Kawhi Leonard’s MVP Case, The Red Hot Cavs And Brandon Miller | OM3 Things Full Show

Kawhi Leonard’s MVP Case, The Red Hot Cavs And Brandon Miller | OM3 Things Full Show

Welcome to the old man of the three things with JJ reck and Tim legler we apologize for not being with you last week fortunately I was I had called a game in Miami Tim you know this but I had called a game in Miami and had a

Flight early in the morning was supposed to get back in time to to record uh in time to get it out on Monday and uh basically got stuck on a tube on the tarmac for about four hours and got in from back to New York super late and

Didn’t have a chance to record so haven’t talked to you in a while there’s a ton of stuff right now going on Tim with the NBA uh I I actually put in place a 50g game embargo on MVP talk I know I discussed it one time with the

Dunker spot guys we have passed the 50 game Mark I want to get your thoughts right now on where you’re at with the MVP race oh my goodness so you want specific see here’s here’s here’s where here’s where I’m at right now I can honestly say I have never

Probably been more spread out in where my vote could go at this time of the year heading into All-Star Weekend than I’ve ever been and that that’s that’s without question and that really is primarily because of what happened with Joel embiid Joel embiid’s injury changed everything because you know he had he

Clearly was the front runner then he went down for a little bit and people wondering had you know had had joic closed the Gap was you know at this point Milwaukee hadn’t gone on their little bit of a tail spin was jannis right there we talked about some of the

Younger guys like Shay and and um even Anthony Edwards was got a bit talk Brunson and then in beid goes and then in beid you know goes down so now you’re like well where are we with this so right now as we sit here today I think I

Think joic probably is still in control of the award but I think that it’s as close as you’re going to get at this time of the year I think you can make a great argument for kawii Leonard Shay gilis Alexander Giannis you know I think Luca I don’t

Know that and then I I would probably say like Brunson Anthony Edwards I mean at this point if the Cleveland Cavaliers keep doing what they’re doing you know they just keep winning like the rest of the way and they like really close the gap and they say they finish two but

They’re right behind Boston and they win 55 57 games Donovan Mitchell is going to have to get some consideration so you you’d have to put him in the conversation too but as we sit here right now I’d probably still lean toward joic how about you um yeah I’m I’m joic

And Shay one- two two- one however you want to do it again we still have 30 games to play I’m not going to rank uh my MVP like you know status right now yeah well I I think I think there’s a big difference between saying oh he

This person is my MVP so far which I I’m truthfully I’m not there yet with anyone yeah uh prior to embiid getting hurt I I felt like and again we were on that 50 game embargo I felt like embiid was the MVP now he goes down uh changes the

Whole dynamic as you said so I’m I’m I’m a fan right now of just acknowledging the players that are in the conversation I’m glad you brought up Kawai because I certainly think he’s in the conversation we’re going to get to him in the Clippers in a second I’m glad you brought up Donovan

Mitchell if you watched uh the first game with PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford holy [ __ ] did the Mavs look good just absolutely blowing out the Oklahoma City Thunder Lucas is playing unbelievable he’s certainly in the conversation you mentioned Brunson you mentioned Mitchell Giannis of course you know Tim the best indicator historically

Of the MVP the stat that correlates the most with that is Win shares per 48 this is a a stat you can easily find on basketball reference and and just real quick I want to go through this the leaders in Wind shares per 48 uh joic is

One Shay is two and beid is three uh he’s out of the running now Giannis is four Jared Allen is five and then a few of the guys we mentioned here uh Luca at eight Kawai at 10 sabonis at 12 he’s top five actually in just total win shares

Brunson down at 17 you go to winshare Shay is one joic is two then there’s a big drop off Giannis is three sabon is four Luca five uh Brunson eight kawhai nine Mitchell 17 Jared Allen 12 Jared Allen by the way you know in that stretch where they they’re 13 and 12 he

Has played unreal we’ll get to him in a second but I want to talk about kawh Leonard right now I called their game in Miami last Sunday and Dave Pash brought up on the broadcast like with with the way the Clippers are playing the way

Kawhai is playing he’s got to be in the MVP conferen I said he certainly is and I probably at the time would have him fourth now we closed the game and embiid’s injury got announced so then it was like all right well now I have him

Third like it’s it he’s still to me a little bit behind uh Shay and joic and it’s it’s not because of how the team’s playing it’s not a knock on Kawai I’m not kawhai hating I I think there is a slight difference in the individual burden that Shay and joic have on that

Team and the teams are right there in the standing so again a lot of this will be separated to me in some degree because I do factor in with MVP specifically it’s like performance relative to expectations and where your team is at in the standings but right

Now kawh Leonard is playing at an MVP level and I would put him in my top three now I’m not going to rank yok and kawhai but kawhai is in my top three right now and I have a slight Edge uh for for Shay and jic ahead of him I I

I love the way you described all of that there listen it’s such a subjective thing and there’s a lot of different ways to look at it and what carries the most weight for you as a voter like that’s that’s ultimately what it comes down to it’s a very individualized thing

But so some of the things are going to play into this and just list the names that we’re we’re going over right here you know you wonder to what extent do you say look at the burden he has relative to who they’re playing with and how much

Support and help do these guys have with other guys that can be the primary engine on a given night if you if you sort of Define it by that you got to put Shay right there near the top I mean he’s got to be he’s got to be neck and

Neck with just what he has to generate for that team offensively look Jaylen Williams Chad they’ve been great they’ve got great chemistry on that team they you know the way they share it is great Shay gilis Alexander is the guy that’s got the ultimate hammer like he can get something good for

Himself anytime he wants and if he they didn’t have that element to their offense and he didn’t have that to his game just imagine where Oklahoma City would be like how many less wins would they have if Shay gilis Alexander was 15% less than what he is as a player so

You look at what he has to do every night to drive that that should carry a lot of weight I feel the same way about Jaylen Brunson and I don’t know how high Jaylen brunson’s gonna finish but I look at that so that’s brings me to a guy like Kawai

As great as he is as consistent as he is and look this is like a return to the Kawhi Leonard that we saw win a championship which is I don’t know that anybody expected this kind of sustained run of availability but that’s what I think has been the most impressive thing

About kawhai because his game when he has played throughout the last four or five years it’s been kind of spotty in and out it kind of looks like this but then it would disappear for a while so you always put it on the back burner you always expected there to be another

Stretch where he’s just not going to be available has not been the case this year and he’s reminded everybody about the consistent greatness that he brings every single night I do wonder you look at they’ve got Paul George they added James Harden they’ve got Westbrook on that team does

That hurt Kawaii anyway relative to some of these other guys like even joic you know his burden is so much higher I think for what Denver has to have out of him than even what they have to get out of kawhai every night to win so I just

Wonder how do you view that when you’re looking at it by the end of year when you’re looking at that how much weight do you put on that how and and look obviously along with that is well where are they in the standings like how close

Are they to the top because you’re you know you’re not gonna reward a guy for all this burden he’s carrying if his team is 10 games back that that then you’re you’re taken out of it but if you’re there and you’re within a few games or you’re you finish into top two

Top three and it’s tight in either conference and you have more of a burden on your plate I think that should carry weight I just I don’t know that it will yeah again I said it on the broadcast I wasn’t speaking directly about myself I was speaking about voters and I think

That mindset is a is a mindset that a lot of Voters have and it could potentially hurt kawhai Leonard whether it’s real or not the perception is well he also has Paul George he also has James Harden where with Shay and joic they don’t have that you like Jamal

Murray’s never made an All-Star team Jamal Murray’s never made an all-nba game all-nba team that’s not to say he’s not an All-Star level all-nba level player he’s literally got the highest points per game increase from the from the regular season to the playoffs of any player in NBA history Jamal Murray’s

A real [ __ ] he is a [ __ ] and like you have to factor that in sh Shay I think your point about Shay is is real I I I also would say in the case of those two teams rather than this like top tier uh star Talent at the top of

Their teams they have those two guys in Shay and yic and then they have just basically a perfectly constructed starting five and rotation right you think about OKC with Dort and holgren and Jaylen Williams and Josh giddy Isaiah Joe coming off the bench the starting five of the Nuggets which I’ve

Talked about all the time those pieces they just complement each other perfectly and still yic and Shay have this burden kawhai as it relates to kawhai and the Clippers since December 1st uh the Clippers have the best record in the NBA 27-6 Cleveland right behind them in second place uh since December

1st Boston in third place in those 33 games they’ve played they’re 27-6 in those 33 games kawhai has played in 29 the Clippers are 25 and four in those 29 games he’s played he’s at 26 a game six rebounds four assists 2.7 stocks 56% from the field

49.7% from three at five attempts a game I’m calling that Miami game last Sunday and look it reminded me of the San Antonio Spurs version of kawh Leonard and if you remember there was an entire season where it didn’t matter who he was guarding he could be guarding the

Primary guy and teams would be like go stand in the corner during that Miami broadcast I said you can’t put the ball near him he’s going to take it he’s he’s so disruptive right now as a Defender there was a play where he’s guarding Jimmy Butler Jimmy gets to towards the middle

He pokes it from behind goes out gets an outlet pass easy dunk right he he’s the the three-point shooting it’s like automatic catch and shoot automatic Line Drive perfect rotation net doesn’t move his ability to post uh and score in isolation like he is so efficient and it

It’s like it’s hard to say like well this is the best version of Qui because we’ve seen seen the best version of Kawai so many times we haven’t seen the best version of Kawai for this sustained for this long of a sustained stretch since probably the Raptors I’d have to go back

And look at the 2021 and the 2020 season but certainly since the 2021 injury against the Utah Jazz this is the longest we’ve seen the most availability just he’s playing unbelievable and I I think in some ways in same way that you have to factor this in with Shay uh and

Joic gets poorly sort of Knocked for his defense but the numbers say otherwise you have to factor in with kawhai I think his level of two-way Brilliance listen you you brought up the the play I know the play You’re referencing the Poke away and in the run

Out the game before that he had a play was one of the most impossible help and recover plays I’ve ever seen a guy make where he is basically on the left wing ball is being driven sort of from the right from from the slot on the opposite

Side of the court and they come toward him he Jabs with one hand extended to kind of let the ball handler know that like he’s kind of in the area and his his man that he left that should be an easy easy easy kick and then kawhai

Would have to close out put a hand up instead he puts one hand in the driving lane and then at just as the ball’s being released to kick out to his man his left hand comes up and reaches out into the passing Lane gets deflection

Run out leak away and I’m and I and I watched the replay of it and I literally thought I don’t know there’s another player in the NBA is making that play not even Giannis with his reach is making that play because it also involved not only like length it

Involved like that quick cat-like reaction when the ball actually left the the the passers hands so I watched that play and it just remind you of of what this guy’s doing out that end of the floor there’s a couple points on kawhai that to pound this Point home first I

Want to say and I don’t know this because I didn’t look it up and maybe you know it maybe you’ve already done this research how many guys JJ have won their first MVP at 32 years old like that doesn’t really happen it doesn’t happen like I was having this conversation with my kids

Yesterday actually about this did did you happen to look that up because I’m I didn’t look it up and it was a golden opportunity but I was actually driving them I was the driver but it’s it’s interesting I they made the comment how come Jason Tatum never wins MVP and I

Said well you know part of it is you know he’s he’s on the Celtics and they they the perception is they’ve got all this stuff and you know they’ve got all all this Talent they’re loaded and and the other part of it is like joic and

Giannis and and and Joel uh Shay like they’re they’re they’re in their Prime as well with Tatum right and then my son said will will Steph win another MVP and the comment I made was I don’t I was like Knox I don’t know how many guys have won MVP historically in their mid

To late 30s it’s a great Point Tim I I I I I I do some crack researcher a listener viewer please let us know um I’ve got a tea time later so I’m not not gonna yeah I mean and that’s that’s my point with it like most guys that are

MVP caliber talents if you’re even in the discussion to ever at any point in your career if you’re ever in that discussion normally you’re going to get that by the time you’re in your late 20s right at the latest maybe mid to late 20s that’s usually when you get one and

Then a lot of times there’s like a window to get the award and then if it if like okay we’re kind of done with that you don’t win anymore I mean LeBron I think was a great example of that like he won four in a short period of time

And then it was kind of like okay even though every year you could have made an argument for him it was almost like in in people’s minds well okay he had his window of run of MVP and we moved on from that and by 32 that was probably

The case just look at the guys we’re talking about like you don’t usually and that’s why I’ve always said about Kawai you know I’ve always used that you and I had this conversation on the on your pod old man of the three one time remember about the deli and guys having that

Number at the deli right waiting to get their their order I felt like kawhai has had that number in his hand the whole time and like wouldn’t it be like just if Kawhi Leonard finally ended up with one with what he has meant done to the

Game and the way he’s playing right now man is he making an argument and look if they keep winning it this rate and they have to keep their foot on the gas you know because at the end of the year like these are important games because of

Seting and they do want to get the number one seed if they’re going for it and they just keep winning at this rate and I we don’t expect his numbers to drop off at all he has to he has to Garner a lot of attention a lot of vote

For that and maybe here at 32 years old with everything this guy’s done in his career he finally gets it I mean JJ he’s at 52 45 and 90 splits by the way in what he’s doing and that’s always been the case lowest margin of error lowest margin of error

Of any player in history on his jump shot because if the ball travels about four inches Above the Rim on his trajectory it’s right would you agree it’s like the lowest margin of error I’ve ever seen on a guy shooting a basketball it’s that prec Precision was

The word you use it’s a perfect word I’ve described him as robotic at times it’s so automatic the way that that he shoots the ball like he’s back at that level and he’s having the team success so the question is going to be ultimately for him do people hold it

Against him and Tatum I think who doesn’t even come up it seems like despite having the best record in the league is it used against these guys ultimately that they’ve got too much help and too much talent around them is that is that what plays into it because

If you just watch him every night clearly he deserves to get a ton of attention a ton of votes when the time comes two things on that I want to say the Matthew Williams or or one of his uh colleagues that sends our our daily uh

Stat newsletter from ESPN I want to say I read in one of those that kawhai has the second lowest trajectory of any jump shot in the NBA I want to say that’s a that’s a factual wait a second wait a second right now I to say that if you’re

Gonna throw that if you’re gonna throw that out there you better tell me who’s number one oh man Tim I I’m on my phone right now because my computer broke otherwise I’d be looking this up how could it how could it be flatter than Kawai letters jump shot well have you

Have you seen Caleb Martin shoot have you seen Caleb Martin shoot this second thing I I’m just now you’ve got my brain working here now that I’m thinking about it so uh I I think you’d have to go back a while and and please don’t quote me on

Any of this but I think you’d have to go back a while so uh Dirk was probably past uh or late 20s P but maybe past 30 and ‘ 07 I know Nash was in his 30s when he won in in ‘ 04 05 and 056 and then in

The ’90s uh Malone and Jordan uh uh dream and David Robinson maybe maybe even Barkley I don’t know what their exact Ages were but the point is the league it was a different time guys stayed three four years right and so it was younger it’s younger now where

A guy like Giannis you know he gets three or four years of experience becomes an All-Star and he’s still 22 years old with an insane sort of Runway uh to to to for his prime so it’s a great question I would like to actually dive into this

Maybe we’ll do this on a different pod I want to talk about the Cavs the Cavs are the the hottest team in the NBA uh right now um they are all the way up to Second Place five games back of the Celtics um but they have a three-game cushion in

The Lost column on the third place Milwaukee Bucks and four up on the Knicks who are in fourth place um they were 13 and 12 uh felt like they were they were shot they’ve been 22 and four since then there was talk even I remember this talk it’s like Moy goes

Down uh you know Darius Garland goes down they were really struggling when they were at full strength and they’ve just found it since December 15th 22 and4 the best win percentage in the NBA number three offense number one defense Jared Allen playing at an All-Star level Donovan Mitchell playing at an MVP level

And the great news to me is since Moy has come back and he’s you know he’s there’s been a couple games where he he’s been been out and since Garland has play came back Moy in the seven games he’s played they’re seven-0 Garland in the seven games he’s played they’re

Seven-0 uh two questions on this what to make of this recent stretch for the Cleveland Cavaliers and how serious is the Donovan Mitchell conver MVP conversation um I it’s picking up I don’t think it was something that was really you know mentioned until now you can’t deny it anymore he’s going to be

In the conversation because now we’re talking about the the Cavs a lot I barely talked about the Cavs for a long time they had injuries there was just other better storylines that we were covering every day now the Cavs are part of my daily conversation about the NBA

Because of how they’re playing and so when you dive into it and you start to go look at them and what they’re doing right now for me the first thing I do with this team I focus on what’s going on defensively with the Cavs um to put

It in perspective of what they’re doing right now in a league that where this is so hard to accomplish did so the lowest three scoring teams in the league are right around 107 108 points a game and I know one of them’s Charlotte I think Portland’s in there um San Antonio might

Be the other one about 107 108 that’s the worst offenses in the NBA okay so like on a nightly basis really bad teams are getting to like 108 on average the Cavaliers reason I bring it up the Cavaliers recently had a stretch where they were like 15- one at a 16 game

Stretch and 12 of the 15 wins JJ 12 of the 15 they held teams to 102 points or less 12 times in 15 wins so you right there you look at it like you know how hard that is to do in a modern NBA with the number of Threes that are taken and

Just the pace of the game and the way the way that we look at the NBA now being so offense driven to do that night on a nightly basis because they what they have found now is this combination of these bigs and their disruption and Mo’s ability to jump out in the

Perimeter and guard Wings you know in fact they don’t like they played Washington kozma kozma got hot in the first half middle of third quarter he’s still hot they go all right Evan you got kozma not as like a switch out on kozma like run up the floor you’re guarding

Kyle kosman now at the start of the possession for a seven-footer and it to totally changed that game and Cavs have a great fourth quarter they win the game and night they didn’t really play particularly well uh so their defense is driving a lot of their team success so

Then then you look at the other end of the floor and you forget sometimes because they’re so good defensively Donovan Mitchell has been unbelievable he led them in scoring I think eight straight wins you know he still is the differentiating factor for them offensively now that’s the best Trio of

Guards offensively I think in the Eastern Conference because you had add aaor in Caris lebert who a really good offensive player can run ball screen can ISO can can facilitate to go with Darius Garland and Mitchell that that’s about as good as you’re going to get from gar

Play and then they’ve got the two bigs who you know Mo’s pretty good offensive player but then Allen’s mainly a dive dunk guy offensive rebound guy and then you supplement it with all these all these shooters they’ve got four to five high level catch and shoot three-point

Shoot shooting guys to space the floor but none of it really works without that Elite level one-on-one breakdown ability at Donovan Mitchell that if they don’t have that if if if he’s just not quite as good at that then I think the Cavs are are are they’re in more games where it’s coming

Down the wire and they’re trying to get to 102 105 Mitchell separates that for them so when you add in all this team success how good they are defensively I think they’re now legitimately they’re going to be right there in a battle to potentially you know win the conference

Like they’re going to be in that mix of teams Mitchell is the guy that’s separates them and gives him a chance to win games because of his Elite offensive ability so he is now well how I would describe it climbing the rungs in the ladder JJ he’s now in his name has to

Come up now when we’re talking about all these these guys we’re talking about that that could get some MVP attention yeah uh he’s played in 22 of those games since December 15th they’re 19 and three in those 22 games he’s at 29 Points a game seven assists 50% from the field

37% from three on almost 10 attempts that’s just Elite level scoring and playmaking so it does start with him and I mentioned this recently on one of our podcasts in talking about the Cavs I think a big thing for me because th let me say this big picture right when I

When I think about the Cavs when they are healthy they have an identity you brought up the defense that is their identity they’ve added the shooting which is was a was a huge crutch to me last year with Nang Dean Wade who’s been great uh Max stru of course uh so

They’ve added the shooting they have the playmaking with Garland and Mitchell they have the defensive side which is really I think their number one piece of their identity a big thing for me if you’re going to play the two bigs when you get to the playoffs you got to have

Some level of spacing and we saw that creep creep up last year against the New York Knicks Evan Mobley in less than 25 minutes a game since he returned seven games 16 points a game almost 10 rebounds a game he’s basically averaging a double double in about 24.7 minutes

Since he returned here’s the promising thing he’s taking almost two threes a game and he’s made over 54% of those that to me if Evan Mobley in the playoff series is comfortable spacing and taking two three four threes in a in a per playoff game that that unlocks a new

Thing and he’s making them at 35 Plus percent that unlocks a new thing because defensively teams are going to have real issues with those two bigs they’re just they’re that they’re both of them are that good I brought up the winshare stuff earlier you watch this team play

Jared Allen I would not have predicted this when he was in Brooklyn Jared Allen out of that short role in pick and roll playing as a hub making decisions he’s now making that like 13 12 12 13 foot shot not just at The Rim defensively as

An anchor he’s been as good as anyone in the NBA this season backline defense drop coverage all of that stuff help the helper he’s just been phenomenal so when I think about this team I’m I’m a little uh jaded I think by the New York Knicks

Series last year when I felt like they got physically punked they got punked last year the Knicks Punk them and in in some ways like for Garland for Mob like it was their first playoff series right you you kind of give not a pass but but you kind of just acknowledge that and

You contextualize that uh you know I think Boston’s the best team in the East I love the Knicks I love what they’ve done Cleveland’s in the conversation to me those are the three teams right now that I’m really confident in and and I wouldn’t have said that on December 14th

Or 15th I wouldn’t have said that about the Cleveland Cavaliers their recent play has been phenomenal and and not just that offensively I I I brought this up when I was talking about Dean Wade recently offensively their their ability to to space now uh and put multiple like like a shoot

Like a lineup with multiple Shooters catch and shoot guys around their Playmakers is has just been a a huge difference maker it’s been a huge difference maker yeah and even even you know I just want just I want to give him credit because of how well he’s played

Sam Merill I’ll throw him in there as well because he’s blowing away mention him he’s had some he’s coming in there he’s coming in there he’s you know one roll offensively but man oh man is he you know he first time he touches it I think every single time he checks the

Game he shoots no matter no matter where it’s from and and I love that they’ve given him that kind of freedom because it’s like this is what you’re out here to do do it get one up get get a feel for the ball tonight and then we’ll roll

From there he’s just so consistent when he has any space and any time at all so you got four guys we mentioned with the other three alongside what they have one of the reasons I really like them JJ offensively and for Mitchell particularly in this situation when he

Was in Utah pre Mike Conley’s arrival you felt like at the end of the game and it important moments you didn’t necessarily trust that he was going to get the shot he wanted because I felt like he was just so intent on going and he would end up taking maybe a step back

Three at an inopportune time with a guy draped on him early in the clock and you’re like man he just wants to like end this thing and come up with that big moment when Conley came it helped stabilize him because now you have a guy

To like handle the ball get it into a better position so now Donovan can catch it in a better in a better place after there’s been some action on the other side they swing it around to him and now I just think he’s better that way and that’s exactly what Darius garland does

For him so their chemistry continues to evolve but I just look at it like this check boxes what you need to contend you need Elite level breakdown player they’ve got it they’ve got a couple guys like that you need size that you can defend the rim and you can you can

Control the glass check and then you’ve got to have shooting in this league check so the Cavs check all that stuff and that’s why for me now I’m I’m watching I’m watching you know two three Cavs games a week and I wasn’t watching them the first 25 30 games you couldn’t

There was too much other stuff going on now they’re on this role you you go okay they’re in the conversation you better be watching the Cavs because they’re impressive totally agree uh all right our third thing on this week’s episode uh is Brandon Miller let’s be honest uh

I want to this entire Brandon S Miller segment I just want to have a have a caveat to this uh in that the Charlotte Hornets stink they are not a good basketball team however however we have spent time a lot of time on Chad we’ve

Spent a lot of time on wemi we’ve spent some time onime hakz Jr uh I believe you know early in the season especially we talked about uh Thompson from Detroit um we we need need to to spend some time on Brandon Miller right now because he’s playing

Unbelievable I have a ton of stuff here uh I’ve watched a ton of uh film recently uh so I have a lot of thoughts on this I I want to start with you though I what are what are your uh observations takeaways right now from uh

Brandon Miller’s play as of late yeah uh it’s it’s been tremendous and and you’re right there’s no real reason to watch Charlotte um he’s the reason that you want to watch Charlotte play he is the reason thank you yes he he’s a reason there’s no other reason right so and and

Here’s what here’s what I’m seeing from him and I really liked him coming out and you know early on he there were there were there were times he looked a little bit like physically overmatched just from a sheer strength sto and getting to where he wanted to go and

Maintaining balance on drives and like and as and it was part of it you know like his physical build part of it was also I just think you know being young and new to him and and coming into the league and it’s just a lot for guys

So you know and I knew he was a good pick but I just didn’t know ultimately like how great what is his ceiling here’s here’s what I’m seeing out of him lately now I thought that and I do like sometimes comparisons to current players when guys are coming out I I think for

Point of reference for people that aren’t aware of who the guy is they haven’t seen him that much if you can give a little bit of a description of like well he’s kind of like this at the ultimate ceiling if everything pops he could be this this reminds me of and I

Said Paul George at the time coming out now Paul George has a much more accomplished handle much more a polished handle right and that’s that’s that definitely is the difference main difference between the two of them where I saw some of the similarities in Brandon Miller coming

Out I’m really starting to see them now and there’s another guy I’m also starting to see uh comparison to it particularly the way he operates on ball screen is Jason Tatum now Tatum also now he wasn’t like this when he came in the league but Tatum’s handle now is Elite level where

He can go back and forth multiple times with the ball and get you off balance and then pick a direction and go or go counter different move go the other direction that’s not quite Brandon Miller yet with the handle let’s be honest about it but where he is

Excelling his Triple Threat pivot work it reminds me so much of Tatum where he the ball screen comes and he’s not going to already be pounding it he’s holding the ball on his hip the ball screen comes and now he’s going into his jab step stuff JJ and here I am sitting in

The chair doing this in my office this is how into this stuff I get but he is he’s so good with the ball with his foot with his pivot with his rocker stuff to get you sort of off balance and make the defender of the screen or not know where

He’s going and then he’s so good at then that first step either direction going and exploding so his ability now to operate out of that and he’s look he’s averaging 25 points a game this month this is where he’s going with his scoring right now and the main two areas

Of improvement are his ability to create off the ball screen to a pull up three or to get into the Lane’s and and he’s starting to develop these one-footed floaters eight 10 12 feet these running shots are going in at a high rate and then the other incremental Improvement

He’s shown here lately is and I saw a number on him earlier in the year he was at 54% finishing inside of 5 feet on all field goal attempts which is a low number for a wing with size is by the time you get in there like they should

Be shoo a higher rate than that that’s up now in the low 60s over the last whatever many games 15 games so it that’s a pretty significant jump 54 to 62% in that period of time so that tells you also he’s more comfortable now of how to manipulate the ball around guys

To absorb contact a little bit better make the shot not rush it as he gets in there so the the patience and how he’s seeing the floor at the NBA level it’s all coming together for him but he’s a very talented offensive player and the best news about it for Charlotte you

Didn’t have much of a choice at two because you knew who was going to one and for this guy to be basically fall in your lap as the second pick they made the right pick this guy is legit man and and and and the way he has grown through

Out the year has been the most impressive thing because it’s been very rapid and he’s going to finish this thing man over these last 25 30 games on a just a heater he’s gonna average probably 23 to 25 points a game over a 30 game stretch to finish the year it’s

An enormous sample size even on a bad team he brought up February since January 18th 14 games uh 49% from the field 39% from three uh on almost eight attempts 22 a game five rebounds two and a half assists I’m going to talk about the defensive stuff in a second in that

14 game stretch he’s got 102o games you use the Tatum comp which I like um you know it is funny that Paul George right he said that Paul George coming out he said Paul George is my goat and there’s certainly some Paul George comp there

The other guy that I you know in in watching film the other guy I see a little bit of is Brandon Ingram and the reason I say Brandon Ingram is because out of that pick and roll his ability at with his positional size to just get to

The mid-range go into his right going to his left it doesn’t really matter and just kind of shooting over defenders and he’s got a little bit of that especially going right he’s got a little bit of that Brandon Ingram tilt now he’s got a lower release Point yeah he’s yeah

Exactly he’s got a lower release Point than bi but he has that tilt where he can kind of Fall Away going to his right and just shoot right over the the top the pick and roll stuff lately has been Inc incredible I talked about the mid-range you brought up the finishing

And I’m glad you did because he’s had a number of drives I mean he had two against Anthony Davis in that Lakers game where he’s finishing on the other side of the rim with his off hand um so you have that stuff shooting threes off the dribble is to me the thing that

Unlocks every Elite offensive player on the perimeter that is the thing and he had a step back three against the Lakers that just totally totally shook Austin Reeves that he made um there was a play from the Lakers game that I was my favorite play I’ve seen so he’s he’s in

A strong side pick and roll in the corner and they they run the pick and roll towards the middle he tags Austin Reeves catches the ball in the wing he closes out they go to try to post Austin Reeves you know passes passes him uh P

Tries to pass Anthony Davis the ball he steals the ball and he goes down and bangs on somebody goes down and dunks and it’s like if we’re going to if we’re going to comp Paul George if we’re going to comp Tatum right you’ve got to be disruptive on the defensive end and and

That to me is I’ve seen a lot of that recently he had a chase down block that was just [ __ ] insane and I it’s the reason I want to bring up this so he gets the chase down block goes down makes a spot up three they’re running a

Ton of stuff for him right now uh for catch and shoot threes so they’ll come out of a out and they’ll run a pick the Picker for him to get a catch and shoot three his versatility offensively as a rookie is super impressive here’s the most important thing with to me with

Brandon Miller and this is why I brought up the chase down block there was a viral thing the other day where he scores a layup they the other team takes the ball out they go down they score a layup he’s the first guy back he started at the Baseline he’s screaming at his

Teammates you know get the [ __ ] back get the [ __ ] back um I talked to I talked to to some people in the Hornets organization it’s like I can see this guy I can see what I see on the court what’s this guy like here’s here’s some words thrown around smart great IQ

Competitor coachable great teammate detail oriented detail oriented as a rookie come on man buy this guy’s stock buy this guy stock because it physically he has it skill-wise he’s he has it have two of the three boxes checked if you’ve got it up here if you’ve got it in the

Mindset oh my gosh this guy’s going to be an All-Star all-nba type player for years that’s how good that’s how good Brandon Miller can be totally agree seems like we’re in lock step with what we’re seen out of him and it’s it’s now he’s a guy that like I said he’s the

Only reason to watch so I’m going to watch the condensed version and just watch his possessions there’s no other reason to watch Charlotte I got a question second Spectrum it’s the best thing ever so let’s let’s finish this up with on Brandon Miller with this then because I think this is important you

Know you got Victor you got Chad Brandon Miller you got three guys I’m going to ask you like do you consider the Rookie of the Year award to be mostly just Flatout stat-based and what what the the guy’s ultimate based on what you’re seeing what this guy’s ultimate ceiling really is and

Like so meaning like who’s really going to be the ultimately the overall better player when this is all said and done and they’re putting up numbers how much do you play into a competitive environment because Chad hr’s on a team that’s going to win more games than San

Antonio and Charlotte combined and he’s been starting from the beginning he Al also and Victor too all three of these guys which is great you said it they’re all disruptive defensively right they’re all Major Impact players on that end of the floor but Chad is on a team that’s

Been near the top of the West the entire season and we’ll probably stay there and so his numbers might not be as good by the time certainly not as good as Victor right now but but close I and shooting splits are incredible homr but and and Brandon Miller’s numbers are continuing

To climb up so by the time this is all said and done he he he’s probably going to end up with better just raw scoring numbers then Chad how much do you factor in when you’re looking at this award because it’s mostly Ben Victor and Chad that’s all we’ve talked about for Rookie

Of the Year obviously Brandon Miller needs some consideration here I’m just curious you personally how do you factor in the weight of the competitive environment that they’re in every night and the role in that Team guys starting averaging 34 35 minutes a game on a team that good in

Oklahoma City how much weight does that carry relative to what you know wanyama and Miller are getting which is every night is like it’s not about winning at all it’s about their development only really that’s what the season is is left on so I’m just curious to get your

Thoughts on that because I think Miller’s now in the conversation but ultimately how do you how do you you know parse those those uh choices yeah we spent some time on this with the dunker spot guys uh maybe six weeks ago and look I said at

The time I thought CH hren was the MVP uh and and maybe I was a little flippant about Victor wean yama’s uh Rookie of the Year chances and for Spurs fans I apologize for that you know I think those two guys are are neck and neck uh

Right now I guess look to your point about factoring in compet like Tim Chad holgren right now is an anomaly he was the second pick didn’t play and now is on a West leading team that because they’ve developed their guys internally they drafted really well you

Know late in the lottery to get Jaylen Williams who’s a [ __ ] Star had a monster game last night so I think I think it’s weird because normally you don’t factor in competitive environment with rookies right because none of them have the counting normally a rookie that goes to a competitive environment is the

24th pick the 28th pick whatever it may be he’s the sixth guy seven guy the right exactly and maybe he has you know nine points five assist whatever it so you’re not really factoring in that person because the accounting stats just aren’t there right yeah even going back to last

Year you know Jaylen Williams had an insane stretch post All-Star break towards the end of the regular season I said he deserves some consideration I’m not saying he’s the Rookie of the Year I ultimately V voted for Paulo benero because of the role that he had to have

As a rookie being along with fron vogner one of the two primary guys in terms of shot creation and the offense running through them as it relates to this year I think I think you’re right I think there’s there’s it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Brandon Miller

Continues this stretch of games and uh continues the stretch of play and ends up with maybe better you know scoring numbers than Chad whatever it may be um you know if I had to say right now I think I think what Vic has done since he moved to Center and since they started

Playing him more with Trey Jones but since he moved to Center most importantly and they got Zack Collins coming off the bench and he’s got more space the production efficient all that stuff’s gone up you also have to factor I think with Vic to some degree the wow factor yeah

Just the [ __ ] plays he’s made yeah you’re like all right I I would give probably the slight Edge to Vic right now now we have 30 [ __ ] games I know yeah I’m going to do the same thing did last year when’s the last day of the regular season April 10th okay my votes

Due April 11th whatever the last day is I’m voting on the last day I’m factoring it all for all this stuff there’s just there’s too much on the line and and it’s I think it’s important as we go down the stretch to have these check-ins

With rookie of the year six Man of the Year MVP whatever I like doing this later in the season there’s so much just random noise 5 10 20 games into the season to me it’s not worth doing it uh but right now these three guys have been

The three best rookies uh you know hakz Jr who I said was the third best rookie for a couple times early in the season had the groin injury hasn’t been the same player since he got back he’s obviously in in the top five of the rookies as well but these three guys I

Think have really separated themselves in this rookie class um and last thing I want to say Tim last thing I want to say yeah I was just thinking about this as we were talking about Brandon Miller do you remember at the draft around the draft when uh a very prominent reporter uh who

Uh has a show with a sports book uh tweeted out that the Charlotte Hornets were getting giving consideration to scoot Henderson here’s the thing Charlotte was always gonna take Brandon Miller Charlotte was all Brandon Miller was their guy he was their he was their guy he they were always going to take

Him just interesting how that stuff plays out it’s well and look look I think the purpose of we did today is is great because we the three the three players we focused on and a couple of teams that we focused on in this session it are all we’re all not discussed much

First the first half of the Season Clippers Cavs specifically Kawai Donovan Mitchell and now Brandon Miller where this was just was like two guys is all we talked about all we mentioned all year for this rookie stuff now he deserves to get the love he’s getting because the way he’s playing if you’re

Not watching him there’s no reason to watch Charlotte just might want to hey pull up a highlight video you could probably find a 9 Minute highlight clip of Brandon Miller online just take a look at him if you’re a hoop junkie and you haven’t watched Charlotte and look

At this guy’s Evolution as a player from day one and what he looked like you know that first month in the league to what he looks like now because this looks like a super accomplished Elite level Wing in the making like that’s what he looks like and you you know you need

Those guys to have a chance to contend in this league and Brandon Miller looks like he’s got a chance to get there based on what he is doing right now offensively and how comfortable he’s getting with what he’s his ceiling is every night totally agree with you all

Right uh Tim always fun catching up we’ll see you soon this has been fun appreciate you got it yep

It’s Monday so that means it’s time for The Old Man and the Three Things. JJ Redick is joined once again by ESPN’s Tim Legler to discuss the MVP-level play of Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, how the Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland Cavaliers are the hottest team in the league, and how Charlotte Hornets rookie Brandon Miller is already showing he going to be a top talent in the NBA for a long time.

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.