Warriors take down 76ers, LeBron puts pressure on Lakers, Chet vs. Wembanyama | Hoops Tonight

Warriors take down 76ers, LeBron puts pressure on Lakers, Chet vs. Wembanyama | Hoops Tonight

All right welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume happy Wednesday everybody hope all of you guys are having a great week we actually have two shows today in this particular episode we’re just going to hit Sixers Warriors then I want to talk about some of the passive

Aggressive LeBron stuff and we’re going to play a little game a little hypothetical game about LeBron potentially leaving the Lakers then I have 10 mailbag questions that we’re going to hit at the end of the show where we bounce around the entire league later today I have Carter Rodriguez from

The chase down pod who covers the Cleveland Cavaliers after a big win against the Clippers on Monday night and I think they’ve won something crazy like 15 of their last 19 games so we’re going to do a deep dive on the Cleveland Cavaliers later this afternoon that’ll

Be in a separate video that you guys can see later today you guys know the drill before we get started subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel it mean a lot to me if you guys would take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button don’t forget about our podcast

Feed wherever you get your podcast under Hoops tonight I also found out the other day it’s really helpful for us if you leave a rating and a review on the podcast feed so if you guys have some time for that I would appreciate it don’t forget about my Twitter feed _ jlt

That’s where I put show uh announcements as well as the film threads that I do in the morning in the last not least keep dropping mailbag questions and those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the season all right so I think the story of the Sixers Warriors

Game was the defense they played on Joel embiid now important caveat there I thought embiid looked super disengaged in this particular game the dead giveaway was like he basically would never be physically aggressive he was just looking to take jump shots uh as a matter of 13 of his 18 shots that he

Took in that game where jump shots he basically just catch and then the the Warriors would kind of press up on him and then he kind of take a jab step jumper and there’s some weird stuff going on with Philly not just uh with the on the injury front but also on the

Body language front it’s a little weird that said I want to give the Warriors some credit they were swarming specifically one of the things you saw both cavon Looney and Draymond Green do is chest up Joel embiid with their arms out wide to the side basically making it

So that they could play like physical ball pressure without actually risking fouling on those reach in you know because Jo embiid’s always like digging those arms out in front of him in a weird kind of like jump shot uh a gather to try to draw fouls right and that’s

One of the most important parts of guarding embiid is contesting those shots without fouling and then from there it’s like digging down into driving lanes and swarming him especially when he puts the ball on the floor and turns his back and they were doing a great job every single time MB

Did put the ball on the floor by reaching in from behind Jonathan kaminga got a few steals in particular they actually forced him into eight turnovers overall I think he was like five for 18 from the field just an excellent defensive performance from the Golden State Warriors and you know Draymond

Green I thought played a big part in this I thought he did just an incredible job on Jo and beid in the possessions he was on him and I think a lot of times like one of the things that we gloss over in the uh in the NBA postseason is

The capability that your roster has to make real significant impact on opposing stars because like when you really look back like let’s just take a look at the 2022 postseason run for example and point out some specific examples of the way the Warriors defense didn’t just do

A good job but actually LED players to having struggles in in real ways so for instance like in that first series against the Denver Nuggets there was a big play I think in game five if I remember correctly where Nicole yic was I think it was actually game four when

They went up 3-1 I can’t remember exactly which game it was but you guys remember it was a one possession game late Nicole yic was attacking Draymond Green in the post on the left block and Draymond Green actually got a reacharound steel on him like how many

Players do you know that are capable of going on an island against one of the top five players in the league in a big moment and picking them clean and that’s what Draymond Green brings to the table as like a Transcendent defensive option right and then looking at the Dallas

Maverick series between Andrew Wiggins ball pressure the good job they did on the backline helping without helping too much off of Shooters like Luca put up statistical numbers but he was nowhere near as he put up box score numbers but he wasn’t as impactful as an offensive

Initiator in that Series in fact he was down a significant level from where he was in the Phoenix Sun series and that’s an example of what that Transcendent defensive impact can do and then lastly the Jason Tatum Series in the in the against the Celtics in the NBA Finals

They sent him into one of his worst playoff series as a pro and that just goes to show you like that specific element having defensive weapons the caliber of Draymond Green the caliber of Andrew Wiggins they can go a long way towards swinging playoff series by causing opposing stars to play well

Below their capability I thought last night against Joel embiid was a great example of that like don’t take Draymond Green for granted like his ability to impact the game defensively isn’t just really good it’s transcendently good it’s top tier in the NBA good right the second big takeaway I had from this game

Is that Steph is just back to form now at 37 on 17 shots he’s averaging 335 and six on 53% from the field 48% from three and 100% from the line over the course of his last five games remember over his previous 23 games just 254 and six on

42% from the field for uh 36% from three and 92% from the line so like we went from an extended stretch there where Steph was playing below his capability to now we have a two or three we stretch here to two weeks basically where Steph looks more or less like the Steph that

We know as a matter of fact playing at an MVP level and that was just an important checkpoint right like when I talked about the three important things that the Warriors had to accomplish it’s like step one Steph has to play like Steph Curry right step two you have to

Be coherent defensively and honestly have to be great defensively with some of the limitations they have in shot creation and then three you need backup offensive support which leads us to the next big takeaway Andrew Wiggins was awesome in this game against the Sixers he was getting downhill penetration on

Kelly UB he was rising up around the rim and dunking everything on Cuts that’s an area where he’s been really bad this year he’s been really timid and soft around the basket and I pulled this thatat uh last week but like uh before the last couple of games Andrew Wiggins

Was down something crazy like eight or nine% on layups around the basket uh compared to last year and so that that just go compared to the 2022 season pardon me so like seeing Andrew going up with more confidence around the basket as an athlete like dunking everything

Hanging on the rim just having that like force and power behind his game is super super encouraging had 23 points on 10 shots last night in this uh four game stretch after the team took that break obviously to grieve the loss of one of their assistant coaches he’s averaging

19 points five rebounds and three assists on 63% from the field 46% from the three-point line and two 2.3 Steals and blocks per game so like that’s more or less the Andrew Wiggins that we remember from 2022 that’s what the Warriors have been getting and you know what’s crazy is the offense has

Come but it started in that Atlanta Hawks game with him re-engaging defensively at the point of attack with the job that he did on De Jon Murray and he’s just kind of ridden that momentum I’ve talked about this concept on the show before I talked about it yesterday

Actually but one of the best ways to get out of a slump is to impact winning elsewhere because when you start impact winning El elsewhere you can feel it you feel it in your confidence you know I am helping my team right now that relieves

Pressure when you go to take a shot and and Andrew’s shooting better from three uh he’s made six of his last nine threes he’s making those important kind of weak side Wing above the break threes that the Warriors offense can generate for him and like like the confidence to take

Those and make those in a lot of in a lot of ways can come from playing well Elsewhere on the floor and I think you’re kind of just seeing momentum like real positive momentum with Andrew Wiggins and you know I saw a report yesterday might have been it was

Yesterday two days ago about the Warriors potentially exploring player-for-player swaps uh involving Andrew Wiggins I talked about some of them on the show actually that I had heard about uh behind the scenes a couple of weeks ago so like I know that’s something that they had explored but I I’ve maintained

This all season like unless you’re getting something significant like a real return I wouldn’t look for like a player for player like another role player type of swap for Andrew Wiggins because as I’ve said all season the potential he has to regain what he used to be is far greater than what any

Potential trade return would be at this point and so I’m actually very hopeful that the Warriors keep Andrew Wiggins uh and just kind of lean into hoping that he kind of gets back on track the way that he has in the last couple of weeks and then lastly on the Warriors front

Jonathan kaminga has 26 just a ridiculous highlight really he had this transition push against Tobias Harris where he like crossed him over right to left and embiid was waiting for him at the rim and he just went right into embiid’s chest and finished at The Rim

There was another one where he kind of slashed from the top of the key and he took off like he was going to dunk on him and like took the content contact and then whipped around with like a scoop shot off the glass it was ridiculous he’s dunking on everyone on

These cuts that he C catches underneath the basket he’s hitting pullup jump shots he’s hitting above the break threes he’s just it’s outrageous like like we’re watching an incredible rise remember Jonathan kaminga before this stretch had never put two 20-point games together in a row never he had never done it and now

He’s had seven consecutive 20 plus Point nights over the seven game span Jonathan kaming is averaging 62 excuse me he’s averaging 25 points and seven rebounds on 62% from the field and 55% from three including 1.9 stocks per game that steals plus blocks so I’m officially at

The point with Jonathan Kingo where you just can’t trade this guy you can’t trade him unless you’re getting back a legitimate star and quite frankly I’m not sure that type of star is available at this deadline you know I I was talking with Samus fonari at in our

Postgame show after um I think it was the Kings game a few nights ago and we kind of talked about how like the like like Lori marinin would be like the minimum allowable kind of quality of player that you’d make a move for and like I’m not even sure Lor’s enough now

Like I think this guy’s on like a Bonafide star trajectory he’s he moves he moves in a way that is not like top tier for the position he moves in a way that is like like truly uh it’s like a unicorn it’s like it’s like his unique

Basketball trait that kind of makes him uh that makes him special compared to other excellent forward prospects that we see in NBA history it like when you combine that with like the touch and the conf confidence and the real like Relentless downhill motor that he has I

I don’t think you can trade this guy not unless you’re getting back a legitimate star like not not unless you’re getting a back a guy that makes you actually sit back and think oh we have a chance to win the title here like if for some reason you could get a player that’s

Like of a like a Paul George’s caliber which obviously you’re not because the Clippers are contending for the title but it would have to be that type of player a Bonafide top 15 player and and and I just don’t see that out on the market so I think you hang on to

Jonathan kaminga at this point and you try to make it work with some sort of other ancillary moves on the margins looking for a super offer for Super Bowl 58 well DraftKings has you covered new customers can bet on the big game and turn five bucks into 200 instantly in

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Reporting behind the scenes for a while I had heard specifically that uh that LeBron and AD were just done with with Darin ham uh at one point in time that was about a month ago or earlier in January I should say not quite a month ago um but we’re seeing all sorts of

Passive aggressive stuff I’ve seen Anthony Davis walk out of a huddle I’ve seen LeBron have really bad body language in a huddle LeBron post game last night gets cut off by a reporter and goes like thanks for stopping me I was about to go off he tweets last night

This the uh the glass Emoji it it’s just a lot of classic LeBron passive aggressive stuff so now for the record I do not think that LeBron James is going to leave Los Angeles his kids are in La I think he loves playing for the Lakers

I think he loves the the I think he loves playing in crypto.com Arena I think he loves playing in front of the celebrities I think he feels the the stage and the and the vibe in the history of the organization and I think he loves that and quite frankly he’s

Gonna be in his 22nd season next year I don’t think he’s I don’t think he’s in a position from an age standpoint to start a new Venture so my opinion is that all of this is classic LeBron stuff just to try to apply pressure on the front

Office to get a trade done that’s what I think is happening but we’re going to have some fun here I want to contemplate different examples of opportunities for LeBron to potentially leave the Lakers and go help another team win a championship just for fun so first of

All what type of team would LeBron help the most a team with like an opening in that big forward spot right to a team that’s already in the title mix right like LeBron’s not going to leave for another iffy situation right that that’s that that would serve no purpose and

Then lastly a team that could use size and Power on the front line so specifically teams that struggle with defensive rebounding helps side defense uh interior playmaking whether it’s out of the post or just an overall like kind of a bully ball attack around the basket like matchup attacking those are the

Kinds of teams that we would be looking at right so what I want to do here I want to give my top five favorite LeBron James destinations now important caveat here I’m looking at because I want to make because there’s a bunch of different ways this could go down right

Like LeBron could uh ask for a trade at this deadline right like LeBron could opt into his new deal and then ask for a trade this Summer that that would probably be like the most likely scenario if LeBron wanted to leave he’d probably opt in and ask for a trade

Because he’d probably want to make sure he gets paid what he deserves but that would make things really complicated and severely limit the types of team that could go after him so I am building this list based purely on the idea of LeBron signing an exception to S start with a

Deal start with a team so whether that’s a veteran minimum exception or like the uh whatever a mid-level exception the team has available depending on their situation with their salary cap I’m looking at LeBron signing with these teams outright and I’m going to give you guys my top five here and I’ll explain

Why I like the move for each team so number five the the Minnesota Timberwolves he’d be surrounded by now again like we’re looking at a construct here where you’re looking at like Anthony Edwards Mike connley jadden McDaniels LeBron James Rudy gobear he’d be surrounded by excellent defensive

Players in ton of in a ton of regular season motor to just kind of help him over the course of the regular season he’d be an excellent backline guy without having to overexert himself on that end of the floor he’d play alongside a young Superstar and Anthony

Edwards who can carry a good chunk of the offensive load in the regular season Anthony aedward 2 kind of reminds me a lot of young LeBron where he just brings an insane amount of athleticism motor and competitiveness to every regular season game which I think would be a

Great fit there and then lastly I think LeBron could help them with late game execution this was one of the biggest weak weaknesses for the Timberwolves all season long uh like halfcourt offense slowdown clutch time offense that’s a specific area where LeBron would be able

To help I think if you add LeBron at the four with the Minnesota Timberwolves they immediately become a top tier Contender number four the Oklahoma City Thunder he specifically addresses everything they suck at he’s the big forward they don’t have on the roster he would help with defensive rebounding

They have no post presence as a matter of fact the Thunder Run the third fewest post-ups uh in the league and so LeBron would kind of bring that matchup attacking element to that front line that they don’t have and he provides the experience and Leadership that a team

Like this would need to navigate a deep playoff run and once again just like we talked about with the Timberwolves a young team with a ton of defense and shot creation and athleticism and motor to carry them through the regular season so important context with number five and number four Minnesota and Oklahoma

City are really small markets and so they’re extremely unlikely because even in the event that LeBron did decide to move it’s just hard to imagine LeBron being like I’m gonna finish my career in Minnesota you know or like I’m gonna finish my career in Oklahoma City so I

Am a abundantly aware of the fact that those are basically just never ever ever going to happen but as a basketball fan those are examples of two teams positionally with the way those rosters are constructed that he would be a really good basketball fit with these last three are like somewhat more

Legitimate for various reasons in the in the event that LeBron did choose to leave these teams actually make sense for him as destination so number three the Cleveland Cavaliers just like Oklahoma City they don’t post up as a matter of fact they are one of only two teams in the league

That post up less frequently than Oklahoma City the Cavs are a massive pick and roll attack tons and tons and tons of spread pick and roll and so they don’t really have a lot of diversity in their offense LeBron would help them a lot with that just giving them an

Additional match up matchup attacking uh option as a bully ball forward right secondly late game execution the Cavs are the fourth worst clutch offense in the league LeBron would help them sign significantly on that front and again just the idea of matchup attacking I love the idea of like a Donovan Mitchell

LeBron James 2-an game at the end of games to pick on specific matchups and and and to um generate high quality shots and then he could really help with Evan Mo’s development I think in the short term it would be a little complicated because like like Jared

Allen is a is is just a better like kind of like Center and anchor right now than Evan Moy and you don’t like the idea of Evan Mobley coming off the bench right but like in the long run you could see better an option where like maybe you

Can get away with LeBron at the four and Evan Moy at the five because of LeBron’s strength right and I think maybe you lean into that sort of thing but most importantly it’s a place that you could see LeBron actually wanting to end his career like if you heard oh LeBron’s

Leaving the Lakers to go back to Cleveland and finish his career there you’d be like oh yeah that makes some sense just because of LeBron’s history in that city right number two the Golden State Warriors this is a a fun one really would help with interior side

Eyes and strength which is one of the bigger weaknesses on the roster also an alternative playmaker we’ve talked about this all season long and extending back into the postseason last year it just comes down to way too often Steph being the only guy who can generate a quality

Shot LeBron would be able to just alleviate some of that for him three he gets to stay in California and be relatively close to his kids so it makes some logistical sense from the standpoint of where he is at this point in his life and then lastly Stephan

LeBron playing together would just be really cool I think they’re the two best players of this era I don’t think the roster is talented enough that people would discount any success of those two guys like I think if Steph and LeBron won a title together at this phase with

Steph turning 36 in March and LeBron being 39 years old I think it would actually be more of a testament to the greatness of those two rather than some sort of detriment because they did it together especially with some of the limitations of talent around them also Jonathan kaminga with his athleticism

And with the shooting that he’s demonstrating as of late shooting over 50% from three over the seven game span like I actually think he could theoretically play the three next to LeBron and Draymond Green and so like just as a basketball fan I would just I

I think that would be really really fun to see the two of them play together and then lastly our last one uh the number one place that I’d like to see LeBron James go if he left the Los Angeles Lakers the New York Knicks another huge

Market a franchise with a ton of History they are legitimately built to win the title with a couple of a couple of upgrades just imagine like a significantly better version of Julius Randall a better shooter a better matchup attacker a better defensive player better attitude better leader

Better all of that stuff right and you can imagine obviously with Mitchell Robinson being back like this incredibly physically imposing front line of oan and Obi LeBron James and Mitchell Robinson alongside an excellent point of attack Defender and Dante Devon chenzo and Jaylen Brunson and specifically the

Jaylen Brunson fit kind of reminds me of the Kyrie Irving fit with the uh Cavaliers in the sense that like he’s more of like an individual shot Creator on an island who also is capable of passing but Jaylen is a guy that like picks on matchups primarily looking to

Score and I think that that compliments LeBron really really well and again like you can just imagine LeBron potentially enjoying being at Madison Square Garden enjoying the history enjoying playing for the celebrity in front of the celebrities enjoying you know trying to to add another chapter to his legacy in

Reviving the New York Knicks although they’ve already kind of started that Revival right but like of all of all of the the teams out there there are a lot of options that make sense but I thought the New York Knicks had that best balance of like he would get the

Majority of the credit and you know how much that matters to LeBron the history of the franchise the actual proximity to Championship contention it just makes a lot of sense on that front all right let’s move on to the mailbag first question what do you think is up with

Jamaal Murray I figured he would be a good candidate to get his first All-Star nod but does not look likely this year unless there are injuries or some other Factor clearly he’s a a great player and great with great physical tools and skill set who tends to rise to the

Occasion but to me he seems like he just plays to the level of the competition and the moment so a couple of things I think for I think it’s important to acknowledge that Denver has a lot of offensive Talent so like kavus Kawa Pope

Is a guy who can easily go for 20 in a night right like he’s he can hit jump shots coming off of screens he’s a great transition scorer spot up shooter that kind of thing Michael Porter Jr is a guy who can go for 30 on any given night

Aaron Gordon is a guy that like I mean we’ve seen him literally in the NBA Finals spam post-ups as he goes to work he’s a guy that’s got a lot of offensive Talent especially combined with his athleticism and so I think a lot of times in the regular season on the night

And night out stuff you see this with joic too where it’s like there are nights where like Jamal and and Nia just don’t really have to be be aggressive they don’t have to because of the way the regular season pans out and then what we’ve seen consistently is anytime

There’s some sort of significant challenge in front of them especially when you see Michael Porter start to miss shots you see kcp start to miss shots you see Eric Gordon getting left open and all that stuff every single time we’ve seen that Jamal and Nicole yic they kind of just have this moment

Where they’re like hey it’s time for us to take over and they do and again like I understand that there’s some frustration on that front as it pertains to the awards and the fact that Jamal Murray deserves more recog as a player in this league than what his

Accolades would would suggest right but if you had to choose between a guy who had all the accolades but couldn’t rise to the occasion or a guy that didn’t have the accolades but the guy that you trusted to rise to the occasion which guy would you take obviously the second

One I I’m happy for nuggets fans that they get to root for a guy like Jamal Murray I think he’s the perfect co-star for Nicole yic next question do you think torian Prince is being given so much playing time to juice his trade stock I know know his contract isn’t as

Big as say DLo but alongside someone else he can make a desirable offer van and ruy are the Playoff wings but they’ve had injuries this season maybe ham is thinking of it in a load management sort of way so uh the digging I’ve done behind the scenes uh would

Lead me to believe that the Lakers are primarily PRI prioritizing uh tan Prince because of his shooting just it’s a simple a simple a concept of spacing he shoots 39% from three and I think they’re just kind of keeping it at that level but there’s no legitimate basketball reason for torian Prince to

Be starting at the three historically in the NBA he’s been a bench player I mentioned this stat the other day torian Prince has started more than twice as many games this season as he has in the previous three seasons combined he’s a bench Wing perfectly fine bench Wing but

He’s being asked to do more than he’s capable of right now I I was doing a lineup data stuff for the Cleveland Cavaliers video that I’m doing later today with Carter Rodriguez guys and I found this gem for you guys there are 22 fiveman lineups in the NBA that have

Played at least 200 minutes this year the D’Angelo Russell Austin Reeves tan Prince LeBron James uh Anthony Davis lineup is being outscored by four and a half points per 100 possessions which is the second worst Mark in that entire list literally 21st out of 22 teams so

Like there is an extensive bit of evidence that that lineup does not work for everything ham is focusing on on the spacing side of things it is a basic misunderstanding of the way the modern NBA works in the modern NBA there’s a ton of perimeter speed in athleticism

And teams are trying to drive and kick you to death once they get into rotation whether it’s through the post or whether it’s through pick and roll you need perimeter speed you need perimeter strength and the Lakers have perimeter speed and strength in the form of Jared

Vanderbilt in the form of Max Christie right like they have guys that can do that sort of thing they need more like I I’m a big believer that even the Jared Vander bill in the starting lineup situation has some playoff limitations and that’s why I think a trade needs to

Be made and that’s why I’m kind of withholding any sort of big picture evaluation of the Lakers until that point but the bottom line is that three-man grouping with Tori and at the three very clearly is not good enough they can’t defend they can’t rebound it’s a huge problem they’re bad on

Offense they’re bad on defense they’re bad on the glass it’s like even even the spacing Concepts that the Lakers are envisioning with Prince at the three are not coming to fruition the offense is not good with that fiveman grouping and it has nothing to do with tan making

Shots toian Prince has had 10 games this year where he’s made at least four threes the Lakers lost his minutes in six of those 10 games they’re minus 20 in those 10 games so even uh in in Toran minutes in those 10 games so even when torans got the three-point shot going

It’s not helping them it is legitimately one of the most like it is legitimately one of the worst consistent coaching decisions I’ve seen made in a in a very long time there are better basketball players than torian Prince on the roster right now even if we acknowledge the

Lakers need to make a trade and Darvin ham is deliberately handy capping the team by starting every single game in half with a lineup That is doomed to fail a and and I I don’t really know what else to say I this is a consensus around the league not just with Lakers

Fans but with non- Lakers fans all of the data clearly demonstrates this and darham is either completely oblivious to it or he just doesn’t care and and and it’s it’s it’s truly confounding to me next question as a dubs fan Ant-Man versus sha gild Alexander looks and

Feels like the new version of MJ vers Reggie both are great in their own way at the guard spot and both are absolutely insane I 100% agree I was actually thinking about this this morning like they’re so different like aunt is this incredible athlete who plays with a ton of power and

Verticality while Shay is like this thinner longer player who brings physicality to the position but it’s much more finesse and skill oriented and so it’s one of my favorite things about the game of basketball two guys that basically play the same position that are basically even the same height but

That just play fundamentally different brands of basketball I think you guys know me you guys know the way that I see the game I am always going to lean more towards that strength and power and so like even though SGA may or may not be a

Better player right now I think when we fast fourward five years it’s far more likely that Anthony Edwards is a more impactful playoff player because he brings that two-way element uh not that Shay’s not a good Defender but an’s just a better defensive player and he just

Has that strength and power element that he can inflict on the game next question Chad has been so confusing to me on offense when he’s wide open for three he’s been pump baking and looking to drive but when he takes contested ones In the Heat of the game he tends to hit

Them seems like as much as he still has to develop he is also in his head a bit right now would love to see him just take these open ones so I’ve noticed this as well and it’s a it’s a classic young Player thing young players uh are

Are have a lot harder time seeing the forest for the trees I know this because I was a young player once obviously and like what I talk about this concept all the time young players struggle to identify what works and keep doing it and they struggle to identify what’s not

Work working and stop doing it it’s a it’s they they have a hard time seeing the bigger picture of basketball and so the reason why he hits the contested one seemingly a big part of that is you just don’t have much time to think about it

If it’s a late clock situation and the ball ends up in your hands and a catch and shoot five on the shot clock that’s relatively contested but it’s like the best shot your team can get on that possession you just rise and fire you don’t think about it and it can be the

Open ones that get in your head a little bit but the bottom line is is like it would be really bizarre if we saw a kid his age that just was consistently great on a night and Night Out basis month-in Monon out basis this is part of of The

Growing Pains of being a young basketball player next question mailbag love the show where’s your rookie of the year so far or who’s your rookie of the year so far this season I’m a Spurs fan so obviously I think Victor is your thoughts so I agree it’s Victor a couple of different

Reasons for that like Chet’s role with the Thunder is very different um he’s playing on a great team and getting set up with great opportunities as he’s playing alongside great ball handlers and that’s not to say that Chad’s not playing really well of course he is and

I’m a huge believer in ch in the big picture but Victor is playing on a team with some of the worst ball handling you’ll ever see and the the bottom line is I just think I just think Victor is a little bit better as a basketball player

And I think he’s showing that the most encouraging Trend so far this season for the um uh for Victor is the uptick in his efficiency in his first 21 games this year he only shot 43% from the field and as a team they went 3 and 18 in their last 20 games Victor’s

Averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds and four assists 50% from the field 35% from three 60% true shooting and they’re seven and 13 they’re actually just a shade under 500 so you’re just seeing really good progress on that front also there just aren’t that many rookies in

NBA history that walk in and average 20 points a game I think that’s significant I think he’s easily the Rookie of the Year at this point do you have a favorite move SLC counter move combo from a specific player so uh I have a lot of just like

Any basketball player I have a lot of specific like moves and combos that I’ve picked up from people there’s a like I have a lot of my In-N-Out step backs are I stole from Damen Lillard a lot of the footwork that I use on step back threes

Comes from James Harden a lot of the uh like off the- dribble like combination stuff into pull-up jump shots I’ve I’ve stolen from Paul George but the biggest one that I would say my favorite uh is because my my biggest asset as a basketball player is my size and

Strength I weigh 200 25 230 pounds depending on the depending on how much vacation I’ve been on lately and how much I’ve been eating and drinking but I weigh a lot of I weigh a lot I have long arms and I’m about 66 so uh with that being the case like I

Play like a power back to the basket game against smaller guards when they try to guard me on the perimeter and so the big one for me has been uh and this this is actually something I built out over covid uh because it was not a part

Of my game when I was younger but like basically just a back to the basket combination of right to left shoulder Fades so I have a drill that I do every single day and I basically start on the left block spin the ball out to myself

And I shoot a left shoulder fade and I shoot a right shoulder fade then I go to the opposite block and I shoot a left shoulder fade and I shoot a right shoulder fade and I keep going until I make them and then I go through that

Cycle four uh five times so I make 20 total turnaround fadeaways 10 over each shoulder and I I I say kawhai because like I steal like the contact oriented element of it like a lot of people take tough fway shots that are more athleticism oriented where they’re like

Covering a ton of ground and jumping really high mine’s more of like a I’m hitting you with my shoulder and I’m trying to create space so I can spin into it and more or less go straight up and down and like that ended up being

Huge for me because when I was younger I um I was a lot of off the dribble stuff from the perimeter especially pull up threes and and and trying to slash off of that I played a lot like more like Paul George at that phase in my career

Or my basketball life I should say cuz obviously I’m not a pro but like the uh uh what ended up happening is a lot of the teams and players in town would start sticking smaller quicker guards on me to press up and test my handle in

Quickness and so it was important for me to build out a back to the basket game to counter that and now it’s like no team will put a small guard on me because I’ll just take him down to the post every single time and so that’s been a a definitely my favorite move

Counter move combo is like I’m hitting you with that shoulder and if you’re overplaying the right side I’m spinning off into that left shoulder face if you’re playing me straight up I’m spinning into that right shoulder fade and then obviously important uh caveat I do not think I’m a professional

Basketball player in the NBA this is just simply talking the game because I love the game and I still play the game and I still love playing the game all right next question I’m a football fan through and through first but I’ve been watching basketball a lot more and

Thoroughly enjoying it as I learn more as I learn about the more techno Parts with this in mind we’ve seen the Celtics team be one of the best teams for the last three years now and with those three years not resulting in a single Championship I understand a championship

Is hard to get but if I compare it to football it’s like the Ravens versus the Chiefs number one seed but can never punch it in is there a point in being such a good team if you’ve never won anything from it and can you eventually

Write a team off if they can’t punch it in in the postseason so first of all fun uh football and and and basketball are fundamentally different in the way that like a quarter pack a quarterback can impact winning right like Aaron Rogers in my opinion is the second best

Quarterback of that era that Tom Brady era right and he just didn’t have nearly as much playoff success because of all the different moving Parts in an 11-man unit on offense and an 11 man unit on defense right like we’ve even seen Patrick Mahomes it’s like oh you have a

Couple of injuries on your offensive line now you’re running for your life and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team with a pretty limited version of Tom Brady beats you right like we we’ve seen how that can happen so basketball is more more uh uh a sport where the best player

Can impact the outcome and you know as much as like as much as I frustrations with the Celtics the reason why I could never be done with them is Tatum is still relatively young like it like most of these guys don’t really figure it out on the biggest ages until they’re 27 28

Years old you know every once in a while you’ll get a a guy like a yic will get it at 26 but it’s like for the most part it’s that 26 27 28 29 where they start to figure it out and like Tatum’s just now entering into that phase of his

Career and so I think it’d be foolish to punt on that core until they at least have a few Chances with Jason Tatum in the hard of his prime next question three more you often talk about the Lakers ability to turn it on in the playoffs how their size and experience will be

Key in a wolves or thunder hypothetical matchup but at what point does a size and experience Advantage become a disadvantage at what point to the big veteran Lakers become the slow old Lakers and the young inexperienced thunderwolves become the youthful hungry and spry thunderwolves eventually these advantages disadvantages are going to

Flip in favor of the younger teams you obviously think that that that won’t happen this postseason but if not this season then when LeBron in 40 ad0 is a 30-year-old big man with a lot of mileage the same also applies to teams like the Suns Warriors and the Bucks and

Their younger counterparts the Kings the Pelicans and the magic so first of all did you uh you guys want to hear a fun fact did you know that the Oklahoma City Thunder have only two players on the roster that are 30 years old or or older

That is Davis bons and vasila J Mich if I remember correctly uh guess who else only has two 30 Old players on the roster the Los Angeles Lakers every single player on that roster that’s not LeBron James and Anthony Davis is less than 30 years old and Anthony Davis is only 30

Years old the specific issue for the Lakers is they actually have a lot of Youth in athleticism like Ruby haimura is an excellent athlete at that power forward position Jared Vanderbilt is an excellent athlete at that power power forward position Max Christie cam redish are excellent athletes at the two- guard

Position Jackson Hayes is an excellent athlete at the center position it more is just the the Lakers have this uh uh have this issue where the actual guys that are playing for them are not great athletes Austin Reeves and D’Angelo Russell at this point kind of have to

Play because of uh the way the roster is organized but their issue is they play guys like Austin DLo Toran Prince massive minutes and they’re not great athletes and so even though they’re young they run into athleticism and there’s a problem and especially when LeBron James isn’t engaged defensively

And I’ve said this many times times on the show but the reality is is LeBron’s defensive engagement has been the primary culprit of the Lakers defensive issues like I can’t tell you how many times I’m watching on tape and I’m like oh LeBron could have made a play there

As the low man and he just chose not to and so one of the big reasons why the Lakers have been so good in like Big Time games on against Big Time opponents and then so bad in other situations is like LeBron just engages himself defensively and suddenly the Lakers look more

Coherent defensively and and and that goes a long way the Lakers have actually been one of the top 10 defenses in the League this year against the top 10 offenses in the league the Lakers defense goes up a level when they play better teams my concern with the Lakers

Is are they going to be able at this deadline to turn one of those skilled non-athletic players that’s at the top end of the rotation swap them out for a more athletic version of that type of rotation player which is why I keep going back to players like a like a a

Deonte Murray or Bruce Brown I’ve also seen like Royce O’Neal Dorian finny Smith potential combinations coming from the Brooklyn Nets if they can find a way to turn their top part of their rotation the guys that aren’t LeBron and AD but the guys right below that into a more

Athletic group that is also capable of scoring the basketball or making shots that would go a long way towards alleviating some of their issues but yeah the Lakers have a lot of issues age isn’t one of them they are not an old team they’re LeBron is old and that’s it

It’s it’s 100% an issue with the guys they play are primarily to unathletic and so they have to find a way to balance their rotation so that there’s a little bit less of the offensive skill and a little bit more of the power and force all right two more questions when

The Pacers traded for sakam I thought it was a great move but I still think they a move away a significant move from being a contender in your opinion would you trade for male Bridges to make them a contender I understand the Pacers would have to give up jarus Walker their

Recent lottery pick who has a high upside but I think the move would be worth it a starting lineup of hii Maan Bridges yakum Turner could make the Pacers contenders next season what do you think so I I remind me if I’m wrong about this but when I reacted to the SE

Yakum trade I think I might have pitched a male Bridge’s trade I can’t quite remember I don’t want to take credit for it if I’m wrong but I vaguely remember saying something along those lines I really like that fit there that’s a positional archetype they don’t have

They’ve got you know Aaron n Smith is the kind of perimeter oriented forward on the team but the problem with aarin n Smith is he’s just a little bit on the short side um I tend to like Aaron n Smith still because I think he’s kind of

In that Bruce Brown archetype of like kind of lower center of gravity lots of strength really physical at the point of attack which I find to be very valuable especially in a playoff setting he also can shoot the ball and he can slash off of catch and shoot situations so like I

I I like Aon n Smith but there’s no doubt that male Bridges would just be a much better version of that of that archetype more length uh more offensive pop it like a legitimate you know third Creator next to seaka and Halbert I really like that that setup as far as

Championship contention goes It’s All About playoff lumps for me like Nicole yic didn’t win the title his first run through the playoffs that dude has been in Wars he lost to Anthony Davis lost to the Warriors twice like he’s been to the playoffs a bunch of times he’s been in

Those Wars right it took lots of loss and building of scar tissue the hatred of losing to get to the point where he succeeded in 2023 and the same goes for Giannis the same goes for every single one of these guys there are lump along the way you don’t just walk into the

Playoffs and start winning so regardless of what the roster is and this is a big believer this is why I’m a big believer in getting there sooner than later you want to get him to take those lumps Tyrese Alberton meaning and so like I

Think I I think I love that idea but the idea of them contending right away I I would think they would need to take a loss or two in the postseason for them to actually get to the level of commitment they would need to win the title all right last

Question hey Jason a quick hypothetical mailbag a lot of people have Tatum over LeBron in their player rankings however I firmly believe the Celtics would have won with LeBron in 2022 and maybe even in 2023 what are your thoughts on this so there’s a huge difference uh between

Like ranking players for the entire campaign from training camp through to the trophy to okay we’re healthy and we’re starting a seven game series tomorrow or playoff run tomorrow right and I actually talked about this in the PO uh in my um uh uh player rankings

This last summer and I actually said in my player rankings I think LeBron is a better playoff player than Jason Tatum when he’s healthy but I think Jason Tatum has a much better chance of being healthy when we get there and we actually saw last year LeBron even

Though he got through the regular season he got to the playoffs and he was hobbled and so like I tend to agree that I would take LeBron in a playoff setting over Jason Tatum he’s just more experienced he just and at this point he’s just LeBron’s better than he was

Last year even but there’s no doubt that Jason Tatum is a better player for the 82 just because of his Youth and his uh his ility to kind of withstand the grind of the 82 Game season at this point all right guys that’s all I have for today

Or I should say all I have for this show we’re coming back later today with Carter Rodriguez top Cavs I will see you guys Then

Jason Timpf reacts to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors’ 119-107 win over Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Steph Curry went off for 37 points, and has been looking like his old MVP self as of late. Jason then dives into LeBron James and whether he could request a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers due to the team’s struggles this season. Finally, Jason discusses the Rookie of the Year race between Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

0:00 – Introduction
01:15 – Warrior beat 76ers
10:00 – Why the Warriors can’t trade Kuminga
11:37 – LeBron gets passive agressive
13:42 – Top 5 LeBron destinations
24:00 – Darvin Ham’s struggles
29:00 – Chet vs. Wembanyama

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