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

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Speaker 1: Happy Tuesday, everybody. We're gonna get right into it today

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Speaker 1: with the first of our eight series previews, starting in

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Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference with the four five matchup the Cleveland

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Speaker 1: Cavaliers versus the New York Knicks. Gonna dive into this

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Speaker 1: series from a bunch of different angles, you guys know

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Speaker 1: the drill before we get started. To subscribe to the

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Speaker 1: Volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos.

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Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jason lt so you

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Speaker 1: guys don't miss any show announcements. Also going to be

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Speaker 1: doing a lot more footage breakdowns on my Twitter feed

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Speaker 1: as we had into the playoffs last been not least it.

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Speaker 1: For whatever reason, you guys miss one of these episodes

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Speaker 1: and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish,

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Speaker 1: don't forget. You can find them wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Under Hoops tonight, all right, let's talk. Let's talk some basketball.

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Speaker 1: So a couple of series notes here before we get

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Speaker 1: into the weeds. The Calves are a minus two oh

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Speaker 1: five favorite. That's a significant favorite to win the series

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Speaker 1: right now. I do think that's inflated by the Julius

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Speaker 1: Randall news. Though the Knicks won the season series three

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Speaker 1: to one, including winning three in a row. They won

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Speaker 1: a game where they held them to just eighty one points,

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Speaker 1: they won a game where Julius Randall lit them up

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Speaker 1: for thirty six points and hit the eventual game winner,

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Speaker 1: and then they won a game in Cleveland where Julius

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Speaker 1: Randall was out and Jalen Brunson had a monster night.

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Speaker 1: I think he had almost fifty and he outplayed Donovan

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Speaker 1: Mitchell to beat the Calves in Cleveland. So the Cavs

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Speaker 1: have been the better team all season from a standings

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Speaker 1: in a big picture standpoint, but the Knicks have been

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Speaker 1: a better team within this matchup. They both have an

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Speaker 1: elite top five unit. The Cavs have the best defense

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Speaker 1: in the league by defensive rating and the Knicks are

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Speaker 1: the fourth best offense in the league. And both teams

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Speaker 1: are top seven in net rating, so both teams probably

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Speaker 1: feel very good about their chances. I think this is

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Speaker 1: by far the most interesting series in the Eastern Conference

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Speaker 1: first round. East is a little rough there in that

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Speaker 1: first round, a lot of somewhat uninteresting matchups. Hopefully we

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Speaker 1: get Miami Boston to get one more interesting look. But

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Speaker 1: everything will get entertaining once we get to round two

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Speaker 1: with how good the top that conference is. But I

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Speaker 1: wanted to start with Nick's calves because this is my

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Speaker 1: favorite series out east. On the ju Julius Randall front.

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Speaker 1: He's sprained his ankle a couple of weeks ago, I

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Speaker 1: expect him to play, so moving forward with this breakdown,

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Speaker 1: I'm going to be moving forward under the assumption that

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Speaker 1: Julius Randall plays in every game, and then he's roughly

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Speaker 1: eighty percent of what he was before the injury. Just

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Speaker 1: think like a little out of shape and a little

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Speaker 1: out of rhythm. I'm expecting that as part of this

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Speaker 1: calculus that I'm looking forward in this series. And then

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Speaker 1: obviously if he's out and misses a significant chunk of

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Speaker 1: the series, that makes this a whole lot easier, doesn't it.

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Speaker 1: Because in the playoffs, with the way they'll be able

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Speaker 1: to load up on Jalen Brunston, I'm just not sure

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Speaker 1: how they'd be able to win out Julius Randalls. So

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Speaker 1: obviously that's a big swing factor there. But we're going

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Speaker 1: to move forward as though he is healthy. So last year,

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Speaker 1: the way we did these serious previews is we kind

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Speaker 1: of just did offense defense, So we kind of focus

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Speaker 1: on one side of the ball for both teams, and

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Speaker 1: then we focus on the other side of the ball

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Speaker 1: when the other team had possession and what those matchups

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Speaker 1: would look like. I want to do it a little

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Speaker 1: bit different this year. I want to kind of look

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Speaker 1: at big picture matchups and I want to bounce around

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Speaker 1: between both sides of the floor. As a result of that,

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Speaker 1: I think it allows us to kind of target the

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Speaker 1: specific battles that a team has to win in order

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Speaker 1: to win a series. We'll see how if it lasts

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Speaker 1: through all eight breakdowns, but that's how I'm doing this

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Speaker 1: one to start. So first of all, as we're looking

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Speaker 1: at the shot creators for both teams, I kind of

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Speaker 1: look at RJ. Barrett and Karris Lavert as two different

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Speaker 1: sides of the same coin. They're both tertiary shot creators

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Speaker 1: who are both kind of like frustrating for their fan

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Speaker 1: bases from time to time. Like RJ. Barrett can get

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Speaker 1: tunnel vision and really start to play kind of on

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Speaker 1: an island with himself, and he can really force the

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Speaker 1: ball to his left hand side and is pretty heavy

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Speaker 1: to the basket, not a good jump shooter. And then

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Speaker 1: Karros Lavert's kind of the opposite of that, the same

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Speaker 1: type of kind of tunnel vision guy, but he's much

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Speaker 1: more of a pull up jump shooter and he shoots

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Speaker 1: the ball well from three. He's actually one of the

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Speaker 1: better pull up three point shooters that we have in

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Speaker 1: the league, but he takes a lot of pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shots. So it's a similar type of frustration that

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Speaker 1: you experience with RJ. Barrett, just kind of in a

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Speaker 1: different archetype. Offensively, I kind of look at those two

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Speaker 1: guys as a wash, and I would imagine that both

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Speaker 1: fan bases will be largely frustrated with them throughout the series.

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Speaker 1: I do think RJ. Barrett is a slightly better defensive

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Speaker 1: player than Karris Lavert, but not enough to have a

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Speaker 1: major impact on this series. And I don't think Karris

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Speaker 1: Lavert is a weak point defensively. So what I want

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Speaker 1: to focus in on is the Brunson verse Mitchell matchup

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Speaker 1: and the Randall verse Garland matchup, because those are the

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Speaker 1: two shot creation matchups that I do see having a

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Speaker 1: large impact on the outcome of this series. So, first

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Speaker 1: of all, Donovan Mitchell is the best player in this series.

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Speaker 1: He deserves that recognition going in He's got a much

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Speaker 1: more extensive playoff resume, and I think overall right now

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Speaker 1: he's just a little bit better. But that's the key there.

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Speaker 1: I do think it's a lot closer than people think

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Speaker 1: going into this series. You know, it's funny. I was

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Speaker 1: talking with my buddy Josh, who's on our production staff

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Speaker 1: here at the Volume for Hoops Tonight. He's big Knicks fan,

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Speaker 1: and he was talking on Twitter the other day about

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Speaker 1: how Knicks fans are very at peace with the Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brunson Donovan Mitchell situation, having not got Donovan Mitchell over

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Speaker 1: the summer, and you know, it's pretty critical of the

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Speaker 1: Knicks for not being more aggressive to get Donovan Mitchell.

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Speaker 1: That said, the reality was, is Jalen Brunson being as

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Speaker 1: good as he ended up being is what made it

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Speaker 1: so that the Knicks fans could move on. That's why

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Speaker 1: they're kind of at peace with it. Had Jalen Brunson

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Speaker 1: been more or less what he was with the Mavericks,

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Speaker 1: it might have been more frustrating because Donovan Mitchell is,

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Speaker 1: you know, legitimately a second tier superstar right, and Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brunson was something beneath that. But Jalen bruns has gone

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Speaker 1: up a level in this season, even above and beyond

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Speaker 1: what he was in last year's postseason, which was a

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Speaker 1: legitimate twenty point per game score. Right. This season, he's

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Speaker 1: actually been better than Donovan Mitchell in every single phase

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Speaker 1: of shot creation. I wanted to break this down for

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Speaker 1: you guys. First of all, Donovan Mitchell and pick and

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Speaker 1: roll one point one points per possession including passes, Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brunson one point zero eight. Not much of a gap there.

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Speaker 1: In isolation Donovan Mitchell one point zero two points per

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Speaker 1: possession including passes, Jalen Brunson one point one, so significantly

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Speaker 1: better beating switches in isolation. And Jalen Brunson as a whole,

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Speaker 1: like a whole postop element to his game. He's actually

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Speaker 1: run eighty post ups this year for seventy six points,

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Speaker 1: including back in the game that they played in January

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Speaker 1: where the Knicks one one, five, one three in crunch time,

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Speaker 1: he had a play where he backed Donovan Mitchell down

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Speaker 1: to kind of the elbow and hit him with a

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Speaker 1: turnaround jumper. Very important shot in that game out of

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Speaker 1: the post over the top of Donovan Mitchell, He's actually

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Speaker 1: been a more success as shock creater, and the big

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Speaker 1: part of that is he's just a much much better

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Speaker 1: passer than Donovan Mitchell. I think that's kind of what

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Speaker 1: allows him to bridge that gap despite not being the

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Speaker 1: otherworldly scoring force that Donovan Mitchell has been throughout his

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Speaker 1: entire career, including in the postseason. I think Donovan and

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Speaker 1: you'll see that, particularly at the end of games, because

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Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell can have a little bit of that Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook thing going on, where he's can force the action

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Speaker 1: and play hero ball a lot, whereas Jalen Brunson is

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Speaker 1: a little more methodical, a little bit more of a

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Speaker 1: slowdown and patiently make reads kind of guy. I think

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Speaker 1: that's what allows him to bridge that gap despite not

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Speaker 1: being the same level of athlete and shot maker that

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Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell is. But I still, especially when we factor

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Speaker 1: in the nature of the postseason, the way that physicality increases,

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Speaker 1: the way that your athleticism becomes a bigger advantage in

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Speaker 1: that setting, I still give Donovan Mitchell as a clear

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Speaker 1: edge is the best player in the series because of

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Speaker 1: and I think he's earned that right going in given

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Speaker 1: the way that he's played in his postseason career, But

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Speaker 1: it's not much of an advantage in my opinion. But

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Speaker 1: I would say that he is the best player in

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Speaker 1: the series. And also I wouldn't be surprised if we

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Speaker 1: looked back two weeks from now and Jalen Brunson had

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Speaker 1: outplayed him. But going into the series, I think from

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Speaker 1: a prediction standpoint, that's a matchup that the Calves will

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Speaker 1: win in favor of Donovan Mitchell by some small margin.

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Speaker 1: Randall versus Garland, these are the two bona fide secondary

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Speaker 1: shot creators. I actually think Randall has a significant edge here,

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Speaker 1: kind of a similar sized edge to what I'd give

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Speaker 1: Mitchell over Jalen Brunson. He's been more efficient as both

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Speaker 1: a pick and roll shot creator and ISO shot creator

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Speaker 1: than Darius Garland. This year. He's averaging one point zero

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Speaker 1: seven points per pick and roll including passes, compared to

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Speaker 1: one point zero three for Darius Garland, one point zero

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Speaker 1: two points per ISO compared to zero point eight seven

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Speaker 1: for Garland, not a strength in his game, and one

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Speaker 1: point zero six points per post up. And this is

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Speaker 1: an important part that I've talked a lot about with

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Speaker 1: Julius Randall this year. One of my favorite parts of

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Speaker 1: his game and something that I think translates really well

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Speaker 1: to the postseason, is that classic like we run an

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Speaker 1: action or we sprint down in transition and get a

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Speaker 1: cross match, but whatever it is, Julius Randall gets a

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Speaker 1: smaller defender on him and they space the floor. The

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Speaker 1: Knicks are an excellent spot up team. They're third in

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Speaker 1: the league and converting spot up possessions into points. And

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Speaker 1: he can back his way down to that ten fifteen

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Speaker 1: foot area and just hit somebody with his shoulder and

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Speaker 1: go to that fade away over his left shoulder that

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Speaker 1: he can hit at a high clip. And that is

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Speaker 1: rock fight basketball. That's the kind of thing that doesn't

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Speaker 1: depend on getting a ton of legs into a shot.

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Speaker 1: That's a twenty six foot step back shot, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean. It's a shot that is very dependable

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Speaker 1: on that stage of the NBA playoffs, especially when you

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Speaker 1: have a size advantage. That Julius Randall has had an

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Speaker 1: incredibly impressive scoring season this year, and it's a big

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Speaker 1: part of why the Knicks has been so good offensively

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Speaker 1: this year. And I think the last thing kind of

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Speaker 1: as a team perspective, because as I look at that again,

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Speaker 1: it's pretty even. You've got the two guards that are

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Speaker 1: your high pick and roll shot creators, and then you've

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Speaker 1: got this big forward for the Knicks, and then another

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Speaker 1: more playmaking oriented guard for the Calves, and then you've

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Speaker 1: got these two weird tertiary creators in r. J. Barrett

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Speaker 1: and Karas Slavert. But there's more variety in what the

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Speaker 1: New York Knicks do, and I think that's that, in

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Speaker 1: combination with their spot up talent, is a big part

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Speaker 1: of why I think they've been the better offensive team

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Speaker 1: this year. Everything the Calves do, it is at a

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Speaker 1: high pick and roll. As we told you earlier, Mitchell

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Speaker 1: is not nearly as good at converting isolation possessions as

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Speaker 1: Randall and Brunson. He's much more of a pick and

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Speaker 1: roll shot creator, and Darius Garland's bad at converting isolation possessions.

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Speaker 1: He's a pick and roll shot creator. So everything the

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Speaker 1: Calves do is at a high pick and roll. In fact,

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Speaker 1: they were in the fourth most pick and rolls in

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Speaker 1: the league this year, and the most among these solidified

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Speaker 1: playoff teams, in the top six in both conferences. So

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Speaker 1: simply put, among the teams that have playoff spots locked down,

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Speaker 1: nobody runs pick more pick and roll than the Calves.

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Speaker 1: That's their very one dimensional approach in that regard, Whereas

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Speaker 1: with the Knicks, you know, both Brunson and Randall can

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Speaker 1: run pick and roll, but they both can beat you

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Speaker 1: and switches in both the io and out of the post.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of variety with the way that they

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Speaker 1: can attack. We saw in the last matchup between these

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Speaker 1: two teams, Jalen Brunson torched the Calves out of high

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Speaker 1: pick and roll, hitting pull up threes down the stretch.

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Speaker 1: But then in their previous matchup back in January, we

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Speaker 1: saw Jalen Brunson in the entire fourth quarter pretty much

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Speaker 1: turn his back to the basket and operate out of

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Speaker 1: the out of the post on that right elbow right.

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Speaker 1: So there's just a little bit more variety with what

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Speaker 1: the Knicks too, which makes them harder to defend, and

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Speaker 1: then they're much much better at converting spot of possessions.

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Speaker 1: That's a key factor in this series. The Knicks are

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Speaker 1: the third best spot up team in the league and

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Speaker 1: the Calves are the fifth worst spot up team. In

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Speaker 1: the league. They're twenty sixth in the league at converting

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Speaker 1: spot of possessions. So that's where you get that big

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Speaker 1: gap on the offensive end of the floor. Another a

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Speaker 1: big matchup part. I wanted to look at here, and

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Speaker 1: this is where we zoom in on the spotting up

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Speaker 1: thing side of things, Josh Hart versus the plethora of

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Speaker 1: Cavs players that are going to play at the forward

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Speaker 1: position in various off ball three and D roles. I remember,

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Speaker 1: I was initially confused by the Josh Hard acquisition. It

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Speaker 1: didn't really make sense to me because it was kind

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Speaker 1: of like an all in type of trade. If I

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Speaker 1: remember correctly, they gave up a first round pick. It

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Speaker 1: was very much like the type of movie you expect

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Speaker 1: a team that has wheel championship aspirations to go after.

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Speaker 1: But hey, it was an indicator that the Knicks clearly

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Speaker 1: are thinking that way, and he's been absolutely amazing for them.

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Speaker 1: He's an excellent defender with the versatility to guard both

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Speaker 1: forwards and guards. He's an outstanding spot up player because

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Speaker 1: of his combination of the ability to respectively hit down

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Speaker 1: respectably knocked down threes while also being good at attacking

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Speaker 1: clothes outs. It's a highly underrated part of spotting up

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Speaker 1: because that's what allows you to on the possessions where

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Speaker 1: they chase you off the line or you pump fake

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Speaker 1: and go beat someone off the dribble. That's what allows

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Speaker 1: you to convert those into points by either attacking the

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Speaker 1: basket with athleticism or making that awesome next read to

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Speaker 1: the right guy who's going to be able to convert

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Speaker 1: the possession. That's an important part of the game of

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Speaker 1: basketball that gets overlooked when we just stare at three

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Speaker 1: point percentages. But Josh Hart is converting spot up opportunities

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Speaker 1: at one point two five points per possession since joining

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Speaker 1: the Knicks. Here's how one's saying that is a guy

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Speaker 1: like Michael Porter Junior for the Nuggets is converting him

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Speaker 1: at about one point three points per spot up possession.

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Speaker 1: So he's just a small level beneath the best spot

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Speaker 1: up players in the league since joining the Knicks, and

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Speaker 1: he does all these other little things well. Cuts to

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Speaker 1: the basketball averages two offensive rebounds per game, there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of offensive turns, many of those just into putbacks.

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Speaker 1: He's the perfect glue guy to put the Knicks together.

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Speaker 1: In fact, in three hundred and forty four possessions this year.

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Speaker 1: With Randall, Brunson, and Hart on the floor together, the

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Speaker 1: Knicks are outscoring teams by eighteen point one points per

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Speaker 1: one hundred possessions, which is amazing. As a compare, I'll

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Speaker 1: be in a much larger season long sample size. The

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Speaker 1: Knick sample size is shrunk by the fact that Hart

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Speaker 1: was traded for and then you know, Jalen Brunson missed

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Speaker 1: some time that foot injury, and then Julius Randalls miss

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Speaker 1: some time to ankles haven't played as much together. But

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Speaker 1: in a much larger sample size that calves unit. Let's

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Speaker 1: just narrow it down to their best forward with Darius

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Speaker 1: Garland and Donovan Mitchell. So Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley,

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Speaker 1: those three guys are just seven point one points positive

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Speaker 1: per one hundred possessions. Again, much larger sample size never

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Speaker 1: apples to apples comparison, but it just goes to show

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Speaker 1: you as a point of reference, how dominant the Knicks

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Speaker 1: have been when they've had Randall and Brunson with a

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Speaker 1: guy like Josh Hart to tie it all together with

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Speaker 1: all the little things that he does well. This particular

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Speaker 1: matchup that Josh Hart versus the Calves Wings matchup, I

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Speaker 1: think is going to be one of the biggest swing

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Speaker 1: factors in the series because, like I said, slight edge

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Speaker 1: to Mitchell over Brunson, slight edge to Randall over Garland,

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Speaker 1: you know, Karis Lavert, RJ Barrett, you know who the

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Speaker 1: hell knows what's gonna happen with those guys. This is

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Speaker 1: going to be a massive swing factor in this series

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Speaker 1: in my opinion. That idea of what Josh Hart can

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Speaker 1: do off the ball as a glue guy to put

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Speaker 1: everything together. And obviously Evan Mobley does this in a

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Speaker 1: very different way for Cleveland. We're gonna talk about him

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Speaker 1: here in a minute. I have a whole kind of

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Speaker 1: like segment put together for Evan Mobley, but that specific

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Speaker 1: matchup is something I'm gonna be keeping a very close

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Speaker 1: eye on because here's the deal. This is the way

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Speaker 1: I look at it. If Donovan Mitchell's the best player

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Speaker 1: in the series, and if the Calves have home court advantage,

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Speaker 1: and there's a little bit of a question mark surrounding

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Speaker 1: Julius Randall and his ankle and Cleveland's defensive front line.

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Speaker 1: The Jared Allen, Evan Mobley thing and all they can

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Speaker 1: do to dominate teams on the interior. If Josh Hart

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Speaker 1: was on the Calves, I'd be picking the Calves in

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Speaker 1: a heartbeat. But Josh Hart and the overall, you know,

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Speaker 1: Quentin Grime, the Emmanuel quickly, the overall as a group

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Speaker 1: much more, much more aggregate offensive skill in ball handling

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Speaker 1: and shooting from the role players depth on the bench.

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Speaker 1: That is the biggest swing factor for me in this series.

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Speaker 1: That's what allows a team like the Knicks to overcome

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Speaker 1: all those advantages that I just broke down for the Calves.

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Speaker 1: And with the Calves wings and again, they generate just

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Speaker 1: one point zero two points per spot a possession, which

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Speaker 1: is twenty sixth in the league. It's like guys like

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Speaker 1: Isaac Cora, Lamar Stevens, Chetty Osman, Dean Wade, the Danny

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00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,080
Speaker 1: Green traded just isn't moving well enough for them to

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Speaker 1: use him. All of them have either not been hitting

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Speaker 1: shots well enough, not attacking closeouts well enough, or doing

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Speaker 1: those doing those things well, but not defending well enough

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Speaker 1: for it to matter. And that's so important for the

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Speaker 1: Calves in particular, because they love to use their forward,

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Speaker 1: whether that's Lamar Stevens or Isaac Cora. They love to

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Speaker 1: use that guy to take primary point of attack assignments

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Speaker 1: like guard the other team's best guard, and so going

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Speaker 1: with an offensive option there puts you in a predicament

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Speaker 1: where now you have to ask Darius Garland and Donovan

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Speaker 1: Mitchell to do that, and not only are they not

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Speaker 1: good at that, but they're also guys that have an

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Speaker 1: enormous amount of offensive responsibility on a team that doesn't

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Speaker 1: really have much offensive skill beyond their two guards, and

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Speaker 1: so it kind of puts them in this predicament where

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Speaker 1: they don't know who to play now. The biggest optimism

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Speaker 1: point there is Isaac a Coral has been shooting extremely

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Speaker 1: well since going into the starting lineup. In thirty eight

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Speaker 1: games since joining the starting lineup, is shooting forty four

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Speaker 1: percent from three, and again, he's probably the best point

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Speaker 1: of attack defender on the roster. He's probably gonna draw

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Speaker 1: the Jalen Brunson assignment from the opening tip of Game

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Speaker 1: one of this series, and so it's whether or not

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Speaker 1: the Calves can somehow level out that matchup a little

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Speaker 1: bit by having guys like Isaac a Cora shoot the

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Speaker 1: lights out by having Lamar Stevens knocked down more threes

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Speaker 1: than he's been hitting by getting something out of Dean

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Speaker 1: Wade and Chetty Os and that could go a long

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Speaker 1: way to leveling things out. So here's the deal. I

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Speaker 1: think the Knicks are gonna win this series. I'm picking

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Speaker 1: them in six games. Now, before I go any further,

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Speaker 1: I have this is an obligatory thing that I have

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Speaker 1: to do. Predictions are hard. These are just my best guesses.

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Speaker 1: If it was easy to do this, we'd all be

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Speaker 1: in Vegas. Instead of watching these games as fans, we'd

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Speaker 1: all be in Vegas gambling on these games. This is

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Speaker 1: the beauty of the game of basketball. It is a

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Speaker 1: living organism of a five man unit. It is extremely

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Speaker 1: difficult to predict. That's where the fun is. So just

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Speaker 1: because I predict one team over another doesn't mean I'm

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Speaker 1: going to be right. I'm gonna pick eight series. Guarantee

378
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Speaker 1: you I get more than one of them wrong. Just

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Speaker 1: the nature of the game of basketball. And if I

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Speaker 1: do get all eight right, it's gonna be pure luck.

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Speaker 1: But part of my job is I have to make

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Speaker 1: a pick. I'm going to pick the Knicks to win

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Speaker 1: the series in six games. But the Calves absolutely have

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Speaker 1: a chance to win the series. Hell, they're favored to

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Speaker 1: do it. I would imagine most of you guys listening

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Speaker 1: disagree with me, and so I want to provide a

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Speaker 1: case for why I think the Calves can win. Now again,

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Speaker 1: just quick recap the way the Knicks can win. I

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Speaker 1: think their shot creators are a little bit better and

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Speaker 1: a little more verse to Toll, which is important in

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Speaker 1: the playoffs. I think their ability to help off of

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Speaker 1: Evan Mobile in the small forward position will allow them

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Speaker 1: to defend well enough in this matchup. Despite not being

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Speaker 1: a great defensive team to the right during the regular season.

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Speaker 1: The Knicks were eighteenth and defense during the regular season,

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Speaker 1: allowing about one hundred and fourteen point two points per

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Speaker 1: one hundred possessions. But they have guarded Cleveland well. They

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Speaker 1: have a one on nine point four defensive rating against Cleveland,

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00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:45,680
Speaker 1: and to give you a perspective, the Cleveland's one on

400
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Speaker 1: nine point nine defensive rating is best in the league.

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Speaker 1: So they've been defending at a much higher level in

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Speaker 1: this particular matchup against Cleveland, in large part because of

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00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,760
Speaker 1: their ability to help off those forwards to help them

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00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,439
Speaker 1: with ring protection and guards. Are actually the strength of

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Speaker 1: the Knicks defense. Jalen bruns And is a slightly above

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Speaker 1: average point of attack defender, Emmanuel Quickly is a good

407
00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,600
Speaker 1: point of attack defender, Josh hart is a good point

408
00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,280
Speaker 1: of attack defender, and RJ. Barrett is an above average

409
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,439
Speaker 1: point of attack defender. That's where the strength of their

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00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,360
Speaker 1: defense is. It's, you know, some of the limitations with

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Speaker 1: Mitchell Robinson, whether or not they can keep him on

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Speaker 1: the floor offensively versus going with someone like Isaiah Hartenstein

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Speaker 1: and then Julius Randall who can come and go defensively.

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Speaker 1: That's where the weakness of their defense is. And don't

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Speaker 1: get me wrong, I don't think the Knicks can win

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Speaker 1: the title, but I think they can defend well enough

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Speaker 1: to beat a Cleveland team. And then I think the

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Speaker 1: big guy to watch for the Knicks in the series

419
00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:37,719
Speaker 1: again is Josh hard I bet you his winning impact

420
00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,359
Speaker 1: screams off of the screen and every single one of

421
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,280
Speaker 1: these games. But let's talk about how the Calves can win.

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Speaker 1: I wrote down four specific swing factors for the Calves,

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Speaker 1: four battles that I think they need to win in

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Speaker 1: order to win the series. First of all, Donovan Mitchell

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Speaker 1: needs to play like the best player in the series.

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Speaker 1: He needs to clearly win the matchup with Jalen Brunson,

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Speaker 1: and specifically, I want to look at decision making. Again,

428
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,359
Speaker 1: the As have been a little bit underwhelming in clutch

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00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:05,440
Speaker 1: situations this year, although they've been better as of late.

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Speaker 1: They finished the year twenty four and twenty one in

431
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,199
Speaker 1: games involving clutch situations, which is fine, it's not awful,

432
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:12,400
Speaker 1: but this is a team that won fifty one games

433
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:14,000
Speaker 1: and had the sixth best record in the league, so

434
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,080
Speaker 1: they have underperformed in clutch situations relative to what their

435
00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,200
Speaker 1: record is. Donovan Mitchell has a tendency to force things

436
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:25,359
Speaker 1: sometimes in that specific game down the stretch. Like we

437
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:29,960
Speaker 1: talked about back in January, Jalen Brunson, it's one hundred

438
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,399
Speaker 1: to one hundred kind of methodically is working out of

439
00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,439
Speaker 1: the post, doesn't really get enough of an advantage, so

440
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:37,639
Speaker 1: he just shovels it to Julius Randall, doesn't force it

441
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,320
Speaker 1: to shovels it to Julius Randall. Julius was feeling good

442
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,119
Speaker 1: about his shot that night, rises up and hits a

443
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,240
Speaker 1: three in Jared Allen's face. Next two possessions for the

444
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,000
Speaker 1: caves where Donovan Mitchell getting blocked at the rim and

445
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,800
Speaker 1: turning the ball over in transition possessions where he had

446
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,879
Speaker 1: no advantage and he just forced it, just tried to

447
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,800
Speaker 1: pile drive his way to the basket and bad stuff happened.

448
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:01,960
Speaker 1: He just got that, just has that little bit of

449
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,080
Speaker 1: it's almost like too much confidence in his own ability

450
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:06,879
Speaker 1: to be able to kind of slow things down and

451
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:08,920
Speaker 1: let the game come to him. He has to be

452
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,400
Speaker 1: able to rain that in. Because he is a more

453
00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:15,080
Speaker 1: dynamic score he is a better athlete. He should be

454
00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,040
Speaker 1: the best player in this series. Jalen Brunson's best way

455
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,800
Speaker 1: to outplay him in this series is in clutch situations.

456
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,000
Speaker 1: So that's where Donovan Mitchell has to kind of rain

457
00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,679
Speaker 1: things in. If he wins that matchup convincingly, that's a

458
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,280
Speaker 1: huge step forward for the Caps. Number two. Find a

459
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:35,119
Speaker 1: way to limit Julius Randall's bullyball now in film, one

460
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,000
Speaker 1: of the best ways I saw this was putting Jared

461
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,719
Speaker 1: Allen on him. He's got a good amount of muscle

462
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,560
Speaker 1: mass and size and length to be able to absorb

463
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:47,480
Speaker 1: those Julius Randall's shoulders to contest shots forced Julius Randall

464
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:49,600
Speaker 1: into a lot of long threes that he was hitting

465
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,040
Speaker 1: because he's Julius Randall and he can get hot, right,

466
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:54,040
Speaker 1: But I actually thought he did a good job of

467
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,960
Speaker 1: taking away the easier shots at Julius is known to

468
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,880
Speaker 1: get sometimes. I think that also kind of puts Evan

469
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,480
Speaker 1: in a position where he can kind of help and

470
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,560
Speaker 1: roam around. Obviously, that's a little bit of a gamble

471
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,040
Speaker 1: against a Knicks team with guys like Isaiah Hartenstein and

472
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,359
Speaker 1: Mitchell Robinson that relentlessly attacked the offensive glass, but I

473
00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:14,320
Speaker 1: think it lines up their matchups pretty well. I think

474
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,720
Speaker 1: I think somehow finding a way to take away those

475
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:19,920
Speaker 1: easy shots that Julius Randall can get at the rim

476
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,560
Speaker 1: and in the short to mid range, maybe through a

477
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,040
Speaker 1: matchup like like Jared Allen, I think could go a

478
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: long way. Third, Isaac Accorro needs to shoot over forty

479
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,520
Speaker 1: percent from three in this series. Again, he's their best

480
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,680
Speaker 1: point of attack defender. He is shooting forty four percent

481
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:39,920
Speaker 1: from three since joining the starting lineup. That's a thirty

482
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,879
Speaker 1: eight game sample size, that's almost half a season. But

483
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,959
Speaker 1: the Knicks will not guard him. He is not a

484
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 1: good closeout attacker, does not have a good, well rounded

485
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,199
Speaker 1: skill set, so it's either knocking down the three or

486
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,120
Speaker 1: not much else from those kickouts, and so he has

487
00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,040
Speaker 1: to hit them at such a high rate that it

488
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 1: really hurts the Knicks when they help off of him.

489
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,160
Speaker 1: In fact, this year, out of one hundred and twenty

490
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 1: six players in the league to log at least two

491
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:13,479
Speaker 1: hundred spot up possessions, Isaaca Coros converting them one hundred

492
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,640
Speaker 1: that have one twenty six players less than a point

493
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,639
Speaker 1: per possession. That's not good and that's why the Knicks

494
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 1: are going to leave him wide open. A lot of

495
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,240
Speaker 1: big Calves games this year have come down to Isaaca

496
00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,360
Speaker 1: a Coral corner threes. And we all remember the Brooklyn

497
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,959
Speaker 1: one where you know that crazy Donovan Mitchell offensive rebound

498
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,560
Speaker 1: on the free throw that gets kicked by really nice

499
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:38,280
Speaker 1: swing pass from Karis Lavert crossed the court. Isaaca Cora

500
00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:41,119
Speaker 1: hits the shot, you know, big time bucket for a

501
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,199
Speaker 1: CALVS team that desperately needed a good clutch win like that.

502
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:50,960
Speaker 1: But go back to January against the Knicks and Julius

503
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,439
Speaker 1: Randall hits a three from the top of the key.

504
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,639
Speaker 1: A couple possessions later, there's a possession that ends up

505
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,200
Speaker 1: in a wide open Isaaca Coro three in the left

506
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: corner to tie the game. And he missed that one,

507
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:04,080
Speaker 1: same spot, missed that one. So a lot of these possessions,

508
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 1: especially with Tom thibodone and the way that he likes

509
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,600
Speaker 1: to guard, a lot of these possessions are going to

510
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 1: end in isaac coor open in the corner. Cannie hit

511
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:13,600
Speaker 1: them at a high enough clip to kind of mitigate

512
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:15,560
Speaker 1: some of that Josh Hart advantage that I was talking

513
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 1: so much about that would go a long way towards

514
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,040
Speaker 1: giving the Kas a chance. And then last but not least,

515
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,720
Speaker 1: and this is where Ivan Mobley comes in. Evan Mobley

516
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,439
Speaker 1: and Jared Allen have to utterly dominate the interior of

517
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,160
Speaker 1: this game series on both ends of the floor. That's

518
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,919
Speaker 1: their biggest advantage from a personnel standpoint in this series.

519
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,240
Speaker 1: Julius Randall obviously offensively presents a bunch of issues, but

520
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 1: he's not a great defensive player. And if Jared Allen

521
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,320
Speaker 1: can somewhat win that matchup defensively with him and limit

522
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 1: his effectiveness and force him into a bad series. And

523
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,399
Speaker 1: Evan Mobley has been scoring really well. He's gone up

524
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,679
Speaker 1: a leap in the last half of the season. In

525
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,920
Speaker 1: his last thirty eight games, not counting the Sunday game

526
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,640
Speaker 1: when he barely played, he's averaging nineteen points per game

527
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,639
Speaker 1: on fifty six percent shooting. To go with his usual

528
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 1: lights out still defense, blocking almost two shots per game.

529
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,080
Speaker 1: He's shooting seventy three percent at the rim this year,

530
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,800
Speaker 1: he's shooting fifty four percent on floaters. That's that Anthony

531
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,119
Speaker 1: Davis little push shot in the lane that's so important.

532
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:14,160
Speaker 1: If he just kicks everyone's ass and Jared Allen can

533
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,200
Speaker 1: mitigate some of that Julius Randall advantage and he gets

534
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,520
Speaker 1: something like twenty and ten at Evan Mobiley is just

535
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,720
Speaker 1: as an athletic wrecking ball everywhere on the floor. That's

536
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:26,480
Speaker 1: another huge swing swing factor for the Cavs. So to

537
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,080
Speaker 1: kind of wrap it all together here, I'm picking the

538
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,720
Speaker 1: Knicks in six. I think they're a better and more

539
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:36,480
Speaker 1: versatile shot creation team. I think they're much better spotting

540
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,560
Speaker 1: up off the ball. They've defended Cleveland really well this year.

541
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,560
Speaker 1: In overall, I think the Knicks have better role players

542
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:47,199
Speaker 1: with a deeper bench. But the Calv's best chance is

543
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:51,840
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell soundly outplays Jalen Brunson. They dominate the interior

544
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,320
Speaker 1: on both ends of the floor with Mobile and Allen.

545
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,840
Speaker 1: They contain Julius Randall's bullyball attack and turn him into

546
00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,399
Speaker 1: a jump shooter, and then Isaaca core On needs to

547
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 1: shoot lights out. If they can check those boxes, I

548
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 1: think the Calves run away with this series. We are

549
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,639
Speaker 1: continuing our series previews today with what I think is

550
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,199
Speaker 1: the most interesting series in the first round of the

551
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 1: Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings versus the Golden State Warriors.

552
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:16,880
Speaker 1: For those of you guys who missed it, we hit

553
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,320
Speaker 1: my favorite series from the Eastern Conference first round, Nick's

554
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 1: Calves earlier today. You can find that on our YouTube feed.

555
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,000
Speaker 1: You guys know the drill. Before we get started, Subscribe

556
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:27,840
Speaker 1: to the Volumes YouTube channel so you don't miss any

557
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,440
Speaker 1: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore

558
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,959
Speaker 1: Jason lt so you guys don't miss any show announcements

559
00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:35,520
Speaker 1: and it. For whatever reason you guys can't get over

560
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,359
Speaker 1: to YouTube to finish one of these videos, you can

561
00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,440
Speaker 1: find them wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops tonight,

562
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:43,080
Speaker 1: and last but not least, before we get started, you

563
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,040
Speaker 1: guys have heard me talk about game Time the fastest

564
00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,600
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565
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566
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567
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Speaker 1: Gametime has amazing last minute deals on tickets to all

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569
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Speaker 1: watch your favorite team play in the NBA Playoffs, game

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Speaker 1: see them in concert, game Time has you covered. They've

573
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579
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581
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:39,320
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582
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Speaker 1: lowest price guaranteed. All right, let's talk some basketball, So

583
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,760
Speaker 1: a couple of quick notes on Warriors Kings. The Warriors

584
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:51,000
Speaker 1: are minus two hundred and sixty favorites right now in Vegas.

585
00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,480
Speaker 1: That's a pretty significant favorite, a bigger favorite than the

586
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,720
Speaker 1: Calves are over the Knicks. For instance, the Warriors won

587
00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 1: the season series three to one in dominant fashion with

588
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,479
Speaker 1: Stephen Draymond on the floor. This year against the Kings,

589
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 1: they outscored them by twenty six points per one hundred possessions.

590
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,800
Speaker 1: This was back in the days early in the season

591
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,680
Speaker 1: when the Warriors starters were whooping everyone's ass, and it

592
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 1: was primarily a concern about the bench and not necessarily

593
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,480
Speaker 1: their ability to play on the road. Now important note

594
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,720
Speaker 1: all except for the Friday game when the Kings rested

595
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 1: all their guys. The three games earlier in the season,

596
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,560
Speaker 1: we're all before Thanksgiving, so it's been a long time

597
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,040
Speaker 1: since then. And as a result, I would imagine both

598
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 1: teams probably feel confident in their chances going in for

599
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 1: the Kings. They can be like, hey, that was forever ago,

600
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:41,880
Speaker 1: don't worry about it, where a different team now will

601
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,000
Speaker 1: be fine. And if you're the Warriors, you're looking at

602
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,560
Speaker 1: it like, we know what we can do against these guys.

603
00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 1: We know they can't guard us. We're in good shape.

604
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,280
Speaker 1: So again, as should be the case, everyone should feel

605
00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,640
Speaker 1: comfortable and confident when they go into a series or

606
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 1: they have no chance to win. But I would imagine

607
00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 1: both teams feel pretty confident Andrew Wiggins. Steve Kurd did

608
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 1: a little presser before their game on Sunday and said

609
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 1: that he's been ramping up with three on three and

610
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,600
Speaker 1: some five on five and that he's going to continue

611
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 1: to practice and scrimmage throughout the week. My guess is

612
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,240
Speaker 1: that he plays on Saturday in game one of this series.

613
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,200
Speaker 1: It's a good matchup for the Kings, or excuse me,

614
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,840
Speaker 1: for the Warriors from the same point of size and athleticism,

615
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,080
Speaker 1: so they don't desperately need Wiggins to win this series,

616
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 1: although obviously he would help, and so because of that,

617
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:29,480
Speaker 1: I think it's kind of like the perfect series for

618
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:31,840
Speaker 1: him to kind of ramp up and you know, for

619
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:33,680
Speaker 1: them to pull the plug on him in his minutes

620
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:35,880
Speaker 1: if he's not playing well, or to give him a

621
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,560
Speaker 1: longer leash in games where he you know, where the

622
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:42,400
Speaker 1: Warriors are playing, you ten fifteen points up on the scoreboard.

623
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,000
Speaker 1: I think it's the ideal situation to bring him back

624
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:47,680
Speaker 1: kind of reminds me of last year with Steph Curry

625
00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,560
Speaker 1: when he was coming back from his injury in the

626
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,480
Speaker 1: way that he was able to come off the bench

627
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,640
Speaker 1: against Denver and kind of slowly work his way into

628
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,160
Speaker 1: the series because it was a matchup that the Warriors

629
00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,880
Speaker 1: felt good about, and I do believe the Warriors feel

630
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 1: good about their matchup in this series. So similar to

631
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:07,960
Speaker 1: what I did with Kavs Nicks, rather than just focusing

632
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,920
Speaker 1: on you know, Warriors and offense, Kings on defense and

633
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:15,240
Speaker 1: vice versa, I want to focus on major contested battles

634
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,920
Speaker 1: of the series, major matchups, and major back and forth

635
00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,840
Speaker 1: swing factors that will determine the outcome of the series.

636
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:25,240
Speaker 1: So first, who is the best player in the series.

637
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:27,720
Speaker 1: I think it's step by a mile. I don't think

638
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,120
Speaker 1: that's a hot take. He's a bona fide Top Tiers

639
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,120
Speaker 1: superstar and I think he's the second best player in

640
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,040
Speaker 1: the league right now behind Jannis. He's also a proven

641
00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,560
Speaker 1: playoff performer in the defending finals MVP, so that is

642
00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:42,040
Speaker 1: a massive advantage for the Warriors. As a matter of fact,

643
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,920
Speaker 1: if Darren Fox happened to somehow outplay step in this series,

644
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 1: that would be a gigantic swing and the Kings would win.

645
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,240
Speaker 1: They if Darren Fox outplay Steff in the series, they

646
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,080
Speaker 1: might beat the Warriors in five, but it's extremely unlikely.

647
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 1: That is a massive advantage for Golden State in the series.

648
00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,040
Speaker 1: Why does that matter? Why does it matter to have

649
00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:04,120
Speaker 1: the best layer in a playoff series? Well, a couple

650
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,680
Speaker 1: of reasons. First of all, every series is close for

651
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,240
Speaker 1: the most part. Like as we go down the matchups

652
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,160
Speaker 1: in this first round, like even in the Western Conference,

653
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:16,600
Speaker 1: I think all of them will be close. Like, the

654
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,960
Speaker 1: Nuggets aren't playing very good basketball, so if they catch

655
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,760
Speaker 1: a team like the Pelicans or the Wolves that are

656
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: playing well, like, it's gonna that could be a six

657
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,040
Speaker 1: game series, right like. And I think perhaps the most

658
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,720
Speaker 1: lopsided matchup in the first round is probably Suns Clippers.

659
00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:33,520
Speaker 1: And the Clippers are fine, They're good, they're not. I

660
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,440
Speaker 1: mean again, I'm gonna pick the Suns to win that series,

661
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,640
Speaker 1: but that's not gonna be They're not gonna blow out

662
00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,880
Speaker 1: the Clippers every single game, right like, It's gonna be close.

663
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 1: And the same goes for the Eastern Conference assign from

664
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:46,080
Speaker 1: maybe Brooklyn, Philly and whoever the Bucks get in the

665
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,480
Speaker 1: first round. So the reality is and it's just gonna

666
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,560
Speaker 1: get closer as you go into deeper rounds of the playoffs.

667
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:54,080
Speaker 1: So these series are very closely and hotly contested, right,

668
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 1: And so if the games are close, and generally speaking

669
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,520
Speaker 1: playoff games, they're very physical. The ref swallow the whistle,

670
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:06,440
Speaker 1: the intensity rampstop is. Everybody's playing so damn hard that

671
00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:12,320
Speaker 1: the game naturally devolves down into a ultrophysical rock fight.

672
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,920
Speaker 1: They just get super sloppy, super ugly, and it just

673
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,920
Speaker 1: becomes a game about grinding out possessions. And that's where

674
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,240
Speaker 1: superstars bring the biggest advantage in the game of basketball.

675
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:28,280
Speaker 1: The difference between a superstar and a role player most

676
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,760
Speaker 1: is most apparent in those specific situations. Because here's the thing.

677
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,440
Speaker 1: When it comes to advantage situations like closing out, like

678
00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:38,400
Speaker 1: there are a lot of guys in the league, there

679
00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:39,600
Speaker 1: are a lot of guys that aren't even in the

680
00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:41,880
Speaker 1: league that can knock down an open shot or attack

681
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:46,520
Speaker 1: a closeout right like on the peripheries of basketball. Teams

682
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:48,600
Speaker 1: with those guys, it's more about you've got to find

683
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:52,560
Speaker 1: advantages for them. But when things get really tight, like

684
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 1: those guys aren't going to create buckets off the bounce

685
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,160
Speaker 1: at a high rate. Like the Warriors aren't worried about

686
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:02,960
Speaker 1: like Keegan Murray in a set defense situation like breaking

687
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,400
Speaker 1: you down off the dribble. They're worried about having to

688
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,000
Speaker 1: help off of him in all of the damage that

689
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,759
Speaker 1: he can do if he's wide open, right. So it's

690
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:16,000
Speaker 1: really about in these tightly contested, slow down, physical, ugly

691
00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,080
Speaker 1: half court situations on both ends of the floor, who

692
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:23,919
Speaker 1: can grind out plays on both ends. That's where superstars

693
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,799
Speaker 1: come in. For example, if it's Game five of this

694
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,800
Speaker 1: series and it's two to two, and it's the fourth

695
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,160
Speaker 1: quarter and it's seventy eight to seventy eight, it's gonna

696
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,760
Speaker 1: be an ugly fourth And having a guy like Steph

697
00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,919
Speaker 1: who can make the most out of ugly situations better

698
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,080
Speaker 1: than just about anybody in the league, that's a real advantage.

699
00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:47,799
Speaker 1: That is why the best player in basketball has a

700
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,560
Speaker 1: bigger impact than most team sports, especially when we get

701
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,919
Speaker 1: to the NBA playoffs. And that's why I've used Steph

702
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:55,680
Speaker 1: Curry being the best player in the series as a

703
00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,640
Speaker 1: massive advantage for the Warriors. Now, second major, I'll be

704
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,560
Speaker 1: keeping an eye on how will the Warriors guard the

705
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:09,200
Speaker 1: Fox Sabonis dribble, handoffs and pick and rolls. Now last

706
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,040
Speaker 1: game when everyone was actually playing, and again we have

707
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,759
Speaker 1: to go way back to November for this, but they

708
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,640
Speaker 1: actually started with Draymond Green on Darreon Fox and Kevon

709
00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,680
Speaker 1: Looney on Demonus Sabonus. It gave them the ability to

710
00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,880
Speaker 1: switch if they needed to, and they feel comfortable with

711
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:27,240
Speaker 1: a guy like Draymond Green guarding out on the perimeter.

712
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:31,120
Speaker 1: And obviously ideally you don't want to put Kevon Looney

713
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,480
Speaker 1: out on the perimeter and to switch against Aron Fox.

714
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 1: But they actually had some success there. Darreon Fox was

715
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:39,280
Speaker 1: thrown off by that specific matchup, and in many cases

716
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:41,080
Speaker 1: he was just passing the ball around looking for one

717
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 1: of his teammates to create an advantage because he didn't

718
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:45,480
Speaker 1: really know what to do with it. I'm really curious

719
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:46,880
Speaker 1: to see how long they're going to be able to

720
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:48,600
Speaker 1: do that, because I think one of the biggest things

721
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:51,720
Speaker 1: that the Kings could be capable of doing is playing

722
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,759
Speaker 1: Kevon Looney off the floor in some of their best lineups.

723
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,960
Speaker 1: In that case, they're going to have to find a

724
00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:01,279
Speaker 1: guard or a wing that is capable of guarding deer

725
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,160
Speaker 1: and Fox are at least doing a decent job there.

726
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:07,239
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins, I don't know will he be ready. Probably not.

727
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,239
Speaker 1: I don't think he's athletically ready for that matchup, and

728
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,680
Speaker 1: the last time they played back in November, they used

729
00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:15,279
Speaker 1: him primarily to guard Harrison Barnes. But he is an

730
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 1: option that you could see if he's feeling good physically.

731
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 1: As the series progresses, he has a little bit more

732
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,080
Speaker 1: switchability to battle with Sabonis as well. You feel comfortable

733
00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:27,160
Speaker 1: switching Draymond out, so that that would be an interesting

734
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,319
Speaker 1: one to look at. The big guy I'm looking at those,

735
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,239
Speaker 1: Gary Payton. I think he might actually be the key

736
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:34,920
Speaker 1: to this series for Golden State. I expect him to

737
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,600
Speaker 1: play big minutes and I expect him to pick up

738
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,640
Speaker 1: Deer and Fox the second he crossed the staff court,

739
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:42,080
Speaker 1: apply a bunch of ball pressure and to make him

740
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:45,759
Speaker 1: feel uncomfortable in every phase of the game. I use

741
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,040
Speaker 1: this as an example after that Thunder game a couple

742
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,560
Speaker 1: weeks ago. But Gary Payton is such an asset to

743
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:53,640
Speaker 1: be able to deploy him on the other team's best

744
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 1: guard because he's so good at making them feel uncomfortable.

745
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,200
Speaker 1: He is incredibly big, and strong for his high at

746
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:02,319
Speaker 1: six foot three with the low center of gravity, so

747
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,239
Speaker 1: it's really difficult to knock him off the spots. You

748
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,200
Speaker 1: have to cleanly beat Gary Payton off the dribble. If

749
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:10,759
Speaker 1: you barely beat Gary Payton off the dribble just through

750
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:14,200
Speaker 1: physicality is special, and especially in a playoff environment, he's

751
00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:16,319
Speaker 1: going to be able to corral you just by using

752
00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,960
Speaker 1: his hands and his strength to get himself back in

753
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,600
Speaker 1: front of you. He had a very very successful fourth

754
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,320
Speaker 1: quarter against Shay Guild just Alexander in that game against

755
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:26,839
Speaker 1: the Thunder a few weeks ago. It is a big

756
00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,560
Speaker 1: part of how the Warriors won that particular game. That

757
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,719
Speaker 1: is a huge matchup advantage for Golden State to have

758
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,480
Speaker 1: that in their back pockets. See, because here's the thing,

759
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 1: especially in clutch situations, it's going to be vitally important

760
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:42,960
Speaker 1: for the Warriors to find a way to defend that

761
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,920
Speaker 1: action two on two. And here's why that matters. If

762
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:49,200
Speaker 1: you have to bring a third guy over, you are

763
00:37:49,239 --> 00:37:53,520
Speaker 1: now creating closeout situations or advantage situations for Keegan Murray

764
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:57,840
Speaker 1: and Kevin Herder and Harrison Barnes, and all three of

765
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,120
Speaker 1: those guys are up over one point one points per

766
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,680
Speaker 1: spot up possession. They are all three amazing spot up players.

767
00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:08,280
Speaker 1: They you know, specifically, Harrison Barnes is a good closeout attacker.

768
00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:11,320
Speaker 1: Keegan Murray lights out from three. You know, Kevin Herder

769
00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,200
Speaker 1: lights out from three and can do some stuff off

770
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:17,399
Speaker 1: the bounce as well. You put yourself in a very

771
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:20,719
Speaker 1: precarious position if you have to regularly help off of

772
00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:23,719
Speaker 1: those guys to contain the Sabonus Fox pick and roll.

773
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,440
Speaker 1: So if you can force yourself or find a way

774
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:29,680
Speaker 1: to have some success defending that action two on two,

775
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:33,319
Speaker 1: then you prevent those advantage situations for the off ball

776
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:35,680
Speaker 1: players for the Kings, which will go a long way

777
00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 1: towards stagnating that King's offense, because not those guys aren't great,

778
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:44,000
Speaker 1: like we talked about earlier, at attacking a set elite defender,

779
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:46,799
Speaker 1: and so defending that action two on two is going

780
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:51,200
Speaker 1: to be vitally important. I believe that their best bet

781
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:53,560
Speaker 1: is going to be Gary Payton on ball, and I

782
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:56,200
Speaker 1: think in a clutch situations last seven minutes of the

783
00:38:56,200 --> 00:39:00,200
Speaker 1: fourth quarter or so, you're gonna see Stephen Clay with

784
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:05,120
Speaker 1: Draymond and Gary Payton and either Jordan Pool or Dante DiVincenzo,

785
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,360
Speaker 1: depending on what the lineup kind of dictates. But I

786
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,200
Speaker 1: think you're gonna see a lot of Gary Payton in

787
00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:12,279
Speaker 1: clutch situations in this series. And I also believe they're

788
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:15,160
Speaker 1: going to run a drop coverage. I think that, you know, again,

789
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,960
Speaker 1: traditional drop coverage works just fine as long as your

790
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,640
Speaker 1: guard can fight over the top of the screen well

791
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:25,920
Speaker 1: enough to continue to corral the guard into the rim. Protector.

792
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:29,040
Speaker 1: Draymond Green is amazing at playing that middle ground, in

793
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,239
Speaker 1: bating you into thinking the drop off passes open and

794
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:34,279
Speaker 1: sticking that arm out and grabbing it, or bating you

795
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,279
Speaker 1: into thinking that you've got to lay up, but then

796
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,040
Speaker 1: at the last second recovering and defending you at the rim.

797
00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,759
Speaker 1: It's when there is separation on that ball screen where

798
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,279
Speaker 1: Darren Fox can get to that little fifteen foot jump

799
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:47,080
Speaker 1: shot that he makes so well and that little floater

800
00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,400
Speaker 1: that he makes so well. That's where you end up

801
00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:51,359
Speaker 1: in trouble. And so I think it's gonna come down

802
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:55,000
Speaker 1: to a drop coverage with Gary Payton and Draymond Green,

803
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:57,920
Speaker 1: and Gary Payton needing to do his job fighting over

804
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,400
Speaker 1: the top of the screen and applying that back rusher

805
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,920
Speaker 1: to continue to funnel Dear and Fox into Draymond at

806
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,360
Speaker 1: the rim. If they can do that, they can stay

807
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:08,439
Speaker 1: home off the ball, and that will go a long

808
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,640
Speaker 1: way in clutch situations to allowing the Warriors to get

809
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,840
Speaker 1: enough stops to win the series. Because you know the

810
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,319
Speaker 1: problem with switching, and again, I'm a big believer in

811
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,080
Speaker 1: switching in general, but you've got to have the right

812
00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:25,440
Speaker 1: type of personnel to do so. And the Warriors are

813
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:28,879
Speaker 1: not a big team. That's just a fact. And so

814
00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:31,360
Speaker 1: Demanus Sabonis being one of the best players in the

815
00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 1: league at at not only beating switches down low for quick,

816
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:39,440
Speaker 1: easy hook shots, he can even do it against big guy.

817
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,319
Speaker 1: I don't know many players in the league that are

818
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:43,880
Speaker 1: as gifted at getting his little short hook shot or

819
00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:46,520
Speaker 1: his little short, little bank shot off the glass off

820
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:50,640
Speaker 1: regardless of defender other than Sabonis. He's just a master

821
00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:52,960
Speaker 1: at hitting you with that shoulder at the right time

822
00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,120
Speaker 1: to knock you off balance. You just don't quite get

823
00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:58,960
Speaker 1: his enough lift so that he just barely gets enough

824
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,040
Speaker 1: separation to get that off, and he's just gonna make

825
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:03,520
Speaker 1: it every single time. And then he's excellent at passing

826
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:05,920
Speaker 1: out of double teams. I've seen some teams have success,

827
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,000
Speaker 1: like the Dallas Mavericks and their win against the Kings

828
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:11,880
Speaker 1: the other day. They did a really nice job doubling

829
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:14,720
Speaker 1: Sabonis and rotating out of it. But it's really difficult

830
00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:16,439
Speaker 1: to do, and Sabonis has been one of the best

831
00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,279
Speaker 1: players in the league at that. Specifically this year, he

832
00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:22,600
Speaker 1: is either drawn a second defender or a hard double

833
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:25,200
Speaker 1: team on two hundred and ninety six post ups this year,

834
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:28,279
Speaker 1: leading to three hundred and ten points. He's actually been

835
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,600
Speaker 1: the fourth best post passer in the league to log

836
00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:34,160
Speaker 1: at least one hundred passing possessions out of the post,

837
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,680
Speaker 1: behind Jannis Luca and actually a little surprise here, Julius

838
00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:42,040
Speaker 1: Randall was one of the top three post passers in

839
00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,120
Speaker 1: the league this year. So again, you want to try

840
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:47,359
Speaker 1: to avoid that double team situation as much as possible. Again,

841
00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:49,919
Speaker 1: they may end up having to, in which case it'll

842
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:51,839
Speaker 1: be it'll be down to Steve Kur to line up

843
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,080
Speaker 1: the defensive rotations right and have the right personnel out

844
00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:57,000
Speaker 1: there to be able to rotate out of it. But

845
00:41:57,120 --> 00:41:59,000
Speaker 1: ideally you need to find a way to defend that

846
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:03,560
Speaker 1: action on too. The next major matchup I'm gonna be

847
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:07,400
Speaker 1: keeping an eye on can the Kings ever get a

848
00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:11,600
Speaker 1: stop against this Warrior's offense when they need to. The

849
00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:13,560
Speaker 1: Kings have been one of the worst defenses I've ever

850
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:16,640
Speaker 1: seen from a good team this year. It's pretty simple.

851
00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:18,800
Speaker 1: They're awful in the front court, like Harrison Barnes and

852
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:21,200
Speaker 1: Demonisi Bonus are not cleaning up messes on the back

853
00:42:21,239 --> 00:42:24,160
Speaker 1: line and historically throughout NBA history, and this is why

854
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:27,279
Speaker 1: I've never considered the Kings of championship contender. You have

855
00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:29,200
Speaker 1: to have an elite defensive front court to win an

856
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,799
Speaker 1: NBA title, end of story, and the Kings just don't.

857
00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,520
Speaker 1: But then on top of that, their backcourt presents some

858
00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:41,160
Speaker 1: similar problems. Darren Fox is a solid point of attack defender,

859
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:44,200
Speaker 1: but Keegan Murray and Kevin Hurder are pretty bad. Harrison

860
00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:46,480
Speaker 1: Barnes is you know, when he gets switched out into

861
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:50,080
Speaker 1: perimeter players is only okay. And they have better defensive

862
00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:53,520
Speaker 1: options guys like Terrence Davis, Guys like Davion Mitchell. Kessler.

863
00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:55,719
Speaker 1: Edwards has been a good defensive option for them here

864
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:57,759
Speaker 1: in the second half of the season, but they aren't

865
00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:00,160
Speaker 1: in the same stratosphere offensively as Kevin Hurt or in

866
00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:03,160
Speaker 1: Keegan Murray, right. So that's that tradeoff there is if

867
00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:06,640
Speaker 1: they go to their better point of attack defenders, they

868
00:43:06,719 --> 00:43:09,200
Speaker 1: lose a lot of their offensive skill in ball handling

869
00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:10,960
Speaker 1: and shooting. And when they go with all their ball

870
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:13,400
Speaker 1: handling and shooting, they lose all that point of attack defense.

871
00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:16,040
Speaker 1: I actually think one of the most interesting, you know,

872
00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:18,200
Speaker 1: chess match pieces of this series is going to be

873
00:43:18,239 --> 00:43:21,600
Speaker 1: Mike Brown trying to figure out that balance of defensive

874
00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:24,400
Speaker 1: talent and offensive talent on the perimeter to give them

875
00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:27,160
Speaker 1: a better chance of getting stops. But what's concerning what

876
00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:29,880
Speaker 1: the Kings is there's not even there's not even encouraging

877
00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:33,280
Speaker 1: stretch of defense. This year, they're twenty fourth and defensive

878
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:35,319
Speaker 1: writing for the season, and they were never good. They

879
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:38,640
Speaker 1: were twenty first in October twenty second, November fourteenth, in

880
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:42,040
Speaker 1: December sixteenth, in January twenty seventh, in February twenty second,

881
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:45,759
Speaker 1: in March twenty second, in April. So even if we're

882
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,400
Speaker 1: trying to be optimistic about a ceiling here, there's nothing

883
00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:50,640
Speaker 1: I can't go like, hey, remember that time for ten

884
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:54,000
Speaker 1: straight games when they locked everyone up. No, that doesn't exist,

885
00:43:55,840 --> 00:44:00,480
Speaker 1: and they've been especially bad against the Warriors when Curry

886
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:02,040
Speaker 1: is on the floor. Against the Kings this year, the

887
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:04,560
Speaker 1: Warriors are scoring one hundred and twenty four points per

888
00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:07,520
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions. To give you an idea, the Kings

889
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:09,960
Speaker 1: are twenty fourth in the league in defense, allowing one

890
00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:13,560
Speaker 1: hundred and sixteen points per one hundred possessions. Their defense

891
00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:19,160
Speaker 1: gets eight points worse against the Warriors. Now, again, it

892
00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:21,360
Speaker 1: was back in November, and that's probably what the Kings

893
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:24,440
Speaker 1: are telling themselves in the locker room. But have the

894
00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:29,200
Speaker 1: King's gotten better defensively since November. No, They've been bottom

895
00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:32,279
Speaker 1: ten in the league the last three months. It's not

896
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:38,080
Speaker 1: even like they're trending in the right direction. Unfilmed, the

897
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:40,440
Speaker 1: Kings were blitzing every step screen, but they weren't just

898
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:42,839
Speaker 1: doing that like they do. They were doing these kind

899
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:45,759
Speaker 1: of half hearted blitzes on like random things, like a

900
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:50,640
Speaker 1: like an Andrew Wiggins dribble handoff. There's a bucket in

901
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,200
Speaker 1: the first quarter of their game back in November where

902
00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,439
Speaker 1: a little handoff of Wiggins and Herder and Fox both

903
00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:59,520
Speaker 1: like double team him for no reason, and it's like

904
00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:01,759
Speaker 1: a drow off to Looney and a kick out to

905
00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:03,759
Speaker 1: the other corner for like a wide open three for

906
00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:09,800
Speaker 1: Clay Thompson. They're just they do these soft blitzes. And again,

907
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:13,040
Speaker 1: like when you blitz, you have to blitz in such

908
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:17,319
Speaker 1: an aggressive way that it forces a looping pass, which

909
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:19,960
Speaker 1: buys you an opportunity to rotate on the back end.

910
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:24,280
Speaker 1: If you sloppy blitz, if you slow and passively blitz,

911
00:45:24,719 --> 00:45:27,920
Speaker 1: they're gonna rip you to shreds because it's gonna be

912
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:30,880
Speaker 1: an easy pass to the short rollman in an easy

913
00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:34,319
Speaker 1: pass on the kickout to the wide open shooter. The

914
00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:37,640
Speaker 1: Warriors are way too good at navigating those four on

915
00:45:37,719 --> 00:45:41,440
Speaker 1: three situations to buy them a massive advantage. You have

916
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:45,600
Speaker 1: to be sharper from a game plan standpoint, I think

917
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:48,240
Speaker 1: Mike Brown will probably go with a similar type of strategy.

918
00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:50,359
Speaker 1: They just need to be way sharper. And again, it's

919
00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:53,239
Speaker 1: gonna come down to it's gonna come down to that

920
00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:55,799
Speaker 1: balance for Mike Brown, because they might have to do

921
00:45:55,880 --> 00:46:00,160
Speaker 1: something like squeeze a guy like Keegan Murray at the

922
00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:03,560
Speaker 1: rotation or Kevin Hurder out of the rotation, not entirely,

923
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,680
Speaker 1: but like a quick pull, and he might have to

924
00:46:06,719 --> 00:46:08,960
Speaker 1: sacrifice some of that ball handling and shooting and go

925
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:11,280
Speaker 1: with like, all right, we're gonna go with Harrison Barnes

926
00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:15,279
Speaker 1: and we're gonna go with Kessler Edwards and Deer and

927
00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:18,880
Speaker 1: Fox because if Kessler, Edwards and Deer and Fox really

928
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:22,560
Speaker 1: locking on the perimeter, then maybe just maybe you have

929
00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:26,000
Speaker 1: a chance to get enough stops. But it's but it's

930
00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:29,279
Speaker 1: not easy to do. And the Golden State offense is

931
00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:33,720
Speaker 1: an absolute blender. They typically have at least three threats

932
00:46:33,719 --> 00:46:35,439
Speaker 1: on the floor at any given time, whether that's Steph

933
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:38,200
Speaker 1: Clay and Dante de Vincenzo or Steph Clay and Jordan Pool.

934
00:46:39,239 --> 00:46:41,600
Speaker 1: They've got threats all over the floor. If Andrew Wiggins

935
00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:43,359
Speaker 1: is healthy, he's a threat as well. He averaged almost

936
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:45,880
Speaker 1: twenty points a game and last year's postseason. And then

937
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:48,840
Speaker 1: the idea they so the Warriors actually run more sets.

938
00:46:48,960 --> 00:46:50,880
Speaker 1: And again when I when I think of a set,

939
00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:52,440
Speaker 1: I don't it's not an action, it's a set. So

940
00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:55,840
Speaker 1: for instance, a lot of teams run actions, and action

941
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:58,440
Speaker 1: is like I dribble up the floor and I do

942
00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:01,040
Speaker 1: a dribble handoff and then guy kind of tries to

943
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:03,399
Speaker 1: get downhill and make a play. Technically, that's an action

944
00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:06,640
Speaker 1: it's a two man action, a dribble handoff or high

945
00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:10,360
Speaker 1: pick and rolls technically an action even like backside action.

946
00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:12,040
Speaker 1: So if like some guy's running a high pick and

947
00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:14,560
Speaker 1: roll while the other two shooters are screening for each other,

948
00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 1: those are two actions. A set is a legitimately designed

949
00:47:18,719 --> 00:47:23,280
Speaker 1: five person action, right. The Warriors run more of those

950
00:47:23,400 --> 00:47:27,560
Speaker 1: than anybody in the league, and it's not close. And

951
00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:32,080
Speaker 1: they complicate those actions with multiple threats in any given possession.

952
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:36,120
Speaker 1: So for instance, they're split cut, they're split cut sets

953
00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:39,759
Speaker 1: that they run. It'll be you have to defend this

954
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,879
Speaker 1: guy coming off of that. You know, like the guy

955
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,640
Speaker 1: make the post entry and he'll go screen away, and

956
00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:47,400
Speaker 1: you have to watch out for the guy he's screening for.

957
00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:49,600
Speaker 1: Is he's coming back towards the post. But at the

958
00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:51,799
Speaker 1: same time, if you overhelp that dude slip into the rim,

959
00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:55,400
Speaker 1: or if you ignore the guy with the basketball, Draymond

960
00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:57,720
Speaker 1: Green might fake your dribble handoff and go to the basket,

961
00:47:57,840 --> 00:48:01,960
Speaker 1: there's three threats on that play. They run this five

962
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:04,680
Speaker 1: outset all the time these days, where like Steph Curry

963
00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:07,000
Speaker 1: will run a high ball screen with Draymond Green as

964
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:09,880
Speaker 1: Clay Thompson is relocating. It's kind of like a variation

965
00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:11,480
Speaker 1: in the Spain pick and roll where Clay will come

966
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:13,400
Speaker 1: off of Draymond to the other side of the wing

967
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:16,200
Speaker 1: and they have the entire side cleared for him to attack.

968
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:19,000
Speaker 1: So even if you chase Clay over the top of

969
00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:21,960
Speaker 1: the screen and get to him before he can shoot,

970
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:26,480
Speaker 1: he's ripping through to the baseline and there's nobody home. Yea.

971
00:48:27,120 --> 00:48:30,400
Speaker 1: They have an incredibly sophisticated offense, and you have to

972
00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:34,560
Speaker 1: be incredibly sharp. You have to communicate, you have to

973
00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:37,120
Speaker 1: play hard, you have to rotate, you have to apply

974
00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:40,040
Speaker 1: ball pressure so their passing gets a little disrupted. There's

975
00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:42,080
Speaker 1: so many things you have to do well to defend

976
00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:46,759
Speaker 1: the Warriors. It's a blender and the King's I'm just

977
00:48:46,800 --> 00:48:49,279
Speaker 1: not sure they're up for it. It's a matchup that

978
00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:52,840
Speaker 1: I do not see going the King's way. Last, but

979
00:48:52,920 --> 00:48:58,040
Speaker 1: not least, can the Warriors keep the Kings out of transition?

980
00:49:00,080 --> 00:49:03,719
Speaker 1: Couple of specific stats, only the Houston Rockets turned the

981
00:49:03,719 --> 00:49:07,680
Speaker 1: ball over more than the Golden State Warriors. Now, to

982
00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:10,000
Speaker 1: be clear, a lot of people have viewed his recklessness,

983
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:12,640
Speaker 1: and don't get me wrong, the Warriors can be reckless

984
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:14,560
Speaker 1: from time to time, but to me, it more has

985
00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:17,160
Speaker 1: to do with passing. So the vast majority of teams

986
00:49:17,239 --> 00:49:21,040
Speaker 1: run a dribble, a dribble attack offense. So it's some

987
00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:23,799
Speaker 1: kind of you know, get a guy coming off of

988
00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:26,440
Speaker 1: some type of screen, whether it's a dribble handoff or

989
00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:29,239
Speaker 1: an off ball wide pinned down or a pick and roll,

990
00:49:29,560 --> 00:49:32,200
Speaker 1: and that guy is just trying to attack and he's

991
00:49:32,239 --> 00:49:35,080
Speaker 1: making reads. So there might be a handful of possession

992
00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:37,600
Speaker 1: passes on every possession, but for them, they have a

993
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:40,360
Speaker 1: lot of possessions. These high pick and roll teams, especially

994
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:42,719
Speaker 1: or if there's not a single pass, you know, you know,

995
00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:45,040
Speaker 1: Darius Garland will dribble the ball off the floor and

996
00:49:45,239 --> 00:49:47,160
Speaker 1: call for a ball screen, and if the dude goes

997
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:48,759
Speaker 1: under the screen, or if he can get to the

998
00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:51,440
Speaker 1: fifteen footmark, he's taking a fifteen foot jump shot, there

999
00:49:51,520 --> 00:49:54,239
Speaker 1: might not be a single pass on that possession. The

1000
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:57,200
Speaker 1: Warriors passed the ball more than any team in the league.

1001
00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:00,960
Speaker 1: They accomplish less off the dribble and more with the

1002
00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:03,399
Speaker 1: past than any team in the league. And so by

1003
00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:07,040
Speaker 1: virtue of all those passes, there's just more opportunity for turnovers,

1004
00:50:07,480 --> 00:50:11,879
Speaker 1: and they do turn the ball over a lot. Here's

1005
00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:16,879
Speaker 1: the problem. The Kings play in transition on more than

1006
00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:19,560
Speaker 1: twenty percent of their possessions, which is the most in

1007
00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:24,799
Speaker 1: the entire league. They convert steals into points at a

1008
00:50:24,880 --> 00:50:28,400
Speaker 1: rate of one point four two points per possession, which

1009
00:50:28,440 --> 00:50:32,840
Speaker 1: is very, very good. So one of the biggest ways

1010
00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:36,520
Speaker 1: that Golden State can breathe life into the Kings here

1011
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:39,640
Speaker 1: or give them a chance to win this series is

1012
00:50:39,680 --> 00:50:42,400
Speaker 1: by not taking care of the basketball. And again, there's

1013
00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:45,399
Speaker 1: gonna be turnovers. They throw a million passes, but it's

1014
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:48,360
Speaker 1: the difference between averaging fifteen turnovers a game for the

1015
00:50:48,400 --> 00:50:51,480
Speaker 1: series or averaging nineteen turnovers a game for the series

1016
00:50:51,760 --> 00:50:53,680
Speaker 1: could be the difference between whether or not you win

1017
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:58,080
Speaker 1: or lose this King's team. I think again, we talked

1018
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:00,399
Speaker 1: about this earlier with the two on two action. I

1019
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:03,040
Speaker 1: believe the Warriors are capable of getting stops in the

1020
00:51:03,080 --> 00:51:05,080
Speaker 1: half court of this series in this series in a

1021
00:51:05,120 --> 00:51:08,120
Speaker 1: way that the Kings cannot. But if you allow them

1022
00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:11,800
Speaker 1: to get out in transition a ton, it will mitigate

1023
00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:14,279
Speaker 1: that advantage and put this series into much more of

1024
00:51:14,280 --> 00:51:17,600
Speaker 1: a toss up type of territory. So it's vitally important

1025
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:20,040
Speaker 1: for Golden State to take care of the basketball in

1026
00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:24,680
Speaker 1: this series. I'm picking the Warriors in six. I was

1027
00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:26,880
Speaker 1: tempted to pick them in five, but I think the

1028
00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:30,880
Speaker 1: Wiggins piece and some of the transition elements and just

1029
00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:33,000
Speaker 1: kind of getting up to speed to the postseason level

1030
00:51:33,040 --> 00:51:35,239
Speaker 1: of play will be a little bit of a disadvantage

1031
00:51:35,239 --> 00:51:37,040
Speaker 1: for Golden State early in the series. I wouldn't be

1032
00:51:37,040 --> 00:51:39,719
Speaker 1: surprised if they dropped Game one. I expect them to

1033
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:42,560
Speaker 1: steal one of the first two in Sacramento and then

1034
00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:45,560
Speaker 1: win games three and four, lose Game five, and then

1035
00:51:45,560 --> 00:51:47,799
Speaker 1: win Game six. That's my best guess as of right now.

1036
00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:50,680
Speaker 1: And again I did the same ran yesterday for Cavs Nicks.

1037
00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:54,719
Speaker 1: But predictions are just predictions. They're just my best guesses

1038
00:51:54,719 --> 00:51:56,640
Speaker 1: based on what I see on film. If I was,

1039
00:51:57,280 --> 00:52:00,400
Speaker 1: if any of us were capable of predicting every playoffs series,

1040
00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:04,720
Speaker 1: we'd all be in Vegas making money gambling on these things.

1041
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:09,000
Speaker 1: There's eight first round series. I'm gonna pick them. I'm

1042
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:10,719
Speaker 1: not gonna get all of them right, as a matter

1043
00:52:10,719 --> 00:52:13,359
Speaker 1: of fact. If I do, it'll be the lucky And

1044
00:52:13,440 --> 00:52:15,520
Speaker 1: my guess is you guys with your predictions will have

1045
00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:18,840
Speaker 1: similar luck. Right. So again, I'm just doing my best

1046
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:22,360
Speaker 1: to make these guesses, these predictions, but I'm not, you know,

1047
00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:25,120
Speaker 1: not no Stradomius here. I can't. I can't you know,

1048
00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:27,080
Speaker 1: see the future. So, and that's the beauty of the

1049
00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:29,560
Speaker 1: game of basketball. You gotta play the games. The Warriors

1050
00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:32,359
Speaker 1: are a significant favorite. I believe they're going to win,

1051
00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:35,920
Speaker 1: they have the best player, they have all these advantages.

1052
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:40,160
Speaker 1: But you gotta go play the games, and the games

1053
00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:42,560
Speaker 1: could go either way. And that's the beauty of the

1054
00:52:42,560 --> 00:52:48,880
Speaker 1: game of basketball. I'm picking I'm picking the Warriors because

1055
00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:52,120
Speaker 1: I think they'll score easily against the Kings. I think

1056
00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:53,920
Speaker 1: they have the personnel to get enough stops in the

1057
00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:56,080
Speaker 1: half court against the Kings, and I think they have

1058
00:52:56,160 --> 00:52:58,960
Speaker 1: the best player in the series by a mile. Now,

1059
00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:00,880
Speaker 1: similar to what I did with has Nicks yesterday, I

1060
00:53:00,880 --> 00:53:02,839
Speaker 1: want to give the case for how the Kings can win.

1061
00:53:04,239 --> 00:53:06,239
Speaker 1: If the Kings want to win the series, they need

1062
00:53:06,280 --> 00:53:08,600
Speaker 1: to run as much as possible to generate as many

1063
00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:12,160
Speaker 1: easy points in transition as possible. Another huge advantage of

1064
00:53:12,239 --> 00:53:15,520
Speaker 1: running out in transition is generating cross matches. So, for instance,

1065
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:18,719
Speaker 1: if you're having a ton of success by stopping deer

1066
00:53:18,800 --> 00:53:21,000
Speaker 1: and Fox and Sabonis with Gary Peyton and Draymond Green.

1067
00:53:21,360 --> 00:53:23,279
Speaker 1: If you push the ball in transition, you might get

1068
00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:26,280
Speaker 1: more possessions where Clay Thompson is on Deer and Fox,

1069
00:53:26,360 --> 00:53:28,879
Speaker 1: or where Steph currys on Deer and Fox, or where

1070
00:53:28,920 --> 00:53:32,640
Speaker 1: somebody else is demonis Sabonis because Draymond didn't get down

1071
00:53:32,640 --> 00:53:36,120
Speaker 1: the floor in time. Like pushing in transition generates cross matches,

1072
00:53:36,680 --> 00:53:38,160
Speaker 1: and then you have so much shooting on the floor

1073
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,080
Speaker 1: that they can't scram out of those gives you an

1074
00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:44,480
Speaker 1: opportunity to run those actions with better with better advantages. Right,

1075
00:53:44,760 --> 00:53:49,439
Speaker 1: So pushing and transition is a big one. Secondly, Mike

1076
00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:51,920
Speaker 1: Brown has to find a good balance of offensive and

1077
00:53:51,960 --> 00:53:54,560
Speaker 1: defensive talent. Guy, my guess is that they'll end up

1078
00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:58,080
Speaker 1: going with somebody like Terrence Davis or Keslarwards or even

1079
00:53:58,160 --> 00:54:01,760
Speaker 1: Davion Mitchell over one of Keegan Murray or Kevin Herder

1080
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:04,439
Speaker 1: as the series progresses, when he realizes that he needs

1081
00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:07,920
Speaker 1: more defensive talent on the floor, but finding that balance

1082
00:54:08,239 --> 00:54:11,160
Speaker 1: without sacrificing too much offensively, but get it giving your

1083
00:54:11,200 --> 00:54:13,640
Speaker 1: defensive fighting chance, that's what can give you a chance

1084
00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:16,399
Speaker 1: to stay in these games. And then when you stay

1085
00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:19,759
Speaker 1: in the games. You need Deer and Fox to somehow

1086
00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:23,920
Speaker 1: at least play near Steph Curry's level. Doesn't have to

1087
00:54:23,960 --> 00:54:28,000
Speaker 1: outplay him necessarily, but he needs to get near Steph

1088
00:54:28,080 --> 00:54:30,400
Speaker 1: Curry's level for the Kings to have any chance to

1089
00:54:30,440 --> 00:54:34,120
Speaker 1: win the series. All right, guys, that is all I

1090
00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:37,279
Speaker 1: have for right now. We're gonna be coming back later

1091
00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:39,959
Speaker 1: tonight after the final buzzer of Lakers Wolves to break

1092
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:42,960
Speaker 1: down the two seven eight games. Wednesday, I should have

1093
00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:48,120
Speaker 1: at least two more series previews for you guys. Thursday,

1094
00:54:48,160 --> 00:54:52,320
Speaker 1: we're doing a kind of like a Bigger Picture playoff

1095
00:54:52,360 --> 00:54:54,960
Speaker 1: preview with Carson, and then we'll have a couple more

1096
00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:57,480
Speaker 1: season previews on Friday, and then we'll get into the

1097
00:54:57,520 --> 00:55:00,160
Speaker 1: grind on Saturday. As always, I appreciate you guys. I'll

1098
00:55:00,160 --> 00:55:23,920
Speaker 1: see you later tonight. The volume