That’s a really good question. Maybe LGW should get an expert to write about that. When the season wraps up, I am sure to do a new Draft Tournament with the same in-depth scouting as last time.
I *think* the consensus Top 5 are Cade, Mobley, Suggs, Green and Kuminga. Here is the hype I hear: Cade is Ben Simmons with a jumper. Mobley is a graceful 7 footer but strikes me as a Wiseman with a good passing eye. Suggs is a high IQ court general, maybe Haliburton with a better handle. Green is a raw Anthony Edwards with better playmaking. Kuminga is a raw Danny Granger.
So any of the the top 3 would help GSW right away, but outside of Cade, I’m not sure any of these are Luka level team changers.
After that, the draft looks full of raw potential and some solid choices. Kispert maybe is Baby Klay.
I am bound to change my mind when I get a chance to look harder at the draft.
1. His 2p% is dismal, implying that he probably doesn't have the athleticism to finish at the rim. This should improve at the NBA with high-level spacing, but finishing in traffic will likely always be a challenge.
2. He has more TOs than assists right now. I know both assists and turnovers are somewhat rudimentary metrics which miss a lot of information, but even so that's not usually the sign of some generational playmaker.
He'll still probably go 1st but I doubt he's a generational prospect like Luka.
Mar 31, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot, punk basketball, Daniel Hardee
Thanks Eric, very well said. I have a difficult time putting coherent thoughts together- LOOK SQUIRREL!.. so I appreciate it when someone writes something like this. I feel we are so fortunate to have Kerr that it kills me when I see the "Fire Kerr" crowd barking out absurdities. Kerr deserves criticism, he would be the first to admit it, but overall he is a great leader, motivator, communicator, a decent strategist, an ok stand-up comic, a sub-par dresser, a horrible singer and he makes a terrible quiche florentine... ahh, forget it FIRE KERR!
Yeah Squirrel is a freak athlete. You think Fox is fast? Wait until you see Squirrel! He can leap like you wouldn't believe, his timing is great—knows just when to make his move to get past the defense—has good handles, and thrives playing among the tall trees, despite his small size. On D, he's a slick thief.
Lol, well said. In case you are looking for E1P style breakdown of the moves of squirrels, this one is pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg. I warn you it's 20 minutes and you might just watch the whole thing.
Mar 31, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot, punk basketball, Daniel Hardee
Scrolled all the way down and rewatched The Ultimate Bang Bang Game Video, and dang you should get some award for the editing/production value you put into that one. Putting all the quotes and clips in there, it's a great story. Thanks for all your work.
Mar 31, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot, punk basketball
The important point is that even if the Warriors start their half court offense with a PNR it isn't always going to end up with a shot. Sometimes it will be well defended and they will have to flow into something else, so I wouldn't get too hung up about it either way. As it is right now, it's a good way to get Wiseman integrated into the offense.
Great piece, Eric 👍🏻 The human element is definitely easy to forget if we get caught up in just looking at what “the numbers” say we should do.
I don’t hate PnR’s as an arrow in the quiver, but definitely buy into the “get everyone involved” theory of motion and ball movement. In my mind there’s a big difference between:
1. “On this possession, there is no intention for me to even touch the ball, so I’m supposed to just stand over here and look interested enough to make the opponent think they might look for me”.
2. “On this offensive possession, I might not even be the 2nd or 3rd scoring option, but I get to contribute by swinging the ball around for a possible hockey assist, or set a pick that might free up someone or even get it back for a shot if they double someone else and leave me.”
The first one isn’t really much different than getting frozen out by a ball hog(s).The second one would definitely have me feeling more engaged and like I matter to the outcome and I’m most likely going to give more effort on both sides of the ball.
Yeah if you look at the later James Harden years in Houston as an extreme example of #1 it really was pretty awful basketball, despite ranging from pretty to very effective. Can't imagine being one of the other guys just standing in their designated spot waiting for Harden to do something.
It also arguably killed them in the playoffs every year when Harden had to use 200% of the energy playing against playoff defenses (and not getting regular season flop calls every few plays) and just never had it in him to do that for a seven game series against a good defensive team.
Meanwhile, the rest of his team stood around doing nothing on offense while getting eaten away at by the pressure, until it was suddenly their moment to make a clutch shot on the biggest stage.
So cool. These are the sorts of little questions that I love to see Eric expand on... and then, BOOM! Here we are!
I've got something coming tomorrow to update the Bulls game numbers, and try to put them all in context, but I'm super interested in seeing the E1P that talks about the more lateral movements mentioned here. I've played organized (and disorganized) bball, watched a ton, but I still feel like I miss out on a lot of the more subtle playbook tweaks.
Fascinating piece, thanks Eric. Really helpful to understand what has been happening this season as well as how Kerr has developed as a coach. I've always thought the best coaches had a mix of a grounding philosophy balanced by optimizing strategy with the players you have. I've seen NFL coaches fail when they focused on a run heavy offensive strategy without the backs or O-line to make it work.
By the way, doesn't Kerr have 6 rings? That picture has only 5.
Is there actually a mailbag to send questions to? I was wondering why the top-5 of the draft are considered to be a generational type top 5?
Every time I send something to the mailbag it gets marked "Return to Sender".
That’s a really good question. Maybe LGW should get an expert to write about that. When the season wraps up, I am sure to do a new Draft Tournament with the same in-depth scouting as last time.
I *think* the consensus Top 5 are Cade, Mobley, Suggs, Green and Kuminga. Here is the hype I hear: Cade is Ben Simmons with a jumper. Mobley is a graceful 7 footer but strikes me as a Wiseman with a good passing eye. Suggs is a high IQ court general, maybe Haliburton with a better handle. Green is a raw Anthony Edwards with better playmaking. Kuminga is a raw Danny Granger.
So any of the the top 3 would help GSW right away, but outside of Cade, I’m not sure any of these are Luka level team changers.
After that, the draft looks full of raw potential and some solid choices. Kispert maybe is Baby Klay.
I am bound to change my mind when I get a chance to look harder at the draft.
Suggs is also an excellent defender and competent shooter, from what I understand.
Some counterpoints about Cade:
1. His 2p% is dismal, implying that he probably doesn't have the athleticism to finish at the rim. This should improve at the NBA with high-level spacing, but finishing in traffic will likely always be a challenge.
2. He has more TOs than assists right now. I know both assists and turnovers are somewhat rudimentary metrics which miss a lot of information, but even so that's not usually the sign of some generational playmaker.
He'll still probably go 1st but I doubt he's a generational prospect like Luka.
Hadn’t seen him play until the tournament. For some reason was expecting D. Wade levels of domination but instead saw a less dominant Mike Bibby type.
Green or kuminga would be awesome to get, suggs too
Wow instant feed back; That’s a heck of a mailbag turnaround!
Thank you 🙏
I might re-run the answer for the masses later in a future mailbag! Except that my answer was so half-assed
Thanks Eric, very well said. I have a difficult time putting coherent thoughts together- LOOK SQUIRREL!.. so I appreciate it when someone writes something like this. I feel we are so fortunate to have Kerr that it kills me when I see the "Fire Kerr" crowd barking out absurdities. Kerr deserves criticism, he would be the first to admit it, but overall he is a great leader, motivator, communicator, a decent strategist, an ok stand-up comic, a sub-par dresser, a horrible singer and he makes a terrible quiche florentine... ahh, forget it FIRE KERR!
Can the squirrel run pick and roll?
He's got the mobility, the problem is defenses have already figured him out. They run a trap against him that's just nuts.
Yeah Squirrel is a freak athlete. You think Fox is fast? Wait until you see Squirrel! He can leap like you wouldn't believe, his timing is great—knows just when to make his move to get past the defense—has good handles, and thrives playing among the tall trees, despite his small size. On D, he's a slick thief.
Problem is the squirrel’s wingspan is lacking...unless it’s a flying squirrel.
Also Squirrel is terrified of dealing with Fox or KAT. My we're silly tonight! Getting amped up to beat the Heat - joyfully. ☺️
Lol, well said. In case you are looking for E1P style breakdown of the moves of squirrels, this one is pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg. I warn you it's 20 minutes and you might just watch the whole thing.
I watched the whole thing.
What... what have you done
Great read and much needed!
Scrolled all the way down and rewatched The Ultimate Bang Bang Game Video, and dang you should get some award for the editing/production value you put into that one. Putting all the quotes and clips in there, it's a great story. Thanks for all your work.
Thanks Ando, it was a real labor of love
The important point is that even if the Warriors start their half court offense with a PNR it isn't always going to end up with a shot. Sometimes it will be well defended and they will have to flow into something else, so I wouldn't get too hung up about it either way. As it is right now, it's a good way to get Wiseman integrated into the offense.
Great piece, Eric 👍🏻 The human element is definitely easy to forget if we get caught up in just looking at what “the numbers” say we should do.
I don’t hate PnR’s as an arrow in the quiver, but definitely buy into the “get everyone involved” theory of motion and ball movement. In my mind there’s a big difference between:
1. “On this possession, there is no intention for me to even touch the ball, so I’m supposed to just stand over here and look interested enough to make the opponent think they might look for me”.
2. “On this offensive possession, I might not even be the 2nd or 3rd scoring option, but I get to contribute by swinging the ball around for a possible hockey assist, or set a pick that might free up someone or even get it back for a shot if they double someone else and leave me.”
The first one isn’t really much different than getting frozen out by a ball hog(s).The second one would definitely have me feeling more engaged and like I matter to the outcome and I’m most likely going to give more effort on both sides of the ball.
Yeah if you look at the later James Harden years in Houston as an extreme example of #1 it really was pretty awful basketball, despite ranging from pretty to very effective. Can't imagine being one of the other guys just standing in their designated spot waiting for Harden to do something.
It also arguably killed them in the playoffs every year when Harden had to use 200% of the energy playing against playoff defenses (and not getting regular season flop calls every few plays) and just never had it in him to do that for a seven game series against a good defensive team.
Meanwhile, the rest of his team stood around doing nothing on offense while getting eaten away at by the pressure, until it was suddenly their moment to make a clutch shot on the biggest stage.
I was thinking the same thing. So glad that we don't have to watch it anymore. In Houston anyway.
So cool. These are the sorts of little questions that I love to see Eric expand on... and then, BOOM! Here we are!
I've got something coming tomorrow to update the Bulls game numbers, and try to put them all in context, but I'm super interested in seeing the E1P that talks about the more lateral movements mentioned here. I've played organized (and disorganized) bball, watched a ton, but I still feel like I miss out on a lot of the more subtle playbook tweaks.
Fascinating piece, thanks Eric. Really helpful to understand what has been happening this season as well as how Kerr has developed as a coach. I've always thought the best coaches had a mix of a grounding philosophy balanced by optimizing strategy with the players you have. I've seen NFL coaches fail when they focused on a run heavy offensive strategy without the backs or O-line to make it work.
By the way, doesn't Kerr have 6 rings? That picture has only 5.
Actually Kerr has 8; 3 with the Bulls and 2 with the Spurs as a player, and 3 as coach of the Warriors.
Haha, the rare person who has too many championship rings to fit on one hand.
I think he had #6 fashioned into a Prince Albert, but that might just be conjecture on my part.