1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:07,600
Speaker 1: The volume. It's Hoops Tonight presented by FanDuel. The NBA

2
00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:10,440
Speaker 1: season is kicking into gear and there's no better place

3
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,240
Speaker 1: to get in on the action than with FanDuel. The

4
00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 1: app is safe and secure, getting your money out is

5
00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,400
Speaker 1: super easy. You can jump into the action at any

6
00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,880
Speaker 1: time during the game with live betting and I love

7
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,360
Speaker 1: building those same game parlays and Fanduels now live in Ohio,

8
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,640
Speaker 1: so use promo code Jason T and download the fandel

9
00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,400
Speaker 1: app today to start making every moment more twenty one

10
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,760
Speaker 1: plus In select states, gambling problem called one hundred gambler

11
00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,800
Speaker 1: or visit FanDuel dot com. Slash r g in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan,

12
00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:44,319
Speaker 1: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, and Ohio. Called one

13
00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,840
Speaker 1: next Step or text next step to five three three

14
00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:53,000
Speaker 1: four two in Arizona called one eight seven eight nine

15
00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,880
Speaker 1: seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Slash

16
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:03,000
Speaker 1: chat in Connecticut called one hundred nine with it in Indiana.

17
00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,800
Speaker 1: Visit k S gambling help dot com in Kansas called

18
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,960
Speaker 1: one eight seven seven seven seven zero stop in l

19
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:17,119
Speaker 1: A visit www dot m d gambling help dot org

20
00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:22,040
Speaker 1: in Maryland, dial one eight seven seven eight Hope and Why,

21
00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,240
Speaker 1: or text hope and Why to four six seven three

22
00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,039
Speaker 1: six nine in New York, called one five to two

23
00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,720
Speaker 1: four seven zero zero in Wyoming, or visit www dot

24
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:58,680
Speaker 1: one hundred gambler dot net in West Virginia. All right,

25
00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,040
Speaker 1: Welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented by Anel here at the Volume.

26
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,640
Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Everybody, congrats on making it to the weekend.

27
00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,720
Speaker 1: Although I'm technically recording this late in the night on Friday,

28
00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,040
Speaker 1: we had a jam packed, highly entertaining NBA slate tonight

29
00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,280
Speaker 1: and I caught bits and pieces of eight different games tonight,

30
00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:15,760
Speaker 1: so we're gonna be touching on all of them. That's

31
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:27,320
Speaker 1: gonna be Hawks, Lakers, Calves, Nuggets, Nets, Pelicans, Nick's, Raptors, Hornets, Bucks, Sixers, Bulls, Blazers, Pacers,

32
00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:29,800
Speaker 1: and Heat Sun. So a lot we're gonna get into.

33
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,639
Speaker 1: Just gonna go rapid fire through all those games. You

34
00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:34,720
Speaker 1: guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribed to

35
00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:36,440
Speaker 1: the Volumes YouTube channel so you don't miss any more

36
00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,840
Speaker 1: of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jason

37
00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,000
Speaker 1: lt S. You guys don't miss any show announcements and

38
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:42,600
Speaker 1: if for whatever reason you guys miss one of these

39
00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,320
Speaker 1: videos and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish. Remember,

40
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,160
Speaker 1: you can find them wherever you get to your podcasts

41
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,839
Speaker 1: under Hoops Tonight. Last, but not least, January is going

42
00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,639
Speaker 1: to be a jam packed sports month. Obviously, we got

43
00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,720
Speaker 1: the college football National Championship game right around the corner,

44
00:02:57,840 --> 00:02:59,960
Speaker 1: the NFL Playoffs all right around the corner, and then

45
00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,680
Speaker 1: college basketball and the NBA are heating up as we

46
00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,480
Speaker 1: head towards the tournament and the NBA Playoffs, which I

47
00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:08,320
Speaker 1: love so much. What does that mean? That means lots

48
00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,800
Speaker 1: of good games for us to watch? Or better yet,

49
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,760
Speaker 1: how about we go to some of these games? And

50
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,520
Speaker 1: where's the best place to get tickets? I want you

51
00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,760
Speaker 1: guys to check out game Time. This is the fastest

52
00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,000
Speaker 1: growing ticketing app in the United States. Game Time offers

53
00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,520
Speaker 1: amazing last minute deals on tickets to all of your

54
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,040
Speaker 1: favorite NBA, NFL, NHL, and n C Double A teams.

55
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,360
Speaker 1: And on top of that, they sell last minute concert

56
00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,880
Speaker 1: tickets and comedy show tickets. So if you're in Texas

57
00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,280
Speaker 1: and you want to see the Dallas Mavericks, game Time

58
00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,560
Speaker 1: has you covered. If you're in Arizona, and you want

59
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,280
Speaker 1: to see the Suns game Time has You Covered? Or

60
00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,920
Speaker 1: if you just want to go see John Mayer serenade

61
00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,840
Speaker 1: you on the electric guitar, game Time has You Covered?

62
00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,720
Speaker 1: Download the game Time app, Create an account and redeem

63
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,680
Speaker 1: code Hoops for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms

64
00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,839
Speaker 1: apply again. Create an account and enter code Hoops. That's

65
00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,280
Speaker 1: h o O p s for twenty dollars off. Download

66
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:08,880
Speaker 1: game Time Today, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right,

67
00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,000
Speaker 1: let's talk some basketball. So the Lakers win again against

68
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,800
Speaker 1: the Hawks, one thirty to one fourteen. I believe that's

69
00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,920
Speaker 1: their fourth consecutive win. Atlanta looked like they were just

70
00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,240
Speaker 1: about ready to quit in the first half of this game.

71
00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,320
Speaker 1: We'll get to them here in just a second. Then

72
00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:24,040
Speaker 1: the Lakers kind of came out in that third quarter,

73
00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,800
Speaker 1: didn't play a whole lot of defense. Atlanta kind of

74
00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:28,480
Speaker 1: got back into it. I think they got as close

75
00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,000
Speaker 1: as ten, but they were never truly threatened. Thomas Bryant

76
00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,920
Speaker 1: was a monster again, nineteen points and thirteen rebounds. I

77
00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,000
Speaker 1: wanted to shout out Dennis Schroeder, Patrick Beverley, and Russell

78
00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,839
Speaker 1: Westbrook because we talked about them briefly in our last show,

79
00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,120
Speaker 1: but the job that those three are doing on the

80
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:47,159
Speaker 1: perimeter is massively alleviating the concerns of losing Anthony Davis

81
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,240
Speaker 1: as a rim protector, all three of them, but I

82
00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,560
Speaker 1: wanted to shout out specifically Russ tonight. We had one

83
00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,400
Speaker 1: of his best games as a Laker uh in this

84
00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,039
Speaker 1: particular game, just violently chasing over the top of screens

85
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,720
Speaker 1: and bothering guys like Trey Young and Boyan Bogdanovich and

86
00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,480
Speaker 1: and Gen bogged on Bogdanovitch and dejont Murray as they

87
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,520
Speaker 1: were coming over the top of these screens. Again, this

88
00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,000
Speaker 1: is a steady pick and roll offense that Atlanta runs,

89
00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,080
Speaker 1: and these guys love to feel comfortable in that mid range.

90
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:14,880
Speaker 1: And you kind of saw the field of that game

91
00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,320
Speaker 1: early on first few possessions, Degen Murray was comfortable coming

92
00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,320
Speaker 1: off and he was hitting those shots. Then they got

93
00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,680
Speaker 1: a little bit better with that back pressure and they

94
00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,640
Speaker 1: started to force some misses. All three of those guys

95
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,560
Speaker 1: also hit massive shots on the on the other end

96
00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:30,800
Speaker 1: of the floor from three, so big time game from

97
00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,159
Speaker 1: the Lakers backcourt. Kendrick Nunn used the Trey Young assignment

98
00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,159
Speaker 1: to finally break out of his slump. He had a

99
00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,520
Speaker 1: season high twenty three, and then Lebron was great again

100
00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,640
Speaker 1: seven in ten um. You know. There there, we all

101
00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,960
Speaker 1: have our basketball philosophies, like our core basketball philosophies, and

102
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:47,800
Speaker 1: one of those of you guys who have been listening

103
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:49,279
Speaker 1: to the show for a long time have heard me

104
00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,080
Speaker 1: kind of break down my specific philosophies. And one of

105
00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,159
Speaker 1: the ones that I feel very passionately about is slotting.

106
00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,200
Speaker 1: You know, if you ask me, like, how is it

107
00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,440
Speaker 1: that this Lakers supporting cast that is so undermanned, particularly

108
00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,240
Speaker 1: on the wing. And then we find out that Lonnie

109
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,159
Speaker 1: Walkers out for at least two weeks, and we find

110
00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,240
Speaker 1: out that Austin Reeves is out for at least two weeks,

111
00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:09,600
Speaker 1: and Troy Brown Jr. Just had a quad strain he'll

112
00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,120
Speaker 1: probably be out for a little while. And they're still winning.

113
00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,520
Speaker 1: And the reason why is because of what Lebron James

114
00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,120
Speaker 1: brings to the table as a superstar. Obviously, in other settings,

115
00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,679
Speaker 1: like you catch the heat in a game without Lebron

116
00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:23,560
Speaker 1: and a d not bringing their best effort, you get

117
00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,400
Speaker 1: a win. This Atlanta Hawks team kind of has the

118
00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,920
Speaker 1: vibe of a quitting basketball team, So it buys you

119
00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,280
Speaker 1: a little extra margin for error there. But over the

120
00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:34,200
Speaker 1: course of this stretch without Anthony Davis their seven and

121
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,080
Speaker 1: five and they have some impressive wins, including beating that

122
00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,919
Speaker 1: Denver Nuggets team that is so incredibly good. And so

123
00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,279
Speaker 1: what I wanted to drive home here is that point

124
00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:46,360
Speaker 1: about slotting. When you have a superstar, a true superstar

125
00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,159
Speaker 1: like Lebron James, he removes so many responsibilities from the

126
00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,200
Speaker 1: table by generating quality shots and then the stuff he

127
00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,000
Speaker 1: does on the defensive end of the floor, particularly grabbing

128
00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,599
Speaker 1: contesting contested rebounds, which is something Lebron has been fantastic

129
00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,000
Speaker 1: at over the course of this season, or just general

130
00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,880
Speaker 1: back line help. When you take all that stuff off

131
00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:11,080
Speaker 1: the table, that creates small, achievable roles that even limited

132
00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:13,800
Speaker 1: players that aren't as good as other role players around

133
00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,960
Speaker 1: the league can thrive and succeed in those roles. And

134
00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:19,720
Speaker 1: the Lakers have two of those guys. Between Lebron James

135
00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,920
Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis. You're seeing the benefits of slotting right here.

136
00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,080
Speaker 1: With one superstar, you can imagine what it looks like

137
00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,640
Speaker 1: when Lebron and Ad are together playing at that level

138
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,040
Speaker 1: I know we haven't seen a lot of it over

139
00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,360
Speaker 1: the last two years, but in the two years before that,

140
00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,720
Speaker 1: we did see it, and you saw the way that

141
00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,520
Speaker 1: trickled down the roster to achievable roles for role players.

142
00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:40,560
Speaker 1: This is why I've been hammering home the idea of

143
00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,160
Speaker 1: the Lakers trying to go after a legit tall wing

144
00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,800
Speaker 1: like a Kyle Kuzma or a boy On Vigdanovitch, because

145
00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,200
Speaker 1: that even further slots some of the role players into

146
00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,160
Speaker 1: even smaller roles. And you're seeing right now, I mean

147
00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,960
Speaker 1: the Lakers, guys, this is insane. The Lakers are now

148
00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,600
Speaker 1: two games back of the six seed, two games back

149
00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,720
Speaker 1: from being out of the Plan two. That's how good

150
00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,120
Speaker 1: of a position there in. Despite the horrific start to

151
00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,000
Speaker 1: the season, I truly believe that with Lebron playing at

152
00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,480
Speaker 1: this level, and with Anthony Davis coming back and hopefully

153
00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,800
Speaker 1: getting back to the level he was at before, that

154
00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,640
Speaker 1: this team is one legit move away, one legit wing

155
00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,960
Speaker 1: away from being a legit contender in the Western Conference.

156
00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,400
Speaker 1: There you know again, I would say that the only

157
00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:30,960
Speaker 1: duo in the league that is certainly better than Lebron

158
00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,920
Speaker 1: James and Anthony Davis in terms of consistency and availability

159
00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:36,120
Speaker 1: is Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and I would argue

160
00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:38,320
Speaker 1: and Lebron and A d are available, they're actually better

161
00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,240
Speaker 1: than those guys. That's the advantage the Lakers have over

162
00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,120
Speaker 1: the rest of the league. They're big disadvantage is the

163
00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,199
Speaker 1: supporting players, particularly on the wing when you actually look

164
00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,200
Speaker 1: at the roster because of Thomas Bryant coming out as

165
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:54,080
Speaker 1: such a viable weapon for the Lakers. They're great at center,

166
00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,920
Speaker 1: they're great at the power forward with Lebron's minutes, and

167
00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,240
Speaker 1: they're pretty solid in the back court because of how

168
00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:03,200
Speaker 1: well Dennis Schroeder's playing. Patrick Beverley is starting to hit shot,

169
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,280
Speaker 1: so is defensive presence is starting to be more noticeable.

170
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:08,960
Speaker 1: And then Austin Reeves and Lonnie Walker. Those are two

171
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,360
Speaker 1: decent shooting guards in this league. So the area of

172
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,960
Speaker 1: weakness is the wing. That's the one spot on the

173
00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:18,160
Speaker 1: roster that desperately needs attention, and if they address that,

174
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,280
Speaker 1: suddenly this is a well rounded basketball team that will

175
00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,120
Speaker 1: have to potentially the two best players on the floor

176
00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,480
Speaker 1: in most playoff series against against everybody but a handful

177
00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,600
Speaker 1: of teams around the league. There's real reason for optimism there.

178
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,439
Speaker 1: And then lastly on the Hawks. You know, we've been talking.

179
00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:34,520
Speaker 1: This has been a theme of the show over the

180
00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:36,640
Speaker 1: last couple of the last couple of weeks. You either

181
00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,120
Speaker 1: fight for your season or you don't. And Atlanta looks

182
00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:40,760
Speaker 1: like a team that's not fighting for their season. I

183
00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,800
Speaker 1: would not be surprised, um if we hear about Nate

184
00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,959
Speaker 1: McMillan either stepping down or being fired in the next

185
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,880
Speaker 1: couple of days. They need a new voice in the

186
00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,479
Speaker 1: locker room. They're not even coming out with an intensity

187
00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,040
Speaker 1: like they believe they can win games. All right. Moving

188
00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:55,760
Speaker 1: on to Cleveland Denver, We're gonna start to kind of

189
00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,800
Speaker 1: move a little quicker here. Denver wins one oh eight.

190
00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,160
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell missed this game, Ya gets finished with and ten.

191
00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,880
Speaker 1: He's averaging twelve and ten in his last fifteen games.

192
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:08,880
Speaker 1: Denver is playing very much like the best team in

193
00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:10,960
Speaker 1: the league right now. They're twelve and three in their

194
00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:15,280
Speaker 1: last fifteen games. They completely embarrassed the Clippers last night,

195
00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,079
Speaker 1: like one of the most embarrassing beat downs I can

196
00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,760
Speaker 1: remember seeing from a real Marquee matchup of two you know,

197
00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,520
Speaker 1: heavyweights in in any conference, at one point the Nuggets

198
00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,560
Speaker 1: for beating the Clippers eight four to forty one, and

199
00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,520
Speaker 1: in one note on the Clippers, they lost again tonight

200
00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,120
Speaker 1: to Minnesota. Kawai and Paul George left the game at

201
00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,000
Speaker 1: halftime in that Denver game and then skipped the back

202
00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,480
Speaker 1: end of the back to back against Minnesota tonight. Those

203
00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:40,240
Speaker 1: guys are just never available. I don't even know what

204
00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,559
Speaker 1: to make of it. It makes them extremely difficult to evaluate,

205
00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,400
Speaker 1: which is precisely why I dropped the Clippers off of

206
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,840
Speaker 1: my top tier of contenders. Uh, Denver's racking up some

207
00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:53,000
Speaker 1: impressive wins. Just in the last ten games. They've beat

208
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,040
Speaker 1: the Calves, the Clippers, the Celtics, the Heat, the Kings,

209
00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,600
Speaker 1: the Sons, the Blazers, and the Grizzlies. That's all super

210
00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,959
Speaker 1: impress us have wins. I don't necessarily trust their defense enough.

211
00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:05,160
Speaker 1: I think there's still twenty second in defense or something

212
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,120
Speaker 1: like that. I don't trust their defense enough to put

213
00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,480
Speaker 1: them in the top tier of contenders, but I'd have

214
00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,319
Speaker 1: them at the top of that second tier, right below

215
00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 1: the top tier of contenders. All right, Moving on to

216
00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,760
Speaker 1: Brooklyn and the New Orleans Pelicans. This was a super

217
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,000
Speaker 1: fun game I watched most of this one. The Pelicans

218
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,600
Speaker 1: were without Zion and brandon Ingram, but they really battled

219
00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,640
Speaker 1: in this game. And both Katie and Kyrie had uncharacteristic

220
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,040
Speaker 1: bad shooting nights. I'm pretty high shot quality, like they

221
00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,480
Speaker 1: were missing some easy looks. You know. Katie I think

222
00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,480
Speaker 1: started over five and four of his first five shots

223
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,960
Speaker 1: that he missed were pretty damn good looks that you

224
00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,760
Speaker 1: are accustomed to seeing Kad knocked down. So between the

225
00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,800
Speaker 1: competing Pelicans at home and Katie and Kyrie kind of

226
00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,280
Speaker 1: having a rough night, you ended up having a close game.

227
00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,000
Speaker 1: Nagi Marshall was really good in this game, kind of

228
00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,960
Speaker 1: stepping into a more aggressive role. He at twenty three points.

229
00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,400
Speaker 1: You know, with what I do for a living, like

230
00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,040
Speaker 1: I I'm always watching these games, and I'm watching them

231
00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,199
Speaker 1: on a clip by clip basis, and I'm really diving

232
00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,240
Speaker 1: in to try to see specifics about like how one

233
00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:06,760
Speaker 1: guy does chasing over screens, or how one guy does

234
00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,680
Speaker 1: attacking closeouts, or how one big does and pick and

235
00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,920
Speaker 1: roll coverage, And I'm always trying to evaluate players, and

236
00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,600
Speaker 1: Nagy Marshall is one of those guys. All season when

237
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,040
Speaker 1: I've watched the Pelicans, where I've always felt like he's

238
00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,319
Speaker 1: had a little bit more in his dribble package than

239
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:23,680
Speaker 1: what he's needed to do with the Pelicans on a

240
00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,320
Speaker 1: game by game basis. You know, we have roles that

241
00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,839
Speaker 1: stack up on a basketball court, and when you're playing

242
00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:31,480
Speaker 1: for a team like the Pelicans, and it's like Brandon

243
00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,520
Speaker 1: Ingram's out there, and Zion Williamson's out there, and ce

244
00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,840
Speaker 1: J McCollums out there, and Jose Alvarado's out there, like

245
00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,120
Speaker 1: they have a lot of ball handling, and so you're

246
00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,360
Speaker 1: not gonna get a lot of on ball touches if

247
00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,480
Speaker 1: you're in a supporting role on that team. But a

248
00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:47,960
Speaker 1: lot of guys in the NBA slot into rolls like that,

249
00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,760
Speaker 1: despite having skill sets that go above and beyond. And

250
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,320
Speaker 1: one of the things I know is actually tweeted out

251
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,160
Speaker 1: a clip the other day from a different Pelicans game

252
00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,440
Speaker 1: where Nagy Marshall hit Dylan Brooks with a double crossover

253
00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,600
Speaker 1: and like buckled him over at a rain the possession

254
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:01,920
Speaker 1: at the top of the key, just to beat some

255
00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,080
Speaker 1: ball pressure. And I'm sitting there and I'm like, WHOA,

256
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,080
Speaker 1: That's a highly advanced dribble move from a guy that

257
00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:08,680
Speaker 1: we think of is just kind of like a dirty

258
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,680
Speaker 1: work role player on the wing. And you saw tonight

259
00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,520
Speaker 1: what it looks like when you have an opportunity to

260
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,880
Speaker 1: fill in in a more aggressive role. Brandon Ingram's out,

261
00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:20,679
Speaker 1: Zion's out. You need somebody that's going to be more aggressive,

262
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,680
Speaker 1: and Nasei Marshall stepped right up into that role. In

263
00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,600
Speaker 1: the second half, though, the Nets really just locked in

264
00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,000
Speaker 1: on defense. They held the Pelicans at just thirty eight points,

265
00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,400
Speaker 1: and then Kyrie, after a rough shooting night, made a

266
00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,920
Speaker 1: bunch of big players in the fourth quarter, including hitting

267
00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,400
Speaker 1: the dagger on a on a swing pass from KD

268
00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:38,520
Speaker 1: at the top of the key, and the Nets are

269
00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:41,559
Speaker 1: back on track. There now seventeen and two in their

270
00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,600
Speaker 1: last nineteen games, all right, Moving on to the Knicks

271
00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,400
Speaker 1: and the Raptors. The Knicks win one twelve to one

272
00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,240
Speaker 1: oh eight. Julius Randall came out guns blazing from three

273
00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:50,840
Speaker 1: in the first quarter of this game. He cooled off

274
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:52,760
Speaker 1: a bit, but he finished with thirty two and eleven.

275
00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,520
Speaker 1: Toronto had several stretches where they sped the game up

276
00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:58,120
Speaker 1: and got out in transition and got it close. They

277
00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:01,079
Speaker 1: had a nineteen to three fast breakpoint advantage. You kind

278
00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,840
Speaker 1: of see as over the season we start to really

279
00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:06,040
Speaker 1: familiarize ourselves with these teams. There's a consistent way that

280
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,960
Speaker 1: these that each team likes to win. And then there's

281
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,480
Speaker 1: a consistent weakness that most of these teams have. And

282
00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,040
Speaker 1: for Toronto it's always when they can get up and down,

283
00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,160
Speaker 1: they can thrive, but when they get trapped in a

284
00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,640
Speaker 1: half court, they can really struggle to score. And that's

285
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:21,480
Speaker 1: what happened. Every single time they got the game close,

286
00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,000
Speaker 1: the Knicks would strangle the pace again, keep them in

287
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,560
Speaker 1: the half court and close the deal. The Knicks have

288
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,360
Speaker 1: won four straight. I cursed them unfortunately during their eight

289
00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,160
Speaker 1: game winning streak right at the end, I did back

290
00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,800
Speaker 1: to back deep dive videos on them, and then they

291
00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,200
Speaker 1: immediately lost five straight. But so like, but then they've

292
00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,240
Speaker 1: won four straight since. So it's been this weird stretch

293
00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:42,360
Speaker 1: where they won eight in a row, then they lost

294
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:44,440
Speaker 1: five in a row, then they won four in a row.

295
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,640
Speaker 1: Complete roller coaster. But still, like I said in our

296
00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,360
Speaker 1: deep dive breakdowns, it's the good teams that give them trouble.

297
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,240
Speaker 1: They're fifteen and five against below five hundred teams and

298
00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,040
Speaker 1: seven and third team against teams that are five hundred

299
00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:57,320
Speaker 1: are better. At the end of the day, they just

300
00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,960
Speaker 1: don't have the top tier shot creators to consistently score

301
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,720
Speaker 1: in the half court against the best teams in the league.

302
00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,560
Speaker 1: All Right, moving on to Charlotte Milwaukee. Charlotte came in

303
00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:09,960
Speaker 1: and hung uh fifty one points on the Bucks in

304
00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,280
Speaker 1: the first quarter and just completely blew them out in

305
00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,760
Speaker 1: their own building in Milwaukee. Terry Rosier, LaMelo Ball, and

306
00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,360
Speaker 1: PJ Washington combined for eighteen made threes and eighty six points.

307
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:21,240
Speaker 1: And all I have to say about this game, because

308
00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,280
Speaker 1: I didn't see much of it, is this just happens sometimes.

309
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:26,760
Speaker 1: You know. I have been watching the NBA for a

310
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,160
Speaker 1: long time, and one of the things that I've consistently

311
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,359
Speaker 1: seen over the years is right around from mid December

312
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,720
Speaker 1: to the All Star break, which I believe is mid February.

313
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:42,080
Speaker 1: But during that two month period, there's this heavy malaise

314
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,600
Speaker 1: that kind of sets in across the league because that

315
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,680
Speaker 1: initial excitement of the first month of basketball passes. You know,

316
00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,320
Speaker 1: during that first month, everyone's playing hard every night because

317
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,160
Speaker 1: everyone thinks they're gonna make up deep playoff run, and

318
00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,440
Speaker 1: everyone's so excited but then you get to the point

319
00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,720
Speaker 1: where you've played games and everyone just kind of falls

320
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,360
Speaker 1: into that funk and you start to see some truly

321
00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,920
Speaker 1: bizarre outcomes. And you know, in the modern n b A,

322
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:07,760
Speaker 1: I remember at the beginning of the season when I

323
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,400
Speaker 1: called it an unforgiving league. Like Terry Roziero LaMelo Ball

324
00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,880
Speaker 1: are two really skilled guards, and so if you come

325
00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,040
Speaker 1: into a game and you don't bring it defensively and

326
00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:17,800
Speaker 1: they get going from three like you can get your

327
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,840
Speaker 1: butt kicked. And that's what happened. I mean, the Bucks

328
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,080
Speaker 1: basically had everyone in their rotation available except for Chris Middleton.

329
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:25,680
Speaker 1: They had won three of their last four games coming

330
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,680
Speaker 1: in Janice was averaging thirty nine and fifteen in his

331
00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,600
Speaker 1: last eight games, and he just had nine points tonight.

332
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,280
Speaker 1: So again, don't try to make any sense of it.

333
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,000
Speaker 1: We'll see a half dozen more games like this before

334
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,000
Speaker 1: the trade deadline, where you're like one in the world.

335
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,320
Speaker 1: The Detroit Pistons went into you know, Golden State and

336
00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,120
Speaker 1: beat the Warriors. You know, you're gonna see stuff like

337
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,680
Speaker 1: that just NonStop over the course of the next month

338
00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,280
Speaker 1: or a month and a half or so until we

339
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,760
Speaker 1: get to the UH to the All Star Break. So

340
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:54,400
Speaker 1: for the Bucks, you just gotta kind of flush it

341
00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,760
Speaker 1: away and move on. Alright, Bulls Sixers? How about the

342
00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:01,840
Speaker 1: Bulls man on one sixteen in Philly over the Sixers.

343
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,200
Speaker 1: Although they did not have Joel Embiid, Zach Levine was

344
00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:06,639
Speaker 1: awesome in this game, eleven for thirteen from three, finished

345
00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,040
Speaker 1: with forty one. The Bulls have now won seven out

346
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,439
Speaker 1: of ten games, and some impressive wins in that stretch.

347
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,199
Speaker 1: They beat the Heat, they beat the Knicks back when

348
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,439
Speaker 1: they were red hot. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks in

349
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:19,080
Speaker 1: that crazy comeback game. They beat the next bust their

350
00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:21,160
Speaker 1: twelve game winning streak, and now they beat the Sixers.

351
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,320
Speaker 1: They're now just this recent run to save their season,

352
00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,080
Speaker 1: so to speak, has put them just three and a

353
00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,159
Speaker 1: half games out of the six seeds, so not entirely lost.

354
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,800
Speaker 1: The one guy I wanted to specifically shout out here

355
00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,760
Speaker 1: was Patrick Williams. He had eighteen against an Idea two

356
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,480
Speaker 1: nights ago in Brooklyn. He's made at least two threes

357
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,119
Speaker 1: and four of the last five games for the Bulls.

358
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,040
Speaker 1: He kind of brings that three and D element that

359
00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:44,960
Speaker 1: they so desperately need because this is a team that

360
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,439
Speaker 1: doesn't have a lot of shooting, and that their stars

361
00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 1: don't really like to play defense, and so having a

362
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,080
Speaker 1: guy that's kind of thriving in that role so vitally

363
00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:54,200
Speaker 1: important to them. But the big thing that I've noticed

364
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,440
Speaker 1: in the last few games, and something that I've been

365
00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,159
Speaker 1: keeping my eye on with Patrick Williams ever since this summer,

366
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:01,720
Speaker 1: is the stuff that he's able to do off the dribble.

367
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,040
Speaker 1: And again, it's not you know, high level creation, it's

368
00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,600
Speaker 1: it's it's all low volume. But this is a guy

369
00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,560
Speaker 1: that has clearly put in a lot of time over

370
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,400
Speaker 1: the offseason to build out his ball handling and shooting,

371
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:14,880
Speaker 1: and you could see it. I noticed it a lot

372
00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:16,520
Speaker 1: in the summer workouts in some of the videos he

373
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,919
Speaker 1: was sharing. There's real fluidity in his ability to dribble

374
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,800
Speaker 1: the basketball, which only comes through relentless hard work. So

375
00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:25,400
Speaker 1: it's cool to see him have a couple of big

376
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,400
Speaker 1: scoring games. Again, we'll see if any of this last.

377
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,600
Speaker 1: For Chicago. Nothing is super encouraging, Like they're still twenty

378
00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,800
Speaker 1: second in defense over this ten game stretch, so they're

379
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,520
Speaker 1: basically just outscoring teams their fourth and offense, and their

380
00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,199
Speaker 1: stars are super hot, especially from UH with their jump shots.

381
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,720
Speaker 1: So you know it's I don't want to rain on

382
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,160
Speaker 1: the parade, but obviously they're gonna need to defend better

383
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,080
Speaker 1: to have any chance of having consistent success. But here's

384
00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,560
Speaker 1: the glass half full way of looking at it. Winning

385
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,760
Speaker 1: games leads to buy in, and you've won seven out

386
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,760
Speaker 1: of ten. When you guys have buy in, guys get

387
00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,720
Speaker 1: committed to all of the details, because that's part of

388
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,359
Speaker 1: what buying entails, is doing what the coaching staff asks

389
00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,600
Speaker 1: you to do. And when you have buy in and

390
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,480
Speaker 1: then you have commitment to details, that's when the defense

391
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:11,480
Speaker 1: could follow. And if the defense follows with the way

392
00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,919
Speaker 1: they're scoring the ball, they could really go on a run. Alright. Portland, Indiana,

393
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:17,639
Speaker 1: the Pacers won one o eight to ninety nine. This

394
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,400
Speaker 1: was tied at late and then aaron Nie Smith broke

395
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,719
Speaker 1: the tie UH and then Buddy He'll picked off Anthony

396
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,640
Speaker 1: Simon's for a pick six that put him up four,

397
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,800
Speaker 1: and then Terris Aliberton hit a step back three that

398
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,800
Speaker 1: was basically the dagger. The Pacers closed this game on

399
00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,399
Speaker 1: a nine oh run. What I wanted to focus on

400
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:34,600
Speaker 1: with the Pacers is their four guard lineup, So Tonight

401
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:39,080
Speaker 1: they closed with Haliburton Healed, Andrew Nemhard, Miles Turner and

402
00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,200
Speaker 1: aaron Nie Smith. Against the Sixers, they went with a

403
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,360
Speaker 1: similar lineup, but they swapped out Ni Smith for Ben Matherin.

404
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,320
Speaker 1: But they've been doing a lot and and the Smith

405
00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:48,800
Speaker 1: is a little bit bigger, he's like six ft five,

406
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:50,280
Speaker 1: But they've they've been doing a lot of this over

407
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,080
Speaker 1: the course the last few weeks where it's like four

408
00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,320
Speaker 1: guards in Miles Turner, and it's fun to watch because

409
00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,920
Speaker 1: they have tons and tons of speed and they're competing

410
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,480
Speaker 1: on defense, so they're getting up into all handlers and pressuring,

411
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:03,920
Speaker 1: switching a lot of screens, but at the same time

412
00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,439
Speaker 1: flying around in rotation with all the foot speed they have.

413
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,439
Speaker 1: And then they have Myles Turner protecting the rim. And

414
00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:10,919
Speaker 1: then on the other end of the floor, it's so

415
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,159
Speaker 1: much ball handling and shooting with the four guards, and

416
00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,480
Speaker 1: then Myles Turner is a guy that can knock down

417
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,959
Speaker 1: shots and make plays off the dribble. So they just

418
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,560
Speaker 1: have a really unselfish you know, move the ball around

419
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:23,879
Speaker 1: that extra drive and kicked that extra pass to get

420
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,200
Speaker 1: high quality shots. They're honestly, really really fun to watch.

421
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,240
Speaker 1: And Pacers fans should be very excited. UM. Wanted to

422
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,119
Speaker 1: go through some line up data with you guys really quick.

423
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:38,040
Speaker 1: So when they have uh, Buddy Healed, Ben mathurin excuse me,

424
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,560
Speaker 1: Buddy held Uh, Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew m Hard, Miles Turner

425
00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,199
Speaker 1: and aaron Nie Smith. That lineup they closed with tonight,

426
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:46,919
Speaker 1: not great so far this season minus ten net and

427
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,159
Speaker 1: four possessions, but they went They went really well tonight,

428
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,640
Speaker 1: so we'll see how that. Excuse the data a little

429
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,800
Speaker 1: bit and then uh to in the Sixers game, they

430
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,480
Speaker 1: closed with mathin that lineup, So Tyrus Halliburton, Buddy yield

431
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,919
Speaker 1: In Jr. Nemhard, Ben math Any, Miles Turner. That's that

432
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,840
Speaker 1: group is plus fourteen net in two and eight possessions.

433
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,800
Speaker 1: So the four guard lineups, particularly with Ben math and

434
00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:13,040
Speaker 1: are really working. UM, and it's just a really fun

435
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,480
Speaker 1: to watch Brandon basketball. They're becoming they're becoming one of

436
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,760
Speaker 1: my favorite league past teams. All right. Lastly, before we

437
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,800
Speaker 1: get out of her, Miami Phoenix, Miami wins one for

438
00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:23,680
Speaker 1: one oh four to nineties six. This was my bet

439
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,480
Speaker 1: of the week for Fandel. For those of guys who

440
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,639
Speaker 1: listened on the podcast feed where you see the vandel Ads.

441
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:30,399
Speaker 1: Miami was favored by one and a half, but they

442
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,160
Speaker 1: had just lost a disappointing game to the Lakers. And

443
00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,159
Speaker 1: the Suns really can't score without Devin Booker, so I

444
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,560
Speaker 1: had a feeling that he would win, which they did. Um,

445
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,359
Speaker 1: the Sun's this stuff with them not being able to

446
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,560
Speaker 1: score without Booker is pretty insane. This was their third

447
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,640
Speaker 1: straight game where they failed to score a hundred points. UM.

448
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,720
Speaker 1: They're averaging just one oh four point five points in

449
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,320
Speaker 1: their last six games, which is dead last in the NBA,

450
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,159
Speaker 1: and their schedule doesn't get any easier from here. This

451
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:02,119
Speaker 1: is crazy. Check out check this out. Next eight games Calves, Warriors, Nuggets,

452
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,040
Speaker 1: the Timberwolves is the easiest game in the stretch, and

453
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,080
Speaker 1: the Timberwolves have won three games in a row because

454
00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:09,280
Speaker 1: they're starting to defend like crazy and Anthony Edwards is

455
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,840
Speaker 1: getting going. Then they play the Grizzlies, Then they play

456
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:13,920
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets, then they play that Pacers team we

457
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,359
Speaker 1: just talked about. Then they play the Memphis Grizzlies again.

458
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,679
Speaker 1: So you know they're already on a what's that a

459
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,760
Speaker 1: five game losing streak, a thirteen game losing streak is

460
00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:26,600
Speaker 1: legitimately on the table here, Like they're gonna be underdogs

461
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,480
Speaker 1: in all eight of those games. Now, I expect them

462
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,359
Speaker 1: to win one or two of them. But things are

463
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,679
Speaker 1: looking really bleak for Phoenix, and I expect them to

464
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,040
Speaker 1: consider completely blowing things up at the deadline. I mean,

465
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,119
Speaker 1: they've got some stuff to to really cling to. Like,

466
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,480
Speaker 1: I really like Devin Booker, you know, Michail Bridges is

467
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,080
Speaker 1: a great foundational piece. I like Cam Johnson a lot.

468
00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:47,840
Speaker 1: Deandreton needs to go because he doesn't even like being there,

469
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:51,760
Speaker 1: and their defense as a team has fallen off a

470
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,080
Speaker 1: cliff as well, and obviously DeAndre Aton hasn't been good

471
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,000
Speaker 1: enough to carry that. So I would expect potentially them

472
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:02,120
Speaker 1: to consider being super aggressive with Chris Paul and DeAndre

473
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,159
Speaker 1: Ayton and you know, Jay Crowder and just try to

474
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:06,840
Speaker 1: get back as much as they can to just kind

475
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 1: of shuffle the deck and reset the culture in that

476
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:12,520
Speaker 1: locker room. Um. The Miami Heat are now nine and

477
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:14,480
Speaker 1: four in their last thirteen games. They are now just

478
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:16,680
Speaker 1: one game back of six in the East to get

479
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,040
Speaker 1: out of the plan and bamade Bio is awesome again.

480
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,480
Speaker 1: Tonight eleven eight of those twenty one points were in

481
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,439
Speaker 1: post ups or ISOs um Like we talked about in

482
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,880
Speaker 1: our last show, he's on a ten game stretch where

483
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,760
Speaker 1: he's averaging about five additional points per game and post

484
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,760
Speaker 1: ups and ISOs so hit that mark again tonight with eight.

485
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 1: It's really cool, honestly as a basketball fan to see

486
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,400
Speaker 1: Bam starting to get his confidence as a score, because

487
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,040
Speaker 1: it's really a thing that builds momentum. He's always had

488
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,040
Speaker 1: the talent, now that you're seeing the confidence come with it.

489
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,200
Speaker 1: He's starting to hunt his shot more and now he's

490
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,119
Speaker 1: taking and making higher difficulty shots, which just continues to

491
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,640
Speaker 1: feed that confidence. And again, having Bam as that sort

492
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,400
Speaker 1: of legit, high volume score is the thing that could

493
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,160
Speaker 1: be the ultimate ceiling razor for the Miami Heat. Wow. Okay,

494
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,520
Speaker 1: that was intense. That was fun. But that's all I

495
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 1: have for tonight. Here's the plan. We're taking the rest

496
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,840
Speaker 1: of the weekend off and next week is gonna be

497
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,160
Speaker 1: really interesting. We're only gonna We're gonna take a break

498
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,800
Speaker 1: from instant reactions or game breakdowns, and we're gonna do

499
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,760
Speaker 1: one game breakdown next week. That's gonna be on Thursday night.

500
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,520
Speaker 1: I can't remember exactly what the matchup is off the

501
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,119
Speaker 1: top of my head, but there's a big time, nationally

502
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,040
Speaker 1: televised game on Thursday that will break down. But the

503
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,400
Speaker 1: rest of the week, we're gonna do our mid season grades.

504
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,480
Speaker 1: So my plan for that is I'm gonna try to

505
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,399
Speaker 1: do We'll see how it works out because I'm actually

506
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,520
Speaker 1: leaving for my first ski trip on Friday of next week.

507
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,119
Speaker 1: But we're gonna do um. I think we're gonna do

508
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:44,920
Speaker 1: four or five videos, and we're gonna hit on four

509
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,879
Speaker 1: or five teams per video, but we're basically gonna do

510
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,479
Speaker 1: deep dives into each of those teams as basically just

511
00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,720
Speaker 1: like a you know, establishing the state of the Pistons

512
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,280
Speaker 1: or the state of the Warriors, the state of the Lakers,

513
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,880
Speaker 1: and we're gonna just kind of recap the first half

514
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 1: of their season for each of those teams. So it's

515
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,160
Speaker 1: gonna be a little bit more of a zoom out

516
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,720
Speaker 1: week next week before we get back into our group

517
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,719
Speaker 1: the following week. It's always I sincerely appreciate your guys support,

518
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:27,119
Speaker 1: and I will see you on Monday. The volume m