Road to a Championship start here, 2022 Draft.

[Whole Truth]

If NO's were Lakers & their bigmen Davis, they'd have 20 FT's at the half. Instead Zion has 0, Jonas has 0 but commited 3 offensive & the undersized OKC apparently don't foul in the post, LMAO.

[Whole Truth]

Zion driving into 2-3 defenders all night, 3 mins left in the 3rd... 0 FT's, lol.

[Whole Truth]

Almost had that game stolen by corrupt & or incompetent officiating..

Maybe next game NO's can come out wearing Lakers jerseys, .

I'm going to rename Zion to Davis, maybe he can start getting soft, phantom calls too.

[NO-KG-AI]

That was absurd. 17 shots in the paint, virtually all with a ton of contact. 1 free throw lol. To be fair it seemed like the refs didn't like the Thunder either, they only liked Shai.

Anyway, I can't wait to see 82games data come out, I'm curious to see the defensive +/- with Zion and the other starters, because there is a lot of confirmation bias with fans around the league every time he has a lapse on a rotation, that Zion is this putrid defender, but he's playing excellent defense all around right now, and can still be a lot better. We're 5th overall on defense, and Zion's holding guys to 28% from 3 and 40.6% overall. From the eyeball test he just seems so stout at the point of attack against dribble penetration, and he's actually starting to use his air superiority to challenge shots. I think the scheme has helped minimize his concentration lapses off the ball a lot lately too, and he just seems a lot more engaged.

He's towards the top of the team in basically every metric right now. The general public seems to think Zion, Ingram, CJ and Jonas are anywhere from bad to completely awful on defense, so for us to be playing this well defensively with them playing such big minutes, I think that would pretty much make Herb the GOAT defensive anchor

[NO-KG-AI]

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.

Trey has looked so good as a shooter that it's such an enticing thought, especially with Herb being so cold from the field to start the year. I think as long as the offense is playing this well though, I want Herb out there to just completely harass the other team's best ball handler. He made Shai's life hell tonight. He just makes magic happen sometimes lol.

I think guys like Jose and Herb set such a tone, I want them out there as much as possible. Let it send a message. You want more playing time? Be like them.

[Duke4life831]

\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.

Trey has looked so good as a shooter that it's such an enticing thought, especially with Herb being so cold from the field to start the year. I think as long as the offense is playing this well though, I want Herb out there to just completely harass the other team's best ball handler. He made Shai's life hell tonight. He just makes magic happen sometimes lol.

I think guys like Jose and Herb set such a tone, I want them out there as much as possible. Let it send a message. You want more playing time? Be like them.

Oh agreed 100%. Ya taking Herb out of the starting lineup isn’t something that I think needs to happen now. As long as the team can continue to roll offensively I’m all for having him out there. I just brought it up as something that might be thought about down the road if teams completely play off of him (like what happens with Thybulle) and it begins to really affect the offense when he’s out there. But ya as of right now no doubt keep him out there.

[Whole Truth]

That was absurd. 17 shots in the paint, virtually all with a ton of contact. 1 free throw lol. To be fair it seemed like the refs didn't like the Thunder either, they only liked Shai.

Anyway, I can't wait to see 82games data come out, I'm curious to see the defensive +/- with Zion and the other starters, because there is a lot of confirmation bias with fans around the league every time he has a lapse on a rotation, that Zion is this putrid defender, but he's playing excellent defense all around right now, and can still be a lot better. We're 5th overall on defense, and Zion's holding guys to 28% from 3 and 40.6% overall. From the eyeball test he just seems so stout at the point of attack against dribble penetration, and he's actually starting to use his air superiority to challenge shots. I think the scheme has helped minimize his concentration lapses off the ball a lot lately too, and he just seems a lot more engaged.

He's towards the top of the team in basically every metric right now. The general public seems to think Zion, Ingram, CJ and Jonas are anywhere from bad to completely awful on defense, so for us to be playing this well defensively with them playing such big minutes, I think that would pretty much make Herb the GOAT defensive anchor

lol

Around half of NO's 22 TO's were the refs cheaply turning them over. Keep in mind a ref can realistically call a foul on almost every play, a carry, travel, moving screen, it's discression. It's subjective, it's manipulation/bias, when not called equally. SGA had alot of soft calls last night where NO's defenders got alot of ball in relation to what Zion was not getting.. A huge disparity between the 2 that had the game closer than it should have been.

Whereas Lakers & Davis get the SGA treatment, every game. I tuned out at the half of the Detroit Lakers match because of the way it was being officiated. Refs stopped Detroit from blowing Lakers out first half. Kept them in the game till they caught a rythym & eventuallty won a game that could have broke them..

I have OCD & don't miss patterns.. When NBA/refs want to help a small team like OKC control the paint = Zion 1 FT, Jonas 3 offensive fouls which should have been a NO's strength in match. Instead, OKC with their lack of size had no need to hold the bigger/stronger opponents & never fouled. That allowed physicality does what? helps OKC to contain NO's strength as a team for the match...

NO's don't fair well this season... Lakers get a better pick.

[Duke4life831]

High touch and high USG Zion leads to great things

[Whole Truth]

High touch and high USG Zion leads to great things

Yes & the manner in which he's being used.. he's much better on ball facing up than with his back to the basket facilitating CJ being on ball... but we knew this already.

CJ playing off ball more, is an offensive adjustment that can be made.. I'm more interested however to see what happens with his defensive strides when CJ returns & replaces Jose's ball pressure... If Green didn't go deep into the bench in the 3rd Q with a 31pt lead, NO's were on pace to keep a good Raptors team to under a 100pts. Speaking of which, that decision late 3rd to clear the bench resulted in Raptors gaining momentum going into the 4th off an 11-0 run that pulled the game to within 20 & eventually 11 with 5 mins remaing... Off that decision, Raptors cut a 31 point lead to 11 in roughly 8 mins. Made for a very uncomfortable 4th. I assume Green wanted to rest his short roster but no timeouts were called during that late 3rdQ run to break the Raptors momentum allowed them to build on it 4th Q & get to within striking distance with 5mins to go... If Zion didn't take over in a big way at that point, this could have been an epic collapse.

Zion looks to be getting into more of a rythym on both ends.. how much of it is related to Jose's playmaking & ball pressure vs ..?

It's also hard not to notice this team has been at it's best during key injuries ... One ball.

[Whole Truth]

The good, the bad, the ugly.

The good - Zion getting NO's to a 30pt lead & taking over the 4th which he should not have had to do up 30 with 2 remining 3rd Q.

The bad - lost Herb

THe ugly - Giving up a 20pt swing from a comfortable lead in roughly 8 mins.

[Duke4life831]

High touch and high USG Zion leads to great things

Yes & the manner in which he's being used.. he's much better on ball facing up than with his back to the basket facilitating CJ being on ball... but we knew this already.

CJ playing off ball more, is an offensive adjustment that can be made.. I'm more interested however to see what happens with his defensive strides when CJ returns & replaces Jose's ball pressure... If Green didn't go deep into the bench in the 3rd Q with a 31pt lead, NO's were on pace to keep a good Raptors team to under a 100pts. Speaking of which, that decision late 3rd to clear the bench resulted in Raptors gaining momentum going into the 4th off an 11-0 run that pulled the game to within 20 & eventually 11 with 5 mins remaing... Off that decision, Raptors cut a 31 point lead to 11 in roughly 8 mins. Made for a very uncomfortable 4th. I assume Green wanted to rest his short roster but no timeouts were called during that late 3rdQ run to break the Raptors momentum allowed them to build on it 4th Q & get to within striking distance with 5mins to go... If Zion didn't take over in a big way at that point, this could have been an epic collapse.

Zion looks to be getting into more of a rythym on both ends.. how much of it is related to Jose's playmaking & ball pressure vs ..?

It's also hard not to notice this team has been at it's best during key injuries ... One ball.

Yup there is a big difference between Zion getting low post touches and Zion getting touches where he is facing the basket and has enough room to gain enough steam to blow by his initial defender.

And ya I think it’s really clear the starting lineup doesn’t need 3 guys who want touches and shots. You see diminishing returns when you try that.

I’ve been saying all summer the goal for this offense should be Zion and BI both with a Time Per Possession around 5 then a gap to everyone else. To show how easily that can be done, the OKC game Zion was at 5.3 and Jose was at 4.6.

That needs to be the goal. Zion you get your touches and shots and that’s priority #1. BI slides right in as the #2 guy, then everyone else find their spots. Just like Tatum/Brown in Boston. And the thing is this roster is built perfectly around that, except for CJ. That’s where the issue lies. Jonas is a solid 3rd scoring option because he doesn’t need to pound the ball every possession to get a rhythm. Jose is kind of that ideal 3rd ball handler. And that’s not even bringing up the defensive aspect which Jose makes a gigantic difference.

The last two games we’ve seen the old Zion from the 2nd half of his 2nd season. This team needs to steer 100% into that. Then find the #2 and I think BI has drastically outplayed CJ so far this year to prove he should be that guy. Stop with the trying to make the trio thing work. Stop letting CJ dominate touches and time per possession. I get that it hasn’t been horrible, but this opens this offense up to a completely different level.

[Whole Truth]

High touch and high USG Zion leads to great things

Yes & the manner in which he's being used.. he's much better on ball facing up than with his back to the basket facilitating CJ being on ball... but we knew this already.

CJ playing off ball more, is an offensive adjustment that can be made.. I'm more interested however to see what happens with his defensive strides when CJ returns & replaces Jose's ball pressure... If Green didn't go deep into the bench in the 3rd Q with a 31pt lead, NO's were on pace to keep a good Raptors team to under a 100pts. Speaking of which, that decision late 3rd to clear the bench resulted in Raptors gaining momentum going into the 4th off an 11-0 run that pulled the game to within 20 & eventually 11 with 5 mins remaing... Off that decision, Raptors cut a 31 point lead to 11 in roughly 8 mins. Made for a very uncomfortable 4th. I assume Green wanted to rest his short roster but no timeouts were called during that late 3rdQ run to break the Raptors momentum allowed them to build on it 4th Q & get to within striking distance with 5mins to go... If Zion didn't take over in a big way at that point, this could have been an epic collapse.

Zion looks to be getting into more of a rythym on both ends.. how much of it is related to Jose's playmaking & ball pressure vs ..?

It's also hard not to notice this team has been at it's best during key injuries ... One ball.

Yup there is a big difference between Zion getting low post touches and Zion getting touches where he is facing the basket and has enough room to gain enough steam to blow by his initial defender.

And ya I think it’s really clear the starting lineup doesn’t need 3 guys who want touches and shots. You see diminishing returns when you try that.

I’ve been saying all summer the goal for this offense should be Zion and BI both with a Time Per Possession around 5 then a gap to everyone else. To show how easily that can be done, the OKC game Zion was at 5.3 and Jose was at 4.6.

That needs to be the goal. Zion you get your touches and shots and that’s priority #1. BI slides right in as the #2 guy, then everyone else find their spots. Just like Tatum/Brown in Boston. And the thing is this roster is built perfectly around that, except for CJ. That’s where the issue lies. Jonas is a solid 3rd scoring option because he doesn’t need to pound the ball every possession to get a rhythm. Jose is kind of that ideal 3rd ball handler. And that’s not even bringing up the defensive aspect which Jose makes a gigantic difference.

The last two games we’ve seen the old Zion from the 2nd half of his 2nd season. This team needs to steer 100% into that. Then find the #2 and I think BI has drastically outplayed CJ so far this year to prove he should be that guy. Stop with the trying to make the trio thing work. Stop letting CJ dominate touches and time per possession. I get that it hasn’t been horrible, but this opens this offense up to a completely different level.

Jonas is a capable 3rd option but the difference is, he's a role player sharing his position with Nance who fills in the defensive gaps & different playing style (Big & small ball). When CJ plays, they play down to his in/efficiency because he want's to be a part of the "big 3" but is more like the big 1 in his scorers vision & usage, no mention of defense.

CJ can work but it takes away alot of his value as a player away to play him as a catch & shoot option where someone like a Murphy or Jose in that role will bring a more to the table.

100%

[Duke4life831]

Yes & the manner in which he's being used.. he's much better on ball facing up than with his back to the basket facilitating CJ being on ball... but we knew this already.

CJ playing off ball more, is an offensive adjustment that can be made.. I'm more interested however to see what happens with his defensive strides when CJ returns & replaces Jose's ball pressure... If Green didn't go deep into the bench in the 3rd Q with a 31pt lead, NO's were on pace to keep a good Raptors team to under a 100pts. Speaking of which, that decision late 3rd to clear the bench resulted in Raptors gaining momentum going into the 4th off an 11-0 run that pulled the game to within 20 & eventually 11 with 5 mins remaing... Off that decision, Raptors cut a 31 point lead to 11 in roughly 8 mins. Made for a very uncomfortable 4th. I assume Green wanted to rest his short roster but no timeouts were called during that late 3rdQ run to break the Raptors momentum allowed them to build on it 4th Q & get to within striking distance with 5mins to go... If Zion didn't take over in a big way at that point, this could have been an epic collapse.

Zion looks to be getting into more of a rythym on both ends.. how much of it is related to Jose's playmaking & ball pressure vs ..?

It's also hard not to notice this team has been at it's best during key injuries ... One ball.

Yup there is a big difference between Zion getting low post touches and Zion getting touches where he is facing the basket and has enough room to gain enough steam to blow by his initial defender.

And ya I think it’s really clear the starting lineup doesn’t need 3 guys who want touches and shots. You see diminishing returns when you try that.

I’ve been saying all summer the goal for this offense should be Zion and BI both with a Time Per Possession around 5 then a gap to everyone else. To show how easily that can be done, the OKC game Zion was at 5.3 and Jose was at 4.6.

That needs to be the goal. Zion you get your touches and shots and that’s priority #1. BI slides right in as the #2 guy, then everyone else find their spots. Just like Tatum/Brown in Boston. And the thing is this roster is built perfectly around that, except for CJ. That’s where the issue lies. Jonas is a solid 3rd scoring option because he doesn’t need to pound the ball every possession to get a rhythm. Jose is kind of that ideal 3rd ball handler. And that’s not even bringing up the defensive aspect which Jose makes a gigantic difference.

The last two games we’ve seen the old Zion from the 2nd half of his 2nd season. This team needs to steer 100% into that. Then find the #2 and I think BI has drastically outplayed CJ so far this year to prove he should be that guy. Stop with the trying to make the trio thing work. Stop letting CJ dominate touches and time per possession. I get that it hasn’t been horrible, but this opens this offense up to a completely different level.

Jonas is a capable 3rd option but the difference is, he's a role player sharing his position with Nance who fills in the defensive gaps & different playing style (Big & small ball). When CJ plays, they play down to his in/efficiency because he want's to be a part of the "big 3" but is more like the big 1 in his scorers vision & usage, no mention of defense.

CJ can work but it takes away alot of his value as a player away to play him as a catch & shoot option where someone like a Murphy or Jose in that role will bring a more to the table.

100%

Ya to be clear CJ can work, this team still has a top 5ish offense with those 3 together. It’s just maximizing the roster. Ya the offense works with CJ in there, but the question should be, is the offense any worse with him not in the starting lineup. I’d say the answer is no, if anything it’s slightly more effective because you don’t have 3 guys kind of tripping over each other so to speak. Plus there is no doubt a big bump defensively with Jose over CJ.

Plus I just think it makes a lot of sense to maximize CJ’s minutes with Nance. Keep those two tied together as much as possible.

[Duke4life831]

2 way Zion is so fun to watch. I think there needs to be a major question about a certain player, but I’ll keep this positive haha.

This is the best Zion we have seen in the NBA. Get BI back and he can keep up his 3pt shooting and facilitating. Keep using Jonas when he has advantages down low.

This team has really high potential and so fun to watch.

[Whole Truth]

2 way Zion is so fun to watch. I think there needs to be a major question about a certain player, but I’ll keep this positive haha.

This is the best Zion we have seen in the NBA. Get BI back and he can keep up his 3pt shooting and facilitating. Keep using Jonas when he has advantages down low.

This team has really high potential and so fun to watch.

I was telling myself the same thing & wasn't going to post at all.

Feel bad for Jonas. He was leading the team in +/- & got benched in favot of a player who was struggling on both ends. 2-11 shooting oversahdowed by the defensive breakdowns. I convinced myself Green was letting him try & shake off the Covid rust.

Said it before trade. NO's traded for obligation & handcuffed their ceiling as a team, not that it isn't good. It could be much better.

[Duke4life831]

2 way Zion is so fun to watch. I think there needs to be a major question about a certain player, but I’ll keep this positive haha.

This is the best Zion we have seen in the NBA. Get BI back and he can keep up his 3pt shooting and facilitating. Keep using Jonas when he has advantages down low.

This team has really high potential and so fun to watch.

I was telling myself the same thing & wasn't going to post at all.

Feel bad for Jonas. He was leading the team in +/- & got benched in favot of a player who was struggling on both ends. 2-11 shooting oversahdowed by the defensive breakdowns. I convinced myself Green was letting him try & shake off the Covid rust.

Said it before trade. NO's traded for obligation & handcuffed their ceiling as a team, not that it isn't good. It could be much better.

Haha just enjoy the win my man. But ya I am with you haha. Not going to lie during the game I was thinking to myself, “can he be traded by the deadline even though he signed an extension this summer?” I’m at the point I’m not sure what he does better than Jose at this point. They essentially just iced him out of the offense in the 2nd half and it made the offense run better.

But ya I’ll keep it positive. I think we are seeing Zion take the next step. He’s so much more confident with his drives. He’s far less predictable than he was at the start of the year. Then defensively he’s actually looking like the Duke Zion on defense. He’s rotating, he’s getting his hands in passing lanes, he’s just flat out being active on that end. Just continue to feed this man!

[Whole Truth]

22 games into the season, it's been a broken record. Time for a different tune.

Joooose, Jose, Jose..... Jose.. Nice little game from Hermangomez too with Jonas in foul trouble.

CJ 11 FGA's - 7 pts.
Jose 19 FGA's - 38pts.

Efficiency difference 6 FFA's - 31pts.

This game was going south quick ... then Jose checked in.

NO's alone in 2nd place.

[Duke4life831]

22 games into the season, it's been a broken record. Time for a different tune.

Joooose, Jose, Jose..... Jose.. Nice little game from Hermangomez too with Jonas in foul trouble.

CJ 11 FGA's - 7 pts.
Jose 19 FGA's - 38pts.

Efficiency difference 6 FFA's - 31pts.

This game was going south quick ... then Jose checked in.

NO's alone in 2nd place.

Im just at the point now where I think it would send a good message to the rest of the team. It would send a message to the team, hey it doesnt matter name recognition or what your salary is. If you play hard enough and make a big enough impact where on the court youve shown you deserve to be a starter, you will be rewarded with that.

Jose has been the far superior player compared to CJ on both ends the entire season. 20+ games into this season and there really isnt anything at the moment CJ is doing better. The guy has just flat out earned it. The only reason this change hasnt been made yet is because of CJ's name and his salary. If we were to do a blank name test, Jose runs away with this.

But with all that said. Very good win against one of the best teams in the conference and this is without BI and Herb. Right now the issues that we are talking about are the definition of 1st world problems in the basketball world haha.

[Whole Truth]

22 games into the season, it's been a broken record. Time for a different tune.

Joooose, Jose, Jose..... Jose.. Nice little game from Hermangomez too with Jonas in foul trouble.

CJ 11 FGA's - 7 pts.
Jose 19 FGA's - 38pts.

Efficiency difference 6 FFA's - 31pts.

This game was going south quick ... then Jose checked in.

NO's alone in 2nd place.

Im just at the point now where I think it would send a good message to the rest of the team. It would send a message to the team, hey it doesnt matter name recognition or what your salary is. If you play hard enough and make a big enough impact where on the court youve shown you deserve to be a starter, you will be rewarded with that.

Jose has been the far superior player compared to CJ on both ends the entire season. 20+ games into this season and there really isnt anything at the moment CJ is doing better. The guy has just flat out earned it. The only reason this change hasnt been made yet is because of CJ's name and his salary. If we were to do a blank name test, Jose runs away with this.

But with all that said. Very good win against one of the best teams in the conference and this is without BI and Herb. Right now the issues that we are talking about are the definition of 1st world problems in the basketball world haha.

Agree with that sentiment, nothing should be given or taken for granted. CJ is starting in reputation & salary alone right now. He's playing worse on both ends than when LA wanted to run Westbrook out of town... Now WB's 40m contract is benefiting LA coming off the bench. It's the same salary situation regardless.

People talk about wanting Jose as a spark plug.. NO's were down 14 when he was first subbed in... they needed an 11-0 to not let this game get away early.. Much like the Boston match a game can be lost in the first Q. Jose had to play out of his mind to pull this game out & he did. Great performance & nice overall win..

Can't wait for the Suns rematch.

[Duke4life831]

22 games into the season, it's been a broken record. Time for a different tune.

Joooose, Jose, Jose..... Jose.. Nice little game from Hermangomez too with Jonas in foul trouble.

CJ 11 FGA's - 7 pts.
Jose 19 FGA's - 38pts.

Efficiency difference 6 FFA's - 31pts.

This game was going south quick ... then Jose checked in.

NO's alone in 2nd place.

Im just at the point now where I think it would send a good message to the rest of the team. It would send a message to the team, hey it doesnt matter name recognition or what your salary is. If you play hard enough and make a big enough impact where on the court youve shown you deserve to be a starter, you will be rewarded with that.

Jose has been the far superior player compared to CJ on both ends the entire season. 20+ games into this season and there really isnt anything at the moment CJ is doing better. The guy has just flat out earned it. The only reason this change hasnt been made yet is because of CJ's name and his salary. If we were to do a blank name test, Jose runs away with this.

But with all that said. Very good win against one of the best teams in the conference and this is without BI and Herb. Right now the issues that we are talking about are the definition of 1st world problems in the basketball world haha.

Agree with that sentiment, nothing should be given or taken for granted. CJ is starting in reputation & salary alone right now. He's playing worse on both ends than when LA wanted to run Westbrook out of town... Now WB's 40m contract is benefiting LA coming off the bench. It's the same salary situation regardless.

People talk about wanting Jose as a spark plug.. NO's were down 14 when he was first subbed in... they needed an 11-0 to not let this game get away early.. Much like the Boston match a game can be lost in the first Q. Jose had to play out of his mind to pull this game out & he did. Great performance & nice overall win..

Can't wait for the Suns rematch.

Yup thats the thing, why wait until late in the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd to bring him in to get that spark? Why not start the game with that spark? And its not like Jose in the starting lineup, or really the main question to worry about is Jose with Zion/BI is a bad fit? Those 3 together have a ridiculous +25 Net Rating. Ya its on limited minutes (60) but theyve shown they play well with each other. There is no diminishing returns with them when they play together.

Start with the energy, start with the guy that can put pressure on the ball on the defensive end. Start with the guy who's game fits in perfectly with the 2 star players. Then allow CJ to come off the bench and try and be an offensive spark.

But ya to put this game into perspective, Denver is a top 4 team in the West and without BI and with CJ scoring single digits and Jonas in foul trouble all game. You still pull out a 15pt win. That is damn good.