Road to a Championship start here, 2022 Draft.

[Whole Truth]

When Herb starts to get respect for his defense, look out. Right now he's getting some cheap calls.

I get it, teams that go down big get calls so fans don't tune out of blowouts early. Nets arena was empty by the 3rdQ. As a fan of competition.. I don't like the manipulation of games for any reason but ultimately understand it's a business & ratings matter.

Superstar calls -= Star power/Brand = popularity = ratings = reason Morant who doesn't play a lick of D is so important to the Griszz success. I expect when the Zion hype picks up Pels, not just Zion will start to get a more favorable whistle.

[Duke4life831]

I will continue with my push for Jose in the starting lineup. That lineup was cooking on both sides of the ball when he came in early for CJ. And CJ in essentially the 6th man role tonight still got his 17 shots.

Zion needs to not get sped up so easily out there. He becomes very predictable at times and it becomes very obvious when he is going to put his head down and do a straight line drive with his left hand. When he doesnt force it and is the capable passer which he is, that is when he is Zion and that is when this team really cooks.

Also Green needs to burn the tape tonight for his performance. That was truly an awful game by him. How are you going to have Jose come in early and play so well to essentially reward him by benching him for the rest of the game and give his minutes to Graham? And some of the lineups Green put out tonight were laughably bad. No clue what he was doing.

[Whole Truth]

I will continue with my push for Jose in the starting lineup. That lineup was cooking on both sides of the ball when he came in early for CJ. And CJ in essentially the 6th man role tonight still got his 17 shots.

Zion needs to not get sped up so easily out there. He becomes very predictable at times and it becomes very obvious when he is going to put his head down and do a straight line drive with his left hand. When he doesnt force it and is the capable passer which he is, that is when he is Zion and that is when this team really cooks.

Also Green needs to burn the tape tonight for his performance. That was truly an awful game by him. How are you going to have Jose come in early and play so well to essentially reward him by benching him for the rest of the game and give his minutes to Graham? And some of the lineups Green put out tonight were laughably bad. No clue what he was doing.

Jose looked good with the starters but I'll point out the bench struggle tonight .. IMO part of it was Green trying to give Graham some burn against his former team & putting Hermangomez with that rotation, part of it was no Jose with the bench. Ingram was + 23, Jonas was + 19. If the bench didn't struggle this should have been 20pt + win instead of 10. Zion + 13, CJ + 6.

That was my concern with Jose going to the starting rotation but what it did was show what ball pressure & playmaking with the ability to hit an open 3 would do with the starters over CJ. As a result of Jose's ball pressure, Jonas seemed more competent in space, funny that, not letting a guard comfotably get to his spots helps... lol

BI - 23 / 9 / 7 / 2 / 1 queitly led the Pels with his + 23
Jonas - 30 / 17 / 4 / 1 was on 8-11 shooting in 28 mins +19

Jonas numbers would have been better obviously if Hermangomez didn't take some of his minutes but think it's smart by Green to keep Jonas minutes to under 30 to keep him fresh.

Not one of Greens better game IMO but I get he wanted Graham to have his against his former team. Those bench rotations the only reason Cats closed the game to within 2 at one point. This game should have never been that close. Bringing in Jose was great first Q but u see the bench struggled mightily without him & in combination, Murphy worse game preseason into game 2.

[Whole Truth]

Just want to point out Clarksons play for a tanking Jazz. Led them with 29 / 5 / 6 on 17 shots in an unexpected win over Minni. Unfortunately also driving his asking price up, Opportunity missed to convert Graham to a better player, 6th man, cheaply.

[Whole Truth]

It's kind of crazy against 2 PO worthy teams on their opening nights on the road, Pels have yet to trail start to finish. What's more impressive is Zion is still shedding rust & they didn't play particularily tight neither. Tonights win was sloppy, ugly. Sign of a good team to win like that.

Nets just beat a good Raptors team to prove their opening night loss was more mathcup/Pels than Nets not being good.

[Whole Truth]

Basketball is a game of confdiense. Jazz are playing free and easy with no expectations as of now. They also seem to have a great coach but he has a massive advatage right now, not having much of a scouting report on his team.

Pels were well scouted in relation. Conley knows Jonas game inside out playing with him in Memphis. Notice when Green went with a non regular rotation, it wasn't just defensively it changed things... It threw the Jazz off on defense as well.

We knew they were not to be taken lightly but they still had an element of surpise. Green was a little late in his adjustments but they were good & Pels almost won regardless. BI would have made an obvious difference on both ends, a big loss in a close loss.

Hat tip to the Jazz for being the better team on the night. I can't wait for the rematch.

Jazz exposed the Jonas, Zion, CJ trio defensively. Green rode those 3, too long.

[Whole Truth]

The good news being that It's looking like LA will have to wait till the Spurs 15 games in to face a team throwing the season.

[Whole Truth]

I have a question.

I realize Utah managed to get CJ switched on to Olynyk. My question is, up 1 with 8 secs left & needing a stop, why was CJ on court being one of the teams worse defenders ?

[Whole Truth]

Knew Houston was going to beat the Jazz. It took everything they had to beat the Pels in a B2B & it still took some good fortune for them to win by one with the Pels thrown off their game by a great game plan & preperation. BI is the only offensive weapon Pels have that's not a defensive liability & he left at the half where CJ's offense was in isolation late with the defensive bench, Herb fouled out on a weak call with a last defensive possession needed up 1 & a lucky bounce for a Clarkson hail mary shot that would have sealed regulation. Jazz can't play any better than they did, Pels can. They got a good young coach & he poked alot of holes in this Pels team on both ends that Green needs to address & can. Green has to watch all those offense no defense rotations he's throwing out. Nets run in the 2nd Q was another instance of a poor blend of talent.

If Daniels defense is as advertized, I'd put him on Luka to help Herb out, if he's even available for this one. In combination with potentially Murphy over one of Jonas & Zion to get out on their shooters.

Memphis has faired well vs Mavs/Luka playing Brooks gritty defense on him. He physically hounds him all game, roughs him up a bit & that physucality throws him off his game. Herb is a great defender but he's not as physical as Brooks. Putting Herb on Luka woud allow Luka to utilize everyone else to a detriment. I think NO's have to go defense in this one & have Daniels hound Luka even if he brings nothing else to the table.

[Duke4life831]

I have a question.

I realize Utah managed to get CJ switched on to Olynyk. My question is, up 1 with 8 secs left & needing a stop, why was CJ on court being one of the teams worse defenders ?

Yup and not just one of the team's worst defenders, but one of the worst defenders period in the league. These are the moves that Willie needs to step up in and not care about CJ's name and just say, alright 5 best defenders in the game right now.

[Duke4life831]

Knew Houston was going to beat the Jazz. It took everything they had to beat the Pels in a B2B & it still took some good fortune for them to win by one with the Pels thrown off their game by a great game plan & preperation. BI is the only offensive weapon Pels have that's not a defensive liability & he left at the half where CJ's offense was in isolation late with the defensive bench, Herb fouled out on a weak call with a last defensive possession needed up 1 & a lucky bounce for a Clarkson hail mary shot that would have sealed regulation. Jazz can't play any better than they did, Pels can. They got a good young coach & he poked alot of holes in this Pels team on both ends that Green needs to address & can. Green has to watch all those offense no defense rotations he's throwing out. Nets run in the 2nd Q was another instance of a poor blend of talent.

If Daniels defense is as advertized, I'd put him on Luka to help Herb out, if he's even available for this one. In combination with potentially Murphy over one of Jonas & Zion to get out on their shooters.

Memphis has faired well vs Mavs/Luka playing Brooks gritty defense on him. He physically hounds him all game, roughs him up a bit & that physucality throws him off his game. Herb is a great defender but he's not as physical as Brooks. Putting Herb on Luka woud allow Luka to utilize everyone else to a detriment. I think NO's have to go defense in this one & have Daniels hound Luka even if he brings nothing else to the table.

Ya Im chalking up a bunch of these bad rotations by Willie as just early season trials. I do agree that holes have been being punched in these rotations, and I do agree that this roster basically has all the necessary pieces. There is enough offense and defense on this team to mix and match rotations throughout the game so one side of the ball doesnt become too lopsided.

Especially with the way BI has been playing defense so far this season. I get its only been just over 2 games for him, but he has actually been playing really good defense so far and that is one of the reasons why the starting lineup has been working out so well. Herb and BI are playing fantastic defense, Jonas is playing good defense and those 3 are keeping the defense afloat while the offense has been elite (which was expected).

A few things so far in my opinion, no more Naji and no more Graham. Naji isnt a good enough defensive player to make up for it basically being 4 on 5 on the offensive end when he's out there. While Graham isnt playable if he is only hitting 33-34% of his 3s (which he did all of last year and this year to start out). Even though I know Daniels offense isnt ready, at least he will bring some passing ability off the bench and he should bring some defense. I think it will be worth taking some bumps and bruises early on, if it means we see legit progression by the end of the year. Then I dont know, maybe Kira gets healthy and can bring something off the bench in small minutes with his speed. Or trade for a bench player.

But ya Naji and Graham arent working out. These lineups where Green completely forgets that there is the defensive side of the ball to worry about isnt working out. The pieces are there to be made, just need to make them.

[Whole Truth]

I have a question.

I realize Utah managed to get CJ switched on to Olynyk. My question is, up 1 with 8 secs left & needing a stop, why was CJ on court being one of the teams worse defenders ?

Yup and not just one of the team's worst defenders, but one of the worst defenders period in the league. These are the moves that Willie needs to step up in and not care about CJ's name and just say, alright 5 best defenders in the game right now.

I know Jonas is not as big a name but he was pulled for defensive purposes. I'm not sure it crossed Greens mind to pull CJ after how his unit closed the game & OT. I could be wrong but I think he got caught spectating on that adjustment. He was a little late putting nance in aswell. Davis was talking about the adjustment several plays before it was made. A little earlier, might not have needed OT.

None the less. Utah was well prepared & broght the effort necessary to squeak out a win.

Hopefully since I wanted him in the offseason & Pels getting a first hand taste might think again about turning Graham & a late pick into Clarkson as their season unwinds. Poeltl is another target to keep an eye on IMO, Spurs 3-1 to start the year too lol.

[Whole Truth]

Knew Houston was going to beat the Jazz. It took everything they had to beat the Pels in a B2B & it still took some good fortune for them to win by one with the Pels thrown off their game by a great game plan & preperation. BI is the only offensive weapon Pels have that's not a defensive liability & he left at the half where CJ's offense was in isolation late with the defensive bench, Herb fouled out on a weak call with a last defensive possession needed up 1 & a lucky bounce for a Clarkson hail mary shot that would have sealed regulation. Jazz can't play any better than they did, Pels can. They got a good young coach & he poked alot of holes in this Pels team on both ends that Green needs to address & can. Green has to watch all those offense no defense rotations he's throwing out. Nets run in the 2nd Q was another instance of a poor blend of talent.

If Daniels defense is as advertized, I'd put him on Luka to help Herb out, if he's even available for this one. In combination with potentially Murphy over one of Jonas & Zion to get out on their shooters.

Memphis has faired well vs Mavs/Luka playing Brooks gritty defense on him. He physically hounds him all game, roughs him up a bit & that physucality throws him off his game. Herb is a great defender but he's not as physical as Brooks. Putting Herb on Luka woud allow Luka to utilize everyone else to a detriment. I think NO's have to go defense in this one & have Daniels hound Luka even if he brings nothing else to the table.

Ya Im chalking up a bunch of these bad rotations by Willie as just early season trials. I do agree that holes have been being punched in these rotations, and I do agree that this roster basically has all the necessary pieces. There is enough offense and defense on this team to mix and match rotations throughout the game so one side of the ball doesnt become too lopsided.

Especially with the way BI has been playing defense so far this season. I get its only been just over 2 games for him, but he has actually been playing really good defense so far and that is one of the reasons why the starting lineup has been working out so well. Herb and BI are playing fantastic defense, Jonas is playing good defense and those 3 are keeping the defense afloat while the offense has been elite (which was expected).

A few things so far in my opinion, no more Naji and no more Graham. Naji isnt a good enough defensive player to make up for it basically being 4 on 5 on the offensive end when he's out there. While Graham isnt playable if he is only hitting 33-34% of his 3s (which he did all of last year and this year to start out). Even though I know Daniels offense isnt ready, at least he will bring some passing ability off the bench and he should bring some defense. I think it will be worth taking some bumps and bruises early on, if it means we see legit progression by the end of the year. Then I dont know, maybe Kira gets healthy and can bring something off the bench in small minutes with his speed. Or trade for a bench player.

But ya Naji and Graham arent working out. These lineups where Green completely forgets that there is the defensive side of the ball to worry about isnt working out. The pieces are there to be made, just need to make them.

Just like to point out Jonas was solid in the first 2 but Jazz exposed this teams lack of ball pressure with CJ & killed Jonas in space. Zion at times didn't even know who to pick up. That trio got roughed up. Jonas had 6 pts, so if he's not involved or cancelled by a team offensively, Green has to make that adjustment to defense. He did but it was a little late. No touches, while simultaneously being hunted on the defensive end, is a page out of Suns game 3.


Agree with everything else.

[Duke4life831]

Knew Houston was going to beat the Jazz. It took everything they had to beat the Pels in a B2B & it still took some good fortune for them to win by one with the Pels thrown off their game by a great game plan & preperation. BI is the only offensive weapon Pels have that's not a defensive liability & he left at the half where CJ's offense was in isolation late with the defensive bench, Herb fouled out on a weak call with a last defensive possession needed up 1 & a lucky bounce for a Clarkson hail mary shot that would have sealed regulation. Jazz can't play any better than they did, Pels can. They got a good young coach & he poked alot of holes in this Pels team on both ends that Green needs to address & can. Green has to watch all those offense no defense rotations he's throwing out. Nets run in the 2nd Q was another instance of a poor blend of talent.

If Daniels defense is as advertized, I'd put him on Luka to help Herb out, if he's even available for this one. In combination with potentially Murphy over one of Jonas & Zion to get out on their shooters.

Memphis has faired well vs Mavs/Luka playing Brooks gritty defense on him. He physically hounds him all game, roughs him up a bit & that physucality throws him off his game. Herb is a great defender but he's not as physical as Brooks. Putting Herb on Luka woud allow Luka to utilize everyone else to a detriment. I think NO's have to go defense in this one & have Daniels hound Luka even if he brings nothing else to the table.

Ya Im chalking up a bunch of these bad rotations by Willie as just early season trials. I do agree that holes have been being punched in these rotations, and I do agree that this roster basically has all the necessary pieces. There is enough offense and defense on this team to mix and match rotations throughout the game so one side of the ball doesnt become too lopsided.

Especially with the way BI has been playing defense so far this season. I get its only been just over 2 games for him, but he has actually been playing really good defense so far and that is one of the reasons why the starting lineup has been working out so well. Herb and BI are playing fantastic defense, Jonas is playing good defense and those 3 are keeping the defense afloat while the offense has been elite (which was expected).

A few things so far in my opinion, no more Naji and no more Graham. Naji isnt a good enough defensive player to make up for it basically being 4 on 5 on the offensive end when he's out there. While Graham isnt playable if he is only hitting 33-34% of his 3s (which he did all of last year and this year to start out). Even though I know Daniels offense isnt ready, at least he will bring some passing ability off the bench and he should bring some defense. I think it will be worth taking some bumps and bruises early on, if it means we see legit progression by the end of the year. Then I dont know, maybe Kira gets healthy and can bring something off the bench in small minutes with his speed. Or trade for a bench player.

But ya Naji and Graham arent working out. These lineups where Green completely forgets that there is the defensive side of the ball to worry about isnt working out. The pieces are there to be made, just need to make them.

Just like to point out Jonas was solid in the first 2 but Jazz exposed this teams lack of ball pressure with CJ & killed Jonas in space. Zion at times didn't even know who to pick up. That trio got roughed up. Jonas had 6 pts, so if he's not involved or cancelled by a team offensively, Green has to make that adjustment to defense. He did but it was a little late. No touches, while simultaneously being hunted on the defensive end, is a page out of Suns game 3.


Agree with everything else.

Agreed 100%. And that is why Ive been such a big proponent of Jose in the starting lineup. He brings that ball pressure against guards and that could really help Jonas, especially playing Jonas in more of a drop coverage. I was talking more for the first 2 games when going up against a team that doesnt have a quick/guard heavy offense, Jonas looks good. But ya smart teams are going to put CJ and either Jonas/Zion in actions all game long. That is where having a guard like Jose heading that can really disrupt that. CJ being the guard trying to defend that brings nothing to the table defensively.

I think its a good thing that these holes are getting known early on, hopefully it will give time for Willie to make the adjustments needed. And Griff any time needed to make a move if needed.

But ya Im going to keep chirping away with my Jose in the starting lineup. We saw a flash of it in the 2nd game and it worked out perfectly on both ends.

Jose
BI
Herb
Zion
Jonas

With CJ, Trey, Nance, Daniels, Hayes off the bench. After the initial starting 5, just some smart strategic rotations would be good. There is enough offense and defense guys in that group you can keep a pretty even lineup out there for the majority of the time.

[Whole Truth]

Vs the Nets, Jose ball pressure is why Jonas blked a jump shooter in front the bench not at the rim apposed to looking lost in space vs the Jazz.

Jonas gets flack for not being able to close space but he's played with Derozan, Morant & now CJ, some of the worst perimeter defenders in the game, just saying none are Ben Simmons in Phillys drop coverage...

Herbs lone ball pressure transformed this team last season as a rookie. This was the main reason I was against CJ with Jonas as the teams defacto starter.

[Whole Truth]

When Jonas/Memphis made the PO vs the Jazz. Jonas was + 15 in game 1 that they won. Conley was shut down by Brooks..

Game 2-5, with Mithcell back, Jemkins had to put Brooks on Mitchell & hide Morant in the post to compensate for both him & Jonas defensively. Morant is their future, Jonas was traded for their future SF.

When Pels had Hart & Herb instead of CJ vs the Clippers check Jonas performances with the 2 different team makeups. He dominated the Clippers with Herb & Hart pressuring their gaurds & looked unplayable post trade vs them. Just sayin'

[Duke4life831]

Vs the Nets, Jose ball pressure is why Jonas blked a jump shooter in front the bench not at the rim apposed to looking lost in space vs the Jazz.

Jonas gets flack for not being able to close space but he's played with Derozan, Morant & now CJ, some of the worst perimeter defenders in the game, just saying none are Ben Simmons in Phillys drop coverage...

Herbs lone ball pressure transformed this team last season as a rookie. This was the main reason I was against CJ with Jonas as the teams defacto starter.

Yup. The thing with Jonas is pretty simple in my opinion. He's never going to be viewed as a DPOY candidate. He just isnt mobile enough and doesnt have the freakish defensive IQ like a Marc Gasol to make up for the lack of mobility.

But when you put him in a position where his lack of mobility doesnt get exploited, he can be a solid-good defender. And with Herb and BI, if youre going against a team that is wing oriented (the Nets with KD and Hornets with no Ball), the head of the snake defensively is either Herb or BI and that puts Jonas in a good spot defensively.

And there comes the issue with teams that are PG heavy offenses and they just run CJ in PnR and that forces Jonas out of his comfort zone defensively. And the thing is, even if Jonas all of a sudden did improve a ton in that area, teams will just put Zion into action with CJ instead of Jonas.

And that is the primary benefit Jose brings. You get a defensive perimeter of Jose/Herb/BI. No matter if its a wing oriented offense or a quick guard oriented offense, youre dealing with a high energy elite defender to blow up the action early on. And its not just on the ball action as well, Jose is tremendous at comer over and helping on rotations.

Im just hoping at some point of the season Green is willing to send CJ to the bench. The offense isnt needed in the starting lineup and he is just the perfect skill set for a 6th man.

[Duke4life831]

Watching Jose defend the PnR is truly a thing of beauty

[Whole Truth]

NBA officiating is hot trash. That 2nd Q Mavs run was entirely predicated on the calls they were getting on both ends. lol. That Luka put back on the Jonas rebound he was fouled twice before being stripped.

Stars league.

On the bright side Daniels is playing well & holding his own on Doncic. Good to see, very encouraging performance from him. NO's with no ref interference should be up double digits. Mavs didn't change the momentum of this game, they were entirely outplayed.

[Duke4life831]

Dyson’s on ball defense is there, but his off ball and overall team defense needs a lot of work still. Jonas was yelling at him and CJ basically every possession towards the end of the 2nd.

With that said, I still think it’s worth him getting minutes over Graham.