Jason Timpf reacts to Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers' 106-94 Game 7 win over Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Jason breaks down the biggest highlights from the game, Donovan Mitchell's sensational performance, what's next for Orlando, and how the Cavaliers stack up with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. #Volume #Herd
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. The eighty two game preseason is in the books,
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miss out on any of the NBA playoff action at
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(00:24):
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(00:44):
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York call eight seven seven eight hope and why or
text hope and Why to four six seven three six
(01:07):
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Speaker 2 (01:16):
CCPG dot org.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort
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in Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight
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Speaker 2 (01:48):
All right, alter to tonight. You're at the volume heavy Sunday.
Everybody help.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
All of you guys are having a great weekend. We're
just gonna be breaking down for about ten to fifteen
minutes that Game seven between the Calves and the Magic.
Got a lot of content coming out today. Earlier this morning,
we released our series preview on Knicks Pacers.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You can find that on the feed.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I recorded like a forty five minute film session on
Game one of Timberwolves Nuggets. That's also gonna be up
on the feeds here shortly. And I'm also going with
Colin Cowhard later tonight to bounce around all the NBA
storylines after the first round and heading into the second round.
So lots and lots of content coming out today, and
then tomorrow morning we're gonna have another three. We got
our series previews for the Thunder and the MAVs as
(02:30):
well as the Celtics and the Calves. And then we're
also going to have Game two Nuggets Timberwolves, and I
think we have h there's a Game one tomorrow night
as well of Nicks Pacer. So just a ton of
content coming out over the next couple of days. You
guys know the job before we get started. Subscribe to
the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more
of our videos. Follow me on Twitter, I underscore JSNLTS,
(02:51):
you guys, don't miss you announcements, don't forget about our
podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight.
And then keep dropping mail back questions in the YouTube
comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the of
the postseason.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
All right, let's talk some basketball.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So you know, this series got a little bit hairrier
than it needed to be. I think if Jared Allen
was healthy, this series would have ended in six. Obviously,
Orlando's like a buzzsaw at home, and it would have
been tough, but Allan, it just makes Orlando's physical advantages
that much more imposing. They're already bigger than Cleveland, but
when you play Evan Mobley was undersized at the center
(03:24):
position but plenty of size at the power forward position.
When you play him at the center, you just put
yourself into a bunch of physical predicaments, right, And like
that kind of allowed Orlando to do more damage to
Cleveland over the trail end of the tail end of
the series, like making Game five such a tough game, right,
winning Game six, having a substantial lead in Game seven.
(03:47):
Those were the physical advantages. And honestly, when Jared Allen
is out of the picture, it just puts a ton
of pressure on the Cavs guards to be like, not
just good offensively, but great offensively.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
When Jared Allen was in.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
The picture, they were better shot creators obviously than Orlando.
We talked about that before the series, but they could
have more margin for air or when they're healthy. With
Jared Allen out, they had to be awesome, and they
were awesome. When once again, it cannot say enough about
Donovan Mitchell in this series, eighty nine points in the
last two games. Damn near ended this thing in six anyway,
(04:26):
and did end it tonight. But early in this game
it got a little tricky because the Cavs guards were struggling.
I think Mitchell's was like two first first eight or
something like that. Mitchell got off to a rough start
and Orlando was like red hot from three. They made
seven of their first fourteen threes, and Orlando went up
by eighteen, and it looked bad because in a series
(04:48):
like this where the defenses are so good and the
offenses on either side are less than great, it was
one of those things where eighteen points might as well
be thirty five, you know, in a different series. Right,
But three things turned the game around. One an amazing
defensive effort from the whole team. But I also thought
Isaacacorro really led the charge just with his energy and
effort and really good individual defense on Paolo. And then
(05:11):
Orlando cooled off from three. They were seven for their
first fourteen, but they were three for their last seventeen,
and one was in garbage time. And Orlando is a
very bad jump shooting team. We're going to talk about
that in a big picture sense here in a few minutes,
But that seven to fourteen was the outlier, so just
staying engaged in the game, not letting go of the rope,
hanging around long enough for the shots to start missing
(05:32):
for you to flip the script. And then lastly, Donovan
Mitchell got going again once again by beating people off
the dribble. Caroselvert two did a really nice job generating
rim pressure over the course of the whole series, but
in that third quarter run Donovan Mitchell has thirty nine today,
just an unbelievable carry job carrying the offense for Cleveland
in this series.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And then huge.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Plays late Evan Mobley Obviously we don't think of him
as much of his score, but like he had not
even counting the dunks, and in garbage time hit a
couple of big buckets, once on a pocket pass, which
again gris Burke was like, this is worth. Evan is
most comfortable in the pocket and pick and roll, not
really like that's usually a weakness of his. But he
(06:15):
confronted that weakness, made a big floater in the role.
And then he also had a little like kind of
post move in the middle of the floor to rescue
a possession for his fifth and sixth points. Earlier in
the fourth quarter with big buckets from Mobiley. Then they
were out hustling Orlando. This is a big thing I
talked about the idea of like scar tissue in the
NBA playoffs. The thing that kind of taught me this
lesson was the twenty twelve Miami Heat. I remember towards
(06:37):
the tail end of that series with Oklahoma City in
the finals. The Thunder were the younger, more athletic team,
but the Heat, especially the veteran Heat players, were like
making more hustle plays to beat the Thunder to basketball.
I remember there was a big offensive rebound off of
a missed free throw from Shane Battier at the end
of a big game late in that series, and like
(06:58):
I remember sitting there thinking, like the Heat just got
embarrassed in the finals by the MAVs.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
They're playing with this like fear of loss.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
In that Oklahoma City team that they were kind of
like new kids on the block, you know, not as
they haven't dealt with as much of that scar tissue
and loss over the years, right, and so they just
didn't It sounds reductive to just say like they didn't
want it as much, but like there was clearly a
level of like desperation that that Miami Heat team had
because they did not want to lose two years in
(07:29):
a row in the finals. That kind of pushed them
over the top against Oklahoma City. And that's the thing,
Like Cleveland got embarrassed by the Knicks last year.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
They got killed on the offensive glass.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Evan Mobley got exposed as a as a limited offensive
player rolling to the basket and pick and roll. Mitchell
Robinson did an absolute number to their entire front line.
It was just bad. It was really really bad. Jalen
Brunson outplayed Donovan Mitchell. It was just bad. Right, So
they come into this series not wanting to lose in
the first round again. There is a and a desperation
(08:01):
with Cleveland in Orlando's the newer guys on the block,
they haven't felt with a dealt with as much of
that pain and loss. They don't have as much of
that desperation. And there were some big hustle plays late
that went Cleveland's direction, That play where Karris Lavert beat
everyone down the floor in the late fourth quarter for
that reverse layup in transition, horrible transition defense from Orlando.
They just didn't get back. Then the Darius Garland missed
(08:24):
three in the corner. Isaacacorro just beats Pallo to the
loose ball and then that gets worked back around.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Also shout out to Donovan Mitchell.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Just trusted Garland again to take the exact same shot
and he made it the second time around. They were
making the hustle plays late in Orlando kind of let
go of the rope, and so again that's if you're Orlando,
those are the lessons you have to learn. Looking forward,
big win for Cleveland, though they were up against it.
They're down eighteen against an elite and elite defense with
massive size advantages, and they somehow managed to flip the
(08:53):
script once again. Put a lot of pressure on their
guards to be great, and and Donovan Mitchell just was great.
He just was great down the stretch of the series.
Unbelievable work from especially if you factor and he's on
a bulky knee. Looking forward for both teams, starting with
the Caps, We're gonna do a full series preview later.
But they were one and two in the season series
(09:14):
with Boston. If you remember, their one win was the
game that they were up excuse me, they were trailing
by twenty two to nine minutes left, and that was
the game that Dean Wade got going. Remember the Celtics
kept leaving him open, and then then he got in rhythm,
and then then he started hitting a little bit more
contested shots. And then I can't I think it was
Drew Holliday and missed a box out on him at
the end of the game, and Dean Wade got an
offensive rebound put back dunk that ended up winning the game.
(09:37):
And that was the one where Jason Tatum got the
really bad foul call shooting the fade away over Darius Garland,
and then they overturned it on review. So like, you
lost two games and then the one game you won,
you trailed by twenty two to nine minutes left. So like,
we're gonna do a series preview on it later, but
I don't it's really hard for me to see a
pathway to victory for Cleveland. To put it simply, Boston
might not be as physically imposing as Orlando, but you're
(09:59):
go going from playing the least offensively skilled playoff team
in Orlando to probably the most offensively skilled playoff team
in Boston in terms of total skilled down the roster, right,
And like like Miami put bam at Abayo on Tatum
and kind of removed him from the series in terms
of like devoting most of their defensive attention to him.
And it was just like Jalen Brown gets going and
(10:21):
Derek White gets going, and it's just that they just
have too many weapons and it's going to put Cleveland
in a lot of minds on both ends of the floor.
So again, we'll do a full series preview later, but
don't see much of a pathway there for Cleveland. On
the magic side of things, a very successful season, you
made the playoffs. Pallo is clearly a star. Twenty seven
points per game in your first playoff series against that
(10:43):
type of defense when no one else on your team
can really get anything else going.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
That's super impressive.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
And what's crazy is like, like most young players, he
still has a ton of fat in his game, Like
he has so many bad possessions and bad like decisions
and like really difficult shots that he doesn't really need
to take. Just wait until he trims the fat and identifies.
Like I talk about with young basketball players, there's a
simple dynamic that takes place over the years. You get
(11:10):
better at identifying what works and how to replicate it,
and you get better at identifying what doesn't works and
how it doesn't work and how to trim it out
of your game. And Palo will do that over the years.
And like he has such physical advantages, he just strikes
me as the kind of guy that can be like
a consistent twenty seven plus point a game, playoff guy
well over sixty percent true shooting lots of easy shots
(11:33):
close to the basket with bullyball that he's going to
be able to lean on in big situations. I think
Palo is going to be amazing, but they need to
come up with a plan to get a legitimate skill
guard to pair next to Palo right. Obviously, I'm a
big believer in like skill guard athlete guard right. And
there's a bunch of different directions they can go there.
(11:53):
They can try to target that kind of skill guard
through the draft, or they can do it on the
trade market. I'd be making calls on guys like Devin Book,
de jhon Te Murray if the heater looking to pivot
this summer. I'd be calling on Tyler Harrow, even DeAngelo
Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Again, he is not a guy that you want to
lean on.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
In the playoffs, but he is a real asset in
the regular season, and as long as you can cover
for him athletically elsewhere on the floor, he can help
in a lot of ways. He's a good playmaker and
a really good spot up player. Right, So there's a
bunch of guys that they can be making calls on.
But no matter what, regardless of what they do, whether
they address that through the draft or through the trade market,
every single player on that roster needs to be in
(12:32):
the gym all damn summer working on their jump shots.
The playoffs reveal your weaknesses. In Cleveland exposed Orlando as
a team that can't shoot, and then we knew that
throughout the regular season. But like hacking the paint, every
single defensive scheme geared towards just baiting them into taking
jumpers that they're not gonna make. It just needs to
(12:53):
be something they address. Franz Wagner in particular, he's a
guy that had a lot of hype over the last
couple of years, is like this big playmaking forward and
really make the reads. But you cannot make reads if
you don't generate openings in the defense. By dragging multiple defenders.
You're not going to do that unless you prove that
you can be a threat to score. And if you're
(13:14):
only a threat to score going downhill to eurostep floaters
and stuff along those lines, and you're not a threat
to knock down a jump shot, you just make yourself
that much easier to guard.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And like, he just had a really bad.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Jump shooting season all year, but especially against Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It's just something he's got to address. Franz is kind
of hitting a little bit.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Of a wall in his development because of his lack
of development of a jump shot. That's something that he's
going to have to work on. But bottom line, you
can't be leaning on these big forwards that can't really
consistently shoot to generate all your offense. So again, that
skill guard piece is what I'd be looking at.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
And they just have a lot of really good players.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
You have a lot of guys like Jalen Suggs and
Wendell Carter Junior and Jonathan Isaac that other teams want.
And if you can put the piece those guys together
to get a star, Like if you can go get
a Devin Booker, I would literally be Colin Phoenix, and
I'd be like, here's Jalen Suggs, Here's Jonathan Isaac, Here's
Wendell Carter Junior. Give me Devin Booker with Pala Buancaro
(14:13):
and Franz Wagner, and I'll find guys that can do
the other jobs, and we're gonna win a lot of
basketball a lot of basketball games. I think that that's
something that they can look into. But again, gotta find
some sort of legitimate skill guard to pair with your
dominant forwards. All right, guys, that is all I have
for this particular show. Again, I'm gonna be back later
this afternoon with something I've already recorded, a film breakdown
(14:36):
of Timberwolves Nuggets, and then also later this evening with
Colin Cowhard that's gonna be on the Colin Cowherd podcast
YouTube feed. We're recording here in about four hours, so
it should be up maybe in about six hours later
this evening. All right, guys, I appreciate you, guys. I'll
see you later today.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
The volume
The volume. The eighty two game preseason is in the books,
and now it's finally time for the real season. Don't
miss out on any of the NBA playoff action at
DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA.
From the play in tournament through the finals, DraftKings Sportsbook
has you covered with same game parlays, live betting odds, boosts,
(00:24):
and so much more. The Boston Celtics are currently the
favorite at plus one sixty, but the team that's third
in my championship rankings the Dallas Mavericks. You can get
them on DraftKings right now at plus sixteen hundred to
win the title. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use
code hoops. That's hops. New customers bet five dollars and
(00:44):
get two hundred dollars in bonus bets instantly. That's code
hoops h oops only on DraftKings. The Crown is yours
gambling problem called one eight hundred Gambler or in West Virginia,
visit www dot one eight hundred gambler dot net, New
York call eight seven seven eight hope and why or
text hope and Why to four six seven three six
(01:07):
nine in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling call
eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven
or visit.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
CCPG dot org.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort
in Kansas. Twenty one plus age varies by jurisdiction. Void
in Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight
hours after issuance. See DKG dot co slash b ball
for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
All right, alter to tonight. You're at the volume heavy Sunday.
Everybody help.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
All of you guys are having a great weekend. We're
just gonna be breaking down for about ten to fifteen
minutes that Game seven between the Calves and the Magic.
Got a lot of content coming out today. Earlier this morning,
we released our series preview on Knicks Pacers.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You can find that on the feed.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I recorded like a forty five minute film session on
Game one of Timberwolves Nuggets. That's also gonna be up
on the feeds here shortly. And I'm also going with
Colin Cowhard later tonight to bounce around all the NBA
storylines after the first round and heading into the second round.
So lots and lots of content coming out today, and
then tomorrow morning we're gonna have another three. We got
our series previews for the Thunder and the MAVs as
(02:30):
well as the Celtics and the Calves. And then we're
also going to have Game two Nuggets Timberwolves, and I
think we have h there's a Game one tomorrow night
as well of Nicks Pacer. So just a ton of
content coming out over the next couple of days. You
guys know the job before we get started. Subscribe to
the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more
of our videos. Follow me on Twitter, I underscore JSNLTS,
(02:51):
you guys, don't miss you announcements, don't forget about our
podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight.
And then keep dropping mail back questions in the YouTube
comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the of
the postseason.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
All right, let's talk some basketball.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So you know, this series got a little bit hairrier
than it needed to be. I think if Jared Allen
was healthy, this series would have ended in six. Obviously,
Orlando's like a buzzsaw at home, and it would have
been tough, but Allan, it just makes Orlando's physical advantages
that much more imposing. They're already bigger than Cleveland, but
when you play Evan Mobley was undersized at the center
(03:24):
position but plenty of size at the power forward position.
When you play him at the center, you just put
yourself into a bunch of physical predicaments, right, And like
that kind of allowed Orlando to do more damage to
Cleveland over the trail end of the tail end of
the series, like making Game five such a tough game, right,
winning Game six, having a substantial lead in Game seven.
(03:47):
Those were the physical advantages. And honestly, when Jared Allen
is out of the picture, it just puts a ton
of pressure on the Cavs guards to be like, not
just good offensively, but great offensively.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
When Jared Allen was in.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
The picture, they were better shot creators obviously than Orlando.
We talked about that before the series, but they could
have more margin for air or when they're healthy. With
Jared Allen out, they had to be awesome, and they
were awesome. When once again, it cannot say enough about
Donovan Mitchell in this series, eighty nine points in the
last two games. Damn near ended this thing in six anyway,
(04:26):
and did end it tonight. But early in this game
it got a little tricky because the Cavs guards were struggling.
I think Mitchell's was like two first first eight or
something like that. Mitchell got off to a rough start
and Orlando was like red hot from three. They made
seven of their first fourteen threes, and Orlando went up
by eighteen, and it looked bad because in a series
(04:48):
like this where the defenses are so good and the
offenses on either side are less than great, it was
one of those things where eighteen points might as well
be thirty five, you know, in a different series. Right,
But three things turned the game around. One an amazing
defensive effort from the whole team. But I also thought
Isaacacorro really led the charge just with his energy and
effort and really good individual defense on Paolo. And then
(05:11):
Orlando cooled off from three. They were seven for their
first fourteen, but they were three for their last seventeen,
and one was in garbage time. And Orlando is a
very bad jump shooting team. We're going to talk about
that in a big picture sense here in a few minutes,
But that seven to fourteen was the outlier, so just
staying engaged in the game, not letting go of the rope,
hanging around long enough for the shots to start missing
(05:32):
for you to flip the script. And then lastly, Donovan
Mitchell got going again once again by beating people off
the dribble. Caroselvert two did a really nice job generating
rim pressure over the course of the whole series, but
in that third quarter run Donovan Mitchell has thirty nine today,
just an unbelievable carry job carrying the offense for Cleveland
in this series.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And then huge.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Plays late Evan Mobley Obviously we don't think of him
as much of his score, but like he had not
even counting the dunks, and in garbage time hit a
couple of big buckets, once on a pocket pass, which
again gris Burke was like, this is worth. Evan is
most comfortable in the pocket and pick and roll, not
really like that's usually a weakness of his. But he
(06:15):
confronted that weakness, made a big floater in the role.
And then he also had a little like kind of
post move in the middle of the floor to rescue
a possession for his fifth and sixth points. Earlier in
the fourth quarter with big buckets from Mobiley. Then they
were out hustling Orlando. This is a big thing I
talked about the idea of like scar tissue in the
NBA playoffs. The thing that kind of taught me this
lesson was the twenty twelve Miami Heat. I remember towards
(06:37):
the tail end of that series with Oklahoma City in
the finals. The Thunder were the younger, more athletic team,
but the Heat, especially the veteran Heat players, were like
making more hustle plays to beat the Thunder to basketball.
I remember there was a big offensive rebound off of
a missed free throw from Shane Battier at the end
of a big game late in that series, and like
(06:58):
I remember sitting there thinking, like the Heat just got
embarrassed in the finals by the MAVs.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
They're playing with this like fear of loss.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
In that Oklahoma City team that they were kind of
like new kids on the block, you know, not as
they haven't dealt with as much of that scar tissue
and loss over the years, right, and so they just
didn't It sounds reductive to just say like they didn't
want it as much, but like there was clearly a
level of like desperation that that Miami Heat team had
because they did not want to lose two years in
(07:29):
a row in the finals. That kind of pushed them
over the top against Oklahoma City. And that's the thing,
Like Cleveland got embarrassed by the Knicks last year.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
They got killed on the offensive glass.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Evan Mobley got exposed as a as a limited offensive
player rolling to the basket and pick and roll. Mitchell
Robinson did an absolute number to their entire front line.
It was just bad. It was really really bad. Jalen
Brunson outplayed Donovan Mitchell. It was just bad. Right, So
they come into this series not wanting to lose in
the first round again. There is a and a desperation
(08:01):
with Cleveland in Orlando's the newer guys on the block,
they haven't felt with a dealt with as much of
that pain and loss. They don't have as much of
that desperation. And there were some big hustle plays late
that went Cleveland's direction, That play where Karris Lavert beat
everyone down the floor in the late fourth quarter for
that reverse layup in transition, horrible transition defense from Orlando.
They just didn't get back. Then the Darius Garland missed
(08:24):
three in the corner. Isaacacorro just beats Pallo to the
loose ball and then that gets worked back around.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Also shout out to Donovan Mitchell.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Just trusted Garland again to take the exact same shot
and he made it the second time around. They were
making the hustle plays late in Orlando kind of let
go of the rope, and so again that's if you're Orlando,
those are the lessons you have to learn. Looking forward,
big win for Cleveland, though they were up against it.
They're down eighteen against an elite and elite defense with
massive size advantages, and they somehow managed to flip the
(08:53):
script once again. Put a lot of pressure on their
guards to be great, and and Donovan Mitchell just was great.
He just was great down the stretch of the series.
Unbelievable work from especially if you factor and he's on
a bulky knee. Looking forward for both teams, starting with
the Caps, We're gonna do a full series preview later.
But they were one and two in the season series
(09:14):
with Boston. If you remember, their one win was the
game that they were up excuse me, they were trailing
by twenty two to nine minutes left, and that was
the game that Dean Wade got going. Remember the Celtics
kept leaving him open, and then then he got in rhythm,
and then then he started hitting a little bit more
contested shots. And then I can't I think it was
Drew Holliday and missed a box out on him at
the end of the game, and Dean Wade got an
offensive rebound put back dunk that ended up winning the game.
(09:37):
And that was the one where Jason Tatum got the
really bad foul call shooting the fade away over Darius Garland,
and then they overturned it on review. So like, you
lost two games and then the one game you won,
you trailed by twenty two to nine minutes left. So like,
we're gonna do a series preview on it later, but
I don't it's really hard for me to see a
pathway to victory for Cleveland. To put it simply, Boston
might not be as physically imposing as Orlando, but you're
(09:59):
go going from playing the least offensively skilled playoff team
in Orlando to probably the most offensively skilled playoff team
in Boston in terms of total skilled down the roster, right,
And like like Miami put bam at Abayo on Tatum
and kind of removed him from the series in terms
of like devoting most of their defensive attention to him.
And it was just like Jalen Brown gets going and
(10:21):
Derek White gets going, and it's just that they just
have too many weapons and it's going to put Cleveland
in a lot of minds on both ends of the floor.
So again, we'll do a full series preview later, but
don't see much of a pathway there for Cleveland. On
the magic side of things, a very successful season, you
made the playoffs. Pallo is clearly a star. Twenty seven
points per game in your first playoff series against that
(10:43):
type of defense when no one else on your team
can really get anything else going.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
That's super impressive.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
And what's crazy is like, like most young players, he
still has a ton of fat in his game, Like
he has so many bad possessions and bad like decisions
and like really difficult shots that he doesn't really need
to take. Just wait until he trims the fat and identifies.
Like I talk about with young basketball players, there's a
simple dynamic that takes place over the years. You get
(11:10):
better at identifying what works and how to replicate it,
and you get better at identifying what doesn't works and
how it doesn't work and how to trim it out
of your game. And Palo will do that over the years.
And like he has such physical advantages, he just strikes
me as the kind of guy that can be like
a consistent twenty seven plus point a game, playoff guy
well over sixty percent true shooting lots of easy shots
(11:33):
close to the basket with bullyball that he's going to
be able to lean on in big situations. I think
Palo is going to be amazing, but they need to
come up with a plan to get a legitimate skill
guard to pair next to Palo right. Obviously, I'm a
big believer in like skill guard athlete guard right. And
there's a bunch of different directions they can go there.
(11:53):
They can try to target that kind of skill guard
through the draft, or they can do it on the
trade market. I'd be making calls on guys like Devin Book,
de jhon Te Murray if the heater looking to pivot
this summer. I'd be calling on Tyler Harrow, even DeAngelo
Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Again, he is not a guy that you want to
lean on.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
In the playoffs, but he is a real asset in
the regular season, and as long as you can cover
for him athletically elsewhere on the floor, he can help
in a lot of ways. He's a good playmaker and
a really good spot up player. Right, So there's a
bunch of guys that they can be making calls on.
But no matter what, regardless of what they do, whether
they address that through the draft or through the trade market,
every single player on that roster needs to be in
(12:32):
the gym all damn summer working on their jump shots.
The playoffs reveal your weaknesses. In Cleveland exposed Orlando as
a team that can't shoot, and then we knew that
throughout the regular season. But like hacking the paint, every
single defensive scheme geared towards just baiting them into taking
jumpers that they're not gonna make. It just needs to
(12:53):
be something they address. Franz Wagner in particular, he's a
guy that had a lot of hype over the last
couple of years, is like this big playmaking forward and
really make the reads. But you cannot make reads if
you don't generate openings in the defense. By dragging multiple defenders.
You're not going to do that unless you prove that
you can be a threat to score. And if you're
(13:14):
only a threat to score going downhill to eurostep floaters
and stuff along those lines, and you're not a threat
to knock down a jump shot, you just make yourself
that much easier to guard.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And like, he just had a really bad.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Jump shooting season all year, but especially against Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It's just something he's got to address. Franz is kind
of hitting a little bit.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Of a wall in his development because of his lack
of development of a jump shot. That's something that he's
going to have to work on. But bottom line, you
can't be leaning on these big forwards that can't really
consistently shoot to generate all your offense. So again, that
skill guard piece is what I'd be looking at.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
And they just have a lot of really good players.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
You have a lot of guys like Jalen Suggs and
Wendell Carter Junior and Jonathan Isaac that other teams want.
And if you can put the piece those guys together
to get a star, Like if you can go get
a Devin Booker, I would literally be Colin Phoenix, and
I'd be like, here's Jalen Suggs, Here's Jonathan Isaac, Here's
Wendell Carter Junior. Give me Devin Booker with Pala Buancaro
(14:13):
and Franz Wagner, and I'll find guys that can do
the other jobs, and we're gonna win a lot of
basketball a lot of basketball games. I think that that's
something that they can look into. But again, gotta find
some sort of legitimate skill guard to pair with your
dominant forwards. All right, guys, that is all I have
for this particular show. Again, I'm gonna be back later
this afternoon with something I've already recorded, a film breakdown
(14:36):
of Timberwolves Nuggets, and then also later this evening with
Colin Cowhard that's gonna be on the Colin Cowherd podcast
YouTube feed. We're recording here in about four hours, so
it should be up maybe in about six hours later
this evening. All right, guys, I appreciate you, guys. I'll
see you later today.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
The volume
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