Andrew McCeltic wrote:Give Denver Brad Stevens and they're above .500.
Nurkic is comparable to Smart in defensive/offensive stats, but he's not being well-developed. Mudiay and Murray are as good as any young player in our pipeline, in terms of raw ability and upside. And Jokic is very good.
Like, a lot depends on context, system, role, usage, development.
I don't understand why Denver hasn't done a full rebuild (Gallo, Faried, Chandler out) when they're losing so much anyway. But their young players are all solid - if Murray, Mudiay or Jokic were in Boston you'd all be hyping the sh*t out of them, or hyping their trade value.
You're either overrating the impact of head coaches or overrating Denver's roster in general.
- They are arguably the worst defensive team in the league.
- Saying Nurkic is "comparable to Smart in defensive stats" is weird, to say the least. They play two
completely different positions. Also, in terms of defensive value overall, Nurkic isn't even in Smart's stratosphere.
- Mudiay is absolutely not as good as "any young player in our pipeline." People here complain about Smart's shooting, but Mudiay is even worse, and he takes more shots. He also has a -12.7 net rating on a 15-23 team. If he were on the Celtics, this entire board would want to ship him out on the next bus. I mean, for God's sake, this board crucified Rondo for the things Mudiay does (or can't do), and Mudiay is that x10.
Jokic is awesome and I have been a big fan of Murray ever since his days at Kentucky, but you're overrating everyone else.