Latest / Small Ball with Kenny Beecham / Grading The Top Offseason Moves 2 Weeks In The Season

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Grading The Top Offseason Moves 2 Weeks In The Season · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

0:00
SPEAKER_01: I gotta give credit to James Harden.
0:01
SPEAKER_01: I don't believe in 2023 that James Harden is a system, but Prime James James Harden is like the definition of a system.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: Welcome, welcome back to the Kenny Beachum podcast.
0:19
SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, today we're gonna be grading the off-season acquisitions that you just saw from Damian Lillard all the way down the Jordan Pool.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Now I don't want to tell you that's a diss to Jordan.
0:30
SPEAKER_01: Jordan, we're gonna talk about why you're at the bottom, all right?
0:33
SPEAKER_01: Be sure to leave a like, subscribe to the channel if you are new around here.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: I've been telling y'all that my goal is to become the number one basketball podcast in America.
0:41
SPEAKER_01: And we've been steadily climbing up the charts.
0:44
SPEAKER_01: Last time we talked, we were number four in basketball podcasts, which is amazing.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: So again, I want to say I appreciate you for that.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: But I found out today that the charts that I was looking at were faulty.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: And if you look at the Spotify top sports podcasts, you just scroll down just a little bit, you will see the number seven sports podcasts in America is this little show.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: The Candy Beecher Podcast is number seven in all of sports.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: See, our goal was to become the number one basketball podcast in America.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: We've found our way into number seven in all of sports.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: And the six shows above us are football related.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: So you can you can make the argument that we've already achieved the goal as a number one basketball podcast.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: The one caveat is Bill Simmons is above us, and Bill Simmons is basketball and football and interviews, and he does a lot of stuff in his show.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: But for the most part, you can make an argument that this is number one.
1:37
SPEAKER_01: And I appreciate you for that.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: But now we're moving the goalposts.
1:40
SPEAKER_01: We're no longer just trying to get number one in basketball, because well, that was easy.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: We want, I'm gonna say it, I'm gonna be the loser for a second.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: We want to get the number one podcast, uh sports podcasts in America, and that's gonna be tough because anybody telling you that basketball can compete with football on any front is lying to you.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: If the six shows above us are football related, that must let you know that the market for football is crazy.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: So not only am I talking to Shannon Sharp no more, we passed that, Shannon.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to you.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: We now go, we're now talking to Travis Kelsey, Jason Kelsey, and the Swifties.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: We coming for the number one spot.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: And I can't do that without your help.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: So leave a like.
2:27
SPEAKER_01: Five stars on Spotify and Apple.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
2:30
SPEAKER_01: Let's get into the basketball talk, ladies and gentlemen.
2:33
SPEAKER_01: Let's grade the top acquisitions that we just saw this previous offseason.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: Another legendary offseason.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: I want you to sit back and think about all of the crazy things that went on and compare it to some of the other years.
2:45
SPEAKER_01: This was one of the better ones.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: It just was.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: The guy, a guy of Damian Lillard's caliber doesn't get traded very often.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: And we got that.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, Drew Holiday's poor zygasis of the world don't get traded super.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's not true.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: Blair Empowerment got everybody moving left to right, but let's talk about it.
3:00
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm doing this on a very traditional report card scale, A through F.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: We're not tier ranking, so there's no S.
3:06
SPEAKER_01: And I do want to say I'm only using the two-week sample size that we have.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm not trying to project or predict how this combination of players and teams might look, but just on the two-week sample size, how we grade them, and maybe we dive back into it after a month or two months or so on and so forth, and see if things have got better or gotten worse.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: The biggest off-season acquisition was Damian Lillard being acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: One of the craziest and more unexpected trades of recent history.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: I gave it a C.
3:38
SPEAKER_01: The Milwaukee Bucks don't look like the team that a lot of people anticipated.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: And again, given time, I believe that it will get better and better and better.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: But one of the reasons I was so excited about seeing Damian Lillard in the Milwaukee Bucks jerks is obviously he was going to be playing alongside, arguably the best player in the world.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: No, no lower than number two.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: And I thought the match was so perfect with Damian Lillard being one of the best pick and roll players in basketball because of how much of a threat he is from beyond the arc and get into the basket.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: And when Jan is being this freak, this freight train get into the rim.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: I thought for sure we're about to see pick and roll after pick and roll after pick and roll, and that it was going to be unstoppable.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: We're not seeing that.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: Actually, we're seeing it a lot less than anybody anticipated.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: The first game of the season, we saw it like 11 dimes.
4:24
SPEAKER_01: And since since then, we got single digits, single digits, single digits, and they played against the New York Knicks the other day.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: A little aside, I respect the New York Knicks heavily.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: I respect Tom Thibodeau as my former coach here in Chicago, as if I was on the team, but you get what I'm saying.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: They have something about their team that makes them so hard to watch.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: I respect them.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: And I think they're gonna be good, even though they started off out the gate pretty slow because Julius Randle can't get a shot.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: But it's something about the viewing experience that's missing.
4:50
SPEAKER_01: They played against the New York Knicks.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, nasty televised game.
4:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we were told that Adrian Griffin had a meeting with the veterans and the team.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: So maybe they do things differently.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: Maybe they will start with a pick and roll and start doing it pretty often.
5:03
SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
5:04
SPEAKER_01: The very first play of the game was a Damian Lillard Giannis pick and roll.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, ah, here we go.
5:09
SPEAKER_01: They're starting off with it, they're gonna do it again and again and again.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: They still didn't do it a lot.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: But the first time they did it, it ended in a Giannis bucket.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: And I just don't really understand how they just don't run it enough.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: Because the numbers are saying, this is for the team, this is not just talking about Damian Lillard and Giannis.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: But for the team, points per possession on a pick and roll is 1.05, which is second in the entire league.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: So when it comes to the effectiveness of a pick and roll, again, we're not even just talking about Dame.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: We're talking about pick and roll opportunities from the minutes restriction, Chris Middleton, or pick and roll from this player and this player.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: It is a 1.05 points per possession, the second all the ball.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: But the problem is the frequency, which is all the way down to the 22nd.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: Now, that is not like a Damian Lillard team.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: And I think first year coach Adrian Griffin is learning on the fly.
5:57
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have to acknowledge the fact that Terry Stotz, who was in charge of the offense, walked away from the team right before the season started.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: And because of that, that's why I'm assuming we're seeing the offensive woes as far as the lack of P and R.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: But there's also one thing that's bothering me about this Damian Lillard thing because I'm giving it a C.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I said that off top.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: I'm giving the Damian Lillard-Giannis combination a C right off rip.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: It has it look pretty.
6:20
SPEAKER_01: Another thing that's bothering me is that we've seen the shots per game for Dame and Giannis drop off.
6:26
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm giving it time, they're adjusting the plan with each other, but to see Damian Lillard's shots per game drop by six, and then also see Giannis's shots per game drop by five is wild to me.
6:39
SPEAKER_01: They're averaging 14 and 15 shots per game, respectively.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, okay, how does that really compare to some of the other elite-level duos across ball?
6:48
SPEAKER_01: Where the Jays are still getting up 20 shots a game, Tyrese Maxi and Joel LeBead are still getting up 20.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: So, like, there has to be this balance where we recognize who Dame is and who Giannis is, and start to give them more possessions because that's going to be better than pretty much any other shot you could really get.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: So the P and R is something that we're not seeing a lot.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: But the thing that I am the most worried about, or at least I was into the Knicks game, and I'll explain why.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: It's the defense.
7:15
SPEAKER_01: Because before the Knicks game, they were one of the worst defensive teams of basketball.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: If you eliminated all the garbage time, they were 29th.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: And if you added that garbage time, they were the worst defensive team in the history of basketball.
7:24
SPEAKER_01: I like to take out the garbage time because for the most part, that's not a good representation of what Giannis or Dame or the starting five is going to do.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: That's like, I don't know, AJ Green and all of the Livingston and stuff.
7:37
SPEAKER_01: That's not really indicative of the starting lineup.
7:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, the defense had been bad.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: And then they played against the Knicks.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, hold on.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: This is the defense I'm used to from the Milwaukee Bucks.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: And why it changed is early in the season, talking about the first three to four games of the season, it was very apparent that they were trying to force as many turnovers as possible, where they were bringing Brooke Lopez up to the point of attack and having him like head screens pretty heavily, uh trap the ball handler, which is completely different than what made Brooke Lopez the most one of the most uh defensive-oriented players in basketball.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: Remember, he used the runner-up for DPOY, and they completely changed the scheme and put him in a position that he's just not really built for.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: And because they're going out and trying to cause a lot of turnovers and things, the defense was very porse.
8:22
SPEAKER_01: We knew that their defense is going to be bad.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: They traded away Drew Holiday.
8:25
SPEAKER_01: They're telling Malik Beasley, Malik, this is your job to go defend the best player on the other teams.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: Malik Beasley not really like that.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: So to also tell Brooke Lopez that he has to stay away from the basket was just different.
8:37
SPEAKER_01: And then the next game happened.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: And this is something Adrian Griffin said after the game.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes as coaches, we're too smart for our own selves.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: And so a couple players came to me.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: I won't disclose who, but they wanted Brooke deeper and drop, and I was smart enough to listen to him.
8:53
SPEAKER_01: And guess what, y'all?
8:54
SPEAKER_01: They went from a team that was allowing 87% from the field, at least in the painted area.
9:00
SPEAKER_01: When you got to the painted area in the first couple of games against the Milky Bucks, you were shooting 87%.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: And in that Knicks game, it was 57.1.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: Brook Lopez was blocking everything.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: Also, shout out to Julius Randle because he helped us because he missed every shot that game.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: So the defense, I think, is going to get better and better and better.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: But the real question is when it matters the most, and we're talking about playoff ball, can you find a way to get either Damian Lillard to buy in or to hide him?
9:26
SPEAKER_01: Because the Damian Lillard individual experience has not been good defensively.
9:30
SPEAKER_01: And now that the offense is not the Damian Lillard offense that we expect, it's like it's not outweighing itself.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: So uh I'm gonna give it the a C-off rip, but I do anticipate with the defense getting better and them starting to realize the offense a little bit, it will get higher, but right now, maybe not as good as we anticipated.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: Now let's talk about another team that made some big old changes this offseason.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: A team that had been a team that was known for its continuity.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: We saw Marcus Smart, Jalen Brown, and Jason Tatum play together for so very long with Al Horford there as well.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: And they decided to make some changes.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: The the heart and soul, Marcus Smart, is now in Memphis, and they brought in Drew Holiday and Chris Dasper Zengis.
10:08
SPEAKER_01: And boy, oh boy, this right here, this team right now is the last undefeated team left in basketball.
10:15
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm not discrediting it or anything, but they've had a cupcake schedule so far, which is okay.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: What differentiates a team that is good versus really good is taking care of business, and that's exactly what they've been doing.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: But today they play against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm just a little, I'm just a little bit intrigued by the matchup against the Timberwolves.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying the Timberwolves are these world beaters or anything, but they've been playing good basketball.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: So have the Celtics.
10:39
SPEAKER_01: It's one of my most anticipated games for tonight, and we'll see if the win streak stays alive.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: But still undefeated a couple weeks into the season is a huge dub.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: Jason Taton was playing like an MVP caliber player.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: The Jays is looking, or Jalen Brown is looking so good that I haven't seen a single person make a tweet about his contract.
10:55
SPEAKER_01: That's how we gauge what type of performances Jalen Brown is having.
10:59
SPEAKER_01: If people bring up$300 million, then he must be struggling.
11:02
SPEAKER_01: If they not, then he's doing all right.
11:04
SPEAKER_01: They have this luxury of having Drew Holiday and poor Ziggis on the team.
11:09
SPEAKER_01: Drew Holliday so far this season has been so very good, but still he's maybe the fourth most impactful player.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: You could argue he might be the fifth most most impactful player.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: And that's not meaning that he's bad.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: But the Jays, Poor Zeggis, and bald Derek White.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: I made a joke or video years ago, maybe five years ago on my first official show when I was kind of filling some things out called The Foul Shot.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: You might be able to find it on YouTube.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: Maybe not.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: I might have unlisted those videos.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: Where I made a joke telling LeBron to finally call it quits with the hair.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: And still, here we are five years later, LeBron still got his hair.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: But just trying to make the joke that when MJ cut his hair, his numbers went up.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Derek White just did the same thing.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Cut his hair, and he's already one of the more impactful players in basketball.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: But don't ask ESPN because they didn't have him in the top 100.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: He's one of the best defensive guards in all the ball.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: And now he can't miss.
12:02
SPEAKER_01: So you can make an argument that this season, so far through the first two weeks, Derek White has been the better player than Drew Holiday, and that is a crazy luxury to have.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: When it comes to backcourts defensively, there are not teams hanging with Derek White and Drew Holliday.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: So Derek White and his Celtics tenure has missed two different games.
12:22
SPEAKER_01: One of them was in the Eastern Commons Finals last year, and that is when his first child was born.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: And then the second time he missed a game was a couple nights ago when his second child was born.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: This man does not miss games unless it's to bring a life into the world.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: So congratulations to the White family.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: But when him with him being out, I was very interested to see what's going to happen.
12:41
SPEAKER_01: Because the Boston Celtics, though they're like very good and six deep up top, it's like seven through ten.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: You're like, okay, Sam Hauser, we can believe in that.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: Luke Kernet, maybe a little bit.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: Uh Peyton Pritchard got paid.
12:52
SPEAKER_01: So without him being in the lineup, I'm like, okay, how is this gonna go?
12:55
SPEAKER_01: Drew Holiday just filled all the holes.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Simply, just did that.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: And then Jason Tatum uh scored his 10,000 point.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: It was pretty easy.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: Well, it wasn't an easy game, but they made it look easy while while just letting Drew Holiday be the all-star caliber player that we know he can be.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: Poor Zingis has been this revelation, though.
13:13
SPEAKER_01: Poor Zingis playing in Washington.
13:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, he had a really good year.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: And if you were really into it, you noticed that, right?
13:20
SPEAKER_01: I cannot say that I've watched a ton of Washington Wizards game last season, but I definitely was keeping up with Poor Zingis and he had a really good year, but more than anything, he had a healthier year.
13:28
SPEAKER_01: And that was one of the reasons why Brad Stevens felt pretty confident in trading for him and extending him without seeing him on the floor because he was just coming off a really good year, probably his best year since his all-star appearance in New York.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: And so far, he's looked amazing.
13:43
SPEAKER_01: He he gives this ability to protect the paint and also stretch the floor like no other.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: But there are some things, and the things that I'm looking out for when they go against the Bay Monaballes, the uh Joel and Beats, and then Nikola Jokic a couple times a year, maybe even in the NBA Finals, how would he fare?
14:01
SPEAKER_01: Because in the one game against the Miami Heat, Bayamatabaio is kind of taking it into the chest of Porzingis over and over again.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just interested to see if they have like a full series against some of those players.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: How do they scheme for it?
14:13
SPEAKER_01: But when it comes to a day-to-day basis, game-to-game basis, Porzingis is a perfect fit for what they want to do.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Missoula Ball, I won't say it's simple because I'm not playing it, I'm not running the schemes and stuff, but from a viewering perspective, it's kind of a simple game.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: Get three pointers up, get to the basket.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: And Porzingis can help you do both of those things from a seven foot three frame, which is crazy.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: I am grading both of them because we're doing it collectively here, an A.
14:39
SPEAKER_01: And the only reason it's not an A, you gotta be perfect to get an A plus.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying that aloud, maybe they deserve A because they are literally the only team in the league that is still perfect.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna stick with an A right now.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Drew Holiday and Chris Das Porzingis.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: Now let's get to my favorite offseason acquisition, Christopher Emmanuel Paul with the Golden State Warriors.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: Man, I was so hyped for this one.
15:00
SPEAKER_01: I don't really know what it was gonna look like, how it was gonna fit, especially when we talk about the history between Draymond and Chris Paul, or Chris Paul and the Golden State Warriors.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Y'all, it looks good.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm saying this right now, right after I watched them, or I guess Chris Paul put up a stinker against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: So I had it ranked as an A.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I could keep an at an A.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to think about if I gave Drew Holly a Perzigas an A, I don't I can't give Chris Paul an A, right?
15:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give it an a B plus, which is Laura just a little bit on the fly because he's he's struggled uh today.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: But I do want to say he's not averaging crazy numbers.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: Before the game, he was averaging uh eight points, four rebounds, nine assists.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: And then in the game, he didn't really score, he didn't get an assist.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: So these numbers that I'm reading to you are not even up to date anymore because he's worse now.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: But he was shooting 33% from the field, 4.8% from three, and 81% from the free throw line.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: You like Kenny.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: How can you even give that a B if he's averaging less than 10 points per game and he can't hit threes in a system that's heavily three-point related?
16:04
SPEAKER_01: Because he adds a different element to the Golden State Warriors.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: If you look at the history of Steph Curry, especially since he hits all-stardom, there's only been one time in his NBA career where his off net rating was positive.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: And for y'all to for y'all to don't don't don't really recognize what that means.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: Anytime Steph Curry went off the floor, his team was horrible at maintaining whatever job this man had done.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: The one time that they were a plus with the net rating was a 2017-2018, and it was a plus 1.19.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: So barely, barely above average, barely above okay.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: This season, again, before the Cavaliers game at least, the net rating was a 20.38.
16:51
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm not expecting that, I'm definitely not expect expecting that to hold.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: But I do believe that he will, Chris Paul in that second unit, will be the best second unit, the best unit when Steph Curry's off the floor in the entirety of Steph Curry's career.
17:09
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of that is given to Chris Paul because he has this ability to just settle things down.
17:17
SPEAKER_01: They don't call him the point guy for nothing.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: He does that.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: Now, the problem with Chris Paul being on the second unit that with his shot not falling, and in a game like today against the Cleveland Cavaliers, if the the team or the team, the second unit shot's not falling, so if Kaming is not shooting the shots well, Dario's not hitting the shots well, Chris Paul's value dips significantly.
17:39
SPEAKER_01: But when he puts that ball in the money and uh Gary Payton, the second is diving to the basket for a dunk, Chris Paul shows all his value.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: But if his shooters aren't shooting, it's gonna be rough because he has lost his step, he's lost his bounce.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: The mid-range jump shot that was so money, just two years ago, it's not hitting like it used to.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: And I'm as a Chris Paul super fan, it hurts my heart to see him play sometimes.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: But the silver lining is that he's playing for the Warriors and they have enough talent to kind of kind of look over the fact that he is struggling to score himself.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: Even he talked about in his post-game interview that he's having the the worst shooting start to his career, and it hasn't mattered because of the Golden State Warriors.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: Or most mostly Steph Curry.
18:25
SPEAKER_01: The man is on a crazy run again.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: It makes no sense to me that he is in year 14, what is he, 35, 36 years old, and he is still looking like one of the top players in the league.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: Like, I want y'all to really think about where we are as NBA fans and the amount of 35 plus players involved that are still very, very good.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: From Braun, who's almost 40, to Kevin Arant, who's 35, to Steph Curry, who's also 35, 36.
18:51
SPEAKER_01: Like, we've never in the history of ball had this many past 35-year-olds be considered top 10 players or top 15 players, even top 20 if you if you don't want to be generous at all.
19:04
SPEAKER_01: Like, we're hitting this new step and this new cycle when it comes to longevity in the league.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: And I think that it's only gonna get better and better and better because uh players care more about their bodies.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: When you think about where Steph Curry came into the league or even LeBron James back in 2003, that man went, they won't take care of their bodies in the offseason.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: Now, LeBron is spending over a million dollars annually to keep his body in shape.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying that Steph or KD are doing that much as far as that much money spent, but obviously they're more cognizant now about the way to take care of their bodies versus when those players were drafted.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: So imagine players of like Sher Gibbs, Alexander, Luca Dontis, and so on and so forth, how good they could look at 35 with all of the medical technology, with the the advanced stats and all of the tracking data to say that, oh maybe Shea should sit out this game because this is just not bad for his knees or whatever.
19:51
SPEAKER_01: I just, man, Steph Curry's doing his thing.
19:53
SPEAKER_01: But Chris Paul being able to hold things down is just different.
19:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh, even Draymond, Draymond Green had some quotes about the chemistry of the team just being different.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: How last year he didn't like coming to work and the things were awkward, woo, woo, woo.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: And you can't help but to make jokes about it because Draymond, you remember what you did, right?
20:12
SPEAKER_01: Like, how could it not be awkward after that?
20:14
SPEAKER_01: You know, and I'll just leave it at that.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: Draymond, come to the Kenny Beach and podcast.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about it.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: Um, but Chris Paul just adds a different element.
20:20
SPEAKER_01: He slows things down when they need to slow it down.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, even the minutes with him and Steph Curry together are at least a fun watch because Steph Curry, it's been a few players throughout the history of the league where you feel pretty good about Steph Curry coming off screens and the ball being in the right spot, like Draymond Green, Iggy, um, or even Sean Livingston, when they played their limited amount of minutes together, they had an uh a way of understanding the way Steph Curry moves and where he wanted the ball.
20:43
SPEAKER_01: Though we were talking about less than 10 game sample size between Steph Curry and Chris Paul, I'm starting to get a feel that Chris Paul is doing that as well.
20:50
SPEAKER_01: They don't play a ton of minutes together.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Even Steve Kerr said that uh Chris Paul is mostly going to be running with the second unit because that's just his role.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: And he's embraced it, which is cool because he spent 1300 games in his NBA career starting before his first one coming off the bench.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: So um, shout out to Chris Paul.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I I can see the comment section say my bias is showing, but it is the Kenny Beats and podcast.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: Before we get into some other gradings, it is time for AskKB.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: Hashtag ASKKB.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: If you want to be featured in the next episode, you can ask me anything, and I of course I'm not answering anything, but you can ask me anything, and I'm picking my favorites every single episode.
21:34
SPEAKER_01: Starting off from Mike Ben here, if you if you're a fan of the Candy Beach and Pod, you might know this name.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Mike Ben here, he's one of the co hosts on my other podcast.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: Uh Harden said he's not a system player, he's a system.
21:47
SPEAKER_01: Who are the other systems in basketball?
21:50
SPEAKER_01: Now, the context of Harden saying this is quite interesting.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: I really recommend everybody go in to watch his 20, oh no, it was the 18 minute introduction to the Clippers, and he's playing his first official game today versus the So it should be fun.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: Um, but he said he's not a system player, he is a system, which scared me a little bit.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, it would scare me a little bit if I am a Clippers fan, but I digress.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: It should be interesting to see him play nonetheless.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: Who are the other systems in basketball?
22:14
SPEAKER_01: And we're talking about one-person armies, if you will, that the they are the system.
22:20
SPEAKER_01: And I don't want to say, I don't want you to think that because someone is very, very, very, very good at basketball, that means that they are the system because that's just not the case.
22:28
SPEAKER_01: Some of the best players in basketball, I'm not calling the system.
22:31
SPEAKER_01: Giannis, in my opinion, is not a system.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: Jordan Bede, in my opinion, is not a system.
22:37
SPEAKER_01: They're great NBA players, but they're not a system, right?
22:40
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about the individual player.
22:43
SPEAKER_01: All right.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: We got to start off with the guy we just talked about in the last segment, uh, Steph Curry.
22:47
SPEAKER_01: Do I need to explain anymore?
22:48
SPEAKER_01: The fact that he has not been able, or they have not been able to build a secondary squad to keep his net rating off the court from being good tells you everything you need to know.
22:59
SPEAKER_01: And we've talked, we the Warriors have had so many really dominant and really good teams.
23:04
SPEAKER_01: And the fact there's only been one year where his off net rating was positive just shows you that this man is a system in himself.
23:10
SPEAKER_01: The movement and so on and so forth is not for the faint of heart.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: We've seen people like Kelly Ubre, we've seen people like D'Angelo Rosso come in and try.
23:19
SPEAKER_01: They can't.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: That man is a system, and he has been for a very long time.
23:23
SPEAKER_01: The next guy is Luka Doncic.
23:25
SPEAKER_01: I don't need to explain it.
23:26
SPEAKER_01: Since the first year of Luka Doncic's career, the man has been a system.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: He's been one of the highest usage players in all the ball, and for good reason.
23:36
SPEAKER_01: Because the way he plays and the way he performs as that lead guard is a it's just a really good recipe to win games.
23:43
SPEAKER_01: I know last year they didn't make the playoffs.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of things that go into that.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: He is a system in himself.
23:48
SPEAKER_01: I gotta get credit to James Harden.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: I don't believe in 2023 that James Harden is a system, but prime James James Harden is like the definition of a system.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: Like in those Houston Rocket years when it was him five outing with Clint Capella, you know, driving to the diving to the basket.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: That is a system.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: And he was that.
24:08
SPEAKER_01: But in 2023, that he's lost a step, and he's not as good maybe because of the quad injury or the hamstring injuries that he's dealt with, or just because of age.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: He's not a system anymore.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna disagree with Harden saying he's a system now.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: But in the past, come on, man, it's not many systems that are more effective than his, especially in the regular season.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: Uh Seth Curry's system was good enough to uh help him win a bunch of championships.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: So you can make the argument that that one was better.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: But as far as the regular season goes, James Harden's system was good.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: It was so good that they they decided to trade everybody over 6'6 and they ran the same exact way and they won a bunch of games still.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: Like it makes no sense.
24:44
SPEAKER_01: So shout out to James.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: Prime James was an elite level player.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: The next system I have, and this guy is not on the tier of the other people I've talked about.
24:53
SPEAKER_01: Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, these are top 10 players.
24:56
SPEAKER_01: Nikola Jokic is on my list as well, who we'll get to in a second.
24:58
SPEAKER_01: These are top 10 players.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: Trey Young is not a top 10 player.
25:03
SPEAKER_01: But until this year, Trey Young was a system.
25:07
SPEAKER_01: There's some interesting things going on in Atlanta right now.
25:09
SPEAKER_01: And I think we're gonna have to talk about it uh in the next episode.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but there's some interesting things going on in Atlanta, man.
25:15
SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited for it because even though Trey Young is not shooting the ball well this year, they're winning games and they're just looking different.
25:20
SPEAKER_01: Quentin Snyder got them looking a little bit differently.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: We might talk about it, but I do want to say from his sophomore year until the beginning of this year, he was a system where the goal was to just get Trey Young the ball and let him play make, run some pick and roll.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: He's gonna find Clint, he's gonna find whoever it may be.
25:38
SPEAKER_01: That was their system, and it was an effective one, y'all.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: Until last year, whenever Trey Young was on the court, whenever Trey Young was the leader of a team, they were almost a guaranteed top seven offense, no matter the pieces.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: That's how effective of an offensive player Trey Young has been.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: And now I think they're the number two offensive basketball, and Trey Young is not even scoring the ball well.
26:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying, I'm not saying, all right, cool.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: Next, we have a Nikola Jokic, like I mentioned.
26:05
SPEAKER_01: Um his system is so much of him that they decided we don't really need a point guard.
26:11
SPEAKER_01: Like Jamal Murray is a point guard, don't get me wrong, but like they don't need a playmake first point guard, like we see across the league here and there, because Jokic is that in the seven-foot frame.
26:20
SPEAKER_01: I don't need to explain here.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: They just came off a championship run and he's still dominating.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: He is a system.
26:25
SPEAKER_01: He's so much of a system that even a year that Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: missed all of the year, and it was Austin Rivers and Campaso playoff team.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: Like, that's a system, and he is it.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: LeBron a little bit less in 2023, but throughout the course of LeBron's career, he has been a system where he's so much of a system that some guys, like maybe Cal Corford, Darren Williams, that we thought would be great fits alongside him?
26:50
SPEAKER_01: Not necessarily.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: Um, now in 2023, he's trying to get away from that because he's almost 40.
26:56
SPEAKER_01: The goal shouldn't be to give LeBron the ball to LeBron to let him cook when he's almost 40.
27:01
SPEAKER_01: And they told us after game number one, he's on a 28 minutes restriction, and now they can't win unless he gets 35 plus minutes per game.
27:08
SPEAKER_01: The next one comes from Matthew.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: She says, Do you ever get burnt out of watching NBA games?
27:13
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, more so towards the later part of the season.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: And if so, what do you do to help yourself with that as your job?
27:21
SPEAKER_01: That's a very good question.
27:22
SPEAKER_01: The answer is yes.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: Um, not now, obviously, because the season's just started, but uh 100%.
27:26
SPEAKER_01: It is a very long NBA season.
27:27
SPEAKER_01: I think by calendar time, it is the longest of the major sports here in America.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: So you're talking about from October to April in the regular season and then to what July for the NBA finals?
27:38
SPEAKER_01: That is a long time to be watching basketball.
27:40
SPEAKER_01: Or I'm sorry, to June.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's a long time to be watching basketball.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: And yes, I do mostly around Jan 1.
27:46
SPEAKER_01: I will, I won't lie, around Jan 1, right before the all-star break, it does become a little bit tougher.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: And usually what I would do is I will have days where I don't watch any of the games.
27:56
SPEAKER_01: Simple.
27:56
SPEAKER_01: I will do the next morning, I'll go watch highlights or I'll do this or do that, but I'm not crazily locked in all the time.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: You know, you might think that because of the amount of content I push out in the NBA, but it's not always the case.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: You know, I do have a family, I have a wife and a kid, so it's not like six o'clock comes here in the center, I gotta watch from six o'clock to 12 p.m.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: Now, I do want to say there are a lot of times when it is like that, but it's not always the case.
28:19
SPEAKER_01: So in those days where I'm like, ah, this is a no basketball day for me, I typically like it to be a day that doesn't have like a 15-game slate or 10-game slate, mostly the days that might have three to four games, and I'll say, nothing today.
28:32
SPEAKER_01: I'll catch up in the morning.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times it's either watching highlights, watching possessions of players that might have gone off, reading articles, or listening to other people's podcasts to kind of stay in tune.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: But 100% being burnt out on something like this is pretty regular.
28:46
SPEAKER_01: And I think that most people that cover sports in general go through the same thing.
28:50
SPEAKER_01: The last question comes from Josh Gathage, an OG fan of the Kenny Beachum product, I guess.
28:55
SPEAKER_01: It's uh I put out a lot of content in my life.
28:58
SPEAKER_01: Build a starting lineup of players who shoot sub 30% from three in their career smiley face.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: This is fun because obviously the three-point shot is so very important nowadays, but it wasn't always the case.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: My front court was pretty easy.
29:13
SPEAKER_01: The front court was easy because majority of my favorite bigs in history just aren't shooters.
29:17
SPEAKER_01: My favorite big in history is a shooter.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Dirk, but like majority of them aren't.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: It was a matter of how do we put together a competent, very good team that cannot shoot.
29:25
SPEAKER_01: So I thought about Magic Johnson, but if you look at Magic Johnson's stats, he shot just over 30%.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: And I was so very mad.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: I decided not to include anybody that played in the era without a three-point shot because that seems like kind of cheating, you know what I'm saying?
29:39
SPEAKER_01: Even if it was like Wilt Chamberlain, he probably wouldn't have been pulling from half court.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: But then again, it's Will Chamberlain.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: Every story we know about him is just crazy.
29:46
SPEAKER_01: So here's my lineup.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: At the one, I got Chicago's very own Isaiah Thomas, Zeke.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: Bad boy pissed in Isaiah Thomas, one of the greatest of all time.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: I think he shot 29% from three throughout his career.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: So barely, barely made it in here.
29:59
SPEAKER_01: But the man was an absolute dog.
30:01
SPEAKER_01: Um, though him and Michael Jordan got their things.
30:03
SPEAKER_01: He was one of the toughest players ever playing on that bum ankle.
30:06
SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously, this is well before my time, but I've heard all the stories from the old heads in the barbershop.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: You feel me?
30:11
SPEAKER_01: He obviously gets talked about a ton here in Chicago, too, by the older guys, with him being from Chicago.
30:16
SPEAKER_01: My number two player.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: And this feels wrong, but it is right.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: Another Chicagoan.
30:21
SPEAKER_01: Dwayne Wade, another one of my favorite players of all time, a sub-30% three-point shooter.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: And actually, now that I'm saying that aloud, I'm starting to double question myself because I know obviously he was not a shooter, but sub-30, even the bad players got to 30.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: He got to 29.3.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: Oh, Dwayne Wade, welcome to the team.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: So my backcourt, Isaiah Thomas and Dwayne Wade, uh, Chicago centric for sure.
30:45
SPEAKER_01: And I'm coaching.
30:45
SPEAKER_01: So, like, we got a lot of shots out love around here.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: So the small four position was the hardest because my fate, all of my favorite small fours in history can shoot.
30:53
SPEAKER_01: At least better than 30%, whether it be Braun, whether it be Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, they all can shoot.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, okay, what if I went on traditional?
31:02
SPEAKER_01: Not a guy that is widely renowned as a small four, but we've seen him play small four before.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: Give me the Greek freak, Giannis Adela Kumpo, as my three.
31:11
SPEAKER_01: And then the front court is easy for me.
31:13
SPEAKER_01: Tim Duncan shot less than 10% from three in his career.
31:16
SPEAKER_01: Less than 10% from three in his career.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Tim Duncan.
31:18
SPEAKER_01: And then Shaq.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: Shaq, the most dominant player I've ever seen.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: So my lineup is Zeke, the Flash, the Greek freak, Mr.
31:27
SPEAKER_01: Fundamental, and Dick Diesel.
31:35
SPEAKER_01: Now let's talk about some other players that are on new teams.
31:38
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go to the Houston Rockets pair of Fred Van Vliet and Dylan Brooks, who currently sit at 2-3, which is pretty good for the Houston Rockets.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: They have a legitimate team, and their starting lineup is actually good.
31:51
SPEAKER_01: Now, the the numbers of uh when they get away from that starlight, I'm not as good, but they have the 17th ranked offense and the 16th ranked defense, which when you when you consider where the Houston Rockets were last year, as if not the worst team in the league, one of the worst teams in the league, them being middle of the pack on O and a D is a blessing.
32:10
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna say right now, Fred Van Vliet and Dylan Brooks get an A considering the circumstances, right?
32:15
SPEAKER_01: Because they're not, well, I'm sorry, Dylan Brooks is, but like Fred Van Vliet, who was the$443 million man annually, whatever the number is, he's not having a crazy year.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: 17.8 points per game, 3.6 assists or 3.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 37% from the field, 36% from three.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
32:33
SPEAKER_01: This is the Fred Vliet experience, right?
32:35
SPEAKER_01: With him being a smaller guard and him not putting a ton of pressure on the rim, majority of his shots are going to be jump shots.
32:39
SPEAKER_01: So his field goal percentage is always going to be around 40%.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: And it has been the case for the entirety of his career.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: But even though his his actual percentages are not crazy, he is completely holding it down.
32:51
SPEAKER_01: It is a dramatic change between a point guard in a Fred Van Vliet and not a point guard, which is what they didn't have last year.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: And that is the reason why they overpaid to have him.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't because they thought that Fred Van Vliet was worth 43 million dollars annually, that he's worth the amount of money that I don't know, that LeBron is making.
33:09
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's even true.
33:10
SPEAKER_01: But it's not that he should be in the top 5% in the NBA players when it comes to being paid, but instead they needed some form of stability, and Fred Van Vliet brings that for them, at least so far.
33:22
SPEAKER_01: And Dylan Brooks, Dylan Brooks is the reason why this is an A.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: He is averaging 17.8 points as well, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 60% from the field, 60% from three, and 93% from the free throw line.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: The rare 60-60-90 club.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously, I don't need to say this, but this is not sustainable.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: This is not the Dylan Brooks you and I know.
33:46
SPEAKER_01: But my major gripe with Dylan Brooks over the last two years of his career specifically wasn't the fact that he he does too much on the court where he's extra and getting in people's face.
33:56
SPEAKER_01: I don't really mind that part.
33:58
SPEAKER_01: It was the fact that he felt like he deserved 15 shots a game.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: Especially after the breakout of Dylan Brooks over, I'm not, I'm sorry, of Desmond Bain over the last couple of years, and John Morant being his talent, and Jaron Jackson Jr.
34:11
SPEAKER_01: being his talent.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: The fact that we still got 15 shots a game from Dylan Brooks was just mind-blowing because he was one of the least efficient players in all of basketball.
34:21
SPEAKER_01: Again, I don't believe he's gonna be 60, 60, 90, but we've seen his usage go down significantly where he's attempted like 10 shots a game, and that is like a sweet spot for Dylan Brooks because he's already gonna bring the defense that he made all defensive team last year, if you don't remember.
34:35
SPEAKER_01: He's already gonna bring that.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: So if he is giving you 10 shots a game and he's at least decently efficient, that is a good player.
34:43
SPEAKER_01: And he's been really, really, really good.
34:45
SPEAKER_01: When they're on the court together, they have a real lineup.
34:48
SPEAKER_01: And you need that there in Houston.
34:51
SPEAKER_01: Because before this, it was a lot of chaos.
34:53
SPEAKER_01: Ime Udoka got these boys settled down.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: And though you haven't seen the breakouts that you might have wanted from a Jabari Smith Jr.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: or Jalen Green or this player, this player, the fact that you have these two vets in the locker room and these two vets on the court is going a very long way where you have two wins early into the season.
35:10
SPEAKER_01: And even one of their losses was against Wik Victor Wibinyama in overtime where he took over.
35:15
SPEAKER_01: So it's like this team has potential and they have these steady vets to play.
35:20
SPEAKER_01: They're even playing guys like Jeff Green or Reggie Bullock's getting minutes here and there.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: And though the numbers don't say it's working, it's just different than last year, where everybody on your roster was so 23 years old and all trying to get theirs.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: Now there's still a few players on their roster that's trying to get theirs.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: But the fact that Freddie is here giving you almost nine assists a game from the PG position, and Dylan Brooks is helping instill this culture of defense, that's all you can really ask for.
35:44
SPEAKER_01: So I'm giving it an A as well.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: Again, is it the same as Drew Holiday and Porzingis?
35:49
SPEAKER_01: No, but they're graded on a different scale, considering this is a rebuilding team versus Drew Holly and Porzingis.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: Maybe I'll get an A plus.
35:57
SPEAKER_01: Maybe I'll get an A plus.
35:58
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
35:58
SPEAKER_01: Because now, again, this feels weird to put Dylan Brooks and Fray Van Vlee in the same tier as Drew and Porzingis.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna keep it.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: Both get A's, all right?
36:06
SPEAKER_01: The next guy I'm gonna talk about is Bradley Beal.
36:09
SPEAKER_01: I want I want it to, but we can't because he hasn't he hasn't played just yet, and they desperately need him now.
36:14
SPEAKER_01: Luckily, it's a long season.
36:16
SPEAKER_01: Um we we do this thing of overreacting this early in the season, but this is kind of the way things go.
36:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I didn't really think about it last year, how like the Sacramento Kings started off 0-4, and the LA Lakers were like one and five to start the year.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: There are there are a lot of things that happened early last year that completely got washed over by halfway through the season.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: And I'm assuming that's gonna be the case too.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: So though the Phoenix Suns are starting off slowish, obviously, not to the caliber they anticipated, where Bradley will come back, I'm sure they'll get into the swing of things.
36:46
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about his teammate, though, Yusuf Nurkic.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: In the moment in time, I did not like uh the trade.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: I tried to be the uh the silver lining guy, tried to play devil's advocate and try to point out the few positives of the Yusuf Nurkic experience, but it's been bad, y'all.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm giving it, I got it as C minus.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: I might give it a D plus.
37:08
SPEAKER_01: Let's say C minus, because that's what's in my notes.
37:10
SPEAKER_01: The one problem, one of the problems with Yusuf Nurkic, is for a guy that is seven foot, he does not finish at the rim.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: He is finishing 52% at the rim, and that is the fourth worst amongst all bigs in basketball.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: And the people that he he's behind is Mitchell Robinson, who's historically one of the most effective when it comes to in paint.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: So I'm assuming that Mitchell Robinson is going to get his percentages up.
37:32
SPEAKER_01: Xavier Tillman, who's over tax, is a starting center right now, and Carl Anthony Towns.
37:36
SPEAKER_01: Those are the three people shooting worse at the rim than him uh at the center position, at the big position, and then it's him.
37:41
SPEAKER_01: And the thing that those three dudes have in common is they have a history of being good at the rim.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: Yusuf Nurkits has not hit one, one above-average finishing year in his entire career, and you're seeing it again here.
37:54
SPEAKER_01: It's so bad that in the second game versus the Spurs, he got completely benched for Drew Eubanks.
38:01
SPEAKER_01: It's not ideal.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: He has his moments of brilliance where there's a couple possessions where you can see the playmaking, and that was one of the reasons why it's traded for him, right?
38:09
SPEAKER_01: Because he has the playmaking a level above DeAndre Aiden.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: I cannot deny that.
38:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but nonetheless, it's only in Spurs.
38:15
SPEAKER_01: And when you talk about playmaking, it's just not necessarily as important from that five position because what we've seen from a healthy Devin Booker so far, he's taken over that role as a playmaker, the playmaker.
38:26
SPEAKER_01: He still sets really good screens and this and that, but defensively he's not there.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: And he doesn't finish at the rim.
38:32
SPEAKER_01: So if you're your one thing that you're holding your hat on is that he could pass a little bit, it just feels weird.
38:38
SPEAKER_01: Again, I do I don't want to say I'm gonna assume that Trey and DeAndre Aiden, it was not just like, oh, we think that use of Nurkic is better, but that the relationship between DeAndre Aiden and the Sons were well done.
38:49
SPEAKER_01: So we had to do something, and this is the best we could get.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: I do not like the use of Nurkic's experience so far.
38:54
SPEAKER_01: Drew Eubanks it feels better on the court.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: They've even gone small balls down the stretch in a few of their games.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: So it's just not the most beautiful experience.
39:04
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I don't know if it will get better.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: Again, earlier in the season, I think the first game, first two games of the year, he's looking good.
39:10
SPEAKER_01: Has not sustained itself, though.
39:11
SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about DeAndre Aiden, who flips swaps, flips bots with him, flipped teams.
39:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm gonna be uh very, very candid with this one and the next one.
39:21
SPEAKER_01: The Portland Trailblazers have not been a team that I've watched a ton this year.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: There's so many other teams to watch that I'm sorry, Trailblazer fans, especially after School Hitters got injured.
39:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, yeah, oh no.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: But Shane Sharp is me who I've been watching Shane Sharp's possessions and his defense and trying to figure out where he lands on there.
39:37
SPEAKER_01: But as far as DeAndre Aiden goes, I've watched their, I watched their last game versus the uh the Memphis Grizzlies, and this was my takeaways.
39:44
SPEAKER_01: The defense looks really good.
39:46
SPEAKER_01: Now, there's a time when he played for the Suns, the the playoff series versus the Pelicans, when this is a series that uh either Chris Paul or Devin Booker got injured.
39:54
SPEAKER_01: One of the two, I don't remember because it's been a few years now.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: But I solely believe that that series was won based on DeAndre Aiden's defense and his aggression in that series.
40:04
SPEAKER_01: But since then, we haven't seen that defensive impact from DeAndre Aiden.
40:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean, and Spurts for sure, but as far as full term, we haven't.
40:11
SPEAKER_01: And in the game I watched against the uh Memphis Grizzlies, I saw that same defensive intensity.
40:16
SPEAKER_01: Now, again, because I haven't watched every single game of the year, I don't know if that's holding for the first five games previously.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: But in the one game that I watched and I honed in on him, I saw the defensive um impact.
40:26
SPEAKER_01: We obviously know he's always going to be one of the better rebounders in all of basketball.
40:30
SPEAKER_01: The thing is, and I'm just looking at the numbers here, the usage rate has fallen off a cliff.
40:35
SPEAKER_01: Especially if you look at the early part of the season where he was averaging like six points per game.
40:39
SPEAKER_01: Part of that is because where you have the young guards that they do, and School Henderson and Shaden Sharp, and you know, every time is a positive playmaker, but for the most part, super young players, it's just harder to get players involved.
40:49
SPEAKER_01: Now they have Malcolm Bragg to running the show, and Brogdon is a guy that's gonna get his, that's for sure.
40:54
SPEAKER_01: But DeAndre Aiden saw his uses percentage be at 20% last year.
40:58
SPEAKER_01: And again, he's playing with Devin Booker and Chris Paul, who are guys that we believe that DeAndre Aiden maybe deserve more touches, but but he didn't get him.
41:08
SPEAKER_01: And now you compare that to his his point guard court.
41:10
SPEAKER_01: Now you're like, man, I kind of miss playing with Chris Paul because he got me the ball.
41:14
SPEAKER_01: I've kind of missed playing with Devin Booker because he got me the ball.
41:16
SPEAKER_01: But we haven't seen him say anything about it.
41:18
SPEAKER_01: He's he's completely bought into Portland, which is a good thing.
41:20
SPEAKER_01: 20% usage rate dropped all the way down to 14, y'all.
41:25
SPEAKER_01: So he's not getting the shot attempts, he's not getting the looks that he used to, but he's happy, and that's all that matters.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: The next guy, and the last guy, as far as big acquisitions, is Jordan Poole.
41:38
SPEAKER_01: At the top of the show, I said we were gonna go from Damian Lillard to Jordan Poole, uh, insinuating that Jordan Poole was gonna be an F or something along those lines.
41:47
SPEAKER_01: Guess what Jordan Poole has?
41:48
SPEAKER_01: IDK.
41:50
SPEAKER_01: Because I have not watched the Wizards, I have not sat down and watched a full Wizards game this season.
41:56
SPEAKER_01: And you don't want to know why?
41:57
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to know why?
41:58
SPEAKER_01: There was a game earlier this season where um Daniel Gaffer was out with an injury and they started a lineup of Jones, Pooh, Balau Kulabali, Denny Abdia, and Kyle Kuzma.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: That five.
42:12
SPEAKER_01: That five, no big man.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: I was like, oh yeah, I'm intrigued.
42:15
SPEAKER_01: I even tweeted, I quoted the tweet with the eyes emoji.
42:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm intrigued.
42:19
SPEAKER_01: Them boys gave off 50 points in the first quarter.
42:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I was out.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: That was a game versus the Celtics.
42:26
SPEAKER_01: And if you look at the box score there, I think the Celtics only won by eight or something.
42:29
SPEAKER_01: They were down by 30.
42:31
SPEAKER_01: You know, Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown played a fourth quarter.
42:33
SPEAKER_01: I watched that one quarter, I was like, I can't do it.
42:35
SPEAKER_01: I've seen the highlights of him throwing it off the backboard, right down by 20.
42:38
SPEAKER_01: I've seen him try to uh uh size up Chris uh Chris Asporzing to shoot over me and Chris Asporzingis got the block.
42:46
SPEAKER_01: The experience is one not for me.
42:48
SPEAKER_01: I'd rather watch it in highlights or lowlights, if you will, and leave it at that.
42:52
SPEAKER_01: So I I don't know for Jordan Poole.
42:54
SPEAKER_01: Is he playing well?
42:55
SPEAKER_01: Is he not?
42:55
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I can look at numbers, but obviously numbers don't tell a full story.
42:59
SPEAKER_01: So I just won't.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give my I don't know.
43:02
SPEAKER_01: Here are my honorable mentions, though, because there are some less significant signings, at least from the offseason, that are tearing it up.
43:09
SPEAKER_01: Christian Wood has been amazing.
43:13
SPEAKER_01: And the Lakers, not so much, but Christian Wood has been amazing when he was signed.
43:18
SPEAKER_01: I was trying to tell people on Twitter relax, okay?
43:22
SPEAKER_01: As a guy that has watched a good amount of Christian Wood in his career, he's not a dude that I would expect to be playing heavy minutes when it matters fourth quarterslash playoffs, because he doesn't defend well.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: One thing he can do is score.
43:37
SPEAKER_01: Score with the best of them, actually.
43:38
SPEAKER_01: The guy is a bucket, but it's a lot more to basketball than that, especially from the big position.
43:44
SPEAKER_01: Well, so far, he's made me look like a fool because he has completely completely bought into the defensive side of the ball.
43:51
SPEAKER_01: It took him six teams or six years, but here he is, y'all.
43:55
SPEAKER_01: Christian Wood, a positive defender.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: The one game.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh recently versus the Clippers, he was everywhere.
44:03
SPEAKER_01: And same thing with Cam Reddish, who I also give an honorable mention shout out to.
44:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, defensively, both of those guys have been looking really, really good.
44:10
SPEAKER_01: And those are players that haven't been known for that in their careers.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's right place, right team.
44:16
SPEAKER_01: And though he signed on a minimum, it may have taken that for him to really buy into that side.
44:22
SPEAKER_01: And um, in that one game versus the Clippers, these got real crazy because uh Darwin Ham ran a lineup.
44:28
SPEAKER_01: And I kid you not, go please go back and rewatch the game.
44:30
SPEAKER_01: If you think I'm kidding, that had uh a front court of Christian Wood, Anthony Davis, and Jackson Hayes.
44:38
SPEAKER_01: He played minutes with that, and they went on what a 9-2 run with that lineup.
44:43
SPEAKER_01: Darwin Ham's crazy.
44:45
SPEAKER_01: What coach is doing that?
44:47
SPEAKER_01: Darwin is, I guess.
44:48
SPEAKER_01: Um that was one of the better games of the year.
44:50
SPEAKER_01: I really love that game.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: And Christian Wood came in clutch.
44:52
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think he hit a big shot.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: He had the big dunk and he played some good defense.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: So shout out to Christian Wood.
44:57
SPEAKER_01: The next was Kelly Ubre, another player that signed for a minimum to the Philadelphia 76ers.
45:01
SPEAKER_01: He's been filling it up.
45:02
SPEAKER_01: A team that desperately needed a little extra scoring punch, and he's doing that.
45:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Kelly Ubre has been a guy that can score, but it's not that that's never really been a question for Kelly Ubre.
45:11
SPEAKER_01: It's about all the other stuff, and I can't say completely that the other stuff's are coming along, but they need scoring on that team, and he's providing that.
45:17
SPEAKER_01: Next was Grant Williams.
45:18
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Grant Williams.
45:20
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to him, one of the homies.
45:21
SPEAKER_01: I've been talking to him recently.
45:23
SPEAKER_01: You might, you, you might, you know what I'm saying?
45:24
SPEAKER_01: All right.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: He's been amazing.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: I love to see a player um, and I want to talk to him about this.
45:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh, a player that was kind of relegated to one goal and in one row, right?
45:36
SPEAKER_01: Sit in the corner, hit threes, play defense.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: He's so much more than that now.
45:40
SPEAKER_01: Now, he does still sit in the corner and hit threes, but he's also hitting threes on the wing.
45:46
SPEAKER_01: He's involved in the action.
45:47
SPEAKER_01: So I want to talk to him about, you know, transitioning to that style of player because obviously, when you're in college and in high school, you go from the guy to being a sort of role player, seventh, eighth man in a rotation to a starter on one of the better teams in the league.
46:01
SPEAKER_01: And he's holding it down, he's shooting it very officially, he's hitting the shots, he's playing great defense.
46:05
SPEAKER_01: He is the third best player on the Mavericks right now, which is great.
46:09
SPEAKER_01: And then my last honorable mention as far as giving him a shout-out is Dennis Schroeder.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, the man over there.
46:16
SPEAKER_01: I can't say the man in Toronto because Scotty Barnes, if you seen Scotty Barnes, he's been amazing.
46:19
SPEAKER_01: Um, the point guard over there, getting people in the the way they should be.
46:24
SPEAKER_01: He's playing truly point guard right now, and he's shooting 60% from three.
46:28
SPEAKER_01: And I don't think that's sustainable either, but he's hitting the shots and he's playmaking like crazy.
46:32
SPEAKER_01: So he deserves an honorable mention.
46:33
SPEAKER_01: And in the comment section, you can hit me up or hit me up on Twitter and tell me who I'm forgetting as far as honorable mentions go with Synix.
46:40
SPEAKER_01: Like Bruce Brown, who I kind of looked over in my notes.
46:43
SPEAKER_01: Bruce Brown, honorable mention.
46:44
SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of players.
46:51
SPEAKER_01: Now it's time to reintroduce producer Greg because today we're trying to figure out if these hot takes are hot or not.
46:59
SPEAKER_01: First, the Toronto Raptors need to blow it up before the deadline.
47:02
SPEAKER_01: The Toronto Raptors are in a position where I won't even call it blow it up.
47:06
SPEAKER_01: I would say retool.
47:08
SPEAKER_01: Scotty Barnes right now is him.
47:12
SPEAKER_01: That year three leap for him is real.
47:14
SPEAKER_01: And he's benefiting from the new system that Darko, last name, has put into play.
47:20
SPEAKER_01: But also, guys like uh Pascal Siakam has kind of got lost, or John and Obi still an all-defensive player.
47:24
SPEAKER_01: So I would call it more of a retooling than a rebuild because I do like a lot of their pieces there, but it all doesn't fit perfectly around Scotty, and I think that's where your mindset has to be right now.
47:34
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna say this is uh, this is not a hot take.
47:38
SPEAKER_01: It's just not a take I agree with.
47:40
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Johnson is solidified as the Hawks starting small forward of the future.
47:44
SPEAKER_01: Not a hot take at all.
47:46
SPEAKER_01: Jalen Johnson, one of the first episodes of the Kenny Beaton podcast, I talked about my seven most intriguing players at ball, and Jalen Johnson was one of them once.
47:54
SPEAKER_01: And so far, he's been amazing.
47:56
SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna say we're gonna talk about more Atlanta Hawks in the future.
47:59
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say, not a hot take.
48:01
SPEAKER_01: This is a spot-on take.
48:02
SPEAKER_01: Jalen Johnson is the wing of the future for the Atlanta Hawks.
48:06
SPEAKER_00: The Celtics will have three all-stars.
48:10
SPEAKER_01: Not a hot take, man.
48:11
SPEAKER_01: The Jays are almost solidified because they're just that good.
48:15
SPEAKER_01: And as long as the Boston Celtics are on top of the conference, come all-star voting.
48:20
SPEAKER_01: I do believe that Poor Zingis is gonna get his first all-star appearance in many years.
48:24
SPEAKER_01: He's been that impactful.
48:25
SPEAKER_01: Not a hot take.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: The Clippers are the best team in California.
48:30
SPEAKER_01: Whoa.
48:31
SPEAKER_01: The Clippers are the best team in California.
48:34
SPEAKER_01: That I'm gonna say that's not a hot take.
48:37
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I agree with it though.
48:39
SPEAKER_01: I don't, there's a lot of great teams.
48:41
SPEAKER_01: I still feel good about the Warriors, man.
48:43
SPEAKER_01: I the Kings are gonna struggle a little bit now that the Aaron Fox is out.
48:47
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say it's not a hot take, but it's not a take that I agree with.
48:56
SPEAKER_01: Hit me up and let me know who I forgot about when it comes to these big acquisitions.
49:00
SPEAKER_01: Do you agree with my grading system?
49:03
SPEAKER_01: Because we got it, we gave out a lot of A's.
49:04
SPEAKER_01: Listen, I'm a generous, I'm a generous grader.
49:06
SPEAKER_01: What can I say?
49:07
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
49:08
SPEAKER_01: Everybody's on a different curve.
49:10
SPEAKER_01: I just shout out to everybody, man.
49:12
SPEAKER_01: Leave a like, subscribe.
49:13
SPEAKER_01: Five stars is really appreciated.
49:15
SPEAKER_01: Next time I talk to you, I want to be in the top five of sports podcasts.
49:20
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if we're gonna get there, but your help can mean a lot.
49:23
SPEAKER_01: Thank y'all.
49:23
SPEAKER_01: I'll see y'all in a couple days.
49:25
SPEAKER_01: Peace.