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What is up, fellow thermonuclear a
efforts. I am Dan's Valley coming at

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00:00:20,039 --> 00:00:25,320
you with my fantabu mystic co host
Grant Hughes. We're going to get into

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some peace or panic, as promise, but before we do, my usual

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reminder slash. Please continue subscribing us
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meet on the street or at the
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podcast is or how not shitty,
or if you really think it's shitty but

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you hate listen anyway with them that
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Follow us on all the socials TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, What else

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am I forgetting there? No?
Those three those handles are all in the

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podcast and YouTube description, and join
our discord, where you will get I've

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yet to do a Twitter We've yet
to do a Twitter mail back. It's

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all been Discord stuff so far this
year, So get priority to having your

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questions answered and joining great discussions happening
that Grant and I don't even weigh in

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on sometimes At this point, Grant
definitely doesn't because he doesn't even know what

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discord is. I don't think,
but I don't even have to talk anymore

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because everyone there is so awesome.
So join our discord. The link is

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in the podcast and YouTube description.
With all that out of the way,

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the question everyone is always dying to
know the answer to Grant, how the

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heck are you doing? I feel
like I never have a good answer for

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this. I wonder if that like
I just don't want to reveal too much,

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maybe like maybe that's maybe that's it. I don't want to put myself

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out there. It's raining here in
California, which is cool. That doesn't

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happened very much, so I'm excited
about that. And I hope all the

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drips off of the drain pipe right
outside my window are not too distracting for

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you or the listeners. I don't
hear even a little bit of it,

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So forget I said that, then
everything are you? Are you recovering from

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that fifteen games late on Monday night? I mean that was a lot,

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right, There was a lot of
games I did. I watched because I

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needed to see a win. I
watched Warriors Kings most closely, but I

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was jumping around. That's a lot
of thing. You almost didn't get to

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see a win, is what you're
saying. I really did not think there

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was gonna be a win right up
until there was one. Uh. Yeah,

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the Warriors have some issues that we
will discuss, I think at some

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length. But yeah, did you
did you what did you focus in on

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last night? Did you have a
particular game you're watching? Yeah? So

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I watched two games in full,
and then I was bouncing around to like

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the final quarters or closing stretchers of
something. I saw the end of Warriors

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Kings. Someone actually, Greg,
friend of the podcast, learned me on

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Twitter that the Kings were running out
funky ass lineup. It's like, all

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right, I guess I switched to
this one since I was sort of in

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between. But my main focus was
Rockets Magic, which was well, it

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was. It was like frenetic as
hell. I really enjoyed it. Jowen

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Green was like an incendiary device,
but that was the game I focused on

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at the start. But I'm not
sure whether I would want more nights like

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that, And it's I'm not sure
if it's because we actually or we need

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to, Like if I was just
watching it as a fan and this isn't

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an insult to a fan where I
need to like process and synthesize this information,

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yeah, I would probably enjoy it, but I would like, I

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get overwhelmed by having the fifteen games. And if we go into this and

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they're like, well, these are
the things that you might have to cover,

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and there's like eight different items that
you might need to react to,

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it's like, well, I can't
watch eight games at once. Yes you

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can. The crunch time like red
Zony type thing that they did was.

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I thought it was interesting and if
it was like one night a week or

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something, but it's just like,
you can't run that consistently because then you're

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just gonna have entire days where it
is. I will say, as someone

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who's sleeping patterns suck, it is
nice to have. We're recording this on

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a Tuesday. It's nice knowing there
aren't games today, but like I would

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rather have them spread out than like
if there's two nights a week where they're

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just aren't games, so that we
could have these fifteen games slates. Yeah,

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it was. It was overwhelming.
That's why. Yeah, I couldn't.

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I couldn't watch more than like five
or ten minutes of any game other

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than the main one I was watching. But I'll do the same thing where

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I'll just go see, like which
which game's close in the fourth if you

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know, time being an issue,
so I can like have a take on

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whatever happened at the end of the
heat game or you know whatever, which

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which is pretty exciting actually last night. So that worked out. Well,

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let's move into Peace or Panic.
We got these from we we threw it

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out. We have some teams that
we're going to talk about ourselves towards the

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end, but we threw this out
Piece or Panic to our Discord members again

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joined the Discord outs for that plug, and they gave us responses. So

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we'll rotate and I'll begin grant this
comes from Cold Piece or pad make Jalen

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sucks. I love just the name
as the first category. So this is

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my first answer was peace because who
cares, it's Orlando. So this is

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my second shot at the magic.
Already in this podcast. Great for the

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first five minutes, they're like the
twenty twenty eight NBA champions already. I

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don't know what the magic slander is
emanating over there in California. So it's

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just bitter because you want their bench. I feel like, oh yeah,

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as a Warriors fan, I mean
I can't say anything about the magic.

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And so that actually is a great
jumping off point because if you only saw

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Jalen Suggs play his most recent game
against the Warriors, there would be total

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piece here because he played the game
of his life. I think he had

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twenty six and nine, don't check
me on those stats. He had several

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steals, like a couple of which
came on came against Steph Curry in the

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late stages that more or less clinched
the game. He hit a bunch of

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big shots. But ultimately it's for
me, it's a little more panic because

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he, you know, has all
defensive team potential, Like this is flashes

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of Chris Dunn type stuff, which
is not a name you want to necessarily

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be compared to because Chris Dunn is
not in the league, but the ball

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just doesn't go in enough, right
even with he's had a hot game or

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two forty two point. This is
going into last night's game, so these

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may have changed a little bit,
but you know, forty two six from

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the field, twenty five nine from
three, and sixty three two from the

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foul line, which that's worse than
last year. And just as a as

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a measure of like is this guy
a shooter? If you're not making free

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throws, it's really hard to project
like meaningful improvement and for Sugs to be

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he went one of four on free
throws against the Rockets, as someone who

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watched that game, by the way
he went down, So so it's just

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like it's really difficult to envision a
future in which Sugs is anything more than

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you know, a defensive specialist that
you know, if he's hot, then

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great, he can help you on
both ends. And he looks like a

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you know, low end starter or
rotation guy. He's suits, it's still

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obviously, but just the key measures
of just can he shoot, Like can

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he put the ball in the basket
enough to really matter? Not great,

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not great, so so panic if
you think Suggs is important enough, which

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based on where he was drafted,
like the magic feel that way, you

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know, to bust is a strong
word because he has some NBA skills,

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but like that's something you might want
to be thinking about already. I am

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all the way peace here, and
I don't know that I the free throw

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shooting, sure, I just don't. Orlando doesn't have any other guards right

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now, capable guards that are healthy, and Jowen Suggs is still doing a

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lot of stuff that should be streamlined
for him. The turnovers can remain an

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issue. He needs to get better
with his timing on like lobs and if

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he wants to throw the court you
know, those cross court passes, he

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should be more sure that they're not
going to go into the eighth row of

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the stands when he's tossing them.
So like I get that, but also

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like this is still someone He's only
made two assisted field goals this season,

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and that's someone who I think,
like, yeah, if you're worried about

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the catch and shoot three point percentage
right now, I get it. But

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I do think that he's not really
necessarily in the role that he would be

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in long term, he's shooting sixty
one point eight percent on two's fifty six

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point three percent on drives. Limited
number there, so there is still just

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like a very useful NBA player.
And he's also, by the way,

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he's nine of eleven I pull up
jumpers this year, and so like they're

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still not giving him the best space
to operate within. And I don't know

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that that changes when you're looking at
their guards getting healthier, because it's cool

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Anthony and Martel faults. But I
think what you mentioned about the expectations is

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fair. Whereas if you're expecting him
to be this all MBA type player,

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is it maybe time to panic then
sure, But in terms of like if

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you thought he was just going to
be a fringe star or an all star,

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which is where I thought a lot
of people sort of wound up.

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I'm just I'm still very much peace
here, and like there are new moving

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parts the way Orlando's playing with the
stuff they've run with Franz Wagner, him

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and Jalen Sucks even a really nice
chemistry as well, Paula Ben Carroll being

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integrated into the offense. Yes,
like I said, Jalen Sucks is lucky

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that Wendel Carter Junior Bubbill have such
a long catch radius on his passes.

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Like we're not even halfway into his
second season, and I don't know if

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he is ever going to be if
you took him out of the role of

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I don't want to say primary point
guard but like your one B playmaker even

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like maybe that's not him, and
you know what that's going to be,

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okay, And so I am very
much piece here. If you asked me

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right now if I think he makes
an All Star team for his career,

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like, yeah, that's when it
gets easier to hedge. But I would

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still if it was set at point
five, I would just take the over

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anyway, because I'm not much of
a believer in at least the flashes that

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that he has shown. I do
think, I mean, there are things

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to let you know, I was
all negative, but like he does play

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really hard, and I think that
that matters, and it seems like,

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you know, the there should be
a way for because like this is a

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team built around Pala ban Carro.
I think just that's already. I think

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he's moble, but he's gonna be. Yeah, he's gonna be. We're

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00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:07,519
gonna have another magic question. He
just made me remember, but if if

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that's so, if if if Suggs
is not going to be the primary ballhandler,

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which I think some of his passing
in decision making suggests he should not

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be. He's got to make shots
because like that's just the role that he's

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going to be in. And I
think, you know, Wagner too should

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be someone that has the ball and
can initiate and drive and kick. And

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so you know, if you gave
me the All Star bed and it was

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point five, I go under.
I just I just think it's really hard

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for me to think of someone who
came into the league and shot this badly

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that ended up like correcting it to
a level where he made sense as a

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like as essentially like a catch and
shoot guy that could be like a second

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side attacker. I just you know, again, but it's super early,

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like this is age twenty one season. He could get better. It's just

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based on kind of past precedent and
just thinking about who he reminds me of.

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It's like Chris Dunn just keeps coming
to mind, and that's that's not

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great. And look to your point, catch and shoot threes account for over

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twenty seven percent of his shots,
he's hitting them at in eleven point eight

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percent clips. I mean, that's
got to come up obviously a little whoa.

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I'm saying, like that's fair to
I mean, but you're talking about

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his free throw shooting. He's in
the fifties now after that performance against the

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Rockets, So it's it's definitely a
concern. I'm just I'm not I'm not

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there yet on the panic front.
All right, I got I'll take this

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one. This is from dark Wing
Duck great h early to mid nineties show

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00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,720
on a Channel forty four where I
lived. None of the jazz and draft

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00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,279
incredible. None of the jazz owned
draft picks in twenty twenty three will be

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lottery picks, piece or panic.
I mean, they own a Minnesota picks,

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so they're fine. So I mean, look the less favorable I guess

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you're looking at their own, and
then you have Minnesota's and then the less

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favorable of Houston's, Brooklyn's and Phillies. They get right, that will be

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in the lottery basically no matter what. Right Like that's because will make the

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00:12:00,519 --> 00:12:03,000
playoffs and you're getting at least favorable
that So even if the nets and the

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00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,679
Rockets are both. Yeah, I'm
gonna say piece here, I'm still not

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00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,720
convinced. I'm sold on the Jazz
being good top in the West. I

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00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:15,240
mean, let's chill, but they
run some just awesome lineups and playing five

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out a ton and they really just
like you know, when you look on

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paper and I know that some of
the guards have always crashed the glass hard

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on Utah offensively, but like they're
the top five offensive rebounding team right now.

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00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:28,120
Would you look at this roster on
paper and expect them to be that?

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00:12:28,919 --> 00:12:33,200
No, And I'm getting a lot
of those just like feelings about this

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team where it's there. Yeah,
they play hard, they're built randomly,

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of course, but with an assortment
of talent that you know is capable.

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But they're doing things that you just
don't like, you know, Jordan Clarkson

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leveling up his passing not something that
you would expect, Larry Market and doing

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all kinds of things off the dribble, like becoming even the smarter cutter at

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this point in his career. The
chemistry that it seems like they have already

204
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when you're looking at Sexton and some
of the decision he's made to find his

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seammates after leaving his feet. They
haven't even been together that long. Why

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is he making those decisions? Colin
Sexton hitting pull up jumpers all of a

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sudden, So there's just like they
are good as constructed. I'm just not

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convinced that Danny Ainge is going to
let this stand. I mean, if

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you're at the top of the West
twenty games into the season, I guess

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you're almost obligated to. I would
say, of the picks that they have,

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is there still the most likely to
be in the lottery? And that

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is the answer that I don't have
because I'm so the vibes emanating out of

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Minnesota just don't feel fantastic at the
moment. So I'm going to say peace,

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but we are. I'm gonna say
this right now. We are about

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one to two weeks away from panicking. If you want the Jazz to have

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a lottery pick this season, yeah, I'm gonna panic now because I think

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there are some indicators that you know, it was John Hollinger. I think

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that noted that Utah opponents are just
missing free throws at ridiculous rates, like

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that's gonna normalize. They're opposent three
point percentage I think is like the seventh

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lowest, so that may normalize based
on their overall like uh, location of

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shots they're allowing. This is all
from cleaning the glass. You know what,

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what should the allowed effective field goal
percentage be? Like that's pretty much

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in line with what they're allowing.
So like you know, even that,

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there's not a clear sign of,
oh the wheels are going to fall off

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this thing. It's been smoking mirrors. I don't think that's the case at

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all. But like so to me, you say, you know, say

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say ten twenty more games go by
and they're still first in the West,

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Like maybe you really no, I
think this All the moves that Utah made

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once Danny Age was in charge were
just totally designed to maximize championship equity.

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It's like a Darryl Morey concept,
right, like what what do you all

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our percentage chance of winning a title? And like the first step in that

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is, let's get as many high
lottery picks as possible. And this this

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year is the one that you have
to get this year, right, because

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it's Wembenyama. You have to get
this one. So I think, like

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you alluded to the longer this goes
on, Like the more likely it is

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that we just like we gotta trade
Mike Conley, we gotta trade you know,

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everybody. But really marketing is going
nowhere. And I guess probably because

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they signed Sexton as in the sign
and trade, He's probably not going anywhere.

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I don't know, Like Walker Kesseler, I guess probably as a keeper.

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But like everybody else is just gonna
get traded. They have to because

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otherwise, like what's the upside of
with this roster being the fifth or sixth

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seed or whatever? It ends up
being, like I don't you get some

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reps for guys, but most of
whom are not going to be part of

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your core when you really are serious
and contending in a real way, ideally

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in like two three, four years. Like it just this was such a

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big swing with such grand ideas and
just such an obvious we're trying to win

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a championship down the line by doing
this. You can't you can't throw that

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away because your team is surprisingly good
and you might you know, win forty

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five fifty games and then like where
are you? You know? I just

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so I'm paying I am panicking because
I don't think that Wolves pick will be

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in the lottery. And I don't
think if they don't change something that their

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picks gonna be in the lottery,
or at least at the very least,

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like not a high lottery pick where
you're in the running for Scoot Henderson or

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women Yama. First of all,
you say they we're gonna win forty five

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or forty six. They're on pace
to win like sixty two. So why

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don't, like, I think,
I just don't. I'm at the point

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where it's like, if you're this
good, do you sort of lean into

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it? And if you don't want
to do that, then the decision needs

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to be made yesterday, Like you're
not you're not doing yourselves anything if this

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is what if that's what you actually
wanted to do. And I have no

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idea what excuse me Danny Ainge is
doing behind the scenes to him Adjustin's said,

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I imagine like this is catching everyone
off guarden Utah. But I think

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you also look at their future draft
equity, all the picks that they got

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in these two trades. They're gonna
have plenty of bites at the draft.

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Apple and being accidentally awesome, as
I phrased it on Twitter, I don't

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really think that set you back too
much because you're only gonna have at most

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a fourteen percent chance of getting victory
one Ban Yama anyway, and it's just

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like you know, I, yes, that's better than a zero percent chance,

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obviously, and this draft is considered
very deep at the top. But

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I just I can't like when you're
this good already if you want to tear

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it down like it needs to be
made soon, because you're six and a

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00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:30,839
half games in front of the last
place team in the West, and that's

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right now, and we are at
November eighth as we record this. That

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distance probably isn't going to shrink at
all if you continue leaving these players out

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there. And it's a right now
like I'm enjoying way more than I thought.

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I thought I wasn't have to slog
through watching the Jazz this year.

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I thought they were gonna be one
of my teams that when we have questions

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on them, I have to go
back and do the most research for where

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I would probably they're the team that
I'm not going to prioritize later in the

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year unless they have someone who's young
and standing out. They are fun to

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watch and I personally, like the
sentimentalist in me, like, I wouldn't

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take a stick of dynamite to this
roster right now because the Viyes are so

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good. But yeah, there are
some indicators where it's like, is this

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really going to be the best offense
in the league? And then you look

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at what they're doing on offense and
it's like, well, they're hitting thirty

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00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,160
eight percent of their threes, which
seems high, but it's tenth in the

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league. And it's just like,
yeah, they're gonna take a bunch of

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00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:22,759
them. That just makes a ton
of sense. And they're not shooting outlier

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clips from really anywhere else. So
and you look at the personnel on this

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00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:30,440
team when they're playing for like,
why wouldn't they shoot an above average clip

291
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from three? So I get,
I get what you're saying. I guess

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my thing would be like, if
you're not going to make the decision to

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shut guys down or to trade them, I'll give them till Thanksgiving. Then

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don't make that decision. And I
don't think it actually pam strings them as

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00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,400
much moving forward because they have all
those other draft picks, and I would

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think, and I'll point to,
look, what's happening in Brooklyn, where

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Houston decided, hey, we're gonna
bet against Brooklyn's future. I'm not saying

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Minnesota or Cleveland is nearly as dysfunctional
and their stars are not. And you're,

299
00:19:00,279 --> 00:19:03,319
especially in Cleveland, aren't you nearly
as old? But like you have

300
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so many draft picks coming that one
of those might end up turning into it

301
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doesn't have to be one of your
own necessarily, Yeah, I take.

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00:19:12,319 --> 00:19:17,519
I think it's it is interesting that, like, you know, I think

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we all came into the year thinking, like the Jazz are gonna be really

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bad on purpose, but they're gonna
have to trade some guys, and we

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sort of, i think all assumed
that it would be pretty easy to do

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that, and it's just kind of
like, well, really it's opening schedule

307
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,720
made me think like, oh,
they can slow play this because look at

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the teams that they've beaten. Well
that's the thing, like, now you've

309
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,960
got these wins banked, like you
can't take off. So if you do

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decide to pivot, if and when
teams come calling, or if and when

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00:19:44,799 --> 00:19:48,559
you know, you know, somebody
wants Conley, We're gonna get to that

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00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,920
in a second. It might be
too late. It might be too late,

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00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,680
and it's just it's very difficult to
make a big like tear it down

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00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:59,279
trade and freaking early to mid November
like that just doesn't really happen. So

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yeah, they that's why I'm panicking. Is this like they're stuck on a

316
00:20:02,599 --> 00:20:06,720
track they did not expect and did
not want. So I think, yeah,

317
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it's they're gonna be one of the
most interesting teams, you know,

318
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unless and until they don't steer into
it. I'd be curious. And I

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00:20:14,039 --> 00:20:15,400
know we have a lot of jazz
fans that listen to this podcast what their

320
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,920
actual thoughts on this are, whether
they're enjoying this or there's like you're enjoying

321
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,920
it in the back of your mind, like no, we want because we

322
00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,759
had questions. It seemed like the
fan base was concerned they actually weren't going

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00:20:23,759 --> 00:20:29,599
to tank hard enough this year,
and lo and behold, they're not.

324
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And I look, I get either
stance, like it doesn't always pay to

325
00:20:33,319 --> 00:20:37,119
be I think again, I've said
this twice, I should have really like,

326
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,039
I think it's the twenty twelve twenty
thirteen Nuggets where it's the year after

327
00:20:40,039 --> 00:20:41,720
they trade Mellow and they're also just
really good and they w win fifty plus

328
00:20:41,759 --> 00:20:45,119
games and it's like that core wasn't
sustainable, but it was also just like

329
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,000
it was fun. And so I
can't as long as this is happening,

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00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,000
but I just I can't bring myself
to and so like around Thanksgiving, I

331
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think is when you need to have
by like by then though, you need

332
00:20:55,279 --> 00:20:57,920
to have your direction set where it's
some of these guys, I mean,

333
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,720
that's too early to shut layers down. But like, which is hard because

334
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,599
if you don't think you're gonna move
you know, Sexton and marketing and sex

335
00:21:06,599 --> 00:21:07,799
it is not even trade eligible at
the most, right, So it's just

336
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,680
like but like maybe you like to
be so committed to it, like you're

337
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,720
gonna have to look, all right, well there's Conley, there's Clarkson,

338
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,640
there's Malik Beasley out there, and
maybe even look, maybe you look at

339
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,880
moving Larry Marketing, Like what do
you get for Larry Marketing? Right now?

340
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,079
What would the Lakers give do the
rush trade built around Larry Marketing for

341
00:21:25,079 --> 00:21:26,920
two picks and a swap, like
right, like give you more than the

342
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:30,039
two and you have to give someone
else there. They probably wouldn't because that

343
00:21:30,079 --> 00:21:34,119
front office has no idea what they're
doing, but so I'll give them to

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00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,559
Thanksgiving. So I get if you
want them to tank. It's I think

345
00:21:37,599 --> 00:21:40,839
it's a panic. I'm just kind
of enjoying what I'm seeing and I still

346
00:21:40,839 --> 00:21:42,559
don't It's not that I don't believe
it. I don't believe that Danny Ainge

347
00:21:42,559 --> 00:21:45,359
and Justin's Addeck won't do something about
it. I guess is where I'm at.

348
00:21:45,519 --> 00:21:49,759
Agree. I agree, it's like
they have to our next piece or

349
00:21:49,759 --> 00:21:55,079
panic piece or panic from no name
for God. The Nuggets should trade for

350
00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,200
a veteran point guard like Mike Conley. Outside of Jamal Murray, they have

351
00:21:57,519 --> 00:22:00,920
bones highland ishmith, both of whom
are nursing some minor stuff, and I

352
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,920
feel the Nuggets would benefit hugely from
an experienced court general slash score. How

353
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,039
would that trade look? And so
I guess the first piece or panic here

354
00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:12,680
is, do you think the Nugget
like the Nuggets need to trade for a

355
00:22:12,759 --> 00:22:18,359
veteran floor General's That's an easy piece
for me because this is a top five

356
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,759
offense with some underperformance so far,
and you have Yoka, who's essentially one

357
00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:26,799
of the best point guards in the
league. Just at a different size than

358
00:22:26,799 --> 00:22:30,599
you're seeing. You know, Murray
I think has had a couple flashes,

359
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:36,680
generally disappointing. He's going to get
better. I like I think Highland,

360
00:22:36,759 --> 00:22:41,240
you know, defensively. That's basically
my macro take is, like the Nuggets

361
00:22:41,279 --> 00:22:45,720
are fine on offense. I'm not
concerned with enough them having enough facilitation with

362
00:22:45,759 --> 00:22:49,359
the offense running fine, like in
the minutes that matter, Yoka just gonna

363
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:53,279
have the ball and I trust that
they'll be good results offensively. If Yoga

364
00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,359
gets hurt, Mike Comly's not going
to save you. So I don't.

365
00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,640
And that ties into the other part
of the question is like there really isn't

366
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,680
a realistic way to get someone like
Conley, who's making twenty two just a

367
00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:08,599
little under twenty three million this year, non guaranteed twenty four and a half

368
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:15,400
next year because you're trading Aaron Gordon, you're trading Caldwell, Pope and somebody

369
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,200
else to make that happen. So
if you want to go looking for like

370
00:23:19,519 --> 00:23:22,720
so, I'm not giving up an
asset to try to get someone like Conley,

371
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:27,559
who I think just wouldn't wouldn't play
a big enough role or wouldn't improve

372
00:23:27,599 --> 00:23:30,720
you enough in the ways you need
to improve, like defensively, for example,

373
00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,720
to really justify giving up what would
be a significant like a starter level

374
00:23:36,759 --> 00:23:41,359
asset potentially just for salary matching purposes. So you know, just looking at

375
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,279
like the free agent point guards that
are still unsigned are bad, Like if

376
00:23:44,319 --> 00:23:48,720
that's the concern, Like is DJ
Augustine better than Ish Smith? I mean

377
00:23:48,759 --> 00:23:52,119
the fact that one's employed and the
others not suggests that's an easy answer.

378
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,039
I mean, like Rondo Eric Bledsoe, Like I don't I don't see so

379
00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:03,640
I basically like this is a chill
like pieces fine here because the Nuggets offensively

380
00:24:03,279 --> 00:24:08,200
have been great without like a conventional
point guard forever Monte Morris was good in

381
00:24:08,279 --> 00:24:12,680
that role. I think their offense
is still great and will be great,

382
00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:18,640
and you know championship caliber without him, defense is gonna just be the problem.

383
00:24:19,039 --> 00:24:22,759
And I don't see a point guard
one you'd have to give up something

384
00:24:22,799 --> 00:24:26,400
big to get like fixing fixing that
right, yeah, Like could you maybe

385
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,039
do something for t J McConnell just
because the salary is smaller there? I

386
00:24:30,079 --> 00:24:33,440
don't even think Patty, let's say
the Brooklyn Nets tear it down. I

387
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,799
don't think Patty Mills really gives them
what they're looking for. It's a it's

388
00:24:36,839 --> 00:24:40,039
a piece for me too. And
I think also they've started to find if

389
00:24:40,079 --> 00:24:44,559
you're worried about Bones Highland remaining healthy, okay, but they started to find

390
00:24:44,599 --> 00:24:48,920
like bench units that have Michael when
when Jamal Murray and Yokich aren't playing and

391
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,119
you have Bones and Michael Porter Junior
on the court. The Nuggets have a

392
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,720
one eighteen two offensive rating and they're
outscoring opponents by twelve point five points per

393
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,880
one hundred possessions. If you don't
think that's playoff proof, that's fine.

394
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,759
You probably shouldn't be in a situation
where you have more than one star off

395
00:25:02,799 --> 00:25:06,160
the court anyway in a playoff series
at this point, unless that lineup is

396
00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:08,759
straight killing it. I'm with you
that the trade is too difficult to make.

397
00:25:08,799 --> 00:25:11,400
And then if you were going to
make a swing, it needs to

398
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:15,920
be bigger scale, and I don't
think that you would look at the point

399
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,440
guard market if you're going to do
that, and that we actually have a

400
00:25:18,519 --> 00:25:19,319
question. I don't know if it's
the next one, the piece or panic

401
00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:22,599
that gets into it. Yeah,
after this one, So I wouldn't if

402
00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:26,759
there's a smaller move to be made
that like can you get TJM? Like,

403
00:25:26,839 --> 00:25:29,880
yeah, that just might be you
know you use I guess is Smith

404
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,279
and then like, are you willing
to move Zekenagy at this point? He's

405
00:25:32,319 --> 00:25:36,559
banged up and you were touting his
promise coming into training camp only to barely

406
00:25:36,599 --> 00:25:40,599
play him in the preseason. So
I guess they could look at that,

407
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,839
but I wouldn't view it as just
like a need. I would view what

408
00:25:42,839 --> 00:25:48,119
we're about to discuss as like the
more alarming aspect of this team. Yeah,

409
00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,559
so let's get to that. And
I'm really glad I'm throwing this to

410
00:25:51,599 --> 00:25:56,119
you because I have been thinking too
much about Anthony Davis trades lately for work.

411
00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,240
So I don't want to deal with
this until I hear you say this

412
00:25:59,279 --> 00:26:03,160
is from Nugs. The Nuggets defense
remains average to crappy, and they trade

413
00:26:03,279 --> 00:26:08,279
MPG for Jimmy Butler or KD.
Where do you want to start with that

414
00:26:08,319 --> 00:26:14,079
one? I'm almost ready to say
panic, just because it's like their ball

415
00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:18,400
containment on what I've watched, has
been really bad. They're allowing opponents to

416
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,720
shoot above seventy percent at the rim, outside of garbage time, which is

417
00:26:21,759 --> 00:26:25,039
also lo and behold very bad.
Those two things might be related by let

418
00:26:25,079 --> 00:26:26,599
me interrupt you, I'm sorry because
that I fixated on that too, And

419
00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,880
then my knee jerk reaction was like, God, damn it, yokis like

420
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,559
this. You can never build a
championship defense around him. It's not his

421
00:26:33,599 --> 00:26:37,200
fault. It doesn't look like it's
his fault, like structurally maybe, but

422
00:26:37,279 --> 00:26:40,319
like they defend the rim better when
he's in the game, and it really

423
00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:42,640
does just seem like perim. It's
it's the Rudy Gobert thing, the Utah

424
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,519
thing. The guys on the perimeter
don't stay in front of anybody, and

425
00:26:45,599 --> 00:26:49,400
so that's where the lay up parade
starts. Sorry continue, I will also

426
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,240
say, but I will say I
wouldn't trade for Kevin Durant because this team

427
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,920
doesn't need Kevin Durant, right.
He's I don't want to say he's like,

428
00:26:57,519 --> 00:27:00,640
he's not the same player as my
he's better defensively than Michael Porters.

429
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,880
You don't want to get that clear, Like Kevin Durant isn't fixing your perimeter

430
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,160
defensive issues, nor is he might
be if you're looking for like a back

431
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:12,079
line rim protector. Okay, like
he can do that stuff, but Jimmy

432
00:27:12,079 --> 00:27:15,119
Butler would be the name you're throwing
out there. I'm trying to think of

433
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,680
just like another player. It's it
depends on Look all right, I'm gonna

434
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:22,680
phrase it this way. I'm going
to say peace in this or no,

435
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,039
I'm gonna say panic that if you
can. I don't think the defense is

436
00:27:26,039 --> 00:27:29,480
gonna be good. I was high
on they were my championship pick. I

437
00:27:29,519 --> 00:27:32,359
don't think that they're, like,
you know, gonna be the worst defense

438
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,160
in the league. I've even stopped
checking on where they rank because it just

439
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,079
makes me sad and how much I
missed on their defense. They are twenty

440
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,440
seconds, so they're actually a little
bit higher than I thought. Right now,

441
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:45,079
everything's fine, so peace, but
panic in the sense that I don't

442
00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:48,640
think this is going to be a
noticeably above average defensive team and hope maybe

443
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,200
they'll prove me wrong just for my
title pick and look good. I just

444
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:56,440
don't know. This comes back to
like, what trades are you supposed to

445
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,599
make? And it has to be
if you're moving Michael Porter Junior one,

446
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,079
does it want him? Knowing his
chronic back injuries that he has. He

447
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:04,720
is one of the greatest shooters in
the league right now, just like and

448
00:28:04,759 --> 00:28:07,359
I think he could do more in
a larger role if you're not asking him

449
00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:11,079
to play make because I just don't
see it there. But like, what

450
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:15,960
is what is the baseline return you're
willing to move him for? Like would

451
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,000
you this is I'm just throwing this
out there because I know he's not available,

452
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,720
Like would you move Michael Porter Jr. And it would have to be

453
00:28:22,759 --> 00:28:26,039
a bigger trade for Ogna Nobi.
That's the first name I thought of.

454
00:28:26,279 --> 00:28:30,359
I'm not trying to pillage the Raptors
roster. It's just like that's the like

455
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:34,640
the non star type where you would
give up real assets to acquire him,

456
00:28:34,759 --> 00:28:37,920
right, Like that's the thing I
mean, So the other name and this

457
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,440
is even this is so beyond implausible, never gonna happen, that there's no

458
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,720
point, but like someone will as
someone like as if there's another like Evan

459
00:28:45,759 --> 00:28:49,880
Mobley, like someone that is long
that could switch, that could cover mistakes

460
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:56,200
that like when bone Bones Higland gets
blown by he you know, operates from

461
00:28:56,279 --> 00:28:59,400
the three point arc to the rim
and like snuffs it out like someone like

462
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,359
that and Obi is going to shut
down whoever he's on the ball guarding.

463
00:29:03,519 --> 00:29:06,839
But like, you know, the
other thing is it's disappointing, right because

464
00:29:06,839 --> 00:29:11,039
the theory of the team was okay, So KCP reputed as a good on

465
00:29:11,119 --> 00:29:15,680
ball defender. Maybe that's a little
outdated, but still solid. Bruce Brown

466
00:29:17,039 --> 00:29:19,599
like basically stayed in the league because
he could defend, and then the nets

467
00:29:19,599 --> 00:29:25,079
turned him into like a role man. But and then Aaron Gordon is supposed

468
00:29:25,079 --> 00:29:29,200
to be a good defender too,
So really, like it's Murray and Yokich

469
00:29:29,319 --> 00:29:32,759
that are killing your defense. And
we've already said that Yokich, like limited

470
00:29:32,799 --> 00:29:37,119
as he is, like doesn't seem
to be the real problem. So to

471
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,920
me, I'm gonna say peace.
I think MPJ is just super valuable if

472
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,720
he's healthy, because he's just a
five alarm fire all the time. And

473
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,400
he's the other along with Yokich,
Like he's the guy that makes this offense

474
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,559
so good that you could have the
twenty second ranked defense, and like you

475
00:29:53,599 --> 00:29:59,279
know, playoffs are a different story. But it's just he's so valuable,

476
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,319
and I I don't know, like
an Andobi is an interesting guy. I

477
00:30:02,319 --> 00:30:04,880
think that's the type you're looking for. I just I would just hope that

478
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:10,400
some of your preseason expectations of the
defensive editions you made, like improving the

479
00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:15,039
defense will sort of come out as
we go forward, just because otherwise they're

480
00:30:15,079 --> 00:30:18,400
talking a drastic move and I just
I don't see an easy way to do

481
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:22,759
that. No, and like they're
gonna have the pick equity, imminent pick

482
00:30:22,799 --> 00:30:25,559
equity didn't do it. So it's
like if Dylan Brooks became available in Memphis

483
00:30:25,599 --> 00:30:27,839
for some reason. That's also is
what is the name? What you know

484
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,319
Jimmy Butler has to ask her out
in Miami? You mentioned Anny Davis.

485
00:30:32,319 --> 00:30:34,559
I'm assuming it's like a joke,
but that wouldn't be like that would make

486
00:30:34,559 --> 00:30:38,000
a lot of sense. Yeah,
but so that they don't have the picks

487
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,200
to do that, is it porter
and picks? Like well, I mean

488
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,880
they're both have like their Anthony Davis's
chronic injury is getting injured. So like,

489
00:30:47,319 --> 00:30:49,799
is there like a sort of an
even swat there almost? But I

490
00:30:49,799 --> 00:30:52,799
don't. I'm just trying to take
the name. I mean, oh,

491
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,599
Gianna Nooby was the one that sprang
to mind because he's the archetype of player

492
00:30:56,599 --> 00:30:59,640
that I do feel like this team
still kind of needs there's no one even

493
00:31:00,119 --> 00:31:04,039
you want to be interesting, But
what are you gonna say, Draymond,

494
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:08,160
Oh no, that would be interesting. Actually, wow, I didn't think

495
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:10,720
that. I was gonna say,
like, I don't know if they're there

496
00:31:10,839 --> 00:31:11,759
yet, and we're gonna talk about
them labor like if the Clippers are just

497
00:31:11,799 --> 00:31:15,480
like right, like we're gonna trade
Paul George, like that would be someone

498
00:31:15,519 --> 00:31:18,519
that would that would and so like
can you use Michael Porter Junior? Though,

499
00:31:18,759 --> 00:31:22,440
let's say if that type of player
hits the block, does Michael Porter

500
00:31:22,559 --> 00:31:26,559
Junior even give you an inlet to
being involved in those in those discussions,

501
00:31:26,839 --> 00:31:32,319
I have such a hard time putting
a value on on Porter Junior just because,

502
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:34,400
like the injury questions are so legit, you know, and so,

503
00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:40,279
but there's also no question that like
when he's on the floor, he's the

504
00:31:40,359 --> 00:31:42,319
spacing he brings that he can create
his own show. Just the shooting is

505
00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:45,480
just it's the premium skill, right, It's the premium skill and he's got

506
00:31:45,519 --> 00:31:48,960
it. So it's it's hard to
figure out, like what he's worth.

507
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,359
I don't know, that's an interesting
question. And the defense is the problem

508
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,519
that there's there's no doubt about that
kind of looping. These two nuggets questions

509
00:31:56,559 --> 00:32:00,480
together. I will say, so
we umps I went panic, But if

510
00:32:00,519 --> 00:32:01,799
we were just to boil it down
to the defense in general, would it

511
00:32:01,839 --> 00:32:06,400
both just be a panic there for
Den Yeah, mild for me, just

512
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,519
because I do have some faith that
the additions they made can get this up,

513
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:15,039
you know, into the same middle
of the pack on defense instead of

514
00:32:15,119 --> 00:32:16,519
you know, bottom ten, which
is not you know, it's not like

515
00:32:16,559 --> 00:32:23,440
a huge leap right now. Next
one comes from Herb Jones Enjoyer Peace or

516
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:29,079
Panic rant Zion's defense and more specifically, how inconsistent he is while having moments

517
00:32:29,079 --> 00:32:34,799
of brilliance. So, first of
all, if if you're Herb Jones Enjoyer

518
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:37,319
and so obviously you appreciate great defense, and then you're gonna have to watch

519
00:32:37,359 --> 00:32:43,759
Zion play defense. It's like Lamborghini
Enjoyer saying like this Toyota Corolla sucks.

520
00:32:43,759 --> 00:32:49,759
Like that's just like two separate species
of defensive player. I think, I

521
00:32:49,759 --> 00:32:52,119
mean, I don't know what's what
how to say if I'm I mean,

522
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:54,880
I'm at peace with the fact that
Zion is never going to be a good

523
00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:59,799
defensive player, I think, I
guess, I guess do you want to

524
00:32:59,839 --> 00:33:01,960
pay anak about that? If you're
the Pelicans? Like he just I mean

525
00:33:02,039 --> 00:33:07,359
just physically right, he doesn't move
laterally well at all, so and he's

526
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,720
not his wingspan is not long.
So like there's two major components of good

527
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:16,319
defenders that he just is never going
to have. I think he like the

528
00:33:16,359 --> 00:33:22,920
inattentiveness, which I think this question
really kind of focuses on. It's just

529
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:24,920
yeah, that can improve, right, Like he could he could be more

530
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:29,000
dialed in, he could be more
consistent, he could quit losing his guy

531
00:33:29,119 --> 00:33:34,759
on back cuts or just totally like
spacing on he needs to make this close

532
00:33:34,759 --> 00:33:37,720
out or help the helper here.
Like that's all. I mean, that's

533
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:42,680
been there as an issue for him
from like the second he was debuted in

534
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,279
the NBA, which makes sense not
to make excuses for him, but like

535
00:33:45,599 --> 00:33:50,799
he's never had to play defense.
He's always been just you know, au

536
00:33:51,039 --> 00:33:54,359
whatever level, he's just the guy
that has the ball, scores a ton,

537
00:33:54,480 --> 00:34:00,799
dunks on everybody, and just is
the offensive engine. Probably never really

538
00:34:00,839 --> 00:34:04,359
been asked to play defense in any
kind of serious way. So I mean,

539
00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,400
in addition to having like physical limitations. He just isn't he doesn't have

540
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,000
the wiring. I don't think it
hasn't, you know, it hasn't been

541
00:34:10,039 --> 00:34:15,920
developed. So yeah, I mean
panic if you because look, this Pelicans

542
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:17,639
team is good there I think five
and five now, but I think we

543
00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:22,440
both agree that they're you know,
still really exciting and once they're all healthy

544
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,559
better than that. You're gonna get
into playoff series and like guess who's getting

545
00:34:25,559 --> 00:34:30,639
targeted that that's gonna be an issue. So if you think this Pelicans team

546
00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:34,239
is really going to be great,
which is not unreasonable, then you probably

547
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,320
do panic about a guy that you
are gonna have on the floor in major

548
00:34:38,559 --> 00:34:44,360
meaningful stretches against really good teams that
are smart, and he's gonna get they're

549
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:45,840
gonna go at him, and he's
not gonna hold up very well. I

550
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:51,360
don't think. So that's that's worth
panicking if you're thinking like really big picture

551
00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:53,920
for what the Pelicans are trying to
do, I would say panic as well

552
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:58,119
about his defense. And we've seen
like we've seen the moments, especially on

553
00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:00,679
ball, but then there's just like, you know, he got torched at

554
00:35:00,679 --> 00:35:04,519
a bunch of points in that game
that they played against the jazz, and

555
00:35:04,559 --> 00:35:08,079
it's just he always seems like his
bodies like in the wrong spot, or

556
00:35:08,079 --> 00:35:10,840
he's just giving everyone the room to
get by him. And someone who is

557
00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:17,119
still even you think he's imperfect athletically
now following his injuries is built to not

558
00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:22,760
let that happen like it's it's concerning, And I do think Michael Pena wrote

559
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:27,480
about this for The Ringer that the
fact that Zion at the five is luxury

560
00:35:27,519 --> 00:35:30,559
more than necessity now helps you a
little bit moving forward. But you just

561
00:35:30,599 --> 00:35:35,480
mentioned it going into a playoff series
where if you're going to be targeted,

562
00:35:35,559 --> 00:35:37,639
like they have a guy in Zion
that they can go after. I am

563
00:35:37,679 --> 00:35:42,000
willing to give him the benefit of
the doubt an extent where it's okay,

564
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,880
he's coming back from a serious foot
injury now he's dealt with some hip stuff.

565
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:46,920
When that could I would imagine like
having a hip injury can affect turning

566
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,760
your body properly when you're trying to
defend on the ball. So I want

567
00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,840
to say peace, mostly because we
rush to coornate the Pelicans. I don't

568
00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:57,000
want to be I want I want
to be as right about the Pelicans as

569
00:35:57,039 --> 00:35:59,719
I was about the calves, but
I think it's fair to just like,

570
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:01,920
no, that's just something that you're
gonna have to plan around at this point.

571
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:07,599
Like the athletic tools on offense aren't
always gonna translate to the defensive end

572
00:36:07,639 --> 00:36:08,760
for him, but like in they'll
be moments where he can do it,

573
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:13,599
which is fine. Maybe you fast
forward a few years and like it's better,

574
00:36:13,639 --> 00:36:15,639
but it probably won't be because he's
in his athletic prime now and I

575
00:36:15,639 --> 00:36:21,440
think people are kind of in general
like to prevailing consensus is that his prime

576
00:36:21,519 --> 00:36:22,519
is going to be I don't want
to say shorter, but it's going to

577
00:36:22,559 --> 00:36:27,119
come earlier, just based off what
makes him so good. If you're worried

578
00:36:27,119 --> 00:36:29,440
about like some of the shot selection
this year on offense, I would just

579
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:30,639
give it peace. Like he's traded
in a lot of looks at the rim

580
00:36:30,679 --> 00:36:35,199
for like more of those short mid
rangers which he's just not making. And

581
00:36:35,199 --> 00:36:37,159
I think if he changes just his
decision making there specifically, and then some

582
00:36:37,199 --> 00:36:39,760
of the lineups he've been playing in
have not been ideal for that, So

583
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,719
I'd be pieced there. But for
the defense, I think it's if you

584
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:49,880
think he needs to be a let's
say, a serviceable defender for this team

585
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,400
to reach its peak. Then yet
I would probably argue it's time to panic.

586
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,920
And that's a weird thing to say. With Trey Murphy and Herb Jones

587
00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:01,079
and Dyson Daniels there, and even
like having Jose Alvarado there as well,

588
00:37:01,119 --> 00:37:04,800
but like and then brandon Ingram has
been but he's even like, you know,

589
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,000
we talked about this with the Warriors, where the guys feel like they

590
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,800
overreact because they have to cover up
for James Wiseman. There's a little bit

591
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,719
of that when you look behind Zion
on some place when he's pulled out,

592
00:37:14,119 --> 00:37:19,000
there are guys overreacting behind him,
and that's that's difficult to overcome. I

593
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,800
don't know where I stand on what
that does to the Pelican ceiling, because

594
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:25,639
I do think he is so unbelievably
transcendent and dominant on the offensive end,

595
00:37:25,679 --> 00:37:29,679
it ultimately is worth it to just
still like, no, we're building this

596
00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:31,199
team around Zione. Of course,
that's what we're doing. But I think

597
00:37:31,199 --> 00:37:35,320
the defense in general, we're probably
at the point where it's we shouldn't be

598
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,960
waiting on him to become this I
don't even want to say exceptional but like

599
00:37:38,079 --> 00:37:43,760
good or a liable defending passible like
you playable, and he's very passible at

600
00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:47,559
the moment, it's very easy to
get past. Well. I just I

601
00:37:47,599 --> 00:37:52,239
think one point of this slightly encouraging
is like he did you know, he

602
00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,639
did drop weight and he did get
into better shape, So like he can

603
00:37:54,679 --> 00:37:58,760
do that, and maybe maybe that's
something else he's never really been asked to

604
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:00,760
do, like play defense, And
I think it's encouraging that, you know,

605
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:05,000
he did. Look, he has
looked better just from a from a

606
00:38:05,039 --> 00:38:08,039
body composition standpoint this year. So
maybe like as he gets a little further

607
00:38:08,079 --> 00:38:12,840
removed from the foot, as he
maybe continues to lean out a little more,

608
00:38:14,119 --> 00:38:16,199
you know, he can at least
be a little more mobile flexible.

609
00:38:16,599 --> 00:38:20,119
You know, I think of someone
like not to keep bringing it back to

610
00:38:20,159 --> 00:38:22,519
the Warriors, but like Kevon Looney
had two hip surgeries, right and just

611
00:38:22,559 --> 00:38:28,760
like moved like he was fifty initially
and then like got into yoga and just

612
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:30,679
I mean he granted he came up
as a guard, so he had like

613
00:38:31,039 --> 00:38:37,480
perimeter defensive skills, but like guys
can get more mobile and flexible and get

614
00:38:37,519 --> 00:38:39,079
down in a stance better. It
just takes like a ton of work.

615
00:38:39,199 --> 00:38:44,239
So I mean it's not it's not
impossible, but Zion just because of his

616
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,199
frame, has like a lot of
really like difficult, like you know,

617
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:54,119
obstacles i'd say to to like,
you know, improve substantially. Let's talk

618
00:38:54,119 --> 00:38:59,920
about someone with a very different frame. This is from Yoga Joe Star mobamb

619
00:39:00,039 --> 00:39:04,599
Those window to become an NBA player
is closing with bull ball showing out.

620
00:39:07,519 --> 00:39:10,440
I guess that'd be panic because first
of all, I know he got his

621
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:15,320
like quote unquote money, but it
never made sense to bring him back even

622
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:17,360
though he proved last year, like
oh there is the element of the floor

623
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:22,000
spacing rim protector from him. But
like you had power Bank, Caro,

624
00:39:22,559 --> 00:39:25,480
you had well you thought you were
gonna have Jonathan Isaac, who said the

625
00:39:25,519 --> 00:39:28,599
other day like he's closer than ever
to the returning I was like, what's

626
00:39:28,599 --> 00:39:30,760
that even fucking mean? Like you
picked up a basketball today? Is that

627
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:35,000
what that means? You put down
the you put down the typewriter for your

628
00:39:35,079 --> 00:39:38,559
latest non bestseller and was able to
pick up a basketball anti vax campaign,

629
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:44,599
right, So I it's a panic
because like I don't see what the pathway

630
00:39:44,639 --> 00:39:47,440
is two minutes for him. He
did because I watched Magic Houston, like

631
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:52,400
he was kind of this de gensive
jolt against Shane Gun It points he had

632
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:54,039
a good game last night, so
maybe that, But it's like, what

633
00:39:54,159 --> 00:39:58,760
is the pathway long term for him? Maybe panic saying he can't be an

634
00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:01,400
NBA players a little strong. We
haven't seen him outside Orlando's ecosystem, which

635
00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:06,400
has always been just clogged on the
front line doesn't provide enough spacing to begin

636
00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:09,239
with. So yeah, I would
like to see him elsewhere. But because

637
00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:12,960
bow Bull, who was just more
dynamic on offense when you look at what

638
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,480
he can do with the ball in
his hands and like those finishes he's able

639
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:20,639
to make turning corners, what is
the There's no argument to find bomba consistent

640
00:40:20,679 --> 00:40:23,559
playing time and oh hey, that's
gonna get harder if Jonathan Isaac ever does

641
00:40:23,639 --> 00:40:30,199
transition from author to basketball player again. So it's just like, I feel

642
00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:31,599
like I don't want to blame it
on the Magic and Bamba's dealt with a

643
00:40:31,599 --> 00:40:35,760
lot of injuries. He dealt with
consition conditioning issues as well. I believe

644
00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:37,199
he was also hit hard when he
got sick or had COVID. I'm not

645
00:40:37,199 --> 00:40:39,719
sure if it was last year or
the year before, so like they have

646
00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:44,760
been obstacles. But yeah, the
windows closing, Like we're on this dude's

647
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,280
second contract, he's coming off a
standout year and can't find minutes on a

648
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:52,239
team that's like not they're not They're
fun to watch and like they've put up

649
00:40:52,239 --> 00:40:54,960
a lot of fight, but like
they're not invested in the immediate as much

650
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:59,519
as some of these other teams.
So I will say panic. I just

651
00:40:59,559 --> 00:41:02,840
don't know, like who is emotionally
invested in the outcome of mobile career that

652
00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:07,559
they're actually panicking. Oh I'm not
dismissing. I want to see him elsewhere.

653
00:41:07,559 --> 00:41:09,760
I just don't know, you know, if you're if you're holding him

654
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:14,280
to being a top seven, top
five draft prospect. Yeah, it's definitely

655
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:17,599
tone to panic about that. Yeah. There I'm gonna I'm gonna like really

656
00:41:17,679 --> 00:41:22,320
zero in on the actual verbiage of
the question, is window to become an

657
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:24,480
NBA player is closing? Like one, he's already an NBA player, he's

658
00:41:24,679 --> 00:41:29,639
and he's got a second contract,
So I'm not sure that windows shut you

659
00:41:29,679 --> 00:41:32,079
know what. I think the intention
of the question is, like is he

660
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,920
ever going to get out in front
of Bull Bull now in the rotation,

661
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,199
and that's like that might be a
little panicky. Let's see bull Bull like

662
00:41:39,639 --> 00:41:44,159
sustain this though, right, like
an entire season two because he's dealt with

663
00:41:44,199 --> 00:41:47,480
his own injury right and had like
some character and maturity concerns like coming out

664
00:41:47,519 --> 00:41:52,000
of the draft. That's why he's
like let's let's see right, plus like

665
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:57,199
such an unusual player, right,
he's just like he has on ball skills.

666
00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:00,880
He's i mean the shop blocking like
he's already Bomba does not have the

667
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:05,159
edge there, but like look Bomba
last year fifteen and eleven with two blocks

668
00:42:05,159 --> 00:42:07,679
per thirty six minutes. You're never
gonna play him thirty six minutes. But

669
00:42:07,679 --> 00:42:09,800
he did start sixty nine games,
so like for a bad team, sure,

670
00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:15,559
but like he's an NBA player,
And the idea of like if he's

671
00:42:15,639 --> 00:42:19,199
your I mean, if he's your
third big, that's a luxury. A

672
00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:22,719
guy that can can stretch the floor
in block shots like that's that's better than

673
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:24,960
a lot of third bigs are going
to do for you. So he's gonna

674
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:30,239
be around. I think it's just
like you know, with with the magic

675
00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:35,440
probably not unless bull Bowl just you
know this is we look back on this

676
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,039
in like January and say, hey, remember that incredible early stretch when bull

677
00:42:38,079 --> 00:42:42,480
Bowl, who's in the G League
now was looked like starter, Like,

678
00:42:42,639 --> 00:42:45,519
that's not off the table yet.
I'm just I'm just gonna put that out

679
00:42:45,559 --> 00:42:49,840
there. This all ends with Mobamba
eventually running point for the Raptors that it's

680
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:53,239
the only way. Uh. Next
up, this one comes from Usher.

681
00:42:53,719 --> 00:43:00,480
Is CP three just having a slow
start or is he officially now the best

682
00:43:00,599 --> 00:43:07,079
passing bricklayer. I'm gonna say peace. I mean, even though he did

683
00:43:07,239 --> 00:43:09,440
leave last night's game with like a
I think it was a heel soreness or

684
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:13,440
heel contusion or something messaging. We
haven't heard anything additionally on that, but

685
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:16,360
the messaging coming out of that was
if he could play, he would have,

686
00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:19,519
but he couldn't. It's what he
said. But he's also not concerned

687
00:43:19,519 --> 00:43:22,679
about it. Yeah, yeah,
I get it. Be bold, it's

688
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:27,679
I mean, so the number look
like the trend line is going down right,

689
00:43:27,719 --> 00:43:30,239
Like he's in the low thirties from
three last year, he's a twenty

690
00:43:30,239 --> 00:43:34,559
seven percent going into last night this
year, thirty six percent from the field,

691
00:43:35,199 --> 00:43:38,039
I mean, combined with being thirty
seven years old, Like, eventually

692
00:43:38,159 --> 00:43:43,159
something's gonna go You're not gonna,
you know, never getting that old.

693
00:43:43,639 --> 00:43:45,840
I'm already that'll be great forever.
I can tell you from experience, You're

694
00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:51,920
never gonna be that your best forever. I do think it's positive that he's

695
00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,000
taking more threes as a percentage of
his fiegal attempts than he has in any

696
00:43:55,079 --> 00:43:58,840
year of his career outside of the
Houston years, where they just like,

697
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,719
you know, punish you for not
shooting a bunch of threes in that era.

698
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:05,519
So, I mean, if you're
going to try to make up some

699
00:44:05,559 --> 00:44:08,199
of the drop you're getting in effective
field, will percentage shooting a lot of

700
00:44:08,199 --> 00:44:12,639
threes is a decent way to do
it. He's never been a high volume

701
00:44:12,639 --> 00:44:15,159
guy. I think you can tilt
the math a little bit in your favor.

702
00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:20,599
That doesn't change the fact that,
like, he is just worse as

703
00:44:20,599 --> 00:44:23,559
a shooter this year, and it's
a continuation of a trend. I'm just

704
00:44:23,599 --> 00:44:28,239
not ready to panic yet. He's
still averaging tenn assist the game. He's

705
00:44:28,239 --> 00:44:30,360
still is one of the smartest players
in the league. You know, all

706
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:36,039
that stuff is great, and I
guess I just trust him to make shots.

707
00:44:36,039 --> 00:44:38,159
From the elbow in playoff series,
which is like really all you need

708
00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:42,840
him to do from a scoring perspective. He's shooting fifty percent on his pull

709
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:46,719
up twos now, so that has
come up. He's however, he is

710
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:51,760
shooting twenty two point two percent on
his pull up threes, and that's like

711
00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:54,760
been his shot even when he wasn't
considered the three point shooter. What I

712
00:44:54,800 --> 00:45:01,039
will say, and I do wonder
if there's an element of transitory wrinkles here.

713
00:45:01,199 --> 00:45:06,800
He's taking a lot more of his
shots in catching shoot situations. Catch

714
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:08,920
and shoot threes of account for about
twenty percent of his attempts this year.

715
00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:14,880
That number was at seven point one
percent last year. So he's the fact

716
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:17,320
that he's shooting thirty three point three
percent on catching shoot threes, that's actually

717
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:20,719
higher than you might expect at this
point, which is where we're at.

718
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:22,199
You could see that number coming up
because it's come up, but it's a

719
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:25,840
volume thing. You're also just looking
at his you know, looks in general

720
00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:29,559
where it does feel like he can
be more stationary on offense at points,

721
00:45:29,639 --> 00:45:31,760
or at least be without the ball. Thirty nine point three percent of his

722
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:36,360
shots have come off assists this year
that is down from fifteen or up from

723
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:39,079
fifteen point two percent last year.
There's a drastically different role being played for

724
00:45:39,159 --> 00:45:43,840
him on offense, and so I'm
very much at peace until like, if

725
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:45,960
this sustains through the All Star break, the shooting, then it's a concern

726
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:51,599
because in theory his offensive responsibility.
I don't want to say it's gotten easier,

727
00:45:51,679 --> 00:45:54,159
but for stretches, it is more
streamlined than it was because Devin Booker

728
00:45:54,199 --> 00:46:00,599
exists, which is a luxury if
you're worried about the large or picture where

729
00:46:00,599 --> 00:46:02,199
it's okay, well, what does
he look like on defense come playoff time

730
00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:06,440
and his health? Yeah, like
maybe it's time to panic a little bit

731
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:09,039
where it's like, Okay, the
Sons have navigated no Jay Crowder, now

732
00:46:09,119 --> 00:46:13,079
Cam Johnson is out for a couple
of months. The bench has been better

733
00:46:13,079 --> 00:46:15,920
than we'd expect. Are we throwing
one too many? Like oh fox into

734
00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:20,360
the equation here and now P three
is injured and not shooting. Well,

735
00:46:20,599 --> 00:46:23,960
I'm I'm going to go with peace
because I do think his offensive usage despite

736
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:28,920
the assists, has been I don't
want to go as far as say it's

737
00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:31,960
dramatically different, but it's it's it's
materially different than it has been in years

738
00:46:32,039 --> 00:46:37,719
past. I think, wouldn't you
say though that to the Sons won sixty

739
00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:44,159
four games last year and Chris Paul
played pretty much this typical role, not

740
00:46:44,159 --> 00:46:45,800
not you know, prime Chris Paul, but like like you said, right,

741
00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:49,199
he was doing a lot more self
creation, a lot less catch and

742
00:46:49,239 --> 00:46:53,400
shoot and like like everybody else,
but you know, he wore down and

743
00:46:53,639 --> 00:46:58,960
wouldn't this wouldn't this role change be
exactly the approach you'd want to take,

744
00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:02,760
so that you know he's doing his
lift isn't as heavy and you have the

745
00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:07,639
luxury of Devin Booker being great and
being able to do on ball stuff.

746
00:47:07,639 --> 00:47:09,920
You're trying to preserve him. Maybe, like maybe that's the charitable take,

747
00:47:10,079 --> 00:47:13,840
is like this is intentional and it's
a weird role change, and he's not

748
00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:15,880
used to it, combined with a
little bit of aging, and that's why,

749
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:21,039
like the numbers are what they are
and they're not encouraging. I think

750
00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:24,960
there's a real great chance that like
the Sun's son's got you know, left

751
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:29,119
with nothing after sixty four wins last
year, So it's kind of like,

752
00:47:29,159 --> 00:47:31,159
well, what really matters let's make
sure we're you know, in one piece

753
00:47:31,239 --> 00:47:36,880
and in decent shape, especially Chris
Paul for the games that actually count that

754
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:39,239
we care about, that we need
to win, you know, in May

755
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:45,000
and even June, you know,
best case scenario. I think there's an

756
00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:46,920
element of that. I think that
this could just be intentional and he's not

757
00:47:47,039 --> 00:47:50,880
used to it, and that's a
factor too, And that's also what could

758
00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:54,079
make it so disarming, is because
that's so counterintuitive to what we've known about

759
00:47:54,679 --> 00:47:58,679
c P three. And also,
look, they're playing him thirty minutes per

760
00:47:58,679 --> 00:48:01,119
game as opposed to thirty three,
so that's already pulled back. You're looking

761
00:48:01,159 --> 00:48:07,119
at his time of possession last year
is compared to this year. Is actually

762
00:48:07,119 --> 00:48:09,639
it's lower, which is not surprising
there, and it's lower relative to like

763
00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:14,719
you wouldn't expect just that drop off
from the minutes that he is not playing

764
00:48:15,519 --> 00:48:17,639
his I think his front court touches
were about the same. Yeah, they're

765
00:48:17,679 --> 00:48:21,559
actually they're higher this year than they
were last year. But just like his

766
00:48:21,679 --> 00:48:25,239
role has changed and the fact that
it's the shooting that is like the biggest

767
00:48:25,679 --> 00:48:28,840
But maybe it's the health you're worried
about, or how we can look in

768
00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:30,960
certain defensive situation. But the fact
that it's the shooting and we still sort

769
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:35,119
of see him manipulate, like switches
off the dribble. He's not cooking guys

770
00:48:35,159 --> 00:48:37,840
like he used to do to Rudy
Gobert, but that he's still so comfortable

771
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:42,239
getting too his spots that makes me
even more confident that it's like these numbers

772
00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:45,400
will normalize. Yeah. The trick
with this is like what it looks like

773
00:48:45,519 --> 00:48:52,559
right now is so we're preserving Chris
Paul versus Chris Paul is starting to be

774
00:48:52,639 --> 00:48:57,199
pretty washed, is like indistinguishable,
and you're just not gonna know until the

775
00:48:57,199 --> 00:49:00,559
playoffs where either he keeps doing this
or the kind of refer back to oh,

776
00:49:00,559 --> 00:49:04,519
he's like he's still kind of that
guy. They'll be interesting, you

777
00:49:04,519 --> 00:49:07,119
know, So we were not gonna
know. I don't think can I throw

778
00:49:07,159 --> 00:49:12,280
my own curveball here? Peace or
panic? The Sun's need to trade for

779
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:15,599
someone who will be in their closing
lineup or is their sixth best player at

780
00:49:15,599 --> 00:49:21,239
worst? I mean, yeah,
the one is just piece because it's like,

781
00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:22,440
unless you think Cam Johnson's gonna be
out the rest of the year,

782
00:49:22,519 --> 00:49:27,159
it's there's Cam. There's eight and
there's Bridges, there's Paul, and there's

783
00:49:27,159 --> 00:49:29,480
Devin Booker. And so to say
that they need to trade for someone in

784
00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:31,559
the closing lineup would be are you
saying CP three is cooked or that you

785
00:49:31,559 --> 00:49:37,440
don't believe in cam or maybe that
Look, you could just say Jacque Landale's

786
00:49:37,519 --> 00:49:38,920
there, like why do you need
Deondre? And should we revisit this Kevin

787
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:43,199
Durant stuff. I mean the eight
and trade is the one that like,

788
00:49:43,239 --> 00:49:45,159
if you're gonna do something, I
think that's that's who you look at.

789
00:49:45,199 --> 00:49:49,920
But you can't do anything with him
for what at least another month? Yeah,

790
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,880
I think two months. The Johnson
it was today that it was a

791
00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:57,519
meniscus trim instead of a repair,
So that's the shorter return timeline. It's

792
00:49:57,559 --> 00:50:00,519
like a one to two months thing. So theoretically will be okay. But

793
00:50:00,599 --> 00:50:04,400
yeah, no, they do feel
like guy Short, don't you think,

794
00:50:04,519 --> 00:50:07,840
like, you know, like tweet, I want to get like a certain

795
00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:13,199
you know, combo forward that maybe
like would be in a huge role right

796
00:50:13,199 --> 00:50:15,000
now if he had just hung out
for a little bit. Yeah, maybe

797
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:19,280
that they're they're a specific Guy Short. I guess it feels like he's probably

798
00:50:19,320 --> 00:50:21,800
not even be guy that they actually
need when you look at this room.

799
00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:27,239
But so I mean, like Dario
Starch at the four Now, difference between

800
00:50:27,239 --> 00:50:30,639
like oh Damian Lee and Tory Craig
and Josh Akogi are super important. And

801
00:50:30,679 --> 00:50:34,719
oh we have Jake Roder like there's
a there's a big, big dip there.

802
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:37,159
Well, boy, we close that
out with a lot of panic.

803
00:50:37,519 --> 00:50:40,119
Uh, let's let's go. Uh. We don't need to panic about just

804
00:50:40,199 --> 00:50:45,639
another phenomenal pod because we did it, Dan, We delivered five stars from

805
00:50:45,679 --> 00:50:50,239
the five Stars, five stars to
you, five stars to everybody that's gonna

806
00:50:50,239 --> 00:50:52,320
do it for us. Thanks for
listening. Everybody, Please remember, like

807
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:57,079
Dan said at the top, download, comment, like great review, subscribe,

808
00:50:57,199 --> 00:51:00,840
smash all the buttons. Uh,
you know, check us out on

809
00:51:00,880 --> 00:51:04,760
our socials, engage with us,
get on the discord. You can find

810
00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:07,639
all the information on that stuff in
the YouTube and podcast description. Tell your

811
00:51:07,679 --> 00:51:10,880
friends, tell your enemies, help
us. Just keep building this because we

812
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:15,360
like doing it and we like interacting
with you guys. So in closing,

813
00:51:15,679 --> 00:51:21,199
I would again just like to apologize
to the one and only Jared Allen and

814
00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:23,559
you forgot to shout out Frankie Lakina
I'm always gonna I'm gonna let you shout

815
00:51:23,559 --> 00:51:28,119
out. Frankie Lakina. That's yours, who is healthy and available to play

816
00:51:28,239 --> 00:51:30,599
as we record this. So the
Mavericks are going to win the twenty twenty

817
00:51:30,599 --> 00:51:31,440
three NBA title.