Jason reacts to a fun weekend of NBA games and gives five big takeaways including how Jayson Tatum makes the Boston Celtics title contenders immediately; the Los Angeles Lakers need Austin Reaves to be their second option after Luka Doncic, not LeBron James; how the Cleveland Cavaliers and James Harden have a Celtics problem; the Houston Rockets’ issue with Alperen Sengun's defense; and how Cade Cunningham's Detroit Pistons have slipped.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. All right, Well, good to Hoops Tonight. Here
at the volume heavy Monday, everybody. I While you guys
had an incredible weekend, we have a quick show today.
(00:21):
I'm just gonna go over five big takeaways from a
jam packed weekend of NBA basketball. You guys are the
jo before we get started. Subscribe to Oops Tonight YouTube
channel so you don't miss any more of our videos.
Make sure you like this video and sign up for
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(00:42):
we'll get to them in our weekly mail bags throughout
the rest of the season. All right, let's talk some basketball. First,
big takeaway from the weekend. Jason Tatum is going to
make Boston so much better against the best teams in
the league. First of all, it was great just to
see Jason Tatum back out on the court starting with Friday.
I watched both of his games from this past weekend.
(01:05):
Just a truly remarkable feat. I did read that there's
been a lot of great advancements in Achilles surgery over
the course of the last few years, and it's not
terribly uncommon for guys to come back relatively quickly, but
still less than ten months after a devastating injury like that.
For him to make it back the way that he did,
I just thought was a testament to just the type
(01:26):
of guy that Jason Tatum is that he wasn't going
to be derailed by something like this. But I was
talking about this concept like Boston against the best teams
with Colin Coward last week. Boston has had a remarkable season.
They've had incredible metrics. They're the second best net rating
team in the league behind Oklahoma City. They are the
fourth best record in the league. But they've had some
(01:49):
losses this year against the better teams in the league
that haven't looked good. Just in the last month, they've
been blown out at home by the Knicks, blown out
at home by the Hornets. They are one in three
the Pistons this year. They're zero and two versus the Nuggets.
They're one and two versus the Knicks. Overall, against teams
in the top ten in point differential, they've been okay
but not great. They've been nine to ten so one
(02:10):
game below five hundred and a negative one point four
point differential in those games. Again, not to take away
anything from the season, but it's been clear that it's
been a very strong culture, with continuity and a group
that's very bought into their coach, some specific guys playing
some really good basketball this year. That has helped keep
them where they've been statistically and in the standings, but
(02:33):
there's been some more mixed results against the better teams
in the league. Jason Tatum coming back into the fold
isn't going to lead to some sort of massive improvement
for the team statistically. I mean, that's basically impossible with
where they've been to this point, right, They've been so
good to this point, it be unrealistic to expect them
(02:54):
to experience some sort of dramatic improvement. But you can
already tell from his first two games worth of tape
that he's gonna help them in several key areas. First
of all, defensive rebounding. The Celtics look fundamentally different when
Jason Tatum is on the floor in terms of the
physical profile of their lineups. One of the things even
(03:16):
with the rise of Jordan Walsh, even with the rise
of Baylor Shireman. We have not seen a traditional, like
big power forward type of player in these lineups for
the most part. For the most part, it's been like
your kind of stereotypical swing forwards. Maybe some more athletic,
wiry forwards, but you don't have this like big six',
(03:37):
ten very, strong switchable kind of power forward. Look they
haven't had that, archetype and Putting Jason tatum out there
makes The celtics look dramatically more physically, imposing especially on the.
Glass The celtics With Jason tatum so far on the
floor just through two, games but they're grabbing eighty one
point two percent of their opponent's misses When jason tatums
(04:00):
on the. Floor that's an insane. Number that's outstanding defensive. Rebounding,
now as we've talked, about there's a defensive versatility element to.
This there's going to be times where we See Jason,
tatum you, know guarding opposing centers and we See Jason
tatum deployed in more creative ways defensively to help The
(04:20):
celtics reach a higher level on that in the. Floor
we haven't really seen that part yet for the most
part at this. Point Joe mizzoula has been Tucking tatum
away on like role player. Wings that makes a lot
of sense to, me is he's working his way back
into shape and kind of building more resilience with his.
Body you, know one of the big things when we
(04:41):
talk About tatum guarding centers is there's a lot of
battles that are being fought there on the. Ground there's
a lot of like having someone lean on him in
those sorts of, situations AND i think they're just trying
to avoid that dynamic at this early. Phase BUT i
do think in the long run that will be a
bigger part of. It but right away off the, top
you can tell physically the lineups look. Different there is
(05:03):
an element of defensive rebounding With Jason tatum out there
that is different than what it was, before and that's
helped a. Lot, secondly the natural feel for. PLAYMAKING i
don't mean this in any way as a slight Towards Jalen,
brown because he's had an amazing season and the best
version of The celtics team obviously Needs Jalen brown to be.
Great we're going to talk about it more here in a,
(05:24):
minute but in That cavs, game in Particular Jlen brown
and his ability to continually attack the smaller guards Like
Kean ellis And Dennis, schroeder like he had a lot
of success At Dean wade's expense. Yesterday Jalen brown is
so important to this, Team so this is not meant
to be a slight at him at all. Whatsoever BUT
i do Think tatum is a far more complete offensive.
(05:48):
Player WHAT i mean by that, is, like there is
a lot of these like reads or playmaking sequences that
come very naturally To Jason tatum that have been kind
of missing from this offense this. Year and you could
see that immediately in the first couple of, games just
like whether it's you know, him like hitting the pocket
(06:10):
pass three times in a row To kada at the
beginning of That Dallas mavericks, game or like there was
a very simple little bounce pass that he threw To
Derek white and yesterday's game as he was coming off
of a flare screen From cada on the left side
of the, floor HiT's Derek white on a bounce And
Derek white kind of cuts into the lane and gets an,
easy little two handed. Dunk and As i'm watching, him
like there are just these passing, sequences these playmaking sequences
(06:33):
that seem to come very naturally To Jason. Tatum and,
like you, KNOW i would argue when it comes to
the match up hunting, element like strictly the goal of Like,
Okay i've Got Dennis schroeder on, me And i'm going
to go get a bucket on. Him Like Jalen brown
brings a level of athleticism and he's become so surgically
efficient on that little mid range pull up that, like,
(06:54):
yeah you could tell me That Jalen brown's better at,
that AND i wouldn't necessarily argue with. You but when
everything is going For Jason, tatum by the, way he's
not shooting the ball super well right, Now that's to be.
Expected he's getting his legs underneath. Him he's adjusting to
the speed of THE nba. Again but like When Jason
tatum has all of the elements of his game put,
together there's an element of like he can do this
(07:16):
for us on. Offense he can do that for us on.
Offense he can run these inverted actions With Derek. White
he's very good at making the ensuing reads that come
out of these. Situations he's just a very complete offensive,
player and what that means is he's going to be
able to essentially cater his game to fit into gaps
Where boston needs. Him on that end of the. Floor
(07:38):
the offensive rating With Jayson tatum on the floor so
far has been just below one. Fifteen we have discussed
extensively like that was always going to. Happen this was
not going to be something where you just plug him
in and it automatically looks amazing because you're adding a
high usage. Player you're adding a guy who's going to
be working on his, conditioning in his rhythm in the
(08:00):
moment rather than behind the. Scenes so, like there's gonna
be some lumps along the, way but, Overall Jason tatum
is going to bring a lot of elements to this,
offense especially as a playmaker that really haven't been there this,
season AND i think that that's gonna make them better
when they go up against the better. Teams and so,
again WHEN i WHEN i look at the big, PICTURE
(08:22):
i look at A celtics team that was really strong,
statistically but they had some specific flaws And Jason tatum
is gonna step in and he's going to address some
of these, flaws addressing defensive, rebounding addressing defensive, versatility addressing offensive,
versatility meaning just the different ways that you can look
to attack and break down a. Defense, again like you,
(08:43):
know when we talk about a potential playoff series against
a team Like, cleveland which we're going to dive into
here in a, minute there's a certain amount of like
Having Jason tatum as another guy who can attack your
seize mismatches and another guy who can maintain forty eight
minutes of pressure against The cleveland defense that struggles against
some of these bigger. FORWARDS i think that there's real
(09:06):
value add there For. Boston SO i think he looks
better than. Expected, physically you can tell his conditioning still
has a long way to, go but he's trying explosive.
Moves he had a miss dunk against The, MAVs WHICH
i thought was a good sign of him just trusting
his body to move. Explosively and by the, way The
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(09:26):
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for full terms and. Conditions second big takeaway from last.
(11:18):
Weekend The calves might have shot the ball uncharacteristically poor
against The, celtics AND i definitely think it affected, them
but that doesn't mean they don't still have A celtics.
Problem The celtics got one point five points per catch
and shoot jump shot attempt last night and The calves
got zero point ninety. Four that's a sixty six point
(11:38):
gap over one hundred shot. Sample so, yeah there was
definitely a bit of shooting variants in this. Game in
the second quarter in, particular you could tell The calves
were getting super discouraged by the misses some really good
looks for really good shooters that weren't going, in and
there's a, LIKE i you, know there's a combination of
(11:59):
like confon instant rhythm THAT i always, THINK i think
gets under discussed in, basketball where, like you, know you
run good offense and you miss a wide open shot
and then somebody goes down to the other end and
hits a more contested shot of some. Kind it can
kind of have this mental effect where you kind of
(12:20):
start to feel especially if that piles, up like you
miss three in a sequence where the other team goes
on a run and they go up by, sixteen seventeen,
points and in that sequence you miss like three wide open,
threes and then on the other end of the floor
you make this, mistake make that, mistake maybe there's a
matchup where you're continuing to Foul Jalen brown or something like.
(12:40):
That it can pile up on you and actually lead
to a confidence, issue and like there were there were
times during last night's game or yesterday's, GAME i should
say WHERE i thought The calves didn't look particularly, confident
AND i think that that is kind of more of
a manifestation of that that shooting variance that. Happened, however
the bigger which is That boston's ball handlers look way
(13:03):
more comfortable Versus cleveland's perimeter defenders Than cleveland's ball handlers
look Versus boston's perimeter. Defenders that dynamic is not going.
Away we talked a lot After Dennis schroeder And Keon
ellis were signed that there's a lot of guys in
The Eastern conference that they're going to be very useful.
Against Right, like whether It's Tyrese maxine Vj edgecombe on
(13:26):
The philadelphia seventy six, ers whether It's Jaylen brunson And
Jose alvarado And duce McBride on The New York. Knicks
we can go on and on all of these quick
guards on all of these teams Out. East there's a
lot of guys like that That Keon Ellison Dennis schroeder
are going to be very useful. Against BUT i said
this right after the. Trade if you, guys, remember neither
(13:46):
of those guys are even remotely big and strong enough
to be disruptive versus some of the, bigger, stronger wing
like wing slash forward offensive players in the. League and
like that was the part that kind of took out
like a sore thumb. Yesterday it just felt Like Jalen
brown And Jason tatum in, particular they could just pick
on whoever they, wanted and then it extended to like
(14:08):
different parts of the, roster Like Dean, wade a guy
that you know stands taller than Both tatum And, brown
you'd think he'd be more comfortable in those. Matchups, Nope
Jalen brown was specifically going out of his way to
hunt him over and over and over again in the
second half. Yesterday like there's just a level of comfort
that those guys have in that matchup that makes it very.
(14:29):
Complicated this is kind of the benefit Of boston and
the way that their rosters put, together, Right, like say
what you want about their center, rotation and Obviously vucevich
has this finger injury that's going to keep him out
a little, bit and each one of their centers has
strengths and weaknesses And none of those guys are going to,
be you, know perfect basketball players by any, Means but
(14:50):
if you look at their one through four and the
vast majority of their, lineups it's a very simple. Dynamic
there's always in every Single celtics lineup a, now with
the return Of Jason, tatum a big forward that can hunt,
matchups a guard that can run pick and roll and
or inverted action and or one to three action with that,
(15:11):
forward and just a ton of. Shooting that's a dynamic
that Every celtics lineup. Has how many times yesterday did
we see The calves react to some sort of interior
sequence Where Jalen brown Or Jason tatum are getting into the,
basket doing damage in the short range and maybe getting
an offensive rebound or maybe drawing two or three. Defenders
(15:32):
and then There's Sam hauser again at the top of
the key wide. Open why Is Sam hauser again wide?
Open because there is the ability to consistently compromise the
defense at the point of attack by having these big
ball handlers that are comfortable Against cleveland's perimeter. Defenders that's
really a dynamic that's not going. Away they're going to
(15:53):
be able to hunt a matchup while also spacing the
floor with quality. Shooting and that's one of those things
THAT i think you know when you're looking at, matchups
and we in, general when we start talking about the.
Postseason as you guys, know this is always one of
the most important parts of whether or not a team
advances or they. Don't we tend to think about the big.
Picture here's this team's strengths and their. Weaknesses here's the
(16:15):
metrics they put up this, Season here's where they landed
in the, Standings and really it comes down to, like,
well how do they match up against this. Team it
doesn't matter how good your defense is if they can't
get stops against the team you're playing in the first.
Round it doesn't matter how good their offense is if
they can't score against the team they're playing in the first. Round,
Right so matchups end up playing a bigger part than
(16:35):
just about anything else in this. Regard so what are
some of the things, Like, so for, Instance Jared allen
was out last, Night Jared, allen if he is in the,
lineup maybe you can Deploy Evan mobley more on the.
Wing that can put you in a situation where you
have fewer small defenders to attack right certain, matchups like
you know that might be a series where if you're,
(16:58):
healthy you lean more on some of your stock wings
guys Like Max struce if he can get, healthy Or Jalen.
Tyson James harden has to be much more attentive in
his off ball. Defense this is something we talked about
after the hard and. Trade harden is a much better
one on one defender than a guy like than a
guy Like Darius, garland but he's more prone to defensive.
(17:20):
Mistakes there was a play Where Jalen brown was attacking
out of the post in the first half on the right,
block And Evan mobley's right there in, help like he's
there ready to offer assistance and handle The Jalen brown.
Problem But James, harden who's Guarding Sam, houser sinks way
in below the foul line kind of unnecessarily and it
(17:41):
just gets swinged out And Sam houser hits a. Three
those are the kinds of mistakes that are every bit
is damaging as you getting attacked one on one, Right
so like there are certainly ways that can play, better
as we talked, about like the jump shot result was
not Going cleveland's Way Jared allen out of the. Lineup
So i'm not gonna sit here and protec like The
calves can't Beat. Boston but the fundamental, issue which is
(18:04):
That boston's perimeter defenders seemed to do more to Make
harden And mitchell uncomfortable than The calves perimeter defenders can
do Against boston's big, FORWARDS i don't think that dynamic
is going. Away and so with that being the, case you,
Know i'm very high on This cavs. Team i'm not
gonna bail on them because of one bad performance on national.
(18:25):
Television but we got to like be honest about what
our eyes were telling us, yesterday and it was that
The celtics looked like they match up pretty well with
The Cleveland. Cavaliers Number, Three, no The lakers are not
better Without, lebron BUT i do Think austin needs to
be the second option on This lakers. Team Lakers knicks
(18:46):
was somewhat similar To Caves celtics in THAT i thought
The lakers clearly played a better game and they deserve to,
Win but The knicks also had some really poor jump
shooting that exacerbated the. Result The knicks were two for,
Twelve on unguarded catch and shoot three, yesterday every time
they had a chance to hit a big shot and
make things more, competitive they dis. Missed brunson is also
in a little bit of a. Slump he' shooting just
(19:08):
thirty two percent from the field and averaging just sixteen
points over his last three. Games but The lakers got
their first big win against a legit title contending team
in a very long. Time they announced this in the.
Broadcast we had been talking about this stat on The lakers'
collective pod last. Week jovon brought it. Up if you guys,
remember but in the last thirteen games of The lakers
(19:28):
had played against teams with a sixty percent win percentage or.
Better they had been one in, twelve so they had
been like brutally bad against the upper level competition in
the league before that big win against The. Knicks it
really came down to three. Things, one both of their
stars played. Well Both austin And luca played. WELL i
think they combined for about sixty points that were relatively.
Efficient luca didn't shoot the ball super well and he
(19:51):
had some turnover, issues but, OVERALL i thought his shot,
making especially in key parts of the game was impactful
and helped them continue to if armed The. KNICKS i
Thought luca played pretty. Well AUSTIN i thought had his
best game since he came back from his calf. Injury
in terms of all around two way. Basketball he obviously
puts up twenty. Five he has five assists with just one.
(20:13):
Turnover he has three. Steals BUT i thought his pick
and roll play making was huge as. Well he just
did a brilliant job of skipping the ball across the
court as The knicks would load up on his ball.
Screens austin just played really. Well so your stars play.
Well Role players hit. Shots that's a big. One The
lakers have had been very up and down with their
role players shot. Making but like you get a made
(20:33):
three From Jared, Vanderbilt Luke, kenard it's just bizarre having
a guy in The lakers where, like, oh you leave him,
open it's going In like that's a huge asset on
a team like, this, Right so role players hit. Shots
and then, lastly the team played to their individual defensive.
Ceiling they mixed in some zone in the early part
of the. Game, OVERALL i thought their man and man
looks for really, strong just little, details, Right, like there's
(20:54):
certain personnel things that just are what they. Are but
if The lakers just do little things like sit down
in a stance and gap off the ball so that
they're one on, ones are a little bit tougher to
score on when teams are hunting specific. Matchups the connectivity and,
rotation the efforts on the defensive, glass those are things
where it's, like no one's expecting The lakers to go
(21:14):
be a top ten. Defense they quite literally do not
have the personnel to do. That but they do have
enough HIGH iq personnel that if they just do their,
jobs execute their, scheme play, hard talk to each, other
help the helper in rotation, sequences all those little, things
they can at least be an okay. Defense, again, like
(21:35):
no one's going to give them a ton of credit
for holding The knicks to what it was it that
they held The knixt to like ninety eight or something
like like, that with how poorly they, shot because obviously
there's a version of that game where The knicks make
more threes and they score a lot more. Points but
ultimately that's what a mediocre defense can. Do they can
play towards certain types of shots that have more, variants
(21:56):
and on any given night they can have a strong
defensive performance because they take away the super easy stuff
and maybe you get some lucky shooting. Variants. Right, so
like This lakers team is capable of playing a, good
average defensive, game and they're capable of their role players hitting,
shots and they're capable of their stars playing. Well the
biggest issue has been throughout the season against the best,
(22:18):
teams they haven't been able to put all three of
those things. Together they'll have a game where their stars play,
well but the role players can't hit shots and they
don't play. Defense they've had a lot of games against
the big teams where their defense has actually looked pretty.
Good they've, competed they've played, hard they've defended, well But, Luke,
austin And lebron will all be mediocre and the role
players won't hit shots right like they those three, things
(22:41):
they've struggled to kind of put them all together in
the same. SPOT i actually had a mailbag question in
That Lakers collective pod last week where someone, said, like,
hey what would it take for The lakers to actually
start beating the good teams. Again today's show is brought
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just that that was WHAT i said on the show last.
Week just they need to put it together to where
they have games where their stars play, well role players hit,
shots and the team plays to their individual defensive. Ceiling
(24:27):
if they do, that they have a shot to at
least be. Competitive that's kind of the thing That i've
really been keyed in on with The lakers is it's
not so much about them winning the title this. Year
that's kind of out of. Reach with how flawed this team,
Is it's not just kind of out of, reach it's
very out of. Reach, however going into this, offseason winning
a first round series or looking very competitive in a
(24:47):
first round series would go a long way towards establishing
the culture that they're trying to build for the. Future
i'm interested in. That i'm interested in them being. Competitive
i'm interested in them having a shot to win a
first round. Series these are the steps they need to
cross to get to that. Point and one of the
big subplots of the game was That Austin reeves finally
looked Like Austin reeves. Again twenty five, points very, efficient four,
(25:08):
stocks just played really. Well The lakers playing really, well
beating a good, team And austin looking good of course
started The lakers are better Without lebron. Discourse. Again, NOW
i think that take is completely ridiculous for obvious. Reasons
the team sorely needs, talent so they very obviously Need.
Lebron they're they're not very, Good so like the idea
that you would take a player that's capable of all
(25:29):
the things That lebron's capable of and just think that
you're better without him is foolishness to. Me, also there's
some strong metrics and key areas like The Marcus Smart
Lebron Austin Luca for some the starting lineup minus eight
and basically that group has been crushing teams as of
late and is up to plus thirteen per one hundred
possessions this. Season So lebron's part of their best. Lineups
(25:49):
he's been able to hold down these. Units Without luca And,
austin they're plus seven per one hundred. Possessions When lebron's
on the floor by. Himself that ALLOWS Jj reddick to
continue to lean into That Luca austin parent that works so.
Well but that doesn't MEAN i think The lebron experience
with this iteration of The lakers has been perfect or
THAT i don't think tweaks need to be. MADE i
Think austin at this point very clearly is a better
(26:12):
shot creator Than. Lebron not Prime, lebron but forty one
year Old. Lebron, YEAH i Want austin with the basketball
in his. Hands When austin is in, rhythm he's become
one of the very best pick and role players in the.
League he just was very out of rhythm since coming
back from HIS caf. Injury, now AS i talked about last,
(26:32):
WEEK i Think austin would have found his footing. Naturally
that like there's this idea that, like, oh like they're
like he's not getting the touches that he would normally,
Get and like that gets complicated because when you dig
into the individual, Games austin wasn't playing. Well LIKE i
talked about this last, week it's like If austin goes
into The nuggets game and hits those first two mid
(26:54):
range jump shots that he takes instead of missing them,
both he probably gets two or three more shot attempts
the first quarter because these things tend to work themselves out. Naturally,
oh this guy's in, Rhythm the ball kind of finds
his way towards this, guy and he has more opportunity to. Work,
Right austin just wasn't playing well since he came. Back
Having lebron out of the lineup for a game helped
(27:17):
accelerate that process because now he has a lot more
touches in a situation where he has to have a
lot more touches because you're down one of your primary shot.
Creators it accelerates that process a little. Bit but even
If lebron had never gotten, hurt If lebron had not
had this this foot arthritis that's caused him to miss
the last couple of, Games austin would have eventually found his.
(27:39):
Rhythm it just might have taken longer because it would
have taken longer to get the number of reps that he.
Needed but Getting lebron out of there for a couple
of games had the added benefit of just forcing a
bunch of usage Onto, austin which allowed him to work
his way back into a. Rhythm. Quicker, now what should
this look like when all three guys are healthy and in.
(28:01):
Rhythm this is WHERE i think there is some valid.
Criticism not criticism is the wrong, word Because i'm not
sure it's anybody's particular, fault BUT i think there's some
valid points being made about the direction this offense should.
Go lebron had to absorb more usage When austin had
his calf. Injury why very, Simply austin was, out you
(28:22):
had no ball handling on the. Team you needed someone
to function As luca's secondary ball. Handler lebron slotted into that,
role and especially during the first chunk of that time
After austin was, out he was actually pretty. Good he
cooled off a little bit, later but he had some
stretches where he was pretty. Good but now That austin's,
BACK i do Think lebron's role offensively should be paired
(28:43):
back in a way that accentuates your best shot creators
while also Putting lebron in a position that's going to
most closely mimic what he's going to be doing in the.
Postseason SO i Think lebron unless he's out there by,
himself if he's in there by himself Without austin And,
luca he can continue to play the way that he
wants to play on the, ball but in units that
(29:04):
Have austin or units that Have austin And, Luca lebron
should just be functioning as a screener and as a
play finisher off the, ball whether that's shooting or attacking
close outs and or cutting off of the weak, side
or screening and rolling out of the horn sets at
the top of the, key or inverted, action any sort
of action that he's running With austin two man game,
(29:24):
Style lebron should be functioning as a screener unless he
gets a favorable. Matchup If lebron gets a small guy on,
him give it to him in the, post because that's
going to give you a great shot that is a
legitimate vehicle with which for The lakers to break down.
Defenses BUT i don't Think lebron needs to be running
(29:45):
ball screens If austin's on the. FLOOR i don't Think
lebron needs to be running ball screens If luca's on the.
Floor if those guys are on the floor And lebron
does not get a favorable post, mismatch he should be
screening for them or spotting up off the. BALL i
think that is the best version of this, Team luca
(30:05):
And austin in full rhythm as pick and roll shot.
Creators lebron is like This swiss army knife off ball
that's making connective playmaking sequences and attacking off of the weak.
Side and then, oh we got this, Switch let's throw
the ball Into lebron because he's got a six' four
dude who's one hundred and ninety five pounds. On him
(30:28):
let's go down to. The block those are the times
when we should we should be trying to get the
Ball to lebron in a one on. One situation, so
AGAIN as i, mentioned Earlier the lakers, need talent which
means They. Need lebron the idea that you should just
be like like punting him off into the abyss. Is
ridiculous You. NEED lebron i just think they should adjust
(30:48):
the way that they. Use him lebron had to play
more on Ball when austin. Was out that's no longer.
The case austin is starting to build. His rhythm he's
looked better in the last couple. OF games i would
Lean more austin as an on ball player at, this
point essentially as the second option For this. Lakers team
Number Four houston rockets Have An alpern. Shangoon problem So
(31:12):
the spurs put up one hundred and forty five points
On the. ROCKETS yesterday a lot of their players play.
Really well Victor woman yamas had a couple of big
offensive explosions as, of late as his jump shot has
started to fall at a, higher Clip so victor's playing.
Really Well steph castle had a. Big Night darren fox
had a. Big Night keldon johnson had a. Big night
he's continuing to show the ability to make teams pay
(31:34):
for hanging off of him at the three. Point line
very very strong around the across the board performance From
The San antonio spurs offense in a big win Versus the.
Rockets yesterday but one of the big things that stood
out to me on film was how successfully. And Relentlessly
the spurs Were Attacking alpurn shangoon in various different types.
(31:55):
Of actions he spent Time Guarding steph castle as well
as ending up On The san antonio guards, and switches
whether It Was darren fox in a Switch Or steph
castle in, a switch and his defense in space just.
Wasn't good there were times where he was like getting
out of position and opening up his stance and like
lunging out towards, the perimeter, which LIKE again i understand
(32:17):
the idea behind wanting to stunt towards, jump shots but
he was doing it in a very technically, unsound way
which was getting himself out of position and giving. Up
drives he was getting killed and. Drop coverage he got
absolutely dunked On By luke cornette on this one rep
that was a, pretty nasty uh drop covered rep. From
him really bad transition, defense sequences like like there was
(32:39):
a sequence where they gave up a wide open Three
To julian champennie in the left corner to start the
second half Where Like sheng gun's running back to somebody
that's already guarded and then suddenly realizes at the last
Second that champennie's his matchup and by the time he gets,
out there it's. Too late there was. ANOTHER one i
think It Was steph castle's dribbling up the middle of
the floor and he runs back to like Stop the
(33:01):
no other rocket is stopping, the ball but he runs
back and gets behind, the ball but instead of actually
trying to get in front of, the ball he just
kind of like runs, behind him and then No other
rockets player picked up, the ball so he just goes
right down hill and ends up drawing. A foul and
it kind of brought me back to that discussion that
we've had so many times over the course of the
season and, last season the difference between being a athletically
(33:23):
limited defender and a mistake. Prone defender and that's the
Thing that i'm Noticing With. Shane gun i've been disappointed
him DEFENSIVELY because i actually think he has pretty decent
athletic tools for. A, big now every big is going
to have a certain amount, of okay this guy's too
fast for me kind of thing. Going on but compared
(33:43):
to most slow, Footed Bigs shane gun actually moves. Pretty
well he's got good, vertical athleticism good, lader athleticism the guy.
Can move the problem Is that shane gun is so
so so fundamentally weak as a defensive player and so
prone to mistakes within the defensive scheme that it's causing
way more problems than anything having to do with his.
(34:05):
Athleticisms specifically and that's one of, those things like there's
certain things With the rockets that are like team, Wide
issues like, You Know san antonio did a lot of
like random blitzing and double Teaming Of kevin durant, last
yesterday that so many of those sequences were continuing to
lead to the kinds of botched four on threes that
have been a Problem for houston. All SEASON although I
(34:25):
thought houston actually scored the ball. Okay yesterday but they're
going to have certain issues on offense that are team
wide issues that come down To ema udoka and floor
spacing and certain role players finding a way to be.
Impactful offensively but the, defense thing to me is like
ninety Percent An outprin, shangun problem and until he figures
out how to trim the mistakes and improve fundamentally as a,
(34:48):
defensive player they're always going to have a lower ceiling
on that end of the floor than they're capable. Of Having, all,
right lastly before we get out of, here today, number
five If the pistons don't dominate on, the margins they.
Are screwed pistons lost again yesterday To The. Miami heat
they are now zero to four in their last. Four
games and one of the things that we talked about
(35:09):
over the course of the season was That the pistons
were winning on the margins if you dig into their
actual half. Court numbers while their half court defense is,
very strong their half court offense is, very weak and
so in, that environment they're not going to win in
any sort of. Large sample now hard to figure. Out
Why cad cunningham is developing into one of the best
shot creators in, the league but he still has some,
(35:31):
significant weaknesses particularly with this. Perimeter scoring and they do
not have a secondary shot creator by, any stretch not
a legitimate secondary, shot creator just guys who can step
in and. Do Something dannis shenkins can do a little
bit of this and a little bit, Of That tobias
harris can do a little bit of this and a
(35:51):
little bit, of that but they don't have Your, stereotypical
okay this is my, number two a guy who can
absorb large usage and help me out in. Half, Court
right so if they don't dominate on, the margins. They're
screwed over this four, game span they are getting outscored
in points off of turnovers by one point eight, per
game they're getting outscored in second chance points by three
(36:12):
point eight, per game and they're getting outscored in overall
fast break points by four point five. Per game so
we're seeing the literal example of this Dynamic that i'm
talking about over the course of the last. Four games
instead Of the pistons winning on, the margins they're actually
getting consistently beat on, the margins and that is causing
(36:35):
this dynamic that we're seeing where their half court offense
is not anywhere near capable of flipping that dynamic back
in their favor as they've lost four games in. A,
row well concerns me about that is when you get to,
THE postseason i don't know who it is. Gonna be
it Might, be boston it Might, be cleveland it Might Be.
New york who knows who it's going. To be but
one of these teams that's in that top tier In
(36:57):
the east is going to have the ability to their
eye to eye With the pistons for two weeks and
generally keep them off the, offensive glass generally keep them out.
Of transition whoever that is that does that To the
pistons is going to have a massive advantage in the
half court and they're going to. Beat them, so again
as good As this pistons team, has been that is
why it's been really hard for me to jump on
(37:18):
them as a top tier contender rather than just a second.
Tier contender if they don't dominate on, the margins. They're
SCREWED and i don't think they're going to dominate on
the margins for four. Playoff rounds, all, right guys THAT'S
all i have. For today i'veen feeling a little bit under,
the Weather so i'm sorry that we didn't get to power,
rankings today but we'll get back to Them. Next. Monday again,
as always a sincerely percent you guys for supporting us
(37:40):
and supporting. The show We have jampexley, again tonight so
we'll have some more games to react to in tomorrow.
MORNING show i will see you, guys then
The volume. All right, Well, good to Hoops Tonight. Here
at the volume heavy Monday, everybody. I While you guys
had an incredible weekend, we have a quick show today.
(00:21):
I'm just gonna go over five big takeaways from a
jam packed weekend of NBA basketball. You guys are the
jo before we get started. Subscribe to Oops Tonight YouTube
channel so you don't miss any more of our videos.
Make sure you like this video and sign up for
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(00:42):
we'll get to them in our weekly mail bags throughout
the rest of the season. All right, let's talk some basketball. First,
big takeaway from the weekend. Jason Tatum is going to
make Boston so much better against the best teams in
the league. First of all, it was great just to
see Jason Tatum back out on the court starting with Friday.
I watched both of his games from this past weekend.
(01:05):
Just a truly remarkable feat. I did read that there's
been a lot of great advancements in Achilles surgery over
the course of the last few years, and it's not
terribly uncommon for guys to come back relatively quickly, but
still less than ten months after a devastating injury like that.
For him to make it back the way that he did,
I just thought was a testament to just the type
(01:26):
of guy that Jason Tatum is that he wasn't going
to be derailed by something like this. But I was
talking about this concept like Boston against the best teams
with Colin Coward last week. Boston has had a remarkable season.
They've had incredible metrics. They're the second best net rating
team in the league behind Oklahoma City. They are the
fourth best record in the league. But they've had some
(01:49):
losses this year against the better teams in the league
that haven't looked good. Just in the last month, they've
been blown out at home by the Knicks, blown out
at home by the Hornets. They are one in three
the Pistons this year. They're zero and two versus the Nuggets.
They're one and two versus the Knicks. Overall, against teams
in the top ten in point differential, they've been okay
but not great. They've been nine to ten so one
(02:10):
game below five hundred and a negative one point four
point differential in those games. Again, not to take away
anything from the season, but it's been clear that it's
been a very strong culture, with continuity and a group
that's very bought into their coach, some specific guys playing
some really good basketball this year. That has helped keep
them where they've been statistically and in the standings, but
(02:33):
there's been some more mixed results against the better teams
in the league. Jason Tatum coming back into the fold
isn't going to lead to some sort of massive improvement
for the team statistically. I mean, that's basically impossible with
where they've been to this point, right, They've been so
good to this point, it be unrealistic to expect them
(02:54):
to experience some sort of dramatic improvement. But you can
already tell from his first two games worth of tape
that he's gonna help them in several key areas. First
of all, defensive rebounding. The Celtics look fundamentally different when
Jason Tatum is on the floor in terms of the
physical profile of their lineups. One of the things even
(03:16):
with the rise of Jordan Walsh, even with the rise
of Baylor Shireman. We have not seen a traditional, like
big power forward type of player in these lineups for
the most part. For the most part, it's been like
your kind of stereotypical swing forwards. Maybe some more athletic,
wiry forwards, but you don't have this like big six',
(03:37):
ten very, strong switchable kind of power forward. Look they
haven't had that, archetype and Putting Jason tatum out there
makes The celtics look dramatically more physically, imposing especially on the.
Glass The celtics With Jason tatum so far on the
floor just through two, games but they're grabbing eighty one
point two percent of their opponent's misses When jason tatums
(04:00):
on the. Floor that's an insane. Number that's outstanding defensive. Rebounding,
now as we've talked, about there's a defensive versatility element to.
This there's going to be times where we See Jason,
tatum you, know guarding opposing centers and we See Jason
tatum deployed in more creative ways defensively to help The
(04:20):
celtics reach a higher level on that in the. Floor
we haven't really seen that part yet for the most
part at this. Point Joe mizzoula has been Tucking tatum
away on like role player. Wings that makes a lot
of sense to, me is he's working his way back
into shape and kind of building more resilience with his.
Body you, know one of the big things when we
(04:41):
talk About tatum guarding centers is there's a lot of
battles that are being fought there on the. Ground there's
a lot of like having someone lean on him in
those sorts of, situations AND i think they're just trying
to avoid that dynamic at this early. Phase BUT i
do think in the long run that will be a
bigger part of. It but right away off the, top
you can tell physically the lineups look. Different there is
(05:03):
an element of defensive rebounding With Jason tatum out there
that is different than what it was, before and that's
helped a. Lot, secondly the natural feel for. PLAYMAKING i
don't mean this in any way as a slight Towards Jalen,
brown because he's had an amazing season and the best
version of The celtics team obviously Needs Jalen brown to be.
Great we're going to talk about it more here in a,
(05:24):
minute but in That cavs, game in Particular Jlen brown
and his ability to continually attack the smaller guards Like
Kean ellis And Dennis, schroeder like he had a lot
of success At Dean wade's expense. Yesterday Jalen brown is
so important to this, Team so this is not meant
to be a slight at him at all. Whatsoever BUT
i do Think tatum is a far more complete offensive.
(05:48):
Player WHAT i mean by that, is, like there is
a lot of these like reads or playmaking sequences that
come very naturally To Jason tatum that have been kind
of missing from this offense this. Year and you could
see that immediately in the first couple of, games just
like whether it's you know, him like hitting the pocket
(06:10):
pass three times in a row To kada at the
beginning of That Dallas mavericks, game or like there was
a very simple little bounce pass that he threw To
Derek white and yesterday's game as he was coming off
of a flare screen From cada on the left side
of the, floor HiT's Derek white on a bounce And
Derek white kind of cuts into the lane and gets an,
easy little two handed. Dunk and As i'm watching, him
like there are just these passing, sequences these playmaking sequences
(06:33):
that seem to come very naturally To Jason. Tatum and,
like you, KNOW i would argue when it comes to
the match up hunting, element like strictly the goal of Like,
Okay i've Got Dennis schroeder on, me And i'm going
to go get a bucket on. Him Like Jalen brown
brings a level of athleticism and he's become so surgically
efficient on that little mid range pull up that, like,
(06:54):
yeah you could tell me That Jalen brown's better at,
that AND i wouldn't necessarily argue with. You but when
everything is going For Jason, tatum by the, way he's
not shooting the ball super well right, Now that's to be.
Expected he's getting his legs underneath. Him he's adjusting to
the speed of THE nba. Again but like When Jason
tatum has all of the elements of his game put,
together there's an element of like he can do this
(07:16):
for us on. Offense he can do that for us on.
Offense he can run these inverted actions With Derek. White
he's very good at making the ensuing reads that come
out of these. Situations he's just a very complete offensive,
player and what that means is he's going to be
able to essentially cater his game to fit into gaps
Where boston needs. Him on that end of the. Floor
(07:38):
the offensive rating With Jayson tatum on the floor so
far has been just below one. Fifteen we have discussed
extensively like that was always going to. Happen this was
not going to be something where you just plug him
in and it automatically looks amazing because you're adding a
high usage. Player you're adding a guy who's going to
be working on his, conditioning in his rhythm in the
(08:00):
moment rather than behind the. Scenes so, like there's gonna
be some lumps along the, way but, Overall Jason tatum
is going to bring a lot of elements to this,
offense especially as a playmaker that really haven't been there this,
season AND i think that that's gonna make them better
when they go up against the better. Teams and so,
again WHEN i WHEN i look at the big, PICTURE
(08:22):
i look at A celtics team that was really strong,
statistically but they had some specific flaws And Jason tatum
is gonna step in and he's going to address some
of these, flaws addressing defensive, rebounding addressing defensive, versatility addressing offensive,
versatility meaning just the different ways that you can look
to attack and break down a. Defense, again like you,
(08:43):
know when we talk about a potential playoff series against
a team Like, cleveland which we're going to dive into
here in a, minute there's a certain amount of like
Having Jason tatum as another guy who can attack your
seize mismatches and another guy who can maintain forty eight
minutes of pressure against The cleveland defense that struggles against
some of these bigger. FORWARDS i think that there's real
(09:06):
value add there For. Boston SO i think he looks
better than. Expected, physically you can tell his conditioning still
has a long way to, go but he's trying explosive.
Moves he had a miss dunk against The, MAVs WHICH
i thought was a good sign of him just trusting
his body to move. Explosively and by the, way The
Boston celtics right now and Hard rock bet are plus
(09:26):
five point fifty to win the. Title that is tied
With denver for the second best odds in the ENTIRE.
Mba so a lot of people coming around on The.
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for full terms and. Conditions second big takeaway from last.
(11:18):
Weekend The calves might have shot the ball uncharacteristically poor
against The, celtics AND i definitely think it affected, them
but that doesn't mean they don't still have A celtics.
Problem The celtics got one point five points per catch
and shoot jump shot attempt last night and The calves
got zero point ninety. Four that's a sixty six point
(11:38):
gap over one hundred shot. Sample so, yeah there was
definitely a bit of shooting variants in this. Game in
the second quarter in, particular you could tell The calves
were getting super discouraged by the misses some really good
looks for really good shooters that weren't going, in and
there's a, LIKE i you, know there's a combination of
(11:59):
like confon instant rhythm THAT i always, THINK i think
gets under discussed in, basketball where, like you, know you
run good offense and you miss a wide open shot
and then somebody goes down to the other end and
hits a more contested shot of some. Kind it can
kind of have this mental effect where you kind of
(12:20):
start to feel especially if that piles, up like you
miss three in a sequence where the other team goes
on a run and they go up by, sixteen seventeen,
points and in that sequence you miss like three wide open,
threes and then on the other end of the floor
you make this, mistake make that, mistake maybe there's a
matchup where you're continuing to Foul Jalen brown or something like.
(12:40):
That it can pile up on you and actually lead
to a confidence, issue and like there were there were
times during last night's game or yesterday's, GAME i should
say WHERE i thought The calves didn't look particularly, confident
AND i think that that is kind of more of
a manifestation of that that shooting variance that. Happened, however
the bigger which is That boston's ball handlers look way
(13:03):
more comfortable Versus cleveland's perimeter defenders Than cleveland's ball handlers
look Versus boston's perimeter. Defenders that dynamic is not going.
Away we talked a lot After Dennis schroeder And Keon
ellis were signed that there's a lot of guys in
The Eastern conference that they're going to be very useful.
Against Right, like whether It's Tyrese maxine Vj edgecombe on
(13:26):
The philadelphia seventy six, ers whether It's Jaylen brunson And
Jose alvarado And duce McBride on The New York. Knicks
we can go on and on all of these quick
guards on all of these teams Out. East there's a
lot of guys like that That Keon Ellison Dennis schroeder
are going to be very useful. Against BUT i said
this right after the. Trade if you, guys, remember neither
(13:46):
of those guys are even remotely big and strong enough
to be disruptive versus some of the, bigger, stronger wing
like wing slash forward offensive players in the. League and
like that was the part that kind of took out
like a sore thumb. Yesterday it just felt Like Jalen
brown And Jason tatum in, particular they could just pick
on whoever they, wanted and then it extended to like
(14:08):
different parts of the, roster Like Dean, wade a guy
that you know stands taller than Both tatum And, brown
you'd think he'd be more comfortable in those. Matchups, Nope
Jalen brown was specifically going out of his way to
hunt him over and over and over again in the
second half. Yesterday like there's just a level of comfort
that those guys have in that matchup that makes it very.
(14:29):
Complicated this is kind of the benefit Of boston and
the way that their rosters put, together, Right, like say
what you want about their center, rotation and Obviously vucevich
has this finger injury that's going to keep him out
a little, bit and each one of their centers has
strengths and weaknesses And none of those guys are going to,
be you, know perfect basketball players by any, Means but
(14:50):
if you look at their one through four and the
vast majority of their, lineups it's a very simple. Dynamic
there's always in every Single celtics lineup a, now with
the return Of Jason, tatum a big forward that can hunt,
matchups a guard that can run pick and roll and
or inverted action and or one to three action with that,
(15:11):
forward and just a ton of. Shooting that's a dynamic
that Every celtics lineup. Has how many times yesterday did
we see The calves react to some sort of interior
sequence Where Jalen brown Or Jason tatum are getting into the,
basket doing damage in the short range and maybe getting
an offensive rebound or maybe drawing two or three. Defenders
(15:32):
and then There's Sam hauser again at the top of
the key wide. Open why Is Sam hauser again wide?
Open because there is the ability to consistently compromise the
defense at the point of attack by having these big
ball handlers that are comfortable Against cleveland's perimeter. Defenders that's
really a dynamic that's not going. Away they're going to
(15:53):
be able to hunt a matchup while also spacing the
floor with quality. Shooting and that's one of those things
THAT i think you know when you're looking at, matchups
and we in, general when we start talking about the.
Postseason as you guys, know this is always one of
the most important parts of whether or not a team
advances or they. Don't we tend to think about the big.
Picture here's this team's strengths and their. Weaknesses here's the
(16:15):
metrics they put up this, Season here's where they landed
in the, Standings and really it comes down to, like,
well how do they match up against this. Team it
doesn't matter how good your defense is if they can't
get stops against the team you're playing in the first.
Round it doesn't matter how good their offense is if
they can't score against the team they're playing in the first. Round,
Right so matchups end up playing a bigger part than
(16:35):
just about anything else in this. Regard so what are
some of the things, Like, so for, Instance Jared allen
was out last, Night Jared, allen if he is in the,
lineup maybe you can Deploy Evan mobley more on the.
Wing that can put you in a situation where you
have fewer small defenders to attack right certain, matchups like
you know that might be a series where if you're,
(16:58):
healthy you lean more on some of your stock wings
guys Like Max struce if he can get, healthy Or Jalen.
Tyson James harden has to be much more attentive in
his off ball. Defense this is something we talked about
after the hard and. Trade harden is a much better
one on one defender than a guy like than a
guy Like Darius, garland but he's more prone to defensive.
(17:20):
Mistakes there was a play Where Jalen brown was attacking
out of the post in the first half on the right,
block And Evan mobley's right there in, help like he's
there ready to offer assistance and handle The Jalen brown.
Problem But James, harden who's Guarding Sam, houser sinks way
in below the foul line kind of unnecessarily and it
(17:41):
just gets swinged out And Sam houser hits a. Three
those are the kinds of mistakes that are every bit
is damaging as you getting attacked one on one, Right
so like there are certainly ways that can play, better
as we talked, about like the jump shot result was
not Going cleveland's Way Jared allen out of the. Lineup
So i'm not gonna sit here and protec like The
calves can't Beat. Boston but the fundamental, issue which is
(18:04):
That boston's perimeter defenders seemed to do more to Make
harden And mitchell uncomfortable than The calves perimeter defenders can
do Against boston's big, FORWARDS i don't think that dynamic
is going. Away and so with that being the, case you,
Know i'm very high on This cavs. Team i'm not
gonna bail on them because of one bad performance on national.
(18:25):
Television but we got to like be honest about what
our eyes were telling us, yesterday and it was that
The celtics looked like they match up pretty well with
The Cleveland. Cavaliers Number, Three, no The lakers are not
better Without, lebron BUT i do Think austin needs to
be the second option on This lakers. Team Lakers knicks
(18:46):
was somewhat similar To Caves celtics in THAT i thought
The lakers clearly played a better game and they deserve to,
Win but The knicks also had some really poor jump
shooting that exacerbated the. Result The knicks were two for,
Twelve on unguarded catch and shoot three, yesterday every time
they had a chance to hit a big shot and
make things more, competitive they dis. Missed brunson is also
in a little bit of a. Slump he' shooting just
(19:08):
thirty two percent from the field and averaging just sixteen
points over his last three. Games but The lakers got
their first big win against a legit title contending team
in a very long. Time they announced this in the.
Broadcast we had been talking about this stat on The lakers'
collective pod last. Week jovon brought it. Up if you guys,
remember but in the last thirteen games of The lakers
(19:28):
had played against teams with a sixty percent win percentage or.
Better they had been one in, twelve so they had
been like brutally bad against the upper level competition in
the league before that big win against The. Knicks it
really came down to three. Things, one both of their
stars played. Well Both austin And luca played. WELL i
think they combined for about sixty points that were relatively.
Efficient luca didn't shoot the ball super well and he
(19:51):
had some turnover, issues but, OVERALL i thought his shot,
making especially in key parts of the game was impactful
and helped them continue to if armed The. KNICKS i
Thought luca played pretty. Well AUSTIN i thought had his
best game since he came back from his calf. Injury
in terms of all around two way. Basketball he obviously
puts up twenty. Five he has five assists with just one.
(20:13):
Turnover he has three. Steals BUT i thought his pick
and roll play making was huge as. Well he just
did a brilliant job of skipping the ball across the
court as The knicks would load up on his ball.
Screens austin just played really. Well so your stars play.
Well Role players hit. Shots that's a big. One The
lakers have had been very up and down with their
role players shot. Making but like you get a made
(20:33):
three From Jared, Vanderbilt Luke, kenard it's just bizarre having
a guy in The lakers where, like, oh you leave him,
open it's going In like that's a huge asset on
a team like, this, Right so role players hit. Shots
and then, lastly the team played to their individual defensive.
Ceiling they mixed in some zone in the early part
of the. Game, OVERALL i thought their man and man
looks for really, strong just little, details, Right, like there's
(20:54):
certain personnel things that just are what they. Are but
if The lakers just do little things like sit down
in a stance and gap off the ball so that
they're one on, ones are a little bit tougher to
score on when teams are hunting specific. Matchups the connectivity and,
rotation the efforts on the defensive, glass those are things
where it's, like no one's expecting The lakers to go
(21:14):
be a top ten. Defense they quite literally do not
have the personnel to do. That but they do have
enough HIGH iq personnel that if they just do their,
jobs execute their, scheme play, hard talk to each, other
help the helper in rotation, sequences all those little, things
they can at least be an okay. Defense, again, like
(21:35):
no one's going to give them a ton of credit
for holding The knicks to what it was it that
they held The knixt to like ninety eight or something
like like, that with how poorly they, shot because obviously
there's a version of that game where The knicks make
more threes and they score a lot more. Points but
ultimately that's what a mediocre defense can. Do they can
play towards certain types of shots that have more, variants
(21:56):
and on any given night they can have a strong
defensive performance because they take away the super easy stuff
and maybe you get some lucky shooting. Variants. Right, so
like This lakers team is capable of playing a, good
average defensive, game and they're capable of their role players hitting,
shots and they're capable of their stars playing. Well the
biggest issue has been throughout the season against the best,
(22:18):
teams they haven't been able to put all three of
those things. Together they'll have a game where their stars play,
well but the role players can't hit shots and they
don't play. Defense they've had a lot of games against
the big teams where their defense has actually looked pretty.
Good they've, competed they've played, hard they've defended, well But, Luke,
austin And lebron will all be mediocre and the role
players won't hit shots right like they those three, things
(22:41):
they've struggled to kind of put them all together in
the same. SPOT i actually had a mailbag question in
That Lakers collective pod last week where someone, said, like,
hey what would it take for The lakers to actually
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just that that was WHAT i said on the show last.
Week just they need to put it together to where
they have games where their stars play, well role players hit,
shots and the team plays to their individual defensive. Ceiling
(24:27):
if they do, that they have a shot to at
least be. Competitive that's kind of the thing That i've
really been keyed in on with The lakers is it's
not so much about them winning the title this. Year
that's kind of out of. Reach with how flawed this team,
Is it's not just kind of out of, reach it's
very out of. Reach, however going into this, offseason winning
a first round series or looking very competitive in a
(24:47):
first round series would go a long way towards establishing
the culture that they're trying to build for the. Future
i'm interested in. That i'm interested in them being. Competitive
i'm interested in them having a shot to win a
first round. Series these are the steps they need to
cross to get to that. Point and one of the
big subplots of the game was That Austin reeves finally
looked Like Austin reeves. Again twenty five, points very, efficient four,
(25:08):
stocks just played really. Well The lakers playing really, well
beating a good, team And austin looking good of course
started The lakers are better Without lebron. Discourse. Again, NOW
i think that take is completely ridiculous for obvious. Reasons
the team sorely needs, talent so they very obviously Need.
Lebron they're they're not very, Good so like the idea
that you would take a player that's capable of all
(25:29):
the things That lebron's capable of and just think that
you're better without him is foolishness to. Me, also there's
some strong metrics and key areas like The Marcus Smart
Lebron Austin Luca for some the starting lineup minus eight
and basically that group has been crushing teams as of
late and is up to plus thirteen per one hundred
possessions this. Season So lebron's part of their best. Lineups
(25:49):
he's been able to hold down these. Units Without luca And,
austin they're plus seven per one hundred. Possessions When lebron's
on the floor by. Himself that ALLOWS Jj reddick to
continue to lean into That Luca austin parent that works so.
Well but that doesn't MEAN i think The lebron experience
with this iteration of The lakers has been perfect or
THAT i don't think tweaks need to be. MADE i
Think austin at this point very clearly is a better
(26:12):
shot creator Than. Lebron not Prime, lebron but forty one
year Old. Lebron, YEAH i Want austin with the basketball
in his. Hands When austin is in, rhythm he's become
one of the very best pick and role players in the.
League he just was very out of rhythm since coming
back from HIS caf. Injury, now AS i talked about last,
(26:32):
WEEK i Think austin would have found his footing. Naturally
that like there's this idea that, like, oh like they're
like he's not getting the touches that he would normally,
Get and like that gets complicated because when you dig
into the individual, Games austin wasn't playing. Well LIKE i
talked about this last, week it's like If austin goes
into The nuggets game and hits those first two mid
(26:54):
range jump shots that he takes instead of missing them,
both he probably gets two or three more shot attempts
the first quarter because these things tend to work themselves out. Naturally,
oh this guy's in, Rhythm the ball kind of finds
his way towards this, guy and he has more opportunity to. Work,
Right austin just wasn't playing well since he came. Back
Having lebron out of the lineup for a game helped
(27:17):
accelerate that process because now he has a lot more
touches in a situation where he has to have a
lot more touches because you're down one of your primary shot.
Creators it accelerates that process a little. Bit but even
If lebron had never gotten, hurt If lebron had not
had this this foot arthritis that's caused him to miss
the last couple of, Games austin would have eventually found his.
(27:39):
Rhythm it just might have taken longer because it would
have taken longer to get the number of reps that he.
Needed but Getting lebron out of there for a couple
of games had the added benefit of just forcing a
bunch of usage Onto, austin which allowed him to work
his way back into a. Rhythm. Quicker, now what should
this look like when all three guys are healthy and in.
(28:01):
Rhythm this is WHERE i think there is some valid.
Criticism not criticism is the wrong, word Because i'm not
sure it's anybody's particular, fault BUT i think there's some
valid points being made about the direction this offense should.
Go lebron had to absorb more usage When austin had
his calf. Injury why very, Simply austin was, out you
(28:22):
had no ball handling on the. Team you needed someone
to function As luca's secondary ball. Handler lebron slotted into that,
role and especially during the first chunk of that time
After austin was, out he was actually pretty. Good he
cooled off a little bit, later but he had some
stretches where he was pretty. Good but now That austin's,
BACK i do Think lebron's role offensively should be paired
(28:43):
back in a way that accentuates your best shot creators
while also Putting lebron in a position that's going to
most closely mimic what he's going to be doing in the.
Postseason SO i Think lebron unless he's out there by,
himself if he's in there by himself Without austin And,
luca he can continue to play the way that he
wants to play on the, ball but in units that
(29:04):
Have austin or units that Have austin And, Luca lebron
should just be functioning as a screener and as a
play finisher off the, ball whether that's shooting or attacking
close outs and or cutting off of the weak, side
or screening and rolling out of the horn sets at
the top of the, key or inverted, action any sort
of action that he's running With austin two man game,
(29:24):
Style lebron should be functioning as a screener unless he
gets a favorable. Matchup If lebron gets a small guy on,
him give it to him in the, post because that's
going to give you a great shot that is a
legitimate vehicle with which for The lakers to break down.
Defenses BUT i don't Think lebron needs to be running
(29:45):
ball screens If austin's on the. FLOOR i don't Think
lebron needs to be running ball screens If luca's on the.
Floor if those guys are on the floor And lebron
does not get a favorable post, mismatch he should be
screening for them or spotting up off the. BALL i
think that is the best version of this, Team luca
(30:05):
And austin in full rhythm as pick and roll shot.
Creators lebron is like This swiss army knife off ball
that's making connective playmaking sequences and attacking off of the weak.
Side and then, oh we got this, Switch let's throw
the ball Into lebron because he's got a six' four
dude who's one hundred and ninety five pounds. On him
(30:28):
let's go down to. The block those are the times
when we should we should be trying to get the
Ball to lebron in a one on. One situation, so
AGAIN as i, mentioned Earlier the lakers, need talent which
means They. Need lebron the idea that you should just
be like like punting him off into the abyss. Is
ridiculous You. NEED lebron i just think they should adjust
(30:48):
the way that they. Use him lebron had to play
more on Ball when austin. Was out that's no longer.
The case austin is starting to build. His rhythm he's
looked better in the last couple. OF games i would
Lean more austin as an on ball player at, this
point essentially as the second option For this. Lakers team
Number Four houston rockets Have An alpern. Shangoon problem So
(31:12):
the spurs put up one hundred and forty five points
On the. ROCKETS yesterday a lot of their players play.
Really well Victor woman yamas had a couple of big
offensive explosions as, of late as his jump shot has
started to fall at a, higher Clip so victor's playing.
Really Well steph castle had a. Big Night darren fox
had a. Big Night keldon johnson had a. Big night
he's continuing to show the ability to make teams pay
(31:34):
for hanging off of him at the three. Point line
very very strong around the across the board performance From
The San antonio spurs offense in a big win Versus the.
Rockets yesterday but one of the big things that stood
out to me on film was how successfully. And Relentlessly
the spurs Were Attacking alpurn shangoon in various different types.
(31:55):
Of actions he spent Time Guarding steph castle as well
as ending up On The san antonio guards, and switches
whether It Was darren fox in a Switch Or steph
castle in, a switch and his defense in space just.
Wasn't good there were times where he was like getting
out of position and opening up his stance and like
lunging out towards, the perimeter, which LIKE again i understand
(32:17):
the idea behind wanting to stunt towards, jump shots but
he was doing it in a very technically, unsound way
which was getting himself out of position and giving. Up
drives he was getting killed and. Drop coverage he got
absolutely dunked On By luke cornette on this one rep
that was a, pretty nasty uh drop covered rep. From
him really bad transition, defense sequences like like there was
(32:39):
a sequence where they gave up a wide open Three
To julian champennie in the left corner to start the
second half Where Like sheng gun's running back to somebody
that's already guarded and then suddenly realizes at the last
Second that champennie's his matchup and by the time he gets,
out there it's. Too late there was. ANOTHER one i
think It Was steph castle's dribbling up the middle of
the floor and he runs back to like Stop the
(33:01):
no other rocket is stopping, the ball but he runs
back and gets behind, the ball but instead of actually
trying to get in front of, the ball he just
kind of like runs, behind him and then No other
rockets player picked up, the ball so he just goes
right down hill and ends up drawing. A foul and
it kind of brought me back to that discussion that
we've had so many times over the course of the
season and, last season the difference between being a athletically
(33:23):
limited defender and a mistake. Prone defender and that's the
Thing that i'm Noticing With. Shane gun i've been disappointed
him DEFENSIVELY because i actually think he has pretty decent
athletic tools for. A, big now every big is going
to have a certain amount, of okay this guy's too
fast for me kind of thing. Going on but compared
(33:43):
to most slow, Footed Bigs shane gun actually moves. Pretty
well he's got good, vertical athleticism good, lader athleticism the guy.
Can move the problem Is that shane gun is so
so so fundamentally weak as a defensive player and so
prone to mistakes within the defensive scheme that it's causing
way more problems than anything having to do with his.
(34:05):
Athleticisms specifically and that's one of, those things like there's
certain things With the rockets that are like team, Wide
issues like, You Know san antonio did a lot of
like random blitzing and double Teaming Of kevin durant, last
yesterday that so many of those sequences were continuing to
lead to the kinds of botched four on threes that
have been a Problem for houston. All SEASON although I
(34:25):
thought houston actually scored the ball. Okay yesterday but they're
going to have certain issues on offense that are team
wide issues that come down To ema udoka and floor
spacing and certain role players finding a way to be.
Impactful offensively but the, defense thing to me is like
ninety Percent An outprin, shangun problem and until he figures
out how to trim the mistakes and improve fundamentally as a,
(34:48):
defensive player they're always going to have a lower ceiling
on that end of the floor than they're capable. Of Having, all,
right lastly before we get out of, here today, number
five If the pistons don't dominate on, the margins they.
Are screwed pistons lost again yesterday To The. Miami heat
they are now zero to four in their last. Four
games and one of the things that we talked about
(35:09):
over the course of the season was That the pistons
were winning on the margins if you dig into their
actual half. Court numbers while their half court defense is,
very strong their half court offense is, very weak and
so in, that environment they're not going to win in
any sort of. Large sample now hard to figure. Out
Why cad cunningham is developing into one of the best
shot creators in, the league but he still has some,
(35:31):
significant weaknesses particularly with this. Perimeter scoring and they do
not have a secondary shot creator by, any stretch not
a legitimate secondary, shot creator just guys who can step
in and. Do Something dannis shenkins can do a little
bit of this and a little bit, Of That tobias
harris can do a little bit of this and a
(35:51):
little bit, of that but they don't have Your, stereotypical
okay this is my, number two a guy who can
absorb large usage and help me out in. Half, Court
right so if they don't dominate on, the margins. They're
screwed over this four, game span they are getting outscored
in points off of turnovers by one point eight, per
game they're getting outscored in second chance points by three
(36:12):
point eight, per game and they're getting outscored in overall
fast break points by four point five. Per game so
we're seeing the literal example of this Dynamic that i'm
talking about over the course of the last. Four games
instead Of the pistons winning on, the margins they're actually
getting consistently beat on, the margins and that is causing
(36:35):
this dynamic that we're seeing where their half court offense
is not anywhere near capable of flipping that dynamic back
in their favor as they've lost four games in. A,
row well concerns me about that is when you get to,
THE postseason i don't know who it is. Gonna be
it Might, be boston it Might, be cleveland it Might Be.
New york who knows who it's going. To be but
one of these teams that's in that top tier In
(36:57):
the east is going to have the ability to their
eye to eye With the pistons for two weeks and
generally keep them off the, offensive glass generally keep them out.
Of transition whoever that is that does that To the
pistons is going to have a massive advantage in the
half court and they're going to. Beat them, so again
as good As this pistons team, has been that is
why it's been really hard for me to jump on
(37:18):
them as a top tier contender rather than just a second.
Tier contender if they don't dominate on, the margins. They're
SCREWED and i don't think they're going to dominate on
the margins for four. Playoff rounds, all, right guys THAT'S
all i have. For today i'veen feeling a little bit under,
the Weather so i'm sorry that we didn't get to power,
rankings today but we'll get back to Them. Next. Monday again,
as always a sincerely percent you guys for supporting us
(37:40):
and supporting. The show We have jampexley, again tonight so
we'll have some more games to react to in tomorrow.
MORNING show i will see you, guys then
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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