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Speaker 1: terms and responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome to tonight.

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Speaker 1: You're at the volume hay Thursday. Everybody hopefull of you.

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Speaker 1: Guys are having an incredible week. Got another series preview

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Speaker 1: for you today, the Philadelphia seventy six ers and the

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Speaker 1: New York Nicks. Alert. I went into this film session

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Speaker 1: this morning thinking I was gonna pick one team, and

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Speaker 1: then I ended up picking the other team. After watching

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Speaker 1: the film, I'm excited to dive into it from the

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Speaker 1: perspective of both teams. After that, I've got a little

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Speaker 1: bit of a film session. We've got twenty clips. We're

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Speaker 1: going to go through nineteen clips. Excuse me that we're

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Speaker 1: going to go through from this particular matchup. So for

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Speaker 1: you guys listening on the podcast feed, if you want

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Speaker 1: to see some film representations of the things that I'm

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Speaker 1: talking about, you're going to want to head over there.

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Speaker 1: There are some specific takes that I have about how

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Speaker 1: the Sixers should defend the Knicks that I think seeing

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Speaker 1: some footage will help you guys kind of get a

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Speaker 1: better feel for. And then lastly, at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day to day, we're going to do a little

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Speaker 1: bit of mail bag. I'm going to start by talking

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Speaker 1: about Team USA and their twelve man roster that they're

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Speaker 1: taking to the Olympics this summer. And then after that,

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Speaker 1: I've got four mail bag questions that go around the

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Speaker 1: rest of the league. You guys know the drill before

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Speaker 1: we get started. Subscribe to a brand new YouTube channel

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Speaker 1: so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter at underscore json lt so you guys

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Speaker 1: don't miss any show announcements or film threads that I

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Speaker 1: do from time to time. Don't forget about a podcast

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Speaker 1: feed wherever you get your podcast under Hoops tonight. And then,

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Speaker 1: last but not least, keep dropping mail bag questions and

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Speaker 1: those YouTube comments about once a week over the course

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Speaker 1: of the rest of the postseason, I'll be hitting mail bags. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: we're going to do them more over the other portions

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Speaker 1: of the year, but I still plan on doing them

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Speaker 1: all right, Let's talk some basketball. So the Knicks won

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Speaker 1: the season series three to one. Embiid only played in

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Speaker 1: one of the games, though it was a game the

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Speaker 1: Knicks won by thirty six points back in January, a

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Speaker 1: really hot shooting night from the New York Knicks and

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Speaker 1: that one. The Knicks have a one to twelve offensive

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Speaker 1: rating in this matchup, but the Sixers have a ninety

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Speaker 1: three offensive rating in this matchup. The Knicks have also

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Speaker 1: dominated the glass, even in the game that Embiid has played.

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Speaker 1: When Embiid's on the floor this year, they're generally a

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Speaker 1: pretty good rebounding team, but they've been really bad without

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Speaker 1: him on the floor, and they can struggle in some

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Speaker 1: specific lineups, and that's obviously going to be a key,

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Speaker 1: key kind of trend to keep an eye on in

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Speaker 1: this series. On the gambling front, Super Close Draftking has

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Speaker 1: this one at Sixers minus one fifteen, so very slight

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Speaker 1: favorite for the Sixers. Let's start with the New York

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Speaker 1: Knicks on offense. So my guess is they're going to

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Speaker 1: start the series based on the starting lineup that they

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Speaker 1: went with in the heat game. My guess is they're

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Speaker 1: going to start the series with Kelly Ubray on Jalen Brunson.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about this in more detail in a minute,

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Speaker 1: but that Brunson matchup gets a little tricky, and I

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Speaker 1: also wouldn't be surprised if we see a different Philly

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Speaker 1: starting lineup, either to start the series or down the line.

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Speaker 1: But based on Miami, they went with Kelly Ober Junior,

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Speaker 1: a Tyrese Maxi, Kyle Lowry, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid.

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if we see a guy like

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Speaker 1: Nick Batoomb slid it in for someone like Kyle Lowry.

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Speaker 1: But we'll see what that ends up looking like as

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Speaker 1: the series progresses. But if they do stick with their

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Speaker 1: starting lineup that they used against Miami, I expect Kelly

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Speaker 1: Ubray Junior to get the Jalen Brunson assignment, and he

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Speaker 1: has gotten it for entire games this year. I think

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Speaker 1: we'll see Tyrese Maxey on Dante Defangenzo Dante DiVincenzo. Since

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Speaker 1: the Julius Randall injury is attempting like twelve three is

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Speaker 1: a game and is flying around off of screens and

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Speaker 1: you're gonna need some speed to deal with that. So

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Speaker 1: I think they're gonna go with Tyrese Maxey. There we have.

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Speaker 1: I think we're gonna get Kyle Lowry on Josh hart

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Speaker 1: I think we'll get Tobias Harris on og and Andobi

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Speaker 1: and then obviously Joel Embiid on Isaiah Hartenstein. So let's

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Speaker 1: start with the Brunson matchup, so we know what the

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Speaker 1: back end of the coverage is gonna look like. It's

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Speaker 1: gonna be Joel Embiid in a deep drop coverage that

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Speaker 1: goes without saying he's gonna try to kind of split

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Speaker 1: that difference between getting up high enough to bother some

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Speaker 1: of those floaters and short jump shots that Brunson takes

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Speaker 1: while also protecting the rim. And then we also know

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Speaker 1: that in that action, Hartenstein is primarily looking to kind

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Speaker 1: of roll towards the front of the rim, so we

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Speaker 1: can like make that little pop shot in the lane.

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Speaker 1: And so those little short range shot making situations for

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Speaker 1: Brunson and Hartenstein are gonna be key Embiid getting good contests.

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Speaker 1: There are gonna be key as well. So on film,

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Speaker 1: I actually didn't really like the Kelly ubre reps. I

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Speaker 1: thought that he used his length to kind of contain

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Speaker 1: Brunton relatively well, but I didn't think he did enough

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Speaker 1: in terms of ball pressure or actually attacking from behind

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Speaker 1: in back pressure situations to make Jalen Brunson uncomfortable. Now

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Speaker 1: that like in the lone Philadelphia win that they had

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Speaker 1: this year, Ubray was on him for the most part

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Speaker 1: and Brunson went six for twenty two, but I thought

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Speaker 1: it was more of a team wide thing. I didn't

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Speaker 1: think Kelly Ubray had much impact on the shot results

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Speaker 1: for Jalen Brunson there. Now, in the one game that

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Speaker 1: Joel Embiide played, it was actually Nick Patum who guarded

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Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson from the opening tip. And even though Brunson

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Speaker 1: had a better game, and even though the Knicks one,

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Speaker 1: I actually thought Nick Patum did a really nice job

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Speaker 1: relentless pursuit through all their screening actions. He has the

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Speaker 1: length to bother and pester Jalen Brunson from behind, which

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Speaker 1: is gonna be key because it's like a bracket. Every

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Speaker 1: time we talk about pick and rollages, it's a bracket.

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Speaker 1: When you try to defend two on two, it's back

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Speaker 1: pressure and its rim protection. And like again, when you've

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Speaker 1: got em beat on the one end, the better your

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Speaker 1: back pressure is, the more you can funnel him into

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Speaker 1: him and kind of limit those opportunities. And so you

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Speaker 1: guys will see when we get to the tape here

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Speaker 1: in a few minutes, when we get to the film session.

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Speaker 1: But I'm gonna show you guys some examples. I think

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Speaker 1: Nick Batoum is up to this challenge, and I think

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Speaker 1: he's the guy that should get that look. And so

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if in Game one they just

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Speaker 1: put Batum in for Kyle Lowry and made that sort

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Speaker 1: of move, But don't be surprised if it's something where

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Speaker 1: like over the course of Game one, Nick Patum has

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Speaker 1: some good reps on Jalen Brunson, and then they make

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Speaker 1: that sort of adjustment later on in this series. So

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Speaker 1: my guess is they start with Ubray. But I think

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Speaker 1: the best version of the Sixers defense against New York

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Speaker 1: is Batom on the ball. A good example, honestly, if

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Speaker 1: you don't want to wait for the film is just

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Speaker 1: look at what the job he did on Tyler Harrow

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Speaker 1: last night. I thought he did a really nice job

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Speaker 1: chasing him over the top. Light had a huge which

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Speaker 1: block on a Tyler Harrow pull up jump shot late

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Speaker 1: in the game. That's kind of like something that I

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Speaker 1: think that he's especially gifted with, especially with pull up

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Speaker 1: shooters in ball screens. Obviously, supreme athletic speed is something

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Speaker 1: that he's gonna struggle with, but Jalen Brunson and Tyler

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Speaker 1: Harrow are not guys that have supreme athletic speed, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's something that he demonstrated last night. I

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Speaker 1: like the other thing too that it kind of mitigates

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Speaker 1: this to a certain extent, is I don't like the

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Speaker 1: Sixers will do a good amount of switching from two

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Speaker 1: through four, and the Knicks are pretty good about using

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Speaker 1: little brush screens and guard guard screens to get different

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Speaker 1: guys switched on to Jalen Brunson before they run the action.

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Speaker 1: But this is another reason why I like Batoom. He

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Speaker 1: doesn't die on screens, he fights over the top. He

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Speaker 1: uses that length. I think you can use that as

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Speaker 1: a weapon in this series. Again, I mentioned Maxy on

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Speaker 1: Devincenzo mainly to lock and trail for speed. The other

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Speaker 1: thing there too is the way that the Knicks attacked

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Speaker 1: this over the course of the regular season, as they

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Speaker 1: just ran Jalen Brunson Dante DiVincenzo two man game, and

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Speaker 1: so when they did, they would get Tyrese Maxey switched

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Speaker 1: on to Jalen Brunson, and then Jalen Brunson would just

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Speaker 1: go to work. You guys will see a sequence where

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Speaker 1: he scored on Tyrese Maxi and then the very next

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Speaker 1: possession they ran it again and they ended up having

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Speaker 1: to double team and fortunately Jalen Brunson missed the read,

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Speaker 1: but they left a wide open Dante DiVincenzo on that play.

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Speaker 1: So like that's the one of the downsides there is

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Speaker 1: they're going to try to maybe try to counter the

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Speaker 1: Joel embiid issue or excuse me, the the ball screen

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Speaker 1: issue with dealing with Joel Embid at the rim by

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Speaker 1: just running guard guard actions and trying to target Tyrese

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Speaker 1: Maxi and like ghost screens and screening for switches and

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Speaker 1: things along those lines. The Sixers did counter that by

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Speaker 1: switching and doubling, but we'll see if they can maybe

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Speaker 1: opt for something more like a hedge and recover. So

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Speaker 1: instead of switching or having to double, just have Tyree's

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Speaker 1: kind of show high. He has the speed to to

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Speaker 1: get a decent close out on Dante. All he needs

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Speaker 1: to do is just kind of throw a hedge that's

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Speaker 1: enough to kind of flatten out Jalen Brunson's driving lane

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Speaker 1: and you might have an opportunity to get back. My

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Speaker 1: guess is we'll get Kyle Lowry on Josh Hart again.

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Speaker 1: The main thing there is just you want Kyle Lowry

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Speaker 1: roaming around in help situations, taking charges, digging in on drives.

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Speaker 1: Josh Hart is a zero point eighty five points per

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Speaker 1: possession spot up player, so you can get away with

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Speaker 1: late closeouts there. Now, if Batoom comes in for Lowry,

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Speaker 1: my guess is they'll slot Kelly Ubray down onto og

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Speaker 1: and Andobi, and then they'll move Tobias Harris onto josh Hart,

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Speaker 1: and then he'll be in that spot where he needs

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Speaker 1: to kind of roam around and be helping other main

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Speaker 1: responsibility in that spot is just keeping josh Hart off

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Speaker 1: the offensive glass. Josh Hart is fifth in total offensive

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Speaker 1: rebounds among guards this season, and obviously it's major part

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Speaker 1: of New York's attack. They try to manufacture as money

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Speaker 1: as many points as possible on the margins through second

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Speaker 1: chance point and attacking and transition and all that kind

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Speaker 1: of stuff. And so those are going to be keys

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Speaker 1: defensively for the Sixers. Tobias Harris on Ognnobe mainly just

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Speaker 1: because it's gonna be about dealing with bully ball. Ojannobi

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Speaker 1: when he does look to attack, is typically looking to

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Speaker 1: use his size and strength, and I think Tobias Harris

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Speaker 1: is best equipped out of those forwards to handle that

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Speaker 1: type of physical aggression. And again that's why I put

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Speaker 1: Kelly Ubre there if you do move Batoom into the lineup,

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Speaker 1: because Kelly can do a decent job as well. Now

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Speaker 1: here's the thing, O Jannobi will run a little bit

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Speaker 1: of action, but for the most part, the primary concern

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Speaker 1: with ojan and obis athlete plays, running the lane, in transition,

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Speaker 1: attacking closeouts, cutting to the basket, attacking the offensive glass.

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Speaker 1: The vast majority of shot attempts that Annobe gets are

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Speaker 1: in those types of situations. So it's mainly about Tobias

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Speaker 1: Harris just kind of winning some of those hustle battles

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Speaker 1: to mitigate OG's production. Now, if with Joel and beat

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Speaker 1: to Isaiah Hartenstein. The big thing for Joel there is

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Speaker 1: going to be about why out for the balance between

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Speaker 1: helping on everything but also making sure you keep an

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Speaker 1: eye on Isaiah Hartenstein. So what Joel will do, and

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Speaker 1: you'll see in the footage he's just trolling everything around

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Speaker 1: the paint and he's kind of ignoring Isaiah Hartenstein when

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Speaker 1: he has the ball in the middle of the floor.

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Speaker 1: Even when he has the ball and he's looking for

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Speaker 1: cutters or guys coming off screening actions. Embiid's just sitting

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Speaker 1: back way at the basket. But Hartenstein has the ability

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Speaker 1: to just put the ball on the floor in quickly attack.

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Speaker 1: He loves to quickly attack to that left hand side

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Speaker 1: and get all the way to the rim. He can

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Speaker 1: make little pop shots in the lane as well, So

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Speaker 1: it's going to be about towing that line and just

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Speaker 1: being careful for Joel Embiid in terms of helping off

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Speaker 1: things at the paint, but also making sure that he's

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Speaker 1: attentive to the random attacks that Isai Hartenstein can go

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Speaker 1: on Key's for both teams again for the Sixers, defending Brunson,

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Speaker 1: applying that back pressure and defending and drop just close

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Speaker 1: the bracket, make him feel as uncomfortable as possible and

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Speaker 1: limit his efficiency, and then controlling the defensive glass. The

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Speaker 1: Knicks are the best offensive rebounding team in the league,

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Speaker 1: second best second chance points team in the league. Now,

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Speaker 1: the Sixers statistically have been a bad rebounding team this year,

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Speaker 1: but up until the Embiid injury, they wore a top

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Speaker 1: ten defensive rebounding team, So I do think that they

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Speaker 1: should be able to hold up better than they have

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Speaker 1: in this matchup throughout the course of this series. But again,

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Speaker 1: in the one game embid did play in the regular season,

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Speaker 1: they struggled. That's a trend they're gonna have to flip

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Speaker 1: to have any chance on the Knicks front. Got to

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Speaker 1: get Brunson better matchups whenever possible, so guard guard screens,

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Speaker 1: brush screens and transition stuff like that, trying to get

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Speaker 1: different defenders that have less length and quickness on him

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Speaker 1: before he gets into his ball screens. And then who's

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Speaker 1: going to provide secondary offense. For the most part after

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Speaker 1: the Julius Randall injury, it's been Dante DiVincenzo mainly just

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Speaker 1: through high volume three point shooting. But they don't really

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Speaker 1: have a guy on the roster who can consistently run

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Speaker 1: action and consistently generate higher quality shots outside of Brunson,

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Speaker 1: and that's an issue. And so like having one of

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Speaker 1: those guys just kind of step up. I don't know

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Speaker 1: if that's Ogn Andobi. I don't know if that ends

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Speaker 1: up being Dante DiVincenzo. Duce McBride's a guy who has

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Speaker 1: him off the dribble pop. Maybe that ends up being

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Speaker 1: a direction they lean into more. But they're gonna need

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Speaker 1: somebody to kind of step up, and then they need

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Speaker 1: to manufacture as many points as possible on the margin,

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Speaker 1: so again second chance points on the offensive glass. Like

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Speaker 1: we mentioned, forcing turnovers and getting out in transition sixers

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Speaker 1: with the ball. My guess is we'll get Dante Devincenzo

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Speaker 1: on Tyres Maxey. We might see some Ogn and Obi

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Speaker 1: on Tyras Maxy, but my guess is Dante Devincenzo will

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Speaker 1: start Jalen Brunson on Kyle Lowry or Batoom. Obviously, if

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Speaker 1: he ends up starting, I think you tuck Jalen Brunson

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Speaker 1: on him. Josh Hart will most likely be guarding Kelly

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Speaker 1: Ubray Junior, and I think you put Ogn Andobi on

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Speaker 1: Tobias Harris, and the main reasoning there is, like Tobias

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Speaker 1: Harris is like the ford that is more likely to

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Speaker 1: try to make a play with the ball in his hands,

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Speaker 1: Like he's the guy that will run a little bit

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Speaker 1: of action, look to score in the post, look to

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Speaker 1: just attack semi transition off the balance, like That's where

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Speaker 1: I think og Anobi's ability to slide his feet and

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Speaker 1: absorb contact in like kind of withstand so much Bias

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Speaker 1: Harris's bullyball. I think that's advantageous. And then obviously I

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Speaker 1: think we're gonna get Isaa Hartenstein on Joel embiid. So,

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Speaker 1: first question is the defending of Tyrese MAXI. Now here's

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Speaker 1: the thing. In the film, tyres doesn't have much trouble

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Speaker 1: getting to his spots. He's too fast for all the

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Speaker 1: Knicks Gards. That doesn't say much. He's too fast for

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Speaker 1: basically every player in the league. The only guy that

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Speaker 1: I think has done a good job kind of hanging

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Speaker 1: with him from a quickness standpoint is Deuce McBride, And

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Speaker 1: I just don't think he's gonna play enough necessarily for

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Speaker 1: it to matter. Maybe he does, we'll see, Maybe that

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Speaker 1: ends up being a match up they lean into more,

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Speaker 1: but for the most part, it's an athletic mismatch there.

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Speaker 1: But even though Tyree's has them on their heels a lot,

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Speaker 1: Maxi has a weakness and that's his pull up jump shooting.

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Speaker 1: He shoots forty four percent on catch and shoot jumpers,

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Speaker 1: but he shoots only thirty four percent on pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shots. That actually drops from one point three points

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Speaker 1: per shot attempt to zero point nine points per shot attempt,

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Speaker 1: so almost a forty percent dip in efficiency, actually more

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Speaker 1: than a forty percent dip in efficiency when he takes

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Speaker 1: a dribble before he takes the shot, so you'll see

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Speaker 1: on ball screens they're still chasing him over the top

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Speaker 1: and trying to funnel him into traffic. But in like

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Speaker 1: any sort of situation where Tyrese is kind of bearing

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Speaker 1: down on a guy off the dribble, you'll see them

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Speaker 1: get back on their heels and they're kind of just

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Speaker 1: willing to give a late contest because Tyreese just hasn't

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Speaker 1: been as good at making that shot as he has

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Speaker 1: been any sort of catch and shoot type of shot.

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Speaker 1: But again that that matchup is gonna be key because

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Speaker 1: he does a lot of shooting off the move where

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Speaker 1: he won't dribble, it's just come off the corner, come

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Speaker 1: off of like a wide pin down into a dribble

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Speaker 1: handoff from Mbiat and he'll just rise and fire off

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Speaker 1: the catch and so you're gonna have to lock and trail,

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Speaker 1: have to stay attached. But that's definitely gonna be a

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Speaker 1: big advantage. Like he can beat people off the dribble.

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Speaker 1: And you saw last night in that Miami Heat game.

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Speaker 1: Like once Tyree's kind of figures out where his driving

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Speaker 1: angles are, he just starts kind of breaking people down

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Speaker 1: and you get into rotation, and that's how you get

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Speaker 1: Joel Embiid wide open at the top of the key.

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Speaker 1: That's how you get Joel Embid offensive rebound opportunities and

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Speaker 1: open looks for Nick Patoum and other guys. Is when

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Speaker 1: you get compromised at the point of attack. And that's

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Speaker 1: something that Tyres Maxie can do now again in the

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Speaker 1: starting configuration. Like I said, I want ogn and Obi

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Speaker 1: on Tobias Harris to contain any sort of off the

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Speaker 1: dribble moves he makes with Isaiah Hartenstein on Embiid. You'll

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Speaker 1: see some examples in the film when EMBII tries to

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Speaker 1: make a move, he can power through Hartenstein, but Hartenstein

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Speaker 1: can absorb the contact long enough to kind of slow

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Speaker 1: down that advance. That's where it becomes about shrinking the floor.

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Speaker 1: And you'll see examples in the film when the Knicks

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Speaker 1: don't shrink the floor, where Embiid just kind of goes

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Speaker 1: through Hartenstein and gets all the way there. But when

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Speaker 1: they do shrink the floor, Hartenstein will absorb the blow.

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Speaker 1: It'll slow and beat down enough and guys can come

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Speaker 1: around and get late contests, and you'll see some blocks

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Speaker 1: on Embiid on places where Hartenstein absorbed that initial bit

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Speaker 1: of contact. But like, I think he's capable of it.

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Speaker 1: But it's a team wide job and then we're gonna

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Speaker 1: talk about it later. But it's gonna be about mixing up.

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Speaker 1: The other thing too, is just in those face up situations,

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Speaker 1: shrinking the space without fouling. Embiad has a tendency to

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Speaker 1: go cold, especially with that shot, especially in the postseason,

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Speaker 1: but he can't let him get too comfortable there because

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Speaker 1: that's kind of his bread and butter, and once he

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Speaker 1: gets confident, he's gonna knock him down. And so shrinking

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Speaker 1: that space without fouling is going to be important keys

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Speaker 1: for both teams on the knickt front. Mixing up coverages

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Speaker 1: with Embiid, leave him in single coverage, sometimes late help

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Speaker 1: from the baseline, late help from the middle, early double teams.

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Speaker 1: Like I said, double teams. After he puts the ball

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Speaker 1: on the floor, I throw in some zone in there.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you guys saw what happened with Miami last night.

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Speaker 1: A little bit of zone, especially if they can kind

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Speaker 1: of if Tom Thibodeau can kind of replicate some of

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Speaker 1: Spolstra's bal denial in there where it's like it's a zone,

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Speaker 1: but they're constantly denying Embiid wherever he's at on the floor.

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Speaker 1: That's another way that they can try to mix things up.

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Speaker 1: But like keep embad off balance, don't let him solve

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Speaker 1: your defensive coverage. And then lastly, containing Tyres Maxy's dribble

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Speaker 1: penetrat as much as possible. On the Sixers front, ironically,

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Speaker 1: I think it's all about jump shooting. Teams are going

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Speaker 1: to concede pull up jump shots to Tyres Maxi in

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Speaker 1: like ISO situations. Joel Embiid, like we talked about earlier,

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Speaker 1: as face up jumper. That's such an important part of

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Speaker 1: his offensive game at this point and has been basically

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Speaker 1: the primary genesis of his playoff downfalls over the years.

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Speaker 1: And then the role players again, like look at last

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Speaker 1: last night. It's like when guys are missing, they get

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Speaker 1: they get hesitant, they get tentative, they lose their confidence.

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Speaker 1: All of a sudden, Nick Patomb starts making threes, and

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Speaker 1: the lid just comes off the rim. Now Buddy Yields

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Speaker 1: hitting threes. Now Joel Embiad's hitting threes, and everything just

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Speaker 1: kind of breaks open for them. And so again, jump

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Speaker 1: shooting is gonna be key Maxie off the dribble, Embiid

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Speaker 1: in face up situations, role players and catch and shoot situations,

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Speaker 1: they have to make shots. So prediction. I've gone back

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Speaker 1: and forth about this series a bunch of times. I

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Speaker 1: came in thinking it was going to be the Knicks.

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Speaker 1: Then I started to think it was going to be

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Speaker 1: the Sixers. Then I was kind of on the fence,

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Speaker 1: and I landed on the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. Here

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Speaker 1: are the key reasons I'm really worried about New York's

408
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Speaker 1: ability to score in the half court over the course

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Speaker 1: of this series. I think they're gonna constantly have a

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Speaker 1: six to eight athletic wing on Jalen Brunson, funneling him

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Speaker 1: towards Embiid while helping from behind. I think there are

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Speaker 1: enough guys on the floor that they can get late

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Speaker 1: closeouts too, that they're gonna be able to kind of

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Speaker 1: pack the paint on him a little bit. I really

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Speaker 1: think that when you kind of stack up shot creation

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Speaker 1: in this series. As much as I respect Brunson and

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Speaker 1: you guys know I do, and obviously I believe that

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Speaker 1: if you get him a secondary shot creator, that this

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Speaker 1: Knicks team is a bona fide championship contender, like top

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Speaker 1: tier championship contender. That's how good I think this team

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Speaker 1: can be. But it's just a lot to ask when

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Speaker 1: you basically have your secondary offensive option is just Donte

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Speaker 1: DiVincenzo takes a bunch of threes. I think that over

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Speaker 1: the course of this series, Nick Nurse is just going

425
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Speaker 1: to have more and more options available to him to

426
00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,800
Speaker 1: slow down their shot creation, Whereas like Embiid is going

427
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,600
Speaker 1: to get the defense in rotation, Tyrese Maxi is dribble

428
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,359
Speaker 1: penetration is going to get the defense in rotation. I

429
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,040
Speaker 1: just think they have more offensive talent than New York does,

430
00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,240
Speaker 1: and I think that Philly's defensive scheme is going to

431
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:20,040
Speaker 1: be able to contain Jalen Brunton enough to slow them down. Honestly,

432
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,280
Speaker 1: I don't, because like the counterpoint there would be like,

433
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,640
Speaker 1: well what about guys like you know, we talked about

434
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,560
Speaker 1: Duce McBride earlier, obviously, Boyant mcdonovich, Alec Burks. Those are

435
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,480
Speaker 1: good players. But I just I think if you move

436
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,640
Speaker 1: those into your core five views can start to run

437
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,080
Speaker 1: suffer from some other issues in terms of size and

438
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,720
Speaker 1: quickness and athleticism elsewhere on the floor. So I don't

439
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,439
Speaker 1: really think that solves the problem. And so honestly, like

440
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:49,840
Speaker 1: I think from that standpoint, it just comes down to

441
00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,200
Speaker 1: like half court shot creation, and I believe Philadelphia is

442
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,679
Speaker 1: gonna do a little bit better there. I also think

443
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,000
Speaker 1: the Sixers have the best player in the series. Like, again,

444
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,960
Speaker 1: you can't Joelnbiid played like crap last night, but because

445
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,520
Speaker 1: he's so incredibly gifted, he made like four or five

446
00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,959
Speaker 1: massive plays down the stretch that the Heat just couldn't

447
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,320
Speaker 1: do anything about and they won. That is a superpower

448
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,639
Speaker 1: that I don't even think Jalen Brunson can reach, and

449
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,880
Speaker 1: so I think that's a huge advantage. Here's the thing.

450
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:23,359
Speaker 1: I think the Knicks are a tougher team than Philly.

451
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,600
Speaker 1: I think they're more resilient. I think they're more bought in,

452
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:30,600
Speaker 1: they have better basketball character. I think they can withstand

453
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,920
Speaker 1: runs better, and so because of that, I think it's

454
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,360
Speaker 1: going to be a very long series, and I think

455
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,280
Speaker 1: the Knicks will likely lead the series early, but I

456
00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,560
Speaker 1: think late in the series the advantages for Philly will

457
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,880
Speaker 1: take over. If I had to pick a set of games,

458
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,520
Speaker 1: I think that they'll split in New York. My guess

459
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:52,360
Speaker 1: is the Knicks will win Game one and the Sixers

460
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,680
Speaker 1: a win Game two, and then they'll split back in Philly,

461
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,119
Speaker 1: and then they'll go back to New York. And I

462
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:00,479
Speaker 1: think the Knicks will win Game five, think they'll go

463
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,200
Speaker 1: up three games to two. Then I think the Sixers

464
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,080
Speaker 1: win in rather convincing fashion in Game six, and I

465
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 1: think they win an absolute rock fight in Game seven

466
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 1: in Madison Square Garden. So I'm picking the Philadelphia seventy

467
00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:16,120
Speaker 1: six Ers to beat the Knicks in seven games. Really

468
00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:18,399
Speaker 1: tough one for me. This is of all the series

469
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,280
Speaker 1: that I've had to pick so far in this playoff run.

470
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 1: I think this one has been the toughest one for

471
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,320
Speaker 1: me so far. The NBA season is in full swing,

472
00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,160
Speaker 1: and when I can't get enough of the action on

473
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Speaker 1: the court, I spice things up betting on Draft Kings

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486
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,159
Speaker 1: Let's take a look at some film. Get over to

487
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 1: our film setup here. This first action is an example

488
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,880
Speaker 1: of the way that Jalen Brunson uses screens to get

489
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,440
Speaker 1: different matchups before he goes into ball screens. So here

490
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:24,760
Speaker 1: again we're gonna get Nick Patoom on Jalen Bunson. By

491
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:26,800
Speaker 1: the way, get ready to see a bunch of weird personnel.

492
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,000
Speaker 1: These teams dealt with injuries and trades all year long,

493
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 1: and so it's just a bunch of different guys than

494
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,119
Speaker 1: you're expecting. But we're mainly looking at some specific and

495
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,160
Speaker 1: key matchups and actions. So look at this. You set

496
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:42,119
Speaker 1: a quick You're gonna set a quick screen here to

497
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,919
Speaker 1: get Nick Batoom off of Jalen Brunson. Now Tobias Harris

498
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,320
Speaker 1: is in the action, and as a result, Tobias Harris

499
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,080
Speaker 1: not as good of a screen navigator Brunson's able to

500
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,320
Speaker 1: work downhill. This is that dynamic of drop coverage defense

501
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,520
Speaker 1: with Embiid that I'm talking about. How many of these

502
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,320
Speaker 1: battles that little hea tation move gets him a little

503
00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 1: bit of an angle, he gets in and he sinks

504
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,399
Speaker 1: a floater here. How many of those battles is Jaylen

505
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,800
Speaker 1: Brunson gonna win? How many battles is Joel Embiid going

506
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,520
Speaker 1: to win? That's that drop coverage bracket dynamic that I'm

507
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 1: talking about. That's a clip where Brunson won. Here's an

508
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 1: example of Joel Embiid getting to work very next possession,

509
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,320
Speaker 1: actually getting to work on Isaiah Hartenstein in the middle

510
00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,320
Speaker 1: of the floor. The Knicks do a poor job of

511
00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 1: shrinking the floor here, So watch Hartenstein and Beach is

512
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,240
Speaker 1: able to go through him. But look at the Knicks,

513
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,440
Speaker 1: they just kind of leave this entire lane of the floor.

514
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,120
Speaker 1: Dante DiVincenzo gets a late dig, but he's not there

515
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,000
Speaker 1: soon enough, and so Embi just easily goes through him

516
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:39,800
Speaker 1: all the way to the rim. You'll see that difference

517
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:42,280
Speaker 1: when they shrink the floor versus when they don't. It

518
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:47,400
Speaker 1: makes a big difference in how successful Embiide is. Here's

519
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,679
Speaker 1: an example of how Tyres and Philly may look to

520
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,920
Speaker 1: attack Jalen Brunson. So as you can see, they tuck

521
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,119
Speaker 1: Jylen Brunson on Nick Patoum. Again, that's the matchup I

522
00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 1: think they will go with if they end up starting

523
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,239
Speaker 1: Batum or closing with him. They're gonna hedge and recover here.

524
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,080
Speaker 1: But og and Andobi's gonna use a little kind of

525
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,040
Speaker 1: veteran trick to allow this play to work. So again,

526
00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:12,280
Speaker 1: here's our hedge. Watch Og and Andobi's right arm. He's

527
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,400
Speaker 1: looped around and is basically hugging Batom. Why does that matter?

528
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 1: Batoomb can't slip out of the hedge now because OG's

529
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,120
Speaker 1: holding him, so he holds him for a while. That way,

530
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,240
Speaker 1: when Brunson wants to recover, Og can recover, and now

531
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:27,920
Speaker 1: everything is back in order, and they force him into

532
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:29,960
Speaker 1: a tough pull up jump shot that he misses. I

533
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,040
Speaker 1: think Og will get some minutes on Tyres Maxie as well.

534
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 1: I just don't think necessarily that's the best use of him.

535
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 1: Here's a much better example of the Knicks shrinking the

536
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,159
Speaker 1: floor on Joel Embiid. Here we go, we're gonna get

537
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,560
Speaker 1: the same kind of thing Hard and Sein drive. Watch

538
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,640
Speaker 1: how much better they do kind of closing these gaps. Now,

539
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,240
Speaker 1: Dante DiVincenzo digs in without being late. He digs early

540
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 1: before Embiid gets ahead of Steam, and he's able to

541
00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:01,960
Speaker 1: force a turnover. Here's an example of an action that

542
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,159
Speaker 1: the Sixers ran to get a really good look for

543
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,880
Speaker 1: Tyre Maxi. You guys will recognize this as stack, pick

544
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:13,200
Speaker 1: and roll. So again we got our ball screen. Here's

545
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,639
Speaker 1: the ball screen. Og chases over the top, Hartenstein's kind

546
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,280
Speaker 1: of in a bit of a high drop, Embiid's rolling.

547
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,520
Speaker 1: Nick Batum is going to set a backscreen on Isaiah Hartenstein,

548
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:26,639
Speaker 1: and there's a bunch of things that open up here. Actually,

549
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson does a really nice job peeling off of

550
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 1: Batoum and getting a late contest, and he actually forces

551
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 1: a miss. But they got a really good look out

552
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,760
Speaker 1: of that. But it doesn't matter. And this is the

553
00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 1: advantage of stack pick and roll. Look at what happens

554
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:45,719
Speaker 1: when embiid gets behind Hartenstein. So Hartenstein gets backscreened, and

555
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,080
Speaker 1: so EMBIID. Now even though Maxi misses this layup, Embiid

556
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,160
Speaker 1: is just in super you know, he's just in commanding

557
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 1: offensive rebound position. And Hartenstein's just not going to be

558
00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,679
Speaker 1: able to do much when he's getting backscreened like that.

559
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,960
Speaker 1: To get back in front of him and box him out.

560
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:07,000
Speaker 1: Here's an example of really good individual defense by Nick

561
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:12,200
Speaker 1: Batoom on Jalen Brunson. Watch the screen navigation, watch the

562
00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,720
Speaker 1: late contest fighting over the top, and again it's all

563
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,879
Speaker 1: about length. It's not even necessarily about getting caught on

564
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,199
Speaker 1: the screen a little bit. It's can you bother this

565
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,720
Speaker 1: shot from behind and he can He gets a really

566
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,159
Speaker 1: good contest. You can actually see Brunson flop as he

567
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,280
Speaker 1: tries to draw foul on it, but he's making Brunson

568
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:37,840
Speaker 1: uncomfortable with back pressure there. That's a really good rep alrighty.

569
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 1: This is a more individual defense from Isaiah Hartenstein on

570
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,000
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid and more shrinking the floor. So again, as

571
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,640
Speaker 1: I talked about in the early part of the video,

572
00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,240
Speaker 1: it's all about Isaiah Hartenstein absorbing contact long enough for

573
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,320
Speaker 1: the other guys to come over. So Embid's going to

574
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 1: make it a really aggressive move here as he does

575
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:06,040
Speaker 1: his rip through. Watch Hartenstein absorb this blow which stands

576
00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,720
Speaker 1: and bead up long enough for Julius Randall to come

577
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,480
Speaker 1: in from behind and get a block. Again, they can

578
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:13,920
Speaker 1: if they shrink the floor around him, and you make

579
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,680
Speaker 1: Isaiah Hartenstein's job like, you don't have to even contest.

580
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,640
Speaker 1: You just need to absorb that contact long enough for

581
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 1: us to get into the picture and make a play.

582
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:28,520
Speaker 1: Here is the exact same concept, but this time in

583
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:33,000
Speaker 1: transition some beads looking to push. Look at Hartenstein's sprint

584
00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:34,720
Speaker 1: back even though he got hit in the face. Sprint back,

585
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 1: absorb the contact, allow the help to come over again.

586
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,040
Speaker 1: If you can just slow him down enough, if he

587
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:42,800
Speaker 1: can slow him down enough for the help to get

588
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:44,440
Speaker 1: into the picture, I think they're gonna do a good

589
00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:50,440
Speaker 1: enough job defensively on him. Here is an example of

590
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:54,160
Speaker 1: Deuce McBride playing some good individual defense on Tyree Maxey.

591
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,160
Speaker 1: And then also a coverage thing that I wanted to

592
00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:02,040
Speaker 1: talk about. If Tyree Maxey's ten vent makes ten percent

593
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,360
Speaker 1: fewer of his pull up jump shots and loses forty

594
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,920
Speaker 1: percent of shot value, why not considering why not consider

595
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,840
Speaker 1: ducking under some picks so you're gonna see the first

596
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,480
Speaker 1: one Duce McBride beats him to the spot. That's an

597
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,440
Speaker 1: athletic play that only Duce McBride can make on the

598
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 1: knicks compared to some of these other guys. Again, look

599
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,240
Speaker 1: at that really quick step. He's just one of those

600
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 1: guys that can actually match up quickness with Tyres Maxi

601
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,760
Speaker 1: relatively well. Now from here. Now, I think he made

602
00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 1: this read because the ball screen was so high, but

603
00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,320
Speaker 1: Duske goes underneath this screen. I'm saying they should probably

604
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:36,440
Speaker 1: consider doing this even more often. But here's an example

605
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 1: of it. Pretty far away from the basket, Duske goes

606
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,000
Speaker 1: way under Actually, I mean that screen is pretty low.

607
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:43,240
Speaker 1: It's possible that this is the game plan in this

608
00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,720
Speaker 1: segment of the game, but I would consider using this

609
00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 1: as part of their game plan to try to contain

610
00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,600
Speaker 1: some of Tyre's dribble penetration. He's gonna step into a

611
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,360
Speaker 1: pull up three and he's gonna miss it again like

612
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:57,480
Speaker 1: a forty dip and shot value for Maxi when he

613
00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 1: takes a dribble before he shoots. Here's an example of

614
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:07,520
Speaker 1: when Deuce McBride does chase over the top, and this

615
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:09,360
Speaker 1: is actually why I think it was kind of an

616
00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:13,520
Speaker 1: impromptu move there from McBride. But we're gonna get it

617
00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,480
Speaker 1: back to Maxi. Juice is gonna chase, but because he chases,

618
00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:23,800
Speaker 1: he's gonna give up dribble penetration. And see like he

619
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,360
Speaker 1: doesn't really have much trouble turning the corner on Hartenstein.

620
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:28,640
Speaker 1: So again, that's an example of why I might consider

621
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:35,240
Speaker 1: going underneath picks. This tyrese Maxy dribble penetration thing is

622
00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:38,560
Speaker 1: the biggest thing that I have fear for for New York.

623
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,720
Speaker 1: Here og and Obi's on the ball, OG's so concerned

624
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,960
Speaker 1: about Tyree's getting to that strong hand and potentially a

625
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 1: brush screen from Ubre here that Maxi just goes to

626
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,600
Speaker 1: a basic crossover dribble and just toasts him off the dribble. So, yeah, Maxie,

627
00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:54,840
Speaker 1: dribble penetration is gonna be a huge, huge factor in

628
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,680
Speaker 1: this series. Embeide's ability to manage double teams is going

629
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 1: to be a key element of this series. I'm gonna

630
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:02,840
Speaker 1: show you, guys an example of a bad post upread

631
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,040
Speaker 1: from Joel Embiid, and this is the kind of thing

632
00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,040
Speaker 1: that Embiid's just gonna have to do better if Philly's

633
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 1: gonna win the series. So post entry over the top,

634
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,280
Speaker 1: we get baseline help. Now you can't see in the picture,

635
00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:17,400
Speaker 1: but Kelly Ubre is on this wing, and what we

636
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,040
Speaker 1: have here is we have our double team of Embiid.

637
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:22,840
Speaker 1: Josh Hart is basically our low man. He's in position

638
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:27,000
Speaker 1: to rotate to Tobias Harris. Quentin Grimes is fronting Nick

639
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,360
Speaker 1: Patoom and not allowing this entry. Jalen Brunson is in

640
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,040
Speaker 1: position to guard Tyrese Maxey. The open man is Kelly

641
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,600
Speaker 1: Ubray on this left wing, and instead, for some reason,

642
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,320
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid just throws it right to Quentin Grimes, and

643
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,400
Speaker 1: Quinton Grimes gets it. So those are the kinds of

644
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,160
Speaker 1: reads that Embiid's just gonna have to do a better

645
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,920
Speaker 1: job making. Here's one of the examples that I was

646
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,480
Speaker 1: talking to you guys about with Isaiah Hartenstein looking to

647
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:53,960
Speaker 1: score when Embiad's trolling the paint. So Embiad's just not

648
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 1: worried about Hartenstein's calling for the ball. But Embiid's not

649
00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,400
Speaker 1: worried about Hartenstein. Now watch embiads start trolling the off

650
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,200
Speaker 1: ball actions so good Brunson looks to make a little backcut,

651
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 1: em Bead slides over that way. Og Nnobe back cuts

652
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:11,960
Speaker 1: Kelly Ubray and beat slides over that way. So Embid's

653
00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,280
Speaker 1: just trolling the paint, ignoring hart ands segn and Hartenstein

654
00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,640
Speaker 1: just goes, fuck it, I'm gonna drive and he gets

655
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:23,240
Speaker 1: into the lane and makes his little pop shot so again,

656
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,440
Speaker 1: and he'll do that. He's been doing that all season long. Like,

657
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,680
Speaker 1: you just gotta be careful with Hartenstein with as Embiid, Like,

658
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 1: just make sure you keep an eye on him and

659
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,680
Speaker 1: pay attention to when he's getting ready to load up

660
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:38,080
Speaker 1: for one of those drives. Here's an example of a

661
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:40,680
Speaker 1: coverage I expect to see from the Knicks throughout the series.

662
00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,400
Speaker 1: Is a strong side zone, so run a ball screen,

663
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,040
Speaker 1: we get a little feed embead now strong side zone

664
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,040
Speaker 1: here because Julius Randall's not guarding anybody, He's just stepping

665
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,360
Speaker 1: outside this block, so he doesn't get a defensive three second.

666
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,960
Speaker 1: It's effectively a double team. We have really poor off

667
00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,640
Speaker 1: ball spacing here, and Embiid's gonna end up taking a

668
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,200
Speaker 1: little jab step jumper and this is gonna be one

669
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:02,959
Speaker 1: of the biggest shots of the series for him. If

670
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: he shoots fifty percent on that shot, I think the

671
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,160
Speaker 1: Sixers are gonna win. If he shoots thirty percent on

672
00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:08,920
Speaker 1: that shot, I think the Sixers have a good chance

673
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:14,440
Speaker 1: of losing. Here's an action that I really want to

674
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,080
Speaker 1: see a lot from the Sixers in the series, and

675
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,360
Speaker 1: an easy way to get the defense in rotation. So

676
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,560
Speaker 1: this is actually one of my primary concerns for the Knicks.

677
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:25,839
Speaker 1: I don't think the Knicks have an action they can

678
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:30,040
Speaker 1: go to that is as guaranteed to generate an advantage

679
00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:34,840
Speaker 1: situation as this particular action is going to be. So

680
00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 1: we have og in andobi on Tyreese Maxi. We have

681
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,480
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid setting the screen, we have Hartenstein in a

682
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,840
Speaker 1: high drop. Embiid pops to the three point line and

683
00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:47,759
Speaker 1: he catches there. Now we know Embiid can shoot, but

684
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,440
Speaker 1: Embiid is looking to drive this close out. This is

685
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:52,279
Speaker 1: what we call a baked in driving lane. Right. We

686
00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:55,560
Speaker 1: talked about this all the time. When the offensive player

687
00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,400
Speaker 1: is in a in a spot up situation and the

688
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:02,879
Speaker 1: guy who's guarding him is helping a severely on one

689
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,799
Speaker 1: side of him, even if he throws a good close out,

690
00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,480
Speaker 1: there is a baked in driving lane in the opposite

691
00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:10,960
Speaker 1: direction from where he's closing out from. So we have

692
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,520
Speaker 1: our kickout pass. Hartenstein is closing, but Embiid has a

693
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,840
Speaker 1: baked in rip to the left, takes it, gets easily

694
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:20,680
Speaker 1: downhill and finishes. So again, whether it's a catch and

695
00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:23,040
Speaker 1: shoot three if he closes out short, whether it's an

696
00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:26,440
Speaker 1: immediate help where Embiid has to make a read from there,

697
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,120
Speaker 1: at the very least, the Sixers can go to that

698
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:33,440
Speaker 1: and relatively consistently get the defense in rotation. The alternative

699
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:37,920
Speaker 1: there is, oh, we're just gonna We're gonna consider switching right.

700
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 1: So let's just have og In and Obi guard Embiid

701
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,080
Speaker 1: and we'll put Hartenstein on Tyrese Maxy. Tyres Maxy is

702
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 1: just gonna beat him off the dribble. We saw it.

703
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,560
Speaker 1: We've seen that already in these pick and roll coverage.

704
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,600
Speaker 1: Is how easy he can turn the corner on Hartenstein.

705
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:51,239
Speaker 1: And so I think this is going to be a

706
00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:54,680
Speaker 1: predicament for the Knicks, this basic little pick and pop action.

707
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 1: Here's another example of individual defense by Nick Batoom on

708
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,680
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson, and this was This to me, is the

709
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,480
Speaker 1: direction I think the Sixers need to go. So we

710
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:08,799
Speaker 1: got some backcourt ball pressure. Brunson gets an angle on him,

711
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 1: gets rid of the basketball. We're gonna cut through here,

712
00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:16,120
Speaker 1: brunts of Batom stays attached. We get screening action, screening action,

713
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:19,040
Speaker 1: He gets all the way around, gets back in front,

714
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,200
Speaker 1: gets crossed over, gets crossed over again, even though he

715
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,879
Speaker 1: gets beat a little bit. Watch the backside length here.

716
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 1: That's an extremely well contested shot from Nick Watum and

717
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:31,680
Speaker 1: Brunson was just on one this night and he made it.

718
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:33,879
Speaker 1: And again, Brunton's a star. He's gonna make these plays.

719
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:35,640
Speaker 1: I want you to watch this play without me stopping

720
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:37,440
Speaker 1: it from start to finish. Just look at the job

721
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,560
Speaker 1: that Nick Watoum does just being a pest pressuring the ball,

722
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,560
Speaker 1: staying attached, navigating screens. While this is a beast of

723
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,640
Speaker 1: a screen from Julius Raandel that he gets through, Like,

724
00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:48,200
Speaker 1: look at how hard he gets hit and he fights

725
00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:55,000
Speaker 1: through that gets through. Hartenstein, gets back in front, gets

726
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,040
Speaker 1: beat by another move, and gets a great contest. I

727
00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,799
Speaker 1: think he has the best combination of length and mobility

728
00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:02,960
Speaker 1: to do this job, so I would go with Nick Batoon.

729
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:10,560
Speaker 1: Here are the Here's what happens when the Knicks actually

730
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,719
Speaker 1: switched the pick and pop with Tyrese Maxi. Okay, so

731
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:18,880
Speaker 1: as you can see here, we're gonna get the switch.

732
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,560
Speaker 1: But at the same time because Og kind of like

733
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,000
Speaker 1: stayed attached before he switched, he gets a little bit

734
00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:29,120
Speaker 1: late on the close out and Embid knocks down a three.

735
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:33,600
Speaker 1: But also they could just as easily they could just

736
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,080
Speaker 1: as easily swing this back to Tyrese Maxi he and

737
00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,840
Speaker 1: he can attack a heart and segn off the dribble.

738
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,640
Speaker 1: Last thing, this is the Knicks action that I think

739
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:46,120
Speaker 1: that they could go to to kind of get the

740
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,640
Speaker 1: defense in rotation as best as they can. This is

741
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:50,520
Speaker 1: going to be a two man game with Jalen Brunson

742
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,600
Speaker 1: and Dante DiVincenzo. So here's our matchups. We have Tyrese

743
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:58,760
Speaker 1: Maxey and Dante. We have Kelly hu Bray Junior on Brunson.

744
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:00,440
Speaker 1: The first time they said it it's just going to

745
00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:03,040
Speaker 1: be a switch, but Jalen Brunson is just too good

746
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:04,800
Speaker 1: of a score to be guarded by the likes of

747
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:07,439
Speaker 1: Tyree's max He easily gets to a spot knocks it down.

748
00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:13,400
Speaker 1: So this next one you'll see same exact thing. Switch.

749
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:18,200
Speaker 1: But Batoum comes with a double team and Batune by

750
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:20,080
Speaker 1: the way, good work on the double team of getting

751
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:21,799
Speaker 1: into the passing lane to make it a little bit

752
00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:24,520
Speaker 1: more difficult. Now Brunson just makes a bad rehere. He's

753
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:26,000
Speaker 1: just got to find a way to get this over here.

754
00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:28,160
Speaker 1: Just has to find a way. Instead, he ends up

755
00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,279
Speaker 1: swinging it to the right wing. They find a little

756
00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,720
Speaker 1: slot drive, but embeads at the rim. They draw foul anyway,

757
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:36,839
Speaker 1: But that's just an example of Philly switching that specific action.

758
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,080
Speaker 1: The other thing that they could consider doing, like I

759
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,000
Speaker 1: talked about earlier, is just a hedge and recover. So

760
00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:45,680
Speaker 1: let's say that on this play, let's say that Dante

761
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:50,040
Speaker 1: comes up, Tyree's can literally just step out and cut

762
00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:52,080
Speaker 1: off the drive, and then as soon as he cuts

763
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:54,520
Speaker 1: off the drive, just close out. And then because he

764
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,480
Speaker 1: cuts off the drive, Brunson will have to come this way,

765
00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 1: which buys Btum a chance to recover meet him over

766
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:06,000
Speaker 1: here somewhere. So yeah, again, don't feel super strongly about

767
00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:10,359
Speaker 1: this one. This is the only series that I've seen

768
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,160
Speaker 1: that has had me waffle back and forth this much.

769
00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:15,239
Speaker 1: So Knicks fans, I don't want you to think that

770
00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:16,719
Speaker 1: I don't think you have a chance to win this series.

771
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:18,960
Speaker 1: I certainly think you do. I think the Vegas line

772
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,239
Speaker 1: is a strong indicator of the fact that Vegas views

773
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:23,600
Speaker 1: this as a very close series as well. But to me,

774
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,200
Speaker 1: I just think there's a little bit more offensive firepower

775
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:30,040
Speaker 1: for Philly and a similar defensive ceiling, and so I'm

776
00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:33,759
Speaker 1: going with the Sixers. But the basketball character gap between

777
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:35,919
Speaker 1: these two teams and the things that I like about

778
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:37,520
Speaker 1: the Knicks I think are going to stretch this thing

779
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:41,440
Speaker 1: way out. So I'm picking these Sixers in seven. All right,

780
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:42,839
Speaker 1: let's get to our mail bag, and before we get

781
00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:44,879
Speaker 1: to a mailback question, I want to talk about Team

782
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,720
Speaker 1: USA for a minute. So we got the preliminary twelve

783
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,239
Speaker 1: man roster that got released and I just kind of

784
00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:52,560
Speaker 1: want to talk through it and give my initial opinions

785
00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,320
Speaker 1: on the basketball dynamics at play with this team. So

786
00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:58,279
Speaker 1: the twelve players at guard, they have five guards in

787
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:01,879
Speaker 1: the group, Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Drew Holliday, Anthony Edwards,

788
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:06,719
Speaker 1: Tyres Halbern at forward. Four forwards Lebron James, Kevin Durant,

789
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,520
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum, Kawhi Leonard. Those are the four legendary American forwards.

790
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:12,760
Speaker 1: It's gonna be really cool watching them all play together.

791
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,720
Speaker 1: And then at the center position, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis,

792
00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,520
Speaker 1: and Bam at a bio. So first thing that I

793
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:21,480
Speaker 1: want to get into is I would start Anthony Davis

794
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:23,799
Speaker 1: over Joel Embiid. I don't think he will. I think

795
00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:26,880
Speaker 1: Embiid's cache is going to lead to him starting, but

796
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,880
Speaker 1: I personally would start Joel Embiid. The highest value that

797
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:34,360
Speaker 1: can be brought at that position with this group of

798
00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:40,080
Speaker 1: players is versatile defense and connectivity on offense. Embiid is

799
00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:42,800
Speaker 1: a one dimensional defender. He defends in drop coverage. He

800
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:44,840
Speaker 1: can protect the rim, but he's not good out on

801
00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,760
Speaker 1: the perimeter, and he's not a great read and react player.

802
00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:49,440
Speaker 1: He's not the kind of guy that's going to be

803
00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:51,800
Speaker 1: able to play in a heavy ball in player movement

804
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:56,719
Speaker 1: type of offense. Anthony Davis, you've watched him succeed as

805
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,959
Speaker 1: a connective piece in the Lakers five out equal opportunity offense,

806
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,319
Speaker 1: and he's very versatile defensively. He can defend and drop

807
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:05,320
Speaker 1: coverage and protect the rim. He can defend and highdrop,

808
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,480
Speaker 1: he can blitz, and he can switch and again. And

809
00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:10,399
Speaker 1: I want to try to explain this point by using

810
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,719
Speaker 1: the starters. So what I would start with with this

811
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,160
Speaker 1: group is Steph Curry at the one, Jason Tatum at

812
00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:20,719
Speaker 1: the two, Kevin Durant at the three, Lebron James at

813
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:23,480
Speaker 1: the four, Anthony Davis at the five. You would have

814
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:26,520
Speaker 1: all sorts of scheme versatility with that group. You could

815
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: switch one through five even if Steph ended up in

816
00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:33,080
Speaker 1: an unfavorable matchup. Steph could press up on the jumper

817
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:37,400
Speaker 1: or front the post in a post up situation. Because

818
00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,319
Speaker 1: literally on the back line you have Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis,

819
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:43,200
Speaker 1: Lebron James and Jason Tatum and a ton of length

820
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:46,360
Speaker 1: and athleticism that can cover ground and help. So I

821
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:48,080
Speaker 1: think you could do some switching there, or you can

822
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 1: run drop and have Tatum run over the top. I

823
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,279
Speaker 1: think Tatum is a is a guy that can be

824
00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:56,440
Speaker 1: very impactful as a primary point of attack defender. It's

825
00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:58,320
Speaker 1: something that I think has been an underrated trade of

826
00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:00,600
Speaker 1: his over the course of his career. And have that

827
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,520
Speaker 1: length chasing over the top to funnel into Anthony Davis

828
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,239
Speaker 1: in a drop coverage with Kevin Durant and Lebron James

829
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:09,080
Speaker 1: operating as the low man or the guy on the

830
00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:12,160
Speaker 1: wing that rotates down like they're I think you could

831
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:15,800
Speaker 1: do a lot defensively with that particular group. With Joel Embiid,

832
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,480
Speaker 1: I just don't think you're as versatile defensively now. Embiid

833
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:24,920
Speaker 1: has value here like bigger European centers that can bury

834
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:26,840
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis under the rim if you run into that

835
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,720
Speaker 1: kind of matchup, if you run into Jokic, Joel Embiid

836
00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:31,480
Speaker 1: is one of the guys that actually has the physical

837
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:35,080
Speaker 1: size to kind of hang with NICOLEA Jokic, But in

838
00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:38,080
Speaker 1: the aggregate in most matchups. I like Anthony Davis there

839
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:40,000
Speaker 1: and then on the offensive end of the floor, AD

840
00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:42,920
Speaker 1: is just like like Ad and lebron think about the

841
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:46,000
Speaker 1: damage they do with the Lakers in all their horn

842
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,799
Speaker 1: sets and stuff as just operating at the elbow as

843
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:53,000
Speaker 1: screen and roll guys like I now imagine instead of

844
00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:56,640
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves and D'Angelo Russell, it's Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

845
00:42:57,040 --> 00:43:00,000
Speaker 1: That's where I kind of see the fluidity and connect

846
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:03,439
Speaker 1: activity of that five man group, just working with more

847
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:06,960
Speaker 1: of like a five out big in Anthony Davis rather

848
00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:10,760
Speaker 1: than this you know, supremely gifted post up ISO player

849
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:13,480
Speaker 1: in Joel Embiid. I think there's value there, but I

850
00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:16,520
Speaker 1: think he I think Anthony Davis makes more sense in

851
00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,319
Speaker 1: the core groups. Who else should play? When I look

852
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:22,279
Speaker 1: at the roster, I think Drew Holliday has to play.

853
00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:24,960
Speaker 1: I think Kawhile Leonard has to play again, Joel Embiid

854
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,319
Speaker 1: has to play, especially in specific matchups. I think that's

855
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:31,840
Speaker 1: your eight man rotation. So Steph Tatum, lebron kd Anthony Davis,

856
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,800
Speaker 1: Drew Holliday, Kawhile Leonard, Joel Embiid, And then if you

857
00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:38,920
Speaker 1: needed another perimeter defense option if a super quick guard

858
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:43,440
Speaker 1: that's causing you problems, and Tatum is struggling with screen navigation,

859
00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,480
Speaker 1: and Drew Holliday for whatever reason, is not fast enough

860
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:49,680
Speaker 1: for the guy. I think Anthony Edwards is another guy

861
00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:52,040
Speaker 1: who could get really handsy on the perimeter and contain

862
00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:53,520
Speaker 1: a ball handler, So I think you could go to

863
00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,120
Speaker 1: him as well. As far as my prediction goes for

864
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,799
Speaker 1: how that team will perform, if they embrace five out

865
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:00,680
Speaker 1: and they play for each other, I think they're gonna

866
00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:03,640
Speaker 1: wipe the floor with everyone. But if they kind of

867
00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 1: play your turn, mind turn and they don't embrace all

868
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:08,320
Speaker 1: the details and they play lazy basketball, the teams overseas

869
00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:12,000
Speaker 1: are good enough to beat them. But that said, even

870
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:16,040
Speaker 1: though the top of the NBA is no longer American players,

871
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:19,879
Speaker 1: the depth of talent in the United States is still

872
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:22,080
Speaker 1: far greater than the rest of the league. And we're

873
00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:24,960
Speaker 1: sending our best guys this time. And if they embrace

874
00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:27,400
Speaker 1: playing for each other and doing the right things, I

875
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:31,560
Speaker 1: think they're gonna win easily. In the Olympics. All right,

876
00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:35,360
Speaker 1: mail that question. Jokich is nineteenth and free throw attempts

877
00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:38,239
Speaker 1: per game, But tenth in points in the paint. Of

878
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:41,600
Speaker 1: those ahead of him in free throws attempts but behind

879
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:43,919
Speaker 1: in points in the paint are Anthony Edwards, Lebron James,

880
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:47,600
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Demarta Rosen, Zion Williams, and Palaponcaro,

881
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:51,160
Speaker 1: Jared Jackson Junior and maybe more. I ran out of

882
00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:54,160
Speaker 1: room before I was asked to pay. Plus, Jokich has

883
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:58,280
Speaker 1: as many or more games played than almost all these guys. Anyway,

884
00:44:58,320 --> 00:44:59,960
Speaker 1: why do you think Jokic doesn't get the free throw

885
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,200
Speaker 1: attempts others do? And what do you think he could

886
00:45:02,239 --> 00:45:04,080
Speaker 1: do different to get those free throw attempts? Love the

887
00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:06,799
Speaker 1: show and watch an earlier episode keep it up. Thank

888
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:08,240
Speaker 1: you so much for the kind words and for supporting

889
00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:13,200
Speaker 1: the show so I can relate to this personally as

890
00:45:13,239 --> 00:45:15,600
Speaker 1: someone has rooted to Lebron, rooted for Lebron James, and

891
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:18,800
Speaker 1: I think Lebron generally through his career has not gotten

892
00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:21,560
Speaker 1: very many foul calls, especially over the course of this

893
00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:25,239
Speaker 1: later stretch of his career. But like I've never had

894
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 1: a problem with it, and the main reason why is

895
00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:33,360
Speaker 1: I want Lebron to be able to play bullyball and

896
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,560
Speaker 1: in order for Lebron to be able to play bullyball,

897
00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:37,719
Speaker 1: you gotta have a give and a take there. And

898
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:39,440
Speaker 1: I don't think you have to look much further than

899
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:42,360
Speaker 1: the free throw attempt leaders to see that bullyball players

900
00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:46,440
Speaker 1: don't really get rewarded. Now, Giannis is the exception. Giannis

901
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:50,279
Speaker 1: is number one in free throw attempts. He's the outlier.

902
00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:53,359
Speaker 1: I think he gets an absurd whistle. I every time

903
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:55,960
Speaker 1: I watch Gianni's play, I watch him run dudes over

904
00:45:56,040 --> 00:45:58,480
Speaker 1: and get foul calls, and I think it's completely ridiculous.

905
00:45:58,600 --> 00:46:01,440
Speaker 1: I don't have an explanation for you. He's the outlier.

906
00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:05,319
Speaker 1: But Lebron. James and Nikole Jokic are both top ten

907
00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:08,439
Speaker 1: in points in the paint, but they both only shoot

908
00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:10,440
Speaker 1: six free throws a game. And I'm okay with that

909
00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:13,400
Speaker 1: because I want them to be able to physically inflict

910
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,680
Speaker 1: themselves on the opponent as well. But if you go

911
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:17,160
Speaker 1: down the rest of the free throw attempt list, it

912
00:46:17,239 --> 00:46:20,160
Speaker 1: makes some sense. It's like Number two is Shake Gilsers Alexander.

913
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:23,920
Speaker 1: He's a finesse player who's a grifter. Number three is

914
00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:27,720
Speaker 1: DeMar DeRozan. He's a finesse player who's a grifter. Number

915
00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:31,000
Speaker 1: four is Luka Doncic. He plays some bully ball, but

916
00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:34,359
Speaker 1: he gets his calls with finesse grifting. You know, low

917
00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:38,400
Speaker 1: gatherers pump fakes things along those lines. Right. Anthony Davis

918
00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:41,839
Speaker 1: is at six and free throw attempts he flops a lot.

919
00:46:42,239 --> 00:46:45,239
Speaker 1: Nikole Jokic doesn't. That's kind of in his personality, right.

920
00:46:46,239 --> 00:46:49,440
Speaker 1: Number seven is Damian Lillard. He's a finesse grifter. So

921
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:52,400
Speaker 1: you get the point, Like, free throw attempts are so

922
00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:56,680
Speaker 1: not about necessarily about shooting in the paint. It's about grifting.

923
00:46:56,920 --> 00:46:58,640
Speaker 1: The shooting in the paint is part of it. You

924
00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:01,800
Speaker 1: want to shoot in the paint. The Lakers being a

925
00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:04,479
Speaker 1: team that scores in the paint a lot is part

926
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:07,000
Speaker 1: of what pushes up their free throw attempts. But the

927
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:09,040
Speaker 1: real reason they shoot a ton of free throws is

928
00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:12,920
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves is a grifter. Anthony Davis is a grifter.

929
00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:16,480
Speaker 1: Two of their top four scorers are guys that specialize

930
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:18,759
Speaker 1: in finding ways to get to the foul line. So like,

931
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:21,800
Speaker 1: at a certain point like that that is kind of

932
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:23,840
Speaker 1: it's only half the battle. Half the battles getting in

933
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:26,680
Speaker 1: the paint often and getting into contact situations a lot.

934
00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:28,920
Speaker 1: The other half of it is like it's kind of

935
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:32,360
Speaker 1: a gamesmanship thing, and Lebron James and Nicole Jokic have

936
00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:35,160
Speaker 1: never been good at that gamesmanship. I'm happy with that

937
00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:37,440
Speaker 1: because I don't want to watch them do that. Like

938
00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:41,239
Speaker 1: you see Lebron pump fake and draw a foul on

939
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,719
Speaker 1: on Larry Nants because he leaves his shoes in the

940
00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:46,880
Speaker 1: Pelicans game. That's pretty uncommon. That's not something that Lebron

941
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:50,000
Speaker 1: does often. The best foul grifters in the league they

942
00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:54,440
Speaker 1: do it three four times every single game. Jason, You're

943
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:56,600
Speaker 1: the man. Is there any reason Lebron doesn't match up hunt,

944
00:47:56,680 --> 00:47:58,799
Speaker 1: KCP and Murray. I think the Lakers are missing out

945
00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:01,120
Speaker 1: on taking advantage of the drat, especially for d Low

946
00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:03,680
Speaker 1: to keep him engaged, or ever run screen and rolls

947
00:48:03,719 --> 00:48:06,160
Speaker 1: to keep Yokic involved. So I think this is one

948
00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:09,000
Speaker 1: of the major kind of like swing factors of the series.

949
00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:12,239
Speaker 1: I think that they absolutely need to keep their five

950
00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:14,880
Speaker 1: starters on the floor as much as possible because in

951
00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:18,319
Speaker 1: order to attack Kntavio's callbo Poper Jamal Murray mainly, I'm

952
00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:20,360
Speaker 1: looking at Jamal Murray there. I think Knatavio's called Pope's

953
00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:22,040
Speaker 1: just a really good defender, and I think hunting him

954
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:25,760
Speaker 1: is a suicide mission to begin with. But with Jamal Murray,

955
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,720
Speaker 1: you have to have him guard a good offensive player

956
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:31,440
Speaker 1: or he's just gonna hedge and recover. And it's really

957
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:34,520
Speaker 1: that simple. Like you know, a lot of times where

958
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:36,680
Speaker 1: things fall apart for the Lakers against the Nuggets is

959
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:38,960
Speaker 1: when they can hide Jamal Murray on a Cam Reddish

960
00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:41,640
Speaker 1: or last year at Dennis Schroeder, and then even if

961
00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:44,600
Speaker 1: he hedges, the guy slips out of that screen, and

962
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:47,600
Speaker 1: even if he catches, Jamal can recover in time, or

963
00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:49,440
Speaker 1: they just don't have to worry about that guy knocking

964
00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:53,120
Speaker 1: down the shot. If you make Jamal Murray guard Austin

965
00:48:53,239 --> 00:48:58,439
Speaker 1: Reeves because KCP has to guard d Low, because Aaron

966
00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:01,759
Speaker 1: Gordon has to guard Lebron, because Michael Porter Junior has

967
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:05,759
Speaker 1: to guard Ruby Hachimura, then in that situation, if they

968
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:09,200
Speaker 1: don't switch in, they hedge. Austin Reeves is a very

969
00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:11,520
Speaker 1: good movement shooter, and he can pop to the foul

970
00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:13,759
Speaker 1: of the free throw line, or slip to the free

971
00:49:13,760 --> 00:49:15,360
Speaker 1: throw line, or pop to the three point line and

972
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:19,000
Speaker 1: make shots and attack closeouts and things along those lines, like, again,

973
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,080
Speaker 1: attacking a matchup is not as easy as like just

974
00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:24,719
Speaker 1: call first screen, get a switch and go. Most coach,

975
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:26,800
Speaker 1: you don't think Mike Malone is sitting around going like,

976
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:28,960
Speaker 1: how do we make sure Jamal Murray does not get

977
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:30,680
Speaker 1: attacked in this series? And the way they're going to

978
00:49:30,760 --> 00:49:33,200
Speaker 1: do that in most cases is going to be hiding

979
00:49:33,280 --> 00:49:36,160
Speaker 1: him on the worst offensive player every single opportunity they get,

980
00:49:36,440 --> 00:49:38,000
Speaker 1: and when he has to guard a good offensive player,

981
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:39,640
Speaker 1: they're going to have him hedge and recover and so

982
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:42,560
Speaker 1: again and again that hedge and recover. For those of

983
00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:44,960
Speaker 1: you guys who don't understand that the concept, it's just

984
00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:47,920
Speaker 1: when the screen gets set, you jump out high to

985
00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:50,239
Speaker 1: cut off the driving lane, and then you sprint back

986
00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:55,320
Speaker 1: to the screener as soon as you can. Hi, Jason,

987
00:49:55,320 --> 00:49:57,600
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers should put Austin on Michael Porter

988
00:49:57,719 --> 00:50:00,160
Speaker 1: Junior and put Lebron on Jamal Murray for defense. I

989
00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:02,080
Speaker 1: think Austin is fast enough to keep his body on

990
00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:04,800
Speaker 1: MPJ and Lebron can bully Jamal. Maybe not for the

991
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:06,920
Speaker 1: whole series, but justin Jamal starts cooking. What do you

992
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:09,920
Speaker 1: think so Austin on MPJA is a little bit of

993
00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:12,160
Speaker 1: an issue because MPJ can just shoot over him easily.

994
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:14,400
Speaker 1: That was an issue early in the series. Last year,

995
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:17,320
Speaker 1: Austin actually started with the Michael Porter Junior assignment and

996
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:19,799
Speaker 1: just got shot over and rebounded over a lot. It's

997
00:50:19,840 --> 00:50:22,120
Speaker 1: just too much of a size disadvantage. Now, I do

998
00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:25,200
Speaker 1: think you can consider going to that. Look if you

999
00:50:25,320 --> 00:50:28,040
Speaker 1: run into the situation where it's a late game situation,

1000
00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:30,360
Speaker 1: you just need a few stops, and then you do

1001
00:50:30,480 --> 00:50:32,600
Speaker 1: what you did in twenty twenty. You put Lebron James on,

1002
00:50:32,680 --> 00:50:35,680
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray, Anthony Davison, Nicole Jokich, switch any sort of

1003
00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:38,320
Speaker 1: two man game that they run. I'd put DLO on

1004
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:41,440
Speaker 1: Michael Porter Junior, and I'd put Austin on KCP because

1005
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:45,920
Speaker 1: KCP is just more active running off of just with speed,

1006
00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:47,759
Speaker 1: running off of screens, and I think Austin's a little

1007
00:50:47,760 --> 00:50:51,239
Speaker 1: bit more diligent staying attached. Michael Porter Junior spots up more,

1008
00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:53,640
Speaker 1: even though Michael Porter Junior also runs off screens. Everybody

1009
00:50:53,719 --> 00:50:56,520
Speaker 1: runs off screens, but KCP does so more. So I

1010
00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:58,640
Speaker 1: would put Austin there, and I put Delo on Michael

1011
00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:01,160
Speaker 1: Porter Junior. But I do think they'll go to that look,

1012
00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:03,359
Speaker 1: I just don't think it's something you can ask Lebron

1013
00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:05,000
Speaker 1: to do for an entire series. I think it's more

1014
00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:06,919
Speaker 1: of a crunch time thing. One of the major points

1015
00:51:06,960 --> 00:51:08,440
Speaker 1: of this series that I'm looking at here is like,

1016
00:51:08,680 --> 00:51:10,319
Speaker 1: how much of the dirty work are Lebron and Ady

1017
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:12,080
Speaker 1: willing to do? Are you gonna let Ruiy just get

1018
00:51:12,239 --> 00:51:15,080
Speaker 1: flambayed on an island or are you going to step

1019
00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:17,040
Speaker 1: in there and try to help him? Because, like I

1020
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:18,239
Speaker 1: hate to break it to you, but if you go

1021
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:20,520
Speaker 1: down with Ruby guarding Jokic, You're just gonna lose the series.

1022
00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:22,440
Speaker 1: And you might lose the series anyway, but I think

1023
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,360
Speaker 1: your best bet is to ask your two best defensive players,

1024
00:51:25,440 --> 00:51:27,600
Speaker 1: Lebron James and Anthony Davis to try to close that deal.

1025
00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:31,880
Speaker 1: Last question, Jason, your logic is correct, but I'm not

1026
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:34,640
Speaker 1: there that Steph has declined because of age. It's more

1027
00:51:34,719 --> 00:51:36,600
Speaker 1: to do with lack of support. Lebron is a top

1028
00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:38,879
Speaker 1: ten to twelve player with the top ten supporting cast,

1029
00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:41,759
Speaker 1: that is championship ceiling. By that logic, Steph, who is

1030
00:51:41,880 --> 00:51:44,920
Speaker 1: ranked higher than Lebron, needs similar support than you can

1031
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:47,280
Speaker 1: have that ceiling. First of all, I don't think Steph's

1032
00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:49,919
Speaker 1: better than Lebron anymore. I think Lebron has clearly played

1033
00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:53,080
Speaker 1: better basketball than him this season, especially down the stretch

1034
00:51:53,120 --> 00:51:56,400
Speaker 1: of the season. I do think supporting cast plays a role.

1035
00:51:56,640 --> 00:51:58,879
Speaker 1: There's no doubt that Steph has a really tough job.

1036
00:51:59,400 --> 00:52:04,160
Speaker 1: But I watched Steph in twenty twenty one, without Klay Thompson,

1037
00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:08,360
Speaker 1: with a substantially more limited offensive roster, be at a

1038
00:52:08,640 --> 00:52:13,000
Speaker 1: much much higher level as a player. Go back and

1039
00:52:13,080 --> 00:52:16,040
Speaker 1: watch some of those games from the springtime in twenty

1040
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:17,640
Speaker 1: twenty one, the year they lost in the play in.

1041
00:52:18,200 --> 00:52:20,359
Speaker 1: Go back and watch some of those games. They would

1042
00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:21,880
Speaker 1: have made the playoffs straight up if it wasn't for

1043
00:52:21,920 --> 00:52:25,440
Speaker 1: Steph like bruising his tailbone on the stairstep. He was

1044
00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:29,360
Speaker 1: cooking the entire league in that series or in that

1045
00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:33,759
Speaker 1: season in the springtime, similarly limited supporting cast. I'd argue

1046
00:52:33,840 --> 00:52:36,839
Speaker 1: this year's supporting cast is better than the supporting cast

1047
00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:39,640
Speaker 1: he had in twenty twenty one. Steph found a way

1048
00:52:40,080 --> 00:52:44,160
Speaker 1: to keep the team afloat with his high level play. Anyway,

1049
00:52:44,640 --> 00:52:47,800
Speaker 1: there's this guy right now in twenty twenty four is

1050
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:50,839
Speaker 1: not the same guy that Steph was in twenty twenty one.

1051
00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:53,000
Speaker 1: That's why I think it's a decline. There's no doubt

1052
00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:56,200
Speaker 1: that there's been some supporting cast related issues that have

1053
00:52:56,320 --> 00:52:59,000
Speaker 1: made things tougher on Steph. But the bottom line is,

1054
00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:01,800
Speaker 1: for a significant chunk of the tail end of the season,

1055
00:53:02,120 --> 00:53:04,840
Speaker 1: Steph was a low twenty point per game guy that

1056
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:08,279
Speaker 1: was inefficient by his standards. That's not what he was

1057
00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:11,839
Speaker 1: regardless of sporting cast in the previous three seasons. That's

1058
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:14,880
Speaker 1: why I thought it was concerning, and to that point,

1059
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:18,960
Speaker 1: Lebron last year because he couldn't shoot because he was

1060
00:53:19,000 --> 00:53:21,600
Speaker 1: in his mobile. Obviously he was injured as well, he

1061
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:24,920
Speaker 1: wasn't playing as well even though he had a similar

1062
00:53:25,040 --> 00:53:28,520
Speaker 1: level supporting cast. Lebron has gotten better. That's why he

1063
00:53:28,640 --> 00:53:31,280
Speaker 1: looks better this year. I don't think it's over for Steph.

1064
00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:33,880
Speaker 1: I think it's possible that he polishes some things up

1065
00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:36,080
Speaker 1: and does some stuff with his body to regain some

1066
00:53:36,239 --> 00:53:40,000
Speaker 1: quickness and regain some of that Steph kind of flare

1067
00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:43,719
Speaker 1: next year. But that was an extended stretch of Steph

1068
00:53:43,880 --> 00:53:46,800
Speaker 1: just playing at a hefty tier below. Like I'll just

1069
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:49,160
Speaker 1: put it simply, Steph wasn't even playing at a top

1070
00:53:49,200 --> 00:53:51,759
Speaker 1: ten level for the last third of the season. That

1071
00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:54,880
Speaker 1: was a major, major concern for me. And again, like

1072
00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:57,440
Speaker 1: I said, just compared to that twenty twenty one season

1073
00:53:57,480 --> 00:53:59,759
Speaker 1: and how well he was playing with a limited supporting cast.

1074
00:54:00,239 --> 00:54:02,680
Speaker 1: That's where I get concerned, and that's why I said

1075
00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:04,200
Speaker 1: on the show the other day, I think the championship

1076
00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:08,200
Speaker 1: ceiling is over. If Steph can't recapture legitimate top five Steph,

1077
00:54:08,719 --> 00:54:10,520
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter if you bring in a secondary star,

1078
00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:12,000
Speaker 1: You're still just not going to be as good as

1079
00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:14,319
Speaker 1: the other teams in the Western Conference. All Right, guys,

1080
00:54:14,400 --> 00:54:15,840
Speaker 1: that is all I have for today. Is always I

1081
00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:18,640
Speaker 1: sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show. We will

1082
00:54:18,680 --> 00:54:20,960
Speaker 1: be back on Saturday morning with a couple of really

1083
00:54:21,040 --> 00:54:23,680
Speaker 1: quick previews of the one to eight matchups, and then

1084
00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:26,440
Speaker 1: later that night live on YouTube after the final buzzer

1085
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:28,960
Speaker 1: of Game one of Nuggets Lakers, I will see you guys.

1086
00:54:29,080 --> 00:54:54,720
Speaker 1: Then the volume