really nice games tonight.
nice move by Thibodeau to limit Wiggins minutes and give a bench player who has clearly earned more minutes... more minutes.
gratz to Chicago. Dunn is improving before our eyes.

Wiggins Bad Shooting
Wiggins is now shooting at 43%, with 29% from 3, and Free Throws at 63%. Jump shots from any where on the floor are under 30%. He was always an inefficient scorer, but this is nuts. If he keeps this up i think he'll start losing 4th quarter minutes in any game Minnie is trailing ( like what happened tonight).

how anybody can call this guy an above average player... i'll never know.

JimmiC

Canada22817 Posts

December 19 2017 04:38 GMT

#1206

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andrewlt

United States7702 Posts

December 19 2017 07:26 GMT

#1207

The AP recap of the Warriors vs Lakers game contained this gem:

Perhaps in tribute to Bryant, Durant and Thompson never stopped shooting even when they weren't making many. The duo combined to miss 31 of its first 40 shots

MassHysteria

United States3678 Posts

December 19 2017 07:44 GMT

#1208

On December 19 2017 16:26 andrewlt wrote:
The AP recap of the Warriors vs Lakers game contained this gem:

Show nested quote +

haha was probably Beacham (covers the area sports). He is a good follow.

Twinkle Toes

United States3605 Posts

December 19 2017 11:27 GMT

#1209

On December 19 2017 16:44 MassHysteria wrote:

Show nested quote +

haha was probably Beacham (covers the area sports). He is a good follow.

Beacham indeed, he's awesome.
Here's another:

"That was for Kobe Night. I had to get them up for Kob." -Kevin Durant on shooting 6-for-25 in regulation and 4-for-4 in overtime

JimmyJRaynor

Canada16715 Posts

December 19 2017 15:31 GMT

#1210

final 2.5 minutes of the Indy/Boston game. fun stuff.
https://streamable.com/0a7gu
the boston commentator guy predicted the final play by Rozier. good call. i love the celtics commentators.

NBA.com weekly rankings and updates
http://www.nba.com/powerrankings#/

The East is now 99-92 or .518 against the West... and here come the Bulls!

The Bulls 6 game winning streak has been against only 1 borderline lousy team... the other 5 are decent or better teams. Before the streak started the Bulls lost by 1 to Denver, by 1 to Sacramento, and by 2 to Indiana. So I guess people watching the Bulls closely are prolly not that shocked that by adding 1 decent player they`ve gone from a series of close losses to a series of close wins. I think the Bulls will get worse if they play Zach Lavine 28+ minutes a game.

Ace

United States16096 Posts

December 19 2017 18:23 GMT

#1211

How so? If he's even close to form he's going to be their best player. How would they start losing games?

JimmyJRaynor

Canada16715 Posts

December 19 2017 18:27 GMT

#1212

my opinion here is ... his very bad defense is not worth the offense he produces. When Lavine was hurt and Bjelica was healthy the Timberwolves were a .500 team last year. Minnesota was better off with Lavine not playing.

Ace

United States16096 Posts

December 19 2017 19:25 GMT

#1213

That doesn't make any sense. Lavine was above average offensively last year and was the Wolves 3rd best player. How is it possible his defense weighed down his offense that much?

Bjelca being in for Lavine and them going .500 was due to that one variable changing? Be detailed.

JimmiC

Canada22817 Posts

December 19 2017 19:26 GMT

#1214

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JimmyJRaynor

Canada16715 Posts

December 19 2017 19:47 GMT

#1215

#1. the stat here i am employing is wins and losses. Minnie was 16-31 with Lavine in the line up last year.
#2. Bjelica never "replaced" Lavine.
#3. The entire Minnesota team operated at its best when Lavine was not on the roster and Bjelica was on the roster.

so , my projection is that the Chicago Bulls get worse if they play Lavine a lot this year.

On December 20 2017 04:26 JimmiC wrote:
let alone that the stat itself is far from perfect.

which is why you use DRPM, Defensive Points Saved, Field-Goal % Differential, On/Off Differential, and opposition eFG%
and not just 1 stat. and when every stat indicates the player is a very poor defender... and you watch the games and the player makes bad mistakes...
you then declare the player a poor defender.

this is how i concluded Lavine was a poor defender last year... also Minnesota played better when he was hurt.

However, all you've presented is polemics. do you have a better method for determining the effectiveness of a player on defense? if you do. post it. maybe we can all learn something about player evaluation.

JimmiC

Canada22817 Posts

December 19 2017 20:18 GMT

#1216

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JimmyJRaynor

Canada16715 Posts

December 19 2017 20:24 GMT

#1217

everything i've posted is just fine. i think the Bulls should use Lavine in limited minutes.
you haven't really agreed or offered any opinion on Lavine so i'll just leave it at that.

On December 20 2017 05:18 JimmiC wrote: Then you will use this recent winning streak as the nar chi will of course get worse

JimmiC

Canada22817 Posts

December 19 2017 20:36 GMT

#1218

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JimmyJRaynor

Canada16715 Posts

December 19 2017 20:39 GMT

#1219

my comment was about this year. not about Lavine's eternal value.

On December 20 2017 05:18 JimmiC wrote: Then you will use this recent winning streak as the nar chi will of course get worse

i guess u didn't read my comment about what chicago did before the winning streak started.
they've prolly been a slightly below average team for a while... they added a decent player who is playing well (Mirotic).. now they might be an average team.
i don't watch the Bulls closely enough to say for sure though.. but that's what it looks like from afar.

it'll be a little while before Lavine comes back so it'll be interesting to see if the Bulls continue to play like an average team. right now, they look like an average team with all the bounces going their way.

if any one who watches the Bulls closely wants to step in and provide a more microscopic perspective... that'd be cool.