need2know
Footballguy
His defense is great still. That's why we paid him. He also gets some boards we never normally got. Is it worth the money? I have no idea
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2022-23 NBA Thread: “you’ll never let me down like the Heat did”, Miami fan says to giant pile of cocaine (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Capella
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Frostillicus
Footballguy
it's ok NOT to boo
Sorry he already committed to Sacramento.
modogg
Footballguy
i would trade for Ben if it meant getting rid of Doc...
Zow
Footballguy
The Warriors without Steph might be in the Wembanyama sweepstakes. Steph has been unreal this year.Oh, and Pels 2nd highest margin of victory in franchise history (45) against the W's last night. No Steph and Klay but still.
that guy is so anti-sixers that he'll go off on just about anything he can dig up. Ladders, not booing, jersey color, etc
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
Pistons first road win of the year came in Denver, even with Jokic coming just a rebound short of a triple-double.
msudaisy26
Footballguy
I hope I am wrong, but as a Piston fan this game doesn't give me hope of them turning the season around. It feels like just one of those weird games that is an outlier during a long season.
It would be different if Ivey would have played well and carried the team to a win or if the young core did, but Cade, Stewart and Bey were all on the bench. Speaking of Cade, he is starting to worry me. He shows great flashes when he plays, like a guy that could be an all-nba guy year after year, but this is significant time missed each year.
DJackson10
Footballguy
dude is an absolute cancer I wouldn't want him anywhere near my team. If I was a player how he handled that situation and his agent I wouldn't want them near my team Australia doesn't even want him on the national team the players and all. When your own country desperate for talent doesn't want you its telling.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Based on PER, Tucker ranks 277th out of 286 players that qualify.
need2know
Footballguy
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
Which doesn’t really measure defense, hustle or attitude, which is the main thing he brings
Frostillicus
Footballguy
5 straight for our Wolves. They're looking MUCH better and the communciation has gone from the frustrated finger pointing to the kind of good talking you want to see. Beating the Pacers on the road tonight might not have seemed like such a great thing prior to the year, but they had won 5 in a row, 7 out of 8, and 9 of 10. Wolves pretty much handled them from the jump. We comin?
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
Grit.
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
He rates very highly in the GRIT (grinding really intensely & tenaciously) index
Kev4029
Footballguy
That's mostly par for the course for Tucker. His usage is a little lower than years past, but one game where he takes 8 shots or something would probably bring it back up. This year isn't the outlier, last year was.
Kev4029
Footballguy
The West is kind of hilarious right now. There are two games that separate the #1 Suns with the #10 Mavericks (GSW at #11 is one game behind Dallas).
My Denver Nuggets have been playing like absolute dog **** and they are tied for #2 and only a half game behind the Suns. I feel like there is about to be a nice run by one or two of the teams in the West and they'll end up 10 games ahead of the rest of the conference.
My Denver Nuggets have been playing like absolute dog **** and they are tied for #2 and only a half game behind the Suns. I feel like there is about to be a nice run by one or two of the teams in the West and they'll end up 10 games ahead of the rest of the conference.
Zow
Footballguy
Same response after the poor start, let’s give it some more time before panicking or getting too excited.
Weird route to get there, but current record is about as expected.
Frostillicus
Footballguy
mr. furley
Footballguy
this is outrageous!
Yo Mama
Footballguy
Jose Alvarado’s move making its way to the World Cup - Grand Theft Alvarado
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
The Bulls beat Boston on Monday and then had a tremendous road win in Milwaukee last night.
On Saturday they had an awful home loss to Orlando which ended with Billy Donovan benching Zach LaVine for the last eight minutes of the 4th quarter. LaVine had put up a stellar 1-14 up to that point. In the post-game interview, Donovan made it clear that when you are a gunner and are shooting blanks but you don't do anything else on the court then you have no value to the team.
It seems that jolted the team, maybe because LaVine's teammates have the same thoughts but have not expressed them, and Billy getting them out there cleared the air. The Bulls came out tough and energized these past two games.
On Saturday they had an awful home loss to Orlando which ended with Billy Donovan benching Zach LaVine for the last eight minutes of the 4th quarter. LaVine had put up a stellar 1-14 up to that point. In the post-game interview, Donovan made it clear that when you are a gunner and are shooting blanks but you don't do anything else on the court then you have no value to the team.
It seems that jolted the team, maybe because LaVine's teammates have the same thoughts but have not expressed them, and Billy getting them out there cleared the air. The Bulls came out tough and energized these past two games.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I watch the Celtics and keep thinking things will even out and they will start missing shots. But that hasn’t happened so far. No Tatum? No problem. They beat SAC by 25. No Brown or Horford? No problem. Beat CHA by 35. Granted, neither of those team are on the level of the Bucks at full strength.
At one point in the Hornets game, CHA was shooting 55% on the game . . . and were down 30. They had a stretch of 8 possessions where they scored 8 baskets . . . and were -4 points in that sequence. Tatum returned from a night off and had 35 before sitting down in the 3rd.
I initially thought the C’s defense was worse than last year, but they are content to trade 2’s for 3’s. They have been so far ahead most nights that they haven’t been motivated to get stops on defense consistently.
I’m starting to wonder if Rob Williams coming back might mess with the offense. They’ve been able to play five shooters on the court at once. Timelord is one less guy for defenses to worry about. They’ll need him in the playoffs, but may not in the regular season.
At one point in the Hornets game, CHA was shooting 55% on the game . . . and were down 30. They had a stretch of 8 possessions where they scored 8 baskets . . . and were -4 points in that sequence. Tatum returned from a night off and had 35 before sitting down in the 3rd.
I initially thought the C’s defense was worse than last year, but they are content to trade 2’s for 3’s. They have been so far ahead most nights that they haven’t been motivated to get stops on defense consistently.
I’m starting to wonder if Rob Williams coming back might mess with the offense. They’ve been able to play five shooters on the court at once. Timelord is one less guy for defenses to worry about. They’ll need him in the playoffs, but may not in the regular season.
Jayrod
Footballguy
I've had this exact thought. I think it will be a bit of a conundrum how to bring him back into the fold.
I'm sure they will limit his minutes initially which will certainly help with the transition. He may never be a 30mpg guy this year.
And yes, their shooting has been consistent enough to not be a fluke. I made a detailed post about why I thought their offensive success was sustainable because it really involves multiple things and isn't just one gimmicky thing. Tatum is the key and is the only guy who they can't live without (Sacramento game aside). Brown is obviously a big key, but I think a combination of White/Brogdon are good enough to replace even what JB does. The three-headed monster of White/Smart/Brogdon is an immense advantage. Those are three guys who can all handle the ball, score in spots and defend well and are all bigger than average guards so defending on switches isn't a problem. I've seen all three of them have success guarding good bigs in the post as well as generate turnovers and force bad shots from good guards.
Like you said, defensively they seem to have another level they could reach but just haven't needed to. I like what Mazzulla is doing, but I think even an empty chair could coach this team to 50 wins.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I thought the C’s would start to regress in their advantage in threes, but they actually expanded that. They are +5.5 in 3PM per game. That’s a 16.5 point advantage each night. That’s crazy.
Utah was +5.8 in 20-21 and obviously didn’t win the title. BOS also leading the league in FT% has also been a plus. We’ll have to see what happens when other teams get some pieces back and gel (and if the Celtics have any injuries). Health in the playoffs obviously a huge difference maker.
Frostillicus
Footballguy
KAT out 4-6 weeks. ANT gonna have to grow up to avoid disaster.
The Big Donkey
Footballguy
Knicks with 140 points in regulation. This is not Thibs ball.
The Big Donkey
Footballguy
great game/ending here with dallas vs gs on tnt
Jayrod
Footballguy
Miami shot at 52/45/100 tonight, and lost by 13 to Boston. 
Tatum scored 49 pts on 25 shots (with 11/12 FTs). He was +29 for the game and had 11 rbs as well.
This is getting silly. They've broke 130 pts 3 games in a row. Their defense has been poor at times, but it just doesn't matter.
Also, Prince William and Princess Kate were in attendance.
Tatum scored 49 pts on 25 shots (with 11/12 FTs). He was +29 for the game and had 11 rbs as well.
This is getting silly. They've broke 130 pts 3 games in a row. Their defense has been poor at times, but it just doesn't matter.
Also, Prince William and Princess Kate were in attendance.
brun
Footballguy
Watching Tatum in year 1, I thought he would be really good eventually but I think he's is even better than what I thought he could be. He is a monster in this league.
Celtics are rolling and Williams is practicing. I don't have a crystal ball but I'm really expecting a lot for this year.
Celtics are rolling and Williams is practicing. I don't have a crystal ball but I'm really expecting a lot for this year.
Frostillicus
Footballguy
So far so good. Wolves beat the Grizz and ANT was THAT DUDE.
29 points (17 in 4Q) with 8 stocks. Rudy was in foul trouble all game. With injuries the Wolves started rookie Wendell Moore. Just a masterful performance. Also got Dillon Brooks all worked up at the refs so he got ejected. With the crowd cheering/booing brooks he did the whole "more" thing with his hands, and then Morant started bitching and got ejected. They need to reconfigure this team where ANT is #1 and KAT is #2.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Tatum only player to make 900 three pointers at age 25. Rob Williams back to practicing at almost full strength. Even Danilo Gallinari has started stationary shooting practice. Not that the Celtics need him, but it sounds like he is ahead of schedule and might be able to return near the end of the regular season and play some in the post season.
Kings are winning by 30 in a November game with the backups in and the Sacramento crowd is still blowing the roof off the arena. I’ve been to playoff games in 4 other cities that weren’t this loud. Really hope this team can keep it going because this is a pretty cool civic moment.
Nathan R. Jessep
Footballguy
Zion had, IMO, his best pro game yet last night against Toronto. 33pts (80% FG). Hard to describe, but he just looked different. Call it a little more spring in his step, maybe. He beat double teams regularly, and even a quad-team on one play. His speed and soft touch at the rim are really underrated for a guy his size. Oh and he did this. I've watched all but a couple of the NBA games he has played in, and this was the first one where I said to myself "whoa!" To me, it looked like growth as a player. Like he's starting to "get" the pro game. He played better defense as well, which has been a concern of mine. TOR was favored by 3 and at one point in the 3rd we were up by 31, and when TOR clawed and back to cut it to 11, Zion stepped up and made several big plays (next 5 series were all Zion: Block, Dunk, Steal, Dunk, Steal). Zion put the team on his shoulders. This was without CJ and BI.
They're throwing out stats that he has tied/passed thus far in his career and the names getting compared to are Shaq (20+ points in the paint avg for a season) and Michael Jordan (the last player to score 2500 points in under 100 games - Z will be the only one on the list, which is only 12 people, to do it with a 60%+ shooting percentage).
If Zion and the Pels come to your city, do yourself a favor and go watch! I don't follow much NCAA hoops other than my local team, so prior to the NBA I only saw him in the NCAA tourney. This kid is something else.
They're throwing out stats that he has tied/passed thus far in his career and the names getting compared to are Shaq (20+ points in the paint avg for a season) and Michael Jordan (the last player to score 2500 points in under 100 games - Z will be the only one on the list, which is only 12 people, to do it with a 60%+ shooting percentage).
If Zion and the Pels come to your city, do yourself a favor and go watch! I don't follow much NCAA hoops other than my local team, so prior to the NBA I only saw him in the NCAA tourney. This kid is something else.
Kev4029
Footballguy
I'm a bit bored as the work week comes to an end, so here is my quarter season MVP list.
Tier 1
1. Steph Curry
32.6 Pts / 7.0 Reb / 7.3 Ast / 1.1 Stl / 0.2 Blk
.518 FG / .436 3PT / .907 FT / .682 TS%
28.4 PER / .255 WS48 / 10.6 BPM / +10.9 RAPTOR
Steph may be having the best season of his career and if the team success was where it was a half-decade ago (or even last year), I think he would be a shoe-in for MVP. He’s on pace to end with 382 threes which would be his second best mark, while being at or near his highest rate of statistics elsewhere. I suspect he’ll come back to earth a bit with his shooting both at the hoop (shooting .788 which is nearly 10% better than he has ever shot) and in the floater range (he’s at .609 which is also nearly 10% higher than his highest), but that may balance with the team success with GSW banishing Wiseman to the G-League.
2. Nikola Jokic
25.7 Pts / 11.1 Reb / 10.2 Ast / 1.5 Stl / 0.7 Blk
.629 FG / .324 3PT / .847 FT / .706 TS%
31.3 PER / .311 WS48 / 11.6 BPM / +14.4 RAPTOR
Jokic has been taking it easy this year as the Nuggets reintegrate Murray and Porter and integrate guys like KCP and Bruce Brown – his usage drop from 31.9% last season to 26.4% shows this. The two stats that most show his importance to the team and the justification to have him #2 on this list are 1. That the Nuggets have a 125.5 Ortg with him on the floor – that’s well above what the Celtics have done with their record breaking offense this year (122.2 Ortg); and 2. The Nuggets have a net rating of 13.0 with him on the floor and a -11.8 net rating with him off the court (these are BBRef stats – NBA.com has him with a net rating over 14). He has an uphill battle to actually win the award as the voters are incredibly unlikely to vote him for a third time, but there is a chance.
3. Jason Tatum
31.0 Pts / 7.7 Reb / 4.4 Ast / 0.9 Stl / 1.1 Blk
.488 FG / .366 3PT / .873 FT / .635 TS%
27.5 PER / .236 WS48 / 7.3 BPM / +7.7 RAPTOR
Tatum is the best player on by far the best team in the league to this point. Pretty much across the board, he is having the best statistical year of his career, outside of three point shooting and if he keeps anything near this level up he is a guaranteed first team All-NBA selection. If the team AND him keep this up, I think he’ll likely take the MVP unless either the Nuggets or Warriors end up with the top seed in the west and Jokic and Curry slightly improve their stats.
Tier 2
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
34.3 Pts / 12.6 Reb / 6.1 Ast / 1.0 Stl / 1.1 Blk
.533 FG / .232 3PT / .608 FT / .579 TS%
28.8 PER / .203 WS48 / 8.6 BPM / +4.8 RAPTOR
Giannis is having a down year as he carries an absolutely bonkers load. His Usage rate (39.4%) is the highest of his career by two points and is currently #3 all time behind Westbrook’s MVP season and Harden the year after he won the MVP. The Bucks are the best D in the league though and Giannis is a huge reason for that. We’ll see if the reintegration of Connaughton and the return of Middleton can help take some of the load off and let Giannis improve his efficiency (and quit taking so many bad 3s).
5. Devin Booker
28.6 Pts / 4.2 Reb / 5.7 Ast / 1.1 Stl / 0.5 Blk
.489 FG / .378 3PT / .878 FT / .600 TS%
24.0 PER / .205 WS48 / 5.7 BPM / +6.6 RAPTOR
I can’t really come up with a reason why he deserves to be quite this high other than I think the Suns are kind of a mediocre team when they are starting Torrey Craig and Cameron Payne but Booker is leading the Suns to another fantastic season while mostly missing out on Paul/Cam Johnson and completely missing out on Crowder. The Suns have probably been playing the second best basketball in the NBA behind the Celtics and there has been a lot of turmoil around the team and roster so Booker deserves that credit.
6. Luka Doncic
32.2 Pts / 8.3 Reb / 8.3 Ast / 1.8 Stl / 0.5 Blk
.505 FG / .331 3PT / .712 FT / .606 TS%
31.3 PER / .258 WS48 / 10.7 BPM / +9.4 RAPTOR
Luka is putting up a magnificent statistical season but the team around him has totally let him down, but I’m starting to wonder if that is a bug of his style of play. Also, his three point shooting is sneakily starting to kill the offense a bit. He’s shooting 33% which seems like it should be an outlier for somebody that bombs away as much as he does but he’s only a 33.7% career shooter on over 8 a game. If the team around him starts hitting threes, he'll look better in a month or so.
Honorable Mention
Kevin Durant
If they end up a top 4 seed, he’ll likely end up in this discussion for real. Offensively, he’s not quite where he was a decade ago but he’s playing great on both sides of the floor.
Anthony Davis
He’s quietly having one of the better years of his career statistically. If the Lakers make a trade to improve the non-Davis/Lebron roster they may make a second half run which could jolt him into the discussion… if he doesn’t get hurt.
Ja Morant
He has slowed down since the first half dozen games this year but the Grizz are off to a mediocre start and Ja got hurt and missed a few games. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up in the top 5.
Tier 1
1. Steph Curry
32.6 Pts / 7.0 Reb / 7.3 Ast / 1.1 Stl / 0.2 Blk
.518 FG / .436 3PT / .907 FT / .682 TS%
28.4 PER / .255 WS48 / 10.6 BPM / +10.9 RAPTOR
Steph may be having the best season of his career and if the team success was where it was a half-decade ago (or even last year), I think he would be a shoe-in for MVP. He’s on pace to end with 382 threes which would be his second best mark, while being at or near his highest rate of statistics elsewhere. I suspect he’ll come back to earth a bit with his shooting both at the hoop (shooting .788 which is nearly 10% better than he has ever shot) and in the floater range (he’s at .609 which is also nearly 10% higher than his highest), but that may balance with the team success with GSW banishing Wiseman to the G-League.
2. Nikola Jokic
25.7 Pts / 11.1 Reb / 10.2 Ast / 1.5 Stl / 0.7 Blk
.629 FG / .324 3PT / .847 FT / .706 TS%
31.3 PER / .311 WS48 / 11.6 BPM / +14.4 RAPTOR
Jokic has been taking it easy this year as the Nuggets reintegrate Murray and Porter and integrate guys like KCP and Bruce Brown – his usage drop from 31.9% last season to 26.4% shows this. The two stats that most show his importance to the team and the justification to have him #2 on this list are 1. That the Nuggets have a 125.5 Ortg with him on the floor – that’s well above what the Celtics have done with their record breaking offense this year (122.2 Ortg); and 2. The Nuggets have a net rating of 13.0 with him on the floor and a -11.8 net rating with him off the court (these are BBRef stats – NBA.com has him with a net rating over 14). He has an uphill battle to actually win the award as the voters are incredibly unlikely to vote him for a third time, but there is a chance.
3. Jason Tatum
31.0 Pts / 7.7 Reb / 4.4 Ast / 0.9 Stl / 1.1 Blk
.488 FG / .366 3PT / .873 FT / .635 TS%
27.5 PER / .236 WS48 / 7.3 BPM / +7.7 RAPTOR
Tatum is the best player on by far the best team in the league to this point. Pretty much across the board, he is having the best statistical year of his career, outside of three point shooting and if he keeps anything near this level up he is a guaranteed first team All-NBA selection. If the team AND him keep this up, I think he’ll likely take the MVP unless either the Nuggets or Warriors end up with the top seed in the west and Jokic and Curry slightly improve their stats.
Tier 2
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
34.3 Pts / 12.6 Reb / 6.1 Ast / 1.0 Stl / 1.1 Blk
.533 FG / .232 3PT / .608 FT / .579 TS%
28.8 PER / .203 WS48 / 8.6 BPM / +4.8 RAPTOR
Giannis is having a down year as he carries an absolutely bonkers load. His Usage rate (39.4%) is the highest of his career by two points and is currently #3 all time behind Westbrook’s MVP season and Harden the year after he won the MVP. The Bucks are the best D in the league though and Giannis is a huge reason for that. We’ll see if the reintegration of Connaughton and the return of Middleton can help take some of the load off and let Giannis improve his efficiency (and quit taking so many bad 3s).
5. Devin Booker
28.6 Pts / 4.2 Reb / 5.7 Ast / 1.1 Stl / 0.5 Blk
.489 FG / .378 3PT / .878 FT / .600 TS%
24.0 PER / .205 WS48 / 5.7 BPM / +6.6 RAPTOR
I can’t really come up with a reason why he deserves to be quite this high other than I think the Suns are kind of a mediocre team when they are starting Torrey Craig and Cameron Payne but Booker is leading the Suns to another fantastic season while mostly missing out on Paul/Cam Johnson and completely missing out on Crowder. The Suns have probably been playing the second best basketball in the NBA behind the Celtics and there has been a lot of turmoil around the team and roster so Booker deserves that credit.
6. Luka Doncic
32.2 Pts / 8.3 Reb / 8.3 Ast / 1.8 Stl / 0.5 Blk
.505 FG / .331 3PT / .712 FT / .606 TS%
31.3 PER / .258 WS48 / 10.7 BPM / +9.4 RAPTOR
Luka is putting up a magnificent statistical season but the team around him has totally let him down, but I’m starting to wonder if that is a bug of his style of play. Also, his three point shooting is sneakily starting to kill the offense a bit. He’s shooting 33% which seems like it should be an outlier for somebody that bombs away as much as he does but he’s only a 33.7% career shooter on over 8 a game. If the team around him starts hitting threes, he'll look better in a month or so.
Honorable Mention
Kevin Durant
If they end up a top 4 seed, he’ll likely end up in this discussion for real. Offensively, he’s not quite where he was a decade ago but he’s playing great on both sides of the floor.
Anthony Davis
He’s quietly having one of the better years of his career statistically. If the Lakers make a trade to improve the non-Davis/Lebron roster they may make a second half run which could jolt him into the discussion… if he doesn’t get hurt.
Ja Morant
He has slowed down since the first half dozen games this year but the Grizz are off to a mediocre start and Ja got hurt and missed a few games. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up in the top 5.
jvdesigns2002
Footballguy
Very nice win for a short handed Hawks team last night. No Trae, no John Collins, No Deandre Hunter—and to beat the Nuggets (who were admittedly without Porter Jr) is pretty solid. I feel like the Hawks are bound to be very inconsistent until at least the all star break—but I do think they are a team to watch if they can get healthy, develop chemistry and get Trae, Murray, Collins, Hunter and Bogdanovic to all contribute game to game.
Nathan R. Jessep
Footballguy
Nugs handled tonight in the Blender. I was anxious for this game, because I knew it would be another good measuring stick. Alvarado off the bench with a career (and lifetime) high of 38. Crowd chanting his name at the end. Dude is the spark for our engine, no doubt. Everyone played well. No complaints from me. If you need me, I'll just be over here trying to temper my expectations. 
I was anxious for this game, because I knew it would be another good measuring stick. Alvarado off the bench with a career (and lifetime) high of 38. Crowd chanting his name at the end. Dude is the spark for our engine, no doubt. Everyone played well. No complaints from me. If you need me, I'll just be over here trying to temper my expectations.
msudaisy26
Footballguy
Someone talk me off the ledge. I am finding it more and more difficult to watch regular season games right now and take anything away from it. Almost every team we are watching right now is going to be very different by time March rolls around with the exception of a few tanking teams and maybe a team or two that runs away with their division/conference.
I never thought I would said it or feel this way, but there are just too many games. The NBA needs to start at Christmas and reduce the number of games. I know they will never do the latter, but then just make the season go into July or August.
Sorry for the rant.
I never thought I would said it or feel this way, but there are just too many games. The NBA needs to start at Christmas and reduce the number of games. I know they will never do the latter, but then just make the season go into July or August.
Sorry for the rant.
mr. furley
Footballguy
you're not wrong. teams rest guys. half the time players don't try hard if they don't feel like it.
it's a long, long season but it sucks tuning in to a game and watching 3 players loafing around like they are at a half speed practice some nights.
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
I think it some sort of fashion it's how many fans feel now. Way too many meaningless games.... without top players (and beyond).
Not a coincidence IMO the price of League Pass dipped considerably this season.
Players run the league right now. You could probably make it a 40 game season and you'd have the load management issues
Orange&Blue
Footballguy
I'm about to jump on the fire Malone camp. His rotations and flat out refusal to play younger players (Braun and Zeke) is illogical. There is no reason for Zeke to get 1/3 the playing time of Jordan or Braun to get 1/3 the time of Ish or Reed.
Nuggets brought in Brown and KCP and our defense is worse... Sorry, that's coaching.
Nuggets brought in Brown and KCP and our defense is worse... Sorry, that's coaching.
the moops
Footballguy
They have the 2nd best record in the conference and you want to fire the coach?
Orange&Blue
Footballguy
Kev4029
Footballguy
The Nuggets are playing inconsistently and the defense on the whole has been pretty bad but it is MUCH more of a bench issue than a starting unit issue, which is mostly good news. The 4 man lineup of Murray-KCP-Gordon-Jokic has an offensive rating of 121.7 (the Celtics as a team have the highest ever Ortg at 120.7) and a defensive rating of 108.3 (that would slide in at 3rd best defense in the NBA behind Cleveland and Milwaukee). That four man group has played the third most minutes of any group in the NBA (behind GSW's 4 main starters and ATL minus a center). When Jokic is on the floor the Nuggets have a 124.5 Offensive rating (uber-elite) and a 111.8 defensive rating (a little better than mid-pack).
I'm not worried yet. Defense is also about continuity and the only players that played a role on last year's team that are also playing a role on this year's team are Jokic, Gordon, Green, and Bones.
Regarding the young guys, Braun doesn't deserve a full time role at this point. He's fun and makes a couple great plays a game (flashes like that are a great sign for his future) but he has been fairly destructive offensively with a TS% of .478 for somebody that is getting nothing but open looks. I do feel like switching out Jeff Green for Nnaji is the right move though. The problem is backup center is, and has been, a huge issue for the Nuggets for a few years, and Nnaji is definitively not a center at this point. Jordan has been less worse than anticipated, but he's more of a third center type that neither improves the offense or the defense.
As it has been since Jokic really took over in 16-17, their bench is terrible and the biggest criticism I have of Malone is he plays too many platoon lineups which have never worked with the bench group other than for half a season last year when Cousins was playing his best. If everybody can get healthy, I think Malone will start to play more of Murray and/or Porter with the bench group and things will get better. I do think that Nnaji will ultimate be an end of the bench player that moves on after his rookie contract and goes on to some success somewhere else - he would look great with how the Raptors play.
the moops
Footballguy
Consistently? No
Sometimes when you watch too much of one team it is difficult to see clearly.
Anyway - no team is firing their coach when they are 14-9 and have a positive point differential
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
I don't think that the load management is that much due to the players' desires. In general, players want to play. Teams want to protect their investment on a longer-term basis. I don't think that there would be nearly the load management if teams only played twice a week.
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