GAME 40: Raptors @ Pistons 7PM

[Betarayjigs]

I watched the game and Sekou’s minutes and while they were frustrating they weren’t a waste(cause he got time not because he was good). He needs the 16-25 minutes a game consistently.
It will be painful some times like when he looses 50/50 balls he could have won, but since the Pistons bailed on g-league and no one practices he needs the minutes in game and he needs practical coaching up.
I agree the return hasn’t been there yet but he was the youngest player and the 15th pick, always a project. for a lost year where we want a high draft pick they need to give him the minutes now. Next year there may be a top 5 draft pick who takes some of our bigs minutes, he needs the development time this year because year 3 he will have to earn his time. This year he needs to be fed the time.

[hoophabit]

Sekou had a poor shooting night, no doubt. Still, he had one more rebound in his 16 minutes than Stewart had in his 23? It wasn't all bad.

[flow]

Luke is looking like completely wasted money for the Clips. Health issues, defense issues. Why they signed him to an extension before he played a game for them, I do not know.

Lou Williams won't be back with them next year. He'll get that spot.

[Manocad]

I actually forgot the game was on and was doing other stuff. Checked the box score and all I can say is that this is utter crap. Sekou 1-6 in 16 minutes with 3 TO's and a -8? How is he supposed to get better in only 16 freakin' minutes? I don't care if he goes 0-20 he needs to be playing 35 minutes EVERY SINGLE GAME and then he'll get better. Clearly Grant, Bey, JJ and Stew need to out for the rest of the season with leg contusions. Weaver and Casey are stupid and should be fired tomorrow.

Green font?

I think at some point we just need to accept that Sekou isn't very good.

The deepest shade of green you can possibly fathom. It wasn't available in the color palette.

[Snakebites]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

[flow]

Good to see Bey and Stewart showing out, but seriously....38 minutes for Wright? I know he was playing well, be we don't need to ride vets to squeak out wins. That was just Casey's ego and wanting to beat his old team.

And why only 10 minutes for Lee? This is part of what I dislike about Casey. What's the message/point?

Saben has earned regular PT, and Casey has him on a yo-yo. Even in the absence of DSJ.

.

[Manocad]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

I still continue to be amazed at the number of people who think playing time is what's going to make the difference between a rookie turning into a star or sinking like an anchor.

[Snakebites]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

I still continue to be amazed at the number of people who think playing time is what's going to make the difference between a rookie turning into a star or sinking like an anchor.

Playing time is necessary but not sufficient.

In Sekou's case I, sadly, agree with the decision not to play him much.

[edmunder_prc]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

I still continue to be amazed at the number of people who think playing time is what's going to make the difference between a rookie turning into a star or sinking like an anchor.

I agree with you that Sekou is really bad and playing him "so that he gets better" is not helpful. He looks clueless or lost. Plus he cant shoot, or rebound or play defense.

Does that apply when other people, like Hayes, looked worse? Sekou at least flashed a couple weeks of pretty solid play. Based on that people we're hoping for Siakam levels in a couple years. Hayes played in a few games, but couldnt dribble the basketball, which is an important skill for a PG, especially a really slow one.

I still think Sekou should get 20 minutes a game - mostly for the tank. But also, he's a sunk cost. We drafted him, he helps the tank and maybe he puts it together. Its a win - win.

So I'm all for Hayes and Sekou playing big minutes because they help us lose and maybe they won't be as bad as they look. But Hayes looked as bad anyone I've ever seen out there - worse than Sekou.

[chrbal]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

I still continue to be amazed at the number of people who think playing time is what's going to make the difference between a rookie turning into a star or sinking like an anchor.

I agree with you that Sekou is really bad and playing him "so that he gets better" is not helpful. He looks clueless or lost. Plus he cant shoot, or rebound or play defense.

Does that apply when other people, like Hayes, looked worse?

So I'm all for Hayes and Sekou playing big minutes because they help us lose and maybe they won't be as bad as they look. But Hayes looked as bad anyone I've ever seen out there - worse than Sekou.

If Hayes looks that bad after playing in 74 games? Then yes absolutely

[Snakebites]

Yeah. Hayes has played SEVEN games.

I wonder what Sekou is like in practice.

[Manocad]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

I still continue to be amazed at the number of people who think playing time is what's going to make the difference between a rookie turning into a star or sinking like an anchor.

I agree with you that Sekou is really bad and playing him "so that he gets better" is not helpful. He looks clueless or lost. Plus he cant shoot, or rebound or play defense.

Does that apply when other people, like Hayes, looked worse? Sekou at least flashed a couple weeks of pretty solid play. Based on that people we're hoping for Siakam levels in a couple years. Hayes played in a few games, but couldnt dribble the basketball, which is an important skill for a PG, especially a really slow one.

I still think Sekou should get 20 minutes a game - mostly for the tank. But also, he's a sunk cost. We drafted him, he helps the tank and maybe he puts it together. Its a win - win.

So I'm all for Hayes and Sekou playing big minutes because they help us lose and maybe they won't be as bad as they look. But Hayes looked as bad anyone I've ever seen out there - worse than Sekou.

Certainly if Hayes looks as bad at a similar point in his career I'd be seriously considering moving on from him if there was a better option available to keep the team growing rather than potentially spending too long trying to develop him.

As far as 20 minutes for Sekou and the reasons you listed, absolutely no problem with that either.

As for the 35 minutes a game every game tomfoolery even when he looks lost out there, some people forget that Joe Casual Fan who got thrown some free tickets he normally can't afford and gets to take the wife and kids to a Pistons game doesn't give a crap about rebuilding. He doesn't want to see the best players sit and the bad players flounder for 35 minutes so the team can lose games and get a better draft pick. You can't undersell that aspect of it. As I've said before, that means less TV viewership, fewer jerseys/merchandise being sold, etc. and that's a big deal. I guarantee all the Joe Casual Fans spend a lot more money on that stuff than yahoos like us do, not only likely in a person-to-person comparison but also because there's a lot more of them than there are of us.

[Manocad]

Yeah. Hayes has played SEVEN games.

I wonder what Sekou is like in practice.

My guess is he's just as bad or something close to it. If he was a rock star in practice he wouldn't get his plug pulled after 10-15 minutes; it would likely and fairly be assumed that something was just off. The fact that it happens game in and game out doesn't indicate that he's having issues only in games. And as I've said before that doesn't mean he's a total bust. Maybe it's an attitude problem, an effort problem, or he really is trying hard and is just a slow learner/developer. But in any case, 10 more minutes of game time twice a week is NOT going to fix whatever the problem is.

[Billl]

Not all "bad play" is equal. If sekou was out there playing hard but blowing assignments, running the floor, forcing shots, fouling too much, and turning it over too much.... frankly, I'd be thrilled at this point. Those are all the things that a young player is going to improve on with playing time. You don't want your 6'8" raw athlete just floating through games and taking half of his shots from 3.

I really don't know what has happened to him. When he first cracked the rotation, he was getting after people on D and aggressively going to the hole. He was getting blocked a bunch and turning it over, but he was also getting to the line 3 or 4 times a gain. That was something to build on.

[Mr Peanut]

I find it really sad that we've reached the point in our discourse where even the most blatantly obvious sarcasm isn't interpreted as such without green font.

What exactly is the point of sarcasm if you have to advertise it with a flashing green label for people to get it?

Sorry, that's been my pet peeve on this site for probably over a decade by now.

Probably because there's so many terrible takes on here in the first place that you can't always tell who's being serious and who isn't. And unfortunately the sarcasm detector can struggle in the virtual world...