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2017-2018 Around the NBA

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Rich said:
Yea, nothing wrong with Casspi.

But if I'm picking one player out of those 4...I want Ian Clark.

Casspi might find more minutes on the court than Nick Young. Its honestly hard to see where Young gets more than 15 minutes a night. He's a guard behind Curry, Thompson, and Livingston and he doesnt run the point as well as Iguodala.

They must have a lot of faith in Jordan Bell to not use their MLE on a big. They might keep Pachulia, but they'll be outbid for McGee, and David West is a Richard Jefferson level vet now. Not gonna play every night, useful in spot situations.

I found it odd they went the Nick Young route after getting Casspi and keeping both Iggy and Livingston.

Gonna do some way too early predictions later, but the big one: I think Houston has the 2nd best roster in the league and can challenge Golden State. If all Golden State rolls into next year with is Pachulia, Capella will be a problem.

I don't have to balls to pick Houston to beat them, but they have a better shot at it then we just did. Their bench is actually better between Gordon, Tucker and Nene, there is nowhere to hide Steph Curry, and Trevor Ariza is one the best true 3 and D wings in the world. And with two amazing creators, shooting open 3s is all he has to do.

Outside of Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler I don't think there's a defender I'd rather run at Durant.

I just hope they don't do something stupid and trade Ariza or Capela for Carmelo. That will legitimately worsen the matchup I feel.
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The beating the Cavs would've taken in here if they had signed Casspi would've been huge.
 
bboy said:
The beating the Cavs would've taken in here if they had signed Casspi would've been huge.
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that says more about the fanbase than anything
 
I genuinely don't think the Thunder could even win a game against the Warriors. Seems like a semi competitive sweep in the making
 
The Wizard of Moz said:
I genuinely don't think the Thunder could even win a game against the Warriors. Seems like a semi competitive sweep in the making
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Agreed....although a lot hinges on Steven Adam's development. He really fell off a cliff last year about half-way through the season. If he can show significant improvement and bring more toughness (like he did 2 years ago), it makes a huge difference in their overall play. They've got to get the fiery guy back who crashes the glass and plays with an edge. It was weird how he disappeared (my personal theory is he got a bit frustrated by Rusty cannibalizing his counting stats). With more balance in OKC now, you'd expect Westbrook to let the guys play their normal roles, and he would trust the system more.
 
billmac91 said:
Agreed....although a lot hinges on Steven Adam's development. He really fell off a cliff last year about half-way through the season. If he can show significant improvement and bring more toughness (like he did 2 years ago), it makes a huge difference in their overall play. They've got to get the fiery guy back who crashes the glass and plays with an edge. It was weird how he disappeared (my personal theory is he got a bit frustrated by Rusty cannibalizing his counting stats). With more balance in OKC now, you'd expect Westbrook to let the guys play their normal roles, and he would trust the system more.
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Adams fell off a cliff last year because teams took away the passing lanes between him and Russ. Because Westbrook's favorite targets are big men (this has to do with when he passes the ball on drives), it resulted in Adams being in poor positions, and thus taking low quality shots.

With Paul George and Patrick Patterson, though, it will be much more difficult for teams to take away the passing lanes between Russ and Adams. For evidence, remember what happened two years ago with Durant and Ibaka, which allowed Adams to feast against basically everyone.

The Thunder are going to be a really good team this year. The problem is that they have guys like Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler who take up loads of cap space and cannot play against the best teams in the NBA.

Also, on this note, that Roberson contract was outstanding. RPM ranks him as the 58th best player in the league, which is mainly a testament to his defense, but also because he is not as terrible on offense as people assume. Sure, he's arguably the worst shooter in the league, but he understands where he should be on thee floor to allow Westbrook the greatest playmaking potential, is arguably the best wing screener in the NBA, and is a solid rebounder.

Also, if you think back to the KD-Thunder, Roberson and Ibaka switched roles on offense. So Roberson essentially played as a midrange 4 instead of as a wing. Given Patterson's solid 3pt shooting and playmaking ability, my bet is that this happens again, and Roberson's shooting will be far less of a problem.
 
jking948 said:
Adams fell off a cliff last year because teams took away the passing lanes between him and Russ. Because Westbrook's favorite targets are big men (this has to do with when he passes the ball on drives), it resulted in Adams being in poor positions, and thus taking low quality shots.

With Paul George and Patrick Patterson, though, it will be much more difficult for teams to take away the passing lanes between Russ and Adams. For evidence, remember what happened two years ago with Durant and Ibaka, which allowed Adams to feast against basically everyone.

The Thunder are going to be a really good team this year. The problem is that they have guys like Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler who take up loads of cap space and cannot play against the best teams in the NBA.

Also, on this note, that Roberson contract was outstanding. RPM ranks him as the 58th best player in the league, which is mainly a testament to his defense, but also because he is not as terrible on offense as people assume. Sure, he's arguably the worst shooter in the league, but he understands where he should be on thee floor to allow Westbrook the greatest playmaking potential, is arguably the best wing screener in the NBA, and is a solid rebounder.

Also, if you think back to the KD-Thunder, Roberson and Ibaka switched roles on offense. So Roberson essentially played as a midrange 4 instead of as a wing. Given Patterson's solid 3pt shooting and playmaking ability, my bet is that this happens again, and Roberson's shooting will be far less of a problem.
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Those are good points....I'd add, it seemed Adam's play on the offensive side of the ball, seemed to effect him defensively as well....he was just in a funk. Then again, if OKC can score more efficiently this season and be able to get set defensively, it will probably elevate the entire team.

Anyways, I like Adams a lot, and hope he has a great year. When he's on, he's a load in the paint. I don't think their bench is as bad as people think with Semaj Christon, Doug McDermott, Jerami Grant, and Enes Kanter. But if they could shed a few of those guys for upgrades, or move the Singler contract, it'd be fun to see their bench take a huge step forward. Similar to the Cavs, they just cannot have another year where their superstar needs to stay on the court at all times or the game goes to shit.
 
Just a great signing by the Spurs to get Rudy Gay on a discounted deal.

Rudy wil be a great stretch 4 for them, and assuming they can't unload Aldridge, LaMarcus will increase his workload at center.

But Rudy as a release valve as a dribble penetrater from that stretch 4 position should be huge for Kawhi. I just like that fit so much....assuming Rudy can get healthy.
 
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Yea, I think Oklahoma City can give Golden State problems. Do not expect a sweep at all. Frankly, I think they're going to be a better version of what the Jazz were. They have defenders everywhere, including a great defensive center, but they have more 1on1 players to break the Warriors down. They can make the games into a grind fest.

Still, though, they don't have the offensive firepower to beat them over the course 7.
 
Rich said:
Yea, I think Oklahoma City can give Golden State problems. Do not expect a sweep at all. Frankly, I think they're going to be a better version of what the Jazz were. They have defenders everywhere, including a great defensive center, but they have more 1on1 players to break the Warriors down. They can make the games into a grind fest.

Still, though, they don't have the offensive firepower to beat them over the course 7.
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The other thing is where will GSW play Curry defensively? Curry's not as bad of a defender as many make it seem, however, he also can be exploited. Obviously the Warriors won't have him guard Westbrook nor George.

They could put him on Roberson, but given what the Thunder did when they had Ibaka, the former will be playing down low, meaning that Curry would get beat up a bit more.

The final option (and most likely, imo) would be to have him guard Patterson, who will be playing mainly as a perimeter player. But Patterson is 6'9, and I'm not sure Curry can do an effective job contesting the Patterson's shot.
 
Okay, so I've thought about it some more, and I don't think this Tim Hardaway Jr. deal is that bad. He was an RFA, hence the overpay, but he has some really good attributes.

First off, THJ ranked #11 amongst shooting guards in ORPM and #59 in DRPM. Second, per Synergy, THJ ranks in the top 15% of spot-up shooters and top 35% in transition shooters of all NBA players.

I've always felt like he maxed out as, at best, a high-level role player. So I suppose if you are really high on him, and think he can create an inside-out game with Porzingis, then this contract really is not that bad.

Overpay? 100%. Worst contract? Not so sure about that.

Thoughts @ACisKING?
 
The East
1. Cleveland

2. Miami
3. Boston
4. Milwaukee
5. Toronto
 
Knicks: "Gilbert, a year of not being the most embarrassing franchise has to make Melo = Love."
 
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