WCF GAME 5 PREVIEW | WOLVES VS. MAVS | JJ Redick & Richard Jefferson

WCF GAME 5 PREVIEW | WOLVES VS. MAVS | JJ Redick & Richard Jefferson

[Music] 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 [Music] 0 and we are live uh a special episode of islands in the league this is presented by draftking sports book uh joined by my dear [Music] acquaintance Richard Jefferson 655 in the morning in Hermosa Beach California I know you guys had some fog yesterday how’s the weather today it’s the same and I set my alarm for 652 so let’s go it’s the June Gloom man I lived I I lived Manhattan Beach for four years it’s the June Gloom and it’s heavy it’s thick but then you’ll get like one day but I don’t think these people want to hear me complain about living in Hermosa Beach they don’t I’m gonna you know what I’ve I’ve read the room I’ve read the room yeah I saw some videos from a previous weekend that was fairly recent you know you guys just hanging out on the rooftop with a nice clear day look looked fun thanks for the invite uh honestly I would never invite you that’s why it was fun I’m gon to be really honest I would never I would not invite you under any circumstance we’re gonna preview game five of uh wolves and Mavs this series going back to Minesota as the Wolves avoided a sweep in game four uh I want to ask you your sort of biggest thing or it could be a takeaway from game four it could be something going into game five that you’ll be looking for I the biggest point I want to make and it’s it’s particularly important in this series because of the nature of each game and how these games have ended coaches always talk about uh starting and finishing quarters well you can create margins there and and big picture in this series the first three games the Dallas Mavericks finished the last three minutes of the fourth quarter really well it’s why they got up three it’s why the Wolves won game four because they got they they outscored the Mavs I think it was 108 over the last three minutes so how each team finishes the quarter I think is huge we just haven’t seen much separation between these two teams uh within the game the point I want to make the end of the second quarter of game four Rudy goar Anthony Edwards Carl Anthony towns all in foul trouble and it was Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley with nil Alexander Walker Kyle Anderson and Nas Reed and the Mavs I believe had a chance at the end of that second quarter to create a little separation and they did not and we went into H and that’s a credit to the Wolves of course I thought the defense over that stretch was really good uh Luca had an offensive foul but the the ability to close quarters and start quarters well it’s the game within the game and the ma the Mavs lost that game in game four and I think that is going to be a point of emphasis tonight how you close and start quarters and the Mavs look they they didn’t do a great job of that particularly I thought at the end of that second quarter you can look at it the last three minutes of every single game have been the somewhat of the deciding factor those three those three specific plays you score they don’t turn it over they score now all of a sudden you’re in a difficult spot but going back in the postseason we saw that in the nick Philly series the last two three plays what was going on was there a timeout was there a foul we’ve seen it we saw it uh in this Boston Ser Boston Indie Indie had an opportunity to be up 2-1 in the series if not for the final two three plays they had an opportunity they had an opportunity to be up 3-1 Richard they nearly won game for [Music] no because this is something that as I’ve watched this series I’m not gonna say I’ve been frustrated at times but it it has bothered me with some of the spacing around Anthony Edwards in particular I think Carl Anthony towns uh for the first three games did not do a good job of creating space at the right angles sometimes even just being in the right spot there was I can’t remember which game it was I think it was game two there was a there was a left slot ISO Carl Anthony towns was the next guy on the left side there was no one in the left corner and he is spaced to 20 feet he’s not even on the left wing like you you have to allow Anthony Edwards room to operate he was better in game four he had three four three fourth quarter threes off of Anthony Edwards pass the thing with cat if he is going to be the next man at corner aside if he is going to be the next man to me he’s at his best when he’s spacing to like 27 feet allaha christops porzingis and Carl Anthony towns is better at attacking Closeouts than christops porzingis and and he had some success in game four so his spacing like if I’m watching one particular Nuance tonight Beyond just the obvious which is how does Minnesota guard Luca and pick and roll which we’ll get to in a second that that’s the biggest thing how is Carl Anthony towns spaced where is he spaced is he the next guy on Anthony Edwards is he in the high quadrant is he spaced to 27t does he have enough room to actually attack a close out when they close uh those are those are like big things to me and it was better in game four and I think that’s one of the reasons he shot it better well the the the frustrating thing about that and really in my opinion I love C and I love his Improvement I love his growth his maturity of understanding he is number two in this packing order because for a a player of his caliber and his age that can be tough to admit right it’s my franchise another kid comes in but we’ll be better if he’s the lead I think that’s cat’s position that’s his specialty like you’re a shooter you have to know what Shooters do and how to space the floor how to cause chaos with your movement I’m a slasher I got to when to cut back door I gotta know when to slash I gotta know when to go when my point guard that’s my job C your specialty is spacing the floor as a big so when your spacing is messed up and it’s sometimes it’s because he’s tracking to the ball and he wants it or you know he’s just looking to set a screen he looks like he’s kind of in between what he wants to do right and so it’s just that’s the frustrating thing about the cat defensively he does some things that’s going to cost get you some charges he’s going to do some things like foul at half court and you’re just like and then he goes on the other end and then offensively he’s okay with his reading of his spacing if he did a better job of that he would get more points and his teammates would get more points I think it’s particularly noticeable and important at this stage of the Season would you agree with me on that yes like against the Wizards doesn’t have to be perfect doesn’t matter against the Dallas Mavericks defense it has to be perfect like even there was a there was a play earlier in the series Edward’s uh right slot drive this time cat was in the left slot the low man came over to help and Anthony Edwards tried to make the you know the wraparound skip pass to the left slot yeah and Cat never created the angle to make the pass and it was three feet left of him ball goes out of bounds Anthony Edwards turnover to me it was the right read from Anthony Edwards cat never moved off his spot he’s got to create the angle it’s simple stuff like that and it’s it’s going to be it’s gonna be big again it’s gonna be big the Dallas Mavericks defense is so loaded to Anthony Edwards at all times cat as a spacer is so important but it’s the reading that this is what that that’s what I’m saying like we all have our Specialties right there’s there’s hybrids across the board but we all have our Specialties in a manner of like this is what I do this is what you do his specific job is a stretch four stretch five space the floor extend the defense find the gaps that’s your job and sometimes it’s like you know we we we segment like specific jobs that we have and that we want to do right whether it’s defensively okay these are my main responsibilities so for him to be at this point in time in the postseason still not getting to those slots and not getting to those spots and reading the defense that that that part is a little frustrating um I like I like Anthony Edwards uh the last two games um just in terms of the aggressiveness and I know there were some turnovers mixed in particularly in game three but just in terms of the aggressiveness the passing the playmaking this guy’s averaging over eight assists so he’s taking advantage of the the way Dallas is covered him particularly in ISO there’s that clip that went viral uh of Kyle Anderson who was in the left corner and he’s you know instructing the shoot where did R.J go RJ did we lose you you look so good we got to see that face there he is there he is there he is but Kyle Anderson you know and and the Kyle Anderson ended up setting a flare screen they got a corner three out of it Anthony Edwards made the right read so I think I think you know again we’ve talked about it throughout these playoffs like he’s figuring out playoff defense in real time first time really going through it I know he went through it you know for five games last year against the Denver Nuggets but this is this is like legitimate growth in the middle of it so I like what I’ve seen there the last two games uh Luca picking roll coverage uh game three they mixed it up I I want to say as much as any game against Luca all season long uh in terms of switching drop blitzes they played a lot of drop in game four they won the game I I would expect them to sort of return to that um you know it’s interesting I I want to get your thoughts on this because people talk all the time with great players it’s like well you got to mix it up you got to mix it up against a guy like Luca against a guy like joic I I I even think embiid this year um when you mix it up now it’s like well they’ve seen everything they can make the read in real time they don’t need five possessions to figure it out once you do it they they know how to attack it and exploit it so to me it’s at times maybe you mix it up but to me it’s like we are committed to this and we are taking something away because this is why we are doing this so I I don’t necessarily like hey we’re just going to uh who said it somebody said it to me the other day oh Joe Missoula in a pregame meeting he’s like who talking about the Pacers but he’s like the Pacers create a bunch of noise and if you try to take away everything you’re going to get end up taking away nothing and sometimes I think with great players they create a lot of noise and if you try to take away everything by mixing it up you take away nothing because they’re just too damn good so I would expect Minnesota to play a lot of drop again in game five uh Greg papovich one of the things that I liked about the defense that one of the schemes that we would do we would do it with Chris Paul where we’d be in a certain coverage the whole game bring us in he’s like only on this possession repeat after me only on this possession we are going to Blitz him it would be the first it would be the first uh possession of the fourth quarter right just this possession and then we’re going to go back to our normal coverage and what he would do is first that for this will be the first time he’s seen the blitz now the next two possessions he’s coming off looking trying to like coming off a little like okay are they gonna Blitz me or but and then we’re back into our normal coverage so then he looks at his like I just bought three plays I just bought three plays without their focal point being aggressive knowing what to do what the coverage is I bought three possessions and that’s the chess match right to your point yeah if you’re constantly missing a do based off of who you got I think and the Miami Heat do this really well what we do is what we do we just need to do it harder like er bolra Pat Riley that’s who they are like and so they don’t they switch they tweet But ultimately they’re very big on we just need to do it better so I I don’t want to switch everything up I don’t want to switch everything up constantly but trying to buy three four possessions like pop used to do I love that the other thing about constantly mixing it up and I agree with you on on you have like you should at some like we’re going to Blitz Damen Lillard on the first two pick and rolls of the game and then we’re back to our normal coverage right uh you know teams used to against me like out of an atto they would say with the Joel embiid handoff like we’re going to go under the first one and it would me up a little bit right because they had been chasing all game and I wasn’t ready to shoot against the under right now if you did it the next possession I’m going to shoot a three like I’d be ready for it but to your point it buys you it buys you a possession right so I like it the other the other point about constantly mixing it up that I think so let’s let’s assume the screener defender in this case a lot of times goar and the guy on the ball a lot of times McDaniels they know what the is going on right they know we’re switching they know we’re in Blitz they know we’re in drop right and you’re constantly mixing up chances are those two guys are on the same page yeah if you’re constantly mixing up and you’re making substitution and the game’s flowing so you got to rely on the other three guys to know exactly what coverage you’re in every single time and good teams for the most part are going to be able to do that but it’s not going to be perfect it’s not going to be perfect that’s to your point about popping an at or at the end of a quarter that’s why it’s important yeah and I would say it’s easier to do it when it’s lineups right like when so and so comes in the game we’re going to go into this coverage right so now the whole team whoever’s in there knows that this offensive player triggers a coverage by the entire team because they know some sometimes it’s players Off the Bench that can shoot you know or or not shoot in in the Boston Indie series every time TJ McConnell went checked into the game Boston immediately went into its own that’s an example of this exactly and so that’s the opportunity that uh I those are the opportunities that I like those are opportunities I like to your point switching it up and some people use the term without specifying switch it up like it’s just play different defenses it’s like no there’s there’s more layers to this there’s more layer to it it’s like you have a non shooter on the floor a non shooter I’m comfortable like let’s let’s Blitz until this guy checks back out of the game okay there if you tell me that type of switch it up yeah okay now I’m listening but if you just say switch up defenses these dudes will carve you apart so quickly have fun doing it it’s not just about changing different defenses it’s to they’re they’re they’re offens has to be strategic yeah yes they’re offensively and this is by the way I’m not implying at all that Minnesota is not doing this it’s a more a general comment about people who always say well you got to mix it up against great players okay that’s fine it’s a fine statement you just have to be strategic about it we’ve lost RJ again he’s back uh R.J I know you got to take your kids to school I just want to make two more points one forget them kids they’re fine they can walk one is quick and I I I just the point I want to make is I I would expect to Kyrie Irving bounceback game tonight um the other point I wanted to make and I think we’ve seen this and it goes back to the star player making the player the play for the role player Boston Indie Series game three it was Al Horford game four it was Derek white at the end right to me this game like a lot of these playoff games will come down to who wins between the role players right Jaden McDaniel Nas Reed Mike Conley Kyle Anderson nil Alexander Walker on the other side PJ Washington who didn’t have a great game for but has been excellent throughout these playoffs Derrick Jones Jr Daniel Gafford uh Maxi kba XOM Hardy who had a nice game for that to me is just as important as does Luca play well or does ant play well my that’s where I was I was a little bit uh Rudy apologist it’s like I was a Rudy apologist the prior few games because I was like wait a second aunt and Cat are shooting historically low and we’re over here talking about Rudy it’s like that and I I get why there’s a conversation about Rudy but of the slices of the pie if they were doing their job there would be less pressure on him to do his job which he’s doing okay at he’s doing I think he’s doing a good job giving you know whatever what what he’s you know playing in the postseason and people constantly attacking like going a step back against Luca I thought it was good defense as good as you could play there could have been sending two at the ball maybe getting it out of that Monster’s hand because him one-on-one at the top of the key I just don’t nearly anybody yeah yes I versus anybody I don’t care who I’m taking Luca in that position so I to to me to me when I look at the game it’s it comes down to the Stars doing doing their job and then the support around them who is going to be that like Nas Reed had a 73 game and they they lose that game why late game late late game situations late game things that you know you kick it off to NAS Reed you do an Edwards was not looking aggressive he looked out of Swords so the Stars still have to be stars but n Nas Reed got a Grenade at the end of game three an absolute grenade 1,000% this wasn’t even like a a pull the trigger and throw it it was like a pull the trigger hold it then play catch ah it I want to know I want to know how you look so good so early in the morning I need to know your secrets do you have a do you have a eye mask when you sleep it’s genetics I’m gonna be really honest um that that’s that’s you know and and I have these really cool lights okay it’s the lighting it’s the lighting I’ve still got the though there is a glow about me I’ve noticed you noticed there’s an what you call it an aura you always have an aura you were made for this you were built for this God ah all right Richard Jefferson thanks for joining uh this has been islands of League presented by draftking Sportsbook I’ve never liked you [Music]

Welcome to ISLANDS LIVE! where we cover the 2024 NBA Playoffs. JJ Redick and ESPN’s Richard Jefferson are here to give a full preview of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Mavericks (Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving) vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves (Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony. Towns, Rudy Gobert). Let’s go.