"Indiana's hope meter has skyrocketed with Haliburton at the helm. He's second in the league at 10.2 assists a night. He's first in total assists, fourth in total steals and 10th in total 3-pointers made. No other player is top 10 in all three categories. You could, in fact, cut Haliburton's assists all the way down to five per game, and he would still be the only player in the league averaging at least 20 points, five assists and 1.5 steals on at least 39 percent 3-point shooting. Forget about that funky form; this dude is cash.
Haliburton's joy factor is off the charts, too."
Remember how DBNation had him as our preferred choice to be drafted? Can you imagine the next decade with him and Jordan Poole manning the guard positions for this team? Instead we have a guy who can't stay healthy. Sigh.
Man, seasons like this really show how both close and far excellence is. It looks within grasp, just down to execution and consistency in a handful of winning games... But that execution and consistency is so elusive.
LUKA eating a bit of humble pie as DAME DOMINATES with B2B, 36 and 40 points, in B2B WINS this weekend. One way to learn you do not call out vet stars like Lillard before you play them in their den, as they may drop 50 on you....
Jan 16, 2023·edited Jan 16, 2023Liked by punk basketball
Man, after tonight, 7 teams vying for the 6 seed in the WEST, ALL WITHIN 1.5 GAMES, followed by LBJ's Lolakers who are 1.5 games behind them, having won 6 out of their last 10 games, 6-4....
I just took my shirt off to find someone has written "Dubs lost big" in sharpie across my chest. Who would do such a thing? I mean, the Dubs have never lost by more than about 5, right?
Honestly I don't think player personnel is a problem right now so I doubt a trade will magically fix everything. It's the lack of execution on both ends that's killing this team. Everybody is guilty. You have to play as a unit and right now we're not doing that consistently. It'll help to get JK back and Wiggins playing like the Wiggins of old again. It's time to go back to the basics.
So I had this whole post about Moody's minutes written up and I was gonna question why Steve would pull him after 4 minutes and not play him again until garbage time. But then I went thru that first quarter stint, and ehhh... ok. Moody played pretty bad.
In most of the plays, Moody was not involved: he was typically the weak side wing defender and not involved in the defensive breakdowns. On offense, he was usually an early screener, or just a weak side spacer and not involved in the critical actions. Is this good or bad? Dunno, I think mostly it speaks to the ball dominance of Dray, Curry, Klay, and Poole on offense, and the fact that the Bulls ran most of their plays thru Vuc or Alex, and Moody was typically on Jones or Dormumu and not on the active side of the court on D.
He did have to defend Dormumu 3's twice. One was a decent contest that D missed. The second was a help defense breakdown where Moody as the weak side high man had to rotate to cover both, and he tried to also cut off the pass, and left D wide open, but the shot missed.
And of course he had the shitty pass to Dray where he needed to lead him by an extra step and put a lot more zip on the ball. But he made up for that with the steal at the other end.
He also was the help on Lavine when he got 2 rebounds and made the 3rd shot. Moody contested the shot well, Lavine missed, but Moody then raised his hands and backed out of the play, only to watch LaVine get 2 more outback attempts with Poole racing back to guard him.
So that's 3 blown plays in 4 minutes. He erased one with athleticism and he escaped the consequences of an open 3, but LaVine out hustled him (well, Moody took himself out of the play, worried about the foul call). In that same span, almost every one of the regulars also gave up a TO that ended in a score, but they're vets, and Moody made more mistakes even if the Bulls only were able to punish one of them.
So yah, I get it, but how will he ever get his head into the game if he doesn't get any minutes?
Started the home stand 5-0 without Steph against mostly playoff opponents. Have since gone 1-4 against mostly non playoff opponents (including the MASH Suns) mostly with Steph…
Thanks for all the comments/breakdowns. Missed the game because I didn't realize the tip off time. Like I've said before, come for the Warriors but stay for DNHQ. Woosah ya'll.
Just read this by Brad Botkin of CBS Sports:
"Indiana's hope meter has skyrocketed with Haliburton at the helm. He's second in the league at 10.2 assists a night. He's first in total assists, fourth in total steals and 10th in total 3-pointers made. No other player is top 10 in all three categories. You could, in fact, cut Haliburton's assists all the way down to five per game, and he would still be the only player in the league averaging at least 20 points, five assists and 1.5 steals on at least 39 percent 3-point shooting. Forget about that funky form; this dude is cash.
Haliburton's joy factor is off the charts, too."
Remember how DBNation had him as our preferred choice to be drafted? Can you imagine the next decade with him and Jordan Poole manning the guard positions for this team? Instead we have a guy who can't stay healthy. Sigh.
Man, seasons like this really show how both close and far excellence is. It looks within grasp, just down to execution and consistency in a handful of winning games... But that execution and consistency is so elusive.
At least Lakers lost.
LUKA eating a bit of humble pie as DAME DOMINATES with B2B, 36 and 40 points, in B2B WINS this weekend. One way to learn you do not call out vet stars like Lillard before you play them in their den, as they may drop 50 on you....
Man, after tonight, 7 teams vying for the 6 seed in the WEST, ALL WITHIN 1.5 GAMES, followed by LBJ's Lolakers who are 1.5 games behind them, having won 6 out of their last 10 games, 6-4....
76ers barely beat the Lakers 113-112. Lakers fall to 19-24 and fall to 2 games below us.
I just took my shirt off to find someone has written "Dubs lost big" in sharpie across my chest. Who would do such a thing? I mean, the Dubs have never lost by more than about 5, right?
Blazers and Warriors are 21-22 after tonight.
Honestly I don't think player personnel is a problem right now so I doubt a trade will magically fix everything. It's the lack of execution on both ends that's killing this team. Everybody is guilty. You have to play as a unit and right now we're not doing that consistently. It'll help to get JK back and Wiggins playing like the Wiggins of old again. It's time to go back to the basics.
So I had this whole post about Moody's minutes written up and I was gonna question why Steve would pull him after 4 minutes and not play him again until garbage time. But then I went thru that first quarter stint, and ehhh... ok. Moody played pretty bad.
In most of the plays, Moody was not involved: he was typically the weak side wing defender and not involved in the defensive breakdowns. On offense, he was usually an early screener, or just a weak side spacer and not involved in the critical actions. Is this good or bad? Dunno, I think mostly it speaks to the ball dominance of Dray, Curry, Klay, and Poole on offense, and the fact that the Bulls ran most of their plays thru Vuc or Alex, and Moody was typically on Jones or Dormumu and not on the active side of the court on D.
He did have to defend Dormumu 3's twice. One was a decent contest that D missed. The second was a help defense breakdown where Moody as the weak side high man had to rotate to cover both, and he tried to also cut off the pass, and left D wide open, but the shot missed.
And of course he had the shitty pass to Dray where he needed to lead him by an extra step and put a lot more zip on the ball. But he made up for that with the steal at the other end.
He also was the help on Lavine when he got 2 rebounds and made the 3rd shot. Moody contested the shot well, Lavine missed, but Moody then raised his hands and backed out of the play, only to watch LaVine get 2 more outback attempts with Poole racing back to guard him.
So that's 3 blown plays in 4 minutes. He erased one with athleticism and he escaped the consequences of an open 3, but LaVine out hustled him (well, Moody took himself out of the play, worried about the foul call). In that same span, almost every one of the regulars also gave up a TO that ended in a score, but they're vets, and Moody made more mistakes even if the Bulls only were able to punish one of them.
So yah, I get it, but how will he ever get his head into the game if he doesn't get any minutes?
Warriors not believing in operation 500. They like operation below 500.
The big question of the day is will the zombies in the 'The Last of Us' have more pep than the Warriors starters.
Was not able to watch the game today. Judging from the score box and comments, it doesn’t seem worth watching the replay.
Currently .500 on the road trip. Killing it!
Started the home stand 5-0 without Steph against mostly playoff opponents. Have since gone 1-4 against mostly non playoff opponents (including the MASH Suns) mostly with Steph…
Thanks for all the comments/breakdowns. Missed the game because I didn't realize the tip off time. Like I've said before, come for the Warriors but stay for DNHQ. Woosah ya'll.