WEBVTT - Winning and All That Jazz

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<v Speaker 1>This crowd rises to its being what Carl slammed it?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh Carl, left wing reball, perfect.

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<v Speaker 2>Pop, then a block, the shot at the rim, how

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<v Speaker 2>with the left hand and of fowl. Welcome the Chasedown Podcast,

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<v Speaker 2>part of the Calves media family. I'm your host, Justin Browan.

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<v Speaker 2>The Chase Doown is presented by Fubo, the official streaming

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<v Speaker 2>partner of the Calves. Watch over three hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 2>channels of live sports and TV, including fan Duel Sports

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<v Speaker 2>Network without cable. There's no cost and no commitment. Try

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<v Speaker 2>for free at foobotv dot com. Slash Calves. Well, it

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't always pretty, but the Cleveland Cavaliers found a way

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<v Speaker 2>to pull away against the Utah Jazz and and their

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<v Speaker 2>losing streak. I'm feeling better finally get to see a win.

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<v Speaker 2>It's always a little concerning. It seems like these afternoon

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<v Speaker 2>games have given them trouble. But the Calves got the

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<v Speaker 2>W and I'm I'm feeling w's right now because I'm

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<v Speaker 2>joined by my co host, Carter Rodriguez.

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<v Speaker 3>Carter, how you doing, buddy?

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad we weren't soon beat against Uh That's all

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<v Speaker 1>you can really ask for. A late season trip to Utah,

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<v Speaker 1>especially for an afternoon Mattine game where the Cavs have

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<v Speaker 1>not been playing their best ball in those settings, and

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<v Speaker 1>with them playing their worst basketball the season, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>first off, way better to win than lose. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if I feel like everything is solved

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<v Speaker 1>as of yet. I still think there's stuff to get

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<v Speaker 1>cleaned up. There's still some form questions, concerns I have

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit. But like at the end of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I don't think they played their best game

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<v Speaker 1>and they won by twenty nine points.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I did not feel like this was a vintage

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<v Speaker 2>Cleonton Cavaliers basketball win, right Like, I don't think that

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<v Speaker 2>this was necessarily a return to form from the best

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<v Speaker 2>versions of this team that we've seen. But what I

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<v Speaker 2>will say is I did feel like from the start

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<v Speaker 2>the defensive effort was there even when the shots weren't falling,

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<v Speaker 2>and that hasn't consistently been the case. I think think

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<v Speaker 2>we've seen at times that you know, the defensive effort

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<v Speaker 2>falls off as.

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<v Speaker 3>The shots aren't falling.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, they're a little late on the rotations, the

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<v Speaker 2>scrambles are half step slow. I felt even in the

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<v Speaker 2>first half where Utah was able to hang around. The

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<v Speaker 2>defensive effort was consistently there. Guys were you know, diving

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<v Speaker 2>for loose balls, they were rotating, they were communicating, and

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<v Speaker 2>if they're going to continue to go through a bit

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<v Speaker 2>of this stretch, which we can get into later on

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<v Speaker 2>whether or not we think this is going to continue,

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<v Speaker 2>but reality is they have been on the road for

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<v Speaker 2>a very long time. They haven't played in the same

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<v Speaker 2>city twice since February twenty fifth, when they so they've

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<v Speaker 2>been traveling between every single game. And I understand some

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<v Speaker 2>of those games are at home, but when you're only

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<v Speaker 2>there for an evening, it's just it's an extension of

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<v Speaker 2>the road trip. At that point, you're never fully getting

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<v Speaker 2>any rest. And I think that that nothing's coming out

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<v Speaker 2>of the bags. Yeah, exactly right. I think Danny Cunning

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<v Speaker 2>on Lockdown Cass has said basically over that stretch, they've

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<v Speaker 2>had four nights at home, like that's that's nothing, right.

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<v Speaker 2>So I do think that that is having an effect

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<v Speaker 2>on these guys. I think it was big that they

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<v Speaker 2>were able to win comfortably enough that a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>the starters got to sit for you know, the end

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<v Speaker 2>of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter. But

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<v Speaker 2>I think fatigue is definitely a factor. But if you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to be playing with some tired legs, if your

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<v Speaker 2>shots aren't going to be following at the clip that

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<v Speaker 2>we're accustomed to getting it done in the least, committing

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<v Speaker 2>on the defensive end, I think is a step in

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<v Speaker 2>the right direction.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, I just thought in general, the energy

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<v Speaker 1>was a lot better. You know, I think there was.

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<v Speaker 1>It's tough because this Utah team is in such rough shape.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, there are a lot worse than they even

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<v Speaker 1>were last year in terms of the guys they have

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<v Speaker 1>on the floor. You know, no John Collins, no Lowry

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<v Speaker 1>Mark and then and so you know, they're playing some

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<v Speaker 1>guys that I just think, you know, Cody Williams ain't

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<v Speaker 1>Jalen Williams, he ain't his brother, and so you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I was trying to kind of identify the spots where

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<v Speaker 1>it was like, are they giving up open shots and

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<v Speaker 1>Utah isn't able to convert or are they locked in?

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<v Speaker 1>And overall I think they were pretty locked in. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that there were a few possessions where they certainly

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<v Speaker 1>got they didn't have to guard as hard you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like because you know, Utah had a lot of guys

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<v Speaker 1>out there that maybe weren't the best shooters, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>at different parts of their roster. But you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>game is the game, and I think I think they

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<v Speaker 1>played their opponent well, they played the scouting report well,

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<v Speaker 1>they left the right kinds of guys open, they crashed

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<v Speaker 1>down in the right spots. You know, they they forced

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen turnovers, They had seven combined as a team at

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<v Speaker 1>nine steals. That tells me at least the energy was

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<v Speaker 1>going a little bit yep.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And you know, I had the eye roll when

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<v Speaker 2>Walker Kessler hit a three three pointer in the first

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<v Speaker 2>half because I was like, come on, seventeen percent three

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<v Speaker 2>point shooter is going to go out there and start

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<v Speaker 2>hitting shots on us. He ended up going one for eight,

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<v Speaker 2>which is just under thirteen percent, So you know, he

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<v Speaker 2>shot his career averages.

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<v Speaker 1>Eight three point attempts. Is no comment.

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<v Speaker 3>What that is is getting to explore the space.

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<v Speaker 2>That is, Yeah, you know, we're not playing for wins here,

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<v Speaker 2>Let's try to expand your game. Jared Jackson Junior got

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<v Speaker 2>to do a lot of that last year, where.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, that Andre Drummond taking threes for us a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of years ago.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, hey, hey, that.

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<v Speaker 2>Was that was some fun basketball. Carter, don't don't you

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<v Speaker 2>dare talk down on Andre Drumm and exploring the space.

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<v Speaker 2>But yeah, there were definitely you know, as you said,

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<v Speaker 2>whether it's Walker Kessler throwing up threes or some of

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<v Speaker 2>the other options that they had, you're not going to

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<v Speaker 2>need to close out on them the same way that

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<v Speaker 2>you have to against Kevin Durant or Royce O'Neil. But

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<v Speaker 2>I thought the overall defensive effort has been a lot better.

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<v Speaker 2>Mobilely struggled in his first game back from injury. Defensively

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<v Speaker 2>against the Clippers, I thought, even though the Suns game

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<v Speaker 2>didn't go our away, I thought his defensive effort and

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<v Speaker 2>impact was back. Kevin Durant pull up jumper it was crazy,

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<v Speaker 2>which is just about the hardest thing you can do

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<v Speaker 2>in basketball. That is one of the most difficult shots

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<v Speaker 2>to defend period in the league.

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<v Speaker 1>So and then Durant, by the way, answered with like

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<v Speaker 1>nine pull up it's in response. It was like it

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<v Speaker 1>was almost like oh okay, and he definitely wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>get his back. And Kevin Durant is still very good

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<v Speaker 1>at basketball.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, he is and you know, I just think that

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<v Speaker 2>it's at least a foundation, right because for the most

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<v Speaker 2>part the offense, those struggles have kind of continued. We

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<v Speaker 2>haven't been hitting threes at the rate we're accustomed to

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<v Speaker 2>another tonight, crazy like honestly, that that really goes to

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<v Speaker 2>show that you're out of a rhythm, right when when

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<v Speaker 2>you're even missing all the free throws, it's even when

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<v Speaker 2>they get to the rim at times, it's they haven't

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<v Speaker 2>been finishing the way that we're used to seeing. And

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know what's if there's any one thing that's

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<v Speaker 2>solely to blame for the rut that they're in offensively,

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<v Speaker 2>but I do think at least getting the win, getting

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<v Speaker 2>some of that confidence back, pulling away in the way

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<v Speaker 2>that they did, can at least help gain some positive momentum.

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<v Speaker 2>Which you know, basketball, whether it is within a game

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<v Speaker 2>or if you're talking about an eighty two game season,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a game and it's a season of runs. It

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<v Speaker 2>is such a momentum sport, and sometimes you just need

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<v Speaker 2>to see a couple of them go down for you

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<v Speaker 2>to gain your confidence as a shooter. Sometimes you just

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<v Speaker 2>need to get that one win to start rattling off

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<v Speaker 2>wins again, So I hope that this can at least

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<v Speaker 2>be a catalyst for that.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I mean, I think it's also important for

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<v Speaker 1>this team to kind of remind themselves that they don't

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<v Speaker 1>need to shoot well to win. You know, I think

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<v Speaker 1>they started leaning on that a little bit as a

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<v Speaker 1>crutch of like, you know, Okay, if the three pointers going,

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<v Speaker 1>we feel great. If the threes aren't going, maybe we

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<v Speaker 1>don't feel so great. They shoot twenty three percent in

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<v Speaker 1>this game. They go eleven of forty eight, which, man,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a lot of three point attempts. I know, I

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<v Speaker 1>know a lot of them were open, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're bored, We're we're pressing my comfort ability there with

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<v Speaker 1>that much. It was literally half their field goal attempts.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, they go eleven of forty eight from three,

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<v Speaker 1>they go thirty thirty three of forty eight from two,

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<v Speaker 1>and they get to the room consistently. They're forcing turnovers,

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<v Speaker 1>they're getting out and running, and they're winning and scoring

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<v Speaker 1>in multiple ways. You know, it's really hard to score

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and twenty points when you shoot twenty three

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<v Speaker 1>percent from three and sixty eight percent from the free

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<v Speaker 1>throw line.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and I think it.

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<v Speaker 1>Goes to show that there are a lot of roads

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<v Speaker 1>up the you know, the proverbial mountain here, and just

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<v Speaker 1>because you're not in great form as a shooter doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>mean that you just have to shrug and be like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the only way. We just got to hope we

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<v Speaker 1>make them, because like the Calves never made them in

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<v Speaker 1>this game, and it didn't matter on you're just scoring

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and twenty points.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And that is my preferred way to go about this, right, Like,

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<v Speaker 2>let's attack the rim. Let's try to if we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to generate open threes, have it be because we're attacking

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<v Speaker 2>the rim, the defense is collapsing, and we are generating

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<v Speaker 2>quality looks Like, I don't want to settle for threes,

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<v Speaker 2>and I do feel like the offensive process hasn't been

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<v Speaker 2>as crisp as it has been throughout the season. I

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<v Speaker 2>do feel like they are settling for threes. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>not to pick on anyone in particular, but Sam Merril

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<v Speaker 2>when he in the first half took a pull up

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<v Speaker 2>kind of one on four or free in transition, it's

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<v Speaker 2>a decent look. On nights where you have it rolling,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm fine with that, but you have to value the

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<v Speaker 2>shots is, particularly when you're overall in an offensive rut.

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<v Speaker 2>I think you need to work to get better looks.

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<v Speaker 2>And I was encouraged actually at the start of this

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<v Speaker 2>game against Utah, where Donovan was really getting to the rim,

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<v Speaker 2>he was getting to the rim at will. I thought

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<v Speaker 2>that they were generating very, very quality looks. I thought

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<v Speaker 2>Walker Kessler was having trouble defending in space, and I

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<v Speaker 2>was like, okay, perfect, let's attack. Let's keep getting this,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, let's force Utah to make us do something different.

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<v Speaker 2>And I felt like we got ourselves out of that

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<v Speaker 2>offensive rhythm. I thought after that start, all of a sudden,

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<v Speaker 2>we started going for that knockout punch. We started to

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<v Speaker 2>take more threes without really working the ball and generating high,

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<v Speaker 2>high quality looks, and I just felt like the offensive

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<v Speaker 2>process overall wasn't as good as it could have been.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, an eighty eight point five offensive rating in the

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<v Speaker 1>second quarter where Utah kind of made their run back

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<v Speaker 1>and Kavs went o nine from three. I didn't think

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<v Speaker 1>they took the best threes, but I think the probably

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<v Speaker 1>the most problematic thing is only three assists in that

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<v Speaker 1>second quarter, So the ball kind of wasn't moving the

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<v Speaker 1>way it was to start the game. The down downward

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<v Speaker 1>momentum that kind of made it hard for Utah to

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<v Speaker 1>stick with them kind of went away. They got more

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<v Speaker 1>to side to side basketball, and you know, of course

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<v Speaker 1>they just missed a lot, which is tough. But you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like I do think, I do think you're right that

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<v Speaker 1>this is still a team that's like kind of like

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<v Speaker 1>and I think that's where both of us are kind

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<v Speaker 1>of on. This is nice, but I do want to see,

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<v Speaker 1>like we want to see some of the underlying performance

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<v Speaker 1>metrics tick back up a little bit before we feel

0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.800
<v Speaker 1>like they're out of the woods with this rough stretch

0:11:58.840 --> 0:11:59.280
<v Speaker 1>of play.

0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:03.040
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Yeah, And I think part of how the Cavs

0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:07.200
<v Speaker 2>are built lends itself towards being able to make these pivots, Right, Like,

0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.960
<v Speaker 2>there are stretches where offensively, our identity is going to

0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:14.960
<v Speaker 2>be centered around the guards, right, they are going to

0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.400
<v Speaker 2>generate good looks for themselves, They're going to generate good

0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.520
<v Speaker 2>looks for everybody else. We can really lean on them

0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.839
<v Speaker 2>offensively when you're in ruts like this, and when you're

0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:26.400
<v Speaker 2>in kind of this you know, long road trip, bit

0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.160
<v Speaker 2>of a rock fight I'd like to see us lean

0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.800
<v Speaker 2>more and more on the bigs, and I just felt

0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:35.319
<v Speaker 2>like we haven't been consistently doing that over this stretch.

0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:39.280
<v Speaker 2>And Evan Mobley and Jared Allen are able to generate really,

0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.760
<v Speaker 2>really good looks for themselves. They are such intelligent players

0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:47.520
<v Speaker 2>in space, in traffic, They're able to generate rim pressure

0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:50.200
<v Speaker 2>in ways that you know, frankly, no one else on

0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:52.880
<v Speaker 2>this roster is really able to do at that same level,

0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:57.360
<v Speaker 2>even if it involves when you're in those one big

0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.319
<v Speaker 2>configurations getting DeAndre Hunter as the role man and trusting

0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:04.200
<v Speaker 2>him to finish or draw contact at the rim. I

0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.600
<v Speaker 2>would just like to see us attack the rim more

0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.360
<v Speaker 2>and not settle into well, this is our shot profile

0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.880
<v Speaker 2>when everything's rolling, so let's almost speak it into existence.

0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:16.640
<v Speaker 2>Let's take these same shots and trust that they're going

0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.440
<v Speaker 2>to fall. I really feel like once you kind of

0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.640
<v Speaker 2>get that rim pressure, once you challenge teams and they

0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.280
<v Speaker 2>are changing what they're doing defensively to take that away,

0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.160
<v Speaker 2>then you can start opening things up and taking those threes,

0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.840
<v Speaker 2>and if it's not falling at that point, at least

0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.280
<v Speaker 2>you can say, hey, they were really cheating to take

0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.720
<v Speaker 2>away the rim. These were the looks that we were

0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:39.680
<v Speaker 2>able to generate. We trust that these are going to

0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:42.000
<v Speaker 2>fall at some point, but I don't feel like that's

0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:44.359
<v Speaker 2>the case. I feel like we are the ones dictating

0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.000
<v Speaker 2>our shot selection more than what the defense is doing.

0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:48.520
<v Speaker 3>At this point.

0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.720
<v Speaker 1>Well, I also, I don't know. I was thinking about

0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:55.520
<v Speaker 1>how when you're slumping this hard as a team, shooting

0:13:57.080 --> 0:14:00.480
<v Speaker 1>it does get break your brain a little bit, because

0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:02.199
<v Speaker 1>when you do want to run your offense the way

0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:06.439
<v Speaker 1>you normally run it and the defense collapses, you're supposed

0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.280
<v Speaker 1>to kick it out right, and when you kick it

0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:13.120
<v Speaker 1>out to an open shooter, they're supposed to shoot it.

0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:17.360
<v Speaker 1>So and I feel like as they've been, you know,

0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:21.120
<v Speaker 1>so icye teams have you know, I think the Calves

0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:23.400
<v Speaker 1>have gotten a lot of open looks over these last

0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.800
<v Speaker 1>five games, and I have noticed. I feel like, when

0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.320
<v Speaker 1>you know, and I certainly feel like the Calves have

0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:33.160
<v Speaker 1>done this when the other team clearly didn't have it,

0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:35.320
<v Speaker 1>you're like, oh man, we really get to worry about

0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.400
<v Speaker 1>the rem tonight, you know, and we get to collapse

0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.120
<v Speaker 1>a little harder, because until they start killing us, why

0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.640
<v Speaker 1>would we why would we? You know, the only place

0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:46.120
<v Speaker 1>they're getting us is at the rim, so let's just

0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:50.080
<v Speaker 1>protect the rim. And like, anecdotally that's what I feel

0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:52.640
<v Speaker 1>like I've seen is like, man, well they're making you know,

0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.280
<v Speaker 1>there are possessions where I'm like, yeah, they're getting in

0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:57.400
<v Speaker 1>to the teeth, the defense collapses and then they have

0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.560
<v Speaker 1>to kick it out and so that that's so I'm sympathetic,

0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.640
<v Speaker 1>I guess, But like that's where I think your point

0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:09.440
<v Speaker 1>about running things through the bigs and attacking differently is

0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:15.200
<v Speaker 1>that's your skeleton key, that's your solution because you're at

0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:19.320
<v Speaker 1>least like one. It's harder for them to dig down

0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:24.320
<v Speaker 1>and help when it's Evan initiating or Jared catching it

0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:28.000
<v Speaker 1>on the move, you know, and and finishing as opposed

0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:29.600
<v Speaker 1>to you know, when those guys are catching the ball

0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.720
<v Speaker 1>near the rim and getting the ball into scoring position.

0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:33.960
<v Speaker 1>It's just an easier finished for them than Darius air

0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.200
<v Speaker 1>Donovan because they're massive and those guys are small, right,

0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.640
<v Speaker 1>So like, if there is extra help in that paint,

0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.400
<v Speaker 1>the bigs are going to finish better than the Smalls

0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:47.640
<v Speaker 1>against that extra help just you know, writ large, you know.

0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:51.600
<v Speaker 1>So like I think that's why I've been disappointed to

0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.760
<v Speaker 1>see them not go to the bigs as much, because like,

0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.920
<v Speaker 1>change the rhythm of what you're doing when the base

0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:01.840
<v Speaker 1>system isn't working, because one, you'll get stronger at those

0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.360
<v Speaker 1>at those, you know, like where you let Evan just

0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:09.320
<v Speaker 1>run the offense for a quarter, like your your group

0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:11.640
<v Speaker 1>can kind of congeal about around that, and then it

0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.480
<v Speaker 1>does change the rhythm for the guards. You know, if

0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.840
<v Speaker 1>Donovan's pull up game is really not there, like giving

0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:20.640
<v Speaker 1>him a bunch of catch and shoot attempts in a

0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.760
<v Speaker 1>row probably goes a long way, like changing the rhythm

0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.520
<v Speaker 1>of where these guys are catching it when the current

0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:30.240
<v Speaker 1>rhythm is not leading to to makes. And this is

0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:34.840
<v Speaker 1>all very soft, squishy stuff which is really hard to analyze,

0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:38.200
<v Speaker 1>especially as like non players and non coaches, because like,

0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:43.000
<v Speaker 1>we're not guys going through shooting slumps. You know, we're

0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.760
<v Speaker 1>not coaching guys out of shooting slumps. So this is

0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.280
<v Speaker 1>all very squishy and very theoretical, and you know, it's

0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.360
<v Speaker 1>very possible any member of the coaching staff or player

0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.720
<v Speaker 1>might listen to this, which they won't, but if they did,

0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:57.600
<v Speaker 1>they might listen to this and shake their head and

0:16:57.640 --> 0:16:59.160
<v Speaker 1>be like, these guys don't know what they're talking about.

0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:03.760
<v Speaker 1>But that's the challenge of dealing with performance dips like this,

0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:08.240
<v Speaker 1>especially as shooters, because it's like, how do you break

0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:09.639
<v Speaker 1>it out of it? Or do you just have to

0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:11.800
<v Speaker 1>kind of white knuckle through it. I don't know the answer.

0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think you're right. When the bass system isn't working,

0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:17.560
<v Speaker 2>that's something that can just kind of break your brain

0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:19.639
<v Speaker 2>in a lot of ways. But sometimes it's nice to

0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:21.919
<v Speaker 2>know even when the bass system isn't working, there's a

0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.000
<v Speaker 2>backup system that's there supporting you. Carter, just like zoom

0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.440
<v Speaker 2>Ai Companion. Because only you can do your best work,

0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:29.800
<v Speaker 2>zoom Ai Companion can help you do the rest, like

0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.040
<v Speaker 2>automatically taking notes, answer meeting questions, and helping you respond

0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:35.880
<v Speaker 2>to your coworker. Available at no additional cost with eligible

0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.760
<v Speaker 2>paid plans. We're happy with zoom Ai Companion. It's funny

0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.520
<v Speaker 2>looking at the wide open looks that the calves have got.

0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.159
<v Speaker 2>The UTAH data isn't in the mix yet, but at

0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:48.919
<v Speaker 2>least for this four game the losing streak that preceded it,

0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:53.359
<v Speaker 2>they were getting a decent number of wide open looks

0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.480
<v Speaker 2>for the season. They take over twenty wide open threes

0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:58.720
<v Speaker 2>per game where a defender is not within six feet.

0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:01.880
<v Speaker 2>Over the losing streak, it was seventeen point five. They're

0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.080
<v Speaker 2>shooting forty one percent on those looks for the losing streak,

0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:08.960
<v Speaker 2>so you know, it's only one percent worse than they

0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:12.960
<v Speaker 2>shoot on the season for those looks, but and it

0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:15.360
<v Speaker 2>is three fewer, but they were getting a decent number

0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:18.439
<v Speaker 2>of looks. I just feel like some of those semi

0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:22.239
<v Speaker 2>contested the lake contest and just how they're getting to

0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:25.280
<v Speaker 2>the shots hasn't felt as good as it has at

0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:26.080
<v Speaker 2>other times.

0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:26.240
<v Speaker 3>Of the year.

0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:30.439
<v Speaker 2>And obviously, when your guards have been going through a funk,

0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:33.399
<v Speaker 2>that's going to make things tough. I feel like Darius

0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.000
<v Speaker 2>has mostly broken out of it. Tonight wasn't a great

0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:38.479
<v Speaker 2>night for him, but he started to get hot, and

0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.040
<v Speaker 2>then him getting hot him and Donovan getting hot in

0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:43.359
<v Speaker 2>the third quarter basically put the game away, so they

0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:44.919
<v Speaker 2>didn't get a chance to continue.

0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:47.800
<v Speaker 1>How about Tye finally hitting a few that was big

0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:48.400
<v Speaker 1>for Tye?

0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:50.240
<v Speaker 3>That was tremendous.

0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:53.240
<v Speaker 2>Honestly, ty Jerome and DeAndre Hunter both coming out there

0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:57.320
<v Speaker 2>and having big games off the bench I thought was significant.

0:18:57.520 --> 0:18:58.960
<v Speaker 2>I think that that is the kind of thing that

0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.240
<v Speaker 2>you really need to have going If you're going to

0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.320
<v Speaker 2>continue to have some success on this road trip and actually,

0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:07.280
<v Speaker 2>you know, close it out on the right foot.

0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:08.080
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:10.800
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, And I mean I think, really you look at

0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.800
<v Speaker 1>those the three guards, you know, because this team really

0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:20.040
<v Speaker 1>has three guards that play now in Tye, Darius, and Donovan.

0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:24.720
<v Speaker 1>Tye has gotten his numbers up a little bit. He's

0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:26.800
<v Speaker 1>you know, he's up to forty six from the field

0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.760
<v Speaker 1>and thirty one from three. Darius is at thirty nine

0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:34.320
<v Speaker 1>from the field and thirty two percent from three, and

0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:37.919
<v Speaker 1>Donovan is at thirty three percent from the field in

0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.399
<v Speaker 1>sixteen point seven percent from three. He hasn't hit a

0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:43.960
<v Speaker 1>three in his last two games. That's alved for the

0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:46.520
<v Speaker 1>munch a month of March for these guys, and like

0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:49.439
<v Speaker 1>there is a little bit of like an inherent like

0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.240
<v Speaker 1>there's nothing to analyze here when those three guys are

0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:59.439
<v Speaker 1>slashing that poorly collectively, they are the play initiators for

0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.639
<v Speaker 1>this often for the most part. Yeah, And it's not like,

0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:06.879
<v Speaker 1>you know, and we can make the Evan argument, and

0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.440
<v Speaker 1>I still think we should that, Like we want to

0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:12.040
<v Speaker 1>see Evan initiate more and run things through the bigs,

0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:15.560
<v Speaker 1>but it's not like his usage is like cratered this

0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:19.240
<v Speaker 1>month and they've stopped running the ball through him. We

0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:22.320
<v Speaker 1>just are wanting it more because the other the alternatives

0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:25.240
<v Speaker 1>don't feel as good as they normally do, right, Right,

0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:27.480
<v Speaker 1>So like I yeah, it's just it's just a funky,

0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:33.120
<v Speaker 1>funky time of year, which is not particularly mathematical. But yeah,

0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:35.679
<v Speaker 1>Evan Evan's usage for the year is it twenty two

0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:39.800
<v Speaker 1>point six? Looking it up live? Bear with me, Oh god,

0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:43.239
<v Speaker 1>it's not loading. Justin it's over. It's over. I'll let

0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:46.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, I'll let you know, Okay, hashtag I'm twenty

0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:48.840
<v Speaker 1>two point eight. It's higher, higher in March than it

0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:49.720
<v Speaker 1>has been for the year.

0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:56.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's funny because it when I look at this team,

0:20:56.760 --> 0:21:03.000
<v Speaker 2>there's nothing that jumps out that like red flag sirens

0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:05.240
<v Speaker 2>going off, like last year when I was very clear

0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.720
<v Speaker 2>that Mitchell was moving around on one leg and Darius

0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:11.119
<v Speaker 2>was the shell of himself physically and was kind of

0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:15.680
<v Speaker 2>fading away, right, Like, there are times where there's just

0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:18.800
<v Speaker 2>kind of boneheaded mistakes, Like some of the turnovers Darius

0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:22.000
<v Speaker 2>has had over the stretch are just too ambitious. Right,

0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:26.199
<v Speaker 2>You're dealing with guys that are mentally and physically tired

0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:30.680
<v Speaker 2>and you are throwing a rocket pass through traffic, bouncing

0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:34.200
<v Speaker 2>and you know, making it a very very difficult catch

0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:37.480
<v Speaker 2>for someone like Jared Allen who's rolling to the basket.

0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:41.040
<v Speaker 2>You can kind of tone that down and let's let's

0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:44.359
<v Speaker 2>go for you know, a more higher percentage play. Like

0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:47.520
<v Speaker 2>I liked him going off the glass, but nobody else

0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:51.760
<v Speaker 2>was on that. See, nobody is on that wavelength, right,

0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:54.919
<v Speaker 2>like those unforced errors. I think that you can do

0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:57.439
<v Speaker 2>a better job of kind of mitigating. But for the

0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.239
<v Speaker 2>most part, like when I see Donovan moving around, some

0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.920
<v Speaker 2>of the misses are really bad, but he looks fine

0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:05.720
<v Speaker 2>to me physically, Like, yeah, I think so too. And

0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:08.760
<v Speaker 2>Kenny talked about that after the Sun's game, where it was, Hey,

0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:11.480
<v Speaker 2>is that growing something that's bothering him? And he says that,

0:22:12.040 --> 0:22:14.840
<v Speaker 2>as far as I understand, it's not. Our medical staff

0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:17.360
<v Speaker 2>has given him the green light. This is just him

0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:20.439
<v Speaker 2>working through some stuff. And I believe him, like they

0:22:20.520 --> 0:22:23.000
<v Speaker 2>have taken such a cautious approach that if a guy

0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:26.280
<v Speaker 2>is out there, I trust that they are not doing

0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:29.919
<v Speaker 2>further damage to themselves. And I thought Donovan getting to

0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:31.800
<v Speaker 2>the rim the way he did to start this game

0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:35.640
<v Speaker 2>was a great sign in terms of how he looked physically.

0:22:35.760 --> 0:22:38.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think so too. And by the way, speaking

0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:43.560
<v Speaker 1>of audacious passes, was that baseball passed to struts in

0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:46.119
<v Speaker 1>the corner the best pass Donovan Mitchell has ever thrown

0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:46.800
<v Speaker 1>in his career.

0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:51.360
<v Speaker 2>Oh my god, it's the best one that I can remember,

0:22:51.400 --> 0:22:54.280
<v Speaker 2>at least in his recent play like that. That was phenomenal.

0:22:54.320 --> 0:22:56.159
<v Speaker 2>That had sauce on it.

0:22:56.359 --> 0:23:00.159
<v Speaker 1>And it wouldn't do like six people. It was crazy.

0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:04.640
<v Speaker 1>That was the vision. The pace. I mean, if that's

0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:07.959
<v Speaker 1>if that is a at ninety percent of the speed

0:23:08.920 --> 0:23:11.399
<v Speaker 1>that he threw it, it's getting picked off and we're like,

0:23:11.480 --> 0:23:14.840
<v Speaker 1>what are you doing? Donovan? Like that? It was such

0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:18.360
<v Speaker 1>an audacious decision, and then to match it with an

0:23:18.400 --> 0:23:23.119
<v Speaker 1>audate with like an audaciously like strong and paid you know,

0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:26.760
<v Speaker 1>the pace on that thing was bananas. What a pass.

0:23:27.200 --> 0:23:30.520
<v Speaker 1>That was amazing. Sorry, no, I don't have anything productive

0:23:30.520 --> 0:23:32.040
<v Speaker 1>to say about it. It was just cool.

0:23:33.200 --> 0:23:34.440
<v Speaker 3>What I liked about.

0:23:34.160 --> 0:23:37.840
<v Speaker 2>This game for Donovan was, at least recently, as he's

0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:40.600
<v Speaker 2>been going through this slump, it's felt like the SHOT's

0:23:40.640 --> 0:23:42.800
<v Speaker 2>not falling and he's not helping in other ways right,

0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:46.119
<v Speaker 2>Like he's actively you know, playing against the Cavs at

0:23:46.160 --> 0:23:48.560
<v Speaker 2>some point. Then I wasn't surprised to see him take

0:23:48.560 --> 0:23:52.119
<v Speaker 2>accountability after the Sun's game. That's one hundred percent what

0:23:52.200 --> 0:23:55.800
<v Speaker 2>you expect from Donovan Mitchell from a leadership standpoint. But

0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.960
<v Speaker 2>I felt like his bad games have felt really bad,

0:24:00.400 --> 0:24:05.000
<v Speaker 2>whereas with this game. He didn't shoot well the three pointer,

0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:06.600
<v Speaker 2>as you said, he hasn't made one in the last

0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:09.080
<v Speaker 2>two games. But I thought he was hitting the glass.

0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:11.840
<v Speaker 2>I thought he was active getting steals. I thought the

0:24:11.880 --> 0:24:14.359
<v Speaker 2>passing was good. I felt like he was playing a

0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:18.720
<v Speaker 2>good overall game. He just wasn't shooting well. And that's

0:24:18.760 --> 0:24:21.800
<v Speaker 2>more reminiscent of what we saw when Darius was going

0:24:21.840 --> 0:24:25.000
<v Speaker 2>through his slump, where okay, the playmakings there, at least

0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:27.639
<v Speaker 2>in that stretch when the shot wasn't falling. Ironically, his

0:24:27.680 --> 0:24:31.080
<v Speaker 2>assistant turnover ratio had been great and he's playing good defense.

0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:33.719
<v Speaker 2>That's what I want to see from Donnay because you know,

0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:36.560
<v Speaker 2>Portland's not a good team, but they're a team that

0:24:36.600 --> 0:24:39.520
<v Speaker 2>has length. We've seen them good, you know, come down

0:24:39.520 --> 0:24:44.120
<v Speaker 2>to the wire against the Cavs tomorrow. Kamara is someone

0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:47.679
<v Speaker 2>that can be really, really disruptive defensively, so I'm going

0:24:47.760 --> 0:24:49.920
<v Speaker 2>to be interested to see there's a very good chance

0:24:49.960 --> 0:24:53.000
<v Speaker 2>that we have another off shooting night there can Donovan

0:24:53.040 --> 0:24:56.600
<v Speaker 2>and can Darius find ways to make an impact even

0:24:56.640 --> 0:24:58.560
<v Speaker 2>if the shot isn't falling in that matchup.

0:24:58.960 --> 0:25:01.600
<v Speaker 1>One thing I do want to say, just you know,

0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:04.919
<v Speaker 1>to kind of contextualize, you know, because you made the

0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:09.000
<v Speaker 1>comment like Darius was you know, even when he was slumping,

0:25:09.040 --> 0:25:11.119
<v Speaker 1>it felt like everything else was still you know, the

0:25:11.119 --> 0:25:13.919
<v Speaker 1>cows were able to survive it because if he'd of

0:25:14.000 --> 0:25:15.880
<v Speaker 1>all the other things he was doing, I would also

0:25:16.080 --> 0:25:19.000
<v Speaker 1>argue they were able to survive it also because the

0:25:19.040 --> 0:25:21.040
<v Speaker 1>rest of the team was in really good form.

0:25:21.320 --> 0:25:22.400
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's a good point.

0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:24.920
<v Speaker 1>And the rest of the team is not in really

0:25:24.960 --> 0:25:27.720
<v Speaker 1>good form right now. So it's like, you know, we're

0:25:27.720 --> 0:25:31.000
<v Speaker 1>gonna feel a Donovan slump a lot harder when Darius

0:25:31.080 --> 0:25:34.520
<v Speaker 1>is also at like not his best either, and Tie

0:25:34.720 --> 0:25:36.600
<v Speaker 1>is not at his best. I mean, think about how

0:25:36.600 --> 0:25:40.160
<v Speaker 1>many of those Darius games Tye just scored twenty four points,

0:25:40.480 --> 0:25:44.040
<v Speaker 1>you know, or you know, or or Max went off

0:25:44.160 --> 0:25:47.480
<v Speaker 1>or DeAndre Hunter got to thirty points. Like, the whole

0:25:47.520 --> 0:25:49.600
<v Speaker 1>team just isn't in the best form right now. So

0:25:49.680 --> 0:25:52.919
<v Speaker 1>I think that is an important piece of context to

0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:56.760
<v Speaker 1>layer into the Donovan slump right now, is like he

0:25:57.119 --> 0:25:59.639
<v Speaker 1>doesn't have the same level of insulation that the teams

0:25:59.720 --> 0:26:02.439
<v Speaker 1>provide id other players on the team when they've not

0:26:02.480 --> 0:26:03.560
<v Speaker 1>played their best this year.

0:26:04.040 --> 0:26:08.119
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's a really fair point. It's funny because I

0:26:08.160 --> 0:26:10.520
<v Speaker 2>was looking at this game against Utah and I'm like, Wow,

0:26:10.640 --> 0:26:13.359
<v Speaker 2>Calves had a sixty to thirty edge on points in

0:26:13.400 --> 0:26:16.639
<v Speaker 2>the paint. They managed turnovers really well. And you know,

0:26:16.960 --> 0:26:19.760
<v Speaker 2>as I'm building out the rundown for this episode, I'm

0:26:19.800 --> 0:26:21.680
<v Speaker 2>sitting there, I'm like, this is the kind of stuff

0:26:21.680 --> 0:26:23.800
<v Speaker 2>they need to do to raise their floor right, to

0:26:24.600 --> 0:26:29.040
<v Speaker 2>mitigate bad shooting nights and give themselves a better chance.

0:26:29.280 --> 0:26:32.040
<v Speaker 2>This is the stuff they weren't doing against Phoenix. And

0:26:32.040 --> 0:26:34.000
<v Speaker 2>then I go back and I look at the game

0:26:34.040 --> 0:26:37.199
<v Speaker 2>stats for Phoenix. I'm like, oh, hes actually won the

0:26:37.280 --> 0:26:40.120
<v Speaker 2>offensive rebound battle, they won the turnover battle, they had

0:26:40.119 --> 0:26:43.600
<v Speaker 2>more points off of turnovers, Cows outscored them points in

0:26:43.640 --> 0:26:46.199
<v Speaker 2>the paint, they had five more steals, and yet the

0:26:46.280 --> 0:26:50.119
<v Speaker 2>game still felt so bad, and some of that is

0:26:50.280 --> 0:26:52.800
<v Speaker 2>due to how rough the second half or the first

0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:55.080
<v Speaker 2>half was. I agree with Kenny Atkinson that I thought

0:26:55.080 --> 0:26:57.920
<v Speaker 2>their defensive effort in the second half was a whole

0:26:57.960 --> 0:27:01.600
<v Speaker 2>lot better, but at kind of the game stats and

0:27:01.880 --> 0:27:04.600
<v Speaker 2>those type of you know, effort splits in things like that,

0:27:04.640 --> 0:27:07.119
<v Speaker 2>and I was expecting them to be one way, but

0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:09.720
<v Speaker 2>it was a totally different way. It really really caught

0:27:09.760 --> 0:27:10.359
<v Speaker 2>me off guard.

0:27:11.359 --> 0:27:11.639
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

0:27:11.720 --> 0:27:13.439
<v Speaker 1>I think it's one of those things where it's like,

0:27:13.880 --> 0:27:18.720
<v Speaker 1>where are those offensive rebounds coming from? Oh, so Igadaro

0:27:18.920 --> 0:27:22.080
<v Speaker 1>and Ryan Dunn, you know a couple of rookies that

0:27:22.119 --> 0:27:25.760
<v Speaker 1>are that are kind of outworking you, Cody Martin.

0:27:26.040 --> 0:27:28.840
<v Speaker 3>Galt me on a two way contract, lighting you up.

0:27:29.240 --> 0:27:32.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. So I do think, like you can't forget where

0:27:32.600 --> 0:27:36.159
<v Speaker 1>the Suns are as a team right now, and like

0:27:36.760 --> 0:27:38.639
<v Speaker 1>I do think that was a frustrating loss. I do

0:27:38.640 --> 0:27:41.280
<v Speaker 1>you think that their focus was poor and they were

0:27:41.400 --> 0:27:43.919
<v Speaker 1>really counting. You know, it's like the kind of the

0:27:43.960 --> 0:27:46.840
<v Speaker 1>worst thing where in that first half where you get

0:27:46.880 --> 0:27:49.720
<v Speaker 1>you give up the open three and you don't close

0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:51.800
<v Speaker 1>out hard, and then you shrug when it goes in

0:27:51.840 --> 0:27:55.000
<v Speaker 1>and it's like, well, I don't tell you, brother, Yeah,

0:27:55.640 --> 0:27:57.640
<v Speaker 1>he didn't do any of the things that would make

0:27:57.680 --> 0:28:01.159
<v Speaker 1>it not go in. So it's it's like even if

0:28:01.200 --> 0:28:03.359
<v Speaker 1>it's a guy who normally wouldn't make it. You know,

0:28:03.520 --> 0:28:07.239
<v Speaker 1>someone like Ryan Dunn, who's not a great shooter. It's like,

0:28:07.640 --> 0:28:10.640
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, man, Like again, you didn't do anything

0:28:10.680 --> 0:28:14.239
<v Speaker 1>that would make it hard for him. So, uh it

0:28:14.280 --> 0:28:16.360
<v Speaker 1>gets really hard to you know, feel too bad for

0:28:16.400 --> 0:28:19.679
<v Speaker 1>you that you're dealing with a high you know, a

0:28:19.720 --> 0:28:23.480
<v Speaker 1>good shooting night from your opponent, Like shooting variants does

0:28:23.520 --> 0:28:26.119
<v Speaker 1>not come out of the same uh, you know, is

0:28:26.160 --> 0:28:28.440
<v Speaker 1>not always cut from the same cloth. And I felt

0:28:28.480 --> 0:28:31.600
<v Speaker 1>like Phoenix really got whatever they wanted. And then by

0:28:31.600 --> 0:28:34.080
<v Speaker 1>the time the Cavs took the game really seriously on

0:28:34.119 --> 0:28:36.639
<v Speaker 1>the defensive end, it was just too big of a

0:28:37.080 --> 0:28:39.560
<v Speaker 1>too big of a gap to cover and you were

0:28:39.640 --> 0:28:42.800
<v Speaker 1>counting on Kevin Durant to miss contested shots and he

0:28:42.960 --> 0:28:46.200
<v Speaker 1>might be the best contested shot maker in the history

0:28:46.240 --> 0:28:46.680
<v Speaker 1>of the sport.

0:28:47.080 --> 0:28:50.080
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and not only that, all of them were in

0:28:50.120 --> 0:28:52.920
<v Speaker 2>a rhythm because you gave them such quality shots and

0:28:52.960 --> 0:28:55.280
<v Speaker 2>they got to see it go in so many times, right.

0:28:55.160 --> 0:28:56.760
<v Speaker 1>Like can I can I pick? Can I pick a

0:28:56.800 --> 0:28:59.560
<v Speaker 1>knit strategically? And that from that game because it bothered

0:28:59.560 --> 0:29:01.200
<v Speaker 1>me at the time and I was put in my

0:29:01.240 --> 0:29:05.280
<v Speaker 1>back pocket. I know that the zone has been something

0:29:05.320 --> 0:29:09.880
<v Speaker 1>we break out when things aren't working very well. We

0:29:09.920 --> 0:29:14.480
<v Speaker 1>can't break out the zone against Kevin Durant. It doesn't work.

0:29:15.120 --> 0:29:19.360
<v Speaker 1>He killed him. It's like the best light contest shot

0:29:19.400 --> 0:29:22.960
<v Speaker 1>maker in the history of the sport. Probably, Like the

0:29:23.040 --> 0:29:26.240
<v Speaker 1>difference between not guarding Kevin Durant at all at all

0:29:26.560 --> 0:29:29.120
<v Speaker 1>and being a step or two late on the contest

0:29:29.880 --> 0:29:33.600
<v Speaker 1>is probably more negligible than any player ever. Yeah, and

0:29:33.760 --> 0:29:36.600
<v Speaker 1>like that's what the zone does, you know, like you

0:29:36.680 --> 0:29:39.680
<v Speaker 1>can't always contest everyone when you're trying to cover that

0:29:39.760 --> 0:29:42.160
<v Speaker 1>much ground, or if he flashes to the middle and

0:29:42.200 --> 0:29:46.560
<v Speaker 1>just catches and immediately jumps and shoots, Like, yeah, that

0:29:46.720 --> 0:29:49.080
<v Speaker 1>was tough. And again, I just think there are a

0:29:49.120 --> 0:29:53.040
<v Speaker 1>lot of things, you know, you know, strategically the actual execution.

0:29:54.680 --> 0:29:56.920
<v Speaker 1>You know, they're not playing their best ball right now,

0:29:57.000 --> 0:29:58.440
<v Speaker 1>Like at the end of the day, they're just not.

0:29:59.000 --> 0:30:02.040
<v Speaker 1>And like I I'm definitely sympathetic of the staff trying

0:30:02.040 --> 0:30:05.360
<v Speaker 1>to figure out how to how to get them going,

0:30:05.880 --> 0:30:08.880
<v Speaker 1>trying to pull some different levers to see what's going

0:30:08.960 --> 0:30:09.640
<v Speaker 1>to motivate.

0:30:09.640 --> 0:30:12.240
<v Speaker 2>They hold a Javonte Green one that we had theorized

0:30:12.280 --> 0:30:13.080
<v Speaker 2>on the last podcast.

0:30:13.160 --> 0:30:15.600
<v Speaker 1>Ye and and I like his minutes by the way,

0:30:17.080 --> 0:30:19.920
<v Speaker 1>but uh, you know, I I think that you know,

0:30:20.440 --> 0:30:22.600
<v Speaker 1>right now, this is the dog days and you're just

0:30:22.640 --> 0:30:25.960
<v Speaker 1>trying stuff to see what sticks and what what gets

0:30:25.960 --> 0:30:28.520
<v Speaker 1>people out of the funk. I mean, h Kenny Kenny

0:30:28.560 --> 0:30:30.680
<v Speaker 1>mentioned it before this game, where he was getting ready

0:30:30.720 --> 0:30:34.440
<v Speaker 1>to a big, challenging long practice to get out of

0:30:34.440 --> 0:30:38.280
<v Speaker 1>the slump, and he's like, let's play horse instead. Let's

0:30:38.320 --> 0:30:41.880
<v Speaker 1>just try to have fun, you know, because like we've

0:30:41.920 --> 0:30:44.120
<v Speaker 1>talked about this a lot that you know, no matter

0:30:44.120 --> 0:30:47.719
<v Speaker 1>how much he loved basketball, no matter you know, how

0:30:47.920 --> 0:30:50.400
<v Speaker 1>good your team chemistry is, there's going to be a

0:30:50.400 --> 0:30:52.959
<v Speaker 1>part of every season in a you know, with an

0:30:52.960 --> 0:30:55.640
<v Speaker 1>eighty two games this season to your point, when you've

0:30:55.680 --> 0:30:59.200
<v Speaker 1>been on the road every single day since February twenty

0:30:59.240 --> 0:31:02.360
<v Speaker 1>fifth pretty much, or you know, traveling home and then

0:31:02.400 --> 0:31:06.240
<v Speaker 1>traveling right back out since February twenty fifth, there is

0:31:06.280 --> 0:31:08.440
<v Speaker 1>going to be a part every season where this is

0:31:08.560 --> 0:31:12.360
<v Speaker 1>just a job, yep. And people don't like going to

0:31:12.360 --> 0:31:15.600
<v Speaker 1>their jobs. You know, I don't like going to my job.

0:31:16.000 --> 0:31:17.800
<v Speaker 1>If you get in, I like my job. But if

0:31:17.800 --> 0:31:19.480
<v Speaker 1>you gave me the choice to stay home and still

0:31:19.480 --> 0:31:23.520
<v Speaker 1>get paid, I'd normally I generally take that option, and like,

0:31:23.640 --> 0:31:26.200
<v Speaker 1>I think that, you know, I think it makes sense

0:31:26.240 --> 0:31:30.600
<v Speaker 1>that Kenny goes to, let's try just to inject some

0:31:30.720 --> 0:31:35.120
<v Speaker 1>fun and some levity into this, to break up that

0:31:35.280 --> 0:31:39.120
<v Speaker 1>this is a job monotony. And you know, who's to

0:31:39.160 --> 0:31:41.360
<v Speaker 1>say if it worked, But they definitely gave a much

0:31:41.400 --> 0:31:45.160
<v Speaker 1>better showing against Utah than they have against other teams

0:31:45.160 --> 0:31:47.000
<v Speaker 1>that maybe weren't weren't strong either.

0:31:47.400 --> 0:31:50.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, particularly you know that that Sacramento game, in the

0:31:50.520 --> 0:31:54.000
<v Speaker 2>Phoenix game, both of those, that's three games, four nights

0:31:54.080 --> 0:31:56.960
<v Speaker 2>in three different cities, where you're traveling between all of those,

0:31:57.040 --> 0:32:01.600
<v Speaker 2>you're leaving the arena at two am and you're just exhausted.

0:32:01.680 --> 0:32:01.880
<v Speaker 3>Right.

0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:05.040
<v Speaker 2>I think we did a pretty good job at the

0:32:05.040 --> 0:32:06.840
<v Speaker 2>start of the month saying hey, this is going to

0:32:06.880 --> 0:32:09.360
<v Speaker 2>be tough. This might not be tough from a level

0:32:09.360 --> 0:32:12.400
<v Speaker 2>of competition standpoint, but they are going to be.

0:32:12.320 --> 0:32:13.840
<v Speaker 3>Traveling this entire month.

0:32:14.040 --> 0:32:16.800
<v Speaker 2>I expect a rut to happen at some point here

0:32:17.080 --> 0:32:19.600
<v Speaker 2>because this is just the kind of stuff. This is

0:32:19.640 --> 0:32:22.760
<v Speaker 2>the grind of the NBA season that always catches up

0:32:22.800 --> 0:32:25.480
<v Speaker 2>to guys. And I definitely found it was interesting that

0:32:25.560 --> 0:32:27.800
<v Speaker 2>Kenny Atkinson went that route. I think it makes a

0:32:27.800 --> 0:32:32.520
<v Speaker 2>lot of sense, you know it. It's just it's very,

0:32:32.640 --> 0:32:35.640
<v Speaker 2>very difficult, right, And I've seen people say, well, you know,

0:32:35.680 --> 0:32:38.440
<v Speaker 2>they're only playing thirty two thirty three minutes. This is

0:32:38.520 --> 0:32:40.840
<v Speaker 2>less than last year, So how are they going to

0:32:40.840 --> 0:32:44.720
<v Speaker 2>get tired? Try, like when they were a mental fatigue

0:32:44.760 --> 0:32:47.880
<v Speaker 2>more than a physical fatigue. Right when you are traveling

0:32:47.920 --> 0:32:51.440
<v Speaker 2>for you know, a month straight, try telling someone, hey,

0:32:51.480 --> 0:32:54.680
<v Speaker 2>you played thirty three instead of thirty five. You're you

0:32:54.720 --> 0:32:57.800
<v Speaker 2>should be fresh. No, Like, those two minutes aren't making

0:32:57.840 --> 0:33:00.360
<v Speaker 2>a difference. You're still going through shooter and you're still

0:33:00.360 --> 0:33:03.560
<v Speaker 2>doing your you know, the workouts, You're still going through

0:33:04.120 --> 0:33:07.479
<v Speaker 2>your your post game routine of icing down and all

0:33:07.520 --> 0:33:09.920
<v Speaker 2>the recovery stuff that you have to do, and you're

0:33:09.960 --> 0:33:13.080
<v Speaker 2>never home. That's that's going to have an effect. So

0:33:13.480 --> 0:33:16.920
<v Speaker 2>when I look at kind of the rest of this month,

0:33:17.120 --> 0:33:19.360
<v Speaker 2>because it isn't until the end of the month that

0:33:19.400 --> 0:33:22.640
<v Speaker 2>they actually have a stretch of games where they're at home.

0:33:22.720 --> 0:33:26.760
<v Speaker 2>Right there, They're going to play the Clippers on the thirtieth,

0:33:27.720 --> 0:33:32.640
<v Speaker 2>and then I think it's the Knicks on the Wednesday after,

0:33:32.760 --> 0:33:35.360
<v Speaker 2>So you know, Sunday to Wednesday, they're going to be home.

0:33:36.480 --> 0:33:39.080
<v Speaker 2>I expect them to look great in the next game,

0:33:39.160 --> 0:33:41.560
<v Speaker 2>but finally getting two days off, you're at home the

0:33:41.600 --> 0:33:43.560
<v Speaker 2>whole time, you're finally going to get a little bit

0:33:43.600 --> 0:33:46.840
<v Speaker 2>of a rest. That first one back at home is

0:33:47.000 --> 0:33:49.360
<v Speaker 2>always kind of tough, that that's almost an extension of

0:33:49.440 --> 0:33:50.000
<v Speaker 2>the road trip.

0:33:50.480 --> 0:33:52.520
<v Speaker 3>But until then, I don't.

0:33:52.280 --> 0:33:55.720
<v Speaker 2>Expect them to really blow a team out in a

0:33:55.800 --> 0:33:59.760
<v Speaker 2>dramatic fashion where you know, they shoot sixty percent from

0:33:59.800 --> 0:34:02.480
<v Speaker 2>three and the ball is popping and we're getting those

0:34:02.600 --> 0:34:03.720
<v Speaker 2>vintage cavalanches.

0:34:04.120 --> 0:34:05.480
<v Speaker 3>I think that this is going to be a bit

0:34:05.480 --> 0:34:07.800
<v Speaker 3>of a grind. I think they are certainly capable of.

0:34:07.760 --> 0:34:10.160
<v Speaker 2>Winning the rest of these games, but I don't think

0:34:10.200 --> 0:34:12.719
<v Speaker 2>it's going to necessarily be the most pretty basketball that

0:34:12.760 --> 0:34:13.200
<v Speaker 2>we've seen.

0:34:13.760 --> 0:34:16.440
<v Speaker 1>I have a question for you for this, you know,

0:34:16.560 --> 0:34:19.480
<v Speaker 1>through the rest of this month, would you let's let's

0:34:19.520 --> 0:34:21.840
<v Speaker 1>say they win out through the end of the month,

0:34:22.800 --> 0:34:26.040
<v Speaker 1>would you rather see them acknowledging that we're probably not

0:34:26.080 --> 0:34:28.399
<v Speaker 1>gonna have a ton of blowouts? Would you rather see

0:34:28.440 --> 0:34:31.680
<v Speaker 1>them win one thirty to one twenty five or one

0:34:31.760 --> 0:34:32.800
<v Speaker 1>ten to one oh five?

0:34:34.920 --> 0:34:36.200
<v Speaker 3>Sorry, what was that first score?

0:34:36.680 --> 0:34:39.680
<v Speaker 1>Thirty to one twenty five or one ten to one

0:34:39.760 --> 0:34:43.080
<v Speaker 1>oh five, Like, would you like to see. You know,

0:34:43.160 --> 0:34:46.400
<v Speaker 1>things aren't coming together, but like you know, but we're scoring,

0:34:46.960 --> 0:34:49.160
<v Speaker 1>or things aren't coming together, but we're stopping.

0:34:50.000 --> 0:34:54.319
<v Speaker 2>Mmm, I think scoring it's just more fun. I've got

0:34:54.360 --> 0:34:57.160
<v Speaker 2>my my Fantasy finals next week. I had one this

0:34:57.680 --> 0:34:59.880
<v Speaker 2>you know, this week, and I'm very upset because I

0:35:00.080 --> 0:35:02.239
<v Speaker 2>to Darius and Donovan to get me more points and

0:35:02.280 --> 0:35:04.800
<v Speaker 2>they and they just had to be pulled in the

0:35:04.840 --> 0:35:06.399
<v Speaker 2>third quarter, which I get for.

0:35:06.400 --> 0:35:08.600
<v Speaker 1>The greater the other way, I'm going the other way.

0:35:08.719 --> 0:35:12.799
<v Speaker 1>I'd like to see them get I want if things

0:35:12.840 --> 0:35:15.240
<v Speaker 1>aren't going to be easy for the rest of this month,

0:35:15.440 --> 0:35:17.239
<v Speaker 1>I would like to see them hang their hat on.

0:35:17.440 --> 0:35:22.200
<v Speaker 1>We're going to suck to play against, Like our legs

0:35:22.200 --> 0:35:25.120
<v Speaker 1>are heavy on our jumper where jumpers were shorting everything.

0:35:25.560 --> 0:35:27.520
<v Speaker 1>But damn it, if we're going to have a bad

0:35:27.600 --> 0:35:30.600
<v Speaker 1>time on offense, you're going to have a bad time too.

0:35:31.160 --> 0:35:33.640
<v Speaker 1>And like I do, I would kind of like to

0:35:33.640 --> 0:35:35.879
<v Speaker 1>see that. Like I love that Utah only scored ninety

0:35:35.960 --> 0:35:39.080
<v Speaker 1>one points tonight. That is a much more meaningful number

0:35:39.080 --> 0:35:43.120
<v Speaker 1>than me than the one twenty in terms of assessing

0:35:43.480 --> 0:35:46.080
<v Speaker 1>where the team's head is at. If that makes sense.

0:35:47.040 --> 0:35:50.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I guess where I'm coming from is I look

0:35:50.520 --> 0:35:53.040
<v Speaker 2>at Portland, I look at Detroit, I look at the Clippers.

0:35:53.040 --> 0:35:55.719
<v Speaker 2>These are all physical, long teams that are able to

0:35:55.719 --> 0:35:59.200
<v Speaker 2>play defense at a high, high level. If the Cavs

0:35:59.200 --> 0:36:01.600
<v Speaker 2>are able to say, hey are three ball isn't falling,

0:36:01.800 --> 0:36:04.160
<v Speaker 2>but we still found ways to go out there and

0:36:04.200 --> 0:36:07.480
<v Speaker 2>score one twenty or one thirty points, that.

0:36:07.440 --> 0:36:09.000
<v Speaker 3>Would feel really really good to me.

0:36:09.200 --> 0:36:12.960
<v Speaker 2>That is, hey, not everything is working, but we are

0:36:13.040 --> 0:36:17.560
<v Speaker 2>still an offensive juggernaut. And particularly when we're looking at

0:36:18.080 --> 0:36:21.200
<v Speaker 2>can this offense finally translate to the postseason? Can they

0:36:21.239 --> 0:36:24.680
<v Speaker 2>finally get over the hump and take the successes they

0:36:24.719 --> 0:36:28.160
<v Speaker 2>have in a regular season to the postseason and establish

0:36:28.200 --> 0:36:33.840
<v Speaker 2>themselves as legitimate contenders in the postseason. More proof of

0:36:33.960 --> 0:36:36.480
<v Speaker 2>concept that they are able to find ways to get

0:36:36.560 --> 0:36:39.839
<v Speaker 2>it done offensively in a variety of ways is going

0:36:39.880 --> 0:36:42.640
<v Speaker 2>to give me confidence, because ultimately I trust that this

0:36:42.680 --> 0:36:45.279
<v Speaker 2>team can play defense. I think that they're doing some

0:36:45.360 --> 0:36:48.320
<v Speaker 2>things that make things a little too hard on themselves,

0:36:48.320 --> 0:36:50.359
<v Speaker 2>whether it's you know, as you said, going to zone

0:36:50.480 --> 0:36:53.800
<v Speaker 2>against the Phoenix Suns or going to the three guard

0:36:53.840 --> 0:36:58.240
<v Speaker 2>look in that time unnecessarily. I think that that's things

0:36:58.239 --> 0:37:00.399
<v Speaker 2>that you can change up in the postseason. I think

0:37:00.400 --> 0:37:03.000
<v Speaker 2>that this team can defend at a high, high level

0:37:03.000 --> 0:37:06.120
<v Speaker 2>when it matters the offense, that's going to remain a

0:37:06.200 --> 0:37:09.799
<v Speaker 2>question until we actually see it. So continuing to at

0:37:09.920 --> 0:37:12.640
<v Speaker 2>least get that positive reinforcement on on that end of

0:37:12.640 --> 0:37:16.360
<v Speaker 2>the court, I think that makes it easier to play

0:37:16.400 --> 0:37:20.120
<v Speaker 2>defense because the the offense is rolling, and it just

0:37:20.160 --> 0:37:22.560
<v Speaker 2>makes me feel a little bit better. I guess the

0:37:22.640 --> 0:37:25.640
<v Speaker 2>true answer there is that's where more of my insecurities

0:37:25.719 --> 0:37:28.359
<v Speaker 2>lie as a fan on the offensive end versus the

0:37:28.360 --> 0:37:29.120
<v Speaker 2>defensive end.

0:37:29.520 --> 0:37:32.080
<v Speaker 1>That's fair and honestly, to your point, if they are

0:37:32.120 --> 0:37:34.080
<v Speaker 1>scoring a one hundred and thirty a night for the

0:37:34.120 --> 0:37:36.840
<v Speaker 1>next four or five games, me and Sterius or Donovan

0:37:36.880 --> 0:37:40.879
<v Speaker 1>are playing really well generally like, that's that's a that's

0:37:40.920 --> 0:37:47.240
<v Speaker 1>a truism, but you know, like and not necessarily figured

0:37:47.280 --> 0:37:51.960
<v Speaker 1>something out and that that has not been clicking for them.

0:37:52.040 --> 0:37:55.200
<v Speaker 1>So I get what you're saying, and then I'm going

0:37:55.280 --> 0:37:59.800
<v Speaker 1>to move it to another macro question. If I may,

0:38:00.520 --> 0:38:04.320
<v Speaker 1>we thought that a franchise record of sixty seven wins

0:38:04.440 --> 0:38:10.680
<v Speaker 1>was all but a certainty just seven days ago going

0:38:10.719 --> 0:38:14.799
<v Speaker 1>into that Orlando game. Now they have to finish ten

0:38:15.200 --> 0:38:19.879
<v Speaker 1>and a one to get there? Do they get there?

0:38:20.640 --> 0:38:22.400
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to keep the faith. I'm going to say yes.

0:38:22.800 --> 0:38:26.040
<v Speaker 1>I think it's going to be ugly. I think it's

0:38:26.120 --> 0:38:29.200
<v Speaker 1>going to be scary, but yeah, I think that they

0:38:29.320 --> 0:38:30.800
<v Speaker 1>get there. I think they go ten and one to

0:38:30.840 --> 0:38:34.160
<v Speaker 1>close this thing out. I it's not a high high

0:38:34.200 --> 0:38:37.799
<v Speaker 1>degree of confidence with it. I am disappointed that it

0:38:37.920 --> 0:38:41.960
<v Speaker 1>is a question after that four game losing streak, but

0:38:42.360 --> 0:38:45.480
<v Speaker 1>I think that they are capable of pulling that off.

0:38:45.760 --> 0:38:52.239
<v Speaker 1>I think they're capable. They've responded unbelievably well to the

0:38:53.040 --> 0:38:57.680
<v Speaker 1>swoons they've had this year. To your point, privately, to me,

0:38:58.080 --> 0:39:00.399
<v Speaker 1>we went twenty one and one after our life's three

0:39:00.400 --> 0:39:03.640
<v Speaker 1>game losing streak, so it's not like the team hasn't

0:39:03.680 --> 0:39:06.919
<v Speaker 1>done it. But I'm gonna say we don't get there.

0:39:06.920 --> 0:39:10.160
<v Speaker 1>I think I think we're gonna go eight and three

0:39:10.239 --> 0:39:12.200
<v Speaker 1>or nine and two down the stretch.

0:39:12.360 --> 0:39:16.799
<v Speaker 3>And ninety two. Yeah, I could see that, and uh.

0:39:17.120 --> 0:39:21.319
<v Speaker 1>But boy, I don't know if the team's thinking about it,

0:39:21.400 --> 0:39:23.919
<v Speaker 1>but I sure would love to see him get there.

0:39:25.040 --> 0:39:27.799
<v Speaker 1>It would mean so much to like, I feel like,

0:39:27.960 --> 0:39:32.160
<v Speaker 1>reclaim your dominance going into the postseason, as opposed to

0:39:32.320 --> 0:39:35.120
<v Speaker 1>like a limp in you know, we just like I

0:39:35.280 --> 0:39:39.080
<v Speaker 1>know that there's no rhyme or reason to this, and

0:39:39.160 --> 0:39:41.480
<v Speaker 1>teams that limp into the postseason end up going on

0:39:41.560 --> 0:39:44.239
<v Speaker 1>runs all the time. Teams that come into the postseason

0:39:44.560 --> 0:39:46.640
<v Speaker 1>red hot get knocked out in the first round all

0:39:46.680 --> 0:39:50.320
<v Speaker 1>the time, like I know, but like, just for the vibes,

0:39:50.400 --> 0:39:53.040
<v Speaker 1>I would love to see this team rattle off two

0:39:53.120 --> 0:39:56.600
<v Speaker 1>weeks of really strong play as we close out this

0:39:56.640 --> 0:39:58.040
<v Speaker 1>regular season, well.

0:39:58.000 --> 0:40:00.560
<v Speaker 2>Especially because they're going to be playing some tea that

0:40:00.840 --> 0:40:04.120
<v Speaker 2>are really gunning for these wins, that really want to

0:40:04.520 --> 0:40:06.799
<v Speaker 2>you know, I think that's part of the losing streak, right,

0:40:07.280 --> 0:40:10.040
<v Speaker 2>we were playing teams that are desperate, that were playing

0:40:10.040 --> 0:40:12.760
<v Speaker 2>with their seasons on the line. Well, the Cavs weren't

0:40:12.760 --> 0:40:15.680
<v Speaker 2>playing for much, right, Like, I think that it was

0:40:15.719 --> 0:40:18.800
<v Speaker 2>a big, big factor here. So for them to say,

0:40:18.840 --> 0:40:22.120
<v Speaker 2>you know what, let's play spoilers. Let's ruin the Clippers'

0:40:22.200 --> 0:40:26.080
<v Speaker 2>day here and give them a loss, and let's you know,

0:40:26.280 --> 0:40:28.560
<v Speaker 2>go through the gauntlet that is playing Detroit and the

0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:31.960
<v Speaker 2>physicality that they play with, and let's punch them in

0:40:32.000 --> 0:40:34.839
<v Speaker 2>the mouth, right, let's get that with I think that

0:40:34.840 --> 0:40:38.040
<v Speaker 2>that would feel really great, particularly you got two games

0:40:38.080 --> 0:40:40.600
<v Speaker 2>against the Knicks. Anytime you can hand the knicks in health,

0:40:40.640 --> 0:40:43.399
<v Speaker 2>that's going to feel great. So if they can pull

0:40:43.400 --> 0:40:46.319
<v Speaker 2>it off, that'd be great. You know, as you said,

0:40:46.440 --> 0:40:50.160
<v Speaker 2>if they go eight and three, that's sixty five wins,

0:40:50.280 --> 0:40:53.200
<v Speaker 2>we would be thrilled about that. But before the season,

0:40:53.280 --> 0:40:54.400
<v Speaker 2>and I think, no.

0:40:54.280 --> 0:40:58.000
<v Speaker 1>Matter justin, can I just say this is unbelievable. No

0:40:58.000 --> 0:41:01.839
<v Speaker 1>matter what expert we set at the beginning of the season,

0:41:01.920 --> 0:41:04.840
<v Speaker 1>no matter how ambitious we think it is, the Calves

0:41:04.960 --> 0:41:10.839
<v Speaker 1>every year have exceeded that expectation so thoroughly that by

0:41:10.880 --> 0:41:13.960
<v Speaker 1>the end we're like, oh man, they only got to this.

0:41:14.920 --> 0:41:17.480
<v Speaker 1>It's like, it's what this team does. Man, even in

0:41:17.520 --> 0:41:20.040
<v Speaker 1>a season where like there's no way I could feel

0:41:20.080 --> 0:41:23.239
<v Speaker 1>even any shred of disappointment at the end of the

0:41:23.320 --> 0:41:26.239
<v Speaker 1>year based on how far they flew past what I

0:41:26.280 --> 0:41:29.719
<v Speaker 1>thought they were going to be. Like that just is

0:41:30.000 --> 0:41:33.680
<v Speaker 1>is honestly reflective of how good they've been in this

0:41:33.800 --> 0:41:36.680
<v Speaker 1>last three or four years, and even in this season

0:41:36.880 --> 0:41:40.800
<v Speaker 1>that I can be like, oh man, only sixty six wins.

0:41:41.800 --> 0:41:45.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think given the benefit of hindsight, it's obviously

0:41:45.480 --> 0:41:48.560
<v Speaker 2>going to be something I celebrate, particularly if they have

0:41:48.680 --> 0:41:51.520
<v Speaker 2>a great postseason run. We're going to look back on

0:41:51.600 --> 0:41:55.080
<v Speaker 2>the season very, very fondly, but they've also earned those

0:41:55.120 --> 0:41:58.640
<v Speaker 2>increased expectations, and I would be disappointed if they didn't

0:41:58.640 --> 0:42:01.920
<v Speaker 2>go out and get the franchise win record or at least,

0:42:01.920 --> 0:42:05.080
<v Speaker 2>at the very least tie it. You know, I think

0:42:05.080 --> 0:42:08.560
<v Speaker 2>that that would be a nice bow on this regular season.

0:42:08.640 --> 0:42:11.319
<v Speaker 2>I think this team has played at that kind of level,

0:42:11.320 --> 0:42:13.080
<v Speaker 2>So I want to see them go out and achieve it.

0:42:14.000 --> 0:42:17.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, me too, I think they can. I think it

0:42:17.080 --> 0:42:20.319
<v Speaker 1>would be a special cap to a special season, but

0:42:20.360 --> 0:42:22.440
<v Speaker 1>it'll still be to your point, it's still a special

0:42:22.440 --> 0:42:26.160
<v Speaker 1>season if they landed sixty four, sixty five, sixty six wins,

0:42:27.000 --> 0:42:30.400
<v Speaker 1>you know, matching a matching a win total that you

0:42:30.719 --> 0:42:34.640
<v Speaker 1>only ever got with Lebron James in the building is

0:42:34.680 --> 0:42:36.080
<v Speaker 1>certainly nothing to sneeze at.

0:42:36.719 --> 0:42:38.520
<v Speaker 3>Totally agree. Well, we'll see.

0:42:38.640 --> 0:42:40.799
<v Speaker 2>Obviously, closing out this road trip with a lot of

0:42:40.800 --> 0:42:45.200
<v Speaker 2>wins would go a long way towards getting that win record,

0:42:45.239 --> 0:42:46.919
<v Speaker 2>So we'll see if they're able to pull that off.

0:42:46.920 --> 0:42:49.440
<v Speaker 2>And really, you know, as you said, get off to Schneid,

0:42:49.520 --> 0:42:52.280
<v Speaker 2>get the offense back on track, keep this defense locked,

0:42:52.320 --> 0:42:54.600
<v Speaker 2>and it'll be great to see big thanks to everyone

0:42:54.680 --> 0:42:56.399
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<v Speaker 3>Joe Cats