Michael Pina
Appearances
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I'm great, Zach. This is such an honor and I appreciate you having me on.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Bringing up Dale and Terry was funny because you're right that him and and Julian Phillips are very anonymous. And to the point where last night kind of marrying the thing you were saying about Josh Giddey's three point shooting.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I mean, last night, first of all, the Miami Heat, despite Giddey making 45% of his threes over his last 25 games, they completely ignored that number and treated him like someone who cannot shoot three-pointers. They put Bam Adebayo on him. They sagged off.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And Giddey lost all of his confidence as that game went on in his outside shot to the point where Dale and Terry passed him the ball in transition. And Giddey looked at the rim and did not shoot it, passed it to Vooch. Vooch passed it to Terry on a cut, and Terry got his shot blocked.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I put this in my notes, but Dale and Terry then looked at Josh Giddey and clapped angrily at Giddey for not shooting the ball. And that was the most emotion and I guess just the most notable thing that Dale and Terry has done this season when I watched the Chicago Bulls play. But... I think just for me, it's a question of like, what is the strategy for this organization?
The Zach Lowe Show
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Do you seriously want to build from the middle and make the plan every year? Resign Giddy, give Kobe White the extension, have that be your very pricey backcourt. Hope Matas-Bouzelis evolves into someone who I think can be an all-star type of player. I really love everything that I see out of him.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
As a rookie, he was on my first team, all-rookie team, which is an incredible honor, especially this year, as you know, Zach.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I did, yes.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I can't wait to hear them.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
So, I mean, that just kind of gets back to my fundamental problem here, which is just like, what is the strategy? Because publicly, Artur's kind of service keeps saying he does not want to be mediocre. He does not want to be in the middle. And yet every single season, this team is in the play-in.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And so when are you going to actually take steps as an organization, as a front office to like bottom out? You know, like not dumping Vooch was kind of I don't know what you're expecting to get back for him where you don't. I know there was talk with the Golden State Warriors that kind of disintegrated after the Jimmy Butler trade. That could have been something.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
But like Dumpfuch this summer, you know, play Patrick Williams 38 minutes a game next year and just like be as bad as possible and try to actually get that cornerstone piece besides Dumpfuch. Matas Buzelis that you're referring to in the draft. I mean, you can't really do anything if you're constantly picking 10th or 11th or 12th. It's wonderful that they have all their own draft picks.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And that gives you a lot of versatility going forward for sure. But it's just, it's going to be really tough, particularly with Giddy. And if Giddy, who I... have grown fond of the more I've watched the Chicago Bulls play, to be honest with you. But I do think at the same time, when push comes to shove and you're actually trying to be a competitive team,
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
the three point shot is really worrisome and his ability to compliment an actual all-star is a big question mark, particularly if you're paying him a ton. So yeah, it's just, they're not as depressing as the Sacramento Kings, which I guess you could put on a banner and hang it in the arena, but it's pretty bad there. It's pretty bad.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
You're talking my language now. This is what I'm talking about. I would love that. What is wrong with that? I can tell you what's wrong with that. He doesn't play. I understand the downside for sure, but I feel like when you're in an organization that has been just uh so dispiriting for over a decade i feel like taking a chance on someone who is an obvious
The Zach Lowe Show
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like all NBA talent when he is healthy enough to play and can do things on a basketball court that, you know, I can count on my hand the number of players who have been able to do. If you can acquire that talent and bring it in, I think that that's a gamble worth taking it for the Chicago Bulls when the opportunity cost is we do nothing and we are either mediocre or depressing for another decade.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I don't know. I think that that's worth it.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I actually wrote down every time he said defense wins championships in the context of the sentence. I'm not going to read them all here. But the last one I thought was really funny because he said it last after he said it five times already. Quote, I think the biggest misunderstanding of why this trade happened is that we feel that defense wins championships.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
So that's the sixth time you said defense wins championships. Contextualizes it's a misunderstanding that no one gets it. That's why you did it. I think that everyone understands defense is important to you and to the Dallas Mavericks now. I don't.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I mean, it's it all just goes back to trying to explain and justify a trade that has no explanation and no justification, particularly for how it went down. And the fact that Anthony Davis was so they were so locked in on Anthony Davis as the two way centerpiece trade.
The Zach Lowe Show
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the all-NBA player who also is an all-defensive team member, to which I say, why didn't you call the Milwaukee Bucks about Giannis Antetokounmpo, who also fits that bill and is better? Maybe they did. Maybe they did.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
But I just thought that a lot of this was, you know, astonishing and it's a small sample size, but we're clearly a dominant defensive team when we have Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis, and Derek Lively on the court. And
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I, you know, no disrespect to Kyrie or Klay, but, you know, Kyrie Irving is not Tony Allen and Klay Thompson is not who he used to be as an on-ball defender. It's one of the reasons the Golden State Warriors couldn't afford to pay him to be besides Steph Curry in that backcourt as much as he wanted. So, yeah, I just think it's kind of all, you know, totally ridiculous.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And one of the other parts of it is that the justification Nico has had for doing this falls back on, you know, basically trust me because I made the Kyrie trade and everyone criticized the Kyrie trade. Look how that turned out. I made the PJ Washington trade and the Daniel Gafford trade at last year's trade deadline. Everyone was killing me. Look how that turned out. Time will tell.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And the thing is, like, yeah, you made those trades when you had Luka Doncic on the team because he's incredible. And he's the reason that you went to the NBA finals. And by the way, like, defense wasn't the problem in the NBA Finals. I know Luka did not play particularly well, and Kyrie did not play particularly well on that end.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
But you were going against a team that was, like, a really terrible matchup for you that didn't have a great offensive series. So I just... I think, like... Fundamentally, this is so ridiculous and I'll never really get over it. And I wrote a column at like 2 a.m. My first reaction to the trade when it happened, calling it the worst trade in NBA history.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I still believe that maybe even more so in hindsight after all of these injuries have happened. It's been just a worst case scenario for the Dallas Mavericks. I feel for their fans. terribly and i think that that press conference is another like just notch on a long string a continuum of um absurdity in the post luca dallas mavericks existence so we've long passed the point where
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Absolutely. Can't wait.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
It's a great question. I think that the key for Houston all season long has been the possession game. Houston does not turn the ball over, and they are the best offensive rebounding team in the league. They averaged five more shots per game than their opponent this season, which was second only to the Oklahoma City Thunder team.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And I think that maintaining that, if not increasing it on a team in Golden State that forced the most turnovers in the NBA since the trade deadline and had the best defensive rating in the NBA since the trade deadline. is just absolutely critical.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And I know that since the trade deadline, the Rockets have been just average in offensive turnover rate, but a lot of that is because of them not having Fred Van Fleet, who I think will be huge on both ends for them in this series. But yeah, offensive generation in the half quarter is going to be really tough for them. And...
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Pounding the offensive glass with Ahmed Thompson, Tyree Eason, Shangoon Adams, just being incredibly physical.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I had to lift my son in his stroller out of the subway two days ago, and my back is ruined. So that exercise I'm tapping out of right now. I just want to let you know. It's absolutely not something I'm interested in doing. All right, continue.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I will say that... I think Shingun is just really important. I mean, obviously he's their best player. I think he's really important in this series offensively. I think whether he is posting up Draymond Green, using his size, using his quickness, drawing fouls, that's huge. Drawing double teams potentially, creating open looks for okay outside shooters on his team, whatever.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Or just even finding mismatches with inverted pick and rolls that they do a little bit of. You know, there was a play where, in their most recent meeting, where he got Pajemski on him around the nail and he started to back him down. And Jimmy Butler helped early off Amin Thompson in the corner. Amin Thompson baseline cuts for a dunk. I think that this is the type of offense that...
The Zach Lowe Show
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Houston can generate sometimes. I think fundamentally, like my, it's so difficult to pick them though is not that I won't, but it's, it's tough just because it comes down to like tough shot making and who are the tough shot makers on this team. And I, can Jalen Green go off in two or three games? Can Dylan Brooks shoot well over 40% from behind the three-point line?
The Zach Lowe Show
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Can they survive if Fred Van Fleet has another clunker? I don't think that they can. So there's a lot of stuff they can do. A lot of pieces they can... Or areas they can poke at. But... generating good offense for this team is going to be tough.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I will also say that the double big lineup, which I think has been much ballyhooed deservedly with Shangoon and Steven Adams, you know, the last time they played email, Doka plays that, that duo, it had a lot of success in that game, but he also played it when Steph Curry was on the bench intentionally. And so you can't really do that. Like how much are you going to squeeze out of that?
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
if Curry is playing more minutes. I mean, we're in the postseason. So I think that that's really fascinating. They go zone a lot when those two are on the court. Can't really do that against the Golden State Warriors when Steph Curry's out there. So I... I don't really have a good answer. I hope that was a good answer. I don't know what the answer is. I don't know.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
When the Warriors have... I mean, how do we get Steph going? My mind is recency biased off of that last game that I rewatched a couple of days ago. But you mentioned the... Well, first of all, I want to say, yeah, the Warriors, they got some good stuff doing typical Warriors stuff in crunch time of that game. You had...
The Zach Lowe Show
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jimmy butler back screening curry and then back cutting draymond hits him out of the post for a layup you have curry cutting through the paint amen thompson trailing him dylan brooks for whatever reason abandoning jimmy butler and leaving him wide open under the rim for a layup but i i think like
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
there is a possibility that I'm in Thompson who is first team all defense for me and someone I flirted and considered with for defensive player of the year, that he is a true nuisance on the level. We have never seen in a playoff series for Steph Curry. And in that case, the reason that you got Jimmy Butler is that you can tilt your offense more towards Jimmy Butler.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And one of the great questions that I have going into this, and one of the, it's one of the more existential questions I've had about the Houston Rockets since they've become pretty good is how does Jalen green hold up defensively in a playoff series? And I think that we haven't seen a lot of it when these two teams have matched up. But Jimmy Butler is,
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
What a question. What a way to start. Which team is saddest? I think Sacramento is saddest right now. And it's really funny to say that because since the All-Star break, they have the same net rating as the Denver Nuggets. And one team, I think, is a potential title contender that can win it all. And the other is just one of the more disturbing messes of morass in the NBA.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Hunting mismatches is kind of his calling card in the postseason when he wants to make something happen and make himself felt. And I feel like Jalen Green is the obvious weak link there. They did it one time, I believe, in the last meeting. It was a pistol action.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Brandon Pajewski sets a ball screen, step-up screen for Jimmy, forced the switch, and Gary Payton cuts from the weak side, hits a floater. But that action right there is something that I think like hunting Jalen Green fundamentally with either Steph or more so, I think, with with Jimmy and his physicality and his size.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I think that that's something that could create a lot of ripple effects for for Houston's defense and just really be disruptive because they need Jalen Green's offense. But at the same time, he may be unplayable on the defensive end.
The Zach Lowe Show
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No, I'm not a coward, Zach. I'll do it. I'm going to say I'm going to say Rockets in seven is what I'm going to say. And, you know, I don't feel great about that, but I I have a lot of faith in this team's self. I know it's their first time. A lot of them. It's their first time. Not everyone's first time on the team.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
But I have a lot of confidence in their self-belief in that they know their identity. They do not beat themselves. They are poised. And I think as we know from our last segment, you know, defense wins championships.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
But as you said, you know, they mutually parted ways with Monty McNair, their general manager.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And just you have to wonder who... would want that job? Who wants to take the life raft towards the Titanic and get on it? Who wants to be the head coach? Is Doug Christie going to be the full-time, long-term head coach of this organization going forward?
The Zach Lowe Show
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Most improved player I had, let's see, because I had Ty Jerome in as the fake. Just that is clearly the most improved player. Yeah, I actually voted for Zubat's. Number one. And then I had Cade Cunningham second, which I didn't feel great about. But honestly, there aren't there weren't a lot of great. So let me let me my quick caveat.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Like, I don't vote for guys who are in the first three years of their career. I don't consider them for this award. So, you know, Dyson Daniels, fantastic, obvious improvement, deserving award. To win Christian Brown as someone else who I believe made a huge leap, really filled his role, scaled up in a lot of wonderful ways. He does not qualify for my personal ballot for my personal reasons.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So I had Cade second and Peyton Pritchard third.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
I did.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
But fundamentally for me, what is so troubling beyond ownership, which is something that you can't really do anything about, is just having Zach Levine, DeMonta Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan on your team under contract as your three highest paid players next season.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I know DeRozan is partially guaranteed the year after that, but Zach Levine has a humongous player option that I would imagine he picks up. And so... where are you going with these three on your roster for the foreseeable future? And when they were on the court this season, your net rating was minus 4.2. Your defense was five points worse than the Washington Wizards.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
So I just think that right there, when you just look at kind of what the core is, if you even want to call that a core, it's really difficult to overcome and to get over, I feel.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Thoughts? That's totally fair. I agree with You saying that these are two historically great seasons and Shea being on such a historically great regular season team as their leading scorer and the leading scorer in the entire NBA by a significant margin is incredible. Hats off to him. I also think that if I'm giving credit to the Oklahoma City Thunder for all their success,
The Zach Lowe Show
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It is Shea, one, and probably two, and maybe three. But also, like, having one of the great defenses of the last 25 years and also being one of the deepest teams in the NBA. And saying that makes me sound like I'm denigrating SGA, and that's, like, the last thing I want to do in comparing these two guys. But I also just am so...
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
Yeah, I will say in their first meeting, Jason Tatum did not play and Franz Wagner didn't. And Paulo Bencaro did not play either. Boston attempted 33 threes in that game, which was their lowest number for the entire season. In the second game, no fronds, but every Celtic played. They took 37 threes, which was tied for their fourth fewest this season.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
And I think... How did Orlando do that on the film?
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
So they switch everything first and foremost, and then they do not help. And so and they don't meaning they don't help off the three point line. They don't dig. They don't hard double. If Cole Anthony switches on to Chris Stapps Porzingis or Anthony Black switches on to Chris Stapps Porzingis, they don't care. They want to play that matchup one-on-one.
The Zach Lowe Show
Play-In Reaction, More Playoff Previews, and Final Awards Ballots With Michael Pina
They'll stay home on the three-point line, and they'll make Kristaps Porzingis either draw a foul or make his 12-foot turnaround. And this is kind of how they play this entire season against everyone. This is their style. And so in the game that I rewatched, which I think was the second game, the one where Tatum did play, every time they switched and Tatum got a matchup that he liked...
The Zach Lowe Show
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and isolated. They did not help. And Tatum had like four, it was the second quarter. It's like three or four straight possessions of driving to the rim and finishing. Jalen Brown had multiple plays in that game where he got Wendell Carter on him on a switch, drove Wendell Carter right to the basket. And there was no help, no dramatic rotation. And so eventually in that game,
The Zach Lowe Show
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the magic bent and the magic started to help. The magic started to double. The magic started to over-rotate and the magic were not switching as much on the perimeter as they were early on. And that's when the Celtics kind of blew it open and got the threes that they do against every other team. And so what I would say is if you are the Orlando magic, your only chance in this series is,
The Zach Lowe Show
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And it's not like a great one, but it's to not deviate at all from your core philosophy on defense and to play like guard your yard as best you can sprint to run three point shooters off the line, which is something they're very good at. Best team in the league at like they'll foul foul you when they're running like they like before you can even get the shot up. They don't care.
The Zach Lowe Show
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That's what they that's what they do. That's their personality. And I think, like, once you kind of shift and defend like everybody else and you're put into rotation, you're dead. So don't do that. As hard as it is and how painful it is to watch Jason Tatum destroy Corey Joseph or whoever it's going to be.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Like, I think Franz Wagner, his size, and he's a pretty good defender, pretty good help in on ball. He'll help in this scheme. And you might see more Jonathan Isaac than normal. Yeah. But I just wouldn't deviate.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I think that that's like the key thing here that I'm living and I'm dying by how I've defended all season and I can't fall into the trap of playing how Boston wants me to play is what I would say.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Yeah, I think even just going back to the Carter on Drew mismatch or matchup, I should say. Like, it took the Celtics three or four minutes to have Drew Holiday come up, flip a ball screen for Jason Tatum, and he drills the pull-up three. So, like, they just haven't – they're a very smart team, obviously. They're defending champions. I don't think that they can't solve this defense.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And, I mean, I think, to be honest with you, after watching them play and just – I don't even like, I guess, tricking myself into thinking that Paulo and Franz could have some type of offensive awakening on this stage. I've kind of talked myself into it being like a competitive four or five game series where like after three quarters in every game, the score is tied type of deal.
The Zach Lowe Show
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But beyond that, it's it's yeah, the Celtics are going to win in advance and they are much better. And it's just a huge bummer for Orlando that did not have. You know, the team that they envisioned before the season started with Suggs, KCP, Paolo, Franz, like. Both Wagner's injuries are a big, big deal to this team. And now he's dressed as an assistant coach, seated in the second row every game.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And it's a bummer. And they had depth and they had continuity and they had chemistry. And I thought that they were really good before the season. I thought that they were the biggest threat to Boston in the Eastern Conference. I thought so highly of them. So huge bummer.
The Zach Lowe Show
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uh for them and not having sugs in particular as you you highlighted in this matchup makes it almost or definitely untenable i previewed the other four series earlier in this week i made broad predictions on a few of them i want to make specific predictions now you can join in if you wish
The Zach Lowe Show
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I agree with that. And I think that there's... Let me ask you, what... If that were to happen, what is the like, I don't know if panic is the right word or just like existential self-examination as an organization with regards to Giannis Antetokounmpo and his status with the team?
The Zach Lowe Show
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I'm going Lakers in six, and I'm not a huge fan of the construction of this team for the purpose of a playoff run, but I'm with you. I can't bet against Luka Doncic, and I don't want to be mean, but picking a team that has Luka to lose versus a team that has Julius Randle to win just doesn't feel right. That was mean. You did want to be mean. I'm sorry. You were mean. So Lakers in six.
The Zach Lowe Show
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This has been like asking me... to choose between my son and my daughter. I love these two teams so much. I love Jokic. I love Kawhi. I wrote a column in August. The headline was, I can't quit the Los Angeles Clippers after they gave up. I remember it. I was like, well, he's obviously lost his mind. And I love a lot of the things that they do. I love so much of how they built this team.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I think Kawhi looks so fantastic on both ends, which is really telling and important. And I also am going Nuggets and Seven because it pretty much boils down to home court for me, honestly. I had such a difficult time with just kind of delineating the...
The Zach Lowe Show
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advantages and disadvantages between these two they're so good and it's it's like an unjust basketball crime that uh we don't get this matchup in the conference finals um and uh Yeah, so Nuggets in seven, and I don't feel super pumped about that pick, to be honest.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I have a piece coming out tomorrow on just matchups breaking down. It aligns with this conversation, dovetails very nicely, just fun matchups to look out for in the first round. So check that out. And again, this was a true honor. I know you hate that word. It was. I've listened to basically every episode that you've ever recorded. Huge fan. You're the Michael Jordan of what we do.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I know you don't want to hear that. I don't know. I've never had a gambling experience. But yeah, this was great. And I truly appreciate you having me on Zach.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Well, they got Jake LaRavia, Zach. I like Jake LaRavia. I do, too. That's why I bring it up. He's the one part of my notes where I wrote I liked the Jake LaRavia trade. That was the one positive part of this organization right now. I mean, you have Keegan Murray, who's up for an extension.
The Zach Lowe Show
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who struggled a little bit this year trying to reshape his game a little bit to accommodate the DeMar DeRozan addition. I thought not having Malik Monk has obviously hurt them, but at the same time, Malik Monk, who I think is really good, does not fit at all at the same time with DeMar DeRozan and in particular Zach Levine. When those guys share the court, the defense is a total disaster.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So going back to your point earlier about Sabonis and the conversations that he should rightfully have with whoever is making decisions for the Sacramento Kings, like what is his market even? And that's why I go back to just the, how troubling it is to have these three on your team, because what is the value? What is the market?
The Zach Lowe Show
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Even if you wanted to shed one of them, shed multiple this summer and try to start over and build around Jake LaRavia and Keon Ellis, like, I don't know what,
The Zach Lowe Show
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what you do there, because as we saw with the Chicago Bulls, and I know that's a different front office with a different point of view and mindset and approach, but they couldn't get off of Zach Levine or they couldn't get value back for him. So that's kind of where I'm hung up on when I say that this team is just kind of in such a dark, dark place right now.
The Zach Lowe Show
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It has. And I don't mean to denigrate, for the record, Sabonis as a player. I love Demonta Sabonis as a player. I love that type of skill set, and I think you can win with it. But it's just very expensive, and it's hard to kind of plop that into a different environment if you don't have the pieces around it, as you alluded to, if that makes sense.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Yeah, so I guess, you know, just looking at their kind of cap situation right now, you have, assuming LeBron opts in, as you said, or opts out, and he's going to be on the team next year, I guess is the assumption. I think the big question is Luka Doncic is extension eligible and trying to figure out how you can obviously lock him up as long term as possible.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Austin Reeves, I believe, is also extension eligible, but I don't think you covered this. I don't think it makes sense for him to take an extension right now given how low his or how much money he would be leaving on the table.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Yeah. Um, uh, Maxi Kleber extension eligible. You know, you got to take a long, hard look at that. See how many years you want to tack on there. That's going to be a tough negotiation. Um, But I think that, you know, I'm looking at kind of the centers just off the top.
The Zach Lowe Show
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The number one center, a couple centers who come to mind, it's like, are you going to get a Clint Capella type or a Miles Turner's unrestricted free agent and he's going to be way too expensive? I don't know what it's going to look like. Not a lot of teams have cap space. So if Turner was looking to leave, I know they flirted with him for years. If they were to...
The Zach Lowe Show
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get him with the mid-level, but I think he's too rich for their blood. Do you revisit Mark Williams? Probably not, even though... I mean, we'll never know the answer to this, but I feel like Mark Williams would have been a potential difference maker in this type of series. And it was kind of difficult not to have...
The Zach Lowe Show
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him on the court um so yeah i think that you know three-point shooting uh versatility versatile wings you have dorian finney smith who has a player option at 15.3 million and that's a really interesting number i'm i have no feel for whether or not he would opt into that i would like to be dorian finney smith's agent yeah exactly there are not that i mean
The Zach Lowe Show
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He was essential in so many different ways for this team, and his on-off numbers really reflect that. And he has, obviously, a prior relationship with Luka going back to Dallas and their friendship.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So I would imagine that he stays in some form or another, but that's the type of player that you need around Luka, preferably a little younger, a little bit more athletic, but reliable behind the three-point line, reliable attacking closeouts if need be. And you need... Like he craves and he said this so many times, he craves the the rim running lob threat.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Like he loves playing with Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively. And when they made the Gafford trade, he spoke about how he's been asking for this for years since he got into the NBA. And so I don't know who it is.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Is there anyone that kind of comes to mind for you that would make sense here that is gettable, that kind of fits this skill set?
The Zach Lowe Show
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Seems very harsh. The man apologized. I think we can leave it at that. I was more interested in the Giannis head grab of Ben Matherin, where it looks like he's, you know, it starts very amicable and it seems like he's whispering words of advice or good advice. And then all of a sudden they're like about to fight. I thought that was more interesting to me, I guess.
The Zach Lowe Show
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But, you know, Bill said this on his pod about the... The whole aura of this last Giannis game felt very similar to LeBron in 2010 in Boston. You know, ripping the jersey off, walking into the tunnel. And I kind of agree with that. And I think that, of course, this is up to Giannis in a lot of ways.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I also think that the Milwaukee Bucks as an organization should do their due diligence and make a really smart decision this offseason. And I... I don't say that lightly. I know how important Giannis is to that community and that franchise. And he's one of the best players in the history of the sport. But the future, if you hang on to him, is just particularly bleak, in my opinion.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So I don't know. It'll be a fascinating summer for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I mean, their defense and their physicality will carry over for sure. But honestly, Zach, I think that this was way more about the Warriors than it was about the Houston Rockets. And the Houston Rockets played a really great game. A lot of it was their shot making.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I think Steve Kerr said in his press conference that their effective field goal percentage at halftime was like 90-something percent, and it was the highest that he'd ever seen. So their shot making was terrific.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I thought that just watching the game live, that from the jump almost, in the first couple minutes of the game where Draymond Green commits a foul, Steph commits a foul, Jimmy Butler commits a foul, all in the first three-ish minutes, two and a half minutes, Defensively, they didn't have it. They weren't locked in.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And then also offensively, I thought that it was kind of curious how committed they were to attacking Alper and Shang-Goon with Steph Curry in the pick and roll, knowing that Rockets are going to blitz that. And if you keep doing it, the Rockets, very smart defensive basketball team, Their help will be early behind the play. And they don't really care about, you know, Jimmy Butler off ball.
The Zach Lowe Show
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They don't care about Draymond Green off ball. And the spacing isn't great. And so I was kind of... You know, they got good stuff like the first two times they ran it. And then they kept going to it. And it was kind of, you know, in that first quarter when Houston was going on its run and making their shots. And I was kind of just...
The Zach Lowe Show
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I do not gamble ever, but this feels like as sure of a bet as possible. I agree with you. I think that the Warriors are going to win at home in Game 6. And again, just going back to what we saw in Game 5, I thought that Houston goes to their zone. And the Warriors, for some reason, acted like... They'd never seen a zone before. They were very hesitant. They were second-guessing themselves.
The Zach Lowe Show
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There were a couple plays where they got it to the nail, sprayed out, got a spot up three. But the zone gave them a lot of trouble. They were way too lackadaisical with the ball. There was one play Draymond just threw it off Quentin Post's face.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Yeah, and I also thought that Jalen Green didn't statistically have a good game, but there was a sequence in there.
The Zach Lowe Show
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or a couple sequences when they were running high pick and roll, and they were setting the screen for him really close to midcourt, and Kevon Looney was on the court, and Kevon Looney was in drop, and Jalen Green was just kind of dancing and getting wherever he wanted for a couple minutes there.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I thought that Shingun, again, didn't have the statistical profile, but I thought his game was really solid, and he showed patience, In the pick and roll, there was one play where he didn't settle. He got it. I think it was a similar play where he set a high screen for Fred and caught it at the nail.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And Quentin Post was on him and giving him this huge cushion because the Warriors would love for him to shoot that little flamingo shot. But instead of taking it, taking the bait, he threw it back out to Fred, ran another pick and roll, got a better angle, got behind post, and drew a foul.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So if you're looking for things to hang your hat on, it's just playing with more poise, playing with more patience, not getting sped up. If you're Houston, those are really good things. But I think... at the end of the day, I fundamentally agree that their, their offense, particularly in the half court, it's just so reliant on offensive rebounding and like really tough shot making.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I don't know. It's just me. I'm not really interested in any stuff like this when I'm watching basketball. I didn't know that this was a thing until I watched the press conference. And I expected Steve, when I'm listening to the question being asked, I expected Steve Kerr to be like, we're not worried about that and whatever. We're getting ready for game six and we played like crap tonight.
The Zach Lowe Show
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There's a million reasons that we lost and he didn't do that at all. which I thought was really funny and called the league's reaction to it. Or I guess like how it's not a foul, but the league can call, the refs can call a flagrant foul.
The Zach Lowe Show
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He basically said that he did it. He said, I have the quote right here. If someone had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So whatever they're saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it. Yeah. And that's I think a lot of players have that mentality.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I don't even know. Is it even worth bringing up?
The Zach Lowe Show
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I mean, I'll echo everything that you said just about the similarities between these two teams. And I think that it's kind of, it feels like, I don't know if you feel the same way, but a lot of these series have been a slog and kind of defined by the defenses and the physicality that's been a big theme in this postseason.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I think that this series has an opportunity to give us just, you know, aesthetically breathtaking offensive basketball moments I don't know if it'll be up and down, particularly because Indiana's transition defense is very good. And as you said, neither team really turns it over. So there's limited opportunities there. But the offenses are just tremendous.
The Zach Lowe Show
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They just constant moving and cutting and screening and. warp speed dribble handoffs and all that sort of stuff. I don't want to be reductive with where my head goes in the analysis from the top, but surface level, the first thing that I think about is Tyrese Halliburton and his defense. And I think about that because...
The Zach Lowe Show
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It's not new, this thing where if you're an extremely talented offensive player who is not very... You can't be played off the floor, obviously. He's the engine of the team. But there are some limitations on the defensive end that teams will poke at kind of cruelly in a playoff series, as the Detroit Pistons are doing right now with Jalen Brunson.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I watched the first round where the Cleveland Cavaliers publicly stated, Darius Garland publicly stated, called Tyler Hero out by name in terms of, this is what we're doing. This is our offensive game plan to put this guy in ball screens, make him defend, attack him. And I think that it'll be really interesting. We don't have a big sample this season.
The Zach Lowe Show
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with Halliburton against the Cleveland Cavaliers he played in one game one half really a game that the Pacers won and he got hurt I think he pulled his hamstring and it was like in January or something and then he played them again in April but no one on the Cavs played in that game because it didn't mean anything to them um
The Zach Lowe Show
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So just thinking about how often are the Cleveland Cavaliers going to go at Tyrese Halliburton? How much success will they have doing so? And what is the balance between just running our stuff? We run pick and roll anyway. Yeah. A ton of pick and roll. We have a lot of success with it. We love pick and roll with our bigs.
The Zach Lowe Show
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We don't really want to... We could obviously run multiple pick and rolls and get a switch that way or something like that. But we don't want to muck up our offense. It's beautiful. It produced 136.2 points per 100 possessions in the first round. But I'm just curious, just... how central Halliburton's defense will be in this series. So that's the primary thing I'm going to be looking at.
The Zach Lowe Show
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their past matchups. And particularly, I was looking at Miles Turner, who I consider to be a pretty big X Factor in this series as well. I've never been a huge fan of his, but he's played great, undeniably. And he was fantastic, I thought, in the first round. And obviously, his pick and roll with Halliburton is lights out and incredibly efficient.
The Zach Lowe Show
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But I'm just curious, watching him, how he can hold up defensively against the pick and rolls that Cleveland will run at him. He's going to probably be matched up from the start with Jared Allen, who is like this combination of... Wilt Chamberlain and I don't even... He's shooting like 99.9% from the field in the playoffs.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Just absolutely incredible stuff from him and his decisiveness on slips and rolls and screens and flipping the screen.
The Zach Lowe Show
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But yeah, I'm curious how can Turner keep everything in front of him? Because he's going to need to be... Like up. That's how he's played them in the past and what you need to do when you're going up against Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell. So if you're up and Allen gets behind you or you have a rotation, low man rotation, like again, you're in rotation and that is when Cleveland is dominant.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And so... I don't know if this is like a blasphemous thing, but I'm curious to see if in this series, Cleveland will make Indiana do defensively to it what Indiana made Milwaukee do, which is we have to basically like switch everything. This stinks. And our big is getting roasted every single time. Brooke Lopez eventually got played out of that series.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And it's because it's just so difficult as a... I'm not saying Miles Turner's plotting. I think he's got a little bit of... He's not Brook Lopez right now, but it's a tall task for him defensively. So I think that his ability to hold the fort...
The Zach Lowe Show
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And as a team collectively, for them to kind of, you know, shrink the floor a little bit, but also, you know, stop the roll, but also take away the corners at the same time.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I honestly didn't even consider Thomas Bryant in my thought process for that reason, because I thought that... I just think that you have to switch a ton against... And not to get ahead of us, but like when... If we get the Eastern Conference Finals, it's like... That matchup is favorable, I think, defensively.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Or a team like the Boston Celtics is favorable because they're comfortable switching everything on the ball and off the ball.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Rudy was phenomenal. Um, I should have known that you were referring to Rudy and that's where we should start. And one of the first things in my notes, watching the game early on was how his teammates were trusting him. So very early on, Julius Randall had Luca, Luca guarding Julius Randall, by the way, um, in the back half of this series, which was kind of a disaster.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Honestly, Zach, I wouldn't be surprised if they switch that action. Jared Allen and Evan Mobley have been switch happy all season.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Yes, yes, yes.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I agree. I just think that Cleveland has more buttons to press and more options, and I like their depth more, and I trust their shooting more. I hit in my notes that Pascal Siakam is a huge player in this series, and whether it's an inverted pick and roll or whether it's sealing a guy in a cross match, I think that Indiana has to get easy points.
The Zach Lowe Show
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But, you know, they load up on the strong side. Randall beats Luka off the dribble, finds Rudy cutting through the paint for a bucket. They hit Rudy on a rim run. He seals Luka, and Luka had to pick up his second foul, I believe, like five or six minutes into the game.
The Zach Lowe Show
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They have to get their transition stuff, and they can't give away anything. They have to take care of the ball. They have to get back in transition, and those are things that are part of their identity and why they've made such a leap this year. Part of why they made such a leap this year defensively. I wonder if Indiana will go way smaller than... than they have before, really.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I was tinkering around with some of the lineup combinations to see if TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, and Tyrese Halliburton have played together this season. And the answer is not really no, they have not. But I think that... you need like juice.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I don't know if defensively you, like, you know, buying into kind of Kenny Atkinson's philosophy, which is like, we're going to lean into our offense and we're going to like prioritize spacing. That's the important thing. I think that for Indiana, potentially as this series goes on, I think they really need to just juice their offense as much as possible.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I think that that, that could be not an answer, but a step in the right direction.
The Zach Lowe Show
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I'm going Cavs in six, and part of that is I don't know the status of Garland's toe and how he's going to look because I do think that they will go at him and they will – there's no Dylan Brooks here, but they will test that toe.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So... Yeah, that may be true. Yeah, I just... I like... I think Indiana is very underrated. Some of it is just not a lot of people have seen them play. Not a lot of people are aware of the upgrades that they've made defensively.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Exactly. So it felt like every time Dante DiVincenzo, who missed a million threes, every time he missed one, Rudy was there for a putback dunk. You know, the Timberwolves doubled up the Lakers in second chance points, 20 to 10, 18 offensive rebounds to eight. Rudy had nine himself.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And my concerns for Halliburton, notwithstanding on the defensive end, his individual offensive rating when he was on the floor after the All-Star break was higher than basically every player in the NBA except Nikola Jokic and Che Gildress Alexander. So this offense is really good when he's on the court and he's going to have to play defensively. a lot of minutes. So it's a test for him.
The Zach Lowe Show
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But the Pacers are, like, they're low-key feisty. And, you know, I think that I think Ben Shepard will play probably over Mathurin potentially in this series. That would make a little more sense to me for defensive purposes. But I'm going Cavs in six. I just think talent-wise, it's kind of a joke how good Cleveland is. Cleveland is very, very good. It's ridiculous.
The Zach Lowe Show
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A lot to unpack there. First of all, Andrew Wiggins, $30.1 million player option. You don't think he's picking that one up?
The Zach Lowe Show
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Um... You do have to give them the benefit of the doubt, I think, to a certain extent. I think there's a lot of – obviously, it's much more difficult to maneuver with the new CBA, just the – the ecosystem of the NBA makes it a lot harder to, to make the type of moves that Miami has historically to resurrect itself.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And, you know, they've made some questionable moves and decisions in recent years that kind of will have you being like, okay, like if another team did something like that, like, you know, I, the, the, Hindsight is 2020, but giving a protected first for Terry Rozier that year.
The Zach Lowe Show
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It has not gone how they thought it would. But to... And, you know, yeah, it's like, I don't mean to hate on Terry Rozier. I didn't see this coming. But I think more fundamentally, it's about, you know, one of the great organizations really know what they are, who they have, and they're realistic about their limitations and they're realistic about their goals and what is attainable.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And I thought at the time of that trade, I didn't think Miami was like, like that was very marginal to me in terms of an upgrade to give up that type of asset when I didn't think like they want to win the championship, right? That's like the type of, that's what it's in their head.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Very fair. Very fair. And I think that was the year Jimmy got hurt, right? If I'm not mistaken.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Right. Well, and that kind of speaks to my point, which is, I mean, much more significant than the Terry Rozier fiasco is the handling of Jimmy Butler. So, I mean, this is... And a lot of players around the league have kind of talked about this openly with how Pat Riley treats players and...
The Zach Lowe Show
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I guess I don't want to say in an antiquated way, but some don't smile upon it, I guess is what I would say. And... so like that could have obviously been handled better in, in various ways, particularly if you, I mean, you just underestimated a guy who you should have had a better understanding of in terms of his motivations and all that sort of thing.
The Zach Lowe Show
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So I, I think this is one of the more respected for deservedly so organizations and franchises, um, in the NBA and has been for, you know, 20 years. Uh, And if they were to get Giannis or whoever... This summer, I'm not going to be stunned because it's the Miami Heat. If they get Giannis, I would be stunned.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Yeah, mostly speaking figuratively. But yeah, if they make a move that is the equivalent of the Jimmy Butler trade, where it's like you give up whatever they get, Josh Richardson and nothing for Jimmy Butler, I wouldn't be shocked. Yeah. But at the same time, I don't expect them to get out of this. And I don't expect them to get out of this, to be honest with you. And I don't think they have.
The Zach Lowe Show
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Actually, this is a little random. I was going to say Bam touched on what you just said about – about the randomness of the offense in the Cleveland Cavaliers series where guys were just shooting shots and no one knew where it was kind of coming from and it didn't feel like the Miami Heat.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And by the way, Rudy's defensive rating, I know it's just one game, so whatever, but 95.9, which was by far the best on his team among people who were actually playing minutes. And yeah, he was just absolutely phenomenal.
The Zach Lowe Show
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And then my last thing that I wanted to say was this is completely random, but I really enjoyed the Draymond Green deep dive. And in terms of amplifiers, one of the first guys that pops into my head is Bam Adebayo. And it is... It's a slight basketball tragedy to see him in a situation where he is not in the right role because he's limited in certain ways, but he's so excellent in others.
The Zach Lowe Show
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He needs the type of player that Jimmy Butler is beside him to really, I think, he's a better shooter and scorer than Draymond, but he really needs that type of player to maximize himself.
The Zach Lowe Show
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First thing that pops into my head is can Jamal Murray do that again? That's, that's, that's it right there. That's like the whole kit and caboodle for the Denver nuggets.
The Zach Lowe Show
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If they want to win a championship, um, he doesn't need to do that every night, but he needs to like hit really difficult shots and like decode and break down all the different things that the Los Angeles Clippers are throwing at him, um, instantly. And I thought that he was just so, I mean, I thought that that was the best game any individual has played in this post season. Um,
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I was kind of stunned, frankly, that, you know, last time we spoke, I predicted the Lakers in seven and a large part of that was because I thought that, well, Randall, Julius Randall, who, I've never seen a player completely 180 their perception for me personally in a playoff series than Julius Randall here.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
tried to play more lineups where... What adjustments can the Denver Nuggets make?
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
Or just the Minnesota Timberwolves and their existence.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I think that, you know, going back to the conversation we were having about Halliburton I've just been so impressed with J.B. Bickerstaff's commitment to making Jalen Brunson work on defense, which is something he did not do a couple years ago when he was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Did a little bit.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
He was like amazing, really answered the bell in so many different ways on both sides of the floor. It's like the Tobias Harris All-Stars you were talking with Rob in your last episode. That's like the guys who completely have altered their reputation in this first round. He's up there. But, yeah, I just, you know, the decision by J.J.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I thought he could have pressed that button a lot harder and more frequently in that series. But he has Cade Cunningham now, and he didn't have Cade Cunningham then. And I think Cade has been tremendous defensively. you know, not perfect turnovers or whatever, but his decision making in the pick and roll when, uh, they go at Brunson in a variety of different ways has been pretty excellent.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
And I want to see Brunson's general like mobility and the ability of also like whoever he's guarding, if it's Tim Hardaway Jr., if it's a Sar Thompson to really, really capitalize. And I thought both of them have done, it's been up and down, but yeah, They both impress me, I think, generally. So that's what I'm looking for is Jalen Brunson's defense.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
Redick to put Maxi Kleber, his Lakers debut, I don't know if we're going to spend a lot of time talking about that.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
And, you know, I, I think Kate is the best player or has been, and maybe is the best player in the series. I don't, I'd have to maybe think about that a little bit harder. But I just... I love Cade. And I love Asar Thompson. And I love his defense. Full court pressure on Jalen Brunson. I think that's made a big difference in this series.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
And I think that we're eventually going to have to rename the dunker spot to something after the Thompson twins. Because... They've expanded the diameter or the radius or whatever of wherever the dunker spot is supposed to be on a basketball court. They take off and dunk it from outside the paint. It's just so remarkable.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
Yeah, that's a good call. I will also say what's really impressed me about Cade is how comfortable he is going at Mikael Bridges, too. He wants that matchup. The only guy he doesn't want is OG for obvious reasons, but he'll get Kat coming up. He'll get Mikael on switches. He'll wave Mikael's guy over. Yeah. If McHale's on him, he'll wave away a teammate. Tim Hardaway Jr. has Jalen Brunson on him.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
He'll wave him away. He's like, actually, no, I like this matchup. So I like the whole team's moxie and the fact that they're doing this without Isaiah Stewart, who's one of the most important players throughout the regular season, is super impressive. And brings a whole lot of moxie. Moxie, yeah. To put it lightly. So, yeah, I...
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
The first time he touched the ball, he forgot how to dribble momentarily. It was really tough. And then he put him back in the game. With five minutes to go? I couldn't believe it. In crunch time?
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I have really no feel either for this series, but I would like to see the Pistons win at home and forces at game seven.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
No. I appreciate you having me on again. I will say that I got a lot of feedback from the... uh, viewers and listeners about the Nicola Jokic poster, uh, that is over my shoulder. Uh, when I appeared last time, as we were talking about the, uh, the MVP and, uh, Oklahoma city thunder fans didn't really appreciate that.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
And I will just say that it is a gift from my wife and the only thing she let me hang up my wife. Yes. I'm not going to do that voice, but the only, my lovely wife, very, uh, wonderful, um, Only thing, she let me hang up in her home. So it's going to be there. And I love Jokic and it makes me happy. So I can't apologize.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
Yeah, quick aside, I rode a Rockets obit yesterday for about, it's been about two or three hours in my afternoon. So that was cool watching that game unfold as it did. But I thought that the Lakers, you know, they were obviously very small throughout the game. And the double teams in the first half, in the second quarter primarily, just felt very chaotic and they felt...
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
you know, extremely desperate. But at the same time, it's like, what else can they do here? I guess there are other things you could do, but squeezing the ball from Anthony Edwards' hands and forcing everyone else to beat you is... I guess, better than switching Luka Doncic onto him and putting up the prayer hands emoji. But yeah, I'm kind of stunned that they won in five.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I'm not going to lie to you. I looked at this and in hindsight, looking at the Lakers roster and how it's built around Luka and just how inadequate it is and a lot of the pieces that he needs just weren't there. it makes sense that they lost in five and it makes sense that they lost kind of the way they did.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I didn't expect Rudy to have 27 and 20 or whatever he did, but it makes sense for them to get pounded on the offensive glass and the boards and just to be overwhelmed by the athleticism in transition. So, so yeah, it's, it's shout out to Rudy. I don't even know what else to say.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I would rather play the Golden State Warriors. And I say that with all due respect to Steph and Draymond and Jimmy and the championship pedigree. Um, I just don't want any part of the length athleticism and youth that Houston can throw at Anthony Edwards without helping over helping off the three point line. They don't need to send two at aunt 30 feet from the basket. Um,
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
I mean, I'm sure we're going to talk about this game, but the Houston Rockets played a lineup at the end of the first quarter that had Jabari Smith Jr., Amin Thompson, Alperin Shingun, Stephen Adams, and Tari Eason. And I was staring at my laptop screen like, is this the biggest... five-man unit I've ever seen in a basketball game.
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
And they got two straight stops out of their zone because Amin Thompson's closeouts are... I mean, he's like an apparition. His closeouts are one of... It's like they're more entertaining than some players' dunks. They're incredible. He just devoured Moses Moody. He makes Steph flinch. He's amazing. So, yeah, I think the athleticism with... You know, all things aside about their offense, which...
The Zach Lowe Show
Round 1 Winds Down: Lakers Eliminated, Game 6 Previews, and More With Michael Pina
Looks okay when Fred Van Fleet shoots like 90% on pull-up jump shots. I think I would go with... I would rather play the Golden State Warriors if I was the Minnesota Timberwolves.