Jason reacts to the Houston Rockets beating the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 behind a monster game from Jalen Green, besting Steph Curry who was without his running mate after Jimmy Butler got hurt early in the game. He also discuses standouts from the Boston Celtics win over the Orlando Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers getting a clutch win over the Miami Heat, and answers some mailbag questions.
#Volume #Herd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. The NBA eighty two game grind is done,
and now the real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs aren't here,
and it's time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments,
and jaw dropping plays. I can't wait. If you're looking
to make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has
you covered as an official sports betting partner of the
(00:22):
NBA from the playing games all the way through to
the finals. Now's the time to back your favorite players
and teams as they chase glory. All season long. DraftKings
has been the go to spot for NBA player props
and that does not stop. Now. Want to make your
playoff experience even more intense, Try placing a bet on
your favorite player's performance. Well they drop thirty points, forty
or more, it's your call. Ready to place your first bet?
(00:42):
Download the DraftKings Sportsbook gap Now lock in your bets.
Let's make this playoff run unforgettable. Here's something special for
first timers. New DraftKings customers. Bet five dollars to get
two hundred dollars in bonus bets. Instantly make it a
playoff run to remember with DraftKings. Download the Draft Kings
sportsbook gap and use code hoops that's h oops. That's
code hoops for new customers to get two hundred dollars
(01:05):
in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only
on DraftKings. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem called Wayne
hundred gambler In New York call eight seven seven eight
hope and y or text hope and why to four
six seven three six nine. In Connecticut, help us available
for problem gambling Call eight eight eight seven eight nine
seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please
(01:26):
play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in
Kansas twenty one plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction.
Void in Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire one
hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. For additional terms
and responsible gaming resources, see dkang dot co. Slash audio.
(01:57):
All right, welcome to Hoops tonight. You're at the ball.
You have you one everybody. Oh, while you guys are
having a great week. On a quick show for you
guys tonight, we're gonna briefly touch on all three games.
I want to do a little bit more of like
a mail bag forward type of show tonight, since these
results tonight were somewhat expected in terms of what we
saw with Boston and Cleveland taking two zero leads and
then just a really bizarre night in Houston as the
(02:20):
Warriors have very much a Murphy's Law kind of game
as everything goes wrong for them and the Rockets get
themselves a big win. So if you're in the chat,
subscribe to the channel drop questions. We're going to do
a solid fifteen to twenty minutes of questions at the
tail end of the show after we briefly touch on
the three games tonight. You guys have the joke before
we started. Subscribe to Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't
miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter,
(02:42):
I underscore, jcnltisse, you guys, don't miss show announcements. Don't
forget about a podcast feed wherever you get your podcast
under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave
a rating in a review. On that front. Jackson's doing
great work on our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Make sure you guys follow us there and the last
minu at least keep dropping mail bag questions and YouTube
comments for our mail bags throughout the remainder of the season.
All right, let's talk some basketball. So, as I mentioned
(03:03):
off the top, kind of a Murphy's Law kind of
game for the Warriors, Brandon Pajemski gets food poisoning. Jimmy
Butler gets undercut by a men. Thompson on this really
weird play where a man in Draymond kind of got
their legs tangled up and a man just fell forward
at literally the worst possible time as drama. As Jimmy
was in the air underneath the basket, he gets a
(03:24):
tailbone contusion that keeps him out for the rest of
the night. He's also getting an MRI tomorrow, so fingers
crossed well wishes for Jimmy Butler that he ends up
getting a positive result there. I'm sure everybody would rather
see Rockets Warriors determined with both teams at full strength,
but as a result we got a really weird game
with some bizarre minute totals. Basic stat to demonstrate this
(03:45):
quldn't post Jonathan Kaminga and Pat Spencer played a combined
twelve minutes in Game one. They played sixty three minutes tonight.
Those three guys, so fifty one minutes that would typically
go to starters on the Warriors in a star for
the Warriors, Jimmy Butler and Brandon Pajemski ended up going
to guys that were mostly out of the rotation or
(04:05):
in very small roles in Game one, So not a
whole lot to take away from that. I also thought
in general, the Warriors defensive energy pulled way back after
Jimmy left the game. That's to be expected as you
start to feel like there's a little less belief in
their ability to win. But the story of the game
by far was Jalen Green. I talked before the series
(04:26):
about Jalen Green scoring this season. He's obviously had a
lot of great knights and a lot of bad nights.
It's been very inconsistent. But when he scores at least
thirty points, the Rockets are thirteen and one this year.
And as I mentioned in the series preview, it happened
to great teams. It wasn't like a he lit up
the bad teams and they won those games. He did
it to Minnesota, he did it to Denver. He did
(04:47):
it to Oklahoma City, he did it to the Lakers.
He did it to the Clippers, and now tonight to
the Golden State Warriors. He goes for thirty eight points.
He hits eight threes. It was the nineteenth time this
season that he's hit at least five threes in a game.
That's been the biggest jump in Jalen in terms of
his skill this season. He's a lot better at shooting
(05:08):
threes off the dribble, and he's a lot better at
shooting threes off the move, particularly going towards his left,
and he's just turned into much better, a much better,
high volume three point shooter this year. Now, again, it's inconsistent,
and he can be off sometimes and his misses have
a tendency to be way off. But like when he's
in that groove, it's kind of a shot you have
to concede to him because of his downhill athleticism, and
(05:31):
so with the ability to hit him off the dribble,
off a variety of stepbacks, with the ability to hit
him off the move and while bringing that real downhill force,
you know, when he gets that shot going, you kind
of have to live with it. And if you're living
with it, you could lose if he's making it. Just
like what happened to all those great teams earlier this season,
and so honestly like that. There's a specific reason why
(05:54):
the Rockets are so tough to beat when Jalen plays
that well, and it's because the strength of this team
again is what they do defensively, is what they do
in transition, is what they do on the offensive glass,
and the ceiling raising piece is if Fred or Jalen
get it going in some real way. And Fred hasn't
been able to get anything going through two games, but
(06:16):
Jalen really started to break free tonight. And again, you know,
he's inconsistent. He could just go into another type of
kind of confusing, poor decision making, poor shot making type
of night in game three. But if he builds some
real momentum here and he gets another, you know, couple
of thirty point games in the series, it fundamentally alters
the trajectory of the series just because of how difficult
(06:37):
it is to beat the Rockets when Jalen's playing that well.
Houston's athletes really dominated the entire game. I thought a
men Thompson, even though he only had eleven points, I
thought his connective playmaking in the middle of the floor
really helped grease the wheels for Houston's offense. Connective playmaking
to me is you know that piece of playmaking that
comes after you've already gotten a pass from the primary
(07:00):
shader of the offense. So like that could be play
making out of closeouts, play making out of short roles,
playmaking out of baseline cuts, that sort of thing. Amen
Thompson is so good at like making these one timer
hockey esque passes where he's reading the action that's taking
place around him while the ball is still on its
way to him, and then he'll just catch it and
(07:20):
immediately funnel it to the next guy in the red
and it really creates a lot of quality opportunities for
the Houston offense. Tari Easton was great. He hasn't shot
the ball super well as of late, but he had
two of them tonight. Provided a ton of rim pressure.
I had a couple transition moves that were unbelievable, kind
of zooming out from the series. This series feels a
lot more to me like the Lakers Wolves series, a
(07:43):
more dramatic version of it, because there's a larger skill
gap between the two teams. Obviously, Anthony Edwards and Julius
randall are substantially better primary shot creators than what Houston's
working with, which is why Houston was bottom ten half
court offense this year. In Minnesota obviously was a great
offense overall this year. But it's a similar dynamic in
the sense that, as I talked about with the Lakers
(08:05):
last night, the Lakers can hang onto the rope and
hold up physically, their skill should be able to lift
them over the top, but when they let go of
the rope, the athleticism will overwhelm them and they'll struggle.
Similar type of vibe with Houston and Golden State, but
Game one of that series looked very similar to me
to Game two of the Lakers Wolves series from last night,
(08:26):
in the sense that even though there was this kind
of end of the game run that both teams went on,
as it seemed like Golden State fatigued a little, as
it seemed like the Lakers fatigued a little, they were
able to stiff arm the Lake game runs, and it
just felt like those teams were able to hang onto
the rope well enough that their overall skill and basketball
(08:47):
IQ gap was able to carry them over the top.
Now again, I think the skill gap is substantial, which
is obviously obviously why Golden State is a much more
substantial favorite than the Lakers are over the Wolves. I
view the Lakers Wolve series is more of a coin flip.
I would be genuinely surprised if Houston beat Golden State
in this series. I think Golden State is going to
(09:07):
go home and get both of those games in Game three,
in Game four, and I think they'll go back to
Houston with a chance to close the series out. My
guess is that ends up being a game that Houston
ends up getting and then Golden State closes this one
out in six. But it's a similar dynamic, just with
the more dramatic skill gap between the two teams. But
again kind of like just anything that can go wrong
(09:28):
will go wrong. Type of night for the Warriors, big
time night for Jalen Green Houston evens up the series.
Hopefully we'll see a full strength Warriors team versus the
Rockets in Game three this week. Welcome to course correction,
brought to you by Microsoft. Just like star players and
teams navigating performance hurdles, business decision makers today are under
immense pressure to get things right. They must rise to
(09:49):
the occasion turning challenges into opportunities. Microsoft empowers these visionaries
with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management and trustworthy
responsible AI. And when you're in the NBA, you have
your hurdles the face. In this segment, we will highlight
the player every week that has risen to the occasion
when his team needed him. Whatever challenge you're facing, Microsoft
empowers you with the expertise to say bring it on.
(10:12):
This week, we're highlighting Donovan Mitchell's second consecutive thirty point
night in this playoff run in the way his late
game shot making helped the Calves take you two to
zero lead over the Miami Heat. The Calves controlled the
game for the most part against Miami tonight, but as
we all know, the Miami Heat never give up. They
did a nice job in the fourth quarter of containing
Darius carlind drumal penetration. They used better just overall pinching
(10:35):
in late doubles to contain Tydrome a little bit better.
They got hot from they got hot from three. Suddenly
they cut the lead down to just two points with
a few minutes left in the fourth quarter. Miami had
all the momentum. Cleveland was in serious danger of dropping
home court advantage on a late game run from the Heat.
But that was when Donovan Mitchell restored order with four
incredibly tough buckets. Every single one of these was a
(10:59):
high degree of difficulty bit of shot making. He attacked
Haywood high Smith curling around his screen. It was a
screen that the Miami Heat switched. I've talked about this
concept a lot, but attacking quickly against switches is a
really easy way to get separation because often if you
imagine two players, two guards running towards each other for
a screen interchange, their defenders are running that way too.
(11:21):
So as you can imagine Donovan Mitchell's eventual defender in
this case, Heywood high Smith is moving this way as
Donovan Mitchell is moving this way, the momentum is going
in opposite directions, and so if you catch and just
immediately try to turn the corner, you can get some
advantages there. He turned the corner on Heywoo high Smith.
Haywood did a really nice job using his recovery athleticism
to get back in front, but Donovan just popped down
(11:43):
off of two feet and drifting to his left hit
like a ten foot floater. With his right hand. Just
an incredible piece of shot making. He hit a drifting
left shoulder fade over Tyler Harrow. Tyler Harrold defended it
extremely well. Donovan just shot it higher with more arc,
got it over the top and knocked it down. He
hit like this gross pullback dribble move against Nikola Yovich.
(12:06):
This is a move that we see Luka Dancics do
a lot too, where he'll get the ball high in
his right hand and get up like he's gonna go downhill,
have that right leg forward, and then right when he's
about to typically pound the ball for that aggressive forward move,
he'll just pull the dribble back and he'll get quick
separation for a pull up three. Did that against Nikole
Yovich and knocked it down. He had a deep twenty
(12:28):
eight footer against the hedge and recover sequence. Tyler Harrow hedged.
But as Tyler Harrow was hedging and recovering, as Davion
Mitchell was coming back up after Davion got through the screen,
in that gap between the hedge leaving and Daveon coming up,
Donovan found a little bit of space to pull up
a deep three and just knocked it down. Four incredibly
(12:48):
tough shots that ended up putting the distance between them
and the heat after things got a little precarious there
and again that is what Donovan Mitchell brings to this team.
All these guys on this team have a lot of
value that they right. DeAndre Hunter textbook week side scoring forward,
Evan Mobley Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Evan Mobley
a guy that can run inverted ball screens, a guy
(13:08):
that can do a lot more on the role and
as a cutter than he used to in this league.
Jared Allen has become one of the top six or
seven centers in the NBA as he's polished up his
ability to score on the role and his ability to
defend and switches. Darius Garland's ability to get anywhere he
wants on the floor with his speed and his ball
handling and his playmaking and his ability to set defenders
up for screens and all these different things that they do.
(13:29):
Ty Jerome as a bench shot creator, one of the
better drop covered shot makers in this league, and a
guy that demonstrated some great switch beating in Game one
versus Tyler Harrow. All that's great. None of them are
elite over the top shot makers. That is the one
thing that Donovan Mitchell does on that team at an
elite level, or I should say that's the only guy
on that team, Donovan Mitchell is that does that bit
(13:51):
of elite over the top shot making really really well.
And it's exactly what you need it. I mean a
lot of times that's what happens, especially against really smart,
physical teams like the Miami Heat. They're going to start
doing their jobs really well and sticking to the game
plan really well, and you need somebody that can hit
the shots that work even against elite perfectly executed defense.
(14:14):
And that's what Donovan Mitchell did tonight. He did a
ton of damage. He hit seven threes every which way,
spotting up, hit another one of those hedge and recover
threes versus Duncan Robinson. He hit tough pull up threes
right in the face of Duncan Robinson and heywoo high Smith.
He has brought the consistent scoring upside that this team
needs to be at their best thirty points per game
on sixty seven percent true shooting through the first two
(14:36):
games of the playoffs. A Player of the Week. That
is it for this week's course. Correction. Remember, Microsoft's AI
solutions empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions,
sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With
Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey
with confidence, finding innovative solutions, and reaching new possibilities. Visit
Microsoft dot com slash challengers to learn more. I just
(15:00):
want to briefly talk about Jaylen Brown and the job
that he did against the Magic and then we're going
to do the mailbag, so make sure you guys start
dropping questions in the chat. Jason Tatum being out with
the risk injury was obviously going to put a lot
of pressure on Jalen Brown to create shots tonight, and
I thought Jalen was just absolutely brilliant in a high
volume creation role. It really helped that he had his
three point shot going. That's been a little bit of
(15:22):
an adventure for him this year, but specifically the pull
up three. Having the pull up three off the dribble
going the way he had tonight is super important for
managing the flow of the game. These high volume perimeter
shot creators around the league. The reason why the pull
up jump shot is so important is it's a less
labor intense way to generate points. The three point shots
(15:44):
worth extra right. So if you can hit pull up
threes at about thirty five percent, that's one point zero
five points per shot. That's a really efficient shot in
the half court of NBA playoff games. And so when
you can buy yourself five six, seven persons a game
where you take that type of shot when you're tired
(16:04):
and it's a shot that you can still get high
value per possession out of it while not putting the
wear and tear on your legs, that's an important part
of filling that type of high volume shot creation role.
And I just thought it was really important that Jalen
Brown had that going. He misses his first couple, misses
them badly, could be a completely different type of game.
The two things that you gotta do as a primary
(16:25):
shot creator in order to be able to hold up
over a forty eight minute game. You've got to be
able to hit shots over the top, and you've got
to be able to take easy reads that are available
to you. Oh, you're posting up and Al Horford has
a close out opportunity on the right wing, you got
to make that pass. Because even if you can hit
a right shoulder fade over a double team. It's just
a lot of work on your legs. If you've got
(16:47):
an opening to al Horford, you got to throw that pass.
It's an easy read that will just help you get
through another possession at decent value. They had a low
man tag possession where Jalen just pitched it back to
Peyton Pritchard on the left wing. He knocked down the three.
That's an easy read. That's just easy basketball. An extra
pass in the left corner to Derek White on a
(17:07):
sequence where Derek White's cutting through along the baseline. Just
I thought Jalen just played a very well measured and
versatile game and showed a lot of downhill pop. Any
concerns about his knees should be mostly alleviated tonight that
Dunky had in transition after the steal, he had this
scoop on an ISO attack at Goga Patadse. He did
(17:27):
a lot of attacking Orlando's bigs tonight. A lot of
work against Wendell Carter Junior, a lot of work against Gogabatadz,
some big like driving finishes through contact against Pallabanco on
an Island. I just thought he looked great, You looked
physically strong and in control of his body. I just
thought it was a really encouraging night for Jalen Brown
(17:48):
and just a casual reminder of how great Jalen Brown
is and that he's very capable of scaling up his
production if that's what the team needs. What a luxury
that the Celtics were able to sit there superstar in
a play off game and still get the type of
shot creation they did tonight. Lots of contributions down the line,
bunch of threes from Derek White and Peyton Pritchard. Chrisops
(18:08):
Porzingis did a really nice job in two man game,
getting slips, short rolls, posting mismatches, things along those lines.
Really impressive win for the Celtics. Down Jason Tatum, all right,
let's get into some mailbag questions for about twenty minutes
and then we'll get out of here for the night.
Sound good.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Let's do it.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Everybody ask your questions in the YouTube chat and we
will get to as many them as possible. We're gonna
start out with one that was not specifically asked, but
is the topic of all of the conversation of the
chat right now, which is was the Amen Thompson.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Play where Jimmy Butler got hurt a.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Dirty play, a reckless play, or a normal basketball play.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It looked to me on replay that Amen Thompson just
tripped over Draymond Green simultaneously with Jimmy Butler jumping. I
thought it was just really just an unfortunate set of circumstances.
I didn't think there was anything nefarious there. I I
have seen every single fan base. I shouldn't say every
single because not every series has that vibe. There are
(19:07):
some very comfortable series, but there have been like four
or five different fan bases that I've seen that have
bitched and moaned about the physicality NonStop. Tom Averstrow had
a little chart that he released today. Actually it's a
if you look at my Twitter replies, someone sent it
to me today so you'll see it there. But that
chart demonstrates that fouls are getting called in this postseason
(19:28):
run at a historically low level, like a historically low level.
So it's like this for everybody. The Pistons Knicks series
is like this, The Lakers Wolves series is like this,
The Warriors Rockets series is like this. Have you guys
watched any of Celtic's magic. That series is a bloodbath,
Like all of these series are bloodbaths. This is just
(19:50):
the way the game is being officiated these days. And
even though that what happened to Jimmy is super unfortunate,
Like I haven't seen anything particular in particular in the
Rockets warri series that I'm not seeing another series. And
the reality is is, like I'll just share a quote
that Lebron had after the Minnesota game, after the winning
gets Minnesota last night, he said, this is what it's
going to be like the rest of the series. Like
(20:11):
if you're expecting it to suddenly loosen up, if you're
expecting the directive to come down from Adam Silver to say,
hey guys, let's let him play, it's not gonna happen.
It's gonna be a blood bath. Everyone's got to learn
how to play in that circumstance.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Yeah, I agree, I think, And the point that I've
seen some people make, and that people are making the
chat as well, is that it's a reckless play because
of the general sort of over the top aggressive vibe
that the Rockets have as well as the refereeing would
just sort of let it, which is true across the board, absolutely,
but it's certainly letting a lot of physicality go. And
(20:43):
those things might be true. I think it's those things
are probably true. That type of play doesn't happen if
Aman Thompson isn't told crash the glass as hard as
he possibly can, as much as he possibly can. Right,
But it also doesn't mean that it's a reckless or
a dirty play exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
No. You put it very well, like it's it's not
too difficult to have this sort of thing happen. This
was an especially bad one because of the timing. Jimmy
was at the peak of his jump and the men
fell into his legs, which basically inverted him into a
horizontal state, like six feet above the ground. Like it
was horrible luck. But all it really was was two
(21:20):
guys crashing. That's all it was. It just one guy
crashed a little later and landed a little lower, and
and it's it's super unfortunate. Again, I'm hopeful that Jimmy's
ready to go. My guess is that he's gonna be
kind of in a staff type situation where he's wearing
some kind of pad back there and just doing the
best he can. But I mean, like, that's how it is.
Like Ruya Chimura had his his face messed up yesterday.
(21:43):
He might be playing in a mask the rest of
the series. Like Chris tops porzingis messed up his face today,
Jason Tatum's got a messed up wrist, Like everyone's beat
the shit. This is a war of attrition, guys. That's
how this stuff goes.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Another question about this game and the officiating, why doesn't
Steph Curry get any calls?
Speaker 1 (22:01):
So the the I think Steph gets a poor whistle,
I would agree on that. I think that Warriors fans
are onto something there. I think that it's a little
complicated in the sense that the Warriors play an extremely
physical brand of basketball with their off ball movement and
cutting and screening, and so for instance, like I think
(22:25):
where where the ones that to me are egregious are
like Steph's shooting a three and Fred van Vliet's pulling
on his shorts, Like that's a fucking foul. Blow the whistle,
Like what are we doing, guys? Like, uh, there was
one in the Rockets game right before the end of
the regular season where Dylan Brooks like straight up tackled
Steph on a three and it didn't get called. Like
there's that. Those are the ones that I think are
(22:46):
egregious that need to be addressed. The off ball grabbing
and holding stuff that is literally that is literally a
style of play that benefits the Warriors. Steph gets grabbed
and held a lot, and the war You're set twenty
five illegal screens a game. So that, like the reality
is is that physical dynamic of the cutting and screening
(23:07):
and moving actually favors the Warriors throughout those games. Steph
just takes a beating, but he's addressed to that by
dramatically improving his physical strength. He's already one of the
most conditioned athletes in the league. He wins that battle
more often than not. That said, I think Steph should
probably start kicking and flailing and flopping a little bit
more in his threes because it's getting pretty outrageous some
(23:29):
of these calls that are going uncalled against him.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, And I also think that.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Right or wrong, probably wrong, but right or wrong, there's
a sort of there's a difference in the whistle on
a play where you are driving to the rim with
the ball trying to score, and when you're cutting off
the ball, there's just like the Lakers get a lot
of calls because Lebron James is putting his head at
the rim as often as possible, right, Like, that's why
they get a lot of shooting foul specifically because they
are downhill attackers. This team, the way their offense runs
(23:57):
is much more movement bas as we've all talked about
a million times, And the whistle is going to be
different on an off ball cut than when you're at
the rim with the ball.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
I don't know, I mean, maybe not, but that's true
of I think that is true of every team. Just
the Warriors run the most type of this offensive any team.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I actually disagree in terms of the concept of driving,
because the Lakers are actually a team that doesn't drive
to the basket much, or at least they used to
before Luca. They didn't used to drive too much. This
is literally it, guys. Foul disparity comes down to two things.
How good are you at defending without fouling and how
good are you at grifting the other team into fouling? Like,
(24:38):
you want to know why the Lakers shoot a ton
of free throws because before the trade, it was Anthony Davis,
who flops and flails every single time he catches anything
on the roll. And by the way, it's not from driving.
Anthony draws his fouls through post ups and rolls, like
it's all like catches near the basket that result in
(24:58):
those fouls. And then Austin ree Eves, who's like incredibly
quick and shifty, and what he'll do is like what
Austin will do is like he'll drive to a spot
and shoot like right as the defenders just running into him.
And basically he's just very good at getting defenders out
of position and drawing fouls in the mid range. And
so then what you did is you swapped Anthony Davis
for Luca, and Luca is one of the most gifted
(25:20):
foul grifters in the league. And so as a result
of that, Luca ends up Luca ends up bolstering the
free throw totals. But what's interesting is the Laker free
throw disparity hasn't been nearly as good since Anthony Davis
left the team. You want to know why, because they
can't defend without fouling anymore. Because most of their ability
to defend without fouling was predicated on Anthony Davis's rim protection. Like, guys,
(25:44):
let's make it perfectly clear. Free throws are not handed
out on a fair basis, like before the game, like,
all right, here's your twenty and here's your twenty. You
are going to receive free throws based on the kind
of basketball you play on both ends of the floor.
That is the only thing that is going to lead
to some sort of difference in the in your free
(26:04):
throw shooting. And by the way, guess what happened with
Golden State. They made a trade for a player who
is a notoriously good foul grifter in Jimmy Butler does
it in a different way. He does it with a
lot of pump fakes, and he does it with a
lot of weird driving angles and finishing angles. Guess who's
been third in free throw attempts post All Star Break
The Golden State Warriors, even higher than the Los Angeles Lakers.
(26:26):
So literally, you got more free throws, not because Adam
Silver made a phone call, but because you have a
player on your team who's very good at drawing fouls.
That like, that is what it is. It's about the
skill of drawing fouls and the skill of defending without fouling.
That is what leads to free throw differential, nothing else. Guys, like,
that's just how it works.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Let's see one more question from this game, or maybe
there's a couple. Actually, Uh, if Jimmy is out for
Game three on a rest basis, he's you know, paying management,
he's let's say he's not out for the whole series,
but he's out for game three.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Would you slot Kaminga and his spot?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
When you try something radically different like Draymond at the four,
I potentially post at the five or what's the what's
the lineup chains that you're making of Jimmy.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
I'm almost certain he'll just start Post.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I would that's I gotta assume.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Especially after how well he shot the ball Tonight Post battled.
You know, it's so funny. I Quentin Post. I think
he's a good player. That poor kid has no bounce.
It's the craziest get when he gets around the basket,
like he goes to jump and he doesn't get over
a phone book. It's so funny. He's had a couple
(27:31):
of rim attacks in the last couple of games that
have been hilarious. But I think Quentin Post shooting is
just an easy solution there to put him in at
the five. I do think we'll see a heavy dose
of kaminga of Jimmy Butler doesn't play, But my guess
is that it'll be Quintin post that starts.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I agree, and I I think that.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
I mean, Draymond is obviously the best individual defender option
on alprin Shngoon, but Draymond has so much value as
a roaming defensive player also and being able to stick
him on Amen Thompson. It's not the same sort of
solution you're looking for when you just guard him one
on one with on Chinkin, but it's gonna create some
more different kinds of challenges for the Rockets offense out.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I guess I do think that Golden State can beat
Houston at home without Jimmy. I think I flat out
think they could. I think they can win both games
without Jimmy if they needed to. Like, they're a real rested,
intense Golden State defensive effort at home can beat anybody
even without Jimmy.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah, and the game was ugly tonight, but it's a
weird game when a player goes at mid game. And
also they're without Brandon Pajemski. Losing your second and fourth
best player in the first quarter is gonna throw your
whole game plan completely out the window.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Absolutely, And like we were talking about connective playmaking with
Aman Thompson, that's literally, that's literally Brandon Pajemski's role with
this team. Both of them, yeah, oh, exactly, exactly, both
of them are the guys that grease the wheels for
this offense.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
One more Rockets related question.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
This is a you know, I think a good self
aware Rockets fan who doesn't have a collusions of grander
how many years away are the Rockets from being.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Legitimate title contenders. It's a very reasonable question.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I think shanegun is so good and I think that
their defense is so good that they are one legitimate,
reliable shot creator from being a legitimate top tier contender.
The Rockets ripped off what I think was probably I'm
actually gonna pull this up because I want to read
it because it's so impressive to me. But the Rockets
pulled off probably the most impressive stretch of regular season
basketball I've seen in the last few years. Earlier this year,
(29:28):
in a stretch of wins they beat they literally beat
they beat Minnesota this isn't starting back in November. They
beat Minnesota, they beat the Thunder, they beat the Clippers,
they beat the Warriors, they beat the Lakers, they beat
the Calves twice. Then the Celtics, like they were just
(29:51):
ripping through a good team after good team and the
only thing that was really missing as I watched them
this year. Just to take it a step further, like like,
what were the Warriors without Jimmy? The Warriors without Jimmy
this season were a mediocre five hundred ish team that
would have been closer to the Sacramento Dallas here right,
Jimmy Butler vaulted them into contention. Why because if you
(30:16):
looked at their roster, they were extremely deep in all
these specific areas. They had the top tier superstar to
hold it all together. By the way, Steph continues to
look fantastic. That's shooting run he had there in the
late first half is really fun to watch. But what
do we have as this gaping hole the secondary shot creator.
You address that with Jimmy Butler, and you turn a
mediocre five hundred dish bottom of the play in type
(30:38):
of team into a team that I believe is a
legitimate championship contender, and if you go on DraftKings right now,
they're the fourth championship favorite. It's literally the four, it's
the three teams at the top, and it's Golden State.
So that is what happens when you fill a specific hole.
Going back to the Rockets specifically, I like Shangun as
a screen partner, as a like a high playmaker, a
(31:00):
guy that can attack from the post and just do
a ton of damage in the middle of the floor.
They are just missing a primary ball handler that can
consistently set them up with advantages in the half court.
If they got Kevin Durant, like I think, they would
literally immediately be one of the top tier contenders in
this league, as long as they didn't have to offload
any of their specific, you know, foundational defensive talent. But
(31:22):
they got the draft. They have the draft picks to
do it, to be able to pull that sort of
thing off.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Yeah, I agree, I think Kevin Durant. I mean, the
West is pretty pretty strong already after the Thunder. I
don't know if that automatically puts them on the same
level as the Thunder, but I would not be unhappy
if someone said that the second best team in the
West with Kevin Durant, Like they're already. I mean, they
have the record. The regular season, they were the second
best team in the West. But I think collectively we
can all agree they're not the second strongest title contender
(31:47):
in the West. I think there's an argument to be
made if you add Kevin Durant to this team, you know,
maybe they got to take unload a few guys, but
keeping Shanoon Amen Thompson particulably Fred Van Vliet as well,
then I might that's that's a legitimate title comer without question.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
No, I agree, And like there's certain things that are
up in the air in the sense that like we
don't know what Golden State's gonna get this summer. We
don't know what the Lakers are gonna get this summer.
Both both of those teams will be legitimate, like veteran
minimum destinations. I think they'll, like it's funny you go
back last year they were like poor destinations for that
sort of thing, and then now you go this year
and they're like legitimately good destinations for that sort of thing. Obviously,
(32:25):
who knows what's gonna happen with the Spurs there are
several teams that can move up or move down, but
like Houston. I mean, I'd have a hard time not
putting Houston second without not knowing what the Lakers and
Warriors are gonna do. I'd have a hard time not
putting the Rockets second if they got KD for sure.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
All right, let's do a couple more here. Many Knicks
fans think TIBB is holding the team back schematically. Do
you do you think this is true? Or are we
overreacting now? I will say they would know. There was
no specific about what schematic thing there's accusing TIBs of,
but question stands.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
So, first of all, specifically, I just want to quickly
go back to really quick follow up on the Rockets
KD thing. One of the things that's missing from the
Houston roster's rim protection, like old school super tall rim protection,
and KD would also be a force multiplier for their
defense in that way that like you can imagine the
ability to deploy Shangoun at the level better because of
(33:19):
KD on the back line as a guy at the rim,
just a little extra shot there. But on the on
the Knicks Pistons front. When I'm watching the film there's
just it really is just they're getting good looks and
guys are knocking him down. I did think that they
misused Cat in game two, the putting Tobias Harris on
(33:39):
him and the way they were guarding him. They just
it caused them to go away from Cat entirely instead
of like, like the basic stat that I showed after
our film session was they ran seven ISOs for Cat
in game one, and then they ran zero ISOs for
Cat in game two. But like, it's really difficult for
me to get hyper focused on specific tax things when
(34:01):
like a couple more guys knock down wide open catch
and shoot threes that have been hitting them all season,
and you're in a really good position to win. And
like I've heard people criticize the minute totals. Who's the
guy on that bench that you like really trust to
like play big minutes. Like this isn't Minnesota's bench. You
don't have Naseried and Dante DiVincenzo coming off the bench.
You've got some flawed players in there. Like I'm watching
(34:21):
Jericho Sims. It's a little touch and go when Jericho
Sims is out there, you know what I mean, Like
it's It's not exactly a situation where Tibbs has a
lot of options to go to there in terms of
lineup structure, the I do think that I would lean
a little bit more into Kat and Og on the ball,
just simply because even though Brunson's been fantastic and he's
(34:42):
come on strong at the end of games, I think
there is something to be said about being too heliocentric
and at disrupting rhythm. That's become a little bit of
a talking point in Lakers Twitter now, centering around Luca
and his shot selections, specifically early in games, which was
something that they adjusted in Game two. You just have
a better opportunity to get you, like, just put it simply,
your pathway to victory is not having Caid and Brunson
(35:04):
have a one on one you and I talked about
this after Game two. Caid's out playing him to this point,
so like like Brunson's putting up giant numbers, but Kate
has been controlling the flow of these games. So like,
your pathway is that you have the aggregate talent, you
have the other guys that you can go to, and
so it is on the coaching staff to make sure
(35:25):
that they get cat some of those face up opportunities,
Like he's so much bigger and stronger than Tobias Harris,
he should be able to do more damage.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
There fully agree, Lakers question, what are your thoughts on
how on how the Lakers are managing Lebron's minutes? Do
you think you're going to get diminishing returns with him
at you know, he's playing forty minutes a game, he's
having to fly around on defense. Are are we worried
about the minutes logged for Lebron jams as the assuming
the Lakers keep going.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
In the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
No, it's the it's the playoffs. It's the Western Conference.
You don't get to play Miami in the first round,
like you don't get to play Orlando in the first round.
You have to play these like there's literally seven championship
contenders in the Western Conference. You know what I mean?
I mean, if we don't include Houston, call it six
like you, it's just really really difficult to pull back
(36:12):
on Lebron's minutes when he's the defensive anchor, like he's
the Draymond, he's the communicator, he's the guy that's putting
everybody in their spots. He's the guy that's flying around.
He's their best defensive rebounder. I don't really see universe
where you can pinch Lebron's minutes down, And frankly like,
I don't think Lebron wants to. I think Lebron wants
to scale it up the way that he has to.
And honestly, like for both of these teams, Golden State
and the Lakers, like, you survive Houston, you survive Minnesota,
(36:35):
You're probably not going to run into a more physical
team at any other point in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
The Grizzlies had a had tough end of their season.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
If they decide and or Jaw decides to move on
and part ways, what would be a good destination for Jaw?
Speaker 1 (36:47):
That's a good question. Let's take a look at the
standings here. What about Houston's could use him?
Speaker 2 (37:00):
I mean, personality wise, he fits I feel like.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So okay, So he doesn't need a guard. Clevend doesn't
need a guard, Boston doesn't need a guard. The Knicks
don't need a guard. The Lakers don't need a guard.
Uh Denver does a terrible fit, Indiana terrible fit. Clippers
don't need a guard. Minnesota doesn't need a guard. Milwaukee
is there like an insane job that they don't have
(37:23):
the assets to pull that off. Orlando would be an
interesting one if Orlando looked at it and they were like, Okay,
this Frondzen Paula thing. It just they neither of them
can shoot the ball well enough. But I mean John
Morant has similar problems. What about like a Trey Young
Atlanta type of conversation that would be an interesting one.
(37:44):
Sacramento seems like the kind of team that would throw
a bunch of assets for John Morant.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
I don't see Sacramento playing point guard point guard Spinde exactly.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
We already got Wembia guard with the Aaron Fox Brooklyn.
What about Brooklyn.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Brooklyn's fun I mean, Brooklyn's being going to be linked
to everybody this summer. They're the honest reports are already swirling.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Yeah, Brooklyn. I think is is one that makes some
sense all these all these other teams, I just don't see.
I don't even see why they would make some sort
of move for jobs. So like, if you're making a
move for John, you got to feel like you're close
enough that a move like that pushes you over the top.
So like, if you're Brooklyn, you can look at it
like we have a better rim protector in Nick Claxton. Sorry,
(38:25):
Jared Jackson, you foul too much and you're a terrible rebounder,
but you have rim protection with Nick Claxton. You've got
spot up shooting. There's a lot of youthful exuberance and
athleticism there Brooklyn. I think Brooklyn is the team that's
standing out to me from the standings.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
What you think, Yeah, I like Brooklyn. I think that's
a good one. I had this this thought and now
I'm kind of a galaxy brain take that. I actually
don't know if it works. But I was wondering if
there's a world where there's a Phoenix, suns move in there,
if there's a Brat because the sun they're making moves.
I'm wondering if there's a KD trade or a Bradley
Beal trade. But ultimately, I don't think you're trained for
(39:02):
Bradley Beale. What do you have Desmond Bay? So probably
doesn't quite work.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, dude, it looks bleak from emphisis from memphasis because
it's like Jaws, the one guy. As I've talked so
much this season. He's the one guy that has legitimate
superstar upside, but he hasn't gotten any better in three
four years. Desmond Bayin is like perfectly fine, Like I
actually like Desmond Bain's game every time I watch him.
I like he's a He's an intense competitor. He can
(39:28):
he defends a lot better than people give him credit for.
He is like a awesome off screen player, but he
just has a certain limitation as things get a little tougher.
And then Jared Jackson is like I've watched Jaron Jackson
play games where I'm like, oh my god, no one
can handle this guy. Like I remember the game in
Boston earlier this year when he was just hitting hook
after hook after hook, and it's like he is just
(39:48):
eating these dudes a lot. But he just he's he
in certain games, just doesn't see the floor well and
can completely disappear. Offensively, He's super foul prone. He's nowhere
near a good defensively, as his reputation will lead you
to believe, there's just no And then like Jalen Wells
is a good like Memphis gets a lot of good,
(40:08):
useful young players like that, but he's not the three
and D guy that Dylan Brooks was, or D and
three guy that Dylan Brooks was, I should say, you know,
Brandon Clark, Obviously, that injury forces you to lean on
Santi al Dama a lot more. But like even when
they were fully healthy this year, they were consistently bad
against the top teams in the league. So it's like
I think it's I think. I think you go into
(40:30):
the summer if you're Memphis, and you quietly shop everybody,
and you just start looking for the best possible deals
and just kind of blow this thing up incrementally as
the deals come around. There's gonna be a team out
there that could use Esmon Bank.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Oh great, I think Houston is.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
That's a fun one if they strike out, if they
somehow don't get Kevin Durant, which it seems all signs
are pointing to them getting Kevin Durant. But if they
don't get Kevin Durant, I think taking a swing atch
that would be awesome.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
He's better than Jalen Green. Jalen Green is like your textbook.
If the pull up shut jump shots going, he's unbelievable.
But if it's not going, then it's a complete adventure.
John Moran brings some real like rim pressure playmaking ability
that that Jalen just doesn't bring.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
And he know he has his deficiencies as a player too,
but he is a legitimately special last possession ISO score.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Oh my god, Yeah, he is so good at that, dude.
If they that's what makes like the Memphis thing so tantalizing,
is if they could figure everything else out like that,
that ability to get into a close game where Jaw
is just gonna beat someone off the dribble to his
left hand and then just pop up off the floor
from eight feet and knock down that float or that
nobody can guard like it. It's like that upside is there,
(41:37):
just it. He hasn't become well rounded enough to be
a good floor raiser the way that he used to be,
and the team itself is not talented enough in terms
of two way talent.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
All right, let's do one more question. We got a
couple questions about this, Jason, what is your hair care?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
I have no idea because I this is my first
time in my life having long hair. I I my
wife gets me like a real basic like curl cream
thing that I use that she's in charge of My
wife also has hair of similar length, so we've been
joking around that we have the same hair these days.
But frankly, I'm still learning how to do it. Like
(42:14):
I finally started using these headbands because it was getting
out of control. I got sick and tired of of
having it flop around while I was trying to do
the show. And then the other thing that's been driving
me crazy, Jackson, is I wear this like headband when
I'm playing now, like a big headband, and like I
like will come off of a screen and like elevate
into a jump shot and a little piece of hair
will come over and like hit me in the eye,
(42:36):
and I'm like, all right, it's time to get a haircut.
Like this is driving me crazy. It's not worth it
if it's offering additional contests on the pull up jump shot.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
You know, That's how I know my hair when I
That's how I know I need a haircut. Is when
my haircut, I'm like, damn, I just got hit. I
hit myself in the eye somehow.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yes exactly. I get like viscerally upset about it. But
it's like you can't, like I can't. It's not long
enough to like put in a ponytail, and I don't
let it get that long, so like it's not one
of those things where I can just strap it all back.
I kind of just have to keep it under control.
But good question. That's all we have for tonight, guys.
As always, be sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting me
and supporting the show. One other bit of news, I
(43:11):
did record with my buddy Luke a podcast that covered
the first three episodes of and Or, So if you
guys are Star Wars fans, head over to Twosun's podcast,
and I have a link of it on my Twitter
feed as well at underscore JSNLT. But you can get
a reaction to the first three episodes of and or otherwise.
Tomorrow morning, we're gonna have a brief film session on
the Celtics Magic Game, and then right back to it
(43:33):
tomorrow night live on YouTube after the final buzzer. I
will see you guys then. What's guys? As always, I
appreciate you for listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. They
would actually be really helpful for us if you guys
would take a second and leave a rating and a review.
As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if
you could take a minute to do that, I really
appreciate it. The volume
The volume. The NBA eighty two game grind is done,
and now the real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs aren't here,
and it's time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments,
and jaw dropping plays. I can't wait. If you're looking
to make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has
you covered as an official sports betting partner of the
(00:22):
NBA from the playing games all the way through to
the finals. Now's the time to back your favorite players
and teams as they chase glory. All season long. DraftKings
has been the go to spot for NBA player props
and that does not stop. Now. Want to make your
playoff experience even more intense, Try placing a bet on
your favorite player's performance. Well they drop thirty points, forty
or more, it's your call. Ready to place your first bet?
(00:42):
Download the DraftKings Sportsbook gap Now lock in your bets.
Let's make this playoff run unforgettable. Here's something special for
first timers. New DraftKings customers. Bet five dollars to get
two hundred dollars in bonus bets. Instantly make it a
playoff run to remember with DraftKings. Download the Draft Kings
sportsbook gap and use code hoops that's h oops. That's
code hoops for new customers to get two hundred dollars
(01:05):
in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only
on DraftKings. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem called Wayne
hundred gambler In New York call eight seven seven eight
hope and y or text hope and why to four
six seven three six nine. In Connecticut, help us available
for problem gambling Call eight eight eight seven eight nine
seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please
(01:26):
play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in
Kansas twenty one plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction.
Void in Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire one
hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. For additional terms
and responsible gaming resources, see dkang dot co. Slash audio.
(01:57):
All right, welcome to Hoops tonight. You're at the ball.
You have you one everybody. Oh, while you guys are
having a great week. On a quick show for you
guys tonight, we're gonna briefly touch on all three games.
I want to do a little bit more of like
a mail bag forward type of show tonight, since these
results tonight were somewhat expected in terms of what we
saw with Boston and Cleveland taking two zero leads and
then just a really bizarre night in Houston as the
(02:20):
Warriors have very much a Murphy's Law kind of game
as everything goes wrong for them and the Rockets get
themselves a big win. So if you're in the chat,
subscribe to the channel drop questions. We're going to do
a solid fifteen to twenty minutes of questions at the
tail end of the show after we briefly touch on
the three games tonight. You guys have the joke before
we started. Subscribe to Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't
miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter,
(02:42):
I underscore, jcnltisse, you guys, don't miss show announcements. Don't
forget about a podcast feed wherever you get your podcast
under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave
a rating in a review. On that front. Jackson's doing
great work on our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Make sure you guys follow us there and the last
minu at least keep dropping mail bag questions and YouTube
comments for our mail bags throughout the remainder of the season.
All right, let's talk some basketball. So, as I mentioned
(03:03):
off the top, kind of a Murphy's Law kind of
game for the Warriors, Brandon Pajemski gets food poisoning. Jimmy
Butler gets undercut by a men. Thompson on this really
weird play where a man in Draymond kind of got
their legs tangled up and a man just fell forward
at literally the worst possible time as drama. As Jimmy
was in the air underneath the basket, he gets a
(03:24):
tailbone contusion that keeps him out for the rest of
the night. He's also getting an MRI tomorrow, so fingers
crossed well wishes for Jimmy Butler that he ends up
getting a positive result there. I'm sure everybody would rather
see Rockets Warriors determined with both teams at full strength,
but as a result we got a really weird game
with some bizarre minute totals. Basic stat to demonstrate this
(03:45):
quldn't post Jonathan Kaminga and Pat Spencer played a combined
twelve minutes in Game one. They played sixty three minutes tonight.
Those three guys, so fifty one minutes that would typically
go to starters on the Warriors in a star for
the Warriors, Jimmy Butler and Brandon Pajemski ended up going
to guys that were mostly out of the rotation or
(04:05):
in very small roles in Game one, So not a
whole lot to take away from that. I also thought
in general, the Warriors defensive energy pulled way back after
Jimmy left the game. That's to be expected as you
start to feel like there's a little less belief in
their ability to win. But the story of the game
by far was Jalen Green. I talked before the series
(04:26):
about Jalen Green scoring this season. He's obviously had a
lot of great knights and a lot of bad nights.
It's been very inconsistent. But when he scores at least
thirty points, the Rockets are thirteen and one this year.
And as I mentioned in the series preview, it happened
to great teams. It wasn't like a he lit up
the bad teams and they won those games. He did
it to Minnesota, he did it to Denver. He did
(04:47):
it to Oklahoma City, he did it to the Lakers.
He did it to the Clippers, and now tonight to
the Golden State Warriors. He goes for thirty eight points.
He hits eight threes. It was the nineteenth time this
season that he's hit at least five threes in a game.
That's been the biggest jump in Jalen in terms of
his skill this season. He's a lot better at shooting
(05:08):
threes off the dribble, and he's a lot better at
shooting threes off the move, particularly going towards his left,
and he's just turned into much better, a much better,
high volume three point shooter this year. Now, again, it's inconsistent,
and he can be off sometimes and his misses have
a tendency to be way off. But like when he's
in that groove, it's kind of a shot you have
to concede to him because of his downhill athleticism, and
(05:31):
so with the ability to hit him off the dribble,
off a variety of stepbacks, with the ability to hit
him off the move and while bringing that real downhill force,
you know, when he gets that shot going, you kind
of have to live with it. And if you're living
with it, you could lose if he's making it. Just
like what happened to all those great teams earlier this season,
and so honestly like that. There's a specific reason why
(05:54):
the Rockets are so tough to beat when Jalen plays
that well, and it's because the strength of this team
again is what they do defensively, is what they do
in transition, is what they do on the offensive glass,
and the ceiling raising piece is if Fred or Jalen
get it going in some real way. And Fred hasn't
been able to get anything going through two games, but
(06:16):
Jalen really started to break free tonight. And again, you know,
he's inconsistent. He could just go into another type of
kind of confusing, poor decision making, poor shot making type
of night in game three. But if he builds some
real momentum here and he gets another, you know, couple
of thirty point games in the series, it fundamentally alters
the trajectory of the series just because of how difficult
(06:37):
it is to beat the Rockets when Jalen's playing that well.
Houston's athletes really dominated the entire game. I thought a
men Thompson, even though he only had eleven points, I
thought his connective playmaking in the middle of the floor
really helped grease the wheels for Houston's offense. Connective playmaking
to me is you know that piece of playmaking that
comes after you've already gotten a pass from the primary
(07:00):
shader of the offense. So like that could be play
making out of closeouts, play making out of short roles,
playmaking out of baseline cuts, that sort of thing. Amen
Thompson is so good at like making these one timer
hockey esque passes where he's reading the action that's taking
place around him while the ball is still on its
way to him, and then he'll just catch it and
(07:20):
immediately funnel it to the next guy in the red
and it really creates a lot of quality opportunities for
the Houston offense. Tari Easton was great. He hasn't shot
the ball super well as of late, but he had
two of them tonight. Provided a ton of rim pressure.
I had a couple transition moves that were unbelievable, kind
of zooming out from the series. This series feels a
lot more to me like the Lakers Wolves series, a
(07:43):
more dramatic version of it, because there's a larger skill
gap between the two teams. Obviously, Anthony Edwards and Julius
randall are substantially better primary shot creators than what Houston's
working with, which is why Houston was bottom ten half
court offense this year. In Minnesota obviously was a great
offense overall this year. But it's a similar dynamic in
the sense that, as I talked about with the Lakers
(08:05):
last night, the Lakers can hang onto the rope and
hold up physically, their skill should be able to lift
them over the top, but when they let go of
the rope, the athleticism will overwhelm them and they'll struggle.
Similar type of vibe with Houston and Golden State, but
Game one of that series looked very similar to me
to Game two of the Lakers Wolves series from last night,
(08:26):
in the sense that even though there was this kind
of end of the game run that both teams went on,
as it seemed like Golden State fatigued a little, as
it seemed like the Lakers fatigued a little, they were
able to stiff arm the Lake game runs, and it
just felt like those teams were able to hang onto
the rope well enough that their overall skill and basketball
(08:47):
IQ gap was able to carry them over the top.
Now again, I think the skill gap is substantial, which
is obviously obviously why Golden State is a much more
substantial favorite than the Lakers are over the Wolves. I
view the Lakers Wolve series is more of a coin flip.
I would be genuinely surprised if Houston beat Golden State
in this series. I think Golden State is going to
(09:07):
go home and get both of those games in Game three,
in Game four, and I think they'll go back to
Houston with a chance to close the series out. My
guess is that ends up being a game that Houston
ends up getting and then Golden State closes this one
out in six. But it's a similar dynamic, just with
the more dramatic skill gap between the two teams. But
again kind of like just anything that can go wrong
(09:28):
will go wrong. Type of night for the Warriors, big
time night for Jalen Green Houston evens up the series.
Hopefully we'll see a full strength Warriors team versus the
Rockets in Game three this week. Welcome to course correction,
brought to you by Microsoft. Just like star players and
teams navigating performance hurdles, business decision makers today are under
immense pressure to get things right. They must rise to
(09:49):
the occasion turning challenges into opportunities. Microsoft empowers these visionaries
with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management and trustworthy
responsible AI. And when you're in the NBA, you have
your hurdles the face. In this segment, we will highlight
the player every week that has risen to the occasion
when his team needed him. Whatever challenge you're facing, Microsoft
empowers you with the expertise to say bring it on.
(10:12):
This week, we're highlighting Donovan Mitchell's second consecutive thirty point
night in this playoff run in the way his late
game shot making helped the Calves take you two to
zero lead over the Miami Heat. The Calves controlled the
game for the most part against Miami tonight, but as
we all know, the Miami Heat never give up. They
did a nice job in the fourth quarter of containing
Darius carlind drumal penetration. They used better just overall pinching
(10:35):
in late doubles to contain Tydrome a little bit better.
They got hot from they got hot from three. Suddenly
they cut the lead down to just two points with
a few minutes left in the fourth quarter. Miami had
all the momentum. Cleveland was in serious danger of dropping
home court advantage on a late game run from the Heat.
But that was when Donovan Mitchell restored order with four
incredibly tough buckets. Every single one of these was a
(10:59):
high degree of difficulty bit of shot making. He attacked
Haywood high Smith curling around his screen. It was a
screen that the Miami Heat switched. I've talked about this
concept a lot, but attacking quickly against switches is a
really easy way to get separation because often if you
imagine two players, two guards running towards each other for
a screen interchange, their defenders are running that way too.
(11:21):
So as you can imagine Donovan Mitchell's eventual defender in
this case, Heywood high Smith is moving this way as
Donovan Mitchell is moving this way, the momentum is going
in opposite directions, and so if you catch and just
immediately try to turn the corner, you can get some
advantages there. He turned the corner on Heywoo high Smith.
Haywood did a really nice job using his recovery athleticism
to get back in front, but Donovan just popped down
(11:43):
off of two feet and drifting to his left hit
like a ten foot floater. With his right hand. Just
an incredible piece of shot making. He hit a drifting
left shoulder fade over Tyler Harrow. Tyler Harrold defended it
extremely well. Donovan just shot it higher with more arc,
got it over the top and knocked it down. He
hit like this gross pullback dribble move against Nikola Yovich.
(12:06):
This is a move that we see Luka Dancics do
a lot too, where he'll get the ball high in
his right hand and get up like he's gonna go downhill,
have that right leg forward, and then right when he's
about to typically pound the ball for that aggressive forward move,
he'll just pull the dribble back and he'll get quick
separation for a pull up three. Did that against Nikole
Yovich and knocked it down. He had a deep twenty
(12:28):
eight footer against the hedge and recover sequence. Tyler Harrow hedged.
But as Tyler Harrow was hedging and recovering, as Davion
Mitchell was coming back up after Davion got through the screen,
in that gap between the hedge leaving and Daveon coming up,
Donovan found a little bit of space to pull up
a deep three and just knocked it down. Four incredibly
(12:48):
tough shots that ended up putting the distance between them
and the heat after things got a little precarious there
and again that is what Donovan Mitchell brings to this team.
All these guys on this team have a lot of
value that they right. DeAndre Hunter textbook week side scoring forward,
Evan Mobley Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Evan Mobley
a guy that can run inverted ball screens, a guy
(13:08):
that can do a lot more on the role and
as a cutter than he used to in this league.
Jared Allen has become one of the top six or
seven centers in the NBA as he's polished up his
ability to score on the role and his ability to
defend and switches. Darius Garland's ability to get anywhere he
wants on the floor with his speed and his ball
handling and his playmaking and his ability to set defenders
up for screens and all these different things that they do.
(13:29):
Ty Jerome as a bench shot creator, one of the
better drop covered shot makers in this league, and a
guy that demonstrated some great switch beating in Game one
versus Tyler Harrow. All that's great. None of them are
elite over the top shot makers. That is the one
thing that Donovan Mitchell does on that team at an
elite level, or I should say that's the only guy
on that team, Donovan Mitchell is that does that bit
(13:51):
of elite over the top shot making really really well.
And it's exactly what you need it. I mean a
lot of times that's what happens, especially against really smart,
physical teams like the Miami Heat. They're going to start
doing their jobs really well and sticking to the game
plan really well, and you need somebody that can hit
the shots that work even against elite perfectly executed defense.
(14:14):
And that's what Donovan Mitchell did tonight. He did a
ton of damage. He hit seven threes every which way,
spotting up, hit another one of those hedge and recover
threes versus Duncan Robinson. He hit tough pull up threes
right in the face of Duncan Robinson and heywoo high Smith.
He has brought the consistent scoring upside that this team
needs to be at their best thirty points per game
on sixty seven percent true shooting through the first two
(14:36):
games of the playoffs. A Player of the Week. That
is it for this week's course. Correction. Remember, Microsoft's AI
solutions empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions,
sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With
Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey
with confidence, finding innovative solutions, and reaching new possibilities. Visit
Microsoft dot com slash challengers to learn more. I just
(15:00):
want to briefly talk about Jaylen Brown and the job
that he did against the Magic and then we're going
to do the mailbag, so make sure you guys start
dropping questions in the chat. Jason Tatum being out with
the risk injury was obviously going to put a lot
of pressure on Jalen Brown to create shots tonight, and
I thought Jalen was just absolutely brilliant in a high
volume creation role. It really helped that he had his
three point shot going. That's been a little bit of
(15:22):
an adventure for him this year, but specifically the pull
up three. Having the pull up three off the dribble
going the way he had tonight is super important for
managing the flow of the game. These high volume perimeter
shot creators around the league. The reason why the pull
up jump shot is so important is it's a less
labor intense way to generate points. The three point shots
(15:44):
worth extra right. So if you can hit pull up
threes at about thirty five percent, that's one point zero
five points per shot. That's a really efficient shot in
the half court of NBA playoff games. And so when
you can buy yourself five six, seven persons a game
where you take that type of shot when you're tired
(16:04):
and it's a shot that you can still get high
value per possession out of it while not putting the
wear and tear on your legs, that's an important part
of filling that type of high volume shot creation role.
And I just thought it was really important that Jalen
Brown had that going. He misses his first couple, misses
them badly, could be a completely different type of game.
The two things that you gotta do as a primary
(16:25):
shot creator in order to be able to hold up
over a forty eight minute game. You've got to be
able to hit shots over the top, and you've got
to be able to take easy reads that are available
to you. Oh, you're posting up and Al Horford has
a close out opportunity on the right wing, you got
to make that pass. Because even if you can hit
a right shoulder fade over a double team. It's just
a lot of work on your legs. If you've got
(16:47):
an opening to al Horford, you got to throw that pass.
It's an easy read that will just help you get
through another possession at decent value. They had a low
man tag possession where Jalen just pitched it back to
Peyton Pritchard on the left wing. He knocked down the three.
That's an easy read. That's just easy basketball. An extra
pass in the left corner to Derek White on a
(17:07):
sequence where Derek White's cutting through along the baseline. Just
I thought Jalen just played a very well measured and
versatile game and showed a lot of downhill pop. Any
concerns about his knees should be mostly alleviated tonight that
Dunky had in transition after the steal, he had this
scoop on an ISO attack at Goga Patadse. He did
(17:27):
a lot of attacking Orlando's bigs tonight. A lot of
work against Wendell Carter Junior, a lot of work against Gogabatadz,
some big like driving finishes through contact against Pallabanco on
an Island. I just thought he looked great, You looked
physically strong and in control of his body. I just
thought it was a really encouraging night for Jalen Brown
(17:48):
and just a casual reminder of how great Jalen Brown
is and that he's very capable of scaling up his
production if that's what the team needs. What a luxury
that the Celtics were able to sit there superstar in
a play off game and still get the type of
shot creation they did tonight. Lots of contributions down the line,
bunch of threes from Derek White and Peyton Pritchard. Chrisops
(18:08):
Porzingis did a really nice job in two man game,
getting slips, short rolls, posting mismatches, things along those lines.
Really impressive win for the Celtics. Down Jason Tatum, all right,
let's get into some mailbag questions for about twenty minutes
and then we'll get out of here for the night.
Sound good.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Let's do it.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Everybody ask your questions in the YouTube chat and we
will get to as many them as possible. We're gonna
start out with one that was not specifically asked, but
is the topic of all of the conversation of the
chat right now, which is was the Amen Thompson.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Play where Jimmy Butler got hurt a.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Dirty play, a reckless play, or a normal basketball play.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It looked to me on replay that Amen Thompson just
tripped over Draymond Green simultaneously with Jimmy Butler jumping. I
thought it was just really just an unfortunate set of circumstances.
I didn't think there was anything nefarious there. I I
have seen every single fan base. I shouldn't say every
single because not every series has that vibe. There are
(19:07):
some very comfortable series, but there have been like four
or five different fan bases that I've seen that have
bitched and moaned about the physicality NonStop. Tom Averstrow had
a little chart that he released today. Actually it's a
if you look at my Twitter replies, someone sent it
to me today so you'll see it there. But that
chart demonstrates that fouls are getting called in this postseason
(19:28):
run at a historically low level, like a historically low level.
So it's like this for everybody. The Pistons Knicks series
is like this, The Lakers Wolves series is like this,
The Warriors Rockets series is like this. Have you guys
watched any of Celtic's magic. That series is a bloodbath,
Like all of these series are bloodbaths. This is just
(19:50):
the way the game is being officiated these days. And
even though that what happened to Jimmy is super unfortunate,
Like I haven't seen anything particular in particular in the
Rockets warri series that I'm not seeing another series. And
the reality is is, like I'll just share a quote
that Lebron had after the Minnesota game, after the winning
gets Minnesota last night, he said, this is what it's
going to be like the rest of the series. Like
(20:11):
if you're expecting it to suddenly loosen up, if you're
expecting the directive to come down from Adam Silver to say,
hey guys, let's let him play, it's not gonna happen.
It's gonna be a blood bath. Everyone's got to learn
how to play in that circumstance.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Yeah, I agree, I think, And the point that I've
seen some people make, and that people are making the
chat as well, is that it's a reckless play because
of the general sort of over the top aggressive vibe
that the Rockets have as well as the refereeing would
just sort of let it, which is true across the board, absolutely,
but it's certainly letting a lot of physicality go. And
(20:43):
those things might be true. I think it's those things
are probably true. That type of play doesn't happen if
Aman Thompson isn't told crash the glass as hard as
he possibly can, as much as he possibly can. Right,
But it also doesn't mean that it's a reckless or
a dirty play exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
No. You put it very well, like it's it's not
too difficult to have this sort of thing happen. This
was an especially bad one because of the timing. Jimmy
was at the peak of his jump and the men
fell into his legs, which basically inverted him into a
horizontal state, like six feet above the ground. Like it
was horrible luck. But all it really was was two
(21:20):
guys crashing. That's all it was. It just one guy
crashed a little later and landed a little lower, and
and it's it's super unfortunate. Again, I'm hopeful that Jimmy's
ready to go. My guess is that he's gonna be
kind of in a staff type situation where he's wearing
some kind of pad back there and just doing the
best he can. But I mean, like, that's how it is.
Like Ruya Chimura had his his face messed up yesterday.
(21:43):
He might be playing in a mask the rest of
the series. Like Chris tops porzingis messed up his face today,
Jason Tatum's got a messed up wrist, Like everyone's beat
the shit. This is a war of attrition, guys. That's
how this stuff goes.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Another question about this game and the officiating, why doesn't
Steph Curry get any calls?
Speaker 1 (22:01):
So the the I think Steph gets a poor whistle,
I would agree on that. I think that Warriors fans
are onto something there. I think that it's a little
complicated in the sense that the Warriors play an extremely
physical brand of basketball with their off ball movement and
cutting and screening, and so for instance, like I think
(22:25):
where where the ones that to me are egregious are
like Steph's shooting a three and Fred van Vliet's pulling
on his shorts, Like that's a fucking foul. Blow the whistle,
Like what are we doing, guys? Like, uh, there was
one in the Rockets game right before the end of
the regular season where Dylan Brooks like straight up tackled
Steph on a three and it didn't get called. Like
there's that. Those are the ones that I think are
(22:46):
egregious that need to be addressed. The off ball grabbing
and holding stuff that is literally that is literally a
style of play that benefits the Warriors. Steph gets grabbed
and held a lot, and the war You're set twenty
five illegal screens a game. So that, like the reality
is is that physical dynamic of the cutting and screening
(23:07):
and moving actually favors the Warriors throughout those games. Steph
just takes a beating, but he's addressed to that by
dramatically improving his physical strength. He's already one of the
most conditioned athletes in the league. He wins that battle
more often than not. That said, I think Steph should
probably start kicking and flailing and flopping a little bit
more in his threes because it's getting pretty outrageous some
(23:29):
of these calls that are going uncalled against him.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, And I also think that.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Right or wrong, probably wrong, but right or wrong, there's
a sort of there's a difference in the whistle on
a play where you are driving to the rim with
the ball trying to score, and when you're cutting off
the ball, there's just like the Lakers get a lot
of calls because Lebron James is putting his head at
the rim as often as possible, right, Like, that's why
they get a lot of shooting foul specifically because they
are downhill attackers. This team, the way their offense runs
(23:57):
is much more movement bas as we've all talked about
a million times, And the whistle is going to be
different on an off ball cut than when you're at
the rim with the ball.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
I don't know, I mean, maybe not, but that's true
of I think that is true of every team. Just
the Warriors run the most type of this offensive any team.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I actually disagree in terms of the concept of driving,
because the Lakers are actually a team that doesn't drive
to the basket much, or at least they used to
before Luca. They didn't used to drive too much. This
is literally it, guys. Foul disparity comes down to two things.
How good are you at defending without fouling and how
good are you at grifting the other team into fouling? Like,
(24:38):
you want to know why the Lakers shoot a ton
of free throws because before the trade, it was Anthony Davis,
who flops and flails every single time he catches anything
on the roll. And by the way, it's not from driving.
Anthony draws his fouls through post ups and rolls, like
it's all like catches near the basket that result in
(24:58):
those fouls. And then Austin ree Eves, who's like incredibly
quick and shifty, and what he'll do is like what
Austin will do is like he'll drive to a spot
and shoot like right as the defenders just running into him.
And basically he's just very good at getting defenders out
of position and drawing fouls in the mid range. And
so then what you did is you swapped Anthony Davis
for Luca, and Luca is one of the most gifted
(25:20):
foul grifters in the league. And so as a result
of that, Luca ends up Luca ends up bolstering the
free throw totals. But what's interesting is the Laker free
throw disparity hasn't been nearly as good since Anthony Davis
left the team. You want to know why, because they
can't defend without fouling anymore. Because most of their ability
to defend without fouling was predicated on Anthony Davis's rim protection. Like, guys,
(25:44):
let's make it perfectly clear. Free throws are not handed
out on a fair basis, like before the game, like,
all right, here's your twenty and here's your twenty. You
are going to receive free throws based on the kind
of basketball you play on both ends of the floor.
That is the only thing that is going to lead
to some sort of difference in the in your free
(26:04):
throw shooting. And by the way, guess what happened with
Golden State. They made a trade for a player who
is a notoriously good foul grifter in Jimmy Butler does
it in a different way. He does it with a
lot of pump fakes, and he does it with a
lot of weird driving angles and finishing angles. Guess who's
been third in free throw attempts post All Star Break
The Golden State Warriors, even higher than the Los Angeles Lakers.
(26:26):
So literally, you got more free throws, not because Adam
Silver made a phone call, but because you have a
player on your team who's very good at drawing fouls.
That like, that is what it is. It's about the
skill of drawing fouls and the skill of defending without fouling.
That is what leads to free throw differential, nothing else. Guys, like,
that's just how it works.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Let's see one more question from this game, or maybe
there's a couple. Actually, Uh, if Jimmy is out for
Game three on a rest basis, he's you know, paying management,
he's let's say he's not out for the whole series,
but he's out for game three.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Would you slot Kaminga and his spot?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
When you try something radically different like Draymond at the four,
I potentially post at the five or what's the what's
the lineup chains that you're making of Jimmy.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
I'm almost certain he'll just start Post.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I would that's I gotta assume.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Especially after how well he shot the ball Tonight Post battled.
You know, it's so funny. I Quentin Post. I think
he's a good player. That poor kid has no bounce.
It's the craziest get when he gets around the basket,
like he goes to jump and he doesn't get over
a phone book. It's so funny. He's had a couple
(27:31):
of rim attacks in the last couple of games that
have been hilarious. But I think Quentin Post shooting is
just an easy solution there to put him in at
the five. I do think we'll see a heavy dose
of kaminga of Jimmy Butler doesn't play, But my guess
is that it'll be Quintin post that starts.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I agree, and I I think that.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
I mean, Draymond is obviously the best individual defender option
on alprin Shngoon, but Draymond has so much value as
a roaming defensive player also and being able to stick
him on Amen Thompson. It's not the same sort of
solution you're looking for when you just guard him one
on one with on Chinkin, but it's gonna create some
more different kinds of challenges for the Rockets offense out.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I guess I do think that Golden State can beat
Houston at home without Jimmy. I think I flat out
think they could. I think they can win both games
without Jimmy if they needed to. Like, they're a real rested,
intense Golden State defensive effort at home can beat anybody
even without Jimmy.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah, and the game was ugly tonight, but it's a
weird game when a player goes at mid game. And
also they're without Brandon Pajemski. Losing your second and fourth
best player in the first quarter is gonna throw your
whole game plan completely out the window.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Absolutely, And like we were talking about connective playmaking with
Aman Thompson, that's literally, that's literally Brandon Pajemski's role with
this team. Both of them, yeah, oh, exactly, exactly, both
of them are the guys that grease the wheels for
this offense.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
One more Rockets related question.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
This is a you know, I think a good self
aware Rockets fan who doesn't have a collusions of grander
how many years away are the Rockets from being.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Legitimate title contenders. It's a very reasonable question.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I think shanegun is so good and I think that
their defense is so good that they are one legitimate,
reliable shot creator from being a legitimate top tier contender.
The Rockets ripped off what I think was probably I'm
actually gonna pull this up because I want to read
it because it's so impressive to me. But the Rockets
pulled off probably the most impressive stretch of regular season
basketball I've seen in the last few years. Earlier this year,
(29:28):
in a stretch of wins they beat they literally beat
they beat Minnesota this isn't starting back in November. They
beat Minnesota, they beat the Thunder, they beat the Clippers,
they beat the Warriors, they beat the Lakers, they beat
the Calves twice. Then the Celtics, like they were just
(29:51):
ripping through a good team after good team and the
only thing that was really missing as I watched them
this year. Just to take it a step further, like like,
what were the Warriors without Jimmy? The Warriors without Jimmy
this season were a mediocre five hundred ish team that
would have been closer to the Sacramento Dallas here right,
Jimmy Butler vaulted them into contention. Why because if you
(30:16):
looked at their roster, they were extremely deep in all
these specific areas. They had the top tier superstar to
hold it all together. By the way, Steph continues to
look fantastic. That's shooting run he had there in the
late first half is really fun to watch. But what
do we have as this gaping hole the secondary shot creator.
You address that with Jimmy Butler, and you turn a
mediocre five hundred dish bottom of the play in type
(30:38):
of team into a team that I believe is a
legitimate championship contender, and if you go on DraftKings right now,
they're the fourth championship favorite. It's literally the four, it's
the three teams at the top, and it's Golden State.
So that is what happens when you fill a specific hole.
Going back to the Rockets specifically, I like Shangun as
a screen partner, as a like a high playmaker, a
(31:00):
guy that can attack from the post and just do
a ton of damage in the middle of the floor.
They are just missing a primary ball handler that can
consistently set them up with advantages in the half court.
If they got Kevin Durant, like I think, they would
literally immediately be one of the top tier contenders in
this league, as long as they didn't have to offload
any of their specific, you know, foundational defensive talent. But
(31:22):
they got the draft. They have the draft picks to
do it, to be able to pull that sort of
thing off.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Yeah, I agree, I think Kevin Durant. I mean, the
West is pretty pretty strong already after the Thunder. I
don't know if that automatically puts them on the same
level as the Thunder, but I would not be unhappy
if someone said that the second best team in the
West with Kevin Durant, Like they're already. I mean, they
have the record. The regular season, they were the second
best team in the West. But I think collectively we
can all agree they're not the second strongest title contender
(31:47):
in the West. I think there's an argument to be
made if you add Kevin Durant to this team, you know,
maybe they got to take unload a few guys, but
keeping Shanoon Amen Thompson particulably Fred Van Vliet as well,
then I might that's that's a legitimate title comer without question.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
No, I agree, And like there's certain things that are
up in the air in the sense that like we
don't know what Golden State's gonna get this summer. We
don't know what the Lakers are gonna get this summer.
Both both of those teams will be legitimate, like veteran
minimum destinations. I think they'll, like it's funny you go
back last year they were like poor destinations for that
sort of thing, and then now you go this year
and they're like legitimately good destinations for that sort of thing. Obviously,
(32:25):
who knows what's gonna happen with the Spurs there are
several teams that can move up or move down, but
like Houston. I mean, I'd have a hard time not
putting Houston second without not knowing what the Lakers and
Warriors are gonna do. I'd have a hard time not
putting the Rockets second if they got KD for sure.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
All right, let's do a couple more here. Many Knicks
fans think TIBB is holding the team back schematically. Do
you do you think this is true? Or are we
overreacting now? I will say they would know. There was
no specific about what schematic thing there's accusing TIBs of,
but question stands.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
So, first of all, specifically, I just want to quickly
go back to really quick follow up on the Rockets
KD thing. One of the things that's missing from the
Houston roster's rim protection, like old school super tall rim protection,
and KD would also be a force multiplier for their
defense in that way that like you can imagine the
ability to deploy Shangoun at the level better because of
(33:19):
KD on the back line as a guy at the rim,
just a little extra shot there. But on the on
the Knicks Pistons front. When I'm watching the film there's
just it really is just they're getting good looks and
guys are knocking him down. I did think that they
misused Cat in game two, the putting Tobias Harris on
(33:39):
him and the way they were guarding him. They just
it caused them to go away from Cat entirely instead
of like, like the basic stat that I showed after
our film session was they ran seven ISOs for Cat
in game one, and then they ran zero ISOs for
Cat in game two. But like, it's really difficult for
me to get hyper focused on specific tax things when
(34:01):
like a couple more guys knock down wide open catch
and shoot threes that have been hitting them all season,
and you're in a really good position to win. And
like I've heard people criticize the minute totals. Who's the
guy on that bench that you like really trust to
like play big minutes. Like this isn't Minnesota's bench. You
don't have Naseried and Dante DiVincenzo coming off the bench.
You've got some flawed players in there. Like I'm watching
(34:21):
Jericho Sims. It's a little touch and go when Jericho
Sims is out there, you know what I mean, Like
it's It's not exactly a situation where Tibbs has a
lot of options to go to there in terms of
lineup structure, the I do think that I would lean
a little bit more into Kat and Og on the ball,
just simply because even though Brunson's been fantastic and he's
(34:42):
come on strong at the end of games, I think
there is something to be said about being too heliocentric
and at disrupting rhythm. That's become a little bit of
a talking point in Lakers Twitter now, centering around Luca
and his shot selections, specifically early in games, which was
something that they adjusted in Game two. You just have
a better opportunity to get you, like, just put it simply,
your pathway to victory is not having Caid and Brunson
(35:04):
have a one on one you and I talked about
this after Game two. Caid's out playing him to this point,
so like like Brunson's putting up giant numbers, but Kate
has been controlling the flow of these games. So like,
your pathway is that you have the aggregate talent, you
have the other guys that you can go to, and
so it is on the coaching staff to make sure
(35:25):
that they get cat some of those face up opportunities,
Like he's so much bigger and stronger than Tobias Harris,
he should be able to do more damage.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
There fully agree, Lakers question, what are your thoughts on
how on how the Lakers are managing Lebron's minutes? Do
you think you're going to get diminishing returns with him
at you know, he's playing forty minutes a game, he's
having to fly around on defense. Are are we worried
about the minutes logged for Lebron jams as the assuming
the Lakers keep going.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
In the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
No, it's the it's the playoffs. It's the Western Conference.
You don't get to play Miami in the first round,
like you don't get to play Orlando in the first round.
You have to play these like there's literally seven championship
contenders in the Western Conference. You know what I mean?
I mean, if we don't include Houston, call it six
like you, it's just really really difficult to pull back
(36:12):
on Lebron's minutes when he's the defensive anchor, like he's
the Draymond, he's the communicator, he's the guy that's putting
everybody in their spots. He's the guy that's flying around.
He's their best defensive rebounder. I don't really see universe
where you can pinch Lebron's minutes down, And frankly like,
I don't think Lebron wants to. I think Lebron wants
to scale it up the way that he has to.
And honestly, like for both of these teams, Golden State
and the Lakers, like, you survive Houston, you survive Minnesota,
(36:35):
You're probably not going to run into a more physical
team at any other point in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
The Grizzlies had a had tough end of their season.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
If they decide and or Jaw decides to move on
and part ways, what would be a good destination for Jaw?
Speaker 1 (36:47):
That's a good question. Let's take a look at the
standings here. What about Houston's could use him?
Speaker 2 (37:00):
I mean, personality wise, he fits I feel like.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So okay, So he doesn't need a guard. Clevend doesn't
need a guard, Boston doesn't need a guard. The Knicks
don't need a guard. The Lakers don't need a guard.
Uh Denver does a terrible fit, Indiana terrible fit. Clippers
don't need a guard. Minnesota doesn't need a guard. Milwaukee
is there like an insane job that they don't have
(37:23):
the assets to pull that off. Orlando would be an
interesting one if Orlando looked at it and they were like, Okay,
this Frondzen Paula thing. It just they neither of them
can shoot the ball well enough. But I mean John
Morant has similar problems. What about like a Trey Young
Atlanta type of conversation that would be an interesting one.
(37:44):
Sacramento seems like the kind of team that would throw
a bunch of assets for John Morant.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
I don't see Sacramento playing point guard point guard Spinde exactly.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
We already got Wembia guard with the Aaron Fox Brooklyn.
What about Brooklyn.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Brooklyn's fun I mean, Brooklyn's being going to be linked
to everybody this summer. They're the honest reports are already swirling.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Yeah, Brooklyn. I think is is one that makes some
sense all these all these other teams, I just don't see.
I don't even see why they would make some sort
of move for jobs. So like, if you're making a
move for John, you got to feel like you're close
enough that a move like that pushes you over the top.
So like, if you're Brooklyn, you can look at it
like we have a better rim protector in Nick Claxton. Sorry,
(38:25):
Jared Jackson, you foul too much and you're a terrible rebounder,
but you have rim protection with Nick Claxton. You've got
spot up shooting. There's a lot of youthful exuberance and
athleticism there Brooklyn. I think Brooklyn is the team that's
standing out to me from the standings.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
What you think, Yeah, I like Brooklyn. I think that's
a good one. I had this this thought and now
I'm kind of a galaxy brain take that. I actually
don't know if it works. But I was wondering if
there's a world where there's a Phoenix, suns move in there,
if there's a Brat because the sun they're making moves.
I'm wondering if there's a KD trade or a Bradley
Beal trade. But ultimately, I don't think you're trained for
(39:02):
Bradley Beale. What do you have Desmond Bay? So probably
doesn't quite work.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, dude, it looks bleak from emphisis from memphasis because
it's like Jaws, the one guy. As I've talked so
much this season. He's the one guy that has legitimate
superstar upside, but he hasn't gotten any better in three
four years. Desmond Bayin is like perfectly fine, Like I
actually like Desmond Bain's game every time I watch him.
I like he's a He's an intense competitor. He can
(39:28):
he defends a lot better than people give him credit for.
He is like a awesome off screen player, but he
just has a certain limitation as things get a little tougher.
And then Jared Jackson is like I've watched Jaron Jackson
play games where I'm like, oh my god, no one
can handle this guy. Like I remember the game in
Boston earlier this year when he was just hitting hook
after hook after hook, and it's like he is just
(39:48):
eating these dudes a lot. But he just he's he
in certain games, just doesn't see the floor well and
can completely disappear. Offensively, He's super foul prone. He's nowhere
near a good defensively, as his reputation will lead you
to believe, there's just no And then like Jalen Wells
is a good like Memphis gets a lot of good,
(40:08):
useful young players like that, but he's not the three
and D guy that Dylan Brooks was, or D and
three guy that Dylan Brooks was, I should say, you know,
Brandon Clark, Obviously, that injury forces you to lean on
Santi al Dama a lot more. But like even when
they were fully healthy this year, they were consistently bad
against the top teams in the league. So it's like
I think it's I think. I think you go into
(40:30):
the summer if you're Memphis, and you quietly shop everybody,
and you just start looking for the best possible deals
and just kind of blow this thing up incrementally as
the deals come around. There's gonna be a team out
there that could use Esmon Bank.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Oh great, I think Houston is.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
That's a fun one if they strike out, if they
somehow don't get Kevin Durant, which it seems all signs
are pointing to them getting Kevin Durant. But if they
don't get Kevin Durant, I think taking a swing atch
that would be awesome.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
He's better than Jalen Green. Jalen Green is like your textbook.
If the pull up shut jump shots going, he's unbelievable.
But if it's not going, then it's a complete adventure.
John Moran brings some real like rim pressure playmaking ability
that that Jalen just doesn't bring.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
And he know he has his deficiencies as a player too,
but he is a legitimately special last possession ISO score.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Oh my god, Yeah, he is so good at that, dude.
If they that's what makes like the Memphis thing so tantalizing,
is if they could figure everything else out like that,
that ability to get into a close game where Jaw
is just gonna beat someone off the dribble to his
left hand and then just pop up off the floor
from eight feet and knock down that float or that
nobody can guard like it. It's like that upside is there,
(41:37):
just it. He hasn't become well rounded enough to be
a good floor raiser the way that he used to be,
and the team itself is not talented enough in terms
of two way talent.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
All right, let's do one more question. We got a
couple questions about this, Jason, what is your hair care?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
I have no idea because I this is my first
time in my life having long hair. I I my
wife gets me like a real basic like curl cream
thing that I use that she's in charge of My
wife also has hair of similar length, so we've been
joking around that we have the same hair these days.
But frankly, I'm still learning how to do it. Like
(42:14):
I finally started using these headbands because it was getting
out of control. I got sick and tired of of
having it flop around while I was trying to do
the show. And then the other thing that's been driving
me crazy, Jackson, is I wear this like headband when
I'm playing now, like a big headband, and like I
like will come off of a screen and like elevate
into a jump shot and a little piece of hair
will come over and like hit me in the eye,
(42:36):
and I'm like, all right, it's time to get a haircut.
Like this is driving me crazy. It's not worth it
if it's offering additional contests on the pull up jump shot.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
You know, That's how I know my hair when I
That's how I know I need a haircut. Is when
my haircut, I'm like, damn, I just got hit. I
hit myself in the eye somehow.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yes exactly. I get like viscerally upset about it. But
it's like you can't, like I can't. It's not long
enough to like put in a ponytail, and I don't
let it get that long, so like it's not one
of those things where I can just strap it all back.
I kind of just have to keep it under control.
But good question. That's all we have for tonight, guys.
As always, be sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting me
and supporting the show. One other bit of news, I
(43:11):
did record with my buddy Luke a podcast that covered
the first three episodes of and Or, So if you
guys are Star Wars fans, head over to Twosun's podcast,
and I have a link of it on my Twitter
feed as well at underscore JSNLT. But you can get
a reaction to the first three episodes of and or otherwise.
Tomorrow morning, we're gonna have a brief film session on
the Celtics Magic Game, and then right back to it
(43:33):
tomorrow night live on YouTube after the final buzzer. I
will see you guys then. What's guys? As always, I
appreciate you for listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. They
would actually be really helpful for us if you guys
would take a second and leave a rating and a review.
As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if
you could take a minute to do that, I really
appreciate it. The volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.