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Next year: how much better can we be?

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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#101 » by doclinkin » Thu May 21, 2020 2:57 pm

payitforward wrote:f we leave Brandon Clarke out of the picture, it's fair to say that nobody picked after Rui in R1 has made the pick look bad. As I wrote in the Rui thread. Where all this belongs.


No man. You lose the point of your own thread. The title invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )

We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. A key area of shortfall being defense. And interior defense being a lynchpin of that.

If we are looking to the future and wondering how we can improve, player development is likely our best bet. Or leastways our most certain. Young and talented players tend to get better with reps and minutes. This team is stocked with youth at this point. Maximizing what they do well, reducing their deficits, and finding synergy and chemistry in our roster is critical.

Each of the young pups has habits or traits that prevent them from succeeding. Thomas Bryant will likely never develop a quicker lateral Shuffle. As a defender he will need to learn positional defense to anticipate the play and get where he needs to be before he needs to be there. He’s big. He’s active. He’s willing. He just doesn’t slide well to cut off angles and use his length. A smart coach would keep him within do-si-do range of the paint and let opposing Bigs chuck from catapult range if they need to.

Rui does not have that flaw. And while the analysis is correct that his currently anemic rebounding and slow read/react skills hurt the team, his physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball. In fact with his range fluidity and length he could become an intimidating strong safety defending from the arc to the paint and make up for the immobile but sturdy Bryant underneath. A clever coach could use these two as hammer and anvil if they taught them their roles and got them to commit.

How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#102 » by dckingsfan » Thu May 21, 2020 3:20 pm

doclinkin wrote:
payitforward wrote:f we leave Brandon Clarke out of the picture, it's fair to say that nobody picked after Rui in R1 has made the pick look bad. As I wrote in the Rui thread. Where all this belongs.


No man. You lose the point of your own thread. The title invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )

We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. A key area of shortfall being defense. And interior defense being a lynchpin of that.

If we are looking to the future and wondering how we can improve, player development is likely our best bet. Or leastways our most certain. Young and talented players tend to get better with reps and minutes. This team is stocked with youth at this point. Maximizing what they do well, reducing their deficits, and finding synergy and chemistry in our roster is critical.

Each of the young pups has habits or traits that prevent them from succeeding. Thomas Bryant will likely never develop a quicker lateral Shuffle. As a defender he will need to learn positional defense to anticipate the play and get where he needs to be before he needs to be there. He’s big. He’s active. He’s willing. He just doesn’t slide well to cut off angles and use his length. A smart coach would keep him within do-si-do range of the paint and let opposing Bigs chuck from catapult range if they need to.

Rui does not have that flaw. And while the analysis is correct that his currently anemic rebounding and slow read/react skills hurt the team, his physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball. In fact with his range fluidity and length he could become an intimidating strong safety defending from the arc to the paint and make up for the immobile but sturdy Bryant underneath. A clever coach could use these two as hammer and anvil if they taught them their roles and got them to commit.

How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.

Have you thought about becoming a writer... really.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#103 » by payitforward » Thu May 21, 2020 3:36 pm

doclinkin wrote:... The title (i.e. of this thread) invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )...

Fair enough. & interesting. Spare me the "PIFfle" stuff, however. I can do that better than you, dicleakin :).

doclinkin wrote:...We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. ...(Rui's) physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball.

Great point.

doclinkin wrote:...How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.

I like! Maybe a slight (friendly) edit might be "how can we help our young cats improve in the ways they need to (& what are those ways for each of them)?"
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#104 » by payitforward » Thu May 21, 2020 3:38 pm

dckingsfan wrote:
doclinkin wrote:
payitforward wrote:f we leave Brandon Clarke out of the picture, it's fair to say that nobody picked after Rui in R1 has made the pick look bad. As I wrote in the Rui thread. Where all this belongs.


No man. You lose the point of your own thread. The title invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )

We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. A key area of shortfall being defense. And interior defense being a lynchpin of that.

If we are looking to the future and wondering how we can improve, player development is likely our best bet. Or leastways our most certain. Young and talented players tend to get better with reps and minutes. This team is stocked with youth at this point. Maximizing what they do well, reducing their deficits, and finding synergy and chemistry in our roster is critical.

Each of the young pups has habits or traits that prevent them from succeeding. Thomas Bryant will likely never develop a quicker lateral Shuffle. As a defender he will need to learn positional defense to anticipate the play and get where he needs to be before he needs to be there. He’s big. He’s active. He’s willing. He just doesn’t slide well to cut off angles and use his length. A smart coach would keep him within do-si-do range of the paint and let opposing Bigs chuck from catapult range if they need to.

Rui does not have that flaw. And while the analysis is correct that his currently anemic rebounding and slow read/react skills hurt the team, his physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball. In fact with his range fluidity and length he could become an intimidating strong safety defending from the arc to the paint and make up for the immobile but sturdy Bryant underneath. A clever coach could use these two as hammer and anvil if they taught them their roles and got them to commit.

How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.

Have you thought about becoming a writer... really.

Doc is a writer -- a specific kind called a writer manqué.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#105 » by Ruzious » Thu May 21, 2020 3:39 pm

With Rui's D, can you teach not going for the first shot-fake and not leaning too far on the first dribble toward the basket? These are things he's going to have to do - in addition to making switches and playing passing lanes. Him always going for shot fakes is particularly frustrating considering how few shots he blocks. Rui, you're not going to block the shot, so please don't go for the fake. Just play solid positional D. He tries harder on D than Antawn Jamison, but effectively he is Jamison on D. He does deserve some credit for his play against Giannis - even though he was effective because teammates hedged off their man to help him. That's smart team D on his and his teammates' parts, and I'm happy to see that. He played his role right and that allowed for his teammates to help.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#106 » by pancakes3 » Thu May 21, 2020 3:40 pm

lot of rui talk but i think bertans and bryant are 3a and 3b in the list of impact players for a playoff push next season. gotta resign bertans, even if it means overpaying him. might be paying more for his raw statistical production, but there's also a scarcity for his specific skill set in obtaining that production, which is the reason for the premium.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#107 » by Ruzious » Thu May 21, 2020 3:47 pm

payitforward wrote:
dckingsfan wrote:
doclinkin wrote:
No man. You lose the point of your own thread. The title invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )

We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. A key area of shortfall being defense. And interior defense being a lynchpin of that.

If we are looking to the future and wondering how we can improve, player development is likely our best bet. Or leastways our most certain. Young and talented players tend to get better with reps and minutes. This team is stocked with youth at this point. Maximizing what they do well, reducing their deficits, and finding synergy and chemistry in our roster is critical.

Each of the young pups has habits or traits that prevent them from succeeding. Thomas Bryant will likely never develop a quicker lateral Shuffle. As a defender he will need to learn positional defense to anticipate the play and get where he needs to be before he needs to be there. He’s big. He’s active. He’s willing. He just doesn’t slide well to cut off angles and use his length. A smart coach would keep him within do-si-do range of the paint and let opposing Bigs chuck from catapult range if they need to.

Rui does not have that flaw. And while the analysis is correct that his currently anemic rebounding and slow read/react skills hurt the team, his physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball. In fact with his range fluidity and length he could become an intimidating strong safety defending from the arc to the paint and make up for the immobile but sturdy Bryant underneath. A clever coach could use these two as hammer and anvil if they taught them their roles and got them to commit.

How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.

Have you thought about becoming a writer... really.

Doc is a writer -- a specific kind called a writer manqué.

Lol, Doc could write the phone book and make it seem interesting. Then again, I'd say "Doc, why are you writing the phone book?"
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#108 » by doclinkin » Thu May 21, 2020 4:22 pm

payitforward wrote:
doclinkin wrote:... The title (i.e. of this thread) invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )...

Fair enough. & interesting. Spare me the "PIFfle" stuff, however. I can do that better than you, dicleakin :).


Are you sure you can? We can do it anagrammatical if you want: Mr "Dolt Man: Me" Til you cry woe: "Damn Me Lot" and so on. Let me know if you want to throw low blows. Now I know you been blowing since Lo long ago. But if you need to show, then by all means "Go" as was entreated by John Clellon Holmes.


doclinkin wrote:...We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. ...(Rui's) physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball.

Great point.

doclinkin wrote:...How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.

I like! Maybe a slight (friendly) edit might be "how can we help our young cats improve in the ways they need to (& what are those ways for each of them)?"


Yes, that. Go: ..... I've got mine but I'd like to read others'.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#109 » by doclinkin » Thu May 21, 2020 4:29 pm

payitforward wrote:Doc is a writer -- a specific kind called a writer manqué.


Oh excellent. No basketball to write on so we can write on other topics. Specifically writers and failure. I got a question, perhaps unrelated: is a denizen of Lewes DE called a "Lewes-er"? I'll take your answer in the poetry thread or the insults thread, wherever you feel you want to take it. :clown:
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#110 » by doclinkin » Thu May 21, 2020 4:38 pm

Ruzious wrote:With Rui's D, can you teach not going for the first shot-fake and not leaning too far on the first dribble toward the basket? These are things he's going to have to do - in addition to making switches and playing passing lanes. Him always going for shot fakes is particularly frustrating considering how few shots he blocks. Rui, you're not going to block the shot, so please don't go for the fake. Just play solid positional D. He tries harder on D than Antawn Jamison, but effectively he is Jamison on D. He does deserve some credit for his play against Giannis - even though he was effective because teammates hedged off their man to help him. That's smart team D on his and his teammates' parts, and I'm happy to see that. He played his role right and that allowed for his teammates to help.


Right. All good coaching points. It is common though that rookie shot blockers fail at this part of the game. And one reason why shot blocking stats don't seem to translate to the bigs as well as defensive rebounding. D boards are about positional awareness and anticipation. Shot blocking among rooks tends to lead to fouls and goaltends, which discourage the player from giving effort.

I agree, instead of jumping at every flinch, all Rui needs to do to not be a net negative on Defense is keep his hands up and keep his man in front of him. The difference between Tawn and Jamison is twofold: a) Rui is trying and b) he's young. Oh and c) Jamison was only looking for rebounds so he was happy for his man to blow past him so he could collect any stray bounces from shots that Haywood deterred and turned into misses. Also: Rui takes responsibility for his failure. He flat out says the team's defense was bad and that is the thing he needs to work on.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#111 » by payitforward » Thu May 21, 2020 4:57 pm

doclinkin wrote:
payitforward wrote:
doclinkin wrote:... The title (i.e. of this thread) invites speculation. Which intrigued and pleased me, more than the usual “there’s no way to know” and “the stats don’t allow us to offer conjecture” sort of PIFfle.

This is the reckless speckleation thread! (If I can make you (sic). )...

Fair enough. & interesting. Spare me the "PIFfle" stuff, however. I can do that better than you, dicleakin :).


Are you sure you can? We can do it anagrammatical if you want: Mr "Dolt Man: Me" Til you cry woe: "Damn Me Lot" and so on. Let me know if you want to throw low blows. Now I know you been blowing since Lo long ago. But if you need to show, then by all means "Go" as was entreated by John Clellon Holmes.


doclinkin wrote:...We are looking at hints that can be extrapolated to a best case scenario. ...(Rui's) physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball.

Great point.

doclinkin wrote:...How good we can be, is a question that largely revolves around: how does John look; how can our defense turn around; in what ways are our young cats likely to improve.

Those are the topics I want to see messed with in this thread.

I like! Maybe a slight (friendly) edit might be "how can we help our young cats improve in the ways they need to (& what are those ways for each of them)?"


Yes, that. Go: ..... I've got mine but I'd like to read others'.

John Clellon Holmes... wow! It's been a long, long time since I read Go. I'm delighted to run into another reader.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#112 » by doclinkin » Thu May 21, 2020 5:14 pm

dckingsfan wrote:Have you thought about becoming a writer... really.


Thanks.

Answer in the True Story (and other lies) thread.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#113 » by dckingsfan » Thu May 21, 2020 5:40 pm

doclinkin wrote:
dckingsfan wrote:Have you thought about becoming a writer... really.

Thanks.

Answer in the True Story (and other lies) thread.

But, True Story or Lie? :rofl:
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#114 » by nate33 » Thu May 21, 2020 6:31 pm

doclinkin wrote:Rui does not have that flaw. And while the analysis is correct that his currently anemic rebounding and slow read/react skills hurt the team, his physical talents are suggestive of a player who could actually be a strong asset on the Defensive side of the ball. In fact with his range fluidity and length he could become an intimidating strong safety defending from the arc to the paint and make up for the immobile but sturdy Bryant underneath. A clever coach could use these two as hammer and anvil if they taught them their roles and got them to commit.

This.

I think Rui has the potential to be far more than a passable defender. I think he can be a plus defender, a mistake eraser who can impact the game defensively either on the ball or off the ball. I think he can have an effect not unlike Ben Simmons, Draymond Green or P.J. Tucker. Maybe not quite as good as those guys, but in the same mold.

I'm actually more optimistic about his defense than his offense.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#115 » by Ruzious » Thu May 21, 2020 7:14 pm

Here's an article with a good topic - the blending of Rui and Bertans https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/can-hachimura-and-bertans-play-well-together-long-term/ar-BB14qlSv?ocid=hplocalnews

Btw, I love this thread.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#116 » by dckingsfan » Thu May 21, 2020 8:08 pm

Ruzious wrote:Here's an article with a good topic - the blending of Rui and Bertans https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/can-hachimura-and-bertans-play-well-together-long-term/ar-BB14qlSv?ocid=hplocalnews

Btw, I love this thread.

This is why one would want a defensive stopper C. Rui and Bertans could then start next to Wall and Beal.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#117 » by JAR69 » Thu May 21, 2020 9:17 pm

More Doc = better board. Both stats and eye test prove it.
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#118 » by payitforward » Thu May 21, 2020 9:56 pm

I second that!

More from you too!
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Re: Next year: how much better can we be? 

Post#119 » by bsilver » Fri May 22, 2020 9:41 pm

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:McGee starts ahead of Dwight Howard. He's got two rings and has a decent chance at another THIS season.

Just ignore his 33 point, 20 rebound, 6 block game.

Ignore his rebounding percentage and effective rebounding percentage being career best.

Ignore PER and WS/48.

Ignore his minutes for Golden State and the Lakers.

When McGee plays another 5 years and wins another title or two I hope we're still debating this. McGee is skilled and a much better basketball player than he's been given credit.


bsilver wrote:Rui - what Doc said
Brandon Clarke - what PIF said, and said, and said.....
Javale McGee - what qeridiculo said, but I like McGee and happy he's stuck around the league
Mitchell Robinson - I liked him for our 15th pick instead of TBjr, but like Brown now. I think our coaching gets in the way of player development.


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I was going by his years with the Wizards. I loved watching him block shots. He had some of the most amazing blocks I've ever seen. On the other hand he wasn't a very good one on one defender. I remember watching him closely and seeing him having difficulty with many matchups with more skilled centers.

Maybe he's better now. Of course it helps playing with other good defenders.

McGee, with the Wizards, had the reputation of being a bit "flakey". As I said before, I liked him, and nothing he did bothered me. It was probably the combination of him, Andray Blatche, and Nick Young, that sent the Wizards in a different direction. McGee was replaced by Nene, which was a good move. They needed the maturity.
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