I am not sure how best to link this, or even if it is ok to post (sorry MT). But this story about CP3 at San Quentin makes me believe the Warriors are in for something special this year.
I am fully expecting that there will be some surprises in the West. There are some sleeper teams which could rise and not only challenge the Warriors but also the top teams like Denver and Phoenix. I'm not going to name names for fear of being wrong. lol. But watch closely............
I’ll name names: I think Golden State is gonna surprise a lot of people. 😊
But yeah, there are surprises in the West (and East) every season; and talent league-wide is deeper right now than it’s ever been, which narrows every’s team margin for success, or failure. We’re gonna see a bunch of teams outperform expectations (like last season’s Kings or Jazz) and a bunch underperform them (like last season’s Mavericks, Clippers, or Warriors).
Only certainty is that all 30 teams will combine to play .500 ball. (Edit: along with the near-certainty that none of them is gonna get anywhere near 73 wins).
This. We've turned an Achilles heel (bench play) into a strength. Most of the talking heads haven't caught on that the Saric-Kuminga combo is going to rock other second units worlds. They just want to talk about Paul.
We'll have some injuries (knock on wood), but we also have enough depth to weather an significant injury to almost anyone other than Steph in the regular season. So different than last year.
One thing that we may see play out; if Steph has one of his typical injuries that causes him to miss 10-25 games, I think this team is probably better equipped to handle his absence than any team in the post-KD era.
CP3 can go back to playing 30-35 minutes for a stretch and CoJo (or Podz?) can take over backup duties. CP3, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond, Loon is still a legit NBA lineup and a bench of JK, MM, Saric, CoJo, Gay, TJD and Garuba gives Kerr a lot of flexibility.
Completely agree. Usually, when Steph gets hurt, our offense goes in the dumpster. This year, we have a lot of weapons, and enough playmaking to make it work.
In the playoffs, probably only Steph and maybe Loon are the absolute "must keep healthy's". Draymond is also very important, and we don't win a chip if he's unavailable in the later rounds. But the reality is we probably have more backup for him than for Loon right now.
He’s my favorite guy on the team and his contributions are huge, but I think Loon not be irreplaceable any more. Especially with Kuminga looking starter-worthy at PF and Gay likely a good backup, you now have Draymond, Saric, Garuba and TJD to choose from. None of them are a Looney replicant, but they all bring additional ways of contributing to the pot luck.
I like our team. There are a number of players that could rise. Best bench in recent memory. It's gonna be fun watching them. Too bad the Sharks can't seem to rebuild themselves. Goaltending and Defense, the lackthereof.
I hear you. But there’s a long and noble tradition of nicknames being passed on in sports. Quiet Storm can be to the Warriors bench what ‘Sugar Ray’ or “Pretty Boy” is to boxing.
My favorite Wiseman moment will always be the time that Dray got a tech for chewing out the rookie (which the ref mistakenly thought was directed at him).
Very happy for Wise. Had back-to-back-to-back buckets at one point in the 3rd. Some aggressive rebounding, even once ripping the ball from a teammate. May we see more of that. A big part in the Pistons comeback this game. Michael Cage, the OKC commentator, former Sonic, solid pro despite limitations to his game, said something about Wiseman fighting for his career. The Windex Man would know something about that. I wish James Wiseman nothing but the best.
Will this be the year we regret trading Wise? Perhaps, but I’m still not convinced he’d get much playing with this year’s dubs. This year seems to be all about IQ, defense, ball movement and limiting turnovers.
Nah I don't think so. Even if he has success in Detroit (and I hope he does) it won't make us regret trading him because he turned out to be all wrong for the Dubs.
If it is the year it will be a very painful one for some of us Dubs fans. Some of us were screaming ALL YEAR for Steve Kerr to stop being so rigid, to learn there are multiple ways to win, to open to making SLIGHT modifications to get the best out of players. It all made no difference.
Case in point: One Wiseman issue that seems resolved or almost resolved is his screen-setting--JUST as I expected it would be if Kerr had SLIGHTLY changed the team approach. For the Dubs almost every screen entails the screener coming up to stand beside the opposing defender (which easily gets called a moving screen and often is a moving screen whether it is called or not--hence the (sometimes legitimate) anger at GSW in some quarters). The Pistons do that sometimes, too. But they usually run traditional screens where the ballhandler has to drive his man into the already stationary screener. Its amazing how such a tweak can change Wiseman from "He's a bust" to "He's contributing big time!". I believe Wiseman had difficulty learning the Dubs approach because he has already learned how to set screens, and the Dubs were teaching him to set moving screens, and he was already a foul machine. Now the Pistons are quickly getting him back to more traditional screens.
It seems like a VERY small tweak. We are talking no more than one or two feet of court distance. Maybe even less. But that 1-2 feet was apparently too much for Kerr to adjust so he could get the best out of such a promising talent. Coach Kerr obviously thought playing Anthony "I always help off the strong-side" Lamb of the New Zealand Breakers was more helpful to winning than one or two slight adjustments to unleash Wiseman's skills would be. Let's watch the story unfold, and see if it proves Steve was right or wrong. With Lamb in New Zealand, prioritizing Lamb over Wiseman is already not looking too good for Steve. BWAHAHAHAHA
James Wiseman was young and inexperienced when drafted (and still is).
IMO- His lack of success with GSW is not just on Steve Kerr and the coaching or playing styles.
Most young big men need time (several years) to develop their NBA game abilities. JW has not had that in his career. It is hard to be patient with high draft picks (see expectations for Jonathon Kuminga)... but when teams are picking players on athletic abilities and (possible) potential they need to accept this.
For the Warriors, I'm not sure if it was the front office, ownership, the veterans (probably some combination of those) who did not have the patience to let their very young, very talented, but inexperienced big man draft pick grow with the team.
I don't think Kerr and coaches were really given the opportunity to show what they could do with a tall young talented athletic player.
> His lack of success with GSW is not just on Steve Kerr and the coaching or playing styles.
I agree. There are always MULTIPLE factors. But if Steve Kerr gets a big chunk of the kudos when things go well, he gets a big chunk of the boos when things don't. And as he is the one responsible for deciding who plays when and how, its hard to not give him some big part of the responsibility. I mean, if Wiseman wasn't gonna play, send him to Santa Cruz for the year. No one gained anything sitting him on the bench for dozens of games.
> I don't think Kerr and coaches were really given the opportunity to show what they could do with a tall young talented athletic player.
Have to disagree here. As Kerr is a team decision-maker, if there was a lack of "opportunity to show what they could do with a tall young talented athletic player" who's fault is that?
My biggest issue with Kerr and Wiseman was the decision to start him in his first game as a rookie. From what I remember Marquess Chriss (sp?) was the best center on the team that preseason and should have "won" the starting job.
Wiseman was thrown in to a high pressure situation with very little preparation. The results were expectably uneven and then injuries took valuable experiential and learning time from his development.
For me the lack of opportunity was a result of limited playing time due to injury and win record considerations that dictated roster decisions and did not allow minutes for a developing big man (again see JK usage) .
Yes, Steve Kerr (I think) makes the playing time decisions, but he has to weigh those "MULTIPLE factors"... and his primary focus is on the team's current season W-L. A young player's long term growth may not always align so well with that. I do not necessarily blame the coach for the situation that the team management has chosen to draft itself into.
I mean, even if he turns out to be a superstar we did what we had to do. Our timeline just didn't match his. He was never going to succeed here while rotting on the bench.
Oct 13, 2023·edited Oct 13, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot
I'm rewatching the first preseason game.
One play caught my attention (3:04 in the first) ... it was kind of a scattered break, so I don't know if it was by design but:
Saric was at the top of the 3 point circle, GPII in the weak side corner, Moody up high above the 3 point line ... Podz came up and took his man up beyond the 3 point line, high.
Kuminga ducks down to the strong side elbow. Saric makes a high-> low pass to get him the ball.
Kuminga's man (Prince) was there, but nobody else was within eight feet of Kuminga. He drove to the rim and got fouled.
If Kuminga learns to pass out of that action, then I don't know what other teams can do. Anyone who leaves his man to double will leave an open shooter, and everyone is so spread out, the rotation would be very tough.
Kuminga has only one defender to beat, open lanes on either side, and no one close enough to hedge and swipe at the ball (which would stop his drives in previous years).
I think that play could end up being peak second unit basketball. I guess it's not really five out, but pretty close to it. No rim protector at all, because Saric is 27 ft out on the court, and must be guarded.
I've always wanted them to play 5 out to maximize our passing (and now that we have Wiggs/Kuminga, to give them an open floor to drive).
But the only time we had the personnel to do so was with Bjelica. I think we're going to see it this year. And, this year, we have two slashers (Kuminga and Wiggs), and Moody seems like he's starting to do that, as well.
In accord with Daniel’s line of thinking, (I think?) I love small ball. I love team ball. Not a fan of ball dominant players. Yeah, if jwise worked out, I’d be all in. But perfect Warriors BB is positionless and a position-perfect big that can’t protect the periphery, shoot from outside, or see the floor well doesn’t work with Kerr-ball. I like Shaq-the-man, but the player was the epitome of no-fun ball. The new generation of giants may all be like KD - that seems to be the hype - but I’ll believe that when their team dominates. Until then, I’ll take a pass and root for our highBBIQ TEAM to run them off the floor.
Totally agree the motion offense is fun--its definitely fun to watch, and it looks fun to play. Question is, does a mobile big fit in a motion offense AS ANOTHER MOTION PLAYER? I think so.
Wiseman can handle the ball. Wemby is an even better ballhandler. Kerr tried to make Wiseman a taller version of 2018 Looney. That failed. Stick Wiseman or Wemby into a motion offense with an imaginative coach who sees them as ANOTHER motion player and they'll blow your short highBBIQ TEAM off the court. Because basically all we would be doing is replacing a player like Loon with a more mobile, ball-handling, passing big. The Dubs had one of those with Bogut (passing) and that team was better than the current version of the Dubs. It was arguably even better than the KD Dubs if you look at the 73-win season. Having a mobile big play as a mobile player doesn't mean you have to do that every time down the court. It would just be another threat defenses have to worry about. Its hard to say that adding MORE ability and more options to Bogut would have made the motion offense LESS effective.
I see that. I’m thinking Daniel’s point is that it may be difficult to spot the between-the-ears intangibles that allow a Bogut or a Looney to fit. Wemby’s offensive highlights are certainly eye-popping. (I haven’t watched an entire game yet.) But those highlights may be overrated in the same way our best player was underrated. As Warriors fans, we’ve seen super teams with super players fall time and again to the “they too little, Ernie” dubs. Love that dynamic. And I’ll have a big bowl of popcorn ready on Friday Nov 24 when the Spurs come to town. We’ll see what the rookie can do!
Yeah, I agree figuring out BBIQ from tape and workouts is tough. But that goes for every offense and defense a team might play.
I should've also noted I am right with you in preferring motion offenses to offenses built around one or two ball dominant players. But KD was right that you need one or more players that can get their own shot in crunch time. Historically that was a big advantage of traditional centers. So having a mobile, ball-handling, passing big who can ALSO go down low when playoff defenses tighten and still a)get you a bucket or b)demand a double-team to open up someone else is a GIGANTIC advantage.
The basic point is this:
More weapons, more options >>>> fewer weapons, fewer options.
If we can choose only one option, it would be Daniel, fearless DNHQ leader, let it go. There is only the mirage of Wiseman Island. And shout out to Duby Dub Dubs…miss you.
Initially, I thought so too... but it looks like these are the guys that are going to be "in the house" for the Fan Fest event. It's the afternoon after the last pre-season game, so I imagine Lester is probably going to be hanging onto his opportunity to get time with the big club. Podz & TJD have roster spots for sure, Gui is in SCW for sure and not even a part of preseason activity.
I had not even considered a Wiseman comp but it's not that far off ... in theory. Which reminds us just how much the theoretical constructs of prospects sometimes do not match what we see on the court. Wiseman may yet turn out turn out to be an all-star but I don't think anyone would argue that so far he's only been a bust, meaning of no help in winning, or even has made winning harder. He has many years to turn that around but he's no insta-arrival superstar. Which puts Chet and Wemby in perspective. Like maybe the year to truly evaluate them will be 2030. But it's a fascinating early debate, that's for sure. The thing about the Bird Magic comp is that they started owning fools from day one, and I don't see that happening here.
Some guys do come into the league and show out immediately, and Bird and Magic were all stars right away. Of course Bird played three years of college ball and was 23 years old his rookie year. But Magic played two years in college and was just 20 his rookie year.
I am not sure how best to link this, or even if it is ok to post (sorry MT). But this story about CP3 at San Quentin makes me believe the Warriors are in for something special this year.
https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/176jgsv/mt_at_his_absolute_best_telling_the_story_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
I am fully expecting that there will be some surprises in the West. There are some sleeper teams which could rise and not only challenge the Warriors but also the top teams like Denver and Phoenix. I'm not going to name names for fear of being wrong. lol. But watch closely............
I’ll name names: I think Golden State is gonna surprise a lot of people. 😊
But yeah, there are surprises in the West (and East) every season; and talent league-wide is deeper right now than it’s ever been, which narrows every’s team margin for success, or failure. We’re gonna see a bunch of teams outperform expectations (like last season’s Kings or Jazz) and a bunch underperform them (like last season’s Mavericks, Clippers, or Warriors).
Only certainty is that all 30 teams will combine to play .500 ball. (Edit: along with the near-certainty that none of them is gonna get anywhere near 73 wins).
This. We've turned an Achilles heel (bench play) into a strength. Most of the talking heads haven't caught on that the Saric-Kuminga combo is going to rock other second units worlds. They just want to talk about Paul.
We'll have some injuries (knock on wood), but we also have enough depth to weather an significant injury to almost anyone other than Steph in the regular season. So different than last year.
One thing that we may see play out; if Steph has one of his typical injuries that causes him to miss 10-25 games, I think this team is probably better equipped to handle his absence than any team in the post-KD era.
CP3 can go back to playing 30-35 minutes for a stretch and CoJo (or Podz?) can take over backup duties. CP3, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond, Loon is still a legit NBA lineup and a bench of JK, MM, Saric, CoJo, Gay, TJD and Garuba gives Kerr a lot of flexibility.
Completely agree. Usually, when Steph gets hurt, our offense goes in the dumpster. This year, we have a lot of weapons, and enough playmaking to make it work.
In the playoffs, probably only Steph and maybe Loon are the absolute "must keep healthy's". Draymond is also very important, and we don't win a chip if he's unavailable in the later rounds. But the reality is we probably have more backup for him than for Loon right now.
He’s my favorite guy on the team and his contributions are huge, but I think Loon not be irreplaceable any more. Especially with Kuminga looking starter-worthy at PF and Gay likely a good backup, you now have Draymond, Saric, Garuba and TJD to choose from. None of them are a Looney replicant, but they all bring additional ways of contributing to the pot luck.
Sleepy you seem to be implying that every single game - every one - will have exactly one winner and one loser. I’m in.
That's sum zero thinking right there.
But how does this jive with the fact that when Harden plays, we all lose?
He's got suite up first.
I like our team. There are a number of players that could rise. Best bench in recent memory. It's gonna be fun watching them. Too bad the Sharks can't seem to rebuild themselves. Goaltending and Defense, the lackthereof.
Kyrie still on the Mavs? Check.
Mavs on track to underperform? Check!
Okc? I could see it
They certainly have some good players and Shai is one of the best in the league. It helps to have a star like him around.
No guts, no receipts.
Yes, coward.........
G. P. 2.
“Quiet Storm”!!!!! Love it
Hm, that's CJ Watson's name though. Don't agree with using a former Dubs player's name.
I hear you. But there’s a long and noble tradition of nicknames being passed on in sports. Quiet Storm can be to the Warriors bench what ‘Sugar Ray’ or “Pretty Boy” is to boxing.
OT:
Mobile Suit Gundam has arrived:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/10/11/archax-robot-japan-cprog-lon-orig-ao.cnn
My favorite Wiseman moment will always be the time that Dray got a tech for chewing out the rookie (which the ref mistakenly thought was directed at him).
Thought for a moment there was a #40 sighting in the POR/PHX game but it turned out it was just Matisse Thybulle and his big hair
In other words, you had an Impression.
Nice! But if he tires out, you could say he was degas-sed
Needed him in the 4th but just couldn’t Guaguin?
He wanted to, but he couldn't get Toulouse
La trek to Toulouse is a long walk.
And he's not gonna do that unless he knows he's gonna get paid big Monet.
LOL :)
JP with a clunker
I see you, JDub!
23 minutes
20 pts on 8-8 fg (3-5 ft)
10 reb
Team-high +17 in a one-point game…
Very happy for Wise. Had back-to-back-to-back buckets at one point in the 3rd. Some aggressive rebounding, even once ripping the ball from a teammate. May we see more of that. A big part in the Pistons comeback this game. Michael Cage, the OKC commentator, former Sonic, solid pro despite limitations to his game, said something about Wiseman fighting for his career. The Windex Man would know something about that. I wish James Wiseman nothing but the best.
Will this be the year we regret trading Wise? Perhaps, but I’m still not convinced he’d get much playing with this year’s dubs. This year seems to be all about IQ, defense, ball movement and limiting turnovers.
Nah I don't think so. Even if he has success in Detroit (and I hope he does) it won't make us regret trading him because he turned out to be all wrong for the Dubs.
If it is the year it will be a very painful one for some of us Dubs fans. Some of us were screaming ALL YEAR for Steve Kerr to stop being so rigid, to learn there are multiple ways to win, to open to making SLIGHT modifications to get the best out of players. It all made no difference.
Case in point: One Wiseman issue that seems resolved or almost resolved is his screen-setting--JUST as I expected it would be if Kerr had SLIGHTLY changed the team approach. For the Dubs almost every screen entails the screener coming up to stand beside the opposing defender (which easily gets called a moving screen and often is a moving screen whether it is called or not--hence the (sometimes legitimate) anger at GSW in some quarters). The Pistons do that sometimes, too. But they usually run traditional screens where the ballhandler has to drive his man into the already stationary screener. Its amazing how such a tweak can change Wiseman from "He's a bust" to "He's contributing big time!". I believe Wiseman had difficulty learning the Dubs approach because he has already learned how to set screens, and the Dubs were teaching him to set moving screens, and he was already a foul machine. Now the Pistons are quickly getting him back to more traditional screens.
It seems like a VERY small tweak. We are talking no more than one or two feet of court distance. Maybe even less. But that 1-2 feet was apparently too much for Kerr to adjust so he could get the best out of such a promising talent. Coach Kerr obviously thought playing Anthony "I always help off the strong-side" Lamb of the New Zealand Breakers was more helpful to winning than one or two slight adjustments to unleash Wiseman's skills would be. Let's watch the story unfold, and see if it proves Steve was right or wrong. With Lamb in New Zealand, prioritizing Lamb over Wiseman is already not looking too good for Steve. BWAHAHAHAHA
James Wiseman was young and inexperienced when drafted (and still is).
IMO- His lack of success with GSW is not just on Steve Kerr and the coaching or playing styles.
Most young big men need time (several years) to develop their NBA game abilities. JW has not had that in his career. It is hard to be patient with high draft picks (see expectations for Jonathon Kuminga)... but when teams are picking players on athletic abilities and (possible) potential they need to accept this.
For the Warriors, I'm not sure if it was the front office, ownership, the veterans (probably some combination of those) who did not have the patience to let their very young, very talented, but inexperienced big man draft pick grow with the team.
I don't think Kerr and coaches were really given the opportunity to show what they could do with a tall young talented athletic player.
> His lack of success with GSW is not just on Steve Kerr and the coaching or playing styles.
I agree. There are always MULTIPLE factors. But if Steve Kerr gets a big chunk of the kudos when things go well, he gets a big chunk of the boos when things don't. And as he is the one responsible for deciding who plays when and how, its hard to not give him some big part of the responsibility. I mean, if Wiseman wasn't gonna play, send him to Santa Cruz for the year. No one gained anything sitting him on the bench for dozens of games.
> I don't think Kerr and coaches were really given the opportunity to show what they could do with a tall young talented athletic player.
Have to disagree here. As Kerr is a team decision-maker, if there was a lack of "opportunity to show what they could do with a tall young talented athletic player" who's fault is that?
My biggest issue with Kerr and Wiseman was the decision to start him in his first game as a rookie. From what I remember Marquess Chriss (sp?) was the best center on the team that preseason and should have "won" the starting job.
Wiseman was thrown in to a high pressure situation with very little preparation. The results were expectably uneven and then injuries took valuable experiential and learning time from his development.
For me the lack of opportunity was a result of limited playing time due to injury and win record considerations that dictated roster decisions and did not allow minutes for a developing big man (again see JK usage) .
Yes, Steve Kerr (I think) makes the playing time decisions, but he has to weigh those "MULTIPLE factors"... and his primary focus is on the team's current season W-L. A young player's long term growth may not always align so well with that. I do not necessarily blame the coach for the situation that the team management has chosen to draft itself into.
> I do not necessarily blame the coach for the situation that the team management has chosen to draft itself into.
Fair enough.
Click Click Click Click . . .
😈
We got GP2 back, so no.
I mean, even if he turns out to be a superstar we did what we had to do. Our timeline just didn't match his. He was never going to succeed here while rotting on the bench.
0 PF in 23 min, good for him
Bring on Wemby!
Wise is crushing it! Go ahead putback layup with under a minute!
I'm rewatching the first preseason game.
One play caught my attention (3:04 in the first) ... it was kind of a scattered break, so I don't know if it was by design but:
Saric was at the top of the 3 point circle, GPII in the weak side corner, Moody up high above the 3 point line ... Podz came up and took his man up beyond the 3 point line, high.
Kuminga ducks down to the strong side elbow. Saric makes a high-> low pass to get him the ball.
Kuminga's man (Prince) was there, but nobody else was within eight feet of Kuminga. He drove to the rim and got fouled.
If Kuminga learns to pass out of that action, then I don't know what other teams can do. Anyone who leaves his man to double will leave an open shooter, and everyone is so spread out, the rotation would be very tough.
Kuminga has only one defender to beat, open lanes on either side, and no one close enough to hedge and swipe at the ball (which would stop his drives in previous years).
I think that play could end up being peak second unit basketball. I guess it's not really five out, but pretty close to it. No rim protector at all, because Saric is 27 ft out on the court, and must be guarded.
Kuminga in the post with a stretch floor is going to be an issue I called for it last summer and got laughed at
I've always wanted them to play 5 out to maximize our passing (and now that we have Wiggs/Kuminga, to give them an open floor to drive).
But the only time we had the personnel to do so was with Bjelica. I think we're going to see it this year. And, this year, we have two slashers (Kuminga and Wiggs), and Moody seems like he's starting to do that, as well.
I know this was for fun, but Chet was a much better prospect than Wiseman. Wemby is on another planet.
It should be Mobley listed with these guys tbh
In accord with Daniel’s line of thinking, (I think?) I love small ball. I love team ball. Not a fan of ball dominant players. Yeah, if jwise worked out, I’d be all in. But perfect Warriors BB is positionless and a position-perfect big that can’t protect the periphery, shoot from outside, or see the floor well doesn’t work with Kerr-ball. I like Shaq-the-man, but the player was the epitome of no-fun ball. The new generation of giants may all be like KD - that seems to be the hype - but I’ll believe that when their team dominates. Until then, I’ll take a pass and root for our highBBIQ TEAM to run them off the floor.
One quick note. Outside of his stint with Dubs, no KD team has ever dominated. At least not yet.
Totally agree the motion offense is fun--its definitely fun to watch, and it looks fun to play. Question is, does a mobile big fit in a motion offense AS ANOTHER MOTION PLAYER? I think so.
Wiseman can handle the ball. Wemby is an even better ballhandler. Kerr tried to make Wiseman a taller version of 2018 Looney. That failed. Stick Wiseman or Wemby into a motion offense with an imaginative coach who sees them as ANOTHER motion player and they'll blow your short highBBIQ TEAM off the court. Because basically all we would be doing is replacing a player like Loon with a more mobile, ball-handling, passing big. The Dubs had one of those with Bogut (passing) and that team was better than the current version of the Dubs. It was arguably even better than the KD Dubs if you look at the 73-win season. Having a mobile big play as a mobile player doesn't mean you have to do that every time down the court. It would just be another threat defenses have to worry about. Its hard to say that adding MORE ability and more options to Bogut would have made the motion offense LESS effective.
I see that. I’m thinking Daniel’s point is that it may be difficult to spot the between-the-ears intangibles that allow a Bogut or a Looney to fit. Wemby’s offensive highlights are certainly eye-popping. (I haven’t watched an entire game yet.) But those highlights may be overrated in the same way our best player was underrated. As Warriors fans, we’ve seen super teams with super players fall time and again to the “they too little, Ernie” dubs. Love that dynamic. And I’ll have a big bowl of popcorn ready on Friday Nov 24 when the Spurs come to town. We’ll see what the rookie can do!
Yeah, I agree figuring out BBIQ from tape and workouts is tough. But that goes for every offense and defense a team might play.
I should've also noted I am right with you in preferring motion offenses to offenses built around one or two ball dominant players. But KD was right that you need one or more players that can get their own shot in crunch time. Historically that was a big advantage of traditional centers. So having a mobile, ball-handling, passing big who can ALSO go down low when playoff defenses tighten and still a)get you a bucket or b)demand a double-team to open up someone else is a GIGANTIC advantage.
The basic point is this:
More weapons, more options >>>> fewer weapons, fewer options.
If we can choose only one option, it would be Daniel, fearless DNHQ leader, let it go. There is only the mirage of Wiseman Island. And shout out to Duby Dub Dubs…miss you.
it's so hard Janet, but you're right!
FYI Santa Cruz Warriors Fan Fest is coming
>
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨 Special guests Gui Santos, Brandin Podziekmski and Trayce Jackson-Davis will be in the 🏠 for Fan Fest 🎊
🗓️ October 21st, 2023 🕐 1pm-3pm 🎟️ FREE ADMISSION
>
https://www.threads.net/@gleaguewarriors/post/CyT-XFfyr_T
So Gui is confirmed on the g league team again?
Odd that Lester isn't on that list.
Initially, I thought so too... but it looks like these are the guys that are going to be "in the house" for the Fan Fest event. It's the afternoon after the last pre-season game, so I imagine Lester is probably going to be hanging onto his opportunity to get time with the big club. Podz & TJD have roster spots for sure, Gui is in SCW for sure and not even a part of preseason activity.
to be fair, neither is Garuba or Robinson
I had not even considered a Wiseman comp but it's not that far off ... in theory. Which reminds us just how much the theoretical constructs of prospects sometimes do not match what we see on the court. Wiseman may yet turn out turn out to be an all-star but I don't think anyone would argue that so far he's only been a bust, meaning of no help in winning, or even has made winning harder. He has many years to turn that around but he's no insta-arrival superstar. Which puts Chet and Wemby in perspective. Like maybe the year to truly evaluate them will be 2030. But it's a fascinating early debate, that's for sure. The thing about the Bird Magic comp is that they started owning fools from day one, and I don't see that happening here.
Some guys do come into the league and show out immediately, and Bird and Magic were all stars right away. Of course Bird played three years of college ball and was 23 years old his rookie year. But Magic played two years in college and was just 20 his rookie year.
To whom?
To whoever is paying his next contract. Is this the final year of his deal?