nathan2331

2 minutes ago, Diesel said:

OH.. it's true.   That PPP is probably due more to Trae... He does exactly what I said everytime.   

OO does put the ball on the floor, but he has still done well finishing at the rim. His game isn't perfect or anything, but he plays his role well. I think the bigger issue with that second unit has been the Holidays, Justin specifically. With them on the perimeter, if Murray kicks it out they haven't consistenly put up shots. Justin especially will take dribble that does nothing and pass it back to another ball handler. Even JJ who's been shooting better in the past couple game isn't a volume shooter. I think Murray is just calling his own number at the moment trying to get something going.

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

f Nate trusted AJ more, I would trade Bogi for Issac

Is Isaac healthy? That move makes sense if Isaac can play, but it's been out so long now I'd have to see him on the court first before I get excited about him again.

2 minutes ago, Diesel said:

OO is not a good roll man.  Never has been.   He brings the ball down everytime.  Lately, his feetwork has been bad  and his pick set has been poor.    Murray gave up on him and the PNR a few games back. 

 

That's just not true. Last year OO was tied with JC at 1.44 PPP as the roll man. His screens aren't the most solid but it's on the guard to navigate. I mean OO has the highest FG% in the league right now, Murray if anything needs to adjust how he's driving or find the open shooter, because settling for those jumpers is unnecesary in this offense.

1 minute ago, Diesel said:

Better PNR players have to play with Murray. The second unit doesn't have it. 

 

OO is a good roll man. But the timing and movement with his screens is off. Even JJ has the tools to be effective, but that unit needs more time played together.

1 minute ago, Bonkers said:

Murray is a combo guard not a pure PG. I don't know why some of y'all are surprised

I think the confusion comes from the fact we can't even get some PnR working with him. The chemistry with the second unit is nonexistent right now.

Murray gotta cool it with these isos... A contested midrange shot we can get at any time.

If Justin isn't going to impact the game defensively, there's no point having him on the court over Griffin. When Murray is in and Trae sits, Griffin should be on the court.

1 minute ago, MaceCase said:

Who is Aaron Murray?

Former UGA QB, Bob just got Aaron Holiday's name mixed up.

1 minute ago, Diesel said:

Illegal screen...

Giannis hooked Dre on his first dunk too...

3 PG lineup... I thought we left this trash behind smh

These refs are bugging. There's no consistency on these calls.

1 minute ago, terrell said:

AJ not ready to guard a pg. Nate shouldn't have him in that spot. smh

I think it's better to see what he can't handle early. Defense was a known weakness, but he's now experiencing how NBA teams will try to attack him. Cade is gonna cook whoever we throw at him at the moment regardless.

1 minute ago, JTB said:

OO is not a rim protector. He’s not being used at his best defensive skill set which is guarding mobile 4s who can put the ball on the floor.

Unless you want Kaminsky in for JJ, this is what OO's role will be for most of his minutes.

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

$781,759.00.  So we'll have $2.4 mil under the Tax

So possibly a >7 year vet with one move... Our situation is better than I thought it was. Thanks for the information.

1 minute ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Hawks have $1.7 million under the Luxury Tax.  Here is the minimum salary based on NBA experience:

Years of Experience	Salary
0	$1,017,781
1	$1,637,966
2	$1,836,090
3	$1,902,133
4	$1,968,175
5	$2,133,278
6	$2,298,385
7	$2,463,490
8	$2,628,597
9	$2,641,682
10+	$2,905,851

 

 

Now someone like Krejci could be canned to free up extra money right?

46 minutes ago, Diesel said:

Yeah... OO will struggle against Bigger players.   But name one player in this league that doesn't struggle against a certain type of player?  The teams learn to make adjustments in those cases.   OO may struggle against big bigs.. but there are only a handful of those.  IF he learns from CLint, he'll learn how to hold his own. 

 

My point though is that if we have a viable 3rd center (I don't think that's Kaminsky), OO weaknesses become less exploitable. There's probably a big that could be signed for cheap or acquired via trade but I doubt we make a significant move because of tax implications, that's the real concern for me. OO is not the only problem I've seen. I'm not looking for perfection, just areas of improvement. I still think we have the best team in the NBA, but to actually reach that level there are issues we have to find a way to mitigate. If the current roster isn't enough, I feel we've put a limit on ourselves because of financial reasons. We'll see how things shake out.

13 minutes ago, Diesel said:

it might not require much upgrade... maybe just more time... This is the 4th game and these guys have never played together.  So this is the 4th game playing together.   Give them some time. 

 

 

I'm not jumping to conclusions about the total effectiveness of this unit, but I do think it's flawed in some ways that won't be fixed without personnel changes. For instance, matchups against size are going to be an ongoing problem with OO at center. That doesn't mean I think he's useless, but it's the kind of problem that will keep showing itself without a viable 3rd center on the roster. Maybe Kaminsky shuts me up and proves himself to be valuable but I'm not holding my breath.

Just now, JayBirdHawk said:

The bench is really struggling!

- Starters have the best Efficiency, and more important the best Efficiency Difference of the league: +31.8
(ahead of PHX at +25.3, WAS at +14.8, MIN at +14.6 and PHI at +12.6)

- Bench has the 28th Efficiency Difference at -22.5
(only ahead of PHI at -22.6 and DET at -26.2)

Yikes, that's really concerning considering we don't really seem to be in much of a position to actually upgrade the personnel this season outside of Bogi's return. Given the rebounding issues, I wish Coach would consider playing a bigger lineup and play OO and JJ next to Kaminsky. Kaminsky can at least shoot and playing JJ at the 3 should put him on the ball more frequently which could get him into the flow of the game. I know they see JJ as a big, but we should be experimenting more trying to find some kind of bench combination that will thrive together.

3 minutes ago, hylndr11 said:

yall keep saying this but murray was supposed to fix all this lol

 Murray makes us a better team, but he hurts our spacing. He's a decent shooter but definitely not somebody who will consistenly punish you for leaving open.

The spacing is limited with our offense. The Pistons can sag off our shooters to help stop drives and we can't punish them because no one wants to put shots up. Both Holiday's don't need to be on the court at the same time.

I can't fathom why Griffin is glued to the bench. We need shooting with this bench lineup and Griffin has showed he can provide that in his limited oppurtunities.

1 minute ago, MaceCase said:

He’s the only one that’s been able to guard a Piston without being dislodged 10 feet.

You're right, thankfully bullyball isn't en vogue in the NBA. Position by position we don't hold our own.

I really don't get the logic of Aaron Holiday playing next to Jalen. Jalen's skillset is wasted without the ball in his hands, and Holiday isn't that great of a creator.