2021-22 NBA Season Discussion

[parsnips33]

Who do you think has a better chance at turning their season around - Portland or Atlanta?

Or is there another team currently on the outside who you think could claw their way back to a playoff spot (not play-in) before the end of the year?

[Doctor MJ]

Who do you think has a better chance at turning their season around - Portland or Atlanta?

Or is there another team currently on the outside who you think could claw their way back to a playoff spot (not play-in) before the end of the year?

Atlanta. The Blazers feel like they've run their course.

[Colbinii]

Who do you think has a better chance at turning their season around - Portland or Atlanta?

Or is there another team currently on the outside who you think could claw their way back to a playoff spot (not play-in) before the end of the year?

Atlanta pretty comfortably for me. They have regressed from last seasons hotness but still have significantly more talent than the Blazers.

The Blazers aren't better than teams like the Lakers or Timberwolves [in my opinion].

[TheGOATRises007]

I feel like Curry's MVP case is getting worse and worse.

He's had some brutal games the past month.

[falcolombardi]

I feel like Curry's MVP case is getting worse and worse.

He's had some brutal games the past month.

as Long as warriors keep winning games he will get it imo

no other superstar (durant, lebron, giannis, jokic) is close to warriors record right now

[Peregrine01]

Curry is the undisputed greatest shoot ever but he has some inexplicable stretches where he shoots just plain awful.

[falcolombardi]

Curry is the undisputed greatest shoot ever but he has some inexplicable stretches where he shoots just plain awful.

is not that inexplicable, there is a lot of variance in shooting regardless of how good you are at it

[Peregrine01]

Curry is the undisputed greatest shoot ever but he has some inexplicable stretches where he shoots just plain awful.

is not that inexplicable, there is a lot of variance in shooting regardless of how good you are at it

There is yes. But he's missing plain layups as well. Clear that he's in his own head when he goes through these stretches.

In other news, Utah's defense is a sieve without Gobert.

[Texas Chuck]

Man I miss Dirk.

[Texas Chuck]

Curry is the undisputed greatest shoot ever but he has some inexplicable stretches where he shoots just plain awful.

is not that inexplicable, there is a lot of variance in shooting regardless of how good you are at it

There is yes. But he's missing plain layups as well. Clear that he's in his own head when he goes through these stretches.

In other news, Utah's defense is a sieve without Gobert.

I mean he couldn't make a shot tonight, but a lot of those were rim outs on the 3's. And give Dallas some credit on the contests on the layups. Got his shot blocked at least 3x time at the rim.

I'm concerned zero about his shot-making. It was his decision making tonight that was just awful. Some of the absolute worst turnovers. He and Draymond were just not invested in this game at all. Which is going to happen. Playing a mediocre team on a Wednesday night on the road. Sometimes you just aren't up for it especially not when Dallas put up a lot more resistance than I think they expected.

[Peregrine01]

Jokic's biggest weakness is his passivity. No reason for him to be taking just 16 shots when he's being guarded by Rudy Gay most of the game.

[yoyoboy]

Jokic's supporting cast is so pathetic. These guys have look like college players trying to beat a zone defense.

[Peregrine01]

Jokic's supporting cast is so pathetic. These guys have look like college players trying to beat a zone defense.

Campazzo absolutely needs to play a lot more. I really don't know what Austin Rivers does anymore.

[GSP]

Kelly Oubre is having himself a season after all the negative things said about him. The vital piece in Charlottes small ball lineup. Top 3 6moy candidate. 8 3s in a quarter? WTF

[falcolombardi]

oubre is a good example of a player who is at his best the less he has to make decisións and pass. yet a player like that has a clear ceiling unless we are talking of a historically great finisher (like amare) which oubre clearly is not

[GSP]

Nba Tv flexing Warriors Cavs game and apparently ticket prices are sky high for that game......Klay back?

[dcstanley]

oubre is a good example of a player who is at his best the less he has to make decisións and pass. yet a player like that has a clear ceiling unless we are talking of a historically great finisher (like amare) which oubre clearly is not

he's a player that probably looks a lot better playing with heliocentric playmakers like Luka, Lebron, Harden, etc than a system like Kerr's that is reliant on IQ and ball and player movement.

[GSP]

oubre is a good example of a player who is at his best the less he has to make decisións and pass. yet a player like that has a clear ceiling unless we are talking of a historically great finisher (like amare) which oubre clearly is not

he's a player that probably looks a lot better playing with heliocentric playmakers like Luka, Lebron, Harden, etc than a system like Kerr's that is reliant on IQ and ball and player movement.

Is Lamelo really a heliocentric player? I dunno.... And Oubre had his best stretch when Lamelo was out too

[dcstanley]

oubre is a good example of a player who is at his best the less he has to make decisións and pass. yet a player like that has a clear ceiling unless we are talking of a historically great finisher (like amare) which oubre clearly is not

he's a player that probably looks a lot better playing with heliocentric playmakers like Luka, Lebron, Harden, etc than a system like Kerr's that is reliant on IQ and ball and player movement.

Is Lamelo really a heliocentric player? I dunno.... And Oubre had his best stretch when Lamelo was out too

Good point. Wasn't really referring to his play this season, just co-signing falcombardi's point which imo explains his poor season with the Warriors. His failure within that system marred his perception around the league. I just think the system was a little too involved for him.. He's the type of player that fares better shooting spot-up threes, attacking closeouts, and sparingly creating on an iso.

[MisterHibachi]

Curry's scoring diversity seems to have taken a significant dive this year.

66% (!!!) of his shots have come from 3 this year, by far a career high. Last year it was 59%, and his career high before this year was 60% in 2019. Obviously this means a career low attempts from 2pt range.

13% of his shots at the rim, lowest since 2013, and only shooting 59% on them, close to a career low and lowest since 2013.

He's essentially relying just on the 3 to score this year, and he's Steph Curry so it still works but some signs of decline here imo. He really needs Klay to come back to carry some of the scoring load.

So, I think this is certainly what we expect with age and thus I expect you're pointing to a real trend...but we are also talking about the Warriors being dramatically better offensively this year compared to last year. As such, I'd urge caution in interpreting Curry's numbers as if the only cause here is Curry getting older.

Consider the TS Add of the Warriors the past two years:

'20-21: +164.1 in 72 games
'21-22: +190.2 in 34 games

That's a dramatic improvement, and so practically speaking it's not the case that the Warriors are struggling to get good shots this year.

Is Curry's supporting cast more effective this year? Absolutely, and those players deserve credit for this...but they are doing this in a Curry-defined environment. We don't just "know" this because of reputation, Curry's +/- lead over the rest of the team is more dramatic than we've ever seen before:

'21-22: Curry +375, 2nd Place +188 (Green)
'20-21: Curry +242, 2nd Place +241 (Green)
'19-20: injured
'18-19: Curry +690, 2nd Place +660 (Durant)
'17-18: Curry +483, 2nd Place +397 (Thompson)
'16-17: Curry +1013, 2nd Place +820 (Green)
'15-16: Green +1071, 2nd Place +1022 (Curry)
'14-15: Curry +921, 2nd Palce +833 (Green)

Now, all typical caveats about raw +/- being overly simplistic and much depending on who each guy is playing with. Kerr used to be known for playing Curry & Green together as much as possible, now that's not the case.

But I think we're seeing quite clearly is that the Warriors are a more effective scoring team than last year on the back of the entire team basically being able to take advantage of Curry's gravity as a matter of course.

None of this is to say that Klay won't help, because if nothing else, Klay gives you the possibility of having a closer Curry-approximation when Curry's on the bench, but as a team, the story of this season is most definitely not of the Warrior offense sputtering.

The story continues to be how freakishly good the Warriors are able to play when they can rely on Curry dominating the defense's attention, and how differently the Warrior scheme works than basically any other in the league.

I'm not quite sure what TS added is, but the general gist of this argument to me seems to amount to the old gravity argument and Steph never being able to have a bad game.

He's shooting 39/36/89 over his last 20 games and the Warriors' offense ranks 15th during that time, similar to the Pelicans, Lakers and Nuggets, so I don't really see how the offense can be the story of the season for them.

In my opinion, the story of the season for the Warriors is their defense and Draymond's resurgence. Curry has been playing awful, below All NBA level basketball for the past month and half, yet they're still winning games based off their defense.