Around the NBA: 2020-21 Season

[PaKii94]

I think the Knicks are a legit playoff team in the East. Like better than a play-in tourney team.

They dont have the most on offense, but their defense is legit. That's what keeping them in every game they play. Getting Rose just gives them more reliable offense.

the weird think about the knicks is that beyond their center combo they really don't have much in the way of good individual defenders. they're 2nd to last in the league in forcing turnovers and only average in terms of shot blocking. they don't do a great job of preventing opponents from getting to the line either. so why are they #3 in the league in defense? opponents shoot a crapload of 3s and only shoot 31.4%! i don't know how much of that is scheme and how much is dumb luck, but i can't see how it's sustainable

I feel like this trend has always been the case for thibsed defenses. I remember that being the case in his last few years for the bulls too.

[DASMACKDOWN]

I always thought it was weird that for some reason when Jayson Tatum is off, he is like wayyyyyyyyyyy off.

I thought Boston fans were always exaggerating his bad performances but I looked it up, he is terrible when he is bad.

I didnt realize how many like sub 10 pt games or worse he has had in the last 2 prior seasons

[MrSparkle]

I've defended Danny Ainge a lot, but I'm not sure what he was thinking letting Hayward walk without compensation. Could've at least bothered CHA and asked for a return on Rozier, who was very good in green before Kyrie returned and messed up the chemistry. Just letting a max rotation player walk when you're over the cap with a decent contending team, it makes no sense unless ownership demanded a cut in salary. But he gambled too much on over-the-hill bums like Thompson and Teague; these guys are end of bench players; like vet. min. ring chaser types, not 5th-8th rotation pieces. They made a GarPax move by having a contending core and over-relying on pedestrian late picks and bargain bin FAs to fill out the bench. It's not like he has cap-space or lotto picks coming to address the depth chart. That $35m expiring Hayward option was his big chip.

[dice]

I've defended Danny Ainge a lot, but I'm not sure what he was thinking letting Hayward walk without compensation. Could've at least bothered CHA and asked for a return on Rozier, who was very good in green before Kyrie returned and messed up the chemistry. Just letting a max rotation player walk when you're over the cap with a decent contending team, it makes no sense unless ownership demanded a cut in salary. But he gambled too much on over-the-hill bums like Thompson and Teague; these guys are end of bench players; like vet. min. ring chaser types, not 5th-8th rotation pieces. They made a GarPax move by having a contending core and over-relying on pedestrian late picks and bargain bin FAs to fill out the bench. It's not like he has cap-space or lotto picks coming to address the depth chart. That $35m expiring Hayward option was his big chip.

definitely a curious situation. teague is on a min contract, so that's not really relevant. but what's interesting is that indy reportedly offered turner and mcbuckets. ainge turned them down to take the trade exception from charlotte, which he only partially used to sign tristan. he could have used pretty much all of it w/o going into the tax. maybe there will be a trade coming at some point

turner is signed for 2 more years beyond this one, which is probably why ainge turned down the indy offer. tatum's new deal kicks in next season and there will be tax concerns. still, he could have traded turner (who is much better than tristan) after this season and probably gotten a first rounder in the exchange

[Dresden]

BOS will have to give Tatum a super max deal though, so maybe they are just saving money for that.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Its never a good thing to play on a sore Achilles. I hope AD is alright but man...

I also think about Lebron as well. Hes been playing a TON the last like 5 games. I know he has been thought bionic to this point given his age, but he is still human. You just don't to see him get injured and they regret it later.

[RSP83]

And Jerami Grant is such an awesome success story. From 39th pick to where he is now. Horace must be proud.

And how about Dougie going for 26 in the Pacers win? Nice to see old Bulls doing well.

He's Harvey's son right? But nonetheless, the Grant family with Jerami at the 3, Harvey at 4, Horace at 5... would probably be the best NBA family frontcourt.

given that harvey sucked, i'd go with the sabonises...using euro-prime arvydas, anyway. and, of course, then there are the gasol brothers. a notch below would be the demarcus cousins

Harvey did average 18 points with the Bullets. Yes, they were empty stats, when he signed with the Blazers, he turned into full time role player and never came close to his Bullets production again.

I stand corrected, I only remember Harvey during his Bullets days, which was more of an offensive player (for whatever that worth), than Horace, who was known more for his defense and rebounding.

[d boy gentleman]

BOS will have to give Tatum a super max deal though, so maybe they are just saving money for that.

You mean after the 5 year 195 million extension he signed for in the offseason?

[TheStig]

I've defended Danny Ainge a lot, but I'm not sure what he was thinking letting Hayward walk without compensation. Could've at least bothered CHA and asked for a return on Rozier, who was very good in green before Kyrie returned and messed up the chemistry. Just letting a max rotation player walk when you're over the cap with a decent contending team, it makes no sense unless ownership demanded a cut in salary. But he gambled too much on over-the-hill bums like Thompson and Teague; these guys are end of bench players; like vet. min. ring chaser types, not 5th-8th rotation pieces. They made a GarPax move by having a contending core and over-relying on pedestrian late picks and bargain bin FAs to fill out the bench. It's not like he has cap-space or lotto picks coming to address the depth chart. That $35m expiring Hayward option was his big chip.

I mean they have 3 max deals on that team in Kemba, Tatum and Brown next year. Clearly lux tax was a concern going forward. Are you going to give your 4th option a near max deal? CHA had no reason to negotiate. They knew Boston wouldn't pay him and made the moves to get the space.

[Chi town]

I've defended Danny Ainge a lot, but I'm not sure what he was thinking letting Hayward walk without compensation. Could've at least bothered CHA and asked for a return on Rozier, who was very good in green before Kyrie returned and messed up the chemistry. Just letting a max rotation player walk when you're over the cap with a decent contending team, it makes no sense unless ownership demanded a cut in salary. But he gambled too much on over-the-hill bums like Thompson and Teague; these guys are end of bench players; like vet. min. ring chaser types, not 5th-8th rotation pieces. They made a GarPax move by having a contending core and over-relying on pedestrian late picks and bargain bin FAs to fill out the bench. It's not like he has cap-space or lotto picks coming to address the depth chart. That $35m expiring Hayward option was his big chip.

I mean they have 3 max deals on that team in Kemba, Tatum and Brown next year. Clearly lux tax was a concern going forward. Are you going to give your 4th option a near max deal? CHA had no reason to negotiate. They knew Boston wouldn't pay him and made the moves to get the space.

Wait for ring chasing cuts after the deadline.

[ZOMG]

Excellent stat-based article by Zach Kram over at the Ringer on the ways 3pt shooting is quickly changing the entire league. Yeah, I know, didn't it already do that? Yes it did... and now it's changing it even more.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/2/12/22279459/nba-make-miss-3-point-shooting

Basically, the whole league is shooting lights-out from the perimeter this season. Everyone's putting up huge numbers of shots. If you're not making yours, you're not beating anybody, no matter what kind of interior defense or rim protection you have.

Bulls fans need to take off the nostalgia glasses. If you want to win, you need players who can hit 3's and play effectively in a defensive framework that's aimed at making it more difficult for the other team to hit theirs.

Things like post-ups, rim protection and defensive rebounding still have their place but they're far down on the list of priorities. You don't in any way build around the non-shooting player types with those as their main skills. You can get by with playing one of them at a time but they've become the invisible lunchpail types in this league. And they absolutely need to be able to effectively close out shooters on the perimeter.

This is why dudes like Wendell Carter are not worth much in 2021.

That said, the article also makes a good point and backs it up with stats - it's extremely hard now to make a team shoot worse from the perimeter. The league is turning into a crapshoot. If they've got it going, they've got it going. The main thing you can do is try to limit open 3's, because the whole league is absolutely lethal at those right now.

[kodo]

Excellent stat-based article by Zach Kram over at the Ringer on the ways 3pt shooting is quickly changing the entire league. Yeah, I know, didn't it already do that? Yes it did... and now it's changing it even more.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/2/12/22279459/nba-make-miss-3-point-shooting

Basically, the whole league is shooting lights-out from the perimeter this season. Everyone's putting up huge numbers of shots. If you're not making yours, you're not beating anybody, no matter what kind of interior defense or rim protection you have.

Bulls fans need to take off the nostalgia glasses. If you want to win, you need players who can hit 3's and play effectively in a defensive framework that's aimed at making it more difficult for the other team to hit theirs.

Things like post-ups, rim protection and defensive rebounding still have their place but they're far down on the list of priorities. You don't in any way build around the non-shooting player types with those as their main skills. You can get by with playing one of them at a time but they've become the invisible lunchpail types in this league. And they absolutely need to be able to effectively close out shooters on the perimeter.

This is why dudes like Wendell Carter are not worth much in 2021.

That said, the article also makes a good point and backs it up with stats - it's extremely hard now to make a team shoot worse from the perimeter. The league is turning into a crapshoot. If they've got it going, they've got it going. The main thing you can do is try to limit open 3's, because the whole league is absolutely lethal at those right now.

This quote is true.

In other words, you don’t need to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk, or Khris Middleton splash midrange jumpers, or Brook Lopez wall off the paint. As long as you know how the Bucks’ opponent shot from 3, you don’t need to know anything else about the game to intuit the outcome.

The game suffers a bit entertainment wise because the 3P performance pretty much determines all the games.
It would be nice to see a game where one team shot 15% from 3 while allowing the opponent to shoot 50%, but their excellent rebounding still won them the game. But that's doesn't seem possible these days.

Interesting that a good 3P shooting game gives you a 90% win chance in '21, but only a 60% win chance in 1990.

[RSP83]

Excellent stat-based article by Zach Kram over at the Ringer on the ways 3pt shooting is quickly changing the entire league. Yeah, I know, didn't it already do that? Yes it did... and now it's changing it even more.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/2/12/22279459/nba-make-miss-3-point-shooting

Basically, the whole league is shooting lights-out from the perimeter this season. Everyone's putting up huge numbers of shots. If you're not making yours, you're not beating anybody, no matter what kind of interior defense or rim protection you have.

Bulls fans need to take off the nostalgia glasses. If you want to win, you need players who can hit 3's and play effectively in a defensive framework that's aimed at making it more difficult for the other team to hit theirs.

Things like post-ups, rim protection and defensive rebounding still have their place but they're far down on the list of priorities. You don't in any way build around the non-shooting player types with those as their main skills. You can get by with playing one of them at a time but they've become the invisible lunchpail types in this league. And they absolutely need to be able to effectively close out shooters on the perimeter.

This is why dudes like Wendell Carter are not worth much in 2021.

That said, the article also makes a good point and backs it up with stats - it's extremely hard now to make a team shoot worse from the perimeter. The league is turning into a crapshoot. If they've got it going, they've got it going. The main thing you can do is try to limit open 3's, because the whole league is absolutely lethal at those right now.

Thanks for sharing great article.

[Grodoboldo]

Yeah, I think the rules now are too much in favor of long distance shooting. There simply isn't any other viable strategy other than bombs away.
The league should do something about this. Maybe end the 3 FT attempts when a 3pt shooter is fouled. Maybe tweak a little the hand-check and the goal tend rules, IDK.

[MisterRoy]

Its never a good thing to play on a sore Achilles. I hope AD is alright but man...

I have Achilles tendonitis in both Achilles. When it acts up even on just one leg, walking can sometimes be almost impossible. He needs to take time off and get some regular calf massages to loosen that area up. He should not be playing at all.


Sent from somewhere you've never been.

[jc23]

Its never a good thing to play on a sore Achilles. I hope AD is alright but man...

I also think about Lebron as well. Hes been playing a TON the last like 5 games. I know he has been thought bionic to this point given his age, but he is still human. You just don't to see him get injured and they regret it later.

He covets another MVP to go with his 5th title. He is in the Endgame now.

[ImSlower]

Read on Twitter

Wonder what the Raptors have offered. Writing was on the wall as soon as Cleveland got involved in that mega-trade.

[Andi Obst]

I don’t see a deal that makes sense for the Raptors when I look at their contracts. Would probably need a third team. Also don’t really get the point for the Raptors in general, but in a straight salary dump it’s okay I guess.

[MrSparkle]

I've defended Danny Ainge a lot, but I'm not sure what he was thinking letting Hayward walk without compensation. Could've at least bothered CHA and asked for a return on Rozier, who was very good in green before Kyrie returned and messed up the chemistry. Just letting a max rotation player walk when you're over the cap with a decent contending team, it makes no sense unless ownership demanded a cut in salary. But he gambled too much on over-the-hill bums like Thompson and Teague; these guys are end of bench players; like vet. min. ring chaser types, not 5th-8th rotation pieces. They made a GarPax move by having a contending core and over-relying on pedestrian late picks and bargain bin FAs to fill out the bench. It's not like he has cap-space or lotto picks coming to address the depth chart. That $35m expiring Hayward option was his big chip.

I mean they have 3 max deals on that team in Kemba, Tatum and Brown next year. Clearly lux tax was a concern going forward. Are you going to give your 4th option a near max deal? CHA had no reason to negotiate. They knew Boston wouldn't pay him and made the moves to get the space.

Yeah, I would. When you are 2 wins away from the finals, I think it’s absurd to become frugal. I guess the alternative is taking a step back, but it hasn’t worked out favorably for any teams in the past. Milwaukee the latest example of a team that let their 4th guy (Brogdon) go for fodder and took a big step back.

Maybe he got cold feet with the BRK super-team.

[TheStig]

I've defended Danny Ainge a lot, but I'm not sure what he was thinking letting Hayward walk without compensation. Could've at least bothered CHA and asked for a return on Rozier, who was very good in green before Kyrie returned and messed up the chemistry. Just letting a max rotation player walk when you're over the cap with a decent contending team, it makes no sense unless ownership demanded a cut in salary. But he gambled too much on over-the-hill bums like Thompson and Teague; these guys are end of bench players; like vet. min. ring chaser types, not 5th-8th rotation pieces. They made a GarPax move by having a contending core and over-relying on pedestrian late picks and bargain bin FAs to fill out the bench. It's not like he has cap-space or lotto picks coming to address the depth chart. That $35m expiring Hayward option was his big chip.

I mean they have 3 max deals on that team in Kemba, Tatum and Brown next year. Clearly lux tax was a concern going forward. Are you going to give your 4th option a near max deal? CHA had no reason to negotiate. They knew Boston wouldn't pay him and made the moves to get the space.

Wait for ring chasing cuts after the deadline.

And it's not like they sat pat. They've got a lot of recent 1st rounders on the bench and brought in Teague and TT. They'll pick up someone else too and have assets to make a move for someone they like.