Around the NBA 10

[LofJ]

I figured Ainge would try to trade up for a big in this draft, but I doubt his target is Bamba, it's probably Jaren Jackson.

The Hawks, Magic, Cavs, or Bulls are pathetic if they help him trade up. We need to throw a wrench in their plans and start talking to other teams picking in the lottery.

[yosemiteben]

I must have missed something LofJ, what are you referring to?

[LofJ]

I must have missed something LofJ, what are you referring to?

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/250020/Celtics-Interested-In-Trading-Up-For-Mo-Bamba

[yosemiteben]

Interesting. Really curious if Bamba is going to work out.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

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Honestly fascinated that some of these coaching searches are taking so long.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

https://www.givemesport.com/1324546-if-they-had-sacrificed-more-of-their-future-for-the-present-the-cavaliers-might-be-finals-favourites

Rehashes that Kemba could potentially been traded to the Cavs. No real new info, even the trade suggested is hypothetical. It's more interesting to me that the narrative is still being talked about. And I think it's further proof that the Cavs were never going to trade their lotto pick.

[EAS Law]

Magic fan here looking for constructive insight on what most of us see as an underwhelming coaching hire.

Is Clifford really still about the 1 in 4 out offense? We definitely don’t have the roster for that and I’m more confused and annoyed by this move the longer I think of it. What did he do for your defense?

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Magic fan here looking for constructive insight on what most of us see as an underwhelming coaching hire.

Is Clifford really still about the 1 in 4 out offense? We definitely don’t have the roster for that and I’m more confused and annoyed by this move the longer I think of it. What did he do for your defense?

Cliff is a systems coach. His experience is that the best ways to win are tried and true. He works hard to get his players to work in his systems even if their existing talents don't seem to suggest that kind of role. He's not completely inflexible, but sometimes it seems like it.

Offense: yep, he's all about the 4 out & 1 in ... and here in Charlotte he rarely had the roster to really do that well. One positive example of change is that early on - like the first 2 years - Cliff put MKG in the "corner of shame" trying to make it look like he was a threat for the corner 3. In later years we did see a bit more of MKG operating more inside where he was more effective. On the negative side Cliff never did adjust to the idea of going small. He trashed the very idea for years until it became completely indefensible to say that going small was a bad idea, but even then he very very rarely played small lineups.

Defense: here Cliff designed the defense to contain drives and prevent dunks as the main priority. It did pretty well at that until Dwight was here, but was never good at stopping 3s. Over time, as teams shifting towards shooting more 3s, it looked worse and worse. Cliff is also a big believer in giving up offensive rebounds in favor of getting back early on D. Again, that seemed to work in years 1-3, but less so in the last few.

Substitution patterns and distribution of playing time were usually bad under Cliff. He loves to have all starters or all bench guys lineups, feeling that the guys are more used to playing with each other and will find rhythm faster. In practice what this lead to was teams like the Cavs and Rockets, who stagger starters more, killing our bench units and games getting out of control during those stretches. He will play young guys, but clearly favors vets - guys he seems to feel like have earned their place in the league. That has lead to really bad lineup choices over the years. We used to joke that he was most successful when injuries forced him to play the lineups he should have been using all along.

I will say that the Hornets players really seemed to like Cliff a lot. He inspired huge loyalty, especially early on, from guys like Kemba and Marv. He has a way of talking that really seems like 0 BS. I'm not sure that he always walks that talk, but he's really good at player relationships overall.

[yosemiteben]

Good summary. I think Cliff is a good hire if ORL feels like their players don't understand their roles and they need some stability and to ground their guys in an understandable system with a coach that is disciplined and a good communicator. My biggest concern if I were an ORL fan would be that I see very little difference between Cliff and Vogel, so I'm not sure why Cliff would be expected to be any more successful than Vogel was.

[JDR720]

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Would love if the NBA got a hard cap

[yosemiteben]

Was retweeted by Frank:

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[JMAC3]

Watching the finals is depressing, blow it up. We would lose each game by 30


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[316Hornets]

I'm almost positive Kemba is going to wherever Bron is going... unless.. MJ is so conceited that he rather burn than help Bron. Kemba could easily be the guy to help Bron with his low contract just like Curry was when KD signed.

[JDR720]

Worst finals ever

[JDR720]

I'm almost positive Kemba is going to wherever Bron is going... unless.. MJ is so conceited that he rather burn than help Bron. Kemba could easily be the guy to help Bron with his low contract just like Curry was when KD signed.

LeBron for nic.

Get it done Mitch

[countryboi]

it feels like a million years since i actually enjoyed the finals.

[Diop]

Cleveland were never in it today

[-Ian-]

it feels like a million years since i actually enjoyed the finals.

Same here.

Screw Adam Silver and his "we should celebrate the Warriors' excellence" BS. The NBA, especially the Finals, have become too predictable.

[yosemiteben]

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Hilarious

[LofJ]

Now that the Cavaliers are done I hope we don't do something stupid like trading the 11th pick for one year of Kevin Love.