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Welcome to Swish and Tell.
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This is the show where we recap some important stories from last week on
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thePeachBasket.net.
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Let's get right into it.
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Man, the Spurs can't catch a break this season, huh?
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First Wemby going down with DVT, and now Coach Pop's not coming back either.
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It's like...
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a one-two punch to the gut for Spurs fans.Yeah, it's a rough situation.
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Losing Victor Wembanyama for the season changes everything.
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And DVT, you know, it's not something minor.
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The medical team acted fast, which is huge, but recovery means blood thinners,
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rest, and keeping him off the court for months.
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It's as much about his long-term health as it is about basketball.Right, right.
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And I get it, like, his health's gotta come first.
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But for the Spurs, man, this totally flips the season on its head.
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How do you even begin to adjust without him?
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What do you think the game plan is now?Well, they're gonna have to pivot
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their focus towards development, no doubt about that.
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With Wemby and Pop gone, it's about building the younger talent.
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You've got Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox stepping into more prominent roles.
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It's a chance for guys like them to step up.Hold on, De'Aaron Fox?
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That dude's got wheels, man.
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If he steps up, we're talking about electrifying plays, fast breaks, the
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whole deal.
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You're saying this could actually...
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be good for the team in the long run?Potentially, yeah.
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It's an opportunity to establish chemistry and leadership among those
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younger players.
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And with Mitch Johnson stepping in for Popovich, you've got a new dynamic in the
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coaching too.
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He's gonna have the chance to put his own stamp on the team.Wait, wait, Pop's out...
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and Mitch Johnson's in?
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That's gotta be tough.
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I mean, Pop runs such a tight ship.
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How do you fill shoes that big?You don't.
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Not really.
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Mitch Johnson can only bring his own style to the table, right?
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He's worked under Pop for years, so he knows the system.
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But this could actually be a moment for the players and coaching staff to push
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the boundaries a bit.
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Experiment with lineups, strategies-things that might not happen
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if Pop were calling the shots.Okay, so it's not all gloom and doom?
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Like,
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"Hey, this season's a wash, let's see who steps up and what we learn."
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Exactly.
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It's all about shifting focus.
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Developing the young core.
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Building resilience.
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And, you know, setting the foundation for when Wembanyama and Pop return.
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There's still value in what they can make of this season.You're saying there's hope?
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Spurs fans are like,
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"We're down, but we're not out."
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Gotta love that.Man, speaking of players stepping up, how about Donovan Mitchell?
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The dude just went off against the Celtics!
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That game had me on the edge of my seat, like...
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is this even real?Absolutely.
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Mitchell was unstoppable.
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I mean, 40-plus points in a single game-and the way he essentially tore
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through that defense-it was masterful.
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You could see him reading the Celtics like an open book.Totally.
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But you know what got me?
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It wasn't just the scoring.
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His timing, his control...
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like, every time the Celtics tried to rally, boom-Mitchell would shut it all
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down.
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Man, I felt bad for Tatum.Right, because Jayson Tatum also had an extraordinary
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night.
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He nearly hit the 50-point mark, which is nothing short of elite.
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But...But he still ends up on the losing side.Exactly.
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And here's the thing-Tatum's performance was stellar, but the problem wasn't his
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effort.
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It was the defensive lapses from the Celtics overall.
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They couldn't contain Mitchell or adjust fast enough to stop the Cavaliers from
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seizing the momentum.Adjustments, man.
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That's the word right there.
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Which brings me to the real question-what was Joe Missoula doing on the sidelines?
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Like, did he just...
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forget we're supposed to make changes mid-game?It's a valid critique.
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Missoula has shown promise as a coach, but his in-game adjustments, particularly
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against high-pressure players like Mitchell, have been lacking.
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It's one thing to have a solid game plan going in, but when that plan gets
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dismantled?
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You've got to rethink, re-strategize...
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something.Right.
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It's like, c'mon, Joe, help your team out here!
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And, you know, with the Nuggets coming up next-whew, that's not getting any easier.
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They've got Jokic.
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You can't mess around with that guy.No doubt.
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If the Celtics want to bounce back, they need to use this game as a learning
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opportunity.
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They've got the talent, no question there, but it's all about execution.
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Tighten the defense, improve rotations, and make those adjustments count.Okay,
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but real quick-before we move on-how good was it to see a game like that?
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Mitchell making magic, Tatum putting up numbers, the drama...
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this is why we love basketball, right?Speaking of incredible
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performances, how about Nikola Jokic?
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Nineteen assists in a game-that's just next-level basketball IQ.
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It's plays like that which remind you why these players are the best of the best.It
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really is.
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I mean, Jokic is redefining what it means to be a playmaker at the center position.
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Think about it: 19 assists, creating 41 points on top of his own 18.
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He's orchestrating that Nuggets offense like a conductor leads a symphony.
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It's-it's honestly artistic.Right?
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It's like every move he makes, every pass, it's all calculated.
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Even his little no-look passes, man-it's straight-up wizardry.
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You can't help but just sit back and go,
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"How?"
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Well, it's all about his ability to manipulate defenses.
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Jokic isn't just passing to an open man; he's creating openings.
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The way he uses fakes-his eyes, his body language-he's outthinking defenders on
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every play.
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And his teammates?
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They've built such a deep chemistry with him that they know exactly where to
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be.Exactly.
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It's that trust, man.
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And, you know, it gets me thinking-have we ever seen a big man this good at
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playmaking?
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Like, I love Tim Duncan and all, but Jokic is out here making passes that, I
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swear, even some guards can't pull off.Very few can, and I mean that.
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We're talking about a guy whose vision and precision rival players like Magic
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Johnson or Jason Kidd.
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And he's a center.
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Jokic isn't just rewriting his own position-he's raising the bar for what
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basketball IQ really means on a court.And what about those angles he finds?
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Like, how does he see things no one else can?
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It's wild.It's innate.
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His ability to anticipate not just his teammates' movements but where defenders
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will be is almost...well, clairvoyant.
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It's like watching someone play chess while everyone else is just playing
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checkers.Man, chess is right!
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You know, this is the kind of stuff that makes basketball so much more than a
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sport, right?
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It's art.
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Jokic is like Picasso out there-if Picasso could throw a behind-the-back
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dime to Christian Braun on a fast break.And that artistry is part of why
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he's so captivating to watch.
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Every pass, every play-it's a reminder that basketball is as much about
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creativity as it is about strategy.
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Jokic blends the two in a way that few players ever have.You know what?
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You just nailed it.
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Watching Jokic is a reminder of why we-we love the game in the first place.
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It's that beauty, that...
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unexpected brilliance that comes outta nowhere.Absolutely.
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And that's what makes games like his 19-assist night so special.
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It's a moment where the lines between sport and spectacle blur, reminding us
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why basketball matters.
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Not just to us as fans, but as an art form.Well said, man.
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I think that's the perfect note to end on.
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Basketball as art, with Jokic out here dropping masterpieces on the
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regular.Couldn't agree more.
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And that's why we'll keep watching, keep cheering, and keep talking about it right
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here.
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This has been an incredible episode.
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Thanks for tuning in, everyone.
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Join us at thePeachBasket.net and again next week on Swish and Tell!Yeah, for
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real.
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We'll catch you next time.
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Stay safe, stay positive, and, like always, keep shootin' your shot.
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