Around the NBA (and other Sports), 2023-24

[London2Boston]

My dude getting killed my Mavs fans. Once again, Brad knew better than us.

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Healthy Kawhi schools everyone if we being fair.

[Fierce1]

He got dunked on by Bam in the clinching game. That's all people remember and they blame Theis for the series loss. When in fact it was our late-game offense that failed us, not our defense.

Partly true.

Bam was a 20-10 player against the Cs and Theis.

That's the only series in that 2019-20 playoffs that Bam averaged 20-10.

Bam was only 15ppg and 6rpg in the finals against the Lakers.

Theis is good when he's the backup big.

But the Cs made him the starter that season.

When Horford returned to the Cs and the Heat and Cs met in the ECF in 2022, Bam was only a 15ppg and 8rpg player.

Even last season, when the Heat beat the Cs in 7 games, Bam was just 15ppg and 9rpg player.

Theis made Bam look like an All-NBA player back in 2020.

Need more context than that. While I agree Theis is best suited as a backup big on a contending team...

We had Kemba w/ a bad knee as our starting point guard and Wanamaker as his backup in 2020. Brown wasn't as good defensively then. Gimpy Hayward also played for a couple of games. Lakers had Caruso and Rondo. Horford/Rob had Smart, improved Brown, and White as his guards for the two playoff runs. Kemba/Wanamaker were routinely getting beat at the point of attack and Theis naturally has to cover in PnR.

Putting it all on Theis is myopic thinking.

That's why I said partly true because it was not all on Theis.

Theis is not a starting Center in the NBA.

When the Cs used him as a starter, it was like the 2nd string Center matched up against a starting Center in Bam Adebayo.

You could see the difference in 2022 and 2023 when Al was guarding Bam.

Bam never averaged 20-10 against the Cs when Al was his primary defender.

[sam_I_am]

My dude getting killed my Mavs fans. Once again, Brad knew better than us.

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Healthy Kawhi schools everyone if we being fair.

LOL at Dallas fans who thought Grant was a guy who could be a Kawhi stopper.

[sam_I_am]

Partly true.

Bam was a 20-10 player against the Cs and Theis.

That's the only series in that 2019-20 playoffs that Bam averaged 20-10.

Bam was only 15ppg and 6rpg in the finals against the Lakers.

Theis is good when he's the backup big.

But the Cs made him the starter that season.

When Horford returned to the Cs and the Heat and Cs met in the ECF in 2022, Bam was only a 15ppg and 8rpg player.

Even last season, when the Heat beat the Cs in 7 games, Bam was just 15ppg and 9rpg player.

Theis made Bam look like an All-NBA player back in 2020.

Need more context than that. While I agree Theis is best suited as a backup big on a contending team...

We had Kemba w/ a bad knee as our starting point guard and Wanamaker as his backup in 2020. Brown wasn't as good defensively then. Gimpy Hayward also played for a couple of games. Lakers had Caruso and Rondo. Horford/Rob had Smart, improved Brown, and White as his guards for the two playoff runs. Kemba/Wanamaker were routinely getting beat at the point of attack and Theis naturally has to cover in PnR.

Putting it all on Theis is myopic thinking.

That's why I said partly true because it was not all on Theis.

Theis is not a starting Center in the NBA.

When the Cs used him as a starter, it was like the 2nd string Center matched up against a starting Center in Bam Adebayo.

You could see the difference in 2022 and 2023 when Al was guarding Bam.

Bam never averaged 20-10 against the Cs when Al was his primary defender.

It was Theis’s fault that Bam stuffed Tatum at the rim to steal game 1 and shift momentum in series.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Theis had the best defensive rating of any Boston player during that Miami series (excluding Langford who played like 5 minutes total) holding the Heat at 109.1 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, far below both their regular season (111.9) and playoff mark (112.7). The Heat had a 122.5 offensive rating when Theis was off the floor. All of the big Adebayo games during that series where the games where Theis was in foul trouble and didn't play as much as usual. But sure the Celtics lost because of his individual defense not because his back ups got completely abused.

[165bows]

My dude getting killed my Mavs fans. Once again, Brad knew better than us.

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Healthy Kawhi schools everyone if we being fair.

Haha yeah I get what they are saying but not the fairest example.

[ConstableGeneva]

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[ConstableGeneva]

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The Pistons might never win again. Or maybe against the Celtics next week.

[JaMarco]

The Bucks have figured it out and have hit their stride.

[Hal14]

What lol

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[playa-hater]

So aaron newsmith is now shooting 54% and 47 % for the year.. Meanwhile the Pacers continue to start buddy Heild who plays no defense... I guess they may be trying to showcase him but that makes no sense.. No one is taken him for that contract..

[playa-hater]

So e s p n puts on the warriors versus the wizards Over phoenix and sacramento..

[JaMarco]

Luka might clinch MVP tonight. Woof at the Mavs without him.

[playa-hater]

Denver up by 5, twenty seconds to go, game over right? No.. cam thomas 4 point play.. .. Brooklyn fouls murray on purpose.. he misses the free throw but no one boxes out the free throw shooter.. How does that happen on the n b a level

[JaMarco]

Grant Williams with the goose egg tonight.

[ConstableGeneva]

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Dunno how Miami does it. They suck at actually getting stars since Lebron left (apart from Butler) but manage to grow/develop former no-names and non-lottery picks into productive rotation players.

[Fierce1]

I'd rather our team sucks at getting productive rotation players but excellent in developing star players.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

So aaron newsmith is now shooting 54% and 47 % for the year.. Meanwhile the Pacers continue to start buddy Heild who plays no defense... I guess they may be trying to showcase him but that makes no sense.. No one is taken him for that contract..

Nesmith and Hield don't play the same position so there's no reason they should be in competition for the same starting spot. Hield starts because he has great chemistry with Haliburton and they want to maximise the number of minutes they play together. Hield plays 26 minutes per game and Nesmith 25, the notion that Nesmith is somehow buried on the depth chart behind Hield is just not accurate. Hield is one of the absolute best shooters in the world and on a 18 millions expiring contract, of course they can move him if they want to.

[playa-hater]

So aaron newsmith is now shooting 54% and 47 % for the year.. Meanwhile the Pacers continue to start buddy Heild who plays no defense... I guess they may be trying to showcase him but that makes no sense.. No one is taken him for that contract..

Nesmith and Hield don't play the same position so there's no reason they should be in competition for the same starting spot. Hield starts because he has great chemistry with Haliburton and they want to maximise the number of minutes they play together. Hield plays 26 minutes per game and Nesmith 25, the notion that Nesmith is somehow buried on the depth chart behind Hield is just not accurate. Hield is one of the absolute best shooters in the world and on a 18 millions expiring contract, of course they can move him if they want to.

Nesmith at 6'5 can easily be/play the same position. Heild is being out-shot by Nesmith across the board. But that isn't even my main point. Nesmith brings so much more to the table. With energy and defense especially. To date the Pacers are a poor defensive team and Heild is not a defender at all.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

So aaron newsmith is now shooting 54% and 47 % for the year.. Meanwhile the Pacers continue to start buddy Heild who plays no defense... I guess they may be trying to showcase him but that makes no sense.. No one is taken him for that contract..

Nesmith and Hield don't play the same position so there's no reason they should be in competition for the same starting spot. Hield starts because he has great chemistry with Haliburton and they want to maximise the number of minutes they play together. Hield plays 26 minutes per game and Nesmith 25, the notion that Nesmith is somehow buried on the depth chart behind Hield is just not accurate. Hield is one of the absolute best shooters in the world and on a 18 millions expiring contract, of course they can move him if they want to.

Nesmith at 6'5 can easily be/play the same position. Heild is being out-shot by Nesmith across the board. But that isn't even my main point. Nesmith brings so much more to the table. With energy and defense especially. To date the Pacers are a poor defensive team and Heild is not a defender at all.

You seem weirdly hung up on the fact that Hield is supposedly eating up Nesmith's minutes. Again, Hield plays only 26 minutes per game at a different position, there's plenty minutes from other guys they could reallocate to Nesmith if they wanted to. But they don't. Maybe because (and it pains me to say) Nesmith isn't all that good at NBA basketball. It's not a coincidence if every year of his career, his team has played vastly better with him off than on the court. But I guess the more rational explanation is that Carlisle can't coach. Just like Mazzulla, Udoka and every other NBA coach apparently.