NBA Thread 2021-22 Season

[STEVEHOLT]

Team's a mess. They don't have it. This group has run its course.

Just makes you wonder how far you can go when your best player and scorer is a smallish guard .. curry being an other worldly shooter a partial exception…. This is why I wasn’t thrilled with the Jalen Green pick ..even if he ends up being a total stud , so what …

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Team's a mess. They don't have it. This group has run its course.

Agreed, coach included. Nobody seems to be on the same page.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Just makes you wonder how far you can go when your best player and scorer is a smallish guard .. curry being an other worldly shooter a partial exception…. This is why I wasn’t thrilled with the Jalen Green pick ..even if he ends up being a total stud , so what …

yeah but Houston can add pieces as they go though. Sure, Mobley probably would have been the better choice but Green is very talented. I think Houston needs to deal with some of the bad actors on the team as well and the 45 million dollar elephant in the room if they can. Just don't know what you do with Wall though. Only 1 year left right?

Agree with your post though, need a bunch of versatile 6-7/6-9 guys in the NBA now who can defend multiple positions and shoot as well

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Just makes you wonder how far you can go when your best player and scorer is a smallish guard .. curry being an other worldly shooter a partial exception…. This is why I wasn’t thrilled with the Jalen Green pick ..even if he ends up being a total stud , so what …

Dennis Lindsey did some really stupid things as GM.

He paired the smallish guard with a smaller guard.

Despite having Gobert, he used multiple first round picks on back up centers. Oh, and he gave Favors their full MLE to back up Gobert, and then they needed to trade that contract away and have up a 2nd rounder to get out from under that money.

They struck gold getting Royce O'Neale as a UFA, and then decided that was all they needed for 3-D guys. Never addressed it during the draft or free agency for 3 off seasons. 3!

Snyder's complete inability to adjust is another fatal flaw, but the roster has had these same issues for multiple seasons in a row.

I swear some of these things aren't hard.

Mitchell is a small 2... put him with a bigger 1.

Perimeter defense is a problem... use draft picks to target 3 and D guys in case you can't get them in FA.

Gobert has a max contract... find the best vet minimum 5 you can to be his backup (to their credit, they did fine there this season).

You struggle when other teams go small ball in the postseason... spend some time in the off-season identifying what a small ball lineup could look like for you, and experiment with it during the season when the stakes are lower.

These feel like obvious things. Wisdom of fans is sometimes right.

Now Jazz fans have to trust Ainge to make something happen I guess.

 

[Melancer46]

Dennis Lindsey did some really stupid things as GM.

He paired the smallish guard with a smaller guard.

Despite having Gobert, he used multiple first round picks on back up centers. Oh, and he gave Favors their full MLE to back up Gobert, and then they needed to trade that contract away and have up a 2nd rounder to get out from under that money.

They struck gold getting Royce O'Neale as a UFA, and then decided that was all they needed for 3-D guys. Never addressed it during the draft or free agency for 3 off seasons. 3!

Snyder's complete inability to adjust is another fatal flaw, but the roster has had these same issues for multiple seasons in a row.

I swear some of these things aren't hard.

Mitchell is a small 2... put him with a bigger 1.

Perimeter defense is a problem... use draft picks to target 3 and D guys in case you can't get them in FA.

Gobert has a max contract... find the best vet minimum 5 you can to be his backup (to their credit, they did fine there this season).

You struggle when other teams go small ball in the postseason... spend some time in the off-season identifying what a small ball lineup could look like for you, and experiment with it during the season when the stakes are lower.

These feel like obvious things. Wisdom of fans is sometimes right.

Now Jazz fans have to trust Ainge to make something happen I guess.

There's so many examples of GMs doing stuff like this that make me think, at least briefly, "I'm really supposed to believe these guys do a lot better job than a random intelligent NBA fan?"

 

[OrangeDW]

The potential Suns-Warriors in the WCF excites me greatly as a casual fan.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

There's so many examples of GMs doing stuff like this that make me think, at least briefly, "I'm really supposed to believe these guys do a lot better job than a random intelligent NBA fan?"

For the most part I think these guys are pretty smart.

But every once in a while...

 

[Melancer46]

The potential Suns-Warriors in the WCF excites me greatly as a casual fan.

Thank god Golden State seems to finally be coming together because it looked like the West was going to be a snore for a while there. Hopefully both teams make it to the WCF healthy.

 

[Knicks411]

Snyder has yet to come up with a scheme to counter the drive and dish. If Gobert is supposed to cover the corner then have him do so. Too many guys wide open. Time after time.

I think it's hard to scheme up a defense if you're playing 4 traffic cones

 

[Knicks411]

yeah but Houston can add pieces as they go though. Sure, Mobley probably would have been the better choice but Green is very talented. I think Houston needs to deal with some of the bad actors on the team as well and the 45 million dollar elephant in the room if they can. Just don't know what you do with Wall though. Only 1 year left right?

Agree with your post though, need a bunch of versatile 6-7/6-9 guys in the NBA now who can defend multiple positions and shoot as well

It's like starting pitching in baseball; you can never have enough 6-8 guys who can shoot and play defense. You can theoretically play a lineup with 5 of them. (Toronto tries to do this)

 

[Cusefan0307]

Jordan Poole should have been most improved player. That guy couldn’t hit water from a boat his rookie season and he’s averaging 25 and 6 in the past 30 games.

Extremely intrigued to see how Kerr manages his lineup in the playoffs if everyone stays healthy. Deandre Ayton may be unplayable in that series if it gets that far.

I still think Milwaukee is going to roll everyone in the East.

 

[MikeSU02]

Jordan Poole should have been most improved player. That guy couldn’t hit water from a boat his rookie season and he’s averaging 25 and 6 in the past 30 games.

Extremely intrigued to see how Kerr manages his lineup in the playoffs if everyone stays healthy. Deandre Ayton may be unplayable in that series if it gets that far.

I still think Milwaukee is going to roll everyone in the East.

It's wild to me that Jordan Poole is just like the long lost splash brother after where he was. Wild.

It's quite a testament that Steph is willing to come off the bench as he gets rolled back into the lineup coming off of injury.

Agree with you on Milwaukee. Brooklyn and Boston are going to beat the snot out of each other and Milwaukee will be there waiting to take advantage of that and then roll who is ever left in the ECF.

Will say, I am ready for Ant Edwards to be appointment TV, though. He's fantastic. The Minny/Memphis series should be good.

 

[OrangeDW]

It's wild to me that Jordan Poole is just like the long lost splash brother after where he was. Wild.

It's quite a testament that Steph is willing to come off the bench as he gets rolled back into the lineup coming off of injury.

Agree with you on Milwaukee. Brooklyn and Boston are going to beat the snot out of each other and Milwaukee will be there waiting to take advantage of that and then roll who is ever left in the ECF.

Will say, I am ready for Ant Edwards to be appointment TV, though. He's fantastic. The Minny/Memphis series should be good.

I would give Philly a decent chance against the Bucks if Harden suddenly started playing like a superstar.

But it’s very possible that he’s just not that guy anymore?

 

[MikeSU02]

I would give Philly a decent chance against the Bucks if Harden suddenly started playing like a superstar.

But it’s very possible that he’s just not that guy anymore?

Still has his vision and can still old-man-game it to get some fouls called, but he doesn't look like he has nearly the same explosiveness at all.

That pass he had to Maxey in game one that was like 30 feet single bounce that Maxey finished with the reverse was just beautiful.

Also, until he proves he can come through when it really matters, I'm not betting on him.

 

[MikeSU02]

 

[OrangeDW]

Still has his vision and can still old-man-game it to get some fouls called, but he doesn't look like he has nearly the same explosiveness at all.

That pass he had to Maxey in game one that was like 30 feet single bounce that Maxey finished with the reverse was just beautiful.

Also, until he proves he can come through when it really matters, I'm not betting on him.

And he’s just not shooting it well. All year long he’s struggled there. 40% from the floor and 33% from 3 isn’t good enough.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

It's wild to me that Jordan Poole is just like the long lost splash brother after where he was. Wild.

It's quite a testament that Steph is willing to come off the bench as he gets rolled back into the lineup coming off of injury.

Agree with you on Milwaukee. Brooklyn and Boston are going to beat the snot out of each other and Milwaukee will be there waiting to take advantage of that and then roll who is ever left in the ECF.

Will say, I am ready for Ant Edwards to be appointment TV, though. He's fantastic. The Minny/Memphis series should be good.

Steph for 6th Man of the Year next season? Yesterday 34 points in 23 minutes. Insane.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think it's hard to scheme up a defense if you're playing 4 traffic cones

Trade the cones.

 

[Melancer46]

Jordan Poole should have been most improved player. That guy couldn’t hit water from a boat his rookie season and he’s averaging 25 and 6 in the past 30 games.

Extremely intrigued to see how Kerr manages his lineup in the playoffs if everyone stays healthy. Deandre Ayton may be unplayable in that series if it gets that far.

I still think Milwaukee is going to roll everyone in the East.

Poole was horrendous as a rookie but in terms of his per 36 numbers, he went from 22/4/3 on 58% TS% last season to 22/5/4 on 60% TS% this year.

I do think he improved more than his numbers suggest, but I think guys like Ja, Garland, Dejounte Murray, and Desmond Bane probably all have better cases to make. Ja increased his scoring by a ton to nearly 30 points per 36 minutes this year while improving his efficiency as well. Garland went from being so poor defensively last year that he had a negative BPM to being pretty good all-around this season. Murray made a leap to an All-Star caliber player this year, and Bane turned into a monster this year (though people generally don't like voting for 2nd year players).

As for Milwaukee, I tend to think Boston will make quick work of Brooklyn and will be a very difficult opponent for Milwaukee. I'm optimistic that Milwaukee can beat them, but that'll be a really tough series IMO. And I suspect Philly will be waiting for the winner in the ECF and Embiid, Harden, Maxey, and the refs will be a difficult task to beat too.

 

[Melancer46]

And he’s just not shooting it well. All year long he’s struggled there. 40% from the floor and 33% from 3 isn’t good enough.

The 3 point shooting has obviously fallen off a bit, but his finishing around the rim completely eroding is what's really killed him this season. I think I saw something the other day that he was like one of the 3 worst finishers at the rim in the halfcourt this season. That used to always be a strength of his.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Poole was horrendous as a rookie but in terms of his per 36 numbers, he went from 22/4/3 on 58% TS% last season to 22/5/4 on 60% TS% this year.

I do think he improved more than his numbers suggest, but I think guys like Ja, Garland, Dejounte Murray, and Desmond Bane probably all have better cases to make. Ja increased his scoring by a ton to nearly 30 points per 36 minutes this year while improving his efficiency as well. Garland went from being so poor defensively last year that he had a negative BPM to being pretty good all-around this season. Murray made a leap to an All-Star caliber player this year, and Bane turned into a monster this year (though people generally don't like voting for 2nd year players).

As for Milwaukee, I tend to think Boston will make quick work of Brooklyn and will be a very difficult opponent for Milwaukee. I'm optimistic that Milwaukee can beat them, but that'll be a really tough series IMO. And I suspect Philly will be waiting for the winner in the ECF and Embiid, Harden, Maxey, and the refs will be a difficult task to beat too.

2 thoughts, I'd give it to Garland for 1.

For 2, the Jazz passed on drafting Bane so they could select their 3rd string center with their first round pick.

 

[Melancer46]

2 thoughts, I'd give it to Garland for 1.

For 2, the Jazz passed on drafting Bane so they could select their 3rd string center with their first round pick.

I’m not super mad because we ended up with Grayson and he’s been pretty good, but I was hyping up my fellow Bucks fans on Herb Jones so much in the lead up to the draft so I’m still kinda sad we traded our pick away when we had a chance to take him.

And I’ll never forgive the front office for drafting DJ Wilson over John Collins.

 

[Knicks411]

Trade the cones.

There's one we'd take in New york for sure

The 3 point shooting has obviously fallen off a bit, but his finishing around the rim completely eroding is what's really killed him this season. I think I saw something the other day that he was like one of the 3 worst finishers at the rim in the halfcourt this season. That used to always be a strength of his.

I saw that stat too. Hard to believe. He's still an incredible passer, but the iso superstar scorer is gone

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Jimmy Butler with an outstanding game.

 

[samspann1]