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1st Round PLAYOFF Preview! · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beachum.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: It is time to talk about the playoffs.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: We've known a lot of these matchups for what five or six days now.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: I've watched a lot of film.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: You know what?
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: To start off, I always find it difficult to balance what about a regular season matchup would matter, right?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: So, like Bucks versus Pacers.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we went back to watch a few of those games.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: The Bucks have been dominant at certain stretches.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: But then again, you watch, you'd be like, do I truly believe that Rick Carlisle is going to go into this postseason doing that?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Do I believe that so-and-so player is going to look like this?
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: You watch the 2-2 matchup between the Clippers and the Nuggets, like, okay, they guarded Jokic this way here.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Jokic didn't do this in this game, but in the next game, he did this.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really know.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: But I did watch a ton of film.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: And today I'm going to give you the things I'll be looking forward, I guess, the most.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: Didn't realize I still had my airpod in.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to be looking forward to the most in every single matchup.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: And this year is like no other, where whether it be Pacers versus Bucks or Knicks versus Pistons or Nuggets versus Clippers, Lakers versus Warriors, hell, Rockets versus Lakers versus Wolves, Rockets versus Warriors.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think that anybody that's picking one way or another is not crazy because I truly do believe that at least in every single one of those matchups, you could convince yourself of any team winning.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: And that makes for great, great basketball.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: Objectively, some of these series are gonna not be as great as I anticipate, right?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: Some of these series I think might go seven, might end up in the five-game series.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: We might see a sweep.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: I have no idea.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: But I'm truly, truly excited about talking about it with y'all.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: Be sure to leave a like and subscribe.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: Go watch and listen to the other shows on the network.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, we got numbers on the board and we got teed up with Pierre.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I didn't watch or listen to Pierre's newest episode, but I would just assume that he gave you his playoff breakdown.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: So if you want more people talking about hoops, different perspectives, uh, go check out those other shows as well.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Before we even talk about the playoffs, you know, a few weeks back, you know, the Bulls were uh 15 and 5 in their last 20.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: Granted, most of those games are against pretty bad teams, but had a couple great wins in there, the Lakers back to back and so on and so forth.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I came to y'all and said that there's two different ways that you can watch sports as a fan.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: There's pot A, and pot A is looking at it from a broader perspective where you're thinking about future draft capital, you're thinking about team building and the overall uh feel of the organization.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: And pot B is like, hey, does my team win every single night?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I had told y'all that I was going towards pot two because, or pot B, because the Bulls were looking good, even if the future wasn't, you know, too, too bright.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: What a jackass that guy was.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: Because you watched the game last night against the Miami Heat, a team with a great coach, a team with a scheme, and you watch the Chicago Bulls shit the bed, having the least amount of points they've had the entire season long, and basically get into the half court offense and not be able to cook up a single open look.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: And you remind yourself, oh, snap, that 15 and five run really lowered our chances of doing anything in the NBA draft.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: So I'll never go back to pot B.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: Never, ever, ever.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: I'll always look at it from the perspective of I want my team to be good, not just in the now, but a foreseeable future.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'll always think about contracts.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'll always think about future draft capital, I'll always thinking about a player's uh ability to get better on a night-to-night and a season-by-season basis.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: And with all of that said, I have no idea what I would want my favorite team to do this offseason, but I'm I'm kind of happy it's all over, even though it's not all over.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: Because I'm gearing myself up for May 12th, which is the draft lottery.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, that's over there.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then on the other side of things, the Western Conference team that ended up losing the 9-10 matchup.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: The Kings ain't much better.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: Actually, I just put a tweet out right before I started the show which team has a better future.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: The Bulls have 90% of the votes, and I can agree there.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, the Bulls have a younger team compared to the Sacramento Kings, but the Kings went into a game on their home court just like the Bulls and looked like a team that didn't care whether or not this was the last game of the season or not.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: Somebody showed a clip of Malik Monk on the bench laughing while his team was down by 20 points or four minutes left in the game.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: Like, yeah, he probably came to a realization that it didn't matter whether or not they won this game or not, they're probably losing the next one, or even they got to the playoffs, they were losing the first round to the OKC Thunder, but it's just not a good look.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: And with them having DeMar, uh them, I almost said Vucevic, because that's this is damn near the Chicago Bulls.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Them having Sabonis and Zach LaVee, the ew.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: And they fired or parted ways with McNair.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: And normally that's good news when you see a person build a mediocre team, but a lot of Kings fans are of the belief that the new guy that they bring in is not going to be a new guy whatsoever, but it might be a little bit of nepotism, and somebody that is a family friend will end up taking that position.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: The Kings had one season where I absolutely love them play, and since then and before the end, it's been awful.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess I take some type of uh solace in the fact that the Bulls are not at that they're not team 30 of 30, maybe team 28.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so let's talk about playoffs because y'all don't care about the teams that have been eliminated.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: Damn it.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: You want to hear about your favorite team who's going into a postseason with a chance to not just win a series, but maybe two, maybe three, maybe raise the Larry O B when it's all said and done.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: So I originally formulated this as like the three things I'm looking forward to going into every single matchup.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: And then I got to write in my notes and I was like, damn, this series don't even got three things.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna kind of have to do what I got to do.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: So some of these things teams have uh series have three things, some of these teams don't.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna start off with the series that everybody's the most intrigued about, or most people are the most intrigued about, the Lakers versus Wolves.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, Katie's gonna start with the Lakers, but this is a a really, really good series um in my mind.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think it could go six, I think it could go seven.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think either team can win it.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: I truly do believe that.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: Well, the Lakers, of course, are gonna have Luka Dontich and LeBron James to uh play off risers.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I still do look at what the Wolves have done over the last couple months.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: And I I did re-watch their game versus the Bucs because I was looking at Bucks um versus some lineups now that Damian Lillard probably not there.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, they had their fourth quarter, was maybe the worst fourth quarter in franchise history.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: But if you look past that, this team has been really good for a significant stretch.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: And obviously Anthony Edwards has been phenomenal.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he continues to evolve as a player as he led the league and three pointers made this season.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: Over the last month or so, Rudy Gobert's hands magically got good in year what, 13, year 14.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: He's just like, hey, I can catch the ball all of a sudden.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: And he's been able to take advantage of some favorable matchups.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: Granted, some of those series and some of those games are against bad teams, but like I honestly could see it going either way.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_02: So here are the things that I'm gonna look for to, and that will determine what the hell happens in the series.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: The first one has to do with Mike Conley.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Mike Conley, or the lineup with Mike Conley in has just been the better offensive lineup and the better defensive lineup if you look at it.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: And most of that on the offense side of the ball is because he's one of those connectors, one of those glue guys that can swing the ball and be in the right position to make plays.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, it's Mike Conley.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: That's what he does.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: But when you think about the matchup versus the Lakers, I just don't know how impactful he could be on the other side of the ball.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: The Lakers have done a phenomenal, phenomenal job since they traded for Luka Dontich in going at and exposing smaller defenders.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: Some of those smaller defenders have the reputation of being good defensive players in basketball, but they just have this three-headed offensive monster where that smaller defender has to get stuck on somebody, right?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, where does Mike Conley play defensively is what I have in my notes.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: I rewatched their last game against each other.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: Now, granted, this game has no Rudy Gobert, and this game has no Julius Randle.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: But again, I'm trying to pick and choose what's important when I'm going back and re-watching regular season games.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: But what you'll see in that series in that game, Mike Conley started off the game guarding Austin Reeves, which makes sense because you can't put him on Braun.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: You can't put him on Luca.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: And the idea of putting him on a Rui or the idea of putting him on eventually during Phoenix Smith where he checks in six minutes into the game makes sense.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: But you also see the Lakers feel really, really comfortable and confident with posting Rui Hachimura up.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: Rui Hachimura, before he got to the Lakers, was kind of playing that kind of role when he was with the Wizards, right?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: He's he's able to use that bigger body.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: So you don't feel confident on putting Mike Conley anywhere except for on Austin Reeves.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I rewatch um not the full games, but the beginning of the game versus the Grizzlies that the Lakers just had.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: Two of the games versus the Rockets, one of the games, it's Fred and Vliet, and then the other game is Reed Shepard.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then their game against Tyrese Halliburton and the Pacers game where LeBron James tipped the ball in.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: And the beginning of every single one of those games, where they had these smaller defenders, and I picked Tyres Halliburn in there because he's not a small, like shorter defender, but he's a thinner guy.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: Every one of these players, Fred and Vlee, Reed Shepard, Tyrese Halliburn, John Morant, started off the game guarding Austin Reeves.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: And in every single one of these games, the first couple possessors of the game was Austin Reeves putting into some type of action where these four defensive players had to get to work.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: And the same thing happened in their game versus the Minnesota Timbus.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: Again, no Rudy Gobert, no Julius Randle, but you did see them really try to go at these smaller guys.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's part of their game plan.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: Because they feel completely comfortable with letting Austin Reeves be the facilitator on a possession or playing him off the ball in some type of action to get him a look getting downhill.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, okay, if Mike Conley is used in all of these actions, do we feel like we'd be able to get stops at the point?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: That is one of my major, major things I'm looking at from Mike.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: Because I do believe that Chris Finch will run in both ways, where he will start off on some Austin Reeves, but throughout the course of that game or the course of the series, whether it be game two or game three, they will really test what Rui has in that post.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: They will test if they will feel comfortable when Duran Finney Smith playing anywhere outside of the perimeter.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: And that is gonna be like I do think this is gonna be a matchup really um hindered on like coaching as well, like adjustments on game-to-game basis, quarter by quarter basis.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: But that is one of the things that I'm really, really excited about.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: The next thing when it comes to this series is what happens in the pick and roll with Luka Doncic.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: I've said it before, I'll say it again.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: I do think that it's been completely overblown the um the Rudy Gobert versus Luca, the Rudy Gobert versus whoever as an offensive talent in the pick and roll.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because all of the all of the stats in the eye test have show show that he has been relatively good given the circumstances.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: There's not a single individual player in basketball that you feel like for Luka Dontich, especially from a big perspective, that can really stop Luka Doncic.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I proved this time and time again.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, after Luka Doncic hit that shot on Rudy Gobert, I was pulling up clips because I said, hey, Rudy Gobert, only thing that I think Rudy Gobert did wrong, and we're talking about a year-o clip at this point, is that he played it more on the drive and there was no, there was no reason to play a drive.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: He knew that he needed a three there.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_02: But I tweeted, like, hey, Rudy Gobert did all he really could.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: Luka Doncic is one of the greatest players ever and hit a legendary shot.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: And then I remember getting replies like that wouldn't happen to so-and-so.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: That wouldn't happen to so-and-so.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I literally just brought up clips.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Now the stakes were different, right?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't always a game winner in the NBA conference finals, but like Luka Doncic on an island versus AD.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_02: Luka Doncic on an island versus Jaron.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: Luka Doncic on an island versus every single player that we deem to be a great post slash big defensive player, Luka Dontis has been able to capitalize on those matchups.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I truly do believe it has been overblown.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Even the advanced stats, you think about uh points per possession given up, where Rudy Gobert as the guy defensively, all of the things show you that Rudy Gobert as a defensive player has been able to take care of business.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I swear to God, I had a stat in my notes that referenced that.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I it's gone.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: It was oh my God, this is about to blow the hell out of me because I I 100% remember copying and pasting it um from basket for NBA.com.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: Regardless, it's not it's it's it's out of the way.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um one thing Luca Nantes has done well, and he he's him and James Harden, prime James Harden, and I guess post prime James Harden, they're some of the best players when it comes to uh picking up switches.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's what they do, that's what that's their bread and butter.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_02: And Rudy Gobert is probably gonna have to be on that island again.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: Rudy Gobert will probably have to play some drop coverage.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Rudy Gobert is gonna have to switch.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_02: They're gonna have to show, they're gonna have to play pretty much every single different coverage imaginable.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, re-looking at that series last year, where it was Minnesota versus Dallas at that point before Nico Harrison uh tarnished the entire city of Dallas.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Chris Finch and Company, you know, Rudy Gobert has historically been a drop coverage guy.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: But in that series, it almost was a play-by-play basis what they wanted to do defensively on that pick and roll.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: Because you can't run the same scheme against a supercomputer like Luka Doncic.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: So sometimes they did bring Rudy up, sometimes they did play heavy droppers, sometimes it did this.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: And Luka Doncic, because he is one of the greatest of all time, was able to pretty much maximize in every single coverage that he saw.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_02: One thing that most people will point out when they're thinking about the series and talking about the series is the lack of multiple lob threats.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: And that was one of the things that he had last year in Dallas between a gaffer, between a lively.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: Nowadays, it really is um uh Jackson Hayes, and Jackson Hayes and Luca's connection has been getting better throughout the season.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: But when Jackson Hayes is off the court, now the scheme offensively for the Lakers just changes, right?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: When they bring in Doe in for the again at the six-minute mark or five-minute mark, wherever it may be, now we get more of a five-out spacing thing where instead of generating pick and roll looks for Luka Doncic, it's now becomes generating corner three-pointers.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: And the question is: will the Timberwolves feel comfortable and confident with allowing guys like Dora Finney Smith, Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, who else could it be?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Jordan Goodwin if he gets real burn in this series, will they feel comfortable with tagging the road man and allowing open three-point looks?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: There have been series across Lucas' career where those open three-point looks in the corner have been amazing.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: PJ Washington versus OKC.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: But they also have had series where the other team allowed them to get those open three-point shots, and it was not so great.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: This is really gonna be about picking and choosing when you have a team with the offensive upside that the Lakers have, you're gonna have them pick and choose what you're willing to give up.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna talk about that again when it comes to Knicks versus Pistons when you talk about Kay Cunningham's pick and roll um ability, but you have to give up something.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: You can't, you will not be able to stop everything.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: And that's coming from a team in the Minnesota Timbos who've been great defensively.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: And people are questioning whether or not Rudigo Barry be played off the court.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think that's gonna be the case.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: Now, Chris Finch, what he showed us throughout the course of this season, um, he's completely okay with benching a player if necessary, right?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: We had the game where Anthony Edwardson playing their whole fourth quarter and the others, the Terrence Shannons, and I forget who that was against the Terrence Shannons and some of these younger dudes, the Jalen Clarks of the world came in and brought the team back.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: We've had times where it was Julius Randle that didn't close hell.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_02: We've had times where it wasn't Rudy Gobert closed.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so they have this top eight lineup where they'd be coming off the bench with Nas, with Dante and Nikhil, where you feel good about a couple different orchestrations of these lineups.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: The thing is, they they do have the playoff monster or ghost, and I say ghost of Randall.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: And Randall is taking it on the chin, right?
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: In all of these interviews leading up to this series, he's talked about, of course, him recognizing that he hasn't been the greatest playoff performer.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: You could argue of anybody to make an All-Lambia appearance, he has had the worst playoff series history of all of them.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: That is one of the things that's gonna have to boil down to what happens with Julius Randle.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: Julius Randle is gonna be tasked on the defensive side of the ball to guard ball handlers.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: He's gonna have to, right?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: Because you you would assume that Jaden McDaniels gets the early assignment.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he's gonna get the early assignment of Luka Doncic.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: I think just because of his screen navigation, you kind of have to do that.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: Even though sometimes Jaden McDaniels kind of struggles, and this is struggles in quotation marks um with those bigger guards, the bigger, um, and I'm talking about like stockier guys like a Luka Doncic, but the screen navigation is what they're gonna need the most, and he's better at screen navigating than like an Anthony Ericts.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: And you also don't just want to put Anthony Eric on Luca for a full series because you also need Anthony Everts to be Michael Jordan in this series if you really have a chance.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: So you're gonna see Jaden McDaniels guarding Luca.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: You're going to see uh Rude Gobert start off with Jackson Hayes and probably find his way with Adorney Finney Smith or Rihachimura as a series and games go on.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna see, like I mentioned, Mike Conley end up on Austin Reeves.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: And like for Anthony Everts, you're gonna see him guard some Braun for sure.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: But he probably starts off the series on on Rui.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: I think.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: So it leaves Julius Randle, again, getting the main assignment, at least to start off these games, on Braun.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: And Julius Randle doesn't have the greatest history as a on-ball defender when you're talking about him being put into actions, right?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you see him mostly.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he's been a four for his entire career, given so like he's played, of course, defense and in pick and roll, but it's mostly as the back end guy, instead of the point of attack guy.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm curious to see what that looks like.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one of the things he's been excellent at over the last couple months is using that size, athleticism, and strength to to bully defensive players.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: The Lakers just have strong and big bodies.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: So it's gonna be again, Rui, it's gonna be Doe, it's gonna be Braun.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: And it's I think he's just gonna be a little bit more difficult.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a little bit more difficult for him to end up taking advantage of some of those matchups.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I I think in this one, the last thing I'm looking at is can Anthony Edwards keep his cool when they start to throw two at him?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: There's been times in the season where I just like Chef's kiss, the the um icing on the cake when Anthony Edwards is seeing two bodies and he's making plays as if he is Luka Doncic.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: And there's other times throughout this season where they do that exact thing, and I I look at him and say, damn, man, just two games ago, you were tackling this the right way.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: So which version of that are we gonna get?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_02: It might be a possession by possession basis, it might be a game by game basis, but sometimes he is really elite when he sees two, or they hedge hard, or they just completely double him.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: And other times I've like, man, he could really use a lot of help.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_02: And they don't really have that perimeter help like some of these other teams do.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so those are the main things when it comes to this series.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: If you ask me which way I'm leaning, I'm leaning Lakers in this one, but it's not heavy lane.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh my original thing on numbers on the board was Lakers in seven, I think was what I said, which anytime I'm saying anything in seven, it's because I think it could be a coin flip.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like I truly do believe that.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: I think the top end talent of a Lakers um might be enough to just carry them through this.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: We have two playoff risers, like and and some of the best.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the best.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: So uh maybe I'm not giving the Lakers much credit, but I still have them winning this series if you if you ask me.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh let's go to Bucks versus Pacers now.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: The first thing I'm thinking about is Damian Lillard, obviously.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: And it feels nasty to boil an entire seven-game series down to one question, but that one question truly is for me, is Damian Lillard going to play in this series?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: We found out that he's definitely not playing in the beginning of the series, but there have some level of optimism that there's some point we can play.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I was talking to the guys, this could be a mental play, right?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, trying to um make it so that the Pacers do try to prepare both ways, you know, um have them maximize their time by putting together two game plans, one with Dame, one without Dame.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: But a blood clot is not something to mess around with, in my personal opinion.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: But if the doctors and the team and Dame feel comfortable with him playing, I hope he ends up playing at some point in this series.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: But without him, I'm finding it tough to figure some things out.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: Now, this recent stretch has been ridiculous for Giannis.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I said this on numbers on the board.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: If we're talking about any individual player, there's no player in basketball I want to see going on a deep playoff run more than Giannis.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_02: It's just been a few years since we've really seen Giannis play playoff hoops for real, for real, right?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and in this recent stretch, this is some of the most exciting Giannis play of the recent couple years because they're allowing him to be like this this point guard for the majority of the game.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: And in this stretch, again, it's been ridiculous.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: Where I remember a few months ago we were talking about the Bucks, and I forget which game it was.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: Man, there was a game earlier the season where it was right after, and I came to the show and I basically read you the notes of like, hey, man, I just watched them play this, and then I watched the game before that.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: And these are the things that are preventing me from putting them in that upper echelon.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, it's just pre-dame going down with his element.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: And one of the things that I mentioned is that they are getting to their action so very late.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, this is a game against OKC, wasn't it?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: I think it was a game against OKC where there was a couple possessions where they just got into their action down by six points, 50 seconds left.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: They're getting to their action with 10 seconds left on the clock.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: You're like, how is it even possible to game management, time management?
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: There's no way we're waiting as long under this recent stretch, and this all makes it seem like this is anti-Dame.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's not anti-Dame whatsoever.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: I just think that they may have found a little bit outside of it.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: Some of this can be replicated if Dame comes back.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: But they're getting to their action so much earlier on.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I think part of that is just Giannis using that full force to get downhill early on and open this game up.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the passes that Giannis has been making, and Giannis has got a become a better playmaker every single year of his career.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes the numbers won't say this, but if you're watching Giannis, he's making um a cross-court one-handed passes that's zipping across some heads into an open uh shooter's pocket.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: He's been amazing at that point.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and him getting into these actions early is opening the game up, where it's like building the goddamn wall has always been a scheme against Giannis.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody's really been the hella successful at it, but everybody's trying it on a night to night basis.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: You can't beat a wall with one person.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: You need two, you need three.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: And if he's seeing two or three, he's able to make those passes.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: And people are hitting shots, right?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: Whether it be an AJ, whether it be Kevin Forter Jr., whether it be Bobby sees come back from his suspension, people are Making these shots, and it's been so incredible to watch.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: And part of that makes it difficult for me to make these predictions.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: Because if he's playing like this, and they're gonna have the best player in the series by a wide margin, no disrespect to Tyrese, no disrespect to Pascal, no disrespect to anybody on the other side of the of the um the game.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: Giannis has the ability to carry you not just to a game, but not just to two games, not just the three games, but damn into a series end.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: So that's what makes it tough.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Now, the reason I boil it down to like a Damian Lillard thing as well, um, because some of the players that have been making their shots in this recent stretch, you know, you you have your level of optimism, but you also look at the numbers and the inconsistency throughout the regular season, and you look at this A-game stretch, you're like, damn, he went from a 32% point three-point shooter to a 43% three-point shooter in this stretch.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: What's more likely that he shoots 32% or 42% in this postseason?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really know, but you kind of lean on the on um pessimism more than optimism when it comes to a playoff series where things just a little bit more intense, right?
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I could definitely see Giannis go on an individual postseason run, but it makes it tough because not only are they going against a good team, they're going against one of the better teams since the turn of the calendar year.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: This team has been incredible.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's gone under the radar, right?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: Because it is the Indiana Pacers, and everybody in their mind have made up their minds, and I'm not even saying this is a bad thing, made up their minds on Cavs versus Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: The Pacers have been had had a top four record since turn of the calendar year.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm not talking about top four in the West Eastern Conference.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm talking about the top four in the entire league, a top four net rating in that time.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: And their star player, Tyrese Halliburton, has played in an all-NBA level.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things I have for them is how aggressive will we see Halliburton be?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: This is about to be an insane stat given how talented Tyrese can be on a night-to-night basis.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: But lock in with me.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: The Indiana Pacers are 25-3.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: When he scores 20.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: Just 20.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: There's another stat.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: That when Tyrese Halliburton misses his first shot, he takes five less shots per game than if he made his first shot.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: What is the level of aggression we're going to see from our boy Reese?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: Because if he's making that first shot and he's giving you 21 points, damn it, they've been virtually unstoppable.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_02: But it's the other games.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_02: And last year's playoffs, we saw a good amount of those other games.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: And part of that's because he was dealing with some injuries, right?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: Whether it be a back or whether it was a knee, I forget at this point.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's been a year.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he definitely did it with some stuff.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: But then the next game, he looked really good.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_02: So we just don't know.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: And and because Giannis is so damn dominant, you can't afford for Tyrese not to have that level of aggression, right?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Like uh, I truly, I would rather Tyrese take 26 shots, even if he ain't hitting them.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: Just get the goddamn shots up.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: Now, this obviously never been his his archetype.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: He's always going to be a guy to get his guys and um as many open looks as possible.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: That's always gonna be who he is.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_02: But when he is taking and making 20, just 20 points, bro, just 20 there.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: 25 and 3 is an insane number for 20 points.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: Because it's so obtainable for a guy like him, right?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's just so obtainable.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: But again, the sample size ain't that great.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: 28 games where you score 20 or more.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: So, what level of aggression um will we see from him?
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um what what about the shooters on both teams, right?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: Whether it be uh the big fellas, whether it be Brooke Lopez, Robin Lopez, uh Robin Lopez, Brooke Lopez or Miles Turner, who has the better shooter performances?
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's gonna matter.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, will Kevin Porter Jr.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: be able to use that same level of effectiveness in the postseason, in the regular season?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, um Kevin Porter Jr.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_02: has been used as a primary ball handler, but he also has been used as a screen man for um Giannis a lot in this this little time frame here.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_02: And letting him cook when Giannis is on the floor has had good results so far.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_02: Does that translate to this postseason run?
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_02: So it will be another good matchup.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I was going pacers in this one, if you were asking me to pick between it, but Giannis is so good that it's like it could, it could be, it could be Giannis.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'm saying in the Eastern Conference real quick, when we talk about Knicks versus Pistons, this is one of those matchups where it's like, what part of the regular season do I care about?
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_02: I think the season series was 3-1 in the favor of the Pistons.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: Some of those games, it was no this guy, no this guy for um for the Knicks, but it's still a 3-1 series.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: And Pistons fans are going into this completely confident and comfortable with this matchup.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I would say right up front, I'm definitely going Knicks in this one.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: And here's kind of the reason of the things I'm looking forward to.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: Will we see some level of shooting regression from the Pistons compared to their regular season games?
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think one of the reasons why Pistons fans are confident and comfortable, and y'all should be, right?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_02: You should never go into the series with doom and gloom, right?
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_02: You're there's a chance you do win the series.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: But one of the reasons is because of the success they had in the regular season.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: The Pistons shot 41% from three in a regular season against the Knicks in these four uh matchups.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_02: They normally shoot 35%, right?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_02: So will in this seven-game series they be a better shooting team like they were in the regular season, or will they come back down to earth and just be their normal selves?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's going to matter a lot because Kay Cunningham has not historically been a great pull-up three-point shooter, but in this game, in these games, he's played against the Knicks, not only is he a great uh pull-up shooter, he's a great everything.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: He's been amazing on every on both sides of the ball in these regular season games.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: Some of these games, he's like guarding Jalen Brunson, right?
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_02: Because he wants that matchup.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I would assume they go more Sarthomsa for the postseason, but like he's been across the board, electric in every single one of these games.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, Tom Double O slash New York Knicks, they're drop coverage heavy uh team.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_02: There were times in these matchups, I went back through the through the footage where they did bring um Cat up to the point.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: And only in these lineups, now I wonder how much of this has to do with the athleticism of the others.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: And when they did that, the few times they did that, it was when Precious Chouya was on the court.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_02: And Precious was just fucking loss on the defensive side of the ball.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know how much burn Pressure Chuya can't get.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Mitchell Robinson played zero minutes in this regular season series.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know how much that matters to you.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: But when they did bring Carnett Towns up, it ended up in a bucket for Jalen Duran in a few of these cases because they didn't have anybody like tagging the roller, and that should have been Precious Chuya, but he was kind of sticking to his man, and that man wasn't even somebody that you trust to shoot the three-point ball.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I just wonder how much burn Pressure Chewer will get.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: And if they do start to bring people to the point, uh, because K Cunningham has hit four threes in the first quarter or whatever it may be, what does it look like for the others?
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, people are speculating because of the way the regular season went that they would go Mikhail Bridges for the primary defender on K Cunningham.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think that you should probably start off OG Anobi.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_02: And the reason I say that is because OG is just better with the bigger guards, right?
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: Mikhail Bridges has the benefit of like his screen navigation, being this slendery guy.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't loved the Mikhail Bridges defensive season, I'll be honest with you.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: But Mikhail JO, I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt for the postseason.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I think that Kay Cunningham's size, I think OG Ananobi is probably the better matchup because I do think this is gonna be a super physical matchup.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_02: And Kay Cunningham bumping Ojian Anobi is just a lot tougher to do than bumping a guy like Mikhail Bridges.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: So I would hope for the Knicks' sake that they start off with OJ Anobi there.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: The drop coverage is gonna be something we see a lot.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, will we see anybody outside of Kay Cunningham really step up?
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that was the one thing when you just look at the talent by talent basis, the Knicks are the more talented team.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_02: But that's not always what series is boiled down to, right?
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I think you do need somebody on the Detroit Pistons side to really step up as an offensive threat.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know who Cade is gonna be.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know who Malik Beasy is gonna be as a shooter, but like could we see a Tobias Harris game?
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_02: Could we see a Tim Hardaway Jr.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_02: flamethrower game?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he's poised to do that at least once, you would think.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_02: And you just need others because I would assume that they're gonna try to do everything in their power to nullify Kay Cunningham as a player.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's one way or the other.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's nullify him as a player, which is gonna be tough because he's Kay Cunningham, or you let Kay Cunningham play 101 the whole game and make sure nobody else gets off.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_02: I would rather just try to contain Cade.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, send a two at him very early on and say, hey man, if Malik Basley hits eight shots, then so be it.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_02: If for whatever reason Tobias Harris looks like the best version of himself when he was with the Clippers, so be it.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that you have to do everything in your power to stop Cade because not only is he the engine, he's the engine, he's the wheels, he's a stern like he's everything.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: The bumper, the headlights, he's everything.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um the one place that the Pistons definitely have the advantage is the physicality of this series.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: Carnthony Towns in these matchups was pretty damn good against Jalen Durham, right?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: Carter Towns is a great player, he's probably gonna make an all-made A appearance.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Carnotany Towns.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_02: Once Isaiah Stewart came into that game, and Isaiah Stewart started throwing them bowls, start putting his head back, all of these type of things, Carnegie Towns not only started to shoot it poorly, but turned that peel over like no other.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_02: The physicality aspect is the place where the Pistons should and will hold their hat for the entirety of the series.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: They're going to beat the hell out of the Knicks.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna see what type of whistle ends up happening in this series and what type of scuffles is gonna happen, because the scuffle is inevitable, let's be real.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_02: We talk about the Pistons here.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that is a place where they can really hold their hat.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: Jalen Brunson, and the Knicks, I guess, at home, since he's come back from an injury, hasn't looked amazing.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, with them having a week off, you would hope if you're a Knicks fan that things kind of turn around there.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_02: But he's going to be tasked with being guarded by Asar Thompson and Ron Holland.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember, and maybe this was a bit overblown.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe I have to go back and rewatch this series, but I remember there is a time, and this is just off the top of mind, where last year in that playoff series against Philly, when they did switch Kelly Ubre onto Jalen Bronson, he started to struggle.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_02: And for the audio listeners, I'll put in quotation marks because we're talking about Jalen Bronson here.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: And that level of size and length is something that the Pistons can have on Jalen Bronson because Hassar Thompson is ridiculous.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, not enough to make an all-defensive appearance, but like has that level of talent.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_02: And same thing with the rookie Ron Holland.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: I wonder how much Ron will get burned in this series because I don't think he's gonna be guarded at all.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but they're gonna have to play through that physicality.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_02: And that normally has not been who they are as a team.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_02: So that is the place where the Pistons have that advantage.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_02: Again, like I said, I'm taking the Knicks in this one, whether it be in six, whether they be in this, it's not really relevant.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I I'm very curious to see.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think game one is gonna set the tempo for this entire uh series.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I actually wouldn't be surprised if the Pistons take game one off the surprise factor of it all, but uh only time will tell.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go to uh let's go to Nuggets versus Clippers.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go Nuggets versus Clippers.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_02: Man, this is gonna be another like this is what I'm talking about.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_02: Every single series I've said so far, I'm like, oh, this is gonna be a great one.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_02: I I believe this is gonna be a great one too.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: Uh maybe the greatest of them all.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_02: Because I I'm leaning a little bit more clippers in this one.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think I'm leaning a bit a little bit more clippers.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_02: There's a clip that Zach Lowe had.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_02: And Zach Lowe, I want to say I apologize very early on.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_02: I have not had the time to listen to your show just yet.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, you stroll through Twitter, you see you see two minute clip outs, and it looked like he ain't miss his fastball.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_02: He still got it.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_02: I love you for that.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_02: But I just haven't had the time to listen to the show at home.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_02: But then one of the clips I saw on Clippers Twitter was talking about Nikola Jokic.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_02: And this is from Zach Lowe.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, in their matchup so far this season, or I'm sorry, in the matchups or in the regular season, Nikole Jokic averaged 11 posts up per game.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_02: Makes sense, one of the highest in the leagues.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_02: In their four games they played against each other, Nikola Jokic had 11 total against the Clippers.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_02: That isn't insane stat.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like, that is some shit that I couldn't even find because Synergy won't let me get an account.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_02: Can we just can we pause the podcast and just ask Synergy straight up?
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: Please, bro.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_02: I heard they even restricted it more.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_02: I've been trying to get an account for four fucking years.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_02: And now they're restricting it even more.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_02: What do I have to do?
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: I've worked for Turner, I've worked for ESPN.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_02: How do I get along in?
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_02: Please, bro.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_02: Please.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_02: Please.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_02: Do you know the level this show and every other outlet that I have will go up?
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_02: If I can look up the randomness from Synergy, Synergy has it so that like Jalen Brunson, when he's going to his right side and he spins on his left foot, he shoots this points per possession.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_02: That's the type of nerd I want to be.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_02: So please, please, please.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_02: Either way, um basically they haven't posted up Jokic at all in their matchups against the Clippers.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_02: And what the Clippers have opted to do, and this is no longer from Zach Lowe, this is me now.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what the Clippers have opted to do, because I've watched two of these games back, and it's been a while.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think in one of these games, um Terrence Man was getting burned.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_02: Terrence Man plays for the Hawks now.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, again, trying to pick and choose what's important for the regular season matchups.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they've basically let Jokic be guarded by Zubach 101.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, this is this is something that teams opted to do quite a bit against Jokic early in his career, where it's like if Jokic drops 40, that means nobody else played well.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's not necessarily the case anymore, but the Clippers have done it and done a good job at it.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_02: And what they did is sprinkle in some late blitzes or some late doubles on him as well.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_02: And it's Nicole Jokic, right?
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_02: He's one of the most adaptable, smartest offensive players ever.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: So he's always found a way.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: But playing him straight up, I think I honestly do think that the Clippers are going to start the series by doing that.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_02: Let Zubots be on an island with them because one thing Zubox does well, whether it be against a good big, a bad big, and drop coverage or whatever, he very rarely gets a foul trouble.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_02: So you feel comfortable and confident in his ability to stay on the court because once Zubach is off the court and now it's Ben Simmons, you know what I'm saying?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's a little bit different um defensively.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I think you have to scheme defensively if it's Ben Simmons guarding a Nikola Jokic, but Zubots playing him straight up has got them solid results, at least in the game that I watched.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: So um I'm interested to see if that continues to be the point for them.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: And how do the Nuggets attack that?
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_02: Is it truly just letting Jokic cook, which is a good recipe?
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_02: Is it doing more stuff where Nikola Jokic is off the ball, which sounds crazy because he's Nikole Jokic, you kind of want him on the ball as much as possible.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really know, but like we have the Clippers um coaching staff who've been one of the best when it comes to in-game adjustments.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Tyron Lou has been one of the best game-to-game adjustment coaches in all of basketball.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_02: And he's going against a coach that has what three regular season games under his belt.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Adleman has been a widely respected assistant coach for a long time.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_02: But as far as a head coach goes, he doesn't really have that many reps under his belt.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I wonder how much that's going to come into the play.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_02: The next thing, the same thing we talked about with the smaller guards with the Lakers, um, and them taking advantage of like a Mike Conley type, I feel the same way.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I question what happens with Jamal Murray on the defensive side of the ball.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_02: The Clippers, as we mentioned before, have a lot of guys that can get it on their own.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: They have three shot creators in pretty much every lineup that they run out, which is insane.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: Well, no, not take that back.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_02: They have at least two in every single lineup, and three is the luxury where you have a norm, a Kawhi, and then um a James Harden.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_02: In their starting unit, you kind of have to have it so that Jamal Murray is guarding norm.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_02: And that might be a feast for Norman Powell.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_02: Now, you might be able to hide him a little bit once Chris Dunn takes it to the game because Chris Dunn is just not gonna get guarded by anybody.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_02: He never does, he never will.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_02: He just never will.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and he doesn't have the luxury that like if we go back to the previous series that like Asar Thompson has or a Ron Holland has, who is just these guys are ultra aggressive, crashing the glass, and gets uh extra opportunities for their favorite of for their team.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_02: That's not what Chris Dunn does on a normal basis, so he just won't be guarded, and that's where you could kind of hide Jamal Murray.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_02: But in those normal lineups, in those closing lineups, I don't really know.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like closing lineups, you might see some Chris Dunn actually.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you you've seen it over the last couple games where you know you'd rather opt to have the chaser, the screen navigator, and Chris Dunn opposed to the offensive threat.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_02: But if Norm has it going, it becomes a little bit tougher.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um I just think that the Clippers are the more complete team, but Jokic is on the other side of this, and that that is what kills it for me.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_02: Jokic is on the other side of this.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: Jokic has been a playoff, one of the best playoff risers we've ever had in this sport.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_02: And when he went to the post-game interview, you know, Jokic don't be talking, he don't be talking often.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_02: When he went to the post-game interview and talked about so-and-so, whatever animal is is most dangerous when it's hurt or wounded or whatever the hell he said, I'm like, God damn it, they got they got Jokic dropping bars, he might be out for blood.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um even with that said, I'm definitely leaning uh more clippers in this one.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um Kawhi Leonard still exists.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_02: And though I don't think he's 2019, Kawhi Leonard, he's still so fucking good.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_02: And if James gives you one to two like supernova games, which we seen last year, he can still do, he can still give you one to two supernova games.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_02: I just don't know how you stop this team defensively if you're the Denver Nuggets.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_02: Now, they have been better defensively since they fired Mike Malone, but we're talking about a small sample size either way.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_02: But historically, this team, um, this season has not been amazing defensively, and the Clippers are just like the hottest team in basketball.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_02: Offensively, defensively, everything is running well.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: So again, I'm leaning closer to the Clippers.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this game, we just found out it was happening a few days ago, and I haven't been able, or this series, I haven't been able to really lock in too much on this one.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_02: And this is Warriors versus Rockets.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_02: So here are my own, my initial ones.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_02: And Greg, you let me know if you want to come in and talk a little bit of Warriors after y'all win against the um the Grizzies.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: But right now, the the Warriors are the betting favorite to win, and most people are gonna go Warriors because Steph Curry is fucking phenomenal.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_02: Jimmy Butler just showed you in the play-in game that he could still raise his level of play to drop a 30.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um Draymond Green is still one of the best defensive players in basketball.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_02: And if you can get some of the others to just pitch in, where Quentin Post in the first half of that Grizzlies game was amazing.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_02: Gary Payton hit a couple threes.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like it used to get the others to chip in just a little bit.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_02: You feel pretty confident with the experience of the Warriors versus the inexperience of the Houston Rockets.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that some of the things, the holes that the Rock the Warriors have, the Rockets maximize on those things very well.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_02: The thing about the Warriors have always been, whether it be when it was just Steph Curry, Clay, and Dre, when it was Kevin Oran, when Kevin O'Rant left, this team is always gonna turn the ball over.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's just part of the identity, it's part of the offense that they play.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_02: They're trying to play two steps ahead, and that leads to open uh layups and just turnovers in general for the Warriors.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, turnovers usually get lessened through the postseason, which makes sense.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_02: The game slows down a little bit.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_02: The Wars still end up being historically a high turnover team, even during their championship runs.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_02: And the Houston Rockets are the team.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_02: If there's any team, there's two teams actually.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_02: If there's two teams in basketball that I just don't want to turn the ball over against, it's the Rockets and it is the Thunder.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_02: Like them, their half court offense is a lot to be desired.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_02: That is so one of the big negatives and them not having a true go-to score when it matters the most.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's one of the two of the major negatives for the Houston Rockets.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_02: But if you're trying to tell me they're gonna be able to turn you over and get some extra possessions that way, get some extra open looks or fast break points that way, it makes me feel a little bit more comfortable with the idea of the Rockets pulling off the series.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_02: Also, the Rockets are a team with so much size.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm not even just talking about them running Shen Goon and Steven Adams together, because I think that could be a blessing and the curse curse when you think about who the Warriors have been offensively.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like even in the game versus the Grizzlies a couple nights ago, um when they went double big for the Grizzlies, where it was Jaron and Zach Edy, they had Zach Eady in so many different um actions.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I'm just picturing instead of it being Zach Edy, it's now Shingoon or Steven Adams.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_02: And that may not be the recipe for this series specifically defensively, but they're going to rebound the fuck out of the ball.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_02: They're going to rebound, rebound, rebound.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like their half-court offense is probably not going to be good.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_02: But if you're telling me I'm getting a second opportunity and a third opportunity on any given possession, that's going to equate to more points and more open shots for the Houston Rockets.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_02: Two of the games that I've watched this season where I looked and like, damn, Steph ain't looking good.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_02: One of them games was against the Grizzlies earlier in the season.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_02: And the other game was against the Rockets just a few weeks back, where I think Steph Curry scored three points in the Rockets game.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_02: And that's Amin Thompson, that's absolutely denying ball on Steph Curry for the entire game.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, this is this is gonna be youth versus experience.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_02: This is gonna be young legs versus old legs.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_02: And a good thing about the postseason is like, what do you get two days in between each game sometimes?
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just having a more tough time picking this series.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I think most people just default to say, oh yes, the Wars.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_02: The Warriors got this.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not there.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not there to say it completely and that confident.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think it can happen.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_02: Don't get me wrong.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like them being a favorite is not a surprise to me.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_02: They're they've been that good since the Jimmy Butler trade.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_02: But it also isn't just black and white, the Warriors will win this series for me.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I still don't know where I will eventually go.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_02: I will tell you this.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, Greg wants him.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_02: Just give me a second.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I will tell you this.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_02: The gambling man and me, I put$300 on the Rockets to win.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_02: Now,$300 is not too crazy.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's not like I'm rooting for it to happen, but I just saw the odds and was like the you can't convince me that the Rockets have no chance.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_02: So that was enough for me to to make a bet.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_02: So let me let me bring in Greg here and see what he has to think about um his Warriors.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um okay, I should hear you now.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: Kenny, I agree with a lot of what you said.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this series is gonna be tough.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: I I think it's going to be a long series, which is going to, if if the Warriors win, it's going to hurt them down the road.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I'll say a couple things.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: One is the last game where Steph scored three points, they had just come off of a back-to-back against the uh Nuggets and the Grizzlies, or like Lakers and the It was maybe the Lakers and the Nuggets.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: It was the it was the two games the Warriors won um that were tough back-to-back games.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then they came in and played the Rockets, young, fresh legs, and yeah, Steph got shut down.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: But again, I don't think that was the Warriors even close to the best.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: For one, that was pre-Jimmy becoming playoff Jimmy and deciding to score and be aggressive.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but more than anything, I wouldn't even say this series is youth first experience.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think the separator of this series is that the Warriors have the two best players in the series.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that will make it really challenging for the Rockets to pull it off, specifically at end of games, um, where it becomes a half-court offense and the Warriors have the two best half-court scores in this series.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's one of the major reasons why I really wanted the Warriors to play the Rockets instead of the Lakers.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: Where yes, I believe Steph is would be one of the two best players in that series, but you could make an argument that the Lakers would have the two best players in that series.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_01: Where I think I don't really think you can argue that the Warriors don't have the two best players in the series against the Rockets.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's fair.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, sometimes it really does boil into that.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the upside of Jimmy Butler, like that he just showed us, just definitely changes things.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_02: Because, you know, you know, I've always been a Jimmy Butler fan.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to uh Big Face Coffee.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_02: But it had been a few years since we've really seen him in a postseason, right?
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_02: So there was a level of like, I don't I don't want to say um lack of trust, I guess, but like, you know, after you go a few years without doing something and you continue to get older, it's not like Jimmy Butler's a 26-year-old anymore.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_02: You question, like, okay, does he still have that gear?
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_02: And then again, in that Grizzlies game, he showed you completely where it's like, don't put a small defender on me, I'm gonna draw a foul.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_02: Don't you put a bigger defender on me because I'm gonna draw a foul.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like that's just how Jimmy Butler has been playing it.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think that if there's so there's a couple different things that 100% will make like the lean towards the Warriors make more sense.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_02: That's one of the arguments.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_02: We still do have Steph Curry and we have Jimmy Butler, and then we have one of the best defensive anchors and Draymond Green.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes that is just completely it.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the next thing is, of course, the lack of experience from the top-end guys from the Houston Rockets and the lack of closers on that team.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_02: Where Steph Curry in that game versus the Grizzlies in the game, um, though they ended up losing this game, obviously, Steph Curry as a closer is still one of the best in the league.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: Where I think in the Grizzlies game, he sh he scored 15 of the last 18 points for the Golden State Warriors to close out that game.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_02: So like they have that.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_02: And then on the Houston Rockets side, it's like sometimes it's Jalen Green, sometimes it's Shingoon bullying his way through, but there's no definite answer.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_02: And you know that with the Warriors, you have that definite answer.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_02: But also, if I look back on their game versus the Clippers, the one that puts you guys into the play in, there were times where some of these lineups I'm watching and they look afraid to score.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_02: They look afraid to shoot.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_02: They they're looking for their out in Steph Curry.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought that Jimmy Butler kind of looked like that as well.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm glad he got his way back into um this last game versus the Grizzlies.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_02: But again, I'm just I'm like 50-50 still.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like Well, I think to that point, I think it's funny.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like the the role players, the inexperience is the same on both sides.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't that's why I think like, yes, you can say the Warriors are more experienced because of Steph, Dre, and Jimmy.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: But beyond that, like it's equal levels of inexperience.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that the places of experience that the Rockets have, of course, Dylan Brooks, um, Fred Van Vliet, who saw Steph Curry and them in the finals in 2019.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_02: And then Stephen Adams been around for a million years, but that's kind of it as far as their real rotational goes.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_02: We got like Amin Thompson, Tari Eason, Jalen Green, Shin going.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_02: This is all their first time making the postseason.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, man.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the series starts what's on on Sunday, Saturday, Sunday?
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_02: Sunday.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so we won't have an episode before then, but I'm just really intrigued, I guess, is the way um I would just put it on this series.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_02: Because after this one, the winner goes against the winner of the Lakers versus Timberwolves.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_02: So whether it be the Warriors or the Rockets, they still got a fucking bloodbath in the next round as well.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, so it there's I guess there is no such thing as an easy path in a Western Conference to that conference finals or that championship run.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, I don't know.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_02: I I can be swayed either way.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you gave me some good points.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_02: I bet if I had a Rockets fan here, they would give me some good points and I would still it would be a tug of war.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_02: Not saying that my prediction means a goddamn thing because it means nothing.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um maybe I'm I don't know.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: I will say for the Warriors, this was the thread the needle path where it actually is probably their best case scenario for the playoffs.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Again, it's not gonna be easy, but to avoid the Lakers, to avoid the Clippers, to avoid the Nuggets, yes, they had to play one extra game and have a couple days less rest, but if you could tell them that they were gonna guarantee if you could guarantee they would win that first playing game, I think this is the path they would have chosen.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_02: This is the best matchup for them outside of maybe maybe Minnesota.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_02: Minnesota would have been a more favorable matchup for y'all in comparison to like the Nuggets and Clippers.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_01: And they would not have had no answer for.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I I'm not sure.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, I think this series will be fascinating from the standpoint of uh technical fouls, potential fights, yeah, post-game jockeying about the refs, uh Emei talking shit on Dre and Steph.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's gonna be it's gonna be a lot of finessing and a lot of sending tape to the league.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's gonna be interesting.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's definitely gonna be a good one.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um so what is your prediction?
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_02: Are you Warriors in what, six, five, seven?
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_02: How are you feeling?
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: I I I want to say Warriors and six.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think the winner of game one will determine a lot of that.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think if the Warriors can get game one, I think it's Warriors and six.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_01: I think if they lose game one, it's either Warriors or Rockets and Seven, but it's gonna be so big for them to win game one.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_02: I guess we're gonna have to wait and see, man.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm super, super excited.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't be surprised if some of those games like it's like 98 to 92.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I think we're gonna have one just grinded out defensive-oriented game from the from these teams.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_02: And um I keep thinking about the Steven Adams lineups, man, and maybe I'm crazy, but they're gonna rebound the hell out of that ball, man.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, Zach Eady rebounded pretty well in that one matchup.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_02: Unfortunately for them, he got his ass swallowed up every time he touched the ball.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_02: Like they they really, really did a great job of guarding him.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, seven, four players, shoots like 30% from the field.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_02: You gotta give credit somewhere.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um Steven Adams is more equipped than that one.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_02: So I don't know.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_02: All right, the last series we got is uh Celtics versus Magic, probably the least exciting series of the first of the first round.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_02: Or at least until the Calves C who they're going against, I guess.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I don't know how you can think anything but the Celtics.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like people on the Thailand saying, well, Jalen Brown has been dealing with this little injury here.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_02: They said Jalen Brown was watching Paul Pierce footage because he's trying to play below the rim all of a sudden.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_02: I don't give a damn about that.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_02: The the Orlando Magic can't score.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_02: I know they did in that playing game.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Cole Anthony for Biden.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Wendell Carter, who had been awful all season long.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_02: Big game from him.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_02: But I just don't think they have the upside to take more than a game.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and maybe I'm wrong there.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe we get a big upset.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_02: But the Celtics are still the Celtics.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the one thing that the Orlando Magic have going for them is they're towards the bottom of the league and giving up open three-point looks.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_02: The Celtics benefit a lot from open three-point looks.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_02: So if they don't get a lot of looks, will they shoot poorly in a game?
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_02: You could definitely see the Orlando Magic take us some of that.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_02: But like, I just don't think outside of Paulo and France that you're gonna get, again, another big 25-point cold Anthony game here or there.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_02: So I don't even have like no big bullet points.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_02: I just think the Celtics should kind of roll this one.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_02: And then we go into the offseason for the Magic and figure out how do we get somebody who can score.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_02: Is that a new coach?
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's a lot of good coaches on the market.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_02: No disrespect to to Jamal Mosley.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_02: I hope they don't fire you.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I think that every every team that doesn't have a coach that they feel like is there for the next 10 years, they should be looking at this coaching um carousel and think, like, you know, Michael, Michael Malone is out there.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_02: Taylor Jenkins is out there, uh, Kenny Beachum is out there.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_02: Go pick him up.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I was just spam picking roles all day, every day, because that's the only thing I know.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_02: All right, so that's every series that we have as of right now.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_02: Again, we don't know the one eighth since I'm recording this one Friday.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_02: We'll figure out whether it be the Heat or the Hawks or the Mavericks or the Grizzlies.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_02: You see how long it took me to think of that?
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_02: That's either because it's I've been up so long, or I don't give a damn about the playing anymore.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's one or the other.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um before we get into ask KB, FanDuel is off in a no-sweat same game parlay every weekend throughout the playoffs.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_02: Just build your parlay, activate the no sweat token, and lock in your bets.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_02: If it loses, FanDuel will refund you in bonus bets.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_02: So I did put together a little some sum for that Clippers versus Nuggets thing.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, a little three-leg parlay.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_02: I like to take it real real easy.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_02: Three-leg, four-leg max.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_02: I know you got some super uh parlayers out there, but this is where I'm looking I'm looking at it.
• 53:41
  SPEAKER_02: Jamal Murray, two plus threes.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like that's very doable for Jamal Murray.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_02: Zubac, 15 plus points.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_02: He's been averaging more than that.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_02: He might make an all-M18.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_02: Damn it.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's a good matchup for him.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_02: And then lastly, Nicole Jokic's 12 plus rebounds.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_02: The way I'm thinking about it, would it be in the postseason, Nicole Yokic is going to be playing 42 minutes per game.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like he's a rebounding machine either way.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_02: So that's what I'm rocking with.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe you want to tail it, maybe you want to build your own.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_02: All you got to do is tap into fanduel.com slash Kenny to figure it out.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, no sweats saying, A parlay is kind of crazy.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_02: You should probably maximize that.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_02: The NBA playoffs only come around once a year.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_02: So don't miss your chance to bet on all the clutch shots and legendary performances with FanDuel, America's number one sports book.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_02: Right now, new customers can bet$5 to get 250 in bonus bets if the first bet wins.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_02: Personally, I'm looking at the Boston Celtics.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_02: The first two rounds might be a cakewalk.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_02: So whether Tatum is on a burner or you're thinking about Derek White steals, there are endless options with FanDuel.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_02: Just visit fanDuel.com slash Kenny for your chance to win$250 in bonus bets.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_02: FanDuel, official sportswick partner of the NBA.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_02: Let's get into some ass KB as we are getting to the postseason.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_02: I would assume that we got some postseason stuff.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_02: The first one comes from Moo God, uh 658-026.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_02: Are things like advanced stats and box scores becoming overvalued comparing uh to players to real impact on games?
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_02: The I test is what value they bring and other.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_02: So, yes, I do think there is the case.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think box score more than advanced stats, because I think that everything has its place in in sports, right?
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_02: Whether it be advanced, whether it be box scores, whether it be the eye test.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think you got to combine all of those things together to come to a realization or an opinion about an NBA team.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one of the perfect examples of something I've been seeing over Twitter since the in the last 24 hours about DeMontis Sabonis.
• 55:44
  SPEAKER_02: Devonta Sabonis is a guy that can give you triple doubles.
• 55:46
  SPEAKER_02: He's a guy that can average 20, 10, and eight on any season and make an all NBA appearance here or there, make an all-star appearance occasionally.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_02: But I think a lot of people are recognizing that, you know, some of the stuff that he puts together doesn't equate necessarily to winning or, you know, elevating the team's ceiling.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_02: I think he does a pretty good job of elevating the floor of a team, but not the ceiling.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_02: But if you just look at the box score numbers or you just look at this and that, you'll be like, oh my God, DeMontis Abonis is one of the top four centers in basketball.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_02: And in my personal opinion, I'm just giving my opinion, that's never really been the case, right?
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think he does add value.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_02: Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a fucking bum or a scrub, but I think there are players that put up less stats on a night-to-night basis that I would 100% take over him as far as being my center on my favorite team or whatever team I'm rooting for.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_02: So are things like advanced stats and box scores becoming overvalued?
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, in a way.
• 56:41
  SPEAKER_02: But also the opposite of that becomes overvalued as well.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_02: Because the damn that boy nice team, I think that they go a little bit too strong in their direction as well.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_02: So it has to be this level of balance because, you know, I think about it, it's impossible for anybody to watch every single game on every single night.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_02: So you kind of need box scores, you need advanced stats to pretty much put together your opinions about a player, right?
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_02: And there's no better example of this, whether people are right or wrong than again, these playing games, where, you know, Josh Getty had played well for 20 games.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not teaming he's a superstar or he's a bum.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'm definitely somewhere more in the middle.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_02: But for some people, this is their first time watching Josh Getty this season and he looked bad.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like he looked bad on both sides of the ball.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, oh yeah, see, that guy's asking for 20 plus million dollars.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_02: It can't happen that way.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_02: Where I think, again, it has to be a combination of them all.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_02: This is from Spencer.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_02: What's up, Spencer?
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think the Thunder's biggest weakness is heading into the playoff, if any?
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_02: And what teams out west do you think is the best equipped to exploit said weaknesses?
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Spencer.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_02: You've been around for a long time.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate you, dog.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, is Spencer still writing for us?
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_02: Wasn't Spencer a writer for us for a while?
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know, Spence.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_02: I hope you're still alive, man.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I really enjoyed your work.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_02: What do I think the biggest weakness?
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_02: So there, there's a few.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like as beautiful and amazing of basketball that they put together, there's no team without weaknesses, right?
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one of the major weaknesses that I've seen is how there are occasions where they could kind of get bullied down low.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_02: And shout out to Chet Homeground.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think his individual stats say like, you know, teams are 10% worse at the rim when he is on the court.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_02: That isn't that's one of the advanced stats that the I test does show.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_02: But there have been times a season where whether it be against the Houston Rockets a few weeks ago or it be against the Lakers a few uh a few games ago, where a team that is a little bit more physical on the offensive glass just takes advantage of that.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_02: And that was the case last year as well.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then they brought in Isaiah Hartenstein, who's kind of um mold over that a little bit.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_02: Again, we're we're basically picking hairs here because this team was so damn good.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a ton of that.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then the other thing is like the lack of trust that I guess I personally have at some of their number two options, right?
• 58:51
  SPEAKER_02: A J Dub or a Chet where, again, we're referring to some of these games at the end of the season where you're going against some of these good teams at basketball.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_02: You really, really need a J-Dub to step up.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_02: It can't just be Shea.
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes he falls a little bit short of that.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_02: And same thing with Chet Holmgren.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so those are the major things.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_02: And you're asking me the team that I think exploits that the most, I think that could be a team that they see in the second round.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think that could be a Clippers, I think that could be a Nuggets.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_02: I would pick the OKC Thunder for what it's worth against both of those teams.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but again, just answering the question, that that's that's where I kind of sit on the Thunder.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a lot of holes in that team.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, they are uh that good.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_02: What is an underlooked piece of information that you look at to decide you're a winner and playoff series that people wouldn't really think matters?
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you make sure to know what is your favorite part of the playoffs that goes underappreciated.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_02: That is from Hami.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Hami.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um was it Sammy?
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_02: Damn it, I don't know, but you've been around, I've seen you many times before, so I'm sorry.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one of the things that I look at a lot is the rebound battle, um, specifically on the offensive glass.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_02: And that's one of the reasons why I was just talking about with Greg of the offensive rebound, getting those extra opportunities again with the game slowing down.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_02: You you're definitely not gonna get as many offensive opportunities off the glass as you do in a regular season.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_02: But like just having more possessions, having more possessions, whether it be glass, whether it be turnovers driven, believe it or not, getting shots at the rim, pretty, pretty important.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_02: Getting shops up, pretty important.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_02: So if you tell me I can shoot 10 more shots to my opponent being hyperbolic here, 15 shots more than my opponent being hyperbolic there as well.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_02: I like your chances in any game.
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_02: Efficiency aside, I like your chance in any game.
• 1:00:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and what is my favorite part of the playoffs?
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_02: The space in between.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_02: I love the space in between these games.
• 1:00:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because in the regular season, you can watch a game and be like, yeah, that game is cool.
• 1:00:41
  SPEAKER_02: I want to go back to re-watch it and see what went well.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_02: And that same team got a game the next night.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_02: So you don't have time to re-watch and dissect those games.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_02: Where in the postseason, it's like, boom, game one is on Sunday, game two is on Tuesday.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I watch this game on Sunday.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_02: I can redo film on Monday, and then Tuesday we see what it can adjust.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes there's two games in between nights.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_02: So I can watch this game live, watch it again, take my notes, watch these parts over and over, and then that that becomes fun.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's offered none of it matters, right?
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_02: You can watch a game a hundred times over and think you figured it out and you never really do.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_02: Make or miss league, really good coaching league.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_02: So it may not matter at the grand scheme of things.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_02: So uh shout out to Spencer, shout out to Mugad, shout out to Sammy or Hadi.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_02: Again, I'm not completely sure where you're at with it.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Can a guy like Trey Young, Tyrese Halliburn, etc., really lead a team to a significant long-term success?
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_00: The reason I highlight them too specifically is because they both went on seemingly fluke conference finals runs in a year where the East was weak.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: And don't seem poised to be back there again soon.
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I would say so.
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I would say yeah.
• 1:01:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um I know that what the Pacers did last season, uh, with all of the injury luck that they had, you can you can classify it as a fluke.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_02: I don't looking back on that hawks run, is a it's it's a weird time in history because they didn't get the same injury luck that the Pacers did.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_02: They just were good that year.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um and obviously they have not been even close to doing anything like that.
• 1:02:10
  SPEAKER_02: They've been seventh seed, eight seed since then, and and sometimes out.
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um I do believe there's a case for those type of guys to be able to do it again, but the NBA is just a tough league, right?
• 1:02:22
  SPEAKER_02: You wouldn't ask.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_02: So I do want to say, first of all, those dudes did lead their team to the to the conference finals, regardless of injury luck or fluke or whatever.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_02: There are players throughout history that we classify as great players that didn't even do that shit.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, I don't want I don't want to diminish what they did in those postseason runs because that that in itself was extremely difficult.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_02: And we are still talking about players that did go in a conference finals run.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's not like these guys just got to the first round and got to the second round, repetit like over and over again.
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_02: They have that run.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_02: And in my opinion, because postseason basketball is a lot of different things, it is being the better team, it is having luck, it is this and that.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_02: Who says that you can't get lucky again with some injury health?
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_02: So, yes, I would say objectively, yes.
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't lean closer to Halliburton being more of that type of case than Trey Young.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_02: And that's no side of Trey Young, but I I do believe that that Halliburton is the better one.
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_02: I think that the negative part of you got that you have with it doesn't necessarily have to do with the offense side of the ball, it's the other side of things because you see teams target those guys on a night-to-night basis, and in the postseason is gonna be like that as well.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna see Tyrese Halliburton in so many different actions against the Bucs.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_02: And if they advance to that one, you're gonna see him in so many different um act uh actions against the Cavaliers over and over again.
• 1:03:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna give them benefit of the doubt because I have no reason not to.
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_02: That was a really long episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beach.
• 1:03:51
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I hope you enjoyed it.
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_02: Got some postseason talk in.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and next time we, yeah, next time we talk, we're gonna be two games into the series.
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_02: I do want to remind you that if you go over to the Kenny for Real YouTube channel, we are doing somewhat nightly recaps of the playoffs as well.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_02: So if you can't wait until Thursday to hear what I gotta say, uh go check those out.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_02: The way I'm doing it differently this year is Kenny for real is definitely more reactionary to right after these games happen, while small ball is rewatching the footage and going through all of the stuff.
• 1:04:19
  SPEAKER_02: So you can get a combination of both um with me.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate all support this season.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_02: It was a fun regular season, uh, but hopefully the postseason is even more fun.
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_02: Love y'all.
• 1:04:28
  SPEAKER_02: See y'all next time.