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In Indiana, 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: visit ks Gamblinghelp dot com. In Kansas call one eight 19 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: seven seven seven seven zero stop. In l A visit 20 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: www dot MD gamblinghelp dot org in Maryland dial one 21 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 1: eight seven seven eight Hope and why, or text hope 22 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: and Why to four six seven three six nine in 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: New York, call one eight hundred five two two four 24 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: seven zero zero in Wyoming, or visit www Dot one 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: eight hundred gambler dot net in West Virginia. All right, 26 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by FanDuel here at the Volume. 27 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: Happy Monday, everybody. I hope all of you guys had 28 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: an incredible weekend. We're just gonna be hitting three games 29 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: from last night today, the national television doubleheader between the 30 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: Warriors and the Wolves and the Clippers and the Nuggets, 31 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: and then Damian Lillard dropped seventy one points on Houston Rockets. 32 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: I have some thoughts about Dame's loyalty to the Portland Trailblazers, 33 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,519 Speaker 1: as well as some thoughts on the overarching NBA theme 34 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: of massive individual scoring outbursts, which I think is super interesting. 35 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: You guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribe 36 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: to the Volumes YouTube channel so you don't miss any 37 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore 38 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: Jason lt so you guys don't miss any show announcements. 39 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: Then if for whatever reason, you guys miss one of 40 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: these shows and you can't get back over to YouTube 41 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: to finish, don't forget. You can find them wherever you 42 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: get your podcasts. Under Hoops tonight, All right, let's talk 43 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: some basketball. So the Warriors were down ninety six eighty 44 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: seven about halfway through the fourth quarter. Nazreid in particular 45 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: was killing them in the absence of Draymond. He had 46 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: thirty points and nine rebounds in this game. His skill 47 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: set kind of reminds me of Boogey Cousins in the 48 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: sense that he's almost like a perimeter big, can handle 49 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: the hell out of the basketball, can dribble it, and 50 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: then he has that like natural scoring feel we've talked 51 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: a lot about, which is like that creativity mixed with 52 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,119 Speaker 1: the skill set and then an irrational confidence. Those are 53 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: like all those ingredients that you need to be that 54 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: natural type of score. I'm actually really interested to see 55 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: how he factors into Minnesota's plans or if they end 56 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: up attempting to move off of him at some point, 57 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: and if so, where he ends up and where he 58 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:34,239 Speaker 1: can fit elsewhere in the league, because he's actually a 59 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: super interesting player. Who's had a super interesting season. But 60 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: as a result, the Warriors were down ninety six eighty seven, 61 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: and down the stretch of this game, they showed some 62 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: vintage Golden State Warriors execution and then Klay Thompson flashed 63 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: some really high level individual shot creation, which is something 64 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: that hasn't exactly been a focal point of Klay Thompson's career, 65 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: but he's had to lean on it a lot in 66 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: this perticular season as the Warriors have needed him to 67 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: because of injuries. And so I want to go, we 68 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: haven't done this in a while, but I want to 69 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: kind of go play by play down the stretch of 70 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: this game, and so I can highlight those two specific 71 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: factors because I think they're super interesting and I think 72 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,919 Speaker 1: they factor big time into Golden State's eventual ceiling in 73 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: a potential playoff run if they were to get healthy. 74 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: So from ninety six eighty seven, it started on the 75 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: defensive end with the Warriors doing what a lot of 76 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: teams do, ignoring a player that they don't view as 77 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: a shooting threat. They started helping off of Austin Rivers 78 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: in the right corner, so Jonathan Kamingo was guarding Austin 79 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: Rivers and he was able to help down into the 80 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: lane to shut down the other Timberwolves actions playing five 81 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: on four defensively, and Austin Rivers missed back to back 82 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: wide open threes in the corners. I think that just 83 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: kind of got them started, and on the first one, 84 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: Dante DiVincenzo grabbed the miss and pushed the ball up 85 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: the floor and found a semi transition opportunity. He was 86 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: being guarded by Jordan McLaughlin and I talked about this 87 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: all the time. When there's no when there's a transition situation, 88 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: your help defense isn't set, and so there's opportunities to 89 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: attack the rim before the defense gets set. And that's 90 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: a big part of why it's important to push in transition. 91 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: There's no point in facing a set defense if you 92 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: don't have to. He ends up hitting Jordan McLaughlin with 93 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 1: a really nice behind the back dribble, gets down the 94 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: lane and makes a little scoop shot in the lane. 95 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: After the second Austin Rivers miss, Klay Thompson comes through 96 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: an elevator screen. Elevator screen basically involves two screeners kind 97 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: of at the elbow, maybe a little bit higher than 98 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: the elbow in the NBA, but the shooter will run 99 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: through the screen and then the two guys will touch 100 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: shoulders and shut the door. And they shut the door 101 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: on Anthony Edwards and Klay Thompson knocked down to three. 102 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: So that kind of got them back in the groove. 103 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: They went from being down nine to down four. From 104 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: there after, they just got two stops. Steve Kerr switched 105 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: to a zone defense, a two to three zone kind 106 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: of extended out to the perimeter, and they had just 107 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: gotten two stops. And that's what I like it is 108 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: because it's about to me. I I look at these 109 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: are execution elements of the game that you attribute to 110 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: the coach. But I love it when you mix up coverages. 111 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,039 Speaker 1: A lot of times coaches will mix up coverages just 112 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: as a means of countering something that's killing them, right, Like, Okay, 113 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: they're killing us in drop coverage, so we have to 114 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: start switching. Okay, well they're killing our big and switches, 115 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: so now we need to start double teaming or trapping 116 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: the ball handler or offering help out of the weak 117 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: side to play three on two in the pick and roll. Defensively, 118 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,039 Speaker 1: what you don't see often enough in the NBA is 119 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: mixing up coverages even when they are working. And the 120 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: reason why I like that is it prevents ball handlers 121 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: from seeing the same coverage enough time enough times to 122 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: then solve that coverage. So, for instance, like Austin Rivers 123 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: is a professional basketball player, if you keep running that 124 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: same coverage helping off of him in the corner with 125 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga, he might eventually derive the necessary amount of 126 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: confidence to knock that shot down. But by quickly switching 127 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: to Owe, you fundamentally change the way the Wolves have 128 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: to play off offense on the fly, and you prevent 129 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: them from ever getting into that rhythm. Then you can 130 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: go back to it a few possessions later and it's 131 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: a completely different situation again at that point, so they 132 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: go to zone and they end up getting a nase 133 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: red contested three at the top of the key that 134 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: he ends up missing. This is where Klay Thompson, the 135 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: on ball shot creator, kicks in a gear. And there's 136 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: four players or four plays in particular that I want 137 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: to highlight. And again, Klay Thompson, I've talked about this 138 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: a lot. We just talked about it the other day. 139 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: He's the second best shooter of all time in my opinion, 140 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: but he's mostly been an off ball player in his career. 141 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: He almost prides himself on limiting dribbles, which is part 142 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: of what makes him such a complimentary fit in the 143 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: Warrior system when they are healthy, and it's a big 144 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: part of why it works no matter who they brought 145 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: in over the years, including Kevin Durant, but you never 146 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: really think of him as that on ball creator, and 147 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: that's an entirely different set of offensive responsibilities. You're not navigating, 148 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: you're not using off ball actions. You're not taking advantage 149 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: of attention directed to Steph Curry. You're not running second 150 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: side action when the defense is already rotating. No, everyone 151 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,559 Speaker 1: is loaded up on you. You are the focal point. 152 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: You're drawing the other team's best defender. Down the stretch 153 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: of this game, he drew a lot of Jaden McDaniels, 154 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: and in that set defense situation, you have to create 155 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: shots and Clay has been kind of great at this 156 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: over the course of this season when guys have been 157 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: out of the lineup, and I think it's been an 158 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: underplayed storyline within the season. So it's ninety six to 159 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: ninety two after that elevator screen and nase Red misses 160 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: the three. There's five and a half minutes left. Clay 161 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: gets the ball in the corner in a broken possession 162 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: and the clock is running out. Austin Rivers is on 163 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: him and he ends up taking a rip through to 164 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: his left and then quick spinning towards the baseline in 165 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: the deep corner, and he knocks down a shot off 166 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: the glass. Got a little bit of the corner of 167 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: the backboard, but when you're shooting out of the deep corner, 168 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: there's just not a lot of space between the rim 169 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: and the backboard. It kind of just barely grazed it 170 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: and went in. But that's a great example of rescuing possessions, 171 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: which is one of the core responsibilities of a primary 172 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: ball handler. Not everything goes right, especially at the end 173 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: of games, and you neque guys that can just take 174 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: and make extremely tough shots. And Klay Thompson started this 175 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: self creation sequence with that spinning fade away in the 176 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: right corner, and that's not the last time he's gonna 177 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: do that in this game. So they go down to 178 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: the other end. Nazrid ends up getting fouled under the 179 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: basket and he misses both free throws, and Dante DiVincenzo 180 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 1: goes down and makes a nice reverse layup to tide 181 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: the game. Dante DiVincenzo was great down the stretch of 182 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: this game, So Minnesota calls a timeout. It's ninety six 183 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: ninety six. Kyle Anderson goes down and he makes a 184 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: really weird twisting fade away in the lane, gets fouled. 185 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: Now it's ninety nine to ninety six. This is where 186 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: we get to Clay's second bit of high level shot creation. 187 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: So he's standing on the left wing and he's got 188 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: Mike Conley on him and Anthony Lamb is standing over 189 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: there with nos Red on him. Actually, I think Lay 190 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: Thompson was at the top of the key and Anthony 191 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: Lamb was at the left wing. So he calls calls 192 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 1: Anthony Lamb to come over and set the ball screen, 193 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: knowing that he's probably going to draw nas Red and 194 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: at least a show if not like a normal kind 195 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:08,320 Speaker 1: of drop coverage up at the level of the screen. 196 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 1: Klay Thompson just dribbles off that pick, draws both Mike 197 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: Conley and nas Reed towards him, floats the pass down 198 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,959 Speaker 1: to over the top to Anthony Lamb at the top 199 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: of the key. Jonathan Kamena does an ice job cutting 200 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: through the lane, which pulls Jaden McDaniels down with him 201 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,079 Speaker 1: and gets Anthony Lamb a wide open three at the 202 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: top of the key that he makes. That's a simple 203 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 1: bit of on ball shot creation, just a quick ball screen. 204 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: See if they're dumb enough to send both guys to you, 205 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: you might be able to get your teammate a wide 206 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: open shot. And he did. Now it's ninety nine to 207 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 1: ninety nine. This is where we're going to get into 208 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: a little bit of Golden State's execution, this time on 209 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: the defensive end of the flour. So at ninety nine 210 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: ninety nine, Anthony Edwards has Jonathan Kamina in the left 211 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: corner and he starts driving along the baseline and he 212 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: gets an angle. And every single Golden State warrior involved 213 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: in this play does their job defensively and forces a turnover. So, 214 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,199 Speaker 1: first of all, Jonathan Kamena, you get beat baseline, what's 215 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 1: your first responsibility. You're not trying to cut him off 216 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: at that point because you're probably not gonna be able to. 217 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,719 Speaker 1: He's too good of an athlete. But if you can 218 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: just push him behind the backboard, that takes away his 219 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: ability to finish at least directly at the rim, because 220 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: the backboard is in the way right, he's gonna have 221 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: to go underneath the rim and try to finish a reverse. 222 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminga does his job. He slides his feet and 223 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: pushes Anthony Edwards towards the baseline. Then from there, Kyle 224 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: Anderson's in the corner and Dante DiVincenzo helps down to 225 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,679 Speaker 1: stop Anthony Edwards from being able to regain leverage back 226 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: towards the rim. He gets in there and basically traps 227 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards along the baseline. Anthony Edwards tries to throw 228 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: a left handed hook pass to the corner, and Jordan Poole, 229 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: who's guarding Jaden McDaniels on the right wing, rotates down 230 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: to the corner and picks off the Anthony Edwards pass. 231 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: Everyone did their job, even Dante, when he trapped down 232 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: there on the baseline got a deflection. I talk about 233 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: this all the time. When you double team or give 234 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: up any sort of defensive advantage by sending multiple defenders 235 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: to one player. One of the best ways to help 236 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: your team rotate out of it is to pressure the 237 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: ball so hard that you can tip the pass or 238 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: force a looping pass as opposed to an on time, 239 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: on target pass. That deflection from Dante DiVincenzo allowed Jordan 240 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: pule sprinted to the baseline and then actually had to 241 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 1: recover back to the corner and he was able to 242 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: get there in time because Dante deflected the pass. It 243 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: was that kind of like sharp defensive execution. I'm sure 244 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 1: Draymond Green was watching the game and he was super impressed. 245 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: But those are those little details that have been almost 246 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: kind of missing from the Warriors this year, which is 247 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: uncharacteristic of them, and that's going to be one of 248 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,319 Speaker 1: the things you have to watch from them down the 249 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: stretch to see if they're a serious playoff contender this year. 250 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: Sonet nine to ninety nine, we get to Klay Thompson's 251 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: third bit of high level shot creation. So he has 252 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: the ball in a triple threat on the left wing 253 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: against Jade McDaniels, and Jade McDaniels has been an outstanding 254 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: wing defender all year this here, and he's pressed up 255 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: on Klay Thompson taking away his shooting pocket. Clay kind 256 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,600 Speaker 1: of protects the basketball over on the right side, and 257 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:10,560 Speaker 1: what he does is he just pump fakes, kind of 258 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: like an awkward out of his shooting pocket pump fake. 259 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: And the only reason that works is Clay might take that. 260 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: Clay practices and takes a lot of funky jump shots 261 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: from different gathers in different places in his shooting pocket, 262 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: so it adds a credibility to that pump fake. Jade 263 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: McDaniels leaves his feet and then Klay Thompson just rips 264 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 1: through to the baseline, draws naseried and Anthony Edwards at 265 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,199 Speaker 1: the rim. Mike Conley drops down off of Dante DiVincenzo 266 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: to try to dig and box Kevin Looney out of 267 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: the lane, and Dante Divincenzo's wide open on the wing. 268 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 1: Klay Thompson hits him right in the shooting pocket and 269 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,239 Speaker 1: he knocks down the three. Now it's one O, two 270 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: to ninety nine. Now from there we have a little 271 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: back and forth. Mike Conley drives on Dante DiVincenzo and 272 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: doesn't see Anthony Lamb helping out of the strong side corner. 273 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 1: Lamb blocks the shot, but then Dante DiVincenzo goes down 274 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: the other way, and he misses an easy layup in transition. 275 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: Then the Timberwolves go down in nas Reed misses another 276 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: transition three, and then we get to Klay Thompson's fourth 277 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 1: and final bit of high level shot creation, which effectively 278 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: ended up being the dagger in this game. So all 279 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: he does is run a dribble handoff with Kavon Loney 280 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: on the right wing. It's defended well, but he rises 281 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: up over the contest and knocks down the shot, kind 282 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: of like a go to move for Clay, which is 283 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: just I know that when push comes to shove, if 284 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: I can get my footwork right because of my height 285 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: in the quickness of my release, I will be able 286 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: to get this shot off. And he can't just count 287 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: on beating guys off the dribble all game long. He 288 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: got that pump fake on Jada McDaniels and made that play. 289 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 1: He got Nasri to bite on a screen and roll 290 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: earlier in an earlier possession. But sometimes he's going to 291 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: have to demonstrate that he's going to rise up and 292 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: knock down the shot to maintain that threat to create 293 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: shots for his teammates. He rises up and knocks down 294 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: the three over the contests and puts up the Warriors 295 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: one five to ninety nine, and that effectively ended up 296 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: ending the game. And then you know, again there's two 297 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: things specifically from the stretch that I want to hit. 298 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: Clay has done incredible work this season to float his 299 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 1: team when guys have been out of the lineup, and 300 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: by doing it doing something that he's genuinely uncomfortable doing, 301 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: which is on ball creation, to me, that demonstrates a 302 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: like a sheer force of will. I was talking about 303 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: this yesterday with Lebron, Like, Okay, everything's not working because 304 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: your foot's all messed up, So now you're gonna go 305 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: just power your way to the rim every time because 306 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: you just don't want to lose the game. That's the 307 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: way I look at it from Clay. Of course, he 308 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: doesn't want to play like that. He wants to play 309 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: the way he's been playing his entire career with the Warriors, 310 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 1: navigating off ball actions. But you need to adapt as 311 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: your team needs you to, and Clay has been able 312 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: to slot himself into an on ball roll and be 313 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: credible for the Warriors this year. And that's a part 314 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: of why once again Clay uh Steph Curry has missed 315 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: eight consecutive games and the Warriors are four and four. 316 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: Every time this year that STEP's gone down, the Warriors 317 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: have been able to float the ship. And it's not 318 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: just Clay. A lot of other guys have stepped up today. 319 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: I'm just highlighting Clay in particular, but I think that 320 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: that again, Clay has always been one of my favorite 321 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: competitors in the league. And you saw that again last 322 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 1: night when he went up to the war Uh, when 323 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: he went up to the Wolves bench and talked all 324 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: the talked all that shit after he hit the dagger 325 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: to put him up one oh five ninety nine. But 326 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: that he just has a competitive fire inside of him 327 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: that is way underplayed. When we talk about these championship teams. 328 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: There's just there's we We're way too quick to just 329 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: be like, oh they're too they have all the talent, 330 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: or oh it's this matchup, or oh it's this, or 331 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: oh it's that, and we don't properly factor in the 332 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: fact that, like the real psychopath, competitors tend to find 333 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: a way to be at the top of the hill 334 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: when the dust settles. So tip of the cap to 335 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: Clay and then the second thing again, was just that execution. 336 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: It's just specifically for Golden State. You know, there's there's 337 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: kind of like three things that you look at as 338 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: the primary driving forces behind their struggles this year. And 339 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: it's like primary players missing games, which we talked about earlier. 340 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: And it's like bench depth, too many young guys in 341 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: the rotation coming off the bench. But that third piece 342 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 1: has been even the Warrior starters in particular have struggled 343 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: a little bit with execution at the end of games, 344 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,199 Speaker 1: not just on the offensive end, but also on the 345 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: defensive end, and so it was encouraging to see the 346 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: Warriors execute out execute in Minnesota Timberwolves team to get 347 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,159 Speaker 1: a win down their three best players. The NBA season 348 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: is heating up, and now is the perfect time to 349 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 1: download FanDuel America's number one sportsbook because new customers get 350 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: a no sweat first bet up to one thousand dollars. 351 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: That's bonus BET's back. 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First of all, 371 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,680 Speaker 1: they can't score their twenty second in offense over that span, 372 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,119 Speaker 1: but they are not executing in the details of the game, 373 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: which is what points me in the direction of coaching. 374 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: Usually they're giving up over fifty six points in the 375 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,400 Speaker 1: paint per game, which is twenty eighth in the league. 376 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 1: Over that span, they're giving up fifteen fast break points 377 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: a game over that span, that's nineteenth in the league. 378 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: They are twenty fourth and REEB eighteenth and second chance 379 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: points A second chance points allowed, twenty fourth in points 380 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: allowed off of turnovers. They're just shooting themselves in the 381 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 1: foot in the details of the game, which is making 382 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: it so that they're losing a bunch of games that 383 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 1: they should win. This is a game they should have won. 384 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: They should have beat Charlotte the other night. Those details 385 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: will cost you basketball games. And again, there's a lot 386 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: of other issues with the Wolves. The fit is funky 387 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 1: with Rudy Gobert. We've talked about that. I don't know 388 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: where the hell Carl Anthony Towns fits and all of this. 389 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: Mike Conley, you're getting kind of more or less what 390 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,360 Speaker 1: you'd expect. Like he's really struggling to put the ball 391 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: in the basket, but he still is like that really 392 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 1: sound and secure ball handler that's not gonna turn it over, 393 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 1: and he's gonna get guys in their spots, and he's 394 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: gonna hit cutters when they move, and it's just overall 395 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: what it is is He's just a league average point 396 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 1: guard or worse at this point as he's declined, So 397 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: it's not enough to really solve any of their problems. 398 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: I just I look at this primarily as just reps 399 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 1: for Anthony Edwards. He's gonna get more opportunity this season 400 00:19:58,160 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 1: to have the ball in his hands and learn how 401 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: to close games, learn how to not settle for his 402 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: jump shot as much as he has been, to learn 403 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,200 Speaker 1: how to not turn the basketball over when he over 404 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 1: penetrates into the lane. This is just valuable experience for 405 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,679 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards. But this, this Timberwolves team in particular, this 406 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: isn't sharp enough in the details to string together some wins. 407 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,399 Speaker 1: All right, let's move up to Clippers Nuggets. So we 408 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: capped off an incredible weekend of hoops with a one 409 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: thirty four to one twenty four overtime win for the 410 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 1: Denver Nuggets over the Clippers. It was a wild game. 411 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: The Nuggets jumped out to a massive lead, and then 412 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,000 Speaker 1: the Clippers kind of worked their way back. There's a 413 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: couple of things in particular that was really helping the 414 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: Clippers as they worked their way back. They went small 415 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: and started switching everything and then they did that Miami 416 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 1: heat post defense thing that I always talked about. They 417 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 1: were bracketing the post, so whoever got switched onto Jokic 418 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: would just fight to front Yokics, which is again you 419 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,919 Speaker 1: get in, you get out in front of him, and 420 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: you squat as low as you can and you push 421 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:54,439 Speaker 1: back on his body so we can't jump, and you 422 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,640 Speaker 1: force them to throw a lob pass over the top. 423 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: And if they don't get the lob pass high enough, 424 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 1: you can rise up and contest, like Russell Westbrook did 425 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: when he got that steal. But if the pass does 426 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: get over the top, if they throw it higher, you've 427 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: got backside help coming that makes that pass extremely difficult. 428 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: They did a really nice job swarming Jokic in those 429 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,679 Speaker 1: front and back bracketing situations. And then Russell Westbrook had 430 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:19,879 Speaker 1: an outstanding third quarter shift. I thought it was one 431 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,440 Speaker 1: of his best shifts of this entire NBA season for him. 432 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 1: He had a battle against Nikola Jokic in the post 433 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: where he fronted him and got his steel. There was 434 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: another one where he got switched on to Jokic and 435 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: a different shot went up and he won a box 436 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: out rebound battle against Jokic. Those are those little things 437 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: with Russ that always got glossed over by some of 438 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: the more negative Laker fans. He steal is one of 439 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:42,919 Speaker 1: the most switchable guards in the league because of his 440 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,359 Speaker 1: size and his strength and his athleticism and his competitiveness. 441 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: The guy just doesn't like to lose one on one battles. 442 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,959 Speaker 1: It kind of snaps him into focus and makes him 443 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: He's won a lot of battles against NBA Stars this 444 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 1: season in the post. And then he just had an 445 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: incredible offensive shift under control, pressuring the rim, pushing the pace, 446 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: taking smart jump shots, like he took a little ten 447 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: foot pull up jump shot that was really easy and 448 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: open that he knocked down. He had one other pull 449 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:13,919 Speaker 1: up jump shot that he missed, but it was a 450 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: late clock situation where there was no other opportunity to 451 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: get a shot on the rim, so we had to 452 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:20,920 Speaker 1: shoot it. The three that he took on the right 453 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: wing was like he passed up a three to swing 454 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:25,880 Speaker 1: to someone else and then it got back to him 455 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: and it was the right shot in that particular possession. 456 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: He just had an unbelievable shift and made a lot 457 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,439 Speaker 1: of plays and again it just for me as a 458 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 1: basketball fan, it's been really fun to watch Russ play 459 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: in a complimentary situation because he has strengths and he 460 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: has weaknesses, and way too often we focus on the 461 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,879 Speaker 1: weaknesses and don't acknowledge that he has strengths. He still 462 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: is one of the most switchable guards in the league. 463 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,200 Speaker 1: He still is incredible at pressuring the rim, pushing pace. 464 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 1: He's still one of the best passers in the league. 465 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:58,720 Speaker 1: So if you can put him in a situation where 466 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: teams cannot target his weaknesses as much, then his strengths 467 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: will come to the forefront and he'll be a major 468 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: positive impact. And I thought Russ was a major positive 469 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:09,959 Speaker 1: impact in this game. And then Tylu did what I've 470 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,920 Speaker 1: been saying that every team needs to do, just don't 471 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: play him in crunch time so that you don't have 472 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:14,960 Speaker 1: to deal with the issues there, and they did it. 473 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: Of course, the Clippers had their other issues in crunch time, 474 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: having to do with Paul George, which we'll get to 475 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: here in just a second. But I did think that 476 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,919 Speaker 1: that Russell Westbrook third quarter shift, and then just in general, 477 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: the Clippers swarming and bracketing Jokic helped them get back 478 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: into the game. Then down the stretch, you know, Mason 479 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 1: Plumley comes into the game for the Clippers, and he 480 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 1: actually makes a pretty big impact, showing some switchability out 481 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 1: onto guards. He got a really nice stop on Jamal Murray. 482 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,320 Speaker 1: He was flying around on the glass, making plays on 483 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: both then securing defensive rebounds and offensive rebounds. But then 484 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,439 Speaker 1: down the stretch, Jokic just started attacking Plumbley, and Plumbley 485 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: couldn't hold him. One on one big shock he had 486 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: like a drop step, and one he had like a 487 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: nasty one like fade away over his left shoulder. On 488 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: the other end of the floor. Kawhi Leonards it just 489 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: keeps talking, targeting Jamal Murray on switches and hitting post 490 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: up fadeaways. It was a really fun finish to this game. 491 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: And then bad luck striked struck for the Clippers. Kawhi 492 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: knocks the ball away from Jamal Murray. He ends up 493 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: heaving up a half court shot at the end of 494 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: the shot clock. But Mason Plumley, who was great rebounding 495 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,159 Speaker 1: the entire fourth quarter, missed one box out and lost 496 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: a contested rebound battle to Condavius Caldwell Pope, which led 497 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,439 Speaker 1: to Michael Porter junior hitting the three that put them 498 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:27,639 Speaker 1: up to and then Paul George tied it at the 499 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:32,639 Speaker 1: foul line. Interesting play. At the end of regulation, they 500 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,639 Speaker 1: were gapping Jokic off of off of Bruce Brown and 501 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: leaving him kind of open on the right wing. But 502 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,199 Speaker 1: I thought there was still plenty of opportunity to Jokic 503 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: for Jokic to try to make a play, and he 504 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: did something that Lebron's been criticized a lot for over 505 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:48,879 Speaker 1: the years. He just made the right play, swung it 506 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:50,959 Speaker 1: to Bruce Brown. He missed the three, But same thing 507 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 1: I used to always say about Lebron. There are times 508 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,720 Speaker 1: where you're better off as the best player forcing up 509 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: a tough shot than passing to a teammate that might 510 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: have a much lesser chance, or might not being a 511 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: rhythm and might not feel confident in that particular situation. 512 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 1: I would have liked to have seen Yokic be a 513 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: little more aggressive there, but that's neither here more there, 514 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: neither here nor there, And the Jokics Lebron archetypes. They're 515 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,679 Speaker 1: wired that way for a reason, and that sort of 516 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: thing tends to play out positive in the long run 517 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 1: as they continue to feed their teammates for great shots 518 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,679 Speaker 1: over the course of the game. OT is where it 519 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:27,200 Speaker 1: got really interesting, because Kawhi was unbelievable down the stretch 520 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 1: of this game, and then Paul George just took control randomly. 521 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,359 Speaker 1: At the end of regulation he took a really tough 522 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: pull up jump shot that he missed, and then in 523 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,639 Speaker 1: OT he took over the offense and made back to 524 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: back pretty critical mistakes in my opinion. First of all, 525 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:46,680 Speaker 1: he had he had Bruce Brown on the right wing 526 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 1: and took like a behind the back dribble step back 527 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: three to his right with like ten seconds on the 528 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:57,119 Speaker 1: shot clock. And again there's a there's a time and 529 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: place for tough shots, because I do think they're in 530 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: an important part of NBA games. When you're in rhythm, 531 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: meaning like I've made a couple in a row, my 532 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 1: release is dialed in, I'm confident I'm gonna take this 533 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: tough shot even with ten seconds on the shot clock. 534 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,439 Speaker 1: And then which which Paul George was absolutely not in 535 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: that situation. He was not in a groove. Kawhi was 536 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: the one who was in the groove. Kawhi was the 537 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,360 Speaker 1: guy it made sense to take and make tough shots. 538 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: Paul George co opted the game from Kawhi and took 539 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: an impossible shot when he was out of rhythm. They 540 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:34,680 Speaker 1: go down, they don't get matched up. We had back 541 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 1: to back situations here in this overtime period where Marcus 542 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,120 Speaker 1: Morris and Kawhi Leentard botched their matchups in transition because 543 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,919 Speaker 1: they weren't talking. Nobody picks up Jamal Murray. He walks 544 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 1: in and knocks down a three, and the Nuggets are 545 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: up four. Very next possession, Paul George goes down and 546 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:54,120 Speaker 1: throws some garbage lob to Mason Plumley that's like two 547 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 1: feet too high and Karen's off the backboard. And in 548 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 1: the ensuing transition possession, Marcus Morris and Kawhi again don't communicate. 549 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: They don't get matched up with Michael Porter Junior. He 550 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: hits a three on the left wing, and then the 551 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: game is over. So kind of anti climactic, very similarly 552 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: to that Clippers Kings game where there's all of this 553 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,920 Speaker 1: good Clippers stuff happening, but down the stretch, just execution 554 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,439 Speaker 1: on both ends of the floor falling apart. And you know, 555 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: Paul George is in general, if you talk to Clippers fans, 556 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: they'll tell you one of their biggest complaints with him 557 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: this year has been his shot selection, just too frequently 558 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,919 Speaker 1: taking impossible shots rather than easing into the game with 559 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: easy shots and then taking those tougher shots as the 560 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: game progresses. But then that and like you know, the 561 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: Clippers have great defensive personnel. They've been vaunted as a 562 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 1: defensive team over the course of this Kawhi Paul George era. 563 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:45,199 Speaker 1: But you know what, it doesn't matter if you have 564 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 1: all the switchable wings in the world if you guys 565 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,240 Speaker 1: can't communicate and transition and get matched up. And for 566 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris, they they've been playing together 567 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,200 Speaker 1: for too long. They've been in the league too long 568 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 1: to not know that you have to communicate and transition 569 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: about who you're matched up with, and those little mistakes 570 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 1: end up costing you games, especially against teams like the 571 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:06,120 Speaker 1: Nuggets that are extremely sharp in their execution. The Clippers 572 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,359 Speaker 1: have now lost eight out of nine games against Denver 573 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 1: since the bubble collapse. It's kind of starting to look 574 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: like a mental disadvantage as well as a mismatch. One 575 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,919 Speaker 1: of the disadvantages of having a very wing heavy team 576 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,679 Speaker 1: is you can't physically match up with Nikola Jokic, and 577 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: that puts you in a position where you have to 578 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: constantly you do janky stuff with your defense to load 579 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,119 Speaker 1: up on him, and then he can punish you with 580 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: his IQ and hitting open men, just like he did 581 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,360 Speaker 1: in that Bubble series when they came back and win one. 582 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:37,960 Speaker 1: But I mean, I'm looking at this now as like, 583 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,360 Speaker 1: if the Clippers face Denver, whether it's in the first 584 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: round or second round, does anybody think the Clippers have 585 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: a chance to win that series. I mean, it's a 586 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: bad matchup and Denver just has kind of a mental 587 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: advantage over them. They better hope that someone else beats 588 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: Denver for them or they have no chance of getting 589 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:03,600 Speaker 1: out of this conference. All right, So let's talk about 590 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 1: Dami Loler for just a few minutes before we get 591 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: out of here. So he lit up the Blazers for 592 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: seventy one points last night. I don't want to talk 593 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: too much about the actual specifics of the basketball. The 594 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,479 Speaker 1: Rockets are terrible, so is Portland. And Dame is one 595 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: of the best pull up jump shooters in the league, 596 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: and he's gonna get hot. There's two things in particular, 597 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 1: I wanted to hit though, starting with that pull up 598 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: jump shooting thing. So one of my buddies, Eddie Gonzalez, 599 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: he is the guy who's the co host with Kevin 600 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: Durant in that the ETC's podcast, and he tweeted this 601 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: out last night and I thought it was an interesting question. 602 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: He said, quote, what is your theory regarding the uptick 603 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: and individual scoring this season? He just kind of presented 604 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 1: that to everybody on Twitter. And when I saw that, 605 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 1: I've been thinking a lot about it last night in 606 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: this morning, and to me, it really I have one 607 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: prevailing theory that keeps coming to mind, and it reminds 608 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: me of when the Blazers beat the Lakers a couple 609 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: like a week ago and they lit the Lakers on 610 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: fire in their drop coverage, and Darvin Ham said after 611 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: the game basically that the team felt like they conceded 612 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: the right types of shots and that they were just 613 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 1: a victim of variance. And there is some truth to that, 614 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:22,760 Speaker 1: Like I think they played the Oklahoma City Thunder two 615 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: nights later and lost because they missed all the same shots. 616 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: But I believe that there is a disconnect at this 617 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:34,479 Speaker 1: point between what coaches think is a bad shot and 618 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 1: what actually is a bad shot for these players, And 619 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: I think a lot of NBA coverages are designed to 620 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,360 Speaker 1: concede pull up jump shots for obvious reasons. You'd rather 621 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,479 Speaker 1: have a pull up jump shot taken by a player 622 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:53,240 Speaker 1: than an easy driving layup or a kickout to a 623 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: wide open shooter on the wing. So in theory, it 624 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: sounds great, but the problem is is that these players. 625 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: I think the skill set of these players has reached 626 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,840 Speaker 1: a point now where what coaches think is a bad 627 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: shot actually isn't that bad of a shot for these guys. 628 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 1: Like I've seen Andrew Nemhart, a rookie for the Indiana Pacers, 629 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 1: get hot and just barbecue drop coverage. They had a 630 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: game against the Warriors earlier this year where he ran 631 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,000 Speaker 1: like thirty five pick and rolls for like fifty two 632 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: points or something like that. It doesn't matter whether or 633 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: not you're a star. We have so many good skill 634 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:32,040 Speaker 1: guards in this league that on any given night, if 635 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: a guy gets hot, it just renders everything useless. And 636 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,240 Speaker 1: it's starting to happen more and more frequently, and I 637 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:40,240 Speaker 1: do think we're gonna reach a breaking point here where 638 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 1: the coaches of the NBA are gonna have to sit 639 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: down with their stabs and look at each other and 640 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: go like, I don't know that we can force Steph 641 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: Curry to take pull up jump shots for an entire 642 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: NBA Finals series anymore. That's gonna beat us. I don't 643 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: know if we can be like, oh, we won because 644 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: we made Dame Lillard take tough shots. I don't know 645 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 1: if we can be like, oh, we won because we 646 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: made Jamal Murray tough shots. I don't think that that's 647 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: gonna work anymore. And I think it's gonna continue to 648 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: get worse over the course of the next couple of 649 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: years for these defenses until somebody adjusts. And now that's 650 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: what the NBA does. If you look throughout NBA history, 651 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,920 Speaker 1: offensive ratings go up and down. The at league average 652 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: offensive rating right now is like one hundred and fourteen 653 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: for any given team, right and that's the highest it's 654 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: ever been in NBA history. Now there's a big wrinkle 655 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: there in the just the math of the three point shot. 656 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,479 Speaker 1: Like I was, I was talking about this the other 657 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: day on my Twitter feed, But the NBA teams are 658 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: attempting twenty nine more threes per game now than they 659 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,720 Speaker 1: were in nineteen eighty eight. So when you consider those 660 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,280 Speaker 1: shots are worth one point five points for every one 661 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 1: point of a different basket, you're going to obviously see 662 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,200 Speaker 1: an uptick in offensive ratings from the math. But even 663 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: from this point, I do think we'll see things tick 664 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 1: back down eventually, and it will happen when NBA defenses 665 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:55,000 Speaker 1: finally understand that they can't continue to run coverages that 666 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 1: concede pull up jump shots. NBA skill guards are just 667 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 1: simply too good anymore. So that's obviously there's gonna be 668 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,680 Speaker 1: a lot of factors at play, but I do think 669 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 1: that that's my leading candidate for the main reason why 670 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: we've seen a scoring uptick. You'll see a lot of 671 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: old heads say that, oh, teams don't play defense anymore, 672 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,040 Speaker 1: there's no hand checking. I disagree with that. I think 673 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: the game is a lot more physical than people realize. 674 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: I'm on the Jj Redick side of things where I 675 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:23,120 Speaker 1: think the overall increase in athleticism and just schematic intelligence 676 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,320 Speaker 1: from these teams and switchability that I actually think defenses 677 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: are better now than they've ever been. You know, think 678 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 1: of it this way, like teams are averaging six points 679 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,880 Speaker 1: more per one hundred possessions than they did in nineteen 680 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:39,560 Speaker 1: eighty eight, despite taking twenty nine more threes per game. 681 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,880 Speaker 1: That's like a pretty uneven balanced there. That kind of 682 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: increase in shot value should lead to a commensurate increase 683 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:51,520 Speaker 1: at least half of that, right, like, at least like 684 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 1: a fifteen to sixteen point increase in offensive ratings, just 685 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 1: based on the fact that at thirty more of those 686 00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,560 Speaker 1: field goal attempts are worth an extra half point every 687 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,960 Speaker 1: time they go in, right, and just teams are hitting 688 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 1: him at a league average, you know, thirty six, thirty 689 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,240 Speaker 1: seven percent. There's just no reason in the world why 690 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,880 Speaker 1: we shouldn't be seeing a higher increase in offensive ratings 691 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: except for the fact that defenses have gotten better. I 692 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:20,320 Speaker 1: think all of that wing athleticism and guys frighteningly covering 693 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 1: ground in rotations has made it harder to score it 694 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 1: in a lot of different ways. And I think that's 695 00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: the point that JJ Redick's been trying to make, and 696 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,320 Speaker 1: so many times people look at it as a slight 697 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,600 Speaker 1: against the older generation. I don't see it like that 698 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: at all. The way I look at it is just 699 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:39,920 Speaker 1: like with any industry, there is a perpetual increase in 700 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: competence as people learn from who came before. Okay, this 701 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: doesn't work, We're gonna do something different. Okay, this worked, 702 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:50,879 Speaker 1: We're gonna replicate it. You know, like, I'm gonna try 703 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,480 Speaker 1: like hell to not be the guy who's twenty years 704 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:55,680 Speaker 1: from now going like, oh, you know, back twenty twenty three, 705 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: they were playing the game the right way. You know, 706 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:00,719 Speaker 1: this this garbage basketball now it is just not gonna 707 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:02,480 Speaker 1: cut it compared to who was playing back. I'm just 708 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,080 Speaker 1: I don't want to be that guy. And I and 709 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:08,479 Speaker 1: I do think that there's a lot of insecurity from 710 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 1: older basketball players who take it as a slight against 711 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:12,919 Speaker 1: them when it's like, no, you guys paved the way. 712 00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 1: Learning lessons from the way you guys played is the 713 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: reason we play the game the way that we play today. 714 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:21,480 Speaker 1: The last thing I wanted to hit was Dame's loyalty 715 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: because it's been kind of it's been kind of a 716 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:25,279 Speaker 1: part of Dame's brand. He's really leaning into it. He 717 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 1: had another interview the other day where he leaned into 718 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: it pretty heavy. And I just don't get it because 719 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 1: I don't look at I don't understand the idea of 720 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 1: having loyalty to a franchise just because to me, you 721 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,360 Speaker 1: have I look at it as a partnership, you know, 722 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 1: like I don't look at Dame as an employee of 723 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:45,920 Speaker 1: the Blazers. I look at him as a partner of 724 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,319 Speaker 1: the Blazers. I think that players in general view it 725 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:51,280 Speaker 1: that way, Like that's the whole point of the collective 726 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:54,399 Speaker 1: bargaining agreement. The players Association and all the owners meet 727 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,160 Speaker 1: in the middle and it's like, hey, let's do this together. 728 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,680 Speaker 1: And while Dame has some contractual obligations of the Blazers, 729 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,399 Speaker 1: those I don't think that that you have some sort 730 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: of like employee type of loyalty to that specific organization. Yes, 731 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:14,080 Speaker 1: they drafted you, but to be clear, it's an arrangement 732 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 1: that's worked really well for them. You worked hard and 733 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:21,319 Speaker 1: became a superstar. Had you not, they would have traded you, 734 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:25,040 Speaker 1: just like they did ce J McCollum. Like there's no 735 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:30,040 Speaker 1: loyalty on their front. If you, Dame Lillard was the 736 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,959 Speaker 1: thirty seventh best player in the league instead of the 737 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,480 Speaker 1: eleventh or twelfth best player in the league, they would 738 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:37,279 Speaker 1: have been done with your ass a long time ago. 739 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:40,319 Speaker 1: That's just the harsh reality of this business. So the 740 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: way I look at it is if I was Dame, 741 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:45,799 Speaker 1: I'd be looking at the situation as I am, this 742 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 1: freak competitor that has worked so hard in my career 743 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,040 Speaker 1: that I have become one of the twelve best basketball 744 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 1: players in the world. On the other end of the spectrum, 745 00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 1: I've been playing at this level for almost a decade now, 746 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:03,080 Speaker 1: and Portland has been incapable of providing me with the 747 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,439 Speaker 1: necessary pieces to truly contend for a title. They've never 748 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,000 Speaker 1: gotten brought in a competent defensive front court, which is 749 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:15,359 Speaker 1: like a prerequisite to compete in the NBA. In fact, 750 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:18,040 Speaker 1: they've been weak defensively in the front court the entirety 751 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 1: of this tenure. They've never brought him a legitimate co 752 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:25,920 Speaker 1: star that could consistently meet him at his level, especially 753 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,680 Speaker 1: in a playoff environment, in that large sample size of time, 754 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,239 Speaker 1: through good asset management and good scouting, they should have 755 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:37,640 Speaker 1: been able to do that for you. So in the 756 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:40,359 Speaker 1: same way that they would have dumped your ass had 757 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: you not played well over the course of your career, 758 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:47,359 Speaker 1: I think Dame should be looking for a different partnership, 759 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 1: a partnership with a franchise that is competent enough to 760 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:53,480 Speaker 1: provide him with the resources he needs to contend at 761 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:58,040 Speaker 1: the highest level. That's the reason why I'd be looking 762 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: to go elsewhere. I think that we're missing the plot 763 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,440 Speaker 1: a little bit when we focus on loyalty to the franchise, 764 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:06,040 Speaker 1: Like I understand if you have a little bit of 765 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 1: loyalty to the fan base, but that sort of thing 766 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:12,359 Speaker 1: can be cultivated off the court too. You know, those 767 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 1: fans in Portland are forever going to love you, and 768 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,120 Speaker 1: I would venture to guess that many of them kind 769 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:22,200 Speaker 1: of would understand if you wanted to go elsewhere. But 770 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,920 Speaker 1: once again, at this deadline, the front office made you 771 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:28,759 Speaker 1: worse and we don't really know what the plan is. 772 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:32,400 Speaker 1: You turned a really good rotation player Josh Hart, into 773 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,360 Speaker 1: a long term project in cam Reddish and a player 774 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 1: that's pretty offensively limited in matis thible, Like, what direction 775 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:43,080 Speaker 1: are they going? Where's the light at the end of 776 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,520 Speaker 1: the tunnel. That's why I think Dame should be looking 777 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,279 Speaker 1: to go elsewhere. All right, guys, that is all I 778 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:49,839 Speaker 1: have for today. Here's the plan. We're gonna be going 779 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:53,759 Speaker 1: live tomorrow night after I believe it's Memphis Grizzlies versus 780 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:55,680 Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Lakers will be live on AMP for 781 00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:58,920 Speaker 1: that Wednesday night. We're going late, going live after the 782 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:03,640 Speaker 1: late games. That should be Kevin Durant's debut with the 783 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,839 Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns as well as reported. We'll see, but we'll 784 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:08,960 Speaker 1: be live on AMP in the evenings the next two nights. 785 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,359 Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you guys' support and I'll see 786 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:26,840 Speaker 1: you guys tomorrow. The volume