NBA American Stars: A New Generation of Hope and Dominance

[00:00:12] Hey, it's Tuesday. You know what time it is. Front Runner Podcast Collective is back on the air. I am your humble host, Vince. The reason for being a day late and a dollar short is because yesterday I just could not even drag myself out of bed. I don't know what was going on with me. I was sore. But no, I didn't have any symptoms of cold, sore throat, anything.

[00:00:41] I think just all my muscles just hurt and it felt like I ran some sort of marathon. But we are back today. And we got a really like jam packed show for you. It's going to be innovative. It's going to be funny, topical. It's going to be it's just going to be extravaganza, a lot of stuff. So I'm happy that you guys are along for the ride.

[00:01:06] And before we get started, we got to hit the socials, right? X frontrunner at frontrunner pc. The producers are at rea underscore funch frpc. The YouTube channel you will see coming this week, new videos. Also, hopefully more eye popping thumbnails so it'll look different. We also have going to have new categories coming up.

[00:01:34] So keep it locked in for that. Go to the YouTube channel, Frontrunner Podcast Collective. The producers and I have come up with a couple new things that we're going to try to implement on that. And I think it's going to be pretty entertaining. It's going to be pretty entertaining. I think we got some stuff coming.

[00:01:53] And then the last thing is this. So the mantra, know the movement. It's all about what? Be a friend, tell a friend, tell everybody you know about the podcast and then the people that you don't know, tell them about the podcast.

[00:02:07] You know what I'm saying? The only way we can continue to grow is through you. If you're excited about the product, if you're excited about the podcast and all the information that we give you, hopefully in an entertainment sort of way, also informative sort of way, go ahead and alert your people or also just strangers on the street as well.

[00:02:31] We would appreciate it. With that being said, let's get to the podcast.

[00:02:36] First and foremost, a couple of things going to tell you what we're going to talk about.

[00:02:42] And the first thing that we're going to get into is there.

[00:02:48] Are we out of hope with the American born?

[00:02:55] NBA star, I think we have numbers and we have candidates to back it up.

[00:03:02] And also I have a couple shadow candidates as well.

[00:03:06] Stay out on the lookout for that.

[00:03:08] The other thing that we're going to talk about in this pod today is that we're going to give some.

[00:03:15] Something that I've talked about, I think in the summer, I went briefly mentioned it, mentioned it.

[00:03:21] I believe this was around the summer league and we were talking about Cam Whitmore.

[00:03:25] And we're going to talk more about Cam Whitmore and also the outstanding article that Kelly Ico did for the athletic brought this on.

[00:03:35] So we want to give Kelly Ico props for this article that really pretty much just spawned this particular segment.

[00:03:43] And then hopefully we will give you some other stuff, some news and notes at the end and get up out of here.

[00:03:48] Well, with that being said, let's go ahead and start the podcast.

[00:03:52] Now, I did say, all right, ready?

[00:03:54] Okay, sorry about that.

[00:03:56] Lost, I hit the thing wrong.

[00:03:57] Let's kick off the podcast with this.

[00:04:00] It's that we know like the last six years that the foreign born players have won the MVP title of the NBA.

[00:04:09] Now, you can say the talent is better.

[00:04:13] Look at what we're talking about.

[00:04:15] And then who's coming up?

[00:04:16] We got Luka.

[00:04:18] We got SGA.

[00:04:20] We try to claim him, but he's Canadian.

[00:04:23] Can't claim him.

[00:04:23] Oh, sorry.

[00:04:24] You can say North American and then claim him.

[00:04:28] But he's actually Canadian.

[00:04:30] So we can't claim him.

[00:04:32] So who are the guys?

[00:04:34] Who are the who are Jedi apprentices?

[00:04:37] Who are Luke Skywalkers?

[00:04:40] Who are our Anakin Skywalkers now?

[00:04:45] And the list that we have for you are some names that are not new to you.

[00:04:51] But then I have some names on the back end to keep a lookout for.

[00:04:55] Now, the first guy that I want to talk about is Ja Morant.

[00:04:58] This guy is pure electricity.

[00:05:00] He's like a flash on the court moving at warp speed.

[00:05:03] But while he's shown flashes of brilliance, he's also had his fair share of turbulence.

[00:05:10] Ja had a 41.3 assist rate last season.

[00:05:15] His box plus minus was a positive 4.7.

[00:05:18] Now he's making a huge impact every time he's on the court.

[00:05:22] The problem is that there are 28 games under 500 when Ja doesn't play.

[00:05:28] Now, last year, he played nine games.

[00:05:33] He got a shoulder injury that shelved him for the rest of the year.

[00:05:38] It happens.

[00:05:40] The thing about Ja that we always have to remember is that Ja, even though he's a little bit bigger,

[00:05:46] he does remind me of Allen Iverson.

[00:05:50] Now, Iverson didn't have the injuries early on that Ja has had.

[00:05:58] But they do play with the same type of reckless abandonment.

[00:06:04] They do not show a lot of remorse to their body.

[00:06:09] They're very fearless when they go into the lane.

[00:06:12] So you're getting a guy who really is a...

[00:06:18] His bravado is not fake.

[00:06:20] I really believe that.

[00:06:21] That his...

[00:06:22] The way his tenacity is on the court is what you're seeing.

[00:06:26] That's him.

[00:06:28] That's Ja on a real level.

[00:06:33] But here are some other numbers for you to drive home the point.

[00:06:37] When Ja is in the game, the Grizzlies are a plus six points better per 100 processions.

[00:06:45] But when he's off the court, the issues and the injuries are the roadblocks to his young career.

[00:06:53] Now, I'm not going to talk about a couple years ago anymore.

[00:06:59] I'm just going to leave that in the past.

[00:07:01] We can only deal with the injury that happened last year and his frame and what have you.

[00:07:06] Now, if he hasn't learned anything from two years ago, that's on Ja at this point.

[00:07:13] Ja can be his worst enemy.

[00:07:15] But just strictly off the injuries, here's the deal.

[00:07:20] Hopefully, what we've learned through this process is that maybe we are a little more judicious when we go in a lane.

[00:07:28] Maybe we kind of throttle back and not take some of the punishment that we normally have done before.

[00:07:37] Ja's true shooting percentage is 58.5, which is really good.

[00:07:42] It shows that he's efficient, but he does have consistency issues.

[00:07:48] Here's the thing.

[00:07:50] The three-point shooting.

[00:07:51] And the problem is, again, you have Jaron Jackson Jr. hurt, so it does change the rotation quite a bit.

[00:07:59] I like what I saw out of Zach Eadie so far early in the preseason.

[00:08:04] He looks super mobile.

[00:08:06] It looks like he lost a lot of weight.

[00:08:09] I want to say he looks like at least 25 pounds thinner.

[00:08:16] He's moving around a lot better.

[00:08:21] And I can't wait to see this team fully formed when Jaron Jackson Jr. is back.

[00:08:26] Now, no injury update on Jaron Jackson Jr. at this present time.

[00:08:31] It was an ankle, or what was it?

[00:08:34] Groin.

[00:08:36] At this point, it's not day-to-day.

[00:08:39] He's going to be out for a while.

[00:08:41] Let him heal.

[00:08:42] Get him right.

[00:08:43] But it does throw a little dampness to the start of the Memphis season.

[00:08:50] With Jha as the guy that stirs the strength, basically, Jha is going to have to lift his team.

[00:09:00] And he can.

[00:09:01] And that's the thing that we're looking for.

[00:09:04] And that's the type of elevation we're looking for when it comes to our next, like, superheroes, American boy in the NBA.

[00:09:14] That's the guys that we're looking for.

[00:09:16] Can you raise yourself up?

[00:09:23] Can you raise your team up to a level while one of your guys is convalescing at home, nursing an injury?

[00:09:30] If Jha can sit here and be consistent, stay on the court, give them 72 to 75 games, play the way that Jha we know Jha can play,

[00:09:43] this dude is definitely going to be an all-NBA candidate.

[00:09:48] The guards is just going to be a bloodbath at this point.

[00:09:51] We're going to have six spots.

[00:09:52] We're going to have a ton of dudes.

[00:09:54] We got revenge tours for Damian Lillard.

[00:09:57] We got redemption tours for Steph Curry.

[00:10:01] We got Tyrese Halliburton, who was playing at an all-NBA level before he got hurt.

[00:10:07] It's going to be hard for Jha to make it, but it will depend on his health and his consistency and the health around him.

[00:10:18] The health around him will be important.

[00:10:22] The second guy I want to bring up is Zion Williamson.

[00:10:26] And the reason why I want to bring up Zion Williamson is obviously we have seen the transformation in his body.

[00:10:33] We've seen that he is a lot smaller, a lot slimmer, and he looks more devastating, and he looks more athletic.

[00:10:41] And God help us all, if he's going to jump higher, this is going to be a real problem.

[00:10:47] Okay?

[00:10:49] Now, the thing with Zion has always been injury.

[00:10:52] And usually injury has also tied into whatever you want to call it.

[00:10:57] Lifestyle, diet, discipline, whatever it is that you want to throw out there.

[00:11:02] My whole thing is this.

[00:11:03] He's caught it.

[00:11:04] Whatever it was, I think his psyche after the groin pull or the hamstring pull in the game right before the playoffs or whatever,

[00:11:20] where he hurt it against the Lakers, I think that changed his mentality for good.

[00:11:25] Not for good in a sense, like permanently.

[00:11:28] I'm just talking about for the good that he was like, hey, wait a minute.

[00:11:32] I might need to go ahead and really look at this conditioning and his lifestyle.

[00:11:39] How much, how long do I want to play?

[00:11:42] What is my impact going to be?

[00:11:45] And here's the thing.

[00:11:47] When the guy's on the court, his usage rate is 34.3.

[00:11:51] I'm just telling you right now.

[00:11:53] The reason why his usage rate is so high is because the Pelicans rely on him.

[00:12:00] Point Zion is a real thing.

[00:12:03] And they're going to utilize it maybe a little less this year because of DeJounte Murray.

[00:12:10] But we also have issues with the roster that we've talked about previously.

[00:12:15] And then the other thing that we need to talk about is that his outlandish true shooting percentage.

[00:12:21] His true shooting percentage is a 65.2%.

[00:12:24] And his box plus minus is a positive 5.0.

[00:12:29] This reflects an elite level play.

[00:12:32] Obviously, it's going to be about whether Zion can stay healthy.

[00:12:38] And I think that we are going to see that renew Zion this year.

[00:12:42] I think we're going to see a guy who wants to absolutely take back the throne.

[00:12:47] That he's definitely lost to Anthony Edwards.

[00:12:51] Who is our next guy we're going to talk about.

[00:12:54] But before we get there, Zion, this is the other thing that you want to latch on to.

[00:12:59] Especially with now the weight being gone.

[00:13:03] Zion's free throw rate is .400.

[00:13:08] That's a huge part of his game.

[00:13:10] Can you imagine what it's going to be now with him being quicker, lighter, more explosive?

[00:13:16] He actually might show even more aggression because he feels so physically good.

[00:13:22] This actually might go up.

[00:13:24] The other thing too is this.

[00:13:26] Is that we've never seen it.

[00:13:29] We haven't seen it for a full year.

[00:13:32] We didn't see it at Duke.

[00:13:33] And we damn sure haven't seen it in the NBA.

[00:13:38] But he was the one that we held out hope for.

[00:13:42] He was the one.

[00:13:45] Because we've never seen a package like him.

[00:13:47] The closest thing we've ever seen to him is Charles Barkley.

[00:13:51] And Charles Barkley would tell you that Zion is a superior, a far, far superior athlete.

[00:14:00] But being able to bring the ball up the court at that size, at that strength level,

[00:14:06] with that type of ferocity to attack the rim, we've never seen it.

[00:14:14] And if he's going to give it to us for 75 games,

[00:14:19] I think we're going to have a real different opinion of not just him,

[00:14:24] not just the Pelicans, but what his status is in this league.

[00:14:29] He could rewrite history with a dominant season.

[00:14:34] So we look forward to that.

[00:14:37] The next guy I want to talk is Anthony Edwards.

[00:14:39] Obviously, Anthony Edwards is a relentless guy.

[00:14:45] This guy is ultra competitive.

[00:14:48] This guy wants to be the best.

[00:14:51] Of course, we think he is the Luke Skywalker of this group.

[00:14:55] Actually, he might be more like Anakin because he wanted to destroy everything.

[00:15:00] He wants everything to be his.

[00:15:03] So I'm cool with that.

[00:15:06] He's been one of the most consistent young players in the league,

[00:15:10] averaging 24.6 points a game last year.

[00:15:13] His true shooting percentage is 58%.

[00:15:17] He's grown into the role of the leader of the Timberwolves.

[00:15:20] Now, we saw that on full display last year,

[00:15:23] where the handing over the mantle to Anthony Edwards,

[00:15:29] basically he just took it, said, this is mine.

[00:15:31] You can go ahead and sit at that number two seat, Kat.

[00:15:35] And now Kat is gone.

[00:15:36] It's going to be more of his team this year.

[00:15:39] And here's the other thing.

[00:15:40] He had a usage rate last year of 29.1%.

[00:15:43] This shows how much Minnesota leans on him to carry the offensive load

[00:15:48] and create offense for the others that are on the court.

[00:15:52] Because if you look at the way Minnesota set up,

[00:15:58] there are no other real creators.

[00:16:00] Now, Mike Conley is a good point guard, but he's older.

[00:16:04] It's hard for him to really attack the paint as he would when he was like 28, 29, like 37 now.

[00:16:11] You enter Julius Randle.

[00:16:14] Now, what you lose in three-point shooting,

[00:16:17] you gain in offensive creation.

[00:16:20] Because the one thing that Julius Randle can do is Julius Randle is very good at bully ball.

[00:16:28] If you pair him with Nas Reed instead of Rudy Gobert,

[00:16:34] that lineup becomes very fierce.

[00:16:38] And I wonder, now I understand what Rudy Gobert brings as a defensive presence.

[00:16:44] And I understood when the trade was made, we were hard on it.

[00:16:49] And then last year, it showed itself to be very effective.

[00:16:55] With the combination of Nas Reed and Julius Randle

[00:17:00] in that 4-5 position,

[00:17:02] where Nas can spread the floor,

[00:17:04] and Julius can play the bully ball style that he'd like to play,

[00:17:08] and his ability to then show a lot of offensive creation

[00:17:17] and kick the ball out to three-point shooters or actual cutters

[00:17:21] cutting towards the basket,

[00:17:22] he's very adept at all of that.

[00:17:25] So you might find that the ball movement will be better

[00:17:29] this year in Minnesota than it was previously.

[00:17:33] Because you got a couple more initiators,

[00:17:36] and we're not going to even talk about the absolute blur

[00:17:41] that is Rob Dillingham.

[00:17:43] That's going to have to be saved for another podcast,

[00:17:45] because that dude needs his own segment.

[00:17:49] Rob Dillingham, I was really scared for this dude for a second.

[00:17:53] I was like, he's so small.

[00:17:55] But he's so damn fast, you can't catch him.

[00:17:59] Can't catch him.

[00:18:01] And it's ridiculous.

[00:18:04] Now, I want to see it against better opponents.

[00:18:06] He played the Lakers.

[00:18:07] I'm not thrilled with their defense,

[00:18:10] but we'll see how it all plays out.

[00:18:11] But Rob Dillingham is not scared of the moment.

[00:18:15] He's fearless.

[00:18:16] And then you amplify Anthony Edwards,

[00:18:19] who is just going to be in this dude's ear,

[00:18:22] hiking him up all season.

[00:18:24] I can't imagine what Rob Dillingham is going to look like

[00:18:27] towards the end of the year.

[00:18:28] The other big leap that Anthony Edwards made last year

[00:18:31] is that his assist percentage went to 19.6.

[00:18:35] Now, this is still pretty modest.

[00:18:37] But for Anthony Edwards,

[00:18:38] who has learned to be able to trust his teammates more

[00:18:42] and understand that by getting them involved early in the game

[00:18:46] allows him to ease his way into the game,

[00:18:49] into a natural flow,

[00:18:51] instead of all eyes being on him,

[00:18:53] like Tupac.

[00:18:54] Okay?

[00:18:55] He's doing really what Jordan did

[00:18:59] when Jordan finally got Phil Jackson.

[00:19:02] And he's learning at 22

[00:19:04] where Jordan got it at, what, 26, 27?

[00:19:08] Here's the thing.

[00:19:10] Chris Finch has found a way

[00:19:12] to tap into whatever the psyche is of Anthony Edwards,

[00:19:16] which we all love his tenacity.

[00:19:19] We're not trying to take any of his aggressiveness

[00:19:22] or his confidence away from him.

[00:19:25] But what he was able to do is say,

[00:19:27] hey, man,

[00:19:28] if you can get the wall to these dudes

[00:19:30] in advantageous positions to score for you,

[00:19:33] they're going to help you on the defensive end.

[00:19:36] The other thing is,

[00:19:37] this allows you to ease your way into the game,

[00:19:40] pick the spots that are most optimal to you,

[00:19:43] and you're still going to get your touches.

[00:19:45] You're still going to get your shots.

[00:19:47] This offense does not work without you.

[00:19:51] I'm going to need you early on.

[00:19:54] Feed Rudy Gobert,

[00:19:55] make him feel good,

[00:19:57] and the others.

[00:19:58] And he really did adhere to those principles

[00:20:01] later on in the season last year.

[00:20:04] And you could see it

[00:20:05] when Minnesota really grasped

[00:20:07] what this was going to look like

[00:20:08] and see how successful the offense was going to be.

[00:20:12] It ran into a buzzsaw

[00:20:14] when it came to the Dallas Mavericks

[00:20:16] because you just didn't have enough shooting.

[00:20:20] Now,

[00:20:21] I ask the same question,

[00:20:23] but also in a different way.

[00:20:25] Because

[00:20:27] there's a variation in this team

[00:20:29] that I really,

[00:20:30] and I'm going to talk about it right now.

[00:20:32] The variation that I like of this team,

[00:20:35] there's a couple of them.

[00:20:37] Okay?

[00:20:38] One

[00:20:38] is the

[00:20:40] Nas Reed,

[00:20:42] Julius Randall,

[00:20:45] Jaden McDaniels,

[00:20:46] Anthony Edwards,

[00:20:49] Dante DiVincenzo

[00:20:52] lineup.

[00:20:53] I like that lineup

[00:20:54] a lot.

[00:20:57] And then

[00:20:58] the other lineup

[00:21:00] that I really like

[00:21:02] is

[00:21:04] the

[00:21:04] Rudy Gobert,

[00:21:06] Jaden McDaniels,

[00:21:08] Nikhil Alexander-Walker,

[00:21:12] Anthony Edwards,

[00:21:14] and Rob Dillingham.

[00:21:17] I like that lineup.

[00:21:20] And the reason why I'm giving you these lineups

[00:21:23] is because of the fact that

[00:21:24] I would like to see those lineups

[00:21:26] early on in the season

[00:21:28] and see what their

[00:21:29] point differential is

[00:21:31] and see how it all goes.

[00:21:33] The other reason is

[00:21:35] because I think

[00:21:35] with those lineups,

[00:21:36] they serve two masters.

[00:21:38] You're getting more scoring punch with one.

[00:21:41] You're getting more defense

[00:21:42] and rebounding

[00:21:43] and rim protection

[00:21:45] with another.

[00:21:46] These are just things that

[00:21:48] we have thought about.

[00:21:49] Now,

[00:21:49] I want to get to

[00:21:50] some of the guys

[00:21:51] that are

[00:21:53] maybe

[00:21:54] joining the league

[00:21:56] or

[00:21:58] not joined the league yet,

[00:22:00] but probably

[00:22:02] in the next couple years.

[00:22:05] before we

[00:22:06] write off

[00:22:07] the American

[00:22:08] born NBA superstar

[00:22:12] and say that

[00:22:13] it's going to be

[00:22:13] dominated by

[00:22:15] the foreign born player,

[00:22:18] we just gave you three.

[00:22:21] I'm going to give you another.

[00:22:25] People might hate me

[00:22:26] and that's fine,

[00:22:28] but

[00:22:29] Reed Shepard

[00:22:29] is a problem

[00:22:34] and I don't know

[00:22:35] how big a problem

[00:22:36] he's going to be

[00:22:36] this year

[00:22:38] because we're going to

[00:22:39] talk about that later.

[00:22:40] We're going to talk about

[00:22:41] the

[00:22:43] Houston Rockets

[00:22:44] in a big way

[00:22:45] and we're going to talk

[00:22:47] about one of my favorite

[00:22:47] players on the

[00:22:48] Houston Rockets,

[00:22:49] so stay tuned for that.

[00:22:51] But Reed Shepard

[00:22:52] shoots the light out.

[00:22:54] He's very fundamentally

[00:22:55] sound.

[00:22:56] His footwork is great.

[00:22:57] Offensively,

[00:22:58] he knows how to

[00:22:59] move

[00:23:00] with the basketball

[00:23:01] and without the basketball.

[00:23:03] He can self-create

[00:23:04] offense.

[00:23:05] He can also

[00:23:06] create offense

[00:23:08] for others.

[00:23:09] Now,

[00:23:09] he is 6'2".

[00:23:10] He is not the

[00:23:11] biggest cat,

[00:23:12] but

[00:23:12] he might be

[00:23:14] on the

[00:23:14] exact

[00:23:15] right team

[00:23:18] for

[00:23:18] who he is

[00:23:20] and what he does.

[00:23:23] And

[00:23:24] there's going to be

[00:23:25] something said

[00:23:26] later in this show

[00:23:27] that is going to be

[00:23:29] controversial

[00:23:29] and that's fine.

[00:23:31] I'm here for the heat.

[00:23:32] It's cool,

[00:23:33] but

[00:23:35] I just want to give

[00:23:37] a shout out

[00:23:38] to Reed Shepard

[00:23:39] because I think

[00:23:40] he's going to be

[00:23:41] real nice

[00:23:42] and I think

[00:23:43] that he's going to

[00:23:44] be undeniable

[00:23:45] in a very short

[00:23:47] period of time.

[00:23:49] There's a couple

[00:23:50] other guys

[00:23:50] that I want to

[00:23:51] give

[00:23:51] some

[00:23:53] love to.

[00:23:55] One

[00:23:56] is

[00:23:57] our guy

[00:23:58] guy

[00:23:58] at Duke

[00:23:59] this year,

[00:24:01] Cougar Flagg.

[00:24:02] Cougar Flagg,

[00:24:03] there has not been

[00:24:05] one person

[00:24:06] that I've talked to

[00:24:07] who's been connected

[00:24:08] to a NBA team

[00:24:10] or does

[00:24:12] like independent

[00:24:13] scouting

[00:24:13] on their own.

[00:24:15] They have

[00:24:16] not had

[00:24:17] anything

[00:24:17] but glowing

[00:24:19] recommendations

[00:24:20] for this kid.

[00:24:23] they love

[00:24:24] his work ethic.

[00:24:25] They love

[00:24:25] how he

[00:24:27] goes about

[00:24:28] his business

[00:24:29] on the defensive

[00:24:29] side of the ball.

[00:24:30] There's real

[00:24:31] thought involved.

[00:24:32] There's real

[00:24:32] intentionality involved

[00:24:34] in why he

[00:24:35] cut off an angle

[00:24:36] a certain way.

[00:24:37] There

[00:24:38] is

[00:24:39] just

[00:24:39] a lot

[00:24:40] of attention

[00:24:41] to detail

[00:24:41] and people

[00:24:42] love his confidence

[00:24:43] and they love

[00:24:44] his ability

[00:24:45] to rise

[00:24:46] to the occasion.

[00:24:48] So here's

[00:24:49] another guy

[00:24:50] who's coming

[00:24:51] into the league.

[00:24:52] The other guy

[00:24:53] that we want

[00:24:53] to talk about

[00:24:54] too

[00:24:54] is

[00:24:56] a guy

[00:24:57] that I think

[00:24:58] is going to

[00:24:58] make a major

[00:24:59] leap this year.

[00:25:00] A major

[00:25:01] leap.

[00:25:02] And I'm

[00:25:03] looking at

[00:25:03] OKC

[00:25:04] and I'm

[00:25:05] looking at

[00:25:06] Jalen Williams.

[00:25:07] This is the

[00:25:07] year.

[00:25:08] We're going

[00:25:09] from year

[00:25:10] two to year

[00:25:10] three.

[00:25:13] And

[00:25:14] I believe

[00:25:15] that Jalen

[00:25:16] Williams

[00:25:16] will enter

[00:25:18] some phase

[00:25:20] of

[00:25:20] oh

[00:25:21] I was

[00:25:23] unfamiliar

[00:25:24] with

[00:25:24] your

[00:25:24] game

[00:25:25] sir.

[00:25:26] My

[00:25:26] apologies.

[00:25:28] I think

[00:25:29] we're

[00:25:29] at that

[00:25:30] level

[00:25:30] and I

[00:25:31] can't

[00:25:31] wait

[00:25:32] to see

[00:25:33] what

[00:25:33] our

[00:25:33] guy

[00:25:34] does

[00:25:34] this

[00:25:34] year

[00:25:35] Jalen

[00:25:36] Williams

[00:25:36] out of

[00:25:36] OKC.

[00:25:38] The last

[00:25:38] guy that

[00:25:39] I want

[00:25:39] to talk

[00:25:39] about

[00:25:41] and

[00:25:43] we don't

[00:25:43] want to

[00:25:44] get too

[00:25:44] far ahead.

[00:25:44] I was

[00:25:45] going to

[00:25:45] talk about

[00:25:45] the

[00:25:45] Boozer

[00:25:45] twins

[00:25:46] and stuff

[00:25:46] like that

[00:25:47] but we

[00:25:47] don't have

[00:25:47] to worry

[00:25:47] about that

[00:25:48] until

[00:25:53] but the

[00:25:54] other guy

[00:25:54] I want

[00:25:55] to talk

[00:25:55] about is

[00:25:55] Ace Bailey

[00:25:56] and Ace Bailey

[00:25:58] is probably

[00:25:59] one of the

[00:25:59] top four or

[00:26:00] five lottery

[00:26:01] picks coming

[00:26:02] out next

[00:26:02] year.

[00:26:03] This is pretty

[00:26:04] much the

[00:26:04] consensus.

[00:26:05] He's like

[00:26:05] number two

[00:26:06] right behind

[00:26:07] Cooper

[00:26:08] Flagg.

[00:26:09] There are

[00:26:09] some in

[00:26:10] the NBA

[00:26:11] circles that

[00:26:12] believe that

[00:26:13] Ace Bailey's

[00:26:14] upside is more

[00:26:16] than Cooper

[00:26:17] Flagg's and

[00:26:18] that in

[00:26:19] the end

[00:26:19] when we

[00:26:20] get four

[00:26:21] or five

[00:26:21] years out

[00:26:22] Ace Bailey

[00:26:23] will be the

[00:26:23] better prospect.

[00:26:27] He can

[00:26:27] shoot it.

[00:26:28] He can

[00:26:28] create.

[00:26:29] He's long.

[00:26:31] He's athletic.

[00:26:31] He's a fluid

[00:26:32] athlete.

[00:26:33] He can

[00:26:33] handle the

[00:26:34] pill.

[00:26:35] He can

[00:26:35] get off

[00:26:36] the ball.

[00:26:38] He can

[00:26:38] work in

[00:26:39] the half

[00:26:41] court offense

[00:26:42] or he

[00:26:42] work in

[00:26:43] obviously

[00:26:43] in a

[00:26:44] full court

[00:26:44] situation

[00:26:44] too because

[00:26:46] it's so damn

[00:26:46] athletic and

[00:26:47] long.

[00:26:49] So Ace

[00:26:49] Bailey,

[00:26:50] Reed Shepard,

[00:26:52] Jalen

[00:26:52] Williams,

[00:26:54] Cooper Flagg,

[00:26:55] these are the

[00:26:55] guys that

[00:26:56] you, we

[00:26:58] don't have to

[00:26:58] lose hope

[00:26:59] America.

[00:27:00] We don't

[00:27:00] have to

[00:27:01] lose hope

[00:27:01] that the

[00:27:03] American born

[00:27:04] NBA superstar

[00:27:05] is absolutely

[00:27:07] a dinosaur.

[00:27:08] I know

[00:27:08] what Kurt

[00:27:09] Goldsberry

[00:27:10] said on

[00:27:11] Bill Simmons.

[00:27:12] I heard

[00:27:13] him.

[00:27:13] He's a

[00:27:14] very smart

[00:27:14] guy.

[00:27:15] A lot

[00:27:15] of analytics.

[00:27:17] We love

[00:27:17] analytics, but

[00:27:19] I do have

[00:27:20] to have a

[00:27:21] little bit of

[00:27:22] pushback, not

[00:27:23] because we

[00:27:24] do not enjoy

[00:27:25] the foreign

[00:27:26] born players

[00:27:27] because we

[00:27:27] know how

[00:27:28] incredibly

[00:27:29] skilled Nikola

[00:27:31] Jokic is.

[00:27:32] We know

[00:27:32] how incredibly

[00:27:33] talented

[00:27:34] Victor

[00:27:35] went by

[00:27:36] Yamagos,

[00:27:36] and we

[00:27:37] know how

[00:27:38] offensively

[00:27:39] dominant in

[00:27:41] the sorcerer

[00:27:41] that is

[00:27:42] Luka

[00:27:43] Donchuk.

[00:27:43] These are

[00:27:44] incredible

[00:27:44] players.

[00:27:45] We enjoy

[00:27:46] them very

[00:27:46] much, but

[00:27:49] let's pump

[00:27:50] the brakes

[00:27:50] with the

[00:27:52] extinction

[00:27:56] of the

[00:27:57] American born

[00:27:59] NBA super

[00:28:00] megastar.

[00:28:01] I think we

[00:28:02] do have some

[00:28:03] candidates, and

[00:28:05] I think a

[00:28:05] couple might

[00:28:06] arrive this

[00:28:07] year, so

[00:28:08] to speak.

[00:28:08] all right,

[00:28:10] we're going

[00:28:10] to transition

[00:28:11] into something

[00:28:12] that I

[00:28:13] talked to

[00:28:14] the producers

[00:28:14] about, and

[00:28:15] something that

[00:28:16] we might do

[00:28:17] on a weekly

[00:28:19] basis now,

[00:28:21] and we're

[00:28:22] taking takes

[00:28:23] from around

[00:28:24] the NBA

[00:28:25] circle.

[00:28:26] Some of

[00:28:26] our more

[00:28:27] well-respected

[00:28:29] journalist types

[00:28:30] are intrepid

[00:28:32] NBA reporter

[00:28:34] types, and we

[00:28:35] want to show

[00:28:35] them love on

[00:28:37] their takes, and

[00:28:38] then also see

[00:28:39] if we agree

[00:28:40] with them or

[00:28:41] not agree with

[00:28:41] them.

[00:28:43] I want to

[00:28:43] give a shout

[00:28:44] out to

[00:28:44] Soraya and

[00:28:46] Funch for

[00:28:47] helping me put

[00:28:48] this segment

[00:28:48] together, so

[00:28:50] let's start

[00:28:51] with this.

[00:28:53] And first

[00:28:53] up, we got a

[00:28:54] hot one from

[00:28:54] James L.

[00:28:56] Edwards III

[00:28:56] from The

[00:28:57] Athletic, and

[00:28:58] he's calling

[00:28:59] Jalen Brunson an

[00:29:00] MVP candidate

[00:29:01] this season.

[00:29:02] I see the

[00:29:03] narrative.

[00:29:03] I see it.

[00:29:05] I see what

[00:29:06] you're talking

[00:29:06] about right

[00:29:07] here.

[00:29:07] The Knicks

[00:29:10] somehow are

[00:29:11] the best team

[00:29:12] in the East

[00:29:12] because Tiz

[00:29:14] plays all the

[00:29:15] people 92

[00:29:17] minutes in a

[00:29:18] 48-minute game,

[00:29:19] and he wants

[00:29:20] his players to

[00:29:21] play as many

[00:29:22] games as

[00:29:23] possible.

[00:29:24] Also, you

[00:29:25] can't escape

[00:29:26] what Jalen

[00:29:28] Brunson means

[00:29:29] to New York

[00:29:29] as a whole

[00:29:31] and what he's

[00:29:32] been able to

[00:29:32] help do with

[00:29:33] bringing in

[00:29:34] some of

[00:29:34] these dudes

[00:29:35] as far as

[00:29:36] his contract

[00:29:37] and his

[00:29:37] contract

[00:29:38] extension, so

[00:29:39] I see the

[00:29:39] narrative building

[00:29:40] there.

[00:29:43] I do see it.

[00:29:44] I think it's a

[00:29:45] long shot, but

[00:29:47] I do see it.

[00:29:49] Remember, we

[00:29:50] had him, what,

[00:29:52] second all

[00:29:52] NBA in our

[00:29:54] FRPC, like,

[00:29:56] postseason, in

[00:29:57] the award

[00:29:58] season, whatever.

[00:29:59] Oh, yeah.

[00:30:00] We love Jalen

[00:30:01] Brunson on this

[00:30:02] podcast, Joel

[00:30:04] Ellen Weed,

[00:30:05] Nikola Jokic,

[00:30:07] SGA,

[00:30:08] Luka Doncic,

[00:30:11] Giannis.

[00:30:14] Yeah.

[00:30:17] But I

[00:30:18] actually, yeah,

[00:30:19] I see it.

[00:30:19] I see it.

[00:30:20] I understand it.

[00:30:21] And here's the

[00:30:21] thing.

[00:30:22] He's going to be

[00:30:23] playing in Madison

[00:30:23] Square Garden.

[00:30:25] They're going to

[00:30:25] be chanting

[00:30:26] MVP.

[00:30:27] His true

[00:30:27] shooting percentage

[00:30:28] last year was

[00:30:29] 58.1 and has a

[00:30:30] chance to go up.

[00:30:31] His usage rate

[00:30:33] last year was

[00:30:33] 27.5.

[00:30:35] I think that'll

[00:30:36] stay about where

[00:30:37] it needs to be.

[00:30:38] But those numbers

[00:30:39] aren't quite MVP

[00:30:40] caliber.

[00:30:41] He's going to

[00:30:41] have to get up

[00:30:42] into that 62%

[00:30:46] true shooting

[00:30:46] percentage range

[00:30:47] before we can

[00:30:48] start talking the

[00:30:49] whole MVP

[00:30:49] candidate situation

[00:30:51] personally.

[00:30:52] And then here's

[00:30:53] the other thing.

[00:30:54] His box plus

[00:30:54] minus is a

[00:30:55] positive 3.2,

[00:30:57] which shows that

[00:30:57] he's a really

[00:30:58] impactful player.

[00:30:59] But when you

[00:31:00] look at Jokic and

[00:31:01] compare in

[00:31:02] comparison, his

[00:31:03] box plus minus

[00:31:05] was a positive

[00:31:06] 11.8.

[00:31:10] Okay.

[00:31:12] Now, we don't

[00:31:14] get down with

[00:31:15] PER here, but

[00:31:16] box plus minus

[00:31:17] to me is really

[00:31:18] indicative of

[00:31:19] greatness on

[00:31:21] the basketball

[00:31:21] court.

[00:31:22] I think it

[00:31:22] really can show

[00:31:23] you who is

[00:31:25] really impactful,

[00:31:26] who's really

[00:31:26] doing the most

[00:31:27] on the basketball

[00:31:28] court.

[00:31:28] And as good

[00:31:30] as Jalen

[00:31:30] Brunson has

[00:31:31] been, and

[00:31:32] we don't

[00:31:33] strictly live

[00:31:34] by numbers

[00:31:35] here at

[00:31:36] FRPC.

[00:31:37] I'm going to

[00:31:37] use a blend

[00:31:38] of analytics,

[00:31:40] statistics, and

[00:31:41] then our own

[00:31:41] eyes.

[00:31:42] Because we know

[00:31:43] that Jalen

[00:31:44] Brunson is a

[00:31:45] baller.

[00:31:45] We know that

[00:31:47] Jalen Brunson is

[00:31:48] box office, and

[00:31:49] we know that he

[00:31:50] can go off for

[00:31:50] 50 anytime he

[00:31:52] wants.

[00:31:53] But as far as

[00:31:55] when you're

[00:31:55] talking about

[00:31:55] really being

[00:31:57] that team

[00:31:57] that's going

[00:31:58] to be at

[00:31:58] the highest

[00:32:00] level and

[00:32:02] battling for

[00:32:04] that Larry

[00:32:04] O'Brien

[00:32:05] trophy, he

[00:32:07] got a little

[00:32:08] work to do.

[00:32:09] Just saying.

[00:32:13] Okay, our

[00:32:14] next take.

[00:32:16] Tony Jones

[00:32:18] says Michael

[00:32:19] Porter Jr.

[00:32:20] will make his

[00:32:22] first All-Star

[00:32:23] game this season.

[00:32:26] Well, they're

[00:32:27] going to need

[00:32:27] Michael Porter Jr.

[00:32:29] They're going

[00:32:30] to need him

[00:32:30] very much because

[00:32:31] they've lost a

[00:32:32] lot of talent, and

[00:32:33] they're going to

[00:32:34] need to lean on

[00:32:35] those young guys

[00:32:36] as well.

[00:32:36] But before

[00:32:37] those young

[00:32:38] guys, our

[00:32:40] guy here is

[00:32:41] going to be

[00:32:41] looking for more

[00:32:42] shots without

[00:32:44] KCP there.

[00:32:45] That's for sure.

[00:32:47] Now, Porter's

[00:32:48] true shooting

[00:32:49] percentage is

[00:32:50] 64.7, which

[00:32:51] is elite.

[00:32:52] His effective

[00:32:53] field goal

[00:32:53] percentage is

[00:32:54] 61.4, which

[00:32:55] shows he's

[00:32:56] super efficient,

[00:32:57] and he doesn't

[00:32:58] have a high

[00:33:00] usage rate, like

[00:33:01] 22%, about

[00:33:03] where he should

[00:33:03] be.

[00:33:06] Here's my thing

[00:33:07] with Michael

[00:33:08] Porter Jr.

[00:33:10] Did all the

[00:33:12] early injuries

[00:33:13] sack everything

[00:33:14] away from him?

[00:33:16] Is he ever

[00:33:17] going to be

[00:33:17] like a

[00:33:18] consistent

[00:33:18] like seven

[00:33:20] plus rebounds

[00:33:22] game guy?

[00:33:22] guy?

[00:33:24] I know he can

[00:33:25] get buckets, and

[00:33:26] I know he can

[00:33:27] get them in

[00:33:28] bunches.

[00:33:28] I just wonder if

[00:33:29] he can do a

[00:33:30] couple other

[00:33:30] things.

[00:33:31] I think he's

[00:33:32] come a long way

[00:33:33] with his defense.

[00:33:35] I don't think it's

[00:33:36] great, but I think

[00:33:37] it's possible now,

[00:33:37] he does use his

[00:33:39] length and his

[00:33:41] size effectively

[00:33:43] in a defensive

[00:33:44] stance.

[00:33:46] I like Michael

[00:33:47] Porter Jr.

[00:33:48] I thought that

[00:33:49] there was a

[00:33:49] point where I

[00:33:50] wondered if

[00:33:51] MPJ would want

[00:33:53] to stay in

[00:33:54] Denver, but

[00:33:56] now if we're

[00:33:57] saying that the

[00:33:58] opportunities are

[00:33:59] about to open up

[00:34:00] for him, I don't

[00:34:01] know if he's

[00:34:02] going to be able to

[00:34:02] make an all-star

[00:34:03] team this year.

[00:34:04] It depends on

[00:34:05] in the West.

[00:34:07] We got a lot of

[00:34:07] dudes to feed in

[00:34:09] the West.

[00:34:11] Got a lot of

[00:34:12] dudes.

[00:34:12] Let's think about

[00:34:13] this.

[00:34:14] Eyes hurt already.

[00:34:16] Lori Markkinen.

[00:34:18] We got Lori.

[00:34:19] Let's see.

[00:34:20] Let's see who

[00:34:21] else we got.

[00:34:21] I just want to go

[00:34:22] through the

[00:34:23] Rolodex of people

[00:34:24] at this point in

[00:34:25] time.

[00:34:27] Zion.

[00:34:30] Jaron Jackson

[00:34:30] Jr., if he gets

[00:34:31] healthy, if he's

[00:34:33] back by early

[00:34:35] December, he's

[00:34:35] he'll have enough

[00:34:36] time to make an

[00:34:37] all-star team.

[00:34:39] Durant.

[00:34:41] I don't want to

[00:34:41] miss anybody because

[00:34:42] I don't want to I

[00:34:43] don't want to team

[00:34:44] fan base to get mad

[00:34:45] at me.

[00:34:46] I'm trying to figure

[00:34:46] it out.

[00:34:46] Kawhi if he stays

[00:34:47] healthy.

[00:34:48] LeBron, obviously,

[00:34:50] if he stays

[00:34:50] healthy.

[00:34:53] OKC got J-Dub and

[00:34:55] they got Chet.

[00:34:57] And they're going

[00:34:58] to be battling for

[00:34:59] the number one

[00:34:59] seed.

[00:35:01] So there's a lot

[00:35:02] of competition for

[00:35:03] our guy MPJ to

[00:35:04] make an all-star

[00:35:05] team.

[00:35:05] We'll see.

[00:35:07] I think that's a

[00:35:08] hot take, honestly.

[00:35:11] He's going to have

[00:35:12] to be better than

[00:35:13] positive 1.8 in his

[00:35:14] box plus minus, which

[00:35:16] is not basically

[00:35:17] all-star material.

[00:35:19] The other thing that

[00:35:20] we want to talk

[00:35:21] about, this is the

[00:35:21] next one.

[00:35:22] I love this one.

[00:35:23] This is why our

[00:35:24] guy Will Guillory,

[00:35:25] who does really

[00:35:26] good work for the

[00:35:27] athletic.

[00:35:28] He does Miami

[00:35:29] he usually in like

[00:35:31] the southern region

[00:35:32] of the basketball

[00:35:33] world for us,

[00:35:35] for the athletic.

[00:35:37] And his take is

[00:35:38] that Bam

[00:35:39] Autobio becomes a

[00:35:40] legitimate three-point

[00:35:41] threat.

[00:35:42] What?

[00:35:43] We in what,

[00:35:44] year seven for

[00:35:45] Bam?

[00:35:47] OK.

[00:35:48] And then

[00:35:48] Brook Lopez

[00:35:50] became a three-point

[00:35:51] shooter late in

[00:35:52] his career.

[00:35:53] Here's the thing.

[00:35:54] He's attempted

[00:35:55] 0.23

[00:35:59] point shots

[00:36:00] per game.

[00:36:01] And he's hit 25%

[00:36:03] of them.

[00:36:06] 0.2 shots

[00:36:08] a game?

[00:36:10] The percentage

[00:36:10] doesn't bother me.

[00:36:11] It's the 0.2

[00:36:13] shot.

[00:36:13] You didn't even

[00:36:14] take one a game.

[00:36:15] You took, what,

[00:36:16] 20?

[00:36:17] In the whole season?

[00:36:18] Now, his true

[00:36:19] shooting percentage

[00:36:20] is 61.2%.

[00:36:21] Adding a consistent

[00:36:23] three-point shot

[00:36:23] seems to be a

[00:36:25] long shot.

[00:36:26] I would say so.

[00:36:27] I would say so.

[00:36:28] I do not see

[00:36:30] this.

[00:36:32] No.

[00:36:33] You let

[00:36:34] Yovic and

[00:36:35] Hakes Jr.

[00:36:37] improve their

[00:36:37] three-point shot.

[00:36:39] You also let

[00:36:40] KL Ware

[00:36:41] improve his

[00:36:43] three-point shot.

[00:36:44] And then

[00:36:45] Duncan

[00:36:46] and Tyler Hero

[00:36:47] and they

[00:36:48] improve their

[00:36:49] three-point shot.

[00:36:50] And then

[00:36:51] Bam stays

[00:36:52] who Bam is.

[00:36:53] We like Bam

[00:36:54] the way he is.

[00:36:55] Don't change

[00:36:57] Bam.

[00:37:00] Do not change

[00:37:01] Bam out of

[00:37:02] Lyle.

[00:37:03] We like him

[00:37:03] just the way

[00:37:03] he is.

[00:37:04] Just saying.

[00:37:04] And this is

[00:37:05] the reason

[00:37:05] why we don't

[00:37:06] want to change

[00:37:06] him.

[00:37:08] Bam's box

[00:37:09] plus minus

[00:37:09] is a positive

[00:37:10] 3.4 which

[00:37:11] reflects him

[00:37:12] to be such

[00:37:13] a dominant

[00:37:14] force,

[00:37:14] especially when

[00:37:15] it comes to

[00:37:15] his rebounding

[00:37:16] percentage is

[00:37:17] 16.3.

[00:37:19] Okay?

[00:37:20] He's still

[00:37:21] just an incredible

[00:37:22] force in the

[00:37:23] paint.

[00:37:23] I understand

[00:37:24] developing a

[00:37:25] three and what

[00:37:26] it does to

[00:37:26] offense and all

[00:37:27] of that,

[00:37:28] but that

[00:37:29] doesn't fit

[00:37:30] the Miami

[00:37:31] Heat culture.

[00:37:32] I want the

[00:37:33] rugged Bam

[00:37:34] out of

[00:37:35] Lyle.

[00:37:36] So,

[00:37:36] I'm just

[00:37:37] saying.

[00:37:39] Alright,

[00:37:41] the last thing

[00:37:42] we're going to

[00:37:43] talk about

[00:37:43] today is

[00:37:44] we're going to

[00:37:45] talk about

[00:37:45] the Houston

[00:37:45] Rockets and

[00:37:47] basically

[00:37:49] our,

[00:37:50] and when I

[00:37:51] say our,

[00:37:51] Front Runner

[00:37:52] Podcast

[00:37:52] Collective's

[00:37:54] favorite

[00:37:55] Houston

[00:37:56] Rocket,

[00:37:57] which is

[00:37:59] Mr.

[00:37:59] Cam Whitmore.

[00:38:01] Front Runner

[00:38:03] Podcast

[00:38:03] Collective

[00:38:04] is a very

[00:38:05] pro

[00:38:06] Cam Whitmore

[00:38:07] podcast

[00:38:09] to the point

[00:38:11] if you

[00:38:13] were with

[00:38:13] us

[00:38:13] in the

[00:38:15] early days

[00:38:16] and there's

[00:38:18] been a

[00:38:18] strong push

[00:38:20] to pull

[00:38:22] the first

[00:38:23] hundred

[00:38:23] episodes

[00:38:24] of this

[00:38:25] podcast

[00:38:26] or 120

[00:38:27] and start

[00:38:28] when the

[00:38:28] producers

[00:38:29] got on

[00:38:30] board.

[00:38:32] There's a

[00:38:32] strong push

[00:38:33] for that

[00:38:33] behind the

[00:38:34] scenes.

[00:38:34] I just

[00:38:35] want to

[00:38:35] let y'all

[00:38:35] know

[00:38:35] there's a

[00:38:36] lot of

[00:38:37] political

[00:38:37] stuff

[00:38:37] going on

[00:38:38] behind the

[00:38:38] scenes,

[00:38:39] but

[00:38:40] what I'm

[00:38:40] saying is

[00:38:41] this,

[00:38:41] is that

[00:38:42] we have

[00:38:42] loved

[00:38:42] Cam Whitmore

[00:38:43] from the

[00:38:44] jump.

[00:38:44] We've been

[00:38:45] really high

[00:38:46] on him

[00:38:47] since his

[00:38:48] Villanova

[00:38:48] days.

[00:38:49] We loved

[00:38:50] him through

[00:38:51] the draft

[00:38:51] process and

[00:38:52] I thought

[00:38:52] he was

[00:38:52] just big

[00:38:53] time

[00:38:53] personally.

[00:38:54] I called

[00:38:54] him

[00:38:54] Latrell

[00:38:55] when I

[00:38:56] first saw

[00:38:56] him.

[00:38:56] I was

[00:38:57] like

[00:38:57] this is

[00:38:57] Latrell

[00:38:57] Sprewell

[00:38:59] reincarnated

[00:38:59] with a

[00:39:00] jump shot.

[00:39:01] I was

[00:39:01] like

[00:39:01] this is

[00:39:01] great.

[00:39:02] I love

[00:39:02] this.

[00:39:04] But

[00:39:05] Kelly

[00:39:05] Ico

[00:39:05] who writes

[00:39:07] for the

[00:39:07] athletic

[00:39:07] of Houston

[00:39:08] is pushing

[00:39:09] for top

[00:39:09] five defense

[00:39:10] and Cam

[00:39:10] Whitmore

[00:39:11] is playing

[00:39:12] a big

[00:39:12] part

[00:39:13] in that.

[00:39:16] Now

[00:39:16] Whitmore

[00:39:17] is

[00:39:19] now

[00:39:19] we've

[00:39:20] been

[00:39:20] a fan

[00:39:21] from day

[00:39:22] one.

[00:39:23] Here's

[00:39:23] the thing

[00:39:23] when Cam

[00:39:24] was on

[00:39:25] the

[00:39:25] court

[00:39:25] they had

[00:39:26] a

[00:39:26] 113.7

[00:39:28] defensive

[00:39:28] rating

[00:39:29] and his

[00:39:30] deflections

[00:39:31] per 75

[00:39:32] possessions

[00:39:33] put him

[00:39:33] in the

[00:39:35] 85th

[00:39:35] percentile

[00:39:36] of everybody

[00:39:37] in the league.

[00:39:39] Coach

[00:39:40] Imi Adoka

[00:39:40] has made

[00:39:41] it clear

[00:39:42] that they're

[00:39:43] focusing

[00:39:43] on

[00:39:44] defensive

[00:39:45] growth.

[00:39:45] That's

[00:39:45] where they

[00:39:46] feel that

[00:39:46] they're

[00:39:46] going to

[00:39:47] win

[00:39:47] in the

[00:39:48] margins

[00:39:48] this

[00:39:48] year.

[00:39:49] So

[00:39:49] really

[00:39:50] what

[00:39:50] they

[00:39:50] added

[00:39:51] to

[00:39:51] their

[00:39:51] team

[00:39:51] is

[00:39:51] they

[00:39:52] added

[00:39:52] Reed

[00:39:52] Shepard

[00:39:53] and

[00:39:53] they

[00:39:53] really

[00:39:53] didn't

[00:39:54] add

[00:39:54] anything

[00:39:55] on

[00:39:55] the

[00:39:55] free

[00:39:55] agent

[00:39:56] side

[00:39:56] of

[00:40:18] Cam

[00:40:19] and

[00:40:19] then

[00:40:19] we'll

[00:40:20] get

[00:40:20] there.

[00:40:22] His

[00:40:23] defensive

[00:40:23] position

[00:40:24] and

[00:40:24] versatility

[00:40:25] and

[00:40:26] this

[00:40:26] is

[00:40:26] speaking

[00:40:27] of

[00:40:27] Cam

[00:40:27] Whitmore

[00:40:28] ranks him

[00:40:29] in the

[00:40:29] 94th

[00:40:30] percentile

[00:40:31] which means

[00:40:31] that he

[00:40:31] can guard

[00:40:32] multiple

[00:40:32] positions

[00:40:33] effectively.

[00:40:34] Add in

[00:40:35] the fact

[00:40:35] that

[00:40:35] Houston

[00:40:35] was a

[00:40:37] top

[00:40:37] five

[00:40:37] team

[00:40:38] in

[00:40:39] deflections

[00:40:40] last

[00:40:40] year

[00:40:40] and

[00:40:41] you have

[00:40:41] a

[00:40:42] recipe

[00:40:42] for

[00:40:42] elite

[00:40:43] defense.

[00:40:44] Cam

[00:40:44] Whitmore

[00:40:44] has

[00:40:46] the

[00:40:46] ability

[00:40:48] to

[00:40:48] he

[00:40:49] wants

[00:40:49] to

[00:40:49] guard

[00:40:51] he's

[00:40:52] competitive

[00:40:52] at it

[00:40:53] he should

[00:40:53] have

[00:40:53] been

[00:40:54] a

[00:40:54] UConn

[00:40:55] Husky

[00:40:55] really

[00:40:56] but

[00:40:56] no

[00:40:57] they

[00:40:57] have

[00:40:57] a

[00:40:57] great

[00:40:57] tradition

[00:40:58] at

[00:40:58] Villanova

[00:40:59] hopefully

[00:40:59] they

[00:40:59] can

[00:40:59] get

[00:41:00] back

[00:41:00] to

[00:41:20] year

[00:41:21] year

[00:41:21] two

[00:41:21] as well

[00:41:23] and

[00:41:24] personally

[00:41:24] here's

[00:41:29] part of

[00:41:30] the

[00:41:30] program

[00:41:31] that

[00:41:31] maybe

[00:41:31] Houston

[00:41:32] fans

[00:41:32] won't

[00:41:32] like

[00:41:34] early

[00:41:35] on

[00:41:35] in our

[00:41:36] podcasting

[00:41:37] history

[00:41:38] we

[00:41:39] we

[00:42:08] not

[00:42:08] not

[00:42:08] all

[00:42:08] not

[00:42:09] we

[00:42:10] would

[00:42:11] say

[00:42:11] a

[00:42:11] majority

[00:42:12] of

[00:42:12] the

[00:42:12] time

[00:42:12] I

[00:42:13] understood

[00:42:13] his

[00:42:14] excitement

[00:42:14] about

[00:42:14] Jalen

[00:42:15] Green

[00:42:15] and

[00:42:16] his

[00:42:16] uptick

[00:42:17] in

[00:42:17] offense

[00:42:18] and

[00:42:18] what

[00:42:18] have

[00:42:19] you

[00:42:20] but

[00:42:20] I

[00:42:21] always

[00:42:21] envisioned

[00:42:22] this

[00:42:22] team

[00:42:22] once

[00:42:22] once

[00:42:23] I

[00:42:23] saw

[00:42:24] Cam

[00:42:24] Whitmore

[00:42:25] and

[00:42:26] I've

[00:42:26] been

[00:42:26] also

[00:42:26] a

[00:42:27] big

[00:42:27] proponent

[00:42:27] of

[00:42:28] Jabari

[00:42:28] Smith

[00:42:28] getting

[00:42:29] more

[00:42:30] opportunities

[00:42:30] as well

[00:42:32] and

[00:42:33] I

[00:42:54] understand

[00:42:54] that

[00:42:55] Van

[00:42:55] Vliet

[00:42:55] has

[00:42:56] his

[00:42:56] role

[00:42:56] for

[00:42:57] right

[00:42:57] now

[00:42:58] and

[00:42:59] understand

[00:42:59] that

[00:42:59] Dylan

[00:42:59] Brooks

[00:43:00] has

[00:43:00] his

[00:43:00] role

[00:43:00] for

[00:43:01] right

[00:43:01] now

[00:43:03] but

[00:43:04] I

[00:43:04] do

[00:43:05] see

[00:43:05] a

[00:43:05] world

[00:43:05] where

[00:43:06] Reed

[00:43:07] Shepard

[00:43:07] Cam

[00:43:08] Whitmore

[00:43:11] maybe

[00:43:12] Amon

[00:43:12] Thompson

[00:43:13] Jabari

[00:43:14] Smith

[00:43:14] Jr.

[00:43:16] and

[00:43:16] Alcorn

[00:43:16] Sangoon

[00:43:18] are the

[00:43:19] five

[00:43:19] I

[00:43:22] see

[00:43:22] that

[00:43:22] I

[00:43:23] think

[00:43:23] Tari

[00:43:24] Eason

[00:43:24] is

[00:43:24] great

[00:43:25] I

[00:43:25] think

[00:43:25] he

[00:43:25] would

[00:43:25] be

[00:43:26] just

[00:43:26] energy

[00:43:27] and

[00:43:27] just

[00:43:27] chaos

[00:43:28] off

[00:43:28] the

[00:43:29] bench

[00:43:31] I

[00:43:31] understand

[00:43:32] that

[00:43:32] Jalen

[00:43:33] Green

[00:43:33] was a

[00:43:33] high

[00:43:33] draft

[00:43:34] pick

[00:43:34] I

[00:43:34] understand

[00:43:34] that

[00:43:35] people

[00:43:35] love

[00:43:35] him

[00:43:36] down

[00:43:36] there

[00:43:36] they

[00:43:37] love

[00:43:37] the

[00:43:37] swag

[00:43:38] they

[00:43:38] love

[00:43:38] the

[00:43:38] confidence

[00:43:39] but

[00:43:39] at

[00:43:40] the

[00:43:40] end

[00:43:40] of

[00:43:59] play

[00:44:00] hard

[00:44:01] hard

[00:44:01] nose

[00:44:02] effort

[00:44:03] hard

[00:44:04] nose

[00:44:04] defense

[00:44:05] he

[00:44:06] wants

[00:44:07] you

[00:44:07] to

[00:44:07] rebound

[00:44:08] aggressively

[00:44:09] he

[00:44:09] wants

[00:44:10] one of

[00:44:11] the

[00:44:11] times

[00:44:11] that I

[00:44:12] heard

[00:44:12] frequently

[00:44:13] when he

[00:44:13] was in

[00:44:14] Boston

[00:44:14] was

[00:44:14] he

[00:44:15] wanted

[00:44:16] the

[00:44:16] opposition

[00:44:17] to

[00:44:17] fill

[00:44:18] them

[00:44:18] he

[00:44:18] wanted

[00:44:19] to

[00:44:19] impose

[00:44:19] onto

[00:44:20] them

[00:44:21] physically

[00:44:23] like

[00:44:23] damn

[00:44:24] we played

[00:44:24] Boston

[00:44:25] tonight

[00:44:25] I'm

[00:44:26] worn

[00:44:26] out

[00:44:26] that's

[00:44:27] what

[00:44:27] he

[00:44:27] wanted

[00:44:29] and

[00:44:30] it

[00:44:30] took

[00:44:31] a while

[00:44:31] but

[00:44:32] he

[00:44:32] got

[00:44:33] there

[00:44:33] with

[00:44:33] them

[00:44:35] if

[00:44:36] you

[00:44:36] notice

[00:44:38] last

[00:44:38] season

[00:44:40] they

[00:44:40] will

[00:44:41] pull

[00:44:41] Jalen

[00:44:42] Green

[00:44:42] early

[00:44:42] in the

[00:44:42] season

[00:44:43] they

[00:44:43] pull

[00:44:43] him

[00:44:43] they

[00:44:44] like

[00:44:44] oh

[00:44:44] okay

[00:44:45] you

[00:44:45] still

[00:44:45] taking

[00:44:46] crazy

[00:44:47] shots

[00:44:47] with

[00:44:47] 18

[00:44:48] seconds

[00:44:48] in

[00:44:48] the

[00:44:48] shot

[00:44:49] clock

[00:44:49] and

[00:44:50] nobody

[00:44:50] down

[00:44:51] there

[00:44:51] to

[00:44:51] rebound

[00:44:52] for

[00:44:52] you

[00:44:52] okay

[00:44:53] and

[00:44:54] then

[00:44:54] it

[00:44:54] got

[00:44:54] better

[00:44:54] it

[00:44:55] got

[00:44:55] better

[00:44:55] and

[00:44:55] he

[00:44:55] understood

[00:44:56] that

[00:44:57] he

[00:44:57] could

[00:44:59] and

[00:45:00] then

[00:45:00] we

[00:45:00] had

[00:45:00] the

[00:45:01] offensive

[00:45:01] explosion

[00:45:02] towards

[00:45:02] the

[00:45:02] end

[00:45:03] March

[00:45:03] and

[00:45:04] April

[00:45:05] now

[00:45:06] we

[00:45:06] can

[00:45:07] also

[00:45:07] say

[00:45:07] that

[00:45:08] was

[00:45:08] a

[00:45:08] byproduct

[00:45:09] of

[00:45:09] Alcarim

[00:45:10] Shingun

[00:45:10] being

[00:45:11] out

[00:45:11] and

[00:45:11] where

[00:45:12] was

[00:45:12] that

[00:45:12] production

[00:45:13] going

[00:45:13] to

[00:45:13] come

[00:45:14] from

[00:45:14] we

[00:45:15] can

[00:45:15] give

[00:45:15] that

[00:45:16] some

[00:45:16] credence

[00:45:17] but

[00:45:18] also

[00:45:18] we're

[00:45:19] going

[00:45:19] to

[00:45:19] give

[00:45:19] credence

[00:45:19] to

[00:45:19] that

[00:45:20] Jalen

[00:45:20] Green

[00:45:20] has

[00:45:20] just

[00:45:21] worked

[00:45:21] hard

[00:45:21] he's

[00:45:22] listened

[00:45:22] to

[00:45:23] and

[00:45:23] adhered

[00:45:23] to

[00:45:24] the

[00:45:24] principles

[00:45:24] of

[00:45:25] what

[00:45:25] Ime

[00:45:26] Adoka

[00:45:26] would

[00:45:26] like

[00:45:27] his

[00:45:27] offense

[00:45:27] to

[00:45:27] look

[00:45:28] like

[00:45:28] I

[00:45:29] think

[00:45:29] that

[00:45:29] he's

[00:45:29] also

[00:45:30] giving

[00:45:30] more

[00:45:31] effort

[00:45:31] on

[00:45:31] the

[00:45:31] defensive

[00:45:32] end

[00:45:32] I

[00:45:32] don't

[00:45:33] know

[00:45:33] if

[00:45:33] he'll

[00:45:33] ever

[00:45:33] want

[00:45:34] to

[00:45:34] be a

[00:45:35] really

[00:45:35] good

[00:45:35] defensive

[00:45:36] player

[00:45:36] we'll

[00:45:36] see

[00:45:38] but

[00:45:38] I

[00:45:38] think

[00:45:39] there's

[00:45:39] no

[00:45:39] doubt

[00:45:40] what

[00:45:40] Cam

[00:45:40] wants

[00:45:40] to

[00:45:40] be

[00:45:41] no

[00:45:42] doubt

[00:45:42] whatsoever

[00:45:43] and

[00:45:44] I

[00:45:44] think

[00:45:44] that's

[00:45:45] the

[00:45:45] thing

[00:45:46] Houston

[00:45:47] fans

[00:45:48] have

[00:45:49] been

[00:45:49] talking

[00:45:49] about

[00:45:49] what

[00:45:50] is

[00:45:50] Jalen

[00:45:50] Green

[00:45:51] is

[00:45:51] he

[00:45:51] an

[00:45:51] on

[00:45:52] ball

[00:45:52] guy

[00:45:53] should

[00:45:53] he

[00:45:53] have

[00:45:54] the

[00:45:54] wall

[00:45:54] in

[00:45:54] his

[00:45:54] hands

[00:45:54] mostly

[00:45:55] is

[00:45:56] he

[00:45:56] off

[00:45:56] ball

[00:45:57] guy

[00:45:58] is

[00:45:58] this

[00:45:59] team

[00:45:59] built

[00:45:59] around

[00:46:00] him

[00:46:00] effectively

[00:46:01] and

[00:46:01] whatever

[00:46:02] you know

[00:46:03] what

[00:46:03] you don't

[00:46:03] have

[00:46:04] you don't

[00:46:04] have

[00:46:04] questions

[00:46:05] like that

[00:46:05] with

[00:46:05] Cam

[00:46:06] and

[00:46:07] this

[00:46:07] is

[00:46:07] not

[00:46:08] an

[00:46:08] anti

[00:46:08] Jalen

[00:46:09] Green

[00:46:09] thing

[00:46:10] or

[00:46:10] a

[00:46:11] pro

[00:46:11] Cam

[00:46:11] thing

[00:46:11] I'm

[00:46:12] just

[00:46:12] saying

[00:46:13] when

[00:46:13] you

[00:46:13] look

[00:46:14] at

[00:46:14] the

[00:46:14] two

[00:46:14] players

[00:46:14] you

[00:46:15] know

[00:46:15] exactly

[00:46:16] what

[00:46:16] Cam

[00:46:16] Whitmore

[00:46:17] is

[00:46:17] he's

[00:46:18] an

[00:46:18] explosive

[00:46:19] athlete

[00:46:19] he's

[00:46:20] a

[00:46:20] cutter

[00:46:20] to

[00:46:20] the

[00:46:20] basket

[00:46:21] he

[00:46:21] can

[00:46:21] hit

[00:46:21] a

[00:46:22] three

[00:46:22] point

[00:46:22] shot

[00:46:22] I'm

[00:46:23] not

[00:46:23] saying

[00:46:23] necessarily

[00:46:24] he's

[00:46:24] going

[00:46:24] to

[00:46:24] be

[00:46:24] this

[00:46:25] dead

[00:46:25] eye

[00:46:25] shooter

[00:46:26] and

[00:46:26] shoot

[00:46:27] like

[00:46:27] 42

[00:46:27] percent

[00:46:28] he

[00:46:29] only

[00:46:29] might

[00:46:29] shoot

[00:46:29] 37

[00:46:30] 37

[00:46:30] but

[00:46:31] the

[00:46:31] energy

[00:46:31] the

[00:46:32] ferocity

[00:46:32] that

[00:46:33] he's

[00:46:33] going to

[00:46:33] attack

[00:46:33] the

[00:46:34] basket

[00:46:34] with

[00:46:34] the

[00:46:35] relentlessness

[00:46:36] that

[00:46:36] he's

[00:46:37] going

[00:46:37] to

[00:46:37] put

[00:46:37] the

[00:46:38] pressure

[00:46:38] on

[00:46:38] the

[00:46:38] defense

[00:46:39] and

[00:46:39] then

[00:46:40] subsequently

[00:46:41] get

[00:46:41] fouled

[00:46:42] and

[00:46:42] put

[00:46:43] the

[00:46:43] other

[00:46:43] team

[00:46:44] put

[00:46:44] the

[00:46:45] other

[00:46:45] team

[00:46:45] in

[00:46:45] or

[00:46:46] put

[00:46:46] his

[00:46:46] team

[00:46:46] in

[00:46:47] the

[00:46:47] bonus

[00:46:48] those

[00:46:49] are

[00:46:49] valuable

[00:46:50] things

[00:46:50] to

[00:46:50] have

[00:46:51] on

[00:46:51] a

[00:46:52] basketball

[00:46:52] court

[00:46:54] and

[00:46:55] these

[00:46:55] are

[00:46:56] things

[00:46:56] that

[00:46:56] we

[00:46:56] can

[00:46:56] definitively

[00:46:57] see

[00:46:58] with

[00:46:58] Cam Whitmore

[00:46:59] and not

[00:47:00] necessarily

[00:47:00] we've

[00:47:00] seen

[00:47:01] with

[00:47:01] Jalen

[00:47:01] Green

[00:47:02] and

[00:47:03] Jalen

[00:47:03] Green

[00:47:03] has been

[00:47:04] in the

[00:47:04] league

[00:47:04] for

[00:47:05] twice

[00:47:06] the amount

[00:47:06] of

[00:47:06] time

[00:47:07] that

[00:47:07] Cam Whitmore

[00:47:08] has

[00:47:10] with

[00:47:11] that

[00:47:11] being

[00:47:11] said

[00:47:12] I want

[00:47:12] to

[00:47:12] thank

[00:47:12] the

[00:47:13] producers

[00:47:13] again

[00:47:14] I want

[00:47:14] to

[00:47:14] thank

[00:47:15] everybody

[00:47:16] who

[00:47:16] contributed

[00:47:17] I want

[00:47:17] to

[00:47:17] thank

[00:47:18] everybody

[00:47:18] from

[00:47:19] the

[00:47:19] athletic

[00:47:19] that

[00:47:20] we

[00:47:20] probably

[00:47:20] stole

[00:47:21] a lot

[00:47:21] of

[00:47:21] our

[00:47:21] information

[00:47:22] from

[00:47:22] today

[00:47:23] yeah

[00:47:24] let's

[00:47:24] go ahead

[00:47:25] and

[00:47:25] get

[00:47:26] that

[00:47:26] out

[00:47:26] Tony

[00:47:27] Jones

[00:47:28] we

[00:47:29] want

[00:47:29] to

[00:47:29] also

[00:47:29] thank

[00:47:30] Will

[00:47:30] Guillory

[00:47:33] we

[00:47:33] want

[00:47:33] to

[00:47:34] thank

[00:47:34] Yohan

[00:47:34] Yovang

[00:47:35] Buha

[00:47:36] of

[00:47:36] the

[00:47:36] athletic

[00:47:37] as

[00:47:37] well

[00:47:38] who

[00:47:40] else

[00:47:41] do

[00:47:41] we

[00:47:41] want

[00:47:41] to

[00:47:41] thank

[00:47:41] oh

[00:47:42] yeah

[00:47:43] John

[00:47:43] Krasinski

[00:47:43] of

[00:47:44] the

[00:47:44] athletic

[00:47:44] as

[00:47:44] well

[00:47:45] those

[00:47:45] guys

[00:47:46] sent

[00:47:46] us

[00:47:46] down

[00:47:46] a

[00:47:46] rabbit

[00:47:47] hole

[00:47:47] to

[00:47:47] put

[00:47:47] this

[00:47:48] all

[00:47:48] together

[00:47:48] for

[00:47:48] you

[00:47:49] so

[00:47:49] I

[00:47:49] hope

[00:47:49] you

[00:47:50] guys

[00:47:50] enjoyed

[00:47:50] it

[00:47:51] and

[00:47:52] again

[00:47:53] the

[00:47:54] best

[00:47:54] part

[00:47:54] of

[00:47:54] you

[00:47:54] is

[00:47:55] you

[00:47:55] make

[00:47:56] sure

[00:47:56] that

[00:47:56] you

[00:47:57] are

[00:47:57] surrounding

[00:47:57] yourself

[00:47:58] with

[00:47:58] people

[00:47:59] who

[00:47:59] are

[00:47:59] just

[00:47:59] going

[00:47:59] to

[00:48:00] brighten

[00:48:00] your

[00:48:00] light

[00:48:07] sometimes

[00:48:07] to

[00:48:07] brighten

[00:48:08] your

[00:48:08] light

[00:48:08] you

[00:48:08] might

[00:48:09] need

[00:48:09] to

[00:48:09] be

[00:48:10] told

[00:48:10] hey

[00:48:11] chill

[00:48:12] off

[00:48:12] this

[00:48:13] maybe

[00:48:14] we

[00:48:14] shouldn't

[00:48:14] do

[00:48:14] that

[00:48:16] it'll

[00:48:17] just

[00:48:17] make

[00:48:17] you

[00:48:17] a

[00:48:17] better

[00:48:18] person

[00:48:19] so

[00:48:19] hopefully

[00:48:20] you

[00:48:20] have

[00:48:20] people

[00:48:21] that

[00:48:21] you

[00:48:21] trust

[00:48:22] that

[00:48:22] you

[00:48:22] can

[00:48:22] listen

[00:48:23] to

[00:48:23] and

[00:48:23] you

[00:48:23] can

[00:48:24] rely

[00:48:24] on

[00:48:26] go

[00:48:26] out

[00:48:26] and

[00:48:26] do

[00:48:27] some

[00:48:27] good

[00:48:27] in

[00:48:27] the

[00:48:49] day

[00:48:50] Wednesday

[00:48:50] Friday

[00:48:50] next

[00:48:51] week

[00:48:51] you

[00:48:52] will

[00:48:52] still

[00:48:52] get

[00:48:52] three

[00:48:53] podcasts

[00:48:53] this

[00:48:54] week

[00:48:54] they

[00:48:54] will

[00:48:55] just

[00:48:55] be

[00:48:55] on

[00:48:55] different

[00:48:56] days

[00:48:56] so

[00:48:56] just

[00:48:56] keep

[00:48:57] that

[00:48:57] as

[00:48:57] a

[00:48:57] programming

[00:48:58] note

[00:48:58] so

[00:48:58] it'll

[00:48:59] be

[00:48:59] today

[00:49:00] Tuesday

[00:49:01] Thursday

[00:49:02] Saturday

[00:49:03] and

[00:49:04] then

[00:49:04] next

[00:49:04] week

[00:49:04] we

[00:49:05] go

[00:49:05] back

[00:49:05] to

[00:49:05] regular

[00:49:05] schedule

[00:49:06] which

[00:49:06] is

[00:49:06] Monday

[00:49:07] Wednesday

[00:49:07] and

[00:49:07] Friday

[00:49:09] all right

[00:49:09] so

[00:49:19] out

[00:49:20] and

[00:49:21] be

[00:49:22] a

[00:49:22] friend

[00:49:22] and

[00:49:22] tell

[00:49:23] a

[00:49:23] friend

[00:49:23] about

[00:49:23] the

[00:49:24] podcast

[00:49:24] late