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After that, we're going to 41 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: talk about the Phoenix Suns and their epic comeback against 42 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: the Clippers. And then we're gonna talk a little Indiana 43 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,639 Speaker 1: Pacers after they get a big win over the Houston 44 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: Rockets last night. And then finally, just some brief thoughts 45 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: on the Lakers getting another big win against the Pelicans 46 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: last night. You guys know the joke before you started. 47 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:13,959 Speaker 1: Subscribed to the Hoops to Night YouTube channel so you 48 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on 49 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: Twitter at underscore JCNLT so you guys don't miss show announcements. 50 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: Don't forget about a podcast feed wherever you gets your 51 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: podcast under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if he 52 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: leave a rating in a review on that front, and 53 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: the last not at least keep dropping mail bag questions 54 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: and those YouTube comments have been get to them throughout 55 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: the remainder of the season. All right, let's talk some basketball. 56 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: So Warriors Nicks. The Warrior struggled a little early in 57 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: this one. They defended well, but they couldn't score. They 58 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: were generating quality looks, but they were missing. Per Synergy, 59 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: they missed eight of their last nine unguarded catch and 60 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: shoot jump shots heading into halftime, which is on one 61 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: note good because they generated eleven unguarded jump shots. It's 62 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: a sign of quality offense. But they were just not 63 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: knocking them down. And I've generally been of the belief 64 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: that variance does play a role in basketball games. But 65 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: if you generate better shot quality, generally speaking, over the 66 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: course of a game, over the course of getting additional reps, 67 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: that will even out, and it did in the second half. 68 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: They generated six unguarded catch and shoot jump shots in 69 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: the second half and made all six of them as 70 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 1: they exploded for sixty seven points. I thought Steve Kerr 71 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: had a very good defensive game plan. Without Karl Anthony 72 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: Towns in the lineup, they didn't have to worry about 73 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: the pick and pop, so they were able to keep 74 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,839 Speaker 1: their bigs around the basket, pack the paint. I thought 75 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: they just did a really good job on Brunson two 76 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: all night of playing him into tougher shots, particularly on 77 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: his threes. You could tell that he was rushing and 78 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,119 Speaker 1: he's really having to like get into those shots off 79 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: the move and kick his legs and square up in 80 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: mid air and all the things that just add to 81 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: the level of difficulty that make it more likely that 82 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: he might have a poor shooting night, and he did. 83 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: And the one thing in the offense they were kind 84 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: of allowing was that skip pass to og Ananobi, and 85 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: he did some damage. Attacking with an advantage throughout the game. 86 00:03:57,720 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: You know how it goes with defensive game planning. He 87 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: got a take some things away, and if you're taking 88 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: some things away, you're going to allow some things. And 89 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: og did some damage. But for the most part, the 90 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: Warriors defense, which has been incredibly good all season long 91 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: but has been especially good as of late, held them 92 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: in check and ended up getting out of there with 93 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: the win. They have had the number two defense in 94 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: the NBA since the Jimmy Butler trade. Brandon Pajemski and 95 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: Moses Moody have seamlessly slided into their primary perimeter defense roles. 96 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green's defensive playmaking off the ball. 97 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: I thought Steph was great on defense again last night. 98 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: He's been really good on defense during this stretch. They 99 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: continue to blow me away as one of the best 100 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,839 Speaker 1: rotation teams in the NBA. Their ability to make teams 101 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: rush at the three point line, it's so easy after 102 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: a game like that to be like, oh, you know, 103 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: the Knicks, we shot twenty five percent from three or 104 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,239 Speaker 1: whatever it is they ended up shooting in that game. 105 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: But more often than not, that's a product of the 106 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: feeling of being rushed on those catch and shoot attempts, 107 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: which comes from the types of closeouts which have been 108 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: a hallmark of the Warriors defense the entire season. But 109 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: I thought this was one of Jimmy but There's best 110 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: offensive games since coming to the Warriors. He makes everything 111 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,160 Speaker 1: look so easy, and it's interesting because it's not like 112 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: he's out there doing a bunch of superstar shit. Like 113 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: it's not like he's knocking down crazy contested jump shots 114 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: or throwing these mind blowing passes, the kind of stuff 115 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: you see from like Luka Doncic or Nikola Jokicz. Right, 116 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: he's operating almost exclusively in the margins. But he's just 117 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: so damn good at all of those things. Generated nine 118 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: more free throw attempts in this game. He just has 119 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: this natural ability to get defenders out of position and 120 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: draw fouls. He does it through pump fakes. He's really 121 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: good at changing the angle of his drives to force 122 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: defenders to foul. He had a big one late in 123 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: the game. I think it was on Mitchell Robinson if 124 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: I remember correctly, where he just kind of tweaked the 125 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: angle of his drive into Mitchell's body so that when 126 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: Mitch went to go block him at the rim, he 127 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: ended up kind of getting too heavy onto his left 128 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: shoulder and drawing a foul. It just slows the game down. 129 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: It allows the Warriors to set their defense. It's just 130 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: a big floor raiser for that team when things are 131 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: getting tough. And then he's just really good at making 132 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: simple reads. There were two threes that Buddy Healed hit 133 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: in the second half that were both off of passes 134 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: from Jimmy Butler that didn't even require the Warriors to 135 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: run any offense. All that happened was is Jimmy brought 136 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: the ball up the floor in the middle of the 137 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: floor and Buddy Heeld was on the wing, once on 138 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: the left wing, once on the right wing. Both times 139 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: og and Oby's guarding him, and both times Ojan and 140 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: Obi is sinking in in what we call nail help. Right. 141 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: This is gapping or the type of defense that you'll 142 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: see from most of the good defenses in the league. Essentially, 143 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: whoever has the ball, he'll have his on ball defender 144 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: in front of him, shading him whichever direction the game 145 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: plan wants, but usually on both sides. In the driving lanes, 146 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: you'll have guys basically splitting the difference, playing about halfway 147 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: between the ball and the spot up shooter because they 148 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: feel like they can offer help, but they can also 149 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: get out and contest. Now, one of the ways you 150 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,239 Speaker 1: can beat nail help is just by making a swing pass. 151 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: But you have to throw it quickly and you have 152 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: to hit the guy right in the shooting pocket. Because again, 153 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: why that guy is in that nail help position is 154 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: because he feels like he can close out. He feels 155 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: like he can get there and get rid of that 156 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: advantage quick enough to where the guy might pump ake 157 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: or the guy might not feel comfortable taking that shot. 158 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: You have to rifle the pass, it has to be 159 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: right in the shooting pocket, and that shooter has to 160 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: knock it down. That is the only way to really 161 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: beat nail help is you got to show a willingness 162 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: to beat it with swing passes and shooting and jimmy 163 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: just both of them. The one on the left wing. 164 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: The one on the right wing just rifle passes right 165 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: into the shooting pocket and Buddy heel knocked him down. 166 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: That's just found money. You didn't even have to run offense. 167 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: You didn't have to run pick and roll. You didn't 168 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: have to get a switch that you like to generate 169 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: an additional defender or an advantage. You just brought the 170 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: ball to the floor and threw a swing pass. But 171 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,679 Speaker 1: because you rifled it hit him in the shooting pocket 172 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: and the guy knocked it down, you're able to beat 173 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: some nail help. He generated a wide open catch and 174 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: shoot three for Steph on the right wing off of 175 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: a baseline drive caught it on the left wing. I 176 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: think he was going against Brunson, if I remember correctly, 177 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: like a transition cross match, and he just hard ripped 178 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: through to the baseline drew. I think it was Moses 179 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: Moody in the right corner. I can't remember exactly who 180 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: was in the right corner, but Steph was on the 181 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: right wing and he drove the baseline through the swing 182 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: pass to the right corner. Mikale Bridges, who was guarding Steph, 183 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: had no choice but to drop in rotation. I'm pretty 184 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: sure it was Moody to drop in rotation to Moody 185 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,239 Speaker 1: in the corner and then Steph gets a wide open 186 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: catch and shoot three. In a half court set. You'll 187 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: see Steph get wide open catch and shoot threes in chaos, 188 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: like in transition or on an offensive rebound, or if 189 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: he draws multiple defenders and the ball gets worked back 190 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: around to him while the defenses in rotation. It's so 191 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: rare to see Steph get wide open catch and shoot 192 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: looks in the flow of half court offense because of 193 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: the simple fact that McHale Bridges is not going to 194 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: help if he's already on Steph in a half court setting. 195 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: But Jimmy generated that with just a simple baseline drive 196 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: against the miss. He's such a natural fit in their 197 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: read and react offense on ball with inverted screens with Steph. 198 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: He got to the foul line on a big one 199 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: of those late in the game where just they didn't 200 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 1: want to switch, so there was a little bit of 201 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: a gap. The defender didn't pick him up until he's 202 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 1: ten feet from the basket. He was already out of position. 203 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: All of the off ball stuff, the slipping out of screens, 204 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 1: the ceiling, he had a big one with Draymond in 205 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: the second half where he spun out of a screen 206 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: and Draymond just threw a perfect pass that hit him 207 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: in stride for a layup. He's just a beautiful fit 208 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: on this team. I had like I was looking at 209 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: the box score. It goes for nineteen points. It's fine, right, 210 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: four rebounds, four assists, nothing special there, no steals, no blocks. 211 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: It was a pedestrian stat line. And like for the 212 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: most part, if you pull up Jimmy's numbers as a Warrior, 213 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: there's nothing exceptional happening there statistically. Yet I thought he 214 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,199 Speaker 1: dominated the second half of that game just using his brain. 215 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: He's such a beautiful fit on that basketball team. Steph 216 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: looked fantastic again. Twenty eight points to twenty one shots, 217 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,599 Speaker 1: seven rebounds, ninety sists. The degree of difficulty on the 218 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: shots he's been hitting his outrageous. He's been good at 219 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: getting separation in the mid range as of late, hit 220 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: a couple more of those last night. He had the shot, 221 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: the big one late that put him up was one 222 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: of his ninety seven to ninety three and a big 223 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: three along the right wing, sprinting off of a screening action. 224 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: Catches on the move, plants his feet, squares up in 225 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: mid air, doesn't even touch the rim. Just an absurd 226 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: degree of difficulty on that shot. In Steph's last thirteen games, 227 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: he's averaging thirty points, four rebounds and five excuse me, 228 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: four rebounds and seven assists on sixty four percent true shooting. 229 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: Thirty points on sixty four percent true shooting. That's MVP 230 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: steph numbers. That's the numbers he was putting up when 231 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: he won the unanimous MVP. Those are the tip that's 232 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: the type of production that Steph's been putting up in 233 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,719 Speaker 1: his last thirteen games. I talked in the early part 234 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: of the season about how I thought STEP's perceived decline 235 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: with some combination of like age and frustrations or lack 236 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 1: of belief in what the roster was capable of. And 237 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: it's beginning to look a lot like it's more of 238 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: the latter than the former, because ever since Intel has 239 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: been coming down that the Warriors were going to make 240 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: a deal, Steph's been hooping his ass off. Steve Kerr 241 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:13,319 Speaker 1: talked about how his body's in a great place, remember 242 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: how his body was in a tough place early. He 243 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: just is rejuvenated by the belief in his opportunity to 244 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: try to win a championship this year. This year, the 245 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: Warriors are nine to two in their last eleven games. 246 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: Fifth in offense, second in defense, third and net rating 247 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: tenth in rebounding. They just look much more like a 248 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: well rounded, dead serious basketball team that has a real 249 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: chance to make noise in the postseason. Just a couple 250 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: other shoutouts for the Warriors. Pajemski nineteen points, hit a 251 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: big three on the right wing and transition during the 252 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 1: second half. Run a lot of important scoring in the 253 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: first half when the Warriors offense was kind of bogging down, 254 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: and then lots of good ball pressure again on Brunson, 255 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: just slowing down the Knicks getting into their offense. I 256 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,720 Speaker 1: thought he was great. Moses Moody continuing to do a 257 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: phenomenal job in that primary wing defensive role. Gist Santos 258 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: plus fourteen and fifteen minutes. I thought he hit one 259 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,320 Speaker 1: of the biggest shots in this game. It was ninety 260 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: four to ninety three in the fourth quarter, and the 261 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: Knicks just didn't pick him up in transition on the 262 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: right wing, and Draymond trusted him. Draymond threw the pass, 263 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: trusted him to knock it down, and he knocked down 264 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: that three. I thought that was big. Warriors are playing 265 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,680 Speaker 1: some great basketball on the Knicks front. It was just 266 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,720 Speaker 1: jarring to see the difference in their offensive geometry without 267 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns. It made Brunson and Bridges in particular 268 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: play in so much more of a crowd and the 269 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: paint than they're accustomed to. There was really difficult shots 270 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: like Mikhale Bridges having to rely on one leg fadeaways 271 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: in traffic, and Brunson just facing two to three defenders 272 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: at any given point. Obviously, Karl Anthony Towns when he's 273 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: out there, brings a different dynamic. But I just thought 274 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: it was interesting in an example of just how important 275 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: a spacing five can be for an offense. Apparently Cat 276 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: missed last night's game for personal reasons. There are some 277 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: rumors flying around about what that might be. We're obviously 278 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: not going to get into that on the show, but 279 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: let's just wish Kat the best and hope that he 280 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: can rejoin the team as soon as possible. All right, 281 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: let's move on. Welcome to course correction brought to you 282 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: by Microsoft. Just like Star Players, and teams navigating performance hurdles. 283 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: Business decision makers today are under immense pressure to get 284 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: things right. They must rise to the occasion, turning challenges 285 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: into opportunities. Microsoft empowers these visionaries with AI solutions, simplified 286 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: cloud and data management and trustworthy responsible AI. When you're 287 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: in the NBA, you have your own hurdles to face. 288 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: This segment, we're gonna explore the challenges faced by teams 289 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: or star players and how they can turn things around. 290 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: Whatever challenge you're facing, Microsoft empowers you with the expertise 291 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: to say bring it on. This week, we're discussing Kevin 292 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: Durant and the epic comeback he led the Suns on 293 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,679 Speaker 1: against the Clippers last night. It was looking bleak again 294 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: for the Suns last night. The Clippers just methodically were 295 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: kicking their ass for the first two and a half quarters. 296 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: They built a twenty three point lead in the late third, 297 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: the body language was bad. Bradley Beal went out of 298 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: the lineup again. Kevin Durant Mike Budenholzer get into it 299 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: on camera, kind of a little bit of a physical 300 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,439 Speaker 1: altercation that got a little heated, and by the way, 301 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: before we go any further, This is one of my 302 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,360 Speaker 1: biggest pet peeves is the way this kind of thing 303 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 1: is covered. Losing sucks. Nobody looks like they're having fun 304 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 1: when they're losing, and it's so annoying because if they 305 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: looked like they were having fun when they were losing, 306 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: we call them a bunch of losers. Anyway, It's like, 307 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: there's nothing you're actually allowed to do when you're losing 308 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: that's not going to get you in trouble, and that's 309 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: so stupid. And you can literally see KD after the 310 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: initial confrontation, like seconds later, you can see it like 311 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: dawned on him that like obviously that wasn't a good look, 312 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: and he turned and like reapproached Bud and they had 313 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: like a different conversation. And like, these are some of 314 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,800 Speaker 1: the most competitive people in the world. Every single person 315 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: in that jersey or on that coaching staff got there 316 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: by being a savage competitor relative to their peers. You 317 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 1: don't think they're going to be kicking and screaming a 318 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: little bit when the shit hits the fan. That's normal, Okay, 319 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: So like I feel like that gets a little bit overplayed. 320 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: That said, things are looking bleak for the Suns not 321 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: about their body language, was just strictly in the basketball 322 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: that they were playing. But Kevin Durant in the late 323 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: third quarter started hitting shots and the Sun started to 324 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: gain some life. Biggest thing that screamed off the screen 325 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: was their overall commitment to the defensive end of the floor, 326 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: just them flying around in their rotations. Buddenholzer seemed to 327 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: find seven guys that he trusted down the stretch, obviously 328 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker for the centers, Mason Plumley and 329 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: Nick richards On, the Wayne Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neil, 330 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: and then Colin Gillespie, who was the role player hero 331 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: of this game, basically providing what they hoped to receive 332 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: from Tias Jones this season, which is like a little 333 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: bit of ball handling, a little bit of spot up 334 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: shooting and scoring, and then attention to detail on defense, 335 00:15:57,680 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: which has been an area that Tias has struggled in 336 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: all year. Not singling out Tias, like just about every 337 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: Sun has struggled in that department. But Colin was just 338 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 1: doing his job and that group was guarding. They had 339 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: some limitations, like Gillespie had to guard Harden and pick 340 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: and roll a bunch, and Carl Harden got free and 341 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: got some good looks because he's much bigger and stronger 342 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: and there's obviously some advantages there. Zubach did some damage 343 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 1: because of his massive size advantage on the front line. 344 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: They gave up some offensive boards because they're a bad 345 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: rebounding team. They had some limitations that were still on display. 346 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: But Kevin Durant did an incredible job on Kawhi Leonard, 347 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: basically erased him from the game down the stretch like 348 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: he's always been one of the better Kawhi Leonard defenders 349 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: because of his length. But he put together some incredible 350 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: reps on Kawhi last night. And then the whole group 351 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: was just committed to the job of rotating contesting shots, 352 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: fighting for every loose ball, and that allowed them to 353 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: compete at least well enough on that end for their 354 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: offensive gifts to carry them over the top. We talked 355 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: about Kd's unbelievable shot making, and then Gillespie had a 356 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: bunch of big shots. He had a beautiful scoop shot 357 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: driving a close out off the left wing over rim protection, 358 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: just put it high and soft off the glass. He 359 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,200 Speaker 1: had a trailing three in transition off of pass from 360 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: Devin Booker, and then the shot of the game, Katie 361 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,120 Speaker 1: runs a little ball screen off of the right wing 362 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: and in the process, Gillespie's man had to tag the 363 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: roller and Katie just threw a beautiful pass across his 364 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: body to Gillespie who kind of relocated up to the 365 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: right wing and he knocked it down. It's a huge 366 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: shot that ended up being the dagger in that one. 367 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: A nice palate cleansing win for the Suns. Stan Van 368 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,119 Speaker 1: Gundy was harping throughout the entire broadcast about the Sun's 369 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: effort and just their overall willingness to compete. This is 370 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: something I've been hitting on the show NonStop. Like playing 371 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: winning basketball is actually a giant pain in the ass. 372 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 1: It requires so much running, so much physicality. You have 373 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: to be so locked in mentally all the time on 374 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: what you're supposed to do. There just has to be 375 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 1: this top down commitment to the details to be a 376 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: good defensive team, to be a good rebounding team, to 377 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 1: be a team that can win on the margins, Like 378 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,399 Speaker 1: in transition, It's difficult, and it's a job that they 379 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 1: haven't been committed to doing and stanmn Gandhi's right when 380 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: they do it all of a sudden, Kevin Durant, Devin 381 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: Booker feels like enough now, I'm pessimistic about the Suns 382 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,399 Speaker 1: actually generating real momentum in that area because it's not 383 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: a natural part of their basketball personality. And this is 384 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: why I've been advocating for a change in approach this 385 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 1: summer in terms of the roster build. They need to 386 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 1: bring in certain types of players that kind of have 387 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: that as a natural baseline. The Lakers have been such 388 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: a perfect example of this to me this year, with 389 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: them being such a bad defense to start the year 390 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: in such a good defense as of late, all you 391 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: did is flip the character of the team by changing 392 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: a few personalities. Oh, we're gonna bring in Dorian Finney 393 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: Smith instead of Delo. Delo is a very good player, 394 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: but Delo has always left a lot to be desired 395 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: in terms of his attention to detail. DFAs is in 396 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: the league because of his attention to detail. Jared Vanderbilt 397 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 1: when he's healthy, he's one of the best defensive players 398 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: in the league. It brought a level of engagement out 399 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: of Lebron, even little stuff like instead of playing you 400 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 1: know two way guys that are or like and like 401 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: guys like Jalen Hoochafino or something like that. It's here's 402 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:11,919 Speaker 1: we're gonna play Jordan Goodwin just an ass kicking guard 403 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,679 Speaker 1: who competes and plays hard. And so as a result, 404 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: you flip some of these personalities and suddenly the Laker 405 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:22,680 Speaker 1: roster has like a lot more natural motor. And when 406 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: you surround offensive superstars with natural motor, it allows the 407 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,639 Speaker 1: offensive superstars to overcome a makeup like a gap that 408 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 1: is achievable to do because they're getting so much contribution 409 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 1: in the details down the line. Again, like, I think 410 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 1: that's the move here, It's not gonna happen. I think 411 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: they're gonna trade KD. There was another report yesterday that 412 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: they viewed Devin Booker as a foundational piece. I genuinely 413 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: believe that another off season of some worthwhile switches in 414 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: terms of the types of role players down the roster 415 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 1: and just their character, their basketball character, will go a 416 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: long way towards making Kevin Durant and Devin Booker a 417 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 1: viable foundation. It just has to be something that is 418 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: an organizational goal to bring in ass kickers that do 419 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,080 Speaker 1: their job everywhere on the floor. It was an impressive 420 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: demonstration of resilience by the Suns last night. You can 421 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: either lay down and get your butt kicked, or you 422 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: can choose to fight, and the Suns chose to fight 423 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: last night. That's it for this week's course correction. Remember 424 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,439 Speaker 1: Microsoft's AI solutions empower you to take bold steps and 425 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your 426 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 1: business forward. With Microsoft has your trusted partner, you can 427 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 1: navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching 428 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 1: new possibilities. Visit Microsoft dot com Slash Challengers to learn more. 429 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: All right, let's move on to Rockets Pacers. This was 430 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: a game that the Pacers controlled for the most part. 431 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,240 Speaker 1: They struggled with Shangoon early. This is a consistent theme 432 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: I've seen with a lot of teams when they run 433 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: into the Rockets and they haven't played them before, they 434 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,239 Speaker 1: haven't played them in a long time. Shaneguon is just 435 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: a huge pain in the ass and he literally will 436 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,159 Speaker 1: just back dudes down and use a bunch of shoulder 437 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:06,919 Speaker 1: fakes to get shots close to the rim where he 438 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,359 Speaker 1: can do some damage. And he just ripped through Miles 439 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:12,199 Speaker 1: Turner and Thomas Bryant early in this game, but the 440 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: pacer settled in nicely. Houston runs a lot of drop 441 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: coverage with Alprin Shang Nun, And one of the things 442 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: I talked about with drop coverage is it's really an 443 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: advance advantageous coverage for non athletic perimeter like skill oriented 444 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: shot creators. Right, these guys that are like, not the 445 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: dudes that are just gonna straight up beat you off 446 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: the dribble with supreme athleticism, but rather they use their 447 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: brains and their their skill set to get their game off. 448 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:45,440 Speaker 1: Because against drop coverage, there's baked in dribble penetration. When 449 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,119 Speaker 1: you're going against switches, you gotta beat the band in 450 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: front of you, and it's just a much tougher job. 451 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: Whereas against drop coverage, as long as you do a 452 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: decent man a job setting your man up for the screen, 453 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 1: you're gonna get him trailing you. And once he's trailing you, 454 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,360 Speaker 1: you're gonna get downhill. Once you get downhill, there's an 455 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,719 Speaker 1: opening in front of you, which is your advantage in 456 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: that situation. Right, But in order to beat that coverage, 457 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,119 Speaker 1: you have to hit drop coverage shots, so you have 458 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 1: to make the mid rangers, you have to drive and 459 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 1: hit a scoop shot. When the big stays too far back, 460 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: you might have to hit a pull up three when 461 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 1: the guard dies on the screen. There's a level of 462 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,239 Speaker 1: shot making you have to show against drop coverage in 463 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: order to engage the screen defender to open up other 464 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: opportunities to make it. To put it simply, if you 465 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 1: allow the other team to defend the drop coverage with 466 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: drop coverage two on two, meaning the screen defender can 467 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: keep the ball handler and the roller in front, then 468 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: they're gonna feel comfortable there and you're never gonna get 469 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: the defense in rotation, and you're gonna have to take 470 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 1: a bunch of bad shots. But if you can make 471 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: enough of them, then you can start to force a 472 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: team to react. And this was super fascinating in this 473 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: game because Halliburton was fantastic in the first half beating 474 00:22:57,840 --> 00:22:59,680 Speaker 1: their drop coverage. You hit a bunch of threes in 475 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,439 Speaker 1: the first hit a couple mid range shots of driving 476 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,879 Speaker 1: scoop shot over Thomas Bryant at their rim like he 477 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 1: got a bunch of buckets in that drop coverage. That 478 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,360 Speaker 1: ended up being a big part of their second half run, 479 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 1: which we'll get to in just a second. They were 480 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: also beating some sloppy switches. Houston will switch just about 481 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: anything that doesn't involve their centers, but Indy just kept 482 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 1: finding openings in botch switches or in lazy switches. Jalen 483 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: Green in particular, was brutal on that end for Houston, 484 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: just leaving guys open by either not communicating or not 485 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: staying attached, not doing his job. Indy was involving him 486 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: in the action as much as possible, and he's also 487 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: very good at beating ball watching with cuts. They did 488 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,440 Speaker 1: a lot of damage to Jalen Green Anti Jabari Smith 489 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: Junior with just batcuts in the second quarter, in particular, 490 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: they logged five of them. And Halliburton has always just 491 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: been so good at making teams pay for that sort 492 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: of thing. And then undefense, Miles Turner rebounded after his 493 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: tough first shift and just did a much better job 494 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: on Shanegun. I thought Miles Turner completely dominated the game 495 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: in the second half with his rim protection. He had 496 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: a few blocks on Shangoon and Iso. He had a 497 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: huge one late where he blocked Shangun on a hook 498 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,640 Speaker 1: shot that led to a runout to the other end. 499 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: He had a play where he helped Amen Thompson or 500 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,679 Speaker 1: helped on a men Thompson at the rim forced him 501 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: to drop it off to Steven Adams, and he recovered 502 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: in time to get a piece of a Steven Adams 503 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: dunk and force a stop. Like he was just unreal 504 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: on defense at the end of that game. But perhaps 505 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,520 Speaker 1: the most important thing that happened in that game was 506 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: Tyrese hit a couple of threes. He had like, I 507 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: think three or four threes in the first half, and 508 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: that forced emy Udoka because again because he was scoring 509 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,479 Speaker 1: against the drop coverage, it forced emy Udoka to make 510 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: an adjustment at halftime. Instead of sitting Shangun back into 511 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 1: drop coverage, he started blitzing with Shangoon. Haliburton is so 512 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: good at getting the ball out against blitzes because he's 513 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: very good with his passing. And the Pacers just operated 514 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,160 Speaker 1: in four on three for most of the third quarter 515 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 1: and got great looks and they ended up pulling away 516 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: and they ended up going up by seventeen. Now Eton 517 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,680 Speaker 1: made the game weird and ended up going on a run. 518 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: They brought out a too big look with both Steven 519 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: Adams and Shane Goun on the floor and they started 520 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: running his zone and it like completely flummised to play 521 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: the Pacers for a long time. Houston started getting out 522 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: in transition. They actually briefly took the lead in the 523 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:19,480 Speaker 1: early fourth quarter, but the Pacers did eventually recover. They 524 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,119 Speaker 1: hit a few shots to break the zone, like you 525 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: gotta break the zone shooting, and Ben Sheppard hit one 526 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,880 Speaker 1: at the top of the key. Miles Turner hit one 527 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: on the right wing. Then the Rockets ended up going 528 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: back to their man demand and so they went drop 529 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: coverage with Steven Adams and Tyris Haliburton promptly beat the 530 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: drop coverage with a little bank shot off the glass, 531 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: and then he ended up hitting his fifth three of 532 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: the night, a nice step back along the left wing. 533 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: I think it was against Pascal Siakam if I remember, 534 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 1: might have been Obi Toppin, but hit a shot against 535 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: a switch against the right wing that ended up icing 536 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 1: the game. I think it was a thirteen to ozero 537 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 1: run at that point that ended up putting it away. 538 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 1: Nice win for the Pacers. We talked about them on 539 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: defense to earlier. As part of that run, just Miles 540 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,199 Speaker 1: Turner just really controlling the game with this rim protection. 541 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: They've won six out of eight some impressive wins in 542 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: there against Houston, Memphis, and the Clippers. They're fourth in 543 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: offense in that span and tenth in defense. The only 544 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,880 Speaker 1: real area of concern has been the offensive glass. They're 545 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: twenty eighth in defensive rebounding percentage in that eight game span. 546 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:22,160 Speaker 1: They gave up eighteen additional second chance points to Houston yesterday. 547 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,919 Speaker 1: They've been twentieth on the season in defensive rebound percentage, 548 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:27,680 Speaker 1: so that's definitely been a little bit of an issue. 549 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,639 Speaker 1: So much for this team, though, hinges on Halliburton's shot creation. 550 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: They have an elite transition attack. They've been one of 551 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: the best transition offenses in the league again this year. 552 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 1: They have enough perimeter defense talent with guys of games 553 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: and m hard, with guys like TJ. McConnell aaron Nie Smith. 554 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 1: They've got guys that can guard on the perimeter, and 555 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,240 Speaker 1: they've got enough athletes underneath the basket that they can 556 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: actually string together stops from time to time when they 557 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 1: need to. They're not an elite defense, but they can 558 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 1: string together some stops. But they need Tyre's Halliburton to 559 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: be like in order for them to score enough in 560 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: the half court for them to get the job done. 561 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:06,439 Speaker 1: And a lot of that comes down to his ability 562 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: to get the defense in rotation. And again, if, like, 563 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,440 Speaker 1: if you allow Haliburton to be guarded two on two 564 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,000 Speaker 1: because he's not making the defense pay in those ball screens, 565 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,480 Speaker 1: then they don't get the defense in rotation. Then some 566 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 1: of their more limited offensive players start to show their 567 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: limitations as they can't generate shots. I thought it was 568 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 1: really fascinating last night that when Halliburton shot email Udoka 569 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: into blitzing him, that Indiana's offense promptly exploded and they 570 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: blew the game open. So I dug into the numbers 571 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: because I was curious. This year, when Tyre's Halliburton makes 572 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: at least four to threes in a game, he have five. 573 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,000 Speaker 1: Last night, When Tyre's hits at least four to threes 574 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:48,920 Speaker 1: in a game, the Pacers are nineteen and seven or 575 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: a sixty win pace. When he fails to hit four threes, 576 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: they're below five hundred. They're sixteen and eighteen. His aggression, 577 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: specifically shooting, is so vitally important to this team and 578 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:04,919 Speaker 1: this has been an issue I've seen a lot over 579 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: the years with different types of players, Right, Like, you 580 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 1: always find stars that are either excellent scorers, but they 581 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 1: struggle to read the defense, trust their teammates, and make 582 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,159 Speaker 1: teams pay for loading up on them. And then you 583 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: have this other kind of star and this is like 584 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: Tyrese Haliburton has fallen into this mold. Better players than Tyreese, 585 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 1: Guys like Jokic, guys like Lebron over the years have 586 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: fallen into this mold where it's like they're these incredible 587 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 1: playmakers and they always make the right play, but they 588 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: can sometimes be a little too unselfish and fail to 589 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:45,560 Speaker 1: make the defense pay for leaving them in some pretty 590 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: passive coverages. And like that's the thing. We've seen Tyres 591 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 1: go entire games, playoff games where he doesn't seem much 592 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: interested in shooting, and like time and time again, the 593 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 1: evidence has shown that Tyres, when he's scored the basketball 594 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: is what actually unlocks his top tier playmaking, which is 595 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,720 Speaker 1: his greatest trait and the thing that he rode to, 596 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,239 Speaker 1: like that wild run to start the season last year 597 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: where we all thought he might be the next great superstar, 598 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: and like here's the thing, his hamstring. I'm not sure 599 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: if you'll ever get back to the first step start 600 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: stop quickness that he had back then, but the shooting 601 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: can go a long way to make up for that. 602 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,239 Speaker 1: And I just think it's an interesting trend over the 603 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: course of the season to see how much better they 604 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: are when Tyresee is aggressive. All Right, before we get 605 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: out of here, Tonash, let's talk some Pelicans Lakers briefly 606 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: on this one. It was an interesting game. The Pels 607 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,160 Speaker 1: have one of the worst records in the league, but 608 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: they're playing some good basketball. They've actually won four out 609 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: of five coming in, and they've been really good on 610 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,480 Speaker 1: both ends of the flour. They've shown some really good 611 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,719 Speaker 1: ball pressure and some good rotations on defense, and then 612 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy and CJ. McCollum are just hooping 613 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: on offense. They even great on both ends of the 614 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: floor during that five five game span, and Zion Williamson 615 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: was the first Star player to like truly rip the 616 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: Laker defense to shreds. The Lakers could not guard him. 617 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: He just ripped through them over and over again, even 618 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 1: against some pretty excessive coverages like the Lakers were zoning 619 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: up the strong sides, so like straight up double teaming him, 620 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,479 Speaker 1: like soft double teaming him when he would drive. Some 621 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 1: of those times he was scoring on triple teams where 622 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,840 Speaker 1: he would just like hop step through a crowd and 623 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 1: just rip up through everybody with his strong arms and 624 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: just finish over the top, like he just demolished them. 625 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: He had thirty seven points on only six missed shots. 626 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: The Pelicans were actually plus thirteen when he was on 627 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: the floor last night. Now, there are some bigger picture 628 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 1: concerns for the Lakers on this front, with certain types 629 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: of athletes that can kind of just rip through their 630 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 1: defense with downhill athleticism. Milwaukee, for instance, would be a 631 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 1: team as a finals opponent that would present a threat 632 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: with Giannis. I thought Anthony Edwards showed some of that 633 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: in his matchup, where like they were doing a lot 634 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: of strong side zone and loading up and he was 635 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: like still finding a way to get into the paint 636 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: and cut their defense up a little bit. Just something 637 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,560 Speaker 1: to keep an eye on. Again, this is when you're 638 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 1: number one defense for this long. It's not like, oh, 639 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: their defense is secretly bad, but there are gonna be 640 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 1: times that teams find a way to score on the Lakers, 641 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 1: and it appears these bigger, stronger athletes are the ones 642 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,400 Speaker 1: that are giving them some problems here in the early returns. 643 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: That said, I wasn't actually particularly worried about this game 644 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: for the Lakers because the Pels just don't have the 645 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:43,200 Speaker 1: personnel to make the Lakers offense even remotely uncomfortable. Basically 646 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,640 Speaker 1: everyone on that roster is a target. And aside from 647 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,160 Speaker 1: a few good possessions of ball pressure and they had 648 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: a few good blitzes where they forced turnovers that led 649 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: you sloppy pocket passes or just Lebron and Luca just 650 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 1: being lazy leading to pick six is going the other way. 651 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: But other than that, the Lakers basically picked them the shreds. 652 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: They almost put up a one forty offensive rating in 653 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: this game. Luca was absolutely unbelievable for the second game 654 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: in a row. He's clearly starting to get in a 655 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 1: good rhythm. We talked about his poor jump shooting earlier. 656 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:13,719 Speaker 1: He's taken twenty nine jump shots in the last two 657 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: games and it has made fourteen of them, like many 658 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: of which were threes. He's got the three point shot going, 659 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: he's got the mid range going. He's demonstrating like these 660 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 1: crazy scoring runs where he'll hit a bunch of jumpers 661 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: in a row and then the opponent will just recklessly 662 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,280 Speaker 1: blitz him, and then the Lakers will get dunks or 663 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: open threes off of it. He had another stretch like 664 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 1: that in the first half yesterday where he hit three 665 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,120 Speaker 1: threes in a row, some bombs, some really tough ones, 666 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,160 Speaker 1: and then they blitzed him and he just threw a 667 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: behind the head pass to the role man that ended up. 668 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 1: I think that was a shake Milton open three in 669 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: the left corner if I remember correctly. He just makes 670 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: everything so easy for the Lakers. You can generate a 671 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: quality shot whenever he wants. He takes flawed players and 672 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: turns them into very useful players. So, for instance, like 673 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: Jared Vainderbilt is really experience and seeing some offensive success 674 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: next to Luca. He's twenty points in the last two games. 675 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 1: An update on the on the the third update on 676 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:10,080 Speaker 1: our debate between whether or not Jared Vanderbilt is better 677 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: off spotting up in the corner hanging out in the 678 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: dunker spot. He had two more threes last night, so 679 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 1: like he's actually it's not even really a question of 680 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 1: which he should be doing. He's just playing really good 681 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: basketball right now. But it's because he's getting these like 682 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: open dunks now too, Like he's not going up in 683 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: traffic around the basket. That's Vanderbilt's weakness catching and finishing 684 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:32,440 Speaker 1: in traffic. But Luca's compromising the defense so extensively that 685 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: he's getting like easy runways to get his one two 686 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 1: down and to jump up and get a lob dunk. 687 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: He's turning him into a really useful two way player, 688 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,320 Speaker 1: which is, you know, never something that you would consider 689 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 1: when you're talking about Jared Vanderbilt. Now, again, some of 690 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 1: that's matchup dependent, I do I don't think it's a 691 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: coincidence that, you know, you go up against these rim 692 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 1: protection teams, that teams that have guys that can park 693 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: under the basket and like Utah for instance, and you 694 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:03,720 Speaker 1: see some issues with Vanderbilt, whereas you put him against 695 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,360 Speaker 1: some inferior rim protection teams led by Kelly Olnik and 696 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,279 Speaker 1: Zubachhu's actually an underrated rim protector, but he's not like 697 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: an incredibly vertical athlete obviously. Like I'm curious to see 698 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 1: how much of that Jared Vanderbilt success is attached to 699 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,960 Speaker 1: the rim protection piece for the defense for the defense. 700 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,480 Speaker 1: For a good example, that would be like on Saturday 701 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:30,200 Speaker 1: when they play, actually Thursday to play Nicks Mitchell Robinson, 702 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:33,440 Speaker 1: if he plays, that's a legitimate rim protector. Saturday, if 703 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: Porzingis plays. I'm not sure if Porzingis is playing, but 704 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 1: I would be shocked if they didn't put Porzingis on 705 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:40,760 Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt and just let him sit underneath the basket. 706 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:42,719 Speaker 1: So we'll get some other examples of that over the 707 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:44,840 Speaker 1: course of the rest of this week. Similar sort of 708 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:46,840 Speaker 1: thing with Jackson Hayes, Like I've been talking about this, 709 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,840 Speaker 1: like he's just such an obvious vertical spacing release valve 710 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 1: for Lebron and Luca. He was eight for eight for 711 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,920 Speaker 1: nineteen points last night. That's a player who has a 712 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:59,960 Speaker 1: lot more offensive utility in this construct than he would 713 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:02,640 Speaker 1: even in just previous constructs of this team. And then 714 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 1: even Lebron, Like I thought, Lebron's first shift without Luca 715 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,879 Speaker 1: yesterday was rough. He was kind of struggling to find 716 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,600 Speaker 1: a rhythm, struggling to get some advantages. But when Luca 717 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:16,440 Speaker 1: checked in for his second shift, it kind of overlapped 718 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: with the tail end of Lebron's second shift, Lebron got 719 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 1: a bunch of easy ones in a row, like a 720 00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,759 Speaker 1: good off ball three. You're starting to get the second 721 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: best defender now because the best defenders on Luca, and 722 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,800 Speaker 1: Lebron got his rhythm, and then Lebron was much sharper 723 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:33,839 Speaker 1: the rest of the way, including his second shift when 724 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: Luca was off the floor. And so like, Lebron just 725 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,400 Speaker 1: had a great game last night, thirty four points, and 726 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: it got off to a rough start. He got in 727 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 1: rhythm in large part because of the advantages that Luca 728 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,120 Speaker 1: created for him. He's just insanely good and I still 729 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 1: cannot believe he's a Laker. A couple other quick notes. 730 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:53,319 Speaker 1: I wanted to talk about Luca in the defensive end 731 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 1: of the floor. I've seen a lot of Laker fans 732 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:58,440 Speaker 1: talking about, oh, Luca's finally playing defense with the Lakers. 733 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:01,520 Speaker 1: He wasn't doing that in Dallas, and like, this is 734 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:06,319 Speaker 1: just completely false. Luca was mostly good on defense last 735 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:10,279 Speaker 1: year and had many big defensive moments, including in that 736 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: Minnesota Timberwolf series. Had a lot of really good moments 737 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: off the ball on defense in that series. What happened 738 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,640 Speaker 1: to him against Boston is still my major concern for 739 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,840 Speaker 1: what this Laker team can eventually accomplish. One of the 740 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 1: things they're doing with Luca is with all these teams, 741 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:29,880 Speaker 1: whether it's Chris Dunn that they're helping off of, or 742 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 1: it's you know, Zion Williamson when he's off the ball, 743 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,480 Speaker 1: or Eve's Missy or some of these other guys that 744 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: they don't feel threatened by as jump shooters, they're able 745 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,520 Speaker 1: to offer a lot of help behind Luca, which makes 746 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,520 Speaker 1: his on ball responsibilities easier. And Luca's always been a 747 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 1: good off ball defensive playmaker, like That's not something I'm 748 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: worried about with him at all. I'm specifically, big picture 749 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 1: concerned about Luca on defense against teams that can truly 750 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,360 Speaker 1: space the Lakers out. And I'm not even necessarily concerned 751 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 1: about Okay See in this regard because they don't space 752 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:05,160 Speaker 1: the floor as well, but specifically Boston. If they put 753 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:07,960 Speaker 1: Luca in a position where he had to guard Tatum 754 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 1: or Brown with not as much nail help on either 755 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,640 Speaker 1: side of him, with not as much help in the 756 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 1: paint behind him, that's where what you saw last year 757 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,279 Speaker 1: came to fruition. Luca was pretty good on defense for 758 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: most of that playoff run. He had a couple bad 759 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: games against the Clippers, but he had a couple of 760 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:27,120 Speaker 1: good games against the Clippers. Defensively, he ran into Boston 761 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,759 Speaker 1: and they exposed his specific weakness of containing the ball 762 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:34,359 Speaker 1: in space. And so again, guys like Luca is an 763 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,360 Speaker 1: underrated defensive player for the eighty two game and for 764 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:40,120 Speaker 1: most matchups in the playoffs, but that was the case 765 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:43,480 Speaker 1: even before he went to LA. I still have concerns 766 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:46,359 Speaker 1: about him against specific matchups. The one thing I'll say 767 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:50,840 Speaker 1: is the big difference between a Boston matchup now versus 768 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:54,839 Speaker 1: a Boston matchup this year versus the Boston matchup last 769 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,320 Speaker 1: year when he was with Dallas, is the real problem 770 00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 1: that Boston caused for Dallas. Is it shut down Dallas's offense. 771 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,080 Speaker 1: They played Kyrie into a really bad series, and they 772 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,279 Speaker 1: were able to use a game plan that forced a 773 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,719 Speaker 1: bunch of above the break threes for PJ. Washington and 774 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:13,480 Speaker 1: for Derek Jones Junior that they were missing. And so 775 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,600 Speaker 1: even though there were these defensive runs where the Dallas 776 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,200 Speaker 1: defense would fall apart because of Luca, they would have 777 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,080 Speaker 1: been much more competitive in that series if they could 778 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,160 Speaker 1: score the basketball, and this Laker team is just gonna 779 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,080 Speaker 1: have a much better chance to score the basketball in 780 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,280 Speaker 1: that matchup. That said, I do think it's worth bringing 781 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:30,759 Speaker 1: up that I still have some concerns about Luca in 782 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,279 Speaker 1: that particular matchup. A couple of quick things before we 783 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,880 Speaker 1: get out, finding offense. When you're missing players, like with 784 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:39,880 Speaker 1: Ruy and Austin out, you need guys to step up 785 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: and make shots. Dalton connect and Shake Milton poured in 786 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:44,640 Speaker 1: twenty five points off the bench. I thought that was 787 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:47,000 Speaker 1: a big Shake's threes in particular, I thought were so 788 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,160 Speaker 1: valuable because they came off of blitzes. I call these 789 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 1: coverage beaters. A shot that is a defense is basically 790 00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:56,200 Speaker 1: conceding as part of a coverage. You have to make 791 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,880 Speaker 1: that in order for the coverage to be untenable. And 792 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 1: Shake it two threes in the corner out of Luca blitzes, 793 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,359 Speaker 1: which basically punished the Pelicans for their game plan. I'm 794 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,440 Speaker 1: just really impressed by this Lakers team. They continue to 795 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:13,000 Speaker 1: beat up on everyone even without Austin and RUI that's 796 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:16,360 Speaker 1: not anything to take lightly there. This is basically it 797 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:19,200 Speaker 1: is Lebron and Luca, but it's Lebron and Lucas surrounded 798 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:22,040 Speaker 1: by a bunch of discounted role players. And this way, 799 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:23,879 Speaker 1: I want to give Rob Plink some credit. I think 800 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:26,200 Speaker 1: what happened at the deadline with him is more than 801 00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:29,440 Speaker 1: a little bit overrated because that deal fell into his 802 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,440 Speaker 1: lap and then he failed to bring in center depth. 803 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:35,239 Speaker 1: So I think his job at the deadline's a bit overrated. 804 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:39,320 Speaker 1: But I've been begging him for years to surround Lebron 805 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:42,439 Speaker 1: with high motor athletes to make his life easier during 806 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:46,240 Speaker 1: the regular season, and he's done that and it's paying dividends. 807 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,560 Speaker 1: And I also think it's a credit to JJ Reddick. 808 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:51,880 Speaker 1: To me, when you see a team succeed with lineup turmoil, 809 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:53,200 Speaker 1: with guys in and out of the lineup. And by 810 00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:56,320 Speaker 1: the way, it's not just Austin and RUI. When Lebron 811 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,600 Speaker 1: and Luca both missed a game, Austin got to win. 812 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,440 Speaker 1: Every time Lucas missed game, Lebron and Austin have been 813 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,040 Speaker 1: able to pull it out. So when you have that 814 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:06,480 Speaker 1: kind of lineup turmoil, in order to succeed, you got 815 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:10,080 Speaker 1: to have consistency in your effort in education, execution. It's 816 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:11,879 Speaker 1: got to be like a basketball culture thing. I think 817 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:14,000 Speaker 1: that's a credit to JJ Reddick, and I also think 818 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,320 Speaker 1: a defensive game planning night tonight continues to be excellent. 819 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,319 Speaker 1: This is a special team that has a real opportunity 820 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,040 Speaker 1: to do something great. We're going to be breaking down 821 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,200 Speaker 1: another Laker game tomorrow night. After the final buzzer of 822 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 1: their game against the Knicks, were breaking that game down. 823 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:30,319 Speaker 1: I hope to see you guys there. That's all we 824 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:32,320 Speaker 1: have for tonight is always. Sincerely appreciate you guys for 825 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,520 Speaker 1: supporting me and supporting the show, and I'll see you 826 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:40,640 Speaker 1: tomorrow night. The volume What's Up guys? As always, I 827 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,759 Speaker 1: appreciate you for listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. They 828 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:45,839 Speaker 1: would actually be really helpful for us if you guys 829 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,960 Speaker 1: would take a second and leave a rating and a review. 830 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:50,799 Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if 831 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:52,840 Speaker 1: you could take a minute to do that, I'd really 832 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:53,560 Speaker 1: appreciate it.