2021-22 NBA Season Discussion

[RCM88x]

Can we talk about Evan Mobley’s defense? It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen: he seems just perfect in almost every technical facet on that end of the court.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

He's such an exciting prospect, he's been unbelievable on that end, I've been enjoying just solely focusing on him on Cavs defensive possessions, and he is just exhibiting a beautiful blend of athleticism, mobility and defensive IQ, but still clearly with areas to improve which is very exciting.

Side note on the cavs is Darius Garland has been awful to start the season. I was really excited for his development this year, its been a bizarre and poor start for him though, hope he picks it up (obviously he won't remain at this level of awful).


I think Cade and Jalen are going to have to become absolutely unreal prospects to warrant being taken over Mobley, I'm that high on him. If he can become good on the offensive end, the skys the limit. I just don't see it with Jalen, to me I see a supercharged Lavine/beal kind of player if he realises his potential, which while a good player, just isn't what I'm looking for in a prospect personally.

Curious to hear opposing takes on Jalen here, I'd love to see another perspective.

Garland might be the most over hyped player in the NBA at this point. Dude has the body of an 8th grader and absolutely no outstanding abilities. Pretty good at some things but not great at doing them consistently.

I guess it's because compared to Sexton it's a lot easier to see his skill set fitting into the modern NBA team oriented environment.

Personally while I don't think they can coexist long term, unless one accepts being a bench player, I think Garland's abilities are easier to find than Sexton's.

[falcolombardi]

harden heard gsp trashtalking and is waking up now

Did he fall back asleep?

it seems so, starting to legitimely think the injuries last year may have left permanent damage and is not just some early season out of shapeness

hell, fat harden was playing better last year at the start of the season lol

[Peregrine01]

Well, Harden has had a good 4 months to rehab from a strained hammy. Might still be bothering him or the rustiness from not playing much.

I do think that he's having a tougher time than most adapting to the new rules. His flopping has become such an ingrained part of his game that it happens naturally and he's just not getting to the line like he used to. Defenders are also allowed to crowd him a lot more whereas they used to give him space for fear of having the whistle blown.

[Outside]

Well, Harden has had a good 4 months to rehab from a strained hammy. Might still be bothering him or the rustiness from not playing much.

I do think that he's having a tougher time than most adapting to the new rules. His flopping has become such an ingrained part of his game that it happens naturally and he's just not getting to the line like he used to. Defenders are also allowed to crowd him a lot more whereas they used to give him space for fear of having the whistle blown.

Heard this mentioned on Debatable today. It's probably a combination of factors, but I do think this is part of it. Previously, you had some defenders playing with their hands behind their back to avoid him flailing to draw a foul. Now players can actually play defense on him.

[Clyde Frazier]

Well, Harden has had a good 4 months to rehab from a strained hammy. Might still be bothering him or the rustiness from not playing much.

I do think that he's having a tougher time than most adapting to the new rules. His flopping has become such an ingrained part of his game that it happens naturally and he's just not getting to the line like he used to. Defenders are also allowed to crowd him a lot more whereas they used to give him space for fear of having the whistle blown.

I don't blame harden for taking advantage of the way the game was officiated for as long as he has. Any complaints he has right now about being singled out are laughable though. Yes, you are the poster boy for these rule changes because you were elite at taking advantage of them, and on volume no less. You aren't being unfairly treated, you just need to learn to adjust. And yeah the way the refs are emphasizing it so far, that's gonna take time. Getting into shape wouldn't hurt either.

[penbeast0]

I don't blame harden for taking advantage of the way the game was officiated for as long as he has. Any complaints he has right now about being singled out are laughable though. Yes, you are the poster boy for these rule changes because you were elite at taking advantage of them, and on volume no less. You aren't being unfairly treated, you just need to learn to adjust. And yeah the way the refs are emphasizing it so far, that's gonna take time. Getting into shape wouldn't hurt either.

I haven't heard that Harden himself is complaining, just some Nets fans. Looked it up with a quickie Google search and the last entry under Harden complaining about refs is 2019 playoffs.

[Clyde Frazier]

I don't blame harden for taking advantage of the way the game was officiated for as long as he has. Any complaints he has right now about being singled out are laughable though. Yes, you are the poster boy for these rule changes because you were elite at taking advantage of them, and on volume no less. You aren't being unfairly treated, you just need to learn to adjust. And yeah the way the refs are emphasizing it so far, that's gonna take time. Getting into shape wouldn't hurt either.

I haven't heard that Harden himself is complaining, just some Nets fans. Looked it up with a quickie Google search and the last entry under Harden complaining about refs is 2019 playoffs.

Read on Twitter

[Fadeaway_J]

Well, Harden has had a good 4 months to rehab from a strained hammy. Might still be bothering him or the rustiness from not playing much.

I do think that he's having a tougher time than most adapting to the new rules. His flopping has become such an ingrained part of his game that it happens naturally and he's just not getting to the line like he used to. Defenders are also allowed to crowd him a lot more whereas they used to give him space for fear of having the whistle blown.

I don't blame harden for taking advantage of the way the game was officiated for as long as he has. Any complaints he has right now about being singled out are laughable though. Yes, you are the poster boy for these rule changes because you were elite at taking advantage of them, and on volume no less. You aren't being unfairly treated, you just need to learn to adjust. And yeah the way the refs are emphasizing it so far, that's gonna take time. Getting into shape wouldn't hurt either.

I do blame him and would have no sympathy if he was being "unfairly targeted", but I really wish I'd considered this factor before drafting him.

[LukaTheGOAT]

Can we talk about Evan Mobley’s defense? It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen: he seems just perfect in almost every technical facet on that end of the court.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

He's such an exciting prospect, he's been unbelievable on that end, I've been enjoying just solely focusing on him on Cavs defensive possessions, and he is just exhibiting a beautiful blend of athleticism, mobility and defensive IQ, but still clearly with areas to improve which is very exciting.

Side note on the cavs is Darius Garland has been awful to start the season. I was really excited for his development this year, its been a bizarre and poor start for him though, hope he picks it up (obviously he won't remain at this level of awful).


I think Cade and Jalen are going to have to become absolutely unreal prospects to warrant being taken over Mobley, I'm that high on him. If he can become good on the offensive end, the skys the limit. I just don't see it with Jalen, to me I see a supercharged Lavine/beal kind of player if he realises his potential, which while a good player, just isn't what I'm looking for in a prospect personally.

Curious to hear opposing takes on Jalen here, I'd love to see another perspective.

Garland might be the most over hyped player in the NBA at this point. Dude has the body of an 8th grader and absolutely no outstanding abilities. Pretty good at some things but not great at doing them consistently.

I guess it's because compared to Sexton it's a lot easier to see his skill set fitting into the modern NBA team oriented environment.

Personally while I don't think they can coexist long term, unless one accepts being a bench player, I think Garland's abilities are easier to find than Sexton's.

Garland is an incredible ball-handler with top-tier quickness. And he is potentially a really good voluminous 3 point shooter with a mentality shift. That is someone who can be at least a good starting point guard for some time. He also showed a lot more chops as a passer in the NBA than he did in college (very short time of course).

I don't know what to make of Garland, or know if he will be better than Sexton long-term. But he certainly has some things going for him.

[Peregrine01]

It's early but the Warriors look like the best team in the league again.

[Outside]

It's early but the Warriors look like the best team in the league again.

Too bad they didn't keep it up. Twenty-two turnovers -- ack.

They've been good for a quarter or even a half, but they have yet to put together a complete game.

[Statlanta]

More like it's early. I've seen the Warriors put maximum effort into the regular season before. They ended their season without the trophy.

[Colbinii]

It's early but the Warriors look like the best team in the league again.

The Warriors will always have moments and streaks where they look like the best team in the league as they have arguably the best player, a system which has been built and stood the test of time for 7 years and inarguably play The Beautiful Game.

My dark horse to win the Finals is still the Denver Nuggets if Jamal Murray can be back by March. The Bucks and notably Giannis has seemingly took another step forward and his confidence looks higher than it ever has. Utah and Miami are looking like early favorites to win their respective conferences with the amount of depth they have combined with top-end talent.

[Peregrine01]

It's early but the Warriors look like the best team in the league again.

Too bad they didn't keep it up. Twenty-two turnovers -- ack.

They've been good for a quarter or even a half, but they have yet to put together a complete game.

Spoke too soon.

Re: turnovers. The Warriors are a passing team, so we should expect higher turnovers from them but I think it's also a symptom of them playing line-ups with poor spacing. With guys like Dray, Iggy, Wiggins and Looney on the floor, defenses can pack the paint which makes those dump offs a lot more difficult. Offense was electric and the ball movement was humming when they paired Curry and Dray with Bjelica and Porter but that combo has hardly seen any minutes.

[eminence]

It's early but the Warriors look like the best team in the league again.

Too bad they didn't keep it up. Twenty-two turnovers -- ack.

They've been good for a quarter or even a half, but they have yet to put together a complete game.

Spoke too soon.

Re: turnovers. The Warriors are a passing team, so we should expect higher turnovers from them but I think it's also a symptom of them playing line-ups with poor spacing. With guys like Dray, Iggy, Wiggins and Looney on the floor, defenses can pack the paint which makes those dump offs a lot more difficult. Offense was electric and the ball movement was humming when they paired Curry and Dray with Bjelica and Porter but that combo has hardly seen any minutes.

Wiggins does not deserve to be lumped with the other 3 there. I'd even call him a good shooter, though mostly stand still or off the dribble.

[falcolombardi]

league at an early 107 offensive rating down from 112 the year prior

107 for context is the lowest since 2016, and is lower than the average 108 of the 80's/90's

true shooting fell down nearly 2% from the historically high 57% to a more normal 55% which is closer to the 54~% league has hovered around post merger

[Peregrine01]

Too bad they didn't keep it up. Twenty-two turnovers -- ack.

They've been good for a quarter or even a half, but they have yet to put together a complete game.

Spoke too soon.

Re: turnovers. The Warriors are a passing team, so we should expect higher turnovers from them but I think it's also a symptom of them playing line-ups with poor spacing. With guys like Dray, Iggy, Wiggins and Looney on the floor, defenses can pack the paint which makes those dump offs a lot more difficult. Offense was electric and the ball movement was humming when they paired Curry and Dray with Bjelica and Porter but that combo has hardly seen any minutes.

Wiggins does not deserve to be lumped with the other 3 there. I'd even call him a good shooter, though mostly stand still or off the dribble.

You're probably right. But he's not really a guy viewed as a threat. He's 34% from 3 for his career compared to Bjelica at 39% and Porter at 40%.

[eminence]

Warriors #1 problem so far has been Poole not coming close to his pre-season promise and so the team has no secondary guard creator worth a hoot.

[falcolombardi]

Warriors #1 problem so far has been Poole not coming close to his pre-season promise and so the team has no secondary guard creator worth a hoot.

they are still scoring well, albeit too depending on curry

a less noticed problem is that their defense has been fairly mediocre 5 games in compared to last year which was strong

but again 5 games sample

[eminence]

Warriors #1 problem so far has been Poole not coming close to his pre-season promise and so the team has no secondary guard creator worth a hoot.

they are still scoring well, albeit too depending on curry

a less noticed problem is that their defense has been fairly mediocre 5 games in compared to last year which was strong

but again 5 games sample

Ehh, no deep dive on their competition, but so far the offense is #14 and the defense is #7. Even the two games where the defense wasn't performing great (LAC/SAC) it stepped up in the 4th and clamped down to get the wins when the offense went a bit cold.