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Speaker 1: terms and responsible gambling resources. Alrighty, all right, welcome to

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Speaker 1: Hoops to Night here at the Volume. Happy Monday, everybody.

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Speaker 1: If all of you guys had a great weekend, we

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Speaker 1: have a jam packed show for you today. We're gonna

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Speaker 1: be doing instant reactions to three games from over the weekend.

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Speaker 1: The Golden State Warriors got just absolutely demolished by the

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Speaker 1: Boston Celtics. Tried an interesting strategy off of the opening

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Speaker 1: tip that we'll talk about. Then. I'm gonna be breaking

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Speaker 1: down the Oklahoma City Thunder going into Phoenix last night

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Speaker 1: and really just dealing a physical pain in the ass

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Speaker 1: win to Phoenix, exposing some specific issues that they've been

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Speaker 1: dealing with most of the year. After that, the Los

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Speaker 1: Angeles Clippers got revenge on the Minnesota Timberwolves by doing

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Speaker 1: to them what they did to them the first time.

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Speaker 1: So we're gonna be breaking down those three games. Then

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Speaker 1: after that, like we always do on Mondays, we'll have

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Speaker 1: our latest edition of the Power Rankings. You guys are

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Speaker 1: the joefore we get started, subscribe to our brand new

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Speaker 1: YouTube channel. I mean a lot to me. If you

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Speaker 1: guys take a second to scroll down and hit that

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Speaker 1: subscribe button. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you

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Speaker 1: get your podcasts under Hoops tonight. Follow me on Twitter

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Speaker 1: at underscore jsonlt That's where I put film threads as

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Speaker 1: well as show announcements, and then, last but not least,

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Speaker 1: keep dropping mail back questions in the YouTube comments. I

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Speaker 1: think we're gonna have two shorter mail bags on Wednesday

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Speaker 1: and Thursday this week to give you an idea of

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Speaker 1: the schedule really quick. Obviously, today those three game breakdowns

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Speaker 1: and Power Rankings. Tuesday, we're going with Yovan Booja deep

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Speaker 1: dive on the Lakers. They play the Thunder tonight and

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Speaker 1: they also just have their game against the Nuggets. So

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Speaker 1: we're gonna just kind of talk basketball with Yovann, get

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Speaker 1: some injury updates since he's obviously much closer to the

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Speaker 1: team than I am. Wednesday and Thursday, we're actually going

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Speaker 1: live at night on YouTube after the nationally televised games,

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Speaker 1: but during the day we'll be doing single instant reaction

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Speaker 1: games and some mailbag stuff. So that's our schedule for

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Speaker 1: the next few days. All right, let's talk some basketball.

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Speaker 1: So starting with Warriors Celtics. So the kind of the

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Speaker 1: story out of the opening tip of this game was

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Speaker 1: the Warriors putting Draymond Green on Jalen Brown. Now there's

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Speaker 1: a lot of criticism there because of the result, but

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Speaker 1: I do understand the general thought process behind it. So

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Speaker 1: just put yourself in the coach's shoes as they're trying

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Speaker 1: to scout through this type of matchup. Right, they're looking

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Speaker 1: at it like this team has a ton of offensive

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Speaker 1: skill and we're gonna have a lot of issues all

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Speaker 1: over the floor. We've got to come up with something

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Speaker 1: to try to slow them. Down, and I think the

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Speaker 1: general idea was, well, if we have Draymond Green roaming

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Speaker 1: in the paint, that gives us a much better chance

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Speaker 1: to guard the other four guys because those guys don't

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Speaker 1: have to be as worried about getting blown by because

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Speaker 1: Draymond's on the back line. It gives them the ability

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Speaker 1: to be more aggressive at the point of attack. And

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Speaker 1: specifically with Jalen Brown, He's had a tendency over the

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Speaker 1: course of his career, specifically in big games and in

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Speaker 1: big moments where sometimes like he just like he misses

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Speaker 1: a couple shots and then he gets a little bit

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Speaker 1: in his head, he loses his confidence, and then he

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Speaker 1: can kind of withdraw from the game to a certain extent.

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Speaker 1: And so the idea there is is like, well, let's

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Speaker 1: try to get in Jalen Brown's head by leaving him

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Speaker 1: wide open, and it'll give us a much better chance

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Speaker 1: to guard elsewhere on the floor. Here's the problem, Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brown's playing some of the best basketball of his career

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Speaker 1: right now. And when you take that type of strategy, which,

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Speaker 1: by the way, that type of strategy happens all over

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Speaker 1: the NBA with about every just about every NBA team,

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Speaker 1: you find a really good help defender that you put

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Speaker 1: on a guy offensively that you're not particularly worried about

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Speaker 1: any roams around. That's not unheard of. The difference is

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Speaker 1: Boston doesn't really have a good option to do that against.

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Speaker 1: That's really the only difference. Like their lineup is somewhat

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Speaker 1: fool proof in the sense that there's no really an

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Speaker 1: option for you to just straight up ignore. Everybody has

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Speaker 1: to at the very least get a hard close out right.

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Speaker 1: And so here's the problem. When you take that type

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Speaker 1: of risk with the player of Jalen Brown's caliber, you

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Speaker 1: have the potential to get burned. And boy did day

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Speaker 1: get burned. Jalen Brown got red hot as he blew

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Speaker 1: the game open there in the middle of the first quarter.

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Speaker 1: But I want to obviously Jalen Brown deserves a ton

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Speaker 1: of credit for blowing the game open with a shooting

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Speaker 1: like that, But I really want to draw attention to

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Speaker 1: the defensive end of the floor because that's where I

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Speaker 1: thought the Celtics won this particular game. And once again,

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Speaker 1: it started with Jaylen Brown on the ball on Steph

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Speaker 1: Curry physical ball pressure. I talked about this in our

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Speaker 1: Celtics video like two or three days ago. But Jalen

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Speaker 1: Brown has just been on an absolute tear on the

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Speaker 1: defensive end of the floor. He is targeting the other

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Speaker 1: team's best player and just putting all of his effort

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Speaker 1: and energy into trying to slow that guy down, and

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Speaker 1: he's had a ton of success on that end of

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Speaker 1: the floor. But I want to drop past Jalen Brown

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Speaker 1: to the rest of the team because this is an

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Speaker 1: important part of guarding a team like Golden State because

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Speaker 1: of their screening actions, really physical switching hands on when

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Speaker 1: the switch comes, you get right back into the into

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Speaker 1: the offensive player's body right away to make sure that

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Speaker 1: he constantly is feeling that contact and that fatigue making

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Speaker 1: everything difficult. Another guy I wanted to shout out on

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Speaker 1: this front was Peyton Pritchard, who I thought from the

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Speaker 1: mini he came into the game there in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the first quarter. He had a really nice two

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Speaker 1: way game. He had nineteen points in this game. But

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Speaker 1: he was another guy that was bringing great ball pressure

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Speaker 1: and just getting up underneath Golden State's guards all game long.

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Speaker 1: From there, off of stops and turnovers, getting out in transition.

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Speaker 1: This was a big time transition game for Boston. They

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Speaker 1: scored forty two points in transition in this game. And

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Speaker 1: you know, one of the things that I've talked a

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Speaker 1: ton about on this show as of late, I've been

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Speaker 1: harping on Boston as a team that needs to bully

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Speaker 1: their way into the paint more the record. It's been working.

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Speaker 1: They've in their last four games are averaging sixty points

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Speaker 1: in the paint per game, and that ranks third in

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Speaker 1: the NBA over that span. That's been a really nice trend,

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Speaker 1: possibly the most encouraging trend of the season that I've

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Speaker 1: seen so far from Boston. But make no mistake, like

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Speaker 1: I never ever intended or wanted people to think that

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Speaker 1: I don't want Boston shooting jump shots. They're a very

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Speaker 1: good jump shooting team. It's more about balance and having

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Speaker 1: a counter when the jump shots aren't falling. But they

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Speaker 1: are a team that can straight up beat you making

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Speaker 1: jump shots in games when there's really good rhythm and flow,

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Speaker 1: the balls popping around and everybody feels good and involved

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Speaker 1: in the offense. Right, they took fifty eight jump shots

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Speaker 1: and this game against Golden State, it was a heavy

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Speaker 1: jump shooting game, but they got eighty four points on

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Speaker 1: those fifty eight jump shots. That's one point four to

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Speaker 1: five points per shot. And in these last two massive

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Speaker 1: blowout wins, they've been able to do both. They've been

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Speaker 1: able to dominate the paint, not so much against Golden State,

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Speaker 1: but they've been able to dominate the paint as of late,

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Speaker 1: while also knocking down a bunch of jump shots efficiently.

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Speaker 1: And those two things kind of tie into each other

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Speaker 1: as well. When you're doing one, it makes the other

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Speaker 1: easier and vice versa. And like I put in my notes,

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Speaker 1: it's great to be able to do both. That really

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Speaker 1: is the key there. That's what makes Boston such an

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Speaker 1: intriguing playoff threat is the simple fact that, like, they

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Speaker 1: can win from the perimeter, but they are starting to

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Speaker 1: demonstrate that they can win on the interior, and like

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Speaker 1: it's just gonna be about whether or not they can

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Speaker 1: maintain that. And that isn't just some three to four

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Speaker 1: game trend here in the middle of the season, but

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Speaker 1: just an unbelievably impressive and dominant win for the Boston

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Speaker 1: Celtics over the Golden State Wars. I'm sure it felt

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Speaker 1: good for them too, to get some revenge after they

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Speaker 1: lost in Golden State earlier. This year on the Warriors front,

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Speaker 1: I said this after the Denver win, and I mean

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Speaker 1: this sincerely. Boston and Denver are problems for another day.

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Speaker 1: You're not ready to beat Boston, You're not ready beat Denver.

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Speaker 1: That's there's no question on that front. However, like there's

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Speaker 1: no guarantee that you're even going to run into Boston

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Speaker 1: unless you get to the finals obviously, right and you're

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Speaker 1: like getting to Denver. There are steps you got to

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Speaker 1: get through before you get to that point, Like this

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Speaker 1: is you got to start with the goal that's right

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Speaker 1: in front of you right now. And this is where

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Speaker 1: I agree with some of the attitude coming out of

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Speaker 1: the locker room, like Steph Curry is saying, like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, they kicked our butts, but obviously, like we

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Speaker 1: like Steph had a really bad shooting night that obviously

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Speaker 1: plays a role into that sort of thing like long misses,

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Speaker 1: transition opportunities, right. But also Draymond's like the losses, the losses,

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Speaker 1: the loss We've got to move on, And he is

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Speaker 1: right in the sense that like, right now, I think

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Speaker 1: I think the Warriors are still at the ten seed.

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Speaker 1: You're a ten seed, like you just gotta worry about. First,

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Speaker 1: you gotta worry about getting up to number eight, because

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Speaker 1: if you get up to number eight, that's your capability

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Speaker 1: to have two opportunities in the play in tournament. That way,

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Speaker 1: if you lose the seven eight game, you have another

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Speaker 1: chance if you can win against the winner of the

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Speaker 1: nine to ten matchup right. So goal number one is

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Speaker 1: you got to climb out of that ten spot. And

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Speaker 1: when you look at the schedule and you look at

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Speaker 1: where they are, where they're at health wise right now,

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Speaker 1: and when you look at what Moses Moody has been

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Speaker 1: able to do stepping into the Andrew Wiggins role, like,

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Speaker 1: you're in position to do that, and you just need

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Speaker 1: to keep getting better and better and better. Now it's

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Speaker 1: March fourth, Let's say, for instance, that Minnesota and Oklahoma

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Speaker 1: City maintain their stranglehold on the one two seed, which

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Speaker 1: we'll see. Denver is six and zero right now out

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Speaker 1: of the break, But they were five and one out

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Speaker 1: of the break last year and then they immediately dropped

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Speaker 1: five of their next six games. So who knows if

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Speaker 1: this is Denver like going to lock in down the stretcher,

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Speaker 1: if maybe they keep slipping, But if it's Oklahoma City

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Speaker 1: and Minnesota in that one to two range. I think

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Speaker 1: both of those teams are beatable. I think everybody is beatable,

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Speaker 1: with exception of the top tier teams, right and I

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Speaker 1: don't include Minnesota and Oklahoma City in that tier. So,

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Speaker 1: like chances are if you do end up facing a

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Speaker 1: team like Denver, there's a good chance that it may

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Speaker 1: not be until May. So you got two months to

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Speaker 1: sort all of this out. You've got two months to

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Speaker 1: build your defensive habits up to another level. You've got

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Speaker 1: two months to kind of establish a way to generate

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Speaker 1: offense outside of what Steph Curry can bring to the table.

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Speaker 1: Those are bigger picture goals right now. You got to

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Speaker 1: take a game by game, win by win, and you've

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Speaker 1: got to climb out of that nine to ten spot.

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Speaker 1: Those are that would be my way of trying to

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Speaker 1: kind of like keeping your ey keep your eye on

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Speaker 1: the prize in light of a really upsetting, you know,

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Speaker 1: destructive loss on the road in Boston. All right, moving

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Speaker 1: on to thunder Suns. I watched this game last night,

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Speaker 1: super super fun game to watch. Oklahoma City is just

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Speaker 1: a royal pain in the ass to play against. They

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Speaker 1: play so incredibly hard. I felt bad. I shouldn't say

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Speaker 1: felt bad. I know that KD and Bradley Beal, We're

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Speaker 1: just like, oh man, these dudes are literally picking up

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Speaker 1: full court. They're double teaming the second we cross half

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Speaker 1: court like they weren't. It was. It was one of

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Speaker 1: the most aggressive, like start to finish defensive schemes that

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Speaker 1: you'll see in the regular season. And it's because Oklahoma

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Speaker 1: City has the combination of a coach that can keep

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Speaker 1: them organized enough to run these sorts of things properly

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Speaker 1: in two the young athletes that have both the physical

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Speaker 1: tools and the motor and energy level to maintain that

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Speaker 1: over the course of a long basketball game most of

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Speaker 1: the time, like Phoenix doesn't even run into these types

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Speaker 1: of super aggressive coverages until the fourth quarter, when teams

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Speaker 1: are just trying to get the ball out of Kevin

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Speaker 1: Durant's hands or get the ball out of Devin Booker's hands.

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Speaker 1: This was a start to finish. We are pressuring the ball,

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Speaker 1: We are bringing double teams as soon as you cross

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Speaker 1: half court. We are playing passing lanes even just like

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Speaker 1: you know. Here's the thing I've been critical is the

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Speaker 1: wrong word. I've talked a lot about how I don't

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Speaker 1: necessarily believe in Oklahoma City is like a championship contender

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Speaker 1: because they're small and because they're young. But I still

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Speaker 1: feel that way. You did see again last night, like

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Speaker 1: USUF Nurkics, like what do you have? Thirty one rebounds

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Speaker 1: just like just absolutely demolish them on the glass. And

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Speaker 1: there are teams around the league that bring a combination

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Speaker 1: of what Phoenix brings to the table in terms of

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Speaker 1: perimmeter talent and interior presence. Teams like Denver even the Clippers,

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Speaker 1: like you're gonna get Kawhi and if you Ka Zubats

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Speaker 1: on the interior, while also having all the perimeter type

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Speaker 1: of talent that a team like Phoenix brings to the table.

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Speaker 1: Those are the teams that I worry about for a

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Speaker 1: team like Oklahoma City. But even though they are perhaps

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Speaker 1: maybe a touch too small and inexperienced to win the title,

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Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that they aren't a physical and scrappy team.

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Speaker 1: They are a super physical and scrappy team. It's one

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Speaker 1: of the big reasons why in the long run, I'm

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Speaker 1: such a big believer in what this team can accomplish,

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Speaker 1: because if they do bring in a legitimate forward to

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Speaker 1: the table that raises their physical profile when they do

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Speaker 1: go into this playoff run and get you know, let's

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Speaker 1: say they win a first round series and then end

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Speaker 1: up losing a really tough second round series or losing

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Speaker 1: in the conference finals. Those are battle scars that build

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Speaker 1: this team up to where in the future they can

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Speaker 1: be a bigger and more experienced version of this crazy talented,

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Speaker 1: crazy physical, crazy competitive Oklahoma City Thunder team. And that's

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Speaker 1: what's going to take them to the promised land of

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Speaker 1: hoisting Delari O'Brien Trophy. But there were a bunch of

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Speaker 1: specific things that I wanted to dive into and to

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Speaker 1: demonstrate just how physical and scrappy they are. First of all,

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Speaker 1: physical switching. So this is you know, just imagine like

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Speaker 1: Phoenix runs a lot of like off ball screening actions

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Speaker 1: to try to get Kevin Durant into advantage situations around

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Speaker 1: like the elbow and post area, right, Like, That's what

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Speaker 1: makes Kevin Durant different from so many of these other

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Speaker 1: stars around the league in the sense that, like so

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Speaker 1: many of the modern day stars are just operating out

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Speaker 1: of dribble handoffs and ball screens, and Kevin Durant can

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Speaker 1: do that too. That's obviously a big part of his game.

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Speaker 1: But Kevin Durant will also like come off of some

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Speaker 1: sort of like wide pin down or like or like

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Speaker 1: flare screen or something to try to get him into

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Speaker 1: a position where he can catch with a triple threat,

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Speaker 1: you know, fifteen to eighteen feet from the basket and

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Speaker 1: then turn to face and try to go to work

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Speaker 1: from there. Right. One of the things that Thunder were

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Speaker 1: doing in this game is like lou Dort's on him

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Speaker 1: and he's just hugging on him, like literally like holding

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Speaker 1: him while he's like standing on the block waiting for

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Speaker 1: that screen. And so then down comes the screen. And

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Speaker 1: there's a difference between passive switching and physical switching. Passive

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Speaker 1: switching is like what the Clippers did to Lebron James

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Speaker 1: and his crazy comeback run the other night. Here comes

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Speaker 1: the screen. You know, Daniel Tice switches, but he just

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Speaker 1: like starts guarding Lebron from you know, three four feet away,

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Speaker 1: and Kawhi will just go away with the other guy, right,

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Speaker 1: and so no one's there making Lebron feel uncomfortable. He's

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Speaker 1: just mixing up off the dribble and getting to his

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Speaker 1: spot and making something happen. Physical switching is like I'm

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Speaker 1: holding on to KD, I'm lou Dort. Here comes a

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Speaker 1: screen Jylen Williams just like lou Dort literally passes him

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Speaker 1: over to Jaln Williams like well, physical handoff, and Jalen

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Speaker 1: Williams is grabbing him as he's coming off the other

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Speaker 1: side of the screen and denying the catch. And so

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Speaker 1: as a result, they were creating these really tight passing

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Speaker 1: windows because they're three quarter front and denying KD in

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Speaker 1: all of his spots. He already had to work super

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Speaker 1: hard to fight lou Dort up to the screen to

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Speaker 1: where now he's fighting to try to create a passing angle.

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Speaker 1: And then from there, off the ball, they're constantly digging

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Speaker 1: down and jumping into passing lanes. Like whenever a team

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Speaker 1: has a bunch of turnovers, we're so quick to focus

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Speaker 1: on the team turning the ball over and being like

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Speaker 1: they're being sloppy, And don't get me wrong, they were.

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Speaker 1: We're going to talk about that in a minute, but like,

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Speaker 1: give some credit to the defense, Like Oklahoma City forced

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Speaker 1: Phoenix to lose their minds and create a bunch of

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Speaker 1: really sloppy turnovers, right, the other thing on the ball.

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Speaker 1: There is a possession I cliped you can find it

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Speaker 1: on my Twitter feed of shake Yelvis Alexander guarding KD.

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Speaker 1: And on this possession you can literally see like there's

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Speaker 1: two different ways to reach in and and like you know,

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Speaker 1: there's like a lunging reach in right where I like

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Speaker 1: really get out of position to try to get down

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Speaker 1: to get to the basketball, but I can also reach

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Speaker 1: in while staying balanced. And Shay is uniquely equipped with

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Speaker 1: these like crazy long arms to where he can defensive

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Speaker 1: slide with a guy and not have to really lunge

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Speaker 1: or get out of position, but he can still swipe

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Speaker 1: down at the basketball. And there's this possession, it's a

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Speaker 1: Kdie turnover. Shay's on the ball in KD Haiti gets

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Speaker 1: driving down to his left hand. Shay literally swipes down

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Speaker 1: at the basketball like six or seven times, just from

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Speaker 1: twenty five feet from the basket down to five feet

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Speaker 1: from the basket, just swiping and swiping and reaching and swiping.

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Speaker 1: And then as soon as he gets downhill, there's a

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Speaker 1: guy digging down from the corner and a guy coming

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Speaker 1: up from the post, and they're all digging down at

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Speaker 1: the basketball. And so it ends up leading to a

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant turnover. But the point is is, like it's hard.

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Speaker 1: It's hard to take care of the basketball when a

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Speaker 1: bunch of athletes with really long wingspans who have been

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Speaker 1: by the way picking you up full court all damn night,

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Speaker 1: double teaming you all night long, fighting you off of

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Speaker 1: every single spot, and you get a driving lane like

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Speaker 1: this and they're reaching in like crazy and it's just

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Speaker 1: really difficult to navigate that. I just wanted to give

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Speaker 1: them some credit for that because I didn't think I

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Speaker 1: didn't think these were just sloppy turnovers. Oklahoma City sped

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Speaker 1: Phoenix up and caused them to make a lot of

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Speaker 1: these mistakes, and then from there jumping passing lanes like

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Speaker 1: they just have so much straight line speed that like

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Speaker 1: when a lane looks like it's open, you know, you'll

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Speaker 1: see a hard double team come and there'll be on

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Speaker 1: the weak side, like a shooter in the corner and

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Speaker 1: a shooter on the wing, and it'll be like Kissan

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Speaker 1: Wallace or something playing in between the two players. And

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Speaker 1: what he'll do is he'll kind of play back and

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Speaker 1: like kind of bait KD. And the thinking the wing

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Speaker 1: is open and he's standing there. And here's the thing.

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Speaker 1: If he throws the skip pass to the corner, even

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Speaker 1: if he is lunging up, he can still recover to

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Speaker 1: that because there's so much time. But if he throws

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Speaker 1: the skip pass to the wing, he just shoots into

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00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,639
Speaker 1: that gap and takes the basketball away. It's just it

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Speaker 1: is a layered attack of ball pressure, physical on the ball,

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Speaker 1: physical on screening actions, physical and passing lanes off the ball,

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Speaker 1: and they were just they cause all sorts of problems

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Speaker 1: for Phoenix, which we'll get into a little bit deeper

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Speaker 1: here in just a minute. Uh shakes. Alexander's ball control

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Speaker 1: was the next thing I wanted to hit on there.

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Speaker 1: You know, this was a classic example of you know,

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Speaker 1: and this is something that Shay has been doing forever,

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Speaker 1: so I don't want to act like this is new,

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Speaker 1: but this I just wanted to dive specifically into Shay

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00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,640
Speaker 1: Guilt Shay's ball ball handling because you know, we think

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Speaker 1: of Shae as like a slow, methodical player, and don't

403
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Speaker 1: get me wrong, he is. He's a very like change

404
00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,560
Speaker 1: of pace and methodical type of on ball player. But

405
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,119
Speaker 1: this is a guy that is really whipping the basketball

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00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,640
Speaker 1: around in a really controlled way with advanced dribble combinations

407
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,960
Speaker 1: in traffic, Like he'll get into his high hesitation and

408
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,359
Speaker 1: he'll hit that hesitation move where it almost looks like

409
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,880
Speaker 1: he freezes in space for a second. But then he'll

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00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,959
Speaker 1: hit that four dribble and he'll get into your body.

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Speaker 1: Now there's contact, right he's got his shoulder into you,

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Speaker 1: and the the defenders like right up on him. From there,

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00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:01,880
Speaker 1: he'll hit like a back dribble, and then from there,

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Speaker 1: instead of just like making a simple move, he'll hit

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Speaker 1: like in and out cross between the legs back to

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Speaker 1: the right, or he'll like double between the legs and

417
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,720
Speaker 1: back to the left. Are these super advanced dribble combinations

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00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,520
Speaker 1: in traffic while there's contact going on, and so that

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00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,600
Speaker 1: to me is a big element of what allows him

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00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 1: to maintain control of the basketball while he's making these

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00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,280
Speaker 1: complex counter moves. It's a ball handling thing. We think

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00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,160
Speaker 1: so much about change of pace, we think so much

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00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,360
Speaker 1: about his strength, We think so much about his mid

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00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,800
Speaker 1: range jump shooting and some of his footwork stuff that

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00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,600
Speaker 1: he has. But a big part of it that goes

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00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:36,960
Speaker 1: under the radar in a lot of these cases is

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00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,639
Speaker 1: his ball handling. You know, there are a lot of

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00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,439
Speaker 1: players that can dribble when things are free and clear,

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00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:44,920
Speaker 1: but then as soon as they get into contact, they

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Speaker 1: lose control of the basketball, and she just has incredible

431
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,760
Speaker 1: control of the basketball in a physical environment. Then lastly,

432
00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,120
Speaker 1: down the roster shot making. Everybody on this team can

433
00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,320
Speaker 1: make plays off the bounce verse half play cheded Holmgren's

434
00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,760
Speaker 1: bringing the ball off the floor. It's a transition cross match.

435
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 1: He's got Roys O'Neil on him. They just space the

436
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,280
Speaker 1: floor and shit, just like hits a dribble combination, gets Downhill,

437
00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,280
Speaker 1: bodies roy O'Neil and then pivots over his left shoulder

438
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,399
Speaker 1: and goes up and finished and screams and one in

439
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,360
Speaker 1: his face, and you're just like like, it's like, okay,

440
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,680
Speaker 1: this is the third guy that you have to deal with,

441
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,959
Speaker 1: and he's just confidently attacking one of your best perimeter defenders.

442
00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,239
Speaker 1: That's punched my mic because I got too excited about it.

443
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,159
Speaker 1: But uh uh, or you'll see, like we know what

444
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,840
Speaker 1: Shay Gills, Alexander and Jama Williams can do. But then

445
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,280
Speaker 1: like I see Lou Dort in the right corner in

446
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:36,480
Speaker 1: the second half, Uh end up hitting Grayson Allen with

447
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,159
Speaker 1: a dribble combination. It's like between the legs crossover and

448
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,560
Speaker 1: then he just whips like a crazy left to right

449
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:46,240
Speaker 1: crossover and literally like Grayson Allen almost falls over going

450
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,520
Speaker 1: to his right hand side, and then Dort goes along

451
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,600
Speaker 1: the baseline. Now Grays had made a really nice defensive

452
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:52,720
Speaker 1: recovery on this plane, got back into the plane, blocked

453
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:54,600
Speaker 1: Blue Dort from behind as he missed it dunk. But

454
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,800
Speaker 1: I'm sitting there thinking like, this is your defensive minded wing,

455
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,239
Speaker 1: this is your three and D guy. And he hit

456
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:03,119
Speaker 1: has the ability to make plays off the bounce. He

457
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,520
Speaker 1: hit off the dribble jump shots in this game, like

458
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,440
Speaker 1: that's just another layer of the shot making Josh Giddy.

459
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:11,840
Speaker 1: He can attack smaller defenders. He can work and pick

460
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,280
Speaker 1: and roll even bench guys. There was a play that

461
00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,600
Speaker 1: the Sons defended perfectly and it led to a skip

462
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,040
Speaker 1: pass across the court to Cason Wallace in that right corner.

463
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,240
Speaker 1: And it was a really good close out I think

464
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,119
Speaker 1: from Aaron Gordon. If I remember correctly, it might have

465
00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:27,359
Speaker 1: been Grace Allen. But he catches in the right corner,

466
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,720
Speaker 1: great close out and he ends up hitting an in

467
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,200
Speaker 1: and out side step jump shot in the right corner

468
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:37,920
Speaker 1: from three like a high level step back three attacking

469
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,800
Speaker 1: a closeout in the right wing from your bench player

470
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,639
Speaker 1: who happens to be the guy that you view as

471
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,920
Speaker 1: your three and D guy off the bench, Like it's

472
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,480
Speaker 1: just it's layer after layer of insane amounts of offensive

473
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,160
Speaker 1: skill and all of them can guard, all of them

474
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,760
Speaker 1: can guard. It was a really impressive win. But like

475
00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:59,880
Speaker 1: this is where it gets really scary. For the long run.

476
00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,760
Speaker 1: I said, give these guys some battle scars in a

477
00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,919
Speaker 1: couple of long playoff runs. Give these guys a legitimate

478
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,720
Speaker 1: forward that can bang inside, that can help them deal

479
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,439
Speaker 1: with some of their physical limitations. They're going to be

480
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 1: a gigantic pain in the ass for a very long

481
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,719
Speaker 1: time in this league. On the Sun's front, big thing

482
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,399
Speaker 1: that stands out to me, and this has been a

483
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,760
Speaker 1: theme throughout the season, when it comes down to the

484
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,440
Speaker 1: aggressive double teams of their stars. When they have all

485
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,520
Speaker 1: three of their stars out there, it's usually them with

486
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,760
Speaker 1: Grayson Allen and use of Nurkish Right from there, there's

487
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,200
Speaker 1: so much offensive skill on the floor that they can

488
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,160
Speaker 1: operate pretty well in the four on threes out of it, right,

489
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,479
Speaker 1: they're like brief four on threes because none of their

490
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,320
Speaker 1: stars are great passers, like they all like, if you

491
00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 1: catch KD on the right night, he can handle a

492
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,240
Speaker 1: double team really really well. Like I thought against the

493
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:54,200
Speaker 1: Sacramento King is like a week and a half ago,

494
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,639
Speaker 1: get a really good game handling double teams, right, But

495
00:24:57,680 --> 00:24:59,040
Speaker 1: then you watch him in other games and he really

496
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,439
Speaker 1: struggles with it. That's the thing. Like, you know, when

497
00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 1: you're talking about the best players in the league that

498
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,920
Speaker 1: are playmakers, guys like Luka, Jokich, Lebron, right, the guys

499
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,040
Speaker 1: in that tier, Like you want to make them a

500
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,320
Speaker 1: score right, Like your best bet is to like leave

501
00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:15,880
Speaker 1: them on an island and hope they wear themselves out

502
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:17,960
Speaker 1: trying to score one on one. And by the way,

503
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,840
Speaker 1: they're still really good and they're going to do that

504
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,679
Speaker 1: really well. But that's probably your best strategy for those guys.

505
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,520
Speaker 1: When it comes to the best scorers in the league.

506
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,000
Speaker 1: You want to test their playmaking ability. You want to

507
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,280
Speaker 1: make them have to consistently make the best reads, right,

508
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 1: And that's the thing, Like this is the best way

509
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:36,919
Speaker 1: to guard the kds and the Devin Bookers and the

510
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 1: Bradley Beal type of guys in the world. You want

511
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:43,080
Speaker 1: to give them their biggest weakness, which is, if you

512
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,800
Speaker 1: let them go one on one, they are professional one

513
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 1: on one players. They are going to beat you. If

514
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 1: you let them go two on two in ball screens,

515
00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,920
Speaker 1: they are professional two on two scorers. In ball screens,

516
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,000
Speaker 1: they will beat you. But if you put them in

517
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,040
Speaker 1: situations which targets their specific weaknesses, you can get inconsistent

518
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,159
Speaker 1: play out of them, which is what teams have figured

519
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,520
Speaker 1: out to do with Phoenix now when one of their

520
00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,119
Speaker 1: stars is out, it dips below that mandatory amount of

521
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,119
Speaker 1: that minimum amount of offensive talent. Like there was a

522
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,400
Speaker 1: long saban Lee shift in the second half of this game,

523
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,320
Speaker 1: and Oklahoma City is just not guarding him. And so

524
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,320
Speaker 1: if I can double team the ball and there's a

525
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 1: guy on the floor, I don't have to guard. I'm

526
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,280
Speaker 1: only giving up a three on three on the weak side.

527
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:27,119
Speaker 1: That's not an advantage, and so like it really like

528
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 1: I was on a radio station in Phoenix this morning

529
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,639
Speaker 1: for a radio hit and they were asking me specifically

530
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:36,439
Speaker 1: what I like, whether or not it was like a

531
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,919
Speaker 1: coaching issue or what was going on last night, and

532
00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,479
Speaker 1: I'm like, sometimes this is like, this is just what

533
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,880
Speaker 1: happens when you when you when you start to run

534
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 1: out of players, right, and then at the same time,

535
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,000
Speaker 1: you need guys on the other floor, the other end

536
00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:51,160
Speaker 1: of the floor that can guard an Oklahoma City team

537
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,639
Speaker 1: that brings a ton of ball handling and scoring to

538
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:57,639
Speaker 1: the table, right, and and it just it was just

539
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,240
Speaker 1: one of those things where where I don't know, I

540
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,719
Speaker 1: don't know, the turnovers they have to be sharper right,

541
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,399
Speaker 1: Kevin r At, Bradley Beialt, Yusef Nurkic. There was a

542
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 1: lot of like bad entry passes, not protecting the basketball,

543
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,119
Speaker 1: sloppy skip passes. There was a lot of that that

544
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,159
Speaker 1: they just have to be better, right. But it's also

545
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,879
Speaker 1: not an easy job unless you have four guys on

546
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 1: the floor that can capitalize on four on three situations

547
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,479
Speaker 1: quickly and efficiently and as soon as one of their

548
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,439
Speaker 1: stars drops out of the lineup and ends up being

549
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,359
Speaker 1: an issue. Now, we did find out from Shamserania this

550
00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:32,600
Speaker 1: morning that it looks like Kevin or Kisney Devin Booker

551
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,120
Speaker 1: is not going to be out more than maybe a week,

552
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:36,960
Speaker 1: week and a half. Thing one of the one last

553
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,280
Speaker 1: note on the Suns when they went on their big

554
00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:40,920
Speaker 1: run in the second half of the game to get

555
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,920
Speaker 1: back into it. They got back into it with their defense.

556
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,239
Speaker 1: They were double teaming Shay Gilles as Alexander, testing his

557
00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,720
Speaker 1: playmaking ability, and they were getting out in transition off

558
00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,040
Speaker 1: of it, and then they started making some threes. It

559
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,880
Speaker 1: reinvigorated their defense. They continued to pressure Shay with double

560
00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:59,679
Speaker 1: teams and rotate out of it, and they got back

561
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,600
Speaker 1: into the game with it. And so that you know,

562
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:03,359
Speaker 1: and this is what I said on the radio this morning,

563
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:07,359
Speaker 1: they have to be like Oka. See, they can't just

564
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,639
Speaker 1: be offensive skill guys because if they're just offensive skill guys,

565
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:16,520
Speaker 1: they're gonna lose to offensive skill guys who also are scrappy.

566
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 1: They need to be offensive skill guys who are scrappy.

567
00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,239
Speaker 1: They need to be scrappy. They need to fight. They

568
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,200
Speaker 1: need to be a team that defends in his physical

569
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,960
Speaker 1: it flies around in rotation. They have to do what

570
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,640
Speaker 1: the Thunder do at a higher level, right, because that's

571
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:32,840
Speaker 1: the case. The case for a team like Phoenix is like,

572
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:35,240
Speaker 1: you know, the Thunder just play harder than everybody in

573
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,720
Speaker 1: the regular season. We get into the playoffs, we start

574
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,920
Speaker 1: playing hard. We're a scrappy team that fights on the perimeter,

575
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 1: and we have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal,

576
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,440
Speaker 1: which is a better set of shock creators than Jalen

577
00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,240
Speaker 1: Williams and shake kills as Alexander and Ched Holmgren or

578
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,480
Speaker 1: however you want to sort that out with the Thunder. Now,

579
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:53,640
Speaker 1: that remains to be seen if that will play out

580
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,719
Speaker 1: like that in the postseason. But that's the case for Phoenix.

581
00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 1: That's the path for Phoenix. They have to be the

582
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 1: scrappy team. They have to be the team that fought

583
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:02,320
Speaker 1: back into the game against the Thunder the way that

584
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:04,080
Speaker 1: they did. But that's what I said on the radio

585
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,440
Speaker 1: this morning. That's the case for Phoenix, or the pathway

586
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 1: to Phoenix making some sort of noise in the playoffs.

587
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 1: You have to be the scrappy team that is also

588
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 1: offensively skilled. If you're just the offensive skill group, the

589
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 1: Thunder are gonna be every bit as good at you

590
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,360
Speaker 1: as you at that while also being a much better

591
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,680
Speaker 1: defensive team. That's what you have to be you. Because

592
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 1: the case is, who would you take in a playoff series?

593
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,400
Speaker 1: All other things equal, would you take KD Bradley Beal,

594
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,400
Speaker 1: Devin Booker or Shake Gibs, Alexander and Jalen Williams, right,

595
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 1: And there's a case to be made that they're a

596
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,240
Speaker 1: little bit more versatile, They're a little bit more experienced, right,

597
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 1: the Suns guys, So you might pick them, But if

598
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:48,360
Speaker 1: the gap is just so wide in every other area

599
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:50,720
Speaker 1: of the game in terms of their physicality and defense

600
00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 1: and their overall level of competition and fight, then the

601
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,200
Speaker 1: thunder are gonna win. So that's a pathway for Phoenix.

602
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,960
Speaker 1: They have to embrace that same type of scrappy physic

603
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 1: attitude that they literally rode to get back into that game.

604
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:07,240
Speaker 1: And so I mean, I mean there is a light

605
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 1: at the end of the tunnel there. It's just gonna

606
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: have to require the work on that end of the floor,

607
00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,600
Speaker 1: all right, Moving on to Wolves Clippers. So the Wolves

608
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:18,040
Speaker 1: jump up early in the game. They went up like

609
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,400
Speaker 1: twenty three to seven, and then Norman Powell just got

610
00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 1: red hot and like almost single handedly brought them back

611
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:24,880
Speaker 1: into the game. And he's been like one of the

612
00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 1: best heat check guys in the league this year, especially

613
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 1: from the three point line, and he hit some preposterous

614
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,840
Speaker 1: threes in this game, like a like a pivot over

615
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 1: his left shoulder in a late clock situation where he

616
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 1: picked up his dribble and he just rose and fired

617
00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,000
Speaker 1: that one of the heat check shots where he came

618
00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:41,840
Speaker 1: off of his screen had very little space and rose

619
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,160
Speaker 1: and fired like he just can get insanely hot and

620
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:46,960
Speaker 1: in a short period of time put a bunch of

621
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:48,520
Speaker 1: points on the board. So they end up getting it

622
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,560
Speaker 1: back close again and then from there it was just

623
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,160
Speaker 1: an absolute knockdown, drag out fistfight the rest of the game.

624
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 1: I don't think either team took more than like a

625
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,479
Speaker 1: five point lead. The rest of the way. It was

626
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,840
Speaker 1: back and forth. It was physical. The refs have been

627
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:06,280
Speaker 1: doing a great job really around the league lately of

628
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,600
Speaker 1: just letting teams play and letting the games get more

629
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 1: physical and down the stretch, the Clippers just played better

630
00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 1: rock fight offense. Paul George, to his credit, missed a

631
00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:18,640
Speaker 1: lot of shots in this game, but he made some

632
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:21,080
Speaker 1: big ones rescue shots. He hit a big three in

633
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:22,880
Speaker 1: the left corner. I think it was over Rudy Golbert.

634
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,800
Speaker 1: He had a big pull up jump shot around the

635
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 1: right elbow down the fourth quarter stretch. Both of those

636
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,280
Speaker 1: one of them tied the game, the other one gave

637
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:32,000
Speaker 1: him a two point lead if I remember correctly, Like

638
00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 1: they were just monumentally important important shots. Those rescue possessions

639
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,920
Speaker 1: are usually difference makers when you get into rock fights

640
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: like this, and then James Harden he missed everything but

641
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,240
Speaker 1: just made a bunch of timely and key passes. There

642
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:49,160
Speaker 1: was a big possession late in the game where James

643
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,240
Speaker 1: Harden was operating the offense at the kind of like

644
00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,200
Speaker 1: top of the key extended off of the right elbow,

645
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,520
Speaker 1: and Paul George and Kawhi end up running this like

646
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,440
Speaker 1: kind of three man screening action with Daniel Tice where

647
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,640
Speaker 1: Paul George comes off of like a little screen and

648
00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:06,440
Speaker 1: then turns around and sets a backscreen for Kawhi and

649
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 1: James Harden just threw an absolutely perfect pass, and I

650
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,719
Speaker 1: think originally the play was designed to probably get Kawuhi

651
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:17,560
Speaker 1: a post touch with an advantage on Jada McDaniels, as

652
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:19,880
Speaker 1: jad McDaniels would be in trailing position, but there was

653
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,200
Speaker 1: just a little gap there when when Jaden got caught

654
00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:26,080
Speaker 1: for a second and kat wasn't there in help and

655
00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,800
Speaker 1: James just hit him in stride right underneath the basket

656
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,840
Speaker 1: for a layup and getting like layups, like easy layups

657
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,480
Speaker 1: in a knockdown, drag out fistfight. That's like finding money

658
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:36,960
Speaker 1: on the ground. It was, it was. It was a

659
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,920
Speaker 1: massive help down the stretch in this game. And then

660
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard just he brings the physical in position to

661
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,320
Speaker 1: that specific environment which he can ride to easy shots

662
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,560
Speaker 1: around the rim. Now, one of the things that that

663
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:51,920
Speaker 1: encouraged me the most about this particular game. If you

664
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 1: guys remember when Minnesota came in and beat the Clippers

665
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,000
Speaker 1: and demolished them in Los Angeles, what did I say

666
00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,440
Speaker 1: after the game. I was like, look, Minnesota can do this,

667
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:05,520
Speaker 1: Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert. They can strangle the

668
00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,520
Speaker 1: life out of your offense. But what is their weakness.

669
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,440
Speaker 1: Their weakness is they can fall apart offensively in the

670
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:17,160
Speaker 1: half court. The Clippers have excellent defensive personnel. And so

671
00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,480
Speaker 1: what I said after that game was you got to

672
00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,320
Speaker 1: drag them down into the mud with you. And if

673
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,880
Speaker 1: you drag them down into the mud with you, you'll

674
00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,040
Speaker 1: be better at it than they are because you have

675
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:30,040
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard and you have Paul George and you have

676
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,240
Speaker 1: Terrence Mann, and you have all these guys that can guard.

677
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 1: You just need to drag them down into the mud

678
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:37,720
Speaker 1: with you. And that's what they were able to do

679
00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:42,200
Speaker 1: into this game. And essentially, you know, the Wolves can

680
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:44,680
Speaker 1: have similar issues to a lot of teams around the

681
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,680
Speaker 1: league when they face switching defenses. When you face switching defenses,

682
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,600
Speaker 1: the baked in coverages that give you driving lanes kind

683
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,120
Speaker 1: of cease to exist. And in this game, in particular,

684
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,800
Speaker 1: they were never worried about Gobert catching on the role.

685
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 1: And so even when they were running drop coverage against Gobert,

686
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,240
Speaker 1: they weren't getting a ton of really really great The

687
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 1: Wolves weren't getting very very great looks. They weren't getting

688
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:11,160
Speaker 1: good looks out of it. But in that half court setting,

689
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,240
Speaker 1: when you start switching, it challenges your decision making process

690
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,920
Speaker 1: of your ball handlers. Right, So Anthony Edwards comes off

691
00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:21,920
Speaker 1: of a ball screen, he ends up getting Norman Powell

692
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,840
Speaker 1: on a switch. He's got Mike Conley in the corner.

693
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,359
Speaker 1: There's fifteen seconds on the shot clock. It's clutch time.

694
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:33,120
Speaker 1: And Anthony Edwards has a tendency kind of like Jason

695
00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,640
Speaker 1: Tatum to settle for really difficult pull up jump shots

696
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,160
Speaker 1: instead of inflicting his physicality on the game, trying to

697
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 1: get downhill and trying to make something happen. And there's

698
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:43,799
Speaker 1: a big possession late in this game he gets Norman

699
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:45,759
Speaker 1: Powell on a switch and he just takes a really

700
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,319
Speaker 1: difficult step back three with fourteen seconds on the shot clock.

701
00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,080
Speaker 1: That's how you can bait Minnesota into their worst tendencies. Switch,

702
00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:56,080
Speaker 1: dig down, they'll settle for jump they'll settle for tough

703
00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,000
Speaker 1: jump shots. They won't make good driving kick plays, they

704
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,319
Speaker 1: can fall apart off. And so the Clippers did a

705
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,359
Speaker 1: good job in this game of dragging Minnesota down into

706
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,359
Speaker 1: the mud and playing them into their worst tendencies. Now

707
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,040
Speaker 1: on the Wolves front, as I just said, late game

708
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,840
Speaker 1: execution has been an issue for them all damn season.

709
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:15,520
Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, they are now down to

710
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,799
Speaker 1: twenty first in clutch offense, a one to five offensive

711
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,359
Speaker 1: rating in clutch time that is like atrociously bad. And

712
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,000
Speaker 1: one of the things that was really bothering me about

713
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,120
Speaker 1: their approach down the stretch of this game. They still

714
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,919
Speaker 1: found some baskets, like there was a late, a late

715
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,440
Speaker 1: clock possession where they shut down the first action, and

716
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:39,040
Speaker 1: then Conley ran a late pick and roll with Gobert

717
00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,160
Speaker 1: and he just threw a ridiculously good skip pass to

718
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:44,960
Speaker 1: a cat in the right corner who ripped through baseline

719
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:46,680
Speaker 1: and got a dunk. There was the play where Rudy

720
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,000
Speaker 1: Gobert got an offensive rebound and Jade McDaniels cut out

721
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:51,400
Speaker 1: of the corner and he dropped it off to him

722
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,000
Speaker 1: and he got a dunk. Like they were able to

723
00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:56,839
Speaker 1: manufacture some points just based on their incredible gifts that

724
00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,680
Speaker 1: they have, but I absolutely hated their offense process down

725
00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:02,040
Speaker 1: the stretch of this game. And one of the main

726
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:05,000
Speaker 1: reasons why was there was an action that was working.

727
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:10,120
Speaker 1: They got two easy baskets for Carl Town's. In actual sets,

728
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:12,960
Speaker 1: there's a horn set where you had Conley at the

729
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:15,640
Speaker 1: top of the key and you had Carl Town's on

730
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,239
Speaker 1: the you had Carl Town's on the I believe, the

731
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,120
Speaker 1: left elbow and Rudy Gobert on the right elbow. And

732
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,800
Speaker 1: what they did is they would just have Carl Town's

733
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:28,080
Speaker 1: come up and set a ball screen for Mike Conley,

734
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:29,880
Speaker 1: and then as soon as he set the ball screen

735
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,719
Speaker 1: for Mike Conley coming off to that left side, he

736
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,800
Speaker 1: would come off a flare screen from Gobert. Now, because

737
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:37,920
Speaker 1: of the flare screen for Gobert. Remember, like we were

738
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,920
Speaker 1: talking about earlier, the Clippers were switching everything, but not

739
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,760
Speaker 1: with Daniel Tye. They were running a drop with Daniel Tye,

740
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:46,560
Speaker 1: and so as Kat would come off with that flare screen,

741
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,320
Speaker 1: Tys is dropping back and Kat is able to catch

742
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:53,400
Speaker 1: and quickly rip through to the right. It's a baked

743
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:58,120
Speaker 1: in driving lane because of the coverage they're chasing. Daniel

744
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,400
Speaker 1: Tye is dropping Carltown's can catch off that flare screen

745
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,400
Speaker 1: and rip through right and go. They got two easy

746
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,799
Speaker 1: layups in crunch time off of this play, and after

747
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,080
Speaker 1: they did it the second time, I'm like, oh, shoot,

748
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,520
Speaker 1: that's gonna work. There's three and a half minutes left here.

749
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:16,799
Speaker 1: They need to run that again. They did not run

750
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:18,919
Speaker 1: it again a single time the rest of the game.

751
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 1: They ran different set actions, both to get Anthony Edwards

752
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,520
Speaker 1: into ball screens. One of them was a double ball

753
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,040
Speaker 1: screen out of horns where Anthony Edwards came off and

754
00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,080
Speaker 1: got a wide open pull up three that he missed,

755
00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:33,640
Speaker 1: and then another one was a play that they were

756
00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:36,319
Speaker 1: able to just drop back on and then he had

757
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:37,960
Speaker 1: to swing the ball and that was what ended up

758
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 1: in the Mike Conley gobear ball screen on the left

759
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:41,960
Speaker 1: wing that led to the dunk for Cat out of

760
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,040
Speaker 1: the right corner. But that same set that ball screen

761
00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:47,880
Speaker 1: into the flare screen for Cat that got him the

762
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:51,279
Speaker 1: wide open layups on Daniel Tice barreling downhill and he

763
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:53,359
Speaker 1: just couldn't stop Cat coming at him. They never went

764
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,520
Speaker 1: back to it. They never went back to it, and

765
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,719
Speaker 1: it was the one thing, the only thing that they

766
00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:01,600
Speaker 1: were actually able to run in execute easily for an

767
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,319
Speaker 1: easy shot at the end of the game. And this

768
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:07,040
Speaker 1: goes back to what I said all season long. Will

769
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:11,520
Speaker 1: they be diligent enough, just like I say with Boston,

770
00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:15,120
Speaker 1: will they be diligent enough to get the right shots

771
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 1: at the end of a game, Because again, it's like

772
00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:21,160
Speaker 1: the Anthony Ewards pull up three. Anthony Edwards shoots thirty

773
00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:24,080
Speaker 1: five percent on pull up threes. The ball screen, one

774
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:29,520
Speaker 1: double screen comes off, he's wide open, he shoots thirty

775
00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:32,040
Speaker 1: five percent on it. That's you know what one point

776
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 1: they want to say, that's like one point five one

777
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,640
Speaker 1: point zero five points per shot. So that's a one

778
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:40,160
Speaker 1: oh five offensive, right Now that's not bad, right for

779
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:43,680
Speaker 1: a pull up jump shot. Anything over a point is good, right.

780
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,120
Speaker 1: So like on the surface, it looks good. The problem

781
00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:51,160
Speaker 1: is is the statistics. The overall value of a shot

782
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,239
Speaker 1: means nothing to the individual possession. The individual possession comes

783
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:59,360
Speaker 1: entirely down to field goal percentage. And in that individual possession,

784
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,279
Speaker 1: in crunch time, he's a thirty five percent shooter. So

785
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:06,759
Speaker 1: you're running a set action that's going to fail two

786
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:11,200
Speaker 1: out of three times. See the point, Like in crunch time,

787
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:14,040
Speaker 1: it's not about getting a shot, it's about getting the

788
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:17,360
Speaker 1: very best shot. I talked about this a lot in

789
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,080
Speaker 1: the Denver LA game. It's like Ruby Hatchamura pull up

790
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,520
Speaker 1: fifteen foot or off of a week side action ball

791
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,960
Speaker 1: gets reversed. Ruey runs a ball screen. I don't I

792
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,640
Speaker 1: don't hate that shot. Over the course of forty eight minutes.

793
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:33,279
Speaker 1: If he takes that in the middle of the second quarter,

794
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:36,320
Speaker 1: you're like, that's a good shot for us. Anthony Edwards

795
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 1: pull up three coming off of a ball screen. That's

796
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:39,840
Speaker 1: a good shot for us in the middle of the

797
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:44,480
Speaker 1: second quarter. But in crunch time, it's not the best

798
00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:46,720
Speaker 1: shot for the Lakers in that possession. I've talked about

799
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:48,360
Speaker 1: it was a floor spacing thing. It should have been

800
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,520
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves on the wing. It should have been Austin

801
00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:54,879
Speaker 1: Reeves ball screen, which is a higher percentage play. If

802
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:57,960
Speaker 1: they were more diligent about getting the best shot, the

803
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,560
Speaker 1: ball would never have ended up in Ruy's hand on

804
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:05,479
Speaker 1: that possession. Denver, on the other hand, gets the very

805
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:08,719
Speaker 1: best shot that they can possibly get on that possession

806
00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,439
Speaker 1: every single time in crunch time. That is how they win.

807
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:16,040
Speaker 1: And that's the thing. It's like with that Minnesota offense

808
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,799
Speaker 1: down the stretch, It's like they ran some actions. They

809
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,239
Speaker 1: ran that double screen for Ant. They ran this other

810
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:22,840
Speaker 1: one out of Horns where it kind of led to

811
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,000
Speaker 1: like a double wide pin down for Ant to come

812
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,080
Speaker 1: off into a ball screen. But in those situations they're

813
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:30,080
Speaker 1: dropping back and they're trying to bait Ant into pull

814
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,120
Speaker 1: up jump shots. That's not the best shot that they

815
00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 1: can get in that situation. Cat was the one with

816
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:37,959
Speaker 1: the advantage. If they ran double screening actions with Cat

817
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,880
Speaker 1: and go Bear, they could get Kat going downhill against

818
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,560
Speaker 1: a drop coverage big, which was Daniel Tice getting into

819
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:48,120
Speaker 1: the paint. Will they be diligent enough in the postseason

820
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:51,600
Speaker 1: to get the very best shot. I don't know that

821
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,600
Speaker 1: that is my major concern with this particular offense, and

822
00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,360
Speaker 1: again it's been they have lost countless games as of

823
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,880
Speaker 1: late with poor time offense and again a one to

824
00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:06,080
Speaker 1: oh five offensive rating for the entire season. And like,

825
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:09,920
Speaker 1: it's not a big picture issue like Ants young, this

826
00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:13,440
Speaker 1: is really typical for teams led by a young superstar.

827
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:17,520
Speaker 1: But in the long run, that's what he has to address.

828
00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:20,360
Speaker 1: In the long run. They like, if it's gonna be

829
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:23,320
Speaker 1: led by a primary ballhandler, like a ball handler like Ant,

830
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,279
Speaker 1: it's the half court execution piece that stands between where

831
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:29,000
Speaker 1: he is now and the true greatness of the top

832
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,680
Speaker 1: tier superstars around the league. All right, moving on to

833
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,839
Speaker 1: our power rankings. So we had two teams drop out

834
00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:37,520
Speaker 1: from last week, the Pacers and the MAVs, who both

835
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,560
Speaker 1: had pretty disastrous weeks. We have two new teams in

836
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,000
Speaker 1: the list this week, starting with number ten, the Orlando Magic,

837
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:47,799
Speaker 1: IF won six of their last seven games, playing some

838
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,279
Speaker 1: elite defense in that stretch, they're five to oh in

839
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:53,480
Speaker 1: that seven game span. When Palo Boncaro plays is averaging

840
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,000
Speaker 1: twenty four points, seven rebounds, and five assists on fifty

841
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,839
Speaker 1: two percent from the field and forty two percent from three.

842
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 1: I'll be a little bit of an easy year stretch

843
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:02,760
Speaker 1: of their schedule, but a nice little run from the Magic.

844
00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:06,919
Speaker 1: Number nine, the Miami Heat. They are ten in three

845
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,359
Speaker 1: in their last thirteen games. That is the second best

846
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:11,400
Speaker 1: record in the league in that span, just behind Boston.

847
00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:16,439
Speaker 1: They have the second best defense in the league over

848
00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:18,680
Speaker 1: that span. And then Jimmy Butler is starting to look

849
00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,080
Speaker 1: like playoff Jimmy again. Since he came back from his

850
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:25,120
Speaker 1: injury on January fifteenth. He's averaging twenty three points, six rebounds,

851
00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:28,040
Speaker 1: and five assists on check this fifty seven percent from

852
00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:31,520
Speaker 1: the field and fifty six percent from three. So Jimmy

853
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:33,720
Speaker 1: Butler peaking at the right time of the Heat starting

854
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:36,759
Speaker 1: to gain some steam. Number eight the Cleveland Cavaliers are

855
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:38,440
Speaker 1: starting to slip a little bit. There's just four and

856
00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:41,080
Speaker 1: five in their last nine games. They needed a wild

857
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,719
Speaker 1: all time great hot streak for Max Stru's hitting five

858
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,279
Speaker 1: consecutive threes down the stretch, a stretch against Dallas to

859
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:49,399
Speaker 1: win one of those games. Otherwise they'd be three and six.

860
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:52,520
Speaker 1: It's their defense that's been slipping, ironically over that span.

861
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,759
Speaker 1: They're eighteenth in the NBA in defensive rating in their

862
00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:59,080
Speaker 1: last nine games. Number seven the New York Knicks. After

863
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:01,360
Speaker 1: Jaylen Brunson went down in pain coming off of that

864
00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:05,080
Speaker 1: wide pin down action against the Calves, it was like

865
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:07,920
Speaker 1: a low point for the season for Knicks fans. Right

866
00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:12,359
Speaker 1: like you, obviously, Jalen Brunson goes down in the game,

867
00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:15,719
Speaker 1: You're already down your entire front court. It's a big game,

868
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:17,680
Speaker 1: an important game against the Calves that you feel like

869
00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:20,239
Speaker 1: is winnable. It looks terrible, right, but then you end

870
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:23,080
Speaker 1: up beating the Calves anyway. Just bully them on the glass,

871
00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:26,160
Speaker 1: just like they did in the postseason. And Dante DiVincenzo

872
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,320
Speaker 1: had a big scoring n I also bought boy and Bgdanovic,

873
00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:30,200
Speaker 1: a guy who can scale up his offense when needed,

874
00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:32,440
Speaker 1: stepped in and I think he poured in forty or

875
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,640
Speaker 1: twenty points if I remember correctly. And then after the

876
00:43:35,640 --> 00:43:38,320
Speaker 1: game you get great news. Jalen Brunson just a knee contusion,

877
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:40,640
Speaker 1: so it sounds like he just bumped knees, didn't twist

878
00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:42,640
Speaker 1: his knee. That's great news. That means Brunson should be

879
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:45,160
Speaker 1: coming back. And again Ojan and Obi I believe just

880
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,520
Speaker 1: ramped up his basketball related activities, so help is on

881
00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:50,719
Speaker 1: the way. We should get a better feel for the

882
00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:52,760
Speaker 1: Knicks here in the next couple of weeks. Number six

883
00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,120
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two more clutch losses to the Kings

884
00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:58,719
Speaker 1: and the Clippers this week. As we mentioned earlier in

885
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,520
Speaker 1: our Wolves breakdown, a five offensive rating in the clutch

886
00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:05,000
Speaker 1: this season, where tranks twenty first in the NBA. That's

887
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,000
Speaker 1: gonna be the biggest question for them when we get

888
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,759
Speaker 1: to the postseason. Will they ever be able to diligently

889
00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:12,600
Speaker 1: seek out the best possible shot in the slow down

890
00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:15,239
Speaker 1: half court environment at the end of games. Number five

891
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:17,839
Speaker 1: the La Clippers two in one week. They did lose

892
00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:19,960
Speaker 1: to the Lakers and that crazy Lebron James come back.

893
00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:22,480
Speaker 1: But again, like I said after that game, sometimes Lebron

894
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:24,759
Speaker 1: just does Lebron stuff and you lose. But they did

895
00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:28,120
Speaker 1: take a big step forward against Minnesota on the defensive

896
00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:30,320
Speaker 1: end of the foard. Their defense has been what slipped

897
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:33,319
Speaker 1: a lot during this kind of mediocre stretch here in

898
00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:36,600
Speaker 1: the last two three weeks. That's that game against Minnesota.

899
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:38,640
Speaker 1: They got they got down into the mud and they

900
00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:40,920
Speaker 1: slowed Minnesota down and they won with their defense, which

901
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:44,480
Speaker 1: I thought was super encouraging. Number four, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

902
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:48,799
Speaker 1: It took a bad loss to the Spurs where they

903
00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 1: really struggled with Victor women Yama, but they did bounce

904
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:53,560
Speaker 1: back with a really impressive win against the Suns last night.

905
00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:57,239
Speaker 1: You know, I'm I'm having a hard time with this

906
00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:00,400
Speaker 1: team because like the stuff with their size in physical reality,

907
00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:02,520
Speaker 1: in their lack of experience or their size, I should say,

908
00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:04,960
Speaker 1: not their physicality. They're very physical team. The stuff with

909
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:09,120
Speaker 1: their size and their experience is just overarching basketball philosophies

910
00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:11,520
Speaker 1: that I have and I truly believe in, and it

911
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:13,799
Speaker 1: still gives me a ton of reticence. But when I

912
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,240
Speaker 1: look at their combination of shot creation down the roster,

913
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:21,759
Speaker 1: the incredible physical brand of basketball that they play, the competition,

914
00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:25,239
Speaker 1: and the nastiness of this group, I think they're wired right.

915
00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:28,280
Speaker 1: Like I love their basketball character. I think they're super

916
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,680
Speaker 1: well coached. I I'm having a really hard time with

917
00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:33,680
Speaker 1: the Thunder because I've got this like voice in the

918
00:45:33,719 --> 00:45:36,240
Speaker 1: back of my head which is like, take them more seriously,

919
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,799
Speaker 1: take them more seriously, take them more seriously, so we'll

920
00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:40,799
Speaker 1: see I've reserved the right to change my mind about

921
00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:42,640
Speaker 1: the thunder, but when we get to the beginning of

922
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,200
Speaker 1: the postseason. But right now, I just still lean back

923
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:49,240
Speaker 1: on my overarching basketball beliefs involving their lack of size

924
00:45:49,239 --> 00:45:52,160
Speaker 1: and experience. Number Three, the Milwaukee Bucks a three and

925
00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,240
Speaker 1: oher week, albeit against an easy stretch of their schedule.

926
00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:59,640
Speaker 1: Fifteen games of Doc rivers one oh nine point six

927
00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:03,439
Speaker 1: deep defensive rating, which ranks fifth in the NBA over

928
00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:05,640
Speaker 1: that span. Offense is still struggling a little bit, although

929
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:08,400
Speaker 1: it's been way better as of late, but there at

930
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:10,959
Speaker 1: a one to fifteen offensive rating since Doc took over.

931
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:13,040
Speaker 1: They can get that offensive rating back up to one

932
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:15,839
Speaker 1: twenty while maintaining this level of defense. We have to

933
00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:19,160
Speaker 1: move Milwaukee into back into that top tier of contenders

934
00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:21,960
Speaker 1: because everything we had talked about with them was based

935
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,920
Speaker 1: around their defense having severe limitations, and they've just been

936
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:27,160
Speaker 1: defending really well now for a stretch of the season,

937
00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:29,120
Speaker 1: which really amounts to like what like about a fifth

938
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:31,960
Speaker 1: of the season. That's not a non existent sample size,

939
00:46:32,040 --> 00:46:34,440
Speaker 1: but a lot of tests on the horizon. Milwaukee's next

940
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:37,440
Speaker 1: five games against the Clippers at home, but then a

941
00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:40,160
Speaker 1: road trip against the Warriors the Lakers, the Clippers, and

942
00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:42,680
Speaker 1: the Kings. That's a tough stretch. A lot of really

943
00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:45,600
Speaker 1: high powered offenses in that span. We're going to find

944
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:49,280
Speaker 1: out and guard play too. Clippers obviously with James Harden,

945
00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:52,160
Speaker 1: the Warriors with Steph Curry, the Lakers with D'Angelo Russell

946
00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:56,000
Speaker 1: in Austin Reeves, and then even going into Malik Monk

947
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:58,640
Speaker 1: and Deer and Fox like. Although Deer and Fox missed

948
00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:01,600
Speaker 1: their last game, Leage Monk actually carried them to a

949
00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:05,319
Speaker 1: win against the Wolves. But that stretch is gonna put

950
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:08,319
Speaker 1: a big strain on their perimeter defense. We're gonna learn

951
00:47:08,320 --> 00:47:10,840
Speaker 1: a lot about the Bucks defense during that stretch. Number

952
00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:14,160
Speaker 1: two the Denver Nuggets six and zero now out of

953
00:47:14,239 --> 00:47:16,880
Speaker 1: the All Star Break. This time last year, this was

954
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:18,680
Speaker 1: where they let their foot off the gas. They were

955
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:20,759
Speaker 1: five and one out of the break, and then they

956
00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:24,319
Speaker 1: promptly lost five of their next six games. So I'm

957
00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,839
Speaker 1: really curious to see if they can keep their foot

958
00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:30,000
Speaker 1: on the gas at this point and maintain big matchup

959
00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:32,880
Speaker 1: with Boston this week. That will be going live for

960
00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:34,719
Speaker 1: I think it's on Thursday nights. We'll be live on

961
00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:37,680
Speaker 1: YouTube after the final buzzer of that game. But Denver,

962
00:47:38,719 --> 00:47:40,719
Speaker 1: they look like the best version of themselves that they've

963
00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:45,720
Speaker 1: ever been as of late. And I'm really really intrigued because,

964
00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:48,279
Speaker 1: like you know, we talked about the checking boxes for

965
00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:51,600
Speaker 1: championship contention, and like one of the big ones is

966
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:53,880
Speaker 1: like ramping up as you get into the postseason. It

967
00:47:53,920 --> 00:47:55,440
Speaker 1: was a one that it was one that Denver missed

968
00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:58,600
Speaker 1: last year and then they still dominated. It just makes

969
00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:01,200
Speaker 1: me all the more confident and what Denver is capable of.

970
00:48:01,239 --> 00:48:02,600
Speaker 1: I still think they're the best team in the league.

971
00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:06,480
Speaker 1: Number one in our power rankings for regular season results.

972
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,400
Speaker 1: The Boston Celtics another undefeated week. They're on an eleven

973
00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:12,360
Speaker 1: game winning streak now and one of the big things,

974
00:48:12,719 --> 00:48:15,480
Speaker 1: as I've been harping on all season, needed them to

975
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:18,040
Speaker 1: be more aggressive in the paint. They are averaging sixty

976
00:48:18,520 --> 00:48:21,080
Speaker 1: points in the per game in their last four games,

977
00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:25,600
Speaker 1: which is the third most in the NBA over that span.

978
00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:28,080
Speaker 1: All right, guys, that's it for our power rankings. That's

979
00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:30,040
Speaker 1: it for our show today. As always, I appreciate you guys.

980
00:48:30,080 --> 00:48:32,200
Speaker 1: We'll be back tomorrow with Yovann. I will see you guys.

981
00:48:32,200 --> 00:49:05,040
Speaker 1: Then the volume