Change my mind...Pt 2...

[meangreen]

Here I want to address a couple of things staring w/the trades we've made during the off-season. At 1st I was not a fan of trading both Smart & Grant Williams pretty much at the same time especially w/o having any real replacement for what they both bring & say what you want about either but they do a lot of the things that we now don't have anyone to do. IMHO both of these guys are responsible for the dirty work that gets done on our team. They aren't big scoring threats though they had their moments, but there's no doubt about their defensive presence vs what is a lot of times the other teams best players. G Will is underestimated a bit in this IMHO 'cause whenever we were short in the front-court a lot of times he'd be the one who had to step in & fill that gap. They had an edginess & toughness about them that pretty much none of the other players IMHO have & that just about every title team has (think about guys like Perk, Powe, etc.). I just wouldn't have gotten rid of both of those types of guys at the same time considering that they're the only guys like them on the team. Yes, I will admit Holiday can fill Smart's spot & gives you more on the offensive side but that to my next point doesn't help us in the front-court. I am not convinced in anyway that we're just doing to deal with or subscribing to the idea that the fact that we're good in the back-court & at the wing will compensate our thin front-court.

I've heard people say/think that the combo of Kornet/Al/Unicorn etc will be enough to get us to the title & I'm not buying this in anyway, form, or fashion. The only guys I've heard express any real concern for this are Forsberg & Felger. I watched vids where they brought up a good pt in a discussion of the Holiday trade (I think this was Forsberg) & that's who's guarding Giannis in a playoff series? I'll take it further of the teams that have a chance to win the title this season you might have to face two of them (Mil, Phi) who have dominant big men. Never-mind the west where you might have to face LAL or Den. if you make it to the finals. We couldn't do it w/RWIII and Al (obviously another yr older) & now we're going to do it w/o them or a different version of them? I'm not buying. I couldn't believe that no one asked Brad about the front court during the presser for Holiday. I heard someone (Mike Holly I think) say that the only way this thing works is if Al & Unicorn say healthy, well yeah. And that's a big gamble. They went on to say that any team that looses their best player is going to struggle, well we won't have to loose our best player to struggle not necessarily during the season but deep in the playoffs. Anyway, I don't have the same warm & fuzzies that everyone else seem to have about this team winning the title this year so please change my mind if you can...Looking forward to seeing how it plays out...

[jmost]

I think Kornet is underrated. I thought he held his own early in the season last year while we waited for Rob to come back from injury.

That said, someone has to step up from among the big men Brad has brought in. If no one does, he'll make a move to address that.

[meangreen]

Hey Jmo...Good to hear from you. Always appreciate your insight especially because you've seen a lot of ball in your day. Kornet should be IMHO a filler/reserve for the front court (Big Baby, Powe, etc) & a guy you should be depending on in times of injuries for a spell. He's not a guy you should be counting on which is the position this team is right now underrated or not. My question off of that would be if you're going for a title as the front office & ownership has been saying why would you leave yourself so thin in the front court?...

[jmost]

The first thing that comes to mind is that the Jrue deal just happened, so Brad hasn't really had time to make a follow-up move for a big man. We have to remember that roster building isn't complete until several months from now.

[freshnthehouse]

I think the Al/KP combo at center is fine, but it's one injury away from being a real mess. I'd like to see us pick up a vet min older big that has a bit of size. My boy Derrick Favors is still out there. I've always loved his game as a reserve big.

[Roadrunner]

I am not sure which MIA playoff loss was worse, bubble or last year, and BOS was one Butler miss from a third MIA loss. I do not think BOS could have run back last year's team, and expected a title run. Stevens made calculated trades, and improved the (coaching) bench. I am excited for 2023-2024, however there are a handful of teams that are equally as good.

[jmost]

Who do you think is as good? I'd say MIL, DEN, PHX are in that tier. Anyone else?

[Roadrunner]

Oct 21, 2023 14:07:25 GMT -5 jmost said:

Who do you think is as good? I'd say MIL, DEN, PHX are in that tier. Anyone else?

East:
Tier 1 - BOS, MIL.

Wildcard - MIA.

West:
Tier 1 - DEN, PHX.

Wildcards - LAL, GS.

[jmost]

That's exactly how I see it. LA, GS are dangerous as long as James and Curry are healthy, and MIA is dangerous as long as they have Butler and Bam.

I think the West probably has more potential challengers than the East, but all have big IFs. Will Zion ever be healthy? Will Ja get his head straight? How fast will Wemby become a dominant player? How soon will OKC's young core come together?

[Roadrunner]

I think the NBA now is the haves, and have nots. I do not think the NBA champion will be a team out of the 7 teams mentioned. There are 4-great on paper teams, w/ 3 teams being able to make a run, because of the play-in.