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Speaker 2: see DKNG dot co slash ft ball. All right, welcome

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Speaker 2: to Hosidai. You're at the volume. Happy Monday, everybody. Hope

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Speaker 2: all of you guys had an incredible weekend. Well, we

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Speaker 2: have made it to the Superstar tier of our player

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Speaker 2: rankings that we do every single summer. These final eleven

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Speaker 2: guys actually rank into two tiers. The top five guys

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Speaker 2: I have listed as perennial MVP candidates, something I think

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Speaker 2: the guys below are not capable of necessarily doing. And

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Speaker 2: then the rest of them are superstars guys in five

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Speaker 2: through eleven, superstars that can reach the level of perennial

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Speaker 2: MVP candidate type of guys, but just can't maintain that level.

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Speaker 2: But this is a very talented group of eleven players.

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Speaker 2: It was painstakingly difficult to rank them. I am guaranteed

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Speaker 2: no matter how I do this to piss a bunch

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Speaker 2: of people off, but we're gonna go ahead and try

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Speaker 2: it anyway. Today we are starting with number eleven and

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Speaker 2: with number ten. You guys know the joke before we

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Speaker 2: get started. Subscribe to the Hoops to Night YouTube channels.

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Speaker 2: You don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me

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Speaker 2: on Twitter at underscore JCNLTS. You guys, don't miss you announcements.

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Speaker 2: Don't forget about our podcast feed where you get your

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Speaker 2: podcast on our Hoops Tonight. Don't forget it's helpful if

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Speaker 2: you leave your rating in a review for us on

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Speaker 2: that front. And the last, but not least, keepdropping mailbag

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Speaker 2: questions in those YouTube comments. If you disagree with the ranking,

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Speaker 2: break it down, tell me why. I especially appreciate it.

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Speaker 2: If you make a basketball case and we'll get to

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Speaker 2: it in the mail bag questions at the tail end

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Speaker 2: of every single one of these videos. All right, let's

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Speaker 2: talk some basketball. So here were the final eleven guys.

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Speaker 2: This is in the order of where they appeared in

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Speaker 2: the standing so as to not give anything away on

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Speaker 2: the list, But our final eleven are Jason Tatum, shag Kil,

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Speaker 2: just Alexander Nicole, Jokic, Anthony Edwards, Luka, Doncic, Giannis and

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Speaker 2: Tennan Kumpo, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid,

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Speaker 2: and Steph Curry. So one of those guys has to

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Speaker 2: be eleven. One of those guys Tatum, Shay, Jokic, Aunt,

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Speaker 2: Luca Giannis, kd Lebron, ad Embiid, and Steph one of

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Speaker 2: those guys literally has to be number eleven. That's just

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Speaker 2: the virtue of how the league is stacked with talent

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Speaker 2: at this point. So to be clear, when I go

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Speaker 2: through number eleven in particular, this isn't like a well

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Speaker 2: this guy isn't top ten anymore kind of thing. It's

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Speaker 2: just the reality of how many great players we have

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Speaker 2: in the league, and it's just where this person fell

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Speaker 2: in the ranking. So if you're pissed off, just remember

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Speaker 2: that everyone else would be too. If I ranked a

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Speaker 2: different player from anybody else on that list at number eleven,

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Speaker 2: it would be a revolt from that particular fan base.

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Speaker 2: So it's just kind of the natural order of the

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Speaker 2: way this kind of broke out. Remember the criteria, I'm

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Speaker 2: including factors like regular season availability the motor like how

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Speaker 2: consistently they play at the top of their game in

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Speaker 2: the regular season, as well as playoff translatability like how

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Speaker 2: well does their game translate to the intensity that you

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Speaker 2: need in order to get through four rounds of the playoffs.

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Speaker 2: This is very much in October through June type of ranking.

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Speaker 2: If I had to start a team tomorrow and I

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Speaker 2: needed someone to lead me through the entire thing from

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Speaker 2: training camp to trophy, who am I going with? And

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Speaker 2: so that kind of will give you, guys a little

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Speaker 2: bit of an indicator on how I'm actually doing the list.

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Speaker 2: And lastly, remember the reality. I look at the tiers

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Speaker 2: as the main differentiators between players. I see little to

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Speaker 2: no gap at all between number eleven on this list

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Speaker 2: and number five on this list. I could see any

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Speaker 2: of those players being ranked anywhere in that stretch, and

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Speaker 2: it's defensible to me. So keep that in mind. This

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Speaker 2: is not meant to signify some massive gap, but rather

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Speaker 2: splitting hairs between transcendently great players. And so, without any

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Speaker 2: further ado, number eleven, the guy that ended up being

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Speaker 2: the impossible decision in this list, I put Joel Embiid. Now,

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Speaker 2: before we go any further into Joelle's season. As we

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Speaker 2: get into the top to eleven, it's going to be

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Speaker 2: a lot of numbers like we did in the earlier

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Speaker 2: parts of the list, but it's also going to be

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Speaker 2: a lot of rationale. I'm gonna be talking a lot

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Speaker 2: about why I have guys ranked where I have them ranked.

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Speaker 2: So before we go into Joel's last season, let's talk

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Speaker 2: about why I decided on Joel Embiid as the guy

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Speaker 2: I was going to drop to eleven. So, as we know,

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Speaker 2: after he pushed himself really hard in that twenty twenty

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Speaker 2: three season to get MVP, he got hurt in the

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Speaker 2: playoffs again and he looked bad again, and then he

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Speaker 2: missed forty three games last year in the regular season

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Speaker 2: before losing in the first rounds of the round of

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Speaker 2: the playoffs. He filled the box score in the next series.

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Speaker 2: He actually averaged thirty three points, eleven rebounds, and seven assists,

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Speaker 2: but consistently wore down at the end of games, especially

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Speaker 2: on the defensive end of the floor. But he also

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Speaker 2: shot poorly. He shot just four for fourteen in clutch situations,

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Speaker 2: including zero for four from three against the Knicks, and

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Speaker 2: most importantly, he just couldn't get the job done his

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Speaker 2: peers against the top of the league, or I should

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Speaker 2: say his peers at the top of the league playing

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Speaker 2: against that Knicks team that did not have Julius Randall

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Speaker 2: that was dealing with injuries. I just think his peers

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Speaker 2: at the top of the league would have been able

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Speaker 2: to push their teams over the top, which is something

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Speaker 2: that Embiid was not able to do. Now, Embiid was

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Speaker 2: clearly hurt, his knee was all sorts of fucked up,

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Speaker 2: but that's kind of the point in the reality of

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Speaker 2: starting your franchise or building your franchise around a guy

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Speaker 2: like Joel Embiid. So to be clear, I think Embiid,

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Speaker 2: when he's one hundred percent healthy, is a better basketball

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Speaker 2: player than several of the players that I have ranked

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Speaker 2: above him in this list. But there are three reasons

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Speaker 2: I decided to drop Embiid to eleven number one. Starting

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Speaker 2: this year, and this is a list that is designed

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Speaker 2: for this upcoming season. Starting this year, I expect the

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Speaker 2: Sixers to heavily manage his regular season workload. He already

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Speaker 2: has his MVP, so there's no sort of accolade that

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Speaker 2: he's chasing, and he's shown consistently that under a heavy

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Speaker 2: workload he will break down. I think you saw that

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Speaker 2: in the what they did with the roster, not just

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Speaker 2: bringing in an additional star like Paul George to handle

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Speaker 2: in terms of firepower, but they also went out and

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Speaker 2: got one of the best backup centers in the league

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Speaker 2: and Andre Drummond. And I'm sure that was part of

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Speaker 2: the appeal for Drummond, like, hey, dude, you might start

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Speaker 2: thirty games this year, You're definitely gonna play a substantial

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Speaker 2: minute load, and so that is that's literally, but the

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Speaker 2: Sixers are telling you, we know we can't count on

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Speaker 2: Embiid to be this like foundational piece over the course

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Speaker 2: of a long regular season, so we need to bolster

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Speaker 2: him over the course of the eighty two. That's something

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Speaker 2: that has to get factored in when we're talking about

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Speaker 2: ranking players in this list. Embiid is just not a

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Speaker 2: guy that you can count on to play seventy seventy

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Speaker 2: five games and be healthy for four rounds of the playoffs.

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Speaker 2: That's something that has to be factored in. Number two.

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Speaker 2: He is a historically poor playoff performer. Now, again, a

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Speaker 2: good percentage of that is health related, but it also

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Speaker 2: comes down to other things, his reliance on his jump shot.

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Speaker 2: Most of his big man peers in the league, which

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Speaker 2: we're going to talk about more in a minute, they

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Speaker 2: take a lot more short range shots close to the

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Speaker 2: basket that Joel Embiid does, which makes them more reliable

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Speaker 2: playoff players. That's something that he's had an issue with,

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Speaker 2: his reliance on foulgrifting and how that can become an

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Speaker 2: issue when you get into later rounds of the playoffs,

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Speaker 2: and then last his struggles to read aggressive defensive coverages.

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Speaker 2: Those things. Those are just on the offensive end too.

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Speaker 2: That doesn't even get into his struggles to get up

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Speaker 2: and down the floor and transition. Some of his limitations

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Speaker 2: in terms of the defensive coverages that you can deploy

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Speaker 2: him in. He has struggled historically in the playoffs. So

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Speaker 2: not a guy that can really hold up over the

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Speaker 2: course of the eighty two and a guy that when

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Speaker 2: he gets to the postseason seems to play below his capability.

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Speaker 2: Third with respect to trying to build a team around him,

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Speaker 2: he's a very one dimensional player on both ends of

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Speaker 2: the floor. On offense, as we saw in the Olympics,

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Speaker 2: he really can't play read and react basketball among a

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Speaker 2: bunch of high level players. He can't play in a

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Speaker 2: ball in player movement style of offense. He's not good

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Speaker 2: at making reads, which is a fundamental part of that

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Speaker 2: style of five out offense. So as a GM, if

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Speaker 2: you take Embiid, you basically have to play a very

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Speaker 2: rudimentary run everything through him, a lot of ball screens

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Speaker 2: and dribble handoffs where he's getting the ball at the

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Speaker 2: elbow and catching and going to work. He is a

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Speaker 2: high usage, kind of like heliocentric style of big. He

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Speaker 2: struggles with quick ball and player movements, so there are

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Speaker 2: some limitations in the types of rosters you can build

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Speaker 2: around Embiid that don't exist for some of the players

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Speaker 2: that he has higher on the list. And on defense,

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Speaker 2: he is strictly a drop coverage big. He struggles consistently

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Speaker 2: to get up to the level of ball screens or

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Speaker 2: to switch out onto perimeter players. Even within the drop

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Speaker 2: coverage he's very good at protecting the rim, but he's

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Speaker 2: not very good at bothering players in that mid range area.

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Speaker 2: He can also struggle to get up and down the

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Speaker 2: floor in transition, so you have to surround him with

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Speaker 2: a ton of length and speed and there's pretty much

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Speaker 2: one defensive scheme that you can run around him, which

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Speaker 2: is essentially just a deep drop coverage, and so that

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Speaker 2: just kind of makes things difficult. Again, if he's healthy

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Speaker 2: and you have the perfect set of circumstances around him,

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Speaker 2: he will impact winning at a much higher level. I

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Speaker 2: would argue that when he's healthy, he kind of scratches

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Speaker 2: this surface of that top tier group of guys that

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Speaker 2: we have. It's just that set of circumstances just never

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Speaker 2: takes place for whatever reason, and so that just to

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Speaker 2: me made him the guy that I had to drop.

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Speaker 2: So to put it simply, he has one of the

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Speaker 2: highest ceilings in the league as an individual basketball player,

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Speaker 2: but he's also one of the most difficult players to

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Speaker 2: build around because he needs a ton of regular season

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Speaker 2: support as well as postseason support, and he requires a

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Speaker 2: certain style of play on both ends, and so that

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Speaker 2: lack of durability and versatility dropped him to number eleven

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Speaker 2: for me. To Darryl Moury's credit, I think he's done

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Speaker 2: a really nice job trying to build a roster to

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Speaker 2: help Joel tons of regular season support like Andre Drummond

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Speaker 2: at center, a second perimeter star to help eat up

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Speaker 2: usage and tons of postseason support. That's the three star build.

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Speaker 2: If Embiid's getting double teamed, it's just harder to do

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Speaker 2: that with Paul George and Tyrese Maxi off the ball.

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Speaker 2: If Embiid's just having a bad matchup or a bad night,

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Speaker 2: which we know is something that can happen to him

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Speaker 2: in the postseason, having that three star build can help.

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Speaker 2: It can help make up for that. Both of his

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Speaker 2: co stars too, This is a credit to Darryl Moray,

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Speaker 2: are very comfortable playing off the ball. Tyres Maxi is

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Speaker 2: one of the best, like on the cat shooters that

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Speaker 2: we have in the league. Obviously, Paul George, I've talked

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Speaker 2: about him in this context, is almost like a juiced

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Speaker 2: up star version of Michael Porter Junior. He's Darryl Moray

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Speaker 2: has done everything he can to accentuate Joel Embiid's strengths

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Speaker 2: and to minimize his weaknesses, and so that's a difficult job,

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Speaker 2: which is why I have him BEI down an eleven.

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Speaker 2: But Darryl Moray has put him in position to be

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Speaker 2: a guy that can contribute to winning at that top

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Speaker 2: tier level, and I'm really interested to see if he

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Speaker 2: can do that next year. Quickly going through his numbers

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Speaker 2: from last year, thirty nine games played, thirty four point

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Speaker 2: seven points per game, which is obviously obsurd, eleven rebounds,

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Speaker 2: five point six assists. It's a career high for him.

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Speaker 2: Also a career high three point eight turnovers. Nick Nurse

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Speaker 2: did a pretty damn good job of simplifying his reads

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Speaker 2: and making stuff easier for him in the post. We're

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Speaker 2: gonna get more into that later when we start talking

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Speaker 2: play types. Two point nine stocks per game. His shooting

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Speaker 2: splits fifty three percent from the field, thirty nine percent

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Speaker 2: from three, eighty eight percent from the line, which amounts

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Speaker 2: to fifty six percent in effective field goal percentage, and

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Speaker 2: thanks to twelve of free throw attempts per game, a

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Speaker 2: blistering sixty four percent true shooting percentage. His shooting numbers

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Speaker 2: percentergy one point per jump shot, flat, one point zero

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Speaker 2: nine off the catch, excuse me, one point one to

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Speaker 2: nine off the catch, which is very good. He shot

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Speaker 2: fifty five percent on unguarded jump shots, seventy five percent

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Speaker 2: when it's weighted for threes. Em Bid has become a

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Speaker 2: very good three point shooter. And we saw this again

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Speaker 2: even a little bit with Team USA, which has really

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Speaker 2: helped him maintain some of his effectiveness as his body

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Speaker 2: has started to break down now that he's into his thirties.

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Speaker 2: I think that's a really interesting kind of developmental piece.

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Speaker 2: We're going to talk about it more in a minute,

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Speaker 2: but I think Embiid has over indexed towards perimeter skill

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Speaker 2: development rather than interior skill development, which I think has

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Speaker 2: hurt him. However, if he's gonna be limited physically, like

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Speaker 2: if he's gonna be let's just say he never is

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Speaker 2: able to maintain athleticism the way he was a couple

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Speaker 2: of years ago. There's a version of this where that

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Speaker 2: three point shooting could actually end up being very beneficial

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Speaker 2: to kind of extend his start prime a little bit longer.

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Speaker 2: Zero point eighty eight points per shot off the dribble,

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Speaker 2: actually shot forty two percent in field goal percentage, though

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Speaker 2: it's just because most of them are pull up twos.

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Speaker 2: And then zero point nine to five points per face

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Speaker 2: up jumper. Actually shot forty six percent on face up jumpers,

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Speaker 2: which is a great number, but once again, almost all

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Speaker 2: from the mid range. That's why the efficiency's a little lower.

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Speaker 2: This is where I want to get into the skill development,

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Speaker 2: so and beats shot sixty percent on floaters, but he

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Speaker 2: only made twelve all year. He shot seventy four percent

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Speaker 2: on hooks, but he only made fourteen of them all year.

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Speaker 2: And this has been my main point of contention with

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Speaker 2: Embiid in his development over the course of his career,

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Speaker 2: and I think it's the main reason why he's not

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Speaker 2: become a more reliable playoff player. The hooks in the floaters,

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Speaker 2: they are what I would call short range scoring. All

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Speaker 2: of the jump shots you take are more like mid

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Speaker 2: range scoring. Right. The short range scoring is what has

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Speaker 2: made guys like Nicola Jokic and Anthony Davis such great

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Speaker 2: playoff players. As we talked about earlier, Joel Embiid made

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Speaker 2: only twenty six floaters and hooks, Anthony Davis made ninety

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Speaker 2: seven of them. Nicola Jokic made two hundred and thirty

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Speaker 2: nine of them. They are just far more reliable and

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Speaker 2: less susceptible to variants than jump shots. You're gonna make

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Speaker 2: your hook shots, You're gonna make your short floaters. There

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Speaker 2: are gonna be nights with your mid range shot where

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Speaker 2: you're just not on and you're gonna go two for ten.

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Speaker 2: You're never gonna go two for ten on hooks and floaters.

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Speaker 2: They're too close to the basket. It's too easy to

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Speaker 2: get your rhythm down there. Not to mention, in ball screens,

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Speaker 2: that's where they're getting their catches. Yokicchen eight roll further

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Speaker 2: into the lane and they take more floaters in the role.

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Speaker 2: Embiid is always short rolling to that foul line area

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Speaker 2: so that he can catch an iso. And so essentially

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Speaker 2: Ady and Jokic have made themselves more you know, capable

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Speaker 2: of playing alongside other players because they can be just

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Speaker 2: finishers as role men rather than embiads. Catching on the

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Speaker 2: role almost as like another area of where he's initiating

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Speaker 2: the offense. Like he's catching. It's like, oh, great pick

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Speaker 2: and roll, MAXI hit Embiid, he's right there at the

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Speaker 2: foul Okay, here comes the jab step pump fake, jab

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Speaker 2: step pump fake. It's like now we're back to just

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Speaker 2: Embiid working there. And so in addition to the lack

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Speaker 2: of efficiency, there's just more flow and making quicker decisions

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Speaker 2: off of the catch in ball screens, which have made

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Speaker 2: jokicen Ad into such deadly role men. Again, like indeed,

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Speaker 2: Embiid can make those jumpers, and he'll have games where

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Speaker 2: it's like, oh my god, he's just not missing that

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Speaker 2: fifteen footer. It's just there's a lot more variance in

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Speaker 2: that regard. I would love to see Embiid add more

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Speaker 2: of a bully ball close range game. I also think

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Speaker 2: it would just make him be able to use his

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Speaker 2: physical tools better. He's bigger and stronger than most people,

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Speaker 2: and like as you saw from the percentages, he certainly

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Speaker 2: can make them at the rim. Joel Embiid shot just

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Speaker 2: sixty four percent last year. Nicole Jokic and Ad were

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Speaker 2: both at seventy percent PERCENTERGY, so that's really the main issue.

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Speaker 2: Embiid is indexing towards the perimeter. With the skill development,

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Speaker 2: Ady and Jokic are still functionally bigs. Ad will take

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Speaker 2: his fair share of ISO jump shots. Jokic will certainly

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Speaker 2: take some late clock jump ISO jumpers in the mid range.

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Speaker 2: He'll certainly take some pick and pop threes, but those

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Speaker 2: are purely supplementary parts of their game, whereas everything they

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Speaker 2: do on the interior is something that can pretty much

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Speaker 2: depend on on a night to night basis. Obviously, Yokic

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Speaker 2: to a much greater extent than Ad, But I have

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Speaker 2: Ad over Embiid in this regard for a similar reason.

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Speaker 2: As far as around the rim, he's always just throwing

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Speaker 2: up bullshit, trying to draw fouls and falling on the

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Speaker 2: ground instead of just going up strong and finishing through contact.

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Speaker 2: And again that's a substantial dip in percentage. Sixty four

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Speaker 2: percent for a guy with Embiid's size and strength is

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Speaker 2: just not good. You gotta be up around seventy percent,

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Speaker 2: like Jokic and Ad are. But like that's the ironic

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Speaker 2: thing is like I would say Embiid is the best

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Speaker 2: perimeter scorer of the group by far. Like if it

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Speaker 2: was like king of the court starting from the top

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Speaker 2: of the key to drible limit, I'd give me Ad

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Speaker 2: over Mbid and Ad. Excuse me, give me Embiid over

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Speaker 2: Ad and Jokic any day of the week. But in

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Speaker 2: terms of everything that a big guy needs to do

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Speaker 2: for a basketball team, that's where Ad and Yokic have

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Speaker 2: the edge. Running the floor, winning physical rebound battles. Remember

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Speaker 2: when Embid was getting his ass kicked on the glass

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Speaker 2: against Serbia in the fourth quarter. Short range scoring in

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Speaker 2: ball screens, short range scoring against switches, finished around the rim,

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Speaker 2: All of those things are actually more important to the

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Speaker 2: center position than perimeter scoring, and they're all areas where

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Speaker 2: MB could stand to improve significantly. Play type data from

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Speaker 2: Synergy he only ran twenty seven inverted ball screens all year,

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Speaker 2: but he did pretty well. He got thirty four points

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Speaker 2: out of them including passes, which is one point twenty

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Speaker 2: six points per possession. Two hundred and ninety seven ISOs

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Speaker 2: for three hundred and twenty one points. That was one

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Speaker 2: point zero eight points per possession, or the eighty first percentile.

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Speaker 2: That ranked eighth out of twenty four players to run

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Speaker 2: at least two hundred and fifty, so he's one of

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Speaker 2: the better ISO players in the league. Last year, post

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Speaker 2: ups three hundred and eighteen reps for three hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty one points. That's one point zero one point one

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Speaker 2: zero points per possession. That ranked fourth out of eighteen

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Speaker 2: players to run at least two hundred fifty, So he's

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Speaker 2: one of the best ISO and post up guys in

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Speaker 2: the league last year. The adjustments that I was talking

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Speaker 2: about with Nick Nurse that led to more assists from

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Speaker 2: Joel Embiid last year. The two main things that I

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Speaker 2: noticed better distribution of his touches in the Embiid ran

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Speaker 2: the majority of his post ups from the left block.

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Speaker 2: He actually ran over fifty percent of his post ups

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Speaker 2: from the left block. And one of the issues you

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Speaker 2: have with that specific situation is Embid loves to face

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Speaker 2: up and then rip through to the right, and so

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Speaker 2: as a result, he's catching on the left block, he's

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Speaker 2: turning and facing and when he rips through, he's ripping

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00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,520
Speaker 2: through and ending up in all of that traffic. Well,

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Speaker 2: last year there was a significant shift to more balance,

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Speaker 2: a lot more touches from the right block, a lot

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Speaker 2: more touches from the middle of the floor as well

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Speaker 2: as matter of fact, if I remember correctly, about as

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Speaker 2: many post touches from the middle of the floor as

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Speaker 2: he did the entire previous season, despite playing in like

395
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Speaker 2: half as many games. And with that respect, there's a

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Speaker 2: couple different things. One from that right block when he

397
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Speaker 2: wants to rip through towards the baseline, it's just less

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Speaker 2: crowded over there. And then two, especially from the middle

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Speaker 2: of the floor, that's actually the area where it's hardest

400
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,639
Speaker 2: to double team and Embiid again, we saw an increase

401
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Speaker 2: in turnovers, which is to be expected because that's actually

402
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,199
Speaker 2: one of the hardest places to pass out of. But

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Speaker 2: from that spot on the floor is when you can

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Speaker 2: make defenses pay for doubling. And we saw a substantial

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Speaker 2: increase in Embiid's passing ability last year. One of the

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Speaker 2: other things, the second piece that I noticed from Nick

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Speaker 2: Nurse was just always keeping usually tyres maaxy, but always

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00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,119
Speaker 2: an excellent above the break shooter that was one pass away.

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Speaker 2: Ad has a similar problem, but like Embiid when he

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Speaker 2: gets double teams kind of just wants to get rid

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Speaker 2: of the ball to the first outlet, like he's more

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Speaker 2: interested in just getting rid of it without turning it

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Speaker 2: over rather than making the kill pass that beats the

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Speaker 2: double team, right. And so one of the things there

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Speaker 2: is like if you just make it so that the

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Speaker 2: guy who's throwing that post entry pass and is standing

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Speaker 2: on the wing, you know, ten fifteen feet away, is

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Speaker 2: a guy who's a deadly above the break shooter, especially

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Speaker 2: one they could shoot a little behind the line, like

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Speaker 2: in that twenty five to twenty eight foot kind of range.

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Speaker 2: When you have that, those are easy kickout passes for

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Speaker 2: Embiid that he can knock down or that that he

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Speaker 2: can make the redconsistently and that shooter can knock down

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Speaker 2: and I thought that was a big part of the

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Speaker 2: increased bit of assist volume that we saw from him. Again,

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Speaker 2: Embid may have his limitations, but when he's healthy, he's

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Speaker 2: a force to be reckoned with. And Darryl Moore is

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00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,919
Speaker 2: surrounded him with a ton of talent, very specifically with

429
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:13,560
Speaker 2: talent that helps address embads specific weaknesses. But the reality

430
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,200
Speaker 2: is that he's a harder player to build a championship

431
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:18,760
Speaker 2: level roster around than the guys that I have above

432
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,080
Speaker 2: him because of his issues that extend all the way

433
00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,640
Speaker 2: from October to June. So I have him at eleven

434
00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:25,960
Speaker 2: on this list.

435
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 1: Preparing for your upcoming fantasy football draft, do you wish

436
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437
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438
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442
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,880
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443
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445
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446
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448
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,360
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449
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450
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,800
Speaker 2: Number ten Steph Current. This is another guy that I

451
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,720
Speaker 2: really struggled with where to rank on this list, and

452
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,640
Speaker 2: the main reason is that, aside from those last two

453
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,280
Speaker 2: games at the end of the Olympics, Steph has been

454
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,240
Speaker 2: in an extended slump. His numbers were down across the

455
00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:41,920
Speaker 2: board last year from the previous year. His points were down,

456
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:44,119
Speaker 2: his rebounds were down, his assists were down, his steals

457
00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:46,480
Speaker 2: were down, his blocks were down, his field goal percentage

458
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 2: was down, his three point percentage was down, like substantially

459
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,720
Speaker 2: across the board. He really struggled to end the year.

460
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 2: From February twenty third to the end of the season,

461
00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,320
Speaker 2: Steph played in twenty three games, averaged just twenty two

462
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,120
Speaker 2: point seven ten points per game, four point eight rebounds,

463
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:05,159
Speaker 2: five point two assists, just forty one point nine percent

464
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,159
Speaker 2: from the field, and just thirty seven point five percent

465
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,320
Speaker 2: from three, which is solid by NBA standards, but for Steph,

466
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,040
Speaker 2: that's not the three point percentage you expect to see

467
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,719
Speaker 2: for him. So for basically the last third of the season,

468
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:20,919
Speaker 2: forget about shooting slump. Steph just wasn't even playing at

469
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,960
Speaker 2: a superstar level anymore. One last stat to drive this

470
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,560
Speaker 2: home twenty twenty one, which was the last time that

471
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,800
Speaker 2: Steph played a truly great regular season. It was the

472
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 2: last time he finished top five in MVP. He had

473
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,720
Speaker 2: twenty six games where he scored at least thirty five points.

474
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,640
Speaker 2: Last year he had just eleven games where he scored

475
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,119
Speaker 2: at least thirty five points, despite the fact that he

476
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,040
Speaker 2: played in eleven more games than he played in the

477
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,280
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one season. All you have to do is

478
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,080
Speaker 2: go look at my YouTube comments, especially on the Brunson video,

479
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,360
Speaker 2: the Mitchell video, or the John Mourant video. A lot

480
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,000
Speaker 2: of those fan bases, all those fan bases think their

481
00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,680
Speaker 2: guy is better than Steph at this point, and I disagree.

482
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:01,640
Speaker 2: A lot of people don't think Steph's at a top

483
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,399
Speaker 2: ten player playing at a top ten level anymore. I disagree.

484
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:10,280
Speaker 2: So here are the three reasons that I think Steph

485
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,840
Speaker 2: is still a top ten player in the NBA, and

486
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,200
Speaker 2: then I think he is poised for a bounce back

487
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:19,600
Speaker 2: season this year. Number one, Steph has by far the

488
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,280
Speaker 2: most limited supporting cast out of anybody in the Superstar tier.

489
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 2: He does not have a legitimate secondary ball handler. His

490
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:31,400
Speaker 2: best option there is probably Brandon Pazemski, who I think

491
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,200
Speaker 2: will probably start this year, and he's a fine young player,

492
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,800
Speaker 2: but you'd prefer him as your third or fourth best

493
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 2: ball handler. And obviously you prefer somebody a little more

494
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:42,640
Speaker 2: experienced to give in the age group that Steph Curry

495
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 2: and Raymond Green are playing from right, And even with

496
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:47,639
Speaker 2: Chris Paul last year, between the injuries and just his

497
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,840
Speaker 2: limited ability at this phase in his career, Steph just

498
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,160
Speaker 2: hasn't been surrounded by a secondary ball handler. This puts

499
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,440
Speaker 2: a ton of pressure on Steph to create absolutely everything,

500
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:00,919
Speaker 2: and I thought he wore down over the course of

501
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:02,920
Speaker 2: the season as a result. I thought that was directly

502
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,760
Speaker 2: responsible for the slump that he faced towards the end.

503
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,320
Speaker 2: Some of the most aggressive defensive coverages I've ever seen

504
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,000
Speaker 2: thrown at Steph because everyone just knew throw the kitchen

505
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,359
Speaker 2: sink at Steph and they don't have the talent on

506
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,720
Speaker 2: the backside to make you pay, and I thought that

507
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,480
Speaker 2: was a big part of why his efficiency in his

508
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,240
Speaker 2: volume took a hit. The rest of the roster was

509
00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,040
Speaker 2: a plethora of wings that were either super inconsistent like

510
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,520
Speaker 2: Andrew Wiggins or super young raw you know, flawed wings

511
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:31,920
Speaker 2: like Jonathan Kaminga and Moses Moody, who both could be

512
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,000
Speaker 2: very good players in the long run, but they're basically

513
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:39,080
Speaker 2: kids by NBA standards. Right. Tray Jackson Davis a really

514
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,719
Speaker 2: nice pickup for the front court, but Kevon Loonie kind

515
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 2: of lost a step last year and they're still very

516
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,400
Speaker 2: much on the undersize side of things in that front court. Right.

517
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,560
Speaker 2: Basketball is a team sport, and it is hard to

518
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,119
Speaker 2: win games in the modern NBA with the way that

519
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,439
Speaker 2: this roster is built, which is why we've all been

520
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 2: begging for them to make a more aggressive deal, which

521
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,639
Speaker 2: they haven't been able to do at this point. But

522
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,920
Speaker 2: the point is the first reason I think that Steph

523
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,440
Speaker 2: is still top ten is that I believe if he

524
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:08,040
Speaker 2: were given a supporting cast like the Knicks, for instance,

525
00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 2: I think he'd return to that superstar level basically immediately

526
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 2: and I mentioned this in the Brunson mail bag. I said,

527
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,960
Speaker 2: if the Knicks traded bruns And for Steph straight up today,

528
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,680
Speaker 2: that the Knicks title odds with Skyrocket. I think that

529
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,440
Speaker 2: that's a strong indicator of the way that Vegas at least,

530
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,320
Speaker 2: and I think that we all feel about Steph Curry,

531
00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,720
Speaker 2: which is he's just kind of in a bad situation

532
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,320
Speaker 2: right now, But that doesn't necessarily mean that he's not

533
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,720
Speaker 2: the same basketball player that we knew he was capable

534
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:35,120
Speaker 2: of being. Number two. We've seen Steph enter into what

535
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:39,080
Speaker 2: looks like an extended slump before only to bounce back

536
00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:42,639
Speaker 2: in a huge way. He had a very similar extended

537
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,000
Speaker 2: slump at the end of the twenty twenty two season.

538
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,679
Speaker 2: He averaged just twenty three points per game, just like

539
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,240
Speaker 2: this year, over a thirty one game span a little

540
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,439
Speaker 2: bit longer than this year, with similarly low percentages by

541
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 2: Steph standards. The field goal percentage was a little higher,

542
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:57,880
Speaker 2: but the three point percentage was a little lower, and

543
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,880
Speaker 2: then he ripped off a classic Steph c playoff run

544
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:05,920
Speaker 2: and won the title. So like, it's just too soon

545
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 2: to write Steph off over shooting slump, because we've literally

546
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:11,240
Speaker 2: seen him bounce back from one before. Now, the main

547
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 2: difference is that twenty twenty two roster was a championship

548
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,280
Speaker 2: level roster and this one is not. But they did

549
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:19,720
Speaker 2: get a little bit better with some of their role

550
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:21,239
Speaker 2: player signings, and they do have a trade to make,

551
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,440
Speaker 2: which I want to get to in a little bit.

552
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,439
Speaker 2: But the simple fact is that just because Steph was

553
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 2: in his slump doesn't necessarily mean that it's over for him.

554
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,440
Speaker 2: And I thought that the last two Team USA games

555
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,399
Speaker 2: were a huge step in the right direction. He didn't

556
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:35,440
Speaker 2: just break out of his slump. He exploded out of

557
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 2: his slump in those two games. And about his high

558
00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,000
Speaker 2: stakes of the situation, as you can imagine, he looked

559
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 2: incredibly confident. He even looked relieved at times when he

560
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,280
Speaker 2: hit that three coming off with a curl from the

561
00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,040
Speaker 2: screen from embiid on that left wing, that the one

562
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,200
Speaker 2: that put USA up eighty seven eighty six. I think

563
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,440
Speaker 2: with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter, he

564
00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,280
Speaker 2: like ran down the floor with like a double fizz

565
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 2: bump like scream because you could just tell it's like

566
00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,200
Speaker 2: he's been working so hard and it's like he finally

567
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,400
Speaker 2: broke out when it really mattered right. I also generally

568
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 2: think that playing with Tmosa is a great launching pad

569
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 2: to start an NBA season from. And Steph is particularly

570
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,840
Speaker 2: motivated because he needs to demonstrate to the Warriors front

571
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,400
Speaker 2: office that they are worth investing in, and so I

572
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 2: expect him to come out and just attack the start

573
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 2: of the season next year. And then, lastly, the third

574
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 2: reason why I think Steph is still top ten. We've

575
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,320
Speaker 2: seen how slight tweaks in Golden State's role players can

576
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,800
Speaker 2: vault them up to another level. From twenty twenty one

577
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,680
Speaker 2: to twenty twenty two is roughly the same core. Steph

578
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 2: was even a better player in twenty twenty one, that

579
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,160
Speaker 2: was his last truly great regular season. But they just

580
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,360
Speaker 2: made a couple of tweaks, going from Kent Baysmore, Kelly

581
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 2: u Bray and Brad Wanamaker to Namanya bi elitza Otto

582
00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,720
Speaker 2: Porter junior, and just getting Klay Thompson back. Just those

583
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,960
Speaker 2: tweaks took them from a playing team all the way

584
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:57,240
Speaker 2: to winning the title. Kyle Anderson, Buddy Yield, and the

585
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 2: Anthony Melton all fit Golden State system very well. Kyle

586
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,360
Speaker 2: Anderson and the Anthony Melton in particular, really fit their

587
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:08,560
Speaker 2: defensive system, especially, and they have a trade to make. Now,

588
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 2: do I think they're going to go all the way

589
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,040
Speaker 2: into contention the way they did in twenty twenty two. No,

590
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,200
Speaker 2: But I do think, especially if they make that type

591
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,280
Speaker 2: of trade that we've been talking about, that they'll be

592
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,160
Speaker 2: in that middle tier of the West, which is a

593
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,680
Speaker 2: hell of a lot better than missing the playoffs the

594
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,320
Speaker 2: way they did last year. So, in summary, a lot

595
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,040
Speaker 2: of people are kicking Steph when he's down and pretending

596
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,560
Speaker 2: it's over for him, when the reality is that the

597
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 2: Warriors just didn't have a good basketball team last year,

598
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 2: and I think they have a chance to be better

599
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,200
Speaker 2: this year. I think Steph will be better this year,

600
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,600
Speaker 2: and if they make the right trade, they could potentially

601
00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:41,680
Speaker 2: make some noise. And again, like you gotta think a

602
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,440
Speaker 2: lot about what makes Steph great in particular, like beyond

603
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:47,840
Speaker 2: the actual scoring ability, and this is something I talked

604
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 2: about a lot with Timosa. I thought Steph was still

605
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,960
Speaker 2: providing quite a bit of positive impact even when he

606
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:58,320
Speaker 2: wasn't shooting well because people guard Steph like he's Steph Curry.

607
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 2: Now what that means is as he's running off of

608
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,680
Speaker 2: that wide pin down. He will sometimes drag two players

609
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 2: with them as they miscommunicate a switch and error on

610
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,680
Speaker 2: the side of getting Steph Curry. All of that is

611
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:14,480
Speaker 2: about creating openings for guys. Those openings have to be

612
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 2: capitalized on. They're not all dunks. We've all seen the dunks, right,

613
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,080
Speaker 2: Like we've all seen Steph run off of a baseline

614
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,320
Speaker 2: screen where the guy who sets the pick slips to

615
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:24,000
Speaker 2: the rim and Draymond hits him and it's just an

616
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,160
Speaker 2: easy dunk, right. He's a million of those over the

617
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,080
Speaker 2: course of Steph's career. Those easy ones are great, but

618
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,360
Speaker 2: it's less about that, and it's more about converting small advantages.

619
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:35,200
Speaker 2: When Steph is being guarded like that. There are all

620
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:38,560
Speaker 2: sorts of small advantages that appear on the floor, and

621
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,840
Speaker 2: high level basketball players can capitalize on those small advantages,

622
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,840
Speaker 2: grow them into bigger advantages, and then finish the plays.

623
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,479
Speaker 2: But you have to have the talent to make up

624
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,280
Speaker 2: for that. And so that's the thing is like when

625
00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,520
Speaker 2: it comes to Steph, there's just nobody that's guarded the

626
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,760
Speaker 2: way that he's guarded as he's running down the floor

627
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,000
Speaker 2: around screens and stuff like that, regardless of what his

628
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,480
Speaker 2: actual shooting percentages are, so he is one of the

629
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,960
Speaker 2: guys that specifically benefits from having surrounding talent that can

630
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,840
Speaker 2: capitalize on those openings, and he just hasn't had access

631
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:13,200
Speaker 2: to that in the last season. So before we move

632
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,000
Speaker 2: on to our mailbag, our just quick grip through of

633
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,200
Speaker 2: Steph's numbers from last year. Seventy four games played, twenty

634
00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,680
Speaker 2: six point four points per game, four point five rebounds

635
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:24,640
Speaker 2: per game, five point one assists, one point one stocks.

636
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 2: He definitely is starting to show a little bit of

637
00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,160
Speaker 2: a decline on the defensive end of the four shooting

638
00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 2: splits forty five percent from the field, forty one percent

639
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,640
Speaker 2: from three, ninety two percent from the line, which amounts

640
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 2: to fifty seven percent in effective field goal percentage and

641
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,200
Speaker 2: sixty two percent in true shooting percentage. Shooting numbers perc

642
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 2: energy one point one six points per jump shot, one

643
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:46,560
Speaker 2: point three to one points per catch and shoot jump shot,

644
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,400
Speaker 2: which is obviously absurd, one point zero five points per

645
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,200
Speaker 2: pull up jump shot, a little down from some of

646
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 2: his previous seasons. Forty four percent on floaters, a little

647
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,480
Speaker 2: over one attempt per game, sixty percent at the rim,

648
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,160
Speaker 2: which is like incredible for a ball guards surrounded by

649
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,840
Speaker 2: the poor shooting, or that that golden state surrounds him with.

650
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,720
Speaker 2: That's what's crazy. Steph sixty percent at the rim, Joel

651
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:10,560
Speaker 2: embiids sixty four percent at the rim. Like that goes

652
00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 2: to show you kind of what I was talking about

653
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,840
Speaker 2: earlier with embiid playtype data perc Entergy Pick and Roll

654
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,160
Speaker 2: barely missed our high volume list. He ran nine hundred

655
00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,640
Speaker 2: and seventy nine reps, but he got one and twenty

656
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,160
Speaker 2: five points, which is one point zero five points per possession.

657
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,880
Speaker 2: That would have ranked had he got those extra twenty

658
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,880
Speaker 2: one reps, that would have ranked tenth on that list

659
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,720
Speaker 2: of twenty five players had he hit that one thousand

660
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:35,320
Speaker 2: of rep mark. But that also amounted to the seventy

661
00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:40,000
Speaker 2: seventh percentile. Percentergy ISO numbers lastly, one point zero six

662
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,280
Speaker 2: points per possession one hundred and sixty seven reps. That's

663
00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 2: in the seventy sixth percentile. I'm rooting for Steph this year.

664
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,280
Speaker 2: Is my second favorite player of all time, behind Lebron.

665
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:50,560
Speaker 2: I think people are writing him off too soon. Like

666
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:53,800
Speaker 2: I talked about earlier, I've personally been wrong about him before.

667
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:55,080
Speaker 2: I was talking a lot at the end of the

668
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,640
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one season about like this is weird, like

669
00:33:57,720 --> 00:33:58,760
Speaker 2: what's going on here?

670
00:33:59,240 --> 00:33:59,400
Speaker 1: Now?

671
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:01,320
Speaker 2: I never actually he said he was declining, but I

672
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 2: was a little worried, and I'm so glad that he

673
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 2: proved me wrong, and I'm hoping that he proves me

674
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 2: wrong or proves all of us wrong again as we

675
00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,279
Speaker 2: head into this upcoming season. All right, guys, let's get

676
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:18,600
Speaker 2: into that mailbag. Love the content, Jason. I just want

677
00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,439
Speaker 2: to point out how incredible it is that Steph Curry

678
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,799
Speaker 2: has an argument of being a top ten player ever

679
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:25,279
Speaker 2: if he's not already there with a height of six

680
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,799
Speaker 2: to two in a game like basketball, the fact that

681
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,480
Speaker 2: he has done more winning with less size and weight

682
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 2: than any other player is truly remarkable, and I think

683
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,120
Speaker 2: it needs to be talked about more. I totally agree,

684
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:37,960
Speaker 2: And to take it further, I think he's easily one

685
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 2: of the ten best players ever. And I have him

686
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,560
Speaker 2: as the fifth best perimeter player ever, which is crazy

687
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,640
Speaker 2: because both of those lists are dominated by guys. Even

688
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,120
Speaker 2: the perimeter player lists are dominated by guys with crazy

689
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:52,279
Speaker 2: physical gifts. The guards are six six for the forty

690
00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,840
Speaker 2: inch vertical, the wings are six ' eight six ' nine.

691
00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:59,560
Speaker 2: You know, guys like Lebron or super super strong, or

692
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,440
Speaker 2: like guys are super fast, like there, he just is

693
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:05,319
Speaker 2: the one outlier on that list. And that's kind of

694
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,080
Speaker 2: how I refer to this is the best way that

695
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,560
Speaker 2: I could put it. When I see other small players,

696
00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,719
Speaker 2: I talk about Steph as the exception that proves the rule.

697
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:16,279
Speaker 2: Like just because Steph did it, didn't mean everyone else,

698
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,440
Speaker 2: can you know what I mean? That's how different a

699
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:20,880
Speaker 2: guy like Steph is than other guys that would frequently

700
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,640
Speaker 2: get lumped in with him that aren't necessarily at that level,

701
00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,359
Speaker 2: guys like Damian Lillard for instance, right, even guys who

702
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:28,840
Speaker 2: were great athletes like remember when Russell Westbrook got compared

703
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:32,040
Speaker 2: to Steph a lot in that like twenty fifteen twenty

704
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,040
Speaker 2: sixteen stretch, Like, Steph just was consistently a more winning

705
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 2: player than all of them despite not having the tools

706
00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:43,000
Speaker 2: that they had. Regarding Luca putting on weight, there's a

707
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,960
Speaker 2: bit of a trade off. Yes, by adding weight, he's

708
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:46,960
Speaker 2: lost some speed and quickness. However, it's allowed him to

709
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,759
Speaker 2: be a much better post player, where he's been able

710
00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,040
Speaker 2: to be quite efficient and generate high quality offense for

711
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,920
Speaker 2: his team, wouldn't you agree. His best run also came

712
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:55,520
Speaker 2: last year, when he was bigger than he was in

713
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,759
Speaker 2: the bubble. However, this time the MAVs put the right

714
00:35:57,760 --> 00:35:59,680
Speaker 2: pieces around him and it led to a finals run.

715
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:01,719
Speaker 2: I don't think Luca being as slim as he was

716
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:03,480
Speaker 2: in the Bubble is best for him, as he lose

717
00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:06,320
Speaker 2: that strength advantage he has against other guards, which I

718
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:09,080
Speaker 2: believe is worth losing some speed, as he's proven even

719
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:11,040
Speaker 2: at a higher weight he can function as an adequate

720
00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:13,839
Speaker 2: defender if engaged. Love showing the content. Nice to have

721
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:16,040
Speaker 2: someone like you in the space of lots of talking

722
00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,879
Speaker 2: heads looking for clicks. Thank you for supporting the show.

723
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:22,400
Speaker 2: I really appreciate it. So a couple things. There was

724
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,800
Speaker 2: a video that was going around of Luca's game winner

725
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:26,759
Speaker 2: against the Clippers in the Bubble in twenty twenty, and

726
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,200
Speaker 2: he looked like really thin compared to the way he

727
00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:34,080
Speaker 2: looks now now. A couple of things. I do agree

728
00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:37,920
Speaker 2: that there's an advantage that comes from being bigger and stronger.

729
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,680
Speaker 2: That's just a fact. And I'm sure there are some

730
00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,760
Speaker 2: situations now where Luca is able to bully some players

731
00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,280
Speaker 2: that maybe he didn't used to. Be able to. However,

732
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,920
Speaker 2: Luca was still bullying guys back then, and I'm not

733
00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 2: saying that he needs to just go get skinny. Ideally,

734
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 2: there's a version of this where he's in peak shape

735
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:02,480
Speaker 2: and he has the same amount of weight maybe that

736
00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:06,399
Speaker 2: he has now, but it's more functional because it makes

737
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:10,000
Speaker 2: him mobile because it's muscle instead of body fat. That's

738
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,480
Speaker 2: what we're all talking about. And like, I mean, I

739
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,400
Speaker 2: think there's another question about Luca later on if I

740
00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,040
Speaker 2: remember correctly, and we'll get to it here in a minute,

741
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:20,320
Speaker 2: but like, that's really the thing that I think resonates

742
00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:22,160
Speaker 2: with everybody when they're watching. It's not just that he's

743
00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,400
Speaker 2: struggling on defense. It's that he's struggling on defense and

744
00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:28,160
Speaker 2: he looks kind of chubby. That's where it has like

745
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,439
Speaker 2: a bad optic element to it. Hey, Jason, as I mentioned,

746
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:34,279
Speaker 2: great list so far, but this is another part of

747
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,239
Speaker 2: the ranking that's interesting. I understand the availability part with

748
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,800
Speaker 2: Jimmy over Kawhi, but Jimmy's availability is on the decline,

749
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,640
Speaker 2: as you noted, while his actual game is on the

750
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,640
Speaker 2: decline too, Kawhi is still a superior player in a

751
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:46,959
Speaker 2: vacuum on both ends. And his game age is better.

752
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,480
Speaker 2: Can you give a bit more of a basketball reason

753
00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:52,520
Speaker 2: why he's over Jimmy? Splitting hairs? But I just believe

754
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:54,560
Speaker 2: Kawhi is and will continue to be a better player

755
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:56,200
Speaker 2: in a vacuum this season. Keep up the great work.

756
00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:58,680
Speaker 2: I'm assuming you mean that Jimmy's over him, But it's

757
00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:02,640
Speaker 2: a couple of things. Jimmy is availability issues, but nowhere

758
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:05,120
Speaker 2: near to the extent that Kawhi has. I pulled the

759
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,480
Speaker 2: numbers yesterday, but I want to say since going to

760
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:10,400
Speaker 2: the Heat, Jimmy's averaged I think fifty eight games played,

761
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,360
Speaker 2: and then I want to say Kawhi is like around

762
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:17,680
Speaker 2: like forty three games played since the bubble. So, like

763
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:21,640
Speaker 2: the availability issues, they both have had issues, but Kawhi

764
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,239
Speaker 2: issues have been far more substantial. Jimmy Butler has had

765
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,920
Speaker 2: some playoff issues, right, like he missed this playoff series

766
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:29,439
Speaker 2: this year. However, it was kind of a flukey type

767
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,200
Speaker 2: of injury. It wasn't like a ware and tarringer. He

768
00:38:32,239 --> 00:38:34,200
Speaker 2: was like a flukey type of injury. But then he's

769
00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:36,480
Speaker 2: also had incidences like remember in twenty twenty two when

770
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:38,239
Speaker 2: he had like a couple of really bad games in

771
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:40,800
Speaker 2: the Conference Finals because his knee was hurt, Like Jimmy's

772
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:43,600
Speaker 2: always banged up and has issues, but it's just a

773
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,719
Speaker 2: completely different level than what Kawhi has been dealing with.

774
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,080
Speaker 2: I agree for the record that Kawi is a much

775
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,399
Speaker 2: better player when he's healthy. The only reason I put

776
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:53,560
Speaker 2: Jimmy Butler over him is I just think Jimmy's more

777
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,560
Speaker 2: available and more reliable. But again, as we've discussed, it's

778
00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:59,839
Speaker 2: splitting hairs. It's impossible to kind of account for all

779
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:02,800
Speaker 2: that properly. I kind of intended on using that twelve

780
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:07,080
Speaker 2: thirteen Jimmy Kawhi tier as like a gap tier, just

781
00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:09,280
Speaker 2: because I view both of them as kind of outliers

782
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:10,880
Speaker 2: compared to some of the other guys on this list.

783
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:14,239
Speaker 2: Do you think Chris hops Porzingis would be a top

784
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:16,239
Speaker 2: twenty five player if he could stay healthy for an

785
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:19,359
Speaker 2: entire season. He was incredibly impactful on the floor, as

786
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,080
Speaker 2: evident by Game one of the NBA Finals. That first

787
00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,360
Speaker 2: half run in Game one was incredible, just everything, the

788
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:27,040
Speaker 2: pick and pop three is, the rim protection, the beating

789
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,760
Speaker 2: switches at the high post, that like it was everything,

790
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,880
Speaker 2: And so I would agree, I think it's certainly possible.

791
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,439
Speaker 2: I mean, he definitely would have made my preliminary risk

792
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:38,760
Speaker 2: if he was a preliminary list, if he was consistently healthy,

793
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,440
Speaker 2: which he just hasn't been. Maybe he'll maybe he'll be

794
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:43,440
Speaker 2: more lucky on that end next year, and then we'll

795
00:39:43,440 --> 00:40:02,400
Speaker 2: get to have that conversation in a more serious context. Jason,

796
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:04,239
Speaker 2: I really wish you would stop saying the twenty twenty

797
00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,120
Speaker 2: two Celtics team was the most talented team in the league.

798
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 2: They weren't even favored in the first round of the playoffs.

799
00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:11,399
Speaker 2: They were not favored in the finals either. Marcus Smart

800
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,680
Speaker 2: was the third best player and had Grant Williams as

801
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:16,640
Speaker 2: a starter. Robert Williams was massively injured as well. Other

802
00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:20,759
Speaker 2: than that, love the content, so it certainly wasn't by

803
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,600
Speaker 2: as big of a margin as it was this year.

804
00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:23,960
Speaker 2: But I still think they were the best, like I

805
00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:27,839
Speaker 2: think this year's Celtics are. Last year, I should say,

806
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:29,960
Speaker 2: were more talented than everybody in the league by a

807
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,239
Speaker 2: wide margin. I thought in twenty twenty two they were

808
00:40:32,239 --> 00:40:34,440
Speaker 2: the most talented in the league by a small margin,

809
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:37,040
Speaker 2: and it was kind of a similarly built top five,

810
00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,120
Speaker 2: like it was a younger Al Horford. As you're shooting

811
00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,560
Speaker 2: five right. Then you had Marcus Martin Derek White as

812
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,360
Speaker 2: your like two way guys, right, and then you had

813
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,560
Speaker 2: Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, which, by the way, it

814
00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,839
Speaker 2: was a much better version of Jason Tatum at that point.

815
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,600
Speaker 2: Like Jason Tatum was a very good playoff player for

816
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,279
Speaker 2: the first three rounds of that playoff run, he was

817
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:00,040
Speaker 2: a much lesser version of himself, especially on the offensive end.

818
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:03,719
Speaker 2: In this past season. They also had a big look

819
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:06,440
Speaker 2: with Robert Williams is very different than chrisops porzingis, but

820
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,680
Speaker 2: they had that as a big look. Now, again, I

821
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:10,640
Speaker 2: don't think it was by a wide margin, but I

822
00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:12,640
Speaker 2: do think that Celtics team was the most talented team

823
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:14,200
Speaker 2: in the league. I want this to be a two

824
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:15,680
Speaker 2: parter though, and we can get back to this on

825
00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:19,120
Speaker 2: Wednesday if you want to leave another mailbag response, but

826
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,000
Speaker 2: who would you have ranked, Like, which team do you

827
00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:24,920
Speaker 2: think was more talented than the twenty twenty two Celtics.

828
00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:26,959
Speaker 2: Let me know in the comments. We can get into

829
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:30,239
Speaker 2: that on Wednesday. Hey, Jason, you were by far my

830
00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:32,959
Speaker 2: favorite NBA YouTuber, probably the best basketball mind in the media.

831
00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:35,719
Speaker 2: That's very, very nice of you to say, do you

832
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,279
Speaker 2: think that Max Christie at Austin Reeves, d Lo, Gabe

833
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,160
Speaker 2: Vincent can be a sufficient backcourt if Max Christi can

834
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:44,720
Speaker 2: contribute to some of the defensive and athletic worries, especially

835
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:48,640
Speaker 2: if Vanderbilt is healthy this season. I think healthy Gabe

836
00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:51,680
Speaker 2: and Van do with Max Christie kind of in just

837
00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:54,440
Speaker 2: like a larger role. I think that certainly would help

838
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:57,239
Speaker 2: them in the regular season context, just simply because like

839
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,960
Speaker 2: you're eating innings over eighty two games, and like Gabe

840
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,319
Speaker 2: was out most of the year, Jared Vanderbilt was out

841
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:05,479
Speaker 2: most of the year. Max Christy was on the fringe

842
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,839
Speaker 2: of the rotation for lesser players most of the year,

843
00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:11,120
Speaker 2: and so by kind of infusing that into the roster,

844
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:13,359
Speaker 2: that will certainly help. But none of those guys are

845
00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:16,000
Speaker 2: what I would consider to be like rock solid two

846
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:20,120
Speaker 2: way starters, right like and rock solid two way starters.

847
00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:22,000
Speaker 2: These are the guys that you see on these championship

848
00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:26,760
Speaker 2: championship teams. Guys like Derek White, Guys like Kentavious Caldwell

849
00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,960
Speaker 2: Pope on that Nuggets team, Guys like Aaron Gordon going

850
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,680
Speaker 2: back to the Warriors, like what Andrew Wiggins was before

851
00:42:32,719 --> 00:42:35,960
Speaker 2: he declined, right, Like, those are what I would consider

852
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:39,120
Speaker 2: to be rock solid starters. Klay Thompson circa twenty twenty

853
00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:41,680
Speaker 2: two was kind of a rock solid starter. Going back

854
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,560
Speaker 2: to twenty twenty one, a guy like Brook Lopez rock

855
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:48,279
Speaker 2: solid starter. The Lakers just don't have that outside of

856
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:51,239
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis. And so even

857
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:54,960
Speaker 2: though Gabe and Van do and Max Christy supplements specific

858
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,200
Speaker 2: needs in terms of perimeter defense, they have other issues

859
00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:00,520
Speaker 2: that they bring to the table. Right. Gabe is and

860
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,319
Speaker 2: is kind of a streaky shooter. Jared Vanderbilt's a very

861
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:06,839
Speaker 2: limited offensive player, right. Max Chrissy is very very young

862
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,000
Speaker 2: and struggles when he puts the ball on the floor

863
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:10,960
Speaker 2: to make decisions, right. And so there's a lack of

864
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:13,920
Speaker 2: reliability on a consistent basis with those guys, which prevents

865
00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:17,080
Speaker 2: them from being like rock solid starters. But I think

866
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,360
Speaker 2: you can get away with a Jared Vanderbilt or a

867
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:22,600
Speaker 2: Gabe or even a Max starting in a playoff run

868
00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:24,600
Speaker 2: as long as you get a third star, like if

869
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:28,919
Speaker 2: it was Austin Lebron ad some other star and then

870
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:33,080
Speaker 2: you had a limited fifth starter. That's one thing. But

871
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:36,480
Speaker 2: if they can't get like a rock solid star, then

872
00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:40,400
Speaker 2: I think you need two rock solid starters between Austin,

873
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,359
Speaker 2: Lebron and Ad. Does that make sense? So like, if

874
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,040
Speaker 2: I'm seeing Gabe or Van Dos start playoff games for

875
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,160
Speaker 2: the Lakers, I'm hoping that there's a star in there

876
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:50,520
Speaker 2: somewhere that they went after, because otherwise I don't think

877
00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:52,960
Speaker 2: they have what they need in that starting lineup. But

878
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:55,239
Speaker 2: thank you for the kind words and for supporting the show.

879
00:43:55,239 --> 00:43:59,640
Speaker 2: I do sincerely appreciate your guys' support. And as you

880
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:02,440
Speaker 2: guys all know, there's plenty of negativity, especially every time

881
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:06,360
Speaker 2: player rankings come around, and so you guys always outweigh

882
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,320
Speaker 2: that many times over. Jason, the MAVs defense wasn't the

883
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:11,360
Speaker 2: issue in the finals. I'd argue that their defense actually

884
00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:13,880
Speaker 2: held up pretty well. It was the offense that totally collapsed.

885
00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:16,279
Speaker 2: Luca had a bad defensive performance in the finals. That

886
00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:18,279
Speaker 2: much is true, but his defense has only improved year

887
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:20,480
Speaker 2: over year, and as you pointed out, Boston is incredibly

888
00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:23,800
Speaker 2: unique in being able to attack in that department. Luca,

889
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:25,880
Speaker 2: being a liability on defense really only showed up in

890
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:27,360
Speaker 2: the finals, and he was still the best player on

891
00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:29,600
Speaker 2: the court while his co star and supporting cast totally

892
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:32,280
Speaker 2: flat lined. And while it's not an excuse, but people

893
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:34,640
Speaker 2: are still not even taking into account his banged up

894
00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:37,839
Speaker 2: knees slashed playing through injury while carrying the level of

895
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:41,080
Speaker 2: offensive load. The criticism of Luca's defense is definitely warranted,

896
00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:43,520
Speaker 2: but in my opinion, it's gone overboard, and this is

897
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:45,880
Speaker 2: the continuation of what we were talking about earlier. I

898
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:48,239
Speaker 2: think the main reason that people are pointing to is

899
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:51,000
Speaker 2: that it has something to do with his conditioning, Like

900
00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:53,680
Speaker 2: he looks like someone who doesn't care about being in

901
00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:57,560
Speaker 2: peak shape. So then when he gets hurt, people are

902
00:44:57,600 --> 00:44:59,799
Speaker 2: going to associate it with the fact that he's not

903
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,640
Speaker 2: in peak shape, and so then that kind of puts

904
00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:05,960
Speaker 2: a different optic around Like the optics around it are

905
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:09,080
Speaker 2: just different, right. I agree that Boston is a bad matchup,

906
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:11,440
Speaker 2: and I do think Luca is capable of holding up

907
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,560
Speaker 2: defensively in the majority of matchups, which is why I

908
00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:16,880
Speaker 2: still have him extremely high on this list. For the record,

909
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:20,360
Speaker 2: when I was ranking Luca on this list, the Boston

910
00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:23,080
Speaker 2: series didn't have any sort of negative impact on it

911
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:24,960
Speaker 2: for me. But we'll get in more. We'll get more

912
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:28,520
Speaker 2: into that when we get to Luca, which will not

913
00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:30,759
Speaker 2: be until next week. That's how high he is up

914
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,719
Speaker 2: on this list. This is a very good question from

915
00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:37,560
Speaker 2: one of you guys. What is your personal definition of

916
00:45:37,719 --> 00:45:41,080
Speaker 2: clutch and what does a player need in order to

917
00:45:41,239 --> 00:45:47,080
Speaker 2: be clutch? So I'd say that there's I'd say it's okay,

918
00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:49,680
Speaker 2: this is the uh uh, I'm missing the second half

919
00:45:49,719 --> 00:45:52,440
Speaker 2: of your question here. Here it is. I'd say there's

920
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:54,600
Speaker 2: two main categories. Playing in a clutch game and having

921
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:58,120
Speaker 2: a clutch moment with the truly great players demonstrating both

922
00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:01,080
Speaker 2: time and time again as examples, if I need to

923
00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:03,120
Speaker 2: choose a point guard to come through in a really

924
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:05,560
Speaker 2: important game, I'd pick Steph Curry. But if I needed

925
00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:06,960
Speaker 2: to put a guard on the court to hit a

926
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,600
Speaker 2: game tying shot or a game winning shot, I'd want Kyrie.

927
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,600
Speaker 2: So this is a super interesting question. Clutch to me

928
00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:15,800
Speaker 2: is about so many different things. Everyone wants to focus

929
00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:19,560
Speaker 2: on shot making, right, like this is the Michael Jordan

930
00:46:19,600 --> 00:46:21,640
Speaker 2: three two one at the buzzer type of shot. Right

931
00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:25,319
Speaker 2: we saw Kobe Bryant was the next face of this

932
00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:27,920
Speaker 2: type of thing. Kevin Durant is the face of this

933
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:30,600
Speaker 2: kind of thing now along with guys like Kyrie Irving right,

934
00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:34,080
Speaker 2: But to me, clutch is so much more complicated than that.

935
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:38,680
Speaker 2: There's decision making with the ball right, not taking a

936
00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:41,520
Speaker 2: tough shot if you don't have to, making the right

937
00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:44,160
Speaker 2: reads when the defense is throwing multiple defenders at a star,

938
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:47,600
Speaker 2: not turning the basketball over, gameplay, and discipline. This is

939
00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:49,239
Speaker 2: mainly on the defensive end of the floor. So like

940
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:52,400
Speaker 2: avoiding mistakes like losing a shooter when you're playing off

941
00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:54,840
Speaker 2: the ball, doing the wrong thing in a coverage, like

942
00:46:54,880 --> 00:46:56,800
Speaker 2: if the coverage asks you to go over the screen

943
00:46:57,040 --> 00:46:58,680
Speaker 2: and you go under the screen and the guy hits

944
00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:00,960
Speaker 2: the three in a big time moment, you didn't do

945
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:04,239
Speaker 2: your job within the scheme right, missing a box out

946
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:06,799
Speaker 2: like that was the big thing I was talking about

947
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:09,640
Speaker 2: with Joel Embiiden that in that game against Serbia, It's like, oh,

948
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:12,400
Speaker 2: Embiid hit these three straight shots and they were huge shots,

949
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:14,319
Speaker 2: and I'm not trying to take that away. Those were

950
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:16,600
Speaker 2: huge feathers in his cap for that game. But then

951
00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:18,719
Speaker 2: he would go right down to the other end and

952
00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:21,440
Speaker 2: not do his job on the defensive glass. Like That's

953
00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:25,279
Speaker 2: also part of clutch basketball, like doing your job and

954
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:28,480
Speaker 2: not making mistakes is important because in the large sample

955
00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:31,080
Speaker 2: you can weather mistakes, but in the small sample, mistakes

956
00:47:31,120 --> 00:47:34,480
Speaker 2: can kill you. And then clutch defense like remember when

957
00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:37,520
Speaker 2: Giannis was like single handedly shutting down the Sun's pick

958
00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:39,960
Speaker 2: and roll at the end of the twenty twenty one finals,

959
00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:43,200
Speaker 2: or like Lebron his ability to switch onto guards like

960
00:47:43,239 --> 00:47:45,640
Speaker 2: when he switched on to Jamal Murray and the twenty

961
00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:48,239
Speaker 2: twenty Western Conference Finals, or when he switched on to

962
00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:52,440
Speaker 2: Derreck Rose the twenty eleven Eastern Conference Finals like that is.

963
00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:54,799
Speaker 2: Another element of being clutched is if you're just a

964
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:58,040
Speaker 2: defensive weapon that can be deployed that shuts down in

965
00:47:58,120 --> 00:48:00,600
Speaker 2: action at the end of games. So like io ball

966
00:48:00,640 --> 00:48:02,919
Speaker 2: is important, there are a lot of times where you'd

967
00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:05,080
Speaker 2: need someone to take and make tough shots. They are

968
00:48:05,120 --> 00:48:09,400
Speaker 2: an important part of clutch basketball. But simplifying clutch basketball

969
00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:13,440
Speaker 2: down to just ioball is a mistake in my opinion,

970
00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:16,720
Speaker 2: I don't understand how Kawhi, who hasn't played in forever,

971
00:48:16,880 --> 00:48:19,319
Speaker 2: is far ahead of John Moran, while prime Jaw is

972
00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:21,160
Speaker 2: nothing close to prime Kauai. I think the metric for

973
00:48:21,239 --> 00:48:22,880
Speaker 2: ranking should be consistent as you said in one of

974
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:25,920
Speaker 2: your mail bag responses. Availability as is as important as

975
00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:29,239
Speaker 2: ability Right now, I'd pick Jalen Brown, Devin Booker, and

976
00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:32,400
Speaker 2: Jalen Brunson ahead of Kawhi no offense. And again the

977
00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:36,360
Speaker 2: main thing for me here is Kawhi and Jimmy Butler

978
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:37,960
Speaker 2: were just kind of in like a separate tier, like

979
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,400
Speaker 2: I put him both at twelve and thirteen as like deliberately,

980
00:48:40,440 --> 00:48:42,680
Speaker 2: as like a gap tier. But the reality is, as

981
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:45,440
Speaker 2: far as Jah goes is, jaw has had similar availability

982
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,160
Speaker 2: issues and never has shown anything close to the same

983
00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:54,640
Speaker 2: stratosphere of playoff dominance as Kawhi Leonard did. Last question, Hey, Jason,

984
00:48:54,719 --> 00:48:56,560
Speaker 2: just wondering what you think of all the discourse surrounding

985
00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:58,799
Speaker 2: Steve Kerr lately. A ton of people on Twitter were

986
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:01,360
Speaker 2: trashing him during the Olympics for his lineup decisions and

987
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:04,279
Speaker 2: that vitriy all sort of started in Foba last year.

988
00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:06,200
Speaker 2: I think he did a perfectly fine job in Paris.

989
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:08,080
Speaker 2: Tatum wasn't playing well and Steph just needed to get

990
00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:10,680
Speaker 2: into a groove. Even before those last two games were

991
00:49:10,719 --> 00:49:12,600
Speaker 2: Stephan one nuclear, he was still demanding a ton of

992
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,400
Speaker 2: defensive attention, so his gravity had tremendous value. Do you

993
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:17,719
Speaker 2: think Kerr was deserving of the FOBA and Olympics head

994
00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:20,319
Speaker 2: coaching positions And what mistakes, if any, do you think

995
00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:22,720
Speaker 2: he made. Which coach in the league other than Spoe

996
00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:26,520
Speaker 2: is objectively better than him. So there's a huge difference

997
00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:31,239
Speaker 2: between mistakes and disagreements. Coaches have philosophies and a lot

998
00:49:31,239 --> 00:49:34,200
Speaker 2: of times they're trying to inflict those philosophies on to

999
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:38,640
Speaker 2: whatever their roster is now. For instance, Steve Kerr tends

1000
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:42,120
Speaker 2: to solve problems with ball handling and guard play, so

1001
00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:44,720
Speaker 2: he went with a lot of three guard lineups with Timosa,

1002
00:49:44,840 --> 00:49:47,800
Speaker 2: despite the fact that he had an excellent core of forwards.

1003
00:49:48,239 --> 00:49:52,200
Speaker 2: That's not necessarily a mistake. It's just not necessarily what

1004
00:49:52,719 --> 00:49:56,239
Speaker 2: I would do. But that's just because Kerr's basketball philosophy

1005
00:49:56,440 --> 00:49:59,160
Speaker 2: is different than mine, right, And so that's the thing.

1006
00:49:59,239 --> 00:50:03,680
Speaker 2: Like Steve Kerr, there's there was multiple pathways from when

1007
00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:05,800
Speaker 2: the roster was built to the gold medal. There was

1008
00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:09,960
Speaker 2: different ways to get there, different styles, different you know, rotations,

1009
00:50:10,440 --> 00:50:13,800
Speaker 2: different offensive schemes they could have run, different defensive schemes

1010
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:15,200
Speaker 2: they could have run. They could have done so many

1011
00:50:15,239 --> 00:50:17,920
Speaker 2: different things, right, Like we were talking before, like I wanted.

1012
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:21,120
Speaker 2: I was originally thinking Tatum would start. I was originally thinking, like,

1013
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:25,360
Speaker 2: oh Steph, Tatum, lebron Katie a d and just switch

1014
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:28,239
Speaker 2: everything right. Like, And here's the thing, I could have

1015
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:31,360
Speaker 2: coached Tmosa if I'm not saying I'm not qualified to

1016
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:35,120
Speaker 2: coach Tmosa, but if I happened to be just given

1017
00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:39,000
Speaker 2: that job for whatever damn reason, and I decided that

1018
00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:40,799
Speaker 2: that was how I was gonna do it, and I

1019
00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:43,480
Speaker 2: was gonna let it and beat an Aunt, you know,

1020
00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:46,080
Speaker 2: just take over the bench group, just letting them cook

1021
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:48,319
Speaker 2: on an island, and we ran more drop coverage with

1022
00:50:48,360 --> 00:50:50,040
Speaker 2: that group. And I'm not gonna get into all the things,

1023
00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:52,479
Speaker 2: but if I like built my own scheme, it would

1024
00:50:52,480 --> 00:50:54,560
Speaker 2: look different than what Steve Kerr did, and it's very

1025
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:56,640
Speaker 2: possible that we could have still won the title. That

1026
00:50:56,640 --> 00:50:59,439
Speaker 2: wouldn't mean that I was right and Steve Kerr was wrong,

1027
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:01,719
Speaker 2: or that Steve Kurz right and I was wrong. Like

1028
00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:03,919
Speaker 2: That's the main thing is like a lot of times

1029
00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:06,600
Speaker 2: we see a coach doing something and we just call

1030
00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:09,759
Speaker 2: it wrong or we call it mistake instead of just

1031
00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:14,359
Speaker 2: different philosophy. There are times where it's wrong, like when

1032
00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:17,799
Speaker 2: Darvin ham is playing Torrian Prince as the starter with

1033
00:51:17,840 --> 00:51:20,280
Speaker 2: the Lakers when he just simply has better basketball players

1034
00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:23,040
Speaker 2: available behind him, and it's actively causing them to lose

1035
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:25,560
Speaker 2: games as they go three to ten over a thirteen

1036
00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:29,439
Speaker 2: game stretch. That's different team to say won every damn game.

1037
00:51:30,719 --> 00:51:32,600
Speaker 2: And were there things that The main two things that

1038
00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:34,400
Speaker 2: I disagreed with is I thought he went a little

1039
00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:37,520
Speaker 2: small a few too many three guard lineups. And then

1040
00:51:37,560 --> 00:51:39,680
Speaker 2: I thought the way that he used Tatum was a

1041
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:44,319
Speaker 2: problem because specifically with Tatum, I thought it was a

1042
00:51:44,320 --> 00:51:47,600
Speaker 2: confidence thing, and I thought it could have been beneficial

1043
00:51:47,680 --> 00:51:50,400
Speaker 2: to lean more into Tatum early and hope that he

1044
00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:53,280
Speaker 2: got out of it in time for the Metal Round games.

1045
00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:55,960
Speaker 2: But Steve Kerr made a different decision. He's like, Tatum

1046
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:58,920
Speaker 2: doesn't have it, I'm gonna use him very sparingly. I'm

1047
00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:02,239
Speaker 2: gonna focus on these guys. And it worked. And so

1048
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:05,440
Speaker 2: that's the thing. Like I would imagine that if I

1049
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:08,759
Speaker 2: was coaching a basketball team in any sort of national context,

1050
00:52:09,160 --> 00:52:11,239
Speaker 2: there would be a lot of people who would disagree

1051
00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:13,680
Speaker 2: with things that I would do, and there would be

1052
00:52:13,719 --> 00:52:16,319
Speaker 2: things potentially where I was wrong, where it's like all

1053
00:52:16,360 --> 00:52:18,719
Speaker 2: the data says this, all the obvious eye test stuff

1054
00:52:18,760 --> 00:52:20,879
Speaker 2: says this, and I'm still doing this stupid ass thing.

1055
00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:24,239
Speaker 2: That's one thing, but there are a lot of things

1056
00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:26,640
Speaker 2: in basketball where it's like you could do this, or

1057
00:52:26,680 --> 00:52:29,560
Speaker 2: you could do this, and this scheme might work, or

1058
00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:32,879
Speaker 2: this scheme might work. Like member Boston in the twenty

1059
00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:34,839
Speaker 2: twenty two finals, they're like running a ton of drop

1060
00:52:34,880 --> 00:52:37,279
Speaker 2: coverage against Steph Curry, and there was a moment through

1061
00:52:37,320 --> 00:52:41,000
Speaker 2: three games where you're like, it's kind of working, like

1062
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:43,759
Speaker 2: Steph's not hitting enough shots to torch it. Like he's

1063
00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:47,200
Speaker 2: hitting some shots, but he's not hitting enough shots, and like,

1064
00:52:47,280 --> 00:52:49,480
Speaker 2: I guess the idea is you're keeping your defense out

1065
00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:54,479
Speaker 2: of rotation, so maybe this is working. And then Game

1066
00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:57,560
Speaker 2: four happens and Steph Curry lights your drop coverage on

1067
00:52:57,600 --> 00:53:00,759
Speaker 2: fire and you lose the finals, and then all of

1068
00:53:00,800 --> 00:53:02,480
Speaker 2: a sudden, it's not working. And so a lot of

1069
00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:05,520
Speaker 2: times we end up playing the results, like what if

1070
00:53:06,640 --> 00:53:10,280
Speaker 2: Tmusa doesn't come back to win that game against Serbia.

1071
00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:15,000
Speaker 2: Now everyone calls Steve Kerrn idiot, and that's just kind

1072
00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:18,680
Speaker 2: of the the reality of the job being the head

1073
00:53:18,719 --> 00:53:22,600
Speaker 2: coach of a you know, five plus billion dollar franchise

1074
00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:25,520
Speaker 2: in America, which comes with a ton of pressure. It's

1075
00:53:25,560 --> 00:53:29,879
Speaker 2: not an easy job. And that's the thing, Like I

1076
00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:32,399
Speaker 2: Steve Kerr did some things that if I had been

1077
00:53:32,440 --> 00:53:35,160
Speaker 2: coaching the team, I would have done differently. That doesn't

1078
00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:38,920
Speaker 2: make him wrong. It's just his specific basketball philosophy. And

1079
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,320
Speaker 2: he won the damn Trophy or the gold Medal, I

1080
00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:44,040
Speaker 2: should say, which is all that matters. I think Steve

1081
00:53:44,080 --> 00:53:46,319
Speaker 2: Kurr is the second best coach in the league behind

1082
00:53:46,920 --> 00:53:49,359
Speaker 2: Eric Spolstra. Uh. And that's the thing, Like there are

1083
00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:52,879
Speaker 2: talked to Heat fans, talk to Heat fans. I've seen

1084
00:53:52,920 --> 00:53:57,040
Speaker 2: Heat fans complain about Spolstra because they disagree with something

1085
00:53:57,040 --> 00:53:59,520
Speaker 2: he does with his basketball philosophy. And that's just kind

1086
00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:02,239
Speaker 2: of the reaction of the way that that job kind

1087
00:54:02,280 --> 00:54:05,000
Speaker 2: of just leads to a lot of criticism, right, it's

1088
00:54:05,080 --> 00:54:07,400
Speaker 2: kind of unavoidable. All right, guys, That is all I

1089
00:54:07,400 --> 00:54:09,560
Speaker 2: have for today is always as sincerely appreciate you first

1090
00:54:09,560 --> 00:54:12,600
Speaker 2: supporting the show. We'll be back on Wednesday with number

1091
00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:15,080
Speaker 2: nine and number eight. I will see you guys. Then

1092
00:54:17,680 --> 00:54:22,879
Speaker 2: the volume the NFL season's right around the corner. We'll

1093
00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:25,239
Speaker 2: be breaking down all the off season storylines on the

1094
00:54:25,280 --> 00:54:28,840
Speaker 2: Colin Cowherd podcast, my Best Takes, guests like my buddy

1095
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:31,400
Speaker 2: Nick Wright. Check out the Colin Coward podcast, part of

1096
00:54:31,440 --> 00:54:36,680
Speaker 2: the Volume network, available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you

1097
00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:38,000
Speaker 2: get your podcasts.