1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: The volume Hoops Tonight is presented by FanDuel sports Book. 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: The football season is coming, and there's no better place 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: to start making every moment more than with FanDuel. I 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: just love using this app. It's super user friendly and safe. 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: They have such a deep repertoire of odds and markets 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: for every sport, and they have same game parlays. You 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: guys remember the same game parlays that Live Moods and 8 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: I were thrown out during the NBA playoffs for the volume. 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: Those were a ton of fun all around. It's by 10 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: far the best sports gambling experience I've come into contact with. 11 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: If you are new, just download the fandel sports Book 12 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: app to get started now. Sign up with promo code 13 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 1: Jason T so they know I sent you again. Promo 14 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: code Jason T so they know I sent you twenty 15 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: one plus in President Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana. Permitted 16 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: parishes only, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia or 17 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: West Virginia. First online real money wager only, refund issued 18 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: as non withdrawalable site credit that expires in fourteen days. 19 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: Restrictions apply see terms at sports Book dot fan duel 20 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: dot com gambling problem call one eight hundred next step 21 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: or text next step to five three three four two 22 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: in Arizona one eight eight eight seven eight nine seven 23 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat 24 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: in Connecticut one eight hundred gambler or visit FanDuel dot 25 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: com slash rg in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey. In Virginia 26 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: one eight seven seven seven seven zero stop in Louisiana 27 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: one eight hundred to seven zero seven one one seven 28 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: for confidential help in Michigan one eight seven seven eight 29 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: hope and why or text hope and Why to four 30 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: six seven three six nine in New York. In tennessee 31 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: redline dial one eight hundred eight eight nine nine seven 32 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: eight nine in Tennessee visit www one eight dot one 33 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: eight hundred gambler dot net in West Virginia. All right, 34 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by fan Duel here at 35 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: the volume. Happy Monday, everybody. I hope all of you 36 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: guys had a great weekend and that your weeks are 37 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: off to a good start. We are back in the studio. 38 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: It is not finished yet. I promise we're not going 39 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: in front of this blank wall all season. I have 40 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: a bunch of stuff that's gonna be there. It's just 41 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: not there yet. But hey, at least it's a lot 42 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: better than those cabinets that you guys all uh felt 43 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: like roasting me for last week. So um, bear with me. 44 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,919 Speaker 1: We're almost completely done. Feels good to have this set 45 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: up and made some permanent changes, especially off camera, that 46 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: are gonna make this a lot easier for me this year. 47 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: We're continuing with our power rankings today. Now. Our power 48 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: rankings have been doublings like season previews, so we're doing 49 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: deep dives into the to the teams, especially into their personnel. 50 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:01,839 Speaker 1: Change is in what they like to do on both 51 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: sides of the floor. Um. Last week we got a 52 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: little derailed by the Donovan Mitchell trade because number fifteen 53 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: in my list was Chicago. Obviously they're not fifteen anymore 54 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: with Cleveland. Call them fifteen, b call them sixteen. I 55 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: don't care. We're moving past them and the Pelicans are 56 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: gonna be taking that fifteen spot. So today number fifteen, 57 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: the New Orleans Pelicans. You guys know the drill before 58 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: we get started. Subscribe to the volumes YouTube channels. You 59 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on 60 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: Twitter at underscore Jason lt s you guys, don't miss 61 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: show announcements. And last but not least, if you miss 62 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,679 Speaker 1: one of these shows and you can't get back over 63 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: to YouTube to finish them, remember you can find them 64 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: in audio form wherever you get your podcasts. Under Hoops tonight. 65 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: So to give you guys an idea for those of 66 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: you missed it last week. The format we're going with here, 67 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: we're gonna briefly touch on last year, touch on player 68 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: personnel changes, deep dive on offense, deep dive on defense, 69 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: what their best case scenario is, what their worst case 70 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: scenario is, and who their biggest X factor is, player 71 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: that has a player concept, coach, whatever thing that has 72 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: the biggest swing capability and when it comes to the 73 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: outcome of their season. So, last season was a down 74 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: year in terms of health for the Pelicans. That really 75 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: really hurt them. CJ. McCollums, I and Williamson and Brandon 76 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: Ingram combined to only play in eighty one games. So 77 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: as a result, just in general, today we're gonna be 78 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: spending the vast majority of our attention looking forward rather 79 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: than looking backwards, just simply because there's just not a 80 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: lot you can take from a team that's gonna be 81 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: playing completely different players this season. None of it's going 82 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: to translate as smoothly um. But last year, with what 83 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: they had in terms of availability, they were nineteenth in offense, 84 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: eighteenth in defense. Obviously bad on both fronts. But at 85 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: the end of the season, when they started to get healthy, 86 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: things started to click and there were a lot of 87 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: things for Pelicans fans to get excited about. They finished 88 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,679 Speaker 1: the season nine and six. In their last fifteen games, 89 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: they won both playing games, and then they took a 90 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: very good Sons team with Chris Paul playing at the 91 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: very peak of his ability right before he fell apart. 92 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,840 Speaker 1: In the second round, they took that Son's team to 93 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: six games in really impressive fashion. I thought the revelation 94 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: of that playoff run, or the end of the season 95 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: run was Brandon Ingram, who average twenty nine six and 96 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: six on true shooting in the playing games and then 97 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: twenty seven six and six on fifty eight percent shooting 98 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: in the first round. I did a deep dive on 99 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: brandon Ingram during our player rankings, So if you I'm 100 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: not gonna over, you know, dive back into those things today. 101 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: So if you're looking for brandon Ingram uh analysis and 102 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: you didn't catch our earlier video, go deeper into our 103 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: feed player rankings, and that eleven to fifteen video is 104 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: where we did the deep dive into brandon Ingram. So 105 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: they didn't do much this offseason, but that's a good thing. 106 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: That's too uh David Griffin's benefit. Now, I I don't 107 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: agree with everything that David Griffin has done since he 108 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: got into that position. You know, him beefing with Lebron 109 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: was weird. He's a little bit egotistical, but I do 110 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: think he knows the basketball. I do think he's a 111 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: good GM and I think that's evidenced in the way 112 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: this roster has come together, especially with the types of 113 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 1: players that he's found on the wing. I really like 114 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: Trey Murphy, I really like Herb Jones, and those are 115 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,479 Speaker 1: guys that he found on the margins. And then you 116 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: add in um A. Dyson Daniels, their first round draft 117 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: pick from this season. Once again, we did a deep 118 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: dive into Dyson Daniels for our pre draft stuff, so 119 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: you can find that deeper in our feed. But they're 120 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,359 Speaker 1: really interesting and really deep. On the wing, Dyson Daniels 121 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:35,600 Speaker 1: is kind of like a you know, he's a defensive 122 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: minded wing that can make plays with the past attacking 123 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: clothes out, So kind of a similar archetype to Dale 124 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: and Terry when we were talking about Chicago, except for 125 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: I think Dyson Daniels has much better physical tools and 126 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: particularly is more physically developed. Good that he was with 127 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: the G League. Um, I think that helped him a 128 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: lot in that regard, but I think that's gonna make 129 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 1: him more NBA ready right now. But outside of that, 130 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 1: not a whole lot else. Iron signed his extension, which 131 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: is good obviously, and then their second round draft pick 132 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: e J. Ladell ended up tearing his A C L 133 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: at summer league, so he won't factor into this particular season. 134 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: But good you your team that's on the right track. 135 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: You've got a great core. You didn't screw that up, 136 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: so that's that's good. In terms of their offseason approach, 137 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: their depth chart as of right now at the guard position, 138 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: I see see Jim McCollum, DeVante Graham, Garrett Temple, Kira Lewis, 139 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: and Jose Alvarado. On the wing, Brandon Ingram I'm calling 140 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: Zion Williamson a wing. I don't even know what you 141 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: call him. At this point. We're gonna talk a lot 142 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: about Zion today. Um, Dyson Daniels, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones. 143 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: They're big, Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance, Jackson Hayes, and Willie 144 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: heren On Gomez. That's gonna be really interesting core. Depending 145 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: on where's Ion fits in their lineup, someone's gonna get 146 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: screw uh, get squeezed there. I think it might end 147 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: up being Jackson Hayes. We'll see. All right, let's talk 148 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: about the offensive end of the floor. We're gonna do 149 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: a deep dive into what they did last year as 150 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: well as what I expect them to do this year 151 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: now that Sion Williamson is back in the picture. So 152 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: they were a heavy post up team. There were six 153 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: in total post ups this year. Big part of that 154 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: was Jonas Valanciunas. Um, if I ask you, guys who 155 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: you thought the highest volume post up players in the 156 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: league were, you'd probably say Nicola Yo Kitchen, Joel embat 157 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: and you would be right. But guess who's third on 158 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: that list. It's Jonas Valanciuna as they throw the ball 159 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: down there to him a lot um. He does okay there, 160 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: but he's not. He scores less than one point per 161 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: possession on post ups, So in general, I'd like to 162 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: see them do a little bit less of that. This year. 163 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 1: They run a lot of off ball actions with CJ. 164 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: Mccollumin brandon Ingram to get them attacking with an advantage. 165 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: This is very similar to what I was talking about 166 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: with the Chicago Bulls was Zach Lavine and Demarda Rosen. 167 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: I think of it as like an off ball pick 168 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: and roll. Essentially, it's the same type of reads, like 169 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:51,960 Speaker 1: if you come off the screen and you're open, you 170 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: shoot it right. But if you don't and the defenders 171 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,959 Speaker 1: chasing you, you're trying to work curling around the screen 172 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: to get downhill into the lane to force the defense 173 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:02,439 Speaker 1: to rotate, or obviously get all the way to the 174 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,479 Speaker 1: rim if you can. This turned into a really interesting 175 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: chess match with Phoenix because New Orleans is not a 176 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: good pick and roll team, at least they weren't during 177 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: this regular season. They were the third worst pick and 178 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,199 Speaker 1: roll team in the entire NBA on a per possession basis. 179 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: So essentially, Monty Williams wanted to take New Orleans out 180 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: of their off ball actions and forced them to run 181 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: more heliocentric style with c J mcollum and Brandon Ingram 182 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: attacking with a live dribble out of pick and roll. 183 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: So what he did was he straight up top sided 184 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: on Brandon Ingram and c J McCollums, so he'd have 185 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,319 Speaker 1: Jay Crowder and Michael Bridges position themselves like backside to 186 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: half court in the way of Brandon and c J. 187 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: Where they were trying to come off their screens, kind 188 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: of like straight up giving a backdoor cut if they 189 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: wanted to, but just trying to disrupt that initial attack 190 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: in their offense. I thought it was a really smart 191 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: strategy for Monty Williams, and particularly in the early part 192 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: of that series, you can see that have an effect 193 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: on New Orleans in their confidence on the offensive end 194 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: of the floor. They did get off to a slow start, 195 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: particularly in Game one. Um The interesting dynamic there though, 196 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,560 Speaker 1: was even though in the regular season the Pelicans average 197 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: zero point eight points per pick and roll possession, which 198 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: again was third worst in the entire league, they bumped 199 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: that up to one point per possession which is solid 200 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: against the Sun's. A huge part of that was Jose 201 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: Alvartrado played extremely well, DeVante Graham played extremely well coming 202 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:30,079 Speaker 1: off the bench, and Cje McCollum is one of the 203 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: better pick and roll players in the league as well. 204 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: I don't want to do talk about it too much 205 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: further again, because like I said, I did a deep 206 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,599 Speaker 1: dive into this for the player rankings, but brandon Ingram 207 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: passing out of high pick and roll was amazing to watch. 208 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 1: In this particular playoff run, he already is seeing the 209 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: floor and passing at a higher level than a lot 210 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: of his peers at that position around the league. He's huge, 211 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: so he can see the floor well, He's got these 212 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 1: long arms so he can make these like slingshot, like 213 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: catapult passes across the court to the weak side corner. 214 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: Just just really high level stuff from him. It was 215 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: a huge part of why I had him as high 216 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: in my player rankings as I did. What was the 217 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: interesting chess match of that series was Phoenix turning New 218 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: Orleans into a pick and roll team even though they 219 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,199 Speaker 1: didn't want to be, and then then succeeding anyway because 220 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: they had four ball handlers who all did well in 221 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: pick and roll in that series. Um. CJ McCollum was 222 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:25,839 Speaker 1: the eighth best pick and roll player in the league 223 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:27,839 Speaker 1: last year to run at least three pick and rolls 224 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: in the regular season. Obviously, he did well in that 225 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: playoff series as well. Didn't shoot the ball as well 226 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: as he'd like, but he's a guy that's going to 227 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: generate quality offense there. Um. The interesting thing I wanted 228 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,559 Speaker 1: to talk a little bit about c J. C J 229 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: is a really interesting player because he's not a fantastic 230 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: athlete at the shooting guard position, but he does a really, 231 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: really good job of protecting the basketball with a live dribble. 232 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: And this is something that I talked about a lot 233 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 1: with young players. How many times, either as a young player, 234 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: have you seen this or have you done it yourself 235 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: where you're dribbling in front of somebody and you try 236 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: to do a crossover dribble in front of your body 237 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: and the defender just kind of reaches their hands out 238 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: and pokes it away from you, and you can't figure 239 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,839 Speaker 1: out how they sat on it. You can't figure out 240 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: how they got to it, but they got to it. 241 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: Now they're running the other way for a layup. It 242 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: happens a lot, and with the kids that I coach, 243 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: I always tell him the same thing, like, when you 244 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:17,959 Speaker 1: have distance between you and the defender in front of you, 245 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 1: you can do things like crossover dribbles, but specifically when 246 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: you're like up close and personal with the defensive player 247 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: who has his hand out and is trying to disrupt 248 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: your dribble, you need to protect the basketball, and the 249 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 1: easiest way to do that is to dribble between your legs. 250 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: You have to take long, lunging steps and protect the 251 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: basketball by dribbling between your legs. C J McColl him 252 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,080 Speaker 1: the vast majority of his dribble combinations are done between 253 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: his legs to protect the basketball. The other thing that 254 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: he does really well is called snaking the pick and roll. Essentially, 255 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,560 Speaker 1: imagine it like this. If a guard is chasing you 256 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: over the top of the screen, one of the easiest 257 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: ways to make it harder for him to actually get 258 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: over the screen is to make him navigate around the 259 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: screen for longer. So if you come around the screen 260 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: to the right and then you immediately snake back to 261 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: the left side of the floor, that guard has a 262 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: harder time navigating it's like him trying to go around 263 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: around about as you can imagine. Um. C J. McCollums 264 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: snakes to pick and roll extremely well. He's also great 265 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: pull up jump shooter. He took eleven pull up jump 266 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: shots per game in this regular season and made them 267 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: at a fifty effective field goal percentage that's field goal 268 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: percentage waited for three point shots. He also averaged five 269 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 1: assists per game. So just having a couple of really 270 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: high end pick and roll ball handlers in Brandon Ingram 271 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: and c J. McCollum made that interesting. And then with 272 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: Jose Alvarado and Davante Graham playing well off the bench, 273 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: they were able to hang with a really, really good 274 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: team in Phoenix. Valance Junist was the was the what 275 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: I thought was the most interesting kind of conundrum that 276 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,560 Speaker 1: the Pelicans found themselves in in that Phoenix series. So 277 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: to give you an idea, in a hundred and seventy 278 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,200 Speaker 1: five minutes with him on the floor against Phoenix, they 279 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: were minus fifteen and a hundred and thirty hundred and 280 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: thirteen minutes with him off, they were plu us six, 281 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,560 Speaker 1: and specifically on the defensive end of the floor, they 282 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:07,319 Speaker 1: were eleven points seven points better with him off the floor, 283 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: and it's the classic bigs verse perimeter players debate that 284 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,719 Speaker 1: I'm always having with you guys on the show. M 285 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: Valancinis brings a ton of things to the table as 286 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: a dominant big man. He is an outstanding offensive rebounder 287 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: in the NBA's pretty solid in the short roll, so 288 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: when he catches the ball in pick and roll in 289 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: the middle of the floor, he's good at making reads 290 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: to his teammates, lob passes to someone cutting back door, 291 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: hitting shooters in the corner. He's got like a really 292 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: kind of jankie looking kind of like push shot or 293 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: floater in the lane that he makes quite a bit. 294 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: And then obviously high volume post up guy that succeeds 295 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: the average zero point nine eight points per possession and 296 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: post ups. So he does all these things that help 297 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: you right. Obviously, if he's standing right underneath the basket 298 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: and somebody tries to score over him, he can bother 299 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: them with a length. But because he's a slow footed big, 300 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: he hurts you in all these other areas of the game. 301 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: He got absolutely destroyed in pick and roll by the 302 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns. That's a huge part of why their defense 303 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: was so bad with him on the floor. He's just 304 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: too slow to be put in positions as a defender 305 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: where he either needs to cover ground meaning he's covering 306 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: a perimeter player in open space, or in pick and 307 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: roll where he's got to split the difference between multiple 308 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: players being up on Chris Paul did his way to 309 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: pull up while also getting back to dissuade the lob 310 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: with DeAndre, and he's just not really capable of doing 311 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: that and extremely high level. So in general, even though 312 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: he did all these good things, like once again he 313 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:34,479 Speaker 1: destroyed Phoenix on the offensive glass, he scored the basketball 314 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: around the rim, he did a lot of good things, 315 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: but in the aggregate, when you factored in the things 316 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: that he was hurting the team in as a defensive 317 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: player in particular and also was spacing, I didn't think 318 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: it was actually a good arrangement, and they didn't do 319 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: well with him on the floor against Phoenix. I think 320 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 1: he's good to have on the roster. He can eat 321 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: innings in the regular season, but in the playoffs. Moving forward, 322 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: I'd like to see them favor Larry Nance at that 323 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: five spot because of what he can do on the 324 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: perimeter with his scale, he could shoot the ball and 325 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: attack close outs things like that. And then on defense 326 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: he's a lot more mobile. You can use him in 327 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: a drop coverage. He's not gonna be a great drop 328 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: coverage big, but he can do that. But in general, 329 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: he can do the more versatile defensive stuff like switching 330 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: and pick and roll or guarding in transition when he 331 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: has to pick up a different man in transition. I 332 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: just like Larry Ants a little bit better in that spot, 333 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: and I don't think it was a coincidence that they 334 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: played better with Larry Ants on the floor in this 335 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: particular playoffs, uh, playoff run. But when we're projecting forward 336 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 1: for this Pelicans team, we have to factor in Zion Williamson. 337 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: You know, this is the number one overall draft pick 338 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: from a few years back, so he's obviously going to 339 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: be some type of focal point in the offense. And 340 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: it's a different Everything is different than the last time 341 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: he played. Not only was c J. McCollum not there, 342 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: but the team is more serious. This is a Pelicans 343 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 1: team that probably is talking about how they have a 344 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: chance to win the West. Now do I think they 345 00:16:57,720 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: have a chance to win the West? No, we'll get 346 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: further in to that, but the reality is is this 347 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 1: is a team with real ambitions now, and this is 348 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 1: a team that has more you know, competent ball handling 349 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: around him. So it's gonna be a different role than 350 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: it was last time. Last time he played, he was 351 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: in a major on ball role. They had him trying 352 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: to run point guard a lot. He was running a 353 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: lot of grible handoffs with J. J. Reddick. It was 354 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: a whole thing, right, It's gonna be a lot different 355 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: this time around in this particular system. So I thought 356 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: the best way to do that, or to try to 357 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: project that, is to take a look at what Zion's 358 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 1: skill set is and how it fits with this particular group. 359 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: Let's think like coaches for a minute, right, So what 360 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: is ion specific skill set um for a forward? He 361 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: handles the ball really well and he can pass the 362 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 1: ball really well. So there, that's a good point, a 363 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: good starting point. As an athlete, he's a mismatch against 364 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: basically any type of defender. It kind of reminds me 365 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 1: a little bit of Janice in that regard, where it's 366 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:56,679 Speaker 1: like he's way too quick for the big players and 367 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: way too big for the quick players. And that goes 368 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: for are the big, strong wings like Jayson Tatum, who 369 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:05,640 Speaker 1: I think is one of the best perimeter defenders in basketball, 370 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: or Andrew Wiggins. You know what, those type that archetype 371 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,679 Speaker 1: of defensive wing is not going to be able to 372 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:15,399 Speaker 1: handle the low center of gravity and strength that Zion 373 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 1: Williamson has. That's the type of mismatch problem that he 374 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: presents to everybody. He is, without a doubt, not even 375 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: close the best rim finisher in basketball, even better than Janice. 376 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 1: Last year or last time you played him and Janice 377 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: both played sixty one games. Zion lad the entire NBA 378 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 1: and restricted area field goal makes with five hundred and forty, 379 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: which was a hundred and thirteen more than Janice. To 380 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 1: give you some perspective, this year, I was talking about 381 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 1: how Zion average excuse me, Janice average like six point 382 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: seven restricted area makes per game and Lebron was right 383 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:55,640 Speaker 1: there because he was averaging six point six in one campaign. 384 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: Zion average nine restricted area makes per game. This sky 385 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: is just physically impossible to keep away from the rim. 386 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: That's the type of mismatch problem that he is. So 387 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: we have to think about how he fits alongside these 388 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: Pelicans lineups. Now, the first problem is is you can't 389 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,640 Speaker 1: play him at the five. We discovered in that campaign 390 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: that defensively, he's not capable of doing what a backside 391 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,640 Speaker 1: rim protector can do or a typical good back line 392 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 1: defender can do, right, So they're gonna have to play 393 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: him alongside some sort of big man. The temptation is 394 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: going to be to play alongside Jonas Valanciutis a lot. 395 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: I expect him to start alongside Jonas Valanciunis, but like 396 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,199 Speaker 1: we talked about earlier, I'm not a huge fan of 397 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: that specific fit because of the negatives that come with Jonas. 398 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: So my hope is that in the long run that 399 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: they pair him a lot with Larry Nance as that 400 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: backside defender gives him a ton of athleticism in the 401 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,120 Speaker 1: front court. That could be really, really interesting. So when 402 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:57,199 Speaker 1: we think about what the Pelicans have around Zion this 403 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: time around, right, we got c Jim McCollum, who's an 404 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,439 Speaker 1: outstand n shooter and ball handler. Brandon Ingram is an 405 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 1: outstanding ball handler and probably will shoot the ball well 406 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: from the perimeter this year, or if Jones, who didn't 407 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,240 Speaker 1: shoot the ball overly well in this last regular season. 408 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:11,879 Speaker 1: We'll get to him a little bit more in a minute, 409 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: but they typically will have some kind of shooting threat 410 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: in that the ree spot and then somebody as a 411 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,400 Speaker 1: big let's call it Larry Nance for the sake of 412 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: just talking this through in terms of offensive concepts. So 413 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: from there, I still like the idea of some of 414 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: the dribble handoff stuff that they were doing with him 415 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: and J. J. Reddick again, that that doesn't have to 416 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:34,640 Speaker 1: be necessarily something that's looking for Zion. You could use 417 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: him pretty similar to the way that the Nuggets used 418 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,680 Speaker 1: Nickel Yokich, and they use his threat to get openings 419 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: for his guards. If you could imagine Zion Williamson initiating 420 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: actions for Brandon Ingram and C. J. McCollum coming off 421 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: of their you know, curls, there's wide curls, but with 422 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: a dribble handoff was Zion Williamson, that could add a 423 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,439 Speaker 1: whole other dynamic to how difficult that is to defend 424 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: and really open things up for them on the offense 425 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: of endo the floor. So I still like dribble handoff stuff. 426 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: I really like the idea of him as a short 427 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: roller with Brandon Ingram and c Jim mccollumn against short 428 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: roll is when you don't roll hard to the rim, 429 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: but you'd rather kind of soft roll to the middle 430 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: of the floor. You catch a pocket pass there and 431 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: you either continue to go to the rim, or you 432 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,360 Speaker 1: make reads to your teammates, or you can shoot floaters 433 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: or quick little pull up jump shots and things like that. 434 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: The other thing I'm really excited for is the spaced ISOs. 435 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: This is a team that should, in theory, especially with 436 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,679 Speaker 1: specific lineups, especially with Larry Nance on the floor, have 437 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: outstanding spacing, and Zion is just gonna catch really favorable 438 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: matchups every single game, spacing the floor for him and 439 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: allowing him to rip through to his left and go 440 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: to the rim. That's the way that I see him 441 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 1: being used, not as point Zion like they did the 442 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: last time he played, but a little bit of on 443 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: ball stuff as a dribble handoff guy, and then a 444 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: whole lot of stuff as a screener and what he 445 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: could do to open things up for himself as a screener, 446 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: and then of course attacking matchups with spaced out ISOs 447 00:21:58,280 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: zooming out a couple before we moved to the d 448 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: defensive end of the floor. I wanted to touch on 449 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: just a couple of their role players, not all of them, 450 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: just the ones that I find particularly interesting today. Um, 451 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,640 Speaker 1: I really like Herb Jones obviously is an outstanding defensive player. 452 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,399 Speaker 1: We're gonna get more to Herb Jones on the defensive 453 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: end of the floor in a minute, but right now, 454 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: they the Pelicans need him to take a little bit 455 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: of a leap offensively. He did shoot against Phoenix, but 456 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: it was really low volume. He's in general, is a 457 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,120 Speaker 1: really low volume shooter and shoots about thirty three. Obviously, 458 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: he's young right now, his release is too slow, so 459 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: he's too hesitant when he gets some shot like he 460 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: just he doesn't have a quick enough trigger to make 461 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: teams pay for guarding for not guarding him. And he's 462 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 1: not consistent enough as a shooter to make teams pay 463 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: for not guarding him. So that's the thing they're gonna 464 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 1: have to figure out. Jose Alvarado is excellent pushing the 465 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: pace for them. You can feel that energy change every 466 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 1: time he checks into the game. He just likes to 467 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: get going on a full run. Do again. The advantage 468 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,440 Speaker 1: of attacking that way is it keeps a defense from 469 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: getting set and leads to more helter skelter stuff. A 470 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: lot of times you can catch favorable matchups that way. 471 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: Because transition defense it's usually dictates that you grab the 472 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,359 Speaker 1: person nearest to you. It's an easy way to get 473 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 1: favorable matchups. He's also really solid and pick and roll, 474 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:08,679 Speaker 1: and he had a really good pick and roll playoff 475 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: series against the Phoenix Phoenix Suns. I really like Trey Murphy. 476 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: He kind of fell out of the rotation against Phoenix, 477 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: probably because Monti Williams doesn't trust him enough on the 478 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: defensive end of the floor. But he does have the 479 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:21,560 Speaker 1: physical tools to be a good defensive player, so I'm 480 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 1: hoping that he gets a bigger role this season. The 481 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 1: reason why I like him is he's a gunner. He 482 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: averaged about eight three point attempts per thirty six minutes 483 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: this year. Um, he's everything that Herb Jones is not 484 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 1: as a spot up guy, hunts three point shots, has 485 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: a quick release you know, isn't bothered by mild contests, 486 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: offers real floor spacing. You can even push that shot 487 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:48,439 Speaker 1: out to almost like feet comfortably. I really really like 488 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: what he could potentially be for them as a three 489 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: and D guy. There's some potentially exciting stuff there too. 490 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,640 Speaker 1: You can start to imagine line ups with Brandon Ingram, 491 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 1: Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy all on the floor together, 492 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,439 Speaker 1: and the type of length and versatility they could have 493 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: on the defensive end of the floor if he takes 494 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: a leap defensively. Jackson Hayes is the interesting one. He's 495 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: an outstanding athlete. He's a little bit out of control 496 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 1: when you watch him play, a little bit of a 497 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: bull of a China bull in the China Shop. But 498 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,520 Speaker 1: I think his rotation spot is going to be the 499 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: one that ends up getting squeezed with Zion returning. So 500 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: let's move to the defensive end of the floor. So 501 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: they were a bad defensive team last year. They ranked eighteenth, 502 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 1: but health was a big factor in that. Uh. They 503 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: did have some interesting line up data though, that I 504 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: think projects for what they could have in some specific 505 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: scenarios on the defensive end of the floor. Their scheme 506 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: is pretty consistent with what you see around the rest 507 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: of the league. They run drop coverages with Jonas Valanciunas, 508 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: chase shooters over the top of screens and try to 509 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: funnel things to Jonas in the paint. They do uhum, 510 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: a little bit of dropping with Nance as well, but 511 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 1: he's a little bit more switchable. And then typically one 512 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: through four they switched just about everything that they can, 513 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: which is to David Griffin's credit, they gave he came 514 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,160 Speaker 1: up with a roster with the right type of personnel 515 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,199 Speaker 1: to be able to do that type of switching. They 516 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: were pretty damn good at defending the paint. They were 517 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: pretty damn good in transition, and they were pretty damn 518 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: good securing defensive rebounds. Those three areas in particular all 519 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: point towards Willie Green, especially when you factor in that 520 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: Jonas Valanciunas is not exactly the best rim protector in 521 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: the NBA and that they don't necessarily have the best 522 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: defensive personnel. It means they have a great help scheme 523 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: that clogs the paint and makes it so that as 524 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 1: a team they defend the painted area. Obviously, transition defense 525 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:29,400 Speaker 1: is big on attention to detail too. That's sprinting back 526 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: and communicating and getting matched up and then defensive rebounding, 527 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,400 Speaker 1: boxing out on every possession and having guys crash from 528 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: the perimeter. That's all coaching. That's all attention to detail. 529 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,480 Speaker 1: And you know that there's a lot of attention in 530 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: this particular team devoted towards the players for good reason, 531 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: right Like Brandon Ingram is a great player, ce Jim 532 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,640 Speaker 1: mcollums a great players. Ian Williamson or Jones has been 533 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: the revelation this year, right, But Willie Green deserves a 534 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: ton of credit for what he's done with this group 535 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: and and the way that he's got them bought in 536 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 1: and playing hard every single night, and the defensive identity 537 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: that he's built with this group. He deserves a lot 538 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: of credit for that. They do air on the side 539 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 1: of leaving shooters to help in the paint, though, and 540 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,119 Speaker 1: that was the weakness in their defense. They did allow 541 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,200 Speaker 1: the sixth most made threes and the fifth highest percentage 542 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: in terms of their opponents three point percentage. R Jones 543 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: was the biggest bright spot on the defensive end of 544 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: the floor last year. His role grew as the season progressed. 545 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: By the end of the season, he was a huge 546 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:28,159 Speaker 1: minute guy for them. He's a super disruptive perimeter defender, 547 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 1: kind of Kauai esque in the ability that it has 548 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: that the natural knack he has to take the basketball 549 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 1: away from ball handlers, particularly with a live dribble. He 550 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: had a hundred and thirty steels last year, which was 551 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:43,360 Speaker 1: third in the entire NBA, which is insane for a 552 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 1: young defensive wing like that. Um In terms of technique, 553 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,240 Speaker 1: I think it's really fascinating because you know, a lot 554 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: of young players reach in on defense. That's to be expected. 555 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: It's it's just kind of a bad basketball habit that 556 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: a lot of young players have. And when I say 557 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: reaching in, I mean lunging out of position, Like they 558 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: will lunge forward to get the basketball and reach and 559 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: in the process throw their entire body out of balance. 560 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 1: And so, yeah, you might get the basketball every once 561 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: in a while, you might force a turnover and you 562 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 1: might be running the other way. But the rest of 563 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,440 Speaker 1: the time, if it's a competent ball handler you're guarding, 564 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: they're just gonna go right around you because now your 565 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: body's out of position. And what what Herb Jones does 566 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: so well, and it kind of reminds me of Kauai 567 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 1: is he can be disruptive with his hands without getting 568 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,880 Speaker 1: his body out of whack. So he's not lunging, he's 569 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: just putting his hands in places where the ball usually 570 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 1: is while staying square with you and sliding with you. Obviously, 571 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 1: it helps to have obscenely long arms to do that, 572 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: but that in terms of technique is the way that 573 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,919 Speaker 1: herb Jones can be disruptive without giving ground as a 574 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: defensive player. When brandon Ingram and herb Jones shared the 575 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 1: floor together last year, they had a hundred and six 576 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: point eight defensive rating, which is excellent for perspective. Boston 577 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 1: led the league last year as a team with the 578 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 1: one oh six point two. Now, when you start messing 579 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: with line up data and that gets a little tricky, 580 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 1: but that's just one qualifier. Just brandon Ingram and herb 581 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 1: Jones together, they defended pretty damn well, and that's something 582 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: that you can take as a huge positive looking forward. 583 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 1: Brandon Ingram in general is gonna be the main kind 584 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: of like fulcrum for their defensive potential next year because 585 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,440 Speaker 1: he has shown a tendency throughout his career too given 586 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: to have given take in terms of his effort on 587 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: that side of the floor. Obviously, his defensive potential is 588 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 1: insanely high with his physical tools, but he can just 589 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 1: be lazy sometimes when when he was in with the 590 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: Lakers in Los Angeles, he defended extremely well, and then 591 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:37,920 Speaker 1: he went to New Orleans and took a bigger offensive 592 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 1: role and kind of let go of the rope there. 593 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: Had a pretty bad defensive season for the most part 594 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: last year, but then was really good towards the end 595 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: of the year, particularly in that playoff run. So that 596 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: potential verse reality thing with Brandon Ingram, whether or not 597 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: it's the good defensive version of Brandon Ingram or the 598 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: lazy one, that's gonna be a huge indicator for them 599 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: this season. Jose Alvarado is a really interesting defensive player too, 600 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: not just everyone will focus on the famous videos of 601 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 1: him sneaking up from behind and taking the ball away, 602 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: but he's just downright disruptive even in the half court 603 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: as well. He's he kind of reminds me of Patrick 604 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: Beverley with his knack for freelancing, like randomly double teaming 605 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 1: or randomly sneaking from one side of the floor to 606 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: the other. The there there's just it's hard to explain. 607 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 1: There's there's just like an instinct to it, like a 608 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 1: a seeing things before they happen type of of of 609 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: basketball i Q thing that some defensive players have, and 610 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: Jose Alvarado has that, and he's just got a knack 611 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: for blowing up plays by freelancing. Some players freelance and 612 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,479 Speaker 1: it destroys everything for your defense. Russell Westbrook, for instance, 613 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 1: will freelance and almost always get burned. There are guys 614 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,840 Speaker 1: out there like Jos Alvarado, like Patrick Beverley, you can 615 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: do a little bit more of that freelancing without getting 616 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: in as much trouble for it. It's a timing thing, 617 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: it's an instinct thing. I don't really have a better 618 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 1: way of describing it. But when Jose Alvarado, Brandon Ingram 619 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: and Herb Jones were on the floor together or last year, 620 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: they had a defensive rating of eighty five point seven. 621 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: Now is in a pretty small sample size, only forty 622 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: six minutes, But that's an interesting trio that I wouldn't 623 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 1: mind seeing a little bit more this year. The key 624 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 1: to them on the defensive end is gonna be hiding Zion. 625 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: Zanion is a bad defensive player right now, and just 626 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: about every facet of the game, he's got bad instincts. 627 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,200 Speaker 1: His decision making in terms of when to help versus 628 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: when to stay with his man is poor he gets 629 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 1: up out of his stance when he's off ball. You'll 630 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: see this in the film. Instead of sitting in his 631 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: defensive stance, will kind of stand upright, which just makes 632 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,920 Speaker 1: you take that extra second to squat down into your 633 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: stance before you close out or before you go help. 634 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: And as a result, that split second can cost you 635 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: as a help defender. So those are just little discipline 636 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: things he's gonna have to get better. As a result, 637 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,600 Speaker 1: they're going to have to pair him with a solid 638 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,719 Speaker 1: back line defender, like we talked about on the offensive 639 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 1: end of the floor, so he's gonna have to be 640 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: alongside Larry and answer Jonas valancun Is just to be 641 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: even beyond the floor. I kind of prefer using him 642 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: as like a wing defender in the sense that you 643 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 1: kind of target him in in in a role where 644 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: it's a little bit easier for him to make decisions. 645 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: Like if he's in a primary back line role, he's 646 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 1: gonna have to make so many help and recover decisions 647 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: over the course of the game that it's gonna hurt 648 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: your defense. But if he's in more of a backside 649 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: help role where he's rotating as opposed to meeting people 650 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: at the rim all game long. I think I'll have 651 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: a little bit more success. Obviously in the long run, 652 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: you'd like to see him be some version of Draymond, 653 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: but there's just so far for him to go to 654 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: ever get to that level that I don't think it's 655 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 1: safe to count on it at that point. My favorite 656 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: line up with this group right now and C Jim McCollum, 657 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: IRV Jones, brandon Ingram, Larry Nansen, Zion. I think that 658 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: gives you the flexibility to switch everything if you wanted 659 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,280 Speaker 1: to defensively, and then on the offensive end of the floor, 660 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: you've got four guys that can knock down shots to 661 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: put around Zion. You can use Zion as your primary 662 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: screen and roll threat or as an isolation threat. That's 663 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 1: the lineup that I like the most. Um either way, 664 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: regardless of everything that we said, their defensive ceiling is 665 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,240 Speaker 1: somewhat limited because of the fact that you have to 666 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,480 Speaker 1: play C. J. McCollum and you have to play Zion 667 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: Williamson because they're two of your three best players right 668 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: So because of that, naturally you're weak defensively at two 669 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 1: spots on the perimeter and then their two back line defenders, 670 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: and Jonas Valanciunas and Larry Nancer their screen and role defenders. 671 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: They're both okay, neither of them are great defensively in 672 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: that role. So when you've got a weak defensive front 673 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:26,719 Speaker 1: line and then you've got two weak links that need 674 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 1: to play consistent minutes at the other four positions, there's 675 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: just no universe where they're ever gonna be an elite 676 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: defensive team. Like a defensive team that can lock in 677 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 1: and get lots of stops in a row. That's just 678 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:38,880 Speaker 1: not going to be the thing that they're capable of. 679 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: That puts a hard ceiling on them on that side 680 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 1: of the floor, which inherently puts a hard ceiling on 681 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,719 Speaker 1: them in terms of their overall aspirations for this season. 682 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,920 Speaker 1: All right, let's take a look at the best case 683 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 1: scenario for this Pelicans team. So obviously, the best case 684 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 1: scenario is brandon Ing German Zion both take leaps as 685 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,240 Speaker 1: defensive players. Right, brandon Ingram gets to what he's capable 686 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: of being, which is an all defense level wing, and 687 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:03,160 Speaker 1: z And Williamson just becomes a passable defensive player. Ce 688 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: J McCollum kind of is what he is but maybe 689 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:07,160 Speaker 1: you can get him to buy in and commit on 690 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,000 Speaker 1: that end of the floor. Um herb Jones becomes a 691 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,800 Speaker 1: better shooter, thus being a more of a perimeter threat 692 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 1: on the offensive end of the floor to make his 693 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: value greater with what he does on the defensive end 694 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:18,920 Speaker 1: of the floor, he also needs to get a little 695 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: bit better attacking closeouts. Hopefully the Zion fit on the 696 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 1: offensive end of the floor is natural and seamless, especially 697 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 1: with what they need as a screener and without what 698 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 1: he could do with dribble handoff actions as the trigger 699 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: man and what he can do attacking matchups, which can 700 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 1: which can change things in a playoff series. If they 701 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,080 Speaker 1: play a lot less Jonas Valentiunas, play with more pace, 702 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,440 Speaker 1: play with more Larry Nance, a little bit more five out, 703 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:44,160 Speaker 1: a little bit more up and down the floor to 704 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 1: play into your athleticism more. I think if all of 705 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: those things come together, this is a team that could 706 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 1: have a top five offense and a top fifteen defense. Obviously, 707 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: like we talked about, their defensive ceiling is limited by 708 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,840 Speaker 1: playing so much Zion and c J and with what 709 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: they have in terms of back line defenders. So with 710 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:03,560 Speaker 1: you with a top five offense and a top five 711 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 1: defense or top fifteen defense. What are we getting. I 712 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,480 Speaker 1: think you could have a top four seed in the West, 713 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: you could finish three or four there, and then you 714 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: have a puncher's chance to make the conference finals. But 715 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:16,960 Speaker 1: do I don't think it's reasonable to believe that if 716 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: Golden State was healthy, or if the Clippers were healthy, 717 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:22,360 Speaker 1: that they would have any chance to win those series. 718 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,960 Speaker 1: Is because both of those teams are every bit as 719 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 1: good as what they can do on offense and significantly 720 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 1: better on the defensive end of the floor. Obviously, with 721 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: someone like Zion as a as a matchup problem, anything 722 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:35,920 Speaker 1: can happen. But I think this is a team that 723 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,080 Speaker 1: has a hard ceiling of the conference finals because of 724 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:43,200 Speaker 1: what they're limited by on the defensive end of the floor. Obviously, 725 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 1: they're worst case scenario is injuries crop up again. Brandon 726 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,279 Speaker 1: Ingram C J. McCollum and Zion of all issues with 727 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,160 Speaker 1: injuries in the past, that lack of a defensive ceiling 728 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,520 Speaker 1: could end up biting them earlier than later. Um the 729 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 1: fit with Zion could end up being clunky. Obviously I 730 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,080 Speaker 1: don't think it will be, but that's a possibility if 731 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,440 Speaker 1: it ends up struggling of Zion struggles in that role, 732 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,560 Speaker 1: or if he wants to be on ball more, then 733 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 1: in that case, it ends up being something that's more 734 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:10,719 Speaker 1: like a playing team, something more like what happened last year, 735 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,760 Speaker 1: a team that's frisky, a team that you know could 736 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 1: take a game or two off of a one seed 737 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:17,239 Speaker 1: or two seed, but not a team that has a 738 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,240 Speaker 1: real threat. That's what I view is the worst case scenario. 739 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 1: And then most importantly, if Zion gets hurt again, then 740 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 1: you've got to start having serious conversations about whether or 741 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 1: not that draft pick has pained out the way that 742 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,960 Speaker 1: they hope, and whether or not it might be worthwhile 743 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,480 Speaker 1: to move off of him. So his health is another 744 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,240 Speaker 1: thing that I would look at in terms of the 745 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: um what the worst case scenario would be. All Right, last, 746 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 1: but not least, who's the biggest X factor on this team. 747 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 1: I think it's Brandon Ingram. You know, in my player rankings, 748 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,440 Speaker 1: I put him as the twelfth best player in the world. 749 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: Now that was probably a little high, and I was 750 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:52,560 Speaker 1: definitely I was definitely judging him based on what I 751 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:54,400 Speaker 1: think he can be a little bit more than what 752 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 1: he has been based on what happened in that playoff 753 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,239 Speaker 1: series against Phoenix. We talked about that already in our 754 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:01,080 Speaker 1: mail bag. I'm not going to get any further into it, 755 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:03,719 Speaker 1: but there was there's a case that Brandon Ingram is 756 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:06,319 Speaker 1: not even a top twenty five player. I'm sure there 757 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: were some of you who are listening that thought that 758 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,919 Speaker 1: someone the likes of Rudy Gobert is better, or someone 759 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,520 Speaker 1: the likes of, you know, Trey Young is better, or 760 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:16,239 Speaker 1: someone along those lines. Right, But let's just look at 761 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,279 Speaker 1: that as a spectrum. This season, one of two things 762 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:21,880 Speaker 1: is gonna happen. Brandon Ingram is going to continue to 763 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,440 Speaker 1: flash the playmaking that he showed in that playoff series, 764 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 1: continue to flash the high volume efficient scoring, like I 765 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:29,400 Speaker 1: think the only average like twenty three points a game 766 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:31,239 Speaker 1: in the regular season that went up to twenty nine 767 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:33,360 Speaker 1: in the playing in twenty seven in the playoffs. What 768 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 1: are we gonna get from Brandon Ingram this year? Are 769 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,400 Speaker 1: we gonna get the twenty seven point per game efficient 770 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: playmaking forward that's an all defense level wing. Or are 771 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,920 Speaker 1: we gonna get the twenty three point per game, nagging, injury, 772 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: non focused defensive player that we got for large chunks 773 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: of last season, right, and that swing factor is going 774 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:56,359 Speaker 1: to be the biggest difference between this whether or not 775 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:58,919 Speaker 1: this is a Pelicans team that can make a run 776 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 1: to the conference semis or conference finals and a team 777 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,680 Speaker 1: that get remains stuck in the playing game. Brandon Ingram 778 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,200 Speaker 1: is the X factor of this team. He does struggle 779 00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:10,879 Speaker 1: to stay on the court with injuries. He is inconsistent 780 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 1: with his buy in on the defensive end of the floor. 781 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 1: He does have long stretches where scoring isn't as efficient 782 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,880 Speaker 1: or as high volume as it can be, as we 783 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 1: saw in that playoff series. So that that is going 784 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:23,200 Speaker 1: to be the guy to watch this season as a 785 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:27,000 Speaker 1: Pelicans fan. If you see him going on an all 786 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: NBA type of campaign, that's a great sign for where 787 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,399 Speaker 1: this franchise is setting forward, and it's a great sign 788 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 1: for what they're capable of if they end up in 789 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,239 Speaker 1: a playoff series against a good team. All right, guys, 790 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. We will be 791 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:41,760 Speaker 1: right back with number fourteen tomorrow. As always, I appreciate 792 00:37:41,760 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 1: your guys a support and I'll see you then. And 793 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:40,000 Speaker 1: the volume