Speaker 1: What is up, Fellowsichos, I am Dann Valley coming at
you with the one, the only, the legendary, this certified,
fantabulous mister frant Hughes, our mega super dupert. Twenty twenty
five NBA Playoffs preview is officially here, a little bit
later that we normally would have done it, but it
is here, and we're gonna talk about every perspective, series,
offer predictions. I'll actually, like, Grant, take you through how
we're gonna approach it this year. We kind of change
the set up each year to keep it fresh and
also to maybe give us better organization. But before the
playoffs officially tip off, Grant, how are you feeling about
this postseason? Are you ready?
Speaker 2: I'm so ready?
Speaker 3: Like I just I feel like every year I spend
more and more time like like winking at or like
nodding to this idea that like the regular season is
just like this other thing, and that the playoffs inform
my opinion to Like I don't know, like what percent,
whether it's talking about a team, a player or anything,
It's like how they do in the playoffs accounts for
like eighty percent of what I you know what I mean,
Like it just I have gotten taken up with this
idea of like the playoffs are really what matters, and
especially the deeper rounds, because that's where you really learn like, Okay,
how good is this player or what are these flaws
or what are these strengths, and so I just like,
I don't know, everything's heightened, everything matters more, and I
just I the playoffs are just like the best part
of the season obviously, but like the way the regular
season has changed for me over the last several years
and the way I think about it, it just only
augments like how much more I care about it, And I'm
excited by the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I'm just really excited to see how the Lakers faring
in the playoffs impacts Kevin Durant's legacy.
Speaker 2: I just want to know what Stephen A. Smith is
going to say about Brownie.
Speaker 3: You know, if he's on the bench, is he not
like how many minutes is he going to get?
Speaker 1: Does he ron wearing a shirt during warm ups for
the first time in twenty one years? Because right, I
will say so. I love that, like first weekend of
the playoffs, It's kind of like that when the start
of the regular season is there, and it's a little
bit of you know that, Like first I think it's
like the Wednesday or the where there's fourteen or games.
It's like and it's been months so you had to
deal with to get a little overwhelmed. So I get
that hit of adrenaline a little bit in a good way.
But in the first round specifically, there's always hopefully like
one or two series that end up being epic and
in the West, like I think we have the potential
for a bunch of those, but there's always I feel
like more than half of the series where it's you
see the first game and you're like, let's just get
this thing over with.
Speaker 2: We know, oh yeah right.
Speaker 3: I want to be clear, I love the playoffs, but
the first round is really overwhelming because it's just like
the time you have to invest if you're gonna try
to watch all the games, which sorry to ruin the bit,
but like we actually do, like.
Speaker 2: I really try to watch on every single Jome.
Speaker 1: I have step Castle Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 2: Truther is that well he said he has the highest ceiling.
We clearly watched him.
Speaker 3: But like a with that said, I really want I
want a couple sweeps just to like clean the plate
a little bit, because like we can really focus on
the ones that I think and there might be a
few that go six or seven.
Speaker 1: So do you want to explain how we're going to
approach each series before we barey flop into it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So what we're gonna try to do is, you know,
do the best we can to hit like the series
and the sort of relevant players, relevant angles from sort
of as close to like a three hundred and sixty degree,
like you know, something for everybody perspective. So for each series,
and this won't be I didn't confine it to one
team or the other. We're going to discuss what we
think is the most interesting sort of tactical wrinkle of
the series, the matchups, the strategy one team or the
other might employ, like that kind of thing, the nuts
and bolts of it. Then the narrative, like what's the
story that we're most excited by for this series, Like
what angles might emerge? What are we going to be
talking about that's separate from the tactics and whatever, And
then we.
Speaker 2: Just have it's a bit of a catch all.
Speaker 3: It's gonna overlap with either the tactics or the narrative
side of it, but an X factor, and that can
be in most cases it's a player, but it can
also be like it's pretty tied to the tactics, like
how's this guy gonna impact the series? And and I
shied away we didn't set the rule for this, but
shied away from picking like the best player in the series.
It's like, well, how's Jokic gonna be? Like, Okay, you know,
the X factor sort of has the implication that it's
someone that may or may not be a swing piece
but sort of needs to be, you know what I mean,
there's some some variability priced in. So that's that's how
we're going to try to tackle each series.
Speaker 1: My only differentiator was I only picked superstars for the
X factor.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: I will catch myself more than once because I always
do this making the argument that like team X will
just win the series because they have the best player
in it, like, which is just like the heuristic that's
often right, but like it it's I'm gonna try to avoid.
Speaker 1: Honestly, in the first round, specifically, isn't there there's a
bunch of there. Honestly, there's at least half of the
series where that just might not be true.
Speaker 3: Right, or it's like, oh, actually this guy wasn't the
best player because this other guy who just happens to.
Speaker 2: Be heard all the time and gets hurt might actually
be the best place.
Speaker 1: You're angering the Jellen Brunson or k Cunningham masses right now. Sorry,
we're gonna begin with the series that will start first,
and that is the Bucks versus the Pacers. I think
some note I don't want to step on the I'll
throw it to you first, like the narrative or the
tactical wrinkle of it. But Damian Loward is going to
play at some point. That was really cool news. You know,
it's you know, it's something when when Sham's prefaces it
with amazing before he delivers his news drop. But it
sounds like that Blowclott was minor. They caught it early.
He's already resumed some scrimmaging. Ruled out for game one,
but who knows about game two. Sounds like by game
three or four though, like even if he's on a
minute's limit, he he should be back. So that's that's
good because you just want to see all the best
players available right any series? So what is your And
I'm not sure how much overlap we have because we
didn't confer on this at all. What is your biggest
tactical wrinkle of this?
Speaker 3: So the thing I guess the thing I'm most focused on,
and I don't I think Lillard's availability changes some of this,
but not a ton because you mentioned minutes limit. We
don't know missing game one. And also like this is
just me pretending to know about medical stuff. But it's like,
if you've got a blood clot in your calf, I
would imagine you're not running a ton, and like, so
there's gonna be a conditioning component, I think, so whether
that manifesting like you're playing less or you've only got
a couple bursts per game and then you're just you're
just not conditioned and you're out of gas, like and
so Lillard could be diminished. The thing I'm looking at
is just like, how do the pacers attempt to contain Giannis?
Speaker 2: And does that mean it's doubles? Is it?
Speaker 3: Siakam gets a crack at it, Miles Turner gets a
crack at it. You're laughing because this is probably your
tactical thing too, and so like it's just I I
made a bold prediction piece for br that hasn't gone
up yet. But it's just like, I think Giannis might
average fifteen free throws a game, and like Shaq is
the modern era leader at ten point four in the postseason,
so like, and might that be a good idea?
Speaker 2: Might you just want to hack him all the time?
Speaker 3: So so this all ties to like, oh, Jannis became
a distributor with Dame out, like, so maybe maybe you
can't just send two at him and get away with it.
Speaker 2: I just think it's gonna be that.
Speaker 3: That's the most interesting make or break thing is like
how do the Pacers choose to guard Yiannis? How does
he choose to approach those coverages, which I would assume
are gonna involve multiple bodies because just the numbers of
him going against Siakham and Turner individually are like the
Bucks love it. So so that's what I'm focused on tactically.
What about you similar?
Speaker 1: It's so it's similar I would have So the Damian
learn news changed is one thing, and I'll get to that.
So there's like a little difference there, But I'm fascinated
by not because you expect the Pacers to like they're
not gonna stop Giannis and even containing him feels like,
all right, is that really gonna happen? But Siakam is
registered as their most frequent defender on him this season,
He's done like as a team, Like you could look
at the individual like matchup numbers, but like Whenakam is
guarding Yannis, the Bucks are averaging one point one to
two points per possession. That's not out of this world,
Like that's probably maybe a little bit higher than you
would want. However, part of like has been really good
on defense this year. I think like him and Andrew
Nemhar like have been huge keystones for the Pacers, like
turn around on that end of the floor. But what
they like to do is because Sam does so much
on offense, he's not supposed to have in theory the
yanis assignment. But you get to a point where to
go up and down the Pacers roster and it's when
it's not Siakam, who should it be? And can that
person buy Siakam any breaks? So he can either be
he can pitch in, or he can be like doing
all this this other stuff. You know, a lot of
people have mentioned Miles Turner. I think that's a non
option just because he's gonna get in voul trouble. Brook
Lopez is on the floor as well. In a lot
of these minutes the guy I'm looking and actually I'm
looking at two guys now because the goat Caitlin Cooper
wrote about one of them that I just didn't think
would be dusted off a lot in this series. So
Jars Walker kind of deserves an honorable mention there where.
It's when you look at his body type, in the
way he moves, and just if you want someone to
eat up fouls, that might be a guy to throw
out there. I think a lot of like we're gonna
see some aaron Ne Smith, maybe a lot of aaron
Ne Smith on a Yannis. And you could decide, as
you mentioned, will there be the doubles or is it
just Jannis eats nobody else does And maybe it depends
on it. Maybe it should depend on Rick Carlis as
a smart coach, like the lineups are out there, like
you might be able to be more aggressive with your
doubles on Yannis when Kyle Kuzma's on the floor. Just
as an example, so do you Putkam on Kyle Kuzma,
Nie Smith on Yannis and then like you're having Siakam
just you know, float around off of Kuzma. That might
be ideal for the Bucks. I'm just Yiannis is so
good and this is you can comment on this in
a second, but if we were differentiate from it, when
you look at what he's done on offense since Damian
Litlan went down with the facilitation, I'm just curious, especially if,
as you mentioned, is Lowler going to be in shape?
How many minutes is he playing? How do you keep
that version of Giannis on offense now that Dame is
back because they've defaulted, It's okay, Dame's gonna have the
ball in his hands a lot, and depending on who's
guarding Giannis, I don't know how much you can like
Dame is the screener, if Siakam is involved in the action,
like that just doesn't do it for me. So I'm
very curious to see if the Bucks try to strike
a different type of balance there. But the Yiannis matchup
versus the Pacers I think is for sure the most
fascinating tactical ranking.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree, there's just I mean, it's so this
is a case where I we would agree that Jannis
is the best player in the series, and I.
Speaker 2: Want to spoil it because we'll get to it.
Speaker 3: But it's like that doesn't guarantee you that we're picking
the Bucks to win the series. I think so Dame
is too good to be I just kind of now
and now I just want to touch on a couple
other tackle things, like before we move on to the
narrative and gets the X factor, there'll be some overlap
Dame is is, so he's too good to be an
X factor even though like the curveball of like how
healthy is he, how conditioned is he? Sort of like
brings in some of the variability.
Speaker 2: You would want in a good X factor pick.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but just like if if not him, who were
you because because one of the weak points you could
pick at with Indiana is trying to get Haliburton involved
in like ballscreen action defensively and just in isolation. And
if Dame is not, if Dame is like more of
a spot shooter or whatever with Giannis on the ball,
because Dame just doesn't have the juice, that takes away
a huge like second option for the Bucks to attack Indiana.
Like maybe Giannis is enough, maybe he's that overwhelming, but
if you could involve you know, and India will work
like hell to make sure Nemhart is the guy, or
to make sure Nie Smith or whoever just not Haliburton,
if top and plays keep topping out of those actions,
but without Dame to be like orchestrating super high on
the floor pick and rolls, or just generally being someone
that on the ball is Dane like Milwaukee really struggles
to find somebody else that's gonna like push that button
and maybe exploit one of Indie's weakness. It's just another
thing I was focused on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there, what do you what do you have? Is
the sort of I mean, the other thing that's like
kind of a tactical wrinkle here is what do the
bucks his lineups look like, especially when you don't have
Brook Lopez on the floor. Is Doc River's gonna fall
in love with Bobby Portis? Is he gonna fall to it?
Because someone like the lineups that are most intriguing during
the Dame injury was like, well, Kyle Kuzma's not Yeah,
and so you have to imagine that Doc Rivers is
gonna fall in love with one of Portis or Kuzma.
I don't know if it's a series for either of them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I just I just uh, I just
don't know. This is really kind of the over One
of the overarching things with Milwaukee is like you can't
count on Kyle Kuzma to do what you need him
to do in that role. Like, honestly, I think I'd
rather just have Chris Middleton and not know if I
was gonna get twenty minutes in decent player or not.
Speaker 1: Like, now that we're here and we've seeing the SAMILESA, it's, yeah, I.
Speaker 2: Take the risk.
Speaker 3: I'd rather have the risk of like, yeah, he might
miss three games in the series, but it's.
Speaker 2: Like I know he's gonna be I know what, I
know what he's gonna give me In short Berth, Yeah,
I don't know, do you? So?
Speaker 3: I think we've kind of bumped against the narrative stuff
a little bit. Do you want to just jump to that?
Like there's there's obviously like the general bad blood between
these two teams, which is awesome that makes this series better.
Just the playing stuff or the the in season tournament stuff,
game ball stuff, Haliburton's name time celebrat like all that
stuff is fun. Jannis just having a few games where
he's absolutely lit them up, and it's just like seems
like a superhero.
Speaker 2: That's all fun.
Speaker 3: I think though, for me this series feeling there's two
there's I'm gonna do like three narratives. One is like,
oh shit, if the Bucks lose this, then we have
to start talking about all the like Yannis tear it
down trade stuff, But also like, wouldn't this be a
pretty good first step in validating Indies Conference Finals run
last year that we always have to mention It was
like I was a little suspect because of injuries and
all that stuff. If they just win this series handily
and compare combined with like just how good the Pacers
have looked, you know, once Haliburton kind of got himself
figured out this year, I feel like it's a nice
validation of like, Okay, no, they actually are not just
this like asterisk Conference finalist that nobody believes in defensive
like the Pacers might, we need to just regard them
as a legit top four East team, which I still
think a lot of people don't you know, you know
what I mean, I think that's kind of what's at
stake for Indies side.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean look, they've been just and this overlaps
with a nemhard return. They've been a top ten defensive
team for a good portion of this year, which is
just I don't think people view them as that, and
this will be a good test of that. I think.
My it's because you get pulled in so many different directions,
the narrative stuff with my wall. It's so I'm sort
of looking at it like, well, what is the fallout
for the team that loses, because I honestly don't think
making it to the second round as the Pacers against
this Bucks team, it's almost it feels like there'll be
more hooplot if they lose because they're probably I haven't
even looked, they're probably favored to win. So it's just
like beating this Bucks team if it's gonna be a
you know, half hobbled Damian Lillard, Like how much goodwill
does that build up for you? But I'm looking at
it as what happens to the team that loses? And
you already talked about the Bucks stuff. We know they're
Brook Lopez a free agent, Bobby Portis could be a
free agent. They have some room under the tax right now.
But if you keep Brook Lopez. I assume that room
is just gone, and so it's well, how do you
build out from there? Then on the flip side, if
the Pacers lose, I don't think people view this as
necessarily high stakes for them, but like they're thinking about
financial concerns. As you have Miles Turner going to be
a free agent again, and you've already like you have
Andrew Nemhard like you've given him his deal, you have
will be topping on the books you've paid Siakham and Haliburton,
of course, And so if they lose, are are they
gonna think about not like tearing it down, but are
they gonna be less inclined to continue reinvesting in Like,
it doesn't mean it more likely that Turner leaves or
they explore a sign in trade. Is it just no,
they think that there's still internally they could be better,
so they're gonna dump some salary to try and stay
under the tax. I'm just curious to see how these teams,
But I think there could be wholesale changes made over
the offseason to the team that loses, which I don't
think you always say in first round matchups.
Speaker 3: Don't you think that applies like much more strongly to
the Bucks though, because like the Indie for example, I
hope nobody is annoyed that I always call them Indy.
It's just like I feel like if you're an Indiana
Pacers fan, that might bother you.
Speaker 2: Like I don't know because I don't have like the ruct.
Speaker 1: But it doesn't bother people as as much as it
would if you said New Orleans instead of you know.
Speaker 2: That from personal experience. Yeah, so because the Pacers sort
of have.
Speaker 3: They're just like we want to operate between like forty
and fifty four wins indefinitely, like that's what we're going
for and like and siakamren't going anywhere. Halliburton's so young
still relative to like other teams like top guys that
like there there seems to be like a narrower band
of like.
Speaker 2: Oh what what could what could a loss do to Indiana.
Speaker 3: It's like, well, you might lose Turner, you might not
like you might make some smoke, like the big stuff's
not gonna change. But the Bucks it's like, we will
this be three hypothetically three straight first round exits because
right is that right?
Speaker 2: Because last year's I mean.
Speaker 3: And there's there's asterisks all over that because of injuries
and stuff, but like that is what it is, and
and they're on the downslide downside after a championship, which
feels like a thousand years ago. At this point, it
like the yiannest stuff will just get loud, won't It
almost has to. So yeah, Indiana will have to address
a few things. But like the Bucks are just like
this could be like someone might just push the red button.
Speaker 1: I do think it's definitely warranted more for them. I
just I guess I'm saying I think Indy has more
at stake than people realize if it lose and it
works both ways, like there'll be a level of validation
I guess if they do win series. But this is
probably the spoilers, like I expect them to win, so
there might just be more. But I look, if I
was running the Pacers, I would not just tear apart.
That's not what I was getting. Like I'm trying to
keep Nemhard Turner, Siakam and Haliburt together, Like I've even
like nis Beth is on a hell of a deal.
But I'm just curious if they do lose to this
version of the Bucks, does it make them rethink, not
even their desire to reinvest in this roster, but does
it make it more likely that they decide, well, hey,
we need to go out and get like another piece
or like a different kind of piece, whether it's comparing
it to Nie Smith or Nemhard or Turners specifically, because
I think Halliburn and Siakam are pretty comfort comfortably etched
in stone here who's your X factor for each of
these teams?
Speaker 3: So I wanted to pick Siakam, but I feel like
he's probably still too good. I think I'll just stick
with him, though, because like he's gonna get the first
crack at Yiannis, and how that goes will inform like
a lot of the rest of the series. Like if
he it might even be as simple as like in
the first quarter of Game one, if he's got to
sit with because he's committed to two fouls in the
first five minutes and it's clear that like, no, he
just we have to figure out where's the second body.
Speaker 2: Gonna come from?
Speaker 3: Because this one on one thing is just not gonna work.
That changes the whole series because because you've already that
means the Bucks have landed the first punch and now
Indy has to adjust, and like I think, I think
that's probably what's gonna happen. But if he does hold
up well and maybe like I don't know, draws a
charge or like Jannis Goes, starts the game one like
one for six or something, which seems highly improbable because
he just makes six out of ten shots all the time,
that that changes the tenor of the series. I think
if I had to pick one for the Bucks, it's
probably just Brook Lopez because if you have to pull
Turner out of the lane to stay on him, you
can't guard him with a small guy because the Bucks
are smart and maybe they'll throw a post up in
there or whatever on a switch. That makes it really
really hard for Indiana to get a second guy in
there to help on Giannis if Turner can't be that guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I went with Indy. I'm going with Aaron E. Smith.
I know Turner is actually registered as the most and
Nie Smith missed time this season, so that's part of it.
Turner's been the second most frequent defender against the Honest
and possessions have not gone that well for the Pacers.
When that happens, I look at n Smith and say,
I think he winds up like you're gonna see him
on how You're excuse me, You're gonna see him on Dame.
You're gonna see him on Giannis. And I don't think
you can necessarily say that about anybody else, like maybem hard,
like you see some spot of Siakam even, But so
I think that's going to be huge. I thought about
Caitlyn Cooper's like piece on Garris Walker at Basketball Show
what everyone should go check it out. I want, like,
I feel like he could be an extractor. I just
don't know if he'll play enough for that to matter.
So I went with Nee Smith for the Pacers and
the Bucks one was oddly tough. I'm going to settle
on that Damian Liller's health or Damian Lillard would be
the chop out to me, I'm gonna go with I
think Ryan Rollins here, Oh that's fun. How much does
he play with Dame back? And like the stuff he
could do defensively, like more so than anybody else on
the roster right now, Like that might make Tyree's Haliburton
a little bit uncomfortable. And so whether you're trying to
deny him the ball or you're just like what the
Pacers do that the Bucks aren't always set up for
is we know that they can play fast, but they
will play fast after a miss. I think they're fifth
and average offensive possession time, excuse me after a make
So if the Bucks make a shot like Andy's still
gonna look to get the ball out and go. And
the Bucks are just like in some of the biggest
culprits are their starters, like just Brook Lopez getting back
at points Damian Lillard especially now, how easy will be
for defense to get that behind him? Do you pull
the Ryan like do you push the Ryan Rollins button?
You will have to if Dame can't go for a
good portion of the series or is on a strict
minutes limit. But even if he's not, it's like Ryan
Ronins has shown some real stuff defensively when he's gotten
playing time for the Bucks, and that's something like the
Bucks still really neat the Buck.
Speaker 3: That's that is such a true thing about the Bucks.
First of all, the transition stuff has been like multiple
years where it's just like can you guys please like
that's better.
Speaker 1: There's like ebbs and flows to it, But the like
the Peaks are never as stark as the valleys for them. Yeah,
transitions defense.
Speaker 3: No, but that's Rollins is a great pick because the
other thing that's been a pretty constant issue is like
can just somebody be like a dynamic creator or like
difference make you know what I mean, like whether it's
defensively or offensively. The Bucks just other than Yannis and
even Giannis is kind of different because he's just like
ramming into stuff like who's the guy that like like Lillard,
isn't this guy like Torrian Prince aj Green, like Kuzma,
like Portis. None of these guys are like electrifying on
one end or the other. Like there's no I'm trying
to think of like a good counter like Houston has
eight of these electric on offense maybe Yeah, but you
know what I mean, there's nobody that's just like it's everything.
Everything feels deliberate, Everything feels like plotting somehow. So yeah,
Rolin's maybe being that guy, if only defensively, is a
pretty good one.
Speaker 1: We move on. Oh are we gonna pick without making predictions?
What are your what's your pick for this series?
Speaker 3: So I went Pacers in six? That feels like a
pretty common one. Mean they have to win Game six
in Milwaukee, but I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1: I'm going to go Pacers in five.
Speaker 2: Oh wow.
Speaker 1: I think they're pretty clearly the third best team in
the Eastern Conference right now. And just I think getting
Damian Lillard back is big for the Bucks. But I'm
just wondering Game one without him and then Game two.
If let's say he's back, he is gonna be getting
his bearings about for the twenty minutes or whatever he plays.
It just wouldn't shock me if you go up to
oh and then it feels like it you could Giannis
through all What do we say about some of the
best through all things Johannis? Like all things are possible
through Jannis. So I'm I wouldn't be shocked if you
told me that Bucks won this series. I wouldn't be
out right, Flord, But I think the Pacers are really
functionally deep and well balanced team.
Speaker 2: Yep, I agree with that.
Speaker 1: We move on to Nuggets Clippers, and so I will
begin with my tactical wrinkle for this one, grand how
do the Denver Nuggets, and I guess this could apply
to the Clippers at large. How do the Denver Nuggets
go about defending James Harden in this who has been
on kind of a heater, like he was getting some
All NBA love by the end of the year, been
super durable, has kept the offense afloat like before everyone's
gotten healthy. And when you look at what the Nuggets
have done, I still think that what Jokic does on
defense is underrated, but I also recognize that, like this
has not been his best defensive season, maybe don't make
him carry like the universe's heaviest load on offense, and
that won't be the case. But when you start to
look at the setup of the Clippers right now, it
feels like they could have an answer to anything that
the Nuggets try to do. And so if you put
Jokic in drop, we all know that that can be
tough if you're gonna give them the like this steam
to get going downhill. But if you go, you know,
kind of soft at the level, or if you go
ultra aggressive, your rotations from the corners better be on point.
And just like the Nuggets, they're not. They're twenty seconds
have now allowed in corner three frequency, they're twenty fifth
when facing the Clippers, but they've never really faced this
version of the Clippers, and the Clippers weren't hitting their
corner threes against the Nuggets this season. But I'm just like,
does this get worse for Denver? When you're looking at
if you have to help off of like Bug Bug
Don Bogdanovich in the corners, that it feels like you
could be nuked, Like is he gonna cut? Is he
gonna just make? He's shot really well from the corners,
I believe this year. But the other thing is you
could play aggressive and I think like their ideal scenario
would be is Aaron Gordon blowing up screens before they're
even set and that probably puts Jokic in the optimal position.
Or can you get someone like a Peyton I think
I think Christian Brown's gotten a lot better at this.
But could you have like Peyton Watson fighting over screens.
I think that might make things a little easier. But
if you play the Clippers or I'll say James Harden
specifically so aggressively, it was different when it was like, yeah,
go make Bogdanovich or Norman Powell beat you, and now
it's like, well, the guy who beats you is Pete
Kawhi Leonard, who just might beat you. And so I'm
just wondering, does den have even the best version of
Denver right now? Does it have the defensive horsepower? This
is so I did not think this would have been
if you asked me, like three months ago, whether this
would have been a question for a Clippers playoff series,
But like, can the Nuggets defend this team?
Speaker 2: So this wasn't my.
Speaker 1: That way, instead of doing that, I should have just
asked that question rather than going to a whole No, So.
Speaker 2: This wasn't my tactical pick I went.
Speaker 3: I focused on a Denver thing or an offensive thing,
or basically the opposite what you did. But now it's
all I want to talk about, because like for all
of James Harden's flaws and like like he he we
he played better than I think I gave him credit
for all season, like and just he is going to
figure out how to beat like so so pick and
roll covered, So like, would you prefer like you're you're
David Adaman? I almost said, Michael Alan, would you rather
have Jokic coming up to the level or like soft
doubling or whatever and letting Harden just side to slip
the pocket pass through or to see the wee or
to sling it to the other side corner, or do
you want to have jokicen a drop and then expose
yourself too hard and getting to shoot pull up threes
or getting downhill to.
Speaker 2: Shoot his floater?
Speaker 3: Like what what do you think Denver should? Like what's
the better way to go? If you had to pick one?
Speaker 1: I think the numbers this season when you look at
hard and shooting, are gonna tell you to go and drop.
And I really just feel like the actual answer for
the Nuggets should be no, Like we need to aggressively
go after him and let's let's have him make those
passes and have other players make decisions. But it's just again,
it's like I said at the close of It's like, well,
what of those players making the decision? Might just be
quiets the thing.
Speaker 3: That changes everything, because before you'd be like, well, okay,
so like as long as Chris Done is the guy
we're leaving as Denver, then cool, Like make fine, let him.
If if Chris Dunn wants to go like six of
twelve from three to beat us.
Speaker 2: We will just live with that.
Speaker 3: But if I just don't think first of all that
that's an interesting tactical wrinkle tis it's like can you
play Chris Dune off the floor? And then suddenly Jamal
Murray has a lot more freedom to do stuff. But
like the Kawhi of it all is like we're focused
on James Harden, like how they're gonna guard James Harden,
which is like a threshold issue. And then I gets
have to figure that out. And then it's like, even
if you do that perfectly, Kawhi, Leonard might just go,
you know, what are you shoot against Golden? It was
like thirteen of seventeen. It was just like he's never
gonna miss a shot. He never takes a bad shot,
like and and that's your like, no, he's not really
your second option, but he's the second guy we're thinking about,
which is completely nuts. That's that's a fascinating, uh, fascinating
thing to think about, just just for some conversational diversity.
I kind of flipped it and went with like, so
I I was fascinated by how jj Reddick had the
Lakers guard Jokic a couple of times this year, which
nobody'd ever really done consistently or effectively, which is like
you're fronting him with somebody there's some.
Speaker 1: Way behind him.
Speaker 3: There's a name for that now, the ruless. So can
the US effectively implement the Yokic rules? And is that
what Yokic wants because he's been thinking about it for
two months and he's figured it out, like he's like,
please do it.
Speaker 2: I know how to beat this coverage.
Speaker 3: Uh like, And then just more generally, it's kind of
the hardened question, but it's focused on on on the
best player in the world. Do you do you get
the ball out of his hands? Is that just inviting disaster?
Do you do you say, like, hey, Aaron Gordon, Christian Brown,
Jamal Murray, whatever, Probably not, Mike Porter Junior, shoot all
the threes you want. We know, nuggets, you don't want
to shoot a lot of threes. We know you don't
shoot a lot of threes. If we just force it
out of Yokic's hands with doubles, can we make you
take shots you don't want to take? Or is that
just like you go, good idea, Let's let's turn the
best passer on the planet into someone that's passing the
whole game, like you know what I mean? Like, do
you or is it Jokic pulls Zubats out of the
lane and has to make five or six threes to
sort of like make that coverage approach payoff. That that's
it's the same thing as hard and it's like, what
do you do with this guy?
Speaker 1: Well, and like, I mean, the way Yoki's been shooting
threes though the latter is is not going to be
the worst case in the world for Denver, right.
Speaker 2: But you know he doesn't want to do that, you know,
prefer not to do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that'll be man. This is such a fascinating This
is gonna be such a fascinating series, especially just given
how well the Clippers have been playing of late. I
have so narratively, I'm assuming we probably have something similar
here to where it's I'm just wondering, Okay, well, what
is the fallout for the Nuggets if they lose in
the first round. And it's because, okay, we know that
there's a head coach vacancy. Technically, I'm sure David Adaman
will get a chance to keep the gig. But when
you're looking at prospective roster changes, there's reporting that I
think it was from the athletic that the ownership doesn't
like we just won't move Michael Porter Junior. I don't
think Jamal Murray's contracts you very favorably around the league,
and if you're just getting bounced in the first round,
it like I'm assuming it's gonna be viewed even less favorably.
He's been good. He's been really good though, for like
three months. And I think you also run into the
challenge though, as like even if you want I'm not
saying that Michael Porter Junior should be untouchable, but if
you're trying to construct trades to make the Nuggets better,
I don't really see a pathway to doing that while
trading any one of your top five players right now,
because you don't have stuff to attach to them. That's like, well,
we're giving up Michael Porter Junior and this, and we're
getting better in the process. And it's just very rare
that you have those trades where it's one for two
and maybe you balance out your rotation and it's fine.
But this Nuggets team, we know Jokics doesn't want to
shoot threes. Like if you trade Michael Porter Junior aside
for Murray and Yolkic, like, who are you trusting to
get threes up with any reasonable amount of volume, you
better be getting one or two players back who could
do it. And so I'm not saying that the Nuggets
are definitely going to lose, but they are the team
with more at stake here, and so I'm kind of watching.
Doesn't it feel like I don't know what it will be?
And I can almost assure you that if I had
to predict that they will make the wrong decision at
this point, But doesn't feel like there will be one
sort of big domino to fall if the Nuggets lose
in the first round, and so well, I'm just very
curiousy how they respond in the face of those stakes
right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's it's so interesting to think about the Clippers
as the team with nothing to lose because like they
like they sort of they aren't supposed to be here,
and yet they are because that you've got Kawhi Leonard
and James Harden, Like, is your is your timeline win
in five years? Like no, this is this team is.
If it's supposed to do anything, it's supposed to win.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: We just didn't think they'd do any winning this year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so it feels interesting. It's weird that they don't
have sticks. So my narratives I'm realizing are skewing very unsophisticated,
which is okay because that's what the tactical is supposed
to be. Sophisticated narrative is kind of like, what's the
cool story?
Speaker 1: What was sophisticated about? What will the Nuggets blow it up?
Was basically no, because.
Speaker 3: You're thinking the head and it's like, what's the I'm
just like, so you'll see what I mean. So I
kind of have a dual one, and the first is
like the legitimacy of this Clippers season and more importantly
like the whole Kawhi Leonard Like, hey guys, me, like
remember I was the best two way player in the league,
like arguably at this time last year, like when before
he got hurt, Like he's like this, this is the guy,
this is the sleeping giant like that just is always
kind of around, like and we've thought he's been done
annually for like half a decade, and then sometimes he
does things where it's like, oh, no, he actually is
you name it, like he I'd rather have him than Shay,
I'd rather have him than Tatum, whatever, Like he hits
that level sometimes might that happen?
Speaker 2: That would be awesome, like I'm here for that.
Speaker 3: The other one is Jokic, just in the wake of
a tumultuous season, in the wake of almost definitely not
winning MVP, reminding the whole world with like multiple fifty
point games, just just just like, hey, no, it's me.
Just in case anybody had any doubt. I'm still that guy,
and I don't care. If the Clippers on are probably
the better team, that doesn't matter, because I'm that transcendent,
Like I actually am rooting more than anything. I would
love the coll I'd love to see both. I would
love to see Kawhi stay healthy and just be incredible.
But what I really want maybe it's because we both
because of the picking Jokics for MVP thing, and maybe
it's just because I really like the feeling of, like
whether it's in a playoff series or or a season altogether.
I like the concept of, like, oh, no order restored,
Like we all we all understand again, right, what the
rules are here, and like what the real hierarchy is.
That would be really satisfying. Not to take anything away
from Shay, that's not just an MVP thing. I just
like it when the very very best guy asserts that
in the face of like a fair amount of doubt,
Like I can't when's the last time there was this
much like uncertainty about a Jokic led team.
Speaker 1: You know, the title year, people were still clinging to
the trophy. Can't build a title team?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm here for that. I would be very that.
Speaker 1: I did have two runners up. So and they're kind
of connected because it's like playoff James Harden is the
inverse of playoff Jamal Murray, where it's like Jamal Murray
is this regular season mystery, a roller coaster, and then
he becomes a killer in the playoffs, And so we're
sitting here wondering about the Nuggets defense. It's what is
so much of it changes because Jamal Urray locks in
and is healthy defensively, but like he was dealing with,
was that the hamstring stuff that Michael Malone was worried about,
So that gonna be something matter. But then James Harden,
and it's more so lately too. If you look at
you his efficiency in the playoffs tends to go down.
But it's not like buy an egregious margin. It just
seems like in important games or over the course of
the series, there is I'm just throwing a number out here, like, oh,
James Harden went six of eighteen from the floor or something.
Does that happen again? But also what if it doesn't,
and he's just like the driving force of why the
Clippers beat what I think people for the most part
this year have defaulted too the Nuggets of the second
best team in the West. That definitely changed over the
last month or so, Like what if he just goes
thermon nuclear against that team and so that'll be we'll
change your impression of James Harden at all. I don't.
I'm just so much stuff there. But who are your
X factors for this?
Speaker 2: Well, you touched on it.
Speaker 3: For me, it's Murray just because every piece of analysis
from the Denver side changes if if Murray is the
type of if the Nuggets can get into their two
man game and Murray is good enough to actually take
on like more of a like not a not a
secondary role in it, because the Nuggets are most dangerous
when Murray is hyper aggressive and as effective as a
scorer in the two man game, because then it just
it's impos it's impossible because you can't you can't ever
get away with diverting attention from Yokic. But if Murray
is that good and we've seen it, like you meant
you alluded to it, like there have been playoff series
where he's just looked like there's there's no solve for him,
and but you measure that against like, oh, he might
also be hurt and ineffective defensively and just like not
a threat, and the Clippers are happy to have him
take a bunch of shots.
Speaker 2: So I just think it's crazy to.
Speaker 3: Say in a series that has Kawhi Leonard and has
James Harden, who've had their playoff ups and downs to
extreme degrees for different reasons, I just think Murray is
the guy that, you know, non Superstar Division, that is
gonna swing this series.
Speaker 1: So I went for the Nuggets. I was toggling between
Christian Brown and Peyton Watson because Brown saw more time
against Harden defensively this year than anybody else on the Nuggets.
But I think I'm gonna go with Peyton Watson because
it's either way, like he's gonna need to cover at
some point like one of the Clippers's two elite scores,
and I think he can do at least I think
he can do relatively well. The numbers against Harden like
aren't great this year for him, but it was only
like thirty possessions or something. I think you ogged, but
like you need him to do stuff consistently on offense
if you want to keep him on the floor as
a means of juicing your defense. Even if it's as okay,
well Gordon and Brown like they're gonna handle Harden Kawhi
in just some combination, It's like we want Peyton Watson there.
It's either gonna be someone who's helping or just blowing
up stuff elsewhere. Like he can do a lot of
the low man things really well, but like if he's
not hitting threes, yep, Like, because the Clipper and the
Clippers defense is already good enough, you don't give need
to give them more hiding spots. So I think I'm
gonna go with Peyton Watson. I so can I cop
out on the Clippers X factor though I want to.
I want to go with a position. I'm gonna say
backup center because I and maybe that makes it tylu
just because we know Jokic is gonna So if if
this was like the optimal version of the Nuggets Joki
is still gonna play like forty or forty two minutes
to night with this version of the Nuggets. He might
play like forty four to forty eight. You can't do
that with Zoo. So it's not gonna be We're gonna
try and me or want. You would risk fout trouble
for sure with him, but you're not gonna mirror their
minutes perfectly. And so I do think there's gonna be
even if Yokich plays like thirty eight forty, there's gonna
be times where Yo Kich is on the court and
Zoo is not. I would imagine, and what to you
as the Clippers, I don't have the answers. It's just
like you just downsize and go batom. But I mean
you just is it Derek Jones and Simmons in the
front court to get Penn Simmons in the front court together.
I'm gonna be really interested to see what they go
with over the course of mean, maybe they'll try a
bunch of different things. But I was thinking about that,
and maybe it's not gonna be a large enough portion
of the minutes on the court. But just like if
Jokic plays forty two minutes. I don't know how much
more than like thirty four or thirty six Zoo gets
so that all of a sudden, we're talking about like
eight or ten minutes a game or something.
Speaker 3: Yeah, then you then you just and like, look, we've
circling all the way back like some of the Jokic
rules stuff. You might just need to spend five minutes
a game getting real gimmicky with you got two sort
of combo forwards, basically playing like a two man zone
against one.
Speaker 2: Guy in the middle of the floor.
Speaker 3: Like that might just have to be how it is,
because you even Zubots is like any single defender is
just like overmatched really, but Zubots has got the size
at least to where like post ups will be difficult
and you can't necessarily pass over his head like Yokich
likes to do against smaller matchups. So yeah, I think
I think that's a good one. The Peyton Watson Chris
Dunn like binary is really interesting too, because it's like
both teams want those guys out there because of what
they do well. But it may just be that thing
in a playoff series where what they don't do well
means they just suddenly they're playing seven minutes a game
all of a sudden.
Speaker 1: So who did you have as the X fractor for
the Clippers.
Speaker 2: I have Murray Oh for the for the Clippers. I
didn't pick one.
Speaker 3: I'll say I think I have to pick Done because
that's someone you probably want on the floor. So that
Harden and even Kawhi, I don't have to have like
heavy minute, tough defensive matchups. Kawhi You're probably fine with,
but like I would like Done out there defensively. If
I'm the Clippers, especially to keep Murray from getting loose.
Speaker 1: I'll get Clippers prediction grant.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go. I'm gonna do the trenchant analysis of.
Speaker 3: While I respect everything about the Clippers and I think
they're super dangerous, I think Nicole Jokic is the solution
to every problem, and the Nuggets are gonna win in seven.
Speaker 1: I'm gone Clippers in six. They're they've been too dynamic
over the past like two and a half months or
whatever it's been, and I maybe I'm sort of reading
just too much into the behind the scenes turmoil that
Denver was bogging through all year, and perhaps ripping off
that band aid does sort of the well, like, what
do you call? It's not it's not the the fired
coach bounce anymore. So they got rid of like the
executive too. Is it just like the the per just
whatever it is. Maybe there'll be a bounce for Denver.
But I think the Clippers have been so good over
the past couple months. This next series, I doubt either
of us have anything much to say about it. But
Nick's versus Pistons, what is that? What's the tactical wrinkle
you're going with?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 3: How do the Knicks avoid getting Jalen Brunson and Kat
involved in a pick and roll with Kid every single
time down the floor? That's like because if that can't
if that doesn't happen, then the Pistons can win this series.
Like if if Detroit is allowed to pick on one
or both of those guys frequently enough, I really do
think the Pistons could score enough to win here.
Speaker 1: I think that's very fair. I'm actually wondering if and
like Cad has killed the Knicks this year points per game,
shooting like fifty five plus percent from three. I think
the keys for the Knicks, and I feel like they've
been better at this when they are cross matching, but
like you need to the way that Caid is driven
the transition attack. He's in the top five of just
especially after missus, Like if he's grabbing a board, he's
going if he's not, he's put himself in the center
of a floor to make sure that he's getting the
outlet quickly and having the Pistons getting their offense. I
feel like the Knicks because maybe if you're you know
you're cross matching, you're more focused on getting back because
you know you're not just matching up with what was
the matchups on that side of the floor. Or is
it just because okay, do you try and like lore
cad Into, like I'm trying to go hunt Brunton, but
he's not starting the possession on me, so that's not
I But yeah, that's a really interesting one. I don't
the Knicks have actually done pretty well against Detroit's transition
attack this year overall, but like the numbers are the
numbers with Kate and they're one in three against the
Pistons this year. I ultimately kind of wonder though, like
it goes both ways. I'm not intimidated, like just as
an observer by the Pistons' half court attack, right, like
because you have those pain points to press with Towns
and bruntson, you don't need the Pistons half court offense
to be elite to have those elite returns.
Speaker 3: And there's and because there's no scenario for the Knicks
where it's like I don't care how bad the pick
and roll coverage gets or how much Towns is getting
dragged into stuff or bruntson, Like, you're not taking either
of those guys off the floor unless unless like you
know what I mean, like unless Kat has a bunch
of fouls or whatever, Like they're gonna be out there,
and so that'll just be maybe this will put it
on a tee for you, but like that that will
it may at some point require Tom Thibodeau to get
like creative or more flexible than he otherwise likes to
be with the way he's covering k like, cause doesn't
the easy solve seem to be just put two on kid,
get the ball out of his hands, and dare anybody
else to make a play?
Speaker 1: Like isn't that that Tom Thibodeau to put two on
the ball? Please?
Speaker 2: Isn't that the move?
Speaker 1: Though?
Speaker 2: Like that has to be it?
Speaker 1: I think they've decided the move would be because it
is harder. You're not gonna necessarily involve both of them
if so, Like Brunton spent a lot of time on
Tim Hardaway Junior this year, so if you want Tim
Hardaway Junior screening for Kaid, you probably live with that.
I'm actually wondering if the move because I don't if
you're asking me, I do not think that the Knicks
are gonna get to a point where they're consistently throwing
like two a kid in this and I think I.
Speaker 2: Don't think so either. I think they should.
Speaker 1: I would probably agree, but when you've looked at what
happens when they go with two on the ball, their
rotations can just be whack, Which.
Speaker 2: How is that possible? They have bridges in nanobi this guy.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm getting at is I'm wondering if do
you think it makes more sense? Because I I think there's,
as always there's like the extreme view of McHale bridges,
and then there's like the two optimistic view, and then
there's the truth, which is somewhere in between. I don't
think he's been awful this year. The start was rough,
but like I am wondering is it better to put
just ogn and O beyond Caid, because then that's gonna
dis like maybe that's does that get the ball out
of Kaid's Cunningham's hands more or at least then it's well,
then ogn and O he's gonna be involved in every
pick and roll and he's already shouldering kind of a
heavy role on the offensive end now, But you just
deal with it. And then if you want to throw
two to the ball, you have Josh Hard maybe you
use Brunson a little bit in that, but like Bridges
could be better off elsewhere. So it's like, at least
if because I think if you have Towns and McHale
Bridges involved in a Caid pick and roll, you're actually
at a pretty mega disadvantage right now, is basically what
I'm getting at. And so I don't love the idea
of having Ojan Andobi have to defend Kid, but I'm
just wondering if that ends up being the antidote in
this series, then if you're if you're looking to not
just because to me, it's not just about insulating Brunton Towns.
I think the Knicks will move around the matchup to
make sure that. Okay, you're not gonna see them involved that. Yeah,
they'll both be involved in picking rolls at some point,
but it won't be as often as maybe some are expecting.
But like just because it's McHale Bridges instead of like,
how big of a win has that been for the
Knicks statistically in this matchup specifically? I do not know,
do you do you?
Speaker 3: I think I think Bridges has gotten the bulk of
the time on Cunningham. Do you think they'll start the
series that way with Bridges has the Cunningham assignment?
Speaker 1: I think so that would be not yes, yes, It's
like you're hoping because some one of the things that
Bridges is not gonna do well, Like, that's not someone
who's necessarily gonna help insulate Karl Anthony Towns the way
that Danobe can.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, what's your tactical?
Speaker 1: Josh Hart is just the tactical I want to know.
I want to know what the Pistons are gonna do
against him, because so far they have not gone the
route of When you look at the data, among players
who qualify as primary ball handlers rim protectors, Jalen Johnson
is the only one who's seen more time against rim Protectors,
and that's like he hasn't played since late January or
whatever it was. The Pistons have not done that against
Heart predominantly, and so I'm wondering, though, why wouldn't you
like have Jalen Duran on like Josh Hart, have him
roam and then you kind of like, Okay, there might
be some towns medicine to take, but that's gonna free
you up to do so much, so many things defensively.
And also I also don't know why you wouldn't do
that when like Kate is time against Brunson, So why
wouldn't you want to have the option, like, like we
can bring Jalen Duran off of Josh Hart there. So
that's I'm curious to see if they do that. But
even if they don't, Like Josh Hart is shooting under
thirty percent from three over the past like fifty plus games,
and so how did the Knicks respond if that's happening.
I think Josh Hart does a lot of things really well.
He's a ball mover, he's a paysetter, he hits the
glass hard. He can be an opportunistic cutter. But like
if he's not, like he can damage this team on offense.
If he's not hitting his regardless of who you have
as the primary defender on him, he can really shrink
the floor. And so if that happens, do you stick
with him just because it's Josh Hart and he's played
a trillion minutes since he came to you, or is
it well, let's see what Deuce looks like with the starters,
or let's even see Honestly my two preferences. I love Deuce,
but just like Brunton and Deuce on the court together,
like that's you just so small? Do you just go
to Mitchell Robinson and Karl Anthony Towns at that point
and it's you know what? Like that should make that
a one. It might help your defense on offense even
though you're weaker on offense, because you'll get more offensive rebounds.
You should, in theory, just end more possessions with the
made shot gives your defense a chance to get set.
And then if like Josh Hart's not making his threes,
I don't know that he's gonna bring enough defensively or
you need him to bring enough defensively. This series where
you can talk me out of just hitting the Landry
Sham at button, Like, let's get someone in there who's
shooting forty percent from three and been taking them at
a fair fairly like high clip per thirty six minutes.
If I had to guess, the Knicks are not gonna
move off of Josh Hart at all. But I do
think that's whether it's a coaching thing, a Josh Hart thing,
a Pistons thing, there's all these moving parts involved. I
honestly think that that is kind of sort of the
structural lineup decision that could wind up defining this entire series.
Speaker 3: Josh Hart's my X factor for all of the reasons
you just you just laid out what.
Speaker 1: Would you do though in that situation of okay, but
Josh Hart's not hitting his Like, here's my thing is,
there's the Josh Heart experience is going to go sideways.
It might be temporary, but they are just going to
be games where it doesn't work out. If you're if
you're the Pistons one, are you exploring putting Duran automore?
Are you? And then yeah, if you're the Knicks and
he's not capitalizing on that like even getting going downhill
or shooting his threes, what is forget about what Tom
Tibodau will do what would you prefer him to do?
Speaker 3: I mean what I think you just what I think
you gotta do if you're having a player a wing
being guarded slash not guarded by like by Duran in
this case, is I think then you have to have
him involved in screening action because it's like, if Duran's
not coming out to guard Josh Hart, it can't just
be well, Josh Hart, we're gonna live and die on
whether you're one willing and too able to shoot a
bunch of threes. That's like the Pistons would be elated
if that's just how the series plays out on that
end of the floor. So I think you just have
to be like the pitch and pitch back game with
Brunson and Heart, and maybe that leads to a bunch
of brunts and open threes. Like you got to find
a way. You can't just take Hart off the floor,
and you can't just let Heart determine the outcome of
the series by shooting threes.
Speaker 2: So like there are other ways to do it.
Speaker 3: Not you can get away with non shooters, you know,
being not being guarded if you put the ball in
their hands more not to create, but to like play
the play the handoff game or play the pitch and
pitch back game. Set screens up high for a shooter
you want to take shots like you got to do
that because as the Knicks, it's like they don't have
the rotation depth to just excize somebody who plays the
number of minutes Heart does from the rotator, like you can't.
Speaker 2: There's who were sham.
Speaker 3: It might be a fun like five to seven minute
once in a while, let's try it, but you're not
gonna suddenly give him thirty minutes, like you just that's
not that's not a plausible option.
Speaker 2: So that's what I would do. I don't know if
the Knicks.
Speaker 1: Will do that.
Speaker 3: I can't remember watching if they've done that this year.
They probably haven't been like this is a playoff thing.
You don't just like pull out your best like, oh,
let's let's let Josh Hart beat us tonight defense of
tactics in January.
Speaker 1: You know, I actually think the Pistons are gonna end
up putting like they've done. They've used Hardaway or Kaide
against him most of the time, and I mean, like
if Kaid's on him, like you could argue that that's
even worse for the Knicks to some extent, just for
what he'll be able to do. Then my X factor
for because you're Josh Harf the Knicks, I have Tom
Thibodeau just because I think I outline kind of all
the tactical decisions there. And I honestly believe that if
the Knicks lose this series, it's not we know he'll
lose his job, but like, I do think that most
of the blame will fall on him, because if they
lose this series, I think it's because they didn't even
try to adapt nearly enough. I think it's he's gone,
he's stuck to his overarching ethos, which is my guys,
and it's because one time he lost a double digit
lead with like ninety seconds left or some bullshit whatever
he uses the excuse nowadays.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that that really does make it so
that the Pistons entire goal of this series should be
to like, let's let's make it so that like we're
forcing adjustments, like let's just see, let's see if he's.
Speaker 2: Willing to bend a little bit in one way or another.
Speaker 1: Bobby Clinton is gonna play and he's not on the
scouting report.
Speaker 2: What do we do?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 2: What's the narrative for you?
Speaker 1: Uh? Well, oh yeah, we skip that one, right to
the X factors. Well, let's let's skip and go to
who is your pistons X factor?
Speaker 3: I struggle with this a lot, Like I think Beasley
is the easy choice be but like I also don't
think the Knicks are gonna let him get loose. Just
his presence is still gonna matter because because you can't.
Speaker 2: Let him get loose and shoot a bunch of threes.
Speaker 3: So I think I might just go with a tie
between Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Junior, just as the
other guys that might benefit from some of the coverages,
I guess I'm saying I hope New York plays against
Kid because somebody is gonna get opportunities, and that maybe
just Harris getting to attack a closing out cat or
like Mitchell Robinson suddenly finds himself trying to cover Harris
in the corner or something like that. And both of
those guys Hardaway and Harris I think have enough variability
that they like they make good X factor picks because
it's like you can imagine either of them going one
for six or and you can imagine either of them
going you know, seven for eleven and that's why the
Pistons win a game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh that's those are good ones. I'm gonna go
with Usar Thompson just because I think that the Knicks
are gonna try and quote unquote hide some people on him,
but just his off ball speed, ability to crash the
glass and even just like if you have Brunson on
a SAR or even just like a small like if
you're trying to hide it like during Shaman minutes or
just maybe are you if you're the Knicks, you're trying
to stash Karl Anthony Towns on Asar Thompson at points,
like you could use Asar Thompson as like someone's gonna
screen for him, Like that is something that the Pistons
can absolutely go to. So I think if the Knicks
like go any of those different directions, I think a
SAR becomes like an X factor for a number of
reasons for Detroit on the offensive end. Narratively, I'm looking
at this and I just the stakes are so low
for the Pistons that I'm looking at it through a
Knicks lens and it's just how good or not is
this next team, Like that's the question you're kind of asking,
and who's heads, because it'll be heads. I think Tom
Timble will lose his job if they lose this series,
and maybe even they get trucked in the second round.
Like what other changes will the Knicks make as the
result of this series if they don't win him maybe
even if they do win, I think a lot of
people expect them to try and figure out a way
to go get a more available, higher end center than
Mitchell Robinson. I just want to let everybody know that's
actually a problem when you're playing paying Karl Anthony Towns
so much money. I know we saw it work with
him in Rudy Gobern Minnesota, but like, you're not teaming
with assets to go do all these things. And so
I know you didn't give up necessarily a boatload to
get Towns, but you're paying him a boatload. And if
you don't think that he can be your five in
a playoff series, maybe the change is moving Karl Anthony
Towns rather than trying to protect Carl Anthony Towns against
his weakness is when look, there are points he can
punish guys in the post the driving games absurd. The
passing is great and he does space the floor, but
like this is year ninety two of being like, well
why didn't he take more threes?
Speaker 3: Though, right right, I have the same thing. Basically, I
just have written down it. This is a referendum on
the Knicks all in moves, like because based on everything
you said of like any changes change or changes you
make now in the wake of potential failure is like
they're gonna be seismic because there is no room for
small ones, and so like this needs to be I
think like a pretty handy Knicks win followed by probably
like at least a highly competitive second round series where
I'm jumping ahead, but like this will We're gonna have
to have the like, you know, the reckoning with this
roster if this goes badly for the Knicks, because like
you can't there are no I don't think there are
small tweaks available. You're firing the coach, You're trading like
a guy who played thirty eight minutes again, Like that's
the only big moves remain basically so that yeah, and
the Pistons, I agree. It's like, well, okay, so if
the Pistons get swept as anybody that mad, Like, I
don't think so.
Speaker 2: It's so it just has to be a Nicks thing.
Speaker 1: Someone will be mad, someone will be mad. What's your well,
let's remember to do the prediction on this series.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think we spent a lot of time talking
about the Knicks, like potential frailties here, and we have
given short shrift to like, this team's really hard to
guard when they're at their best, and they do have
the defensive personnel outside of Cat like they have the
wings to do. I think it's Knicks and six and
I think part of that is the Pistons, not that
they're gonna have like happy to be here syndrome, but
it's like the they just don't have the sheer depth
of top end talent that the Knicks have. And I
think we've the Knicks have the experience advantage. We've seen
Brunson just forty not forty for four straight. Like, there's
just too many different ways for the Knicks to win
this series. On offense, I think that, Uh, I'm not.
I think the Pistons are very good. I just think
the Knicks are. They've they've got the the tactical advantages
the experience advantages, all that stuff.
Speaker 1: The I'm with you, Nixon six and I think, like
a large reason it's first flawed. As the Knicks are
as a team, their margin for error is going to
be smaller against the teams that are going to come
rather than the Pistons, who it's their margin for error
in this series is what if Kaide doesn't go kaboomah,
then you probably lose that game. And that's just I mean,
like unless Schroder or Beasley or and just even like
guys like Ron Holland and Asar Thomps have been really
valuable this season, especially on the defensive end and to
their transition attacks. Those aren't always guys when you look
at their perimeter limitations that hold up too well in
the playoffs. I don't know, the Knicks were twelveth in defense.
I think their defense is kind of that's underrated. But
people are just like, oh, they suck, and it's like, yeah, no,
they just can't defend the elite teams, which is a
problem after the first round.
Speaker 2: And it's like a relative thing too.
Speaker 3: It's like you're not gonna say I'm worried about the
Knicks offense, Like no, I think they're all right there.
It's like if we have to pick something, if you
were to.
Speaker 1: Like be concerned though, it's that Brunton's actually when you
have been pretty good against the Pistons this year and
the Knicks are still just one in three, and so
I'm like, our next series, uh Lakers Timberwolves. I think
this is the series that I had the toughest hold of,
like or have the toughest time getting a hold of.
So my tactical thing here might be pretty like baseline.
What how is? How are the Timberwolves? Are they going
to change anything about how they defend Lugandancic relative to
when he was with the Mavericks where I think the
default has been and I assume it will still be
Jade McDaniels on Luke Adancic. But what are you, like,
are you sending two to the ball in that instance?
When you look at last year in the playoffs, Lucas
shot eighteen of thirty nine against him with four shooting
fouls when it was uh Jalen Jade McDaniels defending him.
Apologies if I said Jalen before Dallas did only average
one point zero eight points per possession on those plays,
which I think that's if you're in possession with Lugudancis
had the ball on any point, you'll take that as
a w But like the Lakers have Lebron James and
Austin Reeves and Dallas really only had Kyrie to do
that stuff last year. Year. I'm so curious to see
if they try to throw in any more aggressive wrinkles
or do they think, like, well, you move Jade McDaniels around,
And I think part of that tactical wrinkle is not
to make this is almost a little X factory, but
like I just did Jade McDaniels offensive experience, even when
the threes are going in, Like, I'm kind of at
the point where it's, man, I don't think it's structural
with the Timberwolves anymore like I kind of did last year.
I mean, he kind of is what he is, and
so if he's getting not torched, but like I guess
you could say, well, he's a body we could throw
on Luca and then he's not really giving you two
too much. Even again, he could shoot forty three percent
from three in this series and the Lakers just all right, cool,
like Lucas gonna stay on you anyway, And so does
it complicate it by maybe I'm overthinking this, but if
you don't put Jayden on Luca, the Lakers are gonna
want to put Luca on Jayde and I assume, and
so do you want to try and throw the wrinkle.
Let's force the Lakers to cross match rather than make
it too easy on them. Uh? That is? It was
that And I thought the super low hanging fruit was
just like, well, how do the Lakers just lack of size?
And they're like, if you want Jared Vanderbilt to be
your five or it's like basically go with no not
even conventional but no big man type player. How does
that work against a Wolves team that is pretty huge
still even without town like Randall, Rudy and Nas like
those are real like big guys.
Speaker 3: So my tackle is the Lakers small ball against the
and like.
Speaker 2: It's specifically Gobert. This is like we're playing the Hits.
Speaker 3: This is like the oldie but of goodie for any
Rudy Gobert playoff series, but like the Lakers specifically, so
the samples are all small, But I really do think
there's gonna be some like real like there's gonna be
an option for the Lakers to really mess with the
Wolves by going small. And that's partly just because like
you have in Lebron and Luca and Reeves three on
the ball, like passers and playmakers that like it. Just
when the floor is spaced and you have sixty percent
of the guys on your team are just like, oh
my god, they're a threat to just break the defense
by themselves.
Speaker 2: That's that's a lot to deal with.
Speaker 3: And I don't think this is if Go Bear winds
up dominating this series somehow, I would be very, very surprised.
Speaker 2: I think what's more likely.
Speaker 3: Is the Lakers downsize, they spread the Wolves out, and
they score enough to make you know, the Wolves offensive
like clunkiness, just that they can't, you know, break even
with Lebron at center. Overall, it's been like seven hundred
persessions this year for the Lakers. With Lebron at center,
they're a plus three point one. But the most used lineup,
which is the which is the one you want if
you're the Lakers, it's the Don chich Reeves, Finney Smith, Hatchimura,
Lebron plus nineteen point four net rating like and a
one thirty offensive rating and they're above average defensively, I
believe more in the one thirty than the above average defense.
Speaker 1: Believe it or not.
Speaker 2: That I think that's a real problem.
Speaker 3: And like I don't know, Like, if you're the Wolves,
how do you punish I guess you'd say offensive boards?
I guess, uh, But I like other than that, like
how are you punishing the Lakers for playing smaller and
making Gobar either defending space or take him off the
floor somehow? Like that that's the Lakers side. The other
thing we got to talk, Well, I'll get to it
in the X factor. I can kind of shoehorn the
other like semi tactical thing in there. But what do
you think about that? Like it does the Lakers small
ball thing not scare you?
Speaker 1: Or do you?
Speaker 3: Do you view it more through the prism of like
how are the Lakers gonna handle just a line up
on the other side that like everybody but Mike Conley
is either actually huge or plays bigger than their position.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I've gone back and forth at this one because
I normally tend to think that the small ball forces
more like the team that's not going small is the
one that's gonna have to adjust more is kind of
how I assume that unless it's just sort of like
if the Clippers go small against the Nuggets, it's, well,
look at what you're small. But like, yeah, okay, yeah,
Deva's not gonna adjust too much there. But I don't
know why I've I think I'm just too low on
the Lakers and it just doesn't make any sense, is
really what it is? Because they've outperformed their point differential
more than any other team, but like, okay, like we
have an entire season that them just doing that pre
Luca trade, post Luca trade doesn't matter, and like you're talking,
those small ball numbers are kind of insane, and with
the growth of Austin Reeves too, to just give you
three dynamic creators on the court at once, maybe I'm
just like, if you have to take Rudy Gobert off,
like then you just have nas Reed though, is that
like like that's someone who's better suited to or if
Rudy's not suited, like nas Reed is gonna be perfectly suited.
I would think to go up against some of those
small ball units, But I guess you know what it is.
I think even when the Lakers go small, I feel
like they'll always be a spot to put Gobert or
another one of the Timberwolves bigs. Now, if you get
a little worried because it's, well, then what are you
doing with Randall? But like if Jared Vanderbilt is on
the court, like, all right, there you go, hiding spot Frudy, Fuck,
I'm leaving I know he shot the ball better. If
Gabe Vincent is on the floor, I'm gonna like, I'll
leave Rudy on the floor too. And so what is
there like a specific small ball combination that you don't
think the Wolves would be able to combat by doing
something like that.
Speaker 3: Well, you make a good point because, like let's say
the lineup I refer to, if you leave Gobert out there,
I guess you probably put him on Hachimura and then
it's like and then you kind of don't guard him,
and then it's it becomes how many threes can hatcha
Mura make?
Speaker 2: Is this sort of a Josh.
Speaker 3: Hart thing, although I think Mura is just a more
dangerous shooter and has been in the playoffs before where
it's like there's workarounds, right, you can you can make
hot give you know, the the give and go stuff
with Hatcha Mura. You can have him set ball screens,
you can do all kinds of stuff. It's it's like
Warriors Draymond stuff where it's like nobody guards Draymon and
sometimes he does shoot the three, but other times he
just like Steph passes him the ball and Steph runs
towards him, and Draymond screens Stepf's guy, and Steph has
an open three because the guy guarding Draymond's nowhere near him.
And or in this hypethetical, it's like Rudy Gobert has
to run out to try to get back involved. And
now you've got Rudy Gobert up in a pick and roll,
and you're pretty good.
Speaker 2: With that if you're the Lakers.
Speaker 3: So I think, yeah, there are two sides to the coin.
I just think I just think that the Wolves, like
the Wolves are the team that's gonna have to adjust.
I think if the Lakers go small, and I think
that's just gonna favor the Lakers. It's not like a guarantee,
it's not a given, but I'm just gonna trust the
multiple playmakers in a space floor against a team that
like just I don't know, it's not just Gobert, like
Conley's someone that you're gonna as the Lakers, you're gonna
pick on too, and then that's gonna keep like butting
up against what my X factor is gonna be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, me, it looks like we might be having one
of the same X factors there. Okay, doesn't it kind
of work? I mean you said it already, there's two
sides of the coin. But so if the Lakers go
small and the Wolves have to adjust, is it the
worst thing in the world to give Julius Randal Laffy
Edwards more space like with Gobart off the court, that's
just nas reed. They're gonna then have more space to
work with. I think, look, you know, if you throw
two to the ball and Anthony Edwards like, that's where
and that's by the way. I think that's what I
would do if we were talking about defending Anthony, because
the Lakers don't have But I think who is the
Lakers' best Anthony Edwards defender. It's probably Van do Do. Maybe
it's dfs.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I was gonna say, of guys that are
actually gonna play like, because I don't know Vanderbilt is
gonna play a ton of Yeah, it's probably dfs.
Speaker 1: But like, if you're gonna do that, like I would
just throw two to the ball at amp because I
think that's where he's still like his decision making can
be a little bit off. Some of what Julius Randall
does best though, it's just like you get him going downhill,
especially if it's single covers, like he'll spray out and
find shooters.
Speaker 2: Okay, we gotta talk about this.
Speaker 3: There's like seventeen tactical things we have so the and
they all like lead into the other. So you gotta
throw two of the ball when ant has it right
because one you don't have the singular stopper, and two
you're gonna force a bunch of other wolves to like
prove you can generate consistent offense.
Speaker 2: Right like that, that seems like the move. If I'm
the Lakers, I'm.
Speaker 3: Ecstatic that there's a possibility Julius Randall is going to
have to try to beat me as a primary creative.
Speaker 1: You're looking at those like playoff series.
Speaker 3: And I love it if I want it. If I'm
the Lakers, I can't. You can't give that option to
me soon enough. The other Sorry, I'm just gonna say
I think Mike Conley's an X factor and like this
is also related, right, because he has to be because
he's the only other guy that you're like, Okay, we
got it out of Ant's hands. Conley's gonna get us
something like he's gonna make the right decision. He might
be the outlet that makes an open shot. I think
if you're the Lakers, you don't want to leave him.
You want to force him to try to execute and
pick and roll. But if he can't guard anybody, that's
the thing, like who are you putting Mike Conley on? Like,
like that's.
Speaker 2: Gonna be really tough.
Speaker 3: Conley has to play for the Wolve's offense to work,
especially if the balls forced out.
Speaker 2: Of Ant's hands.
Speaker 3: But if he's on the floor, that's like every single
time down, Luca and Lebron are going to try to
get him switched out to them and just attack him.
Speaker 1: Like I just it hasn't gone rout well this year
when they've tried him against Reeves, the Lakers are averaging
one point three to eight points per possession when Comedy
is defending this. This feels like Commedy's an X factor
because this isn't a Mike Commley series to where we
might look back and say the Wolves decided to kind
of sacrifice their offensive decision making or dynamism, and it's
we're gonna play like without but without him a trust
like not like Naw's in there instead.
Speaker 3: Yeah, which which like we've seen Naw make a bunch
of three is in a playoff series and like that
that's there are ways, like the Lakers could accomplish everything
they want, you know, force it out of Ant's hands.
Conley's not on the floor and and still like Gnaw
or Na's Read or whoever else is just good enough
or is hot enough to not Vincenzo Definitely, you haven't
even mentioned him yet, Like that's another guy not again.
Conley is so important to Minnesota though, because like he's
just the only guy that I trust to make the
right play under pressure.
Speaker 2: Do you existing though?
Speaker 1: For something you already mentioned, this series is gonna be
so fascinating. If you're not gonna be able to play
Rudy as much because you think this is a bad
matchup for him, that kind of diminished Mike Conley's offensive
importance a little bit. Yeah, just then the extra space
it's you want, I'm okay with if it's Nikkeil, Alexander
Walker or Dante DiVincenzo or even look, I'm gonna say
it now and I'll probably eat these words, like I'm
okay with Julius Randall. Like having to make those decisions.
Then if that's what your floor balance is gonna be
in the half court when Gobert is off the floor.
Speaker 3: Yeah, every single move in this series this should just
have been one hundred percent tactical discussion, because like, you
can't discuss one wrinkle without it leading into like three others.
Speaker 2: You know, Uh yeah, I don't.
Speaker 3: I haven't thought about like, I mean, if you're the Lakers,
are you happy that well? Yeah, I guess if you
play Gobert off the floor, you almost kind of play
Conley off the floor too, like that, just so you
get a two for one out of that. I don't know,
I mean, certainly the Wolves.
Speaker 1: Isn't there part of you if you're the Lakers that
maybe you don't want. I mean you probably if you
play Rudy Gobert off the floor, I get you count
that as a w but I'm also kind of like,
but then you have to deal with the ramifications on
the offensive end where the Wolves are going to be
more spaced out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, and then and then that maybe that gets well,
but then you're forcing it out of his hands. You definitely,
if you're playing small have to force the ball out
of Edward's hands, Like you know.
Speaker 2: The other thing we haven't talked about is like small ball.
Speaker 3: Might just be a necessity because I don't think Jackson
Hayes is just flat out good enough to like deserve
to play in this series. Like what is he giving
you that you absolutely need that you're sure he's gonna give.
Speaker 1: You Maybe some rebounding that's going on Rudy and like
Julius Randall like probably not right, but it's yeah, it's small.
It's just I love like Vanda on defense is still
a terror, but he just is so limiting on the
offensive end. And if you put Vanda on the court,
you're probably not playing Rudy Gobert off the floor in
that instance. No, yeah, exactly, man, this is so you're
at We had Mike Colleagues an X factor for the Wolves.
Who's your Who's your Lakers? I struggled every aspect of
this series.
Speaker 3: I struggled with I know, I think I kind of
talked about it a little bit. It could be ruy
for for the reasons I mentioned, like he might be
the guy you throw gobar on if you're trying to
keep him on the floor and hide him.
Speaker 2: But we haven't.
Speaker 3: Really I'll use this as a as an avenue to
talk about Finny Smith, because I do think defensively he's
gonna have like a massive role.
Speaker 2: He's just he's just gonna have.
Speaker 3: To and then and then on the other end, he's
also someone that he might be the guy that that
Gobert like sort of guards like his three point shooting
might just you you might be in a situation where
several times in a row down the floor of the
Wolves are just like goating the Lakers into all right,
let's see if Finney Smith is hot tonight, and if
he's not, then like then things change. Maybe small ball
isn't gonna be that effective. So I think both ends.
Finney Smith, I think is gonna be a pretty big factor.
Speaker 1: I have him as my ex factor as well. Was
that well, he's definitely gonna defend the ant or are
you're gonna put him? Are you gonna put him? At
points on Jade and have him try to help Onto
Ann or maybe Julius Randall. He'll spend time guarding Julius Randall.
The three point shooting, like you mentioned for very insane.
Vanderbilt was also an option for me, and it could
have been really but like Vanderbilt, I'm kind of looking
at where it's if the Lakers end up playing him
a bunch, do you think that's like it's because it worked,
or it's a bad omen because well, Ant is torching us,
and it's we decided we needed to compromise the offense
to get vand do looks again. And and that's why
he just I don't know if he's gonna play enough minutes,
So that's why I didn't want him include it. But
it's almost the kind of it's there, Mike Conley, except
Vando's not as important, nearly as important to what they do.
But if you're playing van do you could talk me
into saying, well, that's great for the Lakers that they
were able to get away with Vanda, or it's oh no,
like things were going so.
Speaker 3: Bad even they Like if if you had to go
into a coma for two weeks and the only fact
you knew after it was Jared Vanderbilt averaged twenty nine
minutes a game in the series.
Speaker 2: Like what does that mean? Like, I don't know, I
don't know if that's good or bad. It could go
either way. That's a great one.
Speaker 1: I like that. Narratively speaking, Will Lebron just what he's
like as he look like, if if he's if he's
able to win this first round matchup in the goat ranking, right,
will he finally surpassed Kobe Bryant in the best NBA
players of all time? I think my actual one is
just are the Timberwolves better than the roller coaster that
they've been Because there are a bunch there's a bunch
of different data points that say no, like this this
team is low key as shit show, And then there's
a bunch of other data points it's like no, No,
they're They're a contender. They have one of the best
net ratings in the league against top ten teams. The
Lakers and the Thunder ironically are the only teams with
higher winning percentages against Western Conference teams. And just like
you've seen them get up for these big games and
playoffs are big games, but they've also blown more fourth
quarter leads than anyone else. They've underperformed their point differential
longer than anyone else. And part of the belief in
Minnesota is they really turned on the Jets in March.
And if we know anything about NBA basketball March grant,
it's that you should absolutely trust everything that comes after
March first, so I think, and that can bleed into well,
what is the fallout if they lose, because they're going
to still be expensive, there's going to be new ownership
will officially if taken over. Tim Connelly has that executive's option.
They have the k Alexander Walker is a free agent.
Nas Reid to be a free agent, Julius Rannod can
be a free agent. This is weird to say. I
made the joke about Lebron's legacy, but this is perhaps
the lowest stakes playoff series I think possible, just for
him or Luca because it's Luca's on a new team.
It came mid season, he was injured, and then Lebron
it's yeah, okay, like this stuff still matters. He's good,
He's gonna be all NBA. But this is the first
time a team is no longer on Lebron's timeline.
Speaker 3: And then oh so much to say, uh, just in
response to that, like they got the Lakers got Luca
and somehow it's like you have a forty year old
Lebron on your team and it's like we got time,
you know, like that's just like how how are we here?
How did But that's just what That's how it feels, right.
It's like, well, they don't have to get it done
this year because I mean Lucas here and Lebron can
just you know, he's got three to five more years
of just I can be second Banana and we'll be contenders,
Like I I.
Speaker 1: Hope I know people that can make a lot of
jokes about learned. I would love to see him play
to forty five. I would love it.
Speaker 2: Why wouldn't you if you like he's admiration? Right, So
there's that.
Speaker 3: The wolves thing to your point before I get to
my narrative is like I don't know if you say
I think as Kevin Pelton does this, or maybe it's
Dan Feldman on the dunked On newsletter of like if
you adjust for net, if you just team's net rating
based on like their their best five guys, or like
who's actually gonna play like they tweak the rotation stuff
for guys that are gonna play in the playoff rotation.
And the Wolves are like the fourth best team in
the league. So it's just like, okay, so their top
end is amazing. But weirdly, I also like them because
I think they have like nine good players or like
ten good players that that all should play. So I
don't know what to do with that. I think that
just speaks to the whole like we could can quit
them all year. They're confounding. They can look as bad
as imaginable, and other times it's like, oh, I believe
that Anthony Edwards and a good defense is like all
you need to succeed in the playoffs. Like that's just
so I don't know that They're just like hard to
pin down.
Speaker 1: I think the best way to frame with them is
they are equal parts a danger to everybody else and themselves.
Speaker 2: There's like a there's like a medical designation for that.
Speaker 3: I think, Like, so, my my narrative thing is just
I guess I keep kind of leaning towards on the
narrative side. Stuff that I just personally want to see
because it would be fun or exciting and I'm viewing
this as like potentially the first step in the official
beginning of the Luka Doncic level up revenge Tour, where
like I can imagine, I still all season have kind
of been like, he still doesn't look quite like not
even like last year Luca. I don't know that he's
in like peak shape. I think maybe there's like the
calf thing is still an issue. It just hasn't hasn't
felt quite the same to me. But he just got
traded to a new team. I feel like what I
want is for that to be like a wake up
call and we see like a maximally focused version of him,
and then he just takes the Lakers on a deep
run and then we get to just enjoy the shouten
freud for Dallas and Nico Harrison.
Speaker 2: Sorry Dallas.
Speaker 3: I actually think Dallas might be rooting for that, because
I think most MAVs fans are bigger Luca.
Speaker 2: Fans than they are the team.
Speaker 3: That's what I'm hoping for, just from like a peer, like, oh,
this is a fun story standpoint of just Luca is
the best he's ever looked. He's just undeniably great and
dominates this series. And then a couple more that that
would be fun.
Speaker 1: I think I'm kind of hoping for and this will
leak into predictions. We just look back on this and
at least for myself, I could say, you really just
overthought and twisted yourself into a pretzel over a team
that has on James and Luka Doncic on.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, And I say that, I say all that
too while acknowledging like, actually don't enjoy it the Luka
Doncic viewing experience, Like I I kind of like generally
don't to the extent I still do this, like root
for him because I don't like the complaining. I don't
like the feeling that he's like not committed off the
court all that stuff. Like I just and I don't
love helio centric basketball, Like I just the thing with
me is I struggle with that they hear like the
peak James Harden stuff and when it's been like for yeah,
it's just I don't love watching it. But like this
is just a whole Luca in the playoffs has always
been appointment viewing. No, and just for sure and him
and James Harden and like even Trey Young does this
like they make it digestible too, because the passes that
they throw are just like angles, like yeah, it just
bend's fit, like defies the laws of physics basically.
Speaker 1: So preditions.
Speaker 3: I'm going Lakers in seven. I would be deeply disappointed
if this isn't a long series that has like a
ping ponging of like game to game line up and
rotation and tactical tweaks. I think it's close. Obviously I'm
picking it in seven, but ultimately I think the Lakers
are gonna have an easier time scoring on a Wolves
defense than the other way around. I just think there's
even there's more for the Lakers to do that force
guys on the Wolves who shouldn't be in playmaking positions
to have to be in those positions.
Speaker 1: So I agree. I hope it goes seven games, and
I think it'll go seven games. I'm going Wolves in seven,
and I'm kind of doing the inverse of what you're
doing where it's I just think the Lakers are gonna
run out of dependable players long before the Wolves doing so.
If things go if shit goes sideways, unless you use
the Rudy Gobert thing as an example, if the Lakers
downsize Rudy can't play those minutes, the Wolves can. They
have options. And then if you're the Lakers and you're
not defending, like you start, how many players in the
Lakers roode do you just capslock trust? And if it's
more than five, I call bullshit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's basically three.
Speaker 3: Like I mean, I guess Finny Smith at three and
a half because I he'll be a great defensive player.
But yeah, yeah, that's a.
Speaker 1: Just a like DFS or Ruie, like one of them
will always just be fine. Yeah. Our next series, the
Boston Celtics versus the Orlando Magic, this one is your show, grant,
So what is the tactical problem you will be So.
Speaker 3: There's like a I'm sure if anyone that's read or
paid attention to these two teams, it's just like the
Magic don't let you get threes up, and they don't switch,
and they force isolation stuff and they foul a lot.
And the Celtics like to shoot threes, like to get
you know, don't like to attack an isolation if they
don't have to, like to get you in rotation. All
this so just like the sheer contrast in styles there,
which I would boil down to really, will Orlando be
like forced to do something other than switch all the
time and like have Jason Tatum just going downhill against
single color, you.
Speaker 2: Know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like, can Orlando either force that to be the case,
or can Boston figure out ways to get Orlando to
like send doubles and help on drives, which they don't
want to do. Michael Pina had this, Orlando doubles or
helps on drives less than any team in the league,
So they just really want to see if some individual
player can just beat them to the basket and make
layups or get fouled or whatever. So the tactical thing
for me is just which of those two teams bend first,
Like can Orlando get away with switching everything, accepting mismatches
and getting the Celtics to play in a way that
one limits their three point attempts because you're just going
to try to do stuff other than shoot threes if
you're in isolation situations. Other than Tatum, he might just
shoot them anyway, you know what I mean, Like, can
Orlando just make Boston do what it doesn't want to
do and get it out of its heavy three point
volume stuff because they've done it to most other teams
this year defensively, like it has worked. The defense is
very good. Boston's just you know, shot forty eight threes
a game. They've shot more threes than anybody ever, so
they've succeeded in generating those looks against all kinds of defenses.
Speaker 2: Can they do it against this one?
Speaker 1: Mine was similar when it came to just sort of
the math problem because if you just look at how
many three pointers per game each of these teams is making,
in theory, like the Magic are just set up to
be a minus twenty in that department every single game.
And that's they don't have the talent. I mean, few
teams do, but like they just absolutely don't have the
offensive like consistency inside the arc in transition to beat
out that. But this was the other note I made,
So there's like a little difference here is if you
can the Celtics just they don't always appear in as
much as a rush as they should be. And when
things bog down on the offensive end, doesn't it almost
a lot of the times feel not not on purpose,
but just like it's self sabotaged. Like, no, the other
team's not slowing you down like you guys are college
kind of lollygagging at these possessions. And if you do
do that against the Orlando Magic, you give them a
chance for their defense to get set. You give them
a chance to coax you into shots that maybe you
don't want to take, or at least out of the
shots that you would traditionally want to take. And so
and you also put them in a position where if
their defense is gonna get set, like they might create
turnovers and you're gonna give them three points there. Even
without Jaalen Suggs, this defense is just absolutely hillacious. And
so that would just be something to watch because if
you're Boston, the goal should be especially with Jalen Brown
having that knee injection and he missed like what nine
of their final twenty five or twenty six games, you
should absolutely absolutely want to make this as quick of
a series as possible. And I'm just kind of wondering,
are you gonna fall into the where there's just gonna
be like a couple of trap games here. It's all
like Boston didn't play with enough urgency on the offensive end,
and so like we just know with what Orlando could
do one if they have a chance to bring you
sort of down to their level and turn this into
a rock fight. Is Boston set up to beat that?
I still think stylistically like Boston will prevent there, but
there's enough, like there's enough unease to where I don't
think Boston's just margin for doing whatever they do on
offense and going through the motions. They might still win
the series then, but they will absolutely feel it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, I think.
Speaker 3: We focus on that end of the floor and then like,
I think you're right that they'll feel it if they don't,
just like they need to treat this like we got
to get in and get out, like because we got
bigger fish to fry.
Speaker 2: But like, how do you this?
Speaker 3: I this is unfair because I didn't really look at
this much either, and it may just be a short answer,
like even if Orlando makes it hard on Boston, it
makes it hard for Boston to score, Like how's Orlando
scoring in this series? Like how are they gonna because
you're talking you mentioned like there's kind of like a
minus twenty like starting point.
Speaker 2: Like how are they making that up?
Speaker 1: Well that I think that kind of steps on the
toes of my narrative question. By the way, so you're
you're saying getting get out of this series, and I
was thinking as you said. I was like, yeah, like
a Kevin Durant tenure with a team outs get out.
But my narrative for this I'm just gonna go into
because it's it's kind of tactical. But can is this
Like they might lose, but could this be the series
where it finally becomes consensus that Palo Bang Carro's just
that dude. Look at what he did in the playoffs
last year. Look at his moments in the play in
we all know how important playing games are. If he
kind of does it against Boston's like Boston has a
lot of defensive options they could throw at him. But
for all Franz Wagner has done and a lot of
what the on off splits show. And I mean even Orlando,
I think they've become too reliant or not too reliant,
but yeah, too reliant. They let themselves get into the
half court too much. From Palo Bank, Carrol's on the
floor and it's a run, damn it. Like he can
do that too, Like he just might. Like we've seen
him in a lot of big game not a lot,
but like a handful of big games now just go off. Yeah,
and if you do that against Boston, even if your
team loses, it's kind of good for the sense in
Orlando where it's okay, not that you need to end
the debate, is it Franz or Pallow But it does
seem like, doesn't it seem like there's more skepticism over
the ceiling of Palo Bangkaro than there is of Franz Wagner.
I don't know when you look at where Franz Wagner
has kind of regressed as a perimeter shooter, I don't
understand that element of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I also don't share.
Speaker 3: I don't think you do either that Like I think
we're both higher on Palo than Franz, even though Franz there's.
Speaker 1: Not even a debate, yes, Like it's just not even
a debate.
Speaker 3: For me, So I kind of I really tried to think,
like from Boston's perspective, this isn't this is my like
rejected narrative. It is just like, might there be something
Orlando does that provides a blueprint, you know, for for
better teams to try to execute against the Celtics. After
the Celtics beat Orlando, like because you know, not like.
Speaker 1: What you're saying the team after the Knicks, right yeah.
Speaker 2: Right after the Knicks, Like is there something? But I
rejected that one. Mine is like kind of tied to.
Speaker 3: Yours because I do think there's a good chance that
Paolo does just go off and we leave the series
thinking like, man, that guy's it like he okay, Like
what what this great defense plus Pollo?
Speaker 2: Why is this so hard?
Speaker 3: And That's what I'm going to get into is like
if this, if the result is Bancaro is like looks
like a guy that is an alpha a one postseason score,
which I kind of think he is, and you get
just boat raced anyway, can we please finally have the
Magic just just embrace the fact that we need more
offensive finishers and creators, Like will this finally be the
thing that makes the Magic build a roster around Bancaro
that like isn't so one sided?
Speaker 2: Like can we get.
Speaker 3: It's a version of the same thing we've been talking
about for like three years now, basically, like.
Speaker 2: Just what else do you need to see?
Speaker 3: Like great defense, awesome first option, like pretty good second
really in Franz if he could shoot it, and then
like you still get smoked. Okay, so now let's have
the conversation like what do we gotta do. Let's like
really commit to finding the types of supporting players that
can maximize like some real, like legitimate, hard to create
strengths that Orlando already has. That that's what I would
be because Orlando's gonna lose this series. It's a question
of how quickly it goes.
Speaker 2: So it just it just that.
Speaker 3: Conversation should have been happening a long time ago. But like,
will this just force it?
Speaker 1: I do think we should. That's a great one, by
the way, and it better it probably they'll probably they like,
oh we didn't have Mo Wagner or Jalen Subbs or
the offense might be.
Speaker 3: Okay, I'm trying to speak it into existence because I
want it to happen.
Speaker 1: The I think the other thing that I and I
did mention at the top is Jalen Brown. Okay, is
this a series where it's do you just if you're Boston?
Aren't you a little bit tempted to just be like
do we even need to play him? Like give my My.
Speaker 3: Bold prediction for this series is he will play fewer
than one hundred minutes and it'll be because Boston's like,
we don't need them.
Speaker 2: We like we're looking ahead.
Speaker 1: You look at it and it's like even over the
past quarter of the season, like his field goal percentage
on drives is up, the volume is like around the
same of where it's been all year. The three point
shooting for him has been a problem. Does that speak
to like, okay, he's been dealing with leg issues for months,
knee issues for a month. That could speak to something
about lyft. But then oh, he's like finishing on drive.
Is that more about the spacing? And he hasn't looked
I guess he's like defenses have tried to or do
like some weird things with him, But I don't against
the magic, Like is this even the series that you
want to try and push his limits there? And you
want him to be okay because he is your second
most important player. So that's just something to kind of monitor.
And I don't know if this belongs here. I think
you and I are pretty much in agreement, and maybe
the stuff with ownership changes this, and just the sheer
expense of the second apron plus the functional limitations of
it on the transaction market. It feels a year too
early to be like does this dictate? And or at
least it feels a series too early to even ask
this question of will this dictate? Because I guess if
they lose, yeah, what's gonna happen over the off season.
But I think it deserves an audible mention just because
second Apron life is is tricky.
Speaker 3: It well then there, yeah, this is this feels like
a further down the road conversation, but the result could
change that, like they are in the Celtics are like
really kind of trailable right now, or they're about to
be because like the other teams that have gotten prohibitively,
like Phoenix is just like well that was just dumb
and like of course they should not have been there
and should tear it down. But like Boston is Boston's
the real test, right of like this team if they
win a title, it's like, yeah, of course they did,
Like no one's surprised if Boston wins it again, and
it's like okay, so a team that good is are
you still gonna break that team down because you're worried
about the back half of this decade, you know what
I mean? Like there that will be eventually that will
be like one of the two or three biggest talking
points of whatever season or offseason, like things start to rumble.
Speaker 2: Maybe not yet. Who's your X factor though?
Speaker 1: Is did you say Jalen Brown for Boston? I kind
of just have Peyton Pritchard because I didn't know. I'm
just I thought Drew Holliday, will his three pointers go in?
I think is a big one, especially if Boston isn't
able to take as many of them. And by the way,
the number I didn't have out here, the Celtics were
eighteenth in points score pro posession against the Magic this year,
and if Jalen Brown's not right, that's something to keep
an eye on. So I think true Holliday, but also
just Peyton Pritchard has had a fantastic year. But in
my head, I'm just like, if Cole Anthony is not
on the floor, this is just and even if he is,
like this much might not be the Peyton Pritchard series. However,
if you can't play Jalen Brown as many minutes like
do you want like it? Will were talking about like
Moore sam Hauser here in that scenario, I don't like.
So I think both of those guys would be who
I settle on. And for the Magic I already mentioned him,
it's Cole Anthony, who had a very nice playing game
for them, but just he is the only other player
on this team aside from Palo Franz doesn't even sit
here that ranks is an above average half court shot
maker and creator this season like fifty percent tile or better.
There's two players on this Magic team that are in
the rotation right now that rank inside both of those
that would be Cole Anthony and Paalo Bancaro. And so
you're going to need Cole Anthony to just cook. Like
that's like a that's probably problematic, but h my X
factor for Orlando.
Speaker 3: Exactly the same I had coll Anthony for Orlando all
the reasons you said. It's just like some can someone
else please contribute? Like it's got to be him, I think,
And it's like he what are the odds that it
is that he does? It's it's a coin flip at best, and.
Speaker 1: It's not him. Doesn't if it needs to be Anthony
Black who looks a little bit more at home on offense,
but my god, if.
Speaker 2: That, yeah, you're so.
Speaker 3: And then for the Celtics, this is still like I
once I got the whole like tactical interplay of like
how Orlando wants to switch and just try to get
you to play one on one like it just like, oh,
it's Porzingis because that that's like that that's always been
Boston's postseason trump card is just like cool, you switched
like someone who's not seven feet tall onto Porzingis mid
post he gets fouled, Like that's just and rinse, repeat,
so it's him. I do think Orlando is like like
whether it's Black who's just great defensive length or Franz
or Paola, like you'll be able maybe to engineer it,
so you're switching like fairly capable size onto him.
Speaker 1: Rated part of Paolo's game that you can do that with.
Speaker 3: Polo super strong, like we'll get under Porzingis can't, won't,
won't be moved, So Porzingis will just have to be
like a total foul drawing technician or like be really
patient shooting over those guys. But I think that's the
that's that is the switchbuster that Boston employees against defenses
that like to do that. So uh, I think it's
just got to be honestly like they don't I don't
think they're gonna need him to be that great. I
just think Orlando's offense is so so like non threatening
outside of Paolo. That's like, you know, lots of things
can go wrong for Boston. We might get nipped our
hands here, but for this series, I'm gonna give the
Celtic I'm gonna give Orlando one game.
Speaker 2: I think.
Speaker 3: I just like I didn't predict any sweeps. I'll go
Celtics in five.
Speaker 1: I want Celtics in five too. I don't this that's it.
I think it's about both those teams where the Magic
are scrappy as hell, and also just Boston just feels
faded to give away a game for some there will
be variants with a three point shooting or the offense
just doesn't quicker struggles against Orlando. So yeah, Celtics in
five grants, super Bowl series, the Rockets versus the Warriors.
And it's fun because now I get to dictate how
we start the tactical matchup on this one. This is
probably would have been the way I should have framed
it when we were talking Timberwolves Lakers. Who concedes more
in this matchup? Because I'm looking at it as the
Rockets are a unique meld of physical and athletic, which
feel like the two things that Golden State is like
not necessarily built to go up against all that well,
but you look at Golden State, they are far more
dynamic overall, especially when you get to like the offensive end.
And so what I'm sort of wondering is we know
how important A'man Thompson's gonna be to defending Steph Curry,
But like, how do you if you're Houston. I'm so
curious to see how he made a Dooko goes about
And I actually already asked you about this a couple
of days ago, but I'm so curious to see how
he goes about sort of defending the rest of the Warriors,
because I asked you if you think that the Warriors
are a good or bad matchup for the Steven Adams,
Alpern Shangoun Frum court that we've seen more of since
like over the past like two months or whatever, is
when they logged like ninety percent of their minutes they're
destroying teams during that time. I think it's easy just
to say that's not gonna work in a playoff series.
But and I know Jimmy Butler went off in the
playing game, the Grizzlies kind of like stuck zach Edie
on him. But I didn't hate it all the time.
And with like Emyodoka is so good at having his
players cross match. We saw it in Boston with Robert Williams,
We've seen it this year with Shangun and Adams. I'm
just kind of wondering if you know, you're not gonna
have the same level of half court versatility that Golden
State does, and if there're gonna be maybe enough questionable
shooters on the court for Golden Jimmy Butler being one
of them, although playoff Jimmy different beast of course, something
to consider here because Golden State can't even begin to
compete with that size and so if you give that
unit any quarter, and I guess even if you don't,
it's like, well, Houston could play Jabari Smith Junior at
the five and they're still not gonna necessarily be small.
So I'm I'm very curious to see what type of
look I Mayodoka ends up favoring in this series, because
I do think that the Rockets maybe there's no in between,
but I could see them being like a real foil
for Golden State's lack of size. And I would even
say overall athleticism.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's I think the answer that I
thought about that.
Speaker 3: A little more, it's isn't it weird that like we've
in this in this discussion of other series, or maybe
I have. I was gonna say, we have focused on like, well,
how does how does the team with the conventional big
guy avoid you know, getting spaced out and just attacked?
And it's like, somehow when the Rockets have not just
one but two of those guys, like we're more concerned
like shouldn't like shouldn't it be like even harder for
the Rockets to survive that way against a small, smart team.
Speaker 1: Quick number there, they're grabbing eighty point five percent of
defensive rebounds with those from the court. Do you know
what their offensive rebounding rate is? One hundred forty nine
to seven. Yeah, you give your second chance opportunities half
the time. And at that point, it's like, so maybe
you're conceding a lot on defense, but if you're scoring
enough to where you let that lineup get its defense set,
and like, if you not that, you don't have to
worry about Steph Curry if I'm and Thompson's on the floor,
but like if here's like, well we have the guy
who's gonna go after Steph, right, I hope they at
least try it because I just want to see. I'm
so curious to see what happens. And they did try
it against Golden State this season, but you know how
the regular teamk Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Well, I would say though, I think that that I
think Shanoon and Adams together like probably will work. If
Curry's off the floor, I think I think like because
then the Warriors just don't have enough advantage, Like they
can't really take advantage of it the same way like
it just then I think Houston comes out ahead on
all the second chance stuff and all the just defensive
length and size and like, who are you freaked out
about spring open from three that one of those guys
can't get out to cut like you just buty healed, Like,
I don't think so. I think the Rockets will live
with that. If Curry's on the floor, I think it's
I think you're kind of playing with fire. It might
still work for small stretches, but I would be reluctant
if I'm Mudoka to try that with Curry running around,
maybe it'll still work.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 3: So my tactical I kind of went with one on
each side because there's just this is such a rich series.
This is like the Lakers Minnesota all over again. There's
so many like trickle down things. The big picture one though,
is how are the Rockets going to consistently score in
the half court? I just you know, all of the
guys that give the Warriors so many problems, like your
Brooks is and certainly your Thompson's, Like they're not players
you're concerned about offensively so much, or at least or
at least they're even van Vleet or at least they're
guys that it's like we kind of know how to
contain them or force them into positions or into situations
that they're not like gonna excel at. Like that's that's
and so then it just becomes like, is Jalen Green
gonna have a series? Is Shane Gun? Are they going
to engineer switches as often as possible? So Shangun has
someone other than Draymond guarding him, and then you dump
it in and you have a pretty good chancet at
like a good shot or something that way, How do
the Warriors counter that? So Houston's ability to score in
the half court is like, that's been an issue all season,
It's been an issue lad in games? How do how
do the Rockets figure that out? The other side, it's
I'm gonna step on my X factor. But it's like,
how do we not can Aman Thompson do what he
did to Steph Curry in the last regular season meeting,
which is just never lose track of him, force more
turnovers than field goals? Like can he can he take
him out? Like is that actually possible in a playoff series?
I think it's possible in a game we saw it,
like with with the Warriors having a chance to look
at that with game to game adjustments, with probably some
attention paid by Golden State to making it harder for
Thompson to be offensively valuable, Like how do.
Speaker 2: We can we make him into a shooter? Can we
force Houston?
Speaker 1: You know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like, there's gonna be ways to make the Rockets have
to try to think about how much we can keep
him on the floor. But really it's just I can't
remember the last guy that gave Curry that much of
a hard time, and I think I look, I had him,
I think third on my Defensive Player of the Year ballot.
Speaker 2: He's just a different level.
Speaker 1: That's all it took.
Speaker 3: He's just a different level of athlete. And and it's like,
I don't know if you've seen this, like, oh, the
Tony Allen comparison. It's like, well, the Warriors figured out
how to hack the Tony Allen problem and they beat
Memphis when Alan was you know, great. It's like Thompson
is not Tony Allen. Like Thompson will put it on
the floor, make a pass, dunk over everybody like this
is not a specialist in the real sense of the word.
So I missed me with the he's Tony Allen thing
and not a problem, Like he's.
Speaker 2: A huge problem. He's the biggest problem to the Warriors.
Is seen as a Curry defender.
Speaker 3: Maybe ever, I don't know, there's probably somebody I'm forgetting,
but like that's the series. If he can contain Curry,
I think the Rockets win the series because the Warriors,
even with Butler, don't have enough to like consistently score.
If Curry figures it out, or if Kurr figures it out,
then I think the Warriors probably win fairly easily.
Speaker 1: What do you have any idea what figuring out would
look like or steps to take to fair Is it
just well, there needs to be more Jimmy Butler like
Steph Curry screening for each other. Does that do it
at all?
Speaker 2: Or is it just I think there's a couple of
ways it happens.
Speaker 3: One is they sort of accept Curry being taken out
of the action to some extent, and Butler capitalizes on
advantages enough to where you have to sort of relax
some of the Thompson stuff and allow him to play
like more standard defense as opposed to just like I
am physically glued to this one person like generally that's
like that's really hard to pull off. That's one way
it could happen where it's a Butler series and he
just he dominates it and maybe it doesn't matter that Curry,
you know, has one or two good games. The other
way is just like it's gonna have to be really
good screen setting and back cutting and like that kind
of stuff, which the Warriors they've won a lot of series.
That way, it just can't be Curry running in circles
trying to get open on the perimeter. It's gonna have
to be he's gonna have to make layups, he's gonna
have to be a screener, and Thompson won't ever leave him.
Speaker 2: So somebody else.
Speaker 3: Is like, Curry can win the series without scoring a
ton potentially, but like it's gonna be hard.
Speaker 2: I really, like, I don't think we can overstate how
good Thompson might be in this series.
Speaker 1: Do you think that that Houston is just gonna like
identically because if we figure out what step will play
like thirty eight minutes a game, you think thoms is
gonna be on the floor for every single one of those.
Speaker 3: I mean I would if I'm the Rockets, because like
who there's I mean, you could use Brooks. Van Fleet
actually is pretty good, but the size is he just
you can screen him. He's smaller, like you can. If
you do get switches like you, we'll go at him.
If you get Thompson to switch off of him, It's like,
all right, so where's the advantage there? Yeah, I think
you want Thompson out there every second Curry is narratives.
Speaker 1: What's your uh, what's your what's your narrative for this, it's.
Speaker 3: Like the broader well, it's it's colored by like these
two franchises have had like some highly contentious playoff series
the Rockets.
Speaker 1: Wherever will there be any appeals fire file?
Speaker 3: Will will Raphael Stone like find the same agency that
compiled all the fouls that were not called like Daryl
Morey did and submitted to I just it's the So yeah,
there's some of that stuff. There's you know, the Rockets
are all different from those hardened teams, but but not
that Draymond and Shangoon are like best buds, so I think,
And like the last game was, you know, pretty contentious. Uh,
it's just the youth length, skill, athleticism versus just the
old dudes that know how to play and have figured
out like seemingly unsolvable challenges in the past.
Speaker 2: Like I think.
Speaker 3: I think it's really that for me is the narrative angle,
the contrast between these two teams and the feeling that
like Houston could just like be so physically overwhelming that
they're finally the team that, like the Warriors, just can't outthink,
and then if the Warriors do outthink a team this
young and athletic like that's that's fun too.
Speaker 1: So mine is even more broader strokes, especially because there
was the report that because the Rockets finished second in
the West, they were even less likely to pursue with
Kevin Durant and or Devin Booker trade. I just I
want to know, shuldn't you wait and see how you
fare in the playoffs before you take that stance. And
I think these situations are fluid, and I probably still
wouldn't unless the cost to get Kevin Durant specifically falls
through the floor. I don't want to bring in someone
who's Kevin Durant, like he's a perfect fit, but I
don't want to give up a ton of equity to
for someone for just the next two years or whatever
it is. But like when you're looking at Devin Booker,
just it's not even it's not even Devin Booker. It's
if you lose this offensive series the way that the
magic we've seen lost in the playoffs last year kind
of out you struggle to create in the half court,
you better be open to making a bigger swing on
the trademark. I know that you can. As a Rockets fan,
you can look at this and I'm not even insulting them.
It's like we have all the time in the world,
like time is on our side. That's true to an extent.
But windows open and closed so quickly around the NBA,
and you've already paid shanng Gun and Jalen Green, those
deals kicking next year. Jabari Smith Junior and Tari Eastan
are extension notedible this summer. I'm and Thomas is gonna
be extending and can't wait more? Is gonna be extentiononalible
next time? Like the reinvestments are coming fast and furious here,
and so I'm not saying to overreact. And there's a
chance if you're not gonna make a big move, it
better be because you plan on just like unwrapping Read
Shepherd next year because you believe he's everything you need.
He might be. We all know anyone who listens here
and knows how I feel about Read Shepherd. But like,
if they do lose, I'm wondering in what manner would
it take for them to take a longer look at
their roster and say, we know what we need. And
I would argue that they'll make They'll try to make
some upgrade, But what's the level of upgrade and how
aggressive will they be going about it? And it has
to happen on the trademark. You're not just gonna use
the big level and find someone who solves everything.
Speaker 3: Like I I agree that, like it shouldn't be Durant,
shouldn't be the guy because.
Speaker 1: If it's if the Suns like just give us back
this year's first round pick or something, fuck it, have it,
like we'll make the money work with Like we'll make
the money work with Red van Fleet and fill it out.
Speaker 3: Like you know, I mean, that's it, Like he shouldn't
be the guy. But then the question is, like, so
you're just the second seed in a really tough West,
Like what are you waiting for?
Speaker 2: Isn't isn't now? Isn't it go time?
Speaker 1: Now?
Speaker 2: Like it right? You said windows open and closed?
Speaker 3: Like how much better do you need to be to
take a like an extreme win now swing that feels
shortsighted and I and I'm saying that acknowledging Duran's not
I don't love it if it's Durant, but it's like,
I don't know, you're ptt close.
Speaker 2: To to like that being the right maybe the right choice.
I think if if Houston.
Speaker 3: Loses in the way that most people would expect it
to lose, which is you can't score. Then like I
thought I was thinking Orlando before you said it. It's like,
don't be Orlando about this, Like we if you lose
because you can't score and you don't go out and
make the move that brings in someone that will change that,
you're wasting a year like like you know what I mean,
Like I.
Speaker 1: Just I it doesn't and it doesn't to me because
I was gonna be the question. It doesn't if you
lose in four or five. It's sort of like a
smack in the face. I don't care if it's six
or seven. If you lose it we look back and
say they lost in seven. It was closed in game seven.
They just didn't have enough offense to get them over
the hump. Go out and get the fucking offense.
Speaker 2: Right, yeah you have. I mean, there's position as any
team to do it. Like you there's no.
Speaker 3: It's not an asset question. It's it's not a like yeah,
it just it can't. It would be like that is
why they will lose. If they lose, it will be
because they can't score. It's not gonna be because the
defense falls apart. So it's like we already know this.
Speaker 2: It's just this.
Speaker 3: You get one, you get one of these, you get
one postseason to validate what everybody thinks is your problem
as being yeah, it is your problem. If you do
it again, then it's like unforgivable. Well, you're we're yelling
at the twenty twenty six offseason rockets right now already.
Speaker 1: And they might I'm just saying anything, we have to
see the playoffs first. Then, even though they're saying one
thing now, that could change over the summer. But it's
something to think about because the happy to be here
vibes they end after you've left, like it's okay, you
get that, you get this found money playoff run, but
you don't get another one, especially in today's No you
don't get that.
Speaker 2: No forget it uh X factor.
Speaker 3: I mentioned a men Thompson that's fairly obvious on the
warrior side. I think it's just Moody and Pajemski because.
Speaker 2: Like, because is not playing. You know what, I had
a I had a comminga revelation Dan. I figured it out.
I figured out why.
Speaker 3: It's okay that he's not playing and why it's justifiable
because if I am anything, it is a Steve Kropologist
and he's right no matter what he does.
Speaker 2: Uh. So if I.
Speaker 3: Asked you, okay, you're mad, right, you're you're You're gonna
be mad that Kaminga's not playing. And if I said, Dan,
guarantee me the thing that Kaminga is gonna bring tonight,
Like what are you what are you guaranteeing me he's
gonna do for you in the rotation tonight?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 3: And you don't have an answer, Yeah, not not pass
the ball enough.
Speaker 2: So that was my that was That's what like crystalized
it for me.
Speaker 3: It's like, can you believe Ge Santos is playing over
this guy Gary Payton the second can't shoot either, although
he sometimes he can, he's playing over him like Moody
keeps playing over him. The thing is like with Gie Santos,
you could have answered the guarantee question with like he's
gonna to play insanely hard and be in the right
place on defense and go after the boards. Kaminga does
that sometimes sometimes he doesn't like so like even the
role player shit, you can't guarantee. You certainly can't guarantee
like efficient offense you certainly can't guarantee good passing.
Speaker 2: You certainly can't guarantee you know what I mean, like
you go down the list. I think that's what it is.
Speaker 3: That's all it is, is like Kurtent needs someone that
when he puts him in the game, he can say
I know I'm getting this, like even if it's just
from an effort and like be in the right spot
thing and Kaminga has no guarantees whatsoever. And we're at
the point in their season where he's like, I just
can't I can't like chance it. You know that that
that's what that It's just, Oh, I get it now.
I understand why he's not playing.
Speaker 1: Him part of four years, But you got it.
Speaker 3: I finally, I finally cracked it. This just Moody and
Pajemski making threes. Like if those two guys aren't making threes,
then I think the Rockets could make a short series
of this.
Speaker 1: I have Pajemski, but in part because of Cominga really
won't play well enough. And if he does, then I
think he just becomes it because how do those minutes
go if they're shoot warning him in the lineup. But
I think I don't know, I don't expect this to
be the scenario. But if Steph struggles against Aman Thompson
and I know how we all feel about playoff Jimmy,
but if he has games or just a game or
quarters to where like him breaking down the Rockets defense
of all defenses isn't working. Who's the third guy you
pivot to in that instance is probably needs to be
Pajem Skim I right, I guess it could be Kaminga
in that instance.
Speaker 3: Then, so I mean that's a you've hit emergency status
and you're breaking the glass. I think if you need
Kaminga to come in and like create posts is the
real awful for how do we not mention Gwinn posts?
Speaker 2: He's gonna break the two big lineup, That's what it is.
Speaker 1: It's interesting. We've definitely like gone different roots with some
of the X factors, So mine is smaller time for
the Rockets for sure. I just have Steven Adams because
I want to know can they get away with that
line up? Again, it's only been used in small doses,
but like winning small burst sample sizes in the playoffs
can help you win entire series. So I have him
just to see how many minutes can they get away
with that? And I think I was not gonna be him.
I might pick Jabari Smith Junior because I kind of
view him as just when you're looking at their bigs,
he feels more in line with the way that the
Warriors would play, And so if it's the Rockets that
need to be the ones adapting, I think Jabari Smith
just becomes you could make case or don't Brooks target
you make case for like so many different Rockets players.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned Smith because I was trying
to think about this series and the two big stuff,
and it was like, if they just put Smith out there,
like who's who's the Warriors guy, You're like worried about
him having to guard you know, like he he could
short circuit so much potentially. I think that's it's probably
a good sign if the Rockets have to like play
Jabari Smith as a as like the Loan Big or
you know a lot. But there are scenarios where Smith
is is like a real problem or like he really
does make it difficult.
Speaker 2: The Rockets are good man.
Speaker 1: I will say, if Steve Kerr does like take the
bubble wrap off of Jonathan Coming, I'm absolutely throwing the
shangun and Adams do all off the court during that.
I don't care who at that point.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the thing that's that's like a green light.
You might as well try it. Who are you picking
in this series? I want you to go first.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with the Rockets losing in seven. Like
what I did there. They're ready to be irate.
Speaker 2: I wish we had a heart rate monitor on me.
It was a real roller coaster.
Speaker 1: Uh seven. I could see this being the series that
I'm most wrong about in the sense that I guess
if you told me the Rockets one in five, you
told me Golden State sweat, you can talk me into
any outcome of this series.
Speaker 3: I think I feel the same way. So I went
I went Rockets losing in six because it's just the like,
if it gets to seven one the Warriors are old,
They're gonna be even more tired, like and it's insane
to bet against Steph in a game seven, but it'd
be in Houston. Like, I just think in some ways,
the longer this series goes, the worst of a sign
it is for Golden State. So I'm going in six
they just the one They'll be at home to try
to win that game, and too, like I think if
you're if they're gonna solve Houston it, it's just gonna
have to happen before they get worn down and tired.
Speaker 2: That that's like a big thing of it.
Speaker 3: So I feel like I've said this for almost every
series outside of like Boston, Orlando and maybe Nicks Pistons, Like,
I don't feel great about this prediction at all, Like
like you said, Houston could win this in five, and
it could. The way it happens could be like, yeah,
of course that's how it went.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm pretty sure as of right, except for
the eight versus ones in either conference. The only other
series I would bet the money line on if I
was a better would be Magic Celtics. I don't. I
don't feel comfortable enough. I feel reasonably comfortable about the
Knicks one. But like Bucks, Pacers, rock like Wolves Lakers,
I mean Wolves Lakers and Rockets Warriors, those have been
journeys trying.
Speaker 3: To Yeah, that's by far to me. Those are the
two most exciting series. I think it's just like, well, no,
there's all three, like Nuggets Clippers, Like what are we
talking about?
Speaker 2: There's all three of those.
Speaker 1: I'm like fascinated by Bucks Pacers because I picked the
Pacers so easily, and it's like, I don't feel great
about it, well.
Speaker 3: Because you're just picking against the honest and against a
really favorable matchup.
Speaker 1: Like, but I'm also picking against Doc Rivers, which just
seems like the waiting. But you know, it's not the
second round, so maybe that's weird. I don't know.
Speaker 2: No, I still think it's like a pretty good way
to go.
Speaker 1: These will be quicker because we're recording it before the
second playing games take place, but we will be sure
to do deeper dives and when we do our playoff
observations at some point in the next week, well, maybe
we'll try and spend some more time on these series.
In so far as they warrant it, we should begin
with Cleveland versus It will be Miami or Atlanta. What
Let's what? What do you want to start with. Let's
start tactically and try and break it down for both sides.
What tactically hawks Miami versus Cleveland would would fascinate you.
Speaker 3: I I think I'm gonna assume it's Miami and just
start there.
Speaker 2: I think, just how do you cobble.
Speaker 3: Together a defense that like can even day in the
game tactically against this offense. That's like did you know this,
Like in terms of just not like an era adjusted
or whatever, but in terms of offensive rating, the Cavs
offense this year was like ten points better than per
hundred than like anything they posted with Lebron, Like.
Speaker 2: It was just it's a different era.
Speaker 3: But that's just like, so because you've got Tyler Hero
to go at, that's why.
Speaker 1: Bob Coozy is better than Lebron James.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, no no argument here, unless unless the
Lakers beat the Wolves and then we have to reevaluate
his legacy because like Bam can only do so much.
And I just that, like I don't have anything specific
because it's just like Miami is a good defensive team,
but it's just like it doesn't seem equipped to like
hang at all. So I just I don't know how
that's gonna happen other than Bam somehow guards three guys
at once.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's I mean, Bam versus Mobley's fat would
be just one of my favorite matchups of the playoffs,
just to see how that unfolds. I actually think so
my tactical thing. This boat as well, just really not
gonna be the same when we get to Thunder versus
the the Mavericks or the Grizzlies. I think it's the
same for Cleveland. Like I would be so curious is
if you're gonna go into a drop like is there
a scenario or reality, a universe whatever where Tyler Hero
or Trey Young just make you pay so much that
then you need to prioritize, Like all right, well, Shruce
can't be in here. This needs to be a DeAndre
Hunter series. And if it's not a like, if you
don't believe it with DeAndre Hunter, it's okay. Like Isaaca Cora,
like that's someone who could if you want to put
pressure on Tyler Hero or Trey Young the two. Like, yeah,
Isaaca Corro is great. We have seen on a couple occasions.
Now getting away with him on all this team, this
Cavs team is different. It's better I get it getting
away with him on the floor. Offensively, you don't want
to do anything to hamstring. What is a better offense
than Lebron James ever piloted apparently, as you said, so
that's going if there's going to be a hang up
for Cleveland. I think it would be that because I
I don't know which player you would worry about more
in that situation. Is Cleveland. I think I default to
Trey just because of the passing. But Tyler Hero, I
know he's had some you know, just sort of pits
of inefficiency this year, especially later in the season, but
like he had been pretty killer against some of those coverages.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean against like Vucevich and the Bulls in
the plane, it's just like the Hero is just gonna
eat Like that's if you if you have to, That's
that's a really good one.
Speaker 1: I think, I mean, your's worth of evidence do we
have of doing him doing that? The playing versus the.
Speaker 3: Bulls not enough. The Bulls need to see more. They're
they're not convinced yet. I think I think, uh, would
you expect the Cavs to drop? Like I think just
like I don't know, I'll switch mobilely onto Hero and
I'm okay.
Speaker 1: With that against Miami do you think that, I guess
because Jaal Johnson, I don't know.
Speaker 3: I mean, I like, because you're right, like that is
one of the only ways I can see either of
those teams being threatening is if you just sort of
like Dare Trey or hero to just you know, walk into.
Speaker 1: Shots or maybe I'm wrong, will it get harder to
do that versus Miami because once you want like you're
gonna want mobly involved on like BAM, And if BAM's
not necessarily involved in that action, okay, well then what
is your plan there?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, no, I think that's right. I don't know,
I don't know, I don't know. I'd just be curious
how they how they handle that.
Speaker 3: Like again, it's a little bit like, well, Cleveland can
kind of mess around if it wants to and still
win that series.
Speaker 1: I'm just trying to think of a way where it
would be, Okay, hey, what what happens here? That could
be a potential foil for Cleveland. I think Miami postes
a more interesting matchup to me, just because I think
that BAM versus Evan Mobiley would be Yeah, and like
just kind of the Heat's defense, like they could put
some pressure on Cleveland's guards for sure.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and Atlanta's missing, I mean, like no, Jalen Johnson,
like there's just I mean, Dyson Daniels would be I
don't know, it'd be fun to watch him guard Garland
or Mitchell, I guess, but it's like the other one's
still gonna get loose, so.
Speaker 1: The other exists.
Speaker 2: What do you think the narrative.
Speaker 1: The narrative is the same too. I think this is
a perfect series that we don't need to know the
opponent has the Evan Mobley arrival extended to the playoffs,
because that's what we've and I don't know, Atlanta's not
going to be like the best barometer for that, I would.
Speaker 2: Get, but Miami kind of would you know?
Speaker 1: And it's just we've seen now it's happened. Whereas he
doesn't look as good in the playoffs. But this is
a different triple, this three point volume while shooting it
at a good clip again, just better at putting the
ball on the floor, getting through traffic, finishing through contact,
making decisions out of there. I firmly believe that the
arrival is real. But if you go through another like
even if they win, and you come out of it
thinking like Evan Mobley on offense, he didn't look too good, well,
then like, all right, what's gonna happen in these later
rounds when you go up against if it's Indiana, or
even if it's Milwaukee, and then if you face Boston
in the conference finals, that gets really intriguing. So I
think narratively, I as my most improved Player pick and
my Defensive Player of the Year pick, and as a
member of my first team All NBA ballot, I don't
really have doubts that he'll be fine, but it's something
to monitor because that was one of the knocks against
him coming into this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's that's right. The only other one
I would have is just like.
Speaker 3: And again I don't know you're if you're gonna get
the sort of confirmation or otherwise in this particular series,
but like, is DeAndre Hunter just like, yes, he's the
fifth guy, Like he's the idea, He's perfect. We don't
need to Oh, is it gonna have to be a chorro?
Is it gonna have to be Dean Wade? Is it
gonna have to be street like? Just like no, no,
on both ends, Like he's just that's the guy. I
think I think the answer is yes, probably, But even
though I love Dean Wade defensively, but maybe maybe you
get some information on that and and that becomes a snarios.
Speaker 1: He's so fucking deep.
Speaker 2: Man, It's crazy X factors for me.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna say Isaaca Corro for Cleveland regardless, because
I do think that they might want to pull that
lever at some point. Defensively, it's like how much can
he play there? And then if it's Atlanta, I'm gonna
say they're X factor. Honestly, I'm gonna say Zachary Resche
because I think that they haven't played him in a
ton of high leverage moments this like season, like we
saw more of it, like when he came back from
his a doctor injury injury excuse me, but like against Cleveland,
like when you have Garland and like who would be
a hey Dyson Daniels Great? What do you want to
do after that? Though? Like Reese's shame might like no
DeAndre Hunter there anymore? Like you do have like Vic Crachy,
like is that moving the needle for? Like what are
what do you want to do? No? I love Vic crazy,
I'm just saying, like, how do you want to structure
like he becomes super important? I would say defensively also offensively,
you want him hitting his threes, you want him stressed
testing defenses by moving without the ball, for Miami. I
don't know that I have a good one, Like is
it just like is it Koli aware?
Speaker 3: I mean, if you can't pick Hero, I think, I
mean Hero is not the Heat's best play.
Speaker 1: I feel like heroes pull up Jumper. Is that?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Right?
Speaker 3: Specifically, like and only if the if the Calves play
Drop otherwise.
Speaker 1: See maybe it's is it Wiggins then at that point,
because what if the Calves don't play, what if they're like,
then Wiggins becomes important. Like if Tyler Hero is able
to kill Drop don't whatever? Okay, fine, but if that's
not what you're facing, then Andrew Wiggins probably becomes pretty
important to busting.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Wiggins is Actually that's I think you've talked me
into Wiggins because like you could imagine him, I mean,
like he still might just he probably is the best
guy to throw on either Garland or Mitchell, you know,
like if you're trying to take one of them out
and then like he could survive on mobile, you're gonna
handle You don't want Bam to do most of that,
But maybe BAM's just gotta like wrestle with Jared Allen.
I don't know, So, Yeah, Wiggins is a good pick there, plus,
like who knows what you're getting from that guy, Like
you just he can you know, he can look like.
Speaker 1: A player on a title tea something, player on the Wizards, right, Just.
Speaker 2: You never know, But we got a pretty broad spectrum there.
Speaker 3: If it's the Hawks, I think I'd probably just go
Daniels because maybe he's disruptive enough to make Cleveland's offense
like seem mortal, you know, like maybe he generates enough turnovers,
maybe he harasses Mitchell or Garland enough to where they're
just like kind of a non factor for a game
or a half or something.
Speaker 1: Like.
Speaker 3: It's just it's tough sledding against this Cleveland offense, and
he's kind of the guy that like might mess it up.
Speaker 2: But you know, like we're kind of reaching there predictions.
Speaker 1: I will go Cleveland in four over in Atlanta. I was
gonna go Cleveland in five for Miami, Like I could
see them having like a lead late in the game,
but then they'll just blow it. So I'm gonna go
Cleveland in four over Miami as well.
Speaker 3: I think I'll just go Cleveland in five either way,
just you know, I sweeps are that means I just
guarantee a s.
Speaker 1: I just do you know what interests me about the
Calves is that we and this has been proven, your
rotation shortened the playoffs, And it feels like the Grizzlies
are kind of the perfect encapsulation of this, where it's
the depth that can make them so effective until they
implode during the regular season. It just doesn't carry over
the same way to the postseason. But I look at
Cleveland's depth and I've called it functional depth, with I've
decided means no, this translates to the playoffs, and it's
just when you're trying to figure out, Okay, they're top
four guys, all playoff players, even if you have to
close with Mobile at the five, like that's fine, Blake,
what DeAndre Hunter, Max Drews, Dean Way, Tie, Jerome, even Isaaca,
Like those are all I'd be worried about Isaaca, Korro
staying on the floor. Maybe Jerome and certain Like this
is like their entire rotation basically can stick in the playoffs.
And so I think that it'll be a sweet if
you had to say that one of the team is
gonna win a game, I'll say Miami. But I don't
think either of these teams gets a game off.
Speaker 3: This version of the Caps, that's fairy. I'm just gentlemen
sweeping it because I don't know why not Cavs.
Speaker 1: Might relax our final series Oklahoma City versus Nico Harrison's
Mavericks or Zach Kleman's Grizzlies. What is your did I
start tactically?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll take I'll take tactical.
Speaker 3: So this is these are gonna be kind of well,
I guess we shouldn't really true, I don't know. I
think I view Memphis as like markedly better than Dallas
in a way.
Speaker 2: That maybe you don't. I don't know.
Speaker 3: I just even though that feels ridiculous because the wheels
are falling off in a lot of ways in Memphis,
I think tactically it just has to be the Jalen like,
it's not gonna be an issue in this series.
Speaker 2: Sorry, but like the Jalen.
Speaker 3: Williams chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams Isaiah Hartenstein offensive production
like with Shae off the floor again another thing that
doesn't matter as much.
Speaker 1: Well, sorry, I was gonna say even with Shay on it.
But I think that's why we might view it differently
from the from the Grizzlies is who is Like that
would be my tactical question to kind of combine the
two who is guarded like, okay, Vince Williams junior, Scottie
Pippen junior on shee okay have fun with his fifty
burgers out right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that there's no answer to, like how
do you guard Shay? I just ken Jalleen Williams run
the offense. That's that's gonna be my question until we
see it consistently and like it's a little bit of
a misnomer because we've seen the numbers and you pointed
him out to like if chet or Hertenstein is out
there with him, like it's fine, Like it's not an issue,
but let's see it in the playoffs just to validate it.
Speaker 1: And I think what was a problem though, is like
Jalen Williams's offense was a struggle even with Shae on
the court last year in the playoffs, So what does
that look like? And the thunder in general when you
look at the teammates of shit, like everyone who's nonhe
they rank in the fifth percentile of half court shot
making and that's not like that's not great and like
feel concern.
Speaker 3: You also don't get to like question anything tactically that
the thunder are gonna do defensively because it's just like
what there are what issue could possibly arise that they
can't handle, So like it just we have to think
of something on offense for them.
Speaker 1: And I would be curious to see, and I think
it becomes more But I guess if you're gonna play
Jaron Jackson Junior next to a big, you still want
to go this route against Memphis, but like, hey, how
does the dual big lineup hold up in the playoffs
with Jet and Isaiah Hartenstein, like not like defensively, maybe
even on the glass. If I think it's more of
a i'd be more interested. Not I think it'll be
fine against both teams, to be clear, but like Dallas,
if they're gonna play Davis and then it's Gafford or
Lively and then PJ. Washington's on the floor, like not
Naji Marshall. They're pretty huge still even without Luca there,
So yeah, I think that would be I'm like fascinating
to see what that happens. I don't know just if
it was tactically from Members's perspective, are you using against
Shay without Jalen Wells? They're like, who do you default to? Got?
And he's yeah, he's just not big enough. So Dallas
at least you have, you know, a bunch of different
you could try PJ. Washington and Max Christy. You have
options to throw at them. Another one like kind of
in this too is I don't know if this is
a this is a narrative question, like what does Anthony
Davis look like if the Mavericks come out of this
taking if he's gonna play the four, he's gonna just
take more jumpers and he's not a good jump shooter,
I think, unless can we move this to the bubble?
Speaker 2: Right? Yeah? Can we play with no fans in Orlando?
Speaker 1: Also hasn't been moving the same, So there's that and
then a Joum Moran. I guess like he's fine after
his ankle issue too, will no more after we watch
that game tonight if they get through this. But which
team I guess Memphis offense is better built at this
point to stress test Oklahoma City's defense? Right?
Speaker 3: Yeah, Well that's the tough thing of it is, like
that is clearly of of both teams, the biggest strength
on either side is just Memphis offense. And it's like,
all right, is it historically great? No?
Speaker 2: Okay, well then then the thunder are not gonna you
know what I mean, Like the best thing we got
from either of.
Speaker 3: These teams is just not going to measure up. I
don't think to Okay, See, I do think kind of
getting into the narrative part of it of like the
Thunders defense like seems like it should have the capacity
to make Ja Morant just like not exist. Yeah, And
I think so the narrative for me is like in
the face of all the shit that's happened with Memphis,
in the face of all his like off court the
dumb stuff and on court dumb stuff, and like the
what I would I think it's fair to call.
Speaker 2: Like just like the like the decline is not not.
Speaker 3: The right word, Like just the way that Morant's like
status in the league over the last like year to
eighteen months and like where he sits has just like
he's just not where he was, like in terms of
like public in terms of like where he ranks for
ranking players in ability, like could he like use this
series as a way I'm kind of rooting for it
to just be like, no, I'm still kind of that guy,
like I can go get forty on this defense. Maybe,
Like I think that's highly unlikely, but from a narrative perspective,
because the thunder are just gonna win, and if it
maybe it won't even be Memphis potentially, I don't know.
We're recording this before that game. That would be like
the most interesting thing to me if Moran just like
throw give me Alex Cruso, gimme lu Doort, gimme Case
and Wallace, I don't care, like I'm going to get
to the basket and make stuff happen like that would
be That would be the most interesting development I think
for memphisis side because then that reorients like okay, no,
we can sort of go forward, I think with most
of this same core and our main guy, and if they.
Speaker 1: Decide they can't. By the way, it gets really because
so many of their players are cheap that you're not
making material changes I would think in getting better unless
you're there, are you moving one of the bigger three
because just your salary structure when it comes to matching
for guys so tough, at least until next trade deadline.
If you add some new money to the books X factors.
I think for Memphis, I'm just gonna go with Scottie
Pippen Jr. Because he'll have like, can you get the
ball out of Shay's hands maybe a little bit? And
it becomes Vince Williams if they default to that. For Dallas,
that one's tough, like who is the X? Is it?
Just like who's the I'll go PJ. Washington because I
think that he'll have like the biggest breadth of different
types of defensive assignments, and that's someone you could lean into. Okay,
is he making his threes? Is he kind of ducking
in for cuts? Can he put the ball in his
hands a little bit? You could go Naji Marshall, I
think too, if you wanted to just what he does
in transition for the thunder On the X factors, I
just feel Jilen Williams feels too high profile. You're gonna
pick it saw. I don't know who is the X
factor because I'm just looking at their opponents and then
just none of them really intimidate me. I'll say, I
have no idea.
Speaker 3: I could it could just be Chet, Like is he
like so high profile though, well, but everybody on the
Thunder is good, and the problem is if they're not
too good to qualify as an X factor, you know
exactly what you're getting from them, which means you're also
not an X factor, Like, oh, is lou Dort gonna
play good? V? Yeah, I think he's probably gonna play good.
Like maybe it's like, can lou Dort make a bunch
of threes if they get take the ball out of
Shay's hands or something like that.
Speaker 2: You know, maybe it's something that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll say like, but then it could be Case
and Wallace if you want to, right, Can I just
go with Nicole of topicch I'd like to like, how
good of a teammate he's going to be on the side.
This is just narratively, you can there'll be questions to
ask about the Thunder, but they're not losing in the
first round if they do lose, and so you can't
even come up with that. That's why I'm just struggling
so much with it. So I'll say check because I
think it's very clearly I don't like. I know we've
had some talk about this in the past, and maybe
some of it's the availability stuff. J Dubb is just
the second best player on this team, and I actually
think there's a pretty when you're looking offensively, there's a
pretty clear gap there now. And so if J Dubb
doesn't have it going at all in the playoffs, like
then it kind of all right. If if you trust
Isaiah Hartenstein mort like jump start the offense and set
up others rather than giving it to Chet and exploring
what he could do, that becomes like it's not problematic,
but like that would just be something to monitor. So yeah,
I will go Chet, even though he feels based off
my other selections, he feels way in every other series,
feels way too high profile.
Speaker 3: I'll just say Case and Wallace because he might go
one for four from three or he might go three
for four, and that'll be the difference between the Thunder
winning by twenty nine and twenty three. I think basically
is you know, on a night to night basis just predictions.
Speaker 1: Are you, gentlemen sweep for both of these again?
Speaker 2: Or is no?
Speaker 3: I think I'm just going Thunder sweeping either of them.
I mean, like you got to give it to him.
They're they if they're not going to sweep somebody who
is so I'll I just don't. I mean, Memphis I
think has a better shot. I'll say that, but I
don't know what that means.
Speaker 1: I think, and maybe you're probably right. Memphis is a
better shot because I believe I know Jalleen Wellson there,
but they're technically healthier. But the Ja Moran ankle thing,
and he's just always injured. It seems like so Anthony
Davis if he was healthy. The Dallas is just so big,
and they have a lot of defensive versatility. I could
see it being them. I'm gonna go sweep across the
board here. I actually do think though that Dallas could
still gum up some things for Oklahoma City. I think
that they're bigger. I'll frame it this way. They're a
bigger threat to twin a game, not this series.
Speaker 3: I mean, just based on like I mean, definitely, Anthony
Davis has wrecked a lot of teams built around like
good paint finishing guards just because he's so imposing there
and like mobile enough, and with Lively there too, Maybe
that I don't know. I just I think Memphis just
has more raw talent like and I. But but if
Morent is hurt, then we're like, what are we talking about?
Speaker 1: I am at the point with Dallas though that I
would try throwing out a five big lineup and let's
just play lively with Gafford, Davis, Washington, and Naji Marshall
and see what happens.
Speaker 2: Why not might as well?
Speaker 1: That was fun? Man? Long, are you having anything else
to add or would you like to take us out
of here?
Speaker 2: Grant, I think we've talked enough. I will, I will,
I will add is like I think you could tell.
Speaker 3: But like some of these matchups, especially in the West,
I just it feels like they're gonna be so good.
I'll be really disappointed if we don't have just some
incredible playoff series.
Speaker 1: So let us know your predictions in the comments are
in our discords as well, which I will be active
with it. I'm like, I feel like now I know
how athletes feel when people are like speculating on where
they've been, where there's been speculations, and where I've been
in discord and so like I'm reading that it makes
it feeling easy. I'll try to get back in there shortly.
But yeah, I'm hoping for the playoffs. Let us know
your predictions. Really intrigued by them. Two quick news notes though,
grant Rob Polinka got an extension and a promotion. He's
now the team president of the Los Angeles Lakers. I
guess like he really hit on that Dalton connect pick,
so that makes some sense. That's probably Greg Popovich had
like some procedure too. Shohn's posted he had a medical
incident and a restaurant on Tuesday night and is now
home stable and doing fine. He also had that mild
stroke in November. So here's hoping the best for Greg Popovich.
That's been such a really just shitty situation over there
in San Antonio.
Speaker 2: I would echo all that. I think that is going
to do it.
Speaker 3: Thanks everybody for listening, for watching Rate Review, subscribe, if
you're watching on YouTube, let us know what your picks
are there. Make sure you're telling your friends about the podcast.
It's but like we're gonna the playoffs are a fun
time for us because we really get to dig into games,
and that's not something we always get to do.
Speaker 2: It's something we very much like to do. I hope
that comes through. I mean, we're gonna watch games, so
these are you excited to watch games for the first
time this year?
Speaker 1: I don't watch games until the second round. So I mean,
like Grant, like, there's sometimes like the four games in
one day. That's a lot, Like how am I supposed
to watch any of them?
Speaker 2: How about this?
Speaker 3: I'll watch the first quarter of all of them and
just tell you what I think is gonna happen, and
then we can.
Speaker 1: Talk about it afterwards, basical without ever knowing the finals.
Speaker 2: Guard Yeah, yeah, you know, that's probably good enough.
Speaker 3: I don't want to spend that's that's like watching a
whole game. If there's four in a day, I watch
four first quarter.
Speaker 1: I posted on like Boott on Twitter. I could just
like dad, that's how I couldn't seem that feels like
a lot too really, to be honest, most things are
longer than sixty seconds.
Speaker 2: We still have it. Who's about the time? Shouts Franklin
like king an apologies chair it a han
Speaker 3: H