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What is krak alakin our Knox listeners, I am Dan Valley coming at you

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with out my fantabulous co host Adam
frommel I am, however, super pleased

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and excited to be joined by Keith
Parish. He is the host of the

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Fast Break Breakfast podcast that I'm sure
you guys have listened to or at least

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heard of. If you're listening to
this podcast, follow Keith and Fast Break

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Breakfast on Twitter at fast break Break
spelled exactly as it sounds. Break is

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b r e a k so at
Fast Break Break. He's also the host

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of the Grits and Grinds podcast.
It's a Memphis Grizzlies podcast, so be

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sure to check that out. You
can follow Keith on Twitter there at Grizzlies

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pod so Gritz and Grinds at Grizzly
These pod spelled exactly as it sounds as

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well. He's on as you might
have gathered from this, to talk all

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things Minnesota, Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies. It's been the series that I have

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said that Adams consistently said, we
have the loosest grip on if we have

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any sort of grip on it whatsoever. So I'm excited to go into detail

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about Game six, about what we've
seen already this series. There will be

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some bigger picture stuff that we need
to talk about going forward, but we

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had I'd plan to talk to him
about other stuff, but it was just

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so easy to get into detail about
this series. So even if you're not

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a fan of the Grizzlies or the
Timberwolves, are emotionally invested in this series

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at all. Because you're not a
fan of the Golden State Warriors, listen

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to this podcast. It's great,
It's a lot of fun, usual housekeeping

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notes before we get started. Remember
to rate review this podcast wherever you get

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your podcast. This is your first
time listening to us. Because you are

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devoted to listening to everything that Keith
puts out, consider throwing us that permanent

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subscription. We are a modestly insufferable
national NBA podcasts for all of you stragglers

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that are here for the first time. So, I don't know, I

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don't know how much of a stronger
in darshmound I can give. Follow us

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on all the socials at Hardwood Knox, on Twitter, at Hardwood Knox,

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on TikTok, at Hardwood Underscore,
Knox on Instagram. Check out our YouTube

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channel. Also join our discord.
The links to all these are mv podcast

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description. I also do post for
anyone who's wondering, oh, why would

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I follow a podcast on ig or
TikTok or YouTube. I do post original

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content across all three of those channels
a few times a week at the moment.

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Now, let's get into lots and
lots and lots and lots of Memphis

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Grizzlies versus Minnesota Timberwolves talk with the
legendary Keith Parish Beef. Welcome back to

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the Hardwood Knox Podcast. I very
much appreciate you doing what. I think

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it's just been your annual appearance at
this point, particularly this time of year

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though, because we have Grizzlies,
Timberwolves things to talk about, and a

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lot of them. First and foremost, though, how the heck are you,

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Dan, I'm doing great. Thanks
for having me, and uh,

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yeah, I guess it is annual. I mean, it's not that the

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Grizzlies always make the playoffs, but
they're back and it's been fairly entertaining.

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Yes, I'll say my first question
is that an understatement is that I'm just

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like I watched this series and I
feel like I've seen everything taken away,

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nothing fallen in love with it,
been confused all in like a manner of

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minutes and possessions. It's been the
toughest. It's been probably the most entertaining

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first round series for me. It's
also been like the most confusing and toughest

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to get a hold on. If
that makes any sense, I agree completely.

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I mean it's been I think from
an objective observer, I think you

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would have to say it's incredibly entertaining. From someone like inside of it,

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someone rooting for the Grizzlies and covering
the Grizzlies, it's been largely miserable,

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like it's it's been just like the
great fantastic all time victories, the Game

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three come back from twenty six down
and then from twenty five down, and

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then the game winner where you rally
from double digits again in the fourth quarter

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in Game five. The large majority
of those games are basically staring at the

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game and being like, why are
the Grizzlies so terrible? This is awful,

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Like it's awful, and then they
start playing well, and then like

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the Timberwolves begin to collapse and you're
like, hey, we're up three two,

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but like I haven't really enjoyed much
of any of that makes total sense.

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And I ask you what would be
the one word you used to describe

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the series. Hallucinogenic. Oh,
that's a good one, I think.

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I mean, are just drunk.
I mean just the series is nuts.

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It's just nuts. Some of the
guys like Carl Anthony Towns and Jaren Jackson

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Junior, at times appear after under
the influence of something with the decisions they're

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make and the lack of body and
limb control they demonstrate. And then other

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times it's just like why is Xavier
Tillman starting? Where did this come from?

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Or like why, like you know, you have Zire Williams missing open

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dunks, and it's like this team
was fun in the regular season, and

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I know everyone said, like,
fast breaking basketball is not gonna work in

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the playoffs, and I guess they
were right. But the Grizzlies are still

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forcing turnovers, They're still scoring a
bunch of points. They're just doing it

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in a like a reckless bouncing off
the walls like car crash manner. Or

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it's just like what is going on? Like do we give just the Timberwolves

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credit for this, these frantic and
frenzied games. And then again the Timberwolves,

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like they just they collapse and they
do these silly things, and yeah,

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so this it's a wild series.
I don't know what, like,

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what's the word, what would you
call it? I like, I say,

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you in a dock was frazzled,
because yeah, that's right, that's

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a good one. And just like
I find myself and I'm not a reactionary

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person when I'm watching games, but
like the amount of audible noises that I've

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let out or if from running my
like hands almost pulling out my hair because

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I'm like so confused while I'm watching
this. I'm just I'm perpetually frazzled.

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And I'm also stressed out as an
objective observer who really doesn't care who wins

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this series. And just the jaw
dunk in Game five was like the perfect

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example where it was the game was
sort of like confusing me. John Morant

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seemed out of it, and it
was you know, it was later in

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the night and I was thinking about
taking caffeine because of all this work I

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had to do. He just uncorks
this dunk murders Malik Beasley, I'm like

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running my hands through my hair like
bug eyed, and then I'm just like

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awake. And I guess John Morant
was like awake after that too as well.

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Series and like a nutshell. Well, so you say John Morant,

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you know, like he was awake
at that point, that correctly implies up

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until that moment he was asleep up
until that moment. I was like we

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were I think all Grizzlies fans are
watching this series being like John Moran is

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just off, Like he was off
in Games three, in Games four.

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Coming into this series, he'd had
a rough regular season against the Timberwolves,

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and a lot of us just dismissed
that, like that's just random variants.

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Yes, he had a few really
terrible games, maybe some of his worst

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games in the season. We're at
Minnesota. I don't think that's really a

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big factor in this series. And
then you fast forward to this playoff series

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and we're like, oh, maybe
it is a factor that Like he's shooting

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twenty nine percent at Minnesota for the
year in four like four combined games,

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and then in this game five,
you know, he's finally admitted that he's

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injured, like he's struggling with injury
and you see him out there. I

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called it on my Grizzlies show,
Grits and Grinds. I said, he

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looked like Russell Westbrook, like current
day Russell Westbrook. He was something like,

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I guess I can look up the
exact stat before that dunk. I

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think he was like five or fifteen
from the field with five turnovers, and

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like had ten points and nine rebounds. But it's just like all these uncontested

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rebounds where he's just not being himself, he's not attacking. It was like

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a nightmare. And then also you're
getting the Grizziness were getting nothing from Dylan

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Brooks, they were getting nothing from
Jaren Jackson junior. You're you're down twelve,

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and it was just like what's going
on with our team? Or maybe

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we're there down fourteen at that point. But then all a sudden, he

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jumps over a leak Beasley and it's
like, where did that? Where did

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that come from? This guy had
been basically not been attacking at the rim,

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he'd not been playing above the rim. H he had a he had

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a breakaway in the game four where
he just laid the ball in and it

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was like everyone is just saying,
Okay, this guy's just super hurt.

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Do we need to just go with
Ties Jones more like what's going on?

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And then out of nowhere, maybe
the dunk of I don't know what was

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the last playoff dunk. It was
better than that. I mean, I

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was I was trying to think about
that. I was like, that's it.

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I couldn't think of anyone off the
top of my head. That was

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he like, he connects on that
dunk, and it was like, that's

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the one that we've seen him attempts
so many times. There's like five or

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six posters of him missing that dunk
or he tries to the first one was

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when he tried to jump over Kevin
Love, and then there's just been more

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and more of like trying to get
Bam at a bio, trying to get

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Anthony Davis. And he finally connects
on that dunk, and then from that

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point forward, like he scores eighteen
points in the fourth quarter. Right after

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that he finishes with thirty points.
He makes all his free throws. After

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that, it's like he woke up
all of a sudden and now going into

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Game six on Friday night as an
observer or an analyst. It's like it

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was job okay, like his job
back was that it did he break out

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of his chrysalis and emerge as the
fully formed job butterfly? I get.

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I don't know so like that.
Yeah, that one moment was a spark.

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It was an incredible highlight, and
like everything that happened after that,

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it was like, Oh, John
Morant's fixed, he's back. But I

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don't know what we're gonna see on
game six because, like you said this,

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it's been a frantic and frenzied series
and he's been horrible all season in

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games at Minnesota. Yeah, I
honestly no idea what's gonna happen on Friday.

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It's almost more alarming if he wasn't
injured or hurt. It was like

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watching Chris Paul in the second game
of the Pelican series, or I think

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it was the second game without Devin
Booker. He took like eight shots,

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just didn't look like himself, and
then it comes back and he's like the

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next game, he's super clutch.
It's like, oh, okay, Chris

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Paul, he was banged up.
He's also aged like eighty, John Morant

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super young, But then all of
a sudden is able to do this like

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go from you know what a three
to like you know two, an eleven

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and just like literal seconds. Well, it was really weird as far as

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you know, I guess the way
podcasting works and you're always coming up with

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opinions, just the way the NonStop
sports news cycle works is you're always coming

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up with like, like his job
morant, You know, if nothing's wrong

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with him, is this job morants? Like kind of playoff collapse? Is

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something going on where he's going to
be a guy who's not like a sixteen

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game player. Last year against the
Jazz, he was amazing. You know,

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this was like he scored thirty points
per game. Like this year we

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got used to him scoring thirty was
per game. He didn't do it that

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much last year. I think he
averaged like nineteen for the year, and

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then in the postseason he scores thirty
per game. So this year, coming

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to the playoffs, you're like,
oh, he scored twenty seven per game

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in the regular season, let's see
playoff jaw activate. And it was just

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it was all it was all bad. It was all like, oh,

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he's not scoring, he's not attacking. Is this like some issue with him,

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like is the moment too big and
so you start running through all those

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things. So, like I do
hope it was just either injury and some

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combination. Also the Timberwolves having some
versatile defenders, like they're putting some bodies

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on him, you know, Patrick
Beverley is annoying him at times, there's

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no question, but even having well
having Anthony Edwards, you know, to

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body him up. Jade McDaniels is
getting a ton of blocks in this series,

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just being a long body and Jaws
driving into traffic. The Timberls are

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collapsing, and one of the issues
in the first few games was Jaw was

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not passing out of those situations.
He was trying to kind of force it.

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And thus, you know, the
Timbrils were racking up a lot of

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block shots and there were a lot
of bad stats by the way, But

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so before that dunk went in,
the official stats were jaw I was four

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00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:03,840
for twelve from the field, two
for seven from the foul line, with

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00:12:03,879 --> 00:12:07,679
ten points in in uh five turnovers. So then and then and then from

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from from the dunk on he finishes
with twenty points. You know, in

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the final thirteen minutes of the game, that's amazing. So maybe this is

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maybe this isn't Desmond Bain's team after
all, Maybe maybe it's like it might

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still be Desert Bain's team. Game
ask you about this because I heard you

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00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,440
talk about in the latest episode of
your podcast, and I was wondering the

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same thing, and I just thought
it was, Oh, the Timberwolves are

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starting Jared Vanderbilt, like Memphis is
trying to get away with something while also

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like downsizing a little bit. Why, like can you explain the Xavier Tillman

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starting or even the Xavier Tillman minutes
at points? Like that lineup has been

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outscored by sixteen points in this series, Like it's not like it's been super

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effective, right I had. I
struggled to come up with the reasoning,

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like, like, just for people
who aren't following the Grizzl is closely.

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Steven Adams got torched in Game one. Coming into the series, the concern

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was what is Steven Adams gonna do
in this series against the Timberwolves because he

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00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,159
can't guard Carl Anthony's towns and they
didn't want to put him on Jared Vanderbilt

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in game one. So in Game
one he got annihilated. In Game two,

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he picked up a couple of fouls
and til Jenkins was like, you

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know what, I've seen enough.
That's it. We're done with Steven Adams.

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00:13:18,919 --> 00:13:22,000
And I think that was the correct
adjustment. So Brandon Clark gets a

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00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,519
lot more minutes. Kyle Anderson still
plays his normal role in the front court,

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playing like power forward. But Xavier
Tillman, who was a playoff or

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a play in hero for the Grizzlies
last year against the Warriors, he got

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called up. And the idea of
Zavior Tilman is he's a much more versatile

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defender. He could do like big
big switching, big small switching, like

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he could play out on the perimeter. He's an okay rebounder. He's a

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little bit undersized. But the idea
of like Tillman is not going to kill

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us on defense the way we're worried
Steven Adams is. And again I support

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all this, But then they start
Kyle Anderson, and that's the Game three

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where they fall down big to the
Timberwolves in the game. In the second

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half of that game, they start
Brandon Clark, and that's the Grizzlies best

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five man unit where it's jaw and
Dylan Brooks, desmon Bane, Jared Jackson

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Junior and Brandon Clark, and so
that doesn't go that well. And also

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you're continually constantly fighting foul troubles.
I think the theory of starting Xavier Tillman

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is one, maybe he can sop
up some fouls if the referees are calling

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a lot of fouls early two.
He's a much better defensive option on Karl

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Anthony Towns than Steven Adams is.
So we'll start with Tillman, even though

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we are going to rotate in Brandon
Clark and Kyle Anderson. Didn't play them

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heavy minutes. My huge problem is, I mean, you pointed out that

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they're getting outscored. My huge problem
is because of the foul trouble. But

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Jared Jackson Junior, you're essentially guaranteeing
yourself you never play your best lineups like

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you're like the best five man unit
can't play because jaredy gets two fouls.

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And so in Games four and five, the Grizzlies basically go like eleven or

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twelve minutes before putting five of their
best seven guys on the court. And

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the net rating of when the Grizzl
are playing just there's top seven guys,

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like the Grizzlies are plus twenty five
per one possessions. The Grizzlies are dominating

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when they're playing their best players.
Yet Tillman plays the first however minutes,

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however many minutes of each half,
and he's also rotating back in when Jared

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comes back in the second quarter,
and I'm like pulling my hair out of

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this. I'm like, these are
Jared's minutes, You're letting him play.

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Why are we wasting these minutes not
having him play alongside Brandon Clark but having

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him play alongside Zavior Tilman. So
it's quizzical. I like vaguely understand it

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in theory, but I disagree with
the decision to do it. I was

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uncomfortable disagreeing because I do think from
moving on from Steven Adams in general,

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which is that's a hard decision to
make. We talk about this from AFAR,

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like coaches can just do this.
It probably made it easier that Steven

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Adams and Steven Adams and he's like, fuck it, I just want to

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win, Like that was the best
reaction to being benched ever. But I've

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liked what Taylor Jenkins has done,
like when you're talking about with ultra small

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in Game five, like having Dylan
Rook spend like longer spans on Karl Anthony

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Town. So when you see like
adjustments like that, you're just I'm uncomfortable

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disagreeing because I'm not as smart as
Taylor Jenkins is. Of course, Whizzical

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is the best word to describe it. That was a great word. It's

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it's pretty hilarious to have a Grizzlies
podcast and to criticize Taylor Jenkins. And

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also, like I guess all fans, you just constantly criticize your coach,

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and it's it's especially hilarious this year
where people are like and even me,

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I'm like, I disagree strongly with
this decision by Taylor Jenkins, the coach

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who won fifty six games, like
with this team that no one expected to

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be that good, the coach of
the team with the second best record in

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the NBA who had you know,
like most people are like, you know

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what, I think they can maybe
make the play in again, maybe an

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eighth seed. And the Grizzlies have
dominated the entire season. They had like

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I don't remember what it was,
is a thirteen victories this year of twenty

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five point or more, how many
without jaw? Like, yeah, they're

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twenty one and four without John Morant, And I'm like, you know what,

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I think I have a better idea
than the coaching staff Carl Anthony Towns.

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In this series, I think Memphis
has done like I already mentioned that,

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you know, having like smaller guys
hominent points and then he's always had

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not always, but at least this
season he's had some trouble with double teams,

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and I think they've taken advantage of
that. Do you ascribe to like

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and he has been fairly efficient in
this series when he's actually shooting. He's

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dealt with some foul trouble as well, but they are like it feels like

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eternities in which he just doesn't get
the ball. Are the Grizzlies doing something

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when he's away from it that I'm
missing or is this just Minnesota's offense in

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general, particularly when it has to
like actually go through the offense sort of

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screwing up here to where they don't
understand how to work when they're slowed down

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or against the set Grizzlies defense.
Yeah, it's a great question. I

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think we all see when Carl Anthony
Towns gets the ball, the Grizzlies are

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double teaming a lot. There's also
not a lot you can do against Karl

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Anthony Towns at times. We saw
the end of the game, you know,

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that super small ball lineup you alluded
to, Like Dylan Brooks did a

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pretty solid job of guarding him,
but like if Carlly Towns wants to shoot,

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he's gonna shoot. And that's one
of the things. You know,

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the Grizzlies win that game despite Kat
making some big shots down the stretch,

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despite Anthony Edwards making some big shots
down the stretch, because both of those

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guys against the super small lineup can
just rise up and the Grizzles can't really

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do anything about it. But as
far as like the Grizzlies, you know,

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guarding him away from the ball,
you know, the Grizzlies defense is

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good one. And I think maybe
people don't think about that. I don't

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hear it a lot when the Grizzlies
are discussed. You know nationally that they

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were a top five defensive team in
the NBA this year, and it's like

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they're playing really good defense, it
seems like. And the Timberwolves have these

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attackers on the ball with Anthony Edwards
and Dangel Russell, and maybe their first

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thought isn't to get cat the ball. So I don't know if it's just

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like sometimes you're you're tricking the Timberwolves
into being like, hey, you can

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attack here, Like here's an option
where you can attack that isn't Carling the

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Town's getting the ball. Like,
is that the Grizzlies game plan to entice

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maybe more shots from Daniel Russell.
I don't really think so, because like

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Dianzel Russell is not shooting that much. It's not like he's trying to play

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hero ball or anything. I just
think a lot of it is just the

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Grizzlies, like pretty good defense and
they're containing a lot of what the Timberwolves

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do. This while series, as
far as like a Grizzless perspective has been

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how the Timberwolves have contained the Grizzlies
and the Grizzlies just haven't shot the ball

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very well. But I mean,
also the last few games we're saying as

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far as like Carl Anthony Towns's production, he's been he's been massive. You

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know, he's like, what fifty
eight points in the last two games,

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I've honestly kind of gotten to the
point of acceptance where like, maybe it

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is just Cat's gonna get his,
you know, and then we have to

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maybe make sure it isn't a Malik
Beasley night and we can contain Anthony Edwards

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and continue containing Daniel Russell. I
get just I don't want to use the

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word angry, but necessarily frustrated,
probably when I just see him in the

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corner and it's the fourth quarter or
I mean the you know you mentioned Delo

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hasn't really tried to play, hear
a ball, but that final possession for

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him in Game five where there's a
mismatch literally everywhere else on the floor and

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he's just like dribbling into I don't
even think he touched the rim or the

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backboard on his his shot. I'm
more of and this is definitely an oversimplification,

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but given what Towns can do from
the perimeter, and you're mentioning how

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he can shoot over guys, and
given how well he shot on like step

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00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:32,279
back threes, I'm granted in modest
volume, like just give him the ball

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and actually have him attack or try
to do something, because that might be

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your best option since it does seem
like Minnesota's offense. I mean, we've

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had how many fourth quarter collapses from
them. They're the second least efficient team

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after the other team makes a shot
on offense. When they have to really

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get into their offense. There's a
problem. They're not getting to the rim

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as much, nearly as much in
crunch time. When you look at an

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Anthy Edwards when he's attacking, just
give it to your best player and see

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what he could do. Then maybe
that's not Towns is mental, but it

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does. It confounds me. As
good as Memphis's defense has been and as

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00:21:03,799 --> 00:21:07,359
good as Towns has been, it
just does confound me where it feels like

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he goes so long without being a
focal point of that offense. So I

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00:21:12,279 --> 00:21:18,960
don't this is this comes back to
the issue of just big men who don't

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00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,160
necessarily create their own shot. And
I don't know what the answer is as

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00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:26,400
a Grizzlies fan and someone who's not
a Timberwolves expert. If it's just like,

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hey, this is the end of
the game, let's just throw it

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to Karl Anthony Towns, make sure
he touches it, and just like let's

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00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:34,039
let him cook, I'm kind of
fine with that, Like I feel like

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with the Biggs the Grizzlies are playing, you know, with Kyle Anderson,

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00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:42,240
with Jared Jackson Jr. If he's
on the court with Brandon Clark, or

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00:21:42,279 --> 00:21:47,160
even with like a Dylan Brooks,
Like is he gonna dribble into a jump

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00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:48,640
shot? Like he might make those
because he's, you know, one of

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00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,880
the best shooting big men of all
time, but like him, creating off

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00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,599
the dribble is not his strength,
and I do think I trust either the

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00:21:56,599 --> 00:22:00,440
Grizzlies defenders in that situation or to
bring a double team and force to pass

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00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,440
something he's not very good at.
I find myself more scared of the Anthony

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00:22:03,519 --> 00:22:10,319
Edwards creating those mismatches. Maybe that's
just a weird, very biased fan perspective,

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Like that guy gives me anxiety.
I don't know exactly who can keep

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00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:18,039
Anthony Edwards from getting to the rim
where Karl Anthony Towns as amazing as he

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00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:19,279
is, and if again, if
he stands behind the three point line,

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00:22:19,319 --> 00:22:22,079
it just bombs. I don't think
the Grizzlies can affect him. You just

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00:22:22,079 --> 00:22:26,359
have to like hope those those shots
don't go in. But like if it's

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00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,319
crunch time, and you're throwing it
the cat. I don't think that's his

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00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,880
strength, and I think that it
might even be advantage Grizzlies, but I'm

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not sure. Again, I'd like
to point out again these coaches, I

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00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,599
guess do no more than me.
That is fair. And I did see

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people calling for more post ups for
towns down the stretch, and I just

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00:22:40,559 --> 00:22:42,880
don't think that's going to be the
most efficient. Yeah, bring it on,

345
00:22:44,039 --> 00:22:45,680
Bring it on, Dan, go
ahead and post them Crown. That

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00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:49,960
was not what I was calling for. Another big this one from the Grizzlies.

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Jared Jackson Jr. My question,
I'm gonna phrase it, Dustle,

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00:22:55,319 --> 00:23:00,400
does he have like vacation plans or
something during the second round? Is he's

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00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,319
trying to get out of there?
I am just looking at him the offensive

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00:23:03,319 --> 00:23:07,240
struggles like whatever, fine, some
of just the fouls, like some of

351
00:23:07,279 --> 00:23:10,720
the offensive fouls, and I know
he's had some, like there are some

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00:23:10,839 --> 00:23:15,680
if he calls, but just like
not even not even if he calls,

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00:23:15,799 --> 00:23:19,440
every call was legitimate and in his
fouls are terrible, thought, terrible fouls.

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00:23:19,519 --> 00:23:22,480
I thought some of the ones around
the basket against towns were okay,

355
00:23:22,519 --> 00:23:26,200
but like you mentioned this on your
podcaster, Like he is just recklessly contesting

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00:23:26,799 --> 00:23:30,599
these like jump shots. Is he
don't is he too excited? Like is

357
00:23:30,599 --> 00:23:34,039
he just too fared up? Like
I have. I have a seven year

358
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:40,279
old and in Nashville, we have
a Lego store, okay, and that

359
00:23:40,319 --> 00:23:44,119
place is like it's just insane it
and like I lose my mind when I

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go to the Lego store. I
can't imagine how my seven year old reacts.

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And so like before we go to
the Lego store, I tell my

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son, hey man, you gotta
keep it together, like like like like

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we're gonna we're gonna be calm.
We're gonna walk in. If you see

364
00:23:57,599 --> 00:24:02,480
something you like you could point out, we're gonna talk about it. But

365
00:24:02,519 --> 00:24:04,400
then when we actually get in there, no, not that I said works.

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He's banging into things, He's knocking
people over. I think that is

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that Jared Jackson Junior going into the
games where he's like, listen, I

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00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,920
gotta control myself. I gotta,
I gotta, I gotta keep my limbs

369
00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,599
close to me when I drive.
I have to understand that Jared Vanderbilt or

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00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,599
Jaded McDaniels or Taurian Prince or whoever
saw on me is going to fall down.

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00:24:22,039 --> 00:24:26,160
I'm gonna drive to my left and
they're gonna fall down. I need

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00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,680
to not do that. And once
the whistle you know, to start the

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game goes off, he just forgets
everything. He's like, you know what,

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00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,079
I'm twenty feet from Patrick Beverley.
What if I tried to block this

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00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:40,200
three pointer and fall into his feet? It's like it's every game it's like

376
00:24:40,279 --> 00:24:44,359
what are you doing? Or he's
committing offensive rebounding fouls, like you can't

377
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,000
do that? Why are you pushing
this person in the back, or like,

378
00:24:47,279 --> 00:24:51,599
hey, you're you're hand fighting with
Jared Vanderbilt. Well, like what

379
00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:55,200
do you do? Do you not
understand the entire point of Jared Vanderbilt right

380
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,440
now is to get you a foul? And Game five was particularly hilarious because

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00:24:59,519 --> 00:25:02,799
carl Any Towns, who are essentially
having this who can make the worst foul

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00:25:02,839 --> 00:25:06,960
foul off? There? They've started
like both falling down when they run into

383
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,039
each other. They are this is
the thing I can't get my head around.

384
00:25:11,039 --> 00:25:14,680
As someone who was not good at
basketball but still played competitively in like

385
00:25:14,799 --> 00:25:18,640
church leagues and wreck leagues and liked
winning, at what point do you decide

386
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:23,079
Hey, you know what, what
have we both run into each other and

387
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,640
let the referee sorted out. That
sounds more preferable than just playing basketball,

388
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,599
Like claraly, at these towns of
Jared Jackson Junior are running into each other,

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00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,279
both flopping and being like, hey, this is the fourth foul on

390
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:40,839
somebody. Let's just see what the
refs do. I don't understand how either

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00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:45,519
one of them finds that preferable that
just I don't know not doing that.

392
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:51,440
Is there any overarching concern there with
Jared Jackson Junior, Like not even that

393
00:25:51,759 --> 00:25:55,319
just his offensive performance, even if
you're trying to scale ahead to the next

394
00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,319
series, or there's part of me
that figured it this way, there has

395
00:25:57,319 --> 00:26:03,359
to be one game yories where he
doesn't have at least four fouls or five

396
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,519
fouls or six fouls, right like
maybe it's game six, Like maybe we're

397
00:26:06,559 --> 00:26:11,160
just overdue for Jared's ex junior to
not be in foul trouble and to not

398
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,799
look at his minutes like in the
game log and be like, holy crap,

399
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,599
like how how much potential of the
Grizz is leaving on the table because

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00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,599
they can't have Jeffers Exton junior on
the floor. Well, so there's a

401
00:26:19,599 --> 00:26:26,160
couple of things here. One,
he's only found out a one game,

402
00:26:26,079 --> 00:26:33,319
right, so, coach I know, Penn educated Ivy League man Taylor Jenkins,

403
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:40,680
who you know, Coach of the
Year candidate Humble podcaster suggestion, you

404
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,480
can actually leave him in until he
files out. Actually I think he's maybe

405
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,640
he's foun out on two games,
But like you, you can still let

406
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,759
him foul out of every single game. Don't finish the game with him having

407
00:26:48,799 --> 00:26:52,319
five fouls having played twenty minutes.
Let's let's use all the fouls. Another

408
00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:57,640
thing is when Steven Adams is not
playing, when Jaren is the five,

409
00:26:59,279 --> 00:27:03,400
his foul ray skyrockets. That's something
that did happen in the regular season.

410
00:27:03,599 --> 00:27:07,440
So there is something to the fact
that when he's not playing alongside Steven Adams

411
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,039
he does foul more. So your
question is it concerning, where I screamed,

412
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:14,559
Yes, it's incredibly concerning. I
don't know what you're supposed to do

413
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,160
with this guy who makes these fouls
to and again reiterating, he's not fouling

414
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,559
guys at the rim, He's not
fouling guys blocking shots, protecting the basket.

415
00:27:25,039 --> 00:27:27,559
He's fouling the guys on offensive fouls, he's fouling three point shooters,

416
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:32,759
he's he's committing illegal screens, He's
doing all the ones. Like it seems

417
00:27:32,759 --> 00:27:36,480
like, yeah, yeah you can, yeah yeah, the pump fakes,

418
00:27:36,519 --> 00:27:38,319
like you can choose not to do
these things. I mean, I'm sympathetic

419
00:27:38,319 --> 00:27:41,680
to a pump fake, even if
it is tarring Prince. But like a

420
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,559
lot of the fouls of his twenty
six fouls, I would say eighteen of

421
00:27:45,599 --> 00:27:48,599
them are the one in the world. Man, Like, don't you understand

422
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,359
you can't do that? So yeah, I'm highly concerned. It definitely affects

423
00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:56,839
his offensive game. He's been extremely
sporadic and not good on the offensive end.

424
00:27:57,839 --> 00:28:03,960
I find it concerning because last year
he was also very erratic and or

425
00:28:03,079 --> 00:28:07,119
poor on the officsive end in the
Jazz series. Last year, we had

426
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:08,960
the whole excuse he missed basically the
whole year. He was at a rhythm.

427
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,440
We figured, Okay, he's not
going to be this bad again.

428
00:28:12,839 --> 00:28:17,640
But now we're in the second postseason
where I feel much more calm when like

429
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:22,240
Kyle Anderson's on the court, And
until Jaw became Jaw in Game five,

430
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,119
it was like, all right,
if Jared's bad and Jaw's bad, we're

431
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:30,880
just gonna lose, Like we're just
gonna lose to the seventh seed because those

432
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:36,039
are the Grizzlies guys. And then
you get in the interesting like team building

433
00:28:36,079 --> 00:28:41,920
philosophy where it's like, do we
bench Jaren and Jaw for Tias and Kyle

434
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,960
who are both unrestricted free agents that
for this year? Should we not play

435
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,359
our twenty two year olds cornerstones of
the future? And I don't know the

436
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,519
answer to that question, where it's
like, if you're determined that you might

437
00:28:52,559 --> 00:28:59,640
have a better chance of winning without
Jaren doing his I don't know, bulling

438
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,880
a China a shop slash gangly giraffe
in a Lego store, just knocking into

439
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:07,680
everything you know, I don't know. And again some of that's also just

440
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,880
like the dark places the mind of
the fan goes where you're like, why

441
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,680
are these guys so bad? And
I do want to get the Timberwls credit,

442
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,640
like they've been a frisky defense all
year. They're getting under the Grizzly

443
00:29:18,759 --> 00:29:22,279
skin. But that was a very
long answer to be like, yes,

444
00:29:22,319 --> 00:29:26,000
it's incredibly concerning and honestly lowers the
ceiling a little bit of like the Jared

445
00:29:26,079 --> 00:29:32,079
Jackson junior talk, we as podcasters
were trained to remind ourselves. He's one

446
00:29:32,079 --> 00:29:36,799
of the youngest players in the league. Still, he's a full year younger

447
00:29:36,839 --> 00:29:41,480
than Herb Jones. Like, this
guy is an incredibly young player. I

448
00:29:41,559 --> 00:29:45,480
know he's been in the league for
a while, but maybe he'll continue getting

449
00:29:45,519 --> 00:29:47,920
better at it. We saw the
foul right plummet during the regular season.

450
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:52,480
It's absolutely skyrocketed in the postseason.
And yeah, I mean he's still leading

451
00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:56,440
the playoffs in blocks per game,
just like he led the NBA and blocks

452
00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,279
per game in the regular season.
So the defensive impact is still there.

453
00:30:00,559 --> 00:30:03,079
But for the Grizzlies to be good, for the Grizzlies, if they take

454
00:30:03,079 --> 00:30:07,680
care of business and win this series, for them to compete with the Warriors,

455
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,400
he has to be good. If
Jared's not good, they don't have

456
00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:12,680
a prayer. And we've seen him
for most of the year be quite good.

457
00:30:14,119 --> 00:30:17,359
But I'm worried. I gotta be
real, I'm worried about it.

458
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,119
This is less concerning who is the
who has impressed you more? And I

459
00:30:22,119 --> 00:30:23,960
don't want to use the word surprise
because I think there's a clear answer there.

460
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:29,000
But who has impressed you more this
series? Brandon Clark or Desmond Bane.

461
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:32,799
I feel sad. I can't say
Brandon Clark, but the answer is

462
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,359
Desmond Bay. Brandon Clark has been
amazing, but Desmond Baine has been like

463
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:41,160
all the NBA level. This guy
was on a heater for a lot of

464
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,599
the regular season. He finished the
season incredibly strong, and then in this

465
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,559
postseason he's averaging twenty four points per
game. He's making I think four and

466
00:30:48,599 --> 00:30:53,400
a half three pointers per game.
He's shooting fifty percent. He's shoots fifty

467
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:57,640
percent from three for the entire season
in road games, which is just I

468
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:03,119
would not know, which is ridiculous. Stat Yeah, he's a very let's

469
00:31:03,119 --> 00:31:06,640
call it mediocre. I think thirty
nine percent at home, he's fifty percent

470
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:11,400
on the road. He's also playing
lockdown defense. He's become this incredible defender.

471
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:17,240
In his rookie season, it seemed
like his two issues were all right.

472
00:31:17,279 --> 00:31:19,640
He gets a little bit lost on
defense and maybe his ability to guard

473
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,000
one on one isn't really there.
Also, his ball handling is pretty loose.

474
00:31:23,039 --> 00:31:26,720
He doesn't seem like he's ready for
the for NBA speed When it comes

475
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,720
to ball handling. He tightened all
that up this year. He's a very

476
00:31:30,759 --> 00:31:33,200
worthy, you know, most improved
Player candidate. He has the trophy despite

477
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,480
the fact John Morant winning. John
Morant gave desmon Band the trophy. But

478
00:31:37,559 --> 00:31:41,279
in the postseason, he's just He's
carried the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies would not

479
00:31:41,319 --> 00:31:45,359
be ahead three two without dezmen Band. The series would have been long over

480
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,000
if desmon Bane wasn't cooking. I
think in the last four games in the

481
00:31:49,039 --> 00:31:55,920
first halves, jaren Jah and Dylan
are combined under thirty percent on field goals.

482
00:31:56,279 --> 00:31:59,599
Meanwhile, Baine's just knocking down sixty
percent of his threes, carries the

483
00:31:59,599 --> 00:32:02,839
Grizzly until his teammates wa wake up. He's been amazing. I mean,

484
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:06,480
I don't know what more you could
ask for the guy he's I think it's

485
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,160
splits in the playoffs or forty eight
forty seven ninety and his regular sas and

486
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,359
splits weren't far off of that.
It was something like what forty five forty

487
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,319
three ninety. This guy has become
one of the best shooting guards in the

488
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,359
NBA. I mean, I mean, bar none, he's like that.

489
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,599
Whatever that tier below. You're legit
all stars, you know, scoring almost

490
00:32:23,599 --> 00:32:28,599
twenty points per game, making forty
five percent of his three pointers on massive

491
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,559
volume. Shout out to the Celtics. Yeah, thank you, guys.

492
00:32:32,359 --> 00:32:36,359
Yeah, he accounts for over forty
percent of their three point makes in this

493
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:37,400
series, and I know that's not
the Grizzly strength. If you were going

494
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:42,519
to pick someone who did account for
such a lion share of their that's still

495
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,279
it would be Desmond Maine that would
be the pick. But that is still

496
00:32:45,319 --> 00:32:50,480
an astronomical share of their threes.
He's been great. I've been definitely most

497
00:32:50,519 --> 00:32:55,160
impressed with him, floored by Brandon
Clark almost all year because you go from

498
00:32:55,160 --> 00:33:00,880
the rookie year expectations into a sophomore
season that was, I think the kindest

499
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,599
way to put it would be weird, but seemed like flat out terrible to

500
00:33:02,599 --> 00:33:07,079
where you were wondering if Xavier Tillman
had a bigger role moving forward. They

501
00:33:07,119 --> 00:33:09,440
experimented so much it felt like with
his jump shot that I compared to like

502
00:33:10,319 --> 00:33:14,759
buffering dial up internet when you were
watching it. And then he comes in

503
00:33:14,799 --> 00:33:19,599
and is a strong year this season, and now he's playing this mission critical

504
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,720
role in the playoffs because that fourth
quarter, I know, the jaw three

505
00:33:22,839 --> 00:33:24,640
in Game five is going to still
receive most of the attention along with the

506
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:30,240
dunk that has to be like one
of the most electric tipout assists I've ever

507
00:33:30,279 --> 00:33:32,720
seen from anyone that Brandon Clark's had
on that play. Yeah, Brandon Clark

508
00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:37,799
was the somewhat unsung hero from Game
five because when they go to that super

509
00:33:37,839 --> 00:33:42,960
small ball if Brandon Clark was the
only big on the court, and clearly

510
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,599
that hampers the Grizzlies one of their
best abilities, which is offensive rebounding,

511
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:50,640
it didn't matter. Brandon Clark got
seven offensive rebounds in that fourth quarter.

512
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,759
He did it all by himself.
I mean, he finished with twenty one

513
00:33:52,799 --> 00:33:55,039
and fifteen. He's been awesome.
Like the dream of Brandon Clark from year

514
00:33:55,079 --> 00:34:00,279
one, Yeah, it's been fully
realized in this postseason series. He had

515
00:34:00,319 --> 00:34:02,079
a great He honestly had a really
great season. He had He shot a

516
00:34:02,119 --> 00:34:06,759
better fieldal percentage this year than he
did that rookie year. Yeah, whatever

517
00:34:06,759 --> 00:34:09,400
they did year two. You know, I thought you were going to compare

518
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:15,079
it to like a horrible like an
island of Doctor Moreau medical experiment on trying

519
00:34:15,079 --> 00:34:17,320
to put things together. Like they
ruined his jump shot, they tried to

520
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,639
build it somewhere weird, So who
cares, all right, the jump SHOT's

521
00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:25,039
gone. He just plays as like
a big and he's really tough to deal

522
00:34:25,079 --> 00:34:29,920
with. He screams and dives to
the rim really hard. He affects the

523
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:31,639
defense that way where they have to
respond to him. And then just his

524
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:37,079
activity cutting towards the basket, finishing
everything he gets in the paint. He's

525
00:34:37,079 --> 00:34:38,719
been consistent, it's been it's been
so like, you know, Baine has

526
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:43,840
been awesome the entire series. Clark
has also been awesome. They've been depending

527
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,480
on Bain Clark and Kyle Anderson to
be the consistent players when everyone else is

528
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:52,400
all over the board. But yeah, Brandon Clark's fourth quarter was absolutely amazing

529
00:34:52,519 --> 00:34:54,719
and just a monstrous game at like
a twenty one point fifteen performance for the

530
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,480
series, he's averaging sixteen and a
half points and eight and a half rebounds,

531
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,599
and he's shooting seventy percent from the
field and they're not all dunks.

532
00:35:01,639 --> 00:35:05,679
Those the floaters are back. He's
the guy, you know, yeah,

533
00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:08,760
from eight feet away. It's just
it's basically money every time what do you

534
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,920
make of before I ask you about
like what you're watching the rest of this

535
00:35:13,039 --> 00:35:15,440
series? Game six, maybe Game
seven, what do you make of what

536
00:35:15,519 --> 00:35:20,880
seems like the national consensus that the
Timberwolves have been slash are the better team

537
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,800
and that the Grizzlies are just sort
of winning. It's something I will always

538
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:28,639
push back against with like no context
whatsoever when people frame things that way.

539
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,480
But you would tweet it out the
stat about the net ratings when the top

540
00:35:31,519 --> 00:35:36,119
seven players are on the floor,
And my initial thought was, I guess

541
00:35:36,159 --> 00:35:38,960
you could argue, like, maybe
Minnesota's better at the top because Anthony Edwards

542
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:43,559
is the better or Carl Anthony Towns, whether you consider their second best player

543
00:35:43,599 --> 00:35:46,719
is the better second best player.
But you kind of even rebuked that framing

544
00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:51,159
of it, And so I'm just
curious what you make of those those slants.

545
00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:54,119
Honestly, I haven't heard a lot
of those. I mean, if

546
00:35:54,159 --> 00:36:00,480
that is the national consensus, I'm
I feel that way. See where like,

547
00:36:00,519 --> 00:36:02,159
the tim Wolves have been the better
team for the majority of the minutes

548
00:36:02,199 --> 00:36:07,840
played of this series, but nationally
it feels like everyone I see it keeps

549
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:12,559
like after when it was two two, everyone's like Yeah, Grizzlies Warrior's gonna

550
00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:15,000
be a great second round. And
I'm like, the series is not over?

551
00:36:15,079 --> 00:36:17,400
What are we talking about? And
even the Vegas odds didn't even they

552
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:22,719
didn't flinching. Going into Game five, the Grizzlies were minus three forty favorites

553
00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,880
for this series. They were minus
three forty favorites before the series even started.

554
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:30,199
So from my perspective, I felt
like I was super concerned and it

555
00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:32,760
seemed like everyone else was, like
no other Grizzes got them, got him

556
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:37,280
right where they want him, And
so I don't know. I mean the

557
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,599
point about who has the best,
Like, you know, two of the

558
00:36:39,639 --> 00:36:44,360
top three best players in the series. After Game one, it was like,

559
00:36:45,039 --> 00:36:47,840
do the Timberwolves have three of the
top four players? You know?

560
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,559
Like is D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, Karmathy Towns. Are all those guys

561
00:36:52,559 --> 00:36:57,719
better than whoever the Grizzlies second best
player is if that's Dylan Brooks or Desmon

562
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:01,119
Baine or Jaren Jackson Junior. Now
we've seen through five games of the series.

563
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:06,239
I mean, Desmond Bayne has been
I think the top three players in

564
00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:09,079
the series. I guess you could
argue Anthony Edwards, but it's been Oh

565
00:37:09,159 --> 00:37:12,719
actually, now I'm getting ahead of
myself. As far as performance in this

566
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:16,400
series, the best three players,
it's probably Cat Baine and then Anthony Edwards.

567
00:37:16,559 --> 00:37:20,280
But when we think of talent overall, we obviously include John Morant in

568
00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:22,400
that. You know, I don't
know, I do think at the top

569
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,920
of their talent wise, if it
is like top three versus top three,

570
00:37:28,199 --> 00:37:30,760
it is a very very close match
up. The Grizzlies, I think at

571
00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:34,599
the benefit because they're four through seven, even if they only play seven,

572
00:37:34,599 --> 00:37:37,119
they're four through seven are better than
the champs four through seven. I mean,

573
00:37:37,199 --> 00:37:42,639
Jordan McLoughlin had a big game four
where he was a huge lift in

574
00:37:42,679 --> 00:37:45,519
that one point win. And then
like you know, Jay McDaniels has been

575
00:37:45,599 --> 00:37:47,679
up and down. He's gotten the
block shots, but like his shot has

576
00:37:47,679 --> 00:37:51,880
been all over the place. Mollie
Beasley they cannot depend on, you know,

577
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,119
that's just he's a ratic. He's
just an erratic player and he's on.

578
00:37:55,039 --> 00:38:00,559
Yeah. So like as far as
it's like when you look at the

579
00:38:00,599 --> 00:38:05,039
series as a whole, if you
just add up all the stats, it

580
00:38:05,079 --> 00:38:07,360
looks like the Grizzlies are are taking
care of business and winning like a two

581
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,679
seed maybe should. And it looks
like, hey, people pick Grizzlies in

582
00:38:10,679 --> 00:38:14,119
six, and this looks like Grizzlies
and six. They're winning all the categories

583
00:38:14,159 --> 00:38:15,920
we thought they would win. They're
winning games even when they don't make their

584
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:20,760
shots. That's what we expected.
If you actually watch the games and it's

585
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,079
like, oh, yeah, the
Grizzlies covered in Game three, but they

586
00:38:23,079 --> 00:38:27,320
were down by twenty five, you
know, thirteen minutes to go, and

587
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:30,400
then you see that the game winner
in Game five, it's been like,

588
00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:34,039
you know, the stats don't show
unless you're looking at time ahead and time

589
00:38:34,199 --> 00:38:37,320
behind in the series. I'm thinking
back to one thing you said about this

590
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:42,920
kind of off topic about how like
Bain is making forty percent of the Grizzlies

591
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,280
three pointers and how the Grizzlies have
really struggled to shoot. Part of that

592
00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:51,000
is they're not playing three point shooters
like our guy, I'm including you on

593
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,039
this, our guy Danthony Melton,
like his shot disappeared in the postseason again

594
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,920
and he didn't play in Game five, and so like, if you're playing

595
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:04,679
all your minutes with Kyle Anderson and
Brandon Clark and Xavier Tillman, and then

596
00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:08,719
if Jaren's not making his shots,
those are your shooters, like like your

597
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:13,920
your shooters are going to be fain. He's the only consistent one. And

598
00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:16,079
then you hope Jared makes a couple. You hope Dylan makes a couple.

599
00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:21,760
Tias Jones has been relatively consistent,
but the Christmas aren't making three pointers because

600
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,000
they don't play three point shooters.
Like that's that's where we are right now.

601
00:39:24,519 --> 00:39:27,599
You hope they can make up over
the twenty five percent of them,

602
00:39:27,599 --> 00:39:30,400
but they're not gonna I mean,
they're not gonna make a forty. I

603
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:32,480
don't think in a game they did
already and I don't think they're gonna do

604
00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:37,559
it again in this series because like
the Grizzies, it's not I like to

605
00:39:37,559 --> 00:39:39,800
say, it's not bad shooting,
it's bad shooters shooting, if that makes

606
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:44,639
sense, Like, uh, it's
not unlucky that we're missing three pointers.

607
00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:47,840
Look who's taking the three pointers type
of thing. We hope Jared will wake

608
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:52,280
up, but the Timberwolves should still
have an advantage, you know, over

609
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,360
the remaining games in the series from
the three point line. The Grizzes have

610
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:59,519
to keep winning those offensive rebounds,
those turnovers like they have been I don't

611
00:39:59,519 --> 00:40:01,239
know if it's game fos specifically,
but it feels like Dylan Rooks. He's

612
00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:04,880
at twenty eight percent from three for
the series, and that just feels high

613
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,119
for some reason when you're looking at
well he had a he had, he

614
00:40:07,119 --> 00:40:12,519
had a great game one. I
think after Game one his career playoff three

615
00:40:12,519 --> 00:40:15,480
point percentage was like forty seven percent
because he was on fire all of the

616
00:40:15,559 --> 00:40:17,840
Jazz series last year. But it
has come tumbling back down to earth.

617
00:40:19,199 --> 00:40:22,880
Dylan with a very forgettable three for
eighteen performance, although he didn't make a

618
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,719
big clutch three to get the final
run started in the fourth quarter, Like,

619
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,639
I think Dylan's gonna make some more
shots. He's clearly one of the

620
00:40:29,639 --> 00:40:32,840
grizzlies most important players. Even when
the shot doesn't go in, he's helping

621
00:40:34,119 --> 00:40:37,360
on the deep'sive end and he just
provides that spark. But if he doesn't

622
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:40,679
make shots, and if Jaren keeps
not making shots, that's sure puts a

623
00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:45,800
lot of pressure on Desmond Bain to
play perfectly and for John Morette to have

624
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:50,000
to go into hero ball just to
eke out a close victory. Final two

625
00:40:50,079 --> 00:40:54,119
questions here, what are you watching
or concerned about? Most they're just expecting

626
00:40:54,199 --> 00:40:58,320
from the rest of this Game six, but perhaps the rest of this series.

627
00:40:58,599 --> 00:41:02,360
It does feel like from an observer
ten thousand feet away that view,

628
00:41:02,559 --> 00:41:07,000
it feels like this series is destined
to go seven. And I think people

629
00:41:07,039 --> 00:41:09,400
have written off the Timberwolves while saying
they're the better team, which is like

630
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:14,519
the again, this whole series is
just so asked backwards and it's bet my

631
00:41:14,559 --> 00:41:19,199
brain they just assumed that Minnesota was
gonna lay down after they blew the twenty

632
00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:21,519
five point lead, they come back
and win, and now it's, oh,

633
00:41:21,599 --> 00:41:23,360
they did it again, Like they're
done, They're cooked. I definitely

634
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:27,519
wouldn't count them out in Game six, especially given just how turbulentce this entire

635
00:41:27,559 --> 00:41:31,079
series has been. What are you
watching for? Specifically? I think I'm

636
00:41:31,079 --> 00:41:37,159
watching for the first quarter of Game
six. First quarters have been a nightmare

637
00:41:37,199 --> 00:41:40,480
for the Grizzlies. They're allowing thirty
five points to the Timberwolves on average in

638
00:41:40,519 --> 00:41:45,239
first quarters, which is just a
ridiculous number. The Timberwolves, to their

639
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:47,599
credit, have shot the basketball insanely
well in the first quarters, so like,

640
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,000
you know, that's a how much
do we blame the Grizzlies. How

641
00:41:51,039 --> 00:41:53,760
much do we give the Timbwolves credits
for having a sixty nine percent true shooting

642
00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:58,400
in first quarters of this series,
So like, if that goes away,

643
00:41:58,679 --> 00:42:01,360
I feel like the Grizzlies could maybe
actually put together a good game. Like

644
00:42:01,639 --> 00:42:06,960
it's been a very weird series,
and I remember previous playoff series where I

645
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,400
felt like the Grizzlies, you know, we're outmatched. So like the final

646
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:13,599
years of the Grit and Grind,
they're playing like the Spurs. We're playing

647
00:42:13,639 --> 00:42:15,559
Kawhi and the Spurs, and it's
like, hey, you know, like

648
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,239
if we play perfectly, we can
beat the Spurs team, but we're probably

649
00:42:17,239 --> 00:42:21,000
not gonna play perfectly. And then
in other years at the peak of Grit

650
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:22,320
Grind, you listen to the Warriors
in six and you're like, you know

651
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:27,960
what, the Warriors are making more
incredible plays. That's the difference they have

652
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:30,360
Steph Curry and they're like they're doing
one thing extra. But in all those

653
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:34,480
series, I felt like, Hey, this Grizzlies team is coming together,

654
00:42:34,519 --> 00:42:37,559
they're playing well, They're just they're
playing better teams. When he gets down

655
00:42:37,599 --> 00:42:39,679
to it, this has been a
weird series where I felt like every single

656
00:42:39,719 --> 00:42:45,719
game the Grizzlies are awful. Why
are the Grizzlies playing so terrible? Maybe

657
00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:47,280
it is specifically the Timberwolves can take
them out of the things they want to

658
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,800
do well, Like we thought coming
in, all right, the half court

659
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:52,199
offense is gonna be terrible. The
half court offense has been it's been all

660
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:57,880
right, But like the Grizzlies are
basically forcing on defense the things they want.

661
00:42:58,199 --> 00:43:01,239
Just when it comes down to like
they're is failing on the talent wise,

662
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:05,800
maybe individual performances. If it is
Jared's foul trouble, it is Dylan

663
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:08,599
struggle with the shot in the last
few games. If it's Job making everyone

664
00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:12,639
question like how hurt is he?
He doesn't look like John Morant at all.

665
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:15,519
So like if John Morant looks like
Job, and I'm saying, if

666
00:43:15,519 --> 00:43:21,320
he looks like ninety percent of regular
season jaw or fourth quarter in Game five

667
00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:23,639
jaw, if the Grizzlies can like
keep the Terminals from not getting off to

668
00:43:23,679 --> 00:43:29,039
a fast start and just look like
themselves, I'm gonna feel so much better.

669
00:43:29,119 --> 00:43:34,760
So like I don't know how to
quantify just Grizzlies playing better. I

670
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:37,360
mean they're they're not even making free
throws, like they were a bad free

671
00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:42,679
throw shooting team in the regular season
because Steven Adams missed all his free throws.

672
00:43:42,719 --> 00:43:45,239
Steven Adams hasn't played in this series, and they're still missing their free

673
00:43:45,239 --> 00:43:50,800
throws. It's just been so bizarre
where the Grizzlies can't seem to ever like

674
00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:53,480
put an entire game together, Like
they have these incredible defensive stretches, but

675
00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:57,360
then they refused to score, and
then the offense starts clicking, but they're

676
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,239
also giving up a bunch of points. So part of me thinks at some

677
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:04,880
point the Grizzlies are gonna put above
average performances on both sides of the ball

678
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:09,119
together. But maybe not. Maybe
this is the ideal matchup where the helter

679
00:44:09,199 --> 00:44:14,639
skelter nature of the Timberwolves and they're
talented guys, you know, is enough

680
00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:16,840
to keep the Grizzlies off kilter the
whole time. And we will come back

681
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:21,920
for a Game seven on Sunday where
I mean, I'm gonna be nauseous the

682
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:23,480
whole time. I mean, I
tell you that, man, Games three

683
00:44:23,519 --> 00:44:27,599
and five I could barely handle them. We have these watch parties in Nashville

684
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,840
and it's just like, I'm just
like catatonic, being like why is everything

685
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,880
going so poorly? And it's really
funny. We look at the stats,

686
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,159
we're like, hey, man,
Timberwolves are eleven for seventeen from three.

687
00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:39,960
It's gonna go away. But it's
still hard to It's hard to console yourself

688
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:44,639
when you're in the midst of those
barrages. And also Dylan Brooks is two

689
00:44:44,679 --> 00:44:46,679
for fifteen from the field. The
thing that I'm gonna be watching, and

690
00:44:46,719 --> 00:44:51,679
to make it a little bit about
just the Timberwolves is can they get?

691
00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:54,880
And I've harped on their offense here
all along because it's been like they've had

692
00:44:55,159 --> 00:45:00,280
great moments from Edwards Towns, certain
great individual moments, but it's been the

693
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:02,360
Grizzlies done a nice job overall.
Can they get? Like, are two

694
00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:06,639
of their main guys ever gonna be
going in the fourth quarter at the same

695
00:45:06,679 --> 00:45:08,639
time, and by and large in
this series, like Edwards and Russell,

696
00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:14,159
like they have not shot the ball
well in the fourth quarter and the other

697
00:45:14,159 --> 00:45:15,400
thing looking at them, and I
do think they've done a better job.

698
00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:19,320
The Grizzlies have still been good.
They've been the Grizzlies for the most part

699
00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:21,840
on the offensive glass. A lot
of the time they have not been as

700
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:25,960
good against this Timberwolves crappy defensive reboundings
I've expected, but when Memphis is at

701
00:45:27,039 --> 00:45:30,119
least trying to get offensive rebounds,
it feels like even on missshots, they

702
00:45:30,119 --> 00:45:35,719
are taking away fast break opportunities by
virtue of just being there and around the

703
00:45:35,719 --> 00:45:39,039
other bodies that are trying to get
the boards from Minnesota, and so like,

704
00:45:39,039 --> 00:45:42,639
those are just two aspects I'm watching, like tow Minnesota getting their offense

705
00:45:42,639 --> 00:45:44,719
a little bit quicker, and like, what are they going to do in

706
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:46,880
the fourth quarter, because it does
seem like their offenses all of a sudden

707
00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:50,639
stalling out before the basket a lot
more. And then I mentioned, look,

708
00:45:50,679 --> 00:45:52,920
Kathie Towns leads them in fourth quarter
scoring during the series. But it

709
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:57,920
also feels like he goes possessions at
a time with it's like even if he's

710
00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:00,000
involved in the action, but okay, fine, there are tons where he's

711
00:46:00,039 --> 00:46:04,119
just giving the ball right back or
like I said that he's been in the

712
00:46:04,199 --> 00:46:08,239
corner. So I'm very much watching
that because it does feel like at least

713
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:13,440
two, if not three of these
games for the Timberwolves were eminently winnable if

714
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:16,800
there were slightly more consistency or even
involvement from their players at the top,

715
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:22,360
which is not really a concern that
you should technically have. Yeah, I

716
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,440
mean, the fourth quarters have been
just an unmitigated disaster for the Timberwolves.

717
00:46:25,519 --> 00:46:30,400
And I don't know how much of
it is just fortunate the Grizzes applying pressure

718
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,360
the Timberwolves not maybe having the playoff
experience. Maybe the Grizzes have just a

719
00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:37,400
big boost from being in the playoffs
last year, being in the play in

720
00:46:37,519 --> 00:46:40,679
each of the previous two years.
But the last fourth quarters the Grizzes have

721
00:46:40,679 --> 00:46:45,559
won by fifty two points, and
it's I think for this series. I

722
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:47,800
think this is for the series off
the top of my head, that the

723
00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:52,320
Timberwolves offensive rating in the fourth quarters
like eighty two or something, and so

724
00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:58,199
the Grizzes are annihilating the Timberwolves in
fourth quarters. Part of me podcast or

725
00:46:58,239 --> 00:47:00,440
I Can Fix Everything, Keith is
like, well, look who's playing for

726
00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:04,480
the Christmas in the fourth quarter.
They're playing. They're good players, Like

727
00:47:04,519 --> 00:47:07,679
they're not messing around with like,
hey we're a deep team, let's go,

728
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:09,719
let's go ten deep in the postseason, they're saying, Hey, guess

729
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:14,320
what, Zire Williams doesn't play in
the fourth quarter, Zager Tillmann doesn't play

730
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:16,239
in the fourth quarter, and the
rest of those guys like they can really

731
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:20,199
get into the Timberwolves. You know, I don't know, it's not a

732
00:47:20,239 --> 00:47:23,159
formula you want to lean on.
The we can be down by ten points

733
00:47:23,159 --> 00:47:25,800
going into the fourth and we'll be
all right. Like I would wish we

734
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:30,679
would stop leaning on that formula.
But yeah, I mean the term Wolves

735
00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:35,400
clearly have elite talent at the top. Anthony Edwards, even with that kind

736
00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:39,039
of mistake gambling for the steal on
the final Jahmorant play, He's had huge

737
00:47:39,039 --> 00:47:44,360
fourth quarter buckets. He's been a
killer Karl Anthony Towns like, he's been

738
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:46,079
solid. You's got to get him
the ball, you know. I do

739
00:47:46,159 --> 00:47:51,119
feel like Patrick Beverly like secretly has
has crushed them in a bad way.

740
00:47:51,199 --> 00:47:54,360
Like them, He's made so many
mistakes in fourth quarters of these games.

741
00:47:54,639 --> 00:47:58,199
I mean, maybe that's just that's
the limit of him. Of a player

742
00:47:58,320 --> 00:48:00,239
that's like he wasn't that in demand. Uh. You know, in the

743
00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:02,920
off season, as the Grizzlies famously
said, you know, you can have

744
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:05,519
him. It's cool, you know, No, well, we don't know,

745
00:48:05,559 --> 00:48:07,039
we don't, we don't, we
don't need anything. That's fine,

746
00:48:07,079 --> 00:48:09,320
just yeah, he could be on
your team. I don't know. I

747
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:14,280
mean, I do honestly feel like
it's going seven, although I guess the

748
00:48:14,280 --> 00:48:17,480
Grizzlies fan part of me thinks like
we're gonna piece together a complete game on

749
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:23,119
Game six and uh get out of
here and be able to move on minus

750
00:48:23,159 --> 00:48:27,360
well, I guess this is really
the Grizzlies net rating four quarters plus thirty

751
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:30,360
five point eight and that's including all
five games. Incredible, very quickly.

752
00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:34,480
Who would be your X factor for
each team heading into Game six? In

753
00:48:34,559 --> 00:48:38,559
a potential Game seven? I mean, can you make Could Jaren Jackson Junior

754
00:48:38,639 --> 00:48:42,440
be an X factor? I don't
like he's supposed to be their second best

755
00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:44,400
player? I don't know, Like
I don't know, Well, what are

756
00:48:44,639 --> 00:48:47,320
what are my rules? Can it
be any player? Like any player?

757
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:52,159
I think given how the series has
gone it literally I would normally steer clear

758
00:48:52,199 --> 00:48:55,480
of like the Stars, but given
what you've seen from Jah Jaren even like

759
00:48:55,559 --> 00:49:00,880
sometimes Towns or Auntie Edward like I
think in this series specifically, you could

760
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:02,679
pick whoever It's really funny because,
like, you know, X factor,

761
00:49:02,719 --> 00:49:06,480
you think of a guy off the
bench, But for the Grizzlies, it's

762
00:49:06,480 --> 00:49:08,039
been like, no, no,
Brandon Clark's one of the best players.

763
00:49:08,320 --> 00:49:13,480
Kyle Anderson has been consistent, tysos
consistent. They've basically graduated from X factor

764
00:49:13,519 --> 00:49:15,639
status. Yeah, I'm gonna say
it's it's got it's gotta be Jared.

765
00:49:15,920 --> 00:49:21,880
I mean think on the Timberwolves side, I like maybe Malik Beasley is their

766
00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:25,039
swing talent, you know, like
when he knocks down threes, they're really

767
00:49:25,079 --> 00:49:30,280
impossible to beat. And outside of
Game one, he's been a little bit

768
00:49:30,280 --> 00:49:32,480
of a mess. He got hot
a little bit in Game three, but

769
00:49:32,519 --> 00:49:37,440
then in the second half that abandoned
him. I think it's Jared Jackson junior,

770
00:49:37,599 --> 00:49:42,079
Like can he play twenty five minutes? Like if Jared can play twenty

771
00:49:42,119 --> 00:49:45,079
five minutes, Like literally, if
he can play twenty five minutes, I

772
00:49:45,119 --> 00:49:46,880
feel like that Grizzlies can wait,
we'll get we'll win Game six. But

773
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:53,480
he hasn't shown an ability to play
that many minutes. Man, what a

774
00:49:53,599 --> 00:49:58,280
nightmare, just begging for your best
players, Like, hey, buddy,

775
00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:01,400
could you just maybe not freak out
when you get on the court and uh

776
00:50:01,719 --> 00:50:06,239
and try to play like backup,
back up big minutes? Can we shoot

777
00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:10,079
for backup big minutes? Buddy?
The Lego store analogy with your with your

778
00:50:10,119 --> 00:50:14,679
kid was probably just the single best
thing I've ever heard it compared to I

779
00:50:14,679 --> 00:50:16,559
think I might go Anthy Edwards for
the Zimmerwolves. That might be to my

780
00:50:16,679 --> 00:50:21,519
profile, but I think they need
like him to just constantly be pressuring the

781
00:50:21,599 --> 00:50:23,239
rim down the stretch of these fourth
quarters where it feels like a lot of

782
00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:27,480
their offense is settling, and I
do think we have not seen that again

783
00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:30,159
in fourth quarters specifically consistly enough.
And for the Grizzlies, I think it's

784
00:50:30,159 --> 00:50:34,639
Taylor Jenkins, and I'm not sure
if I'm overthinking this. I just wonder

785
00:50:34,960 --> 00:50:37,920
what is his capacity for risk?
Because you mentioned, you know, Jaren

786
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,639
Jackson junior. Why not just keep
him in with certain fouls. He's definitely

787
00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:45,880
the typical player you can't trust to
leave it in those situations. So what

788
00:50:45,039 --> 00:50:47,679
is his stomach for risk going to
be in a in a potential closeout game?

789
00:50:47,679 --> 00:50:52,559
And also is he willing to like
fuck and fiddle even more because we

790
00:50:52,559 --> 00:50:57,639
talk about their three point volume not
playing dancing Melton is not the way to

791
00:50:57,960 --> 00:51:00,519
break my heart up three point volume. It's my heart too, So will

792
00:51:00,559 --> 00:51:05,639
he try different things? What's his
stomach for risk? Keith, thank you

793
00:51:05,719 --> 00:51:07,320
so much for doing this. This
was great. It's always fun talking hoops

794
00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:10,079
with you. We're able to just
tell our listeners where they can find you

795
00:51:10,159 --> 00:51:15,000
and all the fantastic podcasting that you
do. Yeah. Yeah, follow me

796
00:51:15,039 --> 00:51:20,599
on Twitter at Fast break break I
have Fast Break Breakfast. It's in basketball

797
00:51:20,599 --> 00:51:24,360
podcasts about the entire NBA, and
then if you want Grizzlies specific stuff,

798
00:51:24,679 --> 00:51:29,880
check out Grits and Grinds. Both
those podcasts are great, and also on

799
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:34,199
Fast Break Breakfast you will be treated
to just like epic takes on life,

800
00:51:34,199 --> 00:51:37,679
including one's about youth soccer. I
don't think I ever thought I feel so

801
00:51:37,679 --> 00:51:40,280
strongly about youth soccer leagues in that
episode you guys did a while back,

802
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:44,400
and I'll see what I was like. Wow, Keith is like fucking right,

803
00:51:44,599 --> 00:51:47,000
Like that is just criminal. Yeah, I feel like I'm being scammed

804
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:51,119
with my seven year old soccer league
anyway. Yeah, check out Fast Break

805
00:51:51,119 --> 00:51:53,480
Breakfast for more content like that.
Thank you so much, Faith, and

806
00:51:53,519 --> 00:51:55,800
I'll be talking to you soon.
Enjoy the rest of the series, or

807
00:51:55,800 --> 00:52:00,119
at least you know. I hope
you're able to hard to enjoy, but

808
00:52:00,159 --> 00:52:07,679
thanks for having me, Dan MHM