Around The NBA: 2019-20 RESTART

[kodo]

I scrubbed some of the last game again and Giannis does draw help defenders when he has a head of steam and is moving downhill to the basket. But on the catch in the low post in more of a half court situation, not so much.

And I don't see why MIA or any team would. Of playoff players averaging 2+ possessions per game in the low post, Giannis is actually last in Points per Possession.

https://stats.nba.com/players/playtype-post-up/?sort=PPP&dir=1&CF=POSS*G*2&SeasonType=Playoffs

At the top are guys like Jokic (1.37 ppp) and Boban (1.21), in the middle are guys like Siakam (1.08) and Horford (0.94), near the bottom is Westbrook (0.75) and last is Giannis at 0.50.

FWIW I still think Giannis is pretty amazing. This feels like 1st world NBA problems.

[MrFortune3]

Ouch lmao

Read on Twitter

Oh that **** is cold blooded.

[MrFortune3]

To me, it looks like another "little engine that could" sort of team. They have to play very hard every game to win. Sooner or later that catches up to you. Although kudos to them if they do beat MIL.

Maybe but that's the recipe that worked for the Raptors last year.

But they had a league MVP type in Kawhi, plus Lowry and Siakim. MIA only has Butler. I think you still need that top 5 top player.

The Heat are all in on their strategy and up 2-0 on the league MVP and best team record wise in the league.
Seems pretty damn effective. Butler is nothing to sniff at either. He's shed that "He's not a superstar" label.

[Leslie Forman]

Budenholzer is a great regular season coach, but his inability (or better: unwillingness) to adjust his rotations in the playoffs would drive me crazy as a Bucks fan. He doesn't want to learn his lesson. It's the playoffs, you're facing a 0-2 deficit...WTF are you waiting for?!

Budenholzer is getting the Thibs/D'Antoni treatment now.

These guys are all so incredibly effective at maximizing inherently flawed rosters that people get fooled into thinking their teams are somehow just a new coach away from winning a title.

We've seen what happens when they leave. Their teams do not, in fact, improve one bit.

[Jeffster81]

Ouch lmao

Read on Twitter

Oh that **** is cold blooded.

Not a fan of unnecessary slams. And it was an extremely weak slam, since as pointed out in the twitter thread, the Nets did NOT get better after the trade. So unnecessary slam is unnecessary.

[MrSparkle]

Budenholzer is a great regular season coach, but his inability (or better: unwillingness) to adjust his rotations in the playoffs would drive me crazy as a Bucks fan. He doesn't want to learn his lesson. It's the playoffs, you're facing a 0-2 deficit...WTF are you waiting for?!

Budenholzer is getting the Thibs/D'Antoni treatment now.

These guys are all so incredibly effective at maximizing inherently flawed rosters that people get fooled into thinking their teams are somehow just a new coach away from winning a title.

We've seen what happens when they leave. Their teams do not, in fact, improve one bit.

Yep. Giannis makes it all work, but that is a broken roster featuring a bunch of wash-up bargain bin grabs. Besides Greek Freak and Middleton, not 1 guy on the Bucks has played his best year of basketball since 2015.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Honestly I think the Celtics sweep the Raptors. I get the feeling with the Heat too.

Its not that they necessarily are better teams on paper, its just they are playing so much better than their opponents. And even when all their players arent playing well, they are still coasting to wins.

Boston to me feels like they are coasting to these wins. Miami hasnt even been tested yet against the Bucks.

Concerning the Raptors though it feels like the DeRozen led Raptors team.

[MGB8]

Honestly I think the Celtics sweep the Raptors. I get the feeling with the Heat too.

Its not that they necessarily are better teams on paper, its just they are playing so much better than their opponents. And even when all their players arent playing well, they are still coasting to wins.

Boston to me feels like they are coasting to these wins. Miami hasnt even been tested yet against the Bucks.

Concerning the Raptors though it feels like the DeRozen led Raptors team.

Siakam is probably the best player in the series, but not by much, and the Celtics figured out that if you cover him with a 3 he loses his offensive edge.

And, even if Siakam is the best player by a small margin, players 2-4, at their current levels of play) would be Tatum, Kemba, and, yes, Brown, followed by old man Lowry, FVV, old man Gasol and at times old man Ibaka, then Marcus Smart and then OG. And speaking of OG old man Lowry... gutsy

[DASMACKDOWN]

WOW what a finish for the Raptors! OG Buzzer beater? WOW

[TheGOATRises007]

Horrific defense from the Celtics.

How do you leave a guy that wide open?

[FriedRise]

Wow what a finish. Brown fell asleep there, deciding to double Gasol with Theis instead of covering his zone.

[MrFortune3]

Ouch lmao

Read on Twitter

Oh that **** is cold blooded.

Not a fan of unnecessary slams. And it was an extremely weak slam, since as pointed out in the twitter thread, the Nets did NOT get better after the trade. So unnecessary slam is unnecessary.

Still funny as hell though. The look on his face

[MrSparkle]

Honestly I think the Celtics sweep the Raptors. I get the feeling with the Heat too.

Its not that they necessarily are better teams on paper, its just they are playing so much better than their opponents. And even when all their players arent playing well, they are still coasting to wins.

Boston to me feels like they are coasting to these wins. Miami hasnt even been tested yet against the Bucks.

Concerning the Raptors though it feels like the DeRozen led Raptors team.

Siakam is probably the best player in the series, but not by much, and the Celtics figured out that if you cover him with a 3 he loses his offensive edge.

And, even if Siakam is the best player by a small margin, players 2-4, at their current levels of play) would be Tatum, Kemba, and, yes, Brown, followed by old man Lowry, FVV, old man Gasol and at times old man Ibaka, then Marcus Smart and then OG. And speaking of OG old man Lowry... gutsy

What's your tool of measurement? Anecdotal?

In almost advanced category except shot-blocking, Tatum, Brown and Kemba are each individually better than Siakam. VORP, PER, TS Added, as well as PPG. Jaylen is about on par with PER.

Siakam IMO is the 4th best player in the series, and he's had a much worse post-season than last year.

[Jeffster81]

Oh that **** is cold blooded.

Not a fan of unnecessary slams. And it was an extremely weak slam, since as pointed out in the twitter thread, the Nets did NOT get better after the trade. So unnecessary slam is unnecessary.

Still funny as hell though. The look on his face

The look on RJ's face was funny as hell, I agree, but the slam was amateurish and boorish. Insults is the lowest formed of comedy.

[dumbell78]

Really think the Clips-Nuggets series will be a snooze fest. Not a good matchup on paper and looked just as bad today, switched it off at halftime. I'll wait on the Lakers-Rockets series and see if that gives us any entertainment.

[MrFortune3]

Not a fan of unnecessary slams. And it was an extremely weak slam, since as pointed out in the twitter thread, the Nets did NOT get better after the trade. So unnecessary slam is unnecessary.

Still funny as hell though. The look on his face

The look on RJ's face was funny as hell, I agree, but the slam was amateurish and boorish. Insults is the lowest formed of comedy.

Insults are what most of comedy is made up of and the funniest part.

[Jeffster81]

Still funny as hell though. The look on his face

The look on RJ's face was funny as hell, I agree, but the slam was amateurish and boorish. Insults is the lowest formed of comedy.

Insults are what most of comedy is made up of and the funniest part.

Still not funny.

[Dresden]

Honestly I think the Celtics sweep the Raptors. I get the feeling with the Heat too.

Its not that they necessarily are better teams on paper, its just they are playing so much better than their opponents. And even when all their players arent playing well, they are still coasting to wins.

Boston to me feels like they are coasting to these wins. Miami hasnt even been tested yet against the Bucks.

Concerning the Raptors though it feels like the DeRozen led Raptors team.

Siakam is probably the best player in the series, but not by much, and the Celtics figured out that if you cover him with a 3 he loses his offensive edge.

And, even if Siakam is the best player by a small margin, players 2-4, at their current levels of play) would be Tatum, Kemba, and, yes, Brown, followed by old man Lowry, FVV, old man Gasol and at times old man Ibaka, then Marcus Smart and then OG. And speaking of OG old man Lowry... gutsy

What's your tool of measurement? Anecdotal?

In almost advanced category except shot-blocking, Tatum, Brown and Kemba are each individually better than Siakam. VORP, PER, TS Added, as well as PPG. Jaylen is about on par with PER.

Siakam IMO is the 4th best player in the series, and he's had a much worse post-season than last year.

I've watched every game of this series so far, and Siakam's ranking would be well below Daniel Theis, and barely above Tacko Fall. That's how bad he's been.

[Dresden]

TOR has only one guy who looks like he wants to take a clutch shot, and that's Lowry. Everyone else looked like they were just hoping they wouldn't have to be the one to shoot it during the last 5-6 possessions for TOR. Without Lowry they would have lost by 20. At least FVV made some 3's tonight, but he also had 5 TO's and he's a liability on defense. And people were talking about him getting a 25-30 mil a year contract???

I don't see how TOR kept themselves in that game. BOS looked far more talented, better coached, and hungrier. But somehow TOR squeaked one out. I still think they lose in 5 or 6, but who knows, that one shot could change the whole complexion of the series.

[Southpaw]

Read on Twitter

What do you think of this?

I dont necessarily think he is a Pippen. But he needs a closer. This is no different then Embiid. Jimmy was the closer that was needed.

To me Giannis and Mid arent a perfect pairing in my opinion. No disrespect to Khris Middletn but to me he is more like a rich mans #3 guy. And Giannis obviously is a #1 but he is flawed because he isnt a shooter.

Shaq and Kobe was alltime great together, because when the game was on the line, Kobe could be the one that was clutch and deliver. Shaq during the title runs was a better player but in the final moments, you couldnt trust Shaq the same way you trust Kobe.

The rest of the guys are just solid role players. One needs to be the closer with Giannis.

Agreed, I don't think he's a Pippen but he either gotta learn a go-to move or they get a closer. Him and Middleton aren't a great pairing because they both aren't consistent enough shooters. Someone like Kemba would be perfect for them.

I'm with Gar's wife on this one... Milwaukee FO should be ashamed for letting Brogdon go, while prioritizing the actual replaceables (Brook and Bledsoe). I saw the dilemma with Middleton - the $40m max salary was preposterous, but you remove Middleton from that team and they've got nobody else capable of generating 20 ppg. I don't know, maybe Elton Brand was salivating to replace Jimmy with Middleton and MIL felt inclined to lock him up.

I thought the abrupt extension on Bledsoe was a head-scratcher. He's a player I haven't thought much of ever since he had his 25th knee surgery in PHX. I thought it was a nice desperate trade grab, but when you have an MVP who isn't a sharp-shooter and perimeter dribbler, last thing I want is to lock in a slash/drive guard with injury history. Esp. when the alternative is Brogdon. I don't really believe that the city's segregation was the end-cause for his departure. I mean, it's not like he left for Brooklyn. I don't think of Indiana as a beacon city for racial fairness.

But all that said, the series isn't over. Giannis can play better. He's missing a lot of FTs, and succumbed quietly to Miami's defensive plan in G1. Bucks are out-matched drastically. Stylistically, Miami has them exposed. But Giannis is a better individual player than Jimmy. He hasn't look liked it, in this series.

+1000. The Bledsoe extension is what really caused them problems. It was a dumb move at the time they made it and is compounded by their decision to not re-sign Brogdon. Bledsoe is a terrible with with their 2 best players, and their 2 best players aren't a great fit either.

As per the MIL vs MIA, agreed, Giannis has to play better for them to have a chance to win. While he did have a solid stat line last game, he was underwhelming down the stretch.