RealGM

We beat these guys by 2 points at home last time we played, so, hopefully we'll have a game worth watching tonight. Sexton lit them up while Garland had one of his clunkers in the last one, so, good chance to see if he's learning on the fly.

this is the team the Cavs need to send Love too. they are just good enough that MJ might give up expiring's and a first to stay in the playoff hunt. https://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/7264295
Love /McKinie for 2 expring's Biyombo or WIlliams and MKG + CHA 2020 1st top 4 protected for 2 years then unprotected.

Guards looking good tonight

Exum looking really promising for us in his first 4 games. Hopefully he will start seeing more minutes

Stillwater wrote:Guards looking good tonight

Yeah, Sexton re-discovered his 3pter, and Garland set a career high with 8 assists (and more importantly just 1 turnover).

Fedor wrote up a piece about DG on cleveland.com ... an interesting point was now that his shot is becoming a threat, defenses have started to adjust and they're going over on the screens, making it easier for him to drive & dish.

Of course Charlotte is almost as bad as us on defense, so, that helps a lot.

One thing I think they should try to encourage is running plays to get Darius shots from specific spots. He's getting up a decent volume of shots, but they all seem to come from different spots on the floor and he seems to need to lock in the range before he starts knocking them down. Heck, some consistency like that would help everyone on the team.

And I don't know how long we'll have to wait, but he can dance around on the perimeter and/or use screens in order to create his own shot. When he locks that in, he's going to do some serious damage, but he's clearly being encouraged to play a more team oriented style even with the second unit where he has a green light.

For reference, Steph Curry didn't start shooting in high volume (20+ FGA) until late January of his rookie season (of course he was 2 years older).

^ right Garland looked good until the f... cked up shot selection with about a minute left then bad defense on the go ahead bomb. They shouldn't have needed a last second 3 over a 7 footer to tie the game either. But overall Sexton moved ball good early and DG played smart most of the game so it's good to see. I didn't like kpj on the bench at the end and thought he would have done enough by now to get those minutes from Cedi who also has a propensity for missing shots in crunch time despite playing great all game.
I'm not gonna say Curry is a terrible comp for Garland but it's a pretty unlikely one no matter how well he shoots because he needs more separation

Stillwater wrote:^ right Garland looked good until the f... cked up shot selection with about a minute left then bad defense on the go ahead bomb. They shouldn't have needed a last second 3 over a 7 footer to tie the game either. But overall Sexton moved ball good early and DG played smart most of the game so it's good to see. I didn't like kpj on the bench at the end and thought he would have done enough by now to get those minutes from Cedi who also has a propensity for missing shots in crunch time despite playing great all game.
I'm not gonna say Curry is a terrible comp for Garland but it's a pretty unlikely one no matter how well he shoots because he needs more separation

My point was that even a great shooter like Curry with 3 years in College didn't enter the NBA and start firing up shots in high volume. He eventually earned the ultimate green light.

As for creating space ... I'm just not seeing a problem for Darius if he's able to put everything he's capable of doing together. Live dribble, 30ft range, stop on a dime, quick release, step back? He's got a shot to be our Steph or Dame, but nobody is going to put up with him playing like that if he's bricking.

We can take advantage of his shooting now by trying to get him more consistent looks, but if he continues to work on his shooting he can take it next level with his skills.

JonFromVA wrote:

Stillwater wrote:^ right Garland looked good until the f... cked up shot selection with about a minute left then bad defense on the go ahead bomb. They shouldn't have needed a last second 3 over a 7 footer to tie the game either. But overall Sexton moved ball good early and DG played smart most of the game so it's good to see. I didn't like kpj on the bench at the end and thought he would have done enough by now to get those minutes from Cedi who also has a propensity for missing shots in crunch time despite playing great all game.
I'm not gonna say Curry is a terrible comp for Garland but it's a pretty unlikely one no matter how well he shoots because he needs more separation

My point was that even a great shooter like Curry with 3 years in College didn't enter the NBA and start firing up shots in high volume. He eventually earned the ultimate green light.

As for creating space ... I'm just not seeing a problem for Darius if he's able to put everything he's capable of doing together. Live dribble, 30ft range, stop on a dime, quick release, step back? He's got a shot to be our Steph or Dame, but nobody is going to put up with him playing like that if he's bricking.

We can take advantage of his shooting now by trying to get him more consistent looks, but if he continues to work on his shooting he can take it next level with his skills.

Thats fair, I am not going to expect him to have as much success in the league or even close to Curry though...too high of a bar imo.and not fair at all to him.
he does show flashes of it though so I get the optimism.
I see him not being able to take and make corner 3's unless his defender falls asleep or moves off him right now. anywhere else and he should be alright given his ability to create separation, it's just not something I am entirely confident in him doing once teams game plan against it and they are not doing that at all right now.
We will have a much better Idea of what we have in DG after Love is gone , unfortunately if DG struggles with heavier attn on him his overall impact will probably be much less than a typical top 5 draft pick without surprising improved effort defensively or some significant improvements at finishing under the basket to compensate for not being able to drain shots with a defender in his grill like Steph who doesnt need hardly any space at all

Stillwater wrote:

JonFromVA wrote:

Stillwater wrote:^ right Garland looked good until the f... cked up shot selection with about a minute left then bad defense on the go ahead bomb. They shouldn't have needed a last second 3 over a 7 footer to tie the game either. But overall Sexton moved ball good early and DG played smart most of the game so it's good to see. I didn't like kpj on the bench at the end and thought he would have done enough by now to get those minutes from Cedi who also has a propensity for missing shots in crunch time despite playing great all game.
I'm not gonna say Curry is a terrible comp for Garland but it's a pretty unlikely one no matter how well he shoots because he needs more separation

My point was that even a great shooter like Curry with 3 years in College didn't enter the NBA and start firing up shots in high volume. He eventually earned the ultimate green light.

As for creating space ... I'm just not seeing a problem for Darius if he's able to put everything he's capable of doing together. Live dribble, 30ft range, stop on a dime, quick release, step back? He's got a shot to be our Steph or Dame, but nobody is going to put up with him playing like that if he's bricking.

We can take advantage of his shooting now by trying to get him more consistent looks, but if he continues to work on his shooting he can take it next level with his skills.

Thats fair, I am not going to expect him to have as much success in the league or even close to Curry though...too high of a bar imo.and not fair at all to him.
he does show flashes of it though so I get the optimism.
I see him not being able to take and make corner 3's unless his defender falls asleep or moves off him right now. anywhere else and he should be alright given his ability to create separation, it's just not something I am entirely confident in him doing once teams game plan against it and they are not doing that at all right now.
We will have a much better Idea of what we have in DG after Love is gone , unfortunately if DG struggles with heavier attn on him his overall impact will probably be much less than a typical top 5 draft pick without surprising improved effort defensively or some significant improvements at finishing under the basket to compensate for not being able to drain shots with a defender in his grill like Steph who doesnt need hardly any space at all

It's unfair to compare any player to an All-Time great. The odds of replicating that level of success is extremely low, but it's also the nature of the game that once a player shows a path to success that others will come along and build upon that with varying degrees of success.

Of course, Steph didn't reach the heights he did on his own. He was surrounded by an amazing defensive team, another all-time great shooter, and a PF/C that could create offense when Steph was invariably trapped or double teamed.

Darius is just on the path, where he ends up, we'll just have to see - but I'm expecting some jaw dropping games from him as he gets his confidence up and shot volume up. If he starts to become a threat, the league will adjust, and then so will he.

JonFromVA wrote:

Stillwater wrote:

JonFromVA wrote:
My point was that even a great shooter like Curry with 3 years in College didn't enter the NBA and start firing up shots in high volume. He eventually earned the ultimate green light.

As for creating space ... I'm just not seeing a problem for Darius if he's able to put everything he's capable of doing together. Live dribble, 30ft range, stop on a dime, quick release, step back? He's got a shot to be our Steph or Dame, but nobody is going to put up with him playing like that if he's bricking.

We can take advantage of his shooting now by trying to get him more consistent looks, but if he continues to work on his shooting he can take it next level with his skills.

Thats fair, I am not going to expect him to have as much success in the league or even close to Curry though...too high of a bar imo.and not fair at all to him.
he does show flashes of it though so I get the optimism.
I see him not being able to take and make corner 3's unless his defender falls asleep or moves off him right now. anywhere else and he should be alright given his ability to create separation, it's just not something I am entirely confident in him doing once teams game plan against it and they are not doing that at all right now.
We will have a much better Idea of what we have in DG after Love is gone , unfortunately if DG struggles with heavier attn on him his overall impact will probably be much less than a typical top 5 draft pick without surprising improved effort defensively or some significant improvements at finishing under the basket to compensate for not being able to drain shots with a defender in his grill like Steph who doesnt need hardly any space at all

It's unfair to compare any player to an All-Time great. The odds of replicating that level of success is extremely low, but it's also the nature of the game that once a player shows a path to success that others will come along and build upon that with varying degrees of success.

Of course, Steph didn't reach the heights he did on his own. He was surrounded by an amazing defensive team, another all-time great shooter, and a PF/C that could create offense when Steph was invariably trapped or double teamed.

Darius is just on the path, where he ends up, we'll just have to see - but I'm expecting some jaw dropping games from him as he gets his confidence up and shot volume up. If he starts to become a threat, the league will adjust, and then so will he.

that would require him changing his shot mechanics or growing 6" neither of which seem likely to happen. once defenses adjust to him knocking down open shots he wont get those same looks at all...can he compensate and create looks after that within the flow of the offense and still become a solid distributor? I dont see it.
I give him a 40% chance of ever being more than a avg starter in the NBA at this point even if he does have a couple ridiculous shooting nights here and there

Stillwater wrote:

JonFromVA wrote:

Stillwater wrote:Thats fair, I am not going to expect him to have as much success in the league or even close to Curry though...too high of a bar imo.and not fair at all to him.
he does show flashes of it though so I get the optimism.
I see him not being able to take and make corner 3's unless his defender falls asleep or moves off him right now. anywhere else and he should be alright given his ability to create separation, it's just not something I am entirely confident in him doing once teams game plan against it and they are not doing that at all right now.
We will have a much better Idea of what we have in DG after Love is gone , unfortunately if DG struggles with heavier attn on him his overall impact will probably be much less than a typical top 5 draft pick without surprising improved effort defensively or some significant improvements at finishing under the basket to compensate for not being able to drain shots with a defender in his grill like Steph who doesnt need hardly any space at all

It's unfair to compare any player to an All-Time great. The odds of replicating that level of success is extremely low, but it's also the nature of the game that once a player shows a path to success that others will come along and build upon that with varying degrees of success.

Of course, Steph didn't reach the heights he did on his own. He was surrounded by an amazing defensive team, another all-time great shooter, and a PF/C that could create offense when Steph was invariably trapped or double teamed.

Darius is just on the path, where he ends up, we'll just have to see - but I'm expecting some jaw dropping games from him as he gets his confidence up and shot volume up. If he starts to become a threat, the league will adjust, and then so will he.

that would require him changing his shot mechanics or growing 6" neither of which seem likely to happen. once defenses adjust to him knocking down open shots he wont get those same looks at all...can he compensate and create looks after that within the flow of the offense and still become a solid distributor? I dont see it.
I give him a 40% chance of ever being more than a avg starter in the NBA at this point even if he does have a couple ridiculous shooting nights here and there

I just don't see the same mechanical problems you do, nor have I ever noticed them brought up in a draft profile or video.

Plus it's still reasonable to expect him to regain the quickness he demonstrated before surgery while adding strength.

His release looks akward and the arms are forward not up. It's not as bad as Trae young but pretty close. I mean if it goes in at a high rate noone cares but it won't be there as often either when it matters

Stillwater wrote:His release looks akward and the arms are forward not up. It's not as bad as Trae young but pretty close. I mean if it goes in at a high rate noone cares but it won't be there as often either when it matters

Pulled up the first highlight video I could find for Garland (before nba) and his release was forward, but clearly over his head.

Plus how is Trae Young's form hurting him? He's gone from high volume chucker to efficient shooter in just his second year

JonFromVA wrote:

Stillwater wrote:His release looks akward and the arms are forward not up. It's not as bad as Trae young but pretty close. I mean if it goes in at a high rate noone cares but it won't be there as often either when it matters

Pulled up the first highlight video I could find for Garland (before nba) and his release was forward, but clearly over his head.

Plus how is Trae Young's form hurting him? He's gone from high volume chucker to efficient shooter in just his second year

Yeah I have a much different view of Trae Young as most people. to me teams are unwilling to force their defensive rotations out far enough to cover his low % bombs and will live with him getting hot occasionally. Young is not an efficient outside shooter. His release and the need for significant separation is why. I mean he rarely misses at the line 3's when wide open off the dribble as opposed to off picks with his own man effecting his release