1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: The volume. All right, old good Hoops and I you're 2 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: at the volume heavy Monday, everybody. Hope all of you 3 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: guys had an incredible weekend to have a jam pack 4 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: Monday show for you guys. We had an epic showdown 5 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns as 6 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: Devin Booker wins the game with a step back three 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: from thirty feet over the top of Alex Cruse. So 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: a bunch of interesting stuff to get into from that game. 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: After that, I want to talk a little bit of 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: Boston Celtics, who on Saturday went in and blew out 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: a red hot Clippers team behind fifty points from Jalen Brown. 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: Have a bunch of interesting stuff to get into from 13 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: that game. And then as usual on Mondays, we have 14 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 1: our weekly power rankings. You guys know the joke before 15 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: we get started. Subscribe to Hoop to the Hoops and 16 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: Nott YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our 17 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: videos like this video that helps us in the last 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: but not least, If you want to get questions into 19 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: our Friday mail bag, dropped them in the YouTube comments 20 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: underneath this video and we'll get to them in our 21 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: weekly mail bags. On Fridays. All right, let's talk some basketball. 22 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: So the Suns win one eight to one oh five 23 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: on Devin Booker's game winning step back three over the 24 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: top of Alex Crew. So I thought, on the play itself, 25 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: Devin actually made a really smart, kind of impromptu in 26 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: the moment decision to go to his step back a 27 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: little bit earlier and to shoot a little bit deeper 28 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: of a shot, like when he had the ball in 29 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: his right hands. His right hand he went to a 30 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: scissor dribble back to his left against Alex and kind 31 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: of hit that aggressive move forward and Alex took a 32 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: pretty heavy recovery step considering where Devin made the move, 33 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: which was like thirty five forty feet from the basket, 34 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: Alex on his recovery step got all the way south 35 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: of the three point line, like he created a ton 36 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: of separation on the move. And so if Devin wanted to, 37 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: he could have continued to go forward another step and 38 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: then get into his step back and it could have 39 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: been somewhere in that like twenty five foot range. But 40 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: instead he stopped a step earlier and step back and 41 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 1: shot a thirty foot or off the bounce, And I 42 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: thought it was really smart for two reasons. One, if 43 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: you look on the video, lou Dort was really digging 44 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: down into that driving lane off of Dylan Brooks. So 45 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: like if Devin would have attacked more, he might have 46 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: attracted just a hard double team from lou Dort there, 47 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: and that could have made that a more complicated situation. 48 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: They were rotating up off of Colin Gillespie in the 49 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: corner up onto Dylan Brooks too, so it wouldn't have 50 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: been a They might have gone swing swing, and it 51 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: might have been too late to even get a shot 52 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: off if he would have gone too far. And then 53 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: the second piece of it is if you take that 54 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: extra step into the defender in this case Alex Caruso 55 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: and kind of get into his body a bit more, 56 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: that allows Alex an opportunity to get his hands on you, 57 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: to get physical with you and maybe disrupt your rhythm. 58 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: Maybe he swipes down on your arm a little bit 59 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: and you lose control of the basketball and it doesn't 60 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: get called, and now you're shooting a Janki jump shot 61 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: because you lose control of the ball. Like it's just 62 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: a little scoring nuance that I think matters. I think 63 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: it's better to get a little bit longer of a 64 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: shot with cleaner rhythm where you get great lift and 65 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: great separation than it is to get a shorter shot 66 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: that is more congested or that has disrupted rhythm if 67 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: a guy's being like super physical with you. It's just 68 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: like a little thing in that moment where I really 69 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: liked how Devin went to step back a little bit earlier, 70 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: and again it's a thirty footer, but he gets fantastic lift, 71 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: snaps the wrist, knocks it down. Thunder get a decent 72 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: look for aj Mitchell on in the left corner on 73 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: the other end, but he didn't really look ready for 74 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: it in that spot, so the Suns d up getting 75 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: out of there with a win. I want to talk 76 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: about some of the help and recover dynamics in this 77 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: game for both teams, because I thought it was the 78 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: story from a tactical standpoint. But before we go any further, 79 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: I have to bring up Dylan Brooks and his shot 80 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: making in that fourth quarter. He actually started the fourth 81 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: quarter with these cleared side ISOs against Jada on the 82 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: right side, and again, just think about that, like clearside 83 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: ISOs against one of the better defenders in the entire NBA, 84 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: and especially a defender in JDub who's very good at 85 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: dealing with some of these bigger bully ball forwards because 86 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: he's a big, trunky dude, right and he just got 87 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: a couple of buckets. He spun over his left shoulder 88 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: and hit a fade away right in Jdub's face. He 89 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: had one where he kind of drove into the middle 90 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: and hit like a nice little floater where he got 91 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: a friendly bounce. But then at the end of the 92 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: game he hit two outrageous pull up jumpers. The snatchback 93 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: dribble against Cason Wallace on the right side, kind of 94 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: towards the corner where he just drove hard and just 95 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: pulled the ball back, got just enough separation and rose 96 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: up and knocked it down. And then a step back 97 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: three over the top of Shay on the left wing, 98 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: just a massive shot that put the Suns up one 99 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,359 Speaker 1: oh five to one oh one before a couple of 100 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: tough shots from Chett and JDub ended up tying it 101 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: before Devin Booker at the game winner. It's still just 102 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: a wild experience as a basketball fan to be watching 103 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks be this reliable as a shot maker, and 104 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: to be the I'm not trying to say that it's illegitimate, 105 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: like the sample size is too large. At this point, 106 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: it's completely legitimate. He's taken two hundred and four pull 107 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: up jump shots this season. He's getting a point per shot, 108 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: forty nine percent on pull up twos, thirty five percent 109 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: on pull up threes. He's eighteenth in the entire NBA 110 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: in total pull up jump shots made. He's made more 111 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: pull up jump shots this year than DeMar de Rozen 112 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: or Steph Curry, for example. So like, this is something 113 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: that we know that at this point, through just a 114 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: large sample, that Dylan has become good at this. But 115 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: still when you're watching it, it's just wild to see 116 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: all these shots go in. I actually really enjoyed watching 117 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks and his postgame presser. He was talking about 118 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: how he would watch these videos on YouTube of Kobe 119 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: shooting one drimble pull ups and then fadeaways out of 120 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: the post, and he's talked about how he's like emulating 121 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: him with some of the work that he's doing out 122 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: of those spots, and I just thought it was a 123 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: textbook example of manifesting your preferred reality, Like when you 124 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: want something to change for yourself, there's an order of 125 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: operations to make that happen, right, Like, you need to 126 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: see what it is that you're trying to become. In 127 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: this case, I actually think it really helps to have 128 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: a uh. I think it really helps to have like 129 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: a YouTube video, something that you can watch regularly that 130 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: kind of gives you a visual representation of the thing 131 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: that you're trying to become or the thing that you're 132 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: trying to get better at, and you watch that and 133 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 1: motivate yourself. Then there's the phase where you're putting in 134 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: the work behind the scenes, and then there's you know, 135 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: depending on what field you're in or what it is 136 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: you're trying to accomplish, there's an order of operations to 137 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: implement it. I've talked about it with basketball before. When 138 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: it comes to scoring, it's like, figure out how to 139 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: make these shots in the gym alone by yourself. Then 140 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: find someone to play king of the court against some 141 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: work on them. So if you want to work on 142 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: a little step back jump shot or a little turnaround 143 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 1: jump shot over both shoulders, find somebody to guard you. 144 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: Go play some king of the court. Go play some 145 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: one on one with a buddy, whatever it is, it's 146 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: work on it in the gym by yourself until you 147 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: can make it at a high clip. Work on it 148 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: one on one until you can make it at a 149 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: high clip. Start to break it out in games, right 150 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: in five on five in practice first, and then when 151 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: you have an opportunity, when you've demonstrated the ability in 152 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: your high school practice and your college practice and knock 153 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: that shot down a few times, that's when you can 154 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: unleash it in the game setting. There's an order of 155 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: operations or getting from a to za, so to speak. 156 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: And I just thought it was cool to watch Dylan 157 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: kind of break down, like what his motivation was, what 158 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: he was trying to become, what he does to motivate himself, 159 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: and then the work behind the scenes. It's just obvious 160 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: to see. We've seen clips of him. I am incredibly 161 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: excited to tell you guys about our new partnership with Viory. 162 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: Those of you guys who are familiar with Viory have 163 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: noticed that I wear it on the show, and I 164 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: have done so for years now, almost every single day, 165 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: because it's become a workhorse for me. My journey with 166 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: Vieury started because of a very simple problem. I'd wear 167 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: shirts on the show, and then after I'd watched him 168 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: four or five times, they would just kind of degrade 169 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: and turn into something that wasn't anything close to what 170 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: I had originally purchased. And so I wanted to invest 171 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: in quality clothing I could become my workhorse for my 172 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: daily life. And that is exactly what Viory is. This 173 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: is a Ponto performance long sleeve. If I wear the 174 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: Ponto Performance on this show all the time, it's an 175 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: incredibly comfortable shirt. You guys who've ever played basketball, no, 176 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: and you wear something that can restrict the movement of 177 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: your shoulders, can make it hard to shoot. I wear 178 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: these to play basketball in I wear them because of 179 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: how cold it is here in Colorado. And my favorite 180 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: thing about Viory is all this stuff, all this clothing 181 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: is so perfect for the active lifestyle that I live, 182 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: but it's all so high quality and so attractive looking 183 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: that I can wear it informal settings. I live in 184 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 1: this stuff every single day, and I'm so excited that 185 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: we have the opportunity to partner with them now. Viory 186 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: is an investment in your happiness. For our listeners, They're 187 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: offering twenty percent off your first purchase. Get yourself some 188 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet 189 00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: at Vory dot com slash hoops. That's vuo r i 190 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: dot com slash Hoops. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for 191 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: full terms and conditions. Not only will you receive twenty 192 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: percent off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on 193 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: any US orders over seventy five dollars in free returns. 194 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: Visit viory dot com slash hoops and discover the versatility 195 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: of your clothing. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full 196 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: terms and conditions. Says Phoenix ended up generating nineteen unguarded 197 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: catch and shoot jump shots in this game, which is 198 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: a really good number for them. Their season average is 199 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: about sixteen. But again, this is a team in Oklahoma 200 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: City that again is going to close those gaps a 201 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: lot faster than most teams with the speed of their rotations, 202 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: and in general, is gonna just make life difficult. Ball 203 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: pressure and playing in passing lanes to try to force turnovers, 204 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 1: it is difficult. It's difficult to pass through. Okse's different. 205 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: Our defense. Now, we've talked a lot over the years 206 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: about how Oklahoma City defends. They get into gaps. They 207 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: do leave shooters open. They're brief openings because the team 208 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: is insanely fast, right like, they close those gaps quickly. 209 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: But those openings are there, and they're there because they're 210 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: opportunistic on defense, because they'll peel off of a guy 211 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: to help, or they'll dig down, or they'll throw a 212 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: late double as a guy's getting into the lane. They 213 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,959 Speaker 1: do that because they want to force turnovers and get 214 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,079 Speaker 1: out in transition. These teams, both of these teams actually 215 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: play a lot of similar do a lot of similar 216 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: things on defense in this regard. They're both high. I 217 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: think they're one and two and points off of turnovers 218 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: in the NBA this season. They are teams that have 219 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 1: a depth of perimeter defense talent. They get up into 220 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 1: the ball they do you know they will. They're not 221 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: going to just openly you know, double or or send 222 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: three on two in a ball screen for no reason. 223 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: But they're going to be opportunistic in those situations to 224 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 1: try to force turnovers. The key to scoring on the 225 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: thunder is to be super diligent with your spacings. Always 226 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:57,599 Speaker 1: be in the right spots off the ball as a 227 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: guy's driving or relocating. You got to relocate with them 228 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:02,719 Speaker 1: to make sure that you're in a good position to 229 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: score if you receive a kickout, and then you have 230 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: to make over and over again on time and on 231 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: target kickout passes. Then when those guys catch on the 232 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: perimeter against the closeout, lightning fast dribbleshoot pass decisions because okay, 233 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: so he's going to close those gaps so fast. And 234 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 1: I just thought the Suns did an incredible job all 235 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: night with that dynamic on offense. Just Devin Booker was 236 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: drawing to pretty consistently, especially in the second half, and 237 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: we just saw a bunch of these brilliant passing sequences 238 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: from Phoenix to capitalize on that advantage. Like Devin draws 239 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: two in the post on the right block, easy little 240 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: kickout to Ryan done at the top of the key, 241 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: knocks it down. Okay, well what if they rotate to 242 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: that secondary pass. Okay, Devin draws two on the right wing, 243 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: swing to the left wing to rotate over from the corner, 244 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: extras pass to Jordan Goodman in the left corner, wide 245 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: open three, he knocks it down or offensive rebounds that 246 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 1: the Suns did a lot of damage on the offensive 247 00:11:57,559 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: glass in this game. That's been kind of a recurring 248 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: theme with the thunder we'll talk about in a minute. 249 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: But they get an offensive rebound, is like Colin Gillespie 250 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: gets a close out in the left corner, rips the 251 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: close out, draws bodies, makes a beautiful kickout to Jordan 252 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: Goodwin in the right corner. A lot of their transition 253 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: passing sequences just moving the ball up to four click quickly, 254 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: guys running their lane, so you always have those outlets 255 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: in the corners as you're pushing the ball at the floor. 256 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: They just are so good at creating wide open shots 257 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: with the crisp passing out of their good spacing. You know, 258 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,679 Speaker 1: Phoenix is actually shooting thirty eight percent on catch and 259 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: shoot threes this year, which ranks sixth in the entire NBA. 260 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: And like, you know, I would argue, like if we're 261 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: looking at the reasons why the Suns have been better 262 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: than we've expected, Like I thought the Suns would be competitive. 263 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: I just figured they'd hover right around five hundred or 264 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: a little below and have like a bunch of kind 265 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,439 Speaker 1: of signature wins to kind of make the season fun. 266 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: They're twenty one and fourteen. They're I think they're two 267 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: games back from the fourth best record in the entire NBA. 268 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: Like they're in a fantastic position. And I'd argue the 269 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: two things that have kind of made that be, you know, 270 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: dramatically more than I thought, have been the shooting and 271 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: the Dylan Brooks piece. Because, like the defense, we expected 272 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: the team to be great defensively. I predicted they'd be 273 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: top ten in defense before the season. The reasoning was simple, 274 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: they have the pieces that you need for a top 275 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: ten defense. I did not expect Dylan Brooks to turn 276 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: into a reliable and efficient twenty one point per game score. 277 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: I didn't expect the team to shoot the ball down 278 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 1: the roster as well as they have this year. It's 279 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: allowing them to pay off. We talked about this sequence 280 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: a lot. I've talked about it a lot with the 281 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: Lakers in a negative sense. But when you play good basketball, 282 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: you generate these sequences that end in a certain type 283 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: of shot. You've got to be able to pay those 284 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: sequences off. And the Suns have been paying those sequences 285 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: off at a high clip this season. And then on 286 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: the other end of the floor, I just thought the 287 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: Suns did a great job doing the same thing that 288 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: the Thunder we're trying to do on the other end 289 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: of the floor, guarding the ball well, with quality defenders 290 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: getting into gaps to try to make openings disappear quickly 291 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: and get into their driving lane so that they can't 292 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: turn the corner all the way to the rim. You 293 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: have the rim protection element with Mark Williams. There was 294 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,320 Speaker 1: actually a pull up three that Shay missed at the 295 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: top of the key late in the game that I 296 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: thought was a perfect example of the dynamic I'm talking 297 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: about with like making gaps feel like they're there but 298 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: then shrink quickly. So earlier in a possession in the 299 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,679 Speaker 1: fourth quarter, Shay's dribbling on the left wing, they nail 300 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: help hard off of Jadub. On the right wing, Shaye 301 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: throws a swing pass he knocks down the three right, 302 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: So like that's an example of that opening existing and 303 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: staying open for too long and an easy pass burning 304 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 1: you right. But on this particular play that I'm talking about, 305 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: the one where Shaye misses the bad pull up three 306 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: on the left wing, Jordan Goodwin comes off of j 307 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: Dub and sends the double. But there's two things that 308 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: are different Jordan, instead of just like attacking the basketball 309 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: for no reason, he really walls up on that passing 310 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: lane side, so he just kind of gets active with 311 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: his hands instead of attacking. Shay stops about a foot 312 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: or two short, gets really active in the passing lane 313 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: so that Shay can't just throw an easy swing pass. 314 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: And then also Agadaro ends up kind of sliding up 315 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: just a touch to be ins position to where if 316 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: you did throw that pass to j Dub he can 317 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: quickly take a step up and rotate to the shot. 318 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: And so as a result, when Shae catches it and 319 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: he goes to make that pass, he goes like, ah, 320 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: that's not there, and then that's when he ends up 321 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: taking the bad pull up three and he misses it. 322 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: And that gap in catch and shoot three point attempts 323 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: for the most part, but it also was just in 324 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: the total three point attempts for the entire team. That 325 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: gap was one of the main stories of the game 326 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: for me. Both teams regarding each other in similar ways, 327 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: but the Suns, I thought, did a better job of 328 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: not settling for tough mid range pull ups and moving 329 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: the ball through Okac's defense for threes. Phoenix took eight 330 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: mid ranges in the game. Both teams shot well for 331 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 1: mid range. Phoenix was five for eight. I think okay 332 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: See was ten for nineteen if I remember correctly, But 333 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: the difference is is Okay So he took nineteen of 334 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: them and Phoenix took eight. So when they got the 335 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 1: ball to the middle four, it's like there are some 336 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: shots in there. Dylan Brooks took some mid rangers, Devin 337 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: Booker took some midrange. Mid range shots were attempted, but 338 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: it was, you know, kind of a counter what they 339 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: were trying to do, which is to get through that 340 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: defense and get to the quality kickout threes. Oklahoma City 341 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: nineteen mid range shots, a lot of tough stepbacks from 342 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: JDub and Shay Shaye in particular, I thought, especially in 343 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: the third quarter, really got keyed in on trying to 344 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,880 Speaker 1: draw fouls in the mid range that wasn't working for him. 345 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: That was kind of the fundamental difference between the two 346 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: teams and the way they played on offense. Phoenix generated 347 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: more threes because they did a better job of diligently 348 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: moving the ball through Oklahoma City's defense. As we move 349 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: on to ok See, I don't want to get too 350 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: negative here, because I also thought they just played a 351 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: great game and you just lose to a very good 352 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: Suns team like that, Sun's team is twenty one and fourteen. 353 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 1: Now they're twelve and five at home. As I talked about, 354 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: they're two games back from having the fourth best record 355 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: in the entire NBA. The Sons are playing awesome basketball. 356 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: They're very high on my power rankings list this week 357 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: compared to where they've been, Like I'm super high on 358 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: Phoenix just overall as a team. That's a tough game 359 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: to win, and you were tied with eight seconds left, 360 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: So I don't want to be dooming gloom about the 361 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: thunder here. Lot of good like Chet was fantastic again, 362 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: amazing on defense, eight for eleven from the field, hit 363 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,360 Speaker 1: a big three on the right wing in the second half. 364 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,239 Speaker 1: Had a big, little fadeaway jump shot off of an 365 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: offensive rebound where he just slipped off of Dylan Brooks, 366 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: got the rebound, turned over his right shoulder knock down 367 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: a quick shot that was a big part of how 368 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: they tied the game late. Jadev was awesome, really comfortable 369 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,639 Speaker 1: getting into his step back jump shot in the mid 370 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: range in this game. Hit a big one that tied 371 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:25,440 Speaker 1: the game late. You know, there's a lot of talk 372 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: too about Jadab's first step quickness, and I think that's 373 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: been one of the things that stood out as he's 374 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 1: gotten older. Like he's a very good athlete, but he's 375 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: not a guy that's just going to toast people off 376 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: the dribble very often. But one of the things he 377 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: is very good at doing is putting a counter move 378 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,880 Speaker 1: together on the contact that he generates on his drive. 379 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: So like he'll drive, you'll get into your body, and 380 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: once he gets into your body, he'll like go to 381 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,880 Speaker 1: a behind the back dribble and kind of shed you off. 382 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: So if he's driving left, he'll bump you with that 383 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: right shoulder, shed you off, get to the behind the back. 384 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: Now he's got another opportunity to hit a driving lane, 385 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: same exact thing. If he's going right, bumps you with 386 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: that left shoulder, behind the back dribble, get back going 387 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: the other ways, allowing him to get dribble penetration and 388 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,119 Speaker 1: to get quality pain attempts even when he's not necessarily 389 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: the quickest dude in the world off the dribble, off 390 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: that first attack right, Like a lot of good last 391 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: night for okay, see Shane J. Doub look great or 392 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: excuse me, chet and J double great. Shae had a 393 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: rough night, Like I thought, he was kind of the 394 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: primary culprit for a lot of the bad settling for 395 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: mid range shots. He just like, you know, I saw 396 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 1: a lot of thunder fans complaining about the whistle that 397 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: Shaye got in this game. And there were a handful 398 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: of calls that I thought were missed, Like there was 399 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: one where he kind of did like a step through 400 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: in the middle of the floor early in the game 401 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: and got bumped. I thought it probably should have been 402 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: a foul. There was one in the second half in 403 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: the third quarter run where he got a very similar 404 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 1: bump to what Devin Booker had gotten and Devin got 405 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: free throws and Shade didn't. Then there were others that weren't, 406 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: Like there was one where he clearly just pushed off 407 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: of Devin Booker and then tried to fade away and 408 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: get a fout that that's not going to get a call, right, 409 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:52,439 Speaker 1: or one where he went straight up and down and 410 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,479 Speaker 1: tried to like land on top of Devin and you know, 411 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: he wasn't able to land on his feet, so he 412 00:18:57,800 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: didn't get the call like there I thought it was. 413 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:01,440 Speaker 1: There were a couple missed calls, But like, I don't 414 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,359 Speaker 1: really understand the complaining because Shay's posting the second highest 415 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: free throw rate of his entire career. Chay'se free throw 416 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: rate this season is higher than it was last year 417 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,680 Speaker 1: or the year before. That said, I don't want to 418 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: be too hard on Shay. I thought he missed a 419 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,159 Speaker 1: lot of good looks too that he usually makes, and 420 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: he's been fantastic all season, so there's no point in 421 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: kind of overreacting to that. The only things with Oklahoma 422 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,399 Speaker 1: City I think are worth mentioning are won the offensive glass. 423 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: We've talked about these former issues with the team that 424 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 1: have popped up in these losses. Defensive rebounding was a 425 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,439 Speaker 1: huge part of that. They gave up a twelve to 426 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: two offensive rebounding advantage in that game, although it's worth 427 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: mentioning that Isaiah Hartenstein was out and to the shooting. 428 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 1: They're just thirty one percent from three in these losses 429 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: and the six losses thirty one percent. They're making the 430 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: open ones. I talked about this in that week that 431 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: they lost the two games to San Antonio like last night, 432 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: seven for eighteen on unguarded catch and shoot threes. That's 433 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: thirty nine percent. That's one point one to seven points 434 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,360 Speaker 1: per shot. That's not bad. But everything that's contested off 435 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: the catch and everything that's off the dribble for Oklahoma 436 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: City has been bad from the three point line. And 437 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,159 Speaker 1: I think it's interesting because coming into the season, we 438 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: all thought it would be like the big teams like 439 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: Denver or Houston that would present the biggest challenges for 440 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: Oka see, but at least in the regular season, because 441 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:11,439 Speaker 1: we'll see in the long run if that ends up 442 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: being the case. We've seen Houston on Opening Night, but 443 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: Denver hasn't even played OKAC yet and Houston hasn't played 444 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: him since, so we'll see in the long run if 445 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: that's still the case. But what I'm really starting to 446 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: get keyed in on now is like San Antonio, Phoenix, Minnesota, 447 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: if you can protect the rim and you have bigger 448 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: athletes on the perimeter and you rush them at the 449 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 1: three point line, they'll miss. So I'm actually starting to 450 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: look at the tougher matchups as teams that are as 451 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: athletic as Oklahoma City but also a bit bigger but 452 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,120 Speaker 1: that can also protect the rim. Those are the teams 453 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: that have been given Oklahoma City issues, at least in 454 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,800 Speaker 1: the regular season. To be clear, I still view Oklahoma 455 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,440 Speaker 1: City as the best team in the league. I'm just 456 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: looking at this through the lens of vulnerabilities. Today's show 457 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:53,240 Speaker 1: is brought to you by presenting sponsor hard Rock Bet, 458 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 1: the official sportsbook partner of the Miami Heat and the 459 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,399 Speaker 1: Orlando Magic. When it's cold outside, that's when you know 460 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: the hard one is heating up. Between the NBA and 461 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: college there's basketball on every night, and every night is 462 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: a shot to build a same game parlay and score 463 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:09,639 Speaker 1: a major bucket on hard Rock Bet, your home for 464 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,400 Speaker 1: hoops action all season long, and if you ever miss 465 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,840 Speaker 1: tip off of that big game, don't worry. Hard Rock 466 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,200 Speaker 1: Bet lets you live bet all game long, from the 467 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,919 Speaker 1: first bucket to the final buzzer, so you're never too 468 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: late to find a winner or grab that player prop 469 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: that you had circled. If you haven't tried your first 470 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 1: bet on hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you 471 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,440 Speaker 1: to get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets. 472 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: If you win, just place a five dollars bet and 473 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: If it hits, you get not only your winnings, but 474 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:34,640 Speaker 1: an extra one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets. Plus. 475 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: Hard Rock Bet offers new promos every single day, so 476 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: whenever you're listening, just open up the app check out 477 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: what you've got. Any day of the week. Download a 478 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today. 479 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: Payble and bonus bets not a cash offer offered by 480 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,479 Speaker 1: the Seminal Tribe of Florida. In Florida, offered by Seminal 481 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: hard Rock Digital LLC. In all other states. Must be 482 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: twenty one plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, 483 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,880 Speaker 1: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia. Play terms and conditions apply. 484 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: Concerned about gambling in Florida called one eight three to 485 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: three play wise In Indiana, if you or someone you 486 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: know has a gambling problem and wants help, call one 487 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: eight hundred and nine with it gambling problem called one 488 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: eight hundred gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, 489 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: or Virginia. We have to talk some Boston Celtics. They've 490 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: won now seven of their last eight games. Just an 491 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: absolutely dominant performance in Los Angeles against a red hot 492 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 1: Clippers team. They jumped them early, held up under the 493 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: Clippers runs that they made throughout the game when they 494 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,440 Speaker 1: tried to punch back again. The Clippers have been playing 495 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 1: super well. And then just an epic scoring run from 496 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 1: Jalen Brown in the third quarter with some ridiculous shot 497 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: making that blew that game open, and then the Celtics 498 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: ended up running away with it in the fourth quarter. 499 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: What a ridiculous performance from Jalen Brown. A remarkable shot 500 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: making display. Of his fifty points, twenty nine of them 501 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 1: came directly out of pick and roll. In ISO twenty 502 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,920 Speaker 1: one of pick and roll, he was torching the Clippers 503 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: bigs in drop coverage just with his shot making over 504 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,160 Speaker 1: and over again, especially in that third quarter. I thought 505 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: he was going at zoobots and doing a ton of damage. 506 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: Did a great job at taking advantage in that late 507 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: third quarter, especially of like some of the easy kick 508 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: and drop off reads. His cutters and shooters were getting open, like, oh, 509 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,879 Speaker 1: Jordan Walsh slips spaceline because this man is doubling Jalen 510 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: as he's kind of snaking through the lane. Oh, easy 511 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 1: drop off, there's a little dunk like he's just doing 512 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:27,159 Speaker 1: a really good job with that. I thought he guarded 513 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,400 Speaker 1: Kawi really well all night. Jalen said after the game 514 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,400 Speaker 1: that he thought he was the best two way player 515 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: in the game right now, and to be honest, it's 516 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: hard to argue with him with how well he's been playing, 517 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: at least within the last month or so. I got 518 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:40,199 Speaker 1: to talk about this all the time. There's a big 519 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: difference between doing something for a month and doing it 520 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 1: for seasons and how that manifests an opinion, right, Like, 521 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,239 Speaker 1: you want to know why Jokic is viewed pretty much 522 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: unanimously as the best player in the world right now, 523 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: it's because for year after year after year, month after 524 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,160 Speaker 1: month after month, seventy plus games every single season until 525 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: this year, he's just been the same amazing dominant player, 526 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: right And so Jalen is flashing that and if he 527 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: wants to get that you know, kind of credibility in 528 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 1: the long run, it's going to be through sustaining this 529 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: over you know, a much larger sample. But in the 530 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: last sixteen games, thirty three points, seven rebounds, and six assists, 531 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: two stocks, per game fifty two percent from the field, 532 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: thirty nine percent from three, seventy eight percent from the line. 533 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: That's sixty one percent in true shooting. And again, he's 534 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: taking significant defensive responsibility every single night. So to put 535 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: it very simply, to be averaging a super efficient thirty 536 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,639 Speaker 1: three points to go with seven rebounds and six assists 537 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: while guarding the one of the leading offensive threats every night, 538 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 1: there just isn't a player that's clearly playing better than 539 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 1: Jalen Brown right now. So again, he's not gonna get 540 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: that credit over one month of basketball, but he certainly 541 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 1: is showing that level right now. And this opportunity that 542 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: Jalen Brown has had to show the basketball world what 543 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,159 Speaker 1: he looks like in a featured role has been a 544 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,920 Speaker 1: resounding success. And again the celt and now one's seven 545 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: out of eight if a one to twenty six offensive 546 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:05,640 Speaker 1: rating in that span, which is best in the league, 547 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 1: one thirteen defensive rating, which is seventh in the league. 548 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 1: In that span, the Celtics are twenty two to twelve. 549 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 1: They're now a half game back of the fourth best 550 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,160 Speaker 1: record in the entire NBA. So what does it mean? 551 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: What does it mean that the Celtics have been this 552 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 1: good without Jason Tatum. I think it's pretty simple. I 553 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: think it means there's a level of mastery to Joe 554 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 1: Mizzula's offense that has been years in the making, coming 555 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: to fruition. I was thinking about this, especially when I 556 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: was watching the first quarter of this last game, as 557 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 1: I'm watching the Celtics starters just school the Clippers right 558 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,640 Speaker 1: at the start. And again, this is red hot Clippers team, 559 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 1: and the Celtics just took it to them from the jump. 560 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: And it's this lineup. It's Nimi Keda, but it's Jalen Brown, 561 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: Derek White, Sam Houser and Peyton Pritchard. And I'm watching 562 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:53,719 Speaker 1: them just get in and out of their sets quickly, 563 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: just always spacing for each other perfectly, always making the 564 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: right kickout pass, guys, trusting each other to knock down 565 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: shots against help, and just generating great look after great 566 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,639 Speaker 1: look after great look. And I'm sitting there thinking, I'm like, 567 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: all these guys were on the twenty twenty two Celtics. 568 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: All of them played minutes for the Celtics in that 569 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: finals run. Every single one of them has been with 570 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 1: Joe Miszula since his start with the team. There's this 571 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 1: incredibly foolish idea, and it's bred by stan culture and 572 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 1: just the unbelievable individual support that stars get at the 573 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: expense of like any rational thought, that you win championships 574 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: on the greatness of individual superstar talent. And while you 575 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,920 Speaker 1: certainly need one of those guys if you want to 576 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: have a good chance to win the title, the idea 577 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 1: that a superstar carries the team could not be further 578 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 1: from the truth. Every single champion in the history of 579 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 1: the NBA has been won because of a combination of 580 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:58,359 Speaker 1: superstar talent with supporting star talent, with role player talent, 581 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: with a level of buy in to the system from 582 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:07,680 Speaker 1: quality coaching that works. One of the many factors that 583 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: has driven the Celtics' success over the past few years 584 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: has ben Jo Missoula system, and it's interesting because it 585 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:19,119 Speaker 1: wasn't always perfect. Especially in the twenty twenty four season, 586 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: I was heavily focused on the idea between the difference 587 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 1: between quality kickout threes in settling for mediocre threes. There'd 588 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 1: be this idea where they'd have these games where they'd 589 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: take early clock contested catch and shoot threes. A lot 590 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: of early tough transition threes, tough off the dribble threes, 591 00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 1: a lot of that kind of stuff, and then they'd lose, 592 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: and then everyone would be like, Oh, it's Missoula system. 593 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,640 Speaker 1: It's not Missoula's system. Missoula didn't want them to take 594 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: bad threes. He wanted them to drive and kick and 595 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 1: take quality threes. The team was just still learning the system. 596 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: They were still in the process of buying into it. 597 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: Fast forward. Now they've got hundreds of games of reps 598 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,640 Speaker 1: in this system, and now I'm watching a Celtics team 599 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,160 Speaker 1: that looks like they know exactly how they want to play, 600 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: how to do it effectively. Here's the stat that I 601 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: think demonstrates this perfectly. They're generating the same amount of 602 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,879 Speaker 1: unguarded catch and shoot threes right now without Jason Tatum 603 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: in the picture as they did in that twenty twenty 604 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: four season when they were dominant from start to finish, 605 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 1: fifteen per game. I just think that's a remarkable set 606 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: that shows how this team is actually even though Tatum's out. 607 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 1: Even though technically an aggregate talent, this team is not 608 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 1: as talented as previous iterations of the team. They have 609 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:42,640 Speaker 1: through continuity and consistency of system over years, They've gained 610 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:46,000 Speaker 1: a level of comfort within that system that has allowed 611 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: them to actually play at a higher level relative to 612 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: their talent than they did in years past. So again, 613 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: like when people talk about like, oh, is the team 614 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: better without Jason Tatum, No, they've just gotten better. They've 615 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 1: gotten better through time and experience and consistency continuity within 616 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: their system. Right, and yes, some internal improvement from some 617 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: key players. Pritcher's gotten better as the years have gone by, 618 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: Howser's gotten better. Derek White, Derek White's been awesome over 619 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: the course of this recent stretch. Derek White in his 620 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: last sixteen games is averaging like twenty one points per 621 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: game very efficiently. So like Derek White's gotten better, all 622 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: these dudes have gotten a little bit better within the 623 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,560 Speaker 1: system and it's causing them to maximize. And what happens 624 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,479 Speaker 1: is is Jason Tatum comes back, if he does at 625 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,720 Speaker 1: some point this year, which I believe you will, Jayson 626 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: Tatum comes back and he helps anchor your defensive rebounding 627 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: and he helps anchor some of the defensive schemes that 628 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,760 Speaker 1: you weren't able to use against certain opponents like the 629 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: Portland game that you lost where you were getting abused 630 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: by some of the size Tatum helps alleviate that. Tatum 631 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,479 Speaker 1: gives you another vehicle with which to enter the defense 632 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: and to create those quality catch and shoot threes. And 633 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: so ultimately, as I zoom out, all I can think 634 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: is continuity and consistency in a system over years will 635 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: pay dividends. And those dividends are being paid right now 636 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,520 Speaker 1: for the Celtics. And Jayson Tatum's just going to come 637 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: back and add to this when he enters into the picture. 638 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: But shout out to Jalen brown Man literally playing better 639 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: or as well as anyone in the league at this point. 640 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: All right, let's get into our power rankings. I'm gonna 641 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:10,560 Speaker 1: go a little quicker than usual today because I have 642 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: a bit of a time crunch. But we're starting with 643 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: number ten, the Denver Nuggets. They got a big win 644 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: over Toronto on the strength of their defense and clutch offense, 645 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: an idea that I talked about I talked about right 646 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: after the Yokich injury. I think that's their best formula 647 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: with jokicch out. But then they dropped a couple of 648 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 1: tough ones against the Cavs and the nets and teams 649 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,600 Speaker 1: are really starting to throw the kitchen sink at Jamal 650 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: Murray to try to slow him down. I think they 651 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: need about five more wins before the All Star Break 652 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,640 Speaker 1: to kind of successfully stay above that nine seed. You know, 653 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: if you're in that eight seed or higher, when Jokic 654 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: comes back, he's either gonna be able to crawl you 655 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: out of the play in or you have two opportunities 656 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: to win a play in game, which I trust the 657 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: Nuggets to do so. So I think they need about 658 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: five more wins. But it's gonna be tough. It's not 659 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: easy to do without Jokic, and the amount of injuries 660 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: that they've dealt with has been good. Seeing Christian Brown 661 00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: and Aaron Gordon get back out there like they did 662 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: against Brooklyn. Number nine the Los Angeles Lakers. Somehow after 663 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: their epic blowout filled three week collapse, they sit today 664 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 1: in sole possession of the fourth best record in the NBA. 665 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,200 Speaker 1: And the answer why to why is just because they 666 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 1: continue to take care of business against the middle tier 667 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,640 Speaker 1: and the lower tier teams in the NBA. They're seven 668 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,720 Speaker 1: and eight this season against teams that are five hundred 669 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 1: or better, five and five against teams that are in 670 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 1: the top ten and point differential, but they're fifteen and 671 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: three against teams that are below five hundred. After winning 672 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,960 Speaker 1: a couple of consecutive games against Memphis, Luca in the 673 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: second half against Memphis last night seventeen points, three assists, 674 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: only five miss shots in zero turnovers. He always produces, 675 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 1: but when he produces while also limiting his mistakes, that's 676 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 1: when he looks like the Luca that can compete for 677 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: the best player in the world. I thought the second 678 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: half against Memphis was a good sign of progress in 679 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: that direction, and then Lebron James. I had been critical 680 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 1: of his defense and rebounding during the team slump. He's 681 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: been great in those areas since the Sacramento and in 682 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: Lebron's last eleven games, starting to gain some momentum in 683 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: his production twenty five points, six rebounds, and six assists 684 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: on sixty four percent true shooting in his last eleven games, 685 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 1: really starting to gain a progress towards becoming that all 686 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: NBA version of himself that is actually capable of changing 687 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: the Lakers' fortunes in the short term. That's the best 688 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: version of the Lakers will be all NBA Lebron, All 689 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,320 Speaker 1: Star level, Austin, First Team All NBA level, Luca, you know, 690 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: MVP candidate Luca. Those three together, mixed in with improved 691 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: effort and intensity on defense, and maybe a move or 692 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,360 Speaker 1: two at the deadline, that's where I could start taking 693 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: this team a little bit more seriously. But they won't 694 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: move higher on this list for me until they can 695 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,480 Speaker 1: get a few signature wins against better teams. Number eight. 696 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,640 Speaker 1: The Phoenix Suns just deep dived into them earlier in 697 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: the show, so we won't linger here long. But they've 698 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: won six out of seven. They just beat Oklahoma City. 699 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 1: Now they're just two games out from the three seed 700 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,760 Speaker 1: in the Western Conference. Minnesota at number seven, suffered an 701 00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: embarrassing loss to the Hawks where they really struggled against 702 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,360 Speaker 1: Atlanta's physical d but a couple of nice bounce back 703 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: wins against the Heat and Wizards where their offense looked amazing. 704 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards sixty eight points in those two games on 705 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 1: twenty four from forty from the field. Number six the 706 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: New York Knicks a one to twenty one defensive rating 707 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: in their three game losing streak. I'm not going to 708 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,080 Speaker 1: overreact to a little drop off in defensive intensity in 709 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: early January for a team that's been as successful as 710 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 1: the Knicks have been. The one thing that concerned me 711 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:22,560 Speaker 1: was that play at the end of the Spurs game 712 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: when you were in position to win that game and 713 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes is isoing in the middle of the floor, 714 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,760 Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns is guarding Luke Cornette who's in the 715 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 1: right corner, and Kat's just kind of standing there. He's 716 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 1: not double teaming, he's not really helping, he's not doing anything. 717 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: He's just standing standing upright. Harrison Barnes misses the shot 718 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: and Luke Cornett just runs right in behind. Kat gets 719 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:40,760 Speaker 1: an offensive rebound, puts it back in and draws a 720 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: foul and it literally costs you the game. And that's 721 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:45,480 Speaker 1: the kind of stuff that like concerns me with Kat 722 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: in particular. I keep coming back to him, is like 723 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:51,160 Speaker 1: he's so mistake prone, especially in big spots, like you 724 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: lose a game as Celtics because he's chasing Jordan Walsh 725 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: off of the three point line when he's made like 726 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:58,840 Speaker 1: three corner threes all season. Like those are the kinds 727 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,520 Speaker 1: of like random late game execution errors that can cost 728 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: you a series, and that concerned me way more than 729 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: three losses in January, fueled by some you know, team 730 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:13,680 Speaker 1: wide defensive malayise. Number five the Houston Rockets. Four game 731 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: streaks snapped on the road in Dallas. They're just four 732 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,440 Speaker 1: for nineteen unguarded catch and shoot threes in that game. 733 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: That's miserable shooting. They've actually been surprisingly good on those 734 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: shots this season, about forty one percent, which is middle 735 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 1: of the pack, better than we would have thought. Kevin 736 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: Durant on a hot streak right now, twenty nine to 737 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,399 Speaker 1: five and eight on fifty nine percent from the field 738 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: in his last three games, keeping his turnovers down, playing 739 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,719 Speaker 1: some great basketball. Number four the Boston Celtics. We hit 740 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:35,920 Speaker 1: them earlier in the show, so I'm not going to 741 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 1: linger here. Just a team that has mastered the system 742 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,239 Speaker 1: that the coach implemented a few years ago, and they're 743 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,440 Speaker 1: starting to see some dividends there. Number three the San 744 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 1: Antonio Spurs. They've lost three out of five a one 745 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,320 Speaker 1: thirteen point five offensive rating in that span. We covered 746 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,440 Speaker 1: the Spurs offense in a video last week where I 747 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,319 Speaker 1: went over some of the details with the way they're 748 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,640 Speaker 1: guarding some of their younger guards going under containing using 749 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,320 Speaker 1: some bigger athletes, and how they need to address that 750 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:03,480 Speaker 1: by playing more through Fox and Wemby and using those 751 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 1: guards as screeners when you're in a situation where they're 752 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 1: not being guarded the way they're guarded. Obviously, injuries have 753 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: started to factor in as well. As Victor Wemban Yam 754 00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:13,040 Speaker 1: has been out, a couple of their guards have had 755 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,560 Speaker 1: a little bit of nagging injuries pop up, but the 756 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: offense has been something to keep an eye on over 757 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: the course of the next a few weeks. Number two, 758 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: the Detroit Pistons a couple of really impressive wins against 759 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 1: the Calves and Lakers, mixed in with three losses to 760 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 1: the Heat, Clippers and Jazz. Starting to get a little 761 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:30,720 Speaker 1: banged up now. Jalen Duran has an ankle sprain, Tobias 762 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:32,840 Speaker 1: Harris as a hip sprain. Here's a crazy stat for 763 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:35,240 Speaker 1: you Pistons fans, though the Pistons have the best record 764 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,239 Speaker 1: in the league against teams that are five hundred or 765 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,080 Speaker 1: better this season nine and four, even better than Oklahoma 766 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 1: City at nine and five and the number one Oklahoma City. 767 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 1: We hit them earlier in the show. Again, some of 768 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,320 Speaker 1: their issues popping up with allowing offensive rebounds and some 769 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 1: of their specific kind of situational shooting. But I still 770 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: view them, especially with San Antonio starting to lose some ground, 771 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:56,320 Speaker 1: as the best team in the league, number one in 772 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,360 Speaker 1: the power rankings again like they were for most of 773 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:00,160 Speaker 1: this season. All right, guys, it's all I have for 774 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:02,440 Speaker 1: today is always a sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting 775 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:04,840 Speaker 1: us and supporting the show. We had kind of funky 776 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:06,960 Speaker 1: holiday schedules last couple of weeks, but we're back to 777 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,480 Speaker 1: it every day now, back at it tomorrow morning with 778 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:11,440 Speaker 1: some game reaction. I'll see you guys, man