1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: The volume, blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: octane world of sports. Vice Sports brings an exciting and 3 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: diverse range of programming that goes beyond the game. From 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: action pack live events to gripping behind the scenes documentaries, 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,759 Speaker 1: to hard hitting investigative pieces and in depth profiles of athletes, coaches, teams. 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: Vice Sports captures the raw energy, drama, and passion that 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: makes sports truly unforgettable. Catch live events and other exclusive 8 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: sports programs only on Vice Tv. Go to vicetv dot 9 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: com to find your cable channel. 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: The NBA eighty two game grind is done. Now the 11 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 2: real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs are here and it's 12 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 2: time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments, and 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 2: jaw dropping plays. I can't wait. If you're looking to 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 2: make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has you 15 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 2: covered as an official sports betting partner of the NBA 16 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 2: from the playing games all the way through to the finals. 17 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 2: Now's the time to back your favorite players and teams 18 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 2: as they chase glory. All season long. 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On 45 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 2: a jampackshow for you guys. Tonight, we had the Minnesota 46 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 2: Timberwolves deliver the final nail into the confident of the 47 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 2: Los Angeles Lakers, the first iteration of the luka doncic 48 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,399 Speaker 2: Los Angeles Lakers. We're going to start with that game, 49 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 2: breaking it down from every single angle. After that, the 50 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 2: Houston Rockets beat up on the Golden State Warriors tonight, 51 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 2: and now come that I kind of sort of sawcoming 52 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 2: that we'll talk about both why I'm not overly concerned 53 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 2: for the Warriors, but also some reality in terms of 54 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 2: the puncher's chance that Houston has moving forward in the 55 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 2: series that we'll talk about, and then we'll take some 56 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 2: questions at the tail end of the show. You guys 57 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 2: are the jope. Before we get started subscribe to the 58 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 2: Hoops and I YouTube channel so you don't miss any 59 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 2: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jsonltc. 60 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 2: You guysn't miss you Announcementsn't forget about a podcast feed 61 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 2: where you get your podcast on our Hoops Tonight. It's 62 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 2: also super helpful if you leave a rating and a 63 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 2: review on that front. Don't forget about our social media 64 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 2: feeds on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook where Jackson's doing incredible 65 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 2: work throughout this postseason. Make sure you guys follow us 66 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 2: there and the last but not at least keep dropping 67 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,519 Speaker 2: mail bag questions so we can get to them throughout 68 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 2: the remainder of the postseason. And then also, don't forget 69 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 2: we are doing our first playback after show tonight. We'll 70 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 2: talk a little bit more about that in a few minutes, 71 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 2: but after the show tonight, we're going to be heading 72 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 2: over to playback. I'm probably going to go through the 73 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 2: whole fourth quarter of that Wolves Lakers game because I 74 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 2: thought that was super fascinating. We'll watch some film, we'll 75 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 2: take some questions. You guys are going to be able 76 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 2: to come up on stage and talk be a lot 77 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 2: of fun on playback after the show. So let's talk 78 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 2: Lakers Wolves. I thought the Timberwolves sent a message tonight. 79 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: There was a certain dynamic after the first four games 80 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 2: of this series where it was clear that the Wolves 81 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 2: had won the key swing stretches of the series, but 82 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 2: it was also clear that the Lakers had some advantages 83 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 2: and there were extended stretch of the series. Is where 84 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 2: of the series or they had success right like through 85 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 2: the first three quarters of Game four, for instance, or 86 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: in Game three up until the point where it was 87 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 2: tied one o three, one oh three with a few 88 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 2: minutes left, or all of Game two when they were 89 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 2: in control. Right like the first two games they trade 90 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 2: blowouts and then you have these two knockdown, drag out 91 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 2: fights in Minnesota that come down to the final few possessions, 92 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 2: and in both games the Wolves did look better. But 93 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 2: you could at least talk yourself into the Lakers having 94 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 2: a chance, right, Well, Luca was very sick in Game 95 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 2: three of the series. There were a couple of calls 96 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 2: that went against the Lakers late in Game four, right, 97 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 2: you could at least talk yourself into the Lakers having 98 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 2: underachieved and potentially being capable of regaining control of the series. 99 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 2: Tonight was the game or the Wolves sent the clear 100 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 2: message that they're just the best, better basketball team. They 101 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 2: jumped tom early throughout the game, it was abundantly clear 102 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 2: that the Wolves were able to generate offense easier. The 103 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,679 Speaker 2: only reason the Timberwolves didn't win this game by twenty 104 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 2: five something points is how many wide open threes they 105 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 2: ended up missing. You want to know a big part 106 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 2: of how Rudy go Bare ended up with nine rebounds, 107 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 2: it's because all these wide open threes were clanging off 108 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 2: the rim as the Lakers were in transition. That could 109 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 2: have gotten way uglier than it looked on the scoreboard. 110 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 2: Their defense seemed to clearly win. I was talking about 111 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 2: that battle, like which unit is going to make the 112 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 2: opposing unit more uncomfortable? I thought the defense for the 113 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 2: Timberwolves clearly did a better job of making the Lakers 114 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 2: uncomfortable than vice versa. The giveaway was tonight, there were 115 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 2: these possessions where Austin, Lebron, and Luca would all be 116 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 2: on the floor together, two of them would be on 117 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 2: the floor and the Wolves would be switching, and every 118 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 2: defender on the floor would be a good defender, and 119 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 2: it looked like the Lakers didn't have a guy who 120 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 2: was like, give me the fucking ball, I'm gonna go 121 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 2: to work here. All of them were kind of hot 122 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 2: potatoing the ball around because none of them really felt 123 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 2: comfortable attack any of the matchups. Any ground that the 124 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 2: Lakers seemed to gain as a half court offense was 125 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 2: lost in this game. I thought the Wolves clearly demonstrated 126 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 2: that they were the better team tonight and removed any 127 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 2: doubt as to any of the weird factors that might 128 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 2: have had any effect shifting the early games of the series. 129 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 2: Rudy Gobert was amazing tonight as an offensive rebounder and 130 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 2: as a vertical spacer. The Lakers tried to do a 131 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 2: lot more doubling against Anthony Edwards tonight. That led to 132 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: a lot of weak side disadvantages, meaning like guards trying 133 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 2: to box out Rudy or in many cases, nobody trying 134 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 2: to box out Rudy. I thought Lebron had one of 135 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 2: his worst games of this series, probably his worst game 136 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,719 Speaker 2: of the series in terms of his defensive activity and 137 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:44,159 Speaker 2: his work on the defensive glass. And when the problem 138 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 2: is is when Lebron's not really engaged on the defensive glass, 139 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 2: this team just can't rebound. They just don't have the 140 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 2: size on that back line, and Rudy Gobert just bullied 141 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 2: them over and over and over again. Twenty seven points 142 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 2: and twenty four rebounds. That's an unbelievable stat line for 143 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 2: Rudy go beher in in a closeout game, and a 144 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 2: big moment for him, especially after what happened between him 145 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 2: and Luca last year in the postseason. Had to have 146 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 2: been feeling good for Rudy Gobert there heading back to 147 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 2: the locker room after closing that deal. I thought Julius 148 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 2: Randall was awesome the entire series. I thought he was 149 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 2: awesome on defense. I thought, with exception of a handful 150 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 2: of bad shots here or there, I thought he was 151 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 2: effective as a score I thought that he keeked late 152 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 2: in games, was great creating advantages out of the post 153 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 2: and high post. In the fourth quarter of tonight's game. 154 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 2: He did work on the offensive glass in Game four. Julius, 155 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 2: this is one of the few things with Minnesota that 156 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 2: I had a good read on coming into the series. 157 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 2: I believed in Julius Randall. I thought that he was 158 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 2: a victim of circumstance in most cases, previously in his 159 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 2: playoff career, and I thought that he demonstrated that he's 160 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 2: capable of being a very impactful playoff player in this series, 161 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 2: specifically because of his size and physicality and how that 162 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 2: translates into these uber physical environments. And you know, one 163 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 2: of the things we talked about after the Julius Randall 164 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 2: tray was the idea that, you know, Carl Anthony Towns 165 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 2: is a better basketball player than Julius Randall in a vacuum, right, 166 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 2: And there are certain things that he does that were 167 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 2: helpful to Minnesota, specifically his ability to space the floor right. 168 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 2: But with Julius Randall from the day the trade was made, 169 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 2: one of the things I talked about was he is 170 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 2: a better high post, low post shot creator than Karl 171 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 2: Anthony Towns. He's better at that specific gift, right. And 172 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 2: in the fourth quarter tonight, they went to him repeatedly 173 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 2: there in that spot against Lebron, against Luca, against Austin Reeves, 174 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 2: and he repeatedly got to his spot in the middle 175 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 2: of the floor for shots or right at the front 176 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 2: of the rim. He was dominant tonight, and I thought 177 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 2: I thought he cleanly, clearly demonstrated that he's capable of 178 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 2: being an impactful playoff player when he's healthy and in rhythm, 179 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,959 Speaker 2: and there was no advantage attacking Julius. There was nothing 180 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 2: that Lebron was getting on Julius on one on one. 181 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 2: There was nothing that Luca was getting on Julius one 182 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 2: on one. It's a good matchup for him and it'll 183 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 2: be interesting to see, let's say, if he faces a 184 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 2: Golden State in the next round, a team that more 185 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 2: attacks his focus and discipline defensively, because it's going to 186 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 2: be so much more about navigating the blender of the 187 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 2: Golden State offense and having to chase down to chase 188 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 2: around smaller, quicker players. But in this kind of matchup 189 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 2: where it's like a team led by two bully ball forwards, 190 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 2: Julius proved to be a very impactful defensive player because 191 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 2: of his ability to hold up on an island in 192 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,319 Speaker 2: those situations. Jada McDaniels Jada McDaniels got his ass kicked 193 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 2: by Luka Doncics last year in the postseason. I thought 194 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 2: he just did a way better job this year with 195 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 2: this physicality shrinking that space as Luca was trying to 196 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,559 Speaker 2: get into a step back in the mid range. There 197 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 2: was none of that dynamic we saw last year, or 198 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 2: it looked like Luca was constantly dislodging Jaden McDaniels off 199 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 2: of his base and just getting wherever he wanted to 200 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 2: on the floor. I thought he did a much better 201 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 2: job on Luca in this series than he did last year. 202 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 2: He also showed the pop as a week side scoring forward. 203 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 2: We've talked so much about this as like a very 204 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 2: important player archetype this year, and look, look there were 205 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 2: games where he wasn't as effective. He wasn't very good 206 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 2: in Game two offensively, He wasn't very good tonight offensively. 207 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 2: But there were games in this series, specifically Game one 208 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 2: and Games three and four at stretches, where he was 209 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 2: profoundly impactful offensively because of the ability to be that 210 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:23,680 Speaker 2: weak side scoring forward. And it wasn't even knocking down threes. 211 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 2: It was catching and ripping on closeouts and just repeatedly 212 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 2: getting to the rim doing damage on the offensive glass. 213 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 2: He had two more offensive rebounds tonight, Like Jada, McDaniels 214 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 2: was better in this series than he was last year. 215 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 2: Nas Reed, I thought the story of his series was 216 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 2: late game shot making. They probably don't win Game three 217 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 2: or Game four if not for nas Reed being able 218 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 2: to come in and provide the scoring off of the 219 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 2: bench in that situation, the way he was able to 220 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 2: providing Anthony Edwards with a clean kickout Reid on the 221 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 2: left wing in Game three, him scoring out of action 222 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 2: in Game four coming off of a Horns action or 223 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 2: in transition in Game four attacking Austin Reeves in a 224 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 2: post up and getting to his right shoulder hook and 225 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 2: finishing in the lane. Nas Reed was a huge part 226 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 2: of their ability to score down the stretch in this series. 227 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 2: Dante DiVincenzo his ball pressure throughout the series, especially on 228 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 2: Austin Reeves. There were stretches of this series like tonight 229 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 2: for example, where he looked more impactful than Austin in 230 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:23,840 Speaker 2: this series, like there was just down the line, so 231 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 2: many great contributions from a Minnesota team. And look, here's 232 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 2: the deal. If you're going to win a series in 233 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 2: five when you were an underdog going into the series, 234 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 2: it's going to require a bunch of guys down the 235 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 2: roster winning their matchups. And there were just so many 236 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 2: examples of that in this series. And so before we 237 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 2: talk a little bit more about the sport the Superstar matchup. 238 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 2: I want to get into our Course Correction segment with 239 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 2: Microsoft with respect to Anthony Edwards. Welcome to Course Correction, 240 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 2: brought to you by Microsoft. Just like star players and 241 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 2: teams navigating performance hurdles, business decision makers today are under 242 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 2: immense pressure to get things right. They must rise to 243 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 2: the occasion, turning challenges into opportunities. Microsoft empowers these visionaries 244 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 2: with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management and trustworthy 245 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 2: responsible AI. And when you're in the NBA, you have 246 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,719 Speaker 2: your own hurdles to face. In this segment, we will 247 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 2: highlight the player every week that has risen to the 248 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 2: occasion when his team needed him. Whatever challenge you're facing, 249 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,679 Speaker 2: Microsoft empowers you with expertise to say bring it on. 250 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 2: This week's player of the Week is Anthony Edwards and 251 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: his dominance in the Lakers Timberwolve series. I thought ant 252 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 2: was fantastic tonight in a way that won't show up 253 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 2: in the box score. Five for nineteen Right didn't have 254 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 2: a single turnover and eight assists, the third game in 255 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 2: the series where it was high playmaking totals with low turnovers. 256 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 2: He throughout this game, specifically in the second quarter when 257 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:44,599 Speaker 2: the Lakers started bringing a lot of double teams, and 258 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:47,439 Speaker 2: it was fantastic in that second quarter stretch, and then 259 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 2: like multiple times in the fourth quarter tonight, just making 260 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 2: simple reads like that simple driving kickout read off of 261 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 2: Luca to Mike Conley in the right corner. There were 262 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 2: so many examples where you remember in Game two when 263 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 2: Ant had zero assist how I talked about how he 264 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 2: didn't make the strong side corner pass a single time, 265 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 2: and how it was there and he just wasn't making 266 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 2: it there. In that second quarter, he was making it, 267 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,079 Speaker 2: just thrusting Nikhil Alexander Walker there in the right corner, 268 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 2: even after he just airballed a shot from the same spot. 269 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 2: You know how mature it is for him in that 270 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 2: situation to go, I'm not going to force the issue here. 271 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 2: I'm just gonna dump it right back to the strong 272 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 2: side corner because it's open, and ni Kiel's gonna confidently 273 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 2: step into the shot and knock it down. I thought 274 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:29,719 Speaker 2: he was so mature as a half court surgeon in 275 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 2: this series. And then in the big moments in Game three, 276 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 2: in Game four, down the stretch, Game three tie, game 277 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 2: late step back three boom, step back three, boom, driving 278 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 2: kick to nas Reed on the left wing, boom. He 279 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 2: was fantastic down the stretch. Game four starts the fourth 280 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 2: quarter down double digits, hits, three ridiculous off the dribble 281 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 2: jump shots that immediately changed the tone and tenor of 282 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 2: the game. Had another driving kick to Dante DiVincenzo on 283 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 2: the left wing, who drove it for an and one. 284 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 2: Every time series was hanging in the balance one way 285 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:07,719 Speaker 2: or the other, Anthony Edwards grabbed the reins resoundingly and 286 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 2: just took control of the series. He has solidified himself, 287 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,680 Speaker 2: in my opinion, as a top five player in this league. 288 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 2: I saw some comments on Twitter earlier today talking about 289 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 2: how the Lakers lack of rim protection was allowing people 290 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 2: to get fooled by Anthony Edwards again, and don't get 291 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 2: me wrong, there's no doubt that rim protection combined with 292 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 2: a better perimeter athlete will present a different problem for 293 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 2: Anthony Edwards right like Derek Jones Junior and Daniel Gafford 294 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 2: and Derek Lively, different type of challenge defensively than what 295 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 2: the Lakers presented. I'd even argue the Warriors with their 296 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 2: ability to put a guy like Moses Moody on the ball, 297 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 2: who's just a bigger, better athlete than the Lakers have 298 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 2: on the perimeter, and Draymond Green on the back line 299 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,760 Speaker 2: is going to be a bigger challenge. And I think 300 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 2: Steve Kerr is a better coach than JJ Reddick. I 301 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 2: think the Warriors are overall a better, smarter team than 302 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 2: the Lakers. I think that I think that the Warriors defense, 303 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 2: as I've consistently said this year, is just another level 304 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 2: above what the Lakers are defensively. So Ant's going to 305 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 2: have another challenge in the next round. It's not going 306 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 2: to be the same, But I think I think trying 307 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 2: to minimize Ant's success in this series to just the 308 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 2: Lakers lacking rim protection is missing the point. He was 309 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 2: below fifty percent in the restricted area before tonight's game. 310 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 2: I haven't seen the numbers from tonight, but I would 311 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 2: imagine he is below fifty percent in the restricted area. Again, 312 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 2: he did not win this series getting to the rim. 313 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 2: He won this series making quality decisions as a point 314 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 2: guard and with his over the top shot making, and 315 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 2: those were the things last year that failed him in 316 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 2: the Dallas series. And so yeah, like there's more challenges ahead. 317 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 2: This Lakers team, I think has been pretty clearly revealed 318 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 2: in this first round series as a team that was 319 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 2: not as good as I thought they were. We're going 320 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 2: to talk a little bit about that in a few minutes. 321 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 2: But with ant moving forward, I did think that this 322 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 2: was a positive step in his development. The next lefe 323 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 2: that he had to pass. There's more levels ahead. He's 324 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 2: got a long way to go, but I think he's 325 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 2: clearly in the top five. I think he's clearly a 326 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 2: top tier superstar in this league. He was fantastic defensively 327 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 2: all series long. In this matchup, I thought Ant was 328 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 2: just amazing. That's it for this week's course correction. Remember 329 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 2: Microsoft's AI solutions empower you to take bold steps and 330 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 2: make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your 331 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 2: business forward. With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can 332 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 2: navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching 333 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 2: new possibilities. Visit Microsoft dot com Slash Challengers to learn more. 334 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 2: So where did I go wrong picking this series? There's 335 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 2: two main areas. The big one is is like I 336 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 2: thought that Anthony Edwards just cleanly and clearly outplayed Luka 337 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 2: Doncic in this series. I just thought he was the 338 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 2: better basketball player on both ends of the floor. And 339 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 2: you know, when I came into the series, I just 340 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 2: thought that that was a matchup that Luca would win. 341 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 2: And I thought like Ant would be closer to where 342 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 2: Lebron was. Is like a guy that looked like somewhere 343 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 2: in the five to tenth best player in the league, 344 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:05,200 Speaker 2: but you know, not being able to be the same 345 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,920 Speaker 2: kind of commanding presence that Luca is as an offensive 346 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 2: force in the series, and just was able to flip 347 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,400 Speaker 2: that dynamic. And you know, for all of the talk 348 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,639 Speaker 2: I've seen a lot of talk. I saw Carson Breber 349 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 2: when my friend from Nerd Sash do a video yesterday 350 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 2: talking about depth and how important depth is in the NBA, 351 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 2: and I don't disagree. I think depth is super important. 352 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 2: It'd be really nice if you could have a depth 353 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 2: piece that you can go to. Everyone was bitching at 354 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 2: a JJ Redick for not playing any of his bench 355 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 2: guys in Game four. How did Jared Vanderbilt look down 356 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 2: the strutch to night guys like there wasn't exactly a 357 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 2: guy that JJ trusted to put out there in those situations? Right. 358 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 2: The reality is, though, is that in these sorts of situations, 359 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 2: it comes down to when you're in the half court, 360 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:58,679 Speaker 2: your superstar has a superpower and that superpower is what 361 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 2: overcomes surrounding circumstances and like that, that's the reality. Like 362 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 2: the Lakers couldn't score in this series. They had shooting 363 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 2: on the floor, they had play finishing on the floor, 364 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:17,119 Speaker 2: and when they generated fantastic looks, they went in. But 365 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,919 Speaker 2: it came down to ultimately, Luca could not create that 366 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 2: initial advantage. He could not beat his one on one 367 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 2: defender profoundly enough to dictate that second defender that could 368 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 2: get the defense in rotation and allow the Lakers to 369 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 2: generate wide open shots. He wasn't able to do it 370 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 2: effectively enough. On the other end of the floor, Anthony Edwards, 371 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 2: and what he does was dictating two sometimes three defenders 372 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 2: every single time down the floor, and so his team 373 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 2: was able to repeatedly generate fantastic looks. And so here's 374 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 2: the thing. Do I think the Lakers roster has issues? Yeah, 375 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 2: they need to get a legitimate, bona fide center. We're 376 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 2: going to talk about some of the other kind of 377 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 2: like deficits that they have and where the Lakers should 378 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 2: go from here. I didn't think JJ Reddick had a 379 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 2: good series, but ultimately I thought it came down to 380 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,640 Speaker 2: Luke out played Aunt, Julius Randall out played Lebron. It's 381 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 2: really difficult to overcome that, no matter how good your 382 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 2: coach is, no matter how deep you are, no matter 383 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 2: what other you know, kind of cards you can pull 384 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,880 Speaker 2: out of the deck, so to speak, if your stars 385 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 2: get beat, it's gonna be really hard to win. And 386 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 2: like when I saw that, you know that message from 387 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 2: from Carson, Like, I think it's valuable in terms of 388 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 2: like just how athletic the game is now, with how 389 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,679 Speaker 2: fast everyone plays. To have seven or eight guys that 390 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 2: you really trust is a huge asset. But I look 391 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,240 Speaker 2: at the Denver series and I think that they're winning 392 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 2: because Jokich is the best player and he's dominating the 393 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 2: star matchup and Jamal Murray is kicking James Harden's butt. 394 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 2: And I look at this series and I think Anthony 395 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 2: Edwards and Julius Randall outplayed Luke and Lebron. And I 396 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 2: look at the Celtics Magic series and I'm watching game four, 397 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 2: you know, Pivotal Game four down on the road in 398 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 2: Orlando and Jason Tatum is surgical on one end of 399 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 2: the floor and Pala Bancaro looks like he doesn't know 400 00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 2: what he wants to do on the other end of 401 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 2: the floor. It even looking at the Pacers series, how 402 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 2: did the Pacers pull that out down the stretch? Tyrese 403 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 2: Haliburton just backpacked the team in crunch time. And ultimately, 404 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,359 Speaker 2: I still think having the best player in a series 405 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 2: really does matter, even though depth also matters. I think 406 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 2: that this was a good example, and there were several 407 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 2: examples in this first round of the Star matchup playing 408 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,640 Speaker 2: and big role in how these series go. So where 409 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,400 Speaker 2: do the Lakers go from here? We can get more 410 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:43,879 Speaker 2: into it in the mailbag. I'd imagine we're going to 411 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 2: talk a lot of like big picture Lakers stuff here 412 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 2: and on playback here in a little bit. But like 413 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,960 Speaker 2: I thought, there were obvious athleticism deficits. You know, if 414 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 2: there's one thing that I just didn't listen to my own, 415 00:20:57,720 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 2: like I let my heart get in front of my head, 416 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 2: so to speak. I watched every single minute of the 417 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,439 Speaker 2: Minnesota Timberwolves kicking the shit out of the Denver Nuggets 418 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 2: last year. I watched every single minute of the Minnesota 419 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 2: Timberwolves kicking the shit out of the Phoenix Suns last year. 420 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 2: I watched probably like the better part of forty forty 421 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 2: five Minnesota Timberwolves games. This year, like I watched them, 422 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 2: and I repeatedly came on the show and said, Man, 423 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:25,440 Speaker 2: the upside with the Wolves is they can just maul 424 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 2: everybody when they get into the playoffs and the ref 425 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 2: swall of the whistles and it just turns into a 426 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 2: blood bath and everyone just kind of seems powerless under 427 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 2: those waves of size and athleticism. I knew it, and 428 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:41,240 Speaker 2: I didn't properly factor it in. It was just foolishness 429 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 2: on my part. And it's a lesson learned, a valuable 430 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,320 Speaker 2: lesson learned. But I do think there's some reality with 431 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:50,679 Speaker 2: the Lakers roster build and their lack of athleticism, and this, 432 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,159 Speaker 2: to me is something to keep in mind with the 433 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,480 Speaker 2: build moving forward. I think there was a lot of 434 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 2: talk coming out of this series, even when things were 435 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 2: going poorly and even before the series. Now the Lakers 436 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,400 Speaker 2: just need a center. How Austin Reeves is the perfect 437 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,639 Speaker 2: kind of co star to have alongside Luka Doncic. He 438 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 2: kind of fits the mold of the Jalen Brunson Kyrie 439 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 2: Irving idea of having like a shot creating guard next 440 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 2: to Luka. And you know, Lebron James is this guy 441 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 2: that can operate as like a defensive folk rum and 442 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,120 Speaker 2: a small screen folk rum slash secondary ball handler, whatever 443 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 2: you need. I look at it now and I go, 444 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 2: I don't know that you can be athletic enough with 445 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 2: Austin Reeves and Luka Doncic as core players. And so 446 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 2: I think the Lakers, when you look at their kind 447 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 2: of like their coffers going into this offseason. You have, 448 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 2: if I'm not mistaken, at least one first round pick, 449 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 2: because I think they gave up the other one in 450 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 2: the ad traits. You have one first round pick. You've 451 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 2: got I think at least one pick swap. You've got 452 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 2: the Dalton connect piece, which I think is a young 453 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 2: player that some teams would value. And then Austin Reeves 454 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:51,399 Speaker 2: is one of the best assets in the league because 455 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 2: of his salary and what he makes right. So I 456 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 2: think that the Lakers have to start seriously considering the 457 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:01,320 Speaker 2: reality that if they play Austin next to Luca in 458 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:05,440 Speaker 2: the big picture, there is an athleticism deficit, and if 459 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 2: you're not freaky athletic at the other three spots, it 460 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,160 Speaker 2: might not be tenable. And so, and by the way, 461 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 2: that doesn't mean that Austin. I'm a big believer in Austin, 462 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 2: and I absolutely think that Austin can have success in 463 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 2: a championship context. I think Austin got humbled a little 464 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 2: bit in the series. I think that Austin was revealed 465 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 2: to have two major shortcomings. One his ability to handle physicality. 466 00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 2: I think he'll spend a good amount of the summer 467 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 2: in the weight room. I think also Austin was exposed 468 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 2: as a poor catch and shoot player, and I think 469 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 2: he's gonna have to spend a lot of time this 470 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,760 Speaker 2: summer if he's gonna stay alongside Luca operating as a 471 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 2: catch and shoot player. But beyond that, it's about the matchup, right. 472 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 2: So the Wolves kick your ass in large part because 473 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 2: they just have all these bodies, right and so, like 474 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,479 Speaker 2: Edwards had, Austin reeves in jail in this series, And 475 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 2: so Austin has to find a way to be impactful 476 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 2: even when he's not able to score or the basketball effectively, 477 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,640 Speaker 2: not turning the basketball over by not struggling against that physicality, 478 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 2: by adding strength and working on ball handling through physicality, 479 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 2: and then two becoming a better catch and shoot player 480 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 2: so that you can be at least an asset off 481 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 2: the ball offensively. There were guys, there were in each 482 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 2: of these last two games what at least like eight 483 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 2: or nine clean catch and shoot looks that Austin missed 484 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 2: that literally could have changed both games. If Austin shot 485 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,840 Speaker 2: the ball better from three tonight, they very easily could 486 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,400 Speaker 2: have won tonight. If Austin shot the ball better from 487 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 2: three in Game four, they very easily could have won 488 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 2: Game four. That is a piece of low hanging fruit 489 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 2: for Austin that he can improve on. He needs to 490 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:45,919 Speaker 2: become a better catch and shoot player. But regardless, in 491 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,239 Speaker 2: the big picture, I tend to look at it as 492 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 2: though you're putting yourself in a bind building around Luca 493 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 2: with Austin being as unathletic as he is. And so 494 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:58,200 Speaker 2: there's a version of this where like if you put 495 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 2: Austin on the Orlando Magic, he'd be incredible there because 496 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 2: he would be anchored by big, strong athletes all over 497 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 2: the floor, and his specific trait his skill set, which 498 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 2: revolves around like high level skill on ball offensively becomes 499 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 2: very valuable in the context of that team. 500 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 1: Right. 501 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 2: So, like, I think what we've noticed here is, Yeah, 502 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 2: because guys, you don't want to overreact to the Timberwolves matchup. 503 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 2: But at the same time, you're gonna run into a 504 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 2: big athletic team if you're gonna win the title. It's 505 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 2: like it's a prerequisite. You're gonna have to overcome a 506 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 2: team that's probably bigger and more athletic than you, Right, 507 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 2: And so with that being the case, I think with 508 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 2: the Lakers moving forward, they have to at least explore 509 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,640 Speaker 2: the idea of flipping Austin for a bona fide two 510 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 2: way athletic starter of some kind to anchor alongside Luca 511 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 2: the obvious need for a vertical spacer. I think that, 512 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 2: you know, I think Luca. I think Luca had a 513 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 2: really bad offensive series. I thought he was exposed as 514 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 2: a poorly conditioned athlete can consistently faded towards the end 515 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,919 Speaker 2: of games. He missed back to back games where he 516 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 2: had bad misses right at the rim that directly led 517 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,639 Speaker 2: to run out layups or run out transition threes. That 518 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 2: hurt the team. He obviously has a lot that he 519 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,400 Speaker 2: can get better at. But at the same time, there's 520 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 2: some clear stuff that you can do to make his 521 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 2: life easier, and one of those is get him a 522 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 2: legitimate screen and roll threat. Get him somebody that you 523 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 2: can sit in the dunker spot and that can create 524 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 2: that vertical spacing window right now, that is not I 525 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 2: saw a lot of talks surrounding that in this series 526 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 2: that I don't necessarily agree with. There was a lot 527 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 2: of talk about, like play Jackson Hayes. The TNT broadcast 528 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 2: was being ridiculous, constantly panning to Jackson Hayes every single 529 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 2: time Rudy Goberg got an offensive rebound. Does anybody remember 530 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 2: what it looked like when Jackson Hayes was on the 531 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 2: floor in this series. He's awful. He can't do anything 532 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,200 Speaker 2: on either end of the floor. That was not going 533 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 2: to be an answer after what we saw off of 534 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,199 Speaker 2: the early parts of the series. But going back to 535 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 2: the Boston series last year, there will inevitably be a 536 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,239 Speaker 2: team that can switch that action, and so like the 537 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 2: five out spacing look would have been a counter against 538 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:10,360 Speaker 2: Boston in a way that the vertical spacing piece wasn't 539 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 2: because of Tatum and Jalen Brown's ability to switch the 540 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 2: Doncage lively and the doncicge Gafford pick and rolls right, 541 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 2: and so like, yeah, you want to get him a center, 542 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 2: But most of this still comes down to in order 543 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 2: for Luca to be able to carry a team through 544 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 2: four playoff rounds, he has to become a more better 545 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 2: conditioned athlete. Luca got blown by or gave up a 546 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 2: bucket on five possessions before the first team before the 547 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:44,879 Speaker 2: first TV timeout tonight in the fourth quarter, it was 548 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,240 Speaker 2: just give the ball to aunt or Julius against Luca, 549 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 2: and they were going right around him for the bucket. 550 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 2: He's got to find a way to be better than 551 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 2: he has been on that end of the floor. He's 552 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,719 Speaker 2: got to find a way to be better in the 553 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 2: fourth quarters offensively against these bigger athletic teams. And the 554 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,199 Speaker 2: only way he's going to get there is if he 555 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 2: does the work that Steph Curry and so many other 556 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 2: of the lesser athletes and NBA history have done, which 557 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 2: is work obsessively on conditioning so that you can hold 558 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 2: up as that situation gets more complicated later in these 559 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 2: postseason series. We'll talk a lot more about Lakers throughout 560 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:26,199 Speaker 2: the mailbag and in the excuse me in the playback segment, 561 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 2: But that's my initial impression right now as we go 562 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 2: to this summer is they're a little bit further away 563 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 2: than I realized, and we're gonna be talking a lot 564 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 2: about that. It's a very important summer for Rob Polinka 565 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 2: in the Lakers. So before we talk Warriors Rockets for 566 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 2: a few minutes, I just wanted to remind everybody we 567 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 2: are starting our first ever watch playback after show tonight. 568 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 2: So when we are done here on YouTube Live, we 569 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 2: are going to head right over to playback. We're going 570 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 2: to take questions from the audience. We're gonna let you 571 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 2: guys come on stage to share your opinions. We're going 572 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 2: to do some film towards the tail end of that segment. 573 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 2: We're going to do a bunch of stuff. It's going 574 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 2: to be less formal, it's gonna be a lot more interactive. 575 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 2: We're gonna be hanging out on playback for a solid 576 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 2: forty five minutes or so after the YouTube Live show, 577 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 2: So make sure you guys take the time to hit 578 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 2: the link in the subscription below this video right when 579 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 2: we get done, and I'll see you guys over on 580 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 2: playback when we are finished here. All right, let's talk 581 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 2: Warriors rocket. So as wrong as I was about the 582 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 2: Lakers series, I've been somewhat on top of this one. 583 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 2: I predicted before the series that I that the Warriors 584 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 2: would win in six games and that they would probably 585 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 2: get blown out in Game five. This is a somewhat 586 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 2: typical series flow for the better team playing without home 587 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 2: court advantage. I saw a stat today actually that home 588 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 2: teams down three to one who are favored in game five, 589 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 2: when they were thirty and ten in the last forty 590 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,040 Speaker 2: games since two thousand and three. So it was kind 591 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 2: of cool to see us stat that kind of matches 592 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 2: up with something that I've always kind of felt about 593 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 2: this kind of game, which is just a really tough 594 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 2: game to win, especially when you're the more athletic team. 595 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 2: Like that was the big difference between the Minnesota Lakers 596 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 2: game tonight, is like, you know, when you have a 597 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 2: home team feeding off their home crowd who's the supremely 598 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 2: athletic team, they can be overwhelming, Whereas like what we 599 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 2: saw with Minnesota La tonight, Minnesota's athleticism travels and it 600 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 2: became something that the Lakers were unable to overcome. But again, 601 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 2: that's basically what happens in these series that I see. 602 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 2: When you have a road team that you pick to win, 603 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:29,680 Speaker 2: you steal a game on the road between games one 604 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 2: and two, you take home court advantage, You come home 605 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 2: and you win games three and four, you punt game 606 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 2: five because it's a really tough game to win, and 607 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,280 Speaker 2: then you end up closing things out in game game six. 608 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 2: And Houston came out tonight and just kicked Golden State's 609 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 2: ass at every phase of the game. They forced the 610 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 2: Warriors into nining turnovers in the first half and Men 611 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 2: Thompson's ball pressure on Steph was amazing. Steph did a 612 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 2: poor job of handling it. You got picked clean a 613 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 2: bunch of times around half court. The Rockets shot the 614 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:56,520 Speaker 2: ball super well. They got one point sixty seven points 615 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 2: per jump shot in the first half. That's outrageous. They 616 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 2: shot super well on contested Dylan Brooks and Fred Van 617 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 2: Vliet both made like running crazy contested threes right before 618 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,280 Speaker 2: the half as the Warriors were making their run. Brooks's 619 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,880 Speaker 2: three banked in and it was ridiculous, right, They ran 620 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 2: nine possessions of zone and held the Warriors to just 621 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 2: six points on those possessions. Fred van Vliet kept up 622 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 2: his hot shooting from Game four. I mean, Thompson goes 623 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 2: for twenty five points, He's really starting to showcase his upside. 624 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 2: Dylan Brooks had twenty four. Everything went right for the Rockets. Now, 625 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 2: there was an obvious lack of intensity from the Warriors 626 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 2: that you know we talked about even leading up into 627 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 2: the game, right, So how much of this is translatable 628 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 2: for the Rockets to Game six back in Golden State. Now, 629 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 2: before I talk any further again, I do not think 630 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:43,479 Speaker 2: this will happen. I think the Warriors will take care 631 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 2: of business. I think they'll come out and probably win 632 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 2: Game six relatively comfortably against Houston. I think that when 633 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 2: they really engage themselves defensively, they can strangle this Houston offense. 634 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,400 Speaker 2: And I think that they have the ability to just 635 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 2: hit the Jets right out the gates, change the tone 636 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,800 Speaker 2: and tenor of the game, build a little bit of buffer, 637 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 2: and I think they'll be able to stiff arm the 638 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 2: Rockets for Game six. But the Warriors haven't exactly scored 639 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,480 Speaker 2: well in this series. They're averaging less than one hundred 640 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 2: and three points in their three wins. The reason why 641 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 2: they're up three to one is they haven't the Rockets 642 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,800 Speaker 2: haven't been able to score. So the case in if 643 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 2: you're going to try to draw a line between what 644 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 2: the Rockets have shown over the course of the series 645 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 2: and a potential win in Game six back in Golden 646 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 2: State and a win in game seven, what you would 647 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 2: try to focus on is that the Rockets have found 648 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 2: some success in the half court offensively with the Shanegun 649 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 2: Fred van Vliet two man game, particularly inverted when Shane 650 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 2: Gun's on the ball, but it at least puts the 651 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,479 Speaker 2: Warriors in a predicament where they have to switch and 652 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 2: then Shanguon can get some favorable matchups there. Now, in theory, 653 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 2: if you defend as well as you defend it through 654 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 2: the rest of this series, and you keep things low 655 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 2: scoring enough Fred and Alprin Shangoon generate enough offense, they 656 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:07,360 Speaker 2: absolutely can win that game Game six and take it 657 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,560 Speaker 2: home for a Game seven against Golden State. But I 658 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,960 Speaker 2: don't think they will. I think this was a textbook 659 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 2: example of just a really tough, close out game to 660 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,000 Speaker 2: win on the road against a young super athletic team. 661 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 2: Just tip the cap for the Rockets to the tip 662 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,360 Speaker 2: a cap. Tip the cap to the Rockets for throwing 663 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,080 Speaker 2: a great punch. But I expect the Warriors to show 664 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,680 Speaker 2: that veteran resolve when they get home on Friday night. 665 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 2: We were gonna have two games on Friday, but now 666 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:35,640 Speaker 2: we're gonna end up only having one game. So just 667 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,240 Speaker 2: as a teaser before we head over to playback, Jackson's 668 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 2: gonna come on and we're gonna take one question. After 669 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 2: that we will head over to playback. 670 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 3: Yes, sir, indeed, this was This is a question that's, 671 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 3: you know, partially it's asked in jest, but the sentiment 672 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 3: of it is certainly serious. And the question is that 673 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 3: we got a lot of this. Was Nico right? And 674 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 3: maybe Nico is not right? But the question about sort 675 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 3: of Luca's defensive condition that you definitely alluded to, You 676 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,840 Speaker 3: definitely talked a lot about how big of a problem 677 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 3: is that obviously was a problem this series, How big 678 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:08,840 Speaker 3: of a problem is it sort of long term? 679 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,960 Speaker 2: So Nico is not right, and I think people are 680 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 2: just using that as the obvious talking point for guarding 681 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 2: Lucas struggles in this series. In order for Nico to 682 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,880 Speaker 2: be right, you have to equate whatever the diminished version 683 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 2: of Luca's value that you see, you have to equate 684 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:34,080 Speaker 2: that down to one first round pick and Max Christi, 685 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 2: who has the potential to be a good two way 686 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 2: starter in this league but isn't there yet. And Anthony Davis, 687 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:42,560 Speaker 2: who is an awesome player, but at this phase in 688 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,560 Speaker 2: his career is a lot slower than he used to be. 689 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:48,360 Speaker 2: He finally had a couple healthy seasons in a row 690 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,319 Speaker 2: and then he broke down this year. Like for any 691 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 2: concerns you have about conditioning, Anthony Davis famously came into 692 00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 2: Lakers camp out of shape multiple times in the Lebron 693 00:34:57,760 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 2: James era. It was something that Lebron himself was frustrated with. 694 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:05,840 Speaker 4: So like the the Nico piece is ridiculous because even 695 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,799 Speaker 4: if you just try to, like I saw Zachlosay in 696 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 4: his pod, like, oh, there are corners of the NBA 697 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 4: a smart NBA world that. 698 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,839 Speaker 2: Say, oh you can see getting off of Luca as 699 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:17,160 Speaker 2: being smart. I still think that's stupid. I don't agree. 700 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,960 Speaker 2: But even if you, even if you accept that, the 701 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 2: actual nuts and bolts of the trade make no sense 702 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 2: now from there, Luca was out of shape when he 703 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:31,760 Speaker 2: got hurt, allegedly from the reporting. Part of what triggered 704 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 2: the need or the desire for them to take this 705 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,719 Speaker 2: action was Luca shortly before the trade, about a month 706 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,919 Speaker 2: before the trade, showing up to the facility bad as shit. 707 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 2: So like there's a certain amount of like like this 708 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,680 Speaker 2: was never gonna be the season where Luca would prove 709 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,320 Speaker 2: everyone wrong. He was out of shape when he came back. 710 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,960 Speaker 2: He played his way into shape. He never really looked 711 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,279 Speaker 2: at any point into peak shape. He just looked at 712 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,120 Speaker 2: some points like Luka downschips that we've known over the 713 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:05,239 Speaker 2: course of the last couple of years at times. And 714 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:08,439 Speaker 2: so I think for Nico to be right, it would 715 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:10,600 Speaker 2: need to be we're here again next year and Luca 716 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:13,080 Speaker 2: looks fat, out of shape, banged up and can't play 717 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,960 Speaker 2: any defense. If we're here again at that point, then 718 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 2: it's a totally different conversation. But even within that context, 719 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 2: the trade doesn't make any sense. But Nico's lack of 720 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 2: belief in Luca, I think would have to be predicated 721 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,279 Speaker 2: on multiple additional years of him not living up to 722 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:27,880 Speaker 2: his potential. 723 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:31,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, this is the first time we've ever seen Luca 724 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,280 Speaker 3: have a subpar for his standards. 725 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:34,839 Speaker 2: Playoff run. 726 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:37,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, ever, yeah he's been they've lost, you know, they 727 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,960 Speaker 3: haven't won the championship before, but he's been outstanding and 728 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 3: every other playoffs until this year. Not every superstar is 729 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,600 Speaker 3: great in every single playoff run. It doesn't necessarily mean 730 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 3: it's the most recent one, so you know, fair to 731 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,359 Speaker 3: take a close look at it. But it doesn't necessarily 732 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 3: mean this is going to be the consistent thing that 733 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:53,759 Speaker 3: happens for Luca throughout the rest of his career. 734 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:58,280 Speaker 2: No, I totally agree. It's it's I'm curious to see. 735 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 2: I'm curious to see what Luca does this summer. I'm 736 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 2: curious to see if Lebron takes a pay cut. I'm 737 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:04,919 Speaker 2: curious to see what kind of moves they look to make. 738 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 2: I want to see what the roster looks like when 739 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,120 Speaker 2: we get to August or to October. Excuse me, it's 740 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:14,280 Speaker 2: gonna be interesting. I will freely admit as having rooted 741 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,239 Speaker 2: for Luca, that I was very disappointed in him in 742 00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:19,960 Speaker 2: this series. But at the same time, I also know 743 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:22,759 Speaker 2: that if there was some sort of you know, what 744 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:25,160 Speaker 2: do you want to call it? Like a transformation of character, 745 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,239 Speaker 2: or like some sort of leap that he takes as 746 00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:31,360 Speaker 2: a competitor. It's gonna happen next season, not this season. 747 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:33,759 Speaker 2: All right, guys, we're gonna head over to playback. Make 748 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:35,239 Speaker 2: sure you guys meet us over there again. The link 749 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:37,200 Speaker 2: is here in the description. We'll be starting up there 750 00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:38,640 Speaker 2: just in the next couple of minutes. We'll see you 751 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,040 Speaker 2: guys over there shortly. What's up, guys. As always, I 752 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,120 Speaker 2: appreciate you for listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. They 753 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:46,239 Speaker 2: would actually be really helpful for us if you guys 754 00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:49,320 Speaker 2: would take a second and leave a rating and a review. 755 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 2: As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if 756 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:53,200 Speaker 2: you could take a minute to do that, I really 757 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:53,839 Speaker 2: appreciated 758 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:56,680 Speaker 1: The volume.