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What is krack a acting Hardwoodknocks the
listeners, I am dan Fa Valley coming

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at you, fueled as always by
caffee and plots of pop punk and Hardwood

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Knocks. Adam is here for this
episode. We dive into one of our

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00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,839
trademark mail bags. Had a ton
of questions and all of them were spectacular,

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So thank you. Keep those questions
coming. You can always respond to

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obviously the solicitation on Twitter at Hardwood
Knox or at NBA Underscore Math, but

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00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,240
send questions in even if we haven't
sent out a tweet for it. Since

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we do do these weekly mail bags, we can store it for a different

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time at FROMO zero nine you can
add him or d m him. I'm

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00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:45,920
at Dana Valley fav a lle And
before we get started. As I stumbled

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through this, please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to hardwooknoxs ever

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we get your podcast. If this
is your first time listening to us for

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00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,119
whatever reason, please consider throwing us
that permit subscription. We cover the entire

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league at large, and we're pretty
good at doing so. In my completely

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unbiased, unskewed opinion, follow us
on Twitter. I already mentioned it at

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Hardwoknox. We're on YouTube as well. Hit that subscribe button YouTube dot com

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s or a hardwo Knox will be
right there and follow us on Instagram at

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Hardwood Underscore Knox. Now let's dive
into this mailbag. I think we had

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like fifteen questions deepest time we got
we got through a lot of them,

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might have even been more than fifteen
questions. Well, let's get through this

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mailbag. Hello everyone, and welcome
to the latest episode of Hardwood Knocks.

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This is Adam from well Here with
my fantastic co host Dan Favalley, coming

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at you with our latest mailbag episode
as we move a little bit deeper into

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this twenty twenty one twenty two NBA
season that has already produced a number of

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compelling storylines and a number of twists
and turns, and we're going to be

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diving into those as soon as we
find out. How Dan's doing today.

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I am fantabulous. I'm fueled as
usual by caffeine, lots of pop punk,

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and of course the Hardwoodknox podcast.
So how could I be doing anything

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but grand? How are you doing? I'm good? I just these days

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I just imagine that you're just like
playing a constant bing bong in your head,

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like whenever you're having a convert station, like you just keep hearing that

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sound pop up again and again.
Is that pretty accurate? Uh, it's

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fairly accurate. It said, I
keep hearing the bearded guy like doing r

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like but like motor boats at whatever
the hell he was doing during That is

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the one that stuck with me the
most. So uh, look, it's

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a good time to be even a
deadly disenchanted Knicks fan. They have the

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Knicks have the best offense in the
league as we record this number one in

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point score possession about them, apples, it's pretty solid. I mean this

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this team is super fun, seems
good that the offense seems really good.

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I'm I'm probably not doing quite as
well as you because I have no reason

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to actually cheer for the Knicks.
But all is well. Yeah yeah,

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yeah, yeah, I know,
you know the same Tray Young who is

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adjusting better than other stars are adjusting
to the free throw rule changes. Just

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putting that out there. Offense has
been pretty spotty though, like it's been

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bad, there's like a leeway there. But the Nets have been more disappointing

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than Atlanta by Park. It does. It does feel like the source of

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those half court frustrations, though,
are more the supporting cast than Trey himself.

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Though, because he has up to
his two point efficiency, he's still

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finding ways to get to the line. He's cutting back on his turnovers,

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he's a little more engaged on defense. It feels like he has been the

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huge bright spot for Atlanta, whereas
a lot of the young role players who

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were supposed to, if not take
step forwards, at least continue down the

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paths that they started during last year's
Eastern Conference Finals run have not progressed as

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expected. Yeah. Look, I
think the team in general will start finishing

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better at the rim, and they'll
probably hit more of their threes. I

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think they're Yeah, they're at sub
thirty three percent on above the break three

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point shooting. All that's down league
wide this year. So we'll see the

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average on above the break threes is
thirty three point two percent right now,

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So they're actually not that bad compared
New Look. You know I feel about

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the how if if you're panicking about
the Hawks right now, just stop,

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just go look up the definition of
small sample size. Listened to the previous

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episode, which Adam mentioned before,
we start recording where I called it a

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truth that the Atlanta Hawks will finish
with the second best record in the Eastern

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Conference. Probably not so spicy after
watching how the nets at the Bucks have

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played. But Milwaukee just is not
healthy. I can't bring myself to panic

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about that. I know that they're
they've been so bad. But Dante DiVincenzo,

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Brook Lopez and Drew Holiday and yes, I know Devincenzo hasn't played at

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all. That's the point. They've
all played a combined total seventy one minutes

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this season. Come talk to me
when that number grows a little bit.

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Exactly. I have no reason to
doubt this Bucks team, which has the

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benefit of continuity following a title run. There's no reason to doubt this team

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right now. We did not have
any questions about the Bucks or the Hawks

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for this mailbag, though, which
normally drops on Monday's. Past tweks,

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it's come on Tuesdays because of scheduling
conflicts with myself and also Adam. It'll

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probably get back to Monday's eventually.
We assume who knows, We do whatever

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the hell we want around here,
but we do publish a mailbag a week

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and the first question that we're gonna
get to comes from Jacob Bourne. He

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asked, is the Knicks five and
one start a trick or treat? And

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they could be six and one by
the time you're listening to this or five

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and two? But based off me
just scoreboard watching right now says we're recording

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this during games, I'm going to
predict six in one. But Adam,

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is the Nix's start a trick or
a treat? I think it's more of

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a treat. You know, obviously
they're not gonna keep playing at like a

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seventy win pace or whatever. Are
you sure? No, absolutely not.

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I've learned a long time ago not
to be sure about anything whatsoever. But

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it does feel like, you know, you touched on it already. Just

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how good this offense has been,
and we have reason to believe see last

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year, that the defense is only
going to improve. This team is healthy,

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it's deeper. Julius Randall has continued
to be a quality offensive hub.

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RJ. Barrett seems to be taking
strides in the right direction. We've had

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a lot of people commenting on the
NBA math TPA charts and pointing out that

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RJ. Barrett is in exactly where
you don't want to be, and then

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citing like the defensive field goal percentage
aloud when he's guarding people. First of

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all, that status bogus, don't
worry about it, but second of all,

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like the DPS stuff like it does
undersell what he's doing a little bit

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because he is taking on difficult assignments
and all that. So he's been totally

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fine. And it feels like if
you go top to bottom on this roster,

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like Derrick Rose has been really effective
on offense, Kemba Walker looks at

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least somewhat resurgent, Mitchell Robinson is
healthy. Just peace after piece is clicking,

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and if all of them come together, especially with improved versions of Obi

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Toppin and a version of Emmanuel Quickly
who might eventually make a shot, this

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team has a lot of juice.
I have no reason to doubt that this

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is a playoff lock closer to a
legitimate contender than not. There is so

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defensive field goal percentage when you're not
talking about the rim, there's obviously a

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lot of noise. Bogus feels like
a stretch, But I think what you

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said hits now on the head is
even if it's not bogus. The scope

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of the assignments that he's covering matters
in this situation. He's like, but

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I mean it is bogus though,
because we have so much control of it's

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better to force a pass than to
have a shot go up against you in

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most situations, Like, it's not
accounting for the quality of the shot contests,

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Like that's one of those stats where
if you're citing it, it's either

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agenda driven or you don't know any
better, and neither of those is a

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good thing. The thing that I
think this team is more real than not.

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Are they the best offense in the
league. I don't know, And

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I think what's been interesting, you
do know, you do know what's been

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interesting is that I don't know that
they've done this because anyone, I mean

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has Derek Roe has been their most
consistent player this season. They've done it

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because they have so many options,
which is good. I don't think this

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is a bad thing that if one's
not working, they have all these other

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guys that are gonna be able to
create their own shots or make shots,

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which is something they didn't have last
year. Even RJ. Barrett included,

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we have a question. I'll find
it about his most improved Player case,

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which is, you know, it's
gonna be tough for him to win it,

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I think because his offensive role is
kind of so inconsistent. That works

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for this team though, And so
that question came from one and I'm gonna

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just looping into this as can anyone
compete with RJ. Barrett for most improved

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Player? I think yes, I'll
finish with that. It's the defense needs

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to pick up. And like the
net rating swings for their starting lineups are

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all over the place, They've been
not great defensively with those guys. I

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think that speaks to the level of
competition, how they're built. You have

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Mitch Robinson and you know, Julius
Rynold's got I think he's legitimately good on

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defense. R J. Barrett's legitimately
good on defense. I don't know how

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much better this team is built to
get defensively, though, and that would

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be just something to monitor. Now. I don't think it matters even a

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little bit if you're gonna have the
best offense in the MBA if you're not

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elite defensively, and I think,
look, you look at just if you

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dig into their their defensive you know, just just stats like, there's really

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nothing that's a huge outlier. There's
opponents are probably gonna start shooting better on

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above the break threes against them,
But they also had a good three point

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defense last year, so maybe there's
something there. It's also not we just

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talked about how the league averages down
so much to be tenth an opponent above

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the break free throw percentage, that's
not this huge outlier, even if you're

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not responsible for it. I'm just
curious to see, you know, as

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where things stand now and you're saying
that this team is the best offense in

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the league nineteenth in defense. I
don't want to say that they're ceiling.

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I'm just curious whether they have the
jet fuel without making a move to go

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even higher. But I don't think
there should be a question that this team

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is more real than not for anything. And if anything, I'm a little

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bit more impressed given how much relatively
when you just dig into the data,

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how much the starting lineup has struggled
against other units. I'm actually pleasantly surprised

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that they're not worse on the defensive
end. You got rid of Reggie Bullock,

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who is your most important offender.
Yes, you've Mitchell Robinson coming back,

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like this team isn't built to be
elite defensively and it really leaned into

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offense. Kemba Walker will always try
harder than you think on defense. That

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doesn't mean that he's good. Evan
Fourniers like bad to whatever on that end,

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and you're going to be playing other
guys where you just don't have a

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ton of real wings on this roster. And even if Julius Randall's good,

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which I think he is, Mitchell
Robinson's good, you're always gonna be I

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think vulnerable, especially when it comes
to defending the perimeter a little bit.

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Again, you look at the opponent
three point shooting percentage right now, it

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00:10:07,159 --> 00:10:11,279
doesn't matter. I'm just curious what
the defensive ceiling on this team is.

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To the question about RJ. Barrett
being a most improved player, I think

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there's probably a little bit less hesitation
when he's working off the dribble than there

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00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,200
was last year. I'm just curious
whether he'll have and we've seen how much

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percentages and averages can swing in a
game right now. This season, he

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had that God I can't even remember
the team, but he had the monstrous

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00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,360
performance over the week oh my god, I forget the team, but like

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00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:35,679
his his points per game average skyrocketed, and now of a sudden, he's

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00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:37,679
gone from shooting under thirty three percent
on threes to like thirty eight point nine

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percent. It's like we're still so
early. And while I think he'll be

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mentioned in the discussion, I think
you're going to gravitate more towards people that

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have these just larger roles where it's
a tyler hero. I want to steer

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clear from from second year players totally, So maybe I won't go like looking

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00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,879
at that Rob but even at Desmond
Baine, who's a sophomore, might have

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just a bigger case than Barrett.
So I think maybe he if people really

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00:11:01,639 --> 00:11:05,399
dig into the I don't even know
if it's defensive improvement, but the defensive

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00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,559
role that he plays this season,
he should be at least mentioned if he

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continues to keep this up at both
ends. But I don't know if he's

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00:11:11,759 --> 00:11:15,759
going to have the jet fuel to
be like a top three I don't think

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00:11:15,759 --> 00:11:18,519
he's even going to get mentioned.
Like even after thirty five points against the

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00:11:18,519 --> 00:11:24,559
New Orleans Pelicans without brandon Ingram and
they almost didn't win by the zombie New

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Orleans Pelicans, Like, he's still
averaging only seventeen point two points per game,

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which is less than last year.
I don't think there's any doubt that

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RJ. Barrett is an improved basketball
player. But being an improved basketball player

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00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:43,519
is not what wins you the most
Improved Player award because you need statistical leaps

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00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:48,120
and he is not set up in
a role on this next team that is

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00:11:48,159 --> 00:11:52,679
going on by design, absolutely,
but he's not set up in a role

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00:11:52,799 --> 00:11:56,279
that's conducive to a massive points per
game leap. He's not going to average

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00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,240
twenty points a game on this team. There are too many scoring options.

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00:11:58,279 --> 00:12:01,879
It's not how they're build. So
I mean, I think you can throw

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00:12:01,879 --> 00:12:05,879
out a dozen candidates who are more
likely to finish in the top three in

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00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:07,879
the Most Improved Player balloting down the
road, Like right now, I would

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00:12:07,879 --> 00:12:13,000
think the easy favorite is Miles Bridges, who just looks dominant for the Charlotte

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00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,320
Hornets, has doubled his scoring average, almost touching twenty five points a game.

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00:12:16,399 --> 00:12:20,200
Right now, you could throw out
Harrison Barnes. Is it sustainable.

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00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,759
Probably not, But if we're just
talking about these early season samples, what

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00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:28,399
he's done in year ten is remarkable, John Morant making the superstar leap like

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00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:33,120
I think they are, just there
are so many candidates that Barrette just isn't

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00:12:33,159 --> 00:12:37,559
set up to compete in that race, even if he is a better basketball

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00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:41,200
player, And I cannot emphasize that
enough. That he continues to grow on

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both ends and he's going to be
more and more valuable to this Knicks team

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as this Knicks team continues to get
better, it's just not going to lead

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to that kind of award consideration.
And again it's by design relative to the

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field last year and what voters look
for. So I'm not saying that this

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would be right if RJ gets the
chef completely this year, but his case

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as a sophomore is going to end
up being stronger than it will be this

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year for most improved play, I
would agree with that. Let's look these

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two questions in together because this one
it's it's almost phrased like a joke,

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but I feel like it. I
mean, it feels like it bears asking.

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But always Winter asked why is Yoki
so good at basketball? And then

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long time listener mirslov shook ass the
Denver Nuggets have the second best net rating

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for a starting five in the league. With Jamal Murray injured and mpj's forty

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percent true shooting, Is this six
game start by Nicole yokis better than the

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one last year? Someone responded.
Dussan responded, if anyone's interested, Yokich

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is plus eighty in his first six
games. Nuggets are plus twenty seven.

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Nuggets without yokajer minus fifty three.
The the extent to which Nikole Yoka just

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had to carry this offense, even
without Jamal Murray has been borderline harrowing,

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especially when you look at how good
Will Barton has been. Mpj's offensive performance

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was scarier than anything I saw on
Halloween weekend. So far this season,

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he just he cannot throw the proverbial
beach ball in the ocean from the beach.

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Nothing is working. The shots look
good until they leave his hands,

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and that's just kind of been the
story for a lot of the offensive pieces

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in general, and it has forced
Yokich into taking on even more of a

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burden, though not necessarily as a
scorer, where he's just like trying to

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get guys involved. He's trying to
go to work on the low blocks more

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when the offensive breakdowns are happening.
He's thrived as a rebounder. He's playing

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a little bit more defense for a
Nuggets team that has been one of the

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best defensive squads in the NBA to
this season. So I would argue that,

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yeah, his start has been better
because he's had to deal with even

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more responsibility sands Jamal Murray for a
vastly improved defensive team that while he's never

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going to be the true defensive centerpiece, that result stems more from, you

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know, the everybody chipping in forcing
turnovers, not necessarily funneling everything towards him

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Rudy Gobert style. He has had
more responsibilities to shoulder in they have not

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been too large for him. Yeah, I think that now more than ever,

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there's a very legitimate case that he's
the best player in basketball. He

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I mean, I don't want to
speak in hyperbolic terms, but he would

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probably be my MVP pick right now. Jimmy Butler's right there. I think

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Jimmy Butler would be mine right now. Funny enough, Jimmy Butler's still like

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a fifty to one odds to win
MVP. So if you're a betting person,

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some Nuggets numbers to consider their offense
ranks in the first percentile so far

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00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,399
without yo Kich. That is disgusting. They have some all backup or bench

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heavy units that have just been an
eyesore. I think Michael Malone in their

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wins over the Mavericks and who else
did they beat their past two games,

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I'm just apparently my memories blanking over
their past few games. I think he's

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done a better job of sort of
mixing up the rotations, and we did

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see bones a little bit, I
believe, but those units have been getting

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killed, and I think you're gonna
need to do Some people mentioned bringing Will

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Barton to the bench. I don't
think you need to do that. You

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probably need to stagger him more heavily. I think what it's gonna come down

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to, though, Michael Porter Jr. Just has to be better because he's

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not been good. Look. When
Nicole Yokich is on the floor, his

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true shooting is forty three. When
Nikolyyokich is off the floor, his true

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shooting is thirty two point four.
Overall last season, he was auging point

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four six points per touch. He's
at that's basically in half. This season,

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he's at point two five five.
I don't think those struggles are going

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to continue. He's actually using,
by the way, and I thought you'd

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find this interesting. Fewer dribbles per
touch this year than he did last year,

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and so I do think his role
is less streamlined because of the defensive

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tension he's receiving. And I do
think the Nuggets are asking him to make

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00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,799
different types of decisions, even if
they're still relying heavily on note Yokich to

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00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,000
create everything and then even a Will
Barton and maybe even a Monte Morris to

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take more more complicated shots. The
ceiling of this team, Nicole Yokich is

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00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:52,279
both it's floor and it's ceiling.
But if they're gonna get like the bump

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up Michael Porter Junior house, the
past peoples, drag them down or take

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them to another level, and I
think that's what's going to be huge,

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and it's yeah, they'll be scarier
if he's gonna play better during the Yokich

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minutes. I do think this team
has to at least to some degree,

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figure out the non Yokis minutes if
they want to be that legit contender without

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Murray. And I don't look at
I look at this team is like having

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quality depth. But if Michael Porter
Junior is gonna play this poor ly to

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where you can't even entertain he's averaging
under ten minutes per game without Yoki on

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the court, maybe they don't even
I don't think you want necessarily more than

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that. Do you want to play
Michael Porter Junior. Yeah, you want

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your two best players on the court
for as much as possible, but you

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need those minutes to be by far
more productive. And he's just you know,

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I don't there. We can go
deeper and say what he needs to

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00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,799
do better, but I just feel
like he's missing a bunch of shots and

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00:17:38,839 --> 00:17:42,720
looks that he was hitting last year, and they need those to go in

279
00:17:42,839 --> 00:17:45,599
because that's going to drag them down. He's getting clean looks, they just

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00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,920
aren't falling. I think I think
one fix right now, while the second

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unit is in this early season,
Malaise is moving Monte Morris to the bench

282
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just to get that steadying presence who
can seek out his own shot on occasion.

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I think that makes a lot more
sense than having these just these lineups

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that are completely devoid of offensive ability. But I do have one more stat

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just in support of Yokich being off
to an unreal start to this season.

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The b Ball Index is adjusted adjusted
rim points saved per seventy five possessions leaderboard.

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Do you want to guess where Yokis
ranks at this stage of the season.

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00:18:22,599 --> 00:18:29,839
This is heading into games on November
one third, He's fifth and the

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00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,440
top ten. We'll just we'll go
through him real fast, because I think

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00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:37,960
it's helped show the validity of this
metric. Isaiah Stewart and tenth, Rashaun

291
00:18:37,039 --> 00:18:42,480
Holmes ninth, Nikola Vukovic eighth,
Clint Capella seventh, Mobomba sixth, Yoki

292
00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:47,680
fifth, Yaki Peartle fourth, Rudy
Gobert third, Joel Mbiad second, and

293
00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,799
Miles Turner first. It's a pretty
solid list of bigs to be surrounded by

294
00:18:51,839 --> 00:18:56,400
when you're talking about rim protection numbers. Yeah, look, and the stuff

295
00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,839
with Yokis too. It does feel
like the Nuggets are always really good earlier

296
00:19:00,839 --> 00:19:04,519
in the season defensively, and maybe
that's anecdotally correct and just factually wrong.

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Every I just feel like in the
start of every season we talk about how,

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oh wow, Yoki's just playing really
aggressively on defense, and he's coming

299
00:19:11,039 --> 00:19:12,960
up to the level of the screen
and at some point it's like, hey,

300
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,240
we've got to stop thinking that this
is new. This like, this

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00:19:15,279 --> 00:19:18,200
is how they've used Yoki. He
has great hands. I'm curious to see

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00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,119
whether it's something that sustains all year. It feels very much like the Nuggets

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00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:25,640
are always singer than you'd expect,
maybe at the beginning and the end of

304
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,640
the year, like sort of that
book end, but what happens during the

305
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:32,920
middle. Overall, though, the
fact that they've been better on defense than

306
00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:36,240
offense this year is probably almost encouraging. I wouldn't say it's definitely, but

307
00:19:36,279 --> 00:19:38,079
it's got to be almost encouraging.
I think it's good news ultimately when you

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00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:42,839
know that ya, Jamal Murray coming
back at some point, Tony spookums who's

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00:19:42,839 --> 00:19:47,680
actually anti more LATCHI hey, longtime
fan, is there a statistic or group

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that can help relate if a team
is fun to watch? Go Hornets?

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So I was assuming this was for
a Hornets thing. I don't know.

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00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:56,039
I mean, you can look at
pace, but I think there's noise in

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that. I like to look at
the average and this isn't just a fun

314
00:19:59,039 --> 00:20:00,640
factor, but this is what I
when I'm trying to see how fast the

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00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,599
team is committed to playing. I
want to look at the average time each

316
00:20:04,599 --> 00:20:10,160
possession lasts for them, and so
the Nuggets their seventh overall, but their

317
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,799
first after a made shot, and
that's how you know at fifteen point nine

318
00:20:12,799 --> 00:20:18,519
seconds the next closest team is the
Lakers at sixteen point two. There are

319
00:20:18,559 --> 00:20:22,079
like, if you're gonna play that
fast after taking the ball out, that's

320
00:20:22,079 --> 00:20:25,839
a team that likes to push,
likes to get at defenses before they're fully

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00:20:25,839 --> 00:20:29,400
set. And I think that's a
fair in this case. It seems like

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00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,599
an accurate barometer of how fun the
Hornets can be to watch. But there

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00:20:33,599 --> 00:20:36,880
are I mean, you could look
at probably a bunch of different depends on

324
00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:37,839
what you like about. I might
look at which team is taking the most

325
00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,279
step back jumpers, because I'm gonna
I'm gonna find that tantilizing. I think

326
00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:48,519
my favorite thing about this question is
we might have found the question where I'm

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00:20:48,559 --> 00:20:52,119
most confident in saying just go with
the eye test, because like, yeah,

328
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:56,640
like fast paced teams can be fun. The Washington Wizards were the fastest

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00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,359
team in the league last year,
and I don't know that they were that

330
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,000
much fun to watch on a nightly
basis. You know, there's a difference

331
00:21:03,039 --> 00:21:07,799
between teams getting out and running because
they should and because they can. I

332
00:21:07,799 --> 00:21:15,000
don't know that it's it's ultimately an
inherently subjective question because what you enjoy watching

333
00:21:15,079 --> 00:21:15,920
is going to be different. I
mean, if if we can track like

334
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,319
alley oops thrown the step back jumpers, no, you could. You could

335
00:21:19,319 --> 00:21:22,319
look at how many unassisted field goals
they are, but then you're going to

336
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:27,319
be dealing with some James Harden dribble
machines, you know, but like that,

337
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,920
some dunks are just not interesting.
Absolutely, I don't know that I

338
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:37,640
would have one single metric that truly
works. I mean, like maybe the

339
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,640
one I would lean to most would
be like transition points per game, just

340
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,880
because ultimately it is fun to watch
the teams that aren't just getting out and

341
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,359
running a lot, but are good
at doing it. Maybe even transition points

342
00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:55,200
per possession or even frequency, because
then that's like it doesn't necessarily have to

343
00:21:55,279 --> 00:21:57,559
end. Well, they just know
that the free throws allowed per game like

344
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:03,000
something like that. Maybe if anyone
is curious, though, the Hornets steph

345
00:22:03,039 --> 00:22:08,119
and curries per team like something like
that. The Hornets are ninth in transition

346
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:15,720
frequency and they're twelfth in transition efficiency. So there, and that's a great,

347
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:21,079
a great set of numbers that would
support them being fun. Here's anything

348
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:22,960
that's that's my ultimate answer though,
if I'm gonna if I'm gonna settle on

349
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:27,240
one, it's it's Steph Curries per
team. Let's stick with the hornets here

350
00:22:27,279 --> 00:22:30,240
from Jake g And I think that
answer your final one is sound. Is

351
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,759
there a Jake g Ass? Is
there a history of Miles Miles Bridges type

352
00:22:33,799 --> 00:22:37,680
improvement to start a season? If
so, how sustainable has it been?

353
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,519
There is? To my recollection and
during the brief research I did, I

354
00:22:41,559 --> 00:22:48,200
have not seen anyone make the statistical
leap necessarily when they're past their rookie to

355
00:22:48,279 --> 00:22:52,960
sophomore to thirty like three to four. I don't know that I've seen someone

356
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:57,599
double their scoring output seeing their usage
increase by nearly ten percentage points. I

357
00:22:57,599 --> 00:23:00,799
will say, when you look at
his efficient and see like this is not

358
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:07,119
something he's doing drastically different compared to
last year, sixty one point four percent

359
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:08,680
on his twos. It comes on
double the volume, but it's up from

360
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,720
fifty nine point three percent last season
thirty seven percent on threes again coming on

361
00:23:12,759 --> 00:23:17,640
more volume, but he actually shot
forty percent from three last year. He's

362
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,160
doing more work off the dribble.
When you're looking at him going inside the

363
00:23:21,279 --> 00:23:25,599
arc. I think his passing is
like the same. It's more so reactionary

364
00:23:25,599 --> 00:23:27,720
than someone who has like this type
of great four sight. That's not really

365
00:23:27,759 --> 00:23:30,880
a problem. I don't know what
he is on defense, aside from I

366
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,160
would call him positionally malleable, which
I do think is mostly a compliment.

367
00:23:36,279 --> 00:23:40,559
No one springs to mind when you're
looking statistically at this, maybe to you

368
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,400
where I see this, and it's
in terms of raw scoring, because like

369
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:47,000
it's not like it's assists numbers or
upper town. It's his usage is skyrocketed,

370
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,640
and he's just he went from twelve
point seven points to twenty four point

371
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,599
six. I can't really think of
anything off the top of my head,

372
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,039
like this is a weird one.
But the first name that came to mind.

373
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:03,960
Do you remember back in twentyeen when
Andrew Nicholson for the Orlando Magic like

374
00:24:03,079 --> 00:24:06,640
kind of went off at the start
of the year. He started with eighteen

375
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,079
points in the season opener on eight
of ten shooting, then at thirteen nine

376
00:24:10,079 --> 00:24:12,440
and seventeen in the next three games, like even that is at a much

377
00:24:12,519 --> 00:24:18,960
smaller scale and ultimately proved unsustainable.
The best comparison might be like Harrison Barnes

378
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,160
from this year, where all of
a sudden the scoring numbers are just absolutely

379
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,839
skyrocketing, except he's doing it in
a tenth season. I think we've reached

380
00:24:26,839 --> 00:24:33,240
the point with Bridges where it doesn't
just feel like an early season aberration.

381
00:24:33,599 --> 00:24:36,759
And maybe it's still too early to
say that, but it seems pretty clear

382
00:24:36,799 --> 00:24:40,960
that the Hornets are intent on featuring
him in the offense, both in transition

383
00:24:41,279 --> 00:24:44,160
and within the half court, and
that he's responding well to it. That

384
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,640
he's playing with an ideal teammate in
LaMelo Ball who both wants to and can

385
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,200
get him the ball in a lot
of advantageous situations. So I don't know

386
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:56,240
that I have a great comparison,
because ultimately we remember where the numbers normalize

387
00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,240
two more than we do these ridiculously
hot ten game starts to a season.

388
00:25:00,559 --> 00:25:06,279
So there probably are others like this
out there that we just forget about because

389
00:25:06,319 --> 00:25:10,799
they weren't ultimately sustainable. The one
I thought about, and it's a similar

390
00:25:10,839 --> 00:25:15,039
time one year two to three was
twenty eighteen twenty nineteen Siakham, where he

391
00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:18,920
went from eight points as a sophomore
to seventeen points as a as a third

392
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:23,440
year player. So I was usage
skyrocket the Raptors win the title that year.

393
00:25:23,559 --> 00:25:26,079
And it was also a situation where
he was not the number one option

394
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,000
first team, and Myles Bridges is
not you know, he's gonna score,

395
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,720
but like he's not the one who's
running the offense a majority of the time.

396
00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:37,519
Jalen Brown went from thirteen to twenty
point three in his fourth season,

397
00:25:37,599 --> 00:25:41,960
Like maybe something like that, but
even that's not quite on the same scale.

398
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,119
But what I what I took away
from what you just said is that

399
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:45,920
you're picking the Hornets to win the
title. That is, I don't know

400
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,960
how you got that from what I
see. You said that when you're comparing

401
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,680
it to Siakham, like the Raptors
went on and won the title that year,

402
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,079
So I see a pretty clear connection. Yeah, I mean, I

403
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,400
guess it's Gordon Hayward Kauai in this
instance is La melo Quai Like I don't,

404
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,039
I don't, I don't know how
we're that seems like quite the leap,

405
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,720
But yes, Hornets are gonna win
the title. This question comes from

406
00:26:06,759 --> 00:26:12,559
Paul Delores. Are the Chicago Bulls
for real? Yeah? I think so.

407
00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:18,119
I don't. I don't believe that
they're a juggernaut in the Eastern Conference,

408
00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,400
that they're a contender, But I
do think they're for real as a

409
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:26,519
legitimate playoff team in the Eastern Conference. They have so much scoring firepower,

410
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:32,279
and it's clear that that guys like
Alex Caruso, Javonte Green, like these

411
00:26:33,039 --> 00:26:37,880
lower minute, high effort players are
impacting the overall defensive intensity. I think

412
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,759
that this We said it as soon
as the transaction happened. But Lonzo Ball

413
00:26:42,839 --> 00:26:48,640
is a perfect fit for this team, alongside Zach Lavine, alongside Damarta Rosen,

414
00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:52,680
and the roster makes a lot more
sense than it has in previous years.

415
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,160
They are still benefiting from a pretty
cushy start to their schedule, but

416
00:26:57,279 --> 00:27:00,240
you can only play the people who
are in front of you, and they've

417
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:04,440
played them pretty damn well. I'm
with you. Some things that concern me

418
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,680
is I don't are I don't think
the defense is gonna end up beating this

419
00:27:10,799 --> 00:27:14,319
good I just I don't look at
them, especially Patrick Williams is out for

420
00:27:14,319 --> 00:27:17,759
the season now expected to be with
his wrist injury. They do play an

421
00:27:17,759 --> 00:27:22,079
aggressive style and yet like they're not
failing their second and opponent turnover stores,

422
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:23,680
So maybe it holds and when you
watch them, like they feel really active

423
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:29,079
and I don't think yes in size
and then maybe by extension the scope of

424
00:27:29,079 --> 00:27:32,880
assignments that he can cover. I
don't know that you're losing a ton going

425
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:37,039
from Patrick Williams to Devonte greenmant screen
is just really good defensively, and then

426
00:27:37,039 --> 00:27:37,680
there are some things that you can
look at and say, Okay, this

427
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,839
team is eighth in point score per
possession and they're starting lineup is just not

428
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,319
performing up to snuff offensively. Yet
a lot of that I think is Vooch

429
00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:49,119
just is not one of the biggest
disappointments by far, almost made my biggest

430
00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:53,240
disappointment list when I did ten for
Bleach Report. It's just that he's been

431
00:27:53,279 --> 00:27:57,680
better than I expected defensively, so
it's felt weird including him and he will

432
00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:03,160
normalize eventually. So there's like there
needs to be more evidence to be found,

433
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:04,960
but what we've seen, and this
will tie into another question that I'll

434
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,759
mention, we're getting to a point
where like once you get ten games in

435
00:28:10,079 --> 00:28:11,680
I think it was NBA dot Com
did this study where it's like it's normally

436
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,200
twenty games are pretty telltale how the
standings are going to finish, but that

437
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,119
you can glean a lot, if
not a majority, of accurate information from

438
00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:22,119
the first ten or eleven games of
a season. And so we are quickly

439
00:28:22,519 --> 00:28:26,960
reaching that point, like we're six, Like six games is not a lot.

440
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,279
But if they go through ten games
and they're eight and two, or

441
00:28:29,319 --> 00:28:30,880
they go through twelve games and they're
nine and three, like, yeah,

442
00:28:32,079 --> 00:28:33,799
you're gonna have to take them seriously. I do think I land with you,

443
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:38,759
and there's nothing I guess there's nothing
scientific about my answer here. I

444
00:28:38,799 --> 00:28:41,119
just don't think that they're going to
end up being right now. If you

445
00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,400
look at them, you would say, oh, they are one of the

446
00:28:44,839 --> 00:28:47,839
three or four most serious contenders in
the East. I don't know if I

447
00:28:47,839 --> 00:28:52,400
eventually land there for them, I
still have the nets, the Hawks and

448
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,240
the Bucks in front of them.
I'm very much inclined to put the heat

449
00:28:55,279 --> 00:29:00,559
there at this point, so I
feel I don't want to just credit what

450
00:29:00,559 --> 00:29:03,559
they've done. But like, if
we get the game like twelve fifteen and

451
00:29:03,599 --> 00:29:07,079
their defense is still in the top
five, then it's probably time to rethink

452
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,160
even what would let's call it our
hardwood Knox is optimistic takes on the Bulls

453
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:17,640
because that becomes a whole different spectrum
of outcomes for them. I'm comfortable pegging

454
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,680
these Bulls right around like five or
six in the Eastern Conference at this point.

455
00:29:21,839 --> 00:29:22,759
That's what a lot of people had
them though, is my point?

456
00:29:22,839 --> 00:29:26,720
Yeah, and yeah, I know, and I don't think that they've done

457
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:32,880
enough to convince me to elevate that
ceiling right now. But considering we're talking

458
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:37,839
about an organization that has not made
the playoffs since twenty seventeen, that hasn't

459
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:44,319
won a playoff series since twenty fifteen, that's a great finish. I'm totally

460
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,039
with you. I'm just saying I
think when people are asking if they want

461
00:29:47,039 --> 00:29:49,240
to know if the Bulls are legitimate
title consider or odd and I would say,

462
00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,079
like, we need to see and
the Bulls are not going to play

463
00:29:52,079 --> 00:29:56,400
it an eighty three point three win
percentage, right, But I feel comfortable

464
00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,400
saying that what would it let's fast, Let's say this is their reck through

465
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:04,079
twelve games, they are ten and
two they are seventh in defense, ninth

466
00:30:04,079 --> 00:30:07,240
and offense. Are you ready to
call them a contender then? Or is

467
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,680
it still too early for you.
Let's see they play Boston as we're recording

468
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,640
this, then Philly, then Philly, then Brooklyn, the Dallas and then

469
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:18,000
Golden State. Yeah, if they're
ten and two, I'm ready to say

470
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,559
that they're a legitimate contendent. That's
also they have benefited at the beginning.

471
00:30:21,759 --> 00:30:26,279
So far, they've beaten Detroit,
the Zion Williams, the Zion Williamson Lists,

472
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:30,200
New Orleans Pelicans. Might be easier
to say for future reference, it

473
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:36,440
would be Detroit the first, second
time Toronto in Toronto is a good win,

474
00:30:36,519 --> 00:30:38,880
but that Toronto team is still figuring
out what it is. And then

475
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:44,880
the marquee victory was Saturday night beating
the Utah jass. That's one and a

476
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,079
half good wins of those first five, and that, in a nutshell,

477
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,559
is why it's really hard to buy
into it being anything more than a validation

478
00:30:52,079 --> 00:30:56,480
of where they were expected to be
before the season started. This next question

479
00:30:56,559 --> 00:31:02,000
is semi related to this, Mike, are meant as statistically how many games

480
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,000
into a season is a good representation
or innertator of where an NBA team will

481
00:31:04,079 --> 00:31:07,240
end up by season end, I
said when I was poking around for this

482
00:31:07,279 --> 00:31:11,079
one. NBA dot Com recently did
something where they mentioned that it was like

483
00:31:11,119 --> 00:31:15,680
twenty or twenty one games is absolutely
telltale of the standings, But they also

484
00:31:15,759 --> 00:31:18,319
just said that there's more of a
correlation when you're ten or eleven games in

485
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:22,319
as well. I think also a
few years ago Tom Haberstrow when he was

486
00:31:22,359 --> 00:31:26,720
at ESPN, did a study on
this and it was very clear, like

487
00:31:26,799 --> 00:31:29,599
nineteen to twenty one games. I
hope I'm not misremembering correctly. I couldn't

488
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:33,039
find it, so that would be
the like when you get to twenty games,

489
00:31:33,039 --> 00:31:36,519
Like that would be the Adam and
I can sit here and say everything

490
00:31:36,519 --> 00:31:40,079
we just said about the Bulls and
it would hold very little weight the wait

491
00:31:40,119 --> 00:31:42,920
and see approach, or we would
hold a lot less weight if the Bulls

492
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,519
were this good twenty games into the
season, because it seems like at the

493
00:31:45,559 --> 00:31:49,160
quarter pole and a lot of that. I think what goes into that at

494
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,799
that point, you've probably seen some
teams who started out hot have faded.

495
00:31:53,079 --> 00:31:56,759
There are maybe more sellers, teams
that are catering to more gradual timelines,

496
00:31:56,799 --> 00:32:00,880
and there's just more of a distinct
pecking order, So it's just easier to

497
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:02,960
separate once you get maybe fourteen to
fifteen in and then you let those games

498
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,039
unfold a little bit more. I'm
just curious whether this season could be a

499
00:32:07,119 --> 00:32:13,160
little bit different because of how many
teams are ostensibly trying to win now where

500
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,119
maybe that twenty to twenty one game
mark still makes sense, But as the

501
00:32:15,319 --> 00:32:20,759
NBA dot Com article proposed, maybe
eleven and twelve games really isn't that telltale

502
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:23,960
just because of how many teams are
so engaged in trying to you know,

503
00:32:24,039 --> 00:32:27,640
the play in tournament, having that
type of impact trying to win. Now.

504
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,480
Look, there's a reason that at
NBA Math and our rolling team ratings,

505
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,680
that we have it set up to
be a team's performance over a twenty

506
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,359
game stretch, and that we don't
publicize those results until we're twenty games into

507
00:32:38,359 --> 00:32:44,119
the season, because that is typically
the benchmark for when things from a statistical

508
00:32:44,119 --> 00:32:50,319
standpoint become more indicative of season long
performance. I don't have any numbers to

509
00:32:50,319 --> 00:32:52,039
back this up, frankly, because
I have not had enough time to really

510
00:32:52,079 --> 00:32:57,640
dive in and test out the hypothesis, but I would suspect that it is

511
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:02,440
becoming a little bit less indicative of
the season long results as the NBA shifts

512
00:33:02,519 --> 00:33:07,480
more and more into the three point
heavy league, that it has become just

513
00:33:07,559 --> 00:33:10,440
because there's a little bit more of
variance and outcomes on a night tonight basis,

514
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:14,839
so you can have a little bit
more noise over that twenty games sample.

515
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,279
I would wager that whereas it might
have been like eighteen games twenty years

516
00:33:19,279 --> 00:33:21,839
ago, that it's going to be
more like twenty five games these days.

517
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,240
But again, like there is nothing
backing that up. That is pure conjecture.

518
00:33:24,839 --> 00:33:30,640
It seems like a pretty smart,
informed type of guess. Also be

519
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:32,839
really dumb. What's that? It
could also be really dumb. I have

520
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:36,920
no idea. That's how I approach
most of the things. You say.

521
00:33:37,119 --> 00:33:40,240
That's very really dumb. Let's see, so this next question comes from the

522
00:33:40,319 --> 00:33:44,480
NBA chicken. Who has the worst
bench unit? And why is it the

523
00:33:44,559 --> 00:33:47,799
Nuggets? I will say I might
be more inclined to like kind of wait

524
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,359
and just see, like to let
the season develop before we're gonna look at

525
00:33:52,359 --> 00:33:54,759
the because I look at the Nuggets
actual bench players, and I think you

526
00:33:54,799 --> 00:33:58,799
can make a case that, Okay, this this offense might end up being

527
00:33:58,799 --> 00:34:00,759
pretty bad, Like who are you
running the offense through? If you keep

528
00:34:00,799 --> 00:34:04,400
your rotation the same. I'm just
fewer than ten games in. I don't

529
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:07,559
know whether I'm going to declare a
state of emergency for any team's depth unless

530
00:34:07,559 --> 00:34:10,239
you thought it was going to be
like this huge issue coming in. I

531
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:15,800
will say, statistically, the Nuggets
bench has the worst point differential per one,

532
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,760
the second worst point differential prone hundred
possessions. Would you care to venture

533
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:25,239
who has the worst only the Thunder
because they don't have any talent. No,

534
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,840
I would just argue that the talent
is so close together that the bench

535
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:32,960
blacks. Are you mean differential between
starters and bench or just differential between the

536
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,599
bench and the opposing bench. It's
the bench in the opposing bench. It's

537
00:34:37,599 --> 00:34:38,679
just a minute that I think the
reserves have played on the court. However,

538
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:43,400
NBA dot Com is sorting it there. The Orlando Magic have the worst,

539
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:46,920
and that's at least in part fueled
by their starting lineup has been a

540
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:51,320
lot better than I expected. So
you're dealing with that drop off there.

541
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:53,960
If I had to pick another candidate
and I know you could say that Thunder

542
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,800
having the worst bench. If you
were looking from a gap of starting lineup

543
00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,000
town to bench talent on the same
team, maybe you would view this differently.

544
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:07,719
I think this selection might fit both
sets of criteria. I'm officially concerned

545
00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,199
about the Boston Celtics reserves. I
know everyone kind of touted them as the

546
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,880
super deep team when you kind of
look at their top five guys to what's

547
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:20,880
coming up after Josh Richardson's not the
same Josh Richardson. I guess there's a

548
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:25,079
case if like Dennis Shrewder is having
a good game, I'm just I don't

549
00:35:25,079 --> 00:35:30,880
know, you're the players you're starting. It always looked like the Nuggets we're

550
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:34,079
gonna get or the Nuggets the Celtics, we're gonna get pretty iffy after their

551
00:35:34,119 --> 00:35:37,760
top six or seven guys. And
right now they have the third worst bench

552
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:42,239
differential in the league. So and
I there's you know, there's probably a

553
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,119
lot of noise in there too,
because you have like Shrewder has started three

554
00:35:45,119 --> 00:35:49,639
games for them this year, Killingiams
has started two because Al Horford miss missed

555
00:35:49,679 --> 00:35:52,119
some time. But like looking at
their core bench players, and I would

556
00:35:52,119 --> 00:35:55,559
still include shrewder in that one,
like Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, Peyton

557
00:35:55,559 --> 00:35:59,719
Pritchard, and like they haven't even
you know, Peyton Pritchard shooting terribly.

558
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:02,559
Romo Lanfe has been a lot better
than I expected this season, But that's

559
00:36:02,599 --> 00:36:07,360
a bench where I feel like it
could be a feaster famine type situation.

560
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,960
So I would personally keep my eye
on them. And I also look at

561
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,880
the thunder bench is going to be
pretty bad, So like, if you

562
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,800
want to throw that out there,
I think we should just throw out all

563
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:20,280
the bottom feeding teams, because yeah, Detroit is going to have just a

564
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:24,000
terrible, terrible bench unit, as
is Houston, as is Oklahoma City,

565
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,679
as is Orlando. So where do
you end on this the Pelicans bench,

566
00:36:29,599 --> 00:36:31,639
it's not very fun at all.
But I'm just do they fall into the

567
00:36:31,679 --> 00:36:35,800
bad team because even without Zion,
I think I think they have to right

568
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,719
now, especially because without Zion and
without brandon Ingram for a portion of this

569
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:43,280
season already, like it's it's gotten
even thinner. I guess what I'm just

570
00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:47,079
I'm wondering how he would impact their
second unit offense, because if you if

571
00:36:47,079 --> 00:36:51,800
you put him in the starting lineup, he probably replaces herb Jones, and

572
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,800
then your second unit, like in
terms of creators, is still the same,

573
00:36:54,119 --> 00:36:59,159
Like Saturanski's not playing his huge role. What is Kyra lewis doing for

574
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,000
you? I guess you can move
into Kiel Alexander Walker to the bench,

575
00:37:01,039 --> 00:37:04,599
but is he even ready to sort
of run those units? And so it

576
00:37:04,639 --> 00:37:07,960
feels like they could be just one
of the worst offensive benches in the league.

577
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:10,320
And I will say a lot of
people have done the whole I can't

578
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:15,360
believe they gave up Lonzo Ball for
that return. I actually agree, but

579
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:17,920
Lonzo Ball was not the guy.
I think he's in like the fourth percentile

580
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,679
of pick and roll efficiency right now. It's like he wasn't the guy that

581
00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:23,000
was going to settle units on his
own. I think they should have kept

582
00:37:23,039 --> 00:37:27,039
him. I want to make that
clear. But that's addition, Yeah,

583
00:37:27,119 --> 00:37:29,679
yeah, that did. The disingeneous
argument to make is, oh, they

584
00:37:29,679 --> 00:37:32,280
would be much better off looking at
their let's say, reserve offense or just

585
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:36,920
offensive depth creation depth with him,
because that's just never been his game.

586
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,039
Can I nominate the Phoenix Suns as
a sneaky contender for this answer? They

587
00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:45,239
didn't? You can, and I
just want to add very quickly. I

588
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:50,800
was shocked and this is a terrible
look that they decline a third year option

589
00:37:51,519 --> 00:37:57,320
on Jalen Smith, the tenth overall
pick in the twenty nineteen draft. Great

590
00:37:57,559 --> 00:37:59,760
sign, but yeah, I mean, like, right now, that bench,

591
00:38:00,159 --> 00:38:02,360
that bench unit, the true second
team is looking at two of the

592
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:07,599
three between Jalen Smith, JaVale McGee
and Frank Kaminsky, Cam Johnson, and

593
00:38:07,639 --> 00:38:12,239
then two of the three of Landry
sham At, Alfred Payton and Cameron Payne.

594
00:38:13,559 --> 00:38:15,840
It's hard to get excited about that
one, like unless you're unless you're

595
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:23,559
banking on campaign being exactly what he
was during last postseason's last postseason's run to

596
00:38:23,559 --> 00:38:30,559
the NBA Finals, and even then
it's not that good, especially for a

597
00:38:30,639 --> 00:38:37,119
legitimate contending team. Yeah, that's
and look, missing Dario Sarr hurts them

598
00:38:37,119 --> 00:38:39,159
a lot. I'm just not sure
it's han. He would totally revamp that,

599
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:45,199
I do think. And his deal
wasn't that dissimilar, Like you couldn't

600
00:38:45,559 --> 00:38:47,239
you still had basically half your mL
E. There wasn't a way to like

601
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:52,519
keep Tory Craig that would To me, that was borderline Excuse me, that

602
00:38:52,599 --> 00:38:55,880
was borderline shameful that they let him
walk. I know you got abdel Nador

603
00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:02,000
back on a good deal, but
he was so important defensively and was hitting

604
00:39:02,039 --> 00:39:07,719
threes for you. It's just a
subtibly good offensive rebounder that was just These

605
00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:10,000
are all things again, no one
was gonna like run the offense for the

606
00:39:10,039 --> 00:39:15,320
second unit, but that's something that
would have definitely improved there their immediate depth,

607
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:19,039
and I'm just you know you had
I think with they have four point

608
00:39:19,159 --> 00:39:22,000
nine million leftover of the mid level, that's actually not that much less than

609
00:39:22,039 --> 00:39:24,360
Tory Craig ended up signing for.
And you're gonna tell me that you couldn't

610
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:30,039
have gotten Davao for slightly less than
than five point five. So I'm I'm

611
00:39:30,039 --> 00:39:32,880
with you. They could be a
nomination. I think there is just some

612
00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:36,280
talent there, so I would be
inclined to think that they'll get better.

613
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,159
It's just like looking at their starting
lineup data is once again terrible, but

614
00:39:39,239 --> 00:39:43,559
that unit was able to progress to
a better mean. I would expect them

615
00:39:43,599 --> 00:39:45,559
to do the same. But that's
a I think that's a really good selection,

616
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:50,559
and I don't think that the bench
is to blame for Phoenix's slow start.

617
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:53,039
I mean, like, yeah,
mckelbridge has been disappointing, Devin Booker

618
00:39:53,039 --> 00:39:57,119
has been a little bit disappointing.
Jay Crowder has been an abject disaster.

619
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,400
But the bench does not have any
standout play right now, and unless Cam

620
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:06,000
Johnson dials back the clock about a
year, it doesn't look like that's going

621
00:40:06,039 --> 00:40:09,239
to change. It feels like in
less Johnson is the guy to take a

622
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:13,280
step fort and he could very well
move into the starting lineup. This is

623
00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:15,960
a low floor, low ceiling bench, which is not what you want as

624
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:20,039
a contender with a lot of older
pieces. They are still my title pick.

625
00:40:20,559 --> 00:40:22,880
Don't you worry, phoenix on Zan. They are still my title pick

626
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,039
because I refused to move off them. Here's an interesting question, and we

627
00:40:25,079 --> 00:40:30,599
actually have not talked about him that
much since the season started. Calvin Johnson

628
00:40:30,639 --> 00:40:36,920
asked, what is Evan Mobley's ceiling? I want you to take this one

629
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,519
first so that I can gloat afterwards, because I know that we diverged a

630
00:40:40,559 --> 00:40:45,440
lot in our pre draft analysis of
Evan Mobley. Is there? So I

631
00:40:45,519 --> 00:40:47,559
was wrong about Evan Mobley, And
I want to make it clear I never

632
00:40:47,599 --> 00:40:50,880
said he was gonna be a bad
NBA player. I didn't love the fit

633
00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,480
in Cleveland. I also didn't think
he deserved to be like third on everybody's

634
00:40:53,519 --> 00:40:59,519
board. Maybe I've just been jaded
against drafting bigs in general. I also

635
00:40:59,639 --> 00:41:01,119
looked you need to take my draft
takes. I say this all the time

636
00:41:01,159 --> 00:41:05,039
with a you know, a metric
ton of salt, because I only get

637
00:41:05,079 --> 00:41:07,880
shit deep into the draft and for
the college season's basically already over. I

638
00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:13,239
did not know he could guard all
five positions. They have him on the

639
00:41:13,239 --> 00:41:15,480
perimeter so much that it's almost if
Jared Allen wasn't on the court a bunch

640
00:41:15,519 --> 00:41:19,639
with him, he would almost hate
how much he was on the perimeter for

641
00:41:19,679 --> 00:41:22,039
them. The way he can see
the game to him in the half court

642
00:41:22,119 --> 00:41:28,679
or offensively, just having another creator
to go through is just absolutely mind melting.

643
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:32,960
I don't know what his ceiling is
because he's not he's People have called

644
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,400
him Yannis two point zero. There's
a different He's just not as explosive as

645
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:42,440
you see. Some Chris Bosh Anthony
Davis comparisons floated around there, and I

646
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,199
just feel like his game is not
as sudden as Anthony Davis is. Might

647
00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:47,800
be the best way to put it, his offensive ceiling. I don't want

648
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:51,480
to say it's higher than Davis is, but it's definitely he has a more

649
00:41:51,519 --> 00:41:54,840
expansive portfolio of skills. Davis has
never been that type of passer, especially

650
00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:59,280
when Davis was coming into the league, when his offense was a legitimate question

651
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,800
mark, Like a bigger Draymond Green. I don't know if that's that.

652
00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,559
Like two f I just I can't
come up with him. I'm genuinely asking,

653
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:08,719
I don't have one either, because
he does feel like this new,

654
00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:14,320
evolutionary big I guess because of his
size, we have to call him that,

655
00:42:14,599 --> 00:42:16,599
but he's not really that. He
can fill so many different roles,

656
00:42:16,639 --> 00:42:20,440
And I think that's the answer to
this question, is that we don't have

657
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:24,559
a comparison for him because there are
so many different directions that he could blossom.

658
00:42:24,639 --> 00:42:29,920
And the future is even more tantalizing
than I thought it would be.

659
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,920
And I thought that he was closer
to being the number one pick than dropping

660
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:37,440
out of the top three, just
in terms of sheer talent going into the

661
00:42:37,519 --> 00:42:40,800
draft, Like, if you're a
Cleveland fan, be super excited about him

662
00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:46,920
and what he's going to become,
because we just don't know and It's baffling

663
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:53,679
that a rookie looks this advanced this
soon, especially as a twenty year old

664
00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:59,119
rookie who's coming in without a lot
of high level collegiate experience and can just

665
00:42:59,159 --> 00:43:04,039
capably fill so many different roles and
niches on both ends of the floor this

666
00:43:04,119 --> 00:43:07,639
early in his first season, Like, I have no idea where we should

667
00:43:07,639 --> 00:43:13,519
put his ceiling right now. Do
you think he's ceiling is higher on defense

668
00:43:13,599 --> 00:43:19,960
or offense? I have no idea. Okay, probably defense, because just

669
00:43:20,079 --> 00:43:24,320
that versatility to like truly cover all
five positions is what every single team in

670
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:29,480
the NBA covets right now. And
I don't know how much I trust his

671
00:43:29,559 --> 00:43:32,480
long range jumper at this point,
and that's a significant hole for anybody in

672
00:43:32,519 --> 00:43:37,719
today's NBA. So I think,
probably by default, defense has to be

673
00:43:37,719 --> 00:43:40,239
the answer. But at the same
time, given what he's already shown off

674
00:43:40,239 --> 00:43:44,599
the dribble as a passer, as
a finisher, like, I don't really

675
00:43:44,639 --> 00:43:47,280
want to rule out the idea that
he could become a three point marksman.

676
00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:51,480
He's hitting eighty percent of his free
throws on three point six attempts per game.

677
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,920
Again, as a twenty year old
rookie, do you think that's a

678
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:59,079
swing skill? Like this is what's
going to separate in from being an all

679
00:43:59,199 --> 00:44:04,679
NBA staple to a slash MVP candidate
whatever that that you still think that that's

680
00:44:04,679 --> 00:44:07,840
a swing skill. I think so. I mean it feels like a bam

681
00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:13,559
auto bio like development is pretty realistic
for him, but I think that he

682
00:44:13,599 --> 00:44:17,400
can also exceed that at this point, which might sound hyperbolic, but like

683
00:44:17,599 --> 00:44:22,679
watch him play and then try to
think anything is hyperbolic. Yeah, he's

684
00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:25,719
so good. I just man,
you talk about prospects I missed on,

685
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:29,920
and especially when you about probly get
it because you were never questioning the skill.

686
00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:32,480
You were questioning just the fit in
today's NBA and whether it's worth spending

687
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:37,320
a pick on a big And I
don't think either of us realize the extent

688
00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:40,960
to which he's not really a big, even if he does stand seven feet

689
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:45,000
tall, right, and it's I
don't know that. I'm sure it's happened

690
00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:49,159
that I've missed on a prospect that
I still thought would be good, but

691
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,360
like, wasn't that high Like this
is we're talking about someone who I think

692
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:55,400
people generally thought it was going to
be a really good basketball player, and

693
00:44:55,440 --> 00:45:02,559
it's somehow obliterated expectations just even by
that type of measure. So great,

694
00:45:04,039 --> 00:45:06,440
great job by Cleveland. I still
don't know that I love Alan in him

695
00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,840
long term, but when you watch
them now, it's just I believe they're

696
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:14,719
referred to as FROBLI now FROBLI.
I did see that. I actually like

697
00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:16,280
it, so I'll roll with it
as long as they like it. I

698
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:21,039
don't like using nicknames that players don't
like. I was gutted to hear that

699
00:45:21,119 --> 00:45:22,679
Darius Garland didn't like Sexceland. But
then I think he came out and said

700
00:45:22,679 --> 00:45:24,400
he was actually fine with it,
that that was a joke, so we

701
00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:29,639
get to call him sexcellent. Still
Cleveland with a nice diad nicknames right now,

702
00:45:29,679 --> 00:45:34,920
shout out Cleveland. We have two
Raptors related questions here that apparently have

703
00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:38,199
to scroll through because Oh Armored Monkey
asked, how has Scottie Barnes start been

704
00:45:38,239 --> 00:45:44,840
compared to other great rookies? So
it's so early, but I just did

705
00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:47,920
this to sort of filter it out. There's only been one rookie in NBA

706
00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:55,079
history who has averaged twenty five points
at ten rebounds one steel per one hundred

707
00:45:55,079 --> 00:45:59,920
possessions while shooting fifty eight percent or
better on twos. It was DeAndre Ayton,

708
00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:01,519
but I don't even think that you
would say was this all time great

709
00:46:01,559 --> 00:46:07,079
rookie for me. Scotty Barnes has
just been most encouraging as someone with the

710
00:46:07,119 --> 00:46:09,599
field as a passer, and then
his mid range game has come along faster

711
00:46:09,679 --> 00:46:13,559
than I thought it was. Shooting
is clearly going to be a swing skill

712
00:46:13,719 --> 00:46:15,280
for him, and I think he's
gonna eventually end up being like a very

713
00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:20,480
disruptive defender who isn't you know,
doesn't need to be someone that you need

714
00:46:20,519 --> 00:46:23,840
to worry about necessarily fouling a ton. And even now, like you know,

715
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:27,519
given what he does, two point
eight pails for thirty six minutes.

716
00:46:27,519 --> 00:46:32,960
That's not high by any stretch.
So he's been look the biggest shock with

717
00:46:34,039 --> 00:46:37,920
him, and I think everyone was
puzzled how the Raptors went with him over

718
00:46:37,039 --> 00:46:39,159
Jalen Suggs. And I think when
you look at the structure of the team

719
00:46:39,159 --> 00:46:43,239
now, the two things that stand
out is they very clearly needed a bigger

720
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:46,159
wing initiator type to maximize fred Van
Fleet, which Jalen Suggs is not.

721
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:52,360
And then also Scottie Barnes does not
look like the project that he was supposed

722
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:55,599
to be like. He just looks
like someone who's ready to play now.

723
00:46:57,079 --> 00:47:00,639
So I don't know where he's going
to end up for the season, but

724
00:47:00,719 --> 00:47:05,800
that ends up being like a wow. MASSI in his front office and his

725
00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:09,880
scouts and just anyone who went into
sort of impacting this decision, they clearly

726
00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:15,159
might have just been the smartest people
in the room here because Scotty Barnes is

727
00:47:15,199 --> 00:47:19,320
just he looks great. I think
Scotty Barnes is to me what Evan Mobley

728
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:22,119
is to you. Where I thought
he'd be a really good NBA player,

729
00:47:22,519 --> 00:47:27,280
I didn't know that it would happen
this quickly that his ceiling would look quite

730
00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:30,719
this high. I mean, we
are ultimately talking about a guy who averaged

731
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:34,719
ten point three points per game twenty
three point eight points per a hundred possessions

732
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,480
during his loan season at Florida State
and in the NBA, granted only in

733
00:47:37,519 --> 00:47:40,960
a seven game sample, he's already
up to eighteen point one points per game

734
00:47:42,199 --> 00:47:45,920
and twenty five point five points per
one hundred possessions. And he looks good

735
00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,719
doing it because he can already fill
so many different roles. He looks comfortable

736
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:53,119
operating off the ball and filling cracks
within a defense. He looks comfortable handling

737
00:47:53,119 --> 00:47:57,760
the ball, passing off of the
bounce like these are skills that it seemed

738
00:47:57,800 --> 00:48:01,199
like he could have because he was
that proverbial army knife prospect in this year's

739
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:06,440
draft class. But it was supposed
to take time for him to put that

740
00:48:06,559 --> 00:48:08,960
together. He was supposed to be
making more of an impact as this game

741
00:48:09,039 --> 00:48:14,719
changing, versatile defender, especially alongside
o g Naobi where they could just switch

742
00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:19,519
on everything and for him to be
disadvanced this quickly on the offensive end,

743
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:22,960
another guy where it just seems like
the sky is the limit, where he

744
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:28,960
could very clearly be Toronto's best player
in a few years. I need to

745
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,880
see like more of just the offensive
development. But there's for sure that type

746
00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:35,760
of a ceiling and if we want, if you want to sort of get

747
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:40,280
into the just historical results here.
So he's on pace right now, he's

748
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:42,800
averaging. This is in the perfect
way to do this. But I'm just

749
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:45,599
trying to see like an impact of
a rookie who plays a lot point one

750
00:48:45,719 --> 00:48:52,199
six wind shares for forty eight minutes
the last five rookies to do that while

751
00:48:52,239 --> 00:48:54,559
playing at least fifteen hundred minutes.
Again, he's not at that point yet.

752
00:48:54,679 --> 00:49:00,480
Ben simmons in twenty seventeen, twenty
eighteen, Nicole Yokichi twenty sixteen,

753
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:05,199
NICOLEA. Miritich twenty fourteen, twenty
fifteen, Kawhi Leonard twenty eleven, twenty

754
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:07,000
twelve, and Chris paul In two
thousand and five, two thousand and six.

755
00:49:07,480 --> 00:49:10,320
If he sticks, and I'm not
saying he will, that would be

756
00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:14,239
hell a good company to be in. And yes, I just said Hella,

757
00:49:15,559 --> 00:49:17,719
it's twenty twenty one, just in
case you'd forgotten. I know I

758
00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:22,760
should I say what's up after that
too. It's this friggy class in general

759
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:28,679
has been really fun to this point
in the season, Like it's it's really

760
00:49:28,719 --> 00:49:31,239
early, but you know, even
beyond those guys that we just talked about

761
00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:36,000
in Evan Mobley and Scotty Barnes,
like Chris Duarte and Friends, Wagner and

762
00:49:36,039 --> 00:49:40,639
Josh Giddey and Alpreyn Changoon and Delano
Banton for Toronto and Bones Highland and Denver,

763
00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:45,440
like, there's been a lot of
fun contributors. Two things you're gonna

764
00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:49,119
know this an, but what a
friggin segue to our next question that you

765
00:49:49,199 --> 00:49:51,599
just made without knowing it. By
the way, Adam does these things off

766
00:49:51,639 --> 00:49:55,280
the cuff. But two friends Wagner
after watching him in Summer League, I

767
00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:58,440
was just I wasn't out on him, but I was just sort of like

768
00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:00,840
and then seeing that he was playing
a on a three, and I still

769
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:04,320
think he should have been more of
before. He's a dark horse rookie of

770
00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:07,599
the year cause that dude can play. Yeah, it's so early right now.

771
00:50:07,719 --> 00:50:09,320
If he just continues to do what
he's doing on offense and then you

772
00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:13,400
see some of these other guys fade, he would have a legitimate you know,

773
00:50:13,519 --> 00:50:15,639
people will still gravitate towards the bigger
names. If Scotty Barnes is still

774
00:50:15,639 --> 00:50:20,400
there, if Evan Mobley is still
playing like this, obviously he's probably been

775
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:22,840
the third or fourth, no worse
than the fifth best rookie right now.

776
00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:28,760
Absolutely, his touch around the basket
so much better than I anticipated, just

777
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:32,119
to feel for the game, it's
it's really impressive. Orlando has something there.

778
00:50:34,440 --> 00:50:39,880
This question comes from Omar Ranya Delano
Delano Bandon. That's the question.

779
00:50:40,079 --> 00:50:46,280
Mine melting mind blown emoji fireworks emoji. Yeah. I mean, I'll admit

780
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:52,320
that I don't know much about him, Like I know that he was a

781
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:55,119
second round draft pick, that he
went to Nebraska, one of those guys

782
00:50:55,159 --> 00:50:59,639
where he just was not on my
pre draft radar. I did not have

783
00:50:59,679 --> 00:51:06,480
a outing report going in. But
he has looked like that do everything role

784
00:51:06,519 --> 00:51:10,039
player that Toronto seems to be able
to find whenever Massiah Jerry wants one.

785
00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:15,280
I mean, I don't know that
he's going to develop into a star because

786
00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:20,440
I don't know how scalable this production
is. But the fact that he has

787
00:51:20,599 --> 00:51:24,679
handled himself nicely on the defensive end
while guarding wings, while guarding big men,

788
00:51:24,760 --> 00:51:28,719
the fact that he's hitting half of
his three pointers to this point,

789
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:30,679
Like if he can develop into a
three and D player for this team,

790
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:36,800
like it's another another notch in a
in the cap for a Jerry here.

791
00:51:37,239 --> 00:51:44,440
His defense is absolutely absurd, And
I saw there's like sections of raptors Twitter

792
00:51:44,599 --> 00:51:47,079
that like weren't excited that people were
focusing on a shooting This is like a

793
00:51:47,119 --> 00:51:52,119
defensive prospect who can put pressure on
the defense closer to the basket, Like

794
00:51:52,119 --> 00:51:54,840
shooting becomes a swing skill then in
that situation, and just right now he's

795
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:59,880
shooting forty three percent from mid range, even better on log mid range jumpers,

796
00:51:59,880 --> 00:52:01,880
and and he's just he's what is
he a total of like two of

797
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:07,920
four from three or something like that, he's three of six. So look

798
00:52:07,559 --> 00:52:12,079
what a fine by them. And
I think that answers the other question that

799
00:52:12,119 --> 00:52:16,239
we had was where was this who's
been the second the best second round rookie

800
00:52:16,280 --> 00:52:21,039
this season so far? Came from
from Johnny. I'm curious if anybody else

801
00:52:21,079 --> 00:52:22,239
sort of stands out there for you, but I think him, by far

802
00:52:22,280 --> 00:52:25,719
and away has been Lano Banton has
been the best after him. If I

803
00:52:25,719 --> 00:52:29,559
had to pick, I think I'd
go with herb Jones. He's also been

804
00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:32,519
a monster defensively, and then you
talk about shooting being a swing skill.

805
00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:37,360
If he can hit threes like that's
the he's going to be just an absurdly

806
00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:45,239
good NBA player. I think Banton
is the obvious choice right now. Jeremiah

807
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:50,400
Robinson Earl playing some big minutes,
but beyond that, like no one has

808
00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:54,199
really gotten on the floor. Yeah, the only other guy with over fifty

809
00:52:54,239 --> 00:53:00,559
minutes to this point is Iodasumu,
but he hasn't really stood out, his

810
00:53:00,599 --> 00:53:06,079
shot hasn't been falling yet. And
then Sandro and I have not yet learned

811
00:53:06,079 --> 00:53:09,039
how to pronounce his last name,
which is bad of me, so I'm

812
00:53:09,039 --> 00:53:13,960
not going to try right now.
But I think it's pretty clearly Banton.

813
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:17,440
Yeah, I think Herb Jones has
a case. But when Banton is outperformed

814
00:53:17,480 --> 00:53:22,239
what would have been my expectations for
him offensively? I think I'm with you

815
00:53:22,239 --> 00:53:25,639
where it's clearly been bantoned to this
point. So let's get Let's see if

816
00:53:25,679 --> 00:53:29,880
we can get through a couple more
here. We have a question on an

817
00:53:29,880 --> 00:53:31,800
awards, but I'd like to do
a pod on that separately. So let's

818
00:53:32,039 --> 00:53:37,119
let's let's skip that one. Dada, that was a mean one about the

819
00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:43,920
about the Denver Nuggets after the first
five Carson Cox, I have these bookmarked.

820
00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:45,639
I just keep scrolling past them.
Carson Cox. As after the first

821
00:53:45,639 --> 00:53:49,119
couple of games of this season,
who you think won the Wizards, Lakers,

822
00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:54,559
Russell Westbrook trade. Probably the Wizards. You know, they have been

823
00:53:54,559 --> 00:54:00,480
more competitive than expected. They managed
to parlay Westbrook into a number of different

824
00:54:00,519 --> 00:54:07,079
contributors. I do think that there
is something to plummet in Kyle Kuzma,

825
00:54:07,159 --> 00:54:09,840
even if he's continued to be a
little bit inconsistent in Washington, like,

826
00:54:10,199 --> 00:54:14,119
there are skills there on both ends
of the floor if you can piece them

827
00:54:14,119 --> 00:54:20,960
together. Montrez Harrold has been awesome
for this team. Westbrook has not fit

828
00:54:21,079 --> 00:54:22,599
in Los Angeles at this point,
and I think that's the biggest thing.

829
00:54:24,760 --> 00:54:29,519
It was always going to be an
awkward fit. I am wildly concerned about

830
00:54:29,519 --> 00:54:31,159
the Lakers and Anthony Davis. The
five minutes have not been great, and

831
00:54:31,199 --> 00:54:35,840
I think when you look at why, it makes sense because last year you

832
00:54:35,880 --> 00:54:38,719
have Lebron or Kyle Kuzma at the
four, and then also KCP and Alice

833
00:54:38,800 --> 00:54:43,199
Caruso both or at least one of
would have been on the court. Kuzma,

834
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:45,360
KCP, and carus are all gone
town Hornton tell Grass and played yet

835
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:47,280
this season, So you have mellow
at the four during a lot of those

836
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:52,960
minutes. That's going to leave you
vulnerable defensively. I'm with you on the

837
00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:54,280
Westbrook stuff. I think I think
it was clear that the Wizards won it

838
00:54:54,280 --> 00:54:57,320
in the moment for what they needed
to do, just based off what the

839
00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:00,960
team needs to accomplish with the Lakers. I think they shortened their rotation,

840
00:55:00,480 --> 00:55:06,599
they shrunk the floor, and maybe
they elevated their ceiling without Lebron, but

841
00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:10,199
they didn't be much functionally to elevate
it with Lebron. The Wizards, deep

842
00:55:10,239 --> 00:55:14,920
into their rotation, broke up one
huge contract into more digestible one. So

843
00:55:14,920 --> 00:55:17,679
if they want to pivot, they
can, And that's huge because what if

844
00:55:17,679 --> 00:55:20,760
Bradley Beal wants I mean, I
don't know why he'd want out at this

845
00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:22,599
point, but like, you were
built to sort of compete in the East

846
00:55:22,599 --> 00:55:25,000
now, but if you need to
pivot, we're able to do that a

847
00:55:25,039 --> 00:55:29,320
lot easier, not just this season, but next season as well. So

848
00:55:30,920 --> 00:55:35,079
looking at where both the teams were, you can understand why. You can

849
00:55:35,199 --> 00:55:37,159
understand I wouldn't have done it,
so I want to make that clear,

850
00:55:37,159 --> 00:55:40,800
But you can understand why the Lakers
went with Russell Westbrook. Even in the

851
00:55:40,800 --> 00:55:44,840
moment though if you didn't think it
was disaster trade for the Lakers, and

852
00:55:44,840 --> 00:55:46,599
maybe it turns out not to be
a disaster trade for the Lakers, it

853
00:55:46,760 --> 00:55:51,000
was pretty clear that the Wizards just
got the better round of that deal given

854
00:55:51,039 --> 00:55:54,159
what both teams were angling to do. Where if you're the Lakers. You

855
00:55:54,199 --> 00:56:00,760
want to increase your championship ceiling or
without question, beyond argument, bring yourself

856
00:56:00,800 --> 00:56:04,760
closer to a title. They didn't
do that. There was this was a

857
00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:08,199
hit or miss acquisition. It was
combustible. The Wizards just did something discernible

858
00:56:08,480 --> 00:56:12,960
distinct, and that was absolutely huge, given that they were sort of trapped

859
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:19,119
and wandering in the wilderness to that
point. And I think the other thing

860
00:56:19,719 --> 00:56:22,559
that has happened here that I hesitate
to even bring up because I don't want

861
00:56:22,599 --> 00:56:29,159
it to be true, is that
this team is still like it needs Lebron

862
00:56:29,239 --> 00:56:31,599
James to be able to turn back
the clock, and I don't remember Lebron

863
00:56:31,760 --> 00:56:37,239
getting off to a less notable start
to a season like granted, still trying

864
00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:39,639
to get healthy. It's only played
five games, so we're dealing with a

865
00:56:39,679 --> 00:56:45,000
small sample on a team that is
adjusting. With Russell Westbrook in the fold,

866
00:56:45,039 --> 00:56:50,760
but he hasn't averaged this few points
per game since his rookie season,

867
00:56:50,840 --> 00:56:54,079
this few rebounds per games since his
rookie season, this lower field goal percentage

868
00:56:54,239 --> 00:56:58,960
since his rookie season, and he's
doing that while playing thirty seven point two

869
00:56:58,960 --> 00:57:02,960
minutes per game, which is his
most since twenty sixteen seventeen. It it

870
00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:08,719
doesn't feel like that same ceiling is
there, like that same switches there.

871
00:57:09,119 --> 00:57:14,440
And maybe it's because he's just not
really putting the pedal to the metal at

872
00:57:14,440 --> 00:57:17,039
this early stage of the season,
trying to allow guys to figure out their

873
00:57:17,159 --> 00:57:22,119
roles on this new look Lakers team. But I don't know, like it's

874
00:57:22,159 --> 00:57:25,639
the same feeling I had during the
playoffs last year where it just didn't feel

875
00:57:25,679 --> 00:57:32,199
like he had that same aura of
inevitability, except magnified this time. Like

876
00:57:32,239 --> 00:57:37,519
he's still an amazingly effective basketball player
who is unquestionably an All Star and going

877
00:57:37,519 --> 00:57:42,639
to be in the All NBA conversation. But it just I continue to get

878
00:57:42,639 --> 00:57:45,960
this feeling that Father time is finally
starting to affect him a little bit,

879
00:57:45,960 --> 00:57:50,480
and that's the last thing that this
Lakers team needs, because if that's the

880
00:57:50,519 --> 00:57:55,280
case, this ceiling is drastically lower. There's definitely a concern to be said.

881
00:57:55,280 --> 00:58:00,119
You mentioned his scoring and then also
just looking at his rim frequency if

882
00:58:00,119 --> 00:58:05,000
he is going and just to put
that into context, he's reaching the room

883
00:58:05,039 --> 00:58:07,440
on thirty six percent of his shots
this year. That would be his lowest

884
00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:10,000
mark since two thousand and eighty two
thousand and nine, which that was still

885
00:58:10,039 --> 00:58:14,599
prime Lebron, but it's you know, the past two years have even been

886
00:58:14,599 --> 00:58:16,960
a drop off from his first two
seasons in LA. I will say what's

887
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:21,280
probably encouraging is his three point shooting. I mean, and he's taking some

888
00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:23,599
really difficult attempts. But I'm with
you, there's the blow by aspect doesn't

889
00:58:23,599 --> 00:58:25,719
seem like it's there, and maybe
he just works his way into form.

890
00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:29,960
I think a bigger part of that
is just spacing around him, get by

891
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:31,800
guys when you have room to maneuver. But I think it's also manifesting on

892
00:58:31,840 --> 00:58:36,559
the defensive end, and that's probably
where there's even more of an adjustment period.

893
00:58:36,920 --> 00:58:40,000
But he's looked less involved and less
impactful on defense than I can ever

894
00:58:40,079 --> 00:58:44,800
remember Lebron's Lebron being, which is
going to screw them up if it remains

895
00:58:44,800 --> 00:58:46,519
that way. I do think watching
him, it feels more of like a

896
00:58:46,679 --> 00:58:51,360
choice than a I think so too, which is and I don't ever want

897
00:58:51,400 --> 00:58:53,480
to write off Lebron, who you
know, I've rooted for the guy for

898
00:58:54,199 --> 00:59:01,239
almost two decades at this point.
Just it's tough to admit, but I

899
00:59:01,280 --> 00:59:07,760
think like it is a real conversation
that has to happen and is probably happening

900
00:59:07,800 --> 00:59:13,920
internally in LA, like what do
we do if Lebron is not all Caps

901
00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:19,880
Lebron anymore? Two final questions here, This one's a very fascinating one.

902
00:59:20,719 --> 00:59:23,760
On the essays asked, is de
Jante Murray a high end starter or better?

903
00:59:24,039 --> 00:59:28,239
Right now? I think the answer
is clearly better. He has been

904
00:59:28,280 --> 00:59:30,880
magnificent to start the season. I
can't get over the I don't know if

905
00:59:30,920 --> 00:59:32,800
you want to call it a leap, but they've put the keys to the

906
00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:37,079
offense in his hands, and know
the offense isn't great, he's gotten so

907
00:59:37,199 --> 00:59:39,000
much better as a passer, and
like his escape dribbles, where no,

908
00:59:39,079 --> 00:59:42,800
he's not necessarily going to hit these
jumpers off of them, but he's gonna

909
00:59:42,840 --> 00:59:45,480
find ways to just escape, like
the escapism dribbles are there, and he's

910
00:59:45,480 --> 00:59:50,440
going to find guys, great chemistry
with Jako Peartle, just knowing where guys

911
00:59:50,440 --> 00:59:52,960
are moving. He's you know,
he's not going to make the All Star

912
00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:55,079
team just because of how deep it
is for the guards, but he's way

913
00:59:55,079 --> 00:59:58,199
better than a high end. So
he's a fringe star for me right now.

914
00:59:58,559 --> 01:00:00,559
I'm just curious would you put him, and I had thought about this,

915
01:00:00,719 --> 01:00:04,039
would you put him, even if
it was as a dark horse in

916
01:00:04,079 --> 01:00:08,000
the most improved player discussion. I
look at just what he as a score.

917
01:00:08,039 --> 01:00:12,559
I don't know if there's been enough
development there. His actual shoot just

918
01:00:12,559 --> 01:00:15,840
not flash year down from last year. Yeah, like he's not shooting as

919
01:00:15,880 --> 01:00:20,000
well from mid ranger on threes as
he was last year. So, but

920
01:00:20,119 --> 01:00:22,719
he is a better player, and
I think he's he's definitely I wouldn't just

921
01:00:22,719 --> 01:00:25,480
call him a high end starter.
I would call him much better than that.

922
01:00:27,320 --> 01:00:30,400
I think slightly better than that is
where I've been landing. I'm looking

923
01:00:30,440 --> 01:00:32,679
at the Crystal Basketball Grades, the
project that we do at NBA Math where

924
01:00:32,719 --> 01:00:37,199
we grade every player going into the
season on a one to twelve scale,

925
01:00:37,320 --> 01:00:40,480
and on that scale, the designation
for a high end starter non all stars

926
01:00:40,519 --> 01:00:45,239
a seven. An All Star candidate
is an eight, mid tier starter,

927
01:00:45,360 --> 01:00:47,119
a solid starter, as we call
it as a six. There's john Te

928
01:00:47,239 --> 01:00:52,239
Murray in the preseason edition of this
project, tied with Colin Sexton at sixty

929
01:00:52,280 --> 01:00:58,320
third overall at six point five six. So just making the cutoff for the

930
01:00:58,440 --> 01:01:00,920
high end starter, you were actually
the highest on him. You gave him

931
01:01:01,079 --> 01:01:04,400
an All Star grade of eight.
You were the only one that did so.

932
01:01:04,440 --> 01:01:07,360
I gave him a seven. So
it makes sense to me that you're

933
01:01:07,360 --> 01:01:09,400
still a little bit higher on him. But I think it's a pretty accurate

934
01:01:09,840 --> 01:01:14,639
thing to call him at this stage, and for anyone who cares his number.

935
01:01:14,719 --> 01:01:16,800
Seventeen point eight points, eight point
eight assists, eight point five rebounds,

936
01:01:17,159 --> 01:01:20,480
and he's been playing a lot,
he's been playing more minutes, so

937
01:01:20,599 --> 01:01:22,960
like that is inflated by by design. He's shooting forty five point nine percent

938
01:01:23,000 --> 01:01:27,840
on twos, which would is lower
than last year. He's also shooting thirty

939
01:01:27,840 --> 01:01:30,400
one point eight percent on threes,
which is basically right in the line with

940
01:01:30,559 --> 01:01:32,800
last year. I'm still pretty bullish. I'm worried to be there, but

941
01:01:32,840 --> 01:01:36,519
this might just be this might be
peaked John Day Murray where there's going to

942
01:01:36,519 --> 01:01:39,440
be peaks and valleys. To repeat
myself as a score, But like,

943
01:01:39,480 --> 01:01:43,960
he's a better pastor and he probably
should just not probably he should be mentioned

944
01:01:43,960 --> 01:01:46,400
in the All Defense discussion basically every
single year. It feels a little bit

945
01:01:46,400 --> 01:01:50,440
like the RJ. Barrett discussion to
me, where we know that he's a

946
01:01:50,440 --> 01:01:53,880
better basketball player, that he is
a vastly improved basketball player, but it's

947
01:01:53,920 --> 01:01:59,760
just not conducive to the most improved
player argument. The final question here,

948
01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:02,000
and this feels like a good place
to wrap because we began the podcast mentioning

949
01:02:02,039 --> 01:02:07,519
this. Thomas Rodriguez asked, what's
Jimmy Butler's TPA versus actual NBA player RG?

950
01:02:07,639 --> 01:02:10,119
So I have his TPA pulled up
for this season. He is third

951
01:02:10,360 --> 01:02:15,360
in the league behind Yannis at number
two, and as if there was ever

952
01:02:15,400 --> 01:02:19,320
any doubt, Nicole Yokis at number
one, So he is third in TPA.

953
01:02:19,360 --> 01:02:22,559
Where would you rank him, whether
you want, let's do this two

954
01:02:22,599 --> 01:02:27,039
ways. Where would you rank him
right now based off only what we've seen,

955
01:02:27,159 --> 01:02:30,000
no other games coming sure, as
the player in the league, and

956
01:02:30,039 --> 01:02:32,400
then moving forward, what would you
project him as for the rest of the

957
01:02:32,480 --> 01:02:37,360
year. I think at this stage
of the season it's a toss up between

958
01:02:37,440 --> 01:02:39,840
him and Yokis for best Player and
MVP honors. If we were just basing

959
01:02:39,880 --> 01:02:45,960
it solely like a blind resume test
where player reputations did not matter whatsoever,

960
01:02:46,480 --> 01:02:51,440
it's those two as the leaders of
the NBA this season. I think you

961
01:02:51,480 --> 01:02:57,360
can have Kevin Durant janis, maybe
Paul George and Steph as like a one

962
01:02:57,480 --> 01:03:01,199
B tier, but Butler is in
conversation for the absolute best player in the

963
01:03:01,199 --> 01:03:07,760
world based solely on what we've seen
this season. He's a very high energy,

964
01:03:07,920 --> 01:03:10,719
high effort player, and given how
much he's expended at the start of

965
01:03:10,719 --> 01:03:15,519
this year, I don't know how
sustainable this peak version of him is.

966
01:03:15,840 --> 01:03:21,920
So I feel pretty comfortable saying that
he's probably going to heavy air quotes here

967
01:03:22,159 --> 01:03:28,320
regress into being eight to ten,
which is about where you would have had

968
01:03:28,400 --> 01:03:31,239
him if you were optimistic heading into
the season. And look, I think

969
01:03:31,239 --> 01:03:36,920
that's fair. He has just been
There's nothing about his offensive game that's really

970
01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:39,280
changed, which is why I would
be encouraged, and look, I want

971
01:03:39,320 --> 01:03:44,880
to get this on our chests.
The reaction to Butler's offseason extension was overwhelmingly

972
01:03:45,519 --> 01:03:51,719
uncomfortably pro billionaire proprietor maybe that contract, which runs through his age thirty sixth

973
01:03:51,719 --> 01:03:57,760
season, doesn't age well. Who
cares? Keeping superstars is critical to championship

974
01:03:57,840 --> 01:04:02,159
runs and the heat forget about their
championship chances. I would argue that they

975
01:04:02,239 --> 01:04:05,760
might be the most win now team
in the NBA. Even more so maybe

976
01:04:05,840 --> 01:04:09,440
not more so than the Lakers because
bam at Obio is younger than Davis.

977
01:04:09,440 --> 01:04:12,599
But just looking at what they did
with Lowry Gimming Butler the extension. Look,

978
01:04:12,599 --> 01:04:15,480
they're one of the three to five
most win now teams in the league.

979
01:04:15,880 --> 01:04:19,519
What's equally cringey? Just because someone
signs a deal that you don't like

980
01:04:19,639 --> 01:04:24,440
in some it doesn't mean that they're
automatically gonna start sucking, Like this is

981
01:04:24,719 --> 01:04:28,440
worst case scenario is maybe the final
two years, final three years of the

982
01:04:28,440 --> 01:04:30,480
five total years left on his deal
look bad. We still have like at

983
01:04:30,559 --> 01:04:33,239
least two years. I would argue, of peak Jimmy Butler basketball, and

984
01:04:33,280 --> 01:04:38,840
he's coming off it was arguably a
career best campaign. People only seem to

985
01:04:38,840 --> 01:04:42,360
remember there was that flame out in
the playoffs. He was probably exhausted.

986
01:04:42,519 --> 01:04:45,719
He were coming off the shortest offseason
in sports history. If you want to

987
01:04:45,920 --> 01:04:48,719
wait it to some extent, sure, but that's not the Jimmy Butler that

988
01:04:48,719 --> 01:04:55,039
you're just going to remember. So
I almost wouldn't even play that. It's

989
01:04:55,039 --> 01:04:59,440
still early caveat here. He's shooting
a worse percentage from mid range. He's

990
01:04:59,480 --> 01:05:01,679
at thirty seven point five percent from
three but he's actually taking few or threes,

991
01:05:01,760 --> 01:05:04,079
so that's even if that comes down, it's not this huge part of

992
01:05:04,079 --> 01:05:09,599
his game. And the new focus
on like these organic offensive movements, they

993
01:05:09,599 --> 01:05:12,480
haven't impacted him. He's getting to
the line basically just as often. And

994
01:05:12,519 --> 01:05:15,280
I think when you've looked at him, he's always felt more like a natural

995
01:05:15,840 --> 01:05:23,000
brute force than sort of this like
inorganic off, off, off off Broadway

996
01:05:23,039 --> 01:05:26,719
play actor. And I'm just throwing
shade at James Harden there, so I

997
01:05:27,079 --> 01:05:30,840
know, I think, do I
think he's gonna twenty five plus points on

998
01:05:30,000 --> 01:05:33,400
sixty two plus tree shooting percentage all
year? My guests would take the under

999
01:05:33,400 --> 01:05:36,760
on both. But this could wind
up if the heat care enough about the

1000
01:05:36,760 --> 01:05:40,360
regular season. I think that might
be the biggest caveat of all here.

1001
01:05:41,239 --> 01:05:44,400
I might. As of right now, he's clearly top two, top three

1002
01:05:44,440 --> 01:05:46,400
on the MVP ballot. Yokich is
I think Yokhich is number one. I

1003
01:05:46,400 --> 01:05:48,920
don't know, Butler might be there
anyway, regardless. Like I said,

1004
01:05:48,920 --> 01:05:53,880
it's a toss up. I do
think that his place in the MVP ballot,

1005
01:05:54,000 --> 01:05:58,840
let's say top three, is eminently
sustainable, because what are we I'm

1006
01:05:58,880 --> 01:06:00,840
just I'm looking at him, but
there's a different there's a difference. Sorry,

1007
01:06:00,920 --> 01:06:04,199
sorry to interrupt there, but like
I'm answering from the standpoint of like

1008
01:06:04,199 --> 01:06:08,719
player rankings, not MVP ballot,
because I do think, given his importance

1009
01:06:09,119 --> 01:06:15,079
to the Heat, that his spot
on an MVP ballot supersedes his placement and

1010
01:06:15,159 --> 01:06:17,519
player rankings. So yes, yeah, that's a great point. I guess

1011
01:06:17,559 --> 01:06:20,079
what I would diverge that I would
think he was probably eight to ten last

1012
01:06:20,119 --> 01:06:23,920
year, and because he's been better
so far, I mean, you started

1013
01:06:24,000 --> 01:06:26,920
naming the people that I would definitely
take over him, and let's play the

1014
01:06:26,920 --> 01:06:32,599
brutally on his card. There's Jannis, there's Yokich I go Steph, I

1015
01:06:32,800 --> 01:06:38,280
go Durant. That is it that
I'm guaranteeing for the rest of the season,

1016
01:06:38,400 --> 01:06:42,079
which you're absolutely guaranteeing that, like
lebron we already mentioned the concerns there.

1017
01:06:42,119 --> 01:06:45,199
You know that I've been more broke
from Lebronze agent curve than than you,

1018
01:06:45,599 --> 01:06:47,639
for sure. And there are other
players that can work that. You

1019
01:06:47,679 --> 01:06:53,119
know, James Harden, what about
Luca No oh no, no, look

1020
01:06:53,440 --> 01:07:00,880
look indeed, maybe is he gonna
play enough? Healthy Kauai, He's not

1021
01:07:00,880 --> 01:07:02,039
playing this season. If he does, it's gonna be like fifteen games.

1022
01:07:02,039 --> 01:07:05,960
Probably, Who would you guarantee beyond
the four that I mentioned, I guess

1023
01:07:06,039 --> 01:07:12,760
would be my question. Guarantee.
I'm comfortable putting Luca in there because no

1024
01:07:12,760 --> 01:07:15,400
matter how much Jason Kidd tries to
fuck him up, he's still just that

1025
01:07:15,440 --> 01:07:20,320
good. Yeah, beyond that,
Like, that's that's where I think.

1026
01:07:20,480 --> 01:07:25,280
And again, like you know,
as as I've spent more and more time

1027
01:07:25,320 --> 01:07:30,159
doing this, I've I've gotten I've
I've gained more affinity for ranking and tears

1028
01:07:30,280 --> 01:07:33,840
rather than than just specific ranks.
I enjoy the rankings discussion in general.

1029
01:07:33,880 --> 01:07:36,119
But I do agree with you,
and I know set part now of the

1030
01:07:36,119 --> 01:07:41,639
athletic is in the mid range Theory
book is pretty bullish on the tears,

1031
01:07:41,639 --> 01:07:44,079
and I do agree there that's definitely
fair. Yeah, I mean, like

1032
01:07:44,159 --> 01:07:46,400
again, looking at the Crystal Basketball
Project, Butler checked in at sixteenth.

1033
01:07:46,480 --> 01:07:50,840
That's too low. I think that
he's I think he's seen he was sixteen.

1034
01:07:50,920 --> 01:07:57,440
He was responsible name names right now, Honestly, no one was what

1035
01:07:57,519 --> 01:08:00,519
did I give him? You and
Bryan to Porrek were the only people to

1036
01:08:00,519 --> 01:08:03,760
give him a ten. Everyone else
gave him A nine cowards. You're all

1037
01:08:03,800 --> 01:08:06,679
cowards. And I love every single
person who participated, I think, but

1038
01:08:06,760 --> 01:08:11,079
you're all cowards. But I think, like you know, you said,

1039
01:08:11,559 --> 01:08:15,479
Jannis Yokich, k D and Steph, I'm gonna throw Luca in that top

1040
01:08:15,520 --> 01:08:19,119
tier. Maybe we can have two
like sub tiers within that top tier.

1041
01:08:19,520 --> 01:08:25,079
But then I think, like you're
looking at embiid Harden, the Lillard,

1042
01:08:25,760 --> 01:08:32,199
Anthony Davis, Paul George not going
to mention Lebron at all that Lebron and

1043
01:08:32,279 --> 01:08:35,680
like and like Jimmy Butler, I
think that's a reasonable. Next year,

1044
01:08:35,760 --> 01:08:40,439
let's throw a big Aaron there,
who's just been phenomenal to start the season.

1045
01:08:40,479 --> 01:08:43,560
You want to talk about a guy
who deserves some love on MVP ballots

1046
01:08:43,640 --> 01:08:45,399
right now, No, we haven't
mentioned at this point. His offense has

1047
01:08:45,439 --> 01:08:51,159
been fantastic. It's a wild that, let's say, the betting consensus appears

1048
01:08:51,159 --> 01:08:55,840
to be catching up because he's better
than twenty to one to win MVP right

1049
01:08:55,880 --> 01:08:59,239
now, and just for context,
Jimmy Butler's forty nine to one at this

1050
01:08:59,279 --> 01:09:01,720
moment, I think Bear was nineteen
to one or something. That's people will

1051
01:09:01,800 --> 01:09:03,920
quibble, they think he should be
third or fourth whatever, and he doesn't

1052
01:09:03,920 --> 01:09:08,039
what happened at fourth odds, which
is knowing what people value in the MVP

1053
01:09:08,119 --> 01:09:13,359
discussion. The factical bear absolutely sniffing
twenty to one is incredible. But point

1054
01:09:13,359 --> 01:09:15,880
being, I think that that Butler
is firmly in the midst of that like

1055
01:09:16,319 --> 01:09:20,800
six to twelve tier. Where you
have him in that is immaterial to me.

1056
01:09:21,039 --> 01:09:23,880
I don't care if you have him
twelve, if you have him six,

1057
01:09:24,000 --> 01:09:30,960
I think he firmly belongs in that
same tier as Lebron Embiide Harden,

1058
01:09:30,720 --> 01:09:38,159
Dame Anthony Davis like those those names. Granted that that relies on James Harden

1059
01:09:38,199 --> 01:09:43,359
and Damian Lillard, remembering that they're
James Harden and Damian Lillard, but that's

1060
01:09:43,399 --> 01:09:47,079
for another discussion. This was fantastic
as usual. Thank everyone for their great

1061
01:09:47,159 --> 01:09:49,880
questions. Some of the takes are
already aging poorly because it looks like the

1062
01:09:49,920 --> 01:09:53,960
NIS will be five and two instead
of six and one because the Raptors have

1063
01:09:54,000 --> 01:09:57,960
decided never to miss a shot from
beyond the arc. Also shout out to

1064
01:09:57,960 --> 01:10:00,520
the person who went in our comments
and said we didn't talk about the Jazz

1065
01:10:00,520 --> 01:10:01,680
in the last podcast, even though
they have the best record in the NBA.

1066
01:10:01,840 --> 01:10:06,039
When we were talking about basically surprises
the Jazz having the best record in

1067
01:10:06,039 --> 01:10:10,920
the NBA. We'rudy Gobert being this
good. It's not a surprise, And

1068
01:10:11,279 --> 01:10:15,159
I don't know that we do the
best job talking about every team. We're

1069
01:10:15,199 --> 01:10:16,840
not just focusing on like the smaller
market. So I would just like to

1070
01:10:16,880 --> 01:10:19,479
say, I know I'm biased,
but to that person, why will not

1071
01:10:19,560 --> 01:10:24,600
name? Fuck you? Thank you
to everyone out too delivered. I'm sorry

1072
01:10:24,640 --> 01:10:27,920
that got under my skin because of
how much we actually talk about the Jazz.

1073
01:10:28,279 --> 01:10:30,640
Like if anyone came out us and
said we don't talk enough about nuggets

1074
01:10:30,680 --> 01:10:32,159
of the Jazz on this podcast,
I'm sorry you and Gobert, I think

1075
01:10:32,279 --> 01:10:36,600
fourth on your MVP ballot last year, So I'm gonna get defensive and play

1076
01:10:36,640 --> 01:10:42,159
that card there. We've had a
couple of videos about how like Gobert continues

1077
01:10:42,239 --> 01:10:45,840
to be just massively underrated and we're
not looking We're wrong all the time.

1078
01:10:45,920 --> 01:10:48,319
I'm wrong most of the time.
I'm sure that we don't talk about that.

1079
01:10:48,399 --> 01:10:50,159
You know, maybe we didn't talk
about the Calves enough, and we

1080
01:10:50,239 --> 01:10:53,720
did talk about Evan Mobile a bad
example. We don't talk about the Pistons

1081
01:10:53,800 --> 01:10:58,159
enough or something. I apologize we
comtly get large. I think we are

1082
01:10:58,600 --> 01:11:02,439
only moderately in suffer and that comment
implied that we were exceedingly insufferable, so

1083
01:11:02,520 --> 01:11:06,479
it naturally got under my skin a
little bit. Anyway, if you've made

1084
01:11:06,479 --> 01:11:10,800
it this far, please please remember
to rate, review and subscribe to Hardwareknox

1085
01:11:10,800 --> 01:11:14,479
wherever you get your podcasts, five
star ratings and written reviews. Help us

1086
01:11:14,520 --> 01:11:16,000
out a ton on iTunes, whether
you use it or not. Follow us

1087
01:11:16,039 --> 01:11:19,720
on Twitter at Hardwoodknox. Subscribe to
our YouTube channel YouTube dot com search hardware

1088
01:11:19,760 --> 01:11:24,159
Knox you will come up. Follow
us on Instagram at Hardwood Underscore Knox.

1089
01:11:24,279 --> 01:11:27,640
Until next time, leave it.
The shout out to the one the only

1090
01:11:27,880 --> 01:11:32,520
getting some run in Dallas and I
saw a subgenre of mavericks Twitter climboring him

1091
01:11:32,600 --> 01:11:45,000
to start. Frank Niel Keena