WEBVTT - Role Player Grades

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the State of Lakers on DASH Radio. I

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<v Speaker 1>hope you guys enjoyed that first part of the letter

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<v Speaker 1>grade pod that I did on the Big Three today.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm hating on all of the role players, which I'm

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<v Speaker 1>really really excited to do because I have really grown

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<v Speaker 1>to like each and every one of these guys as

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<v Speaker 1>basketball players and what they bring to the table. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>This is going to post on Tuesday night at midnight,

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<v Speaker 1>so you guys should be able to listen to it

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<v Speaker 1>on the day of the game. And then I am

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<v Speaker 1>out of town still for my grandfather's funeral. So Roj

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be hosting our postgame show on Wednesday night,

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<v Speaker 1>so I hope you guys all go check that out

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<v Speaker 1>with him and continue to support the show as always.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm super thankful for you guys rocking with us so

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<v Speaker 1>far this season. It's been really excited to see this

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<v Speaker 1>whole thing, bro. But let's go ahead and get started.

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<v Speaker 1>So again, for the as you who missed the last one,

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<v Speaker 1>these letter grades are all relative to what the expectations

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<v Speaker 1>were for these players coming into the season. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think it's fair to grade, you know. Dwight Howard on

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<v Speaker 1>the same scale that we grade Lebron James or Anthony Davis.

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<v Speaker 1>That's just not the way that we should evaluate these guys. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>But let's start with Milik Monk. So I give Leak

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<v Speaker 1>Monk and a minus. He is a veteran minimum guy.

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<v Speaker 1>I actually think, if I'm not mistaken, he's on a

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<v Speaker 1>smaller form of the minimum contract of don't quote me

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<v Speaker 1>on that, but I think I saw that when I

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<v Speaker 1>was researching over the off season. So again, when you

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<v Speaker 1>when you actually talk about what we're getting for the

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<v Speaker 1>money out of Malik Monk, he is knocking it out

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<v Speaker 1>of the park. We're getting spot creation. He can run

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<v Speaker 1>second side. Actually, he can run a pick and roll.

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<v Speaker 1>He can beat guys off the dribble and spray out

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<v Speaker 1>too shooters in transition. He's flashed a lot of high

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<v Speaker 1>level playmaking. He had that awesome blob. I believe that

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<v Speaker 1>he threw to DeAndre Jordan's the other night against the Magic.

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<v Speaker 1>He's shown spot creation, He's shown high level clothes out attacking.

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<v Speaker 1>This is something that has always been a very important

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<v Speaker 1>skill to me because I think in the postseason, these

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<v Speaker 1>really really elite, high end defenses are they're just really

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<v Speaker 1>really good at chasing guys off the line and funneling

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<v Speaker 1>you into a guy at the rim who can who

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<v Speaker 1>can defend the room. So if you can make floaters,

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<v Speaker 1>if you can make one or two grivel pull ups,

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<v Speaker 1>if you can make creative finishes around the rim, when

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<v Speaker 1>there's already a shot blocker there, that brings a ton

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<v Speaker 1>of value. And Malik Monk brings that to this team. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it hasn't been all good. He's he's turned

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<v Speaker 1>into somewhat of a good play bad play guy, which

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<v Speaker 1>is typical for a young player. I do think we're

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<v Speaker 1>trending in the right direction there though. For example, what

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<v Speaker 1>I'm talking about is like I'll see him, uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>come flying in and make a huge defensive rebounding play

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<v Speaker 1>to to to you know, close out a defensive possession,

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<v Speaker 1>but then on the very next possession he'll miss a

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<v Speaker 1>box out, you know, and that that is a habit

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<v Speaker 1>that you have to instill, and it's a habit that's

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<v Speaker 1>been bad down the roster for the Lakers. So I

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<v Speaker 1>want to cut Malik a little bit of slack there.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole team is literally the worst box out team

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<v Speaker 1>in the entire league. So I don't want to put

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<v Speaker 1>that all on the league Monk, but he's one of

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<v Speaker 1>the guys who struggled with that, and so over the

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<v Speaker 1>course of the season, it'll just be important for him

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<v Speaker 1>to continue to establish those habits so that in the

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<v Speaker 1>long run, in the playoffs, you can count on him

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<v Speaker 1>to not make those kinds of mistakes. The irony is

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<v Speaker 1>he hasn't shot the ball that great I can. I

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<v Speaker 1>think over the course of the season he'll continue to

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<v Speaker 1>shoot better. Unlike Mellow and Wayne Ellington are both shooting

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<v Speaker 1>over wide open threes, Malik Monk is shooting below wide

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<v Speaker 1>open three. So he's got another level that he can

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<v Speaker 1>get to as a shooter that I think is in

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<v Speaker 1>there that I just don't think he's tapped into yet.

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<v Speaker 1>That could It could be a bunch of different things.

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<v Speaker 1>Could be more defensive responsibilities than usual. Uh, it could

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<v Speaker 1>be just him finding his role on the team and

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<v Speaker 1>trying to determine where his shots will come from. But

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<v Speaker 1>I think he'll eventually shoot better, but when he establishes

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<v Speaker 1>those good defensive habits, when he establishes those good rebounding

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<v Speaker 1>habits in contu oction with what he's already doing well,

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<v Speaker 1>which is creating in second side actions and his high

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<v Speaker 1>level close out attacking. I think we're gonna see a

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<v Speaker 1>player who's going to be a solid role player for

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<v Speaker 1>this team down the line. So a minus firmlik mug.

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<v Speaker 1>DeAndre Jordan's uh the one that I'm in most trouble

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<v Speaker 1>with with people on Twitter. So I give DeAndre Jordan

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<v Speaker 1>a b um that's gonna sound insane, but I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>evaluating him based on, you know, his contractor even the

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<v Speaker 1>way Frank was using him to start the season, which

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<v Speaker 1>I thought was outrageous. I always thought of DeAndre Jordan's

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<v Speaker 1>as a guy that would play strictly when either Dwight

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<v Speaker 1>or Anthony Davis had to sit for whatever reason, so

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<v Speaker 1>that the Lakers could have scheme consistency in those games.

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<v Speaker 1>And you saw that literally for the first time in

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<v Speaker 1>this last little stretch of games here. He was awesome

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<v Speaker 1>by his standards. He was awesome against the Magic the

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<v Speaker 1>other night, just as a guy who came in for

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<v Speaker 1>a few minutes as a break glass in case of emergency,

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<v Speaker 1>end of the bench big He had a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>big block shots. He had that awesome dunk in transition

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<v Speaker 1>off the leak monk Pass. He was just a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more active, and the main reason why, in my opinion,

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<v Speaker 1>is he's finally in the right role again. I gave

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<v Speaker 1>him a B because I'm evaluating him relative to an

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<v Speaker 1>end of the bench veteran minimum center, and in that

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<v Speaker 1>role in recent days, he's actually been what you expect

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<v Speaker 1>or would hope for from an end of the bench

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<v Speaker 1>veteran minimum center. So a B for DeAndre. Moving on

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<v Speaker 1>to Dwight, I also gave him a beat. Now, Dwight

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<v Speaker 1>has been clearly better than DeAndre this season, but I

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<v Speaker 1>also expected more out of Dwight than DeAndre this season.

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<v Speaker 1>I actually think Dwight is a rotation level center. He

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<v Speaker 1>is actually, in my opinion, one of the better backup

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<v Speaker 1>centers that you can get in this league. And really

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<v Speaker 1>in this last two three weeks, he's finally starting to

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<v Speaker 1>play the consistent role that he should have been playing

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<v Speaker 1>all season. That he was kind of in and out

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<v Speaker 1>of the lineup as Frank was trying to get herman.

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<v Speaker 1>You know the Frank. You know, he's Frank has been

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<v Speaker 1>a lot better lately, so I want to cut him

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<v Speaker 1>some slack, But it was completely ridiculous for him at

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<v Speaker 1>one point to go to a one traditional center rotation

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<v Speaker 1>and for DeAndre to be the guy he went to

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<v Speaker 1>their Dwight definitely caught the short end of the stick

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<v Speaker 1>in some of those areas, but he's finally getting his

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity and he's doing a good job. You know, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't even really need to dive into the Dwight thing.

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<v Speaker 1>He does exactly what you expect him to do. He

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<v Speaker 1>screens and he rolls hard to the rim on defense.

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<v Speaker 1>He's active, he does the He's I think our best

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<v Speaker 1>drop coverage big in terms, you know, uh, Anthony Davis

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<v Speaker 1>and in his ceiling should theoretically be that, but a

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<v Speaker 1>d has been kind of lacks of daisical in that

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<v Speaker 1>role this season. Dwight is our best drop coverage big

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<v Speaker 1>at bothering the ball handler and dissuading the lab. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that that's a great weapon to have in Frank system.

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<v Speaker 1>He is really the perfect big to have in Frank system.

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<v Speaker 1>Still same Dwight stuff, like lost his cool a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of times. He's had some technicals. He commits stupid fouls.

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<v Speaker 1>He's a tendency to wrap guys up. He's always a

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<v Speaker 1>flagrant foul waiting to happen. So that's all part of

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<v Speaker 1>the Dwight experience. But relative to what my expectations were

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<v Speaker 1>for him this season, he's done fine. Reeves, I gave

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<v Speaker 1>an a plus. So anytime you're an undrafted free agent

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<v Speaker 1>andrew a rookie and you come into the league and

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<v Speaker 1>you're playing minutes for a team that has legitimate championship aspirations,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that automatically gives you an A plus. That

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<v Speaker 1>means that relative to what you were expected to do

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<v Speaker 1>this season, which would be a two way player, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>maybe not even be a two way player, maybe just

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<v Speaker 1>end up on the G league roster, for him to

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<v Speaker 1>be in the situation that he's in is a huge

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<v Speaker 1>win for the team. Now, what was really interesting is

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<v Speaker 1>they signed him to a real NBA contract immediately after

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<v Speaker 1>Lebron's minicamp, which tells you that Lebron picked up on

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<v Speaker 1>Austin reason what he could do right away. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think Lebron has always had a soft spot in his

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<v Speaker 1>basketball heart for guys that have basketball i Q. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's Austin Reaves is biggest strength. He understands how to

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<v Speaker 1>win basketball games within a team concept. He's a great

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<v Speaker 1>connective tissue player. He is the kind of guy that

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<v Speaker 1>has way more value playing alongside top tier talent than

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<v Speaker 1>he does playing for a bad team, and so he's

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<v Speaker 1>been a perfect fit he I've talked a lot about

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<v Speaker 1>how he errors on the side of making the extra

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<v Speaker 1>pass and how that's contagious, and how that really really

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<v Speaker 1>helps the culture of making the extra pass with for

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the team. He's very, very good attacking

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<v Speaker 1>closeouts methodically and slowly, making reads and making plays for

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<v Speaker 1>his teammates. And then defensively, he's the only Laker this

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<v Speaker 1>season that has consistently shown a willingness to put his

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<v Speaker 1>body on the line to make plays. You can't possibly

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<v Speaker 1>be any happier with the player given where they found him.

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<v Speaker 1>A plus for Austin Reeves can't wait to see what

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<v Speaker 1>he turns into as a Laker. Moving on to th

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<v Speaker 1>h T, So I give t h T a b um.

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<v Speaker 1>The only reason I have him that low was because

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<v Speaker 1>his offensive struggles lately, which have been borderline problematic and

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<v Speaker 1>really really hurt their spacing. However, the reason why the

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<v Speaker 1>grade is still so high, as again we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>a twenty one year old here. You can't expect the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty one year old to be consistent. You can't expect

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty and one year old to not go through

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<v Speaker 1>offensive slumps. This is all kind of part of the deal.

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<v Speaker 1>The reality is that he's defending at a much higher

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<v Speaker 1>level now than he was over the course of the

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<v Speaker 1>last two seasons. You're seeing way fewer off ball mistakes,

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<v Speaker 1>and you're starting to see some of that on bald disruption,

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<v Speaker 1>that Kauai esque on bald disruption that makes me so

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<v Speaker 1>excited about his ceiling. You know, if you guys remember

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<v Speaker 1>last year when Roger and I were talking, I was

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<v Speaker 1>one of the guys who was pretty down on th

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<v Speaker 1>h T. I. I thought that he needed to be traded.

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<v Speaker 1>I I thought that he was way, way way away

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<v Speaker 1>from being able to contribute to this team. And he's

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<v Speaker 1>proven me wrong. He's so far ahead of where he

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<v Speaker 1>needs to be offensively or excuse me, defensively, that he's

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<v Speaker 1>already contributing and you're seeing him start to trend in

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<v Speaker 1>the right direction offensively. And the main thing is the

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<v Speaker 1>main reason why he's starting to have some offenses successes

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<v Speaker 1>here in the last week is we're getting out of

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<v Speaker 1>using him as an on ball creator. And starting to

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<v Speaker 1>use him as a guy who's attacking with an advantage.

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<v Speaker 1>We did a ton of this against the Magic the

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<v Speaker 1>other day, where we would have him started the weak

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<v Speaker 1>side corner and curl off of a pin down and

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<v Speaker 1>now the defenders on his hip, and he's just too

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<v Speaker 1>strong and too long an athletic to not finish when

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<v Speaker 1>he has that advantage, when there's not a big guy

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<v Speaker 1>in the lane clogging things up. He's had a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of success with that. He's had a lot of success

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<v Speaker 1>attacking closeouts, you know, you know, having he's made enough threes,

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<v Speaker 1>or he's at least he convinces people that he's dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>enough as a three point shooter that they will close

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<v Speaker 1>out on him. And he's ripping through getting into soft

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<v Speaker 1>spots in the defense, and he's either you know, going

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<v Speaker 1>to one of his finishing moves around the rim, or

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<v Speaker 1>he's making plays for his teammates. He had a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of plays against Orlando where he was reading the defense

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<v Speaker 1>on the backside, finding out where that low man was

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<v Speaker 1>coming over to help, and picking them upon art on

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<v Speaker 1>the backside, hitting guys for threes. That's way ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>what you would expect to see from a twenty one

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<v Speaker 1>year old. You know, I want to say it was

0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:11.760
<v Speaker 1>Jordan's Schultz, who I think is with bleacher Report. I'm

0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:16.800
<v Speaker 1>not sure who reported today that seven teams have inquired

0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:19.600
<v Speaker 1>with the Lakers about trading for th HD. That doesn't

0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.080
<v Speaker 1>surprise me at all. Everyone thought I was crazy. I

0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.440
<v Speaker 1>absolutely think that th h T is a bona fide

0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:28.480
<v Speaker 1>trade asset and that teams should want to have him

0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:32.719
<v Speaker 1>on their team. He doesn't fit great with the Lakers timeline,

0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:35.559
<v Speaker 1>but I think he's going to be either an All

0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.520
<v Speaker 1>Star or something very close to that, because he trends.

0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:40.679
<v Speaker 1>He projects to be a guy who will make all

0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:42.720
<v Speaker 1>defense teams and will have a season where the averages

0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.280
<v Speaker 1>twenty points a game or maybe more so to me, inherently,

0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:49.520
<v Speaker 1>that's that's Drew Holiday, and Drew Holiday is an All

0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:53.480
<v Speaker 1>Star in my opinion, So I think you have to

0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.040
<v Speaker 1>place a certain amount of value on that with th HT. Now, again,

0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:57.439
<v Speaker 1>a lot of it has to do with how the

0:11:57.520 --> 0:11:59.800
<v Speaker 1>Lakers look around the trade deadline. If the Lakers look

0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:02.719
<v Speaker 1>really of good and th HD is a big contributor

0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.280
<v Speaker 1>to that, then you can't trade him because he's helping

0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.040
<v Speaker 1>you now and he projects to be you know, an

0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.480
<v Speaker 1>all star level player in the future. But if he

0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.840
<v Speaker 1>is still showing the young guy in consistency and Trevor

0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:16.079
<v Speaker 1>Reas is playing now, so he's getting fewer minutes and

0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.720
<v Speaker 1>it's not really coming together, that's where you need to

0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.560
<v Speaker 1>capitalize on the fact that his value is higher elsewhere

0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:23.439
<v Speaker 1>in the league than it is here with the Lakers.

0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:26.880
<v Speaker 1>Moving on to Avery Bradley, I give him a B plus. Again,

0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.520
<v Speaker 1>any time you're a non guaranteed contract, veteran minimum claimed

0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:33.480
<v Speaker 1>offf of waivers and you're being relied on as much

0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:35.560
<v Speaker 1>as he is, I would call that a win. In

0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:40.320
<v Speaker 1>terms of his performance, his huge workload. He's basically Frank's

0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:45.199
<v Speaker 1>go to perimeter, the team's top perimeter initiator. He's the

0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.480
<v Speaker 1>guy who's ball pressuring him up, up and down the floor.

0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:51.040
<v Speaker 1>He's been guarding bigger forwards, he's been guarding small quick guards.

0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.720
<v Speaker 1>He's been he's been doing everything. Now. He frustrates me

0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.240
<v Speaker 1>in a lot of ways because he can be overly

0:12:57.280 --> 0:12:58.920
<v Speaker 1>aggressive at the point of attack and give up a

0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:02.360
<v Speaker 1>lot of straight line dry His offensive shot selection still

0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.960
<v Speaker 1>is mind boggling to me because he just just is

0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:09.320
<v Speaker 1>so trigger happy with that midrange pull up jump shot,

0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:11.160
<v Speaker 1>and it's never been a high percentage shot for him,

0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:13.320
<v Speaker 1>and it's never been a good shot in any offense ever,

0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.120
<v Speaker 1>especially early in the clock, and he keeps going to it.

0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:19.040
<v Speaker 1>I'd like to see him cut that out eventually, but

0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:24.080
<v Speaker 1>he's shooting from three. That's one of the top guys

0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.880
<v Speaker 1>on the team, so I can't get too upset with him. Offensively.

0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:31.600
<v Speaker 1>He is turned into a quality rotation piece for this team,

0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.520
<v Speaker 1>and they basically got him for the NBA's version of

0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:37.080
<v Speaker 1>free so you can't complain too much. I think he

0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:38.960
<v Speaker 1>fits well in the long run of this team too.

0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:41.319
<v Speaker 1>It'll be interesting to see if they cut him because

0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:43.160
<v Speaker 1>of his contract year and t date to try to

0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.640
<v Speaker 1>save money on the luxury tax I hope they don't.

0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:49.000
<v Speaker 1>I think he's important for guard depth. I think he's

0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.160
<v Speaker 1>a guy that is a good fifth starter, a good

0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.800
<v Speaker 1>fifth guy in the lineup who knocks down enough shots

0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.240
<v Speaker 1>and does enough of the dirty work that he's another

0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:58.840
<v Speaker 1>one of those like connective tissue guys that I was

0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.559
<v Speaker 1>talking about. So I hope they don't cut him. Um

0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.000
<v Speaker 1>but and he fits into the long run, long long

0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.120
<v Speaker 1>run plan in my opinion. But it'll be interesting to

0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.880
<v Speaker 1>see what the Laker front office decides to do with him.

0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:13.439
<v Speaker 1>All right, Carmelo Anthony, I gave Carmelo an a. He

0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:17.480
<v Speaker 1>brings what I call aggressive spot up shooting. What makes

0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:21.600
<v Speaker 1>aggressive spot up shooting so important is in a playoff setting,

0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.840
<v Speaker 1>there's not really as many wide open shots as you

0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.120
<v Speaker 1>would think, and I'm talking like wide open feet set

0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.360
<v Speaker 1>take a second to think about it type of threes.

0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:33.040
<v Speaker 1>Usually these really really high level defense is the only

0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:37.960
<v Speaker 1>thing they're willing to concede is a contest, lightly contested

0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:41.640
<v Speaker 1>three off of several rotations. So when you have short guys,

0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.320
<v Speaker 1>guys like Avery Bradley who are uh, you know, not

0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:46.080
<v Speaker 1>gonna be able to get his three point shot off

0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:49.680
<v Speaker 1>unless he's wide open, or your Austin Reeves who's not

0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.760
<v Speaker 1>really very aggressive as a spot up shooter, or Wayne

0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:56.600
<v Speaker 1>Ellington who was a little bit shorter, those guys are

0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.400
<v Speaker 1>gonna have a harder time in a playoff setting getting

0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:01.840
<v Speaker 1>high qualit at the three point shots off. But mellow

0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:04.880
<v Speaker 1>at six ft eight as a as a flat out

0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:07.520
<v Speaker 1>gunner who has a does a really good job of

0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.560
<v Speaker 1>using weird body language cues to tempt guys after a

0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:12.360
<v Speaker 1>close out to still give him a little bit of

0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.400
<v Speaker 1>space and he'll just rise up and then he has

0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.400
<v Speaker 1>a lightning quick release. So that type of aggressive spot

0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.280
<v Speaker 1>up shooting is so valuable, especially in a playoff setting,

0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:24.560
<v Speaker 1>because a mellow three that's mildly contested kind of has

0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:27.760
<v Speaker 1>the same effect as a wide open three, and so

0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.880
<v Speaker 1>that gives you a great deal of a value in

0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.280
<v Speaker 1>a playoff setting. He's another one of the guys, two

0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:37.120
<v Speaker 1>of them this season, him and Wayne Ellington who were him,

0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:40.800
<v Speaker 1>Wayne Ellington and Lebron who are over a wide open

0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.080
<v Speaker 1>threes this year, which is incredible. He's you know, moving

0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.920
<v Speaker 1>to the defensive end of the ball with Mellow. He

0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.760
<v Speaker 1>his his season has kind of looked like a Bell curve.

0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.160
<v Speaker 1>He was terrible to start the season, the anyone on

0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:53.960
<v Speaker 1>this run there in the middle where he was defending

0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.440
<v Speaker 1>at a high level, you know, compared to what you

0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.080
<v Speaker 1>expect from Mellow, and then in recent weeks he's kind

0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:02.120
<v Speaker 1>of started to trend back back down. Um, I'm hopeful

0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:04.880
<v Speaker 1>that similar to a guy like Malik Monk and what

0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.760
<v Speaker 1>I'm hoping for with Wayne Ellington, that over the course

0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.720
<v Speaker 1>of the season, especially as this team really gets rolling,

0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:14.880
<v Speaker 1>that he will feel a sense of accountability, build good habits,

0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.680
<v Speaker 1>and become just a passable defender. They just need him

0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.320
<v Speaker 1>to be a passible defender. And in the long run,

0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.040
<v Speaker 1>and this the same thing goes for Wayne Ellington. I

0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:26.040
<v Speaker 1>think the Lakers are going to play a lot of

0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.920
<v Speaker 1>wings at some point with Trevor Reason coming back, and

0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:31.160
<v Speaker 1>if they decided to make a trade or a buyout

0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.720
<v Speaker 1>move for a wing, and I think you're gonna see,

0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.000
<v Speaker 1>especially in the A D at the five lineups, a

0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.280
<v Speaker 1>lot more wings out there. That will make it so

0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:42.960
<v Speaker 1>that having just a passible defender in that fifth spot

0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:46.520
<v Speaker 1>or in that fourth spot is enough for the defense

0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:48.960
<v Speaker 1>to function. And I just need mellow to get to

0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.960
<v Speaker 1>that point. Last, but not least, I have Wayne Ellington.

0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:54.160
<v Speaker 1>I gave a B plus. The only reason I put

0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.440
<v Speaker 1>him a little bit below Mellows. He was a little

0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:58.320
<v Speaker 1>bit slow to get started this year, dealt with some

0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.800
<v Speaker 1>injury stuff. So obviously that's an fortunate when you sign

0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:03.000
<v Speaker 1>a guy to a contract hoping for him to start,

0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.960
<v Speaker 1>which was the original plan. If you guys remember this offseason,

0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.800
<v Speaker 1>as was reported by the Athletic and for it might

0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:10.880
<v Speaker 1>have been Chris Haynes. I'm not sure but either way,

0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:12.960
<v Speaker 1>Wayne Ellington was expected a certain that he was hurt,

0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:14.440
<v Speaker 1>and then when he came in he was a cold

0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:16.879
<v Speaker 1>shooter for a while. Now he's really humming. That's the

0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:18.639
<v Speaker 1>only reason I have him as a B plus instead

0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.280
<v Speaker 1>of an A like Mellow. But he brings that movement

0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:23.960
<v Speaker 1>shooting element which is so incredibly valuable to this team.

0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:26.919
<v Speaker 1>When you have guys like Anthony Davis, like Lebron and

0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.240
<v Speaker 1>like Austin Reeves and Phdre setting off ball screens. When

0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:32.120
<v Speaker 1>you have a guy who can come off of those

0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:36.160
<v Speaker 1>actions and is a real threat, it warps the defense

0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:38.639
<v Speaker 1>in a way that is hard to associate with the value.

0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:40.520
<v Speaker 1>You know, he's actually talking with Rage about this on

0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:41.879
<v Speaker 1>a pod the other day and he's like, oh, you know,

0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.280
<v Speaker 1>Ellington has only taken four or five six shots a game.

0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:46.159
<v Speaker 1>I'd like to see him take more shots. You know.

0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:48.960
<v Speaker 1>The thing with Wayne Ellington is teams around the league

0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:52.080
<v Speaker 1>scout for him as a deadly shooter. So it's not

0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.720
<v Speaker 1>really necessarily about his shot attempts. To me, it's about

0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:56.399
<v Speaker 1>his minutes. I want to see him get more minutes

0:17:56.440 --> 0:17:58.879
<v Speaker 1>because while he's on the floor, you know, if he

0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.760
<v Speaker 1>goes a five minutes stretch without shooting. That just means

0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:04.160
<v Speaker 1>guys were sitting in his lap the whole time. Guys

0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:07.600
<v Speaker 1>were glued to him. That directly will relate to spacing

0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:10.000
<v Speaker 1>and opportunities for the Laker Stars to get into the paint.

0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:13.199
<v Speaker 1>That's a huge value add there. And then one of

0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.880
<v Speaker 1>the things I think Ellington has actually been pretty okay defensively,

0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.919
<v Speaker 1>even better than Mellow. He because he is a shooter.

0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:21.440
<v Speaker 1>He knows how to guard shooters. He's really really good

0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.920
<v Speaker 1>at getting low and in a lock and trail position

0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:26.840
<v Speaker 1>and not getting hit by screens and staying attached to shooters.

0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:29.960
<v Speaker 1>He has shown that he's another one of those guys

0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:31.919
<v Speaker 1>that I think, especially in the long run, when the

0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:33.880
<v Speaker 1>team has better habits and when they start playing some

0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:36.920
<v Speaker 1>more wings, when wings get healthy, and when they inevitably

0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:39.320
<v Speaker 1>add one in the trade deadline or in the buyout market,

0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.800
<v Speaker 1>I think he's gonna be a serviceable fifth defender. So

0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:45.040
<v Speaker 1>I have him as as a B plus. Al Right, guys,

0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.640
<v Speaker 1>that's all I have for today. I raje. Like I said,

0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:51.879
<v Speaker 1>we'll be covering the postgame show h tonight against on

0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:53.960
<v Speaker 1>the road in Dallas. I hope you guys will tune

0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:56.000
<v Speaker 1>in for that one right after the final buzzer, and

0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.080
<v Speaker 1>then I will be back for a pod on Thursday.

0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:00.040
<v Speaker 1>Thank you guys as always for supporting the show, and

0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:01.080
<v Speaker 1>i'll see you in a couple of days