0:00

Sex, trying to get loose, fires

0:04

it down, scarl

0:06

it upstairs, Allen

0:12

walk the shot at the rim. Welcome

0:15

to the Chase Down Podcast, part of the Kasbati Family.

0:17

I'm your host, Justin Rowan. The NBA

0:19

playoffs have begun, and what

0:22

a start it has been. It has been

0:24

incredibly exciting, and the one thought on everybody's

0:27

mind is, Hey, if you have to hand out

0:29

awards to the twenty two win Cleveland Cavaliers,

0:31

which ones would you hand out? We

0:34

will do that on today's episode. We're gonna

0:36

be handing out Defensive Player of the Year, most improved,

0:39

best performance, you know, leading role,

0:41

in a supporting role, all that good stuff.

0:43

And with me today to do that is

0:45

my co host Carter Rodriguez. Carter, how are you doing,

0:47

buddy? Um? Well, I realized I had

0:49

my headphones way too allowed for that intro.

0:51

I just blew my freaking ears out. So

0:54

that's you hate to see that. We'll finally

0:56

you're listening to me that that's that's something

0:58

that apparently get to work on. Barely

1:00

one could argue because I am ringing

1:03

right now, but yeah, I'm feeling good. Playoffs

1:06

have been awesome so far. I've actually gotten

1:08

a chance to watch some of it, which

1:10

you know, unlike a lot of the regular season

1:12

ha ha ha am I right, Cavs fans. But

1:15

you know, um yeah, it's been a lot

1:17

of fun. Playing was awesome. Playoffs

1:20

have been awesome so far. I really only

1:22

think there's like one series I don't care about. Yeah,

1:25

it's honestly, I'm not that

1:27

excited for Utah Memphis. Uh.

1:29

It does get a little interesting with Mitchell out for

1:32

game one. Um I I kind of

1:34

like the John Morant arrival. That that's vun

1:36

Dylan Brooks brings that Canadian flavor.

1:38

Let's before we get into these Cows Awards.

1:40

I do actually want to talk a little bit of the

1:43

plan in playoffs. I know that was kind of

1:45

primarily our focus of our last podcast,

1:47

but we can talk a little bit of that. At

1:50

the beginning, I think the plan was

1:52

a massive hit. Um yeah.

1:54

I mean I've seen a few people

1:57

kind of say, well, Steph got knocked

1:59

out, so it's not great, But

2:01

that's those are That's stupid people. It

2:04

is stupid people. It's it's just so funny

2:06

to me that when for so long

2:08

the argument has been hey, the playoffs

2:11

are a little too predictable. We need a little more

2:13

parody, We need the randomness

2:15

that comes with the NFL or n C Double

2:17

A tournament. And then when you have an up

2:19

and coming star and John Rant knockoff

2:22

Steph Curry, you have people say,

2:24

oh, this was a failure. We we we wanted

2:26

what seems familiar, we wanted what was

2:28

predictable. Yeah. I

2:31

have a hard time give it a damn about when any of those people

2:33

think, because I just don't. I don't think they're good faith

2:35

arguments, man. I don't think they're the kind of arguments that

2:37

come from people who actually really like basketball

2:39

a lot. Um. You know, it's

2:42

funny when you look at a one

2:44

game playing or a two game play

2:46

and these single elimination basketball basically

2:49

and there is there

2:52

is probably not a great competitive case

2:54

for it, right you know, Um there

2:57

is. We know that the best of seven

2:59

series the best way to litigate

3:01

basketball, and you know we would never ever

3:03

do like a single elimination finals. But

3:06

I work in the competitive space

3:08

in E sports, and we have

3:10

a competitive operations team that and their

3:13

whole job is to build product, build tournament

3:15

formats and products right that have maximum

3:19

excitement and fairness, you know, best competitive

3:21

integrity possible. And it's

3:23

funny. I always kind of joke with them because

3:26

we spend all this time trying to think about what the

3:28

most equitable format is, the format that's

3:30

best for players, and then March Madness is

3:32

the most popular tournament

3:34

in the planet, you know, which is single

3:36

elimination, the least fair, the least um

3:39

you know, the least rewarding to the better team,

3:42

and we love it. So ultimately it's

3:44

funny because I don't think anyone designing

3:47

basketball. I don't think James Naismith

3:49

was thinking about watchability when

3:51

he was coming up with the game. He's just trying to find

3:53

a fun game. But the

3:55

n b A I think people need to understand that the NBA

3:57

does have two people to kind of parties to

4:00

please here, which is the competitive integrity side of things,

4:02

but then also the fun side of things. And even

4:04

if the plan isn't the best for competitive

4:06

integrity, it's so good

4:08

for fun and meaningful

4:11

basketball and kind of a it's

4:13

almost like an entree to the playoffs

4:16

in terms of kind of getting the viewers ready for that

4:18

level of basketball. I

4:20

loved it, and you know, even if

4:23

you're gonna get more of the Eastern

4:25

Conference plans weren't weren't as thrilling

4:27

with the exception of Tatum's fifty point game.

4:30

But you know, even if you end up with more

4:32

Wizards Pacers than you maybe wanted

4:34

originally, Like, the

4:36

moments where it is great are so fun.

4:39

Yeah, And I think the fact that we have crowds

4:41

back in some capacity is also

4:44

knocking this up to another gear. Like hearing

4:47

the reaction of a live audience makes

4:49

such a big difference when you've had empty gyms

4:51

for the majority of this season, or um

4:54

a smaller crowds that don't really have the same

4:56

impact. And I

4:58

almost feel like the play tournament is

5:00

the inverse of what we've talked about with the lottery

5:02

odds, where we think the lottery

5:04

odds are stupid, even though it probably

5:07

is going to benefit the Calves compared to the old

5:09

system, Like as much as they're

5:11

still the opportunity for the Calves to fall

5:13

further than they would have in the old system,

5:15

the opportunity as the fourth

5:18

best team to jump up is

5:20

better than it has been in the past. We think

5:22

it's stupid, even though it's going to benefit the Calves, whereas

5:24

this plan could really come back to

5:27

hurt the Calves, like if they have next season,

5:29

if things go as I've kind of predicted, as

5:31

I've been looking into my crystal ball, and this

5:33

is a seven or eight seed, there's a

5:35

decent chance that you lose two games

5:37

and all of a sudden, the record states that

5:40

the Calves didn't make the playoffs, even though they had a

5:42

productive season. With that in mind,

5:44

I still think that this is a good format.

5:46

I think that this is really exciting. Uh.

5:49

Your observation that it's

5:51

an entree to the playoffs, I think

5:53

it's really accurate because I think it kind

5:55

of gets everybody into that mindset.

5:58

There's a difference from regular season basketball.

6:00

And I just love the fact that, yeah,

6:03

it kind of sucks to be put in this position where

6:05

you're in the playing tournament. So go out and get

6:07

six go out and get a top

6:09

six seed. Seeding matters more

6:12

than ever. Now, go up and be

6:14

aggressive. I think that's such a

6:16

good incentive for teams that are in that middle

6:18

to take the next step to really

6:21

pushed to be better. And as far as I'm concerned,

6:23

man, and I said, there's not less

6:25

spot. I really do believe that playoff contention

6:28

is a top six. I think twelve teams make the

6:30

playoffs now, uh, and I

6:33

know a lot that's probably I

6:35

think some might find that to be an irritatingly

6:37

charitable take, but that's how I feel.

6:39

If I'm if I'm the Dallas Mavericks

6:42

in the five six seven spot, I'm freaking

6:45

out because I'm trying to make sure I ducked that plan.

6:47

Yeah, so you know, to me, I think

6:49

it was a massive success, and the playoffs

6:52

themselves have been really really fun so far.

6:54

Like, what's the game you want to talk about? First? I

6:56

I because the Lakers, not

6:58

like my friend Lakers Sons,

7:01

is obviously fresh in the memory. Um,

7:03

I'm I felt sick and I still feel

7:05

a little sick about Chris Paul hurting his

7:07

arm. Um I I really hope that he's

7:09

going to be okay because I love seeing the Sun's

7:11

back and playoff basketball like that is something that

7:14

takes me back to like my formative

7:16

years watching watching the NBA

7:18

and falling in love with it with those Steve Nash Sons

7:21

that was my pre twitter team from

7:23

the West that I always rooted for. UM

7:26

and Yeah, it's great to see them

7:28

playing well. Uh in absolutely

7:31

manhandling Anthony Davis is really fun.

7:33

It's not the bubble anymore, Buddy oh

7:36

Man. Mikhail Bridges played great.

7:38

Devin Booker arrived on the Playoff

7:40

stage, Like it's so much fun,

7:42

and I just love how open the field is,

7:45

Like don't you feel like, don't you feel like Devin Booker

7:47

is one of those examples where like there's

7:49

always this pushing pull between Caps Twitter, Caps,

7:52

NBA Twitter and players on

7:54

who to evaluate, Like it feels like Devin

7:57

Booker's one everyone needed to trust

7:59

the player on you know, like three years

8:01

ago there, like this kid's banana is good and

8:03

we're like, yeah, but the men tricks and

8:06

I just don't I think we just shouldn't

8:08

trust him because like he was a tailor

8:10

made Playoff player and it really really showed

8:12

in this game. Yeah, and he's one

8:14

of those players where the high water marks,

8:17

as I like to say, we're always really

8:19

impressive, like he could do some really

8:21

next level stuff, he could elevate over guys,

8:23

like he's really explosive. Games

8:26

were always at such a high level that

8:29

you would figure as he continues to improve

8:31

in the margins and round out his game. He's

8:33

going to be able to do that more and more consistently,

8:35

and he's able to find that gear that not a

8:37

lot of guys are. I just love

8:40

kind of how open it's been though,

8:42

Like to me, it's really fun to see Luca

8:44

don chech go off against the Clippers and

8:46

them have no answer for him, even

8:49

though they're a team with Kawhi Leonard, Paul

8:51

George, and Patrick Beverley, who they tried

8:53

throwing all three they can't believe can

8:56

tie. Come on, Ty, don't play

8:59

Pat early on Luca don Chich.

9:01

That's disrespectful at he's

9:04

too small and honestly, like,

9:07

doesn't it like bother you that they

9:09

don't start with George or Kauai on

9:11

them like that bothers me? Man,

9:13

Like, come on, this you're not this

9:16

is not the series nor the player

9:19

to like kind of half acid

9:21

if you have an elite defensive option and

9:23

it's not like, you know, if it were

9:25

just Kauaiet or just Paul George, you know, and

9:27

they had to exclusively carry the load

9:29

on offense. Okay, sure,

9:32

but like the fact that you got both of them and neither

9:35

of them are ready to take that assignment

9:37

by default. It just seems like,

9:39

I don't know. That just bugs me. That bugs the

9:42

basketball piarist and me, Like I get while

9:44

Lebron wasn't taking top assignments

9:46

and hasn't for some time, Like it

9:48

just feels worse here. Absolutely,

9:52

Like Marcus Morris or Pat Beverley. Come

9:54

on, those dudes are food and

9:56

it's not like they're bad defenders, but you're dealing with a super

9:58

duper star here. Yeah. Yeah, it

10:01

really feels like and I expect him to make some

10:03

adjustments ties typically that stuff.

10:05

Can we pivot all over the place because I do want to ask you about

10:08

the Lakers sons before we move off at all. No, let's

10:10

let's go all over the place because I don't want to

10:12

spend too much of the podcast on this, but I

10:14

definitely have a lot to talk about here.

10:17

So are we worried about the Lakers?

10:20

Yes? Yeah, I think we are. I think

10:22

I am too, And I think that

10:24

going into last playoffs, I couldn't believe

10:28

the certainty in them

10:30

because I thought this is a team

10:32

full of like they're

10:34

they're kind of like Boston where they're full of theoretical

10:36

shooters, but no one that like absolutely

10:39

petrifies you. And then they just made all

10:41

their shots. Yeah, Anthony Davis

10:44

just hit absolutely everything from three rondo.

10:46

Although I guess did it again. I

10:49

believe he was above his career

10:51

average from mid range and from three pointer.

10:54

So some something in that neighborhood. Mason

10:56

Ginsburg has the tweet every tweeted at thirty

10:58

times where you talk about just what an

11:00

outlier eighties postseason

11:03

was. So it's like, if the jumpers aren't there,

11:05

then the spacing is really really bored.

11:08

And I don't think that

11:10

there And I thought that I at

11:12

least at least I liked the shrewder pickup because

11:14

I'm like they I didn't trust the shooting

11:17

from last year. I'm still furious at Jr.

11:19

For saying Lakers were better than the sixteen

11:21

Cavaliers, how Derek U j R. Smith

11:24

But like I thought, Okay, all these

11:26

week points like are gonna show up in a

11:28

non bubble environment where everyone can shoot the

11:31

hell out of the ball. So I like the

11:33

idea of like add some pick and roll players that

11:35

can that can do some other stuff. But if

11:37

the spacing is not there, I just don't know

11:40

what they're supposed to do offensively well

11:42

will Carter Taylor Horn Tucker

11:45

is going to be good in about five years. So

11:48

when he's good in five years, people

11:50

will be laughing at the takes that they needed to Kyle

11:52

Lowry that they need to make a move like

11:55

this was always this was always my thing with the

11:58

Lakers, like especially Ron

12:00

re injuring himself, like he's someone that's always

12:02

needed a bit of a ramp up, even in the bubble

12:04

when he had time off, he needed

12:07

a ramp up. And the fact that the Clippers, I'm

12:09

gonna endorse them throwing those games down the

12:11

stretch to avoid the Lakers because one

12:13

of them was the thunder, and I think that might work

12:15

out to our benefit. But the fact

12:17

that they didn't want to play them right away is

12:19

insane to me, Like this is

12:21

exactly what we were talking about. Lebron

12:24

looks good, but you know what

12:26

they're betting, and they're betting on the Sun's doing

12:28

their work for them. Oh yeah,

12:30

that that's fair. But they're gonna have to get out of

12:32

their own first round series. But if the Lakers

12:34

were fully healthy, Suns, Lakers could have

12:36

been the Western Conference Finals. There's a

12:39

very decent chance that that that was the

12:41

way that it was going to play out, And to me,

12:43

like you want to knock off the Lakers as early

12:45

as possible, like you want to get at them early.

12:47

I don't think the series is necessarily over. I

12:50

think it's going to go the distance. But

12:53

how shaky they look is kind

12:55

of proof of my point that you probably

12:57

want to play them earlier in the playoffs to have

12:59

your best odd add upsetting them.

13:01

Yeah, it's time to get rid of Andre Drummond m

13:04

ptition. It's time for me to eat my crow

13:06

as well, because I thought, hell, I

13:09

I maybe just believed in Lebron a little

13:11

too much to get somebody to work hard. But I

13:13

mean both their bigs, I mean A D and Drummond

13:15

flat foot City in Game one, like

13:18

so many challenges with them sitting

13:20

on their heels, and it's like you can't do that

13:22

with two elite mid range finishers

13:25

and CP three and Booker, like

13:27

you have to be up and challenging them and

13:29

they have the size to recover too. So I don't

13:31

think this is you know, maybe they

13:33

would say I had to protect the ram. I don't buy

13:35

it. I don't I didn't see active feet and

13:38

on defense against this Sun team, You're gonna need

13:40

it. And I don't know, man, but druma is

13:42

just I mean, they need some i Q on the floor

13:44

and this time on Earth Marcosol.

13:47

What it is is Frank Vogel and Lebron

13:50

just can't get the same production out of entre

13:52

drumming that JB. Bickerstaff can. Like, well,

13:54

it does stand that the best the best

13:56

Drummond we saw it was in Cleveland for

13:59

the comes down to I just love that this feels

14:02

like a little bit of a passing on the torch playoffs,

14:04

Like it really feels like this young crop of

14:06

talent that the league has kind of build up

14:08

is taking that next step. They're stepping

14:11

up, whether it be Luca, whether it be Devin Booker,

14:13

John Morant, not gonna yeah

14:16

yeah, Chris Paul, you know that that

14:18

that young whipper snapper, that little

14:20

whipper snapper, Jimmy Butler, like all

14:23

these guys are are just stepping up in

14:25

exciting ways. Drew Holiday,

14:27

all these guys you never heard of. I just

14:29

feel like this is a really good showing for the

14:32

youth of today's NBA and that that

14:34

has me excited but we can pivot

14:36

now. We we can. Unless you have anything else

14:38

to add about the playoffs. Let's get into

14:40

I have one one joke

14:43

that's not really a joke. Okay,

14:45

if if Chris Middleton uh

14:48

scored fifty points a game, I

14:50

still think I'd go pretty good.

14:55

Ted Windish is going to come jumping down your

14:57

road. I don't know what it is about that man, but

14:59

I just am not Uh. Maybe it's

15:01

just people trying to tell me that he's an All star

15:03

to too emphatically, but something about me

15:05

just goes it's just not all the way that that's

15:08

not quite as good as you want to. Chris

15:11

Middleton, he was good enough to be a number

15:13

two. Drew is good enough to be a number three. We'll see,

15:15

if you're honest, is good enough to be He ain't. Yeah,

15:17

he ain't yet. I'm not right. Ain't

15:20

looking that way. Why can't he get the

15:22

He needs an eight foot That's all the man

15:24

needs to become the most unstoppable player

15:27

on the planet. Screw the three pointers,

15:29

screw the off the dribble eighteen foot, Just

15:32

an eight footer when they put a seven

15:34

two dude two inches from

15:36

the rim. He needs to be six ft away

15:38

from the rim and just push a little floater in. No, he

15:40

needs twelve seconds to shoot met footer. That's

15:42

all. Yeah, it's come on, man,

15:45

you can do this. Your honest, you can do it. I'm rooting

15:47

for you. Oh boy, you're

15:49

honest. He's got he's still young, He's

15:51

got plenty of time to improve. I just

15:54

thought nobody wins the title

15:57

before. I thought

15:59

this year might be a little different. I thought he had another gear.

16:01

I'm skeptical, but I'd love to see him prove me

16:03

wrong. But he's got plenty of time to improve,

16:05

just as these young calves have plenty of time

16:07

to improve. And let's start things off

16:10

with our year and awards. We're

16:12

doing a little bit of an NBA Oscars

16:15

type hybrid awards type thing. Called

16:17

them the calves. He's called them whatever you want, most

16:20

improved player, Carter, who do you have

16:22

for this season? Well, not you, given

16:24

that you call them the calves. Ees Um,

16:29

I gotta say for this

16:31

one, it's gotta be

16:33

Darius Um. And I know there's

16:35

some people who are anti second

16:37

year players getting such honors, but he

16:40

just really, in my opinion, took

16:43

the jump from being a guy

16:45

who makes good looking plays,

16:47

but the numbers don't reflect it. To the numbers starting

16:49

to reflect it. And I

16:51

thought he did the work in the off season

16:54

to get his body and in a place to

16:56

be able to kind of absorb more of the rigors

16:58

of the season. Um, and and again

17:00

he just changed the shot died. He got smarter with

17:02

how he how he played in the second half

17:04

of the year. So to me, I don't

17:06

really know if there's much competition.

17:09

You know, Sexton got better,

17:11

but like you know, more on the margins.

17:14

Ocoro is a is a child and

17:16

doesn't get doesn't qualify as a rook um.

17:19

And you know, and honestly, I wish

17:21

I'd seen some more big improvements

17:23

from the fringes of the roster. I just didn't see it.

17:26

So I would say, Darius, Yeah,

17:28

it really feels like and we were talking about this offline,

17:31

but it feels like the Calves got

17:33

about best case scenario

17:35

with all of the core for maybe

17:37

the exception being Jared Allen with

17:40

with the concussion, which took a little while. About

17:42

the way way the season ended for Jarrett leaves

17:44

a bit of a bad taste in your mouth. I think just

17:47

a little bit, but you actually, and I'm

17:49

gonna go off on a tangent here, but I think

17:52

you know how the Calves have had so many guys that

17:54

have come back from concussions, and it's

17:56

clear like it takes weeks for them to get

17:58

all the way sharp. It gives me

18:00

a little more appreciation for Kevin Love in the twenty

18:03

sixteen finals because when we did our rewatch,

18:05

he was so good in Game one and

18:08

like coming back from that concussion. Like,

18:10

it's very understandable why he

18:12

was not himself in that series. And I think

18:15

him not being himself doesn't get

18:17

discussed enough there. I mean we talked

18:19

about when we did our City a Champion

18:21

spot where we rewatched every game. I mean he

18:24

was out on his feet for half that series.

18:26

Yeah, yeah, it's it's a really tough thing

18:28

to overcome. Um, it would be really

18:30

funny to give a most improved player to

18:33

a rookie. I don't think that would happen.

18:35

You mentioned a Korls, you know, listening guys off, I

18:37

will give sex and credit for this because

18:40

it's between those two right the back. It's between

18:42

sex Land. Yeah. It really actually

18:44

you know who you know who actually deserves consideration.

18:47

I feel silly for not including it. Boy

18:50

Dean what Dean Wade. Oh, Dean Wade's

18:52

a great one actual, because Dean was.

18:55

He was a guy that I felt

18:58

like, Okay, he's not any like

19:00

not to be a jerk or anything, but like he's

19:02

just a guy, you know, and end of bench filler

19:05

that's going to spend a couple of years and mostly in the G League,

19:07

might play two five minutes

19:09

a game and mop up duty.

19:12

And then we saw

19:14

the G League numbers and we're like, oh, he

19:17

has an He's an archetype that is not

19:19

bad. He can shoot volume three's while

19:21

playing as a legitimate four, and

19:24

and in a lot of ways, I think he helped save their

19:26

season when they were in that downward

19:29

spiral and he started, uh started

19:31

getting minutes at the four. The only reason I don't know if

19:33

he's a most improvious because we don't really

19:35

know what he had last season. He didn't get a

19:38

real chance to show it. But I mean, just for

19:40

a year over year in terms of impact, I think

19:42

he definitely deserves to be mentioned. Even

19:44

if Garlands the pack. Yeah, I mean

19:46

both Dean Wade and Darius Garland were

19:48

guys that you didn't think belonged to the NBA last

19:51

year, So you are the worst man, I

19:53

really am. Um. That's he

19:56

is a really good honorable mentioned because

19:59

I think at this point he he's kind of proving himself

20:01

as he's a rotation player, Like I think he's

20:03

someone that you can factor in a

20:05

little bit, like he's not a corner stone piece that

20:07

you build around. Um. I will give

20:09

Sexton credit for this because his first two

20:11

seasons, the first half of those

20:14

years or first third of those years, were

20:16

ugly, Like he this is the first time

20:18

he's really put together a complete season,

20:21

and he did have that stretch where the three point

20:23

shot kind of left him after he was dealing

20:25

with a hamstring injury, but even then

20:28

he was scoring efficiently and he was still productive.

20:30

So the fact that he put together such a

20:32

complete year I think is noteworthy

20:34

and needs to be brought up. But I do think

20:37

that the clear pick is Daris Garland,

20:39

like the fact that he has gone

20:41

from somebody that like when

20:43

they were doing redrafts last year, he wasn't

20:45

showing up in the top fifteen, and now

20:47

he's pretty firmly Like if you're doing one

20:49

of those he's top four, top five at worst,

20:52

and he's established himself as

20:54

kind of the consensus. When you hear

20:56

people talk about the Calves, he's the top

20:58

prospect. He's that top guy, the guy that

21:00

has the potential to be

21:02

a foundational piece for them. So I

21:05

do think that Garland deserves a lot of credit

21:07

for that. Would would you say that if

21:09

he was, you know, being redrafted

21:11

out of the top fifteen, that maybe the rest of

21:13

the league might not have viewed

21:16

him as being worth a lottery pick? Ziggy anyway,

21:19

Oh my god, you're bringing that back up. Just

21:21

kidding, just kidding, you go, man, I'm

21:24

being annoying. Anyway. No,

21:26

he was awesome, Uh and uh very

21:29

much cemented himself as the number one piece

21:31

in the rebuild by I think

21:33

a healthy margin, I'd agree.

21:36

And you know, when you kind

21:38

of you kind of get a sense of how the people

21:40

are starting to talk about Hm that he is the ceiling raiser,

21:42

he's the reason they become they

21:45

take, they take the next step, and obviously

21:47

I still think they're looking for the number one. But if

21:49

he keeps growing at this trajectory, I think Cash fans

21:51

should be thrilled. Yeah, I think

21:54

there's for me, if I'm

21:56

projecting him out, I kind of view him as the number

21:58

two, and that's really good. Like, I think

22:00

the Cows have multiple guys that are capable of being

22:03

number two. Garland's just the one that I'm

22:05

most confident in his ability

22:07

to fit with just about anybody. Like I

22:09

think that that's a really valuable trait, the

22:12

way that he plays on and off ball, the

22:14

way he's improved offensively this year.

22:17

Um, I think most of his shortcomings

22:19

on defense have to do with size

22:22

and strength and kind of physical maturity more

22:24

so than effort or basketball.

22:26

I Q. He seems to be pretty locked

22:28

in on that end of the floor. Even though the results

22:31

aren't quite there, they still were a better defensive

22:33

team when he was on the floor versus off. But

22:35

while we're talking about defense, let's go with

22:37

defensive Player of the Year. And to me,

22:40

there's two candidates here, UM, I

22:42

guess actually three. You got

22:44

Isaaca Coro, who has had such

22:46

difficult matchups throughout the season. Um,

22:49

but I think top five in terms of

22:51

like opponents guarded. Uh.

22:53

In terms of quality, you got Larry

22:55

Nance Jr. Who was exceptional for the time that

22:57

he wasn't there but only played

23:00

already five games and was probably healthy for about

23:02

twenty of them. And then Jared Allen, who

23:04

made a real big impact at times,

23:07

but as we mentioned after the concussion,

23:09

things weren't as sharp. Which direction

23:11

do you leading, Carter? I think you're

23:13

just kind of choosing. This is almost

23:15

like the Larry Bird thing, where

23:17

you're kind of trying to figure out, uh,

23:20

peek over longevity here, and

23:23

I'm a I'm a big like peak guy, um.

23:26

And to that end, it's Larry Nance for me. Like

23:29

obviously, you know, you could argue that his

23:31

lack of ability availability really hurt

23:33

the team, and I wouldn't fight you too

23:35

hard on that. But the only time

23:37

that the Calves played legitimately

23:40

good defense this season, like

23:42

legitimately like bothered offenses

23:46

was when Larry Nance was on the floor. So

23:48

to that end, like Isaac's got the

23:50

pieces um to be a really really

23:52

great parater defender, especially against smaller

23:55

guards. Um Jarrett

23:58

I think has all the potential the

24:00

world as a rim protector. But neither

24:02

of them raised the Calves floor

24:04

or their ceiling uh quite

24:06

like Larry did. And for that reason, he's might pick

24:09

he's might pick as well. Um, this is

24:12

which tells you that the Calves did not have the

24:14

best year that were guy who played thirty

24:16

five games. No. Absolutely, And

24:19

the thing that you didn't mention there that I think

24:21

stands out when you watch Nance on the defensive

24:23

end is just the communication. Like

24:25

he is such a floor racer because he's

24:27

telling everybody where to be, he's

24:30

calling out defensive coverages,

24:32

he's pointing things out to guys, and

24:35

he's one of those coaches on the floor.

24:37

And as you mentioned, like when he

24:39

was out there, especially early in the year, it was a

24:41

top ten defense. And I don't necessarily

24:43

think they are a top ten defense.

24:45

I don't think that they that would have sustained

24:48

for the full season even if he was healthy,

24:50

but they would have been at least average,

24:52

which they were up until May.

24:55

Uh, they had an average defense, so I

24:57

think it would have been better. I think Nance

24:59

was the I guess difference maker for the calf this season.

25:02

We can get into how you weigh that when

25:04

we talk m VP of this team, um,

25:07

But on the defensive end, I just think Nance's

25:09

consistency and the way that he

25:11

made everybody else better and kind

25:13

of raised that compete level on that end of the

25:15

floor. To me, that makes them kind

25:17

of the clear candidate. Yeah, I

25:20

used the quarterback in the defense, UM,

25:22

and I think that he kind of

25:24

deserves the shout out. Now if they

25:26

had it for a two games, it just makes you wonder, like

25:28

what kind of impact he would have had, and maybe it would have

25:30

tailed off, who knows. But you know, when he

25:32

was out there, I felt him the most, and

25:35

their lottery odds would have been as good. Yeah,

25:37

I would feel very ultimately and

25:41

not to be captain name drop here, but but Larry

25:43

actually said this to me direct.

25:45

He said, Kevin is the quarterback of

25:47

the offense and on the quarterback the defense. And

25:49

I really think that is is very

25:51

accurate. And this was very early in the year.

25:54

This was when we were getting him on the pod for the

25:56

preview, UM, and I

25:58

think that that very much still holds

26:00

true. You know that that's where the i Q

26:03

on the team resides on

26:05

either end of the ball. Now, Darius took

26:07

a leap in a major way to

26:09

being that QB of the offense, and I think at this

26:12

stage of the season, I would probably say

26:14

he probably is a QB in a lot

26:16

of ways. But I think the torch path that

26:18

that was what we do see Kevin and I.

26:20

But I do think we see Kevin kind of lift lifted

26:23

a little bit. I think he does.

26:25

I think that is just the value of having

26:27

that secondary playmaker um alongside

26:30

Garland. I think it adds another level

26:33

to the offense UM. But I do think

26:35

that there was a passing in the torch and and Darius

26:37

kind of took that. Now, the

26:39

next war is interesting. So I said

26:42

that we should come up with our best performance

26:44

in a supporting role. So to me means

26:47

this means that they were not the best player

26:49

in this individual game, but they were

26:51

a key part of this game. So I

26:53

never really set ground rules on how to interpret

26:56

this or how we were going to approach it. So I'm really curious

26:58

to see where you went with this. I'd

27:00

like you to make your pick first, so I can think

27:03

just a little bit longer. Okay, So I

27:06

have an award winner and I have three runner

27:08

ups. My award winner is

27:10

Larry Nance versus Memphis, where he

27:12

went seven and seven from the floor, eighteen

27:14

points, four assists, three steals, and

27:16

plus their team the game without sex

27:19

landing. It was one of the ugliest games of the year,

27:21

but it was such a fun win to get

27:24

and it was just it was in that stretch where

27:26

this team was getting absolutely wrecked by

27:28

injuries, that there's constant

27:30

turnover, and the fact that they were able to

27:32

put together such a great defensive performance,

27:35

one of his better performances overall, and

27:38

he was struggling with a shot a

27:40

little bit going into this game and had that seven

27:42

of seven performance, and it was just

27:44

so much fun because it was

27:46

a game that I think I saw the most kind

27:49

of appreciation for nance on the timeline

27:52

outside of cast Twitter, Like, I think that's

27:54

when some heads were turning about the difference

27:56

he was making with this team. Well,

27:59

uh, missing repreted your goal

28:01

for this award, so I was the thing as like

28:03

best role player. So I

28:06

still think that was kind of a role player performance.

28:08

But I do have some yes, But I

28:10

clearly I didn't pick out a bunch of box scores.

28:14

Uh, so you know, swinging a miss here

28:16

for our planning. Um. I

28:19

like it though, But

28:22

I actually did immediately find a game

28:24

that popped into mind as you started talking

28:26

while you were filling uh Dean Wade

28:29

sixteen points uh

28:31

and four Maye threes against the Toronto Raptors

28:33

in a game that was really really

28:35

important in March where

28:37

it was like the season hadn't quite slipped

28:39

away yet, and Dean just came out and

28:41

just started firing, and it was like, oh, this

28:44

is a guy who can actually start, you

28:46

know, scoring in volume for this team. He's not just

28:48

a not just a guy who we can fill

28:51

minutes with. And yeah, so that was

28:53

that was one of the That was a performance that immediately

28:55

popped into my head and I was like, I gotta go find that game

28:57

in his game log. Yeah. See, I thought

28:59

it would be fun to look back at some of

29:01

these performances and remember you

29:04

mention it, yeah in pre

29:07

pro that that was the idea. You

29:09

know what, it probably would have been a good idea, but you know

29:11

what, I'm I'm not the best leader. Yeah,

29:14

you know, you know, you

29:16

you have your days. You have your days where it's great,

29:18

and you have your days where it's not so great. But I

29:21

also like making you look bad. So that's that's

29:23

good. So just keep in mind that that's also going to be

29:25

the uh, the idea with the

29:27

best performance in an individual role. Um,

29:31

Yeah, that one's fairly easy. Some

29:34

honorable mentions I have for the supporting Role

29:36

Award Isaiah Hardenstein versus the Spurs.

29:39

Yeah, I was just I was just looking through

29:41

the Hardenstein game party against the Spurs

29:43

was awesome. Sixteen points, twelve boards,

29:45

three assists, played in a big role

29:48

in that win where obviously Garland was the

29:50

star in that performance with his career high.

29:53

The other one that jumped out to me was Lamar Stevens

29:55

against the Hawks. You only play next,

29:59

Yeah, you're on me, You're

30:02

welcome, You are absolutely welcome. Plus

30:05

twelve and fifteen minutes and a two point when

30:07

game winning dunks, eight points, two steals

30:09

to assists. Lamar Stevens was

30:12

another one of those, really kids, can I give

30:14

you one that was a real, real

30:16

joy in the moment that you

30:18

know now has been a little hampered by injury.

30:21

But Windler going five of five from

30:23

three against Atlanta, Oh man,

30:26

that felt so good in a one point win.

30:28

Two So those were all really really, really

30:30

important shots and

30:32

that was like, oh, that it's happening.

30:35

He's figuring it out. And then unfortunately started

30:38

something really hard, got hurt and about

30:40

for the season. But like, if there's been. If

30:42

there is a blueprint for Dylan Windler, it

30:45

is a three game stretch on the seven

30:48

February where he went, uh,

30:51

actually, I'm sorry, just the four. He

30:53

ended up going to a four misread points. He

30:55

went nine of nine over two straight games, um

30:58

from three and it was like, oh, here he is,

31:00

here's the here's the sharpshooter that we were

31:02

promised. Yeah. Man,

31:04

it was such a tough season for Windler. Um

31:06

not as tough as the year before, but not

31:09

not the best. It's super

31:12

super sandwich in the chat, A great

31:14

call for a guy who had a very rough season.

31:17

Uh. And and Jenny Osmond who

31:20

his twenty five points against the Nuts, it's

31:23

big and I think that was the first game

31:26

of the Big three era on the first half of that back

31:28

to back with them. But wow,

31:31

yeah, that was an awesome game. And that's like,

31:33

that's why you don't all the ways wanted right off, Jenny,

31:36

because they'll have games like that where you go, oh, man, everything's

31:38

looking really really good. Obviously

31:40

he had the season from hew um

31:43

all the percentages collapsed well

31:45

below his career lows. And I

31:47

really hope that I hope

31:49

that he proves to be one of those aberrations

31:53

of a weird year where

31:55

he had a little too much put on him and then you

31:57

know, the play style got messy and

31:59

just everything kind of unraveled for

32:01

him. Um. But he

32:03

did have some legitimate moments, especially

32:06

earlier in the season when they were down

32:08

all their guards and Jetty was

32:10

the only one who could even dribble the ball. Um.

32:13

But yeah, that was a great, great moment against the nest.

32:15

I love that that call it from Super Sandwich.

32:17

Yeah, Jedty had some good games, like even that

32:19

Memphis one that I talked about, like that was a good

32:21

performance from him without guards,

32:24

Like it really does seem when you look at

32:26

this year, he was at his best when he had the ball

32:28

in his hands, which, yeah, that that's

32:30

the way to optimize Jetty, but it's

32:32

probably not the best way to optimize a team

32:34

unless he's doing that with the second unit because

32:38

role players typically don't get to handle the ball

32:40

that much, and he's going to have to find a way to find

32:42

that balance. But I agree with you.

32:44

I don't know if he's going to be back next year,

32:47

but wherever he is, I wouldn't be surprised

32:49

if Jedty had to bounce back year and

32:51

Windler, I just want to touch on him just for a second

32:53

as we're reminiscing about this season. It

32:56

really is tough because I felt like in

32:58

February and even in January, where um,

33:01

he was doing some nice things on the floor, Like

33:03

I think we were happy with him. He was shooting the ball

33:05

pretty well. March he got banged

33:07

up and was kind of playing through an injury and things fell

33:09

apart. Durability is going to be the

33:11

biggest thing with him, Um, But I do

33:14

think that we saw glimpses of him being a good role

33:16

player. Now you're you're looking back. We

33:18

mentioned redraft before. I think it's pretty

33:21

safe to say almost everybody would rather

33:23

have Kilton Johnson at this point. Um.

33:25

But you know what, while I'm not banking on

33:27

Windler being part of the rotation moving forward,

33:29

it wouldn't surprise me. Like I saw enough

33:32

basketball i Q and kind of little things. I

33:34

think the shooting is good. It's just

33:36

going to be whether or not he can get healthy and stay

33:38

healthy, Like that's the biggest question. I totally

33:40

agree, And you know, ultimately the jumper's

33:43

got if it's gonna work for him, the jumper is gonna

33:45

have to be good. Um, you know, everything

33:48

else is nice, but like you want

33:50

the defensive i Q, the playmaking,

33:53

the smart cuts to be the cherry on top,

33:55

not the not the main Uh,

33:58

not the main dish.

34:00

And uh, the shooting wasn't there

34:03

enough this season. And yeah, and

34:05

and and obviously the health wasn't there.

34:07

So I'm rooting for him. I'm

34:10

really hoping he can get healthy, get right, get that

34:12

jumper going, because the pieces

34:14

are there for him to be a productive shooter, but the

34:16

numbers just didn't fit the bill. Yeah,

34:19

and this is one of those guys that might

34:22

be in a bit of a roster squeeze. Like I

34:24

think if they're drafting another forward

34:26

or a guy that's going to play on the wing next

34:28

season, it's gonna get tricky for him because

34:30

by the way that that's happened to the Calves before.

34:33

Hi Joe Harris, So

34:36

like it sometimes guys get squeezed

34:39

out, even on teams that aren't great, and

34:41

then find their place elsewhere. Hi Danny

34:43

Green, And like it's just

34:46

it's just it happens. You know,

34:48

it's not working for them there they find

34:50

a new look. Remember Joe Harris was out

34:52

of the league. Yeah, Danny

34:55

Green is another one where Danny Green was cut

34:57

by the Spurs after he was cut by the Calves.

34:59

Yeah, at him back up. And I

35:02

remember, Um, I remember

35:04

I used to work with a guy that is I

35:06

used to work with a guy named Tim Doyle at my

35:08

old network and he was a former Northwestern

35:11

player and he played in there like

35:12

a like a charity run with with

35:15

with Joe Harris after

35:18

he had gotten hurt in Orlando, and I was like, oh

35:20

man, it's really not gonna work out for him,

35:22

is it? It worked out pretty well for him,

35:24

so you know, like I, it

35:27

just you never know. Um, sometimes

35:29

guys gotta move. So even if he does

35:31

get squeezed out, I don't think that means his career is done,

35:33

nor what I think it means the Calves are like terrible

35:35

for not making it work. Sometimes life

35:38

just lines up wrong in certain spots.

35:40

I look at poor Gordon Hayward in Boston,

35:43

you know, like something like him

35:45

being really good in Charlotte this year has

35:48

nothing to do with how he did in Boston,

35:50

And you know, it's circumstances the line in

35:52

a certain way. But I am very much rooting

35:54

for him to figure out in Cleveland because they really need

35:56

that kind of archetype of player. There's a reason

35:58

our dear friends that were at Lockdown Cabs wanna throw

36:01

throw the bag at Duncan Robinson. I

36:04

know I hate it, but the point is I'd

36:06

rather I actually have a take there. I'd rather

36:08

pay mcbuckets. I'd rather pay McDermott

36:10

because I think bang for buck you could probably

36:13

get in for like the mL LE versus Like, I

36:16

completely agree, but let's not tander two. Hard

36:18

point is Windler is who they want

36:20

that kind of guy to be. So I'm very

36:22

much rooting for it, and we'll see what happens. Yeah,

36:25

and you look at it like he was healthy

36:27

in college. Um, he's someone that fit

36:29

the archetype of the player that you want

36:32

to have. And one of my takes

36:34

has always been late in the first round

36:36

or in the second round. I like taking four your

36:38

guys out of college that you feel can be a good

36:40

rotation player because you're going to get really good value.

36:43

Like the bang for buck if they hit

36:45

and they are able to contribute in a rotation

36:48

is just so high that I think that it's

36:50

a good way to go rather than taking

36:52

massive swings at guys that are just ridiculously

36:54

raw. Um, but we gotta keep things

36:57

moving. Here. For the best performance

36:59

by an in a visual this season, Carter,

37:02

there's a pretty obvious one here, right Ah,

37:05

Yeah, it would be con sex and against the Nets

37:07

forty two points in and overtime win,

37:10

scoring the last twenty points for the Cleveland

37:12

Cavaliers. Luckily, this one did not

37:14

require you to communicate much with me, because

37:16

I knew it right away. I mean,

37:19

there's no other choice, correct. Part

37:21

of me almost wanted to go, want to give him

37:23

against the Spurs. I

37:26

almost wanted to do that. And then I did some

37:28

soul searching, and I was sitting there and I was like, is

37:30

this because it proved me right in

37:32

some ways that more people swung

37:35

to that direction. Am I that

37:37

self involved that I'm going to let

37:39

my bias get in the way of just objective

37:42

analysis? And then the answer was yes,

37:44

Yes, I was absolutely about to do that, but there

37:46

are a maniac. Then I went the other direction

37:48

because Coln sex In doing that against

37:50

the Nets was so huge. Obviously,

37:53

the national spotlight was there the

37:55

first game for the Big Three in Brooklyn,

37:58

hitting the shot over Kyrie, the

38:00

shadow Kyrie, and then the show Man.

38:03

It was such a fun game and also

38:05

just how much emotions had swung

38:08

that week is something that I thought about as

38:10

well, because you started things off with the Jared

38:12

Allen trade. Uh. Within

38:14

seven days of there, then you have the Kevin Porter

38:16

Junior locker room situation. Uh

38:18

it was clear. I can't remember if they had traded

38:21

him yet at that point, but

38:23

that reporting was out there at the time, and

38:26

for sex and go out there and do that was just

38:28

okay, you know what things might be

38:30

all right? You know, we

38:32

we have this guy that that is performing

38:34

at an all star level this year. Uh,

38:37

that is stepping up against some of the biggest

38:39

stars. Uh. That that was just such a great forgot

38:41

about it. We're playing the highlights

38:44

on if you're watching live on YouTube. I forgot about

38:46

the tip end on the airball. He was so

38:48

special down the stretch like that. That's

38:50

the thing that really stands out is the number

38:52

of clutch plays in the ways that he really elevated

38:55

his game. I remember Isaaca

38:57

Cora was phenomenal in that game as well.

38:59

Like you you've got some really good rock ball over

39:02

hardened like White Unrise man nance

39:04

was great. Uh, Jared Allen

39:06

was really good in the minutes that he had in that

39:08

game as well. Off the bench, like shot

39:11

on Kyrie was so amazing.

39:13

I couldn't and it was like I knew it was cash too,

39:16

which is weird because he's not a great pull up

39:18

shooter, at least

39:20

an organic one with dudes all over him,

39:22

and man, he was just so

39:25

insane game that

39:29

that's a game we're always going to look back fondly like that.

39:32

That's one of those games. It reminds me of like

39:34

Kyrie against the Thunder way back, like those

39:36

ones that really stood out. God, I remember

39:39

that Kyrie thunder game so clear. I remember you

39:41

had an absurd finish over Ibaka Like

39:45

it's special stuff, man, Like it's really special

39:47

stuff, like and you know, maybe that maybe this rebuild

39:49

isn't going anywhere, and you know, the

39:51

the unhappy folks

39:53

that don't like the direction of the team, maybe

39:55

that right, who knows. You know, this

39:57

stuff is hard, but like you

40:00

watched, you watch games like this and you go like, garbage

40:03

teams don't get this kind of fun stuff, you know,

40:05

not, absolutely, there are so many

40:08

more. Even if the season ended up worse,

40:10

you know, win loss wise from

40:13

last season or close, Like

40:15

the highs of this season were just so

40:17

much higher. It really was,

40:20

and it gives me. It gives

40:22

me that glimpse of hope because I really do think

40:24

like if this team was more healthy,

40:27

they would have been in that mix for the plan. And

40:29

we've talked about how teams needed lucky

40:31

breaks, uh in team building, and

40:33

usually when those lucky breaks happen, it's

40:36

something that's apparent in the hindsight but maybe

40:38

not a parent in real time. Like

40:41

when Steph got hurt and then he signed that

40:43

value contract, you would think,

40:45

Okay, this guy that you're banking

40:47

on with a high lottery pick, he

40:50

might not pan out. Monte All's

40:52

versus Staff Golden State tried

40:55

training Stephan Clay for Chris

40:57

Paul, Like there were so many things at

40:59

the time that weren't working out for them and then it

41:01

ended up handing out. I really do think if they

41:03

get some lottery lock, if they're healthy, if they retool

41:05

the roster um, things could

41:07

be turning around in a very

41:10

very short period of time. And

41:12

its performances like this that they give me hope,

41:14

Like we've really kind of gone into

41:17

the minutia when it comes to Sexton. I was trying

41:19

to value him, what do you pay him? Like all

41:21

those conversations, And when you're

41:23

doing that, it's easy to get away from the

41:25

emotion of basketball and and forget

41:28

about kind of what he brings from an entertainment

41:30

value. So I think that it's valuable

41:32

to look back at moments like that and

41:35

remember just how much fun it was in real time.

41:38

Yeah, it was. It was a great, great moment,

41:41

And it was the first time abs

41:44

since decision to point out that I felt

41:46

like the people were excited about the calves,

41:49

you know what I mean? Um, And then

41:51

like, that's just funny. You kind of forget, like

41:54

you you forget how

41:56

fun it is to have people like ask you like,

41:58

oh, what's happening over there? You know

42:00

what I mean? Uh, like and kind

42:03

of chatting with friends or even even

42:05

coworkers things like that, and outside

42:07

of the NBA Twitter sphere, you know that the

42:10

cat is being nationally nationally

42:12

relevant for the right reasons is very, very

42:14

fun And I can't wait for it to be the case against

42:17

soon me too. And I've seen a

42:19

few people talk about oh or they're

42:21

gonna do um panic shortcut

42:23

moves, and I really want to hear

42:26

that quantified of what a shortcut move is.

42:28

Like, is trading for Jared Allen a

42:30

shortcut move? No? No,

42:33

that fits the core. Like I think if you're adding

42:35

any talent like twenty five or younger, uh,

42:38

that's not a shortcut. That is guys that can

42:40

help contribute now. And I

42:42

really think, like you're you're going to be adding a top

42:45

ten pick this year, You're already

42:47

got guys that you're really invested in that you believe

42:49

can be something. This has

42:51

to start turning around, Like there has to be a sense of urgency

42:54

that these guys need to start playing winning basketball

42:56

because you see, like the growth becomes

42:58

exponential once they're in those situations.

43:01

And I do think that they're Yeah,

43:04

Like I really do think that they're on the verge

43:06

of it. So I'm I'm hopeful going

43:08

into this off season, but I'm also nervous as hell because

43:10

I know how important it's going to be. Carter

43:14

the one award left m v P.

43:16

Who do you got for

43:19

the m v P of the NBA

43:23

season? M Colin

43:26

Sexton, Man, Yeah,

43:28

I think that his I think

43:31

it's weird where Darius very

43:34

clearly established himself as the future

43:36

of the team. But the consistency

43:39

that Colin brings to me, like

43:43

like if I just like on a night tonight basis is

43:45

like who can I count on? I always

43:47

can count on Colin for pretty much

43:49

the same performance every night. Um,

43:52

and I I wouldn't if your pick

43:54

was Garland. I'm not going to disagree with you at all, but

43:57

like, to me, it was just like this is the

43:59

guy that like was just

44:01

he was more available in my

44:03

opinion, uh, and more consistent

44:06

throughout the full year. I want to give him credit

44:09

for, as you mentioned, his first year where he actually

44:12

didn't have that terrible start of the year, where

44:14

he was efficient from the beginning, and

44:16

how he figured out how to stay efficient even when the jumper

44:19

left him mid season. I think

44:21

it was just a very very exciting year. If you're a Colin

44:23

Sexton fan, and I

44:25

think it's a weird spot

44:27

where you probably don't want him to be your m v

44:29

P. You want Darius to play

44:32

so well every game that

44:34

he just becomes that guy. But I

44:36

think you know, between injury concerns and

44:38

you know, I think Darius got better throughout the

44:41

year. I don't think Darius started

44:43

the year nearly as good as he ended it and

44:45

to that and if if we're evaluating the full year, it's

44:47

context and for me, but I'm curious what you think. Yeah,

44:50

I think the most impactful player was

44:52

Larry Nts, Like if he played more

44:55

man, I give the award to him about

44:58

he didn't, so you kind of have to old

45:00

with that reality. I think your points

45:02

about sex and are really good. I I do think

45:04

that the reliability that he

45:07

brought to the table was great,

45:09

Like he was consistently there. He knew

45:11

what you were getting from him on a night tonight basis.

45:14

It's them making everyone else around him better

45:17

that makes me go Garland because

45:20

he was at a different level this season,

45:22

like that, the playmaking was really really good.

45:24

Um, he missed a lot of those opportunities,

45:27

Like there was creation

45:29

that wasn't being reflected in the box score early

45:32

in the year, especially especially

45:34

when he was passing to Andre Drummond.

45:36

Did you see my sat that I tweeted out because I

45:38

I tweeted that I felt like Drummond had

45:41

cost Garland three assists a game. Did

45:43

did you see that tweet? No, okay,

45:47

So I I then looked at it on

45:49

kind of what the stats were. How many assists

45:51

Garland average per hundred possessions with Drummond

45:54

on the floor versus Alan it was two

45:56

point one more with Alan it was nine

45:58

point one assists

46:00

or at nine point six assists per hundred

46:03

possessions with Alt on the floor. Um,

46:05

Like, just looking at the impact stats, like you

46:08

look across the board, no matter

46:10

what it is, some of them I don't value as much.

46:12

Like what puts out, I don't

46:14

necessarily value it, but when it

46:16

tells me one thing, when on off numbers

46:19

tell me one thing, when my eye test tells me something

46:21

else, Like, I just value the ability to make

46:23

everybody else better, And

46:25

it just to me as much as

46:28

I think Sexton is the more reliable score,

46:30

he's the more reliable guy when

46:33

you need to get those points, when you know

46:35

what you're getting on at night to night basis, Garland

46:38

just was such a connecting piece and he made

46:40

everybody else better that to

46:42

me, he was my pick. Now this is

46:44

obviously um marinated

46:47

in my bias, in me being

46:49

such a big Garland believer and him

46:51

kind of living up to the expectations that I

46:53

set for this season. Um,

46:55

but that that's kind of my rationale. But I

46:57

would not fault anybody if they said Sexton. I

47:00

know I'm gonna get some pushback on Twitter. I

47:02

don't think you will. I don't think you will. I think

47:04

I think Cavs fans are much more enamored

47:06

with Garland than they are with Sexton at this stage.

47:09

And you know, my guy here, I'm gonna mention

47:11

something. Oh yeah, blessop

47:15

hire him where we're having I hear from you whenever.

47:17

But yeah, I mean Garland. I think the Spurs game

47:19

really was in a lot of ways. The

47:22

culmination, you know, it was exactly what

47:24

we wanted to see from him, all

47:26

into all in one tidy package. The fact

47:28

that the playmaking doesn't get worse when the

47:30

scoring goes up, the fact that the

47:33

three point volume has guys scrambling

47:35

and diving at him to try to get him to

47:37

run him off the line. It was exactly

47:39

what you want to see, is exactly

47:42

I feel like it was a good microcosm for the second

47:44

half of his year before he got hurt. And

47:48

I'm very, very excited to see what he's going

47:50

to bring to this team next

47:52

year, because I think next year should

47:54

be I'm hopeful at

47:56

least that next year is the star turn you

47:58

know, are everyone

48:01

else realizes that this is, you know, a top

48:03

guard in the league as opposed to

48:05

a promising guard in the league. Yeah,

48:08

you look at April fifteen games

48:10

of twenty one and a half points, seven

48:13

point three assists and a true

48:15

shooting percentage of almost fifty nine, Like

48:18

that is really legitimate. And that

48:20

was in some of the most important games of

48:22

the season. Now they didn't win them all in Um,

48:25

he kind of had a couple of moments where,

48:27

uh, he had turnovers leading games and stuff

48:30

like that. He was exceptional in those moments

48:32

earlier in the season. And I think the clutch

48:34

numbers for him. Um, someone had tweeted

48:36

out basically the the field goal

48:39

percentage in the last four seconds of the shot

48:41

clock kind of thing, and he was at the top,

48:43

Like he is one of the best finishers in that

48:45

situation. His handles able to create space.

48:48

Um, and he's just understanding the

48:50

game at a higher and higher level. And

48:53

if that becomes what he does

48:55

next season, like we talked about it with sex

48:57

and last year, Like I believe it was like twenty

49:00

games after the Clarkson trade that he's putting up

49:02

those stats. Well, if those

49:04

fifteen games from Garland when he's basically

49:06

twenty one and seven, maybe twenty

49:08

one and eight, if that's who he is

49:10

as a baseline next season and he's building off

49:13

of that. Was about to say, if you're Darius, that's when your

49:15

stand bud, like, that's what we're expecting

49:17

from you next season. And if that is

49:19

what we're gonna get, then I think this team is gonna win a lot

49:21

more games. Yeah, and if they're competitive,

49:24

if they're in the top eight, when

49:26

All Star comes around and people are

49:28

looking at those stats of who, okay, who's

49:30

the most impactful guy on the Calves, we should

49:32

probably give them a guy because it's their hometown team.

49:35

I'm just saying it could be Garland. There's

49:37

a really good chance. It could absolutely be sex

49:40

Like if he was more likely, oh

49:43

Man Sexton.

49:46

I want to say I think it's Garland because I think Garland

49:48

will deserve it more, but I think Sexton is more likely.

49:51

If that makes sense. I

49:53

think actually, I don't know coaches. Coaches

49:55

pick that it's gonna be a reserve coaches are gonna

49:57

pick, it's gonna be Garland if if it's either

50:00

here's a take, I think it's more likely

50:02

to be Sexton if they fall in the lottery.

50:04

I think if they draft

50:06

higher in the lottery and it's someone like a Jalen

50:09

Green or a kid, I think Garland.

50:12

There's going to be a redistribution of who

50:14

touches the ball. And I still think Garland is going to be the primary

50:16

initiator. I just I just think it's

50:18

going to take some volume away from Sexton. Now

50:20

he might make up his Scottie Barnes, Sexton

50:23

is going to score just as much he always has, exactly.

50:25

And at that point, if he takes another

50:28

step up, like let's say it's twenty six twenty

50:30

seven points per game and he's still bringing these four

50:32

and a half assists, yeah, it's

50:34

going to be pretty tough for sex and not to get

50:36

in. But well we'll see. I mean that

50:38

is putting the cart way ahead of the horse.

50:41

But it's exciting to think some games boys

50:43

come on absolutely, and the key

50:45

is they need to win games before any recognition

50:48

is going to come. I'm not going to get upset

50:50

about where people rank the young corn

50:52

and whatnot, because they need to proof things

50:55

and that's not gonna happen

50:57

until they start winning some games. Anything

50:59

else you want to stay before we wrap this thing up, Carter,

51:01

Uh, it was a hard year. Uh, it was

51:04

a hard year for everyone. Um.

51:06

But as I said, uh, and

51:08

you know, I think if you just look at the numbers, you might be worried

51:11

that the Calves are not on the way up.

51:13

But again, I can't help but feel

51:16

more optimistic than I did at the end of the last season.

51:19

And I think it's because of the moments like the

51:21

Spurs game, like the Nets games,

51:24

that these big, you know, loud

51:27

statement moments for the for the

51:29

young players on this team. And

51:32

I'm very, very excited for next season.

51:35

I am too. I mean, look at last year, like

51:37

we're feeling good about Sex and you're

51:39

end stretch, but you had one half of the season

51:42

where he was not very good, where he had

51:44

taken a step back, and then he was great. Um.

51:46

You look at it now. Now you're feeling confident about

51:49

Garland, You're feeling confident about Sex and Jared

51:51

Alan, you feel great about Isaaca Coral

51:53

really stepped up, Like you've really gone

51:55

from one guy that you feel pretty good about but

51:58

was still divisive to a

52:00

core. For that, people around the league

52:02

actually credit like they they think

52:04

that it's good and there's the opportunity to add

52:06

to it in this draft. So this is

52:08

probably the most important offseason we have had

52:11

in a very very very very

52:13

long time. I'm really excited for it. Yeah,

52:17

I think I think the work knows it too, and

52:20

uh, you know, so it's gonna be a lot of fun to

52:22

kind of see how this, how this plays out

52:24

and ultimately crashed

52:27

fingers some lot for some lot of luck in because

52:30

it matters more than you wish it would. Yep,

52:32

And we will be podcasting Tuesday

52:35

at seven pm Eastern. We'll

52:37

be going live again on YouTube at that point. The

52:40

coin flip for the tiebreaker

52:42

between the Oklahoma City Thunder will have occurred.

52:44

Doesn't actually doesn't actually matter

52:46

much. It doesn't matter tons,

52:49

but it's still interesting, so we'll at least have

52:51

that information. I'm really excited for Tuesday's pod.

52:53

We've got a really special guest for that one, So keep

52:55

your guys eyes peeled for that because

52:58

we are doing a bit of a season wrap up. I think it's

53:00

only appropriate that we get some thank you's in here.

53:02

Um, obviously, massive thank you

53:04

to all our listeners. You guys, your support has been amazing,

53:07

the way that you've shared our contact

53:09

and content, interacted with us,

53:11

all that has meant a lot. Massive thanks

53:14

to the Cows organ as well, like the fact that we've

53:16

been doing this for a few months and they've

53:18

really empowered us, like they've given us the

53:20

freedom to continue to get our takes

53:22

off and really like just

53:25

the trust in us to do what

53:27

we do, like we we had

53:30

I forget who it was in our discord, but they mentioned

53:32

that they were a little nervous that the podcast was going

53:34

to change with this changeover, and the fact that

53:36

we've been able to continue to do the same show,

53:39

um, is just it's so rewarding,

53:41

like that's that's what was promised. But the fact

53:43

that they've delivered on that has been really really great.

53:46

Yeah, I mean no notes really uh

53:49

you know, and I just

53:51

added an enthusiasm with that yawn. Well

53:53

I'm sleepy man. It's been a long couple of weeks

53:56

for your boy, um, but yeah,

53:58

I mean not a ton of the team has been very

54:00

very hands off with us, especially editorially.

54:03

I mean, all the hands on is really just help you

54:05

know, getting us uh, you

54:08

know, the kind of support we need to help promote

54:10

the pods. So uh,

54:12

I think I think people would be forgiven

54:14

for expecting a lot of hands on. Honestly,

54:17

I was expecting it. And that

54:19

will be just even even

54:21

with them coming in with the best of intentions of not overly

54:25

managing us. Corporations are not

54:27

built to let two idiots ramble

54:29

about them on public forums, on

54:31

their own public forums for two

54:33

hours a week. And the fact that they've

54:36

been uh, they've let us kind of cook

54:38

is really awesome. And I really appreciate the entire

54:40

leadership team and there at the Calves,

54:43

absolutely really appreciate them at

54:45

the Caves. We're part of the team.

54:48

We can let's see where we

54:50

land in the draft lottery. Let's let's

54:52

get Thank you so much to all

54:54

our listeners, you guys really are amazing. If you're watching

54:57

on YouTube, like can subscribe because it's the best

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55:17

Make sure you guys are staying safe out there, and until

55:19

next time, okay,