2023-24 NBA (Playoffs!) Thread: end of bench player on Knicks roster feeling self-conscious about not having crippling, season-ending injury (18 Viewers)

[trader jake]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

 

[trader jake]

If the T Wolves win it all, the best part would be that Wiggins and KAT would both get a title as the second best player on their team. So Jimmy Buckets would be wrong when he said "you ****ing need me"

No Jimmy they didn't, they just needed a real superstar.

KAT is far and away the third best player for the Wolves, there is no world in which he is even close to as good as Gobert. He might even been the fifth most important starter as he has the best backup (Reid) and Conley and McDaniels (maybe McDaniels, but 100% Conley) offer a more irreplaceable skill set for this team.

Gobert is the most important player for this team - they are a defense first team that limps a passable offense through with Edwards and KAT. Those two are floor raisers offensively for the Wolves, while Gobert is the ceiling raiser for the team.

This is all true. However they still absolutely need his offense for when Edwards doesn't have it. KAT can score 20 in a quarter, nobody else on this team besides those two can do that (possibly Naz but rarely).

Players that have scored 35+ in three consecutive playoffs games at 22 years of age or younger:

Kareem
Kobe
LeBron
Ant

 

[Kev4029]

The more I hear the stats and react to game 1, the more I believe thr Twolves are winning this series and winning the West. If Porzingis isn't healthy by the finals I think the Wolves are winning the finals as well.

If Murray can't get healthy, it's going to be a tough series for the Nuggets.

Some statistical things that stick out that should be better for the Nuggets:

• The Nuggets had three ORebs - that is an abnormality for anybody, especially the Nuggets who are probably the best offensive rebounding team in the league when Jokic is on the court.
• Minnesota shot the **** out of the ball (I recognize they are a good shooting team) - 47% on above the break threes, 46% from long midrange. For reference - the only rotation player that shot higher than 40% on those midrangers this season was Kyle Anderson. Edwards shot 33.0% on midrangers this season & 44% on short mid rangers - he was 56% on those shots.
• In the last 5 minutes of the game, the TWolves had an ORtg of 154.5 and were 6/7 from the field. The only miss was Gobert who immediately got his own rebound and put it back in. The TWolves had a clutch ORtg of 104.1 this season. Overall, they were the 4th worst clutch team in the NBA. Denver was #1.

Statistically, other than McDaniels going 0-7 (which is kind of accounted for with the rest of the team shooting over their heads), I don't feel like there was any thing that stuck out that the Wolves were going to be better with going forward.

To win the series, the Nuggets need to figure out how to either utilize Gordon offensively, or replace him with somebody like Christian Braun who will at least attempt to shoot the ball. It'll get them away from their game a bit, but involve Gordon is the initial screening action more often to get Gobert out of the paint or switched on to Jokic. They tried some off ball screening actions with Gordon, but the Wolves were ready for that. They should also run more actions with MPJ and Jokic - MPJ has no problem getting his jump shot off versus Edwards or pretty much anybody other than McDaniels (who still doesn't affect his shot too much, typically).

There are stats for both teams that say they will be better. I am looking at three things.

Murray's health. I don't think he gets healthier.

No one stops Jokic, we all know this, but no one is better equipped to at least make him a little less efficient and wear him down over a game and series.

In a very physical series the bench is going to matter a lot. I think the T Wolves have a better bench.

Murray should get continuously slightly healthier, but I think it's fair to assume he won't be right for the rest of the playoffs.

Part of the game plan (either for the coaching staff or maybe just Jokic) was for Jokic to take threes on the pick and roll if they were conceding them, and boy did they concede them. All but one of his threes was a good shot for him (one was from like 33 feet out because Reggie Jackson sucks), but they need him to play more bully ball to get the bigs in foul trouble. KAT and Gobert are foul magnets when they play Jokic - between last year's playoffs and this years', Gobert has fouled out twice and gotten at least 4 fouls 5/6 games, KAT has also fouled out twice and had at least 5 fouls in 4/6 games (he also had at least 4 fouls all four games last series). Run some big-big actions up top and see what happens.

Regarding the benches, that is probably true because of Reid, but Anderson and Morris are huge liabilities in this series as they don't really have anybody to guard, and NAW is no better than Watson or Braun. The Nuggets need to quit playing Holiday though - he is a decent open shooter and doesn't make any real mistakes, he just doesn't have the athleticism and skill set of an NBA player otherwise. So far in the playoffs he has played 52 minutes, shot 2/13 and just constantly gets overpowered defensively and left wide open offensively. I think they should cut him 100% out of the rotation and limit Jackson (he has been outrageously terrible other than the first half of the last game), see if Watson and Braun can turn some defense into easy offense.

 

[Yo Mama]

If the T Wolves win it all, the best part would be that Wiggins and KAT would both get a title as the second best player on their team. So Jimmy Buckets would be wrong when he said "you ****ing need me"

No Jimmy they didn't, they just needed a real superstar.

KAT is far and away the third best player for the Wolves, there is no world in which he is even close to as good as Gobert. He might even been the fifth most important starter as he has the best backup (Reid) and Conley and McDaniels (maybe McDaniels, but 100% Conley) offer a more irreplaceable skill set for this team.

Gobert is the most important player for this team - they are a defense first team that limps a passable offense through with Edwards and KAT. Those two are floor raisers offensively for the Wolves, while Gobert is the ceiling raiser for the team.

This is all true. However they still absolutely need his offense for when Edwards doesn't have it. KAT can score 20 in a quarter, nobody else on this team besides those two can do that (possibly Naz but rarely).

Players that have scored 35+ in three consecutive playoffs games at 22 years of age or younger:

Kareem
Kobe
LeBron
Ant

Future Laker

 

[the moops]

The Nuggets had three ORebs - that is an abnormality for anybody, especially the Nuggets who are probably the best offensive rebounding team in the league when Jokic is on the court.

It's the Knicks and not particularly close. Jokic only gets 4 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions. Mitchell Robinson is more than double that. Hartenstein gets 6.5

 

[Yo Mama]

The Nuggets had three ORebs - that is an abnormality for anybody, especially the Nuggets who are probably the best offensive rebounding team in the league when Jokic is on the court.

It's the Knicks and not particularly close. Jokic only gets 4 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions. Mitchell Robinson is more than double that. Hartenstein gets 6.5

I think I saw a stat that the top three in offensive rebounds in the first round were Hart, Robinson, and Hartestein (Jokic fourth)

 

[mr. furley]

something everyone here should watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rx0wUQDf4A

Bob Myers on the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. for those wondering why, say, McDaniels posted 0 points.

 

[msudaisy26]

G

If the T Wolves win it all, the best part would be that Wiggins and KAT would both get a title as the second best player on their team. So Jimmy Buckets would be wrong when he said "you ****ing need me"

No Jimmy they didn't, they just needed a real superstar.

KAT is far and away the third best player for the Wolves, there is no world in which he is even close to as good as Gobert. He might even been the fifth most important starter as he has the best backup (Reid) and Conley and McDaniels (maybe McDaniels, but 100% Conley) offer a more irreplaceable skill set for this team.

Gobert is the most important player for this team - they are a defense first team that limps a passable offense through with Edwards and KAT. Those two are floor raisers offensively for the Wolves, while Gobert is the ceiling raiser for the team.

I agree Gobert is more important, but KAT is the second best player. Ant being as great as he is makes KAT less important.

 

[Kev4029]

The Nuggets had three ORebs - that is an abnormality for anybody, especially the Nuggets who are probably the best offensive rebounding team in the league when Jokic is on the court.

It's the Knicks and not particularly close. Jokic only gets 4 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions. Mitchell Robinson is more than double that. Hartenstein gets 6.5

The Nuggets' starting lineup had an ORB% of 32.0. No lineup with more than 300 minutes had a higher percentage. Of lineups with at least 150 minutes together the Hawks had three with Clint Capela, one was the Knicks with Hart/Hartenstein/Achiuwa/DiVincenzo/Brunson, and one was the Kings starting lineup minus Huerter plus Monk.

Looking at three man lineups - it's littered with lineups that include Knicks, Bulls, and Hawks. If you take away the minutes qualifiers and use Robinson's minutes as the baseline (768), #1 OREB% was Drummond with 21.5%, #2 was Robinson with 20.7%, #3 was Clint Capela with 18.7%. Of qualified players, Capela was over 4% higher than #2 Hartenstein.

Regardless, the point I was trying to make was that Denver is a stellar offensive rebounding team. They had fewer than 8 offensive rebounds in 16 games this season and more than 3 offensive rebounds in every game this season. Holding this team to low offensive rebound totals is an aberration, and arguably the biggest statistical aberration of game one.

 

[the moops]

The Nuggets had three ORebs - that is an abnormality for anybody, especially the Nuggets who are probably the best offensive rebounding team in the league when Jokic is on the court.

It's the Knicks and not particularly close. Jokic only gets 4 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions. Mitchell Robinson is more than double that. Hartenstein gets 6.5

I think I saw a stat that the top three in offensive rebounds in the first round were Hart, Robinson, and Hartestein (Jokic fourth)

Jokic tied with Gordon

Players Traditional | Stats | NBA.com

A table featuring traditional information for each player in the league based on selected filters.

www.nba.com

 

[Kev4029]

G

If the T Wolves win it all, the best part would be that Wiggins and KAT would both get a title as the second best player on their team. So Jimmy Buckets would be wrong when he said "you ****ing need me"

No Jimmy they didn't, they just needed a real superstar.

KAT is far and away the third best player for the Wolves, there is no world in which he is even close to as good as Gobert. He might even been the fifth most important starter as he has the best backup (Reid) and Conley and McDaniels (maybe McDaniels, but 100% Conley) offer a more irreplaceable skill set for this team.

Gobert is the most important player for this team - they are a defense first team that limps a passable offense through with Edwards and KAT. Those two are floor raisers offensively for the Wolves, while Gobert is the ceiling raiser for the team.

I agree Gobert is more important, but KAT is the second best player. Ant being as great as he is makes KAT less important.

You must not be watching the same Timberwolves as the rest of us.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

May the old king RIP, Long live the new king, King Edward of the Minnesotans!

Who's the old king?

Robbie Hummel.

 

[Juxtatarot]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

 

[msudaisy26]

G

If the T Wolves win it all, the best part would be that Wiggins and KAT would both get a title as the second best player on their team. So Jimmy Buckets would be wrong when he said "you ****ing need me"

No Jimmy they didn't, they just needed a real superstar.

KAT is far and away the third best player for the Wolves, there is no world in which he is even close to as good as Gobert. He might even been the fifth most important starter as he has the best backup (Reid) and Conley and McDaniels (maybe McDaniels, but 100% Conley) offer a more irreplaceable skill set for this team.

Gobert is the most important player for this team - they are a defense first team that limps a passable offense through with Edwards and KAT. Those two are floor raisers offensively for the Wolves, while Gobert is the ceiling raiser for the team.

I agree Gobert is more important, but KAT is the second best player. Ant being as great as he is makes KAT less important.

You must not be watching the same Timberwolves as the rest of us.

Or you don't understand the difference between importance and actual skill.

Ben Wallace was the first or second most important player to the Pistons, but he was the 4th or 5th best player. Hope.this helps.

 

[msudaisy26]

Rudy Gobert questionable to play tonight.

 

[msudaisy26]

So much for Heat culture.

Pat Riley says Jimmy Butler should've kept his 'mouth shut' about Heat vs. Celtics, addresses potential trade

Butler said that if he was playing, the Heat would have beaten the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs

www.cbssports.com

 

[Kev4029]

G

If the T Wolves win it all, the best part would be that Wiggins and KAT would both get a title as the second best player on their team. So Jimmy Buckets would be wrong when he said "you ****ing need me"

No Jimmy they didn't, they just needed a real superstar.

KAT is far and away the third best player for the Wolves, there is no world in which he is even close to as good as Gobert. He might even been the fifth most important starter as he has the best backup (Reid) and Conley and McDaniels (maybe McDaniels, but 100% Conley) offer a more irreplaceable skill set for this team.

Gobert is the most important player for this team - they are a defense first team that limps a passable offense through with Edwards and KAT. Those two are floor raisers offensively for the Wolves, while Gobert is the ceiling raiser for the team.

I agree Gobert is more important, but KAT is the second best player. Ant being as great as he is makes KAT less important.

You must not be watching the same Timberwolves as the rest of us.

Or you don't understand the difference between importance and actual skill.

Ben Wallace was the first or second most important player to the Pistons, but he was the 4th or 5th best player. Hope.this helps.

This take is so baffling to me that I'm just not going to argue it any more.

 

[Kev4029]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

If they trade Lopez, not only is he one of their two good defensive players, but he is also one of their best shooters. Playing Giannis at 5 full time only makes sense if they are going to switch more and have shooters all around him - this is the rare case of going small to make the offense worse. Plus they are about to lose their starting SG, and best shooter, for nothing.

I think they are better off making some moves around the fringes, hope to get another player like Beasley on the cheap, push Doc to play some of the young guys in hopes one or two of them pop, see if you can dump Connaughton for free to get under the second apron and hope they stay healthy.

 

[Instinctive]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

If they trade Lopez, not only is he one of their two good defensive players, but he is also one of their best shooters. Playing Giannis at 5 full time only makes sense if they are going to switch more and have shooters all around him - this is the rare case of going small to make the offense worse. Plus they are about to lose their starting SG, and best shooter, for nothing.

I think they are better off making some moves around the fringes, hope to get another player like Beasley on the cheap, push Doc to play some of the young guys in hopes one or two of them pop, see if you can dump Connaughton for free to get under the second apron and hope they stay healthy.

I would, like Jake (i think) says above, shake the snow globe around Giannis, Dame, Middleton. And I'd be looking for a 4 who can shoot and let Giannis be 5, or looking for some version of Lopez that is cheaper (yeah so is everyone). But I'd give up some rim protection if it meant that Dame was my only weak link defensively and my shooting doesn't suffer too much.

 

[mr. furley]

not sure if it has been said yet but our Wolves quietly have the NBA's best uniforms

 

[identikit]

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

If they trade Lopez, not only is he one of their two good defensive players, but he is also one of their best shooters. Playing Giannis at 5 full time only makes sense if they are going to switch more and have shooters all around him - this is the rare case of going small to make the offense worse. Plus they are about to lose their starting SG, and best shooter, for nothing.

I think they are better off making some moves around the fringes, hope to get another player like Beasley on the cheap, push Doc to play some of the young guys in hopes one or two of them pop, see if you can dump Connaughton for free to get under the second apron and hope they stay healthy.

Is the bolded Beverley?

 

[ShamrockPride]

So much for Heat culture.

Pat Riley says Jimmy Butler should've kept his 'mouth shut' about Heat vs. Celtics, addresses potential trade

Butler said that if he was playing, the Heat would have beaten the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs

www.cbssports.com

The "Jordan's son" twitter madness the past few seasons has gone to his head.

Bro couldn't even stay healthy enough to help his team on the court this postseason. Stfu.

 

[trader jake]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

Yes, Giannis would play the 5 more. Ideally there would be a vet that could start and bang early 1st & 3rd when teams tend to have bigs out there more. Plus, as a matchup against players like Embiid, etc. Either way the Bucks have to get more athletic and Lopez should have a lot of value to quite a few teams out there.

Funny thing is the Bucks early playoff exit helps their cap situation. Middleton specifically would have earned some cash with a long playoff run. Now the Bucks should be able to avoid that second apron.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

If they trade Lopez, not only is he one of their two good defensive players, but he is also one of their best shooters. Playing Giannis at 5 full time only makes sense if they are going to switch more and have shooters all around him - this is the rare case of going small to make the offense worse. Plus they are about to lose their starting SG, and best shooter, for nothing.

I think they are better off making some moves around the fringes, hope to get another player like Beasley on the cheap, push Doc to play some of the young guys in hopes one or two of them pop, see if you can dump Connaughton for free to get under the second apron and hope they stay healthy.

Is the bolded Beverley?

I believe Kev's referring to Malik Beasley. He can shoot from 3, but considering how many open looks Beasley got, it's much less impressive. Add in his abysmal defense and I just don't think he's worth much more than a minimum deal. Certainly shouldn't be starting for a legit contender.

 

[Kev4029]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

Yes, Giannis would play the 5 more. Ideally there would be a vet that could start and bang early 1st & 3rd when teams tend to have bigs out there more. Plus, as a matchup against players like Embiid, etc. Either way the Bucks have to get more athletic and Lopez should have a lot of value to quite a few teams out there.

Funny thing is the Bucks early playoff exit helps their cap situation. Middleton specifically would have earned some cash with a long playoff run. Now the Bucks should be able to avoid that second apron.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

If they trade Lopez, not only is he one of their two good defensive players, but he is also one of their best shooters. Playing Giannis at 5 full time only makes sense if they are going to switch more and have shooters all around him - this is the rare case of going small to make the offense worse. Plus they are about to lose their starting SG, and best shooter, for nothing.

I think they are better off making some moves around the fringes, hope to get another player like Beasley on the cheap, push Doc to play some of the young guys in hopes one or two of them pop, see if you can dump Connaughton for free to get under the second apron and hope they stay healthy.

Is the bolded Beverley?

I believe Kev's referring to Malik Beasley. He can shoot from 3, but considering how many open looks Beasley got, it's much less impressive. Add in his abysmal defense and I just don't think he's worth much more than a minimum deal. Certainly shouldn't be starting for a legit contender.

I was referring to Beasley. I agree that he shouldn't be starting, especially next to Lillard, but if shooting and making that many open threes wasn't an elite skill, more people would do it. He's a $10-12m player IMO, but more of a good stats bad team kind of guy.

 

[Kev4029]

With the Bucks cap situation and lack of picks, I don’t see how they could make significant changes. Just mostly run it back and hope for good health.

Brook and his $25M expiring should be moveable to a team looking to clear cap space for 2025-26.

Gonna be interesting to see if Horst leaves for Detroit when they inevitably offer him a bag.

Assuming the Pistons offer Horst the bag, he'd be a fool to pass it up. The organizational make-up in Detroit presents some hesitation, but Horst really can't improve his Milwaukee resume enough to get better opportunities elsewhere.

Agree with you on Brook Lopez. Love the guy, but it's time to move on. If the Bucks keep him and he walks in a year, they'll lose his salary slot. I'd shop him to the Pelicans. He's the perfect defense +stretch 5 to put next to Zion, and they have plenty of players on the roster that would make sense for the Bucks. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of other teams that could use Brook (Memphis?).

Also, Milwaukee can put Bobby Portis & Pat Connaughton together and get to lower $20 mil salary range. Or combine one of them with the #23 or #33 picks to improve their athleticism. Time to shake up the snow globe around the stars.

If Lopez were traded, would the plan be for Giannis to play a lot at the 5?

If they trade Lopez, not only is he one of their two good defensive players, but he is also one of their best shooters. Playing Giannis at 5 full time only makes sense if they are going to switch more and have shooters all around him - this is the rare case of going small to make the offense worse. Plus they are about to lose their starting SG, and best shooter, for nothing.

I think they are better off making some moves around the fringes, hope to get another player like Beasley on the cheap, push Doc to play some of the young guys in hopes one or two of them pop, see if you can dump Connaughton for free to get under the second apron and hope they stay healthy.

I would, like Jake (i think) says above, shake the snow globe around Giannis, Dame, Middleton. And I'd be looking for a 4 who can shoot and let Giannis be 5, or looking for some version of Lopez that is cheaper (yeah so is everyone). But I'd give up some rim protection if it meant that Dame was my only weak link defensively and my shooting doesn't suffer too much.

I 100% agree with all of that but they don't have much in terms of assets to make that happen. I would run it back before I would throw picks at a problem to only marginally improve said problem.

 

[Zow]

On the menu tonight at the Woz household: chicken nuggets.

Kid was up this morning talking instantly about the game. What's going to be a bummer is when my wife makes him go to bed at halftime.

 

[Jayrod]

So ANT = MJ and the Wolves are now the hands down title favorites?

I see we've reached the wild overreaction stage of the playoffs.

 

[Juxtatarot]

On the menu tonight at the Woz household: chicken nuggets.

Kid was up this morning talking instantly about the game. What's going to be a bummer is when my wife makes him go to bed at halftime.

Oh, come on, Mom!

 

[offdee]

not sure if it has been said yet but our Wolves quietly have the NBA's best uniforms

Nope, Sacramento Kings.

 

[identikit]

Wemby wins ROTY

Unanimous

 

[the moops]

On the menu tonight at the Woz household: chicken nuggets.

Kid was up this morning talking instantly about the game. What's going to be a bummer is when my wife makes him go to bed at halftime.

Oh, come on, Mom!

Seriously. Go grab a laptop or tablet and lay in bed with him and watch. Screw mom!

 

[Tau837]

Gobert is the most important player for this team

I think this is a crazy assertion. Gobert is a very valuable player, and arguably the 2nd most important, but this team would accomplish nothing without Edwards, who is clearly and obviously to me the most important player on the team.

 

[the moops]

Gobert is the most important player for this team

I think this is a crazy assertion. Gobert is a very valuable player, and arguably the 2nd most important, but this team would accomplish nothing without Edwards, who is clearly and obviously to me the most important player on the team.

It's an interesting question though.

What team wins more games and has a higher playoff ceiling (assuming they make the playoffs)

Conley, Alexander Walker, McDaniels, Towns, Gobert

Conley, Ant, McDaniels, NAZ, Gobert

Conley, Ant, McDaniels, NAZ, Towns

 

[The General]

First Pacer game I have watched all year. Loving their style. Also have some great athletic length.

 

[Zow]

On the menu tonight at the Woz household: chicken nuggets.

Kid was up this morning talking instantly about the game. What's going to be a bummer is when my wife makes him go to bed at halftime.

Oh, come on, Mom!

Seriously. Go grab a laptop or tablet and lay in bed with him and watch. Screw mom!

We'll see how this plays out...

I have some own self-interest to also consider!

 

[Kev4029]

Gobert is the most important player for this team

I think this is a crazy assertion. Gobert is a very valuable player, and arguably the 2nd most important, but this team would accomplish nothing without Edwards, who is clearly and obviously to me the most important player on the team.

It's an interesting question though.

What team wins more games and has a higher playoff ceiling (assuming they make the playoffs)

Conley, Alexander Walker, McDaniels, Towns, Gobert

Conley, Ant, McDaniels, NAZ, Gobert

Conley, Ant, McDaniels, NAZ, Towns

#2 by a long shot. They would be 90% of the team they are now - as frosty said earlier, it would hurt when Edwards isn't on, but to win in the playoffs, they need ANT and Gobert to be great, KAT just needs to not be bad.

#1 would be a great defensive team without the ability to score - think 2024 Magic.

#3 would be a .500 team that would get swept in the playoffs because they couldn't stop anybody in the paint. We saw that story with KAT/Butler/Wiggins, etc.

 

[Kev4029]

With Wemby being voted unanimous ROY, I saw that he is the 6th to do it. Not on that list of unanimous ROY players is Tim Duncan who finished 1st team all-defense, 1st team All-NBA, and 5th in MVP voting. Three dipshits voted Keith Van Horn. Amazing.

 

[Frostillicus]

stupid baby

 

[identikit]

Gobert not playing tonight

Ugh

 

[Kev4029]

stupid baby

I have a new favorite French person. Marion Cotillard move over.

 

[Frostillicus]

Line moved 2 points.

 

[Zow]

Line moved 2 points.

Yep. I should have waited fifteen minutes.

 

[the moops]

as frosty said earlier

I'm going with the opposite of whatever he mumbled

 

[Desert_Power]

Hartenstein is just fun. Unless he's playing against your team.

 

[identikit]

Oh Toppin...

 

[The General]

Well that was quite the dunk

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Nice shot, Myles!!

 

[The Gator]

Well that was quite the dunk

sexy

 

[The General]

Between the legs in a playoff game in The Garden.

 

[the moops]

So sick