The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Lakers-Suns Reaction: Luka Doncic & Austin Reaves struggle, Phoenix is LEGIT, Dillon Brooks' rise

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

Jason reacts to the Phoenix Suns beating LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night and discusses Phoenix's impressive defensive start to the season behind Mark Williams, Dillon Brooks completely reshaping his NBA career, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves struggling once again with big, physical defenders, and more. All lines presented by Hard Rock Bet.  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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All sorts of weird games. Houston loses on the road in Utah, a game where they couldn't stop fouling down the stretch as they had this bizarre stretch where they committed, I think, five fouls on one single possession. The Dallas Mavericks win their second consecutive game going on the road into Denver. Ryan Emhart has a massive night. Cooper Flagg playing two of his best games as a young pro Anthony Davis Monster Night. Lots of weird stuff. But I'm going to be zooming in on Suns Lakers from last night.

We haven't done a deep dive on the Suns in a while. And I really want to dig into why they've been so much better than we even expected. I thought the Suns would be feisty this year. kind of looked at them as a team that would be a pain in the ass to play on any given night, but now they're looking like a bona fide playoff team. And that is coming down to a handful of pieces with internal improvement. The development of Mark Williams into a foundational defensive center, Dylan Brooks blowing up into like a legitimate score in this league.

Colin Gillespie flashing a little bit of that Austin Reeves-esque development trajectory as a role player guard into a little bit more and a little bit more. each time we see him. I want to do a deep dive into the suns. After that, I will talk about, you know, again, this happens. It's December. You lose a bad game or you lose a game like this where you look bad if you're the Lakers.

But I do think that there is a disturbing trend with them getting punked by some of these bigger physical athletic perimeter teams. I don't want to talk about what that specifically means for the Lakers and their short-term and long-term goals as currently constructed. You guys know the Joe before we get started to subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel. So you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason LT. So you guys don't miss show announcements.

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And we will have our next mailbag coming up on this Friday. All right, let's talk some basketball. So, you know, I want to take the game itself and I want to focus more on some of the big picture stuff for both of these teams. Obviously, the game itself, it's a combination of an incredibly impressive performance by the Phoenix Suns and an incredibly disappointing performance. by the Los Angeles Lakers. They led by as much as 25 in this game. Phoenix did. And there's a tendency on nights like last night just to chalk things up to December basketball, right? Like that's, nights like last night happened a lot in the NBA where it's like Houston losing in Utah as a classic example. Houston's been one of the most impressive teams in the league to start this season.

And they could not stop making mistakes down the stretch against the jazz. Denver losing to Dallas. Denver has a few kind of bizarre bad loss. as of late. Am I about to panic about the Lakers because they looked bad on a Monday in December to drop to 15 and 5? No, of course not. We're not going to get melodramatic today.

But I do think there is plenty to learn from that game. First of all, Phoenix is a really good basketball team. And they have some very exciting developments in terms of internal improvement that have made them even more dangerous than I thought they would be before the season. And then on the Lakers front, Phoenix presented some physical challenges and a game plan that caused the Lakers to spiral in a way that we've seen before against Oklahoma City back in November

or against Minnesota back in the playoffs last year in the first round. I think those are real demons that the Lakers will have to conquer if they want to reach their goals. We're going to get to the Lakers later, though. We haven't done a deep dive on the suns in a while, so I want to deep dive in. in on Phoenix. I don't want to start with their defense. There are things with the sons this season that I expected. But there have also been some things that I've been genuinely surprised by.

I expected them to be a good defense. It just made sense structurally. You have a guy like Ryan Dunn heading into his second year, who's very dynamic and versatile on the perimeter as a defender. He's got strength. He's got speed. He competes. He's got a good motor.

Lots of really exciting stuff. there. You go into a second season. You expect him to experience a good amount of improvement on that end of the floor. And then you turn Kevin Durant to Dylan Brooks. That's obviously a talent downgrade, right? But Dylan Brooks is legitimately one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. And similar to Ryan Dunn, he can guard a pretty wide range of players. So you add a second guy in that Ryan Dunn ilk of this big physical, awesome perimeter defender. when this team was lacking that type of player last year.

But then you look down the roster and everyone else on the perimeter is a plus. Devin Booker was literally the primary point of attack guy on many nights for Team USA a couple of summers ago. Royce O'Neill is a solid perimeter defender. Jordan Goodwin is a solid perimeter defender. Colin Gillespie and Grayson Allen, those are guys who compete.

They're physical. They're usually in the right spot. They have good game plan discipline. and they have some defensive talent at the center position. Some guys you can switch a little bit, plenty of foot speed, and some real length in the form of guys like Mark Williams and come on Molo Watch, right? That was what I saw coming into the season, and I'm like, oh, this is going to be a good defense. But then I watched them come out and physically punch the Lakers in the mouth

in their first preseason game. You guys remember that? We covered that preseason game. And I was like, okay, not only do they have the pieces on paper, but they also look clearly bought in this is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with on any given night in the NBA. I specifically predicted before the season

that they'd be the type of team who would beat the really good Western Conference teams on any given night where they don't bring the appropriate effort and focus. In other words, I thought they'd be the royal pain in the ass type of team in the West playoff picture. But I figured they'd be some,

something like 37 and 45, some really fun wins against good teams, some fun nights for the fans, but no real threat, like no real any sort of like consistent success that's going to be something people have to account for in the playoff picture. Forget all of that. They look like a legitimate playoff team. Like at this point, they look pretty well entrenched as a top eight seed in the West. It's still early. Dudes could get hurt. Devin Booker growing injury last night. Things could fall apart. But to me, they look a lot more like a 45 and 37th and 37. team. So the question is why? Why is it that the sons on a year where they lose Bradley Beale and they trade Kevin Durant that they suddenly are looking like a team that could very

well be better than they were last year. And there's two reasons for that. One is the internal development on offense, which we'll get to later on, guys like Colin Gillespie, guys like Dylan Brooks, we'll get to that later. The second piece of it, though, is the internal development on defense, specifically with Mark Williams as a drop coverage big. I remember when the Lakers made that ill-fated Dalton Connect for Mark Williams' trade last year. shortly before the deadline, I did a pretty extensive scout on Mark Williams. And I thought he looked bad on defense. He obviously had the tools. He's got good mobility. He's got a ridiculous wingspan for the position. But his instincts were rough. He made a ton of mistakes. He'd, you know,

try to block shots. He had no business blocking and give up offensive rebounds or he'd aggressively show and help and give an easy drop off for a dunk. He just looked like a guy that really struggled with the basic decision-making process of rim protection of like when to go for the shot versus when to stay home, just some basic fundamentals. He looked like he was a real mistake maker. So I viewed him as a offensive weapon, a guy that could help Luca on the role as a vertical spacer, a guy was a good offensive rebounder, always like underrated as a guy who could like grab offensive rebounds and make kickout passes to three-point shooters, a lot more connective passing, short-roll passing ability than you'd think. I'm like, oh, this

be a good offensive weapon for Luca, but this guy can't guard, and that's going to be an issue. And there were the health concerns, right? Phoenix has turned him into a legitimate defensive anger, which I did not see coming. This is a credit to Brian Gregory. He made a big bet

on just how incompetent Charlotte was in terms of the talent they had on the floor and the way they were using him. And I think that Brian Gregory just looked at that and was like, Charlotte's at least partially responsible for Mark not being a good defender. We can turn him around. And then secondly, you have to credit Jordan not for creating an achievable defensive role for him with the talent they had available.

We often refer to drop coverage on this show as a bracket. Why is it a bracket? Because there's two sides to the coverage. there's the big who's keeping the ball handler and the big in front in a deep drop or at least keeping the ball handler in front and high drop, right? And then there's the top part of the bracket, which is the on ball defender, getting over the top of the screen, staying attached, back pressuring, getting a rear view contest. And one of the things that's kind of difficult with evaluating bigs and drop coverage, and this is one of the, one of the things I underrated when I was

scouting Mark Williams's film in Charlotte, is the job of the drop coverage big is substantially harder when the point of attack defense isn't good, when the top part of the bracket isn't good, and that ball handler is easily getting over the top of the screen, and he has lots of separation from his defender, and he's super comfortable operating in the mid-range, he can manipulate the drop coverage big easier. Because that drop coverage big also has to be. a responsibility to offer contest on those mid-range shots. There's a little dance you do. You're backpedaling, you're stunting and contesting at the guard while making sure you keep that role man in front of you, right? And if that guy's coming free and clear off the screen, he's going to engage

you easier. It's going to look more like a traditional two-on-one where like you jump to the guard and it's a lob dunk or you stay back and that dude's getting easy twos or going right at you at the rim, right? If the guy on the top part of the bracket isn't doing his job, it makes it really difficult. But when you have Ryan done, when you have Dylan Brooks and those dudes are getting up into the ball making dudes uncomfortable from the opening tip, staying attached over the top of screens, basically funneling you into the paint, the ball handler, making it so that that dude doesn't have a lot of comfort in the mid-range, but rather is just driving into your length, it suddenly becomes a very tenable dynamic for a talented drop coverage big. That specific dynamic,

the ability of Dunn and Brooks to pressure the ball and stay attached. from behind while Mark Williams' giant wingspan is swallowing everything up at the basket as they're getting funneled in is literally what broke the Lakers offense last night. And I want to give Jordan Ott some more credit here because this did not go well early in the game. His idea was we're going to run a traditional drop coverage and we're going to guard that action two on two, meaning Donner Brooks is going to chase. Mark Williams is going to be there in the drop. The other three dudes, they might stunt and recover a little bit of like opportunistic playmaking,

but for the most part, those dudes are going to stay home. That leaves the coverage two on two. That is going to dictate the flow of the game more towards Luca Donchich scoring the basketball. We talked about this a lot over the course of the last couple of games with the Lakers. I talked about it yesterday in our power rankings show. Against the Pelicans, Luca comes out. and he's facing a lot of single coverage and two on two and pick and roll. So he's looking to score and he score, score, score, score, score, score, score, score, score,

score, score, score, score, and then suddenly by the middle of the second quarter, it's, we're anybody but Luca, please, we're blitzing the hell out of this dude, give up the basketball, right? Versus the Dallas game where Jason Kidd comes out and he's doubling Luca Donchich, like from the opening tip, and it's a little bit different dynamic. It's dictating Luca more towards passing the basketball, right? So Jordan Hott's game plan last night, he wants to guard these picks, and rolls two on two, he's willing to live with Luca as a score. And Lucas scores yet another

20 point first quarter, something he's been doing a lot more often as of late. Now, the overreaction would be shit. Luca torched us. Let's adjust. Let's start blitzing. Now all of a sudden it's going to be four on threes for LeBron and Austin off the ball and it's going to cause all sorts of problems on the backside of your defense. There was no overreaction from. Jordan Ott. He stuck with the game plan. And even though Luca was awesome in the first quarter, he started to fall apart as the game went along and really, really started to turn the basketball over. They turned Luca over nine times yesterday. How do those turnovers happen? Yes, there were some you know, kind of unforced ones where, you know, Luca's forcing ridiculous up the court passes to

covered LeBron or overthrowing Rui running the running up the lane line, right? Like, There were some unforced errors, but most of those were a product of the fact that when Lucas started to work against the two-on-two, like he turned one over to Bouillet in the right corner, and it's like, boo you're staying home. When those guys are home, they're in the passing lanes. Lucas specifically mentioned in the post-game presser that he was kind of confused by the coverage. He got confused because of the fact that he was getting defended two-on-two and it felt like he was in a crowd because Mark Williams is there

and the dudes draped on his backside and back pressure and they're kind of stunting and recovering, but they're actually home. He was confused because it felt like he was in a crowd when the action was actually only getting guarded two on two. That's the dynamic that you, when you have the right kind of talent, when you have the types of on-ball players

that Phoenix has and the drop, and the drop coverage big that Mark Williams is, in terms of his length around the basket, you can make things feel congested when they actually aren't. And that's what it can start turning into those turnovers. And then JJ Reddick mentioned this after the game, but there were a couple times where J.J. or where Luca got deep penetration and was like in around the basket,

and there were swarms, but he had opportunities to throw kickout passes, but he couldn't see them. And he couldn't see them because Mark Williams is long out. ass arms are going like this. And JJ mentioned that after the game. Mark Williams in his length caused a problem for Luca getting the ball through those coverages. And I just, I just think a big thing that we underrated, and myself included, that we underrated about this Phoenix Sun's defense, is they've turned Mark Williams into a legitimate defensive anchor drop coverage big. And they were

able to successfully guard the Lakers in pick and roll two on two most of the night last night without giving up too much. And by the way, the Sons this season are nine points per 100 possessions better on defense with Mark Williams on the floor versus off. And I do think it's worth mentioning beyond the two-man game. So beyond the Dunn and Williams or Brooks and Williams two-man defensive sequences against pick and roll, I thought the Sons as a team were incredibly sharp with their help and recover decisions and their rotations to shooters. A lot of sequences were guys made opportunistic digs, but then got back out or the Likers did manage to not turn the basketball over and kick out to somebody, but there was a great closeout that would chase a Gabe

Vincent off the line or chase a Maxie Kleeb off the line or chase a Dalton connect off the line. A lot of really good closeouts. I just thought they played a very good defensive game last night, Phoenix. That was the number one half court offense in the entire NBA in the Lakers that the Suns faced last night, they held them to a 99 offensive rating in the half court, which is about seven points per 100 possessions below their season average. And that's obviously impressive in and of itself. But the real damage was done on the margins. They forced 22 turnovers. And again, some of them were enforced, but many of them were like pokeaways by their on ball guys. You know, Ryan Dunn poking the ball away from a Luca or Austin or like Mark Williams, like we talked about forcing

turnovers on kickouts with his length around the rim. I think Phoenix deserves a ton of credit for the job they did disrupting a great Lakers offense. Those turnovers allowed them to get out in transition and they bludgeoned them in transition. The Suns scored 32 points off of Lakers turnovers in this game. They outscored the Lakers 28 to 2 on the fast break. That's basically the difference in the game. So in other words, the Suns defended so well that they played the Lakers into a below average offensive game and they forced a ton of turnovers which fed their transition attack where they dominated. And again, I just want to credit everyone in the sons like Brian Gregory for the moves he made

this summer to balance out the roster, the bet he made on Mark Williams, Jordan Ott for building a scheme that matches the talent really well, and from day one of this season getting a level of buy-in from this roster that they didn't have in years past. And the guys in that locker room have been playing great defense. They just deserve a lot of credit. Now, let's move to the offense event. Dylan Brooks, man. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet.

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We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas, we invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing.

a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life, one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time.

You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramed apocal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamani Arriba, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that mess was going to be.

Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How high can it be getting me? naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? Miss Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah,

you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the, iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. The United States will not stand by and allow any power, however great, take over another country. From IHeart Podcast, Saigon. Please allow me to introduce Joseph Sherman.

You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? I should stop talking so much. I like hearing you talk. One city, a divided country, and the war that tore of America apart. This is for Vietnam. I've taken a hit from Japanese ground fire. Do you rate me? They're pouring petrol all over him. He's holding matches.

I'm on a landmine. For free time. Let's get out. Freedom from Vietnam. Run! Saigon, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict. Sting, here's madness. The world should hear about this.

There's a fire coming to this country, and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the I-heart race. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Crimless, we're joined by our first ever guest. Sorry, our first ever human guest. I don't think I could be in the same room with Shamrock the parrot. I'd be too nervous. That's right.

The very funny, Will Farrell joins Rory Scovel and me, Josh Dean, for an episode dedicated to the many crimes committed by people also named Will Farrell. They called to his fellow officer for the nippers. What are the nippers? Very good question. No, I was thinking, would that be a good name for like a salad dressing? Simple assault. And it's a play on word, salt?

Maybe not. I say we invest and we see. There's only one way to know. This did not amuse the cops. By the way, normally the cops are amused, but this did not abuse the cops. Will even comes clean about some of his own crimes. I didn't get caught. You know why?

If you don't want to be suspected of anything, you whistle as you walk. Listen to Crime List on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. But then he goes to Houston. And IMA Yudoka basically gets him to stop taking those tougher shots, especially like those pull-up mid-range twos. And suddenly his shot diet skews way more heavily towards like that typical 3-and-D archetype. Now, he still did it every once in a while, but for the most part, he trimmed the fat out of his game. And he literally became one of the very best role players in the entire NBA. And he was a big part of that turnaround in Houston.

His efficiency skyrocketed, basically became one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Just an awesome player who looked very worth the contract that he ended up signing. I think it was like four years, 80 million or whatever it was at that point in time. It was for that reason that I actually really liked this trade for Phoenix. I thought turning Kevin Durant into Dylan Brooks was obviously a talent. downgrade, but it was the perfect roster balancing trade, especially with an aging Kevin Durant. And it's worth mentioning that we still haven't even seen Jalen Green yet. Two games before he re-injured the hamstring, but we may end up seeing even more returns out of that deal.

However, I don't think any of us could have seen this type of offensive explosion from Dylan, especially after essentially trimming that from his game in Houston. all of those good-looking ISO moves from his time in Memphis, the ones he was clanking left and right, now they're going in. Last night was not an outlier performance. That was his ninth, 20-plus-point game of the season. That was his sixth, 25-plus-point game of the season.

It was his third 30-point game. He's averaging, Dylan Brooks, averaging 25 points per game over his last 10 games. He's shooting 61% from two-point range during that span. He's been deadly accurate on pull-ups, 34 for 71 on pull-up twos this year, six for 12 on floaters. That's just under 50% on pretty high volume in the mid-range. He's 66% at the rim. We didn't see too much of this last night, but he's bullying dudes like to the basket for layups on a lot of his drives. really the only thing he's not shooting well this year is the three, which is strange because he shot it pretty well in Houston.

So maybe it'll come around as the season goes along. He certainly hit a few last night. And it's making him into a legitimate offensive weapon in this league. Dylan has run 69 post-ups and ISO. So 69 one-on-ones. He's generated 77 points, including passes. That's 1.12 points per possession. That's insanely good for one-on-ones.

I'm pretty good volume. He's also been a good ball screen player. He's hit six of his nine pull-up threes in pick and roll. He's shooting 63% on twos in pick and roll. He's run 78 of them. He's got 1.23 points per possession, including passes. That's incredible. And the main thing I want to emphasize here is just how much work Dylan is done

behind the scenes to continue to refine this part of his game. he has actually some decent natural talent as a score. I always talk about scoring as a three-part skill. You have to have this audacious personality. Like, you have to be confident enough to think, I don't need to score on open shots or drive closeouts. Like, I can get a bucket on this dude one-on-one. There is an audacious confidence piece to it.

Then there's a creativity. piece to it. There's like a dance, a counter move, like a move, counter move dance to scoring. And there's a natural instinct element to it that's like a creativity. And some dudes just don't have that. Some dudes are just too robotic. They struggle with that natural dance of move,

counter move. And then the third piece of it is you have to have the touch to actually make shots. Dylan always had those first two pieces. we all know damn well Dylan has the audaciousness. He has the confidence. That kind of stuff always came naturally to Dylan. Then there's the creativity piece.

Like we talked about in Memphis, he had the natural kind of like move, counter move dance. He would make these really nice one-on-one moves and just miss the shot. The audaciousness and the creativity, those are natural talents for Dylan. What has happened is he worked his ass off behind the scenes to turn himself into a real shot maker.

Not just a shooter, but a maker. And the thousands and thousands of reps that must have taken behind the scenes. And in a really fascinating way, considering it seemed like he had basically abandoned that to a certain extent in Houston. And now he's a real matchup problem because he's got size. he's basically that typical mismatch attacking forward now that it's like you put a small on him, he's just going to pick him apart. He picked apart the Lakers guards last night. And so this development, being the legitimate defensive perimeter weapon that he is,

one of the very best perimeter defenders in the league, a guy that knows how to play advantage basketball like he learned in Houston on the offensive end, but now you're adding this like bona fide mismatch attacking forward. forward scoring piece. And he went into Los Angeles and outplayed Luca Donchage for a night. That's the level that he's capable of reaching right now. That's how much he's raised his ceiling

from where he was in recent years. And it's just a truly remarkable development. An internal improvement for Phoenix that is making them a better basketball team. And then there's Colin Gillespie. In a lot of ways, his rises kind of reminded me a little bit of Austin Reeves. and I'm not trying to make the like, oh, small white guard comparison there.

It's more just the guy who kind of finds a role on a imbalance roster just simply because he's a good, well-rounded basketball player. Austin kind of found his footing in the early part of his career on a Lakers team that had shipped out all their good role players in pursuit of Russell Westbrook. And they were in desperate need of a dude who just knew how to play. Like a guy who could do all the. little things like scrap for loose balls and be in the right place in terms of defensive discipline or attention to detail in the game plan and like a guy who could compete on

the ball defensively and at least scrap and guard. But like on the other end, that could like just make smart reads and knock down an open catch and shoot three and drive a close out and like, oh, it's the end of a clock and you need him to run a quick ball screen. He could run a quick ball screen. That's how Austin found his initial role with the Lakers. And then he blossomed over time into a more and more useful on ball player. Colin Gillespie's track with Phoenix has actually been very similar. Tort like last season on a son's team that was woefully imbalanced, too much top end ball handling, not enough well-rounded good role player basketball players.

Colin finds a role. We talked about this last year, just like not getting back cut as often or not missing box out as a box outs as often as guys like Bradley Bealwood. A guy that would just pay attention to his role in the game plan, do his job, knock down an open catch and shoot three, run the occasional ball screen. Oh, you went way under or you ran into the screen. I can hit a pull up three or I can get downhill and make a little floater. Make basic reads and driving kicks, convert spotups at a decent percentage.

That's how Colin found his initial role with the Suns last year. and then all he's done is he's continued and taken that to the next level this season. He's shooting the absolute shit out of the basketball off the catch. This is one of the big differences between him and Austin. He's a little bit more of like a natural catch-and-shoot player, whereas Austin's more of a natural, like, put the ball on the floor type of scoring guard, right? But he's shooting 51% on catch-and-shoot threes this season, shooting well with both contests and without contests.

he can drive a close out. He can hit a shot in the midrange. He can get all the way to the rim. He's converting spotups at 1.37 points per possession this year. Out of 159 players to log at least 50 spotups, that's 10th. 10th out of 159. He's been one of the best spot up players in the league this year. He's shown more and more off the dribble pop.

He's hit 15 threes off the dribble in pick and roll this year. I can't remember exactly off the top of my head, but I think that's more than he hit all season last year in pick and roll off the dribble. He's massively increased his pick and roll volume this year, not quite as efficient as he was last year, but still just slightly above average 51st percentile, hit that game winner versus Minnesota driving along the right lane line with that little floater. He's up to 13 points per game on 61% true shooting this year.

So again, the comp that I'm trying to draw there with Austin Reeves is just simply the way that he managed to get his initial opportunity with the Sons just by being a well-rounded, disciplined, like fundamentally sound basketball playing. in every facet of the game, and then that blossoming into more opportunity this year and him capitalizing on it through his own internal improvement. So in summation on the Suns, I thought they'd be like this scrappy team

that would hover just below 500, fueled by a good defense, by Devin Booker just being like a legit, floor-raising offensive engine, and overall just better buy-in and better vibes with the roster shake-up, but instead they look like a legit middle tier playoff team in the Western Conference. And it's because Jordanot, in those defensive wings,

have helped Mark Williams become a legitimate defensive anchor, which I didn't see coming, and because of the explosions offensively of guys like Dylan Brooks and Colin Gillespie. I'm sure the Sun's fans are thrilled right now, and they should be. Like, I was rooting for the Lakers last night, and even though I was annoyed by how they were playing, I actually really enjoyed watching that game because the Suns played a really fun brand of basketball.

I enjoyed watching the Suns kick their ass because they were playing such fun basketball. And they're not going anywhere. Barring severe injuries, that's a playoff team to me. They look like a clear top eight in that Western conference to me. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.

And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast. Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.

Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down. Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramedipausal chin here you do.

So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamani Arriba, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her,

so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive, wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be? Getting naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard now. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series

because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I say, you figure it out. real quick. Ah, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. The United States will not stand by and allow any power, however great, take over another country. From IHeart Podcast, Saigon. Please allow me to introduce Joseph Sherman. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? I should stop talking so much. I like hearing you talk.

One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. This is for Vietnam. I've taken a hit from Japanese ground fire. Do you rate me? They're pouring petrol all over him. He's holding matches. I'm on a landmine. Four free time.

Let's get out. Freedom for Vietnam. Saigon, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict. Sting, here's madness. The world should hear about it. this. There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Crimless, we're joined by our first ever guest.

Sorry, our first ever human guest. I don't think I could be in the same room with Shamrock the pair. I'd be too nervous. That's right. The very funny, Will Ferrell, joins Rory Scoble and me, Josh Dean, for an episode dedicated to the many crimes committed by people also named Will Farrell. They called to his fellow officer for the nippers. What are the nippers? Very good question.

No, I was thinking, would that be a good name for like a salad dressing? Simple assault? And it's a play on word, salt? Maybe not. I say we invest and we see. There's only one way to know. This did not amuse the cops. By the way, normally the cops are amused. But this did not abuse the cops.

Will even comes clean about some of his own crimes. I didn't get caught. You know why? If you don't want to be suspected of anything, you whistle as you walk. Listen to crime lists on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Lakers front, whenever this kind of stuff happens, there's two different perspectives to take, right? There's the, oh, this is just what happens in the regular season. like, you know, the Lakers, for instance, playing a really light stretch of their schedule, building some bad habits, kind of operating at a different speed. And then Phoenix just played

Oklahoma City in Denver, right? So, like, they're, they've been in the trenches for about a week now. They're operating at like a higher level of competitiveness and physicality than the Lakers are. Some kind of stuff will just happen like this in the regular season, whatever, like just move on. you're 15 and 5. That's one attitude to have, right? But then the other side of this is like, there were some real basketball dynamics at play in this game that we've seen before from this version of this Lakers team

against similar types of opponents, which at least makes it worth acknowledging as a potential vulnerability with this team. So what do the Sons do that's different than most NBA teams? They're big and physical and athletic on the perimeter. They got guys that they can put on LeBron and on Luca that make them uncomfortable, make things harder for them. And on Austin as well.

They get up into you with ball pressure. They try to punk you. They try to physically dominate you. And it's worth mentioning this is not the first time that we've seen these Lakers succumb to that type of pressure and physicality. We saw it against the thunder about, you know, three weeks ago. go. We saw it against the Timberwolves in the first round last year. It is a legitimate vulnerability with this team. Now, to be clear, the Lakers are absolutely capable of beating

this type of team. The Lakers have responded to their first round loss to the Timberwolves by returning the favor at regular season style, but they've dominated the Timberwolves to start this season. They beat him with Luca and Austin. They beat him with just Austin in Minnesota. The Lakers last year had a couple of great games against the Thunder. Before Luca fouled out, it looked or got himself ejected. It looked like they were going to go two and oh against the Thunder in the regular season last year. The same thunder that's a transcendently great defense, they handled the pressure, didn't turn the basketball over, moved to the ball through Oklahoma City's defense, got great shots, knocked them down. They kicked their ass in one of those two games.

What's the difference? What's the difference between the two wins against the game? Minnesota this year, the one win against Oklahoma City last year and the impressive performance against Oklahoma City before Luca gets ejected versus the absolute thrashing they took from the thunder this year, the absolute thrashing they took from the suns this year, and the embarrassing performance in round one against the Timberwolves back in April. What's the difference between those two outcomes? It's all about their ball handlers in the way they manage the pressure. In the losses, Austin and Luca have been bad. They've turned the ball over. They've looked flustered.

They've lost control of the game in transition, and they've gotten run off the floor. In the wins, they've methodically handled the pressure. They've made good reads. They've scored the ball. And they've kept control of the pace of the game, kept things in the half court, and they've looked great. So to be clear, vulnerability is not the same as a decence. It's just about acknowledging a weakness, being aware that it's the demon you have to conquer if you want to reach your ultimate goals. In a seven-game series, if you toast off a game or two where you turn the ball over 25 times and give up 35 points in transition, that can be a lot to overcome. I just think this is worth mentioning because when you talk about the conversation surrounding

the potential trade market for the Lakers this year, like I too, like many others, believe that if the Lakers can get a legit starting caliber small forward, someone like a Herb Jones or an Andrew Wiggins, if they can pull that off, I think they become one of the legitimate contenders in the league. I think they're on the same tier with Houston and Denver as a team that is a legit upset threat against OKC if we all acknowledge that OKC is the clear number one. I think they're a trade away from that. But that's just because that sort of guy can help them on defense and help them athletically and help anchor some of their best lineup so that they have a clear five that they can go to at the end of games. That does nothing to alleviate this specific

vulnerability against this specific type of opponent. This is a demon that Austin and Luca have to conquer for them to work together as a duo moving forward. And in the short term for LeBron as well, for at least this year, maybe next year, as he's part of this system. Having a Herb Jones on the floor isn't going to matter if Austin and Luca can't take care of the ball against big physical athletic perimeter defenders. You know, we talk about this concept a lot on this show, but like basketball too often is presented in absolutes.

Like, oh, this team can't do that. Or this player can't do this. or this team sucks at defense or this guy can't shoot. And the reality is all that stuff is determined night tonight. Like nobody cares if you think Lou Dort can't shoot if he's making the big threes that save his team in a big playoff game like he did a couple times last year. Nobody cares if you don't think the Denver Nuggets can play defense.

If they suddenly defend like a champion in 2023 on their way to hoisting the trophy. Nobody cares if you got punked by the Timberwolves in the first round. Nobody cares like Austin Reeves, for example. Like right now he's viewed as a bad playoff player because of what happened against Minnesota. After 2023, you're like, oh my God, 8 20 point playoff games. This dude's a playoff riser. Like it's all night tonight. It's all, what have you done for me lately?

The narrative is just the narrative. That's for guys like me to talk about. That's not the same as what happens when you throw the ball up at center. court. So if you're the Lakers, it doesn't matter if you got punked by the timber wolves in April and you got punked by the thunder in November and you got punked by the suns in December. If you turn around in April and you face one of those teams and you take care of the basketball and you handle the ball pressure and you pass through their defense and you score and knock down shots off of the attention you draw,

which we know they can do because we've seen them do it to Minnesota this season. We saw them do it to Oklahoma City last season. They are capable, but they are also capable of succumbing to it. That's going to be the determining factor of this Lakers team and what they can achieve this year. Can they conquer those demons?

Making that sort of trade for a Herb Jones or an Andrew Wiggins, that will bolster your talent level. That will define some of your best lineups. that will give you better roster balance. That will make you better defensively. That will make you better on the glass. That'll make you more athletic in transition. Those things will certainly help.

But whether or not they beat Oklahoma City or whether or not they can handle a first round matchup with a Minnesota or a random regular season game against Phoenix, or hell, if Phoenix jumps up to seven and the Lakers get the two seed and you end up facing them in the first round, if the Lakers are going to beat that sort of team, that is going to come down to their stars and them conquering the demon

of being able to handle that ball pressure and not turn the basketball over. The beautiful thing about the game of basketball is you almost always get another chance to prove yourself. You live to fight another day. The Lakers will play Phoenix again on December 23rd. Go into Phoenix, take care of the basketball, play better on offense, beat those dudes.

No one's going to give a damn what happened on December 1st. The Lakers will play some good teams on this road trip. Toronto's a good basketball team, another big physical athletic team that likes to run the floor in transition. They're going to present a challenge on Thursday night. That'll be another opportunity, right? A couple of weeks from now, the Lakers might get San Antonio and Oklahoma City in the in-season tournament.

San Antonio, big physical perimeter team. Oklahoma City is the rematch of that destructive blowout they experience in November. So they are going to get more chances throughout this season to try to address this. And inevitably, probably in the first round, at the very latest by the second or third round, they're going to face one of these teams that's big and physical on the perimeter that can get up in them and make their guys uncomfortable. And they're going to have to conquer that demon. That is separate from any roster concern.

That is the conquering that this Lakers team needs to do in order to reach their goals. All right, guys, it's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. Again, I know I wanted to do that deep dive into Phoenix today. I know we spent like a half hour there, but like we will get to plenty of more teams throughout the rest of this week. We'll have more game reaction tomorrow. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. And I'll see you tomorrow morning.

Hey, guys, it's us and the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. Nice. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it out. We're the first people to do podcasts.

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation.

I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn someday into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio, nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7. Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake.

Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's when things seem worst that you must not quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day.

Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. The story I told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This mental health awareness month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.