The Minnesota Timberwolves keep passing all the tests

The Timberwolves, currently at 20-5, are confident they are on the right track. Can Tyler Herro take the Heat to the next level, or will he continue to be himself? Recently, the Clippers had a cook-off in Indiana, with Kawhi Leonard scoring 28 points on 67% field goals in just 26 minutes, Paul George scoring 27 points on 43% field goals in 31 minutes, and James Harden had an impressive 35 points on 75% field goals in just 28 minutes.

0:00 Intro
2:13 Minnesota Timberwolves deep dive
31:41 Clippers-Pacers notes
40:00 Kawhi on a heater
44:09 Phoenix Suns update
46:30 Cavs-Rockets
47:54 Keegan Murray’s 47pts
50:16 Return of Ja Morant vs NOP
52:47 Wemby vs Giannis

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[Applause] What is up everybody and welcome into the all NBA show part of the All City Podcast Network I’m your host Adam mes and I am once again reunited and rejoined by the star of today’s show and every episode Tim legler legs it is great to see you back good to be be back

Good to be back refreshed had a little little little vacate time uh snuck a Quick Trip in before things get nutty so yeah but of course you know me always got one eye on the games even when I’m not working so I imagine you were watching a fair amount of basketball

There was some good stuff over the weekend and we’re going to end the show by talking about some of the stuff legs missed because there’s big stories including Bradley Beal going back out of the lineup so the sun’s big three once again on hold John Moran returning to

The lineup tonight that’s a pretty major story but we’re going to begin by talking about the Timberwolves who to me are officially a legitimate title Contender we’re also going to talk about the Clippers who at least have looked like that over the last 10 games and we’ll talk about how they got their

Groove back but first we are presented by DraftKings fantasy sports check out what DraftKings has to offer this season with code all MBA because life’s more fun when you’re in on the action DraftKings the crown is yours if you have a gambling problem call 1- 1800 Gambler agent eligibility restrictions

Apply avoid where prohibited see draftkings.com for details last night legler the Timberwolves had what might be I mean they’ve had some impressive wins this year last night might have been the most impressive or at least as impressive as anyone that they’ve had as they come back from 17 down on the road

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves and closed that game out with a phenomenal second half defensively and offensively what stood out to you about this game we start with the game what stood out about the game I think the thing that stood out to me the most uh how impressed I

Was with the Timberwolves digging deep you know in a regular season game in mid December against a very good team on the road you fall down 17 in the third quarter and you know look it’s it’s a long year man it’s 82 games some nights it’s hard to find that resolve like how

Bad do does this one individual game mean to you and I just felt like defensively and you know I’ve been saying more and more you don’t see a whole lot of defenses that actually really are affecting teams to a certain extent I think Minnesota is definitely an exception of that and their second

Half defensively the way that they turned it up and it was across the board it wasn’t like a couple of guys right it wasn’t like Jay McDaniels picking guys up 94 feet or or goar single-handedly like not let anything near the rim no it was everybody was Anthony Edwards like

Picking guys up right when they cross the half court line and harassing them off the handle Carl Anthony towns is scrambling all over the place I just thought their resolve to win a game super impressive and excuse me against a really good team in their building so you know they’ve had like

You said a lot of quality wins a lot of Marquee wins I don’t know you can look up and down their their schedule this year and find a better one than this because of who they were playing how well Miami was playing it’s not like you know this was because couldn’t buy a

Shot the heat were playing great and a lot of nights man it’s just hard to dig yourself out of a 17o point deficit when a good team is playing well but here they were and it didn’t really trigger with their defense and then if you look

At the last five minutes of the game you know there were so many big plays made offensively and it was everyone everybody was making shots and I just was so impressed but by honestly this that felt first of all like a playoff game the intensity of the game the way

The crowd the lower bowl in Miami they were on their feet for large portions of that game it had a different feel than a regular season game and and for Minnesota to climb all the way back and then hold them off in the last minute very impressive when you’re talking

About the personality of the game you know with the intensity that both teams were playing with goar blocked uh bamat bio shot really hard in the fourth quarter in the late minutes and he altered another one you know for him to go to a tough one bam hit a a pair of

Shots after that after getting blocked and a lot of guys when you get blocked like that you get a little intimidated or you think okay maybe that wasn’t the right play but Miami kept attacking and that’s why this game was great is not only did Minnesota not give up down 17

They stormed back but then Minnesota didn’t give back give up either or fold they just they stayed confident and they kept attacking but I liked your note about the personality of this Timberwolves team because one there’s an excitement when this your first year being you know number one you know this

Deep into the season and they play like a team like there are teams that can get bored I think Denver a little bit this year they’ve been there before a little bored in the regular season are we given everything for 48 minutes no Minnesota has that newness of a team that is

Trying to break out and trying to be in and that’s why like they fall down 17 and they don’t just say okay it’s Monday night they say hey let’s keep seeing let’s push let’s push ourselves Everything feels fresh and it is the defense they have so many good defensive

Players on that team and so many different guys that made an impact and when they got their momentum going it just felt like every time the Miami scored in the second half was a miracle because of how hard and how intense they were guarding the perimeter guarding the interior rebounding

Everything yeah and I think for for me like I just look at some of the big plays made down the stretch too um and it was it was interesting because they did it with different looks one was they overwhelmed them with size and and and one of the biggest plays of the game

One-point game little over minutes ago Anthony Edwards misses a three and Carl Anthony towns just won’t be denied goes in grabs the offensive rebound and then throws a lob to go bear for a dunk so and it it just the heat looked so small in that moment with these two giant guys

Like kind of playing you know volleyball on the glass and ending with a dunk for goar to put them up three with a little under a minute to go uh so I just felt like they imposed themselves physically on this team and I think it’s I think the barometer for them is Anthony

Edwards because I kind of know now like what Jay mcdel looks like defensively uh nikel Alexander Walker what he looks like what goar looks like obviously throughout his career Mike Conley conscientious Defender right just Scrappy he’s gonna fight over picks Anthony Edwards is a star scorer in this

League right star scorers a lot of times they don’t have that attached to them that they that they just you know they can roll their sleeves up put a hard hat on and get in the mud when they have to and I feel like when he ramps it up and

You pair him next to McDaniels and Walker and they’re all on the court together there’s not that one weak link where like two guys are pressuring the ball and then the first pass is made easily to the wing because that Defender is eight feet off so it’s like what’s

The point of pressuring the ball to that extent if you’re going to allow the first pass on the wing to be caught that easily right that that’s what I’m talking about and when Anthony Edwards ramps it up aach and he definitely wants to a lot of the game because he’s got

That manic look in his eyes like how competitive is that’s when I notice a difference in their team and that’s when they become one of the outliers for me in terms of teams not affecting teams defensively they absolutely affect you and they do it most of the time and when

He’s really dialed in and engaged with everything else they have going around them that’s when they look like a team and you and I were talking right before we came on you’re starting to buy in that this is much more than a really good start to a season this looks like a

Team that has a shot I mean a real shot in the west I mean I’m I’m over the hump and last night’s game might be the one where I go from you know they’re a good story or they’re this or that I honestly think that they belong in the top tier of

Title contenders you know the question and we’ll get to this in a second the question is they don’t have the experience and how hard is it to go from just a team talented enough to now you have to get the experience but I just

Look at them and I go when we talk about great defenses the Houston Rockets affect teams on the defensive end but not to the degree and not as frequently as Minnesota Minnesota brings their defense on the road you know they kind of do it against everyone the Boston Celtics affect teams defensively but

Again not every single night not with the consistency the Orlando Magic are the other team that I think pretty consistently affects teams defensively but not to the degree of Minnesota Minnesota has this almost intimidating level of defense and you again Miami is a team that doesn’t get intimidated but

They still were able to shut them down the story the other story so moving on from the defensive aspect of this the other story was Miami made their run in large part because they went to a Zone and when you talk about the matchup becomes all right if you have size can

You use your size to to your advantage and I thought when they fell behind a lot of that was because of the Miami Heat Zone and because M the Minnesota Timberwolves couldn’t seem to figure figure out how to get dribble penetration or use their size to an advantage they weren’t getting rebounds

They weren’t getting into the paint and that’s how they fell back you know how did they break out of that and what did you see in the second half that allowed them because it was the second half where the size really started to become an advantage yeah you know and I think you

Know there look there are certain areas of floor you got to occupy when you’re attacking the zone and I don’t think they did a very good job of that um very few teams are going to play zone if any Actually I don’t even know the data is

Not in front of me does any team play zone more than Miami I don’t think so they they play it they they’re very effective at it they mix it up frequently throughout the game like some teams will go to a zone at some point in the game for a handful of possessions to

Mix it up invariably the Zone’s terrible because they don’t practice it and so they get out of it right they’ll give up a couple Corner threes or a guy flashes middle and gets something easy and it’s like okay let’s get out of this it’s like a coach doesn’t own a whim because

They don’t really practice it very much Miami practices it it’s a part of the who they are defensively they’re going to force you at times in the game to operate against it and if you don’t have the right Personnel in or you’re not occupying the proper Spots You’re not

Getting great looks and that’s what I thought was happening to them throughout the game but then I think what triggered it for for me was was their defense defensive pressure was allowing them to get up the floor a little faster because they were taking off the glass or they

Were forcing a turnover they were getting up the floor faster and a lot of times Miami will go Zone on a make and they’ll go manto man on a Miss because it’s easier to just run back with the guy near you right so I think

They were able to get into it on fewer possessions and it allowed Minnesota to find a little bit of a rhythm you know those other teams you mentioned that can be impactful or at times really you know determine the game defensively but we say you know not as often as Minnesota

Part of the reason I think is because Minnesota is not a super high-powered offensive team okay some of the teams you mentioned like Boston you know get to 130 is not much for them like they’ll do that all the time so they fall into a trap sometimes of these

Shootouts with the’re trading baskets or they trading threes because they have so much Firepower Minnesota they’re 10th in the Western Conference and scoring right and they’re and they’re the number one team in the west record-wise so they’re doing it a different way right it it’s it’s different than how a lot of these

Other teams Milwaukee’s another team they could put drop 140 on you at so at any point so I think the concentration level is greater for Minnesota because they’re not going to get to those numbers that are just on a given night they’re just going to outshoot you it

It’s G to be done a different way and that’s why I’m starting to buy into like what this would look like in a seven game series even if you put them up against a team like Denver man that would be a fascinating series to watch that kind of size going up against joic

Um and the defensive you know pressure McDaniel like chasing Jamal Murray all over the place like that that would be a fascinating series for me to watch and I didn’t I didn’t necessarily believe Minnesota was a fascinating team at the start of the year they’re starting to to

To be that for me like I really enjoy watching them and again I I’ve said this a couple times but Denver a lot of Denver players when asked about their Championship run you know what was the toughest part they’ve almost all said Minnesota like that series was the one

That made them the most uncomfortable and that’s the first thing that kind of perked you know my ears up thinking like okay is this team actually on the rise and of course this year it’s all coming to fruition but you mentioned Jaden McDaniels first of all I gotta if we’re

Picking nits from this game McDaniel’s one Achilles heel is that he fouls too much and in this game in the fourth quarter before the game was over you know when it was still in doubt McDaniels gets an off ball rebounding foul to give his six foul and come out

Of the game and I just thought that one I go you’re getting to be too old for this you know like an off ball foul that doesn’t even affect the play and that takes you out of the game and now there’s two minutes and they’re going to

Have to close without you that’s one one I look at at that said and say you can’t have to win a championship you got to those types of mistakes you can’t shoot yourself in the foot but legs and I texted you this earlier it’s not just McDaniels who’s incredible on the

Perimeter defensively incredible in pick and roll nikil Alexander Walker last week was my most interesting player and I have that a a crazy stat here of the 65 defensive P&R Duos who have gone through at least 100 plus pick and rolls here is the list of top five Duos to

Defending direct pick and rolls number one is nil Alexander Walker and Carl Anthony towns number two is torian Prince and Anthony Davis okay ad makes sense Max stru and Jared Allen an interesting one number four is nil Alexander Walker and goar and then number five is Wiggins and Looney he

Shows up twice twice nil Alexander Walker in the top five of guarding pick and roles he’s skinny he plays incredibly hard he’s long he’s almost impossible to screen because of how skinny he can get through the screen and I I thought that was a big factor in

Last night’s game too the fact that they have McDaniels and nikil Alexander Walker Good Luck running a pick and roll against the Timberwolves and the thing that all of those uh tandems have in common the reason that that happens is because the the guard in that tandem is

Determined to get his top leg over the screen yeah that’s what it comes down to right because look at you know you wouldn’t think necessarily the Carl Anthony towns would be in a tan that does that right I don’t think Carl anthy towns is an elite level like perimeter

Defender for a big guy right he his feet are a little bit heavy at times and you could turn the corner on him you can’t turn the corner on him as easily if that guard is getting that top leg over the screen and he’s and he’s on your on the

Ball Handler’s hip and and determined to do it over and over all of those guys that you mentioned do it tan Prince does a great job of that Max stru does a great job of that and he’s not the quickest guy in the world if you put him

On an island in an ISO against these top scorers but you put him in a ball screen with his strength and his want to now you have a guy that can really help the big guard that and that’s why you get those kind of rates and percentages and

That’s what nikil Alexander Walker does he he just is Relentless in his effort to get over the screen and to do that it hurts you take knees to the thigh you take knees to the side of your knee right it’s it’s it’s not easy man it’s painful doing that time and time again

And he’s willing do it it’s it’s a big part of setting the tone and Mike Conley’s great at it it’s a big part of setting the tone for how you want to defend because it’s so easy to go under slide under or switch I think those are

Just lazy excuses to not want to put the work in um for a hard over and a and a hedge and that’s the best pick and roll defense still to me especially in this league where most of these ball handlers can shoot threes you know it’s lazy to

Switch it’s lazy to go under it’s and you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage uh that’s why going over is such an important part of great team defense and there’s not a lot of guys that are willing to lay it on the line like that and he’s

One absolutely is the other notes I have from this game one and I don’t know how often Minnesota’s doing this because of course I don’t catch every Minnesota game but they ran a four five pick and roll with nas Reed and goar that I just thought was so interesting you know this

Is obviously things you you you see with a Denver or what have you but what in Minnesota okay defensively we we agree they’re a juggernaut they’re going to be tough even in the playoffs I know some people I saw somebody in the chat say goar gets exposed in the playoffs I hate

That that kind of thing just because a guy doesn’t win or go all the way through it’s not you put it on on one guy I think that this year’s gonna be different but then offensively while they’re not good they are strange they do do some things that are very strange

Obviously with the two bigs so Nas Reed running pick and roll is one of them the other one is they like to run a lot of double drags and you have have no matter what the combination of bigs are they can pop one they can roll the other but

Double drags create switches it’s you talk about how hard it is to get skinny through one screen two screens it’s almost impossible so what is it about the double drags that is so effective for that specific two two big lineups Yeah Carl Anthony towns you know they’re and goar are the two guys

Setting it and they they mix it up who sets it first and and you have multiple options as a result so if you want to run a drag with two back-to-back consecutive ball screens at the top of the key for instance guard comes off the first one at that first screener is Carl

Anthony towns right he’s gonna he’s gonna pop back at exactly the time that his man is showing on the guard well then that leads immediately into that second pick by goar who typically nine times out of 10 is going to do a straight dive what happens is sometimes

The The Defender Of Towns the first screener he actually sees goar set the pick and slip and his initial reaction is to go help on that dive because the guy guarding goar has just jumped out onto the perimeter that leads to a direct a pass back to towns with space

At the three-point line and he’s really good and either shooting it and he’s gotten so much better at a little show and then attacking the close out Defender down the lane if they reverse it goar sets it first he runs a hard dive to the rim if that’s and then the

Second big is already out on the perimeter so there’s no help back there when goar Dives it’s typically a guard coming off the corner try to help on the lob so they just put a lot of pressure on you because one guy’s a lob threat every single time and if he doesn’t get

The lob he’s got great inside offensive rebounding position and then the other guy can either pop back and shoot it or he can attack a close out if it gets swung to him so it it’s just it’s two guys that work very very well together look I was very skeptical when they made

This trade for Rudy goar in a league that was getting smaller and smaller and more versatile they got bigger I thought more plotting and less versatile particularly defensively with two bigs on the court with all of these three-point Shooters they’re going to have to get to and it looked that way

Maybe I was going to be right initially and now I I see that they’ve really worked this out and the chemistry is building there man and they’re reading each other so well and sometimes they’re just so formidable when they’re out there together on both ends

With the size like I said that play they got that offens the lb the Miami Heat looked like a bunch of children out there compared to them on that particular play so uh they’ve worked it out and they present a look that really few teams in the league can can match up

With when you go that kind of size you you mentioned with the the size part like figuring out the chemistry is so big and I love your point because chemistry is you watch this team play there’s a joyfulness there’s an excitement there’s high fives like in

The clutch every time they scored was a high five and a smile going back down the court because they’re just they’re feeling it right now but with the two big so this is how they win a championship is defensively they’re going to be what they are and

Offensively they’re going to be too big for all these teams because if you try to go small and say okay we’re gonna shoot threes and draw go bear out the paint well you better not get killed on the other on the glass and in the paint

Well one thing that they did in the clutch that I that I noticed and I’m curious what you think when goar you can space the court with you know Carl Anthony towns and Anthony who by the way are developing a better chemistry than I’ve seen between them they had some

Nice two-man game where you know I almost feel like Carl Anthony towns has seed the number one spot to Anthony Edwards in that twom man game and that’s part of why they’re working but you run those two guys on one side of the court so you have three floor spacers how do

You space the floor with Rudy goar on the weak side well he makes himself into a very nice off-ball flare screener so if you’re a help guy and you’re on goar and you’re saying well I’m just going to go flood the strong side he’s making you pay by just hunting opportunities to get

One of his teammates open and then roll into the rim and I just feel like the timing on those actions go bear off ball not just playing in the dunker but okay my guy’s not guarding me let me do something that makes the team punish and

I just I feel like they’ve found a really nice rhythm with that specific sort of iteration I that’s a great uh observation on your part and one of the reasons I’ve always admired Rudy goar it’s it’s very difficult to find bigs that want to dive that hard all the time and when he

Was in Utah in particular not as much not as often here because you’ve got the second big that can set a second screen you know on a possession so my point being in Utah when he was the only big on the court he’d set a pick 30 feet

From the basket for a guard and he would dive run right straight to the rim and then whatever would happen the action would come off it wouldn’t materialize so they’d swing it to the wing and now a different score would have it and here comes Rudy goar running out from the rim

Back out to 25 feet to set a second screen and then going all the way back to the rim again you just don’t see guys with that level of effort and energy and understanding their role look don’t get me wrong sometimes in Utah he would get

Kind of ticked off if one of those two he didn’t get a lob thrown to him from Mitchell or something right he or Engles like he You’ see he’d get irritated sometimes but that’s okay because even though he would get irritated he’d do it the next trip and the next trip and the

Next trip and he does the same thing in Minnesota and he saves him a little energy here because he might set the first one and dive to the rim and if there’s no action and that ball gets swung well Carl Anthony towns is probably already out there in the

Perimeter somewhere so now he’ll go set the second screen and now goar will just go stand on the base short Baseline and just wait for a shot and then Circle in and try to get offensive rebounds I just admire him understanding his limitations and how he can most affect the game his

Dives attract an awful lot of attention man because of his length and you got to get guards down there you know pinching on his lower body and trying to get a backside into him to to prevent him from jumping whatever it takes but it’s a crowd there in the lane because of him

And yeah some guys might do that five six times a game you’re not the guys aren’t doing that 20 times a half yeah the way go is and it’s just such an important element for your team to find a guy that wants to do it and is willing

To do it and is committed to do it because he understands how important it is he’s his Redemption Arc has been really incredible really this year because he clearly you know Anthony Edwards is the best player on that team he’s the go to he’s the star but I feel

Like goar almost has had the biggest impact on the culture because yes he does those things you’re talking about thanless things like down the floor up the floor down the floor up the floor in one possession and now as you mentioned it’s not just him it’s all of the

Different guys but I feel like that’s easier to do when you see one guy your most important anchor doing it it makes it a little bit easier for everybody else to say all right this is who we are and this is our identity so let me ask

You um well actually first I want to ask you the the Timberwolves part of what’s going on right now is they have a little magic to them they have a little just like it feels special and I wonder how much can a run like this change a team

Because they seem like they have more confidence and after that game they just had a look of pure excitement and joy and I almost feel like this run that they’re on captured by that last game can sort of Vault a team up a level or

Two and I just kind of feel like that’s what’s happening it had they dropped two three four more games just by chance maybe they don’t get it but they have a little belief an extra belief that’s coming to them every game I agree and I think what’s interesting right now I

Love this next stretch of games for them because you talk about testing yourself right so you’re you’re going to get at Philly Lakers at home at sack at OKC Dallas at home Lakers at home at Madison Square Garden and then New Orleans at home man that’s a hell of a

Stretch like so they’ve already you know they’ve already kind of caught everybody’s attention we we all we’re in agreement this team is legitimate and now game like that like Miami coming back against that team as well coached as they are and and they played well and they still didn’t win the game that

Gives you a tremendous boost but now you get to go see like this is going to be like a murderer row here in your schedule and uh they’re they look like they’re up for the challenge so it’s going to be definitely a team you’re going to want to be checking out over

The next two weeks well sadly I just looked they’re not on National Television until January 18th so they have a whole month basically of being behind the scenes but um you know that’s nobody saw this really coming coming into the year and here they are is there

Anything else you have on this game or on uh this team in particular I I just said it I they’re in my tier one title contenders and I I guess the one reason you would be hesitant is because they never have won in the playoffs they only

Have one win you know last year so that part aside or maybe not even putting that aside do you kind of view this team as not just a good story but actually as a legitimate threat yeah they’re they’re they’re threat they’re in the mix for

Sure I’m not going to be shocked one bit to see um you know be look I don’t know I’m not going to sit here and predict you know a little over a quarter of the way through the season how how they’d match up in a series with Denver or the Lakers or

Phoenix or let’s see how it all plays out and who’s standing and who’s healthy and all that kind of stuff but um at this point based on seeing all of these teams I’m not GNA be shocked anymore if they make it like to the Conference

Finals like and I don’t know that I felt that way until here over the last week or or so and one thing I you said there’s anything else from the game one thing yes there was and it was the biggest shot of the night and it’s the

Way he got it so Anthony Edwards backed I don’t know who was guarding him could have been Caleb Martin I’m not sure Jimmy Butler maybe backed them down into the post after they ran it set nothing happened he got back in his hands he backs down and and does that little Kobe

Fake one shoulder turn the other turn around jump her off the glass the post and it was so certain what he was doing down there and I thought man this is scary now he adds this element because you know it’s it’s look one thing about him the last couple years one thing

About Anthony ARS he wants it so badly sometimes he goes for the kill shot when he doesn’t need it from deep and you bail teams out so now if he understands the patience in those moments to take advantage of his athletic ability and strength and Just Bounce down there to

Get that kind of a shot for himself cuz it’s Unstoppable if you’re going to shoot a turnar around Jumper in the post to fade away there’s nothing you can do about that if you’re a guy that size that gets off the ground like that I if

He now has that added because I haven’t seen a whole lot of that out of him in the past that shows me even more growth on his part there’s no question we talked about him beginning very beginning of of us doing this together the thing we both love about him he just

Looks like he has the look of wanting to be great he doesn’t want to just you know have a nice career or or or make money or make some all-star teams he has a look of a guy that wants to win championships and wants to be considered

One of the best players in the league that and that’s that’s that’s a good sign and and so for him adding to his game even as the season’s going on like he did last night to make that shot I thought it’s impressive very impressive man I love this Timberwolves team what a great

Story and as a Denver Nuggets fan I’m concerned about him I genuinely think they match up with Denver and and they look to be a team that is figuring out the difference between talent and and contend and they’re on that that uh path right now and it’s really cool to see

Let’s take a break another team so Minnesota’s one of two of the hottest teams in the NBA the other one the LA Clippers who may have figured some things out they’ve won nine of their last 10 so we’re going to get to them on the other side as they picked up an

Impressive win last night as well but first all I want for the holidays this year is some NBA action well guess what that’s what I’m going to get this week new customers can score 150 instantly in bonus bets just for betting five bucks and instant dub just for you later in

The week we’re going to be giving you our favorite bets from the Christmas Day games kind of talking about those games through the lens of betting on them that I’m looking forward to that that’s going to be a lot of fun there’s five great games I know my nuggets are in the

Absolute prime time spot which means I’m G to be missing Christmas dinner I guess I’m not too happy about that uh but download the draftking sports book app now and use promo code all NBA new customers get 150 instantly in bonus bets for betting just $5 on basketball

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Dk.com basketball for eligibility and deposit restrictions terms and responsible gaming resources all right legs there was another very interesting game last night and that was the blowout win from uh the Los Angeles Clippers it became a blowout they actually trailed in this game uh in

The early go they got a little bit of momentum going there in the second and then the fourth quarter was just the James Harden show so they get the win 151 to 127 against the Indiana Pacers what stood out to you about this one well to quote Anchor Man uh things

Really escalated quickly out there that’s the way I looked at it because I thought I was watching a pretty good game right I was like oh it’s pretty good game like you know and Indiana we know could score and the Clippers have been playing well you look up and it’s

Like a tie game I think in the second quarter and next thing you know the Clippers have 151 points and the Pacers just look like they completely quit even trying defensively I I just there are some nights you watch and I’m not going to take anything away from the clippers

Because they’ve got a lot of Firepower and they’re playing really well but sometimes it does matter if a team it just has substandard NBA effort and I I just didn’t think that was NBA effort on the part of Pacers at all it just didn’t it it requires when you play a team like

The Clippers with this many guys that that can get going and cooking and hurt you individually and then through their three-point shooting it takes such a such a state of Readiness and effort multiple efforts like every play if you’re not willing to do that this is what’s going to happen to you you’re

Going run off the floor and so that second half of this game uh really the last three quarters the Clippers scored 114 points I mean and it just felt like they were scoring every single time down the floor yeah uh so that’s that’s let’s start with just just let’s dispatch

Indiana I don’t have much more to say about them I do think they’re they’re kind of well welcome back to Earth a little bit from the inseason tournament like and not just the adrenaline isn’t there now back in the regular season and they got they got a lot of attention

They became a national story people were really really interested in them they have really struggled since and halberton has really struggled since and so you don’t know what he’s feeling either and it was a little bit nicked up but at the same time it looks like he he

Just doesn’t look like the same right now and maybe that’s because of the pressure that comes with once you arrive that this meteoric arrival now it’s okay you got to do it every night every night that’s what the superstars do every every single night and so his numbers

Have really dropped off they’ve really struggled so let’s see what happens with them now and put this all in a better context after you watch them now for another month for the Clippers yeah listen you can’t deny it their their their flow is better they look more comfortable those guys are playing well

Together Harden has really been playing well and making shots and he had an 18-point run in the fourth quarter last night individual run that didn’t mean a lot they were already up 20 but listen it’s impressive still to see him cooking like that you haven’t seen him like that

In a long time so that was impressive and also this is one of those teams that that Adam can put out defensive lineups that that can move they can move and they can be long and they can they can present some problems and I think they’ve got the perfect guy in the

Middle for this team by the way in zubach he’s just the perfect guy to be with four players like this offensively because of some of the things I said about goly to him too he’ll go every single time to the offensive glass tip tip tip not get it turn Sprint back as

Hard as he can run the floor the next time and do it all over again and very rarely ever gets a number called it’s all right it’s all improvised organic points and you know yet 18 and 16 he gives you as your you know whatever he think there’re

Six that’s it and he gives you 18 and 16 so um there looks there’s nothing else to say they’re impressive right now they’re playing great they’re rolling they found chemistry that it’s not like they just beat a ton of great teams but they’ve had some signature wins during this stretch they beat

Denver yeah they beat the Knicks I thought the Knicks was a good Wing the Knicks were playing pretty well at that time they spanked them too they put up 144 on a good defensive team so that was kind of that was impressive they beat the Warriors a couple of times but you

Know they’re struggling so it wasn’t like as impressive Sacramento some other ones the teams have had but you got to win who’s in front of you you got to beat who’s in front of you they’re doing that uh I think Nick Sacramento and Denver those are all good good wins and

Then to your point just not dropping any of these other ones you know is is impressive in and of its own right but legs it’s also the way they’re doing it over the last 10 games the big three of Harden Paul George and Kawhi Leonard has

A plus 23.2 net rating plus 23 and this is a 10 game sample size which is pretty good offensively 131 which is absurd they’re scoring almost every time down court and then defensively very respectable 108 so to me this is the thing that stands out it’s not just that

They’re winning it’s that they’re dominating their most important minutes that are going to make up their Playoff lineup and they have a host of players you mentioned zubot he’s obviously a staple of that lineup but then they throw out Terrence man or Dwight Powell and they I’m sorry uh Norman Powell and

They get you know different looks with those guys uh that are very Dynamic and difficult to guard and the thing I sent you earlier today a clip they to me have figured out how to run their offense in a way that is very simple and basic but

That gets their key players in key spots and one of the plays they run a lot is just as simple the ball will be usually in Harden’s hands and you’ll have either Paul George or Kawhi Leonard on The Block depending on who they like who Miss whose match up they like the most

Sometimes they’ll run it for each guy you know back toback and they’ll have that on one side and on the other side they’ll get a double pin down for somebody in the corner coming off it and it’s a simple action but when I say a

Team as fured out the new pieces you can run the iso for kawh or Paul George you can have Paul George or kawhai coming off a double pin down and if none of that works and all the various reads en counters you end with a James Harden

Pick and roll at the top so you kind of run through all of your top options you get to him very easily and quickly and as a defense you’re worried do I overload on the ISO on kawhai do I stay in position to guard the pick and roll

Do I chase Paul George off the screen it’s so simple that they can get into these actions over and over and get different looks every single time yeah and I think you hit it on the head they’ve simplified it and they’re just going to take advantage of this Elite

Skill level that their best two players have that’s what it comes down to and then Harden’s in a great Lane as the third guy the third option really because I think when when you’re when you’re first which he was for years in Houston when you’re second which you

Know he was in Philly it’s different because like you have to do it pretty much every night in the playoffs and if you don’t your team doesn’t really have a chance to win that’s not necessarily the case now you know and he’s going to get he’s GNA he’s

Not going to get the top on ball Defender which is going to help him because he doesn’t put guys in his rearview mirror like he used to with his with his back and forth dribble and boom that first step he’s gone he could still do it sometimes not consistently but

It’s a lot easier for him if he’s gonna get the third best perimeter Defender and that’s what he’s getting now because you got to take those first two guys to guard kawh lonard and Paul George um so he’s in a great Lane he can pick his spots when he wants to be more

Aggressive as a scorer which he certainly was last night and he has been lately and then also the fourth guy thing I love about Westbrook is this is a guy that was an MVP in this league okay and now you look where he’s at you know he volunteered obviously to

Come off the bench we’ve talked about that but it’s this is the perfect guy to be in that fourth spot because he’s always is going to play with the same level of intensity no matter what and no matter what on a given night if he gets

Good looks or not if the ball’s in his hands early enough if he gets opportunity because you know he still wants to play that way man all those guys want to play that way at times and be the alpha and go do their thing even if he’s not getting it to that extent

He’s going to play hard and he’s gonna be into the game on the bench and he’s gonna be you know just his energy right is such a it’s such a powerful component for a team to maintain when it’s a star player so he’s been great but here’s

Here’s what it boils down to for me it always will with this team it’s Ka Leonard it’s kawh Leonard man in the last in the last 11 games the dude is averaging 30 on 62% shooting pretty good 95% free throw shooting um and 55% three-point shooting

55 he’s on a different planet right now man different planet right now offensively and and you know look we’ve seen this out of him before we know he could do this he just has had a hard time staying on the court staying healthy playing the games the fact that

He’s playing every night and he’s playing you know 30 anywhere from like on a B on a you know 28 minutes on a low end to 39 he’s always in the 30s and minutes with this kind of usage rate and this efficiency this looks exactly like kawii Leonard during his championship

Run in Toronto and that is scary for the rest of the league and that’s what it all hinges on for me Adam as great as Harden’s been and Westbrook Paul George we talk about their role players all that zubot we gave credit to man this thing whole thing hinges on Kawhi

Leonard’s health and he looks tremendous right now he looks strong on balance getting whatever he wants never rushed and it’s it’s really impressive man to watch him go to work right now I had to look it up as you were talking because those numbers are rid ridiculous 4.7 three-point attempts it’s not like

He hit one or two threes you know yeah that’s a lot of three because I was thinking when you said that I was like all right well how many is he taking but five a game given all the other stuff he does is a lot for a 10

Game SLE that’s 53s for him to be at almost 60% shooting on him is absolutely insurd so I I’m with you man this Clippers team you know it is unlike the Timberwolves where I’m sold on them the Clippers to me it’s a good run they they found an identity they found a footing

They found a rotation um I want to see it and and you talked about upcoming schedules here’s their next gamees for the next month or so at Dallas Dallas a little depleted right now but we know that that’s a matchup that Dallas has enjoyed in in in the past at Oklahoma

City the next night on second night of a back-to-back that one’s tough Boston obviously tough Charlotte will be an easy one Memphis with John Morant who knows Miami Phoenix New Orleans Lakers Phoenix Toronto that’s a good stretch of all of those game there’s no there’s one easy game Charlotte outside of that one

The rest of them are at least a challenge and some of them they’ll be they’ll be underdogs in so I feel like in the next month we’re really GNA figure out this Clippers team and just how good they are um greed do you have anything else

On them that you want to get to any any other Clippers notes to close it out no I mean I think you know I think that the key for them is all right now they’re on everybody’s radar let’s let’s now pay attention because look I don’t think you can

Deny if those guys stay healthy they absolutely could win the Western Conference there’s no question in my mind they could win the West if those guys stay healthy um so now that they’ve kind of put it together we just watch and we see what the E and Flo at the top

Of the West is going to be Pro seeding because um different teams are going to go on these kind of runs at the top all of these team I think phix at some point probably is going to have an eight or 10 game winning streak you you know it’s

Coming um Denver’s always going to be a team that can rattle off wins like that so um and and I think as every time one happens we now look at that current team and say okay yeah maybe maybe this is the scariest team in the west that’s how

Loaded the top is and and uh the Clippers now belong in that discussion um speaking of the Suns making a run over the you know this last week or so Bradley Beal enters the rotation they go 0 for two in the big three era and then he goes out the

Rotation just as quickly once again and now it’s looking like not until January is at the earliest when he returns we’ve talked about this a lit so we’ll be real brief on this but the suns were already about to cut the season in about a little bit less than a half at the

Earliest before we start the big three era what’s your concern level now of just saying hey man there’s not that much time left yeah and it’s actually less uh even me thinking that there’s not enough time because I still think there’s plenty of time it’s more about

The fact that now you look at Durant and book and a Beal it’s like it’s like now it’s like a history man there’s like a track record here of injuries that pile up so now it’s like no longer where you go okay benefit of the doubt they’re

Going to get this you know 35 40 game stretch where nobody gets hurt I I don’t you know we got to see that and it hasn’t happened and that’s why with you know Clippers right now you’re looking at that that’s that’s why they’re playing so well their best player is

Playing every night it’s pretty simple and and look I think you know with his track record kaai I I mean I still think we’re a long way from where we go okay man I guess he’s gonna have one of those years where he stays healthy I mean who

Knows with him with all the stuff that’s happened and now I feel like it’s kind of like happening with Phoenix a little bit like are they gonna do it or is it just going to be injury after injury there’s still plenty of time if I you could tell me guaranteed health I’d say

Yeah give them 25 games going into the playoffs it’s all you need if you could guarantee me that they’re all going to be healthy that’s only only 50 games left so we’re already talking about all three of them being healthy for half of the remaining games I just the margin

For error for a rolled ankle or for a sickness or for anything the margin for air just keeps getting Tighter and Tighter with them that’s and I just think they’re going to be a team that it’s because of it we’re going to talk about them a lot because

Of who’s on the roster it’s almost like get back to me in the middle of March there you goo to see where they’re with their health uh a team that is also in the same standing and uh facing a similar thing the the Cavaliers who are

15 and 12 right now have been a little disappointing so far out the gate they lose Evan Mobley uh and for for several weeks they’re going to have to go a good portion of the schedule now without him what do you make of that loss they

Picked up a win last night by the way uh beating the Rockets a pretty nice win even though the Rockets don’t win on the road it’s still nice uh they’re still a good team but they picked up a win there but can they survive and and how big of

An impact do you see this making for them over the next several weeks it’s tough It’s really tough because it it’s definitely one of the things that differentiates them is is what they can do defensively with that tandem of bigs right because Moy and Jared Allen

Together you know they can do things the very few teams in this league can replicate because Moy can really get out of the perimeter move his feet and guard and he’s got the length to track him to the rim and then Allen is just you know incredible at The Rim so they they’ve

Got this unique tandem take one guy down it’s it’s really kind of goes against what their identity is um and I agree it has been a little bit more disappointing than I thought based on you know they had a very splashy year last year um ended abruptly but you expected coming

Into the year that hey Cleveland is that clearly going to be the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference and right you know the Knicks have something to say about that obviously but so do the magic yeah yeah Orlando Orlando everybody was picking them right to be

Uh you know to be right there in the mix start of the year so yeah it’s look it it it it affects what makes them different with those two guys out there together and he’s going to be out for an extended period of time a couple months

Maybe so it’s a tough blow that’s a really tough one um elwe your guy Keegan Murray uh 47 points over the weekend against Utah man um we’ve been waiting for a breakout shoot I don’t think I was expecting this 12 made threes which is insane he joins

A short list of players to have ever made 12 threes in a game but you know we talked about the defensive jump he’s made this year the confidence jump in the three-point shot I’m not declaring him fully back but he has been hitting it lately and 12 threes I mean I have to

Imagine as a shooter that does a lot for your confidence when you make 12 threes in a game go for 47 16 for his last 22 uh that’s you know we we say guys run a heater all the time and that is a heater right there and and he’s a guy we

Profiled at the start you know it’s interesting guys because they they could be a differen maker for teams that are trying to climb a Rong and we already like the Kings we liked what we saw out of them last year and now you know here’s a guy that that you expect each

Year here in the first several to get better and better and improve and you know he he’s had a little bit of a very slow start then he found a stride a little bit and then he regressed a little bit I still don’t think necessarily and this might sound crazy

For a guy that just went 16 for 22 from the three over the last couple games I had you know average 36 points a game in those two games I still don’t watch him play and think I see like a supremely confident shooter I I like this yeah

Know maybe maybe these next maybe these last two games maybe something will turn now for him because I still see sometimes when he he either doesn’t pull it when when everybody else in the league would have shot a shot he just turned down or just in general he shoots

It and he doesn’t look that sure um so I still think there’s still so much more there for him and this is a really good sign these last couple games man because those are some pretty impressive numbers what I love your point here because one

Of the things that stood out to me about that game was as the shots were going on like after the fourth or fifth one he started to shoot some that I hadn’t seen him shoot before like a little bit little a little quick yeah and it’s like

You know what that is good I don’t know finding the right balance between just letting it fly versus trying to be selective is always tough but for him he’s a rare example of a guy who the dial has turned too far down he needs to

Turn it up a little bit and that game because he was feeling it you know he had that going so that was a lot of fun um tonight the return of John marant in New Orleans take or taking on the New Orleans Pelicans that game is on TNT

Tonight you know I don’t know that it could have gone much worse from Memphis in the absence of johnar they are six and 19 they are seven games seven and a half games back of the playin I kind of have their season is over but you know what do you expect

From John Morant tonight and you know how is he going to change this team and what’s it g to take for them to kind of become relevant again yeah we were debating this a little bit and you said you know it was over and I said I’m not

Necessarily so sure about that and then the more I start to look at them and just do the math on it and also just how long is it going to f for him how long is it going to be before he’s stringing together you know games where

It’s like oh every night he looks like John Mor at his best like that could take a while man it’s a long time to be away from the game and to find Rhythm you know even a guy like that that just you think is just gonna rely on you know

Supreme athleticism no there’s a lot more to it than that for guys to find their rhythm with their handle and their shooting and they’re timing on stuff his athletic explosion you know he’s going to have so much adrenaline in this first game because he probably missed it so

Much he’s and he knows where his team is and he’s gonna maybe even force it too much and try to do a little bit more than than is there and that’s GNA not necessarily work well for him so just him finding his game is going to take a

While where will they be at that point uh they got a lot of road games coming up uh basically between now and and the third week of January man they got a ton right I’m looking at it now tough and we’re g yeah we’ll see what that me you

Know sometimes man it’s good it’s good for guys going through certain things to get out on the road actually it’s a little bit easier sometimes you have a i’ I’ve always felt you had a more of a us against the world mentality it galvanizes as a team sometimes if things

Can go well on the road it’s kind of a nice feeling when it’s just you guys traveling you leave the media not necessarily behind with the fans behind in your home building the scrutiny you know in your community like all that just you know just everything kind of

Goes away and it’s just it’s just a group of 15 guys and some coaches going out in the road can be a good thing but their schedule’s tough man no question and they’re six and 19 and he’s not gonna come back and and be be in Rhythm

For a while so it could get worse before it gets better the other matchup tonight that I’m pretty excited for wanyama versus Giannis tonight um look this isn’t a compelling matchup of bucks and Spurs because I think the Bucks have a pretty big advantage in in this game but

Wenyama whenever he’s asked about his influences and who he looks at he always mentions Giannis now look their games are going to be different they’re not the same type of player but I do see a little bit of Giannis influence on him and the way he tries to you know the

Euro steps and the long strides to the basket I’m at least excited just for this matchup because I always like when a player goes up against their Idols you know there’s just something special there and I kind of expect that tonight even though I think the Bucks win this

One by 15 20 points I just am like looking forward to seeing what wmi does tonight going up against Giannis yeah it’s a good one definitely a good um thing to watch based on what wanyama has said about him in the past but if I had

To give him some advice if that’s your idol and you really want to sort of pattern yourself after him you know the stuff you mentioned on the court great the the Euro steps and the things like that I I got a even better suggestion you really want to emulate janisan Kubo

Watch the way he changes ends of the floor oh interesting okay and that’s what lyama when I watched when I watch him now sometimes and look again and you know I’ve been big on this the lack of a competitive environment sometimes isn’t the great the best thing to get that out of you

Like you know we compare him and hren hongren is is in with a team that’s really playing for something now and so the accountability is so much greater and it gets that extra effort out of you because you have no choice you can’t let anybody down we’re supposed to win

Tonight that’s not the case in San Antonio and so when I watch him sometimes it’s it’s it’s the changing ends of the floor but he’ll take a couple trips where he’s kind of like in jog mode and guys will run past him or they’ll throw it ahead of him you you

Really want to have the career path and career Arc of yanis Santo watch how hard that dude plays all the time and that’s that’s what I think web Bama that would be the best thing he could do because of his unique set of skills he has and length and you play

That hard all the time even while you’re trying to get stronger you can make a lot of stuff happen right now that is still out there for you that you’re not making happen because you’re not in that mindset and I think the lack of you know like I said winning being important I

Think maybe that’s where that extra 101 15% can come from that they’re not going to probably get this year yeah well that’s it man this was a great show it was you could tell we missed you legs because there was so many story lines to

Hit in short order but um you know we hit them all and there’s some good games coming up here the rest of this week as I mentioned those ones uh tonight we are off tomorrow but we will be back Thursday we will be back Friday and we

Will have a special edition where we pre Christmas games I know a lot of people start to tune in for the first time on Christmas we’ll give you a Betting Guide to that legs great to have you back again man thanks ad talk to you Thursday

Everybody do us a favor hit that like button on the way out we’ll see you guys Thursday [Applause] we all sitting like the May