1
00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:06,800
Speaker 1: The volume. All I want for the holidays this year

2
00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,520
Speaker 1: is some NBA action. This week, new customers can score

3
00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:14,360
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty instantly in bonus bets just for

4
00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:19,000
Speaker 1: betting five bucks an instant dub just for you guys.

5
00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:21,239
Speaker 1: The MVP odds are heating ups. Just you guys know.

6
00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:25,800
Speaker 1: On DraftKings to Day December eighteenth, Nikola jokicch plus two ten,

7
00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,480
Speaker 1: Luka Doncic plus four hundred, Joel Embiid plus four twenty

8
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,440
Speaker 1: five shake kills Us, Alexander plus nine hundred, Yannis plus

9
00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:38,040
Speaker 1: nine hundred, Jason Tatum plus eighteen hundred. Download the Draftking

10
00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,000
Speaker 1: Sports Book AP now and use code hoops. New customers

11
00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,640
Speaker 1: can get one hundred and fifty instantly in bonus bets

12
00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,680
Speaker 1: for betting just five dollars on basketball only on DraftKings

13
00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:53,240
Speaker 1: Sportsbook with code hoops. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem

14
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,720
Speaker 1: called one eight hundred gambler or visit www dot one

15
00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,600
Speaker 1: eight hundred gambler dot net. In New York, call eight

16
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,040
Speaker 1: seven seven to eight hope and why, or text hope

17
00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,920
Speaker 1: and why to four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut,

18
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,440
Speaker 1: help is available for problem gambling. Call eight eight eight

19
00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:14,760
Speaker 1: seven eight nine seven seven seven seven, or visit CCPG

20
00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,720
Speaker 1: dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino

21
00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,680
Speaker 1: and Resort in Kansas twenty one plus age varies by

22
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,640
Speaker 1: jurisdiction void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and

23
00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:30,480
Speaker 1: sixty eight hours after issuance. See dkang dot com slash

24
00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:45,760
Speaker 1: basketball for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources.

25
00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,240
Speaker 1: All right, welcome to hoops tonight here at the Volume,

26
00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,520
Speaker 1: Happy Thursday, everybody. Hope all of you guys are having

27
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,520
Speaker 1: an incredible week. Quick show today, we're just gonna hit

28
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,920
Speaker 1: Wolves sixers from last night and the heater that Joel

29
00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,160
Speaker 1: Embiid has been on, as well as some stuff about

30
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,520
Speaker 1: Tyrese Maxim the success that he's been having. Then we're

31
00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,760
Speaker 1: gonna talk about the New York Knicks, who are playing

32
00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,720
Speaker 1: some really good basketball as of late and have their

33
00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:09,720
Speaker 1: two stars playing at a really high level, but some

34
00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:12,720
Speaker 1: decisions to make with what's around the corner and with

35
00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,400
Speaker 1: the injury to Mitchell Robinson. And then at the end

36
00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,960
Speaker 1: of the show, we're gonna talk about the Los Angeles Lakers,

37
00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,800
Speaker 1: who have been in a free fall since winning the

38
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:22,679
Speaker 1: n season tournament. You guys are the Joe pot we

39
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,960
Speaker 1: get started. Subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel would

40
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:26,280
Speaker 1: mean a lot to me if you guys would take

41
00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,160
Speaker 1: a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button.

42
00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,400
Speaker 1: Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever get your podcast

43
00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,399
Speaker 1: under Hoops Tonight. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason lt.

44
00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,440
Speaker 1: So you guys don't miss any show announcements or the

45
00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:36,880
Speaker 1: film threads that I do from time to time in

46
00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:39,040
Speaker 1: the mornings, and the last but not least, keep dropping

47
00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,840
Speaker 1: mail bag questions in the YouTube comments. We're gonna be

48
00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,079
Speaker 1: doing an extensive mail bag intomorrow's show like we usually

49
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,760
Speaker 1: do on Friday. All right, let's talk some basketball. So

50
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,959
Speaker 1: Sixer is gonna big win. Come from behind in the

51
00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,440
Speaker 1: fourth quarter to beat the Wolves last night comfortably. Joel

52
00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,240
Speaker 1: em Beat has been on an absolute tear after scoring

53
00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,560
Speaker 1: fifty last night. In his last eight games, he's gone

54
00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,359
Speaker 1: for forty plus five times fifty twice, averaging forty one

55
00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,000
Speaker 1: to thirteen, sixty two percent from the field, thirty eight

56
00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,480
Speaker 1: percent from three, and ninety three percent at the line. Now,

57
00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,440
Speaker 1: like so many people who have watched that game yesterday,

58
00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:19,960
Speaker 1: a lot of trips to the foul line, a lot

59
00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,560
Speaker 1: of mid range jump shots, and you know, it's one

60
00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,480
Speaker 1: of those things where I think it's okay to have

61
00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:32,160
Speaker 1: two completely separate takes on joelmb And what I mean

62
00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:36,800
Speaker 1: by that is he's incredible. Him and Drew Hanlin have

63
00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,840
Speaker 1: worked really hard to build out a super versatile skill

64
00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,160
Speaker 1: set for Joel EMBII, and he's become a very well

65
00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,720
Speaker 1: rounded score. Obviously, the mid range jump shot and that

66
00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,680
Speaker 1: being deadly is the foundational piece, right. He's made sixty

67
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,080
Speaker 1: three mid range jumpers already this season. He's shooting forty

68
00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,280
Speaker 1: seven point four percent on them. Last night he was

69
00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,320
Speaker 1: eleven for fourteen on mid range jump shots against the Timberwolves.

70
00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,520
Speaker 1: It's a good mix of both. It's isolation hesitation pull

71
00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,160
Speaker 1: up jump shots, it's you know, face up jab step

72
00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,480
Speaker 1: jump shots, and then it's jump shots that he takes

73
00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:14,480
Speaker 1: off the catch and pick and roll when he kind

74
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:16,520
Speaker 1: of rolls to that you know, seventeen to fifteen foot

75
00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,039
Speaker 1: mark right around the foul line. Right. He's also gotten

76
00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,160
Speaker 1: really good at feeling body contact. It's an important concept

77
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,640
Speaker 1: we talk about, like feeling on your shoulder blades where

78
00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,440
Speaker 1: the defender is so that you can spin off when

79
00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:28,880
Speaker 1: you have your back to the basket. You had two

80
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,680
Speaker 1: dunks like that last night, spinning off of Nase, reed

81
00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,360
Speaker 1: off of the right block, and then kind of off

82
00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,840
Speaker 1: the left elbow when he was getting guarded by Kyle

83
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,320
Speaker 1: Anderson and saw a double team coming from the right side,

84
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,679
Speaker 1: very smartly spun to the left, got into the lane

85
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,560
Speaker 1: and threw down the dunk. He's also deadly in catch

86
00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,320
Speaker 1: and shoot situations this year, specifically from three Joe l

87
00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,960
Speaker 1: Embiid is shooting forty nine percent on catch and shoot

88
00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,880
Speaker 1: threes this year. Think about how insane that is. He's

89
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,320
Speaker 1: also passing the ball better than ever. He's averaging six

90
00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,719
Speaker 1: assists per game. To give you an idea, he in

91
00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,400
Speaker 1: three three hundred and ninety four games for the Sixers

92
00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,200
Speaker 1: before this season, did Or hit a seven assist mark

93
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,200
Speaker 1: twenty seven times in three hundred and ninety four games.

94
00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,400
Speaker 1: He's already done it ten times this season, so it's

95
00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,960
Speaker 1: clearly gone up a level as a passer. He's just

96
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,039
Speaker 1: become a remarkably difficult player to guard and very well

97
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,000
Speaker 1: might be the best regular season player in the NBA

98
00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,800
Speaker 1: right now. I mean all of that that is the

99
00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:30,280
Speaker 1: first take the second take is that watching him drives

100
00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:37,559
Speaker 1: me absolutely crazy. The foul grifting is reprehensible at this point.

101
00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,920
Speaker 1: And for the record, before I go any further here,

102
00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,479
Speaker 1: this is not Joel Embiid's fault. Joel Embiid is a

103
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,920
Speaker 1: competitor who wants to win basketball games, and so he

104
00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,000
Speaker 1: was doing whatever is necessary to win basketball games. That

105
00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,160
Speaker 1: is what you should do. Famously, if you guys remember

106
00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,200
Speaker 1: Greg Popovich used to say of the Spurs teams in

107
00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,760
Speaker 1: the early two thousand, thousand, twenty tens, I should say,

108
00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,280
Speaker 1: used to say, you think I want to be taking

109
00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,680
Speaker 1: all these threes. No, that's not what he wants to do.

110
00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,400
Speaker 1: It's just what you have to do, in his opinion

111
00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,840
Speaker 1: at the time, for his personnel, in order to give

112
00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,320
Speaker 1: yourself the best chance to win. As a simple factor

113
00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,560
Speaker 1: of math, the point being, competitors do what they have

114
00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,520
Speaker 1: to do to win. So I'm not upset with Joel

115
00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,560
Speaker 1: Embiid about this. Everything I'm about to say is one

116
00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,839
Speaker 1: thousand percent directed towards the NBA them giving too much

117
00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,040
Speaker 1: wherewithal of freedom to the officials to determine the way

118
00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,480
Speaker 1: basketball games flow, and the officials in particular not knowing

119
00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,960
Speaker 1: how to properly manage a basketball game. You know, it's

120
00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:48,400
Speaker 1: funny because like the watching this particular film, obviously, with Synergy,

121
00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,960
Speaker 1: the film software that I use, they just pick a

122
00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,679
Speaker 1: random broadcast and they use that to filter the footage,

123
00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,200
Speaker 1: and this one happened to be the Minnesota broadcast. So

124
00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,479
Speaker 1: watching the Minnesota broadcast from the early part of the game,

125
00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,400
Speaker 1: you know, Joelnbid's doing that thing he always does where

126
00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,080
Speaker 1: he like gets down into the defender and then like

127
00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,680
Speaker 1: ducks his body, sticks his arms out and just rises

128
00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:12,320
Speaker 1: up into a pull up jump shot and tries to

129
00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,600
Speaker 1: take a shot, a complete non basketball play. For the record,

130
00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:20,760
Speaker 1: never ever, ever, will you see in any pickup run

131
00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,680
Speaker 1: anywhere around the country. I won't even see it really

132
00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,080
Speaker 1: at the high school or college level because players aren't

133
00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,920
Speaker 1: doing it, Refs aren't calling it. But you'll never see

134
00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,920
Speaker 1: that shot. Why because what is the purpose of the

135
00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,400
Speaker 1: pull up jump shot in basketball? The purpose of the

136
00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,920
Speaker 1: pull up jump shot in basketball is a coverage beater. Okay,

137
00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,760
Speaker 1: I'm isolating the guy and he's given me too much space.

138
00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:43,600
Speaker 1: I'm gonna hit a little step back to get a

139
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,400
Speaker 1: little bit more space, and I'm gonna rise up and

140
00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,040
Speaker 1: take this jump shot or in the post. I'm gonna

141
00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,720
Speaker 1: bump him with that left shoulder, knock him off, and

142
00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,120
Speaker 1: turn over my right shoulder and take a shot because

143
00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,840
Speaker 1: I've created separation between me and the defender. That's the

144
00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,480
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard move right. I'm coming off of this ball

145
00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,720
Speaker 1: screen and pick and roll. I've got the defender pinned

146
00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,800
Speaker 1: on the pick drop coverage, biggest, too far back. I'm

147
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,840
Speaker 1: gonna rise up and take this pull up jump shot.

148
00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,480
Speaker 1: That is what basketball says a pull up jump shot

149
00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,440
Speaker 1: should be. So why in the world is Joel Embiid

150
00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:24,920
Speaker 1: going into defenders and deliberately extending the basketball, making it

151
00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,920
Speaker 1: available for contact, and then taking shots when that's objectively

152
00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:34,920
Speaker 1: a bad basketball play. It's a lower percentage shot for him.

153
00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,800
Speaker 1: If that call never got called, Joel Embiid would have

154
00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,960
Speaker 1: to create separation before shots, which, by the way, he's

155
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:46,720
Speaker 1: great at. He's great at that too, But we're setting

156
00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,319
Speaker 1: into the foul line more than a dozen times per

157
00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,720
Speaker 1: game on shit like that. That's not a basketball play.

158
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,479
Speaker 1: That's objectively a bad basketball play that Joel Embiid, the competitor,

159
00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:04,120
Speaker 1: does to increase his offensive output. It was crazy listening

160
00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,960
Speaker 1: to the broadcast and hearing the Timberwolves guys just like

161
00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,360
Speaker 1: as Embiid's work, because I mean, he was eleven for

162
00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,120
Speaker 1: fourteen on mid ra in jump shots, so you can

163
00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,200
Speaker 1: tell he was operating in that area a lot in

164
00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,640
Speaker 1: this game. And that's fourteen shot attempts that registered in

165
00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:19,480
Speaker 1: the box score. Think about all the ones that didn't

166
00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,280
Speaker 1: count because he didn't make the shot. Right, He's operating

167
00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,000
Speaker 1: almost exclusively out of that area. And you can hear

168
00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:27,960
Speaker 1: the Wolves announcers like watch your hands, watch your hands.

169
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,319
Speaker 1: You can literally see the defenders and they're all like spazzing,

170
00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,079
Speaker 1: and they're they're like terrified that they might if they

171
00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,400
Speaker 1: contest the shot, they might send Joel Embiid to the

172
00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,080
Speaker 1: foul line. And it just it's a it's bad on

173
00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,920
Speaker 1: a bunch of different levels. One, it's objectively bad for

174
00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,680
Speaker 1: the game of basketball. Why because it makes for a

175
00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:50,360
Speaker 1: bad television product. I watch a lot of basketball, it's

176
00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:56,440
Speaker 1: my job, and like, unquestionably watching these Sixers games as

177
00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,520
Speaker 1: a chore that I find things that I love. I

178
00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,440
Speaker 1: told you like some of em Beat's footwork in the

179
00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,920
Speaker 1: post is always super impressive to me. The pivot moves

180
00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,400
Speaker 1: we were talking about earlier feeling contact. We're going to

181
00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,120
Speaker 1: talk about Tyrese Maxe in a minute, and some of

182
00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,280
Speaker 1: the stuff that he's been doing lately that I really

183
00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,240
Speaker 1: really like. There's a lot of things that I like

184
00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,680
Speaker 1: in there, but it's being bisected and cut apart by

185
00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,960
Speaker 1: this relentless foul drifting attack from Joel Embiid that makes

186
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,400
Speaker 1: it a bad television product. And then the second part

187
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,960
Speaker 1: of it is every year we get to April and

188
00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,760
Speaker 1: suddenly the refs decide they don't want to reward that

189
00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,600
Speaker 1: with free throws as much. They still occasionally do, but

190
00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,960
Speaker 1: nowhere near as frequently. So the refs are telling you,

191
00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:42,040
Speaker 1: we don't think this is basketball in April, May June,

192
00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:46,600
Speaker 1: but they allow it to be basketball in October, November

193
00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:50,240
Speaker 1: through the early portion of April, right. And so what

194
00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,360
Speaker 1: ends up happening is it becomes part of the problem

195
00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,120
Speaker 1: for Joel Embiid is that a big part of that

196
00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:59,839
Speaker 1: his offensive approach just becomes useless when he gets to

197
00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:04,080
Speaker 1: that point, which has consistently been a part of what

198
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,760
Speaker 1: causes his his effectiveness to decline. Even when MB gets

199
00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,040
Speaker 1: to the foul line. In the playoffs, it's one he's

200
00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:15,439
Speaker 1: physically aggressive towards the basket, but guys are allowed to

201
00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:17,959
Speaker 1: press up on him more in the mid range. Suddenly

202
00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,280
Speaker 1: his mid range jump shot percentage tanks like it did

203
00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,520
Speaker 1: the last few post seasons, and then his offensive effectiveness

204
00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,600
Speaker 1: goes down. So it's just objectively bad for everybody. It's

205
00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,360
Speaker 1: bad for the fans, it's bad for the league, it's

206
00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:35,520
Speaker 1: bad for Joel in the long run, and objectively, it

207
00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,600
Speaker 1: just it drives me crazy to watch, drives me crazy.

208
00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,240
Speaker 1: And again, not in Bead's fault. It's one one hundred

209
00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:44,760
Speaker 1: percent the NBA's fault. Something I've been bitching a moment

210
00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,360
Speaker 1: about all season because it's literally hurt in the game

211
00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,320
Speaker 1: that I love and I like. There was a play

212
00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:52,360
Speaker 1: where MB caught at the top of the key and

213
00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:55,640
Speaker 1: nas Read's guarding him and and b just rips through

214
00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,600
Speaker 1: the left and Nod slides his feet, takes the contact

215
00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,400
Speaker 1: in the check and as Embiid runs into his chest,

216
00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:04,600
Speaker 1: just throws up the ball, literally just throws up the

217
00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,400
Speaker 1: ball gets rewarded with two free throws. Like I said,

218
00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,120
Speaker 1: it's reprehensible, straight straight up bad for the league. And

219
00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,839
Speaker 1: it's a bummer because Joel Embiid is playing some of

220
00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:16,000
Speaker 1: the best basketball in the NBA right now. Like I said,

221
00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,160
Speaker 1: he's arguably the best regular season player right now. He's

222
00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,480
Speaker 1: my favorite for MVP right now. As I said in

223
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:26,439
Speaker 1: our MVP rankings on Sunday last week, it is not

224
00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,600
Speaker 1: an anti Embid take. It is one thousand percent anti

225
00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:34,040
Speaker 1: NBA tick now. In addition to Joel Embid bust and

226
00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,480
Speaker 1: everybody's ass Tyres, Maxy's playing incredible. This is a tough

227
00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,040
Speaker 1: matchup too. He's being guarded by Jada McDaniels for a

228
00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:42,800
Speaker 1: good portion of this game. And you know, when you

229
00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,240
Speaker 1: have Jada McDaniels on ball and Rudy Gober waiting for

230
00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,600
Speaker 1: you in ball screens, it can be tough. It can

231
00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,400
Speaker 1: be a tough challenge, right But what's crazy is, you

232
00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:52,000
Speaker 1: know Max, he still had some plays against that. There

233
00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,720
Speaker 1: was a play I clipped and put on my Twitter

234
00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,959
Speaker 1: feed this morning where he, you know, sets up McDaniels

235
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,160
Speaker 1: for a screen, gets around to the left and go

236
00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,400
Speaker 1: Baar steps up and he like straight up like Euro

237
00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,800
Speaker 1: steps around him and finishes with the left handed scoop

238
00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:07,760
Speaker 1: shot off the glass after getting into his body with

239
00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,240
Speaker 1: his right shoulder. And I'm like, this is ridiculous, Like

240
00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,880
Speaker 1: this is a superstar play that you're seeing right here.

241
00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:14,760
Speaker 1: But one of the things that I wanted to highlight

242
00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,920
Speaker 1: today specifically, and it's a concept that I talk about

243
00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,840
Speaker 1: a lot on this show, is the offensive variability or

244
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:27,080
Speaker 1: versatility or you know, just like the different approaches that

245
00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:30,200
Speaker 1: Tyree's Maxi has on offense which makes him harder to guard. So,

246
00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:34,880
Speaker 1: for instance, what's you know, Tyre's Maxey's advantage against Jade McDaniels. Speed, Right,

247
00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:38,400
Speaker 1: that's his biggest advantage. That's it. Jade McDaniels is fast too,

248
00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,960
Speaker 1: and he has length, and so especially if you get

249
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,280
Speaker 1: into the habit of spamming actions against him, he's going

250
00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,520
Speaker 1: to win that battle a lot of the time. In

251
00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:47,679
Speaker 1: my opinion, Jade McDaniels is one of the top two

252
00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,080
Speaker 1: or three perimeter defenders in basketball, right. But I want

253
00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,599
Speaker 1: to emphasize movement shooting here for a second, and I

254
00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,600
Speaker 1: want to highlight a specific play because this is something

255
00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,600
Speaker 1: that Tyrese has been doing all season and killing teams with.

256
00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:01,920
Speaker 1: So it's in the bench group, I think, and it

257
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,160
Speaker 1: was I want to say, early fourth quarter, and Tyresee

258
00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,960
Speaker 1: is pushing in transition and he's trying to turn the

259
00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,880
Speaker 1: corner on Tyres on Jaden McDaniels a cant has to

260
00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,000
Speaker 1: turn and throw the ball back out to Paul Reid.

261
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,040
Speaker 1: As soon as Paul red catches it, Tyrese just kind

262
00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,720
Speaker 1: of gives a little shove to Jayden and then sprints

263
00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:23,640
Speaker 1: out to the three point line at the top of

264
00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,480
Speaker 1: the key, takes an escape step like a long lunch

265
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,720
Speaker 1: step after he gets the dribble hand off from Paul

266
00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,320
Speaker 1: Reid and rises up into a right left footwork to

267
00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,480
Speaker 1: rise in fire off the catch jump shot nails it.

268
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,280
Speaker 1: And that's the thing that is an entirely different type

269
00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,360
Speaker 1: of offensive attack than an off the dribble ball screen

270
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,640
Speaker 1: or an off the dribble ISO or one of the

271
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,080
Speaker 1: many different actions that they might run. Where Tyrese is

272
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,400
Speaker 1: in a set position with Jaden on him and trying

273
00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,920
Speaker 1: to get separation via screen or whatever from the perimeter,

274
00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,640
Speaker 1: his ability to be like, well, you stopped me on

275
00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,800
Speaker 1: this strip, but I'm a great movement shooter too, so

276
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:05,920
Speaker 1: you better get ready to lock and trail because I'm

277
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,000
Speaker 1: coming right back off that screen to my left and

278
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,080
Speaker 1: he can do it to his right. You know, this

279
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:12,800
Speaker 1: is a consistent thing that they run. They'll have him

280
00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:14,400
Speaker 1: come out of the corner and they'll run him off

281
00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,600
Speaker 1: of like a double stagger dribble handoff, and he'll just

282
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,280
Speaker 1: rise in fire from the left wing, coming off of

283
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,880
Speaker 1: like a long arcing sprint. Like it's just a significant

284
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,400
Speaker 1: element of his offensive attack that prevents him from ever

285
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,640
Speaker 1: doing the same thing over and over again. And maintaining

286
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,120
Speaker 1: that variety and making sure that your attack has a different,

287
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:35,440
Speaker 1: like a different approach, not just so that you can

288
00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,320
Speaker 1: make yourself harder regard for that individual defender, but so

289
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,880
Speaker 1: that you have a different thing you can use on

290
00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,760
Speaker 1: every single defender. This is something I like I've told

291
00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:47,600
Speaker 1: you guys this story a bunch of times on the show.

292
00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,480
Speaker 1: But like I was a light bloomer, right, So, Like

293
00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,480
Speaker 1: when I was playing in college, I was just an athlete,

294
00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:53,600
Speaker 1: right So, like guard to the other team's best player,

295
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,320
Speaker 1: took some spot up shots, Like I had some scoring

296
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,320
Speaker 1: games when I was in JUCO, but Juco's lower level

297
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:01,360
Speaker 1: competition doesn't mean anything. And like, basically I was an

298
00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,800
Speaker 1: athlete role player, and so as I got older, like

299
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:08,440
Speaker 1: I developed into a more skilled, perimeter oriented basketball player

300
00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:13,280
Speaker 1: in my late twenties early thirties. It was a transformation later, right,

301
00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,440
Speaker 1: because I was a late bloomer. I didn't play basketball

302
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,760
Speaker 1: when I was young. So what's interesting is I've encountered

303
00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:20,480
Speaker 1: some of these things where it's like, okay, I became

304
00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,160
Speaker 1: My core skill was that I could shoot, and especially

305
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:25,600
Speaker 1: as I got into my late twenties, I became a

306
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:27,680
Speaker 1: good shooter. In college, I was only an OK shooter.

307
00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,080
Speaker 1: Became a good shooter when I was in my late twenties.

308
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,200
Speaker 1: And so I'm tall, you know, sixty six, got long arms,

309
00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,240
Speaker 1: and I can move really well. So like guys, it

310
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:37,840
Speaker 1: got to the point where you just couldn't put a

311
00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:41,840
Speaker 1: slower guy on me because if you did, I just

312
00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:43,960
Speaker 1: I would just toast him off the dribble or give

313
00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,440
Speaker 1: me too much space, and I would take those jump

314
00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:47,080
Speaker 1: shots over the top. And I got really good at

315
00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,240
Speaker 1: shooting pull up threes. So what everybody started doing is

316
00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,560
Speaker 1: putting a smaller, quicker player on me and pressing up

317
00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,320
Speaker 1: on me and doing that so that they could test

318
00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,080
Speaker 1: my handle and make it so that yeah, even if

319
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,480
Speaker 1: I try to make this move, this dude's quicker because

320
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,600
Speaker 1: he's a you know, six ' two guard, and I'm

321
00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,399
Speaker 1: this bigger wing player right, and so I had to

322
00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,040
Speaker 1: add things like a back to the basket post game.

323
00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,560
Speaker 1: And then another big thing I added was movement shooting.

324
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,440
Speaker 1: I worked relentlessly on the same left, right, right left

325
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:15,439
Speaker 1: footwork depending on which angle I was coming off of

326
00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,560
Speaker 1: a screen, just so that I could walk into every

327
00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:20,360
Speaker 1: game and be like, who are you guarding me with?

328
00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,240
Speaker 1: Guarding me with a little guard. Okay, I'm gonna work

329
00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,320
Speaker 1: out of the high post low post this game. You're

330
00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:29,440
Speaker 1: guarding me with a big, a slow guy. Okay, I'm

331
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,160
Speaker 1: gonna work primarily off the dribble from the perimeter. You're

332
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:36,280
Speaker 1: guarding me with a wing that has similar athleticism to me. Okay,

333
00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,320
Speaker 1: now I'm gonna need to use a combination of all

334
00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,440
Speaker 1: three to try to keep the guy off balance. Right.

335
00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:45,760
Speaker 1: It's a vital part, in my opinion, of reaching scoring resiliency.

336
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,280
Speaker 1: They're scoring, and then they're scoring resiliency. Scoring is like,

337
00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,159
Speaker 1: on any given night, if the conditions are right, I

338
00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,640
Speaker 1: can put up numbers. Scoring Resiliency is maintaining those numbers

339
00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,600
Speaker 1: in varying conditions, and that to me is a big

340
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,280
Speaker 1: step forward going from not just from good role player

341
00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,320
Speaker 1: that can score to star, but also by going from

342
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,520
Speaker 1: star to superstar. And it's one of the things that

343
00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,399
Speaker 1: makes Tyrese Maxi such an enticing young prospect is like,

344
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:13,480
Speaker 1: he is a great movement shooter, he is a great

345
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,439
Speaker 1: spot up player, and he's becoming a great pick and

346
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,600
Speaker 1: roll score as well, and that variety will give him

347
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,080
Speaker 1: all of the resiliency that I'm talking about to be

348
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:25,879
Speaker 1: the best version of a score that he can be

349
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:29,320
Speaker 1: really good win for the Sixers. You know, it's funny

350
00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:31,080
Speaker 1: they went on that stretch where they lost to a

351
00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,240
Speaker 1: bunch of bad teams and beat a bunch of bad teams,

352
00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,320
Speaker 1: excuse me, and then they lost to Chicago the other night.

353
00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:39,840
Speaker 1: And this is another one of my prevailing basketball theories,

354
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,720
Speaker 1: which is when you play a bunch of bad teams

355
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,280
Speaker 1: in a row, you form bad habits. In the Chicago

356
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,159
Speaker 1: Bulls have been playing some damn good basketball, an excellent

357
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,200
Speaker 1: point of attack defense out of Alex Cruso and Javon Carter,

358
00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,680
Speaker 1: and you know, Kobe White's playing extremely well. Demarta Rozen

359
00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,680
Speaker 1: is starting to get it going, and it's like the

360
00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,879
Speaker 1: Bulls are just good right now. So you are playing

361
00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,119
Speaker 1: bad team night after night after night for like two

362
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,600
Speaker 1: weeks and then suddenly a really good team comes to town.

363
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,160
Speaker 1: You're accustomed to a certain level of intensity, a certain

364
00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,359
Speaker 1: level of focus, certain level of overall effort, right, and

365
00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,640
Speaker 1: then this good team comes to town, and sometimes there

366
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,320
Speaker 1: can be an adjustment period there. And so to bounce

367
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,280
Speaker 1: back from what was not a predictable loss to Chicago

368
00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,200
Speaker 1: but an understandable loss to Chicago with a big win

369
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:23,879
Speaker 1: over the team that I think has been playing the

370
00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,720
Speaker 1: best basketball in the Western Conference in Minnesota, good win

371
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,720
Speaker 1: for the Sixers on the Wolves front. Really hard to

372
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,200
Speaker 1: beat the Sixers in Philly when Embid's getting that type

373
00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:35,760
Speaker 1: of whistle, when he's got his mid range jumper going,

374
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,200
Speaker 1: like I said, eleven for fourteen from the mid range,

375
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,360
Speaker 1: it just made it really really difficult to guard them. Right.

376
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,159
Speaker 1: Overall though, the Wolves are playing really good basketball, and

377
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,960
Speaker 1: I love the formula they're building. Yes, they struggled with Embiid,

378
00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:50,919
Speaker 1: but they've been shutting teams water off, particularly perimeter stars

379
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:52,840
Speaker 1: around the league. I was watching Wolve's heat the other

380
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,560
Speaker 1: day and Anthony Edwards and Jade McDaniels just like completely

381
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,760
Speaker 1: locked up Jimmy Butler down the stretch of that game,

382
00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:03,120
Speaker 1: and Rudy Gobay head Bam and jail forcing him into

383
00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:05,359
Speaker 1: these really tough pull up jump shots. There's this play

384
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,439
Speaker 1: where Bam finally gets like super physically aggressive because he's

385
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,680
Speaker 1: sicker Rudy Gobert and like rips through to the left

386
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,479
Speaker 1: and like bumps him with that left shoulder and shoves

387
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:14,080
Speaker 1: go bear off and tries to step through and get

388
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,760
Speaker 1: into the lane for Gobart recovered and swatted his ass

389
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,720
Speaker 1: into like a fast break opportunity for Anthony Edwards to

390
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,280
Speaker 1: go up and dunk with two hands. They are really

391
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,679
Speaker 1: good at pushing in transition selectively, not as much as

392
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,520
Speaker 1: I'd like. I'd like to see them push a little

393
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,119
Speaker 1: bit more because they're a mediocre half court offense. But

394
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,200
Speaker 1: they have been the fourth best team in the league

395
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,760
Speaker 1: this year at converting transition possessions into points according to

396
00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,040
Speaker 1: Cleaning the Glass, at one point three to three points

397
00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,000
Speaker 1: per transition possession. As of right now, they're the only

398
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,639
Speaker 1: team in the league holding teams below one hundred and

399
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,440
Speaker 1: ten points per one hundred possessions. They're at one oh

400
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,840
Speaker 1: seven point five. My only concern right now with the

401
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,760
Speaker 1: Wolves really is their half court offense, where they're sixteenth

402
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,880
Speaker 1: and as I've said throughout the season, they're ceiling will

403
00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,080
Speaker 1: entirely come down to Anthony Edwards half court shot creation.

404
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:01,359
Speaker 1: In my opinion, he's just gonna have to be a

405
00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:05,280
Speaker 1: guy that can win rock fights by generating quality shots,

406
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,439
Speaker 1: and for whatever it's worth, he's been pretty good at

407
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,479
Speaker 1: that in the previous two postseasons. I wanted to talk

408
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:11,720
Speaker 1: about the New York Knicks for a little bit, and

409
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:13,800
Speaker 1: then we're gonna talk about the Lakers. So the Knicks

410
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,120
Speaker 1: blew out the nets in Brooklyn last night and then

411
00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:19,439
Speaker 1: two days after, two days earlier, I should say, they

412
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 1: went into LA and beat the Lakers. Two. They took

413
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,159
Speaker 1: a couple of tough losses earlier this month on the

414
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,880
Speaker 1: road in Milwaukee and Boston. Those are really tough games

415
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:29,159
Speaker 1: to win, and those are the two best teams in

416
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,040
Speaker 1: the conference, right But outside of those two games, so

417
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,679
Speaker 1: in the nineteen games, outside of their last in their

418
00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,600
Speaker 1: last twenty one, outside of the two games that they

419
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,840
Speaker 1: played against Boston and Milwaukee, they're fourteen to five and

420
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,840
Speaker 1: their fourth in offense overall. Since November fourth, that's a

421
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,800
Speaker 1: significant chunk of time. That's the majority of the season

422
00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:54,680
Speaker 1: to this point. In that span. Both Randall and Brunson

423
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,600
Speaker 1: are averaging twenty five points per game, Jalen Brunson twenty

424
00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,760
Speaker 1: five to four and six on sixty two central shooting

425
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,720
Speaker 1: and Julius Randall in twenty five nine and five on

426
00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,800
Speaker 1: sixty percent true shooting. Now, the defense has fallen apart

427
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,080
Speaker 1: since Mitchell Robinson got hurt and we found out last

428
00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:10,400
Speaker 1: night he's gonna be out for the season. We're gonna

429
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:11,919
Speaker 1: talk about that in a minute. But the Knicks are

430
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,720
Speaker 1: giving up one hundred and twenty points per one hundred

431
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,440
Speaker 1: possessions over their last six games. Big part there is

432
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,720
Speaker 1: the lack of rim protection. Again, Isaiah Hartenstein is a

433
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,640
Speaker 1: really good player who fits really well with this unit.

434
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,680
Speaker 1: Both Julius Randall and Jalen Brunson have a unique ability

435
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:30,160
Speaker 1: to engage help defenders, and like Randall just by bullying

436
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 1: fours and drawing the rim protector in, Jalen Brunson pulling

437
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,359
Speaker 1: the rim protector out in his drop coverage when he

438
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,160
Speaker 1: needs to contest Brunson's floaters and mid range jump shots

439
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:41,960
Speaker 1: and stuff. And every time they do that, it just

440
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,200
Speaker 1: ends up with hart and Stein either with a smaller

441
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,000
Speaker 1: player pinned on him underneath the basket or just by himself,

442
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,640
Speaker 1: and he had another five offensive rebounds last night. He's

443
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,119
Speaker 1: just killing teams on the glass. Harden sign's great, but

444
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:57,080
Speaker 1: obviously when you have some small perimeter personnel outside of

445
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,399
Speaker 1: Julius Randall and you don't have rim protection, it's just

446
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,639
Speaker 1: hard to go. And so that's something that we've been

447
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,399
Speaker 1: seeing now. Obviously, like I talked about last week, the

448
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 1: Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the teams that could potentially

449
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,440
Speaker 1: be looking to make some decision now. They've been playing

450
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,399
Speaker 1: some decent basketball as of late. But as I've been

451
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,520
Speaker 1: talking about Donovan Mitchell, it very well could be comes

452
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,399
Speaker 1: available as a trade target this year. And that was

453
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,600
Speaker 1: one of the guys that the Knicks were originally after,

454
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,840
Speaker 1: and I wouldn't be surprised if they look to go

455
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,000
Speaker 1: that route again. And so we have two Knicks fans

456
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,920
Speaker 1: on my team here at Hoops Tonight. Shout out to you,

457
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,439
Speaker 1: Paul Farrington and Josh Rodriguez. They are both instrumental to

458
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,600
Speaker 1: the day to day stuff with this show and they're

459
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,320
Speaker 1: both Knicks fans. And I was asking them about whether

460
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:41,960
Speaker 1: or not they would want Donovan Mitchell, and it was

461
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:43,399
Speaker 1: split down the middle, one of the guys wanted and

462
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,399
Speaker 1: one of the other guys not so much. And I

463
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 1: find this to be an interesting example of team building

464
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,000
Speaker 1: that I wanted to talk to so I talk about

465
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,440
Speaker 1: so one of the things that we've talked about. I

466
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,080
Speaker 1: should say one of the things that Knicks fans have

467
00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:58,480
Speaker 1: been talking a lot about is man like they just

468
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,520
Speaker 1: don't have any shock creation beyond Jalen Brunson, and it

469
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,080
Speaker 1: just turns into that one man show and things fall apart.

470
00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,879
Speaker 1: And I understand that when you look at what happened

471
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 1: last year in the postseason, which was Jalen Brunson was

472
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,800
Speaker 1: incredible and damn near got you to the Conference finals.

473
00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:18,359
Speaker 1: Literally had a chance to win Game six in Miami.

474
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,320
Speaker 1: Was this close where you would have gone home and

475
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,480
Speaker 1: had a good opportunity to win that series, right, But

476
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,560
Speaker 1: Julius Randall was terrible, and because he was terrible, they

477
00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:33,040
Speaker 1: had no second option and then Ni's lost. But I'm

478
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,159
Speaker 1: a firm believer that Julius Randall is actually the kind

479
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,159
Speaker 1: of player who should do well in the playoffs. The

480
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,919
Speaker 1: problem is he's very much a rhythm player, and he

481
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,679
Speaker 1: was hurt last year. He messed up his ankle right

482
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 1: before the postseason. And like again when I say rhythm player,

483
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,240
Speaker 1: there are a lot of guys out there. You ever

484
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:53,840
Speaker 1: see that guy. I have a friend like this, a

485
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:59,800
Speaker 1: guy this, This guy like could go twelve years of

486
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:01,800
Speaker 1: that touching a basketball and then I could put him

487
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:03,840
Speaker 1: in a gym and he'd shoot the ball well. And

488
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,840
Speaker 1: like legitimately he never plays. And when he does go

489
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,159
Speaker 1: play for whatever reason, or if we him and I

490
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,600
Speaker 1: go shooting around or something, he just still has his

491
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:13,000
Speaker 1: touch and stuff because he played a lot when he

492
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,720
Speaker 1: was younger. He just has very natural rhythm. Kevin Durants,

493
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 1: A guy like this, like Kevin Durant could go without

494
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,440
Speaker 1: touching a basketball or without playing in an NBA game

495
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:23,359
Speaker 1: for two months and then step on the floor and

496
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 1: more or less look like the KD that we know. Right,

497
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 1: Rhythm players like they kind of have to get their

498
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,800
Speaker 1: stuff going right, Like I very much am not. I

499
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,640
Speaker 1: very much am a rhythm player. Like That's why I'm

500
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,160
Speaker 1: super hyper diligent on my my shooting workouts every day,

501
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,360
Speaker 1: because if I go four days without doing my shooting workouts,

502
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 1: my shot in my handle will fall apart. Like I

503
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:46,919
Speaker 1: am very much a rhythm player. I have to be

504
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,600
Speaker 1: super diligent about my work in order to be a

505
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,920
Speaker 1: good basketball player, and I think Julius Randall kind of

506
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,719
Speaker 1: falls into that category. Like he just he needs to

507
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,239
Speaker 1: be playing, you know, twenty games in a row or

508
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,840
Speaker 1: so for him to kind of get into his groove

509
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,600
Speaker 1: and be the idealized version of himself, which is what

510
00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,359
Speaker 1: he's doing right now. He's been healthy and he's been

511
00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 1: playing really well as a result. But like, I don't

512
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 1: necessarily think that's the issue. They were literally you get

513
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,320
Speaker 1: anything out of Rando last year. You're in the conference finals,

514
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,640
Speaker 1: and like obviously you know, is this NIXT team capable

515
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: of reaching the Boston Milwaukee level. Probably not unless they

516
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:28,880
Speaker 1: make a trade, Right, But I'm just not necessarily sure

517
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,680
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell is the guy that I'd go after. First

518
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:33,399
Speaker 1: of all, I think he's just kind of redundant. I

519
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,760
Speaker 1: think he's the same type of player as Jalen Brunson,

520
00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 1: is a pick and roll scorer who can pass, but

521
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,360
Speaker 1: is more of like a heliocentric pick and roll score. Right,

522
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:45,439
Speaker 1: as I've talked about a lot on this show, I

523
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:49,440
Speaker 1: look at like this ideal like archetype of a basketball team, right,

524
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,439
Speaker 1: you gotta have a skill guard, point of attack guard,

525
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:58,040
Speaker 1: tall lanky wing, strong power wing, athletic center that can switch.

526
00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,560
Speaker 1: We were talking about Minnesota earlier. Minnesota fits that mold

527
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,199
Speaker 1: literally perfectly. It's like Mike Conley's your skill guard, answer

528
00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:08,440
Speaker 1: athletic point of attack guard. Jay McDaniel's your tall, slender forward.

529
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,359
Speaker 1: Carl Towns is your big, strong forward. Rudy Gobert's your

530
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,080
Speaker 1: athletic center that can switch and drop right. And I

531
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,960
Speaker 1: don't why would you make the same mistake the Cavs

532
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,280
Speaker 1: made and put another two small guards together that are redundant, right.

533
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,119
Speaker 1: I like the idea of having Jalen Brunson be the

534
00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:30,199
Speaker 1: skill guard next to a point of attack elite a

535
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:34,080
Speaker 1: guard like off ball guard. To me, that's where r. J.

536
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,760
Speaker 1: Barrett should be. What they need is they need a

537
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:42,040
Speaker 1: really good three, right. Julius Randall is your power forward

538
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,359
Speaker 1: that can attack matchups, and then ideally when you're healthy,

539
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,320
Speaker 1: it's Mitchell Robinson and Mitchell Robinson being hurt might be

540
00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:49,720
Speaker 1: one of the best things that can happen to this

541
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,360
Speaker 1: team because it might stop them from doing something stupid

542
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,840
Speaker 1: like going after Donovan Mitchell. In my opinion, you patiently

543
00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,160
Speaker 1: wait to see who you can put it that three,

544
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 1: because if I have Brunson Barrett with Randall Robinson in

545
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:09,959
Speaker 1: a really good three that is an elite shooter and

546
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,320
Speaker 1: that can guard multiple positions on the perimeter, now we're

547
00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,159
Speaker 1: talking about a team that actually has a chance to

548
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,840
Speaker 1: go beat a team like Boston or Milwaukee in the playoffs.

549
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,840
Speaker 1: And so I think, like you know, Donovan Mitchell is

550
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:26,920
Speaker 1: going to be a guy that can help some teams.

551
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,119
Speaker 1: I just am not sure that New York is the

552
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:32,000
Speaker 1: team that he can specifically help. I've seen, you know,

553
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 1: a lot of people talking about them waiting on Embiid

554
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 1: potentially that's another one that I would be I would

555
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,560
Speaker 1: think is smart, Like if you could upgrade Mitchell Robinson

556
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:40,480
Speaker 1: into Joel Embiid, you can get away with a lesser

557
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,480
Speaker 1: player at the three, maybe a veteran minimum type of guy. Right.

558
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,000
Speaker 1: But it's those two positions, the five in the three

559
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 1: that I'd be looking to upgrade, not the two. It's

560
00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:52,080
Speaker 1: certainly not with a guy who more or less is

561
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:54,080
Speaker 1: a one, which is what you already have in Jayalen Brunson.

562
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,760
Speaker 1: And as you guys know, I think I think Jaylen

563
00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,080
Speaker 1: Brunston is just better than Donovan Mitchell. I basically said that.

564
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:01,880
Speaker 1: Last year. I was like, I was, That's why I

565
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:03,920
Speaker 1: picked the Knicks to beat the Cavs. I was like,

566
00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,920
Speaker 1: I think Brunson's gonna outplay Mitchell, and he did. So

567
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:09,720
Speaker 1: I just don't think that's the route they need to go.

568
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:12,440
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk Lakers for a few minutes and

569
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 1: then we'll get out of here. So what is wrong

570
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 1: with the Lakers? They are one in four in their

571
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 1: five games since the n season Tournament win, and they've

572
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,080
Speaker 1: looked bad, like really bad. And so the question is

573
00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,200
Speaker 1: why have they looked bad? And I want to look

574
00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 1: at it from two fronts. So there's a big picture

575
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:26,880
Speaker 1: element and then there's some individual players that I want

576
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,760
Speaker 1: to hit on in the big picture. This team, as

577
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,680
Speaker 1: I've talked about so much, their weapon is their defense.

578
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,000
Speaker 1: They're an elite defense in my opinion, when they are engaged,

579
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,720
Speaker 1: they are the best defense in the NBA, anchored by

580
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,800
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis when he's engaged, best defensive player in the

581
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 1: world in my opinion, comfortably Lebron James when he's engaged,

582
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,280
Speaker 1: very very good low man help defender because he just

583
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:50,280
Speaker 1: has a ton of IQ in the athleticism to make

584
00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 1: plays right when they have their wings slotted properly. Cam

585
00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,360
Speaker 1: Reddish when he's playing like we're going to talk about

586
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,000
Speaker 1: Redish here in a minute, because he hasn't been playing well.

587
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 1: Reddish at the point of tech, good weapon, Torrian Prince

588
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 1: as a secondary point of attack of defender, good option right,

589
00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,480
Speaker 1: and then you know Austin Reeves typically is you're one there.

590
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,040
Speaker 1: Austin just kind of does his job right. I think

591
00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 1: they're the best defense in the league when they're engaged.

592
00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:14,240
Speaker 1: Minnesota gives them a run for their money. But I

593
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 1: just don't think Rudy Gobert is as good as Anthony Davis.

594
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,960
Speaker 1: But that team who won with defense, the same team

595
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,440
Speaker 1: that stopped the Pacers after the Bucks and Celtics could not,

596
00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,040
Speaker 1: that team is giving up one hundred and twenty points

597
00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:30,920
Speaker 1: per one hundred possessions in the five games since the

598
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 1: nd season tournament. That's bad. They're not a bad defense,

599
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,040
Speaker 1: and they are playing bad defense. So that's a big

600
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,120
Speaker 1: part of it. Now, the question is why why are

601
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 1: they playing bad defense? Really, it just comes down to

602
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,200
Speaker 1: the schedule. You gotta think of it like this. By

603
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,880
Speaker 1: the end of December, the Lakers will have played twelve

604
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,880
Speaker 1: of their last nineteen games on the road, and in

605
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,520
Speaker 1: the middle of that was a stretch where they had

606
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,800
Speaker 1: to go to Vegas and play playoff games. Basically for

607
00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,680
Speaker 1: a week, played three playoff games, one at home and

608
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,240
Speaker 1: two in Vegas. And so I think, honestly, there's just

609
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,960
Speaker 1: a little worn down. I think some of it's a

610
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:06,720
Speaker 1: letdown too. Like think of it like this, like, what

611
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,000
Speaker 1: does the N Season Tournament win? Is it a trophy

612
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,120
Speaker 1: like the Larry O'Brien. No, But what it is is

613
00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:19,040
Speaker 1: a strong indicator that in big, meaningful basketball games, the

614
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 1: Lakers are really damn good at that because of their

615
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:23,840
Speaker 1: physical nature and their defense and their ability to win

616
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,560
Speaker 1: rock fights and the level Lebron's playing at right now

617
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 1: or at least before this stretch after the tournament, And

618
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,960
Speaker 1: when you combine that with like everything we know about

619
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,320
Speaker 1: the Lakers last year in the postseason, that N Season

620
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,680
Speaker 1: Tournament win was like a legitimization of them as a

621
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,400
Speaker 1: bona fide championship contender. The problem is you have to

622
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,480
Speaker 1: turn around and play Dallas a couple nights later, right,

623
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:48,760
Speaker 1: and like that's where things can kind of go off

624
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:53,880
Speaker 1: the rails. Is it becomes from a motivational standpoint when

625
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 1: you just kind of legitimized yourself and now you've got

626
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,480
Speaker 1: to go play these low, low intensity, low importance games.

627
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:04,640
Speaker 1: They let their foot off the gas in a lot

628
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: of ways. And then you combine that with tough schedule,

629
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:11,520
Speaker 1: right quality opponents, a lot of them on the road. Like, guys,

630
00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:14,680
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bulls are playing really well lately. I want

631
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:16,080
Speaker 1: to say, they're like seven and three in their last

632
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 1: ten games. They just went in and beat the Sixers

633
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:22,080
Speaker 1: the other night, and like, they gotta go on the

634
00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,719
Speaker 1: road to Minnesota tonight. They're gonna lose. Lebron's out. Anthony

635
00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,520
Speaker 1: Davis should rest tonight. I hope he does. They're gonna

636
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:30,600
Speaker 1: lose that game. Then on Saturday they gotta go to

637
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City. There's a decent chance they lose that game too.

638
00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,480
Speaker 1: But then they'll come home in January. It gets tough

639
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:39,400
Speaker 1: at the end of December two, they're home for the

640
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,520
Speaker 1: Celtics and then they have two more road games. But

641
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:44,760
Speaker 1: in January things will slow down. Hopefully they can recapture that.

642
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:46,520
Speaker 1: But again, we got to look at the Lakers in

643
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,200
Speaker 1: the big picture. I think they've been one of the best,

644
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,680
Speaker 1: one of the worst, I should say effort and energy

645
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,840
Speaker 1: teams in the league this year. If you take out

646
00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:57,720
Speaker 1: the seven in season tournament games, so the four pool

647
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,120
Speaker 1: play games, three single elimination games, basically all seven of

648
00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:05,960
Speaker 1: those were really good start to finish Laker performances outside

649
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,400
Speaker 1: of that, because I think this team's won fifteen games.

650
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,440
Speaker 1: They're other eight wins the vast majority of those have

651
00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 1: been uneven efforts where they've come out slow, bs their

652
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:18,000
Speaker 1: way through two and a half quarters and then suddenly

653
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,560
Speaker 1: engage themselves and come back and win late. That was literally, like,

654
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:23,560
Speaker 1: that's how they beat the Suns the first time. That's

655
00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,239
Speaker 1: how they beat the Clippers the first time. That's how

656
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:27,760
Speaker 1: they beat the Magic the first time. That's what they do.

657
00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:32,440
Speaker 1: That's what they do. So like, I'm not shocked anymore

658
00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,880
Speaker 1: when I look at the scoreboard and they're down by

659
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,320
Speaker 1: thirteen points in the first half against the Bulls. It's

660
00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,960
Speaker 1: been somewhat their identity. You know, when a team that

661
00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,600
Speaker 1: has to win through hard work because their best talent

662
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,320
Speaker 1: is their defensive potential. When that team doesn't play hard,

663
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,760
Speaker 1: they will get crushed. Those are the big picture elements.

664
00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,120
Speaker 1: Now there's some individual players, because what ends up happening

665
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,520
Speaker 1: in a lot of these cases when a team is struggling,

666
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,840
Speaker 1: it usually involves a bunch of specific players struggling. Now,

667
00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 1: on the offensive end, their core three are playing great.

668
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,400
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis thirty two points per game on sixty one

669
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:08,920
Speaker 1: or thirty one points per game on sixty one percent

670
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,720
Speaker 1: the last five games, Lebron twenty seven nine to eleven

671
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,640
Speaker 1: on forty eight percent, Austin Reeves twenty points and six

672
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,439
Speaker 1: assists on fifty one percent from the field, forty six

673
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,400
Speaker 1: percent from three to ninety two percent from the line.

674
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,040
Speaker 1: So they're getting scoring from their core guys, and Anthony

675
00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,400
Speaker 1: Davis has more or less been the great defensive player

676
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:27,480
Speaker 1: that we've come to expect, although he's clearly been laboring

677
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:30,560
Speaker 1: a little bit with his ankle injury, right, But everyone

678
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:34,360
Speaker 1: else is struggling, and even among those core guys, Lebron

679
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,840
Speaker 1: completely let go of the defensive rope since the end

680
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:40,920
Speaker 1: season tournament. Dominant lowman against the Pacers, dominant lowman against

681
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,360
Speaker 1: the Pelicans, could give a shit the last week and

682
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,279
Speaker 1: a half, you know what I mean. And that's a

683
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,040
Speaker 1: fundamental part of defense. We talked about the low man, right,

684
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,040
Speaker 1: but there's a bunch of individual players that are struggling. Right.

685
00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,720
Speaker 1: Cam Ruddish. Early in the season, when he was playing well,

686
00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:59,280
Speaker 1: it was dedicated effort at at the point of attack,

687
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:04,000
Speaker 1: with fo focus on the game plan, with super selective offense.

688
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,880
Speaker 1: He was just taking wide open corner threes and that

689
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,840
Speaker 1: was about it. Cam Reddish has really struggled in the

690
00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:13,719
Speaker 1: last five games. He's way loose on defense compared to

691
00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:15,839
Speaker 1: where he was earlier, a lot of gambling, a lot

692
00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:19,040
Speaker 1: of like stunting and getting out of position. Really really

693
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,959
Speaker 1: struggled with Jalen Brunson the other night. Cam's not playing

694
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,120
Speaker 1: very good on defense. Then on offense he's gone back

695
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:26,800
Speaker 1: to a lot of what he did in the past,

696
00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,880
Speaker 1: which is like taking early clock pull up a threes

697
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,279
Speaker 1: in transition above the break and driving into traffic and

698
00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,320
Speaker 1: trying to do too much just in general a quick trigger.

699
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:40,920
Speaker 1: And so now Cam Reddish has gone from an impactful

700
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,279
Speaker 1: three and D guy or D and three guy to

701
00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 1: something below that. Right, Torrian Prince has been shooting the

702
00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,440
Speaker 1: ball better, but he's struggling on the defensive end of

703
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,000
Speaker 1: the floor and he's not doing anything to help on

704
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:54,440
Speaker 1: the class. D'Angelo Russell is like completely checked out mentally,

705
00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:56,879
Speaker 1: thirty four percent from the field, twenty two percent from

706
00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,000
Speaker 1: three since the n Season tournament ended, and he's just

707
00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,200
Speaker 1: floating through games on the defensive end of the floor.

708
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,879
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt looks like he's still hurt. He's not moving well.

709
00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:10,160
Speaker 1: And then again, and this is an important part of

710
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,520
Speaker 1: this is the rotation piece. But Ruey doesn't look like

711
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,319
Speaker 1: he fits in right now. Now. One of the things

712
00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,160
Speaker 1: I want to say is Jared Vanderbilt and Ruyachimura, they're

713
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,279
Speaker 1: combining in the last five games to play thirty eight

714
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:24,480
Speaker 1: minutes per game. Torrian Prince by himself is playing thirty

715
00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:26,920
Speaker 1: six minutes per game. And I think a big like

716
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:30,359
Speaker 1: Torrian Prince is a guy that used to come off

717
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,760
Speaker 1: the bench and play in a limited role, and Darvin

718
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,160
Speaker 1: Ham is leaned into him as a high minutes starter,

719
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,240
Speaker 1: which is like, of course, his point of attack, defense

720
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,360
Speaker 1: is gonna struggle. Of course, he's gonna struggle on the

721
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,440
Speaker 1: defensive glass. Of course he's gonna have games like he

722
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:47,400
Speaker 1: did against the Knicks where he goes three for thirteen

723
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:51,560
Speaker 1: from three. He's not accustomed to this. Workload to just

724
00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:56,000
Speaker 1: go look at his minutes totals in the last three

725
00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:00,959
Speaker 1: years before the Lakers and now later in his career

726
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,240
Speaker 1: when he's an older player and less athletic, Darvin Ham's

727
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,640
Speaker 1: leading on him in huge minutes and it's just not

728
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,799
Speaker 1: necessary when you have other options there. That's the one

729
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,279
Speaker 1: big tactical thing that sticks out to me here. It's

730
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 1: just a lot of Cam Reddishatorian prints when you have

731
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:23,239
Speaker 1: other options like Jared Vanderbilt, like Max Christy, like ruiy Hachimura,

732
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:26,879
Speaker 1: that you can slot into those positions. And I do

733
00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:30,160
Speaker 1: think that balancing that out more could help everybody. But

734
00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:33,520
Speaker 1: all those guys are playing poorly. Again, like when you

735
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,920
Speaker 1: have three of your starters, Cam Redistorium, Prince and Dangelo

736
00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:40,400
Speaker 1: Russell playing poorly, that's gonna lead to some bad basketball.

737
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 1: And again, why are these guys playing poorly? I think

738
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,440
Speaker 1: they're a little worn down. A lot of road games,

739
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:52,080
Speaker 1: weird four three, you know, playoff style games mixed in

740
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,160
Speaker 1: a little bit of a letdown after you win the

741
00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:57,000
Speaker 1: damn thing. No chance to just go home and get

742
00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:01,600
Speaker 1: into a routine. Look at their January schedule, their January schedules.

743
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,880
Speaker 1: It enlightens up a lot of games at home, a

744
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:06,399
Speaker 1: lot of easier opponents. That's when I think you'll see

745
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:08,200
Speaker 1: the Lakers kind of click in and start to regain

746
00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:10,520
Speaker 1: some ground in the regular season standings. But I will

747
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,319
Speaker 1: admit one thing, like I was never down, no matter

748
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: how poorly things got at the beginning of the season

749
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:18,520
Speaker 1: or in this last week and a half, I've never

750
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,359
Speaker 1: been down on the Lakers championship potential. If anything, I'm

751
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,359
Speaker 1: higher on it because Lebron looks better and I think

752
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,319
Speaker 1: they're positioned for a trade, and we'll talk about the

753
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:28,920
Speaker 1: trade here in a minute. But like, I'm just not

754
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:32,040
Speaker 1: off of that boat. I was wrong about one thing though.

755
00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:35,640
Speaker 1: I said in the offseason that I thought the Lakers

756
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,880
Speaker 1: would win fifty games and just in general win a

757
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:41,520
Speaker 1: lot of regular season games because they just have a

758
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,799
Speaker 1: lot of talent and they'll just be able to get

759
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,719
Speaker 1: through the regular season riding that talent night in a

760
00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:48,680
Speaker 1: night out. And I thought they'd be able to weather

761
00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:51,840
Speaker 1: injuries to Len and Anthony Davis, which haven't happened yet. Really,

762
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 1: I was wrong about that in the sense that they

763
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:59,840
Speaker 1: have not been a consistently engaged team, and like, just

764
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:03,560
Speaker 1: go look at the NBA standings, look through and look

765
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:07,280
Speaker 1: at how many teams are good. There's like nineteen good

766
00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,840
Speaker 1: teams and then there's like ten or eleven bad teams.

767
00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 1: And so as a result of that, on the night

768
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,640
Speaker 1: out nature of the NBA, if you don't bring solid

769
00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:19,840
Speaker 1: effort and energy and focus, you get your butt kicked.

770
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:25,320
Speaker 1: It's just how it goes. And so honestly, like I

771
00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,120
Speaker 1: view this as like a forty five win team now,

772
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 1: a team that just kind of hovers around five hundred

773
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:33,239
Speaker 1: and then at the end of the season will end up,

774
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:35,880
Speaker 1: you know, five to six seven games above five hundred.

775
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,799
Speaker 1: And that's just simply from the standpoint of effort. This

776
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:43,200
Speaker 1: is a team that they're low man. Lebron James barely

777
00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:47,240
Speaker 1: tries on defense, you know, in any game that unless

778
00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:49,919
Speaker 1: it has some sort of degree of importance, and which

779
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:52,719
Speaker 1: by the way, doesn't matter for the postseason. Lebron is

780
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:54,759
Speaker 1: consistently a guy that can make plays on that end

781
00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:56,759
Speaker 1: when he gets there. But in the context of the

782
00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:00,960
Speaker 1: regular season it's an issue and they're just not. They

783
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:03,800
Speaker 1: just have too many guys playing poorly right now. Last piece,

784
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 1: I said before the season that I expected ruy Hachamura

785
00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:12,320
Speaker 1: and d'angela Russell to get traded, but that D'Angelo Russell

786
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,680
Speaker 1: in particular was the safest bet in the NBA to

787
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:19,000
Speaker 1: get traded. And I said specifically, because those are two

788
00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:21,080
Speaker 1: of your top five players, the top five players in

789
00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:24,000
Speaker 1: the Lakers or Lebron, James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reeves, Ruyachamura,

790
00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:27,239
Speaker 1: Dangel Russell, those are your top five guys. Except for

791
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,520
Speaker 1: Lebron and Ruey play the same position. Delo and Austin

792
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,879
Speaker 1: more or less play the same position, skill guard, right,

793
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:36,520
Speaker 1: And as we've talked about, if you have skill guard

794
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:38,880
Speaker 1: skill guard, your defense falls apart. It has to be

795
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,160
Speaker 1: skill guard, point of attack defender that can shoot the

796
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:44,719
Speaker 1: ball right that that that's what your backcourt has to be.

797
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,439
Speaker 1: And what you're seeing right now is D'Angel Russell's playing

798
00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:52,080
Speaker 1: really poorly and starting to kind of hate his role

799
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:53,759
Speaker 1: on this team in a lot of ways, which is,

800
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,200
Speaker 1: you're the guy who starts the game, but we don't

801
00:40:56,239 --> 00:40:58,920
Speaker 1: want you running the offense, and Austin's gonna come in

802
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:00,640
Speaker 1: and take the reins from you and end up closing

803
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:04,840
Speaker 1: the game anyway. Not D'Angelo Russell's fault, not Darvin Ham's fault.

804
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,520
Speaker 1: That is a roster in balance that has been abundantly

805
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 1: clear since the Nuggets series last year, right, and then

806
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,480
Speaker 1: Ruey Hachimura. You know, like, I don't think it's a

807
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,600
Speaker 1: coincidence that in that Spurs game Lebron didn't play last week,

808
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:24,720
Speaker 1: he looked good because he does the same stuff Lebron does.

809
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,440
Speaker 1: He is the same lesser He's a lesser version of

810
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:31,520
Speaker 1: the same player, a big matchup attacking forward who needs

811
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,239
Speaker 1: to play as a low man defensively. And so when

812
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,239
Speaker 1: you have both of them together and one of them's

813
00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:39,880
Speaker 1: playing thirty six minutes, there's just not a ton of

814
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:44,320
Speaker 1: opportunity for Ruey Hachimura. And like last year in the

815
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:46,880
Speaker 1: postseason when he was great, they were playing him a

816
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:49,360
Speaker 1: lot at the three next to Lebron and Ad and

817
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:51,879
Speaker 1: he was playing with good players and getting a lot

818
00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:54,800
Speaker 1: of catch and shoot opportunities, which he was making. Now

819
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:59,000
Speaker 1: he's pretty consistently playing in bench groups without their best players.

820
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:01,279
Speaker 1: They're tossing in the in the block and asking him

821
00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:04,040
Speaker 1: to initiate offense, which is not his strength, and then

822
00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:08,480
Speaker 1: his defense is suffering as a result of that. You know,

823
00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:10,840
Speaker 1: it's funny because like I'm a huge Ruie fan. I

824
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:14,120
Speaker 1: think he's a good playoff player too, but there's a

825
00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:17,239
Speaker 1: redundancy here, and that's where it becomes a problem. I

826
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:20,680
Speaker 1: don't know necessarily that Rui will get moved. That will

827
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:24,279
Speaker 1: basically depend on the target. But Danzel the russell will

828
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:28,200
Speaker 1: almost certainly get moved because of that imbalance. And then

829
00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:31,200
Speaker 1: we look at the two inside guys. If we agree

830
00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:33,440
Speaker 1: that the big picture version of this team is Austin

831
00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:37,200
Speaker 1: is your skill guard, Ada is the primary rim protector,

832
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:39,319
Speaker 1: Lebron is the low man. It's the two and the

833
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:42,640
Speaker 1: three that will round out that lineup, and that five,

834
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,319
Speaker 1: whatever that five ends up being, will determine the fate

835
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:49,440
Speaker 1: of this team. Cam Reddish, it was a cool story

836
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:51,200
Speaker 1: when he played really well for a couple of weeks.

837
00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:53,880
Speaker 1: He will have other stretches this season where he plays

838
00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:55,719
Speaker 1: really well for a couple of weeks, and then I'll

839
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:57,640
Speaker 1: have other stretches like the last couple of weeks where

840
00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:01,680
Speaker 1: he's loose, in, undisciplined and his hacked craters. That's gonna

841
00:43:01,719 --> 00:43:04,759
Speaker 1: be the experience of writing a young flawed player at

842
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:10,080
Speaker 1: the two. Torrian Prince very good bench wing, and when

843
00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:12,239
Speaker 1: he's coming off the bench for you and playing twenty

844
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:15,080
Speaker 1: something minutes a night, He's gonna be a really useful

845
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,000
Speaker 1: player for you. Good catch and shoot player, decent point

846
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 1: of attack defender against lower level perimeter talent. But when

847
00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:25,279
Speaker 1: you slought him as a starter and he's guarding a

848
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:28,520
Speaker 1: lot of the higher level perimeter talent, you can run

849
00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:31,480
Speaker 1: into some issues there. And so I keep pointing to

850
00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 1: the same situation. You have to find a way to

851
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:37,360
Speaker 1: turn your two players that are redundancies that you can't

852
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:40,920
Speaker 1: play in Ruy and Dilo into upgrades at the two

853
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:45,120
Speaker 1: and three between Austin Lebron and Ad. And again it

854
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,200
Speaker 1: depends on the player. I wouldn't do it for anybody,

855
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:51,320
Speaker 1: but you know, if you can, if you can call

856
00:43:51,360 --> 00:43:56,320
Speaker 1: the bulls and somehow get you know, Caruso Ford lo

857
00:43:56,520 --> 00:44:01,520
Speaker 1: in a first in other South, you gotta do that.

858
00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:06,560
Speaker 1: If you can call the Brooklyn Nets and be like, hey,

859
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:10,000
Speaker 1: ruey Hotchramura, You guys don't really have a big forward.

860
00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:12,600
Speaker 1: You guys have a bunch of skinny forwards. You have

861
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:15,399
Speaker 1: Dorian Finney Smith and Michal Bridges and Cam Johnson. They're

862
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:17,360
Speaker 1: all more or less skinny fords. You don't really have

863
00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:20,000
Speaker 1: a big forward that can attack smaller players in the post.

864
00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:23,279
Speaker 1: Why don't we try a swap there, you know, then

865
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:26,320
Speaker 1: then you can run Dorian Finney Smith and Alex Cruso

866
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:28,960
Speaker 1: at the two three. Now you're talking about a lineup

867
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:32,880
Speaker 1: that can win the championship. But right now, that's that's

868
00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:34,560
Speaker 1: why I keep them at the bottom of that tier.

869
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:40,800
Speaker 1: Like they the regular season stuff mostly effort, mostly effort focused.

870
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,040
Speaker 1: This is an older team in terms of their stars.

871
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:45,759
Speaker 1: That's gonna be something that's gonna lead to problems there.

872
00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:51,880
Speaker 1: But when he comes to the postseason, it's the weakness

873
00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:53,840
Speaker 1: at the two and three that concerns me the most.

874
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,800
Speaker 1: But do keep an eye on. I expect the Lakers

875
00:44:57,840 --> 00:44:59,600
Speaker 1: to struggle through the end of the year, and I

876
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:02,320
Speaker 1: wouldn't surprised if we get to January they're below five hundred,

877
00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:04,680
Speaker 1: and then I expect them to win a bunch of

878
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:06,560
Speaker 1: games in January because their schedule lightens up at the

879
00:45:06,719 --> 00:45:08,920
Speaker 1: and they're at home for the most part. So I

880
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:10,799
Speaker 1: think by the time we get to the deadline, they'll be,

881
00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:15,000
Speaker 1: you know somewhere three four or five games above five hundred,

882
00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:17,920
Speaker 1: and if they nail those trades, they can go on

883
00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:21,080
Speaker 1: a little run post deadline, end up closer to fifty

884
00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:23,880
Speaker 1: wins and have a better chance. But my guess they'll

885
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:26,200
Speaker 1: I have no idea what's gonna happen to the deadline,

886
00:45:26,239 --> 00:45:27,960
Speaker 1: but at this point, I think the safer bet is

887
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,400
Speaker 1: for them to be a middle of the pack Western

888
00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:31,960
Speaker 1: Conference team who finishes with forty something to wins and

889
00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:35,560
Speaker 1: just adjust your expectations, Laker fans, adjust your expectations. This

890
00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:40,000
Speaker 1: is not a team that is interested in overly engaging

891
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,759
Speaker 1: themselves over the course of the regular season. All right, guys,

892
00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:44,359
Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. We have one

893
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,640
Speaker 1: more show tomorrow. We're gonna do some instant reactions to

894
00:45:46,719 --> 00:45:49,840
Speaker 1: some games and our MVP check in and a mailbag,

895
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:51,719
Speaker 1: so keep dropping mail back questions. I will see you guys.

896
00:45:51,719 --> 00:46:19,920
Speaker 1: Then the volume