Shams: Scottie out indefinitely with left hand fracture

[Syd-TK3]

Scottie finishing the season at 19.9ppg instead of 20 hurts my soul

[Chandan]

What exactly does Poeltl do for our development process? Its kind of a parroted notion that having a center unlocks some potential in our youth lineup. If your argument is that they have to learn to play with a good "______" you can say this for just about any position. Whatever when Poeltl falls off and we can't find the next Poeltl?

It's one thing to say he helps us in the immediate future because you need a competent big man to win. But winning right away has nothing to do with players' long term development.

This is not a scenario where we have a segun and we needed a point guard like Fred to direct him to get to the right spot. Centers like Poeltl are plug and play.

I already addressed this a couple of posts up, but Jak's play making from the pinch post and high post, his quick decision making, his screen setting, etc., has helped open up our offense. Last year when he first arrived, we ran a lot of Fred/Jak PnR and it completely changed the offense for the better. This year, our offense stagnated running PnR because our play makers aren't good, so we switched to running more things through Jak up top (e.g. DHOs, etc.). Now we have more guys cutting, moving without the ball, making quick passes, etc. You can say that's just trying to win short-term but I'd argue it's building good habits and learning to play the right way.

Players don't develop at the same rate in bad offenses. You can say Poeltl is a dime a dozen but the truth is there are maybe only a dozen guys like him in the league. He doesn't require the ball to be effective, but you can run things through him and he makes guys around him better. He's a good defender and rebounder, and finishes well around the basket. He's exactly the kind of selfless player you put around developing talent.

Edit: it's worth adding that our young talent is all guards and wings. You can't develop every position on your roster at once. It makes perfect sense that we've elected to go with selfless, veteran bigs. One of the main reasons Houston overpaid for Fred was because they needed a steady hand to develop their wing and big talent. Vets are an important piece to the puzzle even when you're rebuilding.

Never said he's a dimes a dozen. In fact I think Poeltl is quite unique in that he's like... Really solid at many aspects of the game (while also being kinda meh at some important parts)

"Players don't develop at the same rate in bad offenses". This is the part I don't necessary know if it's true. It's kind of like playing with jokic /LeBron (except to a much lesser extend). Are Bruce brown/ cedi osman really better players now having played with them? Or are they just incapable of performing as well now without that clutch.

[VanWest82]

"Players don't develop at the same rate in bad offenses". This is the part I don't necessary know if it's true. It's kind of like playing with jokic /LeBron (except to a much lesser extend). Are Bruce brown/ cedi osman really better players now having played with them? Or are they just incapable of performing as well now without that clutch.

That example isn't exactly apples to apples, but yeah, I'd imagine Brown and Cedi became better role players because they got to play with Jokic and Lebron.

There are examples of teams developing everyone at once (e.g. OKC), but we've seen rebuilding team after rebuilding team do a poor job of developing their players. Look at Detroit. Think back on all those awful Kings teams. At some point you need competent, selfless players who can play a role so that your young and talented players have the kind of structure needed to improve. If everyone's trying to make their name and earn their contract, it doesn't work.

[Chandan]

"Players don't develop at the same rate in bad offenses". This is the part I don't necessary know if it's true. It's kind of like playing with jokic /LeBron (except to a much lesser extend). Are Bruce brown/ cedi osman really better players now having played with them? Or are they just incapable of performing as well now without that clutch.

That example isn't exactly apples to apples, but yeah, I'd imagine Brown and Cedi became better role players because they got to play with Jokic and Lebron.

There are examples of teams developing everyone at once (e.g. OKC), but we've seen rebuilding team after rebuilding team do a poor job of developing their players. Look at Detroit. Think back on all those awful Kings teams. At some point you need competent, selfless players who can play a role so that your young and talented players have the kind of structure needed to improve. If everyone's trying to make their name and earn their contract, it doesn't work.

I dont know why we talk like Poeltl is some sort of guru at winning basketball culture. His teams has got like 2 winning seasons at the beginning of his career, and has been on losing teams ever since. Maybe its because he played under Pop? Are we sure what he brings is so conductive to winning? If he's supposed to be some sort of beacon that will bring a team back to playoff contention, I have yet to see any result or prior success.

[ItsDanger]

Darko prefers playmaking C's for his system, it also reduces the ball handling/facilitating for other guys especially without a traditional PG.

I don't hear these explanations in other leagues. I think we're all guilty of using "development" a little too often. Neither Poeltl nor Olynyk are known as winning players based on their NBA history. Both can be solid in their roles and on certain rosters but should be considered replaceable near term. The biggest advantage is that it removes the need for Scottie to play C for big minutes.

[VanWest82]

"Players don't develop at the same rate in bad offenses". This is the part I don't necessary know if it's true. It's kind of like playing with jokic /LeBron (except to a much lesser extend). Are Bruce brown/ cedi osman really better players now having played with them? Or are they just incapable of performing as well now without that clutch.

That example isn't exactly apples to apples, but yeah, I'd imagine Brown and Cedi became better role players because they got to play with Jokic and Lebron.

There are examples of teams developing everyone at once (e.g. OKC), but we've seen rebuilding team after rebuilding team do a poor job of developing their players. Look at Detroit. Think back on all those awful Kings teams. At some point you need competent, selfless players who can play a role so that your young and talented players have the kind of structure needed to improve. If everyone's trying to make their name and earn their contract, it doesn't work.

I dont know why we talk like Poeltl is some sort of guru at winning basketball culture. His teams has got like 2 winning seasons at the beginning of his career, and has been on losing teams ever since. Maybe its because he played under Pop? Are we sure what he brings is so conductive to winning? If he's supposed to be some sort of beacon that will bring a team back to playoff contention, I have yet to see any result or prior success.

Not sure about anyone else, but I'm basing it off eye test of what he's bringing to the team today. He's doing all the selfless stuff. Rebounding, backline defense, setting good screens, making quick decisions with the ball, knowing when to shoot and finishing well when he's the recipient, etc.

Steven Adams played this role well for Memphis which I think helped with Ja, Bane, and JJJ's development. A vet who sacrifices so the talent can be put in positions to succeed. Maybe that helps get us to playoffs, maybe not, but the point is to develop Scottie, RJ, IQ, Dick, etc., and I think Jak is helping there.

[tms]

Put the tank in the garage and now we gotta pull it out again. Most annoying season ever

[Tustari]

use this time wisely and work on his conditioning, or whatever he wants to do, body transformation you name it.

He's 240-245 right now, I want him 250-260 next year and be a beast amongst men.

Disagree completely. I would like to see him shed 10 lbs and play lighter. They don't use him like a big. He's one of the top players in the league in distance travelled and that typically doesn't happen for a guy his size which is why he's tired a lot. He's moving around as much as guards do. He needs to play at a lighter weight - he has definitely bulked up too much imo.

Absolutely. Bulking is an outdated concept especially for basketball players. When you simply “bulk” a lot of that weight can be fat which will completely hinder a basketball player’s speed and athleticism, even for a center. Adding lean muscle is a different proposition entirely. But as you said Scottie already has enough of that and if anything needs to lean up more, which would enhance his impressive athleticism.

What Scottie needs to reach is a new level in his mentality. He needs to get that Kobe Killa mindset. He’s too laid back and mellow. He needs to be merciless towards his opponents, which doesn’t mean violent. It just means he needs to be super aggressive.

[disoblige]

Scottie finishing the season at 19.9ppg instead of 20 hurts my soul

nobody can score 19.9. You have to round.

[Syd-TK3]

Scottie finishing the season at 19.9ppg instead of 20 hurts my soul

nobody can score 19.9. You have to round.

Ofcourse but his official stat sheet isn't going to round that up

[LoveMyRaps]

Darko said they're considering surgery.

Unfortunate.

Hope he's good to go opening night next season.