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Speaker 1: welcome to hoops tonight. You're at the volume. Happy Monday, everybody.

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Speaker 1: Hope all of you guys had an incredible weekend. We've

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Speaker 1: got a theam packed show for you guys again. Today.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna hit five games just like we did on Saturday. Lakers, Kings, Warriors, Rockets, Nuggets,

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Speaker 1: Thunder Hawks, Bucks, and then finally the Sixers and the Raptors.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna hit all ten teams and their matchups from

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Speaker 1: this past weekend. And then I've got four mailbag questions

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Speaker 1: for the end of the show as well. You guys

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Speaker 1: hit that subscribe button as we try to launch this

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Speaker 1: thing and get it off the ground. Don't forget about

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Speaker 1: our social media feeds TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, It's where I'm

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Speaker 1: posting video content and show announcements throughout the year. And

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Speaker 1: then our podcast feed wherever you get your podcast on

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Speaker 1: our hoops tonight. And the last, not least, don't forget

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Speaker 1: about mailbag questions. Keep dropping them in the YouTube comments

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Speaker 1: so we can keep hitting them throughout the season. All right,

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Speaker 1: Lakers King, So the Kings end up beating the Lakers

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Speaker 1: in ot Lakers looked like they were gonna come away

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Speaker 1: with it there in the middle of the fourth quarter.

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Speaker 1: They were going on a run Lebron hits to pull

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Speaker 1: up three to put them up by four, But then

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Speaker 1: Dearon Fox took over the game down the stretch and

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Speaker 1: then Malik Monk took it over in ot as the

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Speaker 1: Kings notched an impressive win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Now,

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Speaker 1: if you guys remember after last year's postseason run. I

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Speaker 1: talked a lot about how they're they're as discouraging as

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Speaker 1: certain things were for the Kings, right, like Sibonis kind

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Speaker 1: of being mostly ineffectual over the course of that Warrior series,

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Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes really struggling over the course of the Warrior series,

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Speaker 1: and it kind of dawning on you that the front

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Speaker 1: court really just isn't gonna be good enough to contend

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Speaker 1: with the best teams in the league. And that's a

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Speaker 1: real problem. And that's something that even as optimistic as

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Speaker 1: I feel about the Kings at this point and some

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Speaker 1: of the other elements of their roster, you're just not

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Speaker 1: going to win at the highest levels in the NBA

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Speaker 1: with those front court shortcomings, right, But that doesn't take

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Speaker 1: away from the huge positives that this team brings to

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Speaker 1: the table. I talked a lot about how after that

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Speaker 1: Warrior series, I was blown away by how impressive both

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Speaker 1: Malik Monk and Deer and Fox were with their ability

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Speaker 1: to get the defense into rotation to either beat people

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Speaker 1: off the dribble or make shots over the top to

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Speaker 1: draw multiple defenders into their ball screen. They just did

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Speaker 1: a really good job generating quality shots throughout the series

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Speaker 1: and It's specifically valuable in that Western Conference because both

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Speaker 1: Malik Monk and Dearon Fox bring this crazy combination of

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Speaker 1: downhill speed to beat people off the dribble and over

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Speaker 1: the top shot making. As Deeron Fox has developed into

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Speaker 1: a jump shooter at this phase in his career. Hit

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Speaker 1: several big jump shots down the stretch last night to

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Speaker 1: pull up three in Anthony Davis's face, another pull up

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Speaker 1: mid range shot in Torrian Prince's face down the stretch

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Speaker 1: of that game. So like they're both now high level

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Speaker 1: shot makers, and in the Western Conference in particular, a

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Speaker 1: lot of the teams at the top. As a matter

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Speaker 1: of fact, I'll just put it plainly, all of the

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Speaker 1: teams at the top of the conference that I consider

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Speaker 1: to be championship contenders are bad perimeter defense teams. As

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Speaker 1: you go to the Denver Nuggets, for instance, I really

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Speaker 1: like Aaron Gordon as an option to attack or to

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Speaker 1: put on other big scoring wings around the league. But

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Speaker 1: like with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Junior on the floor,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna have your opportunities if you can beat people

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Speaker 1: off the dribble, right. Same thing goes for the Golden

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Speaker 1: State Warriors right with Chris Paul and Steph Curry and

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Speaker 1: Klay Thompson at this phase in his career, You're gonna

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Speaker 1: have opportunities if you can beat people off the dribble.

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Speaker 1: Going forward to the Phoenix Suns right like, obviously Joshakogi

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Speaker 1: and Jordan Goodwin have been exciting early season perimeter weapons,

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Speaker 1: but especially when Bradley Beal and Devin Booker are on

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Speaker 1: the floor, they're gonna you're gonna have a lot of

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Speaker 1: opportunities to beat people off the dribble. And the last

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Speaker 1: but not least, the Los Angeles Lakers with Austin Reeves and

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Speaker 1: and Di'angelo Russell and and Gabe Vincent as their primary

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Speaker 1: back court options, like, you're just gonna have an opportunity

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Speaker 1: to beat people off the dribble if you have the

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Speaker 1: guards that can do that. And so, in a weird way,

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Speaker 1: the Sacramento Kings are a bad matchup for a lot

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Speaker 1: of the teams at the top of the Western Conference

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Speaker 1: on the perimeter. Now, again, those front core court issues

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Speaker 1: add a certain ceiling to that, which we'll get to

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Speaker 1: in a little bit. But that Fox Monks monk pairing

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Speaker 1: is a real weapon, and we've seen that already in

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Speaker 1: last year's postseason, but it's it's you're seeing that come

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Speaker 1: to the surface and this year's regular season as well.

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Speaker 1: Last night, the Lakers just could not contain any screening

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Speaker 1: action with Malik Monk er dearon Fox, even in it's

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Speaker 1: just like an easy ghost screen with Kevin Herder on

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Speaker 1: Malik Monk as he pops to the left wing and

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Speaker 1: Gave Vincent is just too slow to recover. And that's

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Speaker 1: the thing. The Lakers don't have that type of real

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Speaker 1: athleticism in the backcourt to physically contain the quicker guards

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Speaker 1: in the league. And when you pair that with what

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Speaker 1: they've got on the wing with Keegan Murray and Kevin Herders,

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Speaker 1: guys that are like real athletes with real size and

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Speaker 1: length who also can shoot the basketball, it kind of

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Speaker 1: is a perfect pairing in terms of that perimeter kind

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Speaker 1: of like the perimeter identity that this team has, right Like,

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Speaker 1: You've got these off ball movement shooters that kind of

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Speaker 1: contribute in the athleticism areas of the game, and then

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Speaker 1: you've got these on ball quickness, pull up jump shooters

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Speaker 1: that can get the defense into rotations. You can play

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Speaker 1: drive and kick basketball and that's the thing, Like you

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Speaker 1: saw a lot of those perimeter mismatches manifest down the

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Speaker 1: stretch of this Laker game, where on one end of

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Speaker 1: the floor, every time the Lakers miss and they're missing threes. Right,

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Speaker 1: We're gonna get to it in a little bit, but

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Speaker 1: the Lakers miss some great looks down the stretch of

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Speaker 1: this game. They're missing threes long off the back of

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Speaker 1: the rim, and Kevin Herder and Keegan Murray and these

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Speaker 1: guys are coming flying in to get rebounds. Kevin Herder

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Speaker 1: had four defensive rebounds in crunch time last night, as

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Speaker 1: the Kings were able to keep for the most part,

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Speaker 1: the Lakers off the offensive glass. Ad had like a

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Speaker 1: tip dunk with about like what twenty five seconds left

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Speaker 1: or so that tied the game. But other than that,

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Speaker 1: they get a good job of keeping the Lakers off

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Speaker 1: the glass. And then on the other end of the floor,

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Speaker 1: Keegan Murray's just running right by D'Angelo Russell, running right

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Speaker 1: by Torrian Prince and grabbing huge defensive rebounds, both of

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Speaker 1: which led to wide open threes for Malik Monk that

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Speaker 1: he made both of. And so you're kind of seeing that,

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Speaker 1: like they have real speeding, quickness advantages at the guard position,

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Speaker 1: and then they have real length and athleticism on the

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Speaker 1: wing to get long rebounds, to contest shots in rotation,

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Speaker 1: to on the offensive end, gather and tip out offensive rebounds.

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Speaker 1: They just have a really good core of perimeter players.

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Speaker 1: And again, like there's there's gonna be some sort of

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Speaker 1: limitation to them as a high level playoff team as

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Speaker 1: it comes as it comes down to their front court,

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Speaker 1: but you have a real foundation there. And like again,

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Speaker 1: in the big picture, and I don't know what they're

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Speaker 1: looking at, especially being that they just reupt with Sabonis,

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Speaker 1: but eventually, if you can imagine a universe where they

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Speaker 1: get real rim protection into this system, they could be really,

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Speaker 1: really good in the big picture. I thought they did

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Speaker 1: a really nice job too of avoiding the Laker half

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Speaker 1: court defense whenever they could by pushing the ball in

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Speaker 1: transition every single time they had a long rebound or

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Speaker 1: a turnover or anything along those lines. I thought both

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Speaker 1: Keegan Murray and Kevin Hurder did a nice job identifying

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Speaker 1: when Anthony Davis was out on deeron Fox on a

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Speaker 1: switch that they had an opportunity to try to crash

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Speaker 1: the glass because the Lakers didn't have much athleticism on

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Speaker 1: the back line. I thought they played a really smart

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Speaker 1: game as they out executed the Lakers down the stretch

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Speaker 1: last night to get a win. And again, like where

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Speaker 1: you're seeing the downside is on that defensive end. You

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Speaker 1: saw the Lakers get a lot of really good looks

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Speaker 1: down the stretch of that game, and they missed them

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Speaker 1: all for the most part, right, And a big part

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Speaker 1: of that is that because of your front court's limitations,

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Speaker 1: you're having to throw two to the ball in post

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Speaker 1: ups and ISOs, you're having to throw a defend pick

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Speaker 1: and roll actions three on two, and so you're existing

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Speaker 1: in rotation too much on the other end of the floor,

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Speaker 1: which is what's allowing smart teams that have skilled like

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Speaker 1: the Lakers to make that drive and kick pass to

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Speaker 1: find that open shooter. So again, like there's a limit

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Speaker 1: to what they can do until they figure out that

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Speaker 1: front court and kind of build a defensive foundation on it.

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Speaker 1: But you saw a lot of the exciting perimeter potential

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Speaker 1: of this team against the Lakers last night. Moving on

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Speaker 1: to the Lakers the Lake game issues, I thought like

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Speaker 1: a lot of Laker fans, in particular were kind of

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Speaker 1: missing the boat on what went down down the stretch

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Speaker 1: of that game, Like, yeah, they missed a lot of

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Speaker 1: open shots, and yeah, Anthony Davis wasn't overly involved in

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Speaker 1: the offense, and we'll talk about that in a minute.

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Speaker 1: But your defense gave up twenty six points and ten

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Speaker 1: minutes of crunch time basketball the final five minutes of

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Speaker 1: regulation and in ot you gave up twenty six points

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Speaker 1: in crunch time a defensive rating of one hundred and

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Speaker 1: twenty four when the score was within five with less

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Speaker 1: than five minutes left. You're not beating anybody if you're

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Speaker 1: giving up like crazy, you know, best offense in the

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Speaker 1: league offensive ratings during the final five minutes of the game.

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Speaker 1: That's the problem. The problem is is every single time

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Speaker 1: you got to stop, they got an offensive rebound. The

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Speaker 1: problem is your guys on the perimeter can't defend a

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Speaker 1: basic ghost screen action. The problem is is every single

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Speaker 1: time Anthony Davis ends up on a switch, he gets

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Speaker 1: a stop and then no one boxes out. Those are

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Speaker 1: the issues that they're having on that end of the floor.

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Speaker 1: That's what cost them the game. Despite shooting horrifically on

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Speaker 1: the other end, and they still had an offensive rating

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Speaker 1: of ninety five in the crunch time on the other

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Speaker 1: end of the floor. And that's with them missing every

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Speaker 1: seemingly every single open shot that they generated. And that's

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Speaker 1: an issue like the Lake when it comes to the

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Speaker 1: late game offense, like that was an issue all year

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Speaker 1: last year, and it's definitely something that we're gonna have

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Speaker 1: to keep an eye on over the course of the season.

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Speaker 1: But when I watched the tape today, like it was

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Speaker 1: just wide open shots. It was wide up and shots

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Speaker 1: every time down the floor. It was Lebron, you know,

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Speaker 1: ripping through to the right, drawing a second defender and

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Speaker 1: kicking to Torreon prints on the right wing for a

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Speaker 1: wide open three. It was Lebron kind of posting up

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Speaker 1: and drawing Gabe Vincent's defender in and kicking out to

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Speaker 1: Gabe Vincent on the left wing for a wide open three.

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Speaker 1: It was the Lakers running a ball screen with Ad

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Speaker 1: and eight rolling to the basket on a switch and

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Speaker 1: drawing two defenders and d Lo throwing a skip to

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Speaker 1: Torrean Prince in the left corner and in Pump faking

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Speaker 1: and ripping through the baseline and making a kickout pass

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Speaker 1: to D'Angelo Russell wide open on the right wing and

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Speaker 1: he missed the three. Like at the end of the day,

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Speaker 1: these are wide open looks that you're missing, and like,

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Speaker 1: I get it. Maybe you find a way to get

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Speaker 1: Ad more involved in the offense. But do you think

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Speaker 1: Mike Brown is going to allow Anthony Davis to just

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Speaker 1: work on an island against the Kings, or do you

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Speaker 1: think he's going to be sending multiple defenders which is

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Speaker 1: gonna lead to the defense being in rotation, which is

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Speaker 1: going to lead to driving kick basketball, which is gonna

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Speaker 1: lead to wide open threes. Like at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day, you're gonna get the same damn shots, Like

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Speaker 1: you just have to make the shots. It really is

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Speaker 1: that simple. And like even specifically from the same point

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Speaker 1: of schematics, like after Sabonas fouled out of the game,

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Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes slid over onto Anthony Davis, and every single

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Speaker 1: possession offensively, he either ran to the opposite block to

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Speaker 1: basically operate in the dunker spot, ran to the corner,

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Speaker 1: or to the wing to spot up. There was not

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Speaker 1: a single possession when Ad had Harrison Barnes on him.

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Speaker 1: When he ran down the floor buried him and said,

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Speaker 1: give me the damn ball, and then someone threw in

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Speaker 1: the ball and he made a post move that literally

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Speaker 1: never happened. The only time he called for post ups

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Speaker 1: were on switches after ball screens. There was one coming

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Speaker 1: off of a ball screen where Deer and Fox switched

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Speaker 1: on to him and he fronted the post and they bracketed,

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Speaker 1: so there was no post entry and so there was

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Speaker 1: no opportunity to get him the ball. And then there

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Speaker 1: was another transition possession in ot where Lebron where Ad

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Speaker 1: ran the floor and had Kevin heurdr sealed right under

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Speaker 1: the basket on the left side, and Lebron opted to

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Speaker 1: throw his swing pass over to the right to D'Angelo Russell,

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Speaker 1: who was wide like completely unguarded on the right wing.

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Speaker 1: And so even the one time I thought Ad had

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Speaker 1: a guy buried for a post up, Lebron made a

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Speaker 1: read to probably your best spot up shooter, like Delo's

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Speaker 1: probably your best guy on the team to take a

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Speaker 1: wide open three, and he just missed it. So like,

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Speaker 1: even though you could argue, yeah, Lebron probably should feed

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Speaker 1: Ad against Herder there, it's not like he made a

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Speaker 1: bad decision. He just made a different decision for a

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Speaker 1: shot that, like you know, is a great look for

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Speaker 1: that team. Right. And then again, as I always say,

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Speaker 1: I will defend AD to the bitter end, his impact

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Speaker 1: goes far beyond what his offensive production is. I always

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Speaker 1: point out the obvious reasons why he's different from the

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Speaker 1: stars at the very top of the league, and some

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Speaker 1: areas of opportunity that he has. One of those is

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Speaker 1: that half court shot creation piece. But like you have

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Speaker 1: to count account for what he does defensively, Anthony Davis's

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Speaker 1: defensive impact extends so far beyond what you see on

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Speaker 1: the box score. But the reality is is like there

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Speaker 1: is basically no evidence an AD's career where you could

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Speaker 1: just dump the ball to him and run the offense

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Speaker 1: through him and it's gonna go well like that. That's

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Speaker 1: just not a thing. And I didn't see anything on

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Speaker 1: tape that really screamed at me as like missed opportunities

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Speaker 1: on that end, except for the fact that AD probably

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Speaker 1: should have just buried Harrison Barnes a few times, which

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Speaker 1: is which is on AD. It's not on the players

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Speaker 1: who didn't even have an opportunity to throw it to

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Speaker 1: him down there. So, like I think focusing on the

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Speaker 1: offensive end down the stretch of that Lakers loss to

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Speaker 1: the Kings is silly. They ran great offense. I think

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Speaker 1: Lebron has done an excellent job of making decisions in

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Speaker 1: crunch time of games so far this year and generating

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Speaker 1: super high quality shots for his teams and for his team,

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Speaker 1: and good shooters are just not making shots, and that's

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Speaker 1: the problem. Austin Reeves this year five for twenty three

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Speaker 1: on jump shots, D'Angelo Russell seven for twenty three on

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Speaker 1: jump shots, Gabe Vincent three for fifteen on jump shots.

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Speaker 1: As a group, those three guys are three for fourteen

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Speaker 1: on unguarded catch and shoot jump shots, so nobody's standing

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Speaker 1: around them. They catch with all day to sit and

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Speaker 1: think and take the shot, three for fourteen, and they're

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Speaker 1: not making their pull up jump shots either. They're ten

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Speaker 1: for thirty three. So like at the end of the day.

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Speaker 1: That was the roster construct. The idea was, teams are

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Speaker 1: packing the pain against Ad and Lebron. Lebron's drawing doubles

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Speaker 1: and all his drives AD every time he tries to

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Speaker 1: post up a mismatch. They're bracketing and they're fronting, and

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Speaker 1: their offering backside help, you've gotta hit shots. Like, to me,

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Speaker 1: settling is I have a guy on a swich and

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Speaker 1: I take a step back jump shot, or I'm running

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Speaker 1: pick and roll and I'm taking floaters and pull up

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Speaker 1: jump shots. That's settling. But when the team is taking

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Speaker 1: away the paint and you are driving and making the

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Speaker 1: right read to wide open shooters, that's not settling. That's

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Speaker 1: especially when they're good shooters. It's one thing when the

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Speaker 1: team's ignoring Jared Vanderbilt and you keep getting Jared Vanderbilt

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Speaker 1: count catch and shoot threes, and you have to start

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Speaker 1: thinking about what you got to do offensively, because that's

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Speaker 1: a shot the defense can afford to give up. But

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Speaker 1: if your crunch time offense is generating wide open threes

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Speaker 1: for Gabe Vincent, Austin Reeves, D'Angelo Russell, you're gonna win

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Speaker 1: a lot of games. And Torrean Prince is one of

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Speaker 1: the better wide open, catch and shoot three point shooters

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Speaker 1: in the league, and he missed at least three wide

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Speaker 1: open threes in crunch time last night. So like again, like,

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Speaker 1: I think focusing on the offense is the wrong thing there.

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Speaker 1: Because it was one twenty four to one twenty three

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Speaker 1: with what two minutes left in ot despite all of

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Speaker 1: those missed shots, but you couldn't get a damn stop.

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Speaker 1: And when it was one twenty four to one twenty three,

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Speaker 1: Malik Monk ran a ghost scream with Kevin Herder, and

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Speaker 1: Kevin Herder slipped it to the left wing and got

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Speaker 1: a wide open three and he made it. Because that's

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Speaker 1: bad defense, because they couldn't just communicate a switch properly

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Speaker 1: or hedge and recover whatever it was that they planned

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Speaker 1: on doing in that situation. Like it just at a

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Speaker 1: certain point, this team's identity is defense. That's how they

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Speaker 1: have to win games. They didn't do a good enough

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Speaker 1: job a couple other things. Rebounding issues again, like some

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Speaker 1: of it's personnel, Like some of it is Dangel Russell's

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Speaker 1: giving up a lot of length and athleticism to some

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Speaker 1: of these guys. Right, there are some things that, uh

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Speaker 1: that darvinham can do. We saw in the Suns game

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Speaker 1: in particular, put Christian Wood on the floor. He can

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Speaker 1: really help you with your backside rebounding when Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: gets switched onto a perimeter player like he did on

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant in those games. Right, in this game, no

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Speaker 1: Christian wood in crunch time, ad gets switched onto Derren

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Speaker 1: Fox Fromer League Monk. You can't rebound on the backside, right.

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Speaker 1: But a lot of it is just personal shortcomings. Because

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Speaker 1: even if you had Jared Vanderbilt in for Torrian Prince

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Speaker 1: or Christian Wooden for Torrian Prince, there were a couple

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Speaker 1: plays where Gabe, Vincent and Dilo got beat for rebounds.

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Speaker 1: So like at a certain point, it's a personnel weakness.

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Speaker 1: And this is why I've been talking so much about

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Speaker 1: how the Lakers need to find a real athletic guard.

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Speaker 1: I've said multiple times like my dream trade for the

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Speaker 1: Lakers this year is like a trade with the Bulls

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Speaker 1: to bring back Alex Crusoe and Demarta Rozen, because you

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Speaker 1: solve your over the top shot making and you get

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Speaker 1: a real big athlete at the guard position that can

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Speaker 1: help you in these late game situations, securing the fifty

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Speaker 1: to fifty balls, defending those late game ball screen actions

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Speaker 1: like you wouldn't you probably wouldn't have to switch ad

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Speaker 1: onto Deern Fox if you can guard him with Alex

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Speaker 1: Cruso at the point of attack and those are that's

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Speaker 1: a severe limitation in this roster, and that's something that

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Speaker 1: they're gonna have to look at when they get closer

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Speaker 1: to the deadline. Last note on the Lakers over the

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Speaker 1: top shot making Lebron he made a pull up three

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Speaker 1: with the about halfway through the fourth quarter that put

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Speaker 1: the Lakers up four, but he missed a couple more

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Speaker 1: pull up jump shots that were easy in pick and

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Speaker 1: roll down the stretch. He did make a bailout three

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Speaker 1: in the left corner, but he's three for ten on

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Speaker 1: pull up jumpers this year, and overall on jump shots

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Speaker 1: he's zero point eight to one points per jump shot.

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis zero points seventy five points per jump shot,

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Speaker 1: one for four on pull up jump shots. So, like

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Speaker 1: we talked about how they're gonna have to keep an

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Speaker 1: eye on that over the top shot making piece, and

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Speaker 1: so far, again small sample size three games. Don't want

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Speaker 1: to overreact to anything, but so far, through three games,

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Speaker 1: their stars still can't make shots, and unless they start

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Speaker 1: making shots, that's gonna be something that severely hinders them

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Speaker 1: in the late rounds of the playoffs. Now, some of

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Speaker 1: you guys out there are probably thinking Jason said the

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Speaker 1: Lakers are gonna win a lot of regular season games

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Speaker 1: there one and two right now. Sometimes teams lose two

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Speaker 1: games and three tries. And the Lakers are not playing

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Speaker 1: good basketball right now. Dangel Russell Austin Reeves gave Vincent

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Speaker 1: those guys are offensive skill guards. They're not athletic, dirty

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Speaker 1: work guards who play defense, right So if they're not

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Speaker 1: making shots, they're impact craters and the Lakers are going

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Speaker 1: to be a pretty inferior basketball team. But here's the thing.

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Speaker 1: I expect them to make shots this year. Again, those

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Speaker 1: guys are shooting atrociously bad. They're going to make shots.

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Speaker 1: It's only a matter of time. As a group, the

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Speaker 1: whole team, Anthony Davis and Lebron aren't playing well enough

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Speaker 1: as half court shot makers right Like overall, the team

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Speaker 1: isn't defending well enough. Their offensive skill guards are not

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Speaker 1: making any shots. As a team, they're just not playing well.

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Speaker 1: But you play eighty two games, and I think the

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Speaker 1: Lakers are going to figure it out and play a

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Speaker 1: lot better. And I still feel very strongly that they're

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Speaker 1: going to win a lot of regular season games. They're

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Speaker 1: just not playing well right now, which is a thing

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Speaker 1: that happens over the course of the NBA regular season.

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Speaker 1: All right, moving on to the Warriors and the Rockets,

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Speaker 1: so the bench lineup carries them again. Steph Curry checks out.

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Speaker 1: I think it was eighteen to fifteen, about halfway through

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Speaker 1: the first quarter of like mid late first quarter, and

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Speaker 1: they bring in their bench lineup which they've been using

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Speaker 1: so far the season, which is Chris Paul with Gary

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Speaker 1: Payton kind of managing the point of attack assignments, Moses Moody,

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga, and Dario Sarich, and that group just completely

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Speaker 1: took over the game. And by the time Steph came

430
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:17,240
Speaker 1: back in in like middle second quarter ish, the Warriors

431
00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:18,960
Speaker 1: were up by double digits. I think they were up

432
00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,760
Speaker 1: by thirteen if I remember correctly. And that's just a

433
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,800
Speaker 1: huge advantage to be able to go from down without

434
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,359
Speaker 1: Steph or with Steph on the floor, to Steph coming

435
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,239
Speaker 1: back into the floor with the double digit lead. And

436
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,160
Speaker 1: that's why you make the Chris Paul trade. You make

437
00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,920
Speaker 1: the Chris Paul trade to improve the organization of those

438
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,240
Speaker 1: bench groups. But to be clear, it's defense that's winning

439
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,520
Speaker 1: those those shifts for that group. They have a ninety

440
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,040
Speaker 1: two defensive rating in those possessions. Gary Payton's doing an

441
00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,040
Speaker 1: amazing job at the point of attack. He made a

442
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,680
Speaker 1: lot of plays defensively in pick and roll. In that

443
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,040
Speaker 1: bench run at the end of the first quarter. In

444
00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,240
Speaker 1: early second quarter yesterday, Jonathan Kamena brings that down hill

445
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,639
Speaker 1: rim pressure slashing from the wing. He's basically like playing

446
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 1: on that week side. Chris Paul's running pick and roll,

447
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,640
Speaker 1: and whenever he sees that low man come over, he's

448
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,520
Speaker 1: just throwing it to kaming on the wing, and Kaminga

449
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,199
Speaker 1: is either shooting to catch and shoot three or jab

450
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,080
Speaker 1: and drive to the left. He's just applying that downhill

451
00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,119
Speaker 1: rim pressure right. Moses Moody has kind of taking the

452
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 1: role of like the three and D guy. He's attacking closeouts,

453
00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,520
Speaker 1: taking open threes when they're there, and he's playing physical

454
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,359
Speaker 1: point of attack defense. Dario Sarich is the kind of

455
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,240
Speaker 1: like the offensive fire power in the Chris Paul pick

456
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,000
Speaker 1: and roll, and they're still having a lot of success

457
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,240
Speaker 1: in pick and pop situations with him just like dropping

458
00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:36,200
Speaker 1: back to the to the wing or to the key

459
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,120
Speaker 1: off of ball screens with Chris Paul, so like it's

460
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,840
Speaker 1: it's a sensical lineup. We talk a lot about, just

461
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,399
Speaker 1: like the list of responsibilities on a basketball court. Chris

462
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,680
Speaker 1: Paul feels that point of attack offense, like getting the

463
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,639
Speaker 1: defense into rotation. Kaminga's like kind of your like a

464
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:58,080
Speaker 1: second side creator slash, real rim pressure guy. Moses Moody's

465
00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 1: your three and D guy, right, like Gary Payton's basically

466
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 1: operating is your primary point of attack defensive player, but

467
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,600
Speaker 1: he's operating off the ball on offense kind of out

468
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,760
Speaker 1: of the weakside corner and as a cutter right. And

469
00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,600
Speaker 1: then Dario Sarich is your skilled big that allows you

470
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:12,960
Speaker 1: to kind of play five out offensively. Right, Like it

471
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,320
Speaker 1: all they just fill all the positions, and they don't

472
00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,200
Speaker 1: need an outstanding rim protector in that lineup, so they

473
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,919
Speaker 1: can play sarage because you've got great point of attack

474
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,080
Speaker 1: defenders out there and Gary, Gary Payton and Moses Moody

475
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,040
Speaker 1: and Jonathan Kimiko who can be a great point of

476
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,320
Speaker 1: attack defender when he's locked in, and so it all

477
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,120
Speaker 1: just makes sense. And that's what allows the Warriors bench

478
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,960
Speaker 1: lineup to provide more consistent production like they have so

479
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 1: far through the season. Again, forty two possesions really small

480
00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,560
Speaker 1: sample size, by that lineup has been working really well

481
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,160
Speaker 1: and again, like the starters are not playing super great

482
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,600
Speaker 1: right now. Andrew Wiggins not playing very well right Draymond

483
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,680
Speaker 1: Green coming back from an injury, playing on a minute's restriction,

484
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:55,200
Speaker 1: so like they need consistency off of their bench to

485
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 1: give their starters time to get their shit together, you know.

486
00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:59,239
Speaker 1: And then here's the thing. You just got to keep

487
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,680
Speaker 1: that you keep it close. That's what allows Steph Curry

488
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,439
Speaker 1: to carry you home late. And that's what happened in

489
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,720
Speaker 1: this game. The Rockets took a late lead in this game,

490
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,160
Speaker 1: and then Steph Curry just unbelievably like just got unbelievably

491
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:15,600
Speaker 1: hot and took over late. I swear every like heat check,

492
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,520
Speaker 1: run of three point shooting is coming in fours these days.

493
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,439
Speaker 1: That's been a theme so far in this regular season.

494
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,440
Speaker 1: Steph hit back to back to back to back pull

495
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,479
Speaker 1: up threes. Well some of them are on the move,

496
00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:27,600
Speaker 1: but like back to back to back to back threes

497
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,119
Speaker 1: to basically put the game away. Then there was a

498
00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:33,119
Speaker 1: fun one for all us basketball fans out there. Like,

499
00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 1: for the record, like Dylan Brooks as a basketball player,

500
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,280
Speaker 1: I think he's legitimately very good, very good defensive player.

501
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,800
Speaker 1: He actually is a little better offensively in the last

502
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 1: six months than I think he was in previous years,

503
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,240
Speaker 1: which is encouraging for the Rockets. He's actually become a

504
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,400
Speaker 1: decent playmaker off the bounce, too, good basketball player, probably

505
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:56,600
Speaker 1: even deserving of his contract, right, But I just don't

506
00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,840
Speaker 1: like the guy. I think he's downright disrespect to better

507
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,920
Speaker 1: basketball players than him. Like talking shit on the court,

508
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:05,960
Speaker 1: to me is a normal part of competitiveness. But like

509
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,960
Speaker 1: going into the press and just talking shit about people

510
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,960
Speaker 1: for no reason, it is disrespectful, unlikable, pointless. I think

511
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,120
Speaker 1: it's inauthentic too. Like I think I don't think Dylan

512
00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,080
Speaker 1: Brooks is actually wired that way. I think he's just

513
00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: being a dick because it he thinks it. I think

514
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,400
Speaker 1: you think he's trying to build that villain brand up right,

515
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,159
Speaker 1: So like like just not my favorite dude, you know.

516
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,760
Speaker 1: So like I'm always gonna enjoy when when uh Steph

517
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:33,920
Speaker 1: Curry as a moment at his expense, and I didn't

518
00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:36,359
Speaker 1: even mention all the dirty player stuff, like like Dylan

519
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,960
Speaker 1: Brooks has hurt guys, like has actually hurt guys making

520
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,560
Speaker 1: dirty plays on the court. I'm just just not a

521
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,679
Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks fan. But when Steph Curry hit him with

522
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,640
Speaker 1: like the behind the back crossover, back to the left

523
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:50,440
Speaker 1: and back behind the back again to the pump fake

524
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,400
Speaker 1: because Dylan Brooks goes flying by and hits a shot

525
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,080
Speaker 1: in his face and Steph is freaking out as he's

526
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 1: running down the floor. That those are the things that

527
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,199
Speaker 1: I love about basketball, because regardless of what you end

528
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,000
Speaker 1: up saying at the end of the day, like you

529
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:03,640
Speaker 1: still gotta you can't talk all that shit and then

530
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,520
Speaker 1: just get your ass bust by Steph Curry, right like

531
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 1: the that's the downside. You talk, you got to back

532
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:12,359
Speaker 1: it up. And basketball is very much a results sport,

533
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,159
Speaker 1: and like all you always live to fight another day

534
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:16,960
Speaker 1: and you always have another chance to try to make

535
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 1: someone pay. And Steph got the better of Dylan Brooks

536
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,240
Speaker 1: in a big way down the stretch of that game.

537
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,879
Speaker 1: Steph's been fantastic so far this season and that you

538
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:26,879
Speaker 1: can kind of see things kind of coming together for

539
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,879
Speaker 1: this team. Kaminga's been really good again yesterday, just making

540
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,480
Speaker 1: a higher level offensive plays and you're expecting him to

541
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,400
Speaker 1: make at this phase in his career. The bench fit

542
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 1: that we went over is perfect. You're pairing that with

543
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,480
Speaker 1: the best starting lineup in the league last year. Right

544
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 1: there's just a lot of stuff coming together for this team.

545
00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:47,760
Speaker 1: Very small sample size. I'm not going to get too

546
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,439
Speaker 1: excited until we get about twenty games in, but the

547
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,840
Speaker 1: Warriors look a lot closer to the twenty twenty two

548
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,040
Speaker 1: version of them so far than they do the twenty

549
00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:58,879
Speaker 1: twenty three version, and that's exciting. On the Rockets front,

550
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,480
Speaker 1: the only thing I really want to hit on here is, uh,

551
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 1: the Fred van Vliet thing is so confusing to me,

552
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,160
Speaker 1: and like I remember that was the basis, Like if

553
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,920
Speaker 1: this is what you were gonna do, like largely give

554
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: the keys to uh a guard, to a veteran guard

555
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 1: who's a little bit past his prime, Like why didn't

556
00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 1: you just pay James Harden, Because like, the Van Vleet

557
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,840
Speaker 1: thing's not going well, zero point eight seven points per

558
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,320
Speaker 1: pick and roll, he's co opting the offense too often.

559
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,920
Speaker 1: He's uh four ISOs just scored once on him, four

560
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,200
Speaker 1: for twelve at the rim. They finally let Jalen Green

561
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,480
Speaker 1: be more aggressive in last night's game, but like it's

562
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 1: it's it's a little too many hands in the pot

563
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:39,600
Speaker 1: right now. It's a little a lot of guys at

564
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,760
Speaker 1: a rhythm sort of thing going on. The only real

565
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,840
Speaker 1: reliable point in their offense right now is Shangoun, who

566
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 1: is pretty good again yesterday seven assistants, zero turnovers, like

567
00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,200
Speaker 1: they they I just wish I could understand what the

568
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,960
Speaker 1: big picture goal is for this Rockets team, and here

569
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:55,719
Speaker 1: you are at zero and three. So if the move was, hey,

570
00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:57,200
Speaker 1: we're gonna bring him in and we're gonna win games,

571
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,720
Speaker 1: that's not working either, all right, Moving on to the

572
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 1: nugt in the Thunder, I thought this was the most

573
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 1: impressive win that I saw so far from a team

574
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,840
Speaker 1: this season. The Thunder two to zero at home, all

575
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:08,920
Speaker 1: full of piss and vinegar, ready to try to get

576
00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,399
Speaker 1: a big win against the Denver Nuggets, and they just

577
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,679
Speaker 1: get their ass kicked like it's funny, because like I

578
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,359
Speaker 1: really do believe that the Nuggets are only a little

579
00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:21,280
Speaker 1: bit better than the teams at the top of the

580
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:23,879
Speaker 1: league when they're fully formed. But you're seeing like the

581
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,679
Speaker 1: Lakers are working shit out with their rotation in their rhythm,

582
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,399
Speaker 1: and most of their guys aren't playing very well. Damian

583
00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: Lillard came into camp out of shape, and the Bucks

584
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,120
Speaker 1: look pretty bad here early on right, Like the Celtics

585
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:35,680
Speaker 1: are really good, but you know how it goes with

586
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 1: the Celtics are always worried about them in the late

587
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,760
Speaker 1: rounds of the playoffs. Like the Sixers are are We're

588
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 1: gonna talk about them later, but they're kind of working

589
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:47,120
Speaker 1: some things out. Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are are

590
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,000
Speaker 1: injured and not available to play. So it's like, right now,

591
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,520
Speaker 1: if the season ended today, the Nuggets are way better

592
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,400
Speaker 1: than the rest of the teams in the league. But again,

593
00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,400
Speaker 1: I do think in the big picture, everyone's gonna catch

594
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 1: up to a certain extent. I don't think the Nuggets

595
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,479
Speaker 1: have that significant of a talent advantage. But the Nuggets

596
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:05,840
Speaker 1: are the best team in the league right now and

597
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,240
Speaker 1: it's not particularly close, and they just have like an

598
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,720
Speaker 1: inevitability to what they do offensively. Nicole jokis just burying

599
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,080
Speaker 1: chet Holmengred under the basket a few times early in

600
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 1: the game, just to show him like, hey, you literally

601
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,800
Speaker 1: cannot guard me down here, right like they can punish

602
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,840
Speaker 1: mismatches elsewhere on the floor. We saw Eric Aaron Gordon

603
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,800
Speaker 1: do it in the post a bunch of times already

604
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:28,680
Speaker 1: this season. We've seen Jamal Murray more in the postseason

605
00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:30,120
Speaker 1: last year, but we know he can do that too.

606
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 1: And then one of the things that was really impressive

607
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:36,760
Speaker 1: to me about the Thunder where they were throwing pretty

608
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,400
Speaker 1: aggressive coverages at the two man game that the Nuggets

609
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,800
Speaker 1: were running, and the Nuggets are just so good at

610
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 1: countering your counters, right, and so like you can kind

611
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:47,920
Speaker 1: of see, like the Thunder every single time, there'd be

612
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,400
Speaker 1: like a ball screen on the right side of the

613
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,160
Speaker 1: floor and the defender would start getting The defender would

614
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,920
Speaker 1: chase over the top and Jamal Murray or Reggie Jackson

615
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 1: or somebody would start getting going downhill a little bit right,

616
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 1: and you would see the classic defensive rotation take place.

617
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,920
Speaker 1: So like you got, let's call it, you know, a

618
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 1: shooter in the corner and a shooter on the wing,

619
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:12,040
Speaker 1: and like you'll literally see the Thunder players rotate. So

620
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:13,520
Speaker 1: the guy guarding the guy in the corner will come

621
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,040
Speaker 1: over underneath the basket to basically guard the pick and

622
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,040
Speaker 1: roll three on two, and then the guy guarding the

623
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:20,520
Speaker 1: wing will drop to the corner to take away that

624
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,200
Speaker 1: skip pass and pick and roll, and like the Nuggets

625
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,239
Speaker 1: are just like, oh, like this is easy. We're just

626
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,720
Speaker 1: gonna stash an athlete on the left wing every single

627
00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:29,960
Speaker 1: time and have him cut down the lane. And you've

628
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:32,560
Speaker 1: seen that BEKCP a lot with the starters, but in

629
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,600
Speaker 1: the bench group, you're seeing Peyton Watson have a lot

630
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 1: of success with that. He's gotten really good at just

631
00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:42,640
Speaker 1: identifying as soon as his man drops down to essentially

632
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,840
Speaker 1: replace the low man who comes over and pick and roll,

633
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 1: Peyton Watson's just cutting to the basket. And again, like

634
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,080
Speaker 1: how often can you get away with putting an athlete

635
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:52,320
Speaker 1: above the break who's not a great shooter. Although Peyton

636
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,959
Speaker 1: Watson's been making some threes this season too, but like

637
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,920
Speaker 1: he you put an athlete there because you hit him

638
00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:59,600
Speaker 1: as he's running full speed to the basket and he

639
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,640
Speaker 1: could just jump over everybody and put it home. And

640
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,880
Speaker 1: like that, the Nuggets just know exactly what they want

641
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,360
Speaker 1: to do every single time down the floor. They know

642
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 1: exactly how to get baskets if you defend their action

643
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,120
Speaker 1: two on two in their ball screen game, right, and

644
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,920
Speaker 1: then they know exactly how to counter every single aggressive

645
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:20,440
Speaker 1: defensive coverage that you throw at them. It's too easy

646
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 1: for them. And then again, like it just felt like

647
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:24,680
Speaker 1: every single time the Nuggets wanted an easy basket. They

648
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:27,080
Speaker 1: just throw it to Yokic and heat buryed Chet homegrin

649
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 1: and put it up underneath the basket. You know, there's

650
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,160
Speaker 1: even a transition play where Jamal Murray like looks up

651
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,480
Speaker 1: and Yokic is running along the left lane line and

652
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:38,080
Speaker 1: Chet's kind of waiting underneath the basket, and Jokic is

653
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,400
Speaker 1: just calling for the ball. Jamal just throws a rifle

654
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,960
Speaker 1: pass hits him. Yokics just literally just bodies Chet once

655
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:45,840
Speaker 1: and shoots a little floater in the lane. They just

656
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:49,800
Speaker 1: make it look so unbelievably easy. And then on the

657
00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:52,400
Speaker 1: other end, they're actually defending at an extremely high level

658
00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,960
Speaker 1: to start the season their seventh in defensive rating. Teams

659
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,720
Speaker 1: are shooting just twenty eight percent from three against the Nuggets.

660
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,880
Speaker 1: SGA had a night shooting game in this thunder game.

661
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,120
Speaker 1: Now again, like in the big picture, are team's gonna

662
00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:07,040
Speaker 1: shoot twenty eight percent against the Nuggets all season? No,

663
00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 1: But this is the kind of thing that they can

664
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,680
Speaker 1: do to teams when they physically pulverize you on the

665
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:13,880
Speaker 1: other end. You know, I talk a lot about how

666
00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,280
Speaker 1: the mental element of basketball, the confidence element, it actually

667
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 1: throws other teams out of rhythm when they see you

668
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: scoring so easily, like you start to get in your

669
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 1: head about shots because they're making everything and like that.

670
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 1: That that directly affects your confidence. And I don't think

671
00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:33,040
Speaker 1: it's a coincidence that teams shoot as poorly as they

672
00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,000
Speaker 1: do against the Nuggets. Some of it, again is the

673
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,760
Speaker 1: teams they've played, right the Lakers who have been shooting

674
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,480
Speaker 1: like shit all season, the Timberwolves who don't have great

675
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:43,959
Speaker 1: off ball shooting, and this Thunder team who can struggle

676
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,000
Speaker 1: a little bit with spot up possessions as well. Guys

677
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,800
Speaker 1: like Shay and guys like Josh Giddy are not outstanding

678
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:51,560
Speaker 1: spot up shooters, so like they can have their issues

679
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:53,240
Speaker 1: there as well. But at the end of the day,

680
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,760
Speaker 1: it is in the big picture. It has a lot

681
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 1: to do with what they're doing on the other end

682
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,400
Speaker 1: of the floor. They got Michael Porter Junior in this

683
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,600
Speaker 1: game as well. I think they're gonna run away with

684
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,560
Speaker 1: the one seed in the West in the regular season,

685
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,280
Speaker 1: and I think they have a good chance to win

686
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,040
Speaker 1: the midseason tournament, which I think would be great for

687
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:13,200
Speaker 1: the NBA because they're trying to build this This NBA

688
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:17,080
Speaker 1: Cup as like a second tournament that's different from the

689
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,200
Speaker 1: playoffs in that it's single elimination and that has some

690
00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,280
Speaker 1: certain amount of prestige. That's why they're calling it the

691
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,320
Speaker 1: NBA Cup. That's why they're putting the trophy on the

692
00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:27,440
Speaker 1: courts for the courts that they swap at every single game.

693
00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 1: They're leaning hard into this NBA Cup thing, and in

694
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,320
Speaker 1: order for it to be legitimate, it needs to go

695
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,160
Speaker 1: to the best team more often than not, right, And

696
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:37,880
Speaker 1: so like, like, I think it'd be good for the

697
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:39,680
Speaker 1: league if the Nuggets just went and won the mid

698
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 1: season tournament, because that'd be that indicator of like, yeah,

699
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,560
Speaker 1: we're just better than all of you guys, and this

700
00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:47,360
Speaker 1: tournament is another way to show that. And if that's

701
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:49,560
Speaker 1: what it turns into, if the tournament just becomes another

702
00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,160
Speaker 1: area for teams to express themselves as the best, that's

703
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,320
Speaker 1: where that tournament can gain some prestige and if again

704
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,800
Speaker 1: some prestige teams will care about it. If teams care

705
00:33:57,840 --> 00:33:59,480
Speaker 1: about it, like you want to get to the point

706
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:01,959
Speaker 1: where it's like we're talking fifteen years from now, Like

707
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 1: man Jokic has five NBA Cups to go with three

708
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,720
Speaker 1: NBA champions and you know Giannis only has three NBA cups.

709
00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:12,960
Speaker 1: Like that's what you want. You want team people counting

710
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,799
Speaker 1: that accomplishment in the same breath as MVP and the

711
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:18,799
Speaker 1: same breath as the Larry O'Brian. It may never get

712
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 1: to the Lario Brian, but if it can get into

713
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,799
Speaker 1: the same breath as MVP as an accomplishment, that would

714
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 1: go a long way towards adding legitimacy to the award.

715
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,239
Speaker 1: On the thunderfront, I think you really saw the lack

716
00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:32,280
Speaker 1: of a big, strong fore man in this game. Again,

717
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,840
Speaker 1: Like I talk a lot about the different kinds of wings,

718
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,880
Speaker 1: and you want to have like slender, athletic wings that

719
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:41,480
Speaker 1: can navigate screens and move quickly and bother guys on

720
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,040
Speaker 1: the perimeter. But you also need, especially next to Chet,

721
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:45,440
Speaker 1: who is going to be a little bit of a

722
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,160
Speaker 1: thin player at the center position, right, you need to

723
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,080
Speaker 1: have somebody who's of Aaron Gordon's type of archetype, somebody

724
00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,840
Speaker 1: that's between six eight and six ' ten who's really

725
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,240
Speaker 1: physically strong that can handle some of the bigger, stronger matchups.

726
00:34:57,280 --> 00:34:59,359
Speaker 1: Because they didn't really even have an option to put

727
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,600
Speaker 1: Chet off of Jokic in this game. Because there was

728
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,040
Speaker 1: just not anybody strong enough to bang with him in

729
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,520
Speaker 1: those situations. And I like Jalen Williams, but he's a

730
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,920
Speaker 1: little too short, right, And like lou Dort is very

731
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:14,040
Speaker 1: physically strong, but he's too short to bother a guy

732
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:16,239
Speaker 1: like Jokic. I think that's the next move for this

733
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,040
Speaker 1: team is they need to take a look at that

734
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,400
Speaker 1: starting lineup and see if there's somebody out there that

735
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:23,920
Speaker 1: can kind of be their big strong four. In the

736
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,480
Speaker 1: bigger picture, don't think they'll do it this year. This

737
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,719
Speaker 1: team doesn't have urgency. They're not trying to win the

738
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,279
Speaker 1: championship this year. But in the big picture, I think

739
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,760
Speaker 1: that I think last night kind of showed you. Yesterday

740
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:35,680
Speaker 1: in the afternoon, I should say, kind of showed you

741
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,720
Speaker 1: the ultimate ceiling of this team. Like you can imagine

742
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,080
Speaker 1: this team, this Thunder team. Imagine they win fifty five games.

743
00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 1: That's way too much. They're not gonna win fifty five,

744
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:45,440
Speaker 1: but just say they win fifty five games and they

745
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,560
Speaker 1: go on this playoff run and they beat the Timberwolves

746
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,960
Speaker 1: in the first round, and then they head into a

747
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,680
Speaker 1: second round series and it's the Denver Nuggets, or it's

748
00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:56,600
Speaker 1: the Let's say the Los Angeles Lakers and Lebron's just

749
00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:58,399
Speaker 1: picking on him in the post, and they just don't

750
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,640
Speaker 1: have anybody who can physically hang with him, you know,

751
00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:03,360
Speaker 1: like that's where it can be. Or Anthony Davis, for instance,

752
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,120
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis would probably cause chet Holmgrens some problems burying

753
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 1: him under the basket. So like that, that's an example

754
00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,080
Speaker 1: of the ultimate ceiling they can run into if they

755
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,320
Speaker 1: don't eventually get a more physically imposing forward next to

756
00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,840
Speaker 1: chet Holmgren. In the long run, the Nuggets were just

757
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:19,680
Speaker 1: too much of a bad matchup for them in that regard.

758
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,399
Speaker 1: All right, Hawks, Bucks, We've got two more games, guys,

759
00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:24,480
Speaker 1: and then we'll get out of here, and then our

760
00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:28,360
Speaker 1: mail back questions. They the Hawks went into Milwaukee and

761
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,840
Speaker 1: just kicked the Bucks ass early and often. In this game.

762
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 1: They doubled Dame on every single ball screen and forced

763
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 1: a lot of turnovers and got out in transition. The

764
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,839
Speaker 1: Hawks scored thirty eight points in transition in this game,

765
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:43,680
Speaker 1: which is like insanely good. That's like that, that's about

766
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:46,680
Speaker 1: as high as you'll see in an individual game that

767
00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,520
Speaker 1: they Their team speed is what is the most impressive

768
00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,799
Speaker 1: post John Collins trade slide Jalen Johnson in at the four.

769
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,440
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson is just a rangy athlete that can get

770
00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,600
Speaker 1: up and down the floor super quick, finish at the rim,

771
00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:03,719
Speaker 1: above the rim traffic. They are. Jalen Johnson by himself

772
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,719
Speaker 1: has seventeen points in transition already this season. That's the

773
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:10,360
Speaker 1: eleventh most in the entire league so far. Jalen Johnson

774
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:12,360
Speaker 1: also is five for eleven on jump shots and his

775
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,320
Speaker 1: converting spot up possessions at one point twenty five points

776
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,960
Speaker 1: per possession. You know, it was funny we talked before

777
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:19,680
Speaker 1: the season about whether or not it was gonna be

778
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:24,560
Speaker 1: Sadik Bay in that starting spot, but Jalen Johnson's doing

779
00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:27,480
Speaker 1: a really nice job there and he's making plays on defense.

780
00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:29,600
Speaker 1: He's got a block and his steel in every single

781
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:32,040
Speaker 1: game so far this year, I think as a team,

782
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,080
Speaker 1: and you saw this, they didn't defend well in their

783
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,160
Speaker 1: first two games this year, but you kind of saw

784
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:38,239
Speaker 1: what they're capable of defensively in this game when they're

785
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,520
Speaker 1: really aggressive on the perimeter, because like they forced a

786
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 1: lot of turnovers and got out and run in and

787
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,359
Speaker 1: they just looked like they had arms everywhere and that's

788
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,839
Speaker 1: what can happen with this lineup. When you've got Dejonte Murray,

789
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:50,919
Speaker 1: when you've got Jalen Johnson, when you've got DeAndre Hunter,

790
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:54,239
Speaker 1: when you've got Sadik Bay, You've got athletes that can

791
00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:56,680
Speaker 1: make plays on the perimeter. And so especially when you

792
00:37:57,080 --> 00:37:59,960
Speaker 1: partner that with a pretty solid rim protector in Clint Capella,

793
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:02,520
Speaker 1: this team is capable of being much better defensively than

794
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:04,879
Speaker 1: they have been. And they have not been good defensively

795
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:08,279
Speaker 1: in the big picture this season, but in that first half,

796
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,320
Speaker 1: in particular against the Bucks, I thought they were really

797
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,440
Speaker 1: impressive defensively, and I think that's replicable if they take

798
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,319
Speaker 1: that on as an identity. And again, like you gotta

799
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,200
Speaker 1: look at it in the big picture too, because offensively

800
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,360
Speaker 1: they're not where they need to be right right, Like

801
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,879
Speaker 1: they're tenth in offense. But that's despite both Trey Young

802
00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:27,120
Speaker 1: and de Jontay Murray playing horribly to start the season.

803
00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:30,160
Speaker 1: Dejontay Murray's below forty percent from the field, Trey Young's

804
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:33,120
Speaker 1: below thirty percent from the field. Trey Young is seven

805
00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 1: for twenty one on pull up jump shots and one

806
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,680
Speaker 1: for eleven at the rim. Now, everybody else in the

807
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:40,799
Speaker 1: lineup is actually playing really well in making shots. And

808
00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,600
Speaker 1: that's the exciting part in the big picture, because if

809
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:45,560
Speaker 1: your core guys get going, that's where you can really

810
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,920
Speaker 1: put together an elite offense. And so I think this

811
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,680
Speaker 1: Hawks team is capable of being really good. I had

812
00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:52,200
Speaker 1: them going up a level this year for those of

813
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:56,040
Speaker 1: you guys you remember in the season preview. But the

814
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,279
Speaker 1: Jalen Johnson thing is something I even missed in my

815
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:02,160
Speaker 1: preseason prediction and scouting this team. I didn't realize how

816
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: good he was. And they just have a ton of

817
00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:08,360
Speaker 1: depth on the wing and like theoretically with that spacing

818
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:10,319
Speaker 1: with their shot craters, when they get going, they can

819
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,120
Speaker 1: be really really good. On the bucks front, they look

820
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:17,960
Speaker 1: like a team that doesn't even practice, and again I

821
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,719
Speaker 1: know they do, but they just look really sloppy and

822
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:23,440
Speaker 1: both ends of the floor right now. On offense, they

823
00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:26,080
Speaker 1: had no idea what to do when Dame was getting trapped,

824
00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:28,120
Speaker 1: and a lot of it was on Dame. Dame's just

825
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:30,880
Speaker 1: not playing well. He was turning it over against the blitz,

826
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,640
Speaker 1: just throwing it into passing lanes and throwing and not

827
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:35,640
Speaker 1: even getting it over the guy who's blitzing him, and

828
00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:38,080
Speaker 1: some of that's like not even about the schematic side

829
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,160
Speaker 1: of things, Like if Dame can't actually get the pass

830
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,200
Speaker 1: off in a trap, which he's been doing his entire

831
00:39:42,239 --> 00:39:46,200
Speaker 1: career in Portland, that's obviously gonna bite you in the

832
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,960
Speaker 1: butt for you can't even get started right. So I'm

833
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:52,640
Speaker 1: not particularly concerned in the big picture. They're just playing

834
00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:54,680
Speaker 1: shitty right now and both ends of the floor. Dame

835
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:57,200
Speaker 1: is can't hit a shot. He came into camp out

836
00:39:57,200 --> 00:40:00,319
Speaker 1: of shape. Clearly, he's not even getting the ball over

837
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:02,360
Speaker 1: the front of the rim on most of these shot attempts,

838
00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:05,080
Speaker 1: and a lot of their offensive approach just doesn't make

839
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,760
Speaker 1: any sense. There was a stretch in the first quarter

840
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,240
Speaker 1: where Yannis took a turnaround fade away in the post

841
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:14,759
Speaker 1: and missed it right after missing a free throw, and

842
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,040
Speaker 1: he's been shooting free throws like shit so far the season,

843
00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,839
Speaker 1: so those jumpers clearly not there. Then Dame goes down

844
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,319
Speaker 1: in the very next possession and shoots a pull up

845
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,239
Speaker 1: thirty foot three in transition and barely grazes the side

846
00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:28,160
Speaker 1: of the rim, and then the very next possession, Yannis

847
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:30,120
Speaker 1: stripples up and just takes a three from above the

848
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,719
Speaker 1: break and misses it like bricks it, and I'm like,

849
00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 1: what are you guys doing, Like this doesn't have to

850
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:37,920
Speaker 1: be that complicated. Just get your four out one in spacing,

851
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:40,359
Speaker 1: have Giannis comes set a ball screen and have Dame

852
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,640
Speaker 1: throw the ball to Yanni's rolling hard downhill against the Blitz.

853
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,439
Speaker 1: Like a lot of this is just they're not They

854
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:48,200
Speaker 1: don't look like a team who knows how they want

855
00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,920
Speaker 1: to play right now. And then on the defensive end,

856
00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:53,600
Speaker 1: the rotations have been really shitty so far, which is surprising,

857
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:55,719
Speaker 1: especially from the back line guys, Like there were two

858
00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:58,399
Speaker 1: possessions in the first quarter in particular where Trey Young

859
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,880
Speaker 1: and de Jante Murray were able to feed to guys

860
00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:04,440
Speaker 1: directly under the basket for dunks because Giannis was leaving

861
00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:07,480
Speaker 1: the paint to rotate somewhere else, and no one rotated

862
00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:10,239
Speaker 1: on Giannis's behalf to the to underneath the basket like

863
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,080
Speaker 1: they just Again, we talked about this before the season.

864
00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:15,760
Speaker 1: I am a huge believer in the Bucks ultimate playoff ceiling,

865
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:18,000
Speaker 1: but I said, I think they're gonna go down a

866
00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,239
Speaker 1: level in the regular season, and I said, don't be

867
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:22,600
Speaker 1: surprised if there's a huge gap between them and the Celtics,

868
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:23,960
Speaker 1: and if they end up being a middle of the

869
00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:26,120
Speaker 1: pack team in the regular season, and I really do

870
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,880
Speaker 1: think that's a possible outcome here, because they're just really

871
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:30,960
Speaker 1: far right now from where they need to be to

872
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,399
Speaker 1: be a good basketball team. In the big picture, it's

873
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,120
Speaker 1: going to be fine. There's too much talent there. Chris

874
00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:39,440
Speaker 1: Middleton missed this game. Chris Middleton obviously improves your ability

875
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,200
Speaker 1: to play off of Dame double teams. In general, You're

876
00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,160
Speaker 1: the Dame Giannis pick and roll is gonna gain a

877
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,320
Speaker 1: lot more traction as the season progresses. Dame eventually is

878
00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:50,200
Speaker 1: gonna start making shots. I promise you he will. So like,

879
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,160
Speaker 1: everything's going to be fine. But we can't really judge

880
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:55,200
Speaker 1: the Bucks right now because they kind of, like what

881
00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:57,200
Speaker 1: I was saying about the Lakers, they're just playing shitty

882
00:41:57,239 --> 00:42:00,279
Speaker 1: basketball right now. And when a team's playing shitty basket ball,

883
00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:03,040
Speaker 1: try not to overthink it. Try to understand that. Like

884
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:05,640
Speaker 1: we're looking at thirty NBA teams that are all on

885
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:10,680
Speaker 1: various levels of progress from like what they could be

886
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: and where they are, and like there are teams like

887
00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 1: the Nuggets who like know exactly what they are and

888
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,200
Speaker 1: they're already playing at their individual standing, Like the Nuggets

889
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,520
Speaker 1: right now are playing like a championship team, right. And

890
00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:24,440
Speaker 1: then you've got teams towards the bottom where it's like

891
00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:29,040
Speaker 1: Bucks still trying to figure out what they want to do, right,

892
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:33,080
Speaker 1: the Lakers still playing well below what they're capable of doing.

893
00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:34,480
Speaker 1: Then you have teams that are kind of like up

894
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:36,960
Speaker 1: in the middle, right, like the Warriors are kind of

895
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:38,600
Speaker 1: one of those teams that like they look like they're

896
00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:40,480
Speaker 1: a little further along and where they want to be

897
00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:43,160
Speaker 1: compared to some other teams around the league. Right Sacramento

898
00:42:43,239 --> 00:42:45,120
Speaker 1: Kings right now look a little bit further along than

899
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:46,560
Speaker 1: some of the other teams and what they want to be.

900
00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,120
Speaker 1: We all are kind of evaluating these teams on this

901
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:52,359
Speaker 1: sliding scale. But this top piece here is the only

902
00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,600
Speaker 1: one that really matters, right cause, like this Bucks team

903
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:57,720
Speaker 1: right now, if you put them in a playoff series

904
00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:00,799
Speaker 1: against the Miami Heat, they probably lose, right, just like

905
00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:02,799
Speaker 1: they did last year. But I mean, they've probably lose

906
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:04,959
Speaker 1: if they started a season even with a series even

907
00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:08,279
Speaker 1: with them right now, they're just not ready. But we're

908
00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:10,160
Speaker 1: talking about who's going to be the best basketball team

909
00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:13,279
Speaker 1: in the middle of April, not in the middle of October,

910
00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:16,439
Speaker 1: and so it's not crisis mode. But this team looks

911
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:19,399
Speaker 1: really far away, and Bucks fans be prepared. They could

912
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:21,280
Speaker 1: lose a lot of regular season games in the meantime

913
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:23,200
Speaker 1: while they're shorting the stuff out, and it could be

914
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:26,120
Speaker 1: a little closer to like the Warriors last year, where

915
00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:30,120
Speaker 1: like they're scrounging away at the bottom of the playoffs,

916
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:32,239
Speaker 1: top of the play in tournament type of area the

917
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:35,840
Speaker 1: bracket if they're not careful. All right, moving on to

918
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:40,319
Speaker 1: Sixers Raptors. So the Sixers blew out the Blazers last night,

919
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:41,799
Speaker 1: but I want to focus on this Raptors game because

920
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:43,160
Speaker 1: I thought it was a little bit more interesting of

921
00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:45,360
Speaker 1: a game. They trailed by double digits at four different

922
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,320
Speaker 1: points in the first half. The Raptors were putting a

923
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:51,040
Speaker 1: halacious defensive effort on them getting out and transition a lot,

924
00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:52,760
Speaker 1: which can be an issue for the for the Sixers

925
00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:55,880
Speaker 1: if you guys remember, But right about two and a

926
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:59,080
Speaker 1: half minutes left in the first half, the Tyre Smaxy

927
00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:02,279
Speaker 1: Joelinbi two men started to click. And this is the

928
00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:05,200
Speaker 1: upside of James Harden's absence, Like you want to get

929
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,480
Speaker 1: a look within this season, this version of Tyree Maxy

930
00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:11,960
Speaker 1: what he looks like as your top perimeter option in

931
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:13,680
Speaker 1: the event that you have to flip James Harden for

932
00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:17,919
Speaker 1: role players, which is a very distinct possibility under the circumstances. Right,

933
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:21,360
Speaker 1: and so far through three games, Maxie's averaging thirty points,

934
00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:24,480
Speaker 1: seven rebounds, six assists on sixty nine percent through shooting.

935
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:27,560
Speaker 1: He's shooting seventy one percent in effective field goal percentage

936
00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:31,520
Speaker 1: on jump shots. Tyree's looks incredible. Now again it's three

937
00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:34,359
Speaker 1: games sample size. You want to see more, but like,

938
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:36,640
Speaker 1: this is what he's capable of. He already was one

939
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:38,680
Speaker 1: of the best shooters in the league, like Tyre s

940
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:41,840
Speaker 1: Maaxy is flat out one of the best jump shooters

941
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:44,200
Speaker 1: in the league now he was last year and he's

942
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:47,120
Speaker 1: shooting guns blaze him to start this year. Like when

943
00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:50,360
Speaker 1: you combine that with his downhill athleticism, it really was

944
00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:53,279
Speaker 1: just about can he ever get to the point where

945
00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:55,280
Speaker 1: he can run the two man game with Joel Embiid

946
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:57,440
Speaker 1: and set him up with those ISOs and pick and

947
00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:00,960
Speaker 1: pop opportunities that he needs to at easy shots. And

948
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:02,560
Speaker 1: I thought he did a really nice job of that

949
00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:05,120
Speaker 1: in this game like, he's got the kind of like

950
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:07,680
Speaker 1: swoopy over the back pass to Embiid when he pops

951
00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:09,479
Speaker 1: to the top of the key. He's got that little

952
00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:12,200
Speaker 1: pocket pass to Embiid, and he's got the timing down

953
00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:14,200
Speaker 1: now where he knows the proper time to get it

954
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:16,359
Speaker 1: to him so that he actually gets a decent look there.

955
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,360
Speaker 1: He's starting to see the back line a little bit better.

956
00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:21,160
Speaker 1: There was a play where they came up with a

957
00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:23,560
Speaker 1: third defender to take away the pocket pass to Embiid

958
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:26,600
Speaker 1: and Kellyubrace stuck along the baseline and Tyree's just hit

959
00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:28,759
Speaker 1: him on the bounce for a dunk. Like to you

960
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:31,799
Speaker 1: need to see in the big picture what Tyree's is.

961
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,600
Speaker 1: Playmaking can be like right, and for the record, it

962
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:37,200
Speaker 1: can be a lot better. He's run fifty one ball

963
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:39,919
Speaker 1: screen so far and they've only led to forty eight points,

964
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:41,680
Speaker 1: so he's a hair under a point for possession in

965
00:45:41,719 --> 00:45:43,880
Speaker 1: pick and roll, and he's seven for twenty three on

966
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 1: pull up jump shots so far. So like, it looks good,

967
00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:50,880
Speaker 1: really really good, and he can still go up a

968
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,160
Speaker 1: level from there. And by the way, the pull up jumpers,

969
00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:58,160
Speaker 1: that's that's off the dribble there are several shots that

970
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:00,799
Speaker 1: Maxi has made so far this year two man game

971
00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:03,400
Speaker 1: off of Embiid off the catch. That's the thing that

972
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:07,239
Speaker 1: he had that that Harden doesn't have, Right, max he

973
00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:09,799
Speaker 1: can come flying off a dribble handoff, not put the

974
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,240
Speaker 1: ball on the ground and just rise up and shoot

975
00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:15,280
Speaker 1: going both ways. And that's kind of like an interesting

976
00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:20,200
Speaker 1: almost Warriors esque DHO action or King's esque DHO action

977
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:22,880
Speaker 1: that they can run that they couldn't run with James Harden.

978
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:26,719
Speaker 1: And so like again, James Harden's value is not good.

979
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:29,000
Speaker 1: He's probably not gonna bring back a star barring some

980
00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,239
Speaker 1: sort of other distressed star, right, and so more than

981
00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,000
Speaker 1: likely you're gonna get a quality role player or two

982
00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:37,720
Speaker 1: in that exchange. And in order for that to work,

983
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:40,440
Speaker 1: you need Tyrese Maxy to flash as a as a

984
00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:44,440
Speaker 1: legit number two next to Joel Embiid. And it could

985
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,319
Speaker 1: not have gone much better than it did. Over the

986
00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:49,080
Speaker 1: course of the first three games of the season. They

987
00:46:49,120 --> 00:46:53,080
Speaker 1: just started like Maxi had the three point shot going,

988
00:46:53,080 --> 00:46:55,319
Speaker 1: he had like by the time I stopped watching the game,

989
00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:57,920
Speaker 1: he had already made like six threes, and then Joel

990
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:01,239
Speaker 1: Embiid in the process as everyone chasing Maxie around. He's

991
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:04,200
Speaker 1: getting great looks. Joel Ebid's got his jump shot going

992
00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:07,320
Speaker 1: now is three point shot looks great too. Like they

993
00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:10,080
Speaker 1: just kicked the Rafters ass in this game, and like

994
00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:13,120
Speaker 1: just manhandled him down the stretch, and so like all

995
00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:15,279
Speaker 1: on the strength of maxim bid two man game, Like

996
00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:19,400
Speaker 1: those two absolutely torched them. The Sixers right now are

997
00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:21,719
Speaker 1: fifth in offensive rating one hundred and nineteen points per

998
00:47:21,719 --> 00:47:26,120
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions without James Harden, fifth best offense in

999
00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:30,320
Speaker 1: the league without James Harden. And again, like that was

1000
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,360
Speaker 1: against a Raptors team that has been one of the

1001
00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:34,719
Speaker 1: best defenses in the league so far this year. That

1002
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:37,000
Speaker 1: was against a Bucks team which should, in theory be

1003
00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:39,640
Speaker 1: a great defensive team. The Blazers are the only kind

1004
00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:43,160
Speaker 1: of cupcake in that group. Right that's not a slouch.

1005
00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:46,080
Speaker 1: The defense isn't where it needs to be, but it's

1006
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:49,120
Speaker 1: a transition issue. The Sixers are allowing just ninety points

1007
00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:51,600
Speaker 1: per one hundred half court possessions embiads. Rim protection has

1008
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:54,040
Speaker 1: been excellent, but they can still get a lot better.

1009
00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:57,280
Speaker 1: They're still having some issues with like Maxie getting switched

1010
00:47:57,360 --> 00:47:59,680
Speaker 1: and then trying to scram him out of switches, but

1011
00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:02,120
Speaker 1: they're rotating in time. So there were a couple plays

1012
00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:04,839
Speaker 1: against the Raptors where like Maxi would leave his man

1013
00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,360
Speaker 1: to scram out of a switch, but then they would

1014
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:10,319
Speaker 1: just make the feed and he'd score to the guy

1015
00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:12,839
Speaker 1: Maxi was guarding because they didn't rotate fast enough. So, like,

1016
00:48:13,280 --> 00:48:14,680
Speaker 1: they've got some stuff to work out with their half

1017
00:48:14,719 --> 00:48:16,560
Speaker 1: court defense, but for the most part, they've been pretty good.

1018
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:21,239
Speaker 1: It's the transition defense that's continued to kill them. On

1019
00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:24,080
Speaker 1: the Raptors front defense looks great. They're fifth in defensive

1020
00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:26,880
Speaker 1: ratings so far. Scottie Burnes and ogn Andobi are combining

1021
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:29,120
Speaker 1: the average four point five blocks and two point seven

1022
00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:31,759
Speaker 1: steals per game, and they're doing a really nice shot

1023
00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:33,960
Speaker 1: getting out in transition. Off their defense, they're third and

1024
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:37,960
Speaker 1: fast break points per one hundred possessions twenty six points

1025
00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:40,759
Speaker 1: per game in transition according to Synergy, that's seventh most

1026
00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:43,400
Speaker 1: in the NBA, and they're really efficient in those situations

1027
00:48:43,400 --> 00:48:46,600
Speaker 1: one point three points per transition shot attempt, which is

1028
00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:49,799
Speaker 1: fifth in the NBA. But their half court offense is

1029
00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:53,920
Speaker 1: absolutely atrocious. They are scoring just seventy eight points per

1030
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:56,840
Speaker 1: one hundred half court possessions that is dead last in

1031
00:48:56,880 --> 00:48:59,080
Speaker 1: the NBA, and they are the only team in the

1032
00:48:59,160 --> 00:49:01,759
Speaker 1: NBA right now with a half court offensive rating below

1033
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:04,800
Speaker 1: eighty so, and we kind of called this before the season.

1034
00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:06,480
Speaker 1: I told you, guys, I saw the Raptors is the

1035
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:10,080
Speaker 1: worst backcourt in the NBA. And that's how you get

1036
00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:13,959
Speaker 1: defenses into rotation, right, And so you've got a bad

1037
00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:17,640
Speaker 1: front court backcourt, in my opinion, combined with a front

1038
00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:20,480
Speaker 1: court full of athletic players that have a lot of

1039
00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:24,000
Speaker 1: defensive potential and are somewhat raw offensively, right, guys a

1040
00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:28,400
Speaker 1: go Jiananobi, guys like Scottie Barnes, guys like Pascal Siakam, Like,

1041
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:30,600
Speaker 1: You're just gonna struggle to score in the half court

1042
00:49:30,680 --> 00:49:32,840
Speaker 1: with that group. And they really really have Like I

1043
00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:36,440
Speaker 1: love Dennis Schroeder, great point of attack defender, can generate

1044
00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:39,240
Speaker 1: rim pressure. Gary Trent Junior is a really interesting player,

1045
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:41,680
Speaker 1: can run gribble handoffs and ball screens, can hit pull

1046
00:49:41,719 --> 00:49:45,320
Speaker 1: up jump shots and floaters. They are a They're both

1047
00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:50,040
Speaker 1: okay players. But if you're gonna have a back court

1048
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:52,879
Speaker 1: without stars, you better have like a bona fide half

1049
00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:55,480
Speaker 1: court surgeon in the front court and they just don't,

1050
00:49:55,640 --> 00:49:58,640
Speaker 1: and so they don't have any high, high end half

1051
00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:00,839
Speaker 1: court shot creators on this team, and they're just really

1052
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:03,799
Speaker 1: going to struggle to score until they address that. I mean,

1053
00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:06,240
Speaker 1: they're another team where you're like, why don't you guys

1054
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,160
Speaker 1: go after someone like James Harden to just try to

1055
00:50:09,200 --> 00:50:11,400
Speaker 1: bring some sort of higher level half court shot creation

1056
00:50:11,480 --> 00:50:14,080
Speaker 1: to the situation, especially when you have a defense that's

1057
00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:16,600
Speaker 1: that good. When you've got that defense and the ability

1058
00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:19,840
Speaker 1: to get out in transition, if you give them a

1059
00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:22,319
Speaker 1: reasonable ability to score in the half court, they could

1060
00:50:22,360 --> 00:50:25,239
Speaker 1: win a lot of games. All right, let's move on

1061
00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:28,440
Speaker 1: to our mailbag. Got four questions for you guys today.

1062
00:50:28,719 --> 00:50:30,480
Speaker 1: First one, how many games do you think is enough

1063
00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:32,279
Speaker 1: of a sample science to say a player has made

1064
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:36,080
Speaker 1: real improvement in a given era, for example, shooting, playmaking, defense.

1065
00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:38,560
Speaker 1: I've seen only two games from Luca, but he looks

1066
00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:40,680
Speaker 1: like a totally different player on the defensive end compared

1067
00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:42,520
Speaker 1: to previous seasons. I want to make sure I temper

1068
00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:46,520
Speaker 1: my expectations adequately. So when it comes to skill things

1069
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:49,160
Speaker 1: like the ability to handle pass shoot, I would say

1070
00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:51,359
Speaker 1: like at least twenty games, but really it could even

1071
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:53,600
Speaker 1: extend to seasons, because guys can have a hot shooting

1072
00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:57,080
Speaker 1: season and then not shoot well after that, right, But

1073
00:50:57,200 --> 00:51:00,920
Speaker 1: around like we've seen twenty game samples where you know,

1074
00:51:01,120 --> 00:51:03,040
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, for instance, in the bubble just makes a

1075
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:05,160
Speaker 1: ton of jump shots and then he can't shoot anymore. Right, So,

1076
00:51:05,280 --> 00:51:08,560
Speaker 1: like it it's tough to say when it comes to

1077
00:51:08,600 --> 00:51:12,080
Speaker 1: skill stuff if it's not clearly apparent over several seasons

1078
00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:15,120
Speaker 1: that a guy has become reliable in some specific area.

1079
00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:18,120
Speaker 1: But right around twenty games is at least an opportunity

1080
00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:20,400
Speaker 1: to be encouraged. So, like there's a player that's not

1081
00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:22,520
Speaker 1: shooting well and then he has a twenty game stretch

1082
00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:24,640
Speaker 1: where he shoots forty two percent from three, that's at

1083
00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:27,360
Speaker 1: least a reason to be excited about him potentially progressing

1084
00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:30,399
Speaker 1: in that direction. On the defense and rebounding front, it's

1085
00:51:30,400 --> 00:51:32,440
Speaker 1: really like you can physically do it or you can't.

1086
00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:35,360
Speaker 1: And that's the thing with this Lucas stuff, Like Luca's

1087
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:39,160
Speaker 1: always been capable of being an average team defender, Like

1088
00:51:39,239 --> 00:51:42,279
Speaker 1: he's always been capable of that, but like he was

1089
00:51:42,360 --> 00:51:46,400
Speaker 1: really bad defensively last season, like downright atrocious down the stretch.

1090
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:50,120
Speaker 1: I had a lot of Mavericks fans again being like, like, oh,

1091
00:51:50,160 --> 00:51:53,440
Speaker 1: you ranked Luka Doncic's tenth. Yeah, but I told you

1092
00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:55,400
Speaker 1: in a vacuum, I think he's the fourth best player

1093
00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:57,960
Speaker 1: in the world. That tenth ranking was based on his

1094
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:01,480
Speaker 1: performance from last season, which was not good. Like, that's

1095
00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:03,440
Speaker 1: just the reality. My player rankings are more of like

1096
00:52:03,440 --> 00:52:07,200
Speaker 1: an awards ceremony based on the actual basketball that took place.

1097
00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:10,520
Speaker 1: I know what Luke is capable of. Love Luca think

1098
00:52:10,560 --> 00:52:12,120
Speaker 1: he can be the best player in the world. Think

1099
00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:14,000
Speaker 1: he is the fourth best player in the world in

1100
00:52:14,040 --> 00:52:17,120
Speaker 1: a vacuum. But he has to play team defense, he

1101
00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:19,000
Speaker 1: has to take care of the basketball, he has to

1102
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:21,439
Speaker 1: boxing out was a huge problem for him last year.

1103
00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:25,000
Speaker 1: Just wouldn't do it on a lot of possessions. So like, again,

1104
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,720
Speaker 1: you either can do it or you can't. Luca always

1105
00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:30,600
Speaker 1: has been able to, It's just been a question of

1106
00:52:30,600 --> 00:52:33,800
Speaker 1: whether or not he will do it next one. Roughly,

1107
00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:35,280
Speaker 1: how many games does it take for you to gauge

1108
00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:38,120
Speaker 1: the process of rebuilding of a rebuilding team. I'm a

1109
00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:41,319
Speaker 1: Pistons fan and love and loving the changes Monty has

1110
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:43,879
Speaker 1: made to our play style, and of course Caid coming

1111
00:52:43,920 --> 00:52:45,960
Speaker 1: back with a vengeance. We should have beat Miami if

1112
00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:48,080
Speaker 1: not for the daily five stupid turnovers per game. But

1113
00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:51,520
Speaker 1: Monty has emphasized physicality, rebounding and defense combined with more

1114
00:52:51,560 --> 00:52:54,440
Speaker 1: ball movement less standing around off ball. I've be coming

1115
00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:57,279
Speaker 1: off the bench. I don't like with Bogdanovic injured, we

1116
00:52:57,320 --> 00:52:59,440
Speaker 1: need to spark off the bench. Plus his defense is terrible.

1117
00:52:59,560 --> 00:53:02,200
Speaker 1: But I'm confidente when Bogie comes back and him learning

1118
00:53:02,239 --> 00:53:04,319
Speaker 1: to use his physical gifts on d he'll at least

1119
00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:06,959
Speaker 1: be able to be a neutral defender and join the starter.

1120
00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:09,719
Speaker 1: So I have noticed the Pistons have played well too.

1121
00:53:09,800 --> 00:53:12,000
Speaker 1: I've just had to cover some other teams first. I

1122
00:53:12,160 --> 00:53:14,120
Speaker 1: will hit a Pistons game at some point in the

1123
00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:20,239
Speaker 1: next week or so. Specifically, Cad Cummingham looks amazing and

1124
00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:23,680
Speaker 1: that's that like big playmaking guard right, Like he's technically

1125
00:53:23,719 --> 00:53:25,400
Speaker 1: a guard, but he kind of has the body of

1126
00:53:25,400 --> 00:53:27,480
Speaker 1: a forward, and that that gives you that ability to

1127
00:53:27,760 --> 00:53:30,960
Speaker 1: put defenders in jail easily, to score around the paint efficiently,

1128
00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:32,680
Speaker 1: to be the size to be able to see over

1129
00:53:32,719 --> 00:53:34,480
Speaker 1: the top of the defense and make the passes. And

1130
00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:37,480
Speaker 1: he's made enough pull up jump shots, which is obviously

1131
00:53:37,960 --> 00:53:40,600
Speaker 1: a monumentally important part of that side of the ball.

1132
00:53:40,680 --> 00:53:43,799
Speaker 1: Right the thing. Ivy is one of my favorite young

1133
00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:45,600
Speaker 1: players in the league. You guys know, ever since Summer

1134
00:53:45,680 --> 00:53:47,440
Speaker 1: League two years ago, I've been super high on him.

1135
00:53:48,440 --> 00:53:50,279
Speaker 1: It's just a weird roster for him in a lot

1136
00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:52,359
Speaker 1: of ways, obviously because he's coming off the bench now

1137
00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:55,360
Speaker 1: they're running two big lineups. You think of a situation

1138
00:53:55,480 --> 00:53:58,160
Speaker 1: where like Ivy with the starters wouldn't make a ton

1139
00:53:58,239 --> 00:54:01,000
Speaker 1: of sense anyway, because he's a slack sure, and you're

1140
00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:06,960
Speaker 1: putting him alongside two bigs Jalen Deurn, who obviously operates inside.

1141
00:54:06,960 --> 00:54:08,880
Speaker 1: You got Isaiah Stewart taking a lot of threes, but

1142
00:54:08,920 --> 00:54:10,600
Speaker 1: he's obviously not going to be a guy that teams

1143
00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:14,520
Speaker 1: guard out there, right Asar Thompson, who's flashing huge perimeter

1144
00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:17,279
Speaker 1: defense potential, which is super exciting, but like, he's not

1145
00:54:17,320 --> 00:54:19,520
Speaker 1: a non shooter in most in most cases right now

1146
00:54:19,560 --> 00:54:21,880
Speaker 1: not being guarded as a shooter, and so like, it

1147
00:54:21,920 --> 00:54:23,960
Speaker 1: actually makes a lot of sense to have Ivy come

1148
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:26,799
Speaker 1: off the bench with this particular group. But as far

1149
00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:28,879
Speaker 1: as like the Pistons in the big picture, and we'll

1150
00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:30,880
Speaker 1: talk about them when I covered them later this week,

1151
00:54:31,320 --> 00:54:34,759
Speaker 1: but I would look at them like the same way

1152
00:54:34,760 --> 00:54:37,080
Speaker 1: we looked at the Magic last year. What you're looking

1153
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:41,560
Speaker 1: for is like these five six game spurts where because

1154
00:54:41,719 --> 00:54:45,239
Speaker 1: young players struggle to replicate what makes them successful, So

1155
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:47,320
Speaker 1: like you're not going to get them just overnight becoming

1156
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:49,719
Speaker 1: a fifty win team, right, But what you're looking for

1157
00:54:49,800 --> 00:54:52,880
Speaker 1: is five six game stretches where they look like a

1158
00:54:52,920 --> 00:54:54,960
Speaker 1: really good team, right, And that was what we got

1159
00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:57,080
Speaker 1: from the Magic last year. They were out of the playoffs,

1160
00:54:57,120 --> 00:54:59,200
Speaker 1: they what do they win thirty five games or whatever

1161
00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:02,400
Speaker 1: it was, they had like this random stretch where it's like, whoa,

1162
00:55:02,440 --> 00:55:04,120
Speaker 1: they won six games in a row and they beat

1163
00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:07,719
Speaker 1: the Celtics twice, Like clearly they're capable of doing more,

1164
00:55:07,960 --> 00:55:10,280
Speaker 1: you know, like, oh, they won eight out of ten games,

1165
00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:12,520
Speaker 1: like this looks like a really good team in terms

1166
00:55:12,560 --> 00:55:15,200
Speaker 1: of potential. That's what you're looking for, And so just

1167
00:55:15,239 --> 00:55:19,239
Speaker 1: kind of look for little two week stretches where the

1168
00:55:19,239 --> 00:55:21,759
Speaker 1: Pistons beat a couple quality teams and go four and two.

1169
00:55:22,080 --> 00:55:23,920
Speaker 1: Those are the times to be excited about what the

1170
00:55:23,920 --> 00:55:30,040
Speaker 1: potential can be in the bigger picture. All right, next question, Jason,

1171
00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:32,000
Speaker 1: I'm a recent subscriber, so bear with me. But have

1172
00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:34,839
Speaker 1: you ever tried going pro? If so, what happened your

1173
00:55:34,880 --> 00:55:37,000
Speaker 1: knowledge of the game of basketballs maybe look at basketball

1174
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:40,600
Speaker 1: completely differently. Thank you for the kind words. By the way,

1175
00:55:41,239 --> 00:55:42,600
Speaker 1: I've told the story of the show before, but I'll

1176
00:55:42,600 --> 00:55:44,080
Speaker 1: tell it again for people who haven't heard it. So, like,

1177
00:55:44,120 --> 00:55:46,200
Speaker 1: I just wasn't a very good basketball player when I

1178
00:55:46,200 --> 00:55:47,800
Speaker 1: was in college. I was good enough to get my

1179
00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:50,879
Speaker 1: school paid for, and I did little things well right,

1180
00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:54,279
Speaker 1: like I could score at the JUCO level at put

1181
00:55:54,320 --> 00:55:58,040
Speaker 1: up big numbers there as a score and I always

1182
00:55:58,160 --> 00:55:59,560
Speaker 1: was a very good rebounder. But then when I went

1183
00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:01,840
Speaker 1: to play it the AA level, which is more organized,

1184
00:56:02,200 --> 00:56:05,520
Speaker 1: it kind of exposed me for being a limited offensive

1185
00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:09,000
Speaker 1: player just with the ability to navigate really good defenses.

1186
00:56:09,560 --> 00:56:11,879
Speaker 1: And so I basically just guarded the other team's best

1187
00:56:11,880 --> 00:56:13,640
Speaker 1: player and took spot up threes. And so I was

1188
00:56:13,719 --> 00:56:15,480
Speaker 1: good athlete. I could defend and I could rebound. I

1189
00:56:15,520 --> 00:56:17,640
Speaker 1: was really all and I was a streaky shooter. That's

1190
00:56:17,640 --> 00:56:20,120
Speaker 1: what I was in high school. And so I wasn't

1191
00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:22,040
Speaker 1: good enough to play pro right out of high school.

1192
00:56:22,040 --> 00:56:24,520
Speaker 1: So I just went to work and then I was

1193
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:26,560
Speaker 1: a late bloomer. I didn't start playing basketball until I

1194
00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:29,799
Speaker 1: was like halfway through high school. So I rapidly escalated

1195
00:56:29,840 --> 00:56:32,919
Speaker 1: post college. Like I literally couldn't dribble or shoot when

1196
00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:35,839
Speaker 1: I was in college, and then like suddenly, little by

1197
00:56:35,880 --> 00:56:38,200
Speaker 1: little became a good shooter, little by little became a

1198
00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:40,440
Speaker 1: good ball handler. Then I like learned how to play

1199
00:56:40,440 --> 00:56:42,400
Speaker 1: with the ball in my hands, and like now I

1200
00:56:42,480 --> 00:56:47,880
Speaker 1: play as like this big like playmaking forward who operates

1201
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:49,600
Speaker 1: as like the guy with the ball in his hands,

1202
00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:51,839
Speaker 1: who's making every decision and can score and can pass

1203
00:56:51,880 --> 00:56:53,520
Speaker 1: and do those sorts of things. Like I just wasn't

1204
00:56:53,520 --> 00:56:55,719
Speaker 1: that player when I was in college and when I

1205
00:56:55,719 --> 00:56:58,879
Speaker 1: tried to play pro, so right around the time, because

1206
00:56:59,040 --> 00:57:01,040
Speaker 1: when I got out of college, I started working at Verizon,

1207
00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:05,040
Speaker 1: and then I one day was like, I would really

1208
00:57:05,120 --> 00:57:06,839
Speaker 1: like to try to play Pro one last time before

1209
00:57:06,880 --> 00:57:08,920
Speaker 1: I just hang them up for good, right, And this

1210
00:57:09,040 --> 00:57:11,680
Speaker 1: was when I was about like twenty four, and I

1211
00:57:11,719 --> 00:57:13,719
Speaker 1: was definitely better than I was in college, but I

1212
00:57:13,760 --> 00:57:18,440
Speaker 1: still wasn't very good, and I didn't have the statistical

1213
00:57:18,480 --> 00:57:21,720
Speaker 1: evidence to be able to go get a contract easily

1214
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:23,720
Speaker 1: for real money. I could only do it for like

1215
00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,400
Speaker 1: small amounts of money. So like I'd get these offers

1216
00:57:26,440 --> 00:57:30,520
Speaker 1: to like go play in a lower level league in

1217
00:57:30,640 --> 00:57:34,400
Speaker 1: France for two hundred bucks a week. I had like

1218
00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:36,760
Speaker 1: two or three offers like that. I had one where

1219
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:38,840
Speaker 1: like I had one where like a professional team in

1220
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:42,440
Speaker 1: Brazil was like, well, we'll pay your room and board

1221
00:57:42,880 --> 00:57:45,320
Speaker 1: if you come down here and play. And like I

1222
00:57:45,400 --> 00:57:47,880
Speaker 1: was already making money in the States like a lot

1223
00:57:47,920 --> 00:57:50,880
Speaker 1: more than that, and so like I'm and I'm married,

1224
00:57:51,120 --> 00:57:53,200
Speaker 1: and I have two dogs and my wife and I

1225
00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:55,240
Speaker 1: had a house, and so it was like, what was

1226
00:57:55,280 --> 00:57:57,400
Speaker 1: I gonna do, like leave my house to go to

1227
00:57:57,480 --> 00:58:00,440
Speaker 1: Brazil to play for room and board, And like that's

1228
00:58:00,480 --> 00:58:01,919
Speaker 1: the thing is, like there are a lot of people

1229
00:58:01,920 --> 00:58:03,520
Speaker 1: who do that, and there's no shame in that, but

1230
00:58:03,520 --> 00:58:06,240
Speaker 1: it's easier when you're single and you're right out of college,

1231
00:58:06,240 --> 00:58:09,160
Speaker 1: because then what those guys do is they'll take that

1232
00:58:09,240 --> 00:58:12,640
Speaker 1: deal in France for two hundred bucks a week, and

1233
00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:15,200
Speaker 1: they'll and they and they're like, I don't have kids,

1234
00:58:15,200 --> 00:58:16,880
Speaker 1: I don't have a wife. I can just go over

1235
00:58:16,880 --> 00:58:19,320
Speaker 1: there and just lean into basketball. And then they have

1236
00:58:19,400 --> 00:58:22,320
Speaker 1: a good season and then they go to like a

1237
00:58:22,360 --> 00:58:24,360
Speaker 1: different team in the lower level league that pays him

1238
00:58:24,360 --> 00:58:25,800
Speaker 1: five hundred bucks a week, and then they have an

1239
00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:27,840
Speaker 1: even better season, and then they get on with one

1240
00:58:27,840 --> 00:58:30,240
Speaker 1: of the top leagues in France, and now they're playing

1241
00:58:30,520 --> 00:58:32,160
Speaker 1: as one of the two American players in the top

1242
00:58:32,240 --> 00:58:34,440
Speaker 1: league in France for twelve hundred dollars a week, right,

1243
00:58:34,480 --> 00:58:36,640
Speaker 1: and then the two or three more good seasons, suddenly

1244
00:58:36,640 --> 00:58:38,560
Speaker 1: you could sign one hundred and fifty thousand dollars contract

1245
00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:41,600
Speaker 1: in like the NBL, or in with some other league

1246
00:58:41,600 --> 00:58:43,800
Speaker 1: in Europe, right and so like that's the pathway that

1247
00:58:43,840 --> 00:58:45,760
Speaker 1: a lot of players take when they go overseas. You

1248
00:58:45,800 --> 00:58:47,560
Speaker 1: pretty much have guys that like come right out of

1249
00:58:47,600 --> 00:58:50,840
Speaker 1: d one who signed big deals right away. Right Like,

1250
00:58:50,920 --> 00:58:54,040
Speaker 1: guys like a guy who uh didn't get drafted and

1251
00:58:54,120 --> 00:58:56,440
Speaker 1: didn't make an NBA roster is going to go play

1252
00:58:56,960 --> 00:58:59,080
Speaker 1: in the top league in Germany and he's gonna make

1253
00:58:59,120 --> 00:59:01,000
Speaker 1: like one hundred and seven twenty five thousand a year,

1254
00:59:01,120 --> 00:59:02,960
Speaker 1: right like because he was All Conference in the Big

1255
00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:05,240
Speaker 1: twelve last year or something like that. Right. But I

1256
00:59:05,320 --> 00:59:07,600
Speaker 1: wasn't that type of talent coming out of college, and

1257
00:59:07,640 --> 00:59:10,000
Speaker 1: so I pretty much had to go through the working

1258
00:59:10,040 --> 00:59:12,400
Speaker 1: up through the ranks process, and by the time I

1259
00:59:12,440 --> 00:59:14,000
Speaker 1: actually got good enough to do that, I was already

1260
00:59:14,040 --> 00:59:15,360
Speaker 1: twenty four to twenty five, and I had too many

1261
00:59:15,440 --> 00:59:17,280
Speaker 1: roots set up at home, and so I had to

1262
00:59:17,320 --> 00:59:20,800
Speaker 1: look for things that were like super lucrative. And so

1263
00:59:21,200 --> 00:59:24,600
Speaker 1: I finally got my break, so to speak. There was

1264
00:59:24,640 --> 00:59:28,320
Speaker 1: a league called the Uba in India and they run

1265
00:59:28,360 --> 00:59:30,680
Speaker 1: a shorter season. It was only like a three month season.

1266
00:59:31,160 --> 00:59:33,520
Speaker 1: But they offered me a deal for one thousand dollars

1267
00:59:33,560 --> 00:59:35,040
Speaker 1: a week, and I was like, oh my gosh, like

1268
00:59:35,080 --> 00:59:37,080
Speaker 1: this would be perfect. Like I could tell my wife,

1269
00:59:37,080 --> 00:59:39,600
Speaker 1: I'm basically just going for a couple of months. I'll

1270
00:59:39,720 --> 00:59:42,480
Speaker 1: make some decent money while I'm over there. It'd be

1271
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:44,680
Speaker 1: great experience for me. This league had like an excellent

1272
00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:48,000
Speaker 1: production company that ran their television network, so like they

1273
00:59:48,080 --> 00:59:50,920
Speaker 1: had great film to use and everything as well, and

1274
00:59:51,040 --> 00:59:53,080
Speaker 1: like I was super excited. They paid me for two

1275
00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:55,160
Speaker 1: weeks and then the league folded because of some like

1276
00:59:55,240 --> 00:59:59,080
Speaker 1: international incident involving the Indian government and some of the

1277
00:59:59,120 --> 01:00:01,960
Speaker 1: players that local from India or something like that. And

1278
01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:04,640
Speaker 1: so when that happened, I just kind of like I

1279
01:00:04,680 --> 01:00:06,400
Speaker 1: looked at my wife and I was like, it's just

1280
01:00:06,440 --> 01:00:09,360
Speaker 1: not meant to be, you know, And it's sad because,

1281
01:00:09,400 --> 01:00:11,000
Speaker 1: like I always played basketball with a chip on my

1282
01:00:11,040 --> 01:00:13,120
Speaker 1: shoulder post high school because I was so bad, like

1283
01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:16,760
Speaker 1: worst player on my high school team, legitimately couldn't didn't

1284
01:00:16,760 --> 01:00:18,800
Speaker 1: become a decent player until I was like twenty one,

1285
01:00:19,120 --> 01:00:21,000
Speaker 1: and even then I wasn't that good. And so like

1286
01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:23,600
Speaker 1: I've always been obsessed with like finding what the best

1287
01:00:23,680 --> 01:00:26,040
Speaker 1: version of myself as a basketball player looks like and

1288
01:00:26,080 --> 01:00:28,400
Speaker 1: trying to kind of like unpack that a little bit.

1289
01:00:28,800 --> 01:00:30,160
Speaker 1: But like, at the end of the day, like you

1290
01:00:30,200 --> 01:00:32,480
Speaker 1: got to weigh that against the practical nature of what

1291
01:00:32,520 --> 01:00:34,200
Speaker 1: it's like being a human being and having to pay

1292
01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:38,480
Speaker 1: bills and manage relationships and stuff, and so you know,

1293
01:00:38,480 --> 01:00:40,280
Speaker 1: there's always going to be a part of me that

1294
01:00:40,520 --> 01:00:43,160
Speaker 1: wishes that I could have had a better kind of

1295
01:00:43,240 --> 01:00:46,640
Speaker 1: pathway there. For instance, like I didn't play basketball at

1296
01:00:46,680 --> 01:00:48,480
Speaker 1: all until I was halfway through high school. Like what

1297
01:00:48,480 --> 01:00:50,880
Speaker 1: if I'd started when I was ten, what I have

1298
01:00:51,400 --> 01:00:53,520
Speaker 1: reached a lot of these milestones earlier and had a

1299
01:00:53,520 --> 01:00:55,680
Speaker 1: better chance. Like yeah, maybe, but like what do I

1300
01:00:55,680 --> 01:00:58,200
Speaker 1: always talk about on the show, Like hypothetical doesn't mean anything,

1301
01:00:59,400 --> 01:01:03,560
Speaker 1: And hypothetically there's a version of my basketball career that

1302
01:01:03,560 --> 01:01:05,960
Speaker 1: could have gone differently, But it didn't, and so I

1303
01:01:06,040 --> 01:01:07,400
Speaker 1: kind of just have to be at peace with that.

1304
01:01:07,640 --> 01:01:10,720
Speaker 1: And you know, for me, like I just kind of

1305
01:01:10,760 --> 01:01:14,560
Speaker 1: redirected that energy into being the best basketball player that

1306
01:01:14,600 --> 01:01:17,880
Speaker 1: I can be for myself, and so like I take

1307
01:01:17,960 --> 01:01:21,400
Speaker 1: great joy in the game now, and I still train

1308
01:01:21,560 --> 01:01:23,680
Speaker 1: like a pro because I'm a psychopath in that sense,

1309
01:01:23,720 --> 01:01:27,160
Speaker 1: and like, I like being good. But at the end

1310
01:01:27,160 --> 01:01:30,160
Speaker 1: of the day, like, like I put a ton of

1311
01:01:30,200 --> 01:01:32,800
Speaker 1: respect on the guys who actually did it, And the

1312
01:01:32,840 --> 01:01:36,240
Speaker 1: truth of the matter is like like to to navigate

1313
01:01:36,320 --> 01:01:41,720
Speaker 1: that a situation overseas the difficult practice schedule, the being

1314
01:01:41,760 --> 01:01:45,280
Speaker 1: away from home, the training, all of that stuff. I

1315
01:01:45,280 --> 01:01:47,400
Speaker 1: have so much respect for the guys who actually did it,

1316
01:01:47,680 --> 01:01:50,200
Speaker 1: and and I'm kind of at peace with the fact

1317
01:01:50,200 --> 01:01:52,240
Speaker 1: that this is the way my story went. And I'm

1318
01:01:52,280 --> 01:01:53,680
Speaker 1: just very thankful that I get to be around the

1319
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:56,600
Speaker 1: game still. Like how lucky am I that despite all

1320
01:01:56,640 --> 01:01:58,720
Speaker 1: of that, I'm still around the game every single day

1321
01:01:58,800 --> 01:02:00,240
Speaker 1: because this is what I do for a living. And

1322
01:02:00,280 --> 01:02:02,640
Speaker 1: so I just like I'm at peace with it. It is

1323
01:02:02,680 --> 01:02:04,520
Speaker 1: what it is. But I guess the short version of

1324
01:02:04,520 --> 01:02:07,520
Speaker 1: that answer is I tried got paid for two weeks.

1325
01:02:07,720 --> 01:02:11,880
Speaker 1: League folded so no, I guess the short answer to

1326
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:14,640
Speaker 1: make it easy. All right. Last mail bag question from

1327
01:02:14,640 --> 01:02:17,680
Speaker 1: Benjamin always hear you talking about how the Celtics are

1328
01:02:17,720 --> 01:02:20,000
Speaker 1: unquestionably the most talented team in the league, and to

1329
01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:21,760
Speaker 1: be honest, I don't see it even when you compare

1330
01:02:21,800 --> 01:02:26,960
Speaker 1: them to Phoenix JT or KB, JB or I'm guessing

1331
01:02:27,000 --> 01:02:30,520
Speaker 1: that's Jason Tatumer, Kevin Durant, Jalen Brown or Devin Booker

1332
01:02:31,280 --> 01:02:36,000
Speaker 1: or Drew Holliday or BB that's Bradley Beal. I'm guessing

1333
01:02:36,520 --> 01:02:39,400
Speaker 1: even Chris hops porzingis although he has great upside, there's

1334
01:02:39,400 --> 01:02:41,600
Speaker 1: a good chance he gets hurt. And Nurkic is just

1335
01:02:41,640 --> 01:02:44,520
Speaker 1: more mature thoughts. Also, I think you're sleeping on the

1336
01:02:44,600 --> 01:02:47,920
Speaker 1: Nuggets again and then possibly being a dynasty. Also early call,

1337
01:02:47,960 --> 01:02:49,400
Speaker 1: where do you think Wemby will end up when all

1338
01:02:49,400 --> 01:02:51,920
Speaker 1: things are said and done. So here's the thing. I

1339
01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:54,200
Speaker 1: do think Christops is way better than use of Turkic.

1340
01:02:54,280 --> 01:02:56,360
Speaker 1: And then we're also forgetting Derek White there Again, it's

1341
01:02:56,360 --> 01:02:58,360
Speaker 1: with the Celtics. What makes the most talented roster in

1342
01:02:58,400 --> 01:03:01,200
Speaker 1: the league is their top six is insane. They're all

1343
01:03:01,400 --> 01:03:06,440
Speaker 1: above average starters. Between Horford persingis Tatum Brown, Drew Holliday,

1344
01:03:06,440 --> 01:03:08,920
Speaker 1: and Derek White. Right. Then you go past that and

1345
01:03:08,960 --> 01:03:11,400
Speaker 1: it's like, like Peyton Pritchard is like a really good

1346
01:03:11,400 --> 01:03:14,919
Speaker 1: backup guard. Right. So, like they just have in terms

1347
01:03:14,960 --> 01:03:17,360
Speaker 1: of their top six, seven, eight guys, they are the

1348
01:03:17,400 --> 01:03:19,680
Speaker 1: most talented team in the league in my opinion. For

1349
01:03:19,720 --> 01:03:22,280
Speaker 1: Phoenix after their top three, it's a pretty big drop

1350
01:03:22,320 --> 01:03:25,400
Speaker 1: off in my opinion. I do think though, Devin Booker

1351
01:03:25,400 --> 01:03:27,160
Speaker 1: and Kevin Durant is probably the best duo in the

1352
01:03:27,200 --> 01:03:31,520
Speaker 1: league right now in all likelihood, either them or Damon Giannis,

1353
01:03:31,520 --> 01:03:33,640
Speaker 1: depending on if Dame can ever find a shot again.

1354
01:03:35,160 --> 01:03:39,080
Speaker 1: I sleep the quest. I can't talk second question about

1355
01:03:39,080 --> 01:03:41,600
Speaker 1: the Nuggets also, I think you're sleeping on the Nuggets again.

1356
01:03:41,920 --> 01:03:44,439
Speaker 1: Thoughts on them potentially being a dynasty. I talked about

1357
01:03:44,440 --> 01:03:46,280
Speaker 1: them earlier today, so hopefully that answers your question. I

1358
01:03:46,320 --> 01:03:47,760
Speaker 1: think the Nuggets are by far the best team in

1359
01:03:47,760 --> 01:03:50,360
Speaker 1: the league right now, and that even if everyone kind

1360
01:03:50,360 --> 01:03:52,080
Speaker 1: of reached their fully formed levels, I still think the

1361
01:03:52,160 --> 01:03:54,840
Speaker 1: Nuggets are still a tiny bit better than everybody. Whether

1362
01:03:54,920 --> 01:03:57,120
Speaker 1: or not they can be a dynasty. The hardest part

1363
01:03:57,120 --> 01:03:59,560
Speaker 1: with that is, like typically when there's a dynasty, there's

1364
01:03:59,600 --> 01:04:02,000
Speaker 1: a truly great team and then a big chasm and

1365
01:04:02,040 --> 01:04:03,960
Speaker 1: then everyone else. I just think there's too many other

1366
01:04:04,040 --> 01:04:07,400
Speaker 1: great teams for the Nuggets to like really rank off

1367
01:04:07,400 --> 01:04:10,240
Speaker 1: a bunch of like just rep out championships. But I

1368
01:04:10,240 --> 01:04:12,080
Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised at all if they won three of

1369
01:04:12,080 --> 01:04:14,360
Speaker 1: the next six, Like I certainly think that's on the table,

1370
01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:16,320
Speaker 1: and that's kind of like a little mini dynasty, right.

1371
01:04:17,680 --> 01:04:19,880
Speaker 1: And then last question, also early call, but where do

1372
01:04:19,880 --> 01:04:21,320
Speaker 1: you think Wenby will end up when all things are

1373
01:04:21,320 --> 01:04:22,840
Speaker 1: said and done. If he's healthy, he could be the

1374
01:04:22,880 --> 01:04:25,439
Speaker 1: best player of all time. That's certainly his potential. It's

1375
01:04:25,440 --> 01:04:27,120
Speaker 1: just really gonna come down to health at that point.

1376
01:04:27,960 --> 01:04:29,479
Speaker 1: All right, guys, that is all I have for today.

1377
01:04:29,480 --> 01:04:31,960
Speaker 1: As always, I sincerely appreciate your support. Quick breakdown to

1378
01:04:32,000 --> 01:04:33,280
Speaker 1: the schedule for the rest of the week. We're gonna

1379
01:04:33,280 --> 01:04:36,000
Speaker 1: be going Tomorrow breaking down Monday night's games, Wednesday breaking

1380
01:04:36,040 --> 01:04:39,240
Speaker 1: down Tuesday night's games, Wednesday night breaking down Lakers Clippers,

1381
01:04:39,280 --> 01:04:41,400
Speaker 1: and then the early game I can't remember who plays

1382
01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:45,120
Speaker 1: in the early game the ESPN slate that night. Then Thursday,

1383
01:04:45,360 --> 01:04:48,080
Speaker 1: we're gonna hit a couple other games from Wednesday Friday,

1384
01:04:48,120 --> 01:04:50,880
Speaker 1: a couple games from Thursday, and then Friday night we're

1385
01:04:50,920 --> 01:04:52,919
Speaker 1: gonna go. So we're actually doing seven shows this week

1386
01:04:52,960 --> 01:04:54,960
Speaker 1: in total. All right, that's all I have for right now.

1387
01:04:55,000 --> 01:05:25,600
Speaker 1: I will see you guys tomorrow. The Volume