Road to a Championship start here, 2022 Draft.

[Whole Truth]

1. Get a big that fits with Zion. A few On/Off numbers so far
Zion with no Jonas: +9.6
Zion with Jonas: -1.4
Zion with Nance: +15

2. Upgrade Naji. This is no shot at Naji whatsoever, the dude plays really hard every game. But he is a very limited offensive player and just an average defender who gets 20 minutes per game. You could make the argument that once playoffs come around that Jose and Daniels will jump him in the rotation and the rotation itself will be cut down. But a legit 3&D strong wing vet could be very valuable (ala Otto Porter for GS last year off the bench).

But again if Griff and the front office decide to just let this season ride out with who they got, I have no issues with that. But ya even if they do that, moving CJ to the bench on paper should take this team to another level. Because it should help maximize all the player's roles on the team.

How much of that Zion/Nance combo +/- is against teams starters vs bench ? who are the other 3 players ? I know Zion/Jonas mins are mainly if not all against starters & tied in with CJ slumping.. Yet the +/- numbers show postive for a struggling CJ.. Sub patterns can paint that picture both positive & negative.

154 mins - Zion/Jonas/CJ 3 man rotation -4.3
162 mins - Zion/Jonas/no CJ -1.4

So in the 12 mins Jonas is paired with Zion & no struggling CJ + 2.9

274 mins - CJ/Jonas -4.4

The CJ & Zion pairing is coming mostly against 2nd units & lesser comp. As I stated above. None has struggled more individually than CJ prior to the last 2 games but he has a postive 2 man rating with Zion... Here comes the nail... CJ paired with Nance +27

95 mins - CJ/Nance/Zion +32
282 mins - CJ/Zion + 6.6
186 mins - CJ/Nance + 27


What I see is CJ's slump weighing down the starters with Jonas incapable of covering while getting no burn against bench units or closing games from slow starts...

It would be more accurate IMO to say Jonas doesn't fit with Zion, with CJ running point shooting 30 / 28 / 78 on 20 FGA's against mainly starters & Jonas reduced to 8 attempts, utilized as a defensive rim runner in CJ's poor volume inefficiency. Where Jonas doesn't fit is in inefficiecny which was CJ, not Zion. Is Zion struggling offensively with Jonas ? or are those 3 struggling defensively in CJ's ineffieicent early high volume play

274 mins - CJ/Jonas -4.4
186 mins - CJ/Nance +27

I didn't need stats to know where Nance has benefited the starting rotation. It's not so much Jonas doesn't fit with ZIon as much as he couldn't cover for CJ volime inefficiency like Nance can... so the poor Jonas fit is not with ZIon, it's with Zion & CJ ....

Which is what I've been saying before looking at these numbers CJ is better paired with Nance. Either & or both Jonas & ZIon would be better paired with a Daniels than CJ...

Keep in mind the positive numbers with CJ/Zion & Nance is mainly against bench units also.

[Whole Truth]

Like Ja, Tatum has struggled against Simmons .. I'd have Herb on Brown & Daniels on Tatum. They have some good role players but if these 2 get shut down, I'd expect NO's depth to outplay theirs.

First real measuring stick. NBA finals preview

[Whole Truth]

Boston 14-27 from 3 & up only 10 at the half. Not sure Pelicans get scouting reports the way they've defended the 3pt line. Maybe they just hoping at some point Boston will go cold, lol.

[Duke4life831]

That was a very bad way to finish the game by Willie. I mean dude I get CJ is a big name vet and all. But he wasnt doing anything on the offensive end and they attacked him every single possession to close that game. The Pels were incapable of getting a stop because it was either CJ on Brown or Tatum. That was tough to watch at the end. You gotta make an adjustment.

[Whole Truth]

That was a very bad way to finish the game by Willie. I mean dude I get CJ is a big name vet and all. But he wasnt doing anything on the offensive end and they attacked him every single possession to close that game. The Pels were incapable of getting a stop because it was either CJ on Brown or Tatum. That was tough to watch at the end. You gotta make an adjustment.

This is what my posts concerning Jonas & CJ sub patterns have been about. CJ has carte blanch & has been struggling more than anyone, including Jonas but it's Jonas that gets the hook everytime under supposed equal opportunity. A supposed defensive sub, when Green could easily sub a Daniels or Jose for CJ, possibly both... I remember those Raptors days when Derozan couldn't be benched because he's Derozan no matter how poorly he was playing on both ends.

Jonas was 5-7 ... for 10pts
CJ was 7-18 ... for 18pts

As you pointed out, CJ in that inefficiency, was being hunted defensively & has been a weak link all season, including 3 OT losses. As my post above yours illustrated. Jonas & ZIon combined played 12mins without a struggling CJ as the 3rd party & in those 12mins they were +2.9 . Neither big man is good enough defensively to operate with CJ being that inefficient while being as big a defensive liability himself, reason the numbers are better with Nance.. None of us needed stats to know this was a poor defensive fit & I could argue a poor offensive one too under high usage inefficeicny limiting the starters offensive talent to a defensive negative.. Nance has bolstered their #''s, mainly against lesser comp off the bench. Where Zion & CJ paired should be dominating teams benches..

As AD was saying during the Celtics broadcast... what's the point of having Jonas on court if you're going to let your guards chuck against an undersized lineup, where they're scorching hot from 3 ?.... Both CJ & BI were a combined 16-38 with an efficient post option in Jonas shooting 5-7 from the field against a team that was putting a small defender on him all game, instead of running the offense through an efficient post option, the guards put up an inefficient 40 shots with Boston being ectremely effiicent from 3... Defensively, When Jonas was subbed out just half way past the 1st Q, Boston had put up 19pts in a quick start. They finished the Q on the same trajectory, putting up 40 pts with the Nance subbed in. Still shooting & making 3's as if no defensive sub was made, to the tune of 21pts after Jonas was subbed out just past the half way mark. To start the 3rd, NO's were getting the stops they needed they just coulldn't convert them offensively, that was it for Jonas. Circling back to having a big like Jonas out in that situation & him getting only 7 touches against an undersized team as the guards layed bricks on an inefficient 40 FGA's. If Zion was there, he would have got touches, right. Jonas may not be as talented but he is very efficient offensively to be ignored when he has a missmatch all noght to an inefficient alternative.

One question. With a pnr bigman like Jonas against an undersized Celtics squad. How many times did they run the pnr with him ? lol Like I've been saying. This is Green catering to CJ more so than what's best for the situation.

Boston were 41-85 from the field, NO's 43-87. They won because they were more efficient offensively. 20-46 from 3 vs NO's 13-36. They just took & made way more efficient shots where NO's were bricking layups & leaving free pts on the line. Boston weren't better defensively, they were better offensively & alot of that has to do with shot selection & NO's failing to exploit a weakness in their defense with Jonas, 5-7 & a small defender on him.

[Whole Truth]

Much like the Clippers matchup from last yr where Jonas had much higher usage prior to trade against an undersized Clippers team that had a hole in the middle for 3 blow out wins vs him being unplayable post trade with CJ hijacking the efficient offense & compounding a defensive issue.. Watch all 5 Clippers matches from last season & it will emphasize what I am & have been saying. Not to insult CJ but Nance should have been the target in trade, not the complimentary piece.

Portland 10-5, first in the West supposedly downgrading from CJ to Hart.

[Whole Truth]

A little sloppy & the comp is weak but this team plays so much better when they're not hunting their shots, 16 assists at the half. 24pt lead & everyone is involved & active.

24pt lead... Zion 1-4, 3pts, (3 assists).

[Whole Truth]

Boston 9-27 from 3 at the half vs Chicago who's up 13 at the half.

Live by the 3, die by it...

If NO's were a little more tidy offensively, they could have beat Boston with them cooking from 3.

[Whole Truth]

Make that Boston 11-34. Chicago up 20 in the 3rd.

[Duke4life831]

Top 3 in On/Off really shouldnt be too big of a surprise at the moment

Nance: +12.9
Jose: +11.1
BI: +10.4

I think that fits the eye test pretty accurately. Nance and Jose just bring a ton of energy every time they come in and they usually out play the other teams reserves on most nights.

Then when it comes to BI, I think there is a pretty big gap between him and CJ and Zion at the moment when it comes to running the offense through him. Just looking at Offensive On/Off

BI:
On: 122.9
Off: 109.4

CJ:
On: 116.3
Off: 116.6

Zion:
On: 116.5
Off: 116.3

I think this backs up the eye test. At the moment BI seems to run the offense the best out of the 3. When I say that I mean he seems to know when to take his shots and when to give the ball up and feet a hot hand. Then digging a little deeper, when looking at BI's, CJ's, and Zion's different rotation Offensive ratings. The 4 worst combinations are all without BI, and the 4 best are all with him.

Now long story short, the main point Im making with all of this isnt just to prop up BI, its really to look at what duos are working best.

Worst Duo:
CJ/Zion with no BI:
Offensive RTG of just 109.

Best Duo:
BI/Zion with no CJ:
Offensive RTG of 135

The trio together:
Offensive RTG of 122

I will also give Willie this. To start the year he seemed really set on keeping CJ and Zion together out on the court. We are starting to see that change up lately. CJ was the first one to go to the bench this last game and we saw more of just the BI/Zion lineup.

[Whole Truth]

Can u differentiate the on/offf numbers related to starting vs bench ?

IMO, the reason BI is the only starter of the 3 not pushing even is because he's a greater positive vs starting units, whereas CJ & Zion are pushing even because the/re dominating teams benches, lesser comp.

[Whole Truth]

Interesting stats...

CJ leads the team in defensive win shares. 20th overall.
CJ leads the team in FGA's 305, 12th overall & missed FGA's 180, 3rd overall
CJ is 17th in the league with 6.7 assists.

Jonas despite averaging 24 minutes, is 12th in rebounding with 158 boards, 9th in offensive boards, 7th in defensive rebounding %

Nance is 2nd in the league in FG efficiency .701
Nance is 12th in defensive +/- which is why Zion & CJ's defensive ratings are what they are paired with him against apposing benches.

Murphy is 9th overall in turnover % 7.4

NO's top scorer BI, is ranked 20th with CJ taking the most FGA's & missing the 3rd most.

CJ has missed more shots (180), than Zion has taken (132 FGA's). lol

[Duke4life831]

Can u differentiate the on/offf numbers related to starting vs bench ?

IMO, the reason BI is the only starter of the 3 not pushing even is because he's a greater positive vs starting units, whereas CJ & Zion are pushing even because the/re dominating teams benches, lesser comp.

This would be flipped though. If those two were dominating bench units, they should have the better On/Off compared to BI.

But no I cant differentiate the numbers, dont know a site that can do that. But just messing around with different On/Off combinations at the moment, BI/Nance/Jose seem to be the guys at the moment. What I mean by that is everyone basically plays better if they're playing alongside those guys. Which I think at the moment makes a lot of sense.

Nance can really help cover lots of the defensive perimeter issues when he's out there.
Jose just with his energy and constant pressuring the opposing team's ball handler.
BI again seems to be the best out of the main trio at picking his own and letting others feast, which leads to high level offense.

Also just a side thing and this might go into what you were pointing out with your post.

CJ with the normal starting 5: +4.53 Net Rating
CJ with no other starters: +18.14 Net Rating

We've only seen 47 minutes of CJ playing alongside no other starters but I think the eye test backs this up. This is something we've been talking about a good amount the last week or so. The CJ/Jose/Daniels/?/Nance lineup. Whether that 5th guy is Naji or Trey doesnt really matter, but that lineup seems to click really well. The Net Rating for that seems to back up that eye test.

[Whole Truth]

Games missed will play into it.

[Whole Truth]

Refs have been carrying the Lakers o er their 3 game winning streak.

It's showing up against the Suns on their home court because they can play through it.

Lakers 25FT's to 5 in the 3rd Q... not factoring the non calls. lol

Suns up 12 4thQ.

[Whole Truth]

lol as I type that... Lakers getting another fliurry of calls to help prevent Suns from opening their lead.

[Whole Truth]

Lakers are +23 on the line & down 8 LMAO.

[Whole Truth]

lMAO Bev body checks Ayton, gets ejected & Lakers get 2 FT's & the ball back out of that seqience, loooool this league is a joke.

Now 31 Laker FT's to 5, +26 on the line.

[Whole Truth]

Suns win by 10 but they're a good team. If Lakers are going to get this type of help from the officiating, the Pels pick is in trouble.

[Whole Truth]

Does a taunting foul cancel a flagrant 2 ejection as ruled last night ?.

A taunting foul does not put a team in the penalty. So it should not cancel the 2 FT's

A flagrant 2 is supposed to be 2 FT's & the ball side. Should not 2 flagrants have resulted in a jump ball instead of LA's ball ?,

lol their ruling was as though Bev didn't commit a flagrant 2.

Officials in their eventual ruling made the decision that Booker's play on his attempted block was intentional, their determination, where it was clear Bev intentionally shoved Ayton after stoppage. Lets give them right & Bookers follow through was intentional. I ask, how is it LA was the only team to get 2 FT's & the ball back ?. Should it not have resulted in a jump ball instead of rewarding LA the side out of bounds seeing Bev commited a flagrant 2 ?. why did Suns not get 2 FT's at the very least ?.

Their ruling of this situation is how LA got this geme to within a 2 possession game with 3mins remaining. Combine that with the 36-5 FT discrepancy, & lol u'd have to be blind to not see what's taking place.