NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 5

dobrojim · Post #1901 » by **dobrojim** » Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:16 pm

tontoz wrote:Utah beat the Knicks

It's hard to decide who to root against when BOS plays NY.

tontoz · Post #1902 » by **tontoz** » Wed Dec 4, 2024 2:30 am

Watching the thunder vs rockets game from Sunday. A lot of athleticism on the floor. That certainly seems to be a trend now, versatile switchable players. Boston and Orlando are similar. I think that is what Dawkins has in mind.

Reed looks really small out there.

dobrojim · Post #1903 » by **dobrojim** » Thu Dec 5, 2024 2:59 pm

Heat pummels Lakers by 40. Boxscore indicates pretty much everyone MIA played
couldn't miss.

pcbothwel · Post #1904 » by **pcbothwel** » Thu Dec 5, 2024 4:41 pm

dobrojim wrote:Heat pummels Lakers by 40. Boxscore indicates pretty much everyone MIA played
couldn't miss.

Not to derail into trade talk, but this parity is PERFECT for us as sellers.

18 Buyers:
7: Teams with multiple All-NBA & AS caliber players in their prime, vying for a chip:
Cleveland, Boston, OKC, Dallas, Memphis, Knicks, and Denver

4: Teams that are a bit older and lack depth, but have the elite talent/Championship pedigree:
GSW, Suns, Lakers and Bucks

4: Teams that are underperforming, but are a "Pot Committed" and will still try for a playoff run:
LAC, Miami, TWolves, and Kings

3: Teams that have been tanking/bad but have their cornerstone high draft picks and are winning games:
HOU, ORL, and Spurs

7 "Who the Hell Knows"
4: Teams that THOUGHT they would be in the 2nd round of the playoffs, but are underperforming:
Pacers, Hawks, 76ers, and NOP

3: Teams that were HOPING that the BBall gods would give them a break:
Portland, Toronto, Detroit

5 Sellers
2: Below average teams looking to sell off assets and begin tank
Bulls & Nets

3: Bottom Feeders.
WAS, Charlotte & UTAH

closg00 · Post #1905 » by **closg00** » Thu Dec 5, 2024 6:53 pm

tontoz wrote:Watching the thunder vs rockets game from Sunday. A lot of athleticism on the floor. That certainly seems to be a trend now, versatile switchable players. Boston and Orlando are similar. I think that is what Dawkins has in mind.

Reed looks really small out there.

Jimmer 2.0, maybe not even that so-far, but he plays scant minutes.

doclinkin · Post #1906 » by **doclinkin** » Fri Dec 6, 2024 2:18 am

pcbothwel wrote:
dobrojim wrote:Heat pummels Lakers by 40. Boxscore indicates pretty much everyone MIA played
couldn't miss.

Not to derail into trade talk, but this parity is PERFECT for us as sellers.

18 Buyers:
7: Teams with multiple All-NBA & AS caliber players in their prime, vying for a chip:
Cleveland, Boston, OKC, Dallas, Memphis, Knicks, and Denver

4: Teams that are a bit older and lack depth, but have the elite talent/Championship pedigree:
GSW, Suns, Lakers and Bucks

4: Teams that are underperforming, but are a "Pot Committed" and will still try for a playoff run:
LAC, Miami, TWolves, and Kings

3: Teams that have been tanking/bad but have their cornerstone high draft picks and are winning games:
HOU, ORL, and Spurs

7 "Who the Hell Knows"
4: Teams that THOUGHT they would be in the 2nd round of the playoffs, but are underperforming:
Pacers, Hawks, 76ers, and NOP

3: Teams that were HOPING that the BBall gods would give them a break:
Portland, Toronto, Detroit

5 Sellers
2: Below average teams looking to sell off assets and begin tank
Bulls & Nets

3: Bottom Feeders.
WAS, Charlotte & UTAH

You also have the categories of teams that are in cap hell or in danger of it. Malcolm Brogdon is a player who is both useful for a team trying to make a deeper playoff run and has a sizable expiring contract. I can see contenders willing to bid on him for both aspects: postseason run + offseason flexibility.

Cap Hell. (2nd apron, can't make 2-for-1 trades)
PHX (can't trade any picks though since they are all already promised or swapped)
MIN (already traded their future to Utah for Rudy)
BOS (heaps of picks, and former 6MOY Brogdon is a great fit, except they don't need him)
MIL (Has no picks until forever)

Cap danger. (Tippytoeing the 2nd apron).
NYK (they have our pick if we ever end up good, but otherwise have shipped their future to the Nets)
LAL (have picks, and need a back-up PG and center, but are looking towards a post LeBJ future)
...
MIA (have all their picks, need a PG, Brogdon is an ideal fit, but an aging team that probably wants to re-fresh post-Jimmy).
DEN (future picks ship to Orlando and OKC)
PHI (picks encumbered various ways).
GSW (have all their picks and have breathing room after parting with Klay and CP3, but failed to make a big FA splash this past offseason, extra cap would help. Brogdon and JV are good fits with their style).

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #1907 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Wed Dec 11, 2024 6:05 am

Tough break for Franz Wagner. Torn oblique. Out indefinitely.

He has been putting up all star numbers and has been among the best out of that 2021 draft. I think he was the 8th pick.

dobrojim · Post #1908 » by **dobrojim** » Wed Dec 11, 2024 5:28 pm

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:Tough break for Franz Wagner. Torn oblique. Out indefinitely.

He has been putting up all star numbers and has been among the best out of that 2021 draft. I think he was the 8th pick.

Back in the daze when we were running the 3 headed center (Mo, Lopez and Alex Sen), I didn''t think
that much of Mo (Wagner) but now he is a very solid backup to the naked eye. It's much more than I
would have expected from him. Maybe I disrespected him as someone we got too easily.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #1909 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Thu Dec 12, 2024 6:53 am

Jalen Johnson of the Hawks has blown up in his fourth season.

19.8 pts/ 9.9rebs / 5.5asts / 1.4stls / 1.1blks

He's about to be 23. If Risacher turns out near as good Atlanta will be a powerhouse in a couple years.

closg00 · Post #1910 » by **closg00** » Thu Dec 12, 2024 1:02 pm

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:Jalen Johnson of the Hawks has blown up in his fourth season.

19.8 pts/ 9.9rebs / 5.5asts / 1.4stls / 1.1blks

He's about to be 23. If Risacher turns out near as good Atlanta will be a powerhouse in a couple years.

The Hawks have been on a roll, 7-3 their last 10, beating the Cavs twice:

Silvie Lysandra · Post #1911 » by **Silvie Lysandra** » Thu Dec 12, 2024 5:08 pm

dobrojim wrote:
Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:Tough break for Franz Wagner. Torn oblique. Out indefinitely.

He has been putting up all star numbers and has been among the best out of that 2021 draft. I think he was the 8th pick.

Back in the daze when we were running the 3 headed center (Mo, Lopez and Alex Sen), I didn''t think
that much of Mo (Wagner) but now he is a very solid backup to the naked eye. It's much more than I
would have expected from him. Maybe I disrespected him as someone we got too easily.

Mo Wagner's always been a really good offensive backup center, but his defense is generally nightmarishly bad, and requires a lot of switchable players (like his brother!) to really get the most out of his minutes.

closg00 · Post #1912 » by **closg00** » Sat Dec 14, 2024 5:32 pm

Who would have thought after embarrassing losses to the Wizards.

Read on Twitter

tontoz · Post #1913 » by **tontoz** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 4:28 pm

Kat just had an epic game against Minny, 32/20. Somehow he scored 32 points on only 12 shots from the field.

Dat2U · Post #1914 » by **Dat2U** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 5:03 pm

Stephon Castle is shooting 37.5% for the year and 34.8% for the last 9 games as well as 25% from 3. He's also #1 on the list for many as ROY.

Scoot is the same age, putting up better numbers and is labeled a massive bust.

Benjammin · Post #1915 » by **Benjammin** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 5:33 pm

^^^It's all about perception and the prevailing narrative.

Post #1916 » by **Rafael122** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 5:55 pm

Dat2U wrote:Stephon Castle is shooting 37.5% for the year and 34.8% for the last 9 games as well as 25% from 3. He's also #1 on the list for many as ROY.

Scoot is the same age, putting up better numbers and is labeled a massive bust.

The Rookie Ladder on NBA.com had McCain 2nd even though he's missed the last 4 games and more than likely out for the year. Naturally someone should move up in this case. I think Castle will fade to the back a bit as the Spurs get healthier, but assuming Sarr keeps up this pace, he's definitely in the running for ROY. Edey as a darkhorse.

doclinkin · Post #1917 » by **doclinkin** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 7:06 pm

Dat2U wrote:Stephon Castle is shooting 37.5% for the year and 34.8% for the last 9 games as well as 25% from 3. He's also #1 on the list for many as ROY.

Scoot is the same age, putting up better numbers and is labeled a massive bust.

Benjammin wrote:^^^It's all about perception and the prevailing narrative.

Or in the case of Castle, about defense and praise by HOFer Chris Paul for his play. Does Scoot play D? I haven't tracked him all that closely. I do see how Castle is tasked with playing guard dog on the opponent's best guy every night. He's doing what he was drafted to do, whereas Scoot was drafted as a franchise savior supernova offensive talent.

tontoz · Post #1918 » by **tontoz** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 7:45 pm

Castle's BPM of -5.1 is only fractionally better than Bub's -5.5.

For perspective the worst in the league is Gabe Vincent at -6.0.

Dat2U · Post #1919 » by **Dat2U** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:02 pm

doclinkin wrote:
Dat2U wrote:Stephon Castle is shooting 37.5% for the year and 34.8% for the last 9 games as well as 25% from 3. He's also #1 on the list for many as ROY.

Scoot is the same age, putting up better numbers and is labeled a massive bust.

Benjammin wrote:^^^It's all about perception and the prevailing narrative.

Or in the case of Castle, about defense and praise by HOFer Chris Paul for his play. Does Scoot play D? I haven't tracked him all that closely. I do see how Castle is tasked with playing guard dog on the opponent's best guy every night. He's doing what he was drafted to do, whereas Scoot was drafted as a franchise savior supernova offensive talent.

I think that speaks to his potential to do more than just be a PG which I think is needed for his survival. IMO his future is off the ball. If he can find some level of consistency with his jumper and be at least passable, he can have a role in the league for a long time. Dyson Daniels fitting alongside Trae would be a good example.

doclinkin · Post #1920 » by **doclinkin** » Sat Dec 21, 2024 4:48 am

As always with rookies the real proof of their worth lies in their ability to adapt and adjust. Usually this is seen in the offseason. Rookie year you’re looking for a skill or two that will translate. With Castle it’s as a glue guy. Defense and IQ and focus. He has good size and smarts and competitive desire. He takes contact well in traffic and is undaunted against the marquee matchups. Castle won a championship as a role player after starring in AAU ball, I am confident he will buy in and make the adjustments needed in the offseason. Contrasting with a guy like Scoot, all the talent is there but until now I get the sense things came easy for him. He may have to struggle more before he finds out what he can do. Meanwhile he’s gonna shoot until there’s no ammo left.