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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 24, 2022 20:05:54 GMT -5
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are almost there. Majority of the pieces are in place, and in my humble opinion, we are a mere 2 players away from a dynasty (and get this, we won't need Beal or KAT, or whoever).
Need to find a high quality, eventual replacement for Horford (he can be a backup for now). A big man who has a high IQ, is good on defense and can contribute some on offense.
And a solid backup wing who can defend and score efficiently.
Our starters are really good -- just need to fortify the bench.
Derrick White, Grant Williams and Daniel Theis are solid. Those 2 other pieces will cement or 10 man playoff rotation.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 25, 2022 0:35:58 GMT -5
Can you imagine how good we could be right now if we had rock solid veterans like PJ Brown and James Posey coming off the bench?
Title contenders?
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Post by freshnthehouse on Feb 25, 2022 1:48:09 GMT -5
I think our starting line still needs work. DWhite and Marcus are too redundant. Plus Al will be 36 this summer. He's heading for that cliff sooner or later. I think we need to use Al's contract this off-season to net us another big piece. And I'd like to swap out Marcus for a guard that either gives us superior playmaking or superior shooting.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 25, 2022 9:35:16 GMT -5
I think our starting line still needs work. DWhite and Marcus are too redundant. Plus Al will be 36 this summer. He's heading for that cliff sooner or later. I think we need to use Al's contract this off-season to net us another big piece. And I'd like to swap out Marcus for a guard that either gives us superior playmaking or superior shooting. The starting 5 of Smart-Brown-Tatum-Horford-Williams is proving itself to be major league. But going forward we need Horford's replacement -- that's gotta be near the top of the priority list.
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Post by jrmzt on Feb 26, 2022 21:39:04 GMT -5
I think our starting line still needs work. DWhite and Marcus are too redundant. Plus Al will be 36 this summer. He's heading for that cliff sooner or later. I think we need to use Al's contract this off-season to net us another big piece. And I'd like to swap out Marcus for a guard that either gives us superior playmaking or superior shooting. The starting 5 of Smart-Brown-Tatum-Horford-Williams is proving itself to be major league. But going forward we need Horford's replacement -- that's gotta be near the top of the priority list. Would we be exposed if our starting 5 was: White Smart Brown Tatum Williams Is Brown too small to guard the 3 spot? And is Tatum undersized for the 4 spot?
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 27, 2022 0:07:32 GMT -5
The starting 5 of Smart-Brown-Tatum-Horford-Williams is proving itself to be major league. But going forward we need Horford's replacement -- that's gotta be near the top of the priority list. Would we be exposed if our starting 5 was: White Smart Brown Tatum Williams Is Brown too small to guard the 3 spot? And is Tatum undersized for the 4 spot? Good question. I've been rolling that thought around in my head for a couple of weeks now. The only problem I see is with Tatum at the 4 will be him being more often matched up againat bigs such as Embiid, Jokic, etc. The two bigs lineup allows us to keep Tatum away from excessive contact from bigs. It makes us smaller. The trade off is we become quicker.
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Post by jmost on Feb 27, 2022 8:33:54 GMT -5
I still think we need a playmaker who can break down his man off the dribble, get into the paint and create for both himself and teammates.
There was a particular play in the Feb 26 DET game where Brown and White passed it back and forth behind the arc before someone chucked up a desperation buzzer-beater attempt. It just screamed for SOMEONE, ANYONE to DO something. We still have too many useless passes that don't advance the possession in any way.
We may have an elite D, and the evidence is growing that that's the case, but I worry about our offense bogging down against other elite defenses.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 27, 2022 12:34:34 GMT -5
I still think we need a playmaker who can break down his man off the dribble, get into the paint and create for both himself and teammates. Tatum was playing this role superbly yesterday, and I think this can be his norm. Jaylen has lots more work to do but he's trending upwards as a playmaker. Suprisingly, Grant is doing a nice job of attacking on closeouts and finding the right player to pass to. Can't rely too much on him to playmake, but a couple of nifty passes a game is what he can contribute. I'm all for a real playmaker, though. Any ideas?
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Post by jmost on Feb 27, 2022 14:10:03 GMT -5
I don't follow the rest of the league closely enough to know who would both fill our need and be available. I'd assume we'd acquire that player by trading either Smart or White, but who knows. Maybe it's Yam Madar. We did have 31 assists last night, and 3 guys had 6 or more assists, with 4 more having 3, so the ball is moving and you have to love that. It's just seems we go stagnant at times and it would be nice to have that guy who can make something out of nothing.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Feb 27, 2022 22:06:03 GMT -5
I still think we need a playmaker who can break down his man off the dribble, get into the paint and create for both himself and teammates. Paging Mr Wall, paging Mr John Wall . . .
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Post by jmost on Feb 28, 2022 7:38:28 GMT -5
Wall has a player option for $47 mil next year. I was assuming he'd opt in. Then I saw he isn't playing at all in Houston. Maybe he leaves money on the table in order to get back on the court? I wonder what it would take to sign him.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 28, 2022 12:49:39 GMT -5
Be very interesting if he declines his player option. Is he willing to play for a lot less if he can win a title?
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Post by jmost on Feb 28, 2022 14:08:16 GMT -5
It's rare for a guy to walk away from that much money - because I'm assuming no one will come close to $47 mil per year for a guy who's been injured so much - but jeez, he's made $229 mil over his career. He's set for life. As are his kids if he wants. Maybe winning will seem more important at this point.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Mar 1, 2022 3:33:58 GMT -5
I'm assuming since the final year of the deal he'll work some kind of buyout. HOU does it so they can save some money this year, he does it cuz he can make up that money with whatever team he signs with. Kind of like what Kemba did with OKC to get with the Knicks.
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