Speaker 1: The Volume.
Speaker 2: Hi everybody, and welcome to the Monday morning podcast Hoops Tonight.
Speaker 2: Podcaster at the Volume Jason Timf and I will break
Speaker 2: down the Warriors game. What a sensational series that has
Speaker 2: been Draymond Green doesn't block that shot, Kings hit the
Speaker 2: final jumper. The dynasty is arguably over. I feel like
Speaker 2: I'm watching the younger version of the Warriors try to
Speaker 2: beat the Warriors. I picked Golden State in six. I
Speaker 2: do not know if they can beat this King's team
Speaker 2: in Sacramento. I'm not sure they I'm not sure they can.
Speaker 2: I'll say this that you know for years. You all
Speaker 2: know this is that you know the regular season, if
Speaker 2: you play hard, have a couple of decent scores, you
Speaker 2: in a lot of games in the NBA. But I've
Speaker 2: always been reticent to criticize coaches for rotations because rotations
Speaker 2: get disrupted due to injuries, due to matchups. When you
Speaker 2: watch this King's Warriors series, both of these coaches, you
Speaker 2: know they're going with a hot hand. They're pulling out
Speaker 2: all the stops. It won't show up in the box score.
Speaker 2: But Dante de Vincenzo for the Warriors has had spurts
Speaker 2: where He's been incredibly valuable. Looney isn't a big score,
Speaker 2: but his presence around the rim with Sabonis and tipping
Speaker 2: balls away from the basket or to Steph or Jordan
Speaker 2: Poole or Wiggins, you know, to get the break going.
Speaker 2: I've said this about football for years. I don't get
Speaker 2: caught up on play calling. You have no idea what
Speaker 2: a coach is seen and not seen on film the
Speaker 2: previous week, what works situationally, what are the tendencies So
Speaker 2: it's easy to sit back and watch a game. I
Speaker 2: can't believe that third and eight call. It could have
Speaker 2: worked the previous four weeks against that team, and they
Speaker 2: plug some holes up and it doesn't work that week
Speaker 2: or in that moment. I'm watching Steve Kerr and Mike Brown.
Speaker 2: I mean they are coaching every possession. I mean, Steve
Speaker 2: Kerr looks like a high school coach and a state
Speaker 2: final sudden death game. They are coaching every time down
Speaker 2: the floor. And some of this series is these teams
Speaker 2: are playing at such a rapid pace you just got
Speaker 2: to let players play. I mean, these teams had all
Speaker 2: sorts of turnovers. The Kings and Dubs had all sorts
Speaker 2: of turnovers. You can't coach your way out of some
Speaker 2: of those. These teams are so skilled, they're deep, and
Speaker 2: Darren Fox and Steph are quarterbacks on the field. You
Speaker 2: just got to let them make mistakes. So I don't
Speaker 2: get too caught up in substitution patterns. These series are
Speaker 2: you're going with what is working. I felt watching that
Speaker 2: Warriors Kings game. It was like I was watching four
Speaker 2: games in one. The energy shifted back and forth. The
Speaker 2: Kings had this game multiple times, had opportunities to seize
Speaker 2: control of the game, and had six seven to eight
Speaker 2: ugly poorly time turnovers or Sacramento wins this game. So
Speaker 2: the nuance of this series is it feels like an
Speaker 2: NBA championship. Now you know who knows what Denver is.
Speaker 2: They're not going to get tested much in Round one.
Speaker 2: But I've watched every single team in the West play
Speaker 2: all their playoff games. I feel like I'm watching the
Speaker 2: Western Conference finals with these two teams. I feel like
Speaker 2: I'm watching an old dynasty about to be replaced potentially
Speaker 2: by the Kings, a new dynasty in the West. It's
Speaker 2: just been a sensational first round series. I'm trying to
Speaker 2: think of something that matches it. It has been I
Speaker 2: think it's going to go seven games, and I'm not
Speaker 2: sure the Warriors can win on the road. But it's
Speaker 2: been about as good a first round series as I
Speaker 2: ever remember. Watching These games have been fantastic. This is
Speaker 2: one of my favorite weeks of the year, as all
Speaker 2: of you know if you've listened to me for years.
Speaker 2: I love the NFL draft, the architecture of it. I mean,
Speaker 2: the Jets were a great example last year where they
Speaker 2: nailed their first four picks. The Seahawks nailed their first five,
Speaker 2: and it literally set the future up. I mean, if
Speaker 2: they get Aaron Rodgers, the Jets will be able to
Speaker 2: play with anybody. Probably have to get a left tackle
Speaker 2: and another receiver and the Jets will be able to
Speaker 2: play with anybody. They got two good receivers, they have
Speaker 2: a pass rush. They just need to upgrade at tight end,
Speaker 2: left tackle, wide receiver. Joe Douglas will do that. In
Speaker 2: the draft. I mean, Seattle we thought was a dying franchise.
Speaker 2: They hit on two tackles, a star running back and
Speaker 2: edge rusher and two corners. Boom. You know, now they
Speaker 2: just need another edge rusher. They got to get a
Speaker 2: couple of defensive linemen, maybe one more receiver, and the
Speaker 2: sky is the limit. So you know, other drafts are different.
Speaker 2: Even a great college baseball player, he's not going to
Speaker 2: make an impact the following year in the Major League
Speaker 2: Baseball playoffs. As great as these NBA players are, Daron
Speaker 2: Fox now is just starting to like turn a franchise around.
Speaker 2: What is he in year five? It takes a long time.
Speaker 2: These guys come out at nineteen years old. NFL is
Speaker 2: different for a lot of reasons. Number one is guys
Speaker 2: come out at twenty three and twenty four years old.
Speaker 2: They're real men. They're physically ready to play. So if
Speaker 2: you hit on your first four or five picks, you
Speaker 2: know people lament the LA Rams. They have a second
Speaker 2: and two thirds. If they nail the right edge rusher,
Speaker 2: interior offensive lineman, and get a starbacker, another really high
Speaker 2: end receiver in the third round, if they can get
Speaker 2: three starters, they turn around the franchise. They got McVeigh,
Speaker 2: they have Stafford, they have Aaron Donald. You're getting grown ups,
Speaker 2: men physically and emotionally ready to play and start. So
Speaker 2: the Jets and the Seahawks last year are great examples.
Speaker 2: You nail your verse four or five draft picks. You
Speaker 2: can in that moment you bring in five new starters
Speaker 2: that you don't have to pay for four to five years.
Speaker 2: It changes shifts the paradigm of the entire franchise. I mean,
Speaker 2: look at how bad the Jets were, the mess Joe
Speaker 2: Douglas inherits, he even missed on a quarterback and a
Speaker 2: left tackle, two of the three most important positions in football.
Speaker 2: He missed on both. And if Aaron Rodgers signs and
Speaker 2: they hit on a left tackle and one other receiver,
Speaker 2: the Jets can play with anybody in this league, including
Speaker 2: the Chiefs. They can play with anybody in this league.
Speaker 2: So I love this week. I think the NFL is
Speaker 2: the League of hope more than any other league. I
Speaker 2: remember when Bill Parcells years ago took over the Miami
Speaker 2: Dolphins and they were one in fifteen. The next year
Speaker 2: they won eleven games, and I read an article Tony
Speaker 2: Sperano I think was Bill Parcell's choice as a coach,
Speaker 2: kind of a defensive guy. And I remember reading an
Speaker 2: article somebody wrote in the Miami Herald or a Fort
Speaker 2: Lauderdale paper about what Belichick really did was he took
Speaker 2: the middle of the roster to the end of it. It
Speaker 2: wasn't the top end of the roster. He made the
Speaker 2: locker room better, the weight room better. He went and
Speaker 2: got grinders and rotational players and backups and a handful
Speaker 2: of low level starters, and he changed the entire culture
Speaker 2: of the organization with like twenty new players, and they
Speaker 2: weren't stars. Most of them weren't stars. So no sport
Speaker 2: allows you to recreate your roster and your football identity.
Speaker 2: Like the NFL. It takes two to three free agent signings,
Speaker 2: four home runs in the draft, seven eight new players
Speaker 2: to start at energy, especially draft guys who are cheap,
Speaker 2: and you turn everything around. So I can't wait. Somebody
Speaker 2: is going to do a Jets or a Seahawks, and
Speaker 2: I can't wait to watch it. The NBA Playoffs are
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Speaker 1: Colin. How you doing man? What a game? Harrison Barnes
Speaker 1: with the shot of his life. He had a chance
Speaker 1: to erase all the pain and suffering from the twenty
Speaker 1: sixteen finals that he left it long.
Speaker 2: Well, they needed that Draymond block. They needed the twenty
Speaker 2: two from Jordan Poole. I feel like I'm watching the
Speaker 2: younger Warriors take on the old Warriors. They Stephen Dearin,
Speaker 2: get baskets, get great looks when they want, you have enforcers.
Speaker 2: I mean, they really needed Jordan Poole's game. Now can
Speaker 2: he do it on the road because he was so
Speaker 2: bad in the first two games at sack. But if
Speaker 2: they can get that kind of effort from Jordan and Pool,
Speaker 2: that Draymond block is the block of the year for
Speaker 2: the Warriors. So listen. I don't know if they're going
Speaker 2: to win this series because I don't know if they
Speaker 2: can win Sacramento. I really don't. But you talk about
Speaker 2: a win for the league. Oh what a great series.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. You know, it's funny. With Jordan Poole.
Speaker 1: I actually had a buddy text me a few days
Speaker 1: ago and he goes, Hey, like Austin Reeves, Danzel Russell,
Speaker 1: Desmond Bane, Jordan Poole, like rank them, And I can't
Speaker 1: remember exactly where I had him, but I had him
Speaker 1: somewhere in the middle. But when I responded to him,
Speaker 1: one of the things I said was like, I think
Speaker 1: the best individual skill out of any of those players,
Speaker 1: like the if you were ranking all their skill sets
Speaker 1: in individual areas, the highest number you'd see would be
Speaker 1: Jordan Poole in his ability to drive the ball to
Speaker 1: the basket, that his foot, his foot speed, his ability
Speaker 1: to beat people off the dribble is a real weapon
Speaker 1: and I thought in this particular game that was the
Speaker 1: biggest way that he contributed was beating people off the
Speaker 1: dribble and getting to the basket. They desperately need something
Speaker 1: out of him, especially on a night like this, were
Speaker 1: the Kings shot so well, they needed something to offset that.
Speaker 2: Look at the look at the box score. They both
Speaker 2: shot forty threes, both shot over forty seven percent from
Speaker 2: the floor. Both were great from the free throw line
Speaker 2: fifteen to eighteen for the Kings, twenty two to twenty
Speaker 2: four for the Warriors. They both had forty four rebounds,
Speaker 2: both had uh over to over twenty five assists, steals,
Speaker 2: about the same turnovers, points in the paint fifty to
Speaker 2: forty six. I mean, it was an incredibly even game.
Speaker 2: That's why in games like that, it's it's the Draymond block,
Speaker 2: it's was one miss jumper, or it goes the other way.
Speaker 2: I mean, you look at now there was a free
Speaker 2: throw disparity early, but it evened itself out mostly by
Speaker 2: the end of the game. I don't you know. The
Speaker 2: one thing about the Kings is they always they feel
Speaker 2: a shooter shy. Now some of that is when you
Speaker 2: play the Warriors. You know, Steph and Clay and Pool
Speaker 2: and Wiggins, they have more than anybody. It feels like
Speaker 2: if almost you just if you put Jordan Pool on
Speaker 2: the Kings, it would it would literally be the guy.
Speaker 2: But I feel like the Warriors always just have one
Speaker 2: more three, one more shooter, and that's the difference. And
Speaker 2: over the course of the Kings building this puppy, they
Speaker 2: can see that they got Davian Mitchell off the bench.
Speaker 2: Can they go find a great three ball shooter off
Speaker 2: the bench. So it's just a process of, you know,
Speaker 2: filling in the blanks. They've got their Sabonis, they got
Speaker 2: their coach, they're Daron Fox, Davian Mitchell off the bench,
Speaker 2: They've they've got most of the boxes checked. But I
Speaker 2: felt like, you know, they hit that last three, it's
Speaker 2: different that they feel like just one three pointer, shy.
Speaker 2: You know what. I watched this tonight in the second
Speaker 2: half and I'm like, outside of Denver, is this the
Speaker 2: Western Conference Final? Like, are these dudes now that the
Speaker 2: Warriors are full strength, are we watching essentially the Western
Speaker 2: Conference Final? In round one?
Speaker 1: I remember I had a similar thought after the playing
Speaker 1: games and everyone's like, oh man, the Wolves and the
Speaker 1: Lakers they're both terrible. What an ugly basketball game. And
Speaker 1: I have like a completely different feeling about this. I
Speaker 1: think all of these teams are awesome. I think the
Speaker 1: Kings are awesome. I think the Warriors are awesome. I
Speaker 1: think the Lakers are awesome. I think the Suns are awesome.
Speaker 1: The Nuggets have been arguably the most impressive team in
Speaker 1: the first round here in the Western Conference. And like, again,
Speaker 1: like what you're seeing here is that it doesn't it's
Speaker 1: a two to seven matchup, and it's a first round matchup.
Speaker 1: But these are two teams from an overall talent standpoint
Speaker 1: that are typically the types of teams that you'd see
Speaker 1: in later playoff rounds. It's they're incredibly evenly matched. I
Speaker 1: want to I want to give a special shout out
Speaker 1: to Deer and Fox because there's this thing that happens.
Speaker 1: And I mean, we've even seen the reverse side of
Speaker 1: this with Darius Garland on the Calves this year, as
Speaker 1: he's really really struggled to just be consistently effective out
Speaker 1: the series. Every time we see a young player kind
Speaker 1: of rise up the echelons of the NBA, there's always
Speaker 1: this question, like is his game gonna work when they
Speaker 1: get to the playoffs, and some guys struggle to get separations.
Speaker 1: Some guys struggle in the physicality. Like Trey Young had
Speaker 1: a really good game in Game three against Boston. That's
Speaker 1: the outlier. He's had like six straight playoff stinkers before that.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. Darren Fox, his game translates
Speaker 1: so well to this level. And I actually think you'll
Speaker 1: find this interesting, Colin, because you've been super critical of
Speaker 1: this type of player, right, this ultra athletic point guard
Speaker 1: that is this unbelievable downhill force that plays with passion
Speaker 1: and energy. That player has failed time and time and
Speaker 1: time again in NBA history. And the thing that separates,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, Darren Fox from the others is he
Speaker 1: legitimately has outrageously good shooting touch from everywhere on the floor.
Speaker 1: And it Yeah, so whoever's guarding him like has to
Speaker 1: give a certain amoun out of space just just an
Speaker 1: attempt to contain the drives and so and when he
Speaker 1: and he's deadly on those shots. Well.
Speaker 2: And also Westbrook and a Wall especially, they didn't play
Speaker 2: with a ton of self awareness in their prime. They
Speaker 2: were going a thousand miles an hour. Dearen pays with
Speaker 2: plays with really good pacing. He knows when to slow
Speaker 2: it up. I mean, you look like you're watching a
Speaker 2: twelve year veteran. Like he knows when to speed it up.
Speaker 2: Steph does this? You know when when did he? You know,
Speaker 2: he'll He'll go right through traffic. He's trying to speed
Speaker 2: the tempo up, and it's not really to get a shot.
Speaker 2: It's just kind of to see if he can find
Speaker 2: a little crevice and get to the basket. If he can't,
Speaker 2: then he pulls it up and waits for the bigs
Speaker 2: to come down. Dearan's got a real understanding of pace
Speaker 2: and tempo. He's not playing with his head down everything.
Speaker 2: You know, It's like Patrick Mahomes. He sees the field,
Speaker 2: he sees the court, he sees everybody. Darren Fox is
Speaker 2: really smart and he plays like a really smart basketball player.
Speaker 2: Steph Curry's really smart. Some of this is just guys.
Speaker 2: Deeran also not that he's not vertical, but he's kind
Speaker 2: of uh he's I would I would, you know, if
Speaker 2: I was a scout, I'd say smooth, smart, beautiful offensive game.
Speaker 2: It's gorgeous. I mean, mid range outside, everything is pretty.
Speaker 2: So I don't really put him in that I you know,
Speaker 2: and I feel like he's he's a little bit like Steph.
Speaker 2: Probably I trust Deerin Moore in a mid range Steph
Speaker 2: on a three. But I think their games are so
Speaker 2: much about manipulating pace and tempo. John Wall never did.
Speaker 2: John was just get me the ball and I'm gonna
Speaker 2: race everybody down the floor. And the Wings are like, bro,
Speaker 2: hold up, I can't keep up with you. And Westbrook
Speaker 2: has a little bit of that. It's one hundred mile
Speaker 2: an hour fastball. It's the quarterback that has a fastball.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: He throws it on the deep post, he throws it
Speaker 2: on the screen. It's it's a one tempo thrower. And
Speaker 2: so I think Dearon is. I think he's an all timer.
Speaker 2: I think next year he'll be I think right now
Speaker 2: he feels like a top ten player, maybe ten. But
Speaker 2: I think if they get past the Warriors, he's going
Speaker 2: to be a top ten player because I feel like
Speaker 2: he's just twelve ish. And then you're watching them in
Speaker 2: this series, You're like, I mean, if I told you
Speaker 2: today John Morant or him, I take Dearon Fox.
Speaker 1: He's been great in every game. This is an out
Speaker 1: every gaming defense in a high stakes playoff series where
Speaker 1: he came in as the underdog, and he's been great
Speaker 1: in every game like he I mean, look like people
Speaker 1: always get a little freaked out when we start to
Speaker 1: talk about lists because you feel bad about bumping guys.
Speaker 1: But I mean, here's the deal, Like he's he is
Speaker 1: performing at this level against this type of defense, at
Speaker 1: a higher level than most of the players around the league.
Speaker 1: I think that's completely reasonable. I think, you know, it's funny.
Speaker 1: Over the course of the series, I've been talking a
Speaker 1: lot about how the Kings have no answer for Steph Curry,
Speaker 1: and that's a big part of why I have it.
Speaker 1: I've been yet to relinquish my stance that the Warriors
Speaker 1: will win the series. I still feel that way I
Speaker 1: picked them in six. I'm gonna stick with that for
Speaker 1: right now. But like the reality is is like the
Speaker 1: Kings should feel really good about their chances because the
Speaker 1: same thing is in reverse like they I did think
Speaker 1: it was interesting that we didn't see as much Gary
Speaker 1: Payton today. They spent a lot of time with Draymond
Speaker 1: Green on Deer and Fox today, which is a super
Speaker 1: interesting adjustment. Yes, also, just what a again, what a
Speaker 1: What an amazing luxury as a coach to be able
Speaker 1: to do that. And they did a similar thing last
Speaker 1: year in the finals. If you remember when they moved
Speaker 1: Raymond Green out onto Jlen Brown because he can. Just
Speaker 1: the thing with Draymond is he has these obnoxiously long larms.
Speaker 1: First of all, his defensive performance down the stretch of
Speaker 1: this game was so ridiculous, And there was a lot
Speaker 1: of talk over the last couple of days, Oh, the
Speaker 1: Warriors better without Draymond, which everyone just gets dumber whenever
Speaker 1: that happens. They were eleven points better per one hundre
Speaker 1: possessions with him than without him in last year's postseason.
Speaker 1: They were fourteen points better with him than without him
Speaker 1: in this regular season. Like that, that argument is dead
Speaker 1: on arrival. I can't believe it ever even gets brought up.
Speaker 1: He blew up some plays around the rim. You're thinking
Speaker 1: of the blocks, you get another play. Sabonus is coming
Speaker 1: down the floor in a short role. It's a two
Speaker 1: on one. Harrison Barnes is standing wide open in the
Speaker 1: dunker spot, ready to go up and dunk it, and
Speaker 1: Sabonus goes to pass it to Harrison Barnes and Draymond
Speaker 1: just pokes it out of Sabonis's hands. He blew up
Speaker 1: a two on one that's a basket ninety five percent
Speaker 1: of the time in the NBA, like he was. He
Speaker 1: was unbelievable defensively in this game. But even with him,
Speaker 1: he has to give a little bit of ground to
Speaker 1: Dearon Fox to try to contain that drive in on
Speaker 1: that final shot, the one that d'eren made that brought
Speaker 1: it back to one, like you got a great contest
Speaker 1: on it. But that's what great players do, and Daron
Speaker 1: Fox has done that this entire series. He can adjust
Speaker 1: his release based on where he is on the floor
Speaker 1: and he can knock these shotstone well.
Speaker 2: And also, Draymond's got really good hands. Klay Thompson's are okay. Wiggins,
Speaker 2: I think I've really noticed it with Wiggins. He doesn't
Speaker 2: quite have his wind yet and his hands. Sometimes when
Speaker 2: you don't have your wind, you can lose your legs
Speaker 2: or you get sloppy. Wiggins today had four or five
Speaker 2: balls that he just couldn't a cure for a guy
Speaker 2: that's not a great shooter. Draymond's got strong hands and
Speaker 2: good hands, like he touches it, he gets it his timing.
Speaker 2: There's certain players in the league that and because you
Speaker 2: know I employed Draymond one of his many employers, by
Speaker 2: the way, a talented guy. You know, people are gonna,
Speaker 2: you know, say, Colin, you have a bias. First of all,
Speaker 2: I've said this a thousand times in my career. Every
Speaker 2: great team of my life haslam for the Heat, Rodman
Speaker 2: for the Bulls, Derek Rick Fox for the Lakers, Lambert
Speaker 2: for the Pistons, Draymond Green, all great dynasties. Bruce Bowen
Speaker 2: for the Spurs. Have a feisty, annoying, tough guy and
Speaker 2: his job. He's in the league because he's smart enough
Speaker 2: to know. I mean, Bruce Bowen scored, he could score
Speaker 2: twenty a game in the league. He's like, not, I
Speaker 2: knew on this team. My way in the league to
Speaker 2: rings was to play the way I had to play,
Speaker 2: do the stuff that nobody else wanted to do. If
Speaker 2: you don't get Draymond Green, like, if you don't understand,
Speaker 2: have you ever noticed out around outside the arc? They
Speaker 2: bring him up. They want him to have the ball
Speaker 2: in his hands, him to set the screen, him to
Speaker 2: make the pass like that organization puts him in the crosshairs.
Speaker 2: You make a mistake out there, it's a layuper a
Speaker 2: dunk the other way, Like this organization has so much
Speaker 2: trust for Draymon. With the basketball in his hands, we
Speaker 2: think of him defensively, but as you watch him, Jason,
Speaker 2: he's such a catalyst, his passing, his screening, his hands.
Speaker 2: If you don't people that don't get him, you don't
Speaker 2: get the game. Like anybody know. Everybody knows that Darren
Speaker 2: Fox and Steff are great. That doesn't take you know
Speaker 2: you're watching Jalen Brunson. He's obviously it's such a unique
Speaker 2: fun player. Guys like Draymon like they just don't. Sometimes
Speaker 2: I watch Draymond and I think he should open a
Speaker 2: clinic on how to make the NBA as a star
Speaker 2: in average eight a game, Like he does so many
Speaker 2: things that you don't think they like screaming, passing, He
Speaker 2: does so many little things well that you don't necessarily
Speaker 2: like you don't get points in a box score for
Speaker 2: screening or those little he'll screen those little touch passes
Speaker 2: that don't get the assist, but they're the pass before
Speaker 2: the assist, the incubator of it. Like he doesn't get
Speaker 2: a lot of credit for that, but he was so
Speaker 2: big late today to your point.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, it's funny because a lot of people
Speaker 1: have been comparing him in Dylan Brooks, which drives me crazy.
Speaker 1: They'll be like, oh, they both make the Ohimmy, I've
Speaker 1: never seen Draymond Green shove a cameraman just to be
Speaker 1: a jerk. Okay, Like, there's there's a different There's a
Speaker 1: difference between like, like just being a jerk and being
Speaker 1: a guy who's kind of a physical instigator. There's no
Speaker 1: doubt that Draymond's a physical instigator and Dylan looks is
Speaker 1: that and Moore And the other thing too, is like
Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks is a bad is a limited offensive player
Speaker 1: from a skill standpoint that doesn't get it. And we'll
Speaker 1: take eleven shots in a quarter and put in a
Speaker 1: road playoff game in Los Angeles and you're like, dude,
Speaker 1: what the hell are you doing? Like, Draymon has his
Speaker 1: offensive limitations, but he understands his role. And I love
Speaker 1: how you pointed out all those little things because it's
Speaker 1: You're right. They love to have the ball in his hands.
Speaker 1: They've been running a ton of steph high pick and
Speaker 1: roll as this series has progressed, Like there was a
Speaker 1: play at the end of this game where Andrew Wiggins
Speaker 1: made a floater. Steph runs the high pick and roll,
Speaker 1: they trap him. He makes the drop off pass to Draymond.
Speaker 1: He's rolling down the basket. Looney and Wiggins kind of
Speaker 1: mess up. They both cut, and you never want to
Speaker 1: both cut because now you're getting in each other's way.
Speaker 1: It's better for one guy to cut, one guy to
Speaker 1: state the three point line. And Draymond like hangs in
Speaker 1: the air and just waits barely for Wiggins to kind
Speaker 1: of break open and hits him in stride, and Wiggins
Speaker 1: makes the floater, and I'm like, man, that was kind
Speaker 1: of an impressive play. In traffic and the short role.
Speaker 1: They like having the ball in his hands. He can
Speaker 1: disrupt guys below the rim defensively. He can disrupt guys
Speaker 1: above the rim defensively. Tap out rebounds is a big one.
Speaker 1: There'll be like a ball in the air and he
Speaker 1: knows he can't go get it, but he'll just run
Speaker 1: up and just tap at it and just keep it
Speaker 1: alive for some one of his guards to come in
Speaker 1: and make a play. I thought he was magnificent down
Speaker 1: the stretch this game. Defensely, I also thought Steph did
Speaker 1: a pretty decent job and a couple of switches against
Speaker 1: Darren Fox. Steph is an underrated athlete from the standpoint
Speaker 1: of his physical profile. We always think of him as
Speaker 1: a small guarden. But he's like six ' three and
Speaker 1: he's pretty strong. Like he's actually got a good amount
Speaker 1: of weight to him, and a big play there at
Speaker 1: the end, like when Darren tried to attack him on
Speaker 1: the final possession, Like he'll get out and bump and
Speaker 1: knock him off of his ground a little bit. Or
Speaker 1: when he gets down, he'll bump him a little bit.
Speaker 1: Understanding that's allowed in the postseason, Like he just he
Speaker 1: can hang in those matchups a little bit. I thought
Speaker 1: as a team, the Warriors hawking to loose balls down
Speaker 1: the stretch was a big part of why they ended
Speaker 1: up coming out on top. I will say this though,
Speaker 1: and I wonder what your opinion is. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: a big believer that the regular season is a good
Speaker 1: indicator of how a team's going to perform in the postseason.
Speaker 1: They got a little sloppy down the stretch that they
Speaker 1: backed back turnovers. There was that Jordan Poole attempted pass
Speaker 1: to Klay Thompson in the quarter that Malie Clark Grabb did,
Speaker 1: and then there was the illegal screen from Kaman Mooney.
Speaker 1: And it's interesting to me because all season long, they've
Speaker 1: been just a little sloppy in those situations compared to
Speaker 1: previous seasons, and it almost burned them tonight. And so
Speaker 1: I really do think that's something that they better sharpen
Speaker 1: up if they intend to make a longer playform and
Speaker 1: certainly to win this series.
Speaker 2: I think Jordan Poole's game is a little sloppy. It's
Speaker 2: a little loose. It's a lot of one handed stuff
Speaker 2: by the rim. I think Clay's had a very good
Speaker 2: regular season. You can put Clay in spots offensively where
Speaker 2: he's uncomfortable with the ball a little bit. You know,
Speaker 2: he's a classic catch and shoot guy. They are, I
Speaker 2: thought Sacramento I almost tweeted this. They had about six
Speaker 2: turnovers today and they all came at the worst times. God,
Speaker 2: the Kings had like I mean, they both had about
Speaker 2: the same number of turnovers. They had way too many,
Speaker 2: but the Kings came at bad times, like they trail
Speaker 2: by three. Now it's six. You know they can take
Speaker 2: a lead. Stuff comes down hits a three. Now they
Speaker 2: trail by four. The Kings had a lot of opportunities
Speaker 2: in this game. They're gonna look at film on the
Speaker 2: way home and that's that Mike Brown and that staff
Speaker 2: are going to be like, we gave this game away.
Speaker 2: They may have had six to eight turnovers with opportunities
Speaker 2: to like extend a two point lead or take a lead,
Speaker 2: and they failed on so many of them. So I
Speaker 2: kind of feel like Sacramento almost ended the Dynasty, and
Speaker 2: I think they're gonna look at that film on the
Speaker 2: way home and they're gonna think, we just gave one away.
Speaker 2: We just gave a game away. They outplayed Golden State early,
Speaker 2: too many turnovers. They're a tough out man, they are
Speaker 2: the Baby Warriors. They are a tough out and they're
Speaker 2: really smart. As I said at the start of this,
Speaker 2: I just feel like they need another shooter and they'll
Speaker 2: probably get that in the draft or you know, somewhere
Speaker 2: in free agency.
Speaker 1: I actually think if they upgrade the Sabonus position at
Speaker 1: any point, they could be super dangerous because like the
Speaker 1: unsung heroes of this series have been well, I say unsung.
Speaker 1: The real heroes of this series have been Malik, Bunk
Speaker 1: and Deer and Fox and the simple fact that nobody can.
Speaker 1: Malik's been good in this whole series. And it's funny
Speaker 1: because the Lakers couldn't afford to keep him. But that's
Speaker 1: the only reason he's not a Laker right now. He
Speaker 1: was one of the rare bright spots last year, just
Speaker 1: an excellent shot creator that can beat people off the
Speaker 1: dribble and knock down threes. He just he played so
Speaker 1: well that the Lakers were financially incapable of retaining him.
Speaker 1: You know, it's funny. I actually think the Warrior are
Speaker 1: the Kings deserve to be slight favorites right now. They've
Speaker 1: played well enough, and they have two games at home.
Speaker 1: It's pretty simple that said, these games are going to
Speaker 1: reach a fever pitch of intensity and drama and stakes,
Speaker 1: and so I still lean. I still lean Warriors just
Speaker 1: because they've There's look, if it's Game five and it's
Speaker 1: one hundred to one hundred with three minutes left, there's
Speaker 1: no doubt that the Warriors will be more comfortable in
Speaker 1: that situation, simply because they've fight in those situations before,
Speaker 1: the same goes for a game seven again, the Kings
Speaker 1: should I bet you they were positive in the locker room.
Speaker 1: I bet you they feel good in their film session.
Speaker 1: They should feel confident. But I think these games are
Speaker 1: going to get even more sweaty palms, even more high drama,
Speaker 1: and I just trust the Warriors a little bit more.
Speaker 1: What was your take on that Lakers blowout of the
Speaker 1: Grizzlies yesterday? Do you think it's Do you think the
Speaker 1: real matchup is more like the first quarter or more
Speaker 1: like the last three quarters?
Speaker 2: Well, I think the Lakers. I think we both chose
Speaker 2: the Lakers. I think they're better. I always felt there
Speaker 2: was two things that were true about Memphis. They were
Speaker 2: they're deep, and they're inexperienced. And I'm not saying depth
Speaker 2: and experience are everything, but it's they feel like they
Speaker 2: need another score. To me, you know, jaw was sensational,
Speaker 2: but I just feel like they need another dependable score.
Speaker 2: I mean, you really don't want somebody scoring forty five
Speaker 2: points in a playoff game, don't. I mean that's just
Speaker 2: I mean, everybody's in awe of Ja Moran. It's like,
Speaker 2: you know, you can go back to the Kobe stats,
Speaker 2: like the Lakers were awful when he scored over thirty
Speaker 2: five points, right, and so you know, Jos starts playing well,
Speaker 2: he plays downhill and it's fun, it's magical. But I
Speaker 2: just I never I mean, listen, they were a two seed,
Speaker 2: the Lakers were seven, and I felt was you know,
Speaker 2: I sit on the air, I said, if I say
Speaker 2: it on the air, I believe it. I'm like, I
Speaker 2: think the Lakers are gonna win this series. They were
Speaker 2: a forty three win team. Right. When's the last time
Speaker 2: a forty three wins seven seed? You take him over
Speaker 2: a two seed?
Speaker 1: A film, and.
Speaker 2: Memphis is one of the Yeah, and Memphis is one
Speaker 2: of the best home teams in the league. So I
Speaker 2: just don't. I don't feel and we're seeing it with Cleveland,
Speaker 2: by the way, you know, you really young have some depth,
Speaker 2: but Garland and Mitchell, I mean, the Knicks aren't even
Speaker 2: getting a good series from Julius Randall. He's not playing well.
Speaker 2: And so I just don't feel like I think Sacramento,
Speaker 2: regardless of I think Sacramento is really close to being
Speaker 2: a championship team, like a player away. I don't. With Memphis,
Speaker 2: I don't always love I feel they're a little less
Speaker 2: mature than Sacramento, a little chippier, a little less self awareness.
Speaker 2: Their stars had some problems. The King Star is like
Speaker 2: Steph mature. So it's not that I don't buying a Memphis,
Speaker 2: but I really never bought into them as a championship team.
Speaker 2: I really don't. In fact, if you told me the
Speaker 2: two really young teams in the NBA, I like, I
Speaker 2: would say, it's Sacramento in Cleveland. Cleveland's been disappointing. Like
Speaker 2: these playoffs, basically, Jason, nothing surprised us except Cleveland. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's the only series where if you'd have told anybody, yeah,
Speaker 2: Julius Randall, good game one, doesn't do anything and they
Speaker 2: lead three to one, that would be a surprise. I
Speaker 2: think almost everything we're seeing, including the Lakers Grizzlies, we
Speaker 2: all kind of expected. We trusted Lebron in a d
Speaker 2: over the last three weeks. They just won a lot
Speaker 2: of close games, and they won a lot of games
Speaker 2: against for the same reason they're winning this one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, I one hundred percent agree. I like the
Speaker 1: I actually did pick the Knicks to win that series,
Speaker 1: but I didn't feel super confident about it, and like
Speaker 1: that particular series, to me, is just a great example
Speaker 1: of versatility. In the playoffs, the Cavs can only run
Speaker 1: pick and roll. They can't do anything else. That's they
Speaker 1: have to run their pick and roll offense and if
Speaker 1: it doesn't work, they fall apart. The Knicks have the
Speaker 1: ability to attack in a bunch of different ways. As
Speaker 1: a matter of fact, they've run more than twice as
Speaker 1: many ISOs as as Cleveland has. And the problem is
Speaker 1: is a lot of times in the playoffs it becomes
Speaker 1: matchup hunting and Julius Randall and Jalen even though Julius
Speaker 1: Randall hasn't played well, Jalen Brunson and Julius Randall feel
Speaker 1: way more comfortable attacking mispatches in different spots on the floor,
Speaker 1: which allows them to kind of play different styles as
Speaker 1: the game shifts. But you're right, it's been pretty. It's
Speaker 1: been pretty kind of like chalk, I guess you could
Speaker 1: say down the line, except for that Milwaukee Bucks Miami
Speaker 1: Heat series, which is entirely based on Giannis. And I
Speaker 1: don't even unless Yannis doesn't play in game four, I
Speaker 1: just don't. I just am not paying. The Miami Heat
Speaker 1: are tiny. They're tiny and Milwaukee's gonna win Game five.
Speaker 1: In Game seven, They're gonna probably win Game four to
Speaker 1: and win this Yeries. Like I just I'm not worried
Speaker 1: about that unless Yannis is in some sort of serious
Speaker 1: injury situation. I'm glad you said that about Memphis because
Speaker 1: I actually agree. I don't think they're close either. A
Speaker 1: couple things. The only position I think that they have really,
Speaker 1: the only spots that I feel really good about, like
Speaker 1: really good about, are Jared Jackson in jaw. Desmond Baine
Speaker 1: has been bad in almost every playoff game that he's played,
Speaker 1: especially over the last couple of years. He struggles mightily
Speaker 1: to create his own shot off the dribble, and guys
Speaker 1: are good at chasing him over those screens to lessen
Speaker 1: the quality of the shots, and he can't make it.
Speaker 1: Like like Austin Reeves has soundly outplayed him in this series.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. The Grizzlies have severe limitations
Speaker 1: in shot creation and off ball offensive skill. I was
Speaker 1: talking with the Buddy yesterday about this, Like what scares
Speaker 1: me for the Lakers is they can get lazy, and
Speaker 1: you saw that, Like I tweeted right after the first
Speaker 1: quarter yesterday, I'm like, just get ready for them to
Speaker 1: do the bare minimum to try to win this game,
Speaker 1: you know, like the whole game. The whole game, it
Speaker 1: was like, oh, they got back to eleven, I guess
Speaker 1: we should start trying again. They get it up to sixteen, seventeen,
Speaker 1: and then they'd have three bad possessions in a row
Speaker 1: and to be a ten, and we're like, all right,
Speaker 1: call time out. All right, let's go get control of
Speaker 1: this game again. Like I I think the Lakers are
Speaker 1: so much better than the Grizzlies. I think that people are.
Speaker 1: But to your point about the arrogance, the way Joe
Speaker 1: was acting in that fourth quarter, like oh, I've got
Speaker 1: these guys Like I'm like, they're not even playing anymore.
Speaker 1: They're jogging back in transition. They're barely guarding you. In
Speaker 1: the first quarter, you couldn't even get a clean look.
Speaker 1: He shot two for ten on two point shots before
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. Like they they have figured out the
Speaker 1: job pick and roll because Jared Vanderbilt Anthony Davis have
Speaker 1: taken away his floater and they've shut off the rim
Speaker 1: on him. They've they've they've kind of figured that out. Memphis,
Speaker 1: to me, so has so far to go. But with
Speaker 1: the Lakers in their lapses in execution and effort, what
Speaker 1: freaks me out for them? There is Sacramento in Golden
Speaker 1: State because Memphis is a young athletic team that loves
Speaker 1: to play fast, but they're unskilled, like remarkably unskilled compared
Speaker 1: to other NBA teams. Yep, Sacramento and Golden State love
Speaker 1: to play fast and they are super skilled, like at
Speaker 1: every position. So like they will those teams if they
Speaker 1: have those same brief lapses in judgment and effort in execution,
Speaker 1: the Lakers will get run off the floor by the
Speaker 1: Warriors and Kings. So like it's good, it's weird. I
Speaker 1: feel so confident that the Lakers are going to beat
Speaker 1: the Grizzlies, but I am so hesitant to pick them
Speaker 1: as a team that can make a real run because
Speaker 1: they just have that. It is part of their identity.
Speaker 1: As soon as they start to feel even remotely comfortable,
Speaker 1: Lebron and Anthony Davis go, how can I start conserving
Speaker 1: energy and it's gonna be something that gets them beat?
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, I mean I I also think that
Speaker 2: the question we asked about Memphis all year, because Jaw's
Speaker 2: not a great shooter. He's a great athlete, he's got
Speaker 2: the floater, he finishes at the rim. If you take
Speaker 2: the rim away, you take a chunk of his field goal.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's the Westbrook. He's a he's a
Speaker 2: better shooter than Westbrook. But if you took the rim
Speaker 2: away from Russell Westbrook, he can have really bad nights
Speaker 2: and it gets into his head really fast. Even great shooters.
Speaker 2: I mean, lebron for a big chunk of his career
Speaker 2: like didn't like bigs around the basket because if he
Speaker 2: lost confidence in his three, he could always beat guys
Speaker 2: off the dribble score and get back into it. And
Speaker 2: so Lebrono was like like his Bosh and his Kevin loves.
Speaker 2: You know, stay clear, I didin'k at this point in
Speaker 2: his career, he shoots threes, makes him misses them, nothing's
Speaker 2: in his head. He's kind of graduated last couple of years.
Speaker 2: But Jaw's not a great natural shooter. So if he's
Speaker 2: not hitting the three and the rims closed off, you're
Speaker 2: not beating people on floaters and mid range jumpers. And
Speaker 2: so I think when I look at this team all
Speaker 2: year my takeaway was, well, if you shut jaw down
Speaker 2: a little bit and make him shoot forty one percent.
Speaker 2: Who's the second dependable score? There isn't one, and they
Speaker 2: just don't have one. I mean it's Malik Monk's having
Speaker 2: a better series than I thought he would have. But
Speaker 2: when I say the Kings need another score, they don't
Speaker 2: need another great score. They need about a sixteen point
Speaker 2: a game score. I mean you could put it like
Speaker 2: a I don't know if he'd fit, but like a
Speaker 2: Dennis Shredder, just another you know, somebody that's a better shooter,
Speaker 2: but kind of a sixteen point a game kind of player. Think.
Speaker 2: I think the Grizzlies need another star, you know, like
Speaker 2: like an Anthony Davis to be a title team. I
Speaker 2: don't think they're particularly close. I don't think they're terribly mature.
Speaker 2: As you said about Brooks, self awareness is not a strength.
Speaker 2: They're just deep. They're deep and energetic. There's a ton
Speaker 2: of energy. Yeah, and that's what they are. Deep physical teams.
Speaker 2: I mean, the reason the Pistons won championships is Isaiah
Speaker 2: is one of the most underrated stars of our lifetime.
Speaker 2: Lambert could hit outside shots. I mean that team had
Speaker 2: streaky shooters. You're Vinnie Johnson's you know, that was the
Speaker 2: bad Boys team. I don't think Memphis is close to
Speaker 2: his gift. But is that team offensively? And this is
Speaker 2: the offensive era? That was a defensive era. So I
Speaker 2: just I think I think they're a star away. I
Speaker 2: don't think they're a player away. You could give me,
Speaker 2: you could give me a good shooter off the bench
Speaker 2: for Sacramento, and I'd be like, all right, if you
Speaker 2: told me they want two championships in four years, I'd
Speaker 2: be like, oh, I see it. I don't think Memphis
Speaker 2: is close to that. I really don't.
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, I mean, like the reality is is when
Speaker 1: like John Morant, when they shut off the rim, literally
Speaker 1: nobody else feels comfortable creating a shot other than Jared Jackson,
Speaker 1: who's had a decent series barreling his way to the
Speaker 1: rim and just running through guys. But we talked about
Speaker 1: this after Game two. But how like you can manufacture
Speaker 1: wins in the NBA if you have rim protection and
Speaker 1: just play hard. You know, we talked about that a
Speaker 1: lot in that particular show, Memphis at Memphis Exactly. Memphis
Speaker 1: wins a shit ton of regular season games. Why because
Speaker 1: they're huge. It's like Brandon Clark, Aaron Jackson, Steven Adams,
Speaker 1: just relentless offensive or relentless offensive rebounding, and just defensive
Speaker 1: physicality on the perimeter. They play super hard and physical.
Speaker 1: And then John Morant against regular season coverages when teams
Speaker 1: are like, oh, it's a Tuesday, we got Memphis tonight,
Speaker 1: let's just run our base drop coverage and we'll just
Speaker 1: see how it goes, you know, whereas in the playoffs
Speaker 1: they scheme so much harder towards you know, helping off
Speaker 1: of Dylan Brooks and ducking underpicks so that John can't
Speaker 1: get ahead of steam and little things like that, and
Speaker 1: like that. That's just the reality is, like you need
Speaker 1: to have an extra gear you can get to in
Speaker 1: the postseason. And it's almost the opposite for Memphis because
Speaker 1: Desmond Baine goes down a level. Dylan Brooks actually tries
Speaker 1: to shoot more when he can't make them. John Morant, Yeah,
Speaker 1: he made all the threes when they were down twenty
Speaker 1: and there was absolutely no pressure to make or miss.
Speaker 1: But it's a little different when it's like you're down
Speaker 1: twenty seven to thirteen in the early second quarter and
Speaker 1: they're daring you to shoot and you don't have that,
Speaker 1: and like it's a totally different game when the pressure rises,
Speaker 1: in the stakes rise, That's why those pull up jump
Speaker 1: shots stop falling in those environments. So yeah, I agree,
Speaker 1: I think I think Memphis, I mean, it's been coming
Speaker 1: for a while with how confident they've been, but I agree.
Speaker 1: I think I think the move is they need another
Speaker 1: legitimate shot creator, a guy who can put the ball
Speaker 1: on the floor and consistently generate offense against the set defense,
Speaker 1: exactly what they hoped Desmond Bane would be, which you
Speaker 1: can't be unfortunately.
Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah, I think we're seeing in these playoffs,
Speaker 2: you know, cross your fingers on Giannis and Embad's health.
Speaker 2: There's one real upset, and that's been the Knicks, who
Speaker 2: plays so well at home with that crowd. I mean,
Speaker 2: I mean obviously, like the Chase Center gives the Warriors
Speaker 2: like four to five points. I mean, it just does,
Speaker 2: like I feel like Madison Square Garden gives the Knicks
Speaker 2: like four to five points. Especially an effort team. They're
Speaker 2: not a terribly skilled team, they're long, they're aggressive, effort teams.
Speaker 2: They just play with so much energy and they've got
Speaker 2: you know, they've got a lot of like young guys
Speaker 2: on that team.
Speaker 1: So.
Speaker 2: The Necks are going to be I'm surprised they're beating
Speaker 2: the Calves, but that's about the only I mean, once
Speaker 2: you go to seven games in the first round, you
Speaker 2: play your way out of upsets. I mean, if the
Speaker 2: next beat the Calves, then they are the better team. Clearly.
Speaker 2: They're also you know, they've had rebound advantages. As I
Speaker 2: watched that game, I think to myself, why was I
Speaker 2: so badly fooled on Cleveland? Like I said all year,
Speaker 2: I thought, man, they match up. I saw them play
Speaker 2: Boston twice. I saw two times they played them. I
Speaker 2: thought they matched up great. They're twitchy, they're good on
Speaker 2: the wings, they got good looks. I'm like, man, they
Speaker 2: match up with Boston really well, and they may get
Speaker 2: beat in five games by the neck. So I'm like,
Speaker 2: why was I so badly fooled on it? Like Garland
Speaker 2: hasn't delivered. I don't know the answer, But to your point,
Speaker 2: some teams you get away with stuff in the regular
Speaker 2: season and then you just hit a complete ceiling. And
Speaker 2: maybe Cleveland's that team. But I have been fooled by
Speaker 2: the Calves because Julius Randall outside of Game one. I mean,
Speaker 2: what do you give him today eleven? I mean, just
Speaker 2: I don't even know if he scored that money. He's
Speaker 2: just not He hasn't been effected.
Speaker 1: To rhythm off the angle, for sure, off the ankle.
Speaker 1: The Calves are the perfect example of that regular season
Speaker 1: ceiling team like tons of improtection, spam, pick and roll, like,
Speaker 1: and you play hard and you have a great home crowd, Like,
Speaker 1: if you do that, you can win forty plus games
Speaker 1: in the NBA. But like, the main reason why I
Speaker 1: was never a big believer in Cleveland is they were
Speaker 1: literally one of the worst spot up shooting teams in
Speaker 1: the league. Like, they're off ball guys like that three spot,
Speaker 1: whether it was Evan Mobley standing in the corner, if
Speaker 1: it's Isaacacorro, or if it's you know, Lamar ste or
Speaker 1: if it's you know, Chatty Osmon or whoever it is,
Speaker 1: whoever that guy is has been a disaster, like all
Speaker 1: season long, And so it becomes can Darius Garland and
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell make a ton of extremely difficult pull up
Speaker 1: jump shots and they just have it. The Knicks have
Speaker 1: completely shut down their pick and roll offense, they have
Speaker 1: not had a counter that they can go to. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the Knicks can play a bunch of different ways, and
Speaker 1: they have a ton of skill off the ball. Josh
Speaker 1: Hart very skilled, a manual quickly, very skilled. Quintin Grimes
Speaker 1: very skilled. So they have when they're when you send
Speaker 1: extra bodies to Jalen Brunson and to Julius Randall, he's kicked.
Speaker 1: They're kicking to just better players. They're they're kicking the
Speaker 1: better players, and it is a team sport at the
Speaker 1: end of the day. Last thing I'll say about the Knicks,
Speaker 1: like Jaleny they took a bet on Jalen Brunson, such
Speaker 1: a big bet that they got cheap with Donovan Mitchell
Speaker 1: let him go, which if you ask them, they'll say,
Speaker 1: we like Jalen Brunson. Jalen Brunston is like a legit
Speaker 1: star player in this league. I have a hard time
Speaker 1: thinking of a comu in recent NBA history because there's
Speaker 1: not many players who play like him. But he's flat,
Speaker 1: he's a he's a like. He's an assassin like competitor
Speaker 1: who targets your worst fence. He's been just going at
Speaker 1: Cheddy Osmond every time he gets a chance in this series.
Speaker 1: Super comfortable working from every spot on the floor, like
Speaker 1: the Nick's got a good one in Jalen Brunson. And honestly, Colin.
Speaker 2: Also has leadership skills. You know, classic Villanova guy, stayed
Speaker 2: in school multiple years, was coached hard, had to play defense.
Speaker 2: You know, Villanova doesn't recruitly recruit you if you won't
Speaker 2: play defense. So like he comes in, Villanova doesn't always
Speaker 2: have the most skilled players, all grown ups, no squorely guys,
Speaker 2: just like they're all Michale Bridges. Right, he's your classic
Speaker 2: Villanova guy. Ceilings a little lower, although it's not that low,
Speaker 2: but you're getting an adult, you get it. You got
Speaker 2: really high functional basketball intelligence. Uh sets up plays if
Speaker 2: you watch jay and over the course of a season,
Speaker 2: and I don't you know, I watch a lot of
Speaker 2: Sixer Celtic games because I get on the treadmill at
Speaker 2: four thirty Pacific and that's my time to watch it.
Speaker 2: And so I watch a first half of a lot
Speaker 2: of NBA games, and I saw so many Sixers Celtic games.
Speaker 2: But one of the things you know with Brunson is
Speaker 2: there's a very legitimate argument that in terms of most
Speaker 2: valuable Player, which he won't win because these bigs have
Speaker 2: rebounds and blocks and stats. He's as valuable as any
Speaker 2: player in the league to a team like he is.
Speaker 2: You take him out of the Knicks, it's not even
Speaker 2: the same team. They don't move as well, they don't
Speaker 2: shoot as well. There are so many good guards, so
Speaker 2: many good guards, and most of the ones we love.
Speaker 2: The Foxes, the Staffs, the Jalen Brunson's man, they're they're
Speaker 2: very quarterback heal, like they really under they're really adults.
Speaker 2: I mean it's they all kind of know when to
Speaker 2: turn it on, when to pull it back. I mean
Speaker 2: stepf will hoist up a couple of shots and you
Speaker 2: kind of just roll your eyes at it. But when
Speaker 2: I when I watched Brunson, he's in such control. He's oh,
Speaker 2: and I think a lot of that Jason. It's the
Speaker 2: Villanova in him. You know, Villanova is going to make
Speaker 2: you play defense. They're not gonna let you be squirrely.
Speaker 2: Not a lot of ISO stuff at Villanova, and you
Speaker 2: can see it in him. He's just totally and he
Speaker 2: led that Villanova program right like it's such a structured,
Speaker 2: you know, transfer portal world. You know in a one
Speaker 2: and done world, Villanova is like this bedrock of stability
Speaker 2: and old school college basketball, and you can see it
Speaker 2: the way he plays like New York doesn't phase him yet,
Speaker 2: not all. But he is the point He's like Walt Fraser.
Speaker 2: He's the point guard of the Knicks. He was built
Speaker 2: to be the point guard of the next.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they churn out adult basketball players. I actually said
Speaker 1: in my series preview that I thought that Jalen Brunson
Speaker 1: had a chance to outplay Donovan Mitchell in large part
Speaker 1: on execution, because Donovan Mitchell just has just a tiny
Speaker 1: bit of that Westbrook like, Oh, I'll just shoot five
Speaker 1: possessions in a row, you know what I mean. Jaylen
Speaker 1: Brunson is so much more methodical in his approach and
Speaker 1: as much more making reads. As a basketball fan, I
Speaker 1: have thoroughly enjoyed his rise. I actually do think if
Speaker 1: Julius Ryndall can figure things out, that they'll give the
Speaker 1: Bucks or the Heat a good fight in round two
Speaker 1: as well. The Knicks are on the way up. It's
Speaker 1: very exciting.
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