Latest / Bleacher Report / Anthony Edwards & Julius Randle Talk Game 3 Win vs. Lakers _ 2025 NBA Playoffs

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Anthony Edwards & Julius Randle Talk Game 3 Win vs. Lakers _ 2025 NBA Playoffs · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And just what did it take from you and the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: team to close the way that you did tonight for
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a team that you guys have not always been super
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: sharp in clutch time situations.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: I got two words for you, Jaden mcdaimes.
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  Speaker 3: It's just that simple. Once again, he's been incredible for
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  Speaker 3: us all year.
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  Speaker 1: How did you kind of manage the emotions of the environment.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it was super intense game, fans going.
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  Speaker 3: Lie man, this was the best that defense.
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  Speaker 2: It was so loud on the other day, like when we
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  Speaker 2: hit when you got his first basket, it was so
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  Speaker 2: loud in there, Like I couldn't hear the play.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: I couldn't hear what play we was in.
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  Speaker 2: I couldn't hear Rudy saying screen left sat, I couldn't
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  Speaker 2: hear nothing, Like it was so loud in that. That
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  Speaker 2: was probably the most fun I've had in Target Center for.
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  Speaker 4: Sure, And it seemed like tonight you really spent in
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  Speaker 4: those last five minutes really found the balance of you know,
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  Speaker 4: hitting that one three and then just finding the lanes
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  Speaker 4: and being patient with it. Like what were you seeing,
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  Speaker 4: especially down the stretch with their defense, and how were
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  Speaker 4: you able to kind of get generate good looks every
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  Speaker 4: time John.
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: Just trying to play play a little faster.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: I think in the first half I was like I
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  Speaker 2: was getting to where I wanted to go, but I
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  Speaker 2: wasn't playing fast enough. So like when they switch and
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  Speaker 2: didn't like say, like Julius said, a screen and they
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  Speaker 2: switch and he rolled his man down, I was waiting
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  Speaker 2: til his man turned around instead of driving right behind him.
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  Speaker 2: And I think in the fourth quarter I started to
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  Speaker 2: do that more and it was effective.
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  Speaker 4: Julius, You've always talked about lighting liking to push the pace,
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  Speaker 4: and that's been so critical in this series. If you
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  Speaker 4: try to take that up to a different level, even
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  Speaker 4: of every time there's an opportunity getting out and trying
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  Speaker 4: to get a good look that way.
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  Speaker 5: Uh, yeah, we.
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  Speaker 3: Know when they.
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  Speaker 5: Miss or make you know, it's an advantage for us
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  Speaker 5: to be able to push the pay, push the PAGs,
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  Speaker 5: get downhill, create a play for yourself or your teammates.
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  Speaker 5: So any chance that I can do that, you know,
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  Speaker 5: if I can get the rebound on early transition and
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  Speaker 5: get a hit ahead, you know, I try to try
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  Speaker 5: to break the paint and from there see what happens.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah, and did you have a censor did you know
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  Speaker 6: that right here? Do you since that Luca might have
• 2:01
  Speaker 6: been a little under the weather, And if so, did
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  Speaker 6: you go at him? Did you try to go at
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  Speaker 6: him a little bit harder if you if you knew
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  Speaker 6: he was sick at all?
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  Speaker 3: No, No, I didn't know.
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  Speaker 2: I mean I don't sit and watch the latest updates
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  Speaker 2: or nothing like that, so I don't. I don't know
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  Speaker 2: anything about none of their players. But whoever on the court.
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  Speaker 5: What did you two fellows think about the forty year
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  Speaker 5: old tonight?
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  Speaker 3: He was incredible.
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  Speaker 2: He did everything he could in his power to try
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  Speaker 2: to will in to a win.
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  Speaker 3: He was shooting it from you countin, Yeah, for sure
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  Speaker 3: he was. He was shooting. He was shooting crazy for sure.
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  Speaker 2: He caught one of them in transition and I was
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  Speaker 2: like kind of closing out.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm like, he's not about to shoot this, and
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  Speaker 3: he launched it. I'm not gonna lie. He Yeah, it was.
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  Speaker 2: It was fun to watch him, like be competing against
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  Speaker 2: him to day, for sure.
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  Speaker 7: Julius, all season, the five you guys start with may
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  Speaker 7: not always be the five that you end up closing
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  Speaker 7: a game with. Just how was that just as a
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  Speaker 7: team gone over with in the locker room and how
• 3:01
  Speaker 7: have guys maybe put their egos to the side for
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  Speaker 7: the good of the team in these situations when everybody
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  Speaker 7: wants to close but not everybody can on and give
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  Speaker 7: a night And just h how is that culture built
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  Speaker 7: over the course of the season.
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  Speaker 5: I mean, I just think our trusting coaches, uh, you know,
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  Speaker 5: extremely high.
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  Speaker 3: We know that he wants to win.
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  Speaker 5: Everybody in the locker room, uh one through fifteen want
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  Speaker 5: to win as well.
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  Speaker 3: So I mean that's all that's about right now.
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  Speaker 5: It's not about egos or minutes shots, none of that
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  Speaker 5: stuff matters. It matters like tonight, at the end of
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  Speaker 5: the night, did we get to win? And you know
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  Speaker 5: that's what we play for every single night. So, uh,
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  Speaker 5: we're a very much together group and you know we
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  Speaker 5: recognize all those situations. So it's like at some point,
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  Speaker 5: even if you don't finish the game, we gonna need
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  Speaker 5: you at some point, you know what I mean. So
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  Speaker 5: it might not be your night tonight, but having that
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  Speaker 5: trust that coach is gonna you know, put you in
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  Speaker 5: when we need you.
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  Speaker 3: You know, that's all we can ask for.
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  Speaker 7: Yeah, and the three that you're hitting eyes with, when
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  Speaker 7: did you see him open at what point did you
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  Speaker 7: know that you were going to him on that parture.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Took up six Yeah, I think we ran like, uh,
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  Speaker 2: we ran an action to get Luca to switch, and
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  Speaker 2: they didn't switch. I seen him about the double me,
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  Speaker 2: so I just tried to attack Luca. I got to
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  Speaker 2: the baseline, and they've been since the first game, they've
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  Speaker 2: been like taking away the corners. So I didn't even
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  Speaker 2: have to look at the wing. I knew somebody was
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  Speaker 2: on the wing, whether it was nas A Dante, and
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  Speaker 2: I just I really couldn't even see him. I just
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  Speaker 2: threw it to the wing because I knew somebody was
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  Speaker 2: gonna be there, and luckily it was nas Reed, you
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  Speaker 2: know what I'm saying, the fan favorite.
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  Speaker 3: So he was able to come up.
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  Speaker 2: Big for us man and with uh with Jayden Julieu's
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  Speaker 2: gotta shoot more.
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  Speaker 3: He took thirteen shots. You're right, he took thirteen shots.
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  Speaker 2: Yet, like I mean, he he was he was, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: he did, you right, You're right?
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  Speaker 3: So okay, okay, sorry, he was incredible from the field.
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  Speaker 3: It only took thirteen shots.
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  Speaker 6: Tremore.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: You know what it's like to guard Luca.
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  Speaker 8: You're probably getting the second most possessions guarding him. Jaden
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  Speaker 8: is guarding him the rest of the time. What do
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  Speaker 8: you think it's like for him to be able to
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  Speaker 8: do that much defensively and be able to contribute offensively?
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  Speaker 2: I told him, I told him maybe like two years ago, Like, bro,
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  Speaker 2: I don't understand, Like what type of shape you in?
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  Speaker 2: I don't know what you do in the summertime? Like
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: because he do he ever look tired of y'all? Like
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I know, he don't show no emotion, but
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  Speaker 2: like you can tell with somebody tired, Like if you
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  Speaker 2: watch me going into the end of the first quarter,
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  Speaker 2: I'm like, I'm trying to catch my birth. Jaden never
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  Speaker 2: looks tired, Like it looks like he can play forty
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  Speaker 2: eight minutes, and so I don't know, man, it's incredible
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  Speaker 2: on his behalf. Man, what he played tonight thirty eight
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  Speaker 2: he could have played forty eight minutes for sure. I
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  Speaker 2: think Finchy does a great job of trying to match
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  Speaker 2: his minutes with Luca, you know, to keep him on
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  Speaker 2: him because he's pretty much like the only person we got.
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  Speaker 2: They can kind of make it tough on him because
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  Speaker 2: Luca makes the craziest.
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  Speaker 8: Shots Julius over the course season, what's kind of when
• 6:01
  Speaker 8: you look back at it, figuring out how you two,
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  Speaker 8: you know, play off of each other offensively. I mean
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  Speaker 8: back at the beginning, there was kind of like your turn,
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  Speaker 8: my turn, and now it just seems like it's flowing
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  Speaker 8: more natural.
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  Speaker 5: Uh yeah, I mean, I just I I try to
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  Speaker 5: make the game as easy as possible as I can
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  Speaker 5: for him, because he draws so much attention when he
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  Speaker 5: has the ball in his hands. And I mean, you
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  Speaker 5: see how teams are playing him all year. You know,
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  Speaker 5: it's it's boxes and elbows. So it's like we talked
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  Speaker 5: about earlier, like pushing the pace, like if I could
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  Speaker 5: find him some easy ones in transition or some dhos,
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  Speaker 5: or the defense is off balance and he can get
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  Speaker 5: downhill or or playing space. I I I try to make,
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  Speaker 5: you know, a conscious effort to get him those looks,
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  Speaker 5: and then it's just a trickle down effect. You know,
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  Speaker 5: once he's going and he's in rhythm, you know, the
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  Speaker 5: defense was gonna overreact to everything that he does, and
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  Speaker 5: it just makes the game easier for myself and everybody else.
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  Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
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  Speaker 4: And can you how would you describe the attention to
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  Speaker 4: detail and urgency. You guys had defensive in those last
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  Speaker 4: five minutes. There was a one where he closed out
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  Speaker 4: on LEBRONI or like in his hip pocket, just like
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  Speaker 4: those every seemed like they were doing that on that end.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think like y, like you said, the last
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  Speaker 2: four minutes, the attention to detail was was pretty good.
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  Speaker 2: I think it could be better, just on being able
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: to read the game a little bit more. We had
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  Speaker 2: a couple of drives, one on Jaden and one on Julius.
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  Speaker 3: Luca drove 'em and they.
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  Speaker 2: Played pretty good defense, and we didn't have to bring
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  Speaker 2: a a low man or help defender. We could have
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  Speaker 2: just made made him make a tough shot. But we
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  Speaker 2: brought the low man and he It put us into rotation.
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  Speaker 2: And the bad thing about getting into rotation is is
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  Speaker 2: when the ball is swinging, everybody is rotating so fast
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  Speaker 2: the per the BA. We don't want certain people to
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  Speaker 2: catch the ball. We don't want Lebron Luke or Austin
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  Speaker 2: Reeves to catch the ball within those rotations. So that's
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  Speaker 2: why we gotta go watch film and and and be
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  Speaker 2: able to read the game a little better on when
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  Speaker 2: to bring the low man and when not to, cause
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  Speaker 2: if they played good defense, they make 'em take a
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  Speaker 2: tough shot. Everybody just fan out, you know what I'm saying,
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  Speaker 2: cause you getting rotation. It's Hotchie morel touch. If Fini
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  Speaker 2: Smith touched it, then it goes act to Luca for
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  Speaker 2: a catch and shoot, and that's what we don't want.
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  Speaker 2: So we got to be able to take that away
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  Speaker 2: from the game, especially down the stretch.
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  Speaker 3: And where did that dunk on Luca rank in your
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: career list of dunk.
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  Speaker 2: Oh that was terrible. Yeah, that was a terrible dunk.
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  Speaker 2: I wish I could get it back. I would clock
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  Speaker 2: it back a little more
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  Speaker 3: Questions than guys