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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 hopeful. If you guys are having a

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Speaker 1: great week so far. NBA Media Day was yesterday, and

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Speaker 1: we had a bunch of a couple of teams go

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Speaker 1: last week, but the rest of the teams went yesterday,

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Speaker 1: and so today we're gonna do our six biggest takeaways

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Speaker 1: from MBA Media Day. I've got one for each of

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Speaker 1: the top six teams in my power rankings when we

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Speaker 1: did the season previews, and then I've got four mail

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Speaker 1: back questions for the end of the show as well.

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Speaker 1: You guys know the joke before we get started. Subscribe

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Speaker 1: to our YouTube channel, follow me on Twitter at underscore JSNLT.

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Speaker 1: Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your

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Speaker 1: podcast under Hoops Tonight and any more mailback questions to

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Speaker 1: keep dropping those in the YouTube comments. All right, first,

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Speaker 1: biggest takeaway, this one has to do with the Golden

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Speaker 1: State Warriors. No, it doesn't matter at all that Draymond

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Speaker 1: Green has had personal beef with Chris Paul. Personal is

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Speaker 1: not the right word, but basketball beef with Chris Paul

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Speaker 1: in the past, or that Chris Paul and Steve Kerr

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Speaker 1: have had altercations in the past, or that Klay Thompson

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Speaker 1: and Rodney McGruder have had issues in the past. It

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Speaker 1: just doesn't matter. And for the record, this is not

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Speaker 1: the first time we've done this sort of thing. Lan

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Speaker 1: Stevenson famously was a huge pain in the ass to

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Speaker 1: Lebron and was his teammate in twenty nineteen and they

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Speaker 1: were fine. This is a completely common thing that happens

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Speaker 1: in the NBA and a really common thing with competitors.

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Speaker 1: That Draymond Green gave a really well thought out quote

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Speaker 1: about this. I encourage you guys to check it out

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Speaker 1: if you go to the Warriors YouTube page. They have

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Speaker 1: it in their they have it in with all their

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Speaker 1: other videos they posted with the media availability. But he

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Speaker 1: basically said, like, yeah, Chris Paul's a little bit of

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Speaker 1: an asshole on the court, but he's like, so am I,

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Speaker 1: and he's one of the best competitors in the league,

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Speaker 1: and so am I, and that inevitably is going to

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Speaker 1: lead to situations on the court where we butt heads.

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Speaker 1: And it really is that simple. This is not a

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Speaker 1: hard concept for you guys to get. Even outside the

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Speaker 1: realm of basketball competitiveness exists. Being a little bit more

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Speaker 1: of an asshole when something's on the line is completely normal.

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Speaker 1: Anybody who's good at anything probably got good at it

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Speaker 1: because they're competitive in some way, shape or form, and

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Speaker 1: everybody there are different types of competitive personalities, to be clear,

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Speaker 1: but it's totally normal to experience a negative emotion or

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Speaker 1: have a negative interaction with somebody in a competitive environment.

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Speaker 1: That doesn't actually represent the way you would treat each

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Speaker 1: other off the court. You know, chances are Draymond Green

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Speaker 1: and Chris Paul, if they met each other, just as

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Speaker 1: buddies growing up, would get along just fine. But that

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Speaker 1: doesn't mean that in a basketball situation when there are

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Speaker 1: on opposite sides that they won't butt heads. Yeah, Klay

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Speaker 1: Thompson and Rodney mcgriddor got into it a little bit.

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Speaker 1: Klay Thompson said some stuff like you're gonna be out

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Speaker 1: of the league. He probably didn't even mean that, but

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Speaker 1: he's talking shit. He's talking shit. It's a thing that

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Speaker 1: happens in basketball games. It's completely normal, and it's not

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Speaker 1: even exclusive to basketball. So don't think it matters. If anything,

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Speaker 1: I think it's a good thing because those types of

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Speaker 1: interactions are, like Draymond said, an indicator of your overall

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Speaker 1: give a shit factor, and you just brought in players

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Speaker 1: that give a shit at a similar level to the

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Speaker 1: way that you do. I can think personally, for me,

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Speaker 1: I play with guys now that I've played against in

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Speaker 1: the past and had negative relationships with. It's so nothing,

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Speaker 1: and I don't think it's gonna have any sort of

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Speaker 1: negative impact on the Warriors. In fact, I believe it's

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Speaker 1: gonna have a positive impact. Number Two, Jason Tatum spent

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Speaker 1: four weeks over the summer in the gym with Paul Pierce,

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Speaker 1: and that might be exactly what he needed. So this

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Speaker 1: was the very first answer actually that Jason Tatum gave

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Speaker 1: in his media availability yesterday, and he said that Paul

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Speaker 1: Pierce basically joined them for court work, and Paul Pierce himself,

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Speaker 1: I guess, lost a little bit of weight in the process,

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Speaker 1: but that they spent a lot of quality time not

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Speaker 1: just doing basketball work, but also focusing on some of

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Speaker 1: the specific things that are necessary to win an NBA championship.

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Speaker 1: Paul Pierce just given some nuggets of wisdom from his

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Speaker 1: time when he won the title in two thousand and eight.

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Speaker 1: And the reason why I find this to be particularly

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Speaker 1: encouraging is when I talked about the Drew Holiday trade,

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Speaker 1: if you guys remember, I said that I looked at

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Speaker 1: it more as a defensive upgrade. And the reason why

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Speaker 1: is when push comes to shove, it's got to be

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Speaker 1: Tatum that out executes Steph Curry in the NBA Finals,

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Speaker 1: that out executes Jannis in a conference finals, Dame in

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Speaker 1: a conference finals, if they ran into a Jokis led team.

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Speaker 1: He has to be able to go toe to toe

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Speaker 1: with the best guys in the league, and he had

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a regression last year in some

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Speaker 1: of his shot variety that made him easier to guard.

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Speaker 1: And Paul Pierce was one of the best closers in

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Speaker 1: NBA history because of that variety. He's a rising fire

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Speaker 1: guy who can rise and fire from any spot on

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Speaker 1: the floor, and he had a specific combination of like

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Speaker 1: crafty hesitation, pull up dribble jump shots that I think

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Speaker 1: would be good for Jason Tatum to add to his repertoire.

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Speaker 1: So the idea of him spending four weeks over the

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Speaker 1: summer working in the gym with Paul Pierce is really

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Speaker 1: encouraging to me, because that's the one thing that's missing.

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Speaker 1: Jayson Tatum is capable of being one of the best

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Speaker 1: defensive players in the league. He is an outstanding rebounder

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Speaker 1: for his position. He's put on muscle that's given in

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Speaker 1: the versatility to bang with the bigger forwards in players

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Speaker 1: that he has to go against in the NBA. Right

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Speaker 1: he's become an outstanding shooter. He's an underrated passer. One

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Speaker 1: of the biggest limited in his game right now is

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Speaker 1: he's a little predictable in a slow down half court setting,

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Speaker 1: especially against the switching defense. He needs to have some

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Speaker 1: of that shimmy, a little bit of that what's the

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Speaker 1: word I'm looking for, A little bit of that like

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Speaker 1: shifty type of game where it's a little bit, a

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Speaker 1: little bit unpredictable, a little bit improvisational. Jylen Brown's actually

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Speaker 1: a little better than that, better at that than him

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Speaker 1: right now, and so I think the idea of him

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Speaker 1: working with Paul Pierce is a great sign from this

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Speaker 1: past summer. All right. Number three, So Ruby Hotchi Mura

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Speaker 1: has been working out with Lebron James, and I think

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Speaker 1: that's perfect because they actually need him to be a

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Speaker 1: lot like Lebron James. You know, we think of Ad

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Speaker 1: and Lebron as you're four or five, and Ruby kind

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Speaker 1: of slotting in as that three. Now. Darvin Ham has

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Speaker 1: said that it's gonna be a lot of different guys

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Speaker 1: this year. Might be Jared Vanderbilt in some matchups, it

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Speaker 1: might be Riey Hotchamura in some matchups, and it could

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Speaker 1: be you know, Torian Prince in a lot of matchups.

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Speaker 1: My guess is that it'll end up being Jared Vanderbilt

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Speaker 1: that ends up starting at the three. And the reason why,

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Speaker 1: even though I think Ruy's a better player is they

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Speaker 1: lost Dennis Schroeder. Now Gabe Vincent is every bit as

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Speaker 1: good as Dennis Schroeder in different ways, but Dennis Schroder

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Speaker 1: was a better point of attack defender. Now as a

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Speaker 1: result of that, it's going to be even more important

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Speaker 1: for Jared Vanderbilt to take primary point of attack assignments.

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Speaker 1: And so I wouldn't be surprised, especially in specific matchups,

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Speaker 1: if Jared Vanderbilt spends a lot of time with the

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Speaker 1: starting unit as the three, which means Ruy's kind of

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Speaker 1: gonna be the backup for the guy that comes in

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Speaker 1: for Lebron when he subs out around the five minute mark.

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Speaker 1: That's why I love the idea of him working out

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Speaker 1: with Lebron. I don't think Ruby Hatchamura is a good

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Speaker 1: perimeter defender. He's not going to navigate screens well or

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Speaker 1: keep really quick guards or wings in front. What he

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Speaker 1: is gonna do is he's going to be able to

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Speaker 1: defend big, strong forwards well, and he's gonna be able

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Speaker 1: to occasionally switch and guard a big man, and that's

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Speaker 1: real value. That's a defensive role. We talked about the

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Speaker 1: two different kinds of forward roles, the more big man

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Speaker 1: type of four, the Aaron Gordon type of player where

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Speaker 1: you're more guarding taller wings that are pull up shooters

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Speaker 1: because you can bother them with contests and you can

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Speaker 1: switch on to Biggs, but you're not gonna navigate screens

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Speaker 1: as well. Whereas we have the skinnier forward, which is

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Speaker 1: like the Jaden McDaniels type. They are great on the

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Speaker 1: perimeter because they can sidle up over screens and they

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Speaker 1: can bother players from behind with back pressure. That's what

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Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt does best. And so I actually think Ruey

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Speaker 1: makes the most sense as essentially a backup forour He's

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Speaker 1: gonna play some three for the record, and when he

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Speaker 1: plays three, they're gonna need guys like Austin Reeves to

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Speaker 1: take primary point of attack assignments. But I think Ruey

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Speaker 1: makes the most sense slotted next to Ad as the

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Speaker 1: four when Lebron is off the floor, and inevitably Lebron's

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Speaker 1: gonna miss twenty twenty five games this year, just like

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Speaker 1: he has been for the most part in this phase

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Speaker 1: of his career. That is the big benefit there. If

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Speaker 1: Rui's been working out with Lebron, and we know Lebron

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Speaker 1: is famously basically a gym rat, and I'm referring more

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Speaker 1: to the weight room. Obviously, Lebron puts in court work,

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Speaker 1: but Lebron is religious with the way he builds his

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Speaker 1: body to be able to withstand what he needs to

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Speaker 1: do at his position throughout an eighty two game season.

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Speaker 1: That is good for Rui because Rui's physical build is

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Speaker 1: a lot more similar to Lebrun than it is to

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Speaker 1: a traditional perimeter defensive wing. Ruby can post up a

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Speaker 1: small in a mismatch. Ruby can thrive on the glass.

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Speaker 1: Ruby can't get going and transition and be a little

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Speaker 1: bit of a freight train. Ruby can do a lot

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Speaker 1: of those things, and so slotting him next to Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis as a four makes a lot of sense. And

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Speaker 1: so attaching himself to Lebron and working out with him

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Speaker 1: all summer is really encouraging, not just for the overall

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Speaker 1: development of Rui, but where he's going to fit in

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Speaker 1: this specific rotation. There are also some positives from Media

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Speaker 1: Day about Anthony Davis. Lebron said he's the face of

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Speaker 1: the franchise. That's a good indicator of just the amount

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Speaker 1: of responsibility that the whole franchise believes Anthony Davis should hold.

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Speaker 1: Austin Austin Reeves said in his Media Day availability that

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Speaker 1: Ad looks especially motivated. He said in his interview with

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Speaker 1: Zach Low that AD's been shooting really, really well, which

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Speaker 1: is encouraging. And then Anthony Davis himself and his Media

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Speaker 1: Day availability said that he basically went on for a

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Speaker 1: little while about how he wants revenge on the Nuggets

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Speaker 1: for them to sit, which, by the way, winner gets

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Speaker 1: to talk shit that how that's how it works. But

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Speaker 1: the way a competitor is supposed to respond to that

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Speaker 1: is to get pissed off and want revenge. And that's

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Speaker 1: what I'm seeing out of Anthony Davis. Also, for you

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Speaker 1: Laker fans, tomorrow, we have a special surprise where having

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Speaker 1: Yovan Buja from the Athletic the their lead Lakers reporter,

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Speaker 1: is going to be coming on with us to give

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Speaker 1: a full breakdown not only of some of the media

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Speaker 1: day stuff that they talked about, but he's gonna give

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Speaker 1: us some insight on what he saw from practice today.

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Speaker 1: So we'll get to see some in some on the

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Speaker 1: court intel from yovon tomorrow. All right. Number four, No,

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Speaker 1: Damian Lillard is not as good on defense as Drew

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Speaker 1: Holiday and it doesn't matter quote from Drew. He inevitably

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Speaker 1: got asked about it on media Day, he said, I'm

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Speaker 1: not gonna come in here and be Drew Holliday. I think,

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Speaker 1: in my personal opinion, he's the best defender on the perimeter.

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Speaker 1: He later went on to say I ain't a pushover,

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Speaker 1: basically saying like, I won't be like Drew, but I'm

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Speaker 1: not going to be an easy guy to score on either.

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Speaker 1: And he's right, he's not Drew, and this move fundamentally

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Speaker 1: changes the defensive identity of the Bucks. That goes without saying.

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Speaker 1: He's also right that he's not a pushover. Dame is

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Speaker 1: a good athlete. Dame is strong. Dame is a fire

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Speaker 1: hydrant guy that can hold his ground and beat people

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Speaker 1: to spots. But he definitely needs to make a greater

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Speaker 1: commitment on the defensive end in this particular season. But

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Speaker 1: I expect him to. You know, there's a reason why

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Speaker 1: Dame wasn't super committed on the defensive end in Portland. Like,

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Speaker 1: at a certain point, as a player, you have to

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Speaker 1: make a decision about what the team needs from you.

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Speaker 1: I'll use Lebron to make this example. Lebron in twenty

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Speaker 1: eighteen that caz team needed him to do everything offensively,

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Speaker 1: and the identity of that team was to outscore people,

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Speaker 1: so he didn't devote as many resources to the defensive end.

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Speaker 1: He'd focus on particular plays like a rim protection opportunity here,

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Speaker 1: a transition chase down there. But he would like you

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Speaker 1: concede threes to some players and not make extra defensive

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Speaker 1: rotations at times because on that team, it actually made

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Speaker 1: the most sense for him to have all of his

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Speaker 1: energy devoted to becoming this great offensive engine. Then he

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Speaker 1: gets to twenty twenty with the Lakers. That team's identity

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Speaker 1: was defense. There was a lot more ball handling and

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Speaker 1: shooting on that particular team than was on the twenty

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Speaker 1: eighteen Caves. He had Rajon Rondo to take over possessions right,

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Speaker 1: He had Anthony Davis as a guy, especially in the

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty season, that he could throw the ball to

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Speaker 1: and get quality offense out. So Lebron was a more

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Speaker 1: dedicated defensive player. Lebron is one of the best defensive

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Speaker 1: seasons of his career in twenty twenty, So that's a

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Speaker 1: decision you have to make based on the construct of

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Speaker 1: the roster. Those Portland teams were never going to be

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Speaker 1: defensive juggernauts, and their best chance to win was get

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Speaker 1: enough stops and let Dame just beat you with his

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Speaker 1: unbelievable offensive skill. This Milwaukee team totally different. He's not

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Speaker 1: the best player anymore. Giannis is going to be able

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Speaker 1: to help a lot in those areas, and they have

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Speaker 1: a bigger defensive identity than the Portland Trailblazers did, so

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Speaker 1: I expect Dame to make a decision to devote more

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Speaker 1: resources to the defensive end as a result, it's a

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Speaker 1: no brainer at that point. Again, I think there's a

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Speaker 1: difference between a guy who's a bad defensive player and

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Speaker 1: a guy who's playing bad defense. I don't think Dame's

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Speaker 1: a great defensive player, but there's no reason in the

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Speaker 1: world why he can't do a job within the Milwaukee

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Speaker 1: Bucks scheme, especially with their improtection. He's plenty athletic enough

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Speaker 1: to do so, all right. Number five, Jamal Murray's gonna

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Speaker 1: make an All Star team this year. We had a

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Speaker 1: quote from Mike Malone on media Day. My goal for Jamal.

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Speaker 1: My challenge for Jamal is to show that you can

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Speaker 1: do what you did in twenty playoff games. Because what

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Speaker 1: Jamal did in the playoffs was ridiculous. I want him

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Speaker 1: to be the first time All Star this year. I

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Speaker 1: want you Murray to be an All NBA player. He's

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Speaker 1: got to do it in October. He's got to do

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Speaker 1: it in November. He can't be the slow start. The

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Speaker 1: guys that are on top of their game, they bring

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Speaker 1: it every single night. Now, I want to be clear there.

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Speaker 1: I thought Jamal started to take this leap in the bubble,

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Speaker 1: and then, like a lot of players that came back

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Speaker 1: from the bubble, they had a really quick turnaround, like

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Speaker 1: less than two months to hop into training camp, and

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Speaker 1: so a lot of those guys struggled. Even Anthony Davis,

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Speaker 1: who was playing like a top five player in the

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Speaker 1: world before he got hurt. Even at the beginning portions

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Speaker 1: of the season, ad was a shell of himself. He

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Speaker 1: averaged like twenty one points a game, and before the

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Speaker 1: injury wasn't the same guy. Neither was Jamal. Neither were

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Speaker 1: a lot of the players that came out of the

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Speaker 1: bubble like that. That's typical from that specific circumstance. Then

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Speaker 1: Jamal gets hurt, misses the rest of that season, in

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Speaker 1: an entire additional season. Then he comes back last year

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Speaker 1: and it's that first year back from a significant injury,

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Speaker 1: which comes with its own list of drawbacks as you're

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Speaker 1: trying to regain confidence in planting hard on that knee

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Speaker 1: and all those different hurdles that you have to get over, right.

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Speaker 1: This is his first full healthy season, after a normal summer,

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Speaker 1: after a normal training camp, after his injury, after his

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Speaker 1: ascendance in the twenty twenty playoffs, when he showed what

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Speaker 1: he could do in that series against the against the Jazz,

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Speaker 1: and again against the Clippers, and again against the Lakers.

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Speaker 1: So like, I expect him to play well enough. The biggest,

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Speaker 1: you know, kind of hurdle was going to be, does

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Speaker 1: he have a spot on the All Star team? Just

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Speaker 1: with the talent at his position, But now Damian Lillard's

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Speaker 1: out of the conference, So if Jamal comes in in

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Speaker 1: shape and is ready to go, I expect. I don't

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Speaker 1: think he just randomly gets better in the playoffs. I

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Speaker 1: think he's just that good at basketball, So I expect

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Speaker 1: him to come into the season and play that well.

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Speaker 1: Making all NBAS a little bit tougher just because of

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Speaker 1: the depth at that position across the league. But I

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Speaker 1: don't see any reason at all why Jamal can't be

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Speaker 1: an All Star this year. And I certainly expect him

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Speaker 1: to average at least twenty three points a game for

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Speaker 1: the season. I expect the best regular season of Jamal

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Speaker 1: Murray's career this year. All right, Number six, No, the

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Speaker 1: Suns do not need a point guard, but they do

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Speaker 1: need their stars to take on a bigger role than

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Speaker 1: they're used to taking on. We had a quote Kevin

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Speaker 1: Durant was asked about the point guard position on the

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Speaker 1: Suns and he said, I don't think you have a

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Speaker 1: true position anything. I think a lot of guys can

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Speaker 1: help play each position. Now we've been talking about the

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Speaker 1: last few years positionless basketball. Book has brought it up,

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Speaker 1: has brought the basketball up his whole career. Brad and

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Speaker 1: myself have done the same thing. I'm sure it'd be

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Speaker 1: done by committee, if anything. Referring to the point guard position,

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Speaker 1: and he's absolutely right. What is a point guard's job.

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Speaker 1: A point guard's job is to on the offensive end,

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Speaker 1: on the offensive job, and the point guard's job is

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Speaker 1: to get your offense organized. It's his job to bring

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Speaker 1: the ball at the floor, navigate ball pressure if there

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Speaker 1: is any, and get the ball to a spot where

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Speaker 1: you have an advantage to help you run your offense. Nowadays,

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Speaker 1: we're less running offense and more running action, right, So

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Speaker 1: like we're not trying to run like five players in emotion,

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Speaker 1: we're trying to get the ball at the floor to

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Speaker 1: the right ball handler and then running a ball screen

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Speaker 1: or dribble handoff or something along those lines. And then

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Speaker 1: you might have a separate action on the opposite end

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Speaker 1: of the floor to try to occupy help defenders. But

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Speaker 1: a lot of times it's just two man game or

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Speaker 1: three man game. It's not a five man action, right,

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Speaker 1: And so a point guard is not as important as

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Speaker 1: it used to be. It's more important to have guys

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Speaker 1: who can make plays. How many guys do you have

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Speaker 1: on your roster that can bring the ball to the

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Speaker 1: floor against pressure and run a two man game or

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Speaker 1: run a three man game and consistently generate quality shots.

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Speaker 1: And the Suns have three of those dudes, so they're

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Speaker 1: gonna be just fine. They do not need a point guard. However,

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Speaker 1: what is the defensive role of a point guard? The

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Speaker 1: defensive role of a point guard is to be your

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Speaker 1: primary point of attack defender, usually guarding the other team's

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Speaker 1: primary bell handler. And that's the thing is he says,

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Speaker 1: we've got to do it by committee. If anything, I

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Speaker 1: would apply that to the defensive roles as well. Kevin

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Speaker 1: Durant's gonna have to help with rim protection. Bradley Beal

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Speaker 1: in particular, is gonna have to step up his defensive

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Speaker 1: focus and energy kind of the way Devin Booker has

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Speaker 1: in recent years. They're gonna need all three of those

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Speaker 1: guys to be bought into the dirty work because there

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Speaker 1: will be fistfights along the way. There are gonna be

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Speaker 1: teams that are all so good and talented that might

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Speaker 1: be more committed in those areas. Remember the mail back

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Speaker 1: question yesterday. Parody has made it so that those details

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Speaker 1: matter more now because we have five, six really damn

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Speaker 1: good teams at the top of the league. How well

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Speaker 1: do you defend? What is your natural basketball chemistry, like

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Speaker 1: you know, how well coached are you? What's your injury history?

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Speaker 1: Those are the kinds of things that are gonna end

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Speaker 1: up playing a role. And so, yeah, they don't need

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Speaker 1: a point guard, but they do need guys to take

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Speaker 1: on bigger roles, particularly on the defensive end of the

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Speaker 1: four All right, mailback questions, So first one, this one,

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Speaker 1: I'm not calling out any specific question I had the

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Speaker 1: Warriors video yesterday, and I had a ton of guys

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Speaker 1: bringing up the free throw disparity in that series, and

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Speaker 1: so I wanted to point out an obvious fact Warriors fans, Yes,

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Speaker 1: the Lakers shot a lot more free throws than you

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Speaker 1: in that series. Also, did you know that the Lakers

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Speaker 1: led the NBA in free throw attempts per one hundred

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Speaker 1: possessions and the Warriors were dead last in the entire

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Speaker 1: NBA in free throw attempts per one hundred possessions for

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Speaker 1: the whole season. Also, did you know the Lakers allowed

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Speaker 1: opponents to shoot the fewest amount of free throw attempts

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Speaker 1: per one hundred possessions in the entire NBA and the

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Speaker 1: Warriors ranked twenty third on that list. So all season

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Speaker 1: for eighty two games, the Lakers were really good at

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Speaker 1: drawn fouls and never fouled anybody, and the Warriors were

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Speaker 1: absolutely terrible at drawing fouls and fouled too much. So

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Speaker 1: it's literally impossible for those two teams to play each

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Speaker 1: other and not have a big free throw disparity. If

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Speaker 1: you're focusing on the free throw disparity, you're losing sight

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Speaker 1: of all of the other things that are happening on

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Speaker 1: the court. I also had guys talking about Andrew Wiggins's ribs,

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Speaker 1: like Lebron was playing on a bad foot that cut

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Speaker 1: his regular season points per game by six. You know,

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Speaker 1: everyone's banged up. I'm not trying to say that like

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Speaker 1: there aren't wrinkles and things that can happen in a

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Speaker 1: series that sway the outcome, of course, but it happens

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Speaker 1: to everybody, and it's a loser mentality to not accept

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Speaker 1: the loss and identify where you can improve to make

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Speaker 1: sure that doesn't happen again, versus making excuses. Because I

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Speaker 1: promise you, if the Warriors go about this season thinking

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Speaker 1: we're gonna win as long as we get a better

429
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,840
Speaker 1: whistle and as long as Andrew Wiggins's ribcage doesn't get ca,

430
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,760
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, you're just gonna lose again. So like I again,

431
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,960
Speaker 1: like I'll give you the Lakers as an example. You

432
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,480
Speaker 1: guys know I'm the Lakers are the team that I

433
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:14,000
Speaker 1: root for the most. They did. They lost in the

434
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,680
Speaker 1: Nugget Series because they were too unathletic in the backcourt,

435
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,760
Speaker 1: because Lebron James and Anthony Davis couldn't make jump shots,

436
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,240
Speaker 1: and because they did not have a playoff playable backup center.

437
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,679
Speaker 1: They had a great offseason, They addressed a lot of

438
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,360
Speaker 1: regular season depth needs. Did they get any more athletic

439
00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,080
Speaker 1: in the backcourt? No? Did Lebron or Anthony Davis get

440
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,320
Speaker 1: better as jump shooters? We will see. Did they bring

441
00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:42,639
Speaker 1: in a playoff playable center. Probably not. Now Bruce Brown

442
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,760
Speaker 1: is gone, so their athletic mismatches in the back court

443
00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:47,880
Speaker 1: might not be as big of a deal. But here's

444
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:52,080
Speaker 1: the deal. The Lakers can blame. Like I saw Anthony

445
00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:56,320
Speaker 1: Davis yesterday talk about, oh h we had to hit

446
00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:58,720
Speaker 1: it hard for two months going into the playoffs. That's great,

447
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,639
Speaker 1: but you also had problems against the Nuggets. And so

448
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:04,479
Speaker 1: if you think just because we have a full training

449
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,240
Speaker 1: camp and we can have a normal season, we're gonna

450
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,480
Speaker 1: beat the Nuggets, now you're not beating the Bruce Brown

451
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,040
Speaker 1: piece will help you with your athleticism matchup in the

452
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,960
Speaker 1: back court. That's good. But if Lebron James and Anthony

453
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,639
Speaker 1: Davis don't start making damn jump shots, and if they

454
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,719
Speaker 1: don't find somebody that can anchor the center position with

455
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,040
Speaker 1: Lebron on the floor of Anthony Davis off, you're gonna

456
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,440
Speaker 1: lose to the Nuggets Again. You see what I'm saying.

457
00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:34,960
Speaker 1: As teams, excuse making might offer you some sort of

458
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:41,480
Speaker 1: temporarily temporary emotional benefit, but reality is the only way

459
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,840
Speaker 1: you're going to identify your problems, address your problems, and

460
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,840
Speaker 1: make the necessary steps to win the next time you

461
00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:52,159
Speaker 1: get there. That's what winners do, and I expect the

462
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 1: Warriors to do so. I promise you the Warriors aren't

463
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,840
Speaker 1: going into this season thinking the Lakers beat us because

464
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 1: of the refs, or the Lakers beat us because Wiggins's

465
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,439
Speaker 1: ribcage got caved in. I promise you that's not what

466
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,240
Speaker 1: they're thinking. They're thinking, we have to be better in

467
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: these specific areas to be able to beat the Lakers.

468
00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:12,800
Speaker 1: All right, Next mail back question. This one's from Ryan.

469
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 1: How much value do you see in the plus minus

470
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,080
Speaker 1: stat on a standard stat sheet? I know you like

471
00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:19,480
Speaker 1: to deep dive on stats, but I look at the

472
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,879
Speaker 1: standard stat sheet during and after games, and I always

473
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,520
Speaker 1: find it odd when I see a player scored, say

474
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 1: thirty points in their team one, but they are minus

475
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 1: five on the stats, even though I know they needed

476
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:30,760
Speaker 1: their points to win, but technically they lost those minutes

477
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,959
Speaker 1: they were on the floor. So plus minus is one

478
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,399
Speaker 1: of the most convoluted stats in basketball because there are

479
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:41,200
Speaker 1: tons of things that can poison the data, so to speak. Right,

480
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:46,480
Speaker 1: Let's say, for instance, Nuggets fans going like, ah, we

481
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,360
Speaker 1: always suck with Jeff Green on the floor last year,

482
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,920
Speaker 1: and it's like, yeah, but you were always terrible with

483
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,720
Speaker 1: Jokic on the bench in general, and it like in

484
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,439
Speaker 1: your offense falls apart. Right, Lebron at center units for

485
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:01,600
Speaker 1: the Lakers, they got destroyed, but they didn't have a

486
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:07,000
Speaker 1: backup center, so like those units were not physically equipped

487
00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 1: to win basketball games, and they had to use them

488
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,760
Speaker 1: against really good playoff teams, and so Lebron's plus minus

489
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,560
Speaker 1: was all messed up because he would just get his

490
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,360
Speaker 1: butt kicked in the bench group and then he'd come

491
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,400
Speaker 1: back and look great when he was playing alongside Ad.

492
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,399
Speaker 1: You get the point. But like anytime I'm looking at

493
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,960
Speaker 1: any piece of data, I want to look at the

494
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,159
Speaker 1: bigger picture again. We like, my whole thing with analytics

495
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,960
Speaker 1: is not it's useless. It's just another piece of data.

496
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,760
Speaker 1: And you should never watch the games without looking for

497
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 1: the production that backs it up. And you should never

498
00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 1: look at the production without walking watching the games to

499
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,080
Speaker 1: see what happens they are It's a symbiotic relationship between

500
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,119
Speaker 1: all those pieces. You can't just look at any one piece.

501
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,880
Speaker 1: You have to look at the full picture. I've said

502
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,240
Speaker 1: this before, but like even play type points per possession, like, oh,

503
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,680
Speaker 1: you know this player had a bad pick and roll

504
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,320
Speaker 1: per possession? Okay, what was his spacing? Like what was

505
00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,760
Speaker 1: his roleman Like? Like Damian Lillard was killing teams in

506
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,240
Speaker 1: pick and roll last year with poor spacing and bad

507
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:16,639
Speaker 1: roleman Like, I would imagine his points per possession and

508
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 1: pick and roll is gonna go up this year playing

509
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,600
Speaker 1: alongside Giannis as a screen partner. Right, So like again,

510
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,160
Speaker 1: there's always contexts and stats plus minus. I think there's

511
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,439
Speaker 1: use in it. I try to look at it in

512
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,560
Speaker 1: a larger sample size, like in the whole season versus

513
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 1: one game. But even then, lineup structure can have a

514
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: lot to do with it. So we're gonna look at

515
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,639
Speaker 1: that data. I'm gonna present that data, but never just

516
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,119
Speaker 1: take it at face value. Always look at the bigger picture.

517
00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:48,679
Speaker 1: Analysts often talk about players being soft with respect to

518
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,960
Speaker 1: getting coached. As a former player and current coach, have

519
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:53,000
Speaker 1: you noticed a shift in the way coaches communicate with

520
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,400
Speaker 1: players now, so every coach has a different style, and

521
00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,680
Speaker 1: I played with coaches. I played for coaches that were

522
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,919
Speaker 1: very emotional and highly energetic, and then I played with

523
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 1: coaches that were more chill and always kept an even

524
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,480
Speaker 1: keel throughout any situation. Doesn't mean there's a right or

525
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,360
Speaker 1: wrong way to do it. I do think that there's

526
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:14,920
Speaker 1: a line to cross, like when you start hitting players

527
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 1: that can be rough. But I also think it's important

528
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:18,840
Speaker 1: for coaches to be hard on players. And one of

529
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,680
Speaker 1: the main reasons why is, like, like Draymond said, you're

530
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,359
Speaker 1: gonna run into assholes on the court, and so I

531
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 1: think it's valuable to have a coach that's willing to

532
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,679
Speaker 1: be a little bit of an asshole to you because

533
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,800
Speaker 1: we can talk about like society and mental health and

534
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:34,920
Speaker 1: all these things all we want, and those things matter,

535
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 1: but on the court, it's it's ruthless. They don't care.

536
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:46,000
Speaker 1: Like they might sympathize with your personality type and the

537
00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 1: way you handle tough love off the court, but if

538
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:51,760
Speaker 1: they know that if I talk some shit to you,

539
00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,439
Speaker 1: you're gonna crumble, they're gonna talk shit to you on

540
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,119
Speaker 1: the court, and so I think it's valuable to have

541
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,600
Speaker 1: a coach that's willing to poke and prod you a

542
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,040
Speaker 1: little bit. It because it tests out those emotions. It

543
00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,159
Speaker 1: builds toughness so that when you're in the game and

544
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,159
Speaker 1: you encounter some of that same adversity, you can respond

545
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,680
Speaker 1: to it better. And so again, like I think, I

546
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:15,919
Speaker 1: don't think coaching is becoming too soft, but I do

547
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,200
Speaker 1: think I see occasional comments about coaching that are ignorant

548
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,440
Speaker 1: to that fact. Yeah, and I in an ideal environment,

549
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,439
Speaker 1: we could compete and it'd be all sunshine and rainbows.

550
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,920
Speaker 1: But that's not how it works. Everyone's looking for every

551
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,879
Speaker 1: tiny little edge they can get, and it's a significant

552
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,679
Speaker 1: edge when you can get in your opponent's head. The

553
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,879
Speaker 1: mental warfare is a big part of the game. All right,

554
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,680
Speaker 1: last mailbag question. I remember you going over your fascination

555
00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,600
Speaker 1: with Star Wars and have your other podcast on Star

556
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,280
Speaker 1: Wars two Suns. I want to believe I'm fairly new

557
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,600
Speaker 1: to this amazing series, and I know these mail bags

558
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,440
Speaker 1: are mainly for basketball, but I wanted to hear your

559
00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,280
Speaker 1: take on who do you think is the most powerful

560
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:57,160
Speaker 1: character in Star Wars canon or legends? Great question, So, yes,

561
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:00,520
Speaker 1: I do have a Star Wars podcast later tonight. Actually,

562
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,880
Speaker 1: I'll be breaking down with my buddy Luke, who lives

563
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,040
Speaker 1: here in Tucson with me, doesn't literally live with me,

564
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,600
Speaker 1: but lives here in Tucson. Him and I do a

565
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 1: podcast together where we cover the Star Wars and we're

566
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,560
Speaker 1: gonna be covering Ah Soca in the season finale tonight.

567
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,880
Speaker 1: You can find that on YouTube under Tucson's Podcast. But

568
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:24,320
Speaker 1: I am a general, like in general, a Star Wars nerd,

569
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,160
Speaker 1: and not just Star Wars but all fantasy. So big

570
00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,480
Speaker 1: Game of Thrones fan, big Lord of the Rings fan.

571
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 1: Big I've been liking that Rings of Power series in general.

572
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 1: I'm a big sci fi fan. I'm just like I

573
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:43,040
Speaker 1: love Alien Invasion movies are like my absolute favorite. I

574
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 1: want to go see this new movie, The Creator that's

575
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,640
Speaker 1: coming out that's based on artificial intelligence. I like sci

576
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,680
Speaker 1: fi like fantasy. I like any show or movie or

577
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 1: book that has like deep lore. I've always appreciated like

578
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:59,160
Speaker 1: really good storytelling in that sense. Star Wars. I'm gonna

579
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 1: go who's the most powerful character in Star Wars canon

580
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:06,360
Speaker 1: the legends? Obviously there are a lot of powerful characters

581
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 1: in Star Wars lore. I am gonna go though with

582
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:13,800
Speaker 1: this particular question with Darth Bain. There are three Darth

583
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,400
Speaker 1: Baine books. They're technically legends, although Darth Baine has been

584
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:22,360
Speaker 1: canonized in the Clone Wars TV show. I actually am

585
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,640
Speaker 1: going through the books right now and we're doing reviews

586
00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:26,800
Speaker 1: on them. We're gonna be doing a review on the

587
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 1: first Bane book probably next week. But Darth Baine is

588
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,520
Speaker 1: basically the Sith lord that came up with the Rule

589
00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,080
Speaker 1: of two and so like, there were all these Jedi

590
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,160
Speaker 1: and all these Sith, and there were like thousands of them, right,

591
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,440
Speaker 1: but the Jedi were like teammates and they all wanted

592
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:44,480
Speaker 1: to work together for the greater good and all this stuff.

593
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,560
Speaker 1: In the Sith, It's like the Sith ideology is very

594
00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,479
Speaker 1: selfish and like trying to be ambitious and get all

595
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 1: the power you can, and so naturally, if you have

596
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,320
Speaker 1: a thousand of them, they'll kill each other. And you know,

597
00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,360
Speaker 1: you might have one guy who's super powerful, but two

598
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,160
Speaker 1: weaker guys will team up and kill him, you know,

599
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,080
Speaker 1: that kind of thing. So Darth Baine was a Sith

600
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,400
Speaker 1: a thousand years before the Phantom Menace who kind of

601
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,600
Speaker 1: identified this problem and was like I'm not gonna let

602
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,600
Speaker 1: this happen anymore. And he literally killed all of the

603
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,560
Speaker 1: Sith and then started the order himself with just one

604
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,479
Speaker 1: apprentice who he trained, and then the apprentice would take

605
00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:19,000
Speaker 1: a spot and take a new apprentice, and that's how

606
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,160
Speaker 1: things passed down. And that Bain line, or Bain's Grand

607
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 1: Plan as he called it, actually culminates with Darth Sidius

608
00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:30,360
Speaker 1: or Emperor Palpatine overthrowing the Republic and killing all the Jedi. Right. So,

609
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,200
Speaker 1: like Darth Baine is literally the guy who killed all

610
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,840
Speaker 1: the old Sith, created the modern version of the Sith,

611
00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 1: and started the plan that culminated in the Star Wars

612
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,600
Speaker 1: movies that we watched. I think he's one of the

613
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,960
Speaker 1: coolest Star Wars characters, one of my personal favorites. The

614
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: books are really good. Drew Carpishen wrote them. He also

615
00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,160
Speaker 1: wrote Mass Effect. But they're very straightforward. It's not a

616
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,480
Speaker 1: lot of fluff. It's not a lot of bouncing back

617
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 1: and forth between plot lines. They're short books that are

618
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,880
Speaker 1: just all action, really really good reads. They're very dark,

619
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: a lot of diving into syth ideology and stuff. But

620
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,240
Speaker 1: big Star Wars fan highly recommend the Darth Maine Books.

621
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,480
Speaker 1: Make sure you check out my Ahsoka breakdown with Luke

622
00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 1: after I'll put it up tonight, probably right around like

623
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:20,080
Speaker 1: a thirty nine o'clock specific standard time, but yeah, so

624
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,360
Speaker 1: if you want. But basically a lot of all my

625
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:26,960
Speaker 1: non basketball content is going to be on that particular channel.

626
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,160
Speaker 1: All right, guys, That is all I have for tonight.

627
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,400
Speaker 1: As always, I sincerely appreciate your support and I'll see

628
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:53,040
Speaker 1: you guys tomorrow. The volume