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1:04

What's up in welcome to another Monday edition

1:07

of locked on NBA. The biggest stories

1:09

with the local experts. here Monday

1:11

host, Jackson Gatlin. Also host of locked on

1:13

Rockets right here. On the locked on podcast

1:15

network today, which added with Adam Albrecht

1:18

from locked on nets to discuss the impact

1:20

of Kevin Durant's injury for the Brooklyn Nets and

1:22

the adjustments for Kyrie Irving, Ben

1:24

Simmons, and the rest of the Nets supporting

1:26

cast without Katie in the lineup over these next

1:28

few weeks. Then we chat with David Romero

1:30

from locked on heat about why the Miami heat

1:32

have struggled compared to the success that they

1:34

had last season plus the uncertain future

1:37

of Kyle and whether or not he makes it

1:39

past the trade deadline lastly.

1:41

We catch up with Joe Mullachs from locked

1:43

on Grizzlies. The Memphis Cruisers are riding a

1:45

nine game winning streak behind some

1:47

insane play from Jamirant,

1:49

but are the Grizzlies getting the respect

1:52

that they deserve as true contenders. As

1:54

always, appreciate you making locked on NBA your first

1:56

listen each and every day free and available on

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all podcast platforms including YouTube,

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just go to YouTube search, locked on, NBA.

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That's today's episode is also brought to you by

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on. Joining us now here is Adam ARMbrook

2:16

from locked on and nets you can find

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wherever you listen to your podcast,

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just search it locked on, nets also available

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on YouTube. Now, Adam, Netz

2:25

twenty seven fifteen, number

2:28

two in the eastern conference, but man, just

2:30

when it felt like everything was coming together

2:32

for this Netz team. And you suffer

2:34

the the setback of a Kevin

2:37

Durant injury. Now this team gonna be without Katie

2:39

for at least a couple more weeks here. I do wanna

2:41

know the specific timetable at hand,

2:43

but just just how difficult is it

2:45

for this team to lose Katie right when it

2:47

really did feel like everything was starting to kinda

2:49

coalesce? Yeah. I think and thank you for having

2:51

me on Jackson. I think that it's

2:53

difficult from the standpoint of you felt

2:56

like you were on this run that

2:58

everything was in place. Right? And you're getting

3:00

this continuity. There's a lot of new players around

3:02

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this year, and

3:04

everything else been put to the side. No off the court

3:06

issues. No nonsense. Just basketball. So

3:09

him suffering the injury at this point

3:11

was frustrating. And at the same

3:13

time, you look at it and you say it was a

3:15

two week reevaluation. It's gonna be

3:17

at least a month before he gets himself back

3:19

out there on the court. You combine that with the

3:21

long layoff that you get around the All Star Break.

3:24

Listen, there's worse times to suffer

3:26

an injury like this that doesn't seem like

3:28

it's gonna impact the long term outlook this

3:30

season for the Nets. And the other thing is that

3:32

when you look at this roster, it's just far

3:34

better trucked this year that it was

3:37

a year ago, ironically around the same time when

3:39

Kevin Durant had an injury, to be

3:41

able to sustain, to be able to get through this

3:43

stretch and they've built up a nice bit of equity

3:45

here as you mentioned being second in the east right now

3:47

and having a solid

3:48

record. How do guys like

3:50

like Kairi Irving and Ben Simmons need to kind

3:52

of adjust their games in the absence

3:54

of Katie. And even but even beyond those

3:56

two guys, just the rest of the roster, how do you

3:58

guys step up? Because filling the void that

4:00

Katie leaves is not exactly an easy

4:02

task. This is not what you

4:04

call one to one just for place Kevin

4:07

Durant insert other guy. Right? You don't

4:09

want an Abe. Give me thirty eight minutes and

4:11

really take over ball games. But as

4:13

Doug and I have talked about on the podcast, so much

4:15

of it is just about, and we broke this down even by

4:17

minutes for a lot of guys. Okay.

4:19

You know, Seth Curry, you're gonna play

4:21

three or four more minutes a game. And no, that's

4:23

not a one to one, but he's an on ball

4:25

creator. He has a mid range shot and you've seen

4:27

that already in these couple of games. Without

4:29

Kevin Durant. Joe Harris increases his

4:31

minutes. Maybe get him back into the starting rotation

4:33

here. Same thing for Eudawata Nabe

4:35

for a TJ Warren off season acquisition.

4:38

So really it's about the sum of the parts when

4:40

it comes to the supporting cast. Now when you go

4:42

up the chain of command, Kevin Duran and

4:44

Kyrie had had this kind of nice balance

4:46

at the start of this year where Kevin Durant,

4:48

he basically has missed her consistency throughout

4:50

all four quarters, but it closed to

4:52

halves. And then coming out into the fourth

4:54

quarter, Kyrie would kinda take over

4:56

and cook a little bit. So balancing act for

4:58

Kyrie is not go hereable. Right? Because you

5:00

feel like, well, now I'm the lone superstar and that's

5:02

what I need to do. Let the game come to you,

5:04

trust the supporting cast, and we've seen

5:06

some good samples already with that.

5:08

For Ben Simmons, it's a little

5:10

bit different because the

5:12

rare thing that he was able pull off of having

5:14

a double double and not scoring

5:16

any of points the other night. Like, it

5:18

stands out. It's glaring. And there are

5:20

moments in games, especially when you lost

5:22

a Boston, it was double digit loss.

5:24

There was was an easy recipe to win that

5:26

game except for the fact

5:28

that that Ben Simmons is in around the basket.

5:30

And if he's just a little more aggressive and really

5:32

looks to attack, you get rewarded

5:34

with that. I we

5:36

want him to take that next step. But

5:38

I don't think that you wanna demand

5:40

it right now in the absence of Kevin

5:42

Durant because it can lead to

5:45

potentially more detrimental play for

5:47

him. He's locked in defensively right now.

5:49

He's doing incredible things from a facilitator

5:51

standpoint. Yes, he needs to step up

5:53

and he set as much in post games needs to

5:55

get his own shot. But I don't want

5:57

him to try to do the next thing

5:59

and end up diminishing things that he's doing

6:01

right now at a very high

6:02

level. I I know you have your your

6:04

concerns and therefore, but it does it almost feel like

6:06

this is all things considered,

6:08

like a potential silver lining to come from

6:10

this is Ben Simmons almost being forced

6:12

into that next

6:13

skier, right, that that more aggressive style of

6:15

play in the absence of Katie? Yeah.

6:17

I I think, you know, if Kevin Ryan

6:19

doesn't go down. So we're not we're not counting our

6:21

blessings that he did. But if he doesn't,

6:24

then Ben Simmons gets to keep serving the

6:26

very specific role that it is. Right? Locking

6:28

in defensively and setting the table.

6:30

Now you have to. If you weren't gonna do it

6:32

on your own and Jacqueline has talked about this

6:34

too. He needs to start to ramp up that next

6:37

phase. If you weren't gonna do it on your own,

6:39

there is going to come times when you're

6:41

going to have to do it over this month

6:43

without Kevin Durant. And if you can't,

6:45

especially with that trade deadline kinda

6:47

looming here, it will be an indicator to

6:49

Sean Marks in this organization, hey, Do

6:51

we need to go out and do something to

6:53

supplement what we have right now if

6:55

Ben Simmons has a very clear ceiling in a

6:57

specific area of his game?

6:59

Assuming everyone is is healthy and available

7:02

outside of Katie, obviously. I mean,

7:04

who who steps into the starting lineup permanently

7:06

for

7:06

Katie? And how drastically does that kind of

7:08

affect rotations and whatnot moving

7:10

forward. Yeah. I mean, Joe Harris had been

7:12

out of the starting rotation. Now he dealt with, like, a little

7:14

minor injury. Royce O'Neil has been a pretty

7:17

permanent fixture there. We were a little bit

7:19

surprised that that was the first replacement

7:21

when we went into that Boston game with

7:23

Joe getting the nod. Now Jock Von has history

7:25

as being an assistant coach, being an interim

7:27

head coach, and Joe has been here. He's the

7:29

longest ten year net. So I think there's

7:31

a reward factor there. Match

7:33

up to match up, it's gonna change. Because,

7:35

you know, Joe has enough size when you have the

7:37

right defensive pieces around him so he

7:39

can hold his own against some guards. Seth

7:42

Curry undersized. You want a little more

7:44

shot creation or defensive versatility?

7:46

You're gonna go to T. J. Warren. Eudawara

7:48

Nabe has been a nice little piece it

7:50

really becomes match up based, but it

7:53

looks like the smartest

7:55

way to avoid disrupting more of

7:57

your rotation is to put the

7:59

guy who's been a starter in Joe Harris

8:01

into that lineup and then build

8:03

out from there. And remember, T. J. Warren

8:05

coming off of an off season long, off

8:07

season injury. Right? Ben Simmons has

8:09

his own issues. You don't wanna know if he's

8:11

never been a twenty twenty five minute consistent

8:13

guy. Even Seth Curry has always been kind

8:15

of that off the

8:16

bench, you know, spark player for you. So you don't

8:18

wanna be disruptive in that way.

8:20

It

8:20

could just be symbolic, but I think Joe is the first

8:22

answer, and then you build on their game to game.

8:25

Last thing here for you, Adam, I I mean,

8:28

over this next stretch, right, without Katie,

8:30

what do you want to see or maybe what are your

8:32

expectations for this team without Kevin

8:34

Durant. What would you consider a

8:37

win during this time frame? Gotta be

8:39

above five hundred. You know, I I it's

8:41

probably not enough when you look at some of the teams they're

8:43

playing against, there's some bad ones on there, especially Eastern Conference.

8:45

So there's some very winnable games. You know,

8:47

we said this. With Kevin Durant, you

8:49

are a championship level team. Without

8:51

Kevin Durant, you're still a really

8:53

good basketball team. Right? So I would think that

8:55

they would be a back end

8:57

playoff team if they didn't have Kevin Durant

8:59

over the course of an two game season. So

9:01

you wanna be five hundred. You don't well,

9:03

you don't biggest thing you don't wanna do is

9:05

fall out of being able to compete

9:07

for those top two or three seeds in the

9:09

eastern conference. So that means staying in the

9:11

top six seats. They had about a four and

9:13

a half five game cushion over some of

9:15

those teams when Kevin Durant went down. So

9:17

be a couple games over five hundred, and most

9:19

importantly, show the consistency. Show

9:21

the consistency in your roles. Don't get

9:23

out of practice in those habits because when Kevin

9:25

Durant comes back, It's just about again

9:27

falling right back into that rhythm and falling

9:29

into line with what you need to do in support

9:31

of the superstar. So maintain

9:34

maintain and honestly some guys like

9:36

Ben Simmons, show a little bit of growth because those are

9:38

things you can still build on here. But the time

9:40

Kevin Durant comes back, you're gonna be staring

9:42

down twenty, twenty five games left in the season.

9:44

It's gonna be go time. Right? It's ramp up and get dialed

9:46

in and you really don't have time to hesitate

9:49

around what players need to be doing.

9:51

Candidates keep their footing without Kevin

9:53

Durant in the lineup. Who steps up

9:55

in Katie's absence of your of course, you're gonna just

9:57

cover for for all of that and more over at

9:59

locked on. Nets, Adam. I appreciate you stopped by

10:01

locked on a mute with me anytime. Coming

10:03

up, why have the Miami Heat struggled

10:06

compared to the success that they had last

10:08

season plus? What happens with the

10:10

future of Guard at Kyle Lowry's

10:12

will he make it past the trade deadline

10:14

as a member of the Miami Heat. But first,

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considering on here at locked on

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NBA, I'm Monday, as always. Appreciate you're

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making locked on NBA. Your first listen

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each and every day free and available on all

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podcast platforms including

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YouTube.

12:40

Joining us now is David Romero from

12:43

locked on heat. You can find wherever you listen to

12:45

your podcast, just search locked on heat

12:47

as well as searching locked on heat

12:49

on YouTube. David, the

12:51

Miami Heat the season are

12:53

in a very different spot than

12:55

they were. Last season. Right? I mean, you you

12:57

look at them now, the twenty four and twenty

12:59

seventh season, the Eastern Conference of Far Cry

13:01

from where they were last season. But

13:03

when you look at the numbers, twenty

13:06

third in in offense, eighth in defense,

13:08

slipping a little bit defensively from last year, they were

13:10

fourth in defense, but then the offensive slippage

13:12

especially from from twelve flash

13:14

season to twenty third this season. Let's start there. I

13:16

mean, why have the heat slipped so much

13:18

offensively from last year to this year? It's

13:20

specifically the three point

13:21

shot. Last year, they were tops in the league and knocking

13:23

it down this year, not so much. They haven't

13:25

gotten that kind of steady production,

13:27

and it's kind of been inexplicable.

13:29

Not like it's a completely different cast of characters

13:32

out there. They just haven't been able to

13:34

shoot the ball as effectively. Max

13:36

Trusz has been in and out of the starting lineup

13:38

Caleb Martin's been okay. He's a three point shooter.

13:40

A lot of that falls on Kyle, Larry.

13:42

He's been struggling for the three point

13:44

shot mightily, and I think he's been the biggest

13:46

factor in that regard. Aside from that,

13:48

no p j Tucker. As you recall,

13:50

he started off the season last year

13:52

being tops in the league in three

13:54

point accuracy. This year, no

13:56

tucker, not that not the same

13:58

level of three point shooting as

14:00

we had last year. And that's just been the

14:02

the the tail of it, basically. Aside

14:04

from that, nothing really changing

14:06

in terms of their overall offense. They

14:08

haven't changed personnel significantly.

14:10

They haven't changed their way

14:12

of attacking the basketball anything like

14:13

that. You just haven't been able to knock down the three point shot as

14:16

easy as Lizzie did last year.

14:17

You know, I'm glad you bring up Kyle

14:19

Lowry there because I I, you know, what's

14:21

curious to me is the heat this season are actually seven

14:23

and one without lowry in the

14:25

lineup. I mean, is it a stretch to say that

14:27

the heat might actually be playing

14:29

better basketball without Kyle out

14:31

there? They play differently out there. And I

14:33

think it's still a a matter of

14:35

when Lowry's out there he's been

14:37

struggling. And I'm not sure if it's because of

14:39

age, although that's probably the main

14:41

factor he may be injured. We don't

14:43

really get much in terms of updates

14:45

from either Kyle who's largely

14:49

unavailable to media here and

14:51

stuff Florida, and he is somewhat crusty

14:53

about dealing with reporter. So that's

14:55

just the reality of who he is and the

14:57

EPR has a very open about whether or

14:59

not he's dealing with anything. Of course, we know

15:01

about personal issues that kept them in and out of

15:03

the lineup last year. Those have cropped

15:05

up this season as well. I'm

15:07

not sure if if you could go so far

15:09

as to say they play better, but they do play

15:11

differently. They attack the basket more. They have more

15:13

speed, especially with the resurgence. Victor

15:15

of La Deepa, who I'm sure will talk about. Kyle,

15:18

because he hasn't been knocking down the shot as

15:20

well, and because he just can't get to the REMIC,

15:22

just does not have that superior burst at

15:24

this point in his career is just

15:26

not very effective out

15:26

there. So that's basically what it boils down

15:29

to. And I I do I do wanna talk about

15:31

Oladipo, but I just while we're subject

15:33

of Kyle

15:33

Lowry. I mean, what

15:35

is it does it feel like this Miami team is maybe

15:37

at a crossroads with Kyle Lowry as far as his

15:39

future is concerned? I mean, do you

15:41

do you look at this as a deadline where Kyle Lowry's

15:43

could potentially be on the move? And if so, I mean,

15:46

what what exactly what type of

15:48

return would this Miami be looking what

15:50

type of return would the team be looking to get

15:52

for Kyle Lowrey at this

15:53

deadline? That's a great question. And one

15:55

that I don't know we have a clear answer for

15:57

because there are incredible

16:00

mitigating factors here. One his age, one his

16:02

salary, one his also

16:04

relationship with Jimmy Butler, like they're close

16:06

friends, and I don't know that you can

16:08

risk another year wasting

16:10

of Jimmy Butler's prime just

16:12

to salvage that friendship and not hurt

16:14

Kyle's feelings or hurt Jimmy's

16:16

feelings, you know, you have to get butters

16:19

buy in before you consider any kind

16:21

of trade for Kyle Lowry. And it's not like he's

16:23

been a bad heat player. He

16:25

just hasn't been a very good player. He's had

16:27

his moments here and there, but he's just not particularly

16:29

effective. So I'm not sure that you can trade

16:31

Kyle Larry. I'm sure a lot of fans

16:33

disagree in thinking that he's the priority in

16:35

terms of what you wanna trade. And as far as

16:37

what you'd want back, probably a front

16:39

court player to be a little bit more

16:41

consistent. Caleb Martin has

16:43

been good in that role. He's knocking down the three

16:45

point shot. He's tops on the team in

16:47

that regard, but he's not

16:49

a consistent four. He's just a little

16:51

undersized. And while he's brought his own athletic doesn't

16:53

flash to the position, he just doesn't have

16:55

it. To be as consistent at that role. So

16:57

you'd wanna have somebody that's a little bit taller, a

16:59

little bit more useful when it comes to

17:01

rebounding, but also plays

17:03

well Miami's overall defensive scheme,

17:05

which is, you know, to switch everything and

17:07

playing alongside BAM and ABI who somewhat

17:09

undersize himself at the center position. Now,

17:12

Victor Oladipo, who is I I think is

17:15

a great story and just, you know, he's he's

17:17

gone through so much trying to get back to the level that

17:19

he was at you know, his pre injury self.

17:21

Over these last ten games, he's averaging fourteen

17:23

point eight points on solid efficiency looking

17:25

good while I

17:26

mean, what are you seeing out of his out of his play

17:28

over this recent stretch? He's been fantastic.

17:30

The burst is back. He's

17:32

moving laterally really really well. The

17:34

shot is still kind of a

17:36

work in progress a three part shot in particular with everybody else on

17:38

the team. He's just not knocking it down as

17:41

regularly. But he has the confidence. Like,

17:43

part of the struggle with Victor this

17:45

season is whether or not he'd be willing to embrace the role coming

17:47

off the bench. He's absolutely done that.

17:49

He's leading Miami's bench. And last night's

17:51

win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

17:53

The heat actually were able to sit Jimmy Butler for

17:56

the entire fourth quarter as

17:58

Oladipo and Bavenna Bio led their

18:00

comeback and were able to kind of, you know, put their boots

18:02

on Milwaukee's throat and able to close

18:04

out that game. And all the people was fantastic. The

18:06

two man game is really, really working

18:09

well. He's been very, very good in in terms of

18:11

leading the offense, and some people think he might

18:13

be a better starter than Lowry

18:15

at this point. Having him play the the

18:17

fact of point guard dishing the ball out,

18:20

etcetera. So we'll see if there's a change to the

18:22

story lineup. I prefer that

18:24

he stay as a backup because I just think he's been a little bit more

18:26

effective in that role. And you've got pretty good

18:28

chemistry with the starters. They haven't been the

18:30

problem. It's been the bench. And

18:32

now all of a sudden, you've got some more

18:34

stability and certainly much more production with

18:36

Victor coming off the bench of being really really

18:38

good. He's just He's not quite to where he

18:40

was, but as you well know, he was

18:42

very, very good as in Indiana

18:43

Pacer, obviously an All Star. But he's been

18:45

the closest he's been since these

18:47

string of injuries that have stopped so much of

18:49

his arthritis over the last three years. And

18:52

then kind of being in that reserve role, coming off the

18:54

bench, maybe a little bit less pressure as well. You're playing

18:56

it's supposing second unit to just lends

18:58

itself to a bit of an easier atmosphere

19:00

for Victor Olity, but to try and continue to get

19:02

back up to speed to the level of play that we know that he

19:04

was at once before. Now

19:06

I I feel like I may already have the answer

19:08

to this David based on some of your previous

19:10

answers, but I mean, kinda going into this

19:12

trade deadline what are some the biggest for this Miami heat team?

19:14

Yeah. It's a it's, you know,

19:16

a family shooting.

19:17

I think it would be it. If you could find

19:19

somebody again ideally, want

19:22

somebody who's like a switchable big to play

19:24

alongside them in a bio because I still think that's

19:26

probably the best alternative

19:28

or iteration of this team is to have somebody like

19:30

that at the moving Kayla back off the bench and

19:32

further solidifying the reserve unit. If you can

19:34

get somebody like that, something to play, kind of,

19:36

similar to what we got from PJ Tucker

19:39

last year here in Miami. It could

19:41

work. But then again, you might not be able

19:43

to make any moves, and I keep telling Heat

19:45

Nation that I keep telling the fans, they

19:47

might not be able to make any moves because Miami

19:49

just doesn't really have a lot trade assets, which is why they

19:51

couldn't consummate a deal for either Donovan

19:53

Mitchell or Kevin Durant or anybody else's soft

19:55

season. They may just wait to see if Jay

19:57

Crowder gets bought out bring

19:59

him back to a system where he's familiar and

20:01

plug him in at the fore, move Caleb

20:03

back to the bench, and then be closer

20:05

to what the team was when they advance all the

20:07

way to the NBA finals a couple seasons

20:08

ago. What does the future

20:11

ultimately hold for Kyle Lowrey? What

20:13

moves if any, will my any make at this

20:15

upcoming trade deadline? Of course, he always for all

20:17

that and more over at locked on. Heat

20:19

David. I appreciate you stopped by locked on the VA

20:21

with

20:21

me.

20:21

Absolutely. Anytime. Coming up, the Memphis Cruisers

20:23

are riding a nine game winning streak

20:25

behind some insane play from John Moran, but

20:28

are they getting the respect that they

20:30

deserve as contenders? We're gonna

20:32

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21:41

Did you watch

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22:27

And final segment here at locked on

22:30

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22:50

Grizzlies. The Grizzlies

22:52

show twenty nine and thirteen at

22:54

the time of this recording, tied for

22:56

the number one spot in the

22:59

western conference riding a nine game winning

23:01

streak during which Jean Laurent is averaging twenty

23:03

eight point nine points per

23:05

contest, including quite possibly

23:08

The dunk of the year, Joe,

23:10

help me out here first. Before we dive in

23:12

anything else Memphis Cruisers related, what

23:15

was your a reaction to that insane poster

23:17

by jaw against the Grizzlies. sorry.

23:19

I guess I guess the pacers, I apologize.

23:23

Oh, it's just so awe inspiring.

23:25

It it makes it defies logic. So

23:27

I don't fault you at all for your

23:29

your I was out

23:31

to dinner with my wife. So

23:33

I'm gonna be honest, I had to catch that game

23:35

on delay, but my phone started

23:37

buzzing as your phone tends to do when

23:39

you get and notifications. And,

23:41

you know, they're like, you gotta see it. You gotta I was like,

23:43

what are these people talking about? And, you

23:45

know, you know, the NBA account looked

23:47

like a fan account. Like, oh, my

23:49

god. Think, go go the air and you you watch

23:51

it and it's it's pretty

23:54

remarkable. And I I this is gonna sound

23:56

very snobbish of me and I

23:58

try not do that as someone that follows the Memphis grizzlies

24:00

as I have as long as I have over

24:02

a decade now doing this kind

24:04

of work. I'm not surprised

24:06

anymore. Like, this dude would have

24:08

done this to Kevin Love or

24:10

other guys that he's tried to dunk on and

24:12

he's dismissed. He

24:15

is the

24:17

amazing is no longer shocking.

24:20

It's amazing to watch

24:22

what he has done in such a

24:24

short time period with his NBA

24:26

career. He is must see

24:28

TV. Every time he steps on the court,

24:30

Luca Sanchez having a better

24:32

season. I'm not gonna argue MVP and all

24:34

that sort of stuff. You can argue for maybe

24:36

a few other guys in front of John

24:39

that way. He's in the top ten players in the National

24:41

Basketball Association comfortably. The

24:43

numbers backed it up as you outlined. And

24:45

when it comes to, like, wanting to

24:47

watch somebody play, no

24:49

offense to anybody else. I don't know how you

24:51

put anybody other than John Durant, number

24:53

one, because of what he did to the

24:55

Indiana Pacers and the fact he could do it

24:57

against anyone at any given time. He

24:59

he really is such an electric

25:01

just like, I

25:03

don't know, gravity defined guy. Like, he it feels like it feels

25:05

like every single night he steps on the floor, you

25:07

see another, like, highlight real

25:09

moment or something that he just puts together.

25:11

And he I mean, the crazy part is he makes

25:13

it look easy when he goes out there and does those things.

25:15

And then the whole, like, his little, like, as he

25:17

fell back into the arms of Steven

25:19

Adams after the dunk was so was

25:21

just the the cherry on top of that.

25:23

But when you when you look

25:25

at JAW compared to some of the these other

25:27

top guys. Right? The the the guys whose names

25:29

you associate with the MVP conversation,

25:31

Luke Kadancic, Yanias,

25:33

Yokic, obviously, these other names. I

25:35

mean, does it feel like Jog gets maybe I

25:37

don't wanna say gets the respected users, but do you

25:39

feel like people kind of do associate

25:41

him with those other names? Or do you think there's maybe

25:43

a separation in those tiers where they've got,

25:45

like, those guys and then draw, like, one

25:48

cup below? My co host at

25:50

at LockDown Grizzly's to Michael Cole and I

25:52

talked about this on a recent episode.

25:54

The idea that job

25:57

might be not necessarily

25:59

underappreciated. I don't think that's fair

26:01

to say at this stage. But, you know, the

26:03

All Star vote and how far ahead Steph Curry

26:05

and Luca Donchets are ahead

26:07

of John Moran's, you know, why is

26:09

that? Because of everything that we just talked

26:11

about. And again, Luca is having a remarkable

26:13

season, Steph, before he got hurt and obviously

26:15

just recently returned having a

26:17

fantastic season. I'm not in the

26:19

business of saying jobs better than those two guys

26:21

because I think that's a losing argument

26:23

for everyone. When you try to have that

26:25

debate. I think there are the three, in my opinion,

26:27

clearly best point guards in the

26:29

National Basketball Association. All three of them

26:31

could play. There should probably be three backcourt

26:33

spots, but that's maybe a topic for another

26:35

episode. I think that

26:37

it is it's

26:39

understandable to not include him

26:41

among the of the world

26:43

and others. But it's important to understand

26:45

just how important Miranda is to

26:47

Grizzlies. Jackson junior extremely

26:49

valuable, best two way player on the

26:51

team. Although, Miranda had a highlight block

26:53

in that game that we we

26:55

also aren't talking about the the way he

26:57

essentially his head was above the rim, blocking

27:00

that shot, but I digress. Jared's the

27:02

best two way player of the team. Desmond Bain is

27:04

rounding back into near all

27:06

star form as an offensive himself. John

27:08

Durant is the straw that stirs the drink and

27:10

whether it's the we're fine in the

27:12

west comments that maybe ruffles

27:14

some feathers I think he's very

27:16

unapologetically himself, not that other

27:18

guys aren't that, but he

27:20

is very audacious, both in terms

27:22

of the way he plays the game and off

27:24

the floor. His personality is very

27:26

unapologetically him. And I

27:28

think that perhaps folks

27:30

don't appreciate that as much.

27:33

As as the other players that maybe

27:35

don't talk in that way. So credit

27:37

to Miranda, he backs up his talk, but

27:39

that doesn't mean that you're gonna be beloved in

27:41

NBA circles when it comes these year end

27:43

awards.

27:44

I I would I would just love to see, like, a

27:46

full, like, just job or embrace, like,

27:48

the villainous, just, like, villain arc

27:50

like, it would be great. It would be high a

27:52

high level entertainment to to see for

27:54

sure. Unfortunately, you can't do that when you're giving

27:56

away job once to kids. Right? You

27:59

just need to be so likable.

28:02

Right. You just talk a lot of trash, but

28:04

so do the rest of the Grizzlies? There we

28:06

go. There we go. You mentioned

28:08

Jared Jackson junior there. He he's, you know, being

28:10

the best the the two way force for

28:12

this Grizzly's team. You know, we there was a lot of speculation

28:14

on just you know, the the Grizzly of

28:16

maybe a bit of a slow start on the defensive side

28:18

of things to the season. They were missing Jared

28:20

Jackson junior his impact. What have you seen

28:22

since since he's been able to return to for just

28:24

his overall impact and where, you know, where he should shake out as

28:27

far as just potential, like,

28:29

DPOI award is concerned this

28:31

year because when I look at the list, one I think

28:33

this year might be a bit of a weaker year for, like,

28:35

DPOY players, but I immediately think Jared

28:37

Jackson Junior's gotta be in that conversation.

28:39

He's an eater of worlds is what

28:41

he is. And I you know, as impressive as John

28:43

Durant is dunking the basketball and

28:45

obviously you as a host here on our network, you

28:47

appreciate good basketball. Watch

28:49

Darren Jackson junior play defense.

28:51

And you will see that he is very clearly the

28:53

defensive player of the year. No offense

28:55

to Claxton and Brooklyn. I know he's having a

28:57

great season. Obviously, Brook Lopez and

29:00

the Bucks our very strong defensive

29:02

team, and Lopez is kind of having,

29:04

you know, again, I'm an old hat, grizzly's

29:06

guy. Lopez is kind of having a Mark

29:08

DeSol esque defensive player in the year

29:10

season when Giselle won it almost

29:12

a decade ago now.

29:14

I think that Jared Jackson Junior is

29:16

very clearly the best defensive player in the National

29:18

basketball association. The Grizzlies

29:21

defense is eight points better when he's on the floor per

29:23

cleaning the glass. He is

29:25

just phenomenal in terms of block percentage.

29:27

There's nobody really close to him. He was

29:29

hovering around six percent the last I looked,

29:31

which is just an ungodly number.

29:33

He is just a

29:35

a dominant dominant force. In

29:37

terms of how he impacts the game. He

29:39

plays passing lanes. He has a

29:41

leap ability to get up off the

29:44

ground after a first leap. So

29:46

he times a block with his left hand on one

29:48

end, and the ball gets recovered by an

29:50

opponent on the other side, and then he blocks it with

29:52

the opposite hand with his right He's

29:54

done that multiple times, and he is

29:57

just really making

29:59

it difficult for teams to do anything

30:01

at and around the rim.

30:03

And he's doing it non traditionally because he has

30:06

Steven Adams by his side. He's able

30:08

to be more of that help weak side

30:10

defender that can be that centerfielder

30:12

that really puts self in position to block those

30:15

shots. You know, Steven Adams and

30:17

Dylan Brooks, of course, as well. You know, the

30:19

grizzlies are a pretty solid defensive team in

30:21

their own not just because of Jared. But

30:23

as you alluded to, Jared

30:25

Jackson junior returns, and

30:27

the team takes off. So as biased

30:29

as I am about Dylan Brooks and

30:31

Steven Adams, Jared Jackson Junior,

30:33

just like Jaw is the straw that serves the

30:36

drink offensively. Jared Jackson Junior is

30:38

their defensive weapon. They don't have him

30:40

out there. They're not the same

30:41

team, and they're not a title contender if

30:43

Jared isn't playing defense that he is

30:45

right now. What a way to put it? Yeah. The grizzlies are they're

30:48

they're pretty good defensive team. Like, what a way

30:50

to undersell it? The grizzlies are a

30:52

fantastic defensive team, but I think they're

30:54

number one in the NBA. Is that good,

30:56

Jack? That might be that might be pretty good, Joe. It might

30:58

be pretty good. Look, and we we could talk

31:00

about job being the guy that, you know, stirs the

31:02

drink offense, and we could talk about

31:04

Jared's accent junior and his his impact and, you know, how

31:06

he anchors the defense for the grizzlies, but the architect

31:08

of it all. Right? The guy who pulls all the

31:10

strings, puts it all together, head

31:13

coach Taylor Jenkins. I mean, at this point, how

31:15

how strong of a case does he have or should

31:17

he have for coach of the year at

31:20

this point? How much time do you have? I how

31:22

much time do I? But I thank

31:24

you.

31:24

You got all the time in the world that you want

31:26

to show. No appreciative of you,

31:27

Jackson, for bringing this up. So I'm gonna go on a

31:30

mini rant I know how we do our Get

31:32

get up on your soapbox. You got

31:34

this. I can't believe that this man did not

31:36

get a single vote in the

31:38

NBA mid season media

31:39

report. And Michael Cole was one of the voters. My partner,

31:41

unlock down grisly, was one of the voters. So

31:43

you better believe on a recent episode. I

31:45

I chewed it out.

31:47

Like, how does this dude not have a single

31:50

vote? They weren't healthy until

31:52

Christmas. When Jared was out,

31:54

Desmond was in, and that as soon as Jared comes

31:56

back, Desmond is out. They are

31:58

younger in their rotation. Danny

32:00

Green hasn't played a single second. They

32:02

took a team that was one of the youngest in the NBA

32:04

last year and got younger

32:07

And yet, here we are. Once again,

32:09

talking about the Memphis Grisley's one of the

32:11

best teams in the NBA and

32:13

nobody respects Taylor Jenkins.

32:16

It's infuriating. The Brooklyn

32:18

Nets have multiple hull of favors.

32:20

The Boston Celtics likely have multiple

32:22

hull of favors. Nicola Yolked

32:25

might be the best big man in the history of

32:27

the NBA. I'm not saying he is. I'm

32:29

saying he might be, if you look at the

32:31

numbers and the way If he's a three time

32:33

MVP award winner, what do the grizzlies have? They

32:35

have a twenty three year old John Moreantz, a

32:37

twenty three year old Jared Jackson junior

32:40

twenty some, twenty four, twenty five, Desmond

32:43

Bain, they are one of the youngest teams in the

32:45

NBA, and all they do is

32:47

win, acknowledge, Taylor

32:50

Jenkins, you cowards. Every single one of

32:52

you watching this, listening to this, I'm

32:54

looking right at you through your spirit

32:56

and your soul, acknowledge Taylor

32:58

Jenkins, He's the coach of the year whether you

33:00

like it or not. Oh,

33:02

wow. I I I'm I'm glad

33:05

I gave you the chance to bring that to to

33:07

to just shed some light on that

33:09

situation to a doubt. I feel

33:11

lighter. Was that was that a little a little cathartic

33:13

for you? It was. Now

33:14

I'm gonna put you on the spot here.

33:17

Okay. Ask you about

33:19

JAW, and we talked a little bit about MVP.

33:21

Ask you about Jaron Jackson Junior. We

33:23

talked a little about about DPOI and then

33:25

to keep things rolling, we talked about coach the year

33:27

for Taylor Jenkins. If you could only

33:29

pick one award for the Grizzlies

33:31

to walk away with this season, who would

33:34

you pick? Ironically,

33:36

I just went on that rant and I'm not going

33:38

to say Taylor Jenkins. If I had

33:40

to pick war in terms of

33:42

who I think truly deserves it,

33:44

Again, I can't argue

33:46

against Luca Donetics and what he's doing at Dallas. I

33:48

can't argue what Steph was doing before he

33:50

got hurt. I I try to be unbiased in

33:52

Grizzlies stump. Jaw is an excellent

33:55

player. I don't know that he has put

33:57

together a better season than those guys. And you

33:59

mentioned Yolked, she's phenomenal. He's

34:01

an all NBA guy. I think

34:03

John is clearly not sure he's

34:05

the MVP. Taylor Jenkins should be the coach of

34:07

the year, but I'm not gonna pick a coach

34:09

over a player. Jared Jackson Junior should be the defensive player of

34:11

the year. I've watched a lot of NBA

34:14

basketball. I have rarely seen

34:16

someone dominate

34:18

a game. Be able to

34:20

defend one through five and be

34:22

six foot eleven, two hundred and forty some pounds.

34:24

The only other guy I've seen due to that

34:26

is Johannes. That that's the only other player that is capable of doing Jackson

34:28

Junior is currently doing in the

34:30

NBA. He switches on to a perimeter

34:33

player, he's fine. He's defending a

34:35

big on the block. He's fine. He's

34:38

playing weak side defense. He's there out on

34:40

the perimeter doing a switch. He's running through

34:42

a screen. He's hedging. He's, you know,

34:44

playing all sorts of drop defense.

34:46

He is, like I said earlier, the eater of

34:48

worlds. No matter what you try to

34:50

do offensively, he's not going to

34:52

let you do it. His weakness is fouling.

34:54

That's still an issue in his game. He

34:56

had a slow stretch when they were one in

34:58

four around the holidays. Where he's

35:00

gotten foul trouble again. And that was one of the major

35:02

reasons they had issues was he

35:04

was in foul trouble. But he's

35:06

gotten right in

35:08

that way And like I said, no disrespect to Claxton. There's

35:10

plenty of good bridges in Phoenix and

35:12

smart in

35:12

Boston, obviously, the reigning winner. Jaron

35:16

Jackson Junior is the best defense player in the NBA, and it

35:18

would be a shame if he doesn't win that

35:20

award. Can the

35:21

Memphis continue their dominance

35:23

this season. What awards will they walk

35:25

away with by seasons? And of course,

35:27

you're gonna have us cover for all of that and more

35:29

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