Re: Updates on former Wolves
Posted: Thu Nov 1, 2018 4:54 pm
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https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1620983
The most impressive part (for Bazz) is the 5 assistsupriser7 wrote:
lbj273 wrote:The most impressive part (for Bazz) is the 5 assistsupriser7 wrote:
PharmD wrote:Maybe the teams speak English?
We're talking about a league where Jimmer Fredette is the scoring champion and MVP. Of course Bazz is gonna dominate.
The Butler trade could allow Thibs to modernize his approach. Saric has been struggling this season, but he established himself as one of the better small-ball 4s in the NBA last season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, while shooting 39.3 percent from 3 on 5.1 attempts per game. He’s a better version of Nemanja Bjelica, who has been one of the key pieces in Sacramento’s turnaround after spending the last two seasons in the doghouse in Minnesota. Thibs played Bjelica at the 3 next to two traditional big men (Towns and Taj Gibson) instead of using him to open up the floor at the 4. Saric, who is tougher and more defensive-minded than Bjelica, should have an easier time getting on Thibodeau’s good side.
Even the Kings might not have seen their early success coming. With a 6-4 record and a net rating of plus-0.3, they have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NBA. Sacramento has only one win over a team with a record above .500, and it is coming off a 35-point home loss to the best team it has faced all season (Milwaukee), but its performance in the first 10 games isn’t all smoke and mirrors.
The key has been moving to a four-out offense with a new-look starting lineup. The Kings have a net rating of plus-16.4 in 165 minutes when De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Nemanja Bjelica, and Willie Cauley-Stein are all on the floor. It’s basic, modern basketball, with Bjelica and Hield spreading the floor for pick-and-rolls between Fox and Cauley-Stein. For the first time in years, their best players are all in roles that fit their games. Iman Shumpert, whom they acquired at the trade deadline last season, and Justin Jackson, the no. 15 overall pick in last year’s draft, have alternated in the fifth spot as 3-and-D players.
Bjelica, whom Sacramento signed to a three-year, $20.5 million contract in the offseason, has been the difference-maker. His shooting ability opens up the floor for his new teammates. A former EuroLeague MVP who never clicked with Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota, the 30-year-old has thrived as a full-time NBA starter. He is averaging 14.4 points on 56.1 percent shooting, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Even as his ridiculous 3-point shooting numbers (53.8 percent on 3.9 attempts per game) regress, the threat of his shot will still stretch out the defense.
minimus wrote:Two great articles related to Thibs coaching and Bjelica.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/11/18084790/timberwolves-jimmy-butler-trade-saric-covingtonThe Butler trade could allow Thibs to modernize his approach. Saric has been struggling this season, but he established himself as one of the better small-ball 4s in the NBA last season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, while shooting 39.3 percent from 3 on 5.1 attempts per game. He’s a better version of Nemanja Bjelica, who has been one of the key pieces in Sacramento’s turnaround after spending the last two seasons in the doghouse in Minnesota. Thibs played Bjelica at the 3 next to two traditional big men (Towns and Taj Gibson) instead of using him to open up the floor at the 4. Saric, who is tougher and more defensive-minded than Bjelica, should have an easier time getting on Thibodeau’s good side.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/6/18066284/sacramento-kings-start-marvin-bagley
Klomp wrote:minimus wrote:Two great articles related to Thibs coaching and Bjelica.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/11/18084790/timberwolves-jimmy-butler-trade-saric-covingtonThe Butler trade could allow Thibs to modernize his approach. Saric has been struggling this season, but he established himself as one of the better small-ball 4s in the NBA last season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, while shooting 39.3 percent from 3 on 5.1 attempts per game. He’s a better version of Nemanja Bjelica, who has been one of the key pieces in Sacramento’s turnaround after spending the last two seasons in the doghouse in Minnesota. Thibs played Bjelica at the 3 next to two traditional big men (Towns and Taj Gibson) instead of using him to open up the floor at the 4. Saric, who is tougher and more defensive-minded than Bjelica, should have an easier time getting on Thibodeau’s good side.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/6/18066284/sacramento-kings-start-marvin-bagley
This is only when injuries prompted it. Most of the last two years, Bjelica was a PF.
minimus wrote:If not injuries Bjelica would not get any consistent playing time because Thibs did not believe in as starting stretch 4
upriser7 wrote:
Klomp wrote:minimus wrote:If not injuries Bjelica would not get any consistent playing time because Thibs did not believe in as starting stretch 4
How many DNP-CDs did he get? I don't recall any. He got consistent playing time, it just wasn't as many minutes as you wanted.
it just wasn't as many minutes as you wanted.
upriser7 wrote:Looks like Ricky seems to have had an atrocious start to season so far
Rookie-Mistake wrote:upriser7 wrote:Looks like Ricky seems to have had an atrocious start to season so far
He has. He is absolutely flogging my fantasy team to smithereens
mplsfonz23 wrote:So is this the thread to come to when we want to bash/praise Butler?
Looked like he was trying to defer last night when they needed his hero ball. Only 2 shots in the 4th?
upriser7 wrote:mplsfonz23 wrote:So is this the thread to come to when we want to bash/praise Butler?
Looked like he was trying to defer last night when they needed his hero ball. Only 2 shots in the 4th?
that's expected imo...remember our first 10 games last season? Jimmy was mainly taking backseat in offense
PharmD wrote:upriser7 wrote:mplsfonz23 wrote:So is this the thread to come to when we want to bash/praise Butler?
Looked like he was trying to defer last night when they needed his hero ball. Only 2 shots in the 4th?
that's expected imo...remember our first 10 games last season? Jimmy was mainly taking backseat in offense
I really loved that team when Jimmy was in facilitate mode. We were 7-1 with Facilitate Jimmy and looked so good. Then he decided to let everyone know "The G stands for Gets" and went into selfish mode that made everything gum up and look like ****. JimME ftl.