36 Comments

Some big tank games tonight: Cle-Atl, Knicks at home vs Wizards, Hornets @ Minny, (and of course Dubs and Suns)

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Loon has had many chances to become a solid player.However, anyone this injury prone simply cannot command a roster spot on a team that plans to contend for the Larry. If the future is more Chriss, and less Howard or Whiteside, then W's should draft Wiseman. If not, (and there are a lot of bruising bigs in the West) they should arrange to get Drummond, even if it means trading their lottery pick, and clearing a max contract.

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Sucks that Looney's out, but considering how he played the last game or two, it probably won't make that much difference. He's just not nearly as impactful when he's coping with injury.

I expect this one to be close. The Suns were a lot better than last year, but... as always, injuries are the worst part of basketball. FiveThirtyEight disagrees with me, with the Suns as 84% favorites, and an expected margin of 10 points.

I think Dray and squad will want to go into the break on a win, and the young players will be able to muster a lot of energy to earn it. The Suns' defense isn't that good, but someone's going to have to score for Golden State. I expect Wiggins and Chriss to lead the Dubs in scoring, but we'll need a few other guys to join in double digits—players like Damion Lee, Jordan Poole, or Eric Paschall.

Weirdly, I'm less scared of Devon Booker—who'll get his points, but whatever—than I am of Ricky Rubio's veteran savvy carving us up. Even more terrifying is the prospect of a random role-player just blowing us up from three-point range. It's one of the great things about the NBA when it's your guy who just has "his night", but it's painful to be on the receiving end. Then again, *scans Phoenix roster*, Baynes is out, which means... the biggest threat of that is... Elie Okobo, maybe?

Yeah, I think we can take this.

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Feb 12, 2020Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

This is an old, but interesting article on the Magic, but it's really about finding a balance on offense and defense. Doesn't apply to us for the next few years (the splash bros will almost always be a top-10 offense almost in themselves), but as we search for the next Dre and Dray and build the team over the next 5 yrs, etc., it's something to think about - don't be Hawks, but don't be Orlando either:

Outcomes for Extreme NBA Teams, 2010-19

Offense Defense Wins per 82 Games

Top 10 Top 10 57.4

Top 10 Bottom 10 44.6

Bottom 10 Top 10 41.6

Bottom 10 Bottom 10 22.8

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/11/15/20965835/orlando-magic-aaron-gordon-defense

Wiggins isn't a great player, but he does bring needed variety if he can slash and score and run on breaks. He needs to be decent on both offense and defense, though. The more weaknesses the team has, the more pressure it puts on the rest of the team. But conversely, good players help take some of the pressure off (at least during the regular season). Luckily, the Warriors can use the draft, free agency, buyouts, etc. to create a chess-match matchup-based squad rather than an entire team of swiss-army-knife players, which are difficult to find. The splash bros give them that luxury.

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the Looney stuff is particularly bad news. We need him next year.

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Not sure what’s really going on with Looney, but I think they should just sit him out for the rest of the year. Maybe have him do the surgery I feel like they’ve been putting off. Pure speculation on my part.

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Feels like there’s something bigger going on and just trying to salvage some trade value

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Feb 12, 2020Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

It would not shock me to hear that the Warriors tried to trade Looney or would try this summer. But who knows. Something tells me they may not be able to even if we learn they tried. Hope it works out for him.

Interesting to see what Chriss will turn into. I love his story so far.

Obi looks fun to me as for the draft.

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Feb 12, 2020Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

Suns stats:

Offense:

14 in points scored (112.4)

17 in points in paint (47.9)

10 in fastbreak points!! (14.2)

16 in offensive efficiency

14 in shooting % (46.3%)

20 in three point % (34.8%)

10 in two point % !! (52.7%)

21 in off. rebound % (21.8%)

8 in def. rebound % !!!!!! (78.3%)

22 in total rebound % (49.0%)

26 in opponent blocks (5.6)

21 in opponent steals (8.0)

2 in assists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (26.9)

17 in turnovers (14.8)

Defense:

20 in points allowed (113.8)

23 in opponent points in paint (50.1)

10 in opponent fastbreak points!! (12.5)

16 in defensive efficiency

23 in opponent shooting % (47.3%)

21 in opponent three point % (36.4%)

24 in opponent two point % (53.5%)

27 in blocks (4.0)

13 in steals (7.7)

13 in opponent assists (24.0)

4 in opponent turnovers!!!!!!!!!!! (15.9)

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author

Looney officially out for tonight

> @anthonyVslater

> Kevon Looney won’t play tonight. Banged his hip on a fall the other night.

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Loon’s probably fine. He took a couple hits last game, including hitting the floor pretty hard. Kerr’s probably just giving him a breather. More time for The Geech!

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Feb 12, 2020Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

Can you imagine the league-wide freakout if Zion had been one year younger? Even a 14.5% chance of us drafting him would keep GM's up at night.

Whatever the Warriors decide to do, I trust the Bobcess (sorry, but there's no downvote button).

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Feb 12, 2020Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

Well, there goes Okoro's sleeper status: SI mock from this morning has him at #3. I think he should be the pick over Wiseman now (unless a team really really wants to trade up for WIseman or Edwards and we get 2021 or 2022 pick(s) out of it. Unless Wiseman uses his time to bulk up, develop a decent outside shot, etc. But still, I think Okoro could play a huge role in the dubs for years to come (if his defense is as elite as people are starting to suggest)

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That draft simulator chart is a great reminder of how a great pick is far from assured given the revised weighting system. People have been talking about the “great pick” we’re going to have and how we’ll take Wiseman or whoever the best player is, but the odds of being able to take who ever we want (i.e. the #1 pick) are really slim. Even the odds of getting a top 4 pick are only even.

Bottom line: Even with this abysmal record, we shouldn’t be counting on getting a great player from this thin upcoming draft.

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