1 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:22,079 What is krack alac in. Fellow thermonuclear affers, I am a very sweaty 2 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:28,679 and headache induced Dan Valley coming at you with my certified fantabulous co host Grant 3 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:33,079 Hughes. We have so much to talk about, but first I must remind 4 00:00:33,119 --> 00:00:36,600 you implore you subscribe to us wherever you're consuming us YouTube. Hit that like 5 00:00:36,719 --> 00:00:39,399 button, subscribe, comment, help the al Goo, love us back, 6 00:00:39,759 --> 00:00:43,520 and subscribe to us on Apple and Spotify if you haven't already. Ratings and 7 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,119 reviews on Apple help a ton as well, especially the written reviews will go 8 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,000 a long way in addition to those five star ratings. Follow us on the 9 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,479 socials. They are on your screen if you're watching. They can be in 10 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,799 the podcast description, or you can listen to me say that we're at Hardwood 11 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,439 Knox on Twitter and TikTok and at Hardwood Underscore Knox on Instagram. AM and 12 00:01:00,439 --> 00:01:03,960 you know what if you don't follow Grant on Twitter at gt Underscore, Hughes 13 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,560 spelled exactly how it fucking sounds. Before we get into so much, just 14 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,319 so much to get to the question that everyone's dying for, that they've been 15 00:01:11,359 --> 00:01:15,480 pining for, probably waited all weekend to hear the answer to Grant, how 16 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:21,799 the heck are you? I'm doing well. I'm curious mostly about why you're 17 00:01:21,799 --> 00:01:25,000 so sweaty, because you don't look particularly sweaty. But if you're gonna point 18 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,319 that out off the top, I have to follow up on that. I 19 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,120 squeezed in the gym right, which is why I was three minutes late because 20 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,920 I was scrambling. I got the link to you in time, but I 21 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:34,959 was three minutes late today because I was scrambling coming back from the gym. 22 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,680 And so, like, today is one of those days where I don't know, 23 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,760 if you like, I have every fucking minute like planned out, and 24 00:01:41,799 --> 00:01:44,959 so it's like after this, like y'all edit and produce this on the audio, 25 00:01:45,359 --> 00:01:47,959 and then I have to go on to another podcast, and then we 26 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:49,719 have stuff do for br tonight, and then I have all this other side 27 00:01:49,719 --> 00:01:53,000 works that I need to get done, that I need to edit a short 28 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,400 that we can post tomorrow on TikTok or whatever. So it's just one of 29 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,680 those days. And so I am very much just a dead sprint, and 30 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,319 I didn't have time to change or shower before we were on. So if 31 00:02:01,359 --> 00:02:07,599 anyone can smell me, You're you're very You're very impressive. You're making me 32 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,639 feel very lazy because I have my day planned out too, But that just 33 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:14,120 sounds that sounds exhausting. So you have like a family and a job and 34 00:02:14,159 --> 00:02:15,719 you go to the gym in the morning, so you make me feel lazy. 35 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:20,039 Yeah, and I did shower out of courtesy, so uh, you 36 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,240 know. But again, if you hadn't brought up the sweatiness, I wouldn't 37 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,680 have noted it. What I do notice it's not good streaming for those that 38 00:02:27,719 --> 00:02:30,960 are watching. But I'm kind of a fidgetor This is the thing you learn 39 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,719 when you watch yourself enough, Like right now, I'm I'm rocking back and 40 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:38,680 forth as I say that, Are you a fidgetor I'm fidgety? This is 41 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,439 the thing you start to learn about yourself the older you get. And I 42 00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:46,759 have to admit I'm an unabashed, uncontrolled fidgetor right I think I'm definitely a 43 00:02:46,759 --> 00:02:50,759 fidgetor I can't sit still. But I'll notice if I watch back, my 44 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,039 eyes will dart all over my screen and the tabs and I'm trying to follow, 45 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,080 like if I'm posting like a promo on social media for this or I'm 46 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,439 trying to timestamp, and so I'm like, I hope it doesn't look like 47 00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:01,919 I'm not paying attention to what Grant says. I'm just trying to like multitask 48 00:03:02,039 --> 00:03:06,599 the finesse the ship out of this. Yeah. Yeah, Well, when 49 00:03:06,599 --> 00:03:07,960 you've got every second of your day plan out, you've got to get a 50 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,560 few things done at once, so you know, good peak behind the curtain 51 00:03:12,599 --> 00:03:15,000 though, kick this off. Good thing. There's nothing in the NBA we 52 00:03:15,039 --> 00:03:19,599 really need to talk about today anything, And not to delay us further, 53 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,879 but for another peak behind the curtain, and they will be dropping soon. 54 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:28,080 We have merch yeah, yeah, seriously, on serious We've got there'll be 55 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,919 stickers and shirts and other sayings. Look at little previews right there, beautiful, 56 00:03:32,719 --> 00:03:37,240 So those will go live eventually. We're just tweaking some stuff and I 57 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:38,919 tweeted out a preview of a bunch of the different shirt sayings we have, 58 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,479 so be on the lookout for those. And that's another way you could support 59 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,439 the show. Not really financially because we make negative dollars on that basically, 60 00:03:46,479 --> 00:03:50,599 but just in terms of brand exposure. We do have a funny story. 61 00:03:50,639 --> 00:03:53,800 I do want to very quickly, so when I got our first batch of 62 00:03:53,879 --> 00:03:57,039 orders, they set me two of the wrong shirts. One of them said 63 00:03:57,199 --> 00:03:59,439 all feelings are okay. I thought. I was like, oh, okay, 64 00:03:59,479 --> 00:04:03,240 whatever, I got this shirt. What does that say? Grant that 65 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,199 says, first of all, great design on it. There's some scissors for 66 00:04:06,199 --> 00:04:10,919 those of you who are not watching this, some scissors in the middle of 67 00:04:10,919 --> 00:04:15,360 a multi colored circle, and it says vasectomies prevent abortions, which like, 68 00:04:15,519 --> 00:04:20,759 factually true, I guess, But we're struggling with what side of the aisle 69 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:25,199 of this shirt comes. I ask you as soon as they and I was 70 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,319 like, is this like a super like like needed to go to someone in 71 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,959 like the bumble fuck Midwest? That it's just whatever? And it could it 72 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:39,720 could lean either way if it's on the look everyone knows politically this podcast us 73 00:04:40,079 --> 00:04:42,839 I was trying to figure out, like you you noticed that it might just 74 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,839 be right down the middle. It's it's kind of like who's who's Who's got 75 00:04:46,879 --> 00:04:49,879 a problem with this? It would be my question, and that I just 76 00:04:49,959 --> 00:04:54,519 I don't know what the answer is. I should think it's a pro lifer 77 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,120 just because wouldn't they be against vasectomies. I don't really know how that works. 78 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,600 I don't know what their stance is on that it's a good shirt. 79 00:05:00,639 --> 00:05:03,000 Also, I mean it's just a well, it's good, looks good. 80 00:05:03,199 --> 00:05:10,120 I don't know the looks you would get wearing that again, probably about equal 81 00:05:10,319 --> 00:05:13,759 depending. You know, everybody would double take, because that's a wild thing 82 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,759 to have on a shirt, first of all, but I don't know who 83 00:05:15,759 --> 00:05:20,160 you're offending with it. The other thing is, I told you this, 84 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:25,319 and I know these shirts when anyone, if anyone orders them, we aggressively 85 00:05:25,399 --> 00:05:30,040 skew towards larger sizes. I went up to a double I'm wearing a double 86 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:31,879 XL right now because I assume it's gonna shrink and I like to look I 87 00:05:31,959 --> 00:05:34,279 just like to wear baggy close to the gym. And that's what I'm doing. 88 00:05:34,319 --> 00:05:36,279 By the way, I'm wearing all this to the gym, and I 89 00:05:36,319 --> 00:05:39,800 see people looking at it and reading it and they want to know what it 90 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,920 is. I'm just waiting for someone to ask me. But it's like a 91 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,560 child size, and so I'm like, that's a whole new level. I'm 92 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,079 all use your children as billboards for hardwood knocks. I know Grant already sent 93 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:56,240 me a picture. I think that was a mac right so with the shirt, 94 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,879 but are like you using your child to like promote your like whatever agenda 95 00:06:00,959 --> 00:06:03,600 this is. I was very confused, but not basketball lay, but I 96 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:05,680 thought it was funny. I don't know what I'm gonna do with these shirts. 97 00:06:06,079 --> 00:06:10,160 I think you gotta keep it. Just find like a niece or nephew 98 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:15,480 somewhere that I'm gonna wear the which is clearly like a like a youth female 99 00:06:15,519 --> 00:06:17,079 shirt. I'm gonna wear the all feelings are okay, okay right here, 100 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,399 I'm gonna show up to the gym like that and we'll see if anyone to 101 00:06:20,439 --> 00:06:24,240 ask me about about that one. No, it's just how you're feeling, 102 00:06:24,399 --> 00:06:26,480 you know. That's by the way. That's why I was like, well, 103 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,920 it can't be a pro lifer because they wouldn't wear the feeling shirt right 104 00:06:30,079 --> 00:06:32,199 like. So I was just so confused. There's just a lot to unpack. 105 00:06:32,519 --> 00:06:35,160 Uh, And we're never gonna know because it's like if you send an 106 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,480 email to te public or and just say like, what's going on here, 107 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:44,079 the robot will answer you and say does not compute keep I'm eventually going to 108 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,279 email them be like hey, could I get the shirts that I actually order 109 00:06:47,319 --> 00:06:51,199 that. Can I get more of these vest sectimy related Yeah, we'll have 110 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:57,360 those up in the Hardwood Knocks toy. Yeah. So let's talk about actual 111 00:06:57,439 --> 00:07:00,240 Well we're actually not gonna tell about actual basketball to start. Let's get to 112 00:07:00,439 --> 00:07:02,959 before we get to the Doc Rivers firing, Let's get to the John Morant 113 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:08,279 stuff he was seeing on IG with. I already forgot the guy's name, 114 00:07:08,319 --> 00:07:12,120 but he was the one who was banned from NBA arenas for a year after 115 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,959 the whole laser pointer incident with the Indiana Pacers. He was on an IG 116 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:19,959 Live. John Morant flashed another gun. His friend had the self awareness to 117 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:24,480 like, no, this shouldn't be happening and duck the phone away. You 118 00:07:24,519 --> 00:07:28,720 could argue, well, like why are they on IG live? And I 119 00:07:28,959 --> 00:07:32,199 the Grizzlies promptly suspended him, which I actually don't know what that means when 120 00:07:32,279 --> 00:07:36,040 there were limited from the playoffs already, like all team related activities, and 121 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,720 it's like is he out of the group? Text? How does this work? 122 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,959 So? Great? I mean, I don't have to go do our 123 00:07:43,079 --> 00:07:46,959 charitable offseason endeavors like yet awesome. I don't have to show up for like 124 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:51,160 whatever. The equivalent of OTAs are cool, fine with me, and so 125 00:07:51,399 --> 00:07:54,800 I have a few thoughts that I would just like to throw it to you. 126 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:59,079 Is one, this is like the least serious of them all. Are 127 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,360 you really doing this again to stream to a hunt? Did you see it? 128 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,199 There's like one hundred and twenty one people watching this? What is what 129 00:08:05,279 --> 00:08:07,560 are you trying to do? It's one hundred and twenty one. I mean 130 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:13,120 more people have seen it now. I hate and if there's been and we've 131 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,759 seen it, there's like racial in just rhetoric, like when we come to 132 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,720 this discussion and I kind of hate how we talk about this sometimes and how 133 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,680 it's oversimplified and how people are just like, oh, he's done, it's 134 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:30,160 over, he's going the way of so and so that's really dismissive, I 135 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,639 mean, racist, just sort of unfair. However, I don't think we 136 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,360 need to twist ourselves into a pret zone and be like, well they were 137 00:08:37,399 --> 00:08:39,080 in the car. He wasn't in like a public strip club, and it 138 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,879 wasn't like he necessarily cross state lines and he could have been I think everyone 139 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:46,840 was like, well, he was either in Tennessee or Alabama or something, 140 00:08:46,879 --> 00:08:50,720 and they're they're open carry laws are different. And here is my issue. 141 00:08:50,919 --> 00:08:54,720 Even if he wasn't doing I mean doing anything illegal. I purchased the gun 142 00:08:54,799 --> 00:08:58,399 legally. He's in a state or whatever. You already got in trouble for 143 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:03,480 this once and clearly, given how swiftly the Grizzly suspended him, there needed 144 00:09:03,519 --> 00:09:07,360 to have been a warning if you want to displace blame on part of the 145 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:11,240 organization for enabling him behind the scenes or so long, go right ahead. 146 00:09:11,519 --> 00:09:16,519 But I'm not here when we live in the capital of the world of just 147 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:20,879 gun violence, where you're just willy nilly waving a gun around, I'm just 148 00:09:20,919 --> 00:09:24,600 not here for the excuses, especially when this happened already. And finally, 149 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,759 I don't want to hear there just young like argument. He's twenty three. 150 00:09:28,919 --> 00:09:33,480 Do you know how fucking easy it is not to wave a gun around on 151 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:37,519 an ig live at the age of twenty three. There are dozens of other 152 00:09:37,519 --> 00:09:41,200 players in the league doing it. Twenty three years old is old enough, 153 00:09:41,279 --> 00:09:43,840 especially after you did it the first time, to know not like this is 154 00:09:43,879 --> 00:09:48,879 not okay. And I'm who would have thought that his what thirty six hours 155 00:09:48,919 --> 00:09:54,600 of therapy didn't prove to be a panacea. And my real last thought is 156 00:09:54,639 --> 00:09:58,720 I worry we didn't see him use it this time. But like when they 157 00:09:58,919 --> 00:10:01,279 turned to the mental health aspect of this, I will never doubt someone that 158 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,399 says it, but like, I don't want to see it used as a 159 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,519 shield either, because then it does diminish people who are actually not only dealing 160 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:15,039 with this but actively trying to improve their their situation, improve themselves, or 161 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,519 feel like actually seek treatment. And there's I hate the way we talk about 162 00:10:18,519 --> 00:10:22,320 it. I've probably said some things that people hate they are just now and 163 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,559 I don't need to mean to stumble through it. But I'm just there's no 164 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,759 there's no caveats, there's no excuses here at this point, There's there's nothing 165 00:10:30,879 --> 00:10:33,320 this was like, this is just an all time fuck up by by John 166 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:39,440 Morant here And I'm just so I don't even want to be talking about it. 167 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:45,159 It's really hard for me to not like think about it or talk about 168 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:50,720 it in ways that are not condescending or like paternal you know, because it 169 00:10:52,399 --> 00:10:56,240 just feels so I the way the thing that resonates most with me is I 170 00:10:56,279 --> 00:11:01,159 can like separate out almost all the particulars like that, you know, it's 171 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:05,559 you need to consider like it is a gun. You know, that's a 172 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:09,080 dangerous thing. He's obviously like messing around with Like that, I can separate 173 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,320 out and still like kind of gets to where I'm at on it, which 174 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:16,840 is like you did a thing that cost you a ton of money and got 175 00:11:16,879 --> 00:11:22,480 you in a little bit of trouble, and clearly, you know, created 176 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,679 the possibility that were you to do it again, you would be in substantially, 177 00:11:26,799 --> 00:11:31,480 like exponentially probably more trouble. And we could talk about I want to 178 00:11:31,519 --> 00:11:35,159 ask you about the suspension that's coming probably from the league in a minute. 179 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,960 Like it's as simple as like you did a thing that you got caught doing 180 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:43,799 again, and you knew you were going to get in trouble and you did 181 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:48,320 the thing again. It's like, it's so hard for me to separate out 182 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:52,159 like the parental like angle of this, because it's just like this happens, 183 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,080 and like, again, this is such a dick thing to say. I 184 00:11:54,399 --> 00:11:58,759 don't mean to compare him to a child. I've seen that said a lot, 185 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:03,840 and the maturity aspect of this is very real. I'm uncomfortable saying it, 186 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:09,200 but It's just as simple as like your kid does something, you punish 187 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,039 them for it, they do it again, so now you have to look 188 00:12:11,039 --> 00:12:16,799 at now it's like you're just incredulous because everyone was clear on what the expectations 189 00:12:16,799 --> 00:12:20,279 were and what the consequences for not meeting those expectations would be, and so 190 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,960 now you ramp up the consequences, and the question is how severe will it 191 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:30,360 be. So I'm kind of receptive to the I don't like it as an 192 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:35,200 excuse that he's twenty three thing, But I'm receptive to the immaturity argument because 193 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:41,039 clearly this is immature behavior in the specific sense that like you touched the stove 194 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,639 and it burned you, and then you went back like an idiot and touched 195 00:12:43,639 --> 00:12:46,240 it again and put your hand on it for longer. It's like bad analogy, 196 00:12:46,279 --> 00:12:50,120 but it's kind of just like, how do you not digest the lesson 197 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:56,559 of the thing you did wrong? And that's and so I would say that, 198 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:00,360 like the mental health stuff, I was cynical about that as an excuse 199 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:03,279 from the outset. Again, feel like an asshole being like skeptical cynical about 200 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:07,679 it. It just never rang true to me. And now I think it's 201 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,759 like, you can't go back to that, you can't play that card again. 202 00:13:11,879 --> 00:13:16,240 I don't think, or at least not without doing like actual work to 203 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,279 address it, not spending two days or whatever it was like for pr reasons, 204 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,080 frankly is what I think it was like. That shouldn't be a hot 205 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,639 take. I think this was a damage control thing the first time Marank got 206 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,279 caught, and so now it's who knows what's gonna happen. But I just 207 00:13:31,039 --> 00:13:35,480 it didn't do anything to dispel my cynicism, and I'm annoyed by how difficult 208 00:13:35,519 --> 00:13:39,840 it is to talk about it without like having to discuss a grown adult like 209 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:46,639 he's a child, because he's just operating and making decisions like a child would. 210 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:52,440 So I just I'll just put it to you over under fifty game suspension. 211 00:13:52,799 --> 00:13:56,799 Whoa, I'll go under. I didn't even want to play that game. 212 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:58,759 That's early, but I was to say it's gonna be longer than eight. 213 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,360 Here's this, it's if it's not. I want to make two things 214 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,039 clear. This is not irredeemable. I don't think John's over. He's one 215 00:14:07,039 --> 00:14:09,919 of the brightest stars in the league. I don't think this says that he's 216 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:11,639 a terrible human being. No, I just think, like this is getting 217 00:14:11,639 --> 00:14:16,360 out of control. My second one is if it's not I don't know what 218 00:14:16,399 --> 00:14:20,039 the suspension should should be, but if it's not substantial, or if he 219 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,159 just doesn't get one, Adam Silver's a fucking coward, Like this is not 220 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,799 that's I mean, I don't I can't even elaborate on that, so just 221 00:14:26,879 --> 00:14:30,320 you can go ahead like, no, here's the thing. So I think 222 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:35,200 if this were David cern like, you could name almost any punishment, Like 223 00:14:35,279 --> 00:14:37,399 you could talk about a year suspension, because part of what happened the first 224 00:14:37,399 --> 00:14:41,840 time around is like there was a face to face conversation in which Jah like 225 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:46,879 expressed contrition and claimed he was going to grow from this and understood why this 226 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,879 was a problem. Clearly none of that was followed through on, and so 227 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:58,279 I think I think if because Adam Silver must understand that if he doesn't come 228 00:14:58,279 --> 00:15:03,039 down really hard, then he looks weak. Right. But the other thing 229 00:15:03,159 --> 00:15:07,559 is like this is a problem for a league that for a very long time 230 00:15:07,759 --> 00:15:11,919 had a reputation that it was trying to shed, which is like these guys 231 00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:16,240 are thugs quote unquote, like that word was out there all the time, 232 00:15:16,279 --> 00:15:18,840 and it was bullshit and it still is. But I think the league is 233 00:15:18,879 --> 00:15:24,960 still really conscious of how are we presenting ourselves in terms of like how do 234 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,200 we market these stars? Like how do we how do we appeal to the 235 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,399 broadest possible fan base and anybody that's predisposed or wants to reach back to the 236 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:37,000 like all the Alan Iverson dialogue that was happening, and all that other stuff 237 00:15:37,039 --> 00:15:41,320 that David Stern just like dropped the hammer on super hard. Remember the dress 238 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,600 code, Like that was a real thing that happened, right heavy handed, 239 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,919 like again like paternally like just probably racist. Also, all that shit, 240 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:52,679 all of it was designed to make sure the league was palatable, to make 241 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:58,639 sure that the image that players were putting out there was like maximumly marketable. 242 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,639 This is like a reach back to the problem the NBA thought it used to 243 00:16:02,639 --> 00:16:06,720 have in terms of its marketability. So like I would not be surprised, 244 00:16:06,759 --> 00:16:10,399 like fifties a crazy number, right, But when you combine the fact that 245 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:15,840 he did the exact same fucking thing again, like really soon after he did 246 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,919 it the first time, and said all the right things which were obviously bullshit, 247 00:16:18,919 --> 00:16:22,159 and you've you've got that aspect. You've got Adam Silver feeling like he 248 00:16:22,159 --> 00:16:25,879 has to send a message, and you've got the big business interests of like, 249 00:16:25,919 --> 00:16:30,960 we can't have our most marketable young star who's got a signature shoe line 250 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:37,039 doing this, because that's just gonna make everyone who's predisposed to think this think 251 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:38,840 again that the league is just you know, all these you know, these 252 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,759 are immature millionaires with like bad reputations and they're all punks, and like, 253 00:16:44,159 --> 00:16:45,960 I don't think that. I think that's the wrong thing to think. I 254 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,240 think, of course, I don't feel like we should need to say that, 255 00:16:48,679 --> 00:16:52,600 but like, the optics are a big problem for a league that was 256 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:57,879 like laser focused on cleaning up this exact kind of thing not that long ago. 257 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,720 So that's a meandering way of saying, Like, I do think a 258 00:17:02,799 --> 00:17:07,519 significant suspension is imminent. I don't know what it'll be, but fifty seemed 259 00:17:07,519 --> 00:17:11,480 like a provocative number. I think Lance Robertson in the chat brings up a 260 00:17:11,519 --> 00:17:14,079 nation point. It has to be a twenty to twenty five games suspension enough 261 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,480 to knock him out of any legitimate award. The biggest fuck you that it 262 00:17:17,519 --> 00:17:19,480 could actually be would be, like you know what eighteen games, yeah, 263 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,880 sixty four and like you didn't and I know there's like exceptions, but you 264 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,759 would have to literally play in everything like there would just be that would be 265 00:17:26,799 --> 00:17:29,799 the biggest fuck you. But you don't need to move on to the sixers, 266 00:17:29,839 --> 00:17:33,119 but we have. I think this is a compliment the chat me tin 267 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,640 keekachevitch. I apologize for butchering the shit out of that. I often wonder 268 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,160 why so few of us are listening. Your content is often very good and 269 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:44,680 rarely not worth listening. I appreciate your guys' effort. We appreciate that Alexander 270 00:17:45,319 --> 00:17:48,359 have a chevics. I'm so sorry. Guys. I think they have a 271 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,039 lot of larger pod following and that they're just transitioning to YouTube. That's basically 272 00:17:52,079 --> 00:17:56,839 it. We do have a much larger We get way more downloads than we 273 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,559 do YouTube views. I can tell you that, but you could also tell 274 00:17:59,559 --> 00:18:02,240 your friend if you would like to see our YouTube views go up and see 275 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,559 you guys get more popular. So I appreciate those sentiments. Do you want 276 00:18:04,599 --> 00:18:07,799 to talk about the doc rivers firing? And I'm not really gonna give you 277 00:18:07,799 --> 00:18:11,640 a choice. I'm just gonna say that you do. Can we start by 278 00:18:11,759 --> 00:18:18,319 it was probably one of the least surprising moves. Now I want to get 279 00:18:18,319 --> 00:18:22,240 into I want to get into the fallout, how surprise you are with this 280 00:18:22,319 --> 00:18:26,240 happening. But did you see the odds on who is going to be the 281 00:18:26,279 --> 00:18:30,599 next Sixers head coach? Yes? I did, as the best odds, 282 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:36,799 Yeah, throw them up there. JJ Reddick is number one at three to 283 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:38,799 one. And I just want to say that betting odds as a rule of 284 00:18:38,839 --> 00:18:44,759 them or a reflection of what people are like actually investing in, not of 285 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,720 reality for the most part. And I want to know what type of brand 286 00:18:48,839 --> 00:18:53,160 JJ Reddick has that people decided to flock to him. Monty Williams is second, 287 00:18:53,279 --> 00:18:56,599 Nick Nurses three, Jay Right, Jay Wright. I thought it was 288 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,440 interesting, but probably just because of like the geography of it. Mike Budenholzer 289 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,720 and him are tied for fourth, followed by d' antoni at fifth, and 290 00:19:03,759 --> 00:19:10,440 they mentioned already the reporting specifically said that d' antoni, Budenholzer, Nurse, 291 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,079 and Monnie Williams were all involved, and I think so was Sam Cassell, 292 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,440 who's at eighteen to one down. So Alan Irison, by the way, 293 00:19:15,519 --> 00:19:21,200 lying five hundred to one if anyone's interested. So I mean that's worth that's 294 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,119 worth of dollar. Yeah, why not? I would love it if they 295 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,000 did that. Alan Irison is just coaching the sixth it's a gap year, 296 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:32,240 like James Harn's not there. Yea, Doctors clearly wasn't the reason that I 297 00:19:32,279 --> 00:19:36,519 thought he'd probably his best season as a Sixers coach this year maybe, but 298 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,519 do you like it's hard to I guess I'll throw doing this. It's kind 299 00:19:40,519 --> 00:19:44,720 of hard to argue against this decision though, right, Yeah, I mean 300 00:19:45,039 --> 00:19:48,759 just from the bait, like you know, his ridiculous losing streak in game 301 00:19:48,799 --> 00:19:52,799 sevens and all this stuff, and you know, you see Rashid Wallace talking 302 00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:56,200 about this, this all comes out like now of course, or at least 303 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,319 gets amplified now talking about Doc doesn't adjust, talking about he puts too much 304 00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:03,480 on the players. That's from Rashid Wallace, not my analysis. Necessarily, 305 00:20:03,519 --> 00:20:06,920 his record is what it is. Then, James Harden just like giving the 306 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:15,039 most like dead fish handshake of an endorsement was his relationship that Yeah, Joel 307 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,680 Bead's comments were they needed, They needed the full context of what he said 308 00:20:18,799 --> 00:20:21,079 where it was like maybe the answer still wasn't great, but like it was, 309 00:20:22,079 --> 00:20:26,000 but like the James Harden stuff was not. Yeah, yeah no, 310 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:32,960 I guess, like yeah, pretty foreseeable for several reasons, because because Morey 311 00:20:33,079 --> 00:20:36,519 didn't hire him. First of all, right, Maria showed up after doctor 312 00:20:36,599 --> 00:20:40,039 was there and he was, So that's always like two years, three years, 313 00:20:40,799 --> 00:20:45,920 doc for three more for less than that. I think maybe that's wrong, 314 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,440 but whenever that is the case, like if if the executive didn't hire 315 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,000 the coach, the coach is just on borrowed time. Like that's just like 316 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,519 how it works. The thing that that all this stuff makes me think of 317 00:20:56,559 --> 00:21:00,200 because the other you know, Reddick at the top of that list is kind 318 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,960 of wild to me, and the Toronto interview was kind of wild. We 319 00:21:03,039 --> 00:21:06,400 discussed that a little bit. But you see, all the most of the 320 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,759 other names, the ones that seem likely Nurse Buddenholzer, Monty Williams, all 321 00:21:10,759 --> 00:21:15,119 these guys are just mostly going to swap places, and so it ties back 322 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,559 to the I forget who said it. I forgive me. This was on 323 00:21:18,599 --> 00:21:22,119 Twitter. I saw and you see it happened fairly often when coaches get fired. 324 00:21:22,759 --> 00:21:26,920 But the idea that like it's really easy to look at a situation and 325 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:32,000 say this coach isn't working for whatever reason. Usually it's just the players have 326 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,160 stopped listening or don't believe that he's the best person to run the show or 327 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:42,799 whatever. It's really hard to decide who will make this work because there's so 328 00:21:42,839 --> 00:21:48,079 many moving parts and there's so many variables. I mean, the Sixers number 329 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:49,519 one, like is James Harden going to be there or not? That talk 330 00:21:49,519 --> 00:21:52,400 about a variable for the next coach, and like what kind of coach you 331 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,799 might want or not want depending on if he's there or not. But it's 332 00:21:56,799 --> 00:21:59,519 just really easy to look at like the Sixers or the Suns. Like the 333 00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:03,880 Suns is harder. I think Williams got a pretty raw deal, but it's 334 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,920 easy to say, like, well that didn't work, so this coach has 335 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,000 got to go. But then like it's not like the work is over now, 336 00:22:10,039 --> 00:22:12,880 it's just like you've got to figure out who's gonna make this work, 337 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,519 and that you can just never know. You can never know. So that's 338 00:22:15,519 --> 00:22:18,279 why the same guys are gonna just flop, you know, flip flop, 339 00:22:18,279 --> 00:22:22,359 and Monty Williams will be one place and Buttonholzer will be somebody else. Somewhere 340 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,279 else, and you know they'll all have three year stints and then probably get 341 00:22:25,319 --> 00:22:29,960 fired again. Like that's just that's how it'll work. I do think James 342 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,799 Harden's future is going to inform who they end up hiring. And I think 343 00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:41,079 what's I don't know if the word is interesting here, but like they this 344 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,000 is not I think everyone's putting it is. It's going to end up being 345 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,200 in James Harden's court where if he wants to go back to Houston, and 346 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:48,839 that's what he wants to do, that's what he's going to do. But 347 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,599 like this, this is not a no brainer for the Sixers. His max 348 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:57,039 salary next year is forty six point nine million dollars. I'm not I mean, 349 00:22:57,119 --> 00:23:00,000 yeah, if it was a two year deal or something, but you're 350 00:23:00,039 --> 00:23:03,960 not maxing out James Harden for three and four years, now, are you? 351 00:23:06,079 --> 00:23:07,920 No? Of course not. And I want to know. I'm wondering 352 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,559 if this is going to be a consequence of Rob Sheldon says in the chack 353 00:23:12,559 --> 00:23:15,119 ottilieve Harden will be lobbying for d' antoni, wouldn't you? But does Harden 354 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,119 even stay? Yeah, I mean that's the question. I think d' Antoni 355 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,599 might factor in prominently if James Harden really loved playing for him, which by 356 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,559 all intense he did. But like we're talking about the six years, they 357 00:23:27,599 --> 00:23:32,119 might not run into it this season. But like the Dubs, the Clippers, 358 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:34,359 we're talking about that second luxury tax apron. I'm wondering if another consequence 359 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:41,039 of that is we're going to see star players not get paid as handsomely as 360 00:23:41,039 --> 00:23:42,599 deep into their careers. We're like a James Harden situation. Now, We're 361 00:23:42,599 --> 00:23:45,680 like, if Philly has to start thinking about that a couple of years down 362 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,200 the line. You can't have James Harden on the books for fifty plus million 363 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:52,559 dollars because like you're gonna need the wiggle room to build elsewhere. I just 364 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,519 I this is a quick aside. What a terrible decision by the players union 365 00:23:56,559 --> 00:24:03,279 to agree to that. Yes, so bad? Yeah, go ahead, 366 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,440 No, I was just gonna say it like it makes it. I mean, 367 00:24:07,079 --> 00:24:11,079 it's it's bad for the players because it's so clearly a win for owners 368 00:24:11,079 --> 00:24:14,799 who who want to basically have a hard cap, because this is how it's 369 00:24:14,799 --> 00:24:17,680 going to function. And if anytime you have a hard cap, it just 370 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:22,119 means that the players are getting paid less money. So that's bad, right, 371 00:24:22,359 --> 00:24:26,359 Like the penalties are so because so it used to be okay if you 372 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:27,960 had deep enough pockets too, and it's never okay. But you could pay 373 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,480 hard and fifty million dollars when he's like a twenty million dollar player, because 374 00:24:32,599 --> 00:24:36,279 that just costs you extra money. Yeah, but now in addition to spending 375 00:24:36,319 --> 00:24:40,480 all that extra money and having all the tax penalties. Everybody listens to this 376 00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:44,279 podcast probably knows we've never really discussed the second apron, But like cost you 377 00:24:44,319 --> 00:24:48,000 a bunch of roster building resources, Like your mid level's gone. Your trade 378 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,119 flexibility goes to like zero. You can't take in money or send it out, 379 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,400 you can't aggregate. You're gonna have your first round or kicked at the 380 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,000 end of the first round. Like all this shit happens, and you need 381 00:24:57,039 --> 00:25:00,799 all that stuff when you're overpaying a guy by two and a half x. 382 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,839 So like that's it will So to your point, you're you're totally right, 383 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:10,000 Like you have to start thinking extra hard about well we can overpay for a 384 00:25:10,079 --> 00:25:14,319 year in the back end will suck because whatever you know, Harden's gonna age 385 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,880 or whoever else you're talking about. But like it's just the calculus just has 386 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,319 to be different now because that one year where you're willing to overpay and just 387 00:25:22,559 --> 00:25:26,119 eat, you know, we'll deal with the rest of it later. Like 388 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,000 that's not an option anymore for almost any team, no matter how rich the 389 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,680 owners are. Did your And by the way, some of the other punis 390 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,799 stuff where it's not only can you not trade your draft pick seven years out 391 00:25:36,839 --> 00:25:38,200 in advance, so this year that'd be the twenty thirty pick, but if 392 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,799 you hit the second luxury attach apron, I think for two of three years 393 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,480 or two of four years or whatever, that pick just gets moved to the 394 00:25:45,559 --> 00:25:48,599 end of the first round. This is just an I'm sorry, what a 395 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,559 concession by the players. You're fucking terrible. Did the end of the Celtic 396 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,440 Series change your impression of I don't want to say this Stuess at large, 397 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,680 but of Joel and beat at all And I don't mean to I feel like 398 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,799 this is a low hanging fruit in a sense, Joel Embiid is one of 399 00:26:03,839 --> 00:26:07,319 that. He was a deserving m VP this year. We both had Yo 400 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,480 kich though I think right or did you ever be whatever? Like I think 401 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,960 an either or situation was fine, Like, there's always stuff with him in 402 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,000 the playoffs now, like his playoff numbers by and large or not great. 403 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,160 He's always dealing with an injury, and I think that needs to be part 404 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:23,880 of your team building calculus moving forward as well. Not that I don't think 405 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,079 Joel Embiid can be that. You can't win the title with Joel Emid is 406 00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:30,400 your best player, but can you win the title when you have Joel Embid 407 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,599 is your best player and then James Harden is your second best player because of 408 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,400 what his playoff track record is now and it's just it is what it is. 409 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,000 James Harden had two all time great performances against the Sixers and then like 410 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,440 pretty much every other game sucked there. I think there was a normal game 411 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,920 sprinkled in there. Whatever. Yeah, I like that has to change your 412 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:52,240 calculus of how to flesh out the rest of the Sixers roster because right now 413 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:56,200 it's and look, they're a team because the aggregate stuff for that second luxury 414 00:26:56,279 --> 00:26:59,680 tax ship Apron does not kick in I think until twenty four, twenty five. 415 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,039 That's why I think this is going to be a summer of like Bonker's 416 00:27:03,079 --> 00:27:04,799 player movement at least we have the trade market because some of these teams are 417 00:27:04,799 --> 00:27:10,480 going to be trying to be ultra aggressive. There. Your pathway is Maxie 418 00:27:10,759 --> 00:27:15,920 pops into a better than an All Star type player, which it could happen, 419 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:19,200 or you're using Maxie to acquire someone else who gives you the cushion that 420 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:23,519 you don't currently have. So I'm just you have to credit the Celtics in 421 00:27:23,559 --> 00:27:26,839 that series for their adjustments. The Ben Taylor did a great video for Thinking 422 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:32,279 Basketball about how they were just they insert RW three in the location more and 423 00:27:32,319 --> 00:27:34,759 you have Al Horford just getting out of Harden's way. This brought up questions 424 00:27:34,759 --> 00:27:37,720 though about, well, why can't Harden He's good at Ben Taylor for him, 425 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,119 but this way he's great at exploiting like stuff that he knows about, 426 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,039 but can he adjust in real time? So there's a level of the Celtics 427 00:27:45,079 --> 00:27:48,240 definitely won this series, but I can't help them. Back my mind, 428 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,480 I'm like, even if you get James Harden on the submax or if it's 429 00:27:52,279 --> 00:27:56,119 let's let's just say it's a two year max or something like, I just 430 00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,160 don't feel as comfortable. And they were one win away from the Conference finals. 431 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,200 So I get that this might be a little too hot taky for some 432 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:08,200 people. I just don't feel great about this six Ers core moving forward. 433 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,759 And I thought they I thought they had like a really like between depth and 434 00:28:11,799 --> 00:28:17,799 just personnel, but it's they still feel like they need one more really high 435 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,839 end player, or like they really need a smattering of super high end role 436 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:30,920 players like I'm talking three. So you've gotten to take a giant victory lap, 437 00:28:30,039 --> 00:28:33,559 as Rob Sheldon said, indeed, with the largest scoring average drop by 438 00:28:33,559 --> 00:28:37,480 in MVP in history from regular season to playoffs, he's talking about I want 439 00:28:37,519 --> 00:28:41,039 to get to that. But you've gotten to take a victory lap on your 440 00:28:41,119 --> 00:28:45,440 Nuggets title pick from since the preseason, and you deserved it because they look 441 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,759 amazing. I want to take a little victory lap because when we talked about 442 00:28:48,759 --> 00:28:52,480 this series, as in a preview sense, I thought it would start with 443 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,359 the Celtics are gonna play double bigs and have Rob Williams guard PJ. Tucker 444 00:28:56,359 --> 00:29:00,640 and roam off of him and ruin everything. The Celtics didn't do that until 445 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:06,079 Game six and it swung the series. So clearly I am a better coach 446 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:08,039 than Joe Missoula Because I thought that's what they do from the start, and 447 00:29:08,079 --> 00:29:14,039 it absolutely worked. I just did like that was the thing that changed it 448 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:18,279 and swung the series in the Celtics favor, which like to to like dump 449 00:29:18,319 --> 00:29:22,119 on myself a little bit, like that should have been the obvious thing, 450 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:26,119 because that's what made you so good last year and made your defense incredible and 451 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:29,720 got Robert Williams Defensive Player of the Year consideration and was got you to the 452 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,839 finals, and then the Celtics just didn't do that very much. So anyway, 453 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:41,400 just little little self congratulations because I thought that's no. But the other 454 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:47,839 thing so about indeed, I think you're right, this is like kind of 455 00:29:47,839 --> 00:29:52,160 not a great time to be evaluating it or to jump to to sort of 456 00:29:52,279 --> 00:29:55,960 I don't know, be definitive about the Sixers and their core and how viable 457 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,440 it is going forward, because you said it. They they they were really 458 00:30:00,519 --> 00:30:03,960 close to making the conference finals and Embiid was clearly hampered, right, Like 459 00:30:04,039 --> 00:30:07,039 I think, I don't think you can talk about anything that happened with the 460 00:30:07,079 --> 00:30:11,160 Sixers without you know, somewhere in the top three in terms of what you 461 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,440 have to mention, is he played with the injury that l C L sprain 462 00:30:15,759 --> 00:30:18,119 that probably had been the regular season, he'd be out for like two more 463 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,319 weeks after today, let alone like back you know, playing in this series. 464 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:27,920 So like that just makes it so like because if so, by that 465 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:32,960 logic, if you ran the whole thing back Doc, everybody and just embid 466 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,799 doesn't have that issue, there's a decent chance of sixers are in the conference 467 00:30:36,799 --> 00:30:41,279 finals right now and they're the title favorites in not Boston. That's a totally 468 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:47,279 like possible scenario. The counter that is embiad is always hurt and his playoff 469 00:30:47,319 --> 00:30:51,359 production always suffers, and so at some point you just have to say this 470 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:56,319 is the expectation. Now, that doesn't mean you necessarily change how you build 471 00:30:56,319 --> 00:31:00,920 the roster, because every team is like just completely subject to how healthy it's 472 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:06,599 best player is. The problem is inb just over and Over is hamstrung somehow 473 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,559 by an injury in the playoffs and his production dwindles, and that's just where 474 00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:11,240 we are. So I don't know what the answer is in terms of how 475 00:31:11,279 --> 00:31:15,680 this changes the way they build the team, because you know they should just 476 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,240 say, well, let's put more shooting around the nbad hard and pick and 477 00:31:18,319 --> 00:31:21,599 roll and just see how that works if everybody stays healthy, that's about as 478 00:31:21,599 --> 00:31:26,039 good a chance as we can realistically have. I do think, like you 479 00:31:26,079 --> 00:31:32,440 know, the Maxie piece of it, He's looked really good in some stretches. 480 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:37,480 I just wonder if his status as like a perma defensive target for the 481 00:31:37,519 --> 00:31:41,400 other team is going to be an issue as like if you need him to 482 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,960 be better than an All Star. I think in terms of playoff impact, 483 00:31:45,119 --> 00:31:48,200 that's gonna make it really difficult. Like he may very well make multiple Star 484 00:31:48,319 --> 00:31:52,559 games during the regular season, and then unless he's better defensively, just he 485 00:31:52,759 --> 00:31:56,279 just won't be as valuable in the playoffs. So the Maxi piece is interesting 486 00:31:56,319 --> 00:32:00,359 to bias Harris. What do you do there? Is he movable? Like 487 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:02,839 if you're worried about the tax penalties, like holy shit, Like that's that 488 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,920 might be where you start, as Robertson says, maybe trade Harris for a 489 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,039 longer contract. Yeah, but I mean we just talked about how you know 490 00:32:12,119 --> 00:32:15,759 punitive being over that second apron is you want Harris's money, you know, 491 00:32:15,799 --> 00:32:17,920 maybe a little bit less money for a bunch more years, and then you 492 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:22,559 get into the repeater stuff that's that's brutal. So there are real challenges. 493 00:32:22,759 --> 00:32:25,079 The injury complicates everything because I don't know that you can say this team wasn't 494 00:32:25,119 --> 00:32:29,440 good enough. It just may not have been healthy enough at a particular position, 495 00:32:29,559 --> 00:32:31,640 right, Like is that an oversimplification? Do you have? You know? 496 00:32:31,799 --> 00:32:35,680 Like that's so unsatisfying because you want to just say, well, let's 497 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,599 tweak this and tinker here and do X, Y and z. But you 498 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,119 know, other than bringing Harden back at a number you can stomach, I'm 499 00:32:42,119 --> 00:32:45,359 not sure what you do. The complexion of their off season changes a lot 500 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:47,599 differently. If you're able to view this through the lens of well, if 501 00:32:47,599 --> 00:32:51,200 it beats healthy, this is fine. You're just at the point where you 502 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:54,960 can't say that right anymore. And I think, look, I don't know 503 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:59,359 how they make changes you as lance and mentioned, maybe trade Harris for a 504 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,200 larger contract where you Harrison making thirty nine point three million. That's not a 505 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:06,240 throwaway expiring contract. I don't think he's a terrible player, but that number 506 00:33:06,319 --> 00:33:08,839 is just it's relative to the value he's providing leads with the Sixers. Isn't 507 00:33:08,839 --> 00:33:13,519 even close to what he's worth. Yea, what are you attaching da him? 508 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,240 They can trade one first round pick this summer, they can trade one 509 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:21,319 first round pick. Harrison. One first round pick gets you what I mean, 510 00:33:22,319 --> 00:33:25,960 like a bad contract, still a bad contract that runs longer, and 511 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,880 it's just like Harris one first round pick and Tyrese Maxe tyres Maxie gets you 512 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:35,000 what. I don't even know what the who the best players that you could 513 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,319 acquire with that, And so I think I know everyone got into the discussion, 514 00:33:38,319 --> 00:33:42,440 will will be request to trade and I don't really want to get into 515 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:45,440 like that aspect. I do think the market for him might not be as 516 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,640 frothy as people think, just because of these injuries and because he's twenty nine 517 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:52,400 or whatever he is. But my question to you, and it's twofold one, 518 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:58,359 do you think James Harden is back in Philadelphia next season? Oh? 519 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,200 Man, you just have to yes or no. This one, I'm gonna 520 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:07,199 say. I'm gonna say yes. And that presupposes that the Houston stuff is 521 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:12,800 maybe just leverage, which I feel very uncomfortable with because it feels kind of 522 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,599 real. But I'm gonna say yes. I'm gonna say yes too, because 523 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:17,760 I just can't fathom that he would go back unless there's Look, we've seen 524 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:22,440 other teams just get multi stars at once, and the Houston Rockets could absolutely 525 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:27,360 do that. But I do think the fact that there was reporting from Monachellburn 526 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,039 that said Harden would want Rivers fired and they went that route. He has 527 00:34:30,039 --> 00:34:34,320 a good relationship with Mari. I think he'll be back to now. My 528 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:38,800 question to you is is he back because the Sixers gave him a max of 529 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:45,119 three years or longer? Oh? Man, I don't know. Well, 530 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:49,400 because it's Marian, because they have this relationship, you might assume that there's 531 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:52,519 already an agreement in place, and it dates all the way back to him 532 00:34:52,519 --> 00:34:58,840 taking less last offseason. I think I saw I'll say this, I think 533 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:04,000 he's back because he's going to get a three year max ish deal and because 534 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,400 they're probably saying, if you would like Mike D'Antoni to coach this team, 535 00:35:07,559 --> 00:35:12,039 that we will make that happen. I think there's probably a couple of things 536 00:35:12,199 --> 00:35:15,880 that are in the offering for him. So the final thing author there is 537 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:20,639 over under James Harden salary next year forty one million dollars, what do you 538 00:35:20,639 --> 00:35:24,519 make this year thirty six nine? His max is forty six point nine million 539 00:35:24,559 --> 00:35:28,119 next year, So we'll set the over under at forty one million dollars for 540 00:35:28,159 --> 00:35:30,119 the first year of his next contract. I think it's over. I think 541 00:35:30,159 --> 00:35:36,440 he's going over and don't you. I think it's under. I think maybe 542 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,280 it'll be like a four year deal. That's kind of like maybe average is 543 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,559 forty on the button something like that. Alan Davis has sixers want to run 544 00:35:43,599 --> 00:35:45,559 it back with the same personnel, different coach. I'm gonna tell you right 545 00:35:45,599 --> 00:35:46,400 now, they're not gonna win the title next season if they do that. 546 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:51,119 There's just it can't be the same personnel because you have to plan around what 547 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:54,039 Harden's going to be in the playoffs, which is sometimes really good, sometimes 548 00:35:54,079 --> 00:35:58,480 preposterously bad, and then you just can't count on a B to be healthy. 549 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:00,320 You just you can't do it. He's gonna go through an entire regular 550 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:02,519 season. Maybe he's not as a YO. We had this. I can't 551 00:36:02,519 --> 00:36:07,199 find a comment right now. Did Joel Embiid wear himself? Oh? From 552 00:36:07,239 --> 00:36:09,320 Rob Sheldon? Did Joel Embid wear himself out being so obsessed with the MVP. 553 00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:13,519 I mean maybe, like he dealt with stuff every single playoff, so 554 00:36:13,559 --> 00:36:19,280 he wear himself out every regular season. Alexander says over but declining on the 555 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:21,559 James Harden number, that might be a good way to look at it too. 556 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,840 Sure, so if the average annual value is forty one million dollars, 557 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:29,639 would you take the under or over on that? Well? I think probably 558 00:36:29,679 --> 00:36:31,360 still over, just because I don't think it's likely he's going to agree to 559 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:35,159 a deal that declines of value. The other thing we should note is because 560 00:36:35,159 --> 00:36:37,480 of the over thirty eight rule, they can't offer him a fifth year. 561 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:39,679 The difference between what the Sixers can offer and what another team can offer on 562 00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:45,079 a four year deal is actually pretty insignificant. So I guess if you're saying, 563 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:49,719 if you're of the mind that Harden's gonna leave, that's a pretty decent 564 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:52,280 piece of evidence that the Sixers can't really give him a lot more than another 565 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:57,519 team could. They can go, so they can go four years two hundred 566 00:36:57,519 --> 00:37:00,559 and ten point one million, and another team go four years two hundred and 567 00:37:00,599 --> 00:37:05,039 one point seven million. Yeah, that's a big deal. The difference would 568 00:37:05,079 --> 00:37:07,480 come if the Sixers aren't willing to pay that and the Rockets are just like, 569 00:37:07,559 --> 00:37:12,320 hey, here's your four year, two hundred and two million dollars max, 570 00:37:12,559 --> 00:37:15,639 and the Sixers aren't willing to go anywhere near that. Yeah, No, 571 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:17,920 I think that's right. Is D'Antoni the next coach? Is that just 572 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:22,719 two? Is that that's too obvious of a solution. I kind of feel 573 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:30,960 like it's going to be Sam Cassell or Mike Budenholzer. Okay, all right, 574 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:34,159 interesting, it's gonna be D'Antoni. I think it's gonna be D'Antoni. 575 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:37,079 Well, you gotta stop running back the twenty eighteen rockets plus inbiad like at 576 00:37:37,079 --> 00:37:42,280 some point, right, based on everything else that Moray has done since taking 577 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:45,400 over the team, like, it seems he's very much interested in running back 578 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:47,840 those rockets, seems because you've got PJ. Tucker. Who else is there? 579 00:37:49,079 --> 00:37:52,920 Daniel House? I think, And if if this is what happens, 580 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:58,199 you will just see the hardeningbiad pick and roll, which ridiculously effective all year 581 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,280 and ever since they've been together, surrounded by more shooters, Like that's just 582 00:38:01,519 --> 00:38:05,559 that's just what it's going to be. And so maybe the move is to 583 00:38:05,679 --> 00:38:09,119 just make this into the twenty seventeen rockets. You trade Maxie for like two 584 00:38:09,119 --> 00:38:13,320 guys that are forty percent three point shooters or something like. I don't know, 585 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:15,599 maybe they just want to run it back and just one last ride with 586 00:38:15,639 --> 00:38:19,760 hard and Mbid pick and rolls a million times a game with three shooters on 587 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:22,599 the floor. I guess my question is is this is why I wouldn't trade 588 00:38:22,639 --> 00:38:25,480 Maxie. Is do you trust and Beid and Hardened to hold up enough and 589 00:38:25,519 --> 00:38:29,159 play in the playoffs to where you're just saying, well, yeah, we 590 00:38:29,199 --> 00:38:34,239 can trade Maxie just for complimentary playing. Look, max is super complimentary, 591 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,000 but if you're you would skew more towards We want three D guys who aren't 592 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,280 going to create with the ball in their hands. Maybe they can't even attack 593 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:45,079 in open space like Maxie can. And I just don't think they can just 594 00:38:45,159 --> 00:38:47,559 do that. And so it's almost like I've even if you could get zach 595 00:38:47,679 --> 00:38:52,159 Lavine for MAXI and a first and Tobias Harris, would you do it? 596 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:55,159 I don't know. I mean, I I just think it's a long OsO 597 00:38:55,239 --> 00:39:00,079 play. It's a lot, that's I just maybe it's a long odds play 598 00:39:00,119 --> 00:39:04,039 no matter what. But we know Moury is obsessed with like how do we 599 00:39:04,079 --> 00:39:07,880 increase our championship equity by seven tenths of a percent? And like, yeah, 600 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:12,920 it's really unlikely that Embied and Harden can hold up for a full season 601 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:19,280 in playoffs playing that hypothetical you know style, But like your championship odds and 602 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,360 under any circumstances are pretty slim. So like, yeah, you priced in 603 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:24,559 the chance that this won't work because of injury, but maybe even that is 604 00:39:24,559 --> 00:39:29,239 still a better you know, it has a better championship equity, you know, 605 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,760 percentage than I don't know, doing whatever else running it back or keeping 606 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,880 Maxie you who know. First of all, what we do know is that 607 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:40,119 Morey has been thinking about, like how do we how do we add a 608 00:39:40,159 --> 00:39:45,280 couple percentages to our equity? Like since before the playoffs started, Like that's 609 00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:47,960 all they ever do there. He probably has like eight moves, eight moves 610 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:51,000 mapped out that we haven't even thought about. And I will say, we 611 00:39:51,039 --> 00:39:52,920 want teams to go for it, so I'm not saying they shouldn't pay hard, 612 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:57,599 and they kind of have to, but I will say, just running 613 00:39:57,599 --> 00:40:01,119 it back feels like Foe going all in. Where's just nice? You know, 614 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:05,000 you need to make I think some sort of material change outside of the 615 00:40:05,039 --> 00:40:07,480 coach is where I'm at. Do you want to talk about a topic that's 616 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:12,039 going to be super dated because Game one is in a few hours. But 617 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:15,519 the Lakers Nuggets series, which I think we're both just enthralled by and kind 618 00:40:15,519 --> 00:40:19,599 of annoyed that we have a deadline for something else related to the lottery that 619 00:40:19,639 --> 00:40:22,079 happens during the middle of it. If anyone wants to be behind the curtain, 620 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:28,559 what are your overarching about that? Where's Jamie see watching? How what 621 00:40:28,679 --> 00:40:34,760 are your over your biggest overarching thought heading into this series? I think the 622 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:40,239 most interesting aspect of it to me is how different this will be for both 623 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:44,079 teams. Again, like that's always the most fun thing for me is you 624 00:40:44,119 --> 00:40:45,360 know, when the Warriors went from the Kings to the Lakers, it was 625 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:49,480 just like it was almost a different sport, And I think that's gonna be 626 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:52,480 kind of the same way for this series. I really just want to see 627 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:57,079 tell me, tell me what you think about this. Yokich is the playoff 628 00:40:57,159 --> 00:40:59,639 MVP, right? I think that's you know, it's been Butler, it's 629 00:40:59,639 --> 00:41:01,599 been seen an MVP, but that's neither here. He's right, So, 630 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:07,480 but like I would argue that I think Anthony Davis, because of what he 631 00:41:07,519 --> 00:41:13,039 does on both ends, is like not that far from Yokich in terms of 632 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:16,840 like current postseason value or impact. I think in the Warrior series, Davis 633 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:21,960 was just he was the guy that changed the whole series throughout it. Just 634 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:24,079 where is he? How do we scheme around him? How do we get 635 00:41:24,159 --> 00:41:28,280 him away from whatever we want to do on defense? And then how do 636 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:30,599 we keep him off the offensive glass? How do we guard him? Like 637 00:41:30,639 --> 00:41:32,599 he's just was the guy in that series, which is wild in a series 638 00:41:32,599 --> 00:41:37,000 that involves Steph Curry because usually he's the guy. I think it was in 639 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,239 fact Davis that required the most like attention during that series, and his team 640 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:45,559 won the series, So that's a factor. So I'm fascinated to see what 641 00:41:45,679 --> 00:41:49,840 Davis can do in the Yokich matchup, and you know, how much is 642 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,800 he gonna guard him? My assumption would be, like the vast majority of 643 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:57,480 the time, what do the Nuggets do to like the Warriors did, to 644 00:41:57,599 --> 00:42:00,800 try to make Davis be less of a factor than he is, you know, 645 00:42:01,519 --> 00:42:05,480 to make him to minimize the extent to which he is a factor, 646 00:42:05,519 --> 00:42:07,360 which means like pulling him away from the basket, involving him in a bunch 647 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:10,400 of other actions, like how do we tire him out? How do we 648 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:14,480 keep him away from what we're trying to do? How do we go away 649 00:42:14,519 --> 00:42:16,880 from him? On the other end, I just think it's going to be 650 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:22,239 really interesting to see Yokich tested, you know, by I think probably the 651 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:28,159 guy that i'd put maybe second now among postseason players in terms of impact. 652 00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:30,440 Just it was hard to watch that Warrior series and not come away from that 653 00:42:30,519 --> 00:42:36,280 think thinking anything, but like, this guy is just like such a such 654 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:38,800 a problem and he's not even shooting jumpers like the twenty twenty version, but 655 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:46,280 he just his defensive impact is so massive and his offensive impact is like ridiculously 656 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:50,360 great, but like secondary, which just speaks to how much of a difference 657 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,239 he's made defensively. Can he and Lebron hold up? We've asked it every 658 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:55,360 series, Like, I just think that matchup, which is like, of 659 00:42:55,360 --> 00:43:00,119 course we're going to start with Yokis versus Davis as like the most interesting thing. 660 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:02,719 But that's like I don't know what else to do other than start there, 661 00:43:02,719 --> 00:43:07,159 because everything else you talk about tactically, personnel wise, matchup wise kind 662 00:43:07,199 --> 00:43:12,360 of spirals out of that, I feel like, because that's the real meat 663 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,360 of the series. So I thought I had a novel thought and I should 664 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:20,119 know better. And then I listened while I was at the gym, Humble 665 00:43:20,159 --> 00:43:22,440 Brag at the gym. I listened to the Thinking Basketball preview on this series. 666 00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:27,960 I listened to the Dunker Spot, and I listened to Zach low segment 667 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:30,599 on it, and they all asked the same question. I was, how 668 00:43:30,679 --> 00:43:36,280 much of this matchup do we actually see? And my thought was, A 669 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:37,920 d is so good defensively that you can put him on Yo Kitchen. I 670 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,480 think he could do a bunch of other stuff. But like if you put 671 00:43:40,519 --> 00:43:44,239 him on Yo Kitchen the post or if he has to guard Yo Kis from 672 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:45,559 the outside, and Yokich decides, Hey, I'm not gonna work from the 673 00:43:45,559 --> 00:43:49,639 outside, and like I'm just gonna try and cut up the Lakers defense from 674 00:43:49,639 --> 00:43:52,960 here. It does pull him away from all the other stuff that he's able 675 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:57,400 to do, and like maybe they won't spam picking rolls because they just want 676 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:01,440 David's locked onto Nicola Yokich. And so I kind of wondered, well, 677 00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:07,400 do you have Davis help off, like guard Aaron Gordon or somebody and then 678 00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:08,719 do all the other stuff that he's doing and try and get away with, 679 00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:13,679 you know, do you try Jared Vanderbilt he normally defends like advantage creators, 680 00:44:13,679 --> 00:44:16,320 But you try Jared Vanderbilt? Do you try Lebron on Yo Kitch? And 681 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:20,159 then on the flip side, I was like, if you're Yo Kitch, 682 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:22,840 I think there are ways. If they're gonna just stash a D like at 683 00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:25,320 the top of the key, give him the ball, Yokich can defend that 684 00:44:25,679 --> 00:44:30,239 fine. But if they're gonna get a D the ball in motion, like 685 00:44:30,519 --> 00:44:34,400 getting him going downhill and he can either go right into Yo Kitch catch and 686 00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:37,440 go that way or he's behind Yo Kitch, I'd worry about Yokich getting into 687 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,159 foul trouble. And if you're the Nuggets, do you try and avoid that 688 00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:43,719 by pulling him off? Davis? And so I I'm like, maybe we 689 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:45,119 just won't see his head to have matchup as much as we think. And 690 00:44:45,159 --> 00:44:49,559 I'm like, I bet you no one's talking about that. Everyone's fucking talking 691 00:44:49,639 --> 00:44:53,320 about that. So no, real quick, real quick. I just my 692 00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:57,199 response to that is because I think you're right. I think my assumption that 693 00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:00,039 well they'll just match up the whole series is maybe over simplified. But like, 694 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:05,599 if not, Davis, I think Yokich will just put Vanderbilt in the 695 00:45:05,639 --> 00:45:07,280 basket over and over and over, and you're gonna have to send doubles. 696 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:10,800 And when you double Yokich, you've just conceded defeat because he's gonna find an 697 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:14,760 open shooter. And if you like, I don't know what else you do 698 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:17,440 if it's not Davis, because I think the way that this series ends the 699 00:45:17,559 --> 00:45:22,960 quickest is Yokich dominates in the lane, which is where Davis is supposed to 700 00:45:22,039 --> 00:45:27,199 prevent you from dominating. So like if the Lakers concede, Yokis getting post 701 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:31,239 ups, getting depositioned, just bullying smaller guy, that's like you're just playing 702 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,719 from behind a little bit. So that's why I take your point. I 703 00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,480 think we'll see a lot of moving pieces matchup wise, but I think the 704 00:45:39,559 --> 00:45:45,440 Nuggets would be ecstatic if Davis spent a bunch of time elsewhere and other than 705 00:45:45,519 --> 00:45:47,639 yokis well. And then also if you're the Lakers, the trickle down effect 706 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:52,320 is if you don't have Davis or I was excuse me for the Nuggets, 707 00:45:52,320 --> 00:45:55,199 if you don't have Yokich on Davis. Also, so you have KCP on 708 00:45:55,480 --> 00:46:00,719 Lebron at that point, Claire Aaron Gordon until that creates all the type of 709 00:46:00,760 --> 00:46:02,440 issues. But you mentioned Jared Vanderbilt. I'm wondering if this is a Jared 710 00:46:02,519 --> 00:46:07,880 Vanderbilt series always a question, is it, or do you just scw smaller 711 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:10,000 with what we're gonna play a whole bunch of like Dennis Shrewder, Austin Reeves 712 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:16,000 and Deangel Russell together just to make it harder on the Nuggets to because look, 713 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:22,039 if they're able to stash anybody on Vanderbilt, like the the identity of 714 00:46:22,079 --> 00:46:23,320 their entire defense is just able to remain intact, which is, hey, 715 00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:29,239 we're gonna mostly play ultra aggressive like at the level of the screen, and 716 00:46:29,239 --> 00:46:32,400 then we're gonna trust everyone behind yo kis to just make these scrambling rotations and 717 00:46:32,519 --> 00:46:36,599 help and make all the right decisions, which they've done to their credit. 718 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:39,480 That just gets a lot easier when you're able to leave Jared Vanderbilt wide open 719 00:46:39,519 --> 00:46:43,519 in the corner, as opposed to Okay, well, if that's a Reeves 720 00:46:43,639 --> 00:46:45,119 or a Russell or a Shrewder, like they're gonna be able to attack or 721 00:46:45,199 --> 00:46:50,440 you just trust them to knock down threes more. I think if Vanderbilt is 722 00:46:50,519 --> 00:46:54,440 able to play significantly in this series. It's a pretty big indictment of Denver's 723 00:46:54,519 --> 00:47:00,719 defense because what you said should be what happens. We see it over and 724 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:01,639 over. The deeper you get in the playoffs, if you have a guy 725 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:05,679 that you don't have to guard beyond the three point line, that isn't like 726 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:07,960 a pick and roll ball handler or a rim rolling big like, that guy 727 00:47:08,039 --> 00:47:13,880 just gets played off the floor. And if Denver cannot succeed defensively with Vanderbilt 728 00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:15,480 on the floor on offense, for the Lakers, like, that's a real 729 00:47:15,599 --> 00:47:20,480 problem because they should be able to cheat to have advantages to send extra help 730 00:47:20,559 --> 00:47:23,360 off of him, and then the other end it like if he can stay 731 00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:27,679 on the floor, Not only is that bad news that does that mean Denver's 732 00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:30,840 defense is failing despite an advantage. It also means Denver is gonna have a 733 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:34,840 way harder time scoring. I do think Denver's offense is so good that they're 734 00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:37,719 going to score and the Lakers have the best remaining playoff defense. But like, 735 00:47:38,840 --> 00:47:43,559 if Vanderbilt can play a lot, I think that's a bad sign for 736 00:47:43,639 --> 00:47:46,599 the Nuggets, right because it should shouldn't be able to get away with it, 737 00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,800 right, or it just might mean, which would still be a bad 738 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:52,760 time that he's Oh, he's shooting like nine from the corners every game, 739 00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:58,360 and that's also an issue. The other thing I did want to mention with 740 00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:04,480 this series is I think because that we might see some more matchup reconfiguration than 741 00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:08,320 most people are talking about. There are going to be moments where Lebron is 742 00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:12,559 going to have smaller guys on what It won't be Aaron Gordon, let's just 743 00:48:12,639 --> 00:48:15,840 say, and they need him like we saw it more. They went to 744 00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:19,559 him in the post against the Warriors. I think there was like five post 745 00:48:19,639 --> 00:48:22,440 ups per game against the Warriors. But like his drives, and part of 746 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:24,039 this is his foot. We know he's playing on that bad right foot. 747 00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:29,440 He went from averaging like over ten plus drives for thirty six minutes to basically 748 00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:32,159 he's averaging like seven for thirty six minutes. Right now, the Lakers are 749 00:48:32,199 --> 00:48:37,000 gonna need him, I think, to be more aggressive, especially if they're 750 00:48:37,039 --> 00:48:39,880 going to put if Dever winds up putting smaller players on him. If it's 751 00:48:40,199 --> 00:48:44,480 if your whole thing is like Aaron Gordon's gonna be locked into Lebron, and 752 00:48:44,639 --> 00:48:47,039 Lebron is not a decoy, but like he's gonna like Aaron Gor's just out 753 00:48:47,079 --> 00:48:50,239 of everything else. Okay, and then like that's sort of a small victory 754 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:52,760 there. But if the Nuggets feel comfortable enough, like oh, we'll throw 755 00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:55,639 Bruce Brown or KCP or even Michael Porter Junior on him for stretches because we 756 00:48:55,639 --> 00:48:59,639 don't think he has that burst and we're more worried about we have these sturdy 757 00:48:59,719 --> 00:49:01,360 guards. It's in KCP and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. Is like 758 00:49:01,599 --> 00:49:06,079 he's big and long, he's not like maybe super strong. I think this 759 00:49:06,199 --> 00:49:09,800 needs to be and I say this knowing Lebron's averaging twenty five and five and 760 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:13,679 just shot like fifty six percent on twos and he caught fire from three. 761 00:49:13,719 --> 00:49:15,159 He is at like thirty nine percent over the final five games of the series. 762 00:49:15,639 --> 00:49:19,480 This needs to me the in my opinion, needs to very much be 763 00:49:20,239 --> 00:49:24,239 a Lebron James offensive series. And I feel like the Lakers have relied on 764 00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:29,639 Okay, we're a lot deeper at guard with Reeves and Delo and Shrewder than 765 00:49:29,639 --> 00:49:31,360 I think anyone ever credited them. But there's also been Okay, we'll watch 766 00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,320 more as it going during this and like part of that is we're taking what 767 00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:37,440 the defense can get us. I don't think they're going to be able to 768 00:49:37,639 --> 00:49:45,280 rely on that inconsistency of depth in the sense like they've always had enough, 769 00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:49,400 but it never feels like it's the same guy, if that makes any sense. 770 00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:54,119 When you get Annie Walker and you write that, you know, is 771 00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:58,280 this like he darted in scheming in his head and knows all this, or 772 00:49:58,320 --> 00:50:00,159 is he just look at the Lakers and like, we have so many guys 773 00:50:00,199 --> 00:50:05,000 who you know, can play, but we're just so imperfect that I'm just 774 00:50:05,039 --> 00:50:07,519 gonna try things. Or is he actually not so oh work, these are 775 00:50:07,559 --> 00:50:10,440 our weaknesses. So I'm just I'm pushing the right buttons that no one else 776 00:50:10,519 --> 00:50:15,400 is thinking about. Yeah, I had a thing on Lebron too. I 777 00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:17,400 think you're totally right, Like, not only does this need to kind of 778 00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:22,760 be a Lebron aggressive series just because the Lakers are gonna need to keep pace 779 00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:27,039 scoring wise, It's gonna be difficult, especially in the half court, but 780 00:50:27,199 --> 00:50:30,440 like it needs to be. I don't know how you necessarily accomplish this, 781 00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:35,840 because Denver has been working on avoiding these situations all season. Can you coax 782 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:37,199 you know, when Yoki comes up to the level of the screen, which 783 00:50:37,199 --> 00:50:40,119 I think he will more often than not. If Lebron is the beallhindler, 784 00:50:40,199 --> 00:50:44,360 can you coax a switch or two, or maybe Lebron gets to drive downhill 785 00:50:44,360 --> 00:50:46,880 at Yokich, Maybe can like that. That's something you're gonna want to hunt 786 00:50:47,119 --> 00:50:51,039 again. The Nuggets will drop a lot, they'll do different stuff in the 787 00:50:51,079 --> 00:50:52,880 pick and roll, but I think you want to look at that. The 788 00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:58,039 other main thing is, like the Lakers during the season second most, second 789 00:50:58,119 --> 00:51:00,000 most percentage of their points in the restriction area of any team in the league. 790 00:51:00,039 --> 00:51:02,639 So like they score a ton at the basket, that's just a huge 791 00:51:02,639 --> 00:51:07,679 strength of theirs, right the shaky three point shooting teams suspect like Lebron's been 792 00:51:07,719 --> 00:51:09,400 cold. You mentioned that all this stuff, if this turns into a three 793 00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:13,639 point shooting series, I think that's bad news for the Lakers. They need 794 00:51:13,719 --> 00:51:15,920 to get stuff at the basket. And in conjunction with the Lakers loving to 795 00:51:16,159 --> 00:51:21,679 just pilot points inside. Denver second worst in terms of opponent accuracy in the 796 00:51:21,719 --> 00:51:24,199 restricted area seventy one percent. Been a problem all year. It's not all 797 00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:29,840 on Yoki. Some of it's schematics during the postseason. I don't know if, 798 00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:32,360 but have they played a team that's tested that week point, I would 799 00:51:32,440 --> 00:51:37,679 argue they probably haven't. Yeah, So that's the recipe for the Lakers succeeding 800 00:51:37,760 --> 00:51:43,440 because they must find ways to score in the half court. That's that's been 801 00:51:43,519 --> 00:51:46,159 their half court offense has sucked in the playoffs. They will depend on transition 802 00:51:46,239 --> 00:51:50,880 offense. Right. The problem is the Nuggets don't run as much as the 803 00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:54,039 Lakers do in the playoffs, but their points per possession and transition is better 804 00:51:54,159 --> 00:51:58,719 than the Lakers. So if you up tempo this game, maybe you tire 805 00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:00,719 Yokich out. But if if I'm Denver, I'm good with that. His 806 00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:04,000 arms might get a little red, but he'll be good, right, His 807 00:52:04,119 --> 00:52:07,559 arms will be read his perfect Maybe some shoulder tightness from outlet passes. But 808 00:52:08,199 --> 00:52:14,079 so if the Lakers want to run, Davis and Lebron get tired like and 809 00:52:14,199 --> 00:52:16,360 the Nuggets are just better at that on a per play basis anyway, So 810 00:52:16,639 --> 00:52:20,599 the Lakers have to score in the half court, they have to score at 811 00:52:20,639 --> 00:52:23,239 the basket, and that's gonna fall on Lebron more than almost anybody else. 812 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:27,400 So it's not just the Lebron James series. It's a Lebron James has a 813 00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:30,400 score, has to make a bunch of layups basically in the half court for 814 00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:34,599 the Lakers to score enough to keep up, and they look the whole and 815 00:52:34,639 --> 00:52:36,800 I know he deviated from a little bit and last year, like they can't 816 00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:38,719 have like the odd numbered even numbered a D games either. I think what's 817 00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:43,639 critical as good as he's been, even at times on offense, Like I 818 00:52:43,719 --> 00:52:45,800 mentioned this before, you need to get him the ball moving. I will 819 00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:49,920 say these two teams do not despite what the Nuggets personnel might suggest that they're 820 00:52:49,920 --> 00:52:52,079 able to having Michael Porter junior Jamal Murray. These are the looking at the 821 00:52:52,119 --> 00:52:57,880 semi finals alone last and second to last in three point a tenth three, 822 00:52:58,159 --> 00:53:00,239 so like they're not relying on a ton of threes. But if it has 823 00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:02,760 become a perimeter based series, I do think that favors the Nuggets. What 824 00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:07,960 I also do not think helps the Lakers is they are at they're not their 825 00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:12,559 most dangerous, but like two of the fundamental elements of their offense are we 826 00:53:12,639 --> 00:53:15,559 are going to get to the foul line and we are going to get out 827 00:53:15,639 --> 00:53:19,320 in transition, the Nuggets do not foul. So you know what, if 828 00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:22,880 it's maybe they're allowing parades to the rim, that might change it might foul 829 00:53:22,920 --> 00:53:24,559 there. But if they're not sending the Lakers the foul line, their offense 830 00:53:24,599 --> 00:53:28,840 is going to be good no matter what. They're gonna get their defense set. 831 00:53:29,039 --> 00:53:30,400 So the Lakers probably aren't going to be in transition as much. And 832 00:53:30,480 --> 00:53:32,920 so I think you could reasonably go into this, and this might be an 833 00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:37,599 oversimplification, and just say, well, I think that Denver just by default 834 00:53:38,079 --> 00:53:45,519 is going to disrupt not because they're doing anything wild defensively, schematically or superfectively, 835 00:53:45,719 --> 00:53:49,519 but they're going to disrupt two of the core tenants of the Lakers offense, 836 00:53:49,920 --> 00:53:52,079 which is, oh, okay, that's awkward. And then you kind 837 00:53:52,119 --> 00:53:54,599 of have to deal with the counter to that. It's we already think this 838 00:53:54,679 --> 00:53:58,519 might not be a Vando series, Like is this gonna have to be a 839 00:53:58,599 --> 00:54:00,639 Malie Beasley series for the Lakers because they're gonna need that three point volume of 840 00:54:00,719 --> 00:54:05,920 that out in the half court. He's just disappeared from real minutes. And 841 00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:10,920 I think the idea of Malik Beasley is absolutely important to this team. It's 842 00:54:10,920 --> 00:54:14,719 just I don't I'm not saying that he's an X factor. I just feel 843 00:54:14,719 --> 00:54:19,320 like there are more problems that the Nuggets are going to cause for the Lakers 844 00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:21,840 then vice versa, which is probably a spoil alert as to where my pick 845 00:54:21,920 --> 00:54:23,199 is going. But anyone who listens to this podcast knew where that pick was 846 00:54:23,239 --> 00:54:28,800 going anyway, right. I think the only other aspect I wanted to talk 847 00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:30,440 to you about before we get to the pick, unless you have something else, 848 00:54:30,559 --> 00:54:36,239 is how much does Max Christy play? Yeah? Just just enough? 849 00:54:36,360 --> 00:54:42,360 Probably. I'm concerned about the Nuggets because the Lakers defense is really good, 850 00:54:42,519 --> 00:54:45,400 Like we haven't we haven't said enough about how good their defense has looked, 851 00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:49,400 especially with Davis in the game. I think, you know, Yogas is 852 00:54:49,440 --> 00:54:52,599 gonna play a ton that's just because it's the playoffs, and the deeper you 853 00:54:52,679 --> 00:54:54,159 go, the more of that needs to be the case. I think if 854 00:54:54,239 --> 00:55:00,960 the Lakers can just dominate, like hold the Nuggets to just preposterously low level 855 00:55:01,039 --> 00:55:06,199 of offensive efficiency when Yokis is not in the game, I think that's something 856 00:55:06,239 --> 00:55:09,559 I'm looking for ways like tipping my hand too here, pickwise, looking for 857 00:55:09,639 --> 00:55:13,360 ways for it, like what does it look like if the Lakers are successful 858 00:55:13,599 --> 00:55:16,519 and I think a lot of that has to do with the Nuggets just almost 859 00:55:16,639 --> 00:55:20,760 literally don't score without Yokis on the floor, which is not that hard to 860 00:55:20,840 --> 00:55:24,800 imagine, because the Lakers defense bottled up Steph Curry for the most part, 861 00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:28,920 like they've just the defense is good, it's great, Like that's just what 862 00:55:29,079 --> 00:55:31,280 it is. Everybody's playing hard, even though they're kind of small, and 863 00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:35,840 you know when they play, especially the three guard looks with Shrewder and even 864 00:55:35,920 --> 00:55:40,559 de Low and reeves like it's working. So that's one way I could see 865 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,440 the Lakers having success. Do you have any other you know, we've talked 866 00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:46,920 about Lebron scoring at the rim, We've talked about, you know, a 867 00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:52,360 couple other things before we get to pick. How else do the Lakers sort 868 00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:55,599 of create advantages or exploit advantages? Have we have? We covered the bases 869 00:55:55,599 --> 00:55:59,599 because well, I think I think the one you touched upon right now might 870 00:55:59,599 --> 00:56:01,440 people most critical. It's just like when you kind of look at those non 871 00:56:01,559 --> 00:56:05,519 Yokich minutes, which I assume we'll just be aligned, like they'll be the 872 00:56:05,599 --> 00:56:09,239 non ad minutes aligned with the non minutes. Maybe LA's willing to play Davis 873 00:56:09,360 --> 00:56:13,679 more than Denver's willing to play Yokich. That's not in a comment on Yokich 874 00:56:13,719 --> 00:56:15,559 is conditioning. I just think we could see, you know, like the 875 00:56:15,679 --> 00:56:19,400 Lakers kind of Oh, Lebron James is thirty eight, Like we're just gonna 876 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:22,639 play Anthony Day with forty eight minutes. But the lineups you mentioned, both 877 00:56:22,639 --> 00:56:25,559 these teams playing small Lebron against the Nuggets going small like with Jeff Green and 878 00:56:25,599 --> 00:56:30,599 Aaron Gordon as their day facto centers. That could be huge because the Lakers 879 00:56:30,639 --> 00:56:34,320 have been better without Lebron James on the court during the playoffs. I don't 880 00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:38,320 I don't think. I don't I don't think that that's going to you know 881 00:56:38,719 --> 00:56:43,519 that that's not indictment on Lebron, but I'm saying like that might flip this 882 00:56:43,719 --> 00:56:46,519 series. And the thing that I'm wondering is if you're the Nuggets, and 883 00:56:46,599 --> 00:56:50,679 I get why they do what they do where they don't want to stagger Murray 884 00:56:50,719 --> 00:56:53,880 and Yokis too much. I understand that, Like when we have the Murray 885 00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:58,760 non Yokis minutes, why don't we see I know you're concerned about the defense. 886 00:56:58,800 --> 00:57:02,800 I'd like to see MPJ and Murray more in those stints together and it 887 00:57:02,880 --> 00:57:06,480 might come at the expensive defense, But if the Lakers are also going to 888 00:57:06,519 --> 00:57:09,480 be playing small, why can't you kind of roll the dice on that to 889 00:57:09,639 --> 00:57:13,000 kind of just see, well, Kenry score better with yo Kich. And 890 00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:15,400 look, they've had pockets during the playoffs where they've done well without Yokich. 891 00:57:15,679 --> 00:57:19,760 But during the final I think it was four games of that Phoenix series, 892 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:22,079 like they were a minus twenty four with Yokich off the court, and like 893 00:57:22,320 --> 00:57:24,559 now, in thirty six minutes with the Yokatro off the court, they were 894 00:57:24,719 --> 00:57:30,079 outscored by twenty four points. They were minus three without Yokich in the game 895 00:57:30,119 --> 00:57:35,199 where they just embarrassed the fuck out of the Phoenix in Game six. So 896 00:57:36,079 --> 00:57:40,199 I'm looking to see if that's where the Lakers can really create an advantage is 897 00:57:40,280 --> 00:57:45,559 during those nono Yokich minutes, because having Lebron without a D, thank you 898 00:57:45,639 --> 00:57:50,480 serie. Having Lebron without a D is so much different than having Jamal Murray 899 00:57:50,760 --> 00:57:53,159 on zone without yo Kitch. Yeah, I think that's right. Do you 900 00:57:53,199 --> 00:57:58,239 want to make a pick, feel like, I know my pick is Nuggets 901 00:57:58,280 --> 00:58:01,039 in six partly out of obligation, because I think I picked them the win 902 00:58:01,079 --> 00:58:05,320 of Thie out the preseason. I will say this is the third strade series 903 00:58:05,360 --> 00:58:08,880 I'm picking against the Lakers in wildly uncomfortable about it, but I just I 904 00:58:09,039 --> 00:58:14,559 look at this team and the Nuggets and I'm just like, they have it. 905 00:58:15,039 --> 00:58:17,280 They have everything they need this year. And the Lakers, I think 906 00:58:17,320 --> 00:58:21,440 you can very much pick out and say they like, they're really good, 907 00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:25,880 they're better than expected. But this is just this all feels like unsustainable and 908 00:58:27,079 --> 00:58:30,119 I feel like they haven't run into the Golden State Warriors with this great team 909 00:58:30,159 --> 00:58:32,880 in theory, but I just feel like they haven't run into an elite team 910 00:58:32,960 --> 00:58:36,480 just yet. And I think the Nuggets are going to be able to expose 911 00:58:36,559 --> 00:58:42,719 them more than any of these other teams because they are such a steady fucking 912 00:58:42,840 --> 00:58:45,159 force when it comes to we're not going to foul, and our offense is 913 00:58:45,199 --> 00:58:47,559 gonna be so good that we're gonna get our defense set. And as I 914 00:58:47,679 --> 00:58:51,719 mentioned before, I really think that that's going to derail two of the core 915 00:58:51,800 --> 00:58:54,840 tenants of Los Angeles's success. Yeah, I don't have a ton to add 916 00:58:54,880 --> 00:59:00,840 to that. I think I think that interplay the Nuggets offense scoring just you 917 00:59:00,920 --> 00:59:04,679 know, as much as it wants and setting the defense and forcing the Lakers 918 00:59:04,719 --> 00:59:07,239 to play a pretty you know, a pretty bad brand of half court offensive 919 00:59:07,280 --> 00:59:13,719 basketball swings it. I'm going Nuggets in seven, and that's mainly because I 920 00:59:13,880 --> 00:59:19,159 think Davis has the ability to almost make as big an impact as Yokich does, 921 00:59:19,679 --> 00:59:22,519 and and with that being potentially in a best case scenario, I think 922 00:59:22,599 --> 00:59:27,440 Davis could be close to Yokich's level, will not outplay him, and then 923 00:59:27,519 --> 00:59:32,079 that leaves Lebron versus Murray MPJ like the rest of the Nuggets supporting cast, 924 00:59:32,119 --> 00:59:36,719 which I think is probably better on the top end but not quite as deep. 925 00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:42,559 I don't know, seven feels okay to me. I just think ultimately, 926 00:59:43,559 --> 00:59:46,079 the Lakers haven't faced an offense this good in the playoffs yet, and 927 00:59:46,159 --> 00:59:52,480 I think maybe the fact that the Warriors weren't quite as good as maybe, 928 00:59:53,039 --> 00:59:57,840 like you said, they're theoretically this great team, I'm not sure we're we 929 00:59:57,960 --> 01:00:00,840 can be certain that the Lakers defense is as good as a numbers say, 930 01:00:00,880 --> 01:00:04,119 and I do think the offense is probably about as bad as the numbers say. 931 01:00:04,480 --> 01:00:07,480 I wanted to and I feel like I kind of danced around asking you 932 01:00:07,559 --> 01:00:10,719 this before. Do you think that AD's defensive impact becomes muted at all if 933 01:00:10,800 --> 01:00:15,960 he is saddled with that primary Yokich assignment. I think that's why that's so 934 01:00:16,119 --> 01:00:19,840 much of what That's also another way that you could disrupt the Lakers. It 935 01:00:19,920 --> 01:00:22,119 is just by not like because when you look at y davers a Warrior series 936 01:00:22,119 --> 01:00:27,519 specifically, where it's like he's coming up to like he's gonna drop back or 937 01:00:27,559 --> 01:00:30,039 he's gonna but also close out or like vice versa, and I just if 938 01:00:30,079 --> 01:00:35,119 you're locked into Yokich, I just don't know that he's able to guard the 939 01:00:35,199 --> 01:00:37,840 perimeter and protect the basket all at once. Yeah, I think there's that's 940 01:00:37,880 --> 01:00:42,679 a great point. I think it would be difficult for because of the personnel 941 01:00:42,719 --> 01:00:45,760 differences, for him to have as big of an impact. But I do 942 01:00:45,920 --> 01:00:50,039 think he's someone that Yokich is gonna have, Like if it is Yokis that 943 01:00:50,079 --> 01:00:52,119 has to guard him, like man, that's a load, right, Like 944 01:00:52,239 --> 01:00:55,280 that, his mobility, his athleticism, if you get pick and rolls working 945 01:00:55,320 --> 01:00:59,199 where he's Davis is one of the best role men ever. Like, I 946 01:00:59,280 --> 01:01:02,400 think they just don't use them like that all the time, which is can 947 01:01:02,440 --> 01:01:06,719 you find ways to do that? I think I guess what I mean to 948 01:01:06,760 --> 01:01:10,559 say is Davis has the capacity to almost equal Yokich's impact, or maybe equal 949 01:01:10,639 --> 01:01:15,599 it if everything breaks absolutely right. And so that's why I think it's a 950 01:01:15,639 --> 01:01:20,079 long series. It could just be the Nuggets are unstoppable offensively and the Lakers 951 01:01:20,199 --> 01:01:22,559 run out of juice. Because we've been at least I've been questioning whether Davis 952 01:01:22,639 --> 01:01:27,159 and Lebron can hold up every series they played so far, so maybe this 953 01:01:27,320 --> 01:01:29,360 is the one where they don't. And it is a short series. But 954 01:01:29,920 --> 01:01:31,440 I think you got to handle the Lakers a little bit. That you made 955 01:01:31,480 --> 01:01:35,639 it this far. I think you're you're still you've got what it takes to 956 01:01:35,639 --> 01:01:37,920 at least make this very interesting based on where you know, six and seven 957 01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:40,880 games, right, that's that's pretty solid for a team, for a playing 958 01:01:40,960 --> 01:01:45,239 team, and started two and ten or whatever it was. Celtics Heat. 959 01:01:46,119 --> 01:01:50,360 What is your biggest overarching thought reading into this series, which I will say 960 01:01:50,920 --> 01:01:54,559 the Heat or a compelling story. I find a series infinitely less fascinating than 961 01:01:54,599 --> 01:01:59,360 the one we just discuss. Doesn't it feel like the Heat just don't like 962 01:01:59,599 --> 01:02:01,920 the not that like they they're going to turn back into a pumpkin but doesn't 963 01:02:01,960 --> 01:02:07,480 it feel like they just don't quite have enough against a team that is one 964 01:02:07,599 --> 01:02:13,800 it's best players healthy, Unlike you know, well I'm picking Nets, I 965 01:02:13,880 --> 01:02:16,800 guess doesn't feel like the Celtics have quite as many flaws on either end to 966 01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:22,760 exploit. It doesn't feel like the Celtics are gonna be like overwhelmed with defensive 967 01:02:22,800 --> 01:02:28,159 intensity. It feels like the Celtics can attack more things than say the Knicks 968 01:02:28,199 --> 01:02:31,760 could, or it just I don't know, but look, have we We've 969 01:02:32,039 --> 01:02:37,760 expressed disbelief in the heat since the play in so like that gives me pause. 970 01:02:37,400 --> 01:02:43,079 I just so before we were way jumping the gun. I'm interested to 971 01:02:43,119 --> 01:02:45,440 see again. Does the double big lineup for Boston persist? Like, is 972 01:02:45,519 --> 01:02:51,000 this something you're going to start the series with? Who does Robert Williams quote 973 01:02:51,079 --> 01:02:54,440 unquote guard which means like who does he ignore most of the time to clog 974 01:02:54,559 --> 01:02:58,559 up the lane? Do you even need to do that if you're Boston? 975 01:03:00,360 --> 01:03:04,400 So that's the defensive side for the Celtics offensively, is this just gonna be 976 01:03:04,519 --> 01:03:08,199 a series where you know, it's extremely high variance, There's gonna be blowouts 977 01:03:08,280 --> 01:03:10,880 both ways, just based on who makes a bunch of threes and who doesn't, 978 01:03:10,920 --> 01:03:14,800 because that's part of the reason it's less interesting to me is because I 979 01:03:14,840 --> 01:03:19,199 could just see it being a maker myths series. But yeah, I don't 980 01:03:19,239 --> 01:03:21,639 know that those are my two things on either end. I don't have nearly 981 01:03:21,679 --> 01:03:25,079 as much to say about this as I do about the Western Conference. Shout 982 01:03:25,119 --> 01:03:29,599 out to Rob Sheldon for being up at two thirty am their time and listening 983 01:03:29,679 --> 01:03:32,280 to us. Yeah, the dual big stuff is interesting because I kind of 984 01:03:32,320 --> 01:03:38,039 feel like, while we did mention that that that's what one, they should 985 01:03:38,039 --> 01:03:42,000 have made that shift earlier in the Philly series because it kind of feel like 986 01:03:42,039 --> 01:03:45,639 the opposite here, I guess, because I guess you could view it this 987 01:03:45,719 --> 01:03:47,559 way. If you play RW three, do you like the idea of, 988 01:03:47,679 --> 01:03:51,880 Okay, well that means Miami's probably gonna play Kevin lovemore. Or do you 989 01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:53,320 like the idea of, well, we're gonna go small and then they'll play 990 01:03:53,400 --> 01:03:57,239 Caleb Martin a bunch of If they decided to play Kevin Love, it'll be 991 01:03:57,320 --> 01:04:00,639 easier to mismatch the hell out of that series. I think for the heat 992 01:04:00,920 --> 01:04:05,760 sake, even if Boston's playing big, I might just consider going with like 993 01:04:05,920 --> 01:04:12,519 Caleb Martin Moore because when you look at how many like weak points Miami might 994 01:04:12,599 --> 01:04:15,280 have to exploit or I mean weak points in the sense like these are small 995 01:04:15,480 --> 01:04:21,119 Gabe Vincent max Strus who's not small, but Kyle Lowry like these smaller guys 996 01:04:21,280 --> 01:04:26,159 or outright defensive liabilities. And then you're starting to look at Boston's perimeter players 997 01:04:26,159 --> 01:04:29,920 and you're like, oh, Gaylon Brown and Jason Tatum and Derek White and 998 01:04:29,960 --> 01:04:34,480 Malcolm Brogdon, holy shit. And so this feels like this feels like the 999 01:04:34,599 --> 01:04:39,159 Heat need to play small no matter what. But I do feel like it's 1000 01:04:39,239 --> 01:04:45,360 Boston who's probably gonna dictorate ditt dictate the terms of engagement, I combined dictate 1001 01:04:45,480 --> 01:04:50,559 in terms there dictate the style of play, just because I don't know if 1002 01:04:50,599 --> 01:04:55,320 the Heat like how and like you kind of run out of bodies too if 1003 01:04:55,599 --> 01:04:58,199 if Boston goes big for long stretches, like you kind of have to. 1004 01:04:58,199 --> 01:05:00,599 If you want to play big, it has to be loved and at a 1005 01:05:00,639 --> 01:05:02,840 bio, you're not going love and Cody Zeller in those minutes, and then 1006 01:05:02,880 --> 01:05:06,800 you don't really have anyone else who's just big that you could like your seven 1007 01:05:06,880 --> 01:05:12,159 is not gonna be dusted off for this series, so I think Boston could 1008 01:05:12,199 --> 01:05:15,039 look at it as well. We get to dictate the terms of engagement and 1009 01:05:15,159 --> 01:05:18,280 that's what we'll we'll go with. I don't know that I'm concerned enough about 1010 01:05:18,760 --> 01:05:24,800 the Heat's offense if I'm Boston to deviate from what they were doing all season 1011 01:05:24,880 --> 01:05:27,719 under Missoula, which is I want to play I want to play five out. 1012 01:05:28,119 --> 01:05:29,679 I want to have all of art, you know. I want to 1013 01:05:29,719 --> 01:05:33,480 have Hal Horford plus for these wing players that can handle the ball. So 1014 01:05:33,599 --> 01:05:39,280 I think that's the style they'll lean into and look Robert Williams a third change 1015 01:05:39,360 --> 01:05:43,840 the series a bunch. I just don't know. He had some really bad 1016 01:05:43,920 --> 01:05:45,760 moments in that series as well too, where he just looked super slow where 1017 01:05:45,800 --> 01:05:48,360 guys are getting by him. I don't know. Do the Heat have the 1018 01:05:48,440 --> 01:05:53,119 ball handling juice to make that happen. It'll just come down to, you 1019 01:05:53,159 --> 01:05:58,960 know, leaving Kevin Love or Max Strus or even Duncan Robinson is just different 1020 01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:02,639 than leaving PJ who doesn't want to shoot right, and that could create some 1021 01:06:02,760 --> 01:06:08,599 problems for Boston. But I will also say shout out to rom eighty one 1022 01:06:08,679 --> 01:06:11,800 eighties the first time I caught a hardwood Knox pod live. Just be sure 1023 01:06:11,840 --> 01:06:16,039 to download the audio version still Rome, Thank you very much. Yeah, 1024 01:06:17,559 --> 01:06:25,320 and just plug look stickers. Everybody doesn't so the heat. For all the 1025 01:06:25,639 --> 01:06:29,559 credit they received. They shot forty five percent against the Bucks. They then 1026 01:06:29,679 --> 01:06:34,360 turned around and shot thirty one percent on threes against the Knicks, And they 1027 01:06:34,440 --> 01:06:38,159 were our thirty point six percent against the Knicks, and then they were at 1028 01:06:38,280 --> 01:06:42,440 thirty one percent on their wide open triples during the final three games and the 1029 01:06:42,519 --> 01:06:45,199 biggest defenders there. I think I have the notes for this somewhere. Yeah, 1030 01:06:45,440 --> 01:06:47,199 Caleb Martin two of six, Kevin Loved one of seven, gi Vincent, 1031 01:06:47,280 --> 01:06:50,519 oh of seven. During that stretch, you need your role players to 1032 01:06:50,599 --> 01:06:55,960 hit those wide open threes and so that maybe there is a pathway to Boston, 1033 01:06:56,000 --> 01:06:57,840 saying, all right, like if Kevin Love was just gonna not shoot 1034 01:06:57,880 --> 01:06:59,880 well from three anyway, like we could do whatever the fuck we want. 1035 01:07:00,320 --> 01:07:03,719 So I think the barometer for this series is going to be how many how 1036 01:07:03,800 --> 01:07:09,480 well is Miami supporting cast? And I'm looking at true specifically Gabe, Vincent, 1037 01:07:09,840 --> 01:07:12,800 Kevin Love, and even Kitla Martin. How well are those four and 1038 01:07:12,840 --> 01:07:15,880 I guess Duncan Robinson too. How are those four or five guys shooting from 1039 01:07:16,000 --> 01:07:20,840 three? Because that might really determine how Boston wants or needs or prefers to 1040 01:07:20,920 --> 01:07:25,079 play in this matchup. That's what I mean. That's why it's kind of 1041 01:07:25,159 --> 01:07:28,679 less interesting because it's a maker miss ultimately at the bottom, it's a maker 1042 01:07:28,719 --> 01:07:31,559 miss analysis for the Heat and the Celtics. But like, I just think 1043 01:07:31,559 --> 01:07:34,920 of it in terms of options. So if we you know, we can 1044 01:07:35,280 --> 01:07:39,639 talk. We have talked about, well, how will the Celtics go to 1045 01:07:39,760 --> 01:07:43,119 Biggs to start or will they not? You know, well, it could 1046 01:07:43,119 --> 01:07:46,159 work either way. Like they could be totally fine having Robert Williams start on 1047 01:07:46,280 --> 01:07:49,480 Kevin Love, assuming the Heats start Kevin Love and saying like, if you 1048 01:07:49,599 --> 01:07:53,400 want to shoot, this is the Pja Tucker argument all over again. If 1049 01:07:53,400 --> 01:07:57,400 you would like to shoot again, Loves a different level of shooter than Tucker. 1050 01:07:58,079 --> 01:08:00,480 If you want to shoot ten threes a game, and if you make 1051 01:08:00,559 --> 01:08:02,559 seven of them, we lose, and if you make three of them, 1052 01:08:02,880 --> 01:08:06,119 we win. Talking from the Celtics perspective, yeah, we could do that, 1053 01:08:06,679 --> 01:08:11,840 or we could just switch everything because like what matchup are you concerned about 1054 01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:15,159 I mean, Butler on anybody's a problem. But you know, but beyond 1055 01:08:15,239 --> 01:08:18,960 that, like I guess I'm okay with literally any of the Celtics starting five 1056 01:08:19,039 --> 01:08:25,159 defenders or like assuming Robert Williams is not on the floor guarding anyone on the 1057 01:08:25,199 --> 01:08:29,199 heat, if you flip it, there are real matchup problems that the Celtics 1058 01:08:29,239 --> 01:08:31,960 can just hunt. Pat do not have options. I don't think in terms 1059 01:08:32,000 --> 01:08:34,680 of like who are we gonna pick on, whereas the Celtics definitely do. 1060 01:08:34,880 --> 01:08:39,279 And a lot of that has to do with size and just you know Max 1061 01:08:39,319 --> 01:08:42,720 strus well maybe he'll hold up and maybe he'll at a bunch of threes and 1062 01:08:42,960 --> 01:08:45,920 maybe X, Y and Z will happen. The problem with the heat for 1063 01:08:45,000 --> 01:08:49,399 me is like, okay, well their adjustments are going to be they'll just 1064 01:08:49,479 --> 01:08:54,359 do more heat stuff and like try harder and just conjure, you know, 1065 01:08:54,560 --> 01:08:58,960 wins out of like grit and a zone defense that Spolster comes up with on 1066 01:08:59,039 --> 01:09:01,520 the flight, Like it's hard to imagine the heat, like oh, there's 1067 01:09:01,560 --> 01:09:04,239 the button they can push, whereas the Celtics are just like sitting at a 1068 01:09:04,279 --> 01:09:08,520 control panel with all these levers to pull, all these different, you know, 1069 01:09:08,840 --> 01:09:11,640 they just have so many more options, And I think maybe that's the 1070 01:09:11,680 --> 01:09:14,760 simplest way to break down a playoff series is who's who's got the most like 1071 01:09:15,880 --> 01:09:19,399 viable you know, strategic or personnel tweaks to make when things go sideways and 1072 01:09:19,439 --> 01:09:24,399 the heat just like don't have any I will say do you worry about because 1073 01:09:24,399 --> 01:09:27,479 I was gonna say what vulnerabilities are you actually worried about? With Boston and 1074 01:09:27,560 --> 01:09:32,199 it feels like they're going against the heat zone could create problems for them because 1075 01:09:32,239 --> 01:09:35,239 there's variants to how they play and they end up shooting really well from three 1076 01:09:35,319 --> 01:09:39,359 overall in the Philly series, but like they can get topsy turvy from mid 1077 01:09:39,520 --> 01:09:45,159 range and they're they're bad at consistently getting to the rim without RW three on 1078 01:09:45,199 --> 01:09:47,279 the floor. And then if you put that up against a zone, like 1079 01:09:47,399 --> 01:09:50,039 you trust them to bust up that zone and if they're not able to, 1080 01:09:50,359 --> 01:09:53,920 you're not gonna see there. Okay, rim volume might not be a big 1081 01:09:53,920 --> 01:09:56,319 part of what they're doing. But then if Miami's able to limit the fouls, 1082 01:09:56,520 --> 01:10:00,239 and we've seen what happens when Boston kind of devolves into the your turn, 1083 01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:02,880 my turn stuff with Jaylen Brown or Jason Tatum, even Marcus Smart, 1084 01:10:02,920 --> 01:10:05,119 and like, those are the situations where if they don't get into their early 1085 01:10:05,239 --> 01:10:09,760 offense, they're liable to make a bad pass or they're just able to dribble 1086 01:10:09,800 --> 01:10:14,800 the ball into turnovers and the heat will eat them alive if that's what happens. 1087 01:10:14,960 --> 01:10:19,199 And so I think they're very they're good enough shooting teams where I think 1088 01:10:19,239 --> 01:10:23,680 the variance in their three point shooting is overstated, but when you look at 1089 01:10:23,760 --> 01:10:27,079 like how upside down things can get from the mid range for them and how 1090 01:10:27,800 --> 01:10:30,239 difficult they can be for them to get to the basket in general, is 1091 01:10:30,319 --> 01:10:33,439 right, Like, well, playing r W three with Al Horford does that 1092 01:10:33,520 --> 01:10:36,680 help or hurt their ability to bust up the zone? I guess having r 1093 01:10:36,840 --> 01:10:41,800 W three the rim pressure would in theory help, but like it also makes 1094 01:10:41,840 --> 01:10:45,560 you a little easier to defend because you are taking away one of the shooters. 1095 01:10:45,600 --> 01:10:46,960 And look, if Al Horford is going to shoot the way he did 1096 01:10:46,960 --> 01:10:49,479 for much of that Philly series, that's going to open up a bunch of 1097 01:10:49,520 --> 01:10:55,319 defensive options for Miami as well. And so those are my concerns for Boston 1098 01:10:55,359 --> 01:10:58,159 where I agree with everything you said, it just feels like they have more 1099 01:10:58,199 --> 01:11:00,399 options on the table, and not just more offens lot more options. But 1100 01:11:00,479 --> 01:11:03,960 the two things I worry about is will there be variants against Miami Zone? 1101 01:11:04,079 --> 01:11:09,039 And then the thing and you alluded to this. I just like, what 1102 01:11:09,159 --> 01:11:11,640 are the heat fucking doing right? Like? I just can't just shake this 1103 01:11:11,720 --> 01:11:16,039 feeling like is they're just some sort of supernatural phenomena going on in Miami where 1104 01:11:16,039 --> 01:11:18,960 I don't want to boil it down to this. It's not a they want 1105 01:11:19,000 --> 01:11:21,760 it more or they're gonna play harder, But she's like, are they going 1106 01:11:21,840 --> 01:11:24,840 to figure out a way to do this? Because what the fuck are they 1107 01:11:24,880 --> 01:11:27,119 doing here in the first place? Based on what we just saw in the 1108 01:11:27,159 --> 01:11:30,640 regular season and they don't have Tyler Hero or Victual oldiep I want to tell 1109 01:11:30,640 --> 01:11:32,199 hey, Kyle, Every's gonna come off the bench and just be really fucking 1110 01:11:32,279 --> 01:11:36,079 good for most of the playoffs. It's just and Duncan Robinson's back in the 1111 01:11:36,159 --> 01:11:41,000 rotation, and look, Duncan Robinson is dribbling. I just can't. I 1112 01:11:41,079 --> 01:11:44,479 can't wrap my head around what's happening. Yeah, I think there's like a 1113 01:11:44,560 --> 01:11:47,439 self preservative instinct when it comes to the heat now in terms like from our 1114 01:11:47,520 --> 01:11:53,840 perspective of like clearly we're not understanding something or there's something that we have not 1115 01:11:54,039 --> 01:11:57,680 been able to put a put a finger on other than like they will just 1116 01:11:57,920 --> 01:12:00,199 maybe they do want it more like at some point we'll learn how to quantify 1117 01:12:00,359 --> 01:12:04,000 that, Like maybe they will. Maybe they are just capable of playing harder. 1118 01:12:04,279 --> 01:12:06,800 I don't know, because we've you know, we're kind of out of 1119 01:12:06,880 --> 01:12:13,640 other explanations obviously, Like they're extremely well coached, their best players are very 1120 01:12:13,720 --> 01:12:18,520 experienced in highly competitive games. Uh, they're very very willing to adjust, 1121 01:12:18,600 --> 01:12:24,479 adapt, try different stuff defensively, and the effort level never wanes. So 1122 01:12:24,920 --> 01:12:29,279 yeah, you know they're just is that sort of scary thing about the heat 1123 01:12:29,800 --> 01:12:32,159 or picking against the heat, which I don't have anything else really to say 1124 01:12:32,199 --> 01:12:34,319 on this series, so I could spoil it and say, like I am, 1125 01:12:34,359 --> 01:12:39,079 in fact picking against the Heat in the series in six, I think 1126 01:12:39,199 --> 01:12:42,760 Boston wins in six. That's a weird number to pick for the team with 1127 01:12:42,800 --> 01:12:45,119 home court advantage, but I just have to give the Heat the nod of 1128 01:12:45,399 --> 01:12:47,960 I think they're gonna the Celtics will have a game where you, like you 1129 01:12:48,039 --> 01:12:51,840 talked about their offense just looks like they've never like played together before, and 1130 01:12:53,479 --> 01:12:56,680 it's a horrible home games to the first few rounds. Is that like they've 1131 01:12:56,720 --> 01:12:59,760 lost it home? That's happened. So I think it's I think it's Celtics 1132 01:12:59,840 --> 01:13:01,800 and six. But man, if he'd just come out and win game one 1133 01:13:01,880 --> 01:13:04,840 because they want it more and we finally get a metric to prove that. 1134 01:13:05,000 --> 01:13:08,920 I'm gonna be pretty nervous. You want it more, metric, These hustle 1135 01:13:08,960 --> 01:13:11,520 stacks don't do it for us. No, I'm with you. I have 1136 01:13:11,600 --> 01:13:14,319 Celtics and six as well. I fully this is the third trade series. 1137 01:13:14,319 --> 01:13:15,880 I'm picking against the Heat, so I'm fully expecting to be wrong about one 1138 01:13:15,880 --> 01:13:18,319 of the Lakers or Heat. Did you want to take us out of here? 1139 01:13:18,319 --> 01:13:21,199 I think that's a good Okay. I was like just ready for the 1140 01:13:21,279 --> 01:13:25,680 next Chris paltrade. Yeah, everybody, thanks for listening. We had pretty 1141 01:13:25,760 --> 01:13:30,399 awesome comment engagement this time around. Thanks for watching. If this was your 1142 01:13:30,439 --> 01:13:33,079 first time watching, cool you saw all the free merch or not? Are 1143 01:13:33,079 --> 01:13:36,239 all the merchant Dan has? Some of it was free? Yeah, you 1144 01:13:36,279 --> 01:13:39,640 have to buy this stuff. I don't know why I said free. I'm 1145 01:13:39,680 --> 01:13:43,880 getting loopy. You saw a merch that you can't get from us. Uh 1146 01:13:44,079 --> 01:13:47,319 if if you were on at the beginning of the of the stream, uh 1147 01:13:47,439 --> 01:13:51,680 Dan has stickers. Uh you if you want our merch and you want to 1148 01:13:51,720 --> 01:13:56,399 continue to listen to us, prescribe, follow us on our socials at Hardwood 1149 01:13:56,439 --> 01:14:00,880 Knocks on Twitter and on TikTok at Hardwood Underscore Knox on Instagram. Tell your 1150 01:14:00,920 --> 01:14:04,680 friends, tell your enemies, go and give shouts out to Frank Nilikina, 1151 01:14:04,720 --> 01:14:09,600 which I will do right now. And I guess I'm gonna apologize to close 1152 01:14:09,680 --> 01:14:13,479 us out with Jared Allen again. I'm going back to apologizing again to Jared 1153 01:14:13,560 --> 01:14:14,520 all Thanks everybody,