Going Commando Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 I find myself having difficulty caring about the plight of second tier teams like Boston, Philly, Houston, and Minnesota because Golden State is unbeatable. And I think it's true for most others because this thread keeps falling off the front page of the tailgate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 At risk of sounding like Scott Brooks, it’s a long season. Celtics are dealing with a lot of yout and stars returning from major injuries. That’s a recipe for inconsistency. Their players and coaches have to figure out how to share the ball when so many of their players can dribble and create. They might end up needing to build in more motion than Stevens prefers just to make the ball move more naturally. By the end of the season, if they stay healthy, they’ll be a monster. Philly has a puzzle to solve as well. A lot of young talent that’s developing around Butler and Embiid, both of which have very well rounded skills. They may have to simply wait (years) until Fultz and Simmons can do more than drive and kick. They might also become a great deal better during the course of the season. I don’t think they’re window is open yet, they’re more of a future team. Houston is screwed if they can’t add defenders that can shoot. Minny is screwed. They traded away players in a gamble and lost. They remain Basketball Siberia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Do Itch Big Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Warriors going to beat the Clips by 20 tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 If Boston keeps playing defense, they'll stay in the hunt until they figure things out offensively. The four seed is their floor. The three seed feels likely. The two seed is still doable. Their problem is long term ceiling. Milwaukee and Philly aren't going anywhere. Kawhi might go to LA, but he might stay in Toronto. Peter is right that if Jayson Tatum's ceiling isn't up there with Embiid's and Kawhi's and Giannis's, then Boston is in a bind. And I don't think that it is. They've got a brutal decision to make this summer with Kyrie. Letting him walk feels unacceptable. Trading him for a good short and long term return feels unlikely. But five year maxing him feels dooming. The Hayward signing has blown up on them. It was a questionable, low upside move from the get go and the worst case scenario played out. This is one of the worst contracts in the NBA now. The Horford contract is pretty bad too, but they can get out of it as soon as this summer, potentially, in time to pay their young guys. But the real problem here is replacing Horford for cheap. And that Sacramento pick isn't looking as good as it used to any more. Their offense is actually legit and they're getting better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 I don't know how easy it is to just replace Horford. He does a lot for someone who doesn't demand much on offense You could make a strong argument that he is their most important player, for this year anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Agreed that Houston is screwed. Their window closed last year and the Chris Paul contract is about a year away from being one of the worst in the NBA. Harden isn't right either. This team has a terrible hangover from last season. They're stuck and they're not going to be able to get out of this mess gracefully because of the CP3 deal. Minnesota is screwed too, but I don't think it was because they traded away Dunn and Lavine. Lavine is a volume guy for bad teams. I think they're screwed because of the decision to max Wiggins. I think this is the worst contract in the NBA now that Joakim Noah is bought out. He's a sub replacement level player and he's making max money. You can't survive that. Their one saving grace is that KAT is still so young that they're going to get a lot of bites at the apple to try and fix this. But Thibs is going to have to go first. Philly is going to be good this year and challenge everyone in the East, whether or not they beat them. But I agree that they're still a future team. And I think they have a very dangerous decision to make about Jimmy Butler this summer. Even more dangerous than Boston's decision with Kyrie in some ways. I also think that their build is on shakier ground than I originally expected. Simmons and Embiid are transcendent talents. But they're such flawed players it's a little scary to try and project their potential. You have to wish Embiid was a smarter player and that he had better biomechanics. Being a wing who can't shoot is almost unworkable too. I get that Simmons's ability to run point makes him different, but it also means that Philly can't play him with PGs that can't shoot. And there aren't as many shooters/balanced off ball players who can defend their position at the PG position as there are at the SF position. It's a trickier build. And I don't have a ton of faith in Philly's braintrust, nor their coaching. They're definitely not stuck yet, but they could easily end up that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 9 minutes ago, StillUnknown said: I don't know how easy it is to just replace Horford. He does a lot for someone who doesn't demand much on offense You could make a strong argument that he is their most important player, for this year anyway. He does. And he will be tough to replace. But you also can't keep paying a 32 year old scrapper and glue guy 30 million a season. There are no good solutions to this conundrum if you look at Boston's cap future of max PG + three max wings, except striking oil with a Clint Capela-type draft pick. That's why I think Robert Williams is going to have to come up big for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Just now, stevemcqueen1 said: He does. And he will be tough to replace. But you also can't keep paying a 32 year old scrapper and glue guy 30 million a season. There are no good solutions to this conundrum if you look at Boston's cap future of max PG + three max wings, except striking oil with a Clint Capela-type draft pick. That's why I think Robert Williams is going to have to come up big for them. I still say they should approach the Pelicans and tell them to take their pick minus Tatum for AD can't see any other team being able to match the package boston can throw together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Do Itch Big Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 He isn’t. He consistently gets outplayed by Tristian thompson in the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 4 minutes ago, StillUnknown said: I still say they should approach the Pelicans and tell them to take their pick minus Tatum for AD can't see any other team being able to match the package boston can throw together New Orleans has three years to figure it out with Davis and they'll have the DPVE to offer. He's the best young player in the NBA. They're going to offer him the DPVE and they won't even think about trading him until he turns that down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said: If Boston keeps playing defense, they'll stay in the hunt until they figure things out offensively. The four seed is their floor. The three seed feels likely. The two seed is still doable. Their problem is long term ceiling. Milwaukee and Philly aren't going anywhere. Kawhi might go to LA, but he might stay in Toronto. Peter is right that if Jayson Tatum's ceiling isn't up there with Embiid's and Kawhi's and Giannis's, then Boston is in a bind. And I don't think that it is. They've got a brutal decision to make this summer with Kyrie. Letting him walk feels unacceptable. Trading him for a good short and long term return feels unlikely. But five year maxing him feels dooming. - Tatum has a chance to be a a super star scoring wing. Part of his slow start this season is that he's trying to add too much to his game and the team around him being disjointed. He's barely started his second season, he's not supposed to be efficient yet. - I don't think they want trade anyone this season, even though I'm sure Ainge is getting twitchy just thinking about it. Boston wants to make a run with a loaded roster they likely can't keep beyond this season. - Have the Celtics traded away their draft picks? Because according to this they still have the following picks coming to them at the end of this season: Philadelphia 76ers’s top-1 protected pick or Sacramento Kings’ top-1 protected pick Memphis Grizzlies (If pick falls outside top-8) Los Angeles Clippers (If pick falls outside top-14) Boston Celtics’ own pick It's unlikely they need any of those picks to turn into stars so it doesn't matter if these end up being great lottery picks. They just need cheap quality role players to fill out the roster and offset their larger contracts. 1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said: The Hayward signing has blown up on them. It was a questionable, low upside move from the get go and the worst case scenario played out. This is one of the worst contracts in the NBA now. All depends on how he looks at the end of the season, but he's easily their worst contract right now. 1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said: The Horford contract is pretty bad too, but they can get out of it as soon as this summer, potentially, in time to pay their young guys. But the real problem here is replacing Horford for cheap. Horford's spacing and passing is a major part of their offense and he's the anchor of their defense. I don't think they'll be in a hurry to get rid of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 3 hours ago, Destino said: At risk of sounding like Scott Brooks, it’s a long season. Celtics are dealing with a lot of yout and stars returning from major injuries. That’s a recipe for inconsistency. Their players and coaches have to figure out how to share the ball when so many of their players can dribble and create. They might end up needing to build in more motion than Stevens prefers just to make the ball move more naturally. By the end of the season, if they stay healthy, they’ll be a monster. Philly has a puzzle to solve as well. A lot of young talent that’s developing around Butler and Embiid, both of which have very well rounded skills. They may have to simply wait (years) until Fultz and Simmons can do more than drive and kick. They might also become a great deal better during the course of the season. I don’t think they’re window is open yet, they’re more of a future team. Houston is screwed if they can’t add defenders that can shoot. Minny is screwed. They traded away players in a gamble and lost. They remain Basketball Siberia. I will point out that just adding motion isn't a trivial thing to do. Players have to be able to see which cut to make, which pass to make, and hit shots off of movement. Kyrie nor Horford have ever played with much movement. I'd be surprised if they were very good at it. The younger players, there is just no way to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Wtffffffff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 (edited) 2k gotta add that animation ASAP I hope we get to know what happened to that kid some day Edited November 13, 2018 by StillUnknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Really wishing I didn't see video of Caris LeVert's injury. damn shame, he was just starting to break out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Yea. I saw Paul George's and Gordon Heyward's live. I'm not looking at that if I don't have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Nice win for the Pels tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 1 hour ago, CRobi21 said: Wtffffffff He looked to like he had decent form from the line earlier this season. How does this guy keep forgetting how to shoot? I’ve never seen anything like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 I'm ready to believe aliens killed the real Fultz at some point last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 13 hours ago, StillUnknown said: 2k gotta add that animation ASAP I hope we get to know what happened to that kid some day Somebody was giving Hanlen a hard time on twitter about how Fultz's game looked, especially after the glowing things Hanlen said about Fultz and his improvement this summer. In response, Hanlen said that Fultz was still hurt. Whether that is true or not (i.e. was Hanlen making stuff up to make himself look better), but it made the Philly news cycle and upset Fultz and his camp, which is pushing the narative that he was hurt, but is now better and just needs to keep working. Hanlen cost himself a client because he couldn't ignore a troll on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, Destino said: He looked to like he had decent form from the line earlier this season. How does this guy keep forgetting how to shoot? I’ve never seen anything like this. He looked like pretty much what he has been doing this year in other shots that game, including FTs. Either the ball started to slip on him as he was coming up, or he was thinking about his mechanics, had forgotten to do something (small) he was supposed to do on the way up and was pulling it back down to do it again, but then realized people were moving, and he had to shoot or there would be a call for a lane violation. I'm not quite sure why people are making a big deal out of that shot as if he didn't take other more normal looking shots in the game. (Just looking, it looks like the timing of the extension of his arms and legs straightening are off. I'd bet, he wasn't happy with it and was going to pull it back and do it again, but everybody had moved and so he just shot.) Once you've lost the muscle memory, it isn't trivial to get it back. It'll take reps. Edited November 13, 2018 by PeterMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 It's not a good sign that he's still thinking and not doing and that he's aiming his shots. He was supposed to be further along that this. He's eventually going to need a change of scenery, if he doesn't already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Draymond stole the rebound from Durant, tried to go coast to coast with it, against numbers, and turned it over in comical fashion. Durant had been having foul trouble all game. They had a chance to end it there and steal the win. Instead they lose in OT after Durant fouls out. Draymond deserved to get his ass reamed out by his teammates for that. He was being a prick and his stupidity lost them that game. That team shouldn't fall to pieces like that just because Curry is out. They've got some low key chemistry issues stemming from the fact that Draymond is a douche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 They remind me of that rich kid who is about to pop, and is basically trying to convince everyone he's fine. They always sell that, but I never wholly believed it. Most teams that are successful to this degree start to hate each other after awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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