Ayton or D’Angelo Russell would somehow make this team even more unlikable.
If we can get a 1st and Vanderbilt from LA, maybe I’ll suck it up and not complain about Russels dumbass every day.
(04-29-2023, 11:03 PM)Mavs2021 Wrote: [ -> ]Tatum/Brown
Ja/JJJ/Bane
Mitchell/Garland/JA/Mobley
Jokic/Murray/KPJ
Booker/Ayton
Edwards/KAT/McDaniels
The amount of people that think teams should break up a young core of stars, because of some play-off failure is staggering. The most difficult part is to find that core pairing that works that you can build around. I don´t have to tell you which franchise didn´t identify their key pairing correctly. Now look where they are.
And it looks likely that one of Boston or Denver will win it all this season. If not them, then the Kings and Knicks are also still in the running.
Luka/Brunson...
(04-29-2023, 01:17 PM)IamDougieFresh Wrote: [ -> ]Kings (LIGHT THE BEAM)
Heat
Nuggets
Brunson
I was kind of indifferent when the Nuggets played the Timberwolves, because there‘s something about rooting for the underdogs.
But a single game against the Suns quickly made me fall in love with the Nuggets, I hope they sweep the Suns.
Denver is another great example how we have to build around Doncic and Irving, in case he stays. You need dogs on defense, that can rebound and are able to shoot to a certain degree like Brown, Caldwell-Pope and Gordon. They will look good on offense automatically when playing with Doncic and Irving or Jokic and Murray. You don‘t need role players that are offensive minded and a liability on the defensive end when your star players have defensive limitations. Same as with Dirk and Terry in the good old times by the way.
(04-29-2023, 01:09 PM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]Brooks probably significantly damaged his value by both his on court production and too big mouth. But, if he is available for where Mavs can get too salary wise, I would certainly take a flier.
I am not a Brooks fan and I think he may be legit crazy, but I agree. If he is in the MLE range, he should be considered. Mavs need a guy who pisses other teams off. Getting a guy like this would help. We would still need to find some rim protection or it would not matter too much, but he could be a part.
Brooks for MLE
If top 10 pick is kept that is a long term asset
Then can they make a smart pickup and/or smart trade for some rebounding and defense?
If so, that is the start of a solid roster with some youth for the future as well.
Not a Brooks fan. He talked all that sh*t about LeBron, then proceeded to skip the presser after they lost instead of owning the moment. That's some cowardice type sh*t to me. If he doesn't improve his offense, I don't see him having a long career, inspite of his defense. He's never shot the ball well.
Sign Hartenstein MLE.
Re-sign Brunson.
Trade for his best friend Josh Hart.
It was that simple. Nothing major. Few minor tweaks last summer.
Instead we ended up with Lazy, Crazy and Insane.
I still enjoy watching this Knicks team. I respect competency.
Brunson may well be the best isolation player in the NBA. But the Heat are blitzing him every time he gets in the lane making him a facilitator, and they aren't making 3's so far.
Knicks are 0-7 in their playoff history to advance when they lose the 1st game at home. They lose 108-101. This Heat team is a tough, scrappy bunch.
(04-30-2023, 02:33 PM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: [ -> ]Knicks are 0-7 in their playoff history to advance when they lose the 1st game at home. They lose 108-101. This Heat team is a tough, scrappy bunch.
They have by far the best coach in the league. Made the halftime adjustment. That´s where Brunson missed Luka...I mean Randle to take some scoring pressure off him.
Kevon Looney is one of the most underrated centers in the league. He had 22 boards in game 5, and 21 today..He has 3 games of 20 rebounds in this series most since the NBA ABA merger. And Curry drops a 50 piece. First ever in a game 7. Lakers vs Warriors next.
What a game for Curry and Looney. I remember last year when we played them, I thought we would take advantage of him. Oops. LAL vs GS…wow. That will be electric.
Kings are a nice story. Fun team. Pretty young. And I loved their style of play. But let’s not assume they will be back next year. They may not be a 3rd seed again. It could certainly happen, but not promised. Sabonis was not great in these playoffs and as good as Fox is, they may never be in a playoff series where they have the best guy in the series. That is always an uphill battle.
As far as the mavs, it is simple to say but hard to do. Make your free throws, limit turnovers, get some easy baskets, win the rebound battle (while also getting more second chance shots), and limit easy baskets. No secret there. Mavs were bad at all besides turnovers. Probably why we are watching.
I don’t think a team needs to win the rebounding battle, per se. They just can’t be dominated in the rebound battle.
Looney is so good. And if he was here, the Mavs would have no clue what to do with him...probably continuing to play Powell and Kleber over him because he's not a so-called "rim runner" or three-point shooter
Sabonis isn´t on the Embiid/Jokic level that would allow him to get away with his defensive short comings. Once again turned into a liability in a playoff/play-in scenario. Looney is the direct opposite. Just like against the Mavs last season his combination of switchability and rebounding was a big plus for the Warriors.
(04-29-2023, 10:06 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: [ -> ]Actually thought that his defense against Jokic was solid. Keeping Jokic below 50% from is borderline impossible. Only happened three times in the regular season. In one game against the T´Wolves.
Rebounding is difficult to evaluate. He certainly cannot boxout Jokic on his own. But his teammates aren´t doing anything to help him. Even more difficult when he has to step out of the paint to take away Murray´s or Porter´s pull up game. Felt like no one rotated over or at least tried to bump Jokic out of the dunkers spot.
A bit late but I'm with you here.
Ayton has had some memeable moments regarding lack of motor, but he's been as good as he could've been against Jokic. Not a star, but a really high quality starter type of guy.
(04-30-2023, 11:35 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]A bit late but I'm with you here.
Ayton has had some memeable moments regarding lack of motor, but he's been as good as he could've been against Jokic. Not a star, but a really high quality starter type of guy.
If people would watch the game instead of memes they would know what happened prior to Ayton´s lazy rebounding. It was exactly what I described in my earlier post. CP3 giving up penetration. Ayton stepping up and challenging the layup at the rim. Taking himself out of position.
https://twitter.com/BrickMuse/status/165...8160661511
Not a good look for Ayton because he should have hustled back but the real problem that killed them all game long is what happened on the initial screen. CP3 cannot stay connected. Gives up penetration. Ayton is in a no-win situation. Give up the layup or give up position to boxout Jokic. Nothing he can do without anyone in position to bump Jokic or help on the drive.
(05-01-2023, 01:51 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: [ -> ]If people would watch the game instead of memes they would know what happened prior to Ayton´s lazy rebounding. It was exactly what I described in my earlier post. CP3 giving up penetration. Ayton stepping up and challenging the layup at the rim. Taking himself out of position.
https://twitter.com/BrickMuse/status/165...8160661511
Not a good look for Ayton because he should have hustled back but the real problem that killed them all game long is what happened on the initial screen. CP3 cannot stay connected. Gives up penetration. Ayton is in a no-win situation. Give up the layup or give up position to boxout Jokic. Nothing he can do without anyone in position to bump Jokic or help on the drive.
I am not sure why you are blaming CP3 in this specific case. Denver is running PnR and the only way for the on-ball defender to catch his player going through screen is for his teammates to help. No one helped CP3 in this case, it was just a straight line drive for offensive player. Ayton is playing drop coverage, which as usual results in not being able to guard anyone.
(05-01-2023, 02:21 AM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]I am not sure why you are blaming CP3 in this specific case. Denver is running PnR and the only way for the on-ball defender to catch his player going through screen is for his teammates to help. No one helped CP3 in this case, it was just a straight line drive for offensive player. Ayton is playing drop coverage, which as usual results in not being able to guard anyone.
Ayton is doing what he is supposed to do based on the scheme the Suns are running. He prevents the layup. When he challenges the drive someone else needs rotate over and boxout Jokic. As you pointed out. With drop defense there is no way that he can do both.
And they aren´t playing drop defense to protect Ayton. He can switch onto the perimeter. Problem is that CP3 or Booker cannot switch onto Jokic.