6 hours ago
(7 hours ago)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: I thought Christie looked really dialed in Monday night. I'm not ready to say "better than Klay" as I think Klay's shooting, leadership and championship pedigree are important. But, Max was already closing games over Klay at times last year. I see no reason for that to change. I also think he's very much in a top 9 (over Naji) when Kyrie returns in games where the rotation starts to narrow.My top 8, in no particular order if everyone is healthy...
Flagg
Irving
AD
Klay
PJW
DLive
Gaff
Russell
I would like to include Exum at #9, but I have zero confidence at this point that he will be a contributor.
Martin can't even get into a pre-season game and Hardy is a waste of a uniform.
So, yep, that leaves Max and Marshall as 9 & 10. Max is younger, runs the floor well and is an OK defender. Naji plays with more force, has acted as an enforcer and can have a great floater game. To me, it's kind of opponent dictated.
My druthers would be to have Max develop into a Klay replacement, since he's a little more on the timeline with Flagg/DLive. I'm hoping we can see more of whether Williams is a real contributor for the same reason.