Exploring the Championship Paths of the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers | The Dunker Spot

Exploring the Championship Paths of the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers | The Dunker Spot

Hi hello and welcome to another episode of the dunker spot we are part of 342 Productions I am your host nikai Duncan and joining me as always is my co-host Steve Jones Jr Steve how are you doing sir ah feeling good feeling great happy to be here excited to be here thank you

Dunkers for once again embracing your bounce uh Tuesdays for the dunkers so YouTube hi hello I didn’t mean to take that from you nas but you know what’s fair is fair uh go smash that like button comment uh got something special for you later in the episode so no

Worries uh but Nikas it is time to hoop it up it is indeed time to Hoop It Up hope you’re doing well glad you’re doing well friend we are going to have a fun slate for you today we’re going to check in on a couple more contenders uh we

Briefly mentioned the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers on the last on the last Tuesday episode rather but we haven’t dove into them in dunker spot fashion since you know we had the early check-in in mid November with the Clippers after the first four games of

The James Harden experience so fair to check in with them now since they are very very very good and you know we talked about the New York Knicks in relation to the ogan anobi trade and what’s going on there we haven’t dove into them since then so seems like a

Fair time to check in on both of those teams also has some W news following that I think we’re going to have some fun so let’s jump right into it let’s talk about the New York Knicks who of as of recording on this Monday afternoon

They are 29 and 17th 29 and 17 excuse me fourth in the East they are game back of Philly for third they have won their last six games uh right now they are seventh in offense ninth in defense sixth in net rating per clean in the

Glass if you want to remove garbage time they are one of five teams right now that are in the top 10 in offensive and defensive rating for clean the glass featuring the Clippers who we’re going to talk about later the Boston Celtics the OKC Thunder and the Philadelphia 76ers so

Steve can I start with a stat actually I would not expect anything less than that Nas I’ll be a stat boy real quick but like I odly laughed at my laptop as I was doing some prep earlier today because all throughout like Nick’s Twitter and National media checking in

On the Nicks everyone’s been kind of loosely citing the OG and anobi plus minus thatat OG has played 500 minutes with the niick so far they have won those minutes by 252 points that not how that’s supposed to work Steve he already leads the Knicks in total plus minus he has played 14

Games I think he has a two-point lead on Jaylen Brunson heading into Monday night’s action it is absurd for your team to be that successful and obviously we’ll dig into the actual particulars of what OG’s been able to do but like that just blew me away cuz I’ve seen it the net rating

Is even Wilder plus 25 with on minus 13 and a half with a off per PVP stats it’s he has helped that team win basketball games beyond that though I guess we can start with I go OG Centric my favorite thing about this Knicks group and something that I quietly have a question

About the OG plus bench unit has been fun to watch because I think about you know the history of this program whenever we talk about the Knicks it’s like this off this half court offense is kind of a SLO they’re playing slow a lot of bully ball

A lot of iso then the second unit comes in with like and Emanuel quickly Etc now they’re running all over the place like hey this is fun it feels like the exact opposite of that right now where you have OG plus bench you have Quinton Grimes you got Duce McBride you got Josh

Hard out there prea to where they kind of need the transition offense because the half court offense is kind of we have some questions and that’ll bed into a larger conversation but the defense from that fiveman group is insane OG has been one of the best defenders in the League this

Year once you throw that in with the ball pressure that deith Bry brings Kint gr being solid on and off the ball press to Chua again there are many things to point out with pressures on offense and Nick fans have gotten an early Taste of the presses of Chua experience but

Defensively he is a big that’s comfortable switching you can play him in more aggressive coverages if necessary that’s been a lot of fun and Josh Hart just doesn’t care who you are he will get into your jersey he’s very physical he can defend multiple positions that Grove just stifles you in

A way that honestly makes uncomfortable sometimes watching like what are you supposed to do against this they bother you they bug you they bump you and then they switch if you try to get a screen to get one of those guys off of you there isn’t really anyone to

Pick at per se and like all of that popped in particular with the Saturday game against Miami where we were hosting a watch party for that one and I was tweet I tweeted out after the first quarter like holy crap Miami’s offense actually looks good this is fun it’s been a minute

Since Miami has done positive offense things and from the second quarter onward we didn’t see that much fun from Miami’s offense and that second unit was a big part of it but I’ve enjoyed watching that unit defend I’ve enjoyed the Knicks overall honestly jayen brunson’s had himself an incredible year

He’s going to make an All-Star team Julius Randle obviously G to be out for a little bit with the dislocated shoulder but he’s had a good season you’ve talked a lot about his playmaking but just the sheer physicality that he plays with offensively I think that helps wear on opponents and that bleeds

Into the other end of the floor as well Isaiah hardenstein has filled in Admiral and then since he’s been out Jericho Sim’s back into the fold now he’s had some fun minutes I mentioned him in my in my screen time uh writing for the 342 newsletter wasn’t the screener of the

Week but he got a mention for some of the work he’s done recently this is just a tough fun talented group I think we should be paying more attention to the Knicks which is probably funny coming from me as you’ve been doing the pop with me for three

Years but it it’s been a fun stretch for New York uh longterm storytelling obviously if you’re a new dunker hello welcome I’ll give you a little bit of the lore if you’re a longterm this is interesting now I am not surprised that you started out the Knicks talk by

Praising the defensive prowess of that bench unit and we will tap right back into that here in a second but Saturday January 27th 2024 Nas Duncan tweeted the following the Knicks are a tier 2 in the East and are probably a bench piece away from a stronger argument for being the second

Best team in the conference Insanity considering every year we’ve done this podcast I have raised my hand and been like hey so the Knicks though and the Kai’s been like I mean yes they cool the offense though yeah I don’t want to misrepresent your words but it’s been some variety of yes but

Also and here we are and then Julius Randle gets baned up immediately they’re 12-2 over the last 14 G games they’ve been incredible over this stretch the two losses were combined eight points I I think for me larger picture wise it’s tough because it’s a fork in

The road because Julius is going to be out obviously there’s optimism it’s not going to be as long-term as it may have appeared hopefully he’s good because he’s been so important for this team but they’ve played their way into that four seed that little grouping of them Cleveland Indiana Miami Orlando

They them and the Cavs separated themselves and then I looked up and I was like oh wait they’re a game out of three yeah they’re right there six of their next seven games are at home so it’s just about holding down the fort right now uh we could Circle back but I

Do want to salute Julius Randle who I believe is an Allstar uh this is where it’s going to get interesting for them because one of the pieces of this season for the Knicks has been their ability to kind of handle each phase I think about it we’ve had Quinton Grimes be like hey

Man where’s the the ball Josh Hart was like Hey man where’s the ball you lose Mitch Robinson Here Comes Isaiah hartstein you lose hardenstein well let’s figure it out which Tod Gibson thank you for your service hey Jericho Sims is back yeah so I’m intrigued how they handle that

Lineup wise number one because like again there are five players I believe averaging 20 points nine and more rebounds and five assists alprin shenon Julius Randle Joel embiid yanis S DMO and Nicole yic one of those five people gets treated like the dragon meme but now we’re going to realize who

That is now we’re going to realize how impactful he is I do wonder which direction they go on I don’t know if you had any thoughts about it but I’m thinking do we do we do you insert one of harder Grimes into the starting lineup do do you slide precious in

And hope you can go double big for a little bit and let Sims take the backup five minutes I don’t know how they piece it together I do feel like we will end up seeing more of precious set the five with OG and Jaylen and insert two of

Dante Hart or Grimes in theory what do you think um if I had to guess I probably lean hard into the starting lineup I think they go hard and they just have like whoever you want to call the for but between him and OG in that

Group I think they go there I think they want to keep prees on the bench it’s fair especially if you’re playing prees at the four with this group it’s kind of like okay what exactly is he going to do on offense because even if you think about like the theoretical spacing that

Precious May provide I go back to like the post allar stretch of about a year and a half ago at this point where he’s knocking down all these B break threes and driving and stuff like you feel that more with him at the five then you do it

To four if he’s being defended by other forwards and other wings like I think that mutes the spacing as aspect of it and again this isn’t a guy that’s being defended like a pure stretch five anyway but I think you mute some of that and if you’re putting the ball in his hands

Against fours with his propensity to attack and try to make things happen that feels like we start precious and he gets a super quick hook because he’s done too much while jayen Brunson is also waiting for the ball back so I don’t know I don’t I get I I see the

Argument for it in all seriousness but I would imagine it’s going to be one of hard and Grimes and I imagine it be har especially since if R’s going to be out like Hart should be able to do more more of the ball handly things grab and go

Use them more of as a handoff hub and so you can kind of mute some of the space and concerns you have with heart too with that and then you can still just kind of blend in the second unit there that’d be my guess no I I think you’re

Spot on I only asked that question uh because I want to be respectfully messy and be like hey did precious get some Julius Randle tape and be like hey I can do this like I know I can I can do that anyways uh extreme Sandy voice no you

Ain’t but back to your bench lineup point cuz I think it’s a good one um number one it was interesting to see them kind of initially start with like hey Jaylen Brunson and OG y’all do the bench and then McBride was like hey I would like to play and continue to play

For a very long time and stepped up watching Josh Hart uh Quinn Grimes and OG play defense at the same time is very fun I think precious has settled in to understanding what the task is defensively which is the number one thing you need to do with

Tibs and I think that act ity being able to mix in some switches if need be I think it’s a plus I think if Josh Hart and Quinton Grimes had issues feeling involved that lineup can solve that because they have no choice we need you to do things with the ball in your

Hand you will have the chance to do thing with the ball in your hands I know there are some playmaking concerns with that lineup I think for me it’s more important for them to have to move the ball to a degree like that group has to cut that group has to try

And drive that group has to try and find it offensively they have to work to create baskets the other part is they have to work defensively to get stops and then they can run in transition it’s like a different variety of that Fire and Ice that we’ve talked about the next second

Unit for the last couple years where this is just the defensive remix version of it but I I think it ties back to Og man OG really helps Elevate their defense when we talk about the Knicks usually it’s about the r ations and the scheme you feel the impact of OG’s

Ability on and off the ball to give them a boost when his man is spaced he can stunt and recover that just helps driving angles that you thought you had aren’t quite as there paint touches that you thought you had aren’t really as solid as they were

When there’s a breakdown you can count on him to make the right read to cover space to naturally help guys rotate I think that’s so huge his ability to navigate screens and take pressure off The Bigs is big but it also takes pressure off that weak side help that can tend

To how do I phrase this I don’t want to say stagnate but can it can get a little stale at times where okay we’re in oh are we back out we’re trying hard but we’re kind of struggling I think OG just helped stabilize that and you just feel it as they play more

Teams oh yeah he can guard a lot of people huh yeah whoever’s water we want to try and turn off let’s let’s go ahead and do that I think that’s also the plus of OG with the bench where hey quote unquote six-man or score or whoever you want to

Put with this unit to Anchor It here’s OG deal with that um I think OG offensively has found his Groove uh I’m curious to see what your take is on how they’ve used him but I’ve liked some of the movement sets as far as being able to get him off

Handoffs couple slices into the post I think it keeps him a threat but it also adds movement for the Knicks which I think is always important especially around Brunson and Randall and you can find he’s getting more comfortable when he spaced not just shooting threes but

Hey I could drive a close out I could self-create get to my pullup I can get to drive and kick I think that’s just such a plus for them but actually do you have any OG thoughts offensively yeah I was about to say just to jump in very

Quickly I have enjoyed the usage for OG it hasn’t just been it it feels like they found the middle ground like this isn’t the OG gets 80 touches a game that you know if you believe any of the Rumblings reports whatever about OG Wan a bigger role while he was in Toronto it

Isn’t that but it also isn’t you are our best and also most important shooter we need to have you space you don’t get to do anything else unless you just find a cut or something it’s been a nice Middle Ground between that to your point coming off the staggers coming off the handoffs

The slices into the post and then something that we talked about when the tra was first made as I had the early question hey how are they going to find that balance between letting OG explore a little bit while still fitting him him within what they need him being the

Second unit guy was not something that I anticipated and again I do think there is room for a creation boost and I felt that way before the Randle injury with Randall out now you definitely probably need to look into hey can we do something for an extra ball handler or

Something before before the deadline but even giving OG that room and letting him get some possessions there without Jay Le Brun on the floor like I think that’s important to one plating him a bit if you worry about that at all again he hasn’t agreed

To an extension he is a free agent this offseason assuming he declines the player option but also like you’re getting him reps you’re getting him touches and you’re doing it in ways in which he’s comfortable like he’s comfortable coming off a handoffs I still laugh at like

Trying to balance OG on defense where you just cannot move him and he can also Slither across screens like a guard and he can provide some secondary reputation like a big and he’s good sling against wings and then on offense when he drives it feels like if the wind blows he might

Fall over because of some of the balance stuff so like that’s that’s something I just cannot wrap my head around I don’t know why he’s so sturdy on one end whatever but he’s comfortable coming off of handoffs if they are able to tilt the defense with that second unit or when

He’s with the starters he’s a very willing and very good cutter he can find his own opportunities there if you put a smaller dude on him he is good at punishing smaller matchups and the shooting speaks for itself so I think the usage and also what he’s been able

To get out of that usage has been very positive during the Nick stretch so far I’m with you there but you know we can’t talk about the Knicks without talking about Jaylen Brunson yeah yeah he seems to be good at basketball a lot of letter talk with

Jaylen Brunson a lot of Superstar talk a lot of steak sauce talk a lot of Allstar talk he’s been great this season but I think his impact is more important than a lot of the discussion goes to 12 games in January Nas so far he scored 30 and

Eight out of 12 including six of his last seven I think the improvements that he’s made to build on what he found last year has been huge 45.3% from three on catch and shoot threes 40.7% from three on pullup threes that’s on 4.1 attempts last year he was on 38% on 2.8 attempts

That’s huge not to mention he’s just shooting 41.3 on above the break threes his ability to lead the dance has been so impressive this year and I think that becomes more important in a playoff context because you when you watch him plays with his own pace playing at his

Own Tempo getting paint touches pick and roll you now have to consider what do we do with him because of the Comfort level that he has to where you don’t know if it’s going to be a reject you don’t know if it’s going to be a pullup three you

Don’t know if it’s going to be a paint touch it’s a lot to deal with and his footwork the decisiveness he’s just been so sudden to where you don’t know how quick that burst is going to be where’s that hesitation going what is he leading into so even if you want

To play a drop hey big has to react defense is holding and reacting I think that’s huge because and when we’ve seen it kind of just progress especially over these last few matchups his ability to get in the paint score get to the pullup and against drop we’ve known that right if

You’re a defense you want to show help that’s going to open things up for New York and that I feel like is the most important part of this season for Jaylen Brunson the fact that okay if you want to load up against me one-on-one that’s fine if I can get in

The pain and pick and roll and now keep you engaged and hold the help and also create out of that if I score at a well enough Pace that you have to put two on the ball I don’t know how many teams are going to do it but we’ve seen teams kind

Of sprinkling in throughout the season you see every time what opens up for New York and that’s where I’m like okay this might change things in a playoff context at the very least if they can get defenses in rotation with the lineups they have of guys who are willing to

Catch and shoot willing to drive some Closeouts does that open up a different layer for them offensively in the playoffs because I feel like the other counter was we’re going to show bodies we’re also going to put size and length on you and again going back to the wiggle or the Improvement

Or just the pace that he plays with he’s felt much more comfortable against some of the wings that teams have tried to throw on him to where he’s leading the dance and still getting to his spots does Brunson and his offense open up a different window for you with the Knicks

In a playoff context offensively or do they just kind of have the same struggles like I want to quickly bounce off of that because I think I don’t really want to get into all to like onea and we’re not doing that here sorry tomato tomato tomato Tom so we’re

Not going to do that I will say and the only thing I’ll say even related to that is that your point about him drawing to and being able to open things up and to that degree I think that’s the part of the like onea conversation that he’s

More firmly put himself in because he is someone that has gotten so good at manipulating coverages and that kind of circles back to even the pullup growth for him not just in terms of the percentages but the willingness to take these pull-up threes against drop that was something that popped last

Year and is popping even more this year the fact that now it’s not just the floater and then some of the craft and getting files off of that when he gets in you know below the free throw line now it’s if I if I get a screen from

Mitchell Robinson when he was healthy Jericho Sims when he’s in Isaiah hardenstein if we get some of those super high stepup screens from 40 feet from the basket as a big I can’t Lumber around the free throw line and then wait to see what Jaylen Brunson does or wait

For my Defender to get back and work back towards jayen Brunson he will take two dribbles get to the three-point line and Flink it without thinking about it and he does so at a high level you have to creep up against Jaylen Brunson now and that opens up everything else I

Laugh every time I watch a Nicks game and you know it could be depending on the team or if it’s just like second unit big comes in and they play that big more aggressively like I think about Milwaukee when they have Bobby Portis in they generally bring him to the level I

Laugh every time that very the very first possession against Jay Le Brunson when the B comes to the level Jay Le Brunson wins 90% of the time it happens oh you’re about to come up huh reject and then there’s jayen Bron get it downhill again it work now teams May

Adjust or again depending on who the big is he may just have his way against that but that first possession is always jayen Brunson will he will trick you into something he will reject or he’ll go towards it he’ll draw a foul off of it because you’re two leager you don’t

Want him to get going turn the corner he’s gotten so good that he’s drawing that attention more and that’s an overwhelming positive what I work what worri is too strong what’s in my mind when it comes to Brunson getting two because I trust him navigating and then or navigating

Manipulating getting downhill to score for himself I am keeping an eye on the passing because I think in a vacuum him drawing two is a good thing and then you think about the Nick’s roster your Dante Dean chenzo I really want to talk about him he’s just been really good for this

Year what they nailed that signing I don’t want that to go by the wayside interesting yeah if only someone said that yeah but he’s been really good but you think about the role players that they have Dante dienzo good good shooter really good cutter oan noi good shooter

Really good cutter Josh Hart the shooting question mark But knows how to find space And even if he doesn’t find space as a cutter I’ll set this pin in for you they have a bunch of role players on the roster that know what to do against advantages I just want to see

How consistently jayen br canil those passes to your point about not only is he seeing two more often he’s he’s already getting a lengthier matchup in general or within a playoff context he’s absolutely going to get a lengthier matchup plus maybe extra attention I think the passing is really going to

Have to hit not that he can’t do it but that’s something I’m keeping my eye on moving forward and then heading into the playoffs with Knicks because I think if he’s able to navigate that portion in addition to oh I can just reject the screen get downhill and get to my

Floater or get to the rim or snake out and do whatever I need to do I can get mine if he’s able to blend that with the playmaking and maintaining that inherent Advantage getting two on the ball then yeah I think the Knicks can be even if

They aren’t like Indiana or Boston as a super Elite offense they will put points on the board and if you allow them to set their defense with OG and to and some of the guys they could bring in they absolutely have a formula to make a

Deep playoff run so I I just want to keep an eye on the passing on that front I got a question when it comes to the playoff run n guys okay what is their matchup who is their best matchup I’m sure we probably could both raise our hands and say Cleveland but I

Imagine Cleveland with like a measure or two or three of Revenge that would be a Revenge series indeed okay so let’s take a look at the standings very quickly that’s why I’m on my phone my apologies you’re good but as of right now the dicks are fourth so

Their current path right now will be Cleveland the first round if you assume Boston beats Orlando they’re Orlando’s to eight right now we’ll keep it standed for playing stuff so be New York and Cleveland and then they will get Boston in the second round more than likely and

If they’re able to beat Boston then they’re getting the winner of Milwaukee Philly I like I would not favor them in a Boston matchup though I do think their physicality and now you’re throwing OG into this matchup too like I do think they match up better today with Boston

Than they did beginning of the year and if you’re getting Mitchell Robinson back like even with Mitchell Robinson being out of bunch they’re still top two in offensive rebound rate they’re still the best rebounding team in basketball like they can still win The Possession battle that’s a series that probably go

Six or seven I’ll probably still pick Boston so like if if it stays the same right now they’re probably out in the second round for me if they’re able to get to three as we mentioned earlier they are a game behind Philadelphia right now if they get to three that path

Gets a lot more interesting if you flip New York and Philadelphia right now again as of January 29th before the games were played on Monday you flip and four you get New York Indiana in the first round like I would take the Knicks in that series and if you’re telling me it’s New

York versus Milwaukee we have to see the the Doc Rivers era literally starts today so we will see what that looks like and then if they are able to make a move to improve the defensive Personnel uh by the trade deadline I wouldn’t I wouldn’t blink at all if they beat the

Bucks in the series right now that could change but like that I think three is the pathway to them making the run so three three is the pathway for you yeah I I in my mind I’m thinking the Boston matchup I think defensively I feel better about them against Boston I worry

About them offensively in that matchup just because of the amount of Defenders that Boston can throw or the defensive tactics they can throw there and the fact that Chris o porzingis apparently just doesn’t want to miss shots when he plays them play a role there another Revenge series I’m thinking about

Philadelphia I’m thinking about the Knicks in the defensive game plan being able to sink into Milwaukee and Philadelphia not that it’ll be an automatic win but I’m curious okay what’s your response going to be because hey are we are we just doubling in beid are we just throwing all of our

Defenders at Tyrese Maxi are we throwing our defense at at Dame which thing could the Knicks take away is where my my brain goes to hm I would be intrigued to see it I like I feel like they’re they’re going to be annoying come playoff time

Granted if they can hold on while Julius is out yeah and that’s going to be the big thing and again like I felt like they probably needed another even in the tweet that you referenced earlier like I think they are a bench piece away from having a stronger stronger argument if

The second best team in the conference and like even with the juli’s injury like he’s going to be back this year unless something goes horribly wrong we hope not he’s going to be back and so at full strength I still I think New York has an argument anywhere from 2 to four

In the East right now just the Merit just on the Merit of how good they are if they’re able to turn the Evan fornier and some draft Capital into something that they could use this year whether that’s I would laugh if they make a trade from Malcolm Brockton

Considering the six Man of the Year conversation last year I I personally had quickly slightly ahead of Brockton on my fake ballot I don’t have a real vote but like it would be funny after all of that conversation if they end up trading for malcol Brockton but like if

It’s someone like that and if the the Grimes ro/ comfort in New York thing isn’t resolved if it’s if it’s 48 plus Grimes to get a piece can they turn that into a brock then can they turn that into a a Jordan Clarkson or Jordan Clarkson and

Something if the salaries don’t match up I don’t have salary stuff up right now but if they can turn it into another bench Creator so even if you want to give Jaylen Bruns and arrest you want still want to rck with OG with the second unit you have OG plus someone

That can create alongside SL for him and then the rest of that defense that’s a really fun group I I think New York’s they are in a good spot right now they’re in a good spot perfect I have one final thing okay because I thought the stat you were

Going to mention was 19 and0 against below 500 teams 10 and 17 and it’s 500 and above talk about taking care of business but also yeah I do have something else to yeah yeah so like you go through some of the Nick stuff if if we’re gonna be Debbie Downer for like

Three minutes after all of the prays so Steve mentioned the win loss against you know the below 500 teams and above 500 teams so as I normally do when I get like General stat stuff I’ll go to clean the glass get filters out garbage time whatever mentioned earlier they’re

Seventh in offense they’re ninth in defense they’re sixth in net rating and the half court they’re 16th in offense they’re ninth in defense you want the half court offense to be a little bit better but you we’ll see what moves they make when facing top 10 offenses or top 10

Defenses 26th in offense against top 10 defenses in the half court that’s a little bit concertive when facing top 10 half court offenses 25th in defense that is a bit concerning and so again this is very that’s very much a year-long stat if I had time since record live

Like I could filter for just since OG’s been there and see what that part of it looks like I would imagine that it’s much better since OG’s been there so may not be as big of a concern moving forward that’s something going to play I’m going to pay closer attention to

Moving forward but like that was something that popped off the page for me like wait a minute if we’re just looking like looking at quotequote Contender like measurables and stuff like that like that’s something that doesn’t bold well and again I think that’s something I’m just going to pay more attention to

Moving forward that specific thing that specific set of filters but just something to keep an eye on not dooming the but yeah that was that caught me off guard that that what we that is what we call a feather in the cap remember that stat if they overcome it it’s like hey

There we go and if they don’t that uh that might have been a flag they could have been paid more attention to but no in all seriously shout out to the Knicks and as we’re getting into like one more things and stuff I mentioned a little bit earlier Dante demenzo what a signing

That’s been his defense has been good the on ball pressure in particular has been fun that man has been working he’s had to take on you know pre- OG he’s had to take on some assignments that he probably you would want him a slot lower in the hierarchy defensively with some

Of the matchups that he’s had to take on earlier in the year but since OG’s been there and he stepped into the starting lineup with RJ Barrett not being there anymore he looks more comfortable he’s flying around again what he’s doing as a shooter um since the OG trade 38% from

Three on eight attempts is pretty freaking wild what he does as a cutter very willing screener on and off the ball so they can mix in some Randomness after the initial set breaks down or doesn’t work he just adds a level of energy that they need on both ends of

The floor I I really think Dante should be highlighted for the work that he’s done so far and with Deuce since the trade 48% from three on four attempts he has not seen a pullup that he doesn’t like yet really pesky at the point of attack like he’s someone that I’ve just

Generally wanted to see get more minutes in New York because I know he’s a good guard or I had the thought that he was a good guard but the rotation wouldn’t allow it especially when they had Emanuel quickly you got jayen brunt to get minutes etc etc

So even as I’ve said they probably need some sort of upgrade in terms of bench creation I have enjoyed the dece minutes so far and I’m glad that he’s getting this opportunity and lastly Isaiah hardenstein because I think it deserves a little bit more than he’s filled in nicely for Mitchell Robinson the

Rebounding I still remember the conversations when he first got to New York as someone that was super high on hardenstein and then that first month or so of playing the Knicks it’s like oo that man is not grabbing boards to does not seem to be enjoying his defense

Right now oh no what’s happening with this signing and he’s turned it around since then and since Mr Robinson’s been out it is noteworthy to me that they’ve still been this good on the glass since Mitch Robinson’s been out what he’s been able to add as a high post Hub the

Defense has been solid enough he’s just a very fun bench piece he’s one of my favorite backup well starter now but he’s been one of my favorite backup bigs in the league for quite some time just because I love a big that can pass the long-term dunkers

Know the newer ones there you go go but seeing him fi his role admirably in New York that’s been a lot of fun for me as well just good stuff all around for the Knicks right now any closing Nicks thoughts or any more closing Nicks thoughts rather sa

Space yeah are the uh Nicks without Randall just the uh Iverson Sixers wow wow so if they trade for Bren would he just be the Aaron mcke that I’m just I’m trying to flet this out real time I don’t know that’s a that is a wild thought okay with no further comments there

Let’s check in on the Los Angeles Clippers again we tapped in with them for like an actual dive uh back in mid November November 13th I think is when we recorded and then the episode came out on the 14th since Tuesdays are for the dunkers uh at that time the Clippers

Were 0 and4 in the Harden era and we had a long discussion about what’s been working what has been working some signs of progress that haven’t really reflected in the stat sheet yet etc etc since then the Los Angeles Clippers are 27 and8 overall they are 27- 12 since James

Harton debut that seems pretty good that 27-8 record is the best record in the west they have the best offense in the league since that date they have the eighth best defense in the league since that date and you zoom out overall the Clippers are second and offense their

Eighth in defense their third net rating per clean the glass which once again takes out garbage time their third and half court offense their second and half court defense that’s pretty darn good and if you do the against top 10 offenses defenses filter like I did for

The Knicks against top 10 offenses they have the fourth best half court offensive basketball that seems pretty good as a playoff SL Contender indicator against against top 10 offenses they have the the fifth best half court defense in the league that seems like a pretty darn good indicator if projecting

Them forward as a contender so Steve I’ll talks it to you very quickly what stood out for you during this Clippers run aside from James hard being really freaking good well what stood out for me they they figured it out they kept playing uh we talked about it early on you

Mentioned the episode where we broke down the kind of the start the trade and everything I think you go back and listen to it now and watch the Clippers play and you’ll see a whole lot of things which is why I’m proud to do this

Podcast the way we do it I think for me it’s the comfort that this team has playing together that’s really showcased itself on both ends of the floor you can see the comfort and the confidence it’s been you know it’s replaced some of the tentativeness they had at the start to

Where they were trying to figure out the hierarchy what do we run what are we doing on defense they’ve played their way through a lot of that because it’s not just the James Harden Factor although he’s helped Elevate them it’s not just qu Leonard not not only being

Available but being kawh Leonard it’s not just Paul George being more comfortable everything just kind of feels like it’s coming together right now and that really it’s been buzzing for me over this run because you mentioned how you know record wise how good they’ve been 22 and four since

December only losses at OKC at home against Boston at the Lakers and at Minnesota kawhai was out for two of those so for me I I look at a team that is just understanding who they are when you watch them defensively and you know some of this

Came from the Boston game they had where it was clear that they wanted that one but you’re reminded oh yeah they have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George defensively they have Terence Mann who can defend multiple positions they can navigate screens they can switch when they need to they’re really good on and

Off the ball so it makes it tough to know okay where exactly are we looking to attack I think Mason plumbley has done his job I think him and Daniel Ty have a little bit more activity in pick and roll defensively than zubach that’s not disrespect just literally style of play

I think that helps to a degree I think James Harden has done his part defensively switch when I need to switch help I need to help rotate when I need to rotate you want to attack me I’m going to work my tail off to keep the

Ball in front and contest and if I don’t someone’s gonna help me behind but that’s important they get stops you know we go back to the initial conversation we had would you rather have the offense be ahead of the defense the defense be ahead of the offense this is the payoff

To where okay our defense wasn’t bad at the start it’s getting better we get stops we actually run and flow into actions as opposed to oh it’s shooting time they’ll still mix it in because the person know but it’s not to the degree it was we flow in

Actions flow in pick and roll flow in handoffs flow in staggers it’s a lot more comfortable that way and I think in the half court it feels like guys are getting the ball in the right spots much more comfortable one of the points I had when

We talked about this trade at least to start how are you going to build this out offensively and I think they’ve really found their rhym Rhythm as far as knowing okay what actions to run what are we doing after the initial action doesn’t pop how do we keep playing out

Of it like I for me heck I’ll even go to look at Norman Pal’s play Beyond statistics how much come how much more comfortable does he look working off ball being involved getting handoffs being spaced when you look at the way that they build out their elbow action to where James Harden

Can catch it and we’ve got qu Leonard on one side we got Paul George on the other we can do multiple things we can get screening actions if none of that works we can flow to a pick and roll lower on the floor those kind of concepts are

Where I’m like okay the Clippers have figured things out they’re comfortable with where they’re going to get it and I think that’s key like Paul George has played really really well to the point where we’re talking Allstar right yeah I I personally great least he’s in the discussion he’s in the discussion for

It I think that’s so huge because again you can use Paul George in a lot of different ways and they’re finding their Rhythm as far as how are we going to use them hey it might be a pin down it might be a stagger into a pick and roll you

Know he might be spaced and play off that way some of the drives that we’re seing from James Harden feels lot more decisive now those pay touches feel big and I think the key is the context for James I have the room to do all of these

Things that I can do I don’t have to do all these things that I can do but when I want to I can drive drive foul drive drive wiggle step back I can drive and kick and he’s just elevated that pick and roll with the bigs with teren man being

A able to get the pocket pass and what that opens up for the Clippers where defenses now have to help and rotate now they can play out of it but it’s not just that like I think that’s the important part for me it’s not just oh

We can run pick and roll with James we can get what we want that’s a part of what they do I think that’s the biggest part for me I got you I got you like I think the defense for sure just pops with this Clippers group just because when they

Are locked in and we can use the Celtics as the most recent example but as we talked about in that episode month and a half ago two months ago the Clippers defense was already good it was the offense that was trying to work its way there and then you add in James Harden

And trying to get him in as that was literally the start of his season and he had to learn these players and learn the plays and also get himself into NBA playing shape it was kind of rough and now as you mentioned like you make the transition point on that episode and it

Pops now to where they at least they know what they’re getting into in addition to these are really good players that are they have the ball in the open floor now or that are filling Lanes shout out red arrows now they know they now they have a plan on top of

That it’s nasty to deal with then the half court I think about very basic thing but I just think about just the level of space that you have around the James Harden picking roles the Paul George staggers when they blend in Paul George coming off a stagger oh wait this

Is a hard and kawhai pick and roll on this side while Paul George is going to the sagger as a defense you don’t know okay when are they running this just to occupy us because they want to get the ball to Kawai versus holy crap they’re actually running this for Paul George

The fact that you don’t know is part of the fun of doing that and the fact that they’re able to layer that in okay let’s say it is the kawhai post up this time which I have a question for you on that front but let’s say it is the kawhai

Post up this time where are you sending help from and even before getting into where you sending help from how loaded up is your help if you have to think about multiple things with multiple good players at the same time you really can’t and so like they aren’t 13 14

Spursy in terms of the movement and stuff but they can still bully your defense in the same way because they’re really good they space well generally and now as they’ve gotten more comfortable with each other as the sample is grown they’re now able to marry different actions and to your

Point like Paul George has been very important to all of this because not only from a skill sets perspective you can ask him to do just about anything he’s also the star player that is super willing and very introspective about okay I’m fine with being used this way

Like I think back to just some of like his own po or when he’s hopped on other things where he’s yeah I know kawai’s the the best player on this team that’s fine that’s cool I will just get in where I fit in I’m really freaking good

I know I can take over when necessary but oh no this Kawai and I think he’s had the same kind of you know he probably he may feel like he’s better than James Harden he probably is but like in general oh James can do the ball handling stuff that’s cool I will come

Offall I know I’ll get the ball anyway like I don’t have to worry about that and like that’s a small thing but like that’s an important thing because like not every Star as valuable as Paul George is wants to be as valuable as Paul George is he very well could have

The right I’ve been here I’m really freaking good n kawai’s one I’m two figure out the rest he’s cool with dipping anywhere between one and four on the offensive hierarchy On Any Given possession and because he Paul George he’s still a threat like he’s number one or number

Two and that part has just been really fun for me to sus through and then quickly on the defense front you you already hit on most of it so I don’t want to hang it too long just with zubot being out he’s missed the last six with a calf injury I believe is

What it is but I would just like to quickly say he was putting together a fringe all defense case this year before he went down like I think he’s been I think he’s been that good as an interior Defender he does not bring the same level of activity and like super

Aggression and pick and roll like makes plumbly Daniel Ty does so like that part is very much true but what he was doing on the interior I think he was very important for the Clippers having a good defense pre James Harden trade and even since Harden’s got

There like zubach has been very good defensively so I want to give him his flowers on that front um well I guess I’ll let you comment to that before I ask my question oh no I wasn’t I wasn’t ready for that salute to zoo what was your question okay fair enough my

Question is in regards to again they have the talent they have space and elements that they can make you know can make it really tough on defenses with the post-ups in the isos for Kawai in general or I guess just a general note on their post-ups and isos but with

Kawai is like the focal point of that do you worry at all about their activity off the ball when they post up Kawai and I asked because something that’s kind of been in my head watching the Clippers that it hasn’t really been like a big thing for

Me because they they score a bunch they’ve been one of the most affective Post offens in the league in particular this year so it’s not necessarily bad it’s more of a playoff question to be clear but like I look at not just who they’re spacing where but like what they

Do as their spaced and it is a very static group it is very much okay cool if James Hart is making the entry pass is an entry to kawhai I’m standing here Paul George may be two pass away but I’m standing here Terence B may be in the

Week side corner I’m standing here it’s not a lot of outside of like the big that made clear to like the dunker spot or something there isn’t a lot of movement until an actual pass is made or when the double team comes with kaai which very quickly to that point I have

That in my notes among players that have uh posted up at least 75 times this year it’s a 34 player sample Kawhi Leonard is double teamed on the highest percentage of those possessions he’s double teamed nearly 32% of the time when he post up which speaks to how good he is but like

Also that’s a really big number and like in theory because of who the Clippers have around him it shouldn’t be as easy as it is quote unquote easy because you’re picking the pois in there but it shouldn’t be as easy to send that volume of double teams to Kawai and like the

Fact that that doesn’t really change I could understand if it was kawhai plus bench let’s double him a bunch but like he sees a lot of those with the starters too and like going through the Celtics game with you yesterday and then today I was like okay let me just do the n’s

Thing let’s watch all of the Kawhi Leonard double teams let’s just see what this looks like and I just wonder it just feels like there’s some lwh hanging fruit with some cuts to kind of free things up especially when Russ is on the floor or

When Terence man is on the floor is that something that’s registered for you at all and do you have any worries about that in the playoff setting because I just feel like if teams are able to do that now if you just get into a series and

Say okay cool we’re going to double kawhai we’re going to pre-rotate to Paul George or James hard their one pass away we’re going to force you to make this skip to bad shooter and we’re just okay with doing that am I Galaxy braining it or is that something that’s kind of

Popped in your mind watching the Clippers no you’re not Galaxy branding it I think for me there is there are enough times where the Clippers have used their space to their advantage or tyo has schemed something up for Kawai in a way that I trust it enough if that

Makes sense even something as small as going back to that Boston game hey Kawai here’s a catch at the elbow we’re going to keep this right wing clear we’re going to dive and give you this space that’s where I’m like okay they can create space for him to a degree and

Keep they have enough pressure points around him to where yes you could send help but B man does a pretty good job of cutting or being where he needs to be to where he’s not necessarily that guy and it’s still James Harden and Paul George I think

There was a play when they played Toronto at home home where they ran a stagger for Paul George while kawhai was literally like hey give me the ball and I don’t know if they drew it up but the way it worked out was timing wise kawhai caught it Toronto said let’s double

There was no one to rotate to James Harden who threw it to him and so that’s in my brain I was like okay there’s enough here to where you can see it also when it comes to the playoffs matchup hunting is always going to be a thing for the Clippers so I

Think they will be prepared for that to a degree and so I for me having Harden and Paul George’s people that are one or two passes away helps me feel comfortable about it and the willingness for them to move the ball to a degree to where hey it

Might get back to kawhai even if your first double is successful kind of Pops to me what what was your biggest takeaway where you’re like was it just like no one is moving and anyone could do this or like hey a really good defense could really get them out of

Here um it’s a little bit it’s a little bit of both but more so that hey nobody’s really moving and I think as I was again just going through those specific possessions when Kawai gets doubled on the post so it’s not the larger sample of Kawai post up so very

Quick number on that 1.06 points per possession on any trip featuring a kawhai post up that is a good number when Kawai lonard is double team that drops to 0.88 points per possession which is a very bad number and so again going through the film because you don’t

Just take that number obviously but going through the film it’s like okay cool you got Harden one pass away or you got Paul George make an entry pass if the second guy is Terence man or if it’s a possession where like Daniel Ty is above the break and he’s diving down Ty

Might be the only guy that’s moving or ter Mana stay spaced above the break like he’s not cut he’s not diving in to clear more space he’s not setting a pin in or like setting up a flare for someone to come up and then L now

Instead of him being the second pass now it’s Paul George if James Harden do the inry pass or what whatever and it’s just like okay if you’re not going to move like I think that’s fine and I think back to the conversation that we had when we had

Jacks and Frank on to talk about MB and like they weren’t heavy movers off the ball with his post-ups either and it was more important for them to set up hey we know you know where to throw the ball if the double comes versus having a whole

Bunch of flares and exchanges and cuts or whatever so it’s not inherently bad that they don’t move but I just wonder could a team scheme that I think a team could scheme it I think my counter would be it’s good that the Clippers aren’t solely basing everything

Off those doubles if that makes sense to where they can kind of shift things offensively and run different stuff I think sometimes when it comes to defenses one of the things that offenses do or more teams are doing okay you have the Rhythm on this action you have the

Rhythm on what we’re doing here we’re not going to run that for the next two three four times we’ll either run something else or try and get to it in a different way and then we’ll come back to it because I think a lot of what defense is timed on

Is is rhythm and timing and anticipation and because of the pace and Tempo the teams are playing with if you’re able to now flow into something else you kind of shift the defense’s brain a little bit to where hey we’re locked in on this we got this tied in

Now oh we have to worry about this oh they’re back to this again that type of beat that’s something I’m wrestling with when it comes to defenses and how offenses are trying to treat them right now and I think for the Clippers that would probably be their advantage or

Their counter is that okay fine well done let’s do something else we can always get back to it okay just figured i’ get your thoughts on that one good sir like that’s just and again this is very much through the playoff lens with the Clippers is where I have that question

Because if you zoom out guess who in terms of points per possession is the most efficient post offense in basketball it is the Los Angeles Clippers in terms of isolation they are number one in isos per 100 possessions around 29 per 100 per second Spectrum they’re fourth in isos but in terms of

Double teams that they see about 4% on isolations that’s eighth in the league nearly 20% in double teams against post-ups that’s fourth you know who which team seems the highest rate of double teams on post UPS this year who the Toronto Raptors huh yeah that’s a fun one I’m calling shenanigans I’m calling

Shenanigans that is very much oh Pascal has it we don’t care about anybody y’all got out there oh Scotty has it we don’t care about anybody that y’all got out there so like even with like double team rate all teams aren’t made the same like

Some of it is y’all are too good and some of it is y’all are too good and also which is where I feel like some of the Raptors fall into it with stuff like that cuz the top three is the Raptors the Lakers and the timber wolves like the Lakers makes sense they

Also have their own spacing stuff to sort out and then with the tier wolves I’d imagine that’s a lot of cat or ant when he gets a mismatch and that isn’t the best shooting team either so like there’s context to add with that but the fact that the Clippers see that much

Attention is a good thing because of the talent that they have but also that’s where my mind goes to okay how what are you countering or how are you countering against these double teams because a lot of those possessions felt like kawhai passes out rotate the one rotate to the

Second guy and now the pass either goes to someone who the defense wants to shoot or they’re able to just recover if there’s a catch and hold and I just want the Clippers to be able to get the most out of those doubles if they’re going to see that high a rate of

Them so that’s just kind of where my mind okay can I can I dive into the playoff context bag real quick yes something unlocked in my brain because uh ever since that Sixers Raptor series I always keep track of it in my mind of hey someone’s guarding James Harden

Let’s scream before James Harden gets a pick and roll so we can get a switch so someone else is guarding James Harden and has to navigate that screen and it made me think about switching do you feel confident about the Clippers against switches I feel more comfortable about the Clippers against

Switches especially if Kawai is going to play like this which there’s probably like a 30 minute pod to be had just on kawhai alone and what he’s been able to do I I said that mvp cases heating up I see yeah R I don’t know about I didn’t go that far um

But I’m sorry to disappoint but no he has been he has been very good offensively again I remember writing the piece earlier this year like hey let’s keep an eye on these Kawai drives they’re not hitting the same right now and then he immediately started hitting

With the drives it’s like ah well this is why I said I want to keep an eye on it versus Kawai is watched and he’s done ET Etc but like I feel a little bit better about it there is still kind of the inherent Kawai and PG are like

Sized PG kawhai Harden def you know depending on who’s going to be defending them those could all be switches and then if you are a factoring G like Terence Mann into your closing lineup or Russ who we should also talk about who’s played well off the bench and has been pretty fun defensively

Which is a really high note for me because I have been frustrated with Russ’s defense for a long time but he should get a mention for what he’s done also just accepting the bench role and that coincided with the Clippers taking off not one to one there but like he

Should get his props for the year that he’s had too but if Russ is in or Terence man is in and a team is going big and they can put their Center on those guys they’re still just a general okay sure you could use Terence man as a

Screener is that not what the defense wants you to do then in that case are you not more okay with that than the inverse you you might have but Terrence man apparently has attended the unofficial James Harden pick and roll Camp then pocket pass is looking pretty good against Toronto and Boston hey

That’s true that is true but that’s where I’m just like okay what again it goes to it ties into the postup thing the iso thing like okay what advantages are you going to create because I trust that they can win against switches I guess for me and

Maybe that’s me just thinking too deeply into it I would like for you to I want you to blow this defense up if you’re going to go matchup hunting match up hunt in a way that okay we have to put two on the ball here and then you’re

Able to play out of that versus Paul George kawhai or Harden kawhai this is a switch we now stare at you and you may score which in the playoffs that’s all that matters you just got to have more points than the other team by the end of the game but

Just like conceptually can you really Bend defenses like I don’t feel like they’ve reached that point consistently enough for me and then just very quickly uh looking at second Spectrum in terms of points for possession against pick and roll switches the Los Angeles Clippers are 28th only ahead of the Portland Trail

Blazers in the Orlando Magic who are dead last so at least statistically like they haven’t solved the switching part yet I do feel like their process a little bit better and again ultimately they have the talent in the playoffs that even if it doesn’t look great they can score

Enough but to like frankly answer the how good do I feel at the switches like they still have some stuff to solve for me okay on that front that’s fair uh I had another question but I’m glad you brought up Russell Westbrook uh because one of the points I wanted to make that

I forgot to make when I talked about the Comfort the second unit all those guys feel like they know exactly what they’re in there to do Daniel Ty every single night looks to be the happiest man ever as a Los Angeles Clipper Russell Westbrook it’s competing energy effort man they had that game

Against Brooklyn where they actually ran the small lineup and came back and won it was just Russ the entire game being relentless it’s like oh yeah no there buying normal pal has been good you still just do that yeah I wanted to give them a hat tip but

I also wanted to ask do how much confidence do you have in their lineup versatility come playoff times it’s another thing to where I am trending towards I like it but I still have some quiet questions and I’m glad you brought up the small line up front

Because that was something that I wanted to make sure I had in my notes heading into this pod so per clean the glass the Clippers have had 411 possessions without a true big or a center on the floor so no zubot no Daniel Ty no Mason plumbley no diate Etc

A plus 14.2 net rating in those possessions that is really freaking good and if you just filter for let’s make sure all three of hard and kawh PG on the floor with no big so any combination of the two Norman pow and Russ Norman po Terence man uh you can

Sprinkle in some of the PJ Tucker possessions from earlier in the year we’re not seeing any more of those um it would appear but plus 23 net rating in 168 possessions that is really freaking good and so for me and you brought this up on the uh the last YouTube pod it was

One of those things where I trust that it’s good I don’t want them to use it too much during the regular season and then I also wonder in a playoff setting how many teams can they close against with that line because in the back of my mind it’s

Still just the rebounding at that point and you brought up a great Point bring it up OKC bring it up Minnesota like you could probably trust Harden on a big or like denan score in that group because he’s so strong and if you try to post him up that’s not ideal against James

Harden but I do still have the general hey are they gonna be able to rebound well enough for this to matter and that’s where it came to like bringing up Denver as a counter example like obviously nobody in else in the league has a A yage in the West

But like can they do that against them if that’s the Western Conference Finals or the second round depending on how the seatings match up so like that’s something that I’m keeping an eye on I do feel better about it in general like when zubot is in you have more traditional pick and roll

Center have more of a traditional interior Defender makon plumble he can be more aggressive you can use him in more of the handoff or post split stuff in a way that you can’t with zubot Daniel Ty can feel gaps for you he’s probably more switchable than the other

Two bigs so like they can cycle in bigs and then the small lineups hitting like this is a positive is more of a a matchup deal for me now with when they can go to some of the stuff okay okay because I was thinking they have multiple bigs who could do

Different things they can go with the small lineup obviously uh feel pretty comfortable with the contributions from your guard so you can get mix and match pretty well so I was curious there I’m glad you brought up matchups let me get the standings back up all

Right so right now 3C the game out of first I’m going to ask you how do I want to phrase this actually I’m G to ask you this power rank these four matchups it’ll make sense in a second okay for the Clippers in the playoffs got you got you Oklahoma City Minnesota Denver

Phoenix in likelihood that the Clippers win or just toughest toughest to easiest for you ah toughest to easiest Denver 1 OKC 2 Phoenix 3 Minnesota 4 okay okay I was I was curious because in my mind I was going to initially be like hey is a is a Denver Phoenix path

Tougher than a OKC Minnesota path for the clippers but I wanted to get your gauge on it I think Denver is the toughest matchup for them because of the yage factor combined with Jamal Murray and their defense and willingness to try different things Phoenix I’m in a weird place with

Because of the scoring but also the Clippers may just be like you know what let’s go small let’s switch we can defend y’all or let’s play Drop and you just take these pull-ups Minnesota and OKC are intriguing because I feel like OKC has the type of offense that could keep

The Clippers defense off balance to a degree at times M but the Clippers could also lock in in a different way and with Minnesota for me it’s just Minnesota against switching like I feel like the Clippers would be very comfortable switching in that matchup and while Minnesota’s answered a

Lot of those questions for me still got to see a little bit more as the season progresses so that’s that’s where I was at I figured I’d ask got you got you I mentioned a little bit earlier the Clippers 28th uh against pick and roll switches the wolves have worked their

Way up to 24th I remember bringing them up early in the year on the episode we did with JJ they were I think 30th at that point so they have indeed worked up the list the still bottom third the league right now yeah like it’s just one of those

Like I feel bad for putting Minnesota fourth in that list because in the back of mind it’s like okay yeah like there are some offense questions with the Wolves but like also that def def is insane and if the Clippers actually can’t figure out the double team

Thing that could get muggy and it’s not like Anthony Edwards is incapable of winning just a shot-making battle if it comes down like last three minutes it’s not like he can’t do that and they have a bunch of Defenders that toss it all the all that perimeter talent that that

The Clippers have like that very much feels like a oh no the Clippers bought down and as of recording they are the number one team in the league in three-point percentage if the Clippers have a bad shooting Series against the wolves that could get hazy very quickly

So like I feel bad about having Minnesota 4 but like I do think they have more Avenues to success than the wolves do I think that’s where that goes honestly I would like to see the Clippers against any of these teams though the Phoenix one is interesting in

Just the the mid-range shot making battle in teams that have a bunch of star talent that can’t get to the rim for whatever reason also very quickly do you care about the do you care about the Clipper steel being bottom 10 in rim or is that just a nayas thing uh nayas

We’ve done this for how many years now one 1,000% of n’s thing now could it be a concern absolutely but I think the fact that they have different ways to get teams in rotation now or to force help alleviates some of that for me to where okay you can get teams in

Rotation whereas my concern before where I was aligned with you was was okay they can they’re good once they get the ball moving but what’s their pressure point how do they how do they get a defense to alter things I think that’s probably the tradeoff for

Me gotcha got you okay well then beyond that any uh any closing Clipper thoughts before we get into some news to close things Kobe Brown minutes uh quick quick fun fact the starting lineup of James Harden Terrence man Paul George Kawhi Leonard and Mason plumbley 5-0 and uh

Shout out to Clippers Legend Ralph Lawler’s law I I dug this up on a rabbit hole so you know first to 100 wins right that was Lawler’s law Clippers are 28-1 when they do it this season oh 17-0 at home oh there you go not bad I did a stat thing there we

[Laughter] go and Lord if we are uh roaming social media that is the only law that’s going to be referenced on this podcast all right so the All-Star starters were announced uh IND the East Tyrese halberton Damen Lillard Jason Tatum Yannis an TMO and Joel embiid in the

East in the west Luca donic Shay guildes Alexander LeBron James Kevin Durant Nicole yic any surprises among the starter announ announcements uh surprises no well actually Shay I’d be lying yeah y yeah Shay I didn’t think Shay was gonna overtake Steph so I I think a that’s a great accomplishment for him

Uh especially get the recognition from the players in the media and to close the gap enough with the fans I think that’s that’s neat to him so that’s a salute to him uh I wouldn’t say I was not surprised by Dame getting voted in um I had him up there but I understand

It’s been a lot of outcry and uproar for two people that will both be Allstars and which is a shame because this is what D’s first time being voted in after narrowly missing TCA in a similar fashion so that that would probably be the only surprises to me what what say

You uh I think the one quibble that I had Damen Lillard getting that second starting spot that you are 100% right and like the guy like I would have had Jay Le Brunson as a starter and obviously he’s going to make the team so materially it does not matter but like

As we talked about over the course of the last couple of weeks as we were getting the allar returns in once Trey young took over the second guard spot I didn’t have a problem with it because he’s been that good this year but I even said on those pods I just do

Not believe he’s going to hold that spot once we get into the media player voting I thought it was going to end up being Brunson and funny enough if Brunson had more to fan vote uh Brunson would have got in but he did not but he’s gonna be an Allstar anyway so

That’s kind of like the one quickle I had I had Luca and Shay like I think it should have just been those two I was curious to see where the front Court was going to land between LeBron Katie and Anthony Davis we knew yuk was going to

Be in so just getting two of the three there but no real surprise that ad falls out of that he doesn’t have the same creation burden I do feel like the defense just needs to be talked about a little bit more though that man’s been insane but no real surprises there um we

Gave our Reserve picks on the lat episode The Old Man the three things with JJ so you can check that out if you like some fully fleshed out reasoning on that front but do you want to quickly go through your reserves for who you had or

You just want to send the send the users on over to J let’s first off if you’re listening or watching on YouTube go ahead and comment with your reserve and we’ll do something fun with that to see what the common denominator is should we start out west

Nas sure uh back court I had Steph Curry Daren Fox front Court Kawhi Leonard Anthony Davis damont sabonis uh Wild Card Devin Booker Anthony Edwards and I said let’s start out west because we had the same ones we did indeed have the same reserves uh much to the amusement SL

Shagrin of Steve so that was fun I can give my short list real quick uh the people that were in strong consideration for getting one of the Wild Card spots at the very least uh Paul George just missed out Rudy goar James Harden Brandon Ingram Lori marinan

Victor wiim Bama Chad hren they all got consideration from me ultimately the reserves were reserves and Steve just listed them out so they’re all close there’s been a lot of good seasons in the west this year I I can’t wait to scan the comments and see what name you didn’t say right

Now what about Jeremy Grant what about Jaylen Williams no the other one but but to the east uh my reserves Jaylen Brunson Tyrese Maxi in the back court uh Julius Rand bam out of Bio Jaylen Brown in the front Court Donovan Mitchell and Trey young or my wild cards

Pao verely missed out for me it’s not entirely his fault and we had a nice conversation with JJ about how do you feel about you know good teams playoff teams having to have a guy um I think Pal’s ultimately going to make the roster and if you’ve been

Listening to the Pod throughout the years we did the All-Star check-ins poo has been on my roster this very much a late okay let’s slide poo out because I feel better about some of these other guys and I know the quickly on JJ’s po like the efficiency isn’t quite there

But obviously context can wave a lot of that away there have been some injuries and just in general okay I mean Orlando didn’t have a bunch of shooting on the roster so I don’t super hold that part against them Orlando losing the Poo minutes is kind of concerning and then

Comparing that to someone like bam who Miami’s also lost his minutes after this recent skid they are currently on the longest losing streak in the league at six games right now so not great but considering what bam was doing the beginning of the year also the responsibility that bam has defensively

That pal does not I think both players have been the best players on their team respectively this year so I gave bam a little bit of an edge there but like those are kind of the factors where I’m like uh has poo been better than bam on

Aggregate this year I couldn’t get there same with Julius same with Jaylen and then once you get into the wild cards like Donovan Mitchell Absolut is going to make the team and so it’s kind of poo versus Trey if you want to go more winning well within your right to

Go Pao but that’s where I landed on Trey because I think he’s just been incredible this year pao’s on the short list Jared Allen was also on the short list especially what he’s been able to do since EV M’s in down uh Scotty Barnes someone that I had on my roster ear in

Earlier iterations ultimately didn’t make it but I think he should be in the conversation still um christops was a games play casualty for those who remember like I very much I’ve been doing the whole who’s played at least 79% of their team’s games this year kind of keep up

With the games play minimum that’s in effect this year very much a big brain the KA thing whatever you can yell at me for that if you want but christops is a guy that misses out on the games played front overall he would very much be

Short list if not making it over Jaylen because I think he’s been good for Boston but those are my East reserves what say you boom here come the Nets fans uh I had a sorry M had Donan Mitchell Jaylen Brunson uh Julius Randall Pao B Caro bam out of B then I

Had Tyrese Maxi and Jaylen Brown Trey young was tough to leave off I left him off I probably imagine that he ends up being All-Star anyways considering Julius randle’s gonna be out for some time uh the Jared alen shout was one that I had considered thought about I’m

Trying to figure out would porzingis get in there like who else would even I’m trying to I’m trying to add to your short list is this is this going to be okay actually let me ask a question real quick what’s up what you gonna do when jimmmy Butler gets the

Nod absolutely not all do all due respect all due respect like I this is not an All-Star Jimmy year I I would just I’ll just be frank about it everyone knows what Jimmy Butler can do when he ramps it up he was just in the finals we know what he can

Do and even with some of the onoff stuff with him this year like the heat performed better with him on he he has he has not been All-Star Jimmy this year he he certainly has been playoff Jimmy this year I he’s not in this conversation mission accomplished I’m I’m sorry I don’t know

What to tell you oh you know a fun thing that I did as I was prepping for the JJ pod what you do and then we got the late text like hey guys we’re just going to do the reserve it’s like oh so I thought we were I initially thought we were just

G to give our like hypothetical all-star teams independent of like what’s already voted in on the starter front and so naturally I did like the games play minimum thing and everything like that that I normally do okay you know who would have missed out who just by virtue

Of that uh would have been no embiid because he’s missed a bunch of games as of late MB and Halle Burton would have been out in addition to christops just with the games play thing which Again Naturally they they made the team they deserve to make it all the good stuff I

Was like okay let’s do the thought exercise then who would be my reserves if we were just gonna if gon to go with that whole situation and so my starters would have been Brunton Maxi Tatum Giannis and Rand he slides up you got Trey and Dame in

The back court Pao jayen bam in the front Court Jared Allen and Donovan Mitchell as your wild cards and then Scotty ends up being like first guy out and then that short list would have Derek white Deon Demar Mel but you know that was me just thinking a whole

Bunch so that part was fun okay and let’s close this out with some W news per ESPN free agent for Alana Smith from the Chicago Sky expect to sign a two-year deal with the Minnesota links average career highs across the board last year 38 games 35 starts nine

Points converted 63% of her twos nearly seven rebounds two assists over a steal and a block per game she finished third and most improved voting this past season really fun player are you surprised that it’s Minnesota a little bit but I like the signing I like the

Fit a lot because I I think one I like what Alana Smith can do on both ends I think it fits what Minnesota does I think she fits their style of play I like the fit with nefisa ker especially with with fee being able to space I

Think the defense is really going to pop and help Minnesota on that end as far as you know being able to help weak side rotations I think that’s going to be very solid I was the links have been like in the back of my brain during this

Entire W free agency because they feel like they’re lurking to a degree but I wasn’t sure how many of the names we have fit their specific timeline or which direction they would even want to go in so this kind of feels like a we’re still building but we’re finding the

People that we want to add to our core type of move as opposed to Let’s swing for the fences makes sense like i’ love just from a basketball spit basketball fit excuse me a lana very much fits in with the way that they use their post as hubs they’re running through nefisa Jessica

Shepard’s one of the big big one of the best big passers in the League it’s sprinkled it in with Dorca last year like she’s going to fit in like a glove doing that kind of stuff and then defensively being able to ramp up the aggression with her directly involved at the level getting those deflections forcing turnovers like that that it’s going to be important for

Minnesota to get out and transition get some easy buckets there and then as you mentioned when she’s on the weak side if you want to ramp it up elsewhere she’s very good at closing down space and challenging things at The Rim or just stealing those passes if you’re trying

To make a skip so I think that’s GNA be a hand and glove fit I continue to keep an eye on again just where the shooting is going to land with Minnesota because they they ultimately end up putting a lot of pressure on you know within the

Starters Kayla McBride and the F Coler knock down those shots and then as the season went on like some of the shooting for fee in particular dropped so we’ll see where Atlanta where Atlanta lands on that front but I like it Minnesota still has cap space to play with so I wonder

If they’re able to add to that with another Splash your name versus just bringing some of their free agents back so we’ll keep an eye on Minnesota and then close it out a couple of resigning laia CLA and then expected to resign with the Sparks on a two-year deal

That’s coming from Rachel gallagan of wind cider uh they averaged 11 points per game 51% on twos 46% on threes but on low volume three boards three assists and a steal in 24 starts uh the spars went 14- 10 once they entered the lineup so I want to give the quick shout out

There nasty Defender the drives I felt were very important for the Sparks especially since some especially once some of the injuries started rolling in so for them to have that kind of impact on both ends of the floor I think was very important for the Sparks nice to

See them back with the Sparks and then colani Brown we talked about on the last episode on Thursday a lot of interest around the league a lot of teams expressing interest in colani after the season that she put up for Dallas back in Dallas on the two-year deal uh first

Reported by Christina Williams uh D to Gentry of the athletic also chipped in with the multi-year portion of it so want to give credit to both of them um surprised that colani is cominging back or any thoughts on Le claring uh I’m not surprised that clani is going back to

Dallas I think it was a really good fit I was glad the Intrigue was there uh with Clarendon my mind always goes to their impact in that game against the Aces and the competitive Spirit the ability to score the ability to defend and I think the Sparks just need as many

Culture fits as they can get right now as they are trying to figure out in shift so being able to bring them back is huge uh but it’s ramping up Nikas I have a feeling we’re about to hear some things this week yeah February 1st right around the

Corner that is the date that contracts can officially be signed a negotiating period started about a week or so ago so very excited for things to ramp up hopefully we have a whole bunch of fun things to talk about on Thursday on the W Front but with that thank you for

Listening to and or watching this episode of the dunker spot if you haven’t already please subscribe to us we are on Apple Spotify Google Stitcher podbean wherever you get your pods you can find us and naturally if you’re watching us on JJ re’s YouTube channel and for some reason you aren’t

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About Hoops along the way come rock with us the link is going to be in the description just click on that enter your information if you have a you if you have a league pass or cable subscription you should be good to go you can enter that in to create a

Profile it’s free no Shenanigans and if it is a hyperlink for the audio listeners just copy and paste that link into your browser and to your browser excuse me it is free no Shenanigans and with that we will catch y’all later in the week hey shout out to the solo seoa

Hoodie buddy what’s up Bailey

Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. are back with another episode of The Dunker Spot! After another weekend of marquee, playoff-y matchups, we dove deep into a pair of title hopefuls – the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks – that deserve more love.

If you have NBA or WNBA questions for us, email them to dunkerspot@yahoo.com.

If you’d like to join our Dunker Spot online watch parties — they’re free, and easy to sign up for — you can do so here: https://www.playback.tv/thedunkerspot

0:00 Intro
1:25 What we like about the New York Knicks
8:40 Who starts in place of Julius Randle while he’s out?
12:20 OG Anunoby’s impact
16:30 Jalen Brunson drawing superstar attention from defenses
23:45 Exploring the Knicks’ playoff path
32:45 Quick salutes to Donte DiVincenzo, Deuce McBride, and Isaiah Hartenstein
33:30 What we like about the Los Angeles Clippers
44:20 Should we be worried about the Clippers vs double teams and/or switching in the playoffs?
57:25 Bench and lineup versatility thoughts
1:00:45 Exploring the Clippers’ playoff path
1:06:00 All-Star thoughts
1:14:15 WNBA Free Agency update

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.