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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 24, 2022 0:33:58 GMT -5
If we look at our active 12 man roster, I don't think there's a single player we can realistically say we expect to see a decline in performance from -- not even Al Horford. It's more of less we'll see an on par performance or improvements.
On Par - Al Horford - Marcus Smart (there should be improvements here, like playing smarter, but his numbers will probably not reflect much change) - Malcom Brogdon (even if Brogdon plays like his usual self, that's a big plus for us) - Danilo Gallinari (past two seasons he's come off the bench and was a steady scoring threat, and that's enough for us)
Improvements - Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown -- we can expect improvements from these two young stars, as they are always working hard to get better. Tatum is working on midrange pullups and finishing with contact. I'm expecting Jaylen to tighten his handles. - Rob Williams -- He'll likely build off of this past season and be more of what he was, only with more confidence and moxie. - GWill, DWhite, and Pritch -- I'm expecting improvements by way of consistency and reliability. Their numbers might not show it because they'll be taking less shots, but they'll score more efficiently. - Hauser and Kornet -- improvements simply by earning playing time. Hauser has tremendous shooting touch, he just needs to sink them when he gets put into games. Kornet plays smart team defense and can drain three's, he's going to finally show positive contributions.
Will these improvements be enough to get out of the East and win the title?
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Post by eja117 on Jul 24, 2022 8:23:27 GMT -5
I think Rob Williams will decline. I don't think you can get hurt that much and improve. I'm a little nervous about Brogdon for the same reason. And possibly Smart too
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 24, 2022 13:10:39 GMT -5
I think the biggest improvement was already achieved, and that was acquiring depth. BOS was literally running on fumes in the NBA Finals. Also, I do not think the West winner will have the luxury of rest before the finals.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jul 24, 2022 13:37:44 GMT -5
DWhite having a whole year to gel with this team will really help. I think Rob and Grant could improve just because of how young they are. Same with the Jays. I dont see Pritch, Hauser or Kornet improving that much b/c i dont think they'll get the playing time to do so. One of these years Al is gonna start declining. Here's hoping it's not this year.
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Post by jmost on Jul 24, 2022 14:21:39 GMT -5
I don't know if it'll happen or not but Pritch could do worse than study Steph Curry for his ability to create space for himself without being super-quick or an elite leaper. PP is already a pretty good ball-handler, and has extended 3 point range. He's only an inch shorter than Curry, and isn't far off Curry's stats for their first two years, 1.5 made 3s per game compared to Curry's 2.1 (with Steph playing a lot more minutes). Of course I'm not saying PP is the next Steph, but the kid is supposed to be a real worker and he just got to see what a short PG with great ball-handling skills and extended range can do, so you'd think he'd be motivated by that.
He also has to know that he better show something because minutes may be hard to come by with Brogdon on board. I'm hoping for a nice surprise from him when we next see him.
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Post by eja117 on Jul 24, 2022 17:27:40 GMT -5
I don't know if it'll happen or not but Pritch could do worse than study Steph Curry for his ability to create space for himself without being super-quick or an elite leaper. PP is already a pretty good ball-handler, and has extended 3 point range. He's only an inch shorter than Curry, and isn't far off Curry's stats for their first two years, 1.5 made 3s per game compared to Curry's 2.1 (with Steph playing a lot more minutes). Of course I'm not saying PP is the next Steph, but the kid is supposed to be a real worker and he just got to see what a short PG with great ball-handling skills and extended range can do, so you'd think he'd be motivated by that. He also has to know that he better show something because minutes may be hard to come by with Brogdon on board. I'm hoping for a nice surprise from him when we next see him. Was Steph a better defender?
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 25, 2022 1:55:10 GMT -5
I think Rob Williams will decline. I don't think you can get hurt that much and improve. I'm a little nervous about Brogdon for the same reason. And possibly Smart too Doesn't sound like the surgery Rob had was going to be an ongoing issue. The offseason rest should be what he needed to heal all the way. But he's been bitten by the injury bug his whole young career. I'm hoping he'll learn how to avoid jumping and landing awkwardly that causes him to aggrevate something in his legs/knees.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 25, 2022 1:56:54 GMT -5
I don't know if it'll happen or not but Pritch could do worse than study Steph Curry for his ability to create space for himself without being super-quick or an elite leaper. PP is already a pretty good ball-handler, and has extended 3 point range. He's only an inch shorter than Curry, and isn't far off Curry's stats for their first two years, 1.5 made 3s per game compared to Curry's 2.1 (with Steph playing a lot more minutes). Of course I'm not saying PP is the next Steph, but the kid is supposed to be a real worker and he just got to see what a short PG with great ball-handling skills and extended range can do, so you'd think he'd be motivated by that. He also has to know that he better show something because minutes may be hard to come by with Brogdon on board. I'm hoping for a nice surprise from him when we next see him. Great point. If Pritch learns to come off a pick and quickly fire off his shot like Currry, that will make him much more useful.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 25, 2022 1:59:34 GMT -5
DWhite having a whole year to gel with this team will really help. I think Rob and Grant could improve just because of how young they are. Same with the Jays. I dont see Pritch, Hauser or Kornet improving that much b/c i dont think they'll get the playing time to do so. One of these years Al is gonna start declining. Here's hoping it's not this year. DWhite had a good amount of time with the team to know where his shots will come from and where he can contribute the most. Seemed apparent that he's best when he attacks the paint and releases floaters or finds teammates.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 25, 2022 2:01:02 GMT -5
I think the biggest improvement was already achieved, and that was acquiring depth. BOS was literally running on fumes in the NBA Finals. Also, I do not think the West winner will have the luxury of rest before the finals. For sure. But we're not going anywhere if we don't see improvements from the Jays. We'll sink or swim depending on these two.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 26, 2022 22:29:42 GMT -5
I think the biggest improvement was already achieved, and that was acquiring depth. BOS was literally running on fumes in the NBA Finals. Also, I do not think the West winner will have the luxury of rest before the finals. For sure. But we're not going anywhere if we don't see improvements from the Jays. We'll sink or swim depending on these two. I agree. 10-turnovers a game. However, I did notice Brown "figured it out" (sometimes) putting the breaks on right by the Paul Pierce area (circa the FT line), and taking the J rather than rumbling through traffic.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 27, 2022 1:06:27 GMT -5
For sure. But we're not going anywhere if we don't see improvements from the Jays. We'll sink or swim depending on these two. I agree. 10-turnovers a game. However, I did notice Brown "figured it out" (sometimes) putting the breaks on right by the Paul Pierce area (circa the FT line), and taking the J rather than rumbling through traffic. Right. He was doing some damage in the no-no-zone. Long two's are not bad if you hit them at a high clip.
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Post by jmost on Jul 27, 2022 8:48:22 GMT -5
I think it was the year before last that Jaylen was knocking down the foul line jumpers at an incredible rate, well above 50%, maybe even close to 70%. Maybe someone told him he needed to take it strong to the hoop and he bought into that too much.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 27, 2022 22:41:17 GMT -5
I think it was the year before last that Jaylen was knocking down the foul line jumpers at an incredible rate, well above 50%, maybe even close to 70%. Maybe someone told him he needed to take it strong to the hoop and he bought into that too much. One difference between Brown, and Tatum is length. Same move, Tatum's length gives him an extra second or two to make the pass. note - Tatum's handles are better than Brown's too.
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