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Speaker 2: responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome to tonight here at

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Speaker 2: the Volume. Happy Thursday, everybody. If all of you guys

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Speaker 2: are having an incredible week, it is good to be

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Speaker 2: back at an awesome final ski trip of the year

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Speaker 2: down in the South Lake Tahoe area. Skin Heavenly for

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Speaker 2: the first time ever. Unbelievable view going up that gondola

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Speaker 2: out of that little strip by where the casinos are.

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Speaker 2: You get to see the entirety of the lake and

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Speaker 2: unbelievable conditions we had. They got a bunch of fresh

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Speaker 2: powder before we showed up, and just got to have

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Speaker 2: a good little kickback, one last little bit of fun

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Speaker 2: before we get into the grind of the postseason. Bear

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Speaker 2: with me a little bit today. I was up at

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Speaker 2: two am navigating a blizzard through the pass there as

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Speaker 2: we headed back into Reno and connecting flights and Salt

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Speaker 2: Lake and all that good stuff, and we're finally back home.

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Speaker 2: A little bit brain fried, but I wanted to get

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Speaker 2: some stuff out there from the incredible week of hoops

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Speaker 2: we had while I was gone. So what we're gonna

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Speaker 2: do the plan for right now. Obviously, as we go

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Speaker 2: into the weekend, there's a kind of a funky NBA

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Speaker 2: schedule because of the NCAA tournament. So what we're gonna

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Speaker 2: do today is, I'm gonna go over my four biggest

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Speaker 2: takeaways from my time on vacation, X's and O's in

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Speaker 2: the Phoenix Denver game from last night, a little bit

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Speaker 2: more surface level stuff with some other stuff around the

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Speaker 2: league is Obviously I wasn't watching as closely while I

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Speaker 2: was out of town, So we're just gonna do a

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Speaker 2: quick touch on all those things around the league. Then

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Speaker 2: we're gonna take the rest of the weekend off, and

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Speaker 2: then starting Monday, Grind's Time Power Rankings, We're gonna start

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Speaker 2: doing film sessions more regularly. We're gonna start building out

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Speaker 2: our playoff previews from there too, should be a lot

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Speaker 2: of fun. I'm really excited. You guys are the joefore

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Speaker 2: we get started. Subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel.

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Speaker 2: I mean a lot to me. If you guys take

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Speaker 2: a second scroll down hit that subscribe button. Don't forget

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Speaker 2: about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts under

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Speaker 2: Hoops tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave a

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Speaker 2: rating in a review on that front. Don't forget about

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Speaker 2: my Twitter feed at underscore jsonlt, where I leave film

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Speaker 2: threads from time to time, as well as show announcements

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Speaker 2: In the last but not least, keep dropping mail back

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Speaker 2: questions in the YouTube comments so we can start hitting

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Speaker 2: them throughout the week. Next week, all right, let's talk

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Speaker 2: some basketball. So my first big takeaway from my time

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Speaker 2: out of town last week. I guess the last time

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Speaker 2: we recorded a show was with the nerd SESSH guys

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Speaker 2: last week on Friday, So it's been about a week.

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Speaker 2: Number One, Phoenix is not better than Denver, but they

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Speaker 2: are the biggest threat to knock off Denver in the

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Speaker 2: Western Conference. I thought, even though, no, it's not just

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Speaker 2: because the last night's game. I don't think last night's

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Speaker 2: game was some sort of big sweeping declaration. I saw

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Speaker 2: the Sun's guy that I follow that tweeted something along

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Speaker 2: the lines of like, oh man, we got to start

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Speaker 2: rethinking the MVP race now by hold on, everyone, just

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Speaker 2: chill out for just a second. Like it's a really

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Speaker 2: weird game. Obviously, with Jamal Murray being out and with

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Speaker 2: use of Nurkids being out, it just fundamentally alters the

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Speaker 2: entire dynamic of this particular matchup. But I do think

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Speaker 2: that there are some things specifically in that matchup that

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Speaker 2: pausedive for some issues which we're going to talk about,

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Speaker 2: which is what I think does translate to that postseason

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Speaker 2: setting and what I think makes them the biggest threat. Obviously,

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Speaker 2: Nurkic is just an important element of this matchup because

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Speaker 2: he's one of the few guys in the league that

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Speaker 2: can kinda sort of hang physically with Jokic, which gives

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Speaker 2: Phoenix some more flexibility to defend actions two on two

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Speaker 2: and one on one, especially with Jokics post ups, which

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Speaker 2: can help them stay out of rotation. And then obviously

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Speaker 2: when you take Murray out of the equation, it's just

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Speaker 2: a huge drop off in terms of that second tier

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Speaker 2: shot creation. Oh Michael Porter Junior can scale up his offense,

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Speaker 2: and honestly, he's been one of the stories in the

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Speaker 2: last couple of the months for Denver just how good

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Speaker 2: Michael Porter Junior has been offensively, even on nights when

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Speaker 2: Jamal Murray's not available. But obviously he's more consistent as

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Speaker 2: a third scoring option than he is as a second

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Speaker 2: scoring option, and when you slot him up into that

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Speaker 2: spot and there can be a little bit more inconsistency.

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Speaker 2: He had a little bit of an off night, right,

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Speaker 2: Going from Jamal Murray as your main kind of two

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Speaker 2: man game option with Jokic and Reggie Jackson being your

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Speaker 2: backup guard to suddenly Reggie Jackson being your main two

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Speaker 2: man game partner, and then having Colin Gillespie out there

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Speaker 2: getting minutes as that backup point guard. That's just big

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Speaker 2: drop off. And both of those guys, Reggie Jackson and

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Speaker 2: Colin Gilespie both had really tough nights on the ball.

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Speaker 2: And again, like that two man game, what does that

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Speaker 2: expression mean? Two man game? What that means is you're

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Speaker 2: running these actions with these two players a bunch of

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Speaker 2: different ways to do it right. You can invert it,

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Speaker 2: you run on different spots of the four you can

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Speaker 2: run out of the post, you can run out of

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Speaker 2: pick ball screens, driple handoffs, whatever you call. It's any

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Speaker 2: sort of like two man action. Right in that two

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Speaker 2: man game. What makes it a two man game is

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Speaker 2: that both guys are a threat, and specifically the Murray

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Speaker 2: Jokics two man game, the threat there is like you

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Speaker 2: switch a slower footed guy onto Jamal Murray, he can

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Speaker 2: beat him with tough io over the top shot making,

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Speaker 2: same thing with Nicole Jokich. If you switch a smaller

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Speaker 2: player on him, could take him down to the post,

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Speaker 2: score in the post, or draw double teams in the post.

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Speaker 2: If you run drop coverage, Jamal Murray as all the

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Speaker 2: drop beating shots in the book. Right, Like, there's a

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Speaker 2: two pronged approach there, and on the right night, you know,

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Speaker 2: you can run more dhos with Michael Porter Junior and

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Speaker 2: he's got it going and it works on the right night,

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Speaker 2: Reggie Jackson can be a reasonable fact simile of Jamal Murray.

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Speaker 2: But obviously there's a drop off there. And so honestly,

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Speaker 2: between Nurkics being out and Jamal Murray being out, there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of this game that doesn't look very similar

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Speaker 2: to what an actual playoff series between these two teams

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Speaker 2: would look like. But what does translate The biggest one

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Speaker 2: to me, that by far the biggest thing that stood

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Speaker 2: out to me on tape watching this game, and obviously

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Speaker 2: with something that we notice in there match up a

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Speaker 2: month ago, but it was kind of glaring in this

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Speaker 2: game as well as Phoenix can keep Denver in rotation

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Speaker 2: on defense? Now, what does that mean to be in rotation?

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Speaker 2: What that means is like there is an open man

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Speaker 2: and the other elements of your defense are operating in

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Speaker 2: a man down situation and they're having to leave their

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Speaker 2: man to go to the next guy in line and

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Speaker 2: vice versa. So essentially, just to draw it out in

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Speaker 2: a very simple, basic way, let's pretend Kevin Durantz posting

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Speaker 2: up on the right block and he draws a double

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Speaker 2: from the face side from the elbow right, and let's

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Speaker 2: say that they rotate around in a Winchild wiper rotation.

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Speaker 2: They take away that first pass of the wing. They're

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Speaker 2: matched up on the top, so the skip passes open

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Speaker 2: once that skip pass is made. No one's actually matched

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Speaker 2: up there, right, two guys on KD. There's a guy garden,

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Speaker 2: the guy top of the key guy garden the guy

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Speaker 2: in the opposite wing, and maybe in the opposite dunker

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Speaker 2: spot or in the opposite kind of like between the

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Speaker 2: wing and the corner, depending on how they have the

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Speaker 2: floor set up. Right, But that corner guy, the week guy,

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Speaker 2: he doesn't have a matchup, so as soon as that

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Speaker 2: pass is made, somebody else has to rotate there, which

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Speaker 2: means the next guy has to rotate to his man,

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Speaker 2: which means the next guy has to rotate to his man,

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Speaker 2: and so on and so forth. To put it in

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Speaker 2: a very simple term, to be in rotation is to

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Speaker 2: not be matched up defensively, which can cause all sorts

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Speaker 2: of problems, not just with being constant closeout situations where

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Speaker 2: you're inevitably just chasing the next guy off the three

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Speaker 2: point line, but then he makes a nice driving kick.

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Speaker 2: Read now you're chasing the next guy off the three

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Speaker 2: point line. In addition to that, it also hurts you

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Speaker 2: in rebounding situations. When you're in rotation, you are not

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Speaker 2: matched up. If you're not matched up, you don't know

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Speaker 2: who to box out. If you don't know who to

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Speaker 2: box out, there's probably gonna be one or two guys

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Speaker 2: having a free run at the basket. For instance, Phoenix

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Speaker 2: has been a good offensive rebounding team all season. Why

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Speaker 2: because they frequently draw second defenders and third defenders in

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Speaker 2: ball screens and ISOs and post ups, and because of that,

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Speaker 2: they have the defense in rotation consistently, and so there's

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Speaker 2: usually a sun somewhere on the floor that is gonna

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Speaker 2: get a free run to the offensive glass, and they

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Speaker 2: can have a lot of success that way. But like,

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Speaker 2: there was three ways in particular, I want to dive

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Speaker 2: into the specific kind of x's and O stuff. There

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Speaker 2: are three ways that Phoenix was keeping Denver in rotation

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Speaker 2: in this game. One was bringing Yokic up to the

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Speaker 2: level of the screen. Phoenix has really high level pull

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Speaker 2: up shooters, and when they pull again, it's a very

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Speaker 2: simple push and pull.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: We talk about this pushing pull all the time on

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Speaker 2: the show. You have your on ball guy, you have

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Speaker 2: your screen defender. If the screen defender has to come

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Speaker 2: out high and the roller can get behind him, now

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Speaker 2: you have to tag the roller, which puts you in

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Speaker 2: rotation because now you essentially have two on the ball,

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Speaker 2: and you're bringing a guy over to guard the roll man.

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Speaker 2: There's somebody open on the weak side. As long as

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Speaker 2: that ball gets worked around, you're gonna be in rotation defensively.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: If the big guy can drop back and stay with

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Speaker 2: the roller in front of him, then you don't have

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Speaker 2: to tag the roller, and that allows you to stay

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Speaker 2: home elsewhere, and it allows you to stay matched up

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Speaker 2: and be out of rotation.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: The problem is there is by leaving Yokics further back,

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Speaker 2: there's room there in the middle of the floor to operate.

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Speaker 2: And those are really good players, and Devin Booker and

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Speaker 2: Kevin Durant and Bradley beal that you're allowing to operate

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Speaker 2: in that middle area of the floor. Right. So like

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Speaker 2: Phoenix being a team that has the type of talent

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Speaker 2: that will pull Yokic out to the level of the

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Speaker 2: screen is an important part of what allows them to

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Speaker 2: keep Denver in rotation defensively. Now we're gonna talk about

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Speaker 2: it in a minute, because there's a case to be

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Speaker 2: made that Denver probably shouldn't bring Yolkic up to the level,

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Speaker 2: but we'll get there. Right. Secondly, Nail help and Iso

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Speaker 2: doubles I thot Reggie Jackson was the main culprit here

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Speaker 2: a lot of like guarding a guy on the wing,

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Speaker 2: and you know, one of the Phoenix ball handlers makes

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Speaker 2: a drive towards the middle. Imagine Phoenix pall handler in

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Speaker 2: the right wing, Reggie Jackson guarding the guy on the

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Speaker 2: left wing, okay, and Devin Booker, let's say, rips through

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Speaker 2: to the left and kind of gets towards the middle.

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Speaker 2: Reggie Jackson is sinking way down into the lane and

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Speaker 2: leaving his guy open on the on that wing. And

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Speaker 2: so from there it's just a simple swing pass. And

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Speaker 2: now it's in rotation. And this is not in rotation

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Speaker 2: against a team that has lower level offensive talent that

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Speaker 2: you can kind of offer a token contest at or

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Speaker 2: a token close out out and kind of chase them

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Speaker 2: off the line. Phoenix is just has lasers all over

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Speaker 2: the floor, right, And so when you're in rotation against them,

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Speaker 2: you can be in a big issue where whoever you

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Speaker 2: leave open is a big time threat to knock that

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Speaker 2: shot down. Right. But yeah, Reggie Jackson sinking too far

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Speaker 2: down into the nail. And then also like kind of

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Speaker 2: randomly double teaming without much purpose. He was getting out

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Speaker 2: of position a lot. They were getting into rotation off that.

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Speaker 2: And then lastly, the offensive glass like I mentioned earlier.

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Speaker 2: Phoenix is a good offensive rebounding team because they get

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Speaker 2: you in a rotation a lot. But also Denver, do

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Speaker 2: you guys remember the offensive glass was an issue the

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Speaker 2: last time Phoenix came to town. Matter of fact, if you've

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Speaker 2: been watching the Nuggets closely, it's been an issue for

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Speaker 2: a little while. Denver is twenty seven and defensive rebounding

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Speaker 2: percentage since the All Star break. Now, the starters have

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Speaker 2: been fine. They're about seventy five percent defensive rebounding percentage,

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Speaker 2: which is good, not great, but it's good. Right, that's fine.

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Speaker 2: But basically every other configuration of every other type of

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Speaker 2: lineup that Denver's putting out there right now, they're struggling

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Speaker 2: to rebound. And that's been a consistent issue. Now, why

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Speaker 2: do I Why am I harping so much on rotation?

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Speaker 2: It is just really it's a lot easier to get

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Speaker 2: quality shots playing driving kick basketball against a defense that

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Speaker 2: is in rotation than it is to get quality shots

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Speaker 2: in one on one, in two on two situations against

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Speaker 2: good individual defenders. Right, So for instance, what is the advantage?

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Speaker 2: Why do we see like I still think Denver is

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Speaker 2: the team that I would pick in a matchup between

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Speaker 2: these two teams and a postseason series. Right, most people

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Speaker 2: I think would agree with me. Why because we believe

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Speaker 2: Denver gets better shots. Right, That's the whole thing with Denver.

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Speaker 2: If I take Denver, I'm taking the team that most

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Speaker 2: likely is going to get better shots throughout the course

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Speaker 2: of a seven game series. And if it's a lot

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Speaker 2: of Kevin Rant Devin Booker pull up jump shots like

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Speaker 2: it was last year, then yeah, Denver's gonna get much

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Speaker 2: better shots. And on the games when Phoenix makes all

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Speaker 2: their pull up jumpers, they're gonna win. But if Phoenix

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Speaker 2: is existing in rotation, I should say keeping Denver in

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Speaker 2: rotation and getting really good driving kick looks for really

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Speaker 2: good offensive players, all of a sudden, Phoenix's shot quality

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Speaker 2: goes like this. And this is not the same team

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Speaker 2: that Phoenix was last year. There's a lot more offensive

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Speaker 2: firepower on this Phoenix Suns team. And so that's the

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Speaker 2: thing is like, if they can keep Denver in rotation

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Speaker 2: and their shot quality goes up to where the tough

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Speaker 2: shots are more of like counters and coverage beaters, whereas

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Speaker 2: the majority of their shots are coming like what you

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Speaker 2: saw in that third quarter run where it's like, you know,

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Speaker 2: get us out pushing transition, wide open three for somebody,

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Speaker 2: get a you know, bring Yokich up to the ball,

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Speaker 2: get him in rotation. There's another wide open corner three

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Speaker 2: for Aaron Gordon, another wide up in corner three for

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Speaker 2: you know, Grayson Allen or whoever. It is like when

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Speaker 2: they're getting those high quality shots, they can kind of

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Speaker 2: mitigate that gap there, Right. And so that's what I

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Speaker 2: noticed on tape that that really kind of that that

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Speaker 2: I think bodes well for Phoenix in that matchup is

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Speaker 2: they can get good shots against Denver, not super tough

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Speaker 2: contested shots. They can get good shots against Denver, and

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Speaker 2: they've had extended stretches of that. But we've seen Denver

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Speaker 2: also defend them better even in the context of this season,

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Speaker 2: namely in the fourth quarter of their matchup, the last

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Speaker 2: time Phoenix won in overtime. Right, And so this is

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Speaker 2: where I look at Denver's adjustments running the deeper drop,

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Speaker 2: meaning don't bring Yokic up to the level. Yeah, you're

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Speaker 2: gonna have a sacrifice there. Kevin Durant's gonna be more comfortable,

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Speaker 2: Devin Booker is gonna be more comfortable. Those guys are

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Speaker 2: gonna get some more of those easier pull up jump

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Speaker 2: shots that they can get in those coverages. Right, But

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Speaker 2: in that case, you're helping yourself on the defensive glass

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Speaker 2: by staying not just keeping Yokic closer to the rim,

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Speaker 2: but also just kind of having everybody more matched up.

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Speaker 2: And two, you keep the ball from popping around and

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Speaker 2: getting really easy catch and shoot looks right, which I

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Speaker 2: think are gonna be more dangerous to Denver than tough

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Speaker 2: shot making from Phoenix. I think Phoenix can beat Denver

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Speaker 2: a couple of times on tough shot making. I don't

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Speaker 2: think they can beat him four times out of seven

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Speaker 2: with tough shot making right less help like we talked

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Speaker 2: about earlier with Reggie Jackson, and again staying out of

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Speaker 2: rotation to keep clean rebounding matchups and making Phoenix speach

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Speaker 2: you with tough shot making. So again, I think there

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Speaker 2: are adjustments that can be made there. But if Denver

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Speaker 2: gets into rotation constantly against Phoenix, I think there's a

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Speaker 2: chance that they could get out shot in a series. Secondly,

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Speaker 2: this is another major takeaway that I had on the

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Speaker 2: Phoenix side. Kevin Durant looks substantially more comfortable working against

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Speaker 2: Aaron Gordon as a primary defender in this year than

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Speaker 2: I noticed in the playoffs last year. Now there's reasons

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Speaker 2: for that. Like I said, Phoenix has substantially more offensive

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Speaker 2: talent now, but a lot of it also has to

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Speaker 2: do is just more variety offensively. There's a lot of

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Speaker 2: pick and roll with Kevin Durant last year against Aaron Gordon,

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Speaker 2: a lot of pick and roll, a lot of ISO.

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Speaker 2: Kevin Durant's attacking so much more in closeout situations now,

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Speaker 2: and like he can actually kind of do some damage

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Speaker 2: to Aaron Gordon in space. He's a little quicker than it,

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Speaker 2: which I think is interesting. And so I just think

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Speaker 2: I think you've seen probably Kevin Durant's two best games

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Speaker 2: against Aaron Gordon in the last couple of years. In

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Speaker 2: this season. I don't remember a specific he had a

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Speaker 2: he had some big box score games he had to

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Speaker 2: He had thirty nine in Game three or Game four

347
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Speaker 2: of the of the Denver series last year, but he

348
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Speaker 2: wasn't particularly efficient. This kind of like efficient shot making

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Speaker 2: and scoring from Kevin Durant against Aaron Gordon is kind

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Speaker 2: of a different thing than we saw last year. And

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Speaker 2: I think that that's super encouraging. And then lastly the

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Speaker 2: third one, Dad east Young looks like a legitimate playoff weapon.

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Speaker 2: It's six points and nine rebounds in eighteen minutes. These

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Speaker 2: sons were plus fifteen in those minutes. So far that

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Speaker 2: Young Kevin Durant front court with no center, which they

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Speaker 2: went to for a little bit in that if I

357
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Speaker 2: remember correctly, he was in the early fourth quarter stretch.

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Speaker 2: But with those two guys on the floor, no center,

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Speaker 2: and just under fifty possessions plus sixteen net rating, so

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Speaker 2: outscoring teams by sixteen points per one hundred possessions. Great

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Speaker 2: on both ends of the floor. That group is grabbing

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Speaker 2: thirty seven percent of available offensive rebounds. Bad Young himself

363
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Speaker 2: had four offensive rebounds in that game against Denver. He

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Speaker 2: brings an entirely different look than some of these other

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Speaker 2: role players that Phoenix has rolled out there over the

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Speaker 2: course of the year. The big one to me is

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Speaker 2: that contested rebounding. And so there's a specific play that

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Speaker 2: I wanted to kind of talk to you guys about

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Speaker 2: to kind of demonstrate the advantage of having a guy

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Speaker 2: that can help in these particular situations. So it's a

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Speaker 2: fourth quarter possession. It's early fourth. I want to say

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Speaker 2: Denver's up or Phoenix is up either nine or eleven

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Speaker 2: at this point. It's right around that double figures point.

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Speaker 2: Aaron Gordon gets Eric Gordon on a switch in the

375
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Speaker 2: post posted up on the left block, and Aaron Gordon

376
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Speaker 2: kind of meanders his way into the lane and he

377
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Speaker 2: pulls bull bull on a baseline double team, so bab

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Speaker 2: Bobo come it comes over on the baseline side. Aaron

379
00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,960
Speaker 2: Gordon identifies Christian Brown as the cutter there, hits Christian Brown.

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00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:10,800
Speaker 2: Christian Brown ends up dribbling out to the three point

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Speaker 2: line and taking a three, not obviously a great shot

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Speaker 2: out of a double team, but a shot. However, they're

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Speaker 2: still an advantage there. Aaron Gordon still has Eric Gordon

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Speaker 2: on him underneath the basket. How many times this season

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Speaker 2: have we seen Eric Gordon do damage on the offensive

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Speaker 2: glass with a smaller defender there because double teams or

387
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,439
Speaker 2: mismatches or whatever or switches, cross matches, whatever it is

388
00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,680
Speaker 2: is pulled the bigger defenders away from the basket and

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Speaker 2: left Aaron Gordon down there by himself. How many times

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Speaker 2: have we seen that? That's a huge staple of Denver's offense.

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Speaker 2: But here's the thing that Young comes flying in and

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Speaker 2: even though Aaron Gordon goes way over the top of

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Speaker 2: Eric Gordon and he's there to grab the ball, that

394
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Speaker 2: Young just comes in and snatches it out of his hand.

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Speaker 2: That's a huge advantage. To put it simply, that Young

396
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,600
Speaker 2: raises the physical profile of those and gives them an

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Speaker 2: option to go to that brings more physicality to the table.

398
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Speaker 2: So now kind of to put a bow on all that, again,

399
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,680
Speaker 2: weird game, too many important missing pieces to really view

400
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,640
Speaker 2: that as like an accurate description of what those matchups

401
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,080
Speaker 2: will look like. However, I do think Phoenix does present

402
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:25,040
Speaker 2: some legitimate issues for Denver. Their aggregate offensive talent around

403
00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,000
Speaker 2: the board can really spread Denver out in a way

404
00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:30,800
Speaker 2: that makes it tougher for them, and they have the

405
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Speaker 2: star talent to get Denver into rotation consistently and again Denver,

406
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Speaker 2: I've seen Denver be really good in rotation. I've seen

407
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,439
Speaker 2: Denver run different coverages where they keep you Okie closer,

408
00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,359
Speaker 2: more conservative coverages where they stay out of rotation. Again,

409
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Speaker 2: I would pick Denver to win a seven game series

410
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Speaker 2: against Phoenix, but I think Phoenix is demonstrating the little

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Speaker 2: things that they can do that put Denver into some

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Speaker 2: predicaments that give them some advantages, and I think it's

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Speaker 2: worth keeping an eye on as we get into that postseason.

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Speaker 1: All right.

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Speaker 2: Second biggest takeaway from my time away on vacation gonna

416
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Speaker 2: be a little bit more surface level the rest of

417
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Speaker 2: the way, because, like I said, I was really just

418
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Speaker 2: trying to take the time to enjoy hanging out with

419
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Speaker 2: my wife and with her family for a little bit.

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Speaker 2: Number two, the Dallas Mavericks are showing signs of real

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Speaker 2: championship contention. They had a little bit of an easy

422
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Speaker 2: stretch in their schedule last week. They had three wins

423
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Speaker 2: against the Spurs and the Jazz, But then they roll

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Speaker 2: up into Sacramento for a super important game for seeding,

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Speaker 2: and it's close for a little over two quarters, and

426
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Speaker 2: then they just beat the living shit out of them.

427
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Speaker 2: Now Dallas is in commanding position for the sixth seed

428
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Speaker 2: and they're striking distance of the five seed. Biggest positive

429
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Speaker 2: sign though, we remember they went on that East Coast

430
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Speaker 2: road trip and just got sliced and diced by everybody

431
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Speaker 2: they defended before the trip. Then they went on the

432
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Speaker 2: trip and they could not guard a soul. Right. Then

433
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,240
Speaker 2: they come home and they had a couple of other

434
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,720
Speaker 2: bad losses. Right. I think the Pacers ended up getting

435
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,399
Speaker 2: at home similar type of game. But then they go up,

436
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,160
Speaker 2: they snap back into against the Heat, have a good

437
00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,520
Speaker 2: defensive night. In their ten games since the miamiing game,

438
00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,320
Speaker 2: one zero six point five defensive rating. That's the second

439
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,240
Speaker 2: best mark in the league over that span, in twelve

440
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,240
Speaker 2: in defensive rebounding, which is one of their better stretches

441
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,399
Speaker 2: of defensive rebounding that we've seen over the course of

442
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,359
Speaker 2: the season. We've talked about this with a bunch of

443
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,119
Speaker 2: different teams around the league this year, and there's a

444
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,040
Speaker 2: bunch of teams that kind of fit into this mold. Right,

445
00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:26,040
Speaker 2: Sacramento fits into this mold, Dallas fits into this mold.

446
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,680
Speaker 2: The Lakers kind of fit into this mold. Milwaukee kind

447
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,800
Speaker 2: of fits into this mold. These are teams that, like

448
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,040
Speaker 2: they're jeckaling hide on the on the details, right. If

449
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,680
Speaker 2: you catch the Mavericks on the right night, you're like, man,

450
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,840
Speaker 2: this guys have some real athletes on the perimeter. They

451
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:44,080
Speaker 2: got some athletes under the rim. Their stars are trying

452
00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,520
Speaker 2: hard and doing their job, like they can defend. Same

453
00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:49,800
Speaker 2: thing goes for Milwaukee. Catch them on the right night

454
00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,359
Speaker 2: when dam and Malik Beasley are really turning it up

455
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,240
Speaker 2: at the point of attack, and in general they're just

456
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,720
Speaker 2: engaged defensively. They look really good defensively. Lakers, same sort

457
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,760
Speaker 2: of thing, right, Kings. Gosh, the Kings have had some

458
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:04,800
Speaker 2: of the most impressive two way performances I've seen in

459
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,200
Speaker 2: the league this year. But again, it's about consistency and habits,

460
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:12,760
Speaker 2: and I'm seeing now a ten game stretch, a significant

461
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,840
Speaker 2: chunk of the season where the MAVs are really defending

462
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,960
Speaker 2: and really rebounding. And this has been an extended stretch now,

463
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,040
Speaker 2: dating back to before the Eastern Conference road trip, this

464
00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,520
Speaker 2: has been a thing We're more often than not, Dallas

465
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,320
Speaker 2: has been bringing those defensive details to the equation. And again,

466
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,199
Speaker 2: like everything about we know what Luca and Kyrie can

467
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,399
Speaker 2: do as shot creators. We saw what they did to

468
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,680
Speaker 2: Sacramento in that third quarter run. But that's only one

469
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,680
Speaker 2: part of this. That physical imposition on the game is

470
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,199
Speaker 2: a massive element there. It is a prerequisite you have

471
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 2: to do it. Denver was a mediocre defense a lot

472
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:47,760
Speaker 2: of the year last year. What were they when they

473
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:49,639
Speaker 2: got into the postseason, they were an elite defense. You

474
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,640
Speaker 2: don't win out executing teams on one end of the floor,

475
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,119
Speaker 2: you win out executing teams on two ends of the floor. Right,

476
00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,959
Speaker 2: So I think that this is just I always look

477
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,360
Speaker 2: habits is the big like the thing that you lean

478
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,240
Speaker 2: on when the shit hits the fan, right, And the

479
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,640
Speaker 2: best way to establish habits is over an extended span

480
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,800
Speaker 2: of regular season basketball, putting in that attention to detail.

481
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:12,639
Speaker 2: And Dallas is doing that. That's a major box for

482
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,880
Speaker 2: me to check on the path to championship contention. Really

483
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,240
Speaker 2: really impressive showing from Dallas as of late number three.

484
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:21,600
Speaker 2: This is one that's going to really piss people off,

485
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,200
Speaker 2: but hey, we're just gonna have some fun with it.

486
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,960
Speaker 2: The Bucks and Lakers are two very similar teams playing

487
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:35,120
Speaker 2: in two very different conferences, so obviously the both teams

488
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,120
Speaker 2: are playing well right now. The Bucks went out West

489
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:38,879
Speaker 2: and got smashed by everybody, But they came home and

490
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,280
Speaker 2: they got a couple of impressive wins. They beat the

491
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,919
Speaker 2: Thunder and the Suns in blowout fashion at home. Lakers

492
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,240
Speaker 2: currently on a five game winning streak. A huge win

493
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,119
Speaker 2: in Milwaukee without Lebron James, and then a big one

494
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,880
Speaker 2: without Anthony Davis in Memphis. Now they're making a real

495
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,920
Speaker 2: run at that eight seed. Now, before anybody says anything,

496
00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:59,159
Speaker 2: I know what everyone's gonna say, Jason, that's insane. The

497
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,159
Speaker 2: Bucks are two seeds, the Lakers are fighting for the

498
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,960
Speaker 2: play and how could you possibly consider them to be similar? Well,

499
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:07,520
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go with the similarities first, then we'll go

500
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,400
Speaker 2: into the differences. First of all, both teams have two superstars.

501
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,280
Speaker 2: Both teams kind of considered both of those stars considered,

502
00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 2: you know, comfortably top fifteen. Obviously, both Dame and Lebron

503
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,399
Speaker 2: are down a level from where their original reputation was,

504
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:23,520
Speaker 2: but they're both considered kind of top fifteen. And then

505
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,960
Speaker 2: obviously Giannis is better than all of those guys. But

506
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,080
Speaker 2: Anthony Davis and Giannis are both considered in like that

507
00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:32,120
Speaker 2: superstar tier. Right, So you both got two superstar led teams, right,

508
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,360
Speaker 2: You both have massive front lines Jiannis and Brook Lopez,

509
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 2: Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Both teams are weak at

510
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,359
Speaker 2: the point of attack. Defensively, Now, the Lakers have a

511
00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:42,280
Speaker 2: good option coming back in Jared Vanderbilt. But with Jared

512
00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:43,879
Speaker 2: Vanderbilt out of the equation. They kind of look a

513
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,480
Speaker 2: lot like Milwaukee at the point of attack right and

514
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 2: now Milwaukee is a similar issue with the Patrick Beverley injury.

515
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,399
Speaker 2: The Bucks have twenty five wins against five hundred d

516
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,600
Speaker 2: better teams. The Lakers have twenty four wins against five

517
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,439
Speaker 2: hundred better teams. Both teams are elite against the great

518
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,640
Speaker 2: teams and mediocre against the mediocre teams. For example, both

519
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,160
Speaker 2: the Bucks and the Lakers are top five in net

520
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,400
Speaker 2: rating against teams in the top ten in point differential.

521
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:14,399
Speaker 2: According to Cleaning the Glass, the Lakers have seventeen such

522
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,480
Speaker 2: wins against teams in the top ten in point differential,

523
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,199
Speaker 2: which is the most in the league. For comparison, the

524
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 2: Celtics have only thirteen such wins. To give you an idea,

525
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,120
Speaker 2: the Lakers have played the toughest schedule in the NBA

526
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,240
Speaker 2: this year, almost fifty two percent opponent winning percentage. Both

527
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:34,040
Speaker 2: teams are bottom twelve in net rating against teams in

528
00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 2: the middle ten of point differential. So, Lakers fans, if

529
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,600
Speaker 2: it felt like to you that the Lakers show up

530
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:41,720
Speaker 2: for big games and then all the middle of the

531
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,879
Speaker 2: pack teams, they're kind of bad or mediocre, same exact

532
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,400
Speaker 2: thing Bucks fans have been dealing with. They've been really

533
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 2: good against the top of the league, pretty mediocre against

534
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,840
Speaker 2: the middle of the team middle of the league. Both

535
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,680
Speaker 2: teams are awesome in the clutch. Both the Lakers and

536
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 2: Bucks are top five in clutch win percentage and total

537
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,560
Speaker 2: clutch wins. So a ton of similarities between the Bucks

538
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,679
Speaker 2: and the Lakers. So Jason, why are the Bucks the

539
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,720
Speaker 2: two seed in the Lakers the nine seed? Because the

540
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,879
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference is absolutely horrifically bad at the bottom. The

541
00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,439
Speaker 2: West has completely an utterly cleaned house against the East

542
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,359
Speaker 2: in cross conference matchups this year. The scheduling is just

543
00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,560
Speaker 2: to give you an idea, because you play the bottom

544
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,159
Speaker 2: teams in your you you play fifty two what's it,

545
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,800
Speaker 2: fifty two of your eighty two games against your own conference.

546
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:32,919
Speaker 2: So it makes this a substantial difference on the strength

547
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,040
Speaker 2: of schedule, right to give you an idea, Three of

548
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:38,159
Speaker 2: the four worst records in the league or in the

549
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,240
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference, and the Bucks are ten and zher in

550
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 2: those games Charlotte Detroit Washington Bucks are ten and oh

551
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,600
Speaker 2: the Lakers don't get to play Charlotte Detroit and Washington

552
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,840
Speaker 2: that often they just don't I I'm not mistaken. I

553
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,119
Speaker 2: think the Bucks have two more matchups with Washington just

554
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,680
Speaker 2: this year. If they're one of those teams, I can't

555
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:55,800
Speaker 2: remember who it is, but they have a couple more

556
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,439
Speaker 2: matchups just this year against those teams. The Lakers have

557
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,200
Speaker 2: played the office schedule in the league this year. The

558
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,960
Speaker 2: Bucks have played the eighteenth toughest schedule in the league

559
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 2: this year. To put it more simply, the Bucks have

560
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,280
Speaker 2: forty six wins. The Lakers have forty one wins. But

561
00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 2: the Bucks have played an additional five games against below

562
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 2: five hundred opponents. That's the difference. That's the difference between

563
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,560
Speaker 2: these two teams. Think about that, Think about the way

564
00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,800
Speaker 2: the Lakers are perceived. I still every single day get

565
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,120
Speaker 2: countless YouTube comments about how the Lakers are so bad

566
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 2: and no team in NBA history would get talked about

567
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,760
Speaker 2: this much. As a nine seed. They literally have the

568
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,199
Speaker 2: most wins against top ten teams in the league. They

569
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,520
Speaker 2: have seventeen of them. They have one fewer win against

570
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 2: five hundred better teams than the Bucks. They have countless

571
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:42,480
Speaker 2: massive national TV wins against really high level teams. They've

572
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,119
Speaker 2: played the toughest league schedule in the league. They just

573
00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 2: have a really difficult conference, and they went three to

574
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,120
Speaker 2: ten for a brief stretch after the Ncason Tournament when

575
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:55,119
Speaker 2: Darvin ham literally benched three of their five highest paid

576
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:59,359
Speaker 2: players for no fucking reason. Okay, that's why the Lakers

577
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,160
Speaker 2: are perceived. They're perceived. Now. Do I think the Lakers

578
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,600
Speaker 2: are a top tier championship contender. No, But I don't

579
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:06,720
Speaker 2: think the Bucks are either. I think they're more or

580
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,480
Speaker 2: less the same. They're in that tier below the teams

581
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 2: at the top of the league. Both of them have

582
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,680
Speaker 2: real championship potential, but they've got to improve in certain areas.

583
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,639
Speaker 2: Both need to get healthy too. That the Bucks in

584
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,760
Speaker 2: the Lakers, it's so funny to me because that is

585
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,360
Speaker 2: a textbook example of the weakness in the Eastern Conference

586
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,320
Speaker 2: at the bottom, and how that just completely turns everybody

587
00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:31,119
Speaker 2: into standings watchers and they miss what's happening right in

588
00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,240
Speaker 2: front of them. The Lakers are every bit as good

589
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:37,040
Speaker 2: at basketball as the Milwaukee Bucks. The difference is one

590
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,720
Speaker 2: team ratcheted up a bunch of easy wins against bad

591
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 2: teams at the bottom, and so they look substantially better

592
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,880
Speaker 2: in the standings on the Lakers front before we move on,

593
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 2: I think like this this latest stretch had Honestly, it

594
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,360
Speaker 2: was fun watching as a fan on vacation. Obviously, I

595
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,160
Speaker 2: was actually talking about with my wife about this, Like,

596
00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,400
Speaker 2: I so much of what I do has, you know,

597
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,960
Speaker 2: the work element to it, right, even last year, just

598
00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,040
Speaker 2: as a as someone rooting for the Lakers, it was

599
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:08,000
Speaker 2: kind of a pain in the ass having to like

600
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,239
Speaker 2: navigate that while also trying to cover them fairly in

601
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,960
Speaker 2: the show, right and uh, and obviously I've never tried

602
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 2: to hide from my biases there. I'm just trying to

603
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:18,719
Speaker 2: tell you guys, I'm a Lakers fan. Obviously I have

604
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 2: a rooting interest there, but at the same time, I'm

605
00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,560
Speaker 2: not like the kind of like blind follower in the

606
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,000
Speaker 2: sense that all you Lakers fans know. I've been talking

607
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,160
Speaker 2: endless shit about the Lakers this year because they're a

608
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,200
Speaker 2: team that frustrates me on so many different levels. But

609
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:33,200
Speaker 2: one of the things that's really stood out to me,

610
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 2: and just getting to watch as a fan was so

611
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 2: fun because on this trip, like I literally was just

612
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 2: kicking back, you know, having a couple of drinks with

613
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,400
Speaker 2: my wife watching the game. It just was more enjoyable.

614
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 2: It was enjoyable in a different way to just do

615
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 2: it as a fan, and that Bucks game was so

616
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:52,520
Speaker 2: much fun, Like just impressive resilience. Some of the craziest

617
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,240
Speaker 2: plays I've ever seen, like Spencer Dinwoodie when he couldn't

618
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,640
Speaker 2: buy a bucket all game, just like fully up in

619
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 2: transition from the three point line and sticking that above

620
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,520
Speaker 2: the break three. That was insane. Austin Reeves that might

621
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,080
Speaker 2: have been his very best game as a professional basketball player.

622
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,959
Speaker 2: That was insane. The big one to me, though, that's

623
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,880
Speaker 2: really standing out to me about this Lakers team is

624
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:16,000
Speaker 2: they're like, legitimately just super hard to guard, which I

625
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,200
Speaker 2: never would have thought I would say this at the

626
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,200
Speaker 2: beginning of this season, because this has been a mediocre

627
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,240
Speaker 2: offensive team the entire time I've known them, and I

628
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 2: mean the Lebron ad era. They were mediocre offensively in

629
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:33,960
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen. They were okay to good in the twenty

630
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,520
Speaker 2: twenty season, but they weren't particularly good in the half court.

631
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 2: They were pretty bad in twenty twenty one, They are

632
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,600
Speaker 2: pretty bad in twenty twenty two, they were pretty bad

633
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,600
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty three, and they've been pretty bad most

634
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 2: of this year like that, like that, like to start

635
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,520
Speaker 2: this year right. That's what I've known watching the Lebron

636
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,880
Speaker 2: ad Lakers since basically January, the beginning of the year.

637
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 2: They've been an awesome offense. They're one of the best

638
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,600
Speaker 2: three point shooting teams in the league. They have tons

639
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:02,880
Speaker 2: of different kinds of shot creation. It's like Austin Reeves

640
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,719
Speaker 2: can get hot at any given night. Daniel Russell can

641
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,200
Speaker 2: get hot at any given night. Ruyacha Mura in the

642
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 2: starting lineup has presented a bunch of issues for teams

643
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,440
Speaker 2: where it's like, Okay, I need a big guy to

644
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,040
Speaker 2: guard Anthony Davis. Okay, here he is. I need a

645
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,520
Speaker 2: big guy who was pretty fast to guard Lebron James, okay, cool.

646
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,960
Speaker 2: I need point of attack defenders to deal with Austin

647
00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,680
Speaker 2: Reeves and Danzel Russell and ball screens, okay, cool, who's

648
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 2: guarding Ruie. Who's guarding Rueie. He's getting guarded by the

649
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,800
Speaker 2: weakest defender every single game, and he's cooking teams, and

650
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,000
Speaker 2: not only on the ball too, because he can beat

651
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,640
Speaker 2: guys in io and post up situations on the ball,

652
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:38,760
Speaker 2: but he also can do it just spotting up, like

653
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,000
Speaker 2: He's been a really good spot up player this year,

654
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,280
Speaker 2: not just shooting threes but attacking closeouts. He's been a

655
00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:47,600
Speaker 2: great transition athlete as well. Obviously it's not the ideal configuration,

656
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,160
Speaker 2: and when Jared Vanderbilt comes back, I think he should start,

657
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,200
Speaker 2: and then I would just play Ruey similar minutes coming

658
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,320
Speaker 2: off the bench. But like that presents a whole other

659
00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 2: set of issues for teams. Everyone's getting better. Daniel Russell

660
00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:01,960
Speaker 2: is a substantially better player now than he was to

661
00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,520
Speaker 2: start the season. Austin Reeves is substantially better player now

662
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,320
Speaker 2: than he was to start the season. He's looking like

663
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:09,479
Speaker 2: even though he's not quite to the level of production

664
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,200
Speaker 2: he was at in the postseason last year, he is

665
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:15,360
Speaker 2: doing at a higher level this year in a more

666
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 2: difficult role alongside a bunch of other pieces. This is

667
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 2: not brute force spread the floor or Austin plays pick

668
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 2: and roll. He's doing this in the flow of the

669
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:26,720
Speaker 2: offense with everybody, Anthony Davis passing out of the post

670
00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:30,680
Speaker 2: better than ever before, Lebron James having host a better

671
00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 2: offensive season by a mile than he did last year.

672
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:38,080
Speaker 2: This is a good offense. This is a really good offense,

673
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:40,680
Speaker 2: and again, I don't think they have any chance to

674
00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:42,680
Speaker 2: win the title unless they can kind of round some

675
00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 2: things out defensively. Austin Reeves has been really good at

676
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:47,800
Speaker 2: the point of attack, even though he's been given some

677
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,680
Speaker 2: really tough assignments that he really has no business taken

678
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:52,200
Speaker 2: care of. But he's done a good job. But that

679
00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:54,120
Speaker 2: he did an awesome job on Dame the other night.

680
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:56,600
Speaker 2: But like when you slot Jared Vanderbilt in there and

681
00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,120
Speaker 2: put everybody back down in the appropriate defensive roles, they

682
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,600
Speaker 2: can get their defense even in the same stratosphere as

683
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,120
Speaker 2: their offense. They can get up in that ten to

684
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 2: fifteen range as a defense when they get healthy. That's

685
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:12,440
Speaker 2: where their puncher's chances. Again, I know, I'm a fan.

686
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,280
Speaker 2: I know that it's foolishness to consider the Lakers on

687
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:17,840
Speaker 2: the same tier as the teams at the top of

688
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:19,720
Speaker 2: the league, and I don't. But I do think they're

689
00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 2: every bit as good as everybody that's below them, below

690
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,959
Speaker 2: that Boston Denver tier, and I think they've shown it

691
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,120
Speaker 2: in a lot of real ways that they're not getting

692
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,360
Speaker 2: credit for this year. A really tough Western Conference, in

693
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,640
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks where they were dogshit has completely

694
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 2: changed the perception around about the Lakers around the league,

695
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,560
Speaker 2: and I think that they're worth at least paying attention

696
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 2: to here down the stretch. All right. Lastly, before we

697
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,080
Speaker 2: get out of here today, my fourth biggest takeaway, the

698
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:50,200
Speaker 2: Warriors looked completely dead to rights and then they saved

699
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:55,040
Speaker 2: their season. You know, I kind of you know, pulled

700
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,760
Speaker 2: aside this part of their schedule as a vulnerability for

701
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,480
Speaker 2: the war is just simply because of the type of

702
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:05,200
Speaker 2: personnel they were going against. Teams that have really good, physical,

703
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:10,120
Speaker 2: strong perimeter defenders that can make Steph work hard, can

704
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:14,200
Speaker 2: expose the issues that the Warriors having down the roster

705
00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:18,200
Speaker 2: shot creation, and I had a feeling that this stretch

706
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:20,719
Speaker 2: would cause them some issues, and it did. But the

707
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,200
Speaker 2: last two games are not easy matchups on that front either.

708
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,399
Speaker 2: Miami has athletes on the perimeter that they can throw

709
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:29,360
Speaker 2: at Steph. The Orlando Magic have arguably the best young

710
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,560
Speaker 2: guard defender in the league in Jalen Sucks. And so

711
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,200
Speaker 2: these were games that I kind of had my eye

712
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,160
Speaker 2: on as where it could have gone really south. And

713
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,359
Speaker 2: then to make it matters worse, Houston can't lose, you know,

714
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,080
Speaker 2: So like it was looking like a danger zone. And

715
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:46,960
Speaker 2: this is where you know, I have such an appreciation

716
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 2: for guys like Steph Curry, and both Steph and Lebron

717
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:52,279
Speaker 2: have had stretches like this in the last couple of years,

718
00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:54,480
Speaker 2: and it's helped, you know, kind of reinforce the way

719
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,000
Speaker 2: that I feel about them as players, because these are

720
00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:03,600
Speaker 2: not These are not easy teams to believe in looking

721
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:06,520
Speaker 2: back to last year's Lakers when that team looked dead

722
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:10,320
Speaker 2: to rights, and even this year and then this year's Warriors. Obviously,

723
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:13,080
Speaker 2: these are not teams where it's like you're not like

724
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,640
Speaker 2: like when Jokic is sitting at home right now, he knows, like,

725
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,360
Speaker 2: if I hit the jets and I play to my capability,

726
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,200
Speaker 2: we're gonna get the trophy. Like that's the confidence that

727
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,600
Speaker 2: Jokic has in his group, right. And I don't think

728
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,480
Speaker 2: Lebron Or's stepf have any delusions of grandeur. I don't

729
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:32,520
Speaker 2: think they're sitting around in their houses going like, we

730
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,719
Speaker 2: got ourselves a real title, a real title threat here.

731
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,560
Speaker 2: I think they think, like we can win, but man, like,

732
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,640
Speaker 2: we got some strengths and we got some weaknesses, right,

733
00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,719
Speaker 2: And what's cool about that is like both of them

734
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:48,520
Speaker 2: have responded to that by trying to win anyway. It

735
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:53,040
Speaker 2: would have been so easy after that last sequence to

736
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,799
Speaker 2: just like go the rope, and no they didn't. Even

737
00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:01,040
Speaker 2: just in that Orlando Magic game, Draymond Green gets four

738
00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,439
Speaker 2: minutes into the game, completely absurd, completely unacceptable. At some point,

739
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,319
Speaker 2: Draymond Green has to understand that his team meets him

740
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,520
Speaker 2: on the floor and there is absolutely no excuse to

741
00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,880
Speaker 2: continually be getting yourself kicked out of these games, and

742
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:18,680
Speaker 2: I would imagine Draymond would agree, completely unacceptable. I totally

743
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,799
Speaker 2: understood why Steph was so upset, but like, even then,

744
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,839
Speaker 2: it would have been so easy to just be like,

745
00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:29,480
Speaker 2: not our night, really good Orlando Magic team on the road,

746
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,759
Speaker 2: tough matchup for us, not our night. But no, that's

747
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:36,640
Speaker 2: not what happened. And like it was a classic kind

748
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:39,000
Speaker 2: of battle too, because Steph what he goes six for

749
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,640
Speaker 2: eighteen and the he was obviously made a three at

750
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:44,200
Speaker 2: the end of the game that kind of tied that together.

751
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:46,560
Speaker 2: Was even worse before then, and they got some huge

752
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,360
Speaker 2: contributions out of Andrew Wiggins. I thought that was probably

753
00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,600
Speaker 2: his best game since the twenty twenty two playoff run.

754
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 2: Really got going in the with the ball in his

755
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,600
Speaker 2: hands there in that fourth quarter started with a kickout three,

756
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,399
Speaker 2: Steph got blitzed on the side of the floor and

757
00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:03,400
Speaker 2: Andrew Wiggins stuck that above the break three on the

758
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 2: left side. But after that it was all Wiggins on

759
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:09,000
Speaker 2: the ball, like running those inverted ball screen actions where

760
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:13,360
Speaker 2: like again, the so Steph sets the ball screen, nobody

761
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,560
Speaker 2: who's guarding Steph wants to hedge or help or anything

762
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,399
Speaker 2: because his job is guards Steph at all costs, right,

763
00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:23,440
Speaker 2: And so it essentially operates as a really, really a

764
00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,640
Speaker 2: great screening action because as long as Steph sets a

765
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:29,719
Speaker 2: good screen on the on ball defender, there's nobody that's

766
00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:31,400
Speaker 2: gonna be waiting on the other side of that screen.

767
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,640
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, Orlando tried switching it late

768
00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:35,480
Speaker 2: and then Wiggins ended up just bowllying his way to

769
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:38,440
Speaker 2: the basket out of the post. It was a really,

770
00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,080
Speaker 2: really impressive effort from Wiggins, And honestly, like that's gonna

771
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,919
Speaker 2: be the big kind of like swing factor for whether

772
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,320
Speaker 2: or not Golden State can make a real meaningful playoff

773
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:49,400
Speaker 2: run versus something that is less impressive. It's gonna be

774
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:54,080
Speaker 2: that legitimate secondary offensive initiator. Maybe it's Wiggins, maybe it's Comingo,

775
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,840
Speaker 2: maybe it's Chris Paul, maybe it's Clay, But like, someone

776
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,319
Speaker 2: needs to become consistent on that front, because what ends

777
00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:01,680
Speaker 2: up happening is you have a night like that and

778
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:04,160
Speaker 2: Kamina is a little iffy, and Wiggins as a little ify

779
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:06,239
Speaker 2: and Klays a little iffy, the Warriors just lose. They

780
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,880
Speaker 2: just lose because they don't have that consistency in that group.

781
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,759
Speaker 2: And so I thought that was a really encouraging sign.

782
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,200
Speaker 2: But again, I thought, when you saw the emotion from

783
00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:19,120
Speaker 2: Steph from when Draymond got suspended or ejected to when

784
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:20,480
Speaker 2: he hit the big shot at the end of the game,

785
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:26,000
Speaker 2: you can tell we might, as fans, analysts, whatever, be like,

786
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 2: this Warriors team don't really have a great chance, and

787
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:35,879
Speaker 2: that for the record, that's the truth. But Steph isn't

788
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:39,839
Speaker 2: accepting that as an answer. And again, like a lot

789
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:43,600
Speaker 2: of times, we look at the mountaintop moments as the

790
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:47,320
Speaker 2: defining characteristics of these guys. We look at Steph hoisting

791
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,840
Speaker 2: the trophy, Kde hoisting the trophy, Lebron hoisting the trophy,

792
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:52,879
Speaker 2: and we're like, these are the moments that define them

793
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,560
Speaker 2: as their best. And I tend to disagree. I think

794
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,560
Speaker 2: those are an important part of it. But all of

795
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,760
Speaker 2: these different moments demonstrative player's greatness throughout the entire process

796
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:07,600
Speaker 2: from start to finish, including like the years where your

797
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:10,680
Speaker 2: team doesn't really have it. What are you showing in

798
00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:13,720
Speaker 2: those situations? You know? This is actually the biggest reason

799
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:16,560
Speaker 2: why I've said Steph is the best leader of this

800
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:21,040
Speaker 2: particular era. I don't think Steph rides the highs and

801
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,880
Speaker 2: lows as much as other As much as other leaders do,

802
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:25,760
Speaker 2: he does a good job of keeping an even keel

803
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:29,120
Speaker 2: and helping trying to bring limited teams up and helping

804
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:32,120
Speaker 2: to make sure that really good teams don't get overconfident.

805
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:33,680
Speaker 2: And again, like, I think that this has been one

806
00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:35,520
Speaker 2: of my favorite seasons rooting for him because a lot

807
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:37,920
Speaker 2: of shit is hit the fan in so many different

808
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 2: ways in the competition from Steph has just shined through

809
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 2: as he's tried to make it work. I had a

810
00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:47,680
Speaker 2: radio hit in San Francisco. I want to say it

811
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:50,839
Speaker 2: was last Wednesday, and there was a fan on the

812
00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,080
Speaker 2: on the show that just simply asked, like, hey, Jason,

813
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:56,719
Speaker 2: give me some you know, kind of silver lining, some

814
00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,080
Speaker 2: sort of like positive thing to hang on to. Well,

815
00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:01,880
Speaker 2: all of this is down, and I said kind of

816
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:04,080
Speaker 2: what I said at the top, which is this particular

817
00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 2: stretch of their schedule is really tough and they just

818
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:10,120
Speaker 2: need to survive it. And honestly, like getting those wins overheat,

819
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:14,160
Speaker 2: over the heat and magic, that's them surviving it. Now,

820
00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:16,320
Speaker 2: five of their last ten games are against teams that

821
00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:18,920
Speaker 2: are below five hundred. They've had to add matchups against

822
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:21,680
Speaker 2: the Lakers and Rockets to either secure position or to

823
00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:25,759
Speaker 2: fight for more position. And these guys believe. From the

824
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:28,920
Speaker 2: coaching staff to the stars down the roster, they believe.

825
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:32,120
Speaker 2: And so like again, it's not I'm not going to

826
00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,040
Speaker 2: sit here and lie to you, guys. I don't think

827
00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:39,520
Speaker 2: that the Warriors have legitimate championship potential, but I think

828
00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:42,200
Speaker 2: that they're capable of having a fun playoff run. And

829
00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:43,960
Speaker 2: I think we'd be foolish to count them out simply

830
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,400
Speaker 2: because of the fact that proven winners at the top

831
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,799
Speaker 2: are not going to let go of the rope. And

832
00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:53,319
Speaker 2: as long as they hang onto that rope and they

833
00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:57,280
Speaker 2: get meaningful contributions from other players down the roster, they

834
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,000
Speaker 2: have the potential to make some noise, all right, guys,

835
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:01,600
Speaker 2: that is all I have for today. Like I said,

836
00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:03,400
Speaker 2: we're gonna end up taking the rest of the weekend

837
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:05,920
Speaker 2: off to enjoy the up n CNAA tournament. We'll be

838
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,680
Speaker 2: back on Monday with some instant reaction content as well

839
00:41:08,719 --> 00:41:12,240
Speaker 2: as a power rankings video. Again, we're also gonna stepping

840
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,400
Speaker 2: up our film breakdowns at that point as well. I

841
00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:15,080
Speaker 2: appreciate you, guys.

842
00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:44,680
Speaker 1: I'll see you on Monday.

843
00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:48,400
Speaker 2: The Volume