Jason reacts live after the Oklahoma City Thunder get a big win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals to tie the series. He discusses the great game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus contributions from Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams to beat Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.
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Speaker 3 (02:00):
All right, welcome to hoops to night.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
You're at the volume heavy Sunday, everybody, oh, all of
you guys have had a great weekend.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the team's the league's best team
all season long, was in their second must win game
of this postseason, a game that was different than the
Denver Nuggets game too, and that this is a Pacers
team that has no led up in their basketball character.
And you know, I've had a lot of people ask
(02:26):
me what I thought would happen in tonight's game, and
I said the same thing every time. I know what
we're getting from the Pacers. This is gonna be about
whether or not the Thunder can raise their level, and
they absolutely did in just about every facet of the game.
I thought that was one of Shay's best games of
his career in terms of his floor game, which we're
(02:46):
gonna be diving a little bit further into that concept.
Off the Top got a bunch of guys into rhythm
the dead giveaway.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
As a team. In the last game they had.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Just thirteen CIS's nearly doubled that total tonight up to
twenty five. A lot more flow in that Thunder offense,
lots of interesting stuff to get into on both sides
of the series. And then when we finish up with
my breakdown Off the Top, we're gonna take some questions
from the chat. So if you're watching, all you got
to do is subscribe to the channel, drop your questions
in the chat, and then Jackson's gonna hop on we'll
(03:19):
take some questions at the tail end of the show.
When we wrap up here on YouTube Tonight, we're heading
over to Playback that's playback dot tv slash Hoops Tonight.
There we will watch some film, we'll take some callers.
It's more of like an informal basketball hour. We all
just kind of hang out and talk hoops and conversation
goes all over the place. It's been a lot of fun.
I've really enjoyed beginning that partnership with Playback and this
(03:43):
year's postseason run. So when we finished today, just follow
us over there for another hour of interactive basketball talk
before we get out of here for the night. You
guys have the joke before we get started. Subscribe to
the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels you don't miss any more
of our videos. Follow me on Twitter and underscore JCNLT
so you guys don't missho announcement Sti'll forget about a
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It's also super helpful if you leave a rating and
a review on that front. Jackson's doing great work on
(04:04):
our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Make
sure you guys follow us there, and last, not least,
like we mentioned off the top, keep getting those questions
in the chats. We can hit him at the mailbag
segment at the tail end of the show. All right,
let's talk some basketball. So you know, floor game is
the latest and a long line of basketball buzzwords that
you guys will hear all around the NBA media and
(04:25):
on the show as well. And I wanted to dive
into that concept a little bit because we talked about
it a lot after Game one. I talked about how
it kind of felt in the moment like Shay was
just trying to like force his way into rhythm in
Game one. The NBA finals are a really uncomfortable setting
for most basketball players, and there's so many examples in
NBA history of like really really really good players struggling
(04:48):
when they get to the final stage just because of
how weird it is, how much media there is, how
intense it is, and just all the pressure and expectation
that centers around that moment. Right Well, when I went
back and watched the it really looked like Shay kind
of bogged down the entire offense hunting his own shot,
and I thought he just did a much much better
job in this game. Now, when I say floor game,
(05:11):
what that means to me is when you're the lead
guard or the lead ball handler, or just consider yourself
the offensive engine, the person who is singularly responsible for
at least the majority of what your team does on offense.
In that case, a lot of times we see box
scores and we go, oh, like, you know, you know
(05:32):
Lebron went twelve for twenty tonight, you know, or Nikola
jokicic thirteen for seventeen from the field tonight. That's seventeen shots.
That's twenty shots. Go look at how many shots a
team takes in a game. Both teams tonight took eighty
two field goal attempts. When you really start to zoom
out from like from the singular possession and look at
(05:54):
an entire basketball game, when you're the offensive engine, you
have to create a lot of shots. Now, does that
mean that Shay has to create all eighty two of
those shots? No, but like he's going to be either
directly or indirectly responsible for about sixty percent of that offense.
And so then you start to zoom out and you go, wait,
(06:15):
it's not just about whether or not I can get
my shot going. I have to build a rhythm in
this offense that doesn't disclude me either. It's got to
include me and my scoring as well, but it's also
got to include everyone else on the floor feeling comfortable.
That was something that I thought Shae didn't do a
good job of in Game one. I thought he immediately
(06:37):
came out tonight with a clear intentional effort to get
the ball out to the easy kickout reads and cutreads
that were available to him. When we went back and
we watched crunch time, I actually thought Shay started to
figure this out. It just was so late in the
game and too many guys were out of rhythm looking
at crunch time.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
In Game one, he.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Was facing sometimes two sometimes three helpers on his and
he just started taking the kickout reads that were there.
Jay Dub missus a clean look. Case On Wallace missus
a clean look. Blue Dort misses a clean look. But
that investment was made earlier in the game tonight, and
all of a sudden, chets looking comfortable. All of a sudden,
everyone is just more. It's contagious. It's contagious how it
(07:19):
just gets everyone involved with moving the basketball around. That's
how you double your assist total compared to what they
had in Game one. There were a couple of specific
actions that Shay was hunting all night tonight and getting
great stuff out of. I thought he made a very
intentional effort to start working off of the left block
and post ups. He liked his matchup against Andrel Nemhard
(07:40):
in particular, a little bit of Ben against Ben Mathern
as well. Him and Ben Mathern were having a fun,
little kind of like showdown in terms of just young
athletic guards. Obviously, Shay got the better of him tonight
in a real way, just took advantage of that aggressiveness
and got him into some bowel trouble. But from that
left block, he was always clearing the side and you
could see him like waving people through and then backing
(08:01):
down along that left block, and then as soon as
the double team came, he got rid of it. And
if the double team didn't come, he'd go to one
of those fadeaways over either shoulder. He also drew a
foul and andrew Nemhart on a step through move, but
he was able to consistently use that left block post
up as a vehicle with which to survey the floor
and take the easy kickouts that were available. Similarly, guard
(08:25):
guard screens at the top of the key. We talked
a lot after Game one in our film session. If
you guys remember the idea of him quickly attacking against
the switch, like when the switch comes, just hitting the
jets immediately and beating that dude off the dribble or
against hedges, attacking quickly and splitting that action. He was
getting a lot of dribble penetration straight through on those
(08:45):
guard guard screens. He actually got a good amount of
that at the end of Game one too. But the
whole point is is Shaye took what he learned from
game one added to it in the form of the
post up stuff. But he took those two pet actions,
the high ball screens in the and the left block
post ups, and he treated them as a vehicle with
which to get his teammate's advantages rather than a vehicle
(09:07):
with which for him to get his own shot attempts up.
The interesting thing too there is like even he was
in a better rhythm than he was in Game one,
and like I guarantee you that Shay in the middle
of Game one could feel it. I'm sure he could
feel that he wasn't playing a great game. You can't
like in the game. He could probably feel that he
(09:29):
was taking some iffy shots. Then it gets even more
frustrating when you miss the next kind of iffy shot.
But it's a shot that he practices all the time, right,
and so it can turn into this like you're trying
to ram your head through a brick wall kind of thing.
Right in this game, it felt like even the tougher
buckets that he was going after kind of felt more
in rhythm for him because he knew he was playing
a great game. He knew the whole time I am
(09:51):
in full control of the flow of this game for
my team on offense, and all of those trickle down
effects started to show chat getting into rhythm. Andrew or
Aaron Wiggins had his best off the Dribble game. It's contagious, right,
Everyone starts to feel more comfortable, everyone starts to feel
like they're in a rhythm. And I just thought, I
just thought it was one of the better games that
(10:12):
I've seen Shade play in terms of just feeling out
the flow of the game, identifying that his job is
not to create you know, twenty five shots for himself
and a handful of kickouts, but rather to be responsible
for the offense, to be responsible for the entirety of
the five man offense for the entire you know, forty
minutes or whatever that you're out on the floor. That's
(10:34):
the job. That's what floor game means. Floor game means
how do you run the offense? Not how many points
you had and how many assists you had. And I
thought Shaye just had an absolutely amazing game running the offense.
My second big takeaway from tonight was just how frightening
Oklahoma City's athletics ceiling is. I talked about at the
(10:54):
open of this show about how Indiana didn't lower their
level tonight. I didn't feel like it like Indy came
out flat the way that Denver did in Game two
of the second round series, or that we the way
that we see so many veteran teams like Indy came
out and had a lot of those patented Indie runs
where they continue to get you know, seven eight points
(11:15):
in a short span that shrinks a lead down to
something more manageable, and like that's what they do, right,
They wait for you to slow down We had a
classic example of that in the second half of this
game where or in the late first half of this
game where okay see, he goes on a big run
and then all of a sudden, okay See misses a
few jump shots in a row, and you know, Nie
Smiths hitting a corner three, Seakam's getting an and one,
(11:36):
and all of a sudden, the leads back down to thirteen.
That's what they do. They just they never stopped coming
at you. But there's a reason why those deficits just
looked bigger tonight. There's a reason why they were able
to push it north of twenty multiple times, and it's
because even though Indy didn't lower their level, Oklahoma City
substantially raised theirs. One of the things that I talked
(11:58):
about all this all the time on this show is
the idea of like shooting variants being pretty far down
the list. For me, it's a thing. There's basically statistical
proof that shooting variance does exist to a certain extent,
but I tend to think that basketball dynamics play a
larger role in that shooting variance than the shooting variance
is then we're led to believe by the way the
(12:20):
game is discussed, right, everyone wants to pretend that there's
just this algorithm that spits out a shot result. That's
not what happens, and what happens before the shot is
going to have a huge impact on whether or not
the shot goes in or not. You can't just sit
there and put a hand up and hope that a
guy misses shots. If you bring a requisite level of
(12:41):
intensity on your closeouts to where you get up in
underneath the shooter, in the shooting pocket, disrupting the gather
all of a sudden, that contest is going to do
a lot more to force that guy to miss than
I'm standing there or the hand up. Obi Toppin Early
in the game hit another contested three over I think
(13:04):
it was over at Hartenstein if I remember correctly, in
the left corner. Might have been over cheted, but it
was a shot where like the hand was up, but
there wasn't that other layer, that other layer of trying
to make the guy uncomfortable swiping at the basketball, being
more intense with that closeout that was absolutely there over
the course of the rest of tonight's game, like block
(13:27):
shots on three pointers, multiple of those, just a level
of hillaciousness to the way they were closing out the rebounds.
They started to do a bunch of damage on the
offensive glass. Again in the second half. Their on ball
defense caused Indiana to lose their composure at multiple points
in the game, a long stretch to start the second
quarter and then again in the third quarter. That comes
from the fact that when Oklahoma City really has their
(13:51):
back against the wall, they lose that game, they're probably
losing the series. Right Like, you're down two zero going
back to Indy, Like Indy's getting at least one of those,
and now you're down three to one, and it's just
really difficult to come back from down three to one
against a team that never stops playing their best version
of basketball, right like, this was a must win game.
And in this must win game, a bunch of these
young athletes that are you know, other than Caruso twenty
(14:13):
six or younger just turned up that athleticism to a
level that Indiana really couldn't match. Or there's gonna be
a lot of talk about Tyrese Haliburton, and you know
how he didn't really do too much to score the
ball until late in the game. I think a big
part of it has to do with the fact that
Tyree's doesn't get a ton of separation from these guys
(14:34):
when they're really really locked in. That goes for everyone.
These these these dudes are really really difficult to move
or get around when they when they tighten the screws
the way they did tonight. And I thought that was
the big thing that stood out to me in the
sense that if this series goes seven, like let's say,
for instance, that Indiana goes home and gets two, like
(14:54):
they just they just go home and ride that Indie
home crowd and they get to and then all of
a sudd in Oklahoma City wins Game five and wins
game six to two, or just somehow gets this to
a seven. If this series goes seven, keep in mind
that if they're in Oklahoma City and they could ratchet
up their athleticism like that, I don't know that Indy
(15:17):
can win if they end up in that type of game.
And so it kind of feels to me like Indy's
pathway is to end this thing in six, to go
home win three and four. Obviously you're gonna lose in
Game five against the same type of leverage athleticism that
we saw tonight and then their chance to close it
out in six. I left Tonight's game feeling like I
(15:38):
don't think Indiana could win a closeout game in Oklahoma City.
There's just a level they can get too athletically that
Indy can't touch. We talked about a bunch of adjustments
for Oklahoma City. I wanted to quickly kind of go
through those. We talked about shake Joss Alexander making a
more intentional effort to invest in rhythm with his teammates
throughout the game. I thought he clearly made that change.
(16:00):
We talked about Ja Dupp staying away from these early
clock contested mid range jump shots. Really did a much
better job of that Tonight, didn't take one until the
late second quarter and only took two in the entire game.
Was just much more of an attacker and facilitator in
this game. Got to the foul line a bunch as well.
We talked about loosening up the defense. I talked about
how they gave up a bunch of open threes just
(16:20):
kind of overswarming, and interestingly enough, it kind of did
feel like that was the game plan early on. That
was why we saw so many of those like Nemhard
and Halliburn ISOs kind of right around the middle of
the floor in the first quarter. Oklahoma City wasn't overreacting
to dribble penetration at that point in the game, but
it felt like in that third quarter run that they
really leaned back into their swarming and honestly, I thought
(16:43):
it was the right call in the moment, like they
caused Indy to lose their composure again, they started to
get out in transition. It was like a momentous kind
of thing, And honestly, it might have just literally been
the basketball instincts of this team and the way they
kind of smell blood in the water and they start
going for those turnovers. Oklahoma City really started gambling a
lot on the on their over like in their help
and recover decisions in that second half, and I thought
(17:05):
most of it paid off. And then again in general,
the intensity to close out, so you got to make
people miss. You can't sit there, cross your fingers and
hope that people miss. That's not how basketball works. You
gotta make people miss. And tonight I thought Oklahoma City
brought the requisite level of intensity to force Indiana into
missing some of those threes. Some other Oklahoma City shoutouts
(17:26):
before we head over to the Indiana front. Aaron Wiggins
is scoring. He had seventeen tonight. I believe he had
seventeen tonight. He had five threes in this game. He
actually got up to eighteen points. He had a free
throw late in the game, but he had eighteen points
in ninety five threes. His first three buckets were pretty tough.
Like Aaron Wiggins is an underrated put the ball on
(17:47):
the floor type of like bench scorer. I think he
has a reputation around the league as being kind of
a three and D guy. He's got a lot more
off the dribble pop than you dink like. I think
he's closer to like a Nause Marshall type of role
player wing than like a you know, a lou Doort
like type of three and D type of wing. And
he did some really nice work off the dribble to
start this game. Hit a tough bank shot in some
(18:09):
traffic over siak him if I remember correctly, and then
his first two threes are like pretty tough off the
dribble threes. Those are a big part of how they
built as much margin early in the game when Indiana
was playing as well as they were playing Alex Cruzo.
His combination of just knocking down, catching shoot threes, and
finding openings as a cutter, it continues to make him
a very reliable offensive player. He had twenty more points tonight.
(18:32):
That's the tenth time in this postseason he's gotten into
double figures as a scorer. In his second time in
this postseason where he's gotten over twenty points or gotten
up to twenty points in a single game. And then
Isaya Hartenstein. I just thought he was awesome tonight. You
only had three points, but did a bunch of damage
on the glass and as a screener and as a
connective passer. To me, he just greases the wheels for
(18:52):
this team. I would love to look up. I'll dig
into this. Maybe I can try to find this information tomorrow.
I'm not even sure if you can do it for
an individual, but I would love to find out what
Oklahoma cities assist percentages, meaning the percentage of their made
baskets that come off of assists. I would be really
interested to see what the assist percentage is when he's
on the floor versus off, because it feels like he's
(19:14):
the guy that gets them running action side to side,
just with his willingness to shift adrift like dh O's
and get when he creates an outlet for himself, he
just immediately dribbles into the next triple handoff. He just
kind of gets the things greased on offense and then
obviously such a great connective passer in the middle of
the floor as well. We did see some of the
two big look finally from the Thunder tonight. I'm gonna
(19:37):
be honest with you, guys, I thought some of the
discussions surrounding the two big lineup or one big lineup
or no big lineup was a bit overblown. There are
pros and cons to all three looks, and I think
the Thunder are capable of beating the Pacers with all
three looks. And I feel like a lot of the
times we just play the results with this stuff, like
Oklahoma City was up fifteen in the middle of the
fourth quarter despite going small, despite not playing their two
(19:59):
big look. Like if Oklahoma City just holds on to
their lead, we're probably talking about how dag Nault's a
genius because he identified that the Hartenstein minutes were really
bad in the regular season, and he gave his team
a better chance to go up one out. Like I
thought a lot of that was overblown. Like to me,
the bigger thing is like, if you're going to go
to a group, that group has to perform. And we
(20:21):
saw some of the upside of the two big looks, right.
We saw Chet with some more opportunities to attack from
the perimeter. We saw some of the high low passing
as Hartenstein caught a short roll pass and throw a
lob to Chet that he dunked. That lineup can be successful. Again,
I think I didn't think that was like the reason
they lost in Game one or anything like that, but
we did see that tonight. We saw how it can
(20:41):
be impactful. Is say Hartenstein on the floor in twenty
two minutes, the thunder were plus seventeen and again, like
I think, I think it all just depends, like there's
so many different looks that they can go to. Like,
the reality is is that with Caseen Wallace, they absolutely
have the type of perimeter defense talent and athleticism to
still compete on the glass and still stay in front
of the ball and it's still swarm in and out
(21:02):
of double teams in the post, and they still can
do everything with those groups. It's just guys missed open
looks at the end of game one, and so now
all of a sudden, it's like Dagnault made some catastrophic
decision that ruined the series or whatever it is that
was flying around after those couple of games.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
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Speaker 2 (21:32):
But moving on to the Indiana front, you know, I
was thinking a lot about this thing with Tyree s Alliburton,
in the fact that he kind of has these games
where he just disappears for lack of a better word,
And as is always the case, we become familiar with stars,
right like over years and years and years, you looks
(21:56):
like when Nicole Jokich, having covered him very closely over
the last three to four years, I've become so, you know,
a fascinated with the different ups and downs, what it
looks like for him when it's when he struggles, what
it looks like for him when he's playing really well,
like a big giveaway from me with Nicole Yokich is
his three point shooting. Like, when he has his three
point shooting going, I know that all of a sudden
(22:17):
it opens up this whole pick and pop and like
attacking closeouts part of his game that can be downright deadly, right.
And then we also know that when Jokic gets tired,
he can kind of lose control of things on the
defensive end in terms of just how active he is
at the level of the ball screen with his hands
and how much resistance he offers at the rim when
he's in deeper drop coverages or when he's in help. Similarly,
(22:37):
you know we've been learning about Shay and how like
Shay in certain types of games, Like to me, the
bad game for Shae is like what Game one was,
where he comes out and just shoots every damn shot
and keeps his team out of rhythm, right, Like, that's
what a bad game looks like for Shay, And a
bad game for a guy like Tyre's Halliburton is gonna
look very different than it does compared to some of
these other guards.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Right.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Each time we get a new star that plays in
these super intense, heavily game planned high stakes, you know,
tons of talent on the floor, types of environments. We
learn more and you know, one of the things that
I've learned with Tyre's Halliburton is it seems to me
that Tyres confronts adversity by against these like really athletic
(23:22):
teams by passing the ball. Like I was talking about
with Jackson before the show, what would it have looked
like tonight if Tyre's Halliburton went out and just took
like twenty five shots. Like, He's not the kind of
guy that gets elite separation off the dribble from awesome defenders.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Over and over and over and over.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Again over the course of a game. That's not really
what he does. He can, like when he's at his best,
he will beat switches and hit tough shots. It's not
like he can't do it, but that's like his game.
His game is he comes off of action and he
takes coverage beating passes and coverage beating shots. Sinking off
(24:09):
the low man, he's gonna skip it, you know, like
if you stay home in that weak side corner, he's
gonna throw a lob to the guy or hit a
bounce pass to the guy. In the pocket, you sink
down off the nail or into the nail. Help, he's
gonna take the swing pass. You die on the screen,
he'll take to pull up three. You apply a little
bit of back pressure, he's gonna attack and wait till
(24:29):
somebody reacts to him. If you leave a little bit
of a gap in there, he'll take the float, he'll
take the mid range jump.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Shot right like.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
He is not this high volume score. And it seems
to me that Tyre's Haliburton looks at a game like
that and goes, I'm not gonna shoot my team out
of this mess.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
It's not my game. But what I can do is.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Keep flying like hell off of these actions and keep
throwing these pitchbacks and skips and all this kind of stuff,
and just see if we can get this engine running.
And then when the edgine gets run in, maybe I
can find my spots to be aggressive in there. Like
I saw he got going at the end of the game, right,
it hits a bunch of shots and all of a sudden,
(25:12):
the talk was like, well, why wasn't he being more
aggressive earlier? And I mean they just looked like open
drop coverage. Looks to me like he got a floater
and drop coverage because he was open the dunk. Remember
the dunk that he got. It was a stack pick
and roll where they backscreened for the role man and
uh literally, okay, Soe did a terrible job defending it
and he got a wide open dunk. He had another
(25:36):
drop coverage play where he hit like a little elbow jumper.
Like the toughest one he hit was also a drop
coverage shot. It was like a side view contest from
jadub where he hit a three a off the right
wing when it was after he made a bunch of
shots in a row and he was in a good
rhythm and hit another wide open three out of the
right corner. Like he got going as Oklahoma City lightened
(25:56):
up their defensive intensity and he started getting easy clean
the offense, Like it's not like he was dribbling off
of ball screens in the first three quarters and like
looking right at good drop coverage looks and was like, nope,
I'm gonna pull at James Harden and disappear from the game,
Like no, that's not what he was doing. It's just
it's become clear to me that Tyree's has certain limitations
(26:17):
like when teams really ratchet up athletically from like start
to finish in a game. Like, He's not a guy
that's going to demonstrate athletic superiority, get separation over and
over again from elite defenders and knockdown shots. He's the
Steve Nash of our era. He's gonna keep dribbling in
and out of the paint and trying to make something happen.
Like that, That's that's the way he plays. And so
(26:40):
I think, like that's not to say that that's not
still one of his bad games.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Of course it is.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
He wasn't able to get the offensive engine running the
way that it needed to run. But like, all in all,
like I tend to look at that's what a bad
game looks like for Tyre's Halliburton relative to his peers.
It's a few more turnovers, some misses on some shots
capable of making, and like, yeah, like he's not gonna
assert him he doesn't like. His weakness is he can't
(27:07):
assert himself as a dominant scorer the way that a
Shae Gills Alexander came. But the flip side is Tyres
played a much better floor game in game one, and
his team won Game one of the finals, while Shay
shot his team out of the game, like quite literally.
So again like this is just what that give and
take looks like.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
With Halliburton.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
He is a guy that when he runs into adversity,
it gets a super athletic defense. His method for solving
that problem is to pass the basketball and hope his
teammates can get into a rhythm. He is not Michael Jordan.
He is not a freaky athletic six' sixth dude who's
going to shoot step back jump shots over and over
again and turn around fadeaways and beaten elite athletes off
(27:50):
the dribble over and over. Again this is Why tyres
is probably never going to be a top five player
in the league and why he's more like a somewhere
in the six to ten range or six to fifteen,
range because this is a. Limitation this is a realistic
limitation to what he has in his tool bag as an, athlete.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
If that makes.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Sense, OVERALL i thought the story of this game From,
indiana it's just their. Composure AND i don't mean like
them playing. Hard they obviously play hard, constantly but there
have been multiple stretches in this series third quarter tonight
first half Of game one where it just felt like
they would force an early post entry before swinging the
(28:31):
ball around so you get a better, angle or they
would Like Ben matherns on the left wing And Pascal
siakam Has Cason wallace posted up and instead of making
a post, entry he tries to drive into the teeth
of the defense and actually makes a decent, kickout but
like instead of taking what was, THERE i thought in,
general The pacers just weren't as intentional hosting hunting post
(28:53):
up mismatches tonight as they were In game, One and
like it just there is a reality to this thunder
defense being a team that doesn't break down on the
first action and a lot of times not on the second.
Action this is a defense you have to break down.
Incrementally it's gotta Be tyree's running an action at the
top of the key that generates just the slightest bit
(29:13):
of a closeout for like you, Know nemhard or somebody
else off the left wing with someone sprinting at. Them
then he's got to rack away from the ball from
the close, out and he's gotta get an even bigger
help rotation from a different. Player and then he's gonna
swing and that guy's gonna get closed out on he's
got to, drive and it's like there's gonna be you,
know four or five sixty seven pass possessions just for
The pacers to get decent looks against this thunder off
(29:35):
at thunder. Defense but to be, CLEAR i have pretty
consistently seen them in the series when they need to
generate quality, shots when they can move the ball, around
when they're, deliberate when they don't turn it, over they
can get good. Looks and so again for This indiana,
team it's about not losing their composure Against Oklahoma city's ball.
Pressure it's The Oklahoma city has done a good job
(29:57):
of getting The pacers to not look like the pay
for some of these stretches just with their poor decision
making and the sloppy. Turnovers and it's a credit to their,
defense but it's a reality For indiana in terms of
hanging onto the rope in this. Series they've got to
hang on for dear. Life and the way they can
hang on for dear life is by that incremental breaking
down of the. Defense get the ball at the floor,
(30:18):
quickly you, know early in the shot. Clock if they
get a clean look at, three, sure take, it but
like keep it moving side to. Side eventually something somebody
will sink into far to the. Paint somebody will make a.
Mistake Oklahoma city makes fewer mistakes than their peers around
the league by pretty wide margin on the defensive end
of the, floor but they still make. Mistakes and so
(30:40):
to put it, simply if you run more action in each,
possession you're gonna have more opportunities.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
For them to make.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Mistakes and they inevitably. Will and in this, series through two,
games when The pacers get the ball into the half
court and they get it move inside to side and
they don't turn it, over they generally have been able
to generate an okay. Shot It's Justklahoma city has shaken
them off that foundation a lot with their. Defense, again
that is What Oklahoma city.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Does this is just.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
What the tug of war looks. Like all, right let's
Bring jackson up, here and let's take some. Questions let's
do it.
Speaker 4 (31:14):
First, one, uh there's a few About. Halliburton the first
is how can The pacers kind of Unlock Tyree's halliburton
a little? Bit he's obviously gotten stuck in the mud
a little. Bit is it is it involved him as a.
Screener what can they do to get him more involved
than he has been so?
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Far so, again LIKE i think there's a reality to
the fact that When Oklahoma city really tightens the, screws
he's not going to be super impactful as a scorer
in this type of.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Series.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Uh to your, point, though they to the questions, point
like these, actions these using him as a, screener these
are ways to hopefully find more advantages for him and in,
general LIKE i thought he did a good job of
attacking closeouts tonight when he would get catches on the
perimeter when he would like find himself. Open but, like,
ULTIMATELY i don't think this is going to be a
(32:03):
series Where Tyres halliburton is going to be a super
high volume. SCORE i, mean, guys go back To game.
One it wasn't like he was having some crazy offensive.
Game he had some shots, Late but like, it like,
ultimately in this, series he's the advantage. Creator he's the
guy that is going to find that first little crack
In Oklahoma city's defense and then the ball is going
to continue to be worked around and it's going to
(32:24):
be a team effort for them to break this, Down
LIKE i if people are Expecting tyrese to to just
flex his scoring muscles in this, SERIES i just don't
think it's something he's going to be able to.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
DO i agree with, That but my sort of follow
up is to your point about the tougher shot he
made in the fourth quarter was when he was in
a little bit more of a. Rhythm what's the balance
there he should strike, between you, know getting slightly maybe
not putting up ten shots in a quarter in the first,
quarter but maybe attempting a few that are just slightly
more to his way as a post to the flow
(32:54):
of the, offense to get himself in a rhythm a
little bit. Earlier not that he needs to be thirty
points a, game can get in a little bit of
a rhythm as a score earlier in the.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Game this is a.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Really good, take AND i TOTALLY i think YOU'RE i
think you're making a fantastic, point which is that you
know it's not all or nothing with either of these, Guys,
like not every game From shay that's bad needs to
look Like game. One not every game that That shay
has that's good needs to look exactly like, tonight there's
an in between, ground, right and like the to your,
(33:26):
point like we've talked about this concept a lot on
the show over the course of the last couple of.
Months but like the scoring, archetype their demons in their
head try to get them to shoot when they probably should.
Pass and for the playmaking, archetype the demons in their
head are like pass the ball when they probably should.
Shoot and so, yeah like this was a bad game From.
(33:50):
TYRESE i want to be, Clear i'm just, saying Like
i'm starting TO i understand more of What tyrese's bad
games look like in the sense that he knows like
you think he's looking at Lou, dort, like let me
just go to, like, no that's not what he's thinking
when he's looking at that. Matchup he's if he'd had
to play one on one against Lou, dort there's a
chance that he'd really struggle to get shots. Up like
LIKE i, mean like literally if they played Like Lance
(34:11):
stevenson and who's it Of Mike beasley the other, Day
so like you if you play that kind of, game
that's not that's not his. Game but like to your,
point maybe taking a couple more of those like one
or two more of those like questionable looks in the
first few quarters could go a long way towards giving
him a little bit more rhythm when he needs to score.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
Later next, question when WILL J dubb show? Up he
felt like he had a better game, today but he's
still shooting under thirty five percent this. Series what can
he do to help himself on the offensive?
Speaker 2 (34:42):
End he's just not hitting his jump. SHOTS i thought
he got some pretty damn good looks from three in
this game that he just, missed which is how it.
Goes but, overall LIKE i, mean he had nineteen points
and fourteen. Shots almost everything from him was downhill towards the.
Rim he was that was how he kept continuing to
get to the foul. Line and, like, HONESTLY i feel LIKE.
(35:02):
J dubb has been pretty good since the first half
Of game. One LIKE i thought he was pretty good
with his attacks in the second half Of game. One
he just hasn't been able to find his three point shot.
Yet but, like a lot of this is comfort and
rhythm and like like it really doesn't matter as long
as he hits him when he needs. To so like
here you are one to one there's gonna probably be a,
chance maybe It's game, three maybe It's game four where
(35:23):
he's gonna need to hit some catch and shoot, threes
and if he hits those, ones like, yeah there are
gonna be people who hunt the box score and be, like,
oh he didn't have a very good statistical, series but
ultimately to win this, series he's just gonna have to
hit some more jump. Shots AND i think he's certainly
capable of. It BUT i thought he played pretty well
tonight to be.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Honest, YEAH i agree with. YOU i agree with.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
You one More haliburton. Question then we got a few
more on THE okc, side These halliburton struggles and him
as his. Score is there something he can add to
his game to avoid these kind of disappearing acts in the,
future or do you think because of sort of just
his style of play that this limitations are who he
is and sort of what he needs to just sort
of live with, throughout you, know his career at this.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Point so step one is like acknowledging the reality of
like who he is as an, athlete which is like
he's a very Good like he is a very good,
athlete but he is not an elite athlete like he is.
Not he doesn't have like that first step quickness that
Shake gil Just alexander has that gives him the, Ability like,
What shay's one of the top two or three scores
(36:22):
in the. LEAGUE i think we can all agree on, that,
Right so what Makes shay's such an elite. Scorer it's,
one he's got this unbelievable first, step but, two he
also like has the ability to out of any footwork
from any spot on the, floor rise up into a jump.
Shot he can turn over his right, shoulder he can
turn over his left, shoulder he can step back going,
right he can step back going, Left he can do
all of the different jump shooting angles and finishes and
(36:44):
things along those. Lines and so as a result of,
that like he is not short of ways to get
a shot off against an elite. Defender, Now Tyre's halliburton
doesn't elevate super high on his jump, shot doesn't really
have the ability to shoot fadeaways over both, shoulders like
turning and spinning out of the post or anything like.
That but what he does have is he's a very
(37:06):
good three point. Shooter and SO i imagine it being more
of like if he can get to the point where
like he does a lot of stuff out of a
high hesitation on his right, Hand like he kind of
is constantly like feathering together high. Hesitations everything chains together from.
THERE a lot of times you'll like chain three or
four of them together while he's waiting for a play to, develop,
right and he's just kind of eyes on the, rim
handing that high hesitation like maybe a dame step, back
(37:28):
like just really a really hard in and out dribble
to get just that little tiny bit of separation and
rise and fire and then just a little bit of
work quickening the release and then again like it's all, levels,
Right like everyone wants to know the difference Between steph
and all the other great guards of his. Era you
want to know what it. Is a chasm of the
ability to make three point. Shots like, ultimately it's about
(37:50):
becoming a guy that doesn't hit thirty seven thirty eight
percent of, them but becoming a guy that hits forty
two forty three percent of them at high. Volume and
SO i THINK i think the best pathway For tyres
to have him reliable is the wrong, word because there'll
still be some some variance involving shooting but, like to,
me the pathway For tyrese to become a guy who
can like average twenty five points a game in a
(38:10):
playoff run is to just become one of the best
shooters in the. LEAGUE i think that's the move for.
Him and then, again like just little quick moves that
capitalize on his speed and his passing ability to like
sneak three point shots off against the.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
CONTEST a couple.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
More, questions then we'll go over to. Playback next, question
what was the end season tournament lost good FOR okc in,
retrospect feels like they've finally learned from that loss and
last year's playoff, loss And i've sort of taken some
of those lessons to be able to get over the
hump a little.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Bit.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
ABSOLUTELY i, Mean i'm a huge fan of the end season,
tournament but, like like you, know you don't think that
was ANOTHER i talk about this all the, time like scar.
Tissue you get scar tissue from losing any real, competitor
any competitor worth his salt is still thinking about losses
that he's had in his past or that she's had
in her.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Past like we've all been.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
There you lose a, game it should eat at you
and what typically happens is you think about a moment Like,
Jackson i'm sure you've lost a game in like a
men's league where like you think about a single rebound you,
missed or a single turnover you had in a big,
spot or like a play where, you you, know maybe
settled for a shot when there was a driving lane
or something like. That, like like those things haunt. You
(39:20):
they haunt, you and you need high leverage basketball to
build that part of your game. Out that attention to,
detail that fear of losing that that like just unwillingness
to let it happen, again, Right and SO i absolutely
think The Ncason tournament lost help this.
Speaker 4 (39:38):
Team last question before, playback what do you think the
ceiling is For? Mathrin shay got the better of him at,
points but he Would it's great seeing him fight over
screens and stay attached and he's great at getting.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Downhill how old Is Ben matherin?
Speaker 2 (39:50):
NOW png on one second twenty two so and he's
about to turn twenty three On june. NINETEEN i THINK
i Think ben's been super impressive for a young, Guard
like think about how many young guards now, again like
this is this is how it's all relative because like
remember like ants twenty three and just let his team
to back to Back Western conference. Finals so like this
(40:11):
is part of WHY i tell everyone to back the
hell off when it comes To Anthony. Edwards but With,
ben there is like you saw, It like he admitted
a couple of, fouls but like he can slide those
feet and stay in front of a pretty quick athlete In,
Shaye like he's got a ton of potential as a defensive.
Player his downhill athleticism is a legitimate. Problem he's able
to draw fouls against The Oklahoma city. Team he's got
(40:33):
to continue to polish up the jump shot and his decision,
making and there's certainly a long way to. Go but
Like ben strikes me as a guy who by age twenty,
six age twenty, seven is going to be a guy
who could be in that like twenty five to thirty
five range in this. League LIKE i absolutely think he can,
be like you, know a guy who makes An All
star team or two and is like a rock, solid
high level starter in this. League and so LIKE I
(40:56):
i'm pretty high On. Ben and to, me you, KNOW
i had we had a mailback question the other day
where someone asked, like, hey like what about the you,
know like what about the two in the three spot
for the? Pacers should they look to upgrade that this?
Summer and, like to, Me, Ben ben's that. Guy ben's
the guy that can age into being the upgrade at
the two or the. Three he's the guy that can
(41:17):
bring that real athletic pop and scoring. Pop so, Like
i'm a big believer In ben and like the fact
that you're getting anything useful out of him at this
point as a twenty two year old in this rotation
is is to me found. Money All, right, guys that's
all we have for tonight on YouTube, again running over
to playback that's playback dot tv slash. Shoops, tonight we'll
be taking some callers and hanging out for a little.
WHILE i appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the.
(41:38):
Show for those of you guys who are not following,
us over to. Playback tomorrow, MORNING i am recording With
kevin O'Connor's coming on the. Show first time. Guest i've
been on his show a couple, times but he's coming
on our show and we're gonna be breaking down the
first two games of THE Nba. Finals that'll probably be
up sometime right, around like you, know eleven hour or
Noon pacific. TIME i appreciate, you. Guys we'll see you
(42:01):
over on, playback and then for the YouTube, audience we'll
see you guys.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
Tomorrow what's up.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
Guys ares, ALWAYS i appreciate you for listening to and
SUPPORTING oops. Tonight they would actually be really helpful for
us if you guys would take a second and leave
a rating and a. Review as, ALWAYS i appreciate you
guys supporting, us but if you could take a minute
to do, That i'd really appreciate.
Speaker 4 (42:17):
It the volume
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
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Speaker 3 (02:00):
All right, welcome to hoops to night.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
You're at the volume heavy Sunday, everybody, oh, all of
you guys have had a great weekend.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the team's the league's best team
all season long, was in their second must win game
of this postseason, a game that was different than the
Denver Nuggets game too, and that this is a Pacers
team that has no led up in their basketball character.
And you know, I've had a lot of people ask
(02:26):
me what I thought would happen in tonight's game, and
I said the same thing every time. I know what
we're getting from the Pacers. This is gonna be about
whether or not the Thunder can raise their level, and
they absolutely did in just about every facet of the game.
I thought that was one of Shay's best games of
his career in terms of his floor game, which we're
(02:46):
gonna be diving a little bit further into that concept.
Off the Top got a bunch of guys into rhythm
the dead giveaway.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
As a team. In the last game they had.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Just thirteen CIS's nearly doubled that total tonight up to
twenty five. A lot more flow in that Thunder offense,
lots of interesting stuff to get into on both sides
of the series. And then when we finish up with
my breakdown Off the Top, we're gonna take some questions
from the chat. So if you're watching, all you got
to do is subscribe to the channel, drop your questions
in the chat, and then Jackson's gonna hop on we'll
(03:19):
take some questions at the tail end of the show.
When we wrap up here on YouTube Tonight, we're heading
over to Playback that's playback dot tv slash Hoops Tonight.
There we will watch some film, we'll take some callers.
It's more of like an informal basketball hour. We all
just kind of hang out and talk hoops and conversation
goes all over the place. It's been a lot of fun.
I've really enjoyed beginning that partnership with Playback and this
(03:43):
year's postseason run. So when we finished today, just follow
us over there for another hour of interactive basketball talk
before we get out of here for the night. You
guys have the joke before we get started. Subscribe to
the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels you don't miss any more
of our videos. Follow me on Twitter and underscore JCNLT
so you guys don't missho announcement Sti'll forget about a
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It's also super helpful if you leave a rating and
a review on that front. Jackson's doing great work on
(04:04):
our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Make
sure you guys follow us there, and last, not least,
like we mentioned off the top, keep getting those questions
in the chats. We can hit him at the mailbag
segment at the tail end of the show. All right,
let's talk some basketball. So you know, floor game is
the latest and a long line of basketball buzzwords that
you guys will hear all around the NBA media and
(04:25):
on the show as well. And I wanted to dive
into that concept a little bit because we talked about
it a lot after Game one. I talked about how
it kind of felt in the moment like Shay was
just trying to like force his way into rhythm in
Game one. The NBA finals are a really uncomfortable setting
for most basketball players, and there's so many examples in
NBA history of like really really really good players struggling
(04:48):
when they get to the final stage just because of
how weird it is, how much media there is, how
intense it is, and just all the pressure and expectation
that centers around that moment. Right Well, when I went
back and watched the it really looked like Shay kind
of bogged down the entire offense hunting his own shot,
and I thought he just did a much much better
job in this game. Now, when I say floor game,
(05:11):
what that means to me is when you're the lead
guard or the lead ball handler, or just consider yourself
the offensive engine, the person who is singularly responsible for
at least the majority of what your team does on offense.
In that case, a lot of times we see box
scores and we go, oh, like, you know, you know
(05:32):
Lebron went twelve for twenty tonight, you know, or Nikola
jokicic thirteen for seventeen from the field tonight. That's seventeen shots.
That's twenty shots. Go look at how many shots a
team takes in a game. Both teams tonight took eighty
two field goal attempts. When you really start to zoom
out from like from the singular possession and look at
(05:54):
an entire basketball game, when you're the offensive engine, you
have to create a lot of shots. Now, does that
mean that Shay has to create all eighty two of
those shots? No, but like he's going to be either
directly or indirectly responsible for about sixty percent of that offense.
And so then you start to zoom out and you go, wait,
(06:15):
it's not just about whether or not I can get
my shot going. I have to build a rhythm in
this offense that doesn't disclude me either. It's got to
include me and my scoring as well, but it's also
got to include everyone else on the floor feeling comfortable.
That was something that I thought Shae didn't do a
good job of in Game one. I thought he immediately
(06:37):
came out tonight with a clear intentional effort to get
the ball out to the easy kickout reads and cutreads
that were available to him. When we went back and
we watched crunch time, I actually thought Shay started to
figure this out. It just was so late in the
game and too many guys were out of rhythm looking
at crunch time.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
In Game one, he.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Was facing sometimes two sometimes three helpers on his and
he just started taking the kickout reads that were there.
Jay Dub missus a clean look. Case On Wallace missus
a clean look. Blue Dort misses a clean look. But
that investment was made earlier in the game tonight, and
all of a sudden, chets looking comfortable. All of a sudden,
everyone is just more. It's contagious. It's contagious how it
(07:19):
just gets everyone involved with moving the basketball around. That's
how you double your assist total compared to what they
had in Game one. There were a couple of specific
actions that Shay was hunting all night tonight and getting
great stuff out of. I thought he made a very
intentional effort to start working off of the left block
and post ups. He liked his matchup against Andrel Nemhard
(07:40):
in particular, a little bit of Ben against Ben Mathern
as well. Him and Ben Mathern were having a fun,
little kind of like showdown in terms of just young
athletic guards. Obviously, Shay got the better of him tonight
in a real way, just took advantage of that aggressiveness
and got him into some bowel trouble. But from that
left block, he was always clearing the side and you
could see him like waving people through and then backing
(08:01):
down along that left block, and then as soon as
the double team came, he got rid of it. And
if the double team didn't come, he'd go to one
of those fadeaways over either shoulder. He also drew a
foul and andrew Nemhart on a step through move, but
he was able to consistently use that left block post
up as a vehicle with which to survey the floor
and take the easy kickouts that were available. Similarly, guard
(08:25):
guard screens at the top of the key. We talked
a lot after Game one in our film session. If
you guys remember the idea of him quickly attacking against
the switch, like when the switch comes, just hitting the
jets immediately and beating that dude off the dribble or
against hedges, attacking quickly and splitting that action. He was
getting a lot of dribble penetration straight through on those
(08:45):
guard guard screens. He actually got a good amount of
that at the end of Game one too. But the
whole point is is Shaye took what he learned from
game one added to it in the form of the
post up stuff. But he took those two pet actions,
the high ball screens in the and the left block
post ups, and he treated them as a vehicle with
which to get his teammate's advantages rather than a vehicle
(09:07):
with which for him to get his own shot attempts up.
The interesting thing too there is like even he was
in a better rhythm than he was in Game one,
and like I guarantee you that Shay in the middle
of Game one could feel it. I'm sure he could
feel that he wasn't playing a great game. You can't
like in the game. He could probably feel that he
(09:29):
was taking some iffy shots. Then it gets even more
frustrating when you miss the next kind of iffy shot.
But it's a shot that he practices all the time, right,
and so it can turn into this like you're trying
to ram your head through a brick wall kind of thing.
Right in this game, it felt like even the tougher
buckets that he was going after kind of felt more
in rhythm for him because he knew he was playing
a great game. He knew the whole time I am
(09:51):
in full control of the flow of this game for
my team on offense, and all of those trickle down
effects started to show chat getting into rhythm. Andrew or
Aaron Wiggins had his best off the Dribble game. It's contagious, right,
Everyone starts to feel more comfortable, everyone starts to feel
like they're in a rhythm. And I just thought, I
just thought it was one of the better games that
(10:12):
I've seen Shade play in terms of just feeling out
the flow of the game, identifying that his job is
not to create you know, twenty five shots for himself
and a handful of kickouts, but rather to be responsible
for the offense, to be responsible for the entirety of
the five man offense for the entire you know, forty
minutes or whatever that you're out on the floor. That's
(10:34):
the job. That's what floor game means. Floor game means
how do you run the offense? Not how many points
you had and how many assists you had. And I
thought Shaye just had an absolutely amazing game running the offense.
My second big takeaway from tonight was just how frightening
Oklahoma City's athletics ceiling is. I talked about at the
(10:54):
open of this show about how Indiana didn't lower their
level tonight. I didn't feel like it like Indy came
out flat the way that Denver did in Game two
of the second round series, or that we the way
that we see so many veteran teams like Indy came
out and had a lot of those patented Indie runs
where they continue to get you know, seven eight points
(11:15):
in a short span that shrinks a lead down to
something more manageable, and like that's what they do, right,
They wait for you to slow down We had a
classic example of that in the second half of this
game where or in the late first half of this
game where okay see, he goes on a big run
and then all of a sudden, okay See misses a
few jump shots in a row, and you know, Nie
Smiths hitting a corner three, Seakam's getting an and one,
(11:36):
and all of a sudden, the leads back down to thirteen.
That's what they do. They just they never stopped coming
at you. But there's a reason why those deficits just
looked bigger tonight. There's a reason why they were able
to push it north of twenty multiple times, and it's
because even though Indy didn't lower their level, Oklahoma City
substantially raised theirs. One of the things that I talked
(11:58):
about all this all the time on this show is
the idea of like shooting variants being pretty far down
the list. For me, it's a thing. There's basically statistical
proof that shooting variance does exist to a certain extent,
but I tend to think that basketball dynamics play a
larger role in that shooting variance than the shooting variance
is then we're led to believe by the way the
(12:20):
game is discussed, right, everyone wants to pretend that there's
just this algorithm that spits out a shot result. That's
not what happens, and what happens before the shot is
going to have a huge impact on whether or not
the shot goes in or not. You can't just sit
there and put a hand up and hope that a
guy misses shots. If you bring a requisite level of
(12:41):
intensity on your closeouts to where you get up in
underneath the shooter, in the shooting pocket, disrupting the gather
all of a sudden, that contest is going to do
a lot more to force that guy to miss than
I'm standing there or the hand up. Obi Toppin Early
in the game hit another contested three over I think
(13:04):
it was over at Hartenstein if I remember correctly, in
the left corner. Might have been over cheted, but it
was a shot where like the hand was up, but
there wasn't that other layer, that other layer of trying
to make the guy uncomfortable swiping at the basketball, being
more intense with that closeout that was absolutely there over
the course of the rest of tonight's game, like block
(13:27):
shots on three pointers, multiple of those, just a level
of hillaciousness to the way they were closing out the rebounds.
They started to do a bunch of damage on the
offensive glass. Again in the second half. Their on ball
defense caused Indiana to lose their composure at multiple points
in the game, a long stretch to start the second
quarter and then again in the third quarter. That comes
from the fact that when Oklahoma City really has their
(13:51):
back against the wall, they lose that game, they're probably
losing the series. Right Like, you're down two zero going
back to Indy, Like Indy's getting at least one of those,
and now you're down three to one, and it's just
really difficult to come back from down three to one
against a team that never stops playing their best version
of basketball, right like, this was a must win game.
And in this must win game, a bunch of these
young athletes that are you know, other than Caruso twenty
(14:13):
six or younger just turned up that athleticism to a
level that Indiana really couldn't match. Or there's gonna be
a lot of talk about Tyrese Haliburton, and you know
how he didn't really do too much to score the
ball until late in the game. I think a big
part of it has to do with the fact that
Tyree's doesn't get a ton of separation from these guys
(14:34):
when they're really really locked in. That goes for everyone.
These these these dudes are really really difficult to move
or get around when they when they tighten the screws
the way they did tonight. And I thought that was
the big thing that stood out to me in the
sense that if this series goes seven, like let's say,
for instance, that Indiana goes home and gets two, like
(14:54):
they just they just go home and ride that Indie
home crowd and they get to and then all of
a sudd in Oklahoma City wins Game five and wins
game six to two, or just somehow gets this to
a seven. If this series goes seven, keep in mind
that if they're in Oklahoma City and they could ratchet
up their athleticism like that, I don't know that Indy
(15:17):
can win if they end up in that type of game.
And so it kind of feels to me like Indy's
pathway is to end this thing in six, to go
home win three and four. Obviously you're gonna lose in
Game five against the same type of leverage athleticism that
we saw tonight and then their chance to close it
out in six. I left Tonight's game feeling like I
(15:38):
don't think Indiana could win a closeout game in Oklahoma City.
There's just a level they can get too athletically that
Indy can't touch. We talked about a bunch of adjustments
for Oklahoma City. I wanted to quickly kind of go
through those. We talked about shake Joss Alexander making a
more intentional effort to invest in rhythm with his teammates
throughout the game. I thought he clearly made that change.
(16:00):
We talked about Ja Dupp staying away from these early
clock contested mid range jump shots. Really did a much
better job of that Tonight, didn't take one until the
late second quarter and only took two in the entire game.
Was just much more of an attacker and facilitator in
this game. Got to the foul line a bunch as well.
We talked about loosening up the defense. I talked about
how they gave up a bunch of open threes just
(16:20):
kind of overswarming, and interestingly enough, it kind of did
feel like that was the game plan early on. That
was why we saw so many of those like Nemhard
and Halliburn ISOs kind of right around the middle of
the floor in the first quarter. Oklahoma City wasn't overreacting
to dribble penetration at that point in the game, but
it felt like in that third quarter run that they
really leaned back into their swarming and honestly, I thought
(16:43):
it was the right call in the moment, like they
caused Indy to lose their composure again, they started to
get out in transition. It was like a momentous kind
of thing, And honestly, it might have just literally been
the basketball instincts of this team and the way they
kind of smell blood in the water and they start
going for those turnovers. Oklahoma City really started gambling a
lot on the on their over like in their help
and recover decisions in that second half, and I thought
(17:05):
most of it paid off. And then again in general,
the intensity to close out, so you got to make
people miss. You can't sit there, cross your fingers and
hope that people miss. That's not how basketball works. You
gotta make people miss. And tonight I thought Oklahoma City
brought the requisite level of intensity to force Indiana into
missing some of those threes. Some other Oklahoma City shoutouts
(17:26):
before we head over to the Indiana front. Aaron Wiggins
is scoring. He had seventeen tonight. I believe he had
seventeen tonight. He had five threes in this game. He
actually got up to eighteen points. He had a free
throw late in the game, but he had eighteen points
in ninety five threes. His first three buckets were pretty tough.
Like Aaron Wiggins is an underrated put the ball on
(17:47):
the floor type of like bench scorer. I think he
has a reputation around the league as being kind of
a three and D guy. He's got a lot more
off the dribble pop than you dink like. I think
he's closer to like a Nause Marshall type of role
player wing than like a you know, a lou Doort
like type of three and D type of wing. And
he did some really nice work off the dribble to
start this game. Hit a tough bank shot in some
(18:09):
traffic over siak him if I remember correctly, and then
his first two threes are like pretty tough off the
dribble threes. Those are a big part of how they
built as much margin early in the game when Indiana
was playing as well as they were playing Alex Cruzo.
His combination of just knocking down, catching shoot threes, and
finding openings as a cutter, it continues to make him
a very reliable offensive player. He had twenty more points tonight.
(18:32):
That's the tenth time in this postseason he's gotten into
double figures as a scorer. In his second time in
this postseason where he's gotten over twenty points or gotten
up to twenty points in a single game. And then
Isaya Hartenstein. I just thought he was awesome tonight. You
only had three points, but did a bunch of damage
on the glass and as a screener and as a
connective passer. To me, he just greases the wheels for
(18:52):
this team. I would love to look up. I'll dig
into this. Maybe I can try to find this information tomorrow.
I'm not even sure if you can do it for
an individual, but I would love to find out what
Oklahoma cities assist percentages, meaning the percentage of their made
baskets that come off of assists. I would be really
interested to see what the assist percentage is when he's
on the floor versus off, because it feels like he's
(19:14):
the guy that gets them running action side to side,
just with his willingness to shift adrift like dh O's
and get when he creates an outlet for himself, he
just immediately dribbles into the next triple handoff. He just
kind of gets the things greased on offense and then
obviously such a great connective passer in the middle of
the floor as well. We did see some of the
two big look finally from the Thunder tonight. I'm gonna
(19:37):
be honest with you, guys, I thought some of the
discussions surrounding the two big lineup or one big lineup
or no big lineup was a bit overblown. There are
pros and cons to all three looks, and I think
the Thunder are capable of beating the Pacers with all
three looks. And I feel like a lot of the
times we just play the results with this stuff, like
Oklahoma City was up fifteen in the middle of the
fourth quarter despite going small, despite not playing their two
(19:59):
big look. Like if Oklahoma City just holds on to
their lead, we're probably talking about how dag Nault's a
genius because he identified that the Hartenstein minutes were really
bad in the regular season, and he gave his team
a better chance to go up one out. Like I
thought a lot of that was overblown. Like to me,
the bigger thing is like, if you're going to go
to a group, that group has to perform. And we
(20:21):
saw some of the upside of the two big looks, right.
We saw Chet with some more opportunities to attack from
the perimeter. We saw some of the high low passing
as Hartenstein caught a short roll pass and throw a
lob to Chet that he dunked. That lineup can be successful. Again,
I think I didn't think that was like the reason
they lost in Game one or anything like that, but
we did see that tonight. We saw how it can
(20:41):
be impactful. Is say Hartenstein on the floor in twenty
two minutes, the thunder were plus seventeen and again, like
I think, I think it all just depends, like there's
so many different looks that they can go to. Like,
the reality is is that with Caseen Wallace, they absolutely
have the type of perimeter defense talent and athleticism to
still compete on the glass and still stay in front
of the ball and it's still swarm in and out
(21:02):
of double teams in the post, and they still can
do everything with those groups. It's just guys missed open
looks at the end of game one, and so now
all of a sudden, it's like Dagnault made some catastrophic
decision that ruined the series or whatever it is that
was flying around after those couple of games.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
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Speaker 2 (21:32):
But moving on to the Indiana front, you know, I
was thinking a lot about this thing with Tyree s Alliburton,
in the fact that he kind of has these games
where he just disappears for lack of a better word,
And as is always the case, we become familiar with stars,
right like over years and years and years, you looks
(21:56):
like when Nicole Jokich, having covered him very closely over
the last three to four years, I've become so, you know,
a fascinated with the different ups and downs, what it
looks like for him when it's when he struggles, what
it looks like for him when he's playing really well,
like a big giveaway from me with Nicole Yokich is
his three point shooting. Like, when he has his three
point shooting going, I know that all of a sudden
(22:17):
it opens up this whole pick and pop and like
attacking closeouts part of his game that can be downright deadly, right.
And then we also know that when Jokic gets tired,
he can kind of lose control of things on the
defensive end in terms of just how active he is
at the level of the ball screen with his hands
and how much resistance he offers at the rim when
he's in deeper drop coverages or when he's in help. Similarly,
(22:37):
you know we've been learning about Shay and how like
Shay in certain types of games, Like to me, the
bad game for Shae is like what Game one was,
where he comes out and just shoots every damn shot
and keeps his team out of rhythm, right, Like, that's
what a bad game looks like for Shay, And a
bad game for a guy like Tyre's Halliburton is gonna
look very different than it does compared to some of
these other guards.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Right.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Each time we get a new star that plays in
these super intense, heavily game planned high stakes, you know,
tons of talent on the floor, types of environments. We
learn more and you know, one of the things that
I've learned with Tyre's Halliburton is it seems to me
that Tyres confronts adversity by against these like really athletic
(23:22):
teams by passing the ball. Like I was talking about
with Jackson before the show, what would it have looked
like tonight if Tyre's Halliburton went out and just took
like twenty five shots. Like, He's not the kind of
guy that gets elite separation off the dribble from awesome defenders.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Over and over and over and over.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Again over the course of a game. That's not really
what he does. He can, like when he's at his best,
he will beat switches and hit tough shots. It's not
like he can't do it, but that's like his game.
His game is he comes off of action and he
takes coverage beating passes and coverage beating shots. Sinking off
(24:09):
the low man, he's gonna skip it, you know, like
if you stay home in that weak side corner, he's
gonna throw a lob to the guy or hit a
bounce pass to the guy. In the pocket, you sink
down off the nail or into the nail. Help, he's
gonna take the swing pass. You die on the screen,
he'll take to pull up three. You apply a little
bit of back pressure, he's gonna attack and wait till
(24:29):
somebody reacts to him. If you leave a little bit
of a gap in there, he'll take the float, he'll
take the mid range jump.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Shot right like.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
He is not this high volume score. And it seems
to me that Tyre's Haliburton looks at a game like
that and goes, I'm not gonna shoot my team out
of this mess.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
It's not my game. But what I can do is.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Keep flying like hell off of these actions and keep
throwing these pitchbacks and skips and all this kind of stuff,
and just see if we can get this engine running.
And then when the edgine gets run in, maybe I
can find my spots to be aggressive in there. Like
I saw he got going at the end of the game, right,
it hits a bunch of shots and all of a sudden,
(25:12):
the talk was like, well, why wasn't he being more
aggressive earlier? And I mean they just looked like open
drop coverage. Looks to me like he got a floater
and drop coverage because he was open the dunk. Remember
the dunk that he got. It was a stack pick
and roll where they backscreened for the role man and
uh literally, okay, Soe did a terrible job defending it
and he got a wide open dunk. He had another
(25:36):
drop coverage play where he hit like a little elbow jumper.
Like the toughest one he hit was also a drop
coverage shot. It was like a side view contest from
jadub where he hit a three a off the right
wing when it was after he made a bunch of
shots in a row and he was in a good
rhythm and hit another wide open three out of the
right corner. Like he got going as Oklahoma City lightened
(25:56):
up their defensive intensity and he started getting easy clean
the offense, Like it's not like he was dribbling off
of ball screens in the first three quarters and like
looking right at good drop coverage looks and was like, nope,
I'm gonna pull at James Harden and disappear from the game,
Like no, that's not what he was doing. It's just
it's become clear to me that Tyree's has certain limitations
(26:17):
like when teams really ratchet up athletically from like start
to finish in a game. Like, He's not a guy
that's going to demonstrate athletic superiority, get separation over and
over again from elite defenders and knockdown shots. He's the
Steve Nash of our era. He's gonna keep dribbling in
and out of the paint and trying to make something happen.
Like that, That's that's the way he plays. And so
(26:40):
I think, like that's not to say that that's not
still one of his bad games.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Of course it is.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
He wasn't able to get the offensive engine running the
way that it needed to run. But like, all in all,
like I tend to look at that's what a bad
game looks like for Tyre's Halliburton relative to his peers.
It's a few more turnovers, some misses on some shots
capable of making, and like, yeah, like he's not gonna
assert him he doesn't like. His weakness is he can't
(27:07):
assert himself as a dominant scorer the way that a
Shae Gills Alexander came. But the flip side is Tyres
played a much better floor game in game one, and
his team won Game one of the finals, while Shay
shot his team out of the game, like quite literally.
So again like this is just what that give and
take looks like.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
With Halliburton.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
He is a guy that when he runs into adversity,
it gets a super athletic defense. His method for solving
that problem is to pass the basketball and hope his
teammates can get into a rhythm. He is not Michael Jordan.
He is not a freaky athletic six' sixth dude who's
going to shoot step back jump shots over and over
again and turn around fadeaways and beaten elite athletes off
(27:50):
the dribble over and over. Again this is Why tyres
is probably never going to be a top five player
in the league and why he's more like a somewhere
in the six to ten range or six to fifteen,
range because this is a. Limitation this is a realistic
limitation to what he has in his tool bag as an, athlete.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
If that makes.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Sense, OVERALL i thought the story of this game From,
indiana it's just their. Composure AND i don't mean like
them playing. Hard they obviously play hard, constantly but there
have been multiple stretches in this series third quarter tonight
first half Of game one where it just felt like
they would force an early post entry before swinging the
(28:31):
ball around so you get a better, angle or they
would Like Ben matherns on the left wing And Pascal
siakam Has Cason wallace posted up and instead of making
a post, entry he tries to drive into the teeth
of the defense and actually makes a decent, kickout but
like instead of taking what was, THERE i thought in,
general The pacers just weren't as intentional hosting hunting post
(28:53):
up mismatches tonight as they were In game, One and
like it just there is a reality to this thunder
defense being a team that doesn't break down on the
first action and a lot of times not on the second.
Action this is a defense you have to break down.
Incrementally it's gotta Be tyree's running an action at the
top of the key that generates just the slightest bit
(29:13):
of a closeout for like you, Know nemhard or somebody
else off the left wing with someone sprinting at. Them
then he's got to rack away from the ball from
the close, out and he's gotta get an even bigger
help rotation from a different. Player and then he's gonna
swing and that guy's gonna get closed out on he's
got to, drive and it's like there's gonna be you,
know four or five sixty seven pass possessions just for
The pacers to get decent looks against this thunder off
(29:35):
at thunder. Defense but to be, CLEAR i have pretty
consistently seen them in the series when they need to
generate quality, shots when they can move the ball, around
when they're, deliberate when they don't turn it, over they
can get good. Looks and so again for This indiana,
team it's about not losing their composure Against Oklahoma city's ball.
Pressure it's The Oklahoma city has done a good job
(29:57):
of getting The pacers to not look like the pay
for some of these stretches just with their poor decision
making and the sloppy. Turnovers and it's a credit to their,
defense but it's a reality For indiana in terms of
hanging onto the rope in this. Series they've got to
hang on for dear. Life and the way they can
hang on for dear life is by that incremental breaking
down of the. Defense get the ball at the floor,
(30:18):
quickly you, know early in the shot. Clock if they
get a clean look at, three, sure take, it but
like keep it moving side to. Side eventually something somebody
will sink into far to the. Paint somebody will make a.
Mistake Oklahoma city makes fewer mistakes than their peers around
the league by pretty wide margin on the defensive end
of the, floor but they still make. Mistakes and so
(30:40):
to put it, simply if you run more action in each,
possession you're gonna have more opportunities.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
For them to make.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Mistakes and they inevitably. Will and in this, series through two,
games when The pacers get the ball into the half
court and they get it move inside to side and
they don't turn it, over they generally have been able
to generate an okay. Shot It's Justklahoma city has shaken
them off that foundation a lot with their. Defense, again
that is What Oklahoma city.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Does this is just.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
What the tug of war looks. Like all, right let's
Bring jackson up, here and let's take some. Questions let's
do it.
Speaker 4 (31:14):
First, one, uh there's a few About. Halliburton the first
is how can The pacers kind of Unlock Tyree's halliburton
a little? Bit he's obviously gotten stuck in the mud
a little. Bit is it is it involved him as a.
Screener what can they do to get him more involved
than he has been so?
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Far so, again LIKE i think there's a reality to
the fact that When Oklahoma city really tightens the, screws
he's not going to be super impactful as a scorer
in this type of.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Series.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Uh to your, point, though they to the questions, point
like these, actions these using him as a, screener these
are ways to hopefully find more advantages for him and in,
general LIKE i thought he did a good job of
attacking closeouts tonight when he would get catches on the
perimeter when he would like find himself. Open but, like,
ULTIMATELY i don't think this is going to be a
(32:03):
series Where Tyres halliburton is going to be a super
high volume. SCORE i, mean, guys go back To game.
One it wasn't like he was having some crazy offensive.
Game he had some shots, Late but like, it like,
ultimately in this, series he's the advantage. Creator he's the
guy that is going to find that first little crack
In Oklahoma city's defense and then the ball is going
to continue to be worked around and it's going to
(32:24):
be a team effort for them to break this, Down
LIKE i if people are Expecting tyrese to to just
flex his scoring muscles in this, SERIES i just don't
think it's something he's going to be able to.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
DO i agree with, That but my sort of follow
up is to your point about the tougher shot he
made in the fourth quarter was when he was in
a little bit more of a. Rhythm what's the balance
there he should strike, between you, know getting slightly maybe
not putting up ten shots in a quarter in the first,
quarter but maybe attempting a few that are just slightly
more to his way as a post to the flow
(32:54):
of the, offense to get himself in a rhythm a
little bit. Earlier not that he needs to be thirty
points a, game can get in a little bit of
a rhythm as a score earlier in the.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Game this is a.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Really good, take AND i TOTALLY i think YOU'RE i
think you're making a fantastic, point which is that you
know it's not all or nothing with either of these, Guys,
like not every game From shay that's bad needs to
look Like game. One not every game that That shay
has that's good needs to look exactly like, tonight there's
an in between, ground, right and like the to your,
(33:26):
point like we've talked about this concept a lot on
the show over the course of the last couple of.
Months but like the scoring, archetype their demons in their
head try to get them to shoot when they probably should.
Pass and for the playmaking, archetype the demons in their
head are like pass the ball when they probably should.
Shoot and so, yeah like this was a bad game From.
(33:50):
TYRESE i want to be, Clear i'm just, saying Like
i'm starting TO i understand more of What tyrese's bad
games look like in the sense that he knows like
you think he's looking at Lou, dort, like let me
just go to, like, no that's not what he's thinking
when he's looking at that. Matchup he's if he'd had
to play one on one against Lou, dort there's a
chance that he'd really struggle to get shots. Up like
LIKE i, mean like literally if they played Like Lance
(34:11):
stevenson and who's it Of Mike beasley the other, Day
so like you if you play that kind of, game
that's not that's not his. Game but like to your,
point maybe taking a couple more of those like one
or two more of those like questionable looks in the
first few quarters could go a long way towards giving
him a little bit more rhythm when he needs to score.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
Later next, question when WILL J dubb show? Up he
felt like he had a better game, today but he's
still shooting under thirty five percent this. Series what can
he do to help himself on the offensive?
Speaker 2 (34:42):
End he's just not hitting his jump. SHOTS i thought
he got some pretty damn good looks from three in
this game that he just, missed which is how it.
Goes but, overall LIKE i, mean he had nineteen points
and fourteen. Shots almost everything from him was downhill towards the.
Rim he was that was how he kept continuing to
get to the foul. Line and, like, HONESTLY i feel LIKE.
(35:02):
J dubb has been pretty good since the first half
Of game. One LIKE i thought he was pretty good
with his attacks in the second half Of game. One
he just hasn't been able to find his three point shot.
Yet but, like a lot of this is comfort and
rhythm and like like it really doesn't matter as long
as he hits him when he needs. To so like
here you are one to one there's gonna probably be a,
chance maybe It's game, three maybe It's game four where
(35:23):
he's gonna need to hit some catch and shoot, threes
and if he hits those, ones like, yeah there are
gonna be people who hunt the box score and be, like,
oh he didn't have a very good statistical, series but
ultimately to win this, series he's just gonna have to
hit some more jump. Shots AND i think he's certainly
capable of. It BUT i thought he played pretty well
tonight to be.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Honest, YEAH i agree with. YOU i agree with.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
You one More haliburton. Question then we got a few
more on THE okc, side These halliburton struggles and him
as his. Score is there something he can add to
his game to avoid these kind of disappearing acts in the,
future or do you think because of sort of just
his style of play that this limitations are who he
is and sort of what he needs to just sort
of live with, throughout you, know his career at this.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Point so step one is like acknowledging the reality of
like who he is as an, athlete which is like
he's a very Good like he is a very good,
athlete but he is not an elite athlete like he is.
Not he doesn't have like that first step quickness that
Shake gil Just alexander has that gives him the, Ability like,
What shay's one of the top two or three scores
(36:22):
in the. LEAGUE i think we can all agree on, that,
Right so what Makes shay's such an elite. Scorer it's,
one he's got this unbelievable first, step but, two he
also like has the ability to out of any footwork
from any spot on the, floor rise up into a jump.
Shot he can turn over his right, shoulder he can
turn over his left, shoulder he can step back going,
right he can step back going, Left he can do
all of the different jump shooting angles and finishes and
(36:44):
things along those. Lines and so as a result of,
that like he is not short of ways to get
a shot off against an elite. Defender, Now Tyre's halliburton
doesn't elevate super high on his jump, shot doesn't really
have the ability to shoot fadeaways over both, shoulders like
turning and spinning out of the post or anything like.
That but what he does have is he's a very
(37:06):
good three point. Shooter and SO i imagine it being more
of like if he can get to the point where
like he does a lot of stuff out of a
high hesitation on his right, Hand like he kind of
is constantly like feathering together high. Hesitations everything chains together from.
THERE a lot of times you'll like chain three or
four of them together while he's waiting for a play to, develop,
right and he's just kind of eyes on the, rim
handing that high hesitation like maybe a dame step, back
(37:28):
like just really a really hard in and out dribble
to get just that little tiny bit of separation and
rise and fire and then just a little bit of
work quickening the release and then again like it's all, levels,
Right like everyone wants to know the difference Between steph
and all the other great guards of his. Era you
want to know what it. Is a chasm of the
ability to make three point. Shots like, ultimately it's about
(37:50):
becoming a guy that doesn't hit thirty seven thirty eight
percent of, them but becoming a guy that hits forty
two forty three percent of them at high. Volume and
SO i THINK i think the best pathway For tyres
to have him reliable is the wrong, word because there'll
still be some some variance involving shooting but, like to,
me the pathway For tyrese to become a guy who
can like average twenty five points a game in a
(38:10):
playoff run is to just become one of the best
shooters in the. LEAGUE i think that's the move for.
Him and then, again like just little quick moves that
capitalize on his speed and his passing ability to like
sneak three point shots off against the.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
CONTEST a couple.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
More, questions then we'll go over to. Playback next, question
what was the end season tournament lost good FOR okc in,
retrospect feels like they've finally learned from that loss and
last year's playoff, loss And i've sort of taken some
of those lessons to be able to get over the
hump a little.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Bit.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
ABSOLUTELY i, Mean i'm a huge fan of the end season,
tournament but, like like you, know you don't think that
was ANOTHER i talk about this all the, time like scar.
Tissue you get scar tissue from losing any real, competitor
any competitor worth his salt is still thinking about losses
that he's had in his past or that she's had
in her.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Past like we've all been.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
There you lose a, game it should eat at you
and what typically happens is you think about a moment Like,
Jackson i'm sure you've lost a game in like a
men's league where like you think about a single rebound you,
missed or a single turnover you had in a big,
spot or like a play where, you you, know maybe
settled for a shot when there was a driving lane
or something like. That, like like those things haunt. You
(39:20):
they haunt, you and you need high leverage basketball to
build that part of your game. Out that attention to,
detail that fear of losing that that like just unwillingness
to let it happen, again, Right and SO i absolutely
think The Ncason tournament lost help this.
Speaker 4 (39:38):
Team last question before, playback what do you think the
ceiling is For? Mathrin shay got the better of him at,
points but he Would it's great seeing him fight over
screens and stay attached and he's great at getting.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Downhill how old Is Ben matherin?
Speaker 2 (39:50):
NOW png on one second twenty two so and he's
about to turn twenty three On june. NINETEEN i THINK
i Think ben's been super impressive for a young, Guard
like think about how many young guards now, again like
this is this is how it's all relative because like
remember like ants twenty three and just let his team
to back to Back Western conference. Finals so like this
(40:11):
is part of WHY i tell everyone to back the
hell off when it comes To Anthony. Edwards but With,
ben there is like you saw, It like he admitted
a couple of, fouls but like he can slide those
feet and stay in front of a pretty quick athlete In,
Shaye like he's got a ton of potential as a defensive.
Player his downhill athleticism is a legitimate. Problem he's able
to draw fouls against The Oklahoma city. Team he's got
(40:33):
to continue to polish up the jump shot and his decision,
making and there's certainly a long way to. Go but
Like ben strikes me as a guy who by age twenty,
six age twenty, seven is going to be a guy
who could be in that like twenty five to thirty
five range in this. League LIKE i absolutely think he can,
be like you, know a guy who makes An All
star team or two and is like a rock, solid
high level starter in this. League and so LIKE I
(40:56):
i'm pretty high On. Ben and to, me you, KNOW
i had we had a mailback question the other day
where someone asked, like, hey like what about the you,
know like what about the two in the three spot
for the? Pacers should they look to upgrade that this?
Summer and, like to, Me, Ben ben's that. Guy ben's
the guy that can age into being the upgrade at
the two or the. Three he's the guy that can
(41:17):
bring that real athletic pop and scoring. Pop so, Like
i'm a big believer In ben and like the fact
that you're getting anything useful out of him at this
point as a twenty two year old in this rotation
is is to me found. Money All, right, guys that's
all we have for tonight on YouTube, again running over
to playback that's playback dot tv slash. Shoops, tonight we'll
be taking some callers and hanging out for a little.
WHILE i appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the.
(41:38):
Show for those of you guys who are not following,
us over to. Playback tomorrow, MORNING i am recording With
kevin O'Connor's coming on the. Show first time. Guest i've
been on his show a couple, times but he's coming
on our show and we're gonna be breaking down the
first two games of THE Nba. Finals that'll probably be
up sometime right, around like you, know eleven hour or
Noon pacific. TIME i appreciate, you. Guys we'll see you
(42:01):
over on, playback and then for the YouTube, audience we'll
see you guys.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
Tomorrow what's up.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
Guys ares, ALWAYS i appreciate you for listening to and
SUPPORTING oops. Tonight they would actually be really helpful for
us if you guys would take a second and leave
a rating and a. Review as, ALWAYS i appreciate you
guys supporting, us but if you could take a minute
to do, That i'd really appreciate.
Speaker 4 (42:17):
It the volume
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Colin Cowherd
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