What Changes in Game Two for the OKC Thunder in the NBA Playoffs With Joel Lorenzi

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On today's Lockdown Thunder podcast, what's going to change in game number two for the Oklahoma City Thunder ORG? What are the vibes after one game? Let you roll the Rensi PRODUCT.

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You are Locked on Thunder, your daily Oklahoma City Thunder podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Let's get it going on the Lockdown Thunder podcast on the Lockdown Podcast Network ORG, your team every day. I am your host, media member, and Inside the Thunder Beat Rider, Ryland Stiles PERSON. Follow me on Twitter at Ryland underscore Style ORG. Subscribe to the show anywhere you get your podcast from, including on YouTube ORG. On today's show,we're diving into what's going to change in game number two, and where are some of the big adjustments of the Thunder ORG can make and much more. Today's show is brought to you by Fandul ORG, make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed.That's $150, win or lose when you go to fandul.com slash lockdown. We're joined today by none other than Joelle Lorenzi PERSON, beat writer at the Oklahomaan and one of just the most brightest minds in the world. Joel, how are you doing today? I'm good.

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I wish you wouldn't like mock me on the pie here. That's not mock, brother. That's the real deal, brother. I got mad love for you, though, Ronald PERSON. I'm glad to be here, as always.

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Playoff low in business.

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That name's not going to stick, by the way.

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It's going to stick. It's going to stick. We're going to make it happen. Joel, what is just your overall thoughts on game number one? Where do you lean? Is anything in your mind from what you thought Saturday to what you think today has anything changed for you?

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Yeah, it's funny before I covered the NBA, maybe before these past couple years, I think as a kid, like, when I would watch the playoffs, like Mark PERSON kind of touched on this, just on the emotional gaps. Like, you would think, oh, this series is leaning one way or this series is leaning one way. And I think some games have maybe given calls to think that way.I just didn't feel that way about the Thunders game one. Like, I thought they played probably the worst game they're going to play and still win that game. So I'm not too concerned about them. I mean, I know the optics would, you know, just Zion out and, you know, Brandon PERSON having, Brandon PERSON, having a relatively bad game. I mean, Lou Doer PERSON did this thing on him.And for the Pelicans ORG to still, you know, be within the range to have a chance at winning the game on a final possession. I just can't say I'm genuinely concerned for the Thunder ORG.

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When I look at this game, obviously I think that you hit the nail on the head of, I genuinely believe that this is the, that was the worst version of the Thunder ORG this whole series. And if you still can't steal that game, I don't really see how you make up the difference if you're New Orleans GPE. I think that when you look at it, you know, Valens Chutas PERSON played really well.I think that that's his like top ability. And I don't think he can duplicate that seven times. But even if he does, that plays into the Thunder ORG's hands. And it sounds kind of crazy because he did have a flashy stat line. But the Thunder should be an R, obviously, willing to live with rebounds here for the sake of the majority of your possessions waiting until like there's eight seconds to go on the shot clock, slowing the game down on your end of the floor. And dumping the ball into Valanchitas PERSON, relying on him to hit, you know,these bunnies that we've seen him miss even this past week, much less throughout this season. And that's just more possessions that don't end in Tray Murphy PERSON, spray out threes, or in CJ PERSON coming off of screens and launching them, or in Brandingham GPE shaking loose. Like, if you're going to bunt away possessions that way,the thunder should live with it. And whenever you go back and look at each individual shot from Alan Shunis PERSON, he had a couple that were just, you know, he was in good position to get a second chance put back. There's not much you can do there, especially whenever you're having Chet PERSON, you know,defend the rim as such a high priority. And then most of his other shot attempts were very difficult shots that had Chet PERSON in the right position and really working against his body. He just so happened to hit those shots. And again, those are shots that we saw him miss a week ago. So I'm not overly concerned about anything the Pelicans ORG did. And on the flip side, you know, not to sound like a and then a bashed home, I think that there are some things that the Thunder ORG can do better offensively andwe'll get into those adjustments coming up. But larger than any sort of like adjustment or any sort of Pelicans ORG, you know, defense, I think the larger point was they just missed shots that throughout the course of this season, we've seen the top five offense make. So I don't think anything has changed for me. I still believe that it's going to be Thunder in Five. I don't believe that this close score is any suggesting of what we're going to seem moving forward.But where do you land on the Thunder ORG's offense when it comes to? They only did muster up 94 points, but it wasn't attacking 94 points. They just missed out on golden opportunities.

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Yeah, you have it right, I think, just in terms of how many open shots they miss.

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I mean, up until I think the optics changed when Isaiah Joe hit that three at the end of the third,

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I thought he had a really bad shooting game up until that point, just in terms of missing shots that he would usually make it. I know Isaiah Joe PERSON is streaky, but those are the best looks you could possibly ask for a lot of those that he had. And you could probably say that about guys across the board. I thought Chet PERSON early on missed a ton of, in terms of having to make Jonas PERSON pay and playing him off the floor,beyond the dribble drives that do that, beyond whatever other ball skills that maybe contribute to usually playing Jonas PERSON off the floor. The open threes that came out of doubling, Shea PERSON, same side doubles, whatever. He didn't make them pay as often as I thought he would.And so, like, you can, you have something to pick at for all these guys just in terms of imperfection that wasn't representative of, like you said, the top five offense we saw all year. And then even, like,, like Shea PERSON, like, She had in the fourth quarter one of the worst stretches we've seen for him all year. And there's clumps of that game where it looked like Shea PERSON wasn't ready for the moment.I mean, I'm seeing like upon first watch, like watching it in real time, some of the midi pull-ups he had felt like they were playing into. And then he's, don't get me wrong, he's one of the best tough shot makers in the league in the world. But some of the midi pull-ups he had felt like he was playing into New Orleans GPE hands, you know, the five-man defense they were playing, stuff like that.When we look back at the numbers, he still went seven for 14 on mini pull-ups. So like even the stuff that felt terrible or felt rougher than it really was, wasn't so bad. And so that's what I think they have going for them leaking into game two.

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Whenever I look at this team, I think that the conversation around the offense the last couple of days, I think is pretty overblown. I mean, you mentioned Isaiah Joe's PERSON missed open threes. Chet, I thought that a great job of coming out firing from three. Some of them rimmed in and out. He shot four threes in the first quarter. And that's something that you cannot stray away from if you're going to play Valencius PERSON off the floor.

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And something that the Thunder had to lean into a lot more, you know, if they're going to guard chat with valentunus, because no, Chet cannot be guarded by Valentunus PERSON. It's just not going to be able to happen for the pelicans sake. You're going to play them off the floor if they're going to do that, but you have to actually make them pay for it. And we're going to get into some of the adjustments that they can make.But, I mean, it was Kendrish Williams missing two wide up in corner threes that we've seen them sink all year long. And so if just, if just half of those shots go in, this is a more normal thunder offensive night. This is a larger margin of victory.

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And nobody's, you know, concerned at all about the game one performance. But because those shots rimmed out, people are just wondering if there's if there's too much inexperience or if the team wasn't ready or, you know, if the team was to whatever. And I don't think it's always that dramatic. I don't think it's always as dramatic as like these guys just weren't prepared or they've never seen playoff basketball before. I don't think that that factored into Chet's three going halfway home and rimming out,or Kenrich Williams is three being halfway home and rimming out, that the ball knew that those guys were inexperienced. And I think that those things will course correct in game number two on Wednesday in Oklahoma City GPE. We'll talk about some of the key adjustments Oklahoma City GPE has to make. Because I think that there are a few on both sides of the ball that will get them back to playing like the top five offense and top five defense that they were all year long. But first, I want to say right now,but good friends over at DoorDash, Joel PERSON, whenever it's time to grind over some game film, maybe you don't have time to leave your house to go get your Chipotle ORG. You should go and check out DoorDash ORG, because DoorDash ORG is great when you use Code Lockdown NBA.You get 50% off your next order up to $15. When you spend 15 plus on your next flower arrangement, convenience store delivery, grocery delivery, or anything else at DoorDash ORG. They have everything for you. They can deliver you whatever you need to your house. If you're locked in, whether it's grinding away on game film or maybe you forgot in the hustleand bustle of life, some gifts for people uh go check out door dash and they'll get it for you even if you just you know down on a on a tuesday night it's getting late you could use a little sweet treat they can get your stuff right there for you using the pals over at door dash ORG so check on today use code locked in nba at door dash right now joel you and i both have a bit of a competitive side and Monopoly Go PRODUCT is going to let us get that out. Monopoly PRODUCT goes great. It's a mobile twist on the classic Monopoly board game.I will absolutely destroy Joel cities and Monopoly Go already have stacked up a ton of money. You can go there and find crazy locations, build up your amazing cities, and pull off bank heist against your friends. I rob dwell blind every single day. You can too when you go download Monopoly Go just as over 150 million others have. It's fun.You have in real time leaderboards so you can talk trash with your friends like we do on this show. Go there right now because you can let your competitive side free with tournaments and other huge rewards. Download Monopoly Go for free on the app store or Google Play Store ORG. We're back on the lockdown Thunder Podcasts Network ORG. You are teams every day. Joel, some key adjustments for game two.Let's stay on the offensive end. I think that offensively, the first and foremost thing, when you talk about Shane not having a traditional night for him, a key area in that, I think is attacking quicker. Like the first time that you have a crease to penetrate into the Pelicans ORG defense, I think you should take advantage of it. That allows you to hit the paint. When you hit the paint, he's obviously a really good driving candidate and has beenfor the majority of his career. And then you rely on your open three-pointers to go down, unlike they did on Sunday. Or if you can slither your way right to the rim and get good shots at the rim, which the Thunder ORG did not finish at the rimas good as they typically have, is one of their worst rim finishing games of this season. That's a great option as well. So just attacking quicker in the shot clock from Shea, first and foremost, I think, can do some wonders for them.

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Part of the rim finishing, I think, was Shay PERSON too. Like, Shea PERSON did not have a great finishing game. And this is not like, I mean, obviously credit to the Pelicans ORG, but some of these are like, you know, like, let's say they put him in a position to where he has to long arm or finish. That stuff he's finished all year.I mean, he's capable. You saw the end when he hit at the end of the game. There's no shot that's too wild for him. And yet he missed a ton of those throughout the course of the game. And then like in terms of like starting sets slower, I think a lot of that comes to playoff basketball.I think too, like, I mean, the first set, like the first played a game. And I mean, credit to the Pelicans because they're throwing different looks at him. They're sending maybe a double from the Freaklow line, a double from like closest to the three point line, depending on who's set up. Like, let's say Giddy is the closest guy. Trey Murphy PERSON's there. He's leaning a little closer already. He can double quicker. Like there was certain looks like the first, the first set of the game, I think. Shea takes a couple dribbles with CJ PERSON on him. Trey Murphy PERSON comes to double.And because Shea PERSON is like kind of patient-ish, like he watches the play unfold. He reacts and chats there for that first three. Like, I don't know if he wanted stuff like that to unfold throughout the course of the game, if he let his process and kind of slow down, what the case might have been. But I agree.There was probably some possessions where he tried to slow things down and be more reactionary. And then in the cases that where that maybe wasn't the case, where he was actually getting such a thing, he just couldn't finish.

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Yeah, I think that beyond Shea PERSON and starting the offense earlier, the other area that I would look at is Chet versus Valentunes PERSON, because if you watch the game, they did guard check with Valencianus more than, I I think that many expected whenever you have Dash City PRODUCT on the floor that's what we've typically seen.

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If we're going to continue to try to put Valanchunis onto Chet PERSON, I would personally to see the

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Thunder get back to their kind of full on five out shell, usually putting chat at the top of the key in that instance and get the ball in his hands and either have him be able to just drive to the rim on valentunus or valenturus is playing off pop a three or do dhos or uh whenever you're in five out too no matter where chet's located you can then pick on cj mccan more on the pick and roll and really have two very good matchups for you on the floor at any given time and so i think that just getting more spacing uh would help for the thunder which goes back to a little bit playing quicker.But other than that, and the making obvious shots that they've missed, the wide-up in shots, I think that those things will let the Thunder settle back in offensively in game number two.

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Yeah. And, you know, a lot of the time when you look back at the season series, when Chet was killing Yonis Mosov to Jervo PERSON, it's those actions designed for him where they're like the trail players or stuff like that that we've seen a bunch of times this year i don't know that i remember a ton of that from game when i mean i had to i've had to watch i'd have to watch another time to look for set specifically but like i like you're you're you're hitting on the money like i don't remember a ton of those half-court opportunities for Chet PERSON to just flat-out takeYonish off the dribble. And a lot of that is because the Pelican PRODUCT's defensive show, like what they try to do, you know, being in proximity to Shea PERSON, which the way they defend the Shea, as much as She will, you know, say, well, hey, we've seen stuff all year. I don't, I think Shea has seen a million things all year. But I do think there was a level to the Pelicans ORG defense in the way they put, you know, I mean, let's say five, two guys at the, at the free zone closest to him, one guy on him,two other guys, one of the other guys in the key, and then the other guy has his eyes on him. Like, there was a five-man unison defense on Shea PERSON that was to a degree that we haven't seen so often throughout the season. And that affected that, that affects a guy like Che PERSON who's getting into actions with him. And so you're right. I don't, I don't think we saw that as much as we've gotten used to in the season series.It can certainly use more than that.

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Whenever you look at this, this game from each side, shifting over to the defensive. And it's hard to point to you some defensive things to do better whenever you hold the team to 92 points. And I think that a lot of that, unlike the Thunder ORG missing quality looks,I think that the Pelicans ORG really had the work for their share of quality looks. One thing I think is getting a bit overblown, and this is a mixture of people that have

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just not played, not play all year, and a mixture of just, you know, traditional thought process

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in basketball, and it's the rebounding issue. You really look at it, they were once tied on the glass 39, 39, 39 on the glass, and then a couple of plays in the midst of that fourth quarter really started at it. They were once tied on the glass 39-39 on the glass. And then a couple of plays in the midst of that fourth quarter really started to give the Pelicans ORG cushion in the rebound category. And I just don't want to, you know, make sweeping judgments based on a couple of plays with the ball getting batted around and some long rebounds that went New Orleans's GPE way, especially whenever we saw this style of play still worked to hold them to 92 points. I don't care how many of them were second chance points.

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92 total points is good in any league at any given time in NBA ORG history, and especially in the modern game.

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And then a lot of those putback plays, they felt like they were huge because like you mentioned the emotions of the playoffs, like the one, the second chance points where they had like three in a row a three second chance points possession uh where the pelicans just kept clanking threes luckily for the thunder those plays

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you're talking about the position at the end of the game yeah end of the game like those

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plays are what sticks with you and thus what you make your uh you inform your opinions about but in reality again it was 39 39 at one point on the glass in the fourth quarter. Like it ends up being 52, 44 on the rebounding total. And the second chance points totals were good. But I do, I do buy into Mark PERSON's ideology of these teams are so good. This league is so advanced that no team in the NBA, even the Celtics ORG, who I considerthe undisputed best team in basketball and who I think is the the NBA, even the Celtics ORG who I consider the undisputed best team in basketball and who I think is the title favorite, even they are not a perfect roster. And so, yes, every team's going to have flaws, including the Thunder ORG. Rebounding is a flaw, but a flaw that they've managed and a flaw that still allowed them, even with the harsh narrative around the second chance points after game one to hold the pelicans to 92 points.Yeah.

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So rebound and not at you when I think about to the way you phrased it. Rebound is the obvious thing that's being overblown. I thought you were going to say something more niche like Trey Murphy's 3 is the way he's getting those. I imagine we'll talk about those. But I will play devil's advocate here on a couple points. One, obviously, very low-scoring game.That's playoff ball. You look at a lot of these losses, these teams that have lost since the playoff started this time around. And all of them are scoring in the 90s. Like, that's usually what that gets you. The possession is at the end that you're talking about.We could be talking about this game in a vastly different tone only because of that possession. And so I'm not going to over, I'm not going to overblow the rebound thing either. 24 second chance points is notable. But like Mark PERSON talks about this cost-benefit thing all the time. And I don't think they're ever going to reach a point.It would take a serious, it would take board in what we saw Sunday to reach the point where the cost of what they've done outweighs the benefit of the fluidity in the offense, the stuff they're allowed to do in turn that would maybe, you know, change the outcome of 24 second chance points. Like, don't get me wrong. I thought Trey Murphy, who was like the only shopmaker on New Orleans aside on Sunday,someone in rhythm looks he got were because of the second chances. I mean, maybe two guys, Mark said this the other day, two guys, while well intention on Yonis PERSON, in a place where maybe they shouldn't be, maybe just let Chet PERSON die, whatever the case may be,and let him, you know, bet one-on-one on Yonis PERSON, having that impeccable touch he had on Sunday. But situations like that where, like Aaron Wiggins or whoever, two guys are on your own.You know, it's Trey Murphy's PERSON on the same side, easy kickout or Trey Murphy's, you know, diving, easy putback or whatever because of the way they're playing it. But I don't know that they have to change so much schematically or whatever. I think that's an effort thing. I think that's a positioning thing, a placement thing, knowing.

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Part of it's a luck thing of the long caroms off the rim, especially whenever you're

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scrambling to rotate defensively. Yeah. And a lot of it is you just have to live with, I think, Chet living or dying in certain situations. Like, I mean, they've done it all year. To boil it

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down to a way too simplistic view of it, the Pelican's second chance points, right, which is the big thing that people are talking about, 24 to 11 for OKC GPE, 11 for OKC, 24 for New Orleans GPE, fast break points, which is inherently from the Thunder being able to place smaller and more positionless and more versatile and push the pace with everybody being a ball handler. The Thunder won fast break points 20 to 7.Both those teams netted 13 points off of those chances. And so if the biggest advantage that the Pelicans have is their second chance opportunities, and the biggest advantage that the Thunder have because they give up second chance points is fast break points. And they both result in 13 points added to each team. From there, what's the next step?And the next step, you go down the line and they all favor Oklahoma City GPE. The next step is shot variance. The Thunder shot better from they all favor Oklahoma City GPE. The next step is shot variance. The Thunder shot better from three than the Pelicans ORG. The next step is, of course, having go-to scores in the end when you need to go get a bucket like Shazan 1. The Thunder ORG have a better guy at doing that. And so everything.I think you muted, Rana PERSON.

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I don't know how long I was muted for, but I was muted.

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Like 10 seconds. You are right. Okay.

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So again, 13 points each, you know, in terms of net gain from second chance points and from fast break points. And then from there, you shift forward to three point shooting,which favored the thunder. You shift forward to go to bucket getters, which favors the thunder like Shay PERSON's and one at the end of the game. So if you can negate, and oftentimes outdoa team's biggest advantage with fast break points on second chance points, and it's not that big of an issue when you boil it down, even though that possession at the end of the game where the Pelicans had like three shotsin a row off of rebounds, those feel a lot larger than a second quarter steel and dunk, you know, hit a head dunk. At the end of the day, though, it all comes out the same on the scoreboard.

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Yeah, and for what it's worth, those possessions banner more. That's why we think about them more. That's why we're

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talking about them. But like, take away the second chance opportunities. I think New Orleans has 17 of those. They shot 35% from the field, which is not great. And so there is a balance of needs to be struck in terms of first shot defense, when to let check or whoever die, finding that perfect balance of positioning, whatever,to maybe not master it, because it's not going to be possible to master the defensive glass for them. But to get to a level that you're comfortable with at this level, I mean, post-all-star break, they're in the top half of teams. They're rebounding. They're even higher in terms of defensive rebounding.And so, like, I don't doubt that they can look better than they did Sunday in an area, but there has to be a balance of struck, especially with a, I mean, Yonis PERSON is like a husky dude, bro. Like, that's, he's listed in, I don't know, 265, apparently, which is probably not true. And so, like, that is something you maybe have to pay attention more to in this matchup in a match of, like like Nurkits PERSON or whatever.But I think there is a balance that can be struck.

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And I think Sunday is like very low bar compared to what we could see in the series.

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Coming up, well, Brandon Ingram PERSON continued to be silent throughout this series.

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And has any of the expectations changed after game one,

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whether are the biggest questions left to be answered? But first one's here right now, but our good friends, over at Fandall ORG, check out Fandall. It's America's number one sports book. They're great and they're here for you to get all of your bets in on the NBA, NHL, MLB ORG. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed. There's $150 win or lose at Fandall ORG.But everything from slap shots to home runs and slam dunks right now. The app is safe, secure, and easy to use. If you want to go visit fandole.com slash lockdown, when you make your first bet, you automatically win, $150. Guaranteed winner lose from America's number one sports book. Speaking of, there's a big matchup in Oklahoma City GPE later tonightbetween the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans ORG. Oklahoma City, seven and a half point favorites after being eight point favorites in game number one. Vegas GPE, not changing their expectation too much. Check it out today at finland.com slash lockdown. Also I want to say right now, but good friends over at BetterHelp ORG.Joelle could really use Better help because it's great. We all could use Better help. Better help is an online therapy platform for you. So I think that, you know, Joel PERSON, you're busy. We're all busy. I think that a big thing in limiting,you know, going to see a therapist is the common crutch of, I just can't go to an in-person therapist. I don't have the time of my schedule to do so. The benefit of better help is that it's all online, all created for you and around your schedule. You felt this questionnaire that match you with an online therapist and you get the best help for you from Better Help because at timeswe all need to get something off of our chest. And so you don't want to let that stuff fester with you. You can go vent to someone who's unbiased in your life and will help you out at BetterHelp.com slash Lockedin ORG MBA. That's BetterHelp.com slash Lockton ORG, MBA. Whenever you go there, it's 10% off of your first month. We're back on the Lockdown Thunder Podcast ORG.On the lockdown podcast network Your Teams Every Day ORG. Joel Lorenzi PERSON, Oklahoma and Beat Rider at JX Lorenzi ORG on Twitter. A thousand likes on this video. I will tell you what the X stands for and Joe Lorenzi's Twitter ORG name.A thousand likes on YouTube ORG, Joel PERSON.

Speaker 51638.74s - 1641.46s

What's the most likes you ever got on YouTube?

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It's a good question. I probably guess recently like 120 likes on this last.

Speaker 51649.06s - 1653.12s

Okay, we got a lower the bar. And that was crazy. I'm not that much of a mystery.

Speaker 01653.12s - 1713.66s

I don't know. It's a big secret, Joelle. It's a big secret. I used to not know it until like two days ago. Whenever I used to think it was just like your classic way of saying like Joel times Lorenzi PERSON. It's like Joel by Lorenzi. But as like it's joel by lorenzi but no it's it'sactually something completely different nonetheless joel what are the vibes after game one well let's start here actually retract that as you should do with a lot of things in your life joel has retract um especially some things that you've done recently nonetheless that's another conversation for a different pod. Excuse me. Brandon Ingram had an absolute clunker in game number one.A lot of credit, actually all the credit goes to Lou Dort PERSON. How sustainable is that for the Thunder to count on Brandon Ingram PERSON not finding success against Dort and against the Thunder ORG in general? I think in most games, I mean, I don't know how long the series is going to be.

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I think it's pretty sustainable.

Speaker 51717.38s - 1818.9s

I mean, dude, like, even if, it's hard to say because even if Dort PRODUCT doesn't do as well in swing games, like, what does that look like? Like, he held Brandon Ingram in nine minutes to be a matchup to one for seven from the field, two turnovers. Like, that's as low as a star might look. Like, that's absolute clamps. And so, like, what does the step below might look like that's that's absolute clamps and so like what is the the step below that look like maybe three for eight a turnover like which is still pretty good right i mean i imagine there's some wiggle room there because there's still this is i imagine a couple more shots forburning inga means maybe trey murphy is in their rhythm like there are just so many variables there where Brandon Ingram means maybe Trey Murphy PERSON is in their rhythm. Like there are just so many variables there. But I think it's super sustainable. But what I will say is that it has to be dork. Because, like, and no, this isn't a knock to Jalen Williams. I think Jalen Williams provides the most interesting look on season McCullum.And I also think, you know, at least based on game one, not to say Jailen Williams PERSON isn't capable, he's guarded all types of shapes and molds this year. Brandon Ingham was three for six on Jalen Williams PERSON. And Jalen Williams was the second most time spent on Brandon Ingham PERSON of anybody. And some of those are like, yeah, tough Brandon Ingham PERSON shots.But a lot of those, Brandon Ingham PERSON is getting to those spots because he's manipulating Dub, like, hey, the screen comes quick. Hey, I'm going to get off it before Dove PRODUCT has time to fight through. There's a certain level of screen navigation that comes with Dort PRODUCT that is like it just, it gives Brandon Ingram Hill PERSON, man.So I think it's super sustainable.

Speaker 01819.96s - 1858.9s

And I think that part of it too is like, J. Dub PERSON in a vacuum, good defender. Shane PERSON a vacuum, good defender. Shane, a vacuum, good defender. Like, there's no disputing what they've been able to pull off this season and so far this year. But there's always a specific type of defender who fares better against these top-in scores. For Brandon, it's guys that play underneath them, just like it was for Kevin PERSON, you know, it is for Kevin Durant PERSON.For Shea, you know, Herb Jones defense him the best out of anybody in the NBA ORG. So, like, I think that you have two of the best options to counter the other's superstar in this series. But guys playing underneath Brandon Ingraham PERSON has really limited him throughout his career of getting to his spots and finding that same success.

Speaker 11859.14s - 1863.54s

So I think that Dort PRODUCT will have the ability to have sustained success in this series,

Speaker 01863.54s - 1876.1s

which will help the Thunder ORG dramatically. But, Joel, we've kind of talked about game one. We've talked about some of the adjustments, but what absolutely has to change in this game tonight in the Paycom Center FAC?

Speaker 51878.64s - 1968.86s

There will be some variance that I imagine will change our conversation. The public is one for 15 on quarter three, which perfectly fine when the done is prioritizing that and saying, hey, we'll allow some of these. I don't know. We'll look at that the same way game too, but it's, I mean, it's about what you want togive up, right? But I will say, like, what they absolutely have to change. Trey Murphy, the way Trey Murphy got going, going i mean some of it is like we talked about like like yonis um just kicking out but like some of the tray murphy got the cleanest looks possible of any of those guys there and some of that is like he's sitting at like the hash mark like do you want to defend that far up um i think there are ways tomaybe take him away maybe you play higher obviously that comes with more wrinkles of you know activity on the backside then if he starts to like if giddy's on him baby tray murphy back cuts more like there are there obviously things that come with that but you can't let trade murphy get in a rhythm because once he hits one from the hash mark that's that's the that's an avalanche that comes with the rest of the game and he had the best looks of any of them all game and he stayed in a rhythm for pretty much the whole game so i just say taking away chray murphy's PERSON rhythm becausechay murphy i mean the way he looked in one, he could very well be a top two player on that side in this series.

Speaker 01969.74s - 2108.68s

Yeah, I think that that's a good point of Trey Murphy PERSON. He had 11 recognition in games. We had five or more threes. And one of them, he had 10 threes against Toronto ORG. So he's like their biggest threat left after Zion Williamson PERSON's out. If you're going to count SGA being guarded as Herb PERSON as like awash with Thornt guarding Brandon Ingram PERSON, it's him next. And CJ PERSON's not been CJ this season. Wasn't that way in game one really. That's a great option. I think that for me,the biggest thing is get back to basics offensively. I asked Mark PERSON about the playoff pacing before game one and he mentioned like a lot of it is self-inflicted. I'm like a lot of it's just teams are starting their action slower, thus that's why the pacing is slower.Get into your action quicker and play your style, because I think that a lot of the changes we've seen in the postseason. One, we've seen the game get called more physical now since February. And two, the Thunder ORG are not predicated on free throws, which might sound like a pearl clutching statement for people who have not watched, you know,the Thunder ORG play basketball and like, just look at the shame memes. But when Jadab PERSON drives, he already doesn't get calls, like right, wrong or indifferent. He doesn't get calls.Josh PERSON doesn't get calls. Like, no one is used to getting superstar calls besides maybe SGA PERSON, who's been able to fight through that his whole career. So get back to driving downhill and attacking downhill hard and spraying out. And then rely on guys to go back to the mean.And for the Thunder, going back to the mean is actually improving from having those two corner threes that are wide up from Kenny drop, having Isaiah Joe three's drop. And so what should give Thunder fans encouragement is that they've had a five, three point Trey Murphy PERSON game. The Thunder ORG have not had their outlier game.Like I think that if anything, the Thunder ORG have had their outlier negative game more so than their outlier a positive game and still we're able to win. And as of right now, still control home court. Going up 2.0 in a series is huge. Going up 1-0 in the first round has been huge in the NBA ORG history, only 16 losses for teams that go up 1 and 1 in the first round so far.But you've got to continue that momentum. Now, Joelle, what's the vibe like after game one? I'm still sticking with Thunder and 5, but this was both of our first playoff games to cover. What was the vibe like in the arena? Is there anything specific you're taking away from your first time experiencingplayoff basketball in the NBA and in Oklahoma City GPE. Yeah, I thought it was dope.

Speaker 52108.88s - 2191.02s

I thought the atmosphere was dope. I mean, the players have talked about it nonstop. They were talking about it nonstop before the game. OKC GPE is ready for a playoff basketball. And I think the general sense from fans after that game was like, thank God PERSON for Casey Wallace helped the escape. And in the, you know, moments after that, it was like thank God for Casey Wallace PERSON helped the escape and in theyou know moments after that it was like well that was probably New Orleans GPE chance to steal not just some momentum a lot of momentum and I picked I picked Thunder ORG and six before the series which is like six that's that sounds crazy to a lot of people my logic was I thought the Pelicans could get get a game I picked Thunder and six before the series, which is like six. That sounds crazy to a lot of people. My logic was I thought the Pelicans could get a game and then Zion could come back, maybe do some nutty Zion stuff, and then steal a game there, and then the Thunder ORG would finish them off. I don't know what the timeline is.We heard today from, you know, their practice that Zion believes that he can come back in the postseason. I don't know if that would be in the case that they somehow make the second round. I don't know what the logic is there. But that was my logic going into the series. I'd probably know Zion. I probably leaned under five like you.And I think most people would when they put the loss in perspective the way we have.

Speaker 02191.78s - 2199.44s

I'm excited to be on Bourbon Street FAC with you, Joel, and have some vlog content come out from Bourbon Street low. Playoff low, Bourbon Street FAC low.

Speaker 52199.74s - 2204.58s

Ryland Stiles, who didn't know what Et Sufay was until I told him two days ago.

Speaker 02205.22s - 2207.56s

Actually, it was like 12 hours ago, but who's counting?

Speaker 52207.62s - 2209.14s

That was today, huh? Wow.

Speaker 02209.34s - 2210.2s

Long day for Joel PERSON.

Speaker 52210.32s - 2214.04s

He's had a lot of things happen today.

Speaker 02215.54s - 2218.22s

Joel PERSON, this has been great to put a bow on things.

Speaker 52218.38s - 2220.64s

Why didn't we argue about mascots on this episode?

Speaker 02221.12s - 2224.26s

Well, if you just heard me say to put a bow on things, we're about to do that right now.

Speaker 52224.28s - 2224.94s

on this episode. Well, if you just heard me say to put a bow on things, we're about to do that right now.

Speaker 02231.98s - 2245.12s

You had your classic, typical Joel PERSON vehicle of being mad and negative about everything, and you were mad that I didn't, I didn't let you comment on who would win between a bison and a pelican. Where do you land? Mascot, brouhaha, bison pelican.

Speaker 42248.8s - 2252.8s

First of all, is a bison better than a bull? Like, with a bison, a bison will win in a fight with a bull, right?

Speaker 02253.66s - 2253.98s

For sure.

Speaker 42254.6s - 2255.18s

Right, right, right.

Speaker 02256.42s - 2256.66s

Well, here's my logic.

Speaker 42258.74s - 2263.82s

I'm glad you didn't listen to the clip, even though you want to talk about it. My logic was a bison and a bull, same exact family.

Speaker 02269.92s - 2273.54s

So maybe the bull comes into things with the expectation of decorum and the bison can be more aggressive and have a cutthroat situation.

Speaker 52273.54s - 2275.44s

You put too many nuances instead of magic.

Speaker 02275.52s - 2318.34s

Well, here's the thing. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. Old-fashioned duels, right? If it was between me and you, we're close friends, Joelle, allegedly. If we were going to go to have a duel tomorrow because we got mad at each other,we turn our backs to each other, walk 10 paces and turn around. The applicable thing to do would be to point our gun straight in the air and signal, hey, we got heated. It's no big deal. We're fine. If you knew I was going to point my gun in the air and you shot me anyway, like Aaron Bird PERSON didto Hamilton PERSON, not cool, man, not cool. I think that the bull would say, okay, let's turn around after the 10 paces and we're not doing this anymore. And the bison then could strike and hurt his fan member. But nonetheless, that's not the topic of discussion here.It's bison or pelican, Joel PERSON. Yeah.

Speaker 52318.34s - 2339.2s

And I didn't hear your entire argument granted, but I have to think, like, the one advantage that Pelican PRODUCT has, one, by the way, Pelican is not a very fierce bird from what I understand. No, very bad bird. Yeah, terrible bird. Only thing worse could be like a penguin or something, but.

Speaker 02340.14s - 2341.48s

At least a penguin has sex appeal.

Speaker 52342.72s - 2344.56s

Is that what we're arguing here, Rihanna PERSON?

Speaker 02344.9s - 2345.68s

Jesus, Ryan PERSON. No, I know, I'm saying. You might have the sex appeal of a penguin has sex appeal. Is that what we're arguing here, Rihanna? Jesus, Ryan?

Speaker 52345.78s - 2347.64s

No, I'm saying.

Speaker 02347.72s - 2365.58s

You might have the sex appeal of a penguin, rather. I'm saying if you're looking at birds aesthetically and you get down to the decision of a penguin and a pelican and what pros and cons each have, a penguin is more aesthetically pleasing than a pelican. So even if you want to bash on penguins, even the pelican's logo?

Speaker 32367.48s - 2369.7s

Pelicans ORG logo is not great.

Speaker 42370.08s - 2373.5s

Ouch. Okay. Well, I would say the one benefit

Speaker 02373.5s - 2377.52s

that Pelican PRODUCT has is that can fly away from the fight, maybe?

Speaker 52377.78s - 2380.38s

But it's not a great flyer. Not particularly a great flyer.

Speaker 02380.92s - 2383.96s

See, I didn't know that. I'm not at a geo. That's, that doesn't,

Speaker 52384.26s - 2386.2s

but a bison can't fly at all.

Speaker 02387.04s - 2388.28s

Well, yeah, but, but presumably

Speaker 52388.28s - 2389.78s

we're fighting in a cage, Joel PERSON.

Speaker 02390.36s - 2391.24s

Oh, in a cage?

Speaker 52391.64s - 2393.2s

Presumably. I mean, presumably this is a rumble.

Speaker 02393.2s - 2395s

We're not, we're not out in the great plains of

Speaker 52395s - 2427.18s

Lawton GPE. Yeah. Yeah, that doesn't that doesn't blow well for the pelican. No, it has to be the bison, right? I mean, the, the, the pelican could try to pull like a, in the original Spider-Man WORK_OF_ART with the Tobin McGuire, how he's like, the, the pelican could try to pull like an original Spider-Man with Tobin McGuire, how he's like flying around that one cage, because he is in a cage at a certainpoint in the beginning of the movie when he first become Spider-Man WORK_OF_ART. I'm madden the pelican could try to pull something like that, but you can, you can only run so long. And a bison is like massive. Like, what's the average size of a bison? Oh,

Speaker 02427.22s - 2431.74s

it's a, it's a good size. I mean, bigger than the NBA ORG center,

Speaker 52431.84s - 2432.58s

I imagine, right?

Speaker 02432.84s - 2438.28s

For scale, yes. I mean, it would take a couple of Valcunis PRODUCT. And that's a hefty dude.

Speaker 52438.6s - 2440.4s

Yeah, it should be a no brainer, right?

Speaker 02441.18s - 2443.24s

No brainer on the Pelican PRODUCT. Now,

Speaker 52443.24s - 2446.3s

I think that there's some great comments made on that

Speaker 32446.3s - 2452.1s

clip I'm glad that this is a lasting legacy of mine but um the raptor has to be the most fearful one

Speaker 52452.1s - 2459.4s

i don't know well here's the deal out of the whole league what about the sun well that okay here's what

Speaker 02459.4s - 2462.56s

i'm glad you brought this up to i'm glad you didn't listen to the clip and brought this up anyway

Speaker 52464.56s - 2470.88s

how can a son be to bison if bison's be to bison? If bison's can withstand a hundred degree heat, what more can

Speaker 02470.88s - 2476.66s

the sun do? Now, granted, the surface of the sun, clearly, um, hotter than 100 degrees. But at that

Speaker 52476.66s - 2481.42s

point, we get into a dangerous, slippery slope. Because at that point, we are now dealing,

Speaker 02481.42s - 2506.3s

we're dealing with, we're dealing with an unfair advantage of the surface of the sun. And then I would have to the question well then what weapon we do we give a warrior because a warrior can have all types of weaponry if they want to and then that would make them a very formidable opponent so if we're just looking at the sun as it is in the sky as it's the when you think when you think of warrior what do you think well I typically seem to think of the movie like the 3000,000 or whatever it's called, the Trojanus PRODUCT.

Speaker 52506.84s - 2508.2s

300, 300,000.

Speaker 02508.28s - 2509.68s

It's all numbers with the three in it, Joel PERSON.

Speaker 52509.68s - 2510.96s

3,000 is Andre PERSON, brother.

Speaker 02512s - 2515.12s

Well, I think of him too, brother. That's a warrior in the...

Speaker 52515.12s - 2517.08s

I think of a spear when I think of a war.

Speaker 02517.98s - 2520.26s

Oh, yeah, it's typical spear, yeah.

Speaker 52521.16s - 2522.68s

Sword, if you're advanced.

Speaker 02523.1s - 2543.9s

But then you get into Denver GPE, and it's not a chicken nugget. It's a prospector. So just you have a pickax. You have a musket, maybe a shotgun. The prospector's not going to come empty hands of Joelle. You're not going to just go mining for. To be fair. This is this is mascot battles, right? And that's another thank you for bringing this up too. The Spurs ORG mascot's actually a coyote. And the sun's mascot is actually a gorilla.

Speaker 52544.06s - 2544.38s

A gorilla.

Speaker 02545.68s - 2546s

Hmm. So where do we go? And then here's mascot is actually a gorilla. A gorilla. Hmm.

Speaker 52546.2s - 2549.44s

So where do we go? And then here's the thing where I push back in the comments on

Speaker 02549.44s - 2578.94s

the raptors. If we're going off of the depiction of the true genuine mascot, the raptor mascot, the Tyrannosaurus Rex Raptor, whatever it is, it's not a very fearful raptor. It's a very funny, go lucky, cartoonish raptor almost reminiscent that of Rex from Toy Storywhere it was the rare uncourageous dinosaur. So does that knock it down any point? So it depends how full you want to get into things.

Speaker 52579.94s - 2583.24s

Yeah. And I don't know

Speaker 02583.24s - 2588.9s

like does New Orleans GPE like rotate his mascots?

Speaker 52589s - 2594.98s

I remember the King Cake Baby PRODUCT was like the mascot. That thing is pretty scary to me. I don't think that's their mascot.

Speaker 02595.18s - 2602.58s

It's certainly things of nightmares. But as long as you can get over the moral discomfort of killing a baby, it's no threat.

Speaker 52604.22s - 2607.92s

But could you look at that thing and not see like Chuckie PERSON or something and just

Speaker 02607.92s - 2612s

run? I think that that adds to the, that adds to the credence of

Speaker 52612s - 2615.9s

beating it. If you're looking at it, you're not seeing the sweetenicent baby,

Speaker 02615.96s - 2627.56s

you're seeing this disgusting vile, you know, horror movie creation. You're more likely to, to discard the fact that they're in diapers and just kill them. That's harsh.

Speaker 52627.84s - 2628.78s

That's a harsh line of thinking.

Speaker 02629.14s - 2642.64s

But here again, though, if Rumble PRODUCT's a genuine bison, do they have the wherewithal to understand and process that that's a human baby on the other end? Because certainly, we saw Harambe PERSON didn't. Dude.

Speaker 52648.64s - 2649.82s

So is the gorilla for the sun, Saramba PERSON?

Speaker 42651.64s - 2652.1s

There's so many nuances to this argument.

Speaker 52655.06s - 2656.18s

You're like, there's no goalpost to this argument.

Speaker 02657.38s - 2658.94s

There's certainly that. So give me one NBA ORG winners.

Speaker 52659.86s - 2664.58s

The best NBA ORG free-for-all cage match winner.

Speaker 02665.8s - 2668.08s

Again, what are we going to give the prospector?

Speaker 52668.08s - 2669.72s

That's who I'm really sneaky worried about.

Speaker 02670.14s - 2684.78s

If we give him a shotgun, who's stopping a shotgun within the NBA ORG realm? And here's my question. The wizard. What spells are he allowed to use? How many spells is he allowed? Let's say he's Harry Potter PERSON.Then what? If he's Harry Potter PERSON.

Speaker 52684.78s - 2691.34s

He's probably the best in the league, huh? If he's Harryry potter then what if he's harry potter if he's harry potter but then what is the magician get is if he can only pull a rabbit out of his

Speaker 42691.34s - 2696.02s

hat he's gone within two seconds that what the orlando mascot is because that's that's not a magician

Speaker 02696.02s - 2706.62s

that's no that's true that's like a philly fanatic green monster but then what's his mythical powers because uh he's somehow in it in every the world. I mean, we run into these problems, Joel PERSON.

Speaker 52707.76s - 2711.32s

Yeah, I see why that clip was four minutes long.

Speaker 02711.96s - 2726.1s

Yeah, I mean, we're just hitting the tip of the iceberg on the mascot conversation, which is now two days old, Joelle. And I would again ask the question of what's the jazz? Are we just battling the instrument? Is there a jazz men? Maybe there's a jazz. Are we just battling the instrument? Is there a jazz men?

Speaker 52727.52s - 2733.86s

Maybe there's a genre of jazz that just hypnotizes you, put you to sleep. Soulful strut.

Speaker 02734.82s - 2749.66s

Anyway, Joel PERSON, thanks for joining us. I'm glad you really derail the show at the end, but that's what you do best is to rel things. Follow Joel on Twitter at JX Lorenzi ORG. Read them in the Oklahoma GPE. And this has been a fantastic cruise with me and Joel. Until next time, be good and be good to one things. Follow Joel on Twitter at JX Lorenzi. Read him in the Oklahoma. And this has been a fantastic cruise with me and Joel PERSON. Until next time, be good and be good to one another.

Speaker 22750.88s - 2759.5s

Hey, Prime members. You can listen to this locked on podcast ad free on Amazon Music ORG. Download the Amazon Music app today.