The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - LeBron-less Lakers, Westbrook/Clippers Fit, Warriors Watch with Jason Timpf

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

First (3:00), Colin explains why he’s hesitant to put the Celtics in the NBA title discussion with other top contenders. Then, Hoops Tonight host Jason Timpf joins Colin to discuss if the Lakers need to move on from LeBron or Anthony Davis after this season (5:00), if they can keep their playoff hopes alive without LeBron (12:00), which potential #1 seed is the most vulnerable for a 1st round playoff upset (21:00), if Russell Westbrook is a better fit with the Clippers than the Lakers (27:00), if the Warriors have one run left before the dynasty ends (34:00), and what’s behind the NBA’s sudden explosion in 20 PPG scorers (43:00).  Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates, and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #Herd #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hi, everybody. Welcome in. Well, a real treat. I'm going to give you about 45, 50 minutes. If you're on your morning commute, you're in your office. We're going to talk Hoops with Jason Temf. He has a very popular podcast called Hoops Tonight at the Volume. And so we chopped it up for about 45, 50 minutes on a variety of topics.

One of the ones we didn't get to, but I do think is really fascinating, is the Boston Celtics. We talked a lot of Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Denver Nuggets, some Milwaukee, is at the end of the Warriors Dynasty. That was one of the topics. The Celtics are a fascinating team to me. And I was talking to somebody that covers the team, and he said, Marcus Smart is actually the soul of the team. Jalen Brown's the best athlete on the team. Jason Tatum is the best player on the team. And there are nights because of his defensive abilities, Robert Williams can be the most valuable player late in games on the team.

He's a complete utter rim protector. With Janus in the box, Janus is the most important player. He's the soul of the team. He's the go-to player on both ends in crisis. There's a lot of moving parts with the Celtics where the soul of the team, the best athlete of the team, the most talented player, the rim protector. They're all different pieces. When I watch the Celtics, I don't trust them in the half court set in big spots. They get very stagnant.

And I think Jason Tatum is a one as an athlete and a two as a personality. I think there are times he gets a little passive, waits for the game to come to him. I like him. I think he's a top seven, eight player in the league. But the Celtics and Boston's are very intense. tense sports town, usually not very patient with its politics or its sports. We've been really, really patient with the Boston Celtics, right? And I think a lot of us kind of feel like last year, I thought they had a real chance early. I think Robert Williams was a huge warrior matchup issue.

I thought after a couple of games, I thought they were the better team in the series. I don't, I don't think they're getting to the finals this year. I'm interested to see how patient, Brad Stevens, the owners, and people can be with the Celtics, because I just don't think they have as many guys that can get a bucket as Milwaukee, between Ingalls, Holiday, Yannis, Jay Crowder, Chris Middleton. I think the Celtics to me are the most interesting team going forward the rest of the season. We know they're really good. How patient are we going to be? The Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown relationship, one's a better player, one's a better athlete,

one's more aggressive, one's less aggressive, but more talented. I can't wait to watch how it plays out. Let's bring in Jason Timp, hoops tonight, chop it up with some NBA stuff. So, Colin, I, this morning, as I was driving around town, was listening to your opening segment on the herd, as I've done many times over the course of the last 10 years or so. And you were talking about LeBron James, and you had some interesting thoughts about just where he fits into into the Lakers long-term plans with this latest injury. So my question for you is, if the Lakers end up,

let's just say they get into the plan and then they put up a good fight against Denver, but they lose in six games, in large part because Anthony Davis and LeBron are a little bit out of rhythm. But you have this excuse in the back of your head, which is they didn't have this full season with this group. You might be able to put together a more, a softer workload for, LeBron and AD next year and maybe it's better.

Are you in a position where you would continue with the core of these two guys moving forward, or would you look to move on at that point? Yeah, I'd look to move on. You know, LeBron's such a unique player that you can argue there's only been a handful of players in league history, Magic Johnson's, another one, where they've made every single teammate in their career either better or in the Chris Bosch, Kevin Love space for LeBron. I don't know if he made them better. kind of asked them to sacrifice, but he won them titles and they would not have won titles.

So every player he's played with is a better version of themselves or they've won titles. That's very rare. I would keep LeBron until he doesn't want to play. Even an old LeBron will elevate others, teach others, coach others. I think he has just such redeemable value on so many levels. I don't feel that's the same for Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis is simply talented. He doesn't have a tremendous work ethic.

Although I don't think he's a bad teammate, I don't think he's a guy that's going to spend his offseason tutoring. He doesn't necessarily elevate others, although he does elevate your team. He's a very good defensive player. And on his best nights, he's unstoppable. He's a really a, John Calipari won a title with him. John Calipari this year lost to St. Peter. Okay. So he ran through the tournament with him.

But I would move him. I said this before the season. is that certain players, most players have limitations, once that limitation is injuries. There's certainly an argument to be made. If you look at LeBron and AD, and I don't have the number with me, we talked about it this morning,

how many games in a row, since they arrived together in Los Angeles, have Anthony Davis and LeBron James played consecutively? The number is shockingly low, like bizarrely low, and it's getting worse because LeBron is simply getting older. So I would have moved off him. You know, he's a commodity. You can move him.

Cross your fingers. He remains healthy. They win a playoff series. They get in. He's viable. I mean, Russell Westbrook keeps getting teams. Like, you can move Anthony Davis. Absolutely.

But I would move off him. I would continue to surround LeBron with Biggs that run the floor. Jared Vanderbilt's been terrific. Shooters. Always benefit from LeBron. But Kevin. Durant coming to the West, feels like he's changed the West. Like there were some obstacles for this Laker team. Right now, I feel the Suns will win the West. I really do. Yeah, Phoenix changes the math

for everybody at this point. And the weird thing is, and this is the unfortunate thing, and this is what I was complaining about so much early in the season, was that this kind of felt like the last great chance to do something in the Western Conference. If you were a team that had a that was close just because of some things like, you know, the Luca Chi repairing, they're going to be able to address their front court issues in the summertime. They're a complete disaster in the front court defensively and on the glass. You know, Phoenix, same sort of thing. They're going to have a lot of opportunity this summer to address some of their specific holes.

You know, like Golden State and the Lakers are kind of in this interesting position where they were close enough to make more of an all-in move. And I feel like specifically with the Lakers, they were even more aggressive at the trade deadline than I expected them to be. but they paid a price for waiting as long as they did. And you know what's funny? Like Shams Sharania reported today that this specific foot injury for LeBron was one that he actually experienced in January.

And him and his team had a decision to make as to whether or not to shut him down or to continue and play on it. And he opted to play on it. And this is where if I wanted to make the case for giving it one last go around with these two guys, I would put it based on the workload and the potential next year. to keep that lower. So I wanted to share a couple of pieces of data with you. So first of all, these are, this is Janus's minutes per game over the last two seasons, two seasons, 32.7. Steph Curry over the last two seasons, 34.5. Nicola Yokic over the last two seasons, 33.5.

LeBron James over the last two seasons, 36.7 minutes per game. And in addition to that, he's had multiple extended stretches over the last two years where Anthony Davis has been hurt and he's had to carry limited rosters by himself to float them in the standings, which he did this year, by the way. The only reason they still have a chance to make the play in is because of the quality of basketball that LeBron played over the course of the end of December and January here in early February. He carried them to this point. So I guess the case that I would make is I'm a huge believer in the LeBron Anthony Davis ceiling. You saw what it looked like again on Sunday.

When the two of those really hit the jets, they can win rock fights and they can win with skill, which is such a unique capability of those two. That's why they have the high ceiling that they have. So the way I'd look at it is if Anthony Davis can finish this season healthy and playing at an MVP level, which he's got a golden opportunity here over the course of the next few weeks without LeBron to demonstrate that. If he demonstrates that, I look at it as next year, you might be able to limit their minutes, keep them both around 30 to 32 minutes per night, sit them out back to backs, and do all the little things that keep the workload lower to where you don't need them to carry as much as they've done over the last two years, which I think

has directly led to the injuries that they've been dealing with. So I would give it one last chance if Anthony Davis finishes the year healthy. But Anthony Davis could not finish last year healthy. The year before that, he was awesome against the Sons for two games, and then he broke down again. if he breaks down again, I think then it enters a simple like risk reward proposition where it's foolish to plan your franchise around a star player in his 20s

who literally cannot finish a season healthy. When we presented that idea in our last show, a lot of people kind of framed it as we want to trade AD. No, no, no, no. We believe in what AD can do when he's healthy. He demonstrated that for us over the course the last few games. It's the health.

That's all it is. If he can't finish the season three years in a row in his late 20s, what makes you think that's going to get better in his 30s? That's just bad management at that point. It's bad planning. So I would say regardless of what happens down the stretch here, as long as AD is healthy, I'd give it one more shot. But then, you know, if they break down again at that point,

then you have to start looking to move in a different direction. Well, it's also the NBA is in an interesting space where many of its best players, that are the most dependable in the playoffs, Steph, K.D., LeBron, A.D., M. B'd can be brittle. Like many. So those are not dependable guys, but when they're good, they're great. And then we have these young players who just quite not right, quite ready to Aunt John Morant, like Jamal Murat.

like Jamal Murray, Izzy, ready. So I've got these young players who are very, very talented. The Brandon Ingrams were just waiting for them too, and it may never come, right? So the old guys, Chris Paul, Durantz, I mean, guys we know can win playoff series, Steph Curry, Draymond, Catalyst for a Warriors offense,

the league's in an interesting space. And about, there's only about two or three teams that I think bridge it really well. Milwaukee, where Janice is in his prime, Drew Holiday is in it or just out of it. And then the Ingalls, Jay Crowder, Middleton are out of it, but shot makers.

That's why I think Milwaukee should be favored. And I think Boston similarly, Tatum's in his prime, Jalen Brown is. I think Marcus Smart's out of it. Robert Williams, probably in it, but he's hurt a lot.

I don't think there's a lot of teams that bridge it. I mean, let's be honest about Phoenix. I love him. But if Chris Paul and Durant both got hurt in the next two weeks, nobody'd be surprised. I think this is the last year for the Warriors Dynasty. Draymond just got a knee-scoped. Steph coming off an injury.

Clay's having a remarkable season. But, you know, Wiggins, you're not quite sure what you're kind of getting with Wiggins right now. He got the bag. He's got money. Is it the same guy? So it's an interesting time in the league where the teams I really, really like. I'm not sure I trust their health. and the other teams like a Memphis, which I think is a Cleveland, I think are both tremendous

teams. I just don't think they're ready yet. Like who's the second star for Memphis? I don't think Mobley is quite ready to be great in a playoff series and dominate. So it's an interesting time. My best bets outside of Milwaukee, I think they're a clear favorite. I think the Warriors are completely in Tatum's head. I just would take the Warriors 10 out of 10 series ago in Boston.

But I mean, Milwaukee to me feels like the same. safest bet, bridging youth, veterans, shotmakers, defense. And then it's a very interesting next two months. There's a lot, I mean, Memphis and the Clippers, I still love the Clippers. But I had somebody tell me something, somebody incredibly well connected to the Clippers, say that they've just come to the conclusion that you just, Kauai Lennar doesn't communicate. He's not a good teammate.

He's just a great player. He's a bad teammate. Nobody knows when he's going to play. He's not verbal. You can't depend on him. I still think that team is, most of their good players are excellent defensively. I like Tyloo. The Clippers sum up the league for me outside of Milwaukee.

I just have to watch the playoffs. I could get multiple outcomes. I mean, if the Clippers came in, Kauai got dinged up. Paul George struggles in the postseason. They're out first round. It could happen. So I just think it's March madness this year. There's no great team.

I do think in the NBA there are nights. Milwaukee can be great when Janus is really on. But it's going to be wide open. Yeah. Milwaukee has separated themselves in recent weeks. You know, like the Boston Celtics haven't looked consistently great over the course the last few months. It almost in the Western Conference, it almost feels like who's going to be playing best

at the right time. because it's just constantly up and down who's got it going on any given week or two stretch during the season. And I'll put it this way. Like when we get to the playoffs in the play in particular, you're probably going to see Dallas, Golden State, and the Lakers all end up in that 7, 8, 9, 10 range. That's completely possible. Dallas is heading into an extremely tough stretch of their schedule over the course of the next few weeks. and against some specific matchups where they're really going to struggle.

So you're going to see even the two top teams in the Western Conference, if it ends up being Memphis or Sacramento and then obviously Denver, they're going to have a very difficult first round matchup that they're capable of losing. And so to keep it on the Lakers for a second, first of all,

even with LeBron James being out, the Lakers have the fifth easiest remaining schedule out of everybody in the league. This is not the same Lakers from the last year and a half. They have a lot of talent after LeBron James. Jared Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis

have played 180 possessions together and are holding teams to 98 points per 100 possessions, which is outstanding. They can defend. They have an identity outside of LeBron now. They've got two really good ball handlers and DeAngel Russell and Dennis Schroeder to run pick and roll with Anthony Davis. I think they have

a legitimate fighting chance still. And then Golden State, obviously, is this big wrinkle there that could end up in that eight seed. So let's put it this way really quick. think that all is lost for the Lakers this season, or do you think they have a chance to potentially go on a run? No, I think when they made the trade, it gave them more ways to win. To your point, it's a better pick and roll team. It's a better shooting team. Vanderbilt was always

a solid player. I think Laker fans that didn't watch him are shocked. But it's like, you know, people knew in the league. I mean, I had texted, text two different scouts in the NBA, what to expect. And they're like, he's going to really help Anthony Davis out. Good length. Runs the floor is a good player. So I think there's more ways for them to win. I don't think there is LeBron dependent. But I do think LeBron is such a unique, gifted player. The ability to elevate others is so Magic Johnson. I mean, many of our best players, Kobe and Michael, Dirk Novitsky, don't necessarily elevate. They just are great players. They're just fantastic individual scores. I think Lucas got a lot of that where Jalen Brunson explodes when he leaves.

leaves, right? Like you're like, Jalen Brunsum is this good? Yeah. I mean, it's a very James Harden thing where you're in awe of his offensive efficiency,

but he does take shots away because he has the ball all the time. So, yeah, I think they can win. I think the Memphis game's tough. I think it could be a little bit of a pit. They could get, they could be in trouble. But I think there's a lot of ways they can win.

I think they're a better defensive team. On nights, they shoot well. Is DeAngelo Russell playing tonight? I don't think he's going to play until Friday. That's the word as of right now, according to Ramona Shelburne, which is really unfortunate because like an ankle tweak like that. And he kept playing on it for like a minute after.

That's the, gosh, Laker fans have to just be pounding their head against the wall, just with the luck they've had with injuries here down the stretch of the season. But it's kind of been the story over the last two years. If the Lakers got to, let's just call it the eight seed and they were healthy, would you pick them over the Denver Nuggets or would you pick Denver to win? If they were healthy, I'd pick the Lakers. With the NFL season over, all eyes in the sporting world turned everything from the NBA to college hoops to the NHL. Plenty of games to watch are even better, plenty of games to get out of the house and actually go to.

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grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, I was talking about this today. Like, I really like Miami in close games.

I think they lead the NBA in 13, like one bucket wins. I don't love, you know, Bam and Jimmy Butler are very good players. Great coach. Great defense. Great crisis management. Excellent situationally. They're kind of the opposite of the Sixers that are docs not great situationally. They're sloppy last night.

They had like 20 turnovers. I don't trust Harden late in games, even though he's had a good season. There are these cultures. of smart people. I think Miami is a less talented version of Golden State. In a seven-game series, they're just going to win more possessions. They're going to be better late in the shot clock, late in quarters, late in sets. So if Golden State is one of those playing teams, that's my pick.

I don't buy into Denver. You know, Yokic is going to probably win a third MVP. It's weird. There are players that I can really like in the regular season. but I don't trust him in the postseason. And there have been in my lifetime watching players that I love as scores, but I don't love him as players. Zach Levine's one.

Obviously, he's an explosive dynamic player. I don't think he's a winning player. I don't think Westbrook's a winning player. I never thought John Wall was a winning player. I never thought Carmelo was a winning player. I just think they're great players. I don't trust Denver in the West and I don't trust Philly in the East. So I think if

LeBron and AD were healthy, I would have the two, I know Yokocha will win the MVP, but I would have two players. I would have the best defensive player. I would have the best ball handler of those three is LeBron. The best physical presence is LeBron. The best defensive players, Anthony Davis.

Yonka Chow in the MVP. So I think playoff basketball is about being great at stuff. Miami, great situationally, great coaching, great defense. That stuff wins. It's not about depth. It's not about plaques. It's not about MVPs. The Lakers, when Adi and LeBron are healthy, they have things they're great at. Vanderbilt just made them a better, deeper defensive team. So I would take the Lakers. Yeah, you know what's interesting is Denver, Denver fans in particular are particularly sensitive about this. And I think it's the classic small market thing. They've been kicking everybody's ass all year. I understand why they want a certain amount of

respect and so on and so forth. And to be clear, I think Nicolioch is a good playoff player on the offensive end of the floor. He has demonstrated that. But you said playoffs are about what you're great at. They're also about what you're bad at. And specifically with Denver, they have a couple of entry points on the defensive end of the floor with Michael Porter Jr. He can struggle a little bit defending on the perimeter. Nicola Yokic when he gets out onto the perimeter can struggle a little bit. He's actually struggled a little bit with rim protection this year, which has been an issue that has risen as of late. So like the way I look at it, like, I believe Denver can win. They absolutely have a chance. But we're sitting here and we're looking at the bigger picture and we're looking at

Milwaukee and we're looking at Boston and we're looking at Golden State. We're looking at all these teams that we have as other options. And would you pick the team that has not won an NBA championship and has glaring entry points on the defensive end that we've seen time and time again in NBA history get exploited? I just don't think they're as safe as a bet of a bet, to some of the other teams that we have elsewhere on the league. I don't think that's an insult to Denver. They're a great team. I think they can win it. I just think that Phoenix is every bit as capable of winning it. I think Golden State is every bit as capable of winning it. And I still think the Lakers and Clippers have an outside chance. On that note, let's move on to the Clippers. So we've had

two games with Russell Westbrook in a Clippers jersey. And I actually think he's been pretty solid so far. Tyloo did pay the I paid, I played Russ and crunch time tax. in the Kings game when Russ lost Malik Monk on the game tying shot and then spent the entire overtime period as the Kings just double teamed off of him and just went at Kauai and Paul George everywhere on the floor. So there have been some issues. But I do think you've seen an obvious basketball fit that wasn't there with the clipper. Specifically, he's pushing the pace, which is the thing that that team desperately needed to do. And one of the things that's been kind of sneaky good is they run a switching defensive scheme as opposed to the Lakers.

or ran a lot of drop coverage where they were asking Russ to chase guys over the top of screens. And so in switching schemes, he ends up on bigger players a lot. And Russ is actually one of the better switching guards that we have in the league because he's so competitive. He takes that personally when you try to attack him. And he's so big and strong. And he's very good technically at fronting the post, which is something he does a great job of in those switches to prevent that post entry. So he's been a good piece for them on the defensive end. And then one of the sneaky subplots here, too, is, Kauai and Paul George actually prefer to operate off the ball.

They are like guys that are like, let me get to my spot, let me fight for position, then you throw it to me and I can go to work. So there's been kind of a natural offensive synergy there. The lineup data is a little skewed because Russ, unfortunately, that first shift against Denver, the Denver starters just beat the heck out of them for, I think they went up 24 to 8,

which is kind of skewed the data. But I think it's been pretty good so far. So my question for you is, what have you thought so far about Westberg in a Clippers jersey. I, well, I'm not a fan of Westbrook. I think if you can avoid using him in situational basketball late in a quarter, like three minutes to go, I don't want him on the floor.

But he's productive. He pushes the pace. He gives you great minutes. He gives you great energy. I mean, even with the Lakers, there were moments. Was it that Celtics game? There was a big Laker game I was watching and he had a tip in at the basket and he's just out of control. Flies in it, tips it in.

I'm like, that's Westbrook. In the regular season, not everybody brings energy. Not everybody is equally rested. You saw it last night. The Celtics were completely flat against the Knicks. First quarter, Tatum's awful. Browns out. They're done.

You know, it felt like the, it felt like a first round of the playoffs for New York at Madison Square. They just came out on fire. And so I think the Clippers, because Kauai, I don't like when Kauai, the offense runs around him. I'm a believer. he's way better off ball. And so I think Westbrook fits better.

LeBron is so great with the ball. Kauai's better off it. Paul's better off it. So I think he's a better fit. And again, 20 games left. You can get 30 minutes a night from him. Just get him out of spaces. You know, in football.

Some guys are great in the red zone. You know what I mean? There are third down backs, right? They're not power backs. It's okay. most athletes are, even the good ones, are situational. Jason Tatum is usually always good. That's very unique.

So I think when you keep them out of those spaces, they've got a lot of depth. He's fine. But I think with, I thought when he came to the Lakers, I remember saying at the time, is I think it can work. He can't play off ball. But LeBron and Aidey get hurt. He'll give him 34 minutes a night. And he had games. He had moments.

But because of LeBron's ability to control the tempo and pace, he got in the way. I think there's going to be moments. He's exactly what they need. Give him the ball. Let him burn the tempo. Get up the floor. I'm a total believer in what you said.

I think both Paul and Kauai are terrific in the wing off the ball. Whenever the offense goes through Kauai, it can be effective. Aesthetically, it doesn't look good. It feels like a struggle. Like, right? Because Kauai is so great, it can be effective. It never looks good. It always looks stilted. So, and I don't want to, I don't want a guy that plays only three out of four nights, you know, doesn't play black to backs. I don't want him running my offense, right? I'd rather have him off ball. So I think Westbrook's okay for them. Just keep him out of a game with four and a half minutes left if you're tied and it matters.

And that's what Tylood did. They did not play him in crunch time against the nuggets. Now, that game kind of swung ironically. on Paul George, who's been one of their biggest issues in crunch time. He kind of co-opted things in OT and made a couple of crucial mistakes early in the period and then the game was over just like that. I agree, though. Like, Kawhi Leonard's interesting. When you get him to his spots, like, it's like, oh, navigate an off ball screen and get a switch and then dump it to him in the post against Jamal Murray, that's as high

percentage of possession as you'll find around the league. Like, he's great in those situations. But when you start asking him to initiate offense from the perimeter with a live dribble. That's where things can get a little bit messier. This is my big concern with the Clippers call. This is a wild stat for you. Did you know that they've lost 13 out of 15 games against the Denver Nuggets dating back to the bubble? Like that specific matchup is so in their head. The nuggets in particular are very, very good at beating their switching scheme by getting the ball to Yokic in their spots. And there's a little bit of a mental advantage there, kind of like

you've seen even with Boston and Golden State like you've talked about. So that's kind of where the thing that severely limits the Clippers' chances of getting out of the Western conferences, you'll probably have to go through Denver, and I just don't think they can win. Their best bet is that someone like the Lakers or the Warriors ends up getting that eight-seed. It can knock the, knock the nuggets out before they even have to see them. But that specific matchup is an issue for them. They just got to get, they got to get everything clicking at the same time. Like right now, Kauai's peaking. You know, they're integrating Russ, and it's going well, but Paul George is having some struggles. And Norman Powell's starting to struggle a little bit.

There's a bunch of like little pieces there that they just can't get aligned. But they're one of those teams, just like the Lakers, where it's like if they're healthy and you catch them in the right matchup, they're capable of beating anybody. And that's just the Western Conference right now. We tend to get impatient. But, you know, the Clippers, it wasn't long ago that we were celebrating Paul George and Kauai playing together. And anytime anybody doubts them, my takeaway is, Well, where's Boston's ring? I mean, this Boston group's been together six years now. And they got one finals of parents.

And they kind of folded in this one. And nobody doubts the Celtics. So this is only the second year. Kauai is a very unique personality. I had somebody very close to Kauai and people around him. Kauai is hard. He's hard on coaches. He's hard on teammates.

He's nonverbal. Nobody knows when he's going to play. You don't know what kind of performance you're getting. So I, It's easy to be impatient, but, you know, Durant to the Warriors was different. Superstar enters winning culture with rings and momentum. I think the Clippers will be interesting. They struggled all last year with health.

I thought they were going to play their way in and be interesting, and they didn't. They just didn't have enough chemistry. They felt a little bit last year like Brooklyn. You liked the parts, but they never played together. You know, so you get into the playoffs, and there's just no chemistry. I didn't think they had it last year. But I'm a buyer on the Clippers. I think they're the only team that matches up really well,

not just well, but really well against Golden State. Well, yeah, that perimeter size gap between them and the Warriors and how small they are in the back court and on the wing. That's a significant issue. One of the things that's really glared for Golden State this season is just their overall lack of athleticism. And it's just one of those things where they bet on that bench coming around for them and it just didn't and became a problem for them.

I have a feeling they're going to be pretty active in the next few weeks going after someone like Stanley Johnson or New Orleans, Noel, to bolster that. Because Golden State's entering a little bit of a danger zone. Yeah. Oh, no. I mean, I watched him. Was it Minnesota? I watched them near night. When Looney goes to the bench, they're tiny.

And by the way, Dante D. Vincenzo, he's a really good fit for that. Peyton will be available in six weeks. They're getting very guardy. They're getting smaller, right? And even Wiggins, who has some length is very rail thin. They're just, they've got, Minnesota was getting, I think it was Naz Reed. They were getting a lot of cheap buckets. They give, you know, you're going to give up a lot.

Now, Durant now, his length against the Golden State with DeAndre Aiton. So it's like Golden State, when Looney hits the bench, they're tiny. And so it's, you know, listen, they like comminga. They don't trust him. And Steve Kerr's like this. I think he likes Poole. I think he begrudgingly trusts him. Pools immature.

So they're a classic example. Great veteran culture. Young guys, they're trying to bridge it. They gave up on Wiseman. Kaminga they like but don't trust. Moody's not playing enough. And I think Kerr's offense is so. reactionary. It's really a high functioning on it. You need to have a high IQ to play in that

offense. I mean, by the way, nothing against DeAngelo Russell. They couldn't get him out of town family. And why does, I mean, he was because he was a little immature. They didn't, but Wiggins considered a one talent, but a two or a three personality, really cerebral player, very sensitive guy, cerebral player. He picked it up immediately. Like that worked. So that's Andre Aguadala. That worked. That works. Durant, high functioning, like a little bit of a basketball savant, worked instantly. So, you know, if you're asking, why don't these young players work for Golden State, it's effing hard.

That system is hard. And comming is the great example, six, seven, twitchy, they, they, you can tell they like him. Watching situational basketball, he's not around. Like, they just don't trust him. So they, it's, I think we keep forgetting. this is not the NFL. These kids come out of the draft. They're 19. And you're asking them to function in a Wyoming heat offense. Like you're talking Badiate, Wade, Haslam, Ray Allen, LeBron. Come on. That is like, that is neck. That is like nuclear fusion, the class in high school or college none of us wanted to

take. You're talking about a different galaxy. So I just think Golden State, they're a victim of their own success. They're their, their, their brilliance offensive, even defensively, they're really high end. It's hard for young guys. It's just hard. That's a fundamental difference between basketball and football too, where football, especially in, in athleticism positions like on the defensive line or a linebacker, you can see a player come out of the draft and immediately become an impact player. Basketball is such an IQ sport. And it's so skill heavy now, especially as it's on more perimeter oriented, it's just extremely difficult for a young player to play winning basketball at the highest levels. It's one of the biggest reasons why that idea was flawed from

the start, because you're banking on them like, hey, maybe when they're 21, 22, they'll figure it out. But almost every time in NBA history, it's been more like 26, 27 when they actually start to figure it out. I mean, when I was 22 years old, I had no idea what the hell I was doing on a basketball court. You know, I was running and jumping and shooting and just be, you know, hoping that I could find some way to impact the game. It's just extremely difficult to do. And, and Steve Kerr can be a little bit of a doghouse coach, too.

Like, he's one of those coaches. Like, when he pulls you, he'll be like, oh, you're out of the rotation for the next week until you figure this out. He's just, he's one of those kinds of guys. And I think that's a big part of why, like, and Bob Myers straight up came out and said this. He's like, we have to be careful who we sign with that final roster spot because we have to make sure Steve Kerr will actually play that person. You know what I mean? And so they're in kind of

an interesting predicament. And every time I look at their rotation, I go, okay, Jordan Poole, Dante DeVincenzo, Jonathan Caminga, Gary Payton, and Jim Michael Green, that's kind of enough. They've got a bench. It's just it's really hard when they're not healthy to have a good eight or nine man rotation to lean on. And when you have Wiggins, Draymond, and Steph all out of the rotation at the same time that your three best players, it's a miracle that they were able to win that game against Minnesota the other night, in large part because Clay Thompson went off. But they're just, they're in a situation where you trust the core so much, but you just haven't been able to get everyone available and there's no depth there to carry them through the other stretches of the season.

I mean, thank God, Clay has had a great year. Clay has really played well. His, he's had a great year. His half court shot creation has been a revelation this year, carrying the warriors through these stretches because he's always been such an offball player. But he beat Minnesota the other night. on the basketball making plays for his teammates. It's such a unique, like, kind of late career shift from him as he's been able to just, it's almost like sheer force of will. Like, Clay Thompson's one of those guys that I think he's kind of a little bit of a funny guy. So then, so there's,

there's less of a, uh, uh, like a serious attitude around him. But that dude is a savage competitor. When he hit that last three coming off that handoff on the right wing, he just went over to Minnesota's bench and was just talking all that shit to them. You know, like that dude is a savage, uh, competitor. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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and Virginia. 18777-7-1-1-1-1-1-8-7-0-1-1-1-1-8-0-1-1-1-1-8-9-10. visit 1-800 gambler.net in West Virginia. You know, what I love about the Warriors is that last year in the final, and Clay's not going to be the same defensive player he was. Like, that's over. But, you know, he was really spotty last year in the playoffs. But Steph was great. Wiggins was a bit of a revelation.

Jordan Poole, his minutes got reduced the farther they went, but he had his moments. Drayman was hot and cold. I kind of feel like last year, they stole one. They kind of stole a championship. Oh, absolutely. Like now, Clay's better. Steph will be, you know, these injuries are funny. Steph's going to be completely rested for the postseason.

The scope that Draymond got is fine. Wiggins has taken plenty of time off. They're like this veteran baseball team that's arrested a lot of their starting pitching. And here we go. We're going to start moving into September baseball. And you're like, everybody's, everybody's ready to go. I've been saying this all year. They're not the same defensive team.

Pool doesn't really want to engage in it most nights. Steph is limited. Clay is not the same. I think that's why they brought Peyton back. They know what they're not. But man, situational, half-court basketball, a lot of those guys have played a lot of minutes together, Jason. They're going to be a hard team to bet against.

I think some of this stuff looks like a crisis, and I think a lot of it is they're kind of resting, they're kind of experimenting. I think if Peyton's ready to go in five, six weeks, they're going to be a handful because he's going to be a great late game defensive player. You know he is. But if I can put, if I can put Peyton on the floor late, Wiggins on the floor late, Draymond on the floor late, it's a pretty good defensive team. They're actually my pick to get the six seed because Dallas is heading into a pretty tough stretch of their schedule. I think Steph is going to be coming back. They're clicking. I think they're, I think going to end up getting the sixth seat. And then it's pretty simple. Like, I'd pick them over the Kings.

You know, like I, I think they beat the Kings. And then from there, you end up playing Memphis, which they've got a great matchup with Memphis specifically. They're just the smarter, bigger brother type of team. And then you have the time to get ready and get playing at your highest level in time for Dender in the last round. Before we get out of here, I have one last question for you. I kind of hinted at this before we got started. But I'm really curious to hear your opinion. So after Dame scored 71 the other night, I did some digging into individual scoring in the NBA.

And there are, there were 10 years ago, 11 players in the NBA who averaged at least 20 points per game. And this year, there are 51 players in the NBA that are averaging at least 20 points per game. Now, there's been a slight increase in pace. There's about seven additional possessions per game per team. There's about 14 additional three point shots per game, which is a little. a little bit more shot value there.

So there are a couple of different factors, but not enough to justify an 11 to 51 type of change. So my question for you is, do you have a theory as to why individual scoring in the NBA has gone the way that it's gone? Two things. The game is more European, and those are more skilled players and better shooters.

We've eliminated essentially the back to the basket center. So the game is more European, more good shooters. the court is spread out more. I think that's part of it. There are more shots of game. I think the pace of the game is much faster. And I also think, you know, years ago,

there was a sense that European players weren't tough and our young players weren't as skilled because their players go to the academy. I think our domestic players are more skilled. And I think those players in Europe are tougher. I think both sides have heard it. So I think our American players, players now. Six, eight and over guys, shoot the rock better. I think the shooting is the best it's

ever been. The game's more international. I remember in this, let's say the analytic movement's been 15 years, kind of the sweep into the analytic movement. About five or six years ago, maybe six or seven, there was this, you can't have two guys on the floor at the same time that can't shoot. You're getting to a point now, you can't have a, you can have a guy on the floor that can't shoot. But like Kavon Looney, he better be a great rebound. You better be great at everything else. Like you're getting to a point now where you can go back and talk about the Knicks teams that everybody loved with Starks and Anthony Mason, their guards couldn't shoot. You can only have one non-shooter on the floor and he has to be absolutely something has to be elite. Looney's a great rebounder.

It's like, okay, so he fits it. I think, I just think we're. seeing this in all sports. We're seeing it in football. Quarterbacks are faster. Receivers are greater. The monies and wide receivers and quarterbacks. What a kids, kids always create culture. Kids are like, I'm not going to, I'm not going to play safety. I'm not going to play running back. I'm going to be a quarterback or a wide receiver. So all the great athletes are going there. And I think what you're seeing now is this generation of Biggs has been watching Dirt Novitsky and Durant. And there's no more Mark Few told me. He, he can't. take a big and ask him to go back to the basket.

His dad's like, nope, I won't send him to Gonzaga. Like, we're moving into all bigs now. They're not learning how to shoot. They come into a league by 17. They're ready to shoot. And I think it's great. I think the offense, you know, the cliche is always, nobody plays defense.

The defense, any given night, You watched the last couple of possessions last night in Miami and Philadelphia. Intense defense. And Bede Harden went over three. A butler had to do some spectacular shot. What a shot that was. Oh my goodness.

That may be the best shot of the year. Probably the best shot of the year in crisis. It was incredible. So I don't buy the defense isn't good. I think obviously when you get teams that are, you know, last game of a road trip, veteran players. Biggs come into this league now.

they are ready to shoot. College guys come into this league. They're closer to being ready to shoot. I think the skills gone up. I think it's just, you know, people talk in the NFL. We heard about how good the Eagles and Niners defense was. The chiefs shredded both in the second half. It's not because those teams can't play defense.

Andy Reed, a million threats. Patrick Mahomes, smarter schemes. Just the money is greater and it's all. all on offense. All the best athletes are going to shooting and offense in basketball that are going to passing and catching in football. And you just, we've never seen anything like it.

And there are teams in the NFL that have four legitimate receivers. I mean, I can remember growing up where you had, you're running back was your star. You didn't have a star receivers. Like, I look at how these guys now 611, 610,

this kid that's coming in, this, this, um, Womaniana, what was his, Victor Weminiama? Yeah.

his skill level's insane. He'll get pushed around. Even Chet Holmgren. Come on. I mean, he's like, I watched this highlight when he was 17. I'm like, he's like a 27 year old 15, 20 years ago.

His skill level's so high. That's the new basketball. Yeah, pull up shooting in particular as the main driver, in my opinion, because like when you get to your muscle memory, and I've leaned a lot on this stuff because I've gotten older because I'm a taller player and I always could shoot,

but now I can actually dribble on like I did when I was younger. and like when you get to your spot and you get into your rhythm and your muscle memory, the defense doesn't matter anymore. Like you can contest me all you want. As soon as I get to my muscle memory, if I'm in rhythm, that thing's going in. You know what I mean? So like I think almost we've reached the point now where good offense can be any defense. Like if the right shooter on the right night has his pull-up jump shot going,

you can do everything right and those things are just going in. And I think that's a big part of why. I think skill level particularly from guards and pull-up shooters is at such a ridiculously high level now that NBA defenses have not yet figured out how to deal with it. Now, in NBA history, there's an ebb and flow there. And I'm so glad you pointed that out because NBA defenses don't get nearly enough credit for how advanced they are, for how athletic they are, for how smart they are,

for how schematically sound they are. They do everything they can. They're just a step behind right now, but they will catch up. at some point. And most importantly, I think it's great for the game. I think I find I find basketball to be very aesthetically pleasing now. The rock fights are cool in their own way. But every game was a rock fight 15 years ago. And that's not as fun as what we see now with the type of skill level that's on display around the court. By the way, Milwaukee, Milwaukee and Boston still play great defense. Miami plays great defense. The Clippers play great defense. Memphis can be very good defensively. This idea,

we all know this. When everybody's equally rested and I get to face the same offense seven games in a row, watch the defense have. I mean, it's hard. Jason, you fly into town. You know, you fly into town.

It's high altitude. It's Denver. Your guys are weary. Two guys are banged up. They drop 136 and you're like, yeah. They just, there's too many guys. Now I get two nights rest. It's the fourth night of seeing

Jamal Murray and Michael Porter. The defense, It did it last year. Cleveland, by the way, plays pretty good defense. You're going to see defense win series. It'll be the Knicks will potentially win a series. It'll be defense. They have limitations offensively. Everybody bails on defense.

I watched the end of that Sixers heat game, and I'm like, that last four minutes, that was real defense. Well, and look at what the Lakers did to the Mavericks on Sunday. Same type of deal. They just walked in at the end of the game, and two outstanding offensive players couldn't make a shot down the stretch. of that game. It's just, it's just the way, it's just the way the league is gone. And I, I do think it's interesting, though, because it's been, it's been an interesting ship. Volume. Make sure to check out the Dremon Green Show. I brought Dremont Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective, understands behind the rope.

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