Completely arbitrary number but Wiggins in his past 15 games, 29% from 3. I had confidence in Oubres shot coming around but I can't say the same for Wiggins. His career high is 35% from 3 in his 3rd year and since then it's been 33% every year. It's unlikely he improved it as much as it seemed earlier in the year, but I also think he's not this bad. I'm guessing his percentage will settle between 33-35 which honestly isn't that good. He's not aggressive enough going to the rim to make up for it imo. He settles way too often. I really wish he was on a better contract.
Would take 34-35% honestly. Considering he's shooting 66% from the line and a frigid 36% on long 2s (SEE WHY I HATE THEM?), it's pretty evident that he's not become a better shooter in Golden State.
Another problematic aspect: His % at the rim is lower than it has been in the prior 2 years (only by a bit though - by around 1.5%). However, his Free Throw Rate is the lowest of his career. He's already on a weird trajectory (going from an excellent foul-drawer in his first 2 years in the league to a mediocre one), but this is the lowest in his career. Assist % is also the lowest in 2 years (by a lot - down from ~18% to 10.2%). It's weird - he was always a greatly inefficient self-creator in Minnesota but it seems like he's completely lost any ability to create for himself and others. Usually, you could rely on him to create 20-25 inefficient points for himself on like 50-52% TS but we're not even getting that from him. Usually, I would be happy with that but considering our 2nd unit, I'd probably take 50-52% TS right now lol). Need to get him on some Steph Curry ball-handling skills as that's probably the biggest bottleneck in his game as he cannot get to the rim due to a poor handle and ends up in him taking bad jumpers.
That's a good way to describe his flat, sling shot, line-drive jump shot as well. Not sure if it's too late in his career to tweak shot mechanics but he's really got to get the ball up more... I'm willing to bet this is the single reason for his sub-par shooting over his career.
And for FWIW, he's somehow getting 1.23 PPP on Isolation plays (this is Harden, Kyrie, KD level)... wish I could break it down further... but I'm going to guess it's more to do with him getting to the basket than settling for long, mid-range pullups and fadeaways...
For someone who's not efficient at the mid range game like a Derozan I really don't know why he settles for it a lot. Guess that's what happens when your handles are shaky.
Yeah I think it's just that he can't get to the rim easily so he settles. Or maybe it's also that teams are giving it so he just takes it. If that's the case, it's on Kerr to tell him to stop
I ran through the opening possessions to figure out what went wrong leading up to the Lakers being up 18-5. Here's what I saw:
- Wiggins got torched by Schroder two or three times leading to at least 5 for the Lakers.
- Oubre, Wiggins, and Steph got decent looks from 3 but just missed them.
- Gasol made it impossible for Looney to score around the rim even when he got the ball in good position.
- Steph had some miscommunications on defense that led to the Lakers getting 3-point plays. (He and Looney didn't cleanly unswitch Morris under the basket; he and Oubre both jumped at KCP leaving Lebron an open 3 on a pick & pop.)
Later the Lakers closed the quarter on an 11-0 run, mostly fueled by turnovers and transition offense. Lebron forced two turnovers from Green, Steph just fell over, Bazemore took it into trouble... Then poor transition defense from Curry and Oubre left Wiseman in some tough spots defensively.
Mulder came in and played some really strong defense, but for naught. He, Steph, and others had good looks they just missed, and several guys just committed dumb fouls (a trend that would continue all night).
So, my takeaways from this game are that our whole team just played badly, Wiggins can't defend Schroder, and Gasol is still an elite rim protector. It's not fair to pin this one on guys like Wanamaker; we were down 20 before he even got in the game. It's really the starters who bear the most responsibility for this one.
Guys who did alright this game: JTA and Mulder, Paschall maybe. That's about it.
Hope Draymond's ankle injury is nothing. Anything else would be the worst takeaway of all.
Mulder was 1/6 from the field (1/4 from three). He only gets minutes because of his three point shooting threat; if he isn't making those, there's not much else he can contribute.
Respectfully, I don't think so. His turnover and bad foul were big parts of the 11-0 run I mentioned, and while he did knock down shots at a better rate than other guys it doesn't make up for the fact he was a part of the Lakers' parade to the line.
He was the only positive plus-minus guy on the team, for what that’s worth. But yeah, everyone pretty much sucked last night. Especially Wiggins and Wiseman.
I missed this game, dinner at Mom's, and DoorDash was 90 minutes (!) late, and even so it appears the Dubs had a more frustrating evening than my family did. I see Paschall got 18 and Wanamaker and Steph combined for 13 assists but the foul numbers look awful and everything else looks pretty meh. Most of the Lakers numbers look decent but not amazing. But that's just the obvious numbers. It sounds like the reality is we got used as a floor mop. Maybe I was better off missing it.
"If he fails to answer, he is lost. If he answers, he dies. What must he do?" Hmmm... drop the t-shirts, grab the rafters with his now-free hands, go hand-over-hand to the side, climb down, and flagrantly foul the man who shouted at him because that man must be the Buddha?
Wiggins and a first (not Minn)? Kings probably say no though. The real try shit trade is:
Wiggins + Wiseman for Barnes + Holmes + Haliburton. Don't know if I do that though as I don't believe Haliburton will ever be more than a Brogdon type due to incredibly limited self-creation. If Kings throw in their unprotected first this year (probably no but they might do it cos Kangz + if they love Wiseman), that would be an incredible trade for us. Maybe we throw in a future first if they are giving their pick this year.
Probably overvaluing Wiseman in that trade though (do they even do Wiseman for Haliburton straight up right now?).
They definitely wouldn't throw in this year's pick in what's supposed to be a stacked top draft. I also wonder about whether they'd do Wiseman for Hali straight up. This is a guy who told teams not to draft him so he could go to the Kings. I don't know if you can trade a player that's willing to come there lol
A boy was given a horse for his 16th birthday. The villagers said, "how lucky." The wise man said, "we'll see." The next day he fell off the horse and broke a leg. The villagers said, "how tragic." The wise man said, "we'll see." The next day a local warlord came and snatched up all the healthy male 16 year olds to fight in his sure to lose war. The villagers said, "how luck the boy is." The wise man said, "we'll see."
Process is all. Results can not be compelled, or even wholly earned, but are gifts from God. In other words, man plans, God laughs.
But it still doesn't mean we should sacrifice a goat every now and then. Or kill a chicken.
Well, onto the next game, which is the Blazers. They're gonna face against the Hornets tomorrow before they go up against us this Wednesday. They're also on a four-game losing streak.
Yes, please zap that from my memory. What a disappointing end to the weekend. I had planned on offering more positive comments rather than pointing out things I think the Dubs need to improve on, but, well, you know the rest…
Some thoughts/observations:
* One of my main issues with Curry is that he’s not more of a leader. He leads in the sense that he’s selfless and happy-go-lucky and the ethos and culture of the team takes after him. And that’s a joy to watch. But he’s not a leader in the sense of Chris Paul, LBJ, or Jordan. He doesn’t command that kind of respect. I don’t necessarily need him to be that; although it would be nice if he had a little more of that mentality. What I do want from him, though, is to be more assertive about his offensive role on the team. As a superstar and the greatest shooter of all time I’d like to see him stop trying to get others going and/or letting others get theirs before him, and be more demanding about getting the ball and making sure his teammates know that he’s the alpha, so they treat and play with him accordingly. In the vein of what D-West said: “F*ck those guys. You gotta go!”
* Can’t stress enough how detrimental Wanamaker’s play is to the team. Because he can’t facilitate or score, the second unit as a whole is pretty much guaranteed to lose any gains the starters make. This puts so much pressure on the first unit. Not to mention Kerr can’t trust him and thus can’t form a steady second unit or solid rotations. If Brad doesn’t step it up it’ll be pretty disappointing if Meyers doesn’t move him.
* I keep think-hoping the Dubs will stabilize and be more consistent. But now I’m not so sure that’s on the horizon. Can’t tell if it’s the team or if it’s a reflection of the times we live in.
* I was half-expecting Wiggins to eventually return to his baseline but the eye test says he’s dipped below that, especially from 3. Even his defense looks to be regressing. Anyone got any stats on him for the last month, as compared to the rest of the season?
* At least the starters got some extra rest and the bench got more work in.
"As a superstar and the greatest shooter of all time I’d like to see him stop trying to get others going and/or letting others get theirs before him" - I agree. I think part of that may be that for most of his career he had Klay to set up, and for three years he also had KD. Getting them going first made all kinds of sense. Now it's a different team.
A totally different team. But I also agree with what David West implied: that Curry's non-confrontational mentality can be a hindrance in this league, and it would better serve him and the team if he added just a little more alpha to his mindset. West was speaking to the KD years, but it applies just as much or more now.
I agree too. But this year we have seen him take over game for 2 min stretches in each quarters. I think it's there - may be he just saves it for winnable situations
Completely arbitrary number but Wiggins in his past 15 games, 29% from 3. I had confidence in Oubres shot coming around but I can't say the same for Wiggins. His career high is 35% from 3 in his 3rd year and since then it's been 33% every year. It's unlikely he improved it as much as it seemed earlier in the year, but I also think he's not this bad. I'm guessing his percentage will settle between 33-35 which honestly isn't that good. He's not aggressive enough going to the rim to make up for it imo. He settles way too often. I really wish he was on a better contract.
Would take 34-35% honestly. Considering he's shooting 66% from the line and a frigid 36% on long 2s (SEE WHY I HATE THEM?), it's pretty evident that he's not become a better shooter in Golden State.
Another problematic aspect: His % at the rim is lower than it has been in the prior 2 years (only by a bit though - by around 1.5%). However, his Free Throw Rate is the lowest of his career. He's already on a weird trajectory (going from an excellent foul-drawer in his first 2 years in the league to a mediocre one), but this is the lowest in his career. Assist % is also the lowest in 2 years (by a lot - down from ~18% to 10.2%). It's weird - he was always a greatly inefficient self-creator in Minnesota but it seems like he's completely lost any ability to create for himself and others. Usually, you could rely on him to create 20-25 inefficient points for himself on like 50-52% TS but we're not even getting that from him. Usually, I would be happy with that but considering our 2nd unit, I'd probably take 50-52% TS right now lol). Need to get him on some Steph Curry ball-handling skills as that's probably the biggest bottleneck in his game as he cannot get to the rim due to a poor handle and ends up in him taking bad jumpers.
> weird trajectory
That's a good way to describe his flat, sling shot, line-drive jump shot as well. Not sure if it's too late in his career to tweak shot mechanics but he's really got to get the ball up more... I'm willing to bet this is the single reason for his sub-par shooting over his career.
And for FWIW, he's somehow getting 1.23 PPP on Isolation plays (this is Harden, Kyrie, KD level)... wish I could break it down further... but I'm going to guess it's more to do with him getting to the basket than settling for long, mid-range pullups and fadeaways...
For someone who's not efficient at the mid range game like a Derozan I really don't know why he settles for it a lot. Guess that's what happens when your handles are shaky.
Yeah I think it's just that he can't get to the rim easily so he settles. Or maybe it's also that teams are giving it so he just takes it. If that's the case, it's on Kerr to tell him to stop
ball-handling drills* sorry.
Will you get me some of that tea that me and Lapsang got when we were free climbing the Mayan ruins?
Just give into the power of the tea...
I ran through the opening possessions to figure out what went wrong leading up to the Lakers being up 18-5. Here's what I saw:
- Wiggins got torched by Schroder two or three times leading to at least 5 for the Lakers.
- Oubre, Wiggins, and Steph got decent looks from 3 but just missed them.
- Gasol made it impossible for Looney to score around the rim even when he got the ball in good position.
- Steph had some miscommunications on defense that led to the Lakers getting 3-point plays. (He and Looney didn't cleanly unswitch Morris under the basket; he and Oubre both jumped at KCP leaving Lebron an open 3 on a pick & pop.)
Later the Lakers closed the quarter on an 11-0 run, mostly fueled by turnovers and transition offense. Lebron forced two turnovers from Green, Steph just fell over, Bazemore took it into trouble... Then poor transition defense from Curry and Oubre left Wiseman in some tough spots defensively.
Mulder came in and played some really strong defense, but for naught. He, Steph, and others had good looks they just missed, and several guys just committed dumb fouls (a trend that would continue all night).
So, my takeaways from this game are that our whole team just played badly, Wiggins can't defend Schroder, and Gasol is still an elite rim protector. It's not fair to pin this one on guys like Wanamaker; we were down 20 before he even got in the game. It's really the starters who bear the most responsibility for this one.
Guys who did alright this game: JTA and Mulder, Paschall maybe. That's about it.
Hope Draymond's ankle injury is nothing. Anything else would be the worst takeaway of all.
Mulder was 1/6 from the field (1/4 from three). He only gets minutes because of his three point shooting threat; if he isn't making those, there's not much else he can contribute.
Bazemore also played okay, maybe best (or least bad) on the team, imo.
Respectfully, I don't think so. His turnover and bad foul were big parts of the 11-0 run I mentioned, and while he did knock down shots at a better rate than other guys it doesn't make up for the fact he was a part of the Lakers' parade to the line.
He was the only positive plus-minus guy on the team, for what that’s worth. But yeah, everyone pretty much sucked last night. Especially Wiggins and Wiseman.
Bring Nico up to take Brad's spot. It's time
One more week.
He wouldn't take Brad's spot on the roster but he could take some of his minutes within the time allowed by his two-way contract.
Wow, I sure got that wrong. I figured they'd stay to the end next week.
I missed this game, dinner at Mom's, and DoorDash was 90 minutes (!) late, and even so it appears the Dubs had a more frustrating evening than my family did. I see Paschall got 18 and Wanamaker and Steph combined for 13 assists but the foul numbers look awful and everything else looks pretty meh. Most of the Lakers numbers look decent but not amazing. But that's just the obvious numbers. It sounds like the reality is we got used as a floor mop. Maybe I was better off missing it.
"If he fails to answer, he is lost. If he answers, he dies. What must he do?" Hmmm... drop the t-shirts, grab the rafters with his now-free hands, go hand-over-hand to the side, climb down, and flagrantly foul the man who shouted at him because that man must be the Buddha?
Lmao Apricot, I don't know what kind of write up this is, but I absolutely love it!
Some study basketball. Some study philosophy. Some pugs study both, knowing that they are one and the same.
We need to save HB from Sactown. 28-6-6 and still gets the L.
Wiggins and a first (not Minn)? Kings probably say no though. The real try shit trade is:
Wiggins + Wiseman for Barnes + Holmes + Haliburton. Don't know if I do that though as I don't believe Haliburton will ever be more than a Brogdon type due to incredibly limited self-creation. If Kings throw in their unprotected first this year (probably no but they might do it cos Kangz + if they love Wiseman), that would be an incredible trade for us. Maybe we throw in a future first if they are giving their pick this year.
Probably overvaluing Wiseman in that trade though (do they even do Wiseman for Haliburton straight up right now?).
They definitely wouldn't throw in this year's pick in what's supposed to be a stacked top draft. I also wonder about whether they'd do Wiseman for Hali straight up. This is a guy who told teams not to draft him so he could go to the Kings. I don't know if you can trade a player that's willing to come there lol
yeah they missed the last 5 of 6 fts in the last minute or 2 i think. Some A+ tanking
Championship defense meets mediocre offense and results in an ugly loss unless scorers other than Steph rise to the challenge.
I don't think Steph rose to the challenge. He did nothing the first quarter. That's when he has to lift the team up. He was deferring way too much imo
You know if he misses a ft and dribbling the ball all over the place he's not focused
Wiggins better not be in Schroder next time we play them. At this point I feel like Steph would do better
Lmao!!!
Worst game of the year. Best post-game write-up.
A boy was given a horse for his 16th birthday. The villagers said, "how lucky." The wise man said, "we'll see." The next day he fell off the horse and broke a leg. The villagers said, "how tragic." The wise man said, "we'll see." The next day a local warlord came and snatched up all the healthy male 16 year olds to fight in his sure to lose war. The villagers said, "how luck the boy is." The wise man said, "we'll see."
Process is all. Results can not be compelled, or even wholly earned, but are gifts from God. In other words, man plans, God laughs.
But it still doesn't mean we should sacrifice a goat every now and then. Or kill a chicken.
Can this wise man defend the pick and roll?
Well, onto the next game, which is the Blazers. They're gonna face against the Hornets tomorrow before they go up against us this Wednesday. They're also on a four-game losing streak.
6. “The wild Dubs do not intend to cast their reflections; the Lakers have no mind to retain their image.” — Zenrin Kushu
Yes, please zap that from my memory. What a disappointing end to the weekend. I had planned on offering more positive comments rather than pointing out things I think the Dubs need to improve on, but, well, you know the rest…
Some thoughts/observations:
* One of my main issues with Curry is that he’s not more of a leader. He leads in the sense that he’s selfless and happy-go-lucky and the ethos and culture of the team takes after him. And that’s a joy to watch. But he’s not a leader in the sense of Chris Paul, LBJ, or Jordan. He doesn’t command that kind of respect. I don’t necessarily need him to be that; although it would be nice if he had a little more of that mentality. What I do want from him, though, is to be more assertive about his offensive role on the team. As a superstar and the greatest shooter of all time I’d like to see him stop trying to get others going and/or letting others get theirs before him, and be more demanding about getting the ball and making sure his teammates know that he’s the alpha, so they treat and play with him accordingly. In the vein of what D-West said: “F*ck those guys. You gotta go!”
* Can’t stress enough how detrimental Wanamaker’s play is to the team. Because he can’t facilitate or score, the second unit as a whole is pretty much guaranteed to lose any gains the starters make. This puts so much pressure on the first unit. Not to mention Kerr can’t trust him and thus can’t form a steady second unit or solid rotations. If Brad doesn’t step it up it’ll be pretty disappointing if Meyers doesn’t move him.
* I keep think-hoping the Dubs will stabilize and be more consistent. But now I’m not so sure that’s on the horizon. Can’t tell if it’s the team or if it’s a reflection of the times we live in.
* I was half-expecting Wiggins to eventually return to his baseline but the eye test says he’s dipped below that, especially from 3. Even his defense looks to be regressing. Anyone got any stats on him for the last month, as compared to the rest of the season?
* At least the starters got some extra rest and the bench got more work in.
"As a superstar and the greatest shooter of all time I’d like to see him stop trying to get others going and/or letting others get theirs before him" - I agree. I think part of that may be that for most of his career he had Klay to set up, and for three years he also had KD. Getting them going first made all kinds of sense. Now it's a different team.
A totally different team. But I also agree with what David West implied: that Curry's non-confrontational mentality can be a hindrance in this league, and it would better serve him and the team if he added just a little more alpha to his mindset. West was speaking to the KD years, but it applies just as much or more now.
Far be it from me to argue with David West, one of our original Three Wise Men!
I agree too. But this year we have seen him take over game for 2 min stretches in each quarters. I think it's there - may be he just saves it for winnable situations
Can't believe the Warriors got a 4 day break in between games. Can't wait to play the Blazers and try to extend this winning streak to 4!
That’s the spirit!