1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,920
Speaker 1: The volume. All right, well, good to Hoops Tonight. You're

2
00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,680
Speaker 1: at the volume. We are finally starting our season previews today.

3
00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,919
Speaker 1: We're gonna be using a different format than we have

4
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,479
Speaker 1: in years past. And years pass we only hit the

5
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,040
Speaker 1: top fifteen teams and we did a power ranking style.

6
00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,640
Speaker 1: This year, we're going to do a separate kind of

7
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,800
Speaker 1: like contender rankings video as we get closer to the

8
00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,040
Speaker 1: start of the season. But we're gonna go division by division,

9
00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,120
Speaker 1: which means we're going to hit all thirty teams. Now,

10
00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,160
Speaker 1: obviously the teams towards the bottom end of the league

11
00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,280
Speaker 1: we're not going to spend as much time on. But

12
00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,519
Speaker 1: over the course of the next six videos, as we

13
00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:49,839
Speaker 1: go division to division, we are going to hit all

14
00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,080
Speaker 1: thirty teams in the NBA season previous style. Today, we

15
00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,480
Speaker 1: are starting with the Atlantic Division. That would be the

16
00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,480
Speaker 1: New York Knicks, the Philadelphia seventy six Ers, the Boston Celtics,

17
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,400
Speaker 1: the Toronto Raptors, and the Brooklyn Nets. Will be touching

18
00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,160
Speaker 1: on all five of those teams today. You guys have

19
00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:05,600
Speaker 1: the drip before we get started. To subscribe to the

20
00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,240
Speaker 1: Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of

21
00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,000
Speaker 1: our videos. Follow me on Twitter, I underscore JCNLTC. You guys,

22
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,360
Speaker 1: don't miss show announcements. Don't forget about a podcast few

23
00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,400
Speaker 1: where we get your podcast under Hoops Tonight. It's also

24
00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,880
Speaker 1: super helpful if you leave a rating any review on

25
00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,080
Speaker 1: that front. Jackson's doing great work on our social media

26
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,280
Speaker 1: feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Make sure you

27
00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:22,760
Speaker 1: guys follow us over there. And then, last, but not

28
00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,720
Speaker 1: out least, keep dropping those mail bag questions in the

29
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,640
Speaker 1: YouTube comments. We will have at least one more mail

30
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,120
Speaker 1: bag before the start of the season, and then they

31
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,759
Speaker 1: will be a regular part of our regular season cadence

32
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000
Speaker 1: when we get to that point. All right, let's talk

33
00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,200
Speaker 1: some basketball. So for starters, I'm just super excited. We

34
00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,920
Speaker 1: got a nice little break. But we've been talking a

35
00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,480
Speaker 1: lot of offseason stuff, a lot of digging into the past,

36
00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:46,280
Speaker 1: and this is just going to be a super exciting

37
00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,120
Speaker 1: and super interesting NBA season And there's just like a

38
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,280
Speaker 1: lot of stuff that if you're a basketball fan you

39
00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,280
Speaker 1: should be stoked about. I'm excited to see any changes

40
00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,560
Speaker 1: that might take place in the New York Knicks offense.

41
00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:03,040
Speaker 1: For example, you can actually talk yourself into a little

42
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,840
Speaker 1: Sixers optimism with the wide open Eastern Conference and Joel

43
00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,000
Speaker 1: Embiid being in great shape, I mean, I want to

44
00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,280
Speaker 1: see it, Like I would like to see this new

45
00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,400
Speaker 1: version of Joel Embiid and see if there's anything there right, Like,

46
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,960
Speaker 1: Boston's not the juggernaut that they were in years past

47
00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,720
Speaker 1: talent wise, but they have some really interesting storylines this year.

48
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,000
Speaker 1: I'm really excited to see what Anthony Simons looks like

49
00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:29,320
Speaker 1: in the Joe Missoula drive and kick attack or high

50
00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,480
Speaker 1: volume Jalen Brown shot creator. There's just a million interesting

51
00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,160
Speaker 1: storylines all around the league, so many good There's like

52
00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,400
Speaker 1: two dozen legitimately good teams that we're gonna be covering

53
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,000
Speaker 1: throughout the year, and I'm just excited to get into

54
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,079
Speaker 1: the season. So let's get started with our Atlantic Division

55
00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,640
Speaker 1: season preview. With the New York Knicks, quick little offseason recap.

56
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,800
Speaker 1: They lost Precious to Chewa, Cameron Payne, Intolon right and

57
00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,440
Speaker 1: added Malcolm Brogden, Jordan Clarkson, and Gershaon Yabucelli, so in

58
00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,800
Speaker 1: a lot of ways to shift towards offense with that

59
00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,399
Speaker 1: part of their bench. Right, Like, Gershan is a much

60
00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,799
Speaker 1: better offensive player than Precious to Chua, and Jordan and

61
00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:08,440
Speaker 1: Malcolm represent a more offensive oriented backcourt than Delon Wright

62
00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,959
Speaker 1: and Campaign represented. Right, and perhaps the most influential piece

63
00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,040
Speaker 1: of Knicks news this entire summer is just the change

64
00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,839
Speaker 1: and head coach from Tom Thibodeau to Mike Brown. We've

65
00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,200
Speaker 1: already seen a couple of hints as to how that

66
00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,320
Speaker 1: could change things for the Knicks. In the early part

67
00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,080
Speaker 1: of the season. We saw a picture from their first

68
00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,480
Speaker 1: practice where Mitchell Robinson was wearing a starters jersey. Obviously,

69
00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,359
Speaker 1: that's not a guarantee that he will start, but going

70
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,080
Speaker 1: from Josh Harden the starting lineup to Mitchell Robinson would

71
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,160
Speaker 1: be a shift from their regular season approach last year.

72
00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,360
Speaker 1: Obviously a lot of that was initiated by Mitchell's injury

73
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:43,280
Speaker 1: to start the season as well, But if we saw

74
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,720
Speaker 1: a lot more Mitchell Robinson at center, especially to start

75
00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,960
Speaker 1: games at alongside Karl Anthony Towns, that'd be an interesting shift, right.

76
00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:51,880
Speaker 1: And then we got an interesting quote from Deuce McBride,

77
00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,480
Speaker 1: one that centers around a storyline we've discussed a lot

78
00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,160
Speaker 1: with the Knicks and throughout the end of last season,

79
00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,960
Speaker 1: which was the quote goes a lot more player movement,

80
00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,400
Speaker 1: ball movement. Last year, at times we got stagnant and

81
00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,040
Speaker 1: we depended on a lot of isolation shots, which is

82
00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,160
Speaker 1: tough down the stretch. This year, it's gonna be a

83
00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,600
Speaker 1: little more freedom with the movement and a lot of

84
00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,400
Speaker 1: young guys cutting, guys getting active. This is where I

85
00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 1: want to start with the Knicks, because, like obviously, their

86
00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,000
Speaker 1: defense was their biggest issue last year, and we're going

87
00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,440
Speaker 1: to talk about that. They logged a defensive rating of

88
00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,719
Speaker 1: one to twenty three point four in their eight playoff losses,

89
00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,920
Speaker 1: which is brutally bad. And we are going to discuss

90
00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,400
Speaker 1: the defense in a bit, but this was a major

91
00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,040
Speaker 1: talking point with respect to the offense, which was also

92
00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,200
Speaker 1: an issue for the Knicks in that postseason run. The

93
00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,160
Speaker 1: Knicks were the fifth best offense in the NBA during

94
00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,040
Speaker 1: the regular season, logging a one to seventeen point three

95
00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,760
Speaker 1: offensive rating, but that plummeted down to one twelve point

96
00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,719
Speaker 1: seven in the postseason. So the strength of the team,

97
00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,400
Speaker 1: their ability to score failed them when they got into

98
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,560
Speaker 1: April and may this stems from a concept that we've

99
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,360
Speaker 1: talked a lot about on the show in the last year,

100
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:09,039
Speaker 1: which is the difference between an individual player loading up

101
00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,880
Speaker 1: the box score in the team the five man unit

102
00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,880
Speaker 1: effectively scoring the ball. In a large sample, Brunson had

103
00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,360
Speaker 1: an insane postseason. He averaged twenty nine points and seven

104
00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,800
Speaker 1: assists on fifty eight percent through shooting at a boltload

105
00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,640
Speaker 1: of clutch shots. There was a lot of highlights on

106
00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:29,560
Speaker 1: the Jalen Brunson front, but the Jalen Brunson led offense

107
00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:34,359
Speaker 1: that five man grouping did not perform nearly as well

108
00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,560
Speaker 1: as the other top offenses around the playoff field. Now,

109
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,760
Speaker 1: it'd be clear before we go any further. I'm not

110
00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,440
Speaker 1: trying to say that Jalen Brunson is overrated, or that

111
00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,240
Speaker 1: he's bad, or that Brunson ball can't work. That's obviously

112
00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,120
Speaker 1: not the case. In fact, at the end of games,

113
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:54,159
Speaker 1: when Brunson really struggled things, the strangled things, excuse me,

114
00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,760
Speaker 1: the Knicks actually scored the ball really well with Brunson

115
00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,560
Speaker 1: on the floor in the fourth quarter. During this playoff run,

116
00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,240
Speaker 1: the Knicks logged a one to twenty five offensive rating,

117
00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,440
Speaker 1: and they were decent in crunch time, not perfect, but decent,

118
00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,800
Speaker 1: and they wanted quite a few games in those crunch

119
00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:16,200
Speaker 1: time situations. I still think, especially in a small handful

120
00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,360
Speaker 1: of possessions, Brunson is one of the very best half

121
00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,000
Speaker 1: court weapons in the league, and the Knicks would be

122
00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,960
Speaker 1: foolish to abandon that. So this is not a let's

123
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,320
Speaker 1: put Brunson on the sidelines, so to speak, in the

124
00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:34,520
Speaker 1: offensive approach. This is like let's add variety. The truth

125
00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,240
Speaker 1: remains that in the large sample, the Knicks need to

126
00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:41,080
Speaker 1: find a way to score more effectively in the playoffs,

127
00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,080
Speaker 1: and they have the personnel to do so. This is

128
00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,920
Speaker 1: not Jalen in a bunch of role players. I've talked

129
00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,240
Speaker 1: about this over the years, but the way your personnel

130
00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,640
Speaker 1: is put together should dictate your play style. So, for instance,

131
00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,400
Speaker 1: if you're the twenty twenty two or the twenty twenty

132
00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:03,040
Speaker 1: four Dallas Mavericks, and outside of Luca and Kyrie Irvinger

133
00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,520
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson, you just have a bunch of play finishers,

134
00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:11,680
Speaker 1: guys like Dorian Finney, Smith, Josh Green, PJ. Washington, Dereck Lively,

135
00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:13,840
Speaker 1: Daniel Gafford, so on and so forth. You guys get

136
00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,440
Speaker 1: the point, You're gonna want to run more of a

137
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:20,680
Speaker 1: brute force for out one in pick and roll heavy

138
00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,600
Speaker 1: attack because you don't have a ton of ball handling,

139
00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:26,720
Speaker 1: and you don't want to have a bunch of possessions

140
00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,600
Speaker 1: with Dorian Finney Smith coming off of a dribble handoff

141
00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,800
Speaker 1: needing to create something off the bounce. That's not in

142
00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,160
Speaker 1: line with the strength of the roster. But to be clear,

143
00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,000
Speaker 1: this Knicks team is not that type of roster, especially

144
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,520
Speaker 1: with the additions of Malcolm Brogden and Jordan Clarkson. Like

145
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,400
Speaker 1: Brogden and Clarkson and Brunson and Mikhale Bridges and og

146
00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,520
Speaker 1: Anobi and Karl Anthony Towns, these are all guys who

147
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:51,120
Speaker 1: can put the ball on the floor and make plays

148
00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,440
Speaker 1: for others. And so this is the potential upside of

149
00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,360
Speaker 1: the Mike Brown hiring. You have a guy who's famous

150
00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:00,960
Speaker 1: for defensive accountability, which'll talk about in a minute, and

151
00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,480
Speaker 1: that will certainly help things. But you also get a

152
00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:06,720
Speaker 1: guy who has spent time on Steve Kerr's staff in

153
00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,000
Speaker 1: Golden State, who then brought many of those principles to

154
00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,200
Speaker 1: the five out attack with the Sacramento Kings, which was

155
00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,960
Speaker 1: a very high level offense. This team should be able

156
00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,080
Speaker 1: to score a shit ton of points. This team is

157
00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,000
Speaker 1: a team that can benefit from a lot of the

158
00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:30,520
Speaker 1: ideas that Mike Brown brought from Golden State utilized in Sacramento. Now,

159
00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,760
Speaker 1: to be clear, does that mean the Knicks should be

160
00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:36,360
Speaker 1: playing Warriors basketball with a half dozen dribble handoffs and

161
00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,760
Speaker 1: a half dozen backcuts every single possession? Of course not.

162
00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:43,240
Speaker 1: They're not that type of roster either, but something closer

163
00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,439
Speaker 1: to that than what they were last year would be

164
00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:52,040
Speaker 1: extremely helpful to me. It's about two important pieces of upside.

165
00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,600
Speaker 1: One is establishing other actions that you can eventually depend

166
00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,440
Speaker 1: on when you get into a postseason situation and you

167
00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,640
Speaker 1: need versatility in your offense, finding three or four more

168
00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,840
Speaker 1: pet sets or pet actions that you feel confident you

169
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,800
Speaker 1: can get a great look out of that don't require

170
00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:17,560
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson to do so off the bounce. We talked

171
00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:19,960
Speaker 1: about ogn and OBI post ups a lot last year.

172
00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:23,920
Speaker 1: You can reach those through several actions that can either

173
00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 1: help him get better deeper post position or a better matchup.

174
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,560
Speaker 1: So say, for instance, you use Brunson as a screener.

175
00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,320
Speaker 1: Let's say you just have Brunson cross screen for OG

176
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:34,439
Speaker 1: before coming off of something on the opposite end of

177
00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,680
Speaker 1: the floor. In that instance, if Brunson sets a good screen.

178
00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,440
Speaker 1: You're either going to hit the guy and help Og

179
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,640
Speaker 1: get really deep post position, and he's already so strong

180
00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,040
Speaker 1: that could lead to really good opportunities, or you can

181
00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,240
Speaker 1: force a switch which will then force Jalen Brunson's man

182
00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,680
Speaker 1: to guard Ogn Andobi on the block. That is something

183
00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:53,920
Speaker 1: I'd like to see them build out over the course

184
00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,240
Speaker 1: of the season. We saw a lot of McHale Bridge's

185
00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,480
Speaker 1: pick and roll with bench groups last year. They need

186
00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,120
Speaker 1: to add complications to that so that it's not all

187
00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,040
Speaker 1: on McHale Bridges as a ball handler to hit mid

188
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,760
Speaker 1: range pull ups, three man action with Og and Andobi involved,

189
00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,319
Speaker 1: as well as Karl Anthony towns that could come out

190
00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,560
Speaker 1: of horn sets, that could come out of stack pick

191
00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,160
Speaker 1: and roll where OG's starting under the basket and backscreening

192
00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,320
Speaker 1: for Cat. Adding those complications that take full advantage of

193
00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:25,480
Speaker 1: all of the offensive talent you have on the floor.

194
00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,200
Speaker 1: Inverted ball screens for Cat, taking a player like Duce

195
00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,880
Speaker 1: McBride or Jalen Brunson or even McHale Bridges screening for

196
00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,560
Speaker 1: Cat and then slipping out to the three point line

197
00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,920
Speaker 1: if they hedge, there's an easy little kickout pass that

198
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,720
Speaker 1: can start your offense, then you can drive and kick

199
00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,600
Speaker 1: from there. If they don't, Cat's gonna get downhill. That's

200
00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,400
Speaker 1: what the Bucks and Giannis have been using for years

201
00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,800
Speaker 1: to get opportunities in their inverted actions. All of these

202
00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,800
Speaker 1: are potentially ways to get the defense into rotation. Og

203
00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:01,839
Speaker 1: Nanobi starts with a comes off a cross screen, draws

204
00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,000
Speaker 1: a second defender in the post. We can play drive

205
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,280
Speaker 1: and kick out of that, a three man action with

206
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,199
Speaker 1: McHale Bridges and O Jannobi and Karl Anthony Towns. Maybe

207
00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,400
Speaker 1: O jan Andobi is popping out of his backscreen and

208
00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,480
Speaker 1: getting wide open at the top of the key to

209
00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:19,240
Speaker 1: start your drive and kick attack. The idea of an

210
00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,719
Speaker 1: inverted ball screen cat comes barreling downhill, someone helps, it's

211
00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,920
Speaker 1: an easy kickout pass or playing drive and kick. You're

212
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:30,160
Speaker 1: finding ways to initiate offense without relying heavily on Jalen

213
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,840
Speaker 1: Brunson to do so on the ball, which then creates

214
00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,200
Speaker 1: the initial advantage that all of a sudden, all this

215
00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,880
Speaker 1: talent we have on the floor can benefit from. The

216
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,200
Speaker 1: Key is taking the time to really establish these things

217
00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,280
Speaker 1: over the course of the season, getting hundreds of reps

218
00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,600
Speaker 1: with them so that when You need to run it

219
00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,040
Speaker 1: in the postseason your guys feel comfortable and confident, because

220
00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,760
Speaker 1: what happens is if they're not comfortable and confident in

221
00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,320
Speaker 1: these pet actions, then what do you do every time

222
00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,000
Speaker 1: anyone falls into any kind of adversity on like the

223
00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,320
Speaker 1: handful of things that you're good at and generally speaking

224
00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:06,920
Speaker 1: over the last few years that's been here, Jalen, you

225
00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,280
Speaker 1: do it, and they need to have more versatility and

226
00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,720
Speaker 1: more variety that they can depend on. The second piece

227
00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:18,640
Speaker 1: of this is saving Jalen Brunson's legs. Jalen Brunson spent

228
00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,280
Speaker 1: a ton of time last year, especially in like the

229
00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,480
Speaker 1: first three quarters of games, fighting ball pressure up the floor.

230
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,640
Speaker 1: He also ran an insane amount of pick and roll.

231
00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,959
Speaker 1: He ran the third most pick and rolls per game

232
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:36,680
Speaker 1: in the entire NBA last year per Sentergy. That makes

233
00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,440
Speaker 1: no sense with the roster that they have. Here are

234
00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,600
Speaker 1: the top five guys in pick and roll volume last

235
00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:48,280
Speaker 1: year according to Synergy. Number one Trey Young. He played

236
00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,160
Speaker 1: on a team with almost noball handling and he was

237
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,840
Speaker 1: surrounded by a bunch of play finishers, so it made

238
00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:55,800
Speaker 1: a lot of sense for them to run a ton

239
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,720
Speaker 1: of Trey Young pick and roll number two Cade cunning Hand.

240
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,360
Speaker 1: He was on a team with very little ball handling

241
00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,480
Speaker 1: surrounded by a bunch of shooting and play finishers, so

242
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,480
Speaker 1: it made a ton of sense for them to run

243
00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,480
Speaker 1: a ton of Cad pick and roll bruntson third. Number

244
00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:16,079
Speaker 1: four Damian Lillard, a team you know, outside of Damon Giannis,

245
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,240
Speaker 1: not a lot of ball handling, but the best catch

246
00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,439
Speaker 1: and shoot team in the league. It made a lot

247
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,600
Speaker 1: of sense to run a lot of Dame pick and

248
00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:27,079
Speaker 1: roll Number five Shake Gil Just Alexander obviously a much

249
00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:28,959
Speaker 1: better roster and more ball handling than some of those

250
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,800
Speaker 1: other teams, but compared to the top playoff teams in

251
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,640
Speaker 1: the NBA, we discussed throughout the last year's last year's

252
00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,720
Speaker 1: postseason run that the Thunder were light on ball handling.

253
00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,120
Speaker 1: It was a weakness that Indiana exposed as they pushed

254
00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:47,240
Speaker 1: them towards seven games. In other words, you're wearing Jalen

255
00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,800
Speaker 1: Brunson out for no reason. He should be facing way

256
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,640
Speaker 1: less ball pressure and running way less pick and roll

257
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,360
Speaker 1: in addition to establishing other actions like we talked about earlier,

258
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,360
Speaker 1: you should then be able to deploy Brunson at the

259
00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,440
Speaker 1: end of games as the half court surgeon that he

260
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,880
Speaker 1: is with way fresher legs so that he doesn't look

261
00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:12,000
Speaker 1: as gast as he did at the tail end of

262
00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,280
Speaker 1: the Indiana series. So Mike Brown's tweaks within the offense

263
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:18,400
Speaker 1: will be something I have my eyes on to start

264
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:22,400
Speaker 1: this season. On the defensive end, it's all about Carl

265
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,440
Speaker 1: Anthony Towns, and I want to start by reiterating what

266
00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,920
Speaker 1: I said often at the end of the year last year.

267
00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,280
Speaker 1: I don't think you can play championship defense with Karl

268
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,760
Speaker 1: Anthony Towns on the floor. There are two different kinds

269
00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:36,480
Speaker 1: of bad defenders. This is a concept we've talked a

270
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,120
Speaker 1: lot about on the show over the last six months.

271
00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,600
Speaker 1: There are defenders that have physical limitations. These are guys

272
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,120
Speaker 1: that are maybe too small, maybe too slow, but they

273
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,960
Speaker 1: have issues with dealing with the physical limitations in certain matchups.

274
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,920
Speaker 1: But these guys tend to have high IQs. There are

275
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,600
Speaker 1: certain guys that fit that mold where it's like they

276
00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,880
Speaker 1: have their limitations, but they do have high IQs so

277
00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,120
Speaker 1: they can play a role within the defense. They're usually

278
00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,320
Speaker 1: in the right spot. You can plan for their weaknesses.

279
00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,080
Speaker 1: There's a way to work around those kind of guys.

280
00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,800
Speaker 1: Then there are bad defenders that just they're all over

281
00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,040
Speaker 1: the place mentally. They consistently get out of position, they

282
00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,960
Speaker 1: don't execute the game plan, they do bizarre things in

283
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:27,120
Speaker 1: certain coverages that break their defense. That type of player

284
00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:32,080
Speaker 1: is extremely difficult to build a championship defense around because

285
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,720
Speaker 1: you can't plan for their issues because they're so mistake prone.

286
00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:41,880
Speaker 1: In other words, physical limitations versus mental limitations. Cat kind

287
00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,760
Speaker 1: of is both, but the most important piece of it

288
00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:49,640
Speaker 1: is he is very, very mistake prone on defense. That

289
00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:51,600
Speaker 1: is why I don't believe that the Knicks can build

290
00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,280
Speaker 1: a championship defense around him. But either way, you have

291
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,600
Speaker 1: to try to write like it's not like the Knicks

292
00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:58,720
Speaker 1: are going to be like, oh we got cap, we

293
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:00,560
Speaker 1: can't compete for a title. I guess as well pack

294
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,360
Speaker 1: it in. They're gonna go out there and try to

295
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:07,520
Speaker 1: win this year. So how does that work? Well? Playing

296
00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,160
Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns at the four alongside a player like

297
00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,640
Speaker 1: Mitchell Robinson will absolutely help them in the regular season context.

298
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,080
Speaker 1: The key there is keep Karl Anthony Towns out of

299
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:25,040
Speaker 1: screening action as much as possible. Kat defending screens is

300
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:29,560
Speaker 1: an absolute nightmare. His hedges, he'll go way out out

301
00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,080
Speaker 1: of position, He'll jump to the wrong side of a screen.

302
00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:36,320
Speaker 1: He'll be so out of whack when defending ball screens

303
00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,440
Speaker 1: that legitimately he'll give up these crazy straight line drives

304
00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,400
Speaker 1: or crazy openings that are just impossible to account for.

305
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,320
Speaker 1: On the backside, you got to try to keep him

306
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,080
Speaker 1: out of screens as much as possible. Now, there are

307
00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,040
Speaker 1: several ways to do that. First, keep him in the

308
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,600
Speaker 1: textbook low man position. What that means is you have

309
00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,240
Speaker 1: a Mitchell Robinson on the floor. He guards the other

310
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,840
Speaker 1: team's primary pick and roll screen, and you put Kat

311
00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,879
Speaker 1: on the worst offensive player on the other team, regardless

312
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,800
Speaker 1: of position. You put him on the worst player on

313
00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:11,080
Speaker 1: the other team that isn't their main pick and roll screener.

314
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,760
Speaker 1: That allows him, as Mitch is defending ball screens with

315
00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,199
Speaker 1: the traditional screener, to be in the traditional lowman position.

316
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:20,879
Speaker 1: Every team with that type of offensive player is going

317
00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,240
Speaker 1: to stick that guy in the corner. Why because it's

318
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,359
Speaker 1: a shorter three point shot that hopefully he'll make it

319
00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,840
Speaker 1: a higher percentage. And you can go to that guy

320
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,280
Speaker 1: and be like, okay, you can't shoot. But every time

321
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,000
Speaker 1: you see this opening cut along the baseline, or every

322
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,840
Speaker 1: time the shot goes up corner crash, corner, crash, corner crash,

323
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:37,439
Speaker 1: we might be able to get a bunch of offensive

324
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,160
Speaker 1: rebounds that'll make up for the fact that you can't

325
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,560
Speaker 1: shoot right. So that guy's gonna be tucked in the corner.

326
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,879
Speaker 1: That allows Karl Anthony Towns to play that typical lowman

327
00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,120
Speaker 1: position where he's guarding the role man as Mitchell Robinson

328
00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:50,679
Speaker 1: goes up to the level and closing out to the corner.

329
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,560
Speaker 1: If the skip packed skip pass takes place, that is

330
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,520
Speaker 1: the best type of off ball position for Kat with

331
00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,399
Speaker 1: the lowest opportunity for him to make mistakes. Second, pre

332
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:04,560
Speaker 1: switching inevitably, whether it's through a team that has five

333
00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,359
Speaker 1: good offensive players on the floor, or if a team

334
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,479
Speaker 1: just insists on attacking through that screening option, you can

335
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,280
Speaker 1: attempt to protect Kat by sending a different player up

336
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,040
Speaker 1: to defend the screen. So you can imagine in this situation,

337
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,760
Speaker 1: let's say that Mikale Bridges is on the ball, and

338
00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:24,280
Speaker 1: you've got you've got Mitchell Robinson on the floor, and

339
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,639
Speaker 1: you've got let's say og and and Ob on the

340
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,320
Speaker 1: weak side. As Kat is in that low man position.

341
00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,280
Speaker 1: If they send his man up to screen, all you

342
00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,000
Speaker 1: have to do is communicate and essentially switch Og onto

343
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,879
Speaker 1: that guy. Og can run up and defend the screen,

344
00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,199
Speaker 1: or let's say Mitch in a different circumstance, Cat can

345
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,840
Speaker 1: then run over and grab Mitch's man. Pre switch as

346
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,760
Speaker 1: much as possible to keep Kat out of screening actions.

347
00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,240
Speaker 1: But inevitably there will be teams that can get Cat

348
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,520
Speaker 1: into screens, and in those situations, I think you just

349
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,000
Speaker 1: got to switch. It makes it far less likely that

350
00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,160
Speaker 1: Kat will actually make a mistake. And then from there

351
00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,760
Speaker 1: you can give him very simple rule to help your

352
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,160
Speaker 1: five man unit on the backside. So, for instance, play

353
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,879
Speaker 1: up on the shot, give up the drive, play back,

354
00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,640
Speaker 1: concede the shot. If you get beat off the dribble

355
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,679
Speaker 1: funnel in this direction, that's where we can plan for it.

356
00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,919
Speaker 1: Those are the kinds of things you can do with

357
00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:19,320
Speaker 1: Kat to try to minimize the damage he can do

358
00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,159
Speaker 1: in the large sample. I do expect the Knicks to

359
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,240
Speaker 1: be a little better this season in the form of

360
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,560
Speaker 1: the large sample. Defensively, I wouldn't be surprised if they

361
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,439
Speaker 1: cracked into the top like eight, nine to ten of

362
00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,639
Speaker 1: defensive rating this year. The East is super weak. Mike Brown.

363
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,960
Speaker 1: Tom Tabeau is a defensive coach too, but Mike Brown

364
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:43,000
Speaker 1: preaches defensive accountability and he's a new voice, and typically

365
00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:46,399
Speaker 1: change in voice always leads into buy in in the

366
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,040
Speaker 1: short term. So, for instance, like I expect McHale Bridges

367
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,000
Speaker 1: to get off to a better defensive start this year

368
00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,199
Speaker 1: than he did last year because of the new voice

369
00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:59,640
Speaker 1: and just the emphasis coming into camp. Also healthy Mitchell

370
00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,960
Speaker 1: Robbins for the whole season with more minutes alongside Karl

371
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,360
Speaker 1: Anthony Towns, that should help their base defense as well.

372
00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:09,000
Speaker 1: But ultimately I viewed the cat piece of this as

373
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:14,639
Speaker 1: somewhat of a barrier between the Knicks and their championship goals. Overall,

374
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,120
Speaker 1: with the Knicks, I viewed them firmly as a second

375
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:19,879
Speaker 1: tier contender, just like last year. But I actually think

376
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:21,800
Speaker 1: they have a decent chance to hoist the trophy just

377
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,160
Speaker 1: due to the weak Eastern Conference. Boston was the best team.

378
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:29,359
Speaker 1: They're out of the race. Indiana was there, kryptonite? Kryptonite?

379
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,199
Speaker 1: Excuse me, they're out of the race. It feels like

380
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,919
Speaker 1: Cleveland is their biggest rival. If you get out of

381
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,560
Speaker 1: the conference, anything can happen in the Finals, especially if

382
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,480
Speaker 1: all those Western Conference beasts beat the hell out of

383
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:46,440
Speaker 1: each other and one of them just barely limps into June.

384
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,280
Speaker 1: We were talking about this on playback yesterday, like anything

385
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,919
Speaker 1: can happen. You have a team like the twenty eighteen

386
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,560
Speaker 1: Rockets with an injured Chris Paul. If they somehow beat

387
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,400
Speaker 1: Golden State, you could have a Lebron James Limited twenty

388
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,040
Speaker 1: eighteen cash team potentially hoist the trophy just because the

389
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:07,000
Speaker 1: team that won the blood Bath was injured. Those possibilities

390
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,000
Speaker 1: are there. That's the kind of possibility that is there

391
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,679
Speaker 1: for the Knicks. Today's show is brought to you by

392
00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,560
Speaker 1: our new presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet. We are still

393
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:18,800
Speaker 1: a month away from basketball tip off, but with hard

394
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,560
Speaker 1: Rock Bet, the action never stops. The WNBA Finals start

395
00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,120
Speaker 1: this weekend. If you haven't placed your first bet, now

396
00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,159
Speaker 1: is the perfect time. Bet five dollars and if it wins,

397
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,680
Speaker 1: you don't just get your payout, you also cash in

398
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,240
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets on top.

399
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:34,960
Speaker 1: If you don't want to wait you need more hoops

400
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,720
Speaker 1: in your life. NBA futures are already live on hard

401
00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,879
Speaker 1: Rock Bet. You can Bet, the Finals, MVP, Rookie of

402
00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,480
Speaker 1: the Year, six Man, and a lot more. Open up

403
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,399
Speaker 1: the app to see everything that's live and lock in

404
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,119
Speaker 1: today's odds if you like what you see. And on Wednesday,

405
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,800
Speaker 1: if you're already betting on the hard Rock Bet sportsbook app,

406
00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:53,240
Speaker 1: you know what that means. It's the last day to

407
00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,960
Speaker 1: use your legendary rewards drops. Open up the app today

408
00:21:57,119 --> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 1: you could have a bonus bet or who knows what's

409
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,159
Speaker 1: in there drops every Thursday. The rewards and promos are NonStop.

410
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 1: Download the hard Rock Bet app today and make your

411
00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,920
Speaker 1: first deposit. Payble and bonus bets not a cash offer

412
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,639
Speaker 1: offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Florida offered

413
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,440
Speaker 1: by Seminal hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states.

414
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: Must be twenty one plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana,

415
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,040
Speaker 1: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia to play. Terms and

416
00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,640
Speaker 1: conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call one eight

417
00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,639
Speaker 1: eight to eight admit it. In Indiana, If you or

418
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:31,760
Speaker 1: someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help,

419
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:36,800
Speaker 1: call one eight hundred and nine with it gambling problem

420
00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:41,040
Speaker 1: called one eight hundred gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,

421
00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:47,199
Speaker 1: or Virginia. The Philadelphia seventy six Ers a team that

422
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,080
Speaker 1: has suddenly become very intriguing due to the opportunity presented

423
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,280
Speaker 1: by this Eastern Conference and some photos and some videos

424
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,280
Speaker 1: that came out of Joel Embiid looking like he's in

425
00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:58,560
Speaker 1: the best shape of his life. Now it's still very precarious.

426
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,719
Speaker 1: We had the Paul joyingjury that popped up at Summer League.

427
00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,520
Speaker 1: We found out last week that Dared McCain toward the

428
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,760
Speaker 1: UCL in his shooting thumb. That's obviously not good. Embiid's

429
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,359
Speaker 1: knee is still an absolute mess, so the margin for

430
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,199
Speaker 1: error is insanely thin. But there's like a legitimate opportunity

431
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,600
Speaker 1: now for this Sixers team to thread the needles, so

432
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,960
Speaker 1: to speak, and win the conference. They have the only

433
00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:24,360
Speaker 1: player in the conference that, when he's healthy, can legitimately

434
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,320
Speaker 1: challenge Giannis, and Giannis is on a bad team. So

435
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 1: a healthy Joel Embiid could easily be the best player

436
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,280
Speaker 1: in a series against Cleveland or New York. And they

437
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,119
Speaker 1: do at least have a somewhat intriguing roster when they're healthy.

438
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,919
Speaker 1: Quick offseason recap. They lost Rickey Council, who actually like

439
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,880
Speaker 1: he's in Brooklyn now Gershan Yabuselli, and they might lose

440
00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,160
Speaker 1: Quinton Grimes. Although I'm going to guess that they'll eventually

441
00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:50,639
Speaker 1: work something out there, I think there's too much to

442
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,439
Speaker 1: be gained for both teams or both parties there. They

443
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,120
Speaker 1: added VJ. Edgecomb through the draft, a super athletic, an

444
00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:58,760
Speaker 1: exciting young wing in a variety of other young players

445
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,680
Speaker 1: through free agency in the draft, and so the Cores

446
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,280
Speaker 1: essentially embid Paul George Tyres Maxi, the athletes VJ. Edgecumb

447
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,320
Speaker 1: excuse me, and Kelly u Bray, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain,

448
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,439
Speaker 1: the old Vets like Kyle Lowry and Air Gordon in

449
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,399
Speaker 1: an assortment of younger players. It's not too difficult to

450
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,720
Speaker 1: talk yourself into upside here if you're a Sixers fan.

451
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,520
Speaker 1: I'm a huge Tyres Maxie fan. Over the course of

452
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,639
Speaker 1: the last couple of years, due to injuries on the roster,

453
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,880
Speaker 1: he's been kind of foisted into a super high usage role,

454
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:33,239
Speaker 1: and in those situations his efficiency has really tanked. But

455
00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:37,760
Speaker 1: like I still really love his combination of insane downhill

456
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 1: speed movement shooting, pull up shooting, and he's improved as

457
00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,119
Speaker 1: a passer over the years. I just think Tyris Maxey

458
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,119
Speaker 1: is an awesome player. I just think he needs to

459
00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:48,439
Speaker 1: be in a proper role, which, when healthy, the Sixers

460
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,680
Speaker 1: can put him in. I've always loved the idea of

461
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,720
Speaker 1: Paul George in theory as like a juiced up Michael

462
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,520
Speaker 1: Porter junior who can score off of the weak side,

463
00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,440
Speaker 1: off of the attention that embid an he gather also

464
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,680
Speaker 1: run some second side action, and then Kelly u Brain VJ.

465
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:10,320
Speaker 1: Edgecombe bring athleticism amongst a group that needs it that

466
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 1: you can throw them at opposing perimeter players. I'd be

467
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,879
Speaker 1: really curious to see if maybe VJ ends up starting

468
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:17,720
Speaker 1: at the two this year. We'll see what ends up happening.

469
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,720
Speaker 1: I generally love the idea of anchoring this particular Big

470
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:27,199
Speaker 1: three with top tier athletes that can guard, and like

471
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,120
Speaker 1: that is a theoretical outcome with VJ and Kelly out there.

472
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,520
Speaker 1: If you bring Quentin Grimes back, you have like legit

473
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,199
Speaker 1: scoring pop off the bench between him and Jared McCain,

474
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 1: Andre Drummond and theory provides injury insurance or rest insurance

475
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,800
Speaker 1: for Embiid, although the Sixers would need a bounce back

476
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,159
Speaker 1: year from him. He kind of saw some substantial drops

477
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,439
Speaker 1: and production across the board last year. This there is

478
00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:55,760
Speaker 1: some intriguing stuff going on here with this roster. It's

479
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,000
Speaker 1: hard to get too much into the schematic side of

480
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 1: things with this team just because we have so little

481
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 1: information to go on due to their injury history. But

482
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,639
Speaker 1: it seems like a pretty straightforward approach in terms of

483
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 1: team construct on both ends of the four. On offense,

484
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,840
Speaker 1: this seems like a team that spams two man game,

485
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,399
Speaker 1: a lot of maxim bad two man game, Embad post ups,

486
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 1: Paul George spacing on the weak side. Also as a

487
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,120
Speaker 1: secondary ball handler, Kelly you bray corner threes, cutting along

488
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,520
Speaker 1: the baseline. We'll see what VJ. Edgecomb can provide. Obviously,

489
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,879
Speaker 1: you can also go with offensive options at the two guard.

490
00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:31,920
Speaker 1: You know a guy like Quinton Grimes who can knock

491
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,880
Speaker 1: down above the break threes at a high level. Jared

492
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,280
Speaker 1: McCain as well. You can kind of see how that

493
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,480
Speaker 1: would piece together, built off the foundation of the maxium

494
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:42,400
Speaker 1: bad two man game and emb being able to play

495
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,879
Speaker 1: out of the post embiid off groups. There's a lot

496
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:51,120
Speaker 1: of ball handling there right between Paul George and Tyrese

497
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,120
Speaker 1: Maxi and Jared McCain and Quentin Grimes. If they bring

498
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,480
Speaker 1: him back, that type of offense could be more five out,

499
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:03,040
Speaker 1: more ball and player move weaponizing the strength of the roster,

500
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,199
Speaker 1: which is all that ball handling they have on the perimeter.

501
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,000
Speaker 1: That's the type of offense that I could see them

502
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,160
Speaker 1: running when embiads off the floor, more of those five

503
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,360
Speaker 1: out concepts. And then on defense, it's pretty straightforward, right

504
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:19,520
Speaker 1: traditional coverages embiid in varying versions of drop coverage VJ

505
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 1: Edge Comb and Kelly Ubray chasing over the top on

506
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,560
Speaker 1: the best perimeter players Paul George and more or less

507
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 1: a low man type of role, and then Tyrese Maxi,

508
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,520
Speaker 1: your stereotypical skill guard who's going to be doing hedging

509
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:36,360
Speaker 1: and recovering that sort of thing, maybe switching with backside help. Well,

510
00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:39,480
Speaker 1: we'll get a lot deeper into Philly X's and O's

511
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,880
Speaker 1: once we actually have a better idea of what they're

512
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: working with this season, but it all comes down to health.

513
00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 1: Jared McCain's thumb, Joel Embid's knee, Paul George's everything. Do

514
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,080
Speaker 1: you get anything out of Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon

515
00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:55,959
Speaker 1: this year? There's just a lot of variables in Philly

516
00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:00,680
Speaker 1: This year, the Boston Celtics lots of turnover, to say

517
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,520
Speaker 1: the least. They lost Drew Holliday, Al Horford, Luke Cornette

518
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 1: and chrisop Sportsingis. They added Anthonty Simons, Chris Bouchet, who

519
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,480
Speaker 1: I like, Luca Garza, who actually like to just in

520
00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 1: a smaller role than he'd be in this year. And

521
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: then some interesting young talent Josh Minott from Minnesota, really

522
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,920
Speaker 1: good athlete, Hugo Gonzalez, a player they drafted at the

523
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 1: end of the first round, r J Luise Ota, Saint John's,

524
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:22,960
Speaker 1: a bunch of other young guys. They'll take a look

525
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 1: at camp. Kind of an interesting looking depth chart, right

526
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:32,359
Speaker 1: like they obviously an insanely weak center rotation. Xavier Tillman, Nimiasqueta,

527
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,479
Speaker 1: Luca Garza. I think we'll probably see some Bouchet at

528
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,440
Speaker 1: center this year. That's obviously just not even close to

529
00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: good enough to compete at the later rounds of the

530
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,600
Speaker 1: NBA playoffs, right, But there's some strong perimeter talent there.

531
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown is still a top twenty five player in

532
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,000
Speaker 1: the NBA at minimum. Derek White is one of the

533
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,720
Speaker 1: best two way guards in the league. Sam Hauser is

534
00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:55,920
Speaker 1: a solid defender and an excellent three point shooter. Anthony

535
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:59,040
Speaker 1: Simons is at least interesting and represents a type of

536
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 1: player we haven't seen on this version of the Celtics.

537
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:04,480
Speaker 1: Excuse me, and he's a guy we're gonna talk quite

538
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,280
Speaker 1: a bit about here in a minute. And then an

539
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:08,520
Speaker 1: assortment of young talent that we should get a really

540
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,000
Speaker 1: good look at this year under the circumstances. Like I

541
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:12,720
Speaker 1: want to see a lot of Hugo Gonzales. I want

542
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 1: to see a lot of Baylor shiremen, and we should

543
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,680
Speaker 1: get to see that this year under the circumstances. The

544
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 1: first question is should Jason Tatum attempt to return this year?

545
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,200
Speaker 1: There's been a lot of buzz surrounding this idea, and

546
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:29,720
Speaker 1: I do understand where the idea comes from, Like Tatum's

547
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 1: a competitor who loves basketball. Of course he's sitting on

548
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,959
Speaker 1: his couch like I'm coming back this year, Like I

549
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,600
Speaker 1: totally get that. And then the East appears to be

550
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 1: wide open, so I'm sure, Tatum looks at things and goes,

551
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,560
Speaker 1: you know, maybe we can jump in here and get

552
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,680
Speaker 1: the job done. But this is obviously a foolish idea.

553
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,400
Speaker 1: It's just risky to bring him back from an achilles

554
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,360
Speaker 1: tear during the highest leverage, in most intense, in most

555
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:58,080
Speaker 1: physical games of the season, and also have some self awareness.

556
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 1: This is not a championship roster anyway. More. That frontcourt

557
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,840
Speaker 1: rotation is just not good enough to win four playoff rounds.

558
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 1: So keep Tatum out, embrace this season as a learning opportunity,

559
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 1: bring him back next year with a reinforced roster and

560
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,680
Speaker 1: a body that is actually physically ready for the grind.

561
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: So what exactly is the learning opportunity? The Jalen Brown

562
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,800
Speaker 1: piece is pretty self explanatory. Let's see what he looks

563
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 1: like when he's the consistent top of the scouting report

564
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: shot creator. Let's see how he can perform. Remember, we

565
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:35,760
Speaker 1: talked about this concept a lot, the difference in roles.

566
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 1: There's I'm getting these shots every game and these opportunities,

567
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: and I'm really just concerned with like twenty five to

568
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:47,400
Speaker 1: thirty of my team's field goal attempts every game. To

569
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,240
Speaker 1: I am now one of the lead initiators of the team,

570
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,080
Speaker 1: and more than half of the shots we get are

571
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,720
Speaker 1: either going to be shot by me, directly assisted by me,

572
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,240
Speaker 1: or created by an advantage that I create at the

573
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,440
Speaker 1: beginning of a possession that got driven and kicked a

574
00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,840
Speaker 1: few times. Whatever it might be, right, that job is

575
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,160
Speaker 1: very different. I need to create fifty to sixty shots

576
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: tonight is a very different job than I need to

577
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,400
Speaker 1: create twenty five shots tonight. And that's the type of

578
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: role that Jalen's going to be shifting closer towards. We

579
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 1: know what he's capable of. Game five last year against

580
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 1: New York twenty six points, eight rebounds, twelve assists, just

581
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,160
Speaker 1: two turnovers. Wonderful game management throute, if you remember we

582
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,239
Speaker 1: covered it at the time, like using the post as

583
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 1: a vehicle with which to get the defense in rotation,

584
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 1: taking easy reads that were available to him, not really

585
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,160
Speaker 1: forcing the issue. If I remember correctly, he didn't really

586
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:45,760
Speaker 1: take a pull up jump shot in that game for

587
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 1: a little while. He just eased his way in uped

588
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:53,160
Speaker 1: his aggression at various points. Wonderful game management. Right. Game six,

589
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,960
Speaker 1: not so much, although cut him some slack. That was

590
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,960
Speaker 1: a buzz saw of a closeout game in Madison Square Garden,

591
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,600
Speaker 1: but it goes for twenty six and six with seven turnovers.

592
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 1: He was minus thirty and thirty two minutes. This year

593
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 1: will be a large sample test of his shot creation.

594
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:12,840
Speaker 1: Is it going to be closer to game five or

595
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,400
Speaker 1: closer to game six. That's going to be part of

596
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,000
Speaker 1: the learning experience with Jalen Brown this year. The next

597
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,360
Speaker 1: piece is Anthony Simons, and what I find fascinating here

598
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,280
Speaker 1: is we haven't really seen this type of guard in

599
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 1: Joe Mizula's system before. A really dynamic guard with some

600
00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,640
Speaker 1: downhill burst. He's not like the most athletic downhill guy

601
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 1: in the league, but he can beat people off the dribble,

602
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,400
Speaker 1: and he's a solid pull up shooter. Like over, I

603
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,640
Speaker 1: think he's like one point zero one points per possession.

604
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,160
Speaker 1: This could be a super interesting fit in Boston system

605
00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,760
Speaker 1: for scharters in drive and Kick. He's a knockdown open

606
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,760
Speaker 1: catch and shoot shooter. He hit forty four percent of

607
00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:54,720
Speaker 1: his unguarded catch and shoot threes last year, so in theory,

608
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,200
Speaker 1: the open shots that get generated in the drive and

609
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,360
Speaker 1: Kick system, he can knock them down. He was also

610
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,440
Speaker 1: a good high volume pick and roll player last year.

611
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,160
Speaker 1: He ran nine hundred and thirty one pick and rolls

612
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,360
Speaker 1: last year. It's a huge volume, and he got one

613
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,160
Speaker 1: point zero four points possession including passes, which is good

614
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,760
Speaker 1: and when you really dig into it, like Portland was

615
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,120
Speaker 1: not a good play finishing team last year, they were

616
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:20,080
Speaker 1: twenty sixth and spot up efficiency in fifteenth in roleman efficiency,

617
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,760
Speaker 1: and he's still got one point zero four points per possession,

618
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 1: in large part because he's a very good scorer out

619
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,400
Speaker 1: of ball screens. He was top ten in efficiency shooting

620
00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,720
Speaker 1: out of pick and roll among players who logged at

621
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,360
Speaker 1: least four hundred possessions of that type last year. He's

622
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,880
Speaker 1: a good pull up shooter. Shot thirty five percent on

623
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,959
Speaker 1: pull up threes, forty seven percent from the mid range,

624
00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,560
Speaker 1: forty percent from float range. Nothing like insanely impressive, but

625
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:50,120
Speaker 1: good and overall as a pick and roll player, one

626
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:51,640
Speaker 1: of the better ones in the league if you really

627
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,200
Speaker 1: look at it, juxtapos with the talent that he was

628
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,880
Speaker 1: playing with. So this season will be an excellent case

629
00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 1: study when you're looking at big picture roster construction for

630
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:06,280
Speaker 1: the Celtics. You had this championship level roster and you

631
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,760
Speaker 1: just completely blew it up for good reason. Brad Stevens

632
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:12,080
Speaker 1: and his media day presser talked about the need to

633
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,319
Speaker 1: get out from the second apron. The idea that they

634
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:15,960
Speaker 1: wouldn't have been able to make a trade for a

635
00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:18,399
Speaker 1: Drew Holliday or for a chrisops porzingis like they did

636
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,440
Speaker 1: two summers ago if they were in the second a bron.

637
00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:23,960
Speaker 1: If they were in the second second apron. Excuse me,

638
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:26,960
Speaker 1: so you blew it up. You did what you had

639
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,719
Speaker 1: to do. But the next goal is we still have

640
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,319
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum locked up long term. We

641
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,040
Speaker 1: need to put together a championship roster. How do we

642
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,520
Speaker 1: do so? It may not look the same as it

643
00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: did in twenty twenty four, Right, so you might have

644
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,239
Speaker 1: to consider a different type of player. What if the

645
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,640
Speaker 1: type of player that becomes available is a high usage

646
00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,520
Speaker 1: on ball pick and roll guard. Right, this is a

647
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,960
Speaker 1: good case study. Maybe it is Anferny Simons and maybe

648
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,000
Speaker 1: it ends up being a wonderful partnership and he ends

649
00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,640
Speaker 1: up being a partner with Tatum and Brown moving forward,

650
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,279
Speaker 1: or maybe it's a this is a kind of a

651
00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:06,560
Speaker 1: proof of concept that this can work. We'll move on

652
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,879
Speaker 1: from Anferny and we'll look for this type of dude

653
00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:10,880
Speaker 1: in the draft, or we'll look for this type of

654
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:14,840
Speaker 1: dude around the league when the opportunity provides itself. So like,

655
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,960
Speaker 1: is Anferny Simons going to thrive in Joe Mizula's system.

656
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:22,279
Speaker 1: That would be a good sign for the future. And

657
00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,279
Speaker 1: I'm very, very excited to see that. And again, because

658
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,640
Speaker 1: you're not necessarily competing for a championship this year, you

659
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,600
Speaker 1: get to have a good extended look at your young players,

660
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 1: see which ones make sense to actually factor into your

661
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,359
Speaker 1: big picture plans. Definitely be a different type of year

662
00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:40,799
Speaker 1: for Celtic Spans, not going to be rooting for one

663
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,239
Speaker 1: of the most supremely talented teams in the NBA, but

664
00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:45,640
Speaker 1: they are super interesting and they should be fun to

665
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,359
Speaker 1: watch and root for for different reasons. All Right, two

666
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:51,560
Speaker 1: more teams. We're going to go more briefly on these two,

667
00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:55,600
Speaker 1: starting with the Toronto Raptors. They lost Chris Bouchet, they

668
00:35:55,600 --> 00:36:01,040
Speaker 1: added Sandrew Mamokelospeeley kind of they added Murray Boyles in

669
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,960
Speaker 1: the lottery as well. Just kind of the classic Toronto Raptors,

670
00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:07,759
Speaker 1: defensive minded rang g Ford that can't shoot raptors. Fans

671
00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,799
Speaker 1: will know exactly what that's like. My biggest thing that

672
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,840
Speaker 1: I'm excited for this year is seeing a large sample

673
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,959
Speaker 1: of the Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes in Emmanuel Quickly core

674
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,000
Speaker 1: Scotty Barnes and Emmanuel Quickly logged eight thousand and two

675
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,560
Speaker 1: possessions last year. They had a one to eleven offensive rating,

676
00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:28,520
Speaker 1: which is bad, in a one to fifteen defensive rating,

677
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:32,200
Speaker 1: which is mediocre. With those two particular players, I'm a

678
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:36,040
Speaker 1: big believer in Brandon Ingram when he's healthy. If he

679
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:38,799
Speaker 1: can stay healthy and in rhythm, I think he's a

680
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,279
Speaker 1: guy that will certainly help them on the offensive end

681
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,879
Speaker 1: of the four. I don't necessarily love the fit, which

682
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:47,480
Speaker 1: we'll talk about in a second, but I do believe

683
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:50,000
Speaker 1: in Brandon's talent. I think he's a very good passer

684
00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,080
Speaker 1: for his position. I think he represents, among the Fords

685
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:56,440
Speaker 1: in the league, one of the better advantage creators. I

686
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:59,400
Speaker 1: actually think there's, overall on this roster a good amount

687
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,240
Speaker 1: of playmaking talent. There's some potential here, but it's clunky

688
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:05,920
Speaker 1: because of the fit amongst the starters. Like if you

689
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,799
Speaker 1: look at the starting group, assuming that Emmanuel Quickley and RJ.

690
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,560
Speaker 1: Barrett start in the backcourt. You have Brandon Ingram and

691
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 1: Scotty Barnes at the three and four, Yakaperta at center.

692
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,080
Speaker 1: That's a bunch of dudes who can drive and who

693
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:22,759
Speaker 1: can playmake, but very little catch and shoot talent in

694
00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:27,880
Speaker 1: that lineup. That's the first swing factor. Brandon Ingram has

695
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,319
Speaker 1: been an inconsistent catch and shoot guy in his career,

696
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:33,520
Speaker 1: but he's had stretches where he shot threes well. Scotty

697
00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,800
Speaker 1: Barnes has been mostly bad. But if those two guys

698
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,879
Speaker 1: shoot the ball well this year off the catch, that's

699
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:44,080
Speaker 1: a huge swing for this team in general. With Scotty Barnes,

700
00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:48,520
Speaker 1: he's been like Plateauing as a player a lot earlier

701
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:50,879
Speaker 1: in his career than I thought he would, so him

702
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:54,640
Speaker 1: getting back on the ascent would certainly help. Grady Dick

703
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:56,719
Speaker 1: had a up and down year last year, but he

704
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:58,680
Speaker 1: showed some real upside as a shooter. He had ten

705
00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:00,840
Speaker 1: games where he had at least twenty point points. His

706
00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:04,640
Speaker 1: shooting would certainly help, but they should be an awesome defense,

707
00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:08,160
Speaker 1: and this is the foundational piece of a potential playoff

708
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,480
Speaker 1: appearance for this team. They were the second best defense

709
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:15,640
Speaker 1: in the league post All Star Break. Last year, Oheoboji

710
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:19,240
Speaker 1: turned into like an awesome three and D weapon. Yaka

711
00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,600
Speaker 1: Pertl and Scottie Barnes are really nice foundational defensive front court.

712
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:24,480
Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, when those three guys were

713
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,960
Speaker 1: on the floor together after the All Star Break this year,

714
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:29,399
Speaker 1: they locked to one to oh four defensive rating, which

715
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,440
Speaker 1: in the modern NBA is like frighteningly good. So a

716
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:36,360
Speaker 1: lot of defensive potential there if you combine their defense

717
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,640
Speaker 1: with Brandon Ingram being healthy and in rhythm to help

718
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:42,479
Speaker 1: their half court offense, which should help them close games.

719
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,000
Speaker 1: Because again, if you look at this team last year,

720
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,400
Speaker 1: they had a one hundred point eight offensive rating in

721
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,080
Speaker 1: the clutch, which was the second worst in the entire league.

722
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:52,239
Speaker 1: They lost twenty two games last year that came down

723
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:56,920
Speaker 1: into clutch situations, elite defense, Brandon Ingram kind of greased

724
00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,320
Speaker 1: the wheels in the half court on offense and crunch time.

725
00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,279
Speaker 1: This is a team that I think has some potential

726
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,640
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs this year. Lastly, very quickly, the

727
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,400
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets just a bizarre team. They're super light on

728
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,480
Speaker 1: ball handling. They drafted Egor Demon at number eight, as

729
00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:16,320
Speaker 1: well as a bunch of other dudes in the first round.

730
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,279
Speaker 1: But Eagle's a big ball handler who will certainly get

731
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:21,440
Speaker 1: a bunch of opportunities this year. But it's basically going

732
00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:24,240
Speaker 1: to be the Cam Thomas show. He signed that qualifying offer.

733
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,000
Speaker 1: He had another injury shortened season last year, but when

734
00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:30,160
Speaker 1: he was healthy, that brief stretch when he was healthy

735
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:32,200
Speaker 1: to start the year, he was a very productive ball handler.

736
00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:35,040
Speaker 1: He ran three hundred and eighty seven pick and rolls,

737
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:38,799
Speaker 1: ISOs and post ups and got four hundred and ten points.

738
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,160
Speaker 1: It's one point zero six points per possession including passes.

739
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:45,200
Speaker 1: That's really solid. He shot the ball really well from

740
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,640
Speaker 1: the perimeter, struggled at the rim, but obviously not a

741
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:50,839
Speaker 1: great spacing team. But if he's healthy, the Knicks are

742
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:52,840
Speaker 1: going to get a really good look at him, and

743
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:55,200
Speaker 1: then maybe Cam can get that long term deal he's

744
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,000
Speaker 1: been looking for. The rest of the roster is funky.

745
00:39:58,719 --> 00:40:01,239
Speaker 1: Michael Porter juniors should get lots of opportunities. Is kind

746
00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:03,160
Speaker 1: of a second side dribble handoff guy, as well as

747
00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:06,359
Speaker 1: a week side score if anybody ever passes in the ball,

748
00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,840
Speaker 1: which remains to be seen. They have some decent perimeter veterans,

749
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:13,360
Speaker 1: guys like Terrence Man and Haywood high Smith, Nick Claxton,

750
00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:15,839
Speaker 1: I think is a solid foundational center to build as

751
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:18,080
Speaker 1: a pick and roll partner as well as to build

752
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,960
Speaker 1: a defense around. This team's going nowhere. But as you

753
00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:24,319
Speaker 1: really dig into it, they're just kind of in that

754
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,840
Speaker 1: phase of the rebuild process. As I've talked about so

755
00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:29,640
Speaker 1: much over the years, like when you're going through the

756
00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:34,640
Speaker 1: rebuilt process, step one is find your foundational guys. And

757
00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:37,120
Speaker 1: if you don't know who your foundational guys are, you

758
00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:40,160
Speaker 1: kind of just have to try. Shit. Give the ball

759
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,760
Speaker 1: to Cam Thomas a lot, see if he can actually

760
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:45,359
Speaker 1: play seventy games without getting hurt, be at the top

761
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:47,760
Speaker 1: of the scouting report every night, and be a high volume,

762
00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:51,279
Speaker 1: efficient shot creator. If he does while also being like

763
00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,560
Speaker 1: a good teammate and a good defender or a useful defender,

764
00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:57,080
Speaker 1: someone you can build a defense around, all of a sudden,

765
00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,520
Speaker 1: you might have to be like, hmm, maybe Cam Thomas

766
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:03,640
Speaker 1: fits ours, or we gave it to him again. He

767
00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:07,400
Speaker 1: played forty seven games, dealt with nagging injuries throughout. The

768
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:11,800
Speaker 1: efficiency was good, not great, The defense was bad. Cam's

769
00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:13,360
Speaker 1: not the guy for us we need to move on.

770
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,280
Speaker 1: You learn that through the draft. You have so many

771
00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:20,360
Speaker 1: first round picks that you've tried. You have the ability

772
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,880
Speaker 1: to take flyers on young players around the league if

773
00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:26,680
Speaker 1: they opportunity pops up. You just keep trying shit until

774
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:29,879
Speaker 1: suddenly you go, this is one of our guys. This

775
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,640
Speaker 1: is somebody we can build around for the future. From there,

776
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 1: you decide where he fits in that hierarchy. Is this

777
00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:37,279
Speaker 1: a guy that can be the best player on a

778
00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,319
Speaker 1: championship team. If so, we're looking for a complimentary number two.

779
00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:43,040
Speaker 1: If he's more of a complimentary number two, we're still

780
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:46,080
Speaker 1: looking for that best guy. Once we have both, then

781
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 1: we're looking for supporting talent. What are the types of

782
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:50,840
Speaker 1: supporting talent that fit this type of team? Am I

783
00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:53,759
Speaker 1: looking for playmakers in a five out system? Am I

784
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:57,480
Speaker 1: looking for play finishers around a guy like a Caid Cunningham.

785
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,239
Speaker 1: There's all sorts of steps in this process, but you

786
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,959
Speaker 1: can't get to any of those steps until you find

787
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:06,560
Speaker 1: out who your foundational guys are. The nets don't know

788
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,279
Speaker 1: who those guys are, So you know what, Flipping Cam

789
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,840
Speaker 1: Johnson for an unprotected first round pick that could become

790
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 1: anything in the future as well as a Michael Porter junior.

791
00:42:16,239 --> 00:42:18,480
Speaker 1: That's a move in that direction because you get that

792
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:22,080
Speaker 1: first round pick that might become one of those foundational pieces.

793
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,520
Speaker 1: For all to talk about the first round picks and

794
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:27,920
Speaker 1: how they should have consolidated them. If there was a

795
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 1: clear guy they had in mind, if they were like, oh,

796
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,600
Speaker 1: you know, we really wanted VJ. Edgecomb, then by all

797
00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:34,520
Speaker 1: means package the picks and go after them. But if

798
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,920
Speaker 1: their scouting department didn't have a specific guy that they loved,

799
00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:42,160
Speaker 1: give yourself as many cracksited as you can. My thing

800
00:42:42,239 --> 00:42:44,800
Speaker 1: is just they need to be hunting for that foundational player.

801
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:48,759
Speaker 1: That involves a lot of like trial and error in

802
00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:52,640
Speaker 1: this phase. It's just the Brooklyn's just they are quite

803
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:57,440
Speaker 1: literally they're just starting their drive. This is like touchback.

804
00:42:57,440 --> 00:42:59,120
Speaker 1: You're starting at the twenty yard line. They've got a

805
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:01,560
Speaker 1: long way to go to get to where they're going,

806
00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:03,560
Speaker 1: and they're rebuild. All right, guys, That's all I have

807
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:05,480
Speaker 1: for today is always to sincerely appreciate you guys for

808
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:07,400
Speaker 1: supporting us and supporting the show. We'll be back with

809
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:09,879
Speaker 1: another division on Wednesday. I'll see you guys,