← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Hoops Tonight - Why Luka Doncic & Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are my #2 & #3 players in NBA | Lakers x Thunder
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- [00:00]
Jason
This is an iHeart podcast on Fox One. You can stream your favorite news, sports.
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Matt Jones
And entertainment live all in one app.
- [00:12]
Jason
It's raw and unfiltered.
- [00:14]
Daniel Jeremiah
This is the best thing ever.
- [00:16]
Jason
Watch breaking news as it breaks.
- [00:18]
Matt Jones
Breaking. Tonight, we're following two major stories and.
- [00:22]
Jason
Catch history in the making. Debate drama touchdown. It's all here, baby. Fox one, we live for live streaming now.
- [00:35]
Matt Jones
Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.
- [00:45]
Drew Franklin
Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.
- [00:48]
Matt Jones
What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever podcast.
- [01:08]
Dan
I'm Dan. He's Ty.
- [01:09]
Ty
Hello.
- [01:10]
Dan
And we're the solid verbal college football podcast.
- [01:13]
Ty
Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.
- [01:22]
Dan
Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport.
- [01:26]
Ty
Listen to the solid verbal college football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:34]
Dan
We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.
- [01:38]
Daniel Jeremiah
Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks on Move the six. We take you inside the game, from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies.
- [01:47]
Bucky Brooks
To evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.
- [01:53]
Daniel Jeremiah
We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.
- [01:59]
Bucky Brooks
It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays.
- [02:03]
Daniel Jeremiah
Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [02:12]
Matt Jones
The Volume.
- [02:26]
Jason
All right, welcome to Hoops tonight here at the Volume. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Hope all of you guys are having a great week. We are hitting two players today. I had originally thought about going and then 2 and 1, but since 2 and 3 are going to be by far the biggest debate out of that trio, I figured what we do. And I also want to get to some of our mailbag questions. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to do three and two today and we'll specifically dive into the debate between those two off the top. And then in our number one video with Nikola Jokic on Friday, we'll hit some of your guys's mailbag questions at the tail end there. You guys know the joke before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at_jason lt so you guys don't miss show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast fee wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave a rating and a review on that front. Jackson's doing incredible work on our social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Make sure you guys follow us there then. Last but not least, keep dropping those mailbag questions in the YouTube comments. We will get to them in our Friday mailbags throughout the remainder of the summer. All right, let's talk some basketball. So I have Shea Gilgis Alexander at number three and Luka Doncic at number two. This is, I'm certain, the player ranking that I will catch the most shit for in this year's list just because of what happened last season. But it's very important that we remember the parameters for this list. Three years ago, this list used to be more of a reflection of what happened in the previous season. But for the last two years, the criteria of this list has simply been who do I think will be the best player to lead your team from this coming October all the way through this coming June? And under those criteria. Under that criteria, I should say I have Luke at 2 and SGA at 3. Before we even get started, I'm sure there will be plenty of people who will say Jason Roots for the Lakers. That's why he has Luke at number two. But I had Luke at number two last year long before any of us had any idea that he would be a Laker. So let's get into the Luka SGA debate right off the top and then we'll divide into the specifics of where each guy is as a basketball player right now. Again, two things are true. One, SGA definitely had a way better season than Luka did last year. I would even take it so far as to say Luka was more like a second tier superstar last year with his injury issues and the substantial declines he experienced in some key areas because he was a particularly fat version of himself, right? And that coincided with SGA winning MVP and Finals mvp. So like, if that's what you're arguing that Shea was a better player than Luca last year, I would just simply agree with you, there'd be no more reason for us to argue. But the second truth here is the set of parameters I set up at the very beginning of this list. I've been very clear that this list is designed to reflect who I will believe, who I believe will be the best player in this coming season and irrespective of surrounding circumstances. Shea did an admirable, superb, an admirable superstar job leading that Oklahoma City team last year, right? And he hoisted two trophies for his efforts. I'll be very clear right off the top here. I believe that if you took Luka Doncic right now, the Luka that we're watching play in Eurobasket and you picked him up and you dropped him on last year's Oklahoma City team, I think he wins mvp and I think he wins finals mvp. So for the purposes of this debate, I want to focus on each basketball player completely in a vacuum. That is the purpose of this list. It is not who's playing on the best team right now. It's not who accomplished the most in a team context last season. I'm looking at Shay Gilders Alexander in a vacuum as a basketball player versus Luka Doncic in a vacuum as a basketball player. Looking forward, not looking backwards. The specific argument I am making is that if we set up those circumstances, if we put Luka Doncic on the best roster in the league, the Thunder, I think they would have won more easily. I think they would have avoided the massive offensive LS that they dealt with in their playoff run. I think they would have gotten rid of Denver and Indiana more quickly than they did under Shea. Because I believe that Luka is a better basketball player than Shay. The question is why? Now, the first basketball argument in favor of SGA and the argument that many folks will make is that, well, SGA is the best scorer in the league right now, right? And he very much was. Last season he averaged 33 points per game, 64% true shooting. He had 4930 point games. He had 1340 point games and he had three 50 point games. The problem with making this case is that Luka Doncic just one season prior had an even more impressive scoring season. He played in 70 games. In 2024, he averaged 34 points per game on 62% true shooting. He had 5030 point games. He had 1340 point games. He had. He had two 50 point games and he had a 73 point game. Even when we get down into the nitty gritty like we talk about reliable short range scoring, it's a piece of scoring that I always talk about. That's the most important part of crunch time scoring, like being able to score at the end of games, being able to get close to the basket for a shot you can make more than half the time. In that 2024 season, Luka made 189 floaters and short jump shots inside of 17ft. At 51.4%. He is every bit the short range scorer that SGA is. And the reason why Luka was actually able to hit higher scoring totals like the 73 point game that he did is Luka is a guy that brings more high volume three point shooting to the table. So in short, yes, Shea had a fantastic scoring season last year and within the confines of just that season he was way better than Luca, especially as a scorer. But I view Luka Doncic heading into this coming season as every bit the scoring talent that Shea Gil just Alexander is, if not a little bit better as he demonstrated just one year prior. Now one final note here, that does not mean that he'll put up higher points per game in an average this year than sga. That is something that depends on the role that you're in and these guys are both in very different roles. SGA is playing on a team that doesn't have a ton of ball handling and really only has one other player that's going to take high volume usage in the form of J Dub. Right? Luka Doncic is now going to play with LeBron James and Austin Reeves for an entire season similar to Shea. He's got a guy who's going to put up pretty good sized scoring numbers at the center position and deandre Ayton as well. Obviously there's a chance that the points per game average might be slightly lower than Luka or excuse me for Luka than SGA this season because of their team circumstances. But going into this season healthy, in shape Luca, I view him as much closer to the 2024 version, if not better because he'll be older and more skilled as time and his experience continues to add up. I don't look at there as being a scoring gap between Shea and Luca coming into this season. I am saying that if Luca and SGA each played in the same role in this upcoming season, I think their production would be about the same. I think they'd both average somewhere between 32 and 34 points per game on somewhere between 62 and 64% true shooting. So no, I don't view scoring as an advantage for Shay in this debate at all. I view it as a dead heat. And that takes us to the playmaking and advantage creation piece, something that I view as a massive advantage towards Luka in this debate. And it's the thing that I think makes Luka a much better offensive player overall. And it's the main reason why I say a healthy Luca is a better player than SGA and would have done better in that role that Shea had with Oklahoma City last year. I'm going to start with a very basic stat. SGA has 21 games in his entire career, including the playoffs, where he logged at least 10 assists in a single game. Luka's done it 168 times. 168. It's pretty clean math actually. That's eight times as many. So for every one time that Shea has put up 10 assists in an NBA game, including the playoffs, Luke has done it eight times. He's in an entirely different class as a playmaker and Advantage creator than SGA. Thunder fans actually experienced this directly in 2024. Still to this day I hear Thunder fans complain about PJ Washington knocking down shots. Thunder players have even vented in press conferences about P.J. washington killing them in that series. It actually kind of reminds me of the Andre guadala situation in 2015. Everyone was so confused by what was happening that Andre Iguodala literally won a Finals mvp. He had no business winning. The reality was Steph's advantage creation was spoon feeding Andre Guadala fantastic opportunities. That's what happened with PJ Washington against the Thunder in 2024. You Thunder fans will clearly remember and probably have some PTSD about PJ Washington hitting 23 threes in that six game series, almost four per game. I went back and watched every single one of them this morning. Of those 23 made threes by PJ, 14 of them were either directly assisted by Luka Doncic or came off of an extra pass after Luca generated some crazy advantage for someone else that got PJ Washington a good look. It was the same thing over and over again. Luca driving at ISO or post ops and drawing double teams and kicking to pj. Luca beating low man help and pick and roll by hitting the corner, hitting PJ wide open, you know, hitting that first advantage and that extra pass to pj. Just routinely setting up PJ with fantastic looks that went in because Luca is the sort of relentless playmaker that will make you pay every single time when you leave someone open. And by the way, Thunder fans, guess who the guy was that was guarding PJ Washington for most of that series. The guy that Luca kept burning every time he turned his head or lost focus or threw an aimless double team, it was Shay, Gilder, Salexander. Luka literally fried Shea and help over and over and over again. This is the foundational case for why I have Luka above SGA going into the season. I think Luka is every bit as good SJ as a score and I think he's just miles and miles ahead of him as a playmaker and offensive engine. Flatly, I just think Luka's a better offensive player than Shay. So the natural continuation of this line of thinking would be, well, Jason, if Luka is clearly better on offense, why is this even a debate? And why isn't Luka on a separate tier? And this is where we have to talk about defense. I don't think Shea is some elite defensive player. We just talked about Luca torching his lack of off ball focus in 2024. Luca has some similar issues with off ball focus at time. I actually view both of them as guys who are smart enough and big enough or long enough to lock in and play useful defense off the ball and to be a functioning part of a great defense. I mean, we literally saw that Dallas was a great defense. Oklahoma City was a great defense. They were able to fill roles there. They're both actually really good defensive playmakers. They're great at playing passing lanes, using their IQ to kind of suss out what the offense is doing and get in front of it and blow plays up. Luka averaged 1.8 steals per game last year. That's a super high number. Shay averaged 1.7 steals per game last year. That's a super high number. Shay also gets a lot of blocks around the rim compared to most guards because of his length and his ability to kind of read plays and make plays there. Where SGA makes up a lot of ground here and where he closes the gap with Luca and makes this more of a debate is more situational. Defensively, I find Luca to be much more susceptible to switch attacking than Shea is. Both players are susceptible like Shay can get targeted by bigger players on like duck ins or post ups on the offensive glass shake and have some issues there too because he's just not particularly big. But Luca is incredibly susceptible to quick athletes on the perimeter that can beat him off the dribble and it played a major role in each of his last two playoff series exits against Boston and Minnesota. I think that makes SGA clearly a better defensive player than Luca is and that closes the gap to a certain extent, and we'll talk about this in the Luca specific segment, but I'm curious as to how much his improved conditioning in this new body that he's building will help him be better on the ball, but we'll talk about that when we get to Luka later. But in short, I put Luka at number two for the same reason I put him at number two last year. I think him and Jokic are the two best offensive engines in the sport. They are the only two guys that can bring transcendently great scoring and transcendently great playmaking and advantage creation to the table. They're the only two in the entire league that can say that. Again, Luca's situational defensive limitations keep guys like Shay and Giannis close and in the same tier as him, but I'm a huge believer in Luca as one of the very best offensive players in the game today, and it was pretty easy as a decision for me to put him ahead of SGA in that number two spot. All right, let's look at each of these two players individually for a few minutes before we get out of here. Today. We are extremely excited to announce our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. Everyone knows and loves the Hard Rock hotels and casinos and now you can use the top rated Hard Rock Bet sports book to place all of your bets all NFL season and beyond. 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- [18:57]
Matt Jones
Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.
- [19:14]
Drew Franklin
Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.
- [19:17]
Matt Jones
What was that?
- [19:18]
Drew Franklin
Looks like something that should not be sold.
- [19:20]
Matt Jones
Oh my.
- [19:20]
Drew Franklin
So that was my other big Colts takeaway.
- [19:22]
Matt Jones
They sold that?
- [19:23]
Ty
Yes.
- [19:23]
Drew Franklin
Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that.
- [19:27]
Matt Jones
Yeah.
- [19:27]
Jason
I thought the shape we had with.
- [19:29]
Drew Franklin
Pretzels was working pretty well.
- [19:30]
Jason
It's worked for generations.
- [19:32]
Matt Jones
We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go.
- [19:37]
Drew Franklin
I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73.
- [19:41]
Matt Jones
He is a young 73. He is spry.
- [19:43]
Drew Franklin
I wouldn't fight him.
- [19:45]
Matt Jones
I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [19:58]
Dan
I'm Dan, he's Ty.
- [20:00]
Ty
Hello.
- [20:01]
Dan
And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast.
- [20:04]
Ty
College football season is here and you know what that means.
- [20:10]
Dan
Your team is going to break your heart three times probably before Halloween.
- [20:15]
Ty
Uh huh. But fear not, the Solid verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.
- [20:22]
Dan
Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of the this ridiculous sport.
- [20:29]
Ty
Whether you're a die hard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.
- [20:45]
Dan
We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it.
- [20:49]
Ty
Listen to the Solid Verbal College Football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:59]
Daniel Jeremiah
What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks on Move the Sticks. We take you inside the game, from scouting reports and player development to team.
- [21:08]
Bucky Brooks
Building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.
- [21:12]
Daniel Jeremiah
Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.
- [21:18]
Bucky Brooks
It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots. From college football prospects to the NFL Stars of Tomorrow.
- [21:24]
Daniel Jeremiah
We break down the draft, analyze matchups and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day.
- [21:30]
Bucky Brooks
Plus, we dig into coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year.
- [21:36]
Daniel Jeremiah
Whether you're a die hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture.
- [21:42]
Bucky Brooks
If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.
- [21:46]
Daniel Jeremiah
Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:57]
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential.
- [22:05]
Guest on Psychology Podcast
I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like you're not going to choose an adaptive strateg which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it. If it's going to be beneficial to you because it's easy to say like go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just like walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving. Meditating, you know, takes effort.
- [22:49]
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [22:58]
Jason
Number three Shay Gilis Alexander. His last season in review he played in 76 games, 33 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game. 52% from the field, 38% from 3 and 90% from the line. That amounted to 64% in true shooting, 2.7 stocks per game. We talked about this in the last segment, but Shea is a very good defensive playmaker. He's got high iq, he's got long arms, he can do a lot of damage in passing lanes and in help side situations at the rim. As a defensive player this was an award heavy season for him. It was the rare regular season MVP and finals MVP for Shea. First team All NBA selection and made the all star team. His play type data Shay was extremely productive last year fueled by his incredible scoring ability. His numbers passing out of pick and roll in ISO and post up situations were fine, but that's not really his game. He didn't put up elite playmaking numbers out of Action. His shooting numbers out of those situations were transcendently great. He was the only player in the league last year to shoot out of pick and roll at least 500 times and to make more than half of those shots. He was at 51% and he in the second place guy on that list, Darius Garland, again, minimum 500 reps 47%. So 4% better than the rest of the pack in high volume pick and roll shooting. He was 35% on pull up threes, which is good enough. That's 1.05 points per shot. But he shot 56% on twos out of pick and roll fueled by deadly mid range shooting and a floater that he hits about 49 of the time. He shot the best percentage on twos out of ball screens in the league by a wide margin. He was 2.5% better than the second place guy on that list, Damian Lillard. The data in his one on ones was every bit as impressive. Yeah, 1.1 points per possession shooting out of ISO. That was second place behind Kevin Durant out of the 22 players who logged at least 200 shot attempts at ISO. And he got 1.08 points per possession out of the post as a shooter, hitting 54% of his shots there on 88 reps. That was seventh out of the 37 players to log at least 75 shot attempts out of the post. He's just deadly as a score. I find Shea success as a score to be incredibly fascinating from like a basketball technique and skill development perspective. It all starts with the threat of the drive. Shay doesn't have an insanely quick first step, but he does have a quick first step and he's got really long strides. So once he actually gets an angle and hits the gas, he can get past you quick. And he's a master of change of pace. He lulls you to sleep with relaxed dribbles before exploding forward. And you can't like play one side of him because he's got really good balance driving right and left. As a matter of fact, according to Synergy, he drove left just 21 more times all season than he did going right. And then lastly, he's one of the very best players in the league at chaining together counter moves. This is something we've talked about a lot on the show. He can dribble through contact really well. If you manage to beat him to the spot once or twice, he'll just smoothly transition into another forward attacking move, whether it's on a scissor dribble or behind the back dribble. He's just going to keep going at you even if you beat him to the spot once or twice. This allowed Shea to generate a crazy amount of dribble penetration. According to NBA.com, shea logged 1567 drives last season that was by far the most in the league. Second place on the list was Trey Young with 1302. So 165 more drives than anyone else in the entire NBA. And then he finishes extremely well at the rim in traffic on insane volume and on pretty high difficulty considering some of the spacing issues the Thunder had. At times. Shea shot 60% on layups, not dunks, layups once again for a guard. And at that volume and degree of difficulty, that's a super impressive number. That's the foundational piece, his ability to get to the basket. From there, Shea had two very useful counters to his dribble penetration. Deadly short range shot making and the ability to grift his way to the line. Let's start with the short range shot making. Shea shot 54% on twos inside of 17ft. Jump shots inside of 17ft. Last year he made 216 of them, which was the most in the league by a pretty wide margin. And only Kevin Durant and Bradley Be a Beal had a higher percentage on those short twos on a minimum of 100 attempts. And again, as I always talk about, there's a ton of value in short range scoring because of the way it translates in physicality to the playoffs and in clutch situations. A lot of times those deeper jump shots, they're less likely to go in when everyone's tired, the whistle's being swallowed. Things are super physical. You need something closer to the basket to be reliable in those situations. Right. And what's interesting is if you look at Shays efficiency numbers last year in the postseason, he experienced some some substantial drop offs in key areas like his rim finishing dropped by 6% overall according to Synergy. His three point shooting dropped by 9%. His overall true shooting percentage dropped by 7% relative to the regular season. But he was able to avoid the precipitous drop offs that guys like James Harden have experienced in the past, especially in like big late series moments. Because Shea had a part of his game that he was able to stabilize and he was that short range scoring piece. He hit 51.4% of his two point jump shots inside of 17ft. This is a big part of how he was able to maintain his status as a reliable playoff scorer night to night as he went through those four rounds even if he wasn't quite as good as he was in the regular season. And it showed up in the clutch. In clutch in particular, Shay was the only player in the playoff field last year to make at least 10 clutch shots on at least 50% shooting. He's 14 for 28 to be exact. But what's really fascinating to me is if you actually look back at every pivotal shot, you can say what you want about the Thunder. I'd argue they made like it was more difficult than it should have been for them through that postseason run. It was the stuff that I talked about all season. Their youth, their inexperience, their inconsistencies on offense fueled by their youth. It manifested in those longer series against Denver in Indiana. But touches credit what iced those series. His short range shot making obviously in the Memphis series in game four was a deeper two, but he hits a two that ices that series. Look at Denver. Game five late in the game tied, gets Jamal Murray on a switch, hits a little 15 footer for an and one over the top is a lead changing shot in that game. Game for the NBA Finals, literally one of the most pivotal shots in the entire playoff run. Indiana has a one point lead. He hits a short step back jump shot along the left baseline after pushing off Aaron Neesmith. All of the most pivotal moments for Oklahoma City offensively in this playoff run swung on. Shay's ability to get to close range jump shots and to hit them at a high percentage. And then the final counter to Shay's driving ability is the ability to get to the foul line. He just has every foul grifting trick in the book. The low gather, the arm grab, the pump fakes, the weird release angles, the flopping, the yelling. He's got it all. And by the way, the same exact thing is true about Luka. Luka's every bit is bad. And again, as I always say, I don't blame the players for this stuff. I blame the league. If he didn't get rewarded with free throws, the other guys wouldn't do it. Shea got 8.8 free throw attempts per game last year. That was the second most in the NBA behind Giannis, Antenna Campo. All of that amounted to Shay being the best scorer in the league last year by a good margin. The playmaking piece with Shay is all about his frame of mind. Shea is wired as a score and at many points during this playoff run. He hurt his team on offense by just coming out guns blazing as a shooter kind of overdoing it. And taking the rest of his team out of rhythm. But to his credit, and I talked about this in the playoff run every single time the Thunder ended up in a do or die type of game with exception to game four of the finals. Game for the finals was the one night where like like obviously you made a couple of bit plays late but I thought he, that was the zero assist game. I thought he did a really poor job managing like his floor game was poor in that game. But in every other pivotal game in that playoff run he came out and played a really good floor game. Properly balancing his attacks and advantage creation, taking easy kick out reads when they were available, setting the table for his team to have a successful night on offense. Again, he is not a top tier playmaker in this league. He's never going to be that type of guy. But he was able to figure out the proper balance in the big spots the way he needed to. Now it's just for him in the future about fighting his natural tendencies. I do expect him to get better at that each passing year. We talked about this after they won the title. That was why I viewed Oklahoma City as vulnerable and they proved to be vulnerable as they were pushed to seven twice. They're young, they struggle to replicate successes and minimize failures. But Shay, with each passing year I expect him to get better at understanding the importance of his floor game on a night to night basis. That will be a bigger deal as they head into the future of this franchise. Right. Like in the coming years, three, four years from now. And Shay's on his max, Jdub's on his max, Chat's on his max. Oklahoma City won't be able to surround him with as much talent as they can right now. They're not going to be able to make off season moves for Alex Crusoe and Isaiah Hartenstein the way that they did last summer. The margin for error will be much smaller and that's where Shea's development as a game manager will become a bigger deal than it was last year. I should also mention that Chet and Jdub's development will play a role there as well. But there was a massive difference between Oklahoma City's half court offense performance and wins and losses in this. In the playoffs this year they logged in 89.3 offensive rating in the half court in their losses and a 100.2 in their wins. That often was tied to the job that Shea was doing kind of managing the flow of these games. Bottom line, Shay's a top tier superstar because he's an absolute S tier scorer with reliable short range shot making that makes him super dependable night to night and in clutch situations, more so than any other star in the NBA last year. And he's a good enough defensive playmaker as well as switch defender to be an above average defender at his position in the NBA. He has his inconsistencies as a game manager and playmaker and but they're just what separates him from the two guys that have above him. And to his credit he was able to come through in those areas in big moments in this year's playoff run. For right now I have Shea at number three.
- [34:29]
Matt Jones
Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.
- [34:46]
Drew Franklin
Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.
- [34:49]
Matt Jones
What was that?
- [34:50]
Drew Franklin
Looks like something that should not be sold.
- [34:52]
Matt Jones
Oh my.
- [34:53]
Drew Franklin
So that was my other big Colts takeaway.
- [34:54]
Matt Jones
They sold that?
- [34:55]
Ty
Yes.
- [34:55]
Drew Franklin
Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that.
- [34:59]
Jason
Yeah, I thought the shape we had.
- [35:01]
Drew Franklin
With pretzels was working pretty well.
- [35:02]
Jason
It's worked for generations.
- [35:04]
Matt Jones
We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go.
- [35:09]
Drew Franklin
I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73.
- [35:13]
Matt Jones
He is a young 73. He is spry.
- [35:15]
Drew Franklin
I wouldn't fight him.
- [35:17]
Matt Jones
I would listen. NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [35:31]
Daniel Jeremiah
What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks on Move the Sticks. We take you inside the game. From scouting reports and player development to.
- [35:40]
Bucky Brooks
Team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.
- [35:44]
Daniel Jeremiah
Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.
- [35:50]
Bucky Brooks
It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots. From college football prospects to the NFL.
- [35:55]
Daniel Jeremiah
Stars of tomorrow, we break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day.
- [36:02]
Bucky Brooks
Plus, we dig into coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year.
- [36:08]
Daniel Jeremiah
Whether you're a die hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture.
- [36:14]
Bucky Brooks
If you want Insight that goes beyond the box score. This podcast is for you.
- [36:18]
Daniel Jeremiah
Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [36:28]
Dan
I'm Dan, he's Ty.
- [36:30]
Ty
Hello.
- [36:31]
Dan
And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast.
- [36:34]
Ty
College football season is here and you know what that means.
- [36:40]
Dan
Your team is going to break your heart three times probably before Halloween.
- [36:45]
Ty
Uh huh. But fear not, the Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.
- [36:52]
Dan
Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.
- [36:59]
Ty
Whether you're a die hard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.
- [37:15]
Dan
We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it.
- [37:19]
Ty
Listen to the Solid Verbal College football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [37:29]
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human pot.
- [37:37]
Guest on Psychology Podcast
Was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills. And I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face when you think about emotion regulation. Like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to say like, like you go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and, and just like walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort.
- [38:21]
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
Listen to the Psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [38:30]
Jason
All right, number two, Luka Doncic. Let's start by going over his last season and then we'll talk about what Luca is as a basketball player at this point and what I expect from him this coming season. Luka followed up his unbelievable breakout season in 2024 with the most embarrassing season of his career. There's no way to describe it other than to use the word embarrassing. Now we can all agree that Nico Harrison trading Luka Doncic was the dumbest trade in the history of sports. But even in that context, it's worth mentioning that Nico had a reason. It wasn't nearly enough of a reason to justify the trade, but the reason was there. Luka came into camp fat. He got hurt. He came back fatter, got hurt again. Then he got traded, came back to the Lakers the fattest I've ever seen him, and then he got flatly outplayed by Anthony Edwards in the first round. His ant continually came on strong in fourth quarters while Luka looked exhausted at the end of every game because he wasn't in nearly as good a shape. And he put together the worst defensive series of his career, somehow eclipsing a pretty rough defensive series in the 2024 finals. I'm being very blunt here on purpose. I obviously hold Luka in very high esteem as a basketball player. He's number two on my list for the second year in a row. That means I hold him to a very high standard. And his last season was an embarrassing step backwards for a player that had had one of the most impressive starts to a career in the history of the NBA. It was embarrassing. There's no way around it, but let's go through the numbers from last year first and then we'll start looking forward. Luca played in 50 total games spanning his time with the MAVS and the Lakers. 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. 45% from the field, 37% from the line, or, excuse me, from 3, 78% from the line. That amounted to 54% in effective field goal percentage, 59% in true shooting, 2.2 stocks per game, fueled by a career high 1.8 steals per game. As we talked about in the first segment today, Luke is a good defensive playmaker off the ball, and he could play passing lanes and sniff out actions there and blow him up. So obviously a testament to how amazing luka is that 28, 8 and 8 on 59% true shooting is an embarrassing step backwards for him. But literally just one year prior, he played in 20 more games, averaged 34, 9 and 10 on 62% true shooting. That's what Luca is capable of. That's the standard. That's closer to what I expect from Luca moving forward. Again, like we talked about earlier, maybe not the same points per game alongside LeBron James and Austin Reeves, but that's the standard Lucas play type data last year. Good. Not great by his standards in Dallas. 1.11 points per possession and pick and roll including passes that's Obviously very good. 0.89 points per possession including passes in one on ones, which is obviously not great. In Los Angeles was a little more balanced. 1.08 points per possession and pick and roll. Not quite as good as he was in Dallas, but still above average. 1.04 points per possession in his one on ones, which was better than Dallas, but still not great. So across the board last year as a shot creator, just not a great year for him by his standards. The strangest thing for Luka last year was his dip in short range scoring, which again has been his one of his biggest strengths as an NBA player. And it happened like right when he went to LA. In Dallas last year he shot 54% on jumpers inside his 17ft and 46% of floaters, more in line with what his recent career performance is. But in Los Angeles he dropped to just 37% on jump shots inside of 17ft and just 36% on floaters. He's been a little better with Slovenia this summer. Seven for 16 on twos inside of 17ft, that's 44%. I think he's, I think he's only taken like two floaters, but this is the big category I have my eye on heading into this coming season. I really want to see Luka get back to being that high volume, high efficiency short range scorer that he was before joining the Lakers. But let's look forward and let's talk about what I expect from Luca this coming season. Predictably, the immense criticism that Luca has received over the last year has motivated him into getting into the best shape he's been in at this phase in his career. I've seen two very important things from Luca so far in EuroBasket 1. He's far more explosive athletically. His first step is quicker, he's changing directions more smoothly. I'm seeing explosiveness in transition. I was watching a clip of him in a coast to coast drive against Israel the other day where he just took the ball, exploded forward in the open court, powered through a dude with his left shoulder and finished with his right hand at the basket. That's not anything I saw out of him last year. He's got side to side pop on like his spins and his Euros. That wasn't there last year. He's simply far more athletic than he was last year. But the second piece of it is that he's retained most of his strength. I was worried about this when I heard about him losing weight. Strength is such a huge part of Luca's game, which we're about to talk about more in a little bit here in just a second. You can tell that through this process he has stayed dedicated in the weight room. And I'm seeing a lot of power on his drives and on his post ups, on his bumps, when he's handling ball pressure and box outs. I just think Luka looks great physically and I think we're going to get the best season of his career from him this year on both ends of the floor. So what does that look like? Luka's approach to offense is very different than Shay's in that it relies heavily on his ability to generate dribble penetration through strength rather than speed and finesse. To be clear, Luka has excellent fundamentals. As we've discussed often on the show, he sells his fakes well. I think he's a great ball handler for young players to watch because it's all eyes and like selling every part of his move with every part of his body before he changes direction. He's very good at getting that first tiny bit of an angle on even the elite defenders in the NBA. From there though, that's where the difference is. It's about strength. He gets you on that shoulder, he gets you on his back, and he uses his size and strength to rumble downhill to whatever spot he wants on the floor. That's what gives him the ability to be so effective in pick and roll and in his one on ones. In pick and roll, he sets his man up for screen, gets him trapped on his backside and slowly works his way downhill. It's a big part of why I'm not as worried about the screening and the Ayton partnership remains to be seen. But Luka's really gifted at getting dribble penetration even without necessarily needing a screen because of his strength. But once he gets you downhill, he's just waiting for the defense to react, right? Big man steps up, low man doesn't. He's hitting the big, either with a bounce pass or he's got unbelievable touch on lobs. He's probably the best lob thrower in the NBA right now, right? Low man steps over. He can whip cross court, Bass's left hand, right hand to either corner easily, right. He beats low man help extremely well. You stay back. He's got the short range shot, making the little short jumpers off the bump or little floaters, things along that. Those lines, you die on the screen. He can hit the pull up three. He is, in my opinion, the best pick and roll passer in the NBA. I think Jokic is a better overall passer, but strictly within on ball pick and roll play. I think Luca's passing ability is transcendent. I think he's the best at it in post up situations. He's also good. He can eat up double teams. I saw a lot of examples of that generating Those threes for P.J. washington in the Oklahoma City series last year. He can look defenders off with his eyes. He is a profoundly good playmaker and advantage creator on the offensive end. Out of every single type of action the key is going to be regaining his shot making. The playmaking is S tier. I talked about the the foul grifting earlier with Shea. Luka is the exact same. He's got all the low gathers and pump fakes, weird shot angles, weird driving angles, the flops, the yelling. He's got it all right. But the piece in the middle that he's got to get back is that shot making piece. If he can regain that shot making in 2024 he was 37% on pull up threes. That's a good number. We talked about the short range scoring. He was well over 50% on floaters and jumpers inside of 17ft. If he can get all that back, that's what ties everything together and puts Luca in that position. And that is a big part of as of why why I am projecting him to be the second best player in the league this coming season. This is not going to be the fat Luca out of shape Luca that we got last year. This is an in shape, strong and motivated Luca that should look like a better version of what we saw in 2024. The guy who dragged the Dallas Mavericks all the way to the NBA Finals. To put it very simply, even though his point per game averages won't look like they did in Dallas because of how different the Lakers roster is, I expect this will be the best offensive season of Luka's career. I expect a resurgence in mobility, I expect a resurgence resurgence in shot making. I expect him to be one of the top tier shot creators in the league. Another kind of like specific area where I expect Luca to improve this year is at the end of games. Luca had some issues fatiguing last year in the playoffs. This last year he was just 6 for 20 in fourth quarters and was pretty badly outplayed by Anthony Edwards in those spots. I think we'll see Luca do a better job of maintaining his level of impact later into games this season. But lastly we have to talk about the defensive end. The conversation around Luca As a defender has been fascinating over the last couple of years because it's complicated. For starters, he's an excellent defensive rebounder. Closing out defensive possessions is a key part of defense. He's also a good defensive playmaker off the ball. As we discussed earlier, those are useful traits that help a defense. But he just has this gaping situational weakness with handling, dribble penetration. He gets picked on by quicker perimeter players and he can give up super easy straight line drives. And when you get compromised that badly at the point of attack, it puts you in these really tough rotation situations. They can be really hard to recover from. It played a big role in their losses to Boston and Minnesota. The question is, what does Luka have to get to? What does he have to become in order to rectify that issue? He doesn't need to become prime Patrick Beverley or Davion Mitchell. He doesn't need like dribble penetration is a part of basketball. Every player is capable of giving up drives from time to time. Even the best defenders in the league. Luca just has to find a way to make it way harder than it has been. More cutoffs, more flattened drives, fewer straight line drives. We talk about it all the time. Like if you flatten out a drive meaning like, okay, you got past me, but you had to make multiple counter moves and instead of going directly towards the rim, it's kind of frayed off to the side a little bit. You do that, it makes it much easier for the defense around you to rotate and help and recover. He doesn't need to become an all world defensive player. He just simply needs to be able to slide his feet and anticipate better to the point where he can flatten out more of those drives. Improved quickness and improved conditioning should help him in that department. This is the weakness that Luca has to address and I do believe that this season we will get his best performance in that particular facet of defense. So to wrap everything up, I've Luke at number two because despite his embarrassing previous season, I expect him to return to the level he was at the the season before, which was the only player in the league other than Jokic to be both a transcendently great scorer and a transcendently great playmaker. It makes him the second best offensive engine currently on the planet playing basketball. I also think his improved conditioning will manifest with the best defensive season of his career and better performance at the end of games where he has struggled with fatigue in the past. And that's why I have Luca at number two this season. All Right, guys, That's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We will be back on Friday with number one, Nicole Jokic, as well as our mailbag. I will see you guys then.
- [51:22]
Matt Jones
Hey, this is Matt Jones. And I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.
- [51:32]
Drew Franklin
Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.
- [51:35]
Matt Jones
What was that? Oh, my God. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [51:55]
Dan
I'm Dan. He's Ty.
- [51:56]
Ty
Hello.
- [51:57]
Dan
And we're the solid verbal college football podcast.
- [52:00]
Ty
Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.
- [52:08]
Dan
Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport.
- [52:13]
Ty
Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [52:21]
Dan
We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.
- [52:25]
Daniel Jeremiah
Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks on Move to six. We take you inside the game, from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies.
- [52:34]
Bucky Brooks
To evaluating teams, team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.
- [52:40]
Daniel Jeremiah
We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.
- [52:46]
Bucky Brooks
It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays.
- [52:50]
Daniel Jeremiah
Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [52:58]
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the psychology podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about how to be a better you.
- [53:06]
Guest on Psychology Podcast
When you about emotion regulation. You're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Complex problem solving takes effort.
- [53:21]
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
Listen to the Psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [53:28]
Jason
This is an iHeart podcast.