Am I the only one hoping for a series with the Suns? Sure, we beat a KD-led team in 2016 but so much has happened since then. I think it would be epic. There might never be another chance. And if it means the Kings get their long-simmered vengeance series v the Lakers then I’ll clear my schedule for that too!
Only if we have Wiggs back, and playing at a high level.
Otherwise, KD is just going to eat us for lunch. He'll get Kuminga in foul trouble, and no one other than Dray has the length to really bother his shot.
I've been watching these stats as well. A number of guys who might look good actually have shooting issues, sometimes paired with defensive issues. Cunningham, Barnes, Green, Giddey, Duarte, etc. Still others might just shoot themselves out of the NBA. Mitchell, Bouknight, Primo, Suggs. Wagner and Mobley seem very solid. Giddey and Barnes probably have enough all-around games to overcome these issues.
Yeah, Trey’s been *really* good: .625 career TS, .402 from 3 on high volume, with the kind of jump you want to see in a budding star (or “star 3 and D guy”) from year one to year two. 6’-9” elite shooters are rare. He’s pretty quick and athletic for his size, too.
**Really** relieved in retrospect that the Grizz didn’t pick him over Ziaire Williams. Imagine dealing with him alongside Ja, Bane, and JJJ?
I don’t think he has the same elite defensive versatility as JK; or on offense, quite the same potential as JK (or even Moody) to get the rim, set up teammates, and generally “connect” the game off the bounce. He’s also almost 2 years older than Moody, and 2.5 years older than JK, so theoretically has less room to grow.
I’d probably take him over Moody in a redraft, but not over JK.
Having no background in amateur basketball, I generally don't have strong opinions on draft day, beyond maybe a general profile I like. But the thing that galls me about having passed on Trey is that he was such a glaringly good fit. There had been all this talk about much older players like Duarte and Mitchell, because the team had already drafted Wiseman and Kuminga and couldn't really afford another longterm project. Drafting one of those older guys would have been a mistake, but they were pretty extreme cases. Murphy, on the other hand, was right in the sweet spot: 21 years old with athletic upside, 6'9" with a 7'1" wingspan, coming off a season with 50/43/93 (!) shooting splits, at a program with a recent track record of producing the kinds of resolute, cerebral players Kerr likes (e.g. Brogdon, Hunter, Jerome).
I still like Moody, so I don't mean to eulogize the draft pick. And obviously you could cherrypick missed opportunities for every team in every draft. Still, the W's are a dynasty built on 21- and 22-year-old draftees: you'd think they might have seen the Trey Murphy thing coming.
Kind of funny how the Warriors tried to get Duarte, and he's turned out to be kind of 'meh'. He would have helped us sooner, of course, but since we won the chip anyway last year, didn't really matter.
Sometimes the moves you don't make (frequently involuntarily) are the best: keeping Klay over Love, Moody over Duarte.
Duarte turns 26 this summer and has regressed badly this season in all areas (rebounding, scoring, and especially shooting) from a meh rookie campaign.
That's one of the risks when you pick up an old dude who looked good in college as a grown man with grown man strength going up against guys 4-5 years than him.
Meanwhile, Moses and Jon are both still 20. (Moses will finally be able to drink legally on 5/31/23, just in time to for the '23 Finals, should we get there.😊)
Going by the visible hissy fit Lacob threw when we "missed" on Duarte, and his widely reported obsession with Wiseman, I'm starting to think his basketball acumen may be wanting. Let the basketball guys make basketball decisions, and stick to writing the checks, Lightyears. :-)
Kind of hoping Mike Dunleavy, Jr. succeeds Myers when he really does leave. The few times I've heard Dunleavy speak, he's been dead on target. Forlorn hope, though.
Friday seems like it'll be dispositive (though my predictions have been off so far). Tuesday went as I thought it would, but last night did not. At this point, I'm mostly focused on avoiding the 8 spot.
Lebron had 33 points, Reaves had 20, Davis had 17, and DLo had 15. Powell had 27 points, Kawhi had 25, Zubac had 17, and Westbrook and Hyland each had 14.
I'm so confused that even if someone explains it to me I still don't know what to root for. I thought tonight would clear it up but no. I'm just going to weep in confusion in the corner
It's the damn tie breakers. Sometimes you have to go the third level (conf record against playoff teams). I wish it was just the team with the best looking uniform
Clippers blowing out Lakers by 20 halfway through the 4th.
I think it would probably have been better for the Lakers to win, because I don't see them losing either of their last two games unless losing on purpose would give them sixth.
Dunno. They both should win their home games against Portland and Utah and both play Phoenix, but Clippers play them on the road. Suns looking to integrate KD and may try to win both games regardless of standings.
Possible. Suns may have an interest in ensuring that the Lakers drop below 5 as they're a more dangerous opponent than the Clippers. That said, the general difficulty the Dubs face is that the standings have broken in such a way that (1) the Dubs are behind the tie-breaker 8-ball, (2) the Kings are motivated but the Suns aren't for the weekend. Notably, last year the Dubs benefited from the fact that their opponents during the last 2 weeks weren't motivated to win.
The basketball gods absolutely cannot allow the Kings to finally make the playoffs, only to be eliminated in the first round by the Lakers. Therefore, the Lakers cannot win this game.
By the way,, STEPH'S B-I-L, DAMION LEE, looks like a lock for 2d place in 3pt Shooting Efficiency with 45 percent for the season....Wish we still had him....
Disagree. They’re basically the same player (roughly the same scoring efficiency, rebound rate, assist rate, etc.) but Tony’s a little bigger and stronger and more capable of guarding bigs, on a team that’s small enough to begin with.
Meanwhile, Moses is gonna be better than DLee in about (checks watch) five minutes, and the last thing we need is another player taking his minutes.
More space: https://dubnationhq.com/p/dub-nation-hq-comments-of-week-plus-f01
Am I the only one hoping for a series with the Suns? Sure, we beat a KD-led team in 2016 but so much has happened since then. I think it would be epic. There might never be another chance. And if it means the Kings get their long-simmered vengeance series v the Lakers then I’ll clear my schedule for that too!
Watching this game I just realized: how is booker going to react when the alpha 1 spot has been taken by KD?
A playoff showdown with KD sounds good … in the WCF, after we’ve dispatched the Kings and Grizzlies. 😊
Only if we have Wiggs back, and playing at a high level.
Otherwise, KD is just going to eat us for lunch. He'll get Kuminga in foul trouble, and no one other than Dray has the length to really bother his shot.
PBJ … in 2-3 years…
If he gets to the level where he can guard KD on the perimeter well, I may just decompensate and turn into a patient in a looney (not Looney) bin.
I feel pretty sure that this is the only sports blog where you will find 'leptospirosis' and 'anthropocene' in the same comments section.
I just come here to improve my vocabulary ... and to see the GIFs, of course.
Career TS% of 2021 lotto picks, updated
1. Kuminga .594
2. Moody .583
3. Wagner .576
4. Mobley .572
5. Williams .543
6. Green .542
7. Barnes .539
8. Duarte .523
9. Giddey .512
10. Mitchell .510
11. Cunningham .502
12. Primo .485
13. Suggs .485
14. Bouknight .467
I've been watching these stats as well. A number of guys who might look good actually have shooting issues, sometimes paired with defensive issues. Cunningham, Barnes, Green, Giddey, Duarte, etc. Still others might just shoot themselves out of the NBA. Mitchell, Bouknight, Primo, Suggs. Wagner and Mobley seem very solid. Giddey and Barnes probably have enough all-around games to overcome these issues.
Trey Murphy looks like a steal for the Pels.
Yeah, Trey’s been *really* good: .625 career TS, .402 from 3 on high volume, with the kind of jump you want to see in a budding star (or “star 3 and D guy”) from year one to year two. 6’-9” elite shooters are rare. He’s pretty quick and athletic for his size, too.
**Really** relieved in retrospect that the Grizz didn’t pick him over Ziaire Williams. Imagine dealing with him alongside Ja, Bane, and JJJ?
I don’t think he has the same elite defensive versatility as JK; or on offense, quite the same potential as JK (or even Moody) to get the rim, set up teammates, and generally “connect” the game off the bounce. He’s also almost 2 years older than Moody, and 2.5 years older than JK, so theoretically has less room to grow.
I’d probably take him over Moody in a redraft, but not over JK.
Having no background in amateur basketball, I generally don't have strong opinions on draft day, beyond maybe a general profile I like. But the thing that galls me about having passed on Trey is that he was such a glaringly good fit. There had been all this talk about much older players like Duarte and Mitchell, because the team had already drafted Wiseman and Kuminga and couldn't really afford another longterm project. Drafting one of those older guys would have been a mistake, but they were pretty extreme cases. Murphy, on the other hand, was right in the sweet spot: 21 years old with athletic upside, 6'9" with a 7'1" wingspan, coming off a season with 50/43/93 (!) shooting splits, at a program with a recent track record of producing the kinds of resolute, cerebral players Kerr likes (e.g. Brogdon, Hunter, Jerome).
I still like Moody, so I don't mean to eulogize the draft pick. And obviously you could cherrypick missed opportunities for every team in every draft. Still, the W's are a dynasty built on 21- and 22-year-old draftees: you'd think they might have seen the Trey Murphy thing coming.
I mean the key stat for Murphy right now is 2369. That's his MP this year. JK is at 2536. For his career.
Kind of funny how the Warriors tried to get Duarte, and he's turned out to be kind of 'meh'. He would have helped us sooner, of course, but since we won the chip anyway last year, didn't really matter.
Sometimes the moves you don't make (frequently involuntarily) are the best: keeping Klay over Love, Moody over Duarte.
Warriors are too in love with the 3.
Duarte turns 26 this summer and has regressed badly this season in all areas (rebounding, scoring, and especially shooting) from a meh rookie campaign.
That's one of the risks when you pick up an old dude who looked good in college as a grown man with grown man strength going up against guys 4-5 years than him.
Meanwhile, Moses and Jon are both still 20. (Moses will finally be able to drink legally on 5/31/23, just in time to for the '23 Finals, should we get there.😊)
...
Going by the visible hissy fit Lacob threw when we "missed" on Duarte, and his widely reported obsession with Wiseman, I'm starting to think his basketball acumen may be wanting. Let the basketball guys make basketball decisions, and stick to writing the checks, Lightyears. :-)
This is why I really, really don’t want his son for GM (or anyone other than Myers for that matter)
Kind of hoping Mike Dunleavy, Jr. succeeds Myers when he really does leave. The few times I've heard Dunleavy speak, he's been dead on target. Forlorn hope, though.
Very little experience in finance and the GM must be a kind of genius in this area.
Hehehe
Back to the E1P, Moody’s haiku (while he patiently settles to then nail his wide open three)? Poking around Twitter, I found his post.
Orb in hands of life
True arc, vision in my eyes
The moon now rises
Belief etched on reality, not bad for a 20 year old.
Remaining schedule:
Grizzlies: @ Bucks (4/7), @ Thunder (4/9)
Kings: vs. Warriors (4/7), @ Nuggets (4/9)
Suns: @ Lakers (4/7), vs. Clippers (4/9)
Clippers: vs. Blazers (4/8), @ Suns (4/9)
Warriors: @ Kings (4/7), @ Blazers (4/9)
Lakers: vs. Suns (4/7), vs. Jazz (4/9)
Pelicans: vs. Knicks (4/7), @ Timberwolves (4/9)
Timberwolves: @ Spurs (4/8), vs. Pelicans (4/9)
Friday seems like it'll be dispositive (though my predictions have been off so far). Tuesday went as I thought it would, but last night did not. At this point, I'm mostly focused on avoiding the 8 spot.
As much as I would like some teams to just lose, it's kinda cool if the entire pacific division is in the playoffs.
And then the Dubs win it all.
You know, the Lakers and Pels could absolutely lose on Friday
Possible, but I wonder if the Suns will play full strength since they will be on the backend of a B2B after playing the Nuggets today.
Clippers beat the Lakers 125-118. Clippers move to 42-38 while the Lakers fall to 41-39.
Lebron had 33 points, Reaves had 20, Davis had 17, and DLo had 15. Powell had 27 points, Kawhi had 25, Zubac had 17, and Westbrook and Hyland each had 14.
I'm so confused that even if someone explains it to me I still don't know what to root for. I thought tonight would clear it up but no. I'm just going to weep in confusion in the corner
Just hope we we win 1 of the next two!
It's the damn tie breakers. Sometimes you have to go the third level (conf record against playoff teams). I wish it was just the team with the best looking uniform
I asked ChatGPT and it's still unfurling the answer.
ChatGPT thinks the Bucks are defending champions.
Math couldn't be simpler: More Warriors Wins = More E1P's
I have adopted QSS mode for the last few days (que sera sera).
All these long posts on the scenarios have me blowing a circuit breaker about 3 sentences in.
You get that far? Not me.
Clippers blowing out Lakers by 20 halfway through the 4th.
I think it would probably have been better for the Lakers to win, because I don't see them losing either of their last two games unless losing on purpose would give them sixth.
Is the idea that a clippers team who loses more would give us more cushion?
They have to travel to Phoenix on a back-to-back without Paul George.
And we actually don't want to pass both the LA teams, so we can avoid Phoenix in Round 1.
Dunno. They both should win their home games against Portland and Utah and both play Phoenix, but Clippers play them on the road. Suns looking to integrate KD and may try to win both games regardless of standings.
Suns have nothing to play for, and they would be on a SEGABABA after playing Denver the night before… maybe they sit guys for the Denver game instead?
Possible. Suns may have an interest in ensuring that the Lakers drop below 5 as they're a more dangerous opponent than the Clippers. That said, the general difficulty the Dubs face is that the standings have broken in such a way that (1) the Dubs are behind the tie-breaker 8-ball, (2) the Kings are motivated but the Suns aren't for the weekend. Notably, last year the Dubs benefited from the fact that their opponents during the last 2 weeks weren't motivated to win.
The Suns are locked into position and don't really need to go all out.
The Clippers play the Suns on the road on a back-to-back.
Clippers making a push in the 4th quarter.
If Lakers take 7th (or 8th), it could be Ingram vs AD in an elimination game.
We will take your playoff spot AND your draft pick, thank you very much!
Would be great to beat Sacto next game. We can do it!
The Golden State Warriors can, yes!
Clippers up 93-82 against the Lakers after 3 quarters
19 pt lead has shrunk to 11.....KAWHI is not going to let this one go....how about that NORMAN POWELL....23 pts after 3; coming through....
The basketball gods absolutely cannot allow the Kings to finally make the playoffs, only to be eliminated in the first round by the Lakers. Therefore, the Lakers cannot win this game.
By the way,, STEPH'S B-I-L, DAMION LEE, looks like a lock for 2d place in 3pt Shooting Efficiency with 45 percent for the season....Wish we still had him....
definitely would have been better than lamb!
Disagree. They’re basically the same player (roughly the same scoring efficiency, rebound rate, assist rate, etc.) but Tony’s a little bigger and stronger and more capable of guarding bigs, on a team that’s small enough to begin with.
Meanwhile, Moses is gonna be better than DLee in about (checks watch) five minutes, and the last thing we need is another player taking his minutes.
Commence Clipper Collapse