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Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight. You're at

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Speaker 1: the Volume. Happy Wednesday, everybody. We are live on AMPS,

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Speaker 1: so if you're watching on YouTube or listening on the

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Speaker 1: podcast feed, don't forget that AMP is the very first

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Speaker 1: place that you guys can get these shows. We are

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Speaker 1: continuing our player rankings today with number eighteen, seventeen, and sixteen.

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Speaker 1: You guys know the drill before you get started. Subscribe

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Speaker 1: to the Volumes YouTube channel so 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: And if, for whatever reason, you miss one of these

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Speaker 1: videos and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish,

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Speaker 1: don't forget you can find them wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Under Hoops tonight, all right, let's talk some basketball. So

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Speaker 1: number eighteen is one of my all time favorite players,

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Speaker 1: Paul George. Now again, every single time I say something

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Speaker 1: like this, I always want to qualify it with I

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Speaker 1: don't think I'm an NBA player, don't think I'm particularly close.

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Speaker 1: I have way too much respect for NBA players and

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Speaker 1: what they've accomplished making it to that level. So when

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Speaker 1: I talk about my game like this. It's never intended

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Speaker 1: to be like that. It's just the way I like

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Speaker 1: to talk about basketball. This version of myself right now

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Speaker 1: here in my early thirties. The player that I try

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Speaker 1: to be like the most is Paul George. I'm like

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Speaker 1: completely obsessed with his Fluidity is the word that I

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Speaker 1: like to use to describe him. Fluidity to me, has

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Speaker 1: to do with the basketball concept of energy transfer. It's

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Speaker 1: getting the basketball from a dribble combination or a move

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Speaker 1: some sort of footwork up into a jump shot. And

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Speaker 1: the hardest part of that type of transfer that move

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Speaker 1: is getting the ball to the rim. And the only

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Speaker 1: way to get it there is you have to have

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Speaker 1: a fluidity with the basketball, meaning you have to be

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Speaker 1: so sharp with your handle that as you go from

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Speaker 1: that crossover. Let's just use crossover as an example. Could

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Speaker 1: be anything. It could be an in and out dribble

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Speaker 1: between the legs, behind the back, step back, whatever it is.

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Speaker 1: But let's say in this crossover dribble, getting ball to

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Speaker 1: flow directly into the shooting pocket and up into the

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Speaker 1: shot without having any sort of hitch, Because a hitch

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Speaker 1: breaks that energy transfer and causes you to lose power,

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Speaker 1: which makes it harder to get the ball to the rim.

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Speaker 1: So energy transfer is the first big part there in

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Speaker 1: that fluidity, then there is the power in your legs.

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Speaker 1: I always joke with the young players that I work

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Speaker 1: with that we focus so much on dunking, but the

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Speaker 1: number one thing you'll need leg strength for is having

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Speaker 1: the ability to get to your spots and not lose

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Speaker 1: power along the way. If I do a crossover step

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Speaker 1: back move and I just push hard off my right

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Speaker 1: foot and I have to stick my left foot out

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Speaker 1: to stop my side to side energy to get myself

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Speaker 1: to go straight up and down and to get the

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Speaker 1: lift I need out of that shot to get the

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Speaker 1: ball to the rim, there's a huge leg strength element.

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Speaker 1: So leg strength and fluidity are the two most important

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Speaker 1: parts of getting that energy transferred from the dribble combination

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Speaker 1: to the top of the shot. I don't think there's anybody,

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Speaker 1: or as in terms of a wing, a guy who

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Speaker 1: plays at a similar size that is better at doing

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Speaker 1: that energy transfer into a pull up jump shot than

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Speaker 1: Paul George. I think his ability to get to jump

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Speaker 1: shots out of dribble combinations is straight up beautiful basketball,

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Speaker 1: and that is why he is one of my favorite players.

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Speaker 1: That's why I try so hard to replicate him in

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Speaker 1: my own drills and work to try to build that

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Speaker 1: into my own game. And I think that's a big

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Speaker 1: part of why he's so popular with young basketball players

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Speaker 1: around the entire basketball community. I think a lot of

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Speaker 1: people were surprised at the NBA Draft at how many

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Speaker 1: people said Paul George was their favorite player. Famously, Brandon

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Speaker 1: Miller said that, and again, I think that's a big

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Speaker 1: part of that. Paul George, to me, represents a lot

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Speaker 1: of a lot of the specific skill traits that basketball

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Speaker 1: players strive for, and that's why I'm such a huge

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Speaker 1: fan of his now. He would be a lot higher

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Speaker 1: on this list if it wasn't for his lack of availability.

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Speaker 1: He missed the playoffs last year, and he missed sixty

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Speaker 1: one games the year before that, which in large part

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Speaker 1: led to them missing the playoffs entirely taking that tough

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Speaker 1: loss in the play in tournament. This year, though, in

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Speaker 1: terms of production, still as good as he's ever been

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Speaker 1: twenty four to six and five on fifty nine percent

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Speaker 1: true shooting, played in fifty six games, but missed the

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Speaker 1: final nine games of the regular season and missed the

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Speaker 1: entire playoff run. So again, that's why I look at

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Speaker 1: Paul George as a guy that is, you know, at

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Speaker 1: his very best, closer to that ten to fifteen range,

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Speaker 1: but we're dropping him here as a result of availability.

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Speaker 1: He did have a very balanced creation season. One point

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Speaker 1: zero four points per possession and pick and roll that's

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Speaker 1: seventy third percentile, one point zero seven points per possession

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Speaker 1: in ISO that's seventy fourth percentile, one point zero seven

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Speaker 1: points per possession in the post, sixty third percentile, so

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Speaker 1: well over a point per possession in every single static

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Speaker 1: half court shot creation situation. He also was one point

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Speaker 1: one eight points per possession in spot up situations. That's excellent.

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Speaker 1: That's in the top tier that in the NBA. All

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Speaker 1: super impressive considering he didn't shoot the ball exceptionally well.

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Speaker 1: For all of the talk that I just all of

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Speaker 1: the things that I just said about Paul George's fluidity,

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Speaker 1: he didn't actually shoot great percentages relative to his fear

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Speaker 1: appears at pull up jump shots, So like thirty eight

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Speaker 1: percent on pull up jumpers, forty seven percent when you

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Speaker 1: wait that for threes. Again, Kevin Durant best in the

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Speaker 1: world at it shoots him at about fifty five percent, right,

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Speaker 1: So a big part of that though, and this is

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Speaker 1: something that I think needs to be considered here. Paul

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Speaker 1: George takes a lot of really tough pull up jump shots.

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Speaker 1: And one of the advantages when you're Kevin Durant is like,

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Speaker 1: there's no really, there's not really much of There's not

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Speaker 1: really such thing as a tough jump shot for him.

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Speaker 1: He's so damn tall that even tougher jump shots for

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Speaker 1: him are easy, right, And Paul George is more standard

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Speaker 1: in terms of the measurables for a wing, like when

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Speaker 1: he's going into a random environment, like if he's going

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Speaker 1: on the road to play Brooklyn and he's going against

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Speaker 1: Mikale Bridges mcale Bridges, he's not given up. He's not

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Speaker 1: that doesn't have much of a physical advantage there. So

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Speaker 1: he goes down to New Orleans and Herb Jones is

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Speaker 1: guarding him, doesn't have much of a physical advantage there.

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Speaker 1: So he's kind of like average size, so to speak,

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Speaker 1: at his position, And so when he takes a lot

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Speaker 1: of those really really tough, contested pull up jump shots,

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Speaker 1: that actually kind of nukes his efficiency. He took four

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Speaker 1: hundred and thirty three pull up jump shots this year.

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Speaker 1: That was his most common shot type by far. As

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Speaker 1: a matter of fact, that was forty three percent of

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Speaker 1: his attempts overall. I think it's kind of a curse

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Speaker 1: of his skill set, and this is something that I

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Speaker 1: personally have to fight all the time because I obviously

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Speaker 1: just playing in pick up runs and men's leagues in Tucson,

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Speaker 1: Like I don't there's maybe ten college level players that

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Speaker 1: in the entire city at any given moment, which means

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Speaker 1: he might have two or three of them at any

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Speaker 1: given run. And so as a result of that, like

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Speaker 1: I can be lazy sometimes and I can just take

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Speaker 1: a step back three really whenever I want, because it's easy.

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Speaker 1: I can just get to it whenever I want. But

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Speaker 1: the reality is is like I've better served to be

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Speaker 1: more physically aggressive Because'm bigger and stronger than everybody. Right,

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Speaker 1: That's kind of the way I look at it. With

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Speaker 1: Paul George. It's almost like he's cursed by his own

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Speaker 1: skill set. He's so damn talented and so damn good

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Speaker 1: at taking and making those tough shots. Like, again, thirty

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Speaker 1: eight percent seems low, but when you look at the

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Speaker 1: shot quality. I mean, he's hitting thirty eight percent are

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Speaker 1: really tough shots, and that goes to show you how

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Speaker 1: incredibly skilled he is. And so I think that's the

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Speaker 1: thing that he's been fighting for the most part over

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Speaker 1: the course of the last half decade. Paul George is

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Speaker 1: at his best when he goes to the rim first.

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Speaker 1: And if you look at the twenty twenty one playoff run,

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Speaker 1: which was kind of his breakout point, which we'll get

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Speaker 1: to in a minute, he was getting to the rim

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Speaker 1: and finishing in the restricted area three times a game,

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Speaker 1: and that was a huge part of what drove his

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Speaker 1: big breakout playoff run, right, And so that's always the

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Speaker 1: curse with Paul George. I believe he's capable of being

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Speaker 1: as efficient as the top guys in the league at

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Speaker 1: his position if he kind of tweaked his shot selection

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Speaker 1: even a little bit more. But again, despite going thirty

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Speaker 1: eight percent on pull of jump shots, he's still at

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Speaker 1: a fifty nine percent true shooting this year. A big

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Speaker 1: part of that was his incredible spot up shooting, like

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Speaker 1: we talked about earlier, and then he also got to

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Speaker 1: the rim a good amount this year. Two point five

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Speaker 1: makes in the restricted area per game sixty nine percent there,

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Speaker 1: which is excellent. Also drew a good amount of fouls,

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Speaker 1: so he was bolstering his efficiency with all of those

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Speaker 1: little things that bolster efficiency. And so if you can

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Speaker 1: kind of tweak instead of forty three percent of his

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Speaker 1: attempts being pull up jump shots, getting that down to

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Speaker 1: thirty five percent, trying to get more advantage situations, attacking

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Speaker 1: the basket more, turning his back to the basket, and

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Speaker 1: attacking out of the post more. I think those are

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Speaker 1: ways that he can bump up into that because like

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Speaker 1: all the best pull up jump shooters in the league

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Speaker 1: are up above sixty percent truth shooting, like even Devin

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Speaker 1: Booker's up above sixty percent true shooting, and Paul George

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Speaker 1: has actually never had a season above sixty percent truugh shooting.

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Speaker 1: And so I think that is the next step for

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Speaker 1: him is just kind of tightening up his shot selection

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Speaker 1: a bit. Now. The twenty twenty bubble was a low

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Speaker 1: point for Paul George. He was barely getting to the

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Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, he got to the rim

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Speaker 1: less than two times to less than two makes in

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Speaker 1: the restricted area per game. That season really fell apart

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Speaker 1: in the Denver series in particular, lost his confidence, but

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Speaker 1: then it clicked for him. And again, this is why

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Speaker 1: I always tell you guys, don't define a basketball based

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Speaker 1: a basketball player based on two weeks worth of games.

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Speaker 1: That's what I've been telling you about Jaylen Brown. That's

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Speaker 1: what I told you about Kevin Durant last year. Right

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Speaker 1: after the twenty twenty low point for Paul George in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one was his best playoff run by a mile.

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Speaker 1: Like I said, he started prioritizing getting to the rim

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Speaker 1: first three makes per game in the restricted area. And

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Speaker 1: it again, it's why is it so important to get

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Speaker 1: to the rim first? When that is your bread and

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Speaker 1: butter and your pull up jump shot is a counter.

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Speaker 1: You'll notice defenders will be on their heels versus on

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Speaker 1: their toes. Now, imagine I'm guarding you and you are

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Speaker 1: prioritizing pull up jump shots and you're taking you know,

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Speaker 1: half your shots off the jibble like that. In my

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Speaker 1: defensive stance, I'm gonna be up on my toes and

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna be forward, and I'm gonna be leaning and

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Speaker 1: getting my arm into your shooting pocket to try to

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Speaker 1: disrupt that energy transfer. Like we were talking about earlier.

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Speaker 1: Right now, if you're getting to the rim a lot

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Speaker 1: more and you're only taking a pull up jump shot

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Speaker 1: on a third of your possessions, now I'm probably gonna

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Speaker 1: be guarding more back in my stance, a little bit

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Speaker 1: ready to take quick retreat steps rather than having to

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Speaker 1: quick lunge forward to contest a pull up jump shot.

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Speaker 1: Now when I'm on my heels and I'm further back,

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Speaker 1: when you do take a pull up jump shot, suddenly

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Speaker 1: that really tough jump shot that you're taking off the

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Speaker 1: dribble becomes a much easier jump shot because the defender's

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Speaker 1: not up in your shooting pocket. I would venture to

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Speaker 1: guess if you actually sorted through all of Paul George's

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Speaker 1: pull up jump shots and looked at quality, the ones

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Speaker 1: where he has good separation, I bet you he shoots

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Speaker 1: over fifty percent on, and then the ones where he

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Speaker 1: doesn't get great super separation, he's probably in the low thirties.

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Speaker 1: And that probably dictates where his percentage lies there kind

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Speaker 1: of firmly in the middle, right. And so that's why

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Speaker 1: it's so important to attack the rim first. You keep

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Speaker 1: defenders on your heels, on their heels and you make

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Speaker 1: it so that you can get to your pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shot at a higher quality in higher quality situations.

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Speaker 1: But that rim first approach led to his best playoff

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Speaker 1: run ever twenty nine nine four fifty eight per century

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Speaker 1: shooting basically knocked out the one seed Jazz, the one

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Speaker 1: seed Jazz by himself. They lost in six in the

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Speaker 1: Conference finals, and in that series was the Deandrayton game

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Speaker 1: winner in Game two that stole a game that the

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Speaker 1: Clippers were in good position to win. So he came

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Speaker 1: very very close to making it to the NBA Finals

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Speaker 1: without Kawhi Leonard. That was his best playoff run ever,

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Speaker 1: right after his ugliest playoff moment ever. And the unfortunate

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Speaker 1: thing is we just haven't seen him in the playoffs

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Speaker 1: since then because of his injury history, so we haven't

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Speaker 1: really seen him have an opportunity to demonstrate that he

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Speaker 1: can do that consistently. Lastly, Paul George is still capable

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Speaker 1: of being an outstanding defensive players, not what he used

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Speaker 1: to be a few years ago. He was in the

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Speaker 1: top tier of perimeter defenders, but there's been some drop

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Speaker 1: off there. However, in a playoff series, you're never worried

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Speaker 1: about Paul George, He's going to be in above average,

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Speaker 1: a huge positive on that the ball which has to

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Speaker 1: be factored in here. You're not gonna be losing that matchup.

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Speaker 1: So in summary, he's probably in the second tier of

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Speaker 1: three level scores in the NBA. Main thing there is

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Speaker 1: just bumping up his efficiency a little bit, and his

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Speaker 1: overall volume is typically around twenty four points per game.

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Speaker 1: Obviously the best guys are around twenty seven to twenty

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Speaker 1: eight points a game. Right. He's also an outstanding off

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Speaker 1: ball player, knocks down, catch and shoot threes and attacks

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Speaker 1: well with an advantage, and a very good defensive player.

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Speaker 1: And the big downside here is his availability. Hasn't played

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Speaker 1: a playoff game in over two years, which is what

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Speaker 1: keeps him lower on the list at this point. For instance,

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Speaker 1: the guy I had ahead him that we're about to

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Speaker 1: talk about, Jaylen Brown. I actually think in a healthy

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Speaker 1: playoff situation, I'd take Paul George over Jalen Brown. But

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Speaker 1: Jalen Brown plays in a million games every year and

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Speaker 1: is always available in the postseason, so that has to

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Speaker 1: be a difference maker here because once again Paul George

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Speaker 1: was unavailable this year and Jalen Brown wasn't he was available,

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Speaker 1: and that has to factor in so number seventeen. Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brown recap career high twenty seven points, career high seven rebounds,

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Speaker 1: three and a half assists per game, which matched his

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Speaker 1: career high. He was really good for two rounds in

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Speaker 1: the NBA Playoffs. Through the first two rounds against Atlanta

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Speaker 1: and Philly, averaged twenty five points per game, shot fifty

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Speaker 1: four percent from the field and forty seven percent from three.

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Speaker 1: But then he completely fell apart in the Miami Heat series.

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Speaker 1: Averaged nineteen points per game. In that series, he was

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Speaker 1: seven for forty three from three. I spent a lot

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Speaker 1: of time I had more turnovers than assists and kind

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Speaker 1: of just kind of fell apart, lost his mojo, lost

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Speaker 1: his confidence. But I spent a lot of time today

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Speaker 1: in particular, diving into that series and trying to figure

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Speaker 1: out what specifically went wrong for Jalen Brown. And we

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Speaker 1: are going to get to that in a few minutes

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Speaker 1: because it was different than what I expected on rewatch,

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Speaker 1: But I want to spend some time talking more about

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Speaker 1: Jayalen Brown's positive Before that, there were only five players

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Speaker 1: in the entire league this year that played in at

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Speaker 1: least sixty games, scored at least twenty six points per game,

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Speaker 1: grabbed at least six rebounds per game, and dished out

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Speaker 1: at least three assists per game. Again, that's not a

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Speaker 1: crazy barrier like basement level, right, twenty six six and three,

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Speaker 1: So that's that's pretty that's that's below those markers for

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Speaker 1: most of the top players in the league. So twenty

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Speaker 1: six six and three and just playing over play in

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Speaker 1: less than three fourths of the games, playing sixty of

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Speaker 1: eighty two games, that's a very low bar Five guys

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Speaker 1: did that. So again, as we're talking about the supermacs here,

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Speaker 1: when it comes down to what you're getting, and again,

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Speaker 1: don't remember, don't forget that he was great through the

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Speaker 1: first two rounds of this year's playoffs, and he was

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Speaker 1: great for the most part in last year's playoffs when

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Speaker 1: they were two wins away from the title. So take

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Speaker 1: away that little two week disaster against Miami. He's been

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Speaker 1: one of the most reliable and productive guys in the

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Speaker 1: whole league. And that's why he deserves the amount of

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Speaker 1: money that he makes. That's why he's a definitive top

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Speaker 1: twenty player. Even with the weaknesses that he has, so

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Speaker 1: don't let two weeks of bad basketball overshadow that. Now,

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Speaker 1: let's talk about the Miami Heat series. Really, I thought

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Speaker 1: the Miami Heat series, upon rewatch, exposed his inefficiencies as

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Speaker 1: an on ball creator. Now, during the regular season, he

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Speaker 1: was decent in pick and roll one point zero three

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Speaker 1: points per possession sixty sixth percentile, so little above average.

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Speaker 1: Not so much in ISO in post up situation zero

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Speaker 1: point eighty eight points per io in the regular season.

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Speaker 1: That's thirty ninth percentile. Zero point nine points per post

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Speaker 1: up in the regular season, that's thirtieth percentile. Remember when

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Speaker 1: I give you points per possession data, I'm giving that

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Speaker 1: including passes. Most of his success as a basketball player

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Speaker 1: right now comes in transition and in spot up situations.

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Speaker 1: Transition was his most common playtype. Jalen Brown scored four

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Speaker 1: hundred and ninety five points this year just in transition.

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Speaker 1: That was third most in the entire NBA. Little trivia

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Speaker 1: for you guys, who do you think one ahead of him?

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Speaker 1: Number one's obvious, Yannis. Who do you think was second?

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Speaker 1: The answer is Shay Gilges Alexander. But and Shay continues

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Speaker 1: to just have a bunch of wild stats that don't

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Speaker 1: even make sense. But again, the third best transition threat

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Speaker 1: in the entire NBA, and then spot up was actually

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Speaker 1: his second most common play type. He was super aggressive

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Speaker 1: off the catch, especially driving closeouts. Three hundred and seventy

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Speaker 1: two points scored in spot up situations that ranked twentieth

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Speaker 1: in the entire NBA this season. So again, even though

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Speaker 1: the production is fantastic, the majority of it is coming

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Speaker 1: in advantage situations. Transition is an advantage situation and spotting

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Speaker 1: up is an advantage situation. In the Miami Series, Miami

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Speaker 1: really shut off his transition opportunities and his jumper failed him,

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Speaker 1: so the two easiest baskets that he was getting were

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Speaker 1: taken away. To give you an idea, in the regular season,

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Speaker 1: Jalen Brown averaged seven point four points per game in transition.

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Speaker 1: The heat held him to four, so almost half that.

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Speaker 1: In the regular season, Jalen had a forty nine percent

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Speaker 1: effective field goal percentage on catch and shoot jumpers. In

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Speaker 1: the Miami series, he went just seven for twenty seven

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Speaker 1: on catch and shoot threes, including just or ketch and

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Speaker 1: shoot jumpers, including just four for twenty four on catch

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Speaker 1: and shoot threes. That's just thirty three point three percent

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Speaker 1: an effective field goal percentage. So he lost about half

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Speaker 1: of his transition production and he lost about a third

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Speaker 1: of his spot up efficiency. And when you took those

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Speaker 1: two things away, suddenly the only way he could impact

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Speaker 1: the game was in the half court offensively, attacking his

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Speaker 1: set defense right, and especially since his defensive commitment and

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Speaker 1: production has declined, when that wasn't going well for him,

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Speaker 1: those half court set situations, it was a big problem.

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Speaker 1: Early in the series, Miami went with small guards on

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Speaker 1: him to try to attack his handle, a lot of

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Speaker 1: Gabe Vincent, Kyle Lowry. He had six turnovers in the

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Speaker 1: first game, and then in Game seven, I thought Eric

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Speaker 1: Spolster did something really smart. He ended up putting Jimmy

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Speaker 1: Butler on him from the opening tip, and he just

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Speaker 1: sapped him of confidence. He had eight turnovers in the game,

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Speaker 1: a lot of just like Jalen Brown trying to drive

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Speaker 1: to the left and he you know, we'll talk more

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Speaker 1: about his handle in a second, but he's just not

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Speaker 1: really good at protecting the ball right now, and so

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Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler would just reach around the backside of him

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Speaker 1: and swat the ball away, and then you could just

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Speaker 1: see like it just deflated Jalen Brown. And I think

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Speaker 1: those things are connected in the shot result department. Like

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Speaker 1: these four for twenty four on catch and shoot threes.

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Speaker 1: He was one for six on wide open threes and

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Speaker 1: the defender was at least six feet away. And this

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Speaker 1: is a guy who was an outstanding shooter in the

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Speaker 1: regular season. He shot over forty percent on pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shots, you know, forty nine percent effective fielgal percentage

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Speaker 1: on catching shoe jumper. So he's a good jump shooter

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Speaker 1: who couldn't make a shot against Miami. And I think

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Speaker 1: a big part of that was confidence. I will always

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Speaker 1: say that feeling good about yourself is just as important

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Speaker 1: a part of the game of basketball as anything else. Confidence, rhythm, flow,

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Speaker 1: all these intangible things they do matter. I know that

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Speaker 1: all of the analytics guys don't like to pretend those

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Speaker 1: things exist, but they do. And anybody who's played the

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Speaker 1: game of basketball knows that that stuff really matters. And

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Speaker 1: Jalen lost confidence as a result of the way Miami

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Speaker 1: was guarding him, and then he started to miss his

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Speaker 1: easy shots. They took away those transition dunks and easy

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Speaker 1: baskets that helped him gain his confidence, and that's where

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Speaker 1: he fell apart. And this is where the band like

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Speaker 1: in those like static situation, static situations in the half court.

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Speaker 1: That is where his ball handling became an issue. Now,

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Speaker 1: when I watched Jalen Brown play, I think ball handling

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Speaker 1: is more complicated than people think. I don't think Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brown doesn't have control over the basketball. Like I bet

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Speaker 1: you if you asked Jalen Brown to do a ball

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Speaker 1: handling drill, he's gonna look like he's got great control

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Speaker 1: over the basketball. The main flaw I was seeing with

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Speaker 1: Jalen Brown was exposing the basketball. Now one of the

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Speaker 1: most important parts I talk about this with my young players.

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Speaker 1: We do a ball pressure drill every single every single

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Speaker 1: day now in practice when we do our early morning

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Speaker 1: training sessions. And what I tell the bigger guys is

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Speaker 1: is like identify your advantage. Like if you're a quicker player,

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Speaker 1: then you want to go around people and use your speed.

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Speaker 1: But if you're a bigger player and you are exposing

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Speaker 1: the ball in front of you and trying to go

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Speaker 1: around people, the smaller guys just going to reach in

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Speaker 1: and take the basketball away from you. If you're a

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Speaker 1: bigger player, you have to protect the basketball. You have

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Speaker 1: to turn your body and it's almost like a full

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Speaker 1: court post up. Remember Andre Miller. You see Chris Paul

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Speaker 1: do this a lot to this day. When you like

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Speaker 1: the players that don't have a quickness advantage, they just

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Speaker 1: protect the basketball. That's all they do. They just turn

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Speaker 1: their back and they kind of do a full court

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Speaker 1: post up up the floor kind of spin and spinning

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Speaker 1: back and forth to where they get to to where

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Speaker 1: they get to a spot where they can do something

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Speaker 1: within the offense. And what's great about Jaylen Brown is

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Speaker 1: he has such a physical advantage over everybody, like you

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Speaker 1: should never be able to get away with putting Gabe

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Speaker 1: Vincent on Jalen Brown or Kyle Lowry on Jalen Brown.

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Speaker 1: Now in his defense, Boston in general, and this falls

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Speaker 1: on Joe Mizula not do a very good job of

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Speaker 1: setting up Jalen and Jason for success in spacing situations.

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00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:07,720
Speaker 1: Miami is so good at clearing the side and just

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Speaker 1: giving Jimmy Butler all the space in the world to

433
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,760
Speaker 1: go to work. And that was part of the issue.

434
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,720
Speaker 1: Even when Jalen Brown did get by his man, there's

435
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,479
Speaker 1: Miami defenders digging down on him. And again, it's not

436
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,440
Speaker 1: that he's losing control of the basketball. It's guys swatting

437
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,280
Speaker 1: down at the basketball, Jimmy Butler reaching from behind, it's

438
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,240
Speaker 1: the gay Vincent and Kyle Lowry digging, digging at the

439
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,560
Speaker 1: ball from down load. That's where he's losing control of

440
00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:32,960
Speaker 1: the basketball. And so I think for Jalen Brown, it's

441
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,320
Speaker 1: a couple of different things. It's seeing the floor better,

442
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,879
Speaker 1: so knowing when not to drive, because sometimes it's like

443
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,520
Speaker 1: there's not really an advantage to be gained, because even

444
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,480
Speaker 1: if you beat your man, you're just getting into traffic.

445
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,880
Speaker 1: And even if there's a pass available for you there,

446
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,000
Speaker 1: everyone's diving at the basketball. There's usually uncalled fouls in

447
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,560
Speaker 1: those situations because the refs can't see anything and you're

448
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:53,800
Speaker 1: just gonna end up turning the basketball over. So number

449
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,200
Speaker 1: one is just be more deliberate about when to attack.

450
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,680
Speaker 1: And then number two is use your physical advantages. You're

451
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,639
Speaker 1: a bigger and stronger than just about every guy that

452
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,280
Speaker 1: plays your position, and certainly a very good athlete, and

453
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,920
Speaker 1: so using that as he's a very strong player too.

454
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,480
Speaker 1: Turn your back, turn your back and protect the basketball.

455
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,760
Speaker 1: Gave Vincent's on you clear the damn side, get the

456
00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,040
Speaker 1: ball in your left hand, work off the bounce by

457
00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:20,520
Speaker 1: bumping Gabe off until you get to a spot where

458
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,960
Speaker 1: you can make something happen. And I think, again, he's

459
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,120
Speaker 1: too talented to not eventually figure this stuff out. He's

460
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,080
Speaker 1: too good of a shooter. He's got a lot more

461
00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,200
Speaker 1: of that creative shot making ability even than Jason Tatum does.

462
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,199
Speaker 1: That's why he was over forty percent on pull of

463
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,879
Speaker 1: jumpers during the regular season. He was lights out for

464
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,040
Speaker 1: two rounds of the playoffs this year, and really damn

465
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,040
Speaker 1: good for four rounds last year. It was just a

466
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,520
Speaker 1: perfect storm that led to a bad series, a really

467
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: well coached team that was taking away his easy opportunities.

468
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler bam out of Bio and Eric Spolser kind

469
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,240
Speaker 1: of sapping him of his confidence and leading him to

470
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,520
Speaker 1: even struggling easy opportunities. And then he had to lean

471
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,600
Speaker 1: heavily on his weakness, which is to at a half

472
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,600
Speaker 1: court shot creation that will get developed in time. He's

473
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,240
Speaker 1: too talented, he's still young. I'm a big believer in

474
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,399
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown, and I think he's going to be a

475
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,680
Speaker 1: perennial All NBA guy. Now in insummation, he's one of

476
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,800
Speaker 1: the most reliable and productive stars in the league. Again,

477
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,760
Speaker 1: only five players went for twenty six, six and three

478
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,080
Speaker 1: in the last and played at least sixty games this year.

479
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,439
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown was one of those five. That's why he

480
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,639
Speaker 1: made second team All NBA this year. That's why voters

481
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: considered him a top ten player in the regular season

482
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,760
Speaker 1: this year. He's also one of the very best transition

483
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,439
Speaker 1: weapons in the entire NBA. And he's one of the

484
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,919
Speaker 1: best athletes in the NBA, which brings me to my

485
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:40,879
Speaker 1: final point. Jalen just like every Celtic, declined as a

486
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,400
Speaker 1: defensive player this season. It was really the main reason

487
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 1: they didn't win the championship or have at least a

488
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,960
Speaker 1: better chance to than they ended up with. He has

489
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,760
Speaker 1: the athletic tools to be one of the very best

490
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,280
Speaker 1: and most versatile defenders in the NBA. If he wants

491
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,200
Speaker 1: to be a perennial All NBA player, if he wants

492
00:23:58,240 --> 00:23:59,880
Speaker 1: to be a guy that's making second team third team

493
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,440
Speaker 1: every year, he has to recommit himself to the defensive

494
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:10,400
Speaker 1: end of the floor. All right, Number sixteen, a guy

495
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,200
Speaker 1: that I still don't think people realize how good he is.

496
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:18,199
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray first season back from a major injury is

497
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,639
Speaker 1: always a bit uneven anybody who suffered a lower extremity injury.

498
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,080
Speaker 1: I broke my foot once, so I have not the

499
00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,920
Speaker 1: same type of rehab length, but I have a similar

500
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,400
Speaker 1: kind of experience. I didn't trust my foot to even

501
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 1: plant on, even when it was healthy. I didn't trust

502
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,800
Speaker 1: it for a long time, and that sucks because in

503
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,879
Speaker 1: that particular season, I was like awful in non conference play,

504
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: and then in conference play I ended up making an

505
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,440
Speaker 1: All conference team. So I played much better as soon

506
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,840
Speaker 1: as I kind of clicked into form, as I kind

507
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,439
Speaker 1: of trusted my foot again. Imagine you had surgery. I

508
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:55,240
Speaker 1: just walked around in a boot for a couple months.

509
00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: Imagine you were in surgery, and not only that, you

510
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:04,000
Speaker 1: barely moved for months as part of your initial phase

511
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,840
Speaker 1: of your healing. Then you go through this slow, painstaking

512
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 1: rehab and you're finally back. Obviously there's gonna be hesitation.

513
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 1: Obviously there's gonna be a lack of trust. That's an

514
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:18,840
Speaker 1: important part of the recovery process, and that's why I

515
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,399
Speaker 1: think Kay Thompson had a much better regular season this

516
00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,399
Speaker 1: year than he did the previous year. It's not exactly

517
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,560
Speaker 1: uncommon when you see guys like Kevin Durant just step

518
00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 1: onto the court after a serious injury and look great.

519
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,360
Speaker 1: That's really rare, and that's kind of what makes Kevin

520
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,000
Speaker 1: Durant an alien. But in sixty five games played in

521
00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,879
Speaker 1: this regular season, Jamal averaged twenty four and six fifty

522
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 1: seven percent true shooting. But he had twenty five plus

523
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,440
Speaker 1: points eighteen times, so it was clear that the ceiling

524
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,720
Speaker 1: was in there. He was just working through the rust

525
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,240
Speaker 1: and building that confidence in his knee. But then he

526
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,080
Speaker 1: goes up a huge level in the playoffs. Jamal Murray

527
00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,560
Speaker 1: in this playoff run average twenty six, six and seven

528
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,000
Speaker 1: on fifty nine percent true shooting. In a four game

529
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,400
Speaker 1: sweep of the Lakers, he averaged thirty three points, six rebounds,

530
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,399
Speaker 1: five assists on sixty five percent true shooting, including a

531
00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,680
Speaker 1: bunch of really big shots in fourth quarters of those

532
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 1: games to help put the Lakers away. Then he ends

533
00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,520
Speaker 1: the season definitively as the second best player on a

534
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,840
Speaker 1: team that hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy, and that is

535
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 1: why he deserves to be up as high on this

536
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,879
Speaker 1: list as he is. Winning matters to me and it

537
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:25,639
Speaker 1: should matter to all of you. It's the reason we

538
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 1: play this game, and that is why I have Jamal

539
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,639
Speaker 1: Murray as high as I do. I want to make

540
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:35,880
Speaker 1: sure we reward players who win basketball games. Only three

541
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,399
Speaker 1: players in the entire NBA playoff field this season averaged

542
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,840
Speaker 1: twenty five to five and seven. Only three Jamal Murray's

543
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,040
Speaker 1: teammate Nicole Jokich and Daron Fox, who did it in

544
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,920
Speaker 1: just one series, so twenty five to five and seven.

545
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,920
Speaker 1: When it comes to playmaking and scoring, there aren't many

546
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,520
Speaker 1: players who who produced as well as Jamal Murray does

547
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,640
Speaker 1: on the playoff stage, and he was just as good

548
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:04,120
Speaker 1: in the bubble. But it really has been a revelation.

549
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:08,000
Speaker 1: Now we can argue about what Jamal Murray actually is,

550
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,840
Speaker 1: and he will need to be a consistently great regular

551
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,800
Speaker 1: season player to move higher on this list, But simply

552
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:21,000
Speaker 1: looking at this year's postseason, he produced an impacted winning

553
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:25,600
Speaker 1: at a superstar level that has to be acknowledged just

554
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 1: within this off this postseason, if I told you a

555
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,239
Speaker 1: player averaged twenty six, six and seven on fifty nine

556
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:34,399
Speaker 1: percent true shooting and won the NBA Championship, you'd be

557
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:37,879
Speaker 1: thinking a lot of big name guards and you'd be

558
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,800
Speaker 1: calling that dude to superstar. That's what Jamal Murray did,

559
00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:44,760
Speaker 1: and again he has to do it in the regular

560
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:47,879
Speaker 1: season to like truly get recognized at that level. But

561
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 1: I think he's going to the dude came off a

562
00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:53,119
Speaker 1: knee injury. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he

563
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,920
Speaker 1: averaged twenty three, five and seven this year. It's completely

564
00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,000
Speaker 1: on the table. And so that's why I don't think

565
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,120
Speaker 1: he can be any lower than sixteenth on my list.

566
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,719
Speaker 1: We have to acknowledge the winning the winning of an

567
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:12,040
Speaker 1: NBA championship, Jamal Murrady's half court shot creation in the

568
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,680
Speaker 1: playoffs this year was outrageously good. He ran three hundred

569
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,600
Speaker 1: and nineteen pick and rolls leading to three hundred and

570
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,440
Speaker 1: seventy four points. That is one point one to seven

571
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 1: points per possession. That was first place out of seventeen

572
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:25,600
Speaker 1: players in the playoffs this year to run at least

573
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:27,879
Speaker 1: one hundred pick and roles. Now, of course, he's running

574
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,280
Speaker 1: it with the best player in the league in Nikola Jokic.

575
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,720
Speaker 1: That is obviously a factor here, but Jamal is doing

576
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,400
Speaker 1: his part in those situations the shot making is ridiculous,

577
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,320
Speaker 1: and even when he's going one on one, he's successful

578
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,120
Speaker 1: ninety five points on ninety three ISOs and post ups.

579
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,600
Speaker 1: Anything over a point per possession and self creation in

580
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 1: the playoffs is outstanding. And his shot making is ridiculous.

581
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,720
Speaker 1: Forty five percent on catching shoot jumpers, forty six percent

582
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 1: on pull up jumpers, fifty percent on floaters. He had

583
00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:02,040
Speaker 1: ten dunks in the postseason run. Again, all superstars. Again,

584
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,840
Speaker 1: if I told you any of the top shooting guards

585
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,840
Speaker 1: in the league did what he did, we'd be calling

586
00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:08,960
Speaker 1: them a top ten player. Now he's not a top

587
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 1: ten player, and I think he needs to bridge two

588
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,560
Speaker 1: gaps to get there, and who knows if he ever

589
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:17,320
Speaker 1: will be able to. But in terms of his playoff production,

590
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,800
Speaker 1: that's top tier stuff. First of all, he needs to

591
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:24,640
Speaker 1: put up regular season numbers close to this level of production.

592
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,880
Speaker 1: Why because that's what his peers do, and if you

593
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:29,360
Speaker 1: want to be on the same level as your peers,

594
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 1: you've got to be able to accomplish what they can accomplish.

595
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:33,760
Speaker 1: He needs to be able to put up regular seasons

596
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,480
Speaker 1: like what Devin Booker does for instance. Secondly, he was

597
00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:39,960
Speaker 1: a problem defensively for Denver in this playoff run, much

598
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,160
Speaker 1: more so than Nikolea. Jokicever was not in a way

599
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,280
Speaker 1: that over like he raised his positive impact. I thought

600
00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 1: that he was a huge positive, But that is the

601
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:51,800
Speaker 1: next step for him. Devin Booker actually is a perfect

602
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:53,920
Speaker 1: comp because Devin Booker was kind of similar to him

603
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 1: as a defensive player early in his career. But now

604
00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,240
Speaker 1: Devin Booker's like a legitimately like solid average defen the

605
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:03,200
Speaker 1: player at his position. And it's just because he fuels

606
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:05,680
Speaker 1: himself with competitiveness and gives a shit on that end

607
00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,400
Speaker 1: of the floor, and especially on a team like Denver

608
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,120
Speaker 1: that has as much firepower as they do, he should

609
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,680
Speaker 1: be able to devote that much in terms of resources

610
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,239
Speaker 1: in that direction. And this is kind of the way

611
00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:19,000
Speaker 1: I look at it. In these lists, everyone is really

612
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:20,840
Speaker 1: close to each other. Like I told you guys before,

613
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,440
Speaker 1: Number twelve on my list and number thirty nine are

614
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:27,920
Speaker 1: really not that far apart. But these little things are

615
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,720
Speaker 1: what differentiate. Winning got him up to this level, and

616
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,000
Speaker 1: playoff production got him up to this level. But he's

617
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,080
Speaker 1: got to produce in the regular season and he's got

618
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 1: to become at least an average defensive player, but kudo's

619
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,000
Speaker 1: the NBA champion Jamal Murray for rising all the way

620
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,680
Speaker 1: up to sixteenth in this year's player rankings. All right, guys,

621
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:47,560
Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. We will be

622
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:52,040
Speaker 1: back tomorrow with fifteen, fourteen and thirteen. As always, I

623
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:54,200
Speaker 1: sincerely appreciate your spport and I will see you guys.

624
00:30:54,240 --> 00:31:16,680
Speaker 1: Then the volume