The volume. No, oh my god, how could he do that? By no, don't watch what Charles Darwin. The nerves is where it's at.

The volume. No, oh my god, how could he do that? By no, don't watch what Charles Darwin. The nerves is where it's at.

Welcome everybody back into herd Sash as always, I'm Carson Brevn. Alongside he is Logan Camden, and today we are going to be ranking the top ten duos in the NBA, which I am very excited to get into. But first, if you missed it, we were on Players Choice earlier today, so we already talked three hours of basketball with all the guys over on the panel, which is a whole bunch of fun. So you can go ahead and check that out. But for the task of the day, Logan ranking the top ten duos in the NBA. Before we start with our official rankings, I want to know what was your criteria? What was your thought process when making this list?

Welcome everybody back into herd Sash as always, I'm Carson Brevn. Alongside he is Logan Camden, and today we are going to be ranking the top ten duos in the NBA, which I am very excited to get into. But first, if you missed it, we were on Players Choice earlier today, so we already talked three hours of basketball with all the guys over on the panel, which is a whole bunch of fun. So you can go ahead and check that out. But for the task of the day, Logan ranking the top ten duos in the NBA. Before we start with our official rankings, I want to know what was your criteria? What was your thought process when making this list?

So originally I thought my criteria was just solely gonna be like, what's the lowest combined number I would have for players in rankings? And what I mean by that is, if I had, say, for example, number one, I would add Jokic. And let's say if Jamal Murray was number twenty five for example. These aren't real, but they would have a total number of twenty six and then yeah, by that wherever they factored in with the total number of other guys where I would put them. But I didn't go straightforward with that, and I do have a few logical inconsistencies with that methodology. But I think it's important that One of my criterias, for sure is that the guys are complimentary to each other. And I don't want to have a significant liability on one side of the basketball court or the other, and so I will rule against if like there are some redundancies or stuff like that. For the most part, it is are you better than this duo?

So originally I thought my criteria was just solely gonna be like, what's the lowest combined number I would have for players in rankings? And what I mean by that is, if I had, say, for example, number one, I would add Jokic. And let's say if Jamal Murray was number twenty five for example. These aren't real, but they would have a total number of twenty six and then yeah, by that wherever they factored in with the total number of other guys where I would put them. But I didn't go straightforward with that, and I do have a few logical inconsistencies with that methodology. But I think it's important that One of my criterias, for sure is that the guys are complimentary to each other. And I don't want to have a significant liability on one side of the basketball court or the other, and so I will rule against if like there are some redundancies or stuff like that. For the most part, it is are you better than this duo?

Right?

Right?

Is this guy better than this guy? But it's not true for all of them. I do think that complimenting the other person is important. I do think two way value is important, but it's not just you know, apples to apples across the board, what about you.

Is this guy better than this guy? But it's not true for all of them. I do think that complimenting the other person is important. I do think two way value is important, but it's not just you know, apples to apples across the board, what about you.

I agree with that, And the way that I would put it is, I am viewing this list in terms of if I can presume health just for this season, which duos would I want most as the foundation of my team to then build around. So it's not purely an evaluation of talent, like you were saying that is certainly a significant component, but it also is relevant if you have two dudes with particularly complimentary skill sets, I'll prefer that to two dudes who have more redundancies. And I do think it's important to note that I am viewing this just in terms of who are the best duos as that starting point, because we have a wide range in terms of surrounding situations. For example, this list, I have a duo that I think has the worst surrounding situation of any team that is trying to be serious in basketball, and then I have a duo that has an absolutely insane, historically great supporting cast in surrounding situation. And I just have a feeling that people are gonna want to view this purely in terms of, oh, this team has won this many games, so this duo has to be number one or has to be top two, when I don't think that's necessarily the case. And if anything, I think this exercise tells you that today's NBA has so much talent that it can make a huge difference the supporting cast you have around your top two guys, and ultimately it can be much more important who is your three through seven if you have a really good duo compared to just purely having the best duo if you have a lackluster supporting cast around them. So that was how I viewed it. Who do I want want most as my foundation for this year? If we're presuming health, I should know when we're talking about health, we are not con considering duos for this list who are done for the year, who have a player who is not going to be returning, So that most notably includes a D and Kyrie not here, Fox and Wemby not here, embiid and Maxie not here. With all that being said, Logan, who do you have in your ten spot?

I agree with that, And the way that I would put it is, I am viewing this list in terms of if I can presume health just for this season, which duos would I want most as the foundation of my team to then build around. So it's not purely an evaluation of talent, like you were saying that is certainly a significant component, but it also is relevant if you have two dudes with particularly complimentary skill sets, I'll prefer that to two dudes who have more redundancies. And I do think it's important to note that I am viewing this just in terms of who are the best duos as that starting point, because we have a wide range in terms of surrounding situations. For example, this list, I have a duo that I think has the worst surrounding situation of any team that is trying to be serious in basketball, and then I have a duo that has an absolutely insane, historically great supporting cast in surrounding situation. And I just have a feeling that people are gonna want to view this purely in terms of, oh, this team has won this many games, so this duo has to be number one or has to be top two, when I don't think that's necessarily the case. And if anything, I think this exercise tells you that today's NBA has so much talent that it can make a huge difference the supporting cast you have around your top two guys, and ultimately it can be much more important who is your three through seven if you have a really good duo compared to just purely having the best duo if you have a lackluster supporting cast around them. So that was how I viewed it. Who do I want want most as my foundation for this year? If we're presuming health, I should know when we're talking about health, we are not con considering duos for this list who are done for the year, who have a player who is not going to be returning, So that most notably includes a D and Kyrie not here, Fox and Wemby not here, embiid and Maxie not here. With all that being said, Logan, who do you have in your ten spot?

In my ten spot is a pretty much solely offensive duo, And I omitted another solely offensive duo in their place that I thought was going to make my list, which I'm really intrigued to see if they're on yours. I have Jaylen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns in my ten spot, and to be to just let the cat out of the bag, the duo that I omitted was Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. And the reason that I did that is, you know, I think I would have Katie probably above Jalen Brunson I like just as individuals. I think I would probably have Devin Booker above Karl Anthony Towns as well. I think I have Brunson above Booker but below Kevin Durant just as like a starting point.

In my ten spot is a pretty much solely offensive duo, And I omitted another solely offensive duo in their place that I thought was going to make my list, which I'm really intrigued to see if they're on yours. I have Jaylen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns in my ten spot, and to be to just let the cat out of the bag, the duo that I omitted was Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. And the reason that I did that is, you know, I think I would have Katie probably above Jalen Brunson I like just as individuals. I think I would probably have Devin Booker above Karl Anthony Towns as well. I think I have Brunson above Booker but below Kevin Durant just as like a starting point.

But the reason I.

But the reason I.

Go with both of these guys is because I think they do a better job of enhancing one another. And the Sun's duo, in my opinion, was the hardest to rank on this list because I really do value both of them his offensive players and offensive engines, but I don't think they enhance one another. And at the end of the day, even though what you were talking about with the supporting cast and I think the Sun's supporting cast is horrible, I feel like the record would be better if they were a better duo. And I don't know if that's the best way to think about it, because I think Katie and d book would probably be locks to make this list last year. But the edge that I gave to Brunton and Cat whether they do enhance each other and that you can run actions in your offense together with the both of them, and I think they both make each other better. Cat because he's a floor spacing center. They can give Jalen Brunton all of this space to work with inside the arc. I think it's a start contrast to how the Knicks were getting buckets last year. Right, it is Jalen Brunton driving basically into a forest with Mitchell Robbins and Isaiah Hardenstein and all these non shooters and all this defense, and now that's been flipped on its head this year, where New York is basically an offensive haven with all this space to work. And I think that Brunson has maximized Cat's abilities, and I think Karl Anthony Towns maximizes Jalen Brunson's abilities. Why can they not be higher? Well? To me? And this could be an argument for why you might leave them off your list entirely, we'll see. I think they're two glaring positional like defensive liabilities, and that's why they can't be any higher on my list and why I would hear an argument for someone leaving them off of their list, right, Like, I don't even think you can apply that to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Like they may not be elite defenders, either of them, but they're not glaring positional liabilities to limit my team defense, which I do believe is the case. If you're gonna play Cat at the five and you're gonna play Brunson at the one, you've got an undersized pretty much you know, not effective point guard at all, and Jalen Brunson, and then you've got a center who isn't really a rim protector. And so I just think it puts a really, really hard cap on how good your team defense can be. And ultimately, that's why I don't look at the Knicks as a real deal contender, despite all of their talent. That's why I think their pretenders. So I would understand someone leaving this duo off their list, but I do think they enhance one another. I think they're an elite offensive duo and that's why they're here for me.

Go with both of these guys is because I think they do a better job of enhancing one another. And the Sun's duo, in my opinion, was the hardest to rank on this list because I really do value both of them his offensive players and offensive engines, but I don't think they enhance one another. And at the end of the day, even though what you were talking about with the supporting cast and I think the Sun's supporting cast is horrible, I feel like the record would be better if they were a better duo. And I don't know if that's the best way to think about it, because I think Katie and d book would probably be locks to make this list last year. But the edge that I gave to Brunton and Cat whether they do enhance each other and that you can run actions in your offense together with the both of them, and I think they both make each other better. Cat because he's a floor spacing center. They can give Jalen Brunton all of this space to work with inside the arc. I think it's a start contrast to how the Knicks were getting buckets last year. Right, it is Jalen Brunton driving basically into a forest with Mitchell Robbins and Isaiah Hardenstein and all these non shooters and all this defense, and now that's been flipped on its head this year, where New York is basically an offensive haven with all this space to work. And I think that Brunson has maximized Cat's abilities, and I think Karl Anthony Towns maximizes Jalen Brunson's abilities. Why can they not be higher? Well? To me? And this could be an argument for why you might leave them off your list entirely, we'll see. I think they're two glaring positional like defensive liabilities, and that's why they can't be any higher on my list and why I would hear an argument for someone leaving them off of their list, right, Like, I don't even think you can apply that to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Like they may not be elite defenders, either of them, but they're not glaring positional liabilities to limit my team defense, which I do believe is the case. If you're gonna play Cat at the five and you're gonna play Brunson at the one, you've got an undersized pretty much you know, not effective point guard at all, and Jalen Brunson, and then you've got a center who isn't really a rim protector. And so I just think it puts a really, really hard cap on how good your team defense can be. And ultimately, that's why I don't look at the Knicks as a real deal contender, despite all of their talent. That's why I think their pretenders. So I would understand someone leaving this duo off their list, but I do think they enhance one another. I think they're an elite offensive duo and that's why they're here for me.

So I actually have the Knicks duo one spot higher at number nine, but I have the Suns duo one spot higher than them at number eight. And I am going to do some defending of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on this list because I do think that they don't rank as highly for me as their talent purely would in a vacuum because Katie to me is still a surefire top ten player, Book is at worst a top twenty player, and so that you could argue could put them even a couple spots higher than where I have them. But I do think they have certain redundancies. For example, the fact that neither one of them is a good rim pressurer that leads to the Suns being by far the team that makes the fewest shots per game in the restricted area. In fact, it is by such a wide margin that the gap between them in the number twenty nine team in terms of restricted area makes is the same as the gap between the number twenty nine team and the number sixteen team. So both Book and Katie are outside the top one point fifty in restricted area. Makes that matters not just because they're not getting those easy shots at the rim, because that's also a great way to create driving kick opportunities, Like it really is important to get all the way downhill, and neither of these guys do that at a high level.

So I actually have the Knicks duo one spot higher at number nine, but I have the Suns duo one spot higher than them at number eight. And I am going to do some defending of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on this list because I do think that they don't rank as highly for me as their talent purely would in a vacuum because Katie to me is still a surefire top ten player, Book is at worst a top twenty player, and so that you could argue could put them even a couple spots higher than where I have them. But I do think they have certain redundancies. For example, the fact that neither one of them is a good rim pressurer that leads to the Suns being by far the team that makes the fewest shots per game in the restricted area. In fact, it is by such a wide margin that the gap between them in the number twenty nine team in terms of restricted area makes is the same as the gap between the number twenty nine team and the number sixteen team. So both Book and Katie are outside the top one point fifty in restricted area. Makes that matters not just because they're not getting those easy shots at the rim, because that's also a great way to create driving kick opportunities, Like it really is important to get all the way downhill, and neither of these guys do that at a high level.

Now, I was just gonna say, that's an incredible stat man, that is ridiculous.

Now, I was just gonna say, that's an incredible stat man, that is ridiculous.

And that has always been one of the limitations of this duo. Then you also have the fact that although they're both good passers, neither one is a real high end playmaker. Book has been bad defensively this year. I do think that he's a solid defender when he's engaged, so they have their redundancies. I still think it's easier to build a great team around the two of them than it actually is with the Knicks, even though I think that their duo is phenomenal offensively. I look at the Suns duo and I think if you put the right guys around them, there isn't like a core, fundamental, major red flag in the KD Book pairing like there is with having the worst defensive duo of any that we'll talk about today. With Brunson being such a limitation at the point of attack, who great teams can hunt relentlessly all the while kat is a huge liability defensively on the back end. Who is going to really really limit your defensive ceiling Katie and Book, Yes, they have some overlap, they're also one of just the greatest scoring duos ever, and they are two phenomenal individual talents, and they don't have those sort of defensive questions. And when they share the floor Logan, the Suns have a plus six point four net rating that is a better net rating than the New York Knicks have in the minutes that Jalen Brun and Karl Anthony Towns share the floor. The Suns also have a twenty seven and nineteen record win both KAT and Book play this year. There's still eight games above five hundred. Book is giving you twenty six four and seven on sixty percent true shooting. KT is giving you twenty seven six and four on sixty four percent true shooting. And since those two teamed up in the playoffs, it's only fifteen games. But Book has been a thirty two four and seven guy on sixty eight percent true shooting. KD has been a twenty eight eight and five guy on sixty one percent true shooting. So they are still both dominant, dominant scorers of the basketball who can totally take over in a way that is very rare even among these great duos that we're going to talk about. The problem to me really is that they have the worst supporting cast alongside them of any basketball team that is trying to be serious. They have an abominable defensive supporting cast. They have had zero plus two way role players over these last couple of years. You could argue that roy O'Neil has maybe been that this year, but is he a plus offensive player. I still wouldn't say so. He's just been shooting the ball relatively well. They have had a disgustingly bad situation in terms of their bigs. Nick Richards is now the best that they've had, but we're talking about them starting use of Nurkic for a year and a half. They haven't been able to supplement any of the high end athleticism that maybe Katie and Book are lacking alongside them. They haven't added that high end playmaker like they have completely and utterly butchered the team building around them. Meanwhile, I think the Knicks have kind of nailed their team building around Brunson and kat Right. They have put defensive minded, two way versatile wings. They have put guys who can knock down shots and cut in mckel bridges and Ojananobi, and a guy who can playmake and who can be a really high level offensive rebounder and transition presence and play his ass off in Josh Hart. They have three really good basketball players as they're three through five. The Suns frankly don't have another good basketball player on their roster, and still when Katie and Book are on the floor, the Sons have a better net rating than the Knicks do with Brunson and Cat. It just speaks to me to the ceiling that is put on a team built around two glaring defensive liabilities like Brunson and Cat. As much as I love them on that end, I can't overlook the major, major defensive issues. So if I were to choose who I want is my two building blocks, Like if I could give the Suns the Knicks supporting cast, and I mean that straight up right, even if that means now they're playing small ball, I think they're a better team than the Knicks. I think that they're switchable as hell Defensively, I think they're a better defensive team. Katie and Book can both be real contributors, especially Katie with his length on that end. Offensively, Now you have dudes who at least command some respect off ball alongside booking KD. It's just an easier way to build a great basketball team. We just unfortunately haven't seen it, especially over these last two years, because the Sons have been completely incompetent around those two guys. But I still think they are a great duo. They've just been put in a terrible situation.

And that has always been one of the limitations of this duo. Then you also have the fact that although they're both good passers, neither one is a real high end playmaker. Book has been bad defensively this year. I do think that he's a solid defender when he's engaged, so they have their redundancies. I still think it's easier to build a great team around the two of them than it actually is with the Knicks, even though I think that their duo is phenomenal offensively. I look at the Suns duo and I think if you put the right guys around them, there isn't like a core, fundamental, major red flag in the KD Book pairing like there is with having the worst defensive duo of any that we'll talk about today. With Brunson being such a limitation at the point of attack, who great teams can hunt relentlessly all the while kat is a huge liability defensively on the back end. Who is going to really really limit your defensive ceiling Katie and Book, Yes, they have some overlap, they're also one of just the greatest scoring duos ever, and they are two phenomenal individual talents, and they don't have those sort of defensive questions. And when they share the floor Logan, the Suns have a plus six point four net rating that is a better net rating than the New York Knicks have in the minutes that Jalen Brun and Karl Anthony Towns share the floor. The Suns also have a twenty seven and nineteen record win both KAT and Book play this year. There's still eight games above five hundred. Book is giving you twenty six four and seven on sixty percent true shooting. KT is giving you twenty seven six and four on sixty four percent true shooting. And since those two teamed up in the playoffs, it's only fifteen games. But Book has been a thirty two four and seven guy on sixty eight percent true shooting. KD has been a twenty eight eight and five guy on sixty one percent true shooting. So they are still both dominant, dominant scorers of the basketball who can totally take over in a way that is very rare even among these great duos that we're going to talk about. The problem to me really is that they have the worst supporting cast alongside them of any basketball team that is trying to be serious. They have an abominable defensive supporting cast. They have had zero plus two way role players over these last couple of years. You could argue that roy O'Neil has maybe been that this year, but is he a plus offensive player. I still wouldn't say so. He's just been shooting the ball relatively well. They have had a disgustingly bad situation in terms of their bigs. Nick Richards is now the best that they've had, but we're talking about them starting use of Nurkic for a year and a half. They haven't been able to supplement any of the high end athleticism that maybe Katie and Book are lacking alongside them. They haven't added that high end playmaker like they have completely and utterly butchered the team building around them. Meanwhile, I think the Knicks have kind of nailed their team building around Brunson and kat Right. They have put defensive minded, two way versatile wings. They have put guys who can knock down shots and cut in mckel bridges and Ojananobi, and a guy who can playmake and who can be a really high level offensive rebounder and transition presence and play his ass off in Josh Hart. They have three really good basketball players as they're three through five. The Suns frankly don't have another good basketball player on their roster, and still when Katie and Book are on the floor, the Sons have a better net rating than the Knicks do with Brunson and Cat. It just speaks to me to the ceiling that is put on a team built around two glaring defensive liabilities like Brunson and Cat. As much as I love them on that end, I can't overlook the major, major defensive issues. So if I were to choose who I want is my two building blocks, Like if I could give the Suns the Knicks supporting cast, and I mean that straight up right, even if that means now they're playing small ball, I think they're a better team than the Knicks. I think that they're switchable as hell Defensively, I think they're a better defensive team. Katie and Book can both be real contributors, especially Katie with his length on that end. Offensively, Now you have dudes who at least command some respect off ball alongside booking KD. It's just an easier way to build a great basketball team. We just unfortunately haven't seen it, especially over these last two years, because the Sons have been completely incompetent around those two guys. But I still think they are a great duo. They've just been put in a terrible situation.

It's a good argument. I ultimately left them at my number eleven spot though, and I do think Brunson and Cat compliment each other a little bit better than Katie and Book.

It's a good argument. I ultimately left them at my number eleven spot though, and I do think Brunson and Cat compliment each other a little bit better than Katie and Book.

But offensively, sure you still have me.

But offensively, sure you still have me.

Said he's in a number ten spot though, right I haven't.

Said he's in a number ten spot though, right I haven't.

And I'm really wondering how you're going to have booking Katie off this list entirely because personally, I feel like there's I know your gap for me even between nine and ten.

And I'm really wondering how you're going to have booking Katie off this list entirely because personally, I feel like there's I know your gap for me even between nine and ten.

I know one duo that I'm one hundred percent sure you're not going to have on your list that you do have.

I know one duo that I'm one hundred percent sure you're not going to have on your list that you do have.

Yeah, that's interesting. I do want to just reiterate with Book and Katie, like you think about what they did as pull up shooters against the Denver Nuggets in the twenty twenty three playoffs. Is there another duo on the planet that can do that? There's not, and that really does matter to me. Two guys can give you an efficient thirty in a series. Again, it's just a disgrace what the Sons have done around them. But in my number ten spot, I have Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. And I'm a little bit conflicted about this, just because I don't know exactly who Kawhi Leonard is right now. My estimation is that when we get to the playoffs and he's in rhythm and he's had a couple months to tune up, you're talking about a top fifteen guy, probably right around the fifteenth best player, And then I think Harden is like a top thirty five guy. The Clippers have been good when these two share the four, they're a plus eight net team in the minutes that they're out there together. And I do think that these guys actually do compliment each other nicely. I like that you have Harden as that guy who can be an offensive floor raiser, who can make so many decisions for you, who's such an elite playmaker, who's still an elite isolation and really good pick and roll score, but he also has some volatility there because the guy just can't finish at the room anymore. And that's where Kawhi comes in. And when he's right, he's this absolute assassin as a scorer who doesn't need to have the ball in his hands too much, but who gets wherever he wants on the floor, elite catch and shooter, elite pull up shooter from both beyond the arc and the mid range, elite strength. Always plays at his own pace, and that's made him one of the best playoff scores we've seen in a long time. He has consistently gotten even better there compared to the regular season. But again, Kawhi hasn't been that guy who we're accustomed to. He hasn't quite been himself since coming back from injury. This year, he's only giving you twenty three six and three per thirty six minutes on fifty five percent true shooting. He has regressed athletically over the years, but this year you've really noticed a step back in terms of his rim pressure declining. He's not getting to the line really at all, and I think that he's been a bit selfish, and that's where you see some of the inefficiency. Not the best shot selection from him at this point, not the best playmaking out of him. I do think his shot making will just get better, and I do think because of the combination of strength in shot making that he has, he is still an elite playoff scorer and a real plus defender when he wants to be. So that's basically what I'm betting on. I'm betting on the combination of Harden's elite playmaking with Kawhi's elite scoring in a playoff environment. And when I compared them to the alternatives who I considered for my number ten spot, shout out to some honorable mentions Hallie and Siakham, great offensive duo, Jaw and Triple J who I considered, Demonte Sabonis and Zach Levine. Now, even though Domas is hurt right now, I just think compared to those groups, these two, if they're right, have the highest ceiling as a duo. And maybe it's crazy, I still trust healthy Kawhi if he is able to play his way into a rhythm, to be that really high level scorer in the playoffs and to still have that real positive two way impact. So I am going to bet on them more than any of the alternatives.

Yeah, that's interesting. I do want to just reiterate with Book and Katie, like you think about what they did as pull up shooters against the Denver Nuggets in the twenty twenty three playoffs. Is there another duo on the planet that can do that? There's not, and that really does matter to me. Two guys can give you an efficient thirty in a series. Again, it's just a disgrace what the Sons have done around them. But in my number ten spot, I have Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. And I'm a little bit conflicted about this, just because I don't know exactly who Kawhi Leonard is right now. My estimation is that when we get to the playoffs and he's in rhythm and he's had a couple months to tune up, you're talking about a top fifteen guy, probably right around the fifteenth best player, And then I think Harden is like a top thirty five guy. The Clippers have been good when these two share the four, they're a plus eight net team in the minutes that they're out there together. And I do think that these guys actually do compliment each other nicely. I like that you have Harden as that guy who can be an offensive floor raiser, who can make so many decisions for you, who's such an elite playmaker, who's still an elite isolation and really good pick and roll score, but he also has some volatility there because the guy just can't finish at the room anymore. And that's where Kawhi comes in. And when he's right, he's this absolute assassin as a scorer who doesn't need to have the ball in his hands too much, but who gets wherever he wants on the floor, elite catch and shooter, elite pull up shooter from both beyond the arc and the mid range, elite strength. Always plays at his own pace, and that's made him one of the best playoff scores we've seen in a long time. He has consistently gotten even better there compared to the regular season. But again, Kawhi hasn't been that guy who we're accustomed to. He hasn't quite been himself since coming back from injury. This year, he's only giving you twenty three six and three per thirty six minutes on fifty five percent true shooting. He has regressed athletically over the years, but this year you've really noticed a step back in terms of his rim pressure declining. He's not getting to the line really at all, and I think that he's been a bit selfish, and that's where you see some of the inefficiency. Not the best shot selection from him at this point, not the best playmaking out of him. I do think his shot making will just get better, and I do think because of the combination of strength in shot making that he has, he is still an elite playoff scorer and a real plus defender when he wants to be. So that's basically what I'm betting on. I'm betting on the combination of Harden's elite playmaking with Kawhi's elite scoring in a playoff environment. And when I compared them to the alternatives who I considered for my number ten spot, shout out to some honorable mentions Hallie and Siakham, great offensive duo, Jaw and Triple J who I considered, Demonte Sabonis and Zach Levine. Now, even though Domas is hurt right now, I just think compared to those groups, these two, if they're right, have the highest ceiling as a duo. And maybe it's crazy, I still trust healthy Kawhi if he is able to play his way into a rhythm, to be that really high level scorer in the playoffs and to still have that real positive two way impact. So I am going to bet on them more than any of the alternatives.

I think Kawhi just looks also like slow and stiff too. That's been the biggest step, you know, I don't hardening Kawhi are not on my list. I didn't really think too hard about that one, and part of it is Kauhai's regression, but also The bigger part is just I don't really believe in Kauai's health, and I've said that a lot on the show before, and I just even if we were assuming health, and I'm just not going to give him that pass anymore. And like right now, like my Clippers, du it would have probably been zoobots and Harden. And again, I don't mean that as a slight to Kuhi, not because he's not that good anymore. I just I think it's a figment of our imagination. I think it's all theoretical. I just don't think we're ever gonna see Kawhi again close to full health. And unfortunately, I think this is going to be a really ugly, slow, nasty descent into I don't know him, getting him getting really old. I think he's gonna look better than this. But it's just all a little too theoretical for me.

I think Kawhi just looks also like slow and stiff too. That's been the biggest step, you know, I don't hardening Kawhi are not on my list. I didn't really think too hard about that one, and part of it is Kauhai's regression, but also The bigger part is just I don't really believe in Kauai's health, and I've said that a lot on the show before, and I just even if we were assuming health, and I'm just not going to give him that pass anymore. And like right now, like my Clippers, du it would have probably been zoobots and Harden. And again, I don't mean that as a slight to Kuhi, not because he's not that good anymore. I just I think it's a figment of our imagination. I think it's all theoretical. I just don't think we're ever gonna see Kawhi again close to full health. And unfortunately, I think this is going to be a really ugly, slow, nasty descent into I don't know him, getting him getting really old. I think he's gonna look better than this. But it's just all a little too theoretical for me.

Let's be honest. It's all because you hate James Harden and you would never put him on a list to any cat.

Let's be honest. It's all because you hate James Harden and you would never put him on a list to any cat.

I think James Harden is a good basketball player.

I think James Harden is a good basketball player.

Harden is a good basketball player, man, all right, who do you have in your ninth spot?

Harden is a good basketball player, man, all right, who do you have in your ninth spot?

So I'm actually wondering if you do have this duo on your list, I have Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.

So I'm actually wondering if you do have this duo on your list, I have Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.

No, I do not have them on my list.

No, I do not have them on my list.

Never mind, you don't the reason I went with them over Brunson and Kat I do marginally. It's very very close. I think Anton Jaln Brunson may very well be next to each other, be within three or four spots of each other in my rankings. I do marginally prefer Anthony Edwards, but it is close. Just with the floor that Jalen Brunson gives you on a nightly basis, there's a little less volatility, I think with Brunson than there is with Aunt and his pull up shooting. It's basically because I get the best of both worlds. I get a defensive anchor, and I know Gobert isn't what he once was, but I'm getting an offensive one and a d defensive anchor. And that's why I went with Ant and Gobert over the likes of a Brunson and a cat Go. Bear is the worst player on this list. It's not even close. He is by far the worst player on any of these duos. But you know, and that's another thing, is they don't compliment one another at all, and that's why I could see you leaving them off this list or are being negative about them because they don't. I mean, go Beart is a zero. He is against the most significantly limited and worst basketball player in this bunch. But when I compare him to a Brunson and a Cat or a Kadie and a d Book, I've got two guys that can anchor both ends of the floor. And that's ultimately why I went with this duo.

Never mind, you don't the reason I went with them over Brunson and Kat I do marginally. It's very very close. I think Anton Jaln Brunson may very well be next to each other, be within three or four spots of each other in my rankings. I do marginally prefer Anthony Edwards, but it is close. Just with the floor that Jalen Brunson gives you on a nightly basis, there's a little less volatility, I think with Brunson than there is with Aunt and his pull up shooting. It's basically because I get the best of both worlds. I get a defensive anchor, and I know Gobert isn't what he once was, but I'm getting an offensive one and a d defensive anchor. And that's why I went with Ant and Gobert over the likes of a Brunson and a cat Go. Bear is the worst player on this list. It's not even close. He is by far the worst player on any of these duos. But you know, and that's another thing, is they don't compliment one another at all, and that's why I could see you leaving them off this list or are being negative about them because they don't. I mean, go Beart is a zero. He is against the most significantly limited and worst basketball player in this bunch. But when I compare him to a Brunson and a Cat or a Kadie and a d Book, I've got two guys that can anchor both ends of the floor. And that's ultimately why I went with this duo.

It's an interesting choice. I can see the vision. Personally, I do think that Gobert definitely would be by far the weakest player on this list if he were to make it for me, and I don't really like how these two compliment each other. Now, I like what Gobert can give me as that elite defensive player, but I just think Ant is not mature enough as an offensive player, as a decision maker and a playmaker to be able to thrive in spite of the congestion that you get when Rudy Gobert is your center. And that's why I think we've seen Ant play significantly better offensively when Gobert is off the floor. As true shooting percentage goes up by multiple points in the minutes when he's on the floor without go Bear, And I think you also just see that there's a complete lack of trust for Ant when it comes to even finding Gobart off the role, finding him in the dunker spot, like he just does not trust him offensively, which makes him even more of a negative because now he's clogging up space still on the inside, and he's missing out on some easy opportunities. The Timberwolves just haven't been that good when these two are on the floor together, they're a plus two point seven net team. Remarkably, Actually, the Timberwolves, out of all of the combinations of these two being on and off the floor, have been by far their best with both of them off the floor. And I think that's where you see Go Bear's offensive limitations hurt Ant, hurt this team offense to the point where they're really gonna be mediocre there. And then you have minutes where Ants on the floor without go Beart and the offense is better, but the defense is way worse. And then you have minutes when Gobert is on the floor without Ant, when the defense is great but the offense is bad. And so in all of these different iterations, they kind of just end up being a slightly above average team. If Ant had been able to be a more efficient version of himself, not a guy who's shooting under forty eight percent on twos this year, if he had grown more as a playmaker and so this offense could be better with Go Beart on the floor, then I could see the case for them as the top ten. But as things are, I think I get more complimentary skill sets with Kawhi and Harden. I think I get more complimentary skill sets with Brunson and Kat at least being dominant offensively to the point where there's still a really good team even with their real defensive limitations. I think to really make this version of Ant and go Beart work as a duo, they needed an offensive four as great as Cat, because when those three shared the floor together last year, Aunt, Go Bear and Cat, the Tyminals were a really good team. They were a plus eight net team because Kat was such a great offensive player who could also be a functional defensive player in that system. In that role, you downgrade from Cat to Julius Randall. And now you look at this year and when the new big three of Ant Gobear and Randall shares the floor. They're a plus one net rating team. They're basically just a completely average team. So without an exceptional talent like Cat at the four, I just don't like ant and go Bear as a duo all that much. Yeah, I mean neither do I But I mean you had to have ann On here with somebody. You would have liked it to be Anton Nasried if you had your way.

It's an interesting choice. I can see the vision. Personally, I do think that Gobert definitely would be by far the weakest player on this list if he were to make it for me, and I don't really like how these two compliment each other. Now, I like what Gobert can give me as that elite defensive player, but I just think Ant is not mature enough as an offensive player, as a decision maker and a playmaker to be able to thrive in spite of the congestion that you get when Rudy Gobert is your center. And that's why I think we've seen Ant play significantly better offensively when Gobert is off the floor. As true shooting percentage goes up by multiple points in the minutes when he's on the floor without go Bear, And I think you also just see that there's a complete lack of trust for Ant when it comes to even finding Gobart off the role, finding him in the dunker spot, like he just does not trust him offensively, which makes him even more of a negative because now he's clogging up space still on the inside, and he's missing out on some easy opportunities. The Timberwolves just haven't been that good when these two are on the floor together, they're a plus two point seven net team. Remarkably, Actually, the Timberwolves, out of all of the combinations of these two being on and off the floor, have been by far their best with both of them off the floor. And I think that's where you see Go Bear's offensive limitations hurt Ant, hurt this team offense to the point where they're really gonna be mediocre there. And then you have minutes where Ants on the floor without go Beart and the offense is better, but the defense is way worse. And then you have minutes when Gobert is on the floor without Ant, when the defense is great but the offense is bad. And so in all of these different iterations, they kind of just end up being a slightly above average team. If Ant had been able to be a more efficient version of himself, not a guy who's shooting under forty eight percent on twos this year, if he had grown more as a playmaker and so this offense could be better with Go Beart on the floor, then I could see the case for them as the top ten. But as things are, I think I get more complimentary skill sets with Kawhi and Harden. I think I get more complimentary skill sets with Brunson and Kat at least being dominant offensively to the point where there's still a really good team even with their real defensive limitations. I think to really make this version of Ant and go Beart work as a duo, they needed an offensive four as great as Cat, because when those three shared the floor together last year, Aunt, Go Bear and Cat, the Tyminals were a really good team. They were a plus eight net team because Kat was such a great offensive player who could also be a functional defensive player in that system. In that role, you downgrade from Cat to Julius Randall. And now you look at this year and when the new big three of Ant Gobear and Randall shares the floor. They're a plus one net rating team. They're basically just a completely average team. So without an exceptional talent like Cat at the four, I just don't like ant and go Bear as a duo all that much. Yeah, I mean neither do I But I mean you had to have ann On here with somebody. You would have liked it to be Anton Nasried if you had your way.

I'm sure you're exactly right.

I'm sure you're exactly right.

Yeah, okay, So in my number eight spot, if k I think we've already talked about them enough, who is in your eight spot?

Yeah, okay, So in my number eight spot, if k I think we've already talked about them enough, who is in your eight spot?

I have Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown And.

I have Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown And.

Oh, the people are gonna be not about this one.

Oh, the people are gonna be not about this one.

The people are not gonna be happy about this one. Now. The positives that I can give this duo both great defensively positionally, that's one of their biggest strengths is just this is one of the best defensive duos on the list. Like, you can throw any perimeter pairing at these two and they're gonna be great. The one thing that I have an issue with because it's not with Jason Tatum. I think Jason Tatum is a phenomenal basketball player. I think He may have his flaws and inconsistencies scoring the basketball, but in every other area outside of scoring, Jason Tatum is a beast. And I don't even mean that because when Jayson Tatum's on, he is a great score. Please you know, I don't want to that to get misinterpreted or anything. But everything else is really really reliable with Tatum. The defense that I get with Tatum on a nightly basis where he can defend one through five, The rebounding that I get with Tatum where he's really effective. He's always got juice and energy. The guy always gives a plus effort. He's a legitimately great playmaker and ball handler. Now where I just have confidence in him running an offense. And so I've never been higher on Jason Tatum. And this isn't the only duo that I have Jason Tatum in on this list.

The people are not gonna be happy about this one. Now. The positives that I can give this duo both great defensively positionally, that's one of their biggest strengths is just this is one of the best defensive duos on the list. Like, you can throw any perimeter pairing at these two and they're gonna be great. The one thing that I have an issue with because it's not with Jason Tatum. I think Jason Tatum is a phenomenal basketball player. I think He may have his flaws and inconsistencies scoring the basketball, but in every other area outside of scoring, Jason Tatum is a beast. And I don't even mean that because when Jayson Tatum's on, he is a great score. Please you know, I don't want to that to get misinterpreted or anything. But everything else is really really reliable with Tatum. The defense that I get with Tatum on a nightly basis where he can defend one through five, The rebounding that I get with Tatum where he's really effective. He's always got juice and energy. The guy always gives a plus effort. He's a legitimately great playmaker and ball handler. Now where I just have confidence in him running an offense. And so I've never been higher on Jason Tatum. And this isn't the only duo that I have Jason Tatum in on this list.

Oh whoa, he didn't know that that was eligible.

Oh whoa, he didn't know that that was eligible.

I didn't either, but I just I don't know. He didn't set any rules or parameters.

I didn't either, but I just I don't know. He didn't set any rules or parameters.

Didn't set rules. Okay, interesting, I would have had multiple Celtics duos on this list, and that's not how.

Didn't set rules. Okay, interesting, I would have had multiple Celtics duos on this list, and that's not how.

I have it, gotcha. My issue is with Jaylen Brown and when it comes to him pulling his weight and among these other guys, because I think Jaylen Brown is arguably the second or third worst player on this list. And I like Jaylen Brown. I like what he provides. He's a really good transition scorer, but you know, he's not like an anchor on either side of the floor. Like he is a legitimately great defender, but he's not like a one man defense. And on offense, I think he is a really, really significantly f law at basketball player as a floor spacer to a team offense. But more importantly, my issue when we talk about this duo is just how toxic it gets because a lot of people in the basketball sphere were very quick to crown Jalen Brown and Jalen Brown had a phenomenal NBA Finals. He was super effective on Luka Doncic, he scored in transition. I don't want to take anything away from a Finals MVP. But when we heap all this praise on Tatum and Brown in them alone, we take for granted all of the great players on the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics are a great super team, they are not a great super duo. This is not Kobe and Shack we're talking about. This is not even Stephan Curry and Draymond Green. This is certainly not Stephan Curry and Kevin Durant like when we're talking about all time duos. I'm sorry, I understand their accomplishments. I'm not dense. I understand that they won the NBA Finals last year. I watched it. I get that Jalen Brown is Finals MVP. But to me, I look at the guys on this list. Jaylen Brown is not Evan Mobley to me, Jaylen Brown is not Jimmy Butler. To me, that was the biggest issue that a lot of people took with us when we were ranking our small forwards in the offseason. How is Jaylen Brown not above Kawhi Leonard. How is Jalen Brown not above Jimmy Butler. I think you guys are just convenient that he might be above Kawhi Right now. I'm not particularly high on Kawhi. I'm really disappointed at the level that he's been at, but he's still not over Jimmy Butler. To me, I don't care what Jimmy Butler does in the regular season. I know what I'm getting out of him in the playoffs and we're looking at these guys is number ones. He just doesn't hold up like he is a really, really flawed offensive player. And again, to reiterate the big point, it's just that I think that a lot of Celtics get taken for granted when we do this thought exercise. I think you take for granted Derek White, who And that's my big take. I think that Jaylen Brown is closer to Derek White than he is Christaps porzingis, like I think you take for granted Drew Holliday. I think you take for granted al Horford. This is a great top seven, top eight here in Boston. It's not just the de facto one and two. They are great basketball players, but they are not the entirety of this basketball team. Like I don't know, Carson, it's like they treat Tatum and Brown like their situation is Phoenix. Their situation around them isn't Phoenix. Their situation around them is Boston, and Boston just happens to be one of the best basketball situations point blank period. So I do have two Celtics duos on this list. Jalen Brown is not a part of the better Celtics duo. I think there's a better player on the roster, And yeah, I just think that the aggregate talent in Boston can kind of get taken for granted when we do this thought exercise.

I have it, gotcha. My issue is with Jaylen Brown and when it comes to him pulling his weight and among these other guys, because I think Jaylen Brown is arguably the second or third worst player on this list. And I like Jaylen Brown. I like what he provides. He's a really good transition scorer, but you know, he's not like an anchor on either side of the floor. Like he is a legitimately great defender, but he's not like a one man defense. And on offense, I think he is a really, really significantly f law at basketball player as a floor spacer to a team offense. But more importantly, my issue when we talk about this duo is just how toxic it gets because a lot of people in the basketball sphere were very quick to crown Jalen Brown and Jalen Brown had a phenomenal NBA Finals. He was super effective on Luka Doncic, he scored in transition. I don't want to take anything away from a Finals MVP. But when we heap all this praise on Tatum and Brown in them alone, we take for granted all of the great players on the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics are a great super team, they are not a great super duo. This is not Kobe and Shack we're talking about. This is not even Stephan Curry and Draymond Green. This is certainly not Stephan Curry and Kevin Durant like when we're talking about all time duos. I'm sorry, I understand their accomplishments. I'm not dense. I understand that they won the NBA Finals last year. I watched it. I get that Jalen Brown is Finals MVP. But to me, I look at the guys on this list. Jaylen Brown is not Evan Mobley to me, Jaylen Brown is not Jimmy Butler. To me, that was the biggest issue that a lot of people took with us when we were ranking our small forwards in the offseason. How is Jaylen Brown not above Kawhi Leonard. How is Jalen Brown not above Jimmy Butler. I think you guys are just convenient that he might be above Kawhi Right now. I'm not particularly high on Kawhi. I'm really disappointed at the level that he's been at, but he's still not over Jimmy Butler. To me, I don't care what Jimmy Butler does in the regular season. I know what I'm getting out of him in the playoffs and we're looking at these guys is number ones. He just doesn't hold up like he is a really, really flawed offensive player. And again, to reiterate the big point, it's just that I think that a lot of Celtics get taken for granted when we do this thought exercise. I think you take for granted Derek White, who And that's my big take. I think that Jaylen Brown is closer to Derek White than he is Christaps porzingis, like I think you take for granted Drew Holliday. I think you take for granted al Horford. This is a great top seven, top eight here in Boston. It's not just the de facto one and two. They are great basketball players, but they are not the entirety of this basketball team. Like I don't know, Carson, it's like they treat Tatum and Brown like their situation is Phoenix. Their situation around them isn't Phoenix. Their situation around them is Boston, and Boston just happens to be one of the best basketball situations point blank period. So I do have two Celtics duos on this list. Jalen Brown is not a part of the better Celtics duo. I think there's a better player on the roster, And yeah, I just think that the aggregate talent in Boston can kind of get taken for granted when we do this thought exercise.

So that's really interesting. Like I said, I did not include multiple duos from any team. I would have had Brown and Tatum on this list, probably in this exact spot. I just do think, like you, that there is a better Celtics duo, and I get that a lot of people will be upset about that, and a lot of people seem to think that I hate Jalen Brown, which is so funny because I love Jalen Brown. I've been a Cal basketball fan my entire life. He's the best NBA prospect to come out of Cal in my lifetime. He's the best prospect they've recruited in my lifetime. I had so much fun watching Jalen Brown. I'll always root for the guy. I just think, especially once we start getting into Brown versus Tatum, who's the best Celtics player, discourse like that needs to stop. I do think that the raw box score can overestimate his contributions a bit because his efficiency really has been bad this year, fifty five percent true shooting. He has been a bad jump shooter from beyond the arc and from the mid range twenty sixth percentile efficiency on all jump shots. That's not good. His assist numbers have gone up. He's able to make a lot of easy reads in this Boston offense with shooting all around him. I still think that he is clearly a below average playmaker, but he does awesome stuff. I think that he's a great man defender. I think that he is a really good mismatch attacker because he's so strong, he can play such bullyball. Sometimes though, you can tempt him to try to take a lot of those shots over top of smaller defenders, which sometimes works but sometimes doesn't because again, he has been an inefficient jump shooter this year. So I just think there's another Celtic alongside Tatum who provides a more distinct, super valuable, efficient two way skill set Comatum as well more complimentary as well. And I'm glad that you brought that up, because again, the way I'm viewing this is these two are my building blocks. This is my foundation for building a team. Tatum and Brown can work together, clearly, but they do have some overlap, and I think that they are currently in the best possible situation to succeed together because they have so much skill around them. They're able to play relatively simple drive and kick stuff. They're both able to find mismatches and then find a forty three point shooter if they draw help. Where whereas Christops Porzingis, I think is a guy who in any situation you put him in Jason Tatum together and they do so much that enhances one another. Whereas Tatum and Brown, it's more like they're both really really good basketball players who are in a situation where their skill set overlap doesn't hurt you because they're just so insanely great.

So that's really interesting. Like I said, I did not include multiple duos from any team. I would have had Brown and Tatum on this list, probably in this exact spot. I just do think, like you, that there is a better Celtics duo, and I get that a lot of people will be upset about that, and a lot of people seem to think that I hate Jalen Brown, which is so funny because I love Jalen Brown. I've been a Cal basketball fan my entire life. He's the best NBA prospect to come out of Cal in my lifetime. He's the best prospect they've recruited in my lifetime. I had so much fun watching Jalen Brown. I'll always root for the guy. I just think, especially once we start getting into Brown versus Tatum, who's the best Celtics player, discourse like that needs to stop. I do think that the raw box score can overestimate his contributions a bit because his efficiency really has been bad this year, fifty five percent true shooting. He has been a bad jump shooter from beyond the arc and from the mid range twenty sixth percentile efficiency on all jump shots. That's not good. His assist numbers have gone up. He's able to make a lot of easy reads in this Boston offense with shooting all around him. I still think that he is clearly a below average playmaker, but he does awesome stuff. I think that he's a great man defender. I think that he is a really good mismatch attacker because he's so strong, he can play such bullyball. Sometimes though, you can tempt him to try to take a lot of those shots over top of smaller defenders, which sometimes works but sometimes doesn't because again, he has been an inefficient jump shooter this year. So I just think there's another Celtic alongside Tatum who provides a more distinct, super valuable, efficient two way skill set Comatum as well more complimentary as well. And I'm glad that you brought that up, because again, the way I'm viewing this is these two are my building blocks. This is my foundation for building a team. Tatum and Brown can work together, clearly, but they do have some overlap, and I think that they are currently in the best possible situation to succeed together because they have so much skill around them. They're able to play relatively simple drive and kick stuff. They're both able to find mismatches and then find a forty three point shooter if they draw help. Where whereas Christops Porzingis, I think is a guy who in any situation you put him in Jason Tatum together and they do so much that enhances one another. Whereas Tatum and Brown, it's more like they're both really really good basketball players who are in a situation where their skill set overlap doesn't hurt you because they're just so insanely great.

And just to illustrate that point a bit too, the Celtics won of Finals without either of these guys playing great offensive basketball, Like I know that Jalen Brown had games. Tatum ends up in the Finals shooting thirty eight point eight percent. Jalen Brown shot forty four percent from the field. Like, if that doesn't speak to the greatness of this basketball team top to bottom, I don't know what will. Like they were able to overcome Jason Tatum being off for the entirety of the playoffs as a scorer, and again, as we mentioned a million times during that run, he impacted the game in every other single way. But again, I just don't want to take for granted how great the Celtics team is as a whole. They're one of the greatest teams in badsketball history.

And just to illustrate that point a bit too, the Celtics won of Finals without either of these guys playing great offensive basketball, Like I know that Jalen Brown had games. Tatum ends up in the Finals shooting thirty eight point eight percent. Jalen Brown shot forty four percent from the field. Like, if that doesn't speak to the greatness of this basketball team top to bottom, I don't know what will. Like they were able to overcome Jason Tatum being off for the entirety of the playoffs as a scorer, and again, as we mentioned a million times during that run, he impacted the game in every other single way. But again, I just don't want to take for granted how great the Celtics team is as a whole. They're one of the greatest teams in badsketball history.

And that's the main headline for the reason that I don't have a Celtics duo number one on this list. When I think that they have been the most overwhelmingly great team over the last couple of years, there were people who will look and say, oh, well, they won the title last year. Doesn't always make you the best duo in basketball. Man, Like, their third player, whether you think it's Brown or Porzingis, is like a top twenty five to thirty guy. And then their fourth player is clearly a top forty guy. And Derek White still one of the most underrated players in basketball, probably elite defender, elite shooter, good playmaker, exactly the sort of fourth option you would dream of. Then you have Drew Holliday, who is still such a high impact winning player. Then you have Al Horford, then you have Peyton Richard. They're just ridiculously good, and that's why you look at their net rating like in any combination, you take any one of these dudes off the floor. This is what I was talking about the other week when we had Rusty buckets on. Over the last couple of years, they're ten and two without Tatum, They're twenty and three without Brown, They're like almost fifty to ten without Porzingis. Now they're I think twenty four and six without Drew Holiday. They win eighty percent of their games if you take any one of those guys away, because the aggregate talent is that great. Basketball is a sport that we always want to make about the stars. We always want to make it about the faces of the team a lot of the time. It's just that the supporting cast is the difference. And we've hardly ever seen a better supporting cast in NBA history than the current Boston Celtics. So because of that, I would agree with this placement of Jalen and Jason. Who do you have in your seven spot logan?

And that's the main headline for the reason that I don't have a Celtics duo number one on this list. When I think that they have been the most overwhelmingly great team over the last couple of years, there were people who will look and say, oh, well, they won the title last year. Doesn't always make you the best duo in basketball. Man, Like, their third player, whether you think it's Brown or Porzingis, is like a top twenty five to thirty guy. And then their fourth player is clearly a top forty guy. And Derek White still one of the most underrated players in basketball, probably elite defender, elite shooter, good playmaker, exactly the sort of fourth option you would dream of. Then you have Drew Holliday, who is still such a high impact winning player. Then you have Al Horford, then you have Peyton Richard. They're just ridiculously good, and that's why you look at their net rating like in any combination, you take any one of these dudes off the floor. This is what I was talking about the other week when we had Rusty buckets on. Over the last couple of years, they're ten and two without Tatum, They're twenty and three without Brown, They're like almost fifty to ten without Porzingis. Now they're I think twenty four and six without Drew Holiday. They win eighty percent of their games if you take any one of those guys away, because the aggregate talent is that great. Basketball is a sport that we always want to make about the stars. We always want to make it about the faces of the team a lot of the time. It's just that the supporting cast is the difference. And we've hardly ever seen a better supporting cast in NBA history than the current Boston Celtics. So because of that, I would agree with this placement of Jalen and Jason. Who do you have in your seven spot logan?

I think this might be my most controversial one, and I'm interested to see if you have them on your list. I have Shay Gilgess, Alexander and Chet Holmgren here, and I debated whether they were going to make my list or not, and I ultimately decided yes, because I have Anthony Edwards and I have Rudy Gobert on this list, and I only think it makes sense logically to have this duo here. One, why are they over Tatum and Brown? I think Sga is better than Tatum, and I think chet Holmgren has a more complimentary skill set to SGA and can be more of that one man defense. Now, this isn't based off this year. I want to be clear about this too. This is more of a projection and just what I expect from this duo moving forward and into the playoffs, because so much of this year, chet Holmgren has not been healthy. It has been Isaiah Hartenstein has been thunder small ball, It's been this collective team defense. And I think this team defense would be great even if they didn't have chet Holmgren. But that being said, I don't want to take for granted how great of a defensive player chet Holmgren is. And to get more specific into that Anthony Edwards and Gobert comparison, one, Holmegren is not a zero offensively, Rudy Gobert is I know that Holmgren can have his off nights and everybody who's clowning him for that eight points three of eleven game against Denver checked and go off on any given night in a way that go Beart just can't. And I think he's a better defensive player already than Gobert, that Cohen's with one, Gobert slowly getting worse and Homegren ascending, but home Run's always been great on that end, and Sga is one of the best offensive players in the sport right now. So they're complimentary to one another. I'm getting an anchor on both sides of the basketball court, and you know it may not be the most overwhelming offensive duo. Man, I'm looking at this and I'm wondering if I should even have these guys one spot higher.

I think this might be my most controversial one, and I'm interested to see if you have them on your list. I have Shay Gilgess, Alexander and Chet Holmgren here, and I debated whether they were going to make my list or not, and I ultimately decided yes, because I have Anthony Edwards and I have Rudy Gobert on this list, and I only think it makes sense logically to have this duo here. One, why are they over Tatum and Brown? I think Sga is better than Tatum, and I think chet Holmgren has a more complimentary skill set to SGA and can be more of that one man defense. Now, this isn't based off this year. I want to be clear about this too. This is more of a projection and just what I expect from this duo moving forward and into the playoffs, because so much of this year, chet Holmgren has not been healthy. It has been Isaiah Hartenstein has been thunder small ball, It's been this collective team defense. And I think this team defense would be great even if they didn't have chet Holmgren. But that being said, I don't want to take for granted how great of a defensive player chet Holmgren is. And to get more specific into that Anthony Edwards and Gobert comparison, one, Holmegren is not a zero offensively, Rudy Gobert is I know that Holmgren can have his off nights and everybody who's clowning him for that eight points three of eleven game against Denver checked and go off on any given night in a way that go Beart just can't. And I think he's a better defensive player already than Gobert, that Cohen's with one, Gobert slowly getting worse and Homegren ascending, but home Run's always been great on that end, and Sga is one of the best offensive players in the sport right now. So they're complimentary to one another. I'm getting an anchor on both sides of the basketball court, and you know it may not be the most overwhelming offensive duo. Man, I'm looking at this and I'm wondering if I should even have these guys one spot higher.

I have them higher, I'll tell you that right now.

I have them higher, I'll tell you that right now.

I think I think they should. I think they should maybe be six. I think I should maybe have my six duo. I might I'm gonna come back to this, I might swap my six and seven here. But Sga and chet Holmgren are going to make my list.

I think I think they should. I think they should maybe be six. I think I should maybe have my six duo. I might I'm gonna come back to this, I might swap my six and seven here. But Sga and chet Holmgren are going to make my list.

I have them all the way up at number four. And the biggest reason for that is that again, I'll explain my philosophy. It is how highly do I view you as the foundation of my team? And the reality is that SGA is at such a monumentally high level right now that he alone is going to put you really high in these conversations. Because the most unbelievable stats Logan that I was digging up last night, Okac's net rating when SGA is on the floor with any of his best teammates off is mind boggling. When he is on the floor without Chet, they have a plus twenty net rating. When he is on the floor without Jada, they have a plus twenty five net rating. When he is on the floor without Hartenstein, they have a plus twenty net rating. And some of that is a testament to Okac's depth. Same as we're talking about Boston having so much supporting cast talent. Okasee isn't quite on that level, but they have a really, really good top to bottom roster. But SGA is also just capable of basically dragging any group to like a one to twenty offensive rating right now in his numbers per seventy five possessions when Jadub is off the floor, SGA's averaging like forty one points on sixty eight percent through shooting. We are at the point now where teams are legitimately determining that their best option to deal with SGA is to trap him at half court because I just watched the Nuggets have zero answers for him out of pick and roll sending two to the ball. He was destroying them. Sitting in deep drop, he was destroying them. And now you're just getting to the place where it's like, Okay, just make anybody else beat us. SGA is doing that as a top three offensive player with one of the highest scoring floors and best scoring skill sets we've ever seen, while being a legitimate plus playmaker, while being a legitimate plus defender, and then on the other side of the ball, I'm getting a top five defensive player. I think chet Holmgren is the best healthy rim protector in basketball. I've talked about this since he was a prospect, but his verticality, his timing as a shot blocker the best in the league. The guy's averaging four blocks per thirty six minutes. He's holding a posing pl twenty percent below their average field goal percentage at the rim. That is an unfathomable, numb you. I've never seen anything like that twenty twenty twenty. It is out of this world. It's so much better than anybody else in basketball this year. So I'm getting a top three offensive player and a top five defensive player, and they're both also big pluses on the other end. Shay is a real plus defender. Chet is a real plus offensive player. And when I'm thinking about them as a foundation, I love all the bases that I get covered on both sides of the ball. I love the complementary nature of their skill sets, having that dominant guard and that dominant big, the two man game I can get with them, Chet as a pick and popper, Shay destroying everybody out of pick and roll. So the only reason they can't be higher for me right now is because of Chet's offense. Before Check got hurt at the start of this year, he was playing like a top twenty player, and as a huge Chet fan, I was extremely extremely excited about that. That hasn't been the case since his return. He was super aggressive as a driver before he got hurt, more so than we've ever seen. That was really impressive. The shot was falling at a high clip, I need to see that driving aggression come back, need to see him getting to the line at that same rate, need to see him develop as a mismatch attacker. That's the big thing. That's really the difference we've seen between him and my other beloved darling, Evan Mobley as the year has gone along. Mobley is able to play with that physicality to impose himself against smaller guys, run inverted pick and roll, draw a mismatch and then easily score over that guy. Chet isn't doing that right now, So that's an area for development. And then the three ball just needs to be more consistent. I think he's a better shooter than the percentages would show right now, but there are stretches where he's tentative. He's just a bit off. He runs a bit cold. You're talking about compared to Gobert. I mean he's tiers and tiers above Gobert as an offensive player. I also think that Shay is multiple tiers above and as an offensive player. In per thirty six, Chet is still giving you twenty eleven two and a half assists with five stocks per game on fifty nine percent true shooting, and I think he has shown that he is capable of playing a good bit better than that. So I was very conflicted between this duo and the other Boston duo. I'll get into my decision making with that, because both these duos are a little bit higher up on my list than where we are right now. But I think you're basically weighing the offensive polish that you get from Porzingis, which I think clearly surpasses Chet in that gap, versus the gap between Sga and Tatum.

I have them all the way up at number four. And the biggest reason for that is that again, I'll explain my philosophy. It is how highly do I view you as the foundation of my team? And the reality is that SGA is at such a monumentally high level right now that he alone is going to put you really high in these conversations. Because the most unbelievable stats Logan that I was digging up last night, Okac's net rating when SGA is on the floor with any of his best teammates off is mind boggling. When he is on the floor without Chet, they have a plus twenty net rating. When he is on the floor without Jada, they have a plus twenty five net rating. When he is on the floor without Hartenstein, they have a plus twenty net rating. And some of that is a testament to Okac's depth. Same as we're talking about Boston having so much supporting cast talent. Okasee isn't quite on that level, but they have a really, really good top to bottom roster. But SGA is also just capable of basically dragging any group to like a one to twenty offensive rating right now in his numbers per seventy five possessions when Jadub is off the floor, SGA's averaging like forty one points on sixty eight percent through shooting. We are at the point now where teams are legitimately determining that their best option to deal with SGA is to trap him at half court because I just watched the Nuggets have zero answers for him out of pick and roll sending two to the ball. He was destroying them. Sitting in deep drop, he was destroying them. And now you're just getting to the place where it's like, Okay, just make anybody else beat us. SGA is doing that as a top three offensive player with one of the highest scoring floors and best scoring skill sets we've ever seen, while being a legitimate plus playmaker, while being a legitimate plus defender, and then on the other side of the ball, I'm getting a top five defensive player. I think chet Holmgren is the best healthy rim protector in basketball. I've talked about this since he was a prospect, but his verticality, his timing as a shot blocker the best in the league. The guy's averaging four blocks per thirty six minutes. He's holding a posing pl twenty percent below their average field goal percentage at the rim. That is an unfathomable, numb you. I've never seen anything like that twenty twenty twenty. It is out of this world. It's so much better than anybody else in basketball this year. So I'm getting a top three offensive player and a top five defensive player, and they're both also big pluses on the other end. Shay is a real plus defender. Chet is a real plus offensive player. And when I'm thinking about them as a foundation, I love all the bases that I get covered on both sides of the ball. I love the complementary nature of their skill sets, having that dominant guard and that dominant big, the two man game I can get with them, Chet as a pick and popper, Shay destroying everybody out of pick and roll. So the only reason they can't be higher for me right now is because of Chet's offense. Before Check got hurt at the start of this year, he was playing like a top twenty player, and as a huge Chet fan, I was extremely extremely excited about that. That hasn't been the case since his return. He was super aggressive as a driver before he got hurt, more so than we've ever seen. That was really impressive. The shot was falling at a high clip, I need to see that driving aggression come back, need to see him getting to the line at that same rate, need to see him develop as a mismatch attacker. That's the big thing. That's really the difference we've seen between him and my other beloved darling, Evan Mobley as the year has gone along. Mobley is able to play with that physicality to impose himself against smaller guys, run inverted pick and roll, draw a mismatch and then easily score over that guy. Chet isn't doing that right now, So that's an area for development. And then the three ball just needs to be more consistent. I think he's a better shooter than the percentages would show right now, but there are stretches where he's tentative. He's just a bit off. He runs a bit cold. You're talking about compared to Gobert. I mean he's tiers and tiers above Gobert as an offensive player. I also think that Shay is multiple tiers above and as an offensive player. In per thirty six, Chet is still giving you twenty eleven two and a half assists with five stocks per game on fifty nine percent true shooting, and I think he has shown that he is capable of playing a good bit better than that. So I was very conflicted between this duo and the other Boston duo. I'll get into my decision making with that, because both these duos are a little bit higher up on my list than where we are right now. But I think you're basically weighing the offensive polish that you get from Porzingis, which I think clearly surpasses Chet in that gap, versus the gap between Sga and Tatum.