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All right, welcome to tonight. You're at the volume heavy Wednesday. Everybody hop all you guys are having a great week. Got a quick show for you guys tonight. We're just gonna hit that really bizarre game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angele Lakers that featured players from both teams playing in the opposite jerseys and a really weird vibe from the crowd fire Nico Chance. Very interesting quote
from Luka Doncic after the game as well. Just a really strange night in Dallas as Luka Dancin drops forty five points and Lakers get a much needed win for them in the seating situation. We are going to cover that game in detail, and then after that we're going to take a Q and A from the chat. So if you're here, make sure you subscribe to the channel, drop your questions in the chat. We're gonna do a
good fifteen to twenty minutes of questions. At the tail end the quote from Luca, I love these fans, I love this city, but it's time to move on. If that quote doesn't encapsulate what was a strange night in Dallas, I don't know what does you guys know the drill before he started. Subscribe to the Hoops to Night YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore json LTS. You guys don't miss
show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts on our Hoops Tonight also super helpfulf you leave your rating and a review. On that front, Jackson's doing incredible work on our social media feeds, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Make sure you follow hoops tonight, there and the last but not at least keep dropping mailbag questions in
YouTube comments. We get to him once a week. We already did ours this week, but you have plenty of time to get your mail bag in for next week.
All right, let's talk some basketball. So it was such a weird vibe in the arena because usually when we see these types of situations, there's been at least somewhat of a case that you know, that is built over time, where it's like, yeah, we might need to move on from this guy, or maybe we should move on from this guy, and so, yeah, the player will come back and everyone will give them their moment of appreciation. But then it's like, all right, let's get down to basketball,
let's compete. Screw these guys, we're gonna get a win. And could not be a vibe further from that, because the most absurd trade in NBA history, the trade that sent one of the most accomplished twenty five year olds in the history the league away from a team that he was completely in totally committed to, as evidenced by
his reaction to the tribute video. The trade has left a bad pace in a lot of these fans' mouths, right, and the way they reacted was to effectively cheer on Luca all night long, to the point where you could literally see it have an effect on several Mavericks players. I thought Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson in particular, for being the competitors that they've been for the majority of their career, there wasn't a ton of fight there. You can tell. I thought they were affected by it. The
game just had this super weird vibe. It never kind of took on the energy level in terms of Dallas and the energy they play with that I think they could have won this game. Dallas has some advantages. Their guards are really athletic, They have the ability to get to the rim on this team, and the Lakers are worn down. Fourth game in or excuse me, third game and four nights just had to play a couple of
really emotional games in Oklahoma City. This could have been a game that could have gone a different direction, but it just felt like there was never enough like energy in life for Dallas to feed off of. It was just a really strange night. The tribute. You know, it's funny when I was watching the tribute video, it's just a casual reminder of how much Luka Doncic has accomplished
in his brief time in at Dallas Mavericks Jersey. From the series against the Clippers where he's just scoring on dudes and talking shit every time down the floor of the myriod of crazy shots that he hit over the years to win games, to extend games at the end of quarters, end of shot clocks, the Western Conference Finals run, with what he did to Phoenix, what he did last year,
the insane regular season high scoring games. There's just so many things that Luca got done in such a short period of time that even though he's only twenty five years old, it just took on this feel like this great bit of history was wasted and you could just see it really affect Luca, and I was just so impressed, because I can't imagine going from a situation where you're as emotional as he was to going into a game where the entire success of the Lakers depends on Luka
Dancich's ability to break down the defensive coverage that Dallas was using, which we're going to get into in a minute. It's a lot of pressure you factor in not just the responsibility that he had in that game, but the emotions at play in the situation, and the fact that they're on their third game in four nights, and the
fact that they really needed that game. They lose that game, they suddenly absolutely must beat Houston on Friday, and absolutely must beat Portland on Sunday, which again Portland, you know, do you feel like they can take care of business there? But that's not an easy game against Houston. US is beating everybody as of Like, this was a very very
important game. Forty five points, eight rebounds, six assists carried the offense in the first half when the Laker defense was a complete no show, and then finally the Laker defense was able to take control of the game in the second half, a scoring burst from Lebron James in the fourth quarter, some cherry on top scoring from Luca, and the Lakers ended up getting the win that they so badly needed. Now, I was really curious to see what kind of game plan that we would see from
Jason Kidd in this game. He's got a bunch of drop coverage Bigs on his roster right, and as we know, the Lakers have struggled over the majority of this stretch of the season against switching, and one of the big reasons why has been Luca has struggled to beat Biggs on an island compared to what it looked like in years past. Right, what's super encouraging is this is the third game in a row. There wasn't as much against Okace.
We saw a couple of possessions in the second half on Tuesday, famously the one right before he got ejected where he faced Hartenstein on a switch. There were like three or four other switches in that game, but okay, so he did run a good amount of drop in that game. However, between tonight's game, the few reps against Hart and Stuf and then the game on Sunday, Luca
had those big big dudes dancing. They had no idea what they were doing out there on the perimeter, and he was cooking I'm cooked heart and sign over and over and over again on Sunday. A few more times on Tuesday tonight, Derek Lively right out the gate. Interestingly enough, Jason Kidd will run a lot of drop with those guys.
And he's a guy who famously has liked to blitz over the years, particularly liked to blitz Laker ball handlers in ball screens, and so I was expecting them to come out and maybe consider blitzing, But went was switching with those fives, and Luca is just no problem at all, getting lively on his backside and jumping straight up and down as lively as pursuing from behind and committing fouls,
getting easy dribble penetration. I've always been amazed by Luca's ability to use just little change of pace moves and using his size and leverage physically to get drill penetration on basically everyone. But he just demolished the MAVs in switches over and over and over again. And then one of the other things too, like the short range shot
making isn't there yet. I felt like he got a little closer today today was I feel like his short range shot making has been off off a lot over the course of this phase in the season, but I thought tonight he was just getting a little closer. The misses were just a little closer to going in a little bit more confidence, a little bit more crispness in the release. I feel like he's getting closer, but the step back three, he's got it going over these like
six four to six five dudes. He just doesn't see him when he takes that pullback dribble, and he's getting it off whenever he wants. Just an unbelievable sequence from Luca Nachi. And it was so important because early in the game the Lakers were not very good defensively. It kind of reminded me a lot of the Oklahoma City game on Tuesday. Lebron James has an enormous amount of defensive responsibility on this team. Since Anthony Davis went out,
the entire identity of the defense has shifted. Now, when Anthony Davis was on the team, they didn't have much of a defensive identity. They started to play a little better towards the end, but they had a rough defensive season. But in years past, the identity with AD has been Anthony Davis at the rint That's been the identity of the defense and his ability to at the end of games switch on to perimeter players. Just Anthony Davis being the wrecking ball that he is on the defensive end
of the floor. Since ad left, it's completely shifted to much more of like a connective defense. Hey, we are all in this together. We all have to fly around and rotate, and Lebron is the captain of that ship. He's the guy that is, you know, sussing out actions as they're taking place and calling out coverages, anticipating things before they happen. And so when Lebron kind of lets his foot off the gas in that department, the defense
has tended to fall apart. Even going back to when Lebron was out of the lineup entirely, how poor the defense looked at stretches and in both games, in the second half of the Oklahoma City game and in the second half tonight, Lebron came out of that halftime locker room and was like it's time to go, And in both games he completely took over defensively and was able
to re establish the team there. I thought the Lakers had a very very smart defensive game plan for Anthony Davis overall, Big Shock JJ Reddick coach the guy, so he's familiar with his strengths and weaknesses, and Anthony Davis over the years has made moderate improvements handling double teams, but historically it has not been a strength of his, and JJ had a very simple game plan, same game plan that he used against Nicole Jokich earlier this year,
the same game plan he used against Karl Anthony Towns earlier this year. They used a similar game plan against Giannis earlier this year. They will front the post to try to deny the catch and try to get you to just bail on it by fronting the post and situating a defender right behind him so that it looks like you can throw that over the top pass. But if you do, you're running the risk of that defender
from behind coming over and blocking that pass away. And so what ends up happening is you're preying on the indecision of the guys who make the entry passes, and they were just in many cases looking to go another direction. And then when they did get Anthony Davis the ball, he would get immediately doubled from the baseline side, same
exact concept they used against Jokichen against Carl Towns. Soon as they managed to successfully get the post entry, the guy that's fronting quickly disengages overplays the middle shoulder towards the middle of the floor to try to force Anthony Davis to spin to the baseline or face up, and as he does, then the double comes from that baseline side, and they're preying on that indecision from Anthony Davis and
rotating out of it. There was a couple of adjustments around the way, like they tried having Anthony Davis just bring the ball up the floor himself and dribble into a post up still ran into the baseline double team and turned it over. They did actually get an easy bucket for Anthony Davis on a flash cut from Daniel Gafford. And this, by the way, is just a counter that Dallas should have used more frequently with that they just didn't go to. But fronting the post, Gafferd's on the
back line, Gafford's man is bracketing on AD. Gafford flashes up to the semi circle. As he does, the backside helper has to follow him, or he probably shouldn't, but he goes with him as he does. When Gafford catches suddenly there's no one behind Ad. He could just float
it over the top. He gets an easy layup. But they just never were able to repeatedly make the reads or the adjustments necessary to handle that action, and then Ad just kind of disappeared from the game, and I was talking with our guys before we went live, Like, you know, as someone who's rooted for Anthony Davis a lot over the years, and this is just something for you MAVs fans to just kind of keep in mind as you're embarking on this journey rooting for Anthony Davis.
He is always going to struggle with double teams. That's been a pretty consistent thing that he'll struggle with. But he'll also have games when he's healthy, when he's like really healthy and in shape and has something to play for where even when he's struggling to get the ball in a situation like that, he'll just be a wrecking
ball in every other facet of the game. He'll get like six offensive rebounds and fly around on defense and he'll end up with like nineteen and seventeen and like three blocks and force deals and he'll find a way to impact the game even when he's not playing well. Now, he will also have games where that fight in competitiveness is just not there, and that can happen from time
to time even when he is healthy. I think it happens a lot more, as I've noticed over the years when he's banged up, when he doesn't really feel like there's as much to play for. And so, honestly, like it like ad got game planned out of this one, and when he got game planned out, he didn't have any sort of second punch to go with. And you know, like as Lebron engaged things for the defense, because that's the thing. They did a good job with their defensive
game plan with Anthony Davis in the first half. Where they did a poor job was containing the ball and their backside rotations on dribble drives, and so they just got diced up in the paint. I think they gave up like something like twenty eight to thirty something points in the in the first half, just in the paint, right, But in that second half, Lebron gets engaged, he gets going,
really helps them regain control of things defensively. And then in that fourth quarter, it was kind of a per example from Lebron of what I was just talking about with Anthony Davis. Lebron's been struggling with his rhythm since he came back from his injury. Lebron has been a guy that's been inconsistent offensively in this last couple of weeks.
But he was just like, I'm six', nine two sixty with still great athleticism at my, age AND i can just play really hard and cut and crash and post seal and drive, in just do EVERYTHING i, can just through sheer force of will to impact the. Game and he ends up lighting the scoreboard on fire in that fourth. Quarter everything just right at the, rim and, again Like lebron has something to play for right, now that's the big.
Difference but LIKE i, Thought lebron demonstrated an example of how like in defensive rhythm or when you're when a defense gets you out of, rhythm how you can kind of play yourself into rhythm as an athlete just by playing super. Hard that's the advantage of being one of the supreme athletes in the, game is like you can make up a lot of lost ground just by getting your body moving around and doing as much as you
can with. It outside of what has, variants there's variance in running action against the loaded up, defense there's variance in jump. Shooting there's not variance in how big and Strong Lebron james. Is that's going to be there every single. Possession AND i thought that fourth quarter stretch from him was a classic case of like he was obviously, tired he was budgeting in his energy all. Game he stepped
it up, defense like it almost made. Sense luca carried things offensively, Earlier lebron carried things defensively late in the. Game and then he just was, Like i've noticed this a bunch Since luca came to the. Team but you, know it used to be That lebron led the early fourth quarter, unit even When Anthony davis was. There it was a very similar type of. Rotation lebron would lead
the early fourth quarter. Unit then he would come out of the game with, like you, know seven or eight minutes left in the fourth, Quarter Anthony davis would come back, in and Then lebron would come back in for the last four to five minutes to. Close and in times, Past Lebron james would manage that early fourth quarter shift with more of an emphasis towards conserving, energy and he would do his thing and he would try to help
the team as best as he. Can but he, knew like WHEN i come back in with five minutes, Left i'm the guy that has to try to make all of this stuff, happen And Luka dancic has just alleviated. That And i've just seen so many examples now where it looks Like lebron starting that early fourth quarter shift
with a completely different. Mentality that's, Like i'm going to let EVERYTHING i have in the gas tank go right here right, now Because luca's coming in with seven minutes, left And i'll be playing with an advantage the rest of the, game or just a handful of touches here or there When luca needs a rest or When luca has gets his first action shut, down or something along those. Lines and so THIS i like that kind, of you, know pattern that we're seeing From lebron in terms of
that early fourth quarter. Aggression AND i do think when we get to the, postseason we'll see more consistent defensive engagement from him when he doesn't have to do something absurd like play three games and four nights and deal with some of the scheduling, Quirks like you, know we got to cut The lakers a little bit of slack in terms of just how many games they've played Between
march first and. Now it's kind of. Crazy they've played like twenty something games literally in the last you, know five six, weeks and it's you can tell it's wearing on them a little, bit but they're just finding ways to get as much done as they need to get. Done you go into that road trip with two games in OK see in a game In dallas that's got all the weirdness surrounding the situation With, luca and for you to go two and one and to have a one point lead When luca gets. Ejected in THE okc,
GAME i thought they played some, really really impressive. BASKETBALL i thought the defense in general was super encouraging over the course of this three game. STRETCH i thought they looked awesome start to finish in The sunday. GAME i thought they looked awesome in the second half AGAINST okac On. Tuesday AND i thought they looked awesome in the second half tonight against The so call that. What that's four good halves out of six on the defensive end of the.
FLOOR i don't think they played four good halves of defense in the previous ten. Games so like it's a really good sign that they're starting to regain some of that defensive identity that they had. Earlier on Before Lebron james hurt his. GROIN i thought it was really nice to have Heard Hotcha mura. Back he was a little bit out of whack early in the, game as the game was a little bit, faster but they're in that second.
Half he just kept getting these wide open, looks and to his, credit he just kept trusting his work trust in his release and hit several big ones. There he's just so important for the physical profile of the team. TOO i didn't even think he was particularly great tonight as a defensive player and in some of his read and react, situations but just having another guy, who's you, know six' nine and big and strong and can move a little bit just changes that physical profile of. The
team a couple of big picture things With. The MAVs as, i mentioned The The anthony davis process will look different
from matchup to matchup teams. That switch there is a Tendency With anthony davis to either post up and struggle with double teams or to settle for a lot of contested mid range, jump shots and then when he doesn't have it, going offensively it's kind of like a fifty to, fifty shot whether or not you're Gonna get i'll still be an athletic wrecking BALL or, I WON'T and i think that's gonna be a just kind of part of the process of learning how to Build Around anthony davis
and finding ways to cover for him on. That front that's one of the THINGS that i like about having him in some of those two big looks is that it allows him to kind of change the way he wants to play defensively depending on how he's feeling on any. GIVEN night I Thought nagie marshall was. Great tonight now she's consistently been one of my favorite players in the league as a. ROLE player i was a big fan
of the signing when it happened. Last summer, to me he's like one of the more versatile role player guards that you have in the league in the sense that like he can be, a spot but he can also run some action. For you he can beat switches against smaller guards because he's a good athlete that has like a pretty underrated handle compared to a lot of role player guys that you have in. The league and then he's a, pretty big strong athlete for the guard, position
too which gives him some. DEFENSIVE utility i thought he had a really fun, game tonight and he was one of The Few dallas MAVs tonight that really brought the competitive energy in a game that so desperately needed it On the. Dallas front big win For, the lakers though they got an even bigger one coming up Here. On friday. That game we will have an instant reaction to her
work on the weekend this week to make. That happen, so essentially the way that the schedule will work out is we are Going on saturday morning to Cover the friday. Night slate we will hit multiple games from, that Slate Including. Lakers rockets the WAY that i WOULD Expect jj reddick to handle it is to go to his guys and, be like here's. The deal if You beat, houston tonight you guys can have the Weekend Off, saturday sunday fly out of Town on, friday night Go to cabo if,
you want spend some time with, your families get. A break we'll. Come back this coaching staff will spend the weekend prepping, you guys get ready to come Back on monday. And work if you Lose, to houston sol you got to come back And beat Portland, on sunday and we're starting our prep. Right away maybe You get, monday off but no one's allowed to go on vacation because they
got to be. In town we start Practice. On tuesday find some way to motivate those guys and create more of a must win environment Around That houston, rockets game because then you get the three seed no, matter what and you can allow yourself to effectively Punt that sunday game or not have to worry about it at. All whatsoever and you get seven full days off guaranteed before your first round, playoff game potentially eight if you end up Playing. On SUNDAY so i think that should be
the plan heading Into That houston. ROCKETS game i also just think it's another Opportunity for Luca, and lebron specifically to get some reps against their. Perimeter guys houston is high risk for a first round upset because they have,
so many, you know issues on the offensive end of. The, floor however there is a pretty decent chance that We Get lakers rockets in the, second round at least a chance that's worth, you, know, Considering right and so if it ends Up Being, rockets lakers that was a matchup where even Though the lakers won, last time they had some difficulty dealing with, their bigger stronger. Perimeter defenders it's
not the same type of Matchup. As okac, Their bigger their perimeter guys, are bigger and they have more of a size and position on the front line as Well with Shangun. And adams so it might be another opportunity For the lakers to get some reps against that team so they can get some more footage to improve their game planning heading into a. PLAYOFF series i think they should go for it entirely In that. Houston game the, COUNTER case i guess, would be these guys play, crazy
physical we don't want to. Get hurt let's save It. For PORTLAND but i think you're messing with the basketball gods if you do that sort of. THING too i would try To. Beat houston, all, right guys before we get, out here let's get to our. Chat mailbag jackson's gonna hop on and we'll get to about fifteen twenty.
Minutes questions, all right let's start with.
This one what team would be a good first round matchup For. THE lakers i believe quit guards such As the warriors and dominant big men Like the Clippers and nuggets may Give the lakers. Some trouble so who would you say, would be, you know one of the easier matchups For the lakers in the.
First round so obviously all of the teams that are, you know less big picture imposing from a, talent perspective So like memphis would be a TEAM that i would be okay with playing in the. FIRST round i Think the lakers match up reasonably Well with minnesota because of. Two, reasons one it's just a perfect SITUATION for jj from a defensive game planning standpoint to Mess With anthony edwards's kind of like limited playmaking ability at this phase in.
HIS career i Also think luke is super comfortable against all of their, perimeter defenders which is a kind of like a. Neutralizing impact that's the Thing With Oka See okay see has all these incredible, perimeter defenders but none of The, Guard luca and that's kind of the same
sort of issue With. A minnesota he Just throws jaden McDaniels around like a. Rag Doll Nikhil alexander walker's too small to, Guard, him like there's just so many opportunities for him to deal with those Guys, again memphis because
they've been. FALLING apart i Think the lakers Would beat denver, relatively easily Just because denver is literally incapable of getting stops in, that matchup like they are just completely and it's the nightmare Matchup for denver's defense is to deal With the lakers because you're gonna have To bring yokic up to the level and you just have too much
playmaking and connective playmaking and play finishing. Around them the TEAMS that i would be desperate, TO avoid i shouldn't say desperate, to avoid BUT that i would want to AVOID if i Was the lakers would Be the clippers And. The warriors warriors because of the, quick guard they just don't have anybody that can Really guard steph and make. Him uncomfortable With, the clippers it's not so Much ABOUT, zubach's sae it's the fact that they can't game plan
for him specifically the way they can In the. Yolkic matchup they have to game Plan for kawhi and game Plan, for harden Which leaves zuboch sometimes operating with an advantage underneath the basket and he can do a lot of. Damage there, that Said the lakers have done well Against the clippers in their matchups. THIS year i do THINK that i would pick them Against. The Clippers warriors lakers much more of a. Coin flip that's a SERIES that i would try to AVOID if i Was. THE lakers i think.
Another Reason the timberwolves feel like a very winnable matchup is they theoretically, have SIZE but i don't know if any of that size translates in like an offensive glass crashing type, of player Or like zubach, for example if you're switching, on defense he can punish a guard if he gets posted up on. A Guard If rudy gobera gets posted Up on, austin reeves, you're, like okay go one, on one see. What happens like it's not something that
they would be even remotely. Worried ABOUT so i agree of the sort of more realistic options for who they might play in the. FIRST round i Feel like timberwolves feels just don't have, enough offensively and it's easy enough to game plan forward to.
Your Point on, JJ's, SIDE us.
I think minnesota could. UPSET somebody i just don't Think the lakers are the team.
They, WILL yes, i agree but we had another question about The. Timber wolves le's stand there for.
A second what flaws do you see In the timberwolves that make them fringe contenders and what sort of gives them the ability to make a medium to long playoff push if things fall in.
Their FAVORITE so i did some contender rankings today With The nerd, sash GUYS and i won't spoil It because i'm gonna end up going into it in more detail on the Show With sam vassini. Next WEEK but i ended up splitting them into, two tiers my top tier contenders and my second. Tier contenders and my top tier is five TEAMS that i have in an ORDER that i feel. VERY like i FEEL like i have them in that order for, specific REASONS and i have them ranked intended to be one above the other as the
way the list it. Works out but from six, TO twelve i kind of have a bunch teams jumbled UP and i could take any of them in any one of. Those, SPOTS however i ended up Putting the timberwolves at the top of, that tier and the main REASON why i put them at the top of that. TIER is i think they are the team that benefits the most by far from. Playoff physicality and yes they have. Issues offensively they had another catastrophic collapse Against the bucks. Last night
they've been a nightmare clutch team. All Year anthony edwards is very young and is still learning how to handle all the. Defensive attention he's the most blitzed player in.
The league there's a bunch of stuff that they have that are big red flags, for like this team's probably not going to win, four rounds but that, physicality piece their ability to just come into a gym and, maul you Combined With, anthony Edwards Like anthony edwards is one of the very short list of players in this league that is a true you better just hope he misses type.
Of player he's going to get to, a spot he's going to rise up and he's gonna get that flip of the wrist and you better just cross your finger and hope that he's off. That night so they just have a lot of upset potential for the top tier teams in, the league and THAT'S why i ended up putting them at the top of. That TIER like i Think the timberwolves even have the potential. To, upset, okay
see that's how much of A ceiling i think. They have they arguably have the widest range between floor and ceiling of any of, these contenders but their ceiling is pretty.
Damn, EYE yeah I think i think that's that range about comes really Crystallizes Around julius randall's. Shot, making also it's like he has shown the ability to be kind of a devastating mid post player and when his three point jumper. Is going in addition, to that he's he's actually very very challenging to guard and creates a ton of matchup problem because of his size that we've seen it at o times in the playoffs.
As well where he just got thrown up, some real.
Real stinkers so him specifically at his shot making feels like it is a perfect encapsulation of that range of outcomes sort of problem.
For Them Would julius, Randall, TWO like i want to cut him a little bit of slack because he has this reputation of being a, playoff faller and it is it is well, documented Statistically so i'm not trying to like call the. Data, bad however there was some context in the sense THAT if i, remember correctly his first, playoff run he was healthy and he, played poorly not exactly the. Biggest shock most players struggle when they translate
to the playoff setting the. First time but he's had some years where he's gotten into the postseason either currently injured or just back from, an injury or you can
tell his rhythm is. Not there and so Even though julius has a history of struggling in, the postseason if they get a favorable matchup in that first round where he gets a couple smalls that he can attack in that mid post area like you're, talking about and the defensive game plan allows him to turn over that left shoulder for that fade away from like, TWELVE feet i
absolutely think that he could be an excellent. Playoff Player and i'll take it a. STEP further i think he could potentially be the type of second Option that kat wasn't at times in the Postseason because kat was more of a. PLAY finisher I think I think julius is a better one on one player and there is a potential upside there that has been there since the beginning of.
The trade this was a super chat Question. From marjohn thank you for the Super.
Chat marjon luca is so Much, like lebron not just his game slash, play style but his intensity during high. Leverage games what did his play in this game show you for?
The, playoffs yeah the little things like just you could tell he was fatigued over the course of that game because he was the guy who had to completely carry the. Offense early but then he just found a way to make enough plays late in. THE game i Didn't THINK jaje i Didn't think luca got enough credit for this last year in. The postseason but he's a pretty solid off. Ball defender when he has to guard, in space it can be. A disaster i think we can all agree.
To that but like he can, anticipate things he can jump, passing lanes he's very good. Defensive rebounder he just will find a way to make little plays here and there that make big impacts. On winning and, you, know honestly like you mentioned his Similarities, TO lebron i think this is a similarity with most of the great COMPETITORS in. Nba history but they're always good at like little things
that help teams. Win GAMES but I think i think ultimately the Similarity between Lebron and luca is the immense value on, every POSSESSION and i think that that manifests in crunch time well for.
Any, TEAM yeah i think, for ME when i think about big game players and, playoff performers.
It feels like the guys who do a lot of elevating are the ones who.
Have a combination of competitiveness like you're, talking about as well AS, the Iq, Like, Lebron Luca, Jimmy Butler. Kevin durant, it's Like Even kevin durant is not someone you might who doesn't necessarily get lumped into THESE high iq conversations all.
The time he's someone who.
Really understands a full basketball game and the flow of a, basketball, Game RIGHT and i think.
That's sort of there's a lot of.
These players every players as something physical on the game that they do, except well and sometimes those guys can Elevate that jez on, Pure physicality but there's something ABOUT the iq and competitive, internal competitiveness these sort of intangible things that when you combine those with those those, physical abilities THAT'S how i feel like you're really getting that elevation in the playoffs on a.
Consistent basis is not just more shots fell, you, know.
No it's a really. Good point and like it's kind of like we were talking about Earlier With, Anthony davis Like If lebron james is on, the team he's sussing out that coverage and having the, low man the dunker spot guy flashed to the, high post like within the second or third possession that he, sees it there's a it's like it's like relentless execution that like the possession, by possession we're solving. The puzzle we're playing this one possession at a time and doing everything we can to
take every inch. We Can and i'm glad you highlighted competitiveness because competitiveness is the singular trait that it manifests in so many. Different ways it's like some of the greatest competitors of all time are like be assholes Or like lebron benevolent To like steph kind of like in, the middle and like there's all these like different, personality manifestations but as competitiveness ultimately manifests in this like relentless execution because they hate losing.
So Much percent, all right we can. Take it we can take a.
Few more, first up let's do or next step let's do what the, question was what adjustment slash improvements is the team needs to make to Beat the rockets for a second time in. A ROW but i less want to think about it in terms of One singular friday
night game at the end of the. Regular season more like if they matched up in the second round of, the playoffs what kind of things they need to continue to do well or what adjustments they need to make to be able to win a series against a team that is unquestionably more athletic and bigger.
THAN them i Think the lakers actually did a very good job in Their last houston matchup Of mitigating houston's. Athletic advantages they held up reasonably well in, the glass and they held up reasonably well. IN transition i don't think they actually can do much better than that in. THOSE areas i thought the difference between, THAT game i think the final score is like WHAT one o four.
NINETY eight i think the difference between that game BEING one o four ninety eight and it being one fourteen ninety eight is literally just better Efforts From lebron James And luka dancic. On OFFENSE and i think that there's a certain amount of like you tip the Cap to houston's forwards for just doing a really good job Of
defending Lebron and luca. In space BUT like, I think i don't think either of them cross twenty POINTS if i, Remember correctly like they just really struggle to generate offense for themselves in. That game if you get a better Version of Luca and lebron and you give the same execution effort in the, GAME plan i think They handle Houston on friday and win. By, FIFTEEN yeah i.
Do too it it.
Feels a little too easy to write Off the rockets in, the playoffs just because they're so young and because they are so lacking on the offensive end from like a consistent end of game. Scoring type but it does feel like the teams that they could beat are not the teams with these VETERAN high. Q players like it's pretty tough to imagine them Beating the lakers Or the warriors in the.
Playoff series if.
You're, like, oh yeah they sort of, out physical then just happen to make more shots In, The thunder i'd, be, like Yeah the thunder, Are better but Like the rockets do a version of What the. Thunder do you KNOW what, i mean and they have a lot of, similar flaws But the thunders have less. Of them but it's it's tough to imagine at this point until we see it happen than beating one of these VETERAN high.
Iq, TEAMS yeah i need to watch, the TAPE but i would Probably pick Houston. Over memphis. THAT'S true i think they'd Lose To. GOLDEN state i think they'd Lose. TO minnesota i think they'd lose To. The, CLIPPERS yeah, I agree, i agree and it's far. More likely, it's well roughly three out of four chances they're. Gonna faces, but, like yeah if They get memphis in the, first round
we're Gonna get lakers rockets. Around. Too yeah not one hundred percent, sure of but a good Chance because lakers are. Upsetable too, all.
Right let's do.
ONE more i know this isn't normally, your BAG but i think it's an. Interesting question do you have a strong opinion on who should get that fifth First TEAM all? Nba slot the FIRST four i think that most people think are locks at this point Are, Sche, jokic Jannis, and tatum with the conversation Mostly, Being donovan Mitchell And steph curry at this point for that. Fifth spot but
it's an interesting it's an. INTERESTING question, I think, oh man It, WAS donovan i feel like for most of, the season and now he's had a bit of a spring, swoon here and so there's some with pairing That with steph's sort of. Spring rise there's been some talk About can steph take, that spot.
Et, Cetera YEAH and i Don't blame steph under, the circumstances but he just wasn't good enough in the early part of. The year that's a really. Good question all of these dudes have pretty flawed cases for reasons they, SO yeah i think you can make a reasonable Case That donovan mitchell should hold on. To it and it's a nice reflection Of the calves and their success that
they've had. This season, The, man yeah Because Like, ANTHONY edwards i think he's as good as, he is he's he's had issues closing games and it's hurt his team. THIS year i saw a CRAZY stat I think logan From The nerd sash guys brought it. Up today but they've lost the majority of their losses this year have coming, crunch time, you Know Like kevin durant hasn't been. Available enough There's a, lebron case There's a, lebron case, but, LIKE yeah I don't I think i just give It To.
Donovan mitchell, but again as, YOU mentioned i. It's hard I'm just i'm just kind of going off the top of the head Here because i'll be honest with, you GUYS like i pay almost no attention to awards over the course of. The season it's not. My wheelhouse it's Not something i'm particularly. Passionate about, SO yeah i know that, that Sucks but i'm just.
Not, THERE yeah i THINK it's i think just because of the body, of work and it feels weird to have a team that good in the regular season to not have a First TEAM all.
Nba PLAYER so i think it's totally reasonable to.
Get done we can do.
One more why do you transition points shrink in the playoffs and do you think this traditional drop off will happen to the thunder and, in general but also on a potential matchup With.
The lakers so, in general the game shifts in the postseason in terms of just the attention to detail. In, Execution, right so, for instance if your team that dominates the margins that will manifest more so in the regular season
than it does in. The postseason this is a big part, of Why like i've been putting a little bit of a damper on some of these younger athletic teams that have been kicking everybody's butt in the, regular season because you can if you just take ten more shots than everybody over the course of eighty, two games you're going to win a lot. Of games like that's just that's winning on. The margins simply put in a playoff series where everything's on, the line everybody is going to sprint
back and transition defense. More often everybody is, going to, you know watch those corner crashers and put a body on somebody in a box out. More often people are going to crack down rebound from the weak side to help on contested rebounds. More often people are going to pay more attention to game, plan discipline and people are going to be sharper with their closeouts and sharper with.
Their rotations not, to mention all the bad teams you play over the course of eighty two are all, In cobos so now you have only good teams that you're playing every. Single night and so what ends up happening
is the playoffs do tend to devolve down into. Matchup attacking because most role players are inconsistent in the postseason at knocking, down shots most of these easy opportunities are few and, far between and it really does come, down, to like can your best guy attack our weakest guy and get good shots better than your best guy can attack our weakest guy and get, Best shots and like that really ends up being what happens most of the
time in. The postseason, all, right guys that's all we have for tonight has always been sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting. The, show again a little bit of a. Weird schedule instead Of Going thursday friday, THIS week i Am going saturday morning to Cover the, Friday slate i'm Going With pauline Cowhard on sunday in, the evening so you guys can and Catch the sunday,
reaction there and then we'll be Back. On monday we'll do a brief reaction to the weekend and just some sort of big picture regular, season takeaways but then we're gonna go right into season or. Playoff previews so it's
gonna be like it's just. Gonna be we have four series previews, right away and then we get more out of the, playing games and we'll have reactions to the playing, games too depending on, you know, who's playing and so we'll have just a we're gonna be just churning out the content like crazy starting this Weekend, on saturday but nothing. Until then, SO everybody i enjoy your next couple of DAYS and i will see You on. Saturday morning what. Some guys, AS always i appreciate you for listening to
AND supporting. Oops tonight it would actually be really helpful for us if you guys would take a second and leave a rating and. A review, AS always i appreciate you guys, supporting us but if you could take a minute to, Do that i'd really. Appreciate it
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