Latest / Small Ball with Kenny Beecham / POST-GAME DEBRIEF: The Timberwolves Just Made A Statement...

Transcript

POST-GAME DEBRIEF: The Timberwolves Just Made A Statement... · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about these NBA games.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: We got the Jaden McDaniels game three.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: We got the Bucks keeping their season alive and the Orlando Magic holding the Boston Celtics to what 11 points in the fourth quarter?
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about all of that.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: But we did get game number three, the Jaden McDaniels game.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't think it's a coincidence that the two games that the Wolves have won in the series are games where Jaden McDaniels had a really good offensive performance.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: In real time, you never really noticed this, but between February 1st and February 28th, this is the time where Julius Randle plays zero games.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: He was out with his injury.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: And during that time, we saw Jaden McDaniels take a step up offensively.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Hell, I dropped a video during this time.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, is anybody watching what JD McDaniels is doing right now?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because throughout the first couple years of his career, he had turned himself to a 3 and D wing, which is great.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: You get paid being a 3nd D wing, but he had to remind himself and remind the world that that's just not who I am.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's what my role has been here, but I could do so much more.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So during that stretch where we're talking about Julius Renner being out with his injury, JD McDaniels was averaging 19 points per game.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: He was averaging eight and a half rebounds to three assists.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: That little stretch empowered him to be ready for stuff like this.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Luca Dante's is there with the BGs.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: He's got stomach flu, he's got something going on.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And he is the primary defender on me?
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Say less.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: We don't take advantage of that.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And when they when you found out that Luca Dante was gonna be dealing with this stomach thing, I always have to ask myself, is this gonna be more of a flu game type of thing where he still turned up and he still do his thing, or is this gonna be like a traditional, I'm sick, I can't really go to work.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: The last time I had the BGs or I had a stomach bug, I didn't go to work.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Me and my job is this.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not even close to playing 40 minutes in an NBA playoff game.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it ended up being in between the two options, a flu game or a bad game.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: It was a Luka Dodge's bad game.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now he did give us a couple great moments where he hit the the wing three over Julius Randle with seconds expiring on the shot clock, or he had the moment late in the fourth quarter where Chris Fence has done a pretty damn good job balancing his rotation for what is necessary, right?
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um the Minnesota Timbulls are playing good basketball, they needed a few stops, they bring in Rudy Gobert, and the very first play, Rudy Gobert is back on the floor, Luca Dontis draws a foul.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then the second play that they're on defense, Luka Dante scored.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And Chris Finch is like, never mind, get your ass out of the game.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh where you at Nas Reed.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: So uh he gave us a couple good things, but for the most part, this is a really bad Luka game.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to turn this into a Luka Dontis trade thing, but I know somewhere, if if Nico Harrison cares to watch basketball now that he's on vacation, he probably feels somewhat vindicated.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's somewhat unfair, but they were going at Luka Donta's head this entire game.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about it before that for the Minnesota Timberwolves to continue to win games in the series, they gotta find a way to play their brand of basketball.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that when they stayed in the half court, it benefited the Lakers more than it benefited them.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta think about who's the star of these teams, right?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Luka Donces has been able to be malleable throughout his career, but the majority of his career, he has been the engine of a slow-paced offensive team.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know when Kyrie got there with um with the Dallas Mavericks, the tempo went up more, but historically, he's a slower place-paced player.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: LeBron James is 40 years old.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: He can still get on the break and everything, but he's still 40 years old.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: They really benefit from being a half-court team.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it happened in game number two.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And in game number three, I thought that the Wolves definitely took advantage of having the younger bodies and getting up and down the court.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But more than anything, where they held their hat today was points in the paint.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: They were so aggressive getting downhill, where they beat Julius Randle or Anthony Edwards.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I know we uh we started off by talking about JD McGaines, just 30.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Anthony Edwards, another masterful performance where they were throwing two bodies, they were throwing late help, and you question what type of performance you're going to get from Anthony Edwards.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And of the three games we got of the series, two of them, he was a master in the pick and roll.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: He was a master making those decisions.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Today his final stat line is 20, 29, 8, and 8.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: A couple huge, huge shots down the stretch, zero um field goal or free throw attempts, which is still crazy to me considering how often he gets downhill, but only two turnovers.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And those eight assists could definitely be more because there are a few times he did draw in uh two guys, three bodies, kicked it out, and somebody missed a shot or failed to shoot a shot.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Dante DiVincenzo.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: This was an amazing game.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Julas Randle gives us another really good playoff performance.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-oh, are those monkeys getting off his back?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Are we are we still gonna look at Julius Randle as a playoff dropper?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Again, we're talking about one game here, but like he has been pretty damn good in this series.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And again, Finch has done an amazing job balancing what is necessary in the time.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: In the first half, I thought Rudy Gobert did pretty damn good defensively.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: But gotta see off offense.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is the same story we say every single game, right?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: He's so bad offensively that when you get that level of push from Nas Reed, who him and Dante in these last two games have been really struggling to not foul.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: They both ended up with four in this one.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: But Nas Reed hitting big time shots.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: We were in Discord watching this in this game, and my boy Pierre's like, yeah, Nas Reed might get the the crown of Lakers killer.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: He only had 11 today, but I promise you it was allowed 11.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so amazing, amazing game for the Minnesota Timberwolves today.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, low turnover, really aggressive.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: They ended up uh the Lakers ended up hitting four more threes in them, and it didn't matter.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: LeBron put on his best game of the playoffs, and I'm assuming that they just all talked about, hey man, this ain't gonna be a Luca Dontis game.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's dealing with this stuff, he's got the like everything is going on.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna need you to take us home, bro, bro.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And he went through that stretch where he had like three straight threes.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, oh, bruh, and he's about to hit that fourth one, and the ball falls out of his hands, and I think that Jaden McDaniel's got an and one layup on the other side.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: He did have the shot late in the game where he hit the side of the backboard from the right wing.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: That was tough.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I can say.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: That was really tough.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know they're gonna continue to try running Jackson Hayes in the series.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't know how you can.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're at the point of the series where you're going to have to see, you're gonna see coaches make some huge, huge adjustments on a game-to-game basis.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think that the Lakers just have to completely hone in on a small ball because even in this nine minutes that Jackson Hayes played, it was awful.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was really, really bad on both sides of the floor.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Just uh lack of spacing, and they're not looking at him as a super lob threat as he may should be, and he's not doing anything.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying you should start these games with a small ball, but maybe just get rid of even what was it?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Nine minutes.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's down to two, dog.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's down to zero.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: But being up to one is huge for the wolves.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: They got another game at home.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's on Sunday, if I'm not mistaken.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I was somebody that picked the Lakers in a series, thinking about the top end talent.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the Wolves are the more complete team, if you will.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta think about who the Lakers are.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this team is not built around Luca, they just happened to acquire Luca.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe we were just a little bit too early, or maybe not.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's still just a one-two series.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to jump the gun too much.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is still anybody's series, but in the two games that the Wolves have won, they look pretty dominant.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And even in the game that they lost, they really just lost one quarter, right?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: That 34 to 15 quarter of game number two was the reason they lost in game number two.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: So you can, if you're a Wolves fan, you're probably feeling pretty damn good, even though you're only up 2-1.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can squint and say, hey, anything is really possible.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: We could be up 3-0 right now.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's huge.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: That was huge.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um beautiful game, man.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know the final score being a 12-point game, it was down the stretch, it was really electric.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Austin Reeves said some shots today, right?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that's good for the Lakers if you're trying to find some silver liners because he was not hitting his three-point shot at all in the first couple games, and now he hit a couple.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it is what it is.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still trying to figure out exactly how can they empower Rui Hachimore.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe they can't.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they can't, right?
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I think about them, he hit the first shot of the game, if I'm not mistaken.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And there were a few times where when Mike Conley was in the game, Mike Conley is guarding him, and they tried to give him a little post-touch, and then he got some help, and I think he turned the ball over on one of those plays.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't know.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: There's no other real options, right?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like you're gonna have to bench Rui Hachimura, but so far in the series, we haven't got nearly as good of Rui Hachimura performances as they need to win this series.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or if it's not just this series, the next series, or the next series after that.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: So shout out to the Wolves.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Big time game.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's go to the other game.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: The Bucks you know, go prevent themselves from going down 3-0.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you listen to Smallball and Kitty Beachum, I was saying, man, that things are not looking good.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: When you have Kyle Kuzma on the court with Giannis and Brooke Lopez, the offense and the defense is absolutely awful.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And in this game, do I dare say that Doc Rivers made some adjustments?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Brooke Lopez barely played.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Kal Kuzma barely played.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean 21 minutes, but he barely played.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And they went in with a guy named Gary Trent Jr.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yo, if you would have told me, if you would have told me that there was going to be a game in this series where Gary Trent Jr.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: led all scores, I would have called you crazy.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now he tied with Giannis at 37, but that third quarter, I think he had more points in the third quarter than the entire Pacers team.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Shot after shot after shot after shot.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you could call the fool's goal if you will, if you if you want to, but at the end of the day, they just extended this series.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, they gave themselves a chance to maybe make something happen.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Bunts and six is still up in the air.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Dame had his another really bad shooting night, but I thought that Dame was pretty damn good defensively today.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Dare I say, and I'm not even just looking at the fact he had two blocks.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: One of the blocks was on Pascal Siakam.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh, but I'm not even looking at the stats.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like watching him fight in this one was pretty damn good.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: So shout out, um, shout out to him and shout out to the Bucks.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they were channing overrated for Tyrese Halliburton.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think that my my one criticism from Tyrese, and I've said this for the last couple years of his career, is that sometimes he will break down his defender, get to the paint, and immediately just think pass.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that's who he is, it's how he gets everybody available.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hell, that's how they become one of the best offenses in basketball every single year.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I at times just want him to attempt a shot at the rim.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just do it.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think let me see if I can find these numbers right now.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I remember looking at his um clean in the glass um earlier in the season, and maybe it did shift, but like earlier in the season, I was looking at where his shots were coming from versus the rim, the mid-range, and the three-point shot, and his rim finishing.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, his rim attempts have dropped off significantly.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: His first year in Indiana, first full year, 28% of his shots came at the rim.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Then last year was 22, and this year's 14%.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And in the playoffs, I don't know what the number, I don't have the play.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, show playoff stats, 17%.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So he's attempted four field goals at the rim so far.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: He's drawn two fouls.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say six layups or a dunk.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: He had a dunk in this game.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's just not gonna cut it.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: And again, through the first two games, it was working, but there they were just times in this game where the Bucks are on their run, and then he gets around that corner and it's immediately looking past when he probably should have been looking shot.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that's it.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I like I want this series to go far, so I'm I'm I'm I'm not rooting for anybody, obviously, but like you know, the Bucks going down a three would have been the end of the series, let's be real.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So them taking a game on their home court with that electric crowd, it's pretty good.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they hit 15 threes as a team, and nine of them came from the hands of Gary Trent, and four of them came from the hands of AJ Green.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like it was them guys, and that's it.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it's the playoffs, baby.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: All you want to do is win, it don't matter the methods.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: And the last game, and and this was one of the games where I had half of an eye on.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the third quarter for the Celtics was like the worst basketball I've ever seen.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I said something because we've had some really bad uh playoff game, playoff quarters in this, but like 11 points is obviously unacceptable.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is a great Jason Tatum game.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: He started off um really, really hot.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, not only did he cool off, everybody cooled off.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: No Drew Holiday in this one, and Drew Holiday has been pretty big in the series.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Or not like a full game, but they have been spots in the series where four minutes stretch, Drew Holiday looks like the best player on the court.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: They definitely could have used him today.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Porzingis is like 0 for 11 from three so far in the series.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sam Hauser still hasn't scored just yet.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the Orlando Magic keep the Celtics from scoring 100 points.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: And if they play, the only way the Orlando Magic win this series, which is a 2% chance, they gotta continue to hold the Celtics to under 100.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's the only way, because them scoring 100, you know, they've scored 100 two times in the last seven games.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Smiles.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh gotta give a lot of credit to Paolo, gotta give a lot of credit to Franz.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: But here's my notebook.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: I take my notes in.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me go to this game.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I had this with like just I was mostly watching Pacers Buck because I thought that's that is the most interesting series.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: But here's one of my few notes from this actual game.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this is after Franz Wagner attempted that three at the end of the game and ended up being a long rebound that the Celtics end up getting.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't like.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I thought the the ref should have put more time on the clock.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Point three didn't feel like enough considering where it was.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, my thing says no way should Franz Wagner attempt 13 threes in a game.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: He had three of them.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but he should not be shooting 13 threes, bro.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, I mean, I'm sure he believes he does has to because KCP has been a non-factor offensively all series long.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: He was supposed to be your shooter.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um I almost called him Alec Black for whatever reason.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Anthony Black is 0 for 4.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um in this game, yeah, Cole Anthony is 0 for 1.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: He hit one, but his foot was on the line, so obviously that don't count.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: So they just need somebody to attempt threes.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: They were eight for 28 from 32 from 3, and 13 of those threes came from Franz.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: I I I hate that I hate the hitch.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody hates the hitch, but that hitch is really nasty.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if he hits three, then you're like, okay, but three or thirteen is a bit much.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, um, enough of that.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Great gay uh day of uh playoff basketball.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just tired, so I'm gonna go.