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Speaker 1: The volume. All right, Well, good to him tonight. You're

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Speaker 1: at the volume heavy Monday, everybody, hope all if you

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Speaker 1: guys had an incredible weekend, have a jam pack show

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Speaker 1: for you guys today. We're gonna lead with some Los

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Speaker 1: Angeles Clippers talk, because they have won four games in

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Speaker 1: a row. I want to talk abou Kawhi Leonard, who

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Speaker 1: had a career high fifty five points last night's win.

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Speaker 1: I want to dive into some of the specific things

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Speaker 1: that is driving some of this success with him. Also,

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Speaker 1: what to make of this recent run with the Clippers?

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Speaker 1: Does it mean anything? Do they have much of an

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Speaker 1: opportunity to make something of this season? I actually think

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Speaker 1: they do. So we're going to dive into that concept

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Speaker 1: for a little bit after that, as we continue to

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Speaker 1: perform an autopsy on this rough four and six stretch

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Speaker 1: for the Los Angeles Lakers. I've seen a lot of

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Speaker 1: comments in our videos as well as mail bag questions

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Speaker 1: as well as stuff all over the media as people

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Speaker 1: have kind of jumped on Lebron in this instance, and

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about specifically what I think is

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Speaker 1: unfair criticism of Lebron in this situation versus what I

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Speaker 1: think is fair criticism of Lebron in this situation, and

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Speaker 1: I want to do some mythbusting regarding some of the

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Speaker 1: stuff going on with the Lakers offense. After that, as usual,

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Speaker 1: on Mondays, we're gonna dig into our power rankings. You

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

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Speaker 1: the YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of

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Speaker 1: our videos. Make sure you like this video. That helps

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Speaker 1: us a lot, and then if you want to get

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Speaker 1: a question into our mail bag, make sure you drop

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Speaker 1: them into our YouTube comments. We're gonna have kind of

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Speaker 1: a janky schedule again this week with the holiday, so

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Speaker 1: we're gonna have obviously today's episode centering around those two

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Speaker 1: topics in the Power rankings. Tomorrow is going to be

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Speaker 1: the mail bag because on Friday we have Sam Vessini

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Speaker 1: coming on the show to do our monthly contender rankings.

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Speaker 1: Really excited to dive into that with Sam. So we're

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Speaker 1: gonna have obviously this show mailbag Tuesday. Wednesday, we'll have

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Speaker 1: an instant reaction to the Tuesday night games. Going to

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Speaker 1: take Thursday off for New Year's Day, and then we'll

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Speaker 1: be back on Friday with contender rankings. All Right, let's

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Speaker 1: talk some basketball. So do these signs of life from

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Speaker 1: the Clippers mean anything? Clippers got another huge win last

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Speaker 1: night against the Detroit Pistons. Wasn't particularly close. It was

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Speaker 1: one of those games, and I think these are like

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Speaker 1: the most impressive types of wins you can get in

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Speaker 1: the regular season, where like the Clippers starters just kicked

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Speaker 1: the shit out of the Piston starters, and then the

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Speaker 1: Clippers really never let him get close again after that.

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Speaker 1: They cut it to nine a few times, but never

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Speaker 1: got it any closer, and the Clippers would just immediately

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Speaker 1: respond like they cut it to nine, and then like

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Speaker 1: Kawhi would hit an easy jump shot over Tobias Harris

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Speaker 1: and then jump a swing pass from Tobias Harris and

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Speaker 1: go dunk it on the other end. All of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: it's thirteen. That momentum's gone, the threat is a race,

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Speaker 1: They're back in control. It's kind of that kind of

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Speaker 1: game for the Clippers, And Kawhi went for a career

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Speaker 1: high fifty five points, the first fifty point game of

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Speaker 1: his career, if you can believe that, his previous career

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Speaker 1: high was forty five, something he had done twice in

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Speaker 1: the postseason. Once with the Clippers and once with the Raptors,

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Speaker 1: as well as a regular season forty five point game

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Speaker 1: back in January that season, in a regular season game,

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Speaker 1: but he had never gone over forty five, and he

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Speaker 1: had fifty five last night. And really it was the jumper.

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Speaker 1: The jumper, you could tell right away, and his first

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Speaker 1: shift was hot, especially the pull up three. Generally speaking,

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Speaker 1: this is kind of a rule of thumb for high

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Speaker 1: volume scoring. You got to be able to hit threes

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Speaker 1: if you're going to hit super high scoring totals, because

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Speaker 1: as you start to rack up points as a score,

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Speaker 1: the defense will inevitably react. And it's just so much

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Speaker 1: harder to react to a player twenty five feet from

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Speaker 1: the basket than it is on drives and on post

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Speaker 1: ups and anything else that's closer to the rim. When

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Speaker 1: you want to send extra attention right, it's just an

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Speaker 1: extremely difficult shot to take away unless you want to

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Speaker 1: give up either easy drives by pressing way up too

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Speaker 1: high or by doubling the ball, which is going to

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Speaker 1: then leave you in four on threes all night. So

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Speaker 1: it's just a difficult thing to take away. And so

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Speaker 1: if you can get to that pull up three, it's

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Speaker 1: going to be a huge scoring boost for you as

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Speaker 1: you're trying to hit those high totals, and Kawhi had

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Speaker 1: that going last night. He had three off the dribble threes.

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Speaker 1: Kai has been playing at an extremely high level all season,

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Speaker 1: believe it or not, considering you know, obviously the Clippers

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Speaker 1: record is absurd at this point. He's been great the

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Speaker 1: whole time. He's averaging a career high twenty eight points

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Speaker 1: per game on sixty two point four percent true shooting,

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Speaker 1: which is the second highest efficiency mark of his career.

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Speaker 1: And it's interesting because when I watch him on tape,

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Speaker 1: it's not like he looks exceptionally explosive. Over the course

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Speaker 1: of recent seasons, you would usually see Kawhi hit this

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Speaker 1: like kind of robotic level of like athleticism and strength

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Speaker 1: where nobody could keep him from his spots. And I

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Speaker 1: want to be clear, he does luke athletic. He had

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Speaker 1: a big dunk in the Blazers game, kind of driving

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Speaker 1: out of the left corner all over Donovan Klingen. He

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Speaker 1: is occasionally making these like burstful moves, jumping a passing lane,

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Speaker 1: getting out in transition. But it's not like the Kawhi

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Speaker 1: from five years ago. It's not like he's looking like

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Speaker 1: one of the apex athletes in the league right now, Like,

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Speaker 1: for example, he's averaging two point three Rick did Area

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Speaker 1: makes per game. For perspective, when he was in Toronto,

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Speaker 1: he averaged three point six for most of his Clippers

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Speaker 1: tenuere before this, he was right around three per game

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Speaker 1: last season, for example, two point seven. This series at

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Speaker 1: two point three. So it's not like he's beaten people

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Speaker 1: off the dribble constantly and just getting to the rim NonStop,

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Speaker 1: or that he's just super super explosive. He's just in

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Speaker 1: full command of his game from the perimeter, and he's

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Speaker 1: shooting the jump shot extremely well. He's thirty nine percent

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Speaker 1: on catch and shoot threes, thirty six percent on pull

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Speaker 1: up threes off the dribble, and fifty four percent on

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Speaker 1: pull up two point jump shots. That goes up to

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Speaker 1: fifty six percent when he's inside seventeen feet. Now, that's

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Speaker 1: not quite shake kills of Alexander Territory. Shay's around that

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Speaker 1: like fifty eight and a half percent on those inside

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Speaker 1: of seventeen foot twos. But Kwi is like right there,

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Speaker 1: So he's operating at a really special level. From the

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Speaker 1: mid range, and that sticks out on tape, Like when

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Speaker 1: you're watching those shots that he's sitting against the Pistons

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Speaker 1: last night. It's not like he's getting a ton of separation.

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Speaker 1: He's just so fluid off the dribble and he's so

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Speaker 1: in command of his release right now that he's just

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Speaker 1: getting to his spots and hitting contested pull up jump

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Speaker 1: shots because he's not even seeing that contest because he's

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Speaker 1: in such a groove with his off the dribble game.

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Speaker 1: And I think it's just all coming together for him

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Speaker 1: in terms of his perimeter skill set this season, and

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Speaker 1: it all fits extremely well into the Clippers offense. Everything

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Speaker 1: runs through Kawhi and Harden. It was funny watching that

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Speaker 1: game last night. It was kind of a matchup attacking contest.

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Speaker 1: You know. It's a lot of ball screen with Kawhi Leonard,

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Speaker 1: excuse me, ball screen with James Harden, and then picking

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Speaker 1: on switches with ISOs and a lot of one on

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Speaker 1: ones from Kawhi Leonard last night as well early in

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Speaker 1: the game going at Kay Cunningham hunting various different types

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Speaker 1: of matches, hunting the bigs like Isaiah Stewart and switches

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Speaker 1: a lot of that kind of stuff where he's just

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Speaker 1: looking for opportunities to work one on one. And you know,

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Speaker 1: it's interesting because we're going to dig into the team

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Speaker 1: y concept earlier or later on. I should say Harden

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Speaker 1: and Kawhi have both been great in their one on ones.

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Speaker 1: From most of the season, it's been paying off the shots.

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Speaker 1: It's been the kickouts and the overall team offense that

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Speaker 1: hasn't been flowing the way that it did in previous seasons, right,

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Speaker 1: but Kawhi and James Harden have both done a really

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Speaker 1: good job, at least on their end, trying to carry

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Speaker 1: the load as shot creators. This season. It depends heavily

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Speaker 1: on those two guys being able to score into playmake

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Speaker 1: and Kawi has been great this season, again, one of

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Speaker 1: the best scoring seasons of his career. Even the numbers

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Speaker 1: I quoted earlier for Kauhi are kind of underselling him

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Speaker 1: a bit because he's been especially hot as of late.

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Speaker 1: In this four game winning streak, Kawi's averaging thirty nine

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Speaker 1: points per game on fifty two percent from the field,

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Speaker 1: forty four percent from three to ninety eight percent from

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Speaker 1: the foul on just absolutely wild. Honestly, the only thing

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Speaker 1: I can really nitpick Kawhi about in this stretch is

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Speaker 1: he's still occasionally will get caught off guard by a

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Speaker 1: double team and throw the ball away or just manage

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Speaker 1: the double poorly and throw a kickout pass that doesn't

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Speaker 1: really beat the coverage, so to speak. But even with that,

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Speaker 1: I still think it's some of the best basketball Kawhi's

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Speaker 1: played in his career. So the question is what does

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Speaker 1: all of this mean for the Clippers as a team.

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Speaker 1: The Clippers are just starting to find their footing. The

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Speaker 1: Brook Lopez signing has been paying major dividends. As Zubats

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Speaker 1: went down with an ankle injury in the Lakers game,

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Speaker 1: he stepped in and looked like a perfectly capable and

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Speaker 1: competent starting center in this league, knocking down threes, running

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Speaker 1: a solid drop coverage. As a team, I think they're

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Speaker 1: starting to defend much better, And I do want to

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Speaker 1: highlight the stars here, Like you're watching James Harden as

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Speaker 1: he's getting picked on in post ups. He's competing Yesterday,

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Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard wasn't very good on defense to start the season.

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Speaker 1: I think he's been much better in this run, pressuring

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Speaker 1: the ball for steels, jumping passing lanes has been a

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Speaker 1: past time a Kawhi Leonard in his career. He's been

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Speaker 1: doing a ton of that over the course of the last

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks. Derrek Jones Junior made his return yesterday,

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Speaker 1: so they're starting to get healthier on the perimeter, and

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Speaker 1: again a big boost to the offense in the form

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Speaker 1: of guys finally starting to pay off these sequences by

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Speaker 1: knocking down shots. We talked earlier in the year that

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Speaker 1: was not happening as they were generating these sequences but

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Speaker 1: not paying them off. That's turned around in a big way.

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Speaker 1: In this four game stretch, Brook Lopez, John Collins, Nick Patoom,

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Speaker 1: Chris Dunn, and Kobe Sanders have combined to go forty

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Speaker 1: for seventy two from three in this stretch. It's one

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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty points on seventy two shots right there.

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Speaker 1: It's pretty good. And again that's paying off those sequences

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Speaker 1: and it's helping them put up more team offense as

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Speaker 1: opposed to just James Harden and Kawhi Leonard putting up

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Speaker 1: individual numbers. Now, are the Clippers about to rip off

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Speaker 1: a twenty to two stretch or something like that? Over

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Speaker 1: the next few months. Probably not, But I do think

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Speaker 1: this team is way better than their record, and I

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Speaker 1: do think they're capable of sustaining winning right around that

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Speaker 1: like fifty to fifty five win pace if they stay

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Speaker 1: healthy and they stay focused. So they are very much

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Speaker 1: in the mix in the Western Conference. As a practical matter,

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Speaker 1: they are two point five games back of the ten seat.

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Speaker 1: That gets you in the play in that's easily gettable

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Speaker 1: if they want it, Like, if they stay healthy, they're

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Speaker 1: gonna get there. At least they're five and a half

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Speaker 1: games back at the eight seed. That's a good target

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Speaker 1: because it puts you in to a position where you

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Speaker 1: have two chances to win a play in game. Right,

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Speaker 1: it's tougher, but it's doable. There's a lot of season

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Speaker 1: left the team you got to outperform. There is probably

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Speaker 1: golden state. Right. They're teetering a bit after a devastating

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Speaker 1: loss last night. They're eleventh clutch loss of the season.

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Speaker 1: The Warriors just keep inventing new ways to lose. They

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Speaker 1: were up seven with less than two minutes left and

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Speaker 1: end up losing that game by fourteen. Kind of a

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Speaker 1: tough offensive foul call and Steph Curry on a rip

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Speaker 1: through move, but some bad turnovers, just really sloppy basketball

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Speaker 1: from the Warriors down the stretch, and then they completely

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Speaker 1: decomposed in overtime. Like the Warriors are teetering on a

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Speaker 1: knife s edge. They could easily go south here, and

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Speaker 1: that could open up a door for a team like

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Speaker 1: the Clippers to get up into the top half of

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Speaker 1: the play in or like Phoenix, if Devin Booker goes

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Speaker 1: down with a serious injury, that sort of thing could

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Speaker 1: become available. That is a little bit more of a

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Speaker 1: long shot, but it's certainly doable. Really, it's only the

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Speaker 1: top end of like the uh like out of the

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Speaker 1: play in area, like getting into that six or five

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Speaker 1: seed that's kind of off the table at this point.

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Speaker 1: They would have to outplay the Wolves, the Lakers, or

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Speaker 1: the Rockets by about ten games. The rest of the way.

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Speaker 1: That's not happening, not unless serious, serious injuries happen to

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Speaker 1: one of those teams. So like, to me, the bottom

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Speaker 1: half of the play in is very doable, and the

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Speaker 1: top half of the play in is at least within

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Speaker 1: striking distance. So yeah, I think they're looking at a

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Speaker 1: potential play a play in birth right that's not a

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Speaker 1: death sentence. When the Clippers are at their best, when

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Speaker 1: Kawhi is playing like this, I think they're a second

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Speaker 1: tier contender, so they're capable of competing with most teams

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Speaker 1: in the league. Their goals should be to try to

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Speaker 1: work up to that eight seed as best as possible.

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Speaker 1: The end up being the nine or ten seed, so

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Speaker 1: be it. But then upset one of those teams in

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Speaker 1: the top part of the play in, whether it's Phoenix

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Speaker 1: or Golden State. Maybe you get lucky and you get

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Speaker 1: a team like San Antonio in round one. If you

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Speaker 1: end up getting up to that seven seed, we would

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Speaker 1: all be fools to just pretend that san Antonio would

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Speaker 1: walk over them, like san Antonio might be favored. But

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Speaker 1: they got a rookie guard coming off the bench. They

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Speaker 1: have a second year guard as one of their primary

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Speaker 1: shot creators. Wenby's never played in the playoffs before. So like,

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Speaker 1: there is a lot of Clippers basketball left to be

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Speaker 1: played this season and still a lot of potential to reach.

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Speaker 1: And again, this team is a lot better than their record.

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Speaker 1: They dug a massive hole. It's going to be a

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Speaker 1: huge pain in the astick in their way out of this.

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Speaker 1: But I think the Clippers are a lot better than

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Speaker 1: they look when you peak at the standings. Right now,

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Speaker 1: people are losing their minds over the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Speaker 1: Pessimism surrounding the Lakers as the team is completely warranted.

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Speaker 1: I'm doing a contender rankings video with Sam Bessini coming

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Speaker 1: up this Friday, and I'm seriously considering just leaving them

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Speaker 1: off the second tier of contenders entirely. But the amount

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Speaker 1: of stupid stuff I've seen flying around the last couple

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Speaker 1: of days, both in comments and like mail bag questions

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Speaker 1: and like stuff I've seen online to like, even like

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Speaker 1: Sam Mitchell coming out and saying like, oh, like Lebron

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Speaker 1: wants to be the first option, He couldn't be a

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Speaker 1: first option even if he was on the Wizards. Like,

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Speaker 1: all of this energy is being directed at Lebron for

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Speaker 1: what's happening in this stretch, and I just think that's

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Speaker 1: completely ridiculous, even though he does certainly share blame. He's

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Speaker 1: been bad on the defensive end, and he's been bad

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Speaker 1: on the defensive glass, like we talked about on Friday,

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Speaker 1: which is part of a problem, a team wide problem

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Speaker 1: where the team has been bad on the defensive glass

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Speaker 1: and the team has been bad at making defensive rotations

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Speaker 1: and competing trying to keep the ball in front. It

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Speaker 1: has been a team wide issue that Lebron is also

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Speaker 1: culpable in, and I want to dig into that in

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Speaker 1: a little bit because Lebron is, in my opinion, one

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Speaker 1: of the guys that is most well suited to solve

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Speaker 1: that problem, and they do need him to be better.

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Speaker 1: But I have seen so many takes from that ridiculous

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Speaker 1: sam Mitchell take, which makes no sense because first of all,

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Speaker 1: he'd be the best player on the Wizards by a

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Speaker 1: mile if you went there today, So like that doesn't

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Speaker 1: make any sense. That's just flat out disrespectful. And secondly,

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Speaker 1: Lebron is no interest in being the first option. He's

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Speaker 1: forty one years old. He's never wants this season attempted

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Speaker 1: to wrestle control away from Luca or Austin. That is

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Speaker 1: like completely absurd. When all three guys have played, he's

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Speaker 1: been the distant third fiddle, just playing off of those guys,

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Speaker 1: and when one of them's out, yeah, he turns up

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Speaker 1: the aggression and slots into that secondary guy because they

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Speaker 1: need that. And yet in those situations he's still deferred

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Speaker 1: to Luca or Austin is the number one in those games.

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Speaker 1: So like the idea that the Lakers' issues are Lebron

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Speaker 1: wants to be the first option that's not based in reality.

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Speaker 1: And I'm seeing a lot of that stuff, a lot

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Speaker 1: of talk about, Oh, he knocked Austin out of rhythm.

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Speaker 1: Oh he's taken Luke at a rhythm, He's disrupted the

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Speaker 1: flow of this team. Like, none of that makes any

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Speaker 1: sense to me when I look at the film and

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Speaker 1: I look at the data. The defense stuff and the

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Speaker 1: rebounding stuff completely legitimate, and we'll get to that in

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Speaker 1: a minute, but none of this makes any sense. So

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Speaker 1: I want to dig into some mythbusting here around Lebron's

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Speaker 1: return to the Lakers. Did Lebron come back and derail

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Speaker 1: the Lakers? The Lakers won eight of their first ten

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Speaker 1: games when Lebron came back into the lineup. He didn't

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Speaker 1: come in and derail anything. Injuries derailed the team. A

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Speaker 1: combination of injuries and then team wide issues in apathy

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Speaker 1: with the dirty work. Did Lebron come back and disrupt

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Speaker 1: the rhythm of Luca and Austin. They've only played in

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Speaker 1: eight games together. The three of those guys Luca left

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Speaker 1: the team for a while to be with his family

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Speaker 1: for the birth of his child. Totally reasonable, totally understandable.

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Speaker 1: Sat out a game with the calf, Bruce sat out

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Speaker 1: half of another game with the calf. Bruce. Austin Reeves

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Speaker 1: keeps suffering calf strains of his own. There's been an

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Speaker 1: issue with teams with guys just being out of the lineup.

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Speaker 1: Like go back through their losses. The Rockets lost Austin

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Speaker 1: leaves the first half of the calf injury issues in

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Speaker 1: that game, and they're worth getting into. We did on Friday,

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Speaker 1: but like Austin mishafed that game. The Sun's loss on Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: no Austin, no Luca. The Clippers loss No Austin, and

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Speaker 1: Luca came out in the first half and played terrible

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Speaker 1: and then left that game with the calf contusion. Like

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Speaker 1: these losses, even though they also demonstrate roster issues, most

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Speaker 1: of the issue has come down to their best players

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Speaker 1: have been unavailable. The only two losses this group hass

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Speaker 1: where all three of the guys played were the first

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Speaker 1: Sons game and the loss of the Spurs in the

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Speaker 1: n season tournament, And if you zoom in on those games,

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Speaker 1: in the Spurs game, Austin clearly looked hampered. He went

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Speaker 1: six for sixteen, had a bunch of turnovers, and then

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Speaker 1: right after that game they decided to shut him down

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Speaker 1: because of the CAF's soreness. That's a whre and tear

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Speaker 1: got to Austin issue. Lebron took the fewest shots out

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Speaker 1: of any of the Big three that game, took like

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Speaker 1: thirteen or fourteen shots. Austin was hampered by an injury

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Speaker 1: and then went out after that game. That's not how

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Speaker 1: Lebron came and then disrupt his rhythm. It was just

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Speaker 1: wear and tear. The Suns game, Luca and Austin combined

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Speaker 1: for fourteen turnovers and they were completely in control of

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Speaker 1: the offense throughout the game. You're gonna blame Lebron for that.

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Speaker 1: I think he's done just fine on the offensive end.

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Speaker 1: If you want to nitpick him, it's his three point

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Speaker 1: shooting was rough to start, but even then, he's forty

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Speaker 1: seven percent from three in his last four games. There's

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Speaker 1: nothing that Lebron has done to disrupt or dislodge this

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Speaker 1: team from their success on the offensive end of the floor.

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Speaker 1: Now where it gets complicated is on that defensive end.

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Speaker 1: Lebron is one of the few players on the entire

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Speaker 1: roster who is actually capable of restoring order for the

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Speaker 1: Lakers on the defensive end and on the glass one.

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Speaker 1: He plays arguably the most important position in the league

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Speaker 1: other than center. You're dealing with this stuff, that power

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Speaker 1: forward spot. You're the main backline communicator and rotator. You're

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Speaker 1: the guy who's always gonna have to get to the

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Speaker 1: rim when Deandreten comes out to the level of the

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Speaker 1: screen or has to help on another drive. He's the

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Speaker 1: guy who's gonna see the plays develop and call out

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Speaker 1: coverages and help guys in their rotations when the shot

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Speaker 1: goes up. He's the Lakers' strongest player on the ground

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Speaker 1: and their best vertical athlete on the perimeter. He is

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Speaker 1: the guy who is most capable of anchoring them on

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Speaker 1: the defensive glass other than Deandreiden. He's the modern NBA

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Speaker 1: power forward. It is too important of a position for

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Speaker 1: him to not bring the appropriate effort and energy. And

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Speaker 1: this is not what it was when Anthony Davis was

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Speaker 1: on the team and Austin Reeves was too young, where

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Speaker 1: he was your number one option and it was too

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Speaker 1: much to ask from an energy standpoint, he's the number

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Speaker 1: two every night now while Austin's out, and when Austin's back,

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Speaker 1: he's the number three. He gets to seed control of

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Speaker 1: the offense to Luca, who's one of the best high

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Speaker 1: usage type of guys in the league in terms of

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Speaker 1: like eating innings as a ball handler. So there's no

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Speaker 1: excuse for Lebron to be mailing it in on that

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Speaker 1: end of the floor. And I've seen people. I've seen

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Speaker 1: people complain and they're like, oh, well, he's forty. It's

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Speaker 1: ridiculous that he's on a team where he has to

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Speaker 1: do this at age forty. And it's like, yeah, I

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Speaker 1: get that. But as a practical matter, this is the roster.

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Speaker 1: As a practical matter, you can talk about Rob Polinka

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Speaker 1: and whether or not he should be the Lakers GM

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Speaker 1: and what he needs to accomplish by early February. You

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Speaker 1: can talk about that all you want. As a practical matter,

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Speaker 1: For now, these are the guys, and he is their

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Speaker 1: best vertical athlete on the perimeter, and he is their

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Speaker 1: biggest and strongest forward on the ground. He is the

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Speaker 1: guy as the second option who can see control to Luca,

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Speaker 1: who's capable of taking control of the situation on that

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Speaker 1: end of the floor. In short, the Lakers need Lebron.

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Speaker 1: Now Austin's out until probably after the deadline. No one

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Speaker 1: else on the team other than Luca can break the

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Speaker 1: defense down and create a shot like they If Lebron

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Speaker 1: retired tomorrow, the Lakers would be screwed. I've seen a

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Speaker 1: lot of that, like, oh, I just can't wait for

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Speaker 1: the Lebron era to be over. Oh, look, it's come

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Speaker 1: from you know, some bad actors. There's factions within the

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Speaker 1: Lakers fan base. There's now these Lucas stands, which are crazy,

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Speaker 1: and you've got the Kobe stands which are crazy, and

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Speaker 1: that A lot of that comes with unreasonableness, right, But ultimately,

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Speaker 1: if Lebron left this team, the Lakers would completely decompose

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Speaker 1: over the next month. They desperately need him. The best

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Speaker 1: version of the Lakers includes Lebron James. They just need

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Speaker 1: him to make his defensive rotations in a rebound the basketball.

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Speaker 1: It's really that simple. It's not about anything he's doing

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Speaker 1: in terms of influencing the offensive end of the floor.

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Speaker 1: They just need him to not hemorrhage on the other end.

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Speaker 1: They need more out of it, and I think that's

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Speaker 1: reasonable to ask for. All right, let's get into our

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Speaker 1: power rankings. Today's show is brought to you by a

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Speaker 1: presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet, the official sportsbook partner of

424
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,080
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Speaker 1: the NBA and college there's basketball on every night, and

427
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Speaker 1: Slipping all the way down the Los Angeles Lakers at

457
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:47,600
Speaker 1: plus two thousand to win the title on hard Rock

458
00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:49,959
Speaker 1: Bet most embarrassing week of the season, so far blowout

459
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,640
Speaker 1: losses to the Suns and Rockets. Injuries played a role right,

460
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,600
Speaker 1: like Luca and Austin were both out for the Sun's game.

461
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,120
Speaker 1: Austin leaves the Rockets game early, but it's more about

462
00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,440
Speaker 1: how they looked. They looked like they hated playing basketball,

463
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:01,959
Speaker 1: stuck out like a sore thumb on Christmas Day as

464
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,600
Speaker 1: the sloppiest and laziest team. That they were a bad

465
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,480
Speaker 1: combination of unathletic, completely lacking intensity, and very sloppy in

466
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,399
Speaker 1: their game plan execution. But again, all you can do

467
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,080
Speaker 1: in these situations is just try to turn things around

468
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:17,679
Speaker 1: one step at a time. The Kings aren't good, but

469
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,639
Speaker 1: I did think it was the Lakers' best effort and

470
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:21,800
Speaker 1: intensity game in a long time last night, as they

471
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 1: won by what twenty five against the Kings back in

472
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 1: Los Angeles. Luca and Lebron both set the tone early

473
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:29,359
Speaker 1: with their energy. I talked about this in the Lakers

474
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 1: Collective Pod last week, but we can all agree that

475
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,879
Speaker 1: the range of potential outcomes for the Lakers as a

476
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,919
Speaker 1: defense and rebounding team is lower than it needs to be.

477
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:43,159
Speaker 1: By bringing in more talent, you shift that up to

478
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,359
Speaker 1: where they can reach a higher level, but even within

479
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:51,000
Speaker 1: that spectrum, they were dramatically underachieving, and part of the

480
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 1: issue there is One of the issues they were having

481
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,399
Speaker 1: was when Lebron comes out the gates and doesn't defend

482
00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,320
Speaker 1: and doesn't rebound, it sets a bad tone and it

483
00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,240
Speaker 1: trickles down and the other guys don't do it as well.

484
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,439
Speaker 1: Similarly with Luca, like in the Clippers game when you

485
00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:07,400
Speaker 1: come out and you spot them a double digit lead

486
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,720
Speaker 1: because you keep turning the ball over and missing shots,

487
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,560
Speaker 1: or at the start of that Christmas Day game in

488
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,480
Speaker 1: Houston or against Houston where what you had five turnovers

489
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,600
Speaker 1: in the first quarter. When you do that and you

490
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,760
Speaker 1: spot the other team a ten point lead, it's like

491
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,600
Speaker 1: getting punched in the gut before you even have a

492
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,560
Speaker 1: chance to fight, and the rest of the guys aren't

493
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: gonna play as inspired. If you come out the opening

494
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,360
Speaker 1: tip and you play better on offense like Luca did

495
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,960
Speaker 1: last night, and you do a better job on defense

496
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,640
Speaker 1: like both Luca and Lebron did last night, it has

497
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,119
Speaker 1: the potential to infuse your team with the energy and

498
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:43,920
Speaker 1: belief to play better again. Like you can talk about

499
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:45,639
Speaker 1: the scale and where it needs to shift, and the

500
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 1: Lakers need to make moves to be able to have

501
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,680
Speaker 1: a higher ceiling on those athleticism parts of the game.

502
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,960
Speaker 1: But as a practical matter, this is your roster. You

503
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,280
Speaker 1: need to play more like the better version of yourself.

504
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:57,840
Speaker 1: And the only way you're gonna do that is if

505
00:24:57,840 --> 00:24:59,280
Speaker 1: your stars come out and set the tone, and I

506
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,520
Speaker 1: thought the Lakers did last night. Got a much much

507
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:05,000
Speaker 1: better win against the Kings. Again, Kings aren't good. It's

508
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,080
Speaker 1: a step forward, much tougher challenge coming tomorrow night against

509
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,640
Speaker 1: the Detroit Pistons. By the way, last shout out Nick

510
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,520
Speaker 1: Smith twenty one points off the bench. I thought he

511
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,280
Speaker 1: did a great job aggressively shooting threes off of Luca

512
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:18,479
Speaker 1: double teams and also got some pull up threes off

513
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 1: the dribble off of some action with Lebron. Really nice

514
00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:23,240
Speaker 1: effort for him off the bench filling in and that

515
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,919
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves role as that third shot creator again. A

516
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:28,960
Speaker 1: big showdown with the Pistons, smart night. I'm excited to

517
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,800
Speaker 1: break that one down on Wednesday. Number nine. The Boston

518
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,119
Speaker 1: Celtics currently plus three thousand to win the title. On

519
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:36,720
Speaker 1: Hard Rock Bad. They had a two to one week.

520
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,840
Speaker 1: They won a home and home against the Pacers before

521
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,200
Speaker 1: dropping a game last night in Portland a couple of

522
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:45,720
Speaker 1: critical light mistakes. Jalen Brown had a couple of turnovers

523
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,639
Speaker 1: out at half court that ended up leading one to

524
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:50,520
Speaker 1: a foul and another one to just a turnover, but

525
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,399
Speaker 1: just kind of struggled with some ball pressure out at

526
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:53,960
Speaker 1: half court. Jalen's just got to do a better job

527
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 1: in managing that. The bigger issue was just lineup construction.

528
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,399
Speaker 1: They tried going big with Cada and Garza and was

529
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,520
Speaker 1: just going right at them and drop coverage looks and

530
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,719
Speaker 1: getting good looks there. Then they tried going small without

531
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,119
Speaker 1: a center, and like Denny Avdia just goes right at

532
00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:11,639
Speaker 1: Peyton Pritchard for a layup, and then Donovan Klingen just

533
00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,360
Speaker 1: Barri's Hugo Gonzales underneath the basket for and one put

534
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,119
Speaker 1: back underneath the rim. And that's where the personnel issues

535
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,000
Speaker 1: really started to rise to the surface. I actually thought

536
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,000
Speaker 1: their offense was fine. They missed some good looks, but

537
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:24,080
Speaker 1: their offense was fine down the stretch. They just couldn't

538
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,160
Speaker 1: get the stops that they needed, in large part because

539
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,040
Speaker 1: of that issue with their lineup construction. Overall, I'm still

540
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,080
Speaker 1: really bullish on the Celtics. These lineup issues will be

541
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:35,480
Speaker 1: resolved when you add Jason Tatum to the equation and

542
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,440
Speaker 1: bring some more front court depth. By February, at the

543
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: trade deadline, they had won four straight games before that,

544
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,880
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty four offensive raiding in those four games,

545
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 1: one of only four offenses in the entire NBA right

546
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,400
Speaker 1: now that are getting over one hundred and twenty points

547
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 1: per one hundred possessions. Jalen Brown continues to play absurdly well,

548
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:57,200
Speaker 1: nine straight thirty point games in his last thirteen games.

549
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,719
Speaker 1: He's averaging thirty three points, seven rebounds, and six assists

550
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,359
Speaker 1: on fifty one percent from the field in forty percent

551
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,720
Speaker 1: from three. I'd be very optimistic if I was a

552
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,879
Speaker 1: Celtics fan, Way better than you could have thought they

553
00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,879
Speaker 1: would be at this point in the season. Obviously, great

554
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:15,040
Speaker 1: news coming out from Jason Tatum in his rehab. Feels

555
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,919
Speaker 1: like they've got to run in them here in a

556
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:21,160
Speaker 1: wide open Eastern Conference. Number eight. The Phoenix Suns currently

557
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,119
Speaker 1: plus fifty thousand to win the title on hard Rock Bet.

558
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,240
Speaker 1: After playing just an absolutely brutal stretch of schedule, things

559
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,040
Speaker 1: are finally lightning up for them. They had a ten

560
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,000
Speaker 1: game span. This is crazy. They went thunder Nuggets, Lakers, Rockets, Timberwolves,

561
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,240
Speaker 1: thunder Lakers, Warriors, Warriors, Lakers. That's about as tough of

562
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: a ten game stretch as this league will give you.

563
00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:40,000
Speaker 1: And they ended up going four and six and had

564
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,840
Speaker 1: a couple of close games that they lost in there.

565
00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:44,000
Speaker 1: Now they're in the middle of a five game stretch

566
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 1: where it eases up a little bit. They played the

567
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 1: Pelicans twice, got a couple of wins. They're about to

568
00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,600
Speaker 1: go Wizards, Cavs, Kings, so they could easily be twenty

569
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 1: and fourteen after the stretch. Twenty and fourteen, given what

570
00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,639
Speaker 1: we saw from the Sun's team last year, and even

571
00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:59,640
Speaker 1: what we all projected before the season. I was higher

572
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 1: than most on the Suns, but I didn't think they'd

573
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 1: be over five hundred. I thought they'd be, you know,

574
00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:07,399
Speaker 1: just below five hundred. This is a remarkable turnaround, fueled

575
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:09,680
Speaker 1: by a couple of savvy trades and a culture shift

576
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,960
Speaker 1: from Jordan not They're now the tenth best defense in

577
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,440
Speaker 1: the NBA. Every time I watched them, even with how

578
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 1: good Dylan Brooks is, even with how great Devin Booker

579
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,840
Speaker 1: has always been. Mark Williams is the guy that stands

580
00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:23,240
Speaker 1: out to me when I watched them on tape. He

581
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,840
Speaker 1: just establishes such a high floor for them on defense

582
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,440
Speaker 1: and on the glass. I cannot believe the turnaround we've

583
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,320
Speaker 1: seen from him in his career as a defensive player.

584
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,320
Speaker 1: Number seven Minnesota Timberwolves currently plus three thousand to win

585
00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:38,120
Speaker 1: the title on hard Rock back. Kind of a classic

586
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:43,040
Speaker 1: Timberwolves week. They beat the Knicks without Brunson and Ogan

587
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 1: and Obi. Then they have like this kind of lifeless

588
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,120
Speaker 1: Christmas Day performance where for three and a half quarters

589
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:50,600
Speaker 1: they look terrible. It looked like they had no interest

590
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 1: in playing any defense. Then they just look frighteningly good

591
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,760
Speaker 1: at the end of the fourth quarter, right they put

592
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,440
Speaker 1: Jaden McDaniels on Nikola Jokic, they put Anthony Edwards on

593
00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:00,880
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray. The two of those guys are flying around.

594
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:02,440
Speaker 1: They get a bunch of stops. They end up sending

595
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 1: the game to overtime off this crazy shooting performance from

596
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,160
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards. They jump up by nine points in ot

597
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 1: and then they just completely fall apart, end up losing

598
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,560
Speaker 1: in overtime, and then they lose to the Brooklyn Nets

599
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 1: and give up a one to thirty offensive rating in

600
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,600
Speaker 1: that game. Now here's the thing. Brooklyn's feisty right now.

601
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 1: They've won seven out of ten. They've been the best

602
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,800
Speaker 1: defense in the NBA by a mile in December. Michael

603
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 1: Porter Junior continues to be incredible for them. But allowing

604
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,280
Speaker 1: that group to put like thirty six points on you

605
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 1: in the third quarter the way that they did, that's

606
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,360
Speaker 1: a targ That's a tough pill to swallow. But this

607
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,720
Speaker 1: is kind of just who the Timberwolves are. Like. I

608
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 1: think they're the most switched flippy team in the league.

609
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,280
Speaker 1: They're one of the most athletic and physically imposing teams,

610
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 1: but that's only when they lock in, and they're just

611
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 1: so inconsistent with their energy and effort. And it's been

612
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,360
Speaker 1: just a really disappointing couple of seasons really on that

613
00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,840
Speaker 1: front from the Timberwolves. But no matter what, because of

614
00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,480
Speaker 1: that switch flippiness, you can't really write them off. I

615
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,280
Speaker 1: still view them as one of the top five contenders

616
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:06,000
Speaker 1: in the NBA at this point. Number six. Houston Rockets

617
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 1: currently plus fourteen hundred to win the title on hard

618
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:10,920
Speaker 1: Rock Bet. They look back on track. They followed up

619
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,360
Speaker 1: their dominant win in Los Angeles against Lakers with a

620
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,000
Speaker 1: dominant win at home versus the Cavs. Katie came out

621
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: and just lit him on fire. In the first shift,

622
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,920
Speaker 1: he had fourteen points to spot them a twelve point lead.

623
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,200
Speaker 1: Then they kind of jumped them in the late second

624
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:24,880
Speaker 1: quarter early third Reed Shepherd was a huge part of

625
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,479
Speaker 1: that run with his working pick and roll, both as

626
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:29,760
Speaker 1: a pull up shooter and as well as a passer

627
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,640
Speaker 1: in those situations. Kat has been fantastic in these last

628
00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,760
Speaker 1: couple of games, fifty five points in fifteen assists. I

629
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:37,800
Speaker 1: think he's been such a huge addition to the defense,

630
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,960
Speaker 1: to just adding that length and activity around the basket,

631
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,520
Speaker 1: just giving him another layer, another dimension to their defense

632
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,640
Speaker 1: that they didn't have last year. No Shane Goun in

633
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,160
Speaker 1: that Cavs game. I think tar Tari Easton has been

634
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 1: a perfect fit with the starting group. I just love

635
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,400
Speaker 1: his combination of just a little bit more size, a

636
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,080
Speaker 1: little bit more athleticism, a little bit more shooting than

637
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,960
Speaker 1: what you get from Josha Kogi. But then you know,

638
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,200
Speaker 1: just overall not giving up enough to justify the you know,

639
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,800
Speaker 1: the defensive limitations that you get from a Reed Shepherd

640
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:06,240
Speaker 1: guy when he comes into the lineup. I really like

641
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 1: Tari is that fifth guy for them. Good to see

642
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:09,960
Speaker 1: Dorian Finney Smith back on the court. He was plus

643
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,320
Speaker 1: twenty and sixteen minutes yesterday. He was one of the

644
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,360
Speaker 1: best plus mine plus minus guys for the Lakers last year.

645
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,680
Speaker 1: He just rounds out lineups because he's always playing hard.

646
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:20,640
Speaker 1: He's always in the right spots. I think he's a

647
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,560
Speaker 1: really nice fit as a rotation player. There light schedule

648
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,680
Speaker 1: this week for the Rockets. They have Indiana, Brooklyn, and

649
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 1: Dallas number five. The Denver Nuggets currently plus six fifty

650
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:33,240
Speaker 1: to win the title on hard Rock Bet. Looks like

651
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,479
Speaker 1: they were gonna win again in Orlando on Sunday. They

652
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,440
Speaker 1: went our Saturday excuse me. They went on a thirteen

653
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,360
Speaker 1: to three run late in the fourth quarter. Kind of

654
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,800
Speaker 1: classic Nuggets. Jokicic was just bulldozing everyone for offensive rebounds.

655
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 1: Big transition three from Tim Hardaway Junior in that stretch too.

656
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:48,160
Speaker 1: But they ended up losing on a couple of Desmond

657
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 1: Bain foul calls that I did not like. He did

658
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:52,560
Speaker 1: the same thing to Tim Hardaway Junior and Bruce Brown

659
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:54,000
Speaker 1: off the top of the key where he just kind

660
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,280
Speaker 1: of like drove really hard into their chest and like

661
00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,680
Speaker 1: initiated contact with that right arm. But then like right

662
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:02,520
Speaker 1: when he got into their bodies, he just kind of

663
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:04,280
Speaker 1: went up into a jump shot, and because his right

664
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,520
Speaker 1: arm's right there, it's kind of impossible to not catch

665
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,479
Speaker 1: it on the way up, and he just rose up

666
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,880
Speaker 1: and shot and ended up getting foul shots. It just

667
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:12,720
Speaker 1: kind of was like a shitty way to end a

668
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,480
Speaker 1: really good basketball game. It's just like super exciting game,

669
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:17,320
Speaker 1: like Anthony Black's having the night of his career. I

670
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 1: have always been a big Anthony Black fan, and he's

671
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,000
Speaker 1: really starting to pop because now the shots are starting

672
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,600
Speaker 1: to fall. He hit seven threes in that game, career

673
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,360
Speaker 1: high for Anthony Black. He's having the night of his life,

674
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,160
Speaker 1: the super entertaining basketball game, and then it turns into

675
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,880
Speaker 1: a grift fest down the stretches. Desmond Bay just kind

676
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:36,320
Speaker 1: of throws his body into into Tim Hardaway Junior and

677
00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:37,800
Speaker 1: into Bruce Brown to get a couple of fouls. Now,

678
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:39,520
Speaker 1: I know, Magic fans aren't going to feel too bad

679
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: because Jokic himself got to the line a few times late.

680
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 1: But it was just kind of a frustrating end to

681
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,480
Speaker 1: that game. Honestly, jokicch and Murray are on a special

682
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:49,040
Speaker 1: run right now. I was thinking about this when I

683
00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: was watching that game. I think this might be the

684
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:56,320
Speaker 1: highest level reached offensively by a duo since Kde and

685
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 1: Steph in the late twenty tens. Every single night, these

686
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 1: two guys are coming out and just completely carrying this team.

687
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:07,240
Speaker 1: This injury devastated roster again, Like they're getting rolled in

688
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,040
Speaker 1: the non Jokic minutes because of the lack of depth

689
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:11,840
Speaker 1: that they have available right now. They had a game

690
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,880
Speaker 1: where Jokic was plus sixteen and they ended up losing

691
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,880
Speaker 1: there against the Magic. Like, it's just really tough to

692
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,920
Speaker 1: overcome the personnel limitations they've had with the injuries, and

693
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,160
Speaker 1: these two dudes just keep putting them right in position

694
00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,560
Speaker 1: to win again. One point loss in that game, another

695
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:34,480
Speaker 1: one point loss in that. They've lost three out of five.

696
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:36,880
Speaker 1: Two of those have been one point losses in games

697
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 1: where they were positive when Nicole Yokic was on the floor.

698
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 1: So it just, you know, the depth, it is what

699
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,040
Speaker 1: it is. The injuries are starting to take their toll

700
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,880
Speaker 1: down three starters. But I've just been really impressed by

701
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,680
Speaker 1: Jokic and Murray in the job they've done trying to

702
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:51,200
Speaker 1: carry the team during this stretch. Number four. The Detroit

703
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:53,440
Speaker 1: Pistons currently plus twenty two to fifty to win the

704
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,960
Speaker 1: title on hard rock. Back back to back losses against

705
00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,560
Speaker 1: the Jazz and Clippers last week, defense has been the issue.

706
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:00,360
Speaker 1: I know it doesn't look like it giving up one

707
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:01,960
Speaker 1: hundred twelve points to the Clippers, but that was a

708
00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:05,440
Speaker 1: very slow paced game. They had a one twenty defensive

709
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,000
Speaker 1: rating in that game, a one twenty three defensive rating

710
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,480
Speaker 1: overall in these two games, just to drop off in

711
00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:12,920
Speaker 1: their overall intensity and defense on the perimeter, which is

712
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,400
Speaker 1: the strength of this team when they're at their bestsar

713
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,839
Speaker 1: Thompson and Ron Holland both did look a little too

714
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,040
Speaker 1: small for Kawhi if you want to get nitpicky about

715
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:22,799
Speaker 1: what specifically was happening with the personnel. But I think

716
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,799
Speaker 1: they're capable of playing much better than they had on

717
00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:27,520
Speaker 1: the last couple of games. On the defensive end of

718
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,480
Speaker 1: the floor, Tobias Harris continues to stick out like a

719
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,360
Speaker 1: sore thumb to me in most of these sequences. He

720
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:35,480
Speaker 1: had several ugly sequences last night if they could upgrade

721
00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:37,680
Speaker 1: that position. I continue to think it would work. Wonders

722
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,120
Speaker 1: for them. Opportunity to get back on track Tuesday night

723
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 1: against the Lakers. The Lakers will wilt under physicality, so

724
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,280
Speaker 1: look for the Pistons to try to bully them early

725
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,319
Speaker 1: in that game, try to get them to fold. And

726
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:49,080
Speaker 1: the Lakers again, if you get them to fold, they

727
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:52,600
Speaker 1: they can just roll over and get blown out. Number three.

728
00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:54,759
Speaker 1: The New York Knicks currently plus twelve hundred to win

729
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,240
Speaker 1: the title on hard Rock Bet. Dropped the game against

730
00:34:57,239 --> 00:34:59,799
Speaker 1: the Timberwolves without Brunson Oreanonobi, but they got right back

731
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,120
Speaker 1: on track with some nice wins against the Calves and Hawks,

732
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,120
Speaker 1: and Jalen Brunson once again, every single time at the

733
00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,759
Speaker 1: end of these games is just nails, with this pull

734
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,960
Speaker 1: up jump shooting multiple huge pull up threes and a

735
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,240
Speaker 1: pull up jumper on the right wing against the Cavs,

736
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:15,759
Speaker 1: another huge pull up three at the top of the

737
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,960
Speaker 1: key against Atlanta, had a really tough floater getting Dyson

738
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:20,960
Speaker 1: Daniels at a position when he gambled out at the

739
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,960
Speaker 1: top of the key like just unbelievable clutch shot making

740
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,880
Speaker 1: from Jalen Brunson over and over again to win these games.

741
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:29,799
Speaker 1: And oj Nnobi he was actually the hero in the

742
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,040
Speaker 1: Atlanta game. He beat Jalen Johnson on the baseline on

743
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 1: an offensive rebound. Jalleen got kind of caught and went

744
00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:36,520
Speaker 1: on the top side of the Bigs who were hanging

745
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 1: out there on the right block, and oj just slipped

746
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,279
Speaker 1: along the baseline high pointed it, beat him to the

747
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,120
Speaker 1: ball and ended up drawing a foul. The Knicks are

748
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,160
Speaker 1: four and two since the n Season tournament, bucking the

749
00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:50,040
Speaker 1: trend that the Lakers and the Bucks kind of established

750
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,040
Speaker 1: as teams who fell apart right after winning that n

751
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:54,719
Speaker 1: Season tournament. The Knicks are just as locked in as

752
00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,080
Speaker 1: they were before and during the tournament. I said this

753
00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,400
Speaker 1: on the show Friday, and I mean it. Something just

754
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,760
Speaker 1: feels different to me about this NIXT team. They feel tougher,

755
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,600
Speaker 1: they feel more confident, they feel like they're on a

756
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,560
Speaker 1: mission to oiste the trophy, and they just continue to

757
00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,920
Speaker 1: play special basketball. Number two, the Oklahoma City Thunder currently

758
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,879
Speaker 1: plus one fifteen to win the title on hard Rock

759
00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 1: beat first time all season, dropping off the number one

760
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,240
Speaker 1: spot just three and four in their last seven games.

761
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 1: Some of their old demons creeping back to the surface,

762
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,520
Speaker 1: struggling to knock down wide open catch and shoot threes

763
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:26,279
Speaker 1: or I should say mildly contested, rushed like kind of

764
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,080
Speaker 1: playoff style catch and shoot threes. We saw that was

765
00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:30,759
Speaker 1: a major issue in the San Antonio game and in

766
00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:33,680
Speaker 1: the Minnesota game as well. Struggles on the defensive glass.

767
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 1: They gave up fifty three offensive rebounds over those four

768
00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:40,440
Speaker 1: losses to the Spurs and the Timberwolves. I'm not worried

769
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,000
Speaker 1: about them at all. I just think that they're, you know,

770
00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:45,279
Speaker 1: the stuff with the Spurs, you have to really you

771
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,360
Speaker 1: can't just gloss over those. Those are obvious issues that

772
00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to overcome. But overall, now they have

773
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,600
Speaker 1: like these clear line items to focus on. In the

774
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:54,200
Speaker 1: regular season, it looked like they were just going to

775
00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:56,879
Speaker 1: cruise to seventy five wins and face no adversity. This

776
00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,240
Speaker 1: is real adversity. I think it's good to have purpose

777
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,319
Speaker 1: day today. I think the thunder got humbled a bit.

778
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,200
Speaker 1: I think it will ultimately be good for them and

779
00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:08,600
Speaker 1: the number one San Antonio Spurs. A preposterous plus thirteen

780
00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:11,360
Speaker 1: hundred to win the title on hard rock bet. I

781
00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:14,520
Speaker 1: do not see how the odds are that long for

782
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 1: this team. I know that they have their issues. I

783
00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,080
Speaker 1: know that they're not, you know, matching up as well

784
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:20,560
Speaker 1: against the rest of the league as they have against

785
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:22,759
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City, But just the fact that they can beat

786
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:24,840
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City feels like that should be a higher odds

787
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,880
Speaker 1: So some value there at plus thirteen at plus thirteen hundred.

788
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:29,920
Speaker 1: They did lay an egg at home against the Jazz

789
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:32,280
Speaker 1: on Saturday. They just got torched in that second quarter

790
00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:36,560
Speaker 1: by Walter Clayton and Keyonte George. The bigger thing is

791
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:38,719
Speaker 1: they went cold on offense in that stretch. Like if

792
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:41,440
Speaker 1: there's something to nitpick in this recent stretch from the Spurs,

793
00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:44,279
Speaker 1: it's the ice cold stretches of offense like that second

794
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,000
Speaker 1: quarter against Utah and then the fourth quarter against the

795
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:49,560
Speaker 1: Knicks and the n season tournament game. But overall, this

796
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 1: is still the best team in the leagu's in November

797
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:54,040
Speaker 1: fourteen or since November sixteenth, they're fifteen and four in

798
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,439
Speaker 1: that stretch. It's a half game better than Oklahoma City

799
00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:58,759
Speaker 1: over the same span. And again the distinction of being

800
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:00,720
Speaker 1: three and o versus Okase, which there's a real feather

801
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,359
Speaker 1: in your cap as a potential playoff threat this year.

802
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,160
Speaker 1: It is a great time to be a San Antonio

803
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,080
Speaker 1: Spurs fan. All right, guys, It's all I have for

804
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,480
Speaker 1: today is always to sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting

805
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:12,319
Speaker 1: us and supporting the show. We'll be back tomorrow with

806
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:15,040
Speaker 1: a mailbag, then Wednesday for more instant reaction before we

807
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,920
Speaker 1: take New Year's Day off, and then we'll have our

808
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:19,800
Speaker 1: contender rankings on Friday. I will see you guys tomorrow