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Now signed up with promo co Jason T 9 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: so they know I sent you twenty one plus in 10 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: president Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, 11 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia or Wyoming. 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In Michigan one eight seven seven 21 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: eight Hope and Why, or text hope and Why to 22 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: four six seven three six nine In New York, Tennessee 23 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: redline is one eight eight nine eight nine. Visit www 24 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: dot one eight gambler dot net in West Virginia or 25 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 1: five to two four seven zero zero in Wyomie. All right, 26 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: Welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by Bandol. Here at the volume, 27 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: I'm Jason Tip. Happy Saturday, everybody. I hope you all 28 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: had a great week. Happy NBA Playoffs day. It is 29 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: finally here. This next two month stretch is literally my 30 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: favorite time year. There's nothing like the relentless on slot 31 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: of quality basketball that we're all about to experience. You know. 32 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: Jamond Green went on the Point Forward podcast, which is 33 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: a new podcast that I just learned about with andre 34 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: A Guadala and Evan Turner, and they were talking about 35 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: the NBA media and in it, Draymond Green basically one 36 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: on a long die tribe that I won't get too 37 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: far into because it's something I've talked about a lot 38 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: on the show. In the last couple of days. But 39 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: he was talking about how the media has a responsibility 40 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: to cover the beautiful game of basketball and not the 41 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: drama and all of the stuff that you see, especially 42 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: you know, on some of the bigger media networks, the 43 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: Talking Heads shows, you'll see all of these, all of 44 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: the focus on seemingly nothing but the basketball, which can 45 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: be frustrating. And agree with Draymond, And that's exactly why 46 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: I love this time year because for the next two months, 47 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: these teams that are here, it's not about drama anymore. 48 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,119 Speaker 1: It's about basketball, and we can really really get into 49 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,119 Speaker 1: the weeds. We don't have to worry about the day 50 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: and day out grind to the regular season and guys, 51 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: you know, not being focused on the right things, or 52 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: guys taking load management, or maybe it's a night in 53 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: Los Los Angeles where they went out on the town. 54 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: Though none of that's happening anymore. This is dead serious basketball. 55 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: It's what always stands out to me right away from 56 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: the very beginning, is just how hard it is to 57 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: score in these games. Everyone talks so much about the 58 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: way playoff basketball changes compared to the regular season. I 59 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: feel like it's more of a slow burn to like 60 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: some of the officiating stuff takes till later rounds for 61 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: the revs to really decide to swallow the whistle and 62 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: a lot of the pace. And these teams they gear 63 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: up into the playoffs, and by the teams that are 64 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,679 Speaker 1: still around by the third and fourth round, they're so 65 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: dialed into and they know exactly who they are. There's 66 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: just no such thing as easy baskets anymore. And that's 67 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: what makes the game so incredibly interesting. You see this moment, 68 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: it's almost like an O ship moment where the teams 69 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: get stuck in the half court as soon as they 70 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: face a set defense or you just realize everyone kind 71 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: of looks at each other, like what do we do? 72 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: We gotta figure out a way to score here. This 73 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: is gonna be hard. It's my favorite. It's my favorite 74 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: part about NBA playoff basketball. We have three really interesting 75 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: games today, the Nuggets Warriors game. We're going to lump 76 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: in with tomorrow's show. Starting tomorrow night, we'll get back 77 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: into the tradition a groove of the live YouTube shows 78 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: that we do and where we have Carson come on 79 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: and we do a bunch of other stuff as well. 80 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: Today we're gonna be breaking down that Raptors Sixers game, 81 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: and then the Grizzlies Wolves Wolves game, as well as 82 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: the Jazz and the Mavericks. But we're gonna start with 83 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: that Raptor Sixers game, which was super interesting on a 84 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: bunch of different levels. Uh, you know, looking from the 85 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: not thirty foot view of this series, I talked about 86 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: how the Sixers were the better team and they had 87 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,280 Speaker 1: more talent, they should win the series. But there are 88 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: some advantages with Toronto, specifically with their coaching staff and 89 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: the fact that Philly has some very specific weaknesses that 90 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: over the course of the series. Nick Nurse should be 91 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: able to exploit. The Raptors while being a team that's 92 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: at a massive talent disadvantage, are not at they're They're 93 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: not out of advantages entirely. They have advantages over this 94 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: Philly roster overall athleticism, overall foot speed, and then like 95 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: I said at the head coach and so as this 96 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: series progresses, Toronto I believe will be able to be 97 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: better with the adjustments. It remains to be seen whether 98 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: or not that will be enough to overcome the talent 99 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: or not. I thought the story of this game from 100 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: the beginning, which was something we expected I talked to 101 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: you guys a lot this year about how the Raptors 102 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: are a team that are super aggressive on defense. They're 103 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: not a very like discipline, kind of stay home type 104 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: of defense. They're a gimmicky aggressive defense, which is by design. 105 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: Nick Nurse is empowered to do it that way. We 106 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: all remember the boxing one he used on the Warriors. 107 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: Nick Nurse is not afraid to try things. And from 108 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: the very beginning of this series, when they would run 109 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: the Joel Embi James James Harden pick and roll, there 110 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: was a third defender coming over in the middle of 111 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: the action. They decided, we're playing three on two with this, 112 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: and guess what, it's a lot easier to slow down 113 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: the Harden and b pick and roll when you have 114 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: three defensive players involved. That's that goes without saying. But 115 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: what's the obvious downfall? It's rion two for the Sixers 116 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: on the back end, and to their credit, James Harden 117 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: and Joel Embi did not force that action. We talked 118 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: a lot about how James Harden doesn't seem to have 119 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: the burst to beat guys off the dribble. He wasn't 120 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 1: really showing that tonight. It's not like he was flashing 121 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: around a ton of athleticism. James Harden won this game 122 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: with his brain, and that's the best thing he can 123 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: bring to this table. I don't expect James Harden to 124 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: suddenly unlock two thousand eighteen James Harden in this series. 125 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,119 Speaker 1: I released a video the other day that I showed 126 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:30,160 Speaker 1: you guys where it went over some numbers. James Harden's 127 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: finishing at the basket about half as often as he 128 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: did in his two thousand eighteen season. His pull up 129 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: jump shooting is down eight percent from where it was 130 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: in two thousand eighteen. He's relying on free throws for 131 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: like almost of his offense. Since he went to Philly, 132 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: James Harden has some significant decline in his game, but 133 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: there's one area where he will never experience decline, and 134 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: it's probably at a higher level than it's ever been, 135 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: and that's his playmaking, his ability to read what's happening 136 00:06:57,800 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: on the floor and make the right decisions. I've been 137 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: critic cool of him at times in Philly of forcing 138 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: the action and trying to play old fashioned James Harden ball, 139 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: running into bodies and throwing up junk, trying to get 140 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: foul calls and it not working instead of making the 141 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: easy reads that are there. Those of you who have 142 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: listened to the show over the course of the last 143 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: couple of months have heard me talk about that. Well tonight, 144 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: that's not what James Harden did. He made the right 145 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: play consistently into the credit of the guys on the Sixers. 146 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: They stepped up and knocked down shots to Bias Harris 147 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: knockdown shots, Tyris Maxie knocked down shots. They all stepped 148 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,119 Speaker 1: up in big ways on the back side in order 149 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: to make that coverage that Toronto was using not work. 150 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: And then we talked a lot over the course of 151 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: the preview that I did that Toronto's biggest advantage was transition. 152 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: This has been a story with the Sixers all season. 153 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: Part of it's because Joel Embiid is somewhat slow footed. 154 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: Part of it is because James Harden can be lazy 155 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: at times, and they run these actions and they get 156 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: into the paint with them, beat in James Harden and 157 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: they usually throw stuff up and they usually complain to 158 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: the refs And if you run the other way, you 159 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: can get easy baskets in transition. Well, Toronto could never 160 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: really get ahold of that pace side of the game. 161 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: I always talk about like the cascading effect of getting 162 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: defensive stops. So if you have a foot speed advantage 163 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: and you're the Raptors, the way for you to utilize 164 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: that against the Sixers is by getting stops. You can't 165 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: get out in transition unless you get stops that extra 166 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: couple of second you can to be cool, you can 167 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: get out in transition after they've made shots, it's just 168 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: a lot, it's a lot harder. So the easiest way 169 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:33,719 Speaker 1: to get out in transition is to get stops. And 170 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: if you're taking the ball out of the net every time, 171 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: that buys Philly and extra second or two for their 172 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: guys to get back. And as you saw tonight, when 173 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: they got their defense set, it was a lot harder 174 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: for Toronto to score. And then one of the weirdest 175 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: things about today's game is the Sixers were getting out 176 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: in transition going the other way. And the disappointing thing 177 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: there if you're a Raptors fan, is that just shouldn't happen. 178 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: The overall foot speed of these lineups that Toronto is 179 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: throwing out there is too fat to get to lose 180 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: a foot race to this Philadelphia team that just can't happen. 181 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: That's attention to detail stuff. That's a little bit of 182 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: effort stuff. And you know, I'm not surprised. The Sixers 183 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: have probably heard all week, including from myself, that they're 184 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: gonna lose this series, and they're probably like, screw that, man, Like, 185 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: we're the better team. And so if you're Toronto, you 186 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: can't lose those battles. You can't lose the battle that's 187 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: supposed to be your advantage. You can't get beat in 188 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: transition when you are the faster team. Those are little 189 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 1: details that they're gonna have to work out. A couple 190 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,199 Speaker 1: of silver linings for the Raptors. I thought their offense 191 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: looked pretty good overall. It didn't. They didn't again, I 192 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: couldn't keep up with Philly in this particular game. But 193 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: they they have. They scored enough, and they scored easily 194 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: enough that if they can figure out some of these 195 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: things on defense, particularly in transition and particularly with guarding 196 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: the James Harden Joel and be pick and roll, that 197 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: should like they should be able to score frequently enough. 198 00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: This is something that I talked about. Everyone was concerned 199 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: about the Raptors half offense, but a lot of their 200 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: talent was wearing suits all year. You saw you know, uh, 201 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: we saw h O, g An and Nobi missed a 202 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: huge chunk of the season with injuries. We saw Fred 203 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:14,599 Speaker 1: van Vleet deal with knee problems as the season was progressing. 204 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: Guys were in and out of the line up a lot. 205 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,600 Speaker 1: Pascal Sia was dealing with some injuries early on in 206 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: the season. So having them all together now there actually 207 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: is a decent amount of defensive offensive talent on the floor. 208 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: I thought Scotty Barnes even had some moments where he 209 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: flashed some offensive creation off the dribble from the top 210 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: of the key and finding cutters and things along those lines. 211 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: Toronto is gonna be able to score. It looks like 212 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: that's a good news, but they have to figure out 213 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: how to stop Philly. I thought the story of the 214 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: game tonight was what you saw was that third defender 215 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: wasn't enough to stop that action because they were making 216 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: them pay on the backside. So you have two options 217 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: from there. You can either sharpen up the backside rotations 218 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 1: so that you don't give up open threes there. But 219 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 1: it's gonna put a lot of stress on your athletes 220 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: to fly around the floor, or you have to go 221 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 1: to onto with the Harden and Beat pick and roll. 222 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: There's some little things you can do there. For instance, 223 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: have that third defender ready to go after and Beat 224 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: catches the ball. That's what I would do. I'd switch 225 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: that screen and roll and basically forced James Harden to 226 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,079 Speaker 1: pull the ball out and either isolate whoever the big guy, 227 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: whether it's Precious to Cheo or somebody like that. Whoever 228 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: it is, pull the ball out, either isolate on the 229 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: center or have to work it back to the post 230 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: two and beat. I thought the Raptors actually did a 231 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: pretty good job on em Beat post ups of crowding 232 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: him and taking that stuff away. It was the screen 233 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 1: and roll where they were getting killed. So if you 234 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: can switch that action and force them to make a 235 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: post entry, I like our chances better there. If I'm 236 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: Toronto that third defender coming over too soon. They were 237 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: getting way too easy shots on the back end. So 238 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: figure out how to play two on two within the 239 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: with the Embat, Harden pick and roll if you can. 240 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: They gotta figure out what went wrong in transition, figure 241 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: out those details you can't get beat up and down, 242 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,679 Speaker 1: up and down the floor by the slower team in Philadelphia, 243 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: and last but not least, you can't if you're gonna 244 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: slow down. You successfully slowed down Joel Embid and you 245 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: successfully slowed down James Harden for the most part, especially 246 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: as putting the ball in the basket goes. But you 247 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,000 Speaker 1: got killed by Tyres Maxie and by guys on the weekends, 248 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: the week side of the floor. So you've gotta figure 249 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: out how to guard James Harden and Joel Embid without 250 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: letting the other guys get going really quickly on Tyrees 251 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: Maxie before we get Before we move on to the 252 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: other series from today, this is a This is a 253 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: classic example of how slotting can be advantageous for a 254 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: team when you bring in somebody like James Harden as 255 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,840 Speaker 1: a talent. We're gonna talk about this a lot with 256 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: the Dalax Dallas Mavericks here in just a minute, because 257 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: they're experiencing the negative side of this slotting with what 258 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: happened with Luka don Chich. But everything about the game 259 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: plan for Toronto is geared around stopping the Harden Ebid 260 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: pick and roll right, stopping Harden h uh embiid post 261 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: ups and hardened in that screen and roll action. So 262 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: as a result, the amount of defensive attention that's devoted 263 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: to Tyrese Maxie is not very much at all. And 264 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: a couple of things a lot of what Tyrese Maxi 265 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: was doing in transition that can be tightened up by 266 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: everything we were just talking about with the details for Toronto. 267 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: But this is what happens when you devote that kind 268 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: of defensive attention to James Harden and Joel Embid. You 269 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: have a very talented young guard in Tyres Maxie who's 270 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: getting off right now because he's getting easy opportunities. That's 271 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: the downside of doing that. That's part of why I 272 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,199 Speaker 1: think it's so important to get that James hard and 273 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 1: Joel and be pick and roll down to a two 274 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: on two coverage so that you don't you're not giving 275 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,679 Speaker 1: like incredibly easy opportunities for incredible players like Tyres Maxie. 276 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: Shout out to him. Made a lot of big plays today, 277 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: took over that game in the third quarter. Incredible performance, 278 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: a lot of series left. Nick Nurse is the biggest 279 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: advantage for Toronto. His brain, he's the best coat, one 280 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:49,319 Speaker 1: of the best coaches in the NBA. Definitely a better 281 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: coach than Doc Rivers in my opinion, he's their advantage. 282 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: His him figuring this out as the series progresses is 283 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: Toronto's best bet. I don't think this is anywhere near 284 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: over yet. Ound one goes to the Sixers. All right, 285 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: let's move on to this Dallas Mavericks home loss to 286 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,720 Speaker 1: the Utah Jazz. So Game one goes to the Jazz, 287 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: which is not the least bit surprising. I was talking 288 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: yesterday about how Steph Curry and Draymond Greener two of 289 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: the most irreplaceable players in the league with respect to 290 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: what they bring to the table for their specific team, 291 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 1: and how difficult it would be to find somebody else 292 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: to do that, and Lucas in that conversation as well, 293 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: and you know, there's there's a lot to the system 294 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: that Dallas brings to the table that still functions when 295 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: Lucas not there. I thought Dallas competed like crazy on 296 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: defense tonight. Credit to them. If they defend like that 297 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: and Luca comes back, I like their chances in this series. 298 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: That's a huge plus on the On the offensive end, 299 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: it's more or less the same type of action that 300 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: you're seeing with Luca, it's just with lesser, lesser players 301 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: running it. This is where that staggering thing comes into 302 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: the equation that I was talking about. When when you're 303 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: looking at Tyree s Maxie in the types of defensive 304 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 1: attention and defensive coverage that he's seeing, he is so 305 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: talented that he can have a certain amount of success 306 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: in that environment. Right. Similar thing has happened with Spencer 307 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: didn what he and Jalen Brunson this year. Everything is 308 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: devoted towards Luca done in the way that they uh 309 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: and at the way the teams have to cover him. 310 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: There's also a fatigue element. Luca don Che with his 311 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: usage rate, is going to take a certain number of 312 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: pick and roll possessions or just just we'll call it 313 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: commanding offensive possessions. He's going to command a certain number 314 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: of possessions over the course of that game. So the 315 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: ask that's on Spencer didn what he and the ascots 316 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: on Jalen Brunson is significantly lower. Fatigue becomes less of 317 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: an issue. There's less repetition. Repetition is a huge thing 318 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: that I talked about and playoff basketball. It's one of 319 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: the big reasons why James Harden struggles as series goes along, 320 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: he kind of comes at you the same way over 321 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: and over and over again, and defenses kind of figure 322 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 1: it out. So versatility becomes one of the biggest, you know, 323 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: indicators of success, and Luka Don has a ton of 324 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: versatility to the way he attacks. Guys like Jalen Brunson 325 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: and guys like Spencer didn't what he are a little 326 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: more one dimensional in their offensive coach, So in larger 327 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: doses and with more actions on their plate, with more 328 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: with fatigue playing a bigger role, and with more repetition, 329 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: those guys are gonna look less effective. And what you 330 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: saw tonight was Jalen Brunson and Spencer did what he's 331 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: struggling to replicate what Dallas usually does on offense. And 332 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: switching over to Utah for a second, because I think 333 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: this is a related, very important and kind of understanding 334 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: why that is. As I've talked about a lot Utah, 335 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: I called Utah jazz frauds, and it's you know, it's 336 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: kind of a fun word, right It's it's just, you know, 337 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: it's kind of just a buzzword in the sports talking 338 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: head world when we're talking about teams like this that 339 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,200 Speaker 1: struggle in the postseason. But there's a very specific reason 340 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: why I say that. I say that because there is 341 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,360 Speaker 1: a universe where the Utah Jazz are a very good 342 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: defensive team, but we see them in certain environments become 343 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: a very bad defensive team. Right like last year, they 344 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: were I think third in the entire NBA and defensive 345 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: writing if I remember correctly, certainly in one of the 346 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: top few teams in the league. Then they run into 347 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: the Clippers without Paul George and or without Kawhi Leonard 348 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,399 Speaker 1: excuse me, and just get lit on fire and they 349 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: get I think they had a defensive writing in that series, 350 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: which is a horrible number. So they're actually a bad 351 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: defense in certain environments. But there are great defense in 352 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: other environments. And what is that environment. That environment is 353 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: the ability of Rudy Gobert to stay in the paint. 354 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,360 Speaker 1: You guys probably heard Jeff Van Gundy today say during 355 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,879 Speaker 1: the broadcast, he specifically came out and said, Rudy Gobert 356 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 1: has controlled this game without making a field goal. And 357 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: he's right because in this specific game, with Luca out, 358 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: the Dallas offense was incapable of getting Rudy Gobert out 359 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: of the paint, and as a result, he was camping 360 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 1: down there all night long, and every time they ran 361 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: screen and roll and hit a guy with the pocket pass, 362 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: they had to try to finish over Rudy and they couldn't. 363 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: Anytime somebody beat one of the bad Utah Jazz defensive 364 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 1: guards to the basket, Rudy Gobert was just waiting there 365 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: and so nothing was open there was. One of the 366 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,200 Speaker 1: things that's consistently happened with Utah with Dallas this year 367 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 1: is they've had to play non shooters in the front court, 368 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: right Dwight Powell not a great shooter, but he's so 369 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: important to their screening role game he has to be 370 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 1: out there. Well. Luca does a better job of navigating 371 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: that in finding ways to get around Gobert. Dinwoodie and 372 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: Brunson really struggled with that. Rudy Gobert sat under the 373 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,440 Speaker 1: basket all night long and it caused a lot of problems. 374 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: You saw another classic case of playoff defense with with 375 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: Josh Green Love. Josh Green came to Tucson and played 376 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: for the University of Arizona. He's not making his corner 377 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: threes right now, so Utah's leaving him wide open. That's 378 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: even more congestion in the paint. Dallas's offense completely and 379 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: utterly broke down without Luca, and that's kind of the 380 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: story of this series, right, like, what are you gonna do? 381 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: They've tried to go to Burton's for more offense and 382 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: just relentlessly Donovan Mitchell and Boyan Bogdanovitch just kept attacking 383 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: Burton's every time down the floor. I thought that's what 384 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: killed them, particularly in the third quarter. I do want 385 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: to give some credit to the Jazz. They're not a 386 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: great defensive team on the perimeter, but they did compete today. Again, 387 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: it's easier to do when you're dealing with Jalen Brunson 388 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: and Spencer Dinwoodie, but the Jazz did compete. But there's 389 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,360 Speaker 1: really nothing really worth talking about here if they can't 390 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: get Luca back. Luca is the only thing that matters 391 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,680 Speaker 1: for Dallas in this series, because if he's not there, 392 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 1: Dnwoodie and Brunson aren't up to the task. They're not 393 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: gonna be able to get Gobert out of the paint, 394 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:27,399 Speaker 1: and they're just simply not going to be able to 395 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 1: score enough even with as good as they are defensively, 396 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 1: they're not gonna be able to score enough to win 397 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,439 Speaker 1: this series. So all that matters at this point is 398 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 1: they absolutely have to get Luca back. I don't even 399 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: really see much else to dig into here unless that's 400 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: the case, because Dallas simply cannot keep up in this 401 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:47,719 Speaker 1: series without him. All Right, last, before we get out 402 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 1: of here today, we're gonna look at what I thought 403 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 1: was an incredibly entertaining game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and 404 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,400 Speaker 1: the Memphis Grizzlies. So Game one went to the Timberwolves. 405 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: I saw this series being one that Memphis would have 406 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:02,919 Speaker 1: control and win, probably in five or six games, but 407 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: I didn't I think that all the games would be competitive. 408 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: For those of you who listened to the preview, these 409 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:09,959 Speaker 1: are two teams that share a lot of similarities. They 410 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: both played in extremely high pace. Minnesota plays the fastest 411 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 1: pace in the league. Grizzlies play the fourth fastest pace 412 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,440 Speaker 1: in the league. They both have a ton of long 413 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: and athletic wings, and they both play extremely hard. That's 414 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,880 Speaker 1: been one of the interesting dynamics surrounding the Grizzlies all season. 415 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: They're very good, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying 416 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: to undercut them. They're one of the most talented teams 417 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,479 Speaker 1: in the NBA. Every time John Murray sits out, it's like, 418 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: here comes another young athletic guard. Whether it's Zaire Williams 419 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: or Danthony Melton or whoever it might be. There's always 420 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 1: just another guy that they have on the roster who's 421 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 1: young and athletic and super talented. That team has a 422 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: super super bright future. But this season, they played harder 423 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: most of the time. They were a young team and 424 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: uh an athletic team. They played well at home. They 425 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: talked a lot of trash. They had like this youthful 426 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: exuberance to them, which I liked a lot. But it 427 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: led to an advantage in the effort and energy parts 428 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: of the game on most nights, which worked great, especially 429 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: when they play veteran basketball teams. Well, here's the thing. 430 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: Minnesota does the same exact thing. That team also plays 431 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: extremely hard, and they came into this game one and 432 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: they punched Memphis in the mouth and the effort and 433 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: energy parts of the game. They had eleven offensive rebounds. 434 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: I've been amazed by Minnesota's perimeter defense. I talked about 435 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: this a lot. In the series preview, they are sixth 436 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 1: in the number of drives that they allow per game, 437 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 1: despite the fact that they play the fastest pace in 438 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: the entire NBA. NBA dot Com doesn't let you filter 439 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: for things like per one possessions in their tracking data, 440 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,919 Speaker 1: but if you could, they probably be either leading the 441 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 1: league or very close to leading the league and preventing 442 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: drives from the perimeter because they sit down in the 443 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,479 Speaker 1: defensive stance and they make things extremely difficult for you. 444 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:52,159 Speaker 1: I thought they did an outstanding job defending the dribble 445 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: drive all game long with Memphis. They stayed in front 446 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 1: of Jaren Jackson and made him shoot over the top. 447 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: I've been telling you guys NonStop. Jaren Jackson Jr. Super 448 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,440 Speaker 1: bright future, incredible defensive player. He's a bowl in a 449 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: China shop offensively, and I thought he would struggle in 450 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: a playoff environment with a team that consistently built a 451 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: wall in front of him and slid their feet and 452 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 1: made him shoot over the top. They did, and he struggled. 453 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,919 Speaker 1: Desmond Baine, I thought struggled generating quality shots. He's not 454 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,440 Speaker 1: a great shot creator. That this kind of all broke 455 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,000 Speaker 1: down exactly how I expected from Memphis. It came down 456 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 1: to John Moran in his ability to create shots, and 457 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: just like James Harden made the right reads. I thought 458 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: John Moray forced a lot of actions in the paint 459 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: instead of making the right reads. Crowds of bodies would 460 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: come in when he would beat people off the dribble. 461 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: Even with as good as Minnesota is with their perimeter defense, 462 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 1: they are not fast enough to stay in front of 463 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: John Moray. He was getting into the paint. But you 464 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: have two options when you're there. You can either throw 465 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: yourself into the throng of bodies in hopes of drawing 466 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: a foul or making a layup, or you can make 467 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: the easy reads to guys on the week side and 468 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,439 Speaker 1: hope that guys will knock down shots. That's not what 469 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,320 Speaker 1: John Morey did. He just threw his He just repeatedly 470 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 1: threw himself into traffic. He did get a lot of 471 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: calls until late in the game. Then those calls went away, 472 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 1: those opportunities went away, and their offense kind of fell dead. 473 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,679 Speaker 1: That's gonna be the biggest adjustment that Memphis has to 474 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,400 Speaker 1: make as this this series progresses. You know, the Wolves 475 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,720 Speaker 1: are happy to make those plays when they get into 476 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: the lane, they're constantly kicking out the shooters. The Wolves 477 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: are number one in the league this year and three 478 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,360 Speaker 1: pointers attempted in number one in the league this year 479 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: and three pointers made. So it's not a big shock 480 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: that they took forty one of them today and they 481 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: made sixteen of them for thirty nine percent. That's the 482 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,120 Speaker 1: way their offense is designed to function. That's the kind 483 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: of shot they're gonna get. The Grizzlies are not great 484 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: in that department. There twenty three this year and three 485 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 1: pointers attempted there twenty three this year and three pointers made, 486 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: and I believe they're seventeen in percentage. So they're not 487 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 1: a great three point shooting team. So part of this 488 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 1: particular matchup is the Grizzlies have to to understand the 489 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: way this chess matches unfolding. The Grizzlies are the Timberwolves 490 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: are sliding their feet on the perimeter and are taking 491 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,960 Speaker 1: away a lot of your easy driving opportunities. And when 492 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,240 Speaker 1: you get into the paint, they're packing the paint and 493 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 1: they're giving up shots. On the week side, you have 494 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 1: to make those reads when they're they're just like James 495 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: Harden and Joyl and b did tonight. That's gonna be 496 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: the story of the game. They with seven for seven 497 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 1: from three tonight. Only that's nowhere near enough attempts for 498 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: how often Minnesota was overplaying the paint. You have to 499 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,160 Speaker 1: be taking high thirties, low forties threes in this particular 500 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: matchup as this kind of goes along. That's gonna be 501 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: their biggest area of opportunity is finding those three point 502 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: shots on the week side of the floor. Another adjustment 503 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: that I think the Grizzlies absolutely have to make. They 504 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: gotta get Steven Adams out of the lineup. I will 505 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,400 Speaker 1: never understand the obsession that coaches have with slow plotting. 506 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: Bigs A dealt with it with Frank Vogel this year 507 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: and DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard in large doses. You know, 508 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 1: Sixers fans of dealt with it. Was going to h 509 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: DeAndre Jordan coming off the bench for them. There Steven 510 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: Adams in Memphis, it's the exact same problem. Jaren Jackson Jr. 511 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: Is every bit capable of playing the five for you 512 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: all the time, Okay, And you can go to Brandon 513 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: Clark or play small in the minutes that he's not 514 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,880 Speaker 1: on the floor, you're so athletic around him, and you're 515 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: so strong around him. Desmond Baine is big and strong. 516 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: Jaren Jackson is big and strong. Dylan Brooks is as 517 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: big and physical perimeter player that we have in this league. 518 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: You do not need Steven Adams on the floor. When 519 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,719 Speaker 1: he's on the floor, they're going to run you up 520 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: and down, and they did tonight. I'll have to pull 521 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: up the box score, but they were big minus when 522 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: Steven Adams was on the floor. That's an easy adjustment 523 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:41,120 Speaker 1: to make moving forward. Get out of your traditional lineups. 524 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,479 Speaker 1: This is the postseason. You don't need to manufacture stops 525 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 1: against the weak opponents in the eighty two game schedule. 526 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: This is winning time. You can't afford to lose another game. 527 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: You have to get uh, Steven Adams out of the 528 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: lineup and then don't get out worked anymore. You have 529 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 1: to find a way to make sure that, especially when 530 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,160 Speaker 1: you're at home, you win the effort and energy parts 531 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: of the game. You get more offensive rebounds than Minnesota gets, 532 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: you play better in transition. Those are the areas of 533 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: the game that they have to control. Special shout out 534 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:14,399 Speaker 1: to all the role players from Minnesota who made a 535 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,640 Speaker 1: ton of big shots tonight. Patrick Beverley made a huge 536 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,159 Speaker 1: side step three. Jada McDaniels made a huge three out 537 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: of the corner. That kind of I sed it. Tore 538 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,960 Speaker 1: and Prince made some big shots. Uh, Mike uh. Malik Beasley, 539 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: what an amazing performance from him. He is, you know, 540 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:33,400 Speaker 1: he's kind of like a depends on when you watch 541 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 1: him kind of guy, inconsistent. Not entirely uncommon for players 542 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: like that with that type of that archetype of kind 543 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: of volatile offensive shooting guard. But man, he played really 544 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,360 Speaker 1: really well as well. This is gonna be a very 545 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: competitive series. I think that the Grizzlies have easy adjustments 546 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,440 Speaker 1: that they can make, and they are the more talented team, 547 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: they should be able to swing things. But great first 548 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,880 Speaker 1: step from Minnesota. Last a note on Minnesota before we 549 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:00,080 Speaker 1: get out of here for the day. Really impressed to 550 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns on the way he bounced back. He 551 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: had a really unfortunate game against the Clippers. I thought 552 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: you let the foul trouble get into his head. The 553 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: way the Clippers swarmed him clearly bothered him in a 554 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 1: bunch of different ways. It'd be really easy to shrink 555 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 1: mentally from that and under and just feel like it's 556 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: just not it's just not your night or whatever it is. 557 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: Cat rebounded and he played extremely well tonight. He was 558 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: dominant on the offensive glass. Huge part of their offense 559 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,280 Speaker 1: tonight was the ability to give Karl Anthony Towns the 560 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:31,400 Speaker 1: ball at the top of the key in space out 561 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,639 Speaker 1: around him where he could easily beat guys off the 562 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: dribble with his face up game. It's where he got 563 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: his incredible dunk. It was on a gamble on a 564 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: on an entry there to the high post, and he 565 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:43,640 Speaker 1: was beating guys off the dribble there. He's so strong 566 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: and his ability to draw contact and finished through contact 567 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 1: at the rim out of that position was a huge 568 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: part of their offense. So what's interesting there is, with 569 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: exception of Jaren Jackson Jr. I don't think anybody on 570 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 1: Memphis can guard him on that spot of the floor. 571 00:27:57,720 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: So that's gonna be a really interesting chess piece for 572 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: minute Soda as this series progresses. How frequently can they 573 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,120 Speaker 1: get the ball to Cat there without Jaren Jackson Jr. 574 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: There Because even when Jaren Jackson Jr. Comes over to help, 575 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: when Cat has a head of steam. It just doesn't matter. 576 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: Like you saw with that ridiculous dunk, super entertaining first 577 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: day of games. Like I said, we're gonna get to 578 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:21,199 Speaker 1: the Warriors Nuggets game in tomorrow's show back to normal. 579 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: Right after the last game of the day, we'll be 580 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,000 Speaker 1: going live on YouTube and on Twitter Spaces will have 581 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,440 Speaker 1: Carson in the whole shebang going on there. As always, 582 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,199 Speaker 1: I appreciate your guys support. I'm really excited that we're 583 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,880 Speaker 1: getting this playoff journey off and started. I will see 584 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: you guys tomorrow. The volume