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

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Sadam Framwl here with my fantastic co
host Dan fa Valley. Last week we

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brought you are Buy and Sells for
all fifteen teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

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We're flipping it around this time and
going with buy our Cells for all

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fifteen teams in the Western Conference.
We'll be running through alphabetically, starting with

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Dallas, finishing with Utah and covering
everyone in between, and as always,

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trying to keep this around an hour
and most likely bringing you a three hour

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podcast before we dive in. How's
it going, Dan? I am doing

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well, relatively well anyway, How
about yourself? Pretty good. It's been

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a you know, we're recording this
on Sunday afternoon. It's been a great

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weekend. The weather is looking up
in Colorado. We've got to spend some

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outside time. No complaints there.
Well, we have like a huge blizzard

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coming our way apparently over here so
in New York, so good, fundle

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up, fundle up. It's been
a freezing here and I've wanted to kill

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myself every single day, but that's
figuratively speaking. Didn't mean to get that

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dark I'm ready to talk though by
buy or sell some stuff with the Western

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Conference teams, there's like a lot
of weird situations, and as always we

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both it seems like basically approach this
with our buyer sells will be general as

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a means to launch into the wheats
is basically the goal, and we did

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try to frame them as questions where
it's like it's fairly reasonable to pick either

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side, Like it's not a really
a good buy or self question if you're

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like buy or selling Nikolai Yoki just
having an MVP caliber season, like buy

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move on, I would like to
say, does seem like Denver Nuggets fans

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are getting annoyed that he hasn't been
higher in MVP ladders And it's just like

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the Nuggets of fight probably winning more
games and they finally just started being good

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and the defense is getting better.
But like we need to you know,

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the the what about my favorite team's
best playerism, like needs to I think

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in general needs to chill. I
will do you know who I want to

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shout out on that front though,
there's really quickly the Cleveland Cavaliers. They've

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been on the context in bandwagon,
the fan base for a really long time,

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and they seem to be welcoming other
people. But like with if you

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don't, let's use Miles Turner and
and yeah as an example, but like

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you can't really call make culpa on
what you think of Miles Turner at this

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point. And it seems to be
the same way with Yo Yokich. You

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know, I had yokis I think
third when we did the prediction for MVPs,

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like basically one month to the season. At this point, it does

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look like he might need to be
too in an exercise if that was to

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be redone right now, just if
people are gonna, you know, with

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more information change their change there I
guess stances. Isn't that the whole point

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of everything? But NICOLEA. Yokich
has been phenomenal. I don't want to

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dilute that. I think in general, more people just need to be okay,

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admitting that their views can change and
should change and will change as they

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get more information. Like that's what
we're supposed to do. And the flip

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side is admit that you're wrong.
If I end up voting Miles Turner for

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Defensive Player of the Year, I
will full stop admit okay, my prediction

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was wrong. Let's get to Dallas, though we did the Eastern Conference already,

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so this is interesting as we're recording
this. They're losers of five straight.

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And I'll say the I know it
was on the second end of a

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back to back, but that breakdown
against Phoenix, who didn't have Devin Booker

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not great. And Luca said after
the loss to the Jazz that it doesn't

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look like the Mavericks scare buy or
sell that the Mavericks' biggest issue has been

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the limited availability slash play of Christops
Porzingis as he continues to work his way

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back from his injury. I'm gonna
sell that I think it is a big

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deal. It's problematic that he's only
shooting twenty eight point six percent on his

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threes. It's problematic that he's been
fouling too frequently and hasn't been on the

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court at all for many games,
and just isn't playing the level of basketball

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that we know he's been capable of
playing, albeit in shorter spurts mostly with

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the New York Knicks. There are
more issues than that on this Maverick's roster.

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Now. It's a problem that Josh
Richardson isn't hitting shots, that Tim

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Hardaway Junior has been unbelievably streaky,
that there just aren't major sources of reliable

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offense aside from Luca don Chich.
That the defense hasn't coalesced with or without

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Chris Stops on the floor, like
this has been a very disappointing team that

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currently sits at eight and twelve as
were as we're recording this, and that's

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about more than Chris Stops only playing
nine games so far. Yeah, look,

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they've had some nice surprises by and
large. Jale and Brunson has been

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really good for them this year.
Trey Burke has had his moments, although

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they need him over this five game
losing streak. They need guys like him

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need to shoot better from three,
and Hardaway Junior was shooting fine from three

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over the course the year, but
he's not shooting well over this stretch,

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so maybe that's being exacerbated. I
think you could even caught out Luka don

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Chich. He's at thirty two point
four percent from three over this five game

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stretch, which is higher than he
is overall for the season. And I

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know the level of difficulty on his
shots matters, and I get that that's

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important to Dallas's offense. But if
you're gonna live or feast on those three

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is like you need to hit.
I would say above thirty three percent of

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them at some point. That would
just be my take. And I think

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I'll sell as well. I mean, it's tough not to maybe I'll buy

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because they need Chris Stops to be
the number two. That's why you made

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the trade for Seth Curry and Josh
Richardson. I think because you're confident that

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you have a number two, which
offensive option in Chris Stops Porzingis and the

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fact that he hasn't been that there
doesn't appear to be like any synergy between

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he and Luka dan Jag at this
point. And look, kp is only

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three games into the season, so
like we need to see that. There

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another thing you look at with this
team there once again, they're two and

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five in the clutch this season,
and just so many of their shots are

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coming from beyond the arc during that
time. Twenty nine of the shots that

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they've taken in crunch time have come
from beyond the arc and they're only shooting

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twenty four point one percent on those, And that's like you need to put

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some more pressure on the rim or
vary it up. They've actually been shooting

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okay from two in those minutes.
I get that we're dealing with a small

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sample size here, but of fifty
four shots, if twenty nine of them,

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which amounts to which is twenty nine, it's more than fifty percent.

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So quick math, fifty three point
seven percent of your shots you're coming from

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beyond the arc and crunch time,
like those are gonna need to fall at

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a higher clip for you to be
fine. And so I'm gonna buy that

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it's KP, but maybe it's more
so buying that they might need to trade

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for another shot creator, which I
guess then extends past KP. So I

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guess I am I am selling here. That was my round of way of

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buying throughout that well. I think
my cliff notes summary is kind of just

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that, like they need kristaps Porzingis
to be what they expect as that number

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two option to be title contenders.
But that is not the only reason they're

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eight and twelve correct. And I
will say, I don't know if you

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saw this tweet because they came from
the pot Hardwa Knox account on Twitter at

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hardware Knox folks follow it. Did
you see the tweet I did about the

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Knicks from there? I've been very
offline this weekend. So now, Okay,

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the Knicks are on pace to have
exactly one lottery pick this season,

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and it is not their own.
I wish that were more surprising. I

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don't think it's gonna say, I
don't think it's gonna stay that way.

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And look, if I'm like an
upper echelon Western Conference team that is not

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going to fall out of the play
in tournament area, even in the worst

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case scenario, I don't want I
want them to climb up a little bit.

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I don't want a first round matchup
with Luca. I just don't Maybe

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you're not as afraid of them in
the second round or the conference final.

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I don't want to have to face
Luca in the first Like that just seems

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unnecessarily difficult. I think we saw
that last year where it was like we

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thought he had this brutal matchup against
the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George

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both checking him, and it just
didn't matter because he's kind of matchup proof,

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and if you're putting him in a
playoff situation, where typically you get

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to see those rotations condensed and you
know, coaches make adjustments throughout a series,

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but it didn't affect him. Yeah, Marcus Moore has actually ended up

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doing the best defensive job of him
of anyone on the Clippers. Do you

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want to move on to Denver?
Though? Let's move on to Denver.

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So, coming out of the bubble
last season, it seemed like Jamal Murray

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was ascending to that superstar tier where
he'd just taken over entire playoff series.

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It really felt like he could make
that leap to be an unquestioned top twenty

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player. But now we've seen him
struggle to reach that same level to exhibit

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any sort of consistency. And meanwhile, we've seen Michael Porter Junior just proved

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that he can be this absolute offensive
hub of a capable three level score,

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an improved defender. He looks like
he could be a superstar. So are

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you buying or selling that if the
Nuggets get involved in trade talks for a

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player like Bradley Beale, that Jamal
Murray should be more available than Michael Porter

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Jr. I'll buy just because I
think at this point there's more variance to

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Jamal Murray's performance, and since you've
already paid him, there's going to be

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variance to Michael Porter Junior's performance and
availability apparently too. But he's just cost

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less right now, and so that's
no, that's not going to stay that

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way forever. But that might be
the actually the only situation which I would

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trade for Bradley Beal from Denver because
their problem is not necessarily offense. It

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would be what plus Jamal Murray get
you to Bradley Beale, who theoretically makes

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you more playoff proof? Right?
Yeah, I think I'm going to buy

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it as well, just because you
don't need a Jamal Murray as much when

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you have Nicola Yokich on your team. But Porter's ability to thrive as a

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score in just every setting imaginable,
I think is more valuable. He just

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as good as that pick and roll
combination and reverse pick and roll combination has

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been with Yo Kitchen Murray. It's
kind of like a luxury and Porter seems

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like more of a floor raiser for
them. Yeah, I'm totally with you

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there. Do we want to move
on to Golden State? Do we have

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anything to add? Is there any
other player that you would consider moving Murray

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for though, if you're Denver,
just that's theoretically could be available. Probably

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not, I mean it's unless someone
is just entirely unexpectedly made available. But

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like of the players who are commonly
talked about as trade candidates this season,

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like, I don't know that you
would want to move Murray for anyone else.

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You would not move him straight up. They said Jamal Murray for zach

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Lavine, and they'll give you something
else because Murray makes someone I don't think

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I would, all right, would
you? Probably not? They would.

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They would have to include like other
stuff there not even know if they have

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the other stuff that would make me
do it. And I just think that's

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because Jamal Murray, I think we've
seen, can give you more on defense

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at times, and you could probably
trust them more as a playmaker those zac

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Lavine has been good. Everybody turns
that. He still does turn the ball

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over like crazy. I'm even trying
to think, like I guess maybe yeah,

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yeah, realistically available, like Golden
State's not going to trade Stephen Curry.

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Yeah, there's I'm trying to go
through it right now, and I

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just I don't have anyone up there
to find any options even if Minnesota was

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like, all right, we're gonna
get rid of towns like towns just doesn't

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make any sense for for Denver at
this point, No, not even remotely

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as good as he is. Here's
something that would be interesting. What if

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the Pelicans were willing to do brandon
Ingram for Jamal Murray? But why would

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they? They need a natural,
like real guard, and maybe they don't.

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You know, it's not Bledsoe,
it's not Lonzo. There's no way

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they're giving a brandon Ingram at his
age and how quickly he's exploded for them.

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All right, that was just an
example. Would you do it if

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they did? Oh? I have
one more too. I'm I'm waffling here.

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I yeah, I think I would. I would do it to Ingram?

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Yeah do it? That was this
One's I'm interesting. I don't know

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if it would be straight up or
as part of like three team scenario where

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they're not the ones getting veal?
Would you give him up for Ben Simmons

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in a heartbeat? You're not worried
about the sort of overlap and ball domination

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there with well, Yokich is not. I don't want to say he's ball

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dominant, but like you don't want
to give him fewer touches ever, because

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he is just so. I don't
think I would, just because Simmons raises

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the defensive ability so much and Denver
is uniquely positioned with such a floor stretching

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five that it counteracts so many of
simmons as biggest shortcomings. You're like the

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embiad shoots threes. He's not the
floor spacing five that Yokich is. Okay,

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I have one more. I just
don't think they would do it.

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What if Toronto was like, we'll
give you Fred van Fleet and OG for

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Jamal Murray. No, No,
you're you're relying on No. I don't

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think so. I think you're still
you're relying on too much growth from OG.

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Maybe I'm too, Maybe I need
to be higher on Jamal Murray,

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but I think I would do it. Is it at least that's something you

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think about, or it's right,
it's like you didn't even would. I

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would reject that immediately, And I
think likes. As much as Murray has

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been perceived to struggle this season,
he's still averaging nineteen four and four and

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a half and shooting like fairly efficiently
because he's just a remarkably talented offensive player,

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and we are not seeing the best
version of him right now, Like

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he's still really good, Like,
let's not downplay how devastatingly effective he is

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and has proven to be in those
playoff situations. Yeah, that's a good

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point. And so if you're gonna
move with Jamal Murray like it needs you

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need to. It needs to be
for a transcendent type player exactly. And

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I think with Ben Simmons or Bradley
Beal, you're sort of guaranteed. Ben

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Simmons is a different type of transcendent, let's be clear. And then with

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a Brandon Ingram, I think that
that maybe it's kind of even, but

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just based off with Brandon Ingram showed
you over the past two seasons, it

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might just make more sense there.
And that's why I'm against the Lavigne one,

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because as good as the numbers he's
putting up are, we haven't shown

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that he can elevate a team.
He hasn't had to do that in any

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sort of pressure packed situation. Yeah, no, that's only fair if this

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is second stary podcast. We talked
about the Jamal Murray too, because we

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talked about him relative to Colin Sexton
when we did the Eastern Conference one.

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Hey, check out that episode.
There's some good there's some good self promotion

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here. Golden State, buy or
sell. Draymond Green has become too much

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of an offensive liability, and the
Warriors need to make some sort of a

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trade. I'm not saying first star, and I'm not saying they need to

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trade Draymond, but they need to
make some sort of a trade to now

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navigate the minutes that Stephan Curry won't
play. And so I have some background

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before you even give me an answer. Draymond Green has played nine hundred and

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six possessions. How many of those
possessions do you think have come without Stephen

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Curry? You're on mute, Adam. If you'd like to take yourself off,

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you can. You can answer the
question like one hundred twenty. That

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was my fault for trying to plug
in a baby monitor during a podcast.

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Could you have some priorities? It's
the podcast, then it's your child.

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I know. I'm sorry everytinely forget
that. So you'd be better better,

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I promise. How what was your
guest one twenty? It's thirteen and it

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was lower than I expected. I'll
say Draymond Green has I think this has

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always been something like it feels like
too many of his shots always come from

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the mid range. This year,
he is shooting disastrous from mid range,

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a whopping twenty six percent, down
from he's normally been in the thirties at

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least over the past three seasons.
Still he's not a threat from the three

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point arc. He's shooting fifty five
percent at the rim, which would be

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a career low. And that they're
not even using him really in the Steph

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and Curry lists minutes. I feel
like it's a problem. And to that

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point, there are two things.
Golden State has about a league average offense

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when Steph and Draymond are playing,
and that's basically all of Draymond's minutes,

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mind you. And then without Steph
and Curry, they rank on the floor,

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they rank in the second percentile of
offensive efficiency. And so now I

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will throw this to you, buy
or sell this. Whatever I said all

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of that, I think I'm still
going to sell because this roster is still

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constructed to have use for his remarkable
defensive talents, for his leadership, but

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still Steph Curry, and throughout much
of the season, Golden State has struggled

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to have the ancillary pieces assert themselves
to any degree. Now we're seeing that

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Andrew Wiggins has seemingly turned a corner
for the eight hundredth time in his career,

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and who knows if it'll be sustainable. But beyond that, Kelly Bray

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is still shooting thirty seven point two
percent from the field twenty two point eight

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percent from three, and that actually
feels like misleadingly high based on how he's

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played. And beyond those names you're
already looking at, you know, a

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rookie James Weisman, Damian Lee,
Eric Pascal, Brad Wanamaker as guys who

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are expected to be scoring. I
don't think it's a Draymond Green issue.

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I think it's a they don't yet
have the support pieces because this is a

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team that expected to go into the
season with Clay Thompson supporting everyone. So

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if you don't have that floor spacing
that was expected to be around Draymond,

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it's it's not a surprise to me
that he hasn't been able to elevate that

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offensive performance with or without Steph.
But it doesn't mean they need to make

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a trade for this season because they're
not really realistic title contendors this season anyway,

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if that makes sense, it does, But you also kind of prove

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my point for me. You need
to find a way to maximize Draymond then,

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and you need to put more Absolutely, you need to find more functional

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shooting around him this season, I
would argue, and I'm not so.

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I think you straddle the middle ground. And I guess if they could get

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Bradley Beal, Jonathan to Jarks had
a great piece at The Ringer about why

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00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,759
step should demand a trade for Bradley
Beale. If you could get Bradley beyond

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this team, I wout one hundred
percent do it. But is there like

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a middle ground where it's not going
to cost Is there someone where it won't

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cost you? James Wiseman and the
Minnesota pick, where it's one or the

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other. I'd probably say preferably the
Minnesota pick. I'm not sure, just

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knowing what we've seen from James Wiseman, I don't know if you would feel

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differently. And then so you have
names like Zach Lavine would be someone I

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thought for this team if you can
get him for basically, I don't know

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what the other assets are you have. Kelly Hubery junior salary, by the

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way, which is expiring. I
wouldn't hesitate to move him Sham. Sham

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said that they talked with the Pelicans
about a deal for him. I'm guessing

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that involved JJ Reddeck, who is
gonna go Northeast. It looks like anyway,

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so that's out of the question.
What'd you do something like that this

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season? And I want I'm buying
it, I one hundred percent. If

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you can get zach Lavine for the
cost of I probably just I don't Chicago

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doesn't need James Wiseman unless you're gonna
get Wendell Carter Junior and zach Lavine and

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you're giving up Wiseman. That's something
to look at, I guess. But

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I would one hundred percent do that
this year because I think that they need

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it, and I don't know that
Clay comes back and fixes all of it.

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I feel like he still can,
he still be had, but it's

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also a year away, and like
Stephen is a year away. I think

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that that's Steph has not shown a
decline and play this season. Okay,

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00:17:37,839 --> 00:17:41,880
great, he's also you can I
don't mean to interrupt, but he's also

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why do you mean to interrupt like
Stephen Curry is also thirty two, Like

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you don't get to you don't get
the fuck around for another year, Like

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that's my I know you've I feel
like we've kepn just just moving for just

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moving for zach Lavine, like maybe
prematurely? Does that put this scolden State

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team in title contention? Are they
in the same conversation as the two Los

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Angeles teams? Maybe even in that
that Phoenix Suns realm, the Denver Nuggets

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realm, the Utah Jazz realm,
Like does one move like that pushed them

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into that category? I don't think
so. I don't know if I would

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rather see I would rather see like
what we're expecting from Clay and then determine

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how we can build around it.
I don't. I just don't think they

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have that luxury when Steph turns thirty
three in March, and I think whether

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they join the Clippers and Lakers in
the upper echelon of the West, wouldn't

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you say that with a zach Lavine
or even a Victor Roladipot, just someone

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who can not a great necessarily great
shooter, but someone who can run the

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offense. In Steph's absence in fury
anyway, it doesn't it substantially elevate their

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00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,039
ceiling from where it is now.
It does, I just don't don't know

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if it does it enough to justify
making that move. Now, would you

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trade for Bradley Beale if you're this
team then yes? That yeah, yeah,

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I mean that's the exception, because
Bradley Beale is just that good.

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I like that. We've disagreed twice, so if I don't know we agreed

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on Dallas, never mind. But
that was a good disagree. That was

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a productive disagreement, I would say, as opposed to this one where you're

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just you're just wrong. Yeah,
fair enough. So Houston Victor Oladipo,

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who I don't I don't know if
you remember that he was acquired in that

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00:19:12,839 --> 00:19:18,240
James Harden blockbuster trade for the Houston
Rockets. He's gonna way, I know,

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00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,880
I know, breaking news. He's
going to play with the Houston Rockets

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beyond this season. We buying or
sell in that I'm gonna sell. I

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just don't know. I can't imagine
Tillman for Tita's selling out the money to

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pay him, and I don't know
that he would want to stay there.

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Unless they have this hot end toward
the season, he is going to have

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to see offensive status to or touches
at least to a John Wall. If

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Boogie sticks around, you have Christian
Wood there as well. I guess if

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they're gonna max him out, he
would stay. But he just feels like

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someone who has a wandering eye,
and the noise with Miami is just wild.

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And so if they're going to pay
him and they're gonna have cap space,

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I sell the idea that he'll still
be in Houston. If you would

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be tough for me is if you
said buy or sell him finishing this season

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in Houston might actually be the one
that's tougher for me to answer. I

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00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:10,519
don't think he's played well enough this
season to have that much interest as an

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00:20:10,519 --> 00:20:15,640
expiring contract. It's fun that he's
scoring twenty point eight points per game twenty

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00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:21,079
two since he moved to Houston,
Like they have not been efficient points in

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Houston. He was playing pretty well
in Indiana. He was he was playing

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very well in Indiana, where I
think he just had more comfort and was

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more familiar with the teammates who around
him on the court and all that.

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But yeah, it seems like he's
been forcing it a little. He looks

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way more like his old self than
he has since the injury, but he's

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not reached that All Star All NBA
level, and knowing that he's an upcoming

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free agent, like I don't know
that he gets moved this season, but

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I agree, I'm gonna sell that
he plays more than just the remainder of

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this season with Houston. If he
even does that, would you buy or

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00:20:52,559 --> 00:20:56,039
sell though him finishing the season in
Houston. I'll buy him finishing him.

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00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,839
I'm gonna sell it just for chaos. I'm gonna throw it out into the

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00:21:00,279 --> 00:21:03,799
to the ether, and I respect
that which would lead us to the Los

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00:21:03,799 --> 00:21:08,720
Angeles Clippers buy or sell that they
need someone on offense to put more pressure

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on the rim, And this is
mostly in responsible. I think everyone's been

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00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,079
saying that they need a point guard, and George Hill has been a popular

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00:21:15,079 --> 00:21:18,000
target. But I kind of feel
like with as well, that they're shooting

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00:21:18,039 --> 00:21:22,880
from three this year, and given
what they've they're second in points per possession

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00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,200
on offense this season. I believe
is we're recording this, so I don't

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00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,119
know that a point guard is necessarily
the issue. It's the I'm looking at

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00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:34,279
the you know, they're twenty eighth
in rim frequency right now. So do

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you buy or sell the idea that
they need someone to kind of put more

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00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,160
pressure on the basket since Clyde's game
has always been or at least lately,

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00:21:41,279 --> 00:21:44,079
you know he bails out, it's
gonna be in between. Now they give

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00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,480
sergebaka as those five minutes like he's
gonna pop, He's not gonna roll.

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So buy or sell that idea.
I think I'll sell it just because they

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00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,400
could stand to improve in that area, but it's more of a luxury improvement

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00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,200
than a necessity. Like this team
is still really good as is, even

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with that inability to put pressure on
the rim, because Patrick Beverley isn't really

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00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:07,359
an offensive point guard. We've known
that for a long time. Reggie Jackson

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is Reggie Jackson. Lou Williams hasn't
looked like full speed Lou Williams. But

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all of that said, like as
you mentioned, this is still the number

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two offensive in the NBA right now, and when you have Kawhi Leonard who

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00:22:18,799 --> 00:22:23,160
is still playing at an MVP caliber
level, and you have Paul George who

356
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:27,680
has brought back that MVP caliber form
we saw in twenty seventeen eighteen. Now

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that he's healthy and just ready to
go and playing motivated basketball, They're so

358
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,880
good in every other area, especially
with Nicholas Patum fitting in nicely, and

359
00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:41,599
the defensive ability that they have in
the defensive upside they have that they haven't

360
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:47,720
really exercised because they haven't needed to. Don't be fooled because the last year's

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00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:52,319
team collapsed in the playoffs. This
is the same roster, but a different

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team. I think I sell too, basically for all the reasons you said.

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And the other thing is, even
if they're three point shooting progresses,

364
00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:03,680
like they're still eighth in free throw
teenth rate right now while being twenty eighth

365
00:23:03,839 --> 00:23:07,960
in the share of their shots that
come at the rim, they're also first

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00:23:07,319 --> 00:23:12,039
in efficiency at the rim. So
okay, the shots are puer and further

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between, but they're just making all
of them. I still think it would

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00:23:17,319 --> 00:23:18,960
be interesting to see them do that
on the margins, But as you said,

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like it's a luxury, and so
you're not thinking like I think people

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would say, oh, they should
go get Eric Pletzo, and I don't

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00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,079
think it needs to be that star
the name back. I kind of like

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that springs to mind here when I
was doing my research on list, is

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like, can you get at Delawn
Right? And I don't even know if

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you're willing to give up a Lou
Williams in that type of a deal,

375
00:23:37,319 --> 00:23:40,680
but he would be also because LA's
defense, I know a lot of it

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00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,160
is sort of skewed when you look
at the data from that loss to the

377
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,480
Mavericks this season, but it's been
like weird, I would say, And

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00:23:45,519 --> 00:23:48,559
so delaan Right also kind of beefs
up what you do on the perimeter when

379
00:23:48,559 --> 00:23:52,079
you're defending the three. So that
would just be a name I could look

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00:23:52,079 --> 00:23:55,960
at, and you have you know, Lou Williams's salary. I don't you

381
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,839
know, Zoobots is too valuable to
this team. You can't lose move Kenard.

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00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,480
I don't think you move Everley in
that scenario, or Abacca or even

383
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,480
Marcus Morris. You can cobble together
like you know, step ladder salaries where

384
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:12,359
it's okay, Patrick Patterson and then
other stuff like there's Terrence Man, So

385
00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,319
you could get there maybe in a
three for one. I don't know what

386
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,440
the what you else you'd have to
do? You have to get him,

387
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:19,319
but that would just be a name
I would look at, and they do

388
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,400
have. If there's another name that
brings to mind for you, like they

389
00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,079
do have, Lou Williams is eight
million dollars salary, and while I still

390
00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:27,079
think he's a useful player, I
feel like he's a luxury that they don't

391
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:32,480
need it, and someone who probably
doesn't necessarily boost their ceiling in the playoffs

392
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:34,559
doesn't hurt it. I don't know
where they boost it. It's just I

393
00:24:34,559 --> 00:24:37,680
want I don't want to shoot all
over Lou will No, I agree with

394
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,880
you. I think that they can
easily move Lou Williams as they want to,

395
00:24:41,799 --> 00:24:45,160
and if they can get George Hill, you know, as I think

396
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,519
you mentioned him earlier, then that's
a good fit for this roster if they

397
00:24:48,559 --> 00:24:51,759
can. But he doesn't put pressure
on the rim as my points like,

398
00:24:51,759 --> 00:24:53,319
I don't even know if you need
he doesn't. He's not. Yeah,

399
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,039
I mean, but I don't.
I just I don't think that's the only

400
00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,960
archetype that you need to go for. I mean, what if they can

401
00:25:00,079 --> 00:25:06,000
trade for like Patty Mills, that'd
be interesting, But yeah, all of

402
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,680
these are luxury editions. I think
we're in agreement that the Clippers, like

403
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,880
don't need to make a swing for
the fences trade or even one of any

404
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:18,599
significance to be legit contenders this season. No, I'm totally with you.

405
00:25:18,599 --> 00:25:21,759
They're they're clearly still like the Lakers, and the Clippers to me are on

406
00:25:22,039 --> 00:25:25,599
their own level. And speaking of
the Lakers, we can move on to

407
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:30,359
them. Last year's team won seventy
three point two percent of its regular season

408
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,640
games. This one is at seventy
one point four percent for the time being.

409
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:37,839
I like looking at Simple Rating system
SRS, which is Basketball References metric

410
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:42,640
that combines margin of victory with strength
of schedule to just put an estimate of

411
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:47,680
team performance. Higher the better.
Last year's Lakers team finished with a six

412
00:25:47,759 --> 00:25:51,839
point two eight SRS. This year's
team has a seven point five. So

413
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:56,759
are you buying or selling that this
year's team is better than last year's I'll

414
00:25:56,799 --> 00:26:00,319
buy there's there's certainly better for the
regular season, just looking at the way

415
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,519
that that they're really built here,
and I think there's there's something to continuity

416
00:26:04,559 --> 00:26:07,359
this season. I think it's valuable
every year, but especially now where I

417
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,480
don't know if any if you read
or our listeners read Kevin Arnovitz is peace

418
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,200
ESPN about how life on the road
has been its own bubble. Teams with

419
00:26:15,279 --> 00:26:18,559
new players and teams in general have
had trouble sort of bonding like they normally

420
00:26:18,559 --> 00:26:21,359
went on the road, and so
there's still yeah, there were turn there

421
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:23,519
was turnover with this team, but
you know, Andy Davis and le Bron

422
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,039
James's their second season together. There
are other guys on the froster that were

423
00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:30,359
in the bubble with them that we're
just on the team last year as well,

424
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,400
and you know some of the exchanges
you made, Like Mark Gasol is

425
00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:37,920
just like he's a pro's pro at
this point, he probably knows Andy Davison

426
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,440
Lebron enough. Just all of them
having been around the league. I think

427
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:42,200
that helps. But just the continuity
with their two best players, that's an

428
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,400
absolute big deal. And I think
we're even seeing that with the Clippers,

429
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,359
where yeah, they missed time because
they did enter the health and safety protocols

430
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,799
at one point, But now Kaali
and Paul George have been together for a

431
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,240
year and so we're sort of seeing
this coldlace and they're they're Paul George specifically

432
00:26:55,319 --> 00:26:57,720
is healthier than he was last season. So I'll absolutely buy that. I

433
00:26:57,799 --> 00:27:03,039
still to think that I question is
going to be Mantras Harrold's minutes in the

434
00:27:03,039 --> 00:27:06,559
playoffs. I think those can still
become a liability. And you do have

435
00:27:06,559 --> 00:27:10,839
Anthony Davis the five hanging in your
back pocket, but that's just something you

436
00:27:10,839 --> 00:27:12,000
know you did. You use the
mid level on him, and that was

437
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,839
effectively like your biggest move. I
know you got this all for super cheap,

438
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,160
and the same with Wes Matthews.
But I think even if we're looking

439
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,839
at postseason matchups, then having Dennis
Shrewder and how he's played, and I

440
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,599
wasn't the biggest fan of that trade
right off the bat, which is looking

441
00:27:25,599 --> 00:27:26,599
at what he's been able to do, I would say there, whether it's

442
00:27:26,599 --> 00:27:30,000
the regular season or playoffs, I'll
absolutely buy that they're better than last year.

443
00:27:30,839 --> 00:27:36,039
Yeah, I think it's all about
the playoff question, and that ultimately

444
00:27:36,079 --> 00:27:41,519
comes down to whether you think that
the additions and subtractions cancel each other out.

445
00:27:41,559 --> 00:27:45,599
So you were taking away Danny Green
and Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard and

446
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:49,319
JaVale McGee and adding in Marcus All
and Montrase Harrold and Dennis Shrewder which is

447
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:53,559
probably an upgrade even if Montrese Harold
can't get big minutes during the playoffs,

448
00:27:53,559 --> 00:27:57,200
and it's not like Dwight Howard and
JaVale McGee played big minutes in the playoffs

449
00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:00,799
anyway last year. So really,
I think that the biggest question is,

450
00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:07,039
is Dennis Shrewder a big upgrade from
Rayjon Rondo during the regular season Absolutely during

451
00:28:07,079 --> 00:28:10,920
the playoffs, I don't know.
I think Shrewder is more solvable. Rondo

452
00:28:11,039 --> 00:28:15,000
played remarkably well during that run to
a title last season. We saw the

453
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:22,440
whole playoff Rondo conversation totally reinvigorated,
and justifiably so. But I would still

454
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,319
buy that they're better just because the
continuity factors that you talked about, and

455
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,640
I do ultimately think those are upgrades
to the rotation. The one thing I

456
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,359
guess I will say about the playoffs
is I might argue that Shrewders should be

457
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,799
more value on the playoffs. But
if you're looking at this team in the

458
00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:41,240
context of going up against the Clippers, I don't know if they've done anything

459
00:28:41,279 --> 00:28:42,960
to improve their chances against them,
And maybe they're just not worried about the

460
00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:47,039
Clippers. But let's just they didn't
face the Clippers in the playoffs last year,

461
00:28:47,079 --> 00:28:49,079
and this is a different version of
the Clippers right now. I pick

462
00:28:49,279 --> 00:28:52,119
LA in a seven game series.
Obviously, I'd pick LA in a seven

463
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,039
yearsers. I'd picked the Lakers in
a seven game series right now against the

464
00:28:56,039 --> 00:29:00,000
Clippers, just giving them a benefit
of the doubt, but that specific opponent.

465
00:29:00,279 --> 00:29:02,559
And I still think everyone agrees that
the Clippers, or at least that's

466
00:29:02,599 --> 00:29:04,640
the consensus of their biggest threat.
I don't know if they've improved the way

467
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:10,559
they match up with with the fellow
LA team. I just I hope we

468
00:29:10,599 --> 00:29:11,799
get to see that matchup this year. It felt like we were deprived of

469
00:29:11,799 --> 00:29:17,640
it last season. As entertaining as
the playoff series were, I would like

470
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:23,640
to see that Memphis buy or sell
the Grizzlies defense. They are currently third

471
00:29:23,799 --> 00:29:27,160
in possession and so I'll say buy
or sell then finishing top seven, top

472
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:33,519
eight in points allowed per possession.
This is probably the one I struggled with

473
00:29:33,559 --> 00:29:37,119
the most when we were going over
what these questions were going to be before

474
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:42,920
the podcast. I'm gonna hesitantly buy
it. I think that there's some natural

475
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,880
regression baked into it. They are
giving a ton of minutes to really young

476
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:52,160
players, which is always problematic as
the season progresses, especially this weird,

477
00:29:52,279 --> 00:29:59,160
unprecedented short offseason, compressed schedule season. But if Jaron Jackson Junior returns,

478
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,920
that's game changer on defense. When
Yona's Valentciunis gets healthy, that's a benefit

479
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:08,359
to the defense as well. When
Grayson Allen gets healthy, not so much.

480
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,279
But you know, ultimately like they're
they're going to be adding more than

481
00:30:11,279 --> 00:30:15,960
they're subtracting as as the year goes
on, and they do have the defensive

482
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:21,119
pieces to be really impressive on that
end of the floor for the entire season.

483
00:30:22,039 --> 00:30:26,680
John Morant looks better, Brandon Clark
is rangy enough to be impactful in

484
00:30:26,759 --> 00:30:30,519
multiple roles in multiple roles, Taias
Jones, Kyle Anderson, Desmond Baine,

485
00:30:30,559 --> 00:30:34,799
Xavier Tilman, these are all like
already good defensive players. Gorgi Jang has

486
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,079
has looked better in his brief minutes, like there are pieces here to have

487
00:30:40,279 --> 00:30:44,400
a top notch defense. I bought
it too, and there are You know,

488
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:48,240
when you look at the defensive ratings
right now, there are some teams

489
00:30:48,279 --> 00:30:52,200
that you can envision climbing into the
top seven where it's the Clippers are certainly

490
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,200
their fourteen right now. You don't
think that that's going to hold long term.

491
00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,400
Could you see Boston or maybe at
Cleveland. They might be in and

492
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,480
out of that ritory all year based
on how they've defended. But there's also

493
00:31:02,519 --> 00:31:03,960
teams that you could be like,
oh, we are they really going to

494
00:31:03,039 --> 00:31:07,079
stay there? The Knicks being the
top choice, I'm gonna buy it.

495
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:11,279
And so I looked into this just
a little bit more and was watching some

496
00:31:11,319 --> 00:31:15,279
stuff they have. When you look
at some of their one of the things

497
00:31:15,319 --> 00:31:18,839
they're doing so they are limiting corner
threes and looks at the rim, and

498
00:31:18,839 --> 00:31:22,640
they're sort of guiding opponents. They're
great at coaxing opponents into mid rangers.

499
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:26,839
But they're also like, they're not
going to sell out to contest these above

500
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:30,920
the break threes, which I actually
think is kind of smart because above the

501
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,960
break threes are inherently going to be
hit at a lower clip, and teams

502
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,680
are shooting under thirty five percent against
them above the break. They've done a

503
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:38,559
good job contesting them, but maybe
that number still goes up a little bit.

504
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,359
They're limiting looks in the corner and
opponents are shooting well from the corners

505
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,759
right now, so there's a chance
that even that sort of evens out.

506
00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,480
I think copponents are shooting forty two
point five percent against them in the corners.

507
00:31:48,519 --> 00:31:52,240
They have the best rim protection defense
by raw field goal percentage. Jonah

508
00:31:52,279 --> 00:31:53,559
found Tunis I think has been a
part of that before. He's missed their

509
00:31:53,599 --> 00:31:56,680
past two games since going in the
health and safety protocols, if I believe,

510
00:31:56,759 --> 00:32:00,000
or maybe he's been out even longer
than I'm trying a little longer than

511
00:32:00,119 --> 00:32:01,559
that. All right, so if
announces January eighteenth, but just because the

512
00:32:01,599 --> 00:32:06,640
Grizzlies didn't two games since then,
So he's only missed two games and he's

513
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,359
been out since January two. Yeah, it feels like he's bout for months.

514
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,119
Yeah, So he's been a part
of that. And then you just

515
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,839
one of the things that won't compromise
this is John Moran. I don't know

516
00:32:15,839 --> 00:32:17,240
if I'm ready to call him a
good defender, Like he's sort of smart

517
00:32:17,319 --> 00:32:21,920
enough there where he can exist within
this scheme too, and he's a little

518
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,920
bit bigger than you think. And
you look at the lineups that they're trotting

519
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:29,799
out right now, like the I
think with their staple lineup is Morant Brooks,

520
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,960
Anderson Clark, and Tilman at this
point, and he's Tilman's just been

521
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:37,400
fantastic for them. They have younger
guys, like you mentioned that they're playing

522
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:39,119
a lot, but they compete and
Desmond Baine would be an example there for

523
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:44,200
them. So just sort of watching
them, and I'll admit that I've not

524
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:45,559
seen them much of the Grizzlies lately, and I think part of that is

525
00:32:45,559 --> 00:32:50,960
because they played so a few games. Yeah, but I think it's sustainable

526
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:55,359
and I think it will only get
easier for them once they have Valancunas back

527
00:32:55,839 --> 00:33:00,160
and jan Jackson Junior might actually hurt
them, would be my HoTT ish take

528
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,720
in that department, but has in
the past, but the talent is obviously

529
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,319
there. Let's also not forget they
have not had Justice Winslow yet, so

530
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:09,319
if he ever comes back from his
hip injury, I don't know if that

531
00:33:09,319 --> 00:33:13,640
helps helps or hurts. Yeah,
right, who who's this? Yeah exactly.

532
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:15,960
H If he ever comes back,
I guess there needs to be a

533
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,759
grace period there, But like,
that's just more defensive talent, and so

534
00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,759
I'm gonna I'm gonna buy this,
But I am a little hesitant, but

535
00:33:22,799 --> 00:33:24,440
I'm gonna buy it. And look, Taylor Jenkins has done a hell of

536
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:28,039
a job this year because we all
thought the Grizzlies were dead in the water

537
00:33:28,119 --> 00:33:30,640
after the John Moran injury. It's
been very impressive. And yeah, I

538
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:36,599
think with Moran specifically, like he's
big, he's strong, he's fast,

539
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,640
and he tries hard. And if
you have those four qualities you can play

540
00:33:39,799 --> 00:33:45,079
at least adequate defense in the NBA. John rand is just so good.

541
00:33:45,279 --> 00:33:50,400
There there's I'm so happy that he's
back, and there's just like I'm just

542
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:52,319
I love John Moran. I love
the in and out hesitation, dribbles,

543
00:33:52,319 --> 00:33:55,279
It's like a like some it's like
some magic shit. I'm just happy he's

544
00:33:55,319 --> 00:34:00,119
healthy. Shout out John Moran for
being healthy. Let's hope it stays that

545
00:34:00,119 --> 00:34:07,239
way. Minnesota. The Timberwolves Karl
Anthony Towns has been to the playoffs once

546
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,760
in his career. That came back
in twenty seventeen eighteen, when they won

547
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:15,079
the de facto playoff game play in
game against the Denver Nuggets and then promptly

548
00:34:15,119 --> 00:34:19,280
lost in five games to the Houston
Rockets. They have not been back since.

549
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:22,360
They are not going to be there
this season. I feel comfortable saying

550
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,800
that since they're four and fourteen and
have looked every part the four of a

551
00:34:27,039 --> 00:34:31,880
four and fourteen team. Buy or
sell the Karl Anthony Towns will ever win

552
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,840
a playoff series with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Well, you're asking me. If

553
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:38,119
you told me he was going to
finish his career there, I would buy

554
00:34:38,119 --> 00:34:43,920
it. It's part of the question. I'm gonna sell it. I just

555
00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:45,679
I don't know that I've seen anything
about the way they're building this team.

556
00:34:45,679 --> 00:34:49,760
And I'm not trying to dump all
over Gerson Rosas at the moment, but

557
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:53,480
I don't know that D'Angelo Russell,
Connavy, Towns, all these youngsters is

558
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:57,320
the way to go. And look, there's a chance that they don't improve

559
00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,000
a great deal over the off season
because they owe this year's picked the Golden

560
00:35:00,079 --> 00:35:02,159
State. They might be bad enough
for the top three protection to hit,

561
00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:06,920
but the lottery is just a crapshoot
right now, where there's flattening. If

562
00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,760
they could finish with the bottom three
record and they have a better chance of

563
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:15,159
falling out of the top three and
landing inside, it's still so I'm gonna

564
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:17,239
I'm going to sell, and I'm
not trying to say that. I think

565
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:21,480
karl Antontown is eventually going to ask
for out, but we are rapidly getting

566
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:23,559
to the point and I don't want
to make this the focus. And I

567
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:30,320
know small market fans hate this being
the focus. They have like two years

568
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:32,880
this season, next season, maybe
a year after that before this becomes a

569
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,679
real problem. And I don't know. I don't see their path to making

570
00:35:36,679 --> 00:35:39,519
the playoffs next season. I just
don't. I don't know that I see

571
00:35:39,519 --> 00:35:42,360
it. They would have to go
all in on some type of trade.

572
00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,440
Maybe there's a star that becomes available
that I don't realize, and it'll be

573
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:47,960
tough to make that trade to me
if they don't have this year's pick in

574
00:35:49,039 --> 00:35:52,000
the bank. So I'm going to
sell it. I think that that's going

575
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,920
to be bad for Karlin anton Town's
reputation. I just don't think that he's

576
00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:59,360
not even close to the issue there. You could cite his on off defense

577
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,400
when he's playing. I don't care
like his on again, off again motor

578
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,159
on defensive saud say he's not the
problem. He's closer to a top ten

579
00:36:05,199 --> 00:36:08,119
player than not at this point in
his career. I'm just I need to

580
00:36:08,199 --> 00:36:12,159
envision it somehow. And I'm even
looking, like looking at their roster after

581
00:36:12,159 --> 00:36:15,119
you told me this that this was
going to be your buy or sell,

582
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,360
like I do. I believe in
Jared Colver and Anthony Edwards to that extent,

583
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,840
I'd probably believe in Jared Colver a
little bit more than Anthy Edwards.

584
00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:24,480
I don't I'm selling it. I
don't feel great. I'm not a compliment

585
00:36:24,559 --> 00:36:30,239
right there. I'm selling it.
I have like no way to justify this,

586
00:36:30,519 --> 00:36:37,639
but I'm gonna buy it, mostly
because I will move on, mostly

587
00:36:37,679 --> 00:36:40,880
because I just I think Karl Anthony
Towns is that good. Just he is

588
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:46,079
a generational offensive talent. He's one
of the most capable scorers, passers,

589
00:36:46,159 --> 00:36:52,400
whatever, on offense we've ever seen
from that position. And as poorly constructed

590
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:59,199
as this roster is, and as
unfortunate for the Timberwolves as it is that

591
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:06,639
they owe that pick to the Golden
State Warriors, and as as where do

592
00:37:06,679 --> 00:37:08,679
I go with the Anthony Edwards selection
at number one? I think we all

593
00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:13,119
know how I feel about that one. But I still think like, and

594
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:19,480
I have no sources behind this or
any inside information. Karl Anthony town just

595
00:37:19,519 --> 00:37:22,360
strikes me as the kind of guy
who's never going to ask out. He

596
00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:27,639
just he's loyal, He's he's a
good human. He wants to be there,

597
00:37:27,679 --> 00:37:30,760
he wants the best for his teammates. I just I can't ever see

598
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,960
him asking for a trade, knowing
what that would do to the players on

599
00:37:35,039 --> 00:37:37,920
his team. So I think he's
going to be there long enough and is

600
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:44,320
good enough that eventually they're going to
sneak in. I don't know what that

601
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,639
path looks like. I don't know
if that's it's not the current core though,

602
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:52,800
right this is not absolutely not Like
I would be more confident in Towns

603
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:58,280
being the only player from the current
roster on a playoff team in Minnesota than

604
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:02,719
anything else. Okay, I think
that's Look that Calumny Towns is that good.

605
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:06,880
It's my lad, Like Minnesota needs
to do something about the defensive talent

606
00:38:07,079 --> 00:38:09,920
around him, like they they found
some hits. Malie Beasley is playing fine,

607
00:38:10,199 --> 00:38:15,320
Naz Reid great, but like you
need better defenders around This is largely

608
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:19,480
why I wanted to ask that question, because it's worth saying that this isn't

609
00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:23,679
his fault and that he is one
hundred percent good enough to anchor a playoff

610
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:28,280
team, and really to anchor a
team capable of going deep into the postseason.

611
00:38:28,639 --> 00:38:31,599
And it is an utter indictment of
what the Timberwolves front office has been

612
00:38:31,639 --> 00:38:35,880
able to put around him for as
long as he's been in the NBA that

613
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,960
he only has one playoff game one, not series one, but game one

614
00:38:39,079 --> 00:38:45,360
to this point in his career.
I think that's fair. I'm also just

615
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:51,159
laughing now because as we're recording this, Denver is in Fuego going up against

616
00:38:51,199 --> 00:38:52,920
the Jazz. At the moment,
they I don't even think they finished the

617
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:58,599
first half. Nicole Yokich has thirty
one points. They're beating Utah seventy seven

618
00:38:58,599 --> 00:39:01,360
to fifty two. And if you're
wondering whether our Jamal Murray take is going

619
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:05,599
to age poorly, there's a chance
he's had like a Jamal Murray first half.

620
00:39:05,639 --> 00:39:07,400
So that's at least fine. But
Yokich, he's building up his MVP

621
00:39:07,519 --> 00:39:10,679
case thirty one points in the first
half against the Jazz. We are onto

622
00:39:10,679 --> 00:39:15,920
the Pelicans. Buy or sell the
New Orleans Pelicans as the NBA's most disappointing

623
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:22,360
team. I am going to slightly
sell it. I think that they're in

624
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:27,199
that category, they're in that most
disappointing tier. But I'll say that the

625
00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:32,840
Mavericks have been a little more disappointing
ultimately because the Pelicans did move drew holiday

626
00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:37,280
to the Milwaukee Bucks, which meant
that they weren't making an all in play

627
00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,960
for this season. We still viewed
them as a play in caliber team,

628
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:45,960
maybe a team that can finish even
higher than that in the Western Conference standings.

629
00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:52,440
While acknowledging that they could fall further
down, the Mavericks we talked about

630
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:57,039
how they could potentially be like the
number three seed and the Western Conference.

631
00:39:57,239 --> 00:40:00,119
They're eight in twelve. As we've
already covered in this podcast, the disappointment

632
00:40:00,199 --> 00:40:05,760
isn't just because Kristaps Porzingis has been
hurt and largely ineffective when he's been on

633
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,559
the court. There are so many
things that have gone wrong for this Mavericks

634
00:40:08,559 --> 00:40:12,039
team. Will it bounce back,
sure, But to this point in the

635
00:40:12,079 --> 00:40:16,360
season, I think they're more disappointing. I think I agree with you.

636
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:21,239
I'm gonna say I'm gonna buy it
because I think because there's a chance that

637
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:25,039
the Mavericks worked out of this,
they're not as disappointing with the Pelicans.

638
00:40:25,039 --> 00:40:30,199
I do think there was sort of
this disconnect between expectations and what they looked

639
00:40:30,199 --> 00:40:34,159
like on paper. They have really
good players, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram

640
00:40:34,199 --> 00:40:37,519
being among them. Also a fun
fact, Zion is shooting seventeen of twenty

641
00:40:37,519 --> 00:40:40,239
three in isolation this season. Also
other fun fact, it really feels like

642
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:45,800
Zion has like figured it out lately, especially on offense. There's more and

643
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:50,880
I don't think people appreciate this enough, Like there's more deliberateness to his offense,

644
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:52,480
Like it's not just this raw explosion
on putbacks and like you know,

645
00:40:52,559 --> 00:40:57,360
scoring and these like bullhorn drives,
Like there is deliberateness to the way that

646
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,480
he plays with the ball in his
hands. So yeah, I would agree

647
00:41:00,519 --> 00:41:04,800
with you there. I go back
and forth. Maybe I should be slightly

648
00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:07,199
selling it like you did. I'm
just going to buy it because even though

649
00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:08,760
you look at this talent and yeah, oh, shooting is going to be

650
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:12,159
an issue. I remember we have
a question on the early season mailbag,

651
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,679
is Dan gonna walk back what he
said about neur Lean shooting? And it

652
00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:17,400
was mostly tongue in cheek and it
was actually funny because they were shooting so

653
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:21,840
well. They're still shooting like thirty
seven percent from three with Zion and Stephen

654
00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:24,000
Adams on the floor, but the
fit just isn't there. I will say

655
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,639
what's been disappointing is that despite the
fit being odd, Like why are you

656
00:41:28,679 --> 00:41:32,760
eighteenth in average possession time you have
Lonzo Ball and ViOn Williamson on your team,

657
00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:37,760
You're actually getting out in transition less
frequently when Lonzo Ball is on the

658
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:42,480
floor. Statistically, they're twenty second
in average possession time after forcing a turnover.

659
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:45,960
And I also think like there could
be I thought there would be more

660
00:41:46,079 --> 00:41:50,199
to them on defense this year and
they started out hot. They're still giving

661
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:52,840
up a ton of three pointers,
and part of that might be on stan

662
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,159
Van Gundy. But and I'm also
not as down on Zion as defense,

663
00:41:55,199 --> 00:41:58,800
Like the off ball awareness needs to
you know, when you look at how

664
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:00,519
many corner threes they give up with
him on the court, plus the off

665
00:42:00,519 --> 00:42:04,599
ball effort too, I would say, yeah, that's but like that's disappointing

666
00:42:04,639 --> 00:42:06,840
then too. But they're giving up
a ton of corners reasons lions on the

667
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,360
court because and that speaks to his
drifting Brandon Ingram, it felt like he

668
00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:13,039
was playing a little bit better on
defense, and now it doesn't really feel

669
00:42:13,039 --> 00:42:16,079
like he's playing better. So that's
been disappointing to me because we're to see

670
00:42:16,079 --> 00:42:21,320
their defense remain in this run.
And then Steven Adams has progressed on that

671
00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:23,000
end like quicker than I thought he
was going to because he started out well

672
00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:28,679
and now wasn't really there. So
they are disappointing to me. But I'm

673
00:42:28,719 --> 00:42:30,920
even viewing that through. I didn't
have his high hopes for them, as

674
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:32,679
I think a lot of other people
did, and now we're seeing the sell

675
00:42:32,719 --> 00:42:37,480
off is going to start. I
don't think Lonzo or JJ finishes the season

676
00:42:37,519 --> 00:42:39,880
there. We already have the report
from Shams that JJ's probably gonna wind up

677
00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:45,239
in Boston, Brooklyn, or Philadelphia. It's definitely not going to be Brooklyn

678
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,840
one. I'm pretty sure it's illegal
to have Joe Harris, k D Kyrie,

679
00:42:49,199 --> 00:42:51,280
James Harden, and JJ Reddick on
the same team. But also they

680
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:55,679
don't have expiring money to move aside
from DJ or, not like sizeable money

681
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:59,639
that they can move aside from Djor
or Joe Harris. So like, I

682
00:42:59,679 --> 00:43:02,000
don't know with the packages there so
we know what JJ Redick's gone. You

683
00:43:02,079 --> 00:43:06,440
need more of like a point guard
on this roster. Who's not Eric Bledsoe,

684
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:07,960
even though he has not been the
one that's shooting the words from three,

685
00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:10,920
but someone who's more of a threat
to finish. Maybe that's Kyra Lewis

686
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,079
Junior, maybe it's Nikkil Alexander Walker. You need to clear up minutes for

687
00:43:15,119 --> 00:43:17,199
them, but they have been disappointing. I thought there would be more from

688
00:43:17,199 --> 00:43:22,079
them on defense this year, and
I'm just I think that there's a different

689
00:43:22,119 --> 00:43:23,280
way for them to play on offense. I get what they're trying to do

690
00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:27,480
with Brandon Ingram having the ball a
lot and even Zion having the ball out,

691
00:43:27,559 --> 00:43:30,840
but now it's come almost too much
at the expense of a Lonzo ball

692
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:34,000
to what end. That's his fault
because he's culpable. He's just he's not

693
00:43:34,039 --> 00:43:36,039
a threat to finish when he has
the ball in his hands, like he

694
00:43:36,079 --> 00:43:38,639
needs to either be in transition or
he's gonna hit hit three's. But like

695
00:43:38,639 --> 00:43:42,679
you need someone to put more pressure
on the rim than him. So I'm

696
00:43:42,679 --> 00:43:45,199
gonna buy it. I'm gonna lightly
buy it because I do think the Dallas

697
00:43:45,199 --> 00:43:49,079
has a case here. I think
even Toronto and Miami so far have cases.

698
00:43:49,639 --> 00:43:52,360
I think the Dallas has ultimately been
more disappointing to this point, but

699
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:57,840
I would bet on New Orleans finishing
the season as the most disappointing team once

700
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:00,960
we factor in the Dallas is probably
going to bring in someone to help if

701
00:44:01,039 --> 00:44:07,039
it doesn't just automatically improve through positive
regression. But New Orleans, as you

702
00:44:07,199 --> 00:44:10,199
laid out, is far more likely
to sell off pieces and to get worse

703
00:44:10,639 --> 00:44:14,400
before they get better. Yeah,
And I don't know if that makes them

704
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:16,079
disappointing, Like this is the long
term play, it shouldn't be about the

705
00:44:16,079 --> 00:44:19,880
season, so that might actually make
them less disappointing. And there does seem

706
00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:22,800
it's disconnect with expectations for both teams
too, I would say, because like

707
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:27,280
the Mavericks were built, is this
top three team in the West without getting

708
00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:30,400
like significantly better. And you knew
that KP was not going to be available

709
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:32,360
to start the year and he's only
played in three games so far. So

710
00:44:32,599 --> 00:44:36,639
I think it's with both teams,
the expectations were probably too lofty, and

711
00:44:36,719 --> 00:44:40,800
yet they've underperformed relative to even giving
them that cushion. Yep. Speaking of

712
00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:45,880
warped expectations. Let's move to the
Oklahoma City Thunder, who always had weird

713
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:51,519
expectations going into the season because they
were like the NBA's only team that it

714
00:44:51,599 --> 00:44:55,000
felt like they just had no pretense
of competing this season. And yet they

715
00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:00,719
have because they're the Thunder and that's
what they do. They're eat ten as

716
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:05,679
we're recording this, which is a
far better record than probably you or I

717
00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:07,440
expected. I don't want to put
words in your mouth, but certainly for

718
00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:13,039
me, so buy or sell?
The Thunder are capable of being bad enough

719
00:45:13,039 --> 00:45:15,639
to compete for the top pick in
the twenty twenty one draft. What does

720
00:45:15,639 --> 00:45:22,119
that mean? Bottom five record?
I would say, are they going to?

721
00:45:22,239 --> 00:45:25,079
Are they capable of finishing with a
bottom three record in the NBA?

722
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:29,559
I'll buy it. Look, their
point differential minus seven point two per one

723
00:45:29,599 --> 00:45:31,920
hundred possessions is second to last in
the league. Their offense is bad.

724
00:45:32,119 --> 00:45:36,199
Shake yo. Just Alexander does lift
it up to about average, which is

725
00:45:36,199 --> 00:45:38,360
impressive. So he's on the move. Their defense has been real good.

726
00:45:38,519 --> 00:45:42,039
Their defense is frisky, but it's
not good enough. Really. I think

727
00:45:42,079 --> 00:45:45,519
outside there, you know their core
starting five, and I do think some

728
00:45:45,599 --> 00:45:49,960
of the things that happen here.
Al Horford probably finishes the season in Oksey.

729
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:52,199
George Hill is definitely not finishing the
season in Oksey, and so you

730
00:45:52,239 --> 00:45:57,360
lose sort of a little bit of
proven depth there. And just as the

731
00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:00,880
season goes on, like I don't
know that, like you're still going to

732
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:06,159
be relying on Alexey Pokashevski is getting
minutes masche ghilistsand are eventually going to hit

733
00:46:06,199 --> 00:46:07,920
a wall. It's possible with just
the pressure that's being put on him.

734
00:46:08,039 --> 00:46:12,039
And then if you lose George Hill, that's one lest spacer to have around

735
00:46:12,119 --> 00:46:14,440
him. Darius Baisley, they're really
giving him a chance to branch out,

736
00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:16,480
and he's been all over the place
with the shooting this year. I will

737
00:46:16,599 --> 00:46:20,440
buy it. But they've been pleasant
to watch and competitive in certain games.

738
00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:22,920
And I do think it's because when
they kind of fus around with their lineup

739
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:27,000
combinations, they can do some things
defensively. Yeah, I'm with you,

740
00:46:27,119 --> 00:46:30,199
I'm gonna buy it. I do
think they'll give more minutes to the young

741
00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:34,159
guys as the season progresses. I'd
really like to see them give Kenrick Williams

742
00:46:34,199 --> 00:46:38,159
in particular even more run. But
Yeah, the point deferential does indicate that

743
00:46:38,159 --> 00:46:42,639
they've played above their heads to this
point. Pythagorean record, which just looks

744
00:46:42,679 --> 00:46:45,880
at points scored and allowed, says
that they should be a five and thirteen

745
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:49,400
team rather than an eight and ten. And when we're only eighteen games into

746
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:53,800
the season, a three game swing
is massive and it would completely reshape how

747
00:46:53,800 --> 00:46:57,880
we're framing this if they were five
and thirteen to this point. So yeah,

748
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:01,320
I think between the inevitable cell off
of George Hill and I'm not entirely

749
00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:07,880
confident that Al Horford will be there
as unpalatable as his contract maybe, Yeah,

750
00:47:07,079 --> 00:47:12,320
I just I can't see them remaining
this competitive for the whole season.

751
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:15,639
Yeah, I mean that's I think
we're both on the same page there.

752
00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:20,559
That would bring us to the Phoenix
Suns buy or sell. The Phoenix Suns

753
00:47:20,599 --> 00:47:22,639
are the biggest threat to the Clippers
and the Lakers in the Western Conference.

754
00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:28,119
I'm gonna buy it. Yeah.
I don't think that's any surprise to anyone

755
00:47:28,119 --> 00:47:31,119
who's listened to like any previous episodes
of this podcast. I just I remain

756
00:47:31,199 --> 00:47:36,440
really high on the current Phoenix roster
to the point that I wouldn't make major

757
00:47:36,519 --> 00:47:39,599
changes with DeAndre Aden, who seems
to kind of be figuring out his level

758
00:47:39,639 --> 00:47:45,159
of aggression lately and playing better basketball
on both ends of the court as everyone

759
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:47,880
just adjusts to Chris Paul as Devin
Booker starts to hit more shots. This

760
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:52,039
is a good team on both ends
of the court. It's a deep team.

761
00:47:52,079 --> 00:47:55,760
There's top level talents as good as
the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz are

762
00:47:55,800 --> 00:48:00,039
who I'm assuming we're going to view
as the primary threats to those LA teams.

763
00:48:00,119 --> 00:48:05,239
Yeah, I think that Phoenix has
the highest ceiling. I actually thought

764
00:48:05,239 --> 00:48:07,159
you were going to sell this because
I buy it as well. And they

765
00:48:07,159 --> 00:48:09,599
don't have Devin Booker right now while
he's dealing with it. I think it's

766
00:48:09,599 --> 00:48:13,880
a hamstring injury. The win over
the Mavericks was huge. We've seen them

767
00:48:13,880 --> 00:48:15,800
blow some leads in crunch time,
Chris Paul, by the way, shooting

768
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:20,039
twelve of twenty from mid range and
crunch time, which is sixty percent because

769
00:48:20,039 --> 00:48:23,480
he's freaking Chris Paul. So I
buy it because I do think they're starting

770
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:25,920
to figure things out and this feels
like a team that's coming to peak as

771
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:30,039
the season goes on, assuming health
and Paul has been playing a lot of

772
00:48:30,119 --> 00:48:34,000
minutes lately, so that's something to
monitor as well. But DeAndre Ayton,

773
00:48:34,039 --> 00:48:37,800
I think what's been interesting with him
is that this isn't a matter of why

774
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:40,639
he was struggling until recently because he
was deviating from the offense. It was

775
00:48:40,679 --> 00:48:44,639
that he was kind of sort of
doing the things that he needed to do,

776
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:49,000
but just not well like almost not
like not even slipping screens, but

777
00:48:49,039 --> 00:48:51,119
like running away from them because he
didn't want to put the ball on the

778
00:48:51,119 --> 00:48:53,320
floor off the catch. He's not
doing that as often now, and I

779
00:48:53,360 --> 00:48:57,480
do think his defensive impact, despite
what the on off numbers still say for

780
00:48:57,480 --> 00:49:00,440
the Phoenix and just their starters in
general, I think you're going to see

781
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:05,039
it normalize. And when you watch
them play defense, just between having Michael

782
00:49:05,079 --> 00:49:07,719
Bridges, Jay Crowder, and DeAndre
Atan on the court in certain times,

783
00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:10,400
like they can switch literally anything they
want because eight is so good in space.

784
00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:14,679
But even with a Crowder and a
Michael Bridges, and if we're looking

785
00:49:14,719 --> 00:49:20,199
at those specific matchups against the Clippers
and the Lakers, I'm not saying that

786
00:49:20,559 --> 00:49:23,599
these guys are stoppers for those players, but they have capable bodies to throw

787
00:49:23,639 --> 00:49:28,800
at Anthony Davis and Lebron Kawai and
Paul George. When you look at Bridges

788
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,159
can go up against one of them, and then you have Jay Crowder for

789
00:49:32,239 --> 00:49:34,920
the other one. When you're looking
at the Clippers, and then with the

790
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,079
Lakers, it's do I think Eighten
should be defending Davis? There are gonna

791
00:49:37,079 --> 00:49:39,760
be points where he's the power forwards
or it doesn't even matter. But Jay

792
00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:44,079
Crowder can be thrown at Davis and
then you have Mchaal Bridges to like use.

793
00:49:44,119 --> 00:49:45,320
Maybe he gets overpowered against Lebron,
but you have Jay Crowder to go

794
00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:50,599
up against Lebron. They just have
more defensive options against those teams than I

795
00:49:50,639 --> 00:49:52,679
think any other team in the Western
Conference right now might be fair to say.

796
00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:55,519
So I'm absolutely buying it. And
it's just a case of remember when

797
00:49:55,519 --> 00:49:58,559
we thought about the Clippers last season, it felt like they were going to

798
00:49:58,599 --> 00:50:00,119
be a team that hit their stride
later on they got used to one another.

799
00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:05,519
This is that again. But like
you can eat more easily bet against

800
00:50:05,519 --> 00:50:08,840
like it doesn't seem like there's a
chemistry issue here because everyone's kind of sort

801
00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:12,960
of on the same page. And
if DeAndre atan is like play is going

802
00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:15,320
to normalize. In general, this
team just becomes ultra difficult to be and

803
00:50:15,360 --> 00:50:17,719
I think even with Devin Booker when
he comes back, he'll probably turn the

804
00:50:17,719 --> 00:50:21,559
ball over less. Chemistry with Chris
Paul will get a lot better, and

805
00:50:21,599 --> 00:50:23,280
even some of his shooting numbers,
those are going to get better as well.

806
00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:28,599
We know how good the Nuggets are
and can be. The Utah Jazz

807
00:50:28,639 --> 00:50:32,599
have just been scorching hot prior to
Sunday's game against the Nuggets where Yoki scored

808
00:50:32,679 --> 00:50:37,840
thirty one in the first half.
And yet I still just I feel like

809
00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:40,159
Phoenix is going to trend up and
up and up throughout the season to the

810
00:50:40,199 --> 00:50:44,920
point that it's the popular I don't
feel like picking one of the Los Angeles

811
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:47,159
teams to come out of the Western
Conference pick. And all I have to

812
00:50:47,199 --> 00:50:51,360
add beyond that is a shout out
to Cameron Johnson, who somehow has not

813
00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:54,000
been mentioned to this point in a
Son's segment, and we need to because

814
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:57,480
he's really good at basketball. Yeah, and look, I went on the

815
00:50:57,519 --> 00:51:00,840
Timeline podcast, a fellow Bluelyar podcast
a week ago. Actually we went in

816
00:51:00,920 --> 00:51:05,199
depth on a lot of stuff.
Mike V. Hill and Sam Cooper,

817
00:51:05,199 --> 00:51:07,599
they're they're awesome. You guys check
out that podcast. Cam Johnson has been

818
00:51:07,639 --> 00:51:10,280
the Mike mentioned this to me and
the DMS at one point, and so

819
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:14,119
that Cam Johnson has been better defensively
this year than he thought. So I

820
00:51:14,159 --> 00:51:15,480
went and I looked and like,
holy crap, Like he just moves a

821
00:51:15,519 --> 00:51:19,679
lot better. And even when Dario
Sarch is out, I think he's still

822
00:51:19,679 --> 00:51:22,000
in health and safety protocols. Is
he injured at this point. I can't

823
00:51:22,039 --> 00:51:23,480
keep track with everything that's going on
in the in the NBA. I think

824
00:51:23,480 --> 00:51:28,280
he's out with health and safety protocols, like the backup when he's at the

825
00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:32,000
five. They've just been absolutely annihilating
opponents, and so there's a lot to

826
00:51:32,039 --> 00:51:35,400
really like about this team. You
could get into talk where it seems like

827
00:51:35,440 --> 00:51:37,440
there's some sort of fragile depth where
it's like do they actually have enough depth

828
00:51:37,519 --> 00:51:40,360
upfront? But yeah, they do. If Sarch is your backup center,

829
00:51:40,400 --> 00:51:44,079
you have enough depth. If campaign
is going to play well, like,

830
00:51:44,119 --> 00:51:45,920
yeah, you have enough guard depth
and you can stagger Chris Paul and Devin

831
00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:51,400
Booker like they've been doing a ton
this season. So really high on this

832
00:51:51,440 --> 00:51:53,239
team, and I hadn't wavered It's
one of the few where I normally second

833
00:51:53,280 --> 00:51:58,320
guess everything if teams struggle. Just
one of the rare instances where I'm just

834
00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:00,920
so confident that their recent sort of
lull did not bother me in the slightest.

835
00:52:01,320 --> 00:52:04,840
Yeah, I'm right there with you. And also just a slight correction,

836
00:52:05,199 --> 00:52:07,559
Yo could scored again before the end
of the first half. So we

837
00:52:07,599 --> 00:52:10,280
actually had a thirty three point first
half against Utah on Sunday. I just

838
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:14,840
want to point out that is fewer
than thirty four. It is, so

839
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:17,119
really he needs to step up.
Yes, that's all. He's struggling a

840
00:52:17,159 --> 00:52:23,880
little too much. The Portland Trailblazers, they currently have the twenty ninth ranked

841
00:52:23,920 --> 00:52:30,159
defense in the NBA. They are
dealing with just a litany of injuries between

842
00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:32,760
c J McCollum and c J.
L Abe and Derrick Jones Junior who now

843
00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:37,960
has a foot sprain, and Zach
Collins and use of nurkicch So my buyer

844
00:52:37,039 --> 00:52:42,440
cell here is that they have the
personnel to improve their twenty ninth ranked defense

845
00:52:42,519 --> 00:52:49,599
this season, with or without a
trade. Yeah, I'll buy I'm just

846
00:52:49,679 --> 00:52:52,920
I'm looking at some of the lineups
that they can form and I'll buy it.

847
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:55,679
There's like a level of underachieving there. What do you mean by improve?

848
00:52:55,760 --> 00:52:59,760
I guess is really the the one, because do you think, let's

849
00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:01,679
say, if they can be at
least on the cusp of a top half

850
00:53:01,719 --> 00:53:08,920
defense. I'm like, you know, eighteen dish, you know somewhere around

851
00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:14,519
there. I will, oh,
man, you made this tough. I

852
00:53:14,559 --> 00:53:16,239
mean a lot of it's pride on
when use of Nurkics comes back. Is

853
00:53:16,239 --> 00:53:22,400
the use of Nurkics that absolutely matters. Oh my god, I don't know.

854
00:53:22,639 --> 00:53:24,119
I might, I'll let you,
I'll let you think, and I'll

855
00:53:24,159 --> 00:53:27,960
just say that I'm gonna sell it. Just because there are too many injuries

856
00:53:28,039 --> 00:53:30,519
right now. I don't think they
have the ammo to go out and make

857
00:53:30,559 --> 00:53:35,760
a major trade that would overhaul their
defense. And I don't have confidence in

858
00:53:35,840 --> 00:53:38,400
Zach Collins or use of Nurkics being
Zach Collins, or use of Nurkics when

859
00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:42,280
they're immediately back on the floor this
season, because they've just missed too much

860
00:53:42,280 --> 00:53:46,440
time and they need to work their
way into some form of chemistry with largely

861
00:53:46,480 --> 00:53:51,480
a new look rotation, because you
know, everyone's still adjusting to Carmelo Anthony

862
00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:54,719
Robert Covington is new, Rodney Hood
is back from injury, Derrick Jones Junior

863
00:53:54,760 --> 00:53:59,159
is a new addition, Gary Trent
Junior hadn't broken out until so late last

864
00:53:59,239 --> 00:54:01,599
year, and they're still figuring out
how to play without McCollum, who's always

865
00:54:01,639 --> 00:54:06,719
been available for them. So there's
just there's too much going on here to

866
00:54:06,960 --> 00:54:09,840
to really have confidence in that like
large improvement that they would need to get

867
00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:13,599
out of that twenty ninth spot.
Like if if we want to say to

868
00:54:13,719 --> 00:54:16,280
like twenty six, sure, but
that's just a marginal improvement. I'm talking

869
00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:20,360
more more wholescale than that. Yeah, if you want to ask me whether

870
00:54:20,519 --> 00:54:22,119
I think the Blazers are gonna end
up being the what are they the second

871
00:54:22,119 --> 00:54:25,920
worst defensive team by points per possession
allowed per possession right now, I will

872
00:54:25,920 --> 00:54:30,480
sell that. I'm with you and
probably going to buy. And there's there's

873
00:54:30,519 --> 00:54:36,599
also the level of choice here where
if you're looking at some of their their

874
00:54:36,639 --> 00:54:42,119
most used lineups so far, the
Covington, Nurkicch and Jones combination, which

875
00:54:42,119 --> 00:54:45,000
we could talk about what that would
do to your spacing in general, that's

876
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:49,320
been like lee average defensively this year
when when they're on the court together.

877
00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:52,639
If I'm not mistaken, so I
will sell it. But are you also

878
00:54:52,679 --> 00:54:54,079
going to rely on you know,
if you're going to play Simon's a ton

879
00:54:54,159 --> 00:54:59,079
moving forward, if McCollum comes back
because it continues playing well, there's maybe

880
00:54:59,079 --> 00:55:00,360
you don't. I don't. There's
just there's so many injuries right now,

881
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:02,880
it's tough to envision. I don't
even view Collins as a you know,

882
00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:07,000
like a factor for them. And
he might be one of the most overrated

883
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:09,880
prospects if you want to call him
still prospect now, I think because ESPN

884
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:14,760
zac rim protection numbers have always been
good. Though ESPN zac Loo was so

885
00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:16,280
high on him, I would just
question whether if you're going to play him

886
00:55:16,320 --> 00:55:20,159
next to NRK and you've been hesitant
to play him as a backup five thus

887
00:55:20,199 --> 00:55:22,920
far, how does that work?
And then also look, he has not

888
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:25,880
been the best three point shooter for
his career and last year he shot thirty

889
00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:29,159
six point eight percent from beyond the
arc, which is great. It was

890
00:55:29,239 --> 00:55:32,360
nineteen attempts because he played in eleven
games, and so let's chill. There's

891
00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:36,239
I think they need to make a
move. I don't know what the move

892
00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:38,960
would be, I will here's something
that's interesting. There's a chance that this

893
00:55:39,039 --> 00:55:43,119
team ends up being a lot better
in the postseason than the regular season,

894
00:55:43,239 --> 00:55:46,960
just sort of looking at if they're
healthy, having Yeah, and then there's

895
00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:51,519
also like having Derek Jones junior in
and Robert Comington and if Nurk is just

896
00:55:51,519 --> 00:55:54,280
playing better to where you have just
a sturdier rim protection around the rim,

897
00:55:54,280 --> 00:55:58,159
and they've had thus far this season. So I'm gonna sell it for the

898
00:55:58,199 --> 00:56:00,719
regular season. I would say keep
an eye for it in the playoffs and

899
00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:07,599
maybe a player like that Derry Joe
Jure doesn't play as much in the playoffs,

900
00:56:07,599 --> 00:56:09,280
like that could totally be a factor, just if they're trying to cater

901
00:56:09,360 --> 00:56:13,679
to the offense. But I would
think that there there's a chance there,

902
00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:16,000
So sell it for the regular season. I might loosely buy it for the

903
00:56:16,039 --> 00:56:20,920
postseason before we move on to the
Sacramento Kings. I feel like this is

904
00:56:21,079 --> 00:56:24,599
maybe the first time we've been in
lockstep on anything relating to the Portland Trail

905
00:56:24,599 --> 00:56:30,119
Blazzers and like a year. But
it's one that friend of the podcast,

906
00:56:30,199 --> 00:56:36,920
Tara Boone Biggs may not be thrilled
about, So sorry, Tara apologies she

907
00:56:36,960 --> 00:56:38,039
did. I think I saw a
tweet from her the other night that she's

908
00:56:38,039 --> 00:56:42,880
just focusing on the Portland's offense right
now anyway, and so I totally I

909
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:45,559
respect that. So that's I do
too, because it's a lot of fun.

910
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:50,840
I will always watch as when Damian
Lillard is on the court. I'm

911
00:56:50,840 --> 00:56:54,480
going to tune in Damian Lillard is
scoring six points and like point one seconds

912
00:56:54,559 --> 00:56:58,119
on Saturday night too. That was
That was a great game winner. Was

913
00:56:58,159 --> 00:57:02,320
so cool. We are on to
the Sacramental Kings and so winners of three

914
00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:07,039
of their last four as we record
this, Adam, do you buy ourselves

915
00:57:07,039 --> 00:57:10,920
that the Sacramento Kings have turned the
corner? I think I loosely buy it.

916
00:57:13,440 --> 00:57:19,599
I want to hear first why that's
frightening? What is it that you

917
00:57:19,679 --> 00:57:24,159
buy about their turnaround? I think
I just buy that this roster has enough

918
00:57:24,199 --> 00:57:28,760
talent to be better than it's been. So do I think that it's suddenly

919
00:57:28,760 --> 00:57:30,920
like this playoff bound juggernaut, No, absolutely not. Do I think it's

920
00:57:30,920 --> 00:57:35,239
going to continue to win seventy five
percent of its games? No, absolutely

921
00:57:35,239 --> 00:57:37,920
not. But I think that it's
not just the Western Conference bottom feeder that

922
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:43,440
it had been prior to this mini
turnaround because Deer and Fox is that good.

923
00:57:43,719 --> 00:57:47,079
Buddy Healed can hit shots, Tyrese
Haliburton has been unbelievably good for a

924
00:57:47,159 --> 00:57:52,239
rookie. Harrison Barnes has been a
very capable veteran. Marvin Bagley has looked

925
00:57:52,280 --> 00:57:55,800
better. Rishaun Holmes is still there. I just I think that there are

926
00:57:57,400 --> 00:58:01,920
enough that was a compliment to Holmes
that negatives about him prior to this streak.

927
00:58:02,639 --> 00:58:06,800
But yeah, I just I think
there are enough pieces and the pieces

928
00:58:06,800 --> 00:58:09,920
do still make sense together that I
just I don't think that this is this

929
00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:15,519
absolute basement dweller of a team that
it had been to this point. So

930
00:58:15,840 --> 00:58:19,079
I look, if you want to
say so, over the last five games,

931
00:58:19,119 --> 00:58:21,599
if you look at some of the
way Daron Foxman solid all season,

932
00:58:21,679 --> 00:58:23,840
it's three balls starting to fall.
That's good. Harrison Barnes playing well,

933
00:58:23,880 --> 00:58:28,920
Buddy Healed shingoverty per from three during
this stretch. Backley, I think it's

934
00:58:28,960 --> 00:58:31,280
sort of the big one here where
he looks like a good offensive NBA player

935
00:58:31,400 --> 00:58:37,800
lately. I do I trust.
I don't trust their defense even kind of

936
00:58:37,880 --> 00:58:42,159
sort of like it's just not it
hasn't been there there, They've switched,

937
00:58:42,679 --> 00:58:45,199
and to be fair, I've not
watched or caught any of their last three

938
00:58:45,239 --> 00:58:49,599
games, so I want to make
this clear. They've they just like switched

939
00:58:49,639 --> 00:58:52,079
for the sake of switching, and
they just don't really have a personnel to

940
00:58:52,119 --> 00:58:55,199
do that until that point. Maybe
they have changed it, so that's something

941
00:58:55,239 --> 00:59:00,559
that I think will ultimately hold them
back. You could look at too,

942
00:59:00,800 --> 00:59:05,039
and I'm not saying that the winds
during this stretch are not quality if you're

943
00:59:05,039 --> 00:59:07,639
gonna beat Memphis right now, like
that's just sort of a slog, but

944
00:59:07,800 --> 00:59:10,400
the defensive issues have still been sort
of present in them. And I don't

945
00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:14,639
know that celebrating a win over the
Knicks or the way that the Raptors have

946
00:59:14,679 --> 00:59:16,639
played this year, and I know
the Knicks have been better of late,

947
00:59:16,679 --> 00:59:20,519
so maybe it is easier to buy
into this. The other thing that's going

948
00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:24,400
into this for me is what does
buying it look like? Because Sacramento currently

949
00:59:25,159 --> 00:59:28,920
Sacramento is and look, here's the
problem too, is there are teams that

950
00:59:28,960 --> 00:59:31,079
are behind Sacramento in the standings right
now that you would expect to sort of

951
00:59:31,159 --> 00:59:34,840
rise up. Spoiler alert, Minnesota
is not one of them. But the

952
00:59:34,880 --> 00:59:38,400
Pelicans, the Mavericks, those two
maybe, And so what does buying into

953
00:59:38,880 --> 00:59:43,639
them playing better look like? If
you want to buy it offensively that Marvin

954
00:59:43,639 --> 00:59:46,719
Bagley's not a lost cause. I'm
sure the other factor to go into this

955
00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:51,159
is like how many of these guys
are still on the team moving forward,

956
00:59:51,239 --> 00:59:54,079
because I would say that Danion Fox
and Tyrese Halibert are the only untouchables.

957
00:59:54,119 --> 00:59:58,000
I wouldn't move for John Holmes,
but with him entering free agency, you

958
00:59:58,079 --> 01:00:00,079
might have to look at it.
Also, sound White Ti has been pla

959
01:00:00,199 --> 01:00:02,119
some pretty good basketball of late.
Shout out to him, since I know

960
01:00:02,320 --> 01:00:07,599
he tends to be like a target
of NBA Twitter. I just I have

961
01:00:07,679 --> 01:00:09,440
to sell it. I would need
if we want to jump another like five

962
01:00:09,519 --> 01:00:13,480
to ten games ahead, maybe I'll
be more inclined to buy it if they're

963
01:00:13,480 --> 01:00:16,679
still playing at that level. Yeah, I'm only buying that they look more

964
01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:22,679
like a capable basketball team. I
just should continue to look like that.

965
01:00:22,760 --> 01:00:28,039
I'm gonna say, you know,
over under one point five of these players

966
01:00:28,079 --> 01:00:32,840
being treated this season for them be
Elitza of Not Halberton, Holmes, Buddy

967
01:00:32,880 --> 01:00:37,480
Healed, and Harrison Barnes over under
one point five, I'll go over that.

968
01:00:37,800 --> 01:00:40,920
I think that the Elites is basically
a lock to be moved, and

969
01:00:40,960 --> 01:00:46,639
then I would bet on both Healed
and Harrison Barnes being moved. Barnes feels

970
01:00:46,639 --> 01:00:51,760
just like a natural glue guy fit
for a contender who just doesn't make sense

971
01:00:51,760 --> 01:00:54,599
in Sacramento for that much longer,
and Healds just you know, has been

972
01:00:54,639 --> 01:01:00,800
malcontent there before and everyone always wants
shooting. I think I would go over

973
01:01:00,840 --> 01:01:06,239
to right, you're ready to move
on to the San Antonio spreading anti Spurs.

974
01:01:06,320 --> 01:01:08,800
I'm going to focus on Demarta Rosen
here, who at the time we're

975
01:01:08,840 --> 01:01:14,079
recording, is averaging nineteen point eight
points, four point eight rebounds, six

976
01:01:14,119 --> 01:01:15,880
point seven assists. He's shooting forty
eight point eight percent from the field,

977
01:01:15,920 --> 01:01:21,280
thirty seven point one percent from three, and notably has already made thirteen threes

978
01:01:21,320 --> 01:01:24,480
after hitting a combined sixteen the last
two seasons. Now, all of that

979
01:01:24,599 --> 01:01:30,599
said, the Spurs net rating has
been eleven point three points per one hundred

980
01:01:30,639 --> 01:01:34,719
possessions worse with him on the floor. So are you buying or selling that

981
01:01:34,840 --> 01:01:39,039
this is the best basketball that Demarta
Rosen has ever played? Oh? Ever,

982
01:01:40,079 --> 01:01:43,559
sell there has to be just some
time in Toronto. That's better.

983
01:01:43,599 --> 01:01:45,800
I did look at it, but
there just has to be. There was

984
01:01:45,840 --> 01:01:50,800
a season where he actually kind of
shot threes and it was fine. It's

985
01:01:51,039 --> 01:01:54,519
so I'm trying to think of I
would have to argue that twenty sixteen twenty

986
01:01:54,519 --> 01:01:59,519
seventeen Demarta Rosen was better than this. I think you could even argue that

987
01:01:59,559 --> 01:02:04,079
twenty seventeen twenty eighteen to mart Rozen
is better than this. I think I'm

988
01:02:04,119 --> 01:02:08,039
gonna buy it. I feel like
this is the most complete he's ever been,

989
01:02:08,719 --> 01:02:14,960
where the passing strides that he's made
are just absolutely remarkable. It's not

990
01:02:15,039 --> 01:02:17,440
just that he's averaging six point seven
assists that those are only being coupled with

991
01:02:17,519 --> 01:02:22,920
one point seven turnovers per game.
He's been remarkably involved as a distributor without

992
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:29,840
making mistakes of the unforced or forced
variety. Really he's spacing the court more,

993
01:02:30,000 --> 01:02:32,880
he's willing to take three pointers,
and that on off swing seems to

994
01:02:32,880 --> 01:02:37,559
be far more a function of the
depth of the Spurs and just we've always

995
01:02:37,559 --> 01:02:43,480
seen Greg Popovich coach teams have wonky
net rating swings because of how he coaches

996
01:02:43,559 --> 01:02:46,960
up the bench and mixes and matches, lineups and whatnot. So yeah,

997
01:02:47,039 --> 01:02:52,599
I just I don't know that I've
ever seen a version of Derosen who just

998
01:02:52,719 --> 01:02:57,159
looked like a better basketball player.
So it is it fair to say that

999
01:02:57,199 --> 01:03:00,519
this is the best. It's tough
because I feel like he's not take out

1000
01:03:01,199 --> 01:03:04,360
you might have talked me into it. I feel like he's not taking on

1001
01:03:04,400 --> 01:03:06,800
the same amount of role. But
the passing just replaces a lot of the

1002
01:03:06,800 --> 01:03:10,079
scoring dip. And he look,
this is the second highest true shooting percentage

1003
01:03:10,199 --> 01:03:14,920
of his career right now. He's
also posting the second highest pr and so

1004
01:03:14,960 --> 01:03:16,840
I might and the scoring dip is
still nineteen point eight points per game.

1005
01:03:17,199 --> 01:03:22,280
Yeah, I'm torn, Like,
is there a differentiation between this is the

1006
01:03:22,280 --> 01:03:25,000
best version of demardar Rosen we've ever
seen as opposed to his best season,

1007
01:03:25,280 --> 01:03:29,760
because it feels like this version of
demartar Rosen is easier to fit in different

1008
01:03:29,800 --> 01:03:34,199
situation just because like he you know
that that twenty sixteen seventeen team where he

1009
01:03:34,360 --> 01:03:37,119
was so effective on it. It
was fifty one and thirty one and finished

1010
01:03:37,159 --> 01:03:39,559
third in the East. So like, I think it wasted in that season

1011
01:03:39,559 --> 01:03:43,599
though, So there are people that
pushed back and push back against that too,

1012
01:03:43,880 --> 01:03:47,119
right, Yeah, so that's that
season he was He had a negative

1013
01:03:47,159 --> 01:03:51,639
five point two swing during that season, I mean, and that's that's been

1014
01:03:51,679 --> 01:03:55,360
a constant throughout his career. The
only positive in the net rating swing category

1015
01:03:55,440 --> 01:04:00,239
is plus three point nine back in
twenty eleven twelve with the Raptors. This

1016
01:04:00,280 --> 01:04:03,239
is just Demarta Rosen like that.
We know that's going to happen, just

1017
01:04:03,280 --> 01:04:11,559
because his abilities don't always translate two
wins directly. But yeah, I just

1018
01:04:11,679 --> 01:04:14,599
I think that even if this isn't
the most valuable he's been, that he

1019
01:04:14,719 --> 01:04:17,440
it's the best he's been. I
will buy that this is the best version

1020
01:04:17,480 --> 01:04:20,840
of Demarta Rosen we have we've ever
seen. I do think what's helped too,

1021
01:04:20,920 --> 01:04:24,440
it's like sort of how the Spurs
play around him at this point where

1022
01:04:24,599 --> 01:04:28,360
where it's always four out. I
am disappointed that you didn't use this forum

1023
01:04:28,440 --> 01:04:32,159
to talk about Devin Vassell or Kelvin
Johnson. I do forgive you the Spurs

1024
01:04:32,239 --> 01:04:36,639
quietly by the way, Oh,
they've they've dropped because the West is wild.

1025
01:04:36,760 --> 01:04:39,880
They're not ninth in the West,
but they were fourth in the West

1026
01:04:39,880 --> 01:04:42,639
without Derek White, and Derek White
is back now. I believe he played

1027
01:04:42,639 --> 01:04:45,400
on Saturday. I didn't catch that
game that they played. So Spurs team

1028
01:04:45,440 --> 01:04:47,320
to watch, a lot of teams
to watch in the West, go figure

1029
01:04:47,400 --> 01:04:49,679
our final team. At what point? At what point are we going to

1030
01:04:49,719 --> 01:04:57,519
start acknowledging that we talk about the
Magic and the Spurs very differently even though

1031
01:04:57,519 --> 01:05:01,760
they have like the same strategy.
Well, the Spurs strategy is panned out

1032
01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:05,280
in a tougher con conference. I
think that's the key. And they have

1033
01:05:05,480 --> 01:05:12,079
the history of winning, Like the
Magic didn't win like the Spurs descended to

1034
01:05:12,119 --> 01:05:16,920
the mediocrity treadmill. The Magic haven't
like ever ascended past that post like Shack

1035
01:05:17,000 --> 01:05:20,400
and t Mac. I guess yeah, they're like the Spurs are playing so

1036
01:05:20,440 --> 01:05:24,079
well, or at least, you
know, looking at Dwight Howard years,

1037
01:05:24,119 --> 01:05:27,159
I should say even then, like, well, the Spurs are just and

1038
01:05:27,199 --> 01:05:29,559
maybe they're not playing so well,
but they're surviving in the West, which

1039
01:05:29,599 --> 01:05:30,760
is still maybe it's not as great
as it's been, but it's still tough

1040
01:05:30,800 --> 01:05:33,320
when you're in the middle class.
And also just like the Marta Rozen,

1041
01:05:33,400 --> 01:05:38,199
Keldon Johnson and Jaco peartle playing so
well, where it's like we don't talk

1042
01:05:38,199 --> 01:05:43,079
about how they boxed the Kawhi trade
nearly enough because they did, but they

1043
01:05:43,119 --> 01:05:45,440
got Kelton Johnson out of it,
who might end up being like this legitimate

1044
01:05:45,559 --> 01:05:48,880
cornerstone. So, uh, you've
heard it here first. The Dan is

1045
01:05:48,920 --> 01:05:54,039
saying that Keldon Johnson is basically as
good as Kawhi Leonard. Kelvin Johnson might

1046
01:05:54,079 --> 01:05:56,920
be the most reckless player in the
NBA right now. I love it,

1047
01:05:56,960 --> 01:06:00,840
really fun to watch. Yeah,
But so he's I think he's my favorite

1048
01:06:00,840 --> 01:06:03,360
long term prospect for them. I'm
still big Derek White and Devin vassel Stan

1049
01:06:03,480 --> 01:06:06,199
so that core. I want to
see more of those three together. Man.

1050
01:06:06,280 --> 01:06:10,039
That's the Those are the three players
I'm watching for them long term.

1051
01:06:10,400 --> 01:06:14,079
Our final team that no one wants
to hear about fantasy basketball teams. But

1052
01:06:14,199 --> 01:06:17,320
I picked up along with my co
owner Kelton Johnson the first week of the

1053
01:06:17,320 --> 01:06:20,039
season, and I feel like he's
just going to be on our team forever.

1054
01:06:21,079 --> 01:06:25,000
Look, look, it takes a
lot to work your way into the

1055
01:06:25,039 --> 01:06:28,199
Spurs rotation as a second year player. It's I know they're sort of still

1056
01:06:28,239 --> 01:06:30,679
kind of rebuilding, but it takes
it. He's actually over thirty minutes per

1057
01:06:30,679 --> 01:06:33,199
game. I would argue that that
might be the most a second year player

1058
01:06:33,199 --> 01:06:39,400
has average in San Antonio since maybe
a Tim Duncan. Why don't you do

1059
01:06:39,519 --> 01:06:44,400
a long lead in to the next
team and I'll figure that out. I

1060
01:06:44,480 --> 01:06:46,760
will focus on this for Kelton Johnson
pretty quickly. Fourteen point five points,

1061
01:06:46,800 --> 01:06:50,239
two point two assists, seven point
four rebounds. He's a pretty good rebounder,

1062
01:06:50,280 --> 01:06:54,639
shooting fifty three point six percent on
twos, which is it's lower than

1063
01:06:54,679 --> 01:06:58,039
last year, but it's on higher
volume. And it's actually shocking because of

1064
01:06:58,039 --> 01:07:00,960
how he just bold tries to build
those through these crowds thirty three point nine

1065
01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:03,960
percent on three. But I think
he has more to offer there. He

1066
01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:10,159
moves on defense really well. He's
just an absolute joy to watch for them,

1067
01:07:10,360 --> 01:07:14,920
and between him and Vassell and White
and even Murray and Lonnie Walker,

1068
01:07:14,960 --> 01:07:16,440
they just all of a sudden have
all these win bodies that they didn't have

1069
01:07:16,920 --> 01:07:21,440
before. Anyway, I'll move into
Utah very quickly while you're looking up that

1070
01:07:21,519 --> 01:07:28,679
Spurst that so byers. My buyer
cell is that Utah is more than just

1071
01:07:28,960 --> 01:07:32,079
an astounding regular season team, and
I think it's come back to that a

1072
01:07:32,119 --> 01:07:34,800
lot for them, where it's always
they're so deep. They have more what

1073
01:07:34,800 --> 01:07:39,719
you would call very good NBA players
on their team than perhaps any other squad

1074
01:07:39,880 --> 01:07:43,119
in the league right now, but
it always feels like there's something missing.

1075
01:07:43,360 --> 01:07:46,800
Over the last this game against the
Nuggets that we're recording through. Notwithstanding,

1076
01:07:47,360 --> 01:07:50,719
it is looked like they are just
a force to be reckoned with over their

1077
01:07:50,760 --> 01:07:56,079
last eleven games, all of which
they've won. In the nine that Donovan

1078
01:07:56,119 --> 01:07:59,239
Mitchell was played in, he's really
turned a corner over twenty five points while

1079
01:07:59,280 --> 01:08:02,960
slashing forty eight, forty six,
eighty eight. Essentially, Jordan Clarks has

1080
01:08:02,960 --> 01:08:06,800
been great for them all year.
Ditto for Mike Conley. There's no just

1081
01:08:06,960 --> 01:08:11,760
like learning curve anymore between he and
Rudy Gobert. It's amazing how even after

1082
01:08:11,760 --> 01:08:15,519
factoring in last season, like he's
just now hardwired to how to throw lobs

1083
01:08:15,559 --> 01:08:16,880
and like where to put the ball. For Rudy Gobert, there's chemistry there.

1084
01:08:17,000 --> 01:08:20,840
Bai Yeah, Bodanovitch starting to hit
his three ball and he's underachieved relative

1085
01:08:20,880 --> 01:08:26,359
expectations for the season. Joe Ingles
shooting a fifty five percent from three during

1086
01:08:26,359 --> 01:08:29,520
their winning streak, which again is
about to end. Rudy Gobert. I

1087
01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:31,760
don't think he's receiving it. This
probably looks terrible because Jokich went off for

1088
01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:36,680
thirty nine thousand points in the first
half of Sunday's game. I don't think

1089
01:08:36,680 --> 01:08:41,600
he's receiving enough. Defensive Player of
the Year love. The jazzer second in

1090
01:08:41,760 --> 01:08:45,520
points loot per possession, and he
does he does more than just protect the

1091
01:08:45,560 --> 01:08:48,039
rim, like he can come out
into the short mid range and deter shots,

1092
01:08:48,039 --> 01:08:50,960
block shot shots. No, he's
not the most switchable guy, but

1093
01:08:50,960 --> 01:08:55,920
if he's low enough, yeah,
he can beat and so I again,

1094
01:08:56,000 --> 01:08:58,760
maybe Miles Turner beats him, Maybe
Anthony Davis beats him out, Maybe even

1095
01:08:58,800 --> 01:09:00,600
Joel em beats so it has a
chance of there can't be voter for a

1096
01:09:00,600 --> 01:09:03,720
team here. And because he's a
little bit more matchup proof than a lot

1097
01:09:03,760 --> 01:09:06,600
of those guys, certainly more than
Anthony Davis, I'd be on the fence

1098
01:09:06,640 --> 01:09:09,920
about Miles Turner. I'd probably say, yeah, a little bit more matchup

1099
01:09:09,920 --> 01:09:13,600
proof than him. The Jazz are
still just he's so dominant defensively and the

1100
01:09:13,640 --> 01:09:16,760
on off swings are just wild with
him. So not receiving enough love there,

1101
01:09:17,960 --> 01:09:21,039
They've been really good. I still
think before I throw it to you.

1102
01:09:21,119 --> 01:09:25,199
Since I went through the spield,
I might sell it. I feel

1103
01:09:25,239 --> 01:09:30,159
like they are a very good team
and they're just one like Jay Crowder ish

1104
01:09:30,239 --> 01:09:32,479
type players short. And that's not
a troll because they already had Jay Crowder.

1105
01:09:32,760 --> 01:09:36,119
They just need somewhat different to match
up with those top tier wings.

1106
01:09:36,159 --> 01:09:41,279
On defense, You're never gonna stop
a Lebron or an Anthony Davis. But

1107
01:09:41,279 --> 01:09:44,439
like, you don't even have,
like, aside from Royce O'Neill, unless

1108
01:09:44,439 --> 01:09:47,840
you trust George and Yang, like, you just don't have that obvious body

1109
01:09:48,079 --> 01:09:50,680
to throw at them. And that's
the type of player they need. I

1110
01:09:50,680 --> 01:09:55,119
don't know if they can go trade
for that type of player because every team

1111
01:09:55,279 --> 01:09:58,239
is after that type of player right
now. But I sell it and don't

1112
01:09:58,279 --> 01:10:00,880
feel great about it. If you
want to call them four team in the

1113
01:10:00,880 --> 01:10:03,600
West, that's fine. I still
think that top four kind of you know,

1114
01:10:04,560 --> 01:10:10,359
put you out of that tier of
Lakers Clippers. So before I follow

1115
01:10:10,399 --> 01:10:14,000
up on the Jazz, I will
follow up on our Spurs question. So

1116
01:10:14,279 --> 01:10:18,600
since Tim Duncan's sophomore season in nineteen
ninety eight nineteen ninety nine, ten players

1117
01:10:18,760 --> 01:10:24,640
have cleared the twenty minutes per game
threshold for the Spurs as sophomores, and

1118
01:10:24,800 --> 01:10:27,920
I'll run through them real fast.
We have Dewan Blair at twenty one point

1119
01:10:28,000 --> 01:10:30,319
four. But that's the name you
haven't thought about in quite some time.

1120
01:10:30,359 --> 01:10:33,199
I remember thinking that he was really
good be two and then didn't he like

1121
01:10:33,239 --> 01:10:35,920
he hurt his knees, I think, and it just wasn't the same after

1122
01:10:35,960 --> 01:10:39,880
that. Yeah, I think so. I think you're right. Gary Neal

1123
01:10:40,039 --> 01:10:42,720
number nine at twenty one point five, tied with de John, Tay Murray

1124
01:10:42,720 --> 01:10:46,960
at twenty one point five, Derek
White at twenty five point eight, George

1125
01:10:47,039 --> 01:10:51,439
Hill at twenty nine point two,
Manu Ginobili at twenty nine point four,

1126
01:10:51,960 --> 01:10:56,920
Kelvin Johnson at thirty point eight.
At number four. Number three is Kawhi

1127
01:10:57,039 --> 01:11:00,560
Leonard thirty one point two. I
did not realize he loves any minutes this

1128
01:11:00,640 --> 01:11:03,319
off. Yeah, I didn't either. Number two is Tony Parker thirty three

1129
01:11:03,359 --> 01:11:06,239
point eight, and then Tim Duncan
at thirty nine point three. So my

1130
01:11:06,319 --> 01:11:10,279
notion was only slightly ridiculous, not
not that verge, No, I think

1131
01:11:10,319 --> 01:11:13,760
it's pretty valid. I mean he's
Keldon Johnson is in the top five with

1132
01:11:13,840 --> 01:11:17,640
Monty Genoble, Tony Parker, Tim
Duncan, and Kawhi Leonard. So he's

1133
01:11:17,680 --> 01:11:20,880
gonna he's gonna be a future Hall
of Famers. So that's what we're saying,

1134
01:11:21,000 --> 01:11:25,680
is that there's a solid chance Keldon
Johnson ends up on the Spurs Mount

1135
01:11:25,720 --> 01:11:29,680
Rushmore if you're wondering, by the
way, it's the Utah's like starting the

1136
01:11:29,720 --> 01:11:31,560
third quarter by staging a comeback with
this where we're following. This is gonna

1137
01:11:31,560 --> 01:11:35,960
be so outdated this portion of the
podcast, But if the facts are in

1138
01:11:36,039 --> 01:11:39,359
with my buy or sell to Utah, there's a chance, and the Nuggets

1139
01:11:39,359 --> 01:11:43,600
are experts at blowing leads, it
feels like so. But anyway, after

1140
01:11:43,640 --> 01:11:45,479
all I said about the Jazz,
do you buy or sell that they are

1141
01:11:45,560 --> 01:11:50,079
more than just this really great great
and I want to make they are transcendent

1142
01:11:50,159 --> 01:11:53,479
as a regular season team. Do
you buy or sell that they are more

1143
01:11:53,520 --> 01:11:57,479
than that? I'm gonna buy it. I bought it last year and then

1144
01:11:57,600 --> 01:12:03,039
the boy On Bogdanovich injury changed everything
because they need that secondary tertiary scorer and

1145
01:12:03,279 --> 01:12:08,119
floor spacer, and without it,
it's easier to play Rudy Gobert off the

1146
01:12:08,119 --> 01:12:13,520
floor in the playoffs, because if
you can't score enough to take advantage of

1147
01:12:13,520 --> 01:12:16,000
the great defense, then it's just
easier to target him. It's easier to

1148
01:12:16,000 --> 01:12:19,399
get him in foul trouble, it's
easier to make sure that he isn't switchable

1149
01:12:19,479 --> 01:12:23,399
enough to be on the court.
You can't do that if they have this

1150
01:12:23,560 --> 01:12:27,359
much weaponry at their disposal. So
now you have the fully realized version of

1151
01:12:27,359 --> 01:12:30,079
Donovan Mitchell. You have Bogdanovitch who
is starting to heat up. You have

1152
01:12:30,159 --> 01:12:34,239
Mike Conley who's playing like the actual
version of Mike Conley that they expected when

1153
01:12:34,239 --> 01:12:39,399
they traded for him. So yeah, I'm going to buy that they are

1154
01:12:39,439 --> 01:12:45,279
frisky enough to at least seriously threaten
the LA teams and fully exist on that

1155
01:12:45,399 --> 01:12:50,920
second tier of contenders in the West
alongside Denver and Phoenix. Yeah, I

1156
01:12:51,000 --> 01:12:55,359
still I think there's a just that
one player short for me, and I

1157
01:12:55,359 --> 01:12:58,720
don't think it's a look. My
biggest compident that I could give is Rudy

1158
01:12:58,760 --> 01:13:01,039
Gobert. Dovan Mitchell just a legitimate
one of the best duos in the league.

1159
01:13:01,079 --> 01:13:03,319
And I will go back to the
Gobert thing. I don't think he

1160
01:13:03,359 --> 01:13:08,439
receives nearly enough credit for what he
does on defense, and I don't I

1161
01:13:08,439 --> 01:13:12,600
don't want to hear screen asist like
I get what he does there. What

1162
01:13:12,680 --> 01:13:15,319
he does defensively is just is so
paramount to what they do the on off

1163
01:13:15,399 --> 01:13:18,039
split support it you could just watch
it and feel it where it's like,

1164
01:13:18,359 --> 01:13:23,039
yeah, try and go to the
rim because we just have the best rim

1165
01:13:23,039 --> 01:13:27,239
protector that has been in the NBA
for how long since who? And it's

1166
01:13:27,279 --> 01:13:31,680
even beyond that. There are rim
protectors who thrive as help side defenders or

1167
01:13:31,800 --> 01:13:35,640
as weak side defenders and help defenders
there are guys who you just can't attack

1168
01:13:35,680 --> 01:13:40,039
them out of the post. Sobet
is both of those things, and he's

1169
01:13:40,159 --> 01:13:45,840
probably the best like Chase down half
court defender I've ever seen where he's just

1170
01:13:45,079 --> 01:13:51,039
uniquely gifted at letting a guy get
just enough past him that he thinks he

1171
01:13:51,079 --> 01:13:55,920
can go unabated to the rim and
get squatted away from behind. His recovery

1172
01:13:56,319 --> 01:14:00,199
after seeming to get beat by a
ball handler is ridiculous. Do you know

1173
01:14:00,239 --> 01:14:05,359
I would really like to see on
this team. But I think you're going

1174
01:14:05,439 --> 01:14:08,960
to tell me. I'm actually not
going to tell you because you refuse to

1175
01:14:08,960 --> 01:14:12,439
answer. But what if they were
able just to pick up like, well,

1176
01:14:12,920 --> 01:14:15,760
I would love to see Aaron Gordon
on this team. That would just

1177
01:14:15,800 --> 01:14:18,079
make so much sense for what they
need in my eyes. Defensively, I

1178
01:14:18,119 --> 01:14:23,079
don't know how you get him without
moving angles or bogged Doanovitch you have favors

1179
01:14:23,079 --> 01:14:26,479
this salary if you really want to
go that route and then you could build

1180
01:14:26,560 --> 01:14:29,000
up from there, I just don't
know how you get there. Maybe even

1181
01:14:29,000 --> 01:14:30,520
if Thaddy is young, like does
he help him? Does he? I

1182
01:14:30,560 --> 01:14:33,960
think he probably would. He's been
really good defensively this year. I think

1183
01:14:33,960 --> 01:14:36,600
it's that type of a move.
I don't think it's a star, but

1184
01:14:36,640 --> 01:14:40,760
like if they could make a hit
it double on the trade market this year,

1185
01:14:40,800 --> 01:14:44,399
I don't think they will because they've
been so good lately that I don't

1186
01:14:44,399 --> 01:14:46,760
know that they would do that.
I mean, even what if they got

1187
01:14:46,840 --> 01:14:49,600
Kyle Anderson. Maybe he's just a
little too slow, even though he used

1188
01:14:49,640 --> 01:14:51,720
that to his advantage, Like that's
too much of a replica of what Joe

1189
01:14:51,760 --> 01:14:56,880
Angles would give you in his prime, but that that might help them in

1190
01:14:56,920 --> 01:14:59,319
that regard. So there are names
out there where, Yeah, I think

1191
01:14:59,319 --> 01:15:01,720
I've named that. Everyone sort of
wants that type of player, and trading

1192
01:15:01,720 --> 01:15:04,800
for a Reggie Bullock is not going
to solve it. But maybe there's paths

1193
01:15:04,840 --> 01:15:10,279
to them, like going out and
getting someone of slightly similar caliber that could

1194
01:15:10,319 --> 01:15:13,279
that could really help them there.
I'm just I'm not even convinced they need

1195
01:15:13,319 --> 01:15:16,199
that with the way the current roster
looks. My gut would say if they

1196
01:15:16,199 --> 01:15:19,479
would be nice for them too,
no doubt, my gut would say that.

1197
01:15:19,479 --> 01:15:21,479
I they would go up against the
Clippers of the Lakers in a playoff

1198
01:15:21,479 --> 01:15:25,840
series, they'll just get Roundhouse kicked
to the face. And maybe that still

1199
01:15:25,840 --> 01:15:29,880
means that they think it would be
a series that's interesting. I might be

1200
01:15:29,920 --> 01:15:31,439
wrong, and the Jazz had been
fantastic over the last eleven games, and

1201
01:15:31,479 --> 01:15:35,000
if they erase that lead against Denver, I might walk back this all the

1202
01:15:35,039 --> 01:15:39,880
way all the way. Might just
walk it back. That does it for

1203
01:15:39,960 --> 01:15:42,479
us, though, Do you have
anything else to add? Not really.

1204
01:15:42,760 --> 01:15:45,439
I think we should do this again
later in the season. Now. This

1205
01:15:45,560 --> 01:15:47,840
seems to be like a good format, and I would love to hear what

1206
01:15:47,880 --> 01:15:53,760
the readers think of this, this
this Bicell focus. They are listeners.

1207
01:15:53,760 --> 01:15:56,840
But I would also like to say
that we did hold it whichever We did

1208
01:15:56,840 --> 01:15:59,439
hold it to an average of five
minutes per team at an hour and a

1209
01:15:59,479 --> 01:16:01,479
little over an hour and fifteen minutes, but there was the intro amble,

1210
01:16:01,560 --> 01:16:04,760
so we were at about five minutes
per team. Under ninety. Hopefully your

1211
01:16:04,800 --> 01:16:10,039
wife does not hate you because this
to go sub ninety. But until next

1212
01:16:10,039 --> 01:16:13,359
time, one, please rate,
review and subscribe to us wherever you get

1213
01:16:13,399 --> 01:16:15,239
your podcast but most of all,
whether you're on iTunes or not, search

1214
01:16:15,239 --> 01:16:17,600
Hardwin Knox, throw us that fire, start rating right, review again.

1215
01:16:17,600 --> 01:16:20,319
It doesn't matter whether you're on iTunes, subscribe to us, rate us,

1216
01:16:20,319 --> 01:16:24,960
review us there, but also everywhere
you get your podcasts. Until next time.

1217
01:16:24,960 --> 01:16:28,119
Though we gave you at the shout
out two to one, he only

1218
01:16:30,239 --> 01:16:32,039
Rudy Gobert. I think we talked
about him enough where he deserved that one.

1219
01:16:32,079 --> 01:16:34,760
Or maybe it's killed in shout out
to Rudy Gobert and killed in Johnson.

1220
01:16:34,840 --> 01:16:36,479
Those are the shout outs to end
this podcast.