Road to a Championship start here, 2022 Draft.

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Nance has been very good defensively.. His issue is his ability to create offense. Defensive big men that can't create for themselves like Nance/Allen, rely on their guards/wings to produce & set them up. So why is the defender, who can space the floor at a 45% clip, a negative 1.2 with the BIG 3, a worse net rating than the offensive big man ?

- Sloppy TO''s, taking care of the ball & transition defense
- Reduced offensive efficiency
- Rebounding, 2nd chance points & closing possessions
- Having to erase multiple mistakes & breakdowns in reduced efficiency

The issue with the starting unit is when their efficiency drops, which is a certainty with BI & CJ averaging 30 shots a piece, there's not enough defensive compensation for Zion & CJ, even with Nance over Jonas. Where Nance is better defensively, he contributes to the efficiency dropping. Where Jonas is worse defensively, he contributes to better efficiency & though CJ has changed his shot profile to be more efficient, which he has been. He's still not more efficient than Jonas. CJ is putting up 5 more points than Jonas on 6 additional attempts per game. Zion & Jonas offensive efficiency, is why Daniels ball pressure playing 4 on 5, worked. Reason I laugh at those who think a rim protector is going to solve an efficiency issue. For Zion's defense to work, like Jonas they have to play in efficiency, with the required defensive compensation. Reason Daniels with his 5 touches & 28% 3 ball is a +10 defensive replacement with Jonas over CJ'. ZIon's usage goex up at 60%, CJ's 15 shots at 45% drops to Daniels 5 shots at 44%. Nance's 5pts on 56% goes to Jonas 14pts on 57% efficiency.

Nance 5pts, 4 shots, 56%, he's low usage on high efficiency
Daniels 5pts, 5 shots, 44%, he's low usage on lover efficiency
Jonas 14pts, 9 shots, 57%, he's increased usage on high efficiency
CJ 19pts, 15 shots, 45%, he's increased usage on lower efficiency


Zion 22pts, 15 shots, 59% + Jonas 14pts, 9 shots, 57% = 36pts, 24 shots, with Daniels ball pressure +20.4

Zion 22pts, 15 shots, 59% + CJ 19pts, 15 shots, 45% = 41pts, 30 shots, with Nance rim protection -1.2

5pts on 6 FGA's = 13% of a possible 36 points.

Jonas + Zion 60% out of a potential 36pts = 21.6

Jonas - Zion - BI - Herb - Daniels = +20.4
Nance - Zion - BI - Herb - CJ = -1.2

Difference of 21.6

[Whole Truth]

If I had tickets for that Allstar game I would have asked for my money back.

About as fun as watching a MF shoot FT's..

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I just watched a Pels insider talk about not wanting to make changes because they supposedly don't want to rock the boat while he mentions they made changes by subbing Jonas for Nance, with not much success. Looks to me like they didn't have much problem exploring the theory that Jonas "fit" was the problem. lol

Hopefully we can all agree Nance has been good defensively. Reason the "defensive" coach has preference for him over the offensive big man. However, results show with increasing minutes Nance over Jonas is not the solution they thought it would be.. as Nance with the starters has a -1.2 rating in 90mins of PT.

What's rubbing me the wrong way is that Daniels +20.4 in 90 mins & his elite man defense being the best 2 man pairing with Zion has no sway over CJ's usage ... Easier to pull the no fuss veteran big man, not so ? .. What stands out more about this, is the fact Daniels +20 was during a much tougher SOS than Nance's 90mins. Short Zion for 2 rest games, one being the 1pt collapse loss to Wolves, no backup big man with Nance out with Zeller a -19 in the Bulls 2 possession loss, limited spacing with CJ, Murphy & Ryan out as depth options with Utah zoning with their lengthy shot blocker.

What Daniels has shown if nothing else is that Zion needs ball pressure more than spacing, His first several yrs with Lonzo ball, Jrue Holiday vs his last couple seasons with CJ's spacing. Fans asking why rookie & Sophmore Zion was better ... Lonzo, Jrue defense & playmaking > CJ's elite spacing & Allen over Jonas isn't going to fix the point of attack.

The problem & solution can't be more obvious. The starting 5 has a negative rationg.

The 4 man combo of Jonas - Zion - BI - Herb (483) mins +3.8

The 3 man combo of Zion - BI - CJ (557) mins -2.9

The 2 man combo of Zion - CJ (789) mins -1

The 2 man combo of Zion - Daniels (476) mins +9.1

The defensive issue with Zion on court, is the point of attack

To reinforce. The 2 man combo of Zion - Jonas (727) mins +3.9 with most if not all their minutes coming vs starters, not bench units. The next best starter paired with Zion is BI at (849) mins +1.1.

I'm surprised Nance is -1.2 with the starters to Jonas -.5, LMAO. It's because neither is the real issue.

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Trading BI over CJ isn't the solution either. Jonas-Zion & BI looked very good with Herb & Daniels though they were playing 4 on 5 offensively in a tough 9 game stretch short handed 3 rotation players. (+20.4)

Another board suggesting to trade BI for Young to have a Young & CJ defensive backcourt, lol.

All they have to do is replace Jonas with a rim protector, right ? LMAO

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Zion diversifying his game is not just a Zion issue.

The key to any good offense is it's lack of predictability. Reason, movement is harder to guard.

Just last yr a chart was showing Zion was taking & making the most difficult shots of any player. That's because of the predictable nature of his game.

For argument sake. Lets say a team walling off Zion can't stop him ... what they can do by predictably packing the paint besides making life harder for Zion, is takeaway Jonas post game, BI's mid range game & the guards driving lanes all because they know Zion won't take an open 3. He starts hitting that open shot, not only does his life become easier so does everyone else's...

Diversity .... the more a defense has to cater for, the less predictable an offense is.

All the boasting of Zion's offensive capability. Pelicans start 3 offensive players next to Zion & are ranked 12th in offense. Pelicans start 4 offensive players next to Herb & are ranked 6th in defense.

The thinking was all NO's had to do was add shooting & the necessary spacing for Zion...

Nance 45% from 3, low volume but can hit the open shot
Jonas 34% from 3, low volume but can hit the open shot
BI 36% from 3 on 4 APG
Herb 40% from 3 on 4.4 APG
CJ 42% from 3 on 9 APG

Nance - Zion - BI - Herb - CJ = -1.2
Jonas - Zion - BI - Herb - CJ = -0.5

Jonas - Zion - BI - Herb - Daniels = 20.4

The reason Daniels defense managed a net rating of +20 in the same 90 min sample size with that lineup playing 4 on 5. CJ's 46% efficiency on 16 attempts went to Zion's 60% being higher usage, Nance 60% efficiency on 5 shots went to Jonas 60% efficiency being higher usage, in the same predictable offensive setting. With an uptick in transition offense due to pressuring the ball better. Where as with Nance anchoring a defense with CJ at point, he's busy cleaning up all the defensive breakdowns.

Nance has been good defensively & he's hitting the 3 ball at 45% . This is why the problem & solution should be obvious.

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For 3yrs I've talked about offensive efficiency & rebounding playing into defense. Reason Jonas has been apart of 3 teams to reach top 5 in defense being an offensive big man. What he provides is elite screens, rebounding & efficiency. If you include him in the offense it flows better.

People can't wrap their head around the starters having a 134 offensive rating with Daniels over CJ. I've explained this.

CJ takes 15 shots at 45% efficiency. Daniels takes 5 shots at 45% efficiency... where do those shots go with Daniels on court .... to Zion & a lesser extent Jonas. = better offensive efficiency even playing 4 on 5 because teams cheat anyways to pack the paint to contain Zion. They already cheat to defend but the difference is efficiency in shots plus an uptick in transition offense with Daniels & Herb forcing TO's ...

Defensive rebounding closes possession & this is where Nance struggles most. Closing possessions.

Nance takes 5 shots at 57% efficiency. With Jonas & no CJ, Jonas averages over 10 shots at 57% efficiency.
CJ takes 15 shots at 45% efficiency. With Daniels & no CJ, he takes 5 shots at 45% efficiency

Where do you think the shots CJ takes goes ?... I've shown the #'s which show Zion takes more shots with Daniels playing over CJ.... Zion = 60% efficiency to CJ's 45%

= 134 offensive rating with Daniels over CJ.

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Zion is the more talented version of Jonas... their worth is in their volume efficiency. It makes zero sense to play Jonas where he's getting 5 touches with guards throwing up bricks, where he has to play cleanup.. Same reason Zion has had negative games taking less than 15 shots in those games.

It's for this very reason Nance looks the better fit ....... with CJ. 45% efficiency on 15 APG

With Daniels taking only 5 shots where CJ takes 15. Zion & Jonas to a lesser extent = 60% efficiency.

**** man MF's slow.

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For some perspective. The difference between Daniels & CJ is 10 APG at 45% efficiency.

10 APG = a potential 30 points, not factoring defensive possession.

60% of a potential 30 points = 18pts.

Starters, with Daniels = +20.

Where Zion & to a lesser extent Jonas are concerned = Volume efficiency & ball pressure > 45% Spacing

[Whole Truth]

Moving Jonas does not rectify the core issue of the BIG 3 ...

It looks like people still don't know what that is.

What makes Zion great is volume efficiency .. With this BIG 3. BI & CJ average 30 APG at lesser efficiency, where some games Zion barely gets touches & as a result, his defense is a negative, if he's not impacting the game offensively ..

As I've been saying ... Like Joker, Offensive efficiency plays into defensive efficiency.

I hope all you got a good look what Joker looked like at the Allstar game running up & down the court where guards were chucking shots & why it took Nance & injury for Jonas to get forced usage to look better this yr to last.

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What you saw last night is why Daniels over CJ worked. Murphy in place of BI's usage was 2-10 from the field but most if not all his shots were open 3's missed in the flow of the game... basically, Daniels 1-5 from 3 with elite perimeter defense.

Without BI & CJ soaking up 30 APG where did that usage go ...

Point ZIon 21 shots = 27, 9,, 2 on 57% efficiency

Jonas who normally takes 9 shots a game = 12 shots 20, 14, 3 on 75% efficiency

Zion & Jonas 47pts, 21 of 33 shooting on 63.6% volume efficiency

Murphy not being the defender Daniels is with an off shooting night. NO's held Houston to 105 with Jonas & Zion 2 non defensive big men playing 62 combined minutes.

Pels +22

Not a rim protector but an additional wing defender to Herb who doesn't require high usage. Herb, 7 steals

[Whole Truth]

It's not hard math

Zion & Jonas 30 attempts at 63.6% > BI & CJ 30 attempts at 45%

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I know the league doesn't like blowouts which is why Houston had a lopsided whistle 2nd half but ...

Zion & Jonas combined for 31 shots at the rim with 4 total FT's, in relation Sengun had 10 FT's.

I'm pretty sure Zion & Jonas played with aggression at the rim .... so where is the officiating respect ?

I'm proud to say this team doesn't need the refs to wipe they ass like the Lakers, nor do they flop for calls.

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You know Green was dreading putting Jonas in 2nd Q. Down 14 (55-41) at the 4:58 minute mark.

Pels end the half tied 58-58. Went on a 17-3 run in the closing 4 minutes.

Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good.

The comeback started a little earlier when CJ was subbed for Jose down 17 at the 5:38 mark.

Guess where the defense is leaking & it's not Jonas.

[Whole Truth]

Murphy is in a big time slump, 1-8 at the half.

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Green's go to move is to sub Jonas for Nance lol. Since that sub, Heat have gone on a 12-4 run, grabbing 7 offensive boards.

No BI or CJ, & the move is to bench your offensive big man when you're struggling to score & rebound ?

Another close game NO's had no chance of winning. 15pt 4th Q.... "we need stops", lol.

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Lets talk defense. Rim protection vs Ball pressure

47 of the Heats 106 total points were scored in the 15 minutes CJ played first half. That means in the 33 mins Pels played without CJ, Heat scored 59pts, where they were on pace for a 150 with CJ playing.

22 of the 46 points with Jonas in 7mins (22-15) -7
25 of the 46 paired with Nance in 8mins (25-14) -11

CJ (1-7) efficiency -18. 47pts allowed in his 15 mins.

Jonas with CJ, 1st Q, Heat 22-15, 7mins
Jonas without CJ 2nd Q, 17-3, 5mins
Jonas without CJ 3rd Q, Heat 19-10, 7mins
Jonas without CJ, 4th Q, Pels 11-10 6mins

In the 7 mins Jonas played with CJ, Heat scored 22 points, Pels 15
In the 18mins Jonas played without CJ, Heat scored 32 points, Pels 38

Jonas finished a starter high -1 when subbed 4th Q, Heat up 3, 94-91

Heat went on a 12-4 run in the final 6 mins with Nance anchoring the defense. Pels had no offense on the floor with Heat giving Hawkins the green light (4-17).

Zion team high -23 in part because the officials allowed the Heat to illegally clog the paint while Pels shooters simultaneously struggled shooting a combined 4-22 from 3.

Jonas 12 & 10 in 25 mins didn't close despite the lack of offense with BI, CJ & Jose out. Nance was good defensively, Pels held the Heat to 22 4th Q points. Problem is they scored 15 with 4 in Nance final 6 mins. Easy close for Miami.

[Whole Truth]

The way the game was officiated was to take away the Pels/Zion's strength as a team. Heat were allowed to illegally pack the paint with physicality. Pels were called for 2, 3 in the key violations with a player sitting atop the key, while Heat players were spending entire possessions in the key. Much like the Lakers match. Not a coincidence, control.

3rd Q tie game Butler climbed Jonas back & fouled him behind on what should have been a dunk/FT's no call, Bam's block no cleaner than Zion's earlier goaltend, Heat player fouling Hawkins on a 3 no call & 3 in the key tech opened the Heat 6pt lead 3td Q.

Jose was +13 on the night in a 11pt loss. Best believe the Heat bench player Bryant was sent to get him ejected sideline in a late scrum with Butler about to be ejected. Jose would have taken the Pels home if he didn't get involved.

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Looks like Naji choked a bitch.

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For those of you who still don't get it.

Pels fans out here saying ZIon doesn't get calls because he's too strong, like Shaq...

Explain to me then why as a younger player & rookie his high FT rate in his first couple seasons ...

One word.. Hype

Two words.. It's gone

It's all about marketability. Pels are having their best season to date but their viewership is down.

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Didn't post last night because I would have had nothing good to say. When there was some positives from last nights game..

The starters without CJ in an 8 pt loss - Jonas +19, Herb +10m Zion +6, Murphy +5, BI 0

Jonas 25 mins NO's (76-57) +19
Nance 19 mins Chicago (54-30) -24

Chicago's bench beat NO's bench. None of NO's starters were in the negative in an 8 pt loss. Whereas with CJ, the starting lineup losses it's minutes. The bench missing depth. Nance -24, JRE -21, Hawkins -21, Ryan -14 ...

Looks to me like the starters were fine but the bench could have used CJ's scoring.

Without CJ in the starting unit, NO with no rim protector gave up 57pts in Jonas 25 mins to 54pts in Nance 19.

To play defense effectively, you need to be able to score. Offense wins out defense in empty possessions.