Road to a Championship start here, 2022 Draft.

[Whole Truth]

I can't wait to see the adjustment at the half where Nance starts to compliment CJ.

CJ -18.
Zion -10
Jonas -5
Herb -3
BI -2

Nance -9

[Whole Truth]

Same old same old for the 1st half of the game.

Lets switch up the roles for the trio, BI now score first, Zion mid usage, CJ more facilitator. Also lets take Trey out of the rotation as well. What are the results for the 1st half? A discombobulated team, shocker.

Teams have roles and identities for a reason. Being close to 50 games into the season and basically every game is just a random role of the dice on how the team is going to be used and who is going to be played doesnt work.

I honestly cant tell if Willie is just trying to over think everything, or he is over his head right now.

It can't be easy to keep the quality depth happy but I also think Green is on a bit of a learning curve.

2nd time Green has put Daniels on a clear miss match in the post & Portis wasted no time advantaging the move. Done to keep CJ on the floor.

[Duke4life831]

Same old same old for the 1st half of the game.

Lets switch up the roles for the trio, BI now score first, Zion mid usage, CJ more facilitator. Also lets take Trey out of the rotation as well. What are the results for the 1st half? A discombobulated team, shocker.

Teams have roles and identities for a reason. Being close to 50 games into the season and basically every game is just a random role of the dice on how the team is going to be used and who is going to be played doesnt work.

I honestly cant tell if Willie is just trying to over think everything, or he is over his head right now.

It can't be easy to keep the quality depth happy but I also think Green is on a bit of a learning curve.

2nd time Green has put Daniels on a clear miss match in the post & Portis wasted no time advantaging the move. Done to keep CJ on the floor.

Ya right now there are 11 guys who no doubt want and expect minutes. That's too many guys, because you run into the same issue you get with the top 3 guys. By trying to make everyone happy it ends up just bringing everything down. You probably want 8 solid guys you can count on and pencil in every night. 11 is just too many.

I think 2 things need to happen.

#1 Zion/BI top of the hierarchy. You find ways to fit CJ around them, you dont try and find ways to figure out issues to fit around CJ.
#2 trade and consolidate talent. Get down to 8 guys you count on every night.

Then start trying to build your identity.

[Whole Truth]

LMAO.

[Duke4life831]

I can't wait to see the adjustment at the half where Nance starts to compliment CJ.

CJ -18.
Zion -10
Jonas -5
Herb -3
BI -2

Nance -9

Haha this is my issue with this team. They continue to tie a hand behind their back and its so obvious that theyre going to do it too. Jonas was tied for the best +/- in the 1st half for the starters and CJ was the worst. So what is the adjustment, later Jonas, we need to adjust around CJ.

Stop treating CJ like he is part of the main trio and you have to make adjustments around him. If he is getting abused, maybe its just not his game. And stop making adjustments to try and get him going. Id be pissed if I was Jonas by now haha.

[Duke4life831]

LMAO.

You called it haha

[Whole Truth]

LMAO.

You called it haha

Wasn't hard. Ignorance is easily predictable.

The reason this team is not reaching it's potential is Green is catering to CJ.'

21-9 to start the half, lol

CJ -30,
Jonas -3

Trade Jonas ...

[Whole Truth]

CJ (23mins) -30
Nance (18mins) -21

Jonas (15mins) -2
Daniels (11mins) -1

[Whole Truth]

After last night some NO fans are calling for Jonas & Daniels to be traded. Jonas because of "fit" Daniels because he has no offense.

Jonas played 24 minutes most of them with CJ who was -30 & he was a -8 with 13 / 10 / 6. The next best starter was Herb with -14. The 3rd Q start with the better fitting Nance, is why.. Nance didn't play bad either though he was -21. Nance was 3-6 for 10pts, with 2-3, 3pt shooting & 5 boards.

As in the loss yesterday to OKC there's nothing a rim protector can do about 9-23 3pt shooting & 14 TO''s with players walking around the perimeter defense. Starting Nance 3rd Q is hopefully finally proving this fact to you.

CJ played 23 mins was 2-7 with 7pts / 1reb / 4 assists. Where Jonas your centre who barely touched the ball, had 6 assists in the same 24mins.

CJ's offense & spacing, -30 in 23mins in a 24pt loss. NO's fans, we need to trade Daniels, he's got no offensive game, Daniels, 18mins, not in garbage time, -2

lol

[Whole Truth]

Along with what I have been saying with ball pressure. Who was this teams PG's in ZIon's earlier yrs where he seemed to be more productive than now ?

Ball who was a defensive playmaker who built his 3pt shooting = ball pressure & table setter
Jrue who's one of the best 2 way PG's in the league = ball pressure, play making & shooting.

CJ = spacing & more often than not, leads the team in FGA's
Daniels = "elite" ball pressure, no offense
Murray = ball pressure, 38% shooting on 6+ APG

Do you see a pattern ?

With CJ you not only lose ball pressure but he's neither a playmaker or table setter. He's high volume shooting, which takes touches away in his off nights. hence the blow outs, inconsistency & people saying neither Zion or BI are stars. "CJ has been this teams best player", lol. When CJ is not shooting the cover off the ball, he drags this entire team down with him. That's why he often "appears" to be the best player

Murray being more of a PG than CJ will hopefully help with taking better care of the ball & getting players into better spots.

[Whole Truth]

If you are currently watching this roster & thinking they not ready to contend. Keep in mind next yr is the last yr for CJ before he's an expiring 34yo facing a max extension for retention.

1 yr & if you have to make any real adjustments, your playing with fire in terms of asset control.

For argument sake. Lets say Murray doesn't move the needle. At 27 with 4yrs of team friendly control.

What Murray surely is
- Cap reduction going from 35m to 18
- 27yo prime asset to ageing 32yo asset to retain value
- Insurance at point to Daniels not developing offensively in 2yrs
- 5yrs control to 3yrs control for a bigger window & more room for error.

Lakers currently offering Russell, 2029, 26/28 swap for Murray.

CJ, Bucks 27 is an equivalent offer. Magic need shooting & CJ's 45% should entice. He's a better fit for them also. Magic are a defensive team that needs shooting. NO's have 3 max offensive players that need the ball, usage to be productive & one Herb. This is why some are entertaining trading BI over CJ. That's a mistake. Not that BI shouldn't be considered for trade but the consideration for trade over CJ ...

[Whole Truth]

People that think CJ has been the teams best player. Here's a reminder of the game played short handed 4 rotation players without him where the bench struggled when NO's decided to start Daniels with Herb.

Dallas Mavericks (131-110) W - Jonas +23, Daniels +11 (Luka -26)
Denver Nuggets (115-110) W - Zion +21, Daniels +12 (Jokic +5)
Minnesota Wolves (120-121) L - Herb +11, Daniels -6 (No Zion, CJ, Murphy, Jose, Nance) 15pt 4th Q lead, away B2B
Sacramento Kings (129-93) W - Jonas +33, Daniels +28 (Sabonis -36)
Sacramento Kings (117-112) W - Jonas +2, Daniels -7, Marshall +25 (Duarte +22)
LA Clippers (116-106) W - Jonas +15, Daniels +18 (Kawhi -15, PG -9)
Utah Jazz (100-105) L - Hawkins +4, Daniels -18 (3rd game in 4 nights away B2B in mile high, no Zion)
Utah Jazz (112-114) L - Jonas/Zion +3, Daniels -6 (Utah starters, all negative players, Sexton +6 off the bench)
Chicago Bulls (118-124) L - Jonas +13, Daniels +4 (Zeller -17)

Green cost them the Wolves game where his sub of Jonas for Zeller's defense put them in a 3min scoring drought in a 1 point, last shot miss, loss. The bench -12/Zeller -17, cost them the Bulls 2 possession game.

Where Daniels struggled in this 9 game stretch was vs Utah. All of CJ, Murphy & Ryan out to help with spacing. Them zoning Daniels with a lengthy shot blocker was his 2 worse games & still NO's lost by less than 2 possessions in both.

If you watch this stretch & see a 5-4 record, short no less than 3 rotation players, with 3 away B2B's including 3 games in 4 nights in mile high already short handed & no Zion, it would be deceiving to Daniels impact over it. 2 of the 4 losses, Zion was sitting due to rest. All 4 losses within 2 possessions & 2 within 1.

Which brings me to this teams "consistency". Having started these 9 games short handed. NO's faced 6 top teams in the West & a team they've struggled with due to matchup & the Bulls. Had 3 tough away B2B's playing short no less than 3 rotation players, 2 of their best 3pt shooters out where Utah was zoning with a lengthy shot blocker & through it all NO's never lost by more than 2 possessions. No blowouts ...

Why? because defense is consistent in effort & Daniels is elite in this regard. Where "shooting" can run hot & cold from night to night. Herb & Daniels does more to balance the starting lineup defensively, than CJ's spacing.

If they had one of CJ or Murphy to come off the bench in any of those losses, NO's go 9-0 in this stretch.

[Whole Truth]

Note, the bad "fit" Jonas is a double digit + in 5 of those 6 games against the top teams faced in the west over that 9 game span with Daniels starting. He was also +2 in the Wolves 1pt loss & was subbed early 4th after making 3 straight baskets for the defensive Zeller. First play after sub was a Daniels TO where he was successfully running the PNR with Jonas Wolves had no answer for. NO's went on a 3minute scoring drought to cough up a 15pt 4th Q lead & lose by 1.

If you watch that 9 games as a mere 5-4 record, you're deceiving yourself.

[Whole Truth]

Same old same old for the 1st half of the game.

Lets switch up the roles for the trio, BI now score first, Zion mid usage, CJ more facilitator. Also lets take Trey out of the rotation as well. What are the results for the 1st half? A discombobulated team, shocker.

Teams have roles and identities for a reason. Being close to 50 games into the season and basically every game is just a random role of the dice on how the team is going to be used and who is going to be played doesnt work.

I honestly cant tell if Willie is just trying to over think everything, or he is over his head right now.

It can't be easy to keep the quality depth happy but I also think Green is on a bit of a learning curve.

2nd time Green has put Daniels on a clear miss match in the post & Portis wasted no time advantaging the move. Done to keep CJ on the floor.

Ya right now there are 11 guys who no doubt want and expect minutes. That's too many guys, because you run into the same issue you get with the top 3 guys. By trying to make everyone happy it ends up just bringing everything down. You probably want 8 solid guys you can count on and pencil in every night. 11 is just too many.

I think 2 things need to happen.

#1 Zion/BI top of the hierarchy. You find ways to fit CJ around them, you dont try and find ways to figure out issues to fit around CJ.
#2 trade and consolidate talent. Get down to 8 guys you count on every night.

Then start trying to build your identity.

You're preaching to the choir.

If you're building around ZIon, Jonas in a 2 man pairing is a starter high +6, CJ is a starter low & Daniels ball pressure is +11. Jonas is matchup dominant & has Nance to compliment. It's the catering to CJ that has anchored this team to his play & their solution is to trade Jonas + to make CJ fit better. Problem is Zion has played better with Ball & Jrue, need these type players ball pressure to compliment him defensively as well as offensively & CJ simply doesn't & targeting Allen is not going to rectify this fact.

Like I said I've seen this movie before with Raptors & Derozan. Casey used Jonas as if he were Tyson Chandler, defensive rim runner early in his development & pulled him every opportunity to make up for Derozan bricking shots. When PO's rolled around. Derozan & Lowry were putting up historically bad offensive production. It was Jonas who stepped up to beat the PG Pacers outplaying Turner grabbing something close to 60 boards in his first 3 games of the series. Then he went on to dominate the first 2 games of Wade's Heat series where he got injured in game 3. After getting the Raptors the 2 game series lead. Heat ended up taking them to 7. Then Raptors lost 4-2 to the James Cavs ECF's who beat the best version of the Warriors. So it amuses me to see NO's fan say Jonas will be a complete PO liability. No, he's as I say, matchup dominant. That's what Nance is here for.

Jonas plays the Kings/Sabonis, Wolves/Kat, Clippers/?, historically well & there's a couple more PO teams in the West that are weak in the middle if Green would stop catering to CJ where Jonas is lucky to get 6 FGA's more less mostly off offensive rebounding & defensive compensation. Cause CJ is part of a big 3

[Whole Truth]

Washington has a mandate to acquire picks. They want a better return for Kuzma than the picks Raptors got for Pascal.

Indiana 24
Lesser of owned Utash/Houston/Clippers/OKC 24
Indiana 26

Currently Indiana is tied with NO's for 17/18th pick in the 24 draft.
OKC is the 28th pick in the 24 draft
Indiana 26 doesn't project much better.

I'm thinking NO's offer this pick value for Kuzma -
NO's 24
Bucks 27

Magic trade - (Fultz, 17m/1, Carter JR 13m/3, Denver 25, Suns 26) for (CJ 35m/3)

Wizards trade - (Kuzma 25m/4) for (Fultz 17m/1, Bey 5m/1, NO's 24, Bucks 27)

Atlanta trade - (Murray 18m/5, Okongwu 8m/5, Bey 5m/1) for (Kuzma 25m/4, Carter 13m/2, Denver 25, Suns 26)

NO's trade - (CJ 35m/3, NO's 24, Bucks 27) for (Murray 18/5, Okongwu 8/5)

[Whole Truth]

Now seeing Jazz linked to Murray.

Jazz trade - (Sexton, Dunn, Olynyk, 25 FRP, 27 FRP)

Hawks trade - (Murray, Capela, Griffin, 28 swap)

If nothing else I hope the hype has driven his price out of the Lakers reach. Kind of looks like my trade, with Capela replacing Okongwu. Maybe Hawks driving up NO's price, lol.

[Whole Truth]

ClutchPoints

Saying Lakers need to get creative to land Murray & should send Russell to Orlando. See them as his best fit.

Where have I seen that ...

CJ > Russell on both fronts, if Magic are looking for a guard who can both shoot & lead a young team.

CJ also has an additional yr of control over Russel who has a team option in 25.

[Whole Truth]

NO's trade - (CJ) for (Paul, Kuminga)

[Whole Truth]

Snyder is lobbying Hawks to keep Murray.

If Murray's character is at all in question, that should say something about it.

[Whole Truth]

Cavs seem to have made Allen unavailable to trade. Makes me think they were asking for Herb.

Yeah you can keep your overpaid rim runner.

For all the jokers wanting to trade for him. What happened to he's on the market because they want to move Mobley to the 5, LMAO.