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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 16, 2020 21:27:49 GMT -5
I should rename this thread to, “We are not winning a championship until....”
- Tatum becomes a legit top 10 player. It’s true, superstars win championships (or at the very least, puts teams in position to win championship.
I don’t think we are going to win with Kemba and Gordon being our 2 most valuable players, which they arguably are. And at this stage in their careers, they’re not taking a huge leap forward into superstardom.
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Post by jmost on Jan 16, 2020 21:48:46 GMT -5
I agree. I don't think team is going to win anything this year unless EVERY playoff opponent gets hit with injuries. We're just not good enough.
Danny has recently said he likes all our players, but a trade wouldn't surprise me at all.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 16, 2020 22:25:33 GMT -5
I agree. I don't think team is going to win anything this year unless EVERY playoff opponent gets hit with injuries. We're just not good enough. Danny has recently said he likes all our players, but a trade wouldn't surprise me at all. We need to hit a homerun and get that superstar. I’m also wondering if Brad needs to change his coaching philosophy? Rather than a team that reads and reacts, if he has a great player, he needs to run the offense through him. It’s like having Dan Marino, but trying to balance the offense 50/50 with a running and passing.
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Post by afceltic on Jan 17, 2020 5:11:56 GMT -5
That is why IMO if we are truly wanting to be title contenders, we should be shopping Gordon and Marcus as that 45M combined if traded for correctly could very easily put us over the top. As I stated in the Bucks thread, the only untouchables are Kemba, Jaylen, and Jayson. Gordon will have a 32M expiring contract after next year and that is a great trade chip. Danny needs to learn from Bill Belichick in that he has always traded a year early versus a year late to maximize his return.
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Post by runrondo on Jan 17, 2020 7:37:02 GMT -5
Our bench is no where good enough. I wish we had a guy as confident as Smart who was actually a good offensive/efficient player.
Otherwise, something has to give with Hayward. I think we knew when we signed him he wasn't good enough to be a [HASH]1 (but we hoped maybe [HASH]2) player on a championship team. Yet, when he's on, he seems like the best to play in this offense which is part of the problem. Our young guys won't make the leap they need to truly be the [HASH]1 or [HASH]2 option consistently this year and we essentially don't have a [HASH]1 which is probably the most important piece.
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Post by jmost on Jan 17, 2020 17:02:56 GMT -5
I agree. I don't think team is going to win anything this year unless EVERY playoff opponent gets hit with injuries. We're just not good enough. Danny has recently said he likes all our players, but a trade wouldn't surprise me at all. We need to hit a homerun and get that superstar. I’m also wondering if Brad needs to change his coaching philosophy? Rather than a team that reads and reacts, if he has a great player, he needs to run the offense through him. It’s like having Dan Marino, but trying to balance the offense 50/50 with a running and passing. I wonder about the read and react too. Except for Hayward, when he's playing aggressively and taking it into the lane, I don't much good offense being created. Maybe we need good old-fashioned plays to run.
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Post by jmost on Jan 17, 2020 17:07:52 GMT -5
Our bench is no where good enough. I wish we had a guy as confident as Smart who was actually a good offensive/efficient player. Otherwise, something has to give with Hayward. I think we knew when we signed him he wasn't good enough to be a [HASH]1 (but we hoped maybe [HASH]2) player on a championship team. Yet, when he's on, he seems like the best to play in this offense which is part of the problem. Our young guys won't make the leap they need to truly be the [HASH]1 or [HASH]2 option consistently this year and we essentially don't have a [HASH]1 which is probably the most important piece. I'll always assume that the coach knows better than we do when someone is ready for more playing time, but isn't it time to see what Romeo can do? Even when he IS on the court, it seems the ball rarely finds him. He looks to have a skill that this team needs, namely the ability to get into the lane and create a good shot. And he holds his own on D. He's said he thinks he could play some PG. A 6'5" PG with 6'11" wingspan could be a defensive terror. If we're not good enough to win it all I'd like to see him get some development time this year.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 31, 2020 20:21:29 GMT -5
With 35 games left in the season, we’ve nearly got a good grasp on what this team is capable of doing. When our Fabulous Four are playing well, along with Theis, this is a championship caliber starting 5. I can’t say we’ve figured out how to bring out the best in our Fab 4 every game yet — but it’s there. The final quarter+ of the season will be spent fine tuning the engine.
And I think we can be confident that off the bench, Smart and Kanter can be counted on to do what they do — Kanter with somepost scoring and rebounds, and Smart with heady defense, some buckets and assists.
Now, we come to the question that we knew was going to be the crux from the start — can the rest of the bench be counted on? Cause if they can, I say we have a legit shot against Milwaukee, and then either of the Los Angeles teams.
Can Grant Williams play consistently solid, and avoid costly mistakes? He’s starting to.
Can Semi finally be more than just a spot defensive player, and provide some scoring? He’s starting to.
These 4 really need to own their roles, like really be solid and come through. I don’t know what’s going to happen with RWill and Langford and Carsen — but if Kanter-Smart-Grant-Semi can combine to give Brad a bench he can count on, we can compete with anyone.
Though it would be nice to have a scoring threat off the bench. Maybe Danny can do something about this before the trade deadline?
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 10, 2020 17:21:37 GMT -5
A guy who gets lost in the shuffle is Daniel Theis. Sure we know he’s there, but we don’t necessarily feel he has to contribute for us to win.
But we’re seeing how much better we are when Theis is playing well. Doesn’t have to be putting up stats either. Theis doing what needs to be done makes us a stronger team.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Feb 10, 2020 18:24:58 GMT -5
This is a great question, and there certainly isn't an easy answer. We haven't seen this team in the playoffs yet. I'll need to see how they do in the playoffs to have an answer.
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Post by Roadrunner on Feb 10, 2020 19:03:35 GMT -5
To be champs, both Tatum, and Brown have to take the next leap in the playoffs. Kemba, and Hayward at [HASH]3 and [HASH]4 is a legit championship team. Also, if Langford continues to contribute during short streak, he solidifies bench scoring.
The East is going to look like...MIL, TOR, BOS, MIA, PHI, and IND as the top 6.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Feb 11, 2020 3:47:53 GMT -5
To be champs, both Tatum, and Brown have to take the next leap in the playoffs. Kemba, and Hayward at [HASH]3 and [HASH]4 is a legit championship team. Also, if Langford continues to contribute during short streak, he solidifies bench scoring. The East is going to look like...MIL, TOR, BOS, MIA, PHI, and IND as the top 6. Agreed. That's why I hope Boston can sneak past TOR for the #2 spot. Huuuuge dropoff from the 6th to the 7th seeds. #3 and #4 are gonna have really tough first round matchups. Meanwhile, #1 and #2 are gonna be able to moonwalk into the semi-finals.
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Post by afceltic on Feb 11, 2020 8:05:26 GMT -5
To be champs, both Tatum, and Brown have to take the next leap in the playoffs. Kemba, and Hayward at [HASH]3 and [HASH]4 is a legit championship team. Also, if Langford continues to contribute during short streak, he solidifies bench scoring. The East is going to look like...MIL, TOR, BOS, MIA, PHI, and IND as the top 6. Agreed. That's why I hope Boston can sneak past TOR for the #2 spot. Huuuuge dropoff from the 6th to the 7th seeds. #3 and #4 are gonna have really tough first round matchups. Meanwhile, #1 and #2 are gonna be able to moonwalk into the semi-finals. That means our next and last game against them is huge as we are up 2-1 in the season series. We need that tiebreaker against them especially if they continue to stay hot. Someone needs to end that streak, 15 in a row is ridiculous.
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Post by jmost on Feb 11, 2020 19:25:47 GMT -5
Check out who TOR has played during their 15 game streak. VERY weak schedule. The only wins against playoff-positioned teams are over Philly at home (Sixers are a terrible road team) and home and home against Indy (who was just starting to integrate Olidipo back into the lineup. www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptorsI think TOR is a very good team, with the confidence of a champion, but they're not as good as their current record, IMO.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 11, 2020 19:34:00 GMT -5
Check out who TOR has played during their 15 game streak. VERY weak schedule. The only wins against playoff-positioned teams are over Philly at home (Sixers are a terrible road team) and home and home against Indy (who was just starting to integrate Olidipo back into the lineup. www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptorsI think TOR is a very good team, with the confidence of a champion, but they're not as good as their current record, IMO. I was thinking about the Raptors today. 3 east teams who are doing really well without a true superstar are TOR, MIA and us. Toronto has Pascal Siakam, and he’s become an outstanding player. We have Tatum. Miami has Butler. But these 3 teams have outstandng coaches, and play excellent team basketball.
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