Things to hope for this off-season..
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:12 am
#1. If this team's playing at it's best, I don't think it's one bit of a stretch at all to say we're the 2nd best team in the East. As is. If you disagree with that, fine. But it's what I believe. And we're young too. And we have a lot of room for growth.
#2. Drummond. He's 23 yrs old. What he can do in the pick and roll game really is special. He's got other things he can do well offensively as well. When he works hard to establish low enough post position, namely. He could certainly stand to get in better shape, I think. Not necessarily to lose weight, but to turn some of that fat into muscle. I think it'd help him a great deal on the court, endurance/effort-wise, and quickness-wise -- on defense especially. Offensively, he gets into "Andre All-Star" mode and forces stupid shots sometimes, and that needs to stop. Defensively, his awareness, effort, positioning and reactions are all poor. The potential to be a real stopper for us to fall back on eventually is there, though. Part of it, I'm sure, is HIS effort to get better. But part of it too, I think, is his coaching. I don't think the guy's being coached well enough, plain and simple. And maybe he needs someone who'll better motivate him too. I really hope that, 1-Stan will take a very serious approach to finding Dre, basically, a personal coach this off-season. I really hope that, 2-Dre will take the steps he needs to; to get really serious about being a professional, growing up, becoming great.. being a leader.. and dropping this kid attitude he's still got. Finding him someone to really work on this FT crap is essential too. He needs to be able to be on the court late in games if we're going to win a championship ever.
#3. Backup center. Baynes does a lot of nice things, for sure. But he's not athletic enough to switch and guard attackers on the perimeter. Plain and simple. And it's an absolute must to have on the court at all 5 positions in the NBA today. Boban -- from what I've seen -- is actually less of a weakness in this regard. He drops down and covers so much space (and air, lol). He also just oozes with talent offensively, I think. We he gets the ball in good position down low he can't be stopped.. he has such great touch around the rim. He gets up so high to grab boards, and to contest shots. I for one am all for letting Baynes go, and for letting Boban step into his minutes. That being said though, we should have a 5 who's a little more athletic around the perimeter. And I wonder if ELLENSON could be that guy? Hard to know since he hasn't gotten any minutes yet whatsoever. Maybe next year we'll see.
#4. Point guard. Reggie. When he's healthy, the way he can penetrate and attack the rim and find Drummond -- he really is a very solid NBA talent. His mid-range game can get hot; real hot. His ability to take over games is very real. He can hit open deep shots. Offensively, he really just needs to cut out the dumb forced contested early 3's. And, healthy, with Ish getting a lot of minutes, his energy and effort has been great. Ish as a backup has been absurdly good too, I think. He's got that same ability as an attacking play-maker and scorer. And his defense has been pretty decent on smaller, quicker guards too. Reggie -- no matter what effort he gives -- is just going to be a bad defender. Puts a lot of pressure on KCP. But is what it is, I suppose.
#5. Leuer. I don't like him. He's not athletic enough to switch and guard perimeter attackers. We're getting killed by people with him on the court. And his offensive game, namely his outside shot, hasn't been good enough to make up for it. I'd like to see him dealt. Worst case, I'd like to see his minutes significantly reduced.
#6. Tobias. Tobias I really do think is a star. Offensively, the dude is for real. Defensively--with his effort and intangibles, toughness, intelligence.. he's certainly not a big problem.
#7. Marcus. Guy's the leader of our team. And a very solid player in his own right.
#8. Stanley. He's maybe the most talented asset on our roster. He can legit match up with LeBron (as well as anyone). His offensive playmaking is great. His shot and what not's developing. He's only 20 yrs old. He's got an immediate position on this team. He's got a huge future on this team. Artest defense, Jimmy Butler offense -- that's the ceiling.
#9. KCP. Great character. Max him out for sure this off-season. Offensive game and outside shot continues to improve. Defense, as our #1 perimeter defender, is an asset. 24 yrs old.. still has room to improve. Guy who can take over a game when he needs to.
#10. Draft pick. Need to get a 2-3-4 who can really shoot from deep. Athletic enough to defend on the perimeter. Really hoping we'll be able to add another piece in the draft here.
#11. FA. Maybe use the MLE on a guy like Dedmon, if we don't think Ellenson is ready to be our perimeter capable (defensively) backup center.
C: Dre - - - - - MLE/Boban/Ellenson
PF: Tobias - - - - - Marcus/Leuer
SF: Marcus - - - - - Stanley/1st
SG: KCP - - - - - Stanley
PG: Reggie - - - - - Ish
#2. Drummond. He's 23 yrs old. What he can do in the pick and roll game really is special. He's got other things he can do well offensively as well. When he works hard to establish low enough post position, namely. He could certainly stand to get in better shape, I think. Not necessarily to lose weight, but to turn some of that fat into muscle. I think it'd help him a great deal on the court, endurance/effort-wise, and quickness-wise -- on defense especially. Offensively, he gets into "Andre All-Star" mode and forces stupid shots sometimes, and that needs to stop. Defensively, his awareness, effort, positioning and reactions are all poor. The potential to be a real stopper for us to fall back on eventually is there, though. Part of it, I'm sure, is HIS effort to get better. But part of it too, I think, is his coaching. I don't think the guy's being coached well enough, plain and simple. And maybe he needs someone who'll better motivate him too. I really hope that, 1-Stan will take a very serious approach to finding Dre, basically, a personal coach this off-season. I really hope that, 2-Dre will take the steps he needs to; to get really serious about being a professional, growing up, becoming great.. being a leader.. and dropping this kid attitude he's still got. Finding him someone to really work on this FT crap is essential too. He needs to be able to be on the court late in games if we're going to win a championship ever.
#3. Backup center. Baynes does a lot of nice things, for sure. But he's not athletic enough to switch and guard attackers on the perimeter. Plain and simple. And it's an absolute must to have on the court at all 5 positions in the NBA today. Boban -- from what I've seen -- is actually less of a weakness in this regard. He drops down and covers so much space (and air, lol). He also just oozes with talent offensively, I think. We he gets the ball in good position down low he can't be stopped.. he has such great touch around the rim. He gets up so high to grab boards, and to contest shots. I for one am all for letting Baynes go, and for letting Boban step into his minutes. That being said though, we should have a 5 who's a little more athletic around the perimeter. And I wonder if ELLENSON could be that guy? Hard to know since he hasn't gotten any minutes yet whatsoever. Maybe next year we'll see.
#4. Point guard. Reggie. When he's healthy, the way he can penetrate and attack the rim and find Drummond -- he really is a very solid NBA talent. His mid-range game can get hot; real hot. His ability to take over games is very real. He can hit open deep shots. Offensively, he really just needs to cut out the dumb forced contested early 3's. And, healthy, with Ish getting a lot of minutes, his energy and effort has been great. Ish as a backup has been absurdly good too, I think. He's got that same ability as an attacking play-maker and scorer. And his defense has been pretty decent on smaller, quicker guards too. Reggie -- no matter what effort he gives -- is just going to be a bad defender. Puts a lot of pressure on KCP. But is what it is, I suppose.
#5. Leuer. I don't like him. He's not athletic enough to switch and guard perimeter attackers. We're getting killed by people with him on the court. And his offensive game, namely his outside shot, hasn't been good enough to make up for it. I'd like to see him dealt. Worst case, I'd like to see his minutes significantly reduced.
#6. Tobias. Tobias I really do think is a star. Offensively, the dude is for real. Defensively--with his effort and intangibles, toughness, intelligence.. he's certainly not a big problem.
#7. Marcus. Guy's the leader of our team. And a very solid player in his own right.
#8. Stanley. He's maybe the most talented asset on our roster. He can legit match up with LeBron (as well as anyone). His offensive playmaking is great. His shot and what not's developing. He's only 20 yrs old. He's got an immediate position on this team. He's got a huge future on this team. Artest defense, Jimmy Butler offense -- that's the ceiling.
#9. KCP. Great character. Max him out for sure this off-season. Offensive game and outside shot continues to improve. Defense, as our #1 perimeter defender, is an asset. 24 yrs old.. still has room to improve. Guy who can take over a game when he needs to.
#10. Draft pick. Need to get a 2-3-4 who can really shoot from deep. Athletic enough to defend on the perimeter. Really hoping we'll be able to add another piece in the draft here.
#11. FA. Maybe use the MLE on a guy like Dedmon, if we don't think Ellenson is ready to be our perimeter capable (defensively) backup center.
C: Dre - - - - - MLE/Boban/Ellenson
PF: Tobias - - - - - Marcus/Leuer
SF: Marcus - - - - - Stanley/1st
SG: KCP - - - - - Stanley
PG: Reggie - - - - - Ish