208 Comments

> Cavs are saying it's a right elbow sprain for Evan Mobley that kept him from playing the final 11 minutes.

https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1460449718354460678

Terrible, but obviously relevant for the Warriors since they play the Cavs very soon

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That truly sucks. Mobley has been fun to watch.

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Noooo. I was looking forward to seeing him switch out to our guys on the perimeter

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My wife wondered why I am always so harshly critical of Westbrook as in 0-6 tonight from three, I pulled up this year’s salaries and where Westbrook was on it, she totally gets it, at $500,000 a game I could probably get one to go in

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Or you could send her a BBALLBREAKDOWN that shows not only that he's a bad shot, but why. From FIVE YEARS AGO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLVjVKTAReQ&t=389s

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Sacramento is stuck in mediocrity hell for the rest of eternity lol

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It's the city. It, too, is rather mediocre. Apologies to those who live there.

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Sac is a good city, imo (but I've never really been outside Midtown)

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Mediocrity would've meant making the playoffs at least once in the last 15-20 years. They're just bad.

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They haven't been god awful but also haven't been good enough for the last 4-5 years to get a playoff spot. Maybe disappointing would be a better adjective to describe them

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Actually outside of the 18-19 season they've been pretty bad. I keep thinking they've been hovering around the 9-10th seed all these years

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Change the coach. The only reasonable solution is to bring Nellie back!

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I think they'll make the play in, but I bet in typical kings fashion they'll win the first game and lose the second

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I really hope they make the playoffs. a Warriors and Kings 1st round matchup would be fun

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With Harry clanking open 3s all 4th quarter? Yeah…

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Let it go sir

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Sorry… can’t stop picking at the scab :(

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My goodness Jalen Green is only 178 at 6"6? I thought I was skinny...

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Gods the Blazers are dumb for not using someone like DJJ over Kanter/Melo.

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You had me at "Gods the Blazers are dumb"

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Just a friendly PSA that the Bulls are beating up on the Lakers and everything is right with the world.

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LA has over 20 points in free throws (to the Bulls' 9), and they're losing by 20+.

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5-28 from three with 6 to go in the fourth. That's some ugly shooting, but yeah, good thing they brought in Westbrook.

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Caruso's doing his best Iguodala impression against his former team - 0 for 1 from the field, 29 minutes, +25.

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Anthony Davis just got ejected for saying something to the ref - down 20 and wanted to bail again I guess…

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They've got a bet going with the Nets over whose big three can be the most dysfunctional.

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What big three would that be? Neither team has three I consider big. I mean, I know who you mean, I just dispute it.

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Derozan has been on a tear

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He’s enjoying not having the JFK clamps!

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even hit a couple of threes

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https://youtu.be/CIdYDso3_2Q

Dray naming top 9 in his draft class today. I won't lie I'm disappointed it took him a bit to remember that hb was 7

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Lol, that was about two seconds including the time it took him to say it. Though I'll admit he did say "I think it was..." and then very disrespectfully forgot to use the title "imminent three time MVP" Harrison Barnes.

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You got that right

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Man's doubled his career FTr average while the rest of the league is struggling to get any calls.

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He would be the goat if he played in the 90s

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Good evening. I'm a visitor from Phoenix Nation HQ, a fake but real-sounding web site. Our team went to the Finals last year. We are a mere 1 game behind your team and have won 8 in a row on a tougher schedule. We have an all-time great point guard, CP3, who although aging is leading the league in assists and scores 14 a game. We have Devin Booker, good for 22-5-6 hitting 35% from 3. We have DeAndre Ayton, and when he's injured Javale is backing him up nicely. We have Jae Crowder, Mikael Bridges, a couple of Camerons.

Our argument is that we have a better team than your Golden State/Oakland/San Francisco Whatevers, and that we will represent the West in the Finals. What counterargument can you offer?

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Honestly, the real argument here is that Klay is returning mid-season. The #77th all time greatest NBA player.

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Right

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That list is considered bogus even in Phoenix, where we have to agree that Klay is so much more deserving to be on that list than Carmelo Anthony, Damian Lillard or Russell Westbrook that the whole thing is what we in Arizona call a "joke"

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I'd say that according to NBA.com, which is adjusted for home vs. away and days of rest before a game, Phoenix has had the easiest schedule so far. Warriors have had the third easiest. Nets have had the second, for whatever that's worth. https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-5

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I'm worried that if I make a counter argument, a rich old man will harass me with racial slurs.

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Since you brought it up, why are people with one white parent and one black one referred to as black? Why isn't Klay white or Booker for that matter?

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Because the one drop rule continues to influence our society even after being struck down in state and federal courts.

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Thanks. I didn't know that.

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MIC DROP

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Yeah, this one takes the cake lol.

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Some

Teams

Enjoy

Pretty

Hallucinations

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Gets

Interesting

Assessing

Not

Nailing

It last

Season

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Well

Everyone

Seems

To

Be

Realistic

Outside

Of

Klutch

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Each

Post

Increases

Creativity

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Although

Understanding

Seems

To

Infer

Nothing

Regarding

Intensive

Views

Eliciting

Relatively

Simple

Symbolism

Underlying

Certain

Known

Surnames

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K

E

L

E

N

N

A

A

Z

U

B

U

I

K

E

(That's as far as I got it was too hard)

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We've got Steph and you don't.

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Yeah, see, I was afraid someone was going to say that. Hold on, I need to check with the Phoenix Gorilla on this one.....

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No arguing, only winning.

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Badass. I like it.

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Porzingas having a helluv a game on nba tv right now.

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On defense???? Please tell me you mean offense because I would nearly have a heart attack if you mean on defense.

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If Scottie Barnes has a good case for ROY while shooting 20% from 3, then Kuminga does too XD Kuminga is definitely my dark horse candidate for ROY!

I'm still struck but Kuminga's size, his tools, and how well he moves. He looks full-grown, which is remarkable. Looking at his highlights is not unlike looking at Barnes' highlights, both use their size and speed incredibly well. I guess Scottie has an edge in terms of experience playing team defense -- if Kuminga can pick that up the league better watch out!

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Kuminga got no shot at roy but it doesn't mean he cant be the best rookie

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True, super long shot, esp given the minutes that he’s likely to receive in total…

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He'd have to play spectacularly and force his way into the top of the rotation.

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Agreed. Minutes alone mean he has no chance.

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Fantastic breakdown. Every time Kuminga comes into the game (well, the last two), he has seen meaningful minutes/floor time during important times of the game. I reflect on wanting the Dubs to draft Josh Giddey, who is having a good start to his career, but then once he was gone, I thought about how impactful the multi-dimensional Kuminga could be for us once he was selected. Someone mentioned in one of the DNHQ posts yesterday, opining about the possibility of '10 minutes a game' for JK. That would mean, in my eyes, he's earned it and deserves it. Definitely paying attention. Everything I saw last night was super exciting. To find those 10 minutes I think will be a huge additive for the club. He is active, quick, and seems to be adapting/learning the 'system', and I'm quite impressed. It will be amazing to have a bench going forward in time with both Kuminga and Moody, Wiseman, and our guys Poole/Bjelica/GPII/Damion/JTA/OPJ/CC all shooting threats and average or above-average defenders. Last night shooting in Charlotte seemed an aberration. #brooklynbound #dubnationHQ

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When it comes to Barnes, Giddey, and Kuminga (and I'll throw Jalen Johnson in there too), the best player will probably just be the one who shoots the best. All of them have hard ceilings without a shot imo.

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Barnes and Kuminga both have a lot more leeway imho due to their defensive potential, and ability to play big... Giddey pretty much has to shoot to be an all-star, but Barnes/Kuminga could develop in more of a Bam Adebayo / Ben Simmons / early Paul Millsap mold.

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Giddey's one of the 10-20 best passers in the league already though. That's a very very high percentile outcome for Barnes and a no way in hell outcome for Kuminga. Not saying that Barnes/Kuminga aren't great prospects, but while Giddey does have athletic limitations that Barnes/Kuminga don't have, those guys also have skill limitations which Giddey doesn't have.

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That's true, but if Giddey doesn't develop a shot he's pretty one-dimensional. I can think of a number of great players that can't shoot, but I can't really think of any great players whose only elite skill is passing, but maybe I'm just not thinking of them?

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If kuminga continues to play like he did last night, you absolutely have to play him more minutes, he was a monster out there defensively and not just on ball, his off ball defense has been awesome and you combine that with him running the floor and finishing, he can contribute positively. Just wait until they start running GP2 sets for him or let him be the screener in the split action that dives to the rim

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Agreed, he brings athleticism to the floor which not a bunch of our players have.

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Problem is all of the guys with athleticism can't shoot

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Won't matter if the center can. Put opj or beli out there with him with Steph and dlee in the backcourt

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Rephrased, problem is all of the guys with athleticism are essentially playing center for this team.

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Not if it's kuminga lol

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A thought before what I think is a huge game in Brooklyn. The Warriors core players are starting to play with an intensity that suggests a chip on their collective shoulder. These guys are real winners who are not resting on past glories - cough, Le Bron, cough, cough - and waiting for their next championship to come to them. It’s been since last season that we’ve seen Kerr windmilling his arms from the sideline trying to hurry his team back down the floor. They are all playing with the same motivation….win.

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Eh, it's a reality of a team trying to build chemistry and culture, especially to show the young guys what's expected in a intricate offense. LeBron's been in "coasting" mode through most of the regular season in an attempt to get to the post-season healthy and ready. He's built a simple offense that relies on his creation (e.g. give LeBron the ball and let him go to work, stand on the perimeter and be ready for the pass or cut behind your defender if they rotate too early) and surrounded himself with veteran players that can learn it relatively easily.

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For me, watching LeBron quit last year at the end of that final game against Phoenix showed me a lot about his evolution as a player. When the Legend decides it’s over, it’s over.

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He's always been a sore loser. Nothing new there.

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Steph is Western Conference player of the week. Second time in 3 weeks since start of the season (if I am not wrong).

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Four weeks, I believe. Still - well deserved and it's a nice accomplishment!

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His season is weird so far. Honors, accolades, leaderboards, yet to all of us he is not playing close to his best ball.

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Crazy what happens when the team wins lol

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rcknfnjust now

True. He hasn't been shooting like before but I think he has been better in all other aspects of his game than last few years - career high rebounds, close to career high assists, great defense, screening. And he was playing sick 3 or so games. It's going to be close race between him and KD for MVP.

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I kind of like the minutes he’s getting right now. Maybe, it has more to do with me being less nervous with the start of second and fourth quarters than any + in his overall impact. I guess we’ll see.

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I like it too, but changing rotation could mess with Steph's flow a little bit, change his mindset. Who knows... we're all just making excuses. Watch him drop 45 points and 8/13 from 3 on Monday, and get his percentage back over 40%.

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Zach Harper has Dubs at #1 in power rankings (The Athletic) noting

>> The D in “Dubs” stands for domination.

And I say - hell yes!

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/OT Warning/

We all know Poole has been very inconsistent this year. But bottom 5 among starting SGs? Yes, according to PER.

http://insider.espn.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/position/sg

Even worse on True Shooting %.

The question is: What does it mean? A young player developing? Confidence >> Skill? A disaster brewing? Totally fine place holder til Klay comes back? Be patient oh demanding fanboy, he will contribute a ton, at a price the team can afford for many years? Or?

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I still have in my head something a poster said a while back which is that he shoots his 3 point shots without setting his heels on the ground, and thus he gets a lot of spring out of his calves. That poster, who claimed to know a lot more about shooting form then I ever learned (all I learned was elbow in, shoot on the way up), claimed that since he was so springy he's unlikely to shoot high percentage that way, too inconsistent to spring with your calves. I bring it up because when I watch him shoot now, especially when he's in transition with forward movement, I see the springiness, and then I often see a brick. He does finish nice at the rim though.

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Elbow out is way better for me…

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PER is a garbage stat which rewards players for doing shit regardless of how well they are doing those things (see Westbrook as a prime example).

As for TS%, his efficiency has been 54.7 while league average is 54.9. Considering he's a shot-creator and not a guy who shoots exclusively open C&S 3s, that's okay. We'd obviously want it to be higher (and he should get there if he shoots a reasonable % from 3), but it's definitely not worse than bottom 5. For context, these are the numbers for the following players:

- Lou Williams: 43.8%

- Caris Levert: 45.4%

- Terry Rozier: 48.2%

- Bradley Beal: 49.7%

- RJ Barrett: 51.2%

- CJ McColum: 52.4%

- Devin Booker: 53%

- Chris Duarte: 53.1%

- Evan Fournier: 53.7%

- Donovan Mitchell: 54.9%

- Bogdan Bogdanovic: 55.3%

- Fred Vanvleet: 55.7%

Now, he needs to work on redistributing his shot profile - he's an amazing guard rim finisher, he needs to be taking a much higher % of his shots at the rim. Additionally, I wouldn't mind if he takes a couple of pullup mid-range jumpers per game as that might actually be an efficient shot for him. Being a guy who is consistently 90+% from the FT line, I find it hard to believe he would be a bad shooter. I just think he's taking bad shots right now.

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Something is wrong with his long ball. I bet spending a week getting into his midrange might descramble things and get his long ball back in order

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I just feel hes struggling to get into a rhythm each game, especially with these rotations, he starts next to curry so hes already wondering which shots he should pull or when to give the ball to curry.

His next stint in the rotation is usually played next to GP2, andre and draymond which has no spacing whatsoever.

Even when they do play him with shooters he usually defers to either beli doing his pump fake and drive game, or wiggins is handling the ball.

I just think kerr needs to do a better job early in the game playing him with solid shooting lineups that will open up his drive and kick game, also I think poole is going to benefit the most out of wiseman returning

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Once he is leading the 2nd unit (as expected) and his role is stabilized there I think some of the hesitation, and over-excitement of finding himself so wide open (and then occasionally fumbling the ball or bricking a layup) will be things of the past.

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Really good insights here. Begs for an E1P breaking down what’s going right and what’s going wrong for Poole this season.

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All the things said here plus: he's still a young guy who has not proven to any of us that he is a very good player in this league. Good? Yes. Likable, hard-working? Absolutely. Shown flashes of great offensive potential? You bet. But a reliable NBA shooting guard? Not yet. Probably not this year.

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It's weird because when lee comes in they always run 3 pt plays for him or things to get him down hill, but with poole it seems like its empty pick and rolls and end of shot clock isos

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Poole is weirdly stuck between two roles. With the starters he's a complementary player, with the reserves, he's the "straw that stirs the drink". I think he's mentally distracted trying to find what he's naturally supposed to do, plus his shot is slumping, and defenses are paying more attention to him. He'll work through and be better for it.

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The thing is hes not really the main ball handler with the second unit, it seems beli and wiggins have the ball even more the poole when curry sits

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ball handler and playmaker are different. Beli and Wiggins may distribute the ball more, but Poole is the only one who consistently tries to drive and create shots for himself and others. Beli only slashes when there's a giant crease. Wiggins will slash through smaller seams, but he rarely tries to create something out of nothing, which both Poole and Curry have to do.

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That makes sense... Steph isn't really the main ball handler when he's on the floor either, he's often running around screens instead.

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Definitely a young player developing. There are certain bad habits he'll need to get rid of before he can be a reliable starter. I feel like he's being asked to do a little bit too much right now for a guy that's still barely learning to be a legit bench player. Hopefully the game slows down even MORE for him as the reps comes but I wouldn't be too mad if Lee took over that starting SG spot until Klay is ready. It's a tough decision and might hinder his development but that's why I'm glad I'm an armchair coach/GM

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