Around the NBA: Playoff Edition #2

[Butler4thewin]

Hahaha I can't believe the bucks played the Barney song for the raptors hahaha

[Butler4thewin]

Rewatching game 2 of bucs raps game and the difference I see in this game with today's game is thon maker seemed to be out there longer today and I think defensively when they have all there length out there they are unstoppable also delly fits in perfectly in the east vs Lowry and soon even kyrie oh man the matchup is gonna be a dog fight

[GimmeDat]

Yeah Maker has been awesome, exceeded my expectations for his first year.

He's a legit rim protector that is also exceptional at staying with guards on defense.

On offense he's an athletic finisher and has range out to the 3 point line. 46% FG / 38% 3PT, pretty efficient for a rookie.

With time and more involvement in the offense I think he'll be an awesome player, whether his age is right or not. The only thing I'm worried about is his rebounding - hopefully that improves once he puts on more muscle.

The most important thing with his development is he's got a great work ethic, a great attitude, and is really intelligent/well spoken. He's going places.

[Proven_Winner]

Man... how about Vince Carter still starting in playoff games at the age of 40? Registered 36 minutes at that, in a win against the Spurs. Big props to the guy. I guess Manu's right there, too.

Vince always looks in good shape no wonder he's still playing at a good level. Never thought he would still be playing good at his age

[Proven_Winner]

Yeah Maker has been awesome, exceeded my expectations for his first year.

He's a legit rim protector that is also exceptional at staying with guards on defense.

On offense he's an athletic finisher and has range out to the 3 point line. 46% FG / 38% 3PT, pretty efficient for a rookie.

With time and more involvement in the offense I think he'll be an awesome player, whether his age is right or not. The only thing I'm worried about is his rebounding - hopefully that improves once he puts on more muscle.

The most important thing with his development is he's got a great work ethic, a great attitude, and is really intelligent/well spoken. He's going places.

Milwaukee has been killing the draft. They draft safe hard working guys every year. Dating back to 2012 all of their 1st rounders have been really good contributors. Not sure about rashad Vaughn and how he's been though.

[GimmeDat]

Yeah Maker has been awesome, exceeded my expectations for his first year.

He's a legit rim protector that is also exceptional at staying with guards on defense.

On offense he's an athletic finisher and has range out to the 3 point line. 46% FG / 38% 3PT, pretty efficient for a rookie.

With time and more involvement in the offense I think he'll be an awesome player, whether his age is right or not. The only thing I'm worried about is his rebounding - hopefully that improves once he puts on more muscle.

The most important thing with his development is he's got a great work ethic, a great attitude, and is really intelligent/well spoken. He's going places.

Milwaukee has been killing the draft. They draft safe hard working guys every year. Dating back to 2012 all of their 1st rounders have been really good contributors. Not sure about rashad Vaughn and how he's been though.

Vaughn's been a bit of a bust, but he's still only 20. I think he can still pan out in to a rotation player, for sure.

[DanTown8587]

Milwaukee going to realize they have a real fringe contender and something legitimate if they trade Jabari? My fear is Phoenix wins the lottery or gets a top two pick and trades Bledsoe to Milwaukee for Parker and a pick.

[MGB8]

Between Middleton and Brogdon, they have two wings who can do darn good impersonations of point guards.... not to mention Giannis.

Not sure what they need to get to the next level, besides just general development. That's a young team, too....

And we gave them Snell for nothing, where Snell fits what they want to do to a "T" - long, can shoot, can handle well enough.. the worst player on their starting 5 - but Snell as a roll playing defensive player, who's not ball dominant.... you can get away with him as your worst starter if you have enough decision makers and scoring around him.

With Middleton playing his way back to health, the Bucks team is scary because of what they can do on defense...

[MGB8]

Milwaukee going to realize they have a real fringe contender and something legitimate if they trade Jabari? My fear is Phoenix wins the lottery or gets a top two pick and trades Bledsoe to Milwaukee for Parker and a pick.

Don't know that they even need to trade Jabari, as opposed to just using him as a scorer off the bench like they use Monroe. But trading him might make more sense in the longer term.

[FriedRise]

Between Middleton and Brogdon, they have two wings who can do darn good impersonations of point guards.... not to mention Giannis.

Not sure what they need to get to the next level, besides just general development. That's a young team, too....

And we gave them Snell for nothing, where Snell fits what they want to do to a "T" - long, can shoot, can handle well enough.. the worst player on their starting 5 - but Snell as a roll playing defensive player, who's not ball dominant.... you can get away with him as your worst starter if you have enough decision makers and scoring around him.

With Middleton playing his way back to health, the Bucks team is scary because of what they can do on defense...

You have to wonder how Snell would've fit in this year's Bulls team. Between Rondo, Butler, Wade, Valentine, and Grant, we have so many playmakers and ball handlers (unlike years past where all we had was Derrick and Kirk) that a wing player who doesn't need the ball, can guard, and can knock down open 3s would've been perfect.

Though I remember a game last year where Snell continually missed 4 straight wide open 3s, or a really long stretch of games where he completely disappeared and was a non-factor offensively. So yeah, maybe he wouldn't be this player without the change of scenery.

We did find Zipser though, who fits and has embraced the 3&D role perfectly and has a much better drive game than Snell. And if Snell was still here, I don't know how much we would've seen Valentine (who I think is a much better player than Snell despite his lack of athleticism).

[Ice Man]

And we gave them Snell for nothing, where Snell fits what they want to do to a "T" - long, can shoot, can handle well enough.. the worst player on their starting 5 - but Snell as a roll playing defensive player, who's not ball dominant.... you can get away with him as your worst starter if you have enough decision makers and scoring around him.

Yes, this is the best possible fit for Tony. I wondered what the Bucks were thinking at the time of the trade, but now I realize.

I know the Bucks will be told as a "why the Bulls should tank" story, but they're really not. Just shrewd player evaluation. Yesterday's Bucks' players, in order of game minutes -

Middleton - 39th pick originally, acquired on the cheap
Giannis - 15th pick
Dellavedova - undrafted, cheap pickup
Brogdon - 36th pick
Snell - 21st pick originally, acquired in trade
Monroe - signed as an FA
Maker - 10th pick
Beasley - picked up for nothing
Terry - picked up for nothing

Yeah there's Jabari and he's becoming very good, but the Bucks have a nice young team that the Bulls could have assembled, or any other team pretty much, without having to get those coveted Top 3 picks.

They've done a nice job of seeking length, but knowing when to make exceptions when they find guys who fit a need, like Delly.

[MGB8]

Between Middleton and Brogdon, they have two wings who can do darn good impersonations of point guards.... not to mention Giannis.

Not sure what they need to get to the next level, besides just general development. That's a young team, too....

And we gave them Snell for nothing, where Snell fits what they want to do to a "T" - long, can shoot, can handle well enough.. the worst player on their starting 5 - but Snell as a roll playing defensive player, who's not ball dominant.... you can get away with him as your worst starter if you have enough decision makers and scoring around him.

With Middleton playing his way back to health, the Bucks team is scary because of what they can do on defense...

You have to wonder how Snell would've fit in this year's Bulls team. Between Rondo, Butler, Wade, Valentine, and Grant, we have so many playmakers and ball handlers (unlike years past where all we had was Derrick and Kirk) that a wing player who doesn't need the ball, can guard, and can knock down open 3s would've been perfect.

Though I remember a game last year where Snell continually missed 4 straight wide open 3s, or a really long stretch of games where he completely disappeared and was a non-factor offensively. So yeah, maybe he wouldn't be this player without the change of scenery.

We did find Zipser though, who fits and has embraced the 3&D role perfectly and has a much better drive game than Snell. And if Snell was still here, I don't know how much we would've seen Valentine (who I think is a much better player than Snell despite his lack of athleticism).

Hard to say. I still like Snell and think he has a role on lots of NBA teams. Would love to have him back as a reserve defensive/rotation wing. He's such a different type of player than Valentine - they do kind of compete position-wise, but Valentine is a guy who you use for his offensive basketball IQ, passing skills, etc., kind of like Mike Dunleavy. Where Snell is really primarily a defensive player who is also a bailout shooter / driver on offense.

[jc23]

cavs messed up trading away Dunleavy, he has a neat way of nullifying Giannis lol.

[Jimako10]

Since Jabari went down, Milwaukee has had the 3rd best record in the NBA behind GS and SAS, at 20-11. They are definitely coming into the playoffs with a lot of confidence.

[Ice Man]

Since Jabari went down, Milwaukee has had the 3rd best record in the NBA behind GS and SAS, at 20-11. They are definitely coming into the playoffs with a lot of confidence.

Jabari looks good to me. But Middleton coming back seems to have more than compensated for Jabari going down. That guy can shoot.

[the ultimates]

Man... how about Vince Carter still starting in playoff games at the age of 40? Registered 36 minutes at that, in a win against the Spurs. Big props to the guy. I guess Manu's right there, too.

Vince always looks in good shape no wonder he's still playing at a good level. Never thought he would still be playing good at his age

He's still got some springs left

http://www.espn.com/videohub/video/clip/_/id/18972756/categoryid/clip?id=19118250

[Hangtime84]

And we gave them Snell for nothing, where Snell fits what they want to do to a "T" - long, can shoot, can handle well enough.. the worst player on their starting 5 - but Snell as a roll playing defensive player, who's not ball dominant.... you can get away with him as your worst starter if you have enough decision makers and scoring around him.

Yes, this is the best possible fit for Tony. I wondered what the Bucks were thinking at the time of the trade, but now I realize.

I know the Bucks will be told as a "why the Bulls should tank" story, but they're really not. Just shrewd player evaluation. Yesterday's Bucks' players, in order of game minutes -

Middleton - 39th pick originally, acquired on the cheap
Giannis - 15th pick
Dellavedova - undrafted, cheap pickup
Brogdon - 36th pick
Snell - 21st pick originally, acquired in trade
Monroe - signed as an FA
Maker - 10th pick
Beasley - picked up for nothing
Terry - picked up for nothing

Yeah there's Jabari and he's becoming very good, but the Bucks have a nice young team that the Bulls could have assembled, or any other team pretty much, without having to get those coveted Top 3 picks.

They've done a nice job of seeking length, but knowing when to make exceptions when they find guys who fit a need, like Delly.

They drafted similar to how paxson did as a GM length, defender, and hardworking. Thabo, James Johnson, Taj and Tyrus.

Chicago made a mistake in draft when they stopped drafting BPA for need. Teague/Snell

Using the above formula didn't work for us cause guys didn't start being contributors till their second contract.

Chicago new formula seems guys who can shoot, dribble, pass, and hardworking as the primary skillsets they are looking for. They are NOT looking for major + defenders now, but guys who won't be negatives on the court. I.e. Doug

[LikeABosh]

Milwaukee going to realize they have a real fringe contender and something legitimate if they trade Jabari? My fear is Phoenix wins the lottery or gets a top two pick and trades Bledsoe to Milwaukee for Parker and a pick.

Don't think they trade Jabari, but it is interesting that they can pretty much trade for any position to improve and not worry about putting their players (especially Giannis) out of place. Brogdon-Middleton-Giannis is incredibly versatile

[hellenicbull]

Y'all remember when Monta Ellis was a walking bucket?

LMAO at Monta for running away from Lebron as he went for the dunk. At least captan Kirk would have tackled his a***

[Mech Engineer]

And we gave them Snell for nothing, where Snell fits what they want to do to a "T" - long, can shoot, can handle well enough.. the worst player on their starting 5 - but Snell as a roll playing defensive player, who's not ball dominant.... you can get away with him as your worst starter if you have enough decision makers and scoring around him.

Yes, this is the best possible fit for Tony. I wondered what the Bucks were thinking at the time of the trade, but now I realize.

I know the Bucks will be told as a "why the Bulls should tank" story, but they're really not. Just shrewd player evaluation. Yesterday's Bucks' players, in order of game minutes -

Middleton - 39th pick originally, acquired on the cheap
Giannis - 15th pick
Dellavedova - undrafted, cheap pickup
Brogdon - 36th pick
Snell - 21st pick originally, acquired in trade
Monroe - signed as an FA
Maker - 10th pick
Beasley - picked up for nothing
Terry - picked up for nothing

Yeah there's Jabari and he's becoming very good, but the Bucks have a nice young team that the Bulls could have assembled, or any other team pretty much, without having to get those coveted Top 3 picks.

They've done a nice job of seeking length, but knowing when to make exceptions when they find guys who fit a need, like Delly.

It looks like the Bucks have settled on a evaluation criteria of getting length over other skills. The Bulls went after shooting to get guys like McDermott, Valentine, Niko etc... They were trying to copy the GS/Spurs approach.