bwgood77 wrote:sunskerr wrote:Smith was a bone headed pick. No defending that. He can't crack the rotation over Frank Kaminsky (lol) so we didnt pick up his contract.
Mikal is slightly overrated here too. He's a very good defender but I don't think he's played all NBA defense and it's easy to pick out 5 perimeter defenders who are better than him. I'll wait a few more games to comment on his (apparent) scoring improvement but when I dig further his 2s are assisted 83% and his 3s are assisted 100%, which is up from his career averages. Seems to me it's more just Chris Paul passing (his assists are up). But we'll see. Probably only way to know for sure is if Chris Paul is out for an extended period. I hope for offensive improvement but I wouldn't bet on it.
Cam Johnson...I just dont know what people see in him. A decent role player is his ceiling and I expect nothing else other than good shooting and decent defense. Not a player to withhold from trade discussions.
Devin Booker is just blah right now. He was so good in the finals and he's been our guy for years now so we know he'll bounce back. Need to see improved 3 pt shooting and handles for him to really take the next step. And of course continued defensive improvement because he's still kinda bad there. No reason he shouldn't be averaging 25 ppg on 48-50% with CP3 passing as much as he is right now.
Ayton...you guys already know what I think. Rim runner ceiling on offense because he's not yet shown the ability to anything else. Like that he's taking threes which means he's been working on it. Dunno if it'll be any effective at this stage, but at least there's something there. I want him to be top 10 in defensive RAPTOR in the league of like Gobert/Thybulle/Poeltl, sooner rather than later. I think that's our best chance at staying an elite team along with improvement from Book if CP3 falls off or retires. I think he might just get there this year to be honest.
CP3 has been our best player overall even with his declining defense. He's been spectacular offensively this year seemingly looking to pass quite a bit. Just ride until the wheels fall off I guess.
CP3 is obviously still our best player, but you are WAY too low on Bridges, and probably even Ayton. I really don't get it other than I know you like low % create your own shots over highly efficient assisted ones and focusing on 3s and rim over midrange...shots where you gain ground against smart 3pt shooting and rim finishing teams...where they pull away while you are iso'ing from mid range.
It's something Mikal has added and will continue, but definitely shouldn't be a major part of game as he is taking the smart high IQ looks which everyone should take as many as possible.
Just like Ayton cut out his shot creating mid range shots last year to increase his efficiency..as probably directed by the team. Finish at the rim or take his self creation usually money short range 1 on 1 fadeways, spins or hooks along with occasional drives now.
Booker has been worse than any of those guys, as evidenced by that NBA math stuff. You rely all on iso's, that's going to happen. You need those finishes at the rim and catch and shoot, screening 3s...and in general, become a better 3 pt shooter. I feel he must continue to work on his 1 on 1 2 point shots more than his 3s.
Sorry man that’s bs saying that I prefer low percentage isos to high percentage assisted shots.
looking at guys with high percentage assisted offense and then assuming they
can become great scorers is flawed thinking. I keep seeing people point to efficiency numbers regarding Ayton and it’s just like… he’s a big playing a rim running role… he’s supposed to be highly efficient!! Same with Mikal, he’s creating less of his own offense this year, of course he’s going to be more efficient.
I’m not saying they can’t become offensive creators, I’m just saying you can’t just point to efficiency and assume someone will automatically become a great scorer if given the reigns.
To do that require a deep bag of offensive tricks that as far as I can tell, and particularly in Aytons case, they have not shown to have.
The reason this is important is because we all just watched playoffs and how the referees swallow their whistle. You need more players who can get shots off on broken plays which will prevent defenses from just keying in with increased physicality on Paul or Booker. It wasn’t just set plays and neat and crisp passing that won it for Milwaukee, or LA or really any champion going back now for years. It was having guys who (while in addition to being able to play team ball) can create shots under broken play and increased physicality conditions.
