The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lakers Tonight with Jason Timpf - LeBron’s still got it

Episode Date: March 13, 2022

Jason reacts to another LeBron 50-point game, explains why Kuz is on a different level than Russ and gives his take on Philly’s issues that Brooklyn exposed on Thursday. Learn more about your ad-ch...oices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:05:05 1-800-gambler.net in West Virginia. Hi, welcome to Lakers tonight, presented by Fanduel here on the volume. Happy Friday, everybody. I hope you all had a great week. I hope you have big plans for the weekend. That was a hugely important Laker win for so many different reasons, not the least of which is the fact that because the Pelicans lost tonight, they now have a two and a half game lead on the 10 seat, which is immensely important for what
Starting point is 00:05:48 they're trying to accomplish. I guess if they intend to try to get out of the playing tournament, having that 9, 10 game at home is obviously a very big deal. This was a 13 point win. You'd have to go all the way back to January 7 against the Atlanta Hawks for the last time the Lakers won a game this convincingly. That's how rare this. kind of thing has been. We're going to break it all down tonight. I want to spend a good amount of time on LeBron and just because he deserves it for what he's putting forth here in the last couple of weeks. We're also going to talk a little bit about Russ and his struggles and a little bit of, you know, seeing it juxtaposed against what he was sent away for is obviously
Starting point is 00:06:32 frustrating in a lot of different ways. We're going to talk about Taylor Horton Tucker who flashed some crazy all-star plays tonight. We'll dig into him a little bit. And then if you guys stick for the end. I want to share my thoughts after re-watching Brooklyn, Philly, in some of the nitty-gritty details about that matchup and what it might look like in a playoff series. But I have to start with LeBron. So he finishes with 50.7 rebounds and six assists, 18 for 25 from the field. He is now currently leading the NBA in scoring, which is ridiculous. I talked about this the other day. There are four players. in the NBA right now, averaging at least 29 points on at least 60% true shooting,
Starting point is 00:07:19 which is insane. That's just the, we are in a golden age of NBA talent. You can argue there are six or seven guys that are top tier superstars right now with the rise of Nicola Yokic and with the rise of Joelle Ambide and with the rise of Luca Donchich. That's how deep the top of the league is. And we are having some all-time great seasons that are being put forward by Janice Antenacupo, by Joe L.M.B., young superstars in their absolute primes. Then we have Kevin Durant, who's also on that list of guys who's averaging at least 29 and at least 60% true shooting. He is not quite as old as LeBron. He's a little older, but he's very much in his prime. He's putting forth an all-time great offensive season, and LeBron is right there
Starting point is 00:08:06 with them. It's, you know, LeBron went on his show. I think it was the shop. I can't even remember where I saw this clip, to be honest with you, but it was recent. And he was lamenting his reputation as a score and the fact that he never gets credit for that kind of thing. And I understand the sentiment behind where those people come from, the people that feel like LeBron's not a great score. Because what LeBron does lack is just that really, really fine-tuned polish. Obviously, if you watch a guy like Kyrie Irving dribble the basketball and you watch a guy like Kyrie Irving and his footwork and his shooting ability, it looks a little sharper. I won't even say a little. It looks a lot sharper than what you see from LeBron.
Starting point is 00:08:53 But too often that simple detail, that one aesthetic detail, is used to undercut everything else about what makes LeBron a score. Because even though he's not the most polished guy in the league, he absolutely is skilled. As you've seen, especially there down the stretch, that crazy fade away. over Kyle Kuzma over his right shoulder. That's an extremely difficult shot. That running, one-legged, fading, floating, double-pumped shot that he banked in off the glass in the third quarter in his run. That is an incredibly difficult shot that takes a great deal of touch. Obviously what he does behind the three-point line takes a great deal of skill. So there is skill there, even if it's not the prettiest and most polished ill in the league. And then obviously
Starting point is 00:09:41 there's the physical element. The dude is like shack as a forward. He has this unbelievable set of physical tools that he can use to impose his will on the game. But the most important part of it that people glance over is the way that LeBron uses his brain to score the basketball. And he does so in two ways. One is with passing. His willingness as a passer throughout his career. His relentless pursuit of making the right read on every single play has made it so that teams are reluctant to send help at him a lot of the time, not all the time, but a lot of the time, especially when his teammates have it going the way they did tonight. And in those situations, because he has passed himself into single coverage, he is facing
Starting point is 00:10:30 less individual defensive attention. That helps him score. Another huge part of of it is understanding angles. How many guys have you guys seen in your lifetime at any level of basketball, including the NBA? The example I think of all the time is like Ben McLemore. You watch Ben McElmore do a workout, you would think he's the most skilled player. You know, you think he's a top level, top, top tier skilled level shooting guard in the league. The problem is, is that he just never understood the angles and how to utilize that skill to create shots. That's kind of what LeBron has absolutely down to a science. If he gets just that little bit of an inch of a step on you, he knows when he can press the issue, when he cannot press the issue.
Starting point is 00:11:15 He understands the idea of leverage and getting even bigger, stronger defenders out of position so that he can get to where he needs to go. There are so many elements to what makes LeBron such a great score. And so many people gloss over those elements to try to undercut it as stat patting, or he's just bully ball. He's just bullying people. And what they don't understand is he does have a great deal of skill. He does use his passing ability to get open. He does have a score's mentality. He has that understanding of the intricacies of how to locate and identify opportunities in a defense to get to your own shot. And I hope that at some point, either soon or maybe it's after he retires, I don't know, but I hope that at some point LeBron gets the respect that he deserves,
Starting point is 00:12:05 which is that he absolutely no question belongs on the Mount Rushmore of NBA scores of all time. You have to put him on that list. And it will be signed, sealed, and certified as soon as he passes Kareem at some point in the next season. I was really happy for him. he had that kind of night, you know, and I'm hopeful that over time, he will convert people into understanding what he brings to the table. For those of you are just joining us, this is Lakers tonight presented by Fanduel here on the volume. We were just talking about LeBron scoring. I wanted to take a second to talk about his engagement level because I thought it was immensely important at the beginning of the game. I've been incredibly critical of LeBron since the All-Star
Starting point is 00:12:48 break for his lack of intensity on the defensive end of the floor. And the way that that percolates down the rest of the roster and has caused some of the defensive issues that we've seen from the lakers it's caused some of the unsurious demeanor that we've seen from the lakers those things are all related that's part of following your leader and one of the things that's frustrating to me about that is i understand the idea that lebron is in his 19th season i understand the idea that it's insane to ask him to be one of the best players in the league after all of the mileage that he has on his body. I get that. But even under those qualifiers, what he was giving wasn't enough. And it was directly impacting the team. I understand the sentimentality. Like I understand
Starting point is 00:13:44 what, like tonight he tried in the first half and they were down seven after after two quarters. That's got to be frustrated when you're one of the best basketball players on the planet and you push your foot down on the gas and it's not enough against the Washington Wizards on your home floor that's frustrating so I acknowledge and understand why it's difficult I know why he struggles with that I'm just saying it's not enough anyway because had they lost tonight for whatever reason some shots don't go down he gets 35 instead of 50. You know, Tailing doesn't get to hit some of the shots he hits. You know, Malik doesn't hit some of the shots he hits in the fourth quarter.
Starting point is 00:14:27 There's a version of that story where they lose. But at least then you go back to the locker room with the dignity and the respect to the fans because you try. And again, no one's asking you to leave your absolute heart and soul out there. That's unfair at this point in your career. But what he was giving wasn't enough. And like we talked about earlier, with where they are situated in the standing. right now. There actually still is a little bit of a chance. Look at Brooklyn. Brooklyn last night going into the game was below 500. But all it takes is get your talent back on the floor and play good
Starting point is 00:15:04 basketball and play into your strengths. Now, I don't think they have enough. But hell, you're going to put the mileage on your body anyways, chasing Kareem, go for it. Why not try? Did you know that next Wednesday will be one month to the day since Anthony Davis sprained his foot? We're pretty close, probably about two weeks away from getting Anthony Davis back. You could probably get seven or eight regular season games in with Anthony Davis in preparation for a playoff run. Why not go for it? Especially, and this is the most important part, it seems to me, although I'm a little worried after he had to take some time off after Golden State.
Starting point is 00:15:51 He's starting to look a little bit more athletic as time is passing by. I don't know if that's related to his conditioning and just getting back into shape. I don't know if that's some healing going on with his knee. I don't know. A big part of it will be like if we get the report from Shams tomorrow or from Dave McBenam that LeBron doesn't plan on playing on Sunday, then forget all of this. But if he really is starting to trend in the right direction physically and if Anthony Davis is right around the corner. Why not? If you lose, you lose, you go home, you rest up,
Starting point is 00:16:21 you try again next year. But why not go for it? And I hope they do. But bottom line is what you saw from LeBron defensively tonight, which was nothing crazy. He wasn't out there like Draymond. He just put a respectable effort on that side of the floor. And that is enough for this team to look competent. And that's all I ask for from LeBron. That's literally it. I don't even care he takes a few possessions off here and there. That's not the issue. It's that unbelievable, you know, embarrassing letting go of the rope that was taking place right after the ulcer break. That's what can't happen, regardless of how many miles you have and regardless of how great your resume is. But a big night for LeBron, and I'm glad we were able to get to see that.
Starting point is 00:17:04 We got to enjoy this for as long as we can. I wanted to move on to Russ, because he obviously had a really rough game. He's had a handful of decent, games as of late. I almost crack myself up sometimes with the bar that I evaluate Russ with. I pretty much say he played okay if he didn't actively sabotage the team. One of the most frustrating parts of this season has been not even just Russ fans, but the pockets of fans that have tried to convince us that he's been good when he very much has not. The good games have been the outliers. The games where he has like a 30, point triple double like you did against the rocket. Those are the outlier performances. More often than
Starting point is 00:17:49 not, that hasn't been the case. And that's typical for an aging star. That's what happens. You tend to have a handful of moments where you can kind of look like your old self, but for the most part, you can't. And even in that Houston Rockets game, which was one of his better games, as you saw in the video I tweeted out earlier, he was bad in crunch time, took two really bad jump shots, smoked three layups right at the rim, two of which were remarkably easy layups. You know, that's just kind of the reality of where we're at with the Russell Westbrook experience right now. Fandwell Sportsbook is an official sports betting partner of the NBA. And with Fandual's same game parlays, you can turn little bets into big paydays.
Starting point is 00:18:33 Fandual is my favorite sports betting app because it is so incredibly user-friendly and easy to navigate. Make every game feel like the finals all season long. Download the Fainville Sportsbook app or head to Fainduel.com and sign up using promo code Jason T to bet the NBA today and get your first bet risk-free. 21 plus and present Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, permitted parishes only, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia. First online real money wager only. Refund issued as non-withdrawable site credit that expired. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman
Starting point is 00:19:19 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep. That's a win. 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
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Starting point is 00:20:33 And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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.
Starting point is 00:20:56 Each episode, we picket 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, 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.
Starting point is 00:21:22 Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. 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 Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,
Starting point is 00:21:44 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, Tript 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.
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Starting point is 00:22:43 See terms at sportsbook. Fanduel.com. Gambling problem, call 1-800 next step or text next step to 533442 in Arizona. 1-88-78-9-77-777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. 1-800 gambler or visit fanduel.com slash RG. in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, and Virginia. 1-877-7-7-70 stop in Louisiana.
Starting point is 00:23:16 1-800-270-7-117 for confidential help in Michigan. 1-8-8-hope-N-Y or text Hope N-Y to 467-369 in New York. In Tennessee Red Line, dial 1-800-9-9-97889 in Tennessee. it www.1-800 gambler.net in West Virginia. And what's so funny to me, too, as I really look back at this, which is normal to do when you're playing against the team that you traded these guys to, that you traded these guys for, you know, there is a case to be made that the two worst trades in NBA history involved Russell Westbrook.
Starting point is 00:24:07 And it's wild because a normal, terrible NBA trade is like what you saw with the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets in the early 2010. It's, we want to win now, so we cash in a ton of assets for some older established players. They come in were relevant for a little while. That Brooklyn Nets team was, you know, they were winning at home, trailing two games to one. you know, they had a chance to tie that series before LeBron dropped 49 on him and knocked them out. That was a good basketball team. They cashed in for that moment and then they fell apart. And then it became one of the worst trades ever because they lost all those assets.
Starting point is 00:24:46 That's usually what a bad NBA trade looks like. Or it'll be like James Hardin. You know, like the Hardin trade, we thought, yeah, maybe James Hardin might become a superstar, but he just played horrible in the finals. Like we didn't know what he was going to be. Like usually that's what a bad NBA trade looks like. What is so unusual about these trades, let's go back to Chris Paul. The Houston Rockets are so unbelievably good that they had the one of the, in my opinion, the most talented roster of all time, that 2017-2018 Warriors roster, they had them on the ropes. That's how good that Houston Rockets team was.
Starting point is 00:25:26 But because James Hardin had a personal beef with Chris Paul, they shipped Chris Paul and two first-round picks and two pick swaps for Russell Westbrook. So not only was Russell Westbrook the not the best player in the trade, but there were assets attached to it. And here we are again. Since December 28, Kyle Kuzma is averaging 21.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4 assists on 58% true shooting. In the same span, Russell Westbrook is averaging 16.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assist on 48.1% true shooting. He's below 50% when we weight everything with his three-point shots and his free throws. That's how ridiculously bad he's been in this stretch. And Kyle Kuzma is a much better defensive player.
Starting point is 00:26:26 there are 31 NBA players this year that have attempted at least five shots in the restricted area per game. Russ would be dead last in that group if it wasn't for Damien Lillard trying to play through an abdominal injury for a part of the season this year. Dame was dead last. Russ misses 3.2 shots in the restricted area per game. That's how bad he's been this year. Kyle Kuzma very clearly was the best player in the trade. And he was attached to a really good role player in Contagius Caldwell Pope, another really good role player in Montrez-Harael, and a first-round draft pick. And the Lakers took back more salary.
Starting point is 00:27:09 Now, to be clear, it's Jeannie Bus's fault that they didn't pay Alex Caruso. But we also know, because Alex admitted it, they offered him $6 million. So if they didn't take more money back in the Russell Westbrook trade, there simply would be more money available. to try to counter the bulls and try to make a deal with Alex Caruso. So as far as I'm concerned, maybe it's a partial casual casualty, but it's absolutely at the very least a partial casualty that Alex Caruso was part of this trade. And it's just wild to me that twice in the last handful of years, teams have made this mistake. And it goes to show you that the reputation that Russell Westbrook has around the league vastly, vastly supersedes,
Starting point is 00:27:56 what his on-court product is. You know, and it's just frustrating for the fans to watch. Because in that game tonight, everything for the Lakers was humming on all cylinders, except for Russ. It was actively hurting the team in so many different ways. Those were gut punches, those missed layups he had in transition, him getting into the lane and picking up his dribble, which is the turnover damn near every single time.
Starting point is 00:28:23 It's one of, you know, it's wild. And, you know, I think it's over this, this sequence of Russ getting traded for more than what his value is worth. My guess is that the Lakers will finally have to attach assets to him this summer. But man, what a wild ride this Russell Westbrook experience has been. As a basketball fan, I can't remember anything like it. I can't ever remember watching a player as infuriating as Russ. And it's funny because I've been accused by, by many people, mostly Russ stands, of using Russ for engagement baiting or making it about something that it's not. And I'm going to just make this as perfectly clear as I possibly can. I generally, forget that, 100% of the time, I tell you guys exactly what I think. I am 100% authentic with you. But I would argue the most authentic opinion I have is the way I feel about Russ. He offends my basketball character. As a basketball, as a person who grew up around the game of basketball, right now I train kids, I coach kids. I live and breathe the game of basketball and the way he plays the game is offensive to me. It's real. I'm not making it up.
Starting point is 00:29:38 I have to be honest in the sense that it affects me. It's a bias for sure. But I've also gone to great lengths this year to try to circumvent that bias. You guys have heard me on this show. Like I said, I hold him to a ridiculously low bar. When he doesn't actively shave points, I credit him after the game. I try hard to be positive about Russ. It's just really, really difficult for me. One last Lakers note before we move on, Taylor-Tuckerman Horton Tucker continues to show ridiculous All-Star Flash.
Starting point is 00:30:11 He had a move on Corey Kispert on the right wing right in front of the Lakers bench where he just did a standard rip-through and then a pullback dribble, and Kisbert went out of found. and he made the shot. And then there, that one in the late fourth quarter where he did that like two dribble spin move, which is one, it's like it's almost like a full court post up. It's what LeBron uses all the time. But he like initiates contact with that first dribble spins and hits you with his left shoulder and then takes his second dribble into the lane. And then I think he, you might have pumped faked or it might have been, I can't remember what it was, but he had an acrobatic finish in the lane.
Starting point is 00:30:43 He, in retrospect, if there's, there are a couple silver linings to try to gather from this season. This disaster of a season. One of them is Austin Reefs and finding him the way that the Lakers did. Another one is Stanley Johnson, getting him on a team-controlled veteran minimum contract for next year. I actually really like Gwen and Gabriel. He showed a lot of really interesting flashes tonight. He made a corner three. His ability to run up and down the floor and hang with the pace of the game is amazing. But a huge net positive here. I would have traded Taylorin because I didn't think Anthony Davis was going to spray in his foot. And I thought the Lakers needed more talent in order to go after what they were going after. But now, in retrospect, now that we know Anthony Davis
Starting point is 00:31:25 was hurt, now that we know this team can't go anywhere, I'm glad we get one more year to look at Taylor. And maybe we tried him at the next trade deadline because that's just what the situation dictates. Maybe he gets moved this summer. I don't know. But at the very least, we get to look at him a little while longer because this kid just continues to make me a believer. He's a little bit tunnel vision. he goes through like a couple weeks span where he's looking for his teammates and the flow is good. And when he has the ball in his hands as a primary initiator, he's actually a pretty good pass or he's looking for his teammates. When he's playing off ball as a scoring guard, then he starts to get tunnel vision. And there were several plays today where you could tell even LeBron was getting discouraged just by some of the shots Talon was taking as he was kind of getting out of the flow.
Starting point is 00:32:10 But I am still a big believer in Talon and I'm glad we get to evaluate him for a little bit. bit longer before we decide whether or not we're going to move on from it or not. All right, before we get out of here tonight, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to take a look at some of the things that I learned when I dove into the tape from that amazing basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers last night, which by the way, the NBA regular season completely lacks urgency. It's the biggest flaw. When you put on that game last night and you're watching Sixers Nets, there's a feeling to that game, like a tenacity, you know, an intensity that is lacking in like 85% of NBA regular season
Starting point is 00:32:51 games. And I'm not sure that it can ever be fixed because of the length of the regular season. It's one of the reasons why I'm actually open to some of the ideas the league has about potentially shortening the regular season, but adding a midseason tournament, anything that you might be able to do to make individual regular season basketball games more meaningful. I think another big part of that is spacing games out a little bit because load management is a concerned. James Hardin missed a huge matchup with the Miami Heat earlier in the week, which was directly related to hamstring management. If you had teams playing twice a week or three times a week at the max instead of these, you know, seven games every 14 days kind of deal, I think you
Starting point is 00:33:29 might have more stars appearing in the games, which would give you a better television product. That's a whole other thing. But I just, I took a minute last night to appreciate what was a rare example of a very intense and very important regular season basketball game. If you go on my Twitter feed and you scroll down, I took the entire first quarter and I cut it up and gave some notes of what I noticed in the game. I encourage you to go look at that if you're interested in getting into the weeds a little bit. But I wanted to share just a couple of quick notes from that game. So first of all, in retrospect, looking back at that game, watching it in deep pit, James Harding kind of has two personas. He has his engaged persona.
Starting point is 00:34:09 and his disengaged persona. His engaged persona is extremely difficult to deal. Think about like in 2019 when he had that game winner on the road in Golden State. He's animated. He's talking shit. He's actively looking for a shot all over the place. He's getting into the paint. He's super, super aggressive.
Starting point is 00:34:28 There is a tenacity to him. But the disengaged James Harden, it's like he's floating through the game. it's like he's actively hoping that somebody else will do the job for him he'll make a simple read out of the top of the key and he's not even really putting any pressure on the defense i thought he was really really really bad on the defensive end last night especially in that first quarter when things are falling apart the same james hardin who actually defended pretty well in his first few games with the Sixers. So it's like, again, his entire, his entire persona, it seems to be directly tied to these kinds of moments, whether it's postseason pressure or a game like last night,
Starting point is 00:35:16 or he's going up against his former team and they're looking at him in the eyes like, screw you, man, we're going to show you how stupid you were for not wanting to be a part of what we're building here. And that kind of seemed, that vibe seemed to shut James Harden down. You know, it's like the difference between going down fighting and going down floating. James Hardin is going to go down floating when things get tough. And we have so much, so many examples of that that I don't think it's up for debate anymore, to be honest. The next thing I wanted to hit on it was the foul grifting from Embeddon Hardin. Obviously it looked bad for all of us watching it live, but on rewatch, it was even worse than you guys think.
Starting point is 00:35:59 There were probably a half dozen possessions in that first quarter where either Embed or Hardin had an opportunity to make a normal basketball play that had a good chance of working and they failed on the normal basketball play to do something jane. There was a play Joel Embed's isolating Nick Claxton on the right elbow. He's got a live dribble or he's in a triple threat and Claxton's playing off of it. And Embedon could just go up and do his jump shot. But instead of doing that, he did weird little pump fakes and like fake rip-throughs like four times trying to elbow Nick Claxton in the face so that he can draw a foul. And he ended up turning the ball over. I'm like, as I'm watching the tape, I'm looking at my laptop like, play basketball. Just play basketball.
Starting point is 00:36:43 You're literally one of the best basketball players in the world. If you play basketball, people can't deal with you. It's when you do this janky stuff. Yeah, there are days where it works. Hell, you shot 13 free throws in the first quarter. but we all know that that doesn't work in the postseason. Lean into what you're good at, which is basketball. There's another play.
Starting point is 00:37:00 James Hardin did the same thing several times, twice right at the end of the game, or right at the end of the first quarter, where he had reads. James Hardin's a great passer. One of the best passers in the lead. I know he saw the open man, but instead he was diving into bodies,
Starting point is 00:37:16 trying to draw contact, trying to get a foul, because again, he's floating through the game. And mark my words, if Embed and James Harden go down, foul grifting, they'll go down. But if they go down playing basketball, they have a chance to win. I am still a believer in that core. The other thing I thought was interesting was the way their role players approached the game. And this was typical. When you bring in a guy like James Hardin, who's a high usage perimeter initiator, and you have guys like Tyrese Maxine and Tobias Harris, who were very, very
Starting point is 00:37:47 important parts of their offense before the trade. They now have to find out how they fit. And I thought too often, because they were relegated to offball roles when Hardin and Embed had the ball, when they did get the ball, they really tried to force the action. And both Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris took a lot of bad shots over the course of that game, several of which involved opportunities to make easy reads to move the basketball. Meanwhile, on the other end, Seth Curry, this was the example that stood out the most to me. He's playing off of two really high usage perimeter players, but he let the game come to him. There were two plays where he used a dribble handoff and a pick and roll to get down to the elbow, and he just simply pump-faked, and Tyree Smacks. He went way past him, and he had wide-open 17-foot jump shots, which is a great shot for Seth Curry.
Starting point is 00:38:42 He built his rhythm on that. Then he made a wide-open three coming off of a dribble handoff. So he got into the game with easy shots rather than forcing the action. Then he was in a really good rhythm. And then he could start kind of looking for a shot more during the staggered lineups when either Durant or Irving was off the floor. So there's a little detail there that Tyrus Maxey and Tobias Harris have to figure out over the next couple weeks. In general, the Sixers, if you go back and watch that film that I put on my Twitter feed,
Starting point is 00:39:10 the amount of easy reads that the Sixers missed, not just the role players, but James Hardin and Joe L.N.B., the amount of easy reads that those guys missed forcing the action was crazy. And I thought it was a huge part of why their offense was stilted and a huge part of how Brooklyn kept getting out in transition. Meanwhile, on the other end, Kevin Durant welcomed any extra defender that came in, consistently made the right read. Yet he still was able to get to his shot. The net's offense just had a way better flow. And as KD mentioned after the game, a huge part of what they did was push the ball and training. When you got lazy guys like James Hardin and slow guys like Joelle and B, if you can run up and down the floor, you can beat them down the floor a lot of times before they can set their defense and get a lot of quality shots that way.
Starting point is 00:39:59 To put a bow on it, you know, I said some pretty strong words last night, like I, and I believe them. I do believe Brooklyn would win that series. But after rewatching, I do think Philly is capable of playing a lot better than they did. But again, they got absolutely. absolutely trounce last night. So they have to play a lot better in order for that to work out. And Brooklyn's got reinforcements coming. Ben Simmons, you know, a huge part, like the one big glaring negative from Brooklyn in that first quarter was Bruce Brown. Really, really struggled offensively. And he was put in a short role position where he had to finish around Philly's size a lot. And he struggled with it. There were multiple possessions where Bruce Brown panicked and threw up garbage around the basket. Now, obviously, if it's game seven of a playoff series, maybe Ben Simmons
Starting point is 00:40:49 does that too, but I trust Ben Simmons offensively a lot more in that role, and he's a much better defensive player. There's some little kinks that got to work out. Like, you can't play Drummond if you're going to play Ben Simmons. We saw that be an issue with Bruce Brown even last night. So there's little details that got to work out. But that Brooklyn team is going to just continue to get better when Ben Simmons gets integrated into the picture. But Philly, far from their best punch last night. They definitely have more. I don't know if it'll be enough, but they're definitely capable of playing a lot better than they did. All right, guys, that is all I have for tonight. Thank you so much sincerely for coming to hang out as always. We will be back on Sunday night, post-game,
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