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Speaker 1: here at the Volume. Happy Wednesday, everybody hopefull If you

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Speaker 1: guys are having an incredible week. We're gonna keep it

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Speaker 1: real simple today. We're just gonna do a film session.

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Speaker 1: I've got roughly like fifty clips or so from three

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Speaker 1: different games we're gonna hit. We're gonna Lakers, Nuggets, MAVs, Clippers,

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Speaker 1: and Suns Wolves in the film sessions today. And then

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Speaker 1: I also have a mail bag at the end of

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Speaker 1: the show where we're gonna go over. I think I

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Speaker 1: got like five or six male bag questions. We're gonna hit,

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Speaker 1: you guys, are the joke before we get started. Subscribe

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Speaker 1: to our brand new YouTube channels you don't miss any

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Speaker 1: more of our videos, follow me on Twitter at underscore

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Speaker 1: Jason lt so you guys don't miss any show announcements.

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Speaker 1: Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your

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Speaker 1: podcasts under Hoops tonight, and then keep dropping mail back

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Speaker 1: questions in those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting

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Speaker 1: them throughout the rest of the season. Also, last, but

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Speaker 1: not least, before we get started, I want to talk

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Speaker 1: to you guys for a minute about game time. This

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant. Make sure you guys get out there and

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Speaker 1: let's get right into the film. So we are going

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Speaker 1: to be starting with the complete collapse of the Lakers

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Speaker 1: at the end of this Denver Nuggets game, but specifically

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Speaker 1: the work that Denver was doing offensively. They scored on

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Speaker 1: eight of their last nine possessions in this game. This

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Speaker 1: has been a consistent issue for the Lakers this season.

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Speaker 1: In two crunch Time games, in the regular season they

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Speaker 1: gave up an offensive rating over one ninety, and then

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Speaker 1: the offensive rating they allowed for the Nuggets and crunch

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Speaker 1: time of Game two of this Western Conference first round

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Speaker 1: series two hundred. Yes, that's not a mistake. Two hundred

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Speaker 1: points per one hundred possessions is the rate at which

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Speaker 1: the Nuggets were scoring. As I said, they scored on

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Speaker 1: eight of their last nine possessions. So let's get, without

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Speaker 1: any further ado, over to the film. So first of all,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna start with Lebron James driving on Contavious Callbell

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Speaker 1: Pope really bad floor balance from the Lakers. Here, you're

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Speaker 1: gonna see Lebron, ad and Ruey all end up underneath

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Speaker 1: the basket and gave Vincent in the corner. That puts

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves in a huge predicament in transition defense. So

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Speaker 1: when Lebron misses this shot at the rim, by the way,

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Speaker 1: case p played really really good defense against Lebron down

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Speaker 1: the stretch. Lebron was still magnificent, made a bunch of plays,

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Speaker 1: but he had trust me, he missed some of them too.

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Speaker 1: It could have been it could have been worse, And honestly,

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Speaker 1: when you look at it, and break it down simply

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Speaker 1: to Jamal Murray hitting that shot. You needed every last

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Speaker 1: one of those KCP stops in order to get out

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Speaker 1: of here with a win, so miss Now, look at

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Speaker 1: the floor balance gavee Vincent's trailing the play. We already

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Speaker 1: have a three on one before we've done anything. We

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Speaker 1: have MPJ, Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray with only Austin

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Speaker 1: Reeves back. But in addition to that, you're gonna see

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Speaker 1: Jokic beat Ad down the floor too. Everyone's just out

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Speaker 1: running the Lakers. We're gonna get a kick ahead opportunity here,

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Speaker 1: and Michael Porter Junior kind of pump fakes on the

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Speaker 1: three point shot and finds Aaron Gordon underneath the basket.

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Speaker 1: He draws a foul, gets the line, he makes both

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Speaker 1: free throws, so that's our first bucket. Next time down,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna get a Jokic attacking Anthony Davis in the post.

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Speaker 1: Interesting thing to me about here is fatigue setting in

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Speaker 1: for Ad. Ad was not good defensively at the end

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Speaker 1: of this game, and you could tell that he just

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Speaker 1: was out of gas, and Yokic took full advantage powers

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Speaker 1: through Ad here and misses the shot. But from this

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Speaker 1: specific spot, I want you guys to pay attention to

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Speaker 1: how quickly Jokic gets off the ground when he's out

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Speaker 1: of balance versus Ad, who just takes a split second

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Speaker 1: to relax. See Ad just relaxed for a split second

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Speaker 1: that allowed Yolkic to get back up there, tap at

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Speaker 1: the ball and create an offensive rebound for himself. Here

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Speaker 1: we go again. We're gonna get yet another Yokic post

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Speaker 1: up of Anthony Davis out of a ball screen. Kick

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Speaker 1: back to Jokic at the top of the key, and

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Speaker 1: he's just gonna rip right through Ad for a left

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Speaker 1: shoulder hook. And Ad did a really nice job on

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Speaker 1: Jokic for about three quarters, well really up until he

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Speaker 1: picked up his fourth bowl, and then Jokic just ripped

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Speaker 1: right through him down the stretch of this game, easy

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Speaker 1: little hook shot over the top. This was another mistake

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Speaker 1: from Ad that I thought I would attribute to laziness,

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Speaker 1: or I shouldn't say laziness, but fatigue. So we get

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Speaker 1: the two man game with Yo Kitchen Murray here, and

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Speaker 1: as Yokic comes down, Murray's kind of peeking back. You

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Speaker 1: can kind of see it as he comes off. Watch

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Speaker 1: Murray peak back right there. See how he's peeking back

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Speaker 1: to kind of identify where Yokich is. Jokic is going

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Speaker 1: to linger here at the top of the key. Now,

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, his primary responsibility here is to contain Jamal

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Speaker 1: Murray on the drive because Austin Reeves is in a

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Speaker 1: trail position. But instead one of the a little subtle fake,

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Speaker 1: Jamal kind of flattens out his drive and fakes like

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Speaker 1: he's not going to make that driving move. He's reading AD,

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Speaker 1: and AD is going to make a critical mistake here.

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Speaker 1: AD is going to close out on Jokic instead of

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Speaker 1: containing this drive. In that little hesitation from Ad, Jamal

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Speaker 1: Murray then quickly turns the corner and gets to the rim.

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Speaker 1: Even Lebron was caught off guard because he thought Ad

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Speaker 1: was going to be there to contain the drive. And again,

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Speaker 1: if you're a D, especially considering Jokics probably will take

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Speaker 1: that three, but he's especially with ten seconds on the

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Speaker 1: shot clock, it's far more likely that he's going to

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Speaker 1: give attack of close out there. So if I'm a

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Speaker 1: d I've got to focus on containing Jamal Murray first,

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Speaker 1: and when Jamal throws the pass back, close out and play.

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Speaker 1: The results from there. No matter what, even if Jokic

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Speaker 1: is gonna knock this down, you know, a good percentage

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Speaker 1: of the time, it is still a lower value shot

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Speaker 1: than Jamal Murray scoring easily at the rim. Now we're

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Speaker 1: going to get Ruyacha muramis is a wide open three

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Speaker 1: year Again, that was a big difference in this game.

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Speaker 1: I was I was talking about it in the in

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Speaker 1: the post game after Game two. But the Nuggets, non

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Speaker 1: Jokic Murray players, and the Lebron and the Lakers non

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Speaker 1: Lebron A d players, there's been a mismatch there. Lebron

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Speaker 1: and AD have basically I've actually, I actually think they've

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Speaker 1: outplayed Jamal and Nicola just a tiny bit. Not in

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Speaker 1: the in the sense of obviously the scoreboard and Jamal

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Speaker 1: Murray made a bunch of big plays down the stretch

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Speaker 1: of that game, but Jabal's been inefficient. Jamal has struggled

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Speaker 1: for the majority of this series except for the tail

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Speaker 1: end of the fourth quarter of Game two, right like

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Speaker 1: Lebron and AD have gone punch for punch with Jokic

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Speaker 1: in Murray for the most part, I'm gonna I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: call it even because of the clutch shot making of

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Speaker 1: Jamal Murray. But I think we can all agree Lebron

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Speaker 1: and AD have gone punch for punch with Jokic and Murray.

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Speaker 1: But the non Jokich Murray role players have outscored the

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Speaker 1: non Lebron AD Lakers by like thirty points or something

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Speaker 1: like that in this series. They have completely dominated them.

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Speaker 1: At the end of this game, we had a wide

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Speaker 1: open three for Rui Hacha Mura. He missed. Austin Reeves

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Speaker 1: ends up missing a pretty good look on a pull

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Speaker 1: up three. Over here, Michael Porter Junior knocks down the

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Speaker 1: crazy chaotic three on the other end of the four.

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Speaker 1: Big difference down the stretch of this particular game, but

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Speaker 1: we're gonna get out in transition. On this one, Jokic

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Speaker 1: is gonna look to attack Anthony Davis again, and once

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Speaker 1: again he's just going to power right through him. Ad.

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Speaker 1: These were bumps that he was doing a much better

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Speaker 1: job of holding his ground in the first half. Now

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Speaker 1: he's getting out of position, he's gambling. You could just

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Speaker 1: tell fatigue as completely taken over for Anthony Davis. At

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Speaker 1: the end of this game, Jokic gets an and one

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Speaker 1: on him. This is where we finally get to stop

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Speaker 1: from the Lakers, and it comes out of the two

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Speaker 1: man game as Lebron is on Jokic as as Yokic

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Speaker 1: screens Austin, Austin gets hit and so Lebron has to switch.

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Speaker 1: And Lebron does a good job of reading the shot

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Speaker 1: clock and understanding that I'm pointing to the ground as

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Speaker 1: if he's reading the floor. That's a broadcast trick. But

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Speaker 1: he's checking down the floor and he sees on the

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Speaker 1: other end the shot clock, so he knows Jamal has

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Speaker 1: to shoot, so he jumps it, and when he jumps it,

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Speaker 1: Jamal ends up defaulting to a pass at the last second,

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Speaker 1: and Lebron's able to hit it away and get out

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Speaker 1: the other end for dunk again. Really really lost in

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Speaker 1: all of this. Lebron was pretty damn good down the

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Speaker 1: stretch of this game, all right, So then we get

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Speaker 1: the chaos, right, So Jokic sees Aaron Gordon with just

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves on him underneath the basket. A lot of

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Speaker 1: people were calling this a shot. I don't think it

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Speaker 1: was a shot. I think this was literally Jokic identifying

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Speaker 1: that Gordon had the signs advantage and basically just getting

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Speaker 1: it up in the air as high as possible so

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Speaker 1: that Aaron Gordon can basically high point it, and he does,

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Speaker 1: and he beats Austin Reeves the ball. By the way,

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Speaker 1: that's a battle that if Austin Reeves wins that battle,

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Speaker 1: the Lakers probably win the game. That's how subtle a

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Speaker 1: little thing like this makes a huge difference in a

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Speaker 1: game like this. Aaron Gordon wins that battle. Ruey and

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Speaker 1: excuse me, sorry, guys, Ruey gets caught out of position here.

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Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior breaks free on the right wing. Really

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Speaker 1: nice pass from Aaron Gordon. Delo comes in and gets

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Speaker 1: a final contest, but it's not enough huge shot for

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Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior to tie the game. So the Lakers

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Speaker 1: are gonna get a couple of buckets here down the

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Speaker 1: stretch running an action called stack pick and roll that

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Speaker 1: we've talked about a lot on this show. It's where

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Speaker 1: you look to backscreen the screen defender. So the first

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Speaker 1: time they run it, it's gonna be d Lo on

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Speaker 1: the ball and Lebron as the backscreener. So again you

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Speaker 1: can see ad sets the screen. Lebron's job here is

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Speaker 1: he's trying to backscreen Aaron Gordon doesn't even really get

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Speaker 1: much of a screen on him, But that's actually the

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Speaker 1: design of the play either way. Because Aaron Gordon has

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Speaker 1: his back turn and he's keyed in on ad Dlo

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Speaker 1: is able to get downhill and make a nice scoop

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Speaker 1: shot off the glass to give the Lakers the lead back.

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Speaker 1: This is the play I thought Darvin ham should have challenged,

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Speaker 1: and I thought it was a huge missed opportunity. So

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Speaker 1: we're gonna get At this point, the Lakers make a switch.

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Speaker 1: They put Lebron James on Jamal Murray and they put

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis on Jokic. They're gonna switch the two man game, right,

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Speaker 1: So as Yokic comes off, they were gonna switch, but

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Speaker 1: Jamal ends up projecting the screen as he's coming downhill.

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Speaker 1: There's a little bump right there, just a little bump, okay,

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Speaker 1: and Jamal ends up taking and missing a fade away right.

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Speaker 1: So here's the thing we can argue about whether or

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Speaker 1: not that was a foul. Personally, I think in this

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Speaker 1: type of game, with everything that was going on, it wasn't.

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Speaker 1: But as I always say, don't blame the officials. You

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Speaker 1: had by the way, and I've said this. I said

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Speaker 1: this on Twitter, and I firmly believe it. The Lakers

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Speaker 1: going after this game and blaming the officials, I thought

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Speaker 1: it was a lame as hell. I will never ever

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Speaker 1: support a team that blames officiating after a loss. I

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Speaker 1: think it's literally a loser mentality. Don't like it, right,

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Speaker 1: But in this situation, Lebron's mad. This is a called

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Speaker 1: and again we watch it in full motion. This is

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Speaker 1: a kind of This is a kind of contact that

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Speaker 1: happened almost every single possession in this game. So here's

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Speaker 1: the problem I have. What do you see here? The

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Speaker 1: Lakers have two timeouts, There is fifty seven point six

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Speaker 1: seconds left in this game. What is Darvin ham saving

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Speaker 1: the challenge for? What is he saving the challenge for?

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Speaker 1: That is going to get over turned? In my opinion,

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Speaker 1: if he calls the challenge, it's gonna be overturned. They're

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Speaker 1: just gonna give possession back to the Nuggets and you're

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Speaker 1: gonna have another opportunity to try to get a stop.

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Speaker 1: I honestly was really disappointed in Darvin in that sense,

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Speaker 1: because the players are out there scratching and clawing and

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Speaker 1: doing everything they can to try to win the game,

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Speaker 1: and you are not doing your job as the coach

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Speaker 1: to take advantage of the resources at your disposal. Wasting

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Speaker 1: that challenge taking it home with you. That is wasting

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Speaker 1: a resource that was at your disposal. And so again

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Speaker 1: I don't blame the officials. Officials are gonna make mistakes.

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Speaker 1: I don't blame Lebron, he's just trying to play defense.

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Speaker 1: The guy blame there's Darvin Ham. His job is to

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Speaker 1: throw the challenge flag. There. I say, to throw the

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Speaker 1: challenge flag to challenge that play, turn on the red light,

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Speaker 1: whatever the hell you call it, and try to get

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Speaker 1: that one overturned again. We literally saw earlier in the

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Speaker 1: game the Nuggets get two calls overturned, including one where

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Speaker 1: D'Angel Uressa got raked across the face like it was

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Speaker 1: gonna get overturned if they challenged it. They needed to

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Speaker 1: challenge that. It was just a missed opportunity for Garvinham.

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Speaker 1: We go down the other end. The Lakers are gonna

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Speaker 1: run stack, pick and roll again. This time it's gonna

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Speaker 1: be d LO setting the backscreen, so you're gonna see

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Speaker 1: again eighty set in the screen. Aaron Gordon is our

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Speaker 1: screen defender. Watch d Lo backscreen, Aaron Gordon gets a

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Speaker 1: good screen on him. Now Lebron has the angle on

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Speaker 1: KCP and Jamal Murray is the helper. There's just nothing

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Speaker 1: he can do there. That's an easy layup. Lebron again complaining,

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Speaker 1: this is the one that Lebron was pissed off at about.

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Speaker 1: He thinks he got hit there and again probably a foul,

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Speaker 1: but that kind of contact was happening on almost every

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Speaker 1: single possession, So I don't really sympathize with the Lakers

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Speaker 1: complaining about officiating. If anything, they should have been they

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Speaker 1: should have been complaining at their head coach for missing

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Speaker 1: that last challenge opportunity. So then we go down the

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Speaker 1: other end. Lebron has the free the layup, right, So

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are back up by two, and we're gonna

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Speaker 1: go back to a two man game with Jamal Murray

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Speaker 1: and nicolea Jokic. First, they switch it and Jamal goes Okay,

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Speaker 1: don't really like this matchup, so we call another and

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Speaker 1: get Lebron into the action, and Lebron just briefly takes

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Speaker 1: a negative step here where he gets a little bit

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Speaker 1: unsquared and Jamal Murray is able to get enough separation

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Speaker 1: to knock down a shot, big time shot from Jamal

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Speaker 1: And again, that's why you keep shooting, even when you've

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Speaker 1: struggled throughout the game. You keep shooting because you're gonna

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Speaker 1: need to knock him down at some point. And he

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Speaker 1: hits the big ones right KCP flops here and in

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Speaker 1: the process gives up an open three. There were a

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Speaker 1: lot of Laker fans and again, yeah, this is if

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Speaker 1: you watch it in slow motion, there's this was a

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Speaker 1: good no call. There's no reason to call it. Like

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Speaker 1: if you watch like there's contact here, there's like a

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Speaker 1: very very slight shove. But that's not the kind of

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Speaker 1: thing that's gonna get called in that moment. Lakers fans

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Speaker 1: were pissed about the shot. I really disagree. You look

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Speaker 1: at the paint. Jokich is there. Lebron this season is

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Speaker 1: having the best jump shooting season of his career. He's

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Speaker 1: already made two threes in the corner in the quarter,

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Speaker 1: he already made a right shoulder fade over here. He

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Speaker 1: is this is a great look for a great shooter.

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Speaker 1: And literally watch front rim back rim, front room. It's

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Speaker 1: as close as you can come to making it so like,

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Speaker 1: I don't have any problem with that shot from Lebron James.

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Speaker 1: Now we're gonna head out the other way. And I

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Speaker 1: really liked how Jamal kept a d on his heels here.

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Speaker 1: And there's a specific part of this play that I

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Speaker 1: think got him open. So we get the little hedge

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Speaker 1: from d Low to try to flatten out the drive. Now,

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Speaker 1: now Jamal gets a running start kind of coming downhill,

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Speaker 1: and there's an aggressive dribble attack move here that gets

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Speaker 1: Ad to take a negative step back into the lane

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Speaker 1: right there. See boom. Now he's got his body turned,

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Speaker 1: his shoulders are square towards the rim. That buys Jamal

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Speaker 1: the separation to get back. I want you guys to

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Speaker 1: watch this in slow motion. Watch that aggressive dribble drive

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Speaker 1: move from from Murray that actually creates the opportunity here.

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Speaker 1: So watch right here, he's gonna make a hard dribble

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Speaker 1: drive move bam downhill. Look at his shoulder is literally

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Speaker 1: down low below Ad, making it look like he's gonna drive.

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Speaker 1: That gets Ad to take his first big aggressive step

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Speaker 1: back towards the rim. Then he steps back, which creates

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Speaker 1: the separation that Ad can't make up and game over,

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Speaker 1: Nuggets are up two to zero in the series. So,

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Speaker 1: like again, we talked about a lot of specific things.

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Speaker 1: For instance, we talked about we talked about the Mischallenge call.

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Speaker 1: We talked about ruy Hachi Mura missing an open three.

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Speaker 1: We talked about Austin Reeves missing his three. We talked

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Speaker 1: about ad struggling to get that one offensive rebound. The

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Speaker 1: reason why that all of that is just related to

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Speaker 1: this specific game. The Lakers played well enough to win

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Speaker 1: this specific game, right. Like that, that goes without saying

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Speaker 1: they were up twenty in the second half. That's not

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Speaker 1: a hot take to say the Lakers could have won

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Speaker 1: this game. They literally were up twenty in the second half,

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Speaker 1: right But the bigger issue is when it comes to

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Speaker 1: these situations, when it comes to these late games, slow

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Speaker 1: down half court situations, You're not close to slowing down

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Speaker 1: Denver's offense. It's not you're holding them to a bucket

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Speaker 1: on half a day possessions. They are scoring every single

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Speaker 1: time down the floor. You gave up a bucket on

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Speaker 1: eight of your last nine defensive possessions in the regular season.

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Speaker 1: You did the same thing. That's why I don't think

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Speaker 1: the Lakers have any real chance to win this series anymore.

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Speaker 1: It's just clear to me that they don't have the

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Speaker 1: personnel to contend, especially with Jamal Murray at the point

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Speaker 1: of attack. And it was an issue for them all

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Speaker 1: season last year, and in through the postseason. They never

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Speaker 1: addressed it. This team is too good for them, especially

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Speaker 1: in those slow down half court environments. If they had

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Speaker 1: actually done a better job getting stops over the course

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Speaker 1: of the season, you might be able to talk me

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Speaker 1: into them having more of a puncher's chance. But like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: and I gave them just that tiny little crack of

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Speaker 1: a chance to start the series. But now I think

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Speaker 1: that slam shut. I did say at that point that

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Speaker 1: I thought they needed to split in Denver, and they

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Speaker 1: did not do so. I specifically targeted Game one as well,

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Speaker 1: they did not do so. And the bottom line is

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Speaker 1: is like, there's no point of optimism that I can

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Speaker 1: point to. They are literally incapable of getting stops against

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Speaker 1: this team, and so by virtue of that, they're just

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Speaker 1: not going to be able to beat them, certainly not

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Speaker 1: four times in the next five games. All Right, we're

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Speaker 1: gonna move on to Luca's run against the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Speaker 1: Let me pull the clips up here, all right, we're

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Speaker 1: gonna start with a wedge screen so that Luca can

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Speaker 1: attack out of the post. So a wedge screen is

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Speaker 1: typically a screen where you start on one side of

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Speaker 1: the floor and you get a screen from one of

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Speaker 1: your teammates to then cut over to the block. And

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00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,760
Speaker 1: the purpose it typically serves is either to get a switch,

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00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,800
Speaker 1: but more frequently a wedge screen is used for post position.

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Speaker 1: So if Luca comes down this side of the floor

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00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,320
Speaker 1: and he tries to back his way down, he's gonna

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Speaker 1: have to fight and fight and fight and fight for

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Speaker 1: position to try to get down to a position closer

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00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,600
Speaker 1: to the block right a wedge screen by virtue of

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Speaker 1: Luca coming off. If they don't switch, then that guy's

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Speaker 1: going to be in trail position. If he's in trail position,

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Speaker 1: then Luca can get easier post position here on the block.

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Speaker 1: That's why they use wedge screens. The Nuggets use them

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Speaker 1: a lot. A lot of teams around the league use

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Speaker 1: these wedge screens to get their post players into better position.

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Speaker 1: But the Clippers are going to switch it. So here's

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Speaker 1: the wedg screen. Pja Washington back screens on Kawhi James

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Speaker 1: Harden is there. They just switch it okay, So now

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Speaker 1: Luca is going to attack James Harden out of the post.

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Speaker 1: Now we're going to get a double team from Russell Westbrook.

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Speaker 1: On the double team, we're gonna get a windshield wiper

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Speaker 1: rotation from Kwi. Kawhi is gonna take Kyrie. So now

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Speaker 1: we have a three on two here on the backside. Right,

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Speaker 1: this is going to generate a close out opportunity for PJ. Washington.

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Speaker 1: It's just way easier to score when you have a

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00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,000
Speaker 1: defender closing out at you. You pass fakes, jab Steps

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00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,840
Speaker 1: is able to get an angle. Nice patience to wait

426
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,840
Speaker 1: for Kwhi to come down before he goes up and

427
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,520
Speaker 1: finishes well. Once again, the action that generates the mismatch,

428
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,200
Speaker 1: that generates the double team, that generates the advantage situation. Now,

429
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,440
Speaker 1: this very next possession here, you're going to see one

430
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,040
Speaker 1: of the reasons why this lineup works. And again this

431
00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:02,000
Speaker 1: is my favorite Mavericks lineup. It's Kyrie and Luca, Maxi Kleba, PJ. Washington,

432
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,520
Speaker 1: and Derek Jones Junior. In order for this to work,

433
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,280
Speaker 1: it requires Maxi to be able to hold up against

434
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,800
Speaker 1: Zuboch in terms of size. Here they're gonna actually run

435
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,520
Speaker 1: through Zubatch in the post a Zubots, I should say,

436
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:15,400
Speaker 1: I'm trying to learn how to pronounce these guys better.

437
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,280
Speaker 1: So Kleeba is gonna actually fight Zubots into a really

438
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,560
Speaker 1: tough left shoulder hook and actually forces him to leave

439
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,560
Speaker 1: it short. Again. Notice he's attacking the base. He's trying

440
00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:28,560
Speaker 1: to slide up underneath him and disrupt his base, forces

441
00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,919
Speaker 1: him to come sweeping across the lane and forces Hi miss.

442
00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:32,879
Speaker 1: So again they get an offensive rebound out of that.

443
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,240
Speaker 1: But I just wanted to show that play because I

444
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:38,120
Speaker 1: thought it was a strong indicator of the specific matchup

445
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,679
Speaker 1: problem that Zuboch presents, Zubots presents, and how important it

446
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:43,720
Speaker 1: is for Kleba to be able to hold up in

447
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,520
Speaker 1: that matchup. Now we're gonna get the exact same wedge

448
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,399
Speaker 1: screen right, So here we are Luca Kawhi PJ. Washington

449
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,320
Speaker 1: sets the wedge screen, we get the switch. We're going

450
00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:54,840
Speaker 1: back to the block. This time they don't double because

451
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 1: last time they doubled, they got in rotation and gave

452
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,520
Speaker 1: up a bucket and Luca, you just can't leave him

453
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,480
Speaker 1: on an island with James Harden. He ends up drawing

454
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 1: a foul gets hit on the forearm as he's going up.

455
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:10,080
Speaker 1: Now he's going to the foul line on the other

456
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,560
Speaker 1: end of the floor. One of the big stories of

457
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,399
Speaker 1: this game, like we talked about last night, was Luca

458
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:17,439
Speaker 1: holding up against the Clipper Stars on an island. Here,

459
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,600
Speaker 1: we're gonna get a basic just brush screen from James

460
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,000
Speaker 1: Harden to get Kawhi switched on to Luca. Look at

461
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,160
Speaker 1: Luca sliding his feet and cutting off the driving lanes.

462
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,960
Speaker 1: He actually pokes the ball away in the chaos, the

463
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:36,080
Speaker 1: Mavericks end up getting a steal. Now we're gonna go

464
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:41,520
Speaker 1: down the other way off the turnover, and this is

465
00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,359
Speaker 1: just really simple, easy basketball. Paul George has Luca in

466
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,320
Speaker 1: a cross match. We're gonna get a screen from Derek

467
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,480
Speaker 1: Jones Jr. That's gonna lead to a switch with Powell.

468
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,080
Speaker 1: Now Clippers don't like this matchup, so they're gonna come

469
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:57,920
Speaker 1: with the double team. Here comes Kawhi, double team. Cleba's there.

470
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,440
Speaker 1: We're gonna get a close out from Paul George. Extra

471
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 1: pass PJ Washington wide open corner three, knocks it down again.

472
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,119
Speaker 1: The MAVs desperately needed somebody to hit some shots down

473
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,479
Speaker 1: the stretch PJ. Washington and Mexically, but both came up

474
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:15,439
Speaker 1: huge in this game. All right, So on this particular play,

475
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,480
Speaker 1: this is a transition situation where Luca uses a head

476
00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,320
Speaker 1: of steam to get Kawhi on his heels. Okay, so misshot,

477
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,000
Speaker 1: Luca's coming up the floor. Now Lucas mals blood in

478
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,880
Speaker 1: the water. At this point, right, MAVs are on a run.

479
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 1: They just think they were down seventy three to sixty seven, right,

480
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:34,439
Speaker 1: so they just tied the game. They're on a six

481
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,280
Speaker 1: to zero run. Game started at seventy three. Luca wants

482
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,560
Speaker 1: to completely shift the psychology of this game, and the

483
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,000
Speaker 1: easiest way to do that is to get a quick bucket,

484
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,800
Speaker 1: preferably a three something that just sucks the life out

485
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:46,760
Speaker 1: of the arena and makes the other team feel like

486
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,240
Speaker 1: they're on the ropes. Right, So Lucas sees blood in

487
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,920
Speaker 1: the water. He's coming up the floor here, no one's

488
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:53,320
Speaker 1: matched up with him, so he starts to pick up

489
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 1: his pace. Now Kawhi is there, but because Lucas taking

490
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 1: these super aggressive downhill steps. Watch, I'm gonna move it

491
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 1: into slow motion here, watch Kawhi take a backwards step. Boom,

492
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,919
Speaker 1: right there. That's all that Luca needed to get the

493
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 1: separation for his step back against one of the best

494
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:11,600
Speaker 1: perimeter defenders in the war. You can just tell on

495
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 1: the release of that one that it was perfect coming

496
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,080
Speaker 1: out of his hand. Now he's talking shit. Now Luca

497
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,160
Speaker 1: has completely fundamentally changed the psychology of this basketball game.

498
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,719
Speaker 1: All right, let's get another wedge screen in here, so

499
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,639
Speaker 1: we're gonna get the pass to Kyrie. Here comes the

500
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 1: wedge screen, this time from Kleiba gets the switch comes

501
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,920
Speaker 1: through to the other side of the floor. And again

502
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:39,960
Speaker 1: that one didn't look as much like a wedg screen

503
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,480
Speaker 1: as the others, because the MAVs know the switch is coming.

504
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 1: It's more just targeting a matchup. But the fundamental action

505
00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:48,679
Speaker 1: on the first two times they ran it is a

506
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 1: wedge screen. Now Luca's attacking hard into the post. Russell

507
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,920
Speaker 1: Westbrook doubles one pass away off of a really really

508
00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: good player, and Kyrie Irving knocks down the huge three

509
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,640
Speaker 1: off of the kick out pass. Again, if you're gonna

510
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,040
Speaker 1: double one pass away, you gotta have a windshield wiper rotation.

511
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,440
Speaker 1: What that means is, let me go back here for

512
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:15,880
Speaker 1: a second. So what that means is As Russ prepares

513
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 1: to double, especially with Kleba and PJ. Washington, these are

514
00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,480
Speaker 1: lesser shooters on this side, Kawhi has to be immediately

515
00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:24,720
Speaker 1: up and ready to rotate to Kyrie. If you're gonna

516
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 1: double one pass away, Kawhi has to windshield wiper with

517
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,600
Speaker 1: a meaning both of them have to make the rotation

518
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:36,480
Speaker 1: at the exact same time. All right, this is Luca

519
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:43,920
Speaker 1: getting another stop against Kawhi on an island. So kick

520
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 1: pass there. We're gonna get another hard en screen to

521
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:51,680
Speaker 1: get a switch. Now, watch Luca contain the Kawhi drive.

522
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,160
Speaker 1: Watch him just sliding his feet, beating him to spots

523
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,879
Speaker 1: and cutting off driving angles. See cut off the drive,

524
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,240
Speaker 1: spin back baseline, beat him to the spot, wall up,

525
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,399
Speaker 1: don't foul. Now at this point, Kawi screwed. There's not

526
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,160
Speaker 1: enough time in the clock to do anything. He's gonna

527
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 1: have to rise up for an incredibly difficult shot. Luca

528
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:10,720
Speaker 1: gets a great contest, really really good individual defense from Luca.

529
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,919
Speaker 1: Now the Clippers make an adjustment. My guess here is

530
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:21,879
Speaker 1: they didn't want to give up any more switches, so

531
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,440
Speaker 1: they put Russ on Luca. Russ is always really good

532
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:29,080
Speaker 1: at defending bigger post players. You might remember last year

533
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:33,240
Speaker 1: in the postseason Russ doing a bunch of damage as

534
00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:35,719
Speaker 1: a post defender against the Suns, if you guys remember.

535
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:41,240
Speaker 1: But it also Russ is just so strong and low

536
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,679
Speaker 1: center of gravity, He's really difficult to screen. So my

537
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,480
Speaker 1: guess is they were just trying to avoid any sort

538
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,040
Speaker 1: of switch here. So instead of trying to get a switch,

539
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 1: Luca just takes Russ to the post and Russ kind

540
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,280
Speaker 1: of denies. He fronts the post right. So now there's

541
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 1: only eight seconds on the shot clock. So this play,

542
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,320
Speaker 1: this possession is kind of dead, but Kyrie Irving is

543
00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:01,920
Speaker 1: capable of making a playoff the dribble to rescue possession.

544
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:06,560
Speaker 1: Four seconds left, drives down on Paul George, kind of

545
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,720
Speaker 1: fakes like he's gonna spin back and then goes back

546
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:16,000
Speaker 1: over his left shoulder that nasty little floating hook. Now,

547
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:18,320
Speaker 1: Luca talked after the game, I thought this was really fascinating.

548
00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 1: Luca talked after the game about how he did not

549
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,719
Speaker 1: want he that he went to Jason Kidd and told

550
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,359
Speaker 1: him he didn't want a double team because he trusts

551
00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:27,280
Speaker 1: his defense. Here's a great example. Paul George gets Luke

552
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,359
Speaker 1: on a switch, Paul George tries to drive past Luca,

553
00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:32,600
Speaker 1: Luca beats him to the spot and cuts him off.

554
00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 1: But the Mas end up coming with a double team,

555
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,520
Speaker 1: which opens up this little opportunity to James Harden, who

556
00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:39,840
Speaker 1: ends up swinging to Russ, who hits a three. Now again,

557
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,600
Speaker 1: as in terms of game plan, you live with that

558
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,720
Speaker 1: because you want Russ taking threes. But to Luca's credit

559
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,720
Speaker 1: and what he was saying after the game, he felt

560
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:52,160
Speaker 1: comfortable in that matchup on an island. Now, if you

561
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,040
Speaker 1: guys remember last night I talked about overaggression being an

562
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 1: issue for the Clippers down the stretch, These next two

563
00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,640
Speaker 1: buckets for the maz came out of pointless overaggression. So

564
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 1: here we go. We have Luca trying to post up

565
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 1: Russ again and Luca creates a little passing angle. And

566
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:12,000
Speaker 1: then again, if you're Russ, instead of going after this,

567
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,800
Speaker 1: just place all the defense, but he gambles gets out

568
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,840
Speaker 1: of position. Luca gets downhill. Now all all four other

569
00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 1: helping Clippers are lined up on him and he's able

570
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,000
Speaker 1: to generate another wide open corner three for PJ. Washington,

571
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:29,760
Speaker 1: who knocks it down. Now we're gonna get Luca getting

572
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 1: attacked on an island again by Paul George. Not gonna

573
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,120
Speaker 1: slow this down or stop it. Just watch him cuts

574
00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,720
Speaker 1: off the drive, cuts off the drive, forces a tough

575
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 1: contested jumper. Literally. Like again, I talked a lot after

576
00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 1: Game one, like you the hedge and recover was the

577
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:44,880
Speaker 1: schematic thing you can do. Or he just needs to

578
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:46,760
Speaker 1: do a better job and this is just him doing

579
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,120
Speaker 1: a better job on defense on an island. Look at

580
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 1: him turning to his bench and hyping them up after

581
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:55,080
Speaker 1: he's getting these stops. Now Paul George's turned to be

582
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,760
Speaker 1: over aggressive and again I wish so it's gonna start

583
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:00,640
Speaker 1: with the double team of Kyrie Irvan, But if you're

584
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,240
Speaker 1: the Clippers from a game plan perspective, you gotta be

585
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 1: less aggressive. And actually forced Luca to score here, but

586
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,280
Speaker 1: instead he reaches and when he reaches he does get

587
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,000
Speaker 1: a hand on the ball, but Luca is able to

588
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 1: regain control. Now Paul George is out of position once

589
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,400
Speaker 1: again downhill. Everyone keyed in on him. Wide open catch

590
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,680
Speaker 1: and shoot three from Maxi Kleiba knocks it down. Huge

591
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:25,640
Speaker 1: shot making from PJ and Maxi. Late, another huge defensive

592
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:30,160
Speaker 1: play from Maxi Kliba on on Zubatch. Here zubats, so

593
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:35,280
Speaker 1: PG drives, Maxi steps up and help. He's not over committing,

594
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,960
Speaker 1: but he's putting himself between Zubots and PG. Right gets

595
00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:41,360
Speaker 1: the drop off pass. Now watch in slow motion. I'm

596
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 1: this one. I am going to slow down. Watch Watch

597
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,520
Speaker 1: the strip from Maxi here. Watch this so he's in position.

598
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:54,520
Speaker 1: Watch the strip right as Zubots going up, Boom knocks

599
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 1: it loose. Huge defensive play from Maxi here down the stretch.

600
00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:06,200
Speaker 1: And then lastly we get our dagger. So Luca's got

601
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:10,960
Speaker 1: James Harden. We're just gonna work it down, clear and out,

602
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,600
Speaker 1: creating space. This was the shot that we all saw

603
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:15,800
Speaker 1: coming last night. Right, this is This is one of

604
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,120
Speaker 1: Luca's favorite things to do, especially on the road in

605
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,800
Speaker 1: the postseason. He wants to take he wants to snatch

606
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:22,880
Speaker 1: your soul with the shot. He wants to hit the dagger.

607
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:24,840
Speaker 1: He wants to talk a bunch of shit. He wants

608
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,160
Speaker 1: to let your crowd know about it. Here we go.

609
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 1: I missed the playoff, Luca. All right, we're gonna move

610
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,400
Speaker 1: on to Sun's Wolves. I gotta go to a different

611
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,680
Speaker 1: playlist here, So give me a second. So first possession

612
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,000
Speaker 1: here was the one of the early possessions of the game,

613
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,200
Speaker 1: and I thought it was just a strong example of

614
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,120
Speaker 1: the Sun's doing a lot of overpenetrating and in the

615
00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:54,040
Speaker 1: process struggling with the physicality on those drives. So again,

616
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 1: if I'm Devin Booker here, this is where I just

617
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,560
Speaker 1: want to throw a kickback past to Grayson Allen and

618
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,120
Speaker 1: take a three. You are now trying to get downhill

619
00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,240
Speaker 1: and score against the best athlete at your position in

620
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,040
Speaker 1: the league. This is not an advantage, and especially with

621
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 1: the amount of physicality that's being allowed, that's a battle

622
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,760
Speaker 1: he's gonna lose. Ant gets physical with them and Devin

623
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,400
Speaker 1: Booker turns it over. Big story in this game was

624
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:19,040
Speaker 1: the son struggling to handle physical ball pressure. Talked about

625
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:23,160
Speaker 1: Ant needing to beat coverages with the hedge, the hedge

626
00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,920
Speaker 1: in particular and the high drop in particular with passing,

627
00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,720
Speaker 1: and also dig downs into driving lanes. In this case,

628
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:34,840
Speaker 1: the coverage is the drop right, but Grayson is hard

629
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,520
Speaker 1: digging into his driving lane. Easy read to Mike Conley

630
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: over here, Aunt takes it, buys a close out opportunity.

631
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:43,720
Speaker 1: He's able to drive it and score. Ant was just

632
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,520
Speaker 1: magnificent in this game passing. In my opinion, here's an

633
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 1: example of a really bad misread from the Suns and

634
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,160
Speaker 1: then making life more difficult than it needed to be.

635
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,280
Speaker 1: So they run some early offense and they don't get

636
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 1: anything out of it, so it gets kicked back to

637
00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,840
Speaker 1: Grayson Allen and then him in KD and up running action. Right.

638
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,880
Speaker 1: So here's where we're set up here. This is the

639
00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:06,600
Speaker 1: play I talked about on the show last night. Those

640
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:10,360
Speaker 1: of you guys who remember, So Conley's guarding Grayson, Kat's

641
00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 1: guarding KD right, and we know we know that the

642
00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,200
Speaker 1: coverage here is gonna be hedge and recover, right, So

643
00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 1: as Grayson comes into this ghost screen, Conley is going

644
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 1: to hedge, which is going to open up an opportunity

645
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:26,560
Speaker 1: for Grayson to attack and close out. Here right here

646
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 1: comes screen Hedge, Grayson breaks free, Katie throws the pass.

647
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 1: There is a baked in driving lane here with seven

648
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,680
Speaker 1: seconds on the shot clock for Grayson to rip left,

649
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:42,320
Speaker 1: just catch and rip and drive. If he catches and

650
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,200
Speaker 1: rips in all likelihood go Bear's gonna step up and

651
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:48,440
Speaker 1: Ant is going to drop to try to box out

652
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,160
Speaker 1: Nurkic and bet Bradley Beal is gonna get a wide

653
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:53,840
Speaker 1: open corner three because he is a very good catch

654
00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,600
Speaker 1: and shoot three point shooter. So all Grayson has to

655
00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 1: do rip left, drao bear ant sink. Beal's gonna be open,

656
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 1: wide open catch and shoot three. What does Grayson do instead?

657
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,480
Speaker 1: Just throw it back to KD. Now we're attacking a

658
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,760
Speaker 1: set defense and guess what KD is going to drive

659
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,839
Speaker 1: and take and miss a really tough contested two. So

660
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:15,920
Speaker 1: instead of getting a wide open catch and shoot three

661
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:19,279
Speaker 1: for Bradley Beal, we're getting a tough contested pull up

662
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:22,840
Speaker 1: two for KD. That's just bad process. More importantly, why'd

663
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,640
Speaker 1: you run the screen? Why'd you run the ghost screen

664
00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,640
Speaker 1: if you don't have any intention of attacking the advantage

665
00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:30,839
Speaker 1: with it? And like, I feel bad for Grayson because

666
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,680
Speaker 1: he resprained that ankle last night, But a lot of

667
00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:40,560
Speaker 1: these misreads and opportunities early were on Grayson. Allen, all right,

668
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:42,799
Speaker 1: our next one. This was a really nice peel off

669
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,960
Speaker 1: switch from Anthony Edwards in a transition play. Okay, so

670
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,640
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put this one in slow motion because I

671
00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:50,400
Speaker 1: think it's interesting. So Bradley Beal is driving right, Nurkic

672
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:54,520
Speaker 1: is trailing the play. Edwards and Gobert are both on

673
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,600
Speaker 1: them right, but watch as this gets behind the rim.

674
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:03,520
Speaker 1: It makes a call he identifies right here. He's like, oh,

675
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:07,000
Speaker 1: Rudy's got this under control. Brad's behind the backboard. If

676
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,160
Speaker 1: he tries to rise up, Rudy's gonna clean this up.

677
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,479
Speaker 1: So Ant goes, I'm no longer needed here. I'm gonna

678
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,120
Speaker 1: recover to the pass, and so he backed off and

679
00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,000
Speaker 1: runs into this passing lane right as Bradley Beal throws

680
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:22,520
Speaker 1: it and gets a steal. Huge defensive play, obviously early

681
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,880
Speaker 1: in the game, but really really nice defensive play from

682
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,640
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards and just an example of the type of

683
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,319
Speaker 1: smart defensive instincts that make this Minnesota defense so good.

684
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,640
Speaker 1: And it generates a runout opportunity in Jaden gets to

685
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:40,480
Speaker 1: the line. All right, Our next one is another missread

686
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:48,680
Speaker 1: from Grayson Allen. Okay, so Grayson catches on the wing,

687
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,160
Speaker 1: Beal cuts through. We're gonna get the ball screen with

688
00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:57,600
Speaker 1: KD right, Grayson comes off cats in a drop. Look

689
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:02,120
Speaker 1: at this throw the damn basketball to the wide open

690
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,800
Speaker 1: guy on the wing so he can attack it close

691
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:07,479
Speaker 1: out right, Nope, We're gonna swing it across the floor

692
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,960
Speaker 1: and run action on the other end, which is gonna

693
00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,200
Speaker 1: end in Bradley Beale taking a contested pull up too.

694
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,719
Speaker 1: It's like it's literally the story of this matchup so far.

695
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,920
Speaker 1: The Sun's passing on easy driving kick opportunities to play,

696
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,080
Speaker 1: to play on an island against elite perimeter defensive players.

697
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,279
Speaker 1: This was a silly foul from Carl Towns, and I

698
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: just thought it was funny because Kat was complaining at

699
00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:34,200
Speaker 1: the refs all night. But this is gonna get called

700
00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:36,799
Speaker 1: every single time. Watch as he gets ready to set screen,

701
00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:38,440
Speaker 1: watch that last step and then he just trips him,

702
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 1: just literally just sticks his leg out and trips him,

703
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:43,440
Speaker 1: and then he'll get mad at the ref for getting

704
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:52,080
Speaker 1: called for an offensive foul. Now another Grayson Allen read

705
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:54,960
Speaker 1: here in transition. He's gonna over penetrate and drive into

706
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,280
Speaker 1: physical situation and turn it over again. As he's driving

707
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 1: right here, as he's driving boom Carltown's turned his back,

708
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,799
Speaker 1: throw the ball to Devin Booker. He's going to be

709
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:07,879
Speaker 1: able to drive that close out or hit a catch

710
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,120
Speaker 1: and shoot three. Instead, we overpenetrate into traffic and turn

711
00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:17,359
Speaker 1: the basketball over. We're gonna get a double staggered action

712
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:19,040
Speaker 1: here from Bradley Beal. This was another play I talked

713
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,080
Speaker 1: about on the show last night. Right, so Bradley Beal's

714
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,279
Speaker 1: gonna come off the screen, Jaden's chasing, Jaden's chasing. Both

715
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,040
Speaker 1: bigs are dropping freeze right there. I'm actually gonna go

716
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:34,040
Speaker 1: back a little bit right, Throw the pass. Throw the pass.

717
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:38,520
Speaker 1: It's open. These guys are dropping. Jaden's trailing. Roy O'Neil

718
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 1: is wide open at the top of the key. There's

719
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 1: no problem with the angle for the pass if you

720
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,160
Speaker 1: throw that. Here's one of two things is gonna happen.

721
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,759
Speaker 1: Either Nikhil Alexander Walker is going to close out or

722
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,560
Speaker 1: Nazarit is gonna close out and Roys O'Neil can drive

723
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,320
Speaker 1: the close out, which will keep the defense in rotation

724
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,120
Speaker 1: and help you generate an easier opportunity. Or he's gonna

725
00:37:58,120 --> 00:37:59,640
Speaker 1: get a catch and shoot three, which is going to

726
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:02,920
Speaker 1: be a high percentage shot than this. But instead, Beal

727
00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:06,600
Speaker 1: over penetrates go bear. A lot of late clock switches

728
00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:09,439
Speaker 1: from Rudy Gobert last night that were huge in this game.

729
00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:11,759
Speaker 1: But he switches out and now Bradley Beal is gonna

730
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:16,760
Speaker 1: take this incredibly difficult step through floater thing against Rudy Gobert.

731
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:19,240
Speaker 1: That's an extremely So tell me what's a higher percentage

732
00:38:19,239 --> 00:38:22,000
Speaker 1: shot this or what you might have gotten if you

733
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,600
Speaker 1: threw the kickback past Royce O'Neil. That's not a difficult

734
00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:33,080
Speaker 1: question to find the answer to. All Right, Now we're

735
00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:36,080
Speaker 1: gonna see Kevin Duran turning the ball over against physical

736
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:38,200
Speaker 1: ball pressure. This happened a couple of times with NOAs

737
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:40,840
Speaker 1: Reed in particular. So the Sons are running out the

738
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:43,520
Speaker 1: other way, They're gonna throw the ball KD, and Naseri

739
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,240
Speaker 1: just picks him up with aggressive ball pressure, physical stunting

740
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,279
Speaker 1: at the basketball and forces a turnover. And again that

741
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,239
Speaker 1: was a huge story in this game just and in

742
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:55,400
Speaker 1: general in this matchup. You apply physical ball pressure on

743
00:38:55,440 --> 00:39:01,120
Speaker 1: the Suns, they're gonna turn it over and get sloppy.

744
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:06,080
Speaker 1: Devin Booker, same sort of thing here. Fatigue is starting

745
00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:09,160
Speaker 1: to set in. There's ball pressure, there's ball pressure. He's

746
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,239
Speaker 1: trying to make a high post entry to KD, but

747
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,440
Speaker 1: he doesn't make a pass fake and so Nikhil Alexander

748
00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:16,480
Speaker 1: Walker is able to get an easy deflection and force

749
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:21,279
Speaker 1: a turnover. Now, this was the stretch that I talked

750
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:25,759
Speaker 1: about in the show last night where Anthony Edwards was

751
00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,920
Speaker 1: beating the hedge or beating the yeah, the hedge and recover.

752
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:34,440
Speaker 1: So we're gonna go to Anthony Edwards here on the

753
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:40,000
Speaker 1: wing Naz Reid screens. There's the so U banks is

754
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:41,400
Speaker 1: coverage is supposed to be a hedge, but he's just

755
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:42,960
Speaker 1: too slow there, so it kind of looks more like

756
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,000
Speaker 1: a high drop. But it's more or less the same concept.

757
00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:48,799
Speaker 1: Now again, instead of doing anything stupid, take the read

758
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:51,040
Speaker 1: that is there, the easy kick back to Nas red

759
00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:53,760
Speaker 1: Devin Booker's closing out. He has to leave his feet

760
00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,480
Speaker 1: to contest the shot that allows Nas to drive and

761
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:58,799
Speaker 1: he's able to get to the foul line. Again, take

762
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:07,520
Speaker 1: the easy reads that are available. Now, this is gonna

763
00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:12,799
Speaker 1: be a bucker bucker, a bucket for Devin Booker and

764
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,200
Speaker 1: an example of how much easier it is to score

765
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:18,879
Speaker 1: when you're playing with an advantage. So we're gonna get

766
00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:22,200
Speaker 1: a ball screen and this is a kind of like

767
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:24,760
Speaker 1: a Spain pick and roll type of thing where Booker

768
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,480
Speaker 1: is relocating to the top as U Banks is rolling.

769
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,920
Speaker 1: We get to close out opportunity. Now, look, this is

770
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,080
Speaker 1: what it looks like, a nice little kind of brush

771
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,880
Speaker 1: screen here from you Banks too. Devin Booker attacking with

772
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:38,360
Speaker 1: an advantage, he's able to pump on the pump. He

773
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:41,200
Speaker 1: gets Nikhil Alexander Walker to close out hard to his

774
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:43,799
Speaker 1: right hand side. Then he's able to drive left. That

775
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:46,280
Speaker 1: gives an angle for U Banks to set another screen

776
00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:49,960
Speaker 1: and does not dig down, and so Devin Booker can

777
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:54,720
Speaker 1: rise cleanly into a pull up two pointer. Like again,

778
00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:56,560
Speaker 1: those guys are just going to be so much more

779
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,120
Speaker 1: efficient when they're attacking with an advantage versus when they're

780
00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:04,920
Speaker 1: attacking in a set defense situation. And it's gonna beat

781
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:08,120
Speaker 1: the hedge with the pass here again again, You Banks

782
00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:11,320
Speaker 1: is a little slow, but he's up right and Devin Booker,

783
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 1: like they're doing on so many of these ball screens,

784
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:16,239
Speaker 1: is digging down super hard into the driving lane. An

785
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:18,440
Speaker 1: throws the kick. It's almost a little sloppy pass, and

786
00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:21,040
Speaker 1: so Alexander Walker ends up having to hit a little

787
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:23,880
Speaker 1: tougher shot than you're expecting. But that opening is created

788
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:30,799
Speaker 1: by making the read against the hedge. And then we're

789
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:37,840
Speaker 1: gonna see it again here, So go bear high drop

790
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:43,000
Speaker 1: go Bear's rolling. Gordon sinks into the lane. As a result,

791
00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:48,360
Speaker 1: Nikhil Alexander Walker is open and he identifies Jaden McDaniels

792
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:50,560
Speaker 1: on the weak side. Again, look at Kad KD is

793
00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:53,400
Speaker 1: sinking into the lane. Kd's got his foot on the

794
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:56,880
Speaker 1: left block. So now Katie is closing out on Jada McDaniels.

795
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,759
Speaker 1: And all night long, Jaden was magnificent with these just

796
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:02,960
Speaker 1: sick rip through moves on KD, just beating him with

797
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:06,279
Speaker 1: his athleticism ripped. And this is just that's just a

798
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,040
Speaker 1: really really nice little drifting fade away along the baseline.

799
00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:13,640
Speaker 1: So shout out to shout out to Anthony Edwards. He

800
00:42:13,719 --> 00:42:16,680
Speaker 1: was just really good as a playmaker in this particular game.

801
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:20,000
Speaker 1: More physical ball pressure from nas Reed forces yet another turnover.

802
00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:25,440
Speaker 1: Now that one should have been That one actually went

803
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:27,160
Speaker 1: off on naz Reid's foot, but they didn't know. They

804
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:30,520
Speaker 1: didn't review it. But still a turnover for all intents

805
00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:33,000
Speaker 1: and purposes for the game that was caused by ball pressure.

806
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:37,160
Speaker 1: All right, last four clips of this game. Mike Conley

807
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,839
Speaker 1: takes over in the fourth quarter. Now not shown here.

808
00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:43,080
Speaker 1: I didn't show it because just for timesake. But in

809
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:46,799
Speaker 1: the second quarter, Mike Conley scored twelve points against a

810
00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:50,840
Speaker 1: deep drop coverage that nurkicch was running, and so coming

811
00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:54,520
Speaker 1: into the fourth quarter, Mike didn't score in the third quarter,

812
00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,160
Speaker 1: and Frank Vogel made what I thought was a mistake.

813
00:42:57,200 --> 00:42:59,640
Speaker 1: He made a coverage adjustment and started running high drop

814
00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,320
Speaker 1: and instead of just daring Mike Conley to continue to

815
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:05,640
Speaker 1: beat them as a score. Mike Conley just has too

816
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:08,280
Speaker 1: much chemistry with Rudy Gobert as a pick and roll partner,

817
00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:09,920
Speaker 1: and when you threw the high drop at him, he

818
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,360
Speaker 1: just immediately picked it apart. With pocket passes, go bear screen.

819
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:20,680
Speaker 1: Nurkic is coming out high, easy pocket pass, Katie's way

820
00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:26,000
Speaker 1: too slow on the tag, easy dunk for Gobert. Another

821
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,800
Speaker 1: sloppy turnover from Devin Booker on the other end. Again,

822
00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,600
Speaker 1: this is just fatigue. I'm a big believer that fatigue

823
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:35,319
Speaker 1: is having an effect on the Suns and just their

824
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:38,520
Speaker 1: overall sloppiness, fatigue and ball pressure. We're gonna get a

825
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:42,200
Speaker 1: guard screen from Bradley Beal. Gobart kind of shows there's

826
00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:44,520
Speaker 1: a closeout opportunity. But look at this pass Booker throws.

827
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:54,160
Speaker 1: That's just sloppy another pocket pass from Conley. Here there

828
00:43:54,239 --> 00:43:57,880
Speaker 1: is a switch because of help right, So there's another

829
00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:01,799
Speaker 1: wedge screen that gets Carl Town's advantage on Bradley Beal.

830
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,560
Speaker 1: So Nurkic calls for a switch and he points back

831
00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,319
Speaker 1: out to go Beart. So Beal closes out, but then

832
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:09,920
Speaker 1: as Conley runs it again instead of Beal kind of

833
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:14,160
Speaker 1: meeting Conley here in a more passive way, he closes hard.

834
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:17,239
Speaker 1: And when he closes hard, that opens the pocket pass

835
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:21,319
Speaker 1: for Gobert. Nurkic has to tag Kat cuts along the

836
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:28,160
Speaker 1: baseline and gets a layup. Same exact thing over here again.

837
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:31,360
Speaker 1: High drop. Look at how hard Nurkic is showing on

838
00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:35,520
Speaker 1: these easy pocket passed. They're gonna run it again here.

839
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:41,120
Speaker 1: Look at that hard show kick to Gobert tagged by Booker.

840
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:42,640
Speaker 1: Now I've got a two on one on the weak

841
00:44:42,719 --> 00:44:46,759
Speaker 1: side with Kevin Durant, Nikhil, Alexander Walker, Kadie stunts towards

842
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:49,799
Speaker 1: the baseline side. Gobert hits him wide open, catches twot

843
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,080
Speaker 1: three for McDaniels. He misses it, but as all the

844
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:54,560
Speaker 1: sons had to rotate over this way creates an opening

845
00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:56,880
Speaker 1: for Mike Conley to get the offensive rebound on the backside,

846
00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,840
Speaker 1: and that basically ended up being the shot that amounted

847
00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:03,640
Speaker 1: to the dagger. So again, as you as you as

848
00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:04,840
Speaker 1: you can see, and like I had a lot of

849
00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:07,359
Speaker 1: I'm actually gonna go straight into the mail bag here

850
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:11,080
Speaker 1: because this first question kind of plays into this a

851
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,440
Speaker 1: little bit. So this was a comment that was on

852
00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:16,000
Speaker 1: the breakout clip that we did from the Sun's Wolves

853
00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:18,640
Speaker 1: game last night. Lol, this dude is now saying that

854
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:20,680
Speaker 1: the game played out exactly as he said, but he

855
00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:23,200
Speaker 1: literally picked the Suns to win. Don't change up now.

856
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:25,920
Speaker 1: So I know the vast majority of you guys are

857
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:28,880
Speaker 1: not like this, So I promise that I appreciate and

858
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:33,400
Speaker 1: and and I'm thankful for the most of you guys

859
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,880
Speaker 1: being able to sift through this and understand. But I

860
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:37,759
Speaker 1: always have to clarify this every year when we get

861
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:43,680
Speaker 1: to the postseason. I make predictions because it's my job. Okay,

862
00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:46,359
Speaker 1: all of these series are really close. As a matter

863
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:48,880
Speaker 1: of fact, with exception of the Nugget series and the

864
00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:52,800
Speaker 1: Celtics series. I think every single the Nugget, Celtics and

865
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,640
Speaker 1: Pelicans Thunder. So five of the eight series were in

866
00:45:56,680 --> 00:45:58,880
Speaker 1: the one hundreds in terms of how much the favor

867
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:02,640
Speaker 1: is favored. They were favored by somewhere between minus one

868
00:46:02,719 --> 00:46:05,480
Speaker 1: oh five and minus one ninety five every single one

869
00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:09,839
Speaker 1: of these series. So they're all coin flips. Okay, I'm

870
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:13,960
Speaker 1: gonna make a prediction anyway, because that's my job. And

871
00:46:14,120 --> 00:46:17,400
Speaker 1: in the predictions, what do I always do? I tell you, guys,

872
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:20,480
Speaker 1: here's what I think is gonna happen. As a guess,

873
00:46:20,880 --> 00:46:26,520
Speaker 1: here's my reasoning for why. However, if the other team wins,

874
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:30,080
Speaker 1: here is their pathway. I do that for every single

875
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,960
Speaker 1: one of these series. That's what I did for the Wolves.

876
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:36,320
Speaker 1: I picked the Suns to win because in the regular

877
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:40,480
Speaker 1: season the Suns dominated the Wolves. I had basketball evidence

878
00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:44,279
Speaker 1: to back that up. In the process, I did say

879
00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:46,760
Speaker 1: I expected it to go six games because the Wolves

880
00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:48,960
Speaker 1: are such a good defense and they're so physical, right,

881
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:52,000
Speaker 1: But in the in the process, I broke down the

882
00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:55,320
Speaker 1: reasons why Frank Vogel has a really good game plan.

883
00:46:55,680 --> 00:46:59,160
Speaker 1: His game plan of the aggressive coverages against ant In

884
00:46:59,239 --> 00:47:02,480
Speaker 1: the passive cover against Conley plays the two of them

885
00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:04,839
Speaker 1: into their worst tendencies, and the Wolves tend to fall

886
00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:08,480
Speaker 1: apart offensively. That was the evidence that I used to

887
00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:11,160
Speaker 1: make my prediction right. But those of you guys who

888
00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:14,760
Speaker 1: watched the series preview, you saw exactly what I said

889
00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:17,799
Speaker 1: in the if the Wolves win, this is what they

890
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:21,120
Speaker 1: need to do segment, I literally said, they need Jaden

891
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:25,200
Speaker 1: McDaniels to give them scoring pop. What did Jaden McDaniels

892
00:47:25,239 --> 00:47:28,280
Speaker 1: do in Game two? Gave them scoring pop. They need

893
00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:32,200
Speaker 1: Mike Conley to beat the passive coverages by being aggressive

894
00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:34,560
Speaker 1: as a score That is what he did in the

895
00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:38,080
Speaker 1: second quarter run that led to the adjustment that led

896
00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:41,840
Speaker 1: to him picking them apart in the pocket passes. In

897
00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:45,400
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter, I said, Anthony Edwards has to beat

898
00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:49,760
Speaker 1: Vogels coverage with pull up jump shooting in decision making

899
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,040
Speaker 1: against their kind of loaded up coverages. In game one

900
00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:55,720
Speaker 1: he beat it with pull up shooting and in Game

901
00:47:55,800 --> 00:47:59,680
Speaker 1: two he beat it with playmaking. And then lastly, I said,

902
00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:03,399
Speaker 1: they cannot let the Suns get into rotation. They need

903
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:06,200
Speaker 1: to stay home off the ball as much as possible

904
00:48:06,239 --> 00:48:09,040
Speaker 1: and try to defend the actions one on one in

905
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:12,000
Speaker 1: two on two. So I laid out the pathway for

906
00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:15,040
Speaker 1: both teams. By the way, this series is not over.

907
00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:19,200
Speaker 1: I do believe now that Minnesota will win Phoenix's process

908
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:21,640
Speaker 1: has been so bad in these first two games. I

909
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:24,239
Speaker 1: don't think they're even close to figuring this out, and

910
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:27,520
Speaker 1: so I do believe Minnesota will win. But I made

911
00:48:27,560 --> 00:48:31,520
Speaker 1: that prediction before the series based on evidence. Phoenix does

912
00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:34,839
Speaker 1: still have a chance. If Phoenix goes home and they

913
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:38,319
Speaker 1: do make take advantage of those smarter reads, and they

914
00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:40,919
Speaker 1: do get the ball in rotation and start generating higher

915
00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:44,040
Speaker 1: quality shots, and they up their assist percentage to where

916
00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:46,680
Speaker 1: it was in the regular season, and then their defensive

917
00:48:46,719 --> 00:48:49,680
Speaker 1: game plan works better. I do think they can get

918
00:48:49,719 --> 00:48:52,960
Speaker 1: back in this series. In fact, I would be I

919
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:54,920
Speaker 1: do think they'll get at least one in Phoenix, and

920
00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,160
Speaker 1: I think there's a decent chance they get two. I

921
00:48:57,239 --> 00:48:59,239
Speaker 1: just don't think Phoenix can do it four times in

922
00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:01,759
Speaker 1: five tries now, So I do believe Minnesota will come

923
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:04,600
Speaker 1: back to win. But again, I'm saying this now because

924
00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:07,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna make four more predictions in the second round,

925
00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:09,799
Speaker 1: and two more in the Conference finals and one more

926
00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:13,440
Speaker 1: in the NBA Finals. All of these are mostly coin flips.

927
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:16,800
Speaker 1: I picked the MAVs to beat the Clippers. You're insane

928
00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:18,560
Speaker 1: if you don't think the Clippers can beat the MAVs.

929
00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:21,480
Speaker 1: Of course they're capable of it. That series is the

930
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:28,120
Speaker 1: razor thin right like the the Let's take the Pacers

931
00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:31,359
Speaker 1: Bucks series. That series is gonna be close. The Knick

932
00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:33,919
Speaker 1: Sixers series. I really do think the Sixers are gonna

933
00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:35,680
Speaker 1: go home and win two games and tie that series.

934
00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:38,439
Speaker 1: All these games are very All these series are really

935
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:41,319
Speaker 1: really close. So I'm gonna make a prediction. If I

936
00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:43,920
Speaker 1: pick against your team, it doesn't mean I don't like

937
00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:45,959
Speaker 1: your team, it doesn't mean I don't believe your team

938
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:49,600
Speaker 1: can win. I'm gonna base my prediction on some basketball evidence,

939
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:52,239
Speaker 1: and then I'm also going to lay out the pathway

940
00:49:52,960 --> 00:49:55,400
Speaker 1: for how the Wolves can win. I wasn't trying to

941
00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:57,839
Speaker 1: take a victory lap last night on the show. All

942
00:49:57,880 --> 00:50:01,000
Speaker 1: I was doing was saying, is wow, this is interesting.

943
00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:04,600
Speaker 1: I thought that if the Wolves won, this is what

944
00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:07,600
Speaker 1: it would look like, and it's literally what's happening. I

945
00:50:07,640 --> 00:50:11,960
Speaker 1: find that fascinating from a basketball perspective. Every team goes

946
00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:16,480
Speaker 1: into matchups, into playoff series with advantages and disadvantages in

947
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:20,400
Speaker 1: the team that best capitalizes on their advantages and hides

948
00:50:20,440 --> 00:50:23,160
Speaker 1: their disadvantages is going to be the team that wins

949
00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:26,160
Speaker 1: the series. And so far through two games, the Minnesota

950
00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:31,359
Speaker 1: Timberwolves have done a masterful job of playing of confronting

951
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:35,680
Speaker 1: their own weaknesses and playing well in those situations. Jayden scoring,

952
00:50:35,960 --> 00:50:39,279
Speaker 1: Mike Conley scoring, Anthony Edwards, hitting pull up jumpers and

953
00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:43,680
Speaker 1: making passing reads. And Phoenix is playing into the worst

954
00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:48,520
Speaker 1: version of themselves. Right. So, Like again, I want to

955
00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:50,800
Speaker 1: be clear, I know the vast majority of you guys

956
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:53,960
Speaker 1: give me that leeway. But for that small segment that

957
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:56,239
Speaker 1: seems to think that every prediction I make is me

958
00:50:56,360 --> 00:50:59,600
Speaker 1: like staking my entire reputation as an analyst on the

959
00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:02,520
Speaker 1: outcome of series, That's fucking stupid. That's just not how

960
00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:05,560
Speaker 1: this works. I'm giving you guys predictions because it's my job.

961
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,200
Speaker 1: I'm going to give my case, but I'm always going

962
00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:09,960
Speaker 1: to give a case for the other side as well.

963
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:14,279
Speaker 1: I'm not rooting against the Timberwolves. I simply just made

964
00:51:14,280 --> 00:51:16,480
Speaker 1: a call based on evidence in the regular season, and

965
00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:19,280
Speaker 1: I think we can all agree that in the regular

966
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:22,480
Speaker 1: season the Suns gave the Timberwolves issues. Are we seriously

967
00:51:22,520 --> 00:51:24,600
Speaker 1: going to pretend that isn't the case. Of course that

968
00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:27,400
Speaker 1: was the case. They've just managed to flip the script

969
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:29,960
Speaker 1: on all of that stuff to have success in this series.

970
00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:32,960
Speaker 1: Next question, how do you feel about a healthy Lonzo

971
00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:36,200
Speaker 1: Ball on this Timberwolves teams? On the Timberwolves team, love

972
00:51:36,239 --> 00:51:39,280
Speaker 1: the breakdowns, keep it up, you know. I actually, again,

973
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:42,040
Speaker 1: just looking at it through the lens of a healthy

974
00:51:42,080 --> 00:51:46,239
Speaker 1: Lonzo Ball, I love the fit. Excellent perimeter defender, more

975
00:51:46,239 --> 00:51:51,000
Speaker 1: of a playmaking pace pushing kick ahead Tyre's Halliburton X esque,

976
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:54,080
Speaker 1: kind of like read maker in the half court and

977
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:57,279
Speaker 1: in transition, and he turned himself into a really good

978
00:51:57,320 --> 00:52:00,239
Speaker 1: catch and shoot player. I don't think you could can

979
00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:04,279
Speaker 1: conceive of a better two guard to fit your timeline

980
00:52:04,600 --> 00:52:06,799
Speaker 1: post Mike Conley. I think that makes a ton of sense.

981
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:09,359
Speaker 1: The question is can Lonzo Ball get healthy? And that's

982
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:10,799
Speaker 1: where it gets tricky. But I thought that was a

983
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:14,440
Speaker 1: really interesting suggestion, and I would love to see Lonzo

984
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,920
Speaker 1: have a career renaissance in a place like Minnesota. I

985
00:52:17,920 --> 00:52:20,000
Speaker 1: feel like a major part of the MAVs fourth quarter

986
00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:22,760
Speaker 1: success was Russell Westbrook making a ton of bad defensive

987
00:52:22,800 --> 00:52:25,160
Speaker 1: decisions for no reason. I know very little about the

988
00:52:25,239 --> 00:52:27,360
Speaker 1: x's and o's of basketball, but sagging off Kyrie and

989
00:52:27,400 --> 00:52:29,680
Speaker 1: losing Luca or going for a random steal isn't the

990
00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:32,400
Speaker 1: smartest idea when you're trying to close the gap. So

991
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:35,360
Speaker 1: that's always the case with Russ. Russ is the textbook

992
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:38,560
Speaker 1: good play, bad play guy, and it's always a scale

993
00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:41,800
Speaker 1: with him, and sometimes the scales tips towards good plays

994
00:52:41,800 --> 00:52:44,719
Speaker 1: more than bad, and sometimes it skips a tilts towards

995
00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:47,240
Speaker 1: bad plays more than good. When he was with the Lakers,

996
00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:50,040
Speaker 1: more often than not, the bad plays were winning out.

997
00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:51,960
Speaker 1: With the Clippers, for the most part, the good plays

998
00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:53,719
Speaker 1: have been winning out. He did make a couple of

999
00:52:53,760 --> 00:52:55,880
Speaker 1: bad defensive decisions down the stretch of that game. He

1000
00:52:55,960 --> 00:52:59,239
Speaker 1: doubled from Kyrie one pass away when clearly it wasn't

1001
00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:02,200
Speaker 1: schemed for Kawhi wasn't ready for it as the next rotation.

1002
00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:04,840
Speaker 1: And then he gambled on Luca once and gave in

1003
00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:07,680
Speaker 1: a post up and gave him a downhill opportunity that

1004
00:53:07,760 --> 00:53:10,439
Speaker 1: led to an easy kickout pass for a PJ. Washington three.

1005
00:53:10,520 --> 00:53:13,120
Speaker 1: So yeah, he did make some mistakes. I just think

1006
00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:15,440
Speaker 1: the good that Russ brought to the table last night

1007
00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:19,760
Speaker 1: outweighed the bad. Don't you think it's interesting how because

1008
00:53:19,760 --> 00:53:22,399
Speaker 1: of the wolves insane perimeter defense on the big three

1009
00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:24,920
Speaker 1: and their ball pressure. A lot of these end of

1010
00:53:24,920 --> 00:53:27,840
Speaker 1: possession grenades go to Nurkic on an island against Gobert.

1011
00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:30,400
Speaker 1: How else can you beat lockdown perimeter defense like that

1012
00:53:30,640 --> 00:53:33,319
Speaker 1: at the end of the shot clock. So I'm just

1013
00:53:33,360 --> 00:53:36,880
Speaker 1: gonna take this in a different direction. I thought gober

1014
00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:39,680
Speaker 1: in general, switching on pick and rolls late in the

1015
00:53:39,719 --> 00:53:43,000
Speaker 1: shot clock was a huge part of Minnesota's defensive success

1016
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:45,600
Speaker 1: in Games one and two. Essentially he's meeting them up

1017
00:53:45,719 --> 00:53:48,279
Speaker 1: high and following them into the lane, and yeah, some

1018
00:53:48,320 --> 00:53:50,160
Speaker 1: of those are getting dropped off to Nurkic and late

1019
00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:52,680
Speaker 1: lake clock situations, but a lot of them the guard

1020
00:53:52,760 --> 00:53:55,360
Speaker 1: is then pulling Gobert out and then trying to ISO

1021
00:53:55,440 --> 00:53:58,239
Speaker 1: against him, and Gobert is just doing an amazing job

1022
00:53:58,320 --> 00:54:01,120
Speaker 1: on those ISOs. Again, a lot about je McDaniels and

1023
00:54:01,120 --> 00:54:03,120
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards and the Kile Alexander Walker. I even think

1024
00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:05,520
Speaker 1: Mike Conley's done a really got a good job defensively

1025
00:54:05,560 --> 00:54:08,080
Speaker 1: in the series. But Rudy Gobert is one of the

1026
00:54:08,080 --> 00:54:10,160
Speaker 1: top five defensive anchors in the world, and he pulls

1027
00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:14,040
Speaker 1: it all together for them. Steph has a down month

1028
00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:15,880
Speaker 1: on his stats and he's no longer top ten and

1029
00:54:15,960 --> 00:54:18,600
Speaker 1: is no longer in his prime. Recency bias is crazy,

1030
00:54:18,680 --> 00:54:21,400
Speaker 1: so I wanted to clarify this. First of all, Steph's

1031
00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:24,640
Speaker 1: rough end to the season was actually a few months long,

1032
00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:28,279
Speaker 1: but I did I'm doing the exact same thing to

1033
00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:31,359
Speaker 1: Steph that I did with Lebron. Lebron showed a dip

1034
00:54:31,640 --> 00:54:34,319
Speaker 1: in his production and effectiveness last year, and so I

1035
00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:36,640
Speaker 1: moved him way down the playoff. I think I had

1036
00:54:36,680 --> 00:54:39,000
Speaker 1: him eighth or ninth in my player rankings this year.

1037
00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:43,680
Speaker 1: Steph has really struggled as of late, but I still

1038
00:54:43,719 --> 00:54:46,080
Speaker 1: think he's a top ten player. He just wasn't playing

1039
00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:48,399
Speaker 1: like a top ten player over the last couple months

1040
00:54:48,440 --> 00:54:49,960
Speaker 1: of the season. He was in the low twenties of

1041
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:53,120
Speaker 1: points per game and really inefficient by his standards, right,

1042
00:54:53,480 --> 00:54:57,520
Speaker 1: But I after this season, yeah, I'm probably gonna put

1043
00:54:57,520 --> 00:55:00,160
Speaker 1: Steph in the five to ten range, similar to what

1044
00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:02,720
Speaker 1: I did to Lebron last year. But you're right, Steph

1045
00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:06,359
Speaker 1: absolutely can bounce back. And if Steph did what Lebron does,

1046
00:55:06,440 --> 00:55:08,160
Speaker 1: what Lebron did at the end of the year this year,

1047
00:55:08,320 --> 00:55:10,560
Speaker 1: Lebron at the end of the year this year came

1048
00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:14,000
Speaker 1: in hot and like was the only player in the

1049
00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:16,399
Speaker 1: league post deadline that was averaging at least twenty seven

1050
00:55:16,400 --> 00:55:18,040
Speaker 1: points per game on at least fifty percent from the

1051
00:55:18,040 --> 00:55:20,479
Speaker 1: field and forty percent from three. He's one of only

1052
00:55:20,560 --> 00:55:23,560
Speaker 1: five players in this postseason run so far to average

1053
00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:25,359
Speaker 1: at least twenty five points per game on at least

1054
00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:27,239
Speaker 1: fifty percent from the field and at least forty percent

1055
00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:29,920
Speaker 1: from three. He's also averaging tennisis per game in this

1056
00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:32,920
Speaker 1: postseason run. He's going toe to toe with Nikole Jokic

1057
00:55:33,000 --> 00:55:35,680
Speaker 1: at the end of basketball games. Like Lebron's just playing

1058
00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:38,319
Speaker 1: at an extremely high level right now. So I have

1059
00:55:38,480 --> 00:55:40,680
Speaker 1: moved him back up the list. By the way, when

1060
00:55:40,680 --> 00:55:43,319
Speaker 1: I and I'll save the Lebron piece for the last question,

1061
00:55:43,320 --> 00:55:45,560
Speaker 1: because we're gonna get to that in a second. But

1062
00:55:46,120 --> 00:55:49,239
Speaker 1: if Steph goes into next season and starts looking like

1063
00:55:49,320 --> 00:55:51,719
Speaker 1: Steph again, of course I'm gonna move him back up

1064
00:55:51,760 --> 00:55:54,880
Speaker 1: the list. I'm not burying Steph Curry. I'm just saying

1065
00:55:54,920 --> 00:55:58,400
Speaker 1: strictly within right now, Steph has shown a little bit

1066
00:55:58,400 --> 00:56:00,400
Speaker 1: of a sign of decline and towards the hail end

1067
00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:03,000
Speaker 1: of the season wasn't playing very well. So yeah, I'm

1068
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:07,080
Speaker 1: gonna drop him down the player rankings temporarily, but knowing Steph,

1069
00:56:07,120 --> 00:56:10,040
Speaker 1: knowing how much of a competitive competitor he is, I

1070
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:13,440
Speaker 1: fully expect that at some point in October, November, December

1071
00:56:13,480 --> 00:56:15,680
Speaker 1: next year, I'm gonna be like, holy shit, Steph's a

1072
00:56:15,880 --> 00:56:19,080
Speaker 1: top five player again. I thoroughly expect to do that.

1073
00:56:19,480 --> 00:56:21,480
Speaker 1: But you know, obviously, in the same way that I

1074
00:56:21,560 --> 00:56:23,560
Speaker 1: dropped a Luca. Remember when I dropped Luca to ten.

1075
00:56:23,600 --> 00:56:26,719
Speaker 1: I dropped him to ten because his team didn't even

1076
00:56:26,719 --> 00:56:29,000
Speaker 1: make the playoffs and he didn't play very good defense

1077
00:56:29,040 --> 00:56:30,440
Speaker 1: down the stretch. He did a lot of pouting, a

1078
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:32,560
Speaker 1: lot of complaining at refs. Wasn't a pretty end of

1079
00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:35,080
Speaker 1: the season for Luca. I look at my player rankings

1080
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:39,719
Speaker 1: as a constantly sliding scale, and I prioritize playoff production,

1081
00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:44,520
Speaker 1: and so again, like with Steph, definitely not burying him.

1082
00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:48,799
Speaker 1: Fully expect him to make a return to the top

1083
00:56:48,800 --> 00:56:50,920
Speaker 1: of the nearer the top of the league. But for

1084
00:56:51,080 --> 00:56:53,480
Speaker 1: right now, he doesn't get to make that claim because

1085
00:56:53,480 --> 00:56:55,120
Speaker 1: a bunch of guys play better than him down the

1086
00:56:55,120 --> 00:56:58,319
Speaker 1: stretch of the season. Lastly, love your content, but your

1087
00:56:58,320 --> 00:57:00,439
Speaker 1: bias towards Lebron if you think he is the third

1088
00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:02,160
Speaker 1: best player in the NBA right now. I want to

1089
00:57:02,160 --> 00:57:03,879
Speaker 1: be clear, I don't think Lebron is the third best

1090
00:57:03,880 --> 00:57:07,799
Speaker 1: player in a vacuum to start a season with. Right

1091
00:57:08,120 --> 00:57:12,720
Speaker 1: No one's gonna take Lebron from early October through June

1092
00:57:13,080 --> 00:57:15,719
Speaker 1: in the top three. However, we don't have to make

1093
00:57:15,760 --> 00:57:20,240
Speaker 1: it from October to April anymore. We're in April right now,

1094
00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:23,280
Speaker 1: and Lebron is healthy right now, and Lebron is playing

1095
00:57:23,320 --> 00:57:27,640
Speaker 1: at that level right now, and Giannie is hurt right now,

1096
00:57:27,680 --> 00:57:31,200
Speaker 1: and Joel Embiid is hurt right now. And so if

1097
00:57:31,240 --> 00:57:34,280
Speaker 1: I look at the group of players strictly within the

1098
00:57:34,360 --> 00:57:38,080
Speaker 1: lens of this postseason run, Jokich is a clear number one,

1099
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,600
Speaker 1: Luca is a clear number two. Tell me who's the third.

1100
00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:45,240
Speaker 1: Who's the guy in this playoff field that is clearly

1101
00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:48,200
Speaker 1: playing better two way basketball than Lebron James right now?

1102
00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:49,600
Speaker 1: Tell me I want to hear about it. Maybe we

1103
00:57:49,640 --> 00:57:52,080
Speaker 1: can debate it over the course of the next week

1104
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:55,640
Speaker 1: through mailbag questions. But like I'm just saying, strictly right

1105
00:57:55,680 --> 00:57:58,040
Speaker 1: now in this postseason, because I don't have to worry

1106
00:57:58,080 --> 00:57:59,680
Speaker 1: about eighty two games, and I don't have to worry

1107
00:57:59,680 --> 00:58:01,800
Speaker 1: by the way, Lebron had an amazing season, but this

1108
00:58:01,960 --> 00:58:03,680
Speaker 1: was the lower end of the outcome. We all knew

1109
00:58:03,720 --> 00:58:06,640
Speaker 1: coming into the season that it was unlikely that Lebron

1110
00:58:06,640 --> 00:58:09,080
Speaker 1: would just be super healthy throughout the whole thing, after

1111
00:58:09,120 --> 00:58:10,720
Speaker 1: how he kind of struggled to stay healthy in the

1112
00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:13,840
Speaker 1: previous few years. We got the small end of that outcome,

1113
00:58:13,840 --> 00:58:16,360
Speaker 1: which is Lebron stays healthy. Here we are, We're in

1114
00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:20,520
Speaker 1: the postseason. Lebron's playing fucking awesome in the first round

1115
00:58:20,520 --> 00:58:23,520
Speaker 1: against Denver, so like, that's kind of where my rationale is.

1116
00:58:23,560 --> 00:58:27,080
Speaker 1: But yeah, when we're ranking players this offseason, I'm not

1117
00:58:27,120 --> 00:58:29,560
Speaker 1: gonna have Lebron at number three because of the eighty

1118
00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:31,320
Speaker 1: two game grind and whether or not he can hold

1119
00:58:31,400 --> 00:58:35,360
Speaker 1: up for twenty two first twenty second season that way,

1120
00:58:35,600 --> 00:58:37,080
Speaker 1: all right, guys, That is all I have for today.

1121
00:58:37,160 --> 00:58:39,760
Speaker 1: Is always as sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show.

1122
00:58:40,040 --> 00:58:43,360
Speaker 1: We are taking tonight off. I'm gonna spend some time

1123
00:58:43,400 --> 00:58:45,760
Speaker 1: with my wife and hang out since I've been putting

1124
00:58:45,760 --> 00:58:47,240
Speaker 1: her through it here the last couple of weeks with

1125
00:58:47,240 --> 00:58:50,400
Speaker 1: how busy we've been. But we're gonna be back tomorrow night.

1126
00:58:50,520 --> 00:58:53,600
Speaker 1: After the final buzzer of Lakers Nuggets, and I will

1127
00:58:53,640 --> 00:58:57,760
Speaker 1: break down tonight's game during the morning show tomorrow. As always,

1128
00:58:57,760 --> 00:58:59,600
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys and I will see you tomorrow morning.

1129
00:59:24,040 --> 00:59:24,720
Speaker 1: The volume