martin wrote:Load management alert!
Entire starting line-up about to develop knee tendinitis --- I'm mean Thibs is a mad man and Randle playing with head up his ass all game doesn't help as every bone headed maneuver and nonchalant defensive effort helps keep game as tight as a drum.
ToddTT wrote:
This looks like playoff caliber opponent.
ToddTT wrote:
Sweet baby Jesus.
ToddTT wrote:OG plays some sexy defense.
OG is my man-zzzz crush.
ToddTT wrote:OG plays some sexy defense.
He’s sexy and you know it?
One thing I need to admit is I never expected Donte to play this well. I never said anything bad or good about him because I have not watched him much. Like most postions on the team once the OG trade happened and Donte was able to stop being a POA defender eventhing just started to click every game. OG being a great 3pt shooter on the oposite side of the court from where Donte is best at also makes for great synergy. The OG trade just made the team so much better from synergy alone. If we can somehow fill the holes left by Mitch and Quick we will be a hard out in the playoffs.
Clean wrote:One thing I need to admit is I never expected Donte to play this well. I never said anything bad or good about him because I have not watched him much. Like most postions on the team once the OG trade happened and Donte was able to stop being a POA defender eventhing just started to click every game. OG being a great 3pt shooter on the oposite side of the court from where Donte is best at also makes for great synergy. The OG trade just made the team so much better from synergy alone. If we can somehow fill the holes left by Mitch and Quick we will be a hard out in the playoffs.
Hopefully, Mitch can fill his own hole. Expect him back before the playoffs.
Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch.
I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Can Brunson be as good as Rockets Harden, or Mavs Dirk, or Miami's Jimmy? Maybe, those were all title caliber teams without much more a supporting cast than we got now.
DLeethal wrote:Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch. I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Brunson def has a case for top 10 this season.
We need DJM to even out this roster though and take some pressure off.
nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch. I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Brunson def has a case for top 10 this season.
We need DJM to even out this roster though and take some pressure off.
Could we improve the same or more by just finding the right bench guys though? Brogdon and Hayward for example.
Brunson - DDV - OG - Randle - iHart
Deuce - Brogs - Hart - Hayward - Precious
Our biggest holes right now are: Replacing IQ role everynight and legit backups/insurance to our top scorers whenever they sit or get injured. Everything else looks real solid.
I'm not even overly concerned about backup big. If we had more scoring the bench would be fine. Precious is a very mobile guy that Thibs seems to like to switch on perimeter, giving us a yang to the drop coverage yin. Mitch might be back by playoffs.
But back to Brunson, it seems he performs at a top 10-15 level every night. He's just kind of blossomed out of nowhere last 2 years and people are still kind of not fully realizing yet since he was a 2nd round pick and stuck behind Luka. It took awhile for everyone to realize how good Jokic was in a similar way. When Brunson doesn't drop an efficient 30-7 and make all the clutch plays to get a W, I come off as surprised. It's fully expected now. That's top 10-15 player ish.
DLeethal wrote:nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch. I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Brunson def has a case for top 10 this season.
We need DJM to even out this roster though and take some pressure off.
Could we improve the same or more by just finding the right bench guys though? Brogdon and Hayward for example.
Brunson - DDV - OG - Randle - iHart
Deuce - Brogs - Hart - Hayward - Precious
Our biggest holes right now are: Replacing IQ role everynight and legit backups/insurance to our top scorers whenever they sit or get injured. Everything else looks real solid.
I'm not even overly concerned about backup big. If we had more scoring the bench would be fine. Precious is a very mobile guy that Thibs seems to like to switch on perimeter, giving us a yang to the drop coverage yin. Mitch might be back by playoffs.
you know i was a huge Brogs fan but I think that time has passed. He's not the same anymore. If we're going that route we might as well go all in for DJM.
Hayward is interesting, especially if its on a buyout. He can shoot, score, and create.
but this FO really hasn't shown a propensity to go after older players and stopgaps.
DJM is really the only long term piece that makes sense.
DLeethal wrote:But back to Brunson, it seems he performs at a top 10-15 level every night. He's just kind of blossomed out of nowhere last 2 years and people are still kind of not fully realizing yet since he was a 2nd round pick and stuck behind Luka. It took awhile for everyone to realize how good Jokic was in a similar way. When Brunson doesn't drop an efficient 30-7 and make all the clutch plays to get a W, I come off as surprised. It's fully expected now. That's top 10-15 player ish.
his numbers put him around 10-15th best this season, but he has intangibles, leadership and consistency that I think puts him closer to 10th. He just knows how to win, and that's cliche to say but it's really true with him. it's such a stark contrast to Randle even if they have the same stats. Randle isn't out there drawing those charges or making the key hustle play to seal a game.
nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch. I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Brunson def has a case for top 10 this season.
We need DJM to even out this roster though and take some pressure off.
Could we improve the same or more by just finding the right bench guys though? Brogdon and Hayward for example.
Brunson - DDV - OG - Randle - iHart
Deuce - Brogs - Hart - Hayward - Precious
Our biggest holes right now are: Replacing IQ role everynight and legit backups/insurance to our top scorers whenever they sit or get injured. Everything else looks real solid.
I'm not even overly concerned about backup big. If we had more scoring the bench would be fine. Precious is a very mobile guy that Thibs seems to like to switch on perimeter, giving us a yang to the drop coverage yin. Mitch might be back by playoffs.
you know i was a huge Brogs fan but I think that time has passed. He's not the same anymore. If we're going that route we might as well go all in for DJM.
Hayward is interesting, especially if its on a buyout. He can shoot, score, and create.
but this FO really hasn't shown a propensity to go after older players and stopgaps.
DJM is really the only long term piece that makes sense.
I trust the FO at the end of the day. I'm fine making the Murray splash I'm also fine just filling out the bench and seeing what this starting lineup can do in the playoffs. I do think we need at minimum a legitimate bench scorer to replace IQ. That's non negotiable. I view Hayward almost as the Kevin Love role for Miami last year. He might not get a ton of PT every night but he would be Randle's backup and provide us with insurance if he goes down. Almost like the Bojan role we seem to be eyeing.
I think we are at the point where we can get some stopgaps now. We are a good team trying to make an ECF push. Vets go deep in the playoffs not youngins. We need as many steady hands as we can get to balance Randle. We've already seen how much we've improved replacing some high IQ players like OG/DDV/Hartenstein with RJ/Mitch around Randle. Ball flips around, guys cut, and we play smarter now.
DLeethal wrote:nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch. I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Brunson def has a case for top 10 this season.
We need DJM to even out this roster though and take some pressure off.
Could we improve the same or more by just finding the right bench guys though? Brogdon and Hayward for example.
Brunson - DDV - OG - Randle - iHart
Deuce - Brogs - Hart - Hayward - Precious
Our biggest holes right now are: Replacing IQ role everynight and legit backups/insurance to our top scorers whenever they sit or get injured. Everything else looks real solid.
I'm not even overly concerned about backup big. If we had more scoring the bench would be fine. Precious is a very mobile guy that Thibs seems to like to switch on perimeter, giving us a yang to the drop coverage yin. Mitch might be back by playoffs.
you know i was a huge Brogs fan but I think that time has passed. He's not the same anymore. If we're going that route we might as well go all in for DJM.
Hayward is interesting, especially if its on a buyout. He can shoot, score, and create.
but this FO really hasn't shown a propensity to go after older players and stopgaps.
DJM is really the only long term piece that makes sense.
I trust the FO at the end of the day. I'm fine making the Murray splash I'm also fine just filling out the bench and seeing what this starting lineup can do in the playoffs. I do think we need at minimum a legitimate bench scorer to replace IQ. That's non negotiable. I view Hayward almost as the Kevin Love role for Miami last year. He might not get a ton of PT every night but he would be Randle's backup and provide us with insurance if he goes down. Almost like the Bojan role we seem to be eyeing.
I think we are at the point where we can get some stopgaps now. We are a good team trying to make an ECF push. Vets go deep in the playoffs not youngins. We need as many steady hands as we can get to balance Randle. We've already seen how much we've improved replacing some high IQ players like OG/DDV/Hartenstein with RJ/Mitch around Randle. Ball flips around, guys cut, and we play smarter now.
the thing is the IQ role is a demanding one, we need a reliable guy there. IQ and RJ were workhorses. not sure a stopgap is gonna cut it there. We need a legit 3rd scorer and creator long term. Can't see us burning assets for a stop gap there.
if we're talking a buyout stop gap that's different. and I think another realistic option there could be Gallo. Perfect 3/4 shooter, high IQ and won't demand a ton of minutes. I think that's our Kevin Love right there.
nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:nycericanguy wrote:DLeethal wrote:Donte is just a joy to watch. Silky smooth out there. Has a great feel for the game and plays with a great swag / toughness. Watching him elevate for blocks/boards it a joy to watch. I still don't think the starting lineup has enough top end talent to win it all, but I enjoy watching them play a lot, outside of the bonehead plays Randle makes too often. But maybe Brunson is a top 10 player and we just don't know it yet, and they ARE good enough with just some bench tweaks.
Brunson def has a case for top 10 this season.
We need DJM to even out this roster though and take some pressure off.
Could we improve the same or more by just finding the right bench guys though? Brogdon and Hayward for example.
Brunson - DDV - OG - Randle - iHart
Deuce - Brogs - Hart - Hayward - Precious
Our biggest holes right now are: Replacing IQ role everynight and legit backups/insurance to our top scorers whenever they sit or get injured. Everything else looks real solid.
I'm not even overly concerned about backup big. If we had more scoring the bench would be fine. Precious is a very mobile guy that Thibs seems to like to switch on perimeter, giving us a yang to the drop coverage yin. Mitch might be back by playoffs.
you know i was a huge Brogs fan but I think that time has passed. He's not the same anymore. If we're going that route we might as well go all in for DJM.
Hayward is interesting, especially if its on a buyout. He can shoot, score, and create.
but this FO really hasn't shown a propensity to go after older players and stopgaps.
DJM is really the only long term piece that makes sense.
I trust the FO at the end of the day. I'm fine making the Murray splash I'm also fine just filling out the bench and seeing what this starting lineup can do in the playoffs. I do think we need at minimum a legitimate bench scorer to replace IQ. That's non negotiable. I view Hayward almost as the Kevin Love role for Miami last year. He might not get a ton of PT every night but he would be Randle's backup and provide us with insurance if he goes down. Almost like the Bojan role we seem to be eyeing.
I think we are at the point where we can get some stopgaps now. We are a good team trying to make an ECF push. Vets go deep in the playoffs not youngins. We need as many steady hands as we can get to balance Randle. We've already seen how much we've improved replacing some high IQ players like OG/DDV/Hartenstein with RJ/Mitch around Randle. Ball flips around, guys cut, and we play smarter now.
the thing is the IQ role is a demanding one, we need a reliable guy there. IQ and RJ were workhorses. not sure a stopgap is gonna cut it there. We need a legit 3rd scorer and creator long term. Can't see us burning assets for a stop gap there.
if we're talking a buyout stop gap that's different. and I think another realistic option there could be Gallo. Perfect 3/4 shooter, high IQ and won't demand a ton of minutes. I think that's our Kevin Love right there.
Counterpoint - the presence of Deuce as a young workhorse and emerging offensive threat allows us to seek out stopgaps there to play next to him. Similar to Rose/young IQ a few years back.
