Jason Timpf reacts LIVE after the conclusion of the Denver Nuggets vs the Minnesota Timberwolves to break down Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray taking on Anthony Edwards in a Western Conference playoff preview. Then he discusses the first game of the doubleheader, the Boston Celtics vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown battle with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren in a potential Finals preview. Finally, he gives Steph Curry his flowers for his patience through the down years of the Golden State Warriors and discusses how they've emerged on the other side since the Jimmy Butler trade.
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4:00 - Start
6:00 - Timberwolves/Nuggets reaction
27:00 - Thunder/Celtics reaction
46:15 - Steph Curry’s resilience
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
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(01:37):
welcome to hoops tonight here at the volume heavy ones
there everybody. I hope all of you guys are having
a great week. On a jampackshow for you tonight. We're
hitting both of the ESPN games as the Minnesota Timberwolves
continue their dominance over the Denver Nuggets, winning their fifth
consecutive game in this matchup, including their second consecutive game
in Denver. In this matchup, We're gonna talk a little
(01:57):
bit about the surging Wolves and the success that they're
beginning to have on the offensive end of the floor.
I want to talk about Anthony Edwards's growth as a
processor in the half court, the Julius Randall upside, which,
as we've talked about the Wolves throughout this year, has
probably gone a little bit under the radar in the
sense that there's a lot of downsides with that deal,
but there is an upside, and I want to talk
(02:19):
a little bit about that and talk a little bit
about Denver and how they can overcome the issues they're
having in this matchup. After that, we're gonna move on
to the earlier game in this late as the Oklahoma
City thunder go on the road in Boston without Jalen
Williams and get a huge win against the Boston Celtics.
A lot of their young talent had to step up
with Jadave out, and they all did. Chet Holmer and
(02:40):
goes for twenty three and fifteen a monster night from him.
We're gonna break both of those games down from the
perspective of both teams, and then at the tail end
of the show, like we always do every week for Microsoft,
we have our course correction segment. This week, we're going
to be covering Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
All right, let's talk some basketball. Actually, before we get started,
subscribe to the YouTube channels. You don't miss any more videos.
Follow me on Twitter at Underscore JSONLTC. You guys don't
(03:02):
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keep dropping mail bag questions in the YouTube comments so
that we can hit them throughout the rest of the season.
All right, let's talk some basketball. So the Timberwolves had
(03:24):
been playing a little bit of a light schedule, but
they had won five games in a row coming into tonight.
They had a one to twenty five offensive rating over
that five game stretch. Anthony Edwards continuing to score at
the level that he's been scoring all year long, doing
a nice job taking care of the basketball. Julius Randall
was doing some really nice playmaking work in that stretch,
averaging over seven minutes seven assists per game, getting lots
(03:47):
of production out of Naz Reed, getting lots of production
out of JD. McDaniels has really come alive as a
jump shooter. They'd been coming alive offensively, as they had
hung a one to twenty five offensive rating over those
previous five games. Denver has been playing bad defense all year,
and they've been horrific on defense without Aaron Gordon, so
(04:07):
tonight had the potential to get ugly. Then you add
in the fact that this matchup has historically given the
Nuggets a lot of issues. Like I mentioned off the top,
the Timberwolves have now beaten the Nuggets five consecutive times,
including twice consecutively in Denver, and the reason why is
they have the ability to attack one of Denver's biggest advantages,
(04:30):
and the ability to attack Denver's I should say they
have the ability to mitigate one of Denver's biggest advantages
and they have the ability to attack one of Denver's
biggest weaknesses. One of Denver's biggest advantages is that they're
bigger than most teams. Now, obviously it's a little different
without Aaron Gordon. But this issue has persisted in this
matchup even when Aaron Gordon is healthy. Typically it's like six'
(04:53):
Ten Michael Porter, junior six, Nine Aaron, gordon seven Foot Nicole,
jokic big and strong With gordon And, jokic and they
just kind of overwhelmed teams with just a lot of, size,
Right And jokic is also just the primary driving force behind, that.
Right but it's obviously going to be exacerbated With Aaron gordon.
Out but that problem has consistently been an issue With.
(05:15):
Minnesota minnesota because of Nasried Julius, Randall Orkarl Anthony towns last,
Year Rudy, gobert Who jokic has fried at times in the.
Past we saw last year was A game. FIVE i
believe that he had like that unbelievable night where he.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Just was Frying Rudy gobert every time down the.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Floor But gobert makes some, work and he's got some,
length and he can occasionally bother him around the rim
and give him some. Issues and so they have the
ability to match up With denver. Size and then the
second piece of it, is this is a team that
is weak in rim. Protection this is a Concept i've
talked a ton about this year With Nicole. Jokic it
(05:53):
stems from a couple of different. Issues Aaron gordon when he's,
out he's a lot of the backup rim protection Behind,
yoki which and then all of these guys that can
come hard off of screens that have the pull up
shooting ability to Dry yokitch out into, space but the
driving ability to get past them and get to the
rim can cause some issues for The Denver. Nuggets and
(06:15):
when you add in the growth Of Anthony edwards and
some of the skip passes he was unleashing tonight against
A nuggets team that constantly has to load up on ball,
screens they can really struggle to guard in this matchup as.
Well and so that's the. Issue when your offense is
specifically struggling Against minnesota's defense and your defense is specifically
struggling Against minnesota's offense as a, matchup it can lead
(06:36):
to extended dominance like we've seen.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Here this is one of the.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Big reasons WHY i refer to the playoffs as an
entirely different animal to the regular. Season we've been talking
about this concept a lot over the course of this last.
Week the reality that it doesn't really matter how good
your advanced metrics, are doesn't really. Matter what win pace
you're on in the regular, season doesn't matter what you
accomplish from the middle Of october to the middle Of.
(07:01):
April what matters is when you end up in a
two week stretch against a particular, team how well do
you guard that particular team and how well can that
particular team guard you for two? Weeks and if you
can't solve that, problem it doesn't. MATTER i talked a
lot last year about HOW i would have Picked denver Against.
(07:23):
Boston they didn't get a chance to Play. BOSTON i
think they would have Beat. Dallas they didn't get a
chance to Play. Dallas why because part of The Western
conference puzzle is you have to beat three teams to
get out of that, conference and if you catch a
team that's a bad, matchup Like minnesota was For, denver
you can get knocked out. Early it's a super fascinating
dynamic about the way the game of basketball is more
(07:44):
complicated than any scientific. Ability we have to capture it.
Right one of the big things that stood out to
me tonight was the growth Of Anthony edwards as a.
Processor and this is Something i've been watching a lot
over the course of this, season AND i think he's
been dissuaded from a lot of growth in this area
over the years because of the supporting. CAST i talk
a lot about believing in what you're, doing AND i
(08:07):
talk about it in a macro sense for guys Like
Stephen lebron who have been reinvigorated by, trades but it
even works in the smaller and more refined sense when
you're talking about. Passing IF i passed to you in
the corner a bunch of times and you miss and you,
miss and you miss and you miss and you make,
one and then you, miss and then you, miss and
then you miss and you make, one then you miss four,
MORE i might get to the point WHERE i no
(08:28):
longer believe that that pass is worth it for. Me
and As jada McDaniels has started to make more shots
and has started to trust him on that skip pass
more and, MORE i thought it was fascinating when we
got into the second half of this game And denver
just comes out guns. Blazing they quickly go on a.
Run they cut it down to what was it five
or seven at some point a few minutes into the
third quarter and Then Anthony edwards three consecutive, times and
(08:52):
ball screens Pulls yokic up to the. Level the low
man comes over off Of jada McDaniels in the. Corner
he skipped it to mc to, McDaniels three skips it
to McDaniels, again three skips it To Mike, conley drives
a close, out gets a layup in the.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Lane.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Bam whatever Momentum denver had coming out of the half
was completely. Gone and it's like you Want aunt to
grow as a. Playmaker it's stuff like that working as
especially for a young. Player and, again what DO i
always talk about with young, Players they can struggle sometimes
to replicate what is successful and to minimize their, mistakes,
(09:27):
Right and like a lot of times that development curve
can be influenced by things working and then believing in
what they're. Doing AND i think it's been really cool
to watch. That he did a lot of damage. Too
he missed a lot of, threes especially early in the,
game BUT i thought his shot making coming off of
those ball, screens even When jokic was, there hitting those
(09:47):
contested pull up threes in his, face those are big time,
shots big time momentum killing. Shots you could even see
some of the discouragement In denver's defense because there's not
really anything you can do When ant the athlete that
he is come flying off of a screen and just
elevates over the top and knocks down that. Shot is
big time night From Anthony. Edwards he goes for twenty
nine points and six assists in this. One and Then Julius,
(10:10):
randall WHO i thought was, brilliant especially in the early
portions of the, game just attacking matchups and getting to that,
short little fadeaway jump shot that he likes right in
the middle of the. Lane you, Know Julius randall to
me is one of the better like matchup attacking forwards
in the league when he's healthy and in. Rhythm and
this has been the issue With Julius randall throughout his.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Career is like.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Half the time he's either playing through a nagging injury
or coming back from an injury where he's kind of
out of rhythm and struggling to kind of get his
just get back into a. Group and when you Watch
Julius randall on those, games it could be so ugly
because when he's out of, shape he can cut corners
on defense when he's missing his jump, shot it can
(10:52):
look really ugly at. Times he is a bullyball player
who can start initiating a bunch of contact in the
middle of the, floor and sometimes those possessions can get really.
Ugly but, again this is a player who's made The
ALL nba. Team this is a player, that when he's,
healthy when he's in, rhythm is a very gifted matchup
attacker in the half. Court and, like, Again i'm gonna
(11:14):
be one hundred percent honest with you, GUYS i wish
That minnesota would have just run it back With Carl Anthony.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
TOWNS i thought.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
They were a lot closer than they looked last, year
just based on the development trajectory Of Anthony edwards and
the fact that he's just gonna keep getting demonstrably better
year after year after. Year and you punted on, that
AND i understand there were some other implications involving the
cap and flexibility for the team moving, forward and AGAIN
i wish they would have run it. Back that, said
if you guys remember WHAT i said back when the
(11:42):
trade was, MADE i talked about an, upside an upside
that existed within this mold involving the shot creation piece
Of Julius. Randall Carl Anthony towns has been a better
basketball player Than Julius randall this, season aside from When
julius is at his absolute, ceiling which has been too
rare for us consider it. Consistent kat is an all
around better basketball player Than Julius randall has shown that
(12:05):
throughout his. Career but there is a specific, thing one
specific thing That Julius randall is much better, at in my,
opinion Than Karl Anthony, towns and that's one on one
basketball in the mid, post which is such a valuable
tool when we get into these slow, down playoff environments
where things grind to screeching halt and role players struggle
(12:25):
to knock down, threes and it becomes about what stars
are better at creating. Shots julius is not only good
at bullying players, there he is able to shoot over the,
top so he can solve spacing related problems like oh
go bears sitting under the basket and they're not guarding.
Him his man is sitting under the, rim so he
can't go all the way to the.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Rim that's.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Fine he can shoot a little ten to twelve foot
fade away over his left shoulder in the middle of the.
Floor he sent an extra. Defender julius is actually a
pretty solid playmaker passing out of the double teams that
he gets in those. Situations and so there's always been
a big picture upside With minnesota as this, big physical
bruis team that can grind teams down in the. Playoffs
(13:03):
i've been talking a lot about this in the middle
portion of the season As minnesota has started to come
on strong and win some high profile. Matchups never underestimate
the playoff whistle and the way that these big, ass,
kicking physical teams can be a real problem in that.
Setting and so you can imagine the, ingredients. Right it's
that big physical defense that causes a bunch of problems for.
(13:26):
Teams It's Anthony edwards's growth as a playmaker and as
a shot. Maker, again this was a guy who was
what twenty eight points per game or twenty seven points
per game on sixty percent tru shooting in the playoffs last.
Year feels pretty good that he's going to be able
to stay at that. Level he's been at that level
all three of his playoff runs as a shot. Maker
anthony edwards shot, making and then the third piece of
(13:46):
it Is Julius randall as this like surgical half court matchup.
Attacker the pathway For minnesota is to make things. Ugly
julius plays ugly, sometimes and, obviously as he's developing as a,
playmaker can play off ugly, sometimes but you get the
they thrive in that ugliness with their size and. Strength
look at the damage they did just with waves of
(14:08):
athleticism at the rim in this, game and so AGAIN
i would have preferred for them to run it back
With kat just to see because it's a bummer when
a team is in their growth trajectory and you throw
a giant curveball like, that and who the hell knows
what's going to happen as far as the future With
julius and his contract and whether or not they can
maintain the use of that asset or. Not but in
(14:31):
the short term there is an upside, here and it's
a brutally Physical Minnesota timberwolves defense that can get in
your jersey and rush you into making. Mistakes like Guys
Michael Porter junior And Jamal murray didn't look comfortable at
all tonight seven for twenty five from the field one
for eight from. Three this is not the only time
we've seen. This Michael Porter junior completely fell apart in
(14:52):
The timberwolve series last. Year Jamal murray was brutal in
the losses in that. Series even In game seven when
he had thirty five or whatever it was he, had
he had those thirty five before the, run and then
for the entirety of the run from the time The
nuggets were up twenty or whatever to well into The
timberwolves having the, Lead Jamal murray scored a big fat zero.
(15:13):
Points and so when these things have gone south For
denver in this, matchup it's usually. Not Yoki jokic has
some issues in this matchup surrounding. Turnovers he had a
couple sloppy ones in the open court. Tonight he had
seven turnovers in a game earlier this regular. Season he
had some sloppy turnover games in that playoff. Series but,
overall Like jokic went out there tonight was, Like i'm
(15:34):
not losing to these. Guys i'm gonna find a way
to kick their. Ass and he did all.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Night he was.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Great he had thirty four, points he was getting whatever he.
Wanted but the rest of the roster seems to just
kind of like shrivel up under the physical pressure of
What minnesota brings to the. Table and they're not the
only team That minnesota is capable of doing that. Too
and so, again when you get past the top tier of, contenders,
right like we've talked about that top, tier when you
(15:58):
get into the second, tier it's that if things go,
right kind of contender. Tier and in that, tier it's
a lot of flawed teams with a lot of. Issues
teams Like, milwaukee teams Like New, york teams Like minnesota for.
Instance all of these teams it's like They minnesota could
easily catch matchups where they fall, apart especially against teams
that can really protect the, rim like we've talked, about,
(16:18):
Right but this is that matchup, tier and it's all
about catching favorable matchups and maybe things can go your.
Way you can see that pathway From minnesota centering around
defense and the shot creation Of Anthony edwards And Julius.
RANDALL i Thought Dante DiVincenzo brought incredible energy from the
beginning in this, game a lot of extra efforts defensively
(16:40):
getting up in the jersey of the. Guard he's defending
THAT i had a couple of like really nice deflections
around the. Rim he brought a verve to the offensive
end of the, floor stepped into some big above the
break threes that were were big momentum shots in this.
Game just really impressive night From Minnesota timberwolves on The nuggets. Front,
again this this is a mental. Advantage this is a
(17:04):
domination that extends beyond what you're seeing on the. Court
Jamal murray And Michael Porter junior in, particular and a
lot of the guys on this roster don't look confident
in this particular. Matchup and by the WAY i can,
RELATE i remember seeing this firsthand with The Lebron James
Anthony Davis lakers against The nuggets over the course of
the last couple of, years where it's, like we can
(17:26):
hang with, you, Guys we're right. There but then whether
it's a big third quarter run or a big fourth quarter,
run it just inevitably slips, away and then the team
becomes dejected and it just it is like like a
very tangible confidence dynamic starts to shift Towards denver and
(17:46):
it just feels like the exact same game just on
repeat every single Time i'd watched that, matchup and this
is starting to feel the same. Way sloppy, Turnovers denver's
offense falls, apart their role players don't look. Comfortable minnesota
is just living at the rim all night. Long it's
one of those things where in order to overcome, that
there's a certain amount of like you almost need to
(18:08):
win a game just to prove that you can win that,
game and then from there things can loosen up a little.
Bit but it looks bleak in this particular matchup right.
Now and, Again Aaron gordon will, help but that's not
the only that's not the only game that we've seen
between these two. Teams Aaron gordon's been, available and they've
still had issues in this. MATCHUP i do think it's
(18:29):
worth bringing. Up and, AGAIN i Know minnesota has been
playing really good defense this, year but it continues to
be a problem that they're consistently existing in. Rotation like
even just like simple pocket passes To Rudy gobar rumbling
down the, rim these skip passes that are always open
against their pick and roll. Coverage there's a consistent issue
With denver where they're in, rotation and when you're in,
(18:51):
rotation and you're also. Slow that's where you're gonna have some.
Problems Jamal murray, Slow Michael Porter junior is, Slow Nicole
jokich is. Slow and so when they end up in
rotation and they have to cover all this, ground that
roster weakness can rise to the. Surface and it has
been an extended stretch here Where denver's really really struggled
to get.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Stops And i'd.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Be lying IF i didn't Say i'm at least a
little worried about that in the big.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Picture all, right let's move on to.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
The earlier, games AND i show down between two of
our top tier contenders in THE, nba Between thunder and The.
Celtics you, know When Jayalen williams went down with his
hip strain going into this game Against, boston what were
The thunder going to need in order to actually compete
in this game Without Jalen, Williams they were going to
need all of their supporting players to step up as shot.
(19:53):
Makers and that's exactly what they. Did six Non Shay
thunder players got into double figure. Tonight Chenn holmgrim was.
Brilliant he had twenty three and. Fifteen he had three.
THREES i really like just the overall aggression he was
bringing off the, Catch like when defenders were closing out at,
him he wasn't getting, hesitant he was just confidently rising
up into that. SHOT i thought Kese On wallace was
(20:15):
amazing in this. Game never forced, anything but he took
the opportunities that were in front of. Him he's really
good at attacking bigs in space and around the, rim
like finishing through rim. Protection he had a big drive
by layup Against Al horford off the right wing on a.
Switch he just is like a groundbound player that has
a unique ability to get angles. Oversize it actually reminds
me a lot Of Drew holliday watching Kese On wallace
(20:37):
Play Lou dort put in. Thirteen one of the things
That i've really enjoyed watching with Lou dort is his
close out attacking. Ability and everybody's got their kind of
unique trait that you see attacking. Closeouts you see so
many of those weak side scoring forwards THAT i talked
about rely on wonderable pull, ups but they're almost always
wonderable pull ups in the mid, range like you See
DeAndre hunter rely on this shot a. Lot you See
(20:59):
Michale bridges rely on the shadow. Lot you see og
And andobi rely on the shot a. Lot you See
Rueya chimura rely on the shot a. Lot it's like pump,
fake rip through sixteen foot off the bounce right and
like one of the things that Lou dort does is
he'll pump fake and he'll side step so that he
can keep it as a three point. Shot it requires
a lot of, lift it's tougher on the, legs But
lose a great. Athlete he's got a really strong base
(21:22):
and his like pump, fake like radical side step where
he covers like seven eight feet of space before he
rises up into that. Shot it allows him to be
a very dangerous close out. Attacker there's plenty of offensive.
Support i've talked a lot about my concerns ABOUT okc
centering around youth in. Inconsistency that's not the same thing as.
Talent there's plenty of talent on this, team but young.
(21:46):
Players you know how it goes like it's a different
vibe when you get into the. Postseason this is as
close as you're gonna get in the regular, season a
major nationally televised game on the road against a defending
champion that you, know so obviously is looking for some
big wins after they've taken some bad losses at home this.
Year that's as close as you're gonna. Get but it's
not the same as real playoff. Basketball and my concerns
(22:11):
don't center around whether or Not chet can score twenty
plus points in a big, game whether or Not loudor
can make. Shots jadubb can be a reliable secondary shot.
Creator my concern is whether or not they will because
we just have seen so many examples IN nba history
of young players struggling in that sort of. SITUATION i
(22:32):
was talking with this about this With Ethan strauss, yesterday but,
like there's a reason why EVERY nba superstar seems to
suck the first time they get to THE nba. Finals
Jason tatum's FIRST Nba finals with The Boston, celtics he was.
Horrible jason Or Steph curry's FIRST Nba finals in twenty
fifteen came on strong at the tail end of the.
(22:54):
SERIES i, mean it was more of a playmaking type
of series from, him but he was brutally bad at
the beginning of that. Series was adjusting to that. Environment
lebron was terrible in two STRAIGHT Nba finals to start his.
Creates as you get to higher leverage, situations it just
becomes super. Intense you're always going against great veteran teams
that are comfortable in that sort of, situation and you
can see young players start to. Struggle but make no,
(23:16):
mistake it's mostly the youth and inexperience that concerns, me
not the. Talent let's just put it very. Simply if
these guys step into the conference finals and into THE
Nba finals and they look this, confident they look this,
comfortable and they make shots like, this they're going to
(23:37):
win the whole thing because their defense is better than
all these teams defense much better Than, cleveland better Than.
Boston's if they shoot like, this if they score like,
this they're going to win the whole. Thing and again like.
THIS i thought this was a great test for them
as far as regular season basketball, goes and they pass
(23:58):
it with flying. COLORS i Thought shay was a Amazing
he had swarmed in the middle of the floor and
had some ugly, turnovers BUT i thought he was surgical
outside of. That in the half, court he had thirty
four points and seven. Assists he was the primary scoring
force behind the two big second half runs FOR. Okc
in that third quarter, run he hits back to back
threes to push the lead up to. Twelve in the
(24:18):
fourth quarter, run he had like a strip On tatum And.
Iso he had a couple of mid range jump shots
that he hit in a. Row he got to the
foul line a couple of times all during the run
as they were growing the. LEAD i thought he was
really good on defense all night as. Well he looked
like the best player on the floor in this. GAME
i think like this three game stretch, here the Two denver.
Games in this, game they were resoundingly, strong probably a
(24:42):
case closing put the final nail in The coffin type
OF mvp case From Shake Gildas. Alexander he drops forty
in a win on The, nuggets even in the game
that The nuggets got back like they had seventy three
in the first half as a, team and in the
second half they, literally in a Really Jane key defensive,
construct just Doubled shay the second he crossed half. Court
(25:04):
the rest of the game they just lost because the
rest of the guys were just struggling to capitalize on those.
Advantages and then. TONIGHT i thought he was the best
player on the floor in a showdown with the defending
champs In. Boston, Okay, see defense was, excellent their pressure was,
great they were hilatious in their, rotations AND i thought
they were really rushing The celtics and do a lot
of bad. Decisions we're going to talk about this With
(25:25):
boston in a. MINUTE i Thought boston's overall execution in
the second half was, terrible and most of IT i
got to give credit To Oklahoma city because when you,
pressure when you rotate with that sort of hilacious, energy
it has a habit of rushing players and when they,
rush they don't get into their. Process when they don't
get into the, process they don't. Execute when they don't,
execute they don't get good. Shots and SO i just
(25:47):
thought it was a nice statement win For Oklahoma, city
another test along the way in their journey now, again
like the playoffs are a different. Animal was talking about
this earlier With denver as it pertains to their matchup With.
Mina but you got to just do what you can
to check the boxes along the, way and that challenge
will come and they're going to have their opportunity to
either prove me wrong or to learn a lesson at
(26:11):
least about how important that shift to playoff basketball. Is
boston had some good, STRETCHES i thought in the second
portion of the first, quarter After okayse took their early,
lead they went up with like ten oh or whatever
there was that time. Out they come, out they started
to get the defense in rotation and the ball was popping.
Around they got great. Shots they actually generated seventeen catch
(26:32):
and shoot jumpers in that first. Quarter that's always like
the strong indicator for me of Where boston is in
their offense is how many catch and shoot jumpers they actually,
generate because, that to, me is the strength of their.
Offense when they're actually getting the wide open catch and,
shoots that to me is a better look for them
(26:52):
Than tatum And brown existing IN. Iso If tatum And
brown are existing IN, iso that's a strong indicator that
the defense doesn't feel obligated to send a second defender.
Over and when they're pressuring the defense enough and they're
getting higher quality, shots that's when the secondary defender comes.
Over that's where they can get the defense and rotation
and start to pop the ball. Around even in the second,
(27:12):
half there were some really good, sequences and they got
some great shots where you just see the ball popping
around you can you can see the play. DEVELOP i
was talking about this in a mailbag THAT i recorded
earlier today that's going to be coming out, tomorrow as
it pertains to the difference between playing with play finishing
versus playing with real dribble shoot pass, talent real dribble
shoot pass talent off the. Ball when you've got four
(27:34):
or five guys that can all knock down a catch
and shoot three at a high, rate read the, floor driving,
closeouts and then finish plays either at the rim or
in catch and shoot, situations you start to get these
really pretty driving kick. Sequences and even in this game
in the second, Half boston had several like beautiful driving kick,
sequences BUT i thought they took way too many, rushed,
(27:58):
contested off the off the move shots when there were
better opportunities. Available there were a bunch of them in
that second. Half Jalen brown a really tough drop coverage
pull up three Over Isaiah, Hartenstein Derek White Andrew halliday
both took smothered corner, threes and Like Derek, white also
made another smothered corner three that tied the game at eighty,
(28:21):
eight and it's like sometimes the shot go, in they'll go,
in and, like your talent can be your worst. Enemy
SOMETIMES i run into this issue WHEN i, play WHEN
i play, pickup where it's Like i'm six six AND
i can get to a pull up three WHENEVER i.
Want so it's, like IF i get, LAZY i can
just jack up pull up. Threes that doesn't mean it's
the best shot THAT i can. Get and that like.
(28:44):
That For, boston they have all these dudes who are
like really gifted offensive, players and you have two options from.
There you can either be less than the some of
your parts or more than the some of your. Parts
and that's all gonna come down to. Process this is
Something i've hammered on relentlessly With boston over the last few,
(29:04):
years and the only Reason i'm really bringing it up
tonight is because specifically with this, matchup specifically With Oklahoma,
city if they're going to thrive against these, guys they're
going to have to be more. Deliberate one thing we can,
agree the margin for air isn't the same that it
was last. Year there are better teams that they're going
(29:25):
to be playing against in both. Conferences That thunder team
is way better than last Year's thunder. TEAM i think
That lakers team With lebron And luca is probably better
than any of the Other Western conference teams that we've
seen over the last couple of. YEARS i think that
That cavs team is better than Anybody boston has faced
in last year's playoff. Field, right you still have the
(29:48):
wild card of which one of The knicks or The
bucks are going to come to the. Surface it's a deeper.
Field and there's another kind of like trend that's been
going on all season That i've had my eye on
that's a little. Concerning Jalen brown And Drew holliday were
one for twelve from three. Tonight they're shooting thirty two
percent and thirty four percent from, three. Respectively there is
(30:11):
an outcome on the table here Where drew And jalen
just don't, hit catch and shoot threes in the. Postseason
that could also further shrink their margin for. Air and
by the, way before you tell me they're gonna be
fine when they get in that, SITUATION i said all
season last, Year, Yo kitch isn't shooting the ball as.
Well Yo kitch isn't shooting the ball as. Well this
is an. Issue Yo kitch isn't shooting the ball as.
(30:32):
Well what if he gets in the postseason he doesn't make.
Shots he shot like forty five percent from three in
the championship. Run what if he doesn't shoot the ball as,
well and he got into the postseason and he didn't
shoot the ball as, well and he went what like
two for eight or two for ten from three In
game seven Against, minnesota and it became a. Problem that
was part of why they lost the. Series so, like
(30:53):
there's a large trend, here which Is drew And jalen
are not shooting the ball.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Well and all that.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Means the only Reason i'm bringing that up is there
margin For rish is. Smaller they have to be exceptionally
deliberate with their offensive. Process by the, WAY i Thought
tatum was mostly great in this. GAME i Say shay
was the best player on the.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Floor one by.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Much tatum was right there with.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
THEM i thought he was the one guy who didn't
look like he was getting overly rushed By okase's. PRESSURE
i even liked the work he did at the end
of the game with those like inverted or regular ball
screens where he was getting switches and getting seals and
doing some work there at the top of the. KEY
i thought that he had several big scoring bursts at
key portions of the game to Keep boston. Close they
(31:36):
ended up winning his minutes by. Four tatum was mostly,
great but again outside of, that especially in Those Jalen
brown led groups and even in stretches With tatum on the,
floor there was just too much of.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
That rushed forced shot.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Selection there was one in the fourth quarter baseline out of,
bounds seven seconds on the shot. Clock they run a
double screen action For Derek white coming off of the right.
Block seven seconds on the shot. Clock he's sprinted into
an impossible. Movement three in air balled, it and it's,
LIKE i perfectly fine with that. Shot if there's three
(32:15):
seconds on the shot clock or two seconds on the shot,
clock there's seven seconds on the shot, clock you've got
time to driving kick once to try to make something.
Happen but, again it's good to. Great if you're in
the pursuit of good, shots you're gonna have a lot
of streaky. Nights for sometimes they go in and sometimes
they know they. Don't if you're in the pursuit of great.
Shots that's where you can have consistent nights where you
(32:37):
shoot the ball. Well i'll even go a step. Further
if you Want Drew holliday And Jalen brown to get
their rhythm back and to start shooting threes, better you
need to generate for them better quality. Threes and the
only way you're gonna do that is through a team
wide pursuit of turning good shots into great. Shots, AGAIN
i think they can beat this. TEAM i would pick
them to beat this team if they were to face
(32:58):
in a. Series just can't be as sloppy as they were.
Tonight they were right. There they was shot for shot
with him in that fourth. Quarter they tied it multiple,
times and then they took a bunch of bad shots
and got picked apart By shay and it was. OVER
i also, thought like a lot of like the defensive
basic principle surrounding switching was more sloppy For boston than
(33:20):
it was For. Oka See, okay se was sharp with their.
Switches they were staying, attached they were rotating. Well the
opportunities for driving kick situations were closing up. Quickly boston
a lot of like basic ghost screens with like guard,
Guard Drew, Holiday Derek. White why Is Isaiah joe slipping
out of it wide? Open That's Derek white And Drew
(33:40):
holliday switched that. Screen chet slipping out of ball screens
at the top of the, key Like chet is too
big of a target for you to let him slip
down the lane completely. Unimpeded that needs to be a.
Switch there are like basic things there that they can clean.
Up i'm just saying that against the, thunder they're not
going to be able to operate with that same kind
of loose execution that they were in some of the
(34:02):
moments in their previous playoff. Room all, right before we
get out of here, tonight welcome To Course, correction brought
to you By. Microsoft just like star players and teams
(34:22):
navigating performance, hurdles business decision makers today are.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
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Facing microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say bring it.
(34:50):
Up this, week we're Discussing Steph curry and the resurgence
of The Golden State. Warriors steph played on some really
talented teams in the heart of his prime with The
goal And State, warriors but it's been brutal over the
last five. Years in the twenty twenty two title, run
The warriors had a championship level, roster but there wasn't
much margin for. Air those of you guys who listened
(35:11):
to the show at the time will remember none of
their young players were in their. Rotation EVEN i was
advocating For joe lacub And Bob myers to cash them,
in to trade them to create more margin for error
in that particular playoff. Run in the short, Term joe
lacob And Bob myers were proven right because that team
was good enough to win the. Championship but the story
(35:34):
in the long run is more. Complicated it's become precarious
because none of that young talent ended up being a,
foundational cornerstone type of. Talent James wiseman was a complete.
Bust Jonathan kaminga proved to be super, raw and guess what,
Now Jonathan kminga's do a massive. Payday and as soon
as you start talking About Jonathan kaminga as a thirty
(35:55):
plus million dollar, player it becomes a more complicated discussion
for any basketball. Team AND i Like Moses. MOODY i
think he's a useful young, player but he's a role.
Player and then things got compounded As Andrew wiggins failed
to ever get back to the level he was at
in twenty twenty. Two so the result was a Limited
warriors roster that didn't really.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Accomplish much over the next two and.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
A half, years and honestly got pretty sad as you
looked around the rest of the league at the other
sets of. STARS i used to earlier in the, Year
i'd do this in the. SHOW i would just list
out the shot creators on every other team in The,
west and it was, Crazy, like you, know ok, see
It's shay and j dub And. Chet if you go To,
denver It's Jokichen, murray It's John morant And Jaron. Jackson
(36:38):
It's Lebron james And Anthony. Davis It's Anthony edwards And Julius.
Randall It's Kevin durant And Devin. Booker It's Darren fox
And demarto Ros and It's Kyrie irving And Luka. Donca
Even James harden Had Norm, powell who was great While
kawhi was. Out fred Van vliet with The Houston rockets
Had Jalen green And opera And shangun And Steph curry
Had Andrew wiggins And Buddy heel and, like, LOOK I
(37:00):
Andrew wiggins got to a really high level in the
twenty twenty two. SEASON i thought he, was you, know
he's never been back at that, level BUT i thought
he was really really good in that in that playoff.
Run but, like that's a lot to Ask Steph curry to.
Overcome and like to make matters even, worse the roster
limitations made them look. Bad as they looked, bad everyone
(37:23):
decided they were. Bad as everyone decided they were, bad
a lot of people just decided the trade wasn't worth.
It so they passed On ogan And, obi and they
passed On Pascal, Siakta AND i mean they may not
have been able to Afford Mikhail bridges with how expensive it,
was but they just started passing on. Guys even in
the early part of the, year When Jimmy butler And
Zach lavine were, AVAILABLE i had been hearing that The
(37:44):
warriors were not interested in those, two that they were
holding out For Kevin duran Or Lebron james in a.
Trade they didn't want to have a flawed. Star why
because they thought they were bad all because of a roster.
Imbalance and part of the issue at that point is
they had waited so long that their young players had
lost some value relative to what it was in twenty twenty.
(38:05):
Two Jonathan kminga in twenty twenty, two three years left
on a rookie, deal young raw, prospect has a lot of.
Intrigue trade For Jonathan comingia when you gotta pay, him
it's a completely different. Story it really looked, bleak and
you could see it In steph's body language at. Times
he's one of the great competitors in this, league and
(38:25):
he was losing belief that he'd ever get a chance
to truly compete for a championship. Again there was even
a press conference Where steph sounded so dejected and made
comments surrounding the trade deadline that were so like bizarrely
defeated sounding that he had to come out for his
next press conference and remind everybody that he's a competitor
(38:46):
that wants to win a. Title but then opportunity. KNOCKED
i don't know if it was The luca trade that
kicked them into gear or something, else or just their
urgency of the, moment but shortly after The luca trade
it was announced that there's a lot of like intentionality
Behind Golden state's pursuit of a star to bring next To.
Steph they ended up pulling the trigger On Jimmy, butler
(39:07):
who had done his part by acting so crazy and
playing so poorly that he had tanked his value down
to where he became a very achievable target For Golden
state without having to give up much more than some
salary filler a. Pick one of the main reasons WHY
i was such a big believer in A Jimmy butler
trade was that The.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Warriors were really good in a lot of.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
AREAS i talked a lot in the early part of
the year about how they had a ton of team,
speed which is how they are so excellent. Defensively another
great rotation team they were top ten defense all. Year
steph had shown signs of his superstar upside in some
high profile. Games as a matter of, fact The warriors all,
year even before the, trade were one of the best
(39:47):
teams in the league against the best teams in the.
League some signature wins a win In boston against The,
celtics two wins Against Oklahoma City. Thunder they had shown
some real. Upside had way more role player talent than
they actually need. It that had fifteen guys who can.
Play they just needed someone to take on the responsibilities
(40:08):
of a secondary, star And Jimmy butler did that. Immediately
he fit the offense both With steph and Without. Steph
they got even better, defensively and it shortened the. Rotation
it cut down on the number of Options Steve kerh.
Had it gave guys more consistent. Roles crystallized roles for
guys Like Moses moody And Brandon pizemsky have been great
(40:30):
with the. Starters but most, importantly it awakened a sleeping.
Giant steph had been clearly holding something in reserve as
the team was floundering in, mediocrity and the belief that
his team could actually reach the, mountaintop unlocked his ceiling
since The Jimmy butler trade in fourteen, games averaging thirty
(40:51):
points per, game fifty forty two ninety two, splits sixty
nine percent true, shooting, again thirty points on sixty nine
percent trus shooting Since jimmy joined the. Team HIS mvp
season was thirty points on sixty seven Percent troy shooting
like it's. Insane they're twelve to two in those. Games
they look like a bona fide championship. Contender he was
(41:14):
one of the game's greatest, players hiding in playing sight
completely like written off due to one roster, weakness an
imbalance between role player talent and shot creation, talent one
that frankly was obvious to everyone in the world watching
this team over the last couple of. Years but they
took care of. It and now we're going to get
(41:35):
to see WHAT i wanted to see so badly out
of A Jimmy butler, trade and That's Steph curry playing
in meaningful basketball, games Which i'm very excited. For that's
it for this week's course. Correction Remember MICROSOFT'S ai solutions
empower you to take bold steps to make informed. Decisions
sparking new ideas to help drive your business. Forward With
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(41:57):
confidence finding innovative, solutions and reaching new. Possibilities Visit microsoft
dot com slash challengers to learn. More all, right, Guys
it's ALL i have for tonight is always sincerely appreciate
you guys for supporting me and supporting the. Show we
have our mail bag that's coming out, tomorrow and Then
i'm reacting to The Thursday night slate On friday. Morning
that's our schedule for the remainder of the. WEEK i
will see you guys.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Then what's up?
Speaker 2 (42:21):
Guys as, ALWAYS i appreciate you for listening to and
SUPPORTING oops. Tonight it 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 1 (42:34):
It
The volume.
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welcome to hoops tonight here at the volume heavy ones
there everybody. I hope all of you guys are having
a great week. On a jampackshow for you tonight. We're
hitting both of the ESPN games as the Minnesota Timberwolves
continue their dominance over the Denver Nuggets, winning their fifth
consecutive game in this matchup, including their second consecutive game
in Denver. In this matchup, We're gonna talk a little
(01:57):
bit about the surging Wolves and the success that they're
beginning to have on the offensive end of the floor.
I want to talk about Anthony Edwards's growth as a
processor in the half court, the Julius Randall upside, which,
as we've talked about the Wolves throughout this year, has
probably gone a little bit under the radar in the
sense that there's a lot of downsides with that deal,
but there is an upside, and I want to talk
(02:19):
a little bit about that and talk a little bit
about Denver and how they can overcome the issues they're
having in this matchup. After that, we're gonna move on
to the earlier game in this late as the Oklahoma
City thunder go on the road in Boston without Jalen
Williams and get a huge win against the Boston Celtics.
A lot of their young talent had to step up
with Jadave out, and they all did. Chet Holmer and
(02:40):
goes for twenty three and fifteen a monster night from him.
We're gonna break both of those games down from the
perspective of both teams, and then at the tail end
of the show, like we always do every week for Microsoft,
we have our course correction segment. This week, we're going
to be covering Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
All right, let's talk some basketball. Actually, before we get started,
subscribe to the YouTube channels. You don't miss any more videos.
Follow me on Twitter at Underscore JSONLTC. You guys don't
(03:02):
miss announcement. So forget about a podcast feed. You revuture
podcast owner Hoops tonight. It's also super helpful if you
leave your rating and a review on that front. We
also brand new social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, and
Facebook or releasing content throughout the year. Make sure you
guys follow us there, and the last but not least,
keep dropping mail bag questions in the YouTube comments so
that we can hit them throughout the rest of the season.
All right, let's talk some basketball. So the Timberwolves had
(03:24):
been playing a little bit of a light schedule, but
they had won five games in a row coming into tonight.
They had a one to twenty five offensive rating over
that five game stretch. Anthony Edwards continuing to score at
the level that he's been scoring all year long, doing
a nice job taking care of the basketball. Julius Randall
was doing some really nice playmaking work in that stretch,
averaging over seven minutes seven assists per game, getting lots
(03:47):
of production out of Naz Reed, getting lots of production
out of JD. McDaniels has really come alive as a
jump shooter. They'd been coming alive offensively, as they had
hung a one to twenty five offensive rating over those
previous five games. Denver has been playing bad defense all year,
and they've been horrific on defense without Aaron Gordon, so
(04:07):
tonight had the potential to get ugly. Then you add
in the fact that this matchup has historically given the
Nuggets a lot of issues. Like I mentioned off the top,
the Timberwolves have now beaten the Nuggets five consecutive times,
including twice consecutively in Denver, and the reason why is
they have the ability to attack one of Denver's biggest advantages,
(04:30):
and the ability to attack Denver's I should say they
have the ability to mitigate one of Denver's biggest advantages
and they have the ability to attack one of Denver's
biggest weaknesses. One of Denver's biggest advantages is that they're
bigger than most teams. Now, obviously it's a little different
without Aaron Gordon. But this issue has persisted in this
matchup even when Aaron Gordon is healthy. Typically it's like six'
(04:53):
Ten Michael Porter, junior six, Nine Aaron, gordon seven Foot Nicole,
jokic big and strong With gordon And, jokic and they
just kind of overwhelmed teams with just a lot of, size,
Right And jokic is also just the primary driving force behind, that.
Right but it's obviously going to be exacerbated With Aaron gordon.
Out but that problem has consistently been an issue With.
(05:15):
Minnesota minnesota because of Nasried Julius, Randall Orkarl Anthony towns last,
Year Rudy, gobert Who jokic has fried at times in the.
Past we saw last year was A game. FIVE i
believe that he had like that unbelievable night where he.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Just was Frying Rudy gobert every time down the.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Floor But gobert makes some, work and he's got some,
length and he can occasionally bother him around the rim
and give him some. Issues and so they have the
ability to match up With denver. Size and then the
second piece of it, is this is a team that
is weak in rim. Protection this is a Concept i've
talked a ton about this year With Nicole. Jokic it
(05:53):
stems from a couple of different. Issues Aaron gordon when he's,
out he's a lot of the backup rim protection Behind,
yoki which and then all of these guys that can
come hard off of screens that have the pull up
shooting ability to Dry yokitch out into, space but the
driving ability to get past them and get to the
rim can cause some issues for The Denver. Nuggets and
(06:15):
when you add in the growth Of Anthony edwards and
some of the skip passes he was unleashing tonight against
A nuggets team that constantly has to load up on ball,
screens they can really struggle to guard in this matchup as.
Well and so that's the. Issue when your offense is
specifically struggling Against minnesota's defense and your defense is specifically
struggling Against minnesota's offense as a, matchup it can lead
(06:36):
to extended dominance like we've seen.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Here this is one of the.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Big reasons WHY i refer to the playoffs as an
entirely different animal to the regular. Season we've been talking
about this concept a lot over the course of this last.
Week the reality that it doesn't really matter how good
your advanced metrics, are doesn't really. Matter what win pace
you're on in the regular, season doesn't matter what you
accomplish from the middle Of october to the middle Of.
(07:01):
April what matters is when you end up in a
two week stretch against a particular, team how well do
you guard that particular team and how well can that
particular team guard you for two? Weeks and if you
can't solve that, problem it doesn't. MATTER i talked a
lot last year about HOW i would have Picked denver Against.
(07:23):
Boston they didn't get a chance to Play. BOSTON i
think they would have Beat. Dallas they didn't get a
chance to Play. Dallas why because part of The Western
conference puzzle is you have to beat three teams to
get out of that, conference and if you catch a
team that's a bad, matchup Like minnesota was For, denver
you can get knocked out. Early it's a super fascinating
dynamic about the way the game of basketball is more
(07:44):
complicated than any scientific. Ability we have to capture it.
Right one of the big things that stood out to
me tonight was the growth Of Anthony edwards as a.
Processor and this is Something i've been watching a lot
over the course of this, season AND i think he's
been dissuaded from a lot of growth in this area
over the years because of the supporting. CAST i talk
a lot about believing in what you're, doing AND i
(08:07):
talk about it in a macro sense for guys Like
Stephen lebron who have been reinvigorated by, trades but it
even works in the smaller and more refined sense when
you're talking about. Passing IF i passed to you in
the corner a bunch of times and you miss and you,
miss and you miss and you miss and you make,
one and then you, miss and then you, miss and
then you miss and you make, one then you miss four,
MORE i might get to the point WHERE i no
(08:28):
longer believe that that pass is worth it for. Me
and As jada McDaniels has started to make more shots
and has started to trust him on that skip pass
more and, MORE i thought it was fascinating when we
got into the second half of this game And denver
just comes out guns. Blazing they quickly go on a.
Run they cut it down to what was it five
or seven at some point a few minutes into the
third quarter and Then Anthony edwards three consecutive, times and
(08:52):
ball screens Pulls yokic up to the. Level the low
man comes over off Of jada McDaniels in the. Corner
he skipped it to mc to, McDaniels three skips it
to McDaniels, again three skips it To Mike, conley drives
a close, out gets a layup in the.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Lane.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Bam whatever Momentum denver had coming out of the half
was completely. Gone and it's like you Want aunt to
grow as a. Playmaker it's stuff like that working as
especially for a young. Player and, again what DO i
always talk about with young, Players they can struggle sometimes
to replicate what is successful and to minimize their, mistakes,
(09:27):
Right and like a lot of times that development curve
can be influenced by things working and then believing in
what they're. Doing AND i think it's been really cool
to watch. That he did a lot of damage. Too
he missed a lot of, threes especially early in the,
game BUT i thought his shot making coming off of
those ball, screens even When jokic was, there hitting those
(09:47):
contested pull up threes in his, face those are big time,
shots big time momentum killing. Shots you could even see
some of the discouragement In denver's defense because there's not
really anything you can do When ant the athlete that
he is come flying off of a screen and just
elevates over the top and knocks down that. Shot is
big time night From Anthony. Edwards he goes for twenty
nine points and six assists in this. One and Then Julius,
(10:10):
randall WHO i thought was, brilliant especially in the early
portions of the, game just attacking matchups and getting to that,
short little fadeaway jump shot that he likes right in
the middle of the. Lane you, Know Julius randall to
me is one of the better like matchup attacking forwards
in the league when he's healthy and in. Rhythm and
this has been the issue With Julius randall throughout his.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Career is like.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Half the time he's either playing through a nagging injury
or coming back from an injury where he's kind of
out of rhythm and struggling to kind of get his
just get back into a. Group and when you Watch
Julius randall on those, games it could be so ugly
because when he's out of, shape he can cut corners
on defense when he's missing his jump, shot it can
(10:52):
look really ugly at. Times he is a bullyball player
who can start initiating a bunch of contact in the
middle of the, floor and sometimes those possessions can get really.
Ugly but, again this is a player who's made The
ALL nba. Team this is a player, that when he's,
healthy when he's in, rhythm is a very gifted matchup
attacker in the half. Court and, like, Again i'm gonna
(11:14):
be one hundred percent honest with you, GUYS i wish
That minnesota would have just run it back With Carl Anthony.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
TOWNS i thought.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
They were a lot closer than they looked last, year
just based on the development trajectory Of Anthony edwards and
the fact that he's just gonna keep getting demonstrably better
year after year after. Year and you punted on, that
AND i understand there were some other implications involving the
cap and flexibility for the team moving, forward and AGAIN
i wish they would have run it. Back that, said
if you guys remember WHAT i said back when the
(11:42):
trade was, MADE i talked about an, upside an upside
that existed within this mold involving the shot creation piece
Of Julius. Randall Carl Anthony towns has been a better
basketball player Than Julius randall this, season aside from When
julius is at his absolute, ceiling which has been too
rare for us consider it. Consistent kat is an all
around better basketball player Than Julius randall has shown that
(12:05):
throughout his. Career but there is a specific, thing one
specific thing That Julius randall is much better, at in my,
opinion Than Karl Anthony, towns and that's one on one
basketball in the mid, post which is such a valuable
tool when we get into these slow, down playoff environments
where things grind to screeching halt and role players struggle
(12:25):
to knock down, threes and it becomes about what stars
are better at creating. Shots julius is not only good
at bullying players, there he is able to shoot over the,
top so he can solve spacing related problems like oh
go bears sitting under the basket and they're not guarding.
Him his man is sitting under the, rim so he
can't go all the way to the.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Rim that's.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Fine he can shoot a little ten to twelve foot
fade away over his left shoulder in the middle of the.
Floor he sent an extra. Defender julius is actually a
pretty solid playmaker passing out of the double teams that
he gets in those. Situations and so there's always been
a big picture upside With minnesota as this, big physical
bruis team that can grind teams down in the. Playoffs
(13:03):
i've been talking a lot about this in the middle
portion of the season As minnesota has started to come
on strong and win some high profile. Matchups never underestimate
the playoff whistle and the way that these big, ass,
kicking physical teams can be a real problem in that.
Setting and so you can imagine the, ingredients. Right it's
that big physical defense that causes a bunch of problems for.
(13:26):
Teams It's Anthony edwards's growth as a playmaker and as
a shot. Maker, again this was a guy who was
what twenty eight points per game or twenty seven points
per game on sixty percent tru shooting in the playoffs last.
Year feels pretty good that he's going to be able
to stay at that. Level he's been at that level
all three of his playoff runs as a shot. Maker
anthony edwards shot, making and then the third piece of
(13:46):
it Is Julius randall as this like surgical half court matchup.
Attacker the pathway For minnesota is to make things. Ugly
julius plays ugly, sometimes and, obviously as he's developing as a,
playmaker can play off ugly, sometimes but you get the
they thrive in that ugliness with their size and. Strength
look at the damage they did just with waves of
(14:08):
athleticism at the rim in this, game and so AGAIN
i would have preferred for them to run it back
With kat just to see because it's a bummer when
a team is in their growth trajectory and you throw
a giant curveball like, that and who the hell knows
what's going to happen as far as the future With
julius and his contract and whether or not they can
maintain the use of that asset or. Not but in
(14:31):
the short term there is an upside, here and it's
a brutally Physical Minnesota timberwolves defense that can get in
your jersey and rush you into making. Mistakes like Guys
Michael Porter junior And Jamal murray didn't look comfortable at
all tonight seven for twenty five from the field one
for eight from. Three this is not the only time
we've seen. This Michael Porter junior completely fell apart in
(14:52):
The timberwolve series last. Year Jamal murray was brutal in
the losses in that. Series even In game seven when
he had thirty five or whatever it was he, had
he had those thirty five before the, run and then
for the entirety of the run from the time The
nuggets were up twenty or whatever to well into The
timberwolves having the, Lead Jamal murray scored a big fat zero.
(15:13):
Points and so when these things have gone south For
denver in this, matchup it's usually. Not Yoki jokic has
some issues in this matchup surrounding. Turnovers he had a
couple sloppy ones in the open court. Tonight he had
seven turnovers in a game earlier this regular. Season he
had some sloppy turnover games in that playoff. Series but,
overall Like jokic went out there tonight was, Like i'm
(15:34):
not losing to these. Guys i'm gonna find a way
to kick their. Ass and he did all.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Night he was.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Great he had thirty four, points he was getting whatever he.
Wanted but the rest of the roster seems to just
kind of like shrivel up under the physical pressure of
What minnesota brings to the. Table and they're not the
only team That minnesota is capable of doing that. Too
and so, again when you get past the top tier of, contenders,
right like we've talked about that top, tier when you
(15:58):
get into the second, tier it's that if things go,
right kind of contender. Tier and in that, tier it's
a lot of flawed teams with a lot of. Issues
teams Like, milwaukee teams Like New, york teams Like minnesota for.
Instance all of these teams it's like They minnesota could
easily catch matchups where they fall, apart especially against teams
that can really protect the, rim like we've talked, about,
(16:18):
Right but this is that matchup, tier and it's all
about catching favorable matchups and maybe things can go your.
Way you can see that pathway From minnesota centering around
defense and the shot creation Of Anthony edwards And Julius.
RANDALL i Thought Dante DiVincenzo brought incredible energy from the
beginning in this, game a lot of extra efforts defensively
(16:40):
getting up in the jersey of the. Guard he's defending
THAT i had a couple of like really nice deflections
around the. Rim he brought a verve to the offensive
end of the, floor stepped into some big above the
break threes that were were big momentum shots in this.
Game just really impressive night From Minnesota timberwolves on The nuggets. Front,
again this this is a mental. Advantage this is a
(17:04):
domination that extends beyond what you're seeing on the. Court
Jamal murray And Michael Porter junior in, particular and a
lot of the guys on this roster don't look confident
in this particular. Matchup and by the WAY i can,
RELATE i remember seeing this firsthand with The Lebron James
Anthony Davis lakers against The nuggets over the course of
the last couple of, years where it's, like we can
(17:26):
hang with, you, Guys we're right. There but then whether
it's a big third quarter run or a big fourth quarter,
run it just inevitably slips, away and then the team
becomes dejected and it just it is like like a
very tangible confidence dynamic starts to shift Towards denver and
(17:46):
it just feels like the exact same game just on
repeat every single Time i'd watched that, matchup and this
is starting to feel the same. Way sloppy, Turnovers denver's
offense falls, apart their role players don't look. Comfortable minnesota
is just living at the rim all night. Long it's
one of those things where in order to overcome, that
there's a certain amount of like you almost need to
(18:08):
win a game just to prove that you can win that,
game and then from there things can loosen up a little.
Bit but it looks bleak in this particular matchup right.
Now and, Again Aaron gordon will, help but that's not
the only that's not the only game that we've seen
between these two. Teams Aaron gordon's been, available and they've
still had issues in this. MATCHUP i do think it's
(18:29):
worth bringing. Up and, AGAIN i Know minnesota has been
playing really good defense this, year but it continues to
be a problem that they're consistently existing in. Rotation like
even just like simple pocket passes To Rudy gobar rumbling
down the, rim these skip passes that are always open
against their pick and roll. Coverage there's a consistent issue
With denver where they're in, rotation and when you're in,
(18:51):
rotation and you're also. Slow that's where you're gonna have some.
Problems Jamal murray, Slow Michael Porter junior is, Slow Nicole
jokich is. Slow and so when they end up in
rotation and they have to cover all this, ground that
roster weakness can rise to the. Surface and it has
been an extended stretch here Where denver's really really struggled
to get.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Stops And i'd.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Be lying IF i didn't Say i'm at least a
little worried about that in the big.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Picture all, right let's move on to.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
The earlier, games AND i show down between two of
our top tier contenders in THE, nba Between thunder and The.
Celtics you, know When Jayalen williams went down with his
hip strain going into this game Against, boston what were
The thunder going to need in order to actually compete
in this game Without Jalen, Williams they were going to
need all of their supporting players to step up as shot.
(19:53):
Makers and that's exactly what they. Did six Non Shay
thunder players got into double figure. Tonight Chenn holmgrim was.
Brilliant he had twenty three and. Fifteen he had three.
THREES i really like just the overall aggression he was
bringing off the, Catch like when defenders were closing out at,
him he wasn't getting, hesitant he was just confidently rising
up into that. SHOT i thought Kese On wallace was
(20:15):
amazing in this. Game never forced, anything but he took
the opportunities that were in front of. Him he's really
good at attacking bigs in space and around the, rim
like finishing through rim. Protection he had a big drive
by layup Against Al horford off the right wing on a.
Switch he just is like a groundbound player that has
a unique ability to get angles. Oversize it actually reminds
me a lot Of Drew holliday watching Kese On wallace
(20:37):
Play Lou dort put in. Thirteen one of the things
That i've really enjoyed watching with Lou dort is his
close out attacking. Ability and everybody's got their kind of
unique trait that you see attacking. Closeouts you see so
many of those weak side scoring forwards THAT i talked
about rely on wonderable pull, ups but they're almost always
wonderable pull ups in the mid, range like you See
DeAndre hunter rely on this shot a. Lot you See
(20:59):
Michale bridges rely on the shadow. Lot you see og
And andobi rely on the shot a. Lot you See
Rueya chimura rely on the shot a. Lot it's like pump,
fake rip through sixteen foot off the bounce right and
like one of the things that Lou dort does is
he'll pump fake and he'll side step so that he
can keep it as a three point. Shot it requires
a lot of, lift it's tougher on the, legs But
lose a great. Athlete he's got a really strong base
(21:22):
and his like pump, fake like radical side step where
he covers like seven eight feet of space before he
rises up into that. Shot it allows him to be
a very dangerous close out. Attacker there's plenty of offensive.
Support i've talked a lot about my concerns ABOUT okc
centering around youth in. Inconsistency that's not the same thing as.
Talent there's plenty of talent on this, team but young.
(21:46):
Players you know how it goes like it's a different
vibe when you get into the. Postseason this is as
close as you're gonna get in the regular, season a
major nationally televised game on the road against a defending
champion that you, know so obviously is looking for some
big wins after they've taken some bad losses at home this.
Year that's as close as you're gonna. Get but it's
not the same as real playoff. Basketball and my concerns
(22:11):
don't center around whether or Not chet can score twenty
plus points in a big, game whether or Not loudor
can make. Shots jadubb can be a reliable secondary shot.
Creator my concern is whether or not they will because
we just have seen so many examples IN nba history
of young players struggling in that sort of. SITUATION i
(22:32):
was talking with this about this With Ethan strauss, yesterday but,
like there's a reason why EVERY nba superstar seems to
suck the first time they get to THE nba. Finals
Jason tatum's FIRST Nba finals with The Boston, celtics he was.
Horrible jason Or Steph curry's FIRST Nba finals in twenty
fifteen came on strong at the tail end of the.
(22:54):
SERIES i, mean it was more of a playmaking type
of series from, him but he was brutally bad at
the beginning of that. Series was adjusting to that. Environment
lebron was terrible in two STRAIGHT Nba finals to start his.
Creates as you get to higher leverage, situations it just
becomes super. Intense you're always going against great veteran teams
that are comfortable in that sort of, situation and you
can see young players start to. Struggle but make no,
(23:16):
mistake it's mostly the youth and inexperience that concerns, me
not the. Talent let's just put it very. Simply if
these guys step into the conference finals and into THE
Nba finals and they look this, confident they look this,
comfortable and they make shots like, this they're going to
(23:37):
win the whole thing because their defense is better than
all these teams defense much better Than, cleveland better Than.
Boston's if they shoot like, this if they score like,
this they're going to win the whole. Thing and again like.
THIS i thought this was a great test for them
as far as regular season basketball, goes and they pass
(23:58):
it with flying. COLORS i Thought shay was a Amazing
he had swarmed in the middle of the floor and
had some ugly, turnovers BUT i thought he was surgical
outside of. That in the half, court he had thirty
four points and seven. Assists he was the primary scoring
force behind the two big second half runs FOR. Okc
in that third quarter, run he hits back to back
threes to push the lead up to. Twelve in the
(24:18):
fourth quarter, run he had like a strip On tatum And.
Iso he had a couple of mid range jump shots
that he hit in a. Row he got to the
foul line a couple of times all during the run
as they were growing the. LEAD i thought he was
really good on defense all night as. Well he looked
like the best player on the floor in this. GAME
i think like this three game stretch, here the Two denver.
Games in this, game they were resoundingly, strong probably a
(24:42):
case closing put the final nail in The coffin type
OF mvp case From Shake Gildas. Alexander he drops forty
in a win on The, nuggets even in the game
that The nuggets got back like they had seventy three
in the first half as a, team and in the
second half they, literally in a Really Jane key defensive,
construct just Doubled shay the second he crossed half. Court
(25:04):
the rest of the game they just lost because the
rest of the guys were just struggling to capitalize on those.
Advantages and then. TONIGHT i thought he was the best
player on the floor in a showdown with the defending
champs In. Boston, Okay, see defense was, excellent their pressure was,
great they were hilatious in their, rotations AND i thought
they were really rushing The celtics and do a lot
of bad. Decisions we're going to talk about this With
(25:25):
boston in a. MINUTE i Thought boston's overall execution in
the second half was, terrible and most of IT i
got to give credit To Oklahoma city because when you,
pressure when you rotate with that sort of hilacious, energy
it has a habit of rushing players and when they,
rush they don't get into their. Process when they don't
get into the, process they don't. Execute when they don't,
execute they don't get good. Shots and SO i just
(25:47):
thought it was a nice statement win For Oklahoma, city
another test along the way in their journey now, again
like the playoffs are a different. Animal was talking about
this earlier With denver as it pertains to their matchup With.
Mina but you got to just do what you can
to check the boxes along the, way and that challenge
will come and they're going to have their opportunity to
either prove me wrong or to learn a lesson at
(26:11):
least about how important that shift to playoff basketball. Is
boston had some good, STRETCHES i thought in the second
portion of the first, quarter After okayse took their early,
lead they went up with like ten oh or whatever
there was that time. Out they come, out they started
to get the defense in rotation and the ball was popping.
Around they got great. Shots they actually generated seventeen catch
(26:32):
and shoot jumpers in that first. Quarter that's always like
the strong indicator for me of Where boston is in
their offense is how many catch and shoot jumpers they actually,
generate because, that to, me is the strength of their.
Offense when they're actually getting the wide open catch and,
shoots that to me is a better look for them
(26:52):
Than tatum And brown existing IN. Iso If tatum And
brown are existing IN, iso that's a strong indicator that
the defense doesn't feel obligated to send a second defender.
Over and when they're pressuring the defense enough and they're
getting higher quality, shots that's when the secondary defender comes.
Over that's where they can get the defense and rotation
and start to pop the ball. Around even in the second,
(27:12):
half there were some really good, sequences and they got
some great shots where you just see the ball popping
around you can you can see the play. DEVELOP i
was talking about this in a mailbag THAT i recorded
earlier today that's going to be coming out, tomorrow as
it pertains to the difference between playing with play finishing
versus playing with real dribble shoot pass, talent real dribble
shoot pass talent off the. Ball when you've got four
(27:34):
or five guys that can all knock down a catch
and shoot three at a high, rate read the, floor driving,
closeouts and then finish plays either at the rim or
in catch and shoot, situations you start to get these
really pretty driving kick. Sequences and even in this game
in the second, Half boston had several like beautiful driving kick,
sequences BUT i thought they took way too many, rushed,
(27:58):
contested off the off the move shots when there were
better opportunities. Available there were a bunch of them in
that second. Half Jalen brown a really tough drop coverage
pull up three Over Isaiah, Hartenstein Derek White Andrew halliday
both took smothered corner, threes and Like Derek, white also
made another smothered corner three that tied the game at eighty,
(28:21):
eight and it's like sometimes the shot go, in they'll go,
in and, like your talent can be your worst. Enemy
SOMETIMES i run into this issue WHEN i, play WHEN
i play, pickup where it's Like i'm six six AND
i can get to a pull up three WHENEVER i.
Want so it's, like IF i get, LAZY i can
just jack up pull up. Threes that doesn't mean it's
the best shot THAT i can. Get and that like.
(28:44):
That For, boston they have all these dudes who are
like really gifted offensive, players and you have two options from.
There you can either be less than the some of
your parts or more than the some of your. Parts
and that's all gonna come down to. Process this is
Something i've hammered on relentlessly With boston over the last few,
(29:04):
years and the only Reason i'm really bringing it up
tonight is because specifically with this, matchup specifically With Oklahoma,
city if they're going to thrive against these, guys they're
going to have to be more. Deliberate one thing we can,
agree the margin for air isn't the same that it
was last. Year there are better teams that they're going
(29:25):
to be playing against in both. Conferences That thunder team
is way better than last Year's thunder. TEAM i think
That lakers team With lebron And luca is probably better
than any of the Other Western conference teams that we've
seen over the last couple of. YEARS i think that
That cavs team is better than Anybody boston has faced
in last year's playoff. Field, right you still have the
(29:48):
wild card of which one of The knicks or The
bucks are going to come to the. Surface it's a deeper.
Field and there's another kind of like trend that's been
going on all season That i've had my eye on
that's a little. Concerning Jalen brown And Drew holliday were
one for twelve from three. Tonight they're shooting thirty two
percent and thirty four percent from, three. Respectively there is
(30:11):
an outcome on the table here Where drew And jalen
just don't, hit catch and shoot threes in the. Postseason
that could also further shrink their margin for. Air and
by the, way before you tell me they're gonna be
fine when they get in that, SITUATION i said all
season last, Year, Yo kitch isn't shooting the ball as.
Well Yo kitch isn't shooting the ball as. Well this
is an. Issue Yo kitch isn't shooting the ball as.
(30:32):
Well what if he gets in the postseason he doesn't make.
Shots he shot like forty five percent from three in
the championship. Run what if he doesn't shoot the ball as,
well and he got into the postseason and he didn't
shoot the ball as, well and he went what like
two for eight or two for ten from three In
game seven Against, minnesota and it became a. Problem that
was part of why they lost the. Series so, like
(30:53):
there's a large trend, here which Is drew And jalen
are not shooting the ball.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Well and all that.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Means the only Reason i'm bringing that up is there
margin For rish is. Smaller they have to be exceptionally
deliberate with their offensive. Process by the, WAY i Thought
tatum was mostly great in this. GAME i Say shay
was the best player on the.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Floor one by.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Much tatum was right there with.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
THEM i thought he was the one guy who didn't
look like he was getting overly rushed By okase's. PRESSURE
i even liked the work he did at the end
of the game with those like inverted or regular ball
screens where he was getting switches and getting seals and
doing some work there at the top of the. KEY
i thought that he had several big scoring bursts at
key portions of the game to Keep boston. Close they
(31:36):
ended up winning his minutes by. Four tatum was mostly,
great but again outside of, that especially in Those Jalen
brown led groups and even in stretches With tatum on the,
floor there was just too much of.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
That rushed forced shot.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Selection there was one in the fourth quarter baseline out of,
bounds seven seconds on the shot. Clock they run a
double screen action For Derek white coming off of the right.
Block seven seconds on the shot. Clock he's sprinted into
an impossible. Movement three in air balled, it and it's,
LIKE i perfectly fine with that. Shot if there's three
(32:15):
seconds on the shot clock or two seconds on the shot,
clock there's seven seconds on the shot, clock you've got
time to driving kick once to try to make something.
Happen but, again it's good to. Great if you're in
the pursuit of good, shots you're gonna have a lot
of streaky. Nights for sometimes they go in and sometimes
they know they. Don't if you're in the pursuit of great.
Shots that's where you can have consistent nights where you
(32:37):
shoot the ball. Well i'll even go a step. Further
if you Want Drew holliday And Jalen brown to get
their rhythm back and to start shooting threes, better you
need to generate for them better quality. Threes and the
only way you're gonna do that is through a team
wide pursuit of turning good shots into great. Shots, AGAIN
i think they can beat this. TEAM i would pick
them to beat this team if they were to face
(32:58):
in a. Series just can't be as sloppy as they were.
Tonight they were right. There they was shot for shot
with him in that fourth. Quarter they tied it multiple,
times and then they took a bunch of bad shots
and got picked apart By shay and it was. OVER
i also, thought like a lot of like the defensive
basic principle surrounding switching was more sloppy For boston than
(33:20):
it was For. Oka See, okay se was sharp with their.
Switches they were staying, attached they were rotating. Well the
opportunities for driving kick situations were closing up. Quickly boston
a lot of like basic ghost screens with like guard,
Guard Drew, Holiday Derek. White why Is Isaiah joe slipping
out of it wide? Open That's Derek white And Drew
(33:40):
holliday switched that. Screen chet slipping out of ball screens
at the top of the, key Like chet is too
big of a target for you to let him slip
down the lane completely. Unimpeded that needs to be a.
Switch there are like basic things there that they can clean.
Up i'm just saying that against the, thunder they're not
going to be able to operate with that same kind
of loose execution that they were in some of the
(34:02):
moments in their previous playoff. Room all, right before we
get out of here, tonight welcome To Course, correction brought
to you By. Microsoft just like star players and teams
(34:22):
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(34:50):
Up this, week we're Discussing Steph curry and the resurgence
of The Golden State. Warriors steph played on some really
talented teams in the heart of his prime with The
goal And State, warriors but it's been brutal over the
last five. Years in the twenty twenty two title, run
The warriors had a championship level, roster but there wasn't
much margin for. Air those of you guys who listened
(35:11):
to the show at the time will remember none of
their young players were in their. Rotation EVEN i was
advocating For joe lacub And Bob myers to cash them,
in to trade them to create more margin for error
in that particular playoff. Run in the short, Term joe
lacob And Bob myers were proven right because that team
was good enough to win the. Championship but the story
(35:34):
in the long run is more. Complicated it's become precarious
because none of that young talent ended up being a,
foundational cornerstone type of. Talent James wiseman was a complete.
Bust Jonathan kaminga proved to be super, raw and guess what,
Now Jonathan kminga's do a massive. Payday and as soon
as you start talking About Jonathan kaminga as a thirty
(35:55):
plus million dollar, player it becomes a more complicated discussion
for any basketball. Team AND i Like Moses. MOODY i
think he's a useful young, player but he's a role.
Player and then things got compounded As Andrew wiggins failed
to ever get back to the level he was at
in twenty twenty. Two so the result was a Limited
warriors roster that didn't really.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Accomplish much over the next two and.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
A half, years and honestly got pretty sad as you
looked around the rest of the league at the other
sets of. STARS i used to earlier in the, Year
i'd do this in the. SHOW i would just list
out the shot creators on every other team in The,
west and it was, Crazy, like you, know ok, see
It's shay and j dub And. Chet if you go To,
denver It's Jokichen, murray It's John morant And Jaron. Jackson
(36:38):
It's Lebron james And Anthony. Davis It's Anthony edwards And Julius.
Randall It's Kevin durant And Devin. Booker It's Darren fox
And demarto Ros and It's Kyrie irving And Luka. Donca
Even James harden Had Norm, powell who was great While
kawhi was. Out fred Van vliet with The Houston rockets
Had Jalen green And opera And shangun And Steph curry
Had Andrew wiggins And Buddy heel and, like, LOOK I
(37:00):
Andrew wiggins got to a really high level in the
twenty twenty two. SEASON i thought he, was you, know
he's never been back at that, level BUT i thought
he was really really good in that in that playoff.
Run but, like that's a lot to Ask Steph curry to.
Overcome and like to make matters even, worse the roster
limitations made them look. Bad as they looked, bad everyone
(37:23):
decided they were. Bad as everyone decided they were, bad
a lot of people just decided the trade wasn't worth.
It so they passed On ogan And, obi and they
passed On Pascal, Siakta AND i mean they may not
have been able to Afford Mikhail bridges with how expensive it,
was but they just started passing on. Guys even in
the early part of the, year When Jimmy butler And
Zach lavine were, AVAILABLE i had been hearing that The
(37:44):
warriors were not interested in those, two that they were
holding out For Kevin duran Or Lebron james in a.
Trade they didn't want to have a flawed. Star why
because they thought they were bad all because of a roster.
Imbalance and part of the issue at that point is
they had waited so long that their young players had
lost some value relative to what it was in twenty twenty.
(38:05):
Two Jonathan kminga in twenty twenty, two three years left
on a rookie, deal young raw, prospect has a lot of.
Intrigue trade For Jonathan comingia when you gotta pay, him
it's a completely different. Story it really looked, bleak and
you could see it In steph's body language at. Times
he's one of the great competitors in this, league and
(38:25):
he was losing belief that he'd ever get a chance
to truly compete for a championship. Again there was even
a press conference Where steph sounded so dejected and made
comments surrounding the trade deadline that were so like bizarrely
defeated sounding that he had to come out for his
next press conference and remind everybody that he's a competitor
(38:46):
that wants to win a. Title but then opportunity. KNOCKED
i don't know if it was The luca trade that
kicked them into gear or something, else or just their
urgency of the, moment but shortly after The luca trade
it was announced that there's a lot of like intentionality
Behind Golden state's pursuit of a star to bring next To.
Steph they ended up pulling the trigger On Jimmy, butler
(39:07):
who had done his part by acting so crazy and
playing so poorly that he had tanked his value down
to where he became a very achievable target For Golden
state without having to give up much more than some
salary filler a. Pick one of the main reasons WHY
i was such a big believer in A Jimmy butler
trade was that The.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Warriors were really good in a lot of.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
AREAS i talked a lot in the early part of
the year about how they had a ton of team,
speed which is how they are so excellent. Defensively another
great rotation team they were top ten defense all. Year
steph had shown signs of his superstar upside in some
high profile. Games as a matter of, fact The warriors all,
year even before the, trade were one of the best
(39:47):
teams in the league against the best teams in the.
League some signature wins a win In boston against The,
celtics two wins Against Oklahoma City. Thunder they had shown
some real. Upside had way more role player talent than
they actually need. It that had fifteen guys who can.
Play they just needed someone to take on the responsibilities
(40:08):
of a secondary, star And Jimmy butler did that. Immediately
he fit the offense both With steph and Without. Steph
they got even better, defensively and it shortened the. Rotation
it cut down on the number of Options Steve kerh.
Had it gave guys more consistent. Roles crystallized roles for
guys Like Moses moody And Brandon pizemsky have been great
(40:30):
with the. Starters but most, importantly it awakened a sleeping.
Giant steph had been clearly holding something in reserve as
the team was floundering in, mediocrity and the belief that
his team could actually reach the, mountaintop unlocked his ceiling
since The Jimmy butler trade in fourteen, games averaging thirty
(40:51):
points per, game fifty forty two ninety two, splits sixty
nine percent true, shooting, again thirty points on sixty nine
percent trus shooting Since jimmy joined the. Team HIS mvp
season was thirty points on sixty seven Percent troy shooting
like it's. Insane they're twelve to two in those. Games
they look like a bona fide championship. Contender he was
(41:14):
one of the game's greatest, players hiding in playing sight
completely like written off due to one roster, weakness an
imbalance between role player talent and shot creation, talent one
that frankly was obvious to everyone in the world watching
this team over the last couple of. Years but they
took care of. It and now we're going to get
(41:35):
to see WHAT i wanted to see so badly out
of A Jimmy butler, trade and That's Steph curry playing
in meaningful basketball, games Which i'm very excited. For that's
it for this week's course. Correction Remember MICROSOFT'S ai solutions
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microsoft as your trusted, partner you can navigate your journey with,
(41:57):
confidence finding innovative, solutions and reaching new. Possibilities Visit microsoft
dot com slash challengers to learn. More all, right, Guys
it's ALL i have for tonight is always sincerely appreciate
you guys for supporting me and supporting the. Show we
have our mail bag that's coming out, tomorrow and Then
i'm reacting to The Thursday night slate On friday. Morning
that's our schedule for the remainder of the. WEEK i
will see you guys.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Then what's up?
Speaker 2 (42:21):
Guys as, ALWAYS i appreciate you for listening to and
SUPPORTING oops. Tonight it 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 1 (42:34):
It
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