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Speaker 1: The Volume. Hi everybody, and welcome into the Monday Morning podcast.

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Speaker 1: Jason Timpf and I Jason podcaster hoops tonight at the Volume.

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Speaker 1: Will join us in about ten minutes. So the big

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Speaker 1: NFL news on Sunday afternoon that broke the Baltimore Ravens

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Speaker 1: paid fifteen million guaranteed potentially eighteen million for Odell Beckham Junior,

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Speaker 1: which is possibly double his value on the market. Just

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Speaker 1: to give you a sense, Alan Lazard got twenty two

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Speaker 1: million guaranteed and that's for four years with the Jets,

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Speaker 1: So Obj's getting fifteen million guaranteed for one year with

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Speaker 1: the Ravens. I texted two executives in the NFL and

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Speaker 1: they said, man, what is it with the Ravens and

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Speaker 1: old wide receivers? Odell Beckham this year, Nelson Aguilar this year,

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Speaker 1: to Shaun Jackson last year. They have their declining wide

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Speaker 1: receiver talent in Baltimore. But years and years ago I

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Speaker 1: got into a discussion, may have been about ten years

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Speaker 1: ago with an NFL executive and we were talking about

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Speaker 1: free agency and there's a pretty high bust rate and

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Speaker 1: he believed that there were certain positions that were safer

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Speaker 1: with free agent signings, non ego positions. You know what

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Speaker 1: a guy does, the money's not going to affect him.

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Speaker 1: You know, the recruiting's not going to affect him. But

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Speaker 1: he had said about ten years ago, he said, I

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Speaker 1: always worry about wide receivers. He said, it's an ego

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Speaker 1: position to begin with. You're the first to break the huddle.

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Speaker 1: You know, you're the star wide receiver playing by yourself

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Speaker 1: on the outside. You know, even a quarterback is reliant

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Speaker 1: on a blocking back and his left tackle on his

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Speaker 1: offensive line, and his offensive coordinator call plays. You know

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Speaker 1: a lot of times the receiver goes out wide to

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Speaker 1: jump ball, it's me against you. It's an ego position

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Speaker 1: and cornerback similarity, because you're gonna get burned all the

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Speaker 1: time in the NFL, even if you're a top corner.

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Speaker 1: You've got to have a healthy sense of self and

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Speaker 1: you know, a pretty good shield around you. And so

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Speaker 1: this executive said, I worry about getting receivers into bidding wars. Now,

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Speaker 1: obviously there are some guys like Cooper cup or Larry

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Speaker 1: Fitzgerald Julio Jones have like a workman like approach. But

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Speaker 1: OBJ loves OBJ and he's dramatic he loves the attention,

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Speaker 1: and now you just overpaid him by about half. If

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Speaker 1: you look at what Amari Cooper produces on an annual basis, A,

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Speaker 1: he's always available. B. Last year, you have like nine touchdowns.

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Speaker 1: Highly productive. He makes twenty million a year. OBJ is

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Speaker 1: not close to that. He's brittle. He's descending as a talent.

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Speaker 1: You're going to get drama. I would love to have

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Speaker 1: him as a two or three receiver. But if you're

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Speaker 1: paying somebody fifteen large per year on that team, that's

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Speaker 1: is a number one. It does tell me that Lamar

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Speaker 1: Jackson's probably returning to Baltimore. That will obviously make him

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Speaker 1: very happy. And I got nothing against ob J, but

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Speaker 1: you start bidding wars are overpaying for certain positions. I mean,

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Speaker 1: we think of quarterback as sort of a mature coach

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Speaker 1: on the field position. Look what the big money he's

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Speaker 1: done to Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers. I mean, like Aaron

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Speaker 1: Rodgers decided I'm not going to really care about football

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Speaker 1: as much in March after the big contract. So that's

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Speaker 1: with quarterbacks. I just I think they wildly overpaid for him.

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Speaker 1: Now they may look at it and say, we got

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Speaker 1: Joe Burrow in this division, Deshaun Watson coming back year

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Speaker 1: two with good weapons. Pittsburgh always has weapons, and Kenny

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Speaker 1: Pickett look good. At the end of last year. We

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Speaker 1: got to load up and get some playmakers here. But

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Speaker 1: you know, Baltimore has had a kind of a turbulent,

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Speaker 1: dubious track record of wide receiver acquisitions. Marquis Brown, we

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Speaker 1: thought he was Lamar Jackson's best friend, and he left

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Speaker 1: for Arizona. But the last couple of years, Nelson Aguilard,

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Speaker 1: DeShawn Jackson, OBJ at fifty million guaranteed. Andy Isabella not great,

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Speaker 1: not great at all. Happy for OBJ the league. Zoe

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Speaker 1: was more fun when he's in it. But that number

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Speaker 1: is a crazy number, double what the people I know

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Speaker 1: in the league think he's worth. A declining, brittle wide receiver. Well,

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Speaker 1: it was a weird contrast at the Masters this weekend

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Speaker 1: to see Tiger Woods withdraw and limping in the rain

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Speaker 1: and fifty two year old Phil Mickelson tie for second

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Speaker 1: place with brooks Kepka, the oldest golfer ever to attain

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Speaker 1: that feat sixty five on Sunday. You know, in his career,

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Speaker 1: which has always been greater than people want to recognize

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Speaker 1: because he's polarizing, but seven hundred weeks in the top ten,

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Speaker 1: forty five event wins. His highs were never as high

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Speaker 1: as Tiger Woods, but his lows haven't been as low.

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Speaker 1: And you know, he took the money with live golf.

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Speaker 1: I've said before I don't think I would have, but

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Speaker 1: I'm never going to tell anybody what to do with

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Speaker 1: money when it's gigantic it's over one hundred million, and

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Speaker 1: feels always loved money. But I think because he's been

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Speaker 1: outspoken the gambling, he's known as sort of cocky among

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Speaker 1: the players that for a lot of people he's really

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Speaker 1: hard to embrace. I strongly recommend reading the book Phil

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Speaker 1: by Alan Schipnuck. Great book, and it tells he was

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Speaker 1: a party boy, a bad boy, funny, outspoken, uber, confident,

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Speaker 1: twenty five consecutive years in the top fifty. And you

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Speaker 1: know I've said this years ago. Would you rather have

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Speaker 1: Tiger Woods meteoric career for ten years and then the

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Speaker 1: mess that followed, the near death in a car wreck,

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Speaker 1: the ugly divorce, or would you rather have Phil Mickelson,

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Speaker 1: who at fifty two can on any weekend play amongst

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Speaker 1: the greatest golfers, and I think, you know, we tend

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Speaker 1: to look in terms of, you know how many majors.

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Speaker 1: But Tiger's career has been really, for the most part

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Speaker 1: the last six to seven years, incredibly sad, a huge downer,

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Speaker 1: and I'm a big Tiger fan. You know. It's the

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Speaker 1: Michael Jordan Lebron comparison is that, you know, Michael at

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Speaker 1: his height dominated the sport for like eight years. But

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Speaker 1: Lebron over the course of his career has been better,

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Speaker 1: much longer than Michael Jordan. And Lebron's got fewer championships

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Speaker 1: than Michael Jordan. But I would take arguably Lebron's career

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Speaker 1: over Michael Joy. Tiger's career from about eighteen years old

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Speaker 1: to thirty, it's the greatest golf career of all time,

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Speaker 1: but it has not aged well at all. You know,

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Speaker 1: Phil Mickelson's had controversy. Look at him, fifty two years old.

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Speaker 1: His weight fluctuates, his golf game occasionally does. Few golf

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Speaker 1: careers greater than Phil Michelson. One of the only guys

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Speaker 1: left that gets me to a TV. The NBA playoffs

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Speaker 1: Last minute ticket deals, lowest prices guaranteed. Colin, How are

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Speaker 1: you doing well After watching Rudy Gobert, who couldn't get

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Speaker 1: along with Donovan Mitchell in Utah, blow up with Kyle

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Speaker 1: Anderson in Minnesota on the eve of the Laker playing

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Speaker 1: game I thought, what a break. But the Lakers. Lakers

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Speaker 1: have the best harmony of the year. They're all getting

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Speaker 1: along great. They have real defined offense. You know, I'm

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Speaker 1: watching them flying back from I went skiing for a

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Speaker 1: couple of days and so I gotta watch, you know,

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Speaker 1: the Laker game flying back, and they really, I mean

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Speaker 1: they really now know where to go offensively. They've kind

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Speaker 1: of figured out what they are and now Lebron played

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Speaker 1: really really exceptionally well. But considering they threw this thing

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Speaker 1: together at the trade deadline, Darvin Ham obviously makes them

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Speaker 1: a good defensive team, right, but I think they're offensive

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Speaker 1: unity and chemistry and harmony. Watching them today, they kind

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Speaker 1: of know who should take the shots, you know, if

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Speaker 1: Beasley gives you anything in the playing game or the postseason.

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Speaker 1: And Minnesota's fighting, so that's not gonna play well. And

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Speaker 1: Goldbearers just a difficult guy. So I just thought, you know,

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Speaker 1: sometimes the touch of luck, and I felt like, what

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Speaker 1: a break for the Lakers in Minnesota's in fighting. Perfect

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Speaker 1: It even goes further than that calling, because I think

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Speaker 1: Jaden McDaniels might very well be the best perimeter defender

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Speaker 1: in all of basketball right now. There's two guys in

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Speaker 1: the NBA that are leaving a body count around the league,

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Speaker 1: just locking down superstars on any given night, and it's

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Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks and Jade McDaniels. Those are the two guys

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Speaker 1: that have been having the most success. And Jade McDaniels

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Speaker 1: punched the wall on his way into the locker room

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Speaker 1: at halftime and he broke his hand. It's gonna be out.

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Speaker 1: So here's the thing, Like, it's a up in the air,

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Speaker 1: single elimination stuff, well not single elimination, but a one

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Speaker 1: game sample. So obviously anything can happen. But I want

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Speaker 1: to proceed here under the assumption that the Lakers went

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Speaker 1: on Tuesday or seven point favorite. Obviously I understand the

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Speaker 1: reality that they could lose. This is a really good

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Speaker 1: basketball team eighteen and eight post deadline, that the second

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Speaker 1: best record in the league over that span, second and

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Speaker 1: defense fourth and rebounding, So they're physically mauling teams and

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Speaker 1: they did most of that without Lebron. They're nine in

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Speaker 1: two since Lebron joined the team. My one concern with

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Speaker 1: the Lakers right now, and this is just a byproduct

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Speaker 1: of the way things kind of broke down down the stretch.

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Speaker 1: Is for their last five games, they played against really

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Speaker 1: bad teams, and that tends to kind of breed some

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Speaker 1: bad habits. So I wouldn't be surprised if Minnesota got

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Speaker 1: off to a good start in that playing game, just

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Speaker 1: because they're a little more locked in on those details.

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Speaker 1: But I'm really intrigued with this Memphis matchup, and we're

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Speaker 1: going to talk Golden Satan a little bit, but because

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Speaker 1: I actually think that kind of dodged a bullet here. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but this Laker matchup matches it makes a lot of

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Speaker 1: sense for the Lakers on a couple of different levels.

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Speaker 1: The Memphis Grizzlies are a team that play a lot

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Speaker 1: of guys that typically don't shoot very well, right, John Morant,

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Speaker 1: you can go underneath screens. Dylan Brooks has been shooting

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Speaker 1: well for a couple of weeks, but he's a guy

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Speaker 1: that I guarantee you Darvin Ham's gonna dare to shoot.

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Speaker 1: And then obviously in the front court with Steven Adams out,

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Speaker 1: with Brandon Clark out, yeah, you're gonna be looking at

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Speaker 1: Xavier Tillman or Jared Jackson there. The Darvenham loves to

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Speaker 1: dare people to shoot. And I think this is a

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Speaker 1: series that actually bodes well for the Lakers there. And

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Speaker 1: then on the other end of the floor, who is

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Speaker 1: the best surgical matchup hunting player and probably the history

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Speaker 1: of the NBA, Lebron James. And so he's gonna be

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Speaker 1: calling up John Morant to every single conceivable action. He's

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Speaker 1: gonna be get doing everything in his power to get

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Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks off of him or to get Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: into favorable matchups. And obviously there's a long road ahead.

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Speaker 1: If they win, I think they're gonna face the Warriors

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Speaker 1: in round two. If they win that, there's a very

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Speaker 1: good chance they're gonna play Phoenix in round three. If

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Speaker 1: they win that, there's a very good chance you're gonna

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Speaker 1: get Boston or Milwaukee at the end of that. So

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Speaker 1: it's a very long road. It's a lot to put

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Speaker 1: on Lebron James and Anthony Davis physically. But here's the deal.

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Speaker 1: You made it to the playoffs, ish, and you're probably

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Speaker 1: going to be a slight favorite in round one. I'd

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Speaker 1: call that a resounding victory compared to where we were

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Speaker 1: before the deadline. Well, the other thing is Memphis isn't Cleveland,

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Speaker 1: Young or Okac or Houston young, but Steven Adams is

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Speaker 1: one of the few guys with some playoff experience and

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Speaker 1: he's out. So Memphis is fairly young. And I always

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Speaker 1: felt this year that you know, they're one of those

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Speaker 1: teams built for the regular season because they play hard

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Speaker 1: and they have depth, and you can win a lot

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Speaker 1: of games in this league off playin hard and having

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Speaker 1: ten guys that doesn't matter nearly as much. So now

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Speaker 1: they get smaller without Steven Adams plays right into Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis's hands, and he's had the best two week stretch

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Speaker 1: arguably since he's been a Laker. If you take out

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Speaker 1: the bubble, he's been completely dominating. Again. He didn't play

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Speaker 1: particularly well today in terms of total points, but down

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Speaker 1: the stretch he had a couple of key baskets. So

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Speaker 1: I think you get a Memphis team that's smaller, had injuries, young,

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Speaker 1: and let's be honest, the jammer Ant stuff still not great.

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Speaker 1: So if you say to me, okay, there's a team

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs that could be a little volatile of

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Speaker 1: all of them, and I'd be like Clippers because of Kauai.

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Speaker 1: You never know if he's gonna play Westbrook. They had

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Speaker 1: a fight on their bench. So like Clippers feel very

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Speaker 1: volatile in me and I think Memphis as a young

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Speaker 1: one of the younger playoff teams. Cleveland and the East

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Speaker 1: is very young, but Cleveland doesn't feel immature. Everybody in

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Speaker 1: Cleveland knows exactly what they are and what they do.

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Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell has already clarified their offense. He takes the

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Speaker 1: last big shot and everybody knows it. Mobley's your big

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Speaker 1: he's your young guy, but he knows late in games

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Speaker 1: they all step aside for Donovan Mitchell. Memphis has some egos.

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Speaker 1: They're chatty. I think the Lakers win that series, I

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Speaker 1: really do. And I think Anthony Davis is going to

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Speaker 1: have a fantastic series. Without Steven Adams, Memphis is very

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Speaker 1: dangerous because they have guys that are capable of knocking

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Speaker 1: down shots Like here's the thing of John We learned

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Speaker 1: from last year's playoffs, Like Desmond Baine really good, interesting player,

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Speaker 1: excellent shooter, good defensive player, can do some slashing, but

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Speaker 1: he really struggled to beat people off the dribble last

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Speaker 1: year in the playoffs. That's a concern. The playoffs in

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Speaker 1: general will take your weakness and shine the biggest magnifying glass.

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Speaker 1: It's what the playoffs do. The same thing with John Moran. It's, hey, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you knocked down pull up threes at thirty percent this year.

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Speaker 1: That's great. We are going to dare you to take

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Speaker 1: that this year to the point where we're gonna actually

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Speaker 1: try to get into your head by making you think

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Speaker 1: you can't do it. That's the way that these especially

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Speaker 1: these veteran playoff teams try to attack you and make

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Speaker 1: you feel uncomfortable, make you lack confidence, and at the

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Speaker 1: end of the day, like it all comes down to

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Speaker 1: the physical side of things, like Lebron James has to

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Speaker 1: hold up, Anthony Davis has to hold up. But over

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Speaker 1: the course of a playoffs series, the team that wins

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Speaker 1: is usually the team that generates higher quality shots in

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Speaker 1: the half court. Who do you trust more to get

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Speaker 1: stops in the half court for seven games Lebron James,

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, Jared Vanderbilt, Austin Reeves or you know, John Morant,

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Speaker 1: Desmond Baine, Dylan Brooks and Jared Jackson. And then on

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Speaker 1: the flip side of that, when Memphis has to score

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Speaker 1: against them, I just think, I just think the Lakers

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Speaker 1: are going to get better quality shots over the course

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Speaker 1: of the series. Wouldn't be surprised if Memphis jumped up

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Speaker 1: to a one oh lead or a two one lead.

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Speaker 1: But I think as the series progresses, the older, more

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Speaker 1: talented team in the Lakers is in the best shape.

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Speaker 1: I want to say this though I am a big

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Speaker 1: believer in what Golden State does, but yes, Andrew Wiggins

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Speaker 1: is back. However, he's a rhythm player who has not

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Speaker 1: played really intense competitive basketball for a while. Had they

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Speaker 1: fallen to seven and drawn that Memphis matchup, I think

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Speaker 1: Memphis would have beat them. That's how much I view

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Speaker 1: the importance of getting Andrew Wiggins up to speed. So

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Speaker 1: it is so critically important that they get this series

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Speaker 1: against Sacramento, a team who's very good, very offensively skilled,

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Speaker 1: as an excellent home court advantage. But they are not

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Speaker 1: the biggest and most athletic team in the world, so

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Speaker 1: Golden State, in their lack of athleticism, will have less

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Speaker 1: of a factor to play in that particular series. And

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Speaker 1: I don't know if you notice, the Golden State's actually

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Speaker 1: minus two hundred favorite to win that series. That's a

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Speaker 1: pretty significant favorite. If they get out of that series,

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Speaker 1: that buys you from now three additional weeks to get

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins up to speed for a potential matchup with

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Speaker 1: Memphis or LA, two massive teams that are incredibly athletic

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Speaker 1: and big, and at that point I'd feel better about well.

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Speaker 1: And Gary Payton just the other night got extended minutes.

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Speaker 1: So now Gary Peyton, you can put him on for

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Speaker 1: a good sixteen minutes a night. Just put him on

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Speaker 1: Darren Fox and then put Clay Thompson dat de Vincenzo.

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Speaker 1: We've talked about this Golden State's absurdly deep in the

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Speaker 1: backcourt and very thin in the front court. But Den

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Speaker 1: Fox is their fourth quarter guy. I think he's the

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Speaker 1: best guard in the NBA and the fourth quarter of

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Speaker 1: this year in terms of what they called crucial points.

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Speaker 1: So you know, I saw the other night Peyton played

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Speaker 1: like eighteen twenty minutes, and I'm like, that's exactly what

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Speaker 1: they wanted. So Wiggins isn't ready to go at that level,

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Speaker 1: and they'll have to massage that a little because Cominga's

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Speaker 1: finally now playing real minutes and they're gonna take them away.

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Speaker 1: So that's a weird, you know, confluence of events where

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Speaker 1: it's like we need Wiggins desperately, but you know, Comingo's

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Speaker 1: actually started to put log in eighteen twenty twenty four

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Speaker 1: minutes and been productive. So now you gotta peel him back,

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Speaker 1: so you gotta massage that in the locker room. And

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Speaker 1: the chemistry has been weird with the Warriors this year

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Speaker 1: since the Draymond Jordan pool inflammation, but I like their

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Speaker 1: matchup in the series. You throw a lot of bodies

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Speaker 1: at Fox. You know, Golden State will have to win

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Speaker 1: a road game, but this is almost you know, it's

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Speaker 1: a bus ride, and I also think this they'll get

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Speaker 1: the whistle. They know how to manipulate officials. They know

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Speaker 1: how to do the psychological manipulation. I mean, Sacramento is

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Speaker 1: like a little brother down the road to the Dynasty,

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Speaker 1: and you can see in spots them being a little

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Speaker 1: overwhelmed and the Warriors, you know, trash talking, getting in

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Speaker 1: their head and getting the favorable whistle the Dynasty does

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Speaker 1: in the first round. My entire life, I don't think

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Speaker 1: the league is rigged, but I do think veteran teams

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Speaker 1: manipulate officiating in the playoffs, where referees tend to swallow

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Speaker 1: the whistle. You're not going to get that high octane

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Speaker 1: offense that draws all those fouls. The Warriors can slow

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Speaker 1: it down, speed it up, they'll get the whistle. So

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Speaker 1: I think it's one of these series. It's a really

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Speaker 1: good series for Golden State. There were there were some

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Speaker 1: real worrisome matchups. Even the Lakers' size could be a

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Speaker 1: huge problem. I think they locked out well. Again, the

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Speaker 1: Warriors can beat somebody with size. They just need Andrew Wiggins.

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Speaker 1: Like when I say I would have picked Memphis to

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Speaker 1: win in the first round, that's one hundred percent and

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Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins a take like that. It's all associated with

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Speaker 1: the fact that he is so imperative to their athletic

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Speaker 1: ceiling that they need to compete in a series against

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Speaker 1: that team, giving them an extra three weeks from now

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Speaker 1: to get there. That's vitally important. The Sacramento this is

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Speaker 1: a Gary Payton series in my opinion, and the main

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Speaker 1: reason why is because Sacramento has killed teams all season

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Speaker 1: long with the simple combination of Deer and Fox and

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Speaker 1: Demantas Sabonis and what they do with their drible handoffs

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Speaker 1: and the problem it presents for teams because you let

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Speaker 1: Deer and Fox get downhill or if you switch it.

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Speaker 1: Sabonis is one of the best players in the league

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Speaker 1: at beating switches to the basket, and if he draws

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Speaker 1: double teams, he's an excellent passer. So what I like

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Speaker 1: about the Golden State matchup in that series is Draymond

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Speaker 1: Green and Gary Payton. Couldn't I couldn't conceive possibly mentally

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Speaker 1: a better duo to potentially handle those two guys. And

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Speaker 1: this is again, what an attribute, And this is why

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Speaker 1: I actually love this move from the deadline. What an

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Speaker 1: incredible attribute to have as a coach, a weapon in

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Speaker 1: your pocket, to be able to deploy Gary Payton on

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Speaker 1: the other team's best guard and to know he's gonna

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Speaker 1: be able to hold that in check. I don't know

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Speaker 1: if you noticed this the other night, but the Warriors

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Speaker 1: won a game against Oklahoma City, a tough FOT game

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Speaker 1: against Oklahoma City. You might have been scanned, but it

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Speaker 1: was a tough FOT game against Oklahoma City. And in

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Speaker 1: the fourth quarter of that game, Gary Payton shut down

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Speaker 1: Shake Gildas Alexander, who's one of the best guards in

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Speaker 1: this league. He had a couple of buckets on switches

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Speaker 1: and he drew one foul, but for the most part,

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Speaker 1: Gary Payton shut him down and it was how Golden

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Speaker 1: State pulled out that game. He is one of the

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Speaker 1: best guards in the league to guard this specific type

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Speaker 1: of matchup, partnering that with Draymond Green. I love this

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Speaker 1: matchup for the Warriors. I would pick them to win

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Speaker 1: in no more than six games, but I'm leaning towards five.

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Speaker 1: And for all the hoops tonight listeners, I was out there.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna do a full breakdown of this series within

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Speaker 1: the next couple of days where we'll really dive into

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Speaker 1: the xs and o's, but I'm leaning towards picking the

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Speaker 1: Warriors in five. Six. Yeah, I think I would take

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Speaker 1: the Warriors in six sons four against the Clippers five.

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Speaker 1: This again really plays in the Phoenix's hand. So you know,

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant's gotten several games off, so they're sitting in

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Speaker 1: and here you have an inflamed bench situation where plum

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Speaker 1: Lee gets into a fight. You're already asking Tylu, like,

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Speaker 1: what do you do with Westbrook? Now he's great in

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Speaker 1: regular season production, Okay, now we get into situational basketball.

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Speaker 1: What do I do? Paul George isn't available. He would

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Speaker 1: be huge in this series to defend Kevin Durant. So

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Speaker 1: now I've got a little bit of inflammation. How do

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Speaker 1: I use Westbrook, who's not been a great postseason player?

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Speaker 1: What do I do with Kevin Durant matchup like Memphis,

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Speaker 1: there's some depth here, but there's a lot of To me,

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Speaker 1: this could not in a weird way, Kevin Durant. Between

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Speaker 1: getting hurt in warmups and now resting for the last

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Speaker 1: couple of games, You're getting the most rested, healthiest Kevin

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Speaker 1: Durant in like years. And I think Phoenix is going

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Speaker 1: to be a handful for the Clippers. I love Phoenix here. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm really low on the Clippers in general, Colin.

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Speaker 1: I don't know how many times we have to go

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Speaker 1: into the season with everybody like preaching that they're one

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Speaker 1: of the favorites for them to not fulfill that, for

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Speaker 1: us to finally learn our lessons. They don't have good

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Speaker 1: rim protection, they don't have good playmaking, and that makes

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Speaker 1: that's too vitally important things that you have to have

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Speaker 1: to succeed in the playoffs. You know, this is this

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Speaker 1: is what the Clippers are. They are a team with

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Speaker 1: a bunch of wings that are wings in name only

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Speaker 1: that don't move as well as they used to write

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Speaker 1: a lot of guys like Marcus Morris and Nicktom Covington,

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Speaker 1: guys that once upon a time would have been vital,

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Speaker 1: important playoff pieces, but they're just not that anymore. And

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Speaker 1: Covington's out of the rotation. Marcus Morris has been hurt.

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Speaker 1: But toombs, okay, you know, but every the problem is

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Speaker 1: they without Paul George, they simply do not have enough

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Speaker 1: shot creation. There's three guys on the team that can

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Speaker 1: create their own shot Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell.

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Speaker 1: And Norman Powell's runs hot and cold. I mean, obviously

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Speaker 1: he destroyed the Lakers the other day, but he runs

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Speaker 1: hot and cold. Russell Westbrook, the game has to be

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Speaker 1: going a very specific type of way for him to

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Speaker 1: have impact. And as good as Kawhi Leonard is and

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Speaker 1: he's made strides as a playmaker, he's a pull up shotmaker.

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Speaker 1: Like he doesn't pressure the rim super well, and he's

425
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:24,800
Speaker 1: not the best passer in the world. So it's like, yeah,

426
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:26,960
Speaker 1: he'll get you his thirty by knocking down his pull

427
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,359
Speaker 1: up jump shots. But he's not a guy that can

428
00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:30,320
Speaker 1: really carry an offense over the course of a game,

429
00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:32,080
Speaker 1: and so what they really are is a team that

430
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,280
Speaker 1: doesn't have a lot of shot creation. They're a good team,

431
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,720
Speaker 1: but I don't think they have nearly the playoffs ceiling

432
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,159
Speaker 1: they need Without Paul George, I think I think the

433
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,360
Speaker 1: Suns are going to make quick work of that. Yeah. Well,

434
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: and also the Sons are a team between Durant's health

435
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,760
Speaker 1: and Chris Paul's age. He had a great game about

436
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,920
Speaker 1: a week ago, but like he kind of just gave you, hey,

437
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,440
Speaker 1: I'm not done yet. I'm fine, I'm good here. But

438
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,880
Speaker 1: they got a huge break because that's a team Boston.

439
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,280
Speaker 1: I feel a little bit with Tatum sometimes and Robert

440
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: Williams health and Marcus smart, like they don't need to

441
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:08,360
Speaker 1: play together. Like we know the Celtics are fine, They've

442
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,720
Speaker 1: been playing together now for years. They need time off,

443
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,040
Speaker 1: you know, Tatum needs rest. I feel that way with Phoenix,

444
00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,800
Speaker 1: like Chris Paul and Durant, what they need is like

445
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,800
Speaker 1: five days off those legs going into a playoff series.

446
00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:24,680
Speaker 1: So I'm with you. I the Phoenix hasn't lost yet

447
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,119
Speaker 1: with Durant on the floor. I mean, it's not a

448
00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,800
Speaker 1: single game and it looks really good. You know. That's

449
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,200
Speaker 1: that's because Kevin's a high functioning player and Chris Paul

450
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,360
Speaker 1: is one of the smartest guys in the league. And

451
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 1: that's where I think sometimes with Aton, they've been frustrated,

452
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 1: Monny's been frustrated, Chris has he I think sometimes Chris

453
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,480
Speaker 1: Paul's really demanding on his bigs, Like he's really hard

454
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,640
Speaker 1: on them, and so like everywhere he goes, the team

455
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: gets better and the big doesn't like him. But I

456
00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:00,200
Speaker 1: think Kevin Durant's a unique I wouldn't call him a big,

457
00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,879
Speaker 1: but a unique four that plays at such a high

458
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,479
Speaker 1: level of basketball, like really gets the game. I just

459
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:10,399
Speaker 1: think him and Chris are going to be magic. And

460
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,919
Speaker 1: I I don't think any I really don't. You know,

461
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,479
Speaker 1: we'll see what Denver. Denver still, believe it or not.

462
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 1: Despite they've been good for several years, they're still a

463
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 1: pretty young team. They don't have a lot of playoffs success.

464
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 1: So I think Phoenix is gonna roll. Okay, So I

465
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,400
Speaker 1: have a question for you then, because Phoenix, I can't

466
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:30,720
Speaker 1: remember the number off the top of my head, but

467
00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,480
Speaker 1: they're a gigantic favorite against the Clippers. I think they're

468
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,880
Speaker 1: like minus four hundred or something insane like that. They

469
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,280
Speaker 1: I do believe they will be favored against Denver as well.

470
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 1: If they get out of the first round. Vegas is

471
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,680
Speaker 1: going to look at Phoenix in a conference finals. Is

472
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,040
Speaker 1: a favorite in all likelihood, right, so he will be

473
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 1: favored in at least three rounds and very possibly the

474
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,199
Speaker 1: fourth round. If Kevin Durant does not win a championship

475
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,160
Speaker 1: this season with the Suns, will it change the way

476
00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 1: you look at him at his career in any way shape?

477
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 1: I think his legacy's fully formed. I do think he

478
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,560
Speaker 1: can get a little tick up if he won in Phoenix.

479
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,160
Speaker 1: But you know, if you go back to Brooklyn, despite

480
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,200
Speaker 1: it being like an egregiously poor decision to leave the Warriors,

481
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,960
Speaker 1: he was really successful. I mean Simmons won't shoot, Kyrie

482
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: wouldn't play, Harden came in out of shape, You had

483
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,160
Speaker 1: a rookie head coach with all those big personalities. He

484
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:30,960
Speaker 1: was really good. Kevin gave you twenty seven a Night's

485
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,480
Speaker 1: what he's done his whole career. Willing defender. So I

486
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,120
Speaker 1: look at from a business standpoint, I didn't like Brooklyn.

487
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,240
Speaker 1: From a basketball standpoint, I thought he was excellent. If

488
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,280
Speaker 1: you go to his last like twenty six starts, he's

489
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,840
Speaker 1: twenty three and three. So I think, I mean, you

490
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,080
Speaker 1: get you know exactly what you're getting with Kevin Durrant.

491
00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:50,440
Speaker 1: It's insane. I mean, the fact that they were competitive

492
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:55,280
Speaker 1: in Brooklyn, Nash had never coached Kyrie the vaccine. I mean,

493
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,440
Speaker 1: it's well, Don commented nothing, you know, when he came there.

494
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,240
Speaker 1: They were known as a team with limited town but

495
00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,800
Speaker 1: chemistry and that was their strength. Well, they blew that up.

496
00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:05,840
Speaker 1: They were known as a team that was well coached

497
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 1: with chemistry. All right, coaches fired, chemistry could put and

498
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,000
Speaker 1: Kevin's the only reason they weren't a laughing stock. So

499
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,240
Speaker 1: I think he's take out centers A twelve best players.

500
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,720
Speaker 1: I've ever seen a better version of Durknovitski, who's a

501
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,200
Speaker 1: top twenty player in my estimation. And I think for

502
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: public opinion and debate shows Phoenix if he wins, gives

503
00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,199
Speaker 1: him a boost. But everybody I've ever known in the

504
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:38,960
Speaker 1: league is like toughest stop in the league, even more

505
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,200
Speaker 1: so than Lebron. Put him in any team anywhere. First

506
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,240
Speaker 1: game out fits perfectly. Lebron, You've sort of got to

507
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 1: readjust or you know, he's kind of going to be

508
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,080
Speaker 1: the orchestra leader. Lebron's gonna have the ball in his

509
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:54,360
Speaker 1: hands and he makes everybody better. But not game one.

510
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 1: Even he and Wade took like seventeen games, if you recall,

511
00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:00,960
Speaker 1: they were like nine and seven, and they had similar games,

512
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:02,920
Speaker 1: but Lebron was better. What do you do with Chris

513
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,760
Speaker 1: bosh It was a weird fit. They were just so

514
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:08,080
Speaker 1: hyper athletic. It was so much fun to watch, but

515
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 1: it was clunky. And then in the year two, I

516
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 1: think it was year or two, they went on that

517
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,760
Speaker 1: long winning streak. They were just so athletic, but like

518
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,600
Speaker 1: Durant two practices. First game with Phoenix, you're like, yeah,

519
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 1: this works. Second quarter, Yeah, this looks great. They'll be fine. Well,

520
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,320
Speaker 1: first of all, with that Miami team, there's no doubt

521
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:26,920
Speaker 1: it was a clunky fit. I would argue it was

522
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 1: a clunky fit almost through to the end because the

523
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:33,120
Speaker 1: Lebron James Dwayne Wade fit was always a little bit redundant.

524
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,800
Speaker 1: They were too hyper athletic, playmaking wings that didn't like

525
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,080
Speaker 1: to shoot jump shots right like that, That's just the

526
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:43,040
Speaker 1: reality of it to Lebron's credit, he's gotten better over

527
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,600
Speaker 1: the course of his career at making his game more malleable,

528
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:47,560
Speaker 1: and I believe he's a lot more malleable now than

529
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:49,320
Speaker 1: he used to be, just even with this Lakers squad.

530
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,440
Speaker 1: It's a very guard heavy Lakers squad, and he's kind

531
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,800
Speaker 1: of transitioned into almost a post player like a big.

532
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 1: He sets a ton of screens, he operates out of

533
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,120
Speaker 1: the post a ton. But the point is, Kevin Durant

534
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,040
Speaker 1: is on another stratosphere from everybody in the lague, in

535
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:02,880
Speaker 1: the entire league when it comes to plug and play

536
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,160
Speaker 1: because of what he can do defensively and because of

537
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,000
Speaker 1: his his ability to play out of any spot on

538
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,800
Speaker 1: the floor, both with and without the basketball. I one

539
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:11,840
Speaker 1: hundred percent agree with you, though I don't feel any

540
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,960
Speaker 1: sort of like pressure on KD. The dude is just

541
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,960
Speaker 1: one hundred percent established himself as as what he's capable of.

542
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,160
Speaker 1: One hundred percent agree with you, Like all these guys

543
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,840
Speaker 1: only have the world to gain and nothing to lose

544
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,920
Speaker 1: in my opinion. That said, yeah, of course there's going

545
00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 1: to be people out there that will jump on that

546
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,240
Speaker 1: as an opportunity. But I've you and I've watched Kevin

547
00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:35,880
Speaker 1: Durayt play basketball for what almost two decades now, and

548
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,440
Speaker 1: he has just done nothing but win basketball games at

549
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,520
Speaker 1: the highest level, with exception of situations where you wouldn't

550
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,520
Speaker 1: expect him to where you know, the Russell westbrook fit

551
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,560
Speaker 1: was clunky, that Brooklyn fit that you broke down so well,

552
00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,600
Speaker 1: the dude is a certified winner. That's that you just

553
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,040
Speaker 1: read out twenty three and three how many I'll have

554
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 1: to look it up, but twenty three and three streaks

555
00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,760
Speaker 1: happened so incredibly rarely in the NBA. It is so

556
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,880
Speaker 1: hard to win games that consistently, especially with you had

557
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 1: a parody there is now if you broke down, if

558
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,360
Speaker 1: I gave you to to ask you to list players

559
00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:07,360
Speaker 1: from one to forty, you'd be reading thirty five to

560
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 1: forty and they'd sound like stars to you. That's so

561
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,760
Speaker 1: much talent is in the league. And he won twenty

562
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,880
Speaker 1: three out of twenty six games. That's insane, Like he's

563
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,360
Speaker 1: invincible for me, and Phoenix actually needed him. So it's

564
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,520
Speaker 1: not only that he goes to Phoenix, but they had

565
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,560
Speaker 1: a big they had somebody who has the ball, a

566
00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 1: mid range guy, and they had kind of a chill.

567
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,040
Speaker 1: Devin Booker is a willing I mean like Devin can

568
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:38,120
Speaker 1: score forty or twenty three. He's not very needy. So

569
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:41,960
Speaker 1: it's like what they needed was like a really talented

570
00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,560
Speaker 1: guy with size. Give them more length, because I don't

571
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,920
Speaker 1: think DeAndre eight and qualify as a great rim protector.

572
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,640
Speaker 1: You know, he's not. He's not like Yannis, that's just

573
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,520
Speaker 1: not what he is. He's just long. He runs the

574
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,160
Speaker 1: floor really well, so they really he really not only

575
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 1: is a plug and play guy, but he's kind of

576
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: what Phoenix needed. More length. And another because Chris Paul

577
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 1: has I think regressed as a score more scoring because

578
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:09,920
Speaker 1: Atan's not a consistent score. So most great teams have

579
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 1: two two guys on the team that if they scored

580
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,120
Speaker 1: forty in a playoff game, you'd be like, oh yeah,

581
00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:18,720
Speaker 1: I could see it. Whereas you know, I mean that's

582
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,440
Speaker 1: like if Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown if they if

583
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:23,080
Speaker 1: they dropped forty, you'd be like, oh yeah, it's one

584
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 1: of those nights. That's why Milwaukee's interesting because Chris Middleton's

585
00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,000
Speaker 1: no longer that guy. He's not scoring forty in a

586
00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,800
Speaker 1: playoff game. Well, Drew Holiday is more of a defender

587
00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:35,640
Speaker 1: who can score. I could see twenty eight, So they're

588
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,960
Speaker 1: they're a weird team. They may just went on depth

589
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,800
Speaker 1: and experience and size and defense and culture, but I

590
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,400
Speaker 1: think I think Kevin Durant fits everywhere. But he's just

591
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:49,120
Speaker 1: exactly what Phoenix needed because you kind of questioned, if

592
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,120
Speaker 1: you looked at him this year with Chris Paul pulling back,

593
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 1: is what if Booker doesn't have a good night, where's

594
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:57,760
Speaker 1: the scoring come from? Like they just didn't have enough.

595
00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,920
Speaker 1: And it's like, so when a star comes into a team,

596
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,560
Speaker 1: they're gonna be animosity. I think Phoenix knew what they weren't,

597
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:06,280
Speaker 1: and I think the guys knew what they were, which

598
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,400
Speaker 1: is like we need twenty eight consistently. Well that's his

599
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,520
Speaker 1: career average. So it's like it fits so many ways.

600
00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,080
Speaker 1: Like I think Phoenix is a really smart team, and

601
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,120
Speaker 1: everybody knew we just need an I mean, that's why

602
00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:19,560
Speaker 1: you go out and make that move if you're a

603
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 1: new owner, Like everybody was like, that's exactly what we need. Agree,

604
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,640
Speaker 1: you broke down the very important piece. DeAndre Ayton is

605
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,920
Speaker 1: not a top tier rim protector. We've broke this down.

606
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,360
Speaker 1: You and I've talked this down, talked, talked about this

607
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:35,040
Speaker 1: like two or three times, but you can't win a

608
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:37,760
Speaker 1: championship without top tier defensive talent in the front court.

609
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,560
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant provides length and shot blocking around the rim

610
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 1: that DeAndre Ayton can't bring. And then it really was

611
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 1: this simple. When they get to the biggest stage, whether

612
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,800
Speaker 1: it was against Luca last year in the second round

613
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:48,560
Speaker 1: or whether it was against Janis in the finals in

614
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,000
Speaker 1: the last round, when they run into a real superstar,

615
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,400
Speaker 1: Devin Booker and Chris Paul have been incapable of meeting

616
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,840
Speaker 1: them at that level even as a duo, and Kevin

617
00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,840
Speaker 1: Durant crosses that box is specific in the areas you

618
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,040
Speaker 1: talked about scoring the basketball, where where Devin Booker would

619
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 1: be able to get some buckets on Drew Holiday. Chris

620
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,600
Speaker 1: Paul fell apart over the course that series, same thing

621
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,919
Speaker 1: over the course of the Maverick series. Sound percent agree

622
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,320
Speaker 1: with you. What What did you make of the h

623
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,640
Speaker 1: Dallas punting those last two games of the season. I

624
00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 1: think I was reading some Dallas media reports. It's a

625
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,160
Speaker 1: it's a s show, it's a mess. Well, you know,

626
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,760
Speaker 1: they hired a guy from Nike who's never been really

627
00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 1: a gm U, but he was in the basketball division.

628
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,239
Speaker 1: Very smart guy, a relationship guy, and now they put

629
00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:40,400
Speaker 1: him in charge of running you know, basketball um ops.

630
00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,960
Speaker 1: And you know, I like Mark Cuban. I think he's

631
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,440
Speaker 1: really smart. He tends to be what I would call

632
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,080
Speaker 1: a tech optimist. He has so much confidence in his

633
00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 1: intelligence that he takes big swings and he hits you know,

634
00:34:53,960 --> 00:35:00,520
Speaker 1: his pharmaceutical companies brilliant. Um I understood. I mean it

635
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:02,319
Speaker 1: was funny when they went and got Kyrie Irving. I

636
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,120
Speaker 1: applauded it. I said, I like the swing. This is

637
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,480
Speaker 1: going to be an atrocious defensive team. These are two

638
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,400
Speaker 1: of the worst. I mean, Kyrie is an abysmal defensive player.

639
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,800
Speaker 1: And so when people kind of embrace this as a

640
00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:16,200
Speaker 1: championship team, I'm like, guys, the Warriors and Celtics were

641
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:18,160
Speaker 1: the two best defensive teams in the league. Like, you

642
00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:21,080
Speaker 1: can't win that way. You can't just score your way.

643
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,120
Speaker 1: You can't you can't have to score one twenty six

644
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:26,320
Speaker 1: a night. It just doesn't work that way in this sport.

645
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,799
Speaker 1: And we I think people think it's that. And then

646
00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:32,440
Speaker 1: then you if you've ever had a buddy who goes

647
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:35,279
Speaker 1: and plays in the NBA. It's like, man, they grind you.

648
00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:37,680
Speaker 1: There's a lot of contact in this league. In the playoffs,

649
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,160
Speaker 1: they doubles down on it. That's why you know Kyrie

650
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 1: pre impost Lebron, he gets pushed around. It was like

651
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,359
Speaker 1: Lebron was a little bit of a bodyguard, and you

652
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,080
Speaker 1: have to surround Kyrie with certain elements. I also think

653
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,719
Speaker 1: increasingly Luca is a moody player, and he's gonna be

654
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,640
Speaker 1: really hard to find the Robin. You know, we talked

655
00:35:57,640 --> 00:35:59,920
Speaker 1: about this. The hardest thing in basketball is to fall

656
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,560
Speaker 1: on the Yannis that once in a franchise player. So

657
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,080
Speaker 1: the Bucks have done it twice, Luell, Cinder and Jannis.

658
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,920
Speaker 1: They got a championship one back in nineteen seventy one

659
00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,799
Speaker 1: right Milwaukee, and they got one with the Honis. It's

660
00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:16,719
Speaker 1: not a great free agent hub, so you have to

661
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:21,480
Speaker 1: kind of build a culture and then eventually Kareem I

662
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:23,839
Speaker 1: want out, I want to go West. He did, and

663
00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:26,239
Speaker 1: so I think when Luca came into the league, there

664
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:28,160
Speaker 1: was this sense is he could pair him with a

665
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:31,040
Speaker 1: lot So they try the slasher Porzingis, they don't like

666
00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:33,840
Speaker 1: each other, and then they tried Jalen Brunson and they're like,

667
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:36,040
Speaker 1: well they don't really fit. Well, Jalen's been like an

668
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:40,879
Speaker 1: MVP guard play in New York. Well let's try Kyrie. Well,

669
00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:46,360
Speaker 1: now Kyrie doesn't perfectly work for him. We're falling in

670
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:51,880
Speaker 1: love with this great hyper offensive player Moody, difficult needs ball,

671
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:55,920
Speaker 1: won't defend. You know, is he gonna end up Carmelo

672
00:36:55,960 --> 00:37:00,520
Speaker 1: Anthony where he has this early success in Denver and

673
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:04,359
Speaker 1: never really then galvanizes people. I mean you start looking

674
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,880
Speaker 1: at the great players of all time. Everybody needed a

675
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:11,320
Speaker 1: running mate, Like Magic galvanized people. Lebron galvanized people. Michael didn't,

676
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,560
Speaker 1: but he found a running mate, right Like some guys

677
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:16,680
Speaker 1: don't do that, but they find a guy. Tim Duncan

678
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,279
Speaker 1: finds his Tony Parker, Steph finds his clay Like it's

679
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:24,000
Speaker 1: way harder to find it too, because it's not just

680
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:28,880
Speaker 1: the player, it's the temperament. McHale was the college You

681
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,160
Speaker 1: wouldn't remember this because you're young. He led the nation

682
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,960
Speaker 1: in rebounding. He was known as a defensive guy that

683
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,960
Speaker 1: rebounded at Minnesota, and he came to the NBA with

684
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 1: all these weird moves and he was super long, kind

685
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:44,080
Speaker 1: of an unorthodox looking scorer, but he was a great rebounder,

686
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,759
Speaker 1: shot blocker in college and byrd was the score. Well,

687
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:50,680
Speaker 1: Michale could have scored more, but he's like, Okay, I'm

688
00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:52,799
Speaker 1: gonna be part of this bosh in Miami. I want

689
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:55,120
Speaker 1: to be part of this Kevin Love and Cleveland with Lebron,

690
00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:59,279
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be part of it. Like Lucas gonna make

691
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,640
Speaker 1: you feel small. He's not gonna help you on the

692
00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:04,479
Speaker 1: defensive end. He's not gonna you're gonna get the ball

693
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,840
Speaker 1: late in the shot clock with him. I think Lucas

694
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:12,000
Speaker 1: harder to play with than people think. And I you say, well,

695
00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:16,280
Speaker 1: Michael was difficult, but Michael got the right coach, also

696
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 1: found a very willing Robin, and then he has high

697
00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:25,160
Speaker 1: functioning players. Kurran Paxson became gms like they knew how

698
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:27,920
Speaker 1: to play with Michael. They understood Michael was the guy

699
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:32,080
Speaker 1: those Bowl teams had really high bj Armstrong becomes a

700
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,880
Speaker 1: power agent, like you had a lot of guys around

701
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,400
Speaker 1: Michael that knew how to play the game and appeal

702
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:42,800
Speaker 1: to his senses and his alpha. That's hard like that

703
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,400
Speaker 1: that Lucas gonna be hard to play with and I

704
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,760
Speaker 1: think we have to come to terms with it. He's

705
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:52,640
Speaker 1: entering a very important phase of his basketball development because

706
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:56,800
Speaker 1: he's starting to just slightly plateau a little bit. And

707
00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,600
Speaker 1: you know, I love the way you broke it down,

708
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:01,200
Speaker 1: like gift to be willing to buy into this like

709
00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:04,279
Speaker 1: larger concept of the team because for instance, like you

710
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,160
Speaker 1: can break it down on a simple math level, Okay, Luca,

711
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,840
Speaker 1: high pick and roll is worth one point two points

712
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,680
Speaker 1: per possession. Therefore, if we run it one hundred times

713
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,439
Speaker 1: in a game, we're gonna score one hundred and twenty points.

714
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,759
Speaker 1: That's great, you know what I mean. But there is

715
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:20,719
Speaker 1: a basketball team is a living organism and all the

716
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,880
Speaker 1: pieces fit together, and like it would behoove Luca to

717
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:28,439
Speaker 1: start to learn how to adjust his game to fit

718
00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,520
Speaker 1: better with others because of the specific fact that he

719
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:33,880
Speaker 1: will be on more talented teams as time go along.

720
00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:36,800
Speaker 1: This has worked. He went to the Western Conference finals

721
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,279
Speaker 1: last year. I'm not trying to criticize him overall in

722
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:41,759
Speaker 1: terms of what he's capable of, but the reality is

723
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:43,759
Speaker 1: is like, hey, if you you know, give the ball

724
00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:45,839
Speaker 1: to Kyrie and maybe instead of running a high pick

725
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:47,560
Speaker 1: and roll where you dribble the air out of the

726
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:50,359
Speaker 1: basketball for seventeen seconds. Maybe you run down the floor

727
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,279
Speaker 1: and come off of a wide screen and use that

728
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,759
Speaker 1: as a dribble handoff and get downhill. You can use

729
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,880
Speaker 1: your same skill set, that same vision, that same size

730
00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:01,200
Speaker 1: and strength and shot making ability, more within the flow

731
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:05,200
Speaker 1: of what a team can do as a unit together,

732
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,040
Speaker 1: and then embracing getting in shape to be able to

733
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:11,040
Speaker 1: be more of an impact player defensively. I think, look,

734
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,879
Speaker 1: here's the thing, the pouting. I absolutely believe that has

735
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,800
Speaker 1: a negative effect on the psyche of a basketball team

736
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:20,759
Speaker 1: when they see their star constantly bitching and moaning at

737
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,440
Speaker 1: the refs and when he's constantly not running back on

738
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,560
Speaker 1: defense and you can tell his head is not in it. Again,

739
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:29,160
Speaker 1: I loved how you brought up Carmelo Anthony because that's

740
00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:33,520
Speaker 1: such an interesting comp I means different positions, but and

741
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:37,960
Speaker 1: everybody said they love Carmelo. Man, he gave you it

742
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,680
Speaker 1: was about Carmelo getting his shot. He wouldn't even adjust

743
00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:44,760
Speaker 1: to a three point shot, like it was bizarrely rigid

744
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:50,320
Speaker 1: in his style of play, Like they're not the same player. Obviously,

745
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,880
Speaker 1: it's more just relative to the rest of the league.

746
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:55,960
Speaker 1: And the way his progression went like like Lebron was

747
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,360
Speaker 1: a little bit better than Carmelo, and over the years

748
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,280
Speaker 1: Lebron kept getting better and Mellow just kind of stayed

749
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,959
Speaker 1: the same. I mean, you got you got moderately better

750
00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:06,040
Speaker 1: in some areas of his offensive skill set, but he

751
00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:08,560
Speaker 1: never became an impact defensive player. He never became a

752
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,600
Speaker 1: top tier playmaker. He never evolved in those other areas

753
00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:16,680
Speaker 1: of his game and was threatened by yes, yes, And

754
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:20,439
Speaker 1: I think Luca at times feels a little threatened. First

755
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:23,320
Speaker 1: of all, he's from outside of the country, so players

756
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:25,480
Speaker 1: like that, I mean, you have to ingratiate yourself to

757
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:28,920
Speaker 1: a new culture and a new country. That's really difficult.

758
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,000
Speaker 1: The other thing, Jason is if you'll get Dirk Navitsky

759
00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:35,479
Speaker 1: and Dallas probably as beloved a player as the league's had.

760
00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:41,360
Speaker 1: Everybody loved Dirk, not everybody loves Luca. He's got a

761
00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:48,280
Speaker 1: much more temperamental, moody personality, so he's naturally gonna create

762
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:52,920
Speaker 1: some disharmony in the room. He's just a moody guy.

763
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:59,320
Speaker 1: Dirk wasn't, so the Mavericks multiple times switched pieces with Dirk.

764
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:02,279
Speaker 1: Almost you know, almost everything worked with Dirk. It just

765
00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,279
Speaker 1: didn't get a championship, but like he didn't have there

766
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:09,640
Speaker 1: was no like clashes of culture. Everybody liked Dirk, nobody

767
00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:12,200
Speaker 1: likes Luca. Like it's a big difference. Look, I think

768
00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:16,799
Speaker 1: Luca's a better player. But at this point, somebody said

769
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:21,480
Speaker 1: this years ago to me, they're like, in football, halftime,

770
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,200
Speaker 1: defense goes to the right, offense goes to the left.

771
00:42:24,239 --> 00:42:26,120
Speaker 1: In baseball, a third of the teams in the bullpen,

772
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:31,520
Speaker 1: it's thirteen dudes on the bench every practice on that plane.

773
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:34,800
Speaker 1: Like if one guy's music's too loud on the plane.

774
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:37,279
Speaker 1: Now you have headphones now, but you know years ago

775
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,799
Speaker 1: it's like one guy can ruin an NBA locker room

776
00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:43,960
Speaker 1: and if the star is difficult to bad locker room.

777
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:46,120
Speaker 1: I think the MAVs are a bit of an s

778
00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:49,960
Speaker 1: show right now, and I think Luca, I mean again,

779
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:55,000
Speaker 1: they're they're gonna they're gonna put the pr people to

780
00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:58,239
Speaker 1: work in Dallas. It's all good. Lucas gonna love it.

781
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:03,880
Speaker 1: But when you watch him play, he aggravates me at

782
00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:07,680
Speaker 1: times with his barking to the officials, like on every play.

783
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:12,080
Speaker 1: It's such a love hate relationship for me because as

784
00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:14,799
Speaker 1: a basketball fan, There's so many things with Luca that

785
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:17,359
Speaker 1: I'm drawn to. Like I he is one of the

786
00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:20,680
Speaker 1: best players that I've ever seen in terms of getting

787
00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:23,879
Speaker 1: beating people off the dribble without an athletic advantage, which

788
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:25,440
Speaker 1: is so hard to do. It's like it's kind of

789
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:28,840
Speaker 1: the Austin Reeves thing, Like it's all it's all misdirection

790
00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:32,120
Speaker 1: and and like having every move irrevocably attached to a

791
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:35,960
Speaker 1: counter move that's equally as effective, and in never telegraphing

792
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:38,480
Speaker 1: your moves. And like Luca, there's so many things that

793
00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:40,960
Speaker 1: I love about his game, and I hate watching him

794
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:44,759
Speaker 1: because of his approach, not only with the heliocentric you know,

795
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:46,480
Speaker 1: just dribble the air out of the basketball every time,

796
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,279
Speaker 1: but also with the attitude stuff. And again it's a crossroads.

797
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:51,239
Speaker 1: He's either going to be the Carmelo of this era

798
00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:53,359
Speaker 1: or he's going to be an all time great. And

799
00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:56,520
Speaker 1: you know what, you know, what's interesting is if you

800
00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:59,480
Speaker 1: would ask everybody two years ago, you know, or all

801
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:01,000
Speaker 1: of you, and just say last year during the Western

802
00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 1: Conference Finals, who were the two best players you know

803
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:05,400
Speaker 1: that you'd want for the next ten years, it'd be

804
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:07,680
Speaker 1: Jannis and Luca and he'd be pretty close, right, Like

805
00:44:07,719 --> 00:44:10,320
Speaker 1: they'd be neck and neck with a slight edge to Jannis.

806
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:12,440
Speaker 1: I hope it doesn't end up being one of those

807
00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:18,200
Speaker 1: situations where Yannis just dramatically he creates himself because Luca plateaus.

808
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:20,759
Speaker 1: That's a problem potentially. Well. I mean, listen, Lebron was

809
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:23,720
Speaker 1: more physically gifted than Carmelo, but as they drifted apart,

810
00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:27,920
Speaker 1: a lot of it was Lebron got along with more players,

811
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,000
Speaker 1: could play with more players, was more amenable to different styles.

812
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,360
Speaker 1: I mean, Miami had no size. He and Wade were duplication.

813
00:44:35,719 --> 00:44:38,600
Speaker 1: He never liked Mario Chalmers. I mean it was like

814
00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:42,120
Speaker 1: they'd threw him with Ray Allen's and Shane Battier's and

815
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:45,040
Speaker 1: Mike Miller's and Lebron made it work. At the time.

816
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:47,839
Speaker 1: Spolstra was a kid coach, and Lebron made it work.

817
00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:49,960
Speaker 1: And then he goes to Cleveland again and he makes

818
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:51,680
Speaker 1: it work, and he goes to Los Angeles and he

819
00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:54,520
Speaker 1: makes it work. If you give Lebron. I mean, j R.

820
00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:59,200
Speaker 1: Smith was fun, but I think people forget he and

821
00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:02,600
Speaker 1: Lebron were pretty good together. And j R. Smith was weird,

822
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:07,200
Speaker 1: and you know, a little eccentric and some viewed is

823
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:11,760
Speaker 1: difficult kind of an ISO act, you know, super talented

824
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,280
Speaker 1: Lebron made it work. Lebron and him were close despite

825
00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:19,560
Speaker 1: that one time out right that they called so and

826
00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:22,680
Speaker 1: I think Janie sort of is amenable to a lot

827
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:27,560
Speaker 1: of different teammates and players. Luca so far isn't like

828
00:45:28,719 --> 00:45:30,600
Speaker 1: I mean, look at they just bring in Jay Crowder

829
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:33,960
Speaker 1: and then Joe Ingalls and Drew Holliday and Chris Middleton,

830
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,200
Speaker 1: was like they stole him. I think from like Detroit,

831
00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:39,960
Speaker 1: He's worked with all of them, he works with everybody,

832
00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:43,319
Speaker 1: and Brook Lopez another big He's not threatened at all,

833
00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:46,960
Speaker 1: Like it matters a lot, and it's just like I

834
00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,480
Speaker 1: always felt Carmelo was threatened. Luca feels a little threatened.

835
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,319
Speaker 1: Janie never does. Lebron never has. I mean, God, he

836
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:57,440
Speaker 1: goes into Miami, it's d Wade City, and it's like, all,

837
00:45:57,600 --> 00:45:59,160
Speaker 1: let's go for it. I mean, he could have picked

838
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:02,160
Speaker 1: anywhere to go, right, he goes to the probably the

839
00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:06,239
Speaker 1: single most beloved player in any city. Ye'll go to

840
00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:09,839
Speaker 1: your city. I mean that was rife with issues. Could

841
00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:12,239
Speaker 1: you have seen Carmelo going down there and making it work?

842
00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:18,560
Speaker 1: His insecurities would have just flourished. So I'm not anti Luca,

843
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:21,160
Speaker 1: but it's just like we've got to I think we're

844
00:46:21,200 --> 00:46:24,399
Speaker 1: moving to the second phase, which is okay. Not all

845
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:43,680
Speaker 1: these issues are Carmelo Anthony's teammates, some are Carmelo. The Volume.

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Speaker 1: Make sure to check out The Draymon Green Show. I

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Speaker 1: brought Draymond Green into the Volume because one of the

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Speaker 1: more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective understands behind the rope.

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Speaker 1: Also chops up with guests like Gary Peyton, Zach Levine,

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Speaker 1: Tracy McGrady. Make sure download The Draymond Green Show wherever

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Speaker 1: you get your podcasts, only on the Volume podcast Network