It's over.

The game is over.

Now you can say, Well, they have defensive issues.

Okay, They have Nick Klaxon.

They have DeAndre Jordan now both serviceable bigs that can protect the middle if they have to go big.

But now, when you play with Blake Griffin in the lineup, a guy that shoots a good rate from the three point line and that's a good mid range game, you involve him and picking pops.

His game will become unlocked when you put him with Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant, all who thrive and pick and roll scenarios.

So now if I'm James Harden, if I'm at the top of the key, Blake Griffin has come up with a screen from me.

How do you guard it?

Do you switch it?

That's a mismatch for James Harden.

If you switch and have a big on me if Blake pops, if you want to double team me because I'm coming off great, knock down the three.

If I come off the corner and Kyrie is in the corner boom, kick the Kyrie for a corner.

If I want to skip the ball to Katie, who's in isolated.

Because now you have to help on all these other perimeter players and we're keeping the lane open.

You tell me how you guard that.

And if you want to go big, if the Lakers do want to go big when they get there, Okay.

You want to play Marc Gasol and you want to play Anthony Davis?

That probably gives you an advantage from a size perspective.

But now I'm gonna move KD to the five Garda Small.

How do you guard that?

How do you guard it?

You have to outscore.

You have to outscore the Brooklyn Nets.

So here's my thing.

I just I think this was one of the missing pieces and this out of the piece.

Brooklyn Nets are by far the favorite to win it.

Damn!

Damn!

Damn, That's so true.

It just is.

And I want to If I if Blake Griffin doesn't go to the Nets.

Okay, I've said this before.

Lakers still the favorite.

I still would have picked the Lakers to win over K D.

James and Kyrie.

I wouldn't They got they got stronger just now.

I mean it.

Uh, it's a little bit of a head scratcher.

You know, he's like Like J will saying When you in certain places and you feel a certain way, you go and you get re energized going to Brooklyn with what they're doing and the coaches and the players that they surround you, which you just feel you feel better, like, you know that you you can't do what you did in Detroit.

You gotta take the game and get to a certain level because they're at a certain level.

Let me ask you this.

J take me inside here.

So the next game that Blake Griffin plays, presumably Thursday against the Celtics, whatever the case may be, it will be the first game in his regular season.

Career is not started.

Just take me inside the mindset that he's playing 642 games.

I think you started every single one of them.

He's not starting on this team, right?

I wouldn't Yeah, I'm like, what?

Unless you just think because he hasn't unless they just have.

They want to kind of slowly moving into the role.

Is that what you mean?

Yes, to a degree, but you don't think it's out of the question that the Nets just go with their five.

I mean, they can go with their five.

Blake Griffin is going to be a song.

Yeah, okay, Blake Griffin is going to be a starter.

Uh, just he's the he's, he's He'll become like the Queen piece to a degree on the chessboard.

Right now you have.

You have multiple queens, obviously, but just he will be involved in so much action.

And here the more he's a screener is, the more you're going to see him popping out and knocking down wide open jump shots because of the amount of attention that Kyrie, James Harden and Kevin Kevin Durant are going to warrant like he will be a great utility piece for them down the stretch.

You know, he's a starter.

They didn't bring him in there to come off the bench and B six men of the year.

I mean, that's not He may not start his first game out, but he certainly is going to be a starter before the end of the year.

By how many games in just a weekend.

What does he need to re acclimate to A to a team that has so many guys that need touches.

Yeah, but everybody tries to use that argument like everybody needs touches.

But the ball's in James Harden's hands.

He runs the PG, right?

So, look, man, I play with some bad teams before in my life, okay?

You know what happens when you play with a bad team?

I told you guys a story about what used to happen to me on the Bulls.

All right, About the shot clock, right?

Where somebody somebody has the ball, and all of a sudden, you know, three seconds on the shot clock.

They can't get a shot of Keyshawn here.

And you keep on catching the ball and, like, Damn, what do I do?

I got to get it up.

Next thing you know, you start looking at box scores.

Like what?

50% of the shots.

I'm taking her two seconds left in the shot clock.

What is going on?

Right, like that exists on bad teams.

When you go to a good team and you got one of your star players who's a willing passer and people are willing to share the rock, it feels like an All Star game to a degree and it's a lot easier to buy into when the ultimate goal is to win a championship than saying, Man, I'm in Detroit.

Let's be real.

I'm in Detroit, J.

Rose, my guy.

We talked about all He's in Detroit way different in Brooklyn, way different.

I'll leave it at that.

And and this is not the Brooklyn Nets of Paul Pearson in kg.

And then this is a different.

You know what I'm saying?

Like these are younger, Kind of like they got a lot, a lot of popping them still, so it's gonna be fun to watch.

I hate to see it, but it's gonna be fun to watch it.

I'm not worried about the Lakers.

Once we get a D back, we straight bring them on.

I mean, that's that's the question.

When does Anthony Davis come back and look rich?

Paul has Rich Paul in that organization have a big time decision to make because Kendrick Perkins has said it.

I've heard are Rich Paul say it, too, that when that injury happened to Kevin Durant, Rich Paul was like, look, man that ever happened to LeBron.

He's not coming back.

He's not coming back.

So those words fast.

Four years later, if a D doesn't feel okay, do you sacrifice long term for short term gratification to win a chip associate?

LeBron being 36?

I don't know, but I'm going to be attached that TV screen watching every single action.

You say that you don't put a D out there.

Let's be ready because A D has to essentially be the heir apparent, a one to LeBron James.

Whenever that time comes, you sign.

You signed a D for the long haul.

Not for the short term, but key here.

Here's what happens with the Lakers, and I love Marc Gasol.

I think he's an ambassador of the game, but he's going to start getting exploded defensively because what I saw right before the All Star break exactly.

He moves like, Yeah, you can see it.

It's like a robot on the court, my man.

Uh, that's what we used to.

We used to play against the Lakers, man, I'm like, All right, Tyson shacks guarding you.

Come here.

Tyson comes at this screen every time because Shock was gonna play below the free throw line.

That was a wide open jumper for me.

and those are the kind of liabilities that you have.

Yeah, I'm just asking.

Only played them twice.

I mean, short run.

Obviously, I don't know if you hit the jail who came out shock over there.

Look at me with his mouth all over because we just kept running up and down the court, right?

But that's what happens with Marc Gasol when he's on the court.

Liability defensively.

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