The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Top 5 NBA Takeaways: How Celtics won, what cost Mavericks & Lakers

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

Jason Timpf shares his Top 5 takeaways following the 2024 NBA season. Jason breaks down the biggest lessons he learned over the course of the regular season and playoffs which ended with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics defeating Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Jason discusses the biggest factors that contributed to Boston's title as well as what cost Dallas, LeBron James' Lakers, and everyone else who came up short. 7:00 - Jason’s NBA postseason picks 9:00 - Takeaway #1 - Regular season success doesn’t protect you from a bad matchup. 16:00 - Takeaway #2 - The team that is most matchup resilient is at or near the top of the standings 26:00 - Takeaway #3 -Rim pressure is the primary driving force behind shot quality 36:00 - Takeaway #4 - Offensive organization matters 53:00 - Takeaway #5 - Defensive versatility 01:02:00 - What will next year's champion look like? (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilts of coverage. conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume.

Get ready for a night full of big fights and big action. It's UFC 303, and it can be even bigger. Jump in on all the action at Draft King Sportsbook, the official sports betting partner of the U.S. It's super easy for first timers to get started. Try betting on something simple, like picking a fighter to win. Go to the Draft King Sportsbook app, select your fighter, and place your first bet. It's that simple. The light heavyweight title is on the line in the main event.

But there are so many more amazing matchups happening in Vegas. And speaking of amazing, if you're new to Draft Kings, listen up. New customers bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app now and use code hoops. That's H-O-O-P-S. That's code hoops for new customers. to get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just $5. Get that big fight feel.

Only on Draft Kings. Draft Kings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 Gambler or in West Virginia, visit www. www.1-800 gambler.net. In New York, call 8778-8-N-Y or text Hope N.Y to 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling.

Call 888-78-9-77-7-7-7. or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. 21 plus age varies by jurisdiction. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. Deposit and eligibility restrictions apply. See terms, eligibility, and responsible gaming resources at dkng.com slash m.A. Welcome to Hoops Tonight here at the Volume.

Happy Wednesday, everybody. Hope all of you guys are having a great week so far. So we were supposed to get to this show last week, but then the JJ Redick news kind of pushed it off for a couple of days. And then obviously at the beginning of this week, I wanted to get to some draft stuff just so it had a couple of days before the draft actually happened, which is very soon, as you guys know.

So we are finally going to get around to our five biggest takeaways from this NBA postseason. This is a podcast that we do every single year right after the playoffs. It is a basketball tactics focused podcast. And the goal of it is, to put it simply, we are trying to learn as much about the game in the long run. We are all students of the game of basketball, right? So, like, we want to learn from what happened in this playoff run, as well as what has happened in recent playoff runs,

put all that information into, like, a basketball worldview that helps us understand. And obviously, predictions are a fool's errand. No one ever predicts everything correctly. But we do want to try to do better, right? It's just, it is a, it is something that we strive to do, even though we know we're going to fail, right? Like, we're going to fail. We're going to get wrong picks. We're going to misread series. The, But we want to try as hard as we can to learn and understand the game at a higher level. And so we have two months of data, two months of new data from these 15 playoff series that we just watched. And we're going to try to sort through that to find the five biggest takeaways to help us understand NBA basketball at a higher level as we move into future seasons.

You guys know the drill before we get started. 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 your announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed, wherever you get your podcast under hoops tonight. And then keep dropping mailbag questions in the YouTube comments. I know we bumped the mailbag for the JJ Redick News, so I owe you guys one. But we're going to get to that at the end of this week so that it can run over the weekend. So keep dropping mailbag questions in those YouTube comments.

And the last minute at least, before we get started, I want to talk to you guys about game time. An amazing ticket buying experience. Had a great experience with them earlier this year when I went to McAil Center to watch the University of Arizona men's basketball team. It's kind of a last minute thing. Got a great seat. got a great deal, knew exactly what I was getting before I showed up to the arena. It was just an awesome experience. I want you guys to check it out.

Yeah, there's not any professional basketball anymore for us to watch, but we've got Major League Baseball, we've got concerts, we've got comedy shows. I'm going to see Dead & Company at the Sphere, the week of the, the Week of Summer League. There's also a USA Basketball Showcase against Canada that week that you can get tickets to. There are plenty of events between that kind of stuff, Major League Baseball, comedy shows. There are plenty of things for you guys to go see, and GameTime has a great experience for you guys there. They've all in pricing,

so you don't have to worry about getting surprised when you're checking out. It's not a convoluted process. You can check out in as few as two taps. You know exactly what your seat looks like in the app before you actually show up to the arena. Can't recommend it enough. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account,

use code Hoops for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account, and redeem code Hoops. That's H-O-O-O-P-S. for $20 off your first purchase. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, let's talk some basketball. So in terms of picks, this is actually kind of a funny playoff run. So we had 15 series, right? We picked 10 of them correctly. The blind spots were Minnesota and New York. So all five series that I picked incorrectly either involved the Knicks or the

Timberwolves. I picked the Timberwolves to lose to the Suns based on their regular season record, also some game plan stuff with Frank Vogel that I thought would work against Minnesota could not have been more wrong. That was a sweep. I picked the Timberwolves to lose to Denver. That was one of the most bizarre series I can ever remember seeing between Minnesota going up 2-0 on the road and then getting their ass kicked at home twice and then Denver winning game five and then blowout game six, Denver being up 20 in the second half of game seven, Minnesota coming back to win with that crazy run. That was a wild series, but I picked against the Timberwolves in that one. And then I picked for the Timberwolves.

against the Mavericks, and then they ended up getting their ass kick. So Timberwolves were a major blind spot for me this year. And then the Knicks. I picked against the Knicks in the Sixers series because I thought Tyrese Maxie and Joel Embed would just kind of present two layers of top-tier shot creation against one. And I just thought in the half court it'd be too much of an advantage. But the Knicks more than made up for it with their toughness. And then Jalen Brunson just reached a level in this playoff run that I didn't think he was capable of,

to be honest. And he just proved me wrong in a lot of ways. And then I picked the Knicks to beat the Pacers. Obviously, there were some injuries there. But I did think that was funny looking back out of the, I picked 10 out of the 15 series, correct, and all five of the incorrect picks were involved with the same two teams. So that goes to show you that those were major blind spots for me,

and I got to try to learn from those so that we can avoid those mistakes in the future. So without any further ado, let's get to the five biggest things that I learned in this postseason run. Regular season success doesn't protect you from a bad matchup. So, for instance, the Bucks were a better team than the Pacers all year long. But even extending into the regular season, they could not handle Indiana's perimeter speed on both ends of the floor. Just their ability to move quicker, cover more ground, beat people to spots on offense,

beat people off the dribble. When the Bucks were on defense, it was just an incessant mismatch and overall speed on the floor. Milwaukee could never contain the ball in half court or in transition. It was a problem for them that they never solved. And so, yeah, obviously there were injuries involved. But that manifested even before Janus's injury in the regular season when the Bucks just consistently struggled with that Indiana Pacers team.

I think the Nuggets were a better basketball team overall top to bottom than Minnesota. but Minnesota had the ability to back pressure Jamal Murray in ball screens and the size to fatigue Yokic and play him into a bad defensive series and they couldn't keep Anthony Edwards in front off the dribble. In retrospect, looking back at that Bruce Brown piece that they let go over the summer, that would have been a guy that could have swung that series back in favor of Denver. Something to keep in mind as we see teams that let go of important role players after winning. a title. We saw the bucks after 2021, they let go of PJ Tucker that they end up losing in the second round the next year. Obviously, injuries played a role, right? We even see just decline from specific

players from the Warriors. They look like a different team. The Lakers throw out their entire championship roster two years later. They end up falling apart. Like a lot of times we underrate the contributions of important role players. And Bruce Brown was the one player on Denver that could have athletically, at least given Anthony Edwards a tougher job to beat off the dribble and in terms of just matching some of his physicality. I also think Jamal Murray's injury was something that I thought was interesting there in the sense that I talked about during the regular season. I would have been surprised if Denver didn't win the title as long as all five of their starters were healthy. And as it turned out, Jamal Murray with his calf, that ankle injury that Katavius called

a Pope suffered in game five against the Lakers where he was starting to get, he ended up having and go back to the locker room in that game. They just got a little banged up, a little fatigued, and it ended up being an issue. But during the regular season, I thought the Nuggets were a better basketball team than Minnesota. Big thing that people forget, too, is when Jamal Murray was healthy, the Nuggets won at over a 61-win pace.

So, like, they were a team on Boston's tier when they were actually healthy and whole. It was when Jamal Murray was out that they, you know, kind of hovered around 500, and it put them into a predicament in the state. endings, but the Nuggets were a traditional top-tier contender that ran into a tier two contender, but because it was a bad matchup, they ended up losing. And we're going to get into some of the match-up stuff later.

But, like, the Timberwolves were a better team than the Mavericks all year long. But the Mavs couldn't protect the rim, and Luka was too big for all of Minnesota's, excuse me, the Mavs could protect the rim. So, like, Anthony Edwards driving against Yusuf Nerkich, no matchup there. Anthony Edwards driving against Nicola Yolkich, no problem there, right? Anthony Edwards driving with Daniel Gafford and Derek lively under the rim, totally different situation. His rim attempts and efficiency cratered in that series, it was a huge problem, right?

So even though the Timberwolves were a better team than the Mavericks all year long, the Mavs could keep Anthony Edwards away from the rim, and Luca was too big for Jane McDaniels, and he was too big for Anthony Edwards, and he was too big for everybody, and it rendered the strength of Minnesota's defense, their perimeter core, It rendered it effectively useless. And that became a problem that Minnesota couldn't overcome. So like regular season success just does not protect you from a bad matchup.

The last example that I wanted to give was the Mavericks defense. Maverick's defense was really good in the first three rounds. They had a 11-deven defensive rating. But they fell apart in the finals. And everyone's going to point to the offensive rating because Boston only was at, I think, like 1-16 offensive rating or something like that. but it wasn't about the aggregate offensive rating. It was moments in time where Dallas literally could not get stops. In the first half of game one, Boston had a 134 offensive rating as they built that massive deficit,

which effectively was the game. In game two, there was a 16 minute span between the second and third quarters, 16 minutes, so a little over a quarter, where Boston scored 44 points on Dallas's defense, went from a one-point game to a 13-point game in 16 minutes because their defense completely fell apart. In game three, it was a seven-point game with three minutes left in the third quarter. Boston scores 19 points over the next four minutes, and they're up by 21. It was an onslaught where Dallas's defense cracked, right?

In game four, Boston had a 146 offensive rating in the first half. So just time and time again, that defense for Dallas, which was a strength in specific matchups, as soon as they ran into Boston, a team that could truly space them out, drive and kick at every single position, all of a sudden Dallas's defense looked like it wasn't up to the challenge. And so that's the key here.

That's the first major lesson. Matchup resiliency matters. To win four rounds, and again, to hoist Larry O'Brien, you need to win four rounds. Not three. Not two. You have to win four.

In order to win four rounds, you will likely have to beat different types of teams led by different types of stars. Minnesota was able to guard Devin Booker and Kevin Durant extremely well. And Bradley Beale. They were able to guard Jamal Murray extremely well. They could not guard Luca Donchage. So, like, again, it's about beating different types of teams. It's about being able to contend with different types of stars.

It's, that is, look at Denver last year. having Aaron Gordon to guard every big forward along the way. Aaron Gordon can guard LeBron who's big and strong. Like, Jaden McDaniels is a better defender than Aaron Gordon. He's capable of guarding more types of guys. But Aaron Gordon is good at guarding big forwards. So that specific matchup gave Denver a defensive strength for the types of players they had to go through.

KD, no problem. LeBron James, no problem. Jimmy Butler, no problem, right? Jaden McDaniels on Luca, big fucking problem, right? And so that's where that matchup resiliency matters. Number two, the team that is the most matchup resilient is always a team that is at or near the top of the standings. This was a fascinating stat that I pulled, those of you guys who listened to the Cowherd Show after the finals will remember this one. Actually, I think this was from the Yovan Buhas show.

In the last 13 years, 12 of the NBA champions had one of the four best records in the league. 12 out of 13 times top four in the standings. The one exception was the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, who, if I remember correctly, Brooke Lopez missed a huge chunk of that season. They were consistently a top of the standings team in the years surrounding that year. And that was that weird COVID season where all those replacement players were playing. It was just a weird season, right? So, like, you can kind of throw that one out.

NBA history tells us, modern NBA history tells us, if you want to actually hoist Larry O'Brien, then you need to be one of the four best records in the league over the course of the 82, right? Now, why is that? Because, like, we do see teams get close, right? Over the course of 82 is when you establish habits. It's when you demonstrate your attention to detail.

Habits and attention to detail are what carry you in adversity. When you find yourself in a big game, and it's game five of the series, and it's 8585 with five minutes left, and everyone's nervous, no one's shooting well, it's a rock fight, what are we going to do? Generally speaking, the team that is really sharp with their habits, that shows great attention to detail, they're going to make fewer mistakes and execute better over the final five minutes and give themselves, a better chance to win.

That is why it's one of the top four seeds that always wins. It's not just talent. Talent is a big part of it, and that's what I have next on the notes. Reflection of talent. Super talented teams will just find a way to win games, and therefore will be at the top of the standings. But it is both. It is a demonstration of your talent,

and it is a demonstration of your attention to detail and the time you've spent establishing habits that will carry you when you get into adverse situations in the NBA postseason. So we know from number one, you got to be able to beat different types of matchups, right? Like teams lose to lesser teams in the standings all the time because of a bad matchup. That said, the team that is most matchup resilient is always at the top. Now, I say in the top four, meaning sometimes those guys get exposed,

but the team that actually holds the trophy is going to be one of those teams. What that means is next year, when there's a team that is, the seventh best record in the league or the ninth best record in the league and we're like this team can win the title probably not though NBA history tells us probably not right and and again like that that that to me is a consistent piece it's like I'm a I'm a lakers fan you guys know I have bias there right there's a reason why I never put them in that top tier of contenders and the reason was simple. MBA history tells us you got to be one of those teams. You, it is always a, oh, the one Laker team that won under LeBron James started 24 and 3 was the number one seat in the Western

Conference. That's not a coincidence. That is a reflection of one, how talented that team was, and two, how seriously they approached the regular season from day one. So, I do think that at some point in the next 10 years, we'll see a team that's outside of the top four that sneaks in and wins a championship. It'll probably happen, just like the Bucks did in 2021, right? But that is exceedingly rare. And so when we're talking about these things, when it comes time to rank contenders at the end of the year or in the middle of the year, chances are the team that hoist the trophy will be in that top four. Preparing for your upcoming fantasy football draft, do you wish that you could wave a magic wand and somehow know who exactly your league mates are going to take?

Well, with draft intel from fantasy pros, you'll know exactly how your league mates draft better than they do. Draft Intel will automatically analyze your league's history to see who rushes to the draft board first to take a quarterback, who takes too many rookies, and who is going to reach for their favorite teams players over and over again. Everybody hates a homer and every league has one of them. But right now, you can put all that intel to the test by bringing those patterns directly into a mock draft and make your mock draft feel like the real thing.

Check out fantasy pros.com slash volume today to get an edge over your leaguemates right now and forever. 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. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes

of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a gas. galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the look back at it, podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people

scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, iHeartRadio app, search, learn the hard way, and listen now.

Number three, getting into some basketball tactics. Rim pressure is the primary driving force behind shot quality. However, It can be generated in a bunch of different ways. It is a team endeavor. What is rim pressure? Rim pressure is the ability to get the ball close to the rim,

either for quality rim attempts or to draw multiple defenders for quality perimeter attempts, right? But everything starts with rim pressure. A good NBA shot, a good basketball shot, begins with a paint touch, begins with the ability to get the ball in the paint in some way, shape, or form. And that is a prerequisite. So what I mean by that is when we see teams that struggle to generate rim pressure, something to keep in mind when we get into later playoff rounds and how resilient their

offense can be, right? How do you generate rim pressure? As I mentioned, there's a bunch of different ways. One, beating people off the dribble. This is the most basic version of it, right? This is what Boston does most of the time. Boston generates rim pressure in other ways, too. Like, they'll slip out of actions into the short roll area and just throw the ball over the top.

they'll post up. Sometimes Boston does it different ways. But the main way that Boston generates room pressure is just you can't keep Jason and Tatum in front off the dribble. You can't keep Jalen Brown in front off the dribble. Neither is like you're going to see Drew Holiday beat people off the dribble. You're going to see Derek White beat people off the dribble. They generate space and they beat people off the dribble.

That is the foundational starting point of Boston's offense. Once they beat someone off the dribble, that's when they start playing advantage basketball, which we've talked about at length on this show. But that first step is the important part. If you can't get that first bit of dribble penetration, then Boston's offense can struggle, right? If you can't get that first slip of a ball screen that gets that paint touch,

that's where everything starts. Remember when Boston had that really rough stretch of offense spanning the second and third quarters of game one in the finals? There was a stretch there for like four minutes where they literally didn't get a single paint touch. That is the foundational piece of quality NBA shots. Got to get the ball in the paint. So beating people off the dribble, roll gravity in pick and roll, right?

So like Dallas, for instance, their rim pressure wasn't Luca or Kyrie toasting people off the dribble on straight line drives. It was methodically working downhill with this vertical spacer, this rim threat barreling down the lane that if you didn't tag, he was get dunking everything. And if you did tag, that was where they got the quality perimeter attempts in the skip pass to the corner, right? roll gravity and pick and roll is another way to generate rim pressure. That extends beyond traditional pick and roll too to slipping.

So like when Luca would get blitzed, if you could throw the ball to Derek Lively, Derek Lively's barreling down the lane, that's rim pressure in a different way, right? Three, cutting along the baseline. So this is like, like I talked about earlier, if Derek Lively's barreling down the lane and you have that opening for a guy to cut along the baseline, if it's an athlete that can dunk everything, that is rim pressure. Aaron Gordon does that for the nuggets. Ruby Hachamura and LeBron and AD, all three of them do that for the Lakers, right?

Like rolling and cutting are important ways to generate rim pressure in similar ways to what dribble penetration does. And then lastly, attacking the offensive glass. This was what the New York Knicks did for rim pressure. Jalen Brunson wasn't toasting people off the dribble. They pressured the rim with relentless crashing from the perimeter mainly by their guards, but also from their bigs, to dominate on the offensive glass. That was how they pressured the rim, right?

But all of those different methods, dribble penetration, roll gravity, cutting gravity, offensive glass crashing, all of those have counters that defenses can use to minimize, right? So for instance, like Minnesota was really good at beating people off the dribble, but as soon as they packed the paint with rim protection, it rendered that useless and suddenly Minnesota had a big problem, right? Dallas, they had the advantage of roll gravity for their rim pressure. Well, Boston puts Jason Tatum onto their center and Al Horford switching screens that involved

Derek Jones Jr., suddenly that role gravity is completely mitigated. Dallas can't generate rim pressure. Their offense falls apart, right? So as much as rim pressure is valuable, it's important to be able to do it in a resilient way against different kinds of defense. How do you handle beating people off the dribble by packing the paint? How do you handle roll gravity switching ball screens? How do you handle cutting along the baseline? In order for cuts to be open, you have to have that initial advantage. So as long as you shut off the dribble and shut off the pick and roll, those cuts aren't even open anymore.

As far as the offensive glass goes, it's much harder to defensive rebound when you're in rotation. So if you're containing the ball and you're containing the roll, offensive rebounds are that much harder to get, right? So like, it's not just rim pressure, it's resilient rim pressure. So for instance, Dallas was good at generating rim pressure on the roll, but bad on the dribble. And so when the roll was shut down, they had no other way to generate rim pressure, right? Offense falls apart.

Minnesota great at driving, but no additional. kinds of rim pressure. Their roller, Rudy Gobert, is one of the worst role men in the league. He has stone hands, struggles to make layups. If it's not a wide open dunk, he's not getting it, right? Also, Minnesota's passers are not great at actually making the lob pass when it's available. And so basically, the roll gravity piece is missing for Minnesota, right? And so when one gets shut off, everything gets shut off, right? So what's fascinating to me about Boston is they had resilient rim pressure. If you put an excellent perimeter

defender on Jason Tatum and you made his life a living hell, someone else was beating somebody off the dribble. Try packing the pain against Boston. It's not going to work. They're too good at shooting. Right. So like when we see a dribble drive team with a dribble drive guard, if they're going to win

four rounds, they're probably going to need to space the floor really well, meaning they're going to need to have a lot of shooting around them. If they're a pick and roll team, team and they generate their rim pressure through the role, they better have a counter. So for instance, one of the things that I was kind of disappointed in is I did not think Luca did enough work in the post against Boston. That is a great counter.

I should have listed that as one of the ways you can generate rim pressure. Posting up is a way to generate rim pressure. And that's the thing. Like, when teams switch ball screens against LeBron and AD, what do they do? They spam LeBron and AD post-ups as a counter to that. Right. So like again, having multiple ways to generate rim pressure so that you can do so against multiple types of defenses that ultimately will lead to consistent high quality shots. Right. So the last piece of this is creating space. If you can create space that allows you to maintain rim pressure. How can you create space? Two ways. Shooting and spacing the floor with ball and player movement, right? Start with shooting. The last three champions were all elite shooting teams. Boston, elite shooters at all eight rotation spots. That was how they generated spacing. Denver, it was kind of inverted, because Aaron Gordon was running along the baseline and he's not a good spacer, but because Yokic could operate away from the basket that created a spot for Aaron Gordon to operate along the baseline, and then all four other starting spots were elite shooters. When they won the title, Yokic was an elite shooter. Jamal Murray was in. elite shooter. Michael Porter Jr. was an elite shooter. Cantavius Caldwell Pope was an elite shooter. So,

like, they had elite shooting at the other four spots in a perfect spot on the floor that was vacant for Aaron Gordon to operate. That was where they generated their spacing. Golden State, Kavanaugh and Dremont Green were dribble handoff guys, so like they didn't need to shoot. They were primarily operating as fulcrums in the offense, but every other player could shoot. They shot 38% from three as a team in that playoff run. Lots of guys for them stepped up in knocked down shots. And so the ability to shoot the basketball is a prerequisite nowadays. The last three champions were all really good shooting teams. The second piece of it, spacing the floor with ball and player movement. So this was the rub on Dallas, right? They ran the

occasional action, but for the most part, it was a brute force. Here's a guard screen at the start of the possession to get a switch for Luca. Now we're going to run a ball screen. They did some things like they'd clear the side occasionally. They'd occasionally run a stack pick and roll or a double drag or something like that. They ran occasional action, but for the most part, it was very heliocentric, very brute force, very methodical, very predictable, right? And they made themselves easy to guard in Boston shut them down. The last three teams to win the title were all teams that either had excellent ball or player movement. How did Boston win?

Ball movement, right? beating someone off the dribble, trusting the pass. The ball's popping around. This guy's driving, that guy's driving, this guy's driving, that guy's driving. We're getting a great shot out of it, right? How did Denver win? Awesome player movement, right? They're a quintessential five-out offense.

How did Golden State win? Awesome player movement, right? They're a quintessential five-out offense. They had to rely on some pick-and-roll against Boston's drop coverage in the NBA finals, but they also ran a lot of their five-out motion over the course of that series. So they generated space with ball and player movement. You have to be able to shoot. You have to keep defenses guessing with the ball and players moving around as much as possible.

Number four, offensive organization matters. This is something that I was late to the party on. And it's something that I had a little bit too close-minded of an opinion on before the last couple of seasons and something that just covering the NBA very closely helped me learn. I used to be, those of you guys who have listened to the show for a while will remember this. I used to be a believer in brute force offense. And part of that is because I grew up watching LeBron James, the one guy in NBA history who's been able to, like, dominate games

in a very heliocentric type of manner, although I think it's overstated how heliocentric he was compared to some of the guys that do it now. but LeBron was a guy who could slowly dribble the ball at the floor and call for a ball screen and it just somehow was resilient through four rounds of the playoffs consistently, right? Like it worked for him in a way, but I mean, like LeBron is probably the most gifted athlete

to ever play in the NBA, if not the most gifted athlete to ever play a sport. So like he's the exception that proves the rule, right? But like when it comes to brute force offense, it worked in in NBA history with overly dominant physical presences, right? But for the most part, in order to be a functional offense through multiple rounds, through multiple matchups with real resiliency, you do have to be more complicated in your offensive approach. This is something, again, I was late to the party, but to me, the Dallas series just hammered at home.

Luca, in terms of the heliocentric guy, no one's doing it better than Luca. right now. And strictly on the offensive end, he was doing it at a level pretty close to what Prime LeBron did, right? Like, that's how good Luca was. And Boston shut their offense down. Guys, it wasn't, they were down a little bit. They were down like 20% from where they were in the regular season. Their offense completely cratered against Boston because they were too rudimentary there wasn't enough complication in their approach. They made themselves easy to guard. And even the guy that might be the best player in the world,

I think he's probably closer to second. But a guy who's a bona fide top tier superstar was rendered relatively ineffective. Regardless of what his box score numbers were, their offense didn't function. And that to me was like the final nail in the coffin for that archaic belief that I had. I think you need to have legitimate ball and player movement

to win in the modern NBA. And so I broke this down into four parts. I should say three parts with an overarching take. First of all, you got to run action to start possessions. Like at the very least, you need to be diligent when you get the ball up the floor in the early phase of the clock to run something that is more complex than just a ball screen with a spaced floor. To me, what I'm looking at here for the most part is things like three-man action.

So let's just take horn sets, for example. if you at least start the possession with three guys involved, a ball handler and two additional screeners, and maybe it's a screen the screener, maybe it's a double drag, maybe it's just something complicated at the start of the possession,

it will make it harder for the base defense to run their base defensive scheme, right? They're going to get into some confusing situations because there's three people involved with that initial action rather than two. And like, again, there are going to be possessions where you run two-man game early in sets, right? If you're pushing transition and the transition defense gets back and you swing it back out to the perimeter and you flow into a ball screen.

I'm not saying that you're not going to have possessions like that that are in the flow. Of course you are. But I think every NBA team should be striving to have a higher percentage of their offense, a higher percentage of their possessions that begin with something more complicated. Just something simple like, like, think of, for example, like Horn's Chest, the play that the Lakers used to run for LeBron to or still run for LeBron to get a jump shot, right? So Anthony Dave, just imagine I'm the ball handler. I'm standing at the top of the key extended out close to half court, right? I've got Anthony Davis on the left elbow extended up to the three point line. And I have LeBron at the right elbow extended up to the three point line.

I dribble off of LeBron on a ball screen and then LeBron comes off of AD. and a flare screen, you skip the ball to LeBron over there. From there, if he's not open, LeBron can catch and flow into a dribble handoff with the guy coming out of the corner, and now we can run five-out motion, right? But at the very least, at the start of the possession, we're going to make them defend something complicated, right? And the idea is, let's say that's Austin Reeves that's on the ball. If Austin Reeves comes off of LeBron at that right elbow, if LeBron's man shows at

all, then LeBron already has separation as he comes off that second screen. If LeBron's man doesn't show and LeBron sets a good screen, Austin Reeves is going downhill of the basket. He has to show, right? But once he shows, now as LeBron comes off the screen from AD, now A.D.'s man has to show. If he doesn't, then LeBron gets a wide open catch and shoot three. And he got a lot of wide open catch and shoot threes out of that set this year.

It's a big part of, they ran it a lot because LeBron was shooting catch and shoot three so well, right? So if LeBron's man doesn't show, Austin's going to the rim. If he does, when LeBron comes off A.D., now A.D.'s man has to make a decision. If A.D. A.D.'s man shows, and Austin's man is chasing him and LeBron's man showed on Austin, now A.D. is wide open on the roll, right? It gets much more complicated. Even from the standpoint of switching, there are ways that that gets complicated. Okay. man switches on to LeBron. LeBron's man switches on to Austin.

Then AD's man switches on to LeBron, blah, blah, blah. That gets complicated. And now that opens things up for switches, bot switches, slips. Like, what if LeBron ran like he was going to go off AD and then just suddenly cut down to the basket? They fuck up the switch. Now he's wide open on the slip.

Like, that sort of three-man action is just so much harder to guard than a two-man action. A two-man action, it's like, are we switching? Cool. Are we icing? Cool. Are we in drop? Are we in deep drop?

Or am I blitzing? Am I hedging? Whatever it is. It's just so much easier to manage in a two-man game than it is in a three-man game. If you just run up the floor and run stack, pick and roll. Meaning like you set up a ball screen, but you have, as LeBron's coming off of AD, you have Austin backscreen for AD's man. It's the same sort of thing.

If Austin's man shows to stop AD on the roll, then Austin's going to be wide open for three at the top of the key, right? If he doesn't, then AD is going to be wide open on the lob, or LeBron's going to be able to go all the way to the rim for a layup, because Austin just backscreens their rim protector, right? Like, those are, again, I'm not sitting here acting like they're the magic elixir. Like, if you run three-man action, you're just going to get a wide open look every single time. It just makes it harder.

It makes it easier for you as the offense to get the defense in rotation. Again, if LeBron, let's imagine the horn's chest set like I just described, which again is just Austin dribbles off LeBron. LeBron comes off a flare from AD at the top of the key. If LeBron catches there on the wing and he's not wide open, chances are the defender's closing out at him. If he's closing out at him, LeBron can flow into a dribble handoff, and now that next action gets complicated because LeBron's defender is out of position. All it is like, think of it as like trying to crack the defense, the defenses, right?

You crack it at first so it breaks on the next action. And those are the phases, right? There's all these phases to offense, right? there's the push and transition, right? Then there's early offense, which is like semi-transition, right? So if you push in transition and you don't get a dunk, usually teams will have basic transition principles for early offense, right? Like early things you run in the first few seconds of the clock, right?

In the event that that doesn't work, you either run into five-out flow or you go run a set, depending on how much time is left on the clock, right? But let's say a guy makes a free throw. Guy makes a free throw, you're walking up the floor. the first step is run an action, run that three-man action somewhere, some sort of set, to at least crack the defense. Then you go into your five-out flow. Five-out flow is just playing basketball off of whatever the initial advantage is.

So, for instance, if LeBron in Horn's chest catches on the left wing and he dribbles into a dribble handoff with, let's call it, Rui Hachamura coming out of the left corner, there would be a second guard. So let's call it DeAngelo Russell or hypothetical third guard or second guard that the Lakers trade for. Okay. So let's just say pretend it's DeJante Murray. Okay. LeBron flows into the dribble handoff, hands it to DeJante Murray.

As DeJante Murray comes out, Anthony Davis is sliding over to set the second ball screen, right? And it's just you're flowing in basic five-out principles, which are basically just dribble handoffs and ball screens that flow into one another. and whoever's in that opposite corner, whoever catches the kickout pass, if he's not open for three, if he's not open to drive a close-out, he can flow into another action. You run your initial set,

and then you run five-out motion until you get some sort of compromising of the defense, meaning they're actually in a straight-up close-out situation, then you play driving kick basketball, right? There's a phase to it. And what I'm saying here is too many teams skip that first phase, which is running an action,

action at the start of the possession. And when you skip that, you just make life harder for you. If I'm LeBron James and I'm just running a dribble handoff with Dejante Murray out of the left corner in a set defense situation, it is very unlikely to end in something successful. But if I run that dribble handoff as it flows out of a three-man action on the top of the key, it's much more likely that they'll be, they'll just be more disheveled on that side of the floor, which will create opportunities to extend the advantage there. and then you just keep running it until you get a close out,

and from there you play drive and kick. It's just, it's to me, it's really this simple. It's about being resilient to defensive adjustments. If you run brute force, slow down, spread pick and roll, spread post up, whatever it is you're going to do. If you run that stuff, a specific matchup, like a defender who's good at guarding your star, could cause problems.

an adjustment like switching matchups, like, okay, we're going to have a forward guard your center. That can screw things up. But as soon as you turn your offense into a blender with lots of ball and player movement, it just makes you more resilient to those defensive adjustments. And so one of the biggest lessons that I've learned this year, and it's been a lesson that I've been slowly learning

over the last few years, is like, it doesn't matter how good your star is. You need to run complicated, organized offense to try to make these defenses, work harder. NBA defenses have, I know it's hard to imagine just with the way scoring has gone over the last few years, but most of that has to do with three-point shooting. NBA defenses are profoundly sophisticated. They're profoundly sophisticated and they're profoundly athletic. Everyone's so fast. Everyone can cover so much ground in rotation. The game plans are getting more

and more complex in a good way. Like they're figuring out how to slow down these modern offenses. You have to be one step ahead of them. them. And the only way you're going to be one step ahead of them is if you mess up their execution. It's one thing to have a game plan in place. It's another thing to actually do it. And it's easier to defend a two-man action than a three-man action. It's easy to defend a two-man action against a set defense than a two-man action when the defense is disheveled. And so everything is about making those diligent steps early in possessions to break down the defense and make things easier for you. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but in

It's the enhanced games. Some call it 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 IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your part. podcast. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont

Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me. Not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get Your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. Lastly, number five, defensive versatility. It doesn't matter if you have a good base scheme if you can't handle a team that takes you out of your base scheme. So Dallas, they were a load up the strong side, like pack the paint type of defense. Didn't matter against Boston when they could spread them out, right?

Minnesota was a drop coverage team with Rudy Gobert, right, With excellent perimeter defenders, they wanted to stay home off the ball. That didn't work because of specific personnel issues that they had involving Luca Donchitz, right? Just being too big for them. Their defense didn't just fail against Dallas. It failed miserably, right? Something silly, like Miles Turner hitting pick and pop threes and the issues that presented for Milwaukee and for New York and even for Boston early in the series, right?

They ended up having to put Jason Tatum on him and have Pascal Seacum be guarded by Al Horford, right? So, like, it's one thing for your defense to succeed against a specific type of matchup or in your base scheme, but you need to be able to guard in different ways. What do you need to be able to guard in different ways? You need to have all five players on the floor be at least decent at guarding in space. This is where I want to draw attention to the difference between Luca Donchage and Steph Curry. Steph Curry is a weaker defender, right? He's just a little bit small, right?

And he's bigger than people think, but he's a little bit small, right? And teams are going to target them. That's just smart offense. Going after Luca isn't a sign of disrespect, it's just being smart. If you don't get extra points for attacking the other team's best defender, you need to find the weak link and attack it for the sake of your offense, right? But from there, there's a baseline level of competence you need in order for the team to still function defensively around you.

Steph Curry understood if I do my job, if I hedge and recover, I can protect myself from switches. When I get in switches, if I just slide my feet and contain and force into tough contested jump shots, maybe they go in, but at least it's lower percentage, right? Like, Steph has lost some of those battles. Lonnie Walker hitting jumpers in his face in the 2023 season, right? that was a big swing factor in game four. Kyrie Irving hitting the stepback jumper over Steph in the 2016 finals.

He's lost some of those battles. But statistically speaking, if Steph can at least force them into a tough pull-up jump shot, he's done his job. Where Luca became a problem was he was straight up completely incapable of doing anything against Boston's spread out defense. He's getting toasted off the dribble, like literally no resistance just getting beat. in rotation was constantly lost in getting caught in no man's land where he's not contesting shots or running to the next guy.

On the defensive glass part of this was fatigue, but he kept getting beat to loose balls. Like he was so bad on defense that it became the way that Boston blew the series open. Those runs, those big defensive runs that I talked about, many of them involved Luca Donchich. There were two runs that I specifically mentioned, I think it was game five in game two, where there were runs that spanned the half,

where Boston was straight up attacking Luca every single possession down the floor. And so again, like, it's not about having five excellent perimeter defenders. You have to have five that are at least decent at guarding in space so that you can construct a team defense around them. That is what I'm hoping for from Luca next year. Just another level of competency when it comes to guarding in space. I know he can be a weak side defender.

I know that he can make plays when they've loaded up, kind of off the ball, when he's focusing more on defensive playmaking. But that's not what it's going to be like when you have to win four rounds. When you have to win four rounds, you're going to face at least one, if not multiple teams that can truly space you out

and force you to guard in open ground. And it's just harder that way, right? Ground coverage and rotation. This was a big piece that Sam Bassini was talking about when we did the pod during the finals, and we talked about the different things that we have learned from this. postseason run, and this is something I think he's right on about. When you get in rotation,

your ability to make those shots tougher matters. That's where your overall foot speed and length matters. This is something where Boston was great. I'll give you guys an example. Do you remember in the Pacer series, I did a film session where I showed a play where Jalen Brown was guarding Aaron Neesmith on the right wing, and he dug way down into the lane, down almost to the nail, and help. And when he was down there, the Pacers threw a swing pass to Aaron Neesmith on the right wing where Jaylon Brown was like on the ball. And he recovered out and blocked Aaron Neesmith and then saved the ball off of Aaronneesmith's leg out of bounds. That's ground coverage.

That's being two places at once. Having a low man that can contest pick and roll at the rim while also contesting the weak side corner on the skip pass. That's what Yannis used to do for the Milwaukee Bucks defense when they were at their back. a couple years ago. These are all elements of ground coverage. The overall foot speed and length of your team will give you more defensive resilience when you end up in trouble. It also helps you with defensive rebounding, which is a vital part of defense.

Four, the big, strong athletic forward continues to be the most valuable defensive archetype. This was Jason Tatum this year for the Boston Celtics. This was Aaron Gordon last year for the... This was Aaron Gordon last year for the Denver Nuggets. I even think Andrew Wiggins kind of fell into this role a little bit with the Warriors, although with them they've just, Draymond Green does a lot of this as well. And we saw Jeylon Green switch out and guard Jalen Brown for parts of the early portion of the NBA finals, right?

But having that big, strong athletic forward is just a must. And I'm not talking about the perimeter three. I'm not talking about like the Jada McDaniels archetype. I'm talking about the big forward. This is LeBron James. This is Rui Hachamura. This is Aaron Gordon. and this is Jason Tatum.

These are guys like 6-9 or taller and like with real bulk to them. Those are extremely valuable. One, they can guard centers, allowing for your rim protector to then focus on a poor shooting wing. This was something we saw in the Boston series that I think we're going to see a ton of

over the course of the next few years in the NBA. You are going to see teams put their big forward on limited offensive centers that are rim runners and then rim protectors will be put on guys that struggle to shoot above the break threes. Because from there, they can roam off and present all sorts of issues locking down the paint, right? That's a specific matchup strategy that you can only employ if you have a forward who's big enough to guard a center. They're vitally important on the defensive glass.

These are the guys when the big guy is to be pulled out to the level of the screen and there's a pull-up jump shot. He's the one big body on the back line who can high point the basketball. So they're vitally important there. And they are most well equipped to guard the best players in the league. If I was listing the best players in the league, after Yokic, it's a bunch of big forwards. It's Luca. It's Yannis. It's Tatum.

It's Anthony Davis. It's LeBron James. It's Kawhi Leonard. It's going to be Palo Boncaro here in a couple of years. Like, the best players are big forwards. And so you need a big forward that can guard the other team's big forward. Otherwise, they're going to bully you. This is a position, because Carl Anthony Towns is basically a center.

this is the position where Minnesota struggled. They did not have a big forward that was good enough offensively. Kyle Anderson did a decent job, but he has his offensive issues. They didn't have a forward who was big enough to guard Luca but also be a plus offensive player. It's a personnel weakness for them. But again, that specific archetype is vitally important. So all of this amounts to one thing.

You need to have multiple effective half-court defensive looks. You need a quality drop coverage look, preferably with a big forward that can guard. on the perimeter and a rim protector so that you can tinker with matchups like we just talked about like Boston did to Dallas. It allows you to deal with pick and roll without getting into rotation. So this is your defending ball screens two-on-two look. You have to have this look. Just a basic drop coverage look. Imagine what Minnesota does a lot with Rudy Gobert, where they try to stay home off the ball, defend the action two-on-two. You need an aggressive look. This is like a high drop or a blitz, something where you bring your rim protector out to the ball screen and you have to tag on the

weak side. This is defending ball screens three on two. You have to have this look. This requires rotation. This means as you're aggressive on the ball to get the ball out of Lucas hands or whoever the primary ball handler is, when the ball does get moved, you have to be able to quickly spread out and react in rotation. So you need a deep drop, you need an aggressive look, you need a switching look. Switching is what allows you to shut off pick and roll and to stagnate the opponent. Right. Some teams will look to matchup hunt in those situations. That's where you need the five guys on the perimeter that can at least do a competent job guarding in space, right? So in order to have a switching look, you need to have those, that like kind of aggregate perimeter defense, right?

To go through them all, to have a drop coverage look, you need a rim protector that can really protect the rim, right? To have an aggressive look, you need a big forward that can help on the backside as your, your rim protectors pulled out to the perimeter. In order to have a switching look, you can't have weak links on the defensive end of the floor, right? So, like, those looks all require certain types of personnel. I think you need a zone look. This is a rhythm disruptor.

It's something that you just throw into the game to just kind of jank things up when you need to change the speed. Teams on a run, they're on a 12-0 run. You throw a zone look. It might get a buy you two or three possessions before they figure it out, where you get some quality defensive stops and you can run out the other way.

And again, if you understand that you need to beat four quality opponents in increasing levels of difficulty, you're going to need these types of looks, right? So, in summation, before we get out of here for the day, what will next year's champion look like from what we learn? They'll most likely be in the top four of the standings. They'll most likely be led by a bona fide top tier superstar. Again, Boston was the exception,

and I continue that exception into next year. Pending personnel moves, we don't know what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks. But Boston, as of right now, is my favorite to win next year. As for my optimism surrounding Denver, it has nothing to do with, oh, Boston won the trophy this year. It's a basketball thing for me. Watching Boston pick Dallas apart in space,

I know Denver won the two regular season matchups, but they were close. I worry about Denver's ability to guard in space as well. I lean slightly towards Boston now in that matchup in a way where I leaned slightly towards Denver before watching this playoff run. So again, I'm not just trying to default to the champion. It's a basketball thing. Boston showed me something with the way that they punished Dallas, and I think that they would cause similar problems for Denver in a series.

It'd be much closer. I think that'd be a six or seven game series, and I would not be surprised if Denver won. But, like, Boston is my favorite for next year, as of right now, pending personnel moves, right? And we haven't even talked about Caruso yet. We'll hit that at a later date. But NBA history tells us

Yo Kitch in 2023, Steph in 22, Janice in 2021, LeBron in 2020, Kauai in 2019, KD and Steph 2018, KD and Steph 2017. You have LeBron in 2016.

You have Steph in 2015. Like, generally speaking, you need a top tier star to win the title. Boston is the one exception because they have $5.30 million players. That's the one thing that, that,

that makes them different in this regard. But NBA history of what we've learned tells us top four in the standings, most likely led by a bona fide top tier superstar, excellent spacing by virtue of shooting and ball and player movement. The last three champs, Boston, Denver, and Golden State were all great spacing teams

by virtue of shooting and ball and player movement. You need to have multiple elite defensive looks and you need to have matchup versatility, which to me means fewer weaknesses. The more weaknesses you, have, the more likely you are to run into a team that can exploit those weaknesses and beat you. So that's, again, we've gone for 53 minutes at this point. That to me is just like a really, I know that was kind of like an overwhelming amount of information, but that to me was like

kind of my synopsis of this postseason run in what I've learned. Like that, those are the kinds of things that I'm going to try to refer back to as we're looking through teams next season. If I see a team that is intriguing, but they can't win enough games in the regular season to be in the top four, chances are they're not winning the title, right? If we see a team that looks really good in their base scheme, but when they get teams that take them out of their base scheme, they struggle, that's something that probably will get them beat when they get to the postseason. Huge weaknesses, that's probably a thing that'll get you beat when you get into the postseason, right? So like, let's just try to kind of keep these things in mind as we get into next season. All right, guys, that is all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show.

We are going to be back on Thursday morning to break down the first round of the NBA draft and any trades that took place. I'll see you guys then. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening and learn the hard way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's

experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill. on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.