Steve Jones Jr.
Appearances
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Not much. Happy to be here. Excited to be here. Glad to be the Zach Lowe Show.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Well, I think it's interesting. I know it sounds random, but I go back to when the Lakers played Orlando. And in my head, I started to realize if a team can switch against the Los Angeles Lakers... and keep the ball in front. And then if they can attack the Lakers switches, it kind of puts the Lakers in a box. I think Minnesota did a really good job keeping the Lakers in a box.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
As far as you mentioned how prepared they were and the Edwards making quick decisions. So the Lakers, they want to switch. They want to have activity. They want to show that early help. They want to close out and recover on those nights where the closeouts are now getting beat. The teams are able to get to drive and kick. They know where the shots are coming from.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
It can get tough for them because they're so activity based. And on the other end, Minnesota was fine switching other things. I think the firepower of LeBron, Luka, Austin Reeves is undeniable. But if you are able to just say, you know what, we're going to pick this poison of switching. We're going to make you make plays. We're not going to necessarily put two on the ball.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
That was the interesting part for me. So I think for the Lakers, you've got to find a way to find matchups that Minnesota doesn't like. You've got to find a way to get them in rotation. You have to find a way to kind of tilt it to where you can kind of get the shots you want. Because if Rudy Gobert can be in a drop and say, hey, this is going to be a late switch as soon as you drive.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
And then as Luka tries to back up an ice woman, Jamie Daniels is like, no, I'm going to come back and take that matchup. Now Rudy is able to be on the floor more. Not that he would get played off, but now we feel more comfortable throwing that at you. And then, so I think they got to get more pass and cut.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
They got to be more decisive offensively, get the drive and kick, get Luka and LeBron in the post, make Minnesota think about doubling or sending two and then get back to, okay, we have you in rotation. We're good to go. Because if you're going to lean on small ball and Minnesota can just switch and they know you're switching on the other end, your margin of error is pretty slim.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I think for me, I'm going to look for a little bit more nuance from the Lakers. I don't anticipate they'll go away from switching completely. I don't think they're going to magically wake up and Jackson Hayes is too on the ball.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
But I think it's more, okay, we need to know when we need to send this help, when we need to show this help, how we need to show it, do our work early, maybe more ball pressure to just try and contain the drives a little bit better. Because it just felt automatic. And you could tell as the second half went on, Minnesota was like, let's actually just mess around with the spacing a little bit.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Not only do they attack different matchups, they say, okay, we're clearing this swing. We're going quick on the move. That's why Anthony Edwards is making quick decisions. Julius Randle making quick decisions was important because with the Lakers, when they can load up and then go boxes and elbows and bring it back to the 90s and they can just kind of hold, it looks pretty good.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
They're pretty active. They can disrupt you. But if you're able to just kind of flip it on them and they don't know where the help is coming from consistently, they can't get to the second level. They got to close back out. That's tough. So for the Lakers, it's kind of the do better button to a degree, but it's also just... But they should be more prepared for a team that's going to look to drive.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
And so their help should be a little bit smarter. They should be able to contain the drive. Make them make tough twos if they have to. Don't be so automatic with pulling over and now you're opening up a driving kick and they're able to take the shots they want to. Minnesota was able to get high quality looks because they knew, hey, you guys are going to be in. We're going to make it happen.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Contest. Make them live with some tough ones in the paint. I think that's probably the biggest one defensively because they're going to stick with this core group. I think you got to probably trust Jackson Hazel a little bit more.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
No, I think that's that's where Minnesota did a good job with the drop in the switches of saying, hey, there's actually not going to be a role here. So two on the ball is not going to happen. Your Randall point was really good. And I think this is something I've liked about Randall for Minnesota.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
There's a lot of things you can say about him, but he's going to drive the basketball, especially if he has a matchup that he likes. And he's going to force someone in the other jersey to come and help. Can you disrupt that?
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
So Randall and Reed being able to be tall and dribble and attack the Lakers in different ways, I think they just need to do a better job on those two as well and just get a better rhythm. I think that's key.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I think it is and it fits this team because his driving ability is just an added layer to a team that can sometimes get slow or not put pressure on teams. Minnesota's been an enigma for me all year in the sense that you've seen the good, you've seen the formula, and then they just haven't done it. Like, oh my God, we got trapped. This is not a good game for us.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Anthony Edwards wants to shoot the ball. Oh, wait, Anthony Edwards wants to make plays. You never know which version you're going to get. And so I think having Julius and his ability to make quick decisions kind of gives us that energy.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
And that takes less of the burden on Jaden McDaniels, who now, you know, I think second half of the season had a lot better stretch offensively to where he understood, okay, this is how I am able to make plays. I can belly off everyone else. So I think his consistency and his driving and his quick decisions helps this group grow.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
in those moments where they can't necessarily find things in the half court. And so I've, I've really thought he's been an important piece for Minnesota this year.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
You know, the smartest thing I think the Lakers could do, trap him on his first one. Trap him hard.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Hit him right in the face. Hit him hard. See if that throws off his decisiveness. Now, is he anticipating the trap? Is he thinking switch coming? I think, especially this time of year, the best players need to see different things, especially some of the younger guards, younger wings.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
You've got to try and disrupt their rhythm that way as far as, okay, once they know what's coming, they know exactly what plays to make. The games, they're too smart these days. But if you can just give a little bit of doubt as to, okay, we might trap you. This might be a drop. Now we take you out of your rhythm. Are you making the same automatic plays you made in game one?
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
So I think that's a fair point.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Um, I think that as I was watching the second half and Houston was kind of making that comeback, drive the basketball. You got to drive the basketball. You got to play faster. You don't have to necessarily play with the speed of the Warriors, but your tempo has to be a lot better in the half court.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
You can't, you don't have the type of offensive talent to be this methodical at every single point in time where you're starting with 15 on the clock and Golden State's able to load up. You got to drive the ball faster. Give yourself the most opportunities to make Golden State have to guard. Make pods close out. Make Steph close out. Give yourself a chance.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
If you got to throw Dylan Brooks and Jabari Smith, some of those old school mid post-ups, throw it out there. Give them one. Give them two. See if it does anything. Give yourself a mix.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
But if you're just relying on Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet to make a pull-up and pick and roll, if you're relying on Shingun to make enough baskets to make Golden State double, I don't know how far you're going to get. but you've got to go quicker. You know, you've got to make Golden State do something else. And so I think that's the biggest thing.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I mean, even early in the game, they gave Dylan a post up against Steph Curry. Golden State was looking at him like, hey, what are you going to do? That's positive. So let's give a variety. Let's play with a little bit more force in the half court. Give ourselves a chance. When you're a team that isn't the strongest offensively, you can't hurt yourself by playing slow. You know?
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Well, he certainly wasn't in game one. But I think his ability this year to grow as a driver has been good. The problem is in the playoffs, are those drives going to result in him being able to finish or get to the free throw line? And so he's now going to make that difference between the regular season and the playoffs. I like that. He's trying to get downhill in the regular season.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
He's trying to initiate contact. That's fine. What's that look like now when the physicality is up and the help is up? And now you're... you're taking wilder shots at the rim or in the paint. It's kind of like a regression to year one or two Jalen green. So I, I think it's, he's got to understand and read when he has what shot.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
And I like that he wants to get in the paint, but also what are you going to do when you get down there? Like, are you creating an advantage? Are you finishing? Are you able to kick out of it? So he has to be the answer for them to a degree. He's got to be able to, get a switch on Stephen Curry and make a play.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
He's got to be able to do some of that because, you know, Fred VanVleet's going to have a pull-up game at some point. Dylan Brooks probably have a good game, but if Jalen green can't force the issue to a degree and make golden state have to think about doing something different, it gets hard. It gets really hard for Houston.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I think for me, the line has been, can the Milwaukee bucks sustain defense against the Indiana Pacers? I thought they did a good job of switching at times. They did a good job trying to contain the drives. Eventually they got to a point on a lot of possessions where, you know, there was a drive or there's a role, whatever that, They had to help. The ball was sprayed. Rotation. Another pass.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Rotation. Another pass. We're out of rotations. And that was just an overwhelming theme for me. And so I don't think if the Bucks can't sustain their defense, they're not going to have an opportunity. Because, I mean, Giannis had, what, 12 of the Bucks' first 19 points. That's fantastic. The Pacers are shooting 70%. And so you haven't got enough defense to make the Giannis pressure point matter.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
And now Indiana has this wiggle room and this margin for error. And you're trying to figure out, okay, do we put Brooke at the level? Do we switch Brooke? Do we go zone? And Indiana is able to poke it, all of it. You get Giannis playing well, no one's making shots. You got 17 made field goals and eight assists at halftime. You haven't taken advantage of the Giannis game and you can't stop him.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
So when you got Pascal making the back breaking shots, Halliburton didn't even have to really shoot the ball. He was just able to be an engine as far as pick and roll. I can reject, I can attack, I can open things up and Milwaukee's gonna be in rotation. And so if they can't get enough of that defensively and not just 15 seconds of defense,
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
they need 18 to 20 it's like i don't want to say it's like playing the spurs of old but like the hardest part about playing teams like that who move the ball it's not the first action it's not second action it's the third and fourth one that gets you and with indiana the way they played as far as being committed to moving that ball it put too much pressure on the bucks defense if they can't guard it's five at best maybe yeah it was just easy for indiana offensively it was comfortable
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I mean, I think the Giannis-Dane two-man game improved this season, so that would be huge. It's hard. You don't want to put it all on Dame, especially after coming back from this. But in theory, Dame helps their offensive flow in general. It felt like it was Giannis does something, everyone kind of waits because the Pacers are just so decisive on, are you a wing? Are you a ball handler?
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
Are you Torian Prince? We are going under. We're fine with this. So you have to kind of get that sudden aspect.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I like that part of the decision. Are you a ball handler?
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
If yes, then do this. So I like that Giannis, like he gets something and then it's like, oh, I don't want that person to guard Giannis so much. Maybe we can get two on the ball. Dane being back can help with some of that flow. And so I think that's probably where Milwaukee needs to get to is just more sudden attacks and try and move the ball, move Giannis around.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
And hopefully that can sustain you in the half court. You get something from someone to make some shots. And then defensively, you just got to, you know, be decisive and hope you can sustain.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I think I went Pistons in six for the... Ooh, I like it.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
I had Clippers in six, but this Nicole Jokic-Jamal Murray two-man game just always does this.
The Zach Lowe Show
The Playoffs Are Here! Game 1 Takeaways With Howard Beck and Series Breakdowns With Steve Jones Jr.
So we are dropping on later this week, but usually it kind of depends on these days. It's either Tuesday or Thursday, but it'll be Thursday this week, I think.