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Speaker 1: All right, welcome to hoop Tonight. Here as the volume

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Speaker 1: heavy Monday. Everybody. Hope all of you guys are having

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Speaker 1: a great start to your week. Got a jam pack

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Speaker 1: show for you today. We're gonna do what we usually

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Speaker 1: do on Mondays. I have five big questions from the

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Speaker 1: weekend of hoops and then at the tail end of

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Speaker 1: the show our weekly power rankings as we go through

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Speaker 1: the top ten teams in the league. You guys know

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Speaker 1: the job before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops

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Speaker 1: Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of

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Speaker 1: our videos. Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jason LTC.

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Speaker 1: You guysn't mis show announcements. Don't forget about a podcast

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Speaker 1: feed wherever you get your podcast on our Hoops Tonight,

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Speaker 1: and a review on that front. We also have brand

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Speaker 1: new social media feeds on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for

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Speaker 1: the Hoops Tonight channel where we're releasing content throughout the year.

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Speaker 1: Make sure you guys follow us there, and the last

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Speaker 1: not least, keep dropping mailback questions and the YouTube comments

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Speaker 1: so that we can get to them on our Friday

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Speaker 1: shows throughout the remainder of the season. All right, let's

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Speaker 1: talk some basketball. So first question, Jason, what would you

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Speaker 1: need to see from the Cleveland Cavaliers to take them

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Speaker 1: seriously as contenders? So we're in this weird spot with

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Speaker 1: the Calves where they had the best record in the

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Speaker 1: league and their record is not just exceptional, it's above

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Speaker 1: a seventy win pace. So like some really special stuff there, right,

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Speaker 1: there's some context. Obviously, the Calves have played literally the

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Speaker 1: easiest schedule in the NBA to this point in the season.

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Speaker 1: Their opponents have only won I think like forty six

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Speaker 1: and a half percent of their games. But even if

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Speaker 1: you want to find that somehow, they're still kicking ass

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Speaker 1: and performing really well against great teams. Started their West

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Speaker 1: Coast road trip with a dominant win over the Cleveland Cavaliers,

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Speaker 1: a game where it's kind of back and forth for

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Speaker 1: the first quarter and a half and then they just

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Speaker 1: exploded in the second quarter the same way they usually do,

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Speaker 1: just really really good defense getting out in transition, that

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Speaker 1: team is legitimately one of the funnest basketball teams I've

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Speaker 1: ever watched. In transition, they remind me of the early Warriors,

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Speaker 1: the way they weaponize that chaos to generate high quality threes.

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Speaker 1: They're shooting the ball extremely well as a team, they're

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Speaker 1: defending at a super high level. They're playing a very

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Speaker 1: smart brand of basketball. It's awesome. It's beautiful what we're

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Speaker 1: seeing right So, first and foremost, I do take them

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Speaker 1: seriously as championship contenders. The question is how seriously. And

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Speaker 1: before we get into that, we got to talk a

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Speaker 1: little bit about NBA history. Since Kevin Durant left the Warriors,

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Speaker 1: in those five seasons, been ten teams that finished with

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Speaker 1: a top two net rating in the league. So the

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Speaker 1: team that outscored their opponents by the most points per

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Speaker 1: one hundred possession is the top two, right They're with

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Speaker 1: those five seasons, two from each season. Boston in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty two and in twenty twenty four is the only

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Speaker 1: team out of those ten teams that actually won their

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Speaker 1: conference that won three playoff rounds, let alone four, And

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Speaker 1: obviously the twenty twenty four Celtics are the only team

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Speaker 1: that won the title. Point being, we've had eight teams

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Speaker 1: in the last five years who kicked dass all regular

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Speaker 1: season long and then didn't win three playoff rounds. So okay,

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Speaker 1: the question becomes, if it's not just about net rating,

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Speaker 1: what do you look for in those types of teams

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Speaker 1: in terms of ranking them as contenders? Well, first and foremost,

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Speaker 1: I do think it's important to acknowledge that dominating the

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Speaker 1: regular season is an important indicator for championship contention. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: there are a lot of teams who dominated the regular

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Speaker 1: season and still lost, But the fact of the matter

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Speaker 1: is the team that wins is almost always a high

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Speaker 1: net rating team. In fact, you have to go all

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Speaker 1: the way back to the twenty eleven Dallas Mavericks to

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Speaker 1: find a team that won the title without at least

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Speaker 1: a top six net rating, and we all view that

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Speaker 1: MAVs team from twenty eleven is kind of like a

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Speaker 1: massive upset, right, we view that as like a choke job,

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Speaker 1: if anything on the part of the Miami Heat. So

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Speaker 1: then the next question becomes, well, we're not just a

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Speaker 1: trans We're not just a great team. We're a transcendently

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Speaker 1: great team. We're not just a great net rating team.

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Speaker 1: They're outscoring opponents by like eleven points per one hundred possessions.

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Speaker 1: They're a historically dominant team. Statistically, well, the Cavs have

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Speaker 1: an opponent win percentage of forty six point six percent.

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Speaker 1: That's dead last in the NBA. So yeah, they're still dominant.

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Speaker 1: But there's no doubt that the easy schedule has helped

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Speaker 1: them pad their record a little bit. For example, the

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Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns, who are currently sitting at eleventh in the

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Speaker 1: Western Conference, have the same number of wins against five

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Speaker 1: hundred or better teams as the Cleveland Cavil. So, like,

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Speaker 1: I look at them as definitely a very very good

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Speaker 1: regular season team, but like it's difficult to say just

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Speaker 1: how good. Yet they're in the middle of this really

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Speaker 1: tough road trip. They have the ninth toughest remaining schedule,

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Speaker 1: So the Chips are gonna fall where they may where

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Speaker 1: they may over the course of the eighty two What

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Speaker 1: I look at when I start evaluating beyond that first part.

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Speaker 1: That first part is, in order to win the title,

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Speaker 1: you gotta be a good, a very good regular season team.

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Speaker 1: We just don't have an example in recent NBA history

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Speaker 1: of a team who coasted and chilled and then won

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Speaker 1: the title. It doesn't happen. You have to dominate the

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Speaker 1: regular season. So step one for the Cavs. Check what's

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Speaker 1: step two for me? In terms of evaluating a team

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Speaker 1: as a playoff Right, I look at what are your weaknesses?

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Speaker 1: The playoffs are about vetting weaknesses. When you have to

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Speaker 1: play four rounds against elite teams, inevitably one of them

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Speaker 1: is going to have the means with which to attack

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Speaker 1: your weaknesses. Let's say Boston for example. So they had

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Speaker 1: eight rotation players last year, an eight man rotation where

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Speaker 1: every single player was a good shooter, a good passer

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Speaker 1: like a guy who's good at making reads, a good

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Speaker 1: ball handler, and a good defender, all eight of them,

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Speaker 1: some in different ways than others right, Like, maybe Peyton

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Speaker 1: Pritchard could be shot over the top a little bit,

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Speaker 1: maybe Chrisops Porzingis could be exploited a little bit in space,

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Speaker 1: but as the totality of the lineup, because they were

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Speaker 1: able to put Chrisops on guys who couldn't shoot above

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Speaker 1: the break three so that he can run a drop coverage.

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Speaker 1: Because Peyton Pritchard was primarily working against bench groups and

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Speaker 1: smaller doses, it just didn't matter. The point is is

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Speaker 1: they didn't really have a weakness. They didn't have a

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Speaker 1: weak point you could attack in their defense. They had

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Speaker 1: so much offensive firepower that they could withstand bad games

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Speaker 1: from their stars. They were a good rebounding team, they

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Speaker 1: were a good transition defense. They didn't turn the ball over.

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Speaker 1: So like, why did the Celtics win the title? One

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Speaker 1: because they attacked the regular season to a stab, the

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Speaker 1: associated the necessary habits and details, right, But two because

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Speaker 1: they were very well built basketball team for the playoff setting.

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Speaker 1: We have to look at the calves through that type

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Speaker 1: of lens. So like, for instance, why did a dominant

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Speaker 1: regular season team like the twenty twenty two Phoenix Suns

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Speaker 1: get upset in the second rom Actually this to me

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Speaker 1: in recent NBA history, is the best corollary for this

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Speaker 1: Cleveland Cavaliers team. Like everyone thinks Donovan Mitchell is a

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Speaker 1: star player, I agree, so is Devin Booker. But Devin

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Speaker 1: Booker is not the kind of guy that you'd view

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Speaker 1: on the same level as the top top guys in

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Speaker 1: the league. Same goes for Donovan Mitchell. Darius Garland a very,

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Speaker 1: very very good guard alongside Donovan Mitchell. Same could be

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Speaker 1: said about Chris Paul with that Phoenix Suns group, having

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Speaker 1: a guy like Michal Bridges, having a guy like deandreton

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Speaker 1: that was a very talented roster. Cam Johnson too, right

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Speaker 1: as a very talented roster. But what happened They ran

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Speaker 1: into a Luka Doncic led MAVs team and they couldn't

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Speaker 1: guard Luca and CP three and Devin Booker weren't able

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Speaker 1: to meet with star power to meet the level that

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Speaker 1: Luca was at and they got upset. So again, like

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Speaker 1: it's it didn't really matter necessarily that they were dominant

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Speaker 1: in the regular season because they had specific weaknesses. Their

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Speaker 1: perimeter defenders couldn't make Luca uncomfortable, their stars couldn't produce

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Speaker 1: consistently enough to match the level that the Stars for

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Speaker 1: Dallas were producing it. As we look at the Calves

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Speaker 1: in particular, there are three main things that I'm concerned

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Speaker 1: about for them in a playoff context. One is shooting.

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Speaker 1: Not that they can't shoot, but are they gonna shoot this? Well?

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Speaker 1: They're shooting two percent better from three than anyone else

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Speaker 1: in the league. They're shooting damn near forty five percent

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Speaker 1: on transition threes. I was watching that Nuggets game that

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Speaker 1: onslaught in that second quarter. It's like packing the paint,

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Speaker 1: getting stops running down int transition. It's another three for

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Speaker 1: Darius Garland, another sea for three for Sam Merrill, another

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Speaker 1: three for Sam Meryl. They're just going in and they're

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Speaker 1: going in, and they're going in, and they're all going in.

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Speaker 1: Forty five percent on running threes, like running up the

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Speaker 1: floor in transition, that's a sky high number. So I

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Speaker 1: do have a little bit of a concern in the

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Speaker 1: sense that, like what happens if they get into a

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Speaker 1: tough playoff series where the shots don't fall at the

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Speaker 1: same level that they've been shooting. Two is regular season margins.

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Speaker 1: Kenny Atkinson has brought into the Cavs an incredibly smart

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Speaker 1: approach to the regular season. They are incredibly locked in

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Speaker 1: on the details. They're dominating on the margins. They're forcing turnovers,

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Speaker 1: they're getting out in transition. They're sharing the ball more

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Speaker 1: and splitting the load offensively so that you're not becoming

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Speaker 1: heliocentric and predictable in the half court. They've been the

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Speaker 1: best half court offense in the league this year. They

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Speaker 1: are playing a very, very smart regular season brand of basketball.

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Speaker 1: But because such a huge part of their success is

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Speaker 1: forcing turnovers and getting out in transition, what happens if

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Speaker 1: you do run into a team that has elite ball handling,

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Speaker 1: that takes good care of the basketball, that manages to

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Speaker 1: strangle the pace, And then what if you also have

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Speaker 1: some shooting some shooting woes in a situation like that,

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Speaker 1: then it turns into more of a rock fight, an

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Speaker 1: ugly half court basketball game. From there, that brings me

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Speaker 1: to my third concern, which is entry points. I still

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Speaker 1: see an opportunity for a good team to get the

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Speaker 1: calves into rotation through attacking some of their lesser defenders

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Speaker 1: like Darius Garland and George's Niean and so on and

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Speaker 1: so forth. So like again, if I'm talking about winning

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Speaker 1: the title, it's not about beating Indiana in the first round.

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Speaker 1: Cleveland's gonna beat whoever it is they face in the

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Speaker 1: first round in all likelihood. But what if you do

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Speaker 1: face Milwaukee in the second round. What if you do

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Speaker 1: play face Boston in the conference finals? What if you

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Speaker 1: do have Oklahoma City waiting for you or Dallas waiting

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Speaker 1: for you in the championship round. You have to go

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Speaker 1: through those teams back to back to back, and some

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Speaker 1: of those teams have the ability to attack your specific weaknesses.

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Speaker 1: If I had to do it right now, if I

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Speaker 1: had to rank, I would still keep Boston number one. Okay,

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Speaker 1: see in Dallas first. I would have Cleveland kind of

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Speaker 1: like with New York in that like four or five

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Speaker 1: kind of competition at this point. But I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: they can't do it. I'm just saying we're less than

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Speaker 1: halfway through the season. You have played the easiest schedule

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Speaker 1: in the league. I would like to see more before

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Speaker 1: I finally decide where to place this team in the

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Speaker 1: contender's list. When we get closer to the the end

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Speaker 1: of the year and the schedule is getting tougher, we

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Speaker 1: are going to learn more. They're about to play Golden

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Speaker 1: State tonight, turn around to play the Lakers. Tomorrow, they

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Speaker 1: have to play Dallas. I'llbe it without Luka Dancic. They're

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Speaker 1: gonna come home and they're gonna have to play Oklahoma

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Speaker 1: City next week. We're gonna get more opportunity to learn

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Speaker 1: from this team and see them against some of these

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Speaker 1: matchups and have a little bit better read of what

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Speaker 1: their weaknesses are so that we can make that sort

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Speaker 1: of judgment call when we get there. All I'm saying is,

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Speaker 1: you can't take high net rating and really good regular

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Speaker 1: season record to the bank for a championship, asked the

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one Utah Jazz, asked the twenty twenty two

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Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns. There are tons of examples in NBA history

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Speaker 1: of that sort of thing not working. It's just something

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Speaker 1: to keep an eye on as we progress through this season. Again,

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Speaker 1: I am intrigued by Cleveland. I want to see where

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Speaker 1: I like. I could see them being above Oklahoma City

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Speaker 1: and Dallas. I could see that by the end of

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Speaker 1: the season. I view Cleveland as the second best championship

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Speaker 1: favorite behind Boston. I'm just not there yet, and I

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Speaker 1: want to see more Number two. Jason, what do you

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Speaker 1: make of Jonathan Kminga's dominant performance performance against the Phoenix

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Speaker 1: Suns the other night? So this was inevitable and this

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Speaker 1: is something that happens that a lot of times when

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Speaker 1: you're having discussions around a young basketball player. Jonathan Cominga

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Speaker 1: was great against the Phoenix Suns. He was left on

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Speaker 1: an island a lot against Mason Plumley and was just

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Speaker 1: hitting really good aggressive moves against him where he was

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Speaker 1: drawing fouls and getting baskets, hit several big jump shots.

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Speaker 1: We talked about the Draymond Green defense on Kevin Durant

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Speaker 1: on that one of those late possessions that forced KD

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Speaker 1: and that really bad miss. Johnathan Kamingo did an awesome

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Speaker 1: job on KD throughout the fourth quarter, got a couple

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Speaker 1: of strips on him. It was just back pressure, chasing

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Speaker 1: from behind and swiping down at the basketball. Johnny Cominga

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Speaker 1: had a really damn good game. And this is what

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Speaker 1: always ends up happening when we have these sorts of discussions.

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Speaker 1: We always look at it through the lens of what

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Speaker 1: just happened and taking a victory lap or you know

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Speaker 1: the other side, taking a victory lap if the opposite

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Speaker 1: thing happens. When the reality is we're talking about a

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Speaker 1: big picture issue that extends beyond what just happened. Why

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Speaker 1: do I believe in trading in young talent for useful

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Speaker 1: veteran talent when you're in a win now circumstance. So

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Speaker 1: stop thinking about like these younger teams that are on

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Speaker 1: a championship trajectory. I'm talking about like these Lakers and

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Speaker 1: Warriors types of teams where it's like your star is

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Speaker 1: in his late thirties and you gotta get it done

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Speaker 1: like this year. Okay, there's a reason why I'm anti

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Speaker 1: relying on young players in that situation. Young players come

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Speaker 1: hand in hand with volatility. I am not concerned about

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Speaker 1: whether or not Jonathan Kaminga can drop thirty something points

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Speaker 1: in a game, can be a dominant defensive force down

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Speaker 1: the crunch time of a game, can make play after

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Speaker 1: play to help his team win. I'm not debating whether

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Speaker 1: or not he can't. I think Jonathan Kminga has the

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Speaker 1: potential to be a star in this league. Not a superstar,

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Speaker 1: not a foundational superstar. But I think he can be

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Speaker 1: a top twenty five, top twenty player in this league.

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Speaker 1: Within the next five to ten years, five to seven years.

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Speaker 1: I think he can get there. But the difference between

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Speaker 1: this version of Jonathan Kaminga in that version of Jonathan Minga,

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Speaker 1: the twenty seven year old Jonathan Kamina is the twenty

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Speaker 1: seven year old Jonathan Minga through pain and suffering of loss,

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Speaker 1: through the joy and the the you know, confirmation of wins,

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Speaker 1: through the practice, through the experience, through everything that will

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Speaker 1: happen between now and when he turns twenty seven. We'll

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Speaker 1: figure out how to replicate what works and to cut

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Speaker 1: out what doesn't work for him so that he's more consistent.

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Speaker 1: The issue is whether or not Jonathan Kminga can have

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Speaker 1: a game like he did against the Suns. It's a

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Speaker 1: question of whether or not he will. And the truth

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Speaker 1: of the matter is this season, when the Warriors have

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Speaker 1: leaned more on Jonathan Minga, they have not played as well.

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Speaker 1: A couple of basic stats. When Jonathan Kminga takes fourteen

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Speaker 1: or more shots this year, the Warriors are four and

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Speaker 1: eight When Jonathan Kminga plays twenty seven minutes and thirty

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Speaker 1: seven seconds or more. This year, the Warriors are four

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Speaker 1: and ten when he plays fewer than twenty seven minutes

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Speaker 1: and thirty six seconds. The Warriors are twelve and three.

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Speaker 1: The reason why is when you divert those minutes towards

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Speaker 1: players that have a higher floor, albeit a lower ceiling,

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Speaker 1: there's a more steady production within the confines of what

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Speaker 1: the group is trying to do, and the Warriors are

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Speaker 1: better idea guys. If I thought Jonathan Kaminga would be

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Speaker 1: that guy every game, I would never ask for him

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Speaker 1: to be dealt. But we've seen sometimes five six game

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Speaker 1: stretches where he does it, but he's never been able

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Speaker 1: to sustain that type of impact on both ends of

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Speaker 1: the floor. And the bigger issue is do you trust

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga to knock down big jump shots in high

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Speaker 1: leverage situations in the postseason? I don't do. I trust

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga to be a functional off ball defender. Like

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Speaker 1: we know Jonathan Minga can be good on the ball, defensively,

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Speaker 1: he's a very bad off ball defender. Literally, just two

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Speaker 1: games ago cost them a game. Not paying attention in

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Speaker 1: off ball defense, like one mistake in a big spot

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Speaker 1: cost the Warriors a game, And that's okay. Young basketball

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Speaker 1: players make mistakes. I expect an athletic forward in his

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Speaker 1: young in his early twenties to get lost off the ball.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes I expect forward in his early twenties to be

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Speaker 1: hot and cold as a jump shooter. I expect those

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Speaker 1: sorts of things. That's what we've always gotten from young

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Speaker 1: basketball players in this league. And so then the question

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Speaker 1: becomes about the reality of the situation. Will Jonathan Kaminga

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Speaker 1: become the consistent two way winning force before Steph Curry

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Speaker 1: loses the ability to bring the top end talent necessary

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Speaker 1: for this team to win. I don't think so. After

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry is gone, is Jonathan Kaminga good enough to

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Speaker 1: be the foundational star to lead you to success in

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Speaker 1: this stacked Western Conference. I tweeted this out the other day.

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Speaker 1: I had a mail back question where someone was kind

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Speaker 1: of upset about it. But the stats for the offense

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Speaker 1: when kamina is on the floor and Steph is off

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Speaker 1: are insane. Pulling it up right now. With Steph Curry

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Speaker 1: on the floor this year and Jonathan Kaminga off, the

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Speaker 1: Warriors have a one to twenty one offensive rating that's

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Speaker 1: in the ninetieth percentile. When Jonathan Kaminga is on the

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Speaker 1: floor and Steph is off. The Warriors have a one

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Speaker 1: h three point five offensive rating that's in the sixth percentile.

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Speaker 1: Jonathan kming is not good enough to be the kind

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Speaker 1: of guy that anchors you as a Western Conference team,

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Speaker 1: of of me like a respectable Western Conference team in

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Speaker 1: the future. He's not that guy. So if he's not

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Speaker 1: good enough to help Steph now, and he's not good

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Speaker 1: enough to really lead to success in the future, and

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Speaker 1: you don't have something else in the hopper that it's

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Speaker 1: not like Pods can become the kind of guy that'll

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Speaker 1: slot Kaminga Properly, you don't have that guy. Frankly, you

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Speaker 1: don't have that guy. You do not have a guy

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Speaker 1: in house that is good enough to lead the next

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Speaker 1: era of Warriors basketball. You do not have it. So

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Speaker 1: the only way you're gonna get that is by tanking

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Speaker 1: and taking on as much draft compensation as possible for

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Speaker 1: bad money and being bad for a few years while

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Speaker 1: you try to get yourself an opportunity to bring in

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Speaker 1: a great player. And so the way I look at it,

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Speaker 1: if Johnathan Kaminga is on the roster post deadline, then

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Speaker 1: you're just hurting both eras you're hurting this era, and

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Speaker 1: you're hurting that era now. I had a lot of

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Speaker 1: people talking about, like, well, who are they gonna go after.

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Speaker 1: I don't want to lose John Andan kaminga for Cam

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Speaker 1: Johnson or for a role player or Nikolavusovich. I get that.

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Speaker 1: For the record, I said this from the beginning of

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Speaker 1: the season, and I still feel this way. There's no rush.

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Speaker 1: Don't make a deal now. Don't make a deal now

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Speaker 1: unless it's exactly what you want. I've heard that the

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Speaker 1: Warriors are waiting potentially to see if they can get

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Speaker 1: a big name like a Kevin Durant or a Lebron

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Speaker 1: James or Jimmy Butler. I don't think you're getting those

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Speaker 1: guys personally, but I'm okay with waiting for it. The

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Speaker 1: problem is is if February comes and goes and you

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Speaker 1: don't get KD, Jimmy or Lebron, but you also don't

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Speaker 1: get something else to help this team on offense. Now

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Speaker 1: you're hurting both eras. I know the bottom feels like

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Speaker 1: it's falling out, but like, here's the thing. You're not

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Speaker 1: the twelve and three team that started the season, but

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Speaker 1: you're not the three to twelve team that brought you

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Speaker 1: back to five hundred After that, either things will stabilize.

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Speaker 1: A lot of guys are playing poorly. Buddy Heel's playing poorly,

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins is playing porter the Dennis Schroeder's playing poorly.

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Speaker 1: Although Denis Schroder by the way a couple huge plays

401
00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:37,159
Speaker 1: at the end of that Sun's game, that driving layup

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Speaker 1: that he had and then that huge three that he

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Speaker 1: hit that gave you guys a lead, A couple of

404
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Speaker 1: big buckets there from Dennis Schroeder. But like Dennis will

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Speaker 1: play better, Buddy will play better, Andrew Wiggins will play better.

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Speaker 1: Steph will play better. Andrew Wiggins or Steph and Raimond

407
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Speaker 1: are both a little banged up right now. They will

408
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Speaker 1: be better. You'll stay afloat. Yeah, you might not be

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Speaker 1: above like the seven or eight seed when you get

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Speaker 1: to early February, but maybe you will be. And at

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Speaker 1: that point you can make that call. I'm just saying

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Speaker 1: that you owe it to Steph Curry to turn Jonathan

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Speaker 1: Kaminga and whatever salary filler necessary into a more dependable

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Speaker 1: veteran player that gives them a better chance to win

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Speaker 1: this year. Yeah, that player is not going to have

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Speaker 1: the high ceiling that Jonathan Kaminga does, but his floor

417
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:20,760
Speaker 1: is going to be significantly higher, which is going to

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Speaker 1: give you a better chance to win in the short term. Again,

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Speaker 1: the numbers are there, guys. When the Warriors lean a

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Speaker 1: lot on Jonathan Minga as a, as a shooter and

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Speaker 1: in a large minute's role, they're not winning. That's just

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Speaker 1: what the numbers are saying. Number three, Jason can Kwhi

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Speaker 1: Leonard bring the Los Angeles Clippers to the level necessary

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Speaker 1: to contend for an NBA championship. So they've won four

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Speaker 1: of their last five games to beat, albeit with some

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Speaker 1: injury luck. No Luca when they beat Dallas, no job

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Speaker 1: when they beat Memphis, no step when they beat Golden State.

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Speaker 1: But they've won four of their last five. They're eighteen

429
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,600
Speaker 1: and thirteen. James Harden and Norman Powell are averaging fifty

430
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,080
Speaker 1: three points per game over the course of this five

431
00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 1: game span. And now we have reports that Kawhi Leonard

432
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,320
Speaker 1: is close to returning, and so all these people are asking,

433
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 1: what can this team accomplish now that Kawhi Leonard is

434
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,840
Speaker 1: coming back into the fold. And the answer to me

435
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,879
Speaker 1: is very simple. If he comes back and he plays

436
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,320
Speaker 1: like Kawhi Leonard, and he can stay healthy for the

437
00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:33,640
Speaker 1: entirety of a playoff run, then they absolutely can win

438
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:40,200
Speaker 1: the title, no question. I believe in this roster. Zubach

439
00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:44,119
Speaker 1: is a legitimately very good center who is very nice

440
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,879
Speaker 1: to have for some specific matchups in the Western Conference,

441
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 1: guys like Anthony Davis and Nicol Jokisch. James Harden is

442
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,479
Speaker 1: a secondary shot creator. Norman Powell is a tertiary shot creator.

443
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,560
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard, if you get Robot Kawhi, if you get

444
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:02,560
Speaker 1: fifty five forty five ninety Kawhi, then you're absolutely a

445
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 1: championship contender. With the perimeter defense and athleticism and hard

446
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,719
Speaker 1: working talent on the perimeter that they have, they are

447
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,119
Speaker 1: a rock solid team that is built to thrive in

448
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,800
Speaker 1: the modern NBA. I mean, I talked about the Clippers

449
00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,000
Speaker 1: without Kawhi staying afloat in the standings before the season

450
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,240
Speaker 1: simply because I believe in this type of roster build.

451
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,320
Speaker 1: Give me a floor raiser and James Harden, give me

452
00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,320
Speaker 1: a pick and roll partner that can anchor a defense.

453
00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:30,679
Speaker 1: And if you Kazubas and give me a bunch of

454
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,639
Speaker 1: dudes who fucking guard on the perimeter. We're gonna win

455
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:35,919
Speaker 1: a lot of basketball games. That's what the Clippers have

456
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,560
Speaker 1: been doing. Plug Kawhi entered into that, into that situation

457
00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,760
Speaker 1: up the offensive ceiling, you absolutely can go on a

458
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,199
Speaker 1: run and win for playoff rounds. Obviously. The only question

459
00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,720
Speaker 1: is will he be able to stay healthy? And you

460
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,480
Speaker 1: guys know how that goes, and we would all be

461
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,119
Speaker 1: stupid to count on it, But we'd also be stupid

462
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,720
Speaker 1: to pretend it can't happen either. He's thirty three years old. Now,

463
00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:59,840
Speaker 1: that's thirty three with a bunch of knee injuries. But

464
00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,439
Speaker 1: if he can put together six months here, guys, six months,

465
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,479
Speaker 1: that's all. If he can stay healthy for six months,

466
00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,399
Speaker 1: they absolutely have a shot. I think we'd be foolish

467
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,520
Speaker 1: to count them out. Two more, Jason, you mentioned during

468
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,119
Speaker 1: your player rankings that Victor wimen Yama had potential to

469
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,639
Speaker 1: jump from your current ranking into the top ten players

470
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:19,879
Speaker 1: by the middle of the season. I know he had

471
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 1: a slow start, but in December it seemed like he

472
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,320
Speaker 1: had really taken that second year elite. Would you say

473
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,359
Speaker 1: that based on what you've seen recently, that he's jumped

474
00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:28,480
Speaker 1: into that top ten and possibly top five players in

475
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,160
Speaker 1: the World. Thanks for the content. As a diehard Spurs fan,

476
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,080
Speaker 1: I can't stand that you've rooted so hard for the Lakers,

477
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,280
Speaker 1: but I appreciate your perspective on the sport and coverage

478
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,119
Speaker 1: in the NBA. I look forward to your reaction videos

479
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 1: after big games. Thank you so much for the kind words.

480
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:41,199
Speaker 1: And as I always tell you, guys, like as soon

481
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:45,040
Speaker 1: as Lebron retires, he's my only real emotional fanhood attachment

482
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,600
Speaker 1: and when that goes, then I won't have any attachment

483
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,000
Speaker 1: to any team or player in the league. But in

484
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 1: the meantime, I appreciate you. Know, it's so funny. I

485
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:53,960
Speaker 1: had somebody in a male back question the other day

486
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,639
Speaker 1: go like, wasn't even a mail back question, it was

487
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,000
Speaker 1: just like a comment. They were like, they're like, aren't

488
00:25:58,040 --> 00:25:59,959
Speaker 1: you an analyst? You're not supposed to be a fan

489
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,399
Speaker 1: and you're an analyst. And I've always thought that's so

490
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,080
Speaker 1: funny to me because like, first of all, I don't

491
00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:07,760
Speaker 1: necessarily view myself as an analyst. I think it's just

492
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,560
Speaker 1: a show. This is just the show, and the show

493
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:11,240
Speaker 1: is what the show is. The show is the way

494
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,280
Speaker 1: that I like to talk about basketball. And then secondly,

495
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:19,399
Speaker 1: like I'm a basketball fan, so I am a fan.

496
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:21,679
Speaker 1: Why would I sit here and pretend like I'm not

497
00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,119
Speaker 1: a fan. I just am a fan that happens to

498
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: have a show where I talk about basketball. I've always

499
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,280
Speaker 1: thought that's interesting, Like why don't I talk about the Lakers.

500
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,400
Speaker 1: I watch all the Laker games because I'm a big

501
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:36,040
Speaker 1: Lakers fan, so like, obviously I want to talk about it,

502
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,639
Speaker 1: like it's not really hard to figure out, you know

503
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:40,480
Speaker 1: what I mean? And then what I do is I

504
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:42,600
Speaker 1: just put in the extra work to be able to

505
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,960
Speaker 1: cover the rest of the league, and obviously I take

506
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,520
Speaker 1: pride in that work, but like I also am just

507
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,080
Speaker 1: I've never it's weird. I've never felt like a need

508
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:57,040
Speaker 1: or a responsibility to not be a fan. I think

509
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,480
Speaker 1: I have the responsibility to tell you guys, I'm a fan,

510
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,680
Speaker 1: and to sit here and bullshit you to the face

511
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,200
Speaker 1: and say that I'm not a fan when I obviously am.

512
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,439
Speaker 1: But I think that that's just I've always been a

513
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,680
Speaker 1: believer in like just be authentic and just kind of

514
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,520
Speaker 1: let the chips fall where they may. That's how I've

515
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:15,440
Speaker 1: you know, kind of run the show over the years,

516
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,000
Speaker 1: and I don't intend on changing that anytime soon anyway,

517
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,040
Speaker 1: to your question, So I don't think he's top five.

518
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,520
Speaker 1: I think jokichianis, SGA, Luca, and Jason Tatum are all

519
00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 1: clearly the top five. Obviously, Luke has been hurt this year,

520
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,959
Speaker 1: but when Luca's healthy, we all know that he's in

521
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 1: that group. He's definitely in that next tier of guys

522
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,359
Speaker 1: for me, and you know, it's one of those things

523
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:38,159
Speaker 1: where when I have him right there at six, probably not.

524
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 1: The reason why is like, there are guys that are

525
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,920
Speaker 1: not going to have the high ceiling that a Victor

526
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:46,439
Speaker 1: women Yama has. Guys like Anthony Davis, Guys like Kevin Durant.

527
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,800
Speaker 1: There's a bunch of guys kind of in that that group.

528
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:50,440
Speaker 1: But there's a bunch of them. I'm leaving a bunch

529
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:54,280
Speaker 1: of names out. The reason why I would have Wenby's

530
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,199
Speaker 1: still behind those guys is there is a difference between like,

531
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,439
Speaker 1: I'm a hyper talented wrecking that is just completely filling

532
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:05,920
Speaker 1: up the box score and I'm an incredibly experienced, good

533
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,000
Speaker 1: basketball player that knows exactly what to do on every

534
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,879
Speaker 1: single possession to maximize my chances to win. That's the

535
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,080
Speaker 1: biggest difference between now and where Wemby will be well,

536
00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:16,919
Speaker 1: Wemby improve as a shooter, yeah, will we improve as

537
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,600
Speaker 1: a ball handler? Yeah? Will he improve his muscle masses,

538
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,000
Speaker 1: defensive instincts and all these different things. Sure, he's gonna

539
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,960
Speaker 1: get better at all that stuff. But the main thing

540
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,960
Speaker 1: that's gonna drive Victor wembin Yama's success into the future

541
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:31,320
Speaker 1: is going to be him understanding how to manage basketball games.

542
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,359
Speaker 1: What that means is like, hey, like, maybe this is

543
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,600
Speaker 1: not the time to take this jump shot. Maybe this

544
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:39,520
Speaker 1: is not the time to go to one of my

545
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 1: higher variants sequences. Maybe this is the time to go

546
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,440
Speaker 1: to one of my lower variance sequences, like something closer

547
00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 1: to the basket. He's got a whole repertoire of stuff

548
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,600
Speaker 1: around the basket that he's not even close to unlocking yet.

549
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 1: He had to play against ant in the post in

550
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,520
Speaker 1: clutch time yesterday against the Timberwolves, where he just stepped

551
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,480
Speaker 1: over his right shoulder and was at the rim and

552
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 1: just dunked on everybody. Wait till he realizes that if

553
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,160
Speaker 1: he catches at five feet he can just turn over

554
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 1: his left shoulder and shoot a hook shot, Like and

555
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:11,960
Speaker 1: if he can get that hook shot, up to sixty

556
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 1: five seventy percent. He can have a lack of variance

557
00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:17,600
Speaker 1: play that he can go to or my jump SHOT's going,

558
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:19,600
Speaker 1: I'm leaning on the jump shot, right, Like, those are

559
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 1: the kinds of things that separate, and so like it's like, oh, Jason,

560
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,480
Speaker 1: he's averaging thirty ten and five and four blocks a game, Like,

561
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,520
Speaker 1: how could you possibly say that he's not better than

562
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 1: you know, Jason Tatum or something like that. And again,

563
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:31,480
Speaker 1: that's the thing is there's two steps to it. It's

564
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,280
Speaker 1: no different than Yannis. Right, Like Yiannis early on it

565
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,640
Speaker 1: was like this dude's getting thirty and twelve or twenty

566
00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:39,960
Speaker 1: eight and twelve every day inn game. This is insane,

567
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,760
Speaker 1: Like this is a this is one of the best

568
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:44,040
Speaker 1: basketball players in the world. And it's like, yeah, but

569
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,840
Speaker 1: the Yiannis from twenty nineteen had no idea how to

570
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,320
Speaker 1: manage basketball games. Compared to the Yannis of twenty twenty four,

571
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,760
Speaker 1: The Honess of twenty twenty four has just so much

572
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,920
Speaker 1: more command of each possession. That's the big difference. And

573
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,719
Speaker 1: so like, again, to me, Wenby's in that six to

574
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:01,960
Speaker 1: ten right now, he's playing at that level. But in

575
00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,040
Speaker 1: order to get to that top five range. There's a

576
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:08,000
Speaker 1: certain level of just like basketball surgery, he's gonna have

577
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,680
Speaker 1: to get better at and that will come in time

578
00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:13,560
Speaker 1: and with experience. Last one, I just wanted to give

579
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 1: a couple of follow up thoughts on the Lakers trade yesterday,

580
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:19,520
Speaker 1: the trade for Dori Infinity Smith. I spent a good

581
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,640
Speaker 1: amount of time last night messing around on the trade

582
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,760
Speaker 1: machine because now that I wanted to come away from

583
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,479
Speaker 1: my efforts. Last night, my wife had a friend, a

584
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: friend of hers that was in town, of childhood friend

585
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 1: of hers that was in town, and they ended up

586
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,720
Speaker 1: hanging out last night. So I had a Sunday night

587
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: to work and I literally just watched a bunch of

588
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,760
Speaker 1: basketball and spent like an hour and a half on

589
00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:43,959
Speaker 1: the trade machine messing around with a bunch of different

590
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,920
Speaker 1: Lakers stuff. And what I kept coming around to was

591
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 1: a simple conundrum, and it's a conundrum that I know

592
00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,520
Speaker 1: a lot of Lakers fans disagree with me about, which

593
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 1: is what do you do next? And is Max Christie

594
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:02,480
Speaker 1: good enough to be the two guard? Okay, so first

595
00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 1: of all, start focusing on Max Christie. It's the exact

596
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,040
Speaker 1: same thing I was talking about earlier with Jonathan KAMINGA,

597
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:11,560
Speaker 1: I'm not worried about Max Christie's ceiling. I had people

598
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 1: in my comments on Twitter going like, Max Christy's playing

599
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:19,520
Speaker 1: so well right now. You're right. What happens with young

600
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:24,720
Speaker 1: talented players. Sometimes they play well, sometimes they don't. He's

601
00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:26,920
Speaker 1: in a phase right now where he's playing well. You

602
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:28,760
Speaker 1: guys saw from earlier in the season what it looks

603
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,640
Speaker 1: like when he doesn't. And like, here's the thing, Max

604
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 1: Christy against the Cavs on Tuesday Night. He might play

605
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,560
Speaker 1: really well, but I can't really like count on him

606
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,280
Speaker 1: in a game like that, Like he might also struggle

607
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:44,800
Speaker 1: because he's young and he's gonna be playing against a really,

608
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:49,840
Speaker 1: really good team. Ideally, I want Max Christy as the

609
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,520
Speaker 1: bench guy in that role, the guy who comes in

610
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,320
Speaker 1: and guards the best player on the floor with the

611
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,560
Speaker 1: bench group. Ideally, that's what I want. Then there's this

612
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,800
Speaker 1: second issue, which is where does Ruey Hotchimura fit into

613
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:07,239
Speaker 1: all of this? Dorian Finney Smith to me, he's got

614
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 1: a similar kind of build to Ruy, but he's got

615
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,120
Speaker 1: much better instincts and foot speed on the perimeter as

616
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:17,400
Speaker 1: a defender, meaning defensively, he's better at playing the role

617
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:22,520
Speaker 1: of the three than a guy like Ruey Hachimura is now. Ideally,

618
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,320
Speaker 1: I'd love to have Ruy too. There's small ball potential.

619
00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,160
Speaker 1: You can imagine a lineup that has Ruiy, Lebron and

620
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,080
Speaker 1: Dorian Finney Smith all on the floor at the same time,

621
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 1: the ability to switch. There's a lot of upside there.

622
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:36,800
Speaker 1: But the truth of the matter is Ruy's playing thirty

623
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: four minutes a game guys and Dorrian Phiney Smith more

624
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:45,800
Speaker 1: or less plays his position, so it might substantially cut

625
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:50,440
Speaker 1: into Rui's minutes. And if it does, what's a better

626
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:55,520
Speaker 1: use of Ruey's salary as a bench forward or call

627
00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,760
Speaker 1: it a starting forward with Dorian coming off the bench,

628
00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:02,880
Speaker 1: but with those guys splitting minutes or using his salary

629
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,320
Speaker 1: as a means with which to upgrade the one week

630
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:07,880
Speaker 1: spot in your starting lineup, which is the two guard spot.

631
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:11,760
Speaker 1: And that's what I see it as. I want to

632
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,440
Speaker 1: turn Ruey into a guy at the two that is

633
00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:20,160
Speaker 1: a veteran professional defender with experience, And that's why I

634
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,720
Speaker 1: keep coming around to Bruce Brown. A deal with Toronto

635
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,640
Speaker 1: centered around Ruey and Bruce Brown, they'd have to include

636
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,040
Speaker 1: a couple of minimum contracts. There would have to be

637
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,560
Speaker 1: potentially a third team to take on one of the

638
00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 1: spots for the roster spots for Toronto, Like there are

639
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,520
Speaker 1: complications there, but a deal centered around Ruey for Bruce

640
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:44,000
Speaker 1: Brown turns Ruey, which would then become basically like a

641
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,840
Speaker 1: kind of like a specialist for certain types of situations

642
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 1: like oh, with this lineup, we want him next to

643
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,080
Speaker 1: Lebron and Ad, or oh with this lineup there with

644
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,240
Speaker 1: this matchup, we want Dorian Finney Smith next to Lebron

645
00:33:57,280 --> 00:33:58,960
Speaker 1: and AD, and we want Ruey coming off the bench

646
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,800
Speaker 1: or anchoring small ball groups. I think that would be

647
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 1: better served as like what if we just had like

648
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,640
Speaker 1: a rock solid starting two guard, Like he's the guy

649
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,360
Speaker 1: who plays thirty minutes a night now and he's always

650
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,640
Speaker 1: on the floor with Lebron and Ad and with Dorian

651
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,239
Speaker 1: Phinney Smith and they can share the floor together. And

652
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:19,600
Speaker 1: now I have Austin Bruce, Dorian Lebron, Ad. Every guy

653
00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:21,960
Speaker 1: in that lineup is a good defender. Austin's the weakest

654
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,320
Speaker 1: defender in that lineup, and he's a good defender. Bruce

655
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,320
Speaker 1: is a legitimate guy who can guard opposing starting guards.

656
00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:30,280
Speaker 1: Dorian Finney Smith can guard the second best perimeter player,

657
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,160
Speaker 1: Austin can guard the third best perimeter player, Lebron and

658
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,120
Speaker 1: Ad on the back line, they'd be elite defensively. Dorian

659
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,960
Speaker 1: Finney Smith is a knockdown, catch and shoot guy. Bruce

660
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 1: Brown is not the best shooter in the world, but

661
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,680
Speaker 1: he is a very good connective off ball player. He's

662
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:47,120
Speaker 1: Liken Alex Caruso. He's a guy who screens really well,

663
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,200
Speaker 1: cuts really well, offensive rebounds really well. Bruce is really

664
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:54,520
Speaker 1: good with transition rim pressure, meaning like he'll get the

665
00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:56,640
Speaker 1: ball and just attack the rim and transition, kind of

666
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,040
Speaker 1: like what Josh Hart does for the New York Knicks.

667
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:01,759
Speaker 1: I think that line up is really damn good. So

668
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:03,640
Speaker 1: that's the direction I think they should go. Now that

669
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,680
Speaker 1: opens up a second hole. Okay, Jason, you're losing d

670
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:10,120
Speaker 1: Lo and you're losing Ruie and you're replacing him with

671
00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:13,840
Speaker 1: Dorian Finney Smith and Bruce Brown. Where's the offense? And

672
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:15,880
Speaker 1: I tend to agree with that, and that's why I

673
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:19,320
Speaker 1: would make two separate deals. I put together this deal yesterday,

674
00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,720
Speaker 1: and again, this is obligatory. This is all Fantasyland trades

675
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:26,600
Speaker 1: are very difficult to make. There are a million things

676
00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:29,560
Speaker 1: that have to line up, including the interests of the Lakers'

677
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 1: front office to spend first round picks on role players.

678
00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:35,560
Speaker 1: But all things considered, these are the two deals that

679
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,680
Speaker 1: I would make. So with the Raptors, it would be

680
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,719
Speaker 1: Ruy Jalen Huchafino, and Jackson Hayes, because I don't think

681
00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:43,680
Speaker 1: you would need Jackson Hayes if you got a backup center,

682
00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 1: which is going to be what the second deal is. Obviously,

683
00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:48,960
Speaker 1: that's the situation where you would potentially have to do

684
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,279
Speaker 1: something to clear up roster spots for Toronto, but you

685
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,399
Speaker 1: find a way to figure that out. The second deal

686
00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,319
Speaker 1: would be you call up Utah. And one of the

687
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,600
Speaker 1: advantages for the Lakers is they already have a first

688
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:00,960
Speaker 1: round pick that Utah owns that is protected, so if

689
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,120
Speaker 1: they needed to negotiate, they could even further sweeten the

690
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,400
Speaker 1: pot by just removing protections on a deal like that.

691
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,400
Speaker 1: But I would trade Gabe Vincent and Jared Vanderbilt for

692
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,600
Speaker 1: Colin Sexton and Walker Kessler. So in that case, now,

693
00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:16,680
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I have plenty of ball handling.

694
00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:20,680
Speaker 1: I've replaced the del Rui offense issue by bringing in

695
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:25,000
Speaker 1: Colin Sexton, a guy that can help run offense for US. Right,

696
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:28,160
Speaker 1: I've got Colin, I've got Austin, I've got Shake Milton.

697
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,480
Speaker 1: Those are like my three ball handling guards. But then

698
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,920
Speaker 1: I've got a slew of perimeter defenders, Max, Christy King,

699
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:38,720
Speaker 1: Garden shoot Right, Dorianfinny Smith, kN Garden shoot, Bruce Brown,

700
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,080
Speaker 1: Can Garden be a functional offensive player? Cam Reddish probably

701
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,400
Speaker 1: outside of the rotation at that point, but that King guard.

702
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,399
Speaker 1: But then I also have Dalton connect as a guy

703
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:47,920
Speaker 1: that can help on the offensive end. But at the

704
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:51,399
Speaker 1: same time, I have the ability to have really good,

705
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:54,320
Speaker 1: strong bench groups led by a good center and Walker

706
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:56,719
Speaker 1: Kessler who also can fill in on the nights when

707
00:36:56,719 --> 00:37:00,440
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis can't play. I can have a group centered

708
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:02,880
Speaker 1: around Walker Kessler and Lebron at the four five. I

709
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,040
Speaker 1: can have a group centered around Ad and Dorian Finney

710
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:07,160
Speaker 1: Smith at the four or five. When Lebron's off the floor,

711
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:09,760
Speaker 1: I can bring in Christian Wood when I need extra

712
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,160
Speaker 1: forward depth. There's just a lot of different flexibility there

713
00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,480
Speaker 1: with a lot of good basketball players, plenty of offense.

714
00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:21,960
Speaker 1: And then just think about this, Austin, Colin, Max, Bruce,

715
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:27,160
Speaker 1: Dorian Finney Smith, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Cam Reddish. Those

716
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,080
Speaker 1: are all good defenders and a bunch of guys with

717
00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:33,960
Speaker 1: like Bruce, and we talked about like resetting the Lakers

718
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,960
Speaker 1: culture so that they just naturally play harder. Well, having

719
00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:40,320
Speaker 1: a guy like Bruce, having a guy like Dorian, having Austin,

720
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,879
Speaker 1: having all those guys that naturally play hard. That does

721
00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,680
Speaker 1: support your natural motor throughout the season, as Lebron and

722
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,240
Speaker 1: ad can eb and flow with their energy. So again,

723
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,120
Speaker 1: that's just like, that's like my if I had to

724
00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:54,080
Speaker 1: give you guys my dream scenario, those would be the

725
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:55,760
Speaker 1: two deals, and it would probably be like a lightly

726
00:37:55,800 --> 00:38:01,480
Speaker 1: protected first to Toronto and and then like a lightly

727
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,040
Speaker 1: protected first and maybe removing the protections on the other

728
00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:08,319
Speaker 1: pick for Utah. Yeah, you've given up everything. You're all

729
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,440
Speaker 1: in now, but you're all in with a team that

730
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:14,799
Speaker 1: has a lot of really good basketball players around Lebron, James,

731
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:18,040
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, and Austin Reeves. Then if it doesn't work out,

732
00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:20,680
Speaker 1: you blow it up and you trade Anthony Davis, and

733
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,200
Speaker 1: you trade Austin Reeves, and you load up on first

734
00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:25,839
Speaker 1: round draft picks and you go about the process of

735
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,280
Speaker 1: trying to rebuild from there. But that is the direction

736
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:30,480
Speaker 1: that I would look to go, and at a minimum,

737
00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:32,880
Speaker 1: I think the move here is trying to turn Ruie

738
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:35,240
Speaker 1: into a guy that you think is a starting caliber,

739
00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,800
Speaker 1: experienced player at the two, that you trust in a

740
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:54,040
Speaker 1: playoff set. All right, guys, let's work through our power

741
00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:56,000
Speaker 1: rankings and then we'll be out of here for the day.

742
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:59,920
Speaker 1: All odds again are provided by our partner Draft Kings.

743
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,200
Speaker 1: So number ten the Minnesota Timberwolves. The caped off a

744
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,239
Speaker 1: three to one week with a win last night at

745
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:07,600
Speaker 1: home against the Spurs. Another really strong defensive performance. Victor

746
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:09,719
Speaker 1: hit several tough shots in that game, but I thought

747
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:12,560
Speaker 1: Julius Randall really made him work hard. He took thirty

748
00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:14,319
Speaker 1: shots to get to his thirty four points. I thought

749
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:16,680
Speaker 1: he did a really nice job defensively there. Go Bart

750
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,160
Speaker 1: made several huge plays down the stretch. Manhandled Victor wemen

751
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,160
Speaker 1: Yama on an offensive rebound put back. He set a

752
00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:24,840
Speaker 1: monster off ball screen that got Dante DiVincenzo open on

753
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:26,960
Speaker 1: the left wing for three. He drew a foul on

754
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,520
Speaker 1: the offensive glass and made both free throws. His typical

755
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:32,200
Speaker 1: excellent defense switching onto guards in ball screens got a

756
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,120
Speaker 1: big contest as Wenby was coming into a movement three.

757
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,960
Speaker 1: I just thought he was really good and Ant had

758
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:39,799
Speaker 1: a bad game where he couldn't really make a shot

759
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,320
Speaker 1: to save his life, and they got to win. Anyway,

760
00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:43,239
Speaker 1: A big one for the Wolves. They're nine and four

761
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,080
Speaker 1: in their last thirteen games, and all nine of their

762
00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:48,479
Speaker 1: wins were against winning teams. They beat the Clippers twice,

763
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,000
Speaker 1: the Lakers twice, the Warriors, the Spurs twice, the MAVs,

764
00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:53,759
Speaker 1: and the Rockets. They've had a good stretch of health.

765
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 1: All of their top eight rotation players have played in

766
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:57,839
Speaker 1: every single game in this stretch. In this span, they're

767
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,880
Speaker 1: twenty third in offense. Thing is still a chore on

768
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:02,640
Speaker 1: that end of the floor. Spacing is terrible. They go

769
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:05,560
Speaker 1: through extended stretches every game where the offense just grinds

770
00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:07,480
Speaker 1: to a halt. A lot of really interesting stuff coming

771
00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,720
Speaker 1: out of the lineup dead data, like the bench groups

772
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:14,000
Speaker 1: are just consistently playing better, like staggered bench starter groups

773
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,680
Speaker 1: that have more shooting are consistently playing better than the starters.

774
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:20,920
Speaker 1: When you make basketball easier for your players, like when

775
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,840
Speaker 1: you make things function on offense by providing them space,

776
00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:25,960
Speaker 1: they start to believe in what they're doing more, which

777
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,640
Speaker 1: gets them to defend better. That's the dead giveaway. The

778
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:31,759
Speaker 1: starting lineup has their best defensive talent. In three hundred

779
00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,440
Speaker 1: and seventy nine minutes, they have a one to eleven

780
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:36,600
Speaker 1: defensive rating. That's not very good. I mean it's it's

781
00:40:36,719 --> 00:40:39,279
Speaker 1: very good, but it's not as good as Minnesota is

782
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:42,200
Speaker 1: capable of, right, and it's because they don't believe in

783
00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:45,160
Speaker 1: what they're doing on offense. When you're getting buckets, you

784
00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:47,600
Speaker 1: feel good about yourself. You believe more in what you're

785
00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:49,360
Speaker 1: trying to do on both ends of the floor. You

786
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 1: do a better job on defense. The best example of

787
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:54,000
Speaker 1: this is their bench group. They have this bench group

788
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,800
Speaker 1: with Anthony Edwards and Julius Randall flanked by Dante DiVincenzo Nikhil,

789
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:01,880
Speaker 1: Alexander Walker and nas Reed, all three good three point shooters.

790
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,400
Speaker 1: They have a one to twenty two offensive rating a

791
00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:08,160
Speaker 1: one hundred defensive rating, ten points better than the starting

792
00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:10,840
Speaker 1: group in over one hundred minutes this year. That's not

793
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:14,640
Speaker 1: a small sample. Plus twenty two points per one hundred possessions.

794
00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:17,000
Speaker 1: That is proof of concept of this kind of this

795
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:21,440
Speaker 1: idea that I've been talking about forever. Two concepts, right. One,

796
00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:23,719
Speaker 1: do we need rim protection if we can defend on

797
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,080
Speaker 1: the perimeter. No. If you defend on the perimeter well,

798
00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:28,880
Speaker 1: in that group, Aunt, Julius Dante and Nikhil Alexander Walker,

799
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:31,799
Speaker 1: they all can guard. You guard on the perimeter, you

800
00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:34,200
Speaker 1: create an easier job on the back line, and you

801
00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,479
Speaker 1: can defend well even without having rim protection on the floor.

802
00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:41,279
Speaker 1: And then, most importantly, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randall are

803
00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:45,640
Speaker 1: downhill players, and if you're asking downhill players to play

804
00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,120
Speaker 1: in a crowd, you're making their life more difficult. With

805
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,560
Speaker 1: those groups, Julius Randall's doing a wonderful job pressuring the

806
00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:54,839
Speaker 1: rim and spraying out to shooters. Life is easier for everybody,

807
00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:57,799
Speaker 1: and they look better as a team. They have been

808
00:41:57,840 --> 00:41:59,520
Speaker 1: defending really well in this nine zer four stretch. Their

809
00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:02,240
Speaker 1: second and d are shutting down the paint. They're second

810
00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:04,280
Speaker 1: in points per game allowed in that span. They're defending

811
00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:06,680
Speaker 1: the three point line well, they're seventh, and opponents three's

812
00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:10,160
Speaker 1: made doing well on the margins too, like keeping opponents

813
00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,040
Speaker 1: out of fast break situations, keeping them off the offensive glass.

814
00:42:13,719 --> 00:42:16,799
Speaker 1: Really balanced scoring two ant is only averaging twenty point

815
00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:18,839
Speaker 1: five points per game in the span, Julius is only

816
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,600
Speaker 1: averaging eighteen point two. Like again, the pace is really low.

817
00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:26,839
Speaker 1: It's a chore, but they're shooting the three like. They're

818
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,520
Speaker 1: shooting the three well enough to kind of make up. Specifically,

819
00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:32,239
Speaker 1: Julius and ant are shooting the three well enough to

820
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:34,160
Speaker 1: try to get some shots in over the top of

821
00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,839
Speaker 1: their poor spacing situations. Dante DiVincenzo is coming on strong.

822
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 1: He's shooting forty two percent from three in this span.

823
00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:42,440
Speaker 1: He's averaging eleven points per game. He had a monster

824
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:44,120
Speaker 1: game against the Spurs. He had twenty six points and

825
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:46,840
Speaker 1: hit five to threes. But they have an identity. They

826
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:48,799
Speaker 1: grind games down to a halt with their defense. They

827
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:51,800
Speaker 1: play super slow, and then they rely on Julius, Raandel

828
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,200
Speaker 1: and Anthony Edwards' ability to get to their spots, even

829
00:42:54,239 --> 00:42:56,480
Speaker 1: though they can be inefficient from time to time. I'm

830
00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:59,000
Speaker 1: still super concerned about this offense in the big picture,

831
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,120
Speaker 1: but at the very least they've managed to float in

832
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,960
Speaker 1: the regular season by recapturing their defensive identity. Right now,

833
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:07,760
Speaker 1: the Timberwolves are plus three thousand to win the NBA title,

834
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,759
Speaker 1: plus thirteen hundred to win the Western Conference. Number nine

835
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,080
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Clippers. We talked about them in the

836
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:15,759
Speaker 1: earlier segment of the show, so I'm not going to

837
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,040
Speaker 1: get any further into them right now. If you want

838
00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:20,279
Speaker 1: to hear more Clippers talk, just go to the full episode.

839
00:43:20,719 --> 00:43:23,279
Speaker 1: But right now, the Clippers are plus four thousand to

840
00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:28,680
Speaker 1: win the title, plus nineteen hundred to win the Western Conference.

841
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:31,279
Speaker 1: Number eight, the Los Angeles Lakers. We also talked about

842
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:33,680
Speaker 1: them a lot in the opening segment, so I'm not

843
00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:36,160
Speaker 1: going to get any further into them right now. But

844
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:38,279
Speaker 1: backpack wins against the Warriors and Kings. They've now won

845
00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:42,640
Speaker 1: six out of eight. Austin Reeves is hooping his ass

846
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:45,839
Speaker 1: off in this stretch, twenty points, six rebounds and seven

847
00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:48,960
Speaker 1: assists on sixty percent thro shooting, just two point nine

848
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:51,440
Speaker 1: turnovers per game, hit, a game winner in the Golden

849
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:55,439
Speaker 1: State game, had the insane passing clinic that he put

850
00:43:55,480 --> 00:43:58,560
Speaker 1: on against the Sacramento Kings the other night. The Lakers

851
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,880
Speaker 1: right now plus thirty five hundred to win the NBA title,

852
00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:05,040
Speaker 1: plus seventeen hundred to win the Western Conference. Number seven

853
00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:07,560
Speaker 1: the Memphis Grizzlies two and two week lost of the

854
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,920
Speaker 1: Clippers in thunder. They beat the Pelicans as well as

855
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:14,840
Speaker 1: the Raptors. John Morant went down with a sprain of

856
00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:17,480
Speaker 1: his ac joint in the win against the Pelicans on Friday.

857
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:21,880
Speaker 1: Really struggled to score during this massive landslide of a

858
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:24,160
Speaker 1: run that Oklahoma City put on them in the second quarter.

859
00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:28,840
Speaker 1: It was like it was just one of those situations

860
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:30,760
Speaker 1: where in Oklahoma City has been doing this to everybody

861
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:33,360
Speaker 1: at this point, but like Okahoma City can really strangle

862
00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:34,480
Speaker 1: the life out of you. I think they gave up

863
00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:36,920
Speaker 1: only nineteen points in the second quarter during that run.

864
00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:40,279
Speaker 1: Tough timing for the Grizzlies because their schedule is really

865
00:44:40,280 --> 00:44:42,480
Speaker 1: tough right now. They're at the Suns, next at the Kings,

866
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:46,280
Speaker 1: at the Warriors, home for Dallas and Houston, then at Minnesota,

867
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:48,520
Speaker 1: at Houston, at San Antonio, at San Antonio and then

868
00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:50,840
Speaker 1: home for Minnesota, and as of right now, try to

869
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:53,640
Speaker 1: dig into it. There's no timetable on John Morant's return

870
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:55,759
Speaker 1: right now, so hopefully he can come back soon because

871
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:57,719
Speaker 1: that schedule is pretty tough. The Grizzlies plus twenty two

872
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,759
Speaker 1: hundred to win the title, plus one thousand and to

873
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:04,279
Speaker 1: win the Western Conference number six, the Houston Rockets. We're

874
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:07,320
Speaker 1: seeing our first little bit of sustained shakiness from the

875
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:10,640
Speaker 1: Houston Rockets. After starting fifteen and six, they are six

876
00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:13,000
Speaker 1: and five in their last eleven games. They've lost two

877
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,480
Speaker 1: in a row. Basically comes down to defensive slippage. Their

878
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:18,680
Speaker 1: offense has been bad most of the year, but they

879
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,600
Speaker 1: only have a one oh nine defensive rating in this stretch. Ironically,

880
00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:24,280
Speaker 1: the groups with a men Thompson in for Dylan Brooks

881
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:26,840
Speaker 1: with the starters have a defensive rating over one twenty.

882
00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:30,480
Speaker 1: It's pretty weird. The main starting group also has a

883
00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:33,160
Speaker 1: negative net rating. So this is with Dylan Brooks, So

884
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:35,640
Speaker 1: this is with Jalen Green, Fred Van Vliet, Dilan Brooks,

885
00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:38,280
Speaker 1: Jabari Smith, and Shan Gun. That group has a negative

886
00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:40,520
Speaker 1: net rating in the last eleven games. Just can't score.

887
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:42,800
Speaker 1: They have a one toh three offensive rating with that group.

888
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,280
Speaker 1: There's been a recurring theme too in the last couple

889
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:47,560
Speaker 1: of games with Houston blowing leads. They blew a seven

890
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:50,839
Speaker 1: point lead with seven minutes left against Miami, and then

891
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:53,640
Speaker 1: they blew a sixteen point lead with five minutes left

892
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,799
Speaker 1: against Minnesota. In this eleven game stretch, they've dropped three

893
00:45:56,840 --> 00:46:00,279
Speaker 1: games in clutch situations, scoring just sixty five points per

894
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:03,759
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions on offense in those clutch situations. They've

895
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:06,600
Speaker 1: been bad all season in clutch situations on offense, but

896
00:46:06,719 --> 00:46:09,359
Speaker 1: especially bad as of late. Right now, the Rockets are

897
00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:11,759
Speaker 1: plus eight thousand to win the NBA title, plus twenty

898
00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:15,080
Speaker 1: five hundred to win the Western Conference. Number five the

899
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:18,320
Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks two and two weeks. They beat Portland and Phoenix.

900
00:46:18,360 --> 00:46:21,279
Speaker 1: They lost to Portland and Minnesota. Really tough defensive game

901
00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:23,919
Speaker 1: against Portland, like Kyrie goes Off, he had forty something,

902
00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:26,919
Speaker 1: their role players were hitting shots. They just allowed five

903
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:30,240
Speaker 1: Blazers to score at least nineteen points. Didn't get enough stops.

904
00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:31,960
Speaker 1: But as I said at the time of the Luca injury,

905
00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:34,400
Speaker 1: I still think this is one of the best rosters

906
00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:35,799
Speaker 1: in the league, and they still have a lot of

907
00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:39,120
Speaker 1: talent when Luca's out. Beating the Suns without Luca is

908
00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:41,959
Speaker 1: a great example of that. They just have a really

909
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:46,040
Speaker 1: strong floor every night because they have great rim protection,

910
00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:49,480
Speaker 1: a variety of different perimeter talent that they could go

911
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:52,319
Speaker 1: to depending on the matchup, plenty of ball handling to

912
00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:55,359
Speaker 1: cover when stars are out if they can just hang

913
00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:57,719
Speaker 1: in that five to eight range over this next four

914
00:46:57,719 --> 00:46:59,759
Speaker 1: to six weeks while Luca's out, I think they'll be

915
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:02,640
Speaker 1: fine right now. Dallas plus eleven hundred to win the title,

916
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:05,759
Speaker 1: plus five point fifty to win the Western Conference. Number

917
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:08,960
Speaker 1: four the Boston Celtics, who are very much asleep at

918
00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:11,800
Speaker 1: the wheel right now. Everything is about them just giving

919
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,279
Speaker 1: a shit. From what I can tell, You drop a

920
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:16,360
Speaker 1: game at home to Chicago, and then you get pissed

921
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:19,520
Speaker 1: off and go into Chicago and just absolutely dominate them.

922
00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:22,280
Speaker 1: To send a message. You drop a game to Orlando

923
00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:25,160
Speaker 1: without Tatum, whatever, You lose a weird game to Philly

924
00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:27,720
Speaker 1: where your game plan that you've been using against everybody,

925
00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:31,040
Speaker 1: that's been working against everybody doesn't work because Caleb Martin

926
00:47:31,120 --> 00:47:33,799
Speaker 1: hit seven threes. And so then you bounce back by

927
00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:37,480
Speaker 1: beating the living shit out of the Indiana Pacers, again

928
00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:40,120
Speaker 1: sending a clear message. But then you let the same

929
00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:42,640
Speaker 1: Pacers team come in on Sunday and punch you in

930
00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:45,400
Speaker 1: the mouth. They really got bullied physically in that game.

931
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:47,880
Speaker 1: The Celtics have lost five out of nine. The defense

932
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:50,240
Speaker 1: has been bad. They have a one to seventeen defensive

933
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,040
Speaker 1: rating in these last five games, or in the five losses,

934
00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:55,600
Speaker 1: I should say over that nine game stretch, they're not

935
00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:58,960
Speaker 1: hitting shots. They're just thirty percent from three. I would

936
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:01,920
Speaker 1: caution against just call at variance because they're still shooting

937
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:03,840
Speaker 1: really well when they're wide open. They're shooting thirty eight

938
00:48:03,880 --> 00:48:05,560
Speaker 1: percent on wide open threes, which is more or less

939
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:08,799
Speaker 1: what they've shot all season. It's the moderately contested threes

940
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:11,000
Speaker 1: they're not shooting as well on. They were thirty nine

941
00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:14,359
Speaker 1: percent before this stretch to thirty percent in this nine

942
00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:17,200
Speaker 1: game stretch, and that's been the big different difference. Derek

943
00:48:17,239 --> 00:48:19,680
Speaker 1: White had some interesting comments after the Pacers loss about

944
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:21,840
Speaker 1: how this has been the hardest stretch that he's played

945
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:23,759
Speaker 1: on since he came over to the Celtics, and like,

946
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:27,799
Speaker 1: I'm going to go positive here. I think that adversity

947
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:30,920
Speaker 1: is good. I think it's good to get punched in

948
00:48:30,920 --> 00:48:33,680
Speaker 1: the mouth every once in a while, especially when you're

949
00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:37,040
Speaker 1: so good that you're kicking everybody's butt and you start

950
00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:40,160
Speaker 1: to get a little bit full of yourself, right, Humility

951
00:48:40,200 --> 00:48:43,319
Speaker 1: is a good thing in that regard, and adversity, in

952
00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:45,680
Speaker 1: my opinion, has always brought out the best in basketball players.

953
00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:48,240
Speaker 1: So frankly like, I'm kind of excited to see Boston

954
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:50,239
Speaker 1: face some more adversity this year, not just in the

955
00:48:50,239 --> 00:48:52,640
Speaker 1: regular season. They're going to face better playoff teams this year,

956
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:54,680
Speaker 1: and I'm just curious to see how they respond. I

957
00:48:54,719 --> 00:48:57,000
Speaker 1: expect a positive response. That's why I'm still picking them

958
00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,920
Speaker 1: to win the title. But I thought Derek white'smments were

959
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,239
Speaker 1: interesting because that's really the thing that we're going to

960
00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:05,200
Speaker 1: be keeping an eye on moving forward, how they how

961
00:49:05,239 --> 00:49:07,000
Speaker 1: to handle their first real stretch of adversity in the

962
00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,000
Speaker 1: last couple of years. Number three is the New York

963
00:49:09,040 --> 00:49:11,240
Speaker 1: Knicks four to o. Week they beat the Raptors, the Spurs,

964
00:49:11,239 --> 00:49:13,120
Speaker 1: the Magic and the Wizards. The Wizards put a little

965
00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:15,200
Speaker 1: bit of a scare into them on Saturday night. Just

966
00:49:15,239 --> 00:49:18,440
Speaker 1: in Champagne, he hit a million threes, and Jalen Brunson

967
00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:21,160
Speaker 1: just pulled them back from the brink with an offensive masterclass.

968
00:49:21,160 --> 00:49:23,440
Speaker 1: He scored or assistant on every single bucket in the

969
00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:27,000
Speaker 1: final six minutes of regulation. He hit bla coolabally with

970
00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:29,839
Speaker 1: this nasty hesitation move to hit a floater that sent

971
00:49:29,880 --> 00:49:32,200
Speaker 1: the game to ot. Then he scored nine more points

972
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:35,160
Speaker 1: in overtime and they put the Wizards away. Brunson finished

973
00:49:35,160 --> 00:49:37,680
Speaker 1: with fifty five points and nine assists on thirty one

974
00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:41,279
Speaker 1: shots with only three turnovers. That's preposterously high usage to

975
00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:43,360
Speaker 1: not have a single turnover. Excuse me to only have

976
00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:45,839
Speaker 1: three turnovers. Jalen Brunson has done a really nice job

977
00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:48,239
Speaker 1: all year of feeling out when the team needs him

978
00:49:48,239 --> 00:49:50,399
Speaker 1: to do everything on offense versus when they need him

979
00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:52,919
Speaker 1: to just take a step back. They're eight and one

980
00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:55,680
Speaker 1: this year when he scores twenty or fewer points, but

981
00:49:55,719 --> 00:49:57,879
Speaker 1: they're also five in one when he scores thirty five

982
00:49:57,920 --> 00:49:59,840
Speaker 1: or more. I thought that was a really interesting stat

983
00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:03,560
Speaker 1: demonstrate that like touch from Brunson in terms of like

984
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,279
Speaker 1: understanding how when to like really put his imprint on

985
00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:09,120
Speaker 1: the game, versus to play more as a cognist system.

986
00:50:09,640 --> 00:50:12,440
Speaker 1: Since November fifteenth, the Knicks are seventeen and four It's

987
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:15,200
Speaker 1: the second best record in the league Olkloma City sixteen

988
00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:17,279
Speaker 1: and thirteen, but they're technically sixteen and fourteen because they

989
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:19,760
Speaker 1: lost an nd season tournament game. The Knicks are second

990
00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:21,960
Speaker 1: in offense in that span, fourteenth in defense, third and

991
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:24,719
Speaker 1: net rating sixth and rebounding doing some more damage on

992
00:50:24,760 --> 00:50:27,000
Speaker 1: the offensive glass two, looking more like last year's team,

993
00:50:27,360 --> 00:50:29,839
Speaker 1: sixty fifth and assist percentage. Remember this team last year

994
00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:32,800
Speaker 1: was fifty nine percent and assist percentage, which ranked second

995
00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:34,520
Speaker 1: to last in the entire league, So a lot more

996
00:50:34,560 --> 00:50:38,720
Speaker 1: equal opportunity offense. The formula's coming together. They're really defending

997
00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:40,520
Speaker 1: on the perimeter and using it as a weapon to

998
00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:42,600
Speaker 1: get out in transition. They're sixth in points off of

999
00:50:42,640 --> 00:50:45,480
Speaker 1: turnovers in the SPAN and fifth in fast break points.

1000
00:50:45,719 --> 00:50:48,279
Speaker 1: They're also playing really good driving kickball, getting a lot

1001
00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:50,920
Speaker 1: of really good use out of their offensive talent, and

1002
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:53,600
Speaker 1: then Brunson is able to provide that apex shot creation

1003
00:50:53,680 --> 00:50:56,360
Speaker 1: that they need when things bogged down. They're battling on

1004
00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:58,560
Speaker 1: the offensive glass again, capturing some of that identity from

1005
00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:00,920
Speaker 1: last year. The Knicks right now plus eight fifty to

1006
00:51:01,040 --> 00:51:04,399
Speaker 1: win the NBA title, plus three to ninety to win

1007
00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:07,040
Speaker 1: the conference. Number two, the Oylahoma City Thunder. They're going

1008
00:51:07,080 --> 00:51:09,880
Speaker 1: through an absolutely dominant stretch of defense. They've held six

1009
00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:12,200
Speaker 1: of their last seven opponents to one hundred and six

1010
00:51:12,239 --> 00:51:14,919
Speaker 1: points or fewer for their last seven opponents to fewer

1011
00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:17,319
Speaker 1: than one hundred points. Their offense has still been super

1012
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:19,080
Speaker 1: up and down, but they've been winning even when they

1013
00:51:19,120 --> 00:51:21,040
Speaker 1: don't shoot well because of the strength of their defense,

1014
00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:22,799
Speaker 1: and then when they shoot well, they just beat the

1015
00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:25,000
Speaker 1: hell out of you. That's really the thing. When Oklahoma

1016
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:27,400
Speaker 1: City makes shots, you lose by twenty five to thirty points.

1017
00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:31,120
Speaker 1: Since the inn season tournament lost to Milwaukee, since that

1018
00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:34,680
Speaker 1: tournament loss doesn't technically count in the regular season, the

1019
00:51:34,719 --> 00:51:37,120
Speaker 1: Thunder have won eleven in a row and fifteen out

1020
00:51:37,120 --> 00:51:39,759
Speaker 1: of sixteen. The offense is getting better. They're seventh in

1021
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:43,560
Speaker 1: that sixteen game span, obviously the clunker against Milwaukee, notwithstanding

1022
00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:45,520
Speaker 1: by far the best defense in the league. Over that span,

1023
00:51:45,560 --> 00:51:48,239
Speaker 1: they're four points better than the second place Clippers. Shay

1024
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:50,279
Speaker 1: has been gaining ground on the MVP race and very

1025
00:51:50,280 --> 00:51:52,399
Speaker 1: well might be the leader right now. He's averaging thirty

1026
00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:55,840
Speaker 1: three points, six rebounds, and six assists on sixty five

1027
00:51:55,960 --> 00:51:59,560
Speaker 1: percent true shooting with just two point seven turnovers per game.

1028
00:51:59,560 --> 00:52:03,120
Speaker 1: He's playing some super special basketball right now. Isaiah Hartenstein's

1029
00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:06,520
Speaker 1: been great thirteen thirteen and four assists with a two

1030
00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:08,680
Speaker 1: to one assist to turnover ratio. The Thunder kicking ass

1031
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:10,359
Speaker 1: If you believe in them. Right now, they're plus three

1032
00:52:10,400 --> 00:52:13,440
Speaker 1: hundred to win the NBA title, plus one fifty to

1033
00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:15,160
Speaker 1: win the conference. And the Calves. We're not gonna go

1034
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:16,879
Speaker 1: too deep into them. They're two to oh this week,

1035
00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:18,560
Speaker 1: beat the Jazz and beat the Nuggets. We talked about

1036
00:52:18,560 --> 00:52:20,839
Speaker 1: them in the top of today's show, so make sure

1037
00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:22,520
Speaker 1: you get over to the full episode for that. The

1038
00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:25,800
Speaker 1: Calves right now plus sixteen hundred to win the NBA title,

1039
00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:30,279
Speaker 1: plus five point fifty to win the Western Conference. All

1040
00:52:30,320 --> 00:52:32,359
Speaker 1: a lod It's provided by a partner, Draft Kings. Again, guys,

1041
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:35,919
Speaker 1: it's all I have for today. We're taking there's a chance.

1042
00:52:36,239 --> 00:52:37,640
Speaker 1: It depends on how some stuff go. I have some

1043
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:39,439
Speaker 1: family in town, so it depends on how that goes.

1044
00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:41,760
Speaker 1: But if things break right, I might do an episode

1045
00:52:41,760 --> 00:52:44,239
Speaker 1: tonight after Calves Warriors. I'll let you guys know. If not,

1046
00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:46,040
Speaker 1: We're taking Tuesday and Wednesday off for the holiday and

1047
00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:50,719
Speaker 1: I'll be back Thursday. I'll see you guys the volume.

1048
00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:53,840
Speaker 1: What's up guys. As always, I appreciate you for listening

1049
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:56,680
Speaker 1: to and supporting OOPS tonight. It would actually be really

1050
00:52:56,719 --> 00:52:58,600
Speaker 1: helpful for us if you guys would take a second

1051
00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:01,320
Speaker 1: and leave a rating and a review. As always, I

1052
00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:03,120
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys supporting us but if you could take

1053
00:53:03,120 --> 00:53:05,480
Speaker 1: a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.