MarylandHawk

I was so glad we did not draft Culver. Doesn’t hurt to take a flyer though. Defense and passing may be his way back to the court.

Diaw? Been so long. Lol.

I with you. Not arguing your point at all but you did get to thinking and the French pastry was the first thing to pop in my mind.

I like having the 10 man, maybe even 11 man rotation, early in the season. If we can get JHol, JJ, AJG meaningful minutes early on, in think it will help us down the stretch. I would bring Frank the tank along slowly because is coming off an injured season and he is a savvy vet so it shouldn’t take him long to get up to speed late in the season.

Lol @ Ahol.

Boris Diop?

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that not only should Jalen get the bulk of the back up PF mins, he should be given the green light when he comes in. I don’t think he should be put in a box when comes in. They should feature his versatility. If he gets the rebound he should initiate the break, if he has a mismatch on the wing he should take advantage, if he has a mismatch in the post he should take advantage. He should be looking to make plays. On defense, he should be great weak side help, play passing lanes, defend stretch 4s, rebound and push the ball. 12 to 15 mins a game with nonstop hustle is what I want to see.

I hope this is not the case. I hope they carve out 12 mins a game for him and let him get a rhythm. If injuries happen or he plays consistently at a higher level his mins would go up from there. I have seen nothing that says he cannot give a good 12 hustle mins doing his versatile thing out there. To be honest, his skill set (defensive versatility) is what we are missing.

Plain white tshirt and some basketball shorts. Sign that contract so you can buy you some drip. Lol.

The problem is he doesn't want to sign to something that is reasonable. We are in luxury tax mode if this squad doesn't make it. You’re the angel on Schlenk’s left shoulder I’m the devil on his right shoulder. Lol.

Interesting point on the offseason prep vs in season affect in a contract year. I think I would agree with that. Also I agree that he price is likely to go up regardless. My point is we a in chip mode so we need player s that will get us that. If he cant show us he can do that this year, I would rather spend that money on someone or multiple that can. If he is that guy, then give him next year.

I see where you are coming from. I still think there is room for creativity on defense. You can see glimmers of ingenuity over time with things like GMs drafting guys like Hunter who has good agility and extremely long arms so he can disrupt passing lanes since it is almost impossible to touch offensive players. But the defensive technique and attitude has to be there too. Other evidence that there is a little bit of evolution on defense is a guy like OO17. Giannis tears the league up with his euro step move. Everybody tries to defend it by putting a hand up and sliding back as he approaches. He just uses that hand to maneuver around and make the shot. What OO17 does is hold his ground and keeps his hands down in the waist area and when Giannis tries to bring the ball to the other side of his body down low, Okungwu will just disrupt that and prevent him from bringing the ball up. He is also strong enough to where Giannis can’t nudge him out if the way with his body. It is a small sample of defensive advancements that could be replicated and taught in a broader way. Just my thoughts though.

I thought ClevLand was not going to extend him at all and not start him because of Garlands emergence. That would have really hurt his production especially if his injury lingered. With Dre I think right now he is worth between 72 and 80 mil but in our situation, I don't know if the current version of him is good enough to put us over the top contention wise. I am on record saying that Dre has to reach his potential in order for us to compete for a chip. I also believe that players always play better in a contract year. So that is why I would wait. If he does reach his potential and we win a chip, give him whatever the market demands.

I am glad Sexton got his money and an opportunity to be the man again. Would have been messed up if that injury put him in an Isaiah Thomas situation. Dre should be in that ball park. I still wouldn't extend until he has actually done what we expect him to do for a full year.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Everyone likes offense but not at the expense of punishing people for defensive effort. One of the things I wish they would allow is, if an offensive player initiates contact with a defender it is either a no call or an offensive foul. The fact that offensive players can bang into players defending them in the post over and over again while pushing them back is crazy when the defender can’t push back. I will call this the Jimmy Butler rule where he drives into the pant, leans into a defender with a slight pump fake and when defender makes contact, he flails and throws up the ball. Again if he is initiating the contact it should be a no call or an offensive foul.

Literally in a class of his own. He is going to beat the respect out of these haters. Lol.

No. I mean the NBA as a whole. Sure Collins has gotten better with fundamental defense and effort but when I say evolution, I mean developing new ways to defend the style of play in the nba now. Offense has evolved tremendously over the years. Eurostep, step back jumpers and threes, 30 ft threes, creative offensive sets, the fact that bigs can dribble pass and shoot like guards. But defense…nothing has really changed. Same zones, man to man, hand in the face, etc. It would be nice to see some creativity on that side of the ball. There are a few players in the NBA that are bring new things and emphasizing defense but not enough. That boy “Off Night” in Sacremento and dare I say it “Macus Smat” really get creative on how to defend these new nba moves. Ty Lue was “revolutionary” when he ran the box and 1 against the Warriors in the finals that Cleveland won.

I for one would love to see defensive training. I am not sure it even exists. There has been no evolution on the defensive side of the ball in years.

Happy birthday!

How come we never see guys doing defensive drills?

They should NOT extend. The main reasons we drafted Hunter is his fit with Trae, his defense, and his college championship experience. We drafted him to win a championship. If he shows he can do that for us next year, I say give him the bag. Otherwise, if we get more of the same, it is better to let him walk in a couple of years. He has to become more of a difference maker in the win/loss column. Defense wins championships and he has to own that role and help lead us there. He can no longer just be a guy trying to fit in.

That is a wonderful video.

Sturt, in my defense i wasn’t coming at you I was merely highlighting your concern because it was clear that the last Crawsover event was worst possible scenario for players playing in something like that. And it nearly was a disaster if it wasn't called off. While I understand your point of view completely, it is always going be around. All that high profile money, overcrowded space (fire hazard). Over zealous fans, poor venue, etc. I was still there watching and enjoying. Lol. Glad Murray got out if there safely.

I thought that was him on the pole. Lol. No excuse for training camp.

Yeah I think it was that people were spilling water on the court too. Too many people in there. Had to be a fire hazard.