wall_glizzy wrote:payitforward wrote:What have you made... maybe 15 posts? How long have you been analyzing basketball? I have forgotten more about this subject than you know. Maybe more than you'll ever know.
So far, Rui is playing @5.4 minutes more per game than Clarke. They're not facing much different competition. The difference in numbers, however, is absolutely enormous. Huge.
Go away. No, I don't mean that. What I mean is -- be respectful, & learn something.
lol I'm not sure that I would count long-term exposure to your posting (vis-a-vis years spent in this particular forum) as a good proxy for basketball understanding, but believe what you like; I'm not going to trot out my CV here to try and quantify the worth of my basketball analysis.
Anyway, my objection was to the characterization of Clarke as the fourth-best PF in the league - I agree with you that his numbers thus far, to the extent that the first eight-or-whatever games of the year yield anything worth comparing, are better than Rui's. (I'd further add that this is about what was expected even at the point of the draft, considering each player's age, experience with the game, perceived potential for future development, etc; it's the same reason that even if we think Clarke is "better" than Ja Morant based on their rookie campaigns so far, no team would pass over Ja for him in a re-draft).
I'm just saying that obviously false statements like "Brandon Clarke is the fourth-best PF in the league" do nothing to aid discussion here - they're just thrown out there as if self-evident, and the ensuing re-tread of a years-old debate (which I'm aware I'm engaging in right now) distracts from the topic at hand. If a claim needs to be caveated as extensively as this - "based on a tiny sample," "certain to change drastically" - it's very possibly not worth posting.
This is a recurring theme, and the fact that it was immediately apparent to someone who just joined the forum is worth noting, I think. I don't mean to be your personal ****-posting troll like... that other guy who shows up sometimes, but I think reigning this sort of thing in would drastically improve the quality of discussion around the forum as a whole.
edit: censored myself, as I'd thought the word filter was automatic
I notice that you've edited out your suggestions that a) per 40 minute comparisons between players with similar minutes are foolish, b) Clarke is playing against inferior players, & c) a spam filter should be employed against my posts. Perhaps you would consider whether it really made sense to write in that way. If, in retrospect, you think better of all that, perhaps you would go so far as to mention it? I really don't think my response questioning your actual knowledge was that kind of a series of insults, do you?
In fact, behind the sentences of this post I sense a desire on your part to avoid a conflict. Good. I feel the same way. Hence I'll just comment to clarify, ok?
1. I didn't state that Brandon Clarke is the 4th-best PF in the NBA, & -- obviously! -- I don't think he is. Perhaps you would, please, read my words again, this time a little more carefully. It should be clear.
2. What was expected, the players ages, etc. -- that's a perfectly valid notion on your part. Yes, it may turn out that Rui is the better player. Or, obviously, the opposite. But, since I never said one of them would turn out better than the other, or which it would be, the point has no relevance to my post. I have, however, pointed out repeatedly that I would
not have picked Brandon Clarke #9 in the draft. I've only made that clear about 100 times.
But I would most certainly have traded down, if it had been possible, & picked Clarke & additional assets with what I got in the trade. You do see that that is a totally different statement, right?
3. Morant in a re-draft. Look, if I'd made the #2 pick in the 2019 draft for Memphis, I would have picked Ja Morant. Duh. Have I ever suggested otherwise? You're really not understanding what I wrote -- which is ok; after all, you may have better things to do. But, if you are going to
respond to what I write, then it seems fair for me to request that you
understand what I write. In return, I'll try to understand what you write. That's what I mean by "respectful." & if there's something that's unclear in what I write -- that may be my fault, why not? Feel free to ask me what I mean, & I'll do the same.
4. There is no such verb in English as "to caveat," but of course, statements about any rookie need to be accompanied by a caveat about the small sample. That's true in what one would write about Ja Morant. It's true in what one would write about Rui Hachimura. & it's true in what one would write about Brandon Clarke. True in exactly the same way in each case.
Hence, if it's not ok, for whatever reason, to comment on Clarke's numbers -- what the guy is doing on the court so far -- then it's not ok in any other guy's case. But... you just did comment on what Clarke & Hachimura are doing on the court so far, & you just did it with the caveat that the small sample might make it less than meaningful.
Since that's exactly what I did & you didn't like (even the assessment is the same as mine!), I'm sure you see the problem. But above all, if one was to hold to your premise the one you didn't hold to, why then, no one ought to express concern that Beal is shooting a low percentage? No one should discuss Bryant's numbers this year. No one should opine on Davis Bertans. Etc. The sample sizes are small for all concerned. So, perhaps that's not a valid point you're making -- in which case "reigning" it in might be the order of the day.
5. Now, you seem a bright guy. I'm sure you'll have something insightful to say about the Wizards. Personally, I'm glad you're here -- despite your taking a pointless pot shot at me. Followed by another in this follow-up post. No, I don't think what you call "immediately apparent" is worth noting. I think it's worth not
hing. Only a one letter difference, but such an important difference.
On the other hand, I am hoping that what is apparent to you over time here is worth noting. I'm hoping it's well worth noting.