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Speaker 1: All right, welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume.

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Speaker 1: Happy Friday, everybody. I hope all of you guys had

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Speaker 1: an incredible week heading into what is going to be

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Speaker 1: a monumentally important week weekend, I should say, of NBA basketball,

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Speaker 1: lots of seeding up in the air. Over the next

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Speaker 1: three days, we're gonna be going live. Excuse me, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna have a video going up tomorrow morning that's going

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Speaker 1: to be breaking down Friday nights games, and then on

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Speaker 1: Sunday evening we're gonna be going live with mister Colin

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Speaker 1: Cowherd to break down what should be a wild Sunday

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Speaker 1: of NBA basketball. But today as a primer for that,

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Speaker 1: where you're going to be going over the ten players

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Speaker 1: you would best want heading into this playoff front, and

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Speaker 1: I can think of nobody better to get into the

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Speaker 1: nitty gritty of that list. Then our guy Carson, who

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Speaker 1: we have on the show pretty regularly, we're gonna have

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Speaker 1: him on and we're gonna break down our top ten

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Speaker 1: playoff players. Carson, how's it going, man? I'm doing great, Jason,

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Speaker 1: and I'm very interested to see how this all shakes

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Speaker 1: out for you, because I just came up with my

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Speaker 1: own list for this a couple of days ago, and

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Speaker 1: I think so much talent at the top of the

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Speaker 1: league that it really kind of depends on what you

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Speaker 1: value most. There could be a bunch of variety I

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Speaker 1: could imagine between our two lists without it feeling totally

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Speaker 1: crazy to me. So very interested in where you go

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Speaker 1: with all this. So the first question we you and

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Speaker 1: I were kind of hashing out before we actually got

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Speaker 1: into this list, before we actually started recording, was whether

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Speaker 1: or not we were going to factor in Luca here. Now,

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Speaker 1: I would say, judging by the point spread, it would

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Speaker 1: appear that the Chicago Bulls are going to rest their

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Speaker 1: players against the Dallas Mavericks, which will put them in

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Speaker 1: a good position to win their last two games because

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Speaker 1: I think their Sunday game is against Santas. However, Oklahoma

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Speaker 1: City has I can't remember exactly who it is. I

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Speaker 1: think it's a jazz I match up with the Jazz

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Speaker 1: that they just won, and then they have one more

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Speaker 1: game and they play, I believe at home against Memphis,

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Speaker 1: and in deary Memphis will probably be resting their players

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Speaker 1: in that game, so I'd say there's a better than

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Speaker 1: a coin flip chance that Luca don Chie does not

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Speaker 1: factor into this playoff run at all. However, even though

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure that I would put him this far

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Speaker 1: down heading into a playoff run where he had a

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Speaker 1: more secure seed, I don't feel comfortable putting him ahead

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Speaker 1: of anybody else on this list under the circumstances because

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's been very good here in the

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Speaker 1: last month or so, So I put Luca at tenth

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Speaker 1: and again when we when we break down what he

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Speaker 1: brings to the playoff stage, he obviously brings otherworldly shot making,

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Speaker 1: otherworldly playmaking. He's that half court surgeon that I've always

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Speaker 1: been a huge fan of in the NBA, especially on

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Speaker 1: the playoff stage when teams start to switch more or

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Speaker 1: in his ability to attack smaller players and generate quality shots.

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Speaker 1: His weaknesses. Doesn't defend, obviously, doesn't pay attention in the

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Speaker 1: details of the game. He gets beat on box outs

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Speaker 1: and things like that all the time, doesn't run back

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Speaker 1: and transition. And then I've really been unhappy with his

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Speaker 1: attitude as of late. It feels like he's been pouting,

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Speaker 1: and again, like I get it, it's a discouraging situation

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Speaker 1: with everything surrounding what happened to the Mavericks after the deadline.

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Speaker 1: They traded the textbookcase of the drop one athlete and

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Speaker 1: then suddenly you dip below a certain like like absolute

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Speaker 1: minimum of height and athleticism. In the NBA, they lost

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Speaker 1: or in Finnie Smith, and they fell apart. And I'm

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Speaker 1: not a Luca I don't think again, I don't think

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Speaker 1: it would have been enough. I don't think they would

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Speaker 1: have won a series or done any real damage in

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Speaker 1: the NBA playoffs this year. However, Luca could have got

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Speaker 1: him there, and he did it. And so for the

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Speaker 1: time being, I'm a big believer in winning being the

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Speaker 1: top thing that we factor in when we discussed these players.

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Speaker 1: So call it a punishment, call it like a temporary

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Speaker 1: a little like you know, penalty box or whatever it is.

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Speaker 1: But even though I would probably put Luca higher, I

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Speaker 1: have him at tenth right now, I would have Luca

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Speaker 1: a few spots higher. I'd have him at seven on

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Speaker 1: this list, And I think that the reason for that

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Speaker 1: is just that he is in arguably the most valuable archetype,

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Speaker 1: which is, as you said, dominant playoffs score extremely versatile,

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Speaker 1: their dominant playmaker who can elevate your team offense far

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Speaker 1: beyond where your talent level would suggest that it should be.

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Speaker 1: And he is legitimately one of the greatest offensive playoff

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Speaker 1: performers we have ever seen. His playoff career stats are

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Speaker 1: thirty two and a half nine and eight on fifty

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Speaker 1: eight percent true shooting, and we have seen him every

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Speaker 1: single time he's been there overperform even these incredibly high expectations.

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Speaker 1: We have taking the Clippers to back to back battles

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Speaker 1: when he was facing a massive talent deficit and he

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Speaker 1: was the best player probably in both those series, and

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Speaker 1: then last year obviously elevating the MAVs to the Western

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Speaker 1: Con Finals, knocking off a sixty four wins Suns team

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Speaker 1: with just this unbelievable offensive barrage. So I understand the

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Speaker 1: issues with his defense, and I don't think he's quite

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Speaker 1: as skilled as like a Steph Curry a Nikola Yokis

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Speaker 1: when you're talking about elevating team offense, just because those

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Speaker 1: guys don't need to single handedly possess the ball every

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Speaker 1: single possession. I have a massive impact like like Luca does.

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Speaker 1: Yok can do so much with quick touches, playmaking. Steph

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Speaker 1: just his gravity at all times when he's on the court.

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Speaker 1: So that's why I'd have Luca below those guys if

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Speaker 1: we're looking at the like all offense, very little defense quotient.

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Speaker 1: But I do still think his offense is so valuable

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Speaker 1: and he gets me into conversations that some of these

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Speaker 1: other guys, who maybe better two way players, may have

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Speaker 1: had better home stretches this regular season, just don't get

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Speaker 1: me in because Luca is so dominant offensively. Yeah, it

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Speaker 1: goes beyond the defense stuff. There is a lack of

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Speaker 1: versatility with Luca. I want to cut him some slack

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Speaker 1: because he's in the middle of the season and he's

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Speaker 1: incorporating a new player. But like, I'd like to see him,

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Speaker 1: over the course of the next few years demonstrate the

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Speaker 1: ability to be an involved offensive cog without being the

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Speaker 1: heliocentric guy. And that's something that's something that I'd like

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Speaker 1: to see him see him work on. But like, at

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Speaker 1: the end of the day, his game has been proven

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Speaker 1: to translate to this level. Between the two Clippers series

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Speaker 1: over the previous two years and then him taking the

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Speaker 1: Sun's out last year and getting to within three wins

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Speaker 1: of the NBA Finals, you'd be lying to yourself if

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Speaker 1: you acted like Lucas game doesn't translate to the playoffs

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Speaker 1: or contribute to winning on that stage. It's just yes,

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Speaker 1: it's playing and simple. There are players that are better

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Speaker 1: than him. So at number nine, and again I want

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Speaker 1: to I want to be clear, this is not the

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Speaker 1: same as like a traditional player rankings. Like to me,

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Speaker 1: a traditional player rankings is like a hierarchy in the

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Speaker 1: league that is a combination of like what you bring

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Speaker 1: during an eighty two game regular season, what you bring

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Speaker 1: in terms of your championship pedigree, what you bring in

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Speaker 1: terms of your playoff resume recently, but also like like

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Speaker 1: with a with an eye towards the future, and what

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Speaker 1: we can expect from you and that, Like to me,

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Speaker 1: it's like an a hierarchy that's a factor of a

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Speaker 1: bunch of different things. This list is intended to be

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Speaker 1: for just this playoff run, based on how guys are

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Speaker 1: playing right now, so it's a totally different type of list.

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Speaker 1: But at number nine, I have Jason Tatum, and you know,

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Speaker 1: obviously his three point shooting bumps up his efficiency from

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Speaker 1: a scoring standpoint to a level where you look at

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Speaker 1: the points per game and you look at the true

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Speaker 1: shooting percentage, and you can't deny that this is a

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Speaker 1: scoring machine that generates points at a high rate. To me,

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Speaker 1: he's the closest thing we have to like a modern

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Speaker 1: James harden and types in terms of just the pure

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Speaker 1: scoring results. Obviously he's not in the same stratosphere as

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Speaker 1: a playmaker, but it's one of those guys where every

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Speaker 1: day you go back and you look at the box

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Speaker 1: score and he's like, oh my gosh, you had thirty

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Speaker 1: five again on you know, sixteen shots or seventeen shots

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Speaker 1: or whatever it is. But it's he's he's got a

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Speaker 1: little bit of the grifts to get to the foul

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Speaker 1: line now that he didn't used to have. He's consistently

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Speaker 1: tweaked his shot diet to take higher value shots. He's

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Speaker 1: taken a lot of shots at the rim and a

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Speaker 1: lot of shots above the break at the three point line,

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Speaker 1: and not a lot in the middle, and it's resulting

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Speaker 1: in some efficiency. The biggest thing that freaks me out

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Speaker 1: with Jason Tatum a couple things decision making. He's actually

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Speaker 1: a better playmaker than he gets credit for, and the

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Speaker 1: Celtics are at their best when he's passing the basketball.

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Speaker 1: But he does have a tendency to go through these long,

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Speaker 1: extended stretches where his decision making is poor and he

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Speaker 1: usually Jason Tatum and his offensive approach to me is

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Speaker 1: the big like Bellweather for how the Celtics are playing

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Speaker 1: as a team. And then lastly, just a lack of

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Speaker 1: shot making versatility, so like his go to moves are

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Speaker 1: so rigid and there's only a few of them, and

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Speaker 1: as a result, like he becomes a little predictable at

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Speaker 1: the end of games, whereas like Jaylen Brown has this

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Speaker 1: real creation ativity in audacity to his shot making that

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Speaker 1: I think helps him thrive on those stages and a

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Speaker 1: lot of times, I think Tatum becomes predictable and guardable

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Speaker 1: at the end of games, so that decision making peace

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Speaker 1: in la and that you know, like in terms of

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Speaker 1: pure production, he belongs on this list, but I don't

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Speaker 1: think he has the versatility really on both ends of

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Speaker 1: the floor to be higher than the guys above him.

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Speaker 1: This is exactly where I have Tatum, and I think

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Speaker 1: that you've laid out a lot of the strengths and

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Speaker 1: weaknesses of his game really well, if you look at him,

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Speaker 1: he's in the archetype of like Ideally, if we were

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Speaker 1: to get the best version of Jason Tatum, that value

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Speaker 1: would be like a twenty nineteen Kawhi Leonard. But the

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Speaker 1: reality is there are just a few areas in which

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Speaker 1: he's not on that level. Very good defensively, not quite

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Speaker 1: at that level in terms of impact. But more importantly,

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Speaker 1: it's what you laid out, it's the overall offensive inconsistency.

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Speaker 1: If it's a question of being heavily reliant on that

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Speaker 1: three point shot, creating it for himself, off the dribble,

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Speaker 1: which at times does leave him, if it's at times

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Speaker 1: issues with decision making, playmaking, and just the reality that

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Speaker 1: he doesn't have the sort of relentlessness I'm going to

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Speaker 1: get to my spot and that spot might be twelve

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Speaker 1: feet away and I'm just gonna hit my fade away

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Speaker 1: that I trust myself to make it a sixty percent

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Speaker 1: clip that like a Kawhi Leonard does. So there's a

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Speaker 1: difference in terms of consistency ultimately efficiency on the biggest stage.

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Speaker 1: I think I think that this is where you have

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Speaker 1: to have take him, probably in that nine or ten range.

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Speaker 1: The only reason I don't have him at ten on

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Speaker 1: my list honestly is because of availability. He has been

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Speaker 1: quite consistently available. But if he were in that true

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Speaker 1: top tier, the Celtics would have won the title last

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Speaker 1: year and they would be clearly my title favorite this year.

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Speaker 1: They've had the most talented rosters, but the reality is

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Speaker 1: his inconsistencies has held them back in that really high

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Speaker 1: stakes arena. That's a hunt that it's really that simple,

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Speaker 1: Like he would have won last year and he'd be

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Speaker 1: the runaway favorite this year if he was one of

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Speaker 1: those guys because Boston has the best team. It's literally

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Speaker 1: that simple to me. I have at number eight Kawhi,

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Speaker 1: and you you pointed out something that I've that I

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Speaker 1: think is so vitally important because Kawai and Tatum are

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Speaker 1: similar archetypes in a lot of ways, Like they've both

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Speaker 1: kind of come along as playmakers to the point where

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Speaker 1: you can at least count on them to make the

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Speaker 1: right reads when they're in certain situations and they bring

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Speaker 1: that efficient scoring right. But the part that you got to,

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Speaker 1: and this is where points per possession is actually kind

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Speaker 1: of a bad indicator of just the overall scoring versatility

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Speaker 1: of a player. Doesn't mean that points possession doesn't have value,

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Speaker 1: it's just it doesn't tell the whole story. So Jason Tatum,

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Speaker 1: on a points per possession basis on different shot types,

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Speaker 1: is going to have a similar type of efficiency to

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Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard if you look at it like isolation, high,

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Speaker 1: pick and roll, all these different things. But because he

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Speaker 1: relies a lot above the break three's and obviously getting

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Speaker 1: to the rim has a lot more to do with

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Speaker 1: the schematic of a five main unit and spacing and

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Speaker 1: that sort of thing than actually like a reliable possession

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Speaker 1: by possession type of result you pointed out perfectly. Kawai

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Speaker 1: has these moves that he can go too. That's like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: it's only worth two points, But like, if I get

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Speaker 1: to my spot, I'm hitting this sixty percent of the time,

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Speaker 1: and that's so immensely valuable when you get to the

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Speaker 1: late game playoffs scenarios. Because again, even if Tatum's like, oh,

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Speaker 1: I'm hitting this pull up three at thirty eight percent,

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Speaker 1: that's great. That means you're gonna get you know, roughly

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Speaker 1: one point two one point three points per possession, right, awesome.

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Speaker 1: Here's the problem. You don't get to take that shot

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Speaker 1: at the end of the game and just notch one

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Speaker 1: point two points to the scoreboard. No, you're gonna miss

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Speaker 1: two of them before you make one. Maybe or maybe

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Speaker 1: you make it. But from a percentage standpoint, there's a

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Speaker 1: better than fifty percent chance that possession is ending in nothing.

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Speaker 1: And if you need a bucket on that possession or

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Speaker 1: it's a rescue possession at the end of a clock,

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Speaker 1: having a go to move that is an extremely efficient shot,

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Speaker 1: like Kawai's mid range pull up jump shots over both

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Speaker 1: shoulders or out of the post, over out of the post,

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Speaker 1: over both shoulders, or going right or left and picking role.

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Speaker 1: Those are just immensely valuable shots in the grind of

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Speaker 1: NBA playoff game. So the big weaknesses for me with

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Speaker 1: Kawai health obviously, like this dude, the last time we

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Speaker 1: saw him healthy heading into a playoff run broke down

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Speaker 1: in the second round. He relies a lot on pull

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Speaker 1: up shooting, so if he does start to miss, he's

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Speaker 1: not a guy that gets to the rim super consistently.

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Speaker 1: And then from a playmaking standpoint, there's a little bit

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Speaker 1: of a ceiling there. But right now I have Kawhi

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Speaker 1: at eight. I would have Kawai even a little bit

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Speaker 1: higher at number six. I think he is an all

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Speaker 1: time playoff performer, and I think that his game just

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Speaker 1: seamlessly translates the dominant wing scoring, the solid playmaking, the

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Speaker 1: dominant defense that we can see from him on that

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Speaker 1: playoff stage. Last four times he's been to the playoffs,

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Speaker 1: he's averaged over twenty nine a night on fifty one

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Speaker 1: thirty eight eighty nine splits and soy, as he's worked

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Speaker 1: his way into full health this year, he's been the

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Speaker 1: normal Kawhi that we expect. He's been that dominant guy.

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Speaker 1: So I agree with you the availability as a concern,

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Speaker 1: but there is no doubt that when we see him

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Speaker 1: there twenty seventeen, right, he's a different player since then.

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Speaker 1: But he was kicking the Warriors, with some people consider

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Speaker 1: the greatest team ever. He was kicking their ass after

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Speaker 1: he had just had two incredible series before that, both

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Speaker 1: Clippers years. He was great, with the exception of like

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Speaker 1: that finishing stretch against Denver and then he got hurt

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Speaker 1: in Toronto was one of the best individual playoff runs

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Speaker 1: of this century. So I just believe in that value.

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Speaker 1: I think that offensively he has every bit as good

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Speaker 1: as he's ever been, and I'm going to bet on

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Speaker 1: that translating because we've seen it translate with him every

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Speaker 1: single time he's been there, and some of these other

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Speaker 1: guys who may have had more impressive regular seasons can't

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Speaker 1: say that in the same way that he can. Well,

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Speaker 1: what bums me out, though, is that team is not

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Speaker 1: very good and he's had it for a quick exit

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Speaker 1: and it's just really unfortunate. Number seven Lebron James, Oh,

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Speaker 1: I still think when it comes to this playoff stage,

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Speaker 1: and the reason why I have him down low is

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Speaker 1: a couple of things. Health obviously is a big question mark.

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Speaker 1: There's just not a guarantee that he'll be available throughout

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Speaker 1: this entire playoff run. And then also he's having his

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Speaker 1: worst jump shooting season since twenty fifteen, and that is

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Speaker 1: just such an important part of his Now. He has

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Speaker 1: shot the jump shot well since returning at just in

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Speaker 1: the last couple of games. I want to say, he's

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Speaker 1: like seven for his last sixteen from three, and particularly

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Speaker 1: in the second half against the Clippers the other night,

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Speaker 1: he really had everything going. But it's been a little

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Speaker 1: bit of an issue this year, and that I think

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Speaker 1: lowers my confidence in him a little bit. But Lebron James,

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Speaker 1: to me is there's a reason why Lebron and his

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Speaker 1: career has been the most dependably great playoff player, in

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Speaker 1: my opinion, in NBA history, even in the Lebron mj debate,

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Speaker 1: regardless of who you think is better. And I think

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Speaker 1: Michael Jordan has definitively had a more dominant NBA career

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Speaker 1: in terms of the way he performed relative to his peers.

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Speaker 1: But Lebron James is far more dependably great because Michael

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Speaker 1: Jordan was reliant on shop making to a certain extent,

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Speaker 1: and he had bad playoff games. You'd have a game

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Speaker 1: where he goes seven for thirty, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: Lebron James. I've never seen a player in my life

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Speaker 1: where if it was a big playoff game, you could

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Speaker 1: count on him to play extremely well. And I think

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Speaker 1: it's because he has the perfect combination of tools. When

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Speaker 1: you combine his ability to score it all three levels

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Speaker 1: and to attack matchups, which is so important at this level.

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Speaker 1: He is a top tier surgical half court playmaker, and

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Speaker 1: defensively he's incredibly versatile. Yeah, he's not the same defensive

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Speaker 1: player in terms of consistency that he was when he

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Speaker 1: was younger, but we've seen this time and again, and

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Speaker 1: we saw it in twenty twenty and he's done it

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Speaker 1: even just since returning this year. When he's engaged defensively,

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Speaker 1: he is still a very impactful defender that can succeed

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Speaker 1: and help, that can protect the rim a little bit,

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Speaker 1: that can guard on the perimeter. Lebron, I believe, brings

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Speaker 1: all that versatility to the table and as a result,

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Speaker 1: he's capable of impacting the game in so many different

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Speaker 1: ways that if hey, my jump SHOT's not falling, cool,

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Speaker 1: he's gonna go eight for twenty two. He's gonna have

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Speaker 1: twenty seven, nine and eight, and he's going to be

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Speaker 1: a net positive on both ends of the floor. That's

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00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,639
Speaker 1: his bad game, and that then it's like if the

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Speaker 1: jumpers start falling, now we're looking at thirty five, nine

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Speaker 1: and seven and a totally different type of game. So

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Speaker 1: like again, it's the health and his jump shots a

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Speaker 1: little finicky this year, but I still think, I still

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Speaker 1: think on this playoff stage he's every bit as good

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Speaker 1: as any of these guys. I'm really surprised I have

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Speaker 1: Lebron higher than you, Jason, which I about that fact.

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Speaker 1: I think that the reality is we have never not

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Speaker 1: seen Lebron James translate to the playoffs since he became

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Speaker 1: that reliable, solid pull up jump shooter. Obviously you have

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Speaker 1: the twenty eleven finals, but that was an entirely different player.

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Speaker 1: I think that if you look at the combination of

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Speaker 1: physical imposition, getting to the rim at will, genius playmaking,

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Speaker 1: the only thing keeping him from being a bona fide

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Speaker 1: top five guy to me is the inconsistency of his

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Speaker 1: jump shot this year. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 1: I have faith in Lebron shooting at a respectable level

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs. I think that this regular season is

356
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Speaker 1: probably more of an aberration than his overall body of work,

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00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,639
Speaker 1: where he's consistently been that thirty five thirty six percent

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Speaker 1: range from three and then. I just think there's a

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00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:20,840
Speaker 1: control of the game. There's an all around offensive dominance

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00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,080
Speaker 1: and the ability to be at least not exploitable defensively,

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Speaker 1: Like for example, Luca, who has this unbelievable offensive value

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00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:29,560
Speaker 1: but can get picked on on that end more than Lebron.

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Speaker 1: I just can't bet against it. I mean, he's still

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Speaker 1: putting up his efficient thirty to night, having a massive

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Speaker 1: impact on winning while having a horrible pull up jump

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Speaker 1: shooting season while having had some health issues. He's thirty eight,

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Speaker 1: but he is still to me immortal, so I have

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Speaker 1: him in my five spot. Interesting. Yeah, So to be clear,

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Speaker 1: like if I'm going into a first round series and

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Speaker 1: Lebron's healthy and I know he's going to be available

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Speaker 1: for that game, just because of how big of a

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Speaker 1: fan I am of his game, I'm always going to

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Speaker 1: be at that going like Lebron might be the best

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Speaker 1: player on the floor in this game, Like that is

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Speaker 1: such a firm possibility in every matchup, But going into

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Speaker 1: a two month long playoff run, you would be foolish

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Speaker 1: to bet on him over some of the guys above him.

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00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:20,280
Speaker 1: So number six, I've Nickela yokich strengths obviously outstanding playmaking

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Speaker 1: and play finishing. His efficiency is just hard to even fathom.

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Speaker 1: I mean what he's been pushing seventy percent true shooting

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Speaker 1: this year, right the big thing. There's two things that

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00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,840
Speaker 1: worry me with Yokich. Obviously defensive versatility. I actually think

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Speaker 1: when he's really locked in, he can be an average

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Speaker 1: rim protector, which is enough to be fine defensively, but

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00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:45,439
Speaker 1: in the in the versatility department, with way that teams

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00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,240
Speaker 1: are going to try to pull him away from the rim.

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00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,480
Speaker 1: Obviously that's a weakness. And then I also get a

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00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,840
Speaker 1: little bit worried with Yokich as it pertains to aggression.

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Speaker 1: So like he reminds me a little bit of early

390
00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,800
Speaker 1: Lebron where when the game calls for him to just

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00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,240
Speaker 1: go make his own shots, sometimes he can be a

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00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,679
Speaker 1: little bit too much of an offensive engine that's just

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00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,040
Speaker 1: trying to create shots for his teammates instead of doing

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00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,240
Speaker 1: the Joel Embiid thing, which is like, I'm Joel freaking Embiid.

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00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,000
Speaker 1: You can't guard me the next five possessions, I'm going

396
00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:16,840
Speaker 1: to shoot over your shoot over the top of you.

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00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:18,600
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. And it's not that he

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00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,320
Speaker 1: can't do that because obviously, like when we look at it,

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Speaker 1: his post up scoring is the very best in the league.

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00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,199
Speaker 1: Basically he does have that ability, but it's more of

401
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,560
Speaker 1: a mentality thing for me. I think I think he

402
00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,760
Speaker 1: struggles with identifying when the team needs him to just

403
00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,600
Speaker 1: shoot every time down the floor. So that's why I

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00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,520
Speaker 1: have him at six right now. The one thing that

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00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,400
Speaker 1: I will say is that I think we have seen

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00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:44,719
Speaker 1: Yoki get that a lot more on the playoff stage

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00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,800
Speaker 1: than he might on your average regular season night. Of course,

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00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,200
Speaker 1: this has been with abysmal backcourt talent in the last

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00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,320
Speaker 1: two years, but his last two postseasons he's been over

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00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:56,400
Speaker 1: thirty points a night very efficiently, So I do think

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00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,600
Speaker 1: he gets it a bit more on that stage. And

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Speaker 1: the reality to me is he's the best offensive basketball

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Speaker 1: player in the world, and so that to me has

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00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,880
Speaker 1: to put him in my top four. But the differentiator

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00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,879
Speaker 1: for me between him and my two and three spots

416
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,400
Speaker 1: is his exploitability defensively, because it's not just that he's

417
00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,800
Speaker 1: a blow average defender. It is the fact that he's

418
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,280
Speaker 1: playing the most important defensive position, and it's just easier

419
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,840
Speaker 1: to involve a center in any action right, bring him

420
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,359
Speaker 1: up into pick and roll, just attack him at the

421
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:25,960
Speaker 1: rim and challenge him as a rim protector, so that

422
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:27,800
Speaker 1: knocks him down for me. I still do feel like

423
00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,760
Speaker 1: six is too low, though, because we've seen Yoki lift

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00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,800
Speaker 1: his team to be a top five playoff offense every

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00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 1: single time that he's been there, and the only time

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00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,400
Speaker 1: that we've seen them with the kind of playoff talent

427
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,160
Speaker 1: in these last few years that you could expect even

428
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,600
Speaker 1: win a series when that roster wasn't as talented as

429
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:44,800
Speaker 1: this year, but in the bubble they went to the

430
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,760
Speaker 1: Western Conference Finals, they beat a Clippers team that was

431
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,600
Speaker 1: clearly more talented, and Yokich was out of this world.

432
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,880
Speaker 1: In the last two years individually offensively, he's been everything

433
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:54,400
Speaker 1: that you could have hoped for. So I just think

434
00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,200
Speaker 1: that offensive value, the fact that he's proven that that

435
00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,639
Speaker 1: translates clearly is something that for example, a well Embiid

436
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,080
Speaker 1: has not done in the playoffs. It is something that

437
00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:05,720
Speaker 1: an Anthony Davis can't claim to have because he can't

438
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,399
Speaker 1: be that reliable number one every single night offensively who

439
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,240
Speaker 1: will make you a lead on that end. And so

440
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,199
Speaker 1: I do think that Yokis should be a little bit

441
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 1: higher than this. I get the defensive concerns, but he's

442
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,920
Speaker 1: so great offensively, so monumentally great, that I have him

443
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:25,600
Speaker 1: at my four spot. And again it's about like this

444
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,439
Speaker 1: list is splitting hairs, like the guy. All the guys

445
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,600
Speaker 1: that I have ahead of him are so insanely good.

446
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,480
Speaker 1: I think there's one you'll probably disagree with, which is

447
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:38,640
Speaker 1: my number five, Anthony Davis. So when I was thinking

448
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:40,760
Speaker 1: about his strengths, the first thing I put down is

449
00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,159
Speaker 1: just physical tools and I just want to Obviously we

450
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,560
Speaker 1: can go it like the play finishing, the rim, protection,

451
00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,479
Speaker 1: all these different things, but Anthony Davis, to me, is

452
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,720
Speaker 1: the number one athletic wrecking ball in this playoff field

453
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,480
Speaker 1: with what he can do defensively protecting the rim and

454
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,920
Speaker 1: switching out onto the perimeter. I actually believe, even though

455
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,280
Speaker 1: I think Janis deserves to be called the best defensive

456
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,720
Speaker 1: player alive because of what he actually does in a

457
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:10,720
Speaker 1: nightly basis and his availability, that's his crown. I actually

458
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,600
Speaker 1: think Anthony Davis has the highest defensive ceiling in the NBA.

459
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,440
Speaker 1: I believe that when Anthony Davis is at his best,

460
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,120
Speaker 1: nobody can protect the rim while also coming up high

461
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 1: out of a drop coverage while also switching, blitzing, rotating

462
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: everything that he does. Nobody can do what Anthony Davis does.

463
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,879
Speaker 1: It blows up NBA offenses. I've actually never seen a

464
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,119
Speaker 1: defensive player due to an NBA team what Anthony Davis

465
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:36,879
Speaker 1: did to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in

466
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,639
Speaker 1: twenty twenty. He absolutely and completely devastated their offense to

467
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,639
Speaker 1: the point where they did not know what to do.

468
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,000
Speaker 1: And that was an NBA Finals team, and then on

469
00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:46,720
Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor, say what you want

470
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,679
Speaker 1: to say. Obviously there's some limitations there, and there's no

471
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,080
Speaker 1: doubt that he's not the same offensive player as someone

472
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,720
Speaker 1: like Yogis or someone like Embiid. But you're gonna get

473
00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: twenty six, You're gonna get you know, high fifty percent shot,

474
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,919
Speaker 1: and on any given night he can go forty forty

475
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 1: five points if he's got his touch going on a

476
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,320
Speaker 1: handful of his particular shots that he leans on. This,

477
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,400
Speaker 1: to me is the textbook playoff translatability quotient. No one

478
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,359
Speaker 1: in the world would take Anthony Davis over Nickel Yokets

479
00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:19,760
Speaker 1: or Joel Embiide with what they can do to raise

480
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,000
Speaker 1: the team's floor over the course of a season because

481
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:25,159
Speaker 1: of their higher offensive ceiling, they are better options to

482
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:27,919
Speaker 1: build your franchise around. But when the ball gets tossed

483
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,480
Speaker 1: up in the NBA Finals and it's the Western Conference finals,

484
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,040
Speaker 1: or it's in one of those late round playoff series

485
00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:39,320
Speaker 1: against an elite team, what he does translates to that

486
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,359
Speaker 1: level in such a visceral way that it like it's

487
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,199
Speaker 1: it's hard to describe, but it's just like a sheer

488
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 1: force of nature. Type of thing that, to me, increases

489
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,680
Speaker 1: his playoff impact to a level that very few guys

490
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,479
Speaker 1: in the league can actually reach. There's a case that

491
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,720
Speaker 1: he's the best guy in this adding because, like, he

492
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,680
Speaker 1: was better than Lebron through that entire twenty twenty run

493
00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:10,320
Speaker 1: basically until until late game situations where Lebron's half court

494
00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,760
Speaker 1: surgery became the value piece, but he was the best

495
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,840
Speaker 1: player in the bubble basically in terms of his overall

496
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:20,040
Speaker 1: impact on winning. I think I think his injury history

497
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 1: has turned people away from him in a lot of

498
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:26,480
Speaker 1: different ways. But I think Anthony Davis there's such a

499
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,160
Speaker 1: huge gap between his ceiling and his actual consit level

500
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,840
Speaker 1: of consistency, But you could argue his ceiling as higher

501
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:33,680
Speaker 1: than everybody, and that's why I have him at number five.

502
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,640
Speaker 1: It's interesting. I think that AD is a tough guy

503
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,159
Speaker 1: to rank, but I think that for me, the issue

504
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 1: was with the offensive consistency, with the playmaking limitations, with

505
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:45,119
Speaker 1: the fact that as liable as he is to go

506
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,040
Speaker 1: for thirty five, he is to go for seventeen, He

507
00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,359
Speaker 1: might only take eight shots in a game, and I

508
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,639
Speaker 1: just think there's a burden offensively on a lot of

509
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,680
Speaker 1: these other guys that Ad has not had to bear

510
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,720
Speaker 1: because he has Lebron, and so that allows to cover

511
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:00,639
Speaker 1: up for some of his limitations because when he can

512
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,119
Speaker 1: be the best defensive player in the world and this

513
00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,120
Speaker 1: awesome second option offensively, it's like, yeah, Ad is unbelievable.

514
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,280
Speaker 1: But a lot of guys are single handedly asked to

515
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 1: elevate their offenses to being elite, which is what gets

516
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,800
Speaker 1: their team into those elite conversations. And so that combined

517
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 1: with availability, moves a D down a bit for me.

518
00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:21,359
Speaker 1: I think that Bubble a D was like the best

519
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,360
Speaker 1: version of him we could ever possibly hope to see

520
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,680
Speaker 1: unless he shoots that well from three again this year,

521
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 1: and still I think that push come to shove, Lebron

522
00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:31,320
Speaker 1: was the more valuable player. The Lebron was the better player.

523
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:33,000
Speaker 1: And that's just an archetype thing. If you are that

524
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 1: great perimeter initiator who can also defend, especially, it's just

525
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,280
Speaker 1: more valuable if you're that great offensive engine. And so

526
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:42,480
Speaker 1: even compared to a guy like Kauai, the reason I

527
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:44,760
Speaker 1: would lean him is because I just trust the offense

528
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:46,040
Speaker 1: more and I know he's going to have a high

529
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,119
Speaker 1: level impact defensively, so I don't have a problem with

530
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:52,679
Speaker 1: Ady at five. I just am not sure that the

531
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 1: consistency makes me comfortable having him up that high for sure.

532
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:01,359
Speaker 1: And again, this is the reality is like you are

533
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,119
Speaker 1: a product of a basketball team, and takeaway shot making

534
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,040
Speaker 1: from Jannis, like from his teammates, suddenly some of his

535
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,159
Speaker 1: offensive limitations come to the surface. There's no doubt that

536
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,280
Speaker 1: in a vacuum, Anthony Davis is not the same player

537
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 1: as Nikola, Yoka, Joel and beat. Bottom line, though you

538
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,480
Speaker 1: put him with Lebron and he can cover some of

539
00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:24,480
Speaker 1: those weaknesses. His winning impact is so massive in all

540
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,720
Speaker 1: of these other areas of the game that it kind

541
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,439
Speaker 1: of unlocks that. And like, the reality is as he

542
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,359
Speaker 1: is with Lebron, And so we can talk all we

543
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,080
Speaker 1: want about these different varying factors. But if the Lakers

544
00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:37,880
Speaker 1: happen to end up the eight seed because they lose

545
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:39,800
Speaker 1: to Minnesota in the first playing game and then beat

546
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,920
Speaker 1: Okay seed in the second playing game, and they head

547
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,280
Speaker 1: up to Denver for Game one, it's not like Yoki

548
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:46,040
Speaker 1: gets to look at him beat and go like, hey,

549
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 1: I'm better than you. It doesn't matter. He is with Lebron,

550
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,000
Speaker 1: And that means in that series, he's gonna have Lebron

551
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,760
Speaker 1: and his teammate, which means he's going to be able

552
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,800
Speaker 1: to impact winning in that context. And to me, that's

553
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,639
Speaker 1: what makes him such a terrifying playoff player. But again,

554
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,160
Speaker 1: all your points are completely fair, and we are splitting

555
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,720
Speaker 1: hairs at a certain point here. Number four, Joel Embiide,

556
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,119
Speaker 1: the big things that I worry about with him are

557
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,159
Speaker 1: basically just the same things that I worry about with

558
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,960
Speaker 1: Yoga's defensively, footspeed and defensive versatility. Getting lost in transition

559
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,520
Speaker 1: or getting pulled away from the rim. That actually became

560
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,800
Speaker 1: a problem consistently in the playoffs last year, him giving

561
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:20,920
Speaker 1: up straight line drives when he got pulled out to

562
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 1: the perimeter, particularly in semi transition when he was kind

563
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,880
Speaker 1: of away from the rim. But this is the modern

564
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,320
Speaker 1: day version of Shack in my opinion, in terms of

565
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:32,679
Speaker 1: in terms of just the way that he warps the

566
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,159
Speaker 1: defense from the center position. You cannot guard him in

567
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,680
Speaker 1: single coverage anymore. He's so deadly with that damn pull

568
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 1: up jump shot at fifteen feet that it forces defenders

569
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 1: to come up on him. And he's so damn big

570
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,800
Speaker 1: and strong that when he goes to those RiPP threw moves.

571
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,680
Speaker 1: It just he's going to win that confrontation one hundred

572
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 1: percent of the time. He has reached a point in

573
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: proficiency as a jump shooter that he is a huge

574
00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,680
Speaker 1: problem now, just a gigantic problem. And so like he

575
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,720
Speaker 1: in terms of a player that consistently dictates double teams

576
00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,800
Speaker 1: and causes you to have to completely fundamentally change the

577
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,360
Speaker 1: way you defend, I actually think he's one of the

578
00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 1: most He's one of the most imposing game plan changing

579
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,400
Speaker 1: players on this list. And then again for what you

580
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:19,360
Speaker 1: want to say about his defensive versatility, he is an

581
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,239
Speaker 1: outstanding rim protector in my opinion, especially here in this

582
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,320
Speaker 1: last couple of months. So I've embeat at four right now,

583
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,240
Speaker 1: I totally get it. I think Abeat is a different

584
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,640
Speaker 1: version of himself than we've ever seen before because of

585
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,360
Speaker 1: how incredibly proficient he's been as a jump shooter, and

586
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 1: also because I think the other dimension to his game

587
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,640
Speaker 1: that's been unlocked is the pick and roll game. I mean,

588
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,760
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago, we never really saw Ebead

589
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 1: run much pick and roll at all. He didn't have

590
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,480
Speaker 1: a great pick and roll ball handler. Now he does,

591
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,520
Speaker 1: and James Harden, and he's gotten so good at that

592
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 1: free throw line, jumper and everything that feeds off of that,

593
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,440
Speaker 1: getting to the rim, getting to the line that he's

594
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,720
Speaker 1: the highest scoring pick and roll player in the league

595
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,120
Speaker 1: when you're talking about roll men's So I do think

596
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:02,600
Speaker 1: this is the best tomb that we've ever seen. That

597
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,520
Speaker 1: being said, I think his playoff resume is easily the

598
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,720
Speaker 1: weakest of anybody in this top ten, and I don't

599
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: think that we discussed that enough. We have consistently seen

600
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,560
Speaker 1: his decision making playmaking fall apart in the playoffs two

601
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 1: point eight assists per game to three point four turnovers

602
00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,920
Speaker 1: in his playoff career, Jason, and yes, he's a better

603
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,760
Speaker 1: playmaker decision maker than we've ever seen him be, but

604
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,400
Speaker 1: he's still probably the weakest out of this entire group there,

605
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:28,360
Speaker 1: and he will see a lot of doubles and so

606
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,720
Speaker 1: he has to consistently make the right reads there or

607
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 1: else some of his value is going to diminish. We've

608
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 1: seen him struggle as a shot maker. He has not

609
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 1: been the same jump shooter finisher in the playoffs under

610
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:41,400
Speaker 1: forty seven percent from the field, under thirty percent from three.

611
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,480
Speaker 1: We've seen him struggle to get to the line. His

612
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:46,280
Speaker 1: free throw attempts from the regular season to the playoffs

613
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 1: have gone down by basically two a game in these

614
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:49,920
Speaker 1: last two post seasons, which makes a lot of sense.

615
00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,000
Speaker 1: There's a lot of foul baiting. You just don't get

616
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,680
Speaker 1: that in the same way in the playoffs. And then

617
00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:55,960
Speaker 1: we've seen his health fall apart. Every single time that

618
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,560
Speaker 1: Philly has been to the second round, he's missed a game.

619
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 1: And on top of the game that he's missed, right,

620
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,800
Speaker 1: he's been playing with some sort of injury probably at

621
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,040
Speaker 1: some point in some of those surrounding games, and just

622
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 1: in a lot of do or die situations and a

623
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,360
Speaker 1: lot of those series where Philly has a talent advantage,

624
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:14,760
Speaker 1: he's fallen apart. He was bad last year versus the

625
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,760
Speaker 1: Heat with an orbital fracture, sure, but under twenty a night,

626
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 1: forty three percent from the field, twenty six percent from

627
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,600
Speaker 1: three more turnovers than assists. Year before that was the

628
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 1: disappointing loss with the Hawks. Year before or yeah, year

629
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:28,240
Speaker 1: before that, they just got swept by the Celtics. Year

630
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,640
Speaker 1: before that, they got he was terrible against the Raptors.

631
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,680
Speaker 1: So I think this is the best version of Embead, ever,

632
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 1: but I do think he needs to prove it, and

633
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,160
Speaker 1: I do think the archetype of I can lift everybody

634
00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: offensively is more valuable than embiads. I will be this

635
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,320
Speaker 1: dominant scorer when he hasn't been a dominant score in

636
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:46,840
Speaker 1: the playoffs. And I do agree with you. In a

637
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: playoff setting, you play against a great pull up jump

638
00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:51,520
Speaker 1: shooting team, you play against a team that's going to

639
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:53,200
Speaker 1: involve him in a lot of pick and roll, and

640
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,520
Speaker 1: he's got to cover a lot of ground. I do

641
00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,000
Speaker 1: think that his defensive value is not what some people

642
00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:59,959
Speaker 1: might expect it to be because he is a slower

643
00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,120
Speaker 1: plotting guy. So I'm lower on embe that the consensus

644
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,280
Speaker 1: for this. I just think the Lebron, the Kauhi, the

645
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,960
Speaker 1: Luca Tiers, those guys we've seen it offensively, and Ebiad

646
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 1: has been better than any of them this year. But

647
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:13,080
Speaker 1: I just have faith in what we've seen on this

648
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 1: playoff stage a bit more so. I had Embead at

649
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:18,960
Speaker 1: eight when I did my rank. Wow. Yeah, everything you

650
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,400
Speaker 1: say about Embiid's playoff resume is real and true. In

651
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:27,120
Speaker 1: my opinion. However, I actually think he is not just

652
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,560
Speaker 1: the best version of himself. Now, I think Embiad is

653
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:34,240
Speaker 1: considerably better than he was last year. It's hard to describe,

654
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,040
Speaker 1: but like I noticed this in my own basketball development

655
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,040
Speaker 1: as I was growing up. But like it doesn't happen linearly,

656
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,880
Speaker 1: like you take leaps, Like you figure things out and

657
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,600
Speaker 1: you take leaps. There's like a like it almost happens

658
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,440
Speaker 1: overnight sometimes when something clicks for you in a specific

659
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 1: area of your skill set and it's like, oh, suddenly,

660
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:52,680
Speaker 1: like this makes sense to me now and I can

661
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:54,920
Speaker 1: do this at a higher level. I actually think and

662
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,040
Speaker 1: be legitimately has taken a leap up to the next

663
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,920
Speaker 1: tier of superstardom in this season, and so everything you're

664
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,440
Speaker 1: saying about his playoff resume is true. But I want

665
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:05,720
Speaker 1: to see if you can do it this year. I

666
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,800
Speaker 1: want to kind of give him the opportunity to prove

667
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:12,720
Speaker 1: that he's improved. Number three, and I actually think this

668
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 1: guy has been arguably the best player I've seen this

669
00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:21,720
Speaker 1: season when he's been healthy. But I'm tossing just basically

670
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,360
Speaker 1: the I'm giving essentially leeway to the two guys in

671
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,240
Speaker 1: front of him based on their championship HEED agree in

672
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:28,600
Speaker 1: recent years, but a number three I have Kevin Durant.

673
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,880
Speaker 1: I think, obviously he's having I believe the best pull

674
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:36,240
Speaker 1: up jump shooting season in history the league. And not

675
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,280
Speaker 1: maybe not in terms of effective field goal percentage compared

676
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,160
Speaker 1: to some of the three point hunters, but in terms

677
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,880
Speaker 1: of like dynamic three level pull up shooting or two

678
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:45,760
Speaker 1: level pull up shooting. I should say it's the best

679
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,600
Speaker 1: in the history of the league by far. As someone

680
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:50,959
Speaker 1: tweeted out last night, A Kadi himself tweted out, he's

681
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,160
Speaker 1: shoting over sixty percent on two, forty percent on three

682
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:58,920
Speaker 1: on free throws. It's unbelievable. He's actually having an incredibly

683
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,520
Speaker 1: underrated playmaking season. It's one of the It's one of

684
00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,920
Speaker 1: the biggest things that I think is misrepresented about Kevin

685
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,400
Speaker 1: Durant's game is he's kind of portrayed as a score

686
00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:11,400
Speaker 1: that can't pass. But he's other than maybe Yannis a

687
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,239
Speaker 1: lot of these top tiers forwards. He's a much better

688
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,680
Speaker 1: pastor than Tatum. He's a much better passer than Kawhi Leonard,

689
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 1: like like Katie, is a legitimate playmaker. The only real

690
00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:22,920
Speaker 1: weakness with Kevin Durant is he does not get to

691
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: the rim, and so that kind of limits him in

692
00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:29,400
Speaker 1: terms of reaching a ceiling and playmaking that you that

693
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,839
Speaker 1: you have to apply consistent room pressure to get and

694
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,439
Speaker 1: then he can be dependent on his pull up jump

695
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:38,239
Speaker 1: shot going in which he almost always does, but we

696
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,080
Speaker 1: have seen it not and it's absolutely a risk because

697
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:43,239
Speaker 1: here's the reality. Kevin Durant was awesome last year in

698
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,840
Speaker 1: the regular season two and then he ran into Boston,

699
00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 1: the shot stopped falling. Next thing you know, they were

700
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,439
Speaker 1: out of the playoffs in four games. So I want

701
00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:54,799
Speaker 1: to cut him some slack. It's one week of basketball,

702
00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:56,799
Speaker 1: but that I think is the thing that kind of

703
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,919
Speaker 1: holds him back from that. Katie, I think, has never

704
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,319
Speaker 1: definitively been the best player in the league, and I

705
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,920
Speaker 1: believe that is a result of the fact that he

706
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,040
Speaker 1: does rely on jump shooting pull up jump shooting to

707
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,800
Speaker 1: have that top tier impact while some of the guys

708
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,480
Speaker 1: around him have impact while some of the guys around

709
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,840
Speaker 1: him aren't as reliant on jump shooting as he is.

710
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,440
Speaker 1: That's interesting. I would say though, that I think that

711
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,960
Speaker 1: ever since he arrived in Golden State, with the exception

712
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,840
Speaker 1: of last year, Katie has been an exceptional playoff performer,

713
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,840
Speaker 1: and I think honestly, twenty nineteen and then twenty twenty

714
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:32,880
Speaker 1: one in Brooklyn, those were the two best playoff versions

715
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,960
Speaker 1: of Katie that I have ever seen, Like just an

716
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,920
Speaker 1: unstoppable scoring level in that series against the Clippers, for example,

717
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:43,200
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, and then in that series against the Bucks,

718
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,120
Speaker 1: the level of complete offensive engine that he was scoring

719
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,440
Speaker 1: and playmaking just dominant. I mean, across those two playoffs

720
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,640
Speaker 1: he's over thirty three a night on fifty one two

721
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 1: eighty nine splits. It's just I do believe that he

722
00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,799
Speaker 1: is largely unstoppable, and last year was weird. I do

723
00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:00,960
Speaker 1: not think that that is a repble result. I think

724
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,440
Speaker 1: there is a completeness with him offensively where he elevates

725
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,560
Speaker 1: any team so immediately in the NBA, we've already seen

726
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:09,120
Speaker 1: it in Phoenix. He just comes in and he's like, yeah,

727
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,880
Speaker 1: I'll shoot sixty five percent from and we're undefeated, and

728
00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:15,719
Speaker 1: I'll do so much off ball and to me is

729
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 1: the top two score of all time. He has been

730
00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: a great playmaker this year, as you said, and he's

731
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,960
Speaker 1: had the best defensive year of his career probably, and

732
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,920
Speaker 1: I think that that is the distinction when I'm comparing

733
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,279
Speaker 1: him to Stephen Yokich the other guys in my top four,

734
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,720
Speaker 1: those guys are better offensive players in my opinion, because

735
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:34,279
Speaker 1: there is a more complete impact there is what we've

736
00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:36,640
Speaker 1: already talked about, Steph elevating everybody with his mere presence,

737
00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:39,799
Speaker 1: Yoki just genius playmaking. But the reality is both those

738
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,200
Speaker 1: guys in their own ways can be exploited defensively, and

739
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,120
Speaker 1: Katie in a role that he has played for a

740
00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:48,560
Speaker 1: majority of this year, that secondary rim protector can be

741
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:52,120
Speaker 1: a very impactful, positive defensive player while being the best

742
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:55,320
Speaker 1: score alive and being able to play so many roles offensively,

743
00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,600
Speaker 1: dominant pick and roll, dominant isolation, dominant catch and shooter.

744
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,440
Speaker 1: And so I really really value that. I value how

745
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,040
Speaker 1: consistently we've seen it from him, and I think this

746
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:06,960
Speaker 1: is the best Katie that we've ever seen. So I

747
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,520
Speaker 1: have him at number two on my list again, like

748
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:14,000
Speaker 1: he could just as easily be one for me Again,

749
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 1: You're right, twenty twenty two was an anomaly. That's a fact,

750
00:37:18,239 --> 00:37:23,799
Speaker 1: but it can happen. That's like, it's here's the thing.

751
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,880
Speaker 1: Pull up jump shots are the most difficult shot in basketball.

752
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:30,920
Speaker 1: That's just a fact. He's the best at them, but

753
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:35,600
Speaker 1: really good physical defense can disrupt his base. And we've

754
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,279
Speaker 1: seen him again. It had been a very long time,

755
00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:40,560
Speaker 1: but we did see him running to pull up jump

756
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 1: shooting problems relatively often. From twenty thirteen to twenty sixteen,

757
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:46,279
Speaker 1: we did, and then he had this stretch where he

758
00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:49,560
Speaker 1: was excellent, and then we saw that anomaly again last year. Again,

759
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:51,520
Speaker 1: you can make a case for him to have him

760
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:53,800
Speaker 1: at number one. I'm not. I don't think there's a

761
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,440
Speaker 1: player on this list that's perfect for the record. The

762
00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:58,239
Speaker 1: last guy I would have put on this list that

763
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,880
Speaker 1: was perfect was twenty eighteen Bron. He had every box

764
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 1: checked resounding, there was not a weakness in his game.

765
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:07,520
Speaker 1: Every guy on this list has a weakness. Now, that's

766
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:09,359
Speaker 1: that's kind of the difference in my opinion, and that's

767
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:11,440
Speaker 1: why Lebron's the second best player to ever pick up

768
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:16,280
Speaker 1: a basketball. But number two I've Steph Curry. And again

769
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:23,040
Speaker 1: there's the the gravity thing sometimes gets overplayed because people

770
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,920
Speaker 1: want to prop Step up in some ways and that

771
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,600
Speaker 1: that is a fact, but it is real, As is

772
00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:31,479
Speaker 1: always the case, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

773
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:37,319
Speaker 1: Like like all superstars dictate multiple defenders. That's just that's

774
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,719
Speaker 1: just a fact. So sometimes like portraying stepp is the

775
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,879
Speaker 1: only guy that does that, I don't think is an

776
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,320
Speaker 1: accurate representation of the of reality. But what makes steps

777
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,040
Speaker 1: defensive attention so unique is that it pulls multiple defenders

778
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,640
Speaker 1: away from the basket. We talk a lot about basketball efficiency, right,

779
00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:00,480
Speaker 1: and oh, like a quality three point shot. You know,

780
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:02,640
Speaker 1: even an average three point shot is better than a

781
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:07,480
Speaker 1: quality fifteen footer because sheer math, right, But what's the

782
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:12,799
Speaker 1: most efficient shot in basketball? A layout? And even on

783
00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:17,560
Speaker 1: Steph's bad shooting nights, he is constantly pulling multiple defenders

784
00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:20,520
Speaker 1: away from the rim and creating opportunities around the basket.

785
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,959
Speaker 1: And those opportunities are extremely high percentage opportunities. That's why

786
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:28,360
Speaker 1: I think even though Yoki you think Yokis is the

787
00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,240
Speaker 1: best offensive player in the league, I still think Steph

788
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:33,200
Speaker 1: is and I think he and I would I think

789
00:39:33,239 --> 00:39:36,400
Speaker 1: you would agree that Steph has been the most dynamic

790
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,400
Speaker 1: offensive player or best offensive player of this era in

791
00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:42,640
Speaker 1: terms of like the total picture. Absolutely. The only thing

792
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:45,280
Speaker 1: that really holds him back again is his physical tools.

793
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:48,520
Speaker 1: And to his credit, he's bigger and stronger than people think.

794
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,920
Speaker 1: He's six foot three, he spends a lot of time

795
00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:52,920
Speaker 1: in the weight room. He's well built, but at the

796
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:55,120
Speaker 1: end of the day, he cannot impact the game with

797
00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:57,520
Speaker 1: his size and strength the way that guys like Janis

798
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:00,320
Speaker 1: and Kevin Durant and Lebron James and Jason Am and

799
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:04,600
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard and even Joe Olmpide can and those sorts

800
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,400
Speaker 1: of that sort of thing. I think as as always

801
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:10,640
Speaker 1: held stepped back just a little bit. But it's irrelevant

802
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:12,880
Speaker 1: that dudes a four time championship champion and he's won

803
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,000
Speaker 1: a title as the best player twice, and I gave

804
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:19,040
Speaker 1: him the nod over kd here quite simply because I

805
00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:21,759
Speaker 1: am such a big believer and a applying the appropriate

806
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:26,239
Speaker 1: respect to an NBA champion. He went into Boston the

807
00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:28,439
Speaker 1: most talented roster in the league last year, down two

808
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:32,640
Speaker 1: games to one on the road, and he killed those guys,

809
00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:38,680
Speaker 1: and and there's just there's just there might be three

810
00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:41,480
Speaker 1: or four guys on that list that we're doing today

811
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:45,120
Speaker 1: that are even capable of that. And to me and

812
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:48,520
Speaker 1: to me that that resulted in the trophy and that

813
00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,759
Speaker 1: needs to be paid the appropriate amount of respect. I

814
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,200
Speaker 1: have him at number two. One of the things that

815
00:40:54,239 --> 00:40:57,120
Speaker 1: I think is really funny about just the evolution of

816
00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:58,960
Speaker 1: skill in today's NBA. And I was just thinking about

817
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:02,000
Speaker 1: this the other day. Is when we talk about peak Steph,

818
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,000
Speaker 1: a lot of people probably still go to twenty sixteen, right,

819
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,319
Speaker 1: unanimous MVP. This efficiency we've never seen. Steph has so

820
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,560
Speaker 1: clearly been better these last three years at basketball than

821
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,440
Speaker 1: he was then. If you want to talk about relative

822
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,600
Speaker 1: to the competition, that's fine, but absolutely right, he's stronger.

823
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 1: He's had these unbelievable pull up jump shooting seasons last

824
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:23,400
Speaker 1: year and on the regular season, but last year's playoffs

825
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:26,600
Speaker 1: was the most impressive individual run we've ever seen from

826
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:28,520
Speaker 1: him on that stage because he elevated this team that

827
00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:33,880
Speaker 1: didn't have another consistent offensive star to be great offensively

828
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:36,239
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. We talk about their defensive foundation all

829
00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:38,719
Speaker 1: the time. They were a better playoff offense last year

830
00:41:38,719 --> 00:41:41,399
Speaker 1: they were fourth than a playoff defense where they were six.

831
00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:44,440
Speaker 1: And so they've always had that two way formula, but

832
00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:49,680
Speaker 1: Steph has always been the offensive foundation that makes them

833
00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,400
Speaker 1: brilliant year and year out. So I will not push

834
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:56,480
Speaker 1: back against Steph being number two. For you again, to me,

835
00:41:56,680 --> 00:42:01,040
Speaker 1: I slightly lean Katie, just because Steph as much as

836
00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:03,640
Speaker 1: he has improved defensively and worked on that. It's like

837
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:06,719
Speaker 1: you said, if you're not an exceptional defender at six three,

838
00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:09,040
Speaker 1: with the level of switching that we see in today's NBA,

839
00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,400
Speaker 1: you can be attacked, you can be exploited. And so

840
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:14,400
Speaker 1: it's not a strength for him, whereas for Katie it

841
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:17,520
Speaker 1: can be. But his playoff resume is so underrated. He's

842
00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:20,319
Speaker 1: consistently been great on that stage, one of the most

843
00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:23,840
Speaker 1: prolific and efficient playoff scorers ever, and it's so much

844
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,360
Speaker 1: beyond that elevating the offense. I agree with you. Obviously

845
00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:30,279
Speaker 1: every star is attracting multiple defenders, but I don't know

846
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:35,080
Speaker 1: who is reshaped an entire defensive approach every single possession

847
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:37,400
Speaker 1: just by being on the court like Steph. So I

848
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,360
Speaker 1: think he's up there for the greatest offensive engine of

849
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:40,960
Speaker 1: all time, and I think he's as good as he's

850
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,359
Speaker 1: ever been. So I think he belongs in this top

851
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:44,960
Speaker 1: three at the very least, and that's where I have

852
00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:48,640
Speaker 1: him at three. Yeah, and it's similar to Lebron. His

853
00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:51,080
Speaker 1: bad games carries so much impact as a result to that.

854
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:52,920
Speaker 1: But yeah, right, there's a limited The best way I

855
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:55,799
Speaker 1: could describe the Steph Curry defense thing is like, it's

856
00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:58,680
Speaker 1: not a good option to attack him because he is

857
00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:02,800
Speaker 1: a good defensive player, but it's a much better option

858
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:04,880
Speaker 1: to attack him than anybody else on the floor, right,

859
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:08,320
Speaker 1: And so what ends up happening They target Staff and

860
00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:12,240
Speaker 1: and and it's just it's it's just it's just a ceiling,

861
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,480
Speaker 1: so to speak, that that kind of caps him from

862
00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:16,839
Speaker 1: reaching like that that next level. But to me, it's

863
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:19,640
Speaker 1: like such a testament to his greatness because to put

864
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,759
Speaker 1: it simply, how many guys that we consider to be

865
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:26,439
Speaker 1: top seven, eight nine players in the NBA are are

866
00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:30,799
Speaker 1: not supreme athletes, none of them except for Staff, He's

867
00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:34,880
Speaker 1: the one guy who overcame what and what's crazy is

868
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:38,000
Speaker 1: compared to other humans, he's a freak athlete, like literally

869
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:40,720
Speaker 1: a freak athlete who with great size, like it's probably

870
00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:43,879
Speaker 1: what ninety eight percentile for men on planet Earth and height,

871
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:46,799
Speaker 1: But it just doesn't matter because in the NBA they're

872
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:49,160
Speaker 1: all like that, right. But uh, but yeah, I haven't

873
00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:55,280
Speaker 1: met number two, number one deserving. In my opinion, janis unbelievable, relentless,

874
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:58,400
Speaker 1: grim pressure. I think he's the best passing wing in

875
00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:03,560
Speaker 1: the league. Other than Lebron and Luca. Defensive versatility, his

876
00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:07,680
Speaker 1: ability to protect the rim as a primary rim protector

877
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:11,560
Speaker 1: and pick and roll while also devastating teams as the

878
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:14,320
Speaker 1: lowman guarding the weak side corner and blowing up plays

879
00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:18,400
Speaker 1: behind Brook Lopez, and his ability to switch out onto

880
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,240
Speaker 1: most of the wings in the league, and he actually

881
00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:24,400
Speaker 1: does okay on guards as well. I believe that that

882
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:29,480
Speaker 1: in combination with just the way that his game translates

883
00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:32,680
Speaker 1: to this phase, and the fact that as the level

884
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:36,799
Speaker 1: of physicality increases, his advantages increase, as it becomes more

885
00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:39,200
Speaker 1: and more like football and a little bit less like basketball.

886
00:44:39,719 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: The only weakness you can really you can really attack

887
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 1: with him is his over the top shot making, and

888
00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:51,200
Speaker 1: he's actually regressing a little bit in that regard. But

889
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,600
Speaker 1: it's just kind of like the Anthony Davis thing, like

890
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:58,440
Speaker 1: they have Chris Middleton. Although Chris Middleton just perceived an

891
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:00,959
Speaker 1: MRI and is gonna have to like that. We haven't

892
00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:03,080
Speaker 1: talked about that, and we'll probably get into it, Carson

893
00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:05,839
Speaker 1: the next time we talk, when we start focusing more

894
00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:09,680
Speaker 1: on the playoffs. But that Middleton knee injury is very

895
00:45:09,719 --> 00:45:13,680
Speaker 1: significant because you know, kind of coming into that Celtics

896
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:16,600
Speaker 1: win the other. Like a week or so ago, we

897
00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:19,719
Speaker 1: were kind of you and Milwaukee is kind of separating themselves,

898
00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,279
Speaker 1: and then they tailed off a little bit, and now

899
00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:25,440
Speaker 1: Chris Middleton's hurt, and now things feel more open than

900
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:28,480
Speaker 1: they've ever felt in the NBA, which just kind of

901
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:31,200
Speaker 1: why everyone's kind of coming back around towards Boston because

902
00:45:31,239 --> 00:45:33,400
Speaker 1: you know, it's like they're the most talented team. But

903
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:36,399
Speaker 1: the reality of the basketball predicament is is Janis does

904
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:39,120
Speaker 1: have Chris Middleton, he does have Drew Holiday, he does

905
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:42,040
Speaker 1: have Joe Ingles, and so they don't need him to

906
00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:45,000
Speaker 1: be an over the top shot maker in order to succeed.

907
00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:47,399
Speaker 1: And so even if you want to look at him

908
00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:49,040
Speaker 1: in the face and say, yeah, well I'm better than

909
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:51,560
Speaker 1: you at this specific thing, within the context of team

910
00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:53,959
Speaker 1: basketball on the Bucks and the way that they cover

911
00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:57,319
Speaker 1: for his weaknesses, nobody in the NBA impacts winning on

912
00:45:57,360 --> 00:45:59,719
Speaker 1: both ends of the floor the way Jannis does. Right now,

913
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:04,040
Speaker 1: I think that you're absolutely right, And there's a couple

914
00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:08,080
Speaker 1: key differences in my opinion, between this Yannis and the

915
00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:11,359
Speaker 1: version of Yannis that we could see exploited right Like

916
00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:14,720
Speaker 1: we saw a teams that were built similarly to Boston

917
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:18,920
Speaker 1: to stop Jannis with these great variety of wing defenders

918
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,560
Speaker 1: who you could build the wall with and you could

919
00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:24,600
Speaker 1: really challenge him. We saw it in Toronto and they

920
00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:26,200
Speaker 1: beat him, and we saw it in Miami and they

921
00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:29,279
Speaker 1: beat him, and then Boston beat him, but not really.

922
00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:33,200
Speaker 1: I mean without Middleton going seven, Yannis was unstoppable for

923
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:36,239
Speaker 1: many stretches of that series. And the keys are his

924
00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:38,680
Speaker 1: playmaking development, and I agree with you the addition of

925
00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:41,640
Speaker 1: like a Drew Holiday presence, and now you can't really

926
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:46,919
Speaker 1: even say that that inability as a perimeter shotmaker holds

927
00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:48,600
Speaker 1: him back from being number one when he is so

928
00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:52,239
Speaker 1: physically dominant, very good as a playmaker, and I think

929
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,120
Speaker 1: right up there for the best defensive player alive and

930
00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:57,760
Speaker 1: so versatile on that end. It's like the guy walks

931
00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:01,840
Speaker 1: into thirty one, twelve and six efficiently and will wreck

932
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:07,319
Speaker 1: the game defensively. It's really really tough to say that

933
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:10,320
Speaker 1: anybody else is better than that has a higher baseline

934
00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:12,759
Speaker 1: than that because of the just physical imposition and the

935
00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:16,120
Speaker 1: defensive floor and ceiling that he has every single night.

936
00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:20,759
Speaker 1: So Yannis to me also has to be number one. Yeah,

937
00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:23,200
Speaker 1: so one last thing I want to shout out with

938
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:26,400
Speaker 1: Yannis before we get out of here. He's kind of

939
00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:30,520
Speaker 1: figuring out the pacing himself elements now too. This has

940
00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:32,840
Speaker 1: always been one of the most underrated parts of Lebron

941
00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:35,759
Speaker 1: James's career, and he gets criticized a lot for it,

942
00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:37,560
Speaker 1: and it makes sense because it's like, yeah, like if

943
00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:40,880
Speaker 1: you're voting for MVP and he's kind of mailing it

944
00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:44,000
Speaker 1: in on two like two thirds of the nights, and

945
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:47,360
Speaker 1: you know, so like Jannis in twenty twenty is just

946
00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:50,000
Speaker 1: attacking every game like it's his last game. You know.

947
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:53,680
Speaker 1: I get that within the context of awards, but what

948
00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:56,160
Speaker 1: part of the genius there for Lebron is he's like, dude,

949
00:47:56,160 --> 00:47:58,480
Speaker 1: I got a two month grind ahead of me, you know,

950
00:47:58,920 --> 00:48:01,560
Speaker 1: and that two month mind, I'm going to need to

951
00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:04,960
Speaker 1: be at my best physically. And I think Jannie, like,

952
00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:08,040
Speaker 1: I love the way he approached this season. He kind

953
00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:11,120
Speaker 1: of had like a baseline gear which was still arguably

954
00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:14,160
Speaker 1: the best player in the world during the first two

955
00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:16,160
Speaker 1: thirds of the season, and then here in the last

956
00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:18,040
Speaker 1: third he's like, all right, guys, time to pick it

957
00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:20,000
Speaker 1: up a little bit. And he's been good for like

958
00:48:20,040 --> 00:48:23,160
Speaker 1: he's just been utterly bludgeoning teams really ever since, and

959
00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:25,759
Speaker 1: I think that's a testament to just how he's kind

960
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:29,920
Speaker 1: of grown as he's become more experienced. But that's all

961
00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:31,799
Speaker 1: we have for today, guys. Shout out to Carson, thanks

962
00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:34,160
Speaker 1: for coming by to chat through the list. We are

963
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:37,160
Speaker 1: going to be back tomorrow morning breaking down this Friday

964
00:48:37,239 --> 00:48:40,240
Speaker 1: night slate, and then we'll be back on Sunday evening

965
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:42,399
Speaker 1: with the Great Colin Coward, and then we'll get into

966
00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:44,440
Speaker 1: some stuff on Monday, breaking in the playing games, and

967
00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:48,080
Speaker 1: then hey, from there, from Tuesday, we're going every night

968
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:53,640
Speaker 1: until the NBA Finals, when we'll start having fewer games.

969
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,520
Speaker 1: But I appreciate you guys rocking with us, and we

970
00:48:56,560 --> 00:49:20,160
Speaker 1: will see you tomorrow morning. The volume