And now below post- Welcome to the low post podcast on a Friday morning after yet another Brooklyn Nets loss dropping the Nets Sixers and Lakers to a combined two and twelve to start the 2022-23 NBA season And it is just a privilege in a delight to bring in one of the MVPs of ESPN's NBA coverage a man who had the privilege on Back-to-back nights I believe of calling the Lakers Nuggets loss or win from Denver's respective and the Nets Mavericks epic Luca versus Kyrie slash KD Bensim and Zairball to lay up loss for the Nets Richard Jefferson one of the best. How are you? Hi, first of all, I'm outstanding. I am overjoyed.
What country are you wearing right now? Is it Portugal? Wait, this is a Portugal Luis Figo soccer jersey from my wife my then not wife just girlfriend trip to Portugal many years ago Everywhere I go I like to buy something and I had heard of Luis Figo and I bought a Luis Figo soccer kid As they call it. I look I took my kids my wife from England as we both love the international women My wife from England and so I took my kids to the very first Arsenal match Opening day they got their first kids.
They're locked in they're locked in they love it So that's why I'm starting to understand a little bit more about this the soccer kids England US What happens in your house if we play? Honestly the the men's national soccer team They break my heart so much that I slowly have adopted England as like a supportive family member for the English soccer team Just so that they could break my heart a little bit more because I've learned enough about English soccer So yeah in my house, it's not really a house divided Yeah, and the producer Dan is informing me they are in the same group in the World Cup Oh, I know they do drama they do it for the drama the World Cup's all about that But no no no look I'll refrain when you know the US now women's national team There's no there's no women's national team. That's that's that's my team whoever they were playing. I'm anti them I don't care.
Let me tell you something in my house There is no question or debate about who I'm rooting for if Croatia plays anybody in the world including like my immediate family If we formed a soccer team who would I root for it would have to be the Croatia national team Okay, so before we start with the three team competition for early show of the year in the NBA I want to start positive I want to put those teams aside for a second And I asked you Richard Jefferson give me one or two feel good stories around the league under the radar Things that are just making you happy as a basketball fan or a human being. Let's start happy on Friday. It's Friday It's nice Halloween's coming up. We're gonna have some fun start start happy with me Okay, so you told me this before so Zach is a very great great very great.
He is a great pepper And so he's like hey, I want to do some feels good. I thought about absolutely nothing I was like what does it feel good? So I would say Utah's early start I think Utah is really really because you just don't know when you get a collection of guys together What's gonna happen? Do I think it's sustainable and do I think that this is Utah's goal by no means?
But I do love the fact that for whatever reason that locker room has decided guys We're supposed to be awful everyone knows the writing's on the wall that they're gonna sell it at their assets And if they keep winning, they're probably gonna keep selling they're gonna keep selling as you know So I think that part to me is just it's a random small Sample size of how sports can be special, right? It's like the Utah fans They were probably here we go and then all of a sudden you just get this burst of energy because your team just starts off Well, they're playing well, you know, you got a brand new head coach So to me, I think Utah even though I don't think that that's the way it's gonna keep going for them I think that's a really cool thing because a collective collection of guys have decided that we're not gonna Just get our ass with every single day and do what the organization wants. Yeah, I think it's also a testament I talked about them a little earlier in the week of how smart and adaptable both players and coaches are in the NBA So like you look at that team and you've seen other teams like this before where they're just a product of two big trades Like there was no plan to have all of these players together on a team There was no thought process behind combining Lao remarking in a Kelli Olinik and Jared Vanderbilt Like we think those guys all fit together and all these shooting guards like Colin sex and Taylor and Tucker and Walker and Jordan Clarkson who just want to check up there was no thought process to that But then they come all together and instead of sort of Dwelling on their fit issues the coaches and the players all say okay, so maybe we're not a traditional fit But like what are our skills? What do we do?
Well? Larry Market and you're a good shooter. Kelly Olinik you're a good shooter We're gonna use you in a million screening actions and teams are gonna have to decide are we gonna switch or are we gonna give you pick And pop threes if we switch Kelly Olinik Larry Market and it's not the most graceful bullyball ISO game But like do your slow-mo spin moves weirdo floaters and maybe teams will send help and somebody will be open and like all of a sudden It's kind of it's kind of working. I agree with you.
It's fun. Can I can I give you one? Please? I love it on a human level Nobody is watching this only the crazy people nobody is watching this on a human level one of the best early season stories in the NBA Is Dennis Smith Jr.
In Charlotte former Watching that no one's watching former number eight or nine picking the draft. I can't remember Gets gets traded to the Knicks in the porzingis deal And he's like oh, this is the big chip in the porzingis deal and becomes frankly like a totally broken NBA player zero confidence Did not want to shoot at all and you know this you're seeing it in Brooklyn when you don't want to shoot it Limits every other part of your game because teams stop guarding you and when teams stop guarding you there are no passing lanes Or no driving lanes and he just became a broken player and he talked to the media I saw this in Stefan Bondi story in the daily news yesterday when the Charlotte Hornets came to play the Knicks He was out of the league and he started I don't know if you saw this he started me said I'm guys I'm not kidding. I started putting on weight because I wanted to try out for the NFL I thought my NBA career was over. I didn't want to go play overseas.
I told my agent on not playing overseas I think I can make the NFL he's playing for the Hornets He makes the team on I don't know if he's on a two-way or a minimum or whatever I can't remember rojors heard balls hurt all of a sudden He's starting and he looks like Dennis Smith junior again I don't know what happened, but he's got his confidence back He's popping like pull up twos off the dribble of no hesitation shooting 50% from three And I just love stories like this guys who reached the bottom rock bottom guys whose confidence is so shot that you can literally see it And how they play like they have no confidence left. They have nothing left They probably don't even want to play and now he's back. I think that's a cool story watch Dennis give the hornet's a watch 100% Dennis Smith and again like They're the NBA is littered in these and history forgets them But like there has been Hall of Famers like high level all-stars that were in this position like Chauncey Bellips You remember Chauncey Bellips where he was bouncing around didn't really find a fit all the sudden He's like in Detroit. He becomes like a basketball guy You know he was oh hit Boston and he was in Minnesota You know Kyle Lowry Kyle Lowry was bouncing around you know in Memphis They got him out of there because he was like going at Kyle He was going at Nick my conley so he's going at my conley like I'm gonna come after your job And like we're gonna get you gotta hear cuz we just drafted this kid goes to Houston He's you know, but then he finds it gets by himself in Toronto and and now he's a multi-time All-Star an NBA champion He's gonna have a pro for you are you gonna have a statue a statue it like how Lowry if you remember the first five years of Kyle Lowry's career and then to say he's going to go on and have a statue in front of Air Canada Center like Sports is so special because a guy like Dennis Smith Jr.
Who has all the talent? He has all the ability but you can be in the wrong place You can be in the wrong fit You can have some injuries at the wrong time and all the sudden did I'm glad you said that cuz he did have major major injuries That kind of broke his body too. Yeah, and now as an athlete and people don't understand the better part of your life from 15 to 22 you're pretty much a physical specimen, right? Like every human being like your body recovers it also you get to a spot where you're like injured you're banged up There's another level guys like people aren't patting you on the back and telling you the greatest anymore And you go through it's it's mental as much as it is physical So to see a player come through that on the other side is just nothing but like good for you But football that's a different mental mind.
Oh no, it sounds awful Can I give you a now? Can I give you a basketball not necessarily a feel good story? But like an interesting NBA plot twist that I am just monitoring a good plot twist not a good show plot twist Excuse my language. It's Friday, but I don't care.
I'm already started drinking. I can't I can't wait The just I just don't keep an eye on the Milwaukee Bucks who I picked to win the title don't have Drew Holiday Don't have Pat Conanton. They are first in defense right now That's not that surprising. They have the honest who looks like a superhero right now and they have brookalopes It looks like brookalopes again defensively.
Yeah, but the way they're doing it is interesting They're a team that in the past has said we don't really care if you guys chuck a lot of threes like we're gonna like guys chuck Threes this year they are allowing the fifth fewest three point attempts in in the league as a percentage of shot It's not just double checking it now. They have fewest threes. Okay, so you think they've probably sacrificed something else in their defense to do that to take away Three point line. Nope, 50 with shots at the rim, which has been their bread and butter They are top 10 in opponent free throw rate.
So they're not fouling They're still not fouling long time bud principle They're second in defensive rebounding long time bud principle So they're taking all the good stuff from what made their defense great when they won the championship and during this most of this run All the lace up last year and they've sacrificed none of that and all of a sudden again It's been three games just three games, but preseason was the same thing They're not allowing threes if they can sort of vultran this into like a crazy elite defense that's good at almost everything They haven't even they're missing two of their top six guys like that's just I'm just monitoring it. That's interesting to me Well, it's interesting because for so many years bud was known as a coach that that didn't make a ton of adjustments He had a great system But there is no flawless system every system has to be adjustable And so you know whether it was their offense a few years ago where it was too Heon is heavy and for out and it's like he's not LeBron You don't want to just put shooters around him and let him go to work like with all due respect Heon is on greatness is he there is he there now though? Where you maybe could do that more you can do it more now and again That's what they had to go to last year in the postseason with no Chris Middleton That was kind of like like like and so you saw that he had gotten better because he's a better shooter like bran As much as LeBron wasn't a great shooter. He still was more of a threat than Yannas was so that allowed for a little bit You again, you remember how bran lost to Miami how they were like bro We're gonna just dare you to shoot every single thing.
That's what you're gonna do point being is this when you look at what bud has done The year they won the championship they changed them things offensively They're like we're not gonna really do this and maybe we won't finish number one seed like they had the prior two years But we need to improve on things and we're gonna use the season to improve on them So Chris Middleton became more of a late game ball handler playmaker Yannas became more of a roller and even as a roller Yannas can still create to bring this whole thing full circle I think that year in my opinion was a pivotal year for them Not only did they win the championship, but it showed that we can use the season to navigate and tweak things and the reason why that's so important Let's say hypothetically they were to go back to the finals if they showed up in the motherfinals going against Let's say hypothetically the defending champions And if you're giving up more threes then then you know everybody else in the league and you're playing against the Golden State Warriors You have less than zero. We don't even need to play those games I don't care if Yannas goes for 60 points every night if you give the Golden State Warriors That amount of threes with the growth of their younger players and Jordan pool is like a splash that brother Right like you would be obliterated in my opinion And so if you know what your possible opponents could be you have to at least use the year to do that And we did that in Cleveland we would work on stuff anticipating that we were gonna play the Golden State Warriors We would work on stuff against random teams for the Warriors and I know that sounds that sounds and it's like if you spend over a Seven-month period if you spend two three games and say hey We're gonna do this against this team because it's similar We don't really want to show the Warriors is but we also don't want to start this in the finals when we have zero reps and zero practice At it and we don't want to show it to the Warriors and use it against them because we don't want them to prep and plan against it So like to use the season to work on things against possible future opponents as long as you're not spending large chunks of it I think it's great small chunks like again We would do that like hey, we're gonna practice switching this double screen I don't remember who I somebody that had similar shooters to the Warriors and we were only doing that Maybe it was Paul George and like CJ Miles in Indiana I was like hey We're gonna do this because I want us to get some reps on this when we go against step in clay so we can communicate our switches We're gonna not switch underneath but we're gonna switch out so that we would switch out to Tristan not switch the guards We would switch the bigs out and then Tristan would switch So these are little things that we would do to help us over the course of the season So I love what bud is doing and it's even more impressive that you see is like holy we can not just we can't protect the paint And run people off the reason we can do that We don't have to settle for one or the other and that was not always a Because you remember we played against bud in in Atlanta and we shot so many threes against them Chanting fry Kevin love like we broke the NBA record at the record Yeah, 25 threes in a game and a play and we set the we set the series record NBA series record from Most amount of threes hit we did it in four games. So it wasn't like a six game series I mean no we broke the NBA record for most threes in a series in four games We also broke the ring And I don't say that the brass is because they didn't make an adjustment but did not make an adjustment He was like this is what we're gonna do We're gonna do it and it just epicly failed so to see this is impressive Well that in the championship year for the Bucks was also when they got PJ Tucker like alright So this whole switching thing that has kind of become a popular thing in the league that we refuse to do the entire time We're gonna dip our toes into oh it's we're good We have a seven foot alien who can be in like nine places at the same time Maybe by the way the seven foot alien three games Janus 36 13 and five on 70 percent shooting 68 percent shooting. I'm just gonna round up We're gonna talk about some other candidates including John Maran and Memphis But yeah, I mean he is and he is and for the season again three games and I just like to look at these numbers because they're funny With Janus on the floor the Bucks are plus 19 per 100 possessions plus 19 That's like globetrotters level numbers with Janus off the floor in only 42 minutes minus 11 So they're just like and you saw it up close Numbers that's like the old kids numbers the last two seasons You didn't call the Nets Bucks game, but that was like a very simple game when Janus was on the floor and decided I'm gonna go to the basket instead of play around shooting these little jump shots that everyone wants me to shoot Then that's had no chance and when Janus was off the floor the Nets were winning that game Janus was and in that game I don't know if you saw that game, but once he started going to the basket like Simmons had no shot.
He was just going around him. He was drop stepping on the baseline his passing better He is he's been scary for a long time, but he looks like he looks like a man in full like I got it all now My jumper maybe I'll never have have but like I don't really care like I can get where I want to go against anybody No, it's impressive because now we have come so accustomed to we've grown so accustomed to that every year Janus is gonna show up with something new. He's gonna show up smarter. He's gonna show up stronger He's gonna show up more confident.
He's gonna show up with something that is just going to add to his bag And that's what you want from great players You want that from great players because you don't ever want it to be a situation where it's like oh, he's figured it out and nothing You know, there's nothing else for him to accomplish He just is just going to go play basketball and be great It's like no if you're going to be in Janus's one of those guys that looks like not only does he want the throne He knows the responsibility that comes with the throne and he also knows that when you are that dude the way people approach you and There's very few people that can handle that. There's very few humans that can handle that right like the best athletes in the world in the entire world You're gonna be number one and everyone's gonna be looking at you and saying that like LeBron had it Kobe had it MJ Hell did there's you know, there's only a 10 dunk in my opinion There's only a list of like 15 guys in the 75 years. Yeah of the NBA and Janus is one of those dudes and that's that's impressive Yeah, our guy perk keeps keeps tweeting after every bucks game. I don't care who knows I told you all Janus is the best like perk.
We know man. No one's just no one is being like Janus is the sixth best player in the NBA Perk like we got it. He's the best guy. It's like universally acknowledged You know whoever gets to the top of the mountain yells the loudest is the smartest.
That's the best perks theory The only red not read the only thing I'm just the other bucks thing is their offense has not been good They're 24th in offense. They're not getting to the rim at all. They're all taking jump shots It's all three's and long to his thing a lot of long to his and you know what RJ I'm writing it all off until Middleton comes back because he's like you said their best ball handler He turns Janus into a roller dunker playmaker. So I'm not worried about that the defense is interesting Hey sports fans the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events ESPN shows and originals across every ESPN network in service And now you can check if you already have ESPN unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls visit activate.aspn.com To learn how to access your account or sign up then start streaming in the ESPN app It's all the ESPN all in one place sign up or activate now Any other feel good stories another was a rookie you wanted to talk.
Oh, yes my guy been out in Indiana bear down wild cats You know, you know what? Put two into together is he not now Paulo is playing outstanding, right? How is he strong? He looks like he's been in the NBA for like He looks like he looks like a physical like problem, right athletic do it all bubblegum now When I look at what Ben is doing in Indiana in Indiana He's an athletic wing, but he plays with such an extreme company and I was talking to him at the draft And I was like, you know, they were asking him questions and I was like who's the best but he asked me?
Who's the best player ever out of Arizona? I was like who I don't know I hate to say Gilber is up there Sean Elliott, you know, you know, just talking and he was just like No, it's me right and he said he was like kind of like joking right like no, it's me And I was like, okay, bro, like go do it like go do it and this is one of those years where it's like He might not win rookie of the year because I think Paulo is like I think his overall Rebound points assist that that's gonna be there I don't know I think Ben is gonna be an elite scorer You might wonder where his percentages are but I think when you look at him to be an all rookie member Like he's gonna put up numbers were like in the last probably 10 years maybe 15 years He could have been rookie of the year two or three times But maybe not this year so like when you look at that type of talent It's like good for him because he's like six seven wing that can do it all like a demar de rose and that those guys people make it seem Like they grow on trees, but they don't roll on trees There's just a lot of them in my opinion because that's kind of like a range that you can find a six five to six eight Wing that's athletic You can do it all but it looks like they found one in Indiana and the numbers most points ever for like a rookie out of his first Like four or five games like it was like he's he's starting to do some stuff and when you get this early confidence You know, there's gonna be a slump because it's 82 games, but when you get that early competent. Oh shoot He's gonna be like I want to see if I can score 40. I want to see if I can score 50 Hopefully that's his mentality and he's got Rick Carlisle Rick Carlisle is not like notoriously great with young players So the fact that like Rick is giving him that push is You know, it's impressive to me Ben Mathurin 21 a game on 45% shooting 39% from three on six attempts a game and the most exciting part is just the level of force He plays with he is coming in the paint to hurt you I'll put the ball into the basket and put you into my favorite players those like In some of these teams the NBA if you're rebuilding let's just say rebuilding and soon rebuilding will morph into tanking and there's a Little fine distinction, but they're like, so we'll get there There should just be like an NBA fun police who after 15 games goes to the Indiana has a meeting with the brain stress And like look buddy healed a nice player.
We all like buddy healed Can we just start math or in now so math or in entire East Albert and can play like 25 minutes a game together? Because this is the only reason anyone is tuning into your games. It's like just just fun police Just fun police it. We just want to see these young guys do fun stuff If you're rebuilding just let the young guys do fun.
So he is fun I'm gonna give you another fun story just to just to let you just to try it's Friday. It's Friday. It's Friday. It's any And we've been drinking.
Let's go. They've played them. They've beaten rather the magic the Pistons and the Hornets But are the New York Knicks kind of fun are doing you're much more line New York next or they cut there at least fun They're playing fast. They're starting are scoring the ball pretty well after being a tire fire for two straight years They're kind of fun to watch Who did they their loss their first game was Memphis and a battle with them as a Memphis?
Yes. Yes, I again People don't understand basketball is complicated, but it's not that hard is not that hard You go and get a guy like Brunson and while we've remembered legler did the thing on me today He's not he's not a difference maker right like he's not this guy that gets you over the hump at this But he is an improvement. He is a piece and when you have like a collective group and RJ Barrett's gotten gotten like you know smarter basketball IQ Yes, they're competing at a much higher level I think getting the ball out of Julius's Randall's hands some so he's not the ultimate scorer decision maker doing everything for their team That's why Derek Rose was so important to their team because it gave him a second ball handler gave him a second decision maker Not just ball and it's like if if Julius Randall is over five from three and he's you know Just having one of those nights he was always going to be their guide and Derek Rose and now you have Brunson So I like the next I like what what they're doing. I do I like the fact that they've actually showed a little bit of balls And didn't like give away everything for not a dimensional although Don't have a mission looks damn good It looks like a seamless fit right there in Cleveland Darius Garland's out and they're like alright We got depth we got this take your time Darius like whatever But I like what they're doing I like the path that they're on and I say all of this I've never disliked the Knicks I actually respected the Knicks and who they were that's why we took so much pride and we always played our best games When we were in Jersey because we recognized who they were and they are the Knicks and like we're basketball fans as much as we are players And so when they became a dumpster fire for the next 15 years It's like with all due respect those guys like I'll give you one time before people always why you always mess with my Knicks my rookie year We go to the finals that was the first year post like Patrick Ewing and that whole crew that they didn't make the postseason Remember they had like 15 straight years so they don't make the postseason and we ball We had like the best year ever leave number one go to finals comeback the next year and somebody check this up So you guys see them online They came out with their slogan one team one city one garden That was their slogan my second year and if you're gonna tell me that that's not a fucking direct shot at our team Like yeah, we don't care what you're doing There's only one team in this town.
There's only one New York City. There's only one garden while all of those things might be true I'm supposed to sit here and watch you guys put together a campaign to go against us You're showing us that you're paying attention to what we're doing You're showing us and you guys are literally coming out doing that and we're not supposed to say you to you guys all right We'll show you the one garden every time we go to that garden We're gonna put on a show and that's what we did because they like we were we weren't going at the Nick We weren't trying to say like oh, no, we just were doing our thing my own business the next year when they came out with that slogan I kid you not I was like, oh, well, it's it's well It's just you too and so that's where that whole in my opinion That's where it really started you guys want to come up with a campaign. That's that's like Directly at us one city one team one garden. I okay And so I don't hate the Knicks But they have thrown some shots at our way and then our me or our team at the Nets and so from that point on That's what they wanted to make it.
So that's what it is now So I like I like that you're still fired up about this 20 years like yeah City next to JJ retic. I hate to I don't these things don't die. I lost the Duke of the national championship game These things don't die these things stay forever That's what sports is and fans will forever hate a player like Utah fans will forever hate Michael Jordan and all those I'm saying imagine being by a Russell right like imagine being the guy in the game And that's not to say that we hate each other, but it's like yeah These rivalries and they don't die remember the first year of Paul George and Kawai with the Clippers the Clippers did the same thing with their slogans It was like streetlights over spotlights black top black top over something and they made it they made it they made it were My hard had the real hard hats over over how the highlights and yeah We're the common man's team these guys are the pre Madonna glamour team over here and we're leaning all the way into that We're coming at them and then oh god. Oh, we fell apart in the bubble and we haven't you know?
We haven't gotten as far as we want to go we broke the conference now of course they they I know I know this because I thought to people there about it They are so shagrind by how they fell flat on their face that season in the bubble that they have kind of like all right We got a little we got a little big for our britches so to speak. We're just gonna kind of be the Clippers now We're not gonna go and then the Lakers win the title that year too Yeah, so we're not we're not going like those those things like there's there are people they seem silly to us But when they go bust like the Clippers are shagrind let's say about that Well, well now the Clippers had a bigger fan base than the Nets did back in those days Why the Nets had to move to Brooklyn? But they had loyal fan But but yeah like we went to the finals the next year and the one year that they made the postseason in my six years They're with Jason kid that nix made the postseason one time and they played against us I know the first round and we sweat them so people like oh why don't you like the next I don't dislike the nix I have literally whooped their ass for a full-on decade, right? Like I don't dislike of I respect of all so many guys on that team so much So I respect the next and I respect their fan base, but nix fans want to be mad at us players teams media It's like bro.
I have never drafted a player. I have never done anything that like has directly affected your team Right, I just minded my business and they wanted to throw those shots But I think there was valuable lessons learned the nix did it shooting shots at the Nets many many years ago The Clippers did it shooting shots the Clippers I think will make a big chunk move once they go into their own arena once they have their own space once they because did it Becomes, you know, you're walking in and there's in front of staples. There's nothing but Laker legend statues There's no clipper legend statues, right? It's not saying it's chakern.
It's magic Johnson It's it's so it's like even walking there You're just constantly reminded that you're the step-brother forever when you have your own building and you can start building that that legacy in that history I think that's going to be a big jump They're not gonna overtake the Lakers But it will be a big jump as building their community if Elgin Baylor weren't a Laker legend in his own right and one of the great players of all Time frankly underrated as an all-time player the ultimate Lakers troll move upon the Clippers vacating to Staples Center would be to build The Clippers statue the first they only clipper statue and have it be Elgin Baylor at the lottery on the dais with like a Clippers logo underneath him Because he was the old Lottery by the Clippers let's real quick on the by the way. I think the Knicks are fun I was high on the next coming into the season relative I am I do like their team I took the over on them Their starters look like they're playing at regular speed and not slow motion Which is a relief and their bench is still just the most rollicking bench in the Eastern Conference Rolicking Rolicking all over the place Clippers real quickly two and three just lost twice in a row to the Thunder 29th in offense last In turnover rate weirdly RJ not shooting threes like this is a team built to shoot threes and their 24th and 3 point rate That's not good Quai has played 42 minutes Quai and PG have played 39 minutes together Are we to take anything from this are you worried about this team that had so much hype and expectations and people like I picked them to make The finals are should I be worried? Yes, I think you should be worried from a standpoint of like and I got a lot of heat for this when I was saying that like all finals MVPs Are not created equal right here. We go here.
We go. I got a little heat on this. Well, no No, I'm not first of all. Why I had quies rookie.
He's a bad bad man, right? Hall of Famer at this point time in his career But when I say that I say it's like he what he did in Toronto was impressive I don't think they win the championship of Kevin Durant and doesn't tears Achilles and doesn't tears a seal It doesn't change anything other teams have had that type of health to help them win championships, right? You know Golden State wins a championship because Kyrie hurts his knee Kevin love tear his shoulder up in the first round So like this has happened before but didn't even going back and saying like his first his first finals MVP where he was that dude defended LeBron Outstanding right he did all of that but he was maybe the third best player on that team that your fourth best player He wasn't an all-star you had 10 don't get mono you had Tony and he was that dude He was ascending but it wasn't he wasn't an all-star that year It was he was growing and so when I look at he's been a part of great teams and now this is his he hasn't played basketball in a full year Last time he like last time he was in the postseason We saw a 3-1 lead blown and say whatever you want about Paul George and pandemic P Kawhi Leonard was on the floor and shot just as poorly the only reason why Leonard didn't get as much heat is because of those prior finals MVPs that we had talked about they weren't gonna talk about his failures because but he played awful awful awful in that series against against them So when I look at all that to say when I'm looking at a player that hasn't played a year that that this team Even though they got that monkey out there back a couple years ago There's nothing here that says that this team could be the Warriors There's nothing here in my opinion that says that this team right here is the team that can go to the championship They've got the components, but we make it seem like well Paul George and Kawhi He's got two finals MVPs and you're like when you start to unpack it and undress it It's a little bit it's a little bit more there to kind of mess with It's all that's all I mean I we disagree on Kawhi. I'm not gonna relitigate that here But the Clippers worries are I think fair and I don't want to dismiss how bad they've looked offensively Just because Kawhi and PG have not played that much together and Kawhi is coming off the benches like the 10th man all that But I just I get this vibe like are we doing this thing again where we just punt the whole regular season and say yeah This guy will sit this game these two guys will sit that game this these three will sit that game and then we'll just wake Us up in the playoffs and then we'll get to the playoffs.
We get to the playoffs Oh, well, you know the Clippers they didn't they didn't care about the regular season. They didn't have an identity They didn't have chemistry like are we doing this whole are we living this again? Does it work? It doesn't work?
That's what I'm worried about are we just gonna and look zoo looks great wall looks great norm power I just first good game this season last night in Oklahoma City So they have they have pieces, but I just I'm getting this vibe like are we just gonna do this again But I'm you gotta slow because you can't compare Kawhi Kawhi. He's multiple knee surgeries coming off an ACL I understand Kawhi under even Paul George at you know injured a ton you know last year Oh, I get why they're doing it I just I just like it's not like that's the part for me It doesn't work like show me the champions in which that worked and didn't work like in Cleveland when they were doing it Miami didn't do that when we're talking about the LeBron in air you talk about go and say warriors That's not what they do Milwaukee. That's not what they do Toronto They did it a little bit because Kawhi was coming off injury So you understood it and so they had that success there, but don't forget Kawhi was a plug and play They had everybody out they took out Demar and they added an upgrade with all due respect to Demar They added an upgrade in Kawhi, right? So now like Kawhi's like hey, we're gonna take it now But that core these guys that core in Toronto the young players had won G League championships They had been like growing together man lead Pascal all of these guys had been like getting there And so then when you add Kawhi take Kawhi out these guys had a core that could keep pushing while he was out There's show me another team that they just fall at the regular season Where's like as long as we get to the fun there?
It doesn't work the Lakers try to do it via injuries also with a couple years prior after they won the championship when they lost the Phoenix They were up to one then you know people get hurt not playing 100% healthy and their seasons So you should be worried about it, but you understand why they do it Yeah, they're gonna play the long game I knew that and it look I mean if Portland is is good and Dan's gonna be out a week or two here But if they're good That's just another team in the mix and your margin of error for avoiding the play internment is really really really small in the west And like nobody wants to be in the play internment the Clippers were in the play internment last year and they lost So it but it's a little early for that. I just wish I guess I'm being impatient I guess I'm being impatient you pick the Warriors to win the title. How do you feel about that five games in their three and two? They obliterated Miami last night at now obliterated.
They should be Miami last night home Steph sneaky MVP can't not sneaky But you talk about your honest is you gonna win MVP again? Steph looks incredible I thought we were gonna get a big Steph season after kind of like a slumpy shooting season by his standards last year 31 6 and 6 49 percent 46 percent from threes they are plus 44 with Steph on the floor and minus 46 in 73 minutes with Steph on the bench so talk about yolkich like plus minus numbers He looks incredible Stephen Chenjos hurt but he looked every bit the bench piece that they thought they were getting So Michael Green has fit like a glove I said when they got those guys that I was preemptively annoyed at how well they were gonna fit with the Warriors and how they play And it's been it's been seamless so far I like that they have promoted Moses Moody Moody Moses Murdie moors into the into a bigger role over comminga because I thought he deserved it He's played awesome on both ends of the ball considering his his pieces in a second year What do you think of wise men so far wise men is like still remains like very polarizing among Warriors fans and Warriors Twitter? Well the problem with with I understand why they got him I understand why they got They make no mistake because if you're like if you want to go with what we need versus fit if they needed fit They would have gone and got LaMello ball. Let's add let's just perimeter the out of this and just destroy it Right, let's just do that and they went and got they went got the big because if we have a big wise men will never be in my opinion He will never be his best version with this current Golden State because the things that he does well the Golden State Warriors They need someone that can distribute to all the guards.
That's great at dribble handoffs high basketball IQ And that doesn't mean he has a low and it just means he's inexperienced in the game That's why he didn't play much and caught he didn't play all in college Didn't play you know play a little bit his first year didn't took another year off last season So like his basketball IQ still has so much space to grow so like the Warriors He's not going to be a dominant guy because the Warriors are never going to be like hey tonight. He's got it going Let's be the big fella. That's just not so he's just got to be in my opinion He's got to be a great roller great decision maker and even then they got looney that is that knows what to do So he's all he's battling uphill Palin upstream trying to compete against Dremon and looney for minutes in an offense and an assistant that isn't necessarily meant for him It's meant for the perimeter guys around him. So like it's just it's going to be tough Do I like him?
Is he another arrow in the quiver of Steve Kerr? Yes, you talked about deep in Shenzhou and jamaica green like you got Moses you got they have they have rebuilt their roster to mimic the 2015 16 Warriors and kudos to them. We talk about for roster construction They have the best roster construction in you know in the NBA by far like by far and it's costing them so much money So much money with us it's it's it's it's it's astounding how much it's costing them But that being said I love their team They have depth they can handle as long as it's not dream on as long as it's not clay and as long as it's not Steph they can handle injuries to anybody and I don't I just say that like if you can they can have two guys Like that might have to miss some time right they still are the best team and that to me you are you are you are super high Oh the Warriors a couple things. I think dream on looks awesome like considering all the drama all the contract drama, huh?
Focus focus focus and really good I think Wiggins looks so at ease and confident in that system and is playing so well on both ends of the ball I you know Maybe I'm just maybe I'm just a cock-eyed optimist But I choose to see the bright side of wise man Like he adds a dimension that they don't have as a roller Defensively look is his positioning on the pick and roll gonna be off here in there sure is he gonna bite on pump Thanks You can hear Steve Kerr last night against Miami Steve Kerr's teaching on the sideline You can hear him when he's close to the mics at midcourt saying stay down James stay down on pump They've been on one bam one and jumped into him on a shot You could hear him saying dive James dive when the heat We're kind of coming up to touch on the pick and roll and James was sitting there screening like holding his screen And he was like no if you dive now we're gonna we're gonna get you can hear him teaching and you know He's gonna make those kind of mistakes But when he gets those arms up at the rim and he times his jump right like he's a force that they don't have so I'm choosing to be optimistic On him like I think he's been all things considered okay He can't pass it all he can't move he has like four assists or something But I think he's been alright. What did you think before we get to the show competition? Did you see did you see that clay responded to a Barclays comment last night? No, I was Barclays comments So I'm gonna talk about when you're doing games with all the respect when you're doing games You miss all of this all of that you miss the other games Like I didn't really get to see the Barclays said the other day that clay is not the same player He was before his injuries that he's get essentially like he's slipping a little bit and you know That's worrisome for the Warriors and clay responded after their win life saying against Miami I just watched the video of it He was legitimately I love clay because he's so genuine He was hurt by the comments and he did not hide that he was hurt and his general response He gave an old-school duh several to two does like he's like Charles.
Yeah, I tore my ACL in my Achilles In game second of years like duh I'm not the same guy that I was before he said I'm working so hard to get back to that place You just give me some time I played like 50 games in three years We just won the championship I feel like I was a big part of that and I like I don't what Defensively you see him get burned in ways one-on-one that he would not have gotten burned before like even Kyle Lowry took him a couple Times last night, but I just trust clay Thompson like he knows how to play He's got good size to defend point guards if they ask him to do that He doesn't have to defend the A plus wing guys anymore because Wiggins is there to do it I just and his shot is a shot his off ball movement is his off ball movement That stuff's not going away like I mean I trust clay you should watch the video because you just legitimately hurt by what Charles said Emotionals not the right word. I think clay clay is his smiles and wins and all the stuff that they do I think that's why I always I try and take it easy on players from that standpoint and sometimes you say things and like For a guy Charles it carries a lot of weight when Charles speaks the whole world is the basketball communities is waiting So it's like you know that those words are gonna get there and I don't think that Charles just knowing Charles He's not saying a negative way you remember the end of Charles Barkley's career You know where he was like banged up banged up could you know I'm saying like you were he knows this up How many teams do you think right now would give clay a damn near max contract? No, not that many years. No, but I'm just saying like not many teams not many times contract that I said damn near max I'm saying like if the max is like 40 and he'd give him 30 for a two or three year deal Yeah, there'd be a bunch 30 million what where the cap is going actually you know He's I haven't thought about that because he's such a clear warrior for life that I've just never thought I look at Everybody without you the value on the open market right on the open market right and and he knows he's not the same player He's not gonna try and be the same player He would he I think of anything we can we can marvel at two things one how special he was in those moments He was a high level two way player like top five player in what's poetic about what's poetic?
It's poetic is maybe not the right word, but to me it's poetic about what you just said is we saw him at his absolute blazing Best when he got injured the first time in that game against Toronto in game six He was like single-handedly gonna will them to that win like threes twos fast break just playing in year 36 or something He got hurt came out and hit the free throws like we he if that was the last time we ever see peak peak peak peak Clay he was at the absolute apex of it Amazing like the dude is and I watch it I watch mark Jackson challenge him challenge him and you know It's hard to challenge offensive players to be defensive guys clay took that on like okay I'll do you know clay just like yeah, okay fine. I'll defend everybody who cares and he won't say word clay doesn't talk So clay just goes out there plays elite see six but six six but seven plays elite defense doesn't get tired runs around like a madman And knocks down shots from everywhere like it was so special especially because he was paired up with his other brother over there Right watching those guys so like yeah, I can understand why it's hurt Why there's a hurt me he's like oh like and this is the other part Talking to Steve Kurt clay didn't do much in the offseason because he got injured in the offseason last year He was ramping up to go to he was ramping up and they were like bro Don't do anything we'll get you going as the season progresses like he was he there was a mental block there Like he was afraid like the last offseason that I was training and working and trying to get better because the idea is like okay I'm gonna take a month off and then I'm gonna start grinding. I'm gonna get back to being old clay Like I'm gonna get my leg strong. I'm gonna get you know I got the endurance that's what I'm gonna do and there was a block there and the Warriors like let's not do that because he was just like So even Steve was like we're gonna bring him along slowly started this some of this frustration is that you know He had he took time off once arrest because of what he had to put his body through and then too because there was a little bit of like Uh when I went crazy hard during the offseason That's when I got injured last time and I don't want that experience like for a guy that couldn't play basketball in two seasons I don't want that experience so for us to judge him right now But first 50 games of the seat are first like 10 15 games of the season That's just we know enough to be like you don't judge a person and here's why and we're not talking about a person We're talking about specifically clay.
This is why we're not gonna judge clay I will judge clay from his performance first of the year to the all-star break all-star break into the season Right, and then then you can judge him be like, okay He's ramped up his minutes are here He's more practice time because he didn't do much in the offseason and then when you break that down that sounds That's normal but when you look at the situation you understand it Yeah, I said all last year I was on record and there was all this clay not scrutiny But everyone's looking how does he look was it? Oh, he's like not to sit down not the same guy defensively And I said all along from game one until the end I think given the given the circumstances clay looks incredible clay looks ahead of schedule given the injuries He's coming off of I for him to just kind of step in and be able to score 20 a game and be the same mobile Three-point shooting threat. Maybe he's lost a little bounce Maybe he's lost a little speed on defense for him to just step it right back in and do that last season was incredible And I couldn't believe that there were anybody there was anybody being like, oh, I don't know clay He's not the same guy, but it shows you how much better He was than everyone else when he can have an Achilles He can have a ACL and come back and still score 20 and be a huge part to a championship team That's how much better he was that's how good he was when he was going for 60s and 37s in a quarter Like we gloss over because Steph and we gloss over some of the stuff because they're like a great team clay Clay's from the start plays career to today to today How many players have had a stretch like that offense defense record-breaking championships all-star games all in VA? I bet you there's 20 players in history that one like that amount from this threat I'm gonna say less because the four championships there's probably 15 players in NBA history They can say they scored as many points.
They had as many all-star games They won as many championships all MBAs all of the other stuff what 10 12 players in NBA history They can say that they've had a career that clay and clay is still going so he was that dude before he's not the same player But he's still a bad man and we know the importance to having that second brother there when Steph needs to go to work because you can't leave clay Clay could be overwhelming or face guarding him He's a five-long fire at all times. He knows the nose with him the whole time even he's not moving He just take me sitting on the bench and you're probably still to be guarding him. Yeah, they look I mean they're only three and two but they look great curry looks great. He's curry's defense just gets better and better You could see his level of communication and and switches and rotations just nail and all that stuff real quick about Steph defense And then where we can go where we want people make it seem like step Yes, you can target step, but you are not a part of a top five number one defense for five or six straight years, right?
And not understand what to do you how to do your role at high level He's doing his role communication switch all the things that they need him to do he's doing an elite level because if he was You know, there's other high level players that just play zero defense and they're just kind of out there and whatever They would they would be maybe a top 10 defense They would be a 15 defense 12 summer, but when Steph is locked in doing all the things that they need him They have a number one ranked even you're not playing 42 minutes of night on like on the court and a part of a top five defense and not doing your part It is impossible. It is impossible because you're eating up too many minutes I think he's look great this year. Their starters are so dominant that they could almost play blindfolded and outscored some of these teams And I'll tell you you face this in a playoffs. I'm watching them against Miami last night I got to write about this at some point when it gets to the fourth quarter of some close games They start running Steph clay picking rolls the two of them together and you would think that's such an easy switch because they're probably being guarded by two Like sized guys and you could switch it But either because of the way clay mixes up like I'm gonna set the screen Am I gonna just slip out of it and fade or because of just the fact that they're the two greatest shooters of all time Teams just cannot guard that play you can have like I almost feel like if you had Paul George and Kawhi Leonard guarding the two guys They would mess it up like teams they get wide open shots out of it every single time Level screen and slip because you don't know if it's a box if he's gonna hit the body And then you gotta be up and if he slips and it's you know they have those turns no screen no scheme So that means if there's not an actual screen Don't do the scheme if it's like not a screen don't show if it's not a screen don't don't don't switch So like clay does a such a good job of screening you obviously can't go underneath you can't do anything and like he slips out so many times And they run it so much that was our biggest our biggest issue with that play at the top in game In four four of 2016 they With that play over and over again, it's 3-1 Everyone feels like it's over and you know why we all felt like it was over on press rose because we hadn't seen because we're locked in on the game We hadn't seen the dream on punch yet So we didn't really know that there was this thing that had happened But I remember they just I was right above where they were on offense with the Warriors were on offense in the fourth quarter And jr had no idea how to guard it It was over and over again Well because that was so the two things that was so people know that how we guarded the Warriors the game won in game two We tried to switch everything we couldn't do it.
There was too many big their ball movement was is the elite They blew out they blew us out every game We were trying to switch everything because it was hairs, my hair's and barn We held step and clay down because that was our goal But they were such a balanced team that everyone else killed us and step and clay played just okay in those first two games And they still blew us out So we switched it from switching everything and we were like hey Stay home every once they homes the only thing that we are going to switch is if step and clay come together We're going to eliminate all the switching because I want to hold people responsible and you got to communicate and like look If step gets a running star and he's on that baseline and I need to switch out fine And you know you could point and talk in emergency situation But we decided not to switch everything the only thing that we were going to switch is a stepping clay came together So that those people knew because you're sprinting trying to chase step and it clay goes that way And you're like oh and now you're in your dead at that point time you're dead So that play was the one play that we were going to switch the problem with switching that singular play is back to the statement that I said No scheme or no screen no scheme and so we were like are we switching? It's like well, he's not screening He's slipping out so then you start to hesitate and then and then they got you then they got you and we were up by four Up by six in the second half of that game and that play and once they got that little five six point lead It's just like it was so hard. So that play was so special So I'm not surprised that even with our core and our group and the years that we had together It's it's next to impossible guard because both of those guys can go for 60 and with their eyes closed shooting breeze. They're it's crazy Let's get to the main event If early on the pod this long the early season the early season poop show Dan has to be about too many swears.
I'll go easy on understand the early season poop show of the year in the NBA Our nominees are our nominees are one and four the Los Angeles Lakers fourth in defense. Yeah 30th in offense. We all know what's going on there now. I mean number two the Brooklyn Nets one and four 17th in offense feels like they've been better than that 30th in defense 30th in defense They combine their two teams.
They be pretty good. Yeah. No, we can't have that um and we've seen the ben simmons The ben simmons situation unfolding air ball delay of last night. They're mine I'm a defend ben simmons.
I'm happy to have you defend him because I am actually as a human being rooting for him to succeed But there are minus 14 per hundred possessions with him on the floor and they ditched last night The day ditched the simmons clackston simmons sharp pairings of the two non-shooters are minimizing and our third nominee The philadelphia 76ers also one and four so these teams are two and twelve combined ninth in offense 25th in defense Richard Jefferson who do you give the jeffy award for uh the early poop show of the year in the NBA? What? I'm gonna say Philly. I'm gonna say Philly and the reason why i'm gonna say Philly is this James Harden, you know got in shape in the off season, you know, I'm gonna come back locked in they have a core they got an MVP They got all the talent.
This was a playoff team. Laker didn't make the postseason We knew what their issues were going to be their issues have not changed people make it seem like it's just shooting shooting Just it there's an overall energy problem. There's an energy problem with their team Then the Brooklyn Nets again coming off of what the summer that those guys had the season last year that those guys had Coming into the season, especially with the adding ben simmons like you're like, okay Am I surprised that they're off to a slow start not at all The philadelphia 76ers though Right with you know the guy that's finished MVP voting last you know second place last two years James Harden refreshed tyree smaxi everyone is high on this kid, right? They've got you know the tool they've got this they you know so to for them to be off to a slow start Now mind you the start of the season can be a little bit The top teams are always playing the top team to start season because that's how you build up the excitement for the nvc Is like the the Brooklyn Nets are and has broken up against five straight playoff teams the Lakers Their their early season schedules and loaded right like they're probably would be favored once or twice And their whole stretch of the first like 10 games, right?
And I think the first time they'll be favored as Utah if Utah keeps playing like this they might not be favored in that game so Trust me Philly fans are not happy their fillies are in the world series their eagles are playing well And they're like what the hell is going on with the 76ers and they're just a grumpy group of people Um, but yeah, yeah, that's i'm upset at you because I thought I was gonna be all nba hipster By picking the Sixers as the no brainer winners of the part of your life That's why I have so much respect for you Zach. All right, I learned so much from you And so when we're we're aligned it makes me feel it makes me feel good to me It's a no brainer because look the liquors are a circus the rust thing is a circus We the whole thing is a circus. I'm so I don't want to hear about it anymore But like to your point I had them ninth in the west coming into the season So if they're 11th instead of ninth in their offenses a disaster It's not like a shocking plot twist that they're now that they're I didn't like the rush straight from the beginning The fact I could not have imagined it going even 75% this of this bad This is a level of bad that I wasn't frankly beyond my imagination But I didn't I wasn't like super high on the Lakers coming to see So this is this is surprising in scale of badness, but maybe not result the nets I actually think the nets are playing decently That last night Yeah, like they competed against the bucks They missed a ton of open jump shots against the bucks the other night I thought they could have won that game They clearly obviously could have they lost an overtime to Dallas and Luca when bananas Like I you know do they have the the prettiest offensive system is it too hard for them sometimes? Yeah, that's all fair They're a basically a brand new team integrating a former all-in-b-a player who's clearly a shell of himself right now And I know you're about to defend him and that's fine I voted Ben Simmons all-in-b-a in the bubble season like I think he's a great player This guy that's playing right now is not that guy This guy is a different guy who's paranoid about getting fouled and has 28 points in five games And that's just that's even the stuff like he looks good in transition But I don't know about you man.
I watch him in transition He's getting off the ball so early and sometimes that's good Like if you kick it ahead to Kyrie and he has an attack angle That's fine Sometimes Ben Simmons has like a football field of open space in front of him And he still just gives the ball up to someone who doesn't have a great angle like do just take it and go to the rim But anyway, they're playing you're shaking your head. We're gonna get there They're playing all things considered Joe Harris was out last night Seth Curry has in played TJ Warren. I think is alive somewhere and we'll play at some point Like they are playing okay They're playing in a way that makes me think I thought they were Five four five six seven eight somewhere in there in the east I still think they're gonna be a winning team and be in there somewhere The Sixers the Sixers talked all summer. Look at our summer James Harden took a pay cut We're gonna be the best defense in the league.
This is the year I'm a workaholic. I spent the offseason doing this Tyree's maxi he's gonna be the most appropriate He's been unbelievable They have been so bad Defensively in in a way that is so embarrassing That it makes me question like what is something wrong with their team? Do they care? How can you be this bad in transition defense acting like you don't give a flying if you win or lose the game?
I know Joe. I was working his way back into shape. He'll be fine. I trust your well I'm beat that's fine I just of all the three that's the one I look at I'm like That's it's just shocking like there there are teams that have played them Who people from those teams front office people or or people involved in those teams have texted me after the game being like Is something is something wrong with them?
Like we didn't think this it was gonna be like this So they are my winner for early season poop show the year here are their next five six games at toronto at chicago at washington Home against washington home against the nix like they those are you know washington's three and one there Okay, chicago's staying afloat toronto's good like those next four like I want to see you show up and go three and one in those games If you're a serious team those are okay teams on great teams go three and one Okay, now let's break this down first game of the year boston. He was the boston. You fine. Fine.
Totally fine Next game. They lose by two to Milwaukee right two points. Don't know what fun. Don't again fine James harden has that little floater doesn't drop 88 88 90 grind it out dogfight.
Okay, santony. Oh, that's a bad opener. Oh into come out fired on the other whole Home over yeah come out. Oh into get it.
Not a back-to-back. That's not one hurt. That one's the one that hurts That's one that hurts me now you go versus indiana. You go versus indiana Okay, you do what you're supposed to do and then you go and play a good toronto team a very good toronto team And these look nikners one thing about his team is there's a level of consistency to their effort And they actually normally have talent right so so when I look at that even again we talked about that core group earlier Like they should if they were playing well, they would have I truly think one more victory if they were playing great They would have two more victories.
So like I don't think that they're that now now To the numbers before we get into the numbers before we get into the numbers I don't even care about the numbers. No, but I'm just saying my thing about change right now that james is back to being James Right. That's not no no no but I'm saying though like 25 points a game eight rebounds nine assists Those are closer to the numbers even his per is higher than jolan beat right his per is higher than jolan jolan jolan jolan jolan jol right now again I'm not big into these numbers. I'm saying that I think Offensively the way that he is more becoming back to not just being like just a distributor But like he's he's putting up shots here tyree smacks he playing well They're defense just and i'm surprised too with pj tucker.
You're gonna play 30 minutes tonight But I don't know I think this is this is up. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems They've had a very good schedule and they didn't play great in some of these games and you know and on top of it Like with all due respect the team that they were playing are hard playing teams boston They are a hard well Milwaukee is one of the hardest playing teams if not the hardest playing person You know, yeah, they take their cute. They take their cue from their best player. Yeah, that's what i'm saying So like when you look at it, it's like this ain't a schedule to ease into your season This is a bunch of like even toronto toronto don't play you think san and tony oh with great pop of it You think these guys even if they're the least talented team in the league those Moms are gonna follow the game plan popping just sitting over there smoking cigars So I just think that this is a little too early.
I think if we're I think yes This is the surprising show but of the three teams they have the potential to clean it up No, no, look we're we're having fun. We're being facetious. I'm well aware that we're five games at the season I picked the sixers to go over whatever their overunder was we had a whole segment who's gonna win more regular season games Philier boston on mba today. Phil he swept the entire panel including me I still think this is a 50 win team despite the fact that i're one and four I think that's they're gonna be fine their offense is ninth.
They're gonna be fine. I don't think james is james I don't think he has his burst back. I think he's somewhere in between hamstring ailing james and houston james There's like a huge gray area between those two poles and I think he's in between there My evidence would be rj 18% of his shots have come at the rim That's by far a career low peak james is around 33 35% all the other corresponding shots are long twos Which he's never really taken before I don't think you can get by people the same way anymore despite the fact that there's all this james Is back. I but I just that that's an i-test team.
That's an i-test team where you watch them play and you're like Oh, this just looks gross like some some gross is going on here now. They'll they'll they'll they'll get the gross out of their system soon Hopefully, but it's been gross. It's been gross. Yeah, but okay.
So let's again Let's look at his regular like his he's he's still go percentage is 47% up from 44 for his career today This year his 3.0 is 39% up from 36% for a career free grow percentage 93% up from 86% I and even again his turnovers to a game down from his career around 3.7 So when I when we say james is back. I say it is this he's back to being a high-volume efficient guy, right? When you tend to do this again. Oh, yeah, that's what I'm saying It's like like his like all of those numbers are there when there's a steady decline that most athletes are going to have even LeBron James Like as much as he's scoring 30.
He's not doing it the same way he did in Miami He's not doing it the same way he did in Cleveland like like you're he's going to evolve that first burst I was more about he wasn't really shooting he didn't have enough birds to get the separation not necessarily to get to the rim Like if his rim numbers are down you better be shooting a higher percentage from three Which he is he's shooting 39% for three because you can't get by people So your your evolution of your game has to coincide with the decline of your skill That's why as players get less athletic the player that didn't improve their three-point shooting They fall off the players that did improve their three-point shooting can transfer to a 3d guy They can do some other things because their game has evolved as their athleticism is declined That's why your peak at like peak as a player is like between 27 and 32 Why is that your peak? It's because you still have your high level athleticism But you've increased your basketball IQ you you're understanding these things So even as you start to decline your athleticism your skills should offset that sum right? So is he back? He's back to being that dude, but it's not the same way he's been doing in the path with 100 free throws He getting to the pain no, but his step back is there jump shot is there and I'm curious If that is that's not the same James Harden.
They saw last year. That's not the same this guy's not the same So is there an adjustment period? We thought is James Harden where to come in somewhere today James Harden gonna average 21 game He's going to leave the league and assist and he's gonna shoot an efficient year He'll be like oh the Sixers gonna be great if someone were to say this he was gonna go 25 9 and 8 and shoot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from three you'll be like oh the Sixers are gonna be favorite So I just wonder how that intersection of him being a high-volume Scored like guy versus what he was towards the end of the season last year. Give me the Ben Simmons tick Okay, my Ben Simmons take is this again very similar to clay to do took an entire year on I'm not defending him like you know like he took a year off Is there some like some like mental blocks there?
Yes, just like if you play golf There are pros that struggled with their putter or they struggled with their driver whatever everybody's got some some some mental stuff when it comes to sports He can air bottle layer and that's what you have mentioned And so we heightened these things. Do you know what else he did? He had the game time steel in the game time It's just okay. Just what I'm saying.
So it's like even if the media were like oh he airballed away Yeah, I mean airball layups. I had you know me And I know it's probably not that many No, because we have but my point is this is that this dude steals the ball from Luca right steals the ball from Luca And then goes down wide lanes drops the ball off the Kevin Durant Kevin Durant gets a dunk Now he's guarding Luca final play the game. That's you know, I'm I said on there I'm like oh he's gonna go to the left wings that he didn't want that he didn't want that So Luca and again Luca goes to his right which we know is not what Luca wants to do to go win a game That's not what he wants to do. We'll go win a game anyways, but if you had a pick He's gonna go left.
He's gonna do a step back. That is his bread and butter He forces him to go right kicks it out to bullet bullet cast to fire up a quick shot Luca didn't even get a shot up and I'm not just I'm just saying you if you close your eyes if you can't not close your eyes But you narrow your vision you can see some of the things starting to come back that made him elite You get a game when you steal you get a game our game tying steal a game tying assist And then you go and play elite defense that helps your team get into overtime Does he have a long way to go? Yes, he got a long way to go And he battled Luca because Luca took him one-on-one a couple of that Luca was hunting him in the third quarter of that game Calling for screens to get him switched on on to Luca and roasted him a couple times and Ben kept battling and and bounced back and got That wasn't the only stopping steal yet. Oh, yeah Another one earlier in the game like that's where he was on that right wing where he's on that right wing And Luca was like kind of mad and trying to draw the foul.
It's like he's being too physical with me Ben to me and again go back and walk like we know Dremon Green right now Like what they need from him is to be Dremon Green right? They need to be no Dremon Green doesn't look at the rim J-Mong Green doesn't shoot the ball, but he's his passing and the teammates and this is the problem though The nets have to do a better job of spacing with him and it takes time like then if this is how they're gonna guard you This is what we're gonna do all of these things are gonna happen in real time So it's like hey, they're gonna sack off you. This is what I want you to do I want you to back down and then when you see Kevin Durant, I want you to go and and he's always an adjacent kid You know chasing kid would be at the rim for Leia and throw it out the people to shoot threes chasing kid led the league and assist all year chasing kid shot 39 percent a year We were going to let the year like he should have won the MVP in my Am I over 10 dunk it? I say this to say that like we've seen guys that are more of a natural passer where oh he gets to the rim and like Kevin Durant got more open shots last night than he did in the entire Boston series In the entire Boston series like he's going to create open shots.
That is what these guys need He needs him to create open shots Kevin Durant got zero open shots in that Boston series It Ben Simmons can create five open looks for KD for Kyrie then then he's doing their job We can't be worried about what Ben Simmons is he going to be Philly is he going to shoot threes and who cares? Can you help this team win and the answer is yes? He needs to do more but those are all fair points and to your point about it takes time every game There are five possessions some of which we highlighted on NBA today last week in LA where you can tell There's and I don't mean this in a bad way. They're so discombobulated You can tell they're figuring out how to use him where he should be in the half court and that's on Ben That's on Steve Nash.
I wrote that today. It's on Steve Nash to come up with more Understanding kind of how possession should flow with him on the floor and we talked about the lineups weeks that we've already seen I thought if Milwaukee they got good looks when they posted Simmons and had split actions on the perimeter and had him kick out for threes And all that so it is going to take time last question and then we'll stop The Lakers are on for it's early. It doesn't look promising It looks like this team as a as a contender is dead in the water is DOA Knowing what you know Have you started to think about if this team is just hopeless hopeless in a way that like what does LeBron want to do at the end of his Great. He doesn't want to be on a whole team that's like our ceiling is 42 wins Have you begun at all to think about and people are asking me about this?
Like so what do they do like if this is just what they are We all know the rush trades. We got the rush trades. Let's just start like a magic There's no rush trade that saves this season. Let's just pause it that maybe there is but let's just pause it that Let's look ahead to even next season Are they just biding their cap space to get somebody else?
Uh if there is no somebody else I this is what people around the league are asking me Will they ever trade Anthony Davis like start to have that conversation with LeBron ever leave once he's you know He only tacked one year on to his deal have you started thinking about these things? My assumption remains LeBron is going to be a laker If not for his entire I would bet for his entire career But obviously brani is it is an angle that needs to be understood and we don't know where that's going to be But this is this is what people are starting to ask me about and I don't have answers because my brain hasn't gotten there yet And if LeBron's going to be a laker, I just have a hard time finding an anthony Davis trade That's going to make them better Immediately because if LeBron's on a team you're not trading Anthony Davis for like three draft picks and two swaps and all this Because you're gonna be like yo those like what am I doing here? So I haven't thought about these things yet, but I just know these are questions that are coming to me What are your thoughts? You know, I don't know what they do I don't like you said the buddy hilled miles turner That solves a lot of problems, right because you actually you're getting two shooters not just one You're getting a big you're getting a big that can play the five that could push Anthony Davis to the five So that's another problem that solved um so you only true That's the only one I would lose sleep about if I were the Lakers But both picks is a lot though man.
It's a lot like we're so they're so far away I know and everybody wants those two picks Um, so you know the Lakers they you know this they have to buy their time to see if something else can open up to get them more Because they need more than just that they need more than that because they don't even have great defensive wings You don't want the broad jane being your primary defender on some of these guys even the Brooklyn Nets They got boys. They got Ben like Kevin Durant and kairi just go score Don't go ask the 37 year old to also be like a top one to defender against all of these guys It just is unrealistic, you know, that's why you bring in p.t. Tucker So that yan is getting wrong a little bit and you know what the Lakers have no rant They have no more answers They like they did make a mistake And now to fix said mistake The best thing that they can do is go and they were I think they were like potentially good to great like as a championship team 2021 they made a mistake and I think the best thing that's on the table is for them to get back to be good Right like every move out there makes them good I guess there's something people said about that because this is miserable what they're dealing with right now They might be happy being a good team like you can't just build a championship team You've traded all your assets. You've traded all your young players.
You have no picks You can be good and we know when LeBron James good can get you and I know he's not 34 I know he but with LeBron James he can get you a shot every time He can get to the bucket still he's still doing a lot of those things So I just I just don't see it from a standpoint of there's anything even with LeBron's greatness My like I think when Anthony Davis, that's the part that's very You know, I just I'm not saying trading Anthony Davis I'm not saying that but and people there like Anthony Davis his injury history is he saw I just Even if you were a wing player as a wing slasher individual I spent my entire life being a crash test dummy I would drive in there and try and dunk it and get hit and fall down tear my wrist I'm landing my back every day. I was in sore if they had to call it time out every time I hit the grounds act I wouldn't I wouldn't have made it to year five, you know, and so, you know, I wouldn't have made it So like I don't I think it's you know, they lack toughness. They lack shooting They and right now I think they all know it. So you're seeing a 70 effort It wasn't Frank Vogel.
Everyone knows now. It wasn't Frank Vogel I think Darv and Ham doing a solid job, you know, at least he's like well We can be defenders We can get out in transition because that's our only option and they've leaned into that and they've been good defensively and they've been getting out in transition Because that's their only option but there are teams that like if their only option is x they still don't want it So there is no answer for the Lakers Lakers are What they're going to be it's going to be this the only problem is that the minute they make the trade Now we have to regurgitate all of this again It's gonna be is there gonna be good buddy. He'll the last three games is only doing this and we're just like, oh jeez Someone to think that's game last night being facetious because so much has changed between then and now And both in terms of how the pelicans are built and how the Lakers are built said, you know, the Lakers gave up Brandon and grom Josh Hart, Lonzo ball, all the picks all the swaps for Anthony Davis What if they called the pelicans right now and said we'll trade you Anthony Davis back for Ingram straight up What would the pelicans say and I was like pelicans say no no for Ingram? Yes You think they were trading room for the AD straight up given the contract situations giving you an acquiring after next year Let me just give him Zion's on the team.
Well because you have Zion So Zion is the best player on that team like Zion would be the best player on that team I'll say that. I'm not saying Zion better than Anthony Davis from this like old like skill standpoint I'm saying that like they would treat Zion as the most important player Right like we're gonna build around what Zion's because he's here on our contract and he's going to be the faith So even if Anthony Davis were to come back, they're not gonna be like, all right Zion We're gonna we're gonna you know Zion go play the five so Anthony Davis can play the forward You know like that time I think they would I'm not gonna disrespect Anthony Davis and in Brandon Orms a really really good player to say that like if all things being equal they wouldn't do that But I don't think that that would do much for the Lakers. No, that's just again I know we're just playing and we're just playing but no let's not disrespect Anthony Davis. He is he a top is he It's great.
What he looks great right now early. So is he a top is he a top 15 player? I'd have to sit here and rank him. I would I would probably say yes I but without having actually gone through it.
I know he was what did he fall to 20th in our NBA rank or something If he's gonna play like he's playing now I get their own for I get it. It's not leading to winning But I would probably say yes, he's at the back end of that somewhere But it's close That's just tough man because he was supposed to be he was supposed to go from a top five town town to a top five player He didn't do that. He's like regressed every single year since they've won the championship And then I'll just follow some of his injuries on what you are describing is why the thinking was We will not be the Paul Pierce kg Brooklyn That's 2.0 where we've traded everything for old guys and we fall off a cliff and we end up giving up jail and brown and jason tatum Essentially and because Anthony Davis will see us through bill of bronze 26 at the track 26 now now half the time He looks like he's 32 Well, then that we're ending on a sad note. We start on a happy we're ending on a Richard Jefferson second to none.
I will see you in LA soon for NBA today By the way, you know your tik tok star you're tik tok star. You know that we haven't I was hoping to get through the whole podcast without the words tick And talk coming up and now they have come up the king of tik tok no never never people's jam I'm the people's champ. That's what I am. I'm tik tok.
Well, you'll never see me on there. RJ. Thank you, sir. Love you, man