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Speaker 2: All right, welcome to Hoops tonight. You're at the volume.

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Speaker 2: Happy Tuesday, everybody. Hope all of you guys are having

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Speaker 2: an incredible week. We have a very special show today,

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Speaker 2: a podcast I've been looking forward to for a long time,

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Speaker 2: ever since I got into an argument with Sam on

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Speaker 2: the phone the other day. Sam Vassini from the Athletic

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Speaker 2: covers the NBA good friend of mine, a person who's

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Speaker 2: been very important to me as have been beginning this

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Speaker 2: journey into this industry, someone who's more of a grizzled

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Speaker 2: vet who can help guide me along the way. But

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Speaker 2: in addition to that, is also one of the smartest

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Speaker 2: basketball minds that I talked to, someone that I learned

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Speaker 2: from every single time we talk. And we were talking

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Speaker 2: the other day and we got into an argument about

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Speaker 2: who would win a playoff series between the Thunder and

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Speaker 2: the Lakers if it started tomorrow, and it was passioned,

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Speaker 2: it was heated, and finally we were like, dude, we

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Speaker 2: just got to get on a podcast and we got

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Speaker 2: to hash out all the contenders. And also, I kind

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Speaker 2: of view this stretch right after the All Star break

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Speaker 2: as the kind of like the halfway point, not in

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Speaker 2: the regular season, but kind of between where we start

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Speaker 2: in training camp to someone hoisting the trophy in June.

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Speaker 2: And so I thought today would be the perfect time

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Speaker 2: for us to really take a closer look at our

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Speaker 2: list of contenders. And so, without any further ado, Sam,

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Speaker 2: how are you, man. It's good to see you. How's

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Speaker 2: your year going cover in the league.

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Speaker 3: It's great, man, I'm super happy to be here. As

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Speaker 3: you know, I think the world of you. I would

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Speaker 3: recommend everybody listening to this to subscribe to this channel.

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Speaker 3: I don't really listen to other basketball podcasts, watch other

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Speaker 3: basketball content. Jason is like one of like one or

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Speaker 3: two that I actually watch and listen to and view

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Speaker 3: because I love his perspective on all of this. So

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Speaker 3: I really would recommend everybody watching this subscribe to Jason's channel.

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Speaker 3: He's the best.

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Speaker 1: You're too kind.

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Speaker 2: Without any further ado, though, let's get into the basketball. So,

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Speaker 2: you know, I would argue this is an interesting season

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Speaker 2: in the sense that, like there's very clearly a top

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Speaker 2: tier or tiers of teams. However, you could like legitimately

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Speaker 2: sit down as a fan of almost half the league

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Speaker 2: and be like, we got a shot at this thing,

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Speaker 2: and so we made our lists. And if I'm not mistaken,

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Speaker 2: you told me you had fourteen teams at major lists.

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Speaker 3: Correct, I did, but I got by the time I

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Speaker 3: got to the end of it, it was like kind

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Speaker 3: of loosened, you know, amorphous. I wasn't. I think there

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Speaker 3: are fewer teams that have a chance to win the

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Speaker 3: title than fourteen, but yeah.

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Speaker 2: I had thirteen before we go into our actual list, though,

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Speaker 2: I have four teams that have won at least thirty

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Speaker 2: one games, but that I think have no shot to

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Speaker 2: win the title, so I'll go one at a time through.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you tell me if you agree I said

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Speaker 2: the Cleveland Cavaliers have no shot to win the title.

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Speaker 3: We're gonna have the calves. I think I had the

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Speaker 3: calves a little bit higher than that them at twelve,

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Speaker 3: so a little bit higher, but not terribly far off.

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Speaker 3: I think that, like structurally, it's a little bit too

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Speaker 3: easy to take advantage of their deficiency. I am interested

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Speaker 3: to see if the max Struss addition helps to at

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Speaker 3: least minimize some of the issues that New York presented

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Speaker 3: them in the playoffs last year. But I think that

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Speaker 3: at the end of the day, the mobiley Allen combination

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Speaker 3: is going to be really, really difficult to manage in

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Speaker 3: the playoffs for the Cavs. I think there are too

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Speaker 3: many schematic disadvantages. And I really worry about the defensive

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Speaker 3: side as well. Even though they've been elite defensively, I

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Speaker 3: do worry that you can really take advantage of the

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Speaker 3: Garland Mitchell backcourt in a real.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Donovan Mitchell's defensive season this year has been really

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Speaker 2: impressive to me, and it's made me like a little

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Speaker 2: bit less concerned about the backcourt long term than I was. Like,

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Speaker 2: the only universe in which a Garland Mitchell backcourt would

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Speaker 2: have worked long term, in my opinion, would have involved

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Speaker 2: Donovan becoming a not just a plus defender, but a

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Speaker 2: good defender. And I think he's been a good defender

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Speaker 2: this year. I think Dean Wade and some of the

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Speaker 2: two way play that he's brought to this to the

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Speaker 2: wing forward position has been super valuable. But again, everything

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Speaker 2: to me comes down to the Mobley Allen front court,

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Speaker 2: and I thought people kind of got off the scent

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Speaker 2: a little bit last year with the focus on shooting.

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Speaker 2: Not that shooting isn't an important element to this team's

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Speaker 2: ability to have success in pick and roll and stop

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Speaker 2: teams from guarding at three on two, but to me,

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Speaker 2: it has more to do with Evan Mobley's offensive development

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Speaker 2: and the simple fact that, especially in the short role,

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Speaker 2: he's just not very good. I've advocated even for swapping

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Speaker 2: it and just having Jared Allen run the short roles

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Speaker 2: and having Evan Mobley kind of operate more the dunker

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Speaker 2: spot to try to mix it up. But the bottom

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Speaker 2: line is is like, when you start to really get

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Speaker 2: to me, The Cleveland Cavaliers are an extremely well coached

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Speaker 2: team that plays extremely hard, that thrives in these middle

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Speaker 2: portions of the season when effort and energy kind of

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Speaker 2: waxes and wanes more for other teams, And so I

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Speaker 2: think they're nowhere near as good as their record, and

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Speaker 2: I gave them no chance. My second one was the

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Speaker 2: New Orleans Pelicans. I don't think they have a real

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Speaker 2: chance to win the title.

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Speaker 1: What do you think?

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Speaker 3: I agree with you. They were like fourteen fifteen on

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Speaker 3: my list, like in that back end of the amorphous list.

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Speaker 3: I had them with a lower chance than the Calves.

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Speaker 3: The Calves at least like play hard, and I can

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Speaker 3: see I'm not saying the Pelicans don't, but I can

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Speaker 3: see the Calves like at least winning a playoff series.

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Speaker 3: Maybe if they get a super advantageous matchup in the

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Speaker 3: second round, maybe they can get past that. The Pelicans.

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Speaker 3: I really have enjoyed Brandon Ingram in the playoffs generally.

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Speaker 3: I think his game translates well there weirdly, but it's

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Speaker 3: still the combination of brandon Ingram in Zion. They've been

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Speaker 3: running these point Zion combinations from time to time that

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Speaker 3: I think have been somewhat effective, but I still don't

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Speaker 3: love the fit between the two of those guys. I

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Speaker 3: still think they haven't figured out how to elevate each

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Speaker 3: other in a way that makes them better than what

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Speaker 3: their singular skills are. And this team just frankly, is

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Speaker 3: not talented enough compared to the top teams in the league.

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Speaker 3: That's the reality, and it's going to be difficult for them,

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Speaker 3: I think, to come up with lineup combinations in the

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Speaker 3: front court, in the back court in ways that allow

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Speaker 3: you to defend and score in the playoffs. They're a

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Speaker 3: team filled with one way players right now.

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Speaker 2: Is the biggest issue specifically in the front court, and

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Speaker 2: like that, that's death in the NBA playoffs. To me,

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Speaker 2: they're like a worse version of the Clippers. They're a

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Speaker 2: team that has a lot of length on the perimeter.

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Speaker 2: They've got a lot of guys like that you think

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Speaker 2: of as you know, driving kick guys that can but

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Speaker 2: that on the other end, can also compete on the perimeter,

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Speaker 2: like we've seen the Pelicans beat really good teams before,

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Speaker 2: where they lock in on the perimeter and they're driving

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Speaker 2: kicking you to death on the other end of the floor,

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Speaker 2: and specifically like like using Zion a lot. Zion has

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Speaker 2: been playing a lot better as of late, getting guys

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Speaker 2: like CJ. McCollum attacking closeouts more rather than constantly operating

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Speaker 2: and pick and roll. I've seen a lot of good

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Speaker 2: from them, but to me, like there's not there. There

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Speaker 2: isn't this one big draw. It's like, do I think

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Speaker 2: they defend at a championship level? No?

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Speaker 1: I don't. I don't think they're good enough in the

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Speaker 1: front court.

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Speaker 2: Do I think that they have a superstar offensive player

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Speaker 2: that can truly just for four straight rounds just be

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Speaker 2: a surgeon half court. No, I don't think they have

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Speaker 2: that type of player. Do I think they have an

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Speaker 2: absurd depth of talent that can overcome a lot of

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Speaker 2: these issues?

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Speaker 1: No, I don't.

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Speaker 2: So they don't just they don't have like that ace

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Speaker 2: in the hole. There are a lot of bad not

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Speaker 2: bad teams, but flawed teams that were going to hit

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Speaker 2: today where it's like they have this ace.

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Speaker 1: In the hole.

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Speaker 2: Like it's the Bucks, it's Damon Giannis, if it's the Lakers,

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Speaker 2: it's Lebron James Anthony. They just don't have that like

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Speaker 2: one singular, like transformatively great thing that they do. That

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Speaker 2: kind of sets them apart. The third team I put

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Speaker 2: on this list was the Sacramento Kinks.

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Speaker 1: What about you, Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I mean, they just aren't going to be able to

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Speaker 3: defend at a level of commensurate with winning a title.

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Speaker 3: In my opinion. I loved their series against the Warriors

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Speaker 3: last year. I thought that they really proved that their

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Speaker 3: style of play has a better chance to hold up

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Speaker 3: under like realistic scrutiny and in terms of like a

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Speaker 3: coach adjusting against what they're trying to present to the

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Speaker 3: opposing team. But again, like they just haven't fixed the

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Speaker 3: defensive issue. And for as good as Demanda Sabonis has

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Speaker 3: been this season, for as incredible as the combination between

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Speaker 3: he and Daron Fox has been, I really need to

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Speaker 3: see it from them in the playoffs at the end

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Speaker 3: of the day before I trust them. That feels like,

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Speaker 3: you know, TV talking point ish. But the way that

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Speaker 3: Kevon Looney was able to minimize his impact on that

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Speaker 3: series last year really kind of sticks in my head

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Speaker 3: in a negative way. It's the same with the Cavs,

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Speaker 3: Like Jared Allen like got his ass kicked last year

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Speaker 3: by Mitchell Robinson in that playoff series. And Jared Allen

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Speaker 3: is probably one of the most underrated players in the

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Speaker 3: NBA at this point during regular season competition. He's a

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Speaker 3: huge part of why they've been successful. It's kind of

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Speaker 3: the same with the Kings, Like I thought that Kevon

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Speaker 3: Looney marginally compared to what their commensurate values are to

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Speaker 3: their team. You know, Demount Sumo has played better than

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Speaker 3: Kavon Lune. He did in that series, but I thought

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Speaker 3: Cavan got the better of him compared to what they

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Speaker 3: needed from each of those players in that series. So

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Speaker 3: it's hard for me to get that out of my mind,

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Speaker 3: and it's hard for me to imagine they're going to

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Speaker 3: defend it a level high enough to.

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Speaker 2: Work that dropping the right shoulder and getting to that

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Speaker 2: lefty hook, especially on the rolls to the rim when

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Speaker 2: he kind of catches and takes that power dribble, they're

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Speaker 2: just there. He just inevitably runs into a guy who's

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Speaker 2: big and strong enough to kind of withstand that, and

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Speaker 2: then he's a below the rim player at that point.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's funny because we've seen this a lot

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Speaker 2: in the NBA history, where like Kevin Love was this

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Speaker 2: really good post up folkrum pick and pop folkrum in

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Speaker 2: the regular season, and then he'd get to the postseason

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Speaker 2: and he'd get his butt kicked by a big, strong forward,

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Speaker 2: or like Julius Randall's kind of this kind of guy too,

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Speaker 2: Like that that big forward who's not really exceptionally athletically gifted,

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Speaker 2: but that relies on a lot of bully ball but

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Speaker 2: isn't necessarily the best touch, or that kind of guy

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Speaker 2: can cut sometimes struggle when they run into super physical environments.

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Speaker 2: And I tend to agree, like, what's you look at

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Speaker 2: the Kings. I was pulling these numbers the other day.

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Speaker 2: When they defend, they win, that's the crazy part. Like

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Speaker 2: when they defend, they win, and when they don't, they're

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Speaker 2: not good and offensively, they're not good enough offensively to

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Speaker 2: just simply outscore teams, And that has ended up being

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Speaker 2: the issue more often than not, Like like they'll have

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Speaker 2: a night like they did against the Nuggets the other

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Speaker 2: night where they can really defend and they have perimeter

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Speaker 2: talent to actually they have enough speed on the perimeter

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Speaker 2: to actually be pretty good in rotation and to be

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Speaker 2: pretty good at the point of attack when they want

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Speaker 2: to be. But it's just never been a consistent and

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Speaker 2: it's it's crazy too with Mike Brown as the coach

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Speaker 2: that that hasn't become more of an identity for them

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Speaker 2: in the long run. The last team I had on

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Speaker 2: this list was the Indiana Pacers. I love Tyrese Halliburton.

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Speaker 2: He's legitimately, in my opinion, like a transcendently great offensive player.

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Speaker 2: I think some of his recent struggles are more just

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Speaker 2: classic soft tissue stuff, like you come back from a hammy,

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Speaker 2: you don't really take that aggressive step like you normally do.

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Speaker 2: Like I think, I tend to think that he's on

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Speaker 2: that trajectory to be the next like truly great offensive engine.

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Speaker 2: And I think the Siakam fit is beautiful. There love

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Speaker 2: everything about it. I just I just think within the

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Speaker 2: scope of this season, they're not physically imposing enough or

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Speaker 2: good enough in any unit to win the title.

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Speaker 3: What do you think, Yeah, the Haliburton injury. I hope

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Speaker 3: that he's used this, you know, little week that he's

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Speaker 3: going to get. I know that he had so many

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Speaker 3: events that he had to do at All Star this weekend,

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Speaker 3: being like the hometown hero basically like it felt like

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Speaker 3: he did everything he could to get himself out there,

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Speaker 3: like probably did not get the rest that his body

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Speaker 3: necessarily needed. Hopefully he'll get like just days off of

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Speaker 3: physical activity in some way that allows that hamstring to

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Speaker 3: recover a little bit. I agree with you in terms

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Speaker 3: of the soft tissue thing. He just hasn't quite been there.

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Speaker 3: But I believe in him in big moments, as we

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Speaker 3: saw during the nd season tournament. I think that super skill,

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Speaker 3: super decision making, great shooting. Those skills translate to the

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Speaker 3: highest level, and I think that he'll be great in

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Speaker 3: the settings in the playoffs. I do worry a little

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Speaker 3: bit about just for this season, not long term. This season,

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Speaker 3: the synergy between he and Siakam and trying to figure

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Speaker 3: out the ways to make their defense at the highest

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Speaker 3: level it possibly can be with Siakam and Turner in

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Speaker 3: the front court, that synergy is just missing a little

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Speaker 3: bit right now. Maybe they can get it there by

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Speaker 3: the time that April rolls around. I don't know that

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Speaker 3: they would be like a zero percent chance to meet

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Speaker 3: just in case the Siakam Turner thing like turns into

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Speaker 3: being able to hold up their defense on their shoulders

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Speaker 3: in a substantial way. But I think you're safe to

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Speaker 3: keep them out of this conversation just for now. I

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Speaker 3: do think though, that there are some interesting schematic advantages

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Speaker 3: that they can create both in the half court and

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Speaker 3: with their transition opportunities in the full court.

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Speaker 2: Okay, I have a follow up for you, because you're

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Speaker 2: way more connected than me around the league. What are

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Speaker 2: you hearing about the Pacers in their long term vision

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Speaker 2: for the surrounding players around Halliburton and Siakam? So, for instance,

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Speaker 2: like do they view do they view Ben Matherin and

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Speaker 2: like a like an Aaron Nee Smith is good enough

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Speaker 2: at the two and three? Do they view Miles Turner

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Speaker 2: as their long term solution at center?

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Speaker 3: Like?

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Speaker 2: Where are they at as a team building as far

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Speaker 2: as team building goes?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so I haven't heard a crazy amount about the

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Speaker 3: surrounding pieces. I know that they are very excited about

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Speaker 3: Pascal Siakam and the ability to pair him with Tyre's

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Speaker 3: Halliburton long term. I know that they love the fit

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Speaker 3: of Miles Turner with Pascal Siakam. Part of what the

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Speaker 3: Raptors struggled with spacing wise is that Siakam, you know,

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Speaker 3: up until this season, with that little stretch he had

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Speaker 3: before he got moved, hadn't really shot the ball well

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Speaker 3: at all for the previous four years that he'd been there. Right,

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Speaker 3: That led to him being in the mid post and

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Speaker 3: Yaka pertl being willing to like short roll into that

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Speaker 3: middle like area at the foul line extent. And then

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Speaker 3: you have Scotty Barnes who loves to operate in that

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Speaker 3: area as well, and it led to a condensed difficult

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Speaker 3: court to deal with with Miles Turner, who can go

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Speaker 3: out and space the floor in a semi real way.

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Speaker 3: Like teams don't ignore him out there. They tend to

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Speaker 3: at least try to get a late close out on

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Speaker 3: him when he shoots threes and picking pops and when

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Speaker 3: he spaces to the corner. I think that they can

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Speaker 3: really operate in an intriguing way using Pascal Siakam Tyre's

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Speaker 3: Halliburton you know one four ball screens. The thing though,

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Speaker 3: that I think they're going to miss for this season particularly,

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Speaker 3: and this speeds into the idea of their kind of

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Speaker 3: pieces around these guys. Buddy Heald was a sneaky, really

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Speaker 3: important thing for them, just schematically he didn't have his

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Speaker 3: best season this year for whatever reason, but the way

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Speaker 3: that they would utilize him in the gravity that he

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Speaker 3: possessed around the court for the Pacers. I mean Tyre's Halliburton,

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Speaker 3: Like he said this as soon as they moved him.

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Speaker 3: He's played basically every game of his career up until

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Speaker 3: you know the trade deadline with Buddy held on the court,

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Speaker 3: and the level of spacing that Heal creates because you

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Speaker 3: have to stay attached to him at all times across

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Speaker 3: the court is so essential. It is so so dangerous

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Speaker 3: for an opposing team. It's why I love the Buddy

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Speaker 3: Heeld acquisition for the Philadelphia seventy six ers. Like, we'll

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Speaker 3: talk about that when we get to the seventy six ers. Maybe,

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Speaker 3: but I wonder if we get some diminishing returns more

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Speaker 3: than what people expect by the Pacers moving Healed, and

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Speaker 3: maybe that might be the best case for you, thinking

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Speaker 3: that they're a no chance team. The fact that they

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Speaker 3: moved a guy that is actually like a really important

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Speaker 3: schematic cog for them in the playoffs. The fact they

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Speaker 3: moved him is really going to hinder what they do.

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Speaker 3: But long term, I think Matherin, they really like Ben Mathurin,

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Speaker 3: they really like Jaris Walker, they actually really really like

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Speaker 3: Andrew Nemhart as well. I mean, I'm not gonna sit

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Speaker 3: here and say that, Like they think Nemhart is a

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Speaker 3: long term starter necessarily, but they love having Nemhards, Like

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Speaker 3: you're either your fifth man out on the court, you're

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Speaker 3: sixth man something like that. A guy that takes on

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Speaker 3: tougher defensive assignments from time to time, makes great decisions,

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Speaker 3: can shoot it a little bit. They liked a lot

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Speaker 3: of their younger pieces, and I think they'll be aggressive

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Speaker 3: trying to go out and get the final piece next

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Speaker 3: to their Haliburton, Siakham Turner core. But beyond that, I

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Speaker 3: think it remains to be seen where they'll go. The

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Speaker 3: big piece of the Siacam deal, though, is that they

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Speaker 3: didn't move any of Matherin, Jarris Walker, Andrew Nemhart, and

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Speaker 3: thus they still have assets to move in order to

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Speaker 3: fill out that roster around them.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the Buddy Heel piece is interesting because that's actually

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Speaker 2: one of their biggest pet actions. Like the two actions

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Speaker 2: they were on most frequently are Haliburton Turner pick and

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Speaker 2: Pop and then basically a ghost screen with Buddy Heeled,

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Speaker 2: which screws everybody up because they can't figure out how

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Speaker 2: to guard that specific action. I do understand it from

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Speaker 2: the big picture of like a big picture you can't

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Speaker 2: have a Haliburton heel, but backcourt, you just can't, like

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Speaker 2: there's not enough that you're not good enough defensively in

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Speaker 2: my opinion, at the point of attack in terms of

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Speaker 2: a big picture goal for that type of situation, ideally

386
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Speaker 2: you're hoping for a guy like Ben Mathin to kind

387
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Speaker 2: of develop into a better defender than he has been,

388
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Speaker 2: and he's been really bad. But anyway, we spent enough

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Speaker 2: time on these lower level teams. I just I wanted

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Speaker 2: to kind of get that fleshed out, just from the

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Speaker 2: same point of the way we kind of constructed our

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Speaker 2: lists the way this is the way that I'm going

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Speaker 2: to do it, and who knows how the hell this

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Speaker 2: will go. So we're just gonna we're just gonna try

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Speaker 2: and see what happens. I have my list and I'm

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Speaker 2: going to go through one at a time. Sam's going

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Speaker 2: to tell me whether or not he agrees, and if

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Speaker 2: he disagrees, he's going to tell me whether or not

399
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Speaker 2: that team should be higher or lower, and he'll give

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Speaker 2: the case for why my first tier is bonafide traditional

401
00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,480
Speaker 2: top tier contenders. These are teams that, in my opinion,

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Speaker 2: check all of the boxes that you hope to have

403
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Speaker 2: checked for a team that typically will go on to

404
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Speaker 2: win the title. Number One, I have the Denver Nuggets.

405
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Speaker 2: I think they're by far the best combination of half

406
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Speaker 2: court offense and defense that we know translates to the

407
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Speaker 2: playoff setting. The record is not as bad as it

408
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Speaker 2: looks when you factor in how much time Jamal Murray

409
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Speaker 2: has missed. As a matter of fact, they're twenty eight

410
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Speaker 2: to twelve when Jamal Murray has played. That's a seventy

411
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Speaker 2: percent win percentage. That's basically what the Minnesota Timberwolves have been.

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Speaker 2: They've definitely had some kind of like flat efforts this

413
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Speaker 2: year where they've gone out and just been blitzed for

414
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Speaker 2: whatever reason, But that, to me is kind of a

415
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Speaker 2: typical part of being the target on your back, defending

416
00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:43,240
Speaker 2: champ type of type of situation. The bench is an issue,

417
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Speaker 2: but it was an issue last year, Like they were

418
00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:49,800
Speaker 2: around eleven points negative net with Jokic off the floor

419
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,560
Speaker 2: last year. They're around eleven points negative net without Jokic

420
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Speaker 2: this year, according to Cleaning the Glass. So like, I

421
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Speaker 2: think hyper focusing on that misses the point that it

422
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,760
Speaker 2: was literally a non issue in the postseason. Last year,

423
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Speaker 2: they just scaled the minutes up and they were so

424
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,120
Speaker 2: dominant that it never ended up being an issue. So

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Speaker 2: to me, like I'll actually place it a little bit

426
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Speaker 2: more aggressively. If the Nuggets starting five is healthy, I

427
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Speaker 2: would I would be surprised if they didn't win the title.

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Speaker 2: That's how confident I am in this team. So I'm curious,

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Speaker 2: even if you have the Nuggets at one, you could

430
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Speaker 2: at least tell me if you don't view them as

431
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Speaker 2: strongly as I do.

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Speaker 3: I do have the Nuggets at one. I think they

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Speaker 3: are the clear favorite right now to win the title.

434
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,440
Speaker 3: We'll talk about I think the team that maybe both

435
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,760
Speaker 3: of us will have next or in the top three,

436
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:45,639
Speaker 3: I would have this team in the top tier with

437
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,840
Speaker 3: the Nuggets as well. The Nuggets so far have played

438
00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,639
Speaker 3: a top ten shrink the schedule. They've played a tougher

439
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:59,520
Speaker 3: schedule than any of the other Timberwolves, Clippers, Thunder as well.

440
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,080
Speaker 3: They've played tougher schedule than any of those teams. So

441
00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:03,680
Speaker 3: when you look at the record, plus they've had the

442
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,440
Speaker 3: Murray injury, I'm not concerned about what their record looks

443
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,560
Speaker 3: like right now. I think they're going to be one

444
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:13,199
Speaker 3: hundred percent fine once the playoffs hit. My only concern

445
00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:18,399
Speaker 3: for Denver is they didn't make a real move at

446
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:23,520
Speaker 3: the deadline, obviously, and this team still does not have

447
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,439
Speaker 3: amazing depth. If somebody was to go down, if a

448
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,440
Speaker 3: even like if a Contavious Caldwell Pope or an Aaron

449
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,359
Speaker 3: Gordon goes down, I do worry a little bit about,

450
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,440
Speaker 3: you know, elevating somebody like Christian Brown or Peyton Watson

451
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,800
Speaker 3: into the starting lineup and then having to replace those

452
00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:46,440
Speaker 3: you know, let's call it like twenty minutes that one

453
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,399
Speaker 3: of those two provide with somebody like deep on their bench,

454
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,600
Speaker 3: that I really would have like concerns about in a

455
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,520
Speaker 3: playoff setting. So that I think is the one point

456
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,520
Speaker 3: of contention. But if we're starting to get into concerns

457
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:04,199
Speaker 3: about that, that's the sign of an elite team, a

458
00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:06,639
Speaker 3: truly fantastic basketball team. They have the best player in

459
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,640
Speaker 3: the world in NICOLEA. Jokic. They have constructed a roster.

460
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,360
Speaker 3: Calvin Booth has done a fantastic job building an organization

461
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,479
Speaker 3: that fits around their best player to the nth degree.

462
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:21,439
Speaker 3: He elevates everybody. They elevate themselves beyond what they're capable of.

463
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,520
Speaker 3: I think Jamal Murray when he's been on the court

464
00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,400
Speaker 3: this season has been outstanding and was all star quality.

465
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,879
Speaker 3: So I have no real concerns about the Denver Nuggets

466
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:37,400
Speaker 3: outside of potentially even if one of their starting quality

467
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:41,119
Speaker 3: non star players gets hurt, what does that look like

468
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,680
Speaker 3: in terms of their lineup flexibility in the playoffs?

469
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:45,880
Speaker 1: So I one hundred percent agree.

470
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:47,760
Speaker 2: For the record, I've actually done rants on my show

471
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,000
Speaker 2: before about how I think it's like. If you, to

472
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,119
Speaker 2: Calvin Booth's credit, I can't think of a lineup you

473
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,520
Speaker 2: probably have to go back to like the twenty fourteen

474
00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,879
Speaker 2: Spurs to find a lineup that has a larger gap

475
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,600
Speaker 2: between like the individual reputations of all five players kind

476
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:09,920
Speaker 2: of combined versus the basketball effectiveness of their five together.

477
00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:14,360
Speaker 2: Like to put it, simply, like the some, their actual

478
00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,399
Speaker 2: tangible greatness so far supersedes the some of their parts,

479
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 2: and to his credit, they he just constructed, in my opinion,

480
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,680
Speaker 2: a perfectly complimentary starting five.

481
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,200
Speaker 1: Now the counter to that would be.

482
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,639
Speaker 2: Because I agree, you take KCP out of the equation,

483
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,040
Speaker 2: you take your best guard defender out of the equation,

484
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,840
Speaker 2: at least out of the starting group and a very

485
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,560
Speaker 2: very very important spacing guy, second side action guy. Kcp's

486
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,399
Speaker 2: always been one of my favorite transition guards in the

487
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,840
Speaker 2: league too. Aaron Gordon, just the job he did on

488
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,639
Speaker 2: Kevin Durant and on Lebron James, like even going on

489
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,800
Speaker 2: to Jimmy Butler, like he was just incredibly important on

490
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,199
Speaker 2: the defensive end of the floor anchoring them last year. Like,

491
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,360
Speaker 2: I have one hundred percent agree with you. Here's the thing.

492
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,639
Speaker 2: If the Celtics lust kersops porzingis, what would you say,

493
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,000
Speaker 2: they fundamentally become a significantly lesser team. If they lost

494
00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:04,440
Speaker 2: Derek White, they fundamentally become a significantly lesser team. Yet,

495
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 2: like go to the Timberwolves. It's like, if they lose

496
00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:11,280
Speaker 2: Jayden McDaniels, fundamentally lesser team. Mike Conley is so important

497
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,000
Speaker 2: to them in their half court execution, fundamentally lesser team.

498
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:16,840
Speaker 2: The Clippers, you take any of their core guys, Terrence

499
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,280
Speaker 2: Man out, all of a sudden, it's a whole lot

500
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,199
Speaker 2: more Norman Powell and Russell Westbrook. You take you know,

501
00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,159
Speaker 2: Paul George out, you take James Hard and now you

502
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,280
Speaker 2: get the points. So like I do think that even

503
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,240
Speaker 2: though I agree with you that I don't think the

504
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,720
Speaker 2: Nuggets starting five can withstand an injury really to anybody

505
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:33,359
Speaker 2: in that group.

506
00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,360
Speaker 1: I suppose if you had to pick.

507
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,200
Speaker 2: One, it probably be Michael Porter Junior, right, and then

508
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,520
Speaker 2: Peyton Watson slides into that spot. But even then, like that,

509
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,440
Speaker 2: he's such an important part fundamentally of guarding actions two

510
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,719
Speaker 2: on two versus three on two against Denver, Like you

511
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,080
Speaker 2: just you just have a better chance. Peyton Watson, he's

512
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,520
Speaker 2: gotten good at that slot, cut out out of the

513
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,200
Speaker 2: weak side wing and moving along the baseline, like he's

514
00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,560
Speaker 2: learned how to play off the ball, but he just

515
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,800
Speaker 2: isn't the same level of Like Michael Porter Junior is

516
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:00,840
Speaker 2: one of the best off ball players the entire league,

517
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,640
Speaker 2: so like he's even a very good offensive rebounder. Like

518
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,520
Speaker 2: like I to me, to me, all five of those

519
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,560
Speaker 2: guys are a vital importance and so yeah, like I

520
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,399
Speaker 2: I agree that they have a lack of depth, but

521
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,400
Speaker 2: I just don't think that that necessarily. I just think

522
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,720
Speaker 2: it's unfair to nitpick that without necessarily pointing out that

523
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,280
Speaker 2: the same exists for any of these other teams. So

524
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,320
Speaker 2: I think the perfect way to transition this here is

525
00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,639
Speaker 2: to go to my number two, which is the Boston Celtics,

526
00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:31,440
Speaker 2: And I guess let's start with this, Like I think

527
00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:38,640
Speaker 2: a Celtics Nuggets finals is pretty likely. I think it's

528
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:44,440
Speaker 2: pretty likely. Uh I, So in that matchup, I think.

529
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,359
Speaker 3: I'm higher on one team, Like I'm.

530
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,080
Speaker 1: Interesting with the Clippers.

531
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:50,520
Speaker 3: I'm higher on the Clippers than I think.

532
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:55,760
Speaker 2: Okay, I had the Clippers at number three, and let's

533
00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:56,480
Speaker 2: hit the Clippers.

534
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,160
Speaker 3: See, like I think the Clippers. I think the Clippers

535
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,199
Speaker 3: can lose on a Norman Powell or Terrence Man. There

536
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,439
Speaker 3: are somebody like that. They can't lose Zubot because Zubots

537
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,359
Speaker 3: is like the real size guy. I think they can

538
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,000
Speaker 3: lose one of those guys and still be Okay.

539
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 2: Terrence Man takes their primary point of attack assignments and

540
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,200
Speaker 2: puts these long athletes off the ball. I find it,

541
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:18,360
Speaker 2: and then it just like all of a sudden, It's

542
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,160
Speaker 2: like fifteen more minutes of Russell Westbrook every single night too,

543
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,880
Speaker 2: which is which is terrifying to me a little bit.

544
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,440
Speaker 2: I Okay, let let's let's let's let's hit the Clippers.

545
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,480
Speaker 1: Let's do the Celtics, all right, Let's do the Celtics.

546
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,840
Speaker 3: First, Yeah, and we'll get there.

547
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:33,560
Speaker 2: Let me just let me just start by asking you

548
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,520
Speaker 2: a question. Why are the Boston Celtics twenty seventh and

549
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:39,120
Speaker 2: paint points scored per game?

550
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:39,959
Speaker 1: Why? Why?

551
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,119
Speaker 2: Why do they do that? Why are they third in

552
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,359
Speaker 2: pull up jumpers taken? Why are they why do they

553
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,760
Speaker 2: take the most threason? Like, why are they as athletically

554
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 2: gifted as they are so perimeter oriented? Can you explain

555
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:51,919
Speaker 2: that to me?

556
00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,920
Speaker 3: Well, honestly, so, Like they are athletically gifted, but a

557
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,959
Speaker 3: lot of their players are not like perimeter touch guys. Right,

558
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,959
Speaker 3: Jason Tatum has never been a super high end like

559
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,479
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go get paint touches, drive and kick. I'm

560
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,960
Speaker 3: gonna go get paint touches like he's a you know,

561
00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:12,159
Speaker 3: if I'm gonna get the ball, i might get a

562
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,000
Speaker 3: post up and try to bully somebody in a mismatch

563
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,879
Speaker 3: onto the block, but I'm probably gonna pull up more

564
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,159
Speaker 3: than I'm gonna try and get all the way to

565
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,000
Speaker 3: the rim that way. Uh. Jalen Brown like can be

566
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,520
Speaker 3: a real paint touch guy. I would say he's there one,

567
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,680
Speaker 3: But like Drew Holliday is thirty three, thirty four years old,

568
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,920
Speaker 3: at this point hasn't really been that guy the last

569
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,600
Speaker 3: couple of years. Derek White has never been like a

570
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,879
Speaker 3: super high end paint touch guy. Christoph Sporzingis has always

571
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 3: been a perimeter big. It kind of does line up

572
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,400
Speaker 3: to me in terms of that. But I also can

573
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,320
Speaker 3: see why this would be a concern because we've seen,

574
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,720
Speaker 3: you know, in general, the last couple of years under

575
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 3: Joe Mazzula, their late game offense has been a slog

576
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,880
Speaker 3: from time to time. The ability to get a paint

577
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:58,520
Speaker 3: touch is a real combo breaker, a counter breaker, which

578
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,760
Speaker 3: is why we'll talk about the Thunder and this is

579
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 3: what people I think are waiting for after your intro.

580
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,120
Speaker 3: Why I do like the Thunder in some way with

581
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,680
Speaker 3: their late game offense to be able to consistently get

582
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:15,720
Speaker 3: interesting looks. The Celtics have struggled to consistently get interesting looks.

583
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,720
Speaker 3: The Timberwolves this year another team that has struggled to

584
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:24,520
Speaker 3: consistently get good looks around around the rim, certainly from

585
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 3: different scenarios in late game situations. So that would be

586
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,400
Speaker 3: my one concern with Boston. Can they consistently find late

587
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,280
Speaker 3: game offense that works for them. We need to also

588
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,160
Speaker 3: call it out too. This is a truly elite offense.

589
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:42,800
Speaker 3: I mean they have like a one to twenty two

590
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,320
Speaker 3: offensive raiding right now. They are elite on that end

591
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,840
Speaker 3: because Jason Tatum is incredible. Jason Tatum's pull up game

592
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,160
Speaker 3: has really shifted over the course of I would say,

593
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,720
Speaker 3: what the last month and a half or so, he's

594
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:57,920
Speaker 3: been outstanding knocking down pull up threes. I think he's

595
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,160
Speaker 3: at like thirty nine percent like the start of January

596
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 3: something like that with pull up threes. That really transforms

597
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,000
Speaker 3: their potential on offense in late game situations. Having the

598
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:14,520
Speaker 3: spacing of Christaps Porzingis has totally transformed everything that they

599
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:16,560
Speaker 3: can do on the offensive en in addition to being

600
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,600
Speaker 3: able to play big with Porzingis and Al Horford and

601
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,680
Speaker 3: be able to guard a lot of different things, stay

602
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,120
Speaker 3: big on defense while having five out spacing, which is

603
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,719
Speaker 3: so important to what they want to do. Yeah. Look,

604
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 3: I love the Celtics. I think they've been fantastic this season.

605
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:32,960
Speaker 3: I would have them, you know, number two, number three,

606
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,120
Speaker 3: I basically have them like two to a right now.

607
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 3: With the team we're going to talk about momentarily here

608
00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,280
Speaker 3: a defend at the point of attack at a super

609
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:43,920
Speaker 3: high level. They can play big, they're flexible lineup wise. Again,

610
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,320
Speaker 3: they're just not that deep and probably can't withstand much

611
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 3: in terms of injuries. But yeah, the Celtics are an

612
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,120
Speaker 3: elite team and they are clearly the favorite to come

613
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:52,240
Speaker 3: out of the Eastern Conference right now.

614
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm kind of trolling a little bit there with

615
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 2: the way I presented you that question. I think a

616
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,120
Speaker 2: lot of people Galaxy bring the Celtics a little bit

617
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:00,680
Speaker 2: with the standpoint is like, well watch this.

618
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:01,880
Speaker 1: You know, they're clearly bad.

619
00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:03,720
Speaker 2: At this, and it's like, well, they're fucking awesome and

620
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,480
Speaker 2: everything else, you know, like it does people definitely Galaxy

621
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:08,400
Speaker 2: brain them a little bit.

622
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:10,920
Speaker 1: I love the.

623
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:15,360
Speaker 2: Fact that they have so much depth at very specifically

624
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,760
Speaker 2: important skill sets, Like they have a depth of perimeter

625
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,280
Speaker 2: defenders at the guard position, they have a depth of

626
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,440
Speaker 2: perimeter defenders at the wing position. They've got a legitimate

627
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,240
Speaker 2: shot blocker and chrisops Porzingis. They've got a guy in

628
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,320
Speaker 2: Al Horford that can guard some of the bigger post

629
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,400
Speaker 2: players in the league and usually tends to cause problems

630
00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:36,160
Speaker 2: for them. You know, they've got guys that can beat

631
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 2: mismatches out of the post They've got guys that can

632
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:41,400
Speaker 2: beat mismatches out of ISO. They can play driving kick basketball.

633
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:43,880
Speaker 2: The thing, the big thing that I'm gonna be watching

634
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:45,600
Speaker 2: with them down the stretch of the season, because like

635
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 2: they have like an incredibly easy schedule down the stretch.

636
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:50,960
Speaker 2: They're pretty tough here for the next few weeks and

637
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 2: then it lightens up basically the rest of the way.

638
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 2: They are already six games up on the rest of

639
00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,640
Speaker 2: the Eastern Conference. There are four games up on Minnesota

640
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:01,400
Speaker 2: for the number one overall seed. They have some slush

641
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:06,000
Speaker 2: here to like really treat the last twenty something games

642
00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:09,440
Speaker 2: as almost like as almost like a testing ground for

643
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,880
Speaker 2: a lot of stuff I'd like to see them work on.

644
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:15,760
Speaker 1: Essentially.

645
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:17,480
Speaker 2: I don't know if it needs to be a different

646
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:22,240
Speaker 2: offensive configuration entirely or just an unapproach, but like to me,

647
00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 2: they are because they their offense is not just legitimate,

648
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,440
Speaker 2: It's been really good regardless of matchup. They've also been

649
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,240
Speaker 2: one of the very best offenses in the league against

650
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:35,920
Speaker 2: top ten defenses. They have had no issues scoring the

651
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,120
Speaker 2: basketball in the large sample, but they have had issues

652
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,600
Speaker 2: scoring the basketball in this small sample. What I mean

653
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:45,800
Speaker 2: by that is they've had games where they go broke

654
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,760
Speaker 2: and they look like shit, and a big part of

655
00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:51,960
Speaker 2: and a big part of it, like just recently in

656
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:53,880
Speaker 2: this last month, it's like the Clippers game, it's the

657
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,440
Speaker 2: Nuggets game. It's like these big, high profile games where

658
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 2: it just seems like none of the shots can fall

659
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:00,600
Speaker 2: and so might.

660
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:02,760
Speaker 3: By the way, I love that you didn't mention the Lakers.

661
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,080
Speaker 3: That's the obvious one that came to mind for me.

662
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:07,239
Speaker 2: You know what's funny though, Like I don't even look

663
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,160
Speaker 2: at the Lakers as one of those hot teams anymore.

664
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,440
Speaker 2: So it's like, I know I've become such a defeatist

665
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:16,479
Speaker 2: about them. We'll see. But when it comes to the

666
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,680
Speaker 2: way that they've configured their offense, like for instance, like

667
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,440
Speaker 2: Tatum is shooting the pull up jump shot better, but

668
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,880
Speaker 2: he we're talking like forty five percent of his shot

669
00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,080
Speaker 2: diet his pull up jump shots, Like that's a hefty

670
00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,440
Speaker 2: chunk of his like, and when you factor in that

671
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,800
Speaker 2: he's taken a few catch and shoot jumpers every game,

672
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,600
Speaker 2: like more than half of his game is jump shooting.

673
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:38,840
Speaker 2: And this is a guy that I agree with you

674
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:40,720
Speaker 2: that that's kind of who he is as a player.

675
00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:42,520
Speaker 2: I agree, But this is also one of the most

676
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,360
Speaker 2: physically gifted forwards we have in the league.

677
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,800
Speaker 1: I'm saying he needs to change, is what I'm saying.

678
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 1: I'm saying he needs to.

679
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 3: Or he just needs to be like the best shooters

680
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:53,680
Speaker 3: shooter the league like it needs to be, which he's not.

681
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,400
Speaker 3: So like Kawhi Leonard gets away with this, Like Kawhi

682
00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,400
Speaker 3: Leonard takes like you know what, two or three shots

683
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,040
Speaker 3: at the rim per game and lives off of a

684
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 3: diet of mid range jumpers and occasional three pointers and

685
00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:10,319
Speaker 3: still shoots a billion percent from the field approximately. So like,

686
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,520
Speaker 3: that's that's the level that Jason Tatum needs to get to.

687
00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:14,919
Speaker 3: He either needs to be that guy or he needs

688
00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:16,000
Speaker 3: to be able to get to the rim in the

689
00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:16,760
Speaker 3: way they it's.

690
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:18,759
Speaker 2: For the record, I think that that kit. I think

691
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,920
Speaker 2: Tatum can undergo a little bit of that transition in

692
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,120
Speaker 2: the sense that, like what makes Kawhi such an outstanding

693
00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:26,520
Speaker 2: mid range jump shooter is he uses his strength to

694
00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,960
Speaker 2: get to spots closer to the rim, and whereas like

695
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:34,759
Speaker 2: Tatum takes highly difficult, like longer distance pull up jump

696
00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,319
Speaker 2: shots and so between the leaning on the pull up

697
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,240
Speaker 2: jump shot between the team wide leaning on like the

698
00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,960
Speaker 2: they're they're third in pull up jump shots as a team.

699
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,480
Speaker 2: They lead the league in three point shots attempted. As

700
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,520
Speaker 2: I mentioned earlier, they're twenty seventh in points in the

701
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,640
Speaker 2: paint per game. It has added a huge element of

702
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,440
Speaker 2: variance to the way they play, and so as a

703
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:57,840
Speaker 2: result of that, they are capable of having games. And

704
00:34:58,080 --> 00:34:59,839
Speaker 2: I know that like a lot of the analytics guys

705
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:01,680
Speaker 2: just agree with me on this, but I do believe

706
00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:04,680
Speaker 2: that shooting is contagious. I do believe that like when

707
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,040
Speaker 2: a team starts missing, it gets in the head of

708
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:10,120
Speaker 2: the team and like everyone starts to kind of get

709
00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 2: tight and their hands get sweaty and like.

710
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,359
Speaker 3: And I it's a confidence exact.

711
00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so I do think that stuff matters, and

712
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:22,200
Speaker 2: so like I think the if the Celtics lose, it'll

713
00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,400
Speaker 2: look like what it looked like in these games we

714
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:28,640
Speaker 2: saw in the last month. It'll be a big game, five,

715
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,880
Speaker 2: game six against a Milwaukee or somebody, or the Knicks

716
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:33,560
Speaker 2: I'm pretty high on. We'll talk about in a little bit,

717
00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:35,920
Speaker 2: or a big game in the in the finals against

718
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,080
Speaker 2: the Nuggets where it's like or against the Clippers or

719
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,000
Speaker 2: somebody like that where it's like they miss five or

720
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:43,840
Speaker 2: six in a row and it's like it almost they

721
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:45,759
Speaker 2: almost start to get a little hesitant, but they don't

722
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 2: have this other punch that they can go to. So

723
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:50,680
Speaker 2: I just want to see I would love to see

724
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:54,920
Speaker 2: over these last twenty something games, like just an attempt

725
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,320
Speaker 2: to add more versatility to the way they attack on offense.

726
00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:01,000
Speaker 1: To me, that would go such a long way.

727
00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,440
Speaker 2: Like what are you gonna do in the game when

728
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,640
Speaker 2: we call a time out and we're down seven in

729
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:07,439
Speaker 2: the middle of the third quarter and we just missed

730
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,120
Speaker 2: five or six threes in a row, what are we

731
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:10,400
Speaker 2: gonna do? Are we gonna sit down and be like,

732
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:11,640
Speaker 2: hey guys, this is one of those nights we're a

733
00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,480
Speaker 2: little in our heads. We're not making these shots. How

734
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,000
Speaker 2: about we, you know, spam this wedge action to get tatum,

735
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:22,040
Speaker 2: you know, like some low post touches or or porzingis,

736
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:24,240
Speaker 2: you know, whatever it is. You got to do something

737
00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:26,880
Speaker 2: to just kind of like almost bake in a physical

738
00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,440
Speaker 2: aggression to the the beginning of their offensive possessions, because

739
00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:32,560
Speaker 2: then from there it might call it because then you

740
00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 2: might still get catch and shoot threes. But they'll they'll

741
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,480
Speaker 2: at least come out of an attempt to get the

742
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,840
Speaker 2: ball into the paint first. I would just like to

743
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,320
Speaker 2: see them try that, to me, would be a big

744
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,920
Speaker 2: uh like thing. I'm gonna be keeping an eye on

745
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:47,439
Speaker 2: here down the stretch. Did you have any other thoughts

746
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:48,440
Speaker 2: on the Celtics before we move on?

747
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:53,120
Speaker 3: I don't, But honestly, like that ability to be multiple

748
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:55,040
Speaker 3: on offense is why I think I'm higher on the

749
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:59,000
Speaker 3: Clippers then what many people are, and why I actually

750
00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:01,960
Speaker 3: have them in the same tier as the Celtics and

751
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:03,759
Speaker 3: the Nuggets right now. Like, I think they have a

752
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,880
Speaker 3: real ability to be multiple on offense and have different

753
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:08,839
Speaker 3: ways to beat you in a way that they haven't

754
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,560
Speaker 3: had previously. Now, like we'll talk about the major factor

755
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:14,440
Speaker 3: with the Clippers here momentarily, but like I'll let you

756
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:15,920
Speaker 3: kind of take the lead on where you want to

757
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:16,880
Speaker 3: go with that conversation.

758
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:20,400
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Speaker 2: I have titled teams hitting traditional championship benchmarks, but that

790
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:13,680
Speaker 2: have playoff question marks, and so that to me is

791
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:17,400
Speaker 2: where I have the Clippers. The big question marks I

792
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,120
Speaker 2: have for the Clippers are kind of similar to someones

793
00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:20,640
Speaker 2: that I have for other teams, Like they're not a

794
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,520
Speaker 2: good defensive rebounding team. That to me is another kind

795
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:26,680
Speaker 2: of like hallmark. We're gonna I pulled some stats for you.

796
00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:31,239
Speaker 2: I'm prepped for a thunder argument, Sam, Just wait, I've

797
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:35,800
Speaker 2: pulled some stats about defensive rebounding in recent NBA champions

798
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:37,960
Speaker 2: and so there's some concerning stuff there. They're not a

799
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,320
Speaker 2: good defensive rebounding team. They they are actually a better

800
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:43,879
Speaker 2: paint attacking team than you'd think the Clippers are actually

801
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 2: fifteenth and points in the paint per one hundred possessions.

802
00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:50,160
Speaker 2: I do think they have more scoring resiliency in the

803
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,480
Speaker 2: sense that, like, I just think they're a better like

804
00:39:53,960 --> 00:40:00,360
Speaker 2: type of they play. In my opinion, they take a

805
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:03,680
Speaker 2: lot of the same shots that Boston does, although fewer threes,

806
00:40:04,239 --> 00:40:06,920
Speaker 2: but they're just better at it. They're better at playing

807
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,279
Speaker 2: that brand of basketball. I think in terms of like

808
00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,360
Speaker 2: that slow down half court environment. They're top five in

809
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:15,600
Speaker 2: both half court offense and defense. That's usually a big

810
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:20,440
Speaker 2: hallmark for a championship contender. There's sixth in clutch net rating.

811
00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:23,200
Speaker 2: That's another hallmark for a championship contender. And again, like

812
00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:25,719
Speaker 2: you mentioned to me, let's just put it this way,

813
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:26,920
Speaker 2: Kaui is a better player than Tatum.

814
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:27,640
Speaker 1: Would you agree?

815
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:32,080
Speaker 3: Okay, Yes, I think Kawhi is the player I would

816
00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,560
Speaker 3: take if we were drafting players for a playoff series

817
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,800
Speaker 3: right now, I would take Kawhi at number two behind you.

818
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,760
Speaker 1: Really there's a take, okay.

819
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,759
Speaker 2: So so for the record, I generally I'm generally super

820
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:48,040
Speaker 2: high at too healthy to be clear, But to your point,

821
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:53,520
Speaker 2: Kawhi Leonard brings a scoring resiliency to the playoffs that

822
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,200
Speaker 2: I think is super valuable when we get to this point.

823
00:40:57,040 --> 00:40:59,560
Speaker 2: I think James Harden too, Like, I think there's less

824
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:02,120
Speaker 2: pressure on him in this playoff run than there was

825
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:03,840
Speaker 2: last year in the sense that, like, I think this

826
00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:06,200
Speaker 2: team can kind of withstand a bad James hard and

827
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 2: Night in a better way than that the Sixers could. So, like,

828
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:13,920
Speaker 2: I'm really really high on the Clippers too. Again, it

829
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,239
Speaker 2: really just comes down to for me, and again, I'm

830
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:18,200
Speaker 2: not even gonna talk about healthier. The only thing it

831
00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:21,040
Speaker 2: really comes down to for me is like they're a

832
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,040
Speaker 2: bad defensive rebounding team. They do take a lot of

833
00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:25,720
Speaker 2: pull up jumpers and we have seen them go cold

834
00:41:25,719 --> 00:41:27,480
Speaker 2: like they did against Denver in twenty twenty, although it

835
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 2: was a long time ago. Other thing, too, is a

836
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:30,840
Speaker 2: really bad transition defense. But I feel like I'm being

837
00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:33,560
Speaker 2: kind of nitpicky. You're high on the Clippers. Tell us

838
00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:35,919
Speaker 2: for you? Tell us why I should say?

839
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,960
Speaker 3: Okay, So, Kawhi Leonard this season has missed I believe

840
00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,520
Speaker 3: five games so far coming down the stretch. Last season,

841
00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:48,080
Speaker 3: I believe he missed. I think it was like six

842
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,360
Speaker 3: games in their last fifty games, maybe eight games in

843
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:54,120
Speaker 3: their last fifty games. Somewhere along those lines. Again, the

844
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:58,400
Speaker 3: problem is that he did not stay healthy for the playoffs.

845
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,000
Speaker 3: I think any conversation you said, you want to ignore

846
00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:04,680
Speaker 3: the health. I'm sorry, but any conversation with the Clippers

847
00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:08,359
Speaker 3: revolves around the health on some level. In the four

848
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:10,760
Speaker 3: years that they have had Paul George and Kawhi Leonard,

849
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:14,560
Speaker 3: they are a plus twelve per one hundred possessions. When

850
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:17,120
Speaker 3: Paul George and Kawhi Leonard share the court. That is

851
00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:20,719
Speaker 3: NBA title worthy. That is elite of the elite of

852
00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:23,440
Speaker 3: the elite. These guys, when they take the court together,

853
00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:27,960
Speaker 3: the Clippers win games. They are fantastic. To me, I've

854
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,440
Speaker 3: loved everything that they've seen. You bring up James Harden.

855
00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:35,040
Speaker 3: The key is that when he was the point guard

856
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:37,319
Speaker 3: and the number two option on the Philadelphia seventy six

857
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:40,440
Speaker 3: ers last season, their primary action was they were going

858
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,360
Speaker 3: to try and run a one to five ball screen

859
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:45,320
Speaker 3: with Joel, and Joel was going to pop into the

860
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:49,719
Speaker 3: mid range. Maybe sometimes it'd been empty. Maybe sometimes James

861
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:51,400
Speaker 3: would be trying to get to his pull up jumper.

862
00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:55,600
Speaker 3: You know, there'd be different machinations of it. James does

863
00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:58,000
Speaker 3: not have to be the primary guy this year. James

864
00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 3: can be a combo breaker for them if for whatever

865
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:04,760
Speaker 3: reason they are able to an opposing team is able

866
00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:07,759
Speaker 3: to shut down Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. You can't

867
00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:09,840
Speaker 3: really shut down Kawhi Leonard at this point in my opinion,

868
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:12,239
Speaker 3: but like if a team is able to make his

869
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:17,040
Speaker 3: life more difficult, well not enough teams have three legitimate

870
00:43:18,239 --> 00:43:22,160
Speaker 3: point of attack defenders with size and with quickness to

871
00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:25,160
Speaker 3: be able to cause problems for all of these guys,

872
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,080
Speaker 3: which means you can just go into like one to

873
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:29,919
Speaker 3: five ball screen with James Harden and if Vitza Zoo

874
00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:34,000
Speaker 3: Bots and then have Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and somebody

875
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,160
Speaker 3: like Norman Powell who's been elite of the elite of

876
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:40,359
Speaker 3: the elite in spot up situations this season surrounding him,

877
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:42,000
Speaker 3: and you can play five out and that's going to

878
00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:43,799
Speaker 3: be able to create all sorts of problems that way,

879
00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:47,919
Speaker 3: And that's like your second or third option, right. They

880
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,680
Speaker 3: have so many different ways to be able to attack

881
00:43:51,719 --> 00:43:54,520
Speaker 3: a defense. That's why they have a top three offense

882
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,560
Speaker 3: in the NBA and why it wouldn't surprise me if

883
00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:57,759
Speaker 3: by the end of the year. They actually have the

884
00:43:57,840 --> 00:43:59,960
Speaker 3: best offense in the NBA. As long as these guys

885
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:03,560
Speaker 3: stay healthy, I think they are the most dangerous offensive team.

886
00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:06,400
Speaker 3: On top of it, I think Kawhi has been better

887
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:08,520
Speaker 3: than what we've seen in the last couple of years

888
00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:12,279
Speaker 3: defensively this season, Paul George remains an elite defender who

889
00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:14,960
Speaker 3: can handle point of attack situations, getting over the top

890
00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:19,160
Speaker 3: of screens using his length disrupt actions that way you mentioned.

891
00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:21,719
Speaker 3: Terrence Man can obviously do that. They use him a

892
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:23,680
Speaker 3: lot more than they use Paul George in that scenario.

893
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:25,640
Speaker 3: But I think Paul, if you get him going in

894
00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:27,319
Speaker 3: the playoffs, he's going to be able to do that.

895
00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:31,719
Speaker 3: The only issue, like you said, is the size one.

896
00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:35,439
Speaker 3: I am with you. I have worries about the fact

897
00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:40,680
Speaker 3: that Zubots is really their size based counter, and like

898
00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:43,400
Speaker 3: I actually don't know what their counter is to Zubots

899
00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:47,480
Speaker 3: right now. That is my number one worry. What do

900
00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:50,000
Speaker 3: they do if they have to go small? I actually

901
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,200
Speaker 3: don't really know what like a small lineup looks like

902
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:56,279
Speaker 3: for them, given that PJ. Tucker has been like m

903
00:44:56,360 --> 00:44:58,200
Speaker 3: Ia here for the recent while.

904
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:00,360
Speaker 2: Do you think they intend to do? I think that

905
00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:02,000
Speaker 2: was why they didn't buy him out, and why they're

906
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:03,719
Speaker 2: trying to get him to kind of refocus and come back.

907
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:05,640
Speaker 2: Do you think it's centers around them wanting to have

908
00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:07,399
Speaker 2: him as an ace in the hole if they need

909
00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:09,520
Speaker 2: to use him.

910
00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:12,719
Speaker 3: I think no. I think it's more that they could

911
00:45:12,719 --> 00:45:15,560
Speaker 3: have his contract as an expiring ten million dollars that

912
00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:19,000
Speaker 3: makes sense for the off season, but like he still

913
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,520
Speaker 3: has next year. That was a huge win for Darryl

914
00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:23,560
Speaker 3: Morey to get off of that deal within the James

915
00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:27,960
Speaker 3: harden Uh trade. But look, I mean it probably plays

916
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,760
Speaker 3: like a small role in it, like as a potential option,

917
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:34,600
Speaker 3: But I think much more it's you know, to have

918
00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:36,920
Speaker 3: him as a ten million dollar expiring for the offseason

919
00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:39,920
Speaker 3: when they don't have like a crazy number of contracts

920
00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:42,280
Speaker 3: that they can do, like, honestly, is their best small

921
00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:49,319
Speaker 3: lineup something crazy like James harden Kawhi, Paul George, like

922
00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:53,280
Speaker 3: Powell Man, or even like like is it like Russ

923
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 3: given his ability to go up tempo and like try

924
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:58,279
Speaker 3: and beat opposing teams down the court, Like do you

925
00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:01,239
Speaker 3: involve him in your best small lineup? They don't have

926
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:02,040
Speaker 3: like a great answer.

927
00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:04,120
Speaker 1: I'd go I'd probably go powell Man.

928
00:46:04,400 --> 00:46:06,960
Speaker 2: But I have noticed the same thing where like when

929
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,560
Speaker 2: these Clippers go small, it doesn't look the same as

930
00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:11,040
Speaker 2: it did a few years ago when it was like

931
00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:13,640
Speaker 2: a Marcus Morris out there, or it was a you know,

932
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:15,319
Speaker 2: a Nick Batoomb, or it was just like another six

933
00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:17,359
Speaker 2: to eight guy that just kind of added So at

934
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:20,040
Speaker 2: least they were like longer, if that makes sense. But

935
00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:22,440
Speaker 2: at the same time, like Zubach is, like Zubach is

936
00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:24,399
Speaker 2: on the short list of guys that like you'd love

937
00:46:24,480 --> 00:46:26,919
Speaker 2: to have for a matchup with Yokic like as well,

938
00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:30,439
Speaker 2: like so so like, yeah, I love this Clippers team.

939
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:35,280
Speaker 2: I love their character too. They just they have they

940
00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:38,440
Speaker 2: they just give me championship vibes. And that's why I

941
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:40,800
Speaker 2: put them in that That's why I titled that tier

942
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:43,920
Speaker 2: like hitting championship benchmarks, because like, I think there are

943
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:46,719
Speaker 2: a lot of teams, especially in the modern NBA uh

944
00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:49,600
Speaker 2: that like I don't want to say cut corners, but

945
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:53,799
Speaker 2: that that view the regular season is almost unnecessary.

946
00:46:53,640 --> 00:46:56,000
Speaker 1: And I feel like the NBA does a good job

947
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:57,120
Speaker 1: of shooting spitting those teams.

948
00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:01,799
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, And the Clippers were a primary example of

949
00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:06,680
Speaker 3: this for three years. Like that's exactly right. They they

950
00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:08,120
Speaker 3: have not cut corners this year.

951
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:12,600
Speaker 2: It's really important, exactly And I just, I just I

952
00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:15,080
Speaker 2: love that the NBA tends to chew up and spit

953
00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:17,480
Speaker 2: out teams that don't take the regular season seriously. It's

954
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:19,000
Speaker 2: one of my favorite It's one of my favorite things

955
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:21,880
Speaker 2: about the league. Like don't don't cheat the game and

956
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,919
Speaker 2: the and the game won't cheat you back the other team.

957
00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:27,799
Speaker 2: I only have one other team on this tier, and

958
00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:32,600
Speaker 2: that is the Minnesota Timberwolves. I absolutely love the combination

959
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:38,319
Speaker 2: of like truly physically imposing perimeter defense and or improtection. Specifically,

960
00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:41,880
Speaker 2: I love their I love the matchup versatility that an

961
00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:44,720
Speaker 2: Ant and a Jaden McDaniels gives you, in the sense

962
00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:49,279
Speaker 2: that like Jaden McDaniels brings this like lank that is

963
00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:54,799
Speaker 2: like oppressive, but then Ant brings this like fire hydrant

964
00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:58,480
Speaker 2: you could never get past me strength and like hands,

965
00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:01,440
Speaker 2: the physicality at the permitterve. I love that they can

966
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:04,120
Speaker 2: like kind of play with those matchups a little bit

967
00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:08,080
Speaker 2: because like certain offensive players like are really good at

968
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:10,080
Speaker 2: shooting over the top and the fire hydrant guys don't

969
00:48:10,080 --> 00:48:13,040
Speaker 2: really bother them. And then like there are certain offensive

970
00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:16,160
Speaker 2: players that like are bothered by length more and so

971
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:17,640
Speaker 2: like you can kind of like play with that a

972
00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:21,640
Speaker 2: little bit. My main red flag with the Timberwolves is

973
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:27,319
Speaker 2: I really have hated their crunch time offense as of late. Yes,

974
00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:30,040
Speaker 2: And you know it's funny because like you talk to

975
00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:31,920
Speaker 2: Timberwolves fans and like, we're a top ten half corn

976
00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:33,960
Speaker 2: or we're a good half court offense. Like Mike Conley,

977
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:36,800
Speaker 2: you know, organizes us and we've you know, Anthony Edwards

978
00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:38,920
Speaker 2: is sending me superstardom, and I buy into all that.

979
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:41,600
Speaker 2: Like I'm a huge Anthony Edwards guy. I love Mike Conley,

980
00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:45,400
Speaker 2: but like, to me, because Mike Conley's not overly aggressive

981
00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:48,800
Speaker 2: at the end of games, Like generally speaking, it comes

982
00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:51,959
Speaker 2: down to decision making from Ant who's very very young,

983
00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:56,200
Speaker 2: and Carl Towns, who's iffy decision maker, and I think

984
00:48:56,200 --> 00:48:58,359
Speaker 2: that that ends up being the issue. Now they've they

985
00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:00,520
Speaker 2: dropped a game in crunch time against the Bulls the

986
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:02,640
Speaker 2: other night or about a week and a half ago,

987
00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:05,000
Speaker 2: where it looked exactly like all the things I'm telling

988
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:07,000
Speaker 2: you about, and then they won four straight where they

989
00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:09,280
Speaker 2: kicked everyone's ass and there wasn't even any crunch time games,

990
00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:11,520
Speaker 2: And I remember teams used to be concerned about like

991
00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:14,080
Speaker 2: the Lakers in twenty twenty and their half court offense

992
00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:16,440
Speaker 2: and their ability to execute, and then guess what, their

993
00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:19,040
Speaker 2: defense was so damn good they just it didn't matter

994
00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:20,879
Speaker 2: and they were able to win. And so I still

995
00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:24,920
Speaker 2: think the Timberwolves are very much in that tier of

996
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:26,839
Speaker 2: teams that I think have a real chance to win

997
00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:29,960
Speaker 2: at all. But like like we mentioned earlier, if I

998
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:32,279
Speaker 2: saw them lose, that's what it would look like. I

999
00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:34,279
Speaker 2: think it would come down to half court execution. Where

1000
00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:36,319
Speaker 2: are you at with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

1001
00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:41,279
Speaker 3: Have the same exact concern you do, And it's not

1002
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:44,000
Speaker 3: just like like if the Bulls game was a one off,

1003
00:49:44,239 --> 00:49:48,000
Speaker 3: I would feel better, But they have recently dropped crunch

1004
00:49:48,040 --> 00:49:51,920
Speaker 3: time games to the Spurs, the Hornets, I think the

1005
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:55,480
Speaker 3: magic if I remember correctly as well, like teams that

1006
00:49:56,360 --> 00:50:01,839
Speaker 3: aren't exactly like bastions of late game off defensive execution, right,

1007
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:06,200
Speaker 3: so it almost always it looks the same. It looks

1008
00:50:06,239 --> 00:50:10,680
Speaker 3: exactly like what you're saying I really worry about. Okay,

1009
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,800
Speaker 3: let's say that they play the Clippers, or they play

1010
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:18,200
Speaker 3: the Nuggets or somebody like that. Right, I still don't

1011
00:50:18,239 --> 00:50:20,640
Speaker 3: totally know what that's going to look like from a

1012
00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:26,360
Speaker 3: half court defensive perspective when teams look to specifically attack

1013
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:32,279
Speaker 3: Rudy Gobert and Carl Towns in mismatched situations. In those scenarios,

1014
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:35,360
Speaker 3: now having both of them is really valuable. But like

1015
00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:40,960
Speaker 3: the Clippers, for instance, who does Carl Towns guard on

1016
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:43,680
Speaker 3: the Clippers in a fully healthy series?

1017
00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:46,280
Speaker 2: For those guys, I think you put him on Kawhi,

1018
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,040
Speaker 2: right and basically try to have him handle the bullyball

1019
00:50:49,080 --> 00:50:51,840
Speaker 2: stuff and like, like a Kawhi is not an overly

1020
00:50:52,040 --> 00:50:53,560
Speaker 2: like quickness based player.

1021
00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:54,080
Speaker 1: What do you think?

1022
00:50:54,120 --> 00:50:56,719
Speaker 2: But that's I think Kawhi with Kok his ass. But

1023
00:50:56,800 --> 00:50:59,160
Speaker 2: I think I think that's what you talk yourself into, right.

1024
00:51:00,200 --> 00:51:03,000
Speaker 3: So I think that's my answer. But what I think

1025
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:05,840
Speaker 3: the Clippers would do even more than anything else, I

1026
00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:08,719
Speaker 3: think they would run Kawhi off of a of off

1027
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:09,879
Speaker 3: ball action by the way.

1028
00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:12,440
Speaker 1: We saw the Pelicans by putting Zion on Kawhi by

1029
00:51:12,480 --> 00:51:12,920
Speaker 1: the way.

1030
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:16,839
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, just like literally make Cat chase the whole game.

1031
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:20,560
Speaker 3: And that's going to have diminishing returns on Cat's offensive

1032
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:22,640
Speaker 3: game as well, because he has to chase and Chase

1033
00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:27,040
Speaker 3: and Chase. So I am to a lesser extent than

1034
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:32,480
Speaker 3: like the Calves, for instance, worried about what schematically the

1035
00:51:32,560 --> 00:51:36,120
Speaker 3: two big foundation looks like in the playoffs, even though

1036
00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:40,919
Speaker 3: it has been tremendously successful defensively this season. I look,

1037
00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:45,120
Speaker 3: I think Rudy is Rudy's reputation defensively in the playoffs

1038
00:51:45,239 --> 00:51:48,279
Speaker 3: is probably a little bit overblown in terms of his effectiveness.

1039
00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:52,160
Speaker 3: But again, like that Clippers team like really did show

1040
00:51:53,239 --> 00:51:56,160
Speaker 3: kind of the benchmark for how to cause problems for

1041
00:51:56,280 --> 00:51:59,239
Speaker 3: him when he was playing in Utah playing five out.

1042
00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:01,960
Speaker 3: If you can play five out, it causes some problems.

1043
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,239
Speaker 3: Now the Clippers don't have the wherewithal to play five out,

1044
00:52:04,840 --> 00:52:07,920
Speaker 3: as we just discussed, which is valuable. But like, I

1045
00:52:08,239 --> 00:52:10,560
Speaker 3: have the Timberwolves a little bit lower, and you're gonna

1046
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:13,200
Speaker 3: like laugh at the team that I have ahead of

1047
00:52:13,239 --> 00:52:15,280
Speaker 3: the Timberwolves in the West. It's it's not the thunder.

1048
00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:18,279
Speaker 3: We'll make them once we get to them.

1049
00:52:19,239 --> 00:52:23,640
Speaker 1: Phoenix. No, you're not gonna say the Lakers, are you?

1050
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:29,520
Speaker 3: But I'm not gonna say the Lakers. Look, I have Phoenix,

1051
00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:34,200
Speaker 3: like relatively in this tier, I have the MAVs. Man,

1052
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:38,480
Speaker 3: I have the MAVs really high. Jason.

1053
00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:41,080
Speaker 1: Okay, well, so let's let's do this.

1054
00:52:41,520 --> 00:52:44,760
Speaker 2: I for the record, I agree with you with Minnesota,

1055
00:52:44,840 --> 00:52:48,440
Speaker 2: like they there there's specific configurations I worry about with

1056
00:52:48,520 --> 00:52:50,040
Speaker 2: them because you know what's interesting too, you know, it

1057
00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:53,320
Speaker 2: also has been really shitty their crunch time defense, like

1058
00:52:53,440 --> 00:52:54,480
Speaker 2: they Yeah.

1059
00:52:54,719 --> 00:52:58,040
Speaker 3: Look, and I want to be clear here for everybody,

1060
00:52:58,160 --> 00:52:59,560
Speaker 3: Like I feel like I'm playing the role of like

1061
00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:02,960
Speaker 3: nitpick on this podcast, which is fine, Like, and that's

1062
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:04,319
Speaker 3: the role that like I kind of want to play

1063
00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:08,120
Speaker 3: a little bit. I have the I have the Timberwolves

1064
00:53:08,160 --> 00:53:09,800
Speaker 3: in this tier. I have them like a couple slots

1065
00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:11,239
Speaker 3: lower than you, but like I have the timber Wolves

1066
00:53:11,239 --> 00:53:13,680
Speaker 3: in this year. They've had a fantastic season and I'm

1067
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:16,319
Speaker 3: all for what they've been able to accomplish this season.

1068
00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:18,160
Speaker 3: And I think Anthony Edwards is like a total stud

1069
00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,040
Speaker 3: that is probably like a year away, but if it

1070
00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:23,520
Speaker 3: came a year early, I wouldn't be surprised. The key

1071
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:26,000
Speaker 3: is the decision making, like you said, but sorry, I

1072
00:53:26,080 --> 00:53:27,080
Speaker 3: wanted to get that out there.

1073
00:53:27,239 --> 00:53:29,520
Speaker 2: So my tiers, the way I have it set up,

1074
00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:32,560
Speaker 2: I have the like I said, the Bona FID Championship contenders,

1075
00:53:32,560 --> 00:53:34,240
Speaker 2: and then I have the teams that are hitting benchmarks

1076
00:53:34,239 --> 00:53:36,680
Speaker 2: but have question marks, obviously the Clippers and the Timberwolves.

1077
00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:41,200
Speaker 2: After that, every other team for me, is missing the

1078
00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:45,920
Speaker 2: traditional championship benchmarks that like legitimately like the team like that,

1079
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:49,640
Speaker 2: they're not hitting those like like, and we can get

1080
00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:51,560
Speaker 2: in it. We'll get into the individual teams. But I

1081
00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:54,560
Speaker 2: don't have any other teams on that tier. But it

1082
00:53:54,640 --> 00:53:57,040
Speaker 2: sounds like you have multiple. So before we go any further,

1083
00:53:57,239 --> 00:53:59,920
Speaker 2: what teams do you have that are in what you

1084
00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:04,239
Speaker 2: consider to be like that real championship winning a capability tier.

1085
00:54:06,040 --> 00:54:08,719
Speaker 3: So, like I said, at the top, realistically, I think

1086
00:54:08,760 --> 00:54:11,200
Speaker 3: there's a ninety percent chance that the title comes from

1087
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:15,320
Speaker 3: one of Denver, the Clippers, or the Celtics. So I

1088
00:54:15,440 --> 00:54:17,200
Speaker 3: think those are really the three teams.

1089
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:19,680
Speaker 2: Okay, So that's the end that we're top tier reruly,

1090
00:54:20,600 --> 00:54:22,640
Speaker 2: that's my okay, So I really I'm.

1091
00:54:22,520 --> 00:54:23,880
Speaker 1: Including Minnesota and you're not.

1092
00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:29,239
Speaker 3: Basically gotcha, yeah, exactly, Like I have a bigger second tier.

1093
00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:32,200
Speaker 3: Well maybe not, I don't know, but I have a

1094
00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:34,920
Speaker 3: I'll be interested to hear the way you break out

1095
00:54:34,960 --> 00:54:37,239
Speaker 3: the rest of your tiers. My clear thing is, like

1096
00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:39,640
Speaker 3: I think the Nuggets, Clippers, and Celtics are a level

1097
00:54:39,680 --> 00:54:42,480
Speaker 3: ahead in terms of playoff basketball, especially if the Clippers

1098
00:54:42,480 --> 00:54:42,799
Speaker 3: are helping.

1099
00:54:42,920 --> 00:54:45,800
Speaker 2: So I agree with you, I just am including Minnesota

1100
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:47,880
Speaker 2: in there to me. To me, the case for Minnesota

1101
00:54:47,960 --> 00:54:49,880
Speaker 2: is they're just like one of the most physically overwhelming

1102
00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:52,480
Speaker 2: teams in the league and that tends to be a

1103
00:54:52,640 --> 00:54:55,080
Speaker 2: weapon when you get to the postseason. And like you

1104
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:57,719
Speaker 2: can't write off to like the just like the what

1105
00:54:57,840 --> 00:55:00,640
Speaker 2: if aunt is just awesome, you know that that's always

1106
00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:04,239
Speaker 2: a really and he shot the pull up jump shot

1107
00:55:04,480 --> 00:55:06,799
Speaker 2: incredibly well in the postseason so far in his career.

1108
00:55:06,880 --> 00:55:09,640
Speaker 2: So and that to me, like, you know, people always

1109
00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:11,520
Speaker 2: make fun of Tatum for relying on a ton of

1110
00:55:11,560 --> 00:55:13,120
Speaker 2: pull up jump shots, and it's kind of in that

1111
00:55:13,239 --> 00:55:17,000
Speaker 2: camp to where like a considering his physical gifts, there's

1112
00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:19,719
Speaker 2: a huge portion of his shot diet that is kind

1113
00:55:19,760 --> 00:55:25,440
Speaker 2: of difficult, which always has been. But yeah, like you

1114
00:55:25,520 --> 00:55:28,000
Speaker 2: can't write out the possibility of him making making them.

1115
00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:31,160
Speaker 2: So my next tier is teams that are missing traditional

1116
00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:35,400
Speaker 2: championship benchmarks, but you can see a legitimate pathway to

1117
00:55:35,480 --> 00:55:38,160
Speaker 2: the title for them. And the first team I have

1118
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:42,360
Speaker 2: on this tier at number five is the Milwaukee Bucks.

1119
00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:46,760
Speaker 2: And it's really this simple. They they they cannot score

1120
00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:49,400
Speaker 2: the they cannot score the basketball since Doc Rivers has

1121
00:55:49,440 --> 00:55:49,799
Speaker 2: taken over.

1122
00:55:49,840 --> 00:55:52,239
Speaker 1: It's the craziest thing. Dame Lillard is shot.

1123
00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:54,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was gonna say, is there is there missing

1124
00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:59,600
Speaker 3: traditional championship benchmarks like having Doc Rivers as their basketball coach.

1125
00:56:01,400 --> 00:56:05,239
Speaker 2: So the traditional benchmarks here are like one, there's just

1126
00:56:05,360 --> 00:56:07,640
Speaker 2: like a weird funk kind of hanging over the team

1127
00:56:07,719 --> 00:56:10,319
Speaker 2: that's never like how many teams win the title when

1128
00:56:10,360 --> 00:56:12,160
Speaker 2: it looks like they're not even sure they're having fun

1129
00:56:12,239 --> 00:56:14,520
Speaker 2: playing together for large chunks of the season. You know,

1130
00:56:15,440 --> 00:56:18,080
Speaker 2: their defense is not good enough, but they're not transcendently

1131
00:56:18,120 --> 00:56:20,040
Speaker 2: great offensively to make up for it. Like that was

1132
00:56:20,080 --> 00:56:22,160
Speaker 2: always the case when you're watching Denver last year. It

1133
00:56:22,239 --> 00:56:24,520
Speaker 2: was like there's like, oh, their defense is kind of mediocre,

1134
00:56:24,600 --> 00:56:26,319
Speaker 2: but like, hey man, this is like a potentially an

1135
00:56:26,360 --> 00:56:28,080
Speaker 2: all time great offense, you know what I mean. And

1136
00:56:28,600 --> 00:56:30,640
Speaker 2: so that's kind of the way I look at like

1137
00:56:31,280 --> 00:56:33,759
Speaker 2: them missing the benchmark is like they don't have good

1138
00:56:33,800 --> 00:56:36,040
Speaker 2: defensive personnel. They're not a good defensive team, and they're

1139
00:56:36,080 --> 00:56:38,160
Speaker 2: not like they don't have an elite unit that you

1140
00:56:38,239 --> 00:56:41,560
Speaker 2: look at as like the driving force behind their championship.

1141
00:56:41,719 --> 00:56:42,320
Speaker 1: Kind of odds.

1142
00:56:42,440 --> 00:56:47,279
Speaker 2: But to put it simply, most of this team construct

1143
00:56:47,440 --> 00:56:50,120
Speaker 2: is based on Dame being a superstar offensive player and

1144
00:56:50,160 --> 00:56:52,360
Speaker 2: he just hasn't been. And so that's where you like

1145
00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:55,680
Speaker 2: see the legitimate pathway is like what if Dame and

1146
00:56:55,760 --> 00:56:58,200
Speaker 2: Giannis and then all just kind of figure it out

1147
00:56:58,239 --> 00:57:01,080
Speaker 2: on offense and then they're able to get enough stops

1148
00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:03,840
Speaker 2: through a funneling scheme that just tries to send everybody

1149
00:57:04,200 --> 00:57:07,279
Speaker 2: towards their size. So, for you, Ony further, where do

1150
00:57:07,400 --> 00:57:10,160
Speaker 2: you have the bucks in this tier? Do you have

1151
00:57:10,280 --> 00:57:11,440
Speaker 2: them at the top of your tier? Do you have

1152
00:57:11,520 --> 00:57:13,080
Speaker 2: them lower or are the bucks for you?

1153
00:57:14,840 --> 00:57:17,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'd Denver or i'd Milwaukee at four? Okay, I

1154
00:57:17,400 --> 00:57:20,160
Speaker 3: had Milwaukee at four. I think that they are the

1155
00:57:20,240 --> 00:57:24,240
Speaker 3: team that I probably trust most outside of that well

1156
00:57:24,280 --> 00:57:27,200
Speaker 3: trust is the wrong word. They're the team who's talent

1157
00:57:27,400 --> 00:57:32,040
Speaker 3: level I believe in most outside of that top group

1158
00:57:32,120 --> 00:57:34,640
Speaker 3: of teams that we talked about. If you look at

1159
00:57:34,680 --> 00:57:39,280
Speaker 3: it since January fifteenth, they're twelfth in defense. Like the defense,

1160
00:57:39,520 --> 00:57:42,640
Speaker 3: you know, I know it's not been great vibes wise

1161
00:57:42,720 --> 00:57:46,560
Speaker 3: since Doc got there, but like the defense has gotten

1162
00:57:46,680 --> 00:57:50,200
Speaker 3: better from the catastrophic levels it was at early in

1163
00:57:50,240 --> 00:57:54,720
Speaker 3: the season. Particularly offensively, I really think that there is

1164
00:57:54,760 --> 00:57:56,880
Speaker 3: a shot they just figure this thing out. Like truly,

1165
00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:58,160
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, they have a top

1166
00:57:58,240 --> 00:58:02,640
Speaker 3: five offense in the league. The Yiannis Damian Lillard combination

1167
00:58:02,920 --> 00:58:07,120
Speaker 3: is more offensive star power than I don't know how

1168
00:58:07,160 --> 00:58:09,240
Speaker 3: many teams can match that at the end of the day,

1169
00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:12,120
Speaker 3: it is precious few. I would say Denver can match it.

1170
00:58:12,600 --> 00:58:16,080
Speaker 3: I would say the Clippers can match it. I don't know.

1171
00:58:16,280 --> 00:58:19,680
Speaker 3: Like I think that they probably enter the series against

1172
00:58:19,680 --> 00:58:23,240
Speaker 3: Boston with a better top two than what Boston has.

1173
00:58:23,520 --> 00:58:27,720
Speaker 3: Absolutely I trust Yeah, It's just that I trust Boston's

1174
00:58:28,600 --> 00:58:31,560
Speaker 3: rest of the core pieces much much more than I

1175
00:58:31,640 --> 00:58:36,680
Speaker 3: trust Milwaukee's, And honestly, like I think that Pat Beverly

1176
00:58:36,960 --> 00:58:41,320
Speaker 3: solves some things for them in terms of like constructing

1177
00:58:41,400 --> 00:58:45,360
Speaker 3: playoff lineups that could be beneficial. I'm not going to

1178
00:58:45,440 --> 00:58:47,800
Speaker 3: sit here and say Patrick Beverly is like a thirty

1179
00:58:47,840 --> 00:58:50,080
Speaker 3: minute per game guy in the playoffs at this point

1180
00:58:50,080 --> 00:58:53,520
Speaker 3: in his career. I don't believe that necessarily at thirty

1181
00:58:53,560 --> 00:58:56,520
Speaker 3: five years old, but I think that having him around

1182
00:58:56,720 --> 00:59:02,440
Speaker 3: really does present more opportunity for them to create coherent

1183
00:59:02,760 --> 00:59:05,120
Speaker 3: lineups that can defend at the point of attack, which

1184
00:59:05,200 --> 00:59:08,080
Speaker 3: is what they desperately, desperately need. You can't go into

1185
00:59:08,120 --> 00:59:12,080
Speaker 3: a playoff series having Malik Beasley as your primary defensive option. Like,

1186
00:59:12,160 --> 00:59:15,200
Speaker 3: it's just not gonna work. It just is not the

1187
00:59:15,400 --> 00:59:17,600
Speaker 3: reality of playoff basketball. At the end of the day.

1188
00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:20,320
Speaker 3: You know, Chris Middleton's kind of dealing with like a

1189
00:59:20,360 --> 00:59:24,720
Speaker 3: little ankle injury heading into the deadline or heading into

1190
00:59:24,760 --> 00:59:28,120
Speaker 3: All Star break, and hopefully he's able to get back

1191
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:31,320
Speaker 3: to one hundred percent. I think he's been better since

1192
00:59:31,640 --> 00:59:34,000
Speaker 3: his start to the season at least, you know, it's

1193
00:59:34,400 --> 00:59:36,760
Speaker 3: been a little bit hit or miss. But they're gonna

1194
00:59:36,800 --> 00:59:38,560
Speaker 3: enter the series. They're gonna enter any series in the

1195
00:59:38,600 --> 00:59:41,280
Speaker 3: East with the best one two punch, and that gives

1196
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:44,400
Speaker 3: them a better punchers chance than I think anybody else has,

1197
00:59:44,600 --> 00:59:49,280
Speaker 3: even if they're at a real coaching disadvantage in the playoffs,

1198
00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:52,439
Speaker 3: which I think, unfortunately for Doc, has been proven time

1199
00:59:52,480 --> 00:59:55,240
Speaker 3: and time again ever since he won that title in Boston.

1200
00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:57,760
Speaker 2: I to your point about the talent, like I made

1201
00:59:57,760 --> 01:00:00,960
Speaker 2: a little list earlier as part of my Lakers. You know,

1202
01:00:01,040 --> 01:00:04,080
Speaker 2: whatever shred of optimism there is around the Lakers. To me,

1203
01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:06,560
Speaker 2: there are four teams in the NBA that you can stay,

1204
01:00:06,880 --> 01:00:10,160
Speaker 2: that you can stay definitively have two of the fifteen

1205
01:00:10,240 --> 01:00:15,040
Speaker 2: best playoff players in the league Denver, Milwaukee, the Lakers,

1206
01:00:15,080 --> 01:00:17,160
Speaker 2: and the Suns. Like those are the four teams where

1207
01:00:17,160 --> 01:00:20,920
Speaker 2: it's like if you're just taking playoff players. To me,

1208
01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:25,360
Speaker 2: and the one that's oh, the Clippers, the Clippers, I

1209
01:00:25,360 --> 01:00:27,880
Speaker 2: don't think Paul George necessarily the top fifteen player, do you?

1210
01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:32,520
Speaker 3: I would take Paul over Jamal Murray, even though I

1211
01:00:32,640 --> 01:00:34,960
Speaker 3: love Jamal and I think that the combination of Yo

1212
01:00:35,080 --> 01:00:39,720
Speaker 3: Kitchen Jamal elevates itself. And I have, like, I have

1213
01:00:39,920 --> 01:00:41,640
Speaker 3: an immense and mense of ments amount of respect for

1214
01:00:41,720 --> 01:00:44,080
Speaker 3: Jamal Murray. I don't mean to like I would have

1215
01:00:44,160 --> 01:00:46,040
Speaker 3: Jamal Murray in the top twenty, but I would take

1216
01:00:46,040 --> 01:00:47,400
Speaker 3: Paul j over so.

1217
01:00:47,600 --> 01:00:50,840
Speaker 2: In a vacuum, I agree with you. I think Paul

1218
01:00:50,880 --> 01:00:53,800
Speaker 2: George is a better basketball player than Jamal Murray. But

1219
01:00:53,880 --> 01:00:57,160
Speaker 2: I have this thing on this show, this this ethos,

1220
01:00:57,840 --> 01:01:03,040
Speaker 2: which is your impact is aboutasketball player really only matters

1221
01:01:03,440 --> 01:01:07,440
Speaker 2: within your own situation, meaning like everything else is theoretical.

1222
01:01:07,960 --> 01:01:13,320
Speaker 2: So for instance, like as the two man game, specifically

1223
01:01:13,440 --> 01:01:17,560
Speaker 2: next to Jokich as a shot maker. Like, think about

1224
01:01:17,640 --> 01:01:22,480
Speaker 2: how specifically important what Jamal Murray does for the Nuggets.

1225
01:01:23,560 --> 01:01:26,000
Speaker 2: So like that that to me, Like to me, Jamal

1226
01:01:26,080 --> 01:01:29,680
Speaker 2: Murray was like a top five winning impact player in

1227
01:01:29,720 --> 01:01:32,560
Speaker 2: the postseason last year because of what he did in

1228
01:01:32,720 --> 01:01:34,960
Speaker 2: his role. This dude was like a thirty I can't

1229
01:01:34,960 --> 01:01:37,240
Speaker 2: remember the exact numbers, but he was like he was

1230
01:01:37,480 --> 01:01:41,040
Speaker 2: making shots at a bona fide superstar. Like what he

1231
01:01:41,280 --> 01:01:43,840
Speaker 2: did last year in the postseason is every bit as

1232
01:01:43,840 --> 01:01:47,760
Speaker 2: impactful as what Kyrie Irving did for the Cavs in

1233
01:01:47,840 --> 01:01:51,440
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen. Sands the gigantic performance in Game five in

1234
01:01:51,520 --> 01:01:54,400
Speaker 2: Game seven, like like the like in terms of like

1235
01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:57,480
Speaker 2: value in a role. Like no one actually thought Kyrie

1236
01:01:57,680 --> 01:01:59,960
Speaker 2: was a top five player in twenty sixteen or two

1237
01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:04,080
Speaker 2: I fifteen, but his fit next to Lebron with the

1238
01:02:04,240 --> 01:02:07,680
Speaker 2: Calves in the playoff setting brought a winning impact that

1239
01:02:08,040 --> 01:02:10,720
Speaker 2: was of similar ilk to some of the stars of

1240
01:02:10,760 --> 01:02:12,280
Speaker 2: the league. So that would be the case. But I'll

1241
01:02:12,320 --> 01:02:14,840
Speaker 2: allow it in the sense that we'll say the Clippers too.

1242
01:02:15,240 --> 01:02:16,400
Speaker 2: So that's five teams.

1243
01:02:17,160 --> 01:02:19,520
Speaker 3: I think you've sold me. Honestly, I think I think

1244
01:02:19,560 --> 01:02:24,560
Speaker 3: you've sold me on the Murray idea. I do tend

1245
01:02:24,640 --> 01:02:27,640
Speaker 3: to think of that argument more in a vacuum. But

1246
01:02:27,800 --> 01:02:30,400
Speaker 3: you're wrong or you're right that I'm wrong, and it's

1247
01:02:30,440 --> 01:02:31,880
Speaker 3: not in a vacuum at the end of the well,

1248
01:02:32,560 --> 01:02:34,120
Speaker 3: so I think you're right.

1249
01:02:34,240 --> 01:02:36,800
Speaker 2: I just had a male bad question about this earlier today,

1250
01:02:36,800 --> 01:02:38,800
Speaker 2: which is why I brought it up. Like I can't

1251
01:02:38,800 --> 01:02:41,160
Speaker 2: even remember what the male bad question was, but like

1252
01:02:41,240 --> 01:02:45,240
Speaker 2: I ended up saying, like to me, like, your value

1253
01:02:45,240 --> 01:02:47,439
Speaker 2: as a basketball player is what you bring to your team,

1254
01:02:47,720 --> 01:02:50,560
Speaker 2: Like that's what That's not theoretical, that's real. But anyway,

1255
01:02:50,560 --> 01:02:53,400
Speaker 2: to your point, though, Milwaukee is one of five teams,

1256
01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:55,240
Speaker 2: let's just do let's make it a little bit more broad.

1257
01:02:55,560 --> 01:02:57,520
Speaker 2: It's it's one of five teams in the league that

1258
01:02:57,600 --> 01:02:59,880
Speaker 2: can stay definitively they have two of the best twenty

1259
01:03:00,040 --> 01:03:03,000
Speaker 2: t playoff players in the league. The Clippers, the Nuggets,

1260
01:03:03,080 --> 01:03:05,280
Speaker 2: the Bucks, the Lakers, and the Suns, And so to me,

1261
01:03:05,880 --> 01:03:08,240
Speaker 2: that's the Bucks. Thing that they bring to the table

1262
01:03:08,360 --> 01:03:10,280
Speaker 2: is like what if Damon Giannis figured out now on

1263
01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:14,040
Speaker 2: the Bucks front, this is like what I'm noticing on

1264
01:03:14,160 --> 01:03:19,280
Speaker 2: tape is like I think we all pled forever for

1265
01:03:19,360 --> 01:03:21,280
Speaker 2: Giannis to be more of a screen and roll guy,

1266
01:03:21,880 --> 01:03:26,400
Speaker 2: and like he just never really did it until Dame

1267
01:03:26,480 --> 01:03:28,440
Speaker 2: came to town at the volume that he's doing it now.

1268
01:03:29,640 --> 01:03:33,000
Speaker 2: And you know, as much as Giannis is a great

1269
01:03:33,520 --> 01:03:35,360
Speaker 2: I shouldn't say great, As much as Giannis has become

1270
01:03:35,400 --> 01:03:38,320
Speaker 2: a good passer in terms of, like in his ISOs

1271
01:03:38,360 --> 01:03:41,280
Speaker 2: and post ups at like drawing attention and making these plays,

1272
01:03:41,600 --> 01:03:44,160
Speaker 2: I actually think he hasn't been that great as a

1273
01:03:44,200 --> 01:03:46,840
Speaker 2: screen and roll guy this year in terms of like

1274
01:03:46,920 --> 01:03:49,400
Speaker 2: his decision making and his ability to interpret the defense.

1275
01:03:49,760 --> 01:03:52,000
Speaker 2: I think he's I don't think he's doing a good

1276
01:03:52,080 --> 01:03:54,959
Speaker 2: enough job screening. I don't think that as a team

1277
01:03:55,040 --> 01:03:57,840
Speaker 2: they're actually organizing the floor well enough to get him

1278
01:03:57,880 --> 01:04:00,280
Speaker 2: into a situation where he can make easier reads. In

1279
01:04:00,400 --> 01:04:03,200
Speaker 2: a weird way, the Dame yanis pick and roll not

1280
01:04:03,360 --> 01:04:05,360
Speaker 2: being as productive as you would hope. I think it's

1281
01:04:05,400 --> 01:04:06,920
Speaker 2: been on both of them. I think it's been on

1282
01:04:07,080 --> 01:04:09,320
Speaker 2: Dame not doing a good enough job just being the

1283
01:04:09,360 --> 01:04:12,640
Speaker 2: offensive threat you need to get the panic coverages that

1284
01:04:12,760 --> 01:04:15,520
Speaker 2: you need to kind of generate the really easy role opportunities.

1285
01:04:15,720 --> 01:04:17,120
Speaker 2: But I think Giannis has left a lot to be

1286
01:04:17,240 --> 01:04:19,560
Speaker 2: desired in terms of like Giannest to me, is the

1287
01:04:19,640 --> 01:04:21,120
Speaker 2: MVP of the league right now. I think he's been

1288
01:04:21,120 --> 01:04:24,280
Speaker 2: the best regular season this year, regular season player this year.

1289
01:04:24,360 --> 01:04:27,040
Speaker 2: I'm not trying to pick on Yannis. I think it's

1290
01:04:27,240 --> 01:04:29,680
Speaker 2: just he's in as much of a new role here

1291
01:04:30,200 --> 01:04:32,760
Speaker 2: as Dame is. And for Dame, it's just the geometry

1292
01:04:32,800 --> 01:04:34,520
Speaker 2: of the offense is very different compared to what he

1293
01:04:34,560 --> 01:04:38,280
Speaker 2: had in Portland. But like to me, Yannis hasn't really

1294
01:04:39,080 --> 01:04:41,640
Speaker 2: that whole synergy just hasn't really taken shape yet. To

1295
01:04:41,680 --> 01:04:44,520
Speaker 2: your point, what if it does, because like if it does,

1296
01:04:44,680 --> 01:04:46,960
Speaker 2: that's where it could like really really take off. I personally,

1297
01:04:47,240 --> 01:04:49,880
Speaker 2: I like their configurations better. When they clear the side

1298
01:04:49,960 --> 01:04:52,920
Speaker 2: or empty corner for their ball screens, I feel like

1299
01:04:53,040 --> 01:04:57,720
Speaker 2: it just gets Yannis better, like easier opportunities to quickly read.

1300
01:04:57,760 --> 01:04:59,880
Speaker 2: I think that's the difference. Like in his ISOs impost

1301
01:05:00,200 --> 01:05:03,240
Speaker 2: he's really focused on the floor, whereas in the ball

1302
01:05:03,320 --> 01:05:06,440
Speaker 2: screens he kind of has to like go from setting

1303
01:05:06,440 --> 01:05:08,840
Speaker 2: a screen to like quickly interpreting the floor and what's

1304
01:05:08,880 --> 01:05:10,360
Speaker 2: happening right in front of him. And I think it's

1305
01:05:10,400 --> 01:05:13,600
Speaker 2: just a little bit more of a of a hesitation there,

1306
01:05:13,720 --> 01:05:16,640
Speaker 2: which has caused some issues. But I'm wondering what you've

1307
01:05:16,800 --> 01:05:18,600
Speaker 2: noticed watching the Bucks this year that you think is

1308
01:05:18,600 --> 01:05:20,400
Speaker 2: holding them back offensively.

1309
01:05:21,360 --> 01:05:23,320
Speaker 3: Well, and I think that you know to your point,

1310
01:05:23,440 --> 01:05:25,760
Speaker 3: the empty side actions, I mean empty side actions it

1311
01:05:25,800 --> 01:05:27,960
Speaker 3: feels like have taken I don't want to say taking

1312
01:05:27,960 --> 01:05:30,560
Speaker 3: the league by storm. Obviously teams have used empty side

1313
01:05:30,560 --> 01:05:32,400
Speaker 3: actions for years, but I would be fascinated to see

1314
01:05:32,480 --> 01:05:35,040
Speaker 3: numbers to see if it feels like teams are using

1315
01:05:35,160 --> 01:05:38,760
Speaker 3: empty side actions far more. And the idea behind empty

1316
01:05:38,800 --> 01:05:42,960
Speaker 3: side actions is that you have to pre rotate. Basically,

1317
01:05:43,360 --> 01:05:45,920
Speaker 3: you have to bring over the tagger for somebody like Giannis,

1318
01:05:45,960 --> 01:05:49,560
Speaker 3: for somebody like Joel Embiid. The maxi Embiid one has

1319
01:05:49,680 --> 01:05:51,200
Speaker 3: you know, stood out in my mind all year. They

1320
01:05:51,280 --> 01:05:54,000
Speaker 3: use it a ton in Philadelphia. To be able to

1321
01:05:54,200 --> 01:05:57,160
Speaker 3: get Joell into open space, you have to pre rotate.

1322
01:05:57,200 --> 01:05:58,920
Speaker 3: And because you have to pre rotate and you essentially

1323
01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:03,480
Speaker 3: have to play three on two defensively, it I think

1324
01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:07,640
Speaker 3: creates an easier avenue to be able to read the court.

1325
01:06:08,320 --> 01:06:12,880
Speaker 3: Four players like Joel Embiid, Johannison Tetakumpo that can be

1326
01:06:12,920 --> 01:06:16,560
Speaker 3: a little bit turnover prone right like not can struggle

1327
01:06:16,640 --> 01:06:18,960
Speaker 3: a little bit with passing and playmaking. At the end

1328
01:06:18,960 --> 01:06:22,720
Speaker 3: of the day, I think that you're one hundred percent

1329
01:06:22,960 --> 01:06:26,760
Speaker 3: right in terms of why their struggles have been. Yannis

1330
01:06:27,400 --> 01:06:30,880
Speaker 3: and Dame together still do not have that synergy in

1331
01:06:30,960 --> 01:06:34,240
Speaker 3: ball screens. I think that it's Janie's screening to an extent,

1332
01:06:34,280 --> 01:06:36,320
Speaker 3: and I think it's Jiannis's ability to read the floor

1333
01:06:36,760 --> 01:06:39,240
Speaker 3: as well. It's just not a situation that he's been

1334
01:06:39,320 --> 01:06:42,720
Speaker 3: comfortable with throughout the course of his career to this

1335
01:06:42,920 --> 01:06:46,600
Speaker 3: point because he hasn't had that elite gravitational force as

1336
01:06:46,680 --> 01:06:50,000
Speaker 3: a pull up player previously. He's still adjusting to this

1337
01:06:50,200 --> 01:06:54,520
Speaker 3: new reality that he currently lives in. It took Joel

1338
01:06:54,560 --> 01:06:58,560
Speaker 3: Embiid in James Harden like probably half a year to

1339
01:06:58,640 --> 01:07:01,280
Speaker 3: be able to figure that out. To get I'm not

1340
01:07:01,480 --> 01:07:05,040
Speaker 3: surprised that it's taken Joannis and Damian Lillard like hopefully

1341
01:07:05,280 --> 01:07:07,760
Speaker 3: half of a year to figure it out. They need

1342
01:07:07,880 --> 01:07:10,000
Speaker 3: to spend like these last twenty eight games that they have,

1343
01:07:10,120 --> 01:07:13,520
Speaker 3: twenty seven games whatever they have left figuring that out.

1344
01:07:13,840 --> 01:07:17,040
Speaker 3: That is their critical critical thing. I don't think they

1345
01:07:17,120 --> 01:07:20,200
Speaker 3: win the title unless they have that elite attack figured out.

1346
01:07:20,560 --> 01:07:22,440
Speaker 3: Because for as much as I think Chris Middleton has

1347
01:07:22,440 --> 01:07:24,320
Speaker 3: been a little bit better over the course of the

1348
01:07:24,360 --> 01:07:27,919
Speaker 3: second half of the first half of the season. It's

1349
01:07:28,960 --> 01:07:32,520
Speaker 3: Chris has not been good enough as a second side

1350
01:07:32,600 --> 01:07:36,720
Speaker 3: option to where you can consistently truly.

1351
01:07:36,480 --> 01:07:37,200
Speaker 1: Rely on him.

1352
01:07:37,760 --> 01:07:43,320
Speaker 3: Yet brook Lopez has been everything that he normally is.

1353
01:07:43,520 --> 01:07:48,040
Speaker 3: I think he's been tasked with different defensive assignments that

1354
01:07:48,200 --> 01:07:51,520
Speaker 3: have made him a bit less functional under Adrian Griffin.

1355
01:07:51,920 --> 01:07:55,680
Speaker 3: But for instance, them playing a bit more aggressive in

1356
01:07:55,840 --> 01:07:59,320
Speaker 3: ball screens, especially early in the season, was bunkers to me,

1357
01:07:59,440 --> 01:08:01,440
Speaker 3: given that you have Brook Lopez on your team. But

1358
01:08:03,280 --> 01:08:05,560
Speaker 3: I think Doc will play to their strengths a little

1359
01:08:05,560 --> 01:08:08,600
Speaker 3: bit better. At least they're gonna have to get something

1360
01:08:08,760 --> 01:08:11,760
Speaker 3: out of the Malik Beasley. Jay Crowder has been like

1361
01:08:11,800 --> 01:08:14,880
Speaker 3: somewhat serviceable this year. I kind of thought there was

1362
01:08:14,920 --> 01:08:17,120
Speaker 3: a chance he was cooked, but he hasn't been totally

1363
01:08:17,200 --> 01:08:21,000
Speaker 3: cooked in the way that like Pat Connaton, for instance,

1364
01:08:21,160 --> 01:08:23,200
Speaker 3: has been. They need Pat Connaton to be able to

1365
01:08:23,200 --> 01:08:27,479
Speaker 3: give them something something in my opinion, and then they

1366
01:08:27,520 --> 01:08:29,599
Speaker 3: need to figure out if they can rely on Andre

1367
01:08:29,760 --> 01:08:32,280
Speaker 3: Jackson and Marjon Beauchamp in some way. My guess is

1368
01:08:32,320 --> 01:08:35,040
Speaker 3: that it has to be Andre Jackson to be able

1369
01:08:35,200 --> 01:08:38,759
Speaker 3: to provide like real point of attack defense beyond Patrick Beverley.

1370
01:08:39,600 --> 01:08:42,560
Speaker 3: They need two of those guys. I think one of

1371
01:08:42,600 --> 01:08:46,160
Speaker 3: them can be Pat Bev. It needs to probably be

1372
01:08:46,280 --> 01:08:48,880
Speaker 3: Andre Jackson to be able to give them like ten

1373
01:08:48,960 --> 01:08:52,200
Speaker 3: to fifteen minutes a game in the playoffs that they

1374
01:08:52,240 --> 01:08:55,000
Speaker 3: can at least use to tire out opposing ball handlers.

1375
01:08:55,080 --> 01:08:59,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Patrick Beverly acquisition I actually liked. I think

1376
01:08:59,200 --> 01:09:01,000
Speaker 2: the way you mentioned it is perfect. Like he can't

1377
01:09:01,040 --> 01:09:02,720
Speaker 2: be a thirty minute per game guy, not even just

1378
01:09:02,800 --> 01:09:05,479
Speaker 2: because of like his own you know, gas tank, so

1379
01:09:05,560 --> 01:09:07,400
Speaker 2: to speak, but also I think you kind of have

1380
01:09:07,520 --> 01:09:09,799
Speaker 2: to keep Malik Beasley in the starting lineup for his confidence.

1381
01:09:10,120 --> 01:09:12,120
Speaker 2: Like I almost think you have to like start Malik

1382
01:09:12,200 --> 01:09:14,439
Speaker 2: Beasley because he has been shooting the shit out of basketball.

1383
01:09:14,479 --> 01:09:15,880
Speaker 2: You kind of have to start him and kind of

1384
01:09:16,240 --> 01:09:18,840
Speaker 2: like feed into his confidence and then basically lean into Pat,

1385
01:09:19,080 --> 01:09:22,240
Speaker 2: you know, for specific stretches of the game, and maybe

1386
01:09:22,280 --> 01:09:24,439
Speaker 2: even play him more minutes like almost like a like

1387
01:09:24,560 --> 01:09:26,720
Speaker 2: a twenty five minute per game type of guy.

1388
01:09:28,040 --> 01:09:30,839
Speaker 3: But in general, I Jason, what is their closing lineup?

1389
01:09:31,680 --> 01:09:34,320
Speaker 1: That's what I'm trying. I'm closing with Pat.

1390
01:09:34,840 --> 01:09:37,640
Speaker 2: I think I think Pat is good against guards. I

1391
01:09:37,800 --> 01:09:39,599
Speaker 2: just think he gets into trouble when you put him

1392
01:09:39,600 --> 01:09:42,479
Speaker 2: against bigger players. I think he has a reputation as

1393
01:09:42,520 --> 01:09:44,320
Speaker 2: being a guy who can guard bigger players, but I

1394
01:09:44,400 --> 01:09:46,439
Speaker 2: don't think it actually matches up with reality.

1395
01:09:47,960 --> 01:09:51,240
Speaker 3: Okay, question two, what are you closing against Boston with?

1396
01:09:54,040 --> 01:09:57,040
Speaker 3: Because they're gonna like just absolutely spam like pick and

1397
01:09:57,120 --> 01:10:00,680
Speaker 3: pops or trailer threes with Christops. I would guess, so.

1398
01:10:00,800 --> 01:10:03,840
Speaker 3: I actually don't know if you can totally trust Brooke

1399
01:10:03,920 --> 01:10:05,880
Speaker 3: to close those situations.

1400
01:10:06,200 --> 01:10:08,360
Speaker 1: I I you know, it's funny.

1401
01:10:08,400 --> 01:10:10,439
Speaker 2: Before the season, I had the Bucks above the Celtics

1402
01:10:10,479 --> 01:10:12,960
Speaker 2: on my contenders list, and then like it just it

1403
01:10:13,080 --> 01:10:15,439
Speaker 2: flipped after like fifteen games, and I've never looked back.

1404
01:10:15,439 --> 01:10:17,280
Speaker 2: I think that I think the Celtics would beat the

1405
01:10:17,400 --> 01:10:19,280
Speaker 2: Bucks pretty handily if they played them.

1406
01:10:21,040 --> 01:10:21,519
Speaker 1: I do too.

1407
01:10:22,880 --> 01:10:24,840
Speaker 3: I I don't know what their option is. I guess

1408
01:10:24,920 --> 01:10:28,000
Speaker 3: that's my thing. That's what worries me. I don't like.

1409
01:10:28,080 --> 01:10:35,519
Speaker 3: It's probably Dame Jannis Middleton, honestly, is it Crowder Pat Bev?

1410
01:10:35,960 --> 01:10:38,160
Speaker 1: And then you just what do some more switching?

1411
01:10:39,840 --> 01:10:43,320
Speaker 3: You try and switch like everything, but then you have

1412
01:10:43,479 --> 01:10:46,200
Speaker 3: Dame who has not been very good defensively so far

1413
01:10:46,360 --> 01:10:52,880
Speaker 3: this season. Structurally, their lineups are hard, like do you

1414
01:10:53,000 --> 01:10:56,400
Speaker 3: do you try and switch with Brook? Maybe like that

1415
01:10:56,520 --> 01:10:58,519
Speaker 3: that feels like a bad idea, To be clear, I'm not,

1416
01:10:58,960 --> 01:11:02,840
Speaker 3: I'm not. I think think it's choosing between bad ideas

1417
01:11:03,520 --> 01:11:07,040
Speaker 3: in terms of what they're like. Closing lineups against Boston

1418
01:11:07,240 --> 01:11:15,120
Speaker 3: could look like, Yeah, they're in a really intriguing, difficult spot.

1419
01:11:15,439 --> 01:11:17,679
Speaker 1: I would switch against Boston.

1420
01:11:18,120 --> 01:11:20,560
Speaker 2: My thing with Boston I think if you switch and

1421
01:11:20,640 --> 01:11:22,960
Speaker 2: you dig down into driving lanes, I think you can

1422
01:11:23,040 --> 01:11:27,559
Speaker 2: get them to settles. That's if I was coaching against Boston,

1423
01:11:27,760 --> 01:11:30,120
Speaker 2: I would lean into whatever I could do to make

1424
01:11:31,120 --> 01:11:34,080
Speaker 2: them lean into their worst tendencies and like they are,

1425
01:11:34,200 --> 01:11:37,720
Speaker 2: and they their ISO and post up guys tend to

1426
01:11:37,800 --> 01:11:41,920
Speaker 2: settle for tough shots, so that that would be I

1427
01:11:42,000 --> 01:11:46,040
Speaker 2: think I'd probably leave Brooke out there and I would

1428
01:11:46,120 --> 01:11:48,920
Speaker 2: switch and just offer a lot of help and test

1429
01:11:49,120 --> 01:11:51,080
Speaker 2: their decision making.

1430
01:11:53,000 --> 01:11:56,840
Speaker 3: I think I agree with you, and look like they

1431
01:11:56,960 --> 01:11:59,360
Speaker 3: kicked the shit out of Boston last time they played

1432
01:11:59,400 --> 01:12:01,840
Speaker 3: them like they absolutely.

1433
01:12:01,560 --> 01:12:04,240
Speaker 1: The second of back to back, and that was because

1434
01:12:05,040 --> 01:12:05,760
Speaker 1: that was like a.

1435
01:12:07,280 --> 01:12:09,519
Speaker 3: One hundred percent and that was a game where like

1436
01:12:09,600 --> 01:12:12,519
Speaker 3: both teams were relatively healthy. I think they might have

1437
01:12:12,560 --> 01:12:14,639
Speaker 3: sat out Horford for that game if I remember correctly.

1438
01:12:14,880 --> 01:12:22,040
Speaker 3: But like both teams like relatively healthy, I'm I think

1439
01:12:22,120 --> 01:12:24,640
Speaker 3: Boston has real schematic advantages against them, which were no

1440
01:12:24,760 --> 01:12:53,599
Speaker 3: I agree the volume