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My one concern with the Clips is that they don't have a floor general, somebody who can carry the ball constantly, even under pressure, and make correct decisions with it. I absolutely love Leonard and George (I have a weakness for true two-way wings :D), but they're not elite passers, Leonard even less than George. They will make the right pass out of double teams, but they generally find the obvious ones late and miss more subtle openings that a good point guard or somebody like Lebron or Jokic would hit. Against an elite defensive playoff team the offense could be stalled quite a bit. Seems like the Clippers' offense will rely a lot on coaching and good X and Os, but I don't trust that as much in the playoffs as I do in the regular season.
On July 08 2019 19:09 JimmyJRaynor wrote: One issue that will make GS worse in next year's playoffs that i've not seen brought up: Klay won't be as good. What Klay Thompson did in the 2019 playoffs is not repeatable. I've never seen a long distance bomber hit so many very well defended 3s. I can't see Klay ever doing that again. Interesting. That didn't feel too far off from regular Klay. He's one of the few guys I'm really not surprised to see hit a string of highly contested 3s :D. He did play better than I expected, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that it was a one-time event. The guy catches fire.
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On July 08 2019 03:07 cLutZ wrote: The size of the Lakers makes me more convinced thier front office is dumb as rocks. LeBron is a 4 now defensively, full stop. AD is a 5. You can't play both+ Kuzma + another of Cousins/Javale. That team can't play defense.
Lebron and AD are both versatile enough to guard at least 3 positions and are both excellent help defenders.
Lebron at the 3 and AD at the 4 is a very playable line up defensively.
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On July 08 2019 16:12 Jerubaal wrote: So you think GS is out of title contention this year?
I think GS will be in contention. Still tons of talent and giant chips on their shoulders.
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On July 08 2019 14:31 cLutZ wrote:Show nested quote +On July 08 2019 10:58 zev318 wrote:On July 08 2019 03:07 cLutZ wrote: The size of the Lakers makes me more convinced thier front office is dumb as rocks. LeBron is a 4 now defensively, full stop. AD is a 5. You can't play both+ Kuzma + another of Cousins/Javale. That team can't play defense. ? someone's gotta give AD a break, i dont think they signed cousins/mcgee to play starter minutes. And? They are thin elsewhere, why both? If one gets hurt that is a midseason acquisition (also Lebron should be playing some minutes at the 5 defensively). Danny Green was, IMO, a perfect pickup, but one I thought they were going to try to make before they cleared out the $32 mil for a max guy. He makes me have slightly more faith, but I think their total package of pickups is very weird outside of Green. Obviously its a hard job to fill in around Lebron/AD/Kuzma because they all want to play frontcourt, and only one plays great defense consistently now, but the current moves are confusing aside from Danny Green. KCP is not a good fit as well. They prolly need to sign a bunch of PGs to "back up" Cook who certainly shouldn't be a starter for a playoff team.
i think having 3 bigs is about right. there will be times where u will play 2 at the same time. they had no options after choosing to wait for kawhi, they just signed whoever they could.
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Depends what GS gets for Russell, I guess. But right now for me they're not contenders anymore. A WCF contender maybe but they would stop there. DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson.
On July 08 2019 14:31 cLutZ wrote: They prolly need to sign a bunch of PGs to "back up" Cook who certainly shouldn't be a starter for a playoff team. I think the Lakers hope Caruso becomes a 3&D kind of guard to pair with Lebron. He has shown potential in that role. He's average-to-plus defensively, doesn't shoot a lot but shoots alright. He would defend 1s but he would not be the one making shit happen in offense. If JJR thinks Satoransky is starter caliber I don't think Caruso being starter caliber is a big stretch .
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On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote: DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson.
i think the earliest they are permitted to trade him is mid-December.
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On July 08 2019 23:52 JimmyJRaynor wrote:Show nested quote +On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote: DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson.
i think the earliest they are permitted to trade him is mid-December.
i dont think they would trade him anyways until klay is closer to coming back. i honestly dont see a DLO trade until next summer at the earliest, unless someone blow the warriors socks off with an offer at the deadline.
On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote:Depends what GS gets for Russell, I guess. But right now for me they're not contenders anymore. A WCF contender maybe but they would stop there. DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson. Show nested quote +On July 08 2019 14:31 cLutZ wrote: They prolly need to sign a bunch of PGs to "back up" Cook who certainly shouldn't be a starter for a playoff team. I think the Lakers hope Caruso becomes a 3&D kind of guard to pair with Lebron. He has shown potential in that role. He's average-to-plus defensively, doesn't shoot a lot but shoots alright. He would defend 1s but he would not be the one making shit happen in offense. If JJR thinks Satoransky is starter caliber I don't think Caruso being starter caliber is a big stretch .
no need to discuss whether caruso or cook is a starter or not, cause rondo is gonna start
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OKC picked up another 1st rounder and saved a bunch of salary and luxury tax money. twitter.com
I don't buy OKC's medical staff PR people saying Paul George was doing no additional damage to his shoulder by playing with a partially torn rotator cuff for months. The reason I do not buy it is it got to the point where George could not lift his arm over his head.
https://www.12up.com/posts/6346824-video-tracy-mcgrady-thinks-paul-george-has-a-torn-labrum
Had the pain and flexibility stayed the same or improved their "no additional damage" story would make more sense.
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On July 09 2019 02:25 JimmyJRaynor wrote:OKC picked up another 1st rounder and saved a bunch of salary and luxury tax money. twitter.comI don't buy OKC's medical staff PR people saying Paul George was doing no additional damage to his shoulder by playing with a partially torn rotator cuff for months. The reason I do not buy it is it got to the point where George could not lift his arm over his head. https://www.12up.com/posts/6346824-video-tracy-mcgrady-thinks-paul-george-has-a-torn-labrumHad the pain and flexibility stayed the same or improved their "no additional damage" story would make more sense.
1st rounders sounds great and all, but the clippers and the nuggets first rounders are gonna be like 20+, if nothing crazy happens injuries wise. what do picks in the 20s (at best high teens) get you? the miami picks might be ok, but that's in 2021 and 2023 (big protection on this one) and miami could improve by then, making the pick not so great.
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is the Lakers starting 5 Rondo//Green//James//Kuzma//Davis ?
Patrick Mccaw goes for his 4th consecutive NBA title this year as he re-signs with the Raptors.
Siakam, Anunoby, VanVleet, Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Patrick Mccaw are all under 26. They should all improve. The question is... how much? Powell just turned 26. His play making should continue to improve; most NBA-ers continue to evolve as playmakers at age 26 and beyond. Nick Nurse will give Powell lots of room to grow as Nurse did with Siakam last year.
For the first time in his career Kyle Lowry won't be harping for maximum regular season minutes. This will give expanded floor general type responsibilities to other players like VanVleet, Powell, Mccaw, and Siakam. Casual Raptors fans are about to find out the hard way that Kyle Lowry is a really fucking damn smart quarterback for the offense.
Masai Ujiri is going to make Nick Nurse earn his pay cheque this year!
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Not many moves today. Avery Bradley is going to the Lakers once the Grizzlies waive him, Source: + Show Spoiler +https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1148274909455380483
Kyle Korver has been waived by the Suns, any idea where he should be going?
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Korver to Lakers sounds like what it would be. Philly another good option. Also the Bucks.
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On July 09 2019 00:45 zev318 wrote:Show nested quote +On July 08 2019 23:52 JimmyJRaynor wrote:On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote: DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson.
i think the earliest they are permitted to trade him is mid-December. i dont think they would trade him anyways until klay is closer to coming back. i honestly dont see a DLO trade until next summer at the earliest, unless someone blow the warriors socks off with an offer at the deadline. Show nested quote +On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote:Depends what GS gets for Russell, I guess. But right now for me they're not contenders anymore. A WCF contender maybe but they would stop there. DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson. On July 08 2019 14:31 cLutZ wrote: They prolly need to sign a bunch of PGs to "back up" Cook who certainly shouldn't be a starter for a playoff team. I think the Lakers hope Caruso becomes a 3&D kind of guard to pair with Lebron. He has shown potential in that role. He's average-to-plus defensively, doesn't shoot a lot but shoots alright. He would defend 1s but he would not be the one making shit happen in offense. If JJR thinks Satoransky is starter caliber I don't think Caruso being starter caliber is a big stretch . no need to discuss whether caruso or cook is a starter or not, cause rondo is gonna start Rondo will start just because it's a big ego/respect issue in the NBA unless the player explicitly accept not starting (like Iguodala or Lou Will). I guess what I was arguing that the Lakers could give a significant amount of minutes to Caruso. I guess this is pointless now because they signed Bradley, likely to fill that 3&D guard position besides Lebron, which they said will start at Point Guard (which isn't a real change anyway, he will certainly not be guarding the opposing PG).
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Yeah they mean handling the pg duties on offense. Traditionally guys like bradley have not been tge best fit with lbj, he usually wants better shooters. But the lakers need cgeap so I guess this works.
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On July 09 2019 21:58 ZenithM wrote:Show nested quote +On July 09 2019 00:45 zev318 wrote:On July 08 2019 23:52 JimmyJRaynor wrote:On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote: DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson.
i think the earliest they are permitted to trade him is mid-December. i dont think they would trade him anyways until klay is closer to coming back. i honestly dont see a DLO trade until next summer at the earliest, unless someone blow the warriors socks off with an offer at the deadline. On July 08 2019 22:55 ZenithM wrote:Depends what GS gets for Russell, I guess. But right now for me they're not contenders anymore. A WCF contender maybe but they would stop there. DRuss makes absolutely no sense in that team, that's a nice FO move but they would probably trade him again at some point. Opponents would relish him stealing shots from Curry or Thompson. On July 08 2019 14:31 cLutZ wrote: They prolly need to sign a bunch of PGs to "back up" Cook who certainly shouldn't be a starter for a playoff team. I think the Lakers hope Caruso becomes a 3&D kind of guard to pair with Lebron. He has shown potential in that role. He's average-to-plus defensively, doesn't shoot a lot but shoots alright. He would defend 1s but he would not be the one making shit happen in offense. If JJR thinks Satoransky is starter caliber I don't think Caruso being starter caliber is a big stretch . no need to discuss whether caruso or cook is a starter or not, cause rondo is gonna start Rondo will start just because it's a big ego/respect issue in the NBA unless the player explicitly accept not starting (like Iguodala or Lou Will). I guess what I was arguing that the Lakers could give a significant amount of minutes to Caruso. I guess this is pointless now because they signed Bradley, likely to fill that 3&D guard position besides Lebron, which they said will start at Point Guard (which isn't a real change anyway, he will certainly not be guarding the opposing PG). Rajon Rondo had the worst +/- on the Lakers by a giant margin. When you are a -245 and the next worst guy is a -155... you were very bad. He had to stink up every line up he was on. Vogel will not hesitate to stick Rondo on the bench for extended periods.
Initially, I thought the Lakers would start Rondo. After doing a bit of digging.. I think Rondo will have to earn every minute he gets. If he falters even slightly he'll become the 10th man faster than you can say ESPN Real Plus-Minus.
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They singed him hoping to get playoff rondo not regular season rondo. When he is engaged, as recently as 2 years ago with NO in the Playoffs he was pretty darn good. That being said there is a reason why true professionals like like Ray Allen hated him. I wouldn't want him, but the Lakers don't have a lot of options.
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On July 09 2019 23:41 JimmiC wrote: They singed him hoping to get playoff rondo not regular season rondo.
ya that's a good point.
On July 09 2019 23:41 JimmiC wrote: When he is engaged, as recently as 2 years ago with NO in the Playoffs he was pretty darn good. That being said there is a reason why true professionals like like Ray Allen hated him. I wouldn't want him, but the Lakers don't have a lot of options.
my guess is Vogel will have an open in-team competition between Cook, Bradley, and Rondo. Whoever plays best runs the offense in LBJ's absence and gets those extra minutes.
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Would make sense, it will also be interesting to see how them and the Clippers deal with load management. Mark Cuban was talking about it in regards to themselves and KP but also the LA teams, GSW and so on, but how much can they do and still make the playoffs in the west.
Then there will also be all the released veterans after the trade deadlines and where they all end up. TO will possibly be looking to trade Serge, Gasol and Lowry. But do these teams have any assets left that TO would want if they are embarking on a "reload". For people who like the team building aspect it will be a interesting season.
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Kawhi never should've left Toronto. The Raptors have their own fleet of "We The North" Cement trucks. The Clippers don't even have their own building. The Raptors build 100 floor condos.
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