|
On December 21 2013 07:47 Ace wrote:
Mike Malone didn't start playing Isaiah Thomas heavy minutes until Vazquez was traded. I'm not giving him a lot of credit for anything.
The Warriors were good, but looked even better because they faced an injured Denver team in the 1st round that went from legit contender to fodder. Harrison Barnes played great that series and as now lost.
It's still December though, so lets see what they look like in February when everyone is healthy.
They're playing too much streetball. I get the advantages of just letting guys play but you can see in the amount of turnovers the Dubs commit each game that they're lacking structure offensively.
You can get away with it against the worse teams but it's no surprise the Dubs have such a poor record vs teams +.500.
They're ill-disciplined on both sides of the ball and it's costing them games. Too much reaching defensively instead of just trying to stay in front of the man; too much losing their man on the perimeter leading to open threes; and not enough commitment to closing out on shooters. If you watch the Dubs in November vs December the difference in D is quite... horrifying!
Injuries haven't helped but defense is about attitude and right now the Dubs are playing lazy. They're harking back to the Nellie days where they just try to outgun teams. That shit doesn't work in the modern NBA. You have to be committed on defense if you want to win consistently.
Offensively they're just running too many iso's. They're not playing to their strengths and have become too reliant on outside shooting (as good as they are at it).
This is why I really think they need to move Lee. He just doesn't fit with the Dubs' system and he's not the type of guy you can win championships with. He's a typical empty stats guy who is good for the regular season but who becomes a liability against the elite teams. Only problem is he probably has a top 5 worst contract in the NBA so moving him for any sort of value will be tough. Do you keep him as a net neutral type guy (at best) or explore options? Maybe the FO is already doing that but who knows?
I don't want to rag on Lee too much--he's but one of a range of problems the Dubs have encountered. The Dubs have enough offensive weapons and he is surplus to requirements.
The Dubs need depth at the PG--someone who can lighten Curry's load and facilitate an offense while he sits. Nothing dramatic, like a Ridnour type guy. They need a PF who defends and is competent on offense. They won't get a player with Lee's offensive tools if they do move Lee but a Thad Young type guy is what they need IMO.
The issue becomes, if you do move Lee, you'd likely have to package a young talent like Barnes to make absorbing his contract worth it. That's a big call to make. Barnes is in a big slump but is still very intriguing given his physical tools.
Like you say it is still December and the Dubs have time to turn it around. I think they'll stay patients and see what's available for the assets they have. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some tweaking around before the deadline--particularly if they're still hovering between the .500 mark.
/essay.
|
On December 21 2013 12:40 jmbthirteen wrote:
Eh, I just don't think James Harden is the guy to lead them deep in the playoffs. They certainly are not a contender.
they're not contenders, they haven't finished building the team yet. it's the first or second year on the team for most of the players. my expectation is second rounder. definitely not contenders. i think harden is fine.
|
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1PvxkL2.jpg)
I love Lance
|
Having a look there realistically isn't much there. But here's who I'd target (some are a big stretch though):
Milsap (very unlikely, has one of NBA's best contracts for production he gives)
Taj Gibson (very unlikely)
Amir Johnson (doable, although unlikely Ujiri would take Lee. Would prob need third team)
Ersan Ilyasova (good buy low opportunity although he just got shut down with ankle injury. Bucks might be dumb enough to take on Lee with their terrible ownership)
Thad Young (unlikely)
I think the Dubs would be a lot more effective with any of those above guys. They're not necessarily better than Lee but they fit the Dub's system a lot better. I'd dangle Lee for Ersan and Ridnour and see what happens.
|
Jon Barry is a fucking moron lmao
ETA: Dubs with Thad Young would be pretty awesome. Stay away from Ridnour though.
|
Going from Hubie Brown to Jon Barry is just sad
|
![[image loading]](http://abload.de/img/lance4fe60.gif)
I love Lance pt. 2
|
lol, he is hilarious.
Never knew how good a passer he was either before this season.
|
On December 21 2013 13:46 AxionSteel wrote:lol, he is hilarious. Never knew how good a passer he was either before this season.
The best part about this pic is that I believe it was right after the jump ball between lance and Dwight where Dwight tipped it way too hard and it went out of bounds and Pacers ball. As they were setting up to jump, Lance was yapping at Dwight, you could see Dwight getting miffed.
|
Corey Brewer is just a net negative.
|
Would appreciate if these guys would actually commentate the game instead of nonstop theorycrafting about Kobe Bryants future.
|
Ok, so what do you do if you're Phoenix? They're too good to tank but not good enough to figure as a serious post-season threat. They're packed with assets:
Pick #1: Their own.
Pick #2: Minnesota Timberwolves, top-13 protected. Acquired in a July 2012 three-team trade that sent Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick to New Orleans.
Pick #3: Indiana Pacers, top-14 protected. Acquired in a July 2013 trade that sent Luis Scola to Indiana.
Pick #4: Washington Wizards, top-12 protected. Acquired in a trade last week that sent Marcin Gortat to Washington.
They have Plumlee who looks like he's going to be very useful (certainly better than Gortat). The Dragic/Bled backcourt has worked great for them. Then they have good role players like Tucker, the Morris twins.
Their only liability is Frye and even he's playing pretty well (and his contract isn't prohibitive).
So what moves would you make or try to make if you're Phx? Dare I say it, but would Melo work well with this team (if you could get him in with a core of Plumlee, Bled, Dragic and Tucker/Morris)?
|
Keep acquiring good players. Only trade for a star if one pops up. Get to the playoffs if possible.
Kevin Love leaving in 2 years
|
What stars would be a good fit for the team though? Would you take a flyer on someone like Melo if he could be had?
|
Melo isn't a star so I wouldn't want him on the team anyway
|
Indeed, no way the suns would go near him.
Lakers back to being fun again!!
|
Swaggy Pau celebration was great
|
On December 21 2013 14:54 Ace wrote:
Melo isn't a star so I wouldn't want him on the team anyway
Isn't he the sort of flawed player on the cusp they need to take a flyer on though? Getting a great players in the teens of the draft will be tough and trades like Harden are very, very rarely available. What star could they hope to get?
Durant/WB (<1% chance)
Aldridge (<1% chance)
Paul (<1% chance)
Curry (<1% chance)
PG (<1% chance)
Parker/TD (<0.00001% chance)
Love (I really don't think he's much better than Melo)
Bosh/LBJ (<1% chance)
Rose (<1% chance)
Dwight/Harden (<1% chance)
M Gasol (<1% chance)
I've take some liberties with the term "star" in the above but those caliber of players is very hard to trade for.
They need to make a run on an emerging talent ready to take a leap (like Harden was) or a flawed genius who's ready to leave a shitty situation. I don't see any Harden-esque players waiting in the wings so perhaps a flawed genius could be best? Only star type players I could possibly see leaving is Melo. I'm not sure the timing is right for K Love and I suspect he'd just wait until FA is he does decide to go.
Phx has a unique combination of assets this year, which is why there may be some imperative to act.
|
![[image loading]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iUdK7brRjPg/UrUsRhiay6I/AAAAAAAAAh8/WbPpT2C1sYw/s1600/pau22.gif)
Oh Pau I love you so much when you play well. Why must you be so inconsistent sometimes.
Same goes for you Nick Young.
|
United States22883 Posts
That team is built around speed and aggressive PG play. I don't think Melo would fit into that at all, even if he were an efficient player. Sadly they could use someone like Drummond but THEY'LL NEVER GET HIM NO ONE WILL BACK AWAY. >:|
I think they've got a lot of options in the draft though. If not, Chandler Parsons would be another strong option. Maybe as a safety net get Danny Granger on the cheap. I don't think Gerald Green is a legit starter, he's a 6th man.
Also, it remains to be seen how much Markieff and his brother improve. It's possible he'll make it to near all-star level.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
