 --> 00:56:57,560
Speaker 1: I agree with you, Jason. They're number one in points

1243
00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:00,759
Speaker 1: in the paint differential. I love that form. Like they're

1244
00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:02,840
Speaker 1: going to grab a ton of rebounds, They're going to

1245
00:57:02,880 --> 00:57:06,600
Speaker 1: be staunch inside. This defense swarms, They've got a ton

1246
00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:10,120
Speaker 1: of long, rangy athletes. It's just how great can this

1247
00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:12,239
Speaker 1: offense be? Carson and I have talked about it. I

1248
00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:14,520
Speaker 1: do think I completely agree with you. I think a

1249
00:57:14,560 --> 00:57:16,640
Speaker 1: trade is on the table. I think they need somebody

1250
00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:19,160
Speaker 1: that can maybe kick this half court offense up a notch.

1251
00:57:19,600 --> 00:57:21,280
Speaker 4: While I don't want them to.

1252
00:57:21,240 --> 00:57:24,000
Speaker 1: Sacrifice their defensive identity, but I do think they have

1253
00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:27,280
Speaker 1: enough personnel in totality where they could give up a

1254
00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:30,440
Speaker 1: defender for a more offensively slanted piece like a Tyler

1255
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:33,320
Speaker 1: Hero or something like that. So I think a trade

1256
00:57:33,360 --> 00:57:34,919
Speaker 1: is in order for them to kick them up a notch.

1257
00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:36,600
Speaker 1: But I think they got to be in my top ten.

1258
00:57:36,680 --> 00:57:37,800
Speaker 1: Like I just think they are.

1259
00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:40,160
Speaker 4: Too good of a two way team. And I believe

1260
00:57:40,160 --> 00:57:40,520
Speaker 4: in Kate.

1261
00:57:40,640 --> 00:57:43,880
Speaker 1: I know Kate has his flaws, but as an offensive engine,

1262
00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:46,200
Speaker 1: as a guy who's going to manufacture great shot quality

1263
00:57:46,200 --> 00:57:49,480
Speaker 1: for his teammates, play great defense, kill guys.

1264
00:57:49,240 --> 00:57:49,919
Speaker 4: In the mid range.

1265
00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:52,960
Speaker 1: I like Kate enough of an offensive engine where I

1266
00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:54,520
Speaker 1: think they've got to be in my top ten. So

1267
00:57:54,880 --> 00:57:56,760
Speaker 1: I like what the Pistons are cooking, But like you,

1268
00:57:56,800 --> 00:57:58,800
Speaker 1: if they make a trade, I could see them climbing

1269
00:57:58,800 --> 00:58:00,320
Speaker 1: a little bit higher on my list.

1270
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:03,400
Speaker 3: The Pistons are like the inverse Lakers to me, and

1271
00:58:03,440 --> 00:58:05,760
Speaker 3: I'm actually not hiring either one of them, so you know, Jason,

1272
00:58:05,800 --> 00:58:08,040
Speaker 3: I'm not doing some anti Lakers things. The Pistons have

1273
00:58:08,080 --> 00:58:11,520
Speaker 3: been the second best regular season team in terms of record,

1274
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:14,600
Speaker 3: okay see, and I'm still not very high on them,

1275
00:58:14,800 --> 00:58:16,640
Speaker 3: and I say they're the inverse Lakers because it's like

1276
00:58:16,640 --> 00:58:19,120
Speaker 3: with La, I feel like I know what I'm getting

1277
00:58:19,160 --> 00:58:22,360
Speaker 3: in terms of half court offense right, especially from the Stars,

1278
00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:25,240
Speaker 3: but I worry about kind of everything else, all of

1279
00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:27,960
Speaker 3: these areas in terms of some of these margins, right,

1280
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:31,200
Speaker 3: them really struggling against some super athletic teams I worry

1281
00:58:31,200 --> 00:58:33,680
Speaker 3: about on both sides of the ball. Detroit, It's like, well,

1282
00:58:33,720 --> 00:58:36,520
Speaker 3: I know that they're going to create margin in transition

1283
00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:39,000
Speaker 3: on the glass with what they do defensively. I know

1284
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:41,360
Speaker 3: that athletically they are going to be the tone setters

1285
00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:44,160
Speaker 3: and they can overwhelm certain teams but I really worry

1286
00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:47,160
Speaker 3: about their half court offense. That's why I'm still lower

1287
00:58:47,200 --> 00:58:49,360
Speaker 3: on them. I think there are more balanced teams. What

1288
00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:52,600
Speaker 3: they're doing defensively is so impressive, and I like Kate.

1289
00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:54,959
Speaker 3: I think Kate is really good. I do think there's

1290
00:58:55,000 --> 00:58:58,600
Speaker 3: an element though, where it's like, this offensive situation is

1291
00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:00,960
Speaker 3: really hard, and so I think we're all impressed by

1292
00:59:00,960 --> 00:59:02,880
Speaker 3: the volume that he's able to take on. But I

1293
00:59:02,920 --> 00:59:05,680
Speaker 3: think for Detroit to be like a contender, it would

1294
00:59:05,680 --> 00:59:08,720
Speaker 3: take a pretty special offensive player to elevate this situation.

1295
00:59:08,840 --> 00:59:11,000
Speaker 3: And Kate, even though he can't take on this volume

1296
00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:13,000
Speaker 3: and give you twenty seven and ten, and he's a

1297
00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:15,800
Speaker 3: great passer and he's such a great mid range score

1298
00:59:15,800 --> 00:59:17,960
Speaker 3: and it's so pretty at his size with the craft.

1299
00:59:18,400 --> 00:59:21,360
Speaker 3: He's just got two core limitations to me that keep

1300
00:59:21,440 --> 00:59:23,960
Speaker 3: him out of those sort of offensive conversations. And it's

1301
00:59:24,040 --> 00:59:25,920
Speaker 3: how much he struggles to finish at the rim, which

1302
00:59:25,960 --> 00:59:28,560
Speaker 3: has been a pervasive issue for him throughout his career,

1303
00:59:29,080 --> 00:59:32,680
Speaker 3: and the lack of consistent volume three point pull up shooting,

1304
00:59:32,680 --> 00:59:34,240
Speaker 3: where he's really struggled again this year, and he was

1305
00:59:34,280 --> 00:59:36,400
Speaker 3: brutal in the playoffs last year. Like those are just

1306
00:59:36,480 --> 00:59:40,240
Speaker 3: two paths to efficient self created offense that he doesn't have.

1307
00:59:40,440 --> 00:59:43,320
Speaker 3: And so with this sort of mucky spacing around him,

1308
00:59:43,320 --> 00:59:45,480
Speaker 3: he's having to live in the intermediate game a lot,

1309
00:59:45,520 --> 00:59:47,600
Speaker 3: and he's not getting that easy stuff else where. He's

1310
00:59:47,600 --> 00:59:49,640
Speaker 3: getting a line more this year, he's cut down on turnovers.

1311
00:59:49,680 --> 00:59:52,720
Speaker 3: Kate's playing really well, but I have questions about a

1312
00:59:52,800 --> 00:59:55,720
Speaker 3: number of offensive players around him in the half court,

1313
00:59:56,240 --> 00:59:59,520
Speaker 3: and so that's why I'm lower on Detroit. Duran has

1314
00:59:59,560 --> 01:00:03,840
Speaker 3: been amazing. We'll see if it's Jade and Ivy or

1315
01:00:03,880 --> 01:00:06,400
Speaker 3: if it is a move like they are a legitimately

1316
01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:08,520
Speaker 3: good half court offensive player away, like if it is

1317
01:00:08,600 --> 01:00:11,160
Speaker 3: a great movement shooter. I saw somebody throw out Lowry

1318
01:00:11,240 --> 01:00:13,160
Speaker 3: Markin and obviously that's a big contract, but like that

1319
01:00:13,200 --> 01:00:15,200
Speaker 3: would be a great fit to me, an elite movement

1320
01:00:15,200 --> 01:00:18,400
Speaker 3: shooter like that, or another legitimate ball handler with some juice.

1321
01:00:18,480 --> 01:00:20,840
Speaker 3: And I'm there with Detroit, but right now I'm just

1322
01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:22,360
Speaker 3: worried about that half court offense.

1323
01:00:22,800 --> 01:00:24,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's why I like Michael Porter Junior. I view

1324
01:00:24,600 --> 01:00:27,880
Speaker 2: him as basically the discount version of of Lori market

1325
01:00:27,920 --> 01:00:30,880
Speaker 2: and that's available this year. Carson hitting on the rim

1326
01:00:30,920 --> 01:00:35,400
Speaker 2: numbers I pulled these numbers yesterday. Out of last year,

1327
01:00:35,680 --> 01:00:39,000
Speaker 2: out of the eighty three players who attempted at least

1328
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:41,280
Speaker 2: three hundred layups, he was eighty second out of eighty

1329
01:00:41,280 --> 01:00:44,080
Speaker 2: three at fifty two point two percent. Trey Young was

1330
01:00:44,120 --> 01:00:46,360
Speaker 2: the only guy that was worse this year. Out of

1331
01:00:46,360 --> 01:00:48,640
Speaker 2: the twenty two players to attempt at least one hundred,

1332
01:00:49,040 --> 01:00:53,000
Speaker 2: he's twenty first out of twenty two. I believe fifty

1333
01:00:53,080 --> 01:00:55,840
Speaker 2: four percent on layps. Only Karl Anthony Towns has been worse.

1334
01:00:56,400 --> 01:00:58,360
Speaker 3: I want to say he was four of seventeen in

1335
01:00:58,400 --> 01:01:01,720
Speaker 3: the restricted area in that Wizard game. Like people are

1336
01:01:01,760 --> 01:01:03,560
Speaker 3: talking about empty the clip, do what you gotta do

1337
01:01:03,600 --> 01:01:05,160
Speaker 3: to win, and it's like, I respect how k played

1338
01:01:05,160 --> 01:01:06,840
Speaker 3: down the stretch of that game, what he did defensively,

1339
01:01:06,880 --> 01:01:08,760
Speaker 3: you know that volume with that many guys down at

1340
01:01:08,760 --> 01:01:11,520
Speaker 3: the end of the day, though, that is crazy bad

1341
01:01:11,600 --> 01:01:14,680
Speaker 3: rim finishing, and he just doesn't have the explosiveness there.

1342
01:01:14,720 --> 01:01:18,720
Speaker 3: He never has, and the touch is not good as

1343
01:01:18,840 --> 01:01:20,320
Speaker 3: much as you would expect it to be nearly.

1344
01:01:20,920 --> 01:01:24,680
Speaker 2: Ultimately, like to kind of round that specific topic out,

1345
01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,320
Speaker 2: I am a big believer in the Pistons as a

1346
01:01:27,400 --> 01:01:29,920
Speaker 2: long term contender. Like if you told me two years

1347
01:01:29,920 --> 01:01:31,680
Speaker 2: from now, they were going to be like the bonafide

1348
01:01:31,680 --> 01:01:33,400
Speaker 2: best team in the East, like year and year out

1349
01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:35,600
Speaker 2: for like a five year stretch or like in that conversation,

1350
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:38,320
Speaker 2: I very much believe you. I just think they're like

1351
01:01:38,400 --> 01:01:40,959
Speaker 2: a year away from being a year away from being

1352
01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:43,640
Speaker 2: like a bona fide type of like perennial games, the.

1353
01:01:43,560 --> 01:01:45,560
Speaker 4: Bruno Kolow of contenders.

1354
01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:49,240
Speaker 3: Well, let's not do him like that. I also think

1355
01:01:49,560 --> 01:01:52,400
Speaker 3: they're clearly a very good regular season team right now,

1356
01:01:52,440 --> 01:01:55,560
Speaker 3: and like them, winning fifty something games ultimately is not

1357
01:01:55,600 --> 01:01:58,480
Speaker 3: the concern for me. It is some of these playoff questions, and.

1358
01:01:58,800 --> 01:02:01,280
Speaker 2: That's usually the path is you start to put together

1359
01:02:01,320 --> 01:02:03,160
Speaker 2: a good regular season and then you have to piece

1360
01:02:03,160 --> 01:02:07,480
Speaker 2: it together from there, all right quickly. Number eight the

1361
01:02:07,520 --> 01:02:09,760
Speaker 2: New York Knicks. To make a long story short, with

1362
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:13,200
Speaker 2: New York, I have not seen anything from them this

1363
01:02:13,320 --> 01:02:17,960
Speaker 2: season to change my belief in what they were last season. Yes,

1364
01:02:18,040 --> 01:02:21,000
Speaker 2: we've seen the additional emphasis on the transition pushes. Yes

1365
01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:25,040
Speaker 2: we've seen more reps where Jalen Brunson's starting off the

1366
01:02:25,080 --> 01:02:27,800
Speaker 2: ball or where he's operating as a screener. And yes,

1367
01:02:27,880 --> 01:02:30,919
Speaker 2: injuries have played roles brun since miss time now Jiannonoboy's

1368
01:02:30,920 --> 01:02:34,440
Speaker 2: missing time, But ultimately I still feel like their offense

1369
01:02:34,520 --> 01:02:36,320
Speaker 2: runs into a little bit of a wall as they

1370
01:02:36,400 --> 01:02:40,320
Speaker 2: run into bigger, more athletic defenses, and on the defensive

1371
01:02:40,360 --> 01:02:42,200
Speaker 2: end of the floor, I see the same entry points

1372
01:02:42,240 --> 01:02:44,080
Speaker 2: continue to rise to the surface in the form of

1373
01:02:44,120 --> 01:02:46,600
Speaker 2: Cat and Jalen Brunson as teams can find a way

1374
01:02:46,640 --> 01:02:49,080
Speaker 2: to break them down. It's just one of those things

1375
01:02:49,080 --> 01:02:51,480
Speaker 2: where I think they are kind of fundamentally broken at

1376
01:02:51,480 --> 01:02:54,080
Speaker 2: their foundation in a way that prevents me from being

1377
01:02:54,080 --> 01:02:57,560
Speaker 2: overly high on them. That said, have to include them

1378
01:02:57,560 --> 01:03:00,840
Speaker 2: on this list because they're in the East Conference, And

1379
01:03:00,920 --> 01:03:02,800
Speaker 2: similarly to what we were talking about with the Lakers,

1380
01:03:02,840 --> 01:03:04,720
Speaker 2: after you get off the top tier in the West,

1381
01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:07,200
Speaker 2: there is no top tier team in the East. Every

1382
01:03:07,240 --> 01:03:10,080
Speaker 2: one of those teams is pretty substantially flawed. And like, yeah,

1383
01:03:10,120 --> 01:03:11,919
Speaker 2: there's a version of it where the Knicks run into

1384
01:03:11,920 --> 01:03:14,880
Speaker 2: the Calves in a second round series and Mitchell Robinson's

1385
01:03:14,920 --> 01:03:20,240
Speaker 2: healthy and he absolutely destroys Jared Allen on the offensive glass,

1386
01:03:20,280 --> 01:03:22,840
Speaker 2: and Darius Garland's toe is still banged up and he's

1387
01:03:22,840 --> 01:03:24,920
Speaker 2: not much of a factor, and Jalen Brunson is a

1388
01:03:24,920 --> 01:03:27,720
Speaker 2: better half court kind of game manager than Donovan Mitchell,

1389
01:03:27,720 --> 01:03:29,440
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, the Knicks are in the finals.

1390
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:32,400
Speaker 2: Like I absolutely view them as a bona fide contender

1391
01:03:32,440 --> 01:03:36,040
Speaker 2: in that second tier. I just remain generally underwhelmed by

1392
01:03:36,080 --> 01:03:39,480
Speaker 2: them compared to some of the optimism coming out of

1393
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:41,360
Speaker 2: New York. Carson, where are you at with the Knicks?

1394
01:03:41,680 --> 01:03:43,480
Speaker 3: You said it, The core is broken, and that's why

1395
01:03:43,520 --> 01:03:45,640
Speaker 3: I'm never going to be a Knicks believer. The question

1396
01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:48,800
Speaker 3: is just where do they fall in this range between

1397
01:03:48,800 --> 01:03:50,800
Speaker 3: them and Detroit? It's so close to me. I like

1398
01:03:50,880 --> 01:03:53,280
Speaker 3: Detroit more. I like how they're improving. I like the

1399
01:03:53,320 --> 01:03:55,760
Speaker 3: margin they create in these areas. I like their physicality

1400
01:03:55,800 --> 01:03:59,240
Speaker 3: and their defense. But I do think like as low

1401
01:03:59,280 --> 01:04:01,600
Speaker 3: as I can be the Knicks title up side, because

1402
01:04:01,600 --> 01:04:03,280
Speaker 3: I think as long as they have this defense built

1403
01:04:03,280 --> 01:04:06,160
Speaker 3: around Brunson and Kat, they're going to really struggle on

1404
01:04:06,200 --> 01:04:08,720
Speaker 3: that side of the ball. What they do offensively does

1405
01:04:08,760 --> 01:04:11,919
Speaker 3: have to be valued, and I actually think this year

1406
01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:15,160
Speaker 3: they are better set up offensively to hold up throughout

1407
01:04:15,200 --> 01:04:17,320
Speaker 3: a playoff run than last year. It's always been their strength,

1408
01:04:17,360 --> 01:04:20,680
Speaker 3: of course, but I do like the Mike Brown system.

1409
01:04:20,840 --> 01:04:23,480
Speaker 3: I like there being a little bit more pace, a

1410
01:04:23,520 --> 01:04:26,040
Speaker 3: little bit more ball movement, a little bit more player movement,

1411
01:04:26,280 --> 01:04:28,560
Speaker 3: mckel taking on a bit more of a playmaking load,

1412
01:04:28,600 --> 01:04:32,480
Speaker 3: so it's not overwhelmingly Brunson hero ball. Them really emphasizing

1413
01:04:32,520 --> 01:04:34,680
Speaker 3: getting their three point rate ups, so they're not living

1414
01:04:34,720 --> 01:04:36,760
Speaker 3: out of the mid range as a team as much.

1415
01:04:37,080 --> 01:04:39,920
Speaker 3: Does it change the whole picture here? No, does it

1416
01:04:40,000 --> 01:04:43,160
Speaker 3: change their biggest problem, which is their defense, especially against

1417
01:04:43,200 --> 01:04:46,800
Speaker 3: a smart, good playoff offense with good process. No, That's

1418
01:04:46,840 --> 01:04:48,720
Speaker 3: why I remain low on them. But they are a

1419
01:04:48,760 --> 01:04:52,320
Speaker 3: top three offense right now. Kat hasn't even played well,

1420
01:04:52,560 --> 01:04:54,360
Speaker 3: and so I do think there's a lot of punch

1421
01:04:54,400 --> 01:04:57,280
Speaker 3: there that has to be acknowledged. And I think even

1422
01:04:57,320 --> 01:04:59,240
Speaker 3: though they are still going to be very reliant on

1423
01:04:59,280 --> 01:05:02,720
Speaker 3: Brunson's creat Brunson is a great playoff player. Like the

1424
01:05:02,760 --> 01:05:05,000
Speaker 3: floor that he consistently sets with his shot making, his

1425
01:05:05,040 --> 01:05:07,200
Speaker 3: ability to get the free throw line, it is really impressive.

1426
01:05:07,600 --> 01:05:10,040
Speaker 3: And I think that there is again a little bit

1427
01:05:10,080 --> 01:05:12,120
Speaker 3: more variety in this offense now where I'm a little

1428
01:05:12,200 --> 01:05:14,280
Speaker 3: higher on them there, but I'm actually even lower on

1429
01:05:14,280 --> 01:05:15,680
Speaker 3: the knicks than you are. I have them lower in

1430
01:05:15,720 --> 01:05:18,920
Speaker 3: my contender rankings, So yeah, and kind of putting lipstick

1431
01:05:18,920 --> 01:05:19,960
Speaker 3: on a pig here. I'm not a fan.

1432
01:05:21,320 --> 01:05:23,640
Speaker 1: Well, Sin, both of you guys real quick, have you

1433
01:05:23,640 --> 01:05:26,160
Speaker 1: guys seen the people on I've seen some Knicks fans

1434
01:05:26,200 --> 01:05:30,080
Speaker 1: clamoring on Twitter for a an Ad Cat trade. Would

1435
01:05:30,120 --> 01:05:33,520
Speaker 1: you if the MAVs were down for that hypothetically? Would

1436
01:05:33,520 --> 01:05:34,720
Speaker 1: you be into that? If you're the Knicks.

1437
01:05:35,400 --> 01:05:38,000
Speaker 2: That's kind of fascinating the idea of putting Cat next

1438
01:05:38,000 --> 01:05:41,120
Speaker 2: to a guy like Derek Lively. Obviously, the best defense

1439
01:05:41,160 --> 01:05:45,280
Speaker 2: we've seen with Cat has been alongside Rudy Gobert. Anthony

1440
01:05:45,360 --> 01:05:48,360
Speaker 2: Davis is certainly a big ceiling razor for the Knicks.

1441
01:05:48,360 --> 01:05:51,080
Speaker 2: That would that would I'll just flatly say it. If

1442
01:05:51,120 --> 01:05:53,320
Speaker 2: they pulled that off and Ad stayed healthy, I'd make

1443
01:05:53,320 --> 01:05:55,000
Speaker 2: them the clear number one team in the East.

1444
01:05:56,160 --> 01:05:58,160
Speaker 3: I think it would make them significantly better. I think

1445
01:05:58,200 --> 01:06:02,680
Speaker 3: Ad is a way better basketlayer than Kat, and specifically,

1446
01:06:02,760 --> 01:06:05,280
Speaker 3: I think he is a better fit in New York.

1447
01:06:05,320 --> 01:06:07,120
Speaker 3: I think the two man game with him and Brunson

1448
01:06:07,120 --> 01:06:09,040
Speaker 3: could be more dynamic and being more of like an

1449
01:06:09,040 --> 01:06:11,000
Speaker 3: actual pick and roll finisher. And I think, I mean,

1450
01:06:11,040 --> 01:06:14,760
Speaker 3: the defensive difference is just absolutely monumental. There that being said,

1451
01:06:14,920 --> 01:06:16,440
Speaker 3: that feels like a little bit of a Knicks fan

1452
01:06:16,560 --> 01:06:17,440
Speaker 3: fantasy to me.

1453
01:06:17,640 --> 01:06:19,000
Speaker 4: Oh for sure, it definitely is.

1454
01:06:19,400 --> 01:06:23,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, classic, But like you could see, like the idea

1455
01:06:23,720 --> 01:06:27,000
Speaker 2: there would be that Dallas at this point, you know,

1456
01:06:27,200 --> 01:06:30,800
Speaker 2: Ad doesn't have much trade value, bilateral Achilles tendon to pathy,

1457
01:06:30,880 --> 01:06:33,200
Speaker 2: and like literally since the trade he's been nothing but

1458
01:06:33,280 --> 01:06:35,920
Speaker 2: an injured shell of himself. Like at a certain point

1459
01:06:35,960 --> 01:06:37,960
Speaker 2: you could look at it as like Dallas could be like,

1460
01:06:37,960 --> 01:06:39,840
Speaker 2: we're better with Kat, and the Knicks could be like,

1461
01:06:39,840 --> 01:06:41,920
Speaker 2: we're better with Ad, and you could see something like

1462
01:06:41,960 --> 01:06:45,160
Speaker 2: that materializing. I don't think that's as unreasonable as you

1463
01:06:45,200 --> 01:06:45,720
Speaker 2: would think.

1464
01:06:46,240 --> 01:06:49,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, it would be a gamble from the Knicks, even

1465
01:06:49,280 --> 01:06:52,240
Speaker 3: though clearly Ad is the better talent just because of timeline,

1466
01:06:52,280 --> 01:06:54,439
Speaker 3: but more so injury. They would have to be looking

1467
01:06:54,440 --> 01:06:55,960
Speaker 3: in the mirror and saying, we know we're not good

1468
01:06:56,000 --> 01:06:57,920
Speaker 3: enough as constructed. I don't know if they have the

1469
01:06:57,960 --> 01:06:59,880
Speaker 3: self awareness to do that. I think they're looking right now.

1470
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:01,560
Speaker 3: They're going, ooh, we were in the Eastern Conference finals

1471
01:07:01,640 --> 01:07:03,560
Speaker 3: last year, and now the Pacers are gone and the

1472
01:07:03,560 --> 01:07:06,120
Speaker 3: Celtics are gone and it's our conference and I just

1473
01:07:06,160 --> 01:07:07,520
Speaker 3: don't see it that way at all.

1474
01:07:08,120 --> 01:07:11,560
Speaker 2: It's the equivalent of the Golden State Warriors making the

1475
01:07:11,600 --> 01:07:14,560
Speaker 2: Jimmy Butler trade just a last second Hail Mary to

1476
01:07:14,640 --> 01:07:16,840
Speaker 2: kind of save a build. Which, speaking of which, that

1477
01:07:17,000 --> 01:07:19,360
Speaker 2: was the final team that I had in my top tier,

1478
01:07:19,800 --> 01:07:21,520
Speaker 2: my second tier of contenders, and then I have a

1479
01:07:21,520 --> 01:07:24,560
Speaker 2: pretty substantial drop off from there. I think Golden State's

1480
01:07:24,560 --> 01:07:28,800
Speaker 2: way better than their record. Their net rating with the

1481
01:07:28,800 --> 01:07:31,160
Speaker 2: big three on the floor has been awesome. I think

1482
01:07:31,160 --> 01:07:34,120
Speaker 2: this is a textbook example of them just getting absolutely

1483
01:07:34,120 --> 01:07:36,480
Speaker 2: bludgeoned by the schedule to start the season and then

1484
01:07:36,520 --> 01:07:39,960
Speaker 2: a bunch of old dudes having you know, basically dead legs,

1485
01:07:40,120 --> 01:07:43,240
Speaker 2: and that putting even more pressure on inconsistent role players

1486
01:07:43,240 --> 01:07:45,640
Speaker 2: to come through. I don't view them as some sort

1487
01:07:45,640 --> 01:07:48,840
Speaker 2: of like, you know, real shot to win the title here.

1488
01:07:48,920 --> 01:07:50,680
Speaker 2: Of course I have them down at nine, but they're

1489
01:07:50,720 --> 01:07:52,520
Speaker 2: the final team that I have in this tier simply

1490
01:07:52,560 --> 01:07:54,560
Speaker 2: because I think ultimately, when you face them in a

1491
01:07:54,560 --> 01:07:57,960
Speaker 2: playoff series, if they are healthy, Jimmy, Draymond and Steph

1492
01:07:57,960 --> 01:08:00,760
Speaker 2: are a real problem and they have the defense to

1493
01:08:00,800 --> 01:08:03,800
Speaker 2: put it all together. I have Golden State at night

1494
01:08:04,040 --> 01:08:06,120
Speaker 2: on my contender list, Carson, where you're at with Golden

1495
01:08:06,120 --> 01:08:06,720
Speaker 2: state right now.

1496
01:08:07,200 --> 01:08:09,160
Speaker 3: I've got them a little higher at seven. I think

1497
01:08:09,200 --> 01:08:11,959
Speaker 3: that they're really good. I think we saw this team

1498
01:08:11,960 --> 01:08:14,120
Speaker 3: play at such a high level down the stretch last

1499
01:08:14,160 --> 01:08:16,640
Speaker 3: season twenty two and five after trading for Jimmy, won

1500
01:08:16,680 --> 01:08:19,439
Speaker 3: a playoff series, and then obviously injuries come back to

1501
01:08:19,479 --> 01:08:22,280
Speaker 3: get them. I just love the complimentary nature of the roster.

1502
01:08:22,400 --> 01:08:24,719
Speaker 3: I think they have pretty high ceilings on both sides

1503
01:08:24,760 --> 01:08:26,960
Speaker 3: of the ball. I think they've still got a top

1504
01:08:26,960 --> 01:08:29,559
Speaker 3: five offensive player and a top five defensive player and

1505
01:08:29,600 --> 01:08:32,080
Speaker 3: a top twenty five sort of player in Jimmy who

1506
01:08:32,120 --> 01:08:35,240
Speaker 3: like connects those things really nicely on both sides of

1507
01:08:35,280 --> 01:08:37,880
Speaker 3: the ball. I love the Big three, like I'm super

1508
01:08:37,920 --> 01:08:39,680
Speaker 3: high on that as a foundation, and I think all

1509
01:08:39,720 --> 01:08:41,880
Speaker 3: those guys have played well this year, like some of

1510
01:08:41,920 --> 01:08:44,559
Speaker 3: the explosions we've gotten from Steph. Obviously, the floor is

1511
01:08:44,600 --> 01:08:47,280
Speaker 3: lower than it used to be by a lot, but

1512
01:08:47,320 --> 01:08:50,400
Speaker 3: the ceiling is like every bit as high. Jimmy's been

1513
01:08:50,400 --> 01:08:52,400
Speaker 3: playing well, and I totally agree with you on the

1514
01:08:52,400 --> 01:08:54,479
Speaker 3: schedule point. I mean, it's just brutal, and they are

1515
01:08:54,520 --> 01:08:56,519
Speaker 3: like the last team in the league that needs to

1516
01:08:56,520 --> 01:08:58,280
Speaker 3: be getting hit with this right now as they are

1517
01:08:58,320 --> 01:09:01,759
Speaker 3: relying on thirty seven year olds like all over the place.

1518
01:09:02,080 --> 01:09:05,120
Speaker 3: I actually do think I feel a little bitter about

1519
01:09:05,160 --> 01:09:09,720
Speaker 3: the depth too, Like I'm encouraged on that front. Obviously,

1520
01:09:10,000 --> 01:09:12,840
Speaker 3: the Kaminga mirage has fallen apart May at rest in peace.

1521
01:09:12,880 --> 01:09:16,519
Speaker 3: The glorious three to four games, it was, oh man,

1522
01:09:16,560 --> 01:09:18,720
Speaker 3: that was fun. That was fun. But like I do

1523
01:09:18,800 --> 01:09:21,479
Speaker 3: think that Moody has legitimately improved. I think he's cleaned

1524
01:09:21,520 --> 01:09:23,599
Speaker 3: up his shot mechanics and is just shooting the shit

1525
01:09:23,640 --> 01:09:26,200
Speaker 3: out of the ball right now. Pods pretty much is

1526
01:09:26,200 --> 01:09:29,719
Speaker 3: who he is, but he's been solid overall. Will Richard

1527
01:09:29,760 --> 01:09:31,880
Speaker 3: I think, has been a really really nice fine for

1528
01:09:31,920 --> 01:09:34,280
Speaker 3: them as the fifty sixth pick. So like they're just

1529
01:09:34,320 --> 01:09:38,000
Speaker 3: putting together more of these wings, perimeter players, two way

1530
01:09:38,080 --> 01:09:40,599
Speaker 3: guys with pretty high feel who I like Danthony Melton.

1531
01:09:40,600 --> 01:09:42,240
Speaker 3: I don't know what's going on with his injury, but

1532
01:09:42,320 --> 01:09:44,200
Speaker 3: I hope that we see him because I think he's

1533
01:09:44,240 --> 01:09:47,800
Speaker 3: a really nice fit for this team and like Horford, right,

1534
01:09:47,840 --> 01:09:50,240
Speaker 3: he's another old guy we haven't seen playing back to backs.

1535
01:09:50,240 --> 01:09:52,200
Speaker 3: He hasn't been good so far, but I like his

1536
01:09:52,240 --> 01:09:54,519
Speaker 3: fit here. I just think there's a million reasons to

1537
01:09:54,560 --> 01:09:57,360
Speaker 3: think the Warriors are going to look better later in

1538
01:09:57,400 --> 01:10:01,040
Speaker 3: the year. Ultimately, I worry about non Steph offense, and

1539
01:10:01,040 --> 01:10:02,479
Speaker 3: that's why I can't have them as a top five

1540
01:10:02,560 --> 01:10:04,719
Speaker 3: contender or whatever. Right, if only they had traded Jonathan

1541
01:10:04,880 --> 01:10:06,760
Speaker 3: Minga for Malik Monk, if only something like that had

1542
01:10:06,800 --> 01:10:08,719
Speaker 3: been on the table, you know, then I'd feel really

1543
01:10:08,720 --> 01:10:10,960
Speaker 3: really good about this team. But Steph is doing what

1544
01:10:11,000 --> 01:10:13,960
Speaker 3: he needs to do offensively. His impact is absolutely absurd,

1545
01:10:13,960 --> 01:10:16,800
Speaker 3: and I do mostly like how things tie together around him,

1546
01:10:16,800 --> 01:10:18,599
Speaker 3: and I think this team also needs to defend better

1547
01:10:18,640 --> 01:10:21,160
Speaker 3: in the non Draymond minutes, so they are relying on

1548
01:10:21,200 --> 01:10:24,960
Speaker 3: their superstars for sure, But I like those superstars. I

1549
01:10:25,040 --> 01:10:28,000
Speaker 3: like that Big three, and I do think last year,

1550
01:10:28,040 --> 01:10:29,720
Speaker 3: like there were stretches where it was like, Okay, there's

1551
01:10:29,760 --> 01:10:33,080
Speaker 3: only three playoff NBA players on this team, and I

1552
01:10:33,080 --> 01:10:34,960
Speaker 3: don't feel that way this year. I feel like some

1553
01:10:35,000 --> 01:10:37,680
Speaker 3: of these young guys, these role players, are more legitimate,

1554
01:10:38,000 --> 01:10:39,880
Speaker 3: and it's kind of all it takes because they were

1555
01:10:39,920 --> 01:10:41,640
Speaker 3: already winning a lot of games last year with some

1556
01:10:41,680 --> 01:10:44,360
Speaker 3: of those guys, you know, just being like so unreliable.

1557
01:10:45,120 --> 01:10:47,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Warriors are stuck here in this but they're

1558
01:10:47,320 --> 01:10:50,480
Speaker 1: a seven for me too. They're stuck here barring a trade.

1559
01:10:50,520 --> 01:10:53,040
Speaker 1: Like I think that they are just stuck in this

1560
01:10:53,160 --> 01:10:55,200
Speaker 1: like no man's land kind of. They could win a

1561
01:10:55,240 --> 01:10:57,720
Speaker 1: playoff series, but I can't see them really going on

1562
01:10:57,760 --> 01:10:59,920
Speaker 1: a run. I do think they need to make that

1563
01:11:00,200 --> 01:11:02,640
Speaker 1: kind of move for an offensive just a guy can

1564
01:11:02,640 --> 01:11:05,200
Speaker 1: give him some offensive firepower in the non stuff minutes.

1565
01:11:05,200 --> 01:11:07,120
Speaker 1: It would be nice if he was complimentary and could

1566
01:11:07,120 --> 01:11:11,080
Speaker 1: play like alongside Steph too, But I think that's the move.

1567
01:11:11,120 --> 01:11:13,679
Speaker 1: They're just they're missing that piece that would make them

1568
01:11:13,680 --> 01:11:15,799
Speaker 1: a really, really legitimate contender.

1569
01:11:15,800 --> 01:11:16,960
Speaker 4: But I like the Warriors a lot.

1570
01:11:17,000 --> 01:11:19,639
Speaker 1: I just think they need that guy to put them

1571
01:11:19,680 --> 01:11:22,840
Speaker 1: in real conversations another.

1572
01:11:22,520 --> 01:11:25,080
Speaker 2: Fun Michael Porter junior potential target type of team. I

1573
01:11:25,120 --> 01:11:27,400
Speaker 2: just think a guy that could, like, like twice a week,

1574
01:11:27,439 --> 01:11:29,599
Speaker 2: give them twenty five twenty Who.

1575
01:11:29,439 --> 01:11:30,879
Speaker 4: Are you flipping? Who are you flipping?

1576
01:11:30,880 --> 01:11:32,080
Speaker 3: For the defense?

1577
01:11:32,240 --> 01:11:34,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, big play with no defense exactly what would be

1578
01:11:34,600 --> 01:11:36,599
Speaker 2: cominga plus? You know, some contract?

1579
01:11:36,680 --> 01:11:36,920
Speaker 1: You know.

1580
01:11:37,040 --> 01:11:38,639
Speaker 2: One of the things that I've that has stood out

1581
01:11:38,640 --> 01:11:40,760
Speaker 2: to me with Golden State here in the early part

1582
01:11:40,800 --> 01:11:42,800
Speaker 2: of the season is they have really struggled with like

1583
01:11:42,840 --> 01:11:45,479
Speaker 2: some of the bigger athletes that can get Downhill. We've

1584
01:11:45,479 --> 01:11:47,519
Speaker 2: seen that in the Portland game, Like they can't guard

1585
01:11:47,600 --> 01:11:49,840
Speaker 2: any It's like crazy, They're hopeless to guard him. And

1586
01:11:50,120 --> 01:11:52,639
Speaker 2: that's one of the things where every every Warriors fan

1587
01:11:52,720 --> 01:11:54,559
Speaker 2: is like, we can't trade Moody, we can't trade Moody,

1588
01:11:54,560 --> 01:11:56,519
Speaker 2: and I get that, but like, ultimately, if you could

1589
01:11:56,560 --> 01:11:58,759
Speaker 2: get a legitimate upgrade. One of the things with Moody

1590
01:11:58,800 --> 01:12:01,639
Speaker 2: is he's not Andrew Wiggans. It's like Rudy looks really

1591
01:12:01,640 --> 01:12:03,479
Speaker 2: good as a point of attack defender up to a

1592
01:12:03,479 --> 01:12:05,479
Speaker 2: certain point, and then he runs into a type of

1593
01:12:05,479 --> 01:12:08,000
Speaker 2: guy that he can't guard. And that is the kind

1594
01:12:08,000 --> 01:12:09,960
Speaker 2: of thing that I've kind of noticed. Same thing goes

1595
01:12:10,000 --> 01:12:12,519
Speaker 2: with Pods, Like he's just such a really well rounded

1596
01:12:12,560 --> 01:12:14,400
Speaker 2: player who does all these little things well, but like

1597
01:12:14,479 --> 01:12:17,240
Speaker 2: ultimately there are certain players that he just can't guard,

1598
01:12:17,320 --> 01:12:19,760
Speaker 2: and yeah, like that kind of puts a certain limitation

1599
01:12:19,880 --> 01:12:23,400
Speaker 2: on them. But yeah, I am generally higher on Golden

1600
01:12:23,439 --> 01:12:25,120
Speaker 2: State than the masses right now, and I think people

1601
01:12:25,160 --> 01:12:26,559
Speaker 2: are trying to bury them too soon.

1602
01:12:26,600 --> 01:12:26,800
Speaker 4: Here.

1603
01:12:27,040 --> 01:12:28,720
Speaker 2: One of the big indicators, and I'm so glad you

1604
01:12:28,760 --> 01:12:31,559
Speaker 2: hit on this, Carson, is Steph's been awesome and ultimately,

1605
01:12:31,600 --> 01:12:34,080
Speaker 2: when this all comes together, Like that's the thing that

1606
01:12:34,200 --> 01:12:36,280
Speaker 2: was going to be the final bar that they had

1607
01:12:36,280 --> 01:12:37,880
Speaker 2: to cross to get to where they want to go.

1608
01:12:37,960 --> 01:12:41,640
Speaker 2: Is can Steph look like Steph? And he has clearly demonstrated,

1609
01:12:41,680 --> 01:12:44,320
Speaker 2: like a half dozen times this year that he still

1610
01:12:44,439 --> 01:12:46,280
Speaker 2: very much has that punch in him, and I thought

1611
01:12:46,320 --> 01:12:48,639
Speaker 2: he showed it during the Houston series last year as

1612
01:12:48,640 --> 01:12:50,920
Speaker 2: well at stretches down.

1613
01:12:50,760 --> 01:12:52,920
Speaker 3: The stretch of all of last year. I mean last

1614
01:12:52,920 --> 01:12:54,920
Speaker 3: thirty games, he was like twenty seven a game on

1615
01:12:54,960 --> 01:12:57,439
Speaker 3: sixty five percent through shooting. He just totally kicked into

1616
01:12:57,479 --> 01:12:59,840
Speaker 3: that gear and the fact that he's carrying that over

1617
01:13:00,200 --> 01:13:02,639
Speaker 3: is so encouraging because last year to start the season,

1618
01:13:02,840 --> 01:13:05,840
Speaker 3: he did not look like this. Like, I think Jimmy

1619
01:13:05,840 --> 01:13:08,000
Speaker 3: has shot some life back into him, and I think

1620
01:13:08,000 --> 01:13:09,680
Speaker 3: it's a great thing. But I do agree with you

1621
01:13:09,720 --> 01:13:14,240
Speaker 3: on the concerns and specifically them being overwhelmed athletically, like

1622
01:13:14,680 --> 01:13:17,320
Speaker 3: the point in the paint differential game after game, which

1623
01:13:17,320 --> 01:13:19,880
Speaker 3: obviously part of that is their own lack of paint scoring,

1624
01:13:19,880 --> 01:13:22,160
Speaker 3: which is significant, but I think they're dead last in

1625
01:13:22,240 --> 01:13:24,960
Speaker 3: point scoring margin in the paint. They're like minus twelve

1626
01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:27,439
Speaker 3: per game, so that puts a ceiling on them. Too,

1627
01:13:27,520 --> 01:13:30,759
Speaker 3: especially as we look at this increasingly huge Western conference

1628
01:13:30,800 --> 01:13:34,519
Speaker 3: with Denver, with Houston, with Minnesota even who's not at

1629
01:13:34,560 --> 01:13:37,479
Speaker 3: that level. But there's some concerns with the worries, but

1630
01:13:37,479 --> 01:13:39,679
Speaker 3: there's also some things that they do at a really

1631
01:13:39,760 --> 01:13:42,040
Speaker 3: high level that I agree with you, I think are

1632
01:13:42,320 --> 01:13:45,320
Speaker 3: leading people to underappreciate them right now. And you got

1633
01:13:45,360 --> 01:13:48,960
Speaker 3: to understand the context. Like even when Steph plays, what

1634
01:13:49,040 --> 01:13:51,800
Speaker 3: are they eight and five like, or maybe they're eight

1635
01:13:51,840 --> 01:13:53,960
Speaker 3: and six, but they've lost a few games where he's

1636
01:13:54,000 --> 01:13:55,760
Speaker 3: not even on the floor, which to me, those don't count.

1637
01:13:55,760 --> 01:13:57,880
Speaker 3: Those aren't even Warriors basketball games of Steph Curry.

1638
01:13:58,200 --> 01:14:01,680
Speaker 2: For the Orlando gave me in particular, I thought was

1639
01:14:01,720 --> 01:14:03,559
Speaker 2: another one where it's like, man, they look small. But

1640
01:14:03,680 --> 01:14:05,360
Speaker 2: also when I watched that game, I was like, they

1641
01:14:05,360 --> 01:14:07,680
Speaker 2: also look like they have dead legs. Like they I

1642
01:14:07,720 --> 01:14:09,320
Speaker 2: even thought the Portland game, like, they just look like

1643
01:14:09,320 --> 01:14:10,640
Speaker 2: they have dead legs. It's going to take them a

1644
01:14:10,680 --> 01:14:13,040
Speaker 2: week or two to just recover from that brutal schedule

1645
01:14:13,080 --> 01:14:14,680
Speaker 2: to start the season. And there are a lot of

1646
01:14:14,720 --> 01:14:17,320
Speaker 2: teams in the NBA after Oklahoma City, pretty much every

1647
01:14:17,360 --> 01:14:19,840
Speaker 2: team in the NBA after Oklahoma City that would if

1648
01:14:19,880 --> 01:14:22,479
Speaker 2: you were like, they're nine to nine after playing seventeen

1649
01:14:22,560 --> 01:14:25,599
Speaker 2: games in twenty eight days and five back to backs,

1650
01:14:25,640 --> 01:14:28,000
Speaker 2: and all like, it's just it's they just succumb to

1651
01:14:28,080 --> 01:14:30,320
Speaker 2: the schedule a little bit, and that happens. But this

1652
01:14:30,360 --> 01:14:32,080
Speaker 2: has been awesome. Thank you guys so much for taking

1653
01:14:32,120 --> 01:14:34,240
Speaker 2: the time to come hang out today and break these

1654
01:14:34,280 --> 01:14:37,040
Speaker 2: down with me really quickly. Just shout out where you guys,

1655
01:14:37,360 --> 01:14:39,800
Speaker 2: what work you've been doing lately, and where they our

1656
01:14:39,840 --> 01:14:40,800
Speaker 2: listeners can find it.

1657
01:14:41,240 --> 01:14:42,960
Speaker 3: Well. Thank you so much for having us Jason. This

1658
01:14:43,080 --> 01:14:46,280
Speaker 3: is always a joy, absolutely one of my favorite people

1659
01:14:46,280 --> 01:14:49,000
Speaker 3: to talk basketball with. You g guys can find us

1660
01:14:49,080 --> 01:14:52,840
Speaker 3: at nerd sessh everywhere. YouTube. We do a couple of

1661
01:14:52,880 --> 01:14:54,880
Speaker 3: NBA shows a week. We also do some NFL content.

1662
01:14:54,920 --> 01:14:57,160
Speaker 3: If you want that it scratched and Jason isn't doing

1663
01:14:57,160 --> 01:14:59,200
Speaker 3: it for you, that's where you come on over to us.

1664
01:14:59,240 --> 01:15:01,679
Speaker 3: We've got it all well. We do some trivia stuff,

1665
01:15:01,680 --> 01:15:03,840
Speaker 3: so yeah, YouTube everywhere. If you want to see our

1666
01:15:03,840 --> 01:15:06,360
Speaker 3: short form content, we're across social everywhere. Just look us

1667
01:15:06,400 --> 01:15:09,360
Speaker 3: up at nerd sesh. But again, thank you Jason. This

1668
01:15:09,400 --> 01:15:11,200
Speaker 3: was a lot of fun and happy Thanksgiving and I

1669
01:15:11,200 --> 01:15:12,960
Speaker 3: hope you enjoy the skiing. That sounds fun.

1670
01:15:13,320 --> 01:15:15,200
Speaker 2: Thanks Buddy, Yeah, and Logan, it was good to see

1671
01:15:15,240 --> 01:15:17,120
Speaker 2: you too. I hope both of you guys are doing

1672
01:15:17,160 --> 01:15:19,120
Speaker 2: really well and I hope you guys enjoy the holidays.

1673
01:15:19,120 --> 01:15:21,519
Speaker 2: We'll definitely be having you back on in a month

1674
01:15:21,600 --> 01:15:23,880
Speaker 2: or two or so. Again, everyone, thank you guys so

1675
01:15:23,960 --> 01:15:25,559
Speaker 2: much for supporting the show. I hope all of you

1676
01:15:25,560 --> 01:15:28,439
Speaker 2: have an incredible weekend. We would be covering playback. We

1677
01:15:28,479 --> 01:15:31,360
Speaker 2: will be covering the Mavericks Lakers game on playbacks if

1678
01:15:31,360 --> 01:15:34,000
Speaker 2: you want to watch Luca continue to torture MAVs fans

1679
01:15:34,000 --> 01:15:36,479
Speaker 2: who can come hang out with us on playback later tonight. Again,

1680
01:15:36,520 --> 01:15:38,559
Speaker 2: as always, a sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us

1681
01:15:38,560 --> 01:15:40,400
Speaker 2: and supporting the show, and we'll see you next week.