WEBVTT - Sweep the Deer 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:04.280 This crowd rises to its me what Carlos slamming it? 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:10.360 Oh Carlo, left wing free ball perfect, darl then Hellift 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:13.400 lock the shot at the rim, pow in the left 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:16.720 hand and of fowl. Welcome to Chase Doown podcast, part 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:18.640 of the Cave Media Family. I'm your host, Justin Browan. 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:21.239 The Chase Down is presented by Fubo, the official streaming 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:23.479 partner of the Calves. Watch over three hundred and fifty 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.480 channels of live sports and TV, including Vanduel Sports Network 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:29.560 without cable. There's no cost and no commitment. Try for 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:33.120 free at foobotv dot com Slash Calves. The Cleveland Cavaliers 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:37.160 have won their fourteenth consecutive game with a comfortable win 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.640 over the Milwaukee Bucks. A good test for them, one 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:44.080 of the few teams that they are still measuring themselves 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.760 up against, a potential second round matchup for them, and they. 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:49.479 Got the win in Milwaukee. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.199 Joining me today to discuss that and the upcoming stretch 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.040 is my co host Carter Rodriguez. Carter, how you doing, Buddy, 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:58.720 I'm doing great. It is a really one of the 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:03.320 first really lovely day of the burgeoning spring in Columbus, Ohio. 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.000 Kids were out without their coats on, playing with a 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:11.120 bubble machine going down the slide. It was absolutely wonderful. 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:16.080 I'm sipping on a Mystic Mama from Jackie O's I'm 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.240 in a great mood, and the Cavs certainly have done 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:23.000 nothing to hurt that fourteen wins in a row, and 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:27.119 it felt to me justin I don't know if the 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:31.120 matchup mattered as much as much as their approach to 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:35.720 the matchup mattered. You know, I think they've proven everything 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:39.560 they probably want to prove against the Bucks in the 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:43.200 first couple games of the year. But they you know, 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:47.080 we joked on our last podcast that admit it. You know, 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:50.120 a thirteen game win streak. Were they slumping a little? 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:57.600 And I felt like this game really was a demonstration 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:01.240 of what a focused Cavs team can do even when 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:04.320 they're not playing that well, because I thought they outplayed 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.960 the Milwaukee Bucks for forty eight minutes last night. Do 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.520 you feel that they didn't play that well last night 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:11.639 or they didn't shoot that well? 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:12.560 But yeah, that's what I meant. 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.919 I meant even when things aren't firing on all cylinders, 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:20.800 like their attention to detail and their their system and 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:25.000 their connectedness, all those things were going for them, and 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:30.480 even when they're not shooting particularly well, they're still just better. 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:36.240 Like I thought, Jannis brought an a game and you know, 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:39.760 he probably had six dunks through two and a half quarters. 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:42.320 And I jumped on to the Fear of the Sword 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:45.400 playback a live stream just to kind of react to 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:47.920 the game in real time with Tony Pesta talking about, 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.240 oh man, yeah, it's having a great game, and all 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:52.000 of a sudden, I look at the box scorers, like 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:56.360 twenty six points on twenty shots. Oh, it's not that good. 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.280 You know, like they really trusted their own process us 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:04.520 in this game, and it made it. They just kind 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:09.520 of ground Milwaukee down to a dust until and then 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:14.120 Jarrett kind of puts the puts the finishing touch with 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.960 that poster on Brook Lopez and and it looks it's 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.160 just a walk away victory, even when Donovan goes four 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.280 to fifteen, Darius goes four to thirteen, combined two of 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.600 fifteen from three from those guys, and it just didn't 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:28.160 really matter. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:29.240 Yeah. 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.240 It's really funny because when I reflect back on kind 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:35.560 of the four games that we've had against Milwaukee this season, 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:38.560 normally the formula when you play the bucks is, hey, 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:41.840 when Giannie has got it going, you want to play 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:44.680 that to a draw, right like you want to you know, 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:47.720 hang around and then when he goes to the bench, 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:49.200 you can make a little bit of a run and 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:50.040 you can pull. 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:51.000 Away at that time. 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.680 I think it's fair to say that Jannis is the 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:57.400 best player in the Eastern Conference. Like when I look 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.000 kind of at the best players on the best team 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.840 throughout the East or even across the league, that like 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:09.800 Tier one group of like yokicch Shay, Jannie Lebron, Luca, 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.440 like that group, there's really only one of them in 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.520 the Eastern Conference where just definitively if you go into 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:21.800 a series, that's the number one guy. Jason Tatum, Jlen Brown, 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:26.120 you know, Jalen Brunson, all those guys. If we're in 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.159 a series against them, there is a chance that someone 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:30.880 on the Caves is the best player in that series. 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:33.200 I think Giannis is one of those guys that he's 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:35.320 just going to be that best player no matter what, 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:38.640 and for the Cavs to win the yannest minutes in 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.440 every single one of these matchups, or at least it 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:43.000 feels like that. I know that was the case for 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.960 the first two and then he didn't play the third. 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.960 But in everything they did, they definitely won the minutes 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:53.960 with Giannis in the third matchup where he didn't play, Yeah, yeah, 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:57.279 we did terrific there in those minutes. But you know, 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:01.040 to outscore the Bucks by thirteen in honest's minutes again, 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:05.440 Like that's really really encouraging because he is tough to handle. 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:08.039 He's going to get his own he's going to test 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:12.240 your defense, and I don't think every team is built 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.240 to handle what Yannis is capable of doing offensively, the 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:17.400 way that he plays with so much force, going to 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.760 the basket with such relentlessness, the way that he's able 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:24.040 to get his own rebound and second chance opportunities, and 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.400 the Cavs have bodies to throw at him, right, Like 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.840 DeAndre Hunter can do a good job. Dean Wade does 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:32.039 a good job. Max Deane has always done a good job. 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.080 And I thought he really battled in this game because 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:37.760 normally he does a good job of kind of baiting 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.240 Giannis into his worst habits, and Giannis was not having it, 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.360 Like he was going through his chest as much as 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.600 he could. And you know, when you're Dean Wade and 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.599 you just don't have the physical advantages there. You just 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.240 got to hang on pe to your life and hope 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.799 the help comes. I thought he did. He didn't change. 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.120 You know, again at the beginning I said it was 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.680 really steadfast the game plan from the cab. I think 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.120 that was really emblematic in the way Dean was guarding. 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:05.239 You know, He's like, I'm just going to do my best. 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:07.440 I'm not going to go crazy. I'm not going to 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:09.560 reach I'm not going to try to I'm not going 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.320 to change what I'm doing. I'm just going to trust 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:15.880 that eventually it's going to take him one more bump 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:17.839 to get through me than he wants, and we're going 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:20.080 to be able to bring help and we're going to 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:21.120 get the stops we need. 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:22.280 Yeah. Yeah. 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.080 And you know, on the other end, while the Cats 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:27.520 held up well defensively and did a great job on 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:31.120 you honest, the Bucks really struggled with the cast, particularly 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.040 on the perimeter. You know, when when you look at 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:35.599 this matchup on paper, you would think that is the 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:38.360 way that this should go, right, Damian Lillard is going 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:40.920 to be a target on defense, not a target in 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:44.159 the way that you know, Boston will target Darius or Donovan, 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:46.680 were like, hey, we can shoot over these shorter guys. 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:50.000 You can get by name, Like you're he's going to 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.200 allow very easy penetration. It's not shooting over you're getting 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.520 by him. Gary Trent Junior I thought had a tough game. 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:58.440 There were times that he was a little bit pesky 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.000 and physical, but he's one of those guys that's going 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.840 to gamble a little bit too much and create opportunities. 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.240 And so they prints at the two just as not 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.760 also do not. It's just not enough foot speed. Yeah, 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.000 for this Cavs team, they really are lacking foot speed. 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:16.200 And when you look at the shot quality for the 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.360 Calves in this game, it was staggering. Like they got 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:22.960 a lot of open threes. They took twenty three wide 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.960 open threes without a defender within six feet. They went 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.320 ten of twenty three on those, so good but not 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.040 you know, great, not one of their best shooting nights. 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.800 But then they also went seven of twenty on kind 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.480 of those late contest threes where a defender is within 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.520 four to six feet, so not wide open, but you're 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:42.440 getting a clean look in those spots. And they felt 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.400 and they felt rhythm. You know, that's where the tracking 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.480 data can show you is are they lightly contested pull 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:52.600 ups or are they lightly contested swing? Swing swing in 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:55.400 the rhythm of the game. You know, ball, you know, 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.160 hitting the shooter's pocket and able to rise up like 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:00.000 that stuff. 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:00.560 I felt like. 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:03.760 I felt like even when Milwaukee was contesting, it was 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.320 one of some of those contests where it was like, yeah, 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:10.239 but they're probably you know, they're not really impacting the shot. Yeah, 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:13.240 it's forty three shots that a defender was at least 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:16.760 four feet away from the three point line, Like that 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.960 is an incredibly great shot quality. I thought the ball 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:22.360 was moving really well. And going back to what you 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.600 said at the start of the podcast, it really did 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:29.480 feel validating. It was a comforting win because they've struggled recently, right, Like, 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.680 they've had close games against lesser teams and you're never sure, 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.800 right because there are the ebbs and flows of a 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.440 season of are they in a rut and you know 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:40.319 this is something that they have to work their way 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.560 out of, or is this a little bit of human 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.320 nature of hey, we're not really playing for anything at 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.360 this point. We are eight games up on the Boston Celtics. Well, 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:52.840 we're like, what we're really competing against is Cavalier's history. 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.280 Can we get the win record, can we get you know, 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:59.440 the number one seed in the NBA Finals and keep 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:02.120 pace with the Okay? See, but you know, if you're 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.280 playing a shorthanded Chicago Bulls or the Charlotte Hornets, you're 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:07.920 not going to be able to get up for those 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.320 games in the same way that you would for a 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.480 matchup against Boston. But you also can't take for granted 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:15.480 the fact that, hey, we can just turn this on 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.720 when we need to, especially with basketball being such a 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.600 rhythm game. And even though they didn't have their best 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.880 shooting night, I felt that the intensity was there throughout 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.719 the entire night. I thought the ball movement was spectacular. 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:31.160 I thought it was a really really fun team effort. 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.640 And the thing that I really enjoy about it is, 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.200 you know the kind of old adage that role players 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:39.480 play well at home, they don't necessarily play well on 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:41.840 the road. This was one of those games where the 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:45.080 Cavs depth and the role guys really stepped up. 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:45.880 Yeah. 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:48.400 I mean you just look at the bench scoring. You know, 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.480 Wade has nine, Hunter has a bad game and has 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:56.320 six bros five tied Jerome chips and nine, Merrill Chips 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:58.440 and nine, and then you look at the Bucks bench 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:03.079 and you know, it's really nothing. Gary trans Junior scored five, 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:08.439 Kevin Porter scored two, and that was really it. And 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.440 in the you know, in the competitive portion of the game, 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:16.640 the depth that the Calves can play is just, you know, 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:22.320 so overwhelming, and they I think Danny Cunningham said it 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:25.400 best on his podcast un Lockdown Calves, where he goes 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:27.480 I felt like this was like closer to a Caves 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:32.120 thirty point win than it was to a Bucks win. Yeah, 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.280 they just looked like they were on a different level 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.599 that they could absorb a Yannis a game because the 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:42.160 honest is also guarding pretty well. It's just, you know, 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:44.200 they just didn't have the personnel. Like I think there's 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:47.520 you know, you look at like the Bucks in a 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:51.480 matchup against the Celtics or something. I feel like their 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:55.640 positional size could help them a little bit. You know, 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:58.040 they could be okay, but they just don't get the 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:04.320 foot speed for these guards and the Calves machine as well. 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:06.840 It's not just the guards speed with the ball, it's 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.480 them getting into the paint, getting in rotation and the 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:12.679 ball just moves so well for this Caves team that 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.840 it's just you're just so far behind. Yeah, And I 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.719 think one of the toughest things for Calves opponents is, 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:24.480 especially when you look at Milwaukee, it's okay when Dame 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:27.160 and Giannis are out there, they have a fighting chance 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.080 at playing the Calves to a draw, right like, they're 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.680 able to, you know, maybe hang around. If Dame gets 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.679 hot or you know, gets a few enough trips to 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.760 the free throw line, they can maybe play that to 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.440 a draw. Whereas with the Calves, it's okay, our starting 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.800 lineup is very good. Now you know, Donovan and Mobili 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.760 are going to the bench, you have to deal with 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:52.640 Alan and Garland with a bunch of very productive role 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.240 players that are going to play well. Then Donovan and 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:58.480 Mobili are going to come in refreshed, ready to go. 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:00.520 Then we're going to come back and going to hit 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.000 you with that closing lineup right like. It reminds me 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.520 of the Omniman meme of look what they have to 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.480 do to mimic a fraction of our power. 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:09.160 You have to have Dame and. 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.120 The honest out there playing forty eight minutes if you 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:14.360 want to be as good as we are as a collective, 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.040 and when you have a night where at least eight 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.880 players have nine points for the Cavs, you know, and 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:24.400 your best bench scorer in DeAndre Hunter as a little 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.600 bit of an off game, but eight players with at 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.720 least nine points, ten players with at least fifteen minutes, 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.080 five guys coming in off the bench kind of in 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:35.640 that fifteen to twenty minute range. 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:36.560 Like, that's a. 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:38.960 Lot of depth, that's a lot of production, and it 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.040 just it really helps them put their best foot forward. 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.240 And I think it's going to be an interesting conundrum 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:47.080 for Kenny Atkinson of how he's going to pair this 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.240 down in the playoffs if at all. Here's the thing, man, 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:54.160 I just think, like, I don't think it's actually that 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:58.640 hard because while the depth of options is great, I 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.280 still do think number one strength is at the top 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:06.720 in the core liability in that shell. And then I 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:08.800 just think he's gonna play who's playing the best. You know, 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.640 it's just gonna be a form thing. You know, on 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.320 a night where DeAndre Hunter just doesn't have it, he 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:20.320 only plays nineteen minutes and that's fine on you know, 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:22.560 in Okoro, who I honestly think could have used a 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:27.240 lot more run than he got. Needed was going to 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.280 pick up a lot of those minutes. Like, I just 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:34.360 feel like they have so many options, dude, I'm just 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:37.040 so grateful over this season. Man, They've won fourteen games 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.120 in a row and lose that game to Boston to 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:45.440 go to forty and ten, and they respond by ripping 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:50.840 off fourteen straight wins. Dude, Like, and I just kind 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.960 of who told you that there was a winning streak 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.520 around the corner. You're good, pal, justin You're never wrong. 0:13:57.559 --> 0:14:01.840 You're just late, buddy, I'm just early. Sorry, never late, 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.520 never late. You've never been late on a Cav's optimistic, right, Yeah, 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.240 if I've never been the last one to the table, 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.360 that's concerning. That would be very concerning. People need to 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.920 do a wellness check on me at that point. But 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:18.200 you're right, man, Like the death is a strength. But 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:22.760 to me, like, the interesting conundrum is, right now you're 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.320 able to go ten to eleven deep and figure out 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.160 who the hot hand is among the bench. 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:28.120 Right in the. 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.520 Playoffs, you might not have that option, right, Like, you 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:32.920 can go up with a really strong eight or nine, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:37.440 but you know you almost have to get some first 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.800 half run. You might have to go ten in the 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:42.200 first half, and then in the second half you're like, 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.480 all right, these are my eight that I'm playing the 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:48.200 last twenty four with, right, So you rather can I 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:51.840 say that a little bit? Or you start your series 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:55.480 that way and then by game five you know who 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:59.680 can't play, you know, or who isn't fitting or isn't 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:05.160 giving the run. I just think that's because the series 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.640 is a small sample. But it's like one of those 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.280 things where you have to kind of throw out a 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.400 sample size and just be like, what's working, what's not? 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:18.480 And if through four games into a series, one lineup 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.680 is just getting run off the court, I do think 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:23.160 you got to adjust. 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:24.520 I do too. 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.680 My question for you, and where it like some clarification 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.360 is do you think because you said you're going to 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:33.760 figure out who can and can't play in the series, 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:37.240 do you think there's actually anybody that's currently within the 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:41.160 rotation that just like from a matchup standpoint, can't play 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.360 in a particular matchup or I think going to be 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:45.680 performance based where like you know, they're in a little 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:47.480 in their heads, they're not playing at the level that 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.840 they can, rather than some deficiency they have within their game. 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.840 I don't think it's I don't think that's an important 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.080 distinction to make when you're coaching in a playoff series. 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:02.040 I think it is like when it's the latter, it's Hey, 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.480 from the start, we know that this is going to 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.160 be a bad matchup, Like if George Nang was still 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:09.120 on the roster, you would know that, Hey, Boston's going 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:10.640 to be a tough matchup for him, or okay, so 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:12.440 he's going to be a tough matchup. When you had 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.520 Channing Fry, you knew, Hey, I can't really play him 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.880 against the Warriors. That's different than you know, giving Isaacle 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.800 corel run. And if he's turning down shots and he's 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.400 not playing confidently on the offensive end, hey, it's a 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.040 little tough for us to get him out there, even 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.520 though we value what he's doing defensively. I think that 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:31.920 that distinction does matter. It matters for team building, but 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:35.160 not for Kenny Atkinson. That would be my argument is, Okay, 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:41.000 whether it's an archetype problem or a confidence problem, eventually 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.120 you're gonna have a guy who's just it's not their series. 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:48.040 I agree, and it's I think you need to in 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:52.120 that tie, especially under duress, like if you're in the 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:54.520 first round and you're you're up, you know, three to one. 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:56.840 You know, maybe you don't need to make that change. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:16:59.840 But if you're like on the ropes, yeah, if it's 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.440 five and two to two or game six and you're 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.720 down three to two or something like that, Like that's 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:11.280 where it's like, I don't care what it is, We're 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:13.800 just not gonna We can't afford to let you work 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:17.000 through this right now, whether it's a if you just 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.160 hit that shot, you know, because here's the thing. Channing 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:24.400 had opportunities in those Warriors series. You know, he got 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:28.280 chances to play and got run and had shots, and 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.399 if he had hit those shots then he would have 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:35.720 played more, you know, like it was a hard matchup 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.879 for him. But there were good switchy teams that Channing 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:44.359 played well against for US. But like ty Lu didn't 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:47.920 have the luxury of being like, well, let's just give 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:50.720 it a couple more games. It's like, no, we're losing. 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.840 We gotta we gotta make changes now. And like, I 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.080 do think the playoffs voist that on you. So that 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.359 is why I don't think the distinction matters. Do I 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:04.879 think I think every player on this roster could help 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:09.960 in every matchup. Okay, so were to be very clear, 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:14.080 but but the chance of a of a team just 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:18.760 being like, hey, we're going to blow up every Sam 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:20.000 Merril off ball action. 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:21.200 It's the playoffs. 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.280 We're going to beat the crap out of him off 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.320 ball and it's just not and they're not going to 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:28.919 call fouls for Sam or something like that. Like and 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:31.760 if those minutes aren't going well, then I would expect 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.320 him to go out of the rotation. Same thing with Isaac, 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.760 same thing with Dean. I mean there are and there's 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.280 levels to this, right, Like the top five guys aren't 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.879 going to get cut out. You know they're going to 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:46.560 go down with a ship with those guys. But like 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.440 you know, with your seven, eight, nine, ten in the rotation, 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:54.199 those are those fungible minutes that you might just have 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:58.320 to swap out and see what changes under duress. Okay, 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.800 I think we're actually on the same where it's like 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:05.280 game one and two. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think game 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:06.960 one and two. You know, first half you play a 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:09.800 deeper rotation, see who has it, see who doesn't, see 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:12.320 kind of what you feel out the matchup, right, Like 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:14.639 those first two games of a series are always a 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.000 little bit of a feeling out process, and then you 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.080 can make those assessments, right, like, hey, we probably can't 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.199 keep playing Ricky Rubio in this series. We have options here, right, 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.520 And I think if you would have asked me a 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:28.920 couple of weeks ago, I probably would have sat here 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:30.879 being like, you know, I don't know if Sam can 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:33.760 play against Boston. I think we have enough depth. I 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:35.959 think we can kind of make that assessment going in. 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.440 But with the way he's been playing, like especially now 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:41.840 that the shots falling, like you know, he's doing the 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:44.480 main thing he's been holding up defensively. I thought, you know, 0:19:44.480 --> 0:19:47.280 when he got put on Dame of a couple times 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:49.040 last night, I was like, eh, that's a little too 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:51.199 much dip on that ship. He killed Boston the other 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:53.720 or Boston Milwaukee on the other end of the floor, so. 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:54.440 You know he did. 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:56.760 But you know, you don't have to put him on 0:19:56.840 --> 0:19:58.880 Dame right, like you can put him on someone else. 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.439 But my point is, I think he's done a good 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:04.439 enough job as an all around player to merit, you know, 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:08.040 that opportunity to see what he's got. So I do agree. 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:10.720 I think as the series progresses, you're going to become 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:13.040 more selective with your lineups. You're going to see which 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:17.640 ones end up working. But to start the series, I 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:19.679 think you almost have to go ten at least in 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:21.680 the first half, and then in the second half it's 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.280 all right, this is our eight that we're running with. 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:26.800 In the second half, we're going to you know, we're 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:29.720 going to give you know. What the advantage of that is, too, 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:32.840 is you're giving your core guys and your starters a 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.399 little bit more rest in the first half so that 0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:37.159 they can go harder in the second half so that 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.480