What Does The National Media Get Wrong About Your Team?

[shrink]

One of my favorite parts of RealGM is hearing from local fans who provide insights about their teams that I can’t get in the national media.

I thought this could be a good thread for us to spout off about national misperceptions about our favorite clubs and players?

[shrink]

Here’s an example I wrote elsewhere:

Also, as a local fan of the Wolves, I’ll tell you that this “Ant’s amazing leadership” topic is untrue - something the national media pushes because he is the most talented and exciting player on the successful Wolves. Ant is not the leader of the Timberwolves, and when he is asked about it, he will always say that’s Mike Conley, though he’ll acknowledge Gobert as the defensive leader.

One similar point though about Ant is that locally, people rave about his EQ (emotional quotient) for such a young player. In postgames, when national reporters are trying to give him credit, he always tries to deflect it to another player. For example, if he’s asked about scoring 38 points in a game, he’ll say, “yeah, but did you see the defense my boy Jaden McDaniels played tonight? He’s the star of this game!” He’s not the leader yet, but this is a great skill that ingratiates him with his teammates, and makes them work harder for the team. I applaud Karl-Anthony Towns for his willingness to give Ant the spotlight, but Ant probably also deserves credit for constantly appreciating KAT in the media, and KAT isn’t the only player on the Wolves that probably has felt unappreciated (Gobert, Jaden). Ant is always listening to vets, asking questions, and he’ll take advice from anyone, which also helps people buy in.

I know Ant acts brash and probably believes he’s truly the best player on the NBA, but he doesn’t act like that towards his teammates, and these people-skills will help him become a leader in the future. But he’s not the leader of the Wolves yet - maybe watching the vets in the Olympics will help.

[Apz]

Imo, as a mavs fan, most things. Have to go to work soon tho so doesnt have time to write anything atm, maybe tonight if its chill at work

[Texas Chuck]

I don't think they get much wrong. Nor do I think the local media gets more right. You should listen to MacMahon and you should listen to Stein. Any other local person is going to be a mouthpiece. No other national guy has any special insight. Woj and Shams and Haynes will get transactions right because they do. Lowe and Windhorst will give you pretty reliable rumor/scuttlebutt stuff but without Stein's deep connections.

But Mavs fans don't have some special insight into the team. Sure we know some more specifics about how individuals play and how Kidd/Sweeney want them to play, but as far as this forum goes we aren't really going to have some huge advantage on value/direction over the regs here who follow the Association closely.

[Billl]

As a pistons fan, I'll let you know the next time anyone in the national media takes the time to comment on us.

[kobe_vs_jordan]

Idk, think generally national media is more open and honest about their coverage. Local media writers are usually loyal to ownership and typical only put out positive things.

[penbeast0]

They get the Wiz pretty much right. We sucked last year. We will suck this coming year. The only truly interesting thing on the team is seeing how our rookies (Sarr, Carrington, and George) and 2nd year guys (Coulibaly and maybe Vucevic) develop.

[toooskies]

Evan Mobley improved in nearly every efficiency stat last year. But his minutes went down due to injury restrictions which obscures pretty decent improvements across the board.

Season	G	MP	TS%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/48	OBPM	DBPM	BPM
2021-22	69	2331	.549	13.5	11.6	1.2	4.4	12.4	20.4	.107	-0.9	1.5	0.6
2022-23	79	2715	.591	15.4	12.4	1.1	4.0	11.9	20.2	.151	0.0	1.6	1.7
2023-24	50	1532	.626	17.2	15.9	1.5	4.2	12.5	20.6	.174	0.9	2.0	2.9
Career	198	6578	.584	15.2	12.9	1.2	4.2	12.2	20.4	.141	-0.1	1.7	1.6

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/23/2024.

[Crymson]

It was frustrating in the early stages of last season to see the Pistons' former coach treated as if he were a victim of circumstances rather than the brutal force of coaching destruction that he was; he took an inadequate roster and made it spectacularly worse on the court, and the team's performance was victimized by him rather than vice-versa.

But the national media members who actually put in their due diligence (rather than just being talking heads) did catch on to his insane ineffectuality as the season progressed.

[Crymson]

Evan Mobley improved in nearly every efficiency stat last year. But his minutes went down due to injury restrictions which obscures pretty decent improvements across the board.

Season	G	MP	TS%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/48	OBPM	DBPM	BPM
2021-22	69	2331	.549	13.5	11.6	1.2	4.4	12.4	20.4	.107	-0.9	1.5	0.6
2022-23	79	2715	.591	15.4	12.4	1.1	4.0	11.9	20.2	.151	0.0	1.6	1.7
2023-24	50	1532	.626	17.2	15.9	1.5	4.2	12.5	20.6	.174	0.9	2.0	2.9
Career	198	6578	.584	15.2	12.9	1.2	4.2	12.2	20.4	.141	-0.1	1.7	1.6

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/23/2024.

He didn't improve as a shooter, and that remains the area in which the Cavaliers most need him to progress so long as Allen is also on the roster.

[Scoot McGroot]

Only take I’ve seen as specifically wrong with Indiana this offseason has been the take “since Indy re signed Obi, they need to/ are going to trade Jarace Walker”.

For the most part, Indy is finally playing a bit more positionally free. Walker sat as Indy rebuilt his shot, and he’s played the 3/4/5, as well as point forward in Indy/GLeague play and practice/camps. And, he’s just entering his 2nd year, so there’s a TON of flexibility there. But mostly, we’re going to see a ton of wonky lineups. We’ll see all 3 PF’s playing together, and I’m sure we’ll also see 4 guard lineups at times. As well as a ton of other possibilities. And we’ve seen how much additional value that combo forwards carry and how tough they are to acquire. I think Indy is going to hold onto Walker as long as it takes to know he won’t be “that guy” even if he ends up failing.


Everything else is pretty subjective and I can’t really argue anything until we see some games played.

[toooskies]

Evan Mobley improved in nearly every efficiency stat last year. But his minutes went down due to injury restrictions which obscures pretty decent improvements across the board.

Season	G	MP	TS%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/48	OBPM	DBPM	BPM
2021-22	69	2331	.549	13.5	11.6	1.2	4.4	12.4	20.4	.107	-0.9	1.5	0.6
2022-23	79	2715	.591	15.4	12.4	1.1	4.0	11.9	20.2	.151	0.0	1.6	1.7
2023-24	50	1532	.626	17.2	15.9	1.5	4.2	12.5	20.6	.174	0.9	2.0	2.9
Career	198	6578	.584	15.2	12.9	1.2	4.2	12.2	20.4	.141	-0.1	1.7	1.6

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/23/2024.

He didn't improve as a shooter, and that remains the area in which the Cavaliers most need him to progress so long as Allen is also on the roster.

He went from shooting 22% on threes to 37% on threes. The volume isn't there yet but that's clearly improvement.

[toooskies]

Other Cleveland item:

Donovan Mitchell was dropping signs all last season that he is very happy playing in Cleveland. Supporting and advocating for his teammates, playing as part of the team, mocking the Knicks for being willing to part with Quickley/Barrett/Grimes for OG/Bojan but not him (and then saying he was glad how things turned out). Literally no one in the national media noticed those things, instead letting Stephen A do a monologue about him going to the Knicks every time the Cavs played on ESPN, letting Perk claim he played his last game in Cleveland after they were eliminated, etc.

[drosestruts]

I think both national and local media love to use the Bulls as a punching bag, when in reality the team is simply more unlucky than some disastrously run franchise (though they have and do make some mistakes).

Lonzo Ball for instance - may not have had the cleanest health history, but I don't think even the biggest skeptics would predict 2.5 years without seeing the court. Lonzo was the glue that made the Bulls work - they made their moves all pretty rapidly. Vuc, Ball, Caruso, and Derozan we're all acquired within two transaction. cycles (trade deadline and offseason) - it left them little room for adjustment, but for half a season when healthy - it looked pretty good.

After that - you have continued unlucky injury breaks. Caruso and Williams both break their wrists on what could be considered dirty plays by Allen and Mitchell. LaVine's injury last year. Williams injured again last year. Nearly two seasons lost to your #4 overall pick.

That amount of injuries to key guys would be difficult for any franchise to handle.

I would also throw out there that something I feel the national media gets wrong but local media gets right - the Bulls are NOT tanking. They're simply getting younger, I don't think it's their intention to be purposefully bad (though I guess we'll see what actually happens).

Back to the punching bag comment - the Bulls had a decent offseason the past two years:

- they extended White and Ayo at great value deals
- I'm fairly neutral on the Williams deal, but also think it has potential to be very good with a downside of just being ok.
- I liked the Jalen Smith signing
- I personally think the Giddey trade is far better than the medias reaction to it. Did a team with SGA, Williams, Dort, and Wallace need another defensive guard (even if Caruso is an incredible one?) - who are they benching for Caruso? Is Caruso playing in clutch time?

- The Bulls have also been drafting a number of guys that were clearly always going to take some time. We've seen Coby and Ayo have break out seasons. Williams is a little more under the radar but his defense in year 3 was incredible - he graded out as the best iso defender in the entire NBA. Offense gets all the eyeballs - but this guy is already a top tier defender.

- I have varying levels of optimism for Buzelis, Dalen Terry, and Julian Phillips.

Bulls are a very young team with a number of young guys already showing some very promising developments. If the Bulls had just straight up sucked instead of being injured and mediocre analysts and fans would be drooling over their collection of young talent.

But they did it uncovnetinally and happen to be one of the NBAs favorite punching bags so people act like it doesn't exist.

The following players are all 24 and under:

Patrick Williams
Coby White
Jalen Smith
Josh Giddey
Ayo Dosunmu
Matas Buzelis
Dalen Terry
Julian Phillips
Adama Sanogo

If we're being honest - this is one of the better collections of talent 24 and under in the entire NBA

On top of that they have a 2x All-star who when healthy is one of the best high-volume high-effeciency guards in the entire NBA

And maybe a miraculously recovered excellent glue-guy in Lonzo Ball


It's not all rainbows and glitter - we have Vuc. Re-signing him was an awful decision. At 33 years old he doesn't fit the team at all.

[Texas Chuck]

The following players are all 24 and under:

Patrick Williams
Coby White
Jalen Smith
Josh Giddey
Ayo Dosunmu
Matas Buzelis
Dalen Terry
Julian Phillips
Adama Sanogo

If we're being honest - this is one of the better collections of talent 24 and under in the entire NBA

No, no it isn't. And this is probably a big part of why you are so convinced the national media is wrong. Because the local media is convincing you that these are high level young players and the national media rightfully looks at that group and sees maybe one guy with all-star potential and nothing close to a franchise player in the mix.

Compare this to I-35 Houston has potential stars. OKC has potential stars. Chicago? Has young players.

[Crymson]

He went from shooting 22% on threes to 37% on threes. The volume isn't there yet but that's clearly improvement.

He hit 22 threes across the course of the season. If he'd hit seven less of those across the 50 games he played (that is, about one less three for every seven games he played), he'd have shot the same percentage as he did in his rookie season. The volume was inconsequential, and his "improvement" is even less real than Okoro's. They need him to be a shooter, and he isn't a shooter.

[drosestruts]

The following players are all 24 and under:

Patrick Williams
Coby White
Jalen Smith
Josh Giddey
Ayo Dosunmu
Matas Buzelis
Dalen Terry
Julian Phillips
Adama Sanogo

If we're being honest - this is one of the better collections of talent 24 and under in the entire NBA

No, no it isn't. And this is probably a big part of why you are so convinced the national media is wrong. Because the local media is convincing you that these are high level young players and the national media rightfully looks at that group and sees maybe one guy with all-star potential and nothing close to a franchise player in the mix.

Compare this to I-35 Houston has potential stars. OKC has potential stars. Chicago? Has young players.

To be fair the local media dislikes them too.

The top guys, as I see them, in no particular order, are:

Coby White - just finished 2nd in MIP voting.

Josh Giddey - put up 16, 8 and 6 as a 20 year old. 19-7-7 in games without SGA last year. Coming off a solid Olympics performance. Still only 21

Matas Buzelis - a year ago was considered the #1 prospect in the draft. Falls to 11th. Very good handles for his size. Great cutter, athletic finisher, racks up STOCKS, needs to improve his shot.

Patrick Williams - as previously mentioned, has had some great defensive metrics in his career. Career 41% 3-point shooter - at minimum a good 3&d guy. Still only 22.

Ayo Dosunmu - in 37 games as a starter last year (primarily post Zach injury) he put up 15.5 points per game on 50/41/82 shooting splits for a 61% TS%.


Also being one of the better collections of under 24 talent, doesn't mean having the best collection of under 24 talent. Yes teams like OKC clearly have a better group of young players.

[shrink]

Only take I’ve seen as specifically wrong with Indiana this offseason has been the take “since Indy re signed Obi, they need to/ are going to trade Jarace Walker.”

Yes, and I think this is the format that some national outlets use covering many teams to get hits

“Because of <insert spurious reason>, good player on another team will be available, probably for cheap!”

[OxAndFox]

Nothing. They don't talk about Sacramento.

[OxAndFox]

The following players are all 24 and under:

Patrick Williams
Coby White
Jalen Smith
Josh Giddey
Ayo Dosunmu
Matas Buzelis
Dalen Terry
Julian Phillips
Adama Sanogo

If we're being honest - this is one of the better collections of talent 24 and under in the entire NBA

On top of that they have a 2x All-star who when healthy is one of the best high-volume high-effeciency guards in the entire NBA

And maybe a miraculously recovered excellent glue-guy in Lonzo Ball


It's not all rainbows and glitter - we have Vuc. Re-signing him was an awful decision. At 33 years old he doesn't fit the team at all.

I would prefer Sacramento's group of 24-under players than the Bulls. And the Kings' youth as a top end x depth is probably middle of the pack in the NBA.
Keegan, Ellis and Carter I would prefer by a large margin over White, Giddey, Buzelis. I'm not sure if Pat Will and Dosunmu make up for the gap.

Giddey will be the best player in that Bulls group, but IMO he is going to be a guy that if you put the ball in his hands will rack up video game numbers (I believe he will be 22/8/11 this season), but I don't see it leading to more wins. Hopefully, it does, but I'm not convinced. If you don't put the ball in his hands, well I don't think you should have him on your roster.