The Conference Finals | LeBron James and JJ Redick

Mind the Game: Full Episodes
22 May 202448:54

Summary

TLDRIn this episode of 'Mind the Game' with LeBron James and JJ Redick, they delve into a detailed analysis of the NBA Conference Finals, discussing the identity and role players' impact on team success. They break down basketball strategies like pick and roll coverages and advanced passes. The duo also shares insights on Bronny James' basketball journey and mindset, emphasizing the importance of living in the moment and carving out one's own path in the league. The conversation is a blend of technical basketball talk and personal anecdotes, offering fans a comprehensive look into the NBA playoffs and the evolving landscape of the sport.

Takeaways

  • 🎙️ The podcast 'Mind the Game' with LeBron James and JJ Redick discusses basketball strategies, player performances, and the latest happenings in the NBA.
  • 🏀 The hosts analyze specific basketball plays such as pick and roll coverages, emphasizing the importance of understanding defensive strategies like drop coverage and hedging.
  • 🌟 They highlight the impact of role players in the NBA playoffs, noting their significant contributions to team success, especially during the Conference Finals.
  • 👨‍👦 LeBron shares his perspective as a father on his son Bronny's basketball journey and the maturity he's shown in handling media attention and public scrutiny.
  • 🔍 The discussion delves into the importance of having a clear team identity, using the Boston Celtics' and Indiana Pacers' contrasting styles of play as examples.
  • 📊 Advanced statistics like fast break points and three-point shooting are discussed as key factors in the success of teams and players, with an emphasis on the pace of the game.
  • 🛡️ Defense is underscored as a crucial aspect of the game, with Minnesota and Dallas being noted for their strong defensive play and the impact it has on their offensive strategies.
  • 🤔 The podcast considers tactics for exploiting defensive strategies like hedging, particularly in the context of the Eastern Conference Finals matchups.
  • 🚫 The hosts touch on the challenges faced by young players with high expectations, using Caitlyn Clark's entry into the WNBA and the backlash she has faced as a case study.
  • 💪 The importance of mindset and resilience is highlighted, with LeBron reflecting on his early experiences in the NBA and the skepticism he faced from teammates and the media.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic of discussion in this episode of 'Mind the Game' with LeBron James and JJ Redick?

    -The main topic of discussion in this episode is the Conference Finals in the NBA, focusing on the identity of the four teams, the importance of role players in the NBA playoffs, and various basketball strategies and concepts.

  • What basketball concepts does LeBron James explain in the episode?

    -LeBron James explains concepts such as pick and roll coverages, drop coverage, up to touch coverage, blitz, soft blitz, hedging, and the advanced pass.

  • What is the significance of the advanced pass in basketball according to the discussion?

    -The advanced pass is significant because it flattens the defense, creates an early shift, and allows for the creation of mismatches and pace in the game.

  • How does the podcast episode describe the role of role players in the NBA playoffs?

    -The episode describes role players as crucial to a team's success in the playoffs, often having more impact than usual, and being essential in winning games beyond the star players.

  • What are some of the NBA players mentioned in the script who are known for their impact on winning plays?

    -Some of the players mentioned include Naz Reid, TJ McConnell, Derek White, Marcus Smart, and Davon Mitchell.

  • How does LeBron James describe his son Bronny's mindset and perspective at his age?

    -LeBron describes Bronny's mindset and perspective as remarkable for his age, highlighting his self-awareness, class, and ability to handle scrutiny with maturity.

  • What does JJ Redick appreciate about Bronny James's approach to his basketball career?

    -JJ Redick appreciates Bronny's ability to figure out his own place in the NBA, his winning mindset, and how he is carving out his own lane separate from his father's legacy.

  • What are the key differences between the Boston Celtics' and Indiana Pacers' playing styles as discussed in the episode?

    -The Boston Celtics are described as a team that emphasizes three-point shooting, space, and driving kicks, while the Indiana Pacers focus on playing in the paint, using the advanced pass to create pace and drive and kick opportunities.

  • How does the episode discuss the importance of exploiting mismatches in basketball?

    -The episode discusses exploiting mismatches through various strategies such as setting screens at different angles, using the advanced pass to create early shifts in the defense, and taking advantage of a hedge with slips into space.

  • What advice does LeBron James give to young players coming into the NBA, like Caitlyn Clark, facing animosity from others?

    -LeBron advises young players to keep their focus on their work, learn from veterans, and not get involved in negativity. He emphasizes the importance of having a good head on their shoulders and enjoying the journey.

Outlines

00:00

🏀 Basketball Concepts and Strategy Discussion

The paragraph introduces a basketball podcast episode featuring LeBron James and JJ Redick, discussing various basketball strategies and concepts. They delve into pick and roll coverages, explaining different defensive tactics such as drop coverage, up to touch, blitz, and hedging. They also discuss offensive actions like slippage past a hedge and driving away from a screen. The conversation aims to refresh listeners' understanding of these concepts, indicating that more in-depth explanations can be found in previous episodes.

05:00

👨‍👦 LeBron on His Son Bronny's Basketball Journey

This section focuses on LeBron James sharing his thoughts and feelings about his son, Bronny, attending a basketball combine in Chicago. LeBron expresses pride and admiration for Bronny's mindset and perspective at his young age. He discusses Bronny's aspirations to play in the NBA and acknowledges the remarkable nature of witnessing his child pursuing his dreams. The conversation also touches on Bronny's self-awareness and how he is carving his own path in the basketball world, separate from his father's legacy.

10:01

🏆 The Impact of Role Players in the NBA Playoffs

The discussion highlights the crucial role that role players have in the NBA playoffs. It emphasizes how these players, such as Naz Reid, PJ Washington, and TJ McConnell, contribute significantly to their team's success. The paragraph points out that while star players often take the spotlight, it is often the role players who make the difference in tight playoff games, showcasing their importance in winning plays and contributing to the team's overall performance.

15:02

🌟 The Importance of Team Identity and Role Acceptance

This part of the conversation stresses the importance of team identity and the acceptance of roles within a team. It discusses how each team in the NBA playoffs has its own distinct identity and how players understand and embrace their roles to contribute to the team's success. The paragraph also touches on how the regular season differs from the playoffs in terms of player contributions and the appreciation of role players' impact on the game.

20:04

🎯 Boston Celtics' Game Strategy and Identity

The paragraph delves into the playing style and identity of the Boston Celtics, particularly their emphasis on shooting threes, creating space, and utilizing mismatches to their advantage. The Celtics are described as a team with a clear identity, focusing on driving kicks, offensive rebounds, and early transition plays. Their strategy involves exploiting mismatches through flare and rip screens to get the ball to their star players in advantageous positions.

25:04

🔄 Indiana Pacers' Dynamic Offense and Pace

The discussion contrasts the Boston Celtics' style with that of the Indiana Pacers, who are characterized by their use of advanced passes and a concept-driven offense rather than set plays. The Pacers are praised for their ability to flatten the defense with early passes and their focus on scoring in the paint. The paragraph also mentions the Pacers' proficiency in drive and kick plays, highlighting their efficiency and the importance of identifying the right personnel to execute their game plan.

30:06

🛡️ Defense and Size as Keys to Success

This section discusses the commonalities between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks, focusing on their defensive prowess and the importance of size and length on the court. Both teams are known for their ability to create a smaller playing area due to their players' wingspan and defensive engagement. The paragraph explores how these attributes contribute to their success and the challenges they pose to opposing teams.

35:08

🚫 The Challenge of Facing Elite Shot Creators

The conversation turns to the challenge of defending against elite shot creators like Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, who are adept at creating their own shots and those for their teammates. The paragraph discusses the need for teams to avoid double-teaming these players, as their passing abilities can lead to open shots for their teammates, which can be detrimental to the defending team's chances of winning.

40:12

💪 Overcoming Animosity and High Expectations

The final paragraph reflects on the experience of young players entering professional sports and facing animosity or high expectations. It recounts the speaker's personal experience of dealing with skepticism and hostility from teammates and opponents. The advice given is to stay focused, work hard, learn from veterans, and not get involved in negative distractions. The paragraph concludes with a message of support for young players like Caitlyn Clark and Bronny James, emphasizing the importance of enjoying the journey and proving doubters wrong.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Pick and Roll Coverages

Pick and roll coverages refer to the defensive strategies employed against an offensive play where a player sets a screen for the ball handler. In the video, different types of coverages such as 'drop coverage', 'up to touch', 'blitz', and 'hedging' are discussed. These concepts are fundamental to understanding the strategic depth of basketball defense, especially in the context of the NBA playoffs where role players can significantly impact the game through their execution of these strategies.

💡Drop Coverage

Drop coverage is a defensive tactic where the defender guarding the screener drops back towards the basket, allowing the ball handler to drive by but positioning themselves to protect the paint. It is mentioned in the script as a simple strategy that involves the defender sitting back and dropping towards the basket, which is a fundamental concept in basketball defense.

💡Up to Touch

Up to touch is another defensive strategy where the defender is positioned closely to the ball handler as they come off a screen, attempting to touch the ball and disrupt the dribbler's rhythm. This concept is brought up in the script to illustrate the different levels of defensive aggression compared to a 'blitz', which is more intense.

💡Blitz

A blitz in basketball is an aggressive defensive maneuver where the defender on the screener blitzes or doubles the ball handler as they come off a screen. The script mentions a 'soft blitz' as being interchangeable with 'up to touch', indicating variations in defensive intensity and the importance of adapting defensive strategies to the situation.

💡Hedging

Hedging is a defensive technique where the defender over the screen takes a more aggressive stance, attempting to redirect the ball handler around the screen rather than switching or dropping. The script discusses how hedging can create mismatches and opportunities for the screener to exploit, highlighting its strategic importance in modern basketball.

💡Role Players

Role players are essential team members who, while not always the stars, contribute significantly to the team's success through their specialized skills and abilities. The script emphasizes the importance of role players in the NBA playoffs, noting their impact on winning games and how they often determine the outcomes beyond the team's star players.

💡Advanced Pass

An advanced pass is a quick pass made after securing a defensive rebound to quickly transition from defense to offense, aiming to catch the opposing team off guard. The script discusses the strategic use of advanced passes by teams like Indiana to create pace and exploit defensive misalignments, showcasing its role in modern basketball strategy.

💡Pace

Pace refers to the speed at which a team plays, particularly in terms of moving the ball up the court and attempting to score. The script mentions how teams like Indiana use advanced passes and other strategies to play with pace, which can be a decisive factor in the fast-paced, high-intensity games of the NBA playoffs.

💡Bronny James

Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, is a young basketball player who has been garnering attention for his potential to enter the NBA. The script discusses his recent participation in a combine and the perspective he displayed, which stood out as remarkable for his age, indicating the high expectations and scrutiny faced by children of famous athletes.

💡Caitlyn Clark

Caitlyn Clark is a notable basketball player who has made significant contributions to her team and the WNBA. The script mentions the challenges she faces, such as the quick turnaround from college to professional games and the animosity directed towards her, which reflects the difficulties new players encounter as they enter the professional sports world.

Highlights

LeBron James and JJ Redick discuss the Conference Finals, emphasizing the importance of role players in the NBA playoffs.

The identity of the four teams in the Conference Finals is explored, highlighting their unique strategies and strengths.

LeBron shares his perspective on Bronny James' mindset and approach to the NBA combine, showcasing maturity beyond his years.

The concept of 'advanced pass' in basketball is explained as a strategy to create pace and catch the defense off guard.

LeBron and JJ analyze various pick and roll coverages, including drop coverage, up to touch, and hedging, and their impact on the game.

The importance of ball handlers who can drive away from screens is discussed, with LeBron reflecting on his experience with Dwyane Wade.

The podcast covers how teams like Indiana and Boston utilize their respective styles of play to dominate in the paint or beyond the arc.

LeBron expresses pride in Bronny's ability to handle scrutiny and social media attention with class and self-awareness.

The role of defensive intensity and size, particularly with teams like Minnesota and Dallas, is examined for their strategic advantages.

LeBron and JJ talk about the challenges faced by young players with high expectations, using Caitlyn Clark's experience as an example.

The impact of advanced passes on defensive positioning and the creation of mismatches is detailed.

LeBron discusses the animosity that young players sometimes face from their peers and how to navigate these challenges.

The podcast highlights the importance of role players in determining the outcome of playoff games, not just the stars.

LeBron and JJ analyze how teams like Boston Celtics use space and three-point shooting as part of their strategic identity.

The discussion touches on how the Indiana Pacers' concept-based plays create opportunities in the paint and beyond the arc.

LeBron reflects on the skepticism and doubt he faced from teammates early in his career and how he proved them wrong.

The podcast concludes with advice for young players entering the NBA, emphasizing hard work, learning from veterans, and staying focused.

Transcripts

00:00

are we like ready cuz JJ has a hard 45

00:02

minutes out Sound Speed it's probably

00:04

gonna dent a little bit but who

00:05

[Music]

00:08

cares it's like poking out like right

00:12

there yeah see like here and here

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exactly exactly where

00:16

recording oh well I made the Pod I'm

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trying to help

00:20

you you you haven't put me on your pod

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yet that all right you good Jason

00:33

[Music]

00:38

welcome to mind the game with LeBron

00:40

James and JJ reick brought to you by

00:42

uninterrupted and 342 Productions uh

00:45

this is episode 8 we discuss everything

00:49

about the Conference Finals in

00:51

particular uh we talk about the identity

00:54

of these four teams the importance of

00:57

role players in the NBA playoffs we have

01:00

a discussion on Caitlyn Clark we have a

01:02

discussion on bronny James um there's a

01:04

few technical things we talk about in

01:06

this episode a lot of this stuff we have

01:09

discussed before so you can always

01:11

reference previous intros and previous

01:14

episodes uh for any of the Lexicon that

01:16

we may discuss in this episode uh

01:19

there's a few things I want to just

01:20

break down real quick this will be quick

01:22

I promise you and this is just pick and

01:25

roll

01:27

coverages um this is more of a refresher

01:30

than anything ball handler here Defender

01:34

here screener

01:37

here Defender here all right drop

01:41

coverage drop coverage okay drop

01:44

coverage this Defender right here is

01:47

going to sit back sometimes in the paint

01:50

and play Drop coverage which just means

01:52

he's dropping towards the basket very

01:55

simple drop coverage uh I always say

01:58

this about

02:00

definitions of basketball Concepts a lot

02:03

of times it's just simply in the word so

02:08

up to touch is another coverage up to

02:10

touch means the defender is up to touch

02:15

as the ball hler comes off this is

02:17

different than a blitz which is more

02:20

aggressive there's also a soft Blitz

02:22

which is interchangeable with up to

02:24

touch the other concept we talk about a

02:28

bunch actually is hedging a lot of NBA

02:31

teams don't do this anymore but if you

02:34

are Target hunting if you are trying to

02:36

create a mismatch and get a switch a lot

02:38

of teams will do this we saw this a ton

02:42

in the Indiana New York series where

02:45

this offensive player with the ball is

02:46

Jaylen Brunson so I'm going to circle

02:48

him uh this offensive player could be

02:50

Josh Hart could be miles McBride they're

02:53

being guarded by Tyrese halberton right

02:55

here okay that is the defender a hedge

02:59

this SC trer is being set Jaylen

03:01

brunson's coming off Tyrese halberton is

03:04

actually going to get higher than the

03:06

level of the ball and he's going to try

03:08

to reroute Jaylen Brunson around him and

03:12

what that does is if Tyrese halberton is

03:15

here and Jaylen Brunson goes around this

03:17

screen is being set here we

03:20

go Jaylen brunson's defender in this

03:23

case Aaron n Smith let's say he can get

03:25

back in front of the ball what we talk

03:27

about in this episode is sort of

03:30

opportunities for the screener against

03:33

the Hedge to roll or slip into space so

03:39

again as this guy's coming off and

03:42

Tyrese halberton or whoever Hedges uh

03:45

the screener slipping into space and

03:47

you've now created that four on three

03:49

that we always talk about on the back

03:51

side if you have a great shooter uh as

03:55

as an example this was LeBron James on

03:57

the Lakers uh this is kcp this is LeBron

04:02

James kcp is going to set that pistol or

04:05

21 action that we had talked about in a

04:08

previous episode as LeBron's coming off

04:10

here

04:12

kcp his man is going

04:16

to hedge out and kcp is going to slip

04:21

into space I had to guard this action a

04:23

lot wasn't fun in Casp may have may or

04:27

may not have hit a couple threes on me

04:29

um the other thing we talk about is

04:30

driveways love driveways uh this is

04:33

Dwayne Wade over here here's his

04:36

Defender there is a

04:38

screener and as this guy comes to screen

04:42

remember Dwayne Wade in the auns in the

04:44

2000s early 2010 sometimes this was

04:47

still a hedge so we talk about the idea

04:50

of dribbling away or rejecting a screen

04:53

driving away in order to get away from

04:55

that second Defender so Dwayne Wade

04:57

would set it up with a little Jab step

05:00

and he'd get Baseline on that left side

05:02

almost impossible to

05:05

guard and the last concept which we're

05:08

going to do on this side of the board

05:10

because we need the full court is just

05:13

uh a very simple

05:16

concept it's intuitive in the name the

05:20

Advan pass this can happen on a make it

05:23

can happen on a Miss uh Nico yic gets a

05:27

defensive rebound here this is case CP

05:31

out there's Defenders back this is not

05:33

meant to necessarily lead to a layup or

05:37

an open shot but it's just a quick

05:39

Advanced pass to kcp the early shift of

05:42

the defense you guys will see this with

05:45

Indiana a ton off of makes they will

05:49

take the ball out they will advance past

05:51

to Tyrese halberton he will then Advance

05:54

pass to Aaron n Smith P Pascal sakam uh

05:58

they play with pace

06:00

and they use the pass to create Pace the

06:03

advanced

06:04

pass this is episode eight of mind the

06:07

game please enjoy if you haven't already

06:10

please hit that subscribe button and

06:12

please double tap for me cuz I got

06:14

through this entire thing in two

06:17

[Music]

06:26

takes R lots of stuff happening in the

06:28

world of basketball

06:30

these days um I I want to actually start

06:34

with bronnie yeah um this past week he

06:37

was in Chicago at the combine and uh I

06:41

first of all I've never met bronnie but

06:43

I will say uh in all the interviews and

06:47

clips that I

06:48

saw his uh

06:51

perspective and his mindset at that age

06:56

was like really stood out it was

06:58

actually quite remarkable for you as a

07:01

as a dad and obviously my kids play

07:03

basketball they're much younger but as a

07:06

dad watching him go through this process

07:09

what's it like wow this is this is where

07:12

we kicking it off with huh JJ you go we

07:14

going right to that topic uh I love it I

07:16

love it um you know for as a parent to

07:20

be able to be um you know there to

07:24

witness a child of yours uh start to

07:27

live out a dream of theirs um um is

07:30

something bronnie has always talked

07:32

about um you know and he you know said

07:36

we asking plenty of times like what is

07:37

but it's your end goal and his end goal

07:39

is to to be in the NBA and to see him um

07:44

almost at that at that moment um you

07:46

know for a parent it's something that

07:49

you could just be in all of because I

07:51

mean that's what you you want your kids

07:52

to be able to live out their dreams you

07:54

know and whatever that whatever that is

07:56

um whatever you know Direction they take

07:58

you want them to be able live out their

07:59

dreams and for you know myself and

08:01

Savannah to be there and be at the

08:03

combine this past week in Chicago to see

08:05

him out there with other kids that's

08:07

trying to live out their dream um it was

08:09

a it was a pretty

08:11

like

08:13

remarkable I don't know what to say

08:16

slash this is exciting um um you know

08:19

feeling for for for our whole family and

08:21

I know probably know the same feeling

08:23

for him as

08:25

well he had he had some quotes where he

08:28

talked about certain players in the NBA

08:31

that he felt he could play like yeah and

08:34

I thought it was neat um because not

08:37

every 19-year-old kid has that

08:39

perspective like I most of us you know

08:43

we think we're going to be Allstar all

08:45

NBA from day one and that's not

08:47

necessarily how it works for everybody

08:49

do you do you talk to him about that do

08:52

you talk to him about who he can be in

08:54

the NBA or is he figuring this out on

08:56

his own I think he's figuring it I

08:58

wanted him to kind of figure it out his

08:59

own where he see himself fit in the NBA

09:02

or you know where he see you know what

09:04

his comp looks like to to see you know

09:07

him mention guys like Derek white Drew

09:09

holiday um you know a few other guys

09:12

Marcus Smart in our leag Davon Mitchell

09:14

these are guys who like come in and and

09:18

for a team that's trying to win

09:19

championships a team that wants to win

09:21

every night these are the players that

09:23

you have to have on your team because

09:25

they just it doesn't always show up in

09:27

the box scores um but always shows up in

09:30

the winning plays and you know for Bry

09:32

to have that perspective on where he

09:33

stands today um you know that's great

09:36

and I think that's great for any team to

09:37

be able to have a 19y old kid like you

09:40

said you know I know that wasn't my that

09:42

wasn't my goal my goal was like listen

09:44

I'm trying to make it to the to the

09:45

All-Star Game in year one I want to be

09:48

you know Allstar I want to be MVP I want

09:51

I want to be this you know all of these

09:52

things and and a lot of us have those

09:54

aspirations but you know for brny to

09:56

just to have that mindset of like listen

09:59

um at this point in time in my in my

10:00

life and in my game I know where I stand

10:02

but I know how I affect the game you

10:04

know and um you know he's just a winning

10:07

player and I just I just love his

10:08

mindset it's just some of his answers

10:11

and and to a lot of the questions that

10:13

was given to him was like I was in awe

10:15

of because we've never actually you know

10:17

even talked about it but um he's living

10:19

in it he's living in the moment and he's

10:21

he's definitely carving out his own lane

10:23

you know he's he's definitely not his

10:25

dad and and I'm not him I wouldn't be

10:27

able to handle the scrutiny and all the

10:30

things that he got going on you know at

10:32

his age at his level and with social

10:34

media like I didn't have social media to

10:36

deal with when I came in at 18 I did

10:39

have a lot of scrutiny I did have a lot

10:40

of things that was put on my shoulders

10:42

but I didn't have you know you know

10:45

every single day around the clock news

10:48

covers Sports shows things of talking

10:49

about this particular person every

10:51

single day or you go online or on social

10:54

media and x and Instagram and everyone

10:57

can comment every single day

10:59

about whatever they want to say whatever

11:01

I didn't have to deal with that and to

11:02

see him handle it you know with such

11:05

class and so um you know just like

11:07

self-awareness and just St even kill is

11:10

just a remarkable thing man and uh super

11:12

proud of him you know me and Savannah

11:14

talk about all the time how proud of we

11:15

are of our kids and you know he's the

11:17

oldest you know he we always told him

11:19

from day one listen you have to set an

11:20

example for your brother and your little

11:22

sister um and he he continues to do

11:25

that yeah I would say that NBA media got

11:28

a week worth of content out of out of

11:32

yeah well since you know I think they

11:34

said you know well since your dad's not

11:35

in the playoffs no more you know what

11:37

we're going to ride your ctail bronny

11:39

James we can't get your dad to say

11:40

anything right now he

11:43

declined interview at the Cav's game we

11:45

can't get him to say anything so we're

11:47

GNA we're going to use your we're g to

11:49

use your

11:50

son yeah you know we know how there's

11:53

other things there there's other things

11:55

happening in the NBA World non-playoff

11:56

related that I feel like the NBA media

11:59

is using as

12:01

well absolutely AB you know I'm glad I'm

12:06

glad when you when you pointed to those

12:08

guys that bronnie mentioned um you

12:11

talked about uh players that impact

12:14

winning and I think that's a great segue

12:17

to get into the playoffs yeah man and

12:21

the Conference finals are set we've got

12:23

four teams and there's some similarities

12:26

between all four teams but I think all

12:27

four teams have their own specific

12:29

identity you know one of the things when

12:31

I think about all four of these

12:34

teams is they have a bunch of guys that

12:39

star in their roles beyond the stars of

12:41

the team y there's buyin yep across the

12:46

board to what guys roles are and I think

12:51

in the regular season whether it's

12:53

because people are

12:55

distracted uh the viewership is

12:57

different uh we all everybody wants to

13:00

talk about is who is in the MVP

13:03

discussion all of that it's not till the

13:07

playoffs that we fully get to

13:10

appreciate guys like nazri guys like TJ

13:13

McConnell the Derek whites of the world

13:16

PJ Washington Daniel gaford Jaden

13:19

McDaniels of course and it's to me this

13:24

playoff run for a like across the league

13:28

does it feel like to you the role

13:30

players are almost having more impact

13:34

than normal I mean I know there's always

13:36

been there but it feels like when we

13:39

talk about we we always talk about like

13:41

your stars got to win a couple games you

13:44

you you got to gut through a game maybe

13:45

your coach gets you a game your role

13:46

players win you a game it feels like the

13:48

role players night tonight have just

13:50

been incredibly consistent no you're

13:52

absolutely right JJ I mean you you look

13:54

at last last night's game seven in

13:56

Denver you know we talk about how

13:59

spectacular Ant-Man has been this whole

14:01

postseason last night he goes six for 24

14:04

from the field I mean at I think at

14:06

halftime he had maybe two or four points

14:08

you know and in that fourth quarter you

14:11

saw Nas Reed you you saw obviously I

14:14

mean obviously Rudy is kind of a star

14:16

player but Rudy making plays um niil

14:19

Alexander Walker and jayen mcds was just

14:22

I mean he's been huge all season but you

14:24

see it even more in the postseason but

14:26

Nas Reed last night you know from you

14:29

know the Euro Step he had left right on

14:31

on on on Joker uh get fouled on the

14:34

offensive rebound then he had a tip dunk

14:36

from the corner you know he had a big

14:38

time block shot on Joker late in that

14:40

game as well like he was huge and then

14:43

he pushed in in transition they was up

14:44

seven and hit Ant-Man for a corner three

14:47

opposite of their bench you know that

14:49

came off Nas Reed you know so like

14:52

you're absolutely right the the role

14:53

players right now with these four teams

14:55

that's left are making all the plays you

14:57

saw PJ Washington seemed like every time

15:00

PJ Washington got into foul trouble in

15:02

that Dallas vers OKC Series OKC kind of

15:05

had a little Advantage you know and when

15:07

he was on the floor the advantage was

15:09

gone you know because PJ Washington was

15:12

there made the timely threes obviously

15:14

in game six at home made the timely

15:16

stops he was just big for him so you

15:18

know and obviously TJ McConnell he's

15:20

just a a you know he's a a coaches dream

15:23

to be able to have a guy like that that

15:25

comes in knows exactly what he's doing

15:27

puts the tempo he's always going to be

15:29

high in ass cernal ratio you know and

15:33

he's just a dog so you you are

15:35

absolutely right man um you this this

15:38

this postseason is great and as much

15:41

obviously we know the narrative is

15:42

always GNA go to the star guys but to be

15:45

honest these games have been won by the

15:48

MVPs that are role

15:50

players yeah to to that point last

15:54

night's a great example in game seven

15:56

there were games earlier in

15:59

uh the Knicks run where Jaylen Brunson

16:02

didn't have a good shooting night and

16:03

they won uh Luca has not been at his

16:06

best outside of a couple games and

16:08

they've won right uh they won games in

16:11

that OKC Series without Kyrie having a

16:13

monster performance and I I'm I don't

16:16

know what I'm trying to get at but it

16:18

feels like and it it feels like and

16:20

we'll get to some of the parody stuff in

16:22

a second but it just feels like the

16:25

depth of talent right now particularly

16:27

on really good teams like you can't

16:31

concentrate you need seven eight guys

16:34

that can really play in high pressure

16:37

moments and have the you called it a dog

16:40

I'll say it the the the toughness the

16:42

mental

16:43

fortitude um to compete at this level

16:47

yeah and it feels like across the board

16:49

in the NBA we're getting more and more

16:52

of these guys that are just they're

16:54

[ __ ] good players man absolutely

16:57

right and and they are starring in their

17:00

roles and they're not doing nothing

17:01

outside of what they what they do and

17:05

this is what this postseason has been

17:07

about and that's what this top four is

17:09

all about these top four teams Indiana

17:12

Boston um you know Dallas and Minnesota

17:15

have a bunch of guys who star and they

17:18

roll and they do it every single night

17:21

man they they are they are great at what

17:23

they do and if there's any if there's

17:25

teams out here looking to see how to be

17:27

successful OB you got to have star you

17:30

got to have one one possibly two you

17:33

know that's going to you know going to

17:34

make sure that everybody stays even

17:36

killed but at the end of the day you got

17:38

to have those soldiers around man you

17:40

got to have you know the cones and the

17:43

and the compos and the rest of those

17:45

guys that's gonna be ready to go man and

17:47

that's what we see at the final four

17:48

right now in the NBA I want to talk

17:51

about the identity of each team and sort

17:53

of where you where you sort of would

17:55

break down what makes each of these

17:57

teams great um and so let's let's

18:00

actually start in Eastern Conference I

18:01

want to talk about the Boston Celtics uh

18:04

and a lot

18:05

of a lot of the talk when the season

18:08

started right they have six starters

18:10

they have more Talent at the top end

18:12

than any other team uh they had a great

18:14

regular season that they've certainly

18:17

faced a little bit of adversity uh

18:18

losing game two in both series um but to

18:22

me this is a team that like has a clear

18:25

identity how would you describe it um I

18:28

would I would describe it as um they

18:30

know exactly what they want to get to

18:32

they know exactly what their game um

18:35

obviously they shoot a ton of Threes And

18:36

that goes back to I don't know if it was

18:38

episode one or two uh from mind the game

18:41

we were talking about uh the three-point

18:43

attempts and you know how many threes

18:45

you should take but they've um they play

18:48

with a lot of

18:50

space um they're not the most paced team

18:54

the team that they're going up against

18:56

is probably number one in Pace but they

18:59

play with a lot of space and it's five

19:01

out it's five out and it's Drew it's JT

19:05

it's Jaylen is uh d d white um and it's

19:08

Horford and and hopefully we would love

19:10

to see Pingas back because you know we

19:12

want to see everybody whole when you get

19:13

an opportunity to be whole at this point

19:15

so you know and they surround those guys

19:18

all all all game it's a bunch of Threes

19:21

uh they try to give us some they try to

19:23

get some some mismatches and either some

19:25

flare screens or some rip screens where

19:27

they could get a smaller guy on J Brown

19:29

or Jason Tatum and they try to exploit

19:30

mismatches um but they know exactly what

19:32

they're trying to get through driving

19:34

kicks uh shoot a bunch of Threes try to

19:37

get some offensive rebounds to kick out

19:38

for threes again um early transition

19:41

threes early attacks through the U

19:42

through the 45 U for Jaylen Brown for uh

19:46

Derek white for for Tatum and then the

19:48

rest of those guys just uh you know play

19:50

off for each other so they definitely

19:51

have an

19:52

identity yeah so you bring up uh the the

19:55

switches and some of the things they do

19:58

and

19:59

you know I want to differentiate right

20:01

now um

20:03

between uh how how the different ways

20:06

you can manipulate matchups because

20:09

traditionally if you wanted to get a

20:12

certain matchup uh the guy would just

20:16

you let's say it's you you would bring

20:17

the ball up the court and you say come

20:18

here and You' do three three different

20:21

pick and rolls until they finally switch

20:23

and then you get your match up and you

20:24

go right um I think Boston uh will do

20:28

that for sure and they do that a lot

20:29

late game they'll just set a side pick

20:31

Pi roll get Derek White's guy on Jason T

20:34

exactly you know whatever it may be but

20:38

they do a lot of the rip screen stuff

20:40

from the elbows from the elbows in their

20:43

V2 warns 2 set that creates those

20:45

mismatches that they can get behind the

20:47

defense on a slip now all of a sudden

20:48

you got Al Horford Jaylen Brown whoever

20:50

in the corner you got shooting um but

20:54

what that leads to and I think I I think

20:56

in some ways this is where they have a

20:59

clear identity Beyond just shooting and

21:01

spacing because they create those

21:03

mismatches whether it's porzingis Tatum

21:06

Brown they get to a lot of isos they get

21:09

to a lot of post-ups yep that is not

21:12

Indiana at all at all that is not

21:16

Indiana at you bring up the pace and I

21:18

just called four of their games in the

21:20

conference semi-finals I think the most

21:21

impressive thing to me about them is

21:24

number one their use of the ad Advanced

21:26

pass uh but

21:29

also they don't really run plays right

21:32

and Rick Carlow said this to me he's

21:34

like we're a concept team we're not a

21:35

play team right they will run multiple

21:39

actions whether it's pushing the ball up

21:42

to initiate the offense or an advaned

21:44

fast to initiate the offense it's

21:46

multiple actions one after another that

21:47

eventually leads to drive and kick yep

21:50

we think about them and they're like oh

21:52

you know they they shoot a lot of Threes

21:54

here's the thing they led the league in

21:55

points in the paint all of that stuff

21:58

that they do

21:59

the high picking rolls with halberton uh

22:02

the the advanced pass TJ McConnell

22:03

nashing on the Baseline all of that is

22:06

to eventually get something in the paint

22:08

and they'll take threes I'm not saying

22:09

they won't take threes they want points

22:11

in the paint y absolutely it's a totally

22:12

different thing yep yep totally contrast

22:15

from their opponent that they about to

22:16

face you got one team that wants to

22:19

shoot a bunch of Threes And yes they

22:20

will take their layups and get their

22:21

dunks or whatever case may be the

22:23

defense break down but with IND with

22:26

Indiana they want to live in the pain

22:28

paint and like you saying their ability

22:30

to you know throw the ball up ahead

22:32

flatten the defense to throw back to a

22:34

either a slip slip drag or a you know a

22:38

double drag to get halber going downhill

22:40

finding guys and then they get to their

22:41

drive and kick game um which they are

22:44

very efficient and very good at um you

22:47

know so you know it's going to be uh

22:49

definitely a game of two contrasts uh

22:52

you know different teams but it's going

22:54

to be fun to

22:56

watch uh what do you what do you you

22:58

think is the best way to describe why

23:02

the advanced pass is so

23:04

important um I think the best way to

23:07

describe why the advanced pass is so

23:10

important you know I just said it uh it

23:12

literally it flattens the defense out

23:16

you know and what that mean when you're

23:18

when you're throwing the ball ahead the

23:20

defense is always trying to get back to

23:22

the level of the ball get below the ball

23:25

and with Indiana I think that is a point

23:28

of emphasis for them to try to get the

23:30

all the bodies below the ball so when

23:32

they throw a back you're not in position

23:34

to Now cover the pick and roll which now

23:37

they're very Dynamic at you know and you

23:40

know you know you tell your bigs get

23:42

back get back guards get back you know

23:45

so when they kicking the ball ahead if

23:46

they don't have early layups or they

23:48

have early driving kicks once that ball

23:50

gets kick back to TJ McConnell or to

23:53

Tyrese halberton now here comes the

23:56

drags and and it's not like you know

23:59

dribble dribble wait wait no they're

24:01

right there at the point of the

24:02

throwback it's either a slip drag with

24:04

Miles Turner it's either a slip drag uh

24:07

with Obi toing you know or it's gonna be

24:09

a a nice screen uh by by Jackson uh the

24:14

the guy off the bench there back up

24:15

Center he's really good at it or now

24:17

their guards are getting involved where

24:19

they're hip tapping and you know and

24:21

slipping out so you know I think that's

24:23

I think that's very uh you know I think

24:25

as a coach and as a coaching staff they

24:28

were were able to identify their

24:30

personnel and they knew exactly what

24:33

would work for them and and it's that's

24:35

that's that's a great coach and a great

24:37

coaching staff right there to be able to

24:38

identify your personnel because they

24:40

don't have many at the end of the day we

24:42

say you know why are they not posting up

24:44

or why they're not isoing to be honest

24:47

Indiana they they don't have the

24:48

Personnel to do that and seak seak is

24:52

really the only guy and that is you know

24:54

and and I think to a degree uh they only

24:57

do that really when they feel like he

24:59

has a a mismatch and they felt like in

25:01

that Nick series he had a mismatch

25:03

against Josh Hart and you know games

25:06

three four five six seven uh he took

25:09

advantage of that yeah he did the

25:10

advance pass certainly flattens the

25:12

defense it it's it's to me what you're

25:14

describing as like an early shift yep

25:16

early shift yep where if you advance

25:19

pass it up the right wing now all of a

25:20

sudden everybody who's retreating on

25:23

defense is Shifting towards that side

25:26

versus if you just bring the ball up or

25:28

walk the ball up everybody's set there's

25:31

no shift there's no shift yep the other

25:33

thing and I I was there was a great

25:36

article recently about uh how the league

25:39

is a copycat league and how a lot of

25:41

these coaches are stealing stuff from

25:43

each other we we all know that but one

25:45

of the things I talked about was a lot

25:47

of coaches want the ball to get across

25:51

half court in two to three

25:52

seconds and one of the things that has

25:55

happened in this playoffs in particular

25:58

is the pickup points has been all the

26:00

way in the back court yes uh you know

26:02

there's a there was a stat I mentioned

26:03

on the broadcast there have been more

26:06

possessions with backcourt pressure on

26:08

average in a playoff game yeah than in

26:10

any other playoff season since uh we

26:13

started to have track eror so all that

26:15

advanced pass does is it takes the

26:16

pressure off right y you're in you can

26:19

create a mismatch as teams are

26:21

retreating rather than walk the ball up

26:23

rather than dribble the ball up that

26:24

advanced pass maybe you get a mismatch

26:26

maybe it's joic throwing ahead to Gordon

26:27

now Gordon has a smaller guy on and he

26:29

can and you can create off that way

26:31

whatever it may be so I think the

26:33

advance pass is super important Boston

26:36

uses it as well and in particular Jaylen

26:39

Brown in transition looking to attack

26:43

off the advanced pass is massive and I

26:45

believe Jay I think I think Jaylen Brown

26:46

was number one in Fast Break points this

26:48

year too I believe where were you where

26:50

were you you were top six top five I

26:52

maybe it was two maybe

26:59

um the other thing I want to talk about

27:01

as it relates to this series

27:04

is there's a bunch of different ways to

27:06

guard pick and rolls right um You can be

27:09

in drop coverage yep you can switch you

27:13

can be up to touch which I feel like for

27:16

a lot of my career certainly a lot of

27:18

your career people were up to touch now

27:21

a lot of teams play heavy drop coverage

27:24

um you can also hedge you show

27:28

and bigs used to do this which is

27:30

hilarious looking back but uh if you're

27:33

Target hunting like let's say Jaylen

27:36

Brunson was uh on Tyrese halberton in

27:39

that Nicks Pacer series and I would

27:41

expect Joe missula to do the same in

27:42

this series uh Tyrese halberton rather

27:45

than switching will be in a hitch in a

27:46

hitch

27:48

um what's what's what do you think is a

27:50

way you can sort of exploit that hedge

27:53

and why do you think teams have gone

27:54

away from it why do I think guys teams

27:57

have went away from the Hedge

27:58

yeah because so much slipping goes on in

28:01

our league as well you know so you know

28:04

I think teams started exploiting the

28:06

Hedge so they start running clear side

28:09

pick and rolls so if I know you're in a

28:11

hedge and nine times out of 10 you know

28:14

if you have one of your Defenders you

28:16

usually try to put him on a guy that's

28:19

not much of a playmaker but he's he's

28:22

probably a good ass shooter um so you

28:24

just you your only job is to kind of

28:26

chase him chase him don't give them no

28:28

air space whatever the case may be so a

28:30

lot of teams have exploited that by

28:32

putting their Shooters as a screener but

28:34

not having them if you know the guy

28:36

that's guarding him is going to be in a

28:37

hedge you go a clear side pick and roll

28:39

and you just have him slip out he's

28:41

never going to be able to get there he's

28:43

never going to be able to get back and

28:44

nine times out of 10 that low man in the

28:47

rotation won't be able to get to that he

28:49

won't be able to get to that rotation if

28:50

you're full rotating it's too far of a

28:51

run so you know I I think a lot of uh

28:55

teams have got gone away from the Hedge

28:56

I actually like it um I actually like it

28:59

sometimes depending on who the ball

29:00

handle is um depending on how good of a

29:03

of a passer he is um if it's a guy that

29:06

wants to be dynamic and always wants to

29:08

get downhill or exploit um you know uh

29:11

mismatches or switching you know and

29:13

really doesn't want to pass out of the

29:14

double team I I've always love a nice

29:17

hard hedge let the guy that's guarding

29:19

the ball get underneath you and you get

29:20

back high hands if you're guarding the

29:21

shooter um and close the gap turn right

29:23

back around because a lot of guys that's

29:25

holding the ball will then drive up your

29:27

back if you're closing out with your

29:29

back towards the uh towards the ball but

29:31

right right um I think Joe moula is

29:33

going to definitely um look at some of

29:35

the things that tibs and his coaching

29:37

staff was doing in that second round

29:39

matchup uh vers the Pacers and and use

29:42

it to we'll see if it goes to their

29:44

advantage but they're going to use it

29:46

yeah they'll use it and I I think the

29:48

easiest the easiest thing they could do

29:51

which the Nicks didn't do a lot of um

29:54

you know we were talking earlier about

29:55

that V2 action the horns 2 action where

29:57

they set the rip screen and then they

29:59

slip it they screen it at an angle so

30:01

they can get behind the defense and you

30:03

get the pass um it's the same thing you

30:06

know if you're setting a high ball

30:08

screen rather than hold the screen or

30:10

rather than slip to the three-point line

30:13

you slip into that short roll area now

30:15

you've created a 43 403 which is you got

30:17

to have the right players to do that

30:19

with corre for sure correct and I think

30:21

Boston does does would I want Derek

30:25

white slipping into that would I want

30:27

Drew holiday yes I would I would I mean

30:29

I mean obviously I mean the biggest

30:31

difference between the Knicks and the

30:32

Celtics is that you know for the

30:34

majority of the time you look at the

30:36

Knicks you know jayen Brunson is is the

30:40

primary ball handler and secondary ball

30:42

handler 95% of the time you know you

30:45

know Dante handles a little bit as well

30:48

Duce McBride comes out and handles a

30:49

little bit Josh Harden transition but

30:51

from a half court standpoint from a half

30:53

court standpoint the ball is in Jaylen

30:55

Bronson's hand 97% of the time

30:59

Boston they have four guys in their

31:01

starting lineup who can handle the ball

31:03

and initiate offense Drew Derek Jaylen

31:06

and Jason so you can't just like hide

31:11

you know you can't hide and you can't

31:13

point you know Point switch and things

31:15

of that nature because they have

31:16

multiple guys that can get them into the

31:19

offense and also make plays off either

31:23

you you [ __ ] up a switch or a closeout

31:25

game and that is the last thing you want

31:28

to be against Boston is in a closeout

31:30

game uh because their ability to spray

31:33

and they're going to be at that

31:34

three-point line 45 they G 45 threes at

31:37

least 45 threes and you don't want to be

31:39

in that especially in Boston well

31:41

actually in Boston they don't play as

31:44

well at home you don't want it's weird

31:47

they don't play as well at home but

31:48

still you don't want to be in those

31:49

those those situations with Boston you

31:51

know one of one of the things I wanted

31:53

to talk to you about La last episode we

31:55

just it just never kind of came up but

31:57

as we're talking about pick and roll

31:59

coverages and we're talking about a

32:02

hedge let's say or we're talking about a

32:05

blitz which is a double team

32:07

Y what what happens in those situations

32:10

there's a second Defender right and so

32:12

the space that the offensive player the

32:15

ball handler is going towards in a drop

32:18

let's say uh there's not that space

32:21

there because the second Defender is up

32:23

whether he's trying to reroute the ball

32:25

or he's in a blitz and I I I think it

32:28

brings up the importance

32:31

of great ball handlers who can drive

32:34

away and you played with the person who

32:39

I consider to be the best at driving

32:42

away and that was dwade dwade but by the

32:46

way the thing with dwade is you weren't

32:48

up on him either right like you I was if

32:52

I'm guarding dwade on the left wing I

32:55

know and there's a middle screen coming

32:57

yep I know he's not GNA shoot yeah so

33:00

I'm automatically like a little bit off

33:02

his body right I'm not I know he's

33:05

trying to drive away I know I'm going

33:07

underneath the screen and meet him on

33:09

the other side I know all of these

33:11

things and he still does and yet he sets

33:13

me up and gets me every

33:17

time I I still I I I still can't figure

33:20

out how he was so effective at it I

33:23

don't know if it was just the way he

33:24

moved the ball when he jabbed with his

33:26

right foot but on that left side it was

33:28

impossible yeah it was impossible yeah

33:30

he was damn good with that he was damn

33:32

good that's what makes Jaylen Brunson so

33:33

damn effective too and Jaylen Brunson

33:35

you have to respect him a little bit

33:36

more at the three-point line but his

33:38

ability to reject screens and go away

33:40

from the screen is is it's challenging

33:43

especially when you're bringing like you

33:44

said two guys up you know it's a screen

33:47

coming you said bigs be up be up the

33:50

guard can't let you reject and they they

33:52

still find a way and that's you know

33:55

Kyrie does that Luca has that ability

33:58

Tatum Brown has that ability so you

34:02

know Antman has that ability so it's

34:06

gonna be some uh it's gonna be some

34:07

chess playing in these Conference Finals

34:08

for sure yeah I think about all those

34:11

guys that you mentioned potentially

34:14

facing hard Hedges or

34:17

blitzes and in some ways uh all of them

34:22

have the ability and have the the sort

34:24

of cooperation to make the right play

34:27

and by that I mean I've got two on the

34:28

ball I've done my job um but but at the

34:32

same time they know their values as

34:35

primary Scores And so there's a little

34:39

bit of a chess game even with their own

34:42

mindset about when is the right time to

34:44

just get off the ball when is the right

34:45

time to attack and try to get that

34:48

driveway um by the way I think D Wade's

34:51

dunk on perk if I'm not mistaken it was

34:53

a reject for sure yes it was yeah it was

34:55

on a reject it was on a it was on reject

34:59

it was on reject um Minnesota and Dallas

35:04

um the commonality to me and it's a

35:08

little different uh I think with both

35:10

these teams in terms of how they're

35:11

built but the commonality in terms of

35:13

identity with these teams right now is

35:17

with uh their defense and Minnesota

35:19

number one defense in the league All

35:20

Season Dallas number one defense the

35:23

last 20 games of the season um they both

35:26

have size and length uh they both have a

35:30

player in their starting lineup That is

35:32

a little bit undersized relative to

35:35

everybody else Mike Conley Kyrie Irving

35:38

both those guys have been super engaged

35:40

throughout the season defensively so I

35:42

think both these teams their identity is

35:43

built I think the fascinating part about

35:45

Minnesota in sort of you know watching

35:48

this and joic said this last night after

35:49

the thing he said he said yeah they

35:52

they're they're a team that's literally

35:53

built to beat us and Tim Conley who was

35:56

in Denver built that team go to

35:58

Minnesota built them he built them to

36:01

beat the team that he put

36:04

together I just I I it's interesting to

36:09

think about specifically with them uh

36:13

the sort of what makes them different is

36:15

their size yeah right they're just a

36:18

bigger team and everybody we've lived

36:20

through this three-point Revolution

36:21

we've lived through this small ball era

36:24

um you played against them this year

36:26

like what are some of the the ways you

36:29

can attack them and what are some of the

36:32

things that they just do really well

36:34

Minnesota that is yes uh you know

36:38

Minnesota is one of the few teams if not

36:41

the only team in our league that makes

36:44

the court seems smaller because of their

36:47

length um when you got Gober cat

36:51

ant Jaden and Conley even though he's

36:55

not as tall as far as height if you look

36:57

at his arm arms when he spread his arms

36:58

out his wingspan you know shuts down a

37:02

lot of um of the Court as well so you

37:05

know they cut down the court you know

37:06

they have you know Kyle Anderson super

37:09

length you know Nas Reed and nil

37:11

Alexander those guys are they have a lot

37:14

of length you know and you know they

37:16

just you you either you're driving

37:18

whatever the case may be the court feels

37:20

shrunk you know so you know the best

37:23

thing you could do is not hold the ball

37:24

cuz when you hold the ball they spread

37:26

arms they lock Lo arms they like they

37:28

just cut down half of the court so you

37:31

know you have to you know play very just

37:33

like quick quick movements quick drives

37:36

quick kicks you know and uh it's not

37:39

much like I used before I don't know if

37:40

that was episode one or two and I said

37:42

not much fat time not much Fu [ __ ]

37:45

around time when it comes to Minnesota's

37:46

defense because they can put you in a

37:47

box for

37:48

sure yeah and then you adding the fact

37:51

that they can uh match up positionally

37:55

if they want they can Cross Match if

37:57

they want and use goar as a RoR and have

38:00

him just sort of clean up different

38:02

stuff um it's going to be interesting to

38:05

see you know just how Dallas involves

38:09

gobear whether that's in pick and roll

38:12

whether that's sort of off ball if he is

38:14

crossmatched for whatever reason do they

38:15

try to play a little small at times like

38:18

could you I could imagine potentially a

38:20

non- lively Gafford lineup right with

38:23

one of them out yeah Rick Rick Rick used

38:26

to do that all the time when when when

38:28

we would play against the Jazz you know

38:29

what's a big it's a big a big a big hurt

38:31

for Dallas in this series is is is no

38:33

Maxi Cleaver because he he having him at

38:37

the five you know would would alleviate

38:41

you know a lot of what Minnesota is

38:43

trying to do with his ability to guard

38:45

bigger guys and also hit the three so

38:47

you know it's it's going to be

38:49

challenging to see if Dallas if JK and

38:51

his coach staff kind of goes to a

38:52

smaller lineup to kind of get Gober you

38:55

know to try to get Nas Reed and those

38:57

guys out on the

38:58

perimeter but who is the Five Guys you

39:00

go Luca Kyrie Derek Jones PJ Washington

39:05

and Tim Hardway he's kind of been not in

39:08

and out of the Rhythm because of he

39:09

didn't play late Josh Green you know

39:12

they you know so Dante xam is kind of

39:15

yeah Josh Green is feisty is feisty but

39:18

they would definitely put Rudy on Josh

39:19

Green for sure they would put him on

39:21

Josh green and see if he can make a

39:23

couple shots but we we we'll see it be

39:25

it'll be definitely a game of t for sure

39:28

when it gets down to it yeah yeah and

39:30

then Dallas of course I I I mentioned

39:32

the defense they they are unique because

39:33

they have two insanely uh uh insanely

39:37

great shot creators um both for

39:40

themselves and for other people um PJ

39:44

Washington and Derk Jones Jr have been

39:47

phenomenal in this playoff run phal

39:49

phenomenal phenomenal and I think one of

39:53

the big things one of the big things in

39:56

this series

39:58

uh and it goes back to two on the ball

40:00

right is

40:02

can uh can Minnesota stay out of that

40:06

where I think at times um the Clippers

40:11

and OKC got in trouble and you got to

40:14

give credit to Dallas of course for

40:16

actually making the shots but where they

40:18

got in trouble at times was putting two

40:21

on the ball against Kyrie and putting it

40:24

wasn't even necessarily blitzes though

40:25

Braun you know what I mean it was that

40:27

over help or is that hey you know that

40:29

slot drive from Luca we're going to put

40:31

three bodies in the vicinity well Luca

40:33

can make any pass any pass he can make

40:35

any pass and if PJ Washington's shooting

40:37

47% from three you're in trouble right

40:40

you're in trouble if you're overh

40:41

helping so I think as much as Minnesota

40:44

can stay out of two on the ball uh the

40:47

more success they will have in this in

40:49

this uh in this series um BR I want to

40:52

finish up with something because um you

40:55

know we we want to talk about sort of

40:57

all things basketball and uh Caitlyn

41:02

Clark uh phenomenal run I saw her the

41:04

other night by the way I saw her the

41:06

other night in Indie uh after her I

41:08

think it was her second game or third

41:10

game but it was the first game against

41:12

Liberty they played Liberty Thursday and

41:13

they were back here in New York on

41:14

Saturday I saw after the Thursday game

41:17

uh very briefly and um you know she was

41:20

just talking about uh the quick

41:22

turnaround which I find to be insane

41:24

that they they go through this season

41:26

that's starts basically in September uh

41:29

they have all their preseason practices

41:31

games she does the tournament gets the

41:33

national championship game and then like

41:36

within a month she's playing in real

41:38

WNBA games there's no real offseason for

41:40

her um but the the the thing I wanted to

41:43

bring up was just

41:46

uh I don't want to call it hatred but it

41:49

it's there's definitely uh like a like a

41:53

dislike or vitriol yeah coming her way

41:57

towards older players and look I think

42:00

we all experienced that to some degree

42:02

when we first got in the NBA your

42:04

opponents your your opponents are not

42:05

wrapping their arms around around you I

42:07

I I I had that to a small extent I was

42:10

the cocky white kid from duke right you

42:12

know I feel like sometimes my teammates

42:14

hated me

42:15

um how did

42:18

you process that how did you go through

42:21

that at a young age coming into the NBA

42:25

where the people could have been your

42:28

teammates could have been the people you

42:30

were competing against they weren't

42:32

celebrating you no not at all they

42:34

wanted to kick your ass absolutely

42:36

absolutely I

42:37

mean my teammates for sure um there's

42:41

video evidence of my teammates basically

42:43

saying

42:45

like he's not ready or there's somebody

42:47

playing his position or we're not

42:50

putting all our faith in the 18yearold

42:52

kid or you know all this hype we've been

42:54

here all this you know so own teammates

42:57

that I had to like be on the floor with

42:59

practicing with on the planes with you

43:02

know in the locker room in game

43:04

situations was kind of you know just had

43:06

this kind of like you said you want to

43:08

say hate but just like animosity like

43:10

towards uh towards me and and you know

43:13

and and what I could provide um and I

43:15

didn't even come in with that I didn't

43:17

come in I came in with the narrative but

43:20

I didn't come in with that type of AA I

43:21

just wanted to come in and learn from

43:22

the vets and then put you know put the

43:25

work in so I think for for

43:28

my advice to Caitlyn um and my advice to

43:31

anyone that comes in with this you know

43:33

this level of like

43:35

notoriety you know out of as World

43:39

expectation you know whatever the case

43:41

may be I just think just you know it's

43:43

all about having you know be a horse man

43:47

you know the Kentucky Derby put your

43:49

blinders on go to work show up to work

43:52

punch your clock in prepare yourself

43:55

work on your game work on your craft

43:58

you know kind of keep your mouth shut

44:00

you know and just learn from the Vets

44:02

when they ask you voice your opinion if

44:05

if they want your opinion man early on

44:07

because everybody is looking for you to

44:09

say anything and they're GNA splice it

44:12

and cut it and make it a negative thing

44:14

like and I think for her the one thing

44:18

that I love that she's bringing to her

44:21

sport more people want to watch more

44:24

people want to tune in I saw for the

44:27

first time that they hard they had a

44:29

chartered plane for the first time in

44:32

their league history you know they flew

44:34

private that should be celebrated in his

44:36

own right from anyone that's you know in

44:39

sports that's flown commercial or flown

44:42

you know Charter that should be

44:44

celebrated and it's because of Caitlyn

44:45

Clark don't get it twisted don't get it

44:47

[ __ ] up Caitlyn Clark is the reason

44:50

why a lot of great things is going to

44:52

happen for the

44:53

WNBA um but for her individually I don't

44:56

think she should get involved on nothing

44:57

that's being said just go have fun enjoy

45:02

um people need to realize the Indiana

45:05

Fever this is the second year in a row

45:07

they had the number one pick so do y'all

45:09

know what that mean that mean they're

45:11

not that

45:12

good they had backtack years as the

45:15

number one why why are you a hater on

45:17

the fever man I am a I am a realist like

45:21

not cuz not only like I get like people

45:23

are just like crazy about why she should

45:25

be doing this and they should be doing

45:26

that if she's so great this team like

45:28

it's still a team game people it is

45:31

still a team game and you know but I'm

45:34

root for kayin because I've been in that

45:36

seat before I've walked that road before

45:39

I hope they I hope she kills I hope

45:41

Aaliyah Boston does amazing you know I

45:44

hope they do great you know I'm just

45:45

kind of in this mode right now because

45:47

I'm getting the same you know thing from

45:49

watching my son who's a 19y old kind of

45:52

getting a lot of animosity and hatred

45:55

towards him when he's just a kid trying

45:57

to live out his dream you know there's a

46:00

very small number of men and women that

46:04

actually get to live out their dream of

46:06

playing the professional sport and we

46:08

have grown ass men and women out here

46:11

doing whatever they can to try to make

46:14

sure that does not happen that is the

46:17

weirdest thing in the world but it is

46:20

what it is and I'm glad that Caitlyn has

46:22

a great head on her shoulder she seems

46:24

like it I I I don't even I don't think

46:26

I've ever met her um I don't think I've

46:29

met her before but it seems like

46:31

everything um is going to be great for

46:33

her CU she's a great talent she seems

46:35

like a great gal and uh oh she turns

46:38

that franchise around to where um you

46:41

know Tama katchin had it at one

46:44

point um a couple things to to finish up

46:47

here I just wanted you you brought up

46:49

the thing with your teammates and uh

46:52

there's a I found this quote I don't

46:54

know why I did this but it was a while

46:56

ago it was for the old man of the three

46:59

I can't remember who we were

47:00

interviewing but I found a quote by Paul

47:02

Silas we like Paul who was your head

47:05

coach was talking about how your

47:07

teammates hated you so I thought that

47:09

was interesting and the other thing I

47:11

was going to say is like right after

47:12

your summer league was in Boston right I

47:14

played in Boston and Orlando yep okay

47:17

you played Boston Orlando so it was

47:18

after

47:19

Boston uh I

47:21

saw one of your teammates I'm not going

47:23

to name Nam saw one of your teammates

47:26

and he wasn't he wasn't negative he

47:28

wasn't negative but I just this has been

47:30

like in my brain for the last like 20

47:33

years he said um I said yo how's uh

47:36

how's how do how was LeBron like what do

47:38

you think of him and he said uh yeah man

47:41

he can really pass you know really knows

47:43

the game um he's like he's gonna make

47:47

other guys better um but like I don't I

47:50

think he's going to struggle to score I

47:51

don't I don't think he's going to

47:54

score meanwhile 40,000 points later

47:57

great take that was a great take he was

48:00

he was spot on great take uh all right

48:05

talk to you soon man always good to see

48:07

you man all

48:09

right Ron I love the term fat time yeah

48:12

I'm gonna start using no no [ __ ]

48:13

around time no no none of

48:16

it love all right all right Jay

48:22

[Music]

48:28

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48:30

watching mind the game podcast if you

48:32

like it please hit that subscribe button

48:34

thank you

48:35

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NBA PlayoffsBasketball TacticsLeBron JamesJJ RedickRole PlayersConference FinalsPace and SpacePick and RollAdvanced PassTeam IdentityPlayer Mindset
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