heatcheck

Jalen Brunson is a really solid player. Far from a superstar but he does have 1 superpower, a go-to move that he’s perfected and is almost unstoppable with it. So let’s reveal that in this video and go through why exactly the Knicks are going all out to get him, while the Mavs are fighting to keep Brunson. And why he’s seeking a 100 million dollar contract. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Did you know that Luka Doncic and Jalen Bruson were the highest scoring duo throughout the entire playoffs. Sure Luka is amazing but out of those 54 combined points, Jalen had a healthy 21.6 which is more than max level guys like James Harden, Chris Paul, Jrue Holiday and Klay Thompson. And not only that, but Brunson is incredibly efficient. Look at this breakdown by area on the floor. 67% in the restricted area, 51% in the paint outside of the restricted area, 47% from midrange, 48.8% from the left corner and 51.4 from the right corner. The only spot you could say he’s not incredibly efficient is the 3 point semicircle but overall this is what you’re getting with Brunson. Jalen is incredible at maneuvering the pick and roll and scoring off of it. According to Synergy’s tracking data he’s in the 91st percentile as a pick and roll ball handler and you can see exactly why. Whether it’s blowing by on the screen and going all the way for the layup, or stopping and firing away when the defender goes under the screen, Brunson is one of the best in the league in this category, while at the same time being super underrated. And this is how we get to his secret weapon. Something that nobody talks about. And that is his deadly floater. As you watch this incredible montage of those shots, let me point out that Jalen was the most efficient player in the NBA last season when it came to the floater hitting an incredible 52% of those shots. You can see that some of these are off of the pick and roll specifically, but the large majority of his floaters come off of a shot fake and a blow by the defender, so as he gets to the paint and the help comes, Brunson is able to flip it up and hit it. Again, 52% especially seeing how some of these are over the big man while he’s only 6 foot 1 or 1.85 for the non american viewers. That’s impressive. And everyone that knows him talks about his competitiveness. For his size Jalen is a good defender and because of his strength, players can’t post him up easily. I’m sure he would also like me to tell you that he was top 5 in the league in distance ran per game, which only further speaks of his motor, the style of play and willingness to go all out in games. So naturally with numbers and efficiency like that- Brunson as an unrestricted free agent has every right to ask for 25 million dollars per year. And the Knicks were rumored to be making a push for him. Coincidentally or not, they also hired his father to be an assistant coach for Tom Thibodeau. Again, this is probably because these 2 have worked together in Chicago and Minnesota, but hey I gotta mention it. However, I also gotta mention the newest rumors and reports saying that Brunson has told his teammates that he is definitely returning to Dallas. I feel like that would be the right move for the Mavs, and I’d like to see them with their new addition Christian Wood, and the return of Tim Hardaway Jr. What do you think? Will Brunson stay in Dallas or will another team manage to get him with a huge contract? That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Click this link to make some cash for giving your opinion!Thanks YouGov for sponsoring! https://www.influencerlink.org/SHCaO One of Marcus Smart’s special skills is being able to do this ninja flip, and Pablo Prigioni who was 37 years old at the time tried to do the same but as you can see he looked nothing like it, instead flopped around like a fish out of water. So let’s go through a few more unusual NBA moments. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Allen Iverson was the definition of being cool on the court. His iconic braids were always on point and he cared about it so much that one time he even needed a little adjustment in the middle of the game, so his mom came in and braided his hair while he was sitting on the bench. Now that is some next level swag. Back in 2001 Latrell Sprewell hit one of the craziest HORSE shots that you can hit in a game, throws one up while sitting on the floor and hits it before the first quarter buzzer sounds. To this day I don’t believe that anyone’s replicated it, even tho Blake Griffin tried it but as you can see it ended badly. Next, Carmelo Anthony has possibly the worst airball in NBA history. He was 2 steps away from the basket and managed to get it 1 step short of the rim. This is hilarious and so unlike him, since you know he’s cash money from any range. Moving on, we all remember these clips from the slam dunk contest of players with camcorders capturing the action. Well, Amir Johnson did that during the game. Check out as a wild camera flies in from out of bounds, it probably slipped from the hands of a photographer, so Johnson takes it in and starts taking photos of his teammates. As a guy who works with cameras for a living I can tell you that he’s got the form dialed in. There’s an opening at Heat Check if he’s ever interested. Next, just listen to this. This has to be the craziest reason for a player to be traded. Steve Kerr, on the other hand, doesn’t have any issues with his players. In fact, he even took a day off during one game and let his players coach themselves. Back in the 60’s and 70’s there were some player-coaches doing double duty and this is the closest that we’ll ever get in the modern NBA. These are possibly the quickest 4 points in league’s history. The Clippers rush to inbound the ball but Kyle Anderson steals it, finds Gasol who dunks it. And just like a replay, Another inbound, another steal by Anderson and this time he dunks it. All of this took just 2.8 seconds and it has to be the shortest amount of time for 2 possessions and 2 baskets. I know you’ve all seen the legendary Nick Young failed lookaway, as well as the one from Kemba Walker. But have you seen a failed celebration of a dunk? Watch Von Wafer here as he goes up and misses it, but he actually thinks he threw it down. Watch the posing and flexing as players are still battling for the possession in the background. Another 1 of a kind moment that rarely happens on an NBA floor. I picked the perfect day to wear this Reebok shirt of AI getting braided. Let me know in the comments which one was your favorite. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

In 2002 the Shaq and Kobe Lakers executed possibly the most furious run in NBA history. A 14-0 explosion in just 50 seconds where Sacramento couldn’t even get the ball across half court. This has been long forgotten and buried in the archives of the league. So today I’ll dust it off and show it to you. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. In that legendary Lakers vs Kings 7 game series, everyone remembers the Robert Horry buzzer beater or the very next game where Mike Bibby hit the game winner to bring the Kings at the brink of the finals, and of course the referee controversy that Sacramento fans will bring up to this day. Game 3 however is completely forgotten. And why would anyone remember it. If you look at the score, the Kings won that game by 13 so there was no drama, right? Well not quite. Sacramento got off to a big lead right from the start played great, hit their shots and, and by the end of the third quarter where they held the Lakers to only 12 points, the Kings were up by 23 in Staples Center and the crowd was silent. And with this free throw from Chris Webber, they’re up by 26 with 7:57 left in the game. Watch the clock because this is where things start to get crazy. Devean George call his own number, not even looking at the 2 superstars on the team, fires away from downtown and hits it. So then… The Lakers are pressing full court, Brian Shaw and Lindsey Hunter trap Bibby in the corner, and get the deflection, Hunter with the behind the back pass to Shaw and he lays it in. Okay, a quick 5-0 run. So now they stay in this press under the basket. Sacramento is shaken up by this blitz, and first Divac goes to take it out, but then Webber tells him that he’ll do it. In the meantime the referee starts the 5 second count so there’s added pressure, and they turn it over again. At this point you can see it on player’s faces and even Rick Adelman starts to get worried. The last thing they want is a comeback from the Lakers on their home court with the crowd going wild. But things continue to go downhill. Kobe hits a three and while the lead is still big at 18, Sacramento is in full panic mode. Bobby Jackson tries to throw this ball over George, he intercepts it, and to make matters even worse, Doug Christie is in front of Hunter here, but he inexplicably just leaves and opens up a completely wide open look for 3 and Staples Center erupts. You can even see how Devin George is excited as he bounces up and down here, not able to control himself. Rick Adelman has to take a time out and calm the team down. All of a sudden look at Kobe Bryant and the bounce in his step that he has just going to the bench. They sense the opportunity for a comeback and that the opponent is discombobulated. Out of the time out, you would think that the Kings would be more focused, but Bibby and Christie turn the ball over yet again and the Lakers get another chance to cut the lead even more. Kobe splashes another three and as we look at the game clock again, Devean George started things off at 7:55 remaining, and just 52 seconds later at 7:03 this is a 14-0 run for the Lakers. Sacramento did not even cross half court in 4 straight possessions and they barely did that in under 8 seconds here and avoid another turnover. They’re still confused, there isn’t a play called, nothing. The ball somehow finds Chris Webber who takes a midrange jumper and luckily for Sacramento hits it to finally put an end to this 1 minute debacle. I have rarely seen a clutch basket to bring the lead up by 14 but this was definitely it. You can see how big it was by the reaction of Webber himself. Kobe who previously hit 2 in a row from downtown, went for the heat check and this time he misses, and even tho the Lakers defense is still pressuring, Mike Bibby goes down the lane and lays it in to finally break the momentum by the Lakers and slowly but surely start to bring this game to a close. We know how this ends. Going down as one of the greatest playoff series in NBA history. And with so many iconic moments, I wanted to shed a light on a small and forgotten sequence that in my opinion deserves to be mentioned more because even tho it came in a loss, these 50 seconds of playing time still give me goosebumps 20 years after watching it live. Hopefully this was fun for some of you that hadn’t seen this before, and a nice reminder for the more old school NBA fans who watched the series. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

The rule is simple, when Steph Curry is in transition, you keep an eye on him at all times, even when he gives the ball up, because as we stop it right here, you already know that he’s going to curl and relocate out at the three point line, get the ball back, fire away and swish it. And this is just a death sentence, as Curry is lurking from behind, and all 3 Celtics are pointing but nobody picks up the deadliest shooter that this league has ever seen, so he raises up from the finals logo and literally announces to the entire arena that he’s going to get his 4th ring. Steph was unstoppable once again, but for this close out win, Golden State did something special, something that Boston could not find an answer for. Let me break down exactly how they won the championship. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. No other player in the league has this much power and you know the fear is immeasurable just by looking at these fly bys as soon as he even blinks with his eyes, the overreaction to it is crazy, yet it totally makes sense. So as a side effect of having to be that close to Steph, he uses it to penetrate inside and look at how easy this looks. Just saying that he had another spectacular game with 34 points 7 rebounds 7 assists on 57% from the field doesn’t do him justice, he could not be stopped. This looks like a walk in the park for him. But just as impressive in this game was the fight that he showed on the defensive end. Early on Boston tried to go at him and post him up in the paint, but he held his ground and as you can see, some of those possessions did not end well for the Celtics. ESPN had a stat comparing his production on both ends of the floor. And it looks impressive as you can see. On defense he gave up 10 points as the primary guy and the Celtics shot 3 for 12 on those possessions, a miserable 25% along with 6 turnovers. Then we got Draymond Green. Check out how he baited the defense here by asking for the screen for Steph, and this should be a hand off but as Klay cuts inside, watch the laser pass in traffic right on the money and Thompson lays it in. Amazing. Then, these are the little things, the championship level plays, of sticking with it and tapping it out, subsequently leading to a three pointer. These are extra points. And he did it again as you can see this is a similar situation, and as he grabs the offensive rebound, finds Poole once again for another three. Draymond was even more imposing on defense. Look at the effort right here to stay in front of Jayson Tatum, and as soon as Looney comes out to help right here, Green will rotate over to switch it, doing it so quickly that he snatches this pass, and takes off on a fast break. And his blocks were even crazier. Draymond played by far his best game of the finals series, almost getting a triple double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He was literally all over the floor and this was one of his vintage performances when the team needed it the most. And as you can see most of these plays are based on energy and effort. That was the case as well with Andrew Wiggins who had another monster 2 way game, contributing on offense while pretty much shutting down Jayson Tatum on the other end of the floor. Wiggins has completely flipped the narrative about himself in a positive way of course, and I’m really happy for him. And what I said about energy and effort for both Green and Wiggins, this was the case for the entire Golden State team, and actually this was the one special thing that Boston couldn’t find an answer for. Which is staggering to me. Even tho they were bigger, the Celtics got outrebounded and gave away 15 offensive boards, which you can see how that contributed to extra possessions and points for the Warriors. Not only that, but Golden State’s activity and aggressiveness on defense forced 22 turnovers from Boston. Ime Udoka’s squad did come out strong to start the game but as soon as the Warriors withstood that initial run, they went on a 21-0 blitz, built a big lead and they pretty much didn’t look back all the way to the final buzzer and the championship. Speaking of that, this is an incredible storyline. Steph finally gets that finals MVP trophy that he deserved in 2015, and to shut all the haters who were saying that this is 1 thing that he’s missing in his career. And to say that for a guy that literally changed the game is ridiculous. But nevertheless he got it. And still puts the team first. Then Klay- after missing 2 and a half years to the most difficult injuries that a basketball player can have, and literally crying on the bench after games, to becoming a champion, that's a true dream of a comeback. And on the Boston side of things, first of all, this was a massive success beyond anyone’s expectations. With a new coach, and those early struggles, the talks about breaking up their star duo, to game 6 of the finals is nothing short of amazing.

Luka Doncic is already impossible to guard, so now imagine what happens if you add an 18 and 10 guy as his roll man, who btw can also shoot the three extremely well. So let me break down why Mavs fans are super excited about the addition of Christian Wood. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Luka got Dallas all the way to the conference finals despite clearly lacking guys who can create their own shot, especially when we talk about the big men. Both Kleber and Powell are good at what they do but Wood is the best of both worlds and then some. He is top 5 in the league when it comes to points from the roll man. And when you see his speed and explosiveness on the pick and roll, you see exactly why that is. Just imagine this action with Luka as the ball handler. This is a big upgrade over Powell. At the same time, shooting 39.0% from downtown, he can stretch the floor better than Kleber. Check out how quick he is on the pop, and that makes him a 2 way threat in the pick and roll action. And on top of that, check out what he can do with the ball in his hands. The shake on the perimeter, the drive, and the throwdown. No big on the Mavs roster could do that this year. Again, he drives through traffic, the spin and the lefty finish. And of course since you have to respect his outside shooting, there are opportunities like this one off of the shot fake. So obviously he’s got a great offensive package, but when you look at what the Mavs gave away to get him it’s kind of strange. Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, Sterling Brown, Boban Marjanovic these are all guys who did not get any significant playing time, so how could his trade value be that low? Well, there have been reports that the Rockets didn’t like his attitude and his lack of defensive effort. But going from the worst team in the league to a title contender and a serious organization with a top 5 superstar, I feel like that’s going to get the best out of Wood, and on top of that he’s in his last year of his contract so you know he’s going to be playing extra hard on both ends. So for the Mavs to get him for 4 non rotation players and a pick it is a great price and it also opens up some roster spots for them. And if they like what they see from Christian, then they can absorb the 4 year, 77 million contract that he’s eligible to get next year. Even in the worst possible scenario that it somehow doesn’t work out- they didn’t give up anything. Except for Bobi. If you go on the Mavs reddit, or on twitter, Dallas fans are all sad to see Marjanovic go. One of the most beloved characters in the league was extremely valuable for the team chemistry so I guess that’s one of the very few downsides here. Nevertheless, next season Luka not only gets a huge boost at the 4-5 position, but he also gets Tim Hardaway Jr back from his injury and I expect an explosive start of the season for them. Will Christian Wood be a better fit with Luka than Porzingis was? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Use code HEATCHECK for $20 off your first SeatGeek order. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/HEATCHECK Check out how the Celtics were face guarding Steph Curry in game 5. The entire focus is on him, not even looking at what’s happening on the court. This is literally 4 on 4 basketball that Boston decided to make out of this game. They also did that earlier in the series as well, and honestly the plan worked as Curry ended the game with only 16 points and for the first time in his playoff career he failed to make a three pointer going 0-9. But the Celtics still lost the game. So the biggest question going back home for an elimination game is, do they go with this approach again, and will they be able to execute it again but this time in a win? This is only 1 of the crucial things to keep an eye on for game 6. And there’s a lot more. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Obviously Steph is the primary focus, but for game 6 I feel like we’re all eager to see if the NBA’s superhero called game 6 Klay will show up once again. Thompson needed an inspiration for the previous game and you could see him in shootaround and during every interview he did, wearing his warmup from the 3 point contest in 2015 where he lost the deathmatch against Curry himself. And you could see that extra bit of juice that he had in his performance going 5 for 11 from downtown, 45.5% but also you could see it in his body language as well. Check out the reaction as he goes back and let’s all of us know that he cannot be guarded. The scary thing for Boston is that 1 he’s got his confidence and 2 Klay doesn’t even need extra motivation for this one. He knows that game 6 Klay has to come out so he will gladly pick and choose his spots to fire away. Moving on, another thing to watch out for is a possible explosion from either Tatum, Brown or both. So far the highest point total from anyone on the team has been 28 points, which is respectable of course, but this is the finals and they’re fighting for their season, and we saw how a statement heroic performance by Curry literally saved the team from going down a 3-1 hole and essentially losing the finals. The Celtics need something similar from their 2 stars if they are going to force a game 7. Along those lines, they have to also limit their turnovers. We know that Tatum infamously now holds the record for most turnovers in a playoffs run but this is a problem for the entire team and it opens a ton of opportunity for the Warriors in transition. Number 4. Who can make a bigger impact: Andrew Wiggins or Al Horford. Wiggins is coming off of 2 incredible games with double doubles so we see exactly how great the Warriors can be when he plays up to his potential. He’s had a terrific finals in general and some have gone to the extreme of mentioning his name for the potential finals MVP if they win. And while there’s no chance of that happening in my opinion having seen what Curry is doing, all credit goes to Wiggins as I said in my previous video for the way he’s been playing both on offense and defense. He proved to be the X-factor for them, and Al Horford needs to be that X-factor for the Celtics. When he plays well the team wins, but that’s even more so the case in losses as you can see his numbers in those games. Big Al already had a huge game against Milwaukee going 30 and 8 to pretty much save Boston’s playoff run, and if he’s going to do it again- now would be the perfect time. And finally, look for Boston to play their most physical game of the finals. They are so much bigger and stronger than the Warriors and this is their advantage. They have to control the paint and being -14 in points in the paint like they were the last game is unacceptable. In my opinion we’ll see them in full on attack mode, no crying for fouls like Tatum usually does, and going straight to the rim- forcing the ref to blow the whistle. Game 6 is going to be a war, and I cannot wait for it. Let me know in the comments who you got in this one. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Tatum gets the ball on one of his favorite spots on the floor. Turns fades but as he fires, look at the phenomenal contest by Andrew Wiggins, all over him, and there isn’t even an inch of space here, which results in an airball. Thing is, just moments prior to this, Tatum had another isolation against Wiggins, and with Andrew not going anywhere on the jab Jayson forces another contested shot and another airball. And when have you seen him have 3 of these in a game? With the game on the line in the fourth, check out the strong stance by Wiggins, holding his ground the entire time, preventing the penetration and forcing a stepback fadeaway and a third airball. Andrew Wiggins was the hero for Golden State in a crucial game 5 and he was absolutely phenomenal both on offense and defense. Let me show you. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Tatum still had a great night but you can see how some of these possessions exhausted him, with all the work he had to do to even get off a shot, so by the time the 4th quarter came around and it was time to win the game, he was 1 for 5- so Wiggins, and the entire Warriors defense had a lot to do with it. And while this end of the floor excites me as a basketball nerd, twitter is buzzing over his aggressive offensive performance. Anytime he had Derrick White on him, it was barbeque chicken. Watch him hunt down White the entire way here, getting away from the switch here by Brown, and overpowering the Celtics guard for the layup. Again, gets it at the elbow in an iso situation, goes to the middle of the paint where he’s comfortable, and on the turn this is like shooting over a chair so of course he knocks it down. This is almost the exact same shot as he bumps White again, and on the pivot this is an open look for him with the height advantage and another bucket. Wiggins took matters into his own hands, firing 23 shots on great efficiency, and when you see the shot chart, you see what was his bread and butter. He was in attack mode throughout the entire game, penetrated the defense and finished inside, and this is exactly how Golden State was able to get a win in a game where Steph Curry did not score a single three pointer and the dubs were 9/40 overall. Unbelievable. Seriously, if you told me that Steph would go 0-9 and the team will shoot 22% from downtown, I would bet my life that they lost the game. But you can see how they found a hero in Wiggins who showed his full athleticism both with the defense, with his rebounding, and finishes like this one gliding to the rim for the finish. Of course we gotta mention the cherry on top, the exclamation point on this game, the drive on White again, and the thunderous dunk. These are all points in the paint for the Warriors and they outscored the Celtics in this category by 14 points. This is an area where they’ve been dominated in the series by the much bigger and stronger Boston team, so you see how big this was. To sum it up, 26 points, 13 rebounds, following the 16 he had in the last game, on 52.2% from the field, along with the terrific defense to bring himself and his team on the brink of winning a championship. Boston must win game 6 at home to keep their title dreams alive. Do you think they do it? That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

And it seems that Lebron himself agrees after witnessing this epic game from Curry. But is this all Boston’s fault and punishment for their bad defensive strategy? Let me explain. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. What do you think, Is this bad defense? Smart is pressuring him at the half court line, the dubs screen and now Tatum switches on Steph at the logo. Jayson is literally guarding him right here because he doesn’t want to give up a logo three pointer. WHAT?! Another screen, and as Tatum is trying to recover, Horford is as high up as he’s been for the entire series. Hand is up, trying to contest a shot from 35 feet out. And it still goes in. So was it because of bad defense? Absolutely not. This is as good as you can play him. If Horford takes just one more step out, Curry would have easily blown by him and this is a 3 on 2 situation at the basket with both guys cutting. So, would you rather give up a shot at the rim or a contested 35 footer? Here is a similar situation. Another high screen, and Brown tries to get back to Curry, while Horford is way out here trying to contain Steph. But watch the jab here that sends big Al back and then the stepback from the finals logo. Nothing but the bottom of the net. With both of these shots as funny as it is to say it but the Celtics have Curry right where they want him. Taking contested shots literally from half court. And he still makes them. It’s pick your poison from these shots, to this. The angle is a bit bad for breakdown but you see that as soon as he passes half court, Smart picks him up and Wiggins comes up for a pick again, and Horford is much higher here. But this time Curry rejects the screen and surprises everyone, so then Al has no chance whatsoever as Steph turns on the jets and speeds by the big man for an easy layup. Do you see now the easy bucket that you give up by doing this? And it happens again on this play. Look at how easy he gets to the paint, and this could be an uncontested floater, the lob to Looney, which admittedly is a bit risky, or what he opts for- the kick out to Payton. But the trick is that a soon as the attention is shifted there he does his patented relocation sprint, and this is his signature move for getting open threes and of course this is a swish. It happened against the much more athletic Williams as well. Curry shakes and bakes, and this time it’s that floater that I mentioned and he drops it in. At this point you may be saying: Well just blitz him, take the ball away from him early at any cost. And Boston tried that as well. In transition you can see Steph trying to hunt Williams but both Brown and Tatum chase him out of sheer desperation to not leave Rob on him, and they don’t even look at other players. So in this situation, with 2 guys on him he simply bounces it to Klay Thompson and this is a practice shot for Klay in rhythm…bang. And late in the game as well the blitz is high up but Steph lobs it to Green and this is literally the play that Golden State won their 3 championships. Draymond and a second guy playing 2 on 1 at the rim off of Curry’s double teams. So he flips it to Looney inside and the finish. So let’s go back to the drop coverage that’s been heavily criticized for Boston. Williams probably should have had his hand up here, but as we stop it here this is still a tremendously difficult shot by Curry, with White all over him, and this is a successful defensive strategy against literally any other player in the league. This is good defense and you want the opposing players to take shots like these, I mean this is with a hand in his face here. And It didn’t matter. So as we all have criticized Boston, including myself admittedly- we have to stop and think about what’s the best option for defending Steph. And honestly this is it. You always hear analysts say Well the Celtics are doing just that, playing the percentages and hoping for the best. If Steph Curry can’t sustain this blistering hot pace he’s been on so far, with no help from his teammates, the Celtics will win the championship, but this is the greatest shooter of all time, so he could decide to have 2 more of these games, and we all know what happens if he pulls that off. If you liked this video leave a like for the youtube algorithm and help ya boi out will you? Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Jaylen Brown had a great offensive game but look at this suffocating defense on Curry, being all over Steph and not giving him even an inch of space. And just moments later, watch him hounding Thompson now, and as Klay goes for the give and go, Brown is glued to him and finishes this incredible defensive sequence with an emphatic block as TD Garden explodes. The Celtics fought incredibly hard for this win, but some of their strategic decisions let me know that they have fully matured and this could finally be their year. Let me show you how they won this game. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Watch the clear intention here as Smart goes to get Curry on him, gets the switch and then immediately the ball goes to Marcus for the post up. Backs him down, bumps him, then turns, fades and hits. Boston made it a priority to go at Steph throughout the entire game. As you can see on some of these examples, they would hunt for these switches, and made Curry work on defense, which also resulted in him getting in foul trouble early and having to manage that during the game. Steph still had a terrific offensive game but had a lot of troubles on the other end of the floor. Thing is, it wasn’t just him. The size of the Celtics but maybe more importantly- their aggressiveness and determination to attack the basket were too much for Golden State as they don’t have a solid rim protector, so as you can see, anyone from Derrick White to Marcus Smart to almost anyone on the Boston team you name it. They would penetrate time after time and finish inside. So they ended with 52 points in the paint, exactly twice as much as the Warriors and that’s just too many high percentage looks given up so you know you’re losing the game if you have that type of discrepancy. The dribble penetration from the Celtics was phenomenal but just as impressive to me were the great passes- getting rid of the ball quickly, and that was the case especially for Jayson Tatum. He had a similar night to game 1 where he didn’t shoot the ball well but made some incredible decisions and passes to find the wide open teammate off of all the attention that he attracts as you can see, and when you have this much time and space to fire away of course these shots would fall. Boston is showing me in this finals series that they have fully matured. Whether it’s attacking the mismatch instead of forcing difficult shots, or the great passes by their main superstar trusting his teammates, or the defensive effort by the whole team, this is what a championship level team does. Speaking of defense I have to give a shoutout to Robert Williams who was out there clearly with a limited mobility due to his injury, but in only 25 minutes he had a game high plus minus of +21. That number comes from his unbelievable rim protection, getting 4 blocks, each one better than the other. Right here he swats Curry’s shot into the stands. Also the 10 rebounds as you can see here ripping this one away from Draymond. The 1 thing that I would criticize for them however is how they kept defending Curry the same way they did in game 2 with the drop on the screen and he kept torching them. Golden State came back from down 18 to take the lead with these shots, so I’m interested to see if Boston changes things since they avoided a full on comeback. And with all the momentum on their side now, this is a chance for the Celtics to take a commanding 3-1 lead on Friday and get extremely close to winning the championship title. Do you think they finally got what it takes for it? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Watch how Golden State gets a wide open look here for Curry. First, Draymond is gonna set a high screen to get White off of Steph. As that’s happening up top, follow Payton who also goes there. So as we stop it here, we see that they got the first switch, and now Payton is going to set another screen for another switch on the much slower Horford, who’s guarding this in a drop coverage all the way over here. And at the end as Curry gets Williams as well off of him, Green ultimately screens Big Al as well so there’s no contest here whatsoever. And this is the best shooter in NBA history we’re talking about so he knocks down this shot. Steve Kerr made this 1 crucial adjustment that won the game for the Warriors but could also impact the rest of the series in a big way. And I’ll show you exactly what that was. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Watch all of these high pick and roll examples. Whether it’s for Curry or Poole, or some of the other guys capitalized on it, Golden State absolutely destroyed Boston with it in game 2. Since the Warriors play a style of basketball with a lot of cutting and off ball action, for the season they were second to last with 17 pick and rolls per game. Well in this game they had 33 of those possessions which is almost double and that number would have them from second to last all the way to number 1 in the league in this category, that’s how huge this change is. So as you can see, Boston is in drop coverage on pick and rolls, so the Warriors are using that and it got them a ton of open looks and the Celtics will definitely have to come up and pick them up higher if they want to avoid another offensive explosion like this one. Another key for the Warriors was the fact that they got a lot from their role players on both ends of the floor. First of all, shoutout to Gary Payton the second who came back in a major way, playing a significant 25 minutes and just disrupting the flow of the offense for the Celtics, and meanwhile being a perfect 3 for 3 from the floor. Looney was perfect from the floor, seemingly always on the right place at the right time for his 12 points but even more than that Kevon made some great plays defensively and got the crowd fired up as it’s now become a tradition for them to yell out his name whenever he makes a good play. And also, Nemanja Bjelica, who I anticipated would get playing time based on how confident he looked in those garbage time minutes at the end of game 1 and he was solid last night as well. The guy who could not get it going was Klay Thompson. He really struggled and looked like he was forcing it at times, taking rushed shots and just overall not making good decisions on offense. Even in the fourth quarter with that huge lead, it was all bench players on the floor but Steve Kerr left him to get some extra shots up and try to get into a rhythm. He still couldn’t do that and ended the game 4/19 from the field. That’s really bad and on the road Golden State would need him even more so we'll see how he responds. With Boston getting the split and coming back home, let me know in the comments how do you see the rest of the series playing out. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Booy was he right. This is the finals and he came out ready to win. Just look at how he snatches the ball right out of Poole’s hands. And right here, he follows the action on the opposite end, with 2 Celtics jumping on Curry, they trust their backline rotations, and Marcus does just that as he anticipates and steps in, ready to make a play on the ball and get the steal. Boston shocked the Warriors at home and there were a few key reasons for that. Let me show you. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. First of all, it’s counterintuitive to say that Boston played great defensively knowing that Golden State shot 42.2% from downtown, and had the lead most of the game. But a lot of those shots were contested and the defenders were always attached to the hips of the main weapons: Curry, Thompson and Poole. Look at this sequence the tight defense completely disrupts the offensive set and it ends up being a turnover. And watch Pritchard fighting hard over a screen, staying in front, then a re-screen and he still manages to contest this shot. And the most interesting thing to me were examples like these from both Smart and White where they wouldn’t even look at what's happening on the court, keeping their eyes focused on Steph. Check out how the play just goes on in the background and there’s a whole different story right here where it’s watching for every movement, even an eye blink from Curry. After those initial couple of miscommunications defensively that Steph punished in the first quarter, they were solid the rest of the way. And another reason for this win that might also sound counterintuitive to say is Jayson Tatum. He only had 12 points on 3 for 17 a horrific shooting percentage but his playmaking was possibly the best that I’ve seen from him. Watch the patience here from him as he gets the screen and the switch, the great in and out dribble to penetrate into the defense and the Warriors shrink in the paint right here, so Jayson, sees this skip pass all the way to the corner, and as we let it roll, you see that he provides a wide open look with his penetration and ball movement, and we got the 3. Tatum knew exactly what he wanted to do as soon as he penetrated and attracted the help defense, he kicked it out to the open guy and it seems like everyone else on the team besides him had a great shooting night. Speaking of that, the third reason of course was the fact that Boston picked the perfect game to have the absolute best shooting performance hitting 21 threes on 51% especially the 9-12 barrage in the 4th quarter by both White and Horford. When you hit a shot like this one you know you’ll win the game. And while I don’t expect the Celtics to repeat a 51% shooting from downtown, it’s going to be key for them to at least be decent and not have lapses like in the Miami series. Another key moving forward is Jaylen Brown who had a terrific game and both made shots but attacked inside as well, which makes him hard to guard on nights like this.. Let’s see if these pull up jumpers continue to fall for him because if they do, he is deadly. Boston stole game 1 and Golden State had control for almost the entire game, so I guess both teams have something to be confident about. But this series started completely opposite of how I and many others picking the Warriors saw it developing so now let’s wait and see what’s next in game 2. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

The Finals are here and even tho the teams are close in talent level and there’s no clear favorite, everyone has their own prediction and a title pick, so this is why I believe that Golden State will win the championship. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Reason number 1 for me: When you look at examples like these, watch the non stop movement that happens on almost every single offensive possession. This is unlike any other team in the league, there is no comparison for them. Golden State averages only 2 dribbles per touch, by far the fewest in the league, and the least seconds per touch in the league, meaning- as you can see, that the ball just flies all over the floor. The Celtics have improved a lot in terms of their ball movement of course, and credit to Tatum and Brown first and foremost, but I believe that their offense does rely more on these 2 guys making a play for others. And on a stage like the finals, where everything is tighter, it’s harder to score, I look for the offensive flow and getting the best shot possible. And Boston should feel comfortable about matching up with that offense and trying to stop the Warriors, because they have played them really well every time they’ve met, and have the best defense in the league, which is cool, but the Warriors are right there defensively as well at number 2 so this is going to be a bloodbath at both ends of the floor. The Celtics are good at switching, but in my opinion it’s 1 thing to switch against a conventional team and much different against the Warriors where every switch and every moment there the possibility of a player randomly cutting to the rim and getting a layup while all of the attention is on guys like Steph and Klay. Speaking of Curry, there is some tracking data suggesting that when Marcus Smart is guarding him, he doesn’t really shoot well, so Boston likes their chances there, but number 1 he’s been banged up and played a long series, and 2 playing in random regular season games is completely different than matching up in the finals, so both the players and the coaching staff for the Warriors are experienced and will know what to do to get him open. Or use him to get other guys open. And speaking of experience, this is exactly my second reason. The main guys on the roster have been there before so those jitters or the split second indecision, or hesitation that’s a normal part of human nature- they won’t have it in my opinion as opposed to the Celtics. During the season they were the second worst team in the clutch going 13-22 in those games, and Tatum was 9 for 42 from the field in those games along with 13 turnovers and only 7 assists. Tatum was the only 1 in the league who had more turnovers than assists in the clutch. And you may say that this is all stats from earlier in the season before Boston transformed and really became the team that it is now, but almost the exact same thing applies to the playoffs as well. Boston has been shooting just 37.2% in the clutch throughout the playoffs compared to Golden State, the second best team in the postseason at a phenomenal 50% at the end of close games. And finally, I do feel like the Warriors have more guys who can make a good play whether it’s on offense or defense. Beyond Steph and Klay, Poole is a guy who can get hot in the blink of an eye and give you 12 points in a quarter or go off for 30 in a game. He’s been phenomenal these playoffs with 18.5 points per game at a blistering hot 53% shooting. And also, just like Smart is a good matchup for Steph, I feel like Wiggins is the perfect guy to put on Tatum, and I would take his offensive efficiency much more than the inconsistency of Marcus Smart. And as we’ve seen throughout the playoffs different guys have come in and contributed at a high level whenever they’ve been plugged in by Kerr. From Otto Porter, Kuminga and Moody to Bjelica, they fit in perfectly in their roles and make winning plays. With the news about Gary Payton possibly coming back as well, that’s another valuable piece to their winning formula especially on the defensive end. So with game 1 starting tonight, I’m ready to enjoy this series. 2 great teams evenly matched up with almost a 50-50 chance of winning it. And I love both squads. I do know how this works tho, so since I made my pick, I’m ready to be burned alive by comments if I’m wrong. Let me know in the comments who you got. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

The most dangerous shooter on the floor for the Warriors is down here, setting a pick for Green to get the ball on the side. Then he goes for another back screen but this time for Andrew Wiggins to cut straight to the rim. And at this moment notice how Moody over here is waiting to set the screen for Steph to come out for the shot on the wing. Bullock does a great job sticking to his man, so Steph curls around Moses and steps in to get just enough space he needs to knock this down. As we wait for the finals, let’s go through some of the best play calls that both Golden State and Boston used to get to the biggest stage. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. As Brown gives the ball to Smart, this looks like a double screen for him to get the ball here. But instead, Marcus passes the ball to Tatum, and with Lopez guarding for the penetration, Williams changes the screen angle so Jaylen can take off to the basket. We got the lob, and the finish through contact for the and 1. Quick, simple and effective execution from the Boston Celtics here. Curry gets rid of the ball and goes in the paint and at this moment we got a familiar Golden State setup with 2 guards under the basket and 2 bigs on the wings with the ball up top. This play is probably limitless when it comes to options. But right here watch how Curry and Thompson curl around each other and Steph comes out for the three, as Looney awaits with the pick. Finney Smith defends him from outside and Curry doesn’t get the ball but at the same time Klay turns back and as he cuts to the middle, Wiggins passes to Looney, the handoff and screen for Thompson and now Kevon is all alone under the basket. Klay could have passed this but he decides to ball fake, gets Kleber in the air and then knocks it down. You can see how Golden State has countless different options on every play, mainly generated by their constant movement on the floor. Tatum has the ball on the wing as Derrick White back screens for Brown to cut to the basket. Right after that, White goes for the pick and roll with Tatum. Allen helps to prevent the drive but the pass goes to Smart and at this moment, the lane is open for the rolling Celtic. Matthews is attached to Jaylen and too late to contest, so we got the easy deuce. Derrick White has been an extremely valuable piece for this team on the road to the finals. On the inbound, out of this box formation, Steph curls to the corner and of course takes Brooks with him. Gary Payton sets a screen in the middle as if it’s for the curl by Wiggins, but Andrew stops midway and sets a pick himself for Klay to come out at the three point line. This creates enough space for Bane to be trailing him and to have to bite on this pump fake by Thompson. We got the fly by and Klay is all alone for the shot and the swish. This ended up being the game winning bucket for Golden State in game 1 of the second round against Memphis. On the left side White comes out of the Horford screen and as soon as he gets the ball up top, the right side activates as well. Williams goes to screen for Brown who should get the ball on the elbow for the shot or to penetrate to the rim. But Timelord uses Max’s attention on Jaylen to slip the pick and go for the alley oop. Nice recognition by Derrick for easy 2 points. Another interesting play where Derrick White is involved so shout out to him and his play throughout the playoffs. Check out all the misdirection on this play. On this side we got a fake handoff from Green and Poole, and on the opposite end, Wiggins curls inside but this is all just decoy for the real play, as we rewind it a little, follow Otto Porter who goes over here and waits to set a pick for Steph to sprint out to the three. Curry does just that in the blink of an eye, fires away and hits. In the NBA you have to have misdirections and fake actions to set up the real on, and the Warriors did that nicely here. And again from an inbound situation, on the hand off we got a double screen for Tatum to curl and possibly take one of his deadly shots from the elbow. But as the defense prepares for it, Tatum shortens this route and cuts inside on the first screen. As that happens, Theis cuts inside and with all the attention on Jayson, he’s got an open lane for him. Tatum finds with him this nice pass and he lays it in. A lightning quick execution from the Celtics here from the moment the ball was inbounded all the way to the finish. With plays like these, I can only imagine all the surprises that the 2 coaches have for us for the finals series. That's it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Did we really go from KD’s toes last year, to Max Strus’s hell deciding the game 7 winner? We got an insane game 7 that ultimately finally puts this Celtics core to the NBA finals that’s been 4 years in the making. So let me show you how they got there. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. I absolutely love the way that Boston came out to start this game. As you can see in these plays, they really pushed the pace in transition and it’s almost like they caught the Heat unprepared for it. So after losing the previous one at home that pretty much everyone had them winning, I was curious to see how they would respond and I loved it. And special shoutout to Al Horford for this phenomenal closeout for the block as if he’s a young and athletic wing, and immediately takes off on the fast break, finds Brown and we got the bucket. He did it again, watch him following the action and rotating at the rim for this spectacular rejection that once again opens a 2 on 1 fast break and another finish. Also a thing to watch was the passing from their 2 main stars. Brown penetrates here and with the defense collapsing, check out the skip pass over multiple defenders all the way to the corner. He did the exact same thing in the second half as well. Head down, blows by Bam, and with Strus coming in for the charge, Brown drifts sideways to avoid him and flings another one to the corner where Marcus Smart is all alone for this shot and he knocks it down. Look at Tatum, quickly getting rid of the ball off of the double team in these situations, finding the open man and when he does this, the Celtics are hard to stop. And when you see these defensive possessions you have to give credit to Boston for their fight and the aggressiveness, forcing a bunch of tough shots from the Heat, which admittedly part of it is the defense, but also we also gotta say that besides Butler and Adebayo, nobody else showed up offensively for Miami. But even with all of that going their way, we also gotta mention the fact that the Celtics basically stopped playing with 3 minutes to go in the game, and were more worried with running off the clock rather than organizing the offense or setting up a play. And that almost came back to bite them, as Miami went on a furious comeback run, getting us to this moment. 25 seconds to go, down by 2, they get the stop and go in transition, Jimmy has Horford backpedalling in front of him, and he stops at the three point line and pulls up for the dagger, buuut misses the shot for the lead and the potential game winner. So now of course the entire basketball world is asking if a 23% shooter from downtown for the season should have taken this shot. And even as a guy who’s made videos exposing and criticizing his bad shooting, I have to say- I love it. No regrets whatsoever. First of all, when you look at the situation, Al Horford is one of the smartest defenders in the league with great movement and positioning. And with Butler having played the entire 48 minutes, you could see towards the end that his legs were gone, and there’s no guarantee that he would have made the layup. I even say definitely not. And the only other guy to look for in that instance is Strus, who is guarded closely here. So it’s either an open look by your main guy, the hero that brought you here in the first place, or a scramble to try and find a shooter who btw cannot create his own shot and will have the defense focused on him. I can live with my superstar taking an open shot. ANd btw, throughout these playoffs Butler has gone from a horrific to about an average 34% three point shooter. So there’s that as well. But regardless, enormous credit goes out to Jimmy for willing this team to a game 7, a hobbled Miami roster playing without Herro for the majority of the series. He’s proven time and time again that he gets a large portion of his buckets just by his sheer determination, the fight and the will to win, and every coach dreams of having a player like that. As for the Celtics, they finally broke through the conference finals after so many disappointments. In January everyone including myself talked about how it finally might be time to break up the 2 stars or make a significant trade. And the way they turned it around is nothing short of miraculous. There’s still ways to go however and stay tuned for the finals preview coming very soon. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

https://consciousbasketball.com/ One of the ugliest conference finals games that I’ve ever seen, this was so bad, that not just me, but other breakdown youtubers as well are left completely speechless. Ok let me at least try to explain what happened in this game. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Just look at these misses. Butler gets the screen and on the pump fake White falls down so now Jimmy has all the time in the world for a completely uncontested shot and he airballs it. Again, on the screen, not only is Williams in drop but not even contesting this shot that again gets nothing but air. Look at the space that Lowry has on this shot right here, raises up and yet another airball. And on the kick out, Gabe Vincent is full of confidence as he raises up from downtown and almost breaks the backboard. This has to be the worst compilation of misses by a team that I’ve ever seen in 1 game. And check this out, in a crucial game 5 at home they went 31.9% from the floor and 7 for 45 that 15.6%. This is astonishingly bad. And as you can see, for most of the shots, the Celtics are in drop coverage, so they don’t believe that Miami can beat them with their shot. A lot of these were open looks. Just look at where Horford is on this switch against Butler. He’s forcing him to shoot these shots, and you can see why. Jimmy shot 4 for 18 from the field so I guess you can say that this was a successful gameplan by the Celtics coaching staff. Moving on, if the Celtics defense was going under the screens for some, they definitely were hounding guys like Duncan Robinson. Look at White, picking up the shooter from waay out here, and chasing him breathing in his neck, to ultimately end this with a block. Great effort by Derrick. Same thing with Brown on this possession, he is close, and goes up to contest the shot, as we slow it down you can see that everything is clean here despite Robinson flailing, no faul was the right call and another miss. Also, big shoutout to Robert Williams for his defensive presence. On this play, first he traps Vincent in the corner, then gets back out to Martin, and even tho he bites on the fake, check out the hustle to get back and block this dunk attempt. Then, watch him recover from under the basket helping on the drive, all the way out to the three point line for this phenomenal rejection on Gabe Vincent, and since we got a second angle on this, I gotta show it to you since it looks even better in slow mo. And he had a similar one getting out to Tucker in the second half. This is incredible, and you clearly see the impact that he has on the defensive end. And check out the mind boggling numbers: In the past 2 games, Butler, Lowry and Struss, have shot a combined 8 for 60 from the field. Let me repeat that. The 3 starters are shooting 13.3% on 60 shots and there’s no way that they can get to the finals with that kind of efficiency. There have been some questions about injuries from reporters, and I assume that these are the ones that cover the Heat specifically and are around the team all the time, so there could be some truth to that, but both Butler and Spoelstra as well were quick to shut down those rumors and accepted the responsibility for the loss. Whether it’s the Celtics defense, or just missing shots, or even injuries, Miami has a tough task of winning on the road to save their season, and to do that, they will have to play much much better than this. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to watch much more interesting games at the end of this round and for the finals of course, cause this was unbearable. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Use code HEATCHECK for $20 off your first SeatGeek order. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/HEATCHECK Check out how nonchalant Luka Doncic is on this play. We freeze it here and you see he’s triple teamed, but not only he’s not worried about it, but you see that he escapes the trap and throws a no-look crosscourt pass, all the way to the corner. Klay is in the middle anticipating a kick out, but that look away fools him for just a moment, so as we let it roll, you see that he’s late on the close out, which allows Finney Smith to have an open look and knock it down. This is just 1 of the few insane passes that Doncic had, freezing the entire defense and leading the Mavs to victory in game 4. So let’s break them down. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. If you thought that first pass was nice, wait till you see this off the dribble one handed laser, through the entire Golden State zone, straight to Finney Smith to the corner. Dorian penetrates and warps the zone to the point where Bullock is wide open right here. We got the pass, the shot, and the three. And at the end of the game, he again goes right at the Warriors defense, so as we stop it right here, how in the world does he see Bullock in the corner through all of that traffic. Also shoutout to Finney Smith as well for this backscreen since he knows that Luka can make any pass so all that’s needed is to get the shooters open. And he did that. Another incredible pass at a leisurely pace by Doncic, Bullock fires away and splashes the dagger to ultimately seal this game. The dubs may have hoped to get the sweep but instead they got front row seats to this show of casual yet flashy passes by Luka. Moving on,Dallas won this game primarily with their blistering hot shooting from downtown. 20 from 43 that 46.5%. And to get an idea what type of night it was, look at this sequence by Dinwiddie first he dances on Curry, side steps and shoots a rainbow with a hand in his face and swishes it. So then check the clock this is just seconds later the very next possession, on the kick out Spencer heat checks it from way downtown and buries it. Just for comparison last game, the trio of Bullock, Kleber and Finney Smith shot 2 for 17 from three and in game 4 they went a combined 12 for 20, that’s a 30 point difference right there. And it wasn’t like Golden State was happy to win the third game on the road so they folded in this one. They were really out there battling. Also when you have a situation like this where the ball literally would not drop and stays glued to the rim, you know you’re not gonna win. I found it interesting that Golden State played zone 23 possessions which is by far the most out of any game in this series. And advanced metrics show that Mavs scored on 12 points of those possessions which on 1 side, is good obviously with their hot shooting that they had, but on the other, that’s how Golden State came back to an 8 point game from down by 29. It was with the zone, when the Mavs went cold for a stretch in the 4th quarter. So I feel like we’ll see even more zone in game 5 since role players always tend to shoot a bit worse on the road, so I feel like Steve Kerr will put that to the test. Jason Kidd however so that as a compliment. So yeah, let me know in the comments if Dallas can make things interesting, or will Golden State finish things off at home. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Steph Curry brings the ball up and as we freeze it here, you see that this is a double screen for him to curl. And check out all of the attention that he has on him. With both Luka and Bullock guarding him closely, and the other guys also being high up ready to switch on the screens, this is exactly the Curry effect as the paint is completely empty. So the great reaction by Wiggins to just cut inside, and Steph flings it to Green on the other side, so when this triangle is completed we got a wide open layup. Steph Curry finished with 31 points and 11 assists on 50% shooting. And the entire team benefited from his playmaking. Let me show you. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Here’s a few more examples of the Curry effect. Dallas has him cornered with this double on the wing, but watch the half spin by Steph that Bullock bites on, because he’s thinking that’s a spin back towards the screen here and an open 3 point look. So as he jumps on it, Curry goes through and now this is a 2 on 1 situation, the great bounce pass and Looney is the beneficiary. That fear from his shot is displayed in this situation as well, as Thompson screens for him, Finney Smith is trailing so as Curry goes up for a shot, Powell jumps with him. And a terrific mid air adjustment to change this shot into a bounce pass for Looney who now has Doncic on him and that’s barbeque chicken for him. Right here again, as Steph gives it up, you see that it’s a similar 2 screen alignment for him up top, but with the Mavs focusing all of their attention on him, Draymond uses that to just fake the hand off, and once again the paint is empty so he just walks right into a dunk. And watch this. On the pass by Klay, Finney Smith signals that he’s going to switch it. But look at Brunson, he still has his eyes on Steph, checking if he needs to help out there. So with everyone looking that way, Green just slides in and sets an off ball screen for Klay, and a sniper like him will not miss out on this opportunity to fire away. Bang. Steph faced double teams throughout the entire game but he was extremely comfortable in handling the ball through them, and finding his teammates who were in great positions to score off of that. Also we gotta give a major shoutout to Andrew Wiggins who came out extremely aggressive in this game and by winning it puts Golden State pretty much 1 foot in the finals. 3-0 and 2-1 is a completely different story, and Wiggins had a lot to do with it. 27 points on 55% shooting but much more important than that to me were his 11 rebounds, and all the extra opportunities that he created with that. You see the decisiveness, the aggressiveness and the attacking mindset that he had in this game. All of that while chasing Luka and battling with him all over the floor. So far in this series Wiggins is averaging 20.7 points and 7 rebounds on 47.1% from the field and 38.9% from downtown, and so far he’s absolutely been the X-factor for Golden State in these 3 games and helped them get just 1 win away from the finals. Dallas did deserve to get at least 1 game, so hopefully this doesn’t end up in a sweep. Let me know in the comments what do you think happens in game 4. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

As Luka gives the ball up, you see that we have a screen on the hand off, and another one here from Powell for him to curl. So as Wiggins gets bumped on the first one, and then on the second, there’s no help from the Warriors so Doncic has this space to just raise up from downtown, and you already know the result. This is the last thing you wanna do against Luka, but thankfully for Golden State, they did a bunch of things right to stop him and in this video I’m going to break it all down. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. The Warriors had Wiggins on him as their most athletic defender. And he did a pretty good job contesting and closing out. But we know that the name of the game with Doncic is the pick and roll and involving a guy who they want to target for a switch. Mainly Steph Curry and Kevon Looney. The actions involving Steph were guarded by hedging, meaning that he just pops out like this to allow a split second time for Wiggins to recover and get back. This is an interesting one because Curry hedges again, but Dinwidie holds the screen more and actually changes the angle to bump Andrew away. However with Luka driving, Poole steps in from the corner and Porter splits the difference between these 2 guys out here to guard for the pass. That allows Wiggins to get back in the play, just in time for the block. And check out this one. The Mavs try to bring out Curry from over here, but Golden State does this thing called pre-switching. You see how Steph’s guy goes over to set the screen but him and Draymond switch it so now he is guarding the pick. Bullock doesn’t even set it here, so eventually Brunson comes over and Curry hedges again and sprints back to his man. But he’s trailing so Draymond steps in and we got a great rotation outside by Steph which forces the pass to the corner that’s already being tightly contested. With the shot clock running down, Dinwidie has to force one up and Klay blocks the heck out of it. Great execution. In this situation Poole even stays longer here for a bit of a soft double. This catches Luka by surprise and allows Wiggins to make a play on the ball and ultimately force the turnover. They also tried zone for a few possessions and you can see here it throws Dallas off of their game. And it ends with Brunson taking a contested shot and missing. According to the advanced metrics, Golden State played zone on 8 possessions and 7 of those were empty possessions for the Mavs. Then we got a few instances where even tho Luka wanted to get the switch, Curry and Wiggins would trap, forcing him to go left and funneling him towards the help defender. This resulted in live ball turnovers and fast break points for the Warriors. To me, the switches with Looney were more interesting and I see more of an opportunity there for Dallas. First of all as you can see in these examples, to his credit Looney did a terrific job trying to stay close and this is as good as you hope that the big man can defend the switch. However I do feel like there are going to be games where Doncic will make a ton of these shots and there’s nothing that Golden State would be able to do about this. Speaking of open shots: The Mavs overall missed a bunch of those. I mean, just look at this sequence where all 4 three pointers were completely wide open, yet they weren’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. They shot 11-48 that’s 22.9% from downtown, and I do not expect them to have a bunch more of these games. What could be a point of concern however is Luka himself who was kind of grimacing and wincing due to some pain in his shoulder. Hopefully this won’t have long term effects on the series since I fully expect this one to be a long one for us to enjoy. What did you see in this opening game? Is it replicable? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Follow Jimmy Butler here, as he sniffs out the Celtics play, and sneaks in step by step closer to Williams and as soon as the pass is thrown, he jumps on it and gets a steal opening up the fast break and the dunk. Watch this close up, this is the look of a smooth criminal. Jimmy had 4 steals and 3 blocks in addition to his 41 points on 63%. An astonishing performance leading the Heat offensively, but more impressive for me with his lock down defense as well, in what may have been the best quarter of defense this season. So let’s go deeper and break it down. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. In transition Williams sets a high screen for Pritchard who now should have an advantage on the perimeter against Deadmon. But the Heat’s big man is moving great so he forces the pass. Brown penetrates but as we stop it right here check out the 3 Miami defenders all over him, so now he has to pass out of it. Oladipo is already expecting that and he is able to make the proper rotation and another pass, and another back to Pritchard who penetrates and as we stop it right here you see that this is the same situation from 10 seconds ago with Oladipo helping down low but ready to rotate back in the corner, and that’s exactly what happens as this phenomenal defensive sequence is crowned with a block by Victor, and this suffocating defense was the story of game 1. Here’s a similar situation but with Tatum as the ball handler. Obviously much more dangerous guy, so on the pick, immediately we see Tucker doing a great job of staying on his hip and fighting over the screen, Deadmon is in front but at the same time watching for the roll, and Jimmy is the third guy to form this wall, and of course Tatum gets rid of it. So as Brown attacks now, notice how Herro flashes from the corner which a lot of coaches don’t like to help off of the corner and leave that 3 open but Spoelstra always uses that in his defense. Plus Herro is quick to get back. So as we move on, Jaylen side steps around Butler but now Deadmon is in front with Vincent rotating down low. Jaylen could maybe try to lob it over, but this all happens in the blink of an eye so he sees Nesmith on the wing, but by the time he gets it, and goes up for a shot Gabe is already there closing out and contesting it. Another amazing defensive sequence that ends with a bad miss. And right here notice how Jimmy Butler just glances back to confirm that there’s a screen coming so he prepares for it and steps closer to Brown which allows him to completely avoid Theis who admittedly did not set the greatest screen of all time. So he’s in line with Jaylen and as we freeze it, you see that help from the corner once again from Tucker, and Struss comes over from the other corner trusting that Vincent is able to split the difference and guard for a potential pass to both of these guys here. Which he does as you can see. So Brown gets it to Tatum, but Butler is active and rotates, jumping high for the contest and getting a spectacular block on Tatum, as the crowd goes crazy and both him and P.J. get fired up. And for a good reason, check it out once again from this angle. Amazing. Speaking of Butler, as I mentioned in the intro he was the catalyst for the Heat primarily with his defense, since they did trail by 8 at the half. But what followed was an avalanche forcing a ton of live turnovers, leading to fast break points, as they started the third quarter on a 22-2 run. With that defense and Butler’s aggressiveness on offense, It went from -8 to +12 in the blink of an eye. And as Jimmy said it himself, most of those 41 points came through his hard nosed attitude and the constant attack, going at the Celtics as you can see right here barrelling through Robert Williams and blowing him away for this finish. JIMMY BUTLER INTERVIEW ZA GURANJE And not only that but check out some of these unbelievably tough shots that he was able to hit, to kind of prove me wrong on my Exposed video from a few weeks ago. And while I had to make that since the percentages were so low throughout the season, I also have to give a special shoutout to him for stepping up not just in this game but throughout the playoffs. Butler went from 21.4 points on 48.0% from the field and a horrific 23.3% from downtown during the season, to 29.8 points on 53.5% from the field and a respectable 34.8% from three. That’s what you call stepping up when it matters the most. However I’d just like to point out a small thing, just the slightest little detail. If you look at his mid range shots, he’s still at around 37% which is underwhelming to say the least for a guy that’s famous for his mid range shots, and known as one of the best in the league from that area of the court. So while I do enjoy all the comments on that video saying that it doesn’t age well, if you really look closely, it ages like fine wine to me.

Jason Kidd’s genius game plan completely demolished the Suns in game 7 and to me it looked eerily similar to another monstrous 58 point loss for Chris Paul in the playoffs back from 09. So let me show you the real reason for the blowout. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Right from the start on this pick, check out the coverage on Booker. Bullock keeps chasing him, and both Finney Smith and Powell show in front, forcing him to pass out of it. And Crowder even makes this shot, but early on we get an idea that the Mavs would live with anyone else rather than Booker having to make shots and beat them. Again, on the high pick Kleber shows, Bullock continues to chase him, and as we stop it right here, there are now 4 players around Devin forcing the kick out to Torey Craig, a nice effort by Dinwidie to close out on the shot and another miss. As you heard in the intro by Jason Kidd himself, the Mavs were trapping Booker and honestly neither him nor any of the other Suns could make any shots. And even beyond the phenomenal defense by Dallas, Phoenix just missed a lot of open shots, I mean look at some of these. Booker even missed a point blank layup. You could say maybe that they played kind of tight after that initial run and early lead by their opponents. And this is how that happened. Literally the first possession of the game- follow Doncic here. He’s got Bridges on him their best defender, but first Bullock will come out for the screen, so now Chris Paul is on Luka, and then we got a pick and roll with Powell, to ultimately get the matchup that he wants. 1 on 1 against Ayton. So from there, he just dances, goes inside, and check out this beautiful outside spin for the 1 legged fadeaway and he swishes it. Check the time this is moments later- the very next possession same thing, the screen on Bridges, now Paul is defending him, another screen, and finally isolation against Ayton. Luka stares him down, steps back and buries another one right in his face. 35 points, 10 rebounds on 12-19 from the field. And when it wasn’t him, it was Dinwidie exploiting the Suns big men. He was also unstoppable and had a phenomenal game of 30 points on 11-15 from the field, this is supporting your main star in the best possible way. And naturally, in situations like this, when Ayton is on an island and needs help in the form of a double team, we got the quick pass by Luka, the swing to Brunson and you see he’s all alone for this shot and knocks down the three. Brunson had a big game as well with 24 on 11-19 and he went right at Chris Paul on multiple occasions. Attacking him has pretty much been the recipe for Dallas on offense ever since game 3 and in addition to the Luka switches, this was the majority of the offense for the Mavs. Which finally leads us to CP3. You think this was bad? Being down by 46 at one point? Well if you ask Chris Paul, that’s nothing compared to game 4 of the second round in 2009 when a great Hornets team with guys like himself, David West, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic lost by 58 points at home to Melo, Billups and J.R. Smith. Let me say it again, they lost at home by 58 points, and to this day that’s the biggest playoff margin of all time. And I’m not sure exactly what happened last night and if he’s injured or whatever the reason may be, but you can see a clear difference, a clear cut off point from the first 8 games of the playoffs, to the last 5. His supporters say that there was some kind of quad injury, which was reported by ESPN, and his haters will say he flat out choked. Whatever the case may be, none of it looks good since he has a history of both getting injured when it matters the most, and losing leads as well. This is now the 5th time that he’s blown a 2-0 series lead and it’s more than any player in NBA history. That doesn’t sound good. With or without an injury. As the Mavs move forward to the conference finals this is the final message from Jason Kidd that kind of made me chuckle. Nobody expected this to happen, so let me know in the comments what are your expectations for the conference finals. Talk to you in the next round. Peace out.

Check out this sequence. Down by 10 in the fourth the sixers bring the ball up, but as Harden gets it stolen, check out how cool he is about it, jogging back and watching Oladipo lay it in. The funny thing is, the very next play, just seconds later, Harden goes into an unnecessary dribbling exhibition going nowhere for like 10 seconds and eventually gets it stolen again. He packed his bags to Cancun once again in an elimination game, and basically did not show up. And the backlash was scary. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. I cannot believe that he had just 2 shot attempts in the second half of game 6 at home when he should have been fighting to keep his team alive. So basically the Sixers just did all of that chaos in the trading block to get rid of a guy who doesn’t shoot the ball when the team needs him to- just to get a guy who absolutely did the same thing and cost them the series. I mean seriously, as the ball bounces right here look where Harden and Butler are standing. But Jimmy literally runs past the beard who doesn’t seem to care at this point, and you can notice that by his defensive stance as well. Not engaged, hands are down, so Butler just raises up for a practice shot and splashes it. As he goes back he says Wooow I’m assuming in disbelief of how the Sixers basically gave up and allowed him to do all that. So after the game as he was going to the locker rooms, he screamed at the Sixers for not giving him the max and picking Tobias Harris over him. In his postgame interview Jimmy said that he would love to have stayed in Philly and played with Embiid. And Joel said the same thing as well. Embiid also kind of sneak dissed his teammates which I thought was kind of funny. And he’s totally right. He played injured and gave everything he had to give the Sixers a chance to win, and to see the rest of them, especially the guy who was supposed to help him get to a championship- I feel for him. At this point it’s almost certain that Doc Rivers will not be coming back, and the Beard said in his postgame interview that he will opt in and play there next year so we’ll see what the future holds for this team but at the moment there are a lot of things that need to be resolved. What are your thoughts about how Philly ended their season? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one, peace out.

As Giannis fires up this three, there are 5 Celtics against Lopez for this rebound. But Matthews sneaks in, and Brook actually tips this one to keep it alive and eventually Wesley secures a second chance. But this is just the beginning of it. On the drive he misses however the scrapiness of the Bucks allows them to have a third possession on the inbound. Jrue Holiday will try his luck as he steps back for the three but he misses as well, however check out Grayson Allen swooping in to get a fourth opportunity for Milwaukee that eventually Brook Lopez will convert into 2 points. 4 chances to score on a possession in a pivotal game 5, that’s unbelievable. While everyone is hyped about the wild finish, let me show you a few situations that helped the Bucks to even have a chance to be close at the end. Something that nobody talks about. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. It happens again on this Antetokounmpo drive, as we stop it right here, 4 Celtics players are kind of watching and Bobby Portis will go from the outside, to right in the middle of the action, so by the time the ball misses, he’s in perfect position to secure the rebound and get the foul. Down by 8 that was huge to keep them within striking distance. You know what else was huge? This very moment. Down by 6 with just a minute forty to go if the Celtics defend this one, it’s pretty much game over. Bobby Portis fires up a three and actually misses but Matthews again fights to get the rebound and finds Giannis all alone. The Greek freak was 2 for 19 from downtown for the series but he knocks it down in the clutch to get it down to 3. Which leads us to the final seconds of the game. Antetokounmpo misses the second free throw but in this chaos, Portis not only puts himself in a great position to get the rebound but also has the incredible concentration to finish this one up through enormous traffic and put his team up by 1, a lead that they will hang onto until the end with some mind blowing defense from Jrue Holiday. Seriously just take a look at this block, and the presence of mind to tip toe along the baseline before throwing it off of Smart for the out of bounds. But back to the previous topic to give you a crazy statistic. In the fourth quarter alone the Bucks had 7 offensive rebounds, which was more than Boston had for the entire game. Speaking of the entire game, Milwaukee’s 17 offensive rebounds would rank them by far at the top of the league, since the Grizzlies were the leaders in this category in the regular season with 14 per game. That’s how big of a game the Bucks had on the offensive boards. And since they’ve put themselves in a great position to close out this tough series at home- if they do that, people will talk about Giannis’s dominance, and the unbelievable defense by Jrue Holiday, which should be a video in itself- all credit to him. But what could get overlooked are seemingly small things like these extra possessions that led to clutch baskets and ultimately added up and brought Milwaukee the win in a game that they already had it lost. And to me, that’s what championship pedigree is all about. Let me know in the comments if you see them ending it in 6 or can the Celtics throw a haymaker and fight for a game 7. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Joel Embiid had a lot of problems in game 5. Some of it was this tough Miami defense, some of it was physical, and some was mental. So let’s go through everything. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Check out the adjustment by the Heat defensively that pretty much sealed the deal for them in game 5. As he slides to the elbow to get the ball, look at the fight by Adebayo fronting him, not even allowing a clean look for the catch. You can see right here that Butler comes over from the corner to help, while also keeping an eye on his man. All of that fight had Embiid forced to go all the way to the other side to try and get the ball with 5 seconds left on the shot clock, and with that added pressure Harden overthrows it and we got a turnover. Phenomenal defensive possession. Miami’s strategy was simple. Don’t switch Tucker off of Harden at any cost on the pick, and fight hard against Embiid. So on this side pick and roll, Tucker goes under and tries his best to come back and contest the 3, and meanwhile Bam immediately puts a body in front of Joel and boxes out to prevent any chance of an offensive rebound. Again, the Beard is on the right side, trying to get Struss on him, but Tucker fights through the screen and is able to be there on the drive and meanwhile watch this subtle tap by Butler, basically telling Deadmon go protect the paint, I got Embiid. So as we stop it right here you see that Harden now has to shoot a floater over the big man, and Jimmy is both boxing out Joel, but at the same time, being ready to get back to his original matchup in case of a potential corner pass. Great activity from the Heat and another miss. Even on the occasional switch that the Sixers were able to get, look at the fight by PJ to deny the ball so by the time Joel finally gets it, and communicates the clear out inside, there’s 5 seconds left, and a pitbull all up in his face, so he settles for a contested step back and another miss. And this is that incredible sequence from the intro where Adebayo did not let Embiid touch the ball for that entire possession, and not only that but also got up to protect the rim and force the miss. This is why he was a defensive player of the year candidate. But let’s get back to Embiid. He was held to 17 points and only 12 shot attempts. As I mentioned, part of it was the defense of course, but also he re-aggravated that injury and it even looked painful watching him laying down and wincing. So I give Joel the full benefit of the doubt there. This was obviously the physical aspect that I referred to in the intro. Now for the final portion. The mental side of it. Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports had an interesting report before the game linking the recent MVP announcement to Embiid’s mindstate just moments before tip off. CHRIS HAYNES INTERVIEW And Chuck also seemed to have gotten the same vibe watching the game and he spoke about it at halftime. CHUCK INTERVIEW All in all, great defense by the Heat, but lack of effort by the Sixers and their leader in a pivotal game 5, brought them to the brink of elimination. So Let’s see how they respond. Before I go, follow me on the new ig page, we’re starting fresh with content every day. Different from these videos so you don’t wanna miss that. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

If you use my link to sign up for NBA Top Shot and purchase a $9 Starter Pack, Top Shot will give you $20 back so you can start building your collection with Moments from the Marketplace: https://hoo.ps/heat-check You see Chris Paul showing right away who he wants as the screener. It’s Cam Johnson who’s guarded by Doncic of course. Not a ton of fight here by Dinwidie to try and get over the screen, so as CP3 gets the switch he easily blows by Luka and if we stop it right here you see how many options he has. The pass can go to Johnson up top, Bridges in the corner, or to drop it down low for Byombo tho that may be in traffic. So as we let it go, you see that Cam cuts to the basket, gets it, and finishes nicely with the floater.Luka Doncic got exposed on defense by the Suns like never before. So let me show exactly what happened. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Right here, on the high pick, Bullock doesn’t even want to leave Luka by himself against Chris Paul, so he goes for the double. And you can already see the space that Crowder has. Doncic will try to recover and come back here, but as we let it roll, you see that a simple head fake and a blow by leave him behind, and as Kleber goes up for the block, we got the pass and the dunk. This time it’s Booker as the ball handler. He calls for the screen from Johnson, and as he gets it right here, you can already tell that the rotation is going to be Bertans on him, Kleber slides down to the corner for the extra pass, and by that time Luka should be able to get back to Byombo. But as we let it roll Cam completely messes up all of that because he fakes the corner pass, and with Kleber leaving the paint to cover Bridges, now this is a 2 on 1 at the basket, Doncic is far from a rim protector and Johnson just casually floats this one in. Even in a situation like this where clearly there was a specific play that was gonna be ran, you see that Paul calls Byombo to come back so Bismack turns around and you can see Booker as well loosening up and just leaving his point guard get the switch. And from that point on, it’s easy, the little dance into a stepback- nothing but the bottom of the net. Let me give you a mind blowing statistic. In this game, the Suns hunted Luka as the screen defender 50 times which is crazy in itself, but get this: in those instances, they scored 1.72 points per possession. For those of you asking if 1.72 points per possession is good, all you need to know is that a typical NBA team has about 100 possessions per game, so hypothetically if Phoenix only forced this- they would score 172 points per game against the Mavs. Whaaat. So yeah, going at Doncic is paying off big time for Phoenix, and I don’t see how Dallas could counter that. Chris Paul was feasting on this switch and ended the game with 28 points and 8 assists on 11 for 16 from the field that’s almost 69%. And this was just the icing on the cake in the fourth quarter. Incredible. Moving on, after the game Luka was asked about this and he took the blame for it but also said that the entire team has to play better overall. This is the exact same thing that the Mavs themselves did to Donovan Mitchell, and that’s pretty much how they won the series. This is how the Heat hunted Trae Young, and this is the exact same reason why Duncan Robinson gets either DNPs or very little playing time. He just cannot hold his own on the defensive end. And in the playoffs this is the most important thing. Defense. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and we saw last night how just 1 weakness can be exploited over and over again generating bucket after bucket. And in defense of Doncic, the guy just has to do so much offensively, to even keep them in the game. Having strong and athletic guys like Crowder and Bridges, Phoenix plays him 1 on 1 trying to exhaust him as much as possible so then when they go on the other end he’s already gassed. And trying to keep up with CP3 is nearly impossible. So this is the result. If last game Dallas made 16 threes on 41% and I said that this was a best case scenario for them, now they made 17 threes on 41.5%, Doncic still had a great game and they still lost. Because once again Dinwiddie and Brunson went a combined 6 for 22 from the field, similar to the 9 for 24 from game 1. In order for the Mavs to even have a hope to win this series, at least 1 of them needs to have a breakout game and help Doncic in carrying the load offensively. We know how the role players always tend to play better at home, so as the series shifts to Dallas, I expect more from them, and a much tighter game. Let me know in the comments if you think that they can make things interesting at home. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

The Celtics won game 2 with a ton of ball movement and this is the best example of that. Brown penetrates and finds White but he is triple teamed and kicks it out to Horford who immediately swings it to Brown, for another penetration and another kick out to White, The swing to Tatum, the extra extra pass to Horford and finally the finish. Wooow that was some incredible ball movement tho credit to the Bucks defense as well. Let me show you a few more interesting plays from last night’s games. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Jayson Tatum did the same thing 2 plays in a row and got himself an open look for a three at the end of the game. First on the drive, he trips and falls, but quickly gets up and re-locates out to the corner 3, we got the kick out, the shot and the swish. And just moments later, he drives and dishes it again, and re-locates Curry style out to the three only this time without falling, White gets it back to him and another 3. Moving on to the second game of the night, where Ja Morant took matters into his own hands delivering bucket after bucket late in the 4th. Watch Zaire Williams closely, as he goes up to set the screen for Ja on the right side, but then at the last second stops and sets the screen on the other side, and at this moment both Wiggins and Poole are stuck here so Ja only needs this much space to take off for the acrobatic finish. Next we have these 3 beautiful assists by Draymond Green. First, Green shakes Kyle Anderson off and lobs it to Kuminga for the jam. As we stop it right here, this looks like a handoff for Curry to come out here for the 3, Anderson thinks that too as he is ready to switch right away, but Green turns and suddenly it’s a 2 on 1 opportunity that ends with an alleyoop dunk by Kuminga. 2 minutes later we got another amazing read by Draymond for the easy layup all in one motion. Steph handles the ball up here, Thompson sets the screen for him but instead of Curry driving left he pases the ball to Green, at the same time Ja is focused on Steph so he leaves the lane open for Klay to cut straight to the basket, Dray already knows, the pass and the turnaround layup. On this play we have all sorts of Golden State kind of moves with a culmination of another Dray to Klay connection. Follow Thompson as he runs along the baseline but midway through stops, cuts in the middle and sets a screen for Porter to cut inside, Bane however obviously thinks he’s going for the 3 so he rushes to go outside, this leaves the whole paint empty as Klay and Green make eye contact, Thompson goes back and gets the easy deuce. Both of these chess matches are currently tied at 1, as Boston caught fire and built a big lead in the first half that they held onto until the end and Ja Morant exploded for 47 points and the Grizzlies secured the win against Golden State. Let me know in the comments who you got for the rest of the way. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.