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Speaker 1: The volume. All right, Well, good to Hoops Tonight.

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Speaker 2: You're at the volume heavy Friday, everybody. Hope all you

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Speaker 2: guys are having a incredible end to your week. We

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Speaker 2: have a jam pack show for you guys today. We're

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Speaker 2: gonna lead with a little instant reaction of last night's

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Speaker 2: really fun to watch show down between bam Adebio Victor

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Speaker 2: Woman Yama and the Heat and the Spurs are gonna

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Speaker 2: be breaking that game down in detail. And then after that,

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Speaker 2: as we typically do on Fridays, we're gonna get into.

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Speaker 1: A mail bag.

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Speaker 2: I've got about eight or nine questions from around the

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Speaker 2: league from you guys. You guys are the drip before

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Speaker 2: we get started. To subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube

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Speaker 2: channel so you don't miss any more of our videos.

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Speaker 2: Follow me on Twitter at underscore JCNLT so you guys

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Speaker 2: review on that front. Jackson's doing incredible work on our

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Speaker 2: social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Make sure

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Speaker 2: you guys follow us there. Throughout the year for additional content.

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Speaker 2: In the last but not least, if you want to

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Speaker 2: get questions into these mail bags, going to our full

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Speaker 2: episodes on YouTube in the comments right mail bag with

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Speaker 2: a colon and the right question. We'll get to them

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Speaker 2: on Fridays throughout the remainder of the season. All right,

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Speaker 2: let's talk some basketball. So both teams down some key

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Speaker 2: players in this Heat Spurs game. The Spurs were down

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Speaker 2: Luke Cornett, which led to these Bismack Biambo minutes that

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Speaker 2: were particularly rough, and there was even a stretch where

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Speaker 2: they went centerless to try to address that issue. And

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Speaker 2: then the Heat were down Norman Powell, which was obviously

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Speaker 2: a bummer for this matchup as a test for the Spurs,

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Speaker 2: but we still got a good look at the dynamic

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Speaker 2: because shout out to Simoni Fontekio. He came in and

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Speaker 2: played incredibly well and put on a Norman Powell impersonation,

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Speaker 2: just flying off of screens and hitting all of these

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Speaker 2: tough movement threes. That kind of brought that dynamic to

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Speaker 2: the offense. And honestly, I thought the Heat threw a

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Speaker 2: hell of a punch. Bam was very much not afraid

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Speaker 2: of Victor wimbn Yama and attacked him early and often.

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Speaker 2: He had a rip through kind of chicken wing for

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Speaker 2: a layup. He had another rip through on a close

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Speaker 2: out in the left corner with Wenby, where he went

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Speaker 2: and just threw down a vicious right hand dunk. He

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Speaker 2: was going right at him in the post for a

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Speaker 2: little baby hooks over his left shoulder.

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Speaker 1: He hit a couple of.

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Speaker 2: Threes when Wemby was roaming off of him, he threw

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Speaker 2: a great punch. It was a nice challenge for Wemby

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Speaker 2: and the Spurs. Andrew Wiggins did a ton of damage

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Speaker 2: in this matchup as a score, driving one on ones,

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Speaker 2: hitting little pull ups, hitting threes. I every time I

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Speaker 2: watch Andrew just want him to be a Laker because

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Speaker 2: he's literally the one guy that I think would address

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Speaker 2: all of their problems. But that's just me channeling my

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Speaker 2: fanhood there. And then the Spurs ended up taking control

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Speaker 2: in the late third quarter. They went up by fifteen

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Speaker 2: to end the third quarter. In Eric Spolstra, as he's

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Speaker 2: known to do, broke out that famed Miami Heat two

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Speaker 2: three zone, actually for the first time this season, and

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Speaker 2: he had his two top guys in the zone, extending

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Speaker 2: out to pressure the ball. He had Bam kind of

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Speaker 2: extending out from the middle on Wemby's catches around the elbows,

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Speaker 2: and the other four guys when Wemby would have the

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Speaker 2: ball there did a great job of filling the gaps

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Speaker 2: around him and closing those passing lanes, and the Spurs

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Speaker 2: kind of decomposed a bit. They blew the fifteen point

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Speaker 2: lead like that, and all of a sudden, we had

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Speaker 2: a close game on our hands. So shout out to

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Speaker 2: the Miami Heat. They gave the Spurs a really good

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Speaker 2: test last night. It was a good opportunity for I

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Speaker 2: was looking forward to seeing the Spurs play against a

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Speaker 2: good team because they've had an incredibly light schedule to start,

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Speaker 2: and they rose to the occasion. I thought Julian Champagne

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Speaker 2: was one of the key figures in that fourth quarter

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Speaker 2: run when the Spurs finally pulled away. He had two

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Speaker 2: massive offensive rebounds out of the left corner that both

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Speaker 2: led to wide open threes for the Spurs, one where

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Speaker 2: he got his own rebound following along the baseline. That

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Speaker 2: one got kicked out and moved over to Devin Vessel

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Speaker 2: on the left wing. He had a three and then

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Speaker 2: another one where Wenby's posting up there on the right block,

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Speaker 2: he takes a little right shoulder fade you can see

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Speaker 2: Julian just come flying in out of the corner and

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Speaker 2: he rocks Simoni Fontechio with a box out right there

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Speaker 2: along the baseline, gets that inside position, taps the ball out,

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Speaker 2: then has the wherewithal to turn and set a pin

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Speaker 2: in flare on Simoni Fontechio to prevent him from closing

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Speaker 2: out to the corner where Harrison Barnes had relocated, and

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Speaker 2: he hits a wide open three that ended up putting

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Speaker 2: the Spurs up six. And then on the other end

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Speaker 2: of the floor, he had a really nice dry defensive

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Speaker 2: possession where he stonewall to Davion Mitchell drive and got

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Speaker 2: a steal, scrapped his way into a bunch of winning

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Speaker 2: impact down the stretch. Julian's been struggling to shoot the

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Speaker 2: ball a little bit at the start of the season,

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Speaker 2: but in general, he just adds another layer to the

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Speaker 2: overall scrappiness of this Spurs team, which is something that

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Speaker 2: I've been really keyed in on. Like Julian Champagnee is

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Speaker 2: averaging eight rebounds per thirty six minutes. He's super active

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Speaker 2: on the glass for a wing. This first team has

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Speaker 2: a unit has six rotation players that rebound at a

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Speaker 2: rate of at least six rebounds per thirty six minutes

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Speaker 2: or better. Both big Z obviously Luke Cornett super active

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Speaker 2: on the glass, victor when Minyama is super active on

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Speaker 2: the glass. We talked about Julian champagnee Keldon Johnson just

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Speaker 2: comes in every single game off the bench and is

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Speaker 2: just an athletic wrecking ball. He gets nine rebounds per

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Speaker 2: thirty six He's had several late third quarter stretches this

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Speaker 2: year where he's helped blow games open. He's also just

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Speaker 2: super physically aggressive around the rim. He had to play

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Speaker 2: in the late third quarter where he posted up kell

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Speaker 2: el Ware again over seven feet and just powered through

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Speaker 2: him as like a post up for a little scoop

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Speaker 2: shot and yelling and screaming while he's doing everything. He's

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Speaker 2: just an athletic wrecking ball. And then both of the

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Speaker 2: young guards, Steph Castle and Dylan Harper, they are both

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Speaker 2: great rebounders for the guard position, and this is a

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Speaker 2: big part of what makes the Spurs such a dominant

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Speaker 2: rebounding team. They are number one in rebound percentage in

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Speaker 2: the entire NBA on both ends of the glass too.

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Speaker 2: Their top five offensive rebounding team and their top five

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Speaker 2: defensive rebounding team. It is just a margin where they

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Speaker 2: are winning and they're just scrappy in general. Like it's

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Speaker 2: been fun to watch Steph Castle and Dylan Harper pressure

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Speaker 2: the ball and play passing lanes. They had the sequence

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Speaker 2: against Davion Mitchell where Deveon drove off of the right

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Speaker 2: wing and Steph Castle sliding with him, and he swipes

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Speaker 2: at the ball and kind of knocks it free, and

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Speaker 2: here comes Dylan Harper digging down from the wing.

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Speaker 1: He takes it away. Now they're running the other way.

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Speaker 2: It's just everybody's big and athletic and scrappy and rebounds well.

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Speaker 2: And it's a big thing that triggers their transition attack,

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Speaker 2: where they've been getting twenty eight transition points per game,

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Speaker 2: which ranks eighth in the entire NBA. That combination, big,

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Speaker 2: athletic and scrappy on the perimeter with Victor women Yama,

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Speaker 2: that is what causes them to have so much success

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Speaker 2: in these margins. They're number two in defensive rating, number

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Speaker 2: one in rebounding and number eight in transition points scored

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Speaker 2: per game percentergy, So, like that is a classic defense

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Speaker 2: rebound run, defense rebound run, and that is something that

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Speaker 2: is going to be there for them every single night

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Speaker 2: in the regular season. It's one of the big things

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Speaker 2: that I miscalculated about this team. I was so focused on,

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Speaker 2: like their refined offensive skill. How many like really good

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Speaker 2: refined offensive players do they have, And that's shown up,

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Speaker 2: Like that's part of why they struggled against the zone.

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Speaker 2: They've been a mediocre half court offense to start the year.

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Speaker 2: We'll talk about that in a minute. But what I

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Speaker 2: underestimated with this team here in the early going is

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Speaker 2: they're just really big and athletic off of Wemby, which

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Speaker 2: is going to give you just a really high floor

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Speaker 2: night tonight in the NBA regular season. I really liked

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Speaker 2: that game from Victor last night because it kind of

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Speaker 2: showcases versatility. Like he didn't have a good shooting night.

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Speaker 2: His three point shot was way off, he had some bricks.

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Speaker 2: He shout out the heat too. They had some great

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Speaker 2: contests on him and they had, you know, they were

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Speaker 2: physical and up underneath him in his post ups and

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Speaker 2: kind of stopped him from getting directly to the rim

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Speaker 2: on his ISOs. He was kind of missing his mid

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Speaker 2: range jump shot last night, so like what do you

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Speaker 2: do when that stuff's not going for you?

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Speaker 1: Right?

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Speaker 2: But I thought he was his usual dominant self on defense. Obviously,

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Speaker 2: you know, Bam stretched him out a few times with

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Speaker 2: some threes and he got some one on one buckets

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Speaker 2: on him, But outside of that, I thought he generally

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Speaker 2: won the matchup. Like Bam tried so hard to space

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Speaker 2: Wenby out taking threes that he took thirteen of them

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Speaker 2: in the game and only made four. That's less than

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Speaker 2: a point per shot. Was especially cold down the stretch,

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Speaker 2: and that's a big part of what allowed Wenby to

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Speaker 2: roam and cause problems around the basket as a shot blocker.

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Speaker 2: And then Victor's defensive impact overall just continues to be

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Speaker 2: really difficult to quantify, Like he had five blocks last night,

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Speaker 2: but it's deeper than that, Like there are a lot

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Speaker 2: of possessions where guys are driving into the lane and

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Speaker 2: running into him and Victor's not getting a block or

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Speaker 2: even a deflection sometimes, but he's swarming and the dudes

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Speaker 2: just don't have the kickout angles and so then it'll

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Speaker 2: end up being a turnover because the guy throws a

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Speaker 2: bad kickout pass or a bad kickout pass that breaks

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Speaker 2: the rhythm of the possession and the advantage is gone

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Speaker 2: because it's off target. So the guy who has to

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Speaker 2: go get it has to like lunge out of position,

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Speaker 2: and by the time he gets it, the spurs can

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Speaker 2: rotate back out of it. He's just literally breaking offenses

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Speaker 2: with his length right around the basket. Now, again, it's

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Speaker 2: not all perfect with San Antonio. They struggled with Miami's

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Speaker 2: zone in the second half. They had just eight points

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Speaker 2: on sixteen possessions against that zone. Albeit they did get

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Speaker 2: some offensive rebounds. I think they had three in the

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Speaker 2: fourth quarter. And on this season so far, the zone

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Speaker 2: has been a little bit of an issue. They faced

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Speaker 2: thirty four possessions of zone and they've gotten just twenty

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Speaker 2: two points on that that's a sixty five offensive rating.

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Speaker 2: They're shooting just three for ten on threes against zone

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Speaker 2: so far to start this year. They're five for fifteen

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Speaker 2: on twos, and they've turned the ball over on twenty

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Speaker 2: one percent of their possessions against the zone. I think

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Speaker 2: there's a couple things they could do there, like, they're

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Speaker 2: using Wemby a lot in the middle, and they're not

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Speaker 2: getting easy like dunks. So I'm wondering if it makes

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Speaker 2: more sense to have Wemby almost as a baseline outlet

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Speaker 2: and try to get the ball to somebody else in

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Speaker 2: the middle of the floor, someone who's really comfortable passing there,

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Speaker 2: someone like Steph Castle. If Steph Castle catches in the

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Speaker 2: middle of the floor, he's a guy that can quick

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Speaker 2: turn and score, but he's also a guy who's got

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Speaker 2: really good lob chemistry with Wemby. And often, like when

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Speaker 2: Wemby was catching there again at the middle, when Bam

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Speaker 2: would step up, there's opportunities at the rim, but often

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Speaker 2: that's not a pass that is available to some of

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Speaker 2: the smaller athletes on the floor. Right, But if Victor

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Speaker 2: is underneath the basket, that's another vertical spacing window.

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Speaker 1: For you to go at.

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Speaker 2: And again, some of this is just that refined offensive

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Speaker 2: skill right. Collectively as a team, the Spurs are just

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Speaker 2: fourteenth and half court offensive rating to start the season,

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Speaker 2: and by the way, three of their five wins have

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Speaker 2: been against bottom five defenses in New Orleans, Toronto, and Brooklyn.

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Speaker 2: I think that's where you can see just a little

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Speaker 2: bit of that. These are young talented players that aren't

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Speaker 2: quite as refined yet as they will be in the

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Speaker 2: long run. It's been interesting because, like their catch and shoot,

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Speaker 2: shooting from the role players has actually been fine. That's

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Speaker 2: been kind of a pleasant surprise this year after a

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Speaker 2: lot of the talk around they're shooting over the summer,

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Speaker 2: but it's actually been more of the ability of the

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Speaker 2: defenses against their ball handlers to go underscreens to force

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Speaker 2: their guards to take pull ups which they're not making.

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Speaker 2: And then Wemby has been kind of off, especially in

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Speaker 2: his catch and shoots to start the year. But overall,

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Speaker 2: we knew the Spurs would have some issues with half

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Speaker 2: court offense. We knew the Spurs would have some issues

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Speaker 2: with refined offensive talent. I think the real story here

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Speaker 2: in the early part of the season is that the

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Speaker 2: Spurs are just way more physically imposing than we thought

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Speaker 2: they would be night to night in the regular season.

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Speaker 2: If they're going to be a top five defense and

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Speaker 2: a top five rebounding team with a top ten transition

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Speaker 2: attack all year, that's just a really strong foundation to

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Speaker 2: rack up regular season wins with or without a great offense,

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Speaker 2: and again, the story of their ceiling, what they actually

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Speaker 2: can achieve as a unit in the big picture will

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Speaker 2: be determined by whether or not they can kind of

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Speaker 2: polish up those things in the half court. On offense,

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Speaker 2: some brief thoughts on the heat before we move forward

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Speaker 2: to the mailbag. There's been a lot of hooplot about

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Speaker 2: the offense. We talked about this in our five most

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Speaker 2: Impressive Teams video on Monday, But there's this idea that

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Speaker 2: you're essentially just pushing the ball up quickly and hitting

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Speaker 2: gaps right. Whoever has the ball is empowered to just

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Speaker 2: attack their matchup one on one, and with the idea

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Speaker 2: that if the defense reacts, you can make these kickout

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Speaker 2: passes and go from there. It's a kind of a

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Speaker 2: simple concept because we talk about the idea of running action.

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Speaker 2: Why do you run action? Why do you run a

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Speaker 2: pick and roll? Why do you run Chicago? Why do

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Speaker 2: you run split cuts? Why do you run any of that?

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Speaker 2: You run that sort of thing to get a situation

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Speaker 2: where a guy is standing on the perimeter open with

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Speaker 2: a kickout pass and a defender running at him right.

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Speaker 2: You're running action to create an advantage. And so there's

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Speaker 2: this idea that the only way to create advance is

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Speaker 2: through running action, and that's not true at all. I

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Speaker 2: think the Indiana Pacers in particular, demonstrated for us last

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Speaker 2: year that you can generate a lot of advantage just

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Speaker 2: by pushing the ball up the floor and by attacking gaps.

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Speaker 2: And I said this in the most improved video. But

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Speaker 2: I'm not the least bit surprised that Miami has adopted,

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Speaker 2: as a very smart organization, has adopted something that we

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Speaker 2: saw work to resounding success last year in the postseason

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Speaker 2: with Indiana.

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Speaker 1: Push the damn ball up the floor.

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Speaker 2: Attack gaps, take the kickouts that are available, and play

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Speaker 2: driving kick basketball off of that. It's empowered guys like

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Speaker 2: Andrew Wiggins, who's looked great at times this year, Jaimehakez

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Speaker 2: who's having a excellent third campaign, Simoni Fontakio obviously attacking

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Speaker 2: and shooting coming off of off of movement and even

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Speaker 2: off of dribble handoffs and things like that off the ball. Like,

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of guys that are being empowered. The

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Speaker 2: downside is, though, it can also empower players to take

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Speaker 2: bad shots sometimes, so like if you give a guy

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Speaker 2: the freedom to on an early possession sequence, attack is

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Speaker 2: man one on one. There's a lot of those that

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Speaker 2: are ending in some questionable shots. Like they took eleven

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Speaker 2: mid range jump shots in that game last night against

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Speaker 2: the Spurs and made just.

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Speaker 1: Four of them.

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Speaker 2: A lot of like driving into Wemby and then turning

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Speaker 2: it over or getting blocked, and so some of that

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Speaker 2: I think is the growing pains of trying a new offense.

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Speaker 2: Like it's just very important that at the expense of pace,

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Speaker 2: you don't go and take bad shots early in the

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Speaker 2: clock either, like you want to get the ball up

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Speaker 2: the four quickly. You want to attack, attack, attack, but

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Speaker 2: the purpose is to get layups and threes. Layups and threes.

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Speaker 2: You want to get the defense to react to you

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Speaker 2: so that you have those kickout opportunities available. And I

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Speaker 2: mean one last thing on the heat. They're kind of

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Speaker 2: investing in this big man shooting threes kind of idea,

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Speaker 2: and Bam shot him well to start the year. But

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Speaker 2: last night Bam and Kelll combined four for seventeen from three,

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Speaker 2: and I do wonder if there's a little bit of

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Speaker 2: an over indexing on that side of things towards the

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Speaker 2: three point shot. But the heat of I had a

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Speaker 2: fun team to watch here in the early part of

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Speaker 2: the year. Obviously, they didn't even have Norman Powell last night.

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Speaker 2: Tyler Harrow is gonna fit into this somehow. I wonder

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Speaker 2: if he'll bring more of a ball screen element. I

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Speaker 2: don't think Tyler Harrow is really much of a one

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Speaker 2: on one player. But this is an interesting new system.

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Speaker 2: It's a it's a new idea that's kind of taking

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Speaker 2: hold in the NBA, the idea that, like, we can

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Speaker 2: generate advantage just by pushing with pace and by attacking

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Speaker 2: gaps rather than having to run action. All right, let

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Speaker 2: us get into our mail bag. We've got about eight

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Speaker 2: or nine questions here from around the league that we'll

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Speaker 2: be getting into. Today's show is brought to you by

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Speaker 2: and Virginia. First question Hey Jason, thank you for your

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Speaker 2: work From Sydney, Australia. Going into the next era, I

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Speaker 2: feel like things are taking shape in regards to the

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Speaker 2: power hierarchy.

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Speaker 1: In the league.

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Speaker 2: Yo Kitchen Wenby feels like it could be the new

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Speaker 2: Lebron Kobe Shay and the Thunder feel like the old

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Speaker 2: Tim Duncan and the Spurs. So my question is, if

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Speaker 2: you had to pick, which players of this or the

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Speaker 2: next generation are have a chance to go ringless, let's say,

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Speaker 2: from the twenty eighteen draft on and Luca, Trey Zion

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Speaker 2: or jaw. This is a really interesting question and it's

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Speaker 2: complicated because I don't think it necessarily has to do

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Speaker 2: with the player. Like, it's just really difficult to win

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Speaker 2: a championship. I mean we've seen, especially since Katie left

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Speaker 2: the Warriors, like it's teams that are winning, not stars.

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Speaker 2: It's like a different star every single year. I think

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Speaker 2: Jokich has been the best player in the world now

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Speaker 2: for three four years and he's only got one of them, right, Like,

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Speaker 2: it's very much a team construct that's winning the title.

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Speaker 2: And so as we kind of go through these players,

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Speaker 2: it has less to do with who they are as

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Speaker 2: a player. And more to do with what they're surrounding

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Speaker 2: circumstances are. So let's start with the I kind of

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Speaker 2: put them into like three groups here. So the first

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Speaker 2: group is Zion and Ja, and this is where it

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Speaker 2: gets more related to the player, because I would be

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Speaker 2: shocked if either Zion or Ja won a championship. The

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Speaker 2: reason why is like Zion is not close to as

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Speaker 2: good as the top guys, and he hasn't taken great

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Speaker 2: care of his body, so I feel like his window

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Speaker 2: is relatively short compared to some of these teams, some

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Speaker 2: of these stars, and the Pelicans are far far far

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Speaker 2: away from accomplishing anything. They've been one of the worst

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Speaker 2: teams in the league to start the season. Same with Jaw,

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Speaker 2: like he's trending in the wrong direction with his player development.

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Speaker 2: He's this small guard that falls down and gets hurt

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Speaker 2: a lot. So it feels like his window is relatively short.

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Speaker 2: And Memphis is worse than they were a couple of

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Speaker 2: years ago, and they don't have like some direct pathway

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Speaker 2: to contention that lies right in front of them. So

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Speaker 2: with that group, I think it's it seems pretty sick.

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Speaker 2: It seems like a long shot to me. I should

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Speaker 2: say for either of those two to win a championship.

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Speaker 2: The kind of middle tier here is Trey young, you know,

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Speaker 2: kind of older, a guy that could end up on

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Speaker 2: a bunch of different teams at any point in the future.

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Speaker 2: And what I thought about with Trey is if there's

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Speaker 2: somehow a shot that he gets paired with Yiannis, then yeah,

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Speaker 2: I feel like Trey and Yannis could win a title,

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Speaker 2: But that feels like a long shot to me. So really,

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Speaker 2: for Trey, it's so much comes down to which team

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Speaker 2: he ends up with in the long run. And Luca

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Speaker 2: is the really interesting group out of the names that

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Speaker 2: you mentioned. Both guys are young, Both guys should theoretically

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Speaker 2: have long championship windows in front of them, like the

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00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,399
Speaker 2: better part of a decade worth of championship contention in

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00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,879
Speaker 2: front of them. Both guys are in less than ideal situations.

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Speaker 2: I don't think the Lakers are a very well run organization,

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Speaker 2: so Luca will have to contend with that his entire

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Speaker 2: time in Los Angeles. Their front office has a convoluted

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Speaker 2: decision making process with some people that aren't necessarily basketball

410
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Speaker 2: experts making decisions, and they've demonstrated over the last decade

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Speaker 2: as a front office, they don't really have much in

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Speaker 2: the way of core basketball beliefs. Every summer they're doing

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Speaker 2: something different. They're indexing this way or that way, or

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Speaker 2: this way or that way. It's not like you see

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Speaker 2: with Indiana or Oklahoma City or Miami, where they just

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Speaker 2: seem to keep finding the same types of players. Golden

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Speaker 2: States like that as well. They have a culture, they

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Speaker 2: have an identity, they have a type of player they

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Speaker 2: look for. They keep finding those guys. They always seem

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Speaker 2: to fit into their system well, and they're able to

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Speaker 2: win with that interchangeability. The Lakers don't have that, And

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Speaker 2: then with Minnesota, they're in the awkward position of having

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Speaker 2: some of their core talent being older and on the downslope.

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Speaker 2: So the internal improvement of guys like Anton Jaden Jayden

425
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,639
Speaker 2: looks fantastic to start the year. Obviously Anthony Edwards is

426
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Speaker 2: going to continue to improve at his age, but that

427
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,520
Speaker 2: clashes with the downslope of guys like Rudy Gobert and

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Speaker 2: Mike Conley and who's going to be their secondary ball

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Speaker 2: handler in the long run. The clunkiness sometimes of the

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00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:55,199
Speaker 2: fit with Julius Randall. Although I'm higher on that than

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Speaker 2: I was last year, and the Wolves don't really have

432
00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:02,080
Speaker 2: a ton of draft like capital available to improve the team,

433
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,639
Speaker 2: So like both situations look less than ideal. If I

434
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:07,639
Speaker 2: had to guess which one of those guys is most

435
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,840
Speaker 2: likely to win, I'd say Luca, just because he's achieved

436
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:15,159
Speaker 2: the status of undeniable top tier superstar. He's shown the

437
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,280
Speaker 2: ability to get closer to the goal. He got three

438
00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:19,480
Speaker 2: wins away from the title and it's never gotten any

439
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 2: closer than seven wins away from the title, And in general,

440
00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,480
Speaker 2: I kind of gravitate towards Luca's archetype a little bit

441
00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,359
Speaker 2: more that said, I think there's a version of this

442
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,119
Speaker 2: where both guys win, and I think there's a version

443
00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:33,680
Speaker 2: of this where both guys don't, because sometimes that's how

444
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,080
Speaker 2: this goes. Sometimes you the opportunities slip, and all of

445
00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:39,480
Speaker 2: a sudden you're a little older and not quite as good,

446
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,239
Speaker 2: and then you can't uplift rosters the way you used to.

447
00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:44,600
Speaker 2: And you know, it does happen. It does happen in

448
00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:46,880
Speaker 2: NBA history. But great question, though I enjoyed that one.

449
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,879
Speaker 2: How would you assess Ayton's defense so far? Will he

450
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,199
Speaker 2: be the rim protector the Lakers need based on his

451
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,440
Speaker 2: performances this season. So let's dig into this a little bit.

452
00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:58,879
Speaker 2: First of all, team wide, the Lakers have been a

453
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,000
Speaker 2: little better on defense than you think. They've avoided the

454
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,439
Speaker 2: bottom ten and they are twelve in points in the

455
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,320
Speaker 2: paint allowed. But to be clear, a good portion of

456
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:09,399
Speaker 2: that is when Ayton's off the floor. The defense has

457
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,959
Speaker 2: been pretty bad when Ayton's been on the floor this year.

458
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,960
Speaker 2: They have over a one to twenty defensive rating with

459
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,199
Speaker 2: Ayton on the floor, according to Cleaning the Glass, that

460
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,359
Speaker 2: goes down to one oh seven when he's off the floor.

461
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,560
Speaker 2: That said, I don't think it's as simple as just

462
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,400
Speaker 2: the statistics. I think the foundational skills are there. We're

463
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:32,800
Speaker 2: seeing a lot of just his size and athleticism make

464
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 2: impact on defense, blocks, deflections, just a big body around

465
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,400
Speaker 2: the rim. We're seeing a lot of the upside. He's

466
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,120
Speaker 2: run the floor really well. I think that's been his strength.

467
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,399
Speaker 2: But there's been downsides too, like he's had a propensity

468
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,000
Speaker 2: to commit fouls where he doesn't quite get into positions

469
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,200
Speaker 2: soon enough. There have been some off ball sequences where

470
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:55,600
Speaker 2: he has, you know, just been a little bit too

471
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,000
Speaker 2: glued up to his man because of a switch, and

472
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,280
Speaker 2: he's not offering help at the rim that weighed he's

473
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 2: capable of. He hasn't been covering for his teammates as

474
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:08,119
Speaker 2: much with anticipatory like peeling off and helping at the rim.

475
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,159
Speaker 2: There's been just a little bit of that lack of

476
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,320
Speaker 2: like refined defense from him to start the year. But

477
00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:17,760
Speaker 2: I actually look at that as like an area of

478
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,040
Speaker 2: opportunity that the Lakers should be able to help him with.

479
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,560
Speaker 2: Like I think you couldn't conceptualize of a better player

480
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,000
Speaker 2: to anchor behind Ayton to help him with his decision

481
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,879
Speaker 2: making and his read and react play on defense than Lebron.

482
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:31,400
Speaker 1: James.

483
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,520
Speaker 2: Lebron is the kind of guy that's going to help

484
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,320
Speaker 2: right behind him to communicate actions, help him see what's

485
00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,320
Speaker 2: coming before it gets there. Help you know, yell at

486
00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:42,679
Speaker 2: him to get up higher, to get down lower, to

487
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,480
Speaker 2: do this or to do that. He's going to be

488
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,840
Speaker 2: the brains behind Aten's bronze, so to speak. Connecting his

489
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 2: physical talents with having a high IQ anchor behind him.

490
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,160
Speaker 2: I think it's something that has a lot of potential

491
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,240
Speaker 2: to be better. To be clear, I think the eight

492
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,800
Speaker 2: and experiment has been a resounding success so far. He's

493
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,040
Speaker 2: been so good on offense. His scoring on the role

494
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,400
Speaker 2: has been vital to this offense in the early year.

495
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,960
Speaker 2: They do not win those games without Luca without having

496
00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,360
Speaker 2: a legitimate screen and role partner with Austin that can

497
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 2: really make teams pay for keying in on Austin. I

498
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,800
Speaker 2: think it's been a resounding success. I'm just saying the

499
00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:23,480
Speaker 2: defensive end has been more like highlight good than statistically good,

500
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,160
Speaker 2: and I think connecting those two is going to be having.

501
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 2: What will help connect those two is having higher IQ

502
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,200
Speaker 2: defenders on the floor like Lebron. Even having Luca back

503
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:34,680
Speaker 2: that can help him kind of get to a higher

504
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,719
Speaker 2: level on that side of the floor. Jason, what are

505
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:39,879
Speaker 2: your thoughts on the rockets last two wins since the

506
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,959
Speaker 2: zero to two start. I'm a Rockets fan and I've

507
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 2: seen some great signs of this team potentially being a

508
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,560
Speaker 2: high scoring offense, while some concerns with the defense, but

509
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,440
Speaker 2: I think that will be resolved when Story and Finney

510
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 2: Smith comes back. Another question I have is who, in

511
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 2: your eyes, is a realistic guard option the Rockets can

512
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,480
Speaker 2: obtain after December fifteenth. Derek White is the dream fit,

513
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,280
Speaker 2: but not realistic. I've heard Drew Holliday and Kobe White

514
00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:01,399
Speaker 2: as some names, but I think CJ McCollum is the

515
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 2: most realistic. With Houston's cap situation, He's on a lottery

516
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,760
Speaker 2: team with the potential of being bought out. And while

517
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:08,760
Speaker 2: CJ may not be a positive defender or the most

518
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,040
Speaker 2: athletic player, I believe you can provide the ball handling

519
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,159
Speaker 2: and playmaking aspect and the shooting shot making ability that

520
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 2: can fill the void of what this team needs with

521
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,119
Speaker 2: Van Vliet being out. When acquiring CJ moved the needle

522
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 2: for you at all. For Houston and your contender rankings.

523
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:23,720
Speaker 2: Thank you for your great basketball analysis and all the

524
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:25,360
Speaker 2: hard work that you provide in all your content. Thank

525
00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,560
Speaker 2: you so much for supporting the show. I agree with

526
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:30,760
Speaker 2: your kind of early assessment in the sense that they've

527
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,520
Speaker 2: been better on offense than I expected in terms of

528
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 2: just having some really high level initiators that kind of

529
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,639
Speaker 2: counteracts a lot of the issues with their spacing. Also,

530
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,560
Speaker 2: all three of those guys have a little bit of

531
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,320
Speaker 2: like a resilience against spacing concerns. A men, Thompson is

532
00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 2: so good at just kind of popping off the ground

533
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,040
Speaker 2: in the short range and shooting little floaters in short

534
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,000
Speaker 2: jump shots over the tops of rim protectors. Kevin Durant

535
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,240
Speaker 2: obviously the best jump one of the best jump shooters

536
00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,560
Speaker 2: in the league in recent history, albern Jhangun and ability

537
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,880
Speaker 2: to hit little hook shots over his left shoulder. They

538
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,080
Speaker 2: have more resilience to spacing than I thought. And I've

539
00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:08,800
Speaker 2: been a little underwhelmed with the defense in the sense

540
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,919
Speaker 2: that their lack of foot speed has obviously come to

541
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,240
Speaker 2: the forefront on certain occasions against faster teams. Right, So

542
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 2: I agree with your assessment there. To be honest, as

543
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,440
Speaker 2: far as their last two games go, Brooklyn and Toronto

544
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,960
Speaker 2: have both been really, really bad to start the year.

545
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:23,720
Speaker 2: So it's kind of similar to what we talked about

546
00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,240
Speaker 2: with San Antonio. It's hard to really learn from those

547
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,560
Speaker 2: matchups as far as the guards that you're talking about, Like,

548
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 2: I don't think it's off the table for Houston to

549
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,120
Speaker 2: trade for a bigger name, And I think a lot

550
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,480
Speaker 2: of it's going to come to how they look over

551
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,159
Speaker 2: this larger sample, Like you're going to see over a

552
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,919
Speaker 2: larger sample, do they think that they're close and they

553
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 2: need a high level ball handler, or do they think

554
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,919
Speaker 2: that they're you know, really close, and they only need

555
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,400
Speaker 2: a mild upgrade that can sustain some of their long

556
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,439
Speaker 2: term flexibility without having to give up draft assets. Like

557
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,720
Speaker 2: those are the kinds of decisions they have to make, right.

558
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 2: A guy like CJ, for example, I think would be

559
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,199
Speaker 2: a great fit. He's a methodical skill guard, Houston has

560
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,719
Speaker 2: really good screeners that can help free him up, an

561
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,119
Speaker 2: excellent over the top shooter, an underrated passer in those situations.

562
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,840
Speaker 2: If you could get him on a veteran minimum contract

563
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 2: and a buyout, I mean, let's not overthink it, that

564
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 2: would be a really nice fit. But I think it

565
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,240
Speaker 2: depends on how much Houston feels they need a modest

566
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 2: upgrade versus a substantial upgrade. The problem with a guy

567
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 2: like Kobe White is he's going to be attached to

568
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,520
Speaker 2: a long term deal at the end of that. Guys

569
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 2: like Derek White same thing. You're matching a big salary.

570
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,080
Speaker 2: But my whole opinion on this is like, we just

571
00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:35,840
Speaker 2: need to see a lot more rockets basketball before we

572
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,160
Speaker 2: start really defining what type of player they need.

573
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:39,000
Speaker 1: So like, for instance, a.

574
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,600
Speaker 2: Guy like Derek White, he provides a lot of pull

575
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 2: up shooting, but not a lot of rim pressure, So

576
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,159
Speaker 2: I really want to see how much that specific dynamic.

577
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 2: What do they need more? Do they need a guy

578
00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:51,840
Speaker 2: who can get to the rim more, or do they

579
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,760
Speaker 2: need a guy who's a better pull up shooter. I

580
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:55,680
Speaker 2: just want to see more of that dynamic bear out

581
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 2: over the course of the season. Next question, I agree

582
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,200
Speaker 2: with your assessment of Lebron's value you However, I would

583
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,400
Speaker 2: love to see him in a Manugeen Nobly style role

584
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,240
Speaker 2: off the bench, reduce his minutes slightly to ensure he's

585
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,400
Speaker 2: fresh for the postseason, bolster the second unit offensively while

586
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,359
Speaker 2: making it even more dangerous defensively. He would still be

587
00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:14,880
Speaker 2: a closer, but I think that with Luca usually being

588
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,439
Speaker 2: in attack mode from the get go and matchups, that

589
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,800
Speaker 2: means Lebron is less needed at the start of a match.

590
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 2: Your thoughts, So, I look at Lebron as very much

591
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 2: a Swiss army knife, and I think it's very different

592
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,600
Speaker 2: than the dynamic when these guys all started playing together

593
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:29,440
Speaker 2: at the end of last season. I talked about this

594
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,600
Speaker 2: with Pete and Darius on the Laker Film Room podcast

595
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 2: last night. You guys can check that out on their feed.

596
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,639
Speaker 2: But we went heavy into this concept, the idea of

597
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 2: Lebron joining this team. And remember last year, Lebron was

598
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:45,760
Speaker 2: playing at one of the top levels in the league.

599
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 2: He was literally looking like a first team All NBA

600
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:52,200
Speaker 2: guy in that February March stretch before he got hurt.

601
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 2: And so adding Luca and Austin to that is complicated

602
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,880
Speaker 2: because Luca came in and didn't really want to step

603
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,240
Speaker 2: on Lebron's toes and it was clunky for they lost

604
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,240
Speaker 2: games to Utah and Charlotte as they were kind of

605
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,560
Speaker 2: feeling that transition out.

606
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:06,800
Speaker 1: This is very different.

607
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,960
Speaker 2: Luca and Austin are in full rhythm, and Lebron's coming

608
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,760
Speaker 2: back from sciatica and hasn't touched a basketball. It hasn't

609
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 2: played meaningful NBA basketball in a very long time. So

610
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,360
Speaker 2: like Lebron is going to very much ease his way

611
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,160
Speaker 2: into this situation. I look at him as a guy

612
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,560
Speaker 2: that can be really impactful off the ball. He's a

613
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 2: mid forties catch and shoot player, a great cutter, a

614
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 2: great short role player off of blitzz. He's going to

615
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,680
Speaker 2: be able to impact winning with the starting group. I

616
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:35,040
Speaker 2: don't see any reason to bring him off the bench

617
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 2: because the starters need him. Eight needs him as a

618
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,080
Speaker 2: defensive communicator. They're not a good defensive rebounding team. They

619
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,800
Speaker 2: need Lebron to help with defensive rebounding. Lebron is an

620
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,680
Speaker 2: additional offensive skill to help grease the wheels for that unit.

621
00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:48,320
Speaker 1: He's also forty one years old.

622
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:50,200
Speaker 2: You don't want him warning up, warming up for the game,

623
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:52,440
Speaker 2: and then immediately sitting on the bench. You want him

624
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,840
Speaker 2: playing with the starters. There are ways to accomplish lineups

625
00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 2: through staggering to achieve some of the stuff you're talking

626
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 2: about in terms of lineup bou and that's something they'll

627
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 2: figure out. But I would keep starting Lebron. I don't

628
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 2: see any reason not to do that. I think a

629
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:07,960
Speaker 2: lot of people are overthinking the Lebron thing. He's just

630
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,840
Speaker 2: gonna help them, Hi. Jason Detroit's had a decent start

631
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,040
Speaker 2: to the season, but the w against Orlando might have

632
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,000
Speaker 2: set off a catalyst to jumpstart our sluggish half court offense.

633
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,080
Speaker 2: Going back to using Kid in the post. In an

634
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,240
Speaker 2: episode last season, you mentioned how hyper efficient he is

635
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 2: with that baby hook shot, but it also cuts down

636
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,800
Speaker 2: on his turnovers compared to when he initiates from high

637
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,280
Speaker 2: pick and roll or a drag screen. Combine that with

638
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,240
Speaker 2: Duran's increased aggressiveness on dribble drives from the high post,

639
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,680
Speaker 2: and Nasar's increased ball handling responsibilities, we just might have

640
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,240
Speaker 2: enough aggregate ball handling slash initiation to craft an average

641
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:43,400
Speaker 2: offense until Ivy returns. My question is twofold, do you

642
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,760
Speaker 2: think this approach is sustainable? And how would you defend

643
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,360
Speaker 2: against kid and back downs, especially given that he's really

644
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,920
Speaker 2: the only true big point guard in the East. Thanks

645
00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,760
Speaker 2: as always for your content. So this is interesting. So

646
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:57,160
Speaker 2: Kate has been only getting zero point nine to one

647
00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,640
Speaker 2: points per possession and pick and roll including passes to

648
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,960
Speaker 2: start the year. That really is I kind of synthesize

649
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,160
Speaker 2: the issues that the Pistons are having to start this

650
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,600
Speaker 2: year down to two things. One kid hasn't been very good.

651
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,160
Speaker 2: He's shooting just twelve for thirty on twos in pick

652
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,440
Speaker 2: and roll, in large part because he's just five for

653
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,160
Speaker 2: seventeen on mid range jump shots, and he's just fifty

654
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,360
Speaker 2: three percent at the rim. You're right about him breaking

655
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,560
Speaker 2: out the post ups against Orlando. He hit a little

656
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,520
Speaker 2: left shoulder hook over Desmond Bay and he got another

657
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 2: one over Anthony Black but he's actually only run three

658
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,360
Speaker 2: post ups this entire season, so I'd like to see

659
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:33,600
Speaker 2: him increase his volume.

660
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:33,840
Speaker 1: There.

661
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,280
Speaker 2: You mentioned the turnovers, that's a good point. The turnover

662
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,360
Speaker 2: percentage when kid shoots out a pick and roll is

663
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:41,920
Speaker 2: like just shy of twenty percent. But like when you're

664
00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,640
Speaker 2: posting up, it's easier to protect the basketball in traffic

665
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,760
Speaker 2: because you have your back turn to the defense to

666
00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,200
Speaker 2: the defender. So that's an interesting kind of idea. I

667
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:51,680
Speaker 2: think Caid will be a better pick and role player

668
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,959
Speaker 2: in time. I just think he's not playing well. So

669
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 2: for me, it's more about just variety getting Kaid back

670
00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,880
Speaker 2: to form by adding variety. He needs more post ups

671
00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:01,640
Speaker 2: in his diet, just so that he's not doing the

672
00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,120
Speaker 2: same thing every single time down the floor. James Harden

673
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,840
Speaker 2: in twenty eighteen to twenty twenty. That's the case study.

674
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,640
Speaker 2: When you spam the exact same damn thing every single time,

675
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,240
Speaker 2: you make yourself easy to guard. You want to add variety.

676
00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:13,520
Speaker 1: Right.

677
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,520
Speaker 2: The biggest the second piece though, and this is arguably

678
00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 2: the most important piece. They're not getting out in transition

679
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,120
Speaker 2: the way they used to like this. They used to

680
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 2: be this big physical defense that they would ride to

681
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,960
Speaker 2: transition opportunities. They're still the same big, physical defense, but

682
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,720
Speaker 2: after being sixth and transition points per game last year,

683
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,680
Speaker 2: they're sitting at nineteenth this year. I also think that's

684
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,160
Speaker 2: on Cade. Your point guard drives your pace. We talked

685
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,960
Speaker 2: about this with Tyrese Haliburton last year. Caid needs to

686
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:39,600
Speaker 2: do a better job of getting them up the floor

687
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:44,040
Speaker 2: and transition faster. As for how to defend Caid post ups,

688
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:46,719
Speaker 2: to me, i'd force him over his right shoulder, especially

689
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,640
Speaker 2: when he like he likes to attack off the left block,

690
00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 2: so that he can get to his left shoulder in

691
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,160
Speaker 2: the middle of the lane for that little right hook

692
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,720
Speaker 2: over his left shoulder right. But if you can force

693
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,440
Speaker 2: him towards the baseline, the passing angles are harder, and

694
00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:59,440
Speaker 2: now he's shooting over his right shoulder, where he's either

695
00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:01,080
Speaker 2: gonna have to go to his left hand or a

696
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 2: fadeaway jump shot, which is going to be a lower percentage.

697
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,600
Speaker 2: That's how I would guard him there, but again, I

698
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:06,760
Speaker 2: just want to see him do it more.

699
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:08,520
Speaker 1: A couple more.

700
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,600
Speaker 2: Hey, Jason and Jackson, hope you're enjoying the season so far.

701
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:13,720
Speaker 2: Got a warrior's question. There's been a lot of debate

702
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 2: about whether the missing piece is a scoring guard or

703
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:18,280
Speaker 2: an athletic two way wing. In light of the start

704
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 2: to their season, could the missing piece actually be a

705
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,920
Speaker 2: regular season innings eter at center with Horford sideline? At times,

706
00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:26,080
Speaker 2: their depth at the five dwindles rather fast, and in

707
00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,080
Speaker 2: the five games, we've already seen how valuable it is

708
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,120
Speaker 2: to have bodies to hang in the west, not to

709
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,840
Speaker 2: mention the possibility of injuries. Could a consolidation trade involving

710
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,000
Speaker 2: some of the guards and maybe even some future picks

711
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:37,880
Speaker 2: be the right move?

712
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:39,400
Speaker 1: Thanks, So.

713
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:43,120
Speaker 2: This is one of those things where it's very easy

714
00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:45,160
Speaker 2: to tell yourself like, oh, we need this, we need that,

715
00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:47,280
Speaker 2: we need this, we need that, because every team has

716
00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:49,680
Speaker 2: three or four holes, and you're absolutely right that, Like,

717
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,560
Speaker 2: you know, I thought the Horford minutes last night were

718
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,480
Speaker 2: a classic example. We've talked about this before when you're

719
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,160
Speaker 2: an older player and you're not quite as locked in

720
00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,680
Speaker 2: and engaged because you're playing against a team that is

721
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:03,560
Speaker 2: siting their best player, and Giannis and Tanankompo, older players,

722
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:04,959
Speaker 2: when they let go of the rope a little bit,

723
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,480
Speaker 2: tend to look really bad. And the Warriors got rolled

724
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,000
Speaker 2: in the Horford minutes, and there have been times when

725
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,080
Speaker 2: you look at it and it's like, oh, Horford's out tonight.

726
00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 2: All of a sudden, there's a lot of Trace Jackson,

727
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,920
Speaker 2: Davis and Quinton Posts and it doesn't look very good right,

728
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:19,800
Speaker 2: And ideally you'd have a better backup center to fuel

729
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 2: that situation. My thing is, when it comes to expending assets,

730
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,680
Speaker 2: you want to expend assets on players that are going

731
00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:29,239
Speaker 2: to play a serious role in your rotation. And when

732
00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:32,400
Speaker 2: I look at the playoff rotation, at the center position,

733
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:34,920
Speaker 2: there's gonna be a lot of Horford, There's gonna be

734
00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:37,279
Speaker 2: a lot of Draymond. There might be a little bit

735
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:39,759
Speaker 2: of room because you're gonna have Draymond at five a

736
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:42,000
Speaker 2: lot of the time and the Horford at the five

737
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,480
Speaker 2: alongside Draymond or Horford at the five by himself a

738
00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 2: lot of the time. There's not a huge opportunity for

739
00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 2: minutes there at the center position. However, swing forward, two, three, four,

740
00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,080
Speaker 2: there are gonna be potentially some opportunities there for an

741
00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,800
Speaker 2: upgrade over the course of the of a playoff run.

742
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,160
Speaker 2: Minutes that are available, that's where it makes sense to spend,

743
00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:06,560
Speaker 2: whether it's for scoring guard or for a versatal forward.

744
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,480
Speaker 2: You know, anywhere from that two to that four. It

745
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:12,080
Speaker 2: doesn't matter which guy you go with. There there's minutes

746
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,799
Speaker 2: available in the playoff rotation. So like, yeah, ideally, in

747
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:17,279
Speaker 2: a perfect world you'd have a big beast of a

748
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,480
Speaker 2: center that you can ride for stretches of the regular season.

749
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,279
Speaker 2: And if you can get that sort of thing on

750
00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:25,480
Speaker 2: the cheap, sure, but if it's going to be expending assets,

751
00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:27,680
Speaker 2: I would spend it on more of a perimeter upgrade.

752
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:30,799
Speaker 2: Next question, if you've seen the book written on the

753
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:34,240
Speaker 2: drama within the Lakers, they seem so incompetent and entitled

754
00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:36,720
Speaker 2: compared to smartpront offices like the Warriors and Celts.

755
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 1: Love the show. Thank you for supporting the show.

756
00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:42,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, so this you're referencing the book A Hollywood Ending

757
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,760
Speaker 2: by Yarren Weizman. I've read it this summer. I highly

758
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:46,800
Speaker 2: recommended if you're a Lakers fan. If you're a Lakers

759
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,719
Speaker 2: fan is rooted for the team over the Lebron era,

760
00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:52,560
Speaker 2: it's basically just like a behind the scenes history of

761
00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,000
Speaker 2: that entire era, and it's kind of a trip down

762
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 2: memory lane and both a good way and a bad way.

763
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:58,920
Speaker 2: You're going to be frustrated at times, You're going to

764
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:00,879
Speaker 2: be excited at times. It just was fun as someone

765
00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:03,160
Speaker 2: who rooted for that team to go read that book.

766
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:05,799
Speaker 2: I highly recommend that you guys go check that out.

767
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,840
Speaker 2: It's a Hollywood ending by Jarn Weizman that said, the

768
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,279
Speaker 2: specific points you're making about the front offices, that is

769
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 2: the frustrating part. Is like you watch these teams like

770
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,640
Speaker 2: the Warriors, the Celtics, the thunder, the Pacers, these teams

771
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:21,400
Speaker 2: that have like really strong basketball culture. Cleveland is another

772
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:23,320
Speaker 2: team that I would include in that mix. There's several

773
00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:26,799
Speaker 2: of them around the league. But there's this idea where

774
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,280
Speaker 2: it's like basketball experts are in charge. There's a clear

775
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,000
Speaker 2: basketball identity that comes from the top down that continues

776
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,320
Speaker 2: to percolate down into even the end of the bench,

777
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:38,520
Speaker 2: guys in the rotation. There's a culture that is strong

778
00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:41,040
Speaker 2: there that doesn't exist with the Lakers, in large part

779
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:45,759
Speaker 2: because it's been a very parochial, family based small business

780
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,880
Speaker 2: where you know, the decision making process is convoluted and

781
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,640
Speaker 2: there are people that don't dedicate their lives to basketball

782
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:56,759
Speaker 2: that are making decisions for them. It just it's discouraging

783
00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,520
Speaker 2: and it's you know, part of life as a Lakers fan.

784
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:02,600
Speaker 2: I know that you consider Jokic is the greatest offensive

785
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:04,680
Speaker 2: player of all time and Steph as the second, with

786
00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:07,239
Speaker 2: your main winning point being for Jokic that he takes

787
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:10,120
Speaker 2: more short range shots, which are less affected by shot variants.

788
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,040
Speaker 2: You consider both their gravity to be similar, but I

789
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 2: think Steph's gravity creates more spacing near the baskets. There

790
00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,040
Speaker 2: are multiple defenders running after him at the three point line,

791
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:21,880
Speaker 2: hence creating more short range shots which are less affected

792
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,360
Speaker 2: by shot variants. I know a lot of Jokic's playmaking

793
00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,239
Speaker 2: also leads to cut straight to the basket, but he

794
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,680
Speaker 2: is still occupying that space inside the three point line,

795
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,360
Speaker 2: which allows help to recover. At times, it leads to

796
00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:34,400
Speaker 2: cycle passes to open threes, which is still a great shot,

797
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,759
Speaker 2: but like you said, high variance. Another underrated thing about

798
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:39,759
Speaker 2: Steph's offense, which I don't know if you've considered, is

799
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,040
Speaker 2: how much he wears down defenders. Last year in the

800
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:44,400
Speaker 2: playoffs and men Thompson, who's considered maybe the best athlete

801
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:46,200
Speaker 2: in the league, was gassed by the end of the series,

802
00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:48,319
Speaker 2: pulled his calf, I think, which also leads to him

803
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:50,839
Speaker 2: being worse on offense. I've really been enjoying the show.

804
00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,000
Speaker 2: Thank you for supporting the show. Interesting kind of breakdown

805
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:54,239
Speaker 2: of your point of view there. I think there are

806
00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:55,520
Speaker 2: a couple things that I disagree with.

807
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:55,759
Speaker 1: One.

808
00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,360
Speaker 2: One of the pieces with Jokic's gravity is he pulls

809
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 2: centers away from the basket, so he removes rim protection

810
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,440
Speaker 2: from the equation. That's why they get so many cuts

811
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:06,399
Speaker 2: and so in a lot of ways like he does

812
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:08,759
Speaker 2: generate a lot of those easier twos. I think the

813
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,960
Speaker 2: biggest thing that I disagree with you about is when

814
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,560
Speaker 2: I'm discussing the short range shot making, it's in the

815
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:15,920
Speaker 2: context of elite defense.

816
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:17,280
Speaker 1: So yeah, if Steph.

817
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,440
Speaker 2: Runs around, he's gonna have sequences where he draws two

818
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:22,560
Speaker 2: with his classic gravity and a guy gets wide open

819
00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:24,680
Speaker 2: for a layup, and they're gonna be plays with Jokic

820
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:28,480
Speaker 2: where he looks at one guy like Jamal Murray's backscreening

821
00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,200
Speaker 2: for Christian Brown and getting ready to come off of

822
00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:32,440
Speaker 2: a handoff, and he looks at Jamal Murray and the

823
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:34,520
Speaker 2: defense goes with Jamal and he pitches the ball to

824
00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:37,040
Speaker 2: Christian Brown for a wide open layup, and that looks

825
00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,359
Speaker 2: beautiful and it makes highlights. These are things that help

826
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,000
Speaker 2: carry Stephan Jokic's offense over the course of the season.

827
00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:44,000
Speaker 2: Here's the thing, though, you end up in a big

828
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,839
Speaker 2: game late, you're playing against a great defense. They don't

829
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:50,440
Speaker 2: fuck up, they don't botch the switches, they stay attached,

830
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,239
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, it becomes about your guy

831
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:56,120
Speaker 2: having to get a bucket. And that is where Yokic

832
00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:58,799
Speaker 2: has the advantage. He can get five to ten feet

833
00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,920
Speaker 2: from the basket and can get to left shoulder, right

834
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:04,919
Speaker 2: shoulder moves that he can hit at like sixty five

835
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:08,880
Speaker 2: sometimes even close to seventy percent. That's the specific dynamic

836
00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,440
Speaker 2: that Jokic has presented that has made me view him

837
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,960
Speaker 2: as the greatest offensive player that I've ever seen. He

838
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:19,000
Speaker 2: is this guy that generates countless wide open threes, countless

839
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:23,560
Speaker 2: wide open buckets underneath the basket, countless kick ahead opportunities.

840
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:25,560
Speaker 2: Jokic is one of the best transition passers in the

841
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,920
Speaker 2: league while also being this post up threat that has

842
00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:32,120
Speaker 2: a score percentage possession of possession that is much higher

843
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,439
Speaker 2: than most of the perimeter based stars, including Lebron over

844
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:39,879
Speaker 2: the course of NBA history. All Right, two more quick

845
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,520
Speaker 2: ones with the Sixers backcourt of Maxi and Edgecombe setting

846
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,000
Speaker 2: the league on fire to start the year. How does

847
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,880
Speaker 2: that change what the Sixers do with Embiid and Paul George.

848
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,600
Speaker 2: The speed and athleticism of the backcourt seems to clash

849
00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:53,640
Speaker 2: with the more slow and methodical style of Embiid In

850
00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:56,799
Speaker 2: Paul George, let alone their injury concerns. Both players value

851
00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:58,480
Speaker 2: seems like it's currently in the tank right now, and

852
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,640
Speaker 2: it is a small sample size for it. Who may

853
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:02,399
Speaker 2: not be putting up twenty a night the whole year.

854
00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:04,799
Speaker 2: But does this make the Sixers consider finding a way

855
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:07,080
Speaker 2: to move on from their two highly paid veteran stars

856
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:10,840
Speaker 2: and lean fully into rebuilding and retooling around their young backcourt?

857
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:11,439
Speaker 1: Love the show?

858
00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,560
Speaker 2: So it's complicated because who you trading Embiid and Paul

859
00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:19,799
Speaker 2: George too? They both make so much money and both

860
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:24,640
Speaker 2: have looked quite frankly physically decrepit right now. My thing is,

861
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,360
Speaker 2: I look at it as more of an upside Like

862
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:29,239
Speaker 2: it's like whatever you get from Embiid is gravy in

863
00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:31,399
Speaker 2: the sense that like you've got all these talented young

864
00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:35,360
Speaker 2: players you play in this super fun style. Look with Embiid,

865
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,160
Speaker 2: he's still finding opportunities to score the basketball in his

866
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:41,480
Speaker 2: face ups, he's providing like a pick and pop threat

867
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:43,480
Speaker 2: with Tyree s Maxy, I think there's a lot of

868
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:46,920
Speaker 2: a potential for Embiid to eventually find a way to

869
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:51,200
Speaker 2: contribute through his talent. Paul George will see again, he

870
00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,640
Speaker 2: occupies a massive salary slot, but there are a lot

871
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:55,880
Speaker 2: of these minutes going to guys like Jabari Walker and

872
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,800
Speaker 2: Dominique Barlow who are playing super hard and they're athletic

873
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,479
Speaker 2: and they're doing things. But Paul George, if he comes

874
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,520
Speaker 2: in for a couple shifts here and there and can

875
00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:05,600
Speaker 2: hit some threes and run some second side action, I

876
00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:07,879
Speaker 2: think he can add some value too. I look at

877
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:09,959
Speaker 2: it very simply like you're not going to be able

878
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,120
Speaker 2: to trade them. So if you're not going to be

879
00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:14,239
Speaker 2: able to trade them, you kind of just have to

880
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:16,359
Speaker 2: try to find roles with them on this team. And

881
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,840
Speaker 2: they're so talented still even at their old age, that

882
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:23,000
Speaker 2: I think in smaller roles, under the guise of minute

883
00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:25,880
Speaker 2: limits and load management, you can find a way for

884
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:29,280
Speaker 2: them to impact winning for you on your team. Last question,

885
00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:32,680
Speaker 2: in your opinion, what will it take production wise and

886
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:36,320
Speaker 2: team record wise? For Wemby to capture MVP this year. Really,

887
00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:38,680
Speaker 2: the production he's at right now is more than enough.

888
00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:43,600
Speaker 2: Him averaging over six stocks per game and being a

889
00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:47,320
Speaker 2: dominant defensive rebounder and averaging close to thirty that's plenty.

890
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:49,920
Speaker 2: The main thing is going to be the team's record.

891
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:52,560
Speaker 2: They're already off to such a great start five and zero.

892
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:54,919
Speaker 2: To me, it's like if they if the Spurs get

893
00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:58,480
Speaker 2: that like three seed or the two seed, I think

894
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:01,160
Speaker 2: he has to be MVP because the other MVP candidates

895
00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:04,400
Speaker 2: are all playing with substantially more talent relative to that

896
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,760
Speaker 2: MVP conversation. But I think he's on track. The Spurs

897
00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:09,720
Speaker 2: look a lot better with their defense and their rebounding

898
00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:11,759
Speaker 2: and their transition attack than I expected them too, so

899
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:12,880
Speaker 2: I do think it's on the table.

900
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:13,719
Speaker 1: All right, guys.

901
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:15,760
Speaker 2: It's all I have for today is always sincerely appreciate

902
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:17,719
Speaker 2: you guys for supporting us and supporting the show.

903
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:20,600
Speaker 1: We will be back on Monday. I will see you

904
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:20,920
Speaker 1: guys that