I don’t think Oubre will get more than Warren and Warren cannot defend. I think Oubre might be a better prospect long term. He’s had a below par season but was actually very good last year.
NBA 2018-2019
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I don’t think Oubre will get more than Warren and Warren cannot defend. I think Oubre might be a better prospect long term. He’s had a below par season but was actually very good last year.
Have you watched TJ play recently? Hes improved a lot as a defender and the best part about his game is that he doesn't need the offense to run through him to get points. Any team can use a player like him whereas Oubre's game overlaps with JJ and I think JJ has more potential than him . Whether or not he's able to grow into that potential is another thing, but I'll rather gamble on JJ .
I’m always against using a very small sample size on a terrible team to assess how good somebody is. Blazers had a period of time last season, like six weeks, when they had the best defence in the NBA. At the end it still meant nothing because they were still bad defenders going through a nice run. Warren was an awful defender for the previous three seasons, one of the worst in the league at his position. He has improved but the extent of it will only be clear after a bit more than two months of basketball (same with three point shooting, he won’t sustain 45% - will probably go down to 37-38% over the long stretch).
I wouldn’t really have that much hope for Josh Jackson btw. From what I have heard he has serious attitude issues. He has regressed so badly since last season too. He’s still very young but so are Fultz, Okafor, Hezonja, Ntilikina etc. and teams seem to be giving up on some of them already.
Apparently teams already want to take Oubre away from Phoenix though so it’s a matter of time before he’s somewhere else. It makes sense if they were willing to let him go to Memphis at first and preferred to get Dillon Brooks.
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Yeah, you probably don't watch us at all because your opinion of TJ and JJ is totally off the mark.
Everyone looked lost on defense the past few years because we have no proper defensive scheme at all whereas the difference this year is that Igor is implementing one and TJ's defense is way better when everybody else is trying to make it work as a team instead of everybody doing their own stuff.
And JJ's attitude has been excellent since being drafted, his main issue is that his shot is as broken as Fultz and that's without the excuse of being injured. His stats looks worse compared to last year because we actually have Booker and TJ playing now instead of JJ having all the minutes he can handle once they were both shut down for the season after the all stars break.
Agree with elmo's points about TJ and JJ. Can't blame a dude for not watching the worst team in the league to be fair though.
All games are in the middle of the night and 90% of Suns games are blowout losses so I really watch very few of them.
Will make sure to watch a few, will be properly surprised if I find Warren’s defense is good but maybe he has improved that much. He’s a top 10-15 small forward in the league if so because he can definitely shoot threes at a respectable rate now and he was already good mid-range scorer last year and could get to the rim. I would wait much longer before calling him a good defender though. CJ McCollum actually looked like he knew what he was doing on defense for three months last year.
Jackson I don’t know. All his stats this year are just awful. I think Jackson for Fultz swap would be a good reset for both players and both teams.
How has Ayton been? Is he as bad on defense as they say?
Will make sure to watch a few, will be properly surprised if I find Warren’s defense is good but maybe he has improved that much. He’s a top 10-15 small forward in the league if so because he can definitely shoot threes at a respectable rate now and he was already good mid-range scorer last year and could get to the rim. I would wait much longer before calling him a good defender though. CJ McCollum actually looked like he knew what he was doing on defense for three months last year.
Jackson I don’t know. All his stats this year are just awful. I think Jackson for Fultz swap would be a good reset for both players and both teams.
How has Ayton been? Is he as bad on defense as they say?
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That Celtics pick haul might be much less interesting than originally perceived:
This really is not a collection of picks that will look that enticing to teams like Pelicans if you are trying to trade for their superstar.
Philadelphia IMO have one of the best draft assets currently in that Miami 2021 pick. Heat have made sure they cannot really retool their roster for the next two seasons and will be proper garbage in 2020-21.
- Kings 2019 pick: top 1 protected. Kings will definitely not be a bottom 5 team like previously expected and could actually get into the playoffs with their exciting young core. They will have a better record than Suns, Hawks, Bulls, Knicks and Cavs and probably better than most of Wizards, Heat, Hornets, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Timberwolves. I would expect their pick to be no. 10 at best and around no. 18 at worst
- Grizzlies pick: top 8 protected in 2019, top 6 protected in 2020 and unprotected in 2021: they will probably not be a bottom 8 team this year so the pick should convey in 2019. Would expect it to be similar range to Kings pick as these teams are at a similar level
- Clippers pick: lottery protected for the next two years, if not conveyed they will get two 2nd round picks. At best it will be something like no. 17 this year or a late first next year.
This really is not a collection of picks that will look that enticing to teams like Pelicans if you are trying to trade for their superstar.
Philadelphia IMO have one of the best draft assets currently in that Miami 2021 pick. Heat have made sure they cannot really retool their roster for the next two seasons and will be proper garbage in 2020-21.
Cavs will get the number 1 pick
Jackson's stats looks bad but the second unit plays much better with him on because he energises the crowd with his hustle along with Holmes and it's rubbing off on the starters when they get back in . I wouldn't trade him for Fultz, he's a Trainwreck and it's not even clear if it's physical/mental or most likely a mixture of both .
Ayton's team defense is bad, but there's been a noticable improvement since the start of the season as he gets used to the defensive scheme. I don't think he'll ever be a great defender but I'm confident that he won't be a complete liability on that end by the end of the season .
The modern Nba is in a strange place as a sport. Seems to be all about generating highlights and striking stat lines over a true representation of the sport. No defense allowed, complete freedom to push off, travel, carry and flop for fouls calls. Harden is an egregious example but some of the stuff that is allowed/not allowed in the NBA is bizarre, you would get laughed out of the gym if you played that way in pick up games.
Yeah, it's all about entertainment and offense now.
Probably why refs have a hard time calling the games because the rules are almost completely different from what the actual game should be like .
It would be easier for refs if they still used a peach basket.
How long will 135-140 scorelines(and all the issues I mentioned) be entertaining to the general fans though? On some basketball forums there is already an element of pushback against it, people not happy with the direction the sport is going. These tend to be more hardcore types, who care about the history of the game. As a product for the casual fan it is possibly the most spectacular major sport in the world but making it too easy to score makes scoring less impressive.
If every football match was 9-7 type scorelines that would quickly get old. Some of the dullest games I ever played in were high scoring affairs with a lack of defensive effort.
I for one have already stopped watching regular NBA. I am a fairly avid watcher but this kind of refereeing as above drives me nuts. I understanding making it more offensive but not turn it into the old all star joke games. What's the point of watching bunch of talented players just chucking the ball up without any defense?
I don't think the data really backs up some of the complaints in this thread. IMO, defense is better and more interesting now that the anti zone rules have been relaxed. 2 point percentage is relatively stable,
3 point percentage is stable, (35% this year)
and games were higher scoring in the 70s and 80s. The 80s are regarded as the golden years of the league but adrian dantley scored 30 points per game 4 years in a row. Look at the defense in these clips! Folks, it's not good. I especially love the two play sequence at 0:35 when he just strolls past Kevin McHale (6 times all defense team) and AC Green (1 time all defense team) with no resistance and no help defense whatsoever.
3 point percentage is stable, (35% this year)
and games were higher scoring in the 70s and 80s. The 80s are regarded as the golden years of the league but adrian dantley scored 30 points per game 4 years in a row. Look at the defense in these clips! Folks, it's not good. I especially love the two play sequence at 0:35 when he just strolls past Kevin McHale (6 times all defense team) and AC Green (1 time all defense team) with no resistance and no help defense whatsoever.
Casual fan, is LeBron as good or better than Jordan? As in forget achievements and use your eyes (oh how I have said this in the Messi v Ronaldo thread), who in your educated opinion is the better basketball player or is their someone else on pure ability alone wins out?
It's a long and never ending argument. Essentially out boils down to what you prefer, of course.
Personally and in (very) short I prefer LBJ. In particular due to his size, athleticism (for his size), his leadership value and his all-around team oriented game. He will always look to make the right play at the right time.
Meanwhile MJ is the guy that will always take it upon himself to be the guy to take the last game winning shot, regardless of whether he has 3 defenders in his face. He's a natural born winner and just wants it more than anyone. He always played with that mongrel in him like no one else, which is something that LBJ seemingly lacks (too nice).
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Nuggets depth at the moment has been tested, with 3 starters out now for weeks - Harris, Barton and Millsap.
Thankfully young guys like Morris, Beasley, Hernangonez and Criag have really stood up in their absence, especially in big games against the likes of Toronto (twice). We have needed our depth options to take that next step.
Now it looks like we have a very very deep roster once everyone is fit.
Murray / Morris / Isaiah Thomas
Harris / Beasley / Swaggy P
Barton / Craig / Hernangomez / MPJ
Millsap / Lyles
Jokic / Plumlee
That's not a bad looking roster in all.
Hopefully we can finally make it through to the playoffs and test our mettle. I think some teams will be scared to play us, and in particular at home. We seem to match up well against GSW over the last few seasons, in fact our only bad match up seems to be the Rockets.
We should have some money to throw at a good player too - someone like Tobias Harris, or Middleton. Both would be quality additions.
Thankfully young guys like Morris, Beasley, Hernangonez and Criag have really stood up in their absence, especially in big games against the likes of Toronto (twice). We have needed our depth options to take that next step.
Now it looks like we have a very very deep roster once everyone is fit.
Murray / Morris / Isaiah Thomas
Harris / Beasley / Swaggy P
Barton / Craig / Hernangomez / MPJ
Millsap / Lyles
Jokic / Plumlee
That's not a bad looking roster in all.
Hopefully we can finally make it through to the playoffs and test our mettle. I think some teams will be scared to play us, and in particular at home. We seem to match up well against GSW over the last few seasons, in fact our only bad match up seems to be the Rockets.
We should have some money to throw at a good player too - someone like Tobias Harris, or Middleton. Both would be quality additions.
I don't think the data really backs up some of the complaints in this thread. IMO, defense is better and more interesting now that the anti zone rules have been relaxed. 2 point percentage is relatively stable,
3 point percentage is stable, (35% this year)
and games were higher scoring in the 70s and 80s. The 80s are regarded as the golden years of the league but adrian dantley scored 30 points per game 4 years in a row. Look at the defense in these clips! Folks, it's not good. I especially love the two play sequence at 0:35 when he just strolls past Kevin McHale (6 times all defense team) and AC Green (1 time all defense team) with no resistance and no help defense whatsoever.
Only 2 slides and a video Eboue? You're losing your touch.
yeah but the video is something else. the Bird v. Magic national championship is unwatchable.
i mean look at this shit, all 10 players are within 18 inches of the paint
Can't argue that basketball is far more watchable today and defences and teams are a lot more sophisticated. I think we all just want Harden to stop flopping. Kinda crazy you picked Dantley for that clip not sure if it was on purpose, he was kindof the Harden of his day, lived at the FT line according to Wikipedia.
i remember looking at his stats years ago and wanting to see highlights and being amazed at how not great basketball was. theres lots of forgettable guys putting up huge numbers in that era. alex english, mark aguirre, jamaal wilkes. similar to the "weird feelings about football" thread, i feel like half of the small forwards in the league between 1972 and 1992 averaged 24/3/2 on 55% shooting.
Picked up our 4th win in a row!
Jazz win in spite of Mitchell chucking 5/26 with 6 TO.
He needs to pull his head in and focus on being a team player, instead of being a glory hog. It seems he's bought in to his own hype after last season.
He needs to pull his head in and focus on being a team player, instead of being a glory hog. It seems he's bought in to his own hype after last season.
Russ and PG have been ballin.
Footage of Harden travelling to Miami
It's the Pelé vs Maradona vs Messi comparison. They're the two best players ever, but they played in different eras so it's difficult to say who is better
Let's just say that LBJ is 1A and MJ is 1B
(But i will never say that to Barkley's face and neither should you
)Put it this way: if i have to pick one to build a team from scratch with the goal of making the finals, i'd take LeBron. If i had to pick one to win one game or series with my life on the line i'd take Jordan(after making sure he's bet big on me staying alive
)
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Very impressed by Nuggets. I think playoffs spot is basically a given and a good chance for a homecourt advantage. Jokic should be top 5 in MVP race if he keeps this sort of form for the rest of season too.
Morris has been excellent. I thought IT would go straight into the rotation upon his return but he probably won’t. I even wonder whether Murray and Harris should be a starting backcourt at all, I think Morris has a good claim to be there on a permanent basis.
Players like Juancho and Craig have also contributed great out of nowhere. It’s a complete team basketball right now.
What the hell is going on at San Antonio? Aside from that totally baffling loss to Bulls they beat Lakers by 13, Jazz by 13, Suns by 25, Clippers by 38, Sixers by 27, Magic by 39 and now Timberwolves by 26. This has somehow gone under the radar but they have been the best team in the league for the last two weeks.
It's the Pelé vs Maradona vs Messi comparison. They're the two best players ever, but they played in different eras so it's difficult to say who is better
Let's just say that LBJ is 1A and MJ is 1B
(But i will never say that to Barkley's face and neither should you
Put it this way: if i have to pick one to build a team from scratch with the goal of making the finals, i'd take LeBron. If i had to pick one to win one game or series with my life on the line i'd take Jordan(after making sure he's bet big on me staying alive
Build a team to get to the finals - LeBron, sure. Build a team that wins the finals? Jordan please.
Jordan is the better player and with today’s rules he would be even more dominant offensively. And people forget how good he was defensively too.
LeBron has size but Jordan had that will to win that puts him ahead for me.
Plus I’m a bulls fan. Ha.
Trashing the Dubs at their place without James in the second half, life’s good.
Hopefully his injury is not serious though.
Hopefully his injury is not serious though.
Slight groin strain apparently. Zubac coming in big.
Warriors defense looks bad.
Warriors look bad, full stop. Many games they've won, they have won in a very difficult manner, and they are losing too many games by a large margin.