Road to a Championship start here, 2022 Draft.

[Duke4life831]

There really is no denying that this starting lineup doesn’t need CJ. This offense is so much more explosive when it’s BI and Zion feasting. Zion is just an unstoppable machine and BI is so damn good at picking his spots and facilitating right now.

Zion needs to be getting touches like this all game long every game. Then without CJ taking shots and touches, you can see BI is comfortable facilitating because he knows by the end he will get his too. So fun to watch when those two are rolling like they did tonight.

[Whole Truth]

There really is no denying that this starting lineup doesn’t need CJ. This offense is so much more explosive when it’s BI and Zion feasting. Zion is just an unstoppable machine and BI is so damn good at picking his spots and facilitating right now.

Zion needs to be getting touches like this all game long every game. Then without CJ taking shots and touches, you can see BI is comfortable facilitating because he knows by the end he will get his too. So fun to watch when those two are rolling like they did tonight.

CJ's inefficiency & defense has been dragging down the starters, not Jonas though Nance has been great.

Zion 14-18 for 32 points
Jonas 9-11 for 22 points
= 54 points on 29 FGS's

Look at the 2 man pairing of Jonas & Zion tommorrow with them getting extended mins without CJ..

It's just common sense, Jonas & Zion are not plus defenders, when you have a guard taking their touches on 30% efficiency who's also not a plus defender & can't effectively pressure the ball... they will all be negatives on both ends with the offensive potential playing down to CJ's volime inefficiency.

With Jose/Herb .... Spurs had 1 FG made in the first 7mins of this game & with CJ's touches going through 2 efficient bigs... 54 combined points on 29 FGA's. vs 20pts on 20 FGA's

[Duke4life831]

There really is no denying that this starting lineup doesn’t need CJ. This offense is so much more explosive when it’s BI and Zion feasting. Zion is just an unstoppable machine and BI is so damn good at picking his spots and facilitating right now.

Zion needs to be getting touches like this all game long every game. Then without CJ taking shots and touches, you can see BI is comfortable facilitating because he knows by the end he will get his too. So fun to watch when those two are rolling like they did tonight.

CJ's inefficiency & defense has been dragging down the starters, not Jonas though Nance has been great.

Zion 14-18 for 32 points
Jonas 9-11 for 22 points
= 54 points on 29 FGS's

Look at the 2 man pairing of Jonas & Zion tommorrow with them getting extended mins without CJ..

It's just common sense, Jonas & Zion are not plus defenders, when you have a guard taking their touches on 30% efficiency who's also not a plus defender & can't effectively pressure the ball... they will all be negatives on both ends with the offensive potential playing down to CJ's volime inefficiency.

With Jose/Herb .... Spurs had 1 FG made in the first 7mins of this game & CJ's touches going through 2 efficient bigs... 54 combined points on 29 FGA's.

Yup Jonas is a really good 3rd scoring option with the starting lineup. Because unlike CJ, he doesn’t need to dribble a ton and get a ton of touches to get a rhythm. Just involve him in the offense a little and the dude can do wonders.

The ball movement with that starting lineup tonight was so damn good. And ya defensively it truly does wonders when you bring in a defensive guard to cut the head off the snake of the offense. Jose being out there just doesn’t allow the opposing team to feel comfortable on offense.

And ya I get that SA isn’t a good team. But it’s just the fact on how everyone played. Zion was constantly fed the ball early on, which also means he never really forced things tonight. Whenever Jonas had an advantage Jose or BI made sure to get him the ball. The ball was flying around, defensively guys were rotating. Tonight the Pels looked like the dark horse team many viewed they were to start the year.

[Whole Truth]

GS beat the Clips tonight NO's would be tied with Ytah for 2nd in the West a half game behind the Suns with 3 OT losses.

To earn that top spot can't have a let down vs Memphis on Friday.

Personally, I can't wait for a Boston rematch.

[Whole Truth]

Yup Jonas is a really good 3rd scoring option with the starting lineup. Because unlike CJ, he doesn’t need to dribble a ton and get a ton of touches to get a rhythm. Just involve him in the offense a little and the dude can do wonders.

The ball movement with that starting lineup tonight was so damn good. And ya defensively it truly does wonders when you bring in a defensive guard to cut the head off the snake of the offense. Jose being out there just doesn’t allow the opposing team to feel comfortable on offense.

And ya I get that SA isn’t a good team. But it’s just the fact on how everyone played. Zion was constantly fed the ball early on, which also means he never really forced things tonight. Whenever Jonas had an advantage Jose or BI made sure to get him the ball. The ball was flying around, defensively guys were rotating. Tonight the Pels looked like the dark horse team many viewed they were to start the year.

The hard part is Graham has been very effective in the catch & shoot bench role on a far more manageable contract.

[Duke4life831]

Yup Jonas is a really good 3rd scoring option with the starting lineup. Because unlike CJ, he doesn’t need to dribble a ton and get a ton of touches to get a rhythm. Just involve him in the offense a little and the dude can do wonders.

The ball movement with that starting lineup tonight was so damn good. And ya defensively it truly does wonders when you bring in a defensive guard to cut the head off the snake of the offense. Jose being out there just doesn’t allow the opposing team to feel comfortable on offense.

And ya I get that SA isn’t a good team. But it’s just the fact on how everyone played. Zion was constantly fed the ball early on, which also means he never really forced things tonight. Whenever Jonas had an advantage Jose or BI made sure to get him the ball. The ball was flying around, defensively guys were rotating. Tonight the Pels looked like the dark horse team many viewed they were to start the year.

The hard part is Graham has been very effective in the catch & shoot bench role on a far more manageable contract.

Ya that brings up the question of just how valuable is CJ to this team in general. But I think that question is even more unrealistic than sending CJ to the bench and really pointless to talk about haha.

[NO-KG-AI]

This is the deepest team in the league. People will argue the Clippers for whatever reason, but I don’t even think they’re second.

We’re basically better at every facet of the game if you take the top 2 of each team…. Plus our top 2 is flat out better than theirs right now, and only getting better, while the Clippers are getting worse every year and still have people pretending it’s 2016 for them.

[Whole Truth]

Revisiting your earlier post.

"Zion with no Jonas: +9.6
Zion with Jonas: -1.4
Zion with Nance: +15"

154 mins - Zion/Jonas/CJ 3 man rotation -4.3
162 mins - Zion/Jonas/(8 inins with no CJ) -1.4

After last night

194 mins -Zion/Jonas/(40 mins with no CJ) + 8.3 & against mainly starters, not bench.

Zion with no Jonas +9.6
(154 mins) Zion with Jonas & CJ -4.4
(40 mins) Zion with Jonas & no CJ +8.3

When you first showed these 2man stats, I did already know where the issue was. That Duo played 154 mins with CJ & 8 without when u posted & after last night in 40mins without CJ they're now +8.3 because Nance is a better pairing with CJ's inefficiency & shot hunting & Jonas is better paired with a defensive guard. Nance & Zion's numbers inflated by their mins against apposing benches.

Last night is what it looks like when Jonas & ZIon get touches in their efficiency vs playing off CJ's volume inefficiency ... Like my Clipper reference from last yr. If CJ is throwing up bricks (30% efficiency on volume) you're reducing both Jonas & Zion's worth offensively while bringing nothing of value to the table defensively.

IMO -

CJ should be paired with Nance.
Jonas, Zion or both paired with either Jose, Daniels or Murphy pending on guard matchup
BI should be running the starting unit with a secondary ball handler to take the pressure off not dominat the ball & FGA's.

The real quextion is who is the better fit with the starters Nance/CJ or Jonas/Jose etc.. ? & I think that would be matchup based but it would require Green doing something other than benching Jonas in every situation because CJ has not been good outside of a couple games trying to shoot his way out of a 30/28/78 volume shooting slump & the nymbers were what they were because Nance complimented a struggling CJ whereas 90+ of Jonas mins are tied to CJ & not a defensive compliment.

[Whole Truth]

When everyone anointed the big 3, I knew NO's & Jonas were ****, lol.

It basically meant CJ wasn't a catch & shoot compliment... who can't be subbed out for his volume inefficiecny.

I'll go a step further. It's like having Lebron, Wade, Bosh & making Bosh the primary. Except with CJ, on any given night Jonas is the more effficient 3rd option if CJ is subbed for a + guard defender.. So Instead of subbing Jonas at every opportunity for Nance to capitulate CJ's 30/28/78 volume efficiency... Why not sub CJ for a defensive guard ?

I'm not saying Nance with CJ would not be the better matchup in some instances. I'm saying with CJ struggling as he has, why is Jonas the one always being subbed ?.

It's the big 3, lol

[NO-KG-AI]

The real issue with the CJ numbers is do we think that his poor shooting is to do with his role/fit, or was it just a shooting slump and the averages will start to balance out? He shot so awful on easy look for him that I’m in the camp of thinking those numbers will level out and things will look a lot different.

I’ve heard two separate criticisms that don’t jive with each other. 1) CJ needs too many shots to ever transition to 3rd option, he won’t be efficient on lowered shot attempts… 2)CJ is not shooting efficiently because he’s taking too many shots.


The problem is right now that he’s shooting awful as a whole(not so much lately), but it’s not due to lack of touches or playing a lesser role. He’s shooting plenty, maybe too much, he’s just doing it really badly. If he was shooting even average by his own standards we’d probably be #1 on offense or close to it. He’s been the most efficient and effective passer/handler right now, but he has to get his shooting on track.

That said, we’re #5 on offense even with all these guys missing time and working out the kinks, and I don’t think anyone thinks Willie Green’s offense has been perfect in terms of optimizing anyone either. I think we’re overstating our “problem” and I think when CJ’s shooting levels out, we’ll get a better feel for what we really are.

[Whole Truth]

The real issue with the CJ numbers is do we think that his poor shooting is to do with his role/fit, or was it just a shooting slump and the averages will start to balance out? He shot so awful on easy look for him that I’m in the camp of thinking those numbers will level out and things will look a lot different.

I’ve heard two separate criticisms that don’t jive with each other. 1) CJ needs too many shots to ever transition to 3rd option, he won’t be efficient on lowered shot attempts… 2)CJ is not shooting efficiently because he’s taking too many shots.


The problem is right now that he’s shooting awful as a whole(not so much lately), but it’s not due to lack of touches or playing a lesser role. He’s shooting plenty, maybe too much, he’s just doing it really badly. If he was shooting even average by his own standards we’d probably be #1 on offense or close to it. He’s been the most efficient and effective passer/handler right now, but he has to get his shooting on track.

That said, we’re #5 on offense even with all these guys missing time and working out the kinks, and I don’t think anyone thinks Willie Green’s offense has been perfect in terms of optimizing anyone either. I think we’re overstating our “problem” and I think when CJ’s shooting levels out, we’ll get a better feel for what we really are.

CJ is more efficient when he shoots more, not less. This is the main reason I thought he was best paired with Nance's defense leading the bench with Nance backing his inefficiency defensively. Players that slump like he does makes him a rythym shooter but there's options in the starting rotation that require more touches than him. IMO a better option to close when cooking than a cold start.

[Whole Truth]

Even if I were to exclude the Jonas/Nance conversation, Zion needs better ball pressure. I know it was the Spurs but the defensive rotations last night looked a whole lot better without CJ.

[Duke4life831]

The real issue with the CJ numbers is do we think that his poor shooting is to do with his role/fit, or was it just a shooting slump and the averages will start to balance out? He shot so awful on easy look for him that I’m in the camp of thinking those numbers will level out and things will look a lot different.

I’ve heard two separate criticisms that don’t jive with each other. 1) CJ needs too many shots to ever transition to 3rd option, he won’t be efficient on lowered shot attempts… 2)CJ is not shooting efficiently because he’s taking too many shots.


The problem is right now that he’s shooting awful as a whole(not so much lately), but it’s not due to lack of touches or playing a lesser role. He’s shooting plenty, maybe too much, he’s just doing it really badly. If he was shooting even average by his own standards we’d probably be #1 on offense or close to it. He’s been the most efficient and effective passer/handler right now, but he has to get his shooting on track.

That said, we’re #5 on offense even with all these guys missing time and working out the kinks, and I don’t think anyone thinks Willie Green’s offense has been perfect in terms of optimizing anyone either. I think we’re overstating our “problem” and I think when CJ’s shooting levels out, we’ll get a better feel for what we really are.

My thing with the CJ fit is how he gets his rhythm. If you look at his entire career basically, only 25% of his shots inside the arc are assisted on. He’s never been a catch and shoot guy, even his shots from 3 assisted on rate is ridiculously low. CJ likes to dribble before he shoots, it’s pretty clear that is how he gets his rhythm.

So my issue with CJ is he doesn’t know how to be a 3rd option. He’s a guy who likes the ball in his hands to score. So my whole thing with CJ leading into the season and so far where they’re now is what’s the better offense?

CJ running the offense and doing an equal trio thing
Zion and BI being the primary options with CJ as the 3rd
Zion and BI being the primary option with Jonas as the 3rd

I think it’s the 3rd. Now I haven’t always been high on the Jonas/Zion fit, but I will admit the eye test and the numbers show those two play well together (without CJ on the court). Jonas doesn’t need touches every possession to be in his rhythm.

Plus I agree it’s hard to pick apart a top 5 offense. But I think the CJ in the starting lineup fixes two things. I think him not in the starting lineup allows the offense to open up and be even better, plus it allows for a more consistent defense as well. Opening up with CJ/Zion/Jonas on defense isn’t a great option. Having a guy like Jose pressuring the ball and his off ball rotations help defensively a lot. Plus having CJ play alongside guys like Daniels and especially Nance, really helps being able to hide CJ on the defensive end. And CJ can play more within his role offensively minimizing his minutes with the offensive trio.

[Duke4life831]

I guess one benefit of having 3 guys that all want the ball but only work well when only 2 play is the time that all 3 are healthy at the same time seems pretty damn rare. Everyone knows Im a huge Ingram fan but the dude just cant stay healthy for any lengthy period.

[Whole Truth]

This was Utah all over, except Memphis have much better talent... Down to BI leaving half way through with some injury. Out played out voached, out everything...

Duke what did I say during the game last time NO's beat Memphis ?... Love Jose but he's too small to put on Ja. NO's best stretch of defense cane when they went to Daniels length & the Zone. Jose was good against the Spurs & earned the call but it should have been defensive length on Ja. Memphis got everything they wanted, owned the boards & dictated the game start to finish.

Memphis basically took the paint away from Zion & Jonas...resulting in 17mins for Jonas & Zion finishing the game a team hign -32. This is not the first time since trade, Adams who's not as skilled offensively as Jonas has gotten the best of the matchup with much better game planning. 15pts to 4, shouldn't happen .Adams is stronger than Jonas. NO's did nothing to draw Adams away from the basket & boards, Willie

Speaking of which, Memphis out rebounded 40-20 with 11 offensive boards, that's a lack of focis & effort.. Memphis came out looking for revenge, NO's met them with no fight.

[Duke4life831]

This was Utah all over, except Memphis have much better talent... Down to BI leaving half way through with some injury. Out played out voached, out everything...

Duke what did I say during the game last time NO's beat Memphis ?... Love Jose but he's too small to put on Ja. NO's best stretch of defense cane when they went to Daniels length & the Zone. Jose was good against the Spurs & earned the call but it should have been defensive length on Ja. Memphis got everything they wanted, owned the boards & dictated the game start to finish.

Memphis basically took the paint away from Zion & Jonas...resulting in 17mins for Jonas & Zion finishing the game a team hign -32. This is not the first time since trade, Adams who's not as skilled offensively as Jonas has gotten the best of the matchup with much better game planning. 15pts to 4, shouldn't happen .Adams is stronger than Jonas. NO's did nothing to draw Adams away from the basket & boards, Willie

Speaking of which, Memphis out rebounded 40-20 with 11 offensive boards, that's a lack of focis & effort.. Memphis came out looking for revenge, NO's met them with no fight.

Agreed 100%. You know Im as big of a Jose fan as it gets, he cant defend Ja, he just cant. Jose is great when he can pester the ball handler. The problem with Ja is Jose cant keep up with him to pest him. 1 on 1 Ja is too quick, Ja off a screen, Jose has no chance to fight through the screen and be anywhere close to Ja. And ya Daniels does better because ya he also may not be able to stay in front of Ja, he at least has the size to be able to still contest even if he is beaten.

And ya the team just flat out came into the game sleep walking. Hard to take much of anything from that game.

[Whole Truth]

This was Utah all over, except Memphis have much better talent... Down to BI leaving half way through with some injury. Out played out voached, out everything...

Duke what did I say during the game last time NO's beat Memphis ?... Love Jose but he's too small to put on Ja. NO's best stretch of defense cane when they went to Daniels length & the Zone. Jose was good against the Spurs & earned the call but it should have been defensive length on Ja. Memphis got everything they wanted, owned the boards & dictated the game start to finish.

Memphis basically took the paint away from Zion & Jonas...resulting in 17mins for Jonas & Zion finishing the game a team hign -32. This is not the first time since trade, Adams who's not as skilled offensively as Jonas has gotten the best of the matchup with much better game planning. 15pts to 4, shouldn't happen .Adams is stronger than Jonas. NO's did nothing to draw Adams away from the basket & boards, Willie

Speaking of which, Memphis out rebounded 40-20 with 11 offensive boards, that's a lack of focis & effort.. Memphis came out looking for revenge, NO's met them with no fight.

Agreed 100%. You know Im as big of a Jose fan as it gets, he cant defend Ja, he just cant. Jose is great when he can pester the ball handler. The problem with Ja is Jose cant keep up with him to pest him. 1 on 1 Ja is too quick, Ja off a screen, Jose has no chance to fight through the screen and be anywhere close to Ja. And ya Daniels does better because ya he also may not be able to stay in front of Ja, he at least has the size to be able to still contest even if he is beaten.

And ya the team just flat out came into the game sleep walking. Hard to take much of anything from that game.

That's concerning though... A chance to take first place & ya come out flat. Where's the grit & fight?. Motivation is supposed to be Greens strength as a coach.

When Jonas was killing Suns on the boards in the PO's what did they do?. They played Ayton in the 18-22 ft range shooting assisted jumpers to stretch Jonas away from the basket & get him playing in space. Zion & Jonas trying to attack the rim kept Adams at home where he was owning the boards because he is stronger than Jonas. That's a tactical issue. Memphis made all their necessary adjustments. Green made a good adjustment with Daniels & the Zone in the 2nd Q but the game was over in the first.

Can't let a team beat you mentally, basketball is a game of confidence. Memphis played & acted like they shouldn't have lost the first match. I want to know what NO's response to that will be.

[Duke4life831]

This was Utah all over, except Memphis have much better talent... Down to BI leaving half way through with some injury. Out played out voached, out everything...

Duke what did I say during the game last time NO's beat Memphis ?... Love Jose but he's too small to put on Ja. NO's best stretch of defense cane when they went to Daniels length & the Zone. Jose was good against the Spurs & earned the call but it should have been defensive length on Ja. Memphis got everything they wanted, owned the boards & dictated the game start to finish.

Memphis basically took the paint away from Zion & Jonas...resulting in 17mins for Jonas & Zion finishing the game a team hign -32. This is not the first time since trade, Adams who's not as skilled offensively as Jonas has gotten the best of the matchup with much better game planning. 15pts to 4, shouldn't happen .Adams is stronger than Jonas. NO's did nothing to draw Adams away from the basket & boards, Willie

Speaking of which, Memphis out rebounded 40-20 with 11 offensive boards, that's a lack of focis & effort.. Memphis came out looking for revenge, NO's met them with no fight.

Agreed 100%. You know Im as big of a Jose fan as it gets, he cant defend Ja, he just cant. Jose is great when he can pester the ball handler. The problem with Ja is Jose cant keep up with him to pest him. 1 on 1 Ja is too quick, Ja off a screen, Jose has no chance to fight through the screen and be anywhere close to Ja. And ya Daniels does better because ya he also may not be able to stay in front of Ja, he at least has the size to be able to still contest even if he is beaten.

And ya the team just flat out came into the game sleep walking. Hard to take much of anything from that game.

That's concerning though... A chance to take first place & ya come out flat. Where's the grit & fight?. Motivation is supposed to be Greens strength as a coach.

When Jonas was killing Suns on the boards in the PO's what did they do?. They played Ayton in the 18-22 ft range shooting assisted jumpers to stretch Jonas away from the basket & get him playing in space. Zion & Jonas trying to attack the rim kept Adams at home where he was owning the boards because he is stronger than Jonas. That's a tactical issue. Memphis made all their necessary adjustments. Green made a good adjustment with Daniels & the Zone in the 2nd Q but the game was over in the first.

Can't let a team beat you mentally, basketball is a game of confidence. Memphis played & acted like they shouldn't have lost the first match. I want to know what NO's response to that will be.

Late travel after a holiday for a young team, Im not too worried about that, but ya its definitely not what you want to see.

And I agree 100% tactically it was a bad game. Because ya right from the start they put Jonas in the PnR and made having him out there tough for the Pels. While the Pels did nothing to make it tough for the Grizz to keep Adams out there. Memphis is a worse defensive team than the Pels, Ja is a horrible defender, Adams is lumbering. Youd think maybe involving those two in PnRs wouldve been a smart move.

I will also say this, its was good to see him make 2 3s in this game, but defenses are really starting to sag off of Herb in that starting lineup. Last year when he was making 34% teams didnt do that. But even after going 2/4 yesterday, he is still sub 30% from 3. And ya Ive noticed teams just arent caring about him lately. Teams are making the decision on whether its Zion attacking, BI attacking, Jonas getting it in the post, theyre just crashing Herb's defender into the paint.

I also want to be crystal clear, I do get that this team is top 5 in Net Rating and the offense is still damn good. Just pointing out a possible small issue that may come down the road. Because Im noticing them completely leaving Herb more and more.

[Whole Truth]

Late travel after a holiday for a young team, Im not too worried about that, but ya its definitely not what you want to see.

And I agree 100% tactically it was a bad game. Because ya right from the start they put Jonas in the PnR and made having him out there tough for the Pels. While the Pels did nothing to make it tough for the Grizz to keep Adams out there. Memphis is a worse defensive team than the Pels, Ja is a horrible defender, Adams is lumbering. Youd think maybe involving those two in PnRs wouldve been a smart move.

I will also say this, its was good to see him make 2 3s in this game, but defenses are really starting to sag off of Herb in that starting lineup. Last year when he was making 34% teams didnt do that. But even after going 2/4 yesterday, he is still sub 30% from 3. And ya Ive noticed teams just arent caring about him lately. Teams are making the decision on whether its Zion attacking, BI attacking, Jonas getting it in the post, theyre just crashing Herb's defender into the paint.

I also want to be crystal clear, I do get that this team is top 5 in Net Rating and the offense is still damn good. Just pointing out a possible small issue that may come down the road. Because Im noticing them completely leaving Herb more and more.

\This is how Raptors defended & shut down Embiid in the PO's. They pick a player/s to cheat off of.. If they produce they live with it. Even if Herb was shooting better, teams will still in a pick your poison, cheat off of him. It's up to Green to determine the need for better spacing over Herbs defense, if the offense is sputtering. Taking away the paint shuts down 3/5th the starting rotation.

For a team like NO's that teams need to pack the paint against, the amount of 3'd taken is a telling stat. The percentages are good, they're just not taking enough.

[Duke4life831]

Late travel after a holiday for a young team, Im not too worried about that, but ya its definitely not what you want to see.

And I agree 100% tactically it was a bad game. Because ya right from the start they put Jonas in the PnR and made having him out there tough for the Pels. While the Pels did nothing to make it tough for the Grizz to keep Adams out there. Memphis is a worse defensive team than the Pels, Ja is a horrible defender, Adams is lumbering. Youd think maybe involving those two in PnRs wouldve been a smart move.

I will also say this, its was good to see him make 2 3s in this game, but defenses are really starting to sag off of Herb in that starting lineup. Last year when he was making 34% teams didnt do that. But even after going 2/4 yesterday, he is still sub 30% from 3. And ya Ive noticed teams just arent caring about him lately. Teams are making the decision on whether its Zion attacking, BI attacking, Jonas getting it in the post, theyre just crashing Herb's defender into the paint.

I also want to be crystal clear, I do get that this team is top 5 in Net Rating and the offense is still damn good. Just pointing out a possible small issue that may come down the road. Because Im noticing them completely leaving Herb more and more.

\This is how Raptors defended & shut down Embiid in the PO's. They pick a player/s to cheat off of.. If they produce they live with it. Even if Herb was shooting better, teams will still in a pick your poison, cheat off of him. It's up to Green to determine the need for better spacing over Herbs defense, if the offense is sputtering. Taking away the paint shuts down 3/5th the starting rotation.

For a team like NO's that teams need to pack the paint against, the amount of 3'd taken is a telling stat. The percentages are good, they're just not taking enough.

Ya and again I want to be clear, this isnt me pushing the panic button or anything. According to BBRef, Pels have the 5th best offense and 7th best defense with the 4th best Net Rating. When you factor in all the injuries so far, that is pretty crazy to think about.

Again this is just something that I think may end up being an issue for a way teams adjust to this team. I think we are beginning to see teams make the adjustment of, everyone over pack the paint, dont even defend Herb and have someone beat us from the perimeter. And even with how good Zion/BI/Jonas (when given his opportunities) are, theyre not going to be able to be effective 15ft and in when there are 4 guys in the paint. The last few games Herb has started to get the Matisse Thybulle treatment. And if that becomes effective, Im going to be very curious on what (if any) adjustments Willie makes.

Does Herb get brought to the bench and Trey gets moved to the starting lineup. Would that be the reason for him to also move CJ to the bench and bring Jose (or Daniels) to the starting lineup to kind of make up for the loss defensively in that starting lineup. I actually think that could be pretty effective. Trey and Jose in the starting lineup. Then we get that CJ off the bench with that defensive group around him (Daniels, Herb, Nance).

Again not me pushing the panic button, just playing some dumb fan chess and trying to imagine potential adjustments 2-3 moves down the road haha.