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Speaker 1: The volume. All right, welcome to Hupsinnai here at the

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Speaker 1: volume heavy Thursday.

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Speaker 2: Everybody.

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Speaker 1: Hope all of you guys are having an incredible week.

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Speaker 1: Have a jampackshow for you guys. Today, the Atlanta Hawks

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Speaker 1: won for the seventeenth time in the last nineteen games

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Speaker 1: and got a couple of big ones as they beat

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Speaker 1: the Celtics and then dominated the Magic in Orlando. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna do a little bit of a deep dive into

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Speaker 1: the Atlanta Hawks and what's been driving their success as

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Speaker 1: of late. Then at the tail end of the show,

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Speaker 1: I really wanted to take time to dig into what

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Speaker 1: the superstar slash star tears look like as we head

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Speaker 1: into the postseason run. So again strictly looking at players

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Speaker 1: that will be a factor in this year's playoff run

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Speaker 1: and where they kind of stand in the league as

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Speaker 1: we head into that run. You guys know the joke

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Speaker 1: before we started. Subscribe to the Hoops to Not YouTube

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Speaker 1: channel so you don't miss any more of our videos.

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Speaker 1: Make sure you like this video and sign up for

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Speaker 1: post notifications. That helps us a lot last not at least,

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Speaker 1: if you guys want to get mail bag questions in,

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Speaker 1: make sure you drop them in our YouTube comments and

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Speaker 1: we'll get to them in mail bags throughout the rest

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Speaker 1: of the season. And yes, I did cut my hair.

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Speaker 1: It's shocking, I know. Trust me, it's just as shocking

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Speaker 1: for me as it is for you guys, and any

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Speaker 1: of you people have ever grown out your hair before.

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Speaker 1: It comes with all of this other random bullshit you

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Speaker 1: have to deal with every day. So like it's been,

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Speaker 1: it's kind of like a lifestyle in a weird way,

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Speaker 1: and so it feels very strange, but I'm getting used

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Speaker 1: to it. It's just just take it one day at

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Speaker 1: a time. Okay, guys, you're just as shocked as I am.

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Speaker 1: But let's talk some basketball. Let's get into this at

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Speaker 1: Lanta Hawks run again. They've won for the seventeenth time

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Speaker 1: in the last nineteen games. I had been a little

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Speaker 1: skeptical during the run because they had played an exceptionally

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Speaker 1: light schedule for the most part, but their last two

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Speaker 1: wins have been super impressive. A big win at home

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Speaker 1: over the Boston Celtics where they went up by twenty

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Speaker 1: one points in the fourth quarter, and then followed last

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Speaker 1: night by an absolute thrashing of the Magic in Orlando.

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Speaker 1: The Celtics game big run to start the second half.

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Speaker 1: First half was very back and in that second half.

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Speaker 1: The important context here is that Boston was without their

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Speaker 1: two best centers. But regardless of what centers Boston had available,

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Speaker 1: they run a ton of deep drop coverage. Regardless of

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Speaker 1: whether it's Kada Musevich or the guys who played in

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Speaker 1: that particular game, like Luca Garza for example, they run

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Speaker 1: a ton of deep drop and they've generally made up

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Speaker 1: for their lack of versatile bigs by just keeping them

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Speaker 1: around the basket. Deep drop helping a lot when they're

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Speaker 1: in off ball situations. It's a huge part of why

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Speaker 1: Boston leads the league and opponent points in the paint.

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Speaker 1: They're the only team in the league that allows fewer

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Speaker 1: than forty points in the paint per game, but that

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Speaker 1: comes at the cost of them being pretty vulnerable to

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Speaker 1: shooting fives. That's been something that's happened all season long,

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Speaker 1: and Yeka Congu in that game just absolutely fried the

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Speaker 1: Celtics over and over again, popping out of ball screens,

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Speaker 1: spacing to the corner, and it caused real problems for

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Speaker 1: the Celtics as the Hawks went on their second half

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Speaker 1: run and they defended extremely well. They held Pritchard and

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Speaker 1: White to just twenty three points on twenty six shots.

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Speaker 1: Jalen Brown put up numbers, but he was horribly inefficient

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Speaker 1: in that game. It's kind of like the opposite of

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Speaker 1: the second half of that Thunder game, where he was

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Speaker 1: just forcing the issue on his drives over and over again.

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Speaker 1: And there are some impressive ones in there. Because Jalen's

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Speaker 1: so damn good at driving the basketball, there were a

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Speaker 1: lot of bad forces.

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Speaker 2: At the rim.

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Speaker 1: Was far from Jalen's best floor game. And give the

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Speaker 1: Hawks credit, they made things tough on the guards and

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Speaker 1: they did a great job swarming Jalen Brown's drives. And

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Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about it when we start talking big picture,

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Speaker 1: but their ball pressure goes a long way to making

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Speaker 1: ball handlers uncomfortable, causing them to force the issue and

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Speaker 1: rush things.

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Speaker 2: That's one of the big values of ball pressure.

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Speaker 1: Thought, that was a really nice win against the Celtics,

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Speaker 1: and then the Orlando game last night was interesting on

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Speaker 1: several levels. Jalen Johnson continues to absolutely dominate the Pala

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Speaker 1: Bancaro matchup. It's in general, Atlanta is a tough matchup

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Speaker 1: for Orlando because they can confront a lot of Orlando's size,

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Speaker 1: but they're also faster, and when you can kind of

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Speaker 1: like mitigate their ability to bully you, but then also

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Speaker 1: just run circles around on them, it can cause major

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Speaker 1: problems in an individual matchup, and specifically Palo and Jalen.

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Speaker 1: Palo can't score on in one on one, and Jalen

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Speaker 1: can more effectively shoot over the top of him right now,

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Speaker 1: which is getting which is allowing him to score over

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Speaker 1: the top and get him out of position on drives

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Speaker 1: where he can draw some fouls. The Magic also weren't

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Speaker 1: switching with Wendell Carter Junior and their ball screens and

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Speaker 1: their handoffs, which is something they've done all season more

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Speaker 1: than basically anyone, which is I've talked about this like

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Speaker 1: that's why Wendell Carter Junior leads the league and isolations defended.

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Speaker 1: They usually switch with their five, and they just weren't

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Speaker 1: doing it against Atlanta. My guess as Jamal Moseley was

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Speaker 1: trying to stay attached to Anyakakongu to prevent him from

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Speaker 1: getting open threes. But I thought that was a nonsensical

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Speaker 1: defensive game plan because switching is actually the best way

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Speaker 1: to neutralize and a popping big that basically forces you

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Speaker 1: to attack in ISO rather than giving up easy little

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Speaker 1: kickbacks and things like that, or you run into this

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Speaker 1: issue when you don't switch and you stay so like

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Speaker 1: if Wendell Carter Junr Is just basically gluing up to

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Speaker 1: a Yeka congu. Now you're asking your perimeter defenders to

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Speaker 1: chase Atlanta's guards through two guys as they're trying to

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Speaker 1: run through action. They're navigating around Wendell and Anyeka as

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Speaker 1: they're trying to get back in front of Nikil Alexander Walker,

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Speaker 1: get back in front of CJ. McCollum and Nikhil Alexander

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Speaker 1: Walker in particular, just fry the magic in this game

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Speaker 1: thirty two points on sixteen shots. Not only did he

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Speaker 1: kill in the action just kind of circling around a

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Speaker 1: congu as he was able to get downhill consistently, but

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Speaker 1: also all that inverted stuff that Jalen Johnson runs where

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Speaker 1: he has guard screen for him. Nikil got Palo Bancaro

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Speaker 1: switched on him a lot, and he was really doing

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Speaker 1: damage to Pallo either just like catching him helping off

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Speaker 1: too far in spot up situations or beating him off

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Speaker 1: the dribble, Nikil had like literally one of the nastiest

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Speaker 1: spin moves I've ever seen. Attacking Palo off the left wing.

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Speaker 1: He drove to the right and did like a lot

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Speaker 1: of spin moves will come in like two phases where

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Speaker 1: there'll be like a pound dribble, it'd be kind of

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Speaker 1: like a slow motion spin. He just did like this whirling, dervish,

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Speaker 1: lightning spin that just completely dusted Palo. Pallo was very

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Speaker 1: bad defensively in this one, but Nikhil completely toasted him

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Speaker 1: with that spin move. He was able to get to

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Speaker 1: the basket for the layup, who's completely disgusting. And Orlando

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Speaker 1: just decomposed in this game. It was over by halftime.

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Speaker 1: So not only have the Hawks gone seventeen to two

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Speaker 1: in their last nineteen games, but now they have a

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Speaker 1: couple of dominant wins over a good team in Orlando

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Speaker 1: and a great team in Boston to add some legitimacy

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Speaker 1: to the run that they've been on. They've had the

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Speaker 1: second best record in the league since February twenty second.

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Speaker 1: They're seventeen and two. Only San Antonio has been better

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Speaker 1: at eighteen and two. They're third in offense, second in defense,

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Speaker 1: sixth in offensive rebounding, sixth in defensive rebounding, and they've

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Speaker 1: been dominating the margins. They're leading the league in points

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Speaker 1: off of turnovers in the SPAN at twenty four per game.

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Speaker 1: That's a margin of plus seven point four over their

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Speaker 1: appointents over their opponents, and points off of turnovers per

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Speaker 1: game plus three point nine points per game and second

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Speaker 1: chance points and plus five point seven points per game

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Speaker 1: in fast break points. Obviously there's some overlap there with

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Speaker 1: the turnovers, but that's a lot of margin every single night,

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Speaker 1: which is buying margin for their offense. We'll talk about

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Speaker 1: their half court offense here in just a second. Overall,

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Speaker 1: on offense, they have six guys averaging double figures, each

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Speaker 1: kind of doing it in their own way. Jalen Johnson

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Speaker 1: in the SPAN twenty one points, nine rebounds, and eight

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Speaker 1: assists per game. We've talked over the course of the

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Speaker 1: season that, like my main concern with Jalen before I

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Speaker 1: can really buy into him big picture as a prospect,

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Speaker 1: is can he develop some form of reliable half court

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Speaker 1: offensive initiation, a way to break the defense down when

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Speaker 1: they aren't able to get out in transition. And it's

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Speaker 1: really materializing in two ways. We've talked about the inverted

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Speaker 1: action a lot this season. I won't dwell there too long,

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Speaker 1: but that's one of the most common plays that we've

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Speaker 1: seen around the league for big ball handlers. Right, you

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Speaker 1: just have guards go set screens. It inverts everything. So

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Speaker 1: the guy who's guarding the bigger player suddenly has to

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Speaker 1: navigate a screen, which is something that they're not comfortable with.

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Speaker 1: And you're asking guards to function as helpers and screens,

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Speaker 1: which they don't often do. And so it creates all

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Speaker 1: sorts of openings where it's like, okay, if the guard hedges, now,

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Speaker 1: the guard setting the screen can easily slip out and

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Speaker 1: create an open three, or with a guy like Dyson

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Speaker 1: Daniels slipping into the middle of the floor for little

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Speaker 1: floaters and stuff like that. Or if you switch, suddenly

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Speaker 1: you've got mismatches on both sides of the screen. And

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Speaker 1: if you don't switch, if the guard stays home on

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Speaker 1: the guard setting the screen, then all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: you know, Jalen can easily get downhill to his right hand,

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Speaker 1: and you know, this is something again we see all

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Speaker 1: around the league. It kind of initiated originally with guys

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Speaker 1: like Lebron and Giannis over the course of the last

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Speaker 1: half decade, Lebron running a ton of inverted action with

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Speaker 1: Austin Reeves, Yannis running a ton of inverted action with

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Speaker 1: like Gary Trent and AJ Green. Obviously, Nikola Jokic is

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Speaker 1: one of the main guys that we think of with

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Speaker 1: inverted action with Yokic is a little more different because

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Speaker 1: he's not a slasher. But we've seen so many of

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Speaker 1: these big forwards that run inverted action and as slashers

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Speaker 1: because they're at their best when they get downhill, and

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Speaker 1: you know, guys like Jalen and Lebron and Giannis have

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Speaker 1: elite playmaking ability. That's the big thing that's kind of

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Speaker 1: held Pallo back as he's been unable to really turn

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Speaker 1: that into a playmaking advantage for him. But that's an

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Speaker 1: action that Jalen's been able to run effectively that he's

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Speaker 1: been able to mimic from some of the other big

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Speaker 1: slashing forwards around the league. And the second piece of

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Speaker 1: it is post scoring. Jalen's just got a lot better at,

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Speaker 1: like those little turnaround jump shots over either shoulder, the

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Speaker 1: kind of getting into the defender's chest and drawing fouls like,

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Speaker 1: Jalen's just gotten better as a post scorer, which has

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Speaker 1: given him the ability to again, like we know, his

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Speaker 1: like fundamental strength that he's awesome at is he's just

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Speaker 1: this great downhill athlete that can finish at the rim,

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Speaker 1: who also is a great passer.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 1: But like again, if you run the inverted action in

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Speaker 1: at least to switches or in any situation where defender

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Speaker 1: is able to generally stay in front of Jalen, it's

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Speaker 1: going to force him to score over the top. And

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Speaker 1: he's just starting to develop a pretty well rounded post

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Speaker 1: scoring game. Nikhil Alexander Walker has just been a revelation

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Speaker 1: this season. Test him into his work ethic. He's gone

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Speaker 1: from being like a three and D guard to like

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Speaker 1: a legitimately awesome scoring guard. It gets to the rim

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Speaker 1: a ton five times per game. Again for a guy

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Speaker 1: with his usage, that's super impressive. He's become a legitimate

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Speaker 1: movement shooter. He's shooting thirty seven percent this year on

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Speaker 1: threes coming off of off ball screens, in forty eight

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Speaker 1: percent on transition threes, which is a different type of movement.

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Speaker 2: Three.

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Speaker 1: Transition threes are a little easier because you tend to

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Speaker 1: have your momentum going towards the basket. But it's still

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Speaker 1: the same concept where you're running full speed and getting

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Speaker 1: your feet set.

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Speaker 2: When you're on the move.

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Speaker 1: And he's really improved as an improvisational score, So like

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Speaker 1: stuff in the mid range, off the dribble, pull up,

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Speaker 1: jump shot type stuff, counter moves like that nasty spin

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Speaker 1: move we talked about.

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Speaker 2: That's all that.

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Speaker 1: Like improvisational scoring. That is usually the difference between you

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Speaker 1: being able to get to fifteen seventeen points in a

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Speaker 1: game to like that eighteen to twenty two points in

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Speaker 1: the game. For these like role player type scores, you've

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Speaker 1: got to have some ability to score improvisationally, and the

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Speaker 1: Kills really started to add that to his game. CJ

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Speaker 1: McCollum may not be the same CJ he was in Portland,

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Speaker 1: but he brings a lot of the same refined skill

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Speaker 1: guard stuff to the table that he's had in his

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Speaker 1: entire career. And it's for a team that kind of

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Speaker 1: needs a player who can do that stuff. If you

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Speaker 1: take Trey Young out of the equation, obviously, Trey Young

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Speaker 1: is very much a heliocentric style of player, but you

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Speaker 1: still need that kind of skill. You still need a

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Speaker 1: guy who can run ball screens and make simple reads,

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Speaker 1: but also be able to score if the defense is

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Speaker 1: running variations of drop where the onus is on the

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Speaker 1: guard to score the basketball. And what CJ does is

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Speaker 1: CJ brings that to the table, but in the flow

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Speaker 1: of the offense without really strangling the basketball and disrupting

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Speaker 1: rhythm for other players, which makes it really valuable for Atlanta.

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Speaker 1: The Hawks play so fast in transition, but also in

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Speaker 1: the half court, they run a lot of action side

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Speaker 1: to side. They get a lot of attacks in on

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Speaker 1: each possession. So having multiple guards on the floor at

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Speaker 1: all times who can attack off of a screen, an

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Speaker 1: off ball screen, or set a screen for Jalen Johnson

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Speaker 1: but be a threat slipping out of it in various ways,

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Speaker 1: that's super valuable. And yet Congo's floor spacing. I can't

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Speaker 1: say enough about this. Again, there's a huge difference between

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Speaker 1: being a pick and pop big and a pick and

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Speaker 1: pop big that teams refused to leave open. Again, like

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Speaker 1: we talked about, I really do believe Jamal Mosley just

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Speaker 1: discarded his main defensive scheme because he was terrified of

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Speaker 2: Or Virginia.

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Speaker 1: And you know, there are a lot of bigs in

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Speaker 1: the league, Like if you think Celtics fans like Luca Garza, like,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot of Vucevich I think falls into this

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Speaker 1: group as well as as long as we're talking Celtics,

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Speaker 1: there's bigs where it's like, oh, he's popping, go ahead

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Speaker 1: and take it.

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Speaker 2: You'll make a third of them. Whatever.

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Speaker 1: You might have a game where you go zero for four.

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Speaker 1: If you happen to make your first two, maybe we'll react.

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Speaker 1: But there's a whole lot of like just kind of

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Speaker 1: letting pick and pop, big shoot. And you know, there's

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Speaker 1: a big difference between shooting thirty seven thirty eight percent

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Speaker 1: on completely unguarded, wide open threes versus shooting thirty seven

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Speaker 1: thirty eight percent on high volume, aggressive threes that are

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Speaker 1: contested and where the defense is actually accounting for you.

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Speaker 1: That's why three point percentage on its face isn't necessarily

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Speaker 1: the end all, be all way to read that stat.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of context there, and Yeka is very

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Speaker 1: much like a legitimate you have to guard him type

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Speaker 1: of spacing five and that is just what creates a

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Speaker 1: lot of space around the basket for offensive players that

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Speaker 1: aren't as talented as the other offensive players around the league.

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Speaker 1: It makes life easier for this Atlanta perimeter scoring core.

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Speaker 1: I want to include his offensive rebounding in there too.

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Speaker 1: Dyson Daniels get deserves a lot of credit for this,

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Speaker 1: but as we mentioned, the Hawks are sixth in offensive

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Speaker 1: rebound percentage in this nineteen game span, and and Yeka's

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Speaker 1: ability to clean things up around the basket. Dyson as well.

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Speaker 1: Those create a lot of extra possessions for Atlanta. Dyson

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Speaker 1: Daniels is kind of the perfect inverted screener for Jalen

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Speaker 1: Johnson because he doesn't shoot the ball really well. Though

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Speaker 1: he did hit a massive three in the Celtics game,

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Speaker 1: and it was hilarious listening to the Celtics broadcast because

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Speaker 1: they were like, legitimately like flummox that Dyson hit that

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Speaker 1: three at the top of the key towards the end

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Speaker 1: of the third quarter. But he could slip out his

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Speaker 1: screens and he's actually very good there in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the floor with his floater. He shoots over fifty

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Speaker 1: percent on it, and he's a very good offensive rebounder,

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Speaker 1: so overall he brings offensive value despite being a guy

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Speaker 1: that's a historically bad three point shooter. This season, I

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Speaker 1: thought those two wins against Orlando and Boston were also

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Kaminge's two best games since joining the Hawks. Again,

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Speaker 1: he's had big statistical performances over the course of his

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Speaker 1: time there against bad teams and certain contexts, but I

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Speaker 1: thought those two games, especially given the quality of opponent,

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Speaker 1: they were his best two games of the season. I

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Speaker 1: thought he was very good defensively on against Boston, he

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Speaker 1: held up in some switches against guys like Peyton Pritchard,

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Speaker 1: made some good help side rotations around the basket, and

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Speaker 1: was just generally very active. And then he's just starting

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Speaker 1: to find his spots in the offense in the half court.

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Speaker 1: Obviously he's a great transition score, but the big one

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Speaker 1: is he's able to slash off the wing effectively. He'll

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Speaker 1: get these situations where just the floor is space properly,

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Speaker 1: and you'll have the ball on the left wing and

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Speaker 1: he can just quick hit a drive and try to

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Speaker 1: get all the way to the basket where he can

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Speaker 1: draw fouls and finish at the rim there. And he's

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Speaker 1: been hitting forty one percent of his threes over this

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Speaker 1: nineteen game span, which has helped him stay.

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Speaker 2: Useful in his off ball situation.

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Speaker 1: So the first time this season then where I'm actually

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Speaker 1: starting to see some sustained positive impact from Jonathan Kminga

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Speaker 1: on defense. It's not perfect. There's still a handful of

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Speaker 1: times each game where you'll see Jalen Johnson or Jonathan

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Speaker 1: Kminga get back cut because they're just ball watching, or

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Speaker 1: times where their front line will get a little overwhelmed

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Speaker 1: by some of the bigger, stronger players around the league,

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Speaker 1: but they've really been solid. Their length on the weak

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Speaker 1: side has really stood out to me in film sessions.

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Speaker 1: So Atlanta does a lot of loading up on the

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Speaker 1: strong side. I talked about this the last time we

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Speaker 1: talked about the Hawks, But like they'll bring a congo

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Speaker 1: up and basically like a like a middle drop or

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Speaker 1: like a catch hedge where he's not all the way

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Speaker 1: up at the level, but he's allowing the roller to

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Speaker 1: get behind him, and he kind of comes and situates

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Speaker 1: himself like about fifteen feet away from the basket, just

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Speaker 1: waiting for the guard to drive into him. And it

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Speaker 1: creates this like little bit of indecision where the Hawks

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Speaker 1: are loaded up to the strong side, but there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of length between where the ball is and where

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Speaker 1: it needs to get in order to beat the defense

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Speaker 1: by flipping the side of the floor by getting the

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Speaker 1: ball across the floor. So like there will be times

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Speaker 1: where the ball handler will force interior passes and a

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00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:46,879
Speaker 1: Congo will get a lot of steels just with his

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Speaker 1: length just kind of sitting in that like little soft

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00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,040
Speaker 1: catch hedge type of coverage, right, or a lot of

390
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Speaker 1: possessions where it is Jalen Johnson or Zachary Rissache or

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Speaker 1: a Jonathan kminguid include him as well, and where they're

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Speaker 1: on the weak side and the skip passes come or

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00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,119
Speaker 1: those quick swing swing sequences come, and those guys just

394
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Speaker 1: can jump passing lanes that look open but actually aren't

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Speaker 1: because you've got such a lanky athletic player that's kind

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00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,480
Speaker 1: of hawking those passing lanes, and they're getting again, they're

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Speaker 1: getting most of their steals from their guards. Nikhil, Alexander

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00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:19,760
Speaker 1: Walker and Dyson Daniels are leading the team and steals

399
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,960
Speaker 1: in the span they're getting about four between the two

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00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,400
Speaker 1: of them. Obviously a Congo is getting a lot of steals,

401
00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,680
Speaker 1: but they're getting another three steals a game just from

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00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,560
Speaker 1: those three forwards because of how active they've been on

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00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,719
Speaker 1: the weak side, and that again is feeding those margins

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00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,280
Speaker 1: that they keep winning. They're forcing turnovers to feed their

405
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,560
Speaker 1: transition attack. In general, they're just a very scrappy athletic

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00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:40,600
Speaker 1: team that has a lot of ball hawks, so the

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00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:42,040
Speaker 1: meaning just guys who get a lot of fifty to

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00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,680
Speaker 1: fifty balls, so that helps them get so many offensive rebounds,

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00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,119
Speaker 1: and then the pace they play at leads to a

410
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,920
Speaker 1: lot of opportunities in transition. Again, they're third the third

411
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,479
Speaker 1: in the NBA in total transition scoring per game according

412
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,040
Speaker 1: to Synergy at twenty nine points per game. We talked

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Speaker 1: before the season about how I thought the Hawks kind

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Speaker 1: of needed to be good in order to validate a

415
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Speaker 1: lot of my core basketball beliefs, and hasn't all been

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Speaker 1: perfect over the course of the season, but it is

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Speaker 1: finally starting to come together here over the course of

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Speaker 1: this final third of the season. Like, for instance, I

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Speaker 1: talked a lot about the value ball pressure making opponent

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Speaker 1: ball handlers uncomfortable, Like I don't think it's a coincidence

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Speaker 1: that Jalen Brown had a rough game against Atlanta because

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Speaker 1: they got up into him early and often, and he

423
00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,479
Speaker 1: approached that by attacking, attacking, attacking, and it caused him

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00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,080
Speaker 1: to rush, which caused him to lose some of his

425
00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,959
Speaker 1: like floor game management type stuff that he showed to

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Speaker 1: a super high level against Oklahoma City for example in that.

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Speaker 2: Second Oklahoma City game.

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Speaker 1: And again, sometimes you're gonna apply ball pressure and guys

429
00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:42,159
Speaker 1: will still play well, just like Jalen did in the

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Speaker 1: Oklahoma City game. But your best chance to make an

431
00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,240
Speaker 1: opposing star play. One of his worst games is to

432
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Speaker 1: make him uncomfortable, and you can lead to more of

433
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,480
Speaker 1: those kinds of nights by applying good ball pressure. Two

434
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,520
Speaker 1: the value of increasing transition possessions. Why because transition possessions

435
00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:59,680
Speaker 1: are just more efficient than half court possessions.

436
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:00,960
Speaker 2: Mar So, for.

437
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,680
Speaker 1: Instance, the Hawks, they have a one to fifteen, They

438
00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:07,600
Speaker 1: have a one to fifteen offensive writing in transition. The

439
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,800
Speaker 1: best half court offense in the league right now, Denver

440
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,040
Speaker 1: is giving you one hundred and six points per one

441
00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:15,840
Speaker 1: hundred possessions. So even the best half court offense in

442
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,960
Speaker 1: the league can't come close to a transition offense like

443
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,080
Speaker 1: what the Hawks bring to the table. The average half

444
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,560
Speaker 1: court offense, which is a back where Atlanta lands, is

445
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,199
Speaker 1: about ninety seven points per one hundred possession. So you're

446
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,000
Speaker 1: getting like a legitimate twenty percent increase in value per

447
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,240
Speaker 1: possession when you push in transition. So if you push

448
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,439
Speaker 1: in transition, you score more. It's going to give you

449
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,280
Speaker 1: a value add over a large sample. That's something that

450
00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,040
Speaker 1: I believe in and I wanted to see translate to

451
00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 1: wins that we're starting to see with Atlanta. Three the

452
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,919
Speaker 1: value of just generally dominating the position, the possession battle,

453
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,800
Speaker 1: and the margin. So like, yeah, your half court offense

454
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,040
Speaker 1: might have a small deficit or a small advantage, whatever

455
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,000
Speaker 1: it is versus your opponent. But your best chance to

456
00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:58,639
Speaker 1: flip that dynamic whatever it is, is to win on

457
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,399
Speaker 1: the margins. Like I talked about this with the Lakers

458
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:02,640
Speaker 1: early in the year. Lakers were an elite half court

459
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,679
Speaker 1: offense all year, but they couldn't win on the margins

460
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:07,680
Speaker 1: in any way, and so it wasn't enough for them

461
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:09,159
Speaker 1: to be able to compete with the best teams in

462
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,719
Speaker 1: the league. Ironically, the reason why the Lakers have been

463
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,879
Speaker 1: able to start winning it's one, their half court offense

464
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:16,879
Speaker 1: has gotten even better as Luke has gotten better and

465
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,080
Speaker 1: as they've gotten healthy. But two, now they win the

466
00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:21,199
Speaker 1: points off turnovers battle by a wide margin every night.

467
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,240
Speaker 1: They're creating margin. You need to find some way to

468
00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,280
Speaker 1: supplement the half court battle, and so if you can

469
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,000
Speaker 1: do it through points off of turnovers, if you could

470
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,399
Speaker 1: do it through second chance points, if you can do

471
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:32,879
Speaker 1: it just by pushing in transition, whatever you can do

472
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,919
Speaker 1: to generate margin or to generate more possessions, you increase

473
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,680
Speaker 1: your chances of winning basketball games, and the Hawks are

474
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,399
Speaker 1: literally dominating all of those areas right now. In lastly,

475
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,560
Speaker 1: the value of having a depth of players down the

476
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,119
Speaker 1: roster who can all dribble, shoot, and pass to a

477
00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:53,480
Speaker 1: certain extent. Why because if you can create advantages, then

478
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,639
Speaker 1: in advantage basketball, you need guys who can capitalize on

479
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,359
Speaker 1: those advantages by either hitting an open three, driving and

480
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,359
Speaker 1: close out, making that next decision in the line, or

481
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,400
Speaker 1: providing some form of other space finishing ability, whether it's

482
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,440
Speaker 1: Dyson Daniel's little floaters around the basket, vertical spacing from

483
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 1: your bigs, the ability to slash close outs and get

484
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:12,359
Speaker 1: all the way to the rim, whatever it might be.

485
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:14,480
Speaker 1: And I liked this roster at the beginning of the year,

486
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:16,760
Speaker 1: and I thought, oh, like Trey Young plus a bunch

487
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,120
Speaker 1: of guys who can like dribble, shoot and pass reasonably

488
00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,159
Speaker 1: well out of advantages, they should be able to score.

489
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,239
Speaker 1: And obviously we lose the Tray Young piece of it.

490
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,960
Speaker 1: This new roster is a very different look. So the

491
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,160
Speaker 1: key swing factor was will they be able to create

492
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,800
Speaker 1: enough advantages and when they get stuck in the half court?

493
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,320
Speaker 1: And yes, in the big picture, they've been a mediocre

494
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,560
Speaker 1: half court offense again, ninety seven half court offensive rating.

495
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,879
Speaker 1: I think it ranked seventeenth in the NBA if I

496
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,600
Speaker 1: remember what I looked at this morning. But because of

497
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,160
Speaker 1: the improvements from guys like Jalen Johnson and te Kail

498
00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,840
Speaker 1: Alexander Walker, coupled with a cong Wu becoming just a

499
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,080
Speaker 1: deadly floor spacer, that's allowed them to play better in

500
00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:54,240
Speaker 1: that phase of the game. In this nineteen game span,

501
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:56,359
Speaker 1: they've had a lot of really good half court offense games.

502
00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,480
Speaker 2: In fact, they've had twelve of those.

503
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,440
Speaker 1: Nineteen games where they've been over a one hundred offensive

504
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,280
Speaker 1: rating in the half court, so they are showing some

505
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,080
Speaker 1: real signs of progress in that phase of the game

506
00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,399
Speaker 1: as well. It's definitely a very exciting time to be

507
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,960
Speaker 1: a Hawks fan, all right. I wanted to take some

508
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:16,360
Speaker 1: time to look at our superstar tiers today, specifically when

509
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,919
Speaker 1: in the context of the playoffs, meaning what are the

510
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,200
Speaker 1: guys around the league that are going to be factors

511
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,479
Speaker 1: in this playoff run and where do they stand in

512
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,840
Speaker 1: terms of those echelons of the NBA. Right, I always

513
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,920
Speaker 1: refer to the stars in the NBA like this, Are

514
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:35,159
Speaker 1: they a top tier superstar? Are they a second tier superstar?

515
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,119
Speaker 1: Are they just a third tier star and going on

516
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:39,800
Speaker 1: down the line.

517
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:40,080
Speaker 2: Right.

518
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,440
Speaker 1: So again, this is not intended today to be a

519
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,520
Speaker 1: player ranking like in a one to two three sort

520
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,639
Speaker 1: of sense. These guys are gonna be duking it out

521
00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,919
Speaker 1: in this playoff run. That's when this is gonna all

522
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,159
Speaker 1: get decided. And then when we get to the summertime,

523
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,879
Speaker 1: we'll do our best to place everyone in that ranking

524
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 1: to the best of our ability. But I wanted to

525
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 1: take some time today to kind of set the stage

526
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,040
Speaker 1: for this impending playoff showdown. Like I was looking at

527
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:04,480
Speaker 1: the calendar to take Can you guys believe it? Next

528
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,320
Speaker 1: week is the last week of the NBA regular season.

529
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,440
Speaker 1: This eighty two game grind that we go through every

530
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:14,119
Speaker 1: single year is finally reaching its end literally a week

531
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,880
Speaker 1: from Sunday, so it's right around the corner. I wanted

532
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:18,840
Speaker 1: to take some time today to place everyone in those

533
00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,760
Speaker 1: tiers before we get started with the NBA's second season,

534
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,399
Speaker 1: starting with the top tier superstars. Again, these are the

535
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,840
Speaker 1: guys who are capable of bringing overwhelming basketball impact on

536
00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,480
Speaker 1: a nightly basis. If one of these guys has a

537
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,439
Speaker 1: game where they don't look impactful, it's like shocking and

538
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:39,760
Speaker 1: you wonder what kind of weirdness was involved, and it

539
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,879
Speaker 1: usually involves an injury, or they're viciously ill, or like

540
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,399
Speaker 1: just some sort of weirdness takes place. If these guys

541
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,080
Speaker 1: ever have like a really bad game, an average game

542
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,119
Speaker 1: from one of these guys brings an extremely high floor,

543
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:58,960
Speaker 1: whether it's elite overwhelming scoring ability or overwhelming advantage creation

544
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:04,760
Speaker 1: or overwhelming defensive impact, or maybe some combination of those three.

545
00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,240
Speaker 1: I think we have a clear four guys going into

546
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,960
Speaker 1: the playoffs this year, and then a pretty large gap

547
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:12,960
Speaker 1: after that. Like, I think we would all be in

548
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 1: agreement on this list again in no particular order, Shae, Luca, Jokic,

549
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:24,120
Speaker 1: in Victor women Yama. Shae bringing just that overwhelming scoring ability,

550
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,600
Speaker 1: Luca bringing a combination of overwhelming scoring ability and advantage creation,

551
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:33,080
Speaker 1: Jokic more of the advantage creation but also some scoring.

552
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,919
Speaker 1: And then Victor wemen Yama it's advantage creation via his

553
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,760
Speaker 1: ability to roll to the basket and draw defenders, but

554
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:43,560
Speaker 1: also he's possibly the most impactful defender in the history

555
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,480
Speaker 1: of the league. So like those guys, like on Shay's

556
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,760
Speaker 1: worst night, Like if you dig into the numbers, because

557
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,480
Speaker 1: Shae functions so much at the rim, at the foul line,

558
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:55,639
Speaker 1: and in the mid range. He's borderline impervious to a

559
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,280
Speaker 1: bad game because he's just not going to have nights

560
00:25:58,280 --> 00:25:59,879
Speaker 1: where he can't hit shots like when he has n

561
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,280
Speaker 1: It's like that really weird one against Chicago. It's exceptionally rare, right,

562
00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,040
Speaker 1: and like it was rare, not even in the shot result,

563
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,520
Speaker 1: but also in like the approach he takes ten threes.

564
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,800
Speaker 1: It almost felt like Shae was out there practicing, like

565
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,360
Speaker 1: we're not gonna lose to the bulls tonight, I might

566
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,280
Speaker 1: as well try to shoot myself out of this three

567
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,360
Speaker 1: point shooting slop. That's literally what it felt like when

568
00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:22,160
Speaker 1: you were watching the film, right, Luca is much more

569
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 1: volatile as a scorer because he relies so much on

570
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:25,640
Speaker 1: his three point shot.

571
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 2: That's been kind of the.

572
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,720
Speaker 1: Weird thing, Like, I like, his rim attempts have like

573
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,720
Speaker 1: steadily declined year over year, but he's countered that by

574
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 1: becoming like a Steph Curry esque, like nuclear upside three

575
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 1: point shooter. Obviously not the type of shooter that Steph is.

576
00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 1: I just mean he's added that kind of variance to

577
00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,040
Speaker 1: his game, where like if Luca hits seven or eight threes.

578
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,080
Speaker 1: He just he's the best player in the world by

579
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,840
Speaker 1: a mile, because he just brings this nuclear upside with

580
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:50,800
Speaker 1: his three point shooting.

581
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:51,040
Speaker 2: Right.

582
00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:55,200
Speaker 1: But I think Luca counters some of his like volatility

583
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,080
Speaker 1: as a score by being like a much better passer

584
00:26:58,119 --> 00:26:59,719
Speaker 1: than a guy like Shaye, Right, So, like he has

585
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,000
Speaker 1: a high floor in the sense where like, even if

586
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,600
Speaker 1: he goes three for thirteen from three, he's gonna get

587
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,400
Speaker 1: to the rim for like a couple of layups, He's

588
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 1: gonna make four or five little floaters and mid range shots.

589
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 1: He's gonna get to the foul line seven or eight times.

590
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 1: He's still gonna end up with thirty three thirty four points,

591
00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,080
Speaker 1: and he's gonna create a lot of advantages because he's

592
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:21,840
Speaker 1: such a gifted passer. Kolya Jokic one of the most

593
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,600
Speaker 1: reliable night to night efficiency guys. He's not the volume

594
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:26,879
Speaker 1: scorer that Shay or Luca is, but he's literally the

595
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:28,840
Speaker 1: best passer in the league right now, one of the

596
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 1: best passers in the history of basketball. And again, like

597
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,920
Speaker 1: we talked about with Victor, just incredibly high floor every

598
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,159
Speaker 1: night because he has such profound defensive impact and his

599
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,840
Speaker 1: gravity as a roller, and then like we've seen as

600
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:43,720
Speaker 1: of late with how aggressive he's been as a scorer,

601
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 1: he seems to be going for forty and twenty every

602
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:46,160
Speaker 1: single night.

603
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,080
Speaker 2: He has that upset. All these guys have upside right.

604
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,080
Speaker 1: Like Shay can go for forty, Luca can go for forty,

605
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,760
Speaker 1: Jokic can go for thirty five, fifteen and fifteen, and

606
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,400
Speaker 1: Wemby can go for forty and twenty. But they're floors

607
00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,720
Speaker 1: because of Shay's reliability, because of Luca's playing, because of

608
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,960
Speaker 1: Yokic's playmaking and reliability, because of Wenby's defense. They don't

609
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,359
Speaker 1: have the floor drop out the way that you do

610
00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: when we get into the second tier of stars, second

611
00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:18,680
Speaker 1: tier superstars. These are guys who on any given night

612
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,159
Speaker 1: are legitimately able to reach the level of the guys

613
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,600
Speaker 1: in the top tier. Like in any one game setting,

614
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:26,760
Speaker 1: they can look as Shay or a Luca, or a

615
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:28,560
Speaker 1: Jokic or a Wemby in the eyes and they can

616
00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 1: outplay them head to head for like one game. That's

617
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,080
Speaker 1: what their ceiling is. But these are players that struggle

618
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,520
Speaker 1: to sustain that level for one reason or another. Maybe

619
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,760
Speaker 1: they're a younger player who is still in their development trajectory,

620
00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,400
Speaker 1: so inconsistency is kind of just part of the deal.

621
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,440
Speaker 1: Maybe they're an older player whose body doesn't allow them

622
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,560
Speaker 1: to consistently meet that level just because of the natural

623
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,320
Speaker 1: stuff you deal with when you're in your late thirties.

624
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 2: Right maybe they're in the.

625
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 1: Heart of their prime, but they've just been unable to

626
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,560
Speaker 1: rectify a flaw that just keeps rising to the surface,

627
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 1: whether it's like something with their floor game, something with

628
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,640
Speaker 1: their athleticism, some piece of their game that's prevented them

629
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,600
Speaker 1: from taking that final leap. I think there are nine

630
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,960
Speaker 1: players in this tier right now. The two young guys

631
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,280
Speaker 1: that come to mind are Anthony Edwards and Cad Cunningham.

632
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,400
Speaker 1: With Kate, it's more associated with his three point shot

633
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,480
Speaker 1: and just overall his finishing. He can have games where

634
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,480
Speaker 1: he struggles to make layups and goes two for eleven

635
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,400
Speaker 1: from three, But like when Caid has his three point

636
00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,520
Speaker 1: shot going and when he's finishing at the rim, he's

637
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 1: such a gifted basket attacker, with such a physicality that

638
00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,240
Speaker 1: he brings to the table, such a great passer. He's

639
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,720
Speaker 1: a capable two way player. When Caid's got all the

640
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 1: phases of his game going he literally looks like a

641
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,720
Speaker 1: version of Luca Dodgis right. So like Kate has that upside,

642
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards it's very much like a He's also a

643
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,880
Speaker 1: little volatile because of his three point shot that he

644
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,680
Speaker 1: leans on and his floor game can go up and down.

645
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,080
Speaker 1: He can have games where he struggles to interpret more

646
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,120
Speaker 1: sophisticated defense and can go ice cold as he just

647
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,520
Speaker 1: struggles to solve a puzzle. But Anthony Edwards can have

648
00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,720
Speaker 1: these games where he goes once again like seven for

649
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,160
Speaker 1: eleven from three and you can't keep him from getting

650
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,200
Speaker 1: to the basket, and he looks like prime Michael Jordan.

651
00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:05,280
Speaker 2: So again, both of.

652
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,600
Speaker 1: Those guys have the nuclear upside of a top tier superstar.

653
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,760
Speaker 1: But as they work through their inconsistencies and more just

654
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,520
Speaker 1: learning how to interpret defense and building some more balance

655
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,880
Speaker 1: in his shot profile Kate Cunningham finishing at the rim

656
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,280
Speaker 1: and finishing from three, there's some turnover stuff with Kate

657
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,720
Speaker 1: two that he can deal with. Sometimes when those guys

658
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,640
Speaker 1: start to rectify those issues, I think they'll become top

659
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,160
Speaker 1: tier superstars. They just have to build that consistency the

660
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: old guys, and again it's literally just can their bodies

661
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,880
Speaker 1: hold up here, but Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, and Joel Embiid.

662
00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid has had stretches since he's come back where

663
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,320
Speaker 1: like four or five minutes stretches where he looks far

664
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: and away like the best player on the floor. It

665
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:45,760
Speaker 1: looks like Joel Embiid from a few years ago.

666
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:46,160
Speaker 2: Right.

667
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:48,960
Speaker 1: Steph Curry, even when he's not scoring, is one of

668
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,280
Speaker 1: the most gifted offensive engines in the league, and when

669
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:53,280
Speaker 1: he can get to thirty points per game, he's every

670
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,000
Speaker 1: bit as impactful as an offensive player as a Shay,

671
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,960
Speaker 1: as a Luca, as a Nikola Jokic, and Kawhi Leonard

672
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 1: has arguably been the best player in the league over

673
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,760
Speaker 1: the course of the last three four months. It's just

674
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 1: a question of whether or not his body can hold up.

675
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,240
Speaker 1: So all three of those guys again have top tier

676
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,200
Speaker 1: superstar upside, but their age, their athleticism, their ability to

677
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,600
Speaker 1: hang physically is going to be the thing that keeps

678
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,240
Speaker 1: them in the second tier. And the lastly, these four

679
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:21,040
Speaker 1: guys are in their prime, guys that struggle to reach

680
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,240
Speaker 1: that top tier for some sort of flaw they've been

681
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,440
Speaker 1: unable to conquer. So Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum, Donovan Mitchell,

682
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:29,960
Speaker 1: and Jalen Brunson are the four guys they put here.

683
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,280
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown, it's floor game. He's got the nuclear athleticism

684
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 1: to be a top tier superstar, and he's got the

685
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,120
Speaker 1: skill set, the mid range pull up shooting, the ability

686
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,160
Speaker 1: to consistently get to the basket. He's a capable passer.

687
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,040
Speaker 1: With Jalen, it's all about approach and again, like when

688
00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: he has games like that second half against ok See,

689
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:46,800
Speaker 1: he can look to Shay Gill, just Alexander in the

690
00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,400
Speaker 1: eyes and be better than him for twenty four minutes

691
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:51,840
Speaker 1: of basketball. But then he'll have games like the Atlanta

692
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 1: game where he just gets rushed and just forces the

693
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:55,880
Speaker 1: ball over and over and over again into the teeth

694
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:58,600
Speaker 1: of the defense and is missing layups and missing just

695
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,120
Speaker 1: mixing in like random stew three point shots that don't

696
00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:03,720
Speaker 1: really make sense. With Jalen, it's always been a floor

697
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,040
Speaker 1: game thing. His ability to just like manage the large

698
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:11,120
Speaker 1: amount of possessions, like can he run an offense for

699
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:13,760
Speaker 1: forty eight minutes consistently or thirty six minutes whatever his

700
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:17,720
Speaker 1: minute total is consistently as a possession to possession shot

701
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,800
Speaker 1: creator Jayson Tatum. It's always been a combination of the

702
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,480
Speaker 1: first step quickness and his pull up three point shooting.

703
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,360
Speaker 1: He just can the jump shot. Has just never been

704
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:27,840
Speaker 1: able to get back to where it was a few

705
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 1: years ago, where it was like one point one points

706
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:32,640
Speaker 1: per shot. Instead it's always been about one point per shot.

707
00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 1: And he'll have games once again where he makes his

708
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:36,560
Speaker 1: pull up iso threes and he looks like the best

709
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,560
Speaker 1: player in the world. But then he'll have games where

710
00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:41,240
Speaker 1: he just can't make them. And he's never been the

711
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:44,360
Speaker 1: first step quickness guy to be able to consistently punish mismatches.

712
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,120
Speaker 1: But when Jason Tatum has everything going in his game,

713
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:48,720
Speaker 1: when he has the pull up three point shot going,

714
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 1: when he's bringing all of his floor game to the table.

715
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,680
Speaker 1: Is so gifted as a passer, his defensive versatility to be,

716
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:56,840
Speaker 1: the ability to guard centers and anchor you as a

717
00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 1: defensive rebounding team, and all the things that he brings

718
00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:01,200
Speaker 1: to the table his side is that of a top

719
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,320
Speaker 1: tier superstar. Just he's been unable to sustain it throughout

720
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,760
Speaker 1: his career. Donovan Mitchell always a floor game thing. Once again,

721
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:09,040
Speaker 1: you look at the box score and you're like, oh

722
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 1: my god, this guy's like thirty points per game on

723
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,440
Speaker 1: sixty percent through shooting in every playoff run, but for

724
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:16,240
Speaker 1: some reason it never amounts to team scoring. We talked

725
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:19,480
Speaker 1: about this a little bit with Cardi Rodriguez in the

726
00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,040
Speaker 1: pod yesterday. You have to have a certain amount of

727
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,840
Speaker 1: like floor game to be able to actually run team offense,

728
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:27,960
Speaker 1: and that's been something that Donovan has struggled with. But

729
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:30,440
Speaker 1: when he's got it going with his pull up three

730
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,680
Speaker 1: and he's getting to the basket, and he can become

731
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,840
Speaker 1: completely unguardable and on any given night can outplay a

732
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,680
Speaker 1: top tier guy Jalen Brunson. It's a fully well rounded

733
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:44,200
Speaker 1: heliocentric approach. The ability to score at the rim, in

734
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,200
Speaker 1: the mid range, to get to the foul line, the

735
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:48,440
Speaker 1: ability to score from three, the ability to play Mick,

736
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,040
Speaker 1: the ability to do all those things, and then again

737
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,560
Speaker 1: in any one game sample, he can match the impact

738
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,479
Speaker 1: of the top guys, but he's just so athletically limited

739
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 1: that he struggles to sustain it on a game and

740
00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,360
Speaker 1: game out basis the top tier guys. So that's our

741
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,520
Speaker 1: top thirteen going into this postseason run. Again, nine of

742
00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,520
Speaker 1: our second tier guys in four of our top tier

743
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:15,000
Speaker 1: guys moving into the third tier, and I have twenty

744
00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:19,000
Speaker 1: four players in this tier. These are players that don't

745
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,880
Speaker 1: bring enough to the table in terms of overall impact

746
00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,319
Speaker 1: as basketball players to actually reach the level of the

747
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,360
Speaker 1: top tier guys. But they still are exceptional overall impact

748
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:30,759
Speaker 1: players compared to what we consider to be like a

749
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,960
Speaker 1: role player or even a really high level role player,

750
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,799
Speaker 1: or even like a very very flawed star. These are

751
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 1: very good basketball players that don't have the upside of

752
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,320
Speaker 1: the top tier guys. So maybe they bring an elite

753
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:45,720
Speaker 1: skill to the table, like maybe they're an elite score,

754
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,520
Speaker 1: Maybe they're an elite defensive player that can anchor a defense.

755
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:53,520
Speaker 1: Maybe they're just like an overwhelming physical presence. They're just

756
00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:56,360
Speaker 1: too big for most players at their position, or they're

757
00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:00,360
Speaker 1: too big, strong and fast for any player at their position,

758
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,800
Speaker 1: and they present matchup problems in a variety of ways.

759
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,439
Speaker 1: Or maybe and we have plenty of these, like non

760
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:08,759
Speaker 1: superstar shot creators, guys that can run offense in a

761
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 1: variety of ways. Maybe they can run pick and roll

762
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,160
Speaker 1: really well, maybe they can beat switches really well. They're

763
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:15,719
Speaker 1: just like shot creators, but they can't do it at

764
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:19,680
Speaker 1: that like superstar level. First of all the elite scores.

765
00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:25,160
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put Tyrese Maxey in here, Kevin Durant, Jamal Murray,

766
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:26,799
Speaker 1: and then I was on the fence. This is one

767
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:28,400
Speaker 1: of my on the fence guys. But I'm gonna include

768
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:30,960
Speaker 1: Brandon ingram In here specifically, even though I think he's

769
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,759
Speaker 1: a level below those three guys. I'm including Brandon Ingram

770
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,759
Speaker 1: here because the Raptors, I think, are a spunky team

771
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,080
Speaker 1: and he's gonna play a very important role in this

772
00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,879
Speaker 1: postseason as a swing player for them who's looked good

773
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,600
Speaker 1: in the postseason in the past. So again, a clear

774
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,799
Speaker 1: level below Jamal, Kevin and tyresee there, but a guy

775
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,319
Speaker 1: that I think as an elite scorer who can have

776
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:55,520
Speaker 1: a real impact in this year's postseason run again, Tyrese Maxey.

777
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,640
Speaker 1: It's the downhill speed mixed with the ability to shoot

778
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,120
Speaker 1: both off the dribble and off the move. Kevin Durant,

779
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,760
Speaker 1: it's just you know, Kevin Durant. It's just the ability

780
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,000
Speaker 1: to consistently get to his spots and knockdown jump shots

781
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:08,840
Speaker 1: over the top. Jamal Burray's essentially the guard version of

782
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,000
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant, a guy that he's gonna get to his

783
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,239
Speaker 1: pull up jump shot and you basically just go like

784
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:15,799
Speaker 1: this and pray that he misses right. And all three

785
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:17,480
Speaker 1: of those guys this year have been able to score

786
00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 1: the ball effectively, at volume and efficiently, brandon ingram less.

787
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,239
Speaker 1: So I'm just including him here mainly as a reminder

788
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,760
Speaker 1: that that Raptors team is spunky and dangerous and he's

789
00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,520
Speaker 1: arguably going to be their most important half court scorer

790
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,239
Speaker 1: as we go into this postseason run. Secondly, these are

791
00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:39,359
Speaker 1: the high level, non superstar shot creators. These are those

792
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,799
Speaker 1: guys that in various ways can run offense for your

793
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,960
Speaker 1: team and can actually hit really high levels in that

794
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,800
Speaker 1: phase of the game, but they're inconsistent for one reason

795
00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:50,200
Speaker 1: or another, and they're never able to like reach the

796
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,320
Speaker 1: level of those top tier guys. Got a lot of

797
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,240
Speaker 1: guys in this group. Devin Booker obviously three level score,

798
00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:00,440
Speaker 1: pretty good pick and roll playmaker, just lack like the

799
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:04,680
Speaker 1: unbelievable shot making and athleticism to be like one of

800
00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:08,040
Speaker 1: the top tier guys. Denny Avdia, a guy that pressures

801
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,160
Speaker 1: the rim relentlessly, can actually slow down and play with

802
00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:14,879
Speaker 1: some pace in ball screens. Pretty good passer there for him.

803
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:17,640
Speaker 1: The big thing is his jump shot is incredibly unreliable,

804
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:19,440
Speaker 1: especially off the dribble. He's got a pretty bad hitch

805
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:21,200
Speaker 1: in it, which causes him to struggle to get to

806
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,480
Speaker 1: it consistently. This guy puts up a lot of those

807
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:25,920
Speaker 1: like you know, twenty eight, eight to nine type of

808
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,479
Speaker 1: nights that you kind of mimic some of the higher

809
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:31,239
Speaker 1: level guys around the league. James Harden exact same thing.

810
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:33,719
Speaker 1: Another guy who can put up those stat lines to

811
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:36,439
Speaker 1: kind of mimic the higher level shot creators in the league.

812
00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:39,040
Speaker 1: But a guy who can beat switches, who can run,

813
00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:41,160
Speaker 1: pick and roll at a high level. He's added three

814
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:43,560
Speaker 1: level scoring to his game since he left Houston. Can

815
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:45,239
Speaker 1: it pull up threes, can it score from mid range,

816
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,200
Speaker 1: can get to the basket, can draw fouls, can play

817
00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:49,279
Speaker 1: make high level out of ball screens, can do it all.

818
00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:52,320
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves exact same set of things that I just

819
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:54,399
Speaker 1: talked about with James Harden. A guy that on any

820
00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,480
Speaker 1: given night can go for forty even fifty points. That

821
00:37:57,719 --> 00:38:00,720
Speaker 1: is pretty consistently for the Lakers in that like twenty

822
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,279
Speaker 1: twenty five point per game range, a guy that can

823
00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 1: score from three both on and off the ball, a

824
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,320
Speaker 1: guy who can run ball screens at a really high level.

825
00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:10,000
Speaker 1: A little bit more susceptible to switches than some of

826
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,680
Speaker 1: the other guys on this list, but a very very

827
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,160
Speaker 1: good ball screen player and a very good all around

828
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,879
Speaker 1: player that I think falls into this non superstar shot

829
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:20,160
Speaker 1: creator role. Jalen Johnson talked a lot about him earlier today.

830
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,439
Speaker 1: He's really developed as a shot creator more in the

831
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:25,520
Speaker 1: realm of inverted ball screens with guards, as well as

832
00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:27,440
Speaker 1: as a post up scorer, and he's a guy that

833
00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:30,040
Speaker 1: can pressure the rim a high level, has demonstrated some

834
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:31,880
Speaker 1: improvement as an over the top shooter, and is a

835
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:35,800
Speaker 1: very good passer. Alpern Shangoon. This was a guy, much better,

836
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:38,600
Speaker 1: much more fun guy to watch last year in terms

837
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:40,160
Speaker 1: of just the level he was reaching as a night

838
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:42,600
Speaker 1: to night just dominant one on one score. It's been

839
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,640
Speaker 1: very up and down this year, but over the course

840
00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:46,120
Speaker 1: of the last week and a half has really started

841
00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,799
Speaker 1: to flash that superstar upside again. A guy that can

842
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:51,480
Speaker 1: bully a lot of the frontline players in the league,

843
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:53,880
Speaker 1: who's got a good level of over the top scoring.

844
00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:55,200
Speaker 2: His big thing is just touch.

845
00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 1: His touch can be a little iffy, and he can

846
00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:59,200
Speaker 1: have games where he really struggles to interpret defense and

847
00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:01,800
Speaker 1: can struggle with double teams and struggle to pass in traffic,

848
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,560
Speaker 1: but alprin as a post player, he's kind of like

849
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:08,800
Speaker 1: the Nikola Jokis version of a non superstar shot creator

850
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:13,200
Speaker 1: LaMelo Ball. Again, he's a guy that doesn't statistically perform

851
00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:15,120
Speaker 1: like the top level players in the league, but if

852
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:17,760
Speaker 1: you do any digging into the Hornets offense, their offense

853
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:18,799
Speaker 1: flows because of him.

854
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:20,080
Speaker 2: He's the initial.

855
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,240
Speaker 1: Advantage creator that allows guys like Konk Nipple and Brandon

856
00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 1: Miller and Miles Bridges to get going as scores off

857
00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:29,799
Speaker 1: of the advantages that he creates. We'd be foolish to

858
00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:32,480
Speaker 1: not pretend he's going to play a big role in

859
00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:35,400
Speaker 1: this postseason run in one shape or another, because of

860
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 1: how valuable he is as a shot creator for the Hornets.

861
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,840
Speaker 1: Darius Garland has been absolutely monstrous over the course of

862
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:44,400
Speaker 1: the last couple of weeks for the Clippers. He looks athletics.

863
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:47,640
Speaker 1: His feet look like they're able to plant and move

864
00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:50,000
Speaker 1: and change direction the way that they did for most

865
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,279
Speaker 1: of last season. He's able to break the defense down

866
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,480
Speaker 1: with his speed, and he's got all of the shot

867
00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:57,399
Speaker 1: making and playmaking to capitalize on his ability to beat

868
00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,279
Speaker 1: people off the dribble. He's been shooting the three at

869
00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,759
Speaker 1: an insane rate eight as a clipper, Darius Garland's on

870
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:04,800
Speaker 1: this rist on this list could very well be in

871
00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:06,640
Speaker 1: an eight to one match up against Oka see this year.

872
00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,240
Speaker 1: It could be very important. Darren Fox and Steph Castle

873
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:12,400
Speaker 1: are two guards for the San Antonio Spurs.

874
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:13,680
Speaker 2: The two reasons.

875
00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:15,800
Speaker 1: The main reason why these two guys are so incredibly

876
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:19,479
Speaker 1: important to the Spurs is they're both excellent cross court passers, which,

877
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,680
Speaker 1: as we've talked about, Victor women Yama has this extreme

878
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,560
Speaker 1: gift to draw attention as he's rolling to the basket,

879
00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,879
Speaker 1: consistently drawing tags the opening there is always the weak

880
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,239
Speaker 1: side corner that's where the tag usually comes from. Both

881
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 1: dearon Fox and Steph Castle can consistently get downhill in

882
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:39,040
Speaker 1: ball screens and from there make the valuable cross court

883
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,920
Speaker 1: passes to capitalize on the attention that Victor women Yama draws.

884
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,760
Speaker 1: Now they have other different bits of value. Steph Castle

885
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:47,640
Speaker 1: is a much better lob passer, so he's got better

886
00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:50,440
Speaker 1: lob chemistry with Victor. Darren Fox is a much more

887
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:53,719
Speaker 1: gifted like short to mid range score. Steph Castle's got

888
00:40:53,719 --> 00:40:55,560
Speaker 1: more of a bully ball ability to get to the basket,

889
00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:57,359
Speaker 1: but Darren Fox is very good at beating people off

890
00:40:57,360 --> 00:40:59,840
Speaker 1: the dribble in switches, So they both bring a variety

891
00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:01,960
Speaker 1: of different kind of traits to the table. But I

892
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,960
Speaker 1: wanted to highlight that cross court passing. Then, lastly on

893
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,560
Speaker 1: this list, Jay Dubb Jalen Williams from the Oklahoma City

894
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:09,640
Speaker 1: Thunder Again. It's been an injury played season for him,

895
00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:11,359
Speaker 1: a very up and down season for him in terms

896
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 1: of his rhythm. But we would all be foolish to

897
00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:15,160
Speaker 1: pretend he's not going to play a massive role in

898
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:17,239
Speaker 1: this postseason run. I had him as a top twenty

899
00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:19,200
Speaker 1: player coming into the season based on how well he

900
00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:21,919
Speaker 1: attacked the basket over the final two rounds of last

901
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,400
Speaker 1: year's postseason run. Your textbook non superstar shot creator's going

902
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:30,080
Speaker 1: to be very impactful in this postseason run. Athletic mismatches.

903
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:34,360
Speaker 1: These are guys that aren't necessarily functioning as super high level,

904
00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,680
Speaker 1: well rounded shot creators for one reason or another, but

905
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,200
Speaker 1: they are so big, strong, athletic whatever it is they

906
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:43,040
Speaker 1: bring to the table, they are complete mismatches that will

907
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,480
Speaker 1: play massive roles in this postseason run.

908
00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:45,839
Speaker 2: One.

909
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:49,040
Speaker 1: Lebron James again shifting away from shot creation in the

910
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:51,120
Speaker 1: Cavs game. He took just eight shots. Not to say

911
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,200
Speaker 1: that he can't do that, but as we're looking at

912
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:56,560
Speaker 1: Lebron in this postseason run, he's very much an athletic mismatch.

913
00:41:56,719 --> 00:41:58,239
Speaker 1: He's a guy that's going to be doing a ton

914
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,279
Speaker 1: of work as a low man, defensive rotation kind of guy,

915
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,520
Speaker 1: defensive playmaker on the weak side, a guy who's anchoring

916
00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:08,680
Speaker 1: the Lakers as a defensive rebounder the literal best transition

917
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,000
Speaker 1: score in the league, which is insane for a forty

918
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: one year old, and doing a ton of damage as

919
00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:15,960
Speaker 1: an off ball scorer, screening and rolling to the basket

920
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:19,240
Speaker 1: for guys like Austin Reeves, attacking closeouts off of guys

921
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,000
Speaker 1: like Luca. We talked about his ability to consistently hit

922
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:24,960
Speaker 1: vertical spacing windows driving closeouts, which has given him value

923
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 1: when his jump shot hasn't been as good as it's

924
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,239
Speaker 1: been in years past. Lebron James is one of those

925
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:33,399
Speaker 1: athletic mismatches as a third tier star. Pelo Bancaro kind

926
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,960
Speaker 1: of lands in that shot creator kind of mold, but

927
00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:38,600
Speaker 1: he's He's just to me, is so much more of

928
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:40,600
Speaker 1: just a physical mismatch because he doesn't pass the ball

929
00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:42,360
Speaker 1: very well and he's not a good over the top scorer.

930
00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,480
Speaker 1: So Pello kind of lands between those two areas. But

931
00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:47,400
Speaker 1: I'm looking at him as an athletic mismatch in the

932
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:49,760
Speaker 1: sense that you can say what you want about Pallo.

933
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:52,520
Speaker 1: I was disappointed again in him watching the Jalen Johnson

934
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:55,560
Speaker 1: his performance against Jalen Johnson last night. He can be

935
00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:57,640
Speaker 1: a maddening player to watch, but it's like you end

936
00:42:57,719 --> 00:42:59,520
Speaker 1: up in a first round series within Orlando. It's like

937
00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,440
Speaker 1: Pallo is still bigger and faster and stronger than anybody

938
00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:05,520
Speaker 1: you have guarding him. So he's a physical mismatch. Julius Randall,

939
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,320
Speaker 1: same kind of thing, inconsistent up and down. Can function

940
00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:13,000
Speaker 1: as a playmaker for the Wolves at times, maddeningly inconsistent,

941
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,200
Speaker 1: but once again, you end up in a first round

942
00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:18,000
Speaker 1: series and it's like, can this dude guard Julius Randall?

943
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:18,600
Speaker 2: Oh crap.

944
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:20,600
Speaker 1: He's too big, he's too fast, he's too strong. He's

945
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:25,160
Speaker 1: a physical mismatch. Karl Anthony Towns definitely that, whether it's

946
00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:27,880
Speaker 1: on the offensive glass, whether it's him being too fast

947
00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:31,160
Speaker 1: for Bigs, too big for Smalls, his ability to space

948
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:35,520
Speaker 1: the floor. He's just at his position a huge size

949
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:39,840
Speaker 1: mismatch and quickness mismatch. Compared quicker than Bigs, bigger than Smalls,

950
00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:42,560
Speaker 1: He's a big athletic mismatch. And then lastly, Jalen Duran

951
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:45,359
Speaker 1: just an absolute monster as a finisher on the roll,

952
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:47,400
Speaker 1: as a guy who can rat close outs when he

953
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,120
Speaker 1: catches in the middle of the floor, as a guy

954
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:51,239
Speaker 1: who can do damage as an offensive rebounder. He's just

955
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:55,240
Speaker 1: an absolute physical load to handle underneath the basket. Then lastly,

956
00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:59,240
Speaker 1: defensive anchors. And again, each of these guys actually averages

957
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,480
Speaker 1: over fifteen p points per game and has some offensive utility,

958
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,280
Speaker 1: but their primary value to their team is to anchor

959
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:08,440
Speaker 1: the defensive end of the floor. I think we have

960
00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:13,800
Speaker 1: four guys in this tier bam Adebio, chet Hoolmgren, Scottie Barnes,

961
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:19,000
Speaker 1: and Evan Mobley. Bam again just your classic defensive anchor

962
00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:21,680
Speaker 1: that is able to switch out onto the perimeter at

963
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:24,520
Speaker 1: extremely high level, which gives them a ton of scheme versatility.

964
00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:27,080
Speaker 1: Not the best like rim protector, drop coverage guy, but

965
00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:30,080
Speaker 1: he is very good at that, and he's maybe one

966
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:31,960
Speaker 1: of the top three or four switching bigs in the

967
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,080
Speaker 1: entire NBA. So he just brings an enormous amount of

968
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:38,040
Speaker 1: defensive versatility there. Chettholm Gren just a monster rim protector

969
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:40,799
Speaker 1: that also brings the ability to switch. Chet's had an

970
00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:43,560
Speaker 1: awesome season, a very underrated season. Is very very important

971
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:47,480
Speaker 1: to what Oklahoma City does. And Scottie Barnes, he's got

972
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:50,040
Speaker 1: a case for Defensive Player of the Year, probably gonna

973
00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:52,000
Speaker 1: make First Team All Defense. Scotty Barnes has been an

974
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,480
Speaker 1: absolute monster this year. Is just a rangy athlete on

975
00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:56,840
Speaker 1: the back line, just once again functioning in a variety

976
00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:58,880
Speaker 1: of different ways. The ability to deploy him on the

977
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:01,440
Speaker 1: perimeter against a variet of different types of guys, his

978
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:05,040
Speaker 1: ability to protect the basket, to defensive rebound. Scotty is

979
00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:08,240
Speaker 1: just some monster defensive weapon. Same goes for Evan Mobile.

980
00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:10,279
Speaker 1: He kind of falls into that. Scottie Barnes mold as

981
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:11,920
Speaker 1: a guy that like is kind of a Swiss Army

982
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,120
Speaker 1: knife on the defensive end that can be deployed on

983
00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:17,319
Speaker 1: the perimeter that can be deployed at the basket that

984
00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:19,000
Speaker 1: brings a lot of different traits to the table. And

985
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,759
Speaker 1: then each of those guys in their own way contributes offensively,

986
00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:24,840
Speaker 1: whether it's bam Atabio and chet Holmgren spacing the floor.

987
00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:27,040
Speaker 1: Evan the spacing has been a little frustrating, but he

988
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:29,600
Speaker 1: can bring some matchup attacking, can run a little inverted action.

989
00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:33,040
Speaker 1: Scotty Barnes has really improved as an isolation and post

990
00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:35,840
Speaker 1: up scorer this year, just more physically aggressive to the basket,

991
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:38,160
Speaker 1: which has allowed him to become more dependable there, which

992
00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:40,279
Speaker 1: is unlocked some of his playmaking talents, so that each

993
00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:42,520
Speaker 1: brings some offensive skill to the table, but again their

994
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:46,040
Speaker 1: primary value is to anchor a defense. So those are

995
00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:48,239
Speaker 1: the thirty seven guys in those top three tiers that

996
00:45:48,239 --> 00:45:51,400
Speaker 1: I'm looking at as we head into this postseason run again,

997
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:56,200
Speaker 1: four top tier guys, nine second tier guys, twenty four in.

998
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:57,120
Speaker 2: That third tier.

999
00:45:57,880 --> 00:45:59,880
Speaker 1: I thought it was a way to kind of just

1000
00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:01,960
Speaker 1: at the stage as we prepare for the showdown in

1001
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,080
Speaker 1: this year's postseason run. All right, guys, it's all I

1002
00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:06,359
Speaker 1: have for today is always I sincerely appreciate you guys.

1003
00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:09,279
Speaker 1: For supporting us and supporting the show. The schedule for

1004
00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:11,160
Speaker 1: the rest of the week is pretty simple. We're going

1005
00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:14,480
Speaker 1: live after Lakers Thunder tonight, so come hang out on

1006
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:19,279
Speaker 1: YouTube as we prepare for our playoff workflow by doing

1007
00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:21,480
Speaker 1: one of our classic live shows. We're also going to

1008
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:23,719
Speaker 1: take some mailbag questions at the tail end of the show,

1009
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:26,640
Speaker 1: and then we'll run that mail bag again on Friday morning.

1010
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:28,319
Speaker 1: All right, guys, that's all we have. I will see

1011
00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:29,040
Speaker 1: you guys tonight.