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Post by jmost on Nov 24, 2018 15:57:14 GMT -5
Nearing the quarter post of the season, it's time this team started showing us who they are. Tonight they play the 8-9 Mavs, who are 6-4 in their last 10, and 7-2 at home, so this isn't going to be easy. This will be our first look at Luca Doncic.
GH is out with left ankle soreness, and Rozier is questionable with a sore knee. Horford is back however.
Brown and Tatum need to stay aggressive. Who will see most of Hayward's minutes? Semi?
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Post by afceltic on Nov 24, 2018 23:02:58 GMT -5
Another terrible loss. Something is broken with this team. Gordon didn't play but neither did Smith for Dallas. Brown and Tatum played well offensively but didn't get enough shots...9-14 for Tatum and 7-9 for Brown. On the other side of the spectrum Al and Kyrie were terrible. 3-11 for Al and 9-24 for Kyrie.
Kyrie is starting to wear on my nerves with his poor shooting and how he likes to copy LeFlop and talk too much on social media and in the media in general.
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Post by mev17 on Nov 25, 2018 0:56:04 GMT -5
A quarter of the way into the season and no sign of progress. They look no better than they did in the preseason. Too many games to still use the "getting used to each other/it's early" excuse. The Lakers have several new players and they are better than we are. Toronto made significant changes and they are better. Heck, Sacramento has a better record than we do right now. If this drags on much longer, it will be time to consider whether we trade veterans for young players and picks or trade young players and picks for a veteran or two. We may have reached the end of the road for building for now and the future at the same time.
IF we do get to the point of making changes, I don't think we get good value for Kyrie or Al, as they can be free agents this summer, or Hayward given his big contract and slow recovery, so my best guess is once Marcus' contract can be traded maybe Brown, Smart and pick for someone who can shoot and defend (maybe Beal?). I know I am getting ahead of myself, but it takes time to evaluate players and see who would fit well with your team, so if Boston might have to make a move, they should start doing their homework now. Smart can't be traded until January so it still gives this team time to get things together while management evaluates potential moves. If things are fixed, we can stay as is, but if come January we are still broken, then IMO a change would be in order.
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Post by jmost on Nov 25, 2018 8:47:28 GMT -5
My problem with Kyrie is that when the team really needs a basket he almost always decides to go one-on-one. When he's ON, he's as good a scorer as there is; when he isn't he shoots us out of the game. And he seems slow to recognize the difference. What's the point of having Hayward and Tatum (and any other capable shooters) out there with Irving if he's just going to shoot it every time? No team can max out its potential if they don't make each other better. Brad has to see the same thing. Why doesn't he tell Irving to involve his teammates?
I still think this thing is fixable. They have too much talent to play this bad on offense. But they have to play as a team, not a bunch of individuals taking turns going 1-on-1. On D I just don't see the effort we had most of last year. With Brad not playing anyone heavy minutes everyone out there should be busting their butts out there all the time.
For what it's worth, and I seem to change my mind about him weekly, when Jaylen plays like he does last night, focusing on scoring in the open court, on strong drives and on post-ups in the paint, I LOVE his game, and he makes me believe he could be really, really good at some point. I just haven't seen him play that way consistently. Too often he settles for shooting 3's, which has never been his strong suit. If he plays like last night I would hate to trade him, unless we got something really good in return.
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Post by runrondo on Nov 25, 2018 10:39:05 GMT -5
I think it comes down to the fact that our team is not as talented as we think - we're very deep in terms of solid, good players - but we don't have more than one true all-star on the team (Kryie) which doesn't make us any better than other teams in the East. I think the idea we brought back Kryie and Hayward to a team that almost made it to the finals makes it seems like we have Warrior-like talent - but I'd argue we're not even close to that. Klay, Steph, and KD are all probably better than our best player (maybe not Klay).
The players that almost made the finals last year overachieved due to their mentality, effort, and execution of team defense. We're doing the complete opposite this year and it shows. I'd argue all those players who played last year have potential, but none of them outside of Tatum (and sometimes Brown although he's farther away in development) showed that they can be all-stars one day in this league. In other words, none of them are all-star players right now. Adding back Kryie and Hayward means we have a team of maybe 1.5 allstars and the rest good young players, and Horford. Doesn't sound like a team with the most talent in the East, never mind the league. They have to compete harder and get that confidence back - I'm interested in how Brad handles this.
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Post by jmost on Nov 25, 2018 11:05:23 GMT -5
We're not as good as we thought we were, but we're better than we've shown so far. GS may be out of reach, but we should be able to compete with anyone in the East.
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Post by Roadrunner on Nov 25, 2018 13:59:46 GMT -5
Jmost, thanks for getting up the game thread. Back to back game, away, another loss.
Irving has won BOS a few games this year, however he shot BOS out of this one. He has had a few games exactly like this.
Is Theis hurt? I really like this guy, and he did not play last night. Williams vs Jordan would have been a good match-up too. Future vs. Past.
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Post by eja117 on Nov 26, 2018 8:33:00 GMT -5
If I were Ainge and Stevens I'd be looking at a trade at this point. We don't have time to sit around and hope these guys find themselves
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