0:01

Welcome to the Chastown Podcast, networked, and

0:04

a foul. Welcome, the Chastown podcast, part

0:06

of the game, locked, and Allen blocked

0:08

the shot at the rib. How with

0:10

the left hand and a foul. Welcome,

0:12

the Chastown, and a foul. Welcome, the

0:15

Chastown podcast, part of the Caves

0:17

Media Family. I'm your host, Justin

0:19

Rowan. The Chastown is presented by

0:21

Fubo, the official streaming partner of

0:24

the Caves. Watch over 350 channels

0:26

of live sports channels of live

0:28

sports and TV, There's no cost

0:31

and no commitment. Try for free

0:33

at fubo TV.com/calves. The Cleveland Cavaliers

0:35

once again were dominant in the

0:37

clutch coming back against the Brooklyn

0:40

Nets, another comeback win, another clutch

0:42

win, and the 15th win in

0:44

the row, clinching the Central Division

0:47

championship there or. banner, whatever you

0:49

want to call it. It feels

0:51

like a championship in my heart.

0:54

Anytime you can put the Milwaukee

0:56

Bucks and the Chicago Bulls behind

0:58

you. Joining me today to discuss

1:00

that and more is my co-host

1:02

Carter Rodriguez. Carter, how you doing?

1:04

I bumbled your name. That was

1:06

awful. Fine and Nandi, brother, despite

1:09

that. You know, 15 wins in a row.

1:11

Second time this season. The six team

1:13

in NBA history to do that,

1:15

which kind of. stunning by the

1:17

way that it's happened that many

1:19

times. They have now won more

1:22

than half of the regular

1:24

season in win streaks. They

1:26

have 42 wins worth of

1:28

win streaks. And that is

1:30

a lot of wins. That is

1:33

an absolutely crazy stat.

1:35

I got to be honest. I

1:37

was a little disappointed last night.

1:39

I had plans to go to

1:41

a concert. ended up, you know,

1:44

my my avenue, my hookup to

1:46

get a ticket ended up not

1:48

working out for me. Looked at

1:51

the last minute tickets, $300. I'm

1:53

not spending that. I'm sorry. I'm

1:55

not the biggest concert goer, but

1:58

it was a little too... for

2:00

me. I was like, oh, you know,

2:02

the cats are probably going to blow

2:04

out the Brooklyn Nets. Then I saw,

2:06

oh, Donovan and Entire resting. DeAndre Hunter's

2:09

got, you know, an illness and he's

2:11

out. This might be an interesting game

2:13

and you know what? It was a

2:15

bit of a up and down game.

2:18

I thought they actually played pretty well

2:20

in the first quarter. Brooklyn just, you

2:22

know, it was shooting the lights out.

2:24

I thought the second quarter of the

2:27

effort kind of dropped off a little

2:29

bit of a But they once again

2:31

rallied, they showed that they were able

2:33

to, you know, put it together when

2:35

it really mattered and came away with

2:38

a win. I had a fun time.

2:40

Yeah, it was, again, I think I

2:42

said this last episode, but like I'm

2:44

not even getting annoyed when they're not

2:47

playing well, because it's just been that

2:49

kind of year, where like, even when

2:51

they're not playing well, I'm still pretty

2:53

pleased with what I'm watching. And I

2:56

thought it was just one of those

2:58

games where the shots weren't going in

3:00

more than anything, more than anything. Yeah,

3:02

and the defense was definitely a little

3:04

rough to start the game, but I

3:07

also think they just had some rough

3:09

shooting variance You know Zire Williams his

3:11

first four threes But in Darius was

3:13

having another one of those games, and

3:16

I I think we do kind of

3:18

have to start with Darius Because you

3:20

know he did have kind of a

3:22

tale of two halves sort of game

3:24

where You know first half happens and

3:27

you go up man, do we have

3:29

a problem here? You know because you

3:31

know you've been shooting like 34 percent?

3:33

since the hip injury against the Knicks

3:36

and it wasn't getting a lot better

3:38

you know even in games that they

3:40

were winning which is all of them

3:42

you know it was a little bit

3:45

of mostly rely on you know just

3:47

keeping the engine going right as opposed

3:49

to taking over and you know we

3:51

saw ties your own take down this

3:53

take over one of the stretches that

3:56

Donovan sat earlier in this win streak.

3:58

We saw, you know, Go Nuts. We

4:00

saw De Andre Hunter go Nuts. We've

4:02

seen a lot of guys win games

4:05

for the Cavs. And it just hasn't

4:07

really mattered that much that Darius hasn't

4:09

played well. And I was, you know,

4:11

we're in the first half and I'm

4:14

looking through the roster and looking through

4:16

the rotation. I go, it's going to

4:18

have to be you brother. And it

4:20

was. He scores, he goes absolutely ballistic

4:22

in the fourth quarter, scores 18 points.

4:25

is finishing at the rim, is hitting

4:27

threes, is getting to the line, is

4:29

diming, and completely took over and finishes

4:31

with 38 and 4, and 4 steals

4:34

as well. So I don't know. I

4:36

don't know if my like, my spitey,

4:38

my angst senses are all the way,

4:40

wiped away, because I still think it's

4:43

been hard for him to get going

4:45

ever since he got hurt, but it

4:47

certainly was nice to see. Yeah, he

4:49

really was nice to see and you

4:51

know that kind of sentiment of well,

4:54

it's got to be you tonight I

4:56

think that was the exact same thing

4:58

that Kenny Atkinson was thinking in that

5:00

moment Darius played over 36 minutes in

5:03

this game It was the second most

5:05

minutes. He's played all season in the

5:07

game which Automatically made me think how

5:09

many games did he have where he

5:11

played more than that last season? 16

5:14

is the answer to that you know

5:16

and we're almost towards the end of

5:18

this season and this is the second

5:20

most he's played but you know that's

5:23

kind of going in line with what

5:25

we've heard you know Chris feed or

5:27

Danny Cunningham and all the wonderful people

5:29

on the beat say that that Kenny's

5:32

plan is for down the stretch which

5:34

is we're gonna have to have some

5:36

nights where these guys do play more

5:38

minutes we got to get their conditioning

5:40

up and ready for the playoffs and

5:43

you know being able to trust Darius

5:45

in that spot where he doesn't have

5:47

it going he's missing shots you know

5:49

he's not able to find that rhythm

5:52

offensively and for him to step up

5:54

in that way i thought was really

5:56

encouraging we talked on the last podcast

5:58

about how not only was Darius slumping

6:01

you know the last few games but

6:03

Donovan's shooting numbers were really down. I

6:05

didn't even realize this until you know

6:07

it was announced that he was resting

6:09

but tied Jerome over the last six

6:12

games had been 22 of 62 from

6:14

the field. He was in a slump.

6:16

You know I think all of these

6:18

guards have been in a little bit

6:21

of a funk and that's probably part

6:23

of why we've seen this uneven stretch

6:25

but with Darius. There's just that more

6:27

clean line of when this started, right?

6:30

He had, you know, the first seven

6:32

games of February, he's shooting 47, 48

6:34

from the field, dominant, looks like he

6:36

has, has that fall against New York,

6:38

misses two games, and then he's been

6:41

in a bit of a rut since.

6:43

And I do think it's worth noting

6:45

over that stretch. He still had productive

6:47

games. The playmaking's been good, the assistive

6:50

turnover ratio has been good. I feel

6:52

like the defense has been strong. And

6:54

even over those seven games, three of

6:56

them he's had an above league average

6:58

true shooting percentage in those games as

7:01

well. So it's not like last year

7:03

where there was no impact at all.

7:05

But I do think that it's been

7:07

a different version of Darius than what

7:10

we've seen all season. I feel like

7:12

he's been a no doubter to me

7:14

an all NBA level player all year

7:16

and he's back to being like a

7:19

pretty good point guard right now. Right,

7:21

right. And there is a big difference

7:23

between those two things. Yeah, you know,

7:25

above league average true shooting percentage isn't

7:27

the standard that he set for himself

7:30

this season, right? It has been at

7:32

50, 40, 90 level. So I do

7:34

think the most noteworthy difference really has

7:36

been, he's not getting to the rim

7:39

and into the paint at the same

7:41

rate that he has before. He's had

7:43

halves where he's only taken three pointers.

7:45

I don't know if that's, hey, I'm

7:48

working my way back from the hip

7:50

and I just don't want to over

7:52

exert myself. uh... or or what the

7:54

deal is but i thought it was

7:56

noteworthy that down the stretch against brooklyn

7:59

he was attacking he was getting downhill.

8:01

He was getting into the paint, you

8:03

know, finishing at the rim, drawing fouls.

8:05

Can I just say? It is so funny

8:08

that we're like, what's wrong with Darius?

8:10

All he's doing is shooting when all

8:12

we wanted him to do for the

8:14

last three years was shoot more. Yep.

8:17

Yeah. And you know, that goes to

8:19

what we said after the Chicago game,

8:21

which is in the past a game

8:23

like that we probably would have

8:25

interpreted it in a more positive

8:27

way that hey, you know. He's taking

8:29

a lot of shots and he's

8:32

pressing a little bit, but I

8:34

prefer that to fading away into

8:36

the background. But the reality

8:38

is, you know, we have

8:40

a higher standard this season.

8:42

We have a legitimate chance

8:45

to go out and win a

8:47

championship this year. So you want

8:49

to find ways to be productive

8:52

even when you don't have it

8:54

going. I don't, yeah, go ahead.

8:56

No, I was agreeing with you. It

8:58

was a really, really strong performance for

9:00

him in the fourth quarter. I do

9:03

like the fact that he has remained

9:05

aggressive kind of through this stretch. My

9:07

inclination, whether there is something wrong or

9:09

not, is hey, it might be nice

9:12

time to get him a rest. Like,

9:14

you know, Donovan and Thai got their

9:16

night off here. If he rests first

9:18

Memphis, that's four days off. But I

9:20

also have to acknowledge that some of

9:23

this is me thinking, well, There's

9:25

some avenue to control this. It's

9:27

not just a shooting slump, right?

9:29

Like if we rest them, everything's

9:31

going to be fine, right? Like

9:33

these aren't just the ebbs and flows

9:35

of a season, which in reality, that

9:37

might be it. It might just be,

9:39

hey, you know, working your way back,

9:42

you're a little tired. It's late in

9:44

the season, you're not playing for anything.

9:46

You're going to be a little more

9:48

selective of when you attack the

9:50

basket and when you're going to

9:53

exerting exert yourself. One of the reasons

9:55

that me and you both have our eyes

9:57

on that you know that Memphis game is

9:59

a bit rest game is because

10:01

they're just in constant

10:03

perpetual motion all month

10:06

where they're not getting

10:08

any time just to really

10:10

sit and recover. You know, I

10:12

think this is where the work that

10:14

these guys put in their

10:16

bodies really pays dividends because

10:19

it helps them recover

10:21

a little bit faster, but in

10:23

the day, still hurts to fall on

10:25

your hip that hard. And I

10:27

think. I just, I do just kind

10:29

of want to see that, you know, a little

10:32

bit of an extended run of,

10:34

of like, the dearest we saw, you

10:36

know, last month. Just to kind of,

10:38

just to kind of remind ourselves

10:40

and, you know, again, I always joke

10:43

that I have the memory of a

10:45

fish and I really do, because it's

10:47

like, you know, almost every time something

10:49

trends the wrong way. I'm like, it's

10:51

never going to be good again. And

10:54

everything, every time something true is turning

10:56

the right way. I'm like, we're never

10:58

going to lose. Yeah. Even within this

11:00

game, you know, you get the sentiment

11:02

of, hey, when he doesn't have it

11:04

going, he's not able to pull through.

11:06

You know, when he's a little banged

11:09

up, he doesn't find ways to be

11:11

effective or the stretch. You know, what

11:13

he did in the fourth quarter was

11:15

very clearly, you know, you know, that

11:17

kind of. switch. And I don't think

11:19

it was an effort thing before, but

11:21

that's, you know, that extra little bit

11:23

of lock in, dig deep, let's close

11:26

this out, let's get the win. And

11:28

I thought it was interesting that basically

11:30

that was a team wide approach. Kenny

11:32

Atkinson really only played eight guys in

11:35

this game. Javante Green got some run,

11:37

you know, kind of our first hidden

11:39

misstretch of him in his time with

11:41

the calves. He had that blown dunk

11:43

attempt and there was a couple other

11:46

times where he went flying and the

11:48

results were sometimes positive, sometimes

11:50

negative, but you know, that's

11:52

probably a little bit more closer

11:55

to reality and what you'd expect.

11:57

But can he really leaned on

11:59

the top guys? various plane over

12:01

36 minutes. Alan and Mobley playing

12:03

34 minutes. Isaac O'Coro played a

12:05

lot of time here. He really

12:07

kind of, you know, with guys

12:09

out, went with that shorter rotation

12:11

rather than putting in someone like

12:13

a jail in Tyson. Yeah, I thought

12:15

that was interesting, you know. I

12:17

mean, because earlier, I do think

12:19

you're right that it was a byproduct

12:22

of him trying to get these guys

12:24

a little bit more run. Rather than

12:26

because my first instance was oh

12:28

Kenny really wanted to win this

12:30

he basically played eight guys

12:32

Which he hasn't done all year unless

12:35

we were down like six rotation

12:37

players Right and the more I

12:39

thought about the more it came

12:41

became a little clear to me that

12:43

like Oh, well, he didn't do this when

12:45

we were down like five or six

12:48

rotation players Why is that? Mm-hmm.

12:50

And I do think you're right. You

12:52

know I'd I don't know how I feel

12:54

about it at the end of the day.

12:56

Like I probably would have liked to see

12:58

a little Jaylon Tyson just giving

13:00

him a little bit of run. But

13:02

like, there clearly is a little method

13:04

to the madness of like, no, we're

13:06

going to try to win this game.

13:08

And I do also think this was the

13:11

game where maybe the story of the

13:13

game kind of told the story of

13:15

the rotations where they were locking

13:17

down with that starting lineup

13:19

and he was going to ride them. I

13:21

mean. yet another second half where they

13:23

just put the clamps on. They have

13:25

a 108 defensive rating in the second

13:27

half in the last 10 games and

13:29

it definitely feels like it.

13:32

But yeah, I thought that was

13:34

an interesting choice rotationally just to

13:36

be like, no, no, no, no one knew

13:38

we're just going to play with the guys

13:40

that we expect to play with when games

13:42

matter. Yeah, and you know, that deficit that

13:44

they went into was with Darius on

13:46

the bench as well, right? You look

13:49

at it on the night, they were

13:51

plus 12, with Darius on the court,

13:53

team best, by a pretty good margin.

13:55

And you know, if Kenny's going to

13:57

pick spots where, hey, we want to

14:00

get our guys more minutes, we want

14:02

them to kind of ramp up a

14:04

little bit and get ready for the

14:07

postseason. Picking your one game this month

14:09

where you have two days off after

14:11

is probably a sensible spot to do

14:13

that, right? Like I think that's probably

14:16

part of the equation there as well.

14:18

I'm so selfish that I was like,

14:20

man, two days off. And then I

14:23

remembered, oh yeah, it's the only time

14:25

for the next like 30 days. Yeah.

14:27

And you know. From my perspective, I'm

14:29

in the same bowl as you. I

14:32

would have liked to have another game

14:34

this week, even if it was a

14:36

back to back here after. Nothing else

14:39

just for the podcast. It's brutal. 100%

14:41

for the podcast. Yeah, because we have

14:43

the one game against the Nets, which,

14:46

you know, this isn't going to be

14:48

a playoff opponent for them. And then

14:50

two days off until Memphis, which I

14:52

do find it interesting that last time

14:55

we played Memphis, we're like, okay, this

14:57

is a test, right, right? You know,

14:59

we really, we got to kind of

15:02

bunker down here and get this win.

15:04

I believe Darius sat that game, still

15:06

went out and won, still beat Memphis.

15:08

Jared's not there. It's really kind of

15:11

taken some error out of the balloon

15:13

there. Yeah, it's a game they should

15:15

win now, assuming they're not sitting on

15:18

a bunch of people. Though Memphis fans

15:20

might accuse Darius of duck in the

15:22

smoke, he misses another one. You might,

15:24

you know, this is, that probably has

15:27

to go into the class. Competition. I

15:29

mean, you could call it a competition,

15:31

I would just call it Darius. I

15:34

might even say the best player in

15:36

that class, but you know, that's me.

15:38

I'm a homeowner. Maybe you should. But

15:41

you know, but before we move off

15:43

of Darius, I do think we need

15:45

to talk about just how good he's

15:47

been in the clutch. You know, whether

15:50

it's an on game or an off

15:52

game, he has stepped up in those

15:54

moments. I saw the NBA account tweeted

15:57

out that among players that have over

15:59

80 clutch points this season, he leads

16:01

them with with the best field goal

16:03

percentage in that time. He's shooting 58.7%.

16:06

There's 12 players. So when I saw

16:08

80 points in the clutch, I was

16:10

like, how many guys have actually done

16:13

that? There's 12 guys that have done

16:15

it. Trey Young, Jaylon Bronson, Maxie De

16:17

Rosen, Ant, Yokech, Fox, Fox, Curry, KD,

16:19

DG, Hero and Tatum. And I thought

16:22

it was noteworthy that not only does

16:24

Darius have the best field goal percentage

16:26

is the best three point percentage in

16:29

that stretch. If you look at free

16:31

throw throw shooting. You know, only staff,

16:33

Katie and De Rosen are better from

16:36

the free throw line in the clutch.

16:38

That includes that disastrous one of three

16:40

performance against Houston. Right. Almost all of

16:42

those misses that he's had this season

16:45

came in that one game. But he's

16:47

shooting 88% from the free throw line

16:49

in that moment. So, you know, he's

16:52

doing it in every single facet in

16:54

the clutch. And his defense has been

16:56

great. You know, I think back to,

16:58

you know, some of the steals he

17:01

had in those moments. There was that

17:03

great one against Boston where he basically

17:05

was playing like a defensive back. He's

17:08

been doing it all in the clutch.

17:10

And I just think it makes me

17:12

think back to the last couple of

17:14

years where the numbers weren't as strong.

17:17

And we argue, you know, some of

17:19

this is variance. And I'll say this

17:21

even on this end. I don't think,

17:24

you know, this is who is who

17:26

dearest is who dearest is and he's

17:28

going to shoot 60 percent in the

17:30

for the rest of his career or

17:33

anything like this. There is some luck

17:35

when it comes to performing in these

17:37

moments, but I think the mentality to

17:40

attack at that time, to not be

17:42

afraid of taking those shots and being

17:44

aggressive, having composure, I feel like he's

17:47

been much, much better in those areas

17:49

this season. I think the composure thing

17:51

definitely shines through because, I mean, some

17:53

of these are open looks that are

17:56

being generated by the overall health of

17:58

the offense. But I do think he

18:00

his ISO possessions, which he's never been

18:03

a great ISO player and I don't

18:05

think he is this year either But

18:07

he is doing a lot better job

18:09

of setting up winning possessions for him

18:12

before the shot goes up. He is,

18:14

you know, he's pulling the string, he

18:16

is getting guys on their heels and

18:19

then stopping. He's not just trying to

18:21

put a couple combos on a guy

18:23

than get past him. You know, I

18:25

feel like he's gotten really clean angles

18:28

on a lot of these attacks. He's

18:30

finding the right switches. He's been threatening

18:32

enough with the past that teams are

18:35

worrying about that. So he's still getting,

18:37

you know, he's not doing the predetermined,

18:39

I'm going to try to score here

18:42

no matter what thing. So like, I

18:44

just feel like he hasn't had to

18:46

take a lot of tremendously difficult shots

18:48

in that clutch sample so far this

18:51

season. It's been nice that he's hit

18:53

a lot of those tremendously difficult shots

18:55

as well, but like that's not what

18:58

they're building the whole plane out of.

19:00

Yeah, and you know, I think that's

19:02

true of Donovan as well, right? Neither

19:04

of them are particularly strong this year

19:07

in isolation. Darius is in the 48th

19:09

percentile. Donovan's in the 66th percentile. Tigeromes

19:11

in the 97th, which absolutely tracks. It

19:14

looks like it. That completely feels that

19:16

way. But I think you pointing out

19:18

the process is so important because... that

19:20

was one of our main criticisms in

19:23

the clutch was hey they're running this

19:25

clock down too long and there's five

19:27

seconds left they have to jack up

19:30

a shot with a long defender on

19:32

them and Darius and Donovan are not

19:34

getting good shots in the spot now

19:37

they're playing with pace they're playing with

19:39

tempo even in the clutch they're allowing

19:41

and trusting the offense to generate better

19:43

looks for them and I think that

19:46

you're seeing better results because of that

19:48

so often I the lazy conversations when

19:50

it comes to the clutch and you

19:53

know star players and all that is

19:55

all right it's something that's genetic right

19:57

it's you either have it or you

19:59

don't when really the context that you're

20:02

in your trust of the system whether

20:04

you are you know being supported by

20:06

your teammates like I think Donovan it

20:09

deserves credit for Darius's numbers in the

20:11

clutch I think Mobley deserves credit for

20:13

his numbers in the clutch Darius's ability

20:16

to play off of those guys and

20:18

keep defenders guessing on am I going

20:20

to pass it to Mobley am I

20:23

going to pass it to Alan you

20:25

I have to account for Donovan Mitchell

20:27

that all of those factors contribute to

20:30

him being so good in this spot

20:32

so I don't think it is as

20:34

simple as oh you know that he

20:36

just built this way right I do

20:38

think you know like sometimes it's not

20:40

built this way but a lot of

20:42

it is your mentality like you think

20:44

there are guys who you don't want

20:47

to shoot like because you're not sure

20:49

they're gonna you know get tight

20:51

in a big moment I do think there

20:53

is some part of that that guys have

20:55

to work through Well, like, that's

20:57

the experience of reps, you

20:59

know, you take your first game

21:02

winning shot, you're probably going

21:04

to be pretty nervous walking

21:06

on that floor out of the time.

21:08

You take, you get a lot of reps

21:11

in these situations over the, you

21:13

know, four or five years, DG's

21:15

been in the league. Well, then

21:17

it gets a lot more routine.

21:19

Then you have the culture piece of

21:21

if I take a shot that is in

21:23

miss. Is my coach going to be

21:25

side-eyeing me? Yeah. Are my teammates going

21:27

to be side-eyeing me? I mean,

21:30

if there's been a criticism levied

21:32

against LeBron over the course of

21:34

his career that I thought was fair is

21:36

like, man, you mess up with him three

21:38

or four times in a row, you're just

21:40

not going to get the ball anymore. You

21:43

know, like guys who are who might, you

21:45

know, like if he doesn't trust you to

21:47

hit the open three, it's just

21:49

like kind of devastating. And I

21:51

do think they're like, so like

21:53

there's all these different factors that

21:55

come into how you're going to

21:57

play. It's, do you have a good, you

22:00

know. offensive system that you can depend on? Do

22:02

you have the talent? Do you have the reps? Do

22:04

you have the confidence? Do you have the culture that

22:06

will support you when you fail? Because you're gonna fail

22:08

a lot. Like, I mean, most people shoot like, you

22:11

know, some of the best players in NBA history, shoot

22:13

like 40% from the field in game winning situations, if

22:15

that, because this stuff is really, those are gonna be

22:17

the most difficult shots in the game, always. So. I

22:20

just think it's this big cocktail of factors that, you

22:22

know, for whatever reason, they got the right alchemy for

22:24

Darius this year. Yeah, I totally agree with that. You

22:26

know, joked about it a little bit on the last

22:28

podcast that, hey, they're just keeping these games close and

22:31

they're having comeback just so that they can practice these

22:33

late game scenarios, right? Just so that they can get

22:35

the reps and get that muscle memory. I don't think

22:37

Darius agrees because he basically said to Serena, I'm sick

22:40

of the comebacks. Yeah, he's sick of the slow starts,

22:42

which, you know, I looked into it, the Cavs prior

22:44

to the all-star break were the number two team in

22:46

first quarter. net rating. They outscored opponents by 16.7 points

22:48

per 100 possessions in that time. Since the all-star break

22:51

they are only 7th in first quarter net rating plus

22:53

7.3. So yeah they have been worse to start off

22:55

games and I think some of that has been focused

22:57

more than anything. I think part of it is, hey

23:00

Darius isn't shooting well, Donovan isn't shooting well, Thai isn't

23:02

shooting well. when that's the case you're going to have

23:04

a little bit of a slump you're going to be

23:06

a little uneven but you know as we said on

23:08

the last podcast though really nice to be winners of

23:11

15 in a row when you're slumping no kidding you

23:13

know it just goes to show you how high the

23:15

floor is and it's funny because you look at how

23:17

good the Cavs have been in the clutch this season

23:20

they are 20th in terms of how many clutch games

23:22

they've been in but they are number one clutch

23:24

wins they have 20 wins

23:26

in the clutch this season

23:28

sorry 22 wins in the

23:31

clutch this season the outscore

23:33

opponents by 37 .9 points

23:35

per hundred possessions in those

23:37

scenarios they have a 139 .5

23:39

offensive rating and a 101

23:42

.6 d rating that is

23:44

just to have an offensive

23:46

rating in the clutch 11

23:48

points better than the best

23:51

offensive player of his generation

23:53

and Nikola Jokic is pretty

23:55

freaking phenomenal it's there this

23:57

team's pretty damn good Carter

23:59

I don't know if you've

24:02

heard some rumors about it

24:04

but they they get it

24:06

done and you know the

24:08

funny thing with Darius too

24:11

you look at what he's

24:13

done in the clutch this

24:15

season I do think that

24:17

there is a difference between

24:19

the last five minutes within

24:22

five points and the last

24:24

minute of the game when

24:26

everything is on the line

24:28

and you're within five points

24:31

so I was like let's

24:33

filter that down how's he

24:35

doing in the last minute

24:37

he is shooting seven of

24:39

nine from the field three

24:42

of three from three and

24:44

16 of 20 from the

24:46

free throw line again all

24:48

of those misses basically coming

24:51

versus Houston it's going to

24:53

be a real bummer that

24:55

he's not going to win

24:57

clutch player of the year

24:59

which is a uh an

25:02

award I never cared about

25:04

because it only has existed

25:06

for like two years but

25:08

just on the back of

25:11

the calves haven't played enough

25:13

clutch minutes yeah you know

25:15

because they're they are 27th

25:17

they've only played 93 minutes

25:19

in the clutch so far

25:22

this season the and you

25:24

know the nicks who are

25:26

in took close games every

25:28

five minutes are

25:30

eighth so brunson's gonna win it

25:33

and that's fine the silly thing

25:35

about that is they have the

25:37

most clutch wins they have the

25:39

most clutch wins this season we

25:41

have the most everything just why

25:43

why do you get punished for

25:45

entering clutch time another team's close

25:47

to you and you punch them

25:50

in the mouth and you get

25:52

out of that clutch time why

25:54

is it a benefit and why

25:56

is it a reflection of you

25:58

know your nerves the steel and

26:00

your ability to get it done in the clutch. If you

26:02

mess around, let that team

26:05

hang around and go down

26:07

to the wire, pad those

26:09

stats less efficiently. Why is

26:11

that a benefit? I mean,

26:13

you want to know the real

26:15

answer, right? Maybe. The real

26:17

answer is it's not that

26:19

serious of an award.

26:21

You're probably right, they probably just filter

26:24

who has the most clutch points this season

26:26

and that's it Yeah, they just made it

26:28

up. They made it up like five minutes

26:30

ago Yeah, well, all the boards are made

26:32

it up for as long as clutch time

26:34

exists in an NBA game You know what Carter

26:36

just because something hasn't been around a

26:38

long time doesn't mean it doesn't have

26:40

value that's why I value zoom AI

26:43

companion because only you can do your

26:45

best work zoom AI companion can help

26:47

you do the rest like automatically taking

26:49

notes answering meeting questions and helping you

26:51

respond to your co-worker available at no

26:54

additional cost with eligible paid plans

26:56

work happy with zoom AI companion. Oh man what

26:58

a year what a year. But we talked about

27:00

the win, we talked about, you know,

27:02

Daris and how it was a bit

27:04

of a top heavy performance, but I

27:06

think we would be not doing our

27:09

jobs if we weren't giving credits to

27:11

the bigs. Because Evan Mobley and

27:13

Jared Allen were fantastic last

27:15

night. Yeah, they were unbelievable. I

27:18

mean, Jared especially. I mean, Kenny

27:20

said Jared was the MVP for

27:22

them and I couldn't agree more. I

27:24

thought he was the biggest reason. that

27:26

they were locking Brooklyn down on

27:28

the other end of the floor. I

27:30

thought his rebounding was phenomenal.

27:33

I thought his finishing was phenomenal,

27:36

both hands, ducking through, catching

27:38

on the boot, move, finishing at

27:40

the rim, get into the line. I

27:42

got 11 free throws, Justin. You

27:44

know, they don't win that game in

27:46

a game where they can't hit the

27:48

broad side of the barn. They go

27:50

10 of 42 from 3. They don't win

27:53

that game without some freebies. You

27:55

know, J.A. hitting 9 of its

27:57

11 is like really, really important.

28:00

So, particularly when, you know, there's concerns

28:02

about how, how's the hand doing? He's

28:04

the one just left a little bit

28:06

more. Yeah, and I want to talk

28:09

about that, because I just think we

28:11

generally should have a rest conversation and,

28:13

uh, you know, how to, how to

28:15

attack the rest of the season, 17

28:18

games left. But, yeah, I mean, the

28:20

hand definitely still is not all the

28:22

way right. So the fact that he

28:25

really, I thought he, you know, Darius

28:27

was the. The sistle, Jared was the

28:29

steak in that win. He was phenomenal.

28:32

Evan also very, very good. He just

28:34

had a bit of a quieter second

28:36

half. Evan was that nice tall glass

28:39

of wine that complemented the steak. That's

28:41

nice. Let's just keep this analogy going.

28:43

Yeah. Jared was phenomenal. Yeah, I thought

28:45

Jared was really, really good on the

28:48

night. I noticed early on. you know,

28:50

going back to that hand, there was

28:52

a couple times where he had the

28:55

right hook and kind of forced his

28:57

way back to the left to go

28:59

up that way. So that's, you know,

29:02

when we're doing the body doctor stuff,

29:04

that that's the kind of stuff that

29:06

I really noticed. Breslin Gardens in the

29:08

YouTube chat just said, oh, O'Cora was

29:11

the green beans. Oh, well, sauteed green

29:13

beans. Maybe some asparagus, you know, yeah,

29:15

no, crunch. Little, you know, grated Parmesan

29:18

on the asparagus too. Yeah, you know,

29:20

nice. I thought that's exactly what he

29:22

brought to the table, which, you know

29:25

what, what a perfect, before, you know,

29:27

well, I'll get back to the bigs

29:29

in a moment, but, you know, the,

29:31

jog my memory here. What a perfect

29:34

game after our conversation about Okoro, about

29:36

how the way he's been used makes

29:38

us less reliance on the three point

29:41

shot to determine whether or not he's

29:43

going to have an effective game. But

29:45

everybody that watched that game saw the

29:48

impact that O'Coro had. He was making

29:50

the right reads as a passer. He

29:52

got three offensive rebounds. He got some

29:55

steals. The defensive impact was absolutely there.

29:57

I thought it was a terrific game

29:59

from Okoro, and as much as I

30:01

would have liked some of those threes

30:04

to drop, I thought it was just

30:06

a perfect encapsulation of what we talked

30:08

about on the last podcast. Yeah, he

30:11

was phenomenal. Honestly, he was so phenomenal

30:13

that every time Cam Thomas got up

30:15

a shot, where he wasn't being guarded

30:18

by Okoro, I was kind of sitting

30:20

on my couch being like, what are

30:22

we doing? Go put the guy who

30:24

guards him on him. Don't switch ever

30:27

since ever since Terry rosier fell off

30:29

a cliff. Camp Thomas is now that

30:31

guy that just kind of freaks me

30:34

out every time. Oh my gosh. Yeah,

30:36

he's terrifying. So like, you know, and

30:38

whether it was Darius, whether it was

30:41

Merrill, whether whoever it was, Cam Thomas

30:43

just was shooting like they weren't there,

30:45

you know, and when Okora was on

30:47

them, it changed the changed his night,

30:50

you know, and I just I wanted

30:52

to see more I thought he was

30:54

really really impactful defensively I think you're

30:57

right that it was kind of the

30:59

perfect follow-up to our conversation where he

31:01

was making his impact all over it's

31:04

hard to go three of ten and

31:06

over five from three as a starting

31:08

shooting guard envy plus seven if you're

31:11

not doing everything else really really well

31:13

yeah and you know I think the

31:15

impact that he had on the defensive

31:17

end both the bigs. I thought they

31:20

were terrific defensively and you know through

31:22

this winning streak with the calf slumping

31:24

a little bit I think it's noteworthy

31:27

to kind of point out the issues

31:29

are kind of coming on the offensive

31:31

end right they've fallen off just a

31:34

little bit in their consistency there they've

31:36

had a few off shooting nights you

31:38

look at since the all-star break they

31:40

still do have the number one net

31:43

rating since the all-star break makes sense

31:45

they haven't lost a game but They're

31:47

third offensively and they are number two

31:50

in defense. They've been better on defense

31:52

than they have been offensively. And I

31:54

think some of that is they've been

31:57

very healthy, right? They've had both bigs.

31:59

consistently. Isaac Okoro is back playing within

32:01

the lineup. The Andre Hunter has undoubtedly

32:03

had an impact on the defensive end

32:06

and just even when they're slumping, even

32:08

when they're not playing, even when they're

32:10

not playing particularly well on the offensive

32:13

end and they're falling behind, usually they're

32:15

falling behind because the shots aren't falling

32:17

in the offense isn't there. Maybe they've

32:20

had a couple turnovers and gave up

32:22

fast break points or an offensive rebound,

32:24

but it generally hasn't been, hey these

32:27

guys aren't trying on the defensive end.

32:29

The consistent effort on the defensive side

32:31

of the floor has been what's allowed

32:33

them to get back into these games

32:36

and ultimately win them. Yeah, I know

32:38

a little something something. What's that? Most

32:40

all-star break. Yeah, I'm a city. Thunder

32:43

16th in defense. You know, Carter, if,

32:45

you know, and what I'm gonna say

32:47

is a very take motivated take. It's

32:50

not... It's not the most good self-awareness,

32:52

good self-awareness. It's not the most objective

32:54

take I've ever thrown out there. Maybe

32:56

playing too bigs on defense isn't as

32:59

easy as everyone says it is. Okay,

33:01

I'm glad that's the angle you took.

33:03

I was going to say, you know,

33:06

because, you know, the home grin gets

33:08

back, everyone's like, oh, with him at

33:10

the four and hardestined at the five.

33:13

No one's going to be able to

33:15

score on them. And... I mean, it's

33:17

not like I've looked at the lineup

33:19

data. Again, I'm not, this is not

33:22

a good faith take. But, like, I

33:24

just think it's noteworthy that maybe not

33:26

everyone can do it the way we

33:29

do it. I think it's a fair

33:31

point. Now, looking at the numbers now,

33:33

Chet and Harnstein have played 143 minutes

33:36

together. They have a 115 defensive rating

33:38

in that time. plus 12.3 net so

33:40

offense has been crushing at 127 but

33:43

the defense hasn't necessarily been there and

33:45

you know maybe it's really maybe it's

33:47

hard to lose all the mobility and

33:49

in switchiness of a Jared Allen Evan

33:52

Mobley front court maybe it's a little

33:54

harder when you're when one of your

33:56

two bigs is really a drop big,

33:59

and the other one is a switch

34:01

fig? Yeah, I think that's a big

34:03

part of what's made. The defense so

34:06

special is that Mobley and Allen both

34:08

are able to guard at the perimeter.

34:10

I think that mobility. Even has an

34:12

impact on the offense event, right? Like

34:15

they will play five out sometimes for

34:17

a possession or two even with both

34:19

bigs there because they trust their ability

34:22

to Set those screens above the three-point

34:24

line catch the ball on the move

34:26

and make the right reads and react

34:29

in those spots You can trust everybody

34:31

to do that Isaiah Hardenstein is a

34:33

terrific passer his feel for the game

34:35

is phenomenal You can get him on

34:38

the ball in the move and he'll

34:40

throw lobbs to the dunk the dunker

34:42

some of you know, the two man

34:45

game with him and Chet has been

34:47

really fun in the games I've watched,

34:49

that doesn't always translate to the defensive

34:52

end. As you said, he is kind

34:54

of a true drop big. Is this

34:56

100% as you said a great faith

34:59

take? No, but I do think... Absolutely

35:01

not. But I do think... Let's just,

35:03

you know, use it as a means

35:05

to give our big's credit because they

35:08

have been phenomenal and I think how

35:10

seamless that has been on the defensive

35:12

end of the court since day one.

35:15

Really goes to show you just how

35:17

unique that pairing is. Yeah, they are

35:19

so freaking phenomenal. They've been phenomenal from

35:22

the second we put them together and

35:24

And I think Assuming that like-sized players

35:26

even like talented players Could just immediately

35:28

replicate that even with better defensive personnel

35:31

at the front of the defense that

35:33

that's a great point as well It's

35:35

just not that easy to, to, especially

35:38

for a team like that, that, you

35:40

know, gives up a lot of corner

35:42

threes and stuff like that. It's hard

35:45

for bigs to recover out like that.

35:47

It's hard for them to dig in

35:49

on penetration and then find their man

35:51

who's relocated to a different point of

35:54

the three point. It just matters. So

35:56

I, again, not my best faith take,

35:58

but I do, but you're right, to

36:01

use it as a means of kind

36:03

of propping up our voice, who have

36:05

been, who have needed no adjustment to

36:08

be great together on that end of

36:10

the floor. Yeah, and since Donovan joined

36:12

the team, we're talking about a 6,000

36:15

possession sample of the two bigs together,

36:17

they have a 111 defensive rating in

36:19

that time plus 7 net, they've been

36:21

phenomenal, right. you know there's always been

36:24

those concerns of hey how's that going

36:26

to work with the two guards and

36:28

the two bigs right they're like are

36:31

those two bigs out there just to

36:33

cover for the guards and you look

36:35

at the minutes that the four of

36:38

them have played together over these last

36:40

three years four thousand possessions the defense

36:42

is actually better when the two guards

36:44

are out there it's a one ten

36:47

point eight defensive rating one nineteen offensive

36:49

rating that core four has been fantastic

36:51

in their time together yeah we had

36:54

a bit of a lull last season

36:56

and I continued to yell from the

36:58

mountaintops. The sample this season is dramatically

37:01

smaller than the one the year prior

37:03

and they have not been healthy for

37:05

any of it. There has been hamstring

37:07

injuries for the guards, there's been mobility

37:10

coming off and knee surgery. There were

37:12

so many factors that went into it.

37:14

I don't really had knee surgery last

37:17

year and we just kind of didn't,

37:19

no one even acknowledged it really. I

37:21

forgot about it until you just said

37:24

it. It's, you know, it. one of

37:26

those things that always drives me crazy

37:28

as someone that listens to national podcast

37:31

looking for reasons to get upset. Any

37:33

time that like a little nuance is

37:35

brought up with one team and then

37:37

a massive thing like surgery gets overlooked

37:40

with the calves drives me nuts. It's

37:42

like well you know pain pressure got

37:44

stuck in traffic here on Tuesday so

37:47

it's it's okay that he had a

37:49

bit of an offshooting game. Well you

37:51

know traffic in Boston can be really

37:54

rough Justin. I've heard that, I've heard

37:56

that, I've heard that many times. They

37:58

all say it. Can we talk a

38:00

little rest for rest? based, you know,

38:03

now that we're on the health train.

38:05

Sure. I did, I just generally wanted

38:07

to discuss this because, you know, Darius,

38:10

ever since he falls, has that hard

38:12

fall, hasn't quite been himself, fourth quarter

38:14

and almost standing. Uh, and Jared in

38:17

the post game basically said, yeah, my

38:19

hand still hurts, still kind of hurts

38:21

a lot. Oh, see, I missed that.

38:23

Okay. And it's hard for me to,

38:26

hard for me to do power dribbles

38:28

and stuff like that. I don't actually

38:30

want to misquote him. I don't remember

38:33

if he said a lot, but he

38:35

said it still hurts. You know, it's

38:37

hard for me to do power dribbles

38:40

with that hand compared to my left

38:42

and stuff like that. And, you know,

38:44

they are in a weird kind of

38:47

semi-precarious spot where they're trying to lock

38:49

up home court through the entire playoffs.

38:51

They have a chance. I mean they

38:53

look very likely frankly to set a

38:56

new franchise record for wins and they're

38:58

flirting with a 70 win season. They

39:00

have to finish 15 and 2 which

39:03

is about the pace they've played at

39:05

all year and my question to you

39:07

is like I know Jared really wanted

39:10

to play all 82 but like and

39:12

and Darius you know I think definitely

39:14

wants to prove that you know you

39:16

know his toughness and all that stuff

39:19

do you start doing some targeted rests

39:21

up with these guys who are a

39:23

little banged up you know even Ty

39:26

Jerome if you had told me Ty

39:28

Jerome is gonna get a rest game

39:30

last year to me oh okay yeah

39:33

go ahead like last year I would

39:35

have been like oh my god like

39:37

what Yeah, I think the the standard

39:39

for a rest game was a little

39:42

higher Last year and guys were playing

39:44

a whole lot more just more like

39:46

Normally role players don't get those rest

39:49

games because they don't play you know

39:51

he was we weren't sure if he

39:53

was going to be in the rotation

39:56

yeah at the beginning of the year

39:58

so you know part of that's you

40:00

know the injury history right yeah you

40:03

you want to give a guy like

40:05

that the opportunities to rest a particular

40:07

as I said it's in quite a

40:09

bit of a shooting slumped the last

40:12

six games so but I think you

40:14

I didn't get those conversations I think

40:16

you have those conversations I actually want

40:19

to frame a question to you because

40:21

I think we've already discussed like if

40:23

a guy is like hurt you absolutely

40:26

should sit him yeah And if a

40:28

guy is healthy, healthy, he should play.

40:30

That has generally been our party line.

40:32

For these guys who have some slightly

40:35

nagging injuries, or things that aren't stopping

40:37

them from playing, wouldn't stop them from

40:39

playing in the postseason, but like, you

40:42

know, and they're telling you, I'm fine,

40:44

I'm good to play. Yeah. Those people,

40:46

do you say, do you still go?

40:49

Yeah, I hear that you feel good

40:51

to play. We're gonna give you, you

40:53

know, we're gonna find spots like Friday

40:55

where we have two days off and,

40:58

you know, we can find, we can

41:00

keep you at in Cleveland for, for

41:02

basically five, six days and let you

41:05

just rest whatever malady you have. Like,

41:07

are you doing that? Because I think

41:09

I am. Yeah, I think you need

41:12

to have those conversations with the player.

41:14

I think you need to, you know.

41:16

We obviously don't know the particulars. I'm

41:19

very far from a professional athlete, but

41:21

one thing I do have some experience.

41:23

Also very far from a professional trainer.

41:25

We're not there either. But the one

41:28

thing I do actually have way too

41:30

much experience with is rehabbing injuries. And

41:32

sometimes you do have nagging ailments and

41:35

more exercise is part of the prescription.

41:37

Hey, you're not going to hurt it

41:39

by doing this. You got to work

41:42

your way through it. You know, sometimes.

41:44

rest is going to work in the

41:46

opposite direction. Now, I think when it

41:48

comes to something like a finger healing,

41:51

I trust them, they got the wrap

41:53

on there. you know, you can't do

41:55

more damage. I don't think Darius would

41:58

be playing if it was a situation

42:00

where, hey, if he's playing, he's going

42:02

to do more damage to it, but

42:05

I think you do have those conversations

42:07

with the guys of, hey, we have

42:09

an opportunity to give you a rest

42:11

here, this might be beneficial, are you

42:14

open to it, right? Like advocating for

42:16

it, because ultimately you don't want to

42:18

go completely against the players, which is,

42:21

but you have to advocate in the

42:23

right direction. And I actually think this

42:25

is one of those spots where having

42:28

a veteran like Tristan Thompson is probably

42:30

really valuable. Tristan in the 16-17 season,

42:32

not only was he coming off the

42:34

long finals run, but he, you know,

42:37

sacrificed to play for Team Canada that

42:39

off-season. He was keeping that Iron Man

42:41

Street going during the 16-17 season, and

42:43

eventually he just wore down, and he

42:46

did have to miss some time. And

42:48

he wasn't himself in the 2017 playoffs.

42:50

You know, he wasn't moving around the

42:52

same way that he did in the

42:55

past. It kind of was never himself

42:57

again. He bounced back a little bit

42:59

in 18. I think he, you know,

43:01

he had, you know, we don't win

43:04

that game against Indiana in the first

43:06

round without him having one of those

43:08

throwback performances, but I think it did.

43:10

Especially when it comes to Tristan, don't,

43:12

don't you worry about that man. I

43:15

want to remember that my my Canadian

43:17

bias here, but I do think Tristan.

43:19

is a good advocate for this of, hey, I

43:22

had this goal, I wanted to keep

43:24

the Iron Man Street going, it probably

43:26

didn't work in my favor. I don't

43:28

think I ever have heard him speak

43:30

to it, but just thinking back to,

43:32

you know, an example of this, and a

43:34

guy that's currently in the locker room,

43:36

maybe that is something that they can

43:38

go to. Again, we're speculating because

43:40

we don't know, you know, what the

43:42

condition is, but I do think there's

43:44

going to be opportunities to get these

43:46

guys rest down the stretch, rest down

43:49

the stretch, I think those opportunities exist

43:51

because they have worked so hard this

43:53

season. I had a bit of a

43:55

dumb thought. I'm just going to say

43:57

it and you're probably going to roll

43:59

your eyes. It does. kind of make me

44:01

feel like, hey guys, if you're gonna

44:03

do this and when you get to

44:05

the postseason, you better take care of

44:08

business in these series. Like, don't have

44:10

a seven game war of attrition for

44:12

no reason. Like, yeah, don't play with

44:15

your food. Get sweeps, get five game

44:17

series and get out so you can

44:19

recover and get ready for the next

44:21

one. Hmm. I don't know. Was that

44:24

completely moronic? Here's the thing, Carter, because

44:26

you're making me think you had that

44:28

sit down with Kenny to start the

44:30

season. We might need to have another

44:33

one of those opportunities before the playoffs

44:35

where you share this strategy of winning

44:37

games if possible. Yeah, with Kenny. I

44:40

think that might blow his mind. I'm

44:42

just saying from an injury. from a

44:44

healing perspective yes like if you're gonna

44:46

if like I was just thinking like

44:49

because where if you're not going to

44:51

do the rest thing where your opportunity

44:53

is going to present themselves it's going

44:55

to be sitting while other teams are

44:58

in knockdown dragout series yeah I think

45:00

but glad to know it was indeed

45:02

a moronic take I'm comfortable Justin I

45:04

asked it's you know it's a little

45:07

obvious but I think you're right and

45:09

you know to your point Not only

45:11

is that good from a rest standpoint,

45:14

I think we need to see it,

45:16

right? We haven't seen them have a

45:18

dominant playoff series. Them smoking a team

45:20

in the first round or, you know,

45:23

if you play a Milwaukee in the

45:25

second round, I think that's going to

45:27

be a challenge. But if you handle

45:29

them comfortably in five games, not only

45:32

is beating Janus a feather in your

45:34

cap, that's a real statement. When you

45:36

take care of business against a very

45:38

good team. that that is something that

45:41

you can actually you know that's going

45:43

to lift up your confidence you're going

45:45

to feel better about your chances going

45:48

into a Boston series so i think

45:50

taking care of business from a rest

45:52

standpoint from a confidence standpoint all of

45:54

that's so important because we're talking about

45:57

a team that hasn't been to a

45:59

conference finals not a lot of teams

46:01

have you know, not gone to a

46:03

conference finals and go on to win

46:06

the championship. I think that's one of

46:08

those spots where the we once again

46:10

have a comparison to the Golden State

46:13

Warriors in 2015. But I think that

46:15

the Cavs taking care of business, giving

46:17

themselves those rest opportunities and building on

46:19

that confidence is a big deal. Sorry

46:22

I had to put you full screen.

46:24

There was a daddy long legs crawling

46:26

on my on my wall. There's a

46:28

big ass spider. Had to go get

46:31

it. Full disclosure, the single screen freaked

46:33

me out a little bit. I was

46:35

like, oh, does he think I'm making

46:37

a good point? Are you trying to

46:40

clip this for social? And I was

46:42

like, I was going to wrap up

46:44

my point, but you just put me

46:47

on single screen. Brother, let me tell

46:49

you, every time I put you on

46:51

single screen, it's because I'm moving at

46:53

a frame. Okay. That's very good to

46:56

know. That's very good to know. I

46:58

mean. So Phil. Yeah, I at least

47:00

I had the right instinct to fill

47:02

there and you know I'm I'm struggling

47:05

a little bit I'm having trouble talking

47:07

today I got dentist stuff I got

47:09

to do on Friday a little bit

47:11

annoying I'm tired daylight savings even though

47:14

I don't have a kid Carter so

47:16

you know thank you for once again

47:18

putting me on the spot listen man

47:21

it's uh I saw a spider on

47:23

my wall I had to get rid

47:25

of it I don't know it was

47:27

going to distract me for the rest

47:30

of the podcast That's totally fair. Is

47:32

there anything you are? So, you know,

47:34

we cover the rest topic. Is there

47:36

anything you're looking for from this Memphis

47:39

game? You know, even without Darius, that

47:41

was a tougher game in Cleveland. I

47:43

think it's obviously a different animal without

47:46

Jared Jackson Jr. He has been their

47:48

best player this season. But that's still

47:50

a good team that can potentially test

47:52

you here. I don't know, man. I...

47:55

No. I mean, I want to see

47:57

what they do with JAW, especially if

47:59

Darius doesn't play, you know, is it

48:01

going to be more Ezekiel Coro on

48:04

him? But really, I just, I'm just

48:06

kind of now counting wins. Like I

48:08

just want to see wins. I don't

48:10

actually really care too much how we

48:13

get up the mountain Because this team

48:15

has really shown me almost this bad

48:17

podcast Preston to set but I do

48:20

feel like the team has just shown

48:22

me just about Everything else that I

48:24

want to see like I just want

48:26

to see them. I want to see

48:29

how far this win streak can go.

48:31

I'd love you know what I how

48:33

long? Does the Win Street go before

48:35

you think 70 is possible? Before you,

48:38

not just possible, but like you think

48:40

we're getting it. Because I was thinking

48:42

watching them when they were down 18

48:44

to Brooklyn, I was like, man, I

48:47

don't know if they're going to be

48:49

able to get to 70 if they

48:51

lose here, you know, I think they

48:54

got to win seven more before I

48:56

think 70 is possible. I'm going to

48:58

go if if the Win Street gets

49:00

to 20. If they get to 20,

49:03

which I've served sentence. If the Wind

49:05

Street gets to 20, that means they

49:07

only got to go 10 and 2

49:09

to close the year. Yeah, see, I'm

49:12

thinking it's got to be 8 and

49:14

2. Like, the last 10 games go

49:16

8 and 2. You can do that.

49:19

Game 82, probably going to see you

49:21

guys rest. You know, that's kind of

49:23

where I'm at. Not often that you're

49:25

more optimistic than me, but I think

49:28

you don't. Tying into that, your thoughts

49:30

about Memphis there, the real test, the

49:32

rest of the way, is playing against

49:34

themselves. I think we have seen them

49:37

get it done against, okay, see, we've

49:39

seen them get it done against Boston,

49:41

we've seen them get it done against

49:43

the best teams in the league. The

49:46

individual matchup questions? 20. That means they

49:48

only got to go Tana in two

49:50

to close the year. Yeah, see, I'm

49:53

thinking it's got to be. 8 and

49:55

2 like I the last 10 games

49:57

go 8 and 2 you can do

49:59

that a game 82 probably going to

50:02

see guys rest. You know, that's kind

50:04

of where I'm at. Not often that

50:06

you're more optimistic than me, but I

50:08

think, you know, tying into that your

50:11

thoughts about Memphis there, the real test,

50:13

the rest of the way, is playing

50:15

against themselves. I think we have seen

50:18

them get it done against OKC. We've

50:20

seen them get it done against Boston.

50:22

We've seen them get it done against

50:24

the best teams in the league. The

50:27

individual matchup questions aren't as interesting now.

50:29

I think their main opponent is themselves.

50:31

They're playing against the streak. They're playing

50:33

against this very difficult schedule where for

50:36

the rest of the month, they are

50:38

not going to play in the same

50:40

city consecutive nights. They are always going

50:42

to be on the road. You are

50:45

playing against the NBA schedule and you're

50:47

playing against the streak and you're playing

50:49

against yourselves. You're playing against complacency because

50:52

you have already wrapped up the number

50:54

one seat in the Eastern Conference. All

50:56

these human components are the major factors

50:58

here more than, oh, what are they

51:01

going to do tactically against the John

51:03

Moran? No, like we know that they

51:05

can get it done. We know that

51:07

they can defend just about any team

51:10

in the league. We know they can

51:12

score on just about any team in

51:14

the league. It's about how long can

51:16

they maintain this consistency? Man, I really

51:19

want 70 wins, man. Like that is

51:21

like such a special threshold across like.

51:23

That is like, I mean, you'd be

51:26

the third team in the, because like,

51:28

here's where I keep going back to,

51:30

all these stats, like, oh, the second

51:32

team in history to have three 12

51:35

game win streaks, uh, you know, the,

51:37

the, the six team to have two

51:39

15 game win streaks. That's cool, but

51:41

aren't necessarily wrapped around a complete success,

51:44

you know, like, like, you know, no

51:46

one. No one remembers the 06 sons

51:48

for how insanely dominant they were. We

51:51

remember they were fun. You know... and

51:53

very good. You know what I mean?

51:55

They weren't like a, like, I feel

51:57

like the teams that win that, you

52:00

know, are in that 69, 77, 72,

52:02

73 range. Yeah. Those are like those

52:04

teams where you just, you really remember

52:06

them. And because it wasn't, this is

52:09

over an 82 game sample, you know,

52:11

they didn't get hot for a month

52:13

or a month and a half. and

52:15

like it just feels like another level

52:18

of crazy on it's like a hat

52:20

on a hat on a hat on

52:22

a hat on a hat of all

52:25

the crazy fun that this season has

52:27

been so it'd be really fun to

52:29

see him hit it I don't think

52:31

they will but it'd be really fun

52:34

to see him hit it yeah you

52:36

know I'm I'm with you I to

52:38

some extent because I guess I haven't

52:40

thought about 70 a whole lot I

52:43

just don't know why I've thought about

52:45

it so much but I've been thinking

52:47

about it since like like like the

52:49

40 game mark. Yeah, because I just

52:52

want to get the team record, like

52:54

that's been the only thing, but you're

52:56

right, that would be significant. The coward

52:59

in me and, you know, chat, feel

53:01

free to boo me, you know, if

53:03

you're listening on Spotify, there's a common

53:05

section there. You can boom me there

53:08

as well. I'm a little cowardly and

53:10

I think having 70s just going to

53:12

put that extra little bit of target

53:14

on your back and I kind of

53:17

are a coward. I kind of still

53:19

like that even as the one see

53:21

we're going to be the underdog going

53:24

into the Eastern Conference finals. I like

53:26

being in that angle. Hold on. Let

53:28

me let me reframe it for you

53:30

fella. Could you imagine how disrespected that

53:33

locker room will feel as an underdog

53:35

in a series after winning 70 games

53:37

in a season? I feed off that

53:39

as a podcaster. Come on brother, join

53:42

me. Join me. Okay, okay. I see

53:44

where you're coming from. Let's get Stephanie.

53:46

Let's get it done. Let's let's shock

53:48

the world. Let's beat Boston. Let's beat

53:51

Boston. OKC if they get that far,

53:53

you know, they got to figure out

53:55

that too big thing. I've heard years

53:58

and years of content saying that that's

54:00

impossible to make work. So we'll see

54:02

if they can get it done. I'm

54:04

with you. Let's get 70. Let's put

54:07

the pressure on ourselves and let's deliver.

54:09

Yes, come on, bro. Let's go. Can't

54:11

believe you said nobody remembers that the

54:13

oh six sons how dominant they were

54:16

I just I was giving your first

54:18

round details from 2018 about what Tristan

54:20

Thompson did no one but you of

54:22

course I'm going to remember I remember

54:25

that I mean the Phoenix sons I

54:27

remember the beauty of them I don't

54:29

remember them feeling unbeatable oh man it's

54:32

back then regular season basketball any time

54:34

a team was rolling and I love

54:36

that team I thought that they could

54:38

win You know, I thought the 2009

54:41

Cavs were absolutely going to win. Oh,

54:43

six sons, are you kidding me? Raja

54:45

Bell, Boris Diyau, Sean Marion, Kirk Thomas.

54:47

I really don't think I'm a smart

54:50

man because my memory is so horrible,

54:52

dude. I feel like everything before Jones

54:54

was on that team. I'm pretty sure

54:57

everything before I was like 19 years

54:59

old didn't even happen. I don't remember

55:01

anything. No details. Well, you've done a

55:03

number on your body, buddy, buddy, buddy.

55:06

All your habits, all your recreational habits

55:08

have fried your memory my friend. I

55:10

didn't even have that big of recreational

55:12

habits. I just think I'm stupid. Here

55:15

I am throwing stones from a glasshouse.

55:17

But my one memory is going to

55:19

be basketball stuff. Little details, especially those

55:21

teams, those teams I had such an

55:24

emotional connection to and I think that's

55:26

what's made me so excited about this

55:28

season. This team has kind of reinvigorated

55:31

that real emotional connection. A team that...

55:33

just no matter how they're playing on

55:35

a given night they find a way

55:37

to get it done they play such

55:40

a fun style you know I they

55:42

really do remind me of kind of

55:44

those beautiful basketball teams whether it be

55:46

the 06 sons that were doing something

55:49

that... I got a little take for

55:51

you. Our boy, Dom and Rangoula mentioned

55:53

that, in that Bucks game, that, you

55:55

know, watching the Cavs reminds him of

55:58

the beautiful game Spurs. And I was

56:00

thinking about how I agree with that

56:02

compliment, I don't think it's like a

56:05

sacrilegious thing to say, but it's actually

56:07

a crazier compliment because those Spurs were

56:09

like in their mid-30s up and down

56:11

the roster. Yeah. These calves are in

56:14

their mid-20s. They're playing this way without

56:16

the benefit of like seven or eight

56:18

years of reps. Isn't that crazy? That

56:20

reminds me we got tagged in a

56:23

tweet where Darren Patrick was talking about

56:25

the Cavs and how they need to

56:27

be talked about more this season But

56:30

he was saying you know, they're they're

56:32

not sexy They're not fun to watch.

56:34

They kind of play like the 2014

56:36

Spurs where like I think he was

56:39

I'm gonna defend him I think he

56:41

was more saying that's what the national

56:43

media would say about them Maybe whatever

56:45

his point was I at least appreciate

56:48

the consistency of I don't think this

56:50

is fun or you know there's a

56:52

narrative that's not fun but it's like

56:54

the 2014 first because that team was

56:57

absolutely fun that ball movement was absolutely

56:59

fun running through you know Evan Mobley

57:01

just like Tim Duncan is a lot

57:04

of fun having dynamic guards that can

57:06

get it done getting those threes up

57:08

generating clean looks the calves play beautiful

57:10

beautiful team basketball and there are more

57:13

than their fair share. of individual highlights,

57:15

whether it be dearest closing in the

57:17

clutch, whether it's Donovan, Duncan on everybody,

57:19

whether it's Evan Mobley or Jared Allen

57:22

randomly choosing violence on Brooke Lopez or

57:24

other victims, it has been the most

57:26

fun season that I've watched as a

57:29

castman. We might need to resurrect the

57:31

Slim Duncan nickname for Ev. I really

57:33

like Slim Duncan better. I thought it

57:35

was funnier. Even though the

57:38

garden be a little

57:40

more be a little more

57:42

always just I've always liked the you

57:44

know I've always comp more

57:47

than the more comp

57:49

style comp with Evan. the

57:51

demeanor is all is Timmy.

57:53

It's it's much more Tim. You're

57:56

right. right. I do

57:58

really, really enjoy

58:00

that comp, enjoy and

58:03

I enjoy these buddy.

58:05

buddy. It's always fun

58:07

to talk to

58:09

you. It's always fun

58:12

to hang of with

58:14

all of our

58:16

viewers We YouTube. We

58:18

appreciate you guys hanging

58:21

out with us. us.