NBA Thread 2020-21 Season | Page 44 | Syracusefan.com

NBA Thread 2020-21 Season

Why did we give Austin Rivers 3 years 10 million. I want to keep every inch years of capspace available for future. Nothing more than 1 year.

Were there any options on that. Seems there was many team options granted this summer.
 
The Celtics series was the low point of Gasol by far... as was all his play when the continued after the Lockdown. I agree he was a liability. Nick Nurse kept playing Gasol because he could not trust Ibaka on Defence. It was a strategic mistake on my part, but does tell you things about Ibaka's regressed defence.

But as I mentioned in my above post something happened to him in the Covid break -- he lost a lot of weight, but yet was unfit to play early on. And then he put back the weight as the playoffs continued and was still really lethargic (even by his standards)... you could tell something was wrong with him because he was getting really frustrated with himself. It could have just been old.

But in the recent following periods he was also a positive / good player. He was not "living" off his name as you put it all the time.
2019 Playoffs (especially first 3 rounds). Great defender and facilitator on offence although he could not really score.
2019 World Championships
Jan - March 2020.
Aron Baynes was such a good signing for Toronto.
He is a player similar to Gasol but younger so he has more in the tank.

Plus his parody Twitter account is hilarious.


It’s a great follow.
 
So my high level analysis of Gasol:
1) The advanced metrics like Gasol quite a bit. They all suggest he is a really good defender. His on/off court stats are very good. Raptors were always stronger on/off with Gasol than Ibaka, and there were many debates between the two on RealGM Raptors.
2) That being said those numbers are hard to explain. He does look lethargic very often, and it seems like Ibaka is doing more out there. But Ibaka is not a great defender in space, while Gasol is an extremely smart defender in space despite being slow. But when Gasol gets beat its because he is slow -- and those do stick out. Gasol did a great job neutralizing Vucevic and Embiid in the title run.
3) The Celtics really took advantage of Gasol or Gasol was totally burnt ... one of the other (more on that later) because he was clearly a liability in that series.
4) I can see Gasol getting destroyed by the fanbase in LA like Green has been, even if the metrics are solid.
5) He is an epic drinker as evidenced by the Raptors parade.. Google "Marc Gasol Raptors Celebration"


In terms of being lethargic.
- When he arrived to the Raptors in 2019 the first month or so he was slow.
- However it picked up by the playoffs and he was instrumental in the Raps defensive schemes against Orlando, Philly, Milwaukee. He was certainly a player that put us over the top.
- He continued the great play into the summer of 2019, being one of the best players at the 2019 World Championship that was won by Spain.
- When the 19/20 season started he was really tired. He looked bad out there -- but the metrics were still fairly good. He got injured for about a month.
- After the injury he came back rejuvenated and played really good for the Raptors right up to the Covid Break in March. It was his best period as a Raptor.
- When basketball came back in July Gasol looked great body wise. He looked to have lost about 25 pounds. But for some reason Nurse did not play him much in those first 8 games back -- and he still looked lethargic out there despite the weight loss. My theory -- pure speculation -- is that he did get Covid and this led to the weight loss.
- He started to gain weight again through the playoffs but continued to look tired. The Celtics series was clearly his low point as a Raptor. Nurse was afraid of playing Ibaka more because of his mental gaffes on the defensive end -- while Gasol does not have the same mental lapses he has body lapses.

It's a low risk signing for the Lakers. In the right matchup Gasol can be an asset in the playoffs -- if his body is co-operating.

All of that is awesome intel, thx! Was thinking I hope he has been getting in shape. Short turnaround. Take the Lakers under reg season 47 wins.
 
Why did we give Austin Rivers 3 years 10 million. I want to keep every inch years of capspace available for future. Nothing more than 1 year.

The last two years are non-guaranteed; it essentially is a 1 year deal. Even better than a 1 year deal actually because they can waive him whenever they want or they can keep him for all 3 years if it proves to be a bargain.
 
Harrell/Gasol should be an upgrade over Dwight/McGee, but I don't think it's as much of an upgrade as people in the media do. Gasol is basically just a guy at this point; a smart guy, but just a guy nonetheless.

An upgrade offensively for sure...I don’t think defensively though.

McGee and Howard were both big time shot blockers, and McGee actually moves pretty well for his height too.

I think our rim protection went from elite to average.

We definitely got a lot better offensively though with Shroder, Harrell, and Gasol. Perimeter D should still be solid with KCP back, and adding Matthews for Green.

Will seemingly see a lot more AD at the 5 though. I can’t see Gasol getting huge minutes at this stage. Seems like an 18 mpg guy or so.
 
CuseRunner is the opposite of Bo. He doesn’t know anything.

Literally NOTHING. Which would be fine if he didn’t take himself seriously and act like an expert, and be a complete blowhard who constantly repeats what he “thinks”.

Worst poster of all time.
 
An upgrade offensively for sure...I don’t think defensively though.

McGee and Howard were both big time shot blockers, and McGee actually moves pretty well for his height too.

I think our rim protection went from elite to average.

We definitely got a lot better offensively though with Shroder, Harrell, and Gasol. Perimeter D should still be solid with KCP back, and adding Matthews for Green.

Will seemingly see a lot more AD at the 5 though. I can’t see Gasol getting huge minutes at this stage. Seems like an 18 mpg guy or so.

Agreed. And the Schroder/Harrell combo should be a huge lift for what was oftentimes a brutal offense without Lebron on the floor.
 
Do you know what kind of free agents sign with teams that go 20-62? None. So what's the point of cap space then? In order to get guys to come on board, they need to see progress. Not like you hire Thibs to be the guy to lead a tank job.


What do you think of what the Pels did? Still need some help on the wing. 3 & D help for sure
 
I can believe anyone engages him. It’s like attempting to reason with a potato.

It was amusing at times in other threads, but his act has completely worn out for me. I put him on ignore. Pretty sure he’s the only poster I’ve done that with.
 
So, after all the changes so far, here are my top teams in the NBA for next year to get to the title.

Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nets (if KD is healthy). Note, I would have added the Dubs here before Klay went down. Longshot are the Mavs.

Here are the best players in the NBA: Bron, AD, Kawhi, KD (if healthy), Giannis, Steph (if healthy), Luka, Harden.

Denver will still not get over the hump. Heat will not replicate last year's success in the playoffs.

People can critique the Clips pick, but they were up 3-1 against Denver and just needed a few buckets to secure that series on a team that clearly hated each other.

Team that will be worse than predicted? Suns. That 8-0 in the bubble will totally overhype them. The fact that they don't get critiqued for picking Ayton over Luka is ridiculous. They did not pick Hakeem to MJ.
 
What do you think of what the Pels did? Still need some help on the wing. 3 & D help for sure
Essentially swapped out Favors/Okafor for Adams/Hernangomez at the 5. I'll take that. Hopefully Hayes becomes the backup 5 and shows that he's ready to be a starter by next year so not forced to overpay to keep Adams. Also needs some minutes in there for Zion to be the small ball 5.

Guard rotation looks pretty set with some combination of Ball, Bledsoe, Reddick, Hart and Alexander-Walker. Drafted Kira Lewis at the end of the lottery as well. Ball, Bledsoe and NAW all have flexibility to play either backcourt position. Honestly seems like maybe a little too much depth since NAW and Lewis are going to need some minutes to gain experience. Hart may be strictly a 3 nowadays as those 15 mins behind Ingram are open and also a handful of mins where Ingram moves up to the 4.

Interested in how a jumbo lineup of Lonzo/NAW/Ingram/Zion/Adams would do. Certainly would get destroyed in the playoffs due to a lack of shooting but might be fun to watch in the regular season.
 
So, after all the changes so far, here are my top teams in the NBA for next year to get to the title.

Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nets (if KD is healthy). Note, I would have added the Dubs here before Klay went down. Longshot are the Mavs.

Here are the best players in the NBA: Bron, AD, Kawhi, KD (if healthy), Giannis, Steph (if healthy), Luka, Harden.

Denver will still not get over the hump. Heat will not replicate last year's success in the playoffs.

People can critique the Clips pick, but they were up 3-1 against Denver and just needed a few buckets to secure that series on a team that clearly hated each other.

Team that will be worse than predicted? Suns. That 8-0 in the bubble will totally overhype them. The fact that they don't get critiqued for picking Ayton over Luka is ridiculous. They did not pick Hakeem to MJ.
Suns will go as Chris Paul goes. If he's injured and brittle then they are irrelevant. If he was the version from last year then they will be good. Good is relative because it is still means a 7th seed in the West but that's a boon for that franchise.
 
So, after all the changes so far, here are my top teams in the NBA for next year to get to the title.

Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nets (if KD is healthy). Note, I would have added the Dubs here before Klay went down. Longshot are the Mavs.

Here are the best players in the NBA: Bron, AD, Kawhi, KD (if healthy), Giannis, Steph (if healthy), Luka, Harden.

Denver will still not get over the hump. Heat will not replicate last year's success in the playoffs.

People can critique the Clips pick, but they were up 3-1 against Denver and just needed a few buckets to secure that series on a team that clearly hated each other.

Team that will be worse than predicted? Suns. That 8-0 in the bubble will totally overhype them. The fact that they don't get critiqued for picking Ayton over Luka is ridiculous. They did not pick Hakeem to MJ.

Yeah, Ayton is fine, and he probably projects better now than he did after his first year, but he is def not Hakeem to Luka's MJ.

I do think they could be a pretty solid team next year though; the point God is going to really help them
 
Essentially swapped out Favors/Okafor for Adams/Hernangomez at the 5. I'll take that. Hopefully Hayes becomes the backup 5 and shows that he's ready to be a starter by next year so not forced to overpay to keep Adams. Also needs some minutes in there for Zion to be the small ball 5.

Guard rotation looks pretty set with some combination of Ball, Bledsoe, Reddick, Hart and Alexander-Walker. Drafted Kira Lewis at the end of the lottery as well. Ball, Bledsoe and NAW all have flexibility to play either backcourt position. Honestly seems like maybe a little too much depth since NAW and Lewis are going to need some minutes to gain experience. Hart may be strictly a 3 nowadays as those 15 mins behind Ingram are open and also a handful of mins where Ingram moves up to the 4.

Interested in how a jumbo lineup of Lonzo/NAW/Ingram/Zion/Adams would do. Certainly would get destroyed in the playoffs due to a lack of shooting but might be fun to watch in the regular season.

It seems that many are already frustrated with Hayes but he probably should have been a G League guy last year. Huge upside athletically but extremely raw and broke down on the Defensive side a ton last year. He has a decent stroke at the free throw line and hoping he can continue to develop offensively but he has a long ways to go to develop on D and just an athlete with great dunks. Van Gundy won't play him if he is a huge liability on defense

I was high on NAW early last year but he was all over the map with regard to his rookie year. Loved Lonzo until his bubble play last year. Also sounds like they will use Bledsoe to facilitate the half court O but Lonzo to push the ball a lot as well.

Clearly they are banking on Zion and BI to carry a heavy load. Love J hart too as a rotation guy, plays hard and rebounds very well for a guy his size
 
So, after all the changes so far, here are my top teams in the NBA for next year to get to the title.

Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nets (if KD is healthy). Note, I would have added the Dubs here before Klay went down. Longshot are the Mavs.

Here are the best players in the NBA: Bron, AD, Kawhi, KD (if healthy), Giannis, Steph (if healthy), Luka, Harden.

Denver will still not get over the hump. Heat will not replicate last year's success in the playoffs.

People can critique the Clips pick, but they were up 3-1 against Denver and just needed a few buckets to secure that series on a team that clearly hated each other.

Team that will be worse than predicted? Suns. That 8-0 in the bubble will totally overhype them. The fact that they don't get critiqued for picking Ayton over Luka is ridiculous. They did not pick Hakeem to MJ.
Once again the West will be a bloodbath. Of the playoff teams only OKC took a big enough step back to knock themselves out of playoff contention. Houston might, remains to be seen what they do. Dallas might be a little vulnerable with the Porzingus injury, but I'm not betting against Luka.

Other than that though, Grizzlies will grow up a little, New Orleans got better, Suns got better, Portland looks in better position to defend their spot, Warriors will reenter the fray. I don't have much hope for the Kings, Wolves or Spurs, but man, easy games in the west will be few and far between.
 
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Essentially swapped out Favors/Okafor for Adams/Hernangomez at the 5. I'll take that. Hopefully Hayes becomes the backup 5 and shows that he's ready to be a starter by next year so not forced to overpay to keep Adams. Also needs some minutes in there for Zion to be the small ball 5.

Guard rotation looks pretty set with some combination of Ball, Bledsoe, Reddick, Hart and Alexander-Walker. Drafted Kira Lewis at the end of the lottery as well. Ball, Bledsoe and NAW all have flexibility to play either backcourt position. Honestly seems like maybe a little too much depth since NAW and Lewis are going to need some minutes to gain experience. Hart may be strictly a 3 nowadays as those 15 mins behind Ingram are open and also a handful of mins where Ingram moves up to the 4.

Interested in how a jumbo lineup of Lonzo/NAW/Ingram/Zion/Adams would do. Certainly would get destroyed in the playoffs due to a lack of shooting but might be fun to watch in the regular season.
Did Hill get moved already or did you forget about him?
 
So, after all the changes so far, here are my top teams in the NBA for next year to get to the title.

Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nets (if KD is healthy). Note, I would have added the Dubs here before Klay went down. Longshot are the Mavs.

Here are the best players in the NBA: Bron, AD, Kawhi, KD (if healthy), Giannis, Steph (if healthy), Luka, Harden.

Denver will still not get over the hump. Heat will not replicate last year's success in the playoffs.

People can critique the Clips pick, but they were up 3-1 against Denver and just needed a few buckets to secure that series on a team that clearly hated each other.

Team that will be worse than predicted? Suns. That 8-0 in the bubble will totally overhype them. The fact that they don't get critiqued for picking Ayton over Luka is ridiculous. They did not pick Hakeem to MJ.
Because of the local connection, Phoenix's Ayton over Luka pick was the only semi-defensible way for a team to think about things, and yeah, Ayton hasn't been a total flop but Luka's on a different level.

I still think it was clear Luka was the obvious great in that draft though.
 
Agreed. And the Schroder/Harrell combo should be a huge lift for what was oftentimes a brutal offense without Lebron on the floor.

Will be interesting to see our closing lineup.

Seems to be:
Shroder
KCP/and maybe occasionally Matthews if he’s hot
LeBron
Kuzma/Harrell
Davis

On paper, that looks like an awfully tough squad!
 

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