1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: The volume. We're this close to crowning a new NBA champ, 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: and with the action heating up on the court, it's 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: even hotter. At DraftKings sports Book, an official sports betting 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: partner of the NBA. There's only so many games left, 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: and Draftking Sportsbook has you covered with same game parlays, 6 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: live betting odds, boosts in so much more. Don't miss 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: out or you'll have to wait until next NBA season 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: to place your bets. It's super easy for first timers 9 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: to get started. Try betting on something simple like picking 10 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: a team to win. 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Well, 41 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: that game last night I thought was the biggest NBA 42 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: game since Game four of the twenty twenty two NBA 43 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors, 44 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: when you really factor in the stakes and how it 45 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: felt like the eventual champion was kind of tilting on 46 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: that game potentially in a big way. I think Boston 47 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: is on a similar level to those two teams, but 48 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: it just felt like a monumentally important moment in NBA history. 49 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: So as a basketball fan, I want to kind of 50 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: dive a little bit deeper into it than I was 51 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: able to last night. So what we're going to do today, 52 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: I'm going to talk a little bit about what I 53 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,679 Speaker 1: noticed rewatching the game. We're going to talk a little 54 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: bit about some of the fallout for both teams, talk 55 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: a little bit about Jokic and the big picture after 56 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: what happened last night, and then I have thirty nine 57 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: clips to go over all the stuff that I found 58 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: in my film session. Obviously, it's a little bit of 59 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: overkill considering the series is over, but as a basketball fan, 60 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: I can't help myself. So we're gonna dive a lot 61 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: deeper into that Denver Minnesota series, kind of like an 62 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: autopsy of everything that took place over the last couple 63 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: of weeks. You guys know the Joe before we get started. 64 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: Subscribe to a Brandy YouTube channel so you don't miss 65 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter, Underscore 66 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: Jason Lts. You guys, don't miss show announcements. Don't forget 67 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcast. Own 68 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: our hoops Tonight, and then keep dropping mail back questions 69 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: in the YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them 70 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: throughout the rest of the postseason and the last but 71 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: not least, before we get started, I want to talk 72 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: to you guys about game time. We have two rounds 73 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: left of the NBA Playoffs. You got to get out 74 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: and see these guys in person. Incredible star power between 75 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards, Lukadancic, Kyrie Irving going out East to guys 76 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: like Jason Tatum and Tyre's Halliburton. Tons of star power. 77 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: You got to get out and see these guys in person. 78 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: Game time has an amazing ticket buying experience. I used 79 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: them earlier this year to go see a game at 80 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: McHale Center for the Arizona men's basketball team. Got a 81 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: great deal on a last minute ticket, got a great seat. 82 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: I want you guys to check it out. 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I like the zone deals. 92 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: This is this concept where you pick a zone and 93 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: then Game Time picks the seats for you within the 94 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: zone and you get additional savings. That way take the 95 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: guess work out of buying professional basketball tickets. With Game Time, 96 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: download the Game Time app, create an account and use 97 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: code Hoops for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Terms 98 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: apply again, create an account and redeem code Hoops. That's 99 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: Hops for twenty dollars off download game time today, last 100 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, let's talk some basketball. 101 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: So the story of the game. You know, if you 102 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: guys remember I was talking with the nerds when we 103 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: did our breakdown after Game six, I talked about how 104 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 1: specifically in Game seven, Minnesota needed to try to take 105 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: a sledgehammer to Denver's foundation. Now that's a kind of 106 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: like a metaphor, right, But the reason why I kind 107 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: of like saw it that way is if you look 108 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: at this series, when Denver was very methodical and played 109 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: Denver nugget basketball like we know this team is capable of, 110 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: they were able to find the cracks in Minnesota's defense 111 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: and score effectively. And we saw that for extensive stretches, right, 112 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: not just in those three games Game three, four and 113 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: Fivenesa when Denver dominated Minnesota, but also in Game seven, 114 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: even in the process of them going up fifty eight 115 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: to thirty eight, they had excellent offensive execution. They did 116 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: what they did more or less in the middle third 117 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: of the series, right, But in that third quarter stretch, 118 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: Minnesota was able to crack Denver's foundation. And the way 119 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: that that kind of manifested. Was a lot of mistakes, 120 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff that doesn't look like Denver nugget basketball. 121 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: Right like Jamal Murray got ripped at half court twice, 122 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: right like Jokic fell apart defensively and on the glass, 123 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: he gave up a He was really bad defensive rebounding 124 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: down the stretch of this game. They were missing box 125 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: outs as a team, like crazy Michael Porter Junior got 126 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,239 Speaker 1: bullied by nas Reed out of the right corner once 127 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: on a crash. Their defensive rotations weren't as sharp, their 128 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: rim protection was really poor. A lot of stuff that 129 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 1: we saw Denver do well early in this or in 130 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: the middle of the series, I should say, was the 131 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: exact opposite of what we saw from Denver. And that's 132 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: the thing, Like, that's I've said this before, but like 133 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: the credit, the biggest credit you can pay a defense 134 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: is when a defense actually manages to shake the identity 135 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: of who they're playing, meaning like they start to make 136 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: uncharacteristic mistakes and behaviors That to me, is the hallmark 137 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: of a defense that causes you to lose your composure. 138 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: Is another level of defense than what we typically see 139 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: around the NBA. Right and that was the story of 140 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: the series in my opinion. When Denver stayed sharp, they 141 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: could weather the storm. But multiple occasions in the series, 142 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: Minnesota was able to shake their foundation. They made their 143 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: decision making crater, they made them miss shots, they made 144 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: them turn the basketball over, they made them make defensive mistakes, 145 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: they couldn't rebound, They didn't look like the Nuggets. And 146 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: so that is the biggest credit that I could pay 147 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: to Minnesota. On the Minnesota front, I thought Ant was 148 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: mostly awesome in the second half of this game. Going 149 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: back to look at the film, his double teams generated 150 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: countless advantage situations as a matter of fact, and Ant 151 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: said this after the game. He was like, they kept 152 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: trapping me even though I wasn't playing well. And if 153 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: there's a bit of criticism to throw at Mike Malone, 154 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: there's Ant was having a bad night and so throwing 155 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: all the now the double teams played a role in that, 156 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: but it might have been worthwhile if you looked at 157 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: the fact that Minnesota got their offense going in the 158 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: second half in large part off of those double teams, 159 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: it might have been worth trying something differently, something different 160 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: to see if Ants kind of like cold spell would 161 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: have continued. That said, I'm not sure if it would 162 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: have made much of a difference. If you don't double Aunt, 163 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: maybe Ant gets going in a different way down the 164 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: stretch of that game. But I thought the double teams 165 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: and him getting rid of the basketball in a timely 166 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: fashion generated a lot of open looks. So you guys are 167 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: going to see in the film everything I'm talking about, 168 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: all the stuff I just said about Denver's mistakes, all 169 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: the stuff I just said about the shot creation from Aunt. 170 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: I have thirty nine clips we're going to go through. 171 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: I want to kind of demonstrate it all as much 172 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: as I can through film. But in addition to that, 173 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 1: Aunt started to find ways to generate rim pressure, splitting 174 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: pick and roll, so like when Yokich would come up high, 175 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: it's split that gap between the two guys between the 176 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: screener and Yokic and get downhill. Just finding ways to 177 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: generate rim pressure by any means necessary. It's had some 178 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 1: kickouts for three point shooters that were impressive. Guys were 179 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: crashing behind his rim pressure to get offensive rebounds. And then, honestly, 180 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: like you know, I was really curious to go back 181 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: and look at the film about this specifically because after 182 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: the game, Ant was talking a lot of trash about 183 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: what he did to Jamal. Murray specifically said, on his 184 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,320 Speaker 1: way back to the locker room, I put him in handcuffs, 185 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: and I went back to look at the film and 186 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: he did. It won't show up in the box score 187 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: because Jamal had, you know, thirty four to thirty five 188 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: points or whatever. But from the moment that Denver was 189 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: up twenty to the moment that the Minnesota was up 190 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: by five, So in that twenty five point swing, Jamal 191 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: Murray did not score a single point. It was a 192 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: lot of really good ball pressure, top locking, denying, a 193 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: lot of funneling. That's the main thing you guys are 194 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: gonna see on film, and staying attached to Jamal over 195 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: screens which forced Jamal to drive into help and not 196 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: be able to find any openings. It also allowed Karl 197 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: Anthony Towns to kind of stay home on Jokic on 198 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,199 Speaker 1: the roll. It was unbelievable defensively in the second half 199 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: of this game, and he really did put Jamal in handcuffs. 200 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: I see now, having gone back to look at the 201 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: film more closely, why he felt like, Hey, I had 202 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,599 Speaker 1: a shitty offensive night for the most part. But I 203 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: can impact the game in other ways, and I did 204 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: that by removing Jamal from the game during the run. 205 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: And that's absolutely what he did, honestly, Like you could 206 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: actually see Jamal go pretty passive for stretches because he 207 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: wasn't shaking free from ant. There was a lot of 208 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 1: two man game with Michael Porter Junior and casep and 209 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon as they went to look other directions instead 210 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,439 Speaker 1: of going through Jamal because Jamal just wasn't getting anything. 211 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: He had a couple of field goals, a floater and 212 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: a pull up jumper in the late portion of the 213 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: game after Minnesota had already taken control, but it was 214 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: too late at that point. Honestly, like for especially for 215 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: a twenty two year old, it was just an incredibly 216 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: impressive turnaround to be having a disastrous game. What was 217 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: he won for nine at one point and that ninth 218 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: shot was an airball that missed to the left of 219 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: the rim by like a foot. He was having an 220 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: absolute disaster of a game, and through sheer force of 221 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,800 Speaker 1: defensive will power and rim pressure and absorbing those double 222 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 1: teams and making plays, he just found a way to 223 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 1: impact winning in the second half of that game. Honestly, 224 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: Like it was an incredibly impressive moment for a young player. 225 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 1: And honestly, if you zoom out from the series, he 226 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: averaged what twenty nine six and six on sixty two 227 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 1: percent true shooting with the like he was incredible over 228 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: to steels and blocks per game combined. Like he was 229 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: a major factor in the series. He had some bad 230 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 1: defensive moments early in the series with Jamal Murray, but 231 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,559 Speaker 1: down the stretch of the series Game six and Game seven, 232 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: he did his job and played him into some disastrous stretches. 233 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: I thought it was incredible. He deserves a ton of 234 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,559 Speaker 1: credit for what he did for his team last night. 235 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns going back to look at the film 236 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: was amazing. His defense on Jokis was a revelation. Yoks 237 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: tried to shoot over him in the post three times 238 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: in the second half run in all three of them 239 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: were tough fade away jumpers over his right shoulder. He 240 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: flattened out his post ups, avoided the bully ball, and 241 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: made him make over the top shots. And Jokic just 242 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 1: did not have as good of a season as a 243 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,479 Speaker 1: jump shooter, which we're gonna get to in more detailed 244 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: here in a minute. But also Kat just did an 245 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: amazing job generating rim pressure he had. He drove right 246 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: by Jokic to score twice in the second half, just 247 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: like straight up man to man one on one against Jokic, 248 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:27,959 Speaker 1: went right around him once he drew a foul, once 249 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,320 Speaker 1: he got a driving layup. He drove right by Christian 250 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: Brown for a layup. He spun off of KCP and 251 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: drove drew a foul on the baseline. He was a big, 252 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:41,079 Speaker 1: like secondary offensive creation force over the course of this game. 253 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: And again, like a lot of times, like we're gonna 254 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,079 Speaker 1: talk about this more in a minute, but like heavy 255 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: as the head that wears the crown, like the superstar, 256 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:50,199 Speaker 1: the guy at the top of the head of the 257 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: stake gets all of the aggressive defensive coverages. ANT was seeing, 258 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: the double teams, ANT was seeing the the traps and 259 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: the high drops and all that stuff. Kat had favorable matchups, 260 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: so it was imperative for him to take advantage of that, 261 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: and he did. And so again like Carl Anthony Towns's 262 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,200 Speaker 1: biggest you know, the biggest rub on him is his inconsistency. 263 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: But like he has shown up in a lot of 264 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: big ways in this playoff run, and we have to 265 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 1: tip the cap. This is a guy that I've been 266 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: very critical of. This is a guy that seemingly the 267 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: entire NBA fan base has been very critical of over 268 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: the years. But he just made a lot of big 269 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: plays in a really big game last night. So tip 270 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,079 Speaker 1: of the cap to Karl Anthony Towns. Nas Reed. He 271 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,719 Speaker 1: got two buckets off of the advantage situations. There's a 272 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: transition cross match where they pushed the ball off the floor. 273 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: Jamal Murray ended up on nas Reed and he quickly 274 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: hit a little lefty hook on him and then he drove. 275 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 1: He drove a Jamal Murray close out off of one 276 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:45,679 Speaker 1: of those ant double teams at the top of the 277 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 1: key and got a lay up on the right side 278 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: of the basket. But honestly, I thought him attacking the 279 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: offensive glass was his biggest impact, especially down the stretch 280 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: of the game. He just kept coming flying in off 281 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: the wings. When the shot went up, he had the 282 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,320 Speaker 1: tip dunk. And he also drew a foul on a 283 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: play where at missed a layup, but Michael Porter Junior 284 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: was guarding nos Reed in the right corner and Nasried 285 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: came in and just bullied MPJ just shoved him off 286 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,319 Speaker 1: and got the offensive rebound and went back up and 287 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: drew a foul on Cacp Like he was just a 288 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: monster athletically, a huge part of that wave after wave 289 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: type of approach that Minnesota brings to the table. And 290 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: then Jade McDaniels, obviously, he was awesome defensively, forced Aaron 291 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: Gordon into a big turnover during the run, hit a 292 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: few huge corner threes on kickouts from Anthony Edwards, and 293 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: then had a big driving floater on Jamal Murray in 294 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:38,280 Speaker 1: that fourth quarter run. The Wolves played a nearly perfect 295 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: half of basketball, and when you kind of zoom out 296 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: on this series, they were the better team because they 297 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: were able to conquer their weaknesses and reach their ceiling 298 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: more frequently than Denver did. They This is a team 299 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: that I think has some pretty glaring weaknesses and they 300 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: all just came to fruition. Like Jada McDaniels is a 301 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: really inconsistent offensive player. He was massive in this game. 302 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Town's kind of an inconsistent secondary star. He 303 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: was massive in this game. Rudy Gobert hell the first 304 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 1: half he was so bad in that first half and 305 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: he was amazing in the fourth quarter of this game. 306 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards confronted a lot of his demons in that 307 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: game and overcame them down the stretch. Like every Timberwolf 308 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: looked themselves in the mirror, looked at their flaws and said, 309 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: screw that or winning tonight. And they did it. So 310 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 1: tip of the cap to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards 311 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: talked about this earlier, but there's a reality to what 312 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: the superstar burden is. Like you are the head of 313 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: the stake, you are the head of the game plan. 314 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: Michael Malone after Game six talked about how, like he 315 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: specifically said, Anthony Edwards is unguardable and so we have 316 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: no choice but to guard him the way that they've 317 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: been guarding it, which is double teams on every iso, 318 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: traps on every pick and roll. They had to do that, 319 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: and like that's the thing, Like you have to look 320 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: at the bigger picture. This is why box score watching 321 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: is so frustrating. It's like, yeah, he had a rough 322 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: shooting night, but down the stretch of this game and 323 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: you guys will see on film, Anthony Edwards consistently drawing 324 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 1: double teams was a huge factor in his team generating 325 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: quality shots. In addition to that, he generated a lot 326 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: of rim pressure in that second half. And that's the thing, is, 327 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: like the superstar burden is, everything is about slowing you 328 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: down and you have to find a way somehow to 329 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: impact winning and I thought Ant did in a big way. 330 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: These games tend to be ugly, Like you don't win 331 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: ninety eight to ninety playing beautiful basketball. It tends to 332 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: be ugly, and Ant found a way to make plays 333 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,239 Speaker 1: ugly last night. And again, he's twenty two years old. 334 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: This is he's twenty two years old, and he's passing 335 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: major tests in his first extended playoff run. I just 336 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: can't say enough about how impressed I am with Anthony Edwards. 337 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: I legitimately think he might be my best, my favorite 338 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: player in the league now, Like I can't help but 339 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: root for the guy. I think he's so good for 340 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: the league. I think he's obviously the guy that has 341 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: a chance to rescue American basketball from what looked like 342 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: at a pretty down era in terms of quality American 343 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,439 Speaker 1: basketball players coming out of our high school and college system. 344 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 1: Like he's just the league needs him and I just 345 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: I continue to be incredibly impressed by him on the 346 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: Denver front. If I had to kind of a you 347 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: don't want to overthink it, right because you're up by 348 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: twenty in the second half with a chance to go 349 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: to the Western Conference Finals. So like, I don't like 350 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: the idea of pretending like the Nuggets scene to make 351 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,239 Speaker 1: some sort of massive tweak. In addition, I think they 352 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: probably beat everyone else in the league this year. I 353 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: would have picked him over Boston, I would have picked 354 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: him over Dallas. I would have picked him over anybody 355 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: else in the league except for I picked him over 356 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: Minnesota and I ended up being wrong. But Minnesota proved 357 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: the ability to beat Denver. I'm not sure any other 358 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,959 Speaker 1: team could have. So I don't think it's worth like, 359 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 1: you know, like I saw a lot of stuff about 360 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: like trading Michael Porter Junior and all these like really 361 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: aggressive type of moves. I would keep the core five. 362 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: I don't think that's the issue. I think that there 363 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: were two flaws that kind of reared their ugly head 364 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 1: in this postseason run. First of all, in their starting lineup. 365 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: If there's one weakness, it's the fact that they don't 366 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 1: generate a ton of dribble penetration in order to generate 367 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: rim pressure, which, by the way, rim pressure is like 368 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: a prerequisite to winning the NBA title. You need to 369 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: find a way to pressure the rim somehow, and Denver 370 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 1: does it through interior size and interior passing. What that 371 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:40,639 Speaker 1: means is is like it's Jokic bullying his way to 372 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 1: the basket and then bringing a second defender over and 373 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: making plays out of it. It's Aaron Gordon cleaning up 374 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: stuff on the back line. It's even in ball screens, 375 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: it's Jokic catching on the short roll with his little 376 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: floaters and pop shots and attacking off of the catch there. Right, 377 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: Like they are an interior scoring team that is fueled 378 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: by size and passing ability on their frontline. Right. That 379 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: is a different type of rim pressure than beating people 380 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,879 Speaker 1: off the dribble in straight line drive situations. And one 381 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: of the issues was Minnesota's frontline was so damn big 382 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: with Nasriy Karl, Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert that they 383 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: were able to mitigate a lot of Denver's bully bull 384 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: And so when they were able to kind of mitigate that, 385 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: it shined a light on the fact that Denver's perimeter 386 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: players are not guys that can generate dribble penetration. Jamal 387 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 1: Murray kind of needs a screen, right to get He 388 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:38,879 Speaker 1: can hit over the top shots, but he needs a 389 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: screen to get into the paint, right like KCP, you know, 390 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: at this phase of his career, not like this crazy 391 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: athletic slasher that it used to be. And obviously he 392 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: doesn't dribble the ball well enough to kind of initiate 393 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,399 Speaker 1: offense that way. I think KCP brings some rim pressure, 394 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: but it's just a different kind, right like Aaron Gordon, 395 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: same kind of thing, Like he can attack with an advantage, 396 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: but there's not a lot of like he can break 397 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 1: you down off the dribble and make a ton of 398 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: stuff happen against an elite defense. And Michael Porter Junior 399 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: is obviously a catch and shoot threat. So like, I 400 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,360 Speaker 1: think that's the one big kind of like weakness that 401 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: Minnesota exposed is if you can match up with their size, 402 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,119 Speaker 1: they can't dribble past you, right, That was kind of 403 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: the one big thing. The second piece is I do 404 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: think fatigue played a big role. You guys are gonna 405 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 1: see on the film, and there's no excuse because everyone's fatigue. 406 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,879 Speaker 1: Everyone's tired, and in a close game late you just 407 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:31,400 Speaker 1: got to find a way. You got to dig deep, 408 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: and you got to find a way, and Denver did 409 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 1: not in this game. But fatigue played a role, and 410 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: that's where their lack of depth came to the to 411 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 1: the forefront. They had the same lack of depth last 412 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:43,360 Speaker 1: year and they conquered it. They had the same lack 413 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 1: of dribble penetration last year, although Bruce Brown I thought 414 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,399 Speaker 1: brought a good amount of that you know, kind of 415 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,400 Speaker 1: downhill force last year, and you know, not having Bruce 416 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,119 Speaker 1: Brown this year certainly ended up playing a role at 417 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: the end of the day. But the lack of depth 418 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: ended up showing up this year in teague at the 419 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,439 Speaker 1: end of games. And so they probably do need to 420 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 1: try to add some depth in a little more firepower, 421 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: specifically with athleticism this summer. They probably need to have 422 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: an option that they can go to, like a sixth 423 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,680 Speaker 1: starter kind of thing where against matchups where they need 424 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,919 Speaker 1: to get more downhill force, they can put somebody in 425 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,439 Speaker 1: for a KCP or in for a Michael Porter junior 426 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: that brings that downhill force and like again, that's gonna 427 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: be the tricky piece this summer, bringing in some depth, 428 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: bringing in some athleticism, just to bolster your options when 429 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: you get into these types of environments. But don't overthink it. Again. 430 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 1: You were twenty points up with a shot to go 431 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: to the Western Conference finals. And I do think Denver 432 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: like Denver is still in my opinion, every bit as 433 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: good as the teams at the top of the league. 434 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:50,919 Speaker 1: They just caught a bad matchup and they caught a 435 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: young star on the rise and they ended up ended 436 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,239 Speaker 1: up losing. But again, the rest of the league's going 437 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,199 Speaker 1: to be improving. Oklahoma City is only going to get better. Memphis, Like, 438 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: think about Memphis next year. Not only you have John 439 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: Morant coming back, You've got Desmond Baine, who keeps improving. 440 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:06,400 Speaker 1: He's an awesome backcourt partner for John Morant. Gigi Jackson 441 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: is like forward that they found that that can shoot 442 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,120 Speaker 1: the hell out of the basketball, big strong, can defend. 443 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: And then you've got Brandon Clark and Jared Jackson like 444 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: they they are gonna be a problem next year too. 445 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards like he's twenty two years old, Like, imagine 446 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: how good that kid's gonna be when he's twenty four 447 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 1: to twenty five. So like, again, Denver needs to do 448 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 1: a little bit more than they did last offseason to 449 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: try to bolster and improve their margin for error, which 450 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: ended up being too small this season on the jokicch front. Again, 451 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: this is something that this particular topic is something that 452 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: matters a lot to me as a basketball fan, but 453 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 1: also one that I get really frustrated about when I 454 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: look out at like kind of the way that most 455 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,880 Speaker 1: NBA fans behave. For instance, like Lebron fans today are 456 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,880 Speaker 1: like going out behaving like they won a fifth championship 457 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: with the way they've been talking about jokicen the Nuggets, 458 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: and like, I hate that. It's all narrative base. It's 459 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: all fool to me. I'm a big believer in like 460 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: two different lists. There's the who's the best player in 461 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: the world in a vacuum kind of list, like a 462 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,800 Speaker 1: ranking of players based like purely in a vacuum, Like 463 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: if we were starting a season tomorrow and everyone was 464 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: in like a draft and you had the first pick, 465 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,640 Speaker 1: who would you pick for one season to lead your team? 466 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: There's like that ranking, and then there's like the bragging 467 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: rights ranking. And this is this is like the list 468 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: that I go through every summer where it's more of 469 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: just like a how do we recognize the players based 470 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: on their achievements in the last year? Perfect example that 471 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: is Luka Dancic. I think I thought coming into the 472 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: season Luca was a top four player, but I ranked 473 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 1: him at tenth because he missed the playoffs and played 474 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:44,199 Speaker 1: like shit down the stretch of the season. So it 475 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 1: was like, in terms of in a vacuum, he's in 476 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 1: the top five, right, But in this other list where 477 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: it's like based on bragging rights and accomplishments, like he's 478 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: considerably lower. Right. So there are these two different ways 479 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: of looking at it, right, So how do we how 480 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: do we, you know, kind of digest what just happened 481 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: with Nikola Jokic within the realm of that list, because 482 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,640 Speaker 1: coming into this season, Jokich was a clear number one 483 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: on both He was the clear and a vacuum guy, 484 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: and he was the clear bragging rights guy, right, But 485 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: he just lost in the second round. And not only that, 486 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards kind of played him to a draw in 487 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: that series, Like if you look back at the numbers, 488 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards twenty eight points, five rebounds, six assists, fifty 489 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: percent from the field, thirty seven percent from three to 490 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: eighty five percent from the line. He had some bad 491 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: defensive moments, but he also had some really good defensive moments, 492 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: particularly at the end of the series. Jokic twenty nine points, 493 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: eleven rebounds, eight assists, fifty two percent from the field, 494 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,879 Speaker 1: twenty three percent from three, eighty nine percent from the line, 495 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: And he had some good and bad defensive stretches as well. Right, Like, 496 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: he was really good defensively in the middle of the series, 497 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,439 Speaker 1: really bad on the outside portions of the series. So 498 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 1: like Anton Nikole Yokich kind of played each other to 499 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 1: a draw. You were the favorite with home court advantage, 500 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,400 Speaker 1: and you lost. So we got to find a way 501 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,199 Speaker 1: how to digest that, right I see? You know, I 502 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: came into the season thinking that Jokic was substantially better 503 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: than everybody. I've seen two major areas of slippage with 504 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: Jokic though. First his defense. Last year in the postseason, 505 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: Jokics played the best defense of his career. He was 506 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: locked in every single night. He had some trouble with 507 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,439 Speaker 1: some specific matchups, like the team that had the highest 508 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,159 Speaker 1: offensive rating against Denver was the Lakers. I think it 509 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: was like a one to sixteen if I remember correctly, 510 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: And a big part of that was the Lebron and 511 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: Ad problem and the way that their downhill force combined 512 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: with interior passing. It's kind of like a it's like 513 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:38,199 Speaker 1: a combination of of what Denver does offensively and what 514 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: Minnesota does offensively right, and they cause a lot of 515 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: problems for Denver in their back line defensively, But for 516 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: the most part, Jokic was awesome in that postseason run 517 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,200 Speaker 1: at Denver's defense was awesome, and they weren't threatened throughout 518 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: this year outside of Games three, four, and five against Minnesota. 519 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,959 Speaker 1: Jokic was bad. He was bad defensively against the Lake, 520 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,119 Speaker 1: and he was bad defensively for the most part against Minnesota. 521 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: And so that's that's an area of slippitche And again, 522 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: like when you're talking about Jokic ranked with the other 523 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,679 Speaker 1: players in the league, that's him coming down a level 524 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: and coming closer to the pack. The second piece of 525 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: it the jump shooting. I talked about this all season 526 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 1: and I kept shining a big flashlight on it, and I 527 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 1: was like, Yokic's awesome, But this is weird. Let's keep 528 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,919 Speaker 1: an eye on this well. Last year in the regular season, 529 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: Jokic got one point one seven points per jump shot. 530 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: Last year in the playoffs, he got one point two 531 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: to one points per jump shot. He shot awesome all 532 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: year long, day one of training camp through to when 533 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,359 Speaker 1: he hoisted the trophy. That was a huge part of 534 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 1: what made Yokic so dominant this year. He was down 535 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: about sixteen percent from the previous season. He got one 536 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,639 Speaker 1: point zero one points per jump shot in the regular season, 537 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 1: in the playoffs zero point eight seven points per jump shot. 538 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: Thing that I noticed in this series in particular, there's 539 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 1: a reason why he took ten threes last night. Karl 540 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: Anthony Towns was showing quickly on Jamal but always quickly 541 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,919 Speaker 1: recovering back to Jokic on his roles. So Jokic when 542 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: he would roll into the lane was constantly getting swarmed. 543 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: So one of the ways Jokic countered that was by popping, 544 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: because when he popped, Kat couldn't get back out to 545 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: him that fast, and so he found some openings at 546 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: the top of the key, but then he couldn't make them. 547 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: And you guys are gonna see on the film I'll 548 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: show you some examples of kat like running back to 549 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: the role in Yokic kind of popping free at the 550 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 1: top of the key, Like he took those threes because 551 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,959 Speaker 1: that was what the coverage was allowing and he just 552 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: simply could not make them. He made two of them 553 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 1: late in the game, but he was two for ten 554 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 1: overall in the game and for the playoffs. What did 555 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,199 Speaker 1: I say earlier, twenty three percent? Like that was a 556 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: major issue. So I still think in a vacuum that 557 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: Jokic is the best player in the world. And if 558 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: I do two lists this summer and we have a 559 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: vacuum list and a bragging rights list, I'm probably gonna 560 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,399 Speaker 1: have Yokic number one in that vacuum list in the 561 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: sense that if I was starting a season tomorrow, I 562 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 1: would draft him number one, like to to run my 563 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,439 Speaker 1: team for an entire season for one season, right, But 564 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,399 Speaker 1: he has slipped as a defender and as a jumpshooter, 565 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: and it has brought him closer to the pack. And 566 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: as far as the bragging rights go, you lost in 567 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: the second round with home court advantage with the twenty 568 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,679 Speaker 1: point lead in Game seven, like you, he lost bragging 569 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 1: rights for a year. Now we'll see because I think 570 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 1: some like I don't think you just give it to anybody. 571 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,239 Speaker 1: I think someone has to earn it. But there are 572 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: some guys that have some that have a chance in 573 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: the next month to snatch those bragging rights. I think 574 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 1: Tatum has a case. I think Anthony Edwards has a case, 575 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: and I think Luka Doncic has a case. And again 576 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: I wouldn't. You guys know how I feel about Tatum. 577 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: I really like him as a player, but I don't 578 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: think he I don't think i'd ever take him number 579 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,040 Speaker 1: one in a vacuum. But if he dominates everybody to 580 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: hoist the trophy, he gets bragging rights for the next year. 581 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 1: Same goes for same goes for Luca. So again, the 582 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: way I look at it, he did vacate the top 583 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: spot on the bragging rights list, but he still has 584 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: the top spot in a vacuum. However, his lead in 585 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: a vacuum is shrinking, and it's shrinking because he is 586 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: slipping in a couple of key major areas, his defense 587 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: and his jump shooting. Really it was just oppressive defense 588 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: in rim pressure and transition. The other way, the double 589 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 1: teams from Anthony Edwards and all of that rattling Denver's 590 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: foundation and making them play a very uncharacteristic basketball game. 591 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 1: And so tip of the captain Minnesota. They deserve to 592 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 1: go to the conference finals. Denver's got to look in 593 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 1: the mirror a little bit and address some things this offseason, 594 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 1: especially as it pertains to their depth. I agree with 595 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:48,719 Speaker 1: a lot of the optimism that I heard from some 596 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: specific Nuggets. After the game, Jamal Murray said, We're back 597 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: to being the hunter. Love to hear it. You're right, 598 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: there's human nature makes it hard to repeat, right Like. 599 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,960 Speaker 1: It's like Mike Malone said before the season, it takes 600 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: talent to win a championship. It takes character to repeat, 601 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: and Denver failed that test this year, but they do 602 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: have the talent to go win it next year. They 603 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:10,560 Speaker 1: are hungry. Mike Malone referred to the Spurs and talked 604 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: about how we're not done and it just because you 605 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: don't repeat doesn't mean you can't be a dynasty. Love 606 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: the attitude Denver will be back. You're you're an idiot 607 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: if you think Denver's done, Like, They're gonna find a 608 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 1: way to be back in the mix year after year 609 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:28,680 Speaker 1: after year. Jokic didn't win three MVPs because he has 610 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: just some sort of massive media support. He also is, 611 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: in a vacuum, the best basketball player in the world, 612 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: even with the warts that he showed in this season. 613 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 1: So I think Denver's gonna be back. They got punched 614 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 1: in the mouth this year, they got humbled a little bit. 615 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: They're gonna be back next year. They're gonna make some noise. 616 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,960 Speaker 1: I think it'd be foolish to write them off. All right, guys, 617 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. I'm gonna be 618 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: right back on in a little bit with a series 619 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: preview on Celtics Pacers. I will see you guys. Then 620 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 1: the volume